Vacation Bible School 2010 – Galactic Blast!

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Hey Kids (and parents), mark your calendars and prepare to blast off for a cosmic adventure praising God!  Cadets will voyage into outer space through daily missions and will learn how to see our planet Earth with new perspectives.  They will also learn tips to practice at home to keep our earth “green”.

Vacation Bible School will take place Monday through Friday during the week of July 12th – 16th, from 5:45 pm to 8:15 pm.  Registration forms are available at the church office, or on the Bessie Table.  For more information or to register your child, please call the church at 860-379-2157.

Mother’s Market

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On Saturday, May 15th, from 9 AM to 3 PM we will be hosting our first Mother’s Market.  This event is similar to a Vendor Fair but items for sale will be gently used baby and children’s clothes, maternity clothes, baby or children’s furniture, toys, or anything else that could be recycled and useful to someone else.  Table space will be purchased as follows:  6 foot tables for $10, 8 foot tables at $15, and outside, larger spaces for $20.  Those choosing to set up outside must provide their own table and shelter.  There will be a bake sale table and luncheon will be available.  Here’s a great opportunity to clean out some of those still-in-good-condition items that someone else could use.  For more information or to reserve your table space, call the church office at 860-379-2157.

Easter Sunrise Service

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Pastor Carl and Rev. Margret Hofmeister share the worship service.

The Easter Sunrise Service, held on Beech Rock, was conducted by Pastor Carl Franson and Rev. Margret Hofmeister.  Rev. Margaret is the pastor at the North Congregational Church in New Hartford.  The service was well attended, with almost 70 people balanced on the top of the rock.  A community breakfast was hosted by the Barkhamsted Congregational Church following the early morning service.

Annual Mother’s Day Tea

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All ladies, moms and daughters, grandmothers, aunts, cousins, and more, are invited to attend the annual Mother’s Day Tea, hosted by the UMW, on Saturday, May 1st from 2PM to 4PM.  Our cupcake-inspired event will include music, fun and games, refreshments, and, of course, tea.  Our roaming photographer will be on hand to take not only posed photos, but casual shots as well, and everyone will be able to take home a photo memory.  If you’ve not joined us in the past, please think about coming this year as it promises to be a fun-filled day.

Letter from Pastor Carl

~ Susan ~ Leave a comment

I always look forward to Christmas Eve and the days following, because that’s when Christmas really begins, for me. As fast as the commercial Christmas season begins, sometime after Halloween, it ends abruptly following Christmas day. The retail stores start preparing for the next season; the radio and TV stations back off on Christmas like it’s all over, a distant memory. Everyone has had it with parties and sweets and social obligations. That’s why my birthday always seemed so anticlimactic (December 27). “It’s time to get back to reality, whatever we make of that, and put this long, dragged out, season behind us.”

This begins the holy-days, for me. I love this inbetween time during the twelve days. Nothing is going on, no special worship services, or social obligations, and if you don’t pay much attention to the New Year, this can be a quiet time of reflection and rest. I’ll listen to WJNJ while driving along, in the car (88.9 or close to that: the radio station of the Roman Catholic Diocese) They play some wonderful, classic and other Christmas hymns and songs that help all listeners to dwell on the meaning of this season.

For people of the Christian faith, the commercialization of Christmas obscures the meaning of our tradition. Simply put, the birth of Jesus is remembered and embraced as God coming into our realm, our earth, to bring the good news of God’s intention to be reconciled with all the peoples, all the cultures and traditions, including all of creation. In Jesus the Christ, God dwelt among the people of Israel, not with overwhelming or impressive force but with overwhelming and extravagant love. What the world judges as weakness and foolishness is just how God will, in God’s good time, bring all things to completion for:

“God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus who became for us the wisdom from God…(1 Corinthians 1:27-30).

Looking ahead, I encourage everyone to set aside January 23, at 6:00 p.m. for an evening of food (pot-luck) fellowship and discovery. The discovery part is called the “Three Colors of Ministry.” This is really an opportunity to discover your own spiritual type that has been given to you from birth. The three colors refer to the Father (green), the Son (red), and the Holy Spirit (blue). Everyone is usually drawn to one color or something in-between: this, you will discover by taking a very brief survey.

The colors are associated with certain biblical characters, e.g., Peter, Paul, Moses, Jonah (that was mine), Mary or Martha. All of them and us have spiritual leanings that will resemble one of or a combination of characters.

Your eyes will be opened, not only to your character but to others as they gather around tables to compare notes on why they have landed where they are. This exercise can be hilarious, at times, but, more importantly, it provides the possibility of receiving a deeply meaningful insight for you in your relationship with the Three-In-One God. This exercise will lead you to recognize that everyone in the Christian faith may be somewhat like you or not at all like you, but somehow, by God’s grace, we all belong together. We belong to the family of God.

In a way, this is a game, games are fun when you play; they are a little fun when you watch. By playing this game with your brothers and sisters, you may grow personally and relationally with others and with God. This evening of discovery and fun will help us prepare to discover our spiritual gifts (EVERYONE HAS ONE OR MORE) that we will be able to apply, with joy, to the ministry of Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church. The Spiritual Gifts discovery will take place at a later date to be announced. In the meanwhile, be at peace with yourself, with your family members, with your neighbors and with God.

Pastor Carl Franson