The Advance - Second Congregational UCC
Transcription
The Advance - Second Congregational UCC
Second Congregational UCC February Issue 66, Volume 2 The Advance February Blanket Month for Church World Service! Women’s Fellowship has been sponsoring this mission giving project for many years. The drive runs through February and monies are collected to purchase blankets for disaster areas, third world countries, and where there is need. Distribution is made through Church World Service. There are many uses for these blankets. Second Church has been very generous in the past, taking pride in this most worthy outreach mission endeavor. “God is Still Speaking!” Inside this issue Thank You! ........... 2 Special envelopes or the weekly giving envelope can be used for you $10.00 gift which buys one blanket. The “Second Stitchers” aid children in the Grand Rapids area with quilts. Let’s buy blankets and help cover the world! Your gifts are treasured!!! Nailed It................ 3 Women’s Fellowship Lenten Series Speakers From the Pastor ... 7 Tuesday, February 16 is the first Women’s Fellowship Lenten service of 2016. Kim Murphy from Heron Manor will be our speaker. The following Tuesday, February 23, Diane Sherlock will be the speaker. March 1st will feature Reverend Ruth McCarthy from Covenant Village. The fourth service will be on March 8th. Reverend Beth Rodenhouse, Chaplin at Pilgrim Manor, will provide the program. Reverend Helen Havlik, from North Park Presbyterian, will be speaking on March 15. Welcome Bill ........ 8 The services above will be held in the Chapel at 10:00 a.m. followed by refreshments in the Drawing Room. We will be concluding the series with the White Breakfast in the Dining Room on March 22. Reverend Jody Betten will lead us in this inspirational gathering. Mark your calendars for our Women’s Fellowship Lenten Series! Be sure to invite your friends and family members to attend with you. Child care will be provided ONLY if you call Marcia Gaetano (5816764) one week ahead of time. Memorials ............ 4 Mission Corner...4&5 The Historians ...... 6 Lent Services ........ 9 Important Dates 02/16 Women’s Lenten Series Begins 02/14 AndersonRebekah Guild Chocolate Sale 06/18 Next Food Truck Thank You! Inside Story Headline This story can fit 75-125 words. Selecting pictures or graphics is an important part of adding content to your newsletter. Think about your article and ask yourself if the picture supports or enhances the message you’re trying to convey. Avoid selecting images that appear to be out of context. Microsoft Publisher includes thousands of clip art images from which you can choose and import into your newsletter. There are also several tools you can use to draw shapes and symbols. Once you have chosen an image, place it close to the article. Be sure to place the caption of the image near the image. Thanks to your generosity, our patrons were able to share in the joy of giving this Christmas. Thanks so much for collecting items for the Christmas store. It was an amazing event! Your gifts allowed us to serve 50% more patrons than last year. Thank you for sharing in our mission to reflect the love of Christ to all who come through our doors. ~ Liz Warners, Dégagé Christmas Store Project Manager Thank you for your generosity! Your service, giving and fellowship are a light in this community and help to nourish many people and deposit love in their lives. ~ Northeast Supper House The Women’s Fellowship Tea, held early in December, was well attended and everyone had a wonderful time! Thank you to all who worked to make this so much fun. ~ Midge Vande Kopple A Big Thank You to everyone who made our anniversary so special. We’d like to especially thank those who furnished food and served, and to everyone who sent cards. What a great church family we have! ~ Bob & Donna Eggleston It’s Time for Chocolate! Attention Sweethearts: Anderson-Rebekah Guild’s Annual Chocolate Sale will be held this year on Sunday, February 14th, Valentine’s Day! Delectable chocolate goodies will be available between services for just $2.00 per plate...until they are gone. Money earned is always donated to projects within the church, our community, and globally. See you at the chocolate sale! Food Pantries Mission Sunday was great for the pantries—the pantry box was just about FULL! The count was 25 bags! Why not make every Sunday a Mission Sunday! Bring whatever you can. It was just so nice to have a full box to deliver to the pantries! Thank you all. ~ Board of Christian Missions Star Wars & Theology: Learning From Pop Culture ~ Em Kelley This year the High School Youth have been taking part in an exciting Sunday School Series looking at how we can learn theological concepts from