APRIL 2014

In the heart of West Hartfordwe are called by God to grow together,inspiring and engaging one anotherthrough worship, learning, fellowship and outreach.

We faithfully serve our diverse community and world,welcoming and nurturing all peoplein the living Spirit of Jesus.

SUNDAY,ON CENTER10:00AMWorship

Meeting House, unless noted

April 6FaceTime with Jesus4. “Table Manners”Geordie Campbell

preaching

April 13Palm Sunday

FaceTime with Jesus5.“What do you wantme to do for you?”Geordie Campbell

preaching

Taizé at 5:00PM,Chapel

April 17Maundy ThursdayTenebrae, 7:00PM

ChapelFaceTime With Jesus6. “The Rock in the

Garden”Geordie Campbell

preaching

April 18Good Friday

Service, 7:00PMNanette Pittpreaching

April 20Easter Sunrise*Service: 6:00AM

Easter Celebration“Joy Comes in the

Morning!”Geordie Campbell

preaching

April 27Youth Sunday

My Dear Friends,Among my earliest memories of Easter’s arrival was going to the Easter

Sunrise Service with my father. It always felt like a special time alone withhim.They were in several different settings, as he and others in his congre-gations provided the Good News of Easter just as the sun opened the day.

Indelible in my mind is an old white-birch cross that a few men in thechurch had made of large branches. During the rest of the year, it was keptbehind our garage at the parsonage, but on Easter eve, the same few menwould come and take the cross to a hillside and set it upright in the ground.It was a dramatic sight to my young mind – and I’m sure in the revision ofmemory it was not quite as large as I remember!

After the sunrise service was over,kids, like me,went hunting for Eastereggs that had been hidden in the grass around and about that cross. My keen eyes would survey the area andstart to locate the hidden treasures as we shivered and sang and listened. And then,with the“go ahead”to search,I darted to collect the brightly colored surprises that were waiting. It was an exciting kind of Easter play – andI’m sure in the revision of memory, there were not quite as many hidden eggs as I recall!

These memories and images are still with me, even fifty-some years from those cold mornings! A cross thatsomehow taught me that something terribly important had happened to Jesus;something significant enough thatthree men would carefully enact the placement of that white-birch reminder around which we would worship.And a field planted with bright life and hidden treasures to be found on the very ground beneath our feet.

Years of theological study and decades of being a pastor have taught me other ways to speak of Easter inmore sophisticated form. But somehow, in my deepest heart, it still goes back to those chilly mornings with mydad. Mornings that told me that something amazingly important had come to pass. And that because of that amaz-ing something, there were gifts of life, bright and waiting in the early light of a new day!

In the Living Spirit of Jesus,

Geordie CampbellSenior Pastor

*A New Easter Venture–Our Own Sunrise Service on the Front Lawn!Gather at 6:00 AM for “Kindling Hope” with Geordie Campbell and Nanette Pitt.

F IRST CHURCH T ID INGS • WWW.WHFIRSTCHURCH.ORG • APR I L 2014 • PAGE 2

CHURCH BULLETIN BOARDAND FAMILY NEWS

BAPTISMS� Alec Rottman, son ofAmber and Joel Rottman,born on Oct. 2, 2013, wasbaptized on March 30.

DEATHS� Phyllis Kelley diedon March 2. Hermemorial service will bescheduled later this spring.

CELEBRATIONS� Rayda Bouma andEleanor Wight wereunited in marriage onMarch 29 and we all de-

light with them. It’s the longest engage-ment on record . . . 32 years!� Jonathan Ball, son of Bob andNancy Ball, recently celebrated the re-lease of his new CD “It’s Not That Far” atthe Cutting Room Jazz Club in New YorkCity. Jonathan is owner of Apple Music inSouthington and Elite Woodwind Repair inNewington. He started his music career atFirst Church and was a 1986 recipient ofthe Jeanne Diorio Award.

Do you have news of a birth, baptism,death or celebration?

If you have an announcement to share, pleasecall the church office: 860-233-9605.

