THE KEYS ST. PETER S UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST GRANT PARK, IL. September 2013

Transcription

1 THE KEYS ST. PETER S UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST GRANT PARK, IL September 2013 Our Mission We are a family of faith that seeks to walk in the footsteps of Christ. We seek to know God s will and purpose in our lives. Our doors are open to all who wish to join our journey. 1

2 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CHURCH COUNCIL MINUTES Special Meeting August 4, 2013 The Council of St. Peter s United Church of Christ held a special meeting on Sunday, August 4 th following the morning church service. Larry Ohm dismissed himself due to conflict of interest before the meeting began. The council discussed the Organist/Accompanist Job Description updates recommended by the recent committee formed to find a new organist. (Committee Members: Kathy Ekhoff, Ann Smith, Judy Schneider, Bev Junker, Shari Ohm, and Trisha Meherg) We agreed that the job description update is satisfactory. The committee also has brought us an applicant for the position of part-time organist. Shari Ohm has applied for the job. Ed Bush made a motion and Bev Junker seconded, to hire Shari Ohm as part-time organist; motion carried. The committee will meet again to discuss a schedule for the year between the organists and choir directors. Respectfully Submitted, Michelle Claussen Council Secretary Church Council Minutes August 27, 2013 Unfinished Business Keith and Larry Ohm are working on the petty cash reconciliation. A final draft of the Church Committee terms, meeting schedules, officer requirements, and the number of members on each committee was reviewed. We will bring the changes to a vote in September. 2

3 New Business Al Bakhaus completed an update of our electrical system. The cost for the updates was $1,573. The Property & Maintenance Committee met with an architect to discuss the lift. The architect is looking into options without disturbing the sanctuary and/or adding on. We currently have two bids for the parsonage and church roof and we are seeking a third. The bids include removal of the old shingles and replacement with Owens Corning shingles. The current phone/internet bill (AT&T) is $175/month. Following a discussion it was agreed to look into decreasing the bill by using a plan with AT&T and Verizon with Pastor Doug s cellular phone. Josh will contact with Marcia and Pastor Doug. We discussed the duty of the Council Person of the Month of opening the church when Pastor Doug is absent. Many council members do not have a key to the church. The Council Person of the Month will have a key. We reviewed the Financial Secretary job description. Pastor s Report Pastor Doug submitted a written report for the month of July. Committee Reports Board of Christian Education: o Sep 8 th - Sunday Funday and the Bike-a-thon; o 7 th and 8 th graders will be confirmed together; o Dec 8 th Annual Childrens Christmas Program during church; o a committee member resigned. The Committeewill find a replacement. Cemetery Board: the board marked plots at the cemetery. Church Life: Sep 22 nd is Bring a Friend to church Sunday Ed Bush is the September Council Person of the Month. The next meeting is on Tuesday, September 24, 2013 at 7:00 pm. The meeting was closed with the Lord s Prayer. Respectfully Submitted, Michelle Claussen Council Secretary 3

4 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE BOARD OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION MINUTES AUGUST 6TH, 2013 MEETING Welcome to Shirley Koehn who has committed to Assistant Sunday School Superintendent position. Sunday FUNday (formerly known as Rally Day) will be Sept. 8 th o 8:50-9:10 Registration o 9:10-9:30 Choir practice o 9:30-10:10 Games & Face Painting o Worship 10:30 o Potluck immediately after Worship All invited to attend and support our YOUTH! Main Dish: Chicken will be provided A-L: Bring a side dish M-Z: Bring dessert o Bike-A-Thon Immediately after Potluck (approx. 12:30) Bible Presentation for 2 nd Grade: Sept 22 nd during Worship Service. Fusion Youth Group: o Horseback Riding planned at Kankakee State Park o Possible cook out at Jen Mussman s. o Paint ball or Laser Tag event planned for Fall. o Fusion Youth have asked to do 30 Hour famine again for next year. Confirmation Class o Current class: Resumes Sept. 15 th. Confirmation is set for Oct. 6 th. o Incoming class: It was voted to combine 7 th and 8 th grades due to sizes. 4

