United Church of Christ

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1 UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST BISMARCK, ND JULY 2018 United Church of Christ 1200 E Highland Acres Rd ~ ~ bisucc@midconetwork.com ~ ~ Like us on Facebook A GLOBAL MINISTRY CHURCH Bismarck-Mandan Area NEVER TOO OLD FOR MISSION TRIPS by Rev. Gretchen Deeg, Senior Pastor As some of you know, in addition to being your local church pastor, I also chair the Northern Plains Conference (NPC) Mission & Outreach Committee. Over the past couple years, this committee has been reinvigorating itself and expanding the mission opportunities available to all UCC members in North Dakota. This past February, we took 12 people to Ecuador on a mission trip to renovate a community center, teach First Aid, and offer children s Bible classes. Attendees aged 17-79, so never say you re too old for missions. The group had an AMAZING time in Ecuador and reported at the NPC Annual Meeting last month that they hope we ll return to Ecuador in 2020 and we just might. However, before we return to Ecuador, we re offering two mission trips in 2019! One in Puerto Rico in February and a second on the Maah Daah Hey Trail near Medora, ND in June. JULY 2018 OUR LIFE TOGETHER Sunday Bible Study This educational series continues on Sundays at 11 am through Sept 2. See page 4 for details. In September 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria slammed into Puerto Rico resulting in one of the largest and most complex disaster response and recovery in US history. The local Puerto Rican congregations are working hard to pick up debris and clean, rebuild, and repair homes; however, the extent of the damage is daunting. Our NPC mission team will be joining the National UCC to assist the Puerto Rican UCC congregations with clean up and rebuilding. This trip will be a powerful experience helping the people of Puerto Rico rebuild life after so much loss. Join this Year s Team! Do the miraculous with the UCC and feed 400+ at the Banquet on Thursday, July 12. Sign-up sheets and additional information are in the narthex! The Maah Daah Hey Trail mission trip will be a long-weekend of trail clean-up, camping (tent or lodge), and opportunities to deepen your spirituality through service in creation. This mission trip is a great opportunity for those who don t have the vacation time for a longer mission trip, want to stay a little closer to home, or who just love the outdoors. If you are interested in attending either of these mission trips, contact Pastor Gretchen at or gdeeg@midconetwork.com Q-Series: God, Homosexuality, & Bible This education series meets on July 22 from 3:00-5:30 pm in the fellowship hall. Dinner included. Sunday Worship at 10 AM Bible Study: Sunday at 11 AM & Friday at 6:30 AM

2 UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST BISMARCK, ND JULY Vision Statement Adopted January 2016 The Bismarck-Mandan UCC is a thriving church transforming our lives and community: Where all are unconditionally welcomed, affirmed, accepted and loved; Where the good in every person is recognized and their talents are encouraged to be shared; Where children, youth, and adults learn that God is love and all are welcome to freely explore spirituality in a safe and nurturing environment; Where we can bring our personal needs and struggles and count on support from our church family which is the loving family we all deserve; Where powerful messages inspire and challenge us to be caring and compassionate to all in our church, community, and world, seeking opportunities to put our faith into action with courage to go beyond what we think we can do; Where we embrace the still-speaking God and live in today s world. LIVING OUR VISION HIGHLIGHT Where all are unconditionally welcomed, affirmed, accepted and loved. This church envisions being a place where truly ALL can experience the unconditional grace of God and love of community. It s that vision which in June took us to put up a booth at PRIDE in the Park, participate in the PRIDE Multifaith Worship Service, and host the first of three Q-Series classes on God, Homosexuality, and the Bible. Hello everyone, Council Corner by Mike Stein, Moderator Summer is officially here and the 4 th of July Holiday is a couple of weeks away. It has been a very busy couple of months. The Church calendar was filled with activities. We encourage everyone to get involved with some of the activities and enjoy the fellowship. We had a very productive May meeting. We have selected the team for the Church Revitalization Group. The first kickoff meeting will be Tuesday, June 26 th. This group will work in building more of an awareness of the UCC Church to Bismarck/Mandan and the surrounding communities. The UCC Church will be sponsoring and supporting The Banquet Thursday July 12 th at the Trinity Lutheran Church. This is a big event for the UCC Church. The Banquet serves approximately 400 to 450 free meals to the Bismarck/Mandan communities. We will be needing volunteers to help serve the meals and clean up afterwards. If you would like to volunteer please call the church. I encourage everyone to take the time to relax and get out and enjoy the summer. The remaining 2-3 months of nice weather will go by extremely fast. Take care!

