THE EPISTLE

Volume 15 Issue 1 JANUARY 28, 2010

“GIVE WITH WORSHIP SERVICE LED BY

YOUR HEART” SENIOR HIGH YOUTH
Sunday, January 31st
LOOK FOR THE Join us and enjoy a worship
VALENTINE’S DISPLAY IN service planned and
FELLOWSHIP HALL! presented by our youth

As part of this year’s Lenten theme of “Breaking

the Cycle (of violence)”, there will be an
opportunity to donate personal hygiene products MEAGER MEAL
for the Determined Divas. The Determined Divas The annual Meager Meal to mark the beginning
is a group of young city teen girls who are of Lent will be hosted by the Board of Elders on
learning: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 6:30 PM and
will be followed by a worship service for Ash
• Ways to become personally responsible for Wednesday.
their actions Sign-up
• How to use nonviolent means to resolve sheets are on
conflict, the rolling
• The importance of a good education bulletin board
• To become better community citizens in Fellowship
Hall.
Providing the young women with basic necessities
will be a great start to better their self-esteem.

This “giving” opportunity will be available on

th th
Sunday, February 7 and 14 and will work much
like our Christmas gift giving program. Simply
take a heart off of the display, purchase the item
noted on the heart, and return the item to the
“Give With Your Heart” table in Fellowship Hall by
Sunday, February 28th. Your heartfelt donation
will be appreciated by this determined group of
young women. If you have any questions, please
see Nan Notar.
SCOUT SUNDAY
Scout Sunday is on February 7th and our Boy
Scout Troop #207 will be presenting a brief
ceremony in honor of the 100th anniversary of
the Boy Scouts of America. All Girl Scouts,
Brownies, Cub and Tiger Scouts and their
leaders are most welcome to participate in this
event.
 2 THE EPISTLE
RAISE THE ROOF!!
Announcing the 2010 Capital
Campaign
For years, the church has struggled with costly
repairs resulting from the water problems
associated with a flat roof over our Upper and
Lower Fellowship Halls. To address this problem,
we are holding a capital campaign aimed at raising
at least $30,000 needed to literally “raise the roof”
over these problem areas. Raising the pitch of the
roof will allow water to drain off instead of pooling
on the flat surface – which is currently causing so
much damage.
While this construction is underway, we will also
give the church a little facelift. To reduce ice
buildup and address safety issues, covered
entrances will be installed over both the kitchen
door and the back door, which is also used by the
preschoolers attending the Bertha Agor Memorial
Nursery School located in our building. To add to
the welcoming façade, church member John
Hecker will make a beautiful stained glass window
to be part of the back door awning. Finally, the
back of the church will be painted a warm salmon
color to match the bricks on the front of the
church.
To make these plans a reality, we need your help!
The total cost of the job will be approximately
$110,000. Between the Endowment and Capital
Funds, we have a good start. However, we need
to raise at least an additional $30,000 by April 15,
2010 to make these improvements. Please help
us fill the gap by contributing generously to our
capital campaign. Checks may be made out to:
First Congregational UCC (write “roof campaign”
on the memo line) and mailed to First
Congregational UCC, 26 East Church St., Fairport,
NY 14450. Progress toward our $30,000 goal
can be monitored by visiting our webpage
(www.fairportucc.org) or viewing the “Raise the
Roof” bulletin board in Fellowship Hall.
With your help, our church – a historic landmark –
can be spared another season of water damage.
Thank you!
The Easter Experience:
LENT 2010
How You Can Participate
You are invited to join us, as we embark on our
Lenten journey 2010. Our mission focus, this
year, is Breaking the Cycle of Violence. The
goal of this Lenten program is three-fold: First,
it is designed to help us find and draw closer to
Jesus, through our six-week small group study.
Second, we plan to support three organizations
-- all dedicated to breaking the cycle of violence
that destroys so many lives in our city. Finally,
we hope that participating in this study and
outreach effort will deepen the sense of
community, fellowship and unity within our
church family.
Join A Small Group
We have five small groups meeting at various
times and on various days. Please check to see
which day and time works best for you. Our
small groups will meet weekly for the six weeks
of Lent (Feb. 17 – Mar. 31). These study and
discussion groups will use the DVD-driven
study, The Easter Experience, designed to bring
the passion and resurrection of Jesus to life
