Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle? Who may abide upon your holy hill? Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right. - Psalm 15:1-2
A new Mormon temple recently opened up in my neck of the woods. Like many curious locals, I signed up for a tour.
It was a grand building, totally unlike the religious buildings I frequent. There were different rooms for different purposes: baptism, weddings, teaching, prayer and so on. Because the temple had not yet been dedicated, we were allowed to enter the celestial room, the holy of holies of Mormon temples. After the temple was dedicated, the entire structure was closed to everyone except Mormons in good standing.
That last part stuck in the craw of my liberal "I'm so inclusive" orthodoxy. Haven't all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God? How can one imperfect sinner have the authority to pronounce another imperfect sinner as "blameless" and fit to enter the holy place while keeping others out?
Then I remembered Psalm 15. If Mormons have the gumption to take this verse seriously by setting guidelines for righteous living, who am I to get my UCC feathers ruffled? Don't we have our own standards for righteousness (i.e. LGBTQ affirming, eco-advocating, justice-marching, feminist-supporting, bully-opposing) and view those who disagree as deficient?
In any event, there is something to be said for repentance, cleaning up your act and getting right with God before presuming to have an audience with the Almighty. That's why worship often starts with confession. That's why Jesus taught us to pray…
Prayer
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom and the power and the glory are Yours. Amen.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matthew Laney is the Senior Minister of Asylum Hill Congregational Church, UCC, in Hartford, Connecticut.
The Faith Community Prays and Praises
~ as you are able please hold in prayer ~
Courtney and Gary Pletzer as they grieve the loss of Gary's sister, Anna Pletzer. Prayers also their niece Caryn who's boyfriend died tragically on the same day as her mother.
Hilary Cole and her family as they grieve the loss of Hilary's mother, Carol Richards.
Lorraine Portalupi, Linda West's mother is at Woodridge.
Walter Cooley who is at Woodridge.
Lynn Reid Carpenter who is undergoing radiation treatments.
Lowell Sanders, Sherry Singer's father, who is living with cancer.
Dawn Borne who continues to live with cancer.
Chuck Cecchini who is living with cancer.
For all the homeless in Washington County.
Homeless Prayer
Dear God, An open door, a roof above, safe homes for all, in the power of love. Amen!
We give thanks: Bev Thomas, Nancy and Ed Fowler for serving the Tuesday breakfast and to Darlene Clark and Courtney Pletzer for preparing the Good Samaritan Haven Meal. We also give thanks for Jane Joslin and Jan Aldrich who prepared for our coffee hour.
THANK All OF YOU FOR BEING PART OF OUR MISSION AND OUTREACH MINISTRY!
Please let us know if you have prayer requests or celebrations
for this section of the E-Window.
A Message for Hollie Friot, the New Church School Director
Dear church family,
I’m writing this after being up all night with a sick child (she’ll be fine). But such is the life with children, as many of you know well. As you may have read in last week’s
E-Window, Nancy has taken a new job as the Assistant to the Pastor, and I will be the new Church School Director. I am excited to become one of the Barre Congregational Church staff and thrilled to begin working regularly with the children of our church. Over the last few years, I’ve been blessed to work with Nancy and other parents as we share the spirit with our children, and I’m looking forward to continuing that good work.
I have spent the last couple of weeks browsing the web for children’s faith formation and church school ideas. There are so many good ideas and programs and directions in which to go, and I’m looking forward to bringing some of these ideas to our church’s children and families. Families can will receive a separate email to from me soon, and there will be information in the church bulletins and upcoming E-Windows. See you Sunday!
Peace,
Hollie Friot
A morning Bible study will begin on
Thursday, February 2 at 10:30 am in the conference room.
All are welcome.
We are going to the Movies on Sunday
3:15 pm at the Paramount
A Dog's Purpose
followed by Pizza and discussion
RSVP to Nancy Fowler fowler5vt@gmail.com
RIDE MINISTRY
It has come to my attention that there are church members/friends who are normally independent but who may occasionally need a ride for a medical appointment. Even with family and friends in the area this can be difficult to manage. We would like to offer an alternative to GMT, a BCC volunteer.
We are looking for church members willing to be on a call list to provide a ride for another member. It is understood that a day or time may not work for an individual volunteer which is why we are trying to form a pool of names to draw upon when a request for a ride is placed.
If you would like to provide a ride for someone or if you are someone who will need a ride, please call the church office at 476-3065 or call Mary Ann Johnson at 461-5437.
Mary Ann Johnson, Parish Nurse
Kitchen Checklist
As we continue to do our part to be an eco-friendly green church, a new kitchen checklist has been hung up in the kitchen. If you are one of the volunteers in the kitchen, please take the time to read through the checklist.
Plastic Bottle Caps
Each bottle cap is different, just like you and me
And the caps need to break away and be free
The bottle goes into a regular recycling bin
and the caps at church go into a special tin
They will soon join other caps at the ARCC
And like the angels, we can shout a recycling Hark!
*The caps are made from a different kind of plastic which makes it difficult to properly recycle the bottles. The ARCC takes these caps.
Y
WOODCARVERS!
Meeting now on Mondays
1:00-3:00 pm.
Please call Don Heuerman
at 479-9563 for more information.
Jesse Rosado, our champion for Laundry Love, reported that Tuesday evening's Laundry Love included 23 loads of laundry for a half dozen or so families. It was a beautiful night at our laundry love event!
WARNING OF THE ANNUAL MEETING
The members of the Barre Congregational Church are hereby warned that the Annual Meeting of the Church will be held on Sunday, January 29, 2017 following the service of worship, to transact the following business:
1. To act upon the 2017 budget as proposed by the Finance Ministry;
2. To receive Ministry reports;
3. To transact any other business which may properly come before this meeting.
Dated this 1st day of January 2017.
Ernest Wheeler, Clerk
There will be a potluck lunch after the meeting. Look for the sign up sheet in the narthex this Sunday or talk to Marjorie or Ernie Wheeler.
Annual Meeting Potluck
We will be celebrating Annual Meeting Sunday this year with a pot luck coffee hour on Sunday. Please plan on joining and, if possible, bring a favorite appetizer, main dish, or dessert to share with one another. There will be a sign-up sheet in the narthex and we hope everyone will be able to sign-up so that we can have an idea of what treats will be available. For the sake of those in attendance with gluten-free or diabetic sensitive diets, it would be appreciated if you could also include an index card indicating the ingredients used in your dish.
I'm looking forward to the pot luck coffee hour being a regular feature throughout the church year!
If you have any questions contact Marjorie Wheeler 498-5266
Mary Ann Johnson and Nancy Fowler are going to Dinner at Hogwarts.
Let us know if you would like to join us.
You can also find Public, Educational, and Governmental (PEG) stations on a ROKU under free channels and view any PEG station across the country (including our local CVTV).
Your pledge dollars and contributions to the Barre Congregational Church, UCC make the ministries of our church possible.
Have you considered remembering the Barre Congregational Church, UCC in your will? You would leave a lasting legacy which would support the good works of our church.
The per capita contribution for each active member to the Vermont Conference and Washington Association of the United Church of Christ, for 2016 is $12.99. It is very much appreciated when members