Pilgrimage Herald

MISSIONS AND OUTREACH
Next Meeting- February 16th @ 6:30pm

The 6th annual Warm Hearts, Warm Homes Gala Fundraiser will be held on Saturday, February 19th, 2005, at the Radisson Hotel in Plymouth. Senator Therese Murray will be the guest auctioneer. Local restaurants serve sumptuous fare. There is music and a silent auction too. Purchase tickets online at http://hfhplymouth.org/gala-ticket or send checks payable to "Habitat for Humanity of Greater Plymouth" at Box 346, Carver, MA 02330-0346.

Allocation of some Mission Funds: At the January meeting, the Missions and Outreach Committee decided to make donations to the Tsunami Relief Effort and the Florida Hurricane Victims through the UCC, and to the Task Force for the Homeless in Plymouth, is keeping with our church's tradition of giving globally, domestically and locally.

Anyone wishing to contribute to the Florida Hurricane Recovery should send checks to: Wider Church Ministries, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115. Online donations may be made at http://www.ucc.org/oghss/donate.htm.

Overnights of Hospitality interfaith program continues to be successful and will continue through the winter. Volunteers are needed at First Parish Church the week of March 20-26. If you cannot volunteer, but would like to make a contribution to this vital program, please send checks, payable to: Christ Church Episcopal, 149 Court Street, Plymouth, MA 02360 (marked in the memo for Task Force for the Homeless).

Souper Bowl of Caring: Look for church school youths holding soup pots in the lower vestibule after the church service. They are raising money in a national effort called the "Souper Bowl of Caring." All proceeds will go toward hunger relief efforts in Plymouth. Thank you!

New Member Class: The class will again be held in the Pastor's Study in the church building. Child care is provided during the class. If you were unable to attend the first class on January 30th, please feel free to attend the next sessions. The class lasts an hour. It is understandable that people have been hampered by the weather, and other things, in recent weeks! Please join us, if you are interested in becoming a church member.

SECOND ANNUAL BROWN BAG AUCTION
On Saturday, February 12th, The Church of the Pilgrimage will hold their 2nd Annual Brown Bag Auction at 7:00pm in Allerton Hall. Just like last year, we will be sharing desserts and appetizers. Anyone interested in attending is asked to bring one or the other to share. In addition, those that want to participate in the brown bag auction should bring an item(s) of their choice, value not to exceed $20.00, in a brown bag. Be creative or silly if you'd like! Please make sure the bag is sealed so that no one can see its contents. Each bag should also have a card taped to the outside of it with 3 hints as to its contents and weight. Be as misleading as possible! The price for this event is $3.00 per person to defray the cost of refreshments that will already be provided. We would like to provide babysitting services for this event. Interested teens should contact Dan Spacek. The maximum bid on any one bag is $20.00, so everyone should be able to go home with something! Last year's event was a huge hit attended by many, so make your reservation early! A reservation table will be set up after church this week.

Sunday River Ski Trip, Feb 20-23. The cutoff date for signing up has been extended to Feb 10. There is limited room and there is much organization to be done, so please be sure to let Rev. Dan know if

Come bowling at Alley Cat with our Youth Fellowship on Feb 13 from 3-5 PM. Meet at the Church House first, and then we'll carpool. We'll be playing ten-pin bowling, and there will be prizes for anyone that can beat Rev. Dan (notice: He hasn't had to hand out any prizes before, so come and find out if you have what it takes!). Estimated cost for shoes and two strings is $10.


