Friendship News First Congregational United Church of Christ, Brainerd An Open and 1PPJa Affirming Church

Friendship News First Congregational United Church of Christ, Brainerd An Open and 1PPJa Affirming Church The church office hours are 8am-12pm, Monday Friday. Our Pastor, Leslie Moughty is also available at other times by appointment. Office phone 218-829-2528 E-mail firstcong@brainerd.net Website uccbrainerd.org uccbrainerd.org July 2016 No matter who you are, or where you are on life s journey, you are welcome here. Pastor s Pen... 2 Moderator s Notes... 3 Announcements... 3 Friday Morning Book Group... 3 HUGS... 4 July Birthdays... 4 Food Shelf Offering June 27... 4 Cooking Group... 5 Photography of Michael Duval... 5 Church Financials... 5 June 15, 2016 Church Council Minutes... 6 Walk to End Alzheimer s... 7 Songs of Hope... 9 Nunsense... 11 Church Calendar July 2016... 12 1

2 Pastor s Pen Every month when I sit down to write the Pastor s Pen, I am overwhelmed by all the possible topics I could focus on. This month, I had originally planned to write about my recent whirlwind of experiences at different conferences including the Open and Affirming(ONA) National Gathering, the Annual Meeting of the Minnesota Conference, and a retreat for 2030 Clergy (clergy in their 20 s and 30 s in the UCC) called Shepherding the Shepherd. But my mind keeps returning to the non-stop violence that has been dominating the headlines lately. In the last month, communities around the world have experienced numerous mass-scale bombings and shootings. Attacks have taken place from Orlando to Turkey to Baghdad, not to mention the thousands of lives taken that never make the mainstream news in the United States. You may have heard that ISIS called for the month of Ramadan to be a month filled with attacks and violence against people whom they consider to be infidels. Ramadan is a holy month for Muslims around the world that consists of fasting from food, drink, tobacco and sexual activity as well as impure or unkind thoughts and behavior. The fast lasts from sunrise to sunset and is broken each day by feasting with family and friends. It is a sacred time focused on prayer and introspection. In an article on Patheos.com, Dilshad D. Ali wrote We look to this holy month as a time when the horrors and difficulties of the world should stop, or at least slow down, and there should be a quietness, a blanket of peace that should envelope the Muslim world. (Read the full article at http://tinyurl.com/dilshaddali). It is especially horrific that this beautiful and sacred season of Islam has been coopted by a group of people determined to spread terror and death. It is extremely important during times like this, when violence and evil feels unstoppable, to not let fear and paranoia rule our thoughts and actions. We have all seen politicians and possibly friends and family react to this violence by saying that these horrific acts are something that is an inherent part of the Islamic faith. But these attackers do not represent Muslims as a whole and treating all Muslims as potential terrorists is obscene. A few months ago I had the privilege of taking our confirmation youth and some of the adult mentors to meet with Imam Muhumed Ahmed at the Islamic Center of Saint Cloud. Someone in our group asked him what he would say in response to terrorist attacks perpetrated under the banner of Islam. He stated unequivocally that these attacks are not in line with the Muslim faith. He quoted a passage in the Quran that states that killing one innocent person is the same as killing all of humanity. When the world feels unpredictable and unsafe, it can be tempting to look for scapegoat for someone (or a group of people) to blame. We want to be able to control what happens, to prevent violence, to find a logical explanation so we can make ourselves safer. But we cannot allow our fears to be the driving force in either our personal lives or political lives. We must center our lives and our attention on hope, love, faith, and connection. Fear is of course a normal response to scary times. Instead of allowing our fears to rule our hearts, let us pray that God might fill us with courage to continue to live into actions of love and relationship connecting with people whom others may be ostracizing. We are called to love, and to love without prejudice. May that love fill our hearts so full, that fear has no place to reside. With the peace of Christ, Pastor Leslie

