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The Concordia Chimes January 2018
Semi-Annual Meeting
Concordia meets for its January semi-annual meeting
on Sunday, January 28, following worship. The
agenda includes reception of reports, approval of the
proposed 2018 ministry budgets, election of synod
assembly voting members, and appointment of a
nominating committee. Please join us.
Supporting Our Ministry in 2018
Offering envelopes for 2018 are available at the rear
of the sanctuary. Please pick up your envelopes and
your neighbor's--it’s a good excuse to stop by for a
holiday greeting. Questions about your
envelopes? Call the church office.
Annual Statements
Annual Giving statements for 2017 are in the back of
the sanctuary. Please pick yours up.
Up Coming Dates for your Calendar January 21 – Prayer for Christian Unity Service – 4:00 p.m.
February 11 – Scout Sunday
February 14 – Ash Wednesday
February 18 – Lenten Bunch at Mill on the River
The Rev. Douglas Barclay
Pastor
Office:860.649.5311 Cell:410.225.3360
Kate Bozzo
Parish Administrator
Office:860.649.5311
Laura Hart
Concordia Nursery School Director
Office: 860.649.9349
www.concordianurseryschool.org
The Rev. Joseph E. Bourret
Pastor Emeritus
Home: 860.633.6138
Richard Hicks
Minister of Music Emeritus
Bible Study on Sundays 9:00 am
Worship on Sundays at 10:00 am
Office Hours
Monday-Friday 9:00 am –2:00 pm
Concordia Lutheran Church
40 Pitkin Street
Manchester, CT 06040
www.concordiamanchester.org
Phone: 860.649.5311
Fax: 860.432.9972
The deadline for submitting articles or
items for The Chimes is the 20th of each
month.
From the Pastor’s Desk Dear Concordians,
Happy New Year! Just a few short days ago, we were gathering for the
Candlelight Service at Concordia on Christmas Eve. We came together
to hear once again the stories and carols that are written so deeply on
our hearts.
Our Christmas prayer was surrounded as well by the grief of many in
our community. Many deaths, unexpected and expected made our time
of Advent waiting a true time of expectation and longing for the God
who will break into our night and who promises to wipe every tear
from our eyes.
I almost have the prayer that is used at the end of funerals memorized, “O Lord,
support us all the day long of this troubled life, until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes,
and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then, Lord, in thy
mercy, grant us a safe lodging, a holy rest, and peace at the last.” The prayer was written by John
Henry Newman who was an 18th century English cleric. It is strange how the prayer spans time and
place to so perfectly embrace the grief and sorrow that we feel. It surrounds us with the inevitability
of our end yet encourages us with the promise.
I will say what I said in worship a few weeks ago, for I think that it bears reinforcement. When death
is experienced, it is the work of the whole Christian community to bear the burden alongside the
grieving. This can be done is many ways. Some send cards to the grieving, some make phone calls,
some send flowers or make memorial gifts to Concordia in the memory of the dead. Above all,
however, the principal task of the community is, in fact, to show up and to be present. As a
community we continue to stand with those who most need the presence of Christ in his risen body,
the church.
In the spite of all of the loss, the Advent and Christmas seasons were times of great beauty, joy and
wonderful celebrations. One of the best parts of December was the gathering of Concordia’s senior
for our annual Crock and Carols. As I was leading some favorite Christmas carols, we sang a few
familiar ones in German. I was amazed that although the words weren’t in the carol books in
German, a few of the attendees sang the German words by heart. This was a sign to me of how
deeply the songs and stories of our faith are inscribed upon our hearts and minds.
I am constantly and happily surprised by the resilience and strength of our community. Thank you
for all you do, for your Time, Talent and Treasure that you generously share with this congregation:
a response to God’s generous gift of love and grace to you. May these few weeks of Epiphany truly
be a time of God’s manifestation in our midst.
Pastor Barclay
Stewardship
And Mary Said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior"
Luke 1: 46-47 (NIV)
To everyone: We're grateful at Concordia for you. We may all be at different places in our life, but
we shared this past year how grateful we are for our church, and for each other, as we're soon to
celebrate another year in ministry at Concordia.
As we review the year we've had, Concordia has been blessed by the generosity of its members in
response to the Capital Campaign. We are already seeing wonderful improvements being made and
plans are moving ahead for additional ones next year.
We also had a wonderful worship and faith response on our Commitment Sunday, December 17th.
Thank you to everyone who attended and turned in your pledges of support to Concordia for 2018. It
is generosity from our members that keeps our ministries active and our house of worship such a
beautiful place.
Did You Forget?
If you were unable to be with us on December 17th, or forgot to send in your commitment card, it's
never too late! Our pledged commitments maintain our ministry and enable the church to remain a
vibrant place for worship. We are asking you to prayerfully consider maintaining your current pledge
or perhaps increasing it by 1%, 3%, 5% or 10%.
Please mail in or drop off your commitment card in the church office, if you have not already done
so.
For those who indicated on their cards they would like to participate in other ways, we will be
contacting you and see if we can develop some programs that are not only fun to do but uplifting
towards our mission. This is an exciting time at Concordia and we want everyone to play a part.
Thank you for your prayerful consideration and for being such faithful stewards.
STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE
David Smith, Chair
Pastor Douglas Barclay
Carol Stoneman
Nancy Lynn Knauff
Ecumenical Prayer Service Celebrates Annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
Congregations of the greater Hartford East region, representing many Christian denominations, will come together for
an Ecumenical Celebration of the Word of God on January 21, 2018.
The service, which will be held as part of the area’s observance of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, will
take place at Concordia Lutheran Church beginning at 4 p.m.
The Rev. Persida Rivera-Mendez of Ministerio Nueva Creacion / New Creation Ministries, will be guest preacher.
Special music will be provided by choirs and soloists of the region.
Begun in 1908, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated each year in cities and towns across the country
and around the world. The theme for the 2018 observance is Your Right Hand, O Lord, Glorious in Power (Exodus
15:6). The theme and text for each year’s observance of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity are chosen and
prepared by representatives of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and representatives of the World
Council of Churches. The international texts are developed, adapted, and published for use in the USA by the
Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute.
The public is cordially invited.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Concordia Seasonal Sharing A heartfelt “THANK YOU” to everyone that contributed with food, gifts and monetary donations in support of this
year’s seasonal sharing efforts.
Through your generous donations we provided:
• food for Christmas dinner (and then some), gifts of clothing, toys and gift cards to 17 children and 14 adults
(our MACC families);
• gifts of clothing for 15 children and gift cards for shoes for families at Highland Park School
• Christmas dinner for residents at Dinda House;
• 33 Dunkin Donuts gift cards for the residents at April Time Residential House; and
• numerous hats and gloves for kids at Highland Park School.
Your generosity of time and donations made it all possible and the thanks and hugs we
received while delivering the baskets were priceless.
A special thanks to our “super shoppers” for assisting with purchasing food and gifts,
those that adopted families, boxed up food and gifts and made deliveries.
Outreach Committee
Concordia Nursery School News
Happy New Year from Concordia Nursery School!
We were very busy last month learning about baby Jesus and getting ready for Christmas. We lit the
candles on our Advent wreath as a way to mark the time until Christmas is here, just like we do in
church. The children worked hard to make gifts for their families and rehearse songs to sing for their
families at our Christmas parties. It was very exciting to have our families join us for these special
occasions!
Crocks and Carols Christmas Luncheon
Gift
Delivery to
Highland
Park School
Lighting of the Advent Wreath with
students from the Nursery School
Solidarity Advent Potluck
Nursery School Christmas Party
Christmas Eve
Installation of Pr. Paula Mehmel at Emanuel Hartford
Prayers of the Community
Prayer requests may be made to the parish office. The names will be held in prayer for one month,
unless otherwise requested. (*Member of Concordia) (Request by Member of Concordia) (New
Intention)
Prayer requests may be made to the parish office. The names will be held in prayer for one month,
unless otherwise requested. (*Member of Concordia) (Request by Member of Concordia) (New
Intention) Those who are sick or in any need,
*The Homebound
*Art Hube
Kristin Ortolani
Tammy
Shirley M.
Lynn
*Ron Schack
Twylar
Sis
John Henry
Szczerkowski
*Ella Hube
Rita
Cathreen Salesses
Artie
Desmond
*Bing Bowen
*Laura McKay
Donna
Ann
Sandie
*Millie Scott
Alice
*Jim Noyes
Judy Guido
John Scofield.
*Carol Bowen
Nancy
Walter Hanson
*Ernie Scott
Richard Erickson
Lou Khee Zhee
Andrew Nolette
Robert Goodrich
The family of Irene Donagher,
The family of Jane Nekiunas
The family of Luke Strand
The Intentions of this Community:
-Concordia Nursery School Students and their families.
-The work of MACC
-For our Cub Scout Pack
-For Pra. Mendez and Ministerio Nueva Creacion
-For Pr. Simpson and the people of New Horizons.
Concordia’s Calendar:
EVERY SUNDAY
Bible Study 9 a.m.
Worship 10 a.m.
New Horizon Church 12:30
p.m.
Nueva Creación Ministry 1 p.m.
EVERY MONDAY
AA - 5:30 p.m.
EVERY TUESDAY
Clergy Text Study – 11 a.m.
EVERY THURSDAY
Champion Youth Cheer 5 p.m.
Choir – 7 p.m.
EVERY FRIDAY
AA - 7:30 p.m.
January 11 - Congregation
Council 7 p.m.
January 15th – Martin Luther
King Day – Office Closed
January 21 – Prayer for
Christian Unity 4-6 p.m.
January 26 – Cub Scouts
Camp In, Kaiser Hall 6:30p.m. -
9 a.m.
January 28 – Semi Annual
Meeting 11 a.m.
February 11 – Scout Sunday
February 14 – Ash Wednesday.
February 18 - Lenten Brunch
at Mill on the River
12
As Lutheran Christians, Concordia understands that God is calling us to be:
• A Christian community with responsibility to support each other, our neighborhood, and the larger
community
• A Gathered Assembly marked by the practices of prayer, study, reflection and worship
• Selfless Disciples who communicate and practice the faith through acts of faithful stewardship, service
and forgiveness
CONCORDIA LUTHERAN CHURCH
40 Pitkin Street
Manchester, CT 06040
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED