CROSS AND FLAME

From The Pastors’ Desks…..From The Pastors’ Desks…..

Pastors’ Schedules for SeptemberPastors’ Schedules for September

Pastor Margaret - Her usual days off are Wednesday & Saturday.

Pastor Chris– His usual days off are Monday & Friday.

Fairport United Methodist Church StaffFairport United Methodist Church Staff Margaret Scott - Pastor Chris Jewell - Associate Pastor Kathy Harris - Office Administrator Nicole Camilleri - Music Director Pam Renfro - Youth Ministry Coordinator Stacy Young - Children’s Ministry Coordinator Lisa Radford - Custodian

You can contact staff members through our website at fairportumc.org

September

2015

As we begin a new school year, we all get ‘way too busy. I challenge you to be more intentional about BALANCE! We say we

care for our children’s wholeness in development, and keep them physically and mentally busy, sometimes excessively so, often at the expense of their spiritual growth. And it’s true of our adult selves as well, running ourselves ragged. Make time for quiet, for imagination, for no structure….use opportunities the church offers for wholeness as you use other resources. Our labyrinth project, the Spirituality Center offerings at the Little House, Sunday School and worship, all can feed the soul. May you care enough about your wholeness to be this intentional!

Pastor Margaret

Hospitality Hints

When you see someone at church whom you haven’t seen for a while, don’t say “where have you been?” but simply welcome them with a ‘lovely to see you’ kind of welcome! And if you see someone you can’t name, don’t say ‘you must be new” – chances are they’ve been com-ing for years! Try something like, “I don’t think we’ve met…my name is ….”

The great sin, the source of all other sin, is idolatry and nev-er has it been greater, more prevalent than now. Yet it is almost completely unrecognized precisely because it is so overwhelming and so total. It takes in everything. There is nothing else left. Fetishism of power, machine, possessions, medicines, sports, clothes, etc. all kept going by greed for money and power. (The Intimate Merton)

As we all know, mainline churches are talking a lot these days about “church growth”. Declining attendance and budget deficits are driving many of these conversations. We need to keep the following in mind as we discuss the future of our own community…there is quantitative “church growth” and there is qualitative “church growth”. The first involves more money and people coming through the door; the sec-ond involves our own spiritual growth as the consciousness of our group expands into the infinite and unconditional Kingdom of God.

Modern America in general is caught in the idolatry of quan-titative growth. While I recognize the necessity of solving “money problems”, I think we need to keep our eyes on the fact that growth is not just a numbers game.

Peace, Chris

Winter Coats NeededWinter Coats Needed - bring your gen-tly used coats for all ages to our collection box in the coat room by September 8. These will be distributed at a major event downtown mid-September.

Bring a Friend Sunday October 18

Children and adults are encouraged to bring a new friend or family member to Sunday School and worship!

Koinonia Corner Koinonia is a term referring to the ex-pression of Christian love among be-lievers, considered to be more than friendship, and based on the believer’s primary relationship to Jesus Christ. May we be in a spirit of koinonia as we pray for these people and situations.

“In order to better protect the priva-cy of those listed, we do not pub-lish this list on the web edition of the Cross and Flame. It is available in the email edition.”

The STAR Bible Study Group The STAR Bible Study Group will begin meeting again on September 8 at 10:15am in Room 204. A video on the Ab-

bey and discussion on our retreat will take place.

Sunday Adult Forum Begins Sunday Adult Forum Begins September 13September 13

The forum is held from 9:00–10:00am, room 204 and is open to all adults. The format varies, but usually involves a combination of learning from videos, readings, and discussion. Topics are generally presented so that those who cannot attend regularly can still partici-pate. Potential topics for this year in-clude the following: “Uppity Women of the Bible”, a DVD series by Living the Questions; the journeys of Paul (another DVD series); Native American spirituality, Christian environmental responsibility; book discussions. Hope to see you this fall. Questions contact: Tom Deever (tdeever@hotmail.com).

IMPORTANCE OF INFORMED AND ENGAGED LAITYIMPORTANCE OF INFORMED AND ENGAGED LAITY

As our church begins a new program year, we (as is often the case) are presented with a number of challenges and opportunities: (1) What staffing structure is financially sustainable for Fairport United Methodist Church? (2) How can we continue to grow in our Christian faith? (3) How can we help bring God’s kingdom here on earth?

