Litchfield Presbyterian

A Note from Pastor Steve Quinlan

Pentecost: Before and After

The advertisements that usually catch my eye feature “before” and “after” pictures.  You see them in the tabloids all the time.  “Amazing diet breakthrough guarantees you’ll shed thirty pounds in thirty days or your money back!” There’s a picture of a woman named “Angie” from Minneapolis.  Before:  She’s sitting in a lawn chair looking frumpy in her sweat suit, holding a can of coke and wearing an embarrassed smile.  After: She’s frolicking on the beach in a skimpy swimsuit, thin, tanned and grinning with satisfaction!   What a miracle!  What a transformation!  I’ve got to get some of this stuff!
It’s the power of “before” and “after” that it shows us a contrast.  It shows us what change looks like.  It may help to think of Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit in terms of “before” and “after.”
Before:  The disciples are huddled, cowering in a secret room. Jesus has been killed and they fear they will be next.  Like him, they may be led off to the executioner at any moment.  So they’re hiding out in weakness and terror.
Suddenly the Holy Spirit comes upon them.  The room shakes and there’s the sound of a rushing mighty wind.  Tongues as of fire rest on each of them.
After:  The disciples burst out of the room, Spirit-filled with new joy and power.  They proclaim the good news in a bunch of foreign languages.  Peter stands up and preaches a wonderful, powerful, no-compromise sermon.  Hundreds are converted and the church is born!  Before and after!  What a miracle!  What a transformation!  I’ve got to get some of this stuff!
While its true that the working of the Holy Spirit in one place and time isn’t necessarily the working of the Holy Spirit in every place and time, the Spirit is nevertheless still at work creating and re-creating.  And we, as the Church, and as individual Christians still need transformation.  We need to move from “before” to “after.”  Ways that were good enough 50 or 20 years ago are not good enough now.  Things that worked for the church in the 20th century don’t necessarily work in the 21st.  We need the Holy Spirit to change and empower us for this place and this time, for it is here and now that we live.  We probably shouldn’t expect a rushing mighty wind or tongues of fire, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t expect the Holy Spirit to be powerfully at work in our transformation.  We should.  We must.
What will the transforming work of the Holy Spirit look like in our time and place?  Here are a few suggestions for “Before” and “After” pictures.  You certainly will think of others.

Before and After Picture number One.

Before:      We think we possess the truth.
After:          We acknowledge we are always seeking the truth.
The Truth is too big to be reduced to bite-sized pieces and made manageable.  Jesus said, “I am the Truth.”  If we believe that Jesus is God, then this saying means that God is Truth and Truth is God.  God is not something we can manage or possess.  In fact, the reverse is true.  It is God who controls and manages us.
The church has been overconfident in its ownership of the truth.  We have been too ready to say, “Come to us, we have the answers.”  But life is not a problem to be solved or a riddle to be answered; it is a way to be traveled in relationship with a living truth.
Instead of thinking that we own the truth and have the answers, as Christians transformed by the Holy Spirit we will see ourselves as pilgrims and seekers.  We will be glad to share what discoveries we have made along our way, but will always have humble and searching hearts.  We will be much more ready to listen than to speak, more prepared to be still than to be busy.  We will see paradox and uncertainty as friends to our hearts instead of enemies to our minds.  We will rejoice that Truth is known in the same way that people are known – that is, in a gradually unfolding relationship.  It will take the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in order for us to relax and become such peaceful seekers.

Before and After Picture number Two.

