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

November 2013

A Busy Week Yesterday…

I had a busy week yesterday (Sunday, October 27). I do not say this to complain or to brag. I say this because I am so proud of the active church I am privileged to serve in ministry. Let me give you a sense of the day:

4:00 a.m. Arrived at Church; Worked on sermon, worship details, video projection graphic, prepared lights and sound system. Prepared letters for Our Daily Bread Food Pantry to local merchants.

8:45 a.m. Greeted parishioners attending the first service

9:30 a.m. Traditional Worship Service

10:30 a.m. Attended Fellowship Hour

11:00 a.m. Greeted parishioners attending the second service

11:30 a.m. Open Door Contemporary Worship Service

1:00 p.m. Prepared for Blessing of the Animals

1:30 p.m. Blessing of the Animals in Chapel in the Pines

2:30 p.m. Missions Team Meeting regarding Advent Giving Catalog

3:15 p.m. Greeted members of Alianza Por Un Futuro, an immigrant rights group that meets in our church

3:30 p.m. Enjoyed attending the Youth Halloween Party

4:30 p.m. Conference Call regarding election of General Conference delegates from the New York Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church

5:45 p.m. Visited Alma Hough in New Milford Hospital

You might think I’d be exhausted after such a day. To the contrary, I was invigorated. It invigorates me to serve a church with so many active ministries ranging from worship to music to missions to youth to congregational care. The list of activities we engage in as a church are far more extensive than I have listed here. If you are not involved in some way, there are plenty of opportunities. Feel free to contact the church office at 860-354-4596 to learn more. This is a church that cares about being in ministry. This is a church that actively engages in ministry. This is a church where the maxim is true: “Every Member a Disciple.”

Peace and Blessings,

Rev. Paul A. FleckPastor

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Newsletter deadline and production dates

The next newsletter dead-line will be Friday, Nov. 29 at noon and we will be preparing it for mailing on Thursday, Dec. 5.

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Church News It has been such a blessing to take on the role of Youth Minister for the New Milford and Gaylordsville Churches! For the past three weeks the group has, very enthusiastically, been planning what they want to do as a youth group! Each newsletter, I, or another member of the youth group, will be using this space to update our congregation as to what we have been up to and what we have been planning.

I want to first say THANK YOU to this congregation for ALL the support given to me! I cannot count how many times I’ve been asked if I needed help, or have been given resources or advice! It has been great and much appreciated.

The youth group meets from 2:30 to 5 p.m. on Sundays. We alternate between New Milford and Gaylordsville as our meeting place. From 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. we have a focused Bible or topic study where we dive in and talk about what the YOUTH want to discuss. From 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. we have a short continuation of the Bible Study, plan upcoming events, and have a lot of fun!

One upcoming event will be our Lock-in on Saturday, Nov. 16 into Sunday morning, Nov. 17! We are looking for donations of snacks for the night. Pete DelMastro has volunteered to take on making the youth and adult leader’s breakfast the morning of the 17. If you are interested in helping with breakfast contact either Pete (pete.delmastro@charter.net) or myself (see below).

If you are interested in being a volunteer with the Youth Group you can contact me at youthminister@newmilfordumc.org or 203-770-2881.

Peace, Brinna Kolitz, Youth Minister

On Tuesday, Oct.15, a woman dropped into the Church Office to ask where to place a donation for Our Daily Bread. The church secretary held the door for her as she carried in several bags of food – nearly filling the donation box. Through the course of conversation, the woman said she was from Bosnia and when she came to the United States several years ago, New Milford United Methodist Church sponsored her and housed her in Chamberlain Hall. She said she was so thankful for that and she was donating to Our Daily Bread to give back!

News from the Memory GardenFall has arrived but the Memory Garden is still blooming and we hope everyone has taken the opportunity to spend some time there during the spring, summer, and fall months to enjoy the beauty of it. Frost will be coming soon, probably before you see this news-letter. Through the late fall and winter months, small stones will still be available for you to put on any memory stone that is there, indicating that someone has visited that special person.A lot of work has been put into redoing some areas of the garden so they are more pleasing to the eye throughout the growing sea-son. Our thanks go out to all the people who worked so hard to get the digging, planting, weeding, and getting the watering problem under control. Memory stones are still available if anyone is inter-ested. Information is available by contacting Pat Tripp at 860-354-8720 or Lynn Hayes at 860-355-1055.

