THE BEACON
Woodfords
Congregational Church
March 2020
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FROM ALYSSA:
COURAGE FOR THE JOURNEY
Hello, Woodfordians! (Woodfordites? Woodfordists? Oh, the quirks of the English language.) For those of you who haven’t met me yet, I am Woodfords’ new designated-term pastor. Confused about what that is? Let me offer an explanation.
What Am I Doing at Woodfords?
As you know, Woodfords Congregational Church (WCC) worked with the Center for Progressive Renewal (CPR) last spring to gather lots of information about this faith community and compile a report filled with questions and action steps for Woodfords to consider. Since then, CPR has supported the church as it works to figure out what future ministry to WCC members, the Woodfords neighborhood, and Greater Portland might look like. CPR consultants and Woodfords’ leadership teams are aware that the church’s current processes of congregational reflection and decision-making will require ample time. At the end of that discernment process, the church should have a good sense of how it can best serve God by addressing the 21st-century needs of people, communities, and the wider world. It then will be ready to choose a long-term, settled pastor to accompany WCC into its future.
Here’s how I fit into the story: As your designated-term pastor, I have been called for a period of three years. During our time together, I will shepherd the WCC community, providing pastoral care and leadership throughout the discernment processes that you are undertaking. As we minister together, all of us will get to know one another better. As the end of my three-year call approaches, the church and I will talk about whether we have more ministry to do together, or whether it is time for our ministry together to end. If the WCC community and I mutually discern that God is calling us to continued collaboration, there may be an opportunity for me to transition into the role of Woodfords’ long-term, settled pastor. If we decide that someone else would be better equipped to walk with Woodfords into the future, I will care for the congregation as it conducts a search for its next settled pastor.
How Do We Take Risks and Consider the Future with Courage?
As a member of the WCC community, you have received quite a bit of information about me from the search committee. Rather than reiterate all of that, I’d like to take a moment to share some of my hopes as we begin our ministry together. The start of my tenure at Woodfords Congregational Church coincides with the beginning of Lent, and the timing seems just perfect. New Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine has written, “During Lent you have the opportunity to think about your life alongside the life of Jesus, inviting inward transformation and then outward action” (
Entering the Passion of Jesus,
13). I love the idea of pairing inward transformation with outward action. Thus, as I begin my journey with all of you, I hope that we will make time for introspection and self-reflection during our first Lenten season together. I hope that we will examine not only our own individual lives, but also the life of the Woodfords community. And I hope that we will let Jesus lead us into transformation and action.
In her book
Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week,
Amy-Jill Levine reminds readers that Jesus and his followers encountered many risks as Jesus headed toward the Cross. They risked reputations, righteous anger, challenge, rejection, the loss of friends, and temptation. Like Jesus and his disciples, we, too, will confront risks as we move into Lent and the future. The good news is that we will not be alone in facing the dangers. God will be with us … and we have the power to be with Jesus, too. Over the next six weeks, I will facilitate an exploration of
Entering the Passion of Jesus
—see the separate announcement—and I warmly invite you to join in. As we delve into the book, we will accompany Jesus through the events of Holy Week (a phrase that refers to Jesus’ last week of life), gleaning spiritual lessons and insight along the way. In the words of A-J Levine, “History and opportunities for risk course through the events of Holy Week, and we are called to place ourselves with Jesus … The study and story of Jesus’ last days bring with them several challenges: What do we stand for? What do we believe in? When do we stand up for those beliefs?”
Now and always, I hope and pray that we will enter into and examine those sorts of questions with compassion, grace, and courage. As we begin our church life together, know that I look forward to being with and ministering alongside you.
