CHURCH CHAT. February 2019

Transcription

1 CHURCH CHAT It is the mission and purpose of Somers Community United Church of Christ to study and seek the will of God and to transform our understanding into action. February 2019 Somers Community UCC th Street PO Box 183 Kenosha, WI ~~~ Ph: Visit us on the web at: somerschurch.org And on Facebook ~~ Pastor Kathleen Gloff Ph: Administrative Associate Barbara Sherman Moderator Dennis Curnes ~~ Church Office Hours Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 9:00pm - 3:00 pm I watched the AFC Football Playoff game with my Mom last Sunday. It was the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the New England Patriots. Because the Patriots have been to the Super Bowl so many times in the last several years, I was secretly hoping that another team (Kansas City) might have a chance for a change of pace. Dynasties can be boring (Unless the dynasty team is the Green Bay Packers :) As the Kansas City fans were attempting to make some noise for their team, they showed the crowds doing the "Tomahawk Chop". They were chanting some sort of gibberish that was supposed to be honoring of Native Americans and they were moving their hands up and down in a chopping motion. The Chiefs fans are not alone in this activity; I have seen Atlanta Braves fans do the same thing at their home games. The University of Illinois (our neighbors to the south) had a mascot who "played" Chief Illiniwek. The "Chief" would ride out to the 50 yard line on a horse at home football games, wearing a full feather headdress. He jumped off of his horse and began to do an "Indian Dance". One young Native American girl saw the spectacle on TV and asked her mother: "Why are they making fun of our sacred dance?" Her Mom did not have an answer. When one of the Methodist Ministers in Champaign-Urbana criticized "Chief Illiniwek" as being a sacrilegious, disrespectful stereotype, he was forced into early retirement, because he received death threats for his views. Each of the churches in the Wisconsin Conference UCC has been asked to engage in a study on Repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery. The Doctrine of Discover came to our continent with the first Europeans. It said that whatever land the explorers discovered, they were entitled to take possession of it--with the blessing of the Christian Church--even if there were already other people living on that land. Thus, our Native American Reservation System began to form as people were displaced because their land had been "discovered" by European explorers. I hope to host a weekly Lenten Biblical Reflection, with study materials provided by the National Offices of the UCC on The Doctrine of Discovery. So many of the place names in this state--including the name of the state itself--are drawn from Native American words. Join me for Lenten Biblical Reflection, and we will find out together what God's word might have to say to us about this topic.

2 Birthdays 2 Patricia Swartz 3 William Summers Jr 5 Eleanor Thompson 10 Dan Swartz 22 Maureen Schauer Anniversaries 14 Dan & Kelli Swartz NOTE: If we are missing your birthday or anniversary, please let the church office know. February 3 Communion Souper Bowl of Caring Annual Meeting Scripture Readings Jeremiah 1: 4-10 Psalm 71: Corinthians 13: 1-13 Luke 4: February 10 Isaiah 6: 1-8 (9-13) Psalm Corinthians 15: 1-11 Luke 5: 1-11 February 17 Jeremiah 17: 5-10 Psalm 1 1 Corinthians 15: Luke 6: February 24 Chicago United Eden Offering Genesis 45: 3-11, 15 Psalm 37: 1-11, Corinthians 15:35-38, Luke 6: Sunday Volunteers Liturgist Altar Flowers Feb 3 OPEN OPEN Feb 10 OPEN OPEN Feb 17 OPEN OPEN Feb 24 OPEN OPEN 2

3 The Men s Breakfast group will be meeting for their monthly gathering on Saturday, February 9th, at 8:30 am. They gather at the Phoenix Restaurant, th St, Kenosha located west of I94 on the north side of Hwy 50 at the West Frontage Road intersection. Souper Bowl of Caring is a national movement working to fight hunger and poverty in our communities around the time of Super Bowl football game. We will be collecting nonperishable food and money for Somers Community UCC food pantry. This year the Super Bowl is scheduled for Sunday, February 3rd and we will be participating in this special offering of collecting food and money. The Congregational Annual Meeting is set for Sunday February 3rd. There will be a potluck luncheon directly following worship and the meeting will proceed after that. This year there are a number of important decisions to be made. You are the church and have a voice in the decision making process. We hope to see you here and have your voice be heard. Just a reminder, if the weather gets bad and it is dangerous to travel, there s a possibility church may be cancelled. You will find cancellation information on Channels 4,6 and 12. Information will also be posted on our Facebook page. Chicago, United & Eden Seminaries Sunday, February 24th We will be taking an offering for Chicago, United, & Eden (CUE) Seminaries of the United Church of Christ on Sunday, February 24th. The CUE s mission is to strengthen the relationship between our churches and our seminaries; further the mission and work of these seminaries; and provide financial support for our seminaries. The CUE regional seminaries includes Chicago Theological Seminary, Chicago, IL; United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, New Brighton, MN and Eden Theological Seminary, St. Louis, MO. 3

