JUNE 3, 10, 17, 24 JULY 1, 8, 15, 22, 29

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1 Unity Presbyterian Church 1149 Hammond Avenue Waterloo, IA ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Unity Presbyterian Church A Place to Belong JUNE 3, 10, 17, 24 JULY 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 SERVICE TIME BEGINS AT 9:30 ELDERS: Pam Bottorff Mary Huffman Mike Langner Judy Schmidt Gary Tann Jill Uhlenberg Craig Walton Rev. Christine Kaplunas DEACONS: Carleen Lake JoAnn Parker Patty Tann Janis Moore Judy Schmidt Church Office Hours are Monday through Thursday from 8:00-12:00 p.m. The Unity Grapevine is published monthly. Unity Presbyterian Church Phone Numbers: unitypresbyterian@q.com Unity website address unitypresbyterianwaterloo.org Pastor: Christine Kaplunas Ministers: Congregation Choir Director Ken Tressler Keyboard Musician Melody Kosobucki Sound Technician Craig Walton Head Usher -Stan Lauterbach Custodian-Joy Mathes Administrative Assistant - Trudy Stewart Financial Administrator - Shelly Hanson To discontinue receiving the newsletter contact the office (319)

2 UNITY Unity Presbyterian Church 1149 Hammond Ave. Waterloo Iowa Volume XXIV Issue June/July 2018 MISSION STATEMENT FOR UNITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH We are one family living in partnership with Christ, celebrating and sharing our faith; a community called, comforted and challenged by the word of God. We will seek to continue the ministry of Christ with compassionate awareness of the needs of others. Beloved in Christ, Have you gotten seasonal temperature whiplash yet? We started out this spring with cold temperatures and late snow, and here we are nearing 100 degrees now! My son and I get on our tandem bicycle to visit the library and make small trips to the grocery store, and we both seem to drink a gallon of water just to recover. But there s something lovely about our ritual of enduring the discomfort in order to see the world around us. My son learned about birds in preschool, so he s been teaching me their names and bird calls. He stopped playing on the playground one day to sit and call to a nearby robin. As a grown-up with so many real concerns, I might notice a robin in passing. But stop and talk to a living creature in the moment that we both share this little corner of earth? So how many people do we notice when we walk past them? Do we give them a little smile, an acknowledgement of the beautiful image of God still contained within their being? Do we offer a kind word to someone waiting in line next to us? In order to live a holy and sacred life on this side of grace, we don t have to wear a sign on our shirts saying, I m a Christian; try not to cuss around me. We don t have to talk to people exclusively using Bible verses (I m guilty of this sometimes). But we should be ready to encounter the living Spirit of God around us, whispering to us ( go talk to that lonely kid over there ), preparing us for a so-called chance encounter. Because I don t think there s much chance when it comes to the Spirit. Where God is actively working through even challenging situations, we are called to be the hands and feet of God, acting as agents of Christ s love and grace. Truthfully, there are many ways we might be complicit in the face of evil. We close ourselves off to someone who is seeking a good Word in a moment of openness. We ignore the suffering in body and spirit of a neighbor, preoccupied with our own fears. We might even rejoice to watch the downfall of a condescending neighbor. Yet God calls us to put ourselves in check- worthy of care, but not the center of the world. Then God re-orients our priorities to listen to the Spirit, hope for the coming Kingdom, and walk in the Way of Jesus: caring for the sick, welcoming the outcast, loving our enemies, visiting the imprisoned, praying for deliverance, and working toward the liberation of all people. So no matter what distractions come along, a snow day or a heat advisory, be ready to encounter the stranger among us, knowing that we will be encountering Jesus himself. And listen to the Sprit s whisper. It might just change your life. Blessings and peace, Pastor Christine

3 The Sit N Sip Group will meet on Wednesday, June 6 at 9:00. Come be with good friends, good food, and enjoy a hot cup of coffee or cold glass of juice. Come and join us. All are welcome. Prime Timers will next meet on Wednesday, September 19, 2018 at noon. PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN The next meeting of Ruth Circle will be on Thursday, The group will meet at Landmark Commons at 1:00. All women are considered PW and anyone or all are encouraged to participate in any projects or special events offered on the Presbytery level. SUMMER FAMILY RESOURCE FAIR Join us for a free meal and to learn about the many resources available through community agencies to keep your kids safe this summer! THURSDAY, JUNE 7, :30 7:00 P.M. FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH COMMUITY RESOURCE CENTER 614 RANDOLPH ST. WATERLOO June 3 Greeter: Pam Bottorff Liturgist: Mary Huffman Communion Servers: Judy Schmidt and Judy Reisner 10 Greeter: Caryl Smith Liturgist: David Kirschman 17 Greeter: JoAnn Parker Liturgist: Shelly Kirschman 24 Greeter: Alyce Klocke Liturgist: Jane Ryan ******************************************* July 1 Greeter: Liturgist: Wayne Grimes 8 Greeter: Liturgist: Ken Huffman 15 Greeter: Liturgist Joan Ingles 22 Greeter: Liturgist Maxine Cagley 29 Greeter: Liturgist: Mary Huffman CONGRATULATIONS! Cole Hughes is graduating from West High School this year. We wish him the best in achieving his future goals and dreams! We will changing to summer hours on, June 3rd. Fellowship will begin at 9:00 and church at 9:30. See you then! Our deepest sympathies are extended to the family of Yvonne (Bonnie) Brown. Bonnie was a longtime member of Bethel and Unity Presbyterian churches. She devotedly served as the church secretary at Bethel church for 52 years, retiring in She will be fondly remembered by many friends and family members.

