The Federated Church of Orleans
P. O. Box 761, 162 Main Street
East Orleans, MA 02643
508-255-3060; fax 508-255-3423
e-mail:
administrator@fedchurchorleans.
org
Coming in December
December 6, 11:30 Advent Family Fair
December 9, 5:00 –
Quiet Advent Vespers
December 10, 12:00 noon All-Church Pre-Christmas
Gathering at Eastward Ho!
The
Coming in January
January 1 - Happy New Year!
January 24, 11:30 pm –
Annual Meeting
January 29 –
Federated Church/Am HaYam
Combined Pot Luck Dinner
Parish
December 13,
Preschool Cookie Walk
December 18, 7:00 pm –
“Deck the Halls” Concert
December 24, 7:00 pm –
Festive Candlelight Service
Of Lessons and Carols
December 25 –
Merry Christmas!
Many Thanks to:
Marti Johnson
Donna Sutton
Chris King
Dave King
… and other “VV’s”
(valuable volunteers)
Visitor
December 2015/
January 2016
FROM THE MODERATOR
Service begins the day one
starts…or is it the moment that
one is called to reach beyond
their grasp and to “stand in the
Gap”? My “tour of duty” on The
Federated Church of Orleans
Cabinet will soon end after over
three years of working with the
most dedicated disciples and
respected members of our
wonderful “church without walls”
on items so foundational to
Christian understanding.
Leadership, education,
community involvement, support
for those in need built on
integrity, service, excellence and
guided by an unswerving faith in
Christ describes those who sat
around the table once a month
prayerfully considering all issues
with great respect. Yes, it was
my honor to have served with
each of them and I have grown
exponentially in faith
and true discipleship.
I thank the congregation for
giving me the opportunity to
serve.
WHAT A BLESSING!
Your Moderator
Jimmy Dishner
ANNUAL REPORTS DUE
It’s that time of year again!
Board and Committee
chairpersons are asked to deliver
your 2015 Annual Report to the
church office by December 14.
The staff asks that you complete
your report by this date to give
them sufficient time to prepare
the full report for the
congregation. We thank you.
HELPING
OUR
NEIGHBORS
With heating
bills adding
to stretched budgets,
the winter months are especially
difficult for our neighbors in
need. The numbers of struggling
households, just in Orleans alone,
is hard to consider. Because food
stamps cannot be used to
purchase essential items, for the
months of December and January
the Orleans Food Pantry is in
need of: toothpaste, paper
towels, bar soap and shampoo.
Please consider making a
donation in the container next to
the office. Each item will help.
Thank you.
POSTPONING CHRISTMAS
DINNER
(TO 2016)!
We are hugely grateful to our
Federated Church members who
work so diligently and faithfully to
create our community breakfasts
and Easter and Christmas
dinners. What an awesome
ministry! But this year, it’s time
for a well-deserved “sabbath”
break from our community
Christmas dinner. But we look
forward to the Christmas (and
Easter) dinners resuming in
2016!
DIRECTORY UPDATE…
Here is the information for some
of our friends who have moved
recently:
Fred Coe
Epoch of Brewster
855 Harwich Road, Room 211
Brewster, MA 02631
Keith & Marilyn Harrison
68 Lovers Lane, #5
Princeton, NJ 08540
Jackie Philbrick
The Terraces
60 Daley Terrace, Room 2-29
Orleans, MA 02653
Rick Wilson
Epoch Assisted Living
353 Blackstone Boulevard
Room 3416
Providence, RI 02906
MEETING HOUSE PRESCHOOL
Merry Christmas to All!
First, I would like to catch you up
on all the preschool curriculum
and learning experiences we have
been doing:
September: Safety Rules,
Routine, All about Me, Feelings,
People Helpers, Seashore
Afternoon Experiences: Cape Cod
National Seashore, Button Bush
Trail, Nauset Marsh Trail and
Chatham Bars Inn Farm in
Brewster (all activities
incorporate what we are learning.