3 Moderator s Notes Keep Showing Up and See What Happens Dan Hegstad My growing-up church wasn t a positive experience and I left as soon as I was unleashed. About twenty years ago Marcia Ferris invited me to try FCUCC. Church? No thanks. Been there. Done that. Got the wafer. But she is persistent and persuasive and I claim to be open minded so I showed up. I m glad I was able to give church another try and I m glad it was our church. New and wonderful experiences, people and ideas keep popping up and I find myself once again saying, this is a wonderful church! This isn t what I expected... and that s still true today. It s all about the people, of course. A couple weeks ago I had the privilege of attending the Annual Meeting of the Minnesota Conference of the United Church of Christ. There were meetings about budgets, resolutions and by-laws. It was interesting to see under the hood of the organization. But, as I said, it s all about the people. It was quite an experience to have time with so many highly spiritually evolved people. I m not going to try to find the words to describe it. There were worship services, music, prayer and connections unlike any I have encountered. I wouldn t say it was particularly deep or life changing, but it renewed my hope. To share such warm and positive energy is profoundly nourishing. Better than bacon. Every morning I wake up and greet the animals, the day, Marcia and the coffee. When I turn on the CBS Morning News I frequently say, Well, let s see what insanity and mayhem has ensued overnight. My prediction is always accurate. But as Issac Bashevis Singer said, If you keep on saying things are going to be bad, you have a good chance of being a prophet. Our church... the people... you... are the penicillin which inoculates me against the nastiness of the world. What we have together is real. Together we have tethered ourselves not just to each other, but to the solid foundation that most of us call God. I ve found that you can t make spiritual experiences happen. All you can do is keep showing up and see what happens. It's going to be good, really good, great or fantastic! Announcements People who want church members to know about non-church events can send their notices to Bobbie for inclusion in the bulletin rather than making those announcements in church. We will continue to discuss the success of the announcements procedure. Council agreed that all youth may make both church and nonchurch announcements. Church council is interested in your feedback about this change. Please let Dan, Claire or Ann know your thoughts. Friday Morning Book Group The Friday Morning Book Group will start a new book, Bridging the God Gap: Finding Common Ground Among Believers, Atheists and Agnostics by Roger Shriner. The book is available from private sellers on Amazon. The book group meets every Friday in the upstairs conference room. We start with conversation sometime between 10:00 and 10:30 and begin reading the book aloud at 11:00. All are welcome.

4 HUGS July 3 Host: Jan Morton Ushers: Roger Best, Greg Johnson, Ken Nelson & Gary Whiteman Greeter: Tracy Lyons Counters: Jeff Behr & Jerry Kuehn July 10 Hosts: Karen Ford & Tom Nelson Ushers/Greeters: Maria Bertram, Kay Kraywinkle, Itty & Preston Newgord Counters: Deb Griffith & Judy Whiteman July 17 Hosts: Shirley Barten & Deb Lundberg Ushers: Charlotte Goedsche & Cynthia Janes Greeter: Deb Griffith & Claire Steen Counters: Coleen Carder & Vi Heiser July 24 Hosts: Joey Halvorson & Karen Ogdahl Ushers/Greeters: Sharon Carlson, Tracy Lyons, Mike & Beth Schrader Counters: Nancy Gould & Lowell Johnson July 31 Hosts: Sue Hadland & Lisa Wigand Ushers: Roger Best, Greg Johnson, Ken Nelson & Gary Whiteman Greeter: Jan Morton Counters: Nancy Gould & Lowell Johnson July Birthdays 7/2 Ron Owens 7/20 Irene Whiteman 7/3 Erin Twamley 7/23 Vi Heiser 7/4 Gary Whiteman 7/23 Carol Crust 7/10 Bobbie Borg 7/24 Bonnie Crust 7/12 Charlie Widmark 7/26 Stephen Crum 7/16 Betty Hopps 7/29 Samantha Bertram 7/18 Jeff Behr 7/30 Roger Grussing 7/19 Dave Crum 7/31 Marty Ingels Food Shelf Offering June 27 Each month we bring groceries, necessities and financial donations to help feed hungry neighbors in our community. The Salvation Army Food Shelf serves 400 families each month. On June 27 we received $210 and 27 pounds of food. Our next offering will be Sunday, July 24. Thank you for helping to feed our hungry neighbors!

5 Cooking Group Greetings! It is that time of the year again! Please join Claire and Greg at Upper Hay Lake for a summer celebration on Sunday July 10th at 3:30 pm. Bring a dish to share and a beverage of choice. To RSVP and get directions, contact Claire at clairesteen@charter.net or 218-330-7059. Looking forward to having a fun time! Claire Photography of Michael Duval The photography exhibit by Michael Duval currently is on display in Fellowship Hall. It features the musicians, their instruments and the artistic movements of people at the annual Nisswa Stamman Scandinavian Music Festival, photographed between 2011 and 2015. Photographer Duval states that there is a certain vulnerability in performing artists and believes that vulnerability is openly displayed on the faces of the artists. Those familiar emotions are focus, intensity, joy, satisfaction, appreciation. These displays of emotion are partly why Duval is drawn to the faces of the artists in the photographs. Capturing the essence of the festival as unobtrusively as possible is challenging harsh natural and artificial lighting, distracting backgrounds, dynamic and sometimes unpredictable movement of performers and, of course a paying audience uninterested in a photographer disrupting their view. Yet these challenges present opportunities to create interesting images that artistically celebrate this local earlysummer tradition. This event is truly pleasing to the ear, eye and soul. Financial Results General Fund Year to Date Results as of 5/31/16 Church Financials 2016 Annual Budget Actuals Through 5/31/16 % of Budget Income: From Giving Units $ 150,481 $ 64,146 42.63% Other Giving $ 5,500 $ 9,844 178.97% Total Income $ 155,981 $ 73,990 47.43% Expenses: Council $ 97,324 $ 41,198 42.33% Christian Ministry $ 13,150 $ 5,308 40.36% Christian Education $ 2,950 $ 265 9.00% Stewardship $ 570 $ 241 42.35% Trustees $ 60,170 $ 21,486 35.71% Total Expenses $ 174,164 $ 68,498 39.33% Net Income (Loss) Year to Date: $ (18,183) $ 5,491