through dramatic storytelling and challenging
teaching. Each class will include viewing a 25
minute video and group discussion.
Help Make a Difference
Give the Gift of Dignity
During the six weeks of Lent, our church family
will collect personal care items for the 40+
teenage girls who are part of the “Determined
Divas” program, an urban program part of
“Pathways to Peace.” Determined to change
their lives, these young women meet regularly to
discuss life issues, do volunteer work to help
their community and learn what they can do to
have healthy, successful lives. They have each
made a commitment to turn from past violent
behavior and support each other in achieving
their goals. To have access to a closet full of
personal care items, often unavailable to them,
would be such a blessing and give these young
women the gift of simple dignity.
 3 THE EPISTLE
Give the Gift of Time
We have the opportunity to give our time to two
other organizations during our Lenten experience.
“Youth For Christ,” an urban ministry, would like
our help serving a hot Saturday breakfast to
children – many of whom haven’t eaten since their
school lunch the day before. This organization
also needs help refurbishing a toy room for
children.
The Lewis Street YMCA would appreciate our time
and skills to refurbish some cubbies and build a
simple storage unit.
Small gifts of our time can mean so much to our
brothers and sisters in need.
At that very time there were some present who
told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate
had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them,
“Do you think that because these Galileans
suffered in this way they were worse sinners
than all other Galileans?”
-Luke 13:1-2
As we move closer to the season of Lent, one of
the great mysteries of human life is addressed,
namely that of suffering. The scriptural quote
above from Luke’s gospel is part of the gospel
lesson for the Third Sunday in Lent, March 7. The
reading raises deeply disturbing questions about
human suffering, in the light of God’s goodness
and love. The theologians call this the problem of
theodicy, which comes from the Greek theos,
“God” and dike, justice. It is defined as: “The
justification of a deity’s justice and goodness in
light of suffering and evil.”(Westminster Dictionary
of Theological Terms)
This issue confronted all of us when on January
12 a huge earthquake struck Haiti and
thousands upon thousands of persons were
killed and many
more thousands injured and left homeless. The
world community has responded with aid in
many ways. Generous hearts have opened as
they usually do. On Sunday January our own
congregation gave $2000!
It seems that whenever a disaster like this
occurs, Pat Robertson the long time television
preacher has something to say which later on
he ends up withdrawing. You’d think he would
have learned his lesson after September 11,
2001 and Katrina among other disasters. This
time, he said that this was God’s judgment
because Haiti had made a pact with Satan a
couple of hundred years ago in order to gain
their independence from France.
While we scoff at such thinking, it raises the
question of theodicy. A number of years ago
Rabbi Kushner raised it in his book, Why Do
Bad Things Happen to Good People. The same
question is raised in the gospel quote from Luke
and in our Lenten thinking about the suffering
and death of the “Good Man” Jesus.
People have struggled with this issue for
thousands of years, and no doubt will continue
to do so for thousands more. Our faith gives us,
though, an indication of an answer. Where is
God in the midst of tragedy and suffering? God
is there weeping with those who weep, even as
he rejoices with those who rejoice when they
find a loved one alive under the rubble. The
easy answer of Pat Robertson and the also
easy answer of the person who says: “My child
was saved because I loved God” are both
wrong. The Scriptures tell us that God makes
the sun to shine on both the just and the unjust.
This is a great mystery, isn’t it?
As we think about the great tragedies in our
world, let us also think about the great love
which God showers on all his children and the
pain that he feels when there is suffering.
Your
Pastor,
John
 4 THE EPISTLE
SUNDAY WORSHIP March 7: Third Sunday in Lent
Isaiah 55:1-9
Psalm 63:1-8
January 31: Fourth Sunday after Epiphany:
I Corinthians 10:1-13
YOUTH SUNDAY
Luke 13:1-9
“Suffering”
Jeremiah 1:4-10
I Corinthians 13:1-13 March 14: Fourth Sunday in Lent
Luke 4:21-30 Joshua 5:9-12
Psalm 32
Members of our youth group will plan and lead the 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
worship service. There will be special music. Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
“Grace”