The children who are with us get
to share their discoveries with
their friends)
September Family Activity:
Playground &
Pizza Night with all families in
attendance
October: Fire Prevention, Fun in
the fall, Things that Go Bump in
the Night, Halloween Delights
Afternoon Experiences: Kent’s
Point
All Class Experience: Orleans Fire
Department, and Story Book Day
October Family Activity: Movie
Night with Popcorn - we had 6
families in attendance, and
showed The Descendants
(a Disney Movie)
November: Hibernation &
Migration, Transportation &
Traveling, 5 Senses & Cooking,
Families
Afternoon Experiences: Nickerson
State Park/Flax Pond and Wiley
Park, Eastham (as of this date)
November’s Family Activity: Papa
Gino’s Night, Preschool Family
Feast
You can tell we have been
extremely busy.
What’s NEW at the Preschool?
We are taking the children out on
Monday afternoon to explore the
world around them. This ties in
to our curriculum.
In addition, each month there is a
Family Activity, where families
can gather and get to know one
another. Family Activities are
held after the normal preschool
hours.
On Friday, November 20th, the
preschool families were treated to
a Thanksgiving Feast prepared for
them by Mrs. Kiklis, Mrs.
Vigneau, Miss Johnston, and their
very own children. They
prepared rolls, peeled potatoes,
cut celery, even onions (a very
interesting sight) and added
much love to the work. Thank
you to Mrs. Kiklis for her hard
work in making this feast
unforgettable. The children sang
songs and enjoyed a wonderful
meal with their friends and
families.
We are grateful for all the support
of the outstanding parishioners of
The Federated Church of Orleans.
The families are always
commenting on how nice, and
supportive, everyone is
(something I already knew).
The Cookie Walk will be held on
December 13th, so save your
appetites for some delicious
cookies.
May your holiday traditions enrich
your life and your families’ lives.
The preschool children, their
families, Sue, Susie, and I would
like to offer everyone a holiday
blessing of happiness and hope.
Peace and Thankfulness,
Maureen Vigneau
OPIOID CRISIS CONFERENCE
One of the concerns of the Justice
Committee is the Opioid Crisis on
the Cape. One the members of
the Justice Committee, Sharon
Leder of Am Ha Yam, and Rod
MacDonald of The Federated
Church attended a conference at
St Pius X. The meeting gathered
together people from many
different faith communities and
featured speakers from Yarmouth
police as well as fire & rescue
departments. Some of the
important points that were shared
at the meeting:
- In 2014, 97 doses of Narcan
were administered by the
Yarmouth Police and Fire
Departments. To date in 2015,
183 doses have been
aministered.
- The average age of deaths from
addiction has risen to 32; none
has been under 20; this is not a
“teenage problem” but one that
devastates whole families.
- There is only one Narcotics
Anonymous meeting on Cape.
There is an absence of
involvement by Cape faith
communities in trying to do
something about this problem.
It was pointed out that the
National Institutes of Health had
recently declared opioid addiction
a “disease of the brain” like
alcoholism. We are in the
process of forming a joint
committee made up of both
congregations to see what action
we might take in addressing this
crisis.
Don Wick
POSSIBLE LADIES
PRE-CHRISTMAS EXCURSION
(men welcome also!)
Yesterday I ran into Moo Smith at
Consigning Women in Brewster.
We agreed that it would be fun to
get a group together to go
shopping followed by lunch. So,
would you like to join us for a
shopping morning at Consigning
Women (Brewster) and The
Spectrum (Brewster) followed
by lunch at The Marshside in
Dennis? We can carpool from the
church. Please let me know by
email
pastor@fedchurchorleans.org or
phone 508-255-3060, ext 11, if
you would like to join and can
make either of these suggested
dates: Tuesday, December 8
OR Wednesday, December 16
Sally
SINGLES BRUNCH
In
November
thirteen
“singles”
enjoyed
Carol
Sylver’s
wonderful hospitality as well as
delicious food and lively
conversation. As of this writing
no one has offered to host the
group in December. Therefore
we will hope to gather in January.
