Dear Friends,

Every year, about this time, it happens. Around 5 p.m. I look out the window and discover there's still some light shining dimly in the western sky. Although I know it's going to happen eventually, it's always a welcome surprise to see the days once more beginning to lengthen.

This year the calendar catches us by surprise also. Lent will begin on February 6 - about as early as it can begin. And that means Easter will also be very early this year - on the third Sunday of March. (On years like this, when faster is sure to be chilly, I'm always -glad to be in a congregation that doesn't have an outdoor Easter Sunrise Service!)

In some traditions Lent begins with a ceremonial spreading of ashes on the forehead to remind us that we are but dust. Personally, I prefer a less penitential approach to Lent. In keeping with its original purpose as a time for Christians-to-be to prepare for baptism, I view Lent as a time for renewing our spiritual life. My personal favorite image for Lent comes from the Brooksby Farm apple orchard near where I live. This time of year the orchard becomes littered with the branches sawed off the trees in the annual ritual of spring pruning. Though it looks forbidding, I know that cutting back last year's growth helps to increase the yield of fruit. For me this springtime activity reminds me to make Lent a time of spiritual pruning in order to bear more fully the fruits of the Spirit.

During Lent I'll be offering a three-session class on prayer on selected Monday nights. We will also continue to offer the ecumenical Lenten Lunch and worship on Wednesday noontimes. And the sanctuary will be open 7:00-8:00 p.m. on Ash Wednesday for prayer. I encourage each of you to also develop a personalized Lenten program of prayer, Scripture reading, good works, regular attendance at worship, and other spiritual practices in order to know the meaning of resurrection this Easter morning.

Blessings, Sharon

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Ecumenical Lenten Series Begins on February 6

This year FCCB will again host the ecumenical Lenten lunch and worship series that has been popular for many years. Each program begins with lunch at 11:45 a.m. in Dale Hall, followed by a short service 'in the sanctuary.

A couple of changes have been introduced this year. One is that there will be no ecumenical program during Holy Week. The other is that each participating congregation will do its own setup and cleanup, with help from Rev. Ed Bacon of N. Billerica Baptist Church, who has graciously agreed to help each week.

The dates of these services and sponsoring churches are as follows:

February 6: St. Anne's Episcopal
February 13: St. Theresa's
February 20: North Billerica Baptist
February 27: First Congregational
March 5 - St. Mary's
March 12: First Parish, Unitarian

If you can help with food, setup or cleanup for the February 27 program, please sign up on the bulletin board next to the Pastor's office. Also, we can use someone to supervise setup and cleanup on other weeks.

Those attending the lunches will be invited to make a contribution toward the cost of paper goods, which is a significant amount. The Billerica Clergy Association has voted to make a donation to FCCB to offset the costs of providing space.

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Pulpit Exchange February 17

On Sunday, February 17, Rev. Goss will participate in the Andover Association, UCC's, annual Pulpit Exchange program. Rev. Goss will preach at South Church, Andover. Rev. Lisa Stedman, interim minister of South Church, Andover, will preach at First Congregational Billerica. Please welcome Rev. Stedman.

The exchange program is designed to strengthen our sense of covenant with sister churches in the Andover area group of churches. The Andover Association is part of the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church Of Christ.

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Check Out These Seminars and Workshops .

Sat., March 1 2008, Martha Grace Reese will present a workshop based on her acclaimed book, Unbinding the Gospel, a study of mainline Protestant evangelism. We're invited to build a team of five or more people to read the book and attend the Workshop.

March - Lift up Your Voice: Blending Ancient & Contemporary Worship, Wollaston (See Deacons' bulletin board.)

April 12-13, 2008, Concord, Being a Blessed Church, featuring Graham Standish.

May 2, 2008, New Ways to Worship.

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Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home

A three-session class on prayer will be offered during Lent on Monday evenings, beginning February 18. The class will be based on Richard Foster's book Prayer: finding the Heart's True Home. (For ordering information see Rev. Goss.)

