Mountain Reflections Rangeley Congregational Church, United Church of Christ P.O. Box 218 Rangeley, Maine 04970 October 2019 Volume 26 Issue 8 Annette Mott As I write this I have aended two funerals for clergy colleagues during the past eight days, and on Saturday, October 5, Rev. Tony will preside at a funeral to be held at our church for Bruce Verrill, the son of founding members of our church Roger and Virginia Verrill. So the somber reality and great mystery of death have been on my mind recently. I would like to use this column to share with you a UCC devotion from a couple of years ago—one that I shared with our Deacons when we met last week: “A Funeral for a Frog” by Martin Copenhaver "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" - 1 Corinthians 15:55 "Shady is dead," my wife Karen said to me, with more concern than grief in her voice. I knew the source of her concern well enough. Shady had lived in a tank in our den for a year and-a-half, as close to family as a frog can be. How do we break the news to our daughter Alanna, just five years old at the time, who referred to herself as the frog's "master," who gave Shady her name, and even informed us that Shady was a girl ("because there's some way to tell," she had said)? When Alanna woke up I told her, "I have some sad news. Shady died." Alanna immediately re- sponded, "How can you tell?" I had to suppress a smile because, in truth, the frog was the picture of death, lying belly-up with her webbed "hands" positioned as if to hold a lily. I said, "Come down- stairs and see." Alanna stared at Shady for a long time and said, "She's dead," then added maer-of-factly, "We should bury her." Alanna knew the very spot to bury her. When the hole was deep enough, I slid Shady's body into the ground and we covered her with a blanket of earth. "Let's sing a song," Alanna said. I asked if she had any suggestions. "Let's sing ‘Silent Night.'" With the rain beginning to fall around us, seeming to water the seed we had planted in the earth, we sang a homely duet. (continued on the next page)
Transcript
Mountain Reflections Rangeley Congregational Church, United Church of Christ
P.O. Box 218 Rangeley, Maine 04970
O c t o b e r 2 0 1 9 V o l u m e 2 6 I s s u e 8
Annette Mott
As I write this I have attended two funerals for clergy colleagues during the past eight days, and on
Saturday, October 5, Rev. Tony will preside at a funeral to be held at our church for Bruce Verrill,
the son of founding members of our church Roger and Virginia Verrill. So the somber reality and
great mystery of death have been on my mind recently. I would like to use this column to share with
you a UCC devotion from a couple of years ago—one that I shared with our Deacons when we met
last week:
“A Funeral for a Frog” by Martin Copenhaver
"O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" - 1 Corinthians 15:55
"Shady is dead," my wife Karen said to me, with more concern than grief in her voice. I knew the
source of her concern well enough. Shady had lived in a tank in our den for a year and-a-half, as
close to family as a frog can be.
How do we break the news to our daughter Alanna, just five years old at the time, who referred to
herself as the frog's "master," who gave Shady her name, and even informed us that Shady was a
girl ("because there's some way to tell," she had said)?
When Alanna woke up I told her, "I have some sad news. Shady died." Alanna immediately re-
sponded, "How can you tell?" I had to suppress a smile because, in truth, the frog was the picture of
death, lying belly-up with her webbed "hands" positioned as if to hold a lily. I said, "Come down-
stairs and see."
Alanna stared at Shady for a long time and said, "She's dead," then added matter-of-factly, "We
should bury her."
Alanna knew the very spot to bury her. When the hole was deep enough, I slid Shady's body into
the ground and we covered her with a blanket of earth.
"Let's sing a song," Alanna said. I asked if she had any suggestions. "Let's sing ‘Silent Night.'" With
the rain beginning to fall around us, seeming to water the seed we had planted in the earth, we sang
a homely duet. (continued on the next page)
Mountain Reflections October 2019 Vol. 26 Issue 8
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Then Alanna said a prayer: "Dear God, thank you for Shady, who was a great frog. We hope she is
all right. Please take care of her. Amen." We placed a couple of evergreen boughs on the grave and
then went inside for breakfast.
I suppose it is handy to have a minister in the family when a frog needs a funeral, but in this case, I
was more member of the congregation than officiant. And I was struck by how wonderful it is to be
part of a family, the church, that shows us from the earliest age how to respond to the awesome
presence of death.
Prayer: Thank you for comfort in the presence of death. And thank you, again, for Shady. Amen.
Shalom,
Pastor Annette
Continued Annette Mott
Music Notes
The Music Committee
Thanks to all who provided special music for our worship services:
The wonderful piano/accordion duets from Don Miller and Claire Chase.
The handbell/guitar duet from Linda and Derek Wendelken..
The incredible vocal/ukulele duet from David and Sam Meehan.
The fun contributions of the Hopeful Gospel Group (Tim Wallace, Kit Caspar, Derek
Wendelken and Dave Walker).
Scott Hatfield and Dave Walker for playing the CDs.
And, as always, our thanks go to Jeff Ellinwood for leading the hymns we know (and
teaching new ones) and keeping all of us in sync with our “guest organist.”
We hope to bring you another handbell/guitar duet soon, and we REALLY hope our be-
loved Minister of Music will be back with us soon. In the meantime, if you’d like to sing
or play a special piece for the Prelude, Offertory or Postlude, please contact Derek Wen-
Welcome to fall! It has really been beautiful , so far. Last year at this time I was reporting to you on
all the work various committees and individuals were doing to update the “administrative” docu-
ments of RCC. I had a lot to talk about. I suppose it’s a good thing, but we are now just doing
“normal” council business. Which is listening to each committee report and discussing operations.
Frankly a really nice change.
