A Joint Newsletter of St. John s Episcopal Church & Union Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ 2016
Pastoral Ponderings Wow! Ready or not, the holiday season is upon us. By the time you get this newsletter, you ll be wrapping up Halloween, and you know what s next? Thanksgiving And then before we know it Christmas! Ready or not. This past Sunday (10/9), our worship revolved around gratitude. It seemed a bit early to be thinking about Thanksgiving, but truthfully, I m thinking everyday should be about thanksgiving. Every day is an opportunity to practice gratitude. And amazingly enough, gratitude and giving thanks changes our perspective and therefore shapes us differently for our daily living. Here are a couple of quotes to that effect: Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. -Melody Beattie, The Language of Letting Go Gratitude draws us out of ourselves into something larger, bigger, and grander than we could imagine. [It] is also the most powerful emotion, as it frees us from fear, releases us from anxiety, and emboldens us to do more and dare more than we'd ever imagined. -David Lose, President of Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia November is a pivotal month in the course of the year. There are national and local elections (with quite the high drama this year). In our church, we celebrate the invitation of Stewardship as well as our anniversary of being partners with St. John s. By the end of the month, we move into Advent, decorating our space and preparing our hearts and homes to celebrate God s greatest gift of love. If we practice gratitude, how might that shape the way we move through November? No matter how the elections turn out, there will be many disappointed and even disillusioned people. If we are compelled by a faith that sees and shares blessings, what difference might that make for us? Will we be angry or gloating, or will we seek to live gracefully and gratefully regardless of election results? As we consider our resources and contemplate how we spend money, do we approach this with a sense of scarcity or abundance? Does obligation drive us or can we find ourselves delighting in the fact that we have enough, and more? And finally, with the holidays on our doorsteps, gratitude invites us to approach the season not with dread, but with anticipation. Perhaps this will be the year that wounded relationships are healed, that loneliness finds companions, and our hearts discover we have much to share and much to celebrate as God s beloved. Practice gratitude & share the joy, Pastor Jenny
November 2016 Calendar Tuesday, November 1: 8:30 a.m. Pumpkin Patch Clean-Up Sunday, November 6: 9:00 a.m. Worship, Communion & Fellowship Saturday, November 12: 4:30 p.m. Stain Glass Window Dedication 5:30 p.m. Harvest Dinner Sunday, November 13: Stewardship Sunday 9:00 a.m. Worship, Faith Exploration & Fellowship Monday, November 14: 6:00/7:00 p.m. Diaconate/Trustees Sunday, November 20: Thanksgiving Sunday 9:00 a.m. Worship & Fellowship Monday, November 21: 5:30 p.m. Council Thursday, November 24: Happy Thanksgiving Sunday, November 27: Hanging of the Greens 10:00 a.m. Joint Worship with St. John s 11:00 a.m. Potluck Luncheon WEEKLY CHURCH EVENTS: Sundays 9:00 a.m. Worship Mondays 9:30 a.m. Coffee Group Tuesdays 9:30 a.m. Craft Group 6:30 p.m. Quilting Group Check office calendar for scouts and other regular groups. Bev Whiteley 1 Adar Westling 6 Barbara Walker 22 Jeanne Beery 29 Gay Fry 29 William & Judy Graham 7 Mike & Pam Smart 29
Sunday s Worship Leaders & Hosts What a gift to have so many people share their gifts of leadership and hospitality each Sunday. If you d like to be one of those beautiful servants, please sign up in the Here I Am, Lord book that gets passed around the sanctuary each Sunday. Opportunities include greeting people as they come to worship, reading scripture, serving as deacon, dedicating flowers, special music, hosting fellowship and being an acolyte. Sunday, November 27 th is the first Sunday of Advent and as is our tradition, we will have a joint worship at 10:00 a.m. with St. John s Episcopal. Following our festive worship of decorating our sanctuary and remembering the why of our symbols, we will have a potluck lunch. Narcotics Anonymous Mansface Church is home to the local NA chapter. Sunday night meetings are always an open meeting which means if you or a loved one is struggling with a drug addiction, you are welcomed to come. They meet at 8:00 p.m. in the Sunday School rooms. Thank you to everyone that helped out with Theresa's funeral service. All help was greatly appreciated. Does someone s drinking bother you? Al-Anon can help. Meetings are held in Green River at 96 N. 1st E St., Green River, Wyoming on Monday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 pm.
Harvest Dinner/Stained Glass Dedication! UCC will be hosting a Harvest Dinner for everyone in the community. We hope to see many familiar, and those not familiar, with our church community in attendance. Our charge will be $12.00 for adults and $6.00 for children 6 years up to adulthood. Children, three years and younger are free. We hope to see you on November 12 th, at Mansface Church a 4:30 for the Stained Glass window dedication to be held in the sanctuary. The dinner will follow afterwards around 5:30. We are excited to sit together in fellowship; celebrating these beautiful new additions to our church as well as catching up with others. We also are asking for members who might be purchasing their Thanksgiving turkeys early, during the October buy one get one free sales, to put and extra one in the freezer for us. Contact Kathy at 307-389-8073 or Debbie at 307-871-2469 if you have an extra turkey. Tickets may be obtained in the church office or by contacting Kathy Wiekhorst 875-7269 (home) or 389-8073 (cell). Please leave a message on either phone and she will get back to you. Please get tickets in advance, so no one will go hungry. All proceeds will go to Churches, Inc. for their continued work in keeping our church running. Stewardship Sunday Those of us in church last Sunday heard a message about giving and what it means to us. We will be having more stewardship moments leading up to our pledge drive on November 13, Stewardship Sunday. Be on the lookout for a letter explaining our need for stewardship later this month. It s not too early to begin thinking how much we can give for church operations for 2017.
