Food Pantry Needs
We receive donations for the Food Pantry on the 1st Sunday of each month. The donations have been dwindling. Please consider purchasing some 20 oz. dish detergent, individually wrapped bars of soap or bottles of shampoo. The Pantry is in desperate need of these items. Your help is appreciated. Thank you!
Stewardship Report
Thanks to your generous contributions and to those of the Boston Grace church, our combined Peace Offering this year is $1014. Thank you one and all.
November is the month we give thanks for what we have and for giving to those who don’t have with our annual harvest offering for the next year. In November, look for documentation that will explain what we plan for the coming year, along with your pledge card and your time and talent questionnaire. Our annual Harvest of Offerings is on November 19th, when we will receive your pledges for the coming year along with donations for the People Helping People food pantry.
On October 1, World Communion Sunday, the BPC congregation worshipped together with the congregation of Boston Grace Presbyterian Church and we enjoyed having their choir, along with our Claudia Waite, lead the music for the service. We welcomed Rev. Kurt Esslinger and his wife, Hyeyoung Lee, mission co-workers in South Korea, to preach the sermon and give the Word for Children.
Hana Lee, the pianist from Grace Presbyterian, has agreed to play for rehearsals on Thursday nights with our choir. Piano and organ music and accompaniment for Sunday services will continue to be provided by James Myers and Chelsea Whittaker, who have added so much to the music ministry at BPC.
Thank you to The Voices of Ghana for leading the congregation in song on Oct 22.
As the Crossroads goes to print we are already looking at November and beginning to plan for Advent and Christmas worship services and events in December. November begins with celebration of communion on November 5, which is also All-Saints Sunday. Sunday, November 19 is the traditional Harvest of Offerings, when the congregation is asked to bring food donations and pledges for the new year. Stay tuned for more information from Deacons and Stewardship.
Advent begins on Sunday, December 3 with communion and the lighting of the first candle on the Advent Wreath. Christmas Eve is on Sunday, December 24. There will be a regular worship service in the morning and our traditional Christmas Eve service with Tableaux, carols and candle lighting in the evening. Brenda Flynn has graciously agreed to direct the Tableaux again this year and Claudia Waite will work with Brenda and be in charge of costumes. Stay tuned for the many details that will follow and how you can help Brenda and Claudia.
Worship Committee meets on October 29, so watch for updates in the Bulletin and in November Crossroads.
~ Jennifer Dewar, Worship Chair
Worship Committee:
Cathy DiCenzo, James McIninch (Session Rep.), Annette Chapman-Adisho (Deacon Rep.) Claudia Waite, Rev. Trina Portillo
Trustees
Our fall church cleanup day was held on a beautiful sunny October Saturday with a very large attendance of our members and an even larger attendance by the Boston Grace congregation that share our church. We washed windows, cleaned up the atrium, mowed and raked the grass, fixed gutters and downspouts and did a lot of other fixup stuff. Thanks to all who attended.
Pumpkin Patch Update
Our church supported St. Mark’s Pumpkin Patch by volunteering on October 6th and 20th. Thanks to Ken Dewar, Chuck Anderson, Cheryl Wells, Claudia Waite, Jen Dewar, Kathleen Stegall and Linda Roscoe, we collected over $300 to be added to money collected during October to support People Helping People.
Burlington Interfaith Thanksgiving Service
Monday, November 20, 7 pm
The Burlington Interfaith Community will be gathering in thanksgiving at UCC this year on Monday, November 20. This longstanding tradition will include leaders and worshipers from Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Mormon and Muslim faith communities. This joining of religious traditions in Burlington is itself an occasion for gratitude in our broken world – added to the seasonal American holiday which recognizes our Creator’s goodness to us. The offering collected at the service will be dedicated to hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico.
