PILGRIM JOURNAL First Congregational Church, UCC PO Box 5 ~ 102 Church Street Romeo, MI Church Office:

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1 PILGRIM JOURNAL First Congregational Church, UCC PO Box 5 ~ 102 Church Street Romeo, MI Church Office: firstcongromeo@gmail.com website: firstconguccromeo.com MARCH SCRIPTURE READINGS MAR 03 Exodus 34:29-35; Psalm 99; 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2; Luke 9:28-36 MAR 10 Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16; Romans 10:8b-13; Ephesians 4:22-25 MAR 17 Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18; Psalm 27; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Ephesians 4:26-32 MAR 24 Isaiah 55:1-9; Psalm 63:1-8; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Ephesians 5:8-13 MAR 31 Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 32; 2 Corinthians ; Ephesians 4:1-6 The scripture in bold is what Pastor Kim will use in her sermons. Annual Meeting Bake Sale/Auction Birthdays From the Pastor IN THIS ISSUE Kroger Rewards Program Ministry of Outreach & Mission Prayer List Women s Self-Defense Class FROM THE PASTOR It is truly a wonderful time to be part of the Church. At our semi-annual meeting last month, I was thrilled with the excitement of new possibilities being discussed by so many of you. In fact, I have a list on my desk of creative ideas we can begin to discuss and implement. I am also interested in hearing about some of the traditions that you feel are vital to our ministry. When I answered the call to work in ministry at this church, I knew it wouldn t be easy. However, the potential that we have to impact this community and those around the world is enormous. I have never witnessed so much possibility with such an amazing group of individuals. Therefore, I will give you all that I can, and together we can do amazing work for God s kingdom. As we move forward this year, my prayer is that we will grow together spiritually as we open ourselves up to new adventures. My door is always open for your ideas, suggestions, and comments. May we keep in step with the Spirit. Blessings, Rev. Kim

2 BIRTHDAYS 3/06 Penny Lowes 3/13 Kim Newport 3/14 Ryley Butz 3/14 Andrew Henson 3/17 Sally Hess 3/17 Abby Price 3/24 Dale Lopus 3/29 Ned Youatt 3/30 Richard Raymond ANNUAL MEETING - EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED FULFILLED!! I would like to thank everyone who joined us after worship on Sunday, February 24 for our 190th Annual Meeting. It was well attended; those of you who were not able to join us, know you were missed. We reviewed quite a lot of information and had very engaging and open discussion. It was difficult and somewhat scary at times, but the conversation was authentic, and in my opinion, well received. We are very excited and still committed to our success as a church family, but know that change is needed and courage required. While I can't go into every detail, I would like to share the key decisions and a summary of the discussion that occurred. We reviewed our 2018 actuals and 2019 proposed budget. While we ended more positive than budgeted in 2018, we still had a deficit. We also see a continuing trend of reduced income in 2019 and therefore project a larger deficit in To address this, we discussed and formally agreed to allocate funds from the sale of the church home to cover these deficits. This is exciting as it enables us to not worry about where the coverage will come from this year. As part of the 2019 budget, we also discussed and formally agreed to bring Pastor Kim on as a full-time minister. This is key in enabling the change and growth within our congregation and our outreach into the local community. We are blessed to have her as part of our family and look forward to engaging in some new and exciting opportunities. We also agreed to give our staff a long-overdue increase. They are a valuable part of our daily ministry and are very deserving of this small recognition. Finally, as least as far as the budget is concerned, we agreed to use available funds from our Investment Fund and the remaining amount in our Boiler Fund to pay off the boiler loan. This will free us from any further interest and release us from our only debt; a good position for us to be in. Now for some of the open discussions... Our church is in an old, historic building. While its beautiful and has been a church home to us for many, many years, it's been very difficult for us to effectively maintain and absorb the costs within our current income. We do what we can, not necessarily what we should. Given this, we agreed to investigate a couple of opportunities. First, we will continue to look for alternative uses for our building. This could be renting more space, partnering with another organization or church, or using space for more outreach programs. We also want to begin to investigate the 'possibility' of a sale so we understand the value and work that would be required. Again, there has been no decision to take this path, but it is something that we need to be aware of. We also talked about membership and received input from our new family members on how they see membership. In this changing world and right here in our faith community, the old

