Ten terrific workshops providing practical training for UCC church folks will take place on Sunday afternoon, March 28^th from 3:00 to 6:00 PM right at our own Pilgrim Church. Modeled on the "Suitcase Seminars" of a few years ago, the workshops (listed below) will offer practical and concrete help to all, laity and clergy alike. I personally know most of the workshop leaders, and they are experts in their field.

UCC Churches in the three associations of our Southeast Area are being invited, and the registration deadline is March 19^th. Cost for the workshops is FREE – paid for by our support of Our Church’s Wider Mission Basic Support and Fellowship Dues.

A Fellowship Meal put on by our Board of Christian Education will be offered at 5:30 PM, and proceeds from it will be used to benefit our CE programs. Since this is sponsored through the MA Conference, your check for $10 for the meal is to be made out to MACUCC, and sent in with your registration.

Here are the offerings and a brief description. A more complete description can be found on the green sheets on the bulletin board going into the Vestry (along with registration forms).

E – 1 Called to Care: Organizing Your Church for Caregiving. This is the UCC’s version of what we are embarking on in the Stephen Ministry program. Probably not anything Pilgrim Church people will be interested in, though the leader, Susan Dickerman, Assoc. Conf. Min. for Leadership Development, is great.

E – 2 How to Prevent Molehills from Becoming Mountains: Pastor-Parish Relations Committees, a workshop for these committees, deacons, and pastors. Led by Beverly Prestwood-Taylor, local church consultant.

E – 3 UCC 101 Today, everything you always wanted to know about our denomination but were afraid to ask! Led by Dale Hempen, our Southeast Area Conference Minister.

E – 4 Faith, Finances, and the Future of Your Church, a stewardship and mission workshop led by Ed Hoyt, Acting Assoc. Conf. Min. for Stewardship and Financial Development.

E – 5 Changing How We Manage Our Churches. In this workshop an alternative to the traditional way of "doing church" will be discussed, emphasizing spiritual growth, gifts assessment, and team ministry to do mission. Led by Paul Nickerson, Acting Assoc. Conf. Min. for Evangelism, Mission, and Justice.

E – 6 Mission in the 21^st Century, a workshop designed to strengthen local and global mission in the congregation. Led by Paul Clayton, retired pastor with much experience in the mission area.

E – 7 Building a Planned Giving Ministry, a workshop for planned giving and stewardship committees, trustees, and pastors. Led by Stephen Silver, Acting Director of Planned Giving.

E – 8 The Covenant Connection: Serving as a Church Delegate. For current or future church delegates to the Conf. Annual Meeting. Led by Nancy Taylor, MACUCC Minister and President.

E – 9 Christian Education in a Local Church Setting, a workshop for church educators, members of CE Boards, and pastors. Led by Elsa Marshall, Assoc. for CE.

E – 10 Youth Ministry in a Local Church Setting, a workshop for youth leaders, CE Boards, and pastors. Led by Carl McDonald, Assoc. for Youth and CE Ministries.

Along with registration forms mentioned above (on the bulletin board going into the Vestry), you can also register online with Cindy Bolton at boltonc@macucc.org or call her at 508-875-5233 (ext. 237).

As you can see, there is just about something for everyone! I hope many of you will sign up to participate in one of these outstanding offerings. And please stay for the fellowship meal and help support our own children and youth.

Shalom,

Ken

Lord Jesus, today we pray for the beginning of our Stephen Ministry. Guide our pastors and lay leaders as they begin to use this caring ministry system to equip your people to provide one-to-one Christian care to others in need. Give them open and caring hearts as they serve in your name. Amen.

Stephen Ministry is a ministry recently adopted in our congregation in which trained and supervised lay persons, called Stephen Ministers, provide one to one Christian care to individuals facing life challenges or difficulties.

Stephen Leaders are the ones who oversee and direct our Stephen Ministry. We have three Stephen Leaders – Janice Brodil, Lee Tenney, and Roger White.

Stephen Ministers are the caregivers. They will go through 50 hours of training in Christian caregiving, including general topics such as listening, feelings, boundaries, assertiveness, and using Christian resources in caregiving.

In addition, their training covered specialized topics such as ministering to the divorced, hospitalized, bereaved, and aging. We do not have any active Stephen Ministers right now.

Care receivers are the recipients of Stephen Minister’s care. They are people from our church who are experiencing divorce, grief, loss of a job, loneliness, hospitalization, terminal illness, or any of an endless number of other life difficulties. Stephen Ministers usually meet with their care receivers once a week for about an hour for as long as the care receiver will benefit by the relationship.

