NOVEMBER NEWS AT FIRST METHODIST OF BRATTLEBORO VT

November News

Come to our annual Church Conference ~ Sunday, November 14^th at 5pm!

Our District Superintendent, Rev. Jill Colley-Robinson, will preside at this meeting.  We will elect officers, approve a budget, new church policies, adjustments to our membership list, and a year lease with the First Baptist Church, as well as a Mission/Evangelism Plan.  Your voice is important!  Come and share in this work as we chart a way forward to grow in love and service for the glory of Christ Jesus.

UMW/FBC Christmas Bazaar ~ Saturday November 20^th

            The UMW along with folks from the FBC will be holding the annual Christmas Bazaar on Saturday, November 20^th.  Anyone with crafts or baked goods to share, or anyone who can help with logistics should contact Leslie Kramsky.  She will need set up help on Friday the 19^th and lots of help on Saturday.    AND everyone is invited to come and do some Christmas shopping to support the mission of the UMW and the FBC ladies.

GREENING PARTY AND POTLUCK ~ Sunday November 21^st 3-5pm

            FUMC and First Baptist folk will gather to decorate the sanctuary for Advent and then share a potluck supper.  Come and have fun with friends and family.  Break bread together in love.  Leslie Kramsky working with FBC leadership will guide our hands in this traditional work.  There will be brief liturgy of celebration too.  Bring your friends!

THANKSGIVING

            Thanks to the Trinity Lutheran Church, we have had little booklets in which to record thing for which we are thankful during the time leading up to Thanksgiving Day.  There is a little flyer for us to use from Thanksgiving to the year end.  Pick it up at church and continue your thankfulness.

ADVENT BEGINS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 28^th !

            This year, FUMC will share Advent worship with our sisters and brothers in FBC at 11am each week.  Our common voice will lift spirits as we move toward Christmas after so many long months of COVID losses and isolation.  Pastor Suzanne Andrews will preach on the 1^st and 3^rd Sundays, while Pastor Ralph Howe will preach on the 2^nd and 4^th Sundays.  We will light the candles of the Advent Wreath, enjoy carols and other traditional ways of preparing for Christmas. 

For Christmas Eve, we will gather at 5pm for a service of readings and carols.  It will be a great time to invite friends and neighbors to share in your faith community!

OTHER NEWS

            The parsonage furnace was original and has finally given up the ghost.  The Trustees have arranged to install a new one.  Several members have made contributions toward its cost and the trustees would welcome other gifts to this end as well.

            A large air conditioner has been donated for installation in the sanctuary so we can look forward to cooler worship next summer.

            Check out the new sign outside our building!  Thanks to Ron Francis and Nathan Underhill for the installation.

            The Pastor has been investigating solar panel installations for the church and beyond.  Anyone with interest in this project, please contact Pastor Ralph.

            Video Camera use in our services will start soon.  Since we do not have strong internet service, we may start by posting the video on our website Sunday afternoons, rather than live-streaming.  More information to come.

            Stewardship season is here.  We have mailed out estimate of giving cards and have received a lot back.  If you need a replacement, you can pick that up at church.  Together we are able to support the ministry of Christ Jesus for the coming year.  Thanks be to God!

            Joint Leadership Conversations with FBC will start in January.   Anyone interested in exploring ways our two congregations can work together for the glory of God and the growth of our churches is invited to participate.

PASTOR’S MESSAGE:

Dear Friends,

            Ingrid and I wish you the very best Thanksgiving this year.  We pray that you will find that inner place where you are able to give deep thanks for the bounty of God’s love that comes to all, even in difficult times.

            We have been blessed by your love and grace during the first months with you.  Thank you all for your kindness and welcoming spirit.

            As we approach Advent, let us remember that God’s love for us is not based on our performance or even our own good nature, but in God’s abiding character of love.  As the days grow shorter, (Daylight Savings Time Ends Nov 7^th) let us rally around the flame of God’s love for the world in the coming of the Messiah, Jesus to us.  The birth of Jesus marks for us the opening of God’s transforming power and light in the world. 

            Now that children as young as 5 are becoming eligible for the COVID vaccine, we hope you will reach out to youngsters and invite them to join in worship and celebrations at church.  We have a Sunday school curriculum to use too! Let’s share our joy with those who still know the magic of the season!

Yours in Christ,

+Ralph

Rev. Ralph W. Howe, Pastor

Dan DeWalt Concert Friday, September 10th at 7pm

This is a special concert by a much loved local performer. It is free with a suggested donation to support music and local support of the under-resourced in Brattleboro by the First Baptist Church and First United Methodist Church.
Dan DeWalt is a composer and multi-instrumentalist who has been performing since his teens. He plays in several ensembles, notably Trio Mambo, Creacion Latin Big Band, Celebration Brass Band and played for over two decades with Simba. He also is known for his composing and performance of music for silent films and is about to debut his new music to the 1989 silent film SideWalk Stories.
Dewalt will be performing jazz standards, original compositions and a bit of gospel music for his performance at the church.