February 7: Fifth Sunday after Epiphany March 21: Fifth Sunday in Lent
Isaiah 43:16-21
Lenten “Kick Off” Worship Psalm 126
“Breaking the Cycle of Poverty” Philippians 3:4b-14
John 12:1-8
We will hear from representatives of our three “Waste”
mission opportunities for Lent:
Determined Divas March 28: Sunday of the Passion: Palm
Rochester Youth for Christ Sunday
Lewis Street YMCA
Choral Service

February 14: Transfiguration Sunday

“Laity Sunday”
Toni Thompson preaching

Exodus 34:29-35 WHAT’S COMING UP IN ADULT

Psalm 99 EDUCATION
2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
Luke 9:28-36
Sunday Mornings

February 21: First Sunday in Lent January 31 – Not Your Usual

Holy Communion Books of the Bible
Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Pastor Cedarleaf will discuss some of the less
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 “featured” books of the Bible during this 4-week
Romans 10:8b-13 series.
Luke 4:1-13
“Imitations”
February 7 – Rob Bell DVD
Join us as we watch a short film that helps us to
February 28: Second Sunday in Lent explore our world from the perspective of Jesus.
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
Psalm 27 February 28 – History of Lent and
Philippians 3:17-4:1 Lenten Practices
Luke 13:31-35
Pastor Cedarleaf will share with us the history of
“Sacrifices”
the Lenten season, as well as Lenten practices.
 5 THE EPISTLE
NOTE: There will be no Christian Education on
Sundays Feb. 14 and 21.
Wednesday Mornings – Bible Study
Feb 3 -- Need a mid-week pick-me-up? At 11
a.m., we’ll meet to study and discuss the
upcoming Sunday’s scheduled Bible readings.
Following the Bible study, participants are invited
to a brief communion service in the sanctuary.
Drop-ins welcome.
NOTE: On Wednesdays, Feb. 10 – Mar. 24, the
Wednesday morning class will become a “Lenten
Small Group” and will meet at 10:30 – noon,
instead of the usual 11 a.m. start time. We will not
meet on Feb. 17, Ash Wednesday.
BOARDS AND COMMITTEES
UPDATES
MISSIONS CORNER
We hope your New Year is off to a good start.
Despite the holidays, the Missions Board has been
busy. We are pleased to announce that the
Hillside Christmas Gift Giving resulted in 75 gifts to
needy children. Our congregation also collected
sufficient funds and food donations to fill nine
holiday baskets for needy Fairport families. We
even had funds left over that we donated to the
Perinton Food Shelf. We thank Gary and Beth
Maybee for organizing the Hillside effort and Don
Eaton, Maureen and Randy Clark for the local
holiday baskets. Thanks also to all those who
made these campaigns so successful.
The focus of this month’s Mission Corner is on
Alternatives For Battered Women. (ABW). ABW is
one of 25 non-profit organizations that First
Congregational supports. Gary Maybee is our
liaison to ABW and has submitted this month’s
information.
Alternatives for Battered Women is a non-profit
agency serving victims of family violence in
Monroe county. One of the tragedies for battered
women is the overwhelming feeling of being alone
and not knowing where to turn for help. ABW
exists to enhance their quality of life and empower
these individuals affected by, or at risk, of
domestic violence.
Each year ABW responds to over 7,000 calls on
their hotline which is open 24/7. The agency
offers the following for its client Shelter,
Counseling, Support Groups, Children's
Services, Court Advocacy, Dating Violence
Education and Outreach Education for
community groups. Last year ABW served over
1,500 clients, and helped protect nearly 2,600
children.
Over the past few months the Missions Board
has also been busy recruiting new members so
that each organization we support has a
Missions Board Member liaison. Recently,
Maureen and Randy Clark, Nan Notar, and Sue
Bickel have joined our Board. Below you will find
a liaison for each of the organizations our
church supports. If you have questions
regarding any of these organizations or would
like to offer additional support to any of them,
feel free to contact the respective liaison.
Speaking of organizations, at our January
meeting we decided to support one new
organization, Determined Divas of Rochester.
