Grace UCC Newsletter

Transcription

1 Grace UCC Newsletter September 2011 Greetings from Grace What a Difference a Year Makes!! As hard as it may be to believe, September 1 st will mark the one year point in our faith journey together! Last night the Pastoral Relations Committee and I met to reflect on the events of the past 12 months, and take stock of where we were, where we've come to, and where we've yet to go as a congregation and pastor-in-residence moving through a time of transition. There is good reason to celebrate, and a solid foundation on which to build toward the next 12 months and beyond. Let me highlight some of the accomplishments of Grace Church, and I invite your input if you have other things that merit inclusion in this list: re-organization/re-structuring of the committees into Ministry Teams, and shifting the composition of the Council. This was a project Jim and key leaders had begun before he be came ill, and seeing it through feels like a way to both honor his vision, and move the congregational structure in a very positive direction. Thus far, it is working very well, still needs to be tweaked and fine tuned in some areas, but for the most part, is running well. Visioning and Leadership Retreat in January with a follow-up in February. These meetings were very successful, and the initiatives and priorities that surfaced are helping to shape goals, projects, and the Search and Call process. the campaign for and completion of the sanctuary project --- new carpet, painting of the sanctuary and offices, and sorely needed de-cluttering of the balcony and a few other spaces. This also included selling some items on Craig's List like excess pews, some chairs, and even finding a new home for the piano that stood in the office for so long Confirmation of five youth of Grace. The class had very active parent help in doing fellowship events and service projects along with exploring and growing in faith together. Summer Sunday School. Under the leadership of Lorie Hagl and other members of Intentional Faith Development, the intergenerational sessions focused on a variety of missions that the congregation has been connected with over the years --- Emmaus House, Stray Rescue, Habitat for Humanity --- and our own groups of Grace Care Ministry, and Pillow Talk; and a celebration of Camp MO-VAL First Step Home serving meals to families without homes one Sunday per month garnered the involvement of a variety of members and groups in the church, and groups who use our building. It's been a joy to those who have participated, and what we usually hear is some thing like: I'd do that again in a heartbeat! Grace Care Ministry has been exceptionally active this year --- visiting and taking communion to those who couldn't worship with us on Sundays; helping those in particularly difficult circumstances, and generally providing essential care. 50 th Anniversary celebration, and Tri-Church picinic a big success, and a day of fun, games, food, and honoring the charter members of Grace. A good time was had by all! Selection and Commissioning of the Pastoral Search Committee, which has begun the work of creating the congregational profile, preliminary to the process of interviews of candidates. Adult book studies during Lent and summer that brought people together to share their insights and experiences and learn more about one another. Conversations have begun re: strengthening the music program, and looking for a coordinator for both services. (continued on next page)

2 2 And you thought the interim time was a time for just hanging out and twiddling our thumbs!! Seriously, folks, this has been a rich time for dreaming and planning together; for healing some of the hurts from the past year; and beginning to look to a new and blessed future. We all invite prayers for discernment and wisdom, for joy and grace as Grace welcomes new members, begins some new programs, and tills the soil to prepare for new pastoral leadership. Keep up the momentum; keep on dreaming dreams; and keep dancing the Gratitude Dance for all that is and is yet to come!! Peace and Grace for the Journey, Coletta ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Reminders: This Sunday, August 28 th, Intergenerational Summer Sunday School. This will be our last session of the summer. We will host a representative from Habitat for Humanity who will talk about the Habitat ReStore, and local projects with Habitat. Sunday, September 11 th Peace Sunday Rally Day activities at 10:00 and 12:30. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Save the Dates! Please plan to get involved in the Roundtable Discussions on the church's ministries as the Search Committee seeks your input into the search and call process. Two options are available for you to come and participate in the one hour sessions: Sunday, September 18 th 10:00 a.m. Immediately following the Traditional Service and Sunday, September 25 th, at 12:30p.m. Following the Contemporary Service See article from the Search Committee, elsewhere in this newsletter. Practicing the ABCs As school resumes, Christians of all ages can practice their faith ABCs. Connie Willems, editor of Discipleship Journal Online, suggests praying through the alphabet to describe God. What would you list? Ideas include Almighty, Blessed, Christ, Divine, Elohim, Faithful, Gracious, Holy and so on. If Q and X stump you, relax the rules a bit: Quitting? Never! and Xcellent! surely describe our Lord. Try a similar approach to think of people and things to thank God for: Apples, Books, Cats, Daddy, Elephants, Friends... and on and on!

