For more information, contact  Linda Davis @ 978-563-1773/ davisfarmers@comcast.net

Rev. Nancy W. Strickland will be preaching.

Lectionary for the day: Ezekiel 37:1-14; Psalm104:24-34, 35b; John15:26-27, 16:4b-15; Acts 2:1-21.

Children will begin in the sanctuary and will be dismissed to Sunday School.

Rev. Mark Freeman Strickland will be preaching.  Scriptual texts informing worship will be Isaiah 55:6-11; Psalm 19:7-14; Philippians 4:1-9.

Children are to go directly to Sunday School.

Two or three people are needed to conduct the inventory, seek appraisals, and make a report to the Operations Group.

Join Pastor Nancy and Barbara Dumont in exploring these issues together on Wednesday mornings May 2, 9, 16, and 23  in Room 2, from 10-11:30 a.m.  In the safety of a small group, with the option to speak or just listen, we’ll think together about the following topics:

• “This is the first day of the rest of my life! Where am I right now and how will I live the years ahead?”

• “The only constant in life is change: how am I dealing with the losses and opportunities that change brings?

• “Things that go bump in the night: what unsettles or frightens me?”

• “What’s in my tool box: what resources do I have to sustain me?”

To let us know you’ll be coming, sign up on the bulletin board in the Parish Hall or call the church office. Feel free to talk with Pastor Nancy (978-422-5576), pastornancyws@gmail.com ) or Barbara Dumont (978-563-1835), barbaradumont@comcast.net) about your questions.

The Governance Task Force has been working to pull all of the ideas and inputs together from books, church visits, consultants, present board members and the congregation into one cohesive plan that fits the needs and variety of activities that define the First Church.  New proposed Bylaws have been written and are being passed along to the Bylaws Committee for their input.  A brand new set of Governing Policies has also been written and is being passed over to the Bylaws Committee.

The last piece of the puzzle is to present this plan to the congregation, gather input and answer any questions about the proposed structure.  The GTF intends to take this input from the congregation, make any necessary tweaks or changes to the plan and then present the final structural plan to the congregation for a vote at a Church Meeting by early June.  The vote will be whether or not to enter into a trial period of this new structure.  A trial period would exist for up to a year until the congregation schedules a final vote on the new structure and new bylaws and policies.

This is a very important meeting for any congregation member that has questions, concerns or ideas about the governing structure of the First Church.

April 15, Second Sunday of Easter  “Marks of Faith”, Acts 4:32, Psalm 133,

           1John 1:1-2:2, John 20:19-31

          Children go directly to Sunday School,

          Rev. Dianne Dugan preaching

 April 22 Third Sunday of Easter    “Christ among us” Acts 3:12-19, Psalm 4,

            1John 3:1-7, Luke 24:36b-48

           Children begin in worship,

           Rev. Nancy W. Strickland preaching

April 29 Fourth Sunday of Easter   “Enfolded by Love” Acts 4”5-12, Psalm 23, 1 John 3:16-24,

           John 10: 11-18

         Children begin in worship,

        Rev. Nancy W. Strickland preaching

Bring bible to life, no fire and brimstone, good administrative skills, is a lifelong learner, has good knowledge of the bible and bases sermons on the bible, bring current events into sermons, is a good speaker, understanding of both the UCC and UUA and lead a worship service with various theological points of view, open to multifaith perspectives,  is engaging, has a sense of humor, is good  in times of crisis…  provides pastoral care and enjoys visiting the sick and elderly,  supports of a continuance of growth in lay leadership, has good  negotiating skills, will help to grow the community, has management and organizing skills… including financial expertise, is interested in youth programs, has good writing skills, business and church operations skills, someone like Nancy, will help people deepen their spiritual life, able to build a cohesive congregation, is compassionate,  is approachable and social, grasp of both business/church operations as well as spiritually grounded, has several year of pastoral experience, early to mid career, commitment to music in worship, represents the church well in the community, has good pastoral counseling skills, ability to present various types of worship services, progressive thinker, supportive of but not exclusively of mission.

Important personal qualities…

Kindness, caring, compassionate, dynamic, spiritually developed… has integrity, always learning and growing , good listener… sense of humor, participation in the wider town community, someone who is comfortable with themselves, young at heart and ambitious and experienced, excellent communicator, patient, easy to talk to… and open minded, good speaker, professional and personal, good self care so there are good boundaries, good ecumenical cooperation with other churches, good organizational skills,  finds leaders and empowers them, someone who loves and is comfortable with children,  comfortable with music…  and supports it, high energy, gregarious, compassionate heart

I personally hope that he/she is very interested in (an aspect of church life):

Worship, growing and strengthening our membership, spiritual growth, high school and middle school programming, intellectual curiosity, adult education, fellowship, small group interests and programs, Children and families, outdoor ministries, social outreach both local and global, congregation connecting with community, participate in fundraisers and dinners etc, music and adult education, visitation, nurturing the denominations, interested in our church property, traditions of the past, church finances, has no political agenda.