Communications at First ChurchMAY Tidings submissions are due by APRIL 14th to Joy Taylor:

joyt@westhartfordmagazine.comSunday Notes and Weekly eNews Submissions are due each week by noon on

Wednesday to Gerry Whitehead: gerry.whitehead@whfirstchurch.org

IT’S EASY!Near the top of the homepage of the First Church website, click the DONATE tab.On

the next page,click the blueDonate Online button,which will link you to the secure web-site administered by Vanco Services, a nationwide leader in online donation services. TheOnline Donation page will appear,and you can begin by filling in the donation(s) you wishto make. When you click on the CONTINUE button, you will be prompted to provide theinformation necessary to complete your online donation. If you have questions,please con-tact Linda Case, Church Administrator, at linda.case@whfirstchurch.org or 860-233-9605 x105.�

We Welcome Tim CowlesOur New Building Superintendent

Tim Cowles, our new Building Superintendent, joined the First Church staff on Febru-ary 18th. He works Monday through Friday,primarily between 10AM and 2 PM with someflexibility for meetings that take place outside of those hours.

Tim comes to us with twenty-plus years of experience in facilities management, staffmanagement, and compliance with federal, state, and local safety regulations. His prior ex-perience includes employment at Newington Children’s Hospital,Mercy Community HealthCenter (The McAuley),Mercy Housing and Shelter, and FarmingtonWoods condominium.

Tim lives in Farmington with his wife, Joyce,and his son,Tyler. In his personal time heenjoys kayaking, camping, and golf.

Please welcomeTim and help him to get to know you, as well as our extraordinary fa-cility.�

Forward in FaithSpiritual Center . . . Community Pres-

ence and Outreach . . . Physical Plant . . . andEnsuring for a Sustainable Future . . . theseare among the conversations of our Imple-mentation Phase! And these are lively, cre-ative, faithful and energetic times for all ofus at First Church – whether participatingin the process actively or not!

A monthly gathering is held on the last Monday evening of the month with all folkspresent from each of the four focus areas (Spiritual Center, Outreach, Sustainability, andBuilding). These evenings begin with a time together, then break-out conversations intotheir work groups followed by a reconvened time – a pattern meant to ensure attention toboth the details of each area and a time for cross pollination and communication among allparties.We anticipate having a meeting with the whole congregation sometime in May toshare the fruits of these sessions, and to receive recommendations going forward.

Please keep First Church in your prayers as all of this unfolds! These are emerging andexciting times as we look forward in hope! Questions? Give Court Lewis a call.�

Find us on Facebook and Flickr(Flickr group is called

“In The Heart of West Hartford”)

The Music Ministry program at FirstChurch will present a concert of Lentenmusic onApril 6 at 4:00 PM in the Meet-ing House. Featured as part of that con-cert will be the complete motet, “Jesu,meine Freude,”(“Jesu,PricelessTreasure),performed by theAdult Choir. A free-willoffering will be received to benefit theMusic and FineArts Fund.�

POSTPONED... watch your

email and Sunday Notes

for updates!

April is an exciting time at First ChurchNursery School! On Tuesday andWednesday,April 2nd and 3rd,we have a

wonderful opportunity to show our apprecia-tion for our supportive families and those atFirst Church who support us in so many ways,not the least of which is with prayer!

We will be serving our Muffin Breakfast, complete with homemade muffins, freshfruit, juices, coffee and tea. The breakfast runs from 7:30-9:30 both days in theAudito-rium. Feel free to stop in!

During the month of April, we will be showcasing the incredible art work ouryoung children produce. To celebrate the Month of the Young Child, we will be dis-playing in the JPWebster Gallery. Please take time to have a tour; you will be amazed!

OnApril 21st,we will put our Chick Eggs into our incubator for hatching! 21 longdays later,we will listen for the“peep,peep”coming from inside the wobbling eggs. Wewill keep the chicks for two weeks before they leave for their new home atWestmoorPark.