Although these are complex questions, common elements toward finding constructive answers are to be informed and engaged. In Christian love, let us challenge each other to (1) understand the costs and implications of how we structure our church, (2) commit to participate in one or more of the many learning opportunities offered each year, (3) commit to participate in one or more of the many service opportunities that take us beyond these walls.

Tom and Brenda Deever – Lay Leaders

JOY GROUP JOY GROUP Will begin meeting again on Wednesday, September 9 at 11:30am in the parking lot. We’ll meet again on September 23 at 11:00am –

bring your lunch and smile.

We have heard a variety of special music this summer – in-cluding a bell quartet, vocal solos and duets, and viola and piano solos! Children, youth, and adults have all shared their

talents with us…thank you!

Do you play the piano? We are always looking for people who can help accompany children’s choirs or soloists. If you are interested, please let me know!

Would you like to join one of Fairport UMC’s choirs? Rehearsals begin in September. If you would like to know more about our ensembles, please see the informational display and brochures on the music bulletin board (across from the water fountain).

Did you know that we have six choirs that rehearse regularly throughout the year, plus four additional groups that re-hearse seasonally, plus instrumentalists and vocal soloists? There is an ensemble for every age! All of our choirs wel-come new members at any time, but September is an especially good time to start. If you’re interested in joining a choir, please call or e-mail me! (223-9560 or nicole@fairportumc.org)

Choir rehearsals begin on the following dates: Chancel Choir September 9 Early Choir September 13 Bell Choir September 17 Joyful Noise (4 years old – 2nd grade) September 15 Heavenly Choir (3rd grade & older) September 15

The schedule for Praise Group varies, so watch for bulletin announcements for their practice dates.

The Sunday music schedule for September is:

- Nicole

Music Ministry News Those who sing pray twice.Those who sing pray twice.

Sept 6 {soloist} Sept 20 Praise Group (9 & 10:30)

Sept 13 Early Choir (9:00) Chancel Choir (10:30)

Sept 27 Early Choir (9:00) Chancel Choir (10:30)

Through July 2015Through July 2015

Actual Budgeted % Difference Total Revenue $259,014 $258,281 0% Total Expenses $289,952 $300,814 -4% Net -$30,938 -$42,533

Through July, Total Revenue remains slightly above budget while Total Expenses are now around $10,860 (4%) below budget. So at the end of July, we have a total deficit of around $30,940 versus an expected deficit of around $42,530. Thus our deficit is now $11,595 less than we anticipated it would be at this point. Our year-ending budgeted deficit is $32,770 so if we can meet our monthly budget numbers the rest of the year and thus maintain the progress we have already made, our year-ending deficit would be reduced to around $21,170.

The summer and early fall months are typically challenging months for FUMC from a cash flow perspec-tive, so we would expect that our deficit will continue to increase in the next few months. Needless to say, your continued support through regular donations, the Bridge Campaign, Birthdays/Anniversaries, UMC Shop, Credit Card donations through the FUMC web site and stock donations will be particularly im-portant during the next few months as we continue in our quest to reduce the projected year-end deficit.

As always, if you have any questions and/or suggestions concerning church finances please feel free to contact any member of the Finance Ministry. Barry Bermudez, Chairperson, Finance Ministry