Foster addresses prayer in three modes: Moving Inward: Seeking Transformation, Moving Upward: Seeking Intimacy, and Moving Outward: Seeking Ministry. Additional sessions will be held on March 3 and (tentatively) March 17.

P.S. Interested in re-establishing a prayer chain? Speak to the Pastor or one of the Deacons.

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Ash Wednesday Evening Prayer

The sanctuary will be open for prayer on February 6, the first day of Lent, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Come for quiet music, meditation, and prayer.

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Confirmation Class To Begin

This year Confirmation class will begin in February and conclude in April. Classes will be held on Sunday afternoons, on days yet to be arranged. We expect to have four or five young people attending. Parents will receive notice of dates following the holidays.

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Outreach Opportunities

Watch the bulletins for opportunities to share with those in need.

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The Billerica C.A.R.E.S. Committee

The Billerica C.A.R.E.S. Committee invites you to a special program as we celebrate diversity in Billerica on February 14th. Join town officials, school administrators, religious groups, and local business leaders as we host Ms. Laura Smith from Middlesex Community College, who will discuss her reflections on the life and legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The program will take place at the Billerica Town Hall Auditorium. Refreshments will be served at 8:00 a.m. and the program will start at 8:30 a.m. This is a free program. Come with an open heart and mind.

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January 2008 Missions Committee Report

January 2008

At our Jan. meeting, we voted to reimburse the Angel Tree for the three $50.00 food certificates provided to families at Christmas.

We voted to take approximately 42% of the money pledged to our Committee and direct it to the DCC Conference for 2008. While the Conference preferred 50% of our pledged amount, consideration of the financial realities led to the smaller amount.

We are working to update our portion of the church's web site with Nita Owin leading our work in this area.

We began preliminary planning for a visit to The Outdoor Church with May 18 being a possible day.

Have you had your energy audit yet? It is free and should result in some energy efficient light bulbs, maybe some weather stripping, and a plan to make your home more energy efficient. You may follow as little or as much of the plan as you choose. Call MassSave at 866-527-7283 to schedule your free audit.

Did you know that women provide 80% of the developing World's food yet own less than 1 % of the land?

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What is a good Steward?

A good Steward is someone who manages the resources God has given. A good Steward understands that God owns everything and we are merely renters in God's kingdom. Good Stewards know that when judgment day comes and they are judged by how they lived and served others that God will reward them.

Gordon MacDonald writes:

"The Scriptures make it clear that all of creation belongs to God. He made it, directed how it was to be managed, and expects those to whom he has entrusted it to "report" back to him. The health and beauty of life in creation has always depended upon our willingness to honor and obey God, as the Creator of all things. And so, the question remains: Do we understand that everything we actually own belongs to God, and has been temporarily entrusted to us?"

The Steward (or the manager) knows what belongs to the master and what belongs to him There is no confusion between the two. A good Steward does not fight for control over things that do not belong to him. And the Steward does not seek the honor that belongs to the one for whom he works. And, furthermore, the Steward is careful to give an account of what he has done and to return to the owner that which belongs to him.

This year, Stewardship will be providing you information on the keys to good Biblical Stewardship. These Keys are:

1. Give Reverently
2. Give Systematically
3. Give Expectantly
4. Give Accordingly
5. Give Eternally
6. Give Faithfully

Check out these good books written by Bruce Wilkinson: A Life God Rewards and Secrets of The Vine. These were good insightful books and can be found in the Tewksbury Library.

Religious Education

Dear Parishioners,

Over the past year, the RE Committee has been focusing on improving the Sunday school curriculum. We have included a brief summary of what the children have been working on. We prepared an outline of the second semester for preschool through fourth grade to help keep parents updated and involved with their children's religious education class, and to minimize any confusion regarding the curriculum. In these classes, the children learn from the workbook Witness, developed by Augsburg Fortress. Each worksheet is formatted to discuss a story from the Bible then further explore the story through discussion or hands-on activities. Additional activities are included to help engage the children in applying what they learned in class to their own lives at home. The worksheets also discuss Faith Traits with each story. Faith Traits are words that teach children character and values such as generosity, kindness, empathy and respect. Faith Traits connect the children with God's family and invite them to explore and use their minds to learn, make good choices, and communicate with others. We hope that parents will find this outline helpful and that the worksheets will inspire their child to explore their lessons further at home. A more grade specific curriculum will be distributed in each child's classroom.

