the LifelineNORWICH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHUNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

a pr il 2015

Welcome our Newest Members!

Matt & Sonya Stover Matt and Sonya met as students at Cornell University, Matt having grown up in western Nebraska and Sonya in Ithaca, NY. After graduation, Matt served as a lieutenant with the 82nd Airborne at Ft. Bragg, NC. They married in 1997 and moved to New York City in 1999 to pursue graduate degrees in business. Peter was born in 2006 and the family moved to Hastings-On-Hudson, NY in 2007. Lily was born in 2008. Matt has worked for the Boston Consulting Group since 2003 and Sonya is a stay-at-home mom. They moved to Woodstock in 2014 so that they could enjoy more time together as a family and more time outdoors.

Jenn & John LanghusThe Langhus family moved to Norwich from Cape Town, South Africa 20 months ago. With their partners, Bill and Pam Miles, they bought Morano Gelato and have been enjoying the sweet life ever since! When John isn’t helping out at the gelato shop, he works with Norwich Technologies, bringing solar power to the Upper Valley. When Jenn isn’t working, she enjoys teaching the Revels Tweens program in Norwich and walking her dog. When Gunnar isn’t in school, he swims on the 11-12 squad at the UVAC, signs in church choir, and can’t wait to start baseball season! Gideon attends the Nor-wich Child Care Center, but loves to go sledding and build with legos when he is home. As a family, we love to travel, make yummy dinners, and go to the theater. We are looking forward to many happy years in the Norwich Congregational Church.

Judy McKeownJudy was born and raised in Worcester, MA and Judy and her husband Jim raised their family in the Worcester area until 1983, when they moved to Hanover for Jim’s work. They have two daughters, Megan and Kelly, ages 44 and 41. Kelly was married by Mary in this church and her two children were baptized here. Megan has a child as well – three grandchildren in all for Judy and Jim. Judy has had many jobs including a scrub nurse, an editor, special ed assistant and, most recently, a fitness consultant. She loves everything out-doors and enjoys snowshoeing, walking and golf in addition to volunteering both at DHMC and The Haven.

The Lifeline – April 20152

2015 LEADERSHIP

CHURCH OFFICERSChurch Council Chair . . Hillary WhiteModerator . . . . . . . . John SeveringhausAsst . Moderator . . . . . . .Carolyn MertzClerk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Joanne EgnerAsst . Treasurer . . . . . . . . Mark BeliveauCollector . . . . . . . . . . . Priscilla VincentAsst Collector . . . . . . . . Martin Witschi

BOARD OF DEACONSMary Magavern, Bob Miller

Susan White, Laura Beliveau

BOARD OF TRUSTEESDoug James, Gary Brooks

Dan Van Dorn, Chuck Egner

BOARD OF MISSIONDoug Britton, Deborah Berryman

Jeff Nielsen, Vicky Fish, Heidi Webster

BOARD OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATIONAnn Beams, Molly Caterini

Brittny Calsbeek, Dawn Thomas

COMMITTEES

FLOWERSTilda White, Deb Van Arman

HOSPITALITYMarty James, Cynthia Blake

Stan Williams

INVESTMENT:Carolyn Mertz, Paul Gerke

MUSIC:Evelynn Ellis, Marty James

NOMINATING:Shirley Parker, Priscilla Vincent

Elaine Waterman

STEWARDSHIP:Barbara Duncan, Ann Beams

WOODWORTH FUND:Mimi Simpson, Jenny Williams Willemien Miller, Ryan Adams

Harry Dorman

OTHERAt-Large Church Council . . . . . . . . . . . .Head Ushers . . . Carolyn & Peter MertzHistorian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Delegates .Avery Post, Kenneth CracknellAlt Delegates . . . . .Katherine Broussard

NORWICH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHMary Brownlow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PastorKathleen Sherlock-Green . . . Choir DirectorTacy Colaiacomo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Organist

Danielle Taylor . . . . Sunday School Coord . Amy Frost . Office Manager & Bookkeeper Dan Goulet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sexton

IF YOU WANT TO DONATE FLOWERS FOR WORSHIP...please contact Tilda White, by phone: 649-1654 for help, in-formation, or to sign up . You may also sign up on the “Flowers” sheet posted at the back of the church .

