“A community of faith providing nurture, strength, & direction for living today in God’s world.”

 

                        

! IT’S HERE !

THE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN

for our facilities improvement is beginning!

 

          As UCF celebrates the 75th Anniversary of the union of two congregations, and nearly 200 years of serving Central New York with Christ’s compassion, we have also seen visions of the extension of that witness for many years into the future.  Our vibrant worship, effective education and vital mission work need a place to happen and a base from which to reach into the community and world. UCF has been a good steward of this historic building; we are now undertaking the next phase of the growth of our ministry facility. 

          The campaign theme, “Building on Our Past, Preparing for Our Future” embraces both our hopes for the capital campaign and for the strengthening of our whole ministry in the years ahead. Our goal in the next few months is to share the vision of what God is calling us to do as a community of faith and how each one of us can be a part of the whole.  In other words, our goal for this campaign is 100% participation – every member of our church sharing in this good work!

          The total dollars required to address our facility needs are estimated to be $550,000.  In the weeks ahead, you’ll be hearing about the specifics of the financial need, and how meeting that need can empower and energize our ministry now, to the generations which will come after us and to those in our community who look to us with hope.

          Each member and friend will be invited to have a role in this campaign.  May we all be open to what God is attempting to do through UCF and more specifically, to discerning what we, as individuals, are called to offer through its ministry. I am excited about our future and the opportunities God is giving us to grow our ministries and therefore extend our reach.  Please feel free to call me or any member of the leadership team with questions.     

 

 

in faith,

 

 

Rev. Dr. Linda D. Even

 

 

           

 

Worship for April 2008

Sunday Worship at 10:25 AM, Child Care provided

Before worship coffee fellowship with Adult Ed groups at 9 AM

Fellowship Time each week after worship in Fellowship Hall

 

Easter is fifty days long, and there are eight Sundays including the Day of Pentecost!  

 

April 6            Third Sunday of Easter                           

10:25 AM       Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

                        Rev. Dr. Linda D. Even, preaching

 

April 13          Fourth Sunday of Easter                  

10:25 AM       75th Anniversary Hymn Sing

                        Rev. Dr. Walter Ketcham, preaching

 

April 20          Fifth Sunday of Easter                         

10:25 AM       Rev. Dr. Linda D. Even, preaching

 

April 27          Sixth Sunday of Easter                          

10:25 AM       Rev. Dr. Linda D. Even, preaching

 

 

Welcome our Guest Preacher – Rev. Dr. Walter Ketcham

Rev. Dr. Walt Ketcham served as an Interim Pastor at the United Church during a six month period of time in 1998 when Rev. Phil Courtney was on sabbatical in Guatemala.  Prior to that Walt was the Executive Minister for the American Baptist Churches of New York State.  Walt and his wife Betty live in Tully and enjoy trips to Florida in the winter months.

 

 

Sermons:  Copies of each Sunday’s sermon are available in the sermon rack located by the pulpit entrance to the sanctuary.

 

Child Care:  Continuous child care is provided each week for infants and toddlers from 9:00 AM to noon in the Crib Room (downstairs, near the side parking lot entrance).  Our trained Child Care giver is assisted each week by another adult or youth.

 

Fellowship Time:  Follows worship each Sunday at 11:40 AM and 10:40 AM in the summer.
The congregation gathers in Fellowship Hall after worship each Sunday for a time of fellowship and refreshments. 

 

Pastoral Care:  In a pastoral emergency, please call the church office 315-637-3186.  If it is outside office hours, please be sure to leave a message on Dr. Even's voice mail (ext.104), but do call her at home as well at 315-445-3002

 

Elders of the Month for April: David DeHority and DJ DeHority

 

Purpose of Elders of the Month: For members with a crisis, emergency situation, a particular concern or need for care, the elders of the month are available to assist the pastor, when the pastor is unavailable, or when the church office is closed. 

 

 

 

 

Worship, Music and Spiritual Life

An Easter Thank you: 

to ushers, greeters, liturgists, choirs, visual artists, and many more for sharing your gifts and your dedication which enriched the Holy Week services. What a joyful Palm Sunday Procession, Thursday’s Youth Handbells and singers, and the dramatic monologues on Maundy Thursday, a saxophone solo with the choir on Good Friday, and the inspiring Taize prayers around the cross.  Easter was a glorious celebration, beautiful visual floral arrangements by Julie Gridley and her team, Joyful Sign, Senior Choir, Adult & Youth Handbells, Hallelujah Chorus and brass and timpani.  Thank you to our instrumentalists for playing during Holy Week and on Easter, especially UCFers Marilee Blumenthal, Katie DeHority, Jim Spencer, Sarah Spencer.  All of these musical, visual and dramatic ministries supported our worship and praise during this Holy season. 

 

Thanks to the Fellowship Committee and all those volunteering for Fellowship Time after worship; we appreciate your hospitality and care with special treats throughout the Lenten season.