4 Somers Community United Church of Christ Council Meeting January 10, 2019 Present: Dennis Curnes Bonnie Curnes Deanna Mayes Kent Mayes Barbara Sherman Char Laba Pastor Kathy Gloff The meeting was called to order by Dennis Curnes, Moderator, at 10:30 AM. Pastor Kathy offered the prayer. The December 13th minutes were approved as printed in the January Church Chat. Dennis presented the treasurer s report. The general checkbook balance as of December 31, 2018 is $16, with the following bills to be paid are health insurance and heating bill. Financial Secretary: Deanna reported an updated on the pledges for 2019: 29 pledges for the general fund with a total of $67,315. The amounts for Our Church's Wider Mission (OCUM) and the special quarterly stayed the same. Total pledged for 2019 is $73,819. Property: Kent M. reported repairs to an overhead light cover in the day care office and he will need to call an electrician for outside lights by the sign since one light doesn't work. The Christmas tree was purchased for $650, money coming from donations of $265 and the rest from the profit from the holiday cookies. Spiritual Life: Char updated us on the profit from the Holiday cookie sale being $1,562. Missions/ Food Pantry/ Diapers: Bonnie reported we had four new children at the recent Diaper. The hats, scarves, mittens, and socks were delivered to the Shalom Center, Women's & Children's Horizon, ELCA Outreach Center, and Salvation Army. They all really appreciated them. We asked the Pastor to check to see if the school would like to do a food drive for our Food Pantry. Administrative Associate: Barbara reviewed items for the Conference Annual report. She reported installing an audit program for the copier which reports to James Imaging when toner is low. We discussed if we need to have the fax machine which is on the copier since we only get junk faxes, so at this time we will unplug the phone line to the copier. Pastor: Pastor Kathy will be going to the Green Bay area next week for CUSH and will visit Marge Aderman while in the area. Her annual report mentioned what she learned from her Bi- Vocational Incubator classes and how there are fewer full time ministers in the Conference. These topics will be discussed further at the Annual Meeting. Old Business: Dennis presented the 2019 budget. We need to make these changes: add storm water to Property, increase the mileage to 58 cents per mile, as set by the IRS for 2019, and update the number of pledges. Kent M. made a motion to present the 2019 budget at the church's Annual Meeting with the changes. Bonnie seconded the motion and approved. New Business: Busy Bee Day Care will be celebrating their 25th anniversary this fall. We feel we need to do something to celebrate their sharing our building with us. Bonnie with talk with Lucy (owner of Busy Bee) as to what she is planning and how we can thank them for being here. Starting in July or August, we will put a notice that we are celebrating 25 years together with Busy Bee Day Care in our Kenosha News advertisement. The next council meeting will be Thursday, February 14th at 10:30 AM. The meeting was adjourned at 11:25 AM, followed by the Lord s Prayer. Barbara Sherman, Clerk of Council 5

5 The food pantry is always in need of food (see list below). Again I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people in our Somers United Church of Christ for their faithful dedication in bringing in food and paper supplies on a regular basis. We are one of the many churches in the area who are trying to help those families that are struggling in this society. If you do not want to shop or cannot shop make a check payable to Somers United Church of Christ and mark it Food Pantry and I will do the shopping for you. Remember you can turn in your receipts of your purchases and get credit for your donations on your statements. Cereal** Chef Boyardee (15 oz. cans)** FOOD ITEMS (**food items we use the most) Paper Towels** Toilet Paper** Peanut Butter** Jelly / Jams ** Jell-O Snack Pudding Cups** Small juice boxes** Syrup** Pancake Mix** Rice /Pasta Sides** (Knorr) Saltine Crackers Spaghetti Sauce Bean (all kinds) Pasta all kinds Pop Tarts** Canned Tuna fish** Canned Chicken breast** Soup** (not cream soups) Mac & Cheese** Egg Noodles Ramen Noodles (beef & chicken) Jell-O Fruit Cocktail, Peaches, Pears, Pineapple, Applesauce (not lite) ** We can always use small hygiene containers like shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and mouth rinse. It is greatly appreciated. THANK YOU. Bonnie Curnes, Project Manager Diaper / Food Pantry We would like to thank everyone who donated mittens, hats, scarves, and socks. We donated them to Women and Children's Horizons, Salvation Army, Shalom Center, and ELCA Outreach Center. The groups really appreciated them. THANK YOU! 6

6 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Communion Souper Bowl of Caring Annual Meeting with Potluck 12:30 pm Resources 1:00 pm Kenosha Senior Care 8:30 am Men s Breakfast at Phoenix :00 pm (noon) Pastor s Community of Practice 10:30 am Council :00 pm Kenosha Senior Care Service Team #3 Co-chairs: Liz Borger & Patti Stolfi