More Fun Opportunities at The Patch What an incredible October we ve had! Of course the big item on the agenda has been the Pumpkin Patch. Jeanne Beery and Pam Kerr want to thank all of you who have so graciously volunteered your time to sell, and for being on call to unload when the pumpkins did not arrive at the scheduled time. Many thanks too for the folks who covered and uncovered to keep the pumpkins safe from frost, deer, and walking off. In addition to a few open slots for selling between now and the 31 st, there is one more opportunity to help out with this project. We will be cleaning up the leftover pumpkins, loose straw, and pallets on Tuesday, November 1 st beginning at 8:30 A.M. Wear your gloves and come armed with rakes, brooms, and bags for some more good times at The Patch. Donuts provided after the fun is done! Moderator s Message November 2016 I had an amazing week which began with a letter from a 90 year old cousin whom I haven t seen since I was 10 or 12. When I read that she and her daughter were going to be in Salt Lake City doing some research at the Family History Center and needed some information from me immediately, I called to say that I lived only a couple hours away and could I come to see them. So after picking them up at the airport, exploring the city a bit; we had a long lunch introducing ourselves to each other. What made this visit so special was the ease in which we got along and how much we seemed to like and alike another. This close though unknown relationship had much in common. We shared a family history, family background, interests, and looks!!!! I wasn t sure if I would recognize them when they came down the escalator but one of my cousins looked so much like my father s sister recognition was easy. I began to think about the relationships we have within our congregation and our shared relationship with St. John s congregation. We come together with some shared beliefs and a strong faith. Some of us do have a long generational history with Union Congregational United Church and come to share the worship with other close family members. Some have become close friends at church but outside as well. Yet, we reach out to each other with love and compassion. Though we each must define our own individual belief in the God we know, we find that we share a similar theology as a congregation which brings us close much as a family. It is in this relationship that we find that we can reach out to each other with love and compassion. We find that we are able to share that love and compassion with those who are in the community or who come to visit. We become strong and seem to like one family because of the similarities and acceptance of all of the differences we bring into our congregation. I am thinking of how the two congregations of Mansface Church have melded themselves into a strong family of God and how grateful I am to be a part of this unique wider church family. This year we celebrate the 46th year together with new stain glass windows and the beginning of new energies for Mansface Church in Green River Wyoming! Alleluia! Blessings, Judy Graham
St John s Episcopal Church 350 Mansface / P.O. Box 400 Green River, WY 82935 mansfacechurch@sweetwaterhsa.com St. John s November Worship Schedule November 6 Pentecost 21 11:00 Morning prayer Service Leader: Ruth Lauritzen Reader: Terry Warren November 13 Pentecost 22 11:00 Holy Eucharist Service Leader: Walt Seeley Reader: Lollie Lebario November 20 Pentecost 23 11:00 Morning Prayer Service Leader: Chuck Realing Reader: Wilma Realing Thursday Night Book Study The Thursday evening Bible class is studying the gospel of John. The class is led by Walt Seeley. We meet at 6:00 p.m. for a light supper and are usually home by 8:00 p.m. All are welcome. November 27 First Sunday of Advent 10:00 Hanging of the Greens Joint service Service Leader: Reader: Please remember these families in your prayers: Jose Alvares, Margo, Jack, Dean Makie, Kyle, Tim, Evie Grace Huebner, Eleonore-Lucy s mother, Kasyn, the Porter family, Marion, Kenny, Nathan and Briana Wolfe. Debbie and Kendra who are in need of a new home and jobs, and friends and family who need God s strength and love. Our thoughts and prayers are with Angie and Jack Bennett. Their older daughter Theresa Ann passed away in October.
The next Vestry Meeting will be Monday, November 14, 2016 At 7:00 p.m. Thank you to everyone that helped out with Theresa's funeral service. All help was greatly appreciated. Tom Carmody 1 Margo King 6 Freidie Foster 8 Jerry & Margaret Warby 4 Don & Ruth Ruess 6 Dr. Russ & Margo Johnson 25 Kenneth & Marion Deichmueller 26
Sunday, November 27th is the first Sunday of Advent and as is our tradition, we will have a joint worship at 10:00 a.m. with Union Congregational Church. Following our festive worship of decorating our sanctuary and remembering the why of our symbols. We will have a potluck lunch. Harvest Dinner/Stained Glass Dedication! Come one, come all to a Harvest Dinner for everyone in the community. We hope to see many familiar, and those not familiar, with our church community in attendance. Our charge will be $12.00 for adults and $6.00 for children 6 years up to adulthood. Children, three years and younger are free. We hope to see you on November 12th, at Mansface Church a 4:30 for the Stained Glass window dedication to be held in the sanctuary. The dinner will follow afterwards around 5:30. Our own Walt Seeley will be here for St. John s. We are excited to sit together in fellowship; celebrating these beautiful new additions to our church as well as catching up with others. We also are asking for members who might be purchasing their Thanksgiving turkeys early, during the October buy one get one free sales, to put and extra one in the freezer for us. Contact Kathy at 307-389-8073 or Debbie at 307-871-2469 if you have an extra turkey. Tickets may be obtained in the church office or by contacting Kathy Wiekhorst 875-7269 (home) or 389-8073 (cell). Please leave a message on either phone and she will get back to you. Please get tickets in advance, so no one will go hungry. All proceeds will go to Churches, Inc. for their continued work in keeping our church running.