Keeping in Touch the Official Newsletter of the Second Congregational Church of Stafford

Volume 256 Issue 7 May 2020 Keeping In Touch The Official Newsletter of the Second Congregational Church of Stafford

INSIDE THIS ISSUE PASTOR: BRIAN BAEDER  Pastor’s Paragraphs Pastor’s Paragraphs  Calendar  Treasurer’s Report Philippians 2:3-4, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in hu-  A Lighter Moment mility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your  Yard Goats own interests, but to the interests of others..”  Missions  In and Around Church During this time of confusion and upheaval, I found this article helpful: By  Flea Market and Duck Race Michael W. McConnell and Max Raskin, published on April 21, 2020. Mr.  Deacons McConnell is a law professor and director of the Constitutional Law Center at  Rest Stop  Financial Secretary Stanford Law School. Mr. Raskin is an adjunct professor of law at New York  Birthdays and Anniversaries University.  Church Council If Liquor Stores Are Essential, Why Isn‘t Church?  Trustees Churches and synagogues were tragically empty two weekends ago, among  Online Worship the holiest days of the year for America‘s Christians and Jews. With few exceptions, the nation‘s faithful found solace via computer screens and in solitary prayer, acquiescing to restrictions on their constitutional liberty that would have seemed unthinkable a few months ago. But many are asking: How long must this go on? America was founded in no small part so that people of every creed and conviction could worship without hindrance, in accordance with conscience and tradition. Individual churches have been closed for health reasons in the past. History buffs may recall that the first Free Exercise Clause case in Supreme Court history, in 1845, involved the prohibition of open-coffin funeral services in a New Orleans church during a yellow fever outbreak. But this is the first mass closure of churches, synagogues, temples and mosques all over the country. And it has lasted for almost a month. Other important activities — from shopping in hardware stores to voting — manage to take place with appro- priate safeguards against the spread of the disease. Yet worshipers have been prevented from gathering ―together‖ (six to 10 feet apart) in cars in the church parking lot; Catholic churches have been told to close their doors even for solitary prayer; traditional sunrise services were canceled even when they would take place in the fresh air, observing the rules of social distancing. In the early weeks of the crisis, it made sense to enforce sweeping closure rules against all public gatherings — no exceptions. And even now, until the crisis subsides, religious communities will have to refrain from activities long central to the expression of love of God and one another. We would know: One of us had to forgo being with family who were sitting shiva, mourning his cousin. The son of the other could not be received into the church on Easter morning. Sacraments cannot be taken by Zoom. But in the days ahead, religious leaders and public health officials will need to find new ways to deal with the novel conundrums forced on us by this novel coronavirus. Fortunately, these new arrangements can be fashioned with some very old materials: the centuries-old principles of the First Amendment. Three time-tested principles of the First Amendment stand out as guideposts for navigating the competing de- mands of religious exercise and public health in a time of contagion. First, separation of church and state does not give religious communities immunity from regulation that is necessary for the common good. As long ago as 1905, the Supreme Court rejected the religious objections of a Mas- sachusetts pastor to compulsory vaccination against smallpox. Other legal rights, too, are affected. Less than two weeks ago, an appellate court approved restrictions on some abortion procedures during the crisis, saying, ―When faced with a society-threatening epidemic, a state may implement emergency measures that curtail constitutional rights so long as the measures have at least some real or substantial relation to the public health crisis and are not Pastor’s Paragraphs (Con’t) beyond all question, a plain, palpable invasion of rights secured by the fundamental law.‖ The second principle is that government can regulate religious activity only through what the Supreme Court calls ―neutral‖ and ―generally applicable‖ laws. This means that a government requirement cannot single out religious activity on the ground that it is somehow dispensable or ―nonessential.‖ The government may regulate religious activities no more strictly than it regulates secular activities that present comparable risks. This principle was invoked by Judge Justin Walker of the Western District of Kentucky when he allowed a drive-in Easter service to take place in a church parking lot with cars six feet apart from one another. Noting that Kentucky permitted drive-through liquor stores to continue operating, the court quipped, ―if beer is ‗essential,‘ so is Easter.‖ It is not for government officials to decide whether religious worship is essential; the First Amendment already decided that. The question is whether, and how, it may be conducted without undue risk to public health. Third, both sides must seek what the courts call ―reasonable accommodations.‖ These are tailored arrangements that allow people to practice their faith to the maximum practicable extent while still minimizing the dangers those activities pose to the public. Sacramental wine was permitted during Prohibition; Quakers are not drafted into the Army; kosher and halal facilities are excused from some of the details of meatpacking regulations. Reasonable accommodation is the most important principle as we emerge from the first phase of this crisis. Government officials must continue to be vigilant about realistic public health dangers from religious practice, but they must identify ―less restrictive‖ means for achieving their purposes. For instance, Jewish ritual baths, called mikvahs, are permitted to operate in the tri-state area, but are doing so with stricter rules and regulations, including enhanced disinfection and cleaning, and they are visited by appointment only. Similarly, priests in New York City hospitals designated by the Catholic Archdiocese are permitted to enter patients‘ rooms to give communion, so long as they wear all necessary protective equipment. These accommodations require a bit of trust on the part of the government and will need to be verified, potentially with clergy attesting to compliance with certain rules. But such trust is also required when California and Colorado deem marijuana dispensaries essential businesses. Religious leaders and congregations will have to remember that the First Amendment is not an exemption from law applicable to all. And government officials must not forget that religious exercise is at the apex of our national values. Mass is not a football game, a minyan not a cruise. Worship cannot shelter in place indefi- nitely. Stay Safe – Stay Well.