NCC UCC Book Recommendations

From Bob Miller:

Love 2.0: Creating Happiness and Health in Moments of Connection

by Barbara L . Fredrickson

Love 2.0 is a book about the science, the biology, of love . Barbara Fredrickson is one of the leaders in the development of the science of Positive Psychology in the past 15 years . In her first book, Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to Embrace Positive Emotions, Fred-rickson discusses recent research that shows how the conscious and intentional embracing of positive emotions in one’s daily life can lead to a broadening and building of happiness and well-being .

For Fredrickson, love is the ultimate emotion . Love 2.0, her second book, explains the biological foundations of the moments of connec-tion and love, what Fredrickson calls “micro-moments of positivity resonance,” that are open to each of us and that we can experience with everyone from our spouses, partners, and friends, to the clerk in the check-out line . Broad and genuine human connections are not only pos-sible, but they are a biological need for human beings .

The first part of Love 2.0 explains the science of love in easy-to-read language, and I find it very useful in my own understanding of the im-portance of human connections . The second part of the books suggests various practices that can help the reader create more “micro-moments of positivity resonance,” i .e ., love, in one’s life .

3The Lifeline – April 2015

As I write this, there is still plenty if snow on the ground . The temperatures will be well below freezing every night in the coming week (although not the below zero Fahrenheit that was then norm in February!) and the landscape con-tinues to wear its winter palette of white, grey and brown . We are still in the season of Lent, a reflective, thoughtful and quiet time .

But, I have picked some forsythia branches to bring inside, and the buds are beginning to show a little yellow . The days are brighter and longer . The seed catalogues have started to arrive in the mail . And, to those attentive to signs of change in the natural world, the migrating birds have already been seen .

Spring comes late to Vermont and New Hampshire . While the forsythias bloom in a vase on my table, the roads will continue to be icy and muddy for some time . When we see the red-winged blackbird, we still are bundled up in our coats, hats, and mittens, hardly able to imagine the summer, when we will be so warm that we seek out the coolest spots in the house and yard . Our friends from warmer climes share photos of daffodils in full bloom, while we wait for the piles of snow to melt off the garden . Our habitat teaches us lessons of patience and hope .

Easter falls on April 5 this year, when we will be a bit more spring-like - maybe! And then we enter the season of Eastertide, the seven weeks between Easter Sunday and Pentecost Sunday . This is when we will finally see the “promise of the resurrection” as Luther puts it written in our yards and hillsides . We will enter the season of plant-ing and fruiting and abundance: an expansive time, full of possibility . The Christian Church used to have a special Sunday during Eastertide for asking God’s blessing on the planting of crops, the fruits of the earth, and the labors of those who work the land . It was called Roga-tion Sunday, which comes from the Latin word “rogare”: to ask . Traditionally, the local priest would lead a following of parishioners in a procession around the boundaries of the parish to ask God to bless these specific places . As our culture has moved away from dependence on the agrarian economy, and in ar-eas (like ours) where churches were less “liturgical,” the idea of a town procession and special rites asking for farming success have fallen out of use .

But this year, the idea of a Roga-tion Sunday, or a period of rogation (asking) for blessing on our spring and summer endeavors feels more appropriate . Of course, we would all appreciate a good summer for

our flower and vegetable gardens, and for success for local farmers . But in the fields and vineyards of our church, we are also hoping for the “promise of resurrection” to be seen . We hope for a blessing on our season of renewal, our Summer of Song, our plans for organizational change, our desire to see more faces at worship . We hope that our expansive feelings as we open up to the warmer weather will be mirrored by an expansive energy for our community of faith .

As some of you know, Vermont Public Radio lists signs of spring in some of their Eye on the Sky reports, as well as posting them on their facebook page . I encourage you to share signs of spring with each other –the meteorological signs, the spiritual signs, the com-munity signs – all the ways that res-urrection life is making an appear-ance . As one of our Easter hymns says, “Now the green blade rises!” Let’s rejoice and ask for continued blessings .

Mary

PS: I want to keep you all updated about my sabbatical plans for the coming summer . My last Sunday in worship will be May 24, Pentecost Sunday . I will be leaving for San Francisco a few days after

From the MinisterOur Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in spring-time.

– Martin Luther

Continues on page 5

The Lifeline – April 20154

As we make our way through Mud Season into Spring, I am reminded of the line in Robert Frost’s poem, “Strangers in Mud Time:”

Only where love and need are one And work is play for mortal stakes Is the deed ever really done For Heaven’s and the future’s sakes.

