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Kim's Corner Fish Chowder Luncheon History Memorials Pastors Photo Gallery Stories, Old & New Church Humor |
Never wrory aobut yuor spleeing aagin! IT'S ALL SO OVIBUOS Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the Itteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey Iteter by istlef but the wrod as a wlohe. ......copied from Reader’s Digest, submitted by Bill news FROM trustees; EASY END COTTAGE On June 1, 2006, the
Church will take
occupancy of This Mission
outreach project of the
United Church As
the United
Church of Christ continues to respond The major role of the church in this disaster, as in all disaster,
is long
-term recovery. I, for one, am
very
proud to think that our little Donation envelopes will be
available on Sunday Thank you
from the
Missions Board for your
A
letter was received
and read at annual meeting from What
this means is
that property willed to the church by The
Church Council
is reviewing restrictions in the will Regular weekly happenings: Each Monday: 5:00 - 6:15 pm Kennebec Youth Orchestra 6:30 - 8:00 pm Boy Scouts 7:30 - 9:00 pm Choir Rehearsals Each Wednesday: 7:00 pm AA Meeting Each Thursday: 12 noon AA Meeting Each Friday: 7:00 pm AA Meeting LIKE TO JOIN A KNITTING GROUP MAKING PRAYER SHAWLS ? Last spring we told you that in the fall we would start a knitting group to make prayer shawls for cancer victims or others. Here is the information on the first meeting. On October 12, 1:00 pm at 3A Elm St., Winthrop, I will open my home to show you how to knit a shawl. All you need to bring with you is a round knitting needle size 10.5 or 11, 13 and three skeins of Home spun yarn. You may make a shawl for whom ever you like or a prayer shawl for a cancer victim. Please call 377-3817 and let me know if you would like to come. ..........Betty Evans Fish chowder luncheon brings friends
together ( Reprint from Capital Weekly Newspaper) WINTHROP - Winthrop Congregational Church on the corner of Bowdoin and Main streets was a beehive of activity on Friday, Sept. 9, 2005. The reason is that was the day of the first fish chowder luncheon of the season. Volunteers of the church put on the fish chowder luncheons the second Friday of the month every month except for December, July and August. So there was a lot of excitement gearing up for the first luncheon in September. A lot of work goes into preparing for the luncheons which serve an average of 80 guests, plus another 30 take-out meals. Men and women show up at the church basement activity room about 8 a.m. on the day of the luncheon. The day before the luncheon, women of the church have baked a variety of pies. Some of the pies are baked on the morning of the luncheon, according to Darlene Rodzen, a veteran baker, and an organizer of the luncheon. She said about 15 church volunteers work on the luncheon. This year Rodzen baked three pies - blueberry, strawberry-rhubarb and sugar-free blueberry. Her friend, Marie Pettengill, made an interesting pie - a combination of blackberry, strawberry and raspberry. She also made an apple pie. In all, volunteers baked 19 pies for the lunch and Darlene Rodzen cut them into individual servings. "I'm the industrial-strength dishwasher," joked Pettengill. "It's a job you never get fired from." Rodzen, who is the office administrator at the church, says her work on the lunch is entirely volunteer. She has been volunteering for the lunch for 30 years - since the fish chowder lunches began in 1975. The cost of the fish chowder lunch is $6 and it is a fund-raiser for the church. The doors open for the lunch at 11:30 a.m. And the diner gets all-you-can-eat chowder with crackers, homemade biscuits, homemade pickles and a slice of homemade pie. There's always sugar-free pie available. Coffee and lemonade are served as well. All-in-all, it's a delicious meal which, by the way, is served on real china with real silverware. To top it off, on Sept. 9, the tables were decorated with Hydrangea flowers in vases. The chowder recipe used today was developed by Mary York for that first fish chowder in January 1975. Mary York's daughter, Lee Gilman, is carrying on the family tradition, baking two pies and donating her homemade pickles each month. Barbara Ingham, who passed away recently, was known as the "biscuit boss," baking 100 biscuits for each chowder luncheon until she was in her 90s. Ginny Webb is the present "biscuit boss." In the large church kitchen, Bob Ashby presided over three very large kettles, each containing the precious chowder, on a big gas stove, about an hour before the luncheon guests began to arrive. "The first year, they made me wash dishes," he said. "The next year I was an apprentice under the late Eric Doughty and Russ Hewett. Then I worked my way up to chowder master." Ashby said each kettle contained 10 pounds of potatoes and 12 to 14 pounds of chowder fish. Two-and-a-half pounds of onions go into each pot, along with butter, milk and evaporated milk. Very little water goes in, plus a minimum of salt and pepper "and patience," Ashby said. "Usually, we start melting the butter and