We are filling up for the summer sessions – please let your friends and neighborsknow what fun times we have here during the summer months. We offer five two-week sessions from June 16th throughAugust 22nd. This year, in honor of the 50thAn-niversary of the Beatles,we are calling our summer“TouringThrough the Summer withthe Beatles” filled with children’s versions of all the old favorites! So much fun to behad! – Blessed to be here!� Ruthie Johnson, Education Director

OPEN & AFFIRMING CONGREGATION

Rev. Dr. C. Geordie Campbell, Senior PastorRev. Nanette Pitt, Acting Associate PastorSuzanne Nardi, Administrative Assistant

12 SOUTH MAIN STREETWEST HARTFORD, CT 06107www.whfirstchurch.orgP: (860) 233-9605F: (860) 232-8183

J.P. WEBSTER LIBRARY (860) 232-3893Patti Malahan, jpwebsterdir@snet.net

NURSERY SCHOOL (860) 232-2106Ruthie Johnson, fcnswh@att.net

Please share, save or recycle yourTIDINGS with your newspapers.

UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

F IRST CHURCH T ID INGS • WWW.WHFIRSTCHURCH.ORG • APR I L 2014 • PAGE 3

Easter BasketsThe Easter basket drive for Covenant to Care for Children ishere! Please consider filling a basket for a needy child.Empty baskets were distributed on March 30, and filledbaskets are due in the office by Palm Sunday,April 13. Thank you! �–Bev Truebig and Carole Carter

Annual Easter Egg Hunt!Join us for a fun Easter egg hunt immediately following our 10:00AM Easter

Sunday service. Toddlers through kindergarten age children will meet and huntfor treat-filled eggs on the nursery school playground. Children first grade

through sixth grade will hunt on the labyrinth on the front lawn of the church.

Bring your baskets and your cameras!

Share the joy of the Easter season! On

Palm Sunday,April 13, the Parish Care Min-

istry will have Easter Lilies in the auditorium

ready to be delivered to members of our

church family. Delivering flowers is a great

way to connect with people and to spread

some cheer. We are looking for volunteers

who are willing to deliver one, two,three or

more lilies! There will be a sign-up sheet in

the auditorium after church onApril 7th for

those who would like to deliver. Or you may

call Diane Bohman at 860-521-7103 to get

your name on the list! �

F IRST CHURCH T ID INGS • WWW.WHFIRSTCHURCH.ORG • APR I L 2014 • PAGE 4

Two More Wednesday Evening Lenten ProgramsSpend time learning how to practice your faith in new ways this Lenten season, allowing for a deeper spiritual sense in everydaylife.EachWednesday evening in Lent will begin with soup & bread at 6:00 PM in theAuditorium followed by two different sessionsfrom 6:45-7:30 PM,one suited to adults and High Schoolers, and the other to children from Elementary-age through Middle School.

SIGN UP! Contact Suzanne Nardi, 860-233-9605, suzanne.nardi@hfirstchurch.org

APRIL 2Mindfulness & the SensesA practice of attentiveness to the world around us through oursense of smell, touch,sight,and hearing.Led by Nanette Pitt.Suit-able for adults and High School youth.

Mindfulness MeditationChildren will have the opportunity to practice a wide variety ofmindfulness techniques, and play games.Led by John Carbone.Suitable for Kindergarten through 8.

APRIL 9A Visit with JesusExperience biblical encounters through guided imagery and spir-itual imagination. Led by Geordie Campbell. Suitable for adultsand High School youth.

Yoga for KidsLed by Nancy Murray. Suitable for children in grades Kinder-garten through 8.

Our March 2ndchapel time was a greatsuccess! The Jolly Beg-gars performed a mini-concert for our kids,taught them a hymn andled them,while singing,into the sanctuary. Ournext chapel time forgrades kindergartenthrough 8th grade willbe onApril 6th at 10:00AM when children will again be led from the chapel back to the sanctuary for communionwith their families.

April 13th will be a“whole group”movie Sunday.Children in grades kindergarten through8th will meet on the fourth floor for the movie,“The Greatest is the Least.”Children are en-couraged to watch carefully,as they will then compete in a Jeopardy-style gamewith questionsbased on the movie. We’ll have prizes!

