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From The Pastor Gina M. Finocchiaro Ever since I embarked on this journey called ministry, I have received a lot of advice about how to keep my head above water in the tumultuous waves of pastoring at a new church, making new friends, spending time with family and old friends, and maintaining any semblance of my own spiritual life. I can honestly report it is all easier said than done! Too often my daily list of things that must be accomplished before getting into a nice warm bed is too ambitious and unrealistic. As I write this article, I am in the midst of the end of Advent and Christmas planning, both for myself and the church. I am lacking in the sleep department, my desk here at the office is filled with post-it note messages to myself, I still have boxes that need unpacking at home, and the laundry is lucky to get clean, it rarely makes it to the folded stage! I cannot profess that I have struck balance yet. I tell myself that it is temporary. This time of the church-year comes but twice a year: Christmas and Easter/Advent and Lent. I always come through it having learned something about my endurance level, how much God must really love me to stand by my chaos!, and if I am lucky my faith grows a little stronger, and I move a little closer towards balance each time. This season I rediscovered the power of praying for yourself. I would venture to say that we are pretty good at knowing how and when to pray for others. Whether it is family, friends, strangers, or nations we can recognize the healing and supportive power of intercessory prayer--- that is praying on someone else’s behalf. But when is the last time you prayed for yourself? I offer my prayers of Thanksgiving regularly, I lay my burdens and stress before God often, and I praise God frequently, but the last time I sat down and generally prayed for myself? Hmm... It may come as no surprise that I like to sing my daily devotions to God. Often, I sing whatever songs or hymns I am moved to remember, and I have a small collection of hymnals at home that I search through looking for the words and verses. My mantra of the last weeks has been Standin’ in the Need of Prayer. A favorite African-American hymn, the verses call out to God saying: "Not my mother, not my father, but it’s me oh God, standin’ in the need of prayer. Not my sister, not my brother, but it’s me oh God, standin’ in the need of prayer. Not the neighbor, not the stranger, but it’s me oh God." What a powerful and moving lament and prayer for myself to God. As the year 2008 quickly comes, remember to nourish your own needs and faith. We are all challenged to strike a balance of commitments, family, and self. Turn to God, let God hear your praises, and your prayers--- for others, but for yourself too. Sing it, walk it, speak it, shout it! Voice what your heart calls you to do. Peace and Blessings, Gina  Installation of our New Pastor
CUMBERLAND ASSOCIATION MAINE CONFERENCE ~ UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST Congregational-Christian Churches and Ministers
All members of the Cumberland Association are cordially invited to gather with the members of the Williston-West United Church of Christ at 32 Thomas Street in Portland on Sunday, January 13, 2008 at 3 o’clock in the afternoon for the INSTALLATION of THE REVEREND GINA M. FINOCCHIARO as PASTOR AND TEACHER Clergy are invited to vest in red and process. An offering will be received for the Association Seminarian Scholarship Fund. Refreshments will be served at a reception following the service. In the event of severe winter weather, the Installation will be held on January 27. Gina is a native of Massachusetts, a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and Yale Divinity School, and was ordained in the United Church of Christ in 2004. She joins us from the First Congregational Church UCC in Madison, Connecticut and the New Haven East Consociation of the Connecticut Conference. Please come to welcome her to Maine and our Association fellowship and celebrate with the members of Williston-West. Eric C. Smith, Clerk  New Fundraising Initiatives for 2008 Erin Clark With a budget that consistently extends beyond the abilities of pledge support and rental income, Gina and I have been doing some brainstorming about potential fundraising efforts for 2008. Our goal is to hold one fundraising event per season, with winter continuing to offer our magnificent Christmas Fair. Since the Christmas Fair is recently behind us, our thoughts turned to spring, and what kind of fundraiser we could hold this April or May to raise needed funds toward 2008’s budget. We also decided that fundraising events sponsored by Williston-West should serve a purpose beyond contributing to our church’s financial health: they should build greater fellowship among participants and should encourage greater investment in being a steward of Williston-West through giving of time and talent, especially by those who may not be able to or have chosen not to participate in being a financial steward of our church. After weighing our options, we have decided to coordinate a dinner series to be hosted by members and friends of Williston-West which will be held during the months of April and May. A few years ago I did some work with a non-profit who used this kind of fundraiser with excellent results – over five thousand dollars raised with very minimal effort their first year with only twelve dinners.concept is this:Williston-West members and friends can sign up to host a "dinner" (though the meal can be at any time of the day — breakfasts, brunches, lunches and teas are welcome too!) either in their homes, the church, or some other pre-arranged venue.They