October 2013 Crossroads

Deacons Corner
The deacons would like to thank you for all of your donations toward the school kit/Rally Day project. It was a huge success. We could not have done it without all of your help.

The Dwelling Place
It is with mixed emotion that we are announcing that we will be ending our relationship with The Dwelling Place. We would like to thank all of you for the generous support you have given over the last 20 plus years. You have given your time, your hands and your money and it has been greatly appreciated. Our last supper will be on November 20, 2013.

CE News
Do you have children?
Have you filled out their registration form for church school yet?
We need one registration form from each family for children in nursery to grade 12.
You can access the form on the church website or you can get one from the CE mailbox in the church office. Then either email the form to the church, or return the completed form to the CE mailbox. Thanks from the CE Committee.

Mark Your Calendars
(Or link your calendar to the Church’s Google calendar)

Friday Night at the Movies
October 11, 7:30 pm
A movie about a New Mexican farmer and town who face a crisis when business and political interests conspire to divert their water supply for a resort development. With determination, and even a bit of magic, the local population forces a confrontation…in a unique blend of social commentary and comedy.

Free! Popcorn! Bring friends!

Crafter’s Night, October 18
7 pm

Come join in. We are still attempting to get the blankets for Warm Up America completed, but feel free to come with your own project whatever your craft may be. We would love to see it! There may be others who share your love of that craft. Come learn something new that you’ve always wanted to try.

Women’s Bible Study
Thursdays at 9:30 am
We are pleased to announce that we were chosen to be one of the field test groups for next year’s Presbyterian Women’s Bible Study, Water. This is a nine week study, with an agreement to provide feedback on each lesson. Confidentiality must be signed in order to participate. Any woman in the congregation is welcome to join in the field test, not just those currently attending Bible study.

Using your spiritual gifts to help you and your church grow.
Join us on October 19th from 9am to 3pm, as we discover and explore our Spiritual gifts. We are using the assessment from “Discover Your Spiritual Gifts the Natural Way”. Individuals will complete an assessment (it takes about 30 min.) and then we will come together to discuss our findings. Everyone will bring their own lunch-snacks and beverages provided….plenty of activities and opportunities for sharing will be available.

Cost is $10.00 to pay for materials.

Come and enjoy!

OCTOBER 25, is the Annual Pumpkin Party at 6:30pm. We will supply the pumpkins you supply the tools and creativity. We will have markers for small children who are not ready to carve a pumpkin!
We will have storytelling, too!!!!

Mission and Outreach
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Lowell (HFHGL) has given BPC the date of October 12th for our build day at 49-55 Rock Street in Lowell. We can send a group of up to 12 people, and will be working from 8 am to 3 pm.

We will be working on 1 of 2 duplexes that will be home to 4 families. Students from Greater Lowell Technical High School are building one duplex and general volunteers and local companies are building the other one. The project broke ground on October 25, 2012, and is now nearing completion.

People who want to participate but don’t feel comfortable working with tools, can play an important role by providing lunch for the volunteers working on the homes.

Since its founding in 1991, HFHGL has built or renovated a total of 28 homes in Bedford, Billerica, Concord, Lowell, Reading, and Westford. HFHGL projects have placed more than 100 people into quality housing. Not only do Habitat families pay for their homes through a monthly mortgage, they also put in between 225 and 400 hours of sweat equity prior to becoming homeowners.

Habitat for Humanity’s vision is a world where everyone has a safe and decent place to live and housing poverty and homelessness are eliminated.

For more information about volunteering with BPC’s team, contact Tom Hennings.

Annual Stewardship Campaign – Planting a Seed

Once again it is nearing the time to respond to God’s grace in our lives and to celebrate the good work that God will do by identifying the gifts we provide. As John Calvin once said: “ We are surrounded by God’s benefits. The best use of these benefits is an unceasing expression of gratitude.”

Gratitude can be shown in many ways. When we think of stewardship, we typically think of fundraising, but there are also the gifts of time and talents that a small church like Burlington Presbyterian needs in order to move forward and provide the rich programs we currently enjoy.

A retreat this month will focus on discovering our spiritual gifts. Even if you do not get a chance to attend this retreat, it is a good time of year to sit down and take stock of what abilities and attributes you have that you can share with others. You may be organized and also willing to direct others – chairing a committee for a special project may be a gift you could share. You may be shy, but enjoy music – joining one of the choirs would be something to try.

In the winter and spring, we are going to focus on Living Simply and plan to host several opportunities to explore more about how to do that. For this newsletter, I would just like to “plant a seed” of a thought – that when people spend money on things they do not really need, they also begin to want more things they do not need. Jesus told us that our hearts will follow our money (Matthew 6:21) “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” His words suggest that if we are unsure where our hearts are, looking at where our treasure is spent or contained may give us a clue.

There will be more thoughts sent to you about stewardship over the next month. We will follow our tradition of thankfully presenting out pledges and offerings on Harvest Sunday which will be on November 24th this year. Between now and then, please think about how grateful you are for all God provides in your life. Pray and act on the confidence that God’s abundance will not cease, but will grow proportionately as we give generously of our time, resources, and talents.

“Remember this,” Paul says, “whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each person should decide to give what he has decided to give in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things and in all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:6-8)