The Norwich Congregational Church’s 2015 Summer of Song is right around the corner, and plans are taking shape for a time of renewal, joy, participation, and, yes, lots of music .

While Mary prepares for her three month sabbatical made pos-sible in large part through a gift from the Lilly Endowment Program for Clergy Renewal, the Ad Hoc Committee on Sabbatical Plan-ning has been working to schedule musical and renewal events that will serve as the framework around which our congregational renewal opportunities will be built .

Opportunities to be inspired by music will begin in May, even before Mary’s departure . A Junior Choir festival is planned for May 3, 2015, in our sanctuary — a chance to hear the beautiful voices of our children and those of children in nearby churches . The opportunity to hear more young musicians will occur on May 17, when Jane Helms’ piano students will be giving a recital in the sanctuary .

Meanwhile, a rare NCC “road trip” will occur on May 10, when we will gather those interested to go together to the Dartmouth Gospel Choir’s spring performance .

The beginning of Lilly Endow-ment-sponsored renewal activities

will occur on the weekend of May 22 through May 24 . On the evening of May 22, the Rev . Kathy Wonson Eddy will lead a workshop entitled, "Spiritual Renewal Through Music:

Listening, Singing and Silence .” Reverend Eddy is the former pastor of the Bethany Randolph UCC Church and is an accom-plished musician and composer . This workshop is for participants of all ages and is intended to stir spiritual creativity and thinking for the months ahead . The workshop will be followed by Mary’s Farewell Sunday on May 24 .

There are a number of diverse and community-oriented events scheduled for the summer . For ex-ample, our June schedule includes:

• June 7 – Evelynn Ellis’ recital entitled, “Peaceful Music for the Soul .”

• June 11 – Village Harmony Concert: “Harmony Singing from Across the World .”

• June 22-26 – NCC Children’s Summer Drama Camp (Final Performance June 26)

• June 27-28 – Participatory Workshop and Performance on how to sing Gospel Music led by nationally recognized choral director Anthony Leach

I smile with joy when I list out these activities; “love and need are one,” indeed! Please take a look at the NCC 2015 Summer of Song bulletin board and pay attention to announcements from the church to be aware of all of the activities planned for the summer .

But the core intention of our Lilly Endowment program is congregational renewal through participation . There are as many opportunities for individual and congregational renewal as there are ideas and musical and other talents in the congregation .

We would particularly like to encourage participation by con-gregational members in creating music during Sunday morning worship—solo or in collaboration with friends or with accomplished musicians at the church . The sum-mer is specifically set up for this to happen . Chose a Sunday, chose a friend, chose a piece of music, and share your joy and talent with others .

We look forward to hearing your ideas on how you would like to participate in and foster congrega-tional renewal during the summer . The sidebar contains a few ideas, and we will be asking you whether you would like to do some of these things or whether you have addi-tional ideas of your own .

As Michaelangelo said, “The dan-ger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark .”

Renew, rejoice, respond . We look forward to the lyrics, melodies, and songs of the heart that will connect us together with our congregation and our community this summer .

Bob Miller and the Ad Hoc Committee

on Sabbatical Planning Kathy Sherlock-Green,

Tacy Calaiacomo, Evelynn Ellis, Jane Helms, and Doug Lufkin

Opening the Gift of Music: Renew, Rejoice, Respond

5The Lifeline – April 2015

What Gifts Will You Offer to the

NCC Summer of Song?

I will play or sing music alone or with a group during one or more Sunday morning services .

I will pray for the Church during the season of renewal .

I will pray for the pastor during her sabbatical .

I will bring a friend to at least one of the concerts .

I will bring a friend to hear special music on a Sunday morning .

I will hold a Bread Breakers picnic at my house that includes music .

I will bring a child to watch the Summer Drama Camp Performance in late June .

I will make at least 5 phone calls on behalf of the Ad Hoc Committee on Sabbatical Planning .

I will bring a plate of cookies or other refreshments to one of the renewal activities .

I will help put up posters or flyers for an event .

I will be part of a welcoming group for one of our performers .

I will commit to learning more about sacred music .

I will write something which can be used in a worship service, either with or without music, either during or after the summer .

April Mission Offering:One Great Hour of Sharing

Through One Great Hour of Sharing, United Church of Christ mem-bers reach out in the name of Christ to:

Build sustainable communities. OGHS supports self-help programs in more than 80 nations to build sustainable communities that enable people and communities to stand against and rise above hunger, disease, illiteracy, and other forces of injustice that deny and destroy dignity .