cutting up the onions at 8 o'clock in the morning," Ashby said. "The rest of the crew is making the coffee and setting up the tables." Ashby said the chowder starts to cook about 8:30 a.m. and it's pretty much done by 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. "Then it just sits and stays warm after that," he said. "It sits there and mellows until they're ready to serve at 11:30. The secret is not to scorch anything." Ashby is a retired electrical consultant from northern Maine. Bill Rodzen, Darlene's husband, said he's been working on the luncheons for six years. "I come in in the morning and cut up the fish and do whatever's necessary," he said. "I've been delivering meals around town, to teachers at the schools and every once in awhile we have somebody who's sick or a shut-in and we deliver to them." "All the people who work on it are great and it's a chance to see a lot of different people once a month," Bill Rodzen said. Jean Doughty, like Darlene Rodzen, has worked on the luncheons since they began in 1975. "We made $66 in that first luncheon," Doughty recalled. "People from all over town and a lot business people come. Where we're handicapped- accessible, people with walkers come. It's grown immensely." Doughty said she started out peeling vegetables and she's done all the other jobs. For the last 20 years or so, she's been hostess of the event. "It's kind of a camaraderie," Doughty said. "People really enjoy the sociability of it. People expect to see us here and we expect to see them here." At 11:15 a.m., the first guests showed up at the door and they were seated, followed by a steady stream of people behind them. By 11:45, the activity room was bustling with people and the tables were getting full with guests who were engaged in lively conversation as they enjoyed their homemade chowder and biscuits. They saved the slices of pie they had selected until last. The Rev. Kimberly Murphy, pastor of the church, said, "It's more than just a meal; it's fellowship." Charlie Denoyer of Manchester who was there for the lunch with his wife, Lee, said, "This is our first visit, but not our last." According to a church press release, regular lunch patrons
attend from Winthrop, Wayne, Monmouth, Augusta, Lewiston, Gardiner and
Farmingdale. Often, former church members and former pastors who have
left the area return from Waterville, Scarborough and Wells. STEWARDSHIP/MISSIONS DISCUSSION ON THE POSSIBILITY OF MERGING submitted by...... Pat Seaward & Marie Pettengill The Stewardship Committee has been brain-storming for almost two years now about the possibility of merging with the Missions Board. Based on conferences attended by members of both committees, and related literature, it was pointed out that Stewardship is the 'mission within the Church' and Missions is 'the mission beyond the front door of the Church'. This summer Stewardship invited the Missions Board to one of our meetings to further the discussion. We have had two joint meetings and a lively dialogue continues regarding the pros and cons of merging the two committees. Points made were: (1) it could lead to the members of the church gaining a better understanding of Stewardship, (2) meetings would need to be well managed to avoid detailed information not relevant to all members present, (3) would the joining of the two committees take away from community outreach projects the Missions Board now are a part of, and (4) the appropriate size a joint committee should be considered, and 5) would having Stewardship and Food Pantry in the same month, November, be too much for our church family? At the last meeting on August 10th it was decided that the two committees will meet jointly for several months to see if a clear process evolves. "The September meeting ....will focus on Missions and the Family Violence Project .... the October meeting .... on Stewardship and the theme for Stewardship Sunday on November 13th with a possible theme being the abundance of grace that we receive from God, and the thankfulness for the gift of grace being the stimulus for giving". An aside to the discussion is what to do about hospitality. For a number of years committees have taken the responsibility for hospitality; and should Stewardship and Missions combine, it would make one less 'committee' in the hospitality rotation. Therefore, it makes sense that Hospitality becomes a separate committee whose sole purpose would be to make sure refreshments are served after church each Sunday. That would not necessarily mean that that committee does all the cooking! September 21st at 6:00 p.m. is the time for the next joint meeting. Anyone having an opinion on the subject or wishing to be part of the discussion is welcome to attend. Please let any member of the Missions Board or Stewardship Committee know any thoughts or concerns you might have about the joining of the two. Missions Board: Carol Whittier, Shirley Rollins, Pat LePage, Patrice Putman, Jeff Brown and Marie Pettengill, Chair Stewardship Committee: Lee Gilman, Dayle Ashby, Margaret Imber (prospective), and Pat Seaward, Chair WANT TO JOIN THE CHOIR? Choir rehearsals will begin on Monday, September 12 from 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. This could be an exciting year for our choir; I’ve already heard from some people who are interested in joining us for the first time. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone, old members and new, at our first rehearsal! Rosalea Kimball Music Director A REMINDER ABOUT PUBLICITY Dayle Ashby, our new publicity person who has been doing a great job of getting our name in the news, asks us to be thinking of any events or activities that are being planned that would benefit from publicity. She doesn’t always know which activities that any church group is doing that would benefit from publicity. In Dayle’s words: “When I say benefit from publicity, I mean it in two ways. Would the activity benefit and/or would the church benefit - i.e. positive, continued press hopefully makes us look attractive to others who might even get curious enough to attend a church service sometime! It would really be helpful if committee members would keep the word PUBLICITY in mind and let me know when they think that they could benefit from a press release.” Perhaps it could be a monthly agenda item at meetings. We noted that the MayaWorks publicity appeared to have a positive influence on MayaWorks sales at the July fair. As I write this Dayle is working on articles about the Fun After School Program and our Fish Chowder Luncheons. Note: The following was written by Dayle Ashby as a press release for the newspapers and I wanted to share it w/you! WINTHROP CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH FIRST FISH CHOWDER OF THE SEASON ON SEPT. 9 After 30 years of hosting fish chowder luncheons, members of the Winthrop Congregational Church are donning their chef’s hats and aprons for the first chowder of the 31st season. The chowder recipe used today was developed by Mary York for that first fish chowder in January of 1975. Mrs. York’s daughter, Lee Gilman is carrying on the family tradition, baking two pies and donating her homemade pickles each month. Two local women, Jean Doughty and Darlene Rodzen, worked on that first fish chowder luncheon and will be at their posts as usual on September 9. Barbara Ingham, who passed away recently, was known as the “biscuit boss” for many years, baking 100 biscuits for each chowder luncheon until she was in her 90’s. Ginny Webb is the present “biscuit boss”. It’s interesting to note that the first fish chowder in 1975 netted $66.00 for the church treasury. The menu remains the same: all you can eat fish chowder, homemade biscuits, homemade pickles and, of course, a great selection of homemade pies which always includes at least one sugar-free pie. The chefs, also called chowder masters, will be in the kitchen carefully watching over three huge pots of fish chowder, each pot containing 10 pounds of potatoes and 12 pounds of fish. Other workers in the kitchen will be busy packaging ‘take out’ meals for a number of long-time customers in the area who can’t leave their workplace or are homebound. The dining room always opens at 11:30 a.m. and the aroma of fish chowder bringing the promise of a great meal is the first thing to greet folks when that door opens. There is a hostess who provides information to newcomers, points out favorite pies to long-time customers and newcomers and generally keeps the dining room activities running smoothly. There are attractive seasonal decorations on all the tables to greet old and new friends. Regular luncheon patrons come from Winthrop, Wayne, Monmouth, Augusta, Lewiston, Gardiner and Farmingdale. Often, former church members and former pastors who have left the area, return from Waterville, Scarborough and Wells with the dual purpose of seeing old friends and enjoying the wonderful fish chowder. The men and women who work on the fish chowder luncheon are eager to once again welcome long-time luncheon costumers and look forward to seeing some new faces on September 9th. The Winthrop Congregational Church, located on the corner of Main Street and Bowdoin Street is handicap accessible. So if anyone who likes fish chowder and has an appetite, this is the place to be on the second Friday of the month in September, October, November, January, February, March, April and May. See you there. ARE YOU SAVING BOX TOPS?? The following is copied from the Winthrop Grade School newsletter and I hope I can urge you to help the school by participating in this project. Parents, please remember to save your Campbell’s Soup labels and Box Tops for Education points over the summer. (These are on many grocery products that we all buy all the time). These items will be redeemed by the PTA next year for valuable items or cash for our school. Please help the PTA to continue their wonderful work at the grade school and their ability to fund many special projects for our children. A NOTE FROM DAYLE I have copies of all the biographies that have been done up to this point both on computer and hard copy. If anyone would like a copy of a past biography to read I would be happy to supply it. I can do it via e-mail or hard copy whichever