JULY/AUGUST 2013 COMMACK UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Th e Mes s eng e r Open Hearts
Open Minds
Open Doors
A Wo rd Fro m O u r Pa s to r Ten Things Your Minister Wants to Tell You (But Can’t, Because He Needs the Job)
What’s Inside
Prayer & Birthdays
Upcoming Events
UMW
Harvest Fair
Local History
Calendar
Rev. Lynda Bates-Stepe Pastor
Donna Etergineoso Editor
A very provocative title, isn’t it? The book, written by Baptist pastor and Constitutional lawyer, Rev. Oliver “Buzz” Thomas, is as interesting as the title. He writes about the more controversial topics of the day: science and religion, biblical authority, miracles, role of women, homosexuality, and other religions. He does it in a way that is engaging, thought provoking, biblically based and even includes humor. United Methodist pastor Rev. Adam Hamilton also addressed these topics in his book, When Christians Get it Wrong. Beginning with a chapter titled “When Christians are Unchristian.” Hamilton acknowledges that many young people are turned off by the way churches speak to these issues (and, I would add, the way media portrays churches). Hamilton is a popular preacher and author and his material is always well presented.
DVD and book as an additional resource. It is not necessary for every participant to have both books. If you would like pick up a book sooner, they are available through Amazon and Cokesbury, in both print and e-book formats. I would also check with the library, you might want to just borrow the books rather than buy them.
So, using these resources, let’s delve into these areas of Christian faith and have some engaging discussion of our own. Join us this fall beginning the week of September 16th for six weeks of exploration, conversation, biblical engagement and, yes, even some disagreement among our agreements.
Monday evenings 7 :30 - 9:00 pm Library, Religious Education Building September 16th, 23rd, 30th October 7th, 14th, 21st
We will have sign-up available in the sanctuary during the summer to order the book by Oliver “Buzz” Thomas. I am going to use the Thomas book as our main resource and will incorporate Hamilton’s
These groups are open to our church family and friends, neighbors, guests. If you have young adult children or grandchildren who are local, inviting them to join you might be a great way to open up conversation. So, come be part of the discussion!
Ten Things Your Minister Wants to Tell You!
Thursday mornings 10:30 - 12:00 noon Parlor, Sanctuary Building September 19th, 26th October 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th
486 Town Line Road · Commack NY 11725 (631) 499-7310 Office:
[email protected] Pastor:
[email protected] www.commack-umc.org
JULY/AUGUST 2013
A Prayer... God of the still small voice, even through the din of conflict, let us find a quiet space to listen to you. Hear our concerns and guide us as we seek direction. Amen
AU G U S T Bir thdays
J U LY Bir thdays 1st Peter Stellmann 3rd Donna Etergineoso 3rd Logan Theofield 5th Gery Spory 6th Harry Gahrman 10th Connie Jarvis 11th John Kessler, SR. 15th Barbara Knippenberg 16th Deb Hervey 21st Dagmar Mackay 28th Andi Kessler Michael Kopping Ryan Kopping Jessica Mallgraf Erin Sullivan
May God’s blessings abound to you in every little way May you taste and see his goodness, each time you kneel to pray. May your day be brightened more with your Father’s loving touch, And may you sense He’s with you now and loves you very much ~ M.S. Lowndes
Time for Prayer and Meditation July 13 and August 10, 2013 9:00 - 10:00 AM Please join us for a Time for Prayer and Meditation in the sanctuary beginning at 9:00 A.M. All are welcome to attend. Feel free to bring your favorite prayer to share with the group. We will begin promptly at 9:00 AM.
4TH Matt Gamby 8th Eileen Waidelich 8th Rob Freilicher 10th Janice Woods 10th Anne Tammaro 10th Dotty Megna 13th Cyndi Pinkham 19th Matilda Gollatz 21st Tim Sampson 23rd Nick Mondelli 25th Mark Prasad 31st Sue Medina Christine Amato Mary Lee Arfer Lara Ciamician Rhonda Mohan Caroline Reddo
Confirmation Class Pictures Please check your photo albums for the following confirmation class pictures: 1974, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
See John Muller if you have a photo that he can scan/copy. Thank you! ~Sobana Prasad
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The Messenger
Our Community There will be no formal UMW meetings during July and August, however a visit to Olsen’s Nursing Home is being planned for July. We thank all those who participated in our Father’s Day Altar Candle program. As you know, all proceeds go toward our mission projects. DATES TO REMEMBER: September 12th UMW meeting Program - “Singapore Sashay” Presented by Deb Hervey Hostess: Tracy Kopping
UMW
At our June meeting, Ginny and Tracy presented a program of UMW’s story of missions and discussed ways of giving. Anne Tammaro shared her experiences with the PB&J program and work of the St Anne’s soup kitchen. Sobana Prasad related the work of the Helen Keller Foundation; established in 1915, Helen Keller International (HKI) works to save the sight and lives of the most vunerable and disadvantaged. Among other areas of concern and assistance, Sobana told us of the importance of Vitamin A supplementation and control of the eye diseases, Onchocerciasis and Tracoma which is prevalent in Nigeria.
