THE MESSENGER St. John

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1 THE MESSENGER St. John Wood River, Illinois No matter who you are 2014 or where you are on life s journey, YOU are welcome here. Wedding Anniversary Sunday Feb. 16 We will honor those who have been married 50 years this year. What s Inside Prayer list Kids Klips Pipe Burst Floods Fellowship Hall The sub-zero temperatures caused the pipes above the women s restroom in Fellowship Hall to burst on Monday, Jan. 28 but thanks to John Gebeleins quick response it caused a great deal less damage than it could have. Pastor Mike discovered the break about 2pm and by 2:30 he and John had the water shut off for Fellowship Hall and could start cleaning up. They vacuumed up over 60 gallons of water and cleaned up the damaged ceiling tiles. By mid-morning on Tuesday, Accurate Plumbing had replaced the leaking pipes and the water was back on for the Heartland Quilters meeting. The ceiling is being left open to make sure everything is dry and to prevent any mold from developing. Here are some pictures to show you the extent of the damage before clean up began. Birthdays February Events From the Pastor 3 rd Sunday Dinner Out Save the date: Pancake & Sausage Dinner Tuesday, March 4 4-7pm John checked all the light fixtures and replaced the damaged bulbs. Our janitor, Ashley, did a lot of extra cleaning Monday night, as well. The floors still need some repair work and to be waxed and buffed but the hall is functioning and will be back to normal in a few weeks.

2 You don t know me but I am a member of the church, said the young man on the phone. He was right. I had been pastor there 10 years by that time and had never met him. His mother had died when he was in college. Her funeral was the last time he had been to that church, 13 years ago. His father had remarried and moved to another state. I knew some of his cousins. So I did know of him. When people begin their phone call with those words, however, they are usually searching for something. And this man was in love, his girlfriend was pregnant and they wanted to get married and they would want the baby baptized later on. Oh yes, she had a 7 year old son from her first marriage. When we finally got together, I learned his girlfriend had grown up in a church where divorce was not allowed. They were both searching for a church. She did not want her son to go to Sunday School and hear that she was an adulteress for getting divorced and remarried. Oh, they wouldn t say that directly, but he was a clever child and could connect the dots. Besides, her parents thought that and so did her ex-husband. He was the one who had cheated throughout their marriage, however. She begged him to go for counseling. Only after she moved out one day did he then say he would go for counseling. He demanded it, in fact. One more manipulation, using the church as his accomplice in continued abuse and debasement of his wife. He tried to shame her with their pastor, claiming he had offered to go to counseling and that she was the one who was being unreasonable. He denied he had abused her. He admitted to the affairs but he was now repentant, and shouldn t she have to forgive him? Whenever she attended a cousin s or friend s wedding with her parents, her mother would refuse to look at her while they were in church. When the priest or minister said, So long as you both shall live, her mother would turn her head a little further away from her and slowly shake her head. The tears flowed in my office as she talked about her sense of failure, the new strength she found when she went to counseling and the feelings of utter abandonment by her church and her family. And the new life she felt when she had met this young man, what a blessing their love has been. Could I bless them, they asked. Will you feel really married if it is not in your family s church, I asked. And when your baby is baptized, I will ask you to promise to raise your child in the church. Are you sure you don t want to find a church closer to where you live? You live 20 miles from here, I know there are churches closer to you where you can get married. But I am a member here, he said. This is home. For those of us who get mired in discussions about membership around constitutions, bylaws, contributions and attendance and covenant we lose sight that for so many membership is simply about a feeling of belonging. This young man needed to be able to pick up the phone and say to his tearful fiancé, No. You are not a failure. I know a place where you will be welcomed where we can both call home. A place where we will find a blessing and where our past will be a source of strength and insight, not a scarlet letter of shame. We all need a place to call home, where we know we can abide in Jesus and where Jesus abides in others who will surround us with compassion and love. Experiences like this make me wonder, sometimes, if we should give up the term member. Maybe we should talk about being a son or daughter or child of the church. You don t know me but I am a child of the church. And we could speak of people in covenant relationship instead of membership for those who generously, regularly support the church with their time, talents and treasure. How would nurturing a sense of being a child of the church differ from grooming our children to be members? I am not sure but I think it would be different. You can be a member of a club, a fraternity or sorority or a bowling league. Members learn rules and bylaws, children grow toward maturity and feel nurtured in relationship. Being a member of a club does not offer the depth of relationship becoming a part of a church family offers: a place where we can talk about difficult subjects, learn together, share our grief, celebrate our joys and pray for each other. How wonderful to be able to say, You are a child of the church. Hurting, troubled, divorced, pregnant, repentant, hopeful, straight, gay, marrying, grieving or searching, welcome home.