Families are invited to experience the joy of Easter at ourApril 20th Easter Sunday wor-ship service together. There is no regular church school that morning.Church school resumesonApril 27th.�On non-Communion Sundays, all families will attend the 10:00 AM worship service inthe Meeting House together. After the children’s sermon, children are dismissed to theirclassrooms.

F IRST CHURCH T ID INGS • WWW.WHFIRSTCHURCH.ORG • APR I L 2014 • PAGE 5

Church School News

Vacation Bible SchoolJuly 14-18th

First Church will hostWeirdAnimalsVa-cation Bible School- Where Jesus’ Love IsOne- of-A-Kind, from July 14-18th. Each day,kids participate in small groups, called ZooCrews,and discover what Jesus’endless lovemeans in their lives! Not only will they ex-perience wild Bible adventures, but they’llalso watch for God in everyday life throughsomething called God Sightings™.You andyour kids will discover that God is active inour lives and that his fingerprints are every-where!

Weird Animals is filled with unforget-table Bible-learning experiences: kids willsee,hear, touch,and even taste!All-new Kid-Vid Cinema shares real stories of real kidswho rely on Jesus’ love to face life’s chal-lenges! Plus, team-building games,cool Bible songs, and tasty treatskeep everyone on the move. Campruns 9:00AM until 12:00 noon. Moredetails and participant and volunteerregistration can be found on ourwebsite.

If you have questions, contactDawne:dawne.quinn@whfirstchurch.org�

LOOK–Youth Room Fundraiser!Support our youth on April 26th, from 7:00-9:00 PM.We'll have a silent auction, appetizers and performancesby our youth in the auditorium. All proceeds from theevening will go towards renovating our youth roomspace.

Awakening the SpiritBook Discussion

On Monday,April 7 at noon,we’ll continue our Lentendiscussion of John ShelbySpong’s new book, TheFourth Gospel: Tales of aJewish Mystic.According toSpong,“the Fourth Gospel

was designed first to place Jesus into thecontext of the Jewish scriptures, then toplace him into the worship patterns of thesynagogue, and finally to allow him to beviewed through the lens of a popular formof first-century Jewish mysticism.” Our dis-cussion will be led by Susan Izard.Copies ofthe books will be available in the library.Please bring your lunch; beverages anddessert will be provided. �

Patricia Malahan, Director • Email: JPWebsterDir@snet.net(860) 232-3893

Regular Hours: Mon & Tues, 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM;Wed & Thurs, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM; Sun, 9:00 AM – noon.

Around the World in 8 Months!

Food for Thought Book GroupMeets at 5:30 PM.Please bring a light dinner; beverages and dessert will be provided.

April 3An Invisible Thread: TheTrue Story of an 11-Year-Old Panhandler, a BusySales Executive, and an Un-likely Meeting with Destiny.Laura Schroff’s heartwarm-

ing, feel-good memoir is about the bond thatdevelops between a successful New YorkCity sales executive and a young, poverty-stricken panhandler,Maurice,over a 30 yearperiod. Through an initial act of kindness, afriendship developed that changed theirlives forever. �

May 1And the Mountains Echoed.Khaled Hosseini’s latest bestseller is a family saga with avariety of complex charac-ters spanning generationsfrom 1952 and locales from

Afghanistan to Paris to San Francisco,and in-cluding a tiny island in Greece. Hosseinispins tales of family relationships, love, sac-rifice and morality from different perspec-tives with multiple twists and turns alongthe way. �

New Resources for Adults and Youth – The library has a large selection of new and classic, spiritual and secular books for all ages!