Pop Culture. November through January have been focused on studying Star Wars and Theology. In December we took a group of 15 to go and see Star Wars: The Force Awakens on opening night. Laura Brand, our intern, believes that “Star Wars themes and lessons are great examples of how God is still speaking to us in unexpected ways, even through today’s pop culture.” We have had great discussions about topics ranging from our journey as Christians , to what it means to claim our identity as Nailed It 2016 Happenings ~ Em Kelley We have been hard at work getting things put together for the upcoming year with the High School Youth Group. I have some very exciting plans to share with the Church. Christians. Kent Martin told me that “Star Wars has advanced my knowledge about God because now I can connect to God in contemporary times.” David Tay also shared with me that “Anyone can tell high schoolers about the Bible, but when you relate it with messages and themes found in Star Wars, it really helped the youth to not only understand but to also enjoy what was being taught.” Because of the success of our series on Star Wars and Theology, we have plans to continue looking at Pop Culture in the upcoming months to explore our beliefs about God and our identity as Christians. “Anyone can tell high schoolers about the Bible, but when you relate it with messages and themes found in Star Wars, it really helped the youth to not only understand but to also enjoy what was being taught.” drinks are greatly appreciated. School will be ending at the end of January, and then we will be startLooking ahead a bit, we are planning on volunteering at John Knox ing a series looking at the Harry Potter series and Theology. We will Food Pantry on the south side of be studying the aspects of each of town on Sunday, March 6th after the seven books/movies, with one We will be having a Youth Led Ser- church. This event will be open to vice on February 7th at the 10:30 Middle and High School Students. of them talked about a week. This will take us through April. Given the service. I am very excited about this We are also thinking of signing up opportunity to share our talents for another 2nd Coffee in March. In positive feedback about Star Wars with the Church. April we are planning on having an- & Theology, I am very excited about this next set of lessons. Then we will be having our retreat other Lock-In, as well as a fundraiser for the Mission Trip. It is shaping up to be a very aweat the same cabin in Lake City, MI some 2016, and I am excited to (which was a huge hit as far as loca- We are sill in the early planning tion last year), and that retreat will stages of the mission trip, which will share in this year with the awesome be the final weekend of February , take place in June again. We have a High Schoolers of 2nd Church. the 26th through 28th. We will be few potential leads, and hope to be leaving Friday evening and coming able to announce more at the Youth back in the afternoon on Sunday. Service on Feb 7th, or around that Cost will be $35 per youth, and any time frame. contribution as far as food and Our Star Wars & Theology Sunday A Reminder: Metal for Missions Even though the value of scrap metal is presently not too high, Jim Hunsberger is still available to pick up non-working appliances (any size), lawn equipment or furniture, old tools, or any sort of scrap metal that can be recycled. All the money collected goes to the Mission Team. Memorials The General Fund received a gift from Tina & Brandon Wong in memory of Dennis Romkema. The Outreach Trust Fund received a gift from Henry & Jeane Swart in memory of Norm Tock. Call Jim at (616) 980-6365. Thanks to all who have participated. P.S. Broken electrical cords off appliances are also acceptable. Mission Corner RTP! - Remember the Pantries! The food pantries in our community continue to have a substantial need for donations. We have a food pantry donation box in the hallway outside the Drawing Room and you can drop bags of groceries and health care items in that box. Once a week, the contents of that box is delivered to North End Community Ministries (NECM) and United Church Outreach Ministries (UCOM). Special Presentation in February The Mission Team is working on bringing a special presentation to the church sometime in February. We are working with the Kaufman Interfaith Institute to schedule a guest speaker to lead a discussion regarding the strife in the Middle East and the refugee problem affecting many countries including the United States. This will be an excellent way to hear first-hand, in depth accounts of the issue and balance those against the quick-hit talking points with which we are inundated by the regular media. More information