The Good News. Holy Week services. Easter morning opportunities. First Congregational United Church of Christ

Transcription

1 The Good News First Congregational United Church of Christ 314 West Maumee Angola, Indiana April 2015 Holy Week services On Sunday we will have our Palm/Passion Worship at 10 a.m. with the distribution of palms and the scriptures that tell the story of Jesus final week. Then on Thursday at 7 p.m. we will have our traditional Maundy Thursday Worship with Holy Communion as we mark Jesus last Passover meal with his closest friends. On Friday, April 3, we will host the Community Good Friday Service in our sanctuary at noon. This service will be led by ministers and laypeople from several churches. Plan to attend these Holy Week services to help prepare you for the joy of Easter morning. Easter morning opportunities Sunrise Service: On Sunday, April 5, join us at 7:30 a.m. for an outdoor Easter Sunrise Service on Ball Lake! Gary and Sally VandenElst will host the service; take a lawn chair and wear warm clothes. Maps are on the Information Table. Easter Worship: We will worship at 10 a.m. and this service will include the celebration of Holy Communion. There will be no Coffee Hour following worship. Pancake Breakfast: Join us in Fellowship Hall for a pancake breakfast from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. on Easter morning.

2 From the Pastor s Screen Soup & Study to begin Beginning at noon on Tuesday, April 21, I will begin a weekly Soup & Study at Cahoots. Each week, we will be looking at the lectionary text for the next Sunday. This not only helps me with sermon preparation but will hopefully also help folks who participate to listen to the sermon in a different way. We will have some soup (or whatever you want to order!) followed by a discussion and be done by 1 p.m. If you are able to take a lunch hour and join us, please do! On April 21 the lectionary texts for the following Sunday are John 10:11-18, Acts 4:5-12, and I John 3: On another note... As we approach the end of Lent and move into Holy Week... I hope your journey has been meaningful and that you perhaps tried one of the six Christian Practices from the book, Streams of Living Water by Richard J. Foster, to deepen your Lenten experience. The six streams Foster works with in the book are Social Justice, Evangelical, Charismatic, Holiness, Contemplative and Incarnational. Each of these has been explained on the back of our worship bulletins over the past six weeks. All of them are important and Foster says the best life keeps all of these in balance so that we are able to follow the way of Jesus in our daily lives. In her book, An Altar in the World, Barbara Brown Taylor suggests an even simpler practice: paying attention. Paying attention so that you have reverence for your own life and the life around you. She offers this practice so that we can deepen our spiritual lives... simply by noticing the beautiful night sky, the marvelous sunset, the deer in the fields, the blossoms on spring flowers... and then give thanks to the Creator of all that is. At base, this is simple gratitude, perhaps the most important spiritual practice of all. Blessings, Page 2

3 Links from the Prayer Chain O God, we pray this day: for all who have a song they cannot sing, for all who have a burden they cannot bear, for all who wander homeless and cannot return, for those who are sick and for those who tend them, for those who wait for loved ones and wait in vain, for those who live in hunger and for those who will not share their bread, for those who are misunderstood and for those who misunderstand, for those who are captives and for those who are captors, for those whose words of love are locked within their hearts and for those who yearn to hear those words. Have mercy upon these, O God. Have mercy upon us all. - Ann Weems Cahoots campaign underway Cahoots has until June to raise $20,000 that will be matched, dollar-for-dollar by the Dekko Foundation! This match requires first time donors so please, if you have never donated to Cahoots, think about donating now! Cahoots continues to offer FAME in our building, an after-school enrichment program for middle school students, in conjunction with the Steuben County Literacy Coalition as well as Tell It Like It Is, facilitated by Crystal Havins, MSW. Cahoots is now offering 3 MRT classes, facilitated by Barb Bryan, John French, Pam Feller, Crystal Havins, Phil Myers and Dick Wolford, all of whom are trained in Moral Reconation Training. Cahoots remains a safe place for youth where caring adults are always available for tutoring or just talking. Please consider supporting our wonderful youth ministry! Page 3

4 Calendar Markers 2 - Maundy Thursday Worship 7 p.m. 3 - Community Good Friday service noon 5 - Sunrise service 7:30 a.m. VandenElst s - Easter Breakfast 8:30-9:30 a.m. Fellowship - Easter Worship 10 a.m. 7 - Men s breakfast 8 a.m. Timbers 8 - Out-of-the-Bible Study 9 a.m. - Bell Choir/Chancel Choir 5:45 7 p.m. 9 - Women s Book Study 4 p.m. Pastor s office 10 - Prayer group 9 a.m. Cahoots 11 - Women In Black 10 a.m. Courthouse - Write Tribe 11 a.m. Cahoots 12 - Worship 10 a.m. - Council meets 11:30 a.m Out-of-the-Bible Study 9 a.m - Bell Choir/Chancel Choir 5:45 7 p.m Prayer group 9 a.m. Cahoots 18 - Road Rally TBA 19 - Worship 10 a.m Men s breakfast 8 a.m. Timbers 22 - Out-of-the-Bible Study 9 a.m. - Bell Choir/Chancel Choir 5:45 7 p.m Women s Book Study 4 p.m. Pastor s office - Families of Inmates group 6 p.m Prayer group 9 a.m. Cahoots 26 - Worship 10 a.m Out-of-the-Bible Study 9 a.m. - Bell Choir/Chancel Choir 5:45 7 p.m. Upcoming 9 - Plant sale 12 - Council meets 17 - Bi-annual Meeting About the Community Our sympathies are extended to Cecil Fugate, whose mother Nora Black passed away on February 2, and also to Lynn Syler, whose mother Bonnie Foster died March 20. In the Hospital Adam Garza. Page 4