5 CHURCH COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES TO BOARDS/COMMITTEES Each member of the Church Council sits on a Board/Committee of our church to be the liason between the committees and the members of the church. If you have a comment about something concerns one of the Boards/Committees, please contact the Church Council Representative. * Board of Christian Education Josh Hamann * Budget Committee Lary Ohm * Cemetery Committee Michelle Claussen * Church Life Committee Roger Sturm * Endowment Committee Kevin Mussman * Memorial Committee Bev Junker * Mission Committee LaDonna Swanson * Property and Maintenance Committee Ed Bush * Worship Committee Trisha Meherg WORSHIP SERVICES Worship Services begin at 10:30 on September 8th, GRANT PARK SENIORS MEETING The Grant Park Seniors will meet on Monday, September 16 th ; 1:00 to 3:00 pm at the Community Center, Dixie Highway in Grant Park. Lunch will be served. 5

6 SERVING AT THE SALVATION ARMY SATURDAY, SEP 21 ST One mission of our church is to serve lunch on Saturday six times a year at the Salvation Army in Kankakee. There are two parts to this service: 1) donate a dessert and 2) volunteer to serve lunch. Our next opportunity to serve lunch and provide desserts is Saturday, Sep 21 st. We are asking for donations of cupcakes. We also need 4 volunteers to help serve lunch. The last few times we ve served lunch, we ve only had 2 or 3 volunteers. We need a minimum of 4 people to help serve more quickly and efficiently. Please sign up on the sheet that will be posted at the beginning of Sep to serve lunch and/or provide a dessert. Thank you! SEPTEMBER MISSION GIVING Our Churches Wider Mission (OCWM) Also known as Basic Support, our contributions support God s mission in the Illinois Conference, nationally, and globally. 71% of our contribution stays in Illinois to carry out the mission of the Illinois Conference. Part of that mission is the support of local church pastors and the local churches, helping local churches during the search and call process, and providing intervention teams to help local churches work through times of challenge. Illinois Conference of the United Church of Christ Outdoor Ministry Century Club You are invited to be part of a dream. The dream is to have available capital improvement funds for our two Outdoor Ministry sites Pilgrim Park and Tower Hill. Individuals, families, or organizations who commit to contributing $100 or more each calendar year become members of one of the two Century Clubs. Two committees one representing Pilgrim Park and the other Tower Hill work in cooperation with the Outdoor Ministry System to determine how Century Club funds will be spent for capital improvements at each location. Century Club funds assure that well-kept facilities will be available for years to come. 6

7 ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION If you would like to receive The Keys, our church newsletter, and/or your Giving Statements by , please call the church office (815) or us at: or FOOD PANTRY We continue to participate in the Food Pantry through St. Luke United Church of Christ, Beecher. They serve families in Beecher and the surrounding communities, including Grant Park. Currently they are accepting food items, paper products, and personal hygiene items. Donations received: Monetary Pounds of Items May $ pounds Year-to-Date $ pounds TREASURER S REPORT YEAR-TO-DATE THROUGH APRIL 2013 Actual Budget Total Income: $53,712 $57,281 Total Expenses: $58,082 $56,693 Net Income: ($ 3,786) $ 2,577 Note that current expenses exceed current income by almost $4, mainly because giving is under budget by $3,

8 CONFIRMATION CLASS OF The Board of Christian Education, which oversees our Confirmation program, has been reviewing the number of students projected to be in our Confirmation classes. As with the class sizes at Grant Park schools, the class size of our Confirmation classes is diminishing. With that in mind, the Board voted to combine the 7th and 8th grade classes into one Confirmation class this year, Confirmation Class of The class will have a maximum of 12 students. Combining the classes means that there will not be a confirmation class, after this class, for two years, when our current 6th graders will be 8th graders and the current 5th graders will be 7th graders. The students and parents of this class will meet on Sunday, Sep 15, in the sanctuary, following worship. This is an important meeting to learn about the Confirmation program and the expectations of Confirmation class. FARMERS AND FRIENDS Farmers and Friends, a support group for men whose spouses have died, will meet at the USA Restaurant in Grant Park at 12:30 pm on Wednesday, Sep 18 th. HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR ADDRESS? Has your house address, address, or phone number changed? Please contact the Church Office to advise us of the change! 8

