The Lamplighter. Behind Locked Doors. Upcoming Events. May 2014 Newsletter

Transcription

1 First Congregational United Church of Christ Eldora, Iowa The Lamplighter No matter who you are Or where you are on life s journey You are welcome here. May 2014 Newsletter Upcoming Events May 4th May 11th May 18th May 21st May 25th Worship with Holy Communion and Food Shelf Sunday. Children s Choir sings and teachers/helpers recognized during morning worship. We wrap up our Honey Do Auction and announce winners during Fellowship. Women s Fellowship outing to The Gathering Place in Iowa Falls. Memorial Day Weekend. We change to our summer worship time of 9 am. Behind Locked Doors When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the [Jewish leaders], Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you. 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. John 20:19-22 We all know what it is like to feel as though the world is out to get us. We know what it is like to have to lock the doors of our homes and our vehicles to keep safe. We know what it is like to worry about everything from dangerous spring storms to the economy to societal changes that feel like they are simply happening too quickly for us to adapt. Many of us can also remember a better, simpler time somewhere in the past when, although probably romanticized in our own minds, life just seemed easier, more All-Church Meeting Night May 21 st The next All-Church Meeting Night is scheduled for Wednesday, May 21 st with boards and committees meeting at 6:00 pm and the Church Council meeting at 6:45 pm. This will be an important meeting for most committees and boards as we make plans to carry us through the summer months when meetings become more difficult to schedule.

2 Walking Wednesday Wrap-Up Celebrating the end of a great year of learning and growing together The final Walking Wednesday for this year will be on Wednesday, May 7 th. We will be taking the tram out to Pine Lake to celebrate the end of a great year of learning and growing. Everyone in the congregation is invited to come and enjoy an evening of food, fellowship and fun. Even if you have never been to a Walking Wednesday, you are sure to fit right in and feel right at home on May 7 th. We plan to leave on the tram from in front of the church at 5:30 pm. We will eat out at the lake, play games, and then return to the church at 7:00 pm On Sunday, May 11 th we will be celebrating our educational ministry during morning worship. Our children s choir will sing, we will recognize all those teachers and helpers who have been a part of Walking Wednesdays this year, and helped to make it another successful year of growth and blessings! Please have your child at church no later than 9:30 am on May 11 th so we can have a quick rehearsal and make sure we are ready for worship at 10 am. Pilgrim Heights Church Camp 2014 Pilgrim Heights Camp and Retreat Center has sent out their summer camp program guide and it is packed with a wide variety of camps and activities for the summer. There are camps for all ages that will be embracing this summer s theme: Get Real: Find Your True Self in Jesus. Campers are given the opportunity to explore God s glorious world, enjoy new experiences and express themselves in a safe and loving camp community. For more information, please see Kristin in the church office or you can visit the Pilgrim Heights website: There are camperships available through the church and Women s Fellowship often offers a small stipend to help offset the cost for those attending church camp as well..2

3 Tiger Pack Auction & Summer Needs The art project featured in the photo to the left is just one example of the many enrichment opportunities the Tiger Pack students are able to be a part of. As a church, we continue to find ways to support and underwrite this important school and community program. Tiger Pack will be having its end of the year Silent Auction the week of May 4 h. They will have many items created by the kids (many from our congregation!) as well as gift baskets and other goodies up on the auction block for any and all to bid on. They have a lot of really neat items for your garden like funky planters, unique plant markers and gazing balls. There will also be plants from the plant sale left over to buy as well. Stop by Tiger Pack any time that week, take a look and place a bid! Sherry will be happy to give you a number and will contact you when the auction is completed to let you know what you won. Each summer, our community is blessed with the offerings of Tiger Pack. For 8 weeks each summer, Tiger Pack offers high quality enrichment activities to all area children. This summer s theme is A Summer of Science and each week has a different focus. Over the course of the summer they will learn about famous scientists, ecosystems and animal habitats, birds, weather, stars and constellations, rocks and minerals, magnets and robotics and the human body. They are also offering a 5 day mini camp during which they will read the classic novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and then further explore the novel through activities like counted cross stitch, making jam, letter writing, picnics, playing croquet, making vintage jewelry and having a tea party at the Hardin County Historical house. Interspersed among these activities will be plenty of sewing, art, cooking and garden projects as well as lots of time at the pool and playgrounds. Tiger Pack is open from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm each weekday from June 9- June 27 and July 7 to August 8. The cost is $14.50 per day and all Tiger Pack participants get a free breakfast and lunch. The staff works hard to keep costs low so that all area children can be a part of the fun! Part of the way they do that is through fundraising and asking for support from people like us. Below is a list of some material items that they need for this summer s projects. In addition to these items, they are also very, very excited when anyone volunteers time. Having an extra set of hands in the garden or the kitchen, at the sewing machine or on the playground is priceless. And the value of sitting and listening to a child read a book, helping make a batch of cookies or learn to thread a needle can not be under estimated and only takes a couple hours a week. If you would be interested in volunteering at Tiger Pack, please contact Sherry Albertson at or her at salbertson@po- 1.eldora-np.k12.ia.us. Items needed: Fabric-larger pieces are preferred Any and all old or vintage looking costume jewelry. Does not need to be in good repair. Magnets and any kind of cool looking metal junk They are always happy to take donations of flour, sugar and butter.3