Birthdays & Anniversaries SeptemberBirthdays & Anniversaries September

For any additions or

changes contact the

church office

223-9560 or

kathy@fairportumc.org

1 – Nancy Hoffmann, Bill MacKenzie, Lynn Seaberg, Marilyn Tastor 2 – Ruth & Dan Arbuckle's Anniversary, Brenda & Michael McDermott's Anniversary 3 – Michael Templeton 4 – Nathan Romagnola 5 – Stephanie Anderson, Janis Connor 6 – Rebecca Eckdahl, Nancy & Scott Hammerton's Anniversary 7 – Eleanor Cook, Dan Darga 9 – Kathy Atkins 10 – Wendy Halik, Pru Palatas, Jenny & Jim Meyer's Anniversary, Judy & Bob Salmon's Anniversary 11 – Jerry Felgenhour, Joshua Shanto 12 – Leah Beckwith, Diana Levermore 13 – Lisa Silver, Helen Schnorr 14 – Maggie Monsen, Jeffrey Nelson 15 - Erin & Stephen Triola's Anniversary 16 – Ruth Kylander, Eliza Martin, Nancy Romagnola 17 – Dick Gebben, Rick Hill 18 – Mike Goodman 19 – Barry Bermudez, Christopher Hall 20 – Sophia Anderson, Jeffrey Halik 20 – Katie Thomas 21 – Julia D'Angelo, Gary McGregor, Steve Nelson 23 - Connie & Dan Rhoads' Anniversary 24 – Kate Shanto, Cindy Slowik, Madison Xander 25 – Scott Clair, Amy Levermore 26 – Winifred Adams, Rosa Everett, Gillian Robinson, Kathy Thon 27 – Allison Deady 29 – Trevor Leinenbach 30 – Matthew Deady, Scott Deady, Dan Kemper, Louise & Mark Kurz's Anniversary

Have you already started to set aside or earmark items to donate for the Fall rummage Sale? This year's much anticipated sale is to be held on Thursday, October 8 and Friday, October 9. Drop off

days will be Monday, October 5 and Tuesday, October 6 from 9am until 8pm.

Most household items including toys are welcome! Clean and sale worthy! Items that cannot be accepted are bowl-ing balls, large appliances, propane tanks, tires, paints, liquids, chemicals, air conditioners, computers, typewriters, pets, large furniture, infant furniture, and car seats.

As usual, arrangements can be made beforehand to pick up small furniture items from your home on Monday and Tuesday. Contact numbers will be in the September bulletins.

Check your calendars! Select a 2 hour time slot (Monday through Friday) when you will be available to assist either in setting up or working at the sale itself. Keep in mind that this will be the major fundraiser for our chap-ters of UMW and UMM, both of which support local and District ministries.

Gatherings – most Monday evenings. A time of food, fellowship and discussion, starting with food at 6:30p, and discussion around 7p. We plan to be finished by 8:30p.

Pines of Perinton Food Distribution – Saturday, Sep-tember 19, 8:30a-12:30p. This is a program set up by FoodLink – the regional food hub and the Feeding America food bank for 11 western NY counties. They bring a large truck load of food to the Pines of Perinton and volunteers unload the truck, set up the community center at the Pines to distribute the food, facilitate the distribution of the food, and then clean up afterwards.

Montezuma Duck Banding – dates still TBD, 8am to Noon-ish. We will be assisting the US Fish & Wildlife Services with collecting important data regarding ducks and migration patterns in the eastern USA. The activity includes taking the ducks out of the traps, recording the ID numbers on the bands if the ducks are already band-ed, crimping new bands onto ducks that are not banded, and then releasing them back into the wild.

St Joseph’s Night Shelter - provides about 15 beds a night to men and women who require shelter during Rochester’s coldest months from October through Mid-April. In October we will start to serve a dinner, for the people who come to the shelter, at least one night a week.

Progressive Dinner – this will happen over the Christ-mas Break. A Progressive Dinner is a variant of a Pot-luck Dinner where the successive courses and prepared and eaten at different people’s homes. So, the appetiz-er is at one location, the main course(s) at another, and the dessert at still another location. We all car-pool be-tween host homes. Contact Mark Renfro, mrenfro53@gmail.com.

Thank you to all of Kamina Friends!Thank you to all of Kamina Friends!

Kamina Friends is not just a group of 7 individuals working at the request of business people and Bishop Ntambo in Kamina. It is so much more. It includes all of you who have been supportive of the efforts to achieve business growth and improve the livelihoods of our sisters and brothers in Kamina. That is why we are so happy to let you know the status of the Kamina Friends economic development project.

You may remember that the project had branched out to 2 new communities in the DRCongo – Bukama and Kalemie. In addition to Kamina, the people in these two towns have been able to improve their livelihoods, increase business activity and support their families. There have been over 2,000 jobs created, helping more than 10,000 people live better lives by having more access to education, medical treatment and better living conditions.

Kamina has most recently been awarded a grant from a UK-based foundation to continue on with this good work and move forward to achieve an independent, sustainable pro-ject and process. God is good!