3 3 Words of Wisdom from some very young Peacemakers: Source: A Million Visions of Peace edited by Jennifer Garrison and Andrew Tubesing -- thank you, Cathie Sanzoterra, for passing this on to me. We must stop the wars and the fighting. We need to learn to communicate by using words instead of weapons. David, age 7 I dream to be a person who cares for the world. It aches me that I'm writing and something bad is happening right now. Carey, 11, Pennsylvania WAR-- may it be a word that future generations have to look up in the dictionary. Jeanne, Minnesota My vision for peace is that there will be no more bullying on the playground, and not so many fights. Jason Less violence on TV and in video games. Natalie, 8, Illinois Dear United Nations Members, My sister and I go down the road every week and pick up trash. I think the world should pick up trash every week like us. I think that would be a good way to make peace. Dan, 9, New York My vision for PEACE is a world where everybody takes what they NEED and GIVES BACK twice as much. Jennifer, 10, Ontario I am just a kid, and I know that peace is better than war. How come the people who run the nations of the world are not as smart as I am? Adam, New Jersey

4 4 OUTREACH MINISTRY COMMITTEE NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 2011 Our outreach this month is creating Emergency Clean-up Buckets to be taken to the Festival of Sharing. What is the Festival of Sharing? On the third Saturday in October, at the Missouri State Fairgrounds, volunteers help to sack rice, beans and potatoes for distribution to Missouri agencies. Semi trucks are loaded with kits assembled for Church World Service, to continue their journey to other parts of the world. Grace United Church of Christ has contributed to the Festival of Sharing every fall by sending kits and money. In the past, several members from our church have gone to volunteer in Sedalia, and have said the Quilt Auction and church food booths are worth the trip. It must be amazing to see the involvement in supporting this mission helping to improve the lives of countless individuals in Missouri and around the world. Since 1982, the Festival of Sharing multi-faith event has been under the direction of an interdenominational coordinating group and has generated approximately one million annually, to generate resources to deal with hunger, poverty, crisis, and injustice. Although I have not attended the Festival of Sharing event personally, I have fond memories of my young daughter, Becky, bringing items for personal hygiene kits during the Flood of After her grandparents had to seek shelter when their Florida home was hit by a devastating hurricane, she got our congregation involved, and contributions were made for 3 Clean-up buckets. During confirmation class in 2010, our daughter, Sarah, joined her classmates in collecting baby care items for kits to be distributed in Haiti. Once again, the people at Grace were generous; many lives were touched with Christian caring. By donating to Festival of Sharing, we can help make supplies readily available when disaster strikes, like it did in Joplin, Missouri. (continued on next page)

5 5 The Emergency Clean-up Bucket has a value of $56.00, shipping costs are $3.00, and because all items must fit inside a five-gallon bucket with a re-sealable lid, the contents are very specific: 1 dry laundry detergent, oz. 24 heavy-duty trash bags (33-45 gallon) 1 12 oz. bottle liquid concentrated household cleaner (like Lysol) 7 sponges, assorted sizes 50 clothes pins 18 cleaning towels (re-usable, like Easy Wipes) 1 bottle insect repellant drops or lotion, Not aerosol, 6-14 oz. 1 bottle liquid antibacterial dish soap (like Dawn) 25 oz. Clothesline, two 50 ft., or one 100 ft. Please purchase all liquids in plastic bottles. Send only new, unopened materials. Make sure lids on bottles are tightly closed. See the Outreach Ministries bulletin board, to sign up for an item(s) to donate. Envelopes for monetary offerings will also be available. Please join me and other members of Outreach Ministries, and see how many buckets we will be able to fill! Sincerely, Carol A. Miller Outreach Ministries Committee Thank you for a successful 50th Anniversary and Tri-Church Picnic on August 6th! We offer our utmost thanks for the charter members who came and shared their stories about the beginning of Grace United Church of Christ. Five ladies and one gentleman came to share, reminisce and to see the Grace that they had started in We are grateful for them. The Church Life Committee offers many thanks to all the people who organized the event and to the people who staffed the various events of the day. We offer our thanks for the wonderful meal, to those who were in charge of the luncheon and those who served the luncheon. The day was hot but the children didn t mind the heat while ice-grass sledding down the hill, participating in other games or when bouncing in the bounce house. The adults chose not to participate in the games, but chose the air conditioned building and events inside. Bingo was a fun way to spend an hour and the cake and cupcake walk was enjoyed by many. We wonder where Grace will be in another 50 years. It s something to think and pray about. Peace, The Church Life Committee