The Fifth-Through-Eighth Grade class is working towards encouraging each student to be a good person, do good deeds, practice random act of kindness, and just be a good "child of God.". This is achieved through community service projects, group discussion, guest speakers in the classroom, and home activities. Some of the community service projects the children participated in include making activity books for the children at Children's Hospital, making Christmas cards and sun catchers for residents at nursing homes and creating a Thanksgiving basket for the Salvation Army. They are in the middle of planning to decorate hats for the Jimmy Fund. Specific Bible lessons are included twice a month. The lesson plans for the Bible lessons are taken from two popular Internet sites www.kidssundavschoo1.com and www.teensundavschoo1.com. Each student is also constructing a portfolio of the work he or she has completed this year.

The High School class is exploring the worship of God through the study of mission work. They are learning about the values of mission work, how it can impact their lives and the lives of others. The class has been very enthusiastic about participating in a mission event and is presently working on choosing a site for a mission trip this summer. They kicked off the start of their monthly fundraisers with a pancake breakfast and will be having more fundraisers in the future for their upcoming trip. Stay tuned for more details and updates in the Lantern.

We would also like to thank everyone who participated in our religious education survey. We did not get as many responses as we expected, but the responses that we did receive were all positive and suggestions will be taken into consideration. Feel free to leave any comments or suggestions regarding the Sunday school program in the RE Committee mailbox.

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Sunday School Lenten Project

Lent will be beginning soon. This year, the children will explore the meaning of Lent through discussion and hands on activities to help the children feel more connected with God instead of focusing on a fundraising activity. Listed below are some of the activities that the children will be participating in during Lent. .

What is Lent? Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, Feb 6, 2008 and lasts 40 days until just before Easter. It is a time of prayer, meditation, and reflecting on the meaning of Easter. "The heart of Lent is inner penitence and reconciliation with God", sorrow for sins, spiritual growth, commitment, perseverance. Common practices were fasting (giving up something), special commitments (reading, studying meditating, helping others), good deeds, prayer and reflection, Christian study (reading the Bible), Church activities. (From Channing Bete company materials).

February 3rd
Theme: Jesus cares for each or us. Story of the lost sheep.
Project: Send cards to classmates that haven't come in a couple weeks; invite a friend to come with you.

February 10th
Theme: Food and more. Generosity.Jesus feeds us. Feeding the 5,000.
Project: Bring in food for the food pantry.

February 17th
Theme: Kindness/welcome. Jesus blesses the children.
Project: Do a kind deed and come back next week and put on the bulletin board what you did. Invite someone to come to Sunday School.

February 24th
Theme: Jesus the Healer.
Project: Pray for sick and hurting people. Put their names on a prayer list. Optional: make cards for Prayer-List people and shut-ins.

March 2nd
Theme: Patience. Story of the mustard seed
Project: Help someone & pray for them. Read other parables in Matthew 13. Draw a picture of the parable to share.

March 9th
Theme: Self-discipline/prayer. Sermon on the Mount.
Project: Write down your worries, crumple up the paper and put it in a container to give them over to God. And/or offer prayers of thanks. Read the Bible story again at home.

March 16th
Theme: Palm Sunday. Celebrate & praise God. Read the story of Palm Sunday and Easter with your parents. Matthew 21 : 1-11, Matthew
27:32-66 (edit for younger or sensitive children); Matthew 28:1-10. Palm Sunday Procession.