Sepember 27th-29th UMW retreat at Camp Quinipet, Shelter Island
We then discussed, how we, as a local unit of UMW, can best use our mission funds.
LYDIA CIRCLE The next meeting is postponed from the first Wednesday, July 3, to the second Wednesday, July 10th at 10:30 am. This postponement is for July only. Answers to riddles on page 6
HARVEST DINNER NOVEMBER 16TH
Page 3
Fire
8.
A sponge
7.
A stamp
6.
A nose
5.
A cold
4.
A rug
3.
An ear of corn
2.
A towel
1.
14. A human does- As a baby, it crawls; in old age, uses a cane. 13. A dictionary 12. Eye 11. A hole. 10. Silence or a secret 9.
A tissue
JULY/AUGUST 2013
Missions at CUMC Summer Food Supply As we roll into the “lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer” please remember that the needs of the hungry and poor still continue. If you have a “Victory Garden” with an overabundance of fresh produce, why not drop off your tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini or whatever, at the church office. Fresh produce is always welcome and can be delivered or picked-up by those in need. If you would like to contribute in other ways, we are always in need of cans of tuna fish, mayonnaise, cereal, cheese, peanut butter, jelly/jam, crackers, milk, fresh fruit and fruit juice. Any perishable items can be dropped off and stored in our refrigerator. Just make sure you let Donna in the office know, so that they can be distributed.
Peanut Butter & Jelly Gang – Remember the Summer Months Getting back to the “lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer” theme, keep in mind that we are often shorthanded during the summer months (July, August and September) for our sandwich making session. Please let Anne Tammaro know that you will be
able to make one or all of the Saturdays in the summer, so that we can plan accordingly. The dates are: July 6th, August 3rd and September 7th, 8:30 a.m. in Fellowship Hall. These sandwiches are vital to the maintaining of soup kitchens throughout Long Island and New York City. Remember, “Whenever you fed, clothed or shared with the least of these, you did it for me.”
Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! Thank you to everyone who helped support Commack UMC’s mission work this year. Your tireless work on PB&J; your constant supply of food stuffs; always being ready with a helping hand; and your monetary support have played a very important role in our church “walking the walk.” We will have more projects to work on in the future and look forward to your continued support. Additionally, if at any time you have an idea for a mission project, please come forward with your suggestion and we will try to fulfill that project. Again, thank you for your support with all our mission work. ~Phyllis D’Amato
Harvest Fair- October 26th We have already begun planning for this year’s Harvest Fair! We are hoping to add some new additions to the Fair that will become fan favorites such as face painting and selling pumpkins - perhaps a table to decorate them as well. We are also planning on making mason jar recipe kits to sell- soup, cookies and hot chocolate varieties. To keep with the harvest theme, we are also working on having a table of locally grown fresh fall fruit and vegetables. We are very excited to bring these new additions to the Harvest Fair and feel that it will complement our wonderful traditional favorites! And, yes, our fantastic Craft Boutique, themed Basket Table, Parcel Post and White Elephant Table, Page 4
as well as, our Home Baked Goods, Country Kitchen and Korean Food Table will be there! So much to look forward to! So, please, remember our popular Parcel Post Booth when you go traveling this summer. Pick up a unique item of $5 or more in value, wrap in a brown paper bag and label where it came from. You can drop it off at the church office on Sunday or during the week. Thank you for your support and donations! ~Debbie Stellmann & Kathie Doss Harvest Fair Chairpersons
HARVEST
fair
October 26th shop
Boutique of hand crafted items
Pumpkins- just in time for the holidays
“Gift in a Jar” of soups, cookies & hot chocolate
Basket Table of fun themed items
Parcel Post Booth of surprise items from around the world
Local Produce of fresh fall vegetables
White Elephant Table
eat
Our Country Kitchen will be serving Breakfast and Lunch
Korean Food Table with delicious edibles!
Our Bake Table will have home baked cake, pie, bread, brownies and cookies
Activities Face Painting!
for kids!
JULY/AUGUST 2013
Confirmation Sunday Congratulations to the Confirmation Class of 2013! From left to right:
Thomas White Nina Freilicher Virginia Freilicher Sarah White Alanis Rodriguez Matt Simco
1. What gets wetter and wetter the more it dries? 2. You throw away the outside and cook the inside. Then you eat the outside and throw away the inside. What did you eat? 3. What goes up and down the stairs without moving? 4. What can you catch but not throw? 5. I can run but not walk. Wherever I go, thought follows close behind. What am I? 6. What goes around the world but stays in a corner? 7. I have holes in my top and bottom, my left and right and in the middle. But I still hold water. What am I? 8. Give me food and I will live; give me water and I will die. What am I? 9. Throw me off the tallest building, and I’ll not Page 6
break. But put me in the ocean, and I will. What am I? 10. No sooner spoken than broken. What is it? 11. I am weightless, but you can see me. Put me in a bucket, and I’ll make it lighter. What am I? 12. Pronounced as one letter, and written with three, Two letters there are, And two only in me. I’m double, I’m single, I’m black, blue and gray, I’m read from both ends, And the same either way. What am I? 13. I am where yesterday follows today, and tomorrow’s in the middle. What am I? 14. What walks on four legs in the morning, two at mid-day, and three in the evening?
