New Milford United Methodist Church68 Danbury Road, New Milford, Conn. 06776 • (860) 354-4596 • www.NewMilfordUMC.org • Office@NewMilfordUMC.org

October 2011

The Fruits of the Spirit

“Abide in me just as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.”

— John 15:4-5

What does it mean to be fruitful? All of us want to live lives of significance, of true meaning, bearing fruit for God’s kingdom. But it’s finding out how to go about living such lives that’s often the difficult part. Many people find it difficult to find a place for their spiritual gifts and graces in the church. Many people find it difficult to believe they have spiritual gifts and graces. But God’s word assures us that we all do, and in this next several weeks we will have an opportunity to identify our spiritual gifts and how to develop them.

Beginning October 16 we will celebrate Laity Sunday with a theme of using our spiritual gifts. But I am most encouraged by the study that will be kicked off later that week (discussed in this newsletter!), a study led by our Natu-ral Church Development team that will lead to greater self-examination by abiding in and through the Word of God. Only through opening ourselves to Christ’s Spirit and God’s Word—by abiding in and through Christ—can we discover our true callings as Christians. We all want to be the best disciples we can be, accomplishing great things to build up the kingdom of God. But perhaps we haven’t sat still long enough with God’s Word and Spirit to truly hear God’s call upon our lives.

So come to join us for an exciting study to explore our spiritual gifts. There’s no telling. The life you claim may be your own.

Peace and God’s Blessings,

Rev. Paul A. Fleck, Pastor

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Fall is here, the children are enjoying watching and collecting the falling leaves. We are watching the squirrels as they run through the campus. The older children are already making piles of leaves in the upper play yard that they can jump in. Many of the teachers are implementing lesson plans that teach the children about autumn. Children, at a very early age are aware that there are changes: cooler weather, warmer clothing, the day is shorter and the sky becomes darker earlier. Some of the children take the change in their stride, others learn to cope and adjust in time. Moreover, some children welcome the cooler weather. Over the years, teaching in and directing various Early Childhood Centers, I view the staff of this center as extremely concerned about the well-being of the children. One could term the Education Center as very “family friendly.” For example, the parents are extremely comfortable with allow-ing Ms. Sandy to care for and nurture their most precious babies. The parents come and visit with Ms. Sandy before their child actually starts. Visiting is encouraged in the Toddler and Preschool classes as well. Our Ready Set For Kindergarten (pre-school/nursery school) from 9 a.m. to noon, started earlier this fall. This program is for children 3- and 4-years-old. The state of Conn. has specific goals for the children to attain before they enter the public school Kindergarten. Ms. Patti, using the Cre-ative Curriculum and the Conn. Preschool Assessment Frame-work to plan and implement activities in an age appropriate way to attain the goals. Ms. Barb, in the Toddler class is laying the “groundwork” for the learning basics for the preschool class. Listening to a story, singing songs, manipulating play-dough, painting with a paintbrush, learning to wait your turn, are just some of the many skills that are on the list of “scaffold-ing skills” that we are teaching. Numerous skills are learned from these activities, that encourage the growth of the child in cognitive, social, emotional and physical ways. As children become older that learn more on top of when they have already have learned, thus we term this as “scaffolding.” By the time

they go to public school, Ms Stephanie, with a smile, greets the children when they come to the Schoolers class, after their bus is met each day. Helping with homework, or listening to a problem from a child is one of the special skills that Stephanie uses as a teacher of older children. We welcome some new staff members. Ashley Yonkers, a graduate of Southern Ct. State University in New Haven, has worked with various age groups at the NM Parks and Rec. Here, Ashley generally works with the Infant and Toddler Classes. Kathleen Senior, a graduate of Saint Peter’s College in Jersey City, NJ and with a Master’s degree from Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY is one of our substitutes. Kathleen is caring for all age groups here. We are still looking for more substitute teachers, to work as needed. A teaching certificate is not required. Experience working with children in a group set-ting is helpful. If you know anyone who would be interested, please contact us. The Yankee Candle orders/payments have been collected. We thank everyone who ordered or sold products. You will be notified as soon as the Yankee Candles arrive. I am assured by the Sales Rep that we should expect delivery much earlier than last year, because the company has improved their distribution system. Nicole Pliego, a local photographer will be taking the class-room photos for the Infant, Toddler and Preschool class on Oct. 7. (The Schoolers have their classroom photos taken in the public school). In the last few years, Nicole has done a marvel-ous job of capturing the adorable faces in a outside setting. Thank you to the following people: Tom Nixon for mowing the grass, Robert Buddle for a monetary donation in honor of Larry Tripp’s birthday, the Cerra and Almeida families (parents) for donating toys, Dave Kullgren for apple juice, and Elizabeth Morin for beads and bead supplies. Sincerely, Charmaine Wood