Stephen Ministers are not couselors; they are trained lay caregivers. Their role is to listen and care – not to give advice or counsel. Stephen Ministers are also trained to recognize when a care receiver’s need exceeds what they can provide. When that happens, they work with care receivers to help them receive the level of care they really need.

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From the Board of Outreach: Sunday, April 4 is Palm Sunday. It is also the Sunday for 'One Great Hour of Sharing.' Please consider contributing to this cause. God uses all gifts for big purposes. Your gift (large or small) will help in a big way! Anything you may be able to give will go a long way in helping those around the world who are less fortunate.

Our next new members’ class will be on Saturday morning, March 13^th from 9:00 AM to 12:30 noon. New Members will join the next morning in the worship service. Invitation letters are going out the end of February and if you did not receive one and would like to come, please give Ken or the Office a call. We would love to have you! At the orientation class you will meet others also joining, hear from representatives of our major program boards, hear a brief history of Pilgrim Church, and enjoy a delicious light lunch put on by the previous new members’ class (with help from our Deacons). We hope to see you.

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The easiest way to get your items for the bulletin and newsletter in is by submitting them by e-mail, if convenient, to the church office @ secretaryofpilgrimchurch@hotmail.com. The deadline for the April newsletter is Sunday, March 15^th.

Thank you, Cathy Doughty, Pilgrim Church Secretary

Debbie Jewell will be organizing a cooking class in March. The owner of the Gourmet Pantry in Duxbury will be leading the class. The cost is $35, which includes the lesson, ingredients, and the wine, selected to compliment the meal. Anyone interested can register on the sign up sheet in the hall outside the vestry, or after church in the vestry. More details available there.

This should be a lot of fun, hope you can come!

The next meeting of the Bookworms will be March 23rd at 1:30 P.M. in the Library. The book we will discuss is "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress" by Dai Sijie. All are welcome-bring a guest.
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The Women’s Fellowship is asking all church committees, who plan an event that involves the use of the kitchen, to provide their own dish towels.

-Thank you for your cooperation.

News about the proposed Pilgrim Church Memorial Garden. "He who plants a garden, plants happiness." - Chinese Proverb

PILGRIM CHILD CARE AND PRESCHOOL

The weeks since we have been without an organ have been surprisingly pleasant for me. I have been encouraged to practice piano music for the prelude and postlude. Although the repertoire for piano is immense, I have not had to think of any in my repertoire as appropriate "prelude/postlude" music. I am grateful to the many in the congregation who have encouraged my efforts. The choir does well with either instrument and the need to come to the stairs for Introit and anthem parts of our worship, brings the music and singers closer to the congregation. This, in my mind, creates a feeling of participation by all, both singers and hearers in the worship experience. Having said all that, I must
express my genuine and joyful excitement as the new instrument is being put together. This is a once in a life time experience for many of us and I do encourage any interested members to come to the chancel area any Sunday to see the new console. I will, of course, be more than happy to demonstrate it. Anyone who has been involved in a large scale construction project understands that there seems to always be delays. The construction and installation of our organ is no exception but progress IS being made. You will be kept posted as we move along but feel free to call me if you have questions concerning our new organ and I will answer them as well as I can. If they are questions better answered by the installer, I will get the information for you. Our senior choir is planning Easter music to be accompanied by the ORGAN!

Cathy
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Looking for guidance with your financial and estate planning?. The Endowment Committee will host an investment seminar on Saturday morning, April 3 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in the vestry. Jim Pye, Sandy Kennedy, Gwen Zisko, and Charles Zisko are talented professionals (and also church members) who will address key points to consider when creating or updating your investment plans. Please mark your calendar and look for more information in the coming weeks.

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We have some exciting and rewarding events planned for SYF this spring!

We’ll meet in the Church vestry/parlor for pizza and snacks (popcorn a must) and the movie HOLES. The discussion time afterward will take a look at generational sin (you might want to take a look at Numbers 14:18-19). Do you believe in family curses? Are we stuck with the sins of our grandparents? Bring yourself, a friend, and if you like, a bean bag or comfy chair for watching this excellent film. To be sure we get enough pizza, please let us know if you’re coming. Call us (781-585-0596), email (TLClark54@aol.com) or sign up in the vestry (look for Rod in the vestry on 3/7, 3/14 and 3/21). Looking forward to seeing all interested high schoolers!!!

Join us in the vestry for student bands, singers and other talented Duxbury youth for an evening of fun, music and fellowship. Planning for this event is underway, so we’ll update you next month on the latest.

May – We’re looking into a Saturday work day where we can marshall our considerable talents to help our community. One possibility is the annual Camp Wing clean up day. We’ll let you know more as the time nears.

Looking forward to seeing all of you!

Terri and Rod Clark

Eloise

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