to come on this, so keep your eyes and ears open! Last Food Truck of 2015 was a success! Though it was a little nippy outside on December 19th, 2015, the last sponsored food truck for the year went off without a hitch. Thank you to all the folks that participated in this very worthy activity; we had almost 20 people representing Second Church and boy did we need them all! As part of the food truck, we had to individually bag a 500 lb container of fresh apples. That takes a little bit of time, but with everyone’s help we were able to accomplish that and still open the front door on time for all the hungry folks in the area. Above is a picture of the bin just as we were getting started with the bagging! In addition to the apples, we also had 10 lb bags of potatoes, 5 lb bags of onions, individual head of cabbage, gallons of milk, frozen sausage patties, a myriad of breads and pastries and blueberry pop tarts. According to the tally sheet, we had 60 families come through in the hour we were open. Assuming 5 people per family, that’s 300 mouths that were provided with fresh and healthy meals! The volunteers were kept active by either helping to distribute the food, assisting with carrying the food out to cars or nearby homes and generally helping with the organization and cleanup. At the end of the day, a few leftovers were taken to the food pantry at United Outreach Ministries (UCOM) on Chicago Dr. Thank you again to everyone who volunteered their time and talents in this endeavor! We have been scheduled for three more food trucks in 2016 and the schedule as well as the volunteer signup sheet is posted on the Mission Team Board outside the Drawing Room. The schedule is as follows: June 18, 2016, September 17, 2016, November 19, 2016. As always, the food trucks are distributed at Cesar Chavez School, which is located on the corner of Grandville and Hall Streets, SW. Volunteers should be at the school by 8:30 a.m. to help set up. The doors open at 9 a.m. Contact one of the Mission Team members for more information. Vignettes from Our Journey of Faith 1869 to 2016 - our 147th year The year 1969 was an outstanding one in the life of our church, as it marked our 100th year of serving the north end community. From humble beginnings in the one-room “Bullfrog Church” with 16 charter members, we had grown to be a congregation of 1,520 active members (figures from Annual Report of 1969), and we were housed in a beautiful colonial-style church building. Our professional and dedicated staff included the Senior Minister (Rev. Erwin Arnold), Associate Minister (Rev. John Kent), Minister of Christian Education (Rev. Janet Hays), and Minister of Music (William “Bill” Burhenn). Existing boards and commitees made up of dedicated laity served in a wide variety of ways to provide strong support for the year-long centennial celebration. One highlight of the year was the mission trip of 28 young people and advisors to the island of Puerto Rico. They experienced a vastly different culture, making a lasting impression on their young minds. During the year, members of our six choirs were frequently called upon to provide special music, such as our Carols by Candlelight service. Attendance was so large that two services were necessary. The Deaconesses sponsored a “Golden Years” party and 55 people met for an afternoon of fellowship and reminiscing. The Missionary Committee held a strong influence on the life of the church. Our contributions during the centennial year totaled $29, 120 (1969 Annual Report) for both “foreign” and “homeland” mission work. The Christian Education Committee reported that 110 teachers (including Vacation Bible School volunteers) were involved in the education of children, teaching them about the life and mission of our Christian faith. Our centennial year drew the largest class of confirmands, 46 tenth graders, in the history of our church. The Women’s Fellowship, with the support of 12 circles and guilds, was extremely active in varied ways - especially in the preparation and serving of many large, well-attended dinners, serving coffee and refreshments on Sunday mornings, delivering altar flowers to shut-ins, carrying out fund-raising and mission projects...and the list goes on! A Centennial Committee designed many methods to celebrate the year. Former pastors were honored; notable guest ministers occupied the pulpit; a memorable Centennial Banquet and jackets (covers) were placed on all the hymnals...and there was the publishing of an outstanding small book relating to our first hundred years. The year 1969 was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all members who joined in the Centennial Celebration. To be continued… The Historians From the Pastor... Like