Peace,
Alyssa
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JOIN US ON WOODFORDS' LENTEN JOURNEY
Here at Woodfords Congregational Church, we’re going on a journey during Lent, and you’re invited. The events of Christ’s Passion, which take place during the last week of Jesus’ life, often don’t receive enough time in our worship and study. These stories are important to our faith journey and our identity as followers of Jesus. And yet we often move too quickly from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday with little time to take in the dramatic story of Jesus’ last week. During worship throughout the upcoming six weeks of Lent, we will “freeze-frame” moments in Holy Week so we might put ourselves in the picture, thereby “Entering the Passion of Jesus.” Together, we’ll explore an important question: How might taking a closer look at the ancient narrative of Jesus’ Passion deepen and expand our efforts to claim and advance the powerful story of God’s love for the world? We hope you’ll join us in the exploration and journey, which won’t be the same without
you!
Alyssa
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WOODFORDS SENIOR
PROGRAM EVENTS
February 28: Wilderness Wisdom Workshop
Location & Time:
12-2 pm in the Cloister. Free for Woodfords Members, $10 for non-church members, lunch included!
Join us for a mid-winter Wilderness experience… but one that doesn’t involve going outside or moving around a lot! We will begin with lunch in the cloister and a talk by Aram Mitchell (Executive Director of
Renewal in the Wilderness
) about Wilderness in the collective imagination. We will then move into the chapel where Aram will lead an indoor wilderness experience, so we can put some of what we have heard into embodied practice. This event is suitable for all ability levels, including those without mobility.
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March 6: Your Last Love Letter:
Between the Lines of the Advance Directive
Location & Time:
1-4 pm in the Lounge. Free for Woodfords members, $10-20 sliding scale for non-church members.
Participants can bring their completed (or unfinished!) Advance Directive to work on. If you don't yet have one, you can buy a "Five Wishes Advanced Directive"
here
. Gina will also have some copies available to purchase for $5, as well as other free versions of Advance Directives to share.
Your Last Love Letter is a creative, resonant, and restorative workshop. Imagine you’re dying and you’re leaving your sweetheart, precious child, family member, or dear friend. What do you want them to know? For example, how do you want to be cared for in the end? Can you share your wishes for what you might want for your body after death? What is the legacy that you want to leave behind and how can your loved ones help with that?
In Your Last Love Letter workshop, we will guide you through the steps of Advance Directives, but you’ll be creating much more than a formal document. In an authentic and inspired style--using colored pencils, markers, photos, drawings, poetry, or whatever makes your heart sing--you’ll have the opportunity to reflect deeply, and creatively share what matters most to you at end of life.This is a chance to write Your Last Love Letter, one that reflects your life, your spirit, and your love.
This workshop will be facilitated by Gina Colombatto, Health Educator and Integrative Thanatology Counselor, who likes to bring levity to the gravity of death and dying.
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March 20 & 27: The Enneagram & Three Instincts–Deepening Heart Healing (2 part workshop)
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Location & Time:
9:30 am-Noon in the Lounge. Free for members, $25 (for two weeks) for non-church members.
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Our instinctual nature exerts influence on our decision-making processes, lifestyle choices, and orientation to day-to-day reality. However, many spiritual paths give it little focus or treat our instincts as inherent problems—distortions to be eliminated. Yet, without a clear and viable relationship with this aspect of our souls, it is extremely difficult to maintain emotional or spiritual balance!
In this two-part workshop, participants will first clarify their understanding of the Instincts, and then look to see them at work in their personal experiences. We will also examine how our particular instinctual “stack”—the way we prioritize our basic human needs and values—is the pattern that most keeps us locked in the repetitive habits of our ego/personality. Recognizing the ways we give energy to certain needs while neglecting others brings balance and helps us integrate deeper spiritual experiences we may have had.
This workshop will be led by Michael Naylor, Director of the
Maine Enneagram Center for Transformation & Well Being.
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THANKS SO MUCH!
