Announcements May 21, 2023
Flowers on the altar are given by Chris Sargent "In loving memory of Ginny Sargent" _______________________________________________________________________ Flowers on the altar are given “In memory of Gail Ciesluk, whose gentle spirit, generosity and humbleness lives on through her husband, her children, grandchildren, daughters and sons-in-laws.” – The Ciesluk, Kelley and Breen Families.
Thank you, Church School Classes!
Thank you to the children and youth that led worship this morning, what a blessing you are to our church and community! Today is the last day of Sunday School till Fall.
Thank you, Church School Teachers!
We are so blessed by your dedication and caring hearts by teaching the children and youth of our church family this year!
Pre/K Class – Kindergarten Class – Suzanne Hevelone & Susan Hunt
1st – 2nd Grade Class – Dottie Newcomb & Wendy Xu
3rd – 5th Grade Class – Gail Casiello & Jim Ortolf
6th – 8th Grade Class – David Jones & Dan Ward
High School Class – David Driscoll, Lee Pender & Peter Smyton
Aldersgate Scholarship Established at Middlesex Community College
The Mighty Men’s group of Aldersgate has established a scholarship in the church’s name at Middlesex Community College. The funds had been raised via a series of golf tournaments several years ago and had grown through investments to $8000. The scholarship of $1000/year will be given to a deserving BIPOC – black, indigenous, or person of color – student each fall until the funds expire. The check will be presented to Middlesex Community College representations at today’s 10:45 service. Thank you to the Mighty Men for this generous outreach to our community!
Garden News – Plant Sale Today
Veggies, flowers, herbs, and trees
Grow from water, earth and sun
Bounty grows spirit and plants,
Support and share, May 21.
Support the church garden and bring home plants for your own plot, between and after services, May 21.
Special Guest on May 28
As we celebrate Pentecost Sunday on May 28, we will be joined by a special guest preacher, Pastor Erin Newcomb-Moore. Her sermon title is “Showing Up.”
High School Recognition Sunday – June 4th
Congratulations to the following youth who will be graduating from High School:
Jack Dorsey, Declan Hughes, Justin Randall, Shaylee Wright
We will recognize our graduates during the 10:45 a.m. Worship Service.
There will be a brunch for all from 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. as we celebrate this milestone in their life!
Early Bird Bible Study
How do you describe the indescribable? We quickly found that our limited vocabularies did not allow us to adequately describe God, our Creator. However, we press on. Early Bird continues the Series on ‘The Character and Attributes of God.’ This week we will explore just a few of the attributes of God – His Holiness, Righteousness and Justice, Sovereignty, Eternality and Immutability. Read again 1 Chronicles 29:11, Psalm 89:7-8 and Proverbs 9:10. Early Bird meets via Zoom. Hope to see you there.
Last Sunday Adult Class for the Summer
Join the Adult Class, held in the Concord Room at 9:45 today, to discuss these questions and discover more about ourselves, God’s role in our lives and those we are in community with. All are WELCOME! Books are available in the lobby for a donation.
We look forward to seeing you in class when we reconvene in September!
Thursday Morning Class
Thursday Morning Class at 10 am will continue the study of “Acts: Catching Up with the Spirit” by Prof. Matthew L. Skinner. Come to the Concord Room at 10:00 am for discussion and discovery. We saved a seat just for you! Class ends on June 1st. “The Acts of the Apostles is a unique and crucial book that chronicles the story of God’s grace flooding out to the world through the lives of the apostles in the decades immediately following Christ’s ascension into heaven.”
Celebration Potluck Lunch 6/11
On Sunday, June 11, we will honor Maylis by presenting her with a stole as a gift from the church. After the second service, we plan on holding a potluck luncheon for Maylis, complete with a cake (we always have to have cake). We invite the congregation to the potluck and ask everyone to bring a dish to share. If you have questions, please contact Betsy Campbell, Robin Dye, Betsey Driscoll, or Roger Whitehead.