The Messenger
Our History
Church Historian, John Muller
Commack Methodism By the Rev. Charles S. Gray, Pastor 1938-1941 on the occasion of the 190th anniversary A pleasant scene lay before the 18th century viewera slight hollow, extending south from the highest point of the cemetery close by the original chapel. This pastoral landscape unrolled for several miles between gently rolling hills on either side. From the present site of the church to the corner of Middle Country Road (Jericho Turnpike) lay a muster and training ground for Revolutionary patriots. Separating the towns of Huntington and Smithtown was the quiet, but no doubt dusty lane called Bread and Cheese Hollow Road along which farmers drove their ladened wagons. It was farming country, but along the latter road just south of Middle Country Road, were essential places of business such as: a wagon shop, a blacksmith shop, and the shop of a wheelwright. A country store, owned by the ancestor of Walt Whitman, was situated on the northwest corner of the intersection of the two above named roads. Slightly west of the country store was a toll station for travelers between Huntington and Smithtown. The fee was determined by the width of the conveyance wheel. Much later, a hotel would rise on the southwest corner of these crossroads. Into this area known as Whitman’s Hollow came a British Army soldier, noted as a local Methodist preacher. He was a tailor to the army of occupation, and made the strikingly colorful uniforms worn by the English troops. His name was John Phillips, and after he had preached his sermon to a number of local residents, it was decided that a class in Methodism should be formed here. This was in the year 1783; it was also one year before Methodism was established in America as an independent denomination. Since these early Methodists wee, of course, followers of John Wesley in England, it is natural that a number of them in this country (especially Long Island) should be sympathetic to the British Crown- in fact were Tories. All, however, were not and the Methodists did
share in the Revolutionary cause. Then too, in the years that followed, other divisive influences plagued this early society. One was the doctrine of Pelagianism, and a second (in 1822) was the Stillwellilte movement, an offshoot of Methodism. Meanwhile, of course, land had been bought for two pounds five shillings for the erection of a meeting house (1789). When the church was being planned, a “cutting frolic” was held to gather timber and wood for the building. There were a few wholly human organizations in history which begin inauspiciously, and with a handful of members, endure for even several decades. What is the missing vital ingredient? A spiritual purpose and goal: to worship God together. This goal and purpose the Commack group had, and they were ordinary mortals. Besides, they came together at the end of a revolution when differences of political opinion were still bitter. So, as the nation struggled for unity and strength, so did this infant society- with the help of God. It was the Age of Reason, of new scientific discoveries, and of a skeptical questioning of established beliefs- both political and religious. This little group of dedicated Commack Christians must have breathed in some of the unsettling atmosphere of that day and age. And yet their love of Christ was an impregnable tower of strength to them. “History,” Winston Churchill said, “with it’s flickering lamp stumbles along the trail of the past, trying to reconstruct it’s scenes, to revive its echoes, and kindle with pale gleams, the passion of former days.” Commack Methodists have set today aside for this precise historical acknowledgement: namely to revive their echoes, and hopefully to kindle again in ourselves the flaming Christian passion of former days.
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JULY/AUGUST 2013
Yard Sale 2013Thank you to all volunteers that worked at the June 8th Yard Sale! 2013 was the largest vendor turnout in quite a few years with over 50 applications- we actually had to turn people away due to limited space! Up until the evening before, we were unsure if the sale was going to be held indoors or out due to the questionable weather. With the promise of sunshine, that morning it ended up being “vendor’s choice” so it was both indoors and outdoors throughout the church and education building grounds. And thankfully, it ended up being a gorgeous day! All money raised (approx. $750) is used by the Thrift Shoppe to support the church’s current expense and building fund throughout the year, as well as, make extra donations such as this past year’s purchase of new patio chairs for nice weather fellowship hour or other outdoor events and the new couches in the parlor. It ended up being a beautiful afternoon for the Yard Sale this year! (Virginia, Tom & Sarah taking a break from their refreshment stand.) Photo courtesy of Pat Ross
TROOP 125 SCOUTS LEND A HAND A few scouts were on hand during the CUMC’s Community Yard Sale on Saturday, June 8 to help with the set-up and assist the vendors participating in the event by unloading and carrying their merchandise to their designated spot. Some scouts even purchased some treasures! A BIG THANK YOU- for all their help!!
(Photos from this year’s yard sale) courtesy of John Muller Page 8
Supplies to benefit underprivileged children
Backpacks
Pens & Pencils
Lunch boxes
Notebooks
Hand sanitizers
Folders
Crayons
Tissues
Glue sticks
Magic Markers
Binders
Erasers
Calculators
Loose leaf paper
Cash donations