9 COLLEGE STUDENT ADDRESSES College student addresses are needed ASAP. Addresses are needed for issues of the Keys. NEW and OLD addresses are needed to complete the list. Please call the church office. Leave a message if you are calling after hours. Thank you YOU RE INVITED FOR COFFEE BEFORE WORSHIP! Shari Ohm and her helpers host a coffee bar in the Sunday school entrance area each Sunday morning from 9:00 am 9:25 am. You re invited have a cup of coffee before worship. Proceeds will go to the Board of Christian Education. INVITE A GUEST SUNDAY!! SEPTEMBER 22, 2013 Invite a friend, call on a neighbor or ask a family member to church on Sunday, September 22, Church Life will be providing refreshments after the service. Also, please bring an idea for a social event that Church Life could coordinate. See you and your guest on Sunday, September 22,

10 THE PASTOR S NOTE What is the Internet? By Matt Laney "When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, 'What are you looking for?' They said to him, 'Rabbi, where are you staying?' He said to them, 'Come and see.'" - John 1:38 Seriously, what is the internet? Many of us use the internet on a daily basis (like right now), but does anyone know what it actually is? All of these web pages, where are they exactly? If you can't show it to me, why should I believe it's really there? As research for this devotion I asked the internet about itself and googled "what is the internet?" I got 4 billion hits. I only looked at the first billion and then I got a little tired. What is the internet?!! Imagine explaining the internet to someone in a preindustrial culture who has never used electricity much less a computer. You might say, "The internet is a limitless, global network that knows everything. You can look stuff up, buy things, find a husband or a wife, it's all there!" Obviously that would mean little to our pre-industrial friend. Finally, you say, "You know what, why don't you just come over to my house, we'll turn on the computer and you can see for yourself. Come and See. Come and See." When it comes to God we face a similar challenge. What is God? Where is God? We are told God is infinite and everywhere and clearly we are not. So how can limited beings access the infinite, all-knowing ground of being that permeates our lives and the universe at large? The New Testament's answer is simple: Jesus. Jesus is our window through whom we experience and connect to the wider, mysterious mainframe of God. Jesus is as necessary for experiencing God as a computer (or smartphone or tablet) is for experiencing the internet. John doesn't have all of this neatly worked out. He's more poet than scientist. John invites us into the mystery, to experience the presence of God in Christ by following him. This reflection from the United Church of Christ Daily Devotional reminds me that I can t explain everything maybe not too many things. I can t explain God. God is a mystery! I believe in God! Pastor Doug 10

11 MEET OUR CONFIRMATION CLASS Biographies written in October, 2012 Jake Dickson Hi, my name is Jake Dickson and I am in 8 th grade at Grant Park Middle School. I participate in many sports and activities. Some of these activities are baseball, basketball, chess, scholastic bowl, math team, the play, and track. Some of my hobbies are playing the guitar and the alto saxophone. One of my favorite things to do is play music in the band and jazz band. Lastly, my all time favorite food is pizza, although I really like my mom s homemade cheese fries. Samantha Greenholt Hello, I am Samantha Greenholt, I am in eighth grade and I go to Grant Park Middle School. I do many sports and right now I am in the play Aladdin, it is really fun. If you aren t doing anything on the 26, 27 or the 28, you should come by and watch us. I also play volleyball, and that is nothing but a blast. We go have fun and try our best on the court. I did cheerleading during the last couple of years, I am the flier. If you don t know what that is, it s the person who gets thrown up in the air. We have a great time, but sometimes we even have too much fun. I also play softball in the summer since we don t have school. We all get to get together and play an awesome sport. My position that I play in softball is shortstop. Once, I got a double play in a game and was really scared that I was going to miss the ball because I had to jump up to catch the ball. I have one main hobby and its dirt bike riding. I have a red Honda dirt bike and we ride them out at my grandma s 11