Before:      Church is like a major league baseball game; most of the people there are just watching.
After:          Church is like an anthill; everybody is doing something.
We need the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to help us reclaim the true nature of being the church.  The church is not primarily an institution or an organization, but a living organism.  In the Bible, the church is called the Body of Christ.  This is not merely a metaphor.  It is a realistic description of the way that Jesus Christ continues to be present and active in the world today.  The description of the church as the Body of Christ means that every Christian is a part of that living organism.  In a complex living organism every part has a contribution to make.  Each cell has a vital function.  If a cell in the body is alive, it is doing something to contribute to the life and well-being of the whole organism.
In the “before” picture of the church, there’s a staff and a few very active “players” who do most everything.  The rest come on Sunday to listen and watch.  This is understandable since many people don’t feel qualified or equipped, even though they’d like to do more.  In the New Testament model of the church, the job of the leaders is to equip and train everybody to do the work of ministry.  Authentic leaders help people discern and use their gifts and talents.  We need the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to help us break out of the mold of a “spectator” church with a small group of “professionals” and dedicated amateurs doing most of the ministry.  We need the Spirit’s help to discover the giftedness of every church member and to create a new way of being the church.  We need all to use their gifts for the common good and for the sake of being Christ in the world.

Before and After Picture number Three.

Before:     The Church’s primary goal is to get more members and more people in the pews.
After:         The Church’s primary goal is to love people better.
Churches can be overly concerned with adding members.  The main mission of the church is not to become bigger.  It is to do evangelism.  The word “evangelism” comes from the Greek word “euangelos.”  “Eu” means “good” and “angelos” means “news” or “message.”  “Evangelism” means the spreading of good news.  Jesus didn’t go around doing good and preaching the good news of God’s love in order to gain a big following.  He wasn’t particularly concerned with how large the crowds were that gathered around him.  He was, however, very interested in giving himself to as many people as he could.  So he went about every day giving himself to people, until at last he gave himself to everyone on the cross.  Then he told the church he left behind to carry on.  The mission of the church is to be the continuing presence of Christ in the world.  He told us that by our words and deeds we are to show God’s self-giving love to all.  And we are to teach people to do the same, that is, to make disciples.  If we content ourselves with showing God’s love and making disciples – or as the Bible says, “building ourselves up in love,” we won’t worry about how many members we have in our church.  That will not be our big concern.  Our concern will be, “How can we serve more, how can we share more, how can we give more and teach more.”  Membership will take care of itself.  We need the Holy Spirit to transform us from the “before” picture of a self-concerned, member-getting institution to the “after” picture of an outreaching, giving and serving society of love.
I can think of several more important before and after pictures of the church.  For example:
Before:     The Church sees change as threatening and, at best, a necessary evil.
After:          The Church sees change as normal and a positive sign of life.
Before:     The Church is stuck in the rut of following only local or denominational traditions.
After:          The Church embraces the traditions of many times and places.
Before:     The Church thinks the mission field is in distant places or overseas.
After:          The Church realizes that the Mission Field starts at our front door.
Before:     We see conflict as bad and something to be avoided.
After:          We know that some conflict is normal and even provides energy for living in new ways.
The season of Pentecost is a good time to remember the work of the Holy Spirit in the continual transformation of the church and all of its members.  It is a good time to pray that the Spirit will be at work in us, transforming us from our “Before” into God’s “After.”
In Christ,
Pastor Steve Quinlan

From the Funny Department

1. Don’t let worry kill you – let the church help!
2. Thursday night – Potluck Supper.  Prayer and medication to follow.
3. Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community.
4. For those of you who have children and don’t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
5. The rosebud on the altar this morning is to announce the birth of David Allen Belzer, sin of Rev. and Mrs. Julius Belzer.
6. This afternoon there will be a meeting in the South and North ends in the church.  Children will be baptized at both ends.
7. Tuesday at 4 PM there will be an ice cream social.  All ladies giving milk will please come early.
8. Wednesday the Ladies’ Liturgy Society will meet.  Mrs. Jones will sing, “Put Me in My Little Bed”, accompanied by the Pastor.
9. Thursday at 5 PM there will be a meeting of the Little Mother’s Club.  All wishing to become little mothers, please see the minister in his study.
10. This being Easter Sunday, we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay an egg on the altar.
11. The service will close with “Little Drops of Water.”  One of the ladies will start quietly and the rest of the congregation will join in.
12. Next Sunday a special collection will be taken to defray the cost of the new carpet.  All those wishing to do something on the new carpet will come forward and do so.
13. The ladies of the church have cast off clothing of every kind and they may be seen in the church basement Friday.
14. A bean supper will be held on Tuesday in the Church Hall.  Music will follow.
15. At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be “What is Hell?”  Come early and listen to our choir practice.

