Northside Associated Ministries
Cooperating in Ministry
Office Phone: 734-663-5503
Administrative Assistant:
Ellen Magee
St. Aidan's Officers
Senior Warden
John Board
Junior Warden
Len Coombs
Recording Secretary
Fran Board
Treasurer
Ed Trager
Financial Secretary
Gail Graham
Liturgical Readers
Len Coombs
Acolytes
Altar Guild
Susan Pfoutz
Vestry
Phil Singer
Janet Lamb
Jim Pierson
Betty Rees
Northside Officiers
Clerk of Session
Linda TerHaar
Financial Secretary
Mary Ann Wilson
Treasurer
Nancy Renner
Session Members
Marian Laughlin
Diane Zahn
Steven Grosse
Linda TerHaar
Letha Chadiha
Jenny Howard
Kelly Maxwell
Sue Stanton
Ministry Contacts
Choir
Joesph Kozma-Cruz
Membership/Nutrure
Sharon Lean
More Light/Peacemaking
Kate Baker
Nominating
Kelly Maxwell
Personnel
Geoff Stanton
Prayer Group
Jean Loup
Stewardship
Joan Penner-Hahn
Worship
Pat Hodges
NAM Officers
President
Marian Laughlin
Vice President
John Board
Secretary
Litha Chadiha
Treasurer
Dill Howarth
Children and Youth Ministries
Marian Laughlin
Property
Jim Pierson
Communications and Publicity
Adult Education
Stephen Grosse
Social Stewardship
Sue MacDermaid
Reehill Gallery
Kate Baker
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Pastor's Corner:
Unfortunately, because of a rush to preside at Christmas Services, complete a dissertation, and
get to New Orleans, there is no traditional Pastor's Corner this month. Instead, we offer for
your enlightenment a list of reasons "Why I didn't get to Church Last Sunday". The entire list
may be found
on the Cartoon Church blog.
- The vicar is preaching about the end times (again)
- There is nobody else my age
- I'm writing a thesis on the contemporary, post-post modernist soteriological language of the 'Fimbles' in contrast to the retro Liberation theology of 'Roobarb and Custard Too'
- I reached a level on Guitar Hero I've never got to before,
so I had to stay and finish it
- There's a bring and share lunch after the service so I had to stay in and cook
- You mean you have to keep coming back until you get it right?
- I'm one of the 60% (approx) who believe but don't belong
- Last time I came the Warden showed me a red card, so I'm suspended
for the next two Sundays.
- I have to work so's I can pay my tithe.
- My non-Christian friends are all free on Sunday mornings so that is the best
time to evangelise them.
- I am the church - you should all be coming to me.
In the News this month:
We have now progressed to January. As it happens, there is very little special about January, especially now that the Super Bowl has been moved to February. This, however, is not a problem, for in January we find Ernie Harwell's birthday.
The other memorable days this month are
There are a couple of quick Northside announcements, which will fit better
here than later in the piece.
On Saturday, January 19th, 6:00 p.m. there will be a potluck at the church
followed by slides and reminiscences from Rich and Anne Lawton on their
visit to Greece last spring. And for future planning, the
annual pizza party will be Saturday, March 29th.
Two Sundays of the month which deserve special mention are January 13 and January 29.
These are the days on which the annual meetings will be held: St. Aidan's on January 13 and Northside on January 27. The St. Aidan's meeting has been moved up from the 27th, because
Susan expects to fly to Vietnam and become a 2nd time Mom during the last two weeks of
the month.
Epiphany comes on January 6. We will be having a joint service, during which we
anticipate that the Three Kings will pay us a visit. Since Kings should not have all
the fun, everyone else is invited to bring gifts to the Avalon Program house, which will
be opening next month. The items that are requested are
- New twin sheets
- New towel sets
- New towels for drying dishes
- Toilet paper
- New laundry baskets
- New kitchen cleaning supplies
- New dish soap
- New hot pads
- New laundry detergent
Speaking of annual meetings, far too many of us view these just as times when we elect
members to the Vestry or Session and gripe about the budget. Unfortunately, I can't do
anything about the budget, but I can help you all with Vestry and Session elections. Without
further ado, here are the Ten Top Reasons You Might Be Called to Be on the Vestry or Session:
- You spent a month on the Sudent Council in High School, but quit because the
meetings weren't formal enough
- If you don't find something else to do on Wednesday nights, your boss will make
you join the curling team.