12 house. My dad loves to ride and ever since I tried riding that is all I ever want to do. When I start to ride I never want to get off, but dad always says that it s time to go and load up, meaning put your bike in the trailer so we can o. I love food and I m sure a lot of other people love it too. My favorite foods are any kind of pastas. I also love steak and ribs; yes I am an expensive eater. There is one more thing that I would like to add and it was our vacation during the summer. We went to Wisconsin and I had brought my friend. My mom and Roger have a cabin there and we were like fish because we never wanted to get out of the water. We also have four wheelers and we got really dirty because we went into the mud. Also my neighbors had stopped by while they were on their way to their vacation. We had an amazing time and I wish that I was there now instead of here. Ashton Loitz My name is Ashton and I am in 8th grade. I go to Grant Park School and I live in Grant Park. I love to play sports; I play basketball, soccer, and track. My favorite is soccer. I am on a travel soccer team. Basketball and track I play for the school. My hobby is Legos. I like to collect the different ones and build them to display in my room. Some of them I play with. I also like getting big sets because it is fun to build them. My favorite thing to do other than build Legos is to play outside. I have a basketball hoop so I can shoot around and I have a soccer goal so I can shoot at it. My favorite food would be pizza or pasta. I like cheese and sausage. The pasta I like with sauce but not with meatballs. That is what I am like. Gavin Reynolds Hi my name is Gavin Reynolds. I am in 8th grad and I go to Grant Park, Middle School. The sports I do are soccer, basketball and sometimes track. My hobby is playing soccer. My favorite thing to do is play sports. My favorite kind of food is Mexican food. And that is all. 12

13 Ethan Schneider My name is Ethan Schneider. I m in 8th grade and go to Grant Park Middle School. I play baseball, basketball, and track and field. In baseball our team recently went to the sectional championship and if we won we would have gone to state, but we lost by 3 runs. I went to the state finals in track for the 4 x 200m. relay, half mile, shot put and discus. Most of my hobbies are sports but I also play the trumpet. I went to the Kan-Will conference concert a few days ago and I was seated second out of all the trumpet players. I have also gone to solo competitions for trumpet and gotten 1 st place. My favorite food is probably any kind of potatoes. I m in National Junior Honors Society and I m the president of the Student Council at my school. My parents are Amy and Greg Schneider and my brothers are Will and Wesley. My grandparents are roger and Jalene Schneider and Terry and Marcia Langlois. THE ADULT EDUCATION CLASS The Adult Education class will meet Sunday evenings at 6:00 pm beginning Sunday, September 15 th. Join us! Luke 11:1-13 (New Revised Standard Version) Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples. 2 He said to them, When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial. 13

14 CONTACT INFORMATION FOR MEMBERS NOT ABLE TO ATTEND CHURCH ON A REGULAR BASIS Mrs. Louise Sievers Mr. Clarence Heldt 891 Exeter Turn Heritage Woods Rm 191 Unit C2 355 Diversatech Dr. Bourbonnais, IL Manteno, IL Mrs. Pauline Mitchell Mrs. Geraldine Hamann 84 N. Franklin St Butterfield Trail Momence, IL Apt. #79 Kankakee, IL Mrs. Doris Laking North 8163 Maplewood Rd. Wittenberg, WI Mrs. Viola Langhorst Butterfield Court 1485 Butterfield Trail Kankakee, IL CONTACT INFORMATION FOR MEMBERS SERVING IN THE MILITARY Mark & Krysta Farina Dylan & Kalie Lergner PCS 9 Box Vosler Loop APO, AE San Antonio, TX LCpl Lopez, Jessica R. Austin Langlois PSC 557 BOX Randall Ave FPO, AP Bldg. 228, Box 47 FE Warren AFB, WY