Each committee in their own right is busy: Deacons always have a full plate to take care of, Mission
collection for hurricane relief and preparing for the Turkey Dinner on October 12, Women’s fellow-
ship after a busy and financially rewarding summer festival involvement is getting geared up for
the Christmas Fair. CE is finalizing their plans for changing the Sunday routines, and Search is ac-
tively meeting. As usual Building and grounds have been active as well. Please take time to read
their individual reports. It’s how you will know “what is going on”.
Linda W is back after being away longer than she expected. A great deal of “Thanks” go out to
Kathy B for filling in and doing such a great job. We still need to find a qualified candidate for the
Secretarial position. The two of them are “temporary” and would like to “retire”.
Last but not least, so that you’ll be aware of an incident at Church. During the week after the Farm-
ington gas explosion the Little Mountain School teacher, while outside with the kids, smelled pro-
pane and so did a couple of the kids. She immediately called the fire department and took all the
kids to the town park. The fire department, police. EMS and tech’s from Dead River came to secure
the area and investigate. The long story made short is that the property adjacent to RCC had just
filled their propane tanks and as expected, there was a slight “whiff” of gas in the air. The area was
“cleared” after a thorough check of our building and systems. Our thanks and deep appreciation
goes out to the teacher (Max) for quick action and to the Town of Rangeley’s first Responders and
Dead River for immediately responding to a very concerning situation. If you see any of those folks,
please thank them.
Please keep our Search Committee and our Church in your thoughts and prayers.
Rick Baker
President/Moderator Council RCC
Mountain Reflections October 2019 Vol. 26 Issue 8
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The Christian Education Committee is looking to recruit several volunteers that would be willing to
be “on call” to do child care for children four and under if a family comes to church. This would
only involve watching the children play, maybe color, or read a story. These materials are down-
stairs already. If you would be willing to be “on call” occasionally, please let Pastor Annette,
Corinne, or Donna know so that we may make a list of those willing to serve.
Donna Wilcox
Genesis Bible Study Begins October 27th Pastor Annette will lead a ten-session study of the book of Genesis starting Sunday, October 27th
(note that this is a later date than originally announced in church). The study will take place in the
East Room following fellowship time. We will be using the resource, "Invitation to Genesis", pub-
lished by Abingdon Press. Please sign up in the Barn or email Pastor Annette
([email protected]) if you wish to order a copy of the Student Book ($14). The student book
includes reading assignments and study prompts to prepare for each session, as well as commentary
on the biblical material. The hour-long sessions will run from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and include
both video segments and group discussion.
PUMPKIN PARTY
SUNDAY, OCT 20
11-12:30
PUMPKIN DECORATING, CUPCAKE DECORAT-
ING , PUMPKIN BOWLING, PIN THE NOSE ON
THE PUMPKIN, SPOOKY PUNCH, ETC.
ALL ARE WELCOME!!!!!
We are looking for adult volunteers to help with a craft center, make treats, and/or drop off pump-
kins early for decorating. Please come and have fun!
Mountain Reflections October 2019 Vol. 26 Issue 8
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Evelyn Franson
Ever notice the colorful shawl
draped over the inside door as
you enter our sanctuary? Here is
its back-story:
Some years ago, one of our faith-
ful knitters and probably the
most accomplished among us,
Joyce Martin, surprised us with
this most unusual of all of her
creations. Not only did she use a
crazy quilt assortment of yarns
and colors, but she whimsically
included a hole here and there
along with a knot or two. It was
her joke...and we loved it. Sadly,
a sudden heart attack took Joyce
from us. It is in her memory that
this celebration of her life was
draped over our door, blessing
each worshiper. Fortunately, a
photo capturing Martha Bicknell
getting Joyce ready to parade it
down the aisle was included on
page 3 of the 2014 Church Direc-
tory. Now you know!
As always, this ecumenical flex
group gathers every first and
third Monday from 2-3:30 in the Barn to create, share ideas and concerns and just plain visit. You
are welcome to stop in at any time for the entire time or a short visit. Know of someone who could
use some tangible comfort, encouragement or expression of congratulation ? Share with Diane
VanAmburg, Pastor Annette or any shawl gal. Anytime. That shawl is waiting for you to pass it to
your special person.
Mountain Reflections October 2019 Vol. 26 Issue 8
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Deacon News Scott Hatfield
The Deacons held their monthly meeting on September 23. Appreciation to Lucy for
chairing the meeting this month.
We were happy to sponsor a second presentation, this time by Sarah Johnson, on September 29. We
hope that everyone enjoyed hearing her story – as well as the ice cream. We welcome suggestions
for other topics or presenters. We’d like to bring a variety of different speakers or presenters for-
ward to continue this fellowship. If you have ideas, please get them to Rev. Annette or any Deacon.
Special thanks to Evelyn for pulling together the materials for our September 15 service – as well as
all those who stepped in and helped conduct the service. We hope that the change of pace wasn’t
too much of a challenge. The Deacons will continue to assess how best to accommodate these re-
quests for group worship participation with respect to travel requirements and schedules.
The Maine Conference will hold its Annual Meeting on 10/26. Everyone is welcome to attend.
There will be discussion on the state of the conference, budget matters, as well as interesting work-
shops and worship. If you’re interested in finding out more, the website is: http://
am88.maineucc.org/
The Spring meeting of the Living Water Association has been set for May 3. Location is still TBD.
Our Deacon of the Month for October is Linda Caspar. Please reach out to any Deacon with any
needs or suggestions.
All Saints Sunday Remembrance on November 3rd
On November 3rd, All Saints Sunday, we will remember the names of those who have died during the past year (since last All Saints Sunday, which fell on November 4th in 2018). If you would like your loved one included in this service of remembrance, please let Pastor Annette know, or you may email their name to the Church Office: [email protected].