Be thinking how you can
contribute by hosting or assisting
a host. Watch the Sunday
bulletins for details.
PLEDGING FOR 2016
As of the publication of this Parish
Visitor, 95 pledges have been
received in the amount of
$191,974 in support of our
church’s 2016 budget. That is
encouraging, but there are many
more pledges anticipated. It
would be a great help to our
Stewardship Committee and
others who put plans in place for
the coming year if pledges could
be received soon.
Thank you for your faithful
support of our church and its
missions.
Your Stewardship Committee
THANK YOU, BETSY!
Betsy Wagner has designed and
constructed the art work you see
on the Landing on the way to the
Sanctuary. The progress of the
Stewardship effort in support of
the 2016 budget is provided in a
clear and attractive way. Thank
you, Betsy!
The Stewardship Committee
Parish Visitor
E-mail submissions are most appreciated.
This preserves the accuracy of your
submission and saves a great deal of time.
(We are, however, most happy to accept
your hand-written articles.)
ON THE WEB . . .
Our website: - www.fedchurchorleans.org
Barnstable Association, UCC: www.CapeCodUCC.org
Massachusetts Conference UCC: www.macucc.org
Helpful Hints For E-mail Preparation:
National UCC website: - www.ucc.org
- use Microsoft WORD
All offer a lot of good information about
our denomination and the work we do as
individual churches and together.
- use Times New Roman, Normal,
Font size 12
- no fancy setup – especially bullets!
We just have to remove them
- include your name and phone number
- e-mail to:
administrator@fedchurchorleans.org
3rd
- deadline is 12:00 noon,
Tuesday of
each month (*see note below)
Articles received after this date will go in
the next month’s Parish Visitor. (*no PV
is published in July or December). The
deadline for the February 2016 issue of
The Parish Visitor is noon, Tuesday,
January 19. Of course, we are always
happy to receive your articles before the
deadline 
Many thanks to all who participate in the
publishing of The Parish Visitor.
PARISH VISITOR
UPCOMING DEADLINES
To assist those who wish to plan ahead, the
deadlines for the Parish Visitor in 2015/2016
will be:
Issue
February 2016
March
April
May
Deadline
January 19, 2016
February 16
March 15
April 19
Please submit by 12:00 noon on the days
listed above. Unfortunately, late submissions
can no longer be “squeezed” in, but will be
included in the following month’s issue.
A Message
From Our Pastor
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my
Savior”
“I’m bursting with God-news;
I’m dancing the song of my
Savior God.”
“With all my heart I glorify the
Lord! In the depths of who I am I
rejoice in God my savior.”
Do you recognize these words?
These are three different
translations of the same New
Testament verses -- Luke 1: 4647. These joyful words are boldly
exclaimed by Mary after the angel
Gabriel tells her that she will give
birth to Jesus, the Messiah.
Which translation do you like the
best? I invite you to choose one
that will become your Advent
mantra; words that you say each
day of Advent when you get up,
at any juncture during the day,
and in the evening. Why am I
inviting you to do this? So that
Advent and Christmas become
more than just Christmas music,
the writing of cards, the giving of
gifts, the enjoyment of
parties…and stress and
exhaustion as we try to make
everything perfect!
I understand this. I could spend
the whole of Advent and the
Christmas season just listening to
recordings of British choirs
singing Christmas carols and
Handel’s Messiah. But to do so
would be to trivialize, even deny,
the purpose of the birth of Jesus.
Sometimes even in church we
forget to put the “Christ” in
Christmas!
The birth of Jesus is not just a
tender, beautiful moment when a
baby is born radiant with the light
of God – although we cherish this
dimension of it. Rather, the
significance of Jesus’ birth resides
in a powerful spiritual truth:
incarnation. That is, God’s
presence in Jesus reminds us that
God is with us; that God is here.
I am now drawing upon the
beautiful insights of Diana Butler
Bass in her new book Grounded:
Finding God in the World: A
Spiritual Revolution. In particular
I am reflecting upon her
compelling remarks when I heard
her speak this summer at the
National Church Leadership
Institute. She suggests that
incarnation, that is Christmas,
should be a focal point of our
faith. Why? Because “the world
is the sacred stage” of God.
