10/31/10 Bulletin Announcements

In Communion we come together as the body of Christ. An offering plate will be available at the altar rail each month, beginning next week to offer benevolence through the Pastor’s Discretionary Fund to members of the body in need.
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We’re trying something new in Christian Education. We’re offering Young Disciples with in-depth Bible study, discussion and application at 9:00am led by Jill Strout for our older children who would like to also be present in worship. At 9:00 am Judy Massey will provide a wonderful one room Sunday School for children of all ages during worship that includes Bible stories and crafts and Feast, a communion and prayer experience.
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There are several Community Mission Projects for you to support this month. We will be collecting blankets, pillows, sleeping bags for the Mason’s Warm Hearts, Warm Hands drive in the blue bin outside our door. This month we will begin providing meals at the Overflow Shelter on the third Sunday of each month for about 40 people. If you can help prepare, serve or coordinate these meals, please contact Lucie Fortier. We also need overnight volunteers either 7p-1a or 1a-7a for the Overflow Shelter. Please volunteer by e-mailing overflow.bratt@yahoo.com.

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On Sunday, November 14th we will celebrate a Blessing of the Animals. You are welcome to bring your house-broken or caged pets to worship, or photographs of them to display. We will share a service of blessing for all of God’s creatures, commemorating St. Francis of Assisi.

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On Wednesday, November 24 at 6:00pm we will share a Thanksgiving Eve worship and sharing service. It will be held in a private home - please contact church at fumc@sover.net for details. It will be a great opportunity to step back from baking pies and preparing guest rooms to share testimonies of gratitude for all God is doing in our lives.

Reverse Trick-or-Treating 10/31/10

Worship this Sunday, October 31st will focus on the Gospel message from Luke 19:1-10, an important story of redemption, read by liturgist, Betty Stacy. Pastor Cheryl Meachen's sermon entitled “One Small Step for Zacchaeus, One Giant Lesson for Us” will explore the necessity of personal vulnerability and accountability in the Christian transformation of our lives. Bunny and Tim Fogg will accompany our hymns on flute and guitar, including “Take My Life, and Let it Be.” The church is taking back All Saints Eve a/k/a Halloween by dressing in family-friendly costumes for worship and bringing special treats to neighbors at Adair Heights and the community in reverse trick-or-treating. Contact fumc@sover.net or 802-254-4218 for more information. The church is located at 18 Town Crier Drive off Putney Road, across from the Shell Station and is handicap-accessible. Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors. All are welcome.

Bulletin insert for 10/24/10

Please come tomorrow night, Monday, October 25th at 6:00pm to hear from the Brattleboro Community Justice Center of Vermont about how we can help formerly incarcerated individuals reintegrate into society
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A Stewardship Orientation for all table hosts will be held this Friday, October 29th at 5pm. Please plan to attend, enjoy pizza and report how many affirmative responses you have received for our 11/12 dinner and then stay for movie night and popcorn!
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Next Sunday is Halloween, known in religious circles as All Saints’ Eve (All Hallows’ Eve). We encourage you to dress up for worship in friendly (PG) costumes to celebrate this day. Following worship, come with us to Adair Heights to do some “reverse trick-or-treating” together. We will give away candy that Bunny Fogg and Cynthia Clough are preparing with a welcoming scriptural message from our church.

