When Mary Magdalene went to the tomb on that first Easter morning her tears
were turned to joy when she encountered the risen Christ. She ran to the disciples
and proclaimed, "I have seen the Lord."
This is our invitation, to see. To see through our tears and beyond our heart
ache and see the possibilities set before us as we encounter the risen Christ.
It is an invitation to choose life over death, community over isolation, hope
over fear, and joy over sorrow. When we respond to this invitation transformation
happens.
I have been blessed to walk with many of you on our Lenten journey. We have
had deep, meaningful prayer time. We have cried together and laughed together
and lifted it all up in prayer to God. The truth is we cry a lot. When we let
go of the things that are binding us our tears help us to release them. These
are good tears, holy tears, purifying tears. And when we move from tears to
laughter, our laughter helps us to touch that deep joy that is the foundation
of our faith. It has been a good journey. A journey that brought us to Easter.
Let us be astounded by Easter. Let us be completely thunderstruck by the truth
that God loves us so much that love has overcome death. When we try to grasp
this truth and start to grab hold of it, we can move beyond what is death to
our spirits, death to our bodies, death to our neighbors, loved ones, and world.
When we awake and embrace the Easter truth we bring life into all that we do-and
this life, life in Christ, will transform the world.
May grace and transformation be yours.
Come and be uplifted as we gather in the Chapel to worship God, hear Scripture,
and celebrate Communion. The service will run from 7 to 7:30 am, followed by
a light breakfast (or at least a cup of coffee to go!) More
Info.
Stewardship
Committee
Holy
week is now officially behind us and for me personally, it comes with a
smile and a small sigh of relief. As the spouse of the minister I'm provided
"special" perspective of Holy times. Every year, starting with
Ash Wednesday I notice the energy within our church slowly building as the
planning and preparations are made for the journey towards Holy Week.
As
the weeks go by, the planning increases and with it comes the pressure.
It is possible that during all this planning and preparing we found ourselves
the momentary victims of this pressure thinking "Why did I ever volunteer
for this?" If you need a reason, just chalk it up to being a Christian,
we're just like that, always volunteering for stuff. It all starts on Ash
Wednesday; Lenten Lunches, Wednesday night services, Palm Sunday, Levi Sunday,
Easter Lilies, Maundy Thursday, choir practice, projector screens, power
point presentations, carrot cakes, and ends on Easter Sunday with the three
services, a breakfast and an Easter egg hunt.
Looking
back, this list was a huge accomplishment for us. But what makes it special
is it was only made possible by the time and effort of so many people. I
was really inspired by the number of people involved, both adult and children.
I especially enjoyed when the adult and children's choirs sang together.
At
completion of any task, there usually follows reflection. It was on our
ride home, after eight hours of Easter Sunday, I turned to Katherine and
said, "You know what? Today was a good day." So in the same spirit
I want to say thank you to every one who worked so hard, during the services
and behind the scenes, in both large and small ways, for your contribution.
And I really pray that at some point on Easter Sunday, you too were able
to say, "Today was a good day."
-
Jon Adams
Trustees
We'd like to thank all those who volunteered on April 10th, Levi Sunday.
The church sparkled due to everyone's efforts-thank you all very much! Please
check out the church's website for pictures.
The parking lot has been swept in time for spring. There had been a large
amount of sand due to this year's hefty storms and this is now cleared which
should make the parking lot safer and more accessible.
The name tag board, plus some bulletin boards have been moved. The name
tag board can now be found in the downstairs hallway across from the side
entrance door.
Warrants for May meeting should now be submitted if applicable.
Your ongoing comments or suggestions are welcomed. Please place a written
note in the Trustees mailbox along with your idea(s) to correct any issue.
If there is a project you would like to see completed or that you would like
to complete as a group please let us know.
- Jenny Carmichael
FCCB BY THE NUMBERS
Attendance:
| April 3 |
Worship |
163 |
| April 10 |
Worship |
176 |
| April 17 |
Worship |
|
| April 24 - 9:30 am |
Worship |
128 |
| April 24 - 11:00 am |
Worship |
111 |
Offerings:
| Date |
General Fd |
Outreach FD |
Deacons FD |
| April 3 |
$2552 |
$101 |
$42 |
| April 10 |
$2661 |
$148 |
$153 |
| April 17 |
$2676 |
$208 |
$78 |
| April 24 |
$4887 |
$195 |
$55 |
Our average weekly General Fund expenses are $4370. Thank you for your continued
prayers of support and financial stewardship to support the work of the Church.
