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)