Church Cookbook
Calling all cooks.  It had been suggested in the recent past that the church compile a cookbook to help raise funds for the church.  Terry and I have received a few recipes, but we need more.  It would be nice if we could self-publish this cookbook so that we can sell them while we are selling quilt tickets, or other various fund raisers during the year.  Don’t be shy, hand over your favorite recipes – lots of them – don’t limit yourself to just one.  We have Esther’s Famous Whoopie Pie recipe, my pecan pie bars and lots more, but we need lots more to have enough recipes for a cookbook.  So – write down your family favorite recipes for anything and everything that you would like to share with others – we’re not asking for your “secret” recipes, just the ones you would like to share, the ones people ask for.  Just give your recipes to either Terry or myself and we’re on our way to compiling a wonderful cookbook.
Thank you,
Marge Dabrowski

Deacon’s Report
The Deacons have been taking a brief respite from the duties for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.  The Food Bank is open on Wednesday and Thursday mornings – and is being used on a regular basis.  Because Easter was early this year, following Thanksgiving and Christmas, our food supply is in desperate need to be replenished.  We need to thank GMS and LMS for their generous donations, not only of food, but also for toiletries and paper products.  We were blessed with some very generous donations, which allowed us to help 26 families and over 50 angels at Christmas.  St. Francis generously provided us with food items for a complete turkey dinner, and we added to that, but for Christmas and Easter, we rely solely on our food supply.  We are in need of many items to restock our shelves, as we do not receive any significant food items until the Postal Worker’s Food Drive in May.  We rely on that food drive, as well as the Boy Scout Food Drive in November to stock our shelves.
We are in need of the following food items:

• Cereal
• Canned meats (ham, tuna, chicken, turkey, etc)
• Pasta sauces
• Canned Soups
• Peanut Butter
• Jelly
• Boxed macaroni and cheese
• Canned ravioli and spaghetti
• Cake Mixes

Any donations can be left with any Deacon, or placed in the box in the church Narthex, or the church office when open.  If you desire, you can also donate money to be used to buy items that we need.
We cannot continue to do what we do for the community without help from the community and church members.  For those of you who may not know this, the Deacons do not receive any funding from the church budget – we rely solely on donations and the proceeds of our annual yard sale to do our work in the community.  Our annual yard sale will be held June 14.  Any donations will be accepted, but we are in need of bigger ticket items to draw people in to stop and shop.  Our yard sale is held at the church, and we welcome any and all donations.  So, when you are doing your spring cleaning, consider donating unused items to the yard sale, we greatly appreciate it.  Selling the items will help us and you get to clear out that room or area in the basement.  We also consider cash donations in any amount.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at:  424-9616 or any other Deacon; their names and phone numbers are listed on the back of the bulletin.  We thank you in advance for your generosity.  We cannot do our work without your help.
In his Service,
Marge Dabrowski

Board Game Night

Come join us on Saturday night, May 31, at 6:30 p.m. for some board games.  Meet at the church basement and bring your favorite desert to share.  We’ll bring a few good games to try, but if you have a game you’d like to play, bring that as well.

University of Dubuque Choir to Perform

Members of the University of Dubuque’s Concert Choir will perform on Friday, May 16, at 7:00 p.m. at the Litchfield Community Church, Presbyterian in Litchfield, NH.
The choir, under the direction of Dr. Charles Barland, will perform a variety of works including Psalm settings, Spirituals, and Folk Songs.  “We are very excited to travel as a choir to the Northeast U.S.,” said Barland.  “For many of our students, this will be their first trip to this area.  The choir is eager to share our music, meet new people, and see many wonderful sites.”
The history of music at the University of Dubuque goes back to the early part of the twentieth century.  As early as 1918, there was a co-ed choral music ensemble, a men’s glee club, a band, and an orchestra.  Beginning in the 1920s, the concert choir toured regularly.  Concerts were performed in churches and schools throughout the Midwest.  Today the University of Dubuque Choir is returning to its heritage – growing in numbers and expanding its performance schedule.