Respond to disaster. OGHS provides emergency and long-term assis-tance to people in the aftermath of hurricanes, tornados, storms, floods, tidal waves, fires, explosions, technological disasters, civil strife, war, or other natural or human-caused events . On average, OGHS responds to a disaster once every 2 .5 days .

Minister to refugees. OGHS responds with advocacy and help, hope and hospitality for people who have been uprooted from their home of origin . More than 30 million of the world's people are uprooted at any given time .

The United Church of Christ unites with Christians in eight other Protestant denominations and Church World Service in One Great Hour of Sharing, thus multiplying the effectiveness and extent of our witness many times over .

The partnership we share with nearly 6,000 United Church of Christ congregations across the United States and Puerto Rico is where this remarkable miracle connecting UCC members to the world truly begins .

that . While there I will be tak-ing music lessons, visiting other churches to learn more about sacred music, attending a workshop on Medieval and Renaissance music workshop, and taking other related courses . At the beginning of August I will travel to England, where I will attend a conference on Congrega-tional Singing at Ripon Cuddesdon College near Oxford, a summer music school in Devon, and spend a week at Iona Abbey, soaking up music, liturgy and natural beauty . I will also mix in some long walks

in northern England . I will return to Vermont in early September and worship with all of you on September 13 . I am grateful to the Lilly Endowment for the grant that makes all this possible, and to you, the congregation of the Norwich Congregational Church, UCC for giving me this time . You will also be hearing from the ad hoc Sabbatical Planning Committee about what will be happening here – I feel a little jealous of all your opportuni-ties to hear wonderful music!

From the Minister, continued from page 3

The Lifeline – April 20156

Church Council Minutes – Sunday March 15, 2015

Present: Hillary White, chair, Mary Brownlow, Laura Beliveau, Bob Miller, Doug James, Heidi Webster, Doug Britton, Jeff Niel-son, Rita Severinghaus

Hillary began by introducing the concept of “tidying up” (based on the global best seller “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo) by metaphorically taking everything out of a closet full of stuff and picking up each object and asking “does it spark joy, does it provide meaning, do you have energy for using it” . She asked us to consider this metaphor as we move through discussions in Church Council about re-organizing our structure . She told about a Tuck course she took where she learned about an engineering group in Florida whose business model was to “self-organize” from accepting projects all the way through to completion of a project, and she explained that while we may not want to use this model, we might want to keep the concept in mind as we re-organize ourselves based on where our energies are .

She also recommended two books that she is reading, “Real Good Church: How our church came back from the dead, and yours can, too” by Molly Phinney Baskette (lead pastor at the First church Somerville UCC in Somer-ville, MA) and “Holy Conversa-tions: Strategic planning as a spiri-tual practice for congregations” by Gil Rendle (director of the Center for Learning at the Alban Institute) and Alice Mann (senior consultant with the Alban Institute), both

available to anyone interested . The Somerville, MA UCC church “aver-aged 35 people in worship and had about $200,000 in the bank… [to] our giving has more than quintu-pled, and we went from six children in Sunday School to close to 100 .”

Minutes of the last church coun-cil were approved . There were no comments on the minutes from the other boards . Doug B . introduced the concept of a “consent agenda” in which the approval or discus-sion of Church Council minutes, Pastor’s Report, Board/Committee reports (bullet points of highlights) are all grouped together for consid-eration . This is for anything that needs to be approved or ratified or discussed . If there are questions or items to highlight, they can be pulled out . Otherwise, it is ap-proved by the group . This will be done in future agendas .

Bob Miller provided an update on Sabbatical Planning . One in-terim minister candidate has been interviewed by the Deacons . They hope to call an interim minister within a week or so . The planning committee is solidifying the plans for the summer while Mary is away . These will be rolled out for the con-gregation in the coming months, and participation by all will be encouraged .

Hillary had presented Visionary Goals on the agenda . Two projects are the Reorganization Project and the New Faces Project . These were formed as a result of the work of the Long-Range Planning Commit-tee’s report for 2014 .

Reorganization Project (How can we reorganize ourselves to

keep what is working well, and make things more efficient). We have ideas and want to hear your ideas . This project is critically important . We have already done a lot of “self pruning” - as evidenced by gaps in our boards and committee rosters, and now we need to focus on what we care about the most and have energy for, in an efficient and effec-tive way .

