Dear
friends,
On Palm Sunday I worshipped at the
English-speaking service of the
The next day I headed up to Rishikesh, the holy city along the
On Easter Sunday, I went to the
Syrian Rite Catholic Church in Rishikesh. I had just been there seven hours before, at
the midnight Easter vigil. At that
service (as well as at the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services I’d
attended), there had been very little that was familiar. The liturgy, music, scripture, and sermons
were in Malayalam and Hindi. I didn’t
expect to understand much at the Easter day service either. So I was overjoyed when the service began
with a baptism. As I watched, I found
myself thinking about the children born recently at Edwards, and the ones I
knew were about to be born. I was
reminded of how blessed they are to be born into such a loving community, and
how blessed I am to share in their lives.
I have had an amazing sabbatical
time. I’ve seen blue footed boobies and
ancient Buddhist temples. I’ve learned
watercolor tips in Spanish on a ship and practiced yoga on the beach. I’ve been chased by a sea lion and gored by a
cow! I’ve experienced tremendous hospitality and met wonderful people. I can’t
wait to show you my pictures and paintings and share my reflections.
Throughout this time, I have found
myself thinking about Edwards Church. I
missed your warmth and friendship. I missed
singing in the choir and worshipping with you.
I missed sharing meals and sharing our lives. My sabbatical has given me new ways to think
about the meaning of our faith and how we are called to live it out. Even more, it has given me a renewed appreciation
for the Edwards Church community.
Through emails and the website and a
conversation with Merrie, I have begun to hear about
your sabbatical time. It sounds rich and
creative, and I am excited to learn more about it. I am very grateful to Merrie
for her ministry at Edwards, to Karen, Sue, Bob, and Don for their flexibility
and extra time and care during this time.
I am grateful to everyone who took on extra responsibilities and tried
new things. Thank you!
In the coming weeks we will create
ways to share our sabbatical experiences and to reflect on how they will shape
us as a community. I look forward to
that, and I also look forward to catching up with each of you
individually.
Peace,
Debbie
WORSHIP
Sunday, May 4 Holy Communion
Sunday, May 11 Pentecost Mothers’ Day
Sunday, May 18
Sunday, May 25 Memorial Sunday
SATURDAY
NIGHT LIVE!
Edwards Church will be hosting a ham and bean
supper on Saturday evening, May 3rd, at 6:00 pm. in the
There will be food, music by The Front Porch Band and a silent
auction. The cost for the evening per person will be $20 and $50 for a
family.
If you are planning on attending, please do so
by signing up on the sheet in the hall of the
We are looking for donations for the food items
that are listed above as well as for silent auction items. Please use the sign up sheets that are
located on the round table in the hall for any donations you can offer.
(Suggestions for auction items are gift baskets,
desserts, flowers, cards, services, handicrafts, rental homes, unused gifts,
photos, etc.)
*If the cost makes it
difficult for you to attend, please pay what you are able and come enjoy the
evening!
Mother’s Day
is
Sunday, May 11
BOOK
DISCUSSION
The Book Discussion Group invites
you to join us in discussing The
Zookeeper’s Wife” on April 30th.
Ginnie
Hatch will once again be hosting this meeting.
A NOTE FROM
MERRIE
Dear friends,
A
huge bouquet of gorgeous, fragrant flowers sits on my dining room table.
A Barnes and Noble gift certificate calls to be spent, most likely on books
that will augment my theological library and will be duly marked as gifts from
Edwards Church. And I have a beautiful new vase that has a place of honor
in my living room.
I'm still feeling delightfully
ambushed by the unexpected festivities on April 20! I guess if I had read
between the lines of Karen's "This Week at Edwards" email, I might
have been suspicious. But, really, who knew?! Thank you for
celebrating with me this joyous sabbatical interim! What a wonderful
adventure it was to explore God's mystery through all the varied expressions of
our creativity. It has been a privilege to work with you, to get to know
you, and to let God interweave our paths for a short while.