6 6 Summer Sunday School was a huge success!!! Thanks to everyone that attended and participated in the activities. A great big thank you to all of you that assisted in presenting, organizing and/or helping plan each weekly activity. It was fun having all ages together and doing new things. Lorie Hagl CAMP MO-VAL BENEFIT Dinner Party and Auction Camp Mo-Val dinner party on Saturday, October 22, 2011 at St. John s UCC at Olive Blvd, Chesterfield, MO. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. Dinner will be served at 6:00 p.m. The silent auction will run from 5:00-7:30 p.m. with the oral auction at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30.00 for adults, and $10.00 for children ages All funds raised benefit the annual operating expense of Camp Mo-Val. Contact Rev. Carleton & Marilyn Norton at carletonnorton@aol.com or call See the flier on the kiosk in the foyer for more information. HOW DID WE DO IN JULY 2011 Contributions: $10, Expenses: $13, Mission: $70.00 (School Supplies) Attendance: 504 total, 101 average per week

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8 8 Grace History continued... For those of you who were unable to attend the program at the picnic on August 6th, here is some history. In the mid 1800 s along the Missouri River both the Evangelical and the Reformed churches started some churches. The first one west of the Mississippi River was Femme Osage in Both Emmanuel and St. John s Wolfrum Road started around The new churches that started when we started were a result of the planning and construction of I : Faith Wentzville 1962: Good Shepherd St. Charles and Grace O Fallon In St. Charles county there has been no other United Church of Christ new church starts. If you are wondering how the churches merged to form U.C.C. look at the chart on the wall between the west exit doors and the stairs to the balcony. Some pictures of 50 years are on the bulletin board in the coffee area. I m including a piece Carolyn Toth, the wife of our first pastor, brought from Pennsylvania. Excerpt from George Toth s Short Autobiography Ministry with Grace Church, O Fallon, MO In August of 1961, we took the long trip out to Missouri, and came to a community to begin a new church and a new part of our life. Organizing a new congregation in O Fallon was an exciting venture, with each new step an added joy: our first worship service (we met in a roller rink); the building of the altar, which Carolyn and I designed, by the men of the church; our first Communion Service; the beginning of the confirmation class; the beginning of the Church School; the organization of the Women s Fellowship and the Churchmen s Fellowship; the selection of the permanent name of the church; the organization of the Junior and Youth Choirs; the opening of our charter for membership of Grace Church within the denomination all within the first year. Within the second year, other highlights enriched our lives: the building and dedication of Grace Chapel; my installation as Pastor of Grace Church; Easter Sunrise community services; the incorporation of Grace Church into Synod and Conference; the organization of Church Council and Youth Fellowships; the writing of our Constitution and By-Laws of Grace Church; and the birth of our first-born, Brian Jeffrey Toth. Also, while in O Fallon, I served in such capacities as President of the O Fallon Ministers Alliance; chairman of the committee on Christian Education for the St. Charles County Council of Churches (organizing a Leadership Training School and Vacation Church School Training course for the Council); President of the St. Charles Region Pastors Circle; and a visiting Hospital Chaplain at the Lincoln County Memorial Hospital. After two and a half years as Pastor of Grace Church, we felt it was time for a new pastor to come to O Fallon and take over where we left off. According to Homeland Ministries Policy, each new mission church is scheduled for self-support within ten years, and the fellowship of Grace Church felt it could rest on its laurels for five or six years. So, in spite of the wonderful experiences we had in O Fallon, we accepted the call from Trinity (Roth s) UCC in September of So, in November of 1963, we moved from O Fallon to Spring Grove, Pa., in order to begin a new venture in our lives.

9 9 Grace History continued Other charter members present at the picnic on August 6th, 2011, were: Dixie Sanders Allen Donald and Janet Fuhr Evelyn Harper Lottie Wilders Schnare Terry Blevins (who was around 7 years old at the time of the charter) represented his brothers Bob and Marin Jr. Rev. Dr. Bill Schwab (the third pastor), and wife, Diane, who started the preschool In the worship on Sunday, the communion hymn written by Carolyn Toth was used. It is pasted in our hymnal as number 545. Thanks to Carol Muench for providing housing, transportation, friendship, etc. to Carolyn Toth for the weekend. Submitted by Liz Birchen Dear Secret Pals, Some of us haven t heard from you in a while, and would really appreciate and enjoy receiving a letter or note from our secret pals. Please remember to contact your secret pals often and let them know you are thinking about them throughout the year. Peace RALLY DAY will be Sunday, Sept. 11 th Join us to register for Sunday School and have some fun! After first service there will be juice and doughnuts along with the Peace Crane Story and Craft. After second service we will have games, hotdogs/brats and a cake walk. Volunteers are needed to staff the games and provide goodies for the cake walk. Contact Cindy Rose at or cindyro60@msn.com for more information.

