Litchfield Presbyterian

Bicentennial Celebration Begins!

It was at a meeting in the home of the widow Parker on February 20th, 1809 that the Litchfield Presbyterian Church was organized.  The Reverend Jacob Burnap, pastor of the Congregational Church in Merrimack and the Reverend William Morrison of the Londonderry Presbyterian Church were present at the meeting, Rev Burnap presiding.  Also present were a number of local residents “of different societies and denominations,” who “united in and formed one body under Presbyterian government.”

On Sunday, February 15, 2009 we will officially begin the celebration of the Bicentennial of the Litchfield Presbyterian Church.  On that day, as is fitting, our worship will be in the style of an early 19th century Presbyterian congregation, with prayers and hymns from the period and a sermon highlighting the history of the church and our hope for the future.  The Bicentennial Committee will also present plans for the year-long bicentennial celebration.  We look forward to this day of worship and to a year of history and celebration.

A Message from the Pastor

The Teachings of Rabbi Jesus

Dear Friends,

In the strict sense of the word, Jesus was not a rabbi, that is an ordained cleric, but in the general meaning of the Hebrew word “rabbi,” Jesus was a master, a great teacher, a sage.  Following the teachings of Jesus, heeding his sayings, is at the very core of what it means to claim him as lord and savior, but the Christian church has too often been more concerned with what we believe about who Jesus is than with what we do with what Jesus said.  In other words, the Christian religion has become too much about what people believe and not enough about what people do. In technical theological terminology this means placing orthodoxy (right belief) above orthopraxis (right action). Yet Jesus himself challenges this false priority of belief over action.  In Luke 6:46 Jesus says, “Why do you call me Master, Master, and do not do what I say?”  This question pierces to the heart of Christianity.  Whatever we believe about who Jesus is, it is clear that to be his followers we must do as he said.

The emphasis of belief over action appears very early in the history of the Christian movement and is embedded in the New Testament itself.  The apostle Paul, for instance, writing less than 30 years after Jesus death, was certainly concerned with living as Jesus taught, yet quotes no sayings of Jesus (except for the words of institution of the lord’s supper).  The author of the gospel according to John (writing around 100 CE) tells us explicitly that he has written, “so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31)  By the time of the formulation of the great creeds of the church, some 300 years after Jesus taught, the teachings and deeds of Jesus have been greatly subordinated to belief about him.  The Apostles Creed, for instance jumps directly from Jesus birth (“born of the virgin Mary”) to his passion and death (“suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried”), omitting any reference to his teaching ministry at all.

However, the New Testament, especially the gospels according to Mark, Matthew and Luke, also contains many of the sayings and teachings of Jesus.  These narrative gospels, written between 30 and 60 years after Jesus, themselves incorporate collections of Jesus’ sayings that were written down even nearer to the actual events of Jesus’ life.  Biblical and archeological research in the past century or so has delivered to us these very early collections of Jesus’ sayings including the so-called Sayings Gospel Q and the Gospel of Thomas.  Based upon these discoveries and reconstructions, we can now, with a high degree of certainty, know what Jesus actually taught.  Knowing afresh what Jesus taught allows us to choose to act accordingly.

Being a follower of Jesus means making the daily choice to do what Jesus told us to do.  It is to that end that throughout this year, I will be basing my Sunday messages on the sayings, the teachings of Rabbi Jesus.  My intent is to challenge us again with the radical teachings of Jesus so that we may attempt to act as Jesus says we should act.  According to the teaching of Jesus, doing what he says is the way in which the kingdom of God, the reign of justice, peace and love, is made real.  My hope is that we can allow that kingdom to become real among us, in our little corners of the world.

In the Name of Jesus,

Steve Quinlan

The Newly Expanded Community Food Pantry is Now Open

According to Jesus, the coming of the kingdom of God means, in part, that those who are hungry are fed. “Blessed are you who hunger,” Jesus said, “for you shall be filled.”  The only way that this takes place is through us.  When we open our hearts and our hands to those who are in need, we work with Jesus for the coming of God’s kingdom of compassion.

Our community food pantry Ministry makes nonperishable food available to our neighbors in need in the Litchfield community.  Over the past several months, thanks to the efforts of the board of deacons and many other volunteers in church, the food pantry ministry has been updated and greatly expanded.  An interior wall in Riverside Carthage was removed, doubling of food pantry space.  The exterior walls were stripped to the framing, insulated, and sheetrocked, and the entire food pantry area was painted with washable semi-gloss paint.  Recycled industrial-strength shelving has been installed and all the shelves have been fully stocked with over 10,000 food items donated by the community through the US Post Office, Boy Scout Troop 11, and the Litchfield Public Schools.  The food pantry hours of operation are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon, and other hours by appointment. We are excited and honored to offer this ministry of service to our community, so please spread the word.

Tuesday Morning Bible Study

Adult Bible study continues to meet on Tuesday mornings at 9 a.m. in the Riverside Cottage.  Currently, the class is working through the sayings of Jesus, which gives a preview of the sermon each week.