 

Thank you to Jackie Meyer, the Worship & Spiritual Life Committee, and the Church Board committees for the Lenten Soup & Sharing suppers. The Wednesday gatherings provided a time of fellowship before the evening reflection groups. 

 

75th Anniversary Weekend – March 29 – 30, A cast of youth and historical visitors, with musicians presented the Saturday play “Claiming our heritage” 

Youth History Team             Drew Craft, Toni Hines, Gillian Knafelc, Emily Olmsted, Susie Spencer, Lyn Watts

Gershom Breed                    Greg Ketcham

Susannah Ward                   Sarah Ketcham

Hattie Palmer                        Laura Boland

Civil War soldier                   Jim Spencer

Thomas Chapman               Paul Arras

Matilda Joslyn Gage            Connie Caldwell

Mary E. Hoyt                         Maurine McTyre Watts

Grover Cleveland                 Mike Olmsted

F. E. Dawley                          Dave Bender

Rev. Evor Roberts                Tom Parmenter

Member Interviews               Lorraine Schmidt, Denny Baldwin, Kevin Sweder

                                                Gail Sandle, Gloria Manuel

United Church Senior Choir

Soloists                                  Mwelwa Bwalya, Linda Raymond

Whistler, Guitar                     Norm Hatt, Paul Caldwell

Guitar                                     John Price

 

“Claiming Our Heritage” was created and written by Sue Boland,

Alice Dickerson Hatt, Tom Parmenter, Judy Spencer,

with thanks to Nancy Schiffhauer, UCF archivist, Sue Boland, historian

 

 

 

Sunday, April 13 – 75th ANNIVERSARY HYMN SING in worship 

Think about your favorite hymns that celebrate our heritage at United Church.  You may leave me a note in the church office, or come ready with page numbers!   The singing starts at 10:20 AM on April 13th to begin worship!  We welcome guest preacher, Rev. Dr. Walt Ketcham to our pulpit.

 

The Great Fifty Days Banner

Retell the stories of Jesus= appearances to the disciples after the resurrection --If you are sitting with a child take the opportunity to point out the weekly symbols.  “The Great 50 Days Banner” is a visual celebration of the key events from Easter to Pentecost.  Beginning on Easter, it continues for eight successive Sundays up to and including Pentecost. Its mission is to tie Easter, the Ascension and Pentecost together. It celebrates the key events which occurred during the forty days Jesus was on earth in his resurrected body. 

 

The Great Fifty Days Banner symbols:

 

Empty cross & empty tomb - Easter

...an angel spoke to the women: why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!

Broken bread - Road to Emmaus ...when they sat down to eat, the stranger took the bread and blessed it.  Then, as he broke the bread to give it them, they recognized that it was Jesus, himself...

Nail-print hands - Thomas ...Jesus turned to Thomas and urged him to put his finger into the nail prints, Thomas fell to his knees and exclaimed, ‘My Lord and my God.’

Net of fish – disciples’ breakfast by the lake

....the stranger told the disciples to throw their net over the right side of the boat,...to their amazement, the net was so full of fish that it nearly broke...the stranger called them to come for breakfast; as he served them the bread and fish, they knew he was the risen Christ.

Sheep - Peter, feed my sheep!

...after the breakfast of fish and bread, Jesus talked with Peter, he asked Peter if he loved him more than anything.  Peter assured Jesus that he

loved him.  Then Jesus asked Peter to feed his sheep.

People around the world - Commissioning

Jesus commissioned the disciples to go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all the things he had commanded them...

Praying figure - Ascension

After Jesus’ ascension into heaven, the disciples continually went to the temple to pray and worship; as they waited for the Holy Spirit they began to share what the risen Christ had taught them.

Tongues of fire - Holy Spirit, foundation of the Church - On the day of Pentecost, the disciples were waiting together, when a sound from heaven as of a rushing wind was heard; tongues as of fire rested on each of them, they began to speak in different languages as the Spirit gave them power.  Many believed and were baptized.

 

~ Alice Dickerson Hatt, Minister of Music & Worship

 

 

 

                    Adult Education – April 2008

 

Forums, Bible Study, and Parents Place on Sunday mornings

 

I.  Adult Forums  [Meet in Beard Lounge]

Forums are presentations and discussions which focus on timely topics of Christian social concern, personal and spiritual development, Bible study, exploration of our Christian heritage, and study of world religions.  Through Forums we seek to provide a place for understanding special topics or current issues of our Christian presence in the community and world.

April 6:  Airen Hall, graduate student in the SU Department of Religion, will discuss Mormon faith.

 

April 13:  Prof. Robert McClure from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University to discuss the characteristics of successful leaders in a democracy.

 

April 20:  UCF members Jim & Maurine McTyre-Watts on the Fair Trade Movement and their recent trip to East Africa to develop contacts with possible suppliers.

 

April 27:  UCF member Jason Larson on “Understanding Evangelicalism,” First of two parts.   Jason is a member of the United Church and a doctoral student in the Syracuse University Department of Religion.