Church News

Joys & ConcernsWe are thankful:for Dave Kullgren and a successful

pumpkin sales season.

Our prayers are with:Alma Hough who has been hospitalized. Ellie Middleton who is in Bethel Rehab

recovering from knee surgery. Ken Birsen who has been diagnosed with

esophageal cancer and is beginning treatment.

John Farrell who is in Candlewood Valley Nursing home.Kay Jones who is continuing to seek a

diagnosis for her fatigue.The Brooks and Williams families as they

continue to grieve the loss of Lily. Ben Vivona as he recovers from recent

surgery.Kathy who is facing cancer for the third

time.Mickey who is battling cancer.

Mary Gunther’s daughter-in-law whose mother is under hospice care.

June Hudak who is battling cancer and is no longer undergoing chemotherapy.

Caleb Gaylord, a local 12 year old boy battling AML Leukemia, as he returns to the Children’s Hospital to begin his fourth, and hopefully final, round of chemotherapy.

Dominick Byron who is a Marine and serving his second tour of duty over-seas.

Please keep the following in your thoughts and prayers throughout the week

November Birthdays: 1 - Jill Olejniczak7 – Robert Carlson, Jr.8 – Ben Vivona10 – Bonnie Knapp Tom Neufeld Tom Tibbatts Jane Walsh12 – Joe Tigner13 – Roberta Buddle18 – Richard Baur22 – Dean Perry23 – Alexa Barron28 – Mary Gunther

STEWARDSHIP & THANKSGIVINGIn this season of thanksgiving, a sincere ‘thank you’ is in order to everyone who supports our congregation throughout the year with their attendance, service and regular financial contributions.

For those of you who are interested, the church offers electronic giving options for making donations on a scheduled, automated basis. It’s convenient for you and provides much-needed financial consistency for the church.

Needle NutsThe Needle Nuts meet Wednesday nights in the Conference Room from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. This is a group who gets together to do any type of needlework and enjoy fellowship and the shar-ing of ideas. All are welcome and feel free to bring a friend. We will teach knitting to anyone interested with advance notice by calling Bonnie Weed at (860) 355-1264. If you are stuck on a project bring it in and someone can usually help you figure it out. The following is a list of dates we would love to have you join us: Nov. 6, Nov. 13, Dec. 4 and Dec. 18. *Please make a note of the following dates that we will NOT be meeting due to the holidays and Knitting Guild*: Nov. 20, Nov. 27, Dec. 11 and Dec. 25.

Attendance & Offerings

Sept. 29 94 $4,335Oct. 6 89 $4,538Oct. 13 89 $3,592Oct. 20 101 $2,171

Not Just Eggs

The Not Just Eggs crew is re-cruiting extra help for Saturday night setting up and Sunday morning (7 a.m. start cooking, 8:30 serve breakfast, and 11:30 clean up/put room back in order - most urgent need). As a way to support our church mis-sions, and have some fellow-ship with your church family, please join us on the first Sun-day of each month. Contact Mary Prause at 860-355-0491 or maryprause06776@aol.com.

Thank You Notes

To our wonderful church family,

Thank you so much for your prayers, visits and cards dur-ing the last month. There are no words to convey what a comfort this has been. You have it easier for us to put our feet on the ground and to give thanks for doing so. Each of you is indeed a blessing to us and to our family. We close in Christ’s love and with grati-tude for everything you’ve done with and for us.

Love,Barbara and Ralph Williams

To Our Dear Church Family,

Joel and I have settled into our new home and love it here.We are missing you all! Thanks for all the Well Wishes.

Phyllis and Joel Franz

Church News

I want to start off by saying THANK YOU for your participation in Hunger Action Month last month. The response we got from our programs and their communities was astounding and I cannot wait to see what everyone brings to the table next year! We had 32 programs that submitted HAM agreement forms and sent in pictures wear-ing orange, so therefore those programs will receive the $25 credit to their account. (If you are unsure about receiving a credit, feel free to check with me). Our three winners for the $300 credit went to Community Action Agency, New Milford Social Services, and Interfaith Human Services of Putnam. Congratulations to you all!!

