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Memorial Day

One of the most beautiful traditions of our church is the special Memorial Service we have each year as part of Memorial Day Weekend.

The morning started with a special worship service of patriotic songs, a special children's message, and special music - "American Trilogy" sung by Crystal Fox and Kim Greenfield.

The service ended with the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" - during which everyone left the sanctuary and followed the flags out to the cemetery for the traditional Memorial Service.

The service started with a Prayer of Rememberance and recitation of the Gettysburg Address by George Smith.

After reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, we sang "Memorial Day in Somerset" - a song written by a former member.

The most moving part of the service is always the reading of the Veterans and playing of the taps by Guest Trumpeter Robert Van Hemert.

After a moment of silence, Pastor Lucas closed in prayer.

In the Beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free;
While God is marching on.
- Battle Hymn of the Republic

9:20 pm | link

Pie Sale!

The time of year has finally arrived for the Women's Fellowship's Pie sales! Every summer they hold a sale the Friday before Memorial Day and Labor Day. These sales have become an event the whole community looks forward to! That was especially evident at last weekend's sale!

The volunteers (and there were many!) assembled and baked roughly 100 applie, cherry, pecan, rhubarb, and blueberry pies!

volunteers taking a lunch break.

Due to a record number of pre-orders, the remaining pies were literally selling as quickly as they came out of the oven! The pies sold out in record time with most of them gone within 30 minutes of the start of the sale!
preorders stacked up and ready to go.

The overwhelming response was clearly a compliment to the baking talents of our ladies, and we are so thankful for their hard work. Thanks to the generosity of many in our congregation, the ingredients were entirely donated and they ladies were able to raise $900!

Many thanks to all the volunteers who helped assemble and bake the pies. Thanks to all who donated the ingredients that made these delicious pies. Special thanks to Joyce Bailey who is the organizational force behind this all! We can't wait for the next sale!

7:51 pm | link

Outreach Visioning & Planning 2011

Last year, in May, members of the church got together for the first time to brainstorm ideas for outreaches that would bless our community and introduce people to our church. This year 14 church members attended the second annual Outreach Visioning and Planning at the home of Pastor Lucas.

The evening had 3 purposes:
1) to look at the outreaches and ministries from last year, evaluate how well they met the criteria, and consider which of the outreaches we definitely wanted to continue and those we might want to replace.
2) to brainstorm ideas for the upcoming year - both completely new outreaches or ways to improve on the ones we did over the past year.
3) to discuss ways we can improve the worship experience for visitors who come as a result of the outreaches.

Those who attended split into small groups for discussions of the first 2, and then gathered as a large group to present their thoughts, ideas, and suggestions. Once all the ideas had been presented for the upcoming year, those in attendance had the opportunity to vote on their top 5 and were asked to consider which they might be willing to lead. Pastor Lucas is currently compiling the results of the meeting to present to the church and to use to plan the calendar for the coming year.

It was exciting and uplifting to be a part of this meeting and surrounded by people who are excited about their church, and blessing their community through the church.

11:12 pm | link

New Member Sunday

On May 15th, Somerset Congregational Church welcomed 5 new members!

Doug & Ruth Morningstar, Brenda Ottoman, Jean Loflin, and Kim Miller met with Pastor Lucas to discuss why it is important to become a member:
*"We are created for community, fashioned for fellowship, and formed for a family...The Bible says we are put together, joined together, built together, members together, fitted together, and held together and will be caught up together...While your relationship to Christ is personal, God never intends it to be private."

the responsibilities of membership:
*"To Paul, being a 'member' of the church meant being a vital part of the body of Christ...The church is a body, not a building; an organism, not an organization."

and the benefits of membership:
*"God's purposes for his church are identical to his five purposes for you. Worship helps you focus on God; fellowship helps you face life's problems; discipleship helps fortify your faith; ministry helps find your talents; evangelism helps fulfill your mission. There is nothing else on earth like the church!"

All were excited to make the move from "attenders" to "members." For the new member service, the new members were asked to affirm their faith, commitment to God, and commitment to support and uplift the church body. The church members were then asked to likewise commit to support, challenge, and uplift the new members. After a special prayer was offered, the new members were presented with a certificate of membership and a flower.

After the service, the new members stood with Pastor Lucas at the door to greet everyone leaving the service - giving all the opportunity to welcome them!

* quotes taken from "The Purpose Driven Life."

10:49 pm | link

He is Risen!

Easter Sunday is a day of joyous celebration for the Christian Church, and our church always does its part!

On the first Easter, Jesus appeared to his disciples, and ate with them to show them that He was indeed risen from the dead! This meal became one of great joy as they realized He was risen! We gather together each year to eat together and share in the joy that He Is Risen!! The morning begins with a pancake breakfast made and served by the men (and Joyce Bailey!).

The delicious meal was enjoyed by everyone there!

Many celebrated by dressing in their Sunday Best.

After breakfast, we went upstair for a service of praise & celebration. To quote The Congregational Connection, "With awe-inspiring music from the dedicated choir, organist, and pianist and Pastor Miller's masterful Easter message, the Holy service was complete."