Attention Teachers

On February 10, 2008, at 11: 15 am following church services, we will be having:a. teachers' meeting. It is recommended that all teachers make every effort to attend, Topics that will be discussed include curriculum, Lenten project, and Children's Sunday. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

God Bless,
R.E. Committee

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SR High Sunday School Class

The Senior High class is following the following guidelines for their curriculum this year:

• Understanding the reasons for mission, understanding why Christians do mission.
• Selecting the location and type of ministry our class will support and preparing to support it.
• Experiencing the mutual giving and receiving of gifts of talents and skills on a mission project.
• Experiencing crossing boundaries to meet new people immersed in different social/economic/cultural settings.
• Experiencing God's presence and action in new ways from participation on the trip.
• Participation in an "after trip" witness and action.
  

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An Invitation to Become a Church Member

Joining a church isn't a matter of paying dues to obtain benefits, as with most other organizations. For us membership is more like getting married - i.e., making a commitment to become part of something larger than yourself, in this case, the Body of Christ, with its invitation to discipleship.

What's required to join? An affirmation of faith or letter of transfer from another church and completion of a brief class for prospective members.

We'll soon be offering a New Member class (an hour or so on a Sunday afternoon) for those who might like to join the church or just have questions about us or our denomination, the United Church of Christ.

If interested, please contact Rev. Goss or one of the senior Deacons, Jenny Carmichael or Bruce Hildreth.

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PASSAGES: Baptisms, Weddings, and Memorial Services

Baptisms:

Jan 13 - On Jan. 13, the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus, we baptized Rebecca Murray Risher, daughter of Robert and Brenda Risher, Dyllon Pratt, son of Doug Pratt, and Tracey Milliken (baptized following the Service).

NOTE: All donations made in thanksgiving for baptisms are donated to the FCCB's Religious Education program.

Funerals:

Our deepest sympathy is extended to the family of Brittany Hogle, age 17, who died suddenly on January 16. Brittany was the daughter of Melinda Hogle and. stepdaughter of Eric Bernhauer of 12 Peace St. A service in celebration of her life was held at the church on January 21.

Our deepest sympathy is also extended to the family of Lillian I. Mclay, 91, who died January 18 at Willow Manor Nursing Home in Lowell. She was the mother of Rick McLay, a member of our Trustees. A Service was held at the church on January 23rd.

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So What's Your Excuse?

The Diaconate is trying to make it easier for everyone to wear a name tag And we want to eliminate as many of the excuses that for not wearing them as possible.

For example:

"I don't like putting a pin through my clothes."
Ask and your holder will be changed to one with a clip or one that hangs over your head.

"I lost mine."
Ask and you will receive a new one.

"The color clashes with my tie"
Let us know what color you want and we will make one of that color.

"I want one that expresses my individuality"
We have some other designs that you can choose from, or supply us with what you want as a background and we will make one with that background.

"I forgot and left it on my bureau"
You can fill out a temporary one, and we will make a second one. Eventually the pile of name tags on the bureau will get so high that you won't forget!

Remember: Wear your name tags for others as you would want them to wear one for you.

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LAY SHEPHERDING

Next Meeting Monday, February 18, 1 :00 P.M.

During these short winter days, Lay Shepherding is making a special effort to help serve others, which can be achieved by joining our group. If you like to visit and chat with some of our homebound members or write cards, make a friendly phone call, just come to our next meeting or speak with any of our present shepherds.

The present shepherds are Donna Bailey, Betty & Dennis Blanchette, Christa Brown, Alberta Hamilton, Pat Hefler, Mildred McCauley, or call me at 978-663-3239.

Audrey Schwartz

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AIM-HI

Prayer Journal Sent to Service Men and Women

A dozen individuals/families contributed to a Prayer Journal sent from this church to Iraq as part of the UCC's "100,000 for Peace" initiative. Rev. Goss added additional entries and information on the congregation. The journals were to be blessed at a worship service in Cleveland before being mailed to chaplains in Iraq.

There is no meeting in January.

Aim-Hi will have its Potluck "Christmas in February" lunch at our meeting February 21 (12 noon). Hope you saved your Yankee Swap gift. Aim-Hi is pleased to announce that the members of Circle of Friendship will join us as one group. New members are always welcome!