Church Growing into the Autumn 2021

First UMC of Brattleboro is breathing again as COVID 19 is receding here. While we remain watchful for the health and safety of all, we are happy to be worshiping each week in person again.
We have welcomed Dan DeWalt as our new keyboardist. Dan is a composer and performer with great skill and versatility, who adds to the spiritual quality of our worship.
The fourth Sundays of September, October and November, we will worship together with the First Baptist Church which is sharing space with us in our building. These are fun and lively worship services. We do this at 11am, as we do our usual worship.
A Luke Bible Study will begin on Thursday evenings at 5pm in September with supper and conversation together with our Baptist friends and anyone else who is interested in the conversation. Bring a friend and check it out.
Our sermon series for the Fall is on the theme of “Practice and Promise” and explores the ways in which God works with us to help us grow and heal as humans, as society and as those who serve others with love and generosity. After each sermon, there is time for informal conversation among the congregation.
Bring a friend and join in the celebration of God’s love!

If we learn how to be present and quiet our minds, we find that God is all around us

 

Unity Magazine > May /June 2021

How to See the Divine in Your Life

By Robin Fasano, Unity Magazine

The Divine permeates everything- including the glass of water you’re drinking, the chair you’re sitting in, and every blade of grass in your backyard.

“We’re surrounded by God all the time,” says Rev. Tony Cryer of Unity on Cape Cod in

Hyannis, Massachusetts. “The Divine is already in everything. You don’ t have to try to see it.”

Rev. Ralph Howe of First United Methodist Church of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, agrees. “Everything is being held together spiritually-similar to quantum physics. Matter is held together by the transcendent,” he says, adding, “God is always trying to communicate with us.” The encounter is always there, he stresses, but to receive it you have to be truly present in the moment. He points out that we often don’t recognize the Divine because our mind is consumed with thinking about things like traffic, laundry, or what happened at work.

This article is an online exclusive for Unity Magazine.

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“Being present means you receive the moment exactly as it is … or you receive another person just as they are,” Howe explains. You’re not forcing a situation to be different. “It’s being present to what is real, without trying to change or fix anything.”

Quiet the Mind

To do this, Cryer advises, we have to release our perception of what we think the story should be. For instance, he points out that not getting what we want in a particular situation might be the best outcome for our spiritual growth and highest good. By letting go of preconceived notions of what we think should happen, we make room for the Divine and “allow life to reveal itself.” In contrast to doing and having, the goal is just being.

As you’re present with yourself, the external uproar no longer commands you, according to Howe. “When you’re really in the present moment, you’re no longer stressing your body because the body lives in the present,” he says. Being present is about living deeply.

“God is always seeking to encounter us. We are the ones who aren’t paying attention,” he adds. “We’re in the presence of God at all times.”

To receive the transcendent, you have to quiet the mind. Howe recommends taking time daily for stillness and silence so inner guidance and the transcendent can enter.

Be mindful in your actions and thoughts, advises Cryer, “whether cooking, walking, or speaking.” This helps to slow the mind to make room for something larger than you. Quieting the mind and letting the transcendent fill you can also come with concentrating fully on a task at hand. Whether it’s focusing on the next step in a recipe or saying a mantra, genuine concentration means that the activity at this very moment is the most important thing.

“Everything is a mirror of how you’re experiencing yourself,” Cryer says. “When you show up in your divine nature, then everything else shows up in its divine nature also because we’re a part of God, we’re a part of the Divine.”

Practice Gratitude

Howe says that any type of rhythmic activity, such as gardening, reading, chanting, or rubbing a stone, helps to calm the mind and establishes a “monastic rhythm” in the day. He suggests that building such a rhythm into your routine helps to carry you through stormy times because when the mind is calm, you can respond to situations with clarity and compassion instead of reacting out of fear or anxiety.

Feeling gratitude is another way to be present and receive the Divine because when you’re grateful, you are honoring the holiness in life.

“Gratitude is practicing the presence of God,” Howe notes. You don’t have to do anything. “It’s just the place where you practice love-where you receive love and give love. In every encounter, you have the opportunity to see the Divine.” Think of all the gifts you’ve been given throughout the day. “You might see it in the person who smiled at you or the person who helped you at the store,” he says, “or you might see the wounded child in someone rather than the overbearing adult.”

Dance with the Divine

As you feel grateful, you notice more and more things to be grateful for. We can always find something to criticize, but practicing gratitude instead rewires the brain. And as you pay attention to what you’re grateful for, it increases.

Be ready, he adds, because the Divine could come to you in a flash of insight about a situation, through a word someone says, or in an encounter with a neighbor.

“Everything is a mirror of how you’re experiencing yourself,” Cryer says. “When you show up in your divine nature, then everything else shows up in its divine nature also because we’ re a part of God, we’re a part of the Divine.” He points out that Albert Einstein is often credited with saying, “There are only two ways to live your life: one is as though nothing is a miracle; the other is as though everything’s a miracle.” It’s a miracle that we’re even here and able to survive, he says.

When you’re open to what’s around you, you see how interdependent and interconnected the universe is. At every moment, Howe notes, “We’re being invited into a great dance with the Divine.”