Paula and I are so very grateful for the wonderful Retirement Party you gave us February 16th. Thank you so much for the generous gifts of money, the many wonderful cards and letters, Barbara's tribute, the beautiful flowers, and the unusual attempt of the choir to channel Neil Simon. It was all so unexpected and so wonderfully moving. As we make our journey into retirement, the strength and graciousness of this wonderful congregation will
always be a special memory for us. We can't thank you enough for the many ways you have supported us, offered wise advice and counsel, and laughed and cried with us. You will always have a place in our hearts. May God be with you in the amazing and grace-filled journey ahead.
Thanks again for everything.
Grace and peace,
Jim and Paula Fletcher
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WANT TO HELP PROTECT THE EARTH?
Download a Lent Calendar from
Creation Justice Ministries
Here at WCC, we strive to be good stewards of our planet, its animals, and the natural world. Earth care is part of our ministry. Over the next six weeks, I invite you to count down to Easter with Creation Justice Ministries’ Lent calendar, which suggests daily actions you can take in order to protect the environment. As the
website of Creation Justice Ministries
reminds us, “We have ten years to take action to avert the most catastrophic damage to the life-sustaining climate God has blessed us with and entrusted to our care. Every action we take now matters. Together, we can foster eco-justice transformations, respond to Christ’s call to right relationship with creation, and equip our communities to protect, restore, and more rightly share God's creation.” I’m going to use the calendar with my family this Lent, and I hope you’ll consider doing the same.
Alyssa
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WOODFORDS SENIOR PROGRAM
SAVE-THE-DATES
Spring 2020
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April 10:
Good Friday Luncheon 11:30 am, Service at Noon (Lounge)
April 17:
Diving Deeper with Rev. Alyssa Lodewick,10 am (Lounge)
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April 26:
Elder Sunday with Party following Worship (Cloister)
May 15:
Spring Trip (Details TBA); Cost: $25
June 5:
Summer Nights: An evening concert and garden party (Cloister); Garden Party is Free, Concert is $5 for members and $15 for non-members
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LOOK AT LENT IN A NEW WAY…
Don’t give up something, just give
Support the “Make the Bed” for Family Promise bedding drive!
As we get ready to observe Lent, the Creating Community Task Force is asking our Woodfords community to turn its focus to giving to others during this period of spiritual contemplation and preparation, and to generously support our “Make the Bed” effort on behalf of one of our mission partners, Family Promise.
Since its inception in greater Portland, Family Promise has moved 33 families—182 individuals in all—out of homelessness.
Getting families set up in their new homes means supplying them with the basics, including bedding.
Beginning Sunday March 1 and continuing through Palm Sunday April 5,
we’ll be accepting donations of new (or very gently used) bedding for kids, teens and adults and window coverings that we can provide to families making a new start. Just bring them to the donation site we’ll have set up in the Cloister. Let’s see how many beds we can make!
Here’s a list of the items we’ll be accepting:
- Twin bed sheet sets
- Twin blankets
- Twin mattress pads/covers
- Twin comforters
- Bedroom curtains for privacy (no sheers or café-style curtains)
- Tension rods for hanging curtains (28-inch to 48-inch sizes)
(We already have a good supply of larger size bedding, and the need for twin is much greater.)
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VOLUNTEER EVENT FOR ALL GREATER PORTLAND FAMILY PROMISE VOLUNTEERS
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When & Where:
Sunday, March 22 at Woodfords Congregational Church in Portland from 4-6 pm. Music, African & American food, fellowship, children welcome!
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We are so grateful for the many gifts that volunteers bring to the GPFP community, and we want to say thank you! We invite all volunteers and their families to join us for a celebration at Woodfords Congregational Church on March 22 from 4-6 pm. Come join us for food, music, and conversation as we celebrate the community we are building together and all of the people who make that happen. We look forward to seeing you there.
NOTE: Sunday 3/15 - Sunday 3/22
will be Family Promise Week at Woodfords Church.