The
Outreach Committee Report
2011 Outreach Members
Your 2011 Outreach Committee members are: Jackie Gullage, Terry & Steve
Lewis, Don Lovegrove, Nita Owin, Bob & Linda Miner (co-chairs)
Spotlight on Society of St. Andrews
We've been supporting this Virginia based hunger relief organization for 5
years now. They "rescue" food that would otherwise go to waste.
Where large farms harvest with mechanized equipment, Society of St. Andrews
volunteers then "glean" the fields, salvaging all of the nutritious
food left behind. When trade shows and conferences are held in major cities
in the U. S., the Society of St. Andrews is there with both refrigerator trucks
and trucks with warming ovens to collect high quality leftovers (called planned-overs
at our house), food which would be thrown out, and rush it to nearby meal
providers and storage facilities. In 2010, nearly 85 million meals were saved
and provided to hungry people by the Society of St. Andrews.
Did You Know:
1. It is estimated that 47% of the money raised for charities in Massachusetts
goes to professional fund-raisers, salaries, and overhead expenses. That will
NEVER happen with money you give through your Outreach Committee.
2. Women account for 2/3 of global hours worked, earn 10% of the world's income
and own 1% of the world's property.
3. The cost of raising a medium size dog to the age of 11 is $16,400. Remember
that when your child pleads for a cute puppy.
Food Pantry Collection
We ask you to bring non-perishable food on the first Sunday of each month
to be shared with people in need in Billerica. In the recent past, we've averaged
120 items/month. This year, our average has been around 75 items/month. There
are numerous obvious reasons for that and we are not shocked.
We want you to know of a significant change we've made in how your donations
are being used. We are creating our own FCCB Pantry, housed here at the church,
and intended for members and friends of our congregation. We are using your
donations to stock our 2 food cabinets from which we are providing food for
those in need within our own congregation. The remainder of your donations
we bring to the food pantry on the corner of 3A & Sheridan St. to be shared
with other needy families in Billerica. Since this represents a dramatic departure
from past practice, we welcome your feedback regarding this initiative.
Property Tax Assistance Programs
The Town of Billerica has several programs to assist veterans, their widows
or widowers, in paying their property taxes. Call Ken or Marie at the Veterans
Office at 978-671-0968 to inquire.
There are also 2 other programs for seniors. Widows with assets of $40,000
or less are eligible for a reduction of $280 from their tax bills. Call the
assessor's office at 978-671-0971.
There is also a senior property tax work-off program in town for:
(1) single people with an income of $24,768 or less and with assets of $40,000
or less
(2) couples with an income of $37,151 or less and with assets of $55,000 or
less
(assets exclude your home)
Get your application and form from the Assessors Office starting May 2. Return
the completed form to the Assessor, the Application to the Senior Center.
If selected, the Senior Center will find work for you in some town agency.
You may work up to 93 hrs. from July 1 - February 28 and receive a rebate
off your taxes of $800 if you work the entire 93 hrs.
If you need help with any of this, contact your Outreach Committee
- Bob Miner
For your Outreach Committee
Nominating
Committee
Key Position to Open Next Year
Bob Slack has advised that he will not continue as Financial
Secretary when his term ends at the end of the year. When he took the job
he wanted to streamline the work of that position and provide better reports
to the Congregation. He believes that he has accomplished those goals.
The Nominating Committee is beginning to start its search for someone to
fill the Financial Secretary position. The earlier we can find someone, the
easier it will be to transition to the position.
If you would like to know more about this opening, please contact Bob or
a member of the Nominating Committee (Jon Adams, Jenny Carmichael, or Andrew
Jennings).
Other Opportunities to Serve
Openings currently exist on a number of committees, including the Investment
Committee, the Board of Deacons, the Stewardship Committee
and the Nominating Committee.
.
If you feel a call to serve, you can be appointed mid-year. Contact the committee
chairs or a member of the Nominating Committee for more information.
-Andrew Jennings
Continuing
& Special Events with Katherine & Office Schedule: 
Notes from the Music Committee
Flowers:
May 2011
HELP WANTED
Thank
You's and Notes