A Brief History

In 1833 Cyrus Davis came to Brattleboro to superintend the printing department of a local publishing house. An ardent Methodist, Davis lost no time in organizing a Methodist Society, which held services in a schoolhouse on Canal Street. The first house of worship was erected in 1834-37 on Canal Street near the schoolhouse. By 1842, the Society experienced problems, which led them to abandon the building. The denomination eventually reestablished itself in the new and better quarters, which they erected on School Street. The new structure was built of brick and was located directly opposite the old Estey Homestead. The building was later disposed of, and the members of the Methodist Society met in the Town Hall until 1880, when they were able to build a church free of debt on Elliot Street. The congregation used this brick edifice until 1970, when a new, modern one-floor facility was constructed on a three-acre site on Putney Road. The famous first Estey organ, Opus 1, Model A, built in 1902, and the church bell were moved to the Putney Road location. An education wing was added in 1974-75 completing the present church home. The altar, pulpit and baptismal font are made of solid Vermont white marble. During the 1980s the church was very active in Troy Conference and hosted the first Emmaus walk in this area; through this church’s ministry, a grant from Troy Conference was integral in starting and continuing to support the Brattleboro Area Drop In Center that feeds and shelters the homeless; this church was also integral in starting the Brattleboro Pastoral Counseling Center and continues to provide at least one board member of that agency.

Weekly News for October 3, 2010

Worship this Sunday, October 3rd is a celebration of World Communion Day. Pastor Cheryl Meachen's sermon entitled “Faith of Our Grandmothers” will explore 2 Timothy 1:1-14 and whether we are willing to hand the reins of the church to the reign of God through the next generation, no matter what form it may take. Rev. Tom Shanklin who was pastor here in the 1980s will join us to provide music on our Estey organ and perform a duet with Tari MacDonald. Our opening hymn will be “I Come With Joy!”

On Friday, October 8th at 6:00pm the church will provide Sabbath Space, a wonderful opportunity to step out of the rigors and rituals of daily life and work and into a period of spirituality and Sabbath renewal. There are opportunities for prayer, candlelighting, reflective paint chip poetry, sacred drumming, Sign Chi Do, contemplative coloring of mandalas and a labyrinth walk.

God has affirmed, “my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” ~ Isaiah 55:11 Come explore Sunday’s scripture and sermon and take the next step putting what you heard and felt on Sunday morning into action. Join Pastor Cheryl for Monday Morning Quarterback discussions at 10:30am.

UMW will hold a regular monthly meeting next Tuesday, October 5th at the parsonage at 6:30pm. The UMW Rummage Sale is scheduled for Saturday, October 16th and the UMW Christmas Bazaar will be held on Saturday, November 20th. The United Methodist Men will meet this Saturday, October 9th at 9am at the church. All are welcome.

The WOW team (Worship, Outreach, Witness) will hold its next meeting next Monday, October 4th at 5:15 pm. Join us! This team plans altar and sanctuary design, decorations for the fellowship hall and outer entry, worshipful skits and music for services, fellowship events and mission projects. Additionally, the team has suggested a proposal to the Trustees and Church Council that we redecorate the room that currently stores choir items as a formal parlor for more intimate church functions. If you currently store items in that room or would like to participate in redecorating it, please plan to attend this meeting to share your input.

Save the date for our annual Drive Through Nativity - Sunday, December 12th. We’ve decided to hold this event annually on the second Sunday of each December so that we can plan early. Signup sheets will be out soon for parts, animals, food and other details.

Week of October 3rd – October 9th
SUN 10:00a Worship with Communion and Sunday School
MON 9:30a Exercise / Strength Training
10:30a Monday Morning Quarterback
5:15p WOW meeting
TUE 6:30p UMW at Parsonage
WED 9:30a Exercise / Strength Training
THU 9:30a Prayer Circle
5:00p Choir
FRI 6:00p Sabbath Space
SAT 9:00a Men’s Group
5:00p Empty Bowls

UPCOMING CHURCH EVENTS
UMW Rummage Sale Saturday, October 16th
Faith and Money Seminar Saturday, October 23rd
Brattleboro Community Justice Talk Monday, October 25th
Stewardship Dinner Friday, November 12th
UMW Christmas Bazaar Saturday, November 20th
Drive Through Nativity Sunday, December 12th
Lifeline Health Screening Tuesday, December 14th

For more information please contact the church at fumc@sover.net or 802-254-4218. The church is located at 18 Town Crier Drive off Putney Road in Brattleboro VT, across from the Shell Station and is handicap-accessible. Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors. All are welcome.