RESURRECTION
We are on the cusp of the Easter Season. Spring has sprung (despite the April 1st snow!). New life is all around us. People are lining up to get shots of vaccine. This brings us joy and buoys our hope that sometime, in the foreseeable future, we will be released from the strictures of the pandemic and finally be able to gather together without fear.
This Sunday is Easter and we are excited to celebrate and proclaim that, through Christ’s resurrection, Evil, Sin, and Death have been defeated. In this, our second remote Easter celebration, we know that Christ’s resurrection power is available to us wherever we are, and in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.
This next month will be challenging as we move forward with hope while recognizing that the virus is not finished with us yet. Our worship services will remain remote for now while we make plans to safely gather in the not-too-distant future.
This newsletter is full of opportunities to serve, learn, and connect. It is a joy to be in ministry with you. In this Easter season may we see resurrection burst forth in ways large and small.
Yours in Christ,
~ Karen
Rev. Karen A. Mendes
Pastor
Sunday Morning Worship Service 9:45
Office Phone: (802) 864-6515
Conference/Kitchen Phone:
(802) 864-4721
Office Hours: Suspended until further notice
Email address: welcome@fbcburlingtonvt.com
Web Site Address: www.fbcburlingtonvt.com
Visit us on Facebook
First Baptist Church, Burlington, Vt.
THE FIRST BAPTIST Facebook group is called First Baptist Burlington VT. In this group, each member can share announcements, make public prayer requests, and ask questions. We can have online discussions about sermons, current events, Bible studies, etc. Please join the group and invite others to join as well.
WORSHIP ON LINE FOR APRIL
Because of the social distancing requirements of this time of pandemic, it has been decided that Sunday morning worship, and all church gatherings will continue on Zoom and Facebook for the month of April.
HOME CHURCH CLUSTERS
During this time of social distancing, it is more important than ever to be connected (safely!) to our friends and neighbors. Please take some time to reach out to the church members and friends who live in your town. You can access the church directory through Instantchurchdirectory.com or through the Instant Church Directory app.
THE SILENT VIGIL FOR RACIAL JUSTICE will happen on Sunday, April 11 from 1-1:30pm on the church front lawn. Please join us for this important witness.
Sunday Worship Services
Apr. 04 – Easter Sunday
Communion
Scripture: Mark 16:1-8
Sermon: The Beginning of the Good News
Apr. 11 – 2nd Sunday of Easter
Scripture: John 20:19-31
Sermon: Dear Thomas
Apr. 18 – 3rd Sunday of Easter
Scripture:Luke 24:36b-48
Sermon: Not a Ghost
Apr. 25 – 4th Sunday of Easter
Scripture: John 10:11-18
Sermon: One Flock
HOLY WEEK AT FBC
MAUNDY THURSDAY – April 1 at 7pm on Zoom and Facebook. Join us as we remember the Last Supper.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85044566874?pwd=RFlSZmpnaWpUV3ExcXc4Tkk3cUZKdz09
To dial in +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) Meeting ID: 850 4456 6874
Passcode: 157130
GOOD FRIDAY – April 2 at 7pm at www.youtube.com/c/fccej –– We will join with other local churches in remembering Jesus on the cross.
EASTER SUNDAY – April 4
Easter Sunrise – 6:30am on Facebook.
Easter Sunday Worship – 9:45am on Zoom and Facebook
OPPORTUNITIES FOR FELLOWSHIP AND LEARNING
FBC COFFEE HOUR ON THURSDAYS at 9:30am on Zoom. We gather for informal fellowship and conversation.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89855564406?pwd=R2FtbC9tRnoyU1R1cXJTRmRsY1VIdz09 For those calling in-
+1 646 558 8656 US Meeting ID: 898 5556 4406 Passcode: 993539
OUR WEEKLY BIBLE STUDY We are exploring the character of Peter in the Gospels and Acts. The Zoom login is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86897112158?pwd=STRJV2JLSVBLUWxLdEZLc05VZGJjdz09 For those calling in – Dial +1 646 558 8656 Meeting ID: 868 9711 2158 Passcode: 702659
For more information, please email Rev. Mendes at revkamendes@fbcburlingtonvt.com.
THE COLOR OF WATER by James McBride is the next book to be discussed by the Antiracism Book Group. Please join us in this meaningful project. The next meeting will be Monday, April 12 at 7pm on Zoom. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87519609036?pwd=dVFEeENVc2tuSkxHbk81Q2dHZXVMdz09
For those calling in – +1 646 558 8656 Meeting ID: 875 1960 9036 Passcode: 421309
SINGERS AND MUSICIANS NEEDED FOR SUNDAY WORSHIP! Please send your video or audio files to Anna Roy at aroy@fbcburlingtonvt.com and she will add them to our Sunday morning worship.
PLEASE MAIL IN YOUR PLEDGE AND OFFERINGS OR GIVE ELECTRONICALLY through the Donate button on our church website: http//www.fbcburlingtonvt.com or through the smartphone app called GIVE+. Donations can be set for one time only or to be recurring. Our ministries depend on the generous gifts of our members and friends. Thank you for your participation in sharing the love of God in our community and our world.
Youth Group Opportunities
Do you have a 14-18 year old student who is interested in participating in Virtual Friday Night Youth Groups with College Street Church? Please email Jeneve Joslin at jjoslin@fbcburlingtonvt.com . We are hoping to build relationships and lay the groundwork to collaboration on future mission/service opportunities!
Youth Leadership/Bible Study Lessons can now be found here:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12xxAjPZGRPJx90dMjeI37ToFlfHFnjGwO97sP37kKp4/edit?usp=sharing
Church School Summer Camp 2021: Good Stewards Together!
August 9th-12th, 2021 from 9am-12:30pm
Location: Outdoor Location TBD
Join us for Church School Summer Camp 2021! We will define and discuss the Holy Spirit of Stewardship. Through games, crafts and service opportunities we will explore how we can be Stewards of Grace, Love and Christ. Snacks and Lunch will be provided. There is no cost associated with this camp!
Please sign up your students by emailing Jeneve Joslin at jjoslin@fbcburlingtonvt.com or texting 802 233 8593.
HELP FOR MYANMAR…
The Outreach Ministry team is contemplating ways to help the people of Myanmar. Over 200 years ago Ann and Adoniram Judson were the first missionaries to land in Myanmar (Burma) where they introduced Christianity to the Burmese. “International Ministries had over 300 missionaries serving with the Myanmar Baptist Convention in Myanmar. Due to the political situation, in 1962 missionaries were expelled from the country. In 2011, the country opened up again with an elected democratic government which was not acknowledged and large numbers of people began resisting the military in a Civil Disobedience Movement – peaceful protests against armed military. Civil servants have gone into hiding, the result being no income.” To provide assistance and support, International Ministries (IM) is working to provide funds to assist those affected by the military coup.
Persons wishing to support relief efforts can send checks to First Baptist with “OGHS- Myanmar Relief” in the memo line or send checks directly to IM made payable to International Ministries and mailed to International Ministries, Attn: Gifts Processing, 1003 W 9th Avenue, Ste A, King of Prussia, PA, 19406. Go to IM website for more information.
Our Karen Baptist Community have family in Myanmar and in the Mae La Refugee Camp on the Thailand border. In February, fifty homes burned. There are more than 39,000 living in this camp (community) and who have lived there for many years. To help, send checks to our First Baptist Church with “OGHS- Mae La Refugee Camp” on the memo line.
Also, you can support Christians in Myanmar by giving to the Friends of Burma, an organization in Fort Wayne, Indiana that works with the Karen Baptist Convention (an arm of the Myanmar Baptist Convention in Burma) and works with the former refugee community leaders living in the US to discern some of the needs of Christian people in Burma.
Go to Friends of Burma website for more information.
FEEDING MINISTRY
A big thank you to Cindy and Dave Little and Jamie Burke for providing soup for the First United Methodist Church Soup and Sandwich Supper for the homeless on Sunday evening, March 21. We are looking for soup makers for April 18. Call or email Joan Taylor if you can help.
ANEW Place
We want to thank Sarah Dopp, Lois Lynch and Ginger Calder for furnishing a meal for Sunday, March 14 at the ANEW Place.
PAST WORSHIP SERVICES can be found on our church website and YouTube. On our website, fbcburlingtonvt.com, click About FBC and then Worship Services.
First Baptist Remote Garden
During the Season of Lent we all received small flowerpots, soil, and flower seeds as part of a Lent-at-Home bag. As we move toward Easter, we can watch together as new life springs forth. Please send photos of your flowers to welcome@fbcburlingtonvt.com.
We will share the photos on Easter Sunday.
REPORT FROM THE UGB
The Governing Board met on March 15. We shared examples of coping mechanisms and special activities we have been embracing during the pandemic. They were varied and very interesting. I wish we could hear that feedback from all the congregation! The talks with our renters at 139 Bank St. (Element Real Estate) continue at this time, but we are getting pretty close to a final lease. They want to continue in the first-floor space for at least 3-5 years, but with the alteration to business, due to the pandemic, we may need to rent the 2 nd floor separately. Jim Calder has been the key point person on all the details and we all thank him for his efforts.
The Outreach Team has been focused on the situation in Myanmar, as manyothers also are. The Team would like to make a special gift to the Mae La Refugee Camp, which endured a serious fire in February. Some of our own Karen Baptist Community have relations living there. The Fellowship Team is reviving the monthly Prayer Topics. The Education Team is concentrating on Easter plans, Children’s Day and a summer camp in August.
The Building Re-opening Committee will meet in early April for further deliberations. On the financial front, we have been notified that our PPP Loan was forgiven by the North Country Federal Credit Union. We have also learned of two pending anonymous gifts through charitable foundations and have done the necessary paperwork to be able to accept them. The investment account is doing very well. We have signed a Memo of Understanding with the Burlington School District to allow them to evacuate BHS students to our sanctuary in the unlikely event of an emergency at the Macy’s building where Burlington High School is currently meeting.
~ Sarah Dopp, Moderator