UCPC Community Care Line. We invite all to faith in Jesus Christ and growth in discipleship through Word, Prayer, and Service.

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1 UCPC Community Care Line We invite all to faith in Jesus Christ and growth in discipleship through Word, Prayer, and Service. September 2017 Special Points of Interest Pastor s Note Birthdays Anniversaries Monthly Calendar Announcements & Events Church Contact Info Birthdays Laura Morton - Sep 1 Bill Wivoda - Sep 4 Connie Huber - Sep 8 Rhonda McKay - Sep 8 Pat Babcock - Sep 12 Judy Martsolf - Sep 18 Carol Nielsen - Sep 19 Eric Solie - Sep 25 Hannah Hackett - Sep 26 Jerry Hassel - Sep 27 Lorraine Phillips - Sep 28 Anniversaries Curtis & Doreen McNeill - Sep 1 Mark & Susan Carothers - Sep 9 David & Celia Rohwer - Sep 10 Larry & Janet Johnson - Sep 11 Neill & Rhonda McKay - Sep 20 We all struggle, and there is no perfect life. Sometimes we need people; sometimes they need us. Sometimes people are the problem itself. Culture, ideology, and tribalism in our society seems directed towards a mutual assured destruction. It is hard to be part of a society where a kid shoots up a library in New Mexico and America barely noticed. We don't have the answers and don't have solutions to the horrific pain our society is inflicting upon itself, and we see the victims on the nightly news, on the streets of Fairbanks, and sadly, reflected in the mirrors within our own homes. Ann Davies wrote, "Before we can receive the unbiased truth about anything, we have to be ready to ignore what we would like to be true." We blame those people, point fingers at that group or some allpowerful system, yet what are we doing about it? We allow drugs to be sold in our community; we allow bigotry; we allow hunger while we throw away more food in a week than some families get in a month. Our food waste is a privilege many people don t have, and we need to acknowledge that. We can name the issues in our community; we acknowledge the plight, and we must bring it to God. Take these things to Jesus in prayer, draw power from the Holy Spirit, and be the healing hand in the world. As I started out, we all struggle; we live lives that are imperfect, yet through Jesus, we find our voice, learn what we are called to do and how we should live our imperfect lives. Whenever we put anything above God, we are going to lose. That goes for politics, for nationalism, but most importantly, it includes ourselves. As we form our high minded opinions, support this cause or that group, and enjoy blessings others simply don't have, we too often forget that everything is beneath God. On Aug. 27th, I asked the congregation to read Romans 12:9-21 during the week. The more time we spend in the Bible the more likely we are going to live out the marks of the true Christian. We have hurting people, hurting societies and a hurting world. The answers are not going to be found in politics, war, tribalism, nor within ourselves, but rather in God, understood through the Word, received in prayer and upheld in the Spirit. There is a better way to live; let it start with us. Rev. Neill D McKay Pastor s Note

2 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Room Abbr. Key : CE= Old Basement FH = Fellowship Hall C = Conference Room OL=Office Lounge M= Music Room N=Narthex S = Sanctuary HS=High School Room L = Lounge Worship Service (S) Russian Church (S) 10. Worship Service (S) Russian Church (S) 17. Bring a Friend to Church Worship Service(S) Russian Church (S) 24. Worship Service (S) Russian Church( S) Church office Closed 11. 7:30AM Women s Breakfast (Denny s) 18. Finance Meeting (N) 25. Newsletter Info Due 7:30AM Women s Breakfast (Denny s) 12. 7:15PM Mission & Outreach Mtg (C) :30PM Regional VOAD Mtg (C) 6. 1 OLLI Ice Cream Social (FH) 1 Choir Rehearsal (M) Tai Chi Classes 6:15PM Worship Committee Mtg (C) Choir Rehearsal (M) Donna Henry (M) Deacons (C) Sweet Adelines Donna Henry (M) 5:15PM Faith Development Mtg (C) Sweet Adelines Donna Henry (M) Tai Chi Classes Choir Rehearsal (M) Sweet Adelines (FH) Session (L) Tai Chi Classes Donna Henry (M) Choir Rehearsal (M) Sweet Adelines (FH