3 February 1 - Kathleen Hall, Kim Sheraka 2 - Alex Frazar 3 - Donita Crockett 5 - Josh Manescalco 9 - Rene Butler, June Niehaus 10 - Sheridan Frizzell 11 - Jim Stille 12 - Tom Thorp 13 Caleb Sutton 14 - Gene Abernathy 15 - Lois Cotton 18 - Greg Farrell 20 - Gladys Abernathy, Nathaniel Crockett 21 - Wyatt Hill 25 - Ed Hamlin, Julia Thien 27 - Hayleigh Rhodes 28 - Brian Kichline, Meghan Reppenhagen Hospitalized or other Health concerns since the last Messenger: Tracy Butler Rayetta Hornback Roger Ringering Gregg Smith Theresa Tweedy Dot Schueler Ervin Thien Joe Hanfelder Bev Thomas Staying Close to Home/Health Concerns Lucille Aubin Eleanor Kohlmiller Joyce Gholson Margaret Rowden Ed Hamlin June Tucker Chris Johnson Betty Wiegand Darleen Gowin Freda Frizzell In Nursing Homes Margaret Hinkle, Hitz Home John Niehaus, Jerseyville Manor Serving in the Military Tyler O dell, Caleb Roberts, Blake Sabolo, Brandon Sabolo and Brandon Southcombe Praying Together The love of our neighbor in all its fullness simply means being able to say, What are you going through? Simone Weil We can give help to people in need. That is a blessing! We can be loving in word and deed. That is a blessing! We can work for what is right. That is a blessing! We can trust God with all our might. That is a blessing! Amen. Humankind did not weave the web of life. We are but one strand within it. Whatever we do to the web we do to ourselves. Chief Seattle

4 Coming Events Around St. John UCC 3 rd Sunday Dinner Out February 16 Leave after Coffee Fellowship Family Friendly Soup, Salad, Bread, Pasta, Dessert Bars Olive Blvd., Creve Couer, MO Menu, prices & sign-up sheet On the board in Berry Parlor Go to For menus, sign up for coupons. Sweet Tomatoes Gift cards available from Manna Money! Order by Feb. 9 to receive your card in time for the Dinner Out on the 16 th. Sweet Tomatoes is a Green Certified restaurant. Ways to help: Provide a basket of goodies or other items for the silent auction. Sponsor a table Bring family and friends Knowing that we can be loved exactly as we are gives us all the best opportunity for growing into the healthiest of people. Fred Rogers My father didn t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. Clarence Budington Kelland

5 Bible Study Wednesday nights, 6pm There is, in a word, nothing comfortable about the Bible until we manage to get so used to it that we make it comfortable for ourselves. But then we are perhaps too used to it and too at home in it. Let us not be too sure we know the Bible... just because we have learned not to have problems with it. Have we perhaps learned... not to really pay attention to it? Have we ceased to question the book and be questioned by it? Thomas Merton, Opening the Bible How do you read the Bible? Why do people seemingly ignore many passages but cling to the literal meaning of a few obscure passages? How have people read some of those difficult passages down through the years? What parts of the Bible most comfort you? What passages most disturb you? Come, let us wrestle a bit with God s Word. Easter Gift for Vimbai!! We continue to sponsor a child through UCC Child Sponsorship ministry with proceeds from our Manna Money sales. Vimbai Dziya is now 13 years old and our sponsorship is administered through the Golobal Ministries affiliated Mt. Selinda Orphanage in Zimbabwe. As you can read in her letter on the Mission Board in Fellowship Hall, our gifts will allow her to continue her education as she enters Form 1, what we call Freshman year. The Stewardship and Mission Ministry Team hopes to be able to send Vimbai an Easter gift. During February, we will have a noisy offering jar in the narthex for our loose change (and bills). This extra gift will be sent through and administered by UCC Child Sponsorship offices. Vimbai will be able to use the funds for food, household supplies and clothing. The program director is traveling to Mt. Selinda in March and will take the funds with her so we need to complete this offering in February and forward the funds by March 1.