Determined Divas is dedicated to providing a
positive alternative for teen age women in an
urban setting. It is headed by Senior Youth
Intervention Specialist Beverly Jackson. The
group now has 44 young women who have
already experienced some type of violence in
their young lives and are now willing to seek
positive life styles. Determined Divas also
strives to find adult mentors for those Divas
seeking additional support.
With the Lenten season around the corner,
Missions will be playing an active role in
supporting local community projects. This year’s
theme will be “Breaking The Cycle” (of
violence). The three organizations we intend to
support are: Rochester Youth For Christ, The
Lewis Street YMCA and Determined Divas. On
Sunday February 7th, we will be hosting the
Directors of these organizations in a
roundtable/panel discussion. A reception will
follow in Fellowship Hall. More news regarding
this effort will be forthcoming as we approach
Lent.
Submitted
Ted Avgerinos
Missions Chair
 6 THE EPISTLE
Board of Missions & Outreach choir director and attend all choir rehearsals.
Assignment of Liaisons To Organizations The addition of a choral scholar will also assist
2009-10 the choir in its ministry of music.
Advent House Dee Jackson We are grateful for the gift that has allowed us
Alternatives For Battered Women Gary Maybee
Bethany House Don Eaton to introduce this program. If you would like to
Boy Scout Troop 207 Gary Maybee participate in this ministry through a gift to the
Cameron Community Ministries Don Eaton Lester Slocum Choral Scholar Fund you can
Community Dinners (Perinton) Randy Clark
do so by sending a check to the church. Soon a
Determined Divas Nan Notar
Dimitri House Gary Maybee plaque will be dedicated to commemorate Les
Fairport Baptist Home Maureen Clark and the fund. You can give to the fund in
Good Neighbor Fund John Cedarleaf memory of or in honor of someone. Just make
Hillside Children’s Center Beth Maybee
sure that you note proper names.
Lancaster Theological Seminary Dee Jackson
Lewis Street YMCA (Invest in Youth) Ted Avgerinos
Open Door Mission Sue Bickel We are proud to introduce as our first Lester
Our Church’s Wider Mission (OCWM) John Cedarleaf Slocum Choral Scholar, Helen Huang, a
Pastor’s Discretionary Fund John Cedarleaf student at the Eastman School of Music. Helen
Perinton Churches Housing (SOFI) Beth Maybee
Perinton Council of Churches (Habitat For Humanity) has already sung with our choir a number of
Randy Clark times. She will officially begin on Sunday
Perinton Food Shelf Nan Notar February 7.We are delighted to welcome her to
Rochester Youth For Christ Dee Jackson
our church family. Please make sure to
Safe Journey Sue Bickel
Salem Nutrition Center Ted Avgerinos welcome her warmly.
St. John’s Home Maureen Clark
Saving Grace Ministries of Roch. Randy Clark

Phone Numbers FROM OUR CHOIR DIRECTOR

Ted Avgerinos 388-1355
Sue Bickel 377-3668
It will soon be a year since I first came to First
John Cedarleaf 223-0224
Maureen & Randy Clark 2236255 Congregational United Church of Christ. I want
Don Eaton 223-6019 to thank you so much for your warm welcome
Dee Jackson 377-0692 this past year. I have truly enjoyed being a
Beth & Gary Maybee 425-2312 member of this loving community. We have had
Nan Notar 455-5909
a very exciting year in the choir: new members,
travel exchanges with other choirs, an
expansion of our service music, and a
collaboration with Betsey McCrory, an
MUSIC NEWS amazingly talented harpist, for our
Advent/Christmas program. As noted above, I’m
INTRODUCING THE LESTER SLOCUM excited to announce that Helen Huang will be
joining us beginning in February as our “Lester
CHORAL SCHOLAR Slocum Choral Scholar.” Helen will be part of a
church choir community, an experience that will
Les Slocum was a member of the choir of First benefit, not only us, but also her future career.
Congregational United Church of Christ for many
years. His faithfulness and commitment was a Your Choir Director,
model of what it means to have a ministry of
music. Les also was an instrumentalist-playing Sarah Frook
trombone in many bands and also in our church
pick up brass ensembles.