- You actually think you would enjoy making everymember canvass calls.
- You're writing a Master's Thesis on Robert's Rules of Order, and need a place to practice
- You've tried everything else at church
- You've just joined, and want to meet some new folks
- You figure it's your turn
- You know you can do a better job than the last bunch did
- You've always managed to balance your household budget without cutting anything,
and think you could do the same with the church budget
- And, the #1 reason you might be called to be on the Vestry or Session is: You
think you could compose a better Top Ten list than your Newsletter Editor!
Answer to Last Month's Question: What truck was Grandma driving that fateful Christmas?
Answer:A Beer truck.
Question of the Month: Did you get what you wanted for Christmas?
Now back to the news.
Our Turn to Host the Men's Rotating Shelter
For the past several years, we have hosted the Rotating Shelter during the first week in January, which meant that, last year, we started on the New Year's Day holiday Monday. Amazingly, we managed to fill the necessary spots, but this year, it should be a little easier. Beth Israel Congregation has undertaken to host the weeks of both Christmas and New Year.
So our week starts on Monday, January 7 and runs through the night of Sunday, January 13.
Although the later date gives us a few days' breathing space after Christmas, it is imperative that we get organized before Christmas! Please sign up, preferably in the sanctuary at the end of the service, or in the lounge, where we will try to keep the master list posted on the notice board.
The Shelter Association of Washtenaw is committed to providing a safe place to spend the night for everyone who shows up at their door during the winter. Frequently, there are not enough beds at the Delonis Center, so a group of up to 25 men spends the night at the rotating shelter. The site of the rotating shelter changes every week (or, occasionally, every two weeks) and is in a local church or synagogue. NAM has been one of the participating churches for many years.
For our congregations, it is a big commitment, both in terms of space-sharing and volunteer hours. However, it is also a wonderful piece of outreach to a part of our community that is marginalized. Last year, we had very positive feedback from our guests about the warmth of our welcome. Many members from both churches volunteered, so the work did not fall heavily on a small number of people. Please do all that you can to make this happen again!
HOW YOU CAN HELP (Please sign up in the lounge):
- Be one of three volunteers (at least one of whom should be a man) spending the night at church:
For a 3 hour shift, you sit (and stay awake!) in the lobby at the foot of the stairs, just outside the lounge. For the other two shifts, you sleep on an air mattress in the upstairs sanctuary. The guests sleep in the lounge or library and usually stack their bedding against the wall in the morning, depending on what is happening that day.
- Drive people to and from our church:
Evening: pick up a small group at the Delonis Center, 312 West Huron St. between 8:30 and 8:45p.m. and drive them to church.
Morning: pick up a small group at church between 7:00 and 7:10 a.m. and drive them to St. Andrew's on North Division for breakfast.
Sometimes we need to ask one or two of the drivers to make two runs.
Please sign up as soon as you can. We plan to have all slots filed by mid January. Thank you all for your support. Contact one of us if you have questions.
NAM Social Action Committee: Fran Board, Chuck Booker-Hirsch, Ann Grosse, Sue MacDermaid, Rose Maxwell, Betty Rees, Angela Williams
Book Club
The NAM book group will meet on Thursday, January 10 at the home of Melody
McCormick, 1710 Packard, Ann Arbor, to discuss Three Cups of Tea by Greg
Mortenson and David Relin. On February 14, place to be announced, the group
will discuss Doris Lessing's The Summer before the Dark and on
March 13, place to be announced, they will discuss Nonviolence:
Twenty-five Lessons from the History of a Dangerous Idea by Mark Kurlansky.
Helen Olson
The Usual Suspects
Lectionary Readings for January
Calendar for January
Worship Schedule for January
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