Take a Hike for Humanity

Save the date: June 7-8, 2008.  Local area Habitat for Humanity affiliates are having their annual joint fundraiser in the form of a hike up and down Mt. Monadnock.  For more information, refer to www.takeahikeforhumanity.org or see Peter Dobratz.

Adult Study Group Forming

First Meeting on June 3, 2008
A new adult study and fellowship group is forming now.  The group is open to anyone interested and will gather in the church meeting room at 7:00 pm on the first and third Tuesdays of each month, beginning on June 3. No previous study group experience is required.  Pastor Steve Quinlan will lead the group in a variety of  “theme based” topics of interest.  The group will choose its first study topic at its kick-off organizational meeting on June 3.  Come one, come all and invite your friends!

Pastor Office Hours

Pastor Quinlan keeps regular office hours, Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to noon.  Please feel free to drop in.  The pastor’s days off are Friday and Saturday.  He is available afternoons and evenings (or any time in the case of emergency) at 603-540-2332.

Walking Group

We have started walking on a regular basis at 8 a.m. on Saturday mornings.  We generally start at Campbell High School and then walk north along the walking path by Albuquerque Avenue to the stop sign at Pinecrest and then back (about 2 ½ miles total).  Get your weekend of on the right foot and come join us.  For more information, contact Terry Jefferson or Peter Dobratz.

Contribute to the Myanmar Relief Effort

Each new day brings reports of increased suffering following Tropical Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar.  More than 22,000 people have died, tens of thousands are missing, as many as one million may be homeless and much of the rice crop has been destroyed.  The top U.S. diplomat in the country has said the death toll could top 100,000.
In response, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is making a special appeal for donations that can be given through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA).  Our church’s generous gifts will help us stand with our brothers and sisters as their broken lives and communities begin to heal.  Visit the PDA Web site to read updates, download the appeal card and contribute to the Myanmar relief effort by making a donation today.
Donations to DR000145 (Disaster Response – Myanmar) can be made online by credit card at www.pcusa.org/pda or by calling PresbyTel at 1-800-872-3283.  Checks may be sent directly to Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Individual Remittance Processing, P.O. Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700.
Stay informed through reading regular Web updates on this unfolding response at www.pcusa.org/pda or by calling PresbyTel at 1-800-872-3283.

Stewardship Notes

Pledges – As the lazy, hazy days of summer are fast approaching, many of us will be going on vacation or taking long holiday weekends.  Traditionally, this has been a time when pledges have declined.  We all know that the bills have to be paid – the pastor, maintenance for the building, the organist, the electricity.  So many times I have said, “The Lord does not take a vacation.”  We are asking that you keep your pledges up-to-date for the summer.  I have found it helpful to pay in advance or to just add a few dollars to my regular pledge.  For members and friends who do not pledge, please consider doing so.  Our assistant treasurer, Esther Edwards, has pledge envelopes.  Remember – we made a commitment to sustain our church in Litchfield.
Per Capita – As of April 1st, 2008, each active member has been assessed $36.00 for their portion of per capita.  By now, most of us know what per capita means – the amount paid to the governing bodies of the Presbyterian Church.  This amounts to several thousand dollars, and even though each member may not pay this, we do have to submit the entire payment for the congregation.  If you have any questions regarding this, please speak to Esther Edwards or me.
Thank you.
In His Name,
Nadine Collins

Birthdays

May 6: Wayne Hilson
May 11: Joan Hall
May 13: Lynda Sommer
May 21: Nadine Collins
June 14: Terry Jefferson
June 17: Alison Sommer
June 17: Melanie Quinlan
June 23: Stephanie Marsden
June 25: Kimberly Tinkham
June 25: Esther Edwards
June 26: Greg Lepine
July 15: Kay Hafker
July 18: Betty Scofield
July 30: Don Brown

The next Lamplighter will cover July and August 2008.  Please submit articles by July 2, 2008.