He loved music of all kinds and was interested in

perpetuating the joy of choral music. Through the
generosity of Eileen Slocum, and in his memory,
First Church announces the Lester Slocum
Choral Scholar. This fund will allow a choral
student the experience of singing in an excellent
small church choir. The student will also assist the
 7 THE EPISTLE
EVENING CIRCLE’S FEBRUARY
MEETING
Our meeting is February 8 at 7pm. Rev. Dr. John
Cedarleaf will be our speaker and guest for the
evening. John will be doing a book review and
discussion on “Amish Grace”, the book account of
the Amish Nickels Mines incident of October 2006.
All are welcome. If you are able to bring an item
for the food shelf, that would be appreciated. See
you then.
ALL CHURCH MEMBERS ARE INVITED
TO JOIN THE MORNING CIRCLE’S
PROGRAM!!
All Church Members and Friends are invited to join
the Morning Circle to learn about the Honor Flights
which are providing an escorted trip to Washington
DC for our WWII veterans to view the World War
II Memorial and other monuments.
Paul Barnum of Perinton and our own member,
Ray Anderson, who took the trip in 2009, will tell
us about these exceptional experiences for the
veterans.
Date: Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Time: 10 AM for Circle Members, 10:30 AM for
the program
FAMILY NEWS
Preschool & Elementary School
Happenings
Rotation Classes Learn About Jesus’
Baptism
During January, our students will learn about
Jesus’ baptism -- told in a variety of ways in our
storytelling, art, and movie rotations. On
Feb. 7, a special class (TBD) will be held.
NOTE: There will be no Christian
Education classes on Feb. 14 or 21.
Junior & Senior High Happenings
Junior High Church School To Travel
Through the New Testament
During the start of 2010, our Junior High class
will work its way through the major stories of the
New Testament.
Senior High To Begin New DVD Study
The senior high class will begin a new series of
classes called, “Servant or Sucker?” These
classes will analyze wise and compassionate
ways to help the poor.
JYF Lock-In on Feb. 5 & 6
Our Junior High students are invited to join Mrs.
Weidman for the long-awaited and much-asked-
for “Lock-In” scheduled for Feb. 5 & 6. This
overnight experience will begin at 7:30 p.m. on
Feb. 5. The evening will be filled with games,
snacks, movies and service activities. When it’s
time for lights out, the boys will sleep in the
storytelling room with a male adult chaperone
and the girls will sleep in Upper Fellowship Hall
with Mrs. Weidman. After a delicious breakfast
the next morning, parents may pick up their
children at 9 a.m. Sign up in Fellowship Hall.
Participants are asked to bring a snack to share.
Contact Kelly Weidman (223-8978) for more
information.
SYF 30 Hour Famine is Feb. 26 & 27
SYFers! Don’t forget to sign up to participate in
the annual 30 Hour Famine on Feb. 26 & 27!
Sign up in Fellowship Hall. See Mrs. Hamill for
more information.
 8 THE EPISTLE
NEWS FROM OUR YOUTH
LOVE GOD. RAISE FUNDS. FEED THE
WORLD.
The Senior High Youth will be participating in
World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine for the third year in
a row. This is an awareness raising activity as
throughout the 30 hours they get a taste of hunger
by not eating. During the famine they are
confronted by poverty and challenged to think
about what really matters. This is also a chance to
serve others. They will be joining with other area
Christian youth on service projects in the
community. This is a fundraising activity to benefit
World Vision, which puts the funds to work helping
to feed and care for children around the world.
World Vision has an office in Haiti and was one of
the first to assist with disaster relief there.
The famine will be taking place February 26 - 27
2010.
HELP SUPPORT THE YOUTH
MISSION TRIP ANNUAL
SPAGHETTI & MEATBALL
DINNER
Sunday March 14; 5:00 & 7:00 PM seating.
$6 for Adults, $4 for children 11 and under.
