Lenten Study opportunities
Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent, a forty day period of prayer, reflection, and repentance leading up to Holy Week and Easter Sunday. We will have an Ash Wednesday service on March 6th, at 7 PM in the sanctuary. For anyone who would like to come early, we will have a soup supper in the front classroom beginning at 6 pm. If you would like to bring bread or a soup to share, please let Pastor Trina know.
We will be offering a Lenten study on Thursday evenings throughout Lent, beginning on March 14 through April 11, at 7 PM meeting in the front classroom. For this 5-week series, we will use the curriculum Just Eating?, which was developed by the Presbyterian Hunger Program. As part of our focus on food justice this year, set by the mission and advocacy committee, and as a hunger action congregation of the PC(USA), this seemed like a good way to reflect on how food and faith are connected in so many ways.
The study uses scripture, prayer and stories from the local and global community to explore five key aspects of our relationship with food:
the health of our bodies
the challenge of hunger
the health of the earth that provides our food
the ways we use food to extend hospitality and enrich relationships
the opportunities for action, renewal and transformation in our eating practices-as individuals and as faith communities
Come and join us for one or more sessions! If you are interested, please let Pastor Trina know ahead of time so she can have enough copies of the curriculum available.
Deacon’s Corner
The Deacons had their first meeting on February 10. They spent time getting reacquainted. Assignments will be given at the March meeting. The deacons will be focusing on an educational series to study the role of the deacon in the church.
The Emergency Fund has dwindled. There will be envelopes in the pews for donations to bring the fund back up to usable numbers. We thank you for your generosity in allowing us to be able to assist those who are dealing with difficult times.
Stewardship Report
Around the world, millions of people lack access to sustainable food sources, clean water, sanitation, education, and opportunity. The three programs supported by One Great Hour of Sharing — Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Presbyterian Hunger Program, and Self-Development of People — all work in different ways to serve individuals and communities in need. From initial disaster response to ongoing community development, their work fits together to provide people with safety, sustenance, and hope. Received on Palm Sunday, each gift to One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) helps to improve the lives of people in these challenging situations. The Offering provides us a way to share God’s love with our neighbors in need. In fact, OGHS is the single, largest way that Presbyterians come together every year to work for a better world. Please give generously
Reprinted with permission from Presbyterian mission.org/oghs
Worship
Lent begins with our traditional Ash Wednesday service on March 6 at 7 p.m. This will be a contemplative service with voluntary imposition of ashes.
In addition, for the second year, we will also reach out to our commuters and passers-by with a curbside “Ashes to Go” service. In our front driveway we will offer people the opportunity to receive the blessing of the ashes in their cars as they are heading home from work that afternoon, between 4 and 6 p.m.
A simple soup supper will be served at 6:00 for anyone who would like to come prior to the 7 p.m. service. If you would like to volunteer to help impose the ashes for any time between 4 and 6, or to bring a soup or bread for the dinner, please speak to Cathie DiCenzo, Mark Vogel or Pastor Trina.
Please remember to check often to sign up to be a worship assistant during the next few months. Communion will be served next on March 3, and again on Maundy Thursday. Elders and Deacons are reminded to sign up to help serve communion according to your availability.
Trustees Report
Safety and Security Guidelines
Fire Safety
-There is a fire alarm system in the building that is located near the second front door. Do not tamper with the box since it monitors the building for any outbreak of fire.
-If an alarm goes off, evacuate the building in an orderly fashion and move away from the building to a safe place. In each room, there is a location map on the wall to inform you where to proceed to evacuate the building. There are eight fire alarms within the building to activate and alert the fire department; sanctuary(2), front doors(2), play area door(1), fellowship hall(2) and kitchen(1).
-There are four fire extinguishers: one located near the coat rack next to the front classroom, one in the hallway near the atrium door, one near the back classroom and one in the kitchen.
-If the kitchen stove is used, make sure to turn it off and leave no items on top of the stove except for the hot water kettle.
Security
-The church has seven doors that need to be locked when exiting the building. The doors that are used most frequently are the two front doors, the playground door and the kitchen door. Make sure these doors are closed and locked when you leave.
-All windows should be closed and locked when leaving the building. The larger windows have two locks and the windows in the sanctuary have one lock.
-If the playground area is used, it is recommended that two adults supervise the activity.
-If need be, call 911 for any emergency that requires medical or police presence.
Miscellaneous
-Make sure that all lights are turned off, including the rest rooms.
-Make sure the church office door is locked.
Souper Bowl
Thank you to everyone who generously donated to the Souper Bowl of Caring. We collected 85 items of food (97.7 lbs.) and $104 to donate to the Burlington Food Pantry to help alleviate hunger in our own community!
Come Sing with Us!
We are looking for a few more voices to fill out our choir sections for the Lenten and Easter season! If you like to sing in the shower, or belt out tunes in your car, or just generally enjoy making music, join us on Sunday mornings before church, at 9:15, and sing with us! We will rehearse music for Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday as part of our regular morning rehearsals starting on March 10th (?). You are welcome to sing with us for any Sunday morning service you are available, and we can get music to you ahead of the date so you can look it over and listen at home. Singers of all ages and abilities are welcome!
We also welcome instrumentalists, so if you play a musical instrument and would like to share your talents with us during a worship service, please let Susan Larson, music director, know of your interest. Once a month, we would like to have a musician, solo, or small ensemble group play or sing the anthem during worship. Let us make a joyful noise unto God together!
Working together for literacy
Nelson Mandela once wrote, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” People in Mangochi, Malawi, know this is true, as they have watched their community be transformed by the Muliko Literacy Project.