garymarks@8townsquare.org danspacek@8townsquare.org	February 6 , 2005	office@8townsquare.org
Volume LXXVII		No. 6
Dear Friends, It was so good to be in worship last Sunday! There was a very good sized congregation and a special feeling within it. The always challenging parking around the church was the more so because of the giant piles of snow, yet I didn't hear much in the way of complaint regarding the parking. It seems that a great deal of Pastor's Pasta was sold (with sumptuous homemade bread), there was a baptism, the Cherub Choir sang, a good number of children gathered for the Time for Teaching, etc. The Sanctuary Choir was there in full force, or nearly so, and its music was magnificent as usual. There was a special feeling during worship on the first Sunday after the Blizzard of 2005! I, personally, was grateful to be in worship. On January 23rd, as Kathy can attest, I was fit to be tied when at worship. Time was literally unable to get to the church for worship. I couldn't even get out the door because of the drifted, and still falling, snow! I didn't like it one bit! Maybe the feeling to which I've alluded above had something to do with the big storm and missing a Sunday at worship, I'm not sure. The service on Sunday also was held against the backdrop of the tragedy which had befallen a Plymouth family. In a bizarre accident caused by the storm (the blocking a vent pipe on their house) a pregnant mother and two children were overcome by carbon monoxide fumes. News had reached friends of the family that the baby was lost and that a seven year old girl, Nicole, had lost her battle against the poisonous effects of the fumes. Several in our church family know the Garofalo family and were in the grips of deep grief and dismay. With them my own heart was breaking and so, too, was the corporate heart of the congregation. Our prayers continue to be with that bereft family. The text for the sermon on Sunday was I Corinthians 1:10-18. In that text the Apostle Paul was calling upon a congregation of the early church to keep its focus upon the ideal of unity in Christ. In the language of today, he was urging the church "to stay on message." He encouraged the church to remember that it should fix its gaze upon the work of Christ and never to allow differences to govern them. He knew, of course, that the church is made up of all kinds of people. He preached to them in pastoral tones to use their differences to serve an undivided Christ, to seek the ideal of unity, not uniformity, to serve the church in the name of Jesus Christ in whom God has expressed a deep, abiding and eternal love for all who have faith in him. Together Paul urged the church to seek "the mind of Christ"and to be grateful for the gift of faith. Sunday, I think, there was within the congregation a spiritual presence that made us all feel as though God loves us, one and all. The "mind of Christ" was, and is, among us and I am grateful. Love, © The Church of the Pilgrimage in Plymouth, MA Inc., all rights reserved.
Sunday, February 6, 2005 Morning Worship, 10:00 am , Rev. Gary L. Marks, preaching. Deacon of the Month: Don Moore. Altar Flowers: In loving memory of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Jenkins and Jack Thom. Given by Ruth Thom and family. Pilgrimage Women's Fellowship: Are you ready to have a night out after the Blizzard of 2005? Please come join us at the February meeting of the Pilgrimage Women's Fellowship that will be held on Monday evening, February 7th in Allerton Hall at 7:00pm. We will have a guest speaker from the Plymouth Police Department who will give us information about evacuation, home protection, and safety of children. All women of the church are welcome and encouraged to attend this informative event. If you have not received The Pilgrimage Herald recently as you usually do, it is probably because of the weather. The church office did not receive mail deliveries for a week during and in the aftermath of the storm. If you have any questions, please feel free to call the church office. Congratulations, again, to Lois Post on her recent retirement. A lovely party for her was held at the Plimoth Plantation on January 27th. Pledges for Fiscal Year 2005 Needed to date: $103,579.63 ($3,571.71/week) F/Y 2005 Total Pledge Receipts received to date: $83,513.91 As of 1/16/05 -$20,065.72 Please keep your pledges up to date, so that we can meet our overall operating needs! Thank you, Jonathan Porter, Assistant Treasurer
CHURCH RECORD Hospitalized: Gloria Johnson, Jordan Hospital. Recuperating at home, Nancy MacLeod. Baptism: Rev. Marks baptized Zachary James Thevenin during the worship service on January 30, 2005.