To avoid being a “toxic charity”, our approach included sev-eral tenets:

Only go where invited. Do not create dependency. Act as advisors. Project owned by locals. Build capacity. Local financial sustainability

We can truly say that we have had a successful example of outreach. 10+ years working with others in a way that em-powers and sustains them! And we will be continuing to act as advisors to our friends in Kamina, responding to their pro-gress and questions and walking beside them as they are able to continue with the economic development project.

Thank you for all of the help that you have given – in your talent, time and treasure. We will keep you informed as to the progress and activities this year. And be sure to keep all of our friends of Kamina in your prayers for a truly blessed future!

Naomi Circle will meet Thursday, 9:30am in the parlor and do planning for the year over coffee and pray-er. Don't miss it. Information, Carol Christensen--2238529

Deborah Circle will meet on September 23, 1:00pm in the parlor. Linda Gordon will be sharing her trip to Scot-land.

Ruth Circle will not meet in September.

The way to see by Faith is to shut the Eye of Reason.

Saint Augustine (354-430) Theologian.

STAFF RETREAT 2015!STAFF RETREAT 2015!

Listening and Mindfulness…..Listening and Mindfulness…..

The FUMC staff held their 2nd annual retreat to restore and renew our awesome team and personal selves.

Our morning session was led by Barbara Bruce; theme was “listening” . Listen is all anyone asks! We did listening exercises and then moved outdoors for some team building. As you can see in the pictures we did well!

The afternoon session was led by JoHanna Bond, LMHC, NCC. The theme was “Mindfulness”. Mindfulness is the nonjudgmental awareness of the current mo-ment. Truly being aware.

It was a wonderful day, thanks to Pastor Margaret and her cozy cottage on beauti-ful Canandaigua lake!

UMM Begins Its 27UMM Begins Its 27thth Consecutive Ministry Consecutive Ministry Program Year! Program Year! Join Us for Breakfast on Sunday, September 13 in Fellowship Hall at 7:30am for a deli-cious home cooked breakfast and a great program.

Our program speaker will be Garry Manuel, founder and director of Project URGE. Garry will present the future direction and programs for Project URGE. [Note: Garry has spent the past few months developing an updated vision for Program URGE. He will touch on some of his visionary plans for the organization during his remarks.] Project URGE develops urban and suburban church part-nerships to work with faith community organizations to become practitioners of Christian Community Develop-ment (CCD).

Our breakfast gathering is open to everyone. We look forward to seeing you; we’re done in plenty of time for you and your family to attend the 9:00am service or attend one of our Sunday school classes.

PERINTON CHURCHES HOUSING PERINTON CHURCHES HOUSING SEARCHING FOR PROPERTY TO BUILDSEARCHING FOR PROPERTY TO BUILD

Perinton Churches Housing Inc., a non-profit co-owned by FUMC and twelve other Fairport/Perinton churches, is looking for land to build more affordable apartments for low-to-moderate-income seniors. Perinton Churches Housing co-owns Fairport Apartments, Jefferson Park Apartments, and Rose Hollow Apartments that all provide safe afforda-ble senior housing. The demand for affordable sen-ior housing grows daily with the tsunami of retiring Baby Boomers. Ideally the land should be 3-4 acres (more or less might work in some situations); have access to public water, sewers, electricity, and gas; be within one or two miles of shopping and other personal services; and be lo-cated on a side street or at a stop light for safe egress. Do you or does anyone you know own such a property that we could buy for a reasonable price? If you have any sugges-tions or need additional information, please contact our church’s representative on the board of directors, Rick Hill at RickHillCo@aol.com or 223-8465.

CHILDREN’S MINISTRY NEWS!CHILDREN’S MINISTRY NEWS!

Looking Ahead... September 13 - Rally Day; First day of Sunday School! Registra-tion: A current 2015-16 Registra-tion Form is required for all children

participating in Sunday School. Visit the Children’s Ministry website at fairportumc.org to complete an electronic form or visit the Registration Table on Sep-tember 13.

September 27 – 3rd Grade Bible Sunday at 9am Children in 3rd grade will receive their NRSV Bible, during the beginning of worship. Bible introduction and exploration activities to follow in Sunday School!

