TCC Flash - Weekly News

October 14th is Pajama Sunday – We are continuing our pajama drive tradition and this fall’s drive will run through October 14th.  Donations of new pajamas (think fall and winter, please) for kids and adults can be put into the marked bin at the side entrance any time in the next few weeks.  The missions committee encourages congregants to wear their favorite PJs on the 14th, Pajama Sunday, to bring awareness of the simple comforts that some must go without.  On PJ Day, children can bring donated pajamas right up to the altar when they go up for Children’s Time.  This year’s collection will go the The Wish Project and be distributed to kids and adults alike.   Pajama sets for the kids are great and flannel pajama bottoms work well and are appreciated by the teens and adults. 

I hope to see many of you in your favorite PJs on the 14th!!

This week both Cherub and Seraph Choirs will begin rehearsals at 10:45 am. Cherubs are the little ones, grades K-3; Seraphs are grades 4-6 or beyond. We’ll meet at 11:00 am in the Fairgrieve Room for our own special “Coffee Hour” to sign kids up, get parents’ contact info, and Marilyn SanClemente will take the Cherubs to their new room while the Seraphs will work with Lucinda in the Fairgrieve. The Youth Choirs will be tons of fun this year, so come on out and get ready to sing!

We're looking for more kids to join both groups.  Please consider having your kids join this wonderful ministry!

Thank you to EVERYONE who signed up to help at Zero Waste Day. The only item remaining on our WISH LIST is for someone to buy a handful of blue and green helium balloons at the Dollar Store when they open at 9am and attach them to the banner/fence at the end of Victor Drive.

If you can help, sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050a48aaaa283-10th1

Please share the attached flyer with anyone who may be interested in participating in drive thru donating and recycling on Saturday, September 22nd, from 9am-1pm.

For more information, contact Beth McFadyen.

Attached File: 71ZeroWasteDayFlyer2018.pdf

The Bells are ringing....almost. It is that time of year when we begin planning for the coming ringing season. We can always use more ringers, even if you have never rung before. How often have you listened to the bells ring and thought,  "I would love to try that"? We are happy to teach!  Maybe we can begin a choir of new ringers, all starting out at the same time. Or a Mothers' choir that rehearses on weekday mornings. Come and join the fun!

It would also be wonderful to restart our Young Ringers choir. We would need a minimum of 8 kids, preferably in the same grade or two.

Please contact me with any questions. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Ed Henderson

978/387-0004

Come join the Called to Care team and learn about being an Ambassador!  We'll be getting together on Sunday, September 30th, right after worship service, from 11:00 am-12:30 pm, where we'll learn how to make prayer jars, enjoy some yummy treats, and have some fun!

A big THANK YOU! from your Missions Committee for all who sponsored a school bag for Church World Service back in May.  I hope you were able to take advantage of the late summer sales!  Many bags have been returned, but there are still a handful that need to be turned in.  Please bring your completed bags in by Sunday, September 30th.  They should be dropped into the marked bin at the side entrance.  If you do not remember whether or not you sponsored a bag, send an email to jojo2kenney@gmail.com or give me a call at home at (978) 851-5001 and I will be glad to let you know!   I think of all of the children who will start their school year more confident and ready to learn because they have the things they need and it makes my heart smile!

We need your help!  Please consider signing up for Coffee Hour.  We

could sure use your help!  We all enjoy the coffee, treats and fellowship after worship service.  Let's help keep this wonderful tradition of hospitality alive and well!  We can walk you through it if you've never done it before.  It’s easy & fun, a great way to help out and get to meet other members and guests.

We have lots of openings!

Please contact Mercy Delgado in person, or go to the SignUpGenius page to sign up.

TCC needs your help!  We're looking for some smiling faces to greet members and visitors as they arrive for service on Sunday mornings.  Greeters can be 1-2 friends, a family or a small group!  From 9ish to 9:30 am you'll warmly welcome people as they arrive.  Please contact Jean Metcalf in person, or go to the SignUpGenius page to sign up.

Have you ever considered providing flowers to adorn the altar during worship? Each Sunday, either fresh flowers or a silk arrangement are placed there during worship. Members are invited to provide flowers in honor or memory of a special person or occasion or simply in celebration of TCC.  A note is made in the service order each week, indicating the donor and the dedication.

Sign-up below for a Sunday that has meaning to you and this database will send you a reminder message 5 days prior to your scheduled date.  The Office will assume that you will be taking your flowers home after worship service unless you indicate other wishes.