Thank you, not only for the
thoughtful, tangible gifts you have given me, but for the deep and abiding
blessing of rejoicing together in God's love!
With affection,
Merrie
TRUSTEES
REPORT
The Trustees met on Monday night, April 2, in Jonathan House. In attendance were Chuck Greenslit, Scott Cleveland, Bill Freudenthal, Bettina Messana, Sarah MacLennan and Karen Dolliver.
The trustees initially met with the
Board of Finance for about 20 minutes to discuss the ramifications of a Sprint
proposal to put some new devices into the steeple. The placement of these devices would require
some amount of reconstruction, probably fairly minimal. Both boards need a few questions answered
from legal counsel before responding to Sprint; therefore the joint meeting was
adjourned until said questions are answered.
Evzen has
beautifully repaired the black Edwards Church sign by the entrance at
Building reports: Scott reported that he repaired a
malfunctioning elevator door in the
A few problems were reported and the
plumber fixed a leak in the basement when the upstairs Jonathan House toilet is
flushed. A few light timers need to be
adjusted for Daylight Savings Time: the ceiling fans in the Sanctuary and the
steeple lights. Some mystery with the
timing mechanism was reported, so Bryan Douros will
be consulted. Also, Scott reported that
some wall and ceiling repairs must soon be made to the rooms in the second
floor of Jonathan House, as the lathes have pulled away from the studs in some
places.
The
steep road by the
Cleanup
day was Sunday, April 13. There was a
good turnout for the usual raking, spreading bark mulch and window
cleaning. Clean up to the front of the
Jonathan House lawn and side yard was done by Ginnie the following week. Another clean up day may be scheduled as the
original day was cut short by rain.
The
next trustee meeting will be held on Monday, May 5, at 7:30 pm, in Jonathan
House. As always, anyone interested is
welcome to attend.
RUMMAGE
Thanks to all who donated articles,
time and money to make this one of the best ever. So many turned out to help set up, run the
sale and clean up that it went like clockwork.
We took in $893.18 and the classified ad was only $30. All the other publicity was free. Well worth the effort. Ellie and I hope you enjoyed it as much as we
did.
Ginnie
This year’s House Tour will be Opening
Doors to Framingham’s Past.
Explore an entire section of the Jonathan Maynard Historic District –
three sites within walking distance.
Don’t miss the beautiful Victorian with its sleeping porch master suite
and gazebo deck overlooking Gleason’s Pond.
Marvel at both the restoration efforts and adaptive reuse to preserve
some of
Tickets are available for $30 ($25
before May 10th) and $25 for members ($20 before May 10th).
WIDER
MISSIONS-LOCAL MINISTRY
Making ends meet is difficult for a growing
number of people in our community. Even
the smallest of donations can make a difference in the life of those who have
little. Please consider sharing a
non-perishable food item from your pantry as you are able during these times of
need.
Non-perishable food
items in greatest demand include:
Pasta 100% Fruit Juice
Spaghetti Sauce Breakfast
Cereal
Spaghettios Jam/Jelly
Rice Peanut
Butter
Mayonnaise Coffee/Tea/Hot Chocolate
Non-food
items in greatest demand include:
Baby Wipes Paper
Towels
Sizes 5 & 6 Diapers Kleenex Tissue
Shampoo Dishwashing Liquid
Toothpaste Laundry
Detergent
Disposable Razors Shaving Product
Please
leave your donations in the baskets located in the Narthex or in the hallway of
the
A NEW
YEAR BEGINS
Seven years ago, the Board of Wider
Missions and the Edwards Church family rose to the challenge of supporting a
child in the Tibetan Children’s
JURME WANGMO
May 2008
Bernie MacKenzie and Margie Tuttle
NEW
EYES FOR THE NEEDY
Remember to give the gift of sight
to those in need by leaving your old and unwanted eyeglasses in the collection
box located in the Narthex of the sanctuary.