10 10 Search Committee Update The committee wants you to save a date for the next time you are asked to fill out surveys and/or questionnaires to help gather information for the profile. We will host a Round Table Discussion on Sunday, September 18, from 10 to 11am, and September 25, from 12:30 to 1:30pm. It is very important that you attend one of these times, as the information gathered is needed by the entire congregation. The profile sent to prospective pastors is a congregational profile, not a search committee s profile. We are your facilitators of gathering this information. We reviewed your Leadership Expectations surveys at the meeting on August 22nd and we want to inform you of the outcome of the survey. The 72 responder s results are to be read as being unprioritized, as that is the way the survey was designated. Please review all the graphs and if you have questions, please contact anyone on the Search Committee. Kevin Boiles, Fred Bruner, Dana Buchanan, Mark Miller, Janice Pierre, Jessee Porter, Ethan Sincox, Mary Ann Sutton, and Betty Warren are but an or phone call away. Sincerely, Betty Warren **************************************************************************************** Respondents chose the following top twelve leadership expectations Number on Survey Is an effective preacher/speaker #1 Is effective in planning and leading worship #5 Is a person of faith #28 Helps people develop their spiritual life #3 Works regularly at bringing new members into the church #23 Is a compassionate and caring person #42 Is effective in working with children #14 Is effective in working with youth #31 Encourages people to relate their faith to their daily lives #35 Makes pastoral calls on people in hospitals, nursing homes and those confined in their homes #11 Is accepting of people with divergent views #36 Is a good leader #13 (graphs and original leadership expectations survey on the following pages)

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12 Respondents Answers to Leadership Expectations Survey Greatest to Least 12 Respondents Answers to Leadership Expectations Survey in Numerical Order

13 13 Family to Family Class with NAMI A twelve week course of education on dealing with living with people with mental illness will start on Monday, September 12th, at 7:00 p.m. here at Grace. Everyone is welcome to join us! If you have any questions, please contact Liz Birchen at **************************************************************************************** Upcoming NAMI Speaker Presentation

14 14 SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS Ruth Gnau 01 Sandy Silger 01 Ryan Fleming 02 Dixie Allen 04 Kathy Dunlap 07 Eric Ragan 08 Valerie Lindsey 10 Bertie Carey 10 Rick Winder 12 Lori Hagl 12 Betty Raters 14 Daniel Birchen 14 Ian Sheridan 17 William Kosanda 18 Zachary Sheridan 19 Alexa Stanley 21 Josh Fitzgerald 23 Cole Stanley 24 Blake Stanley 24 Solomon Conrad 25 Michael Mayer 25 Arlene Squires 25 Lois Anderson 27 Lay Readers 1st Service: Sept 4 Dana Sincox Sept 11 Art Johnston Sept 18 Connie Smith Sept 25 Betty Warren Lay Readers 2nd Service: Sept 4 Marcy North Sept 11 Mark Miller Sept 18 Don Shelton Sept 25 Jan Hendrickson Ushers 1st Service: Roger & Janice Pierre Greg & Beth Johnsen George & Debi Schmidt 29/1979 Mike & Sandy Silger 12/1981 Ashley & Debbie Eckhoff 14 Greeters 2nd Service: Steve Roberts Zach Winder

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16 16 GRACE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST 8326 Mexico Road St. Peters, MO Phone: / Website: graceucc.net christianchurchesonline.com/graceuccstpeters RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED. Our mission is to know Christ and make his love known to all Sunday Schedule 8:45 A.M. Traditional Worship Service 10:00 A.M. Sunday School 11:15 A.M. Contemporary Worship Service Community Outreach Programs Monday - Friday Tuesday (2nd, 3rd & 4th) Cub Scouts Tuesday (3rd) Preschool 2 Years Thru Pre-Kindergarten National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (N.A.M.I.) Thursday (2nd & 4th) Girl Scout Jr Troop 1421 Church Office Hours Monday - Thursday 8:30am to 2:30pm