select the menu, any theme, the number of diners welcomed, and the amount each diner must pay to attend.The host donates the food and any entertainment, and the money raised from the diners goes to Williston-West. The group I worked with held some fantastically creative dinners – some inexpensive and just for children, others based on movies or regions of the world, some with jam sessions or costumes required, one that was themed "food on a stick’... folks had a blast. Would you be interested in hosting a dinner? If so, please fill out the sign up sheet included in the Navigator on page 7 and forward it to the church office at the contact information provided on the form. I will compile these forms into a booklet listing synopsizes of all the available dinners to be distributed far and wide beginning in early March, and potential diners will use this booklet to choose which dinners they’d like to attend and RSVP to the church. Upon receipt of their dinner payment, I will email/fax/mail out directions to the venue of the dinner and alert the host of any updates to the total number of diners to be expected. Conversations about fundraising efforts have just begun, and your voice is important and needed as we continue to discuss how to best meet our goal of a balanced budget. We’ll be brainstorming fundraising issues at our annual meeting on January 25th at 5:00 pm — please consider attending and sharing your creative ideas with us, and thank each and every one of you for supporting Williston-West in so many ways.  Williston-West Church, Call to Annual Meeting The annual meeting of the covenanted members of Williston-West Church has been called by the Church Council for Friday, January 25th at 5:00pm. The purpose of the meeting will be to elect new officers and members to church boards and committees, to discuss important church business, and to review the annual report for 2007. A chili and chowder dinner will be also be provided. While only covenanted members may vote for candidates or issues, this is a family friendly event open to both members and friends of Williston-West Church, and childcare will be provided during the meeting for those wishing to bring their children to dinner. Christmas Fair Results Roxanna Brophy & Ellie Brown A big THANK-YOU to all who worked on the Christmas Fair to make it a great success. So far we have taken in a total of $6,680.61 and there are still some items that have not been picked up from the silent auction. The totals from each of the components of the fair are: Silent Auction, $2,500.01; Granny’s Attic, $1,450.52; Gourmet Table, $560.05; Cheese Table, $255.85; Café, $711.65; Jewelry Table, $422.24; Crafts Table, $282.50; Wreaths, $198.00; Kids Sale, $187.99; 50/50 $111.80. It is not too soon to be thinking about next year’s Christmas Fair so if anyone has any suggestions or ideas, please share them. We are looking for ideas to do some FUN fundraisers for the church throughout the year so please contact the church office to volunteer your services or to share your ideas and suggestions. Christian Education Report Gracie Johnston My parents instilled in me the joy of giving and caring for others. We try as parents and through our church school program to teach this to our children today. In the late 70’s my home church sponsored a number of Cambodian refugees who were resettled from the camps in Thailand. The Khmer Rouge is remembered mainly for the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million people (estimates range from 850,000 to 3 million) under its regime, through execution, starvation and forced labor. We helped these new friends in many ways. And sadly these atrocities still happen today.
We often talk with Teany, Khem and Bonny about people around the world who have so much less than we do. We talk about the poverty today in Cambodia and other countries. On occasion we discuss war-torn countries and how hard it must be for the people living in Iraq, the Sudan and other places. Barbara Ginley brought forth a great opportunity for our youth and church. For decades war has changed the lives of the people of Sudan. Since 2003, over 2.5 million people of the western most region of Darfur, Sudan, have permanently left their homes and between 250,000-400,000 have been killed. To respond to this tremendous tragedy, the United Church of Christ asks us to consider joining an innovative new project called Tents for Hope. In January the youth of the church will embrace and take on a new project. We will purchase a canvas tent to display. The youth as well as the mission committee will create an active learning experience using a refugee tent to raise awareness of the conflict in Sudan. The details have not been finalized as of yet. I envision us decorating the tent and each of the children will be involved in the entire project and fundraising. The fundraising efforts will support the displaced people of Sudan. Our youth are learning what it means to be a loving, caring community and helping our local neighbors and the world. Be sure to encourage the youth with your kind words and donations. Gracie New Member Classes Would you like to become a member of Williston-West Church? Please consider attending our next New Member Class, scheduled for Sunday, January 27th and Sunday, February 3rd from 11:30 – 12:30. Please call the church office at 774-4060 for more information. The Work of Christmas Howard Thurman
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the Kings and Princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The work of Christmas begins.
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry
To release the prisoner,
To teach the nations,
To bring Christ to all,
To make music in the heart.