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8 Sharing God s Blessings In February, many people give valentines to their friends and family. Some valentines are funny and some are sweet. They are one way to tell people you re important to me! Jesus doesn t say anything about valentines, but he does tell people that they are important to him, and to God. In Matthew 5 you can read some of Jesus words of love and encouragement. Sometimes this passage is called the beatitudes, which means blessed. Read Matthew 5:1-12 and think about the blessings Jesus talks about. Notice the people who Jesus is blessing. Try writing beatitudes of blessing and encouragement for people you know. You can also use some of these ideas to share God s blessings with others. Notes of Blessing Think of someone who is or has been a particular blessing to you. Make a valentine or a card of appreciation. Tell what the blessing was, the difference it has made in your life, and how it inspires you. You could make a card by folding a piece of construction paper in half and decorating it. Or you could make a roll-up card by cutting a long piece of paper in half. Draw pictures and print a message along the long edge; then roll it up and tie it with a ribbon. Blessing Fortune Cookies Surprise someone by tucking words of blessing inside a fortune cookie! Follow the cookie recipe, but before you start, write words of blessing on a small slip of paper (3 x ½-in/7 x 1-cm) or choose something from Matthew 5:1-12. For example, Matthew 5:4 might be reworded You re blessed! Even when you feel sad, you will receive comfort. 2 Tbsp/30 ml milk ½ tsp/2.5 ml vanilla 3 Tbsp/45 ml sugar 1/3 c/75 ml all-purpose flour 1 egg white glass muffin tin & cookie sheet Mix together sugar, egg white, and vanilla. Stir in flour until well blended. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto a baking sheet greased with butter and spread into a 3-in/7-cm circle with the back of a spoon. Bake at 400 F/200 C for 3-4 minutes until edges are brown. Loosen cookie with a spatula and turn over. Place folded fortune in the center. Quickly fold cookie in half, press edges together for several seconds. Grasp ends of cookie, place center over rim of glass and gently press ends down to bend cookie in the middle. Place each cookie in the muffin cup to retain shape until cool. If cookies become too brittle, return them to the oven briefly to soften. Makes about 18 cookies. Blessing Bags Jesus tells us we are the light of the world. One way we can share this gift of light is to celebrate our ordinary blessings together by candlelight with our families. Create a blessing bag that you can use to celebrate blessings together with your family. Find a paper bag and write a message to your family on the outside, such as Our Family Blessing Bag. Decorate a sheet of paper or a square of cloth with Christian symbols such as the fish, cross, triangles, or circles, or write words of thankfulness or blessings on it. This will be your table centerpiece. Write down the words of the prayer under Praying Together or write a prayer of your own. Find a small candle and place all these items inside the blessing bag. When you are ready to share the bag with your family, place the centerpiece on the table and set the candle and the prayer on top, and ask an adult to light the candle. The blessing bag will help the family remember to pray before the meal and talk together about their blessings. For an added adventure, try eating the meal by candlelight! Blessing Reminders We can use our gifts to bring light to the world and bless the people around us. Make small gifts to give to people as a reminder of God s blessings and your love. People who enjoy reading often appreciate having bookmarks. Use stiff fabric, recycled cardboard, or foam craft sheets. For gardeners you can decorate small flowerpots with acrylic paints. Fill the pot with soil and seeds or small plants. Jill Abenth, excerpted with permission from Come Join the Circle, Logos Productions.

9 Mission Statement for St. John UCC St. John United Church of Christ, Wood River, Illinois is a Christian Community: Worshiping the Triune God Claiming the historic faith of the church Sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ Nurturing for Christian discipleship Ministering to one another through fellowship and caring Serving our community and the world Connecting with other Christians for witness and service The Messenger is a monthly publication of St. John United Church of Christ, 228 N. Sixth St., Wood River, IL 62095; phone Access our home page at Worship is at 9:30 a.m. Our Pastor is Rev. Mike Southcombe, cell phone (618) The Messenger editorial staff includes, Evalena O dell and Marlene O dell. All guests are welcome. always caring, always sharing St. John United Church of Christ 228 N. Sixth St. Wood River, IL Return Service Requested