Glad Tidings

NEED TO MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT?

Based on feedback regarding the length of the Sunday morning announcements, the Worship Committee is suggesting a different approach.  Therefore, the following changes will begin in March:
  Announcements for activities, functions, etc. will no longer be announced on Sunday mornings; they will be published in a bulletin insert each week.  They can be viewed as mini-newsletter articles allowing folks to elaborate on the news they wish to share.  Worshippers will be able to read these announcements before the service begins or at their leisure following the service.  The only hitch is that announcements will have to be received in the church office no later than 8:00 on Thursday mornings in order to give the church secretary time to get out the bulletin for the Sunday service.  It will be a hard-and-fast rule – announcements received will go in the bulletin; announcements not received will not.
  The announcement time on Sunday mornings will include a welcome to visitors and a sharing of pastoral concerns like illnesses, births and deaths.

CENTRAL/ST. MATTHEW PICTURE DIRECTORY

Several committees and individuals have discussed a need for an up-to-date church membership directory, and indeed the church office has been updating its records on our members.  Now we are ready to take a next step and add photos to our data base.  Then we will be able to print a photo church directory. We are going to move ahead with this project!

Fred will be taking photos of all members of Central and St. Matthew who choose this option.  He will begin on Sunday, March 9th and continue for several weeks.  Pictures will be taken in the lounge after fifteen minutes of coffee hour. (Fred does not want to miss the total coffee hour for weeks in a row).  When you have your picture taken, someone will ask you to review the information we currently have in our data base.  If anything is incorrect, there will be forms available to make changes.

If you have a favorite photo, it can be scanned and put in the proper format for the directory.  If you choose this option, please be sure that your photo is clear and recent.  Bring it to the lounge one Sunday, review your data, and leave it with the person in charge.

Of course, we are going to need folks to help co-ordinate this project.  At this point, persons are needed who can be in the lounge on Sunday morning to assist members in checking their data.  Please consider helping in this way.  Give your name to Fred, Dale, or Joan or call the church office and let Pat know you will help.  A picture directory will help all of us!     

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD?

The Central Carrollton Association is holding its quarterly neighborhood meeting on Thursday, March 13 from 6:30 – 8:30 P.M.  Central/St. Matthew hosts these meetings, but it is also the church’s neighborhood, and we know that some of you are interested in plans for the area surrounding the church.  Councilwoman Shelley Midura, District A’s representative to the City Council, will give an update on projects planned.  All are invited to attend.

NEW YEAR, NEW CHALLENGES

In their newsletter, our local UCC Disaster Recovery Office reports that with fewer requests for gutting homes the work of recovery groups is shifting to rebuilding.  For each rebuild project, computer software calculates the cost of materials needed. Second, subcontractors estimate what needs to be done. Third, the homeowner looks at her/his ability to cover costs and must apply to the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, or United Way if additional funds are necessary. With all pieces in place the homeowner can expect completion of the rebuild in 6-8 months.

Recovery teams, some of whom are housed at St. Matthew/Central, arrive with a mix of skill sets from no building experience to ability to do carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work.  As well as shepherding each rebuild project from beginning to completion, the Recovery staff works to provide meaningful work for all volunteers. In a week’s time one may find volunteers at several work sites, gutting or rebuilding.

We thank the staff of the UCC Disaster Recovery Office, Alan, Tim, and Sarah, and the Partners in Service volunteers for their expertise and dedication in making all of this work, and we thank our Central/St. Matthew recovery committee for making our church a comfortable home for visiting groups.

If you would like to help this ongoing effort, the N.O. UCC Disaster Recovery Office offers the following suggestions:
Pray – Please pray for this ministry, the people we serve, the volunteers who arrive each week to work and the city of New Orleans.
Work trips – As rebuilding continues, skilled people and groups are needed any time of the year.  Don’t forget, everyone can do something.
One person in Eight (1-8) should be able to lead a crew and be skilled in home rehabilitation and rebuilding.   Amateur to professional skills and all general home rehabilitation trades are needed.  These skills are absolutely necessary in order to rebuild a home to quality standards, like it was our own!  To register go to: ucc.org/volunteer/hurricane
Gift Cards - to Home Depot or Lowe’s are used for supplies and equipment as needed.  We also allow crew leaders of volunteer groups to use these for small purchases as they work.
Donate Funds – Donations of funds are payable to: “South Central Conference Disaster Ministry Fund.”

SHARING RESOURCES, CHANGING LIVES

“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have.”
—Hebrews 13:16a

So says the writer of Hebrews to the community of faith. The call was personal, a reminder that our actions as Christians speak as loudly as our words and worship services. God desires our participation in the lives of others, an expectation made even more pointedly by Jesus when he tells his followers, “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, NRSV)  Of course, the ‘least of these’ don’t just live in our community. God’s call to share what we have encompasses people everywhere.

The people fleeing violence in Sudan, suffering from AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, reeling from devastation in Indonesia, starving in poverty in India, and recovering from any number of disasters around the United States — we are called to make a difference in their lives. We can do this through our special offering, One Great Hour of Sharing.

As each of us gives to One Great Hour of Sharing we help families and villages around the world to build lives and communities that are healthy, safe and sustainable. Sharing our resources really changes lives!

LENTEN AND HOLY WEEK SERVICES

• Please join us for intimate and quiet services throughout Lent on Wednesday evenings at 6:45 P.M. in the chapel.  (Choir rehearsal follows at 7:30 P.M.)
• Communion will be served at Sunday morning services on March 2th (altar), and on Easter Sunday, March   23rd. (Pew)
• Holy Week services are scheduled as follows:
          Sunday, March 16, 10:00 A.M.   Palm Sunday
          Wednesday, March 19, 6:45 P.M.  Lenten Service
          Thursday, March 20, 6:30 P.M.   Maundy Thursday
               This reflective service is held in Fellowship Hall and includes a very simple meal of soup,                the reading of scripture and a short homily.
           Friday, March 21, 12:00 Noon   Good Friday Service
          Sunday, March 23, 10:00 A.M.   Easter Morning Service
                  Please bring stems of fresh flowers to decorate the living cross which will adorn our                                        sanctuary and then be placed outside on Carrollton Avenue following our service.