Grace and Peace, Brian Video Services

While we have not been able to hold church services since March 15, Brian has provided a video each week of his sermon and prayer. These have been passed around via e-mail and links to the services have been on the Facebook page.

For those who may have deleted the e-mails here are the links:

April 5 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtdWz_mL1XU&feature=youtu.be April 12 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=450NBo6D3y8&feature=youtu.be April 19 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lX6Wncm9MM&feature=youtu.be April 26 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSy3nuQFrDk

Cut and Paste the link into your browser.

Ken May 2020 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 See Toutube for Service

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 See Toutube for Service

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 See Toutube for Service Reg. Council Mtg 7 PM ??

24 25 26 27 28 29 30 See Toutube for Service

31 See Toutube for Service Treasurer Report Category Year-To-Date Budget-To-Date Percentage R21—Freewill $ 191.00 $ 375.00 51%

R22—Pledges $ 7,197.00 $ 8,352.00 86% R23—Contributions $ 65.00 $ 450.00 14% R24—Fund Raising $344.00 $ 3,500.00 10%

Capital Campaign $ 3,614.00 $ 1,988.00 131%

Through March 31 A Lighter Moment A teacher was testing the children in her Sunday school class to see if they understood the concept of getting to heaven. She asked them, "If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into Heaven?" "NO!" the children answered. "If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into Heaven?" Again, the answer was, "NO!" Now she was smiling. Hey, they're getting it, she thought! "Well, then, if I was kind to animals and gave candy to all the children, and loved my husband, would that get me into Heaven?" she asked. Again, they all answered, "NO!" She was just bursting with pride for them. "Well," she continued, "then how can I get into Heaven?" A five-year-old boy shouted out, "YOU GOTTA BE DEAD." * * * * The church was badly in need of a coat of paint. So the pastor decided he'd do the job himself. But all he had was one bucket of paint. So he got a bunch of buckets and some water, and he thinned the paint enough to cover the entire church. Then he spent all day painting. That night it rained—very hard—and washed all the paint off. The pastor was quite discouraged and asked God, 'Why...why God, did you let it rain and wash off all my hard work?' To which God thundered his reply, 'Repaint! Repaint! And thin no more!' * * * * Three boys are in the school yard bragging about their fathers. The first boy says, "My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calles it a poem, and they give him $25." The second boy says, "That's nothing. My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a song, and they give him $200." The third boy says, "I got you both beat. My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a sermon, and it takes eight men to collect all the money!" Y a r d G o a t s Hi all! We will be returning to the Yard Goats at Dunkin Donuts Park in Hartford on Saturday August 29th at 6pm! Rides available for those who don‘t wish to drive! I‘ve got 30 seats reserved. Sign up sheet will be out for names and head counts beginning Sunday February 2nd. Tickets are $12.00 