Thank you again! Kerri Burgerhoff, Events & Promotions Assistant, Connecticut Food Bank

Thanks to all who participated in our month long Hunger Awareness Program. We collected over 240 oranges, enough to give each client 3 oranges. Homemade orange cake and cupcakes were offered on another week. Food facts were displayed weekly on a bulletin board in Fellow-ship Hall and our Special collection raised $1,740. The congregation matched Pastor Paul’s challenge donation of $500 plus the Men’s Club and Spaghetti Supper Fund donated money. lt takes many volunteers to have Our Daily Bread operate each week and the congrega-tional support is really appreciated. Feeding the least . . . Feeding the flock . . . and feeding the hungry . . . are all Biblical references. Our church has a working mission each week and the 80 client families say “Thank you.”

Jan Parsons, Project Coordinator

THANK YOU - HUNGER AWARENESS

Mom’s Night Out*Tuesday, Nov. 19 • 7 to 9 p.m.at the Education Center in Fellowship HallNew Milford United Methodist Church68 Danbury Road • New Milford, CT 06776 • (860) 354-2941

Kick off your holiday shopping at our vendor fair!

We are hosting a variety of direct sale vendors from the New Milford area who will be selling items for holiday gifting to others or yourself!

Initials Inc.ScentsyBow MomsCountry BornPampered Chefand more!Indulge yourself in a relaxing cup of chamomile tea and yummy treats while you shop. Free gift wrapping will be available for products purchased.

A $5 donation per adult at the door will go toward the ongoing preschool playground fundraiser.

*Dads are welcome, too!

Childcare will be provided at no additional cost to families who cannot sneak away without their children.

Tuesday, Nov. 19 • 7 to 9 p.m.at the Education Center in Fellowship HallNew Milford United Methodist Church

Kick off your holiday shopping at our vendor fair!

We are hosting a variety of direct sale vendors from the New Milford area who will be selling items for holiday gifting to others or yourself!

Initials Inc. • ScentsyBow Moms • Country BornPampered Chef • and more!

Indulge yourself in a relaxing cup of chamomile tea and yummy treats while you shop. Free gift wrapping will be available for products purchased.

A $5 donation per adult at the door will go toward the ongoing preschool playground fundraiser.

*Dads are welcome, too!

ADULTS & YOUTH WANTED The New Milford United Methodist Church has been attending U.M. ARMY (United Methodist Action Reach-out Mission by Youth) since 2006 – eight years! For the last four years we have attended both Young Adult and Youth-based camps and I hope we can do the same this year. We welcome all youth in the church and your friends – you do not have to be a United Methodist to attend. We also need adults to accompany our youth. The week we attend the youth-based camp will be in July.

Since the Group Registration is due to the U.M. ARMY office by Dec. 1, I need to know if you have interest in at-tending by Nov.15.

All youth may apply for George Leary Camperships from the United Methodist Men to cover the cost of the week. We hope to do fundraising to defray the costs for the adults who will be attending.

U.M. ARMY offers high quality weeklong mission camps for youth and young adults that serve people in need and highlight faith development and leadership skills in young people.

Participants sleep, eat, worship and enjoy fellowship at a local church beginning on Sunday evening and end-ing on Saturday afternoon of camp week. We begin each day with a 15 min devotional service and end each evening with a contemporary worship service that is uplifting to youth. Each weekday small teams consisting of one adult and three-five youth set out to a worksite in the local area. Additional adults act as support to the teams by bringing needed tools, supplies, technical expertise and safety checks to the site each day.

We believe our relationship to those being served is the top priority and central to our work. Our clients are re-ferred by local social service agencies and churches. Generally they are elderly but some are families who are unable to do the work for themselves due to financial concerns or disabilities. The work is anything from simple projects such as yard work or painting to small home repairs on doors, windows, stairs, porches and construction of handicap access ramps. The teams bring a lunch to share with their client each day and are encouraged to interact as much as possible. Often the idea that someone cares is much more important than the actual work!