Because your life – your hopes
and fears, your rejoicing and your
grief, your relationships, your
working life, your retired life,
your triumphs and your concerns
are all a sacred stage in which
God is present, in which God is at
work. God is with you. God is
here. Because, and this is
crucially important to Diana
Butler Bass, God is in
the daily headlines that grip us,
disturb us, and make us weep.
God is with us. God is here. The
headlines – Syrian refugees
yearning to find solace; the
horror of heinous terrorist acts;
the constant reminders that our
nation and our world seem to be
defined more by violence than by
love.
We don’t like to think about this
at any time, but especially not in
the Christmas season when we so
cherish being held in the loving
embrace of all that makes this
season beautiful, special,
sublime. And yet, why else did
God become incarnate in Jesus?
Not to make us escape from the
world; but to make us love it
even more passionately with a
love of justice and peace. Not to
keep the love of God for
ourselves; but to give us the
courage to boldly share that love
with a world that needs abundant
hope. The incarnate God is in the
headlines in order to make us
respond to those headlines with
the love of Jesus – welcoming the
refugees, working for affordable
housing, seeking economic
justice, breaking down the
barriers of racism, sowing seeds
of understanding between faiths
and nations.
Well, this is rather heavy-duty.
Hey pastor – I need some “Hark
the Herald Angels Sing” and “Joy
to the World!” Yes, we all do.
Which is the reason we rejoice at
the incarnate God at Christmas.
God is with you. God is here.
God is with us. God is here. God
is with the world. God is here.
What an awesome truth! Almost
as good as the news Mary
received from Gabriel. So, can
you proclaim those words of Mary
in Luke 1: 46-47 (you choose the
translation) throughout Advent
and Christmas. Maybe even write
them on your Christmas cards!
And an addendum: this Parish
Visitor is for December and
January. So to our friends who
are heading to warmer climates
in January: we will miss you but
send our prayers and blessings to
you. We hope you will continue
to go to church where ever you
are. And don’t forget to send the
warmth back to the Cape! And
for all of us, may 2016 be filled
with peace, love, and blessing.
A blessed and joyous
Christmas and New Year
Love,
Sally
TRIBUTES
The flowers and
plants that are placed
in our Sanctuary, on the Landing
and Upper Narthex each Sunday
are given in memory or in honor
of others or given in celebration
of special life events, and are a
very special part of our worship
services.
The following were given in
November:
November 1
The flowers in the Sanctuary were
given by Carol Sylver,
remembering her parents’
birthdays on November 3rd and
14th.
November 8
The flowers in the Sanctuary were
given by Bernadine Whitaker in
loving memory of her dear
daughter, Leslie Anne Whitaker.
Jimmy and Linda Dishner gave
the arrangement on the Landing
in honor of our Veterans.
November 15
The flowers in the Sanctuary were
given by Nancy Eglee in loving
memory of her husband, Don, on
their 65th wedding anniversary.
Nancy Bush gave the
arrangement on the Landing in
loving memory of her dad, mom,
sister and her husband, plus her
love to the congregation at this
special time.
November 22
The flowers in the Sanctuary were
given by Jackie Stowell in loving
memory of Bill for his birthday.
The Thanksgiving Harvest in the
Sanctuary and Landing were
arranged by Nancy Bush and
Carol Sylver.
November 29
The flowers in the Sanctuary were
given in cherished memory of
David Schoeffel from his family –
Pat, Carol & Bob, Sarah & Paul,
Tom & Lora, and Cameron &
Elizabeth.
Sympathy
We offer our deepest
sympathies and prayers
to the families and
friends of ~
Mary Hoogeboom, who died on
November 11th. A memorial
service to celebrate Mary’s life
will be held in our Sanctuary on
Sunday, November 29, at 1:30 in
the afternoon.
Our Flower Committee
says...
"Christmas comes but
once a year but when
it comes it brings good cheer!"