New Faces Project (How can we reach out to people in

our community who might be interested in coming to our church – how do we tell them who we are and how we can be there for them as they go through life’s journey – how do we grow our congregation). We have ideas on this as well and want to hear your ideas . This project is also critically impor-tant if we are to remain relevant to our community .

A sub-theme or thread that should run through all these vision-ing discussions, critically important, will be on community, communing with each other within the church and within our community .

The first step explored in this meeting was to ask each person at the meeting 1) what do you value about how your (or another) com-mittee or board is organized, and 2) how has your group “self-pruned” to adapt to the energy your group has in the present . Members of the Council gave input as to our thoughts on these initiatives . Mary shared information on various or-ganizational models . She noted that

7The Lifeline – April 2015

Church Council Minutes – Sunday March 15, 2015

church tasks should be manageable . We will think about committee work and discuss it at our next meeting .

Next meeting: Wednesday April 22nd, 7:00 PM .

Respectfully submitted,Heidi Webster

Note from Hillary White to Lifeline readers: At our next church council meeting we will be asking 1) How has my board/committee (or any other church group) reached out to our Upper Valley community in meaningful ways, 2) how have we communicated this part of who we are to our community, and 3) how can we use the energies we have to take these efforts to the next level .

Anyone is welcome to attend the Church Council meeting . If anyone is interested in discussing these ideas online, please email Hillary at hdw@dartmouth .edu and ask to be put on the Church Council email discussion forum list, where we are discussing ideas and concerns outside of the Church Council meeting forum .

Church Council CornerThoughts from your 2015 Chair

In the process of exploring ideas for the Reorganization and New Faces Projects that Church Council is taking up this year, I am exploring two books as mentioned in the Church Council minutes for March 15th 2015, within this issue of Lifeline. (Anyone is welcome to attend Church Council meetings and/or to participate in online Church Council discussions – you can email me at hdw@dartmouth.edu and ask to be put on the email discussion list).

Here I will explore thoughts from those two books that might be useful for consid-eration. This month I will talk about “Holy Conversations: strategic planning as a spiritual practice for congregations” by Gil Rendle and Alice Mann, both affiliated with the Alban Institute. Resource J in the appendix is entitled “excavating the religious cultures of the congregation”, as adapted from “Raising the Roof: The pastoral to program size transition” by Alice Mann. In this section, Mann talks about terms like “mission to the surrounding community”. I’d like to offer some quotes and thoughts:

Mann says “The congregation with a civic culture promotes the public good through involvement with existing social and economic institutions … Civic churches tend to see themselves as part of the community fabric. They may view Sabbath attendance as a minor measure as compared to the total number of people whose lives are touched by the ministries of the congregation and by the leavening influence of members scattered throughout the community… Congre-gations that want to show ‘hospitality to the stranger’ may need to build a more visible path (metaphorically and literally) to the doors of their spiritual home and provide more explanation about their faith tradition for those who do appear on the doorstep.”

Mann then talks about congregations intending growth but having discomfort in endorsing and planning for an intention to grow. I am guessing there may be more than a few among us who share discomfort in the evangelical or proselytiz-ing model that requires a degree of theological conformity for new members and goes far beyond our “open and affirming” words. There has been a lot of great discussion recently about how our Norwich Congregational Church can be more relevant to our community, something that might feel a bit uncomfortable to us when thought of in the context of growing numbers. However, maybe this can be seen as an opportunity for exploring how we can take outreach within the Upper Valley to the next level and keep to our cherished values of offering a vision of car-ing and communing with people in an open and affirming way.

Mann goes on to observe that those church communities that are dynamic with respect to being relevant to their communities measure high in enabling their members to have a high “margin in life” which she defines as “a person’s avail-able reserves of energy, vitality, and resilience”. She ends by cautioning us that “remaining stuck in the transition zone [of a church that is trying to evolve toward greater relevance within their community] seems to drain the margin (personal reserves of energy, vitality and resilience) out of the lives of leaders and active members. Full transition … seems to allow the congregation to enhance people’s “margin in life” more effectively.” I feel certain that we are not stuck, but rather we have good opportunities to enhance our “margin” of energy, vitality and resilience.

If you are interested in joining us in exploring ideas about how we can remain true to our “open and affirming” values while energizing people and without burnout, please feel free to join us, as your energies permit, at Church Council and/or on our online discussion.

