The Montauk Wind
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Montauk Community Church THE MONTAUK WIND "The Wind Blew Among the Bodies and They Came Back to Life!" Ezekiel 37:10 November 201 3 Volume XI Issue 2 Advent / Christmas Light the Advent Wreath: Volunteers are needed to assist in worship during each Sunday of Advent and on Christmas Eve as we light the candles on the Advent wreath. Join with family or with a friend from the congregation and help take part in our Advent worship. See Pastor Bill if you are interested. The annual Children’s Christmas Pageant will be held, Sunday, December 22 during our regular 1 0:00am Sunday worship service. Join us as our children and youth share with us the story of Christ’s coming. The Christmas Eve Candlelight Service will be held Tuesday, December 24 at 6:30pm. There will be carols, readings, candles, a homily, and communion. This is worship for the whole family. There will be no formal Christmas Day worship this year. We hope you find time within your homes to give thanks for the gift of the Christ child along with all the other traditions of the day. The Montauk Wind page 2 A PARSONal Note As Susan alludes to in her letter to you this month, it has been a long time since you last heard from me in a Montauk Wind newsletter—too long. I apologize for that. Communication in a church is very important, particularly in a congregation that is growing and expanding its ministry, as we are. There are a lot of good things happening here. Worship attendance is strong and we continue to see new faces in our midst. We are blessed with many children in our Sunday School and we are starting a serious conversation about expanding our ministry with our Middle and Senior High kids. The elevator project is now becoming a reality, and our building is being used more by groups from the wider community. MCC is again an important resource for all of Montauk as well as for the people who worship here. With growth comes the need to be more attentive to sharing what is happening. Our church is not simply a bunch of small, separate groups who have their own particular interests. It is a diverse community, which together, has a stake in all we do. In fact, the work of each group within MCC is here primarily to serve the overall ministry and mission of the church. We are all connected. This newsletter is one way to keep those lines of communication open so we all can see what is happening in different corners of the church. That is one reason we are committing to bi- monthly issues of the Montauk Wind beginning in January. That is also why we are beginning to explore new ways to connect with people who want to connect with us. We may consider an electronic version of the newsletter that can greatly expand our ability to share photographs of life at MCC. And we may upgrade our website and our Facebook page (did you know we have a Facebook page?) and explore other forms of electronic media. We are considering creating a bulletin email list so you can receive the weekly announcements and the worship order even on those Sundays when you can’t be with us. You can help us. If you have information that your group wants to share with the rest of the church, write a short article and send it to Susan Raymond or me. If you have ideas about how we can better share what is happening here at MCC, let me know. My favorite type of communication is when someone stops in my study and sits down for a chat. I know–pretty old school–but it still works. So stop in any time. I’m sorry it’s been so long since you last heard from us in these pages. Since I know that I tend to work better under a deadline, I’m pretty confident in saying that I’ll see you again here in two months. God’s peace, Bill November 2013 page 3 Sunday School News by Editor Noelle Hear by Sunday School Superintendent Joy Hear Big News—there is a new This session we have been learning about the book of Sunday School teacher, Ms. Kings and we are currently studying Elijah. December Debbie Coen. She brings so 1 st the session moves into the New Testament and we much buzz to the room. She has will lead up to the birth of Christ. a lot of new tricks up her sleeve. She has been playing us great Eileen Devlin is running the Christmas pageant, and we music on her guitar and taught are so thankful for her and all the volunteers that we us sign language too! have. The Christmas Pageant will be December 22, and there will be no Sunday school on December 29th. Christmas Fair: Saturday, November 30 The Christmas Fair is coming. Soon! We are day, November 29 or on Saturday morning. collecting many wonderful gift certificates Once again, the women's and men's clothing from local businesses and new items from rooms will be open during regular rummage our church friends for our exciting and fun Si- times, 9 am to 1 2 noon. lent Auction. Donations will be accepted up to the time of the Fair. Bidding takes place from This fair is Montauk’s own start to the Christ- 9 am to 2:45 pm. Please try to be there at mas shopping season, so come out and see that time to see what you might have won what treasures you can find. And don’t forget and pick up your items. that Santa will arrive at 1 pm for photos and to listen to the children’s requests and hand As always, there will be handmade gifts and out candy. See you there! baked goods. You can add to the bounty by dropping baked goods at the church on Fri- The Montauk Wind page 4 Special Congregational Meeting Our Special Congregational Meeting to Deacons, Class of 201 4 elect new officers will be Sunday, Decem- Linda Norris succeeding herself ber 1 5 at 11 :1 5. Please grab a cup of cof- Deacons, Class of 201 6 fee and join us in the Sanctuary to elect Donna Etzel suceeding herself new officers. Edie Mancini succeeding Ed Sullivan Dorothy Sinclair succeeding Daz Winter The Nominating Committee met every Sunday after worship starting in early Oc- Session, Class of 201 5 tober. It was comprised of Nancy Pfund Edna Steck succeeding Nancy Pfund and Mayela Vargas from Session, Linda Session, Class of 201 6 Norris from the Deacons, and Jean Mas- Iris Mitchell succeeding herself in, Dorothy Sinclair, Rick White, and Iris Gail Webb succeeding herself Mitchell were at-large members, with Iris Evan Harrel succeeding Karen Rade. representing the Women's Guild. They are making the following recommenda- Nominating Committee Members at Large tions for service starting in February Jean Masin 201 4. Nominations will be accepted from Rick White the floor where you can nominate any Dorothy Sinclair active member of our church, including Chrissy Herbert yourself. Building Improvements New Roofs The Elevator is Coming Russell Nill Roofing completed You will soon notice some more changes. We have the replacement of the final contracted with All Island Elevator of Hampton Bays to two roofs in the Christian install an elevator! The entrance will be at the rear of Education Building last August, the Christian Education Building, where the Rummage finalizing the replacement of all shed used to be. The elevator will bring people down to roofs in the buildings owned by the Fellowship Room and up to the Sanctuary, via the MCC—the Sanctuary (done Guild Room. There will be extensive changes to those when the Tower was repaired), areas, so we ask for your patience as some regular the Manse, the Cottage and activities will be disrupted from time to time during the Christian Education construction. The end result will be a safe and Building. welcoming church building, accessible to all. Thanks to a donation from the estate of Barbara & Frank Borth, and contributions reflecting years of hard work from the Women's Guild, our goal of having a accessible building is finally becoming a reality. November 2013 page 5 Stewardship Questions: Why should I pledge? only yourself and God. We also invite you to speak with the pastor or other congregation The simple answer is that it greatly helps the members about the concerns you may have. church leadership to budget for the coming In the end, it is your choice to make. year if we have an accurate idea of expected income. But making a pledge is about more What if I can't give as much as I said? Or than that. A pledge is a commitment we make what if I have extra to give? to God and to ourselves as well as to the church. It is an expression of gratitude and a We recognize that circumstances can way of saying that we intend to give out of change. For some that may mean the ablility what we have received more than out of what to give more than planned at the beginning of we have left over. This requires careful the year. For others, it may mean the need to thought and prayer to decide the right scale back. Every person or family who amount for an individual or a family to give makes a pledge will get a statement at least and the decision will be different for each of twice a year letting them know how much us.