a Gaijin in a Train Station… For those of you who were never stationed in Japan, perhaps you have never seen the word gaijin. I found out it is now in our dictionary (Don’t tell Judy, but it can even be used in Scrabble!). Borrowed from Japanese, the word means “foreigner”. Most signs in Japan’s large cities - at a Tokyo train station for instance - have their message rendered in Japanese, English, and often other languages. Nevertheless, it can still be confusing for a gaijin. He can find himself lost without a clue as to how to get home. I know! We used to carry around a card in our wallets with the message: “I am an American service member, could you tell me how to get to Yokosuka Naval Base?” That was our safety net for just such occasions. But most of us found this card unnecessary. It turned out to be easy to get help in Japan. They are a most hospitable people and were generally determined to provide for strangers. In fact, if you ask for help and they can’t help you, they would feel ashamed. When they see a foreigner looking at the route chart with a confused look on his (or her) face, they will likely drop whatever they are doing to help. I have heard more than one story of lost service members whose Japanese “guardian angel” cancelled his own plans to escort the stray sailor back to base. They are remarkable people. I call us all to be remarkable people and to treat, not just newcomers, but everyone in the church as if they were a gaijin in our minds! Let us go out of way, if need be, to help them find what they need. Indeed, we who wish to grow our congregation should be ashamed if someone comes to Second Church and doesn’t know how to connect with others. You want scripture to read on this matter? Check out the list next to this column. Receiving strangers in our midst is central to living life in faith. Keeping up with our old friends should come in second at Second. ~ Pastor Peter Deuteronomy 10:19 Leviticus 19:34 Matthew 5:43-44 Matthew 25:40 Romans 13:8 Romans 13:10 Acts 10:34 Revelation 21:3 3 John 1:5 Luke 10:27 Hebrews 13:1 Colossians 3:11 Matthew 25:35 Romans 12:13 Welcome Bill! It may seem odd to welcome someone who has quickly become a fixture on Sunday morning. After all, he has been staff support for the Faith Formation program since last August, and every Sunday he has delivered a profound message to the child within us all. But the fact is that Bill Bode, our Director of Children’s Ministries, assumed this position on a trial basis which was only recently made official. We are sure you join us in appreciating the value he has added to Second Church and the inspiration and new energy that he has injected into our fellowship. Bill has demonstrated his giftedness in our midst already. He also brings a wealth of experience serving in Methodist and UCC churches in the area. As a result, the Governance Board has asked him to augment his responsibilities to provide for Christian Education and Faith Formation for our young people. He will also oversee a new membership and church vitality initiative, a direct result from the findings of last year’s Appreciative Inquiry assessing the needs of our fellowship. Please take the time to greet Bill when you see him and tell him how happy you are to have him doing ministry with us. Hilary’s Musical Interlude! By the time you read this I will have completed my first full month at 2nd church. Thank you all for the warm welcome I have received. The choir “kicked off” Jan 7th. We are learning and have sung a variety of music including a piece accompanied by accordion and flute! I am thankful for the many soloists I have used in January: Sarah, Neil, Ken, Brad, and Judy (flute). Would YOU consider joining the choir? For Lent? Or for Palm Sunday? Or for Easter Sunday? If your schedule does not allow you to commit for the whole year there IS a way for you to sing. Call or text me at (616) 307-1620! The Bell Choir also “kicked off” Jan 7th and will play the last Sunday of each month. We would LOVE to have more ringers so we can use more bells. Its only ONE hour, 6:30 to 7:30 pm on Thursday evening. Never played before? NOT a problem. We will help you learn in no time… On February 7th the Youth are filling ALL the “Music Moments” in the Worship. I’m excited to be working with them and hope you come out to support them. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve at 2nd church. Blessings, Hilary Please “Like” our Facebook Page For the past several years we have had a page that features happenings at the church. The page is to promote our programs and invite others to join us. For this to work as a tool to grow the church, it needs your comments, and of course it needs your “like”-ing. So when you have appreciated some event at the church or aspect of our church life, post on the page! When you see something inspirational on the page that touches you, “Like” it! This all helps in getting the word out. We need you to “Like!” It is an inexpensive and effective way to improve and increase the fellowship. If you haven’t been to the page yet, go to Facebook and type in “Second Congregational UCC, Grand Rapids” Lenten Study on Repentance New Adult Class Time: Thursdays at 5 p.m. Beginning Thursday, February 11, we will offer an adult class. We have heard the concern that many of you would prefer not to drive at night. So let’s try a new time slot! Come to the Drawing Room at 5. We explore how repentance is a critical aspect of faith in the season that bids us all to consider the direction of our lives and what needs to change within us. Join us, won’t you? Lent Services Shrove Tuesday - Fat Tuesday with the North End Churches. Tuesday, February 9, at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 4 Mile Road, 1 block east of Plainfield Avenue. 6:00 Jambalaya Dinner. 7:00 Concert presented by Madison Square Choir. Ash Wednesday - Wednesday, February 10 at 6:30 (no supper or Living Room). Palm Sunday Services - March 20 at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. Maundy Thursday Service - Thursday, March 24 Good Friday Service - North End community service. 12:00 noon. Easter Sunday - Services at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. 8:30 & 10:30 services DeColores worship 28 8:30 & 10:30 services 21 Chocolate Sale Valentines Day 8:30 & 10:30 services 14 12:00 Worship Life 8:30 & 10:30 services Youth Service Blanket Sunday 7 Sunday 7:00 Barbershop Chorus 29 7:00 Barbershop Chorus 22 7:00 Barbershop Chorus 7:00 Faith Formation 15 7:00 Barbershop Chorus 8 7:00 Barbershop Chorus 1 Monday 6:00 Adult Education: 10:00 Women’s Lenten Service 9:00 Calder City Band 6:00 The Living Room 6:00 Adult Education 6:30 Governance Bd. 6:00 The Living Room 10:30 Operation Stork 24 9:30 2nd Stitchers 10:00 Women’s Lenten Service 23 8:00 Men’s Breakfast 17 6:30 ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICE 1:00 Book Club 10 8:00 Men’s Breakfast 9:30 2nd Stitchers 6:00 The Living Room 8:00 Ministry Council 3 Wednesday 9:00 Calder City Band 16 Shrove Tuesday Marti Gras Service at St. Andrews 9:00 Calder City Band 9:30 Bible Study 9 9:00 Calder City Band 9:30 Bible Study 6:00 Adult Education 2 Tuesday DeColores Retreat thru Feb. 28 6:30 Cheshire Bells 7:30 Chancel Choir 25 6:30 Cheshire Bells 7:30 Chancel Choir 18 6:30 Cheshire Bells 7:00 Mission Team 7:30 Chancel Choir 11 6:30 Cheshire Bells 7:30 Chancel Choir 4 Thursday February 2016 26 DeColores ADVANCE DEADLINE 19 12 5 Friday 27 DeColores DeColores Potluck 6:00 Dining Room 20 9:30 Set up for chocolate sale 13 1:00 – 5:00 Great Lakes Chorus 9:00 – 12:00 DeColores Team Mtg 6 Saturday Join us in wishing the following a very "Happy Birthday" for February! 3 Gene Tay 9 Gordon Hunsberger, Cassandra Manning 10 Pat DeGraaf, Terry Mundwiler 11 Henry Swart 12 Virginia Hoag 16 Lynda Podein 17 Martha Jankowiak, Mary Spayde, Robert Steelman 18 Bruce Patz 19 Ruta Buckingham 20 Wyland Gibbs 21 Amy Manning 24 Terry Royce 25 Suzanne Mann 27 Steve Frozley 28 Art Felix Please note...if your birthday is listed incorrectly or is not listed at all, please contact the Church Office, 361-2629, so that we can put your very important date in our computers! Thanks! PLEASE PLACE STAMP HERE Mailing Address Line 1 Mailing Address Line 2 Mailing Address Line 3 Mailing Address Line 4 Mailing Address Line 5 Attendance Totals Dec 13 Dec 20 Dec 27 Jan 3 Jan 10 142 137 92 121 108 Financial Status Through 2015, we have received $407,384 of expected income and expect to spend $390,000 of our budget. Thank you for your generous giving. Detailed figures are available on the Governance Board bulletin board outside the church office. Principal Leadership Called to Serve You Senior Minister Director of Music Ministries Director of Children’s Ministries Senior High Youth Director Church Secretary Bookkeeper Advance; Tech Coordinator Governance Board Prayer Chain Rev. Peter St. Martin [email protected] Hilary Guter [email protected] William Bode [email protected] Em Kelley [email protected] Mary Harrison [email protected] Shelley Plambeck [email protected] Dianna Martin [email protected] Brian Place, Moderator Dave Vande Kopple, Treasurer Cheryl McCarthy, Clerk Members at large: Betsy Flory-McCoy, Joe Martin Donna Atkinson, Joan Beebe, Janet Van Geison Serving Our Members in February Membership: Friendship Pads: Head Usher: Lectors: Hank Swart David Schultheiss Kathy Speer Sue Mann (Feb 7); Joe Martin (Feb 14); Cindy Leonard (Feb 21); Kathy Speer (Feb 28)