Tewksbury Florist and Greenery regularly creates our Altar Flower arrangements.  They can be reached at 978-656-1132.

Thank you for considering two vital components of worship here at TCC!

Click HERE to launch our TCC Sign-up Genius page.  Use the tabs to switch between the sign-ups.  Thank you for lending a helping hand!

We continue this week in the pesky Book of James.  James often steps on my toes to remind me to be a better disciple.  As I read through James 2:1-13, I'm reminded that I should not have any type of prejudice in my life.  That is a good thing because we all need a lot less prejudice.

Jesus continues to this day to bring people together in various and unique ways.  Mission trips, worship services, community events and other connecting points that are blessings to us all.  The early church was a big melting pot of people from various backgrounds, of poor to rich to the in-between.  There is so much power in the Cross to bring down divisions and to bring people together!

James reminds us to "Love your neighbor as you love yourself."  Heard that before?  James goes into what seems to me like a tirade.  Respect people who are poor!  Don't put the rich on a pedestal!  Rich people are bad news!  They'll treat you badly!  Let's read deeper, however.  There is a bigger message for us all.

Many scholars think James was thinking of a church made up of the middle class.  Apparently, they had fallen into the cultural trap of that time of treating the wealthy better than the poor.  James steps on their toes.  Don't do that!  Love everyone the same!  The Church was new.  They needed a reminder that for this new movement to work, everyone would be treated the same.  Like the Apostle Paul said, there was no "Jew or Gentile" in God's view of Creation.  We are all loved the same.

Halfway through my ministry as a Pastor, I realized that it is only by the grace of God that this thing we call Church works.  I was preaching one Sunday looking out at the congregation.  I saw all the heartaches, the success, all the divisions, all the tears, all the failures, all the joys, all the unhappiness, and all the things that life brings our way.  It is always amazing how God can call and put together people that are different and do kingdom stuff.  

Rejoice in what God is doing and what God is going to do!  Celebrate that Jesus has brought us together.

In Christ,

Rev. Baxter

Growing up I remembered hearing, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."  It's an old children's rhyme from England attributed to a gentleman named Alexander William Kinglake.  The purpose of the rhyme was to encourage children to not let bullies hurt them with names and taunting.

Words do hurt when not used appropriately.  They are also very powerful and can inspire in such ways that a life or all of humankind is transformed.  Case in point, I think of Jesus inviting the Disciples to journey with Him in ministry.  Those must have been powerful words for them to leave their professions and to follow Him.  Think of the words of past presidents, civil right leaders, a sermon you heard, or a word of encouragement from a family member or friend that resonates in your soul.  Words are powerful. 

Sermons that we hear in churches around the world every week and speeches are very similar.  Yes, the sermon is set apart because it is attached to the transformational words of the Bible, but the commonality is that (one hopes), lives are impacted.  Yes, words are powerful.  They can change us.

We read in the Book of James and are reminded of the power of words.  In Chapter 3, James is critical of teachers and the words they were using.  I believe we can expand this to all of us.  We all "teach" another person something when we use harmful words regardless of if we are a teacher in the Church or not.  The opposite is true and beautiful.  Healthy and encouraging words can lift up a friend, change the direction of a child's life, or even save a person's life.  When we are so bold as to share words about Christ with someone who's part of the Church, there is the increasing possibility that they meet Jesus.

James 3:1-12 uses many metaphors to describe the power of words.  The tongue is like a "rudder" that guides the body.  Harmful words are like a "small fire" that can set a forest on fire.  He also says, "No more can salt water yield fresh."  Again, how we use our words is powerful.

I like what James says about the different types of water.  No, salt and fresh water cannot come from the same source.  So God gives us "living water" as Jesus described to the Samaritan Woman in John 4 when they met at a well.  It refreshes our souls and it helps guide our words.  As new people in Christ, our words grow and grow in love and harmony together.  Are they always perfect?  No.  But remember, it is a process.  The Samaritan Woman heard positive and accepting words from Jesus, shared with her village, and they all became followers of Him that day.  Words are powerful.

If you find yourself today in a place of discouragement because of someone's words, be reminded of Jesus.  Jesus gave us "Words of Life" that we call the Gospel (good news).  At every corner, as He delivered inspiration to many, He was challenged by some.  He gave us The Beatitudes, many parables, words to help in times of grief, life-guiding principles, and reminders to love our neighbor even as He faced conflict.  This did not keep Him from journeying toward the Cross and giving His life for all people.  

Remember His encouraging words and that you are never alone.  They are powerful.

Blessings,

Rev. Baxter