6 June 15, 2016 Church Council Minutes Moderator Dan Hegstad Assistant Moderator Claire Steen Clerk Barb Stokke Treasurer Mike Schrader Christian Ministry vacant Trustees Coleen Carder Christian Education Marina Grabowski Stewardship Marcia Mans Council at Large Ann Turnbull, Bonnie Crum, Mike North Present: Mike Schrader, Ann Turnbull, Barb Stokke, Marina Grabowski, Marcia Mans, Coleen Carder, Rev. Leslie Moughty, Dan Hegstad Dan Hegstad called the meeting to order. Ann Turnbull shared Food for Thought. Dan Hegstad will provide next month s Food for Thought. TREASURER S REPORT Mike and Coleen provided a clarification of the General Fund YTD activity report. PASTOR S REPORT Leslie was accepted into the Next Generation Leadership Initiative. She will be working in a cohort of 15 clergy from across the country. She also attended the National Gathering of the ONA Coalition; held special services for Confirmation Sunday and Recognition of Graduates, and a Vigil for Orlando shooting; participated in a protest in St. Cloud against an anti-muslim speaker; made pastoral care visits; and helped interview composers for the Faith Partners Composer-in-Residence program. Chaperons, especially a male for our male campers, are still needed for camp July 17-22. We also need to provide dinner and breakfast for the Sounds of Hope, a 70-member, multi-national youth choir/performance group, performing here Friday, July 22, at 7 p.m. They will stay overnight in the Fellowship Hall. STEWARDSHIP Judy Whiteman will be the Stewardship representative. Stewardship needs lists of time, talents, and treasures necessary for the church s ministries to achieve their goals. Clarifying the tasks or aptitudes needed for each committee could help church members determine which committee matches their time and talents. Another idea offered was to have people sign up for tasks rather than committees. TRUSTEES REPORT Michael Duval s Nisswa-stämman Scandinavian Folk Music Festival photos will be on display in the Fellowship Hall. Inspections and work continue on the Fellowship Hall and Chapel, the foundation, the rain gardens, and sidewalks. The church gables will need to be checked for structural soundness. Volunteers are needed for Tuesdays custodial work, painting, and library book sorting. CHRISTIAN EDUCATION CE will meet with Leslie to discuss faith formation curriculums. Brat sale volunteers are needed. CHRISTIAN MINISTRY Will meet next week OLD BUSINESS There have been no non-church announcements in the bulletin so far. Coleen explained the progress on the installation of Wi-Fi. The bylaws task force will discuss the bylaws this fall. A suggestion was made that the Justice ministry could be added to Stewardship. The committees who responded liked the Thursday night committee meetings time. The next committee meetings will be Thursday, July 14, at 5:30 with Christian Ed providing the meal. Council continued the discussion of a visioning retreat replacing the annual leadership retreat. Items discussed included possible name changes, the focus of the retreat, possible dates and places (not the same time as the Crop Walk), the need for a compelling agenda, and the possibilities of speakers and facilitators to help move the conversation.

7 NEW BUSINESS During July and August, the Church Council will meet at 5:30. The meeting was adjourned with the Lord s Prayer. The next meeting will be Wednesday, July 20 at 5:30 (Note time change) Respectfully submitted, Barbara Stokke, Clerk of Council Walk to End Alzheimer s Saturday, September 24 8:00 am Forestview Middle School Join Team First Congregational UCC at alz.org/walk The First Congregational United Church of Christ of Brainerd will again have a team participating in the Walk to End Alzheimer s on September 24 at 8:30a.m. at Forestview School in Baxter. We re Walking to End Alzheimer s. You can join our team (www.alz.org/walk) or make a donation to help us fight Alzheimer s. Go to the web page listed above. When you get to the Find Your Walk page, type in your zip code, click on Baxter on the next page. This will bring you to the Brainerd/Baxter page. Click on Friends and Family Teams. Type First Congregational United Church of Christ into the Find a Team box and click on Search. Just follow the prompts to Register or Donate. There is a phone number listed that you can call for help if you have trouble with the website.

8 Where do the funds go? All funds raised through Walk to End Alzheimer's further the care, support and research efforts of the Alzheimer's Association. The Alzheimer's Association is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization. All donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Do I have to register in order to Walk? Yes, we want to know you re walking with us and need every