May 2010 Newsletter

(Copy of articles which appear in
the monthly Grace Church Newsletter)

PARISH NEWS

Pentecost Luncheon

As is our tradition, we will celebrate Pentecost with our annual Pentecost Covered Dish Luncheon on Sunday, May 23, immediately following the ten o’clock service.

This event is always a wonderful time. We hope you can join us!

All are welcome.

CHRISTIAN HEALING MINISTRIES IN NEW ENGLAND CONFERENCE EVENT

You are invited to attend a conference sponsored by Christian Healing Ministries in New England: “Healing and Restoring our Families” led by Dr. Francis and Judith MacNutt of Christian Healing Ministries, Inc. in Jacksonville, Florida. Five of us from Grace Church attended this event last year and were very blessed through the teachings and the ministry times. If you are looking for a Christian conference which will refresh, restore, and bring healing, this is it!

Speakers are the MacNutts, along with The Rev. Dr. Don Williams, pastor and published author of 13 books. Dr. Williams is an international speaker whose book “Addiction and Grace” remains a classic.

This conference will take place Wednesday evening, June 23 through Saturday, June 26, at noon. The registration fee is $125 per person. Children and youth ages 17 and under attend free. There is no youth track or nursery care provided, but youth and children are welcome if they sit with their families. Families can register and attend events along with enjoying the beautiful outdoors scenery of Mt. Snow, Vermont.

Visit the website www.christianhealingmin.org/conferences/new_england for more detailed information on registration for the conference and room reservation information. To register by phone, call CHM and speak with Jeff Sampson at 904/765- 3332 in Jacksonville, Florida. Separate room reservations are made through The Grant Summit Resort and Hotel at Mount Snow in Dover, Vermont at 800/817-0764.

For more information about this event or about scholarship assistance, please speak with the Rev. Ellendale Hoffman on Sundays or through the church office at 860/388-0895.

Grace Church Food Pantry
April Contributions

Grace Church has made more contributions to the local Food Pantry this month than during any other month since the program started!

Our members are so thoughtful of our needy brothers and sisters.

“God loves a cheerful giver.”

Frank R. Tarrio

Thank You from Old Saybrook Youth & Family Services

Dear Ellendale, Chuck, and Congregation:

What a great experience it was for me last Sunday, as the new Director of Youth and Family Services, and also as a community parent, to witness the welcoming reception you provided our R.E.A.C.H. and Asset team members.

Your hospitality, space and floral arrangements, and the gift bags, were all very much appreciated! It is exciting to see the relationships build between our youth and people in their community.

I look forward to more shared activities, and I thank you again.

Heather McNeil

Dear Rev. Hoffman and your “team”,

I cannot begin to thank you for your very generous gift of time, kindness and positive energy with the Youth and Family Asset team. The gift bags and flowers were a very tangible indication of Grace Church’s care and support for this community, and I know that each of the students left knowing just how valued and admired they are.

You are all a tremendous gift to us, and for that, we thank you!

Jane Moen

Lessons from Noah

How Can I Help

Noah, our five year old Portuguese Water Dog, loves visiting people in convalescent hospitals and nursing homes. My husband usually lets Noah off his leash so the he can wander from room to room, surprising the residents with his perky personality. Although he’s not officially a therapy dog (hasn’t been to school for that yet), he brings the residents pleasure, basking in their kind words and gestures, and their admiration of him. When he was younger, we worried that he might take an object from one person’s room and deposit in some other person’s room, causing the object to permanently go missing; however, we’re pretty sure he’s never actually done that.

Noah’s favorite time to visit is just after meal time. He quickly sniffs out the racks with trays of half eaten meals that are being returned to the kitchen and if we aren’t watching him carefully he will attempt to empty the trays that are within his easy reach on the bottom shelves. One time he snuck into the staff break room and came dangerously close to snatching a bagel that was intended as someone’s mid-morning snack. Obviously vigilance is critical during these visits, in order to prevent him from stealing food; but the smiles on the faces of the residents make our having to keep an eye out for periodic food stealing indiscretions worth the effort. Noah even jumped up onto one patient’s bed. Fortunately she was a friend of ours and was delighted, not distressed, by his somewhat pushy behavior.

