New Milford United Methodist Church68 Danbury Road, New Milford, Conn. 06776 • (860) 354-4596 • www.NewMilfordUMC.org • Office@NewMilfordUMC.org

May 2014

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Spring Has Sprung . . .

This is a day of new beginnings, time to remember and move on,time to believe what love is bringing, laying to rest the pain that’s gone…

Ahhhh, Spring! Flowers, leaves, pollen, allergies! And the inevitable, Spring cleaning. Spring cleaning is an opportunity to make a new commit-ment in our lives to make things right. Last weekend I had the opportunity to do some Spring cleaning with my family on our back porch. We tossed out a barbecue grill that had a rusted out bottom, threw out a plastic trike that was broken, weeded, picked up sticks, and raked leaves. It gave us a great feeling of satisfaction to get our hands dirty and to start things over again.

Getting the fresh air made me think about the Spring cleaning and fresh air we need. This is a great season to make things right with God and with neighbor. This is a season in which all things are made new again. Let’s do that in our relationships with God and one another.

Moreover, what’s gathered dust in your spiritual life and is in need of Spring cleaning? Maybe you’ve let your prayer life get dusty. Maybe you haven’t dusted off that family Bible recently and engaged in scriptural devo-tions. Maybe you haven’t made it into church recently but have been mean-ing to do so.

Spring is an opportunity to make things new. Our Creator, our Christ, our Holy Spirit reminds us of that in the Easter season. Winter lasts but a little while. But the new life that comes with Spring, that is what defines us as an Easter people who place our trust in the resurrected Christ. For, as the hymn says:

Christ is alive and goes before usto show and share what love can do.This is a day of new beginnings; our God is making all things new

Peace and Blessings,

Rev. Paul A. Fleck, PastorNew Milford UMC

Newsletter deadline and production dates

The next newsletter deadline will be Friday, May 30 at noon and we will be prepar-ing it for mailing on Thurs-day, June 5.

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Mother’s Day & Father’s Day CardsMother’s and Father’s Day Cards will once again be sold to sup-port the Church World Services “Blanket and Tool program”. This program purchases tools and blankets for people in developing countries. This program started in 1989 and, to date, our church has collected close to $7000!Cards are $5 each and will be sold in the Narthex. Mother’s Day Cards will be available on May 4 and May 11. Father’s Day Cards will be sold on June 1, June 8, and June 15. If you have any questions, please contact Bonnie Knapp at 860-355-0559.

Bowling NightThe next bowling night will be held on Saturday, May 17 at 7:15 p.m. at Lore’s Lanes. Lane rental is $45 which is split between all bowlers, so depending on the number of attendees, bowlers can pay as little at $7.50 each which includes 2 games and shoe rental. Please RSVP by May 15 to Linda Slater at (860) 354-6180 or lslater0256@yahoo.com.

Church News2014 First Quarter New Member ReportTo date, we have had one new member join the church and one baptism. If you are interested in join-ing the church, please plan to attend our next New Member Orientation on Saturday, May 10, from 2 to 5 p.m. in Fellowship Hall (then plan to stay for our Spaghetti Supper dinner). New Members will be received Sunday, June 8 at our combined 10 a.m. worship service. Please extend a heartfelt welcome to Denise Reiss who joined NMUMC in March.

thank you for the coupons

Please join us for our art show on Friday, May 2 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. We will also be having a silent auction during the Art Show to raise money for our proposed playground.

Everyone at the Education Center would like to extend heartfelt condolences to the Deboy/Morin Family during this time of loss. Sue Deboy initiated the Ready Set For Kindergarten preschool program several years ago and spent countless hours tutoring children in our afterschool program. She was loving, kind, and offered a smile always at first glance. The children and staff who new her will miss her dearly.

We are registering for our Summer Fun program, please stop in as soon as possible to secure your child’s place in the program. We have two field trips planned for every week and we have lots of in house visitors. Space fills up quickly!

We also welcome volunteers at any time so if you are interested or know someone who is have them stop in to see me so we can schedule a date and time.

Warm regards,Jennifer Pennucci

the Education Center

Miss onsBridgeport Rescue MissionVolunteers are needed the third Thursday of each month to serve a precooked hot meal to the residents in the rehabilitation and educa-tion programs of Bridgeport Rescue Mission. A caravan leaves New Milford at 3:30 p.m. and returns at 7:30 p.m.

Additionally, donations of clothing (men, women and children) may be left in the blue bin located in downstairs back hallway. If you have questions or would like to volun-teer, contact Chris Prause at 860-355-0491.

Rebuilding Together of Litchfield County

Rebuilding Together of Litchfield County rehabilitates homes for residents living in unsafe and substandard conditions. All work is done through volunteer labor, both skilled and unskilled, to alleviate critical repair needs. Homeowners, who do not have the necessary resources, work with the team, learning home maintenance skills.