3 norms are no longer valid. That doesn't mean they haven't had their place, but they no longer feed the new generations nor encourage others to want to participate in a faith community. As a result, we are going to continue to discuss opportunities to change our membership practices, while still protecting the sanctity of our faith community. If you have an interest in being a part of this discussion, please let us know. And then finally, we had open discussion about new mission and outreach opportunities. What's key here though is that we are not just looking for ideas; we're looking for people with the passion to take on these ideas and make them a reality. We are also interested in knowing what the needs are within our own community, and welcome anyone that has an interest to reach out and investigate, and help us identify where are next focus may lead us. You are all a blessing. We appreciate what you do and bring to us, no matter how big or small. But, we also know that change is needed, and we can't do it alone. Every one of us has something more to offer, whether it be money, more time, a skill, or who knows what. Please join us as we continue our journey, here in the heart of Romeo, where faith and compassion meet! Rob Butz, Moderator on behalf of your Ministry Council MINISTRY of OUTREACH and MISSION EMERGENCY CLEANUP BUCKETS Due to the many natural disasters that have occurred in recent months here in the U.S. as well as around the globe, there is a desperate need right now for Church World Service Emergency Cleanup Buckets. Our congregation has begun collecting items for these buckets and will continue through the season of Lent. - culminating in a bucket assembling party after the service on Sunday, April 14 th. Please consider purchasing items or making a monetary donation so that we can support this vital global mission drop off. Here s what each bucket will contain and please be aware these are very specific items: Four scouring pads Seven sponges, including one large One scrub brush Eighteen reusable cleaning towels (e.g. Easy Wipes) One 50 oz. or two 25 oz. bottles of liquid laundry detergent One 12 to 16 oz. bottle of household cleaner that can be mixed with water (no spray bottles) One package of 48 to 50 clothespins Clothesline, two 50 ft. or one 100 ft. Five dust masks Two pairs of non-surgical latex gloves One pair of work gloves (cotton with leather palm or all leather) 24 to 28 heavy duty or contractor type 30 to 45-gallon trash bags on a roll, removed from carton One 6 to 9 oz. bottle of non-aerosol insect repellent Please plan on joining us on April 14 th for bucket assembling as part of our Lenten Mission Project. Your generosity will help those around the globe who have lost everything in hurricanes, fires and other natural disasters.

4 BAKE SALE FUN coming your way on Sunday, March 24!! Following the worship service, join the Ministry of Outreach and Mission for another one of our church s Bake Sale Auctions! The money raised from this event will purchase items still needed for the Lenten Mission Cleaning Buckets project, as well as the money needed to ship each bucket to those who need them. The need for these kits is very important, helping those who have experienced natural disasters. So plan on baking special goodies, wrapped, with a tag describing the contents, and bring them to church on March 24! Also bring some cash or your checkbook! ALWAYS lots of FUN!!! Great Fellowship! and GREAT Treats! Women s Self-Defense & Personal Safety Saturday, March 30, am-12pm This class is suitable for all age groups. Please join us to learn basic self-defense skills as led by professional law enforcement instructor LeAnn Stone Wilburn. Topics include: self-defense, instinctual training, and how to keep our homes and neighborhoods safer. This class will have no more than 20 participants. Sign-up today! $10 per participant KROGER COMMUNITY REWARDS PROGRAM Just a reminder that the church participates in the Kroger Community Rewards Program. After registering, when you shop at Kroger, a percentage of your bill goes to the Church. Each quarter, the Kroger Community Rewards Program sends us a check based on the amount our households spent; we just received a check in the amount of $72 for the last quarter of Every little bit helps! Please go to the Kroger Community Rewards Program website and follow the instructions to create an account. The church s number for the rewards program is If you have any questions, please see Terry in the church office. PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR: Sarah Swinney Kati (Adams) Swinney s mother-in-law Nancy Parsons Lois McGinley s friend Lou Jaros friend of Kay and Mike Maniscalco Brian Ibbotson son of Sally Hess Geoffrey Lopus Dale and Judy s son Tom Raymond Theo s son Jim Wade Karyl Lyn Dietz Lois McGinley s sister Kay Maniscalco Bill Moffet Terry Butz s step-father Lisa Shibley Joyce Couch s cousin Max Finnen Marnie Adams cousin Miles McGinley grandson of Lois McGinley Timothea daughter-in-law of Lois McGinley Matt McGinley son of Lois McGinley Janet Laloup sister of Mary Lou Coker Bob Warner Joyce Couch s brother Patricia Jackson Lynelle Novak s mother

5 Mary Lou Coker Joe Grippe friend of Marnie and Bill Adams Tim Johnson brother-in-law of Tammy, our custodian Harrison Gourlay Dale and Judy Lopus s grandson Todd - friend of Chery and Matt Smith Ray Guzall II son of Sally Hess s best friend Shirley mother-in-law of Sally s Hess s nephew Jenny daughter of Suzanne, friend of Maniscalco s John O Neil friend of Penny Lowes Elyse Peters friend of Lois McGinley Jason Stupera son of a long-time friend of Vita Green Marianne Abate relative of Vita Green Etsuko Ryutani friend of Glen and Lynelle Novak Bob Whitman friend of Lois McGinley s Olivia Velicevic granddaughter of Maniscalco s Dale Lopus Paul Walters Stuart and Mary s son Those serving in the military: Sergeant Mark Buzzell Gerry Buzzell s grandson Caleb Comock brother of Lois McGinley s daughter-in-law Jason Dean relative of Vita and Dennis Green