Purchase tickets after church in Fellowship
hall.
YOUTH MISSSION TRIP NEEDS
YOUR HELP!
Our youth need to raise $9,000 to cover the
cost of the mission trip. We are looking for
silent auction items for the upcoming
Spaghetti dinner on March 14. If you have an
item or service to offer please sign-up on the
rolling bulletin board in fellowship hall or call
Brian Sherry at 233-1010.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
CHILD CARE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
AT HOMELESS SHELTER
Dear Friends,
I am the parenting coordinator for the Catholic
Family Center's Homeless Shelters, Women's
Place and Sanctuary House (Catholic Family
Centers) in the City of Rochester. We are
beginning parenting groups for the women and
need child care for the children while the moms
are attending the groups.
At Women's Place the group meets on Tuesday
evenings from 7:00-8:15pm. I would need
people to arrive at 6:45 to orient you to the
shelter. I will provide games and activities for
the children. Any of your craft ideas will be
appreciated also. The children will range from 1-
15 yrs. of age and the population changes each
week There will be one adult present and I will
be available also. The group begins Tuesday
January 5th and will meet weekly.
The group at Sanctuary House is on Thursday
evenings and begins Jan.7th. There will also be
an adult in charge and I will provide games and
activities. It also meets 7:00-8:15 and you would
need to be there at 6:45.
If you can help out on a regular basis or a one
shot deal it would be greatly appreciated!!!!!
You can reply to me by this email at
Tomkt43@frontiernet.net or call me at home at
223-7166. I work at the shelters from 3-8pm
and it is difficult to reach me there but the
numbers are: Women's Place 436-5452,
Sanctuary 277-7550.
LOVE, ROOM & BOARD
The Irish Children's Program of Rochester is
currently recruiting host families that are
interested in providing.... Love, Room & Board
for youth from Northern Ireland for the summer
of 2010. The program is an ecumenical, non-
profit, non-political program that brings over 10-
14 year old youth every summer to
Rochester for about 4-5 weeks. Each year we
 9 THE EPISTLE
bring over equal amounts of Catholic and
Protestant youth to explore friendship in a neutral
environment. Catholic youth are paired with
Protestant families and Protestant youth are
paired with Catholic families. If you are interested
in hosting you must attend one of our January
information meetings. There is a local meeting
that will be held Wednesday January 27th from 7-
8:30PM at the Fairport Public Library. You can
also find out more about our program and about
other information meetings at
www.irishchildrensprogram.com.
THANK YOU FOR FOOD BASKETS
On behalf of the Perinton Food Shelf and myself,
I want to extend our gratitude to our congregation,
The Board of Missions and Don Eaton for the
generosity and support of the annual Christmas
Food Basket project.
Through the combined participation of twelve
Perinton churches and the Perinton Settlers Club,
we were able to deliver baskets to 66 families for a
total of 165 individuals! What a heartwarming
endeavor for all.
I also extend a special thank you to Harriet
Breckenridge, Lois Evans for their coninuing
assistance and to
Valentina and
Leon Hill whose
help was
especially
appreciated.
Muriel K. Gabbey
FUNDRAISER FOR JOY COMMUNITY
CHURCH’S GERHARDT NEIGHBORHOOD
OUTREACH CENTER
To help GNOC / JoyCC continue to serve our
Rochester community, on Thursday, January 28,
2010 from 8-9pm held at Baptist Temple, 1101
Clover Street in Brighton, Paul & Katrina Gaspar
will be holding a Concert of Hope featuring The
GIANT GASPAR GROUP, a 20-piece group with
a powerhouse ten-piece horn section. (The
concert is being held at Baptist Temple to
accommodate the size of the band!) Many of these
musicians have performed with national artists
such as Aretha Franklin, Ron Kenoly, The