NMUMC is supporting this effort through two work teams. House Captain, Ralph Williams III will be coordinating replacing windows at two sites. Volunteers are needed for both a worksite in New Milford as well as one in Litchfield. The primary work day is April 26. Please contact Ralph Williams III at 860-354-4203 to help or for more information.

Denise Reiss, new member

Joys & ConcernsWe are thankful:Sue Sterling’s daughter, Becky, is expect-

ing her second child in October.Sue Sterling’s son, Daniel and his fiancé

Sofia, who were recently wed.

Our prayers are with . . .Carol Muska’s husband who is recovering

from blood clots in his lungs.Roberta Buddle, Roger Nagle, Sue Sterling, and Tom Tibbatts who are all

recovering from surgery.

Sue Sterling’s cousin, Mary, who has lung cancer

Dave Kullgren’s sister-in-law, Elner Cibel-li, who suffered a massive heart attack and is in the hospital in New Jersey. She is expected to recover.

The LaBella family whose daughter has is undergoing chemotherapy.

Our prayers continue for . . .The DeBoy family as they grieve the loss of Sue.

The Hudak family as they grieve the loss of June.

Millie Ackerly’s daughter who has begun cancer treatment.

Jan Parson’s sister-in-law, Ellen, who is recovering following surgery.

Traci Poeti’s brother, Rob, who has health issues.

Bonnie Knapp’s brother, Dick, who is receiving radiation for a growth on his neck.

Marlene Davis’ nephew who is in hospice.

May Birthdays: May 2 - Teddy O.May 4 – Ralph W.May 6 – Harold J.May 10 – Bob H.May 22 – Daniel W., Nick F.May 28 – Dave K.May 29 – Kay J.May 31 – Debbie D.

Attendance & Offerings

Mar. 30 110 $3,233Apr. 6 87 $4,268Apr. 13 114 $3,528Apr. 20 200 $2,898

Church News

thank you for the coupons

Thanks to your generosity we have a great coupon inventory and have now found a single weekly source for any future coupon needs. We have made one trip already with a little over a 65% savings! What coupons we don’t use are being made available to Our Daily Bread clients in the event they can benefit from the savings. Your support has been greatly appreciated.

Food Needs at Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread is in need of corn, canned fruit and tuna fish.

Sign up and pledge sheets for Relay for Life are in the Narthex. We hope you’ll join us in this endeavor by signing up to help work the day of the Relay or by mak-ing a pledge. You can further help us in our fundraising efforts by donating any loose change in the “Coins for Cancer” jar in Fellowship Hall.

During Fellowship Hour stop by the Relay for Life table and purchase handmade knitted hats for only $8 or a Luminary bag for $5 to decorate and dedicate to that special loved one.

On May 17 at 1 p.m., join us for Zumba at the New Milford Sports Club! Your donation covers the class fee, and all proceeds benefit Relay for Life. Please con-tact team Captain, Linda Slater at lslater0256@yahoo.com or 860-354-6180 for further information.

Church News

We invite you to become a STOCK-HOLDER in the UM Youth Fellowship of the Gaylordsville and New Milford United Methodist Churches! There are four stock options: Silver — up to $50 donation; Gold — $51-$150 donation; Diamond — $151-$250 donation; Platinum — Over $251 donation. The perks of being a Stockholder of the Youth Group—other than ‘just’ sup-porting the future leaders of our congrega-tions—are as follows:

Silver: stock certificate, recognition in next church newsletter, FREE STOCKHOLD-ERS DINNER FOR YOUR FAMILY later in the summer to share our U.M. A.R.M.Y experiences.

Gold: stock certificate, recognition in next church newsletter, entered into a drawing to be chosen as a judge for a youth group scavenger hunt later this summer, free stockholders dinner for your family.

Diamond: stock certificate, recognition in next church newsletter, entered into a drawing to be chosen as a judge for a youth group scavenger hunt later this summer, free stockholder’s dinner for you family, FREE CAR WASH CERTIFICATE.

Platinum— Stock certificate, recognition in next church newsletter, entered into a drawing to be chosen as a judge for a youth group scavenger hunt later this summer, free stockholder’s dinner for you family, free car wash certificate, FREE LEAF RAK-ING CERTIFICATE for use in the fall!

During the month of June, in between services, youth representatives will be selling stocks. If you have any questions you can ask members of the Youth Group, or email Brinna Kolitz at: youthminister@newmilfordumc.org.

The money raised from stock sales will go to supporting youth activities and cost of our U.M. ARMY mission trip.

We thank you for your prayerful consider-ation in supporting our youth!