is best for you. Also Darlene has hard copies in the office and either of us would be happy to assist you with a copy as needed. Let one of us know if we can be of help to you to catch you up to date on learning more about our church friends. GOD IS STILL SPEAKING Last fall we brought you lots of information on the new God is Still Speaking Initiative that was beginning at the national offices of the United Church of Christ. We wrote about it in the newsletters and Rev. Kim did a sermon series on God is Still Speaking and information about it was in the newspapers. Special GISS television commercials were written and aired during Advent and again during Lent. We also have a video that anyone may borrow if they wish to know more background inforrmation. We agreed to become a part of the GISS initiative and we voted to send a donation of $50 to the national office to help with the expenses of the advertising. In response to that donation a letter was received from the national office thanking us for our donation. It reads in part: “After seeing our commercial during Advent, thousands echoed the sentiment found in the following email message: ‘My wife and I were looking for a church for many years that has a realistic approach to God and the world in which we now live. After viewing your all- inclusive message in the 30 second spot, we found a local United Church of Christ.... ur family could not be happier; we had our prayers answered in our new home in the U.C.C. Thank you for the courage to speak out.’ Your gift makes it possible for many to find new hope -- for themselves, their families, and loved oness. Thank you. The United Church of Christ seeks to offer radical hospitality and strives to welcome everyone, no matter who they are or where they are on life’s journey. Please keep the work of the Stillspeaking Initiative in your heart and prayers. Once again thank you for your support.” During Lent the Maine Conference decided to run the softer “Little Girl” ad in the state of Maine. (Both of the ads were on the video.) Both the national office and the Maine Conference of the United Church of Christ is still looking for donations to help with the cost of running these commercials. Individual dontions would be very much appreciated. If you would like to make a donation toward either commercial please make a check payable to our W.C.C. and clearly marked for the GISS Initiative. If you have questions please call the church office. Never place a period where God has placed a comma. God is Still Speaking MISSION MOMENT From The United Church of Christ God is Still Speaking God is not God of the dead but of the living. —Luke 20:38b (NEB) In the United Church of Christ, we worship a living God We believe in God's continuing revelation. We always have. When the Pilgrims set sail for the new world in 1620, their pastor, John Robinson, told them: "The Lord hath truth and light yet to break forth from His holy Word." Translated into a 21st century idiom, we believe that God is still speaking, (and we never place a period where God ha:left a comma). Our United Church of Christ has been called the "early" church, because we're usually among the first in addressing important issues facing our society and in taking bold positions that challenge the status quo. That's because we believe God continually calls us into new ministries of love. justice, and inclusiveness. And we live out that calling in new settings and circumstances. The roots of our faith are over two thousand years old. But our thinking is not. We are a seekers' church. Our worship doesn't exclude questions and explorations. At our best, our congregations seek to include anyone and everyone who wants to listen for the voice of the still speaking God. So. no matter who we are, or where we are on life's journey, we know we have a home in the United Church of Christ. God is Still Speaking, “ Never place a period where God has placed a comma.” Gracie Allen It is interesting how your faith gets challenged. Last month, Rev. Kim, Darlene, Marie P. and Marie H. attended a workshop focusing upon the God is Still Speaking initiative. It was led by a person trained at the National office of the UCC, sharing what she had learned in the Conferences multi-year journey to explain who we are to people who have become alienated from God.. People who are not necessarily non-religious but non-churched. As we listened more, we realized that for this initiative to be successful, we all need to know who we are and what we are about before we can define ourselves to others. Ron Buford, coordinator of the Still Speaking Initiative, says, “We live out our vocation as a united and uniting church by being who we are – not by being all things to all people.” In 1957, the United Church of Christ became a Christ centered church uniting the Congregational Christians and The Evangelical and Reformed Church into one National body. It allowed each individual church to keep its own identity but benefit from shared information nationally. Not all churches joined the United Church of Christ but many did and became a fellowship of biblical people