the Education Centerat the New Milford United Methodist Church

Newsletter deadline and production dates

The next newsletter deadline will be Friday, Nov. 4 at noon and we will be preparing it for mailing on Thursday, Nov. 10.

3 To receive the newsletter

via email, in full color, please contact the

Church office at Office@NewMilfordUMC.org

Attendance & Offerings

Sept. 4 71 $6,435Sept. 11 108 $4,113Sept. 18 117 $2,803Sept. 25 102 $2,553

Monthly total $15,904YTD Offerings $158,767

Church News

Church News

Joys & Concerns Our prayers are with...

The members of our church who are par-ticipating in the Kairos Prison Weekend from October 7 - 10.

The Volunteers in Mission (VIM) Team visiting the Orphanage in Cambine.

June Hudak and her family after the re-cent death of her brother, Ray Winkel.

Kitty Muro and her family after the recent death of her sister in Germany.

June Hudak who is undergoing her 4th round of Chemotherapy treatment for cancer.

The family of Robert Ferry who died on September 5th in Michigan. He is Bon-nie Knapp’s brother .

Kim Birsen who is having health issuesGeorge Perry who has moved into the

Masonic Homes.Rev. Ken Kieffer who is undergoing che-

motherapy and radiation treatments.

Those affected by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene.

Winnie Farrell who has been moved into a nursing home.

Jerry Jones and his family after the passing of his aunt, Betty Lou Starr.

Sharon Kresl who is having health issues.Jim Ferlow as he recovers from a stroke at

home.Rev. Marion Hubbard’s daughter who was

in an accident.The wife of Rev. Matt Yukon of the

Northville Baptists church, who was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Kathleen Whitfield who has health con-cerns. She is Sue Whitfield’s mother and lives in Scotland

Rev. Bob Johnson, retired from the Bethel UMC, who is being treated for cancer.

Ed Hastings who is undergoing dialysis.

Tom Gaynor, Sr., who is having health issues.

Phyllis Franz who is having health issues.Jack Orr who is recovering from Myelo-

dysplastic syndrome. He is a friend of Joe & Nora Tigner.

Susan Lynch’s brother, Richie, who is recovering from surgery and her mother who is having health issues.

Laurie Gaudette who is having health issues.

The leaders in our church.Financial health of our church.Our Bishop, Jeremiah Park, our District

Superintendent, Ken Kieffer and all the churches in our Methodist Connection in the New York Annual Conference and beyond.

Missions UpdateOur Missions committee had a successful and enjoyable time at the fall fair. Our silent auction, whhich included all our missions with an item highlighting each one, allowed us to inform people about the focus of each mission and how they could become involved. Many visitors to our church were interested in what we do, too. Some of the items we had at our silent auction included a “mozy bag” to represent Mozambique, roses represent-ing KAIROS, a sleeping bag representing the homeless shel-ter and even a gold fish that was included with a fishing rod, net and 2 loaves of bread (loaves and fishes). I would like to thank the missions com-mittee for all their hard work and also to all the other people who helped to make the fair a success. Without the other ac-tivities that day, we would not have had the success we did. Our next meeting will be held on Oct. 24 in Fellowship Hall. All are welcome to attend.

Are You Gifted? Yes! The Bible Tells Us So Come join us for a course on “spiritual gifts discovery” on Wednesday evenings begin-ning on Oct. 19, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Think of it as an Advent gift to yourself and to your church to Serve From the Heart. We will explore questions such as where, what, who and why does God want me to serve in the New Milford United Methodist Church? We think you’ll be pleased to discover through video and study, where you fit in—and if (and when) you do, the church will be blessed to have you “serve from the heart”! What a great idea! Doing what God designed you to do! The Natural Church Development group is hoping to build on our church’s spiritual gifts by helping us define and use our gifts, refining them and letting God do his will through us. Please think about giving five weeks of pre-Advent study as a gift to yourself. We hope you will join us in this discovery process. Sign up at church by Oct. 16. Questions? Contact Martha McMahon, Rita Iverson, or Pat Tripp.