2015 Vacation Bible School We had 20 children Shining God’s Light during our week of VBS. The children discovered Bible stories through arts and science, videos and games. We also had a large group of adults participating in their own study of God’s light!

A huge thank you to our volunteers; Karen Hartnett, Kim Schroth, Judy Bermudez, Carol Christensen, Laura Nelson, Chris Jewell, Jane Pardee, Michael Gordon, Pam Renfro, Mark Renfro, Nancy Romagno-la, Stacey Milliman, Emily Carpenter, Carolyn Arbuckle, Pam Spitieri & Tom Deever. And thank you to our small groups that provided delicious simple suppers for our families and volunteers; Benedictine Spirituality, Centering Prayer and Early Choir.

For our Mission Project, we collected food donation for Free to Fly, a program for low in-come individuals striving to be self sufficient. The generosity from our children and fami-lies was truly a blessing and very much appreciated by the staff and participants of Free to Fly!

We ended our week with a great potluck celebration and a Double Dutch performance led by Veronica Black from Children Awaiting Parents. The girls had some amazing tricks and everyone got to try out their jumping skills!

DID YOU KNOW?DID YOU KNOW? – UPPER NEW YORK CONFERENCE – Margaret and Chris were busy voting in May for 6 Clergy to be delegates for the General Conference in May 2016 (Portland, Oregon) and I was voting for 6 delegates for Laity. The Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference in July 2015 (Lancaster, PA) will have a total of 24 delegates (the people we voted for the General Conference and then an additional 6 each for clergy and laity. It took many ballots but finally a majority was reached to represent the Upper NY Conference.

- Alice Anderson, member of Annual Conference

Youth Sunday School and Journey Calendar Youth in the 6th-12th grades

1 2

School

Begins-

most area

schools

3 4

Schools

Closed

5

6

No Sunday School – Labor Day

Weekend

Sr High Sacandaga Retreat Interest

Meeting 10am

7

Labor Day

Schools

Closed

8

School

Begins-

Victor

Schools

9 10 11 12

13

Sunday School Begins @ 9am!!

Youth Ministry, Student Leader-

ship & Adult Volunteer Meeting

6pm; Sacandaga Registrations Due

14 15 16 17 18 19

20

Sunday School – 9am

Jr & Sr Journey Kickoff 6-8pm

21 22 23 24 25 26

27

Sunday School – 9am

Reach Workcamp Info Meeting

10 & 11:30am

Jr & Sr High Journey 6-8pm

28 29 30

The details below are for events and activities other than regular Youth Sunday School or Youth even-ing meetings: September 6– Sr High Sacandaga Retreat Info packet available – Pick up info and reserve your spot on

the trip! Parents and youth new to the Sr High Ministry can plan to stick around for a few extra minutes to have any questions answered

September 13 - Sunday School begins for everyone in Worship! – All students will receive both an email and postcard notification for class location and class leaders’ names. If you do not receive info, please call Pam @ 223-9560 or email to pam@fairportumc.org

September 13– Sr High Sacandaga (Columbus Weekend) Retreat registrations due September 13 –Youth Ministry Student Leadership & Adult Volunteer Meeting – Student Leaders and

adults working with youth in Sunday School and Journey evening meetings are encouraged to attend. This meeting helps everyone to be on the same page.

September 20 – Jr & Sr Journey Kick-Off – 6pm –more info to follow!!! September 27 – Sr High Reach Mission Trip Info Meetings for Youth in Grades 9-12 – These meetings

are offered at 2 different times as this will be a full half hour meeting. The commitment to attend Reach Workcamp is significant, both financially and in time spent developing relationships with our Mission Trip Team

SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICES - 9:00am & 10:30am Mid Day Prayer at Noon every Monday & Friday

Fairport United Methodist Church - 31 West Church Street, Fairport, NY 14450 - 585.223.9560 www.fairportumc.org