3 UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST BISMARCK, ND JULY Give the Gift of Life by Trustees The Banquet On Thursday July 12 th the UCC will be serving The Banquet at Trinity Lutheran. We need 30 volunteers to help with this outreach to our community. We will serve nearly 500 meals in just a couple of hours. This year s menu is baked chicken in gravy, mashed potatoes, slaw, watermelon, and for desert brownies with ice-cream. We need 20 pans of brownies delivered to the church by the 12 th, 4 people to help cook, 7 people for dining room setup at 4:00, and servers and clean-up crew at 5:00. It s a family affair so come with your children. You will find the sign-up sheets in the foyer. Please find an area where you can contribute. I guarantee you will find a blessing in the giving. FINANCIAL STATUS January 1 to May 31, 2018 Revenue General Offerings Actual = $ 60,175 Other Income (Dedicated, Earned) Actual = $ 7,191 Expenses Actual = $ 70,042 Total Revenue = $ 67,366 Total Expenses = $ 70,042 NET ACTIVITY = $ (2,676) SUPPORT OF OUR MISSION PARTNERS IN 2018 East Timor Education Fund $ 945 Charles Hall Youth Services $ 365 Our Church s Wider Mission $ 2,465 One Great Hour of Sharing $ 862 Strengthen the Church $ 473 Neighbors in Need $ The Christmas Fund $ Total Shared Ministry $ 5,110 Heart Disease is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Everyone can work towards reducing heart disease with a healthy lifestyle by scheduling regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, reducing stress, and avoiding smoke, caffeine, alcohol, and recreational drugs. This individual work is part of respecting our bodies as "temples of the Holy Spirit"! (1 Cor. 6:19) Preventative measures will reduce the risks of cardiac arrest, but we still want to be prepared in case anyone ever has a heart attack at church. An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) detects lethal heart rhythms and allows the administrator to deliver a measured shock to revert these rhythms and potentially save the person's life. If you'd like to be part of purchasing an AED for our church, please contact Pastor Gretchen or send a check to Bismarck United Church of Christ with "AED" in the memo. A new AED will cost around $1,100. Any donations above and beyond will be used to purchase additional safety equipment such as updated first aid kits, spare defibrillator pads, and a second AED for the basement. Jack s Food Pantry by Dawn Archer, Deacons Our thanks to those who have volunteered to pack bags! June: Carol Erhardt, and July: Dawn Archer. We are still in need of someone to pack bags for the month of August. *If you have time to help, please check out the sign-up sheet in the narthex at church. Remember Jack s Place accepts donations of nonperishable food items, cash, or check. Make payable to UCC and write Jack s Place or pantry in the memo line or on the envelope. Thank You! In the last month we shared 8 bags of food with families in our communities. *Current food pantry needs: Canned Soups, Vegetables, and Fruits, Cereals, and Treats for Kids.

4 UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST BISMARCK, ND JULY Mark 12:30-31 SERVING OUR NEIGHBORS by Marcia Patrie, Stewardship Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. This scripture guides our Stewardship and Mission Team in our annual projects. One way to see how we are living these two commandments is by taking a quick look at the church budget. Our 2018 Budget of $170,979 is divided into five areas. Of those five, about 18% or $31,000 is dedicated to our work of Serving our Neighbor. There is a sense of satisfaction and peace that comes from knowing we are doing good for others. Let s pause for a moment to celebrate and take note of just a few ways we reach out to our neighbors. o Community Partnerships: educational events and interfaith projects impacting hundreds of widercommunity members and regularly receiving state-wide attention o Helping Hands: fall and spring time assistance around local homes o Jack s Food Pantry: no-questions-asked emergency food pantry located at the church o The Banquet: we serve dinner to nearly 500 people who are alone, elderly, or hungry o Charles Hall Youth Services: assists at-risk youth in a foster care setting o East Timor Educational Foundation: operates a school in one of the newest and poorest countries of the world Thank you for your contributions to these missions and we hope you continue your involvement. This August, we have the opportunity to learn more about two of these missions. On Sunday, August 20, we welcome Gayle Klopp from Charles Hall Youth Services (CHYS). The UCC helped to start CHYS back in the 1960 s. Today, we support CHYS with donations, space for staff training and youth activities, volunteers, board members, and our annual Buffalo dinner. On Sunday, August 26, we ll welcome our East Timor Missionaries, Tom and Monica Liddle. In the early 2000 s, we received word from the East Timorese that education was an area where they needed our help and have been partnering with them since then. The Liddle s will bring an update on East Timor and news of the school we support! As we give our time and financial support to this area of our church s mission, let s remember that in welcoming the stranger, giving food to the hungry, providing refuge for the immigrant and shelter and care for struggling youth in our community we are following Jesus great commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves. May God s gift of life be a blessing to you and may your life be a blessing to others on this special day of your birth and all year long! 6 Jeff Avery 6 Helen Lindgren 6 Travis Tolstedt 8 Petrea Klein 9 Liz Held 10 Tovi Holzworth 15 Brice Schemmel 15 Mason Kleinjan 16 Leah Stockert 28 Darlene Kinnischtzke *Please contact the church office or sign up in the narthex if you would like your birthday listed in the newsletter

5 UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST BISMARCK, ND JULY Inset A MINOR PROPHETS BIBLE STUDY Sundays 11 am After worship during Summer months Discussion Circles with coffee & treats THE BANQUET Thursday, July 12 th Looking for ~ Food Preparation Set-Up Servers Clean-up Crew MOVIE NIGHTS Mondays Evenings July 16 th & 30 th 6:30 pm Fun & faith based movies followed by discussion and refreshments POOL & ZIP-LINE PARTY Wednesday, July 18 th 5:30 pm Mandigo s home (2489 Timberlane Pl) Burger & fixings provided Q-SERIES God, Homosexuality and the Bible Sunday, July 22 nd 3 5:30 pm Dinner Included Reminder ~ If you purchased tickets for the Lark s Game mark your calendars for Wed, August 1 st at 7:05 pm! We ll see you at the ball-game ~ wear your UCC T-Shirts! Participants Teachers Parents We had a great time last month at this year s Vacation Bible School: Avalanche Ranch!