+ N.E.W.S. CONNECTION Pittsford Congregational Church United Church of Christ 121 Village Green Pittsford, VT 05763 Vol. 10 No.

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FROM THE PASTOR Each March I get excited as I contemplate the closeness of spring and the anticipation of daffodils and forsythia in bloom. Living in the North, I think we learn to look for subtle signs of renewed life during Lent such as the first appearance of the snowdrops and the emergence of green shoots in the garden when snow can still be seen on the ground. I always look at the treetops because I can tell when the buds seem more pronounced against the blue sky. I also look for the returning birds: the robin in the snowy crabapple tree; and the male cardinal against a snowy terrain singing on the bare branch of a bush. I consider it a sign of the Holy Spirit when a cardinal crosses my path or appears right in front of me. This past week the air was warmer, the days were quite noticeably longer at both ends, and we culminated our Lenten journey with several services for Holy Week: Palm/Passion Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday. And I found the snowdrops in bloom in the parsonage garden! Holy Week has been particularly meaningful this year as so many people stepped forth to assist as I struggled with my nasty bronchitis. The Deacons: Dorothy Terwilliger, Nicha McCuin, Jane Wilson, Ken Gagnon, Bobbie Mills, and Wayne Winston were instrumental in organizing and planning the special Holy Week Services. Elizabeth Frost greatly helped with the decorating of the church for Easter. Joan Rost and Dorothy Terwilliger arranged for the Easter Sunday flowers and Joan Rost and Rebecca Davenport made the beautiful forsythia wreaths on the front doors of the church. Many parishioners participated as readers at the soup and bread Maundy Thursday service. Kristine Harvey copied, collated, and stapled all the copies of bulletins and special readings for the services and assisted with the Good Friday sanctuary decorations. Paul Brown Jr. served as acolyte doing the candle duties at the Good Friday service. The choir and Stu James did an exceptional job of music for the Good Friday evening service and Easter morning. It added greatly to each service. Rachel and Maggie Kingston were acolytes for Easter Sunday. Kelley Lyon provided music for the Sunrise Service. Heartfelt thanks to each and everyone of these folks for their efforts during this Holy week, as well as all those who brought food or helped to serve or clean up for Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunrise Breakfast. It truly takes a community. As we move from Easter Sunday into April, I feel ready to celebrate the rejuvenation of new birth and the hope of Easter Sunday as we move into the warmer weather of spring as a community of Christ. May each of you be a blessing to God as you move through spring. Blessings and peace, Pastor Pat

April 2013

6 Norm Varney 9 Brittany Bushey 12 Kayla Desabrais 13 John Turner 16 Edris Lane 19 Lane Eddy 20 Kaleb Green 29 Judi Reynolds

29 Mary Lou & Ernie Brod

Forgiveness Discussions Pastor Pat will be leading a study on forgiveness beginning Tuesday, April 9th at 4pm in the Fellowship Hall. We will discuss additional times and dates at the first meeting. This Study will view the movie Amish Grace and involve focus discussions on what forgiveness is, who it is for, and how we can accomplish it. We will look at recent events that have made forgiving difficult. This study is open to all interested.

The Sunday school children will be taking a Joyful Noise collection the first Sunday of every month. The money collected will be used for the childrens mission projects. Please bring your loose change for the children to collect in their little metal buckets!!!!

Food Shelf Knit Wits Its time for the Feinstein Challenge at the Food Shelf. They are in need of all types of items. Lets work together and help them achieve their goal. Canned vegetables, fruits, protein items, cereals, and paper goods are all wonderful items to bring to help them achieve this goal. See Bob and Jane Welch if you have questions. "The KnitWits are working on preemie caps and receiving blankets to donate to Rutland Regional Medical Center and other locations. If you would like to join us, please feel free to come, learn new techniques, have a laugh or two, and work for the good of all in a tangible way: Wednesdays at 7:00pm

Coffee Hour
4/7 Kelly Turner 4/14 Dorothy Terwilliger 4/21 Ann Reed 4/28 Kathy Brown Call Stephanie Grimes if you would like to sign up for a time to do coffee hour.

Ushers
4/7 Kristine Harvey & Pam Berry 4/14 Bobbie & Allen Mills 4/21 Jane & Bob Welch 4/28 Sandy & Ken Gagnon

~Calendar of Events ~ Pittsford Congregational Church, UCC

April 2013
Sunday Monday 1 2 Tuesday Wednesday 3
No B.B Deacons Knit Wits 7pm Choir

Thursday 4 5

Friday

Saturday 6

No B.B AA 6pm

Hall Reserved from 10-5pm

8
Bowen Walker Meeting 7pm

10
B.B 10-11am

11

12

13

Communion

Trustees 7pm

Knit Wits

Choir

14

15

16

17
B.B 10-11am Knit Wits

18

19

20

Choir

21
Historic Society Meeting Potluck 5:30 Speaker

22
Earth Day

23
Pastoral Relations 7pm

24
B.B 10-11am Knit Wits

25

26

27

Choir

28

29

30