Tue 1-Sep-15 11:45am Spiritual Lunch Break - P 1-Sep-15 7:00pm Finance - 204 1-Sep-15 7:00pm Worship - P Wed 2-Sep-15 5:30pm Centering Prayer - Filkins Fri 4-Sep-15 10:30am Heart Listening - 204 4-Sep-15 12:30pm Benedictine Spirituality - 204 Sun 6-Sep-15 12noon Praise Band - S Mon 7-Sep-15 office closed LABOR DAY Tue 8-Sep-15 10:15am Star Study Grp - 204 8-Sep-15 11:45am Spiritual Lunch Break - P 8-Sep-15 7:00pm SPRC - 204 Wed 9-Sep-15 11:30AM Joy Club - Filkins 9-Sep-15 5:30pm Centering Prayer - Filkins 9-Sep-15 7:30pm Chancel Choir - 113 Thu 10-Sep-15 9:30am Naomi Circle - P Fri 11-Sep-15 10:30am Heart Listening - 204 11-Sep-15 12:30pm Benedictine Spirituality - 204 11-Sep-15 2:15pm Spiritual Gifts Team - P Sun 13-Sep-15 10:00am Student Leadership - 207 13-Sep-15 11:30am Coffee Hour - P 13-Sep-15 12noon Praise Band - S 13-Sep-15 7:00pm YAM Mtg - 207 Mon 14-Sep-15 12:15pm PFS - P 14-Sep-15 6:30pm YAM Gathering - 207 14-Sep-15 7:00pm UMW Leadership - P 14-Sep-15 7:30pm UMM Study Grp - 204 Tue 15-Sep-15 11:45am Spiritual Lunch Break - P 15-Sep-15 4:00pm Way of Forgiveness - 204 15-Sep-15 6:00pm Stewardship Team - 213 15-Sep-15 6:30pm CMT - 214 15-Sep-15 6:30pm Joyful/Heavenly - 206 15-Sep-15 6:30pm Outreach - 204 15-Sep-15 7:00pm Trustees - P 15-Sep-15 OCT NEWSLETTER DEADLINE

Wed 16-Sep-15 5:30pm Centering Prayer - Filkins 16-Sep-15 7:30pm Chancel Choir - 113 Thu 17-Sep-15 2:30pm Caring Ministries - P 17-Sep-15 6:30pm Bell Choir - S Fri 18-Sep-15 10:30am Heart Listening - 204 18-Sep-15 11:00am BTW Cooking - K 18-Sep-15 12:30pm Benedictine Spirituality - 204 Sat 19-Sep-15 9:00am Loving Hands Sewing - FH 19-Sep-15 10:00am FACTS - P Sun 20-Sep-15 9&10:30am Parents Info Mtg - 207 20-Sep-15 12:30pm Sun Dinner (Resurrection)-FH 20-Sep-15 5:30pm BTW Shelter Visit - off-site Mon 21-Sep-15 6:30pm YAM Gatherings - 207 21-Sep-15 7:00pm Habitat - P 21-Sep-15 7:30pm UMM Study Grp - 204 Tue 22-Sep-15 10:15am Star Study Grp - 204 22-Sep-15 11:45am Spiritual Lunch Break - P 22-Sep-15 4:00pm Way of Forgiveness - 204 22-Sep-15 6:30pm Joyful/Heavenly - 206 22-Sep-15 7:00pm Church Council - P Wed 22-Sep-15 1:00pm Deborah Circle - P 22-Sep-15 5:30pm Centering Prayer - Filkins 22-Sep-15 7:30pm Chancel Choir - 113 Thu 23-Sep-15 6:30pm Bell Choir - S Fri 25-Sep-15 10:30am Heart Listening - 204 25-Sep-15 12:30pm Benedictine Spirituality - 204 Sun 27-Sep-15 12:30pm Sunday Dinner - FH 27-Sep-15 1:00pm Church Picnic - off-site Mon 28-Sep-15 6:30pm YAM Gatherings - 207 28-Sep-15 7:00pm UMW Book Club - P 28-Sep-15 7:30pm UMM Study Grp - 204 Tue 29-Sep-15 11:45am Spiritual Lunch Break - P 29-Sep-15 4:00pm Way of Forgiveness - 204 29-Sep-15 6:30pm Joyful/Heavenly - 206 Wed 30-Sep-15 5:30pm Centering Prayer - Filkins 30-Sep-15 7:30pm Chancel Choir - 113

Fairport United Methodist Church

31 W. Church Street

Fairport, NY 14450

(585) 223-9560

The Cross & Flame The Cross & Flame

Non-Profit Org.

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

Fairport, NY

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