March 2015 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ NCBC News Good Friday (April 3rd at 7 pm) As part of your Lenten journey, plan to join us on Good Friday, April 3, for “Face the Cross”. During this beautiful service of scripture and music, we will hear the story of Jesus’ last meal with His disciples, His trial, His crucifixion, and His words from the cross. We will meet at 7:00 pm, and childcare will be provided 978-663-4773 New Colony Baptist Church 30 River Street Billerica MA, 01821 Face the Cross See inside for more details! April 24, 25: Youth 30 hour famine and service project April 12: Church Council Meeting April 12: “Rescue in the Night” by Kids’/Middle School Choir April 5: Easter Worship April 3: Good Friday Service: Face the Cross, 7:00 pm March 29: Palm Sunday March 28: Easter Egg Hunt, 10 am March 15: Quarterly Business Meeting March 8: Baby Shower for Steve Potter and Wendy after church April 2015 Prayer Walk Your Community Saturday, March 21 Take time on this day to walk through your community praying for each family. You can request the names and addresses of people on the streets you will walk and pray. You can request the names of people on up to three separate streets or all the names of people within a 1/4 or 1/2 mile radius from your house. Email Robin McGaunn at [email protected] with the following information: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Your First and Last Name Your Street Address Your Town, City and Zip Code Your Email Address Names of up to three streets in your neighborhood OR Specify that you want names & addresses within a 1/4 of a mile or 1/2 a mile radius from your house Your must email the information by Sunday, March 15 and the information will be emailed back to you before Saturday, March 21st. You may also fill out the form which will be in the weekly bulletin and put it in the offering plate or give to any staff member. Written requests need to be turned in by Sunday, March 15th to get specific names and addresses for your prayer walk. 2 Calendar for March/April March 8: Baby shower for Steve Potter and Wendy after church. March 15: Quarterly Business Meeting March 21: Prayer walking in preparation for Easter, 10 am March 28: Easter Egg Hunt, 10 am March 29: Palm Sunday April 1: No Prayer Meeting at 6:30, Choir meets at 6:30 April 3: Church Office Closed. April 3: Good Friday Service: Face the Cross, 7:00 pm April 5: Easter Worship! April 12: Presentation of “Rescue in the Night” by Kids’/Middle School Choir April 12: Church Council meeting immediately following service April 20-24: April School Vacation April 24,25: Youth 30 hour famine and service project. Wednesdays at 6:30 pm: Prayer Meeting, except April 1 Wednesdays at 7:45 pm: Choir Ministry Team Rehearsal Sundays at 5:00 pm: CrossCulture (Youth Group) Coming Soon! Looking Towards Easter: Begin to pray daily for someone you know who may not be a Christian or who is not active in a local church. Ask God to make them receptive to your invitation to join you at New Colony on Easter Sunday. Pray for God to transform lives as we invite people to come with us. 7 Birthdays for March Jamie Wangia Allison Lantagne Mike LaPlante Jaelyn Staudinger Jared Fleming Tucker Broughton Eric Wilcox Frank Lane Jack Roach Richard Sheehan Emma Spach Briana Froemming Angie Harrington 1 5 5 5 7 8 9 10 10 12 12 14 17 Ruth Hart Nicholas Lee Myong Greene Yayoi Mizutani Jocelyn Mietzner Harold Stinehelfer Jean McLeod Nathan Sheehan Karen Crawford Joseph Froemming Noah Belfiore Paul Staudinger Worship Notes 17 20 21 22 23 23 26 26 27 27 31 31 Birthdays for April Niraja Gudavalli Adeline Sergi Henry Cacace Larry Gero Lloyd Wentzell Mia Screnci Richanni Sheehan Doris Agbahodjoe Emmanuel Evinyo Phil Wilkes 6 1 1 3 5 5 8 8 10 10 10 Hannah Varghese David Zizza Sarah Broughton Henry Jalbert Terry Sherman Cindy Larsen Khaleesi Silvia Ethan Guerrier Diane Bergendahl Beka Marsh 15 15 20 20 20 21 22 25 28 30 The Season of Lent As many of you know, the season of Lent began on Wednesday, February 18, with the observance of Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday marks the first day of the season of Lent, which begins 40 days prior to Easter (Sundays are not included in the count). Lent is a time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation, and spiritual discipline. The purpose is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ - His suffering and His sacrifice, His life, death, burial and resurrection. Taking an extended amount of time to reflect on Jesus' sacrifice for us gives us a greater sense of joy and wonder when Easter arrives, a fresh understanding of what resurrection really means in our daily lives! There are many resources to help you observe Lent in a meaningful way. Take a few minutes away from Facebook (!) and look online for Lenten devotional resources. Or visit a local bookstore and purchase a Lenten devotional booklet. The following website offers some simple ideas on how to observe Lent: http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/40-days-oflent-find-your-own-spiritual-path 3 Cleaning Help Needed Super Summer Missionaries Please begin to pray for our Super Summer Missionaries, Shealy Smith and Savannah Beck, selected for us by the Georgia BCM. We are excited to learn that Shealy Smith will be back with us this summer to continue her work for the second year in a row! In our attempt to be good stewards of our church finances, we hope to cancel our cleaning services for the next several months. This will save a significant amount of money while we work to “get back in the black”. Shealy Smith Can you help clean once a month, once every two months, once a quarter...? We hope to have a team of two people each week (or a family unit would be great!) working together to do the following: Clean 4 bathrooms (toilets, countertops, sinks, floors) Vacuum hallways, classrooms, sanctuary Sweep and mop fellowship hall and kitchen If you can help, please fill out the form in the Sunday Bulletin or email [email protected]. Thank you! Sincerely, Les Hartwell Trustee Chairman Pastor Phil Wilkes Senior Pastor These young women arrive at the beginning of June and remain with us until Super Summer concludes at the end of July. They are an instrumental part of our Super Summer team and give up their summers to be with us. If you would like to send them emails of welcome and encouragement, I’m sure it would be appreciated. Shealy Smith: [email protected] Savannah Beck: [email protected] EASTER LILIES! If you would like to order or donate an Easter Lily in honor or memory of someone special in your life, order forms will be available in the weekly bulletin starting on March 8th. Simply fill out the form and give to Rev. Angie Harrington or Robin McGaunn with a check for $7.00. Please be sure to pick up your lily at the end of the Easter service on Sunday, April 5th. 5 4