I personally would be concerned if he/she is not strong in (an aspect of ministry/church life):

Preaching, administrative and organizational aspects, connecting the word of the Bible with our lives, diverse approaches to theology, adult education,  friendly, skill in conflict resolution, insightful sermons, one on one interactions, counseling, problem solving, leadership, involving youth in church services, lack of visitation, Christian education, service, interest in music, collaboration, rallying our diversity to work together, working with other church leaders in Sterling, spiritually developed and has good personal care established, ability to delegate

Reasons why a pastor might want to choose to come to First Church

Healthy church,  Benevolence and outreach, opportunity for growth, broad diversity in theology and membership, number of activities… exciting, number of people involved in the church, excellent lay leadership, strong music program, people are warm and that counts, We have a parsonage, good church school and youth program in place, Sterling is a nice place to live and raise a family, good schools, healthy positive church, history involved with the church, good cultural area… greater Worcester, good farms, it is a full time call with many churches in Central MA offering part time only opportunities, diverse theological viewpoints, stable church, positive environment, church members are open to new ideas, fun and good humored congregation,

Reasons a pastor might not choose to come to First Church

Parsonage in sad shape and needs a lot of work, housing is expensive, too diverse, size of the congregation, multidenominational with wide range of backgrounds and the challenges of managing a federated church, older church building in constant need of attention, people are overextended, our governance is in flux, financial package

We enjoyed a fun Adventure Sunday on March 25, learning about how we can be a Good Samaritan to our neighbors. Special thanks to Paula Fogerty for filling in as a Preschool teacher this morning! On Palm Sunday, we will be treated to a re-enactment of the Last Supper, presented by the 7^th and 8^th Grade Footsteps classes, directed by Dennis Crimer. We will think about what Jesus has done for us, and how we can remember Him as we live our lives as He would want us to do.

Come enjoy an Easter Egg hunt on the Common after Easter Worship! Bonnie Pulda and others will run this event for children of all ages. Rain date will be the following Sunday, April 15.

Also on the 15^th, Footsteps kids will enjoy a special Easter Gathering and lessons in alternative classrooms as we share our classroom spaces with the folks from the Interfaith Hospitality Network .

Join Pastor Nancy and Barbara Dumont in exploring these issues together on Wednesday mornings May 2, 9, 16, and 23  in Room 2, from 10-11:30 a.m.  In the safety of a small group, with the option to speak or just listen, we’ll think together about the following topics:

• “This is the first day of the rest of my life! Where am I right now and how will I live the years ahead?”

•  “The only constant in life is change: how am I dealing with the losses and opportunities that change brings?

•  “Things that go bump in the night: what unsettles or frightens me?”

•  “What’s in my tool box: what resources do I have to sustain me?”

  To let us know you’ll be coming, sign up on the bulletin board in the Parish Hall or call the church office. Feel free to talk with Pastor Nancy (978-422-5576), pastornancyws@gmail.com ) or Barbara Dumont (978-563-1835), barbaradumont@comcast.net) about your questions.

March 4            Second Sunday in Lent, 

• “Always Close”,
• Worship and Holy Communion
• Children go directly to Sunday School,
• Grade 7/8 return for communion
• Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16, Psalm 22:23-31,    Romans 4:13-25, Mark 8:31-38

March 11          Third Sunday in Lent 

• “Beautiful Law”
• Worship with New Member joining Sunday, children begin in worship
• Exodus 20:1-17, Psalm 19
• 1Corinthians 1:18-25, John 2:13-22

March 18 Fourth Sunday in Lent

•  “No Matter What”
• Worship with Baptism,
• children begin in worship
• Numbers 21:4-9, Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22
• Ephesians 2:1-10, John 3:14-21

March 25 Fifth Sunday in Lent  

• “Deep in our Hearts”
• La Romana Mission Trip
• Sunday Worship led by members
• of the mission trip
• Children go directly to Sunday School
• Jeremiah 31:31-34, Psalm 119:9-16
• Hebrews 5:5-10, John 12:20-33

 Imagine if someone asked you what you would take with you if you were going on a journey and had limited luggage space. That would be a tough question for me because I have always found it difficult to pack light. What if I need that extra sweater, or what if it rains? Shouldn’t I have raingear just in case? Packing light is never easy. On Ash Wednesday we begin this year’ Lenten journey, made up of the forty days between Ash Wednesday and Easter. Now if you go to your calendar and count, you will think my math is off, but remember….we do not count Sundays in Lent as they are considered “little Easters.” Traditionally Lent is a season for repentance, fasting, and giving to charity. For us today it is a special time to think about what needs letting go of so that we might turn more fully to God. It can also be a time of fasting from things that box us in and instead filling ourselves with things that contribute to our wholeness. Have you ever thought of taking a break from electronics one day a week and taking a walk outdoors instead? Lent  is also a time to reach out to others in charity and love. Instead of thinking what you might give up for Lent, why not see what acts of kindness or gifts of charity you might add to your life. Why not consider coming to church on Thursday evenings to participate in the “Living the Questions” Lenten study? Meet with fellow travelers and explore together what it means to be a Christian in the year 2012. Or perhaps this is the year that you volunteer to walk with others in our community Palm Sunday Promenade or volunteer at a soup kitchen. Whatever you decide to do while we are all on this Lenten journey, remember to travel light, to not get bogged down with too much luggage. Just take with you the reminder that you are Gods beloved, that God wants to walk with you in these lengthening days of light.

In faith, 

Pastor Nancy