Robin Fasano has written for Spirituality & Health, Berkshire Magazine, Berkshire Living , and The Massachusetts Review, among others. She’s traveled and worked throughout the Middle East and Africa. She lives in the rolling hills of the Berkshires in Massachusetts.

UNION SERVICE AND PICNIC JULY 25

Everyone is welcome to our Union Service at 11am on Sunday July 25th. This joins together the First Baptist Church with FUMC of Brattleboro. We will follow this with a picnic. Please come and enjoy good fellowship and food!

First United Methodist Church of Brattleboro Begins In-Person Worship July 11th

FUMC Brattleboro, located at 17 Town Crier Drive, will hold its first Post-Pandemic In-Person Worship Service on Sunday, July 11th at 11am. This will be a joint service with First Baptist Church of Brattleboro which shares the building with FUMC. Following worship, we will hold a BBQ. All are welcome to worship and celebrate, fellowship and enjoy the BBQ!

Rev. Ralph Howe, the newly appointed pastor of FUMC, will lead worship this week. His sermon on Ephesians 1:3-14 is “We Will Accomplish All Things.”

We Are One

Worship on Sunday, May 8^th will begin at our new time, 11:00 am, and will feature scripture from John 17:20-26, read by Ron Francis, sharing Jesus’ prayer that we may all be one. Rev. Cheryl Meachen’s sermon, entitled “We Are One” will explore the possibilities and the impediments to oneness in Christ. The Children’s Message is “A Jigsaw Puzzle” based on John 17 and will share how people, like jigsaw pieces can be incredibly different yet fit together so beautifully. The church is located at 18 Town Crier Drive off Putney Road and is handicap-accessible. Contact us via e-mail fumcob@gmail.com or phone 802-254-4218. All are welcome!

Breaking down Walls to Build up the Church

Worship on Sunday, April 10th will begin at 10:00 am and will feature scripture from Acts 11:1-18, read by Doug Reed, telling the story of Peter’s dream of a large sheet with the animals prohibited as food and the voice from heaven saying these things are allowed. Rev. Cheryl Meachen’s sermon, entitled “Breaking down Walls to Build up the Church” will explore the invitation to “not make a distinction between them and us.” The Children’s Message is “Jesus Loves Us All” based on John 13 and will share how Jesus teaches us to love one another and leave no one out. IMPORTANT NOTICE: Beginning Sunday, May 8th we will worship at our new time: 11:00am. Please join us then! The choir, directed by Jenny Hinton will sing. Kevin Mills may play the organ. The church is located at 18 Town Crier Drive off Putney Road and is handicap-accessible. Contact us via e-mail fumcob@gmail.com or phone 802-254-4218. All are welcome!

He is Risen!

Worship on Easter Sunday, March 27^th will begin at 10:00 am and will feature scripture from Luke 24:1-12, read by Ron Francis, telling the story of Christ’s resurrection. Rev. Cheryl Meachen’s sermon, entitled “He is Risen!” will explore the glorious meaning of Jesus’ conquering death and hatred, atoning us to God-Love once and for all. The Children’s Message is “The Case of the Empty Tomb” also based on Luke 24 and will solve the mystery of the Easter story. There will be a joint sunrise service with the Leyden United Methodist Church at 15 West Leyden Road, Leyden on the Leyden Town Common at 6:30 am, followed by a brunch at that church. The choir, directed by Jenny Hinton will sing. Kevin Mills will play the organ. The church is located at 18 Town Crier Drive off Putney Road and is handicap-accessible. Contact us via e-mail fumcob@gmail.com or phone 802-254-4218. All are welcome!

Good Friday

On Friday, March 25, the community will gather at noon in word, prayer, and song to mark Good Friday, the day on which Jesus was crucified. Seven local pastors will each preach on one of Jesus’ last words from the cross, and each of the seven segments will include special music, readings and hymns.

A community massed choir will sing several numbers under the direction of Peter Amidon, with Molly Melloan accompanying on the organ. Worshipers are welcome to come and go during the planned intervals. Singers are invited to join the choir by replying to this post.

NOON “Father, Forgive Them: For They Know Not What They Do”
The Rev. Susanna Griefen, Dummerston Congregational Church, UCC
12:25 “Today You Will Be With Me In Paradise”
Jeff Hiam
12:50 “Woman, Behold Your Son…Behold Your Mother!”
The Rev. Cheryl Meachen, First UMC, Brattleboro and Leyden United Methodist Church
1:15 “My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?”
The Rev. Susie Webster-Toleno, Congregational Church of Westminster West
1:40 “I Thirst”
The Rev. Bert Marshall, Centre congregational Church, UCC
2:05 “It Is Finished”
The Rev. Mary Lindquist, St. Michael’s Episcopal Church
2:30 “Father, Into Thy Hands I Commit My Spirit”
The Rev. Peggy Yingst, Trinity Lutheran Church, ELCA

Guilford Community Church, UCC,  is located at 38 Church Dr., Guilford
There is ample parking and the sanctuary is handicap accessible.