each. Deposit of $5.00 to hold spots. Please see me if you have questions! We had a great time last year! Thank you- Kim Dickson 413-374-3247 call or text anytime. M i s s i o n s We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all who donated items to make up the Easter dinners that we offered to 9 families here in Stafford. Jen, from the Stafford Human Services office was so appreciative of our generosity. Thank you all again. Lisa, Jan, Kim & Linda In and Around The Church Our Hearts and Prayers reach out to our Brothers and Sisters who have various needs and struggles: continued prayers for Andy, Desiree, Samantha, Robin, Dane and Mary ... Prayers for our Sunday school students and teachers … Prayers of joy for Samantha being accepted into the Civic Leadership High School! … Prayers for our daughter Kristina Depault as she continues her work at Evergreen Healthcare Center … Prayers for the Ladr / Depault families on the loss of Orianna Ladr our Mom, Grandmother and Great Grandmother. She is sorely missed … Our sincere thank you to all who have sent cards, prayers and made memorial donations to the church in Oriana‘s name … Prayers of thanksgiving for the improving health of James Purnell and Pam Paterson. Both recovering from Covid 19 … prayers of healing for Leigh Maxa.

Flea Market and Duck Race Our Spring Flea Market has been postponed. The new date will be announced when we are again able to socialize without fear of being infected with the Covid 19 virus. As for the Duck Race, I am pretty sure that will be able to be held since it is scheduled for July 18. Hopefully, things will be back to somewhat normal by then. Stay Safe - Stay Well. Linda Sprague D e a c o n s Many thanks to Brian who is continuing to record the weekly Sunday sermons and collaborating online with UCC and Stafford Clergy. Hope everyone is enjoying the sermons. Many thanks to Sarah as well who is filming and posting each sermon. You may view them on Youtube. Thank you also to Steve for playing two hymns to accompany each sermon. Thanks to all who contributed flowers or money for the traditional flowering of the cross for Easter. It looked beautiful and I am sure it was a bright spot for many drivers passing by. Mark your calendars for August 9! The annual Sun Valley Service will be held at this beautiful lake set- ting. More information will be provided as the date gets closer. Thanks to Peg Ekenbarger for securing the date for this lovely service Please remember that we have the Deacon‘s Fund if you have a specific need. Contact Brian or Kathy. Re- quests are confidential and there is no requirement to repay. We look forward to seeing everyone soon for regular services.

R e s t S t o p We have been approved to hold our Rest Stop on June25-28 so while you are home staying safe it is a good time to start baking cookies for the rest stop. Thank you!

Financial Secretary So far we have been doing well with money coming in to pay bills. Thank you for this. If you have been by the church you have seen the new walk-way going into the side of the church and the new roof. So, what I am saying is I hope you will continue sending your pledges, capital campaign, and missions as you have been. We will continue to have bills and May is the month we usually have our Tag Sale and at this point we are un- sure if we will be having it. This is usually a good fund raiser.