BURLINGTON FOOD PANTRY
2017 THANKSGIVING FOOD BASKETS
The Burlington Pantry will be giving all the food for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner to over 200 families, including elderly shut-ins and veterans, on Sunday, November 19th. We hope you will participate in the food collection for this project. Again this year, the collection and distribution will be at the United Church of Christ, Congregational at 6 Lexington Street, on the corner of Bedford and Lexington Streets. Please bring the food you have collected to the UCC church between 12:00 and 1:00 on Sunday, Nov 19th. If you have any questions about the collection or the delivery, please call Bobbie Killilea (UCC Administrator) at 781-272-4547.
We are requesting the following specific list of foods for a Thanksgiving dinner. PLEASE ONLY NEW PURCHASES, NO EXPIRED DATES!!!
Stuffing (bags or boxes) Canned corn
Cranberry Sauce Cornbread Mix
Gravy Mayonnaise
Chicken Broth
This is a relatively short list – but we need many of each item. Fresh vegetables (potatoes, carrots, green beans, squash, etc.) will be purchased, so if any of your members would like to contribute money instead of food items, such donations would be welcome. Checks should be made payable to People Helping People. The Greater Boston Food Bank will be providing the turkeys this year. Cub Scout families will be providing pies.
“Wish Tree” Volunteers Needed
Our church has been asked to provide volunteers for the Wish Tree table at the Burlington Mall on 2 days: Sat. Nov 25, 10 am – 8 pm and Thurs. Dec 7, 12 pm – 8 pm. There will be a sign-up sheet in Fellowship Hall soon.
Please sign up!!
The “Wish Tree” gives shoppers the opportunity to provide gifts for children in need in Burlington. For more information, see Jay Araujo.
Friday, December 1
11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Get in the holiday spirit with us! Join the Deacons on the first Friday of December for the Hanging of the Greens! We will decorate the church for Advent and Christmas. Advent begins on Sunday, December 3!
~ Annette Chapman-Adisho, Deacon Moderator
Zentangle® class
The Zentangle method is an easy to learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. If you can write the letters “i c s and o” you can complete a Zentangle tile. Come and learn all about it at this class taught by Certified Zentangle Teacher Marylou Lynn The class will be Friday, November 17 at 7:00PM.
Everyone is welcome to attend. If you need a Zentangle kit, the cost will be $15.00. If you already have a kit, the cost is $5.00. Ask Marylou Lynn if you have any questions.
Class size is limited to 12 so sign up soon in Fellowship Hall or call the church at 781-272-9190.
PRESBYTERIAN GIVING CATALOG
What would you do with three extra hours every day?
The bigger question is, what could those who are forced to walk miles for water each day do? Help give this time back through water-related gifts found in the Presbyterian Giving Catalog. Items like the sand dam, which is an effective method of water conservation in dryland communities, provide a sustainable source of clean water for entire communities. Together, we can help change the lives of countless people by giving them a reliable and convenient source of water.
With your support, gifts from the Presbyterian Giving Catalog can lessen the burden for those in need of help. Start flipping through the catalog, or give online at http://www.presbyteriangifts.org. There are catalogs on the table at the front of the church.
Interfaith Coffeehouse for Conscience
Saturday, November 4 7 – 11 pm
Join us for an evening of song, socializing and social justice.
Listen to fantastic live music featuring songs of protest, hope and peace.
Enjoy delicious desserts, fun raffles baskets and meeting new friends.
All proceeds will support the following local organizations assisting immigrants in our local communities:
* The Sanctuary Program at First Parish Bedford Unitarian Universalist Church, working to protect immigrants facing deportation;
* The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts, defending and preserving the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution, Bill of Rights and laws of the United States;
* The family of Francisco Rodriquez Guadardo, a hardworking Massachusetts resident with no criminal history who is currently being detained due to his lack of documentation.
Admission: $15 (includes dessert buffet)
Questions? Please contact Ellen at esfink29@gmail.com.
Location: Temple Shalom Emeth, 16 Lexington St., Burlington, MA
Presbyterian Church in Burlington 