5 Happy April Birthdays & Anniversaries 3 - Cathy Covell 4 - Walt Lilley 6 - Katie Brian 10 - Jana Olson 11 - Deb Miller 13 - Larry Watkins 14 - Aaron Lloyd 21 - Tom Sagendorf 22 - Cheryl Myers 24 - Christina Krueckeberg 25 - Dick Powers 28 - Kim Couch 28 - Art Eberhardt UCC Goes Across Angola Treasure hunt coming soon! Watch for updates! Volunteer Schedule for April Date Liturgist Greeters Children's Sermon Apr 05 Marty Diller Greg & Kathleen Burns Michelle Olson Apr 12 Jim McEntarfer Joe & Linda Driver Celia Motz Apr 19 Lois McEntarfer Steve & Betsy Eyrich Vicki Harris Apr 26 Lynn Simons Michelle Olson, Kevin Burnell Rita Lechleidner Date Usher Refreshments Counter Apr 05 Ralph McDowell Easter Breakfast Gary VandenElst Apr 12 Ralph McDowell Marj & Walt Lilley Cheryl Myers Apr 19 Ralph McDowell OPEN Marge Mueller Apr 26 Ralph McDowell Krueckebergs Gayle Newton Page 5

6 News in Brief New members welcomed! On Sunday, March 15, we welcomed Barbara Lotter and Bradford Wade into our church family. Friday Prayer Group The Friday Morning Prayer Group meets each Friday at 9 a.m. at Cahoots. Barb is a cradle member of the UCC, most recently at Salem UCC, Fort Wayne. She is a pharmacist and now lives in Angola. Brad lives in Reading, MI and spent the past six years caring for his father prior to his death. Men s Breakfast group Women s Book Study Women s Book Study will meet on Thursday April 9 & 23 at 4 p.m. in Pastor Deb s office. Join us as we continue our discussion of Barbara Brown Taylor s book, An Altar in the World. The Men s Breakfast group will meet on April 7 & 21. All men are invited to these informal gatherings on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 8 a.m. at Timbers. Questions? Contact Ron Hays. Out-of-the-Bible Study Join us for our Out-of-the- Bible Study, which meets on Wednesdays at 9 a.m., in Fellowship Hall! We are currently reading Barbara Brown Taylor s An Altar in the World. Women in Black Women in Black will stand on Saturday, April 11, in front of the courthouse. Folk are invited to gather from a.m. and stand in protest of war and domestic violence. WIB is an international movement to end all forms of violence. Page 6

7 Church Council highlights Church Council met on Sunday, March 8, and the following items were among those discussed/approved/reported: A security plan will be developed for our building; Judy will be asked to contact other churches and the national setting to see what s already available; Pastor Deb reported that two people will join the church on March 15; Dave Syler reported that he had sent out final letters for the Capital Campaign, which is now officially ended; Council approved an additional week of vacation for Pastor Deb. She now has five weeks; Kim Couch announced that she is planning a lock-in for the youth. Our next meeting will be Sunday, April 12 following worship. Complete minutes and financial reports are available in the church office. Pinwheels for Prevention On Sunday, April 12, colorful pinwheels will begin appearing all over downtown Angola as a part of Pinwheels for Prevention - a way to mark Child Abuse Prevention Month. Later in the week - on Friday, April 17 - the Department of Children s Services will partner with Cahoots for a candlelight vigil walk - from Cahoots to the Courthouse - beginning at 7:30 p.m. There will be a reception at Cahoots following the vigil sponsored by Steuben County Mental Health; the Trine University jazz band will be playing. Mark your calendars now! Page 7

8 First Congregational United Church of Christ 314 West Maumee Angola, Indiana The Reverend Deborah Davis, Pastor and Teacher Rita Lechleidner, Licensed inister Lynn Syler, Director of Music Judy Goodrow, Office Manager & Ministerial Intern Michael Eyster, Moderator Judy at Pastor Deb at Our web site is Telephone us as Fax us at First Congregational United Church of Christ, as an inclusive and caring Christian community, welcomes into its full life and ministry persons of every race, ethnic background, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, marital status, criminal history and faith background. As we serve those within our church family, the community and the world in the name of Jesus Christ, we celebrate each person s uniqueness and look forward to the gifts they bring to us. God is still speaking,