Respectfully submitted, Hillary White, chair of Church Council for 2015

The Lifeline – April 20158

Tapas & Treasures

Non-profitOrganizationUS Postage

PAIDNorwich, VTPermit No . 1

NORWICH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHUNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST15 Church Street • PO Box 236

Norwich, VT 05055-0236Tel: (802) 649-1433 • Fax (802) 649-2805

Office Hours: Tuesday to Friday, 8:30 to 12:30Email: . . . . norwichcongregational@gmail .comWebsite: . . . . . www .norwichcongregational .orgPastor: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rev . Mary Brownlow

AN OPEN AND AFFIRMING CONGREGATION WORSHIPING ON

SUNDAYS AT 10 AM

LIFELINECoordinator / Editor / Photographer: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Linda HimadiDesigner: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Douglas LufkinSend articles to: . . . . . . . . . norwichcongregational@gmail .com

Deadline for next issue: April 15, 2015

E -MAIL ADDRESSES

If the church does not have your e-mail address, and you would like to be kept abreast of announcements and events at church – by this no cost/no waste option – please send an email to the church office at norwichcongregational@gmail.com.

Join us for

Tapas & Treasures

A P R I L 2 4

Silent Auction opens at 5:00pm

Dinner starts at 6:00pm!

Live Auction with Auctioneer Chuck Eaton Starts 7:00pm

It still isn’t too late to donate an item to make this event a big success . For reservations or more information:

tapasandtreasures@gmail .com

Joanne Egner, Carol Loveland, Heidi Webster

Sow the seed in the wide black earthand already the seed is victorious, thoughtime must contribute to the triumph of thewheat.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944) Flight to ArrasQuotation found in Mildred Walker's Winter Wheat (New York:

Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1943)

Mark Your Calendar

April 2: Maundy Thursday Service at 7 pm

April 5: Easter SundayEarly morning service at Hillside Cemetery at 7 am.

Worship service in sanctuary at 10 am.

9The Lifeline – April 2015

John-Michael describes himself as a nerd, a homebody, and someone who enjoys being with his kids and all their sporting activities: soccer, basket-ball, baseball, and skiing . When he was younger he played rugby which is a combination of soccer and football . “It was really neat fun!”

John-Michael was born and grew up in Wilmington, Delaware and surrounds . His father, of course, worked for DuPont . The family spent some time in Switzerland, too, which was really different .

“I was not particularly interested in going to college when I was in high school, but my father encour-aged me to interview . But during my interview at Middlebury, the prim and proper New England lady

interviewer told me, ‘I don’t think you are Middlebury material .’ Then I got angry and worked to prove her wrong . I really like math and science and I was also looking at engineer-ing schools . I did go to Middlebury and majored in physics .”

He and Danielle were married in 2000 in her hometown, Bridgton, Maine . For a while they lived in Tunbridge with a baby, and a dog, in a little house in the woods (He sounds like Laura Ingalls Wilder) and loved it . They moved to Nor-wich for the schools and for all the sports for the kids .

John-Michael thinks church is awesome . “Young and old are all learning . I enjoy the relative quiet, listening to Mary’s sermons and

singing hymns . When I was a child I attended church but couldn’t wait until it was over so I could go out and play . My grandparents were very religious and were married for over 75 years . They were role models for me . My grandmother died before my grandfather . After her death, he would hear his wife talking to him at night . After about a year, he joined her .”

John-Michael works at Dimatix in Lebanon . They use industrial print heads to print billboards on any surface . His job involves phys-ics, science, and math .

John-Michael continues to be amazed at Danielle’s talents and all the interesting things she is doing with the children of the church .

MEMBER PROFILE

John-MichaelTaylor

Sunday School News!Is it June Already?

Not really! But Children’s Sunday on June 14th is already on our minds upstairs in the Sunday School classroom . Fol-lowing our Easter celebration on April 5th we will move into several weeks of planning, prepping, and practicing for our big end of year celebration . Every child is welcome and encouraged to participate and there will be many different roles for them to fill, from center-stage to behind the scenes action . This year, I hope to make use of our many musical talents so if your child plays ANY instrument at ANY level, I will be asking them to contribute some noise to our production!

Also, we are calling all middle school kids to join us in creating a middle school youth group that meets once a month . If you have a child in grades 5-7 who might want to be a part of this (there will be free food!) please contact Danielle Taylor at the church .

As always, visitors and volunteers are welcome to join us any Sunday!

Danielle Taylor, Sunday School Coordinator