Synopsis of Session meeting, Feb. 18, 2012

—Cathy Gibson, Clerk

Session examined new officers coming onto Session and the Board of Deacons, both those ordained on Feb. 19 and those who have been on before. Cathy Gibson and Sothara Ly were elected to be commissioners to the March 4 Presbytery meeting in Haverhill. 

Pastor Skip's contact information will be included in the bulletin, newsletter, and Friday email so the congregation will know how to contact him. Email works best for him and is the way he prefers to be contacted. His cell phone service is not excellent, and also not local for us in the Lowell area, but in an emergency people can try his cell phone.

A pancake breakfast on Easter Sunday is being planned starting at 8:30 a.m. so the choirs will also be able to enjoy it before they need to rehearse. Norma Von Fricken and Bill Hall will coordinate it. Donations will be welcomed. 

The committees gave reports:  

• The Building Committee signed a contract for the Igreja do Senhor Jesus church to continue to use the sanctuary on Sunday nights.
• The Christian Education Committee is looking for a new Sunday school superintendent. A new member class is being planned.
• The Finance Committee reported that $524 was collected in the souperbowl offering.  
• The Worship Committee has a list of Communion servers, ushers, and greeters that  they are sending out. There will be a service on Ash Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Maundy Thursday at 7:30 p.m. A special offering was approved to be taken on Cambodian New Year.

Ash Wednesday 

On Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22, we will gather at 7 p.m. for worship. We will sing and pray together; there will be a litany of penitence and the imposition of ashes. We will celebrate Communion together and leave in silence to begin our time of Lent.

For us the season of Lent is a time of renewal, 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter. It is a time to prepare to take in the good news of Easter through deeper disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

Ashes have long been used as a symbol of grief for our own faults as well as the systemic evils of our common life. Ashes remind us of our mortality. 

The Lord's Supper reminds us that God's love is finally triumphant over sin and death and that God remains in communion with us, that in Christ we are fed and strengthened on the journey of transformation to and through the cross.

Everyone is welcome to the Ash Wednesday service.

On Christmas Eve 2011, Eliot Church celebrated the birth of Jesus with a service of lessons and carols.

During the previous week Pastor Skip had led a Longest Night service in which the congregation came together to support those who do not feel "merry" at Christmas time. They lit candles, prayed, and spent some quiet time looking forward to Christ's coming.

In the Christmas Eve service the congregation celebrated with music in a variety of styles by all of Eliot's choirs, as well as instrumental and vocal solos.

Children came in procession bringing poinsettias to decorate the front of the sanctuary.

There were scripture readings from Isaiah and Luke, the congregation sang "Silent Night" by candlelight, and the service ended with "Joy to the World."

photos by Kong Chea

Synopsis of Session meeting, Jan. 21, 2012

—Cathy Gibson, Clerk

There was discussion about putting up a suggestion box on Sundays as an additional way to communicate with the congregation. This would not take the place of talking directly to a session member. 

Also discussed was that a synopsis of the session minutes would be included in the newsletter as another way to communicate with the congregation.

Joyce Hughes was elected as the President of the Corporation and will lead the corporation portion of the annual meeting. The annual meeting agenda was approved, but at the time of the meetiner, auditors for 2012 were still being sought. 

Session elected officers for 2012 to be Cathy Gibson as Clerk of Session, JuliusMokoro as Treasurer, and Greg Edlund as Financial Secretary.

Committees should send a copy of their minutes to the Clerk of Session as soon as possible after each committee meeting.

• The Building Committee is working on a contract with the Brazilian group that is presently using the building. The 2012 Lura Smith gospel concert was approved for Nov. 17, noon-2 p.m. 
• The Personnel Committee is working on hiring an office administrator. 
• The Worship Committee is working on having both Pastor Skip and Rev.Thysan Sam jointly celebrate the Lord’s Supper using English and Khmer.