George Leary camp scholarships now available for 2014Spring is here, but before we realize it will be summer, a great time for swim-ming, boating and walking on nature trails in the woods in the fresh air. One of the benefits from the sale of Christmas Trees in 2013 is a unique opportuni-ty to attend a church camp in 2014. The George Leary Scholarship is available to eligible youth in the church from the United Methodist Men’s [UMMen] organization. Applications and booklets for individual camps will soon be available outside the church office for four United Methodist Church camps this sum-mer along with a scholarship application to be completed and returned to the UMMen as soon as possible. Information and applications are also available on the websites listed below. Some campsites are already filled. U.M. ARMY: Opportunities are available for youth to participate in a couple of camps this year in New England. Contact Tracie Nixon for further information at 860-355-8628 or tracienix@gmail.com. • Mixed Age Program – Participants must have completed 7th grade or older. This camp will be held July 6 - 12 in Barre, VT. • Young Adult Program – Participants must be 1-year post high school graduation. This camp will be held June 8 - 13 in Springfield, MA. Camp Mechuwana in Winthrop, ME is located on 200 acres of forest land and offers a peaceful, natural setting. For more information, visit www.mechuwana.org Camp Aldersgate in North Scituate, RI is big enough to find yourself in! Camp Aldersgate has a lake for fishing, swimming, boating, sailing, canoeing, baptizing, or just gazing upon. For more information, visit www.campaldersgate.com Camp Quinipet on Long Island, NY is situated on the Peconic Bay on scenic Shelter Island, 100 miles east of New York City. Camps this year include sailing, equestrian, guitar, tennis, team sports, kayaking and discovery camp-ing. For more information, visit www.quinipet.org Camp Kingswood near Hancock, NY in the Catskills, 766 acres of wood-land on Hathaway Pond on Route 17. For more information, visit www.kingswoodcampsite.orgQuestions can be directed to Dave Kullgren at 860-354-1102 or dkull-gren1102@charter.net.

— Dave Kullgren, United Methodist Men

God SightingsGod Sightings come from the desire to share the everyday occurrences and small miracles that reveal the nature of God. A luminous smile from a stranger, an an-swered prayer, a change of heart, an unexpected grace or mercy. God sightings are not religious and do not exclude any who feel that they have brushed up against the unknown, the miraculous, the divine. We all sometimes need to be reminded that God is here within us, whispering, winking, and LOVING. Pass along your story and who knows, you may be the God Sighting that someone needs today. We will now be featuring your God Sightings in our newsletter. If you would like to submit a God Sighting, or a few, please send them to Emily Nixon at opendoor@newmilfor-dumc.org or call her at (203)947-9876. Please let her know if you would like your God Sighting to be anonymous upon submission.

Church News

A Note of Concern from the Finance Committee

Giving has been significantly down since the beginning of the year. Our weekly average giving through April 20 was $3,233; however, our budgeted average is $3,692. This puts our giving at $459 below average per week. Multiplied by 52 weeks, that means that if giving does not significantly turn around—and it has not as of yet—we will be almost $24,000 in the red for the year. This is a major problem as we attempt to move our pastor to a ¾ time schedule, pay our other bills, and step out into the world in faith to make disciples.

Members of our church may have been under the mistaken impression that the sale of Chamberlain Hall meant that we would have additional dollars to spend, or that we have some “cash reserve” as a result of the sale. That certainly was not the case. Our budget last year was a deficit budget to the tune of $18,192. We were only able to balance our budget at the end of the year because the sale of Chamberlain Hall allowed us to pay down our mortgage debt by $292,000, our mortgage was re-amortized, and the mortgage payment was thereby reduced from $4,179 to $1,456. We are hardly rolling in cash; we simply aren’t drowning in debt the way we were before.

Our church has been recently blessed to have Iglesia Cristo Reina rent our sanctuary for $800 per month. Again, this may have created the mistaken impression that we are financially well-off as a result. Two hundred dollars of that money goes to the Trustees for their maintenance and repairs budget, leaving a scant $600 for the Church’s General Fund, which only covers over one week of the reduced giving we have been experiencing.

When you considered that we have deferred maintenance on a number of items for many years (we are making efforts to develop a fund for such expenses) and have been operating at a bare bones situation in terms of program expenses that help make and form disciples, the situation is of even greater concern.

We still have to pay our bills and we still have a mortgage payment of $1,456 per month. As a result, Finance was forced to go to Church Council and ask that $5,000 from our endowment be allocated to the General Fund. This will happen again this year if giving does not turn around.

This has always been a giving church, a committed church, a doing church. Whether you are a regular giver or if your giving has flagged as of late, we ask you to prayerfully consider your commitment to our church. Your giv-ing means everything to our ability to step out boldly to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Prayerfully,

Ralph Williams, IIIFinance Chair

U.M. ARMY – HOW YOU CAN HELPEvery year we hold Pre-sites dates where we visit potential U.M. ARMY sites to determine if they are a good fit for summer work. You do not need to have any U.M. ARMY experience, nor any construction experience. We will provide you with all the training you need to be able to screen the site for us. This is a great way to be involved with U.M. ARMY even if you cannot attend camp for a week.