The 2011 Fall Fair is Over . . . 2012 is Right Around the Corner! Just kidding. Relax and enjoy the success of this years fair, It was a huge success thanks to everyone that participated in any way. There are way too many people to list without missing someone and shame on me if that were to happen. So, let me do it this way:Be assured, the Fair only went so well with the cooperation and flexibity of all of the people in the roles of leadership of each of the many events. Let me also thank everyone that supported the chairmen of each of the event areas leading up to and including the day of the fair. Thank you all for making it so easy, fun and successful. Our intentional plan to focus on evangelism, mission and attention to the Church worked well with changes made to the event. Information has been collected and the 2012 Fair will be bigger and better because of all of your efforts in 2011!Salute!!! Steve Kolitz, Fall Fair Facilitator

Yes! It’s pumpkin season. This year we received 30 bins of Connecticut grown pumpkins from the Logue Farm in Woodbury, Conn. They were delivered early on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 8 a.m. and within an hour of their arrival the pumpkins were all unloaded and placed on wooden pallets. The front of the church property along Route 7 was immediately transformed and we had over 1,400 orange pumpkins in the church yard. It is a beautiful site to behold. A special thank you to Tom Nixon and all the other 27 folks who made this delivery a wonderful fun event.

The selling of the pumpkins began on the 25th of September and continues through the end of October or until we sell out. The pumpkin patch hours are Sunday through Friday, 1 to 7 p.m.and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. We are selling any size pumpkin for $6 each. We are asking for three two-hours shifts per day and additional shifts on Saturdays. Ideally it would be best to have two people at every shift. Sign-up sheets are available outside the church office during the week or at the table in the pumpkin patch during hours open to the public, or call Dave Kullgren at 860-354-1102.

At the time of writing of this article, we have had a great response from the church community with over 48 members already volunteering to staff the pumpkin patch. Come on down before the pumpkins disappear from the church yard. It is a fun time for individuals, families, adults, and youth to become part of the activity here in the pumpkins in the church yard. When you come maybe you can also meet or see someone stop at the church to pause and take pictures of the pumpkins in the church yard in all their beauty.Thanks in advance for your support!

Dave Kullgren

UMMen Activities Planned for October and NovemberTuesday, Oct. 25, 6:30 p.m. — Dinner in Fellowship Hall Monthly dinner and meeting. All men in the church are invited to come and share in a hearty meal and good fellowship. Call Dave Kullgren at 860-354-1102

Saturday, Nov. 12, 8 a.m. to noon — Trees on New Milford GreenFor the 44th year in a row we will be placing 17 trees along the length of the New Milford Village Green. Come and help us as we bring the trees from the church, set them up on the Green and decorate them with lights for the coming holiday season. You are welcome to come for a couple of hours or spend the morning and work on the Green. The rain/snow date is November 19.

Tuesday, Nov. 22, 6:30 p.m. — Dinner in Fellowship HallSee Oct. 25.

Saturday, Nov. 26, 8 a.m. — Unload Christmas TreesCome and join us as we unload 600 fresh-cut Christmas trees arriving from the Crystal Spring Tree Farm in Lehighton, PA. Last year, with your help, we unloaded the trees, stacked them in piles, and placed them on racks in less than an hour. For the 49th year in a row the sale of the Christmas trees will begin shortly after they have been unloaded.

Pumpkins in the Church Yard

UnitedMethodistChurch

New Milford

68 Danbury Road, New Milford, CT 06776

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Non Profit OrganizationU.S. Postage Paid

New Milford, CTPermit #6

Fall Scrapbooking DayThe NMUMC 2011 Fall Scrapbooking Day will be held

Saturday, Oct. 29, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. There are openings availablefor people who would like space to scrapbook the whole day or for anyone interested in 1/2 day slots (10-4 or 4-10). This is a free event! Lunch and dinner will be pot luck. Please call Kimber Malinowski

860-210-0498 for more details or you can pick up an information flyer/registration form outside the church office.

Space is first come first serve so register soon!