4 Behind Locked Doors (continued from page 1) relaxed, safer. The same was true for those first disciples of Jesus who we read about in the Easter story. They had been enjoying the time of their lives following Jesus and getting to watch as he performed miracles and wowed the crowds everywhere he went. It must have seemed like a dream in lots of ways. From their humble beginnings as fishermen and other mundane occupations to being a part of the inner-circle of an amazing spiritual, religious, and political movement. But then Good Friday happened. Good Friday happened and the disciples were scared for their lives. They were sure they would be next. They must have questioned everything that had happened and wondered why they had been so foolish as to leave everything they loved behind, only to end up huddled behind locked doors in fear. And it s hard to blame them, isn t it? We all have moments where we question the choices we ve made in our own lives. We all live with regrets about things we have done and those things we have left undone. It s easy to just want to throw in the towel some days and give up to lock ourselves in our homes and just take a break from life in general. The church has not been immune to this natural human reaction to times of stress or fear. The church has been very good, at times, at locking it s doors to try and insulate itself from the world in which we exist. Whether it is a fear of the rapid changes going on outside the church s walls and a desire to try and hang on to the way things have always been or an altruistic motive of just keeping those inside safe from the dangers lurking all around, keeping the doors locked is never a part of God s plan! For those first disciples, Jesus himself showed up and told them to open the doors and get back out in the world because there was lots of work to be done. It was, in fact, their call to become the church. In that moment, this frightened mass of self-protective, faltering disciples became the foundation of a faith tradition we still enjoy today and their lives and our lives would never be the same. Way too often in the history of the church it has been a community of frightened people huddled behind locked doors, trying to find protection from all sorts of perceived threats heretics, Charles Darwin, blacks, uppity women, gays or any new, unfamiliar idea that may have somehow had the power to threaten life as we know it. Thankfully, though, Jesus also gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit to blow into every locked, closed off room we inhabit and coax us back out into the world to rediscover the same calling Jesus placed before his original disciples: a call to seek our justice and peace and to share joy, compassion, love, and the promise of Easter with everyone we encounter as we live our lives in humble service to all those whom Jesus loves. Women s Fellowship Spring Outing Trip to The Gathering Place in Iowa Falls Planned for May 21 st Women s Fellowship will be going to the The Gathering Place at the Pine in Iowa Falls on Wednesday, May 21 st. This annual event always proves to be a lovely morning of good food and fun fellowship. Much like the Peppercorn Pantry in past years, The Gathering Place also has a lovely gift shop and flowers and plants for sale. The group will be meeting at the church at 9:00 am to carpool to Iowa Falls. All women of the church are welcome to join in on the fun. If you plan to go, please RSVP to Women s Fellowship President, Linda Catlin. ALL WOMEN OF THE CHURCH ARE INVITED!.4

5 May 2014 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Worship-10 am (Communion) Pastor Corey at Committee on SH High School Community Service Day Confirmation Class Meets-11am Ministry meeting Walking Wednesday 5:30 pm, this Knitting Group-6 pm in Ackley-All Day will be the FINAL Walking Wednesday for the year. Worship-10 am (Kids sing) Knitting Group-6 pm Pastor Corey hosts Clergy NO Walking Wednesday Cluster-9:30 am Worship-10 am Knitting Group-6:00 pm Pastor Corey Women s Fellowship Brunch in Iowa hosts Clergy Falls. Meet at church 9 am. Excellence Group All Church Meeting Night-6:00 pm at 10 am. Church Council meets at 6:45 pm Memorial Day Worship-9:00 am Note change of Worship time to summer schedule. BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES May 3 rd Kristin Brady 8 th Flo Fisher 9 th Millie Dagit 12 th Chad McDonald Corey & Nicole Larson (A) 19 th Paul Haywood 21 st Dick Fisher 23 rd Mike Steinfeldt 29 th Bob & Susie Liston (A) 31 st Gillian Gear June 1 st Rev. Corey Larson Heather Becthold 2 nd Marlin & Mary Lou Kirkdorffer Cameron Bierle 4 th Helen Schumacher 5 th Frances Williams 14 th Mary Graffunder Tim & Peggee Ellefson 16 th Patty Van Patter 17 th Mike Crosser 18 th Leon Herndon 19 th Susie Liston 20 th Pat Brekke 25 th Irene Palmer 26 th Dave Akers 28 th Dick and Flo Fisher 29 th Dave and Jackie Winters 30 th Carolyn Haywood Bud Priske