Aim Hi has been sending our love, prayers, and Thank You packages to several young people serving overseas. We encourage the congregation to use the addresses below and send a short note or greeting card to these young people while they are away from home. It means so much to them and their families.

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The current addresses of the service personnel overseas are:

If anyone in the congregation knows of other young people who are serving our country overseas and feels comfortable providing us with their address, please contact Aim Hi through June Orne at 603-883-6732, (june62123@aol.com. or call the church office at 978-663-8433.)

Donna Ricarte & June Orne

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Music Notes

Children's Choir

The children's choir enjoyed participating in the Pageant. We are preparing some new songs and will be participating in the worship servicing approximately once a month. We are looking for more children to join choir, boys and girls both. It's great fun, only a half hour each week, before church in the Chapel. Stop by anytime!

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Behavioral Covenant for First Congregational Church in Billerica

At our October Congregational Meeting I opened that meeting with the Behavioral Covenant developed from our Walking in the Way of Peace program. This covenant was created over a few meetings by the attendees of this church and reflects what they felt was important for our church, and is not just something handed down from Walking in the Way, the UCC, or other organizations. The tenants presented in this behavioral covenant were first used during the Sabbath Day House issue and served the church well.

Some people had not seen the covenant before our October meeting and they requested a copy. Please keep this and refer to it as you see the need.

Remembering our purpose as a Church and our biblical grounding, we covenant to be peace-makers by

Speaking...

• Speaking only for ourselves, using "I" language
• Keeping our voices as calm as possible, and controlling our emotions
• Encouraging everyone to speak and express their views and making space for all voices by setting time limits and hearing from all before speaking twice

The Truth...

• Acting with courtesy and honesty
• Speaking from facts and differentiating them from memories or opinions
• Recognizing that every opinion is important
• Sharing important information on all pertinent business of the Church
• Delaying decisions until information has been shared

In Love...

• Listening to each other with compassion and understanding
• Being respectful to one another
• Creating a non-judgmental atmosphere so that people feel free to ask questions
• Remaining open-minded even when we disagree with other's opinions and perspectives

As a community of faith...

• Striving to act within the covenant and encouraging others to do the same
• Working together to resolve things peacefully
• Affirming the value in other's thoughts, ideas and concerns rather than "discounting" by putting them down or ignoring them
• Considering our children in all matters of the church

Use these well and God Bless,
Ed Reinecker, Moderator

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Flowers for February

February 3 - Given by Hazel Williams and the Phippen family in loving memory of Parker D. Williams.

February 10 - Given by Ruth, Annette, Michael, and Dave Stanford and Edie Mozer; Marie, Brent, Janeen, Michele Davis; and Shirley, Tom, Anthony, Nicholas and Jessica Fulgoni in loving memory of Alberta Hodge.

February 17 - Given by Isabella Anstey in loving memory of her parents, Mary and Rae Sutherland.
On the piano, flowers are given in loving memory of Nana Cameron and Sue Gullage from Scot, Jackie, Gina and Katia Gullage.

February 24 - Given by Mr. and Mrs. Allard in loving memory of Bob's father, Almon Allard and his mother, Christine Allard, and Marilyn's father, William Mann. On the lectern, flowers are given in memory of Liza Jollimore on her second anniversary from her family.

If you would like to donate flowers any Sunday, please call Jeannette Rohnstock at 978-663-6804.

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THANK YOU'S

From Alison

Big Thank Yous to Edna McDewell, Barbara George, and Audrey Schwartz for their help in the delivery of the January issue of The Lantern!

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NEXT LANTERN DEADLINE: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17

This newsletter will include all happenings and events for March.

Newsletter/Bulletin note

When giving me material that does not need to be retyped/rewritten for “publication” but needs to be copied (440 times or 250 times), please be sure it is given to me with black type on white paper. (Colors as yellow, red, blue etc. on colored paper can not be duplicated as our machines do not have color capability)

Thanking you, Alison

Medical Tests at Church on Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Life Line Screening will be at the church on Tuesday, March 18, 2008, Pre-registration is required. Call 1-800-324-1851. For full description of services offered and pricing, click here to view flyer.