Difficult Choices Ahead Sam Saltonstall World grain production peaked in 1984. Soybean production has taken up the slack since then. Each year 70 million more people need to be fed. Wheat, rice and corn harvests must be expanded to meet the demand. But now, food crops are becoming fuel crops, and global warming is throwing us a curve ball. Agricultural experts estimate that for each one degree Celsius rise in temperature, grain harvests world-wide will decrease by 10%. A rise of at least 3 degrees is expected this century even if we do cut carbon emissions drastically. A warmer climate will subject us to extreme weather events such as droughts and floods, making harvests less reliable than ever. Meanwhile, the water table in important agricultural areas around the world is dropping significantly. Enormous amounts of oil are used to produce, process, package and deliver and store food. Yet there is considerable evidence that oil production is peaking or may have already peaked. And most of the improvements in hybrid seeds and more efficient agricultural practices are probably already behind us. The rise in the price of oil has very recently made it more profitable for our country’s farmers to grow corn for ethanol rather than for food. Inevitably this will make corn as a food crop more expensive. This year, our country will have used about 81 million tons of corn to produce 8.3 billion gallons of ethanol. This amounts to 20% of our entire grain harvest, but only 4% of the nation’s automotive fuel. (The United States burns more gasoline than the next 20 countries combined.) The world’s efforts to reduce hunger were improving until around 2000, but there has been a recent upturn. 18,000 children die every day from hunger and related causes. Meanwhile, food aid has become more expensive to provide for countries like the United States. A ton of aid that cost $363 in 2004 costs $611 in 2007. So unless our government appropriates more money for food aid, places like Ethiopia, Afghanistan and Sudan will suffer reductions in aid. The number of failing states will increase as hunger increases, making it harder than ever to deliver the aid still available.
As Christians who care about the dispossessed, I believe we have daily choices to make. We must work to see that our government changes its energy policy so that food crops are not diverted to the manufacture of fuels. We must take a hard look at our own consumption patterns and make life style changes that reduce waste and enable us to share our wealth with others. We must work to avoid the worst effects of climate change. Most of all, as Christians, we must be faithful that we can do these things! The information in this article is taken from Plan B 3.0, by Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute, a new edition of his Plan B series just published. The opinions are my own. Two Easter Windows at Williston-West Deborah Sampson Shinn The Easter Windows at Williston-West are the two large stained glass panels along the south wall of the sanctuary. One shows the Angel of the Resurrection and the other the Transfiguration of Christ. Both windows were designed by Alfred Schroff of Boston and installed during the 1905 renovations to the sanctuary. The Angel of the Resurrection is the angel who surprised the Holy Women when they arrived at Jesus’ tomb early on Easter morning. The Gospels tell of an earthquake that morning and the descent of an angel whose "appearance was like lightening and his garment as white as snow." The angel rolled the stone away from the tomb and frightened the guards off. When Mary Magdalene and the other Mary approached, the angel announced that Jesus had risen from the dead and told them to go alert the disciples.
The angel in the Resurrection window is shown dressed in gleaming white robes. He holds a stem of lilies in one hand and a golden cross in the other. A close look reveals voluminous wings made of peacock feathers. A Biblical inscription on the lower section of the window says, "Thanks be to God, who giveth us the Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ," from 1 Corinthians 15:57. In the First Epistle to the Corinthians, Paul wrote to reaffirm the truth of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. The Angel of the Resurrection window is dedicated to Grace Fribley Pennell. She and her husband, Henry Beaumont Pennell, lived on Vaughan Street and were dedicated members of the Williston Church family. Mr. Pennell was a clerk of the church, a president of Christian Endeavor, and chairman of the building committee for the 1905 renovations. The Pennells’ son Harry, also a member of the church, worked for the Boston firm that redesigned the sanctuary interior. The second of the Easter windows, the Transfiguration of Christ, illustrates an episode recounted in the Gospels that is often interpreted as foretelling the death and resurrection of Jesus. In the story, Jesus took Peter, James and John up to a high mountain. There, Jesus was mysteriously transformed before them. His face glowed like the sun and his clothes became dazzling white. From a cloud that came over them, the voice of God commanded the disciples to heed Jesus’ teachings. In the window, the figures of the three disciples can be seen kneeling below a radiant Jesus with arms gesturing heavenward. The Transfiguration window carries a dedication to A. K. P. Meserve, M.D. Albion Keith Parris Meserve (1833-1904) was a prominent Portland physician, a president of the Maine Medical Association, and a Maine state legislator. During his years at Williston he served as church treasurer and for many years superintendent of the Sunday School. This particular window was reportedly chosen as Dr. Meserve’s tribute because he regularly sat in the adjacent pew at Sunday services. (Lots of good information about the history of the church and the stained glass windows can be found in the booklet, Williston-West Church 1873-1981. The church office has a copy.) |