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PORTLAND STRING QUARTET SUNDAY
Sunday, March 22, 10 am
The
Portland String Quartet
will accompany the Chancel Choir during the 10 am worship service on Sunday, March 22. Central to worship will be the music of W. A. Mozart. Music will be used throughout the service and the PSQ will offer additional music by Mozart as prelude and postlude to our worship together.
Music leads our thoughts to God and is an important element of our worship life. We hope you will join us for this wonderful annual service.
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BACH BIRTHDAY BASH 2020
Friday, March 20, 7-9 pm
Where:
Merrill Auditorium, downtown Portland, ME
Celebrate what would be German composer and organist Johann Sebastian Bach's 335th birthday. Bach is known to many classical music enthusiasts as the "high priest" of the pipe organ. James Kennerley will perform many of the composer's classical masterpieces, as well as his own re-imagined versions of Bach favorites.
Hosted by The Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ. Tickets at
Porttix.org
.
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CHORALART: CONSIDERING MATTHEW SHEPARD
A Powerful Musical Experience by Craig Hella Johnson
Where:
Woodfords Congregational Church, 202 Woodford Street, Portland, ME
Date & Time:
Saturday, March 28, 2020, 2:30 pm (preview) & 7:30 pm AND
Sunday, March 29, 2020, 2:30 pm & 7:30 pm
Purchase tickets
here
. Kids 12 & Under are free.
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The story of a young man in the wrong place at the wrong time who met the wrong people. Described as a fusion oratorio
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elements of musical theater, choral a cappella, gospel, country & western, and opera, accompanied by string quartet, piano, clarinet, guitars (acoustic and electric) and percussion
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Considering Matthew Shepard tells the tragic story in simple, often understated terms, with narration and commentary from chorus and soloists.
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Submitting an article for the April Beacon?
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HAPPY MARCH BIRTHDAY TO...
Marion Amatangelo 03/05
Roberta Barker 03/17
Susan Bassi-Brown 03/28
Carl Beyer 03/21
Allen Bingham 03/15
Suzanne D'Bourget 03/13
Adelyn Desrochers 03/20
William Doughty III 03/10
Richard Dudley 03/01
Glenn Dunne 03/08
Hannah Frey 03/18
Tricia Gilbert 03/25
Mollie Heron 03/13
David Humphrey 03/16
Roy Koster 03/28
Elaine Nadzo 03/30
Thomas Newman 03/02
Alan Nye 03/31
Nathaniel Rhinehardt 03/06
Mitchell Rosengarten 03/16
Ellen Smith-Erb 03/04
Emily Sprague 03/24
Devashree Thomson 03/31
Benjamin Vire 03/19
Ben Walter 03/22
Brent Wooten 03/14
HAPPY MARCH ANNIVERSARY TO...
Lorraine & Bruce Canterbury 03/28 ~ 22 years
Bob & Laura Carten 03/30 ~ 35 years
Cheryl Honer-Hickey & Terrance Hickey 03/21 ~ 50 years
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WOODFORDS BOOK CLUB
& MARCH BOOK
Although this group began as part of the Senior Program [AKA Grant Fund], it is now open to anyone in the church who would like to read and discuss various books. We read all sorts of things depending on interests of the group. So, if you like to read and have time during the day to come to a book discussion, we would welcome you to join us! The group meets the second Wed. of each month at 12:15.
On March 11 @12:15,
the Woodfords book group will be discussing
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Laks.
It should be easy to get at the library or in paperback. This true story is summarized below.
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance This New York Times bestseller takes readers on an extraordinary journey, from the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers filled with HeLa cells, from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia, to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live and struggle with the legacy of her cells. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew. It’s a story inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we’re made of. Hope to see any interested Woodfords members or friends there.
If you would like to be added to the emails regarding the book groups activities, or you have any questions, you can contact Suzanne D’Bourget at
suzannedb@me.com
or 329-1444.
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Woodfords Church Office Hours
Tuesday - Thursday - Friday, 9 am - 1 pm
Wednesday, 9 am - 3 pm
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