People visibly perk up when Noah trots down the hall. Some share stories about the dogs they used to have; some reach out to touch him; others simply smile and nod. One gentleman always has small dog biscuits in his pocket to share with visiting dogs, which pleases Noah immensely. Nearly everyone brightens up and sits a bit taller when Noah shows up. He’s the nursing home’s “good Samaritan”, sharing his physical presence, performing his tricks, and brightening everyone’s day.

The tenth chapter of the gospel of Luke gives us a glimpse of Jesus as he tells the story of the original Good Samaritan. This parable is a tale of empathy, mercy, relationship, and pure motives.

Prior to his sharing the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus has actually been sparring with a Jewish lawyer, who is questioning Jesus about what one must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus answers the lawyer’s question by countering with two questions of his own, “What is written in the law?” and “What do you read there?”

The lawyer’s response consists of direct quotes from Genesis and Deuteronomy. (He’s obviously memorized the law well.) “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” The lawyer’s response wins Jesus’ approval. “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.” However, the conversation doesn’t end there.

In typical lawyerly fashion, the lawyer pushes Jesus to define the term “neighbor”, which at that time normally meant a Jewish person who lived nearby. Jesus’ response to the lawyer’s second question redefines the word “neighbor” in a way the lawyer most likely didn’t expect.

The parable tells of a man who was stripped and beaten nearly to death by robbers on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho. As the victim lays there a priest, who is passing along the road, spies him but crosses over to the other side of the road to avoid him. Likewise a Levite, a keeper of the temple and a religious leader, ignores the beaten man. A Samaritan, from the detested tribes of the Northern provinces, sees the man and takes pity on him. He dresses the victim’s wounds, puts him on his donkey, takes him to an inn and takes care of him. Although he leaves the next day to continue on about his business, he tells the innkeeper to care for the man and says that he will cover the rest of the expenses on his return.

Jesus has one last question for the lawyer. “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” The lawyer replies, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus ends the discussion by telling him to “Go and do likewise.”

One can only imagine how the lawyer must have felt at the end of this conversation with Jesus. Jesus had just defined “neighbor” in a way that defied the boundaries of race and religion, a definition that allowed no room for prejudice or exclusivity. Jesus had described the Samaritan as a man who was willing to give of himself, his time (he was obviously on his way somewhere and was willing to interrupt his journey), and his wealth (he paid for the beaten man to stay at the inn till he was well enough to travel). In addition, Jesus had portrayed the supposedly “holy” men, who had crossed over to the other side of the road rather than help the beaten man, as self-serving individuals who, for whatever reason, did not show mercy. When the time came, would the lawyer actually be able to live the words he’d spoken in response to Jesus’ questions, or would he, too, cross the road to avoid helping a fellow human being?

How often do we, literally or figuratively, “cross the road” to avoid helping a fellow human being? And how long can we justify living with our excuses – we’re too busy; the person is different than we are; the person isn’t deserving enough; there are too many people who need our help; it’s hopeless?

A person who was observed on a long white beach throwing starfish into the sea was asked why he was doing that when there were obviously so many more starfish than he could save. Tossing another starfish into the sea he simply answered, “Made a difference for that one.” We, too, can make a difference one kindness at a time.

An AARP article tells the story of Bob Votruba, who visits college campuses with his dog Bogart promoting kindness and community service. Says Votruba, “for someone to reach 1 million kindnesses over a lifetime requires 50 acts of kindness a day for 55 years, which is totally obtainable, with kindness in the heart.” No doubt Jesus would encourage us to “Go and do likewise.” Noah may not achieve 50 acts of kindness every day, but he’s definitely doing his part to make the world a pleasanter place.

Julie Peace

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