Temptations, Fania All-Star salsa legends Tito
Allen and Bobby Cruz as well as local groups
such as Orquesta Antonetti, Orient Express &
Prime Time Funk. The music at this concert is
as diverse as the multi-cultural group itself: a
fusion of Gospel, jazz, funk, salsa/Latin rock.
Tickets are $5 in advance, $6 at the event.
For ticket and concert information, please call
Paul Gaspar at (585) 234-1375 or e-mail him at
<pgaspar@u.rochester.edu>. Please make
checks payable to Joy Community Church, and
write “Concert of Hope/GNOC” in the memo.
100% of the proceeds from this concert, after a
minimum of expenses, go directly to GNOC’s
outreach services.
OUR CHURCH MEMBERS
Our Christian sympathy is extended to the
family of Mary Shannon. Mary was a member
of our church from 1953 to 2000 and a member
of the Morning Circle. She especially enjoyed
working on the Antique Sale for many years.
Mary passed away on December 23, 2009 in
Grass Valley, CA.
A service will be held for Mary this summer in
Watertown, NY. Donations, in Mary’s name,
may be made to the Fairport Public Library.
Our condolences are extended to Joanne and
Bill Haag and their family on the recent death of
Joanne’s father, Joseph Guite, on December
27, 2009. Pastor Cedarleaf officiated at his
service on December 30, 2009 at Keenan’s
Funeral Home.
Christian sympathy is extended to Maureen and
Randy Clark on the death of Maureen’s father,
Fred Gallagher in Ohio.
 10
REMEMBER IN YOUR PRAYERS:
Martha Bowman, St. John’s Home
Barbara Cobb, Fairport Baptist Home
Louise Deller, Cherry Ridge
Barbara Eaton, Perinton Park Manor
Charlotte Jackson, Fairport Baptist Home
Les Warren, Fairport Baptist Home
TO MY CHURCH FAMILY
Many, many sincere thanks for all the cards I
received extending your sympathy during a very
difficult time. The many warm, supportive
personal notes filled my heart and mind with
comfort for the loss of my Dad.
Warmest regards,
Joanne Haag
TO MY FRIENDS AT FAIRPORT
FIRST—
As we walk with the Lord in our journey of
faith there are times when we must say farewell.
All too soon the time for me to leave First Church
has come. Last June when I left to do my
supervised ministry at Brighton UCC, the plan was
to return to First Church at its completion.
I have learned that if one wants to see the
Lord laugh tell him your plans. It is sometimes
difficult to follow the path set before us, but that is
what I must do. As time passed at Brighton it
became apparent that Lorrie and I should transfer
membership. The time at First Church was one
that created friends and provided learning. I hope
that my being apart of your congregation was as
full of joy and learning for you as it was for me.
For those that have been interested in my
Lay Ministry journey, here is where it is now. With
the completion of this supervised ministry and the
THE EPISTLE
New Testament class that I completed in
November. I now have two classes this spring
which will complete the journey thus far. What
lies ahead for me I'm not sure, just as each of
us waits to see what the Lord desires of His
servant.
I know I will see many of you as we
serve our Lord in the wider church and witness
to the world of His love. May the love of our Lord
be with each of you.
Peace,
Glenn Harris
THANK YOU!
Once again, you have all been very generous to
the Cedarleaf’s at Christmas. Thank you so
much for the generous Christmas check as well
as so many good wishes. Thanks also for the
surprise celebration in honor of my twenty fifth
anniversary as your pastor and the fortieth
anniversary of my ordination to the Christian
ministry. I certainly was surprised, and
appreciated the good words and the gift
certificate to Richardson’s. We certainly will
enjoy a special dinner as we think of all the
wonderful folks who are part of First Church.
Jean and I have been fortunate to have such a
supportive congregation to minister with over
these past twenty-five years.
Faithfully,
John
EPISTLE
DEADLINE IS
3 PM
FEBRUARY
18th