U.M. ARMY 2014 dates have been announced and our group registration is due on Dec. 15, 2013: June 8-14 Young Adult (1 year beyond high school)July 6-12 Mixed Age (completed 7th grade or older)July 13-19 Mixed Age (completed 7th grade or older)July 20-26 Mixed Age (completed 7th grade or older)

Early Registration Fee:•$280perpersonforallifourGroupRegistrationFormand$50perpersonnon-refundabledepositis received by Dec. 1, 2012 •IndividualOn-lineRegistrationsmustbefilledoutbyMarch1,2014•BalanceoffeesmustbereceivedbyApril15,2014

Regular Registration Fee:•$325perpersonforallprograms–ThisratewillapplytoallgroupswhosubmitGroupRegistration and/or deposit after Dec. 1, 2013 and do not meet the Individual registration and payment dates.

If you have any questions or would like to attend, please contact Tracie Nixon at (203) 994-7763 or tracienix@gmail.com.

U.M. Army 2014

Miss onsAdvent Giving ProgramThe Missions Committee is pleased to announce that we will be changing our Alternative Christmas Gift program. We will still be offering cards that you can give to your friends and family stating that you have given a monetary gift in their honor to a mission organization. Once again, the cards will not have a monetary amount attached to them; you may give any amount of money to one or more charities and receive as many cards as you like. New for 2013 is a catalog, with an order form, listing the mis-sions we are including in this year’s program. We will be mailing the catalog out in November and will have more available at church. You may mail your order form to the church with payment and pick your cards up on Sundays between services beginning on Nov. 17. The Missions committee chose to offer three interna-tional charities: Heifer International, The Mozambique Orphans and Vulnerable Children’s fund and Imagine No Malaria; one regional charity: U.M. ARMY; and two local charities: Loaves & Fishes and Our Daily Bread food pantry. We encourage you to give to these worthy organizations during Advent this year. As Jesus said “… Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Matthew 25:40. For more information, please contact Tracie Nixon at tracienix@gmail.com or 860-355-8628.

Homeless Shelter To OpenThe New Milford Homeless Shelter will open on Sunday, November 17, 2013 at St. Francis Church. From its opening in November and through March, the shel-ter will rotate monthly between St. Francis, St. John’s Episcopal Church, the Congregational Church and Northville Baptist church. There is a significant need for overnight volunteers (both men and women) throughout the shelter season. If you are interested in volunteering please contact Gerri Holland, volunteer scheduler at 860-354-5917. Training for new volunteers can be arranged. As we have done the past two years, NMUMC has agreed to provide volunteers the third week of Janu-ary. If you wish to sign up for this time period please contact Rita Iverson at 860-355-1252 or contact Gerri Holland and indicate you would like to volunteer that week as part of NMUMC’s commitment. NMUMC has had approximately 7-10 individuals serve as overnight volunteers over each of the past several years. Some serve several times a month, some monthly and some periodi-cally through the shelter season. All are appreciated by the guests served. Please consider this mission as you think of ways to serve in the community. If you would like additional information please contact Rita Iverson.