Deacons’ Report

Now that Christmas is past and a new year begins, we reflect back on the past year and look forward to 2009.  It has been a busy year for the Deacons, and we have just finished the busiest part of that year.  We couldn’t do what we do without the help of many, many people and organizations throughout the year.  The contributions from individuals, schools and local organizations in Litchfield enable us to perform our outreach programs.  We have been truly blessed by the generosity of the three schools.  In November the Student Council of Campbell High School held a food drive with Campbell High, Griffin Memorial and the Middle School competing to see which school could come up with the largest number of food items.  We were the beneficiary of that competition and received over 10,000 food items for our Food Pantry.  They not only collected the food, but also delivered it.  It was a sight to behold, just in the sheer number of boxes of food we received.

Because of this generous donation, there had to be some changes made to the food pantry in the church office to accommodate all that food.  Thanks to the efforts of Pastor Steve, Melanie Quinlan, Phil Durand, Jim Marsden, Mike and Stephanie Couture, along with many others, a wall was removed in the office and shelves purchased to organize and hold all the food pantry items.  Stephanie Couture has been helping the Deacons as part of her community service project this year and her help was greatly appreciated.  Ashley Balcom also helped the Deacons as part of her community service project.  If you get a chance, stop by the office and look at the result of all their hard work.

Our biggest community outreach is our food pantry.  Thanks to Pastor Steve, the Food Pantry is now open three days a week on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings.  We have seen a marked increase in the number of families that we serve throughout the year, and I expect that to increase in the months ahead with the current economy.  Thanks go to St. Francis, for donating a complete meal with all the trimmings, including a turkey, for 28 families at Thanksgiving.  For Christmas we gave food baskets to 32 families and we had 71 angels.  Once again we had great support from the students at Griffin Memorial School, Litchfield Middle School and Campbell High School.  The CHS Student Council purchased and decorated stockings for the angels, as well as collecting money to purchase hams and other items for our families.  Both GMS and LMS purchased gifts for the angels as well as giving us a generous cash donation.

A simple “THANK YOU” doesn’t seem quite adequate for the generosity of our church, our school children, the community and other organizations like the Rotary Club and Lions Club.  With the increase in families and the marked increased in children, we were concerned that we might not be able to provide gifts for all of them.  Once again, the Lord did provide, and we were able to do just that.  Julia Illg made “snuggle” bags for all our angels, as she has done for the past several years, and I’m sure they will be greatly appreciated.

We need to thank Barry Bean and Keith Vessels for once again collecting Toys for Tots for our Angels.  It was an amazing sight to see the church pews filled with 71 large black trash bags lined up, filled with toys, and awaiting their distribution.  I’m always amazed that it all comes together, even though Mother Nature gave us a snowy day to distribute the food baskets and gifts.  What a wonderful show of generosity.  It was a joy to see that we had made Christmas a little brighter for the children.  The Deacons worked hard this year and also deserve a huge “THANK YOU”.  What a pleasure to have served with such a great group of Deacons over the past 6 years.  GOD BLESS YOU!!

In His Service,

Marge Dabrowski

Choir Notes

A big thank you goes out to all who participated in the choir during our Christmas season.  We are truly blessed to have such wonderful voices.  New members of the choir are always welcome.  Come join us as we prepare for our Lenten season.

Mid-Winter Chili Cook-off Contest

It’s back!  For your gastronomic pleasure, the immensely popular Litchfield Church Chili Cook-off Contest returns on Saturday, January 24th at 6:00 PM.  Here’s how it works. Those attending bring their favorite pot of chili (and side dishes, of course).  Everybody present samples the chili recipes and then votes for their favorite.  No cook may vote for his or her own chili, but must select their favorite from the others!  The winner will receive the hearty congratulations of all and a gift certificate for dinner for two at, where else?… Chili’s Restaurant!  Will it be the “four-alarm” firehouse chili, or the five-bean special?  Perhaps the chili con polo chicken chili, or the Tex-Mex veggie? Or maybe your own unique family secret recipe?  Come on, bring your chili and enjoy hot food and warm friendship on a cold mid-winter evening!  Everybody is welcome!

Church Cookbook

I’m still in the process of entering all the recipes that have been submitted so far for the church cookbook, but expect that project to be completed this month.  The cookbook was to have been published last year, but the decision was made to publish it as a commemorative Centennial Cookbook, as part of our year-long celebration.  Just as a reminder to everyone, if you haven’t submitted recipes for the cookbook, there is still time.  Just give the recipes to either myself or Terry Jefferson.  Here is your chance to submit your favorite recipes so that we can have a terrific cookbook to publish, and hand down your recipes to the next generations.  If you have any questions, please feel free to speak with either Terry or myself.  Thank you.  It looks like this is going to be a terrific cookbook, and I’m looking forward to all those great recipes.

Marge Dabrowski

Manchester Monarchs

Join us on Sunday, February 8 for the 4 p.m. Manchester Monarchs ice hockey game.  We will be reserving a group of tickets together in the gold section.  Tickets are $19.50 each for adults (normal price is $22 without the group discount) and $11 each for children ages 3 to 12 (normally $12).  Children under age 3 are admitted free.  Please sign up with Terry Jefferson to reserve your ticket.

Birthdays

January 9: Alyssa Hilson
January 15: Jennifer Couture
January 20: James Dabrowski
January 25: Elaine Durand
January 27: Jan Hilson
January 31: Kyle Hilson
February 2: Joe Tinkham
February 16: Christie McQuesten
February 18: Janine Danzi
February 20: Cindy Couture
February 28: Barb Edwards
March 13: Chris Pelonzi
March 22: Mike Couture