3 We invite all to faith in Jesus Christ and growth in discipleship through Word, Prayer, and Service. Announcements & Events Elder of the Month for September is Larry Johnson Join us for before Sunday School for breakfast from 9:00-9:30 a.m. Children and Youth Sunday School 9:30 a.m. Preschool meets in the Nursery. K-4th grade meets in the Fellowship Hall Elementary classroom. 5th-8th grade meets in the Fellowship Hall Middle School classroom. Confirmed students through High School meet upstairs in the High School classroom. Sunday Adult Study meets in the 9:30 a.m. Meets at 6:30 a.m. in the Narthex every Tuesday. Meets every other Monday 7:30 Denny's on Airport Way We will meet September 11th & 25th You can view the Upcoming Sunday Bulletin on our web page each week Click on the link on our home page. It will be available each Friday after 1pm. 3

4 Prayer: Brief Thoughts and Quotes by Larry Johnson Some of my favorite prayers are Celtic. Perhaps it s their relationship to early Presbyterianism or their kinship with Alaska in their emphasis upon God s Creation in landscapes and seascapes. Their simplicity and heartfelt faith are reflected in their focus upon everyday events. The Trinity is a common refrain throughout. The following come from The Celtic Vision, by Ester de Waal, a collection of Selections from the 19 th century Carmina Gadelica. Chief of Chiefs God with me lying down, God with me rising up, God with me in each ray of light, Nor I a ray of joy without Him, Nor one ray without Him. The Three In the name of Father, In the name of Son, In name of Spirit, Three in One: Father cherish me, Son cherish me, Spirit cherish me, Three all-kindly. Going to Rest Be the peace of the Spirit mine this night, Be the peace of the Son mine this night, Be the peace of the Father mine this night, The peace of all peace be mine this night, Each morning and evening of my life. I close with a Celtic blessing for each of you. Journey Blessings May God shield you on every steep, May Christ keep you in every path, May Spirit bathe you in every pass. 4

5 Hurricane Harvey Yes, we give to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance as part of One Great Hour of Sharing, but if you feel that you would like to give more for specific disasters such as Hurricane Harvey, check out the website pda.pcusa.org on how you can give. Or you can just send in a check to Presbyterian Church USA, P.O. Box , Pittsburgh, PA Put DR Harvey in the memo line. Thank you for all you give. Meet Ryan and Alethia White - Mission Co-workers Well, not quite in person, but by Skype. You may have noticed that for a few years now, we have been asked to pray for Ryan and Alethia as they work with Syrian refugees in Berlin. Ryan grew up in Anchorage, attended Trinity as a child. Some of you may know his parents, Bob and Joanie White, or his grandparents, Ralph and Louise Weeks. They were stateside this summer, and we thought we might be able to get them here, but it turned out that they were only on the East Coast. When we contacted them, they offered Skype as a way of meeting them. We have scheduled September 17 after church as a time for this. They will be back in Berlin, but have agreed to talk to us then. This is a wonderful opportunity to get to know them and learn about their work. Local churches providing food, shelter, and transportation to families facing the homeless through Love In the Name of Christ of the Tanana Valley UCPC is one of many churches being asked to help with this exciting new program whose purpose is to provide temporary housing for homeless families. Each church will be asked to do one week at a time, three or four times during the year. Love INC will screen families and provide counseling to help them obtain permanent housing and financial stability. Their goal is to move families into sustainable permanent housing in 120 days. How can you help? This program requires us as a church to have people on site from 5:30 pm to 7:30 am on site each day. This would include: 1) people to provide dinners, 2) people to be there for breakfast, and 3) one male and one female to stay in the building overnight. We also would need a coordinator for these volunteers. Please let Lucile Hackett or Neill McKay know if you are willing to help with this project. Love INC agrees to provide a 3 hour training program for potential volunteers, screen families, provide transportation for the families from and to the host congregation each morning and evening. Pray and consider if this is something that you are being called to do. 5

6 University Community Presbyterian Church 3510 College Road, Fairbanks, AK Phone: Fax: Website: Elders Sarah Lanstra ~ Clerk of Session Lucile Hackett ~ Class of 2017 Paula Long ~ Class of 2017 Brian Dixon ~ Class of 2018 Doreen McNeill ~ Class of 2018 Roger Smith ~ Class of 2018 Melissa Bierer ~ Class of 2019 Jim Durst ~ Class of 2019 Larry Johnson ~ Class of 2019 Deacons Susan Carothers Judy Fowler-Morris Georgianne Frank Lynne Krizek Sue O'Bryan Celia Rohwer Pastor Rev. Neill McKay RevNeill@ucpcfairbanks.org Office: Cell: Choir Director ~ Lucile Hackett Admin Assistant Whitney Robinson Office: admin@ucpcfairbanks.org Office Hours: Mon Fri : 9am 1pm Organist ~ Pianist ~ Kathy Dohner Kathy Dohner Sound Manager ~ David Rohwer