Established by Chancy and Miriam Gondwe in 2014, the Muliko Literacy Project seeks to improve the 47 percent literacy rate of the predominantly Muslim community of Mangochi. The Gondwes are community development
professionals and committed PC(USA) mission co-worker Nancy Collins, back row on left, visited with teacher Miriam Gondwe, back row on right, and students in the Muliko Literacy Project in Church of Central Africa Mangochi, Malawi. Chancy Gondwe Presbyterian members. Chancy received training from Literacy and Evangelism International in Tulsa. God gave the Gondwes a clear vision for literacy work in Mangochi, where they have used literacy as a tool for evangelism, spiritual growth and sustainable development for the people of Malawi.
The project trains volunteer teachers who want to start literacy programs. Muliko also tutors children after school, conducts child evangelism through an after-school Good News Club and operates a preschool that generates income.
When the people of St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church (SCAPC) in New Orleans heard about the literacy
project, they wanted to support it. They approached me with a unique challenge. SCAPC requested that donations go through World Mission, which works with partner churches and ecumenical organizations. Since the Muliko
Literacy Project was not a World Mission partner, I suggested that Muliko inquire about affiliating with the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, Blantyre Synod (with which it had ties). If the synod agreed, World Mission would be happy to send support received for the literacy project through the synod. As PC(USA) regional liaison for east central Africa, Nancy Collins assisted the congregation and the synod in working out the details of such an affiliation.
On a visit to see results of the Muliko Literacy Project in April 2017, Nancy was extremely impressed with the Gondwes and the program. She spoke with the Rev. Alex Maulana, general secretary of the CCAP Blantyre Synod. A memorandum of understanding was developed in July 2017. Now support for the literacy project can be designated for Muliko and sent through World Mission and CCAP channels.
As Presbyterians, we believe we are better together. We are a connectional church. Because Muliko is now connected to Blantyre Synod, there is a pathway for best practices of this dynamic program to be shared with the synod to plant seeds for similar connections. And, very significantly, this program is now accountable to the Malawian church, not to foreign donors, which is the case when programs from abroad are sponsored by U.S. churches directly. And because St. Charles Presbyterian Church is connected to World Mission, Nancy Collins accompanies the program, enabling us to share stories like this with the greater church and inviting us to pray for the work of Muliko. Also, as a result of this partnership, the Gondwes plan to start five additional adult literacy classes in five villages in Mangochi’s rural areas, targeting 100 people, mostly women, and impacting thousands of lives.
Debbie Braaksma, Presbyterian World Mission, Africa Area Coordinator, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Are you ready for some vegetables?
It is that time of year again. We haven’t had much of a winter, but we have had to acquire our fresh produce at the local grocery market. Vegetables and fruits that we are not quite sure where they have come from or how long they have been sitting…in a truck, in a warehouse or on a shelf. Now is the time for all of that to end. On March 4, The Farmer Dave Spring Share will begin. You can pick up fresh grown vegetable and fruit right here at the church every Monday afternoon from 4-6:30 pm. If you need more information, please see Marylou Lynn, Jane McIninch or Kathleen Stegall. New this spring is a bakery share. Fresh baked items every other week! Try it out.
2019 Walk for Hunger
The 51st annual Walk for Hunger sponsored by Project Bread is making some major changes this year. The goal is to build a movement of people passionate about ending hunger, while allowing programs to leverage their local connections to engage more walkers and raise more money at the local level.
∙Participating programs, such as People Helping People, will receive 60% of funds they raise, with the remaining 40% contributing to statewide efforts and event costs.
∙PHP is required to raise a minimum of $500 to participate in the pilot. Once the minimum is reached, 60% of all money raised (including 60% of the $500 minimum) will be granted back to agencies. For example, raise a total of $500 and receive a $300 grant or raise a total of $5,000 and receive a $3,000 grant for your anti-hunger program.
This means that instead of a BPC team, our walkers (or runners) will be walking for People Helping People. We will still gather and travel as a group, but 60% of the funds we raise will stay local to support local programs.
The Walk will be held on Sunday, May 5. This year there are more ways to participate:
New 3 mile walk
20 mile walk where you can stop at any checkpoint and get a ride back to Boston Common
5K run
Volunteer
Be a virtual walker – details of which to follow
PLEASE CONSIDER WALKING FOR PHP THIS YEAR!! To join our team and/or to pledge us, go to http://support.projectbread.org/site/TR?team_id=80616&pg=team&fr_id=1380&et=NZALZuMWznWIFUCUPS1pVA&s_tafId=59112
Questions anyone? Talk to Linda Roscoe
Food Pantry Needs
We receive donations for the Food Pantry on the 1st Sunday of each month. The Food Pantry needs donations on a continuing basis. Please consider purchasing some 20 oz. dish detergent, individually wrapped bars of soap or bottles of shampoo. Your help is appreciated. Thank you!
Life Line Screening, a leading provider of community-based preventive health screenings, will offer their affordable, non-invasive and painless health screenings at The Presbyterian Church In Burlington on 4/9/2019. Five screenings will be offered that scan for potential health problems related to: blocked arteries which is a leading cause of stroke; abdominal aortic aneurysms which can lead to a ruptured aorta; hardening of the arteries in the legs which is a strong predictor of heart disease; atrial fibrillation or irregular heart beat which is closely tied to stroke risk; and a bone density screening, for men and women, used to assess the risk of osteoporosis. Register for a Wellness Package which includes 4 vascular tests and osteoporosis screening from $149 ($139 with our member discount). All five screenings take 60-90 minutes to complete. In order to register for this event and to receive a $10 discount off any package priced above $129, please call 1-888-653-6441 or visit http://www.lifelinescreening.com/communitycircle or text the word circle to 797979
Presbyterian Church in Burlington 