4 Peggy Pontius Helen Spiering Amy Wilson Evelyn Bonsall Shelly Tix Virgil Taylor Janis Moore Please pray for the healing of all relatives and friends who are ill or having strife in their lives. Beth Haile and Family Jody Bruns Denice Jelinek Al Pontious Alicyn Shaw Brian Zinkel Deon Snell Rita Foster Bud Penning Norm Bohnsack Military: Pray for those serving in the Military Gny Sergeant Jason Hansen, Matthew Krueger, Staff Sergeant Stephen Rutledge, Andrew Thomas and Brett Trimble 5 Jane Ryan 7 Mike Wohlgemuth 7 Alyvia Kirschman 8 Terry Hertges 8 Shelly Lampman 8 Virgil Taylor 11 Amy Wilson 13 Debra Morgan 19 Debra Ward 2 Sean Grant 4 Garrett McCready 4 Merlyn Klocke 5 Errol Brown 6 Jenny Riethmiller 6 Joel Wahl 8 Jennifer Wohlgemuth 10 Phyllis Kirschman 13 Roger Huebner 13 Gaylen Tann JUNE BIRTHDAYS 19 Tammy Rutledge 20 Sheryl Pickett 21 Stephanie Langner 23 Micheal Langner 25 Steven Perez 25 Jakob Kirschman 26 Hattie Middleton 30 Gary Nienkark JULY BIRTHDAYS 20 Megan Walton 25 Ken Huffman 26 Benjamin Knoop 28 Debbie Walton 29 Darrell Farr 30 Katie Lang 30 Craig Walton 31 Cole Hughes 31 Robert Goings Do You Have a Prayer Request or would you like to be a link in the chain? Contact: Alice French Jane Ryan Church To know that someone is praying for you in times of difficulties can be very meaningful and encouraging. Remember those in Care Centers Sheryl Pickett Sunny Knoll Care Ctr. Rockwell City, Iowa In Retirement or Assisted Living Facilities Mary Laverna Kiefer Rosewood Estates Harvey White Friendship Village Harriett Fisk Friendship Village Kenneth and Alice French Friendship Village Eileen Frey Friendship Village Shirley Merry Bickford Assisted Living Virgil Taylor Rosewood Estates Alberta Lampman Friendship Village Alice Van Hoozer Friendship Village Doris Roberts Saratoga Grove, Downers Grove, IL Carol DeWolf Rosewood Estates INFORMATION PLEASE The office staff is compiling statistical information for a new church directory and Presbytery requirements. If you are a church member, we need to reflect any recent changes on our records. It is most important that we have the year of your birth. This will help satisfy necessary reports mandated by the Presbytery. This information is not currently on file as we haven t asked for it previously. Please call the office to report those dates, the church at unitypresbyterian@q.com, drop it by the church office or fill out a form available at the church and drop it in the collection plate when you attend church on. Thank you for your help.

5 June 2018 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Worship at 9:30 am every through August 26 Supper- 1 vol Sit N Sip- 9:00 a.m NEIA Food Bank volunteering - PW Birthday Offering Byron Lesch Comm.- 4:15 Mission Comm.- 10 No Session Flag Day General Assembly convenes Father s Day No Deacons Pastor Christine leaves for continuing education General Assembly ends 30 Family Camp Lakeshore Center Pastor Christine returns CONNECTING THE DOTS Commencement speeches and greeting cards are full of advice for graduates, yet good intentions and careful plans can t guarantee a perfect life whatever that might mean. You can t connect the dots looking forward, said Steve Jobs. You can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something your guts, destiny, life. As Christians, we can do more than that: We can trust in God. Yes, we may speak to us through a gut feeling, and our eternal destiny, is assured. And we know that life, not death, will win out. But recent grads and all of us need not just sit and wait to see how the dots of our life will someday connect. God has show us through Scripture, the church and, above all, Jesus that the dots connect this way: from God s heart, to Jesus sacrifice for us, to our entry into relationship with God, to our heart and finally to our own loving outreach to others. Whatever shape your education, work and family take through the years, commence with this: God has drawn your life to connect with him and your neighbors.

6 JULY Supper- 1 volunteer 8 9:30 Outdoor Church Service and Potluck 15 Pastor Christine- Supper 2 9 Byron Lesch Comm.- 4: **** 10 Session- 4:45 17 Deacons- 10:30 Independence Day 5 Office Closed NEIA Food Bank volunteering - 29 Supper- 2 volunteers 30 We Serve 31 10:00 Prepare newsletter for mailing *** HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!! ENJOY THE FIREWORKS, FAMILY FESTIVITIES AND THE FREEDOM THAT MANY HAVE STRIVED FOR! BE SAFE!*** OUTDOOR CHURCH SERVICE The church service on July 9th will be held outside. While all the details have not yet been determined, we do know that the church canopies will be used to help with sun and possible heat, and they will be placed on even ground. We will also spray for bugs. Hopefully Pastor Christine can use a mike and be more easily heard. If the weather does not cooperate, we will move inside. A church potluck will follow the service. Almost 50 people enjoyed this service last year and the neighborhood exposure is great. Many people waved and honked and while it maybe didn t bring anyone new into the church, we are leaving an impression!