After church the children participated in the traditional Easter Egg Hunt put on by Diane Smith & the Sunday School Department. The kids had a blast running around and finding all the eggs filled with goodies, while the grown-ups milled around and enjoyed talking and fellowshipping together.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

9:31 pm | link

Maundy Thursday (Maundy in Latin means "Commandment")

**Taken from The Congregational Connection**

It was a special Thursday evening for our congregation, "Maundy Thursday." The congregation gathered in our church to reflect back 2011 years to a "room upstairs." There, Jesus shared His final Passover meal with His disciples. In response to Jesus' final commandment on that fateful evening, our worshippers sat grouped together - mindful that they should love and care fore each other. The setting sun cast shadows as individuals partook in communion, standing side-by-side at the front of the church.

It was a solemn sermon as Pastor Miller shared the details of a truly frightful night for Jesus. How could His good friends fall asleep that night? How could Judas sell him out? How could his best friend deny him three times? The service impacted those who attended. Church members left the church indebted, reminded of the mental anguish Jesus, also, endured for them.

Easter Day is a day of celebration and praise. However, to many, Maundy Thursday also is a day to cherish and appreciate.

8:30 pm | link

One Voice

On March 26th, we were blessed to host a concert by the One Voice Gospel Choir!

One Voice Gospel Choir is an ecumenical, high-energy, Christ-centered group of enthusiastic singers from Southeast Michigan. One Voice Gospel Choir began as the St. Paul Gospel Choir, based out of St. Paul United Church of Christ in Saline, Michigan, in 1990. The choir quickly grew, and more and more people from outside St. Paul church wanted to join, and were welcomed. Since they come from many churches, but have one message, they became the One Voice Gospel Choir in 2002. They are a multi-generational, ecumenical, Christ-centered family of singers. One Voice is united in their love for God and one another, allowing the Joy of the Lord to dwell in their hearts and ring out in their voices.

They lived up to the promise, and everyone who attended enjoyed a high-energy concert filled with praise and beautiful music! One of our own, Crystal Fox, is a member of the choir. We've had the opportunity to enjoy her incredible talent through solos and special music, but it was a special treat to see her perform with this talented ensemble.

As part of an interactive evening of praise and worship, they concluded the evening by inviting those in the audience to join them for the final song!

Many thanks to One Voice for offering your talent, sharing your love of God, and leading such a wonderful evening of worship! If you would like to know more about One Voice, visit their website (onevoicegospelchoir.org)

8:22 pm | link

So Egg-citing!!

Every year, the church invites all the kids (and their friends) to dye Easter Eggs in the basement. This year was no exception, and with 14 kids we approached record numbers!

Diane Smith, along with her daughters Claire & Frances, provided supplies, assistance, snacks, and even some last-minute boiled eggs!

Each child had their own way of dying the eggs. Some carefully placed the eggs in the dye and patiently waited for them to change color.

Some used their fingers.

Some dropped the eggs into the dye (providing a lovely splatter pattern on their clothes and skin that their parents loved)!

Some dyed themselves more than their eggs!

But all the kids had a blast and were very proud of the results!

Many thanks to Diane and her crew for putting on the event! We had an egg-cellent time!

7:38 pm | link

Cupcake Sale!!

On April 16th, the Moms' Group (and their kids) participated in the Cupcake Kids National Cupcake Sale! The Cupcake Kids (thecupcakekids.org) are "little people with big hearts for God and the imprisoned children of Uganda." It started as a couple of kids who watched their parents get involved with a ministry in Uganda, Africa called 60 Feet (sixtyfeet.org). They wanted to help, and decided to sell cupcakes and lemonade outside their house. That sale was so successful, they started having more, and eventually decided to have a national sale - with people hosting cupcake sales in every state in the country on the same day! 100% of the proceeds from these sales would go to Sixty Feet. Sixty Feet is an incredible organization that seeks to provide hope and restoration to the imprisoned orphans of Uganda. Check out their website (sixtyfeet.org) to read more about the wonderful work they are doing in Uganda.

Our Moms' Group heard about it, and decided they'd like to be a part of this event. 6 moms baked roughly 150 (beautiful and delicious!) cupcakes. Elaine's Variety agreed to partner with our group and let us sell cupcakes outside their store (they also provided advertising via their facebook page and bought a few cupcakes themselves!). We sold cupcakes for 4 hours, and were able to raise $155.50!! To put this amount in perspective,
$155.50 can provide:
20 high quality blankets
30 Bibles for the children
School fees for 1 child for roughly 2 years
or
A healthy meal for 311 orphans!!!
Even more exciting, the National Cupcake Sale has raised (to date) $42,447.72!!!

As mothers, our hearts went out to these imprisoned orphans, and it was an honor to be able to participate in an event that would help alleviate their suffering. Huge thanks to Elaine's Variety, everyone who helped with the sale, and everyone who bought one of our cupcakes!!

6:30 pm | link

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