living under a covenant for responsible freedom in Christ. "The United Church of Christ is a diverse community of faith, held together by covenant and in Christ. We know there are thousands, perhaps millions, of people who have not been to church in many years, or ever, simply because they never knew that a community of faith like the United Church of Christ exists. The Stillspeaking Inititive is designed to let them know." People will be reached through a National TV ad campaign and by empowering congregations to be bold witnesses to the power of a Stillspeaking God. The UCC affirms the responsibility of the church in each generation and community to make faith its own in reality of worship, in honesty of thought and expression, and in purity of heart before God. It looks to the word of God in the Scriptures, and to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit to prosper its creative and redemptive work in the world. One of the UCC’s distinguishing characteristics is its penchant to believe that …God is still speaking,…even when it puts us out there alone. But we are never alone for long.” ......from stillspeaking.com We at Winthrop Congregational, UCC feel that to become a “Still Speaking” church, we need to co-ordinate Rev. Kim’s sermon series in October with a number of visual aids around our church. A group is meeting on Wed. to brainstorm how to accomplish this in the best way. Any input would be greatly appreciated and needed for the success of the program. Also we need to educate ourselves as to who we are and what we want to do. Please visit the websites www.ucc.org and www.stillspeaking.com. There is a wealth of user friendly information there. Much of our information was found at these websites . If you do not have access to a computer, please let the office know and we will copy information for you. Any one of us will be more than willing to answer ( or find answers) to questions that you may have. As we embark upon this journey we will develop a closer relationship with Christ and a deeper under-standing of our faith. We will also learn what it means to reach out with Christ’s love to all those around us. God is Still Speaking, listen, learn and love. Shalom, The Maries news FROM trustees; EASY END COTTAGE On June 1, 2006, the
Church will take
occupancy of winthrop food pantry: The
Winthrop Food Pantry
has made a schedule Crackers of any kind. Small canned baked beans. Small canned spaghetti also of any kind. Oodles of Noodles any kind. Thank you from the Food Pantry & Missions Board COMMENTS ABOUT OUR BANNER? AND TAKING ORDERS FOR TOTE BAGS! To go along with the United Church of Christ national God is Still Speaking iniatitive we are doing several new things at our church. Three meetings have been held and we have discussed ways in which we can be a bit more welcoming to our guests and the community at large. Our new banner on the lawn is our notice to the community! One comment made to D.R. was that “it is impressive.“ What comments have you heard? The banner was made by the Maries’ and it definately is impressive! To defray the cost of the new banners for GISS the gals are selling tote bags. There are two sizes, med. $9.00 and large $12.00. They are red with black handles with a pocket on the front and the back. They are decorated with a coma and the GISS logo. Please let MP or MH know if you would like to have one. And remember “never place a period where God has placed a comma RECYCLE. IT’S EASY. IT’S SMART” Turn Trash to Cash ! Dear members & Friends: The Winthrop Congregational Church is partnering with INK-INK Recycling Associates to provide our church with a no cost, low effort fundraiser. We now collect empty printer copier cartridges, fax cartridges and ink jet cartridges. By bringing these items to church, trash can now be turned into cash! Any cartridge but ribbon is acceptable. The packages can also be recycled. Please remember that when you install a new cartridge, place the old one in the new box and bring it to church. Recycling cartridges saves money, landfill space and helps to concerve our natural resources. A few environmental facts are: 1) the plastic in each cartridge takes more than 10 centuries to decompose; 2) 1.5 million cartridges go to landfills each month; and 3) in 7 months cartridges remanufacturing will save more oil than was spilled in the Exxon Valdez in Prince Edward Sound, Alaska. We feel this is a great educational opportunity for all of us here at WCC. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Thank you for your help! Sincerely, Bill Rodzen, Trustee, WCC Inkjet Cartridges Accepted For Recycling APPLE (with printhead ) Cannon (with printhead) BX-2, 3, BC 02, 5, 20 HP (most all !) LEXMARK (most all !) NO EPSON AT THIS TIME Toner Cartridges Accepted For Recycling Brother TN 560 Most all HP, Lexmark, Xerox & Cannon Some Pan & PB Call me if you have doubts or drop them off and I will sort ! Thanks, Bill (((WE RECEIVED TWO CHECKS IN THE AMMOUNT OF $71.50 AND $61.50 FOR OUR RECYCLING EFFORTS ! KEEP THEM COMING!))) Visit our Fish Chowder page for dates and times of our "Wicked Good Fish Chowder"! |