The dates for the closest Pre-Sites are on Saturday, May 11, in Springfield, MA at Trinity UMC and Saturday, June 15 in Trumbull, CT at Nichols UMC. Pre-site volunteers should plan to arrive at the host church by 9:00 a.m., for training and assignments and most pre-site activities will conclude by 3:00 p.m. More details will be available as they are solidified, including car-pooling.

Due to your generosity over the last 7 years we have a pretty good store of tools, but please contact let us know if you have any tools you would like to donate. Disposable tools and supplies, food and gas do need to be purchased and donations of money or gift cards to Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-Mart, CVS or gas stations are greatly appreciated. Please contact Tracie Nixon with any questions at 203-994-7763 or tracienix@gmail.com.

Church LeadershipChurch leadership consists of several committees. Over the next several months, we are going to feature each committee, its function, and its members. Members of every committee are selected by the Nominating Committee and are voted on at the annual Charge Conference. Appointments vacated during the year are filled as needed with approved by Church Council. Lay Leaders (Pat Tripp and Marilyn Fuller) are members of every committee. Church Council Chairperson (Stacey Didato) is a member of every committee with the exception of the Staff-Parish Relations Committee. This month we are featuring the Staff-Parish Relations Committee and the Board of Trustees. Further information about these committees can be found in the Book of Discipline, available in the Church Office and on the General Board of Discipleship website (www.gbod.org), where the descriptions below were taken from.

Class of 2014 Dave Kullgren Stephen Malinowski

Class of 2015 Carol Muska Anne Meehan

Class of 2016Roberta BuddleAdrienne Kern

STAFF-PARISH RELATIONS COMMITTEEThis committee works with the pastor and other staff so that the staff can work effectively in managing the ministry of the congregation. Members encourage, strengthen, nurture, and support the pastor, staff, and their families and to promote unity in the church. Responsibilities include:

• Developing policies and procedures related to all non- clergy staff (e.g., hiring, dismissal, compensation, benefits, evaluation, maintaining current job descriptions and personnel records).• Recommending to the Church Council compensation packages for pastor and staff.• Serving as liaison between the congregation and pastor and staff.• Helping staff to succeed in their jobs through adequate supervision, evaluation, training/continuing education, prioritizing workload, maintaining accountability, and encouraging self-care (e.g., through spiritual renewal, use of sick leave & vacation).

The SPRC consists of nine members and is divided into three classes, one of which is elected each year to a three-year term.In addition, the lay leader, lay member of annual confer-ence, and pastor serve on this committee. Our SPR meets monthly on the third Tuesday at 7 p.m. All proceedings are confidential, except as required or appropriate to share with other church committees, the local congregation, and the District Superintendent.

Staff Parish Relations Committee Members:Pete DelMastro, Chair

Annual Conference Delegate: Marlene Davis

Staff Liaisons for 2014Pastor — Pete DelMastroOffice Manager — Adrienne KernFinance Manager — Anne MeehanEducation Center Director — Pat TrippMusic Minister and Open Door Band — Carol MuskaYouth Pastor — Marilyn FullerSafe Sanctuary Representative — Roberta Buddle

BOARD OF TRUSTEESTrustees are stewards of church buildings and grounds as well as gifts and bequests. Responsibilities include:

• Care of all local church property, buildings, and equipment.• Administer gifts, trust fund investments, and bequests as well as promote, invest, and distribute the proceeds from these gifts.• Ensure that the Articles of Incorporation are kept up-to-date.• Review property, liability, and crime insurance coverage on church-owned property, buildings, and equipment. Reviews personnel insurance for protection against risk, and consults with the SPR team about other personnel insurance.

The Board of Trustees also consists of nine members and is divided into three classes, one of which is elected each year to a three-year term. Our Trustees meet monthly on the second Tuesday at 7 p.m. All proceedings are publicly reported and anyone may attend a meeting.

Board of Trustee Members:Priscilla Williams, Chair

Class of 2014 Kimber MalinowskiChris PrauseTom Gaynor

Class of 2015 Priscilla Williams Tom NixonArt Putnam

Class of 2016Michael MartinJanet ParsonsRalph Williams, Jr.

UnitedMethodistChurch

New Milford

68 Danbury Road, New Milford, CT 06776

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Non Profit OrganizationU.S. Postage Paid

New Milford, CTPermit #6

June 8 - Pentecost/New Member Confirmation Sunday 10 a.m. Joint Service, No Sunday SchoolJune 15 - SS Promotion Sunday, No Sunday SchoolJune 22 - Chapel in the Pines begins. Outdoor service will start at 8:30 a.m. Indoor service will start at 10 a.m.

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