THIS WEEK Sunday,Feb 6.: Morning Worship 10:00 a.m., Rev. Gary L.Marks, preaching; New Member Class, 11:30am-12:30pm, in the Pastor's Study in the church building (childcare provided). Monday, Feb. 7.: Aerobics, 9:15 a.m., Allerton Hall; Tiger Pack 47, 4-5:30, Church House; Girl Scouts, 3:30-5, Church House; Women's Fellowship, 7pm, Allerton Hall; Pilgrim Festival Chorus Rehearsal, 7-10pm, Sanctuary. Tuesday, Feb 8: Rev. Marks will in the church office, 9:30-11:30am; Aerobics, 6:30 pm; Allerton Hall; Wednesday, Feb 9: ASH WEDNESDAY; Aerobics, 9:15 a.m., Allerton Hall; Staff Meeting, 10:00 am; Brownie Troop #122, 4-5:30pm, Allerton Hall; Troop 47/Den 4, 6-7:30, Church House (up);Troop #47, 7pm, Church House; Evening Prayer Service (The usual service will include the imposition of ashes for those desiring it and an informal celebration of communion), 7pm, sanctuary; Music Committee Meeting, 6:30pm, Sanctuary;Choir Rehearsal 7:30 pm, sanctuary. Thursday, Feb 10: Aerobics, 6:30pm, Allerton Hall; Membership & Evangelism Committee Meeting, 7pm, Amy Simpson's home. Friday, Feb. 11: Aerobics, 9:15 am, Allerton Hall; Rev. Marks will be in the church office, 9:30-11:30am; Woman's Guild, 1pm, Allerton Hall.
NOTES: MISSIONS AND OUTREACH Next Meeting- February 16th @ 6:30pm The 6th annual Warm Hearts, Warm Homes Gala Fundraiser will be held on Saturday, February 19th, 2005, at the Radisson Hotel in Plymouth. Senator Therese Murray will be the guest auctioneer. Local restaurants serve sumptuous fare. There is music and a silent auction too. Purchase tickets online at http://hfhplymouth.org/gala-ticket or send checks payable to "Habitat for Humanity of Greater Plymouth" at Box 346, Carver, MA 02330-0346. Allocation of some Mission Funds: At the January meeting, the Missions and Outreach Committee decided to make donations to the Tsunami Relief Effort and the Florida Hurricane Victims through the UCC, and to the Task Force for the Homeless in Plymouth, is keeping with our church's tradition of giving globally, domestically and locally. Anyone wishing to contribute to the Florida Hurricane Recovery should send checks to: Wider Church Ministries, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115. Online donations may be made at http://www.ucc.org/oghss/donate.htm. Overnights of Hospitality interfaith program continues to be successful and will continue through the winter. Volunteers are needed at First Parish Church the week of March 20-26. If you cannot volunteer, but would like to make a contribution to this vital program, please send checks, payable to: Christ Church Episcopal, 149 Court Street, Plymouth, MA 02360 (marked in the memo for Task Force for the Homeless). Souper Bowl of Caring: Look for church school youths holding soup pots in the lower vestibule after the church service. They are raising money in a national effort called the "Souper Bowl of Caring." All proceeds will go toward hunger relief efforts in Plymouth. Thank you! New Member Class: The class will again be held in the Pastor's Study in the church building. Child care is provided during the class. If you were unable to attend the first class on January 30th, please feel free to attend the next sessions. The class lasts an hour. It is understandable that people have been hampered by the weather, and other things, in recent weeks! Please join us, if you are interested in becoming a church member. SECOND ANNUAL BROWN BAG AUCTION On Saturday, February 12th, The Church of the Pilgrimage will hold their 2nd Annual Brown Bag Auction at 7:00pm in Allerton Hall. Just like last year, we will be sharing desserts and appetizers. Anyone interested in attending is asked to bring one or the other to share. In addition, those that want to participate in the brown bag auction should bring an item(s) of their choice, value not to exceed $20.00, in a brown bag. Be creative or silly if you'd like! Please make sure the bag is sealed so that no one can see its contents. Each bag should also have a card taped to the outside of it with 3 hints as to its contents and weight. Be as misleading as possible! The price for this event is $3.00 per person to defray the cost of refreshments that will already be provided. We would like to provide babysitting services for this event. Interested teens should contact Dan Spacek. The maximum bid on any one bag is $20.00, so everyone should be able to go home with something! Last year's event was a huge hit attended by many, so make your reservation early! A reservation table will be set up after church this week. Sunday River Ski Trip, Feb 20-23. The cutoff date for signing up has been extended to Feb 10. There is limited room and there is much organization to be done, so please be sure to let Rev. Dan know if Come bowling at Alley Cat with our Youth Fellowship on Feb 13 from 3-5 PM. Meet at the Church House first, and then we'll carpool. We'll be playing ten-pin bowling, and there will be prizes for anyone that can beat Rev. Dan (notice: He hasn't had to hand out any prizes before, so come and find out if you have what it takes!). Estimated cost for shoes and two strings is $10.

Clerk - Lois Post; Moderator - Steven Triffletti; Treasurer - David Kegel; Collector - Thomas Mudgett; Music Director - William B Richter; Organist - Chandler Gregg Secretary - Shellie McCormack; Sexton - Tony Nightingale; World Mission Emphasis - Heifer Project International; Church Building Telephone - (508) 747-1341.