The Anuario Ngungulo Story Anuario Ngungulo was born Dec. 21, 1984 in Homoine District, Inhambane Province, Mozambique, Africa during the civil war that raged from 1975 until 1992. During this civil war many thousands of people were killed. He lived in the bush. Anuario’s mother was killed by a land mine in 1988, and he went to live with his grandmother. In 1990 at the age of 6, he also stepped on a land mine. Unlike his mother, Anuario was found by the Red Cross and taken to the nearest rural hospital. They had to amputate his leg but he survived. He did not know where his family was, and it wasn’t until five years later, in 1995, that he was reunited with his fam-ily. He has a father, threebrothers, and a sister. In 2002, Kay Jones, who now lives in Niceville, Fla. and New Milford, Conn., went to a presentation by the New Milford UMC mission team that had just returned from Mozambique. They had taken a picture of Anuario on his crutches. Kay was so moved by this picture, that in 2005 she went to Mozambique with another team from NMUMC for the dedication of the new orphanage. While there, she began asking if anyone knew this young man. Some of the older boys said they knew him, and they would go into the bush and try to find him. The next day he came to Dieudonne’s house where Kay was staying, and they met for the first time. Kay and Jerry sent Anuario money to enroll in English classes at a local college, and bought him a computer so he could communicate with them by email. In 2008, they supported him in enrolling in col-lege, and saw that he graduated with a four-year degree, in 2011. He now has a job, and they have seen him almost every year from 2008 to 2012, while visiting Mozambique. Kay and Jerry became volunteer missionaries to orphans and vulnerable children in Mozambique, and along with several other vol-unteer missionaries, started Mozambique Orphanage Fund in 2009. It is a fundraising organization, whose purpose is to support orphans and vulnerable children in Mozambique, and currently is supplying over half the funding for an orphanage of around 60 children there. In 2011, Missy Hickman, also a Niceville resident at that time, started a ministry which became known as Mercy Orphan Care. Kay and several others joined this group. One of those other people was Pam Roberts, from Niceville. Mercy Orphan Care became a ministry of Niceville United Methodist Church and as a result the church made a sizeable donation to Mozambique Orphanage Fund, which went to support the orphanage in Mozambique. Pam became excited about what Kay and Jerry were doing with the orphanage in Mozambique and in 2012 went with them to the orphanage. It was on that trip that Pam first met Anuario, learned of his story, and his desire to get a prosthesis to be able to walk on his own again. Pam had been an RN and knew Dr. Thomas Fox, of Blue-water Orthopedics, and Jack Pranzarone, a board certified, licensed prosthetist at The Hanger Clinic in Ft. Walton Beach. Pam and Dr. Fox offered to provide Anuario with necessary medical care, and Jack offered to donate his clinical expertise to provide Anuario with a pros-thetic leg, if Anuario could be brought to the area for the work to be performed. Kay and Jerry worked with Anuario to get his visa and to buy his airline tickets to come to stay in November at their home in Bluewater Bay so the prosthesis can be custom designed for and fitted for him. They will will pick Anuario up at Atlanta airport on Nov. 3, to begin the next chapter of a story 11 years in the making. To quote Anuario in a recent email after he had gotten his visa; “I never expected that this would ever happen. First, that I would come to America, and sec-ond that I would return to Mozambique to walk on two legs again.”

Pastoral Priorities ProfileCompleted September 2013

The attached profile represents the results obtained from twenty-five (25) GUIDES FOR SETTING PASTORAL PRIORITIES received from two requests sent to members of the congregation of the New Milford United Methodist Church. The twenty-five returns represents about 25% of the aver-age Sunday attendance for the four months preceding the receipt and analysis of the returns.

The profile indicates the preferences, left to right, from most preferred on the left end of the graph, to least preferred on the right end. The numbers at the top of each bar is the average rat-ing for each function. The average is determined by adding the preference rating (1, 2, …, 12) noted for each function and dividing by 25.

Most of the functions are self-explanatory, however, DISCIPLE 1 involves the pastor’s role in min-istry to non-members, meeting with potential new members, and teaching new member classes. DISCIPLE 2 involves the pastor’s role in leading adult study, spiritual growth groups (for example the Wesley Covenant Group), teaching confirmation classes, and working with youth groups.

If we had been charged with conducting a statistically valid study, the 25% would render the study suspect, if not invalid. However, since we are seeking a sense of the thinking/feeling of the congregation, a higher return would, in all likelihood, not significantly change the outcome.

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New Milford

68 Danbury Road, New Milford, CT 06776

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WORK OUTDOORS WITH FRESH CUT TREES IN 2013It’s that time of the year again. Please save the following dates to your calendar as we can use your support!

Saturday, Nov. 16 - 8 a.m. until noon - Trees on New Milford Village GreenFor the 47th year in a row we will be placing 17 trees along the length of the New Milford 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 Village Green. The rain/snow date is November 23rd.

Saturday, Nov. 30 - 8 a.m. until noon - Unload Christmas TreesCome and join us as we unload fresh-cut Christmas trees arriving from the Crystal Spring Tree Farm in Lehigh-ton, 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 51st year in a row the sale of the Christmas trees will begin shortly after they have been unloaded.

Beginning Saturday, Nov. 30 - 10 a.m. until - Selling Christmas treesCome and help sell the Christmas trees. There will be opportunities to sign up and help sell the trees during the weekdays and on weekends. Signup sheets will be available in the church after Thanksgiving.

Profits from the sale of the Christmas trees goes for scholarships for college and summer church camp, U. M. Army, the local community, and ministry and mission projects of the church. Your generous support helps make these events a success. Thank you in advance for your continuing support. If you have questions please call me at 860-354-1102.

— Dave Kullgren, New Milford United Methodist Men