Reserve June 9, 2023, for Rev Maylis’ Ordination Ceremony
Reserve the evening of June 9, 2023. Rev Maylis will be ordained a Deacon in the United Methodist Church at a ceremony conducted by Bishop Peggy Johnson during Annual Conference at the DoubleTree Hotel in Manchester NH. We need to be represented at that ceremony in support of Rev Maylis.
We can set up carpools for those wishing to attend that session that is usually at 7 PM on Friday evening. We should plan on being at the Double Tree a bit early as Maylis says it can get a bit crazy during that time.
For those who cannot be in Manchester that evening, there will also be a streaming of the service available on YouTube at the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/@newenglandconferenceumc2273/streams
or search YouTube for @newenglandconferenceumc2273.
At a subsequent worship service at Aldersgate, we will be presenting Rev Maylis with a Jordan River stole in honor and recognition of this important milestone in Rev Maylis’ journey with Christ. If you want to make a small donation for the purchase of that stole, make your checks payable to Aldersgate UMC but mark it with “Stole” in the notes section of your check. We don’t need that much, only a couple hundred dollars, so anything left over will be donated to the United Methodist Youth 2023 trip they will be taking.
BUILD Team Developing Ways to Reach Out to Community
The Church Council has commissioned a small team of congregants to develop ways to increase our outreach to the community. The team’s name – Bolster and Unite for Inspiring Inclusive Loving Disciples (BUILD) – represents the objective to increase Aldersgate’s ability to help meet the needs to the community and, potentially, increase involvement in all aspects of church life: worship, education, and fellowship. The team has been discerning how to apply our strengths to demonstrate “radical hospitality” to visitors and offer opportunities to better meet the needs of our local community. Look for information this summer about initiatives the team recommends. If you have questions, please ask one of the team’s members: Pastor Bob, Cheryl Cruickshank, Betsey Driscoll, Katie Fisher, Clewis Howe, Christine Kelley, Cate Lehan, Michelle Mescall, Rick Newcomb, Jim Ortolf, Lee Pender, Peter Smyton, Jen van Buren, Dan Ward, and Nicole Wetherell.
Thank you from Finance
The Audit of Aldersgate’s 2022 financial records was completed on Monday, May 1, 2023 by the Audit team of Betsy Campbell (Chair), Clewis Howe and Keith Cruickshank, all members of the Finance Committee. The team was assisted by Wendy Baker (Finance Chair) and Elaine Brown (Treasurer). We are pleased to report that just one discrepancy was identified, a tally entry from the Sunday worship collection. It was confirmed by the Financial Secretary that the error was corrected at the time of her review, so no changes needed to be made as a result of this finding. There were no recommendations made for any changes in practices!
On behalf of the entire congregation, the Finance Committee would like to extend our sincerest thanks and gratitude to the Auditors, our Treasurer, Elaine Brown, our Financial Secretary, Kelly Mongiovi, for accurate, fiscal stewardship and consistent diligence. We also thank Robert Peterson and his team of counters for their focus and precision each week in recording and depositing the congregation’s gifts. We are so blessed to have this entire team faithfully serving and shepherding the financial protocols of our church family.
New Directory
A lot has changed since our last church directory was published four years ago in 2019: some congregants have left us, new friends are now part of our church family, and there has even been some turnover among the staff! The Church Council is looking to create a new directory to reflect our current church family and staff and is looking for someone to lead the effort. There is material from past directory efforts and a crew of volunteers identified to help. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Peter Smyton at thesmytonfamily@comcast.net or 978-256-1795.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL! FOR CHILDREN AGES 4 - 12 AUGUST 14th – 18th from 9 - noon
Our theme for VBS this summer is “Under Construction”. We will learn about Habitat for Humanity and the way God helps us to Share, Care, Learn, Worship, and Celebrate!
Registration forms are on the welcome desk and the welcome table in the Church School area.
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