 

II. Bible Study in Women’s Lounge  [Meets in Women’s Lounge]

Led this month by Jason Larson (church member and PhD student in the SU Dept. of Religion), this relatively small group engages in in-depth study and discussion of a book of the Bible or biblical theme using a study guide.  The group is currently studying the Gospel of Matthew, using the study guide “Matthew” by Tom Wright.  Newcomers are always welcome.

 

III.  A Parents’ Place  [Meets on the basement level in Room 5]

9:15 AM.  A Parents Place provides an opportunity for informal, unstructured conversation about the joys and challenges of raising children.  Coffee and tea are available.

 

IV. Saving Jesus This DVD-based discussion group will continue for one more session on Sunday evening, April 6 at 7:00 p.m. in Beard Lounge.  We will complete the final two sections of this series, which deal with the resurrection of Jesus and the overall theme of the series -- why is it necessary to “save” Jesus? The Saving Jesus series is described as follows: ”Saving Jesus is a DVD-based small group exploration of Jesus Christ for the third millennium.  The basic format for each weekly 1 to 1½ hour session includes a 20-minute video segment and guided discussion. Join Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, Matthew Fox, Amy-Jill Levine, James Forbes and many others for a conversation around the relevance of Jesus Christ for today.

                                                

 

Submitted by Norman Hatt, Chair

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Junior & Senior High Youth

 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

4/6, 5-7:30 PM: Jr./Sr. High Sunday Night Event

4/6, Deadline for Reach paperwork + $100 payment

4/7, 7 PM: Youth Committee Meeting

4/20, Meeting for Seekers & Parents following Worship

   4/27, 5:30 PM: VARIETY SHOW & Youth Fundraiser

 

Jr./Sr. High Sunday Night Event:  Junior and Senior High Youth are invited to the church for a night of food and fellowship at the church. Part of the time will involve a fun group activity and the rest we will be deciding on a theme for the youth service which will be on Sunday morning May 18th. Further service planning meetings will be scheduled at this time for youth interested in participating.

 

Reach Mission Trip Deadline:  Your initial Reach Work Camp paperwork (including camper information and release forms) is due by Sunday, April 6th. Please submit to Tom Parmenter, Janet Press, or Tracey Kuhns along with your $100 installment.

 

Youth Committee Meeting:  Our next committee meeting will be held on Monday, April 7th at

7 PM in the Youth Room at the Church. Committee members, please let Tracey, Janet, or I know if you cannot attend. Youth, parents, or anyone other interested parties are always welcome to attend! J

 

Seeker Meeting:  A meeting will be held following worship in the youth room for the current Seeker class and their parents to discuss the structure of the program, as well as people’s hopes for and concerns about the program. We intend to introduce a structured model with some changes from previous classes that will officially be kicked off in the fall. Please attend so that we can work together in facilitating this important phase of faith development for our youth.

 

VARIETY SHOW & Youth Fundraiser:  The date of the Variety Show has been changed to Sunday, April 27th at 5:30 PM (and is no longer being planned for April 6th.) We need volunteers to sign up to share your talents and interests with the rest of the congregation on this day. Look for a sign-up poster outside of the sanctuary in you are interested in performing. In addition to the acts, there will be several gift baskets that will be raffled off that may be off interest to you. Proceeds from these baskets, as well as from the admission fee, will go toward supporting the Reach Summer Youth Mission Trip for a work camp in Oceana, West Virginia in July. Please come and show your support. A good time will be had by all.

 

Sunday Morning Youth Forum:  In March, we will spend some time discussing spiritual experiences common to Christianity, particularly in comparison to doing good works. In April, we’ll talk further about our experience of and relationship to the Source of Being. 

 

 

PAST EVENTS

 

Lenten Supper Youth Program on Whiteness and Racism: The first two Wednesday’s in March the youth (7th-12th grades) completed our exploration of the on-going effects of Racism and Whiteness. We had an average of five youth in attendance each week. Thanks to those who took time to participate in this and spend time considering this important subject.

 

 

            Tom Parmenter, Director of Youth Ministries

                             

 What’s Up from Down Under

 

Sharing and Caring by the Young People

Of United Church

 

Mark these upcoming events on your calendars!

 

           Sunday April 27            5:30 p.m.  Variety Show

            Fri./Sat. May 2/3           Biblemania Overnight!!!

 

 

THE TRUTH ABOUT CHERUBS . . . For those of you who enjoyed the remarkable singing by the Cherub Choir on Palm Sunday, here’s the little story behind it.  Brenda Hines, their Sunday School teacher, asked them to sing their song for her during class and put them through their paces, encouraging them to give their best. Then she playfully gave them one final direction - when they were singing upstairs and saw her touch her ear, they were to really sing out.  Well, Brenda touched her ear and the children touched and delighted our hearts with a high energy performance that we will never forget !  Amen !!