F IRST CHURCH T ID INGS • WWW.WHFIRSTCHURCH.ORG • APR I L 2014 • PAGE 6

Read. Surf. Study. Meet @ JPW

F IRST CHURCH T ID INGS • WWW.WHFIRSTCHURCH.ORG • APR I L 2014 • PAGE 7

Reach OutA column from Service & Outreach

TaizéWorship Services

Sunday, April 13th at 5:00 PMin the Chapel

The services are open to the wider community,and are co-sponsored by:

This month theFourth Sunday SpecialOffering will benefitLoaves & Fishes.Loaves & Fishes Min-istries is a charitable organization which pro-vides human services in Hartford, CT.Theirbasic program revolves around their soupkitchen, which serves an average of 130meals each day.Their mission is to providethe means for motivated individuals to movethemselves out of the cycle of poverty andaddiction into sober, responsible lives.Web-site- www.loaves-fishes.org

Service & Outreach sponsors a SpecialOffering the fourth Sunday every month. �

Tues: 7:00pm – 8:15pm • Wed: 9:15am – 10:30am • Thurs: 9:15am – 10:30am

Please call Nancy Murray 860-521-8186 for more information,including suggested donation, or to sign up.

We are the Temple of the Living God. Glorify God in your body.(2 Corinthians 6:16, 1 Corinthians 6:20 NRSV)

YOGASponsored by the Christian Education Ministry of First Church

Annual SpringClean-Upis coming!Watch your email and

Sunday Notes for information.

Easter SunriseService

Gather on the First Church lawn for“Kindling Hope”

withGeordie and Nanette.

Troop 12 Scouts were active with service projects last month.They helpedPack 148 leaders to run their Pinewood Derby at the Norfeldt Elementary Schoolgymnasium.Besides helping repair broken cars,bringing and returning cars to thetrack, and being hall monitors, they also served as the color guard for the openingceremonies.

At the monthly camping trip at J.N.Webster Scout camp in Ashford,Troop 12Scouts spent Saturday morning helping the Camp Ranger,Mr.Young, cut, split, andstack wood.We managed to complete at least a cord of wood for the wood furnacethat heats the ranger’s workshop and house.Assistant Scoutmaster, Mr.Allen, andtwo of the older boys ran the hydraulic splitter under the watchful eye of Mr.Youngand Scoutmaster Brown. Mr Young cut long pieces with his chain saw while therest of the troop dragged wood into the shed and stacked it.

After lunch on Saturday, Scout Keith,who was working on his Emergency Pre-paredness merit badge, ran an emergency search and rescue simulation in whichone of the younger boys left camp with a buddy and didn’t return because of a“sprained ankle.”Keith then demonstrated the Boy Scout-accepted process of find-ing the“lost”Scouts and rescuing the“injured”Scout. �

Troop 12 Boy Scouts meet weekly on Tuesdays from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM at FirstChurch’sYouth Room; they welcome all boys 11 to 17 years old. You may contactScoutmaster Fred Brown at fredbrown3@aol.com for more information.

Troop 12 March News

F IRST CHURCH T ID INGS • WWW.WHFIRSTCHURCH.ORG • APR I L 2014 • PAGE 8

12 SOUTH MAIN STREETWEST HARTFORD, CT 06107

APRIL 2014

Looking for a churchto call home?

Looking for a church to call home?New members will be received into thechurch on April 13. If you would like toknow more about church membership orwould like to be included, please speak toGeordie or Nanette. �

FOODSHARE 31ST ANNUALWALK AGAINST HUNGERSunday MAY 4, 2014

Please join your fellow members(First Church Striders) in the WalkAgainst Hunger on Sunday May 4th at2:00 at HartBeat Park on Garden StreetbehindThe Hartford Financial Services Group in Hartford.

TheWalk will be held rain or shine and it is a pleasant three-mile walk from HartBeatPark around Bushnell Park and ends back at HartBeat Park.If you cannot walk that day,pleaseconsider being a“spiritual”walker by sponsoring one of your fellow Church members.Therewill be a sign-up table after worship onApril 13th and 27th during coffee hour.

Our Goal this year is to raise $3,000 for Foodshare.

For every $30 donated,Foodshare can provide enough food for one person for a month.Over 128,000 people, including 50,000 children, are in need of emergency food assistancein greater Hartford each year. This year, Foodshare will distribute enough food for 12 mil-lion meals to 300 local programs that serve hungry people in Hartford andTolland counties.Thank you in advance for your generosity. If you have any questions, please contact JennyClark (S&O) 860-232-5376.