Please help bring "good cheer" to
our shut-ins. We have ordered
Christmas cactus plants and will
have them ready for distribution
at your convenience the week of
December 14th. You can
volunteer by using the order form
found in this Parish Visitor, or by
signing up in the vestry. Thank
you!
Committee members who have
flower responsibilities in the next
two months are:
December
Joan Barnett (255-1930) and
Lyn Oleksiak (240-3557)
January
Jan Brink (255-5586) and
Nancy Bush (255-6624)
They will be happy to assist you
and answer any questions you
may have. The Sunday morning
flowers bring "good cheer" to
those who worship then.
Happy Holidays!
Martha Livingston
AROUND THE UCC
WEDDING
CONGRATULATIONS
We extend our
very best wishes
to Mr. and Mrs.
Jason Wheeler,
who were joined
in matrimony by
The Rev. Sally
Norris on Friday, November 13, at
Wychmere Harbor Club. Mrs.
Wheeler is better known to us as
Maddie Walters!
Massachusetts Conference
Dear Rev. Sally Norris:
Thank you so much for hosting
our visit to your church
yesterday. I have rarely felt so
welcome at any event I attended
on behalf of MAF these past
seventeen years. The warmth of
your parishioners will be with me
for a very long time.
Cordially,
Robert W. Fellows,
Co-Founder/Board President
Masonic Angel Foundation, Inc.
United Church of Christ
217th Annual Meeting
The 217th Annual meeting will be
held June 17 – 18, 2016, at the
University of Massachusetts,
Amherst.
The keynote speaker will be The
Rev. Otis Moss III, Pastor of
Trinity United Church of Christ in
Chicago.
*****
Conferences Consider Merging
The Boards of Directors of the
Connecticut, Massachusetts, and
Rhode Island Conferences of the
United Church of Christ have
joined together to consider a
future of mutual ministry. In a
resolution that hails the benefits
of interdependence, the three
boards have all voted to call their
pastors, leaders, and
congregations to a “season of
discernment” to consider how
God may be calling the three
conferences to federate or merge.
By creating and pursuing a robust
partnership,” reads a portion of
the resolution, “we may increase
the likelihood that 15 years from
now, a vital expression of the
progressive church movements
will be alive and well in America.”
Read the full text of the
resolution and find out more at:
macucc.org/seasondiscern
******
Learn to Lead
A day of training – for both clergy
and congregants – to lead small
groups in general, and small
group Bible study in particular
Saturday, January 30, 2016
8:30 – 4:00
MACUCC – Edwards House
1 Badger Road
Framingham, MA 01702
Sponsored by Lay Development
Council of the MACUCC with
Massachusetts Bible Society
https://macucc-regbrtapp.com/LearntoLeadSmallGroupWorkshop
CHORALE
FRUIT
The next order for Chatham
Chorale fruit will be due on
December 12 for delivery at the
church the following Saturday,
the 19th, from 10:00 am to noon.
If you can’t use a whole box, you
are encouraged to find a friend
with whom you can share. This
month’s choices are pink
grapefruit and navel oranges. All
fruit comes in quantities of 2/5
bushel, at a cost of $26 each.
To order, please call or e-mail:
Kent Arnold, 508 255-6115
kentarnold44@yahoo.com
or
Audrey Robb,
508 255-6273
audreyzrobb@gmail.com
This is the Chorale’s biggest
fundraiser, which allows them to
bring you so many wonderful
concerts.
They appreciate our continued
support.
GOING AWAY THIS WINTER?
Please be sure to let the church
office know so we can send your
Parish Visitor and other church
mail to you.
After a lovely, warm winter,
please do let us know a few
weeks before your planned return
so we can reroute your mail back
home. You may contact the
church office at 508 255-3060,
x10 or x14, or e-mail us at
administrator@fedchurchorleans.
org or
assistant@fedchurchorleans.org.
Wishing you a happy and blessed
winter, safe travels, and …
Merry Christmas & Happy New
Year!
The Church Mice