15 SEPTEMBER CALENDAR OF EVENTS 1 9:30 am Worship Service Communion celebrated 3 7:00 pm Christian Ed 4 7:00 pm Adult Choir SUNDAY FUNDAY!!! 8 8:50 9:10 Registration 9:10 9:30 Choir Practice 9:30 10:10 Games & Face Painting 10:30 Worship Service Potluck immediately after Worship 12:30 Bike-A-Thon 10 10:30 am Beecher Manor Worship 11 7:00 pm Adult Choir 15 9:00 am Sunday School 9:00 am Confirmation Students & Parents 10:30 am Worship Service 16 1:00 pm Grant Park Seniors 17 7:00pm Mission Meeting 18 12:30 pm Farmers and Friends 7:00 pm Adult Choir 19 7:00 pm Worship Meeting 21 Salvation Army 22 9:00 am Sunday School 9:00 am Confirmation Class 10:30 am Worship Service 11:30 am Church Life Bring a Guest Day 6:00 pm Adult Ed 24 7:00 pm Church Council 25 7:00 pm Adult Choir 29 9:00 am Sunday School 9:00 am Confirmation Class 6:00 pm Adult Ed 15

16 SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAY LIST These birthdays are compiled from church membership records. Please call to our attention any omissions or corrections Shirley Holm 2 Rodney Ohm 13 Kyle Wieghaus 2 Larry Voigt 15 Chad Benson 3 Zackary Hamann 16 Troy Reynolds 3 Connie Wimberly 17 Brittany Bird 4 Debbie Dennis 18 Greg Hamann 5 Jerry Loitz 19 Clarence Heldt 6 Betty Wolfe 19 Angela Thompson 6 Charlie Isbell 22 Ella Hamann 7 Pat Hamann 23 Kyle Ekhoff 8 Jean Schroeder 23 Zoe Gawlinski 9 Lauren Buttle 26 Micaelyn Benson 10 David Lehnert 26 Reese Clausing 10 Kody Reichel 27 Ralph Kutemeier 12 Shannon Meherg 28 Patty Dulin 30 16

17 Join Us For Sunday FUNday! Sunday, Sept Games! Fun! Friendship! Worship! 8:50 9:10 Registration 9:10 9:30 Choir practice 9:30 10:10 Games & Face Painting 10:30 (Youth Choir Sings) Potluck immediately after Worship ALL invited to attend and support our YOUTH! Main Dish: Chicken will be provided Last name starts with A-L: Bring a side dish Last name starts with M-Z: Bring dessert Bike-A-Thon immediately after Potluck (approx. 12:30) Kids, remember to bring your bike! 17

18 ST. PETER S UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST 310 N. MEADOW ST. P.O. BOX 220 GRANT PARK, IL Church Office/Parsonage Phone: (815) Pastor s Cell Phone: (815) Church Addresses: stpetersgp@sbcglobal.net and stpetersgp@gmail.com Church Website: Facebook: St. Peter s UCC Grant Park STAFF Rev. Doug Zimmerman, Pastor Marcia Langlois, Office Administrator Beverly Junker, Financial Secretary Ann Smith, Senior Choir Director Kathy Ekhoff, Junior Choir Director Judy Schneider and Shari Ohm, Organists Christine Garbaciak, Custodian Jen Mussman, Youth Advisor CHURCH COUNCIL Trisha Meherg, President Kevin Mussman, Vice President Michelle Claussen, Secretary Larry Ohm, Treasurer Josh Hamann, Assistant Treasurer Roger Sturm, LaDonna Swanson, Bev Junker, Ed Bush PASTORAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE Judy Schneider, Charlie Moore, Ray Isbell No Matter Who You Are or Where you Are on Life s Journey, You Are Welcome Here 18