3RD
ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT
On September 27th,
2008 at noon, the Edwards Church Best Ball Golf Tournament will, once again, be
held at Millwood Golf Course. Sandy Thompson, Debbie Clark, Karen Dolliver, Joe Griffis and Sarah MacLennan will be working in the upcoming months to make
this year another successful event. We
will be raising money for the 2008 church budget. Registrations are due
by September 20th! The price this year will be $80 ($75 for early registrations before September 13th). It will include 14 holes of golf, a cart, and
a barbecue meal, along with prizes for longest drive, closest to the pins, and
the best scoring team. We will have a raffle again and if you, or someone
you know, has a business from which merchandise could
be donated please be in touch with the church office.
WOMEN
OF EDWARDS CHURCH!
The women of Edwards met on April
24th in the
MEN’S
GROUP
The Men’s Group will
be meeting for breakfast at Bickfords on Saturday
morning, May 10th. Then on Wednesday,
May 21st, at 6:00 pm they will meet for dinner.
All men are encouraged to attend. This will be the last meeting until
the fall as people get busy during the summer.
PENTECOST GERANIUMS
The Chancel Committee would like to thank
everyone who bought flowers for Easter.
Since Easter came so early in the year, the flowers were a welcome
splash of color during the dreary season.
The Chancel Committee will be collecting
donations for Pentecost Geraniums on two Sundays, April 27 and May 4. If you would be interested in making a
donation in memory or in honor of a loved one, please use the sign up sheet
located in the hallway of the
CHRISTIAN
EDUCATION
May 18th will be the final Sunday of
Church School for the Spring Term. We
will celebrate with ice cream sundaes and cake!
Thank you to
Thank you to each and every person
who contributed to the Heifer Project this year. We collected $357 dollars that will be
directed to the purchase of a water buffalo and 5 flocks of chickens. Thanks to all the young people who prepared
the chocolate milk shakes during the Fellowship Hour, the adults who assisted
in the kitchen supporting this effort and to everyone who contributed so generously
to this mission effort!
The National Youth Event will be
held July 21st through July 29th in
While at the National Youth Event,
each youth will attend at least 2 forums, with topics ranging from interfaith
cooperation to telling their own faith story. They will also have the
opportunity to attend a number of workshops with a wide variety of themes
including vocational call, creative arts, and leadership. They will gather with Bible Study with
Valerie Tutson, hear from keynote speakers including
Julia Butterfly Hill and Eboo Patel as well as have
time for fun and games, music, and worship.
Funding for this incredible opportunity is divided among the families of
each of the young people, Edwards Church and the Conference.
Sue
Dickerman,
For
the Board of Christian Education
MAY
ANNIVERSARIES
16 Phillip and Karen Dolliver
28 Robert and Janet Hohman
MAY
BIRTHDAYS
5 Marie Lintner
15 William Pletz
16 Joseph Dooley 
18 Erin Ezbicki
19 Libby White
Patti Arnheim
27 Betty Darrow
28 Linda Telfer
Karen Dolliver
LITTLE
CHURCH WOODEN BANKS
For the month of April 2008 eight
people contributed $97.50. This year we have collected $357.00.
Thanks to all of our regular contributors. Your thoughtfulness is greatly
appreciated.
Anyone may join in the fun of
being a contributor by saying grace at mealtime and contributing their daily
change. Little wooden churches are available to place on your table. Please ask me about getting one. Just place the coins in a baggy with your
name enclosed and bring them to church once a month. We collect donations
placed in the model church on the table in the
Thanks,
David Eycleshymer,
Wooden Banks Committee
QUARTERLY MEETING
A Quarterly Meeting will be held on
Tuesday, May 20th, at 7:30 pm in Edwards Hall.
STEEPLE
ARTICLES
Steeple
articles are due in the office by 9 am on Wednesday, May 21st. You may e-mail your articles to the office at
edschoffice@aol.com.
STEEPLE MAILING
The
Steeple will be mailed by the Publicity Committee on Wednesday, May 28th
at 11:00 am.