Men’s Club Rekindled At United Methodist Church

Bright and early one morning last month, the “Men’s Club” (United Methodist Men, UMM) had a new beginning after a 15-year hiatus. Forty-four men convened in Rauner Hall of the Newtown United Methodist Church on Church Hill Road for food, fun, and fellowship, all of which were in abundance.

Men arrived as early as 6:30 am to set up and to get the coffee perking. Vince Venitelli and Marty Maicig began preparations for a hearty breakfast of eggs, sausage, pancakes, and bagels while Harvey Sellner and a host of others set the tables. Rev Terry Pfeiffer opened the meeting with prayer. After breakfast, Ed Dahlstrom led the group in singing a couple of familiar hymns with guitar accompaniment by Chuck Samson.

Bob Virgalla led a discussion on the subject of the future of the men’s group, with the consensus being to meet bimonthly and to take on at least one or two community projects a year. Jim Maurer provided a thoughtful and seasonal devotional followed by the main speaker, First Selectman Herb Rosenthal.

Mr Rosenthal spoke on the subject of Newtown in the next 25 years, entertaining questions and discussion from the group. While the meeting ended promptly at 9 am, Mr Rosenthal stayed an additional hour talking to those who chose to linger and had an interest in following up on the strategic issues for Newtown that he discussed in his talk. The topics included the town’s open space plan, Fairfield Hills, education needs and enrollment cycles, maximum buildout estimates for residential construction, and how these would occur while maintaining Newtown’s character and quality of life. The topics brought to light many issues and constraints attendees were not aware of, such as the eight-year planning window for capital education projects for state funding, yet have a major bearing on the planning and funding process.

Mark Dennen and his son Pat from St Rose of Lima Church also attended and discussed the critical need for outreach and service work, all within a ten-minute drive of NUMC. He noted the work St Rose is doing in this area and encouraged joint cooperation toward a common purpose between the two churches.

“While UMM will continue to define its purpose and activities for the future, we got a good restart with this meeting. Men bear a lot of life’s pressures and we all need Christian interaction with other men,” said Rev Pfeiffer, “as is indicated by the turnout today.”

The next meeting is currently scheduled for 10 am Saturday, March 19, at the Newtown United Methodist Church Hall. All men and young men over the age of 14 are welcome. For further information contact the NUMC office at 426-9998 or Mike James at 270-9107.