MEN’S FELLOWSHIP FISH FRY

The Central membership of Central/St. Matthew has many traditions we observed before Katrina. As we continue to move forward, we try to incorporate some of those traditions into the calendar, so that others can appreciate and learn from whence we come. 

Years ago, the men of Central started having a fish fry on Good Friday.  It started as a fundraiser for the Men’s Fellowship. Every year the fish fry seemed to be a little different: It went from purchased frozen fish to fresh fish to going fishing and bringing in the catch. It moved from inside to outside (the cooking that is). It went from pan frying to deep frying. The recipes changed too depending on who was in charge. The one thing that did not change was the fellowship shared. We all began participating.  The women donated potato salad and bread. Other church organizations donated peas and cake.  Regardless of how the suppers changed, the fellowship was always there. People came from all around to purchase a supper and share in the love.

Traditionally, our Good Friday worship was always at noon.  I remember the aromas of the kitchen flowing down as we sang and listened to a homily or had a discussion.

This year the men are going to try it again.  We don’t know who, how or where, we only know when …Good Friday, March 21.

UNO DOCUMENTARY TEAM FILMS AT CENTRAL/ST. MATTHEW

The governing boards of both churches gave preliminary permission last month for us to begin researching and testing the possibility of including a profile of our church in a PBS/Cable-aimed program called WHY SHOULD NEW ORLEANS SURVIVE? We all know why we want New Orleans to survive; the question we are asking in the film is Why Might It Not Survive? We thought a portrait of St. Matthew/Central and a few of its members might be a wonderful way to pose the question and to capture a vital and authentic New Orleans story.

We did a "test shoot" in the sanctuary on Sunday, February 10th. We were able to capture some great footage and we learned a great deal from our successes and our mistakes! So we are currently discussing with Pastor Fred, Pastor Wil, and Music Minister, Beth, as well as, council and governance board members several ways in which we would continue filming on a few Sundays this spring.  The first (more common approach) would be to shoot from the balcony with one or two cameras that can capture the activities of the church, with minimal disruption of the service.

On at least one Sunday (sometime after Easter), we would like to add a cameras on the floor of the sanctuary.  It would be on a tripod, recording the service from under the balcony (near the left center aisle). Our goal is to get good images of the choir and the interactions at the front of the sanctuary – which – we think will reflect the spirit that moves the church and the music in the documentary. We will also have sound technicians, but we will try to minimize their presence.

We will always announce our plans and distribute a bulletin insert if we are filming on a Sunday. At that time, we will invite people who don't mind being filmed to sit in the front and center pews. (If people don't sit there, it will look like nobody comes to church on Sunday!) Anyone who prefers not to be filmed may sit on the left side or in the back. Also, JUST TO ASSURE YOU, we will not use any recognizable footage we film without showing it to those who are in a rough draft of the film. You will see our edit before anyone else does! And, we will always obtain individual permission to use the material before it is released to anyone outside the Church.
 
Over the next few months, we may ask a few of you who arrive early or are willing to stay in the sanctuary a few minutes late, if we can take pictures of you in attitudes of listening and worship, to serve as "cut-aways" — or material to help us edit out mistakes. We also plan to film informal conversations after church in the lounge.  If there are some of you who would like to bring your coffee and goodies down there for some “Central/St. Matthew fellowship," the filmmaking team would be delighted.

Just to give you a brief overview of our plans, we will likely film a total of about four days this spring focusing on St. Matthew/Central, past and present. We plan to film a recovery team, perhaps on site or during a Wednesday night red beans and rice dinner. We hope to film Bible study, a morning at the Hume Center, and other activities of St Matthew/Central. We are also open to suggestions from the two church councils and joint congregations about any activity, group or individual that might be important to "capture for posterity."  The students and I will soon present a more detailed "treatment" for our proposed film, so that those of you who wish to know more may read it and comment on our plans.

Please understand that the final film will represent the views of the filmmakers and of individuals who agree to appear in the film. The documentary will not attempt to "speak on behalf' of either St. Matthew or Central United Churches of Christ.  Please feel free to give me, Joan, Dale, Wil, Fred, or council and governance board members any feedback about how we could make this process most comfortable and effective. Again, we welcome your suggestions. High quality copies of footage we shoot will be donated to both churches. By the way, we are also filming a profile of UNO's pioneering music department as the second part of our project.

Contact Julie Gustafson at juliempustafson@gmail.com; jgustafs.uno.edu, or 504-451-6852 (cell).

USHERS, GREETERS, COMMUNION AND ACOLYTES

Ushers:  Walter Schleh, Barbara Seely, Nancy Morris,
3/2 – Jim Bonds; 3/9-Dale Bonds; 3/16-Shirley Carambat; 3/23-Noel Braning; 3/30-Julie Darby

Communion Servers:    3/2  John Pecoul and Maggie Snyder
3/23  Robert Perry, Sloan Letman, Maggie Snyder, Shirley Carambat, John Etter, Carol Etter

Greeters:  Ellen Bentz, Lucille Gebhardt, Shirley Adams
Acolyte:  Stewart Harrison

Liturgists:  3/2 – Hulen Brown; 3/9 – Maggie Synder; 3/1 –Jessica M.; 3/23-John Etter;
3/30-Arch Chaney