Birthdays and Anniversaries May Birthdays May Anniversaries

May 5 Liam Parker May 16 Murray and Ellen Lancaster 21 Tom Hoefle 17 Brian and Diane Shackway 22 Sheila Hoefle 17 Ross and Lee Kerr 28 Brian Shackway 19 Adam and Rosalie Starvish 19 Andrew and Sarah Greaves

Church Council While Church Council has not physically met members have been in communication via calls, texts and emails in order to continue doing whatever is necessary to maintain the work of the church. I would like to report that throughout this quarantine period that there has been much work at the church and many things to report. Two projects are the church roof and the ramp on the East side of the church building both of these projects have been completed. The front lawn of the parish house was also the scene of a car accident that caused some minor damage to our stone wall and lawn. The damage has been repaired. Andrew Greaves will have details on these items in his report. Brian has been doing wonderful weekly Sunday services via the internet and Steve has added enjoyable music for those services. Thanks to Sarah who has been filming these services and posting them to Facebook and Youtube. I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that work is ongoing at the church so there are bills incoming so please continue your pledges as you‘re able, every little bit helps. Thank you all for your continued support. Stay well, be safe and God Bless. As always, the council welcomes your questions, comments and input.

Bruce Ladr Church Moderator

T r u s t e e s On behalf of the Trustees we hope everyone is safe and healthy during this difficult time. It is certainly a new experience, but we continue on- to start, on Friday April 3rd, Pastor Brian received word that there was a car crash on our parish house lawn. The driver was okay, and luckily only caused damage to our wall and the lawn in front of the sidewalk. Bruce and Bill took photos of the damage. I called in an insurance claim, and Bill's neighbor (Outdoor Creations LLC) quoted the damage at $1100.The quote included repairing a 5-7' sec- tion of our stone wall. The lawn was raked back into place with two yards of topsoil added, ten pounds of grass seed sown and two bags of straw to cover the seed. The work was done within the past few weeks. Our insurance company will give us $100 and we will pay the $1000 deductible while we wait for the accident investigation to be completed. Our insurance plans on pursuing the $1000 expense when the investigation is finished. I have dethatched, mowed and fertilized the lawns around the church and Parish House to hopefully bring some life to our lawns. I think we will be okay on not having an outdoor workday this Spring and just focusing on a deep cleaning of the indoors when it is safe to do so. On a lighter note, Scott's Karpentry has been active on our church grounds. Scott replaced the old wooden ramp on the side of the church with the metal ramp that was donated by Jay Chase after the passing of his fa- ther. The old ramp was torn up and landscaping stone was put down to prevent weeds from popping up be- neath the metal ramp. This cost $1100. Lastly, Scott and his guys replaced our roof. The estimate was $10,100 not including permit fees, dumpster fees and replacing damaged plywood. The final invoice came to $10,100 for the job, $135 to replace 3 boards of plywood, $180 for permit fees, and $781.03 for dumpster fees (including our wooden ramp debris). The grand total was $11,196.03. The grand total was well below the 16,000 dollars the Trustees asked for a couple months back. We are blessed and cannot thank Scott and his crew enough for his hard work and fair pricing. I remind everyone that for this work to be done, we have ex- tended our capital campaign by one year. I know it is a difficult time for many financially, but please keep these expenses in mind as you continue your donations to our church. Stay safe and healthy,

Andrew Greaves Board of Trustees-Chairperson

ONLINE WORSHIP Hi all! Although I know it isn't the same as being at a service in person, I hope that you can continue to benefit from our worship services being online. We have found an overall positive response to the videos, especially among those who cannot normally make the worship service in person. It is important that we continue to reach people in whatever capacity we can, especially during these trying times. If you have a Youtube account, "subscribe" to our church's channel to receive weekly services and prayer videos (hit the bell and click All Notifications). Please continue to hit the "share" button, to share the videos by email, on Facebook, or privately to anyone you'd like to see it. "Like" (hit the thumbs up icon) the video in order to increase its visibility online. Leave a comment on our videos. Pastor Brian would love to hear some feedback and reactions. You can comment on Youtube or Facebook. Through the Contour App, for Cox cable users, you can go to Youtube and view our service on your TV. Search the channel name in the search feature: "SecondCongregationalatWS" (no spaces!). If you have any issues viewing the videos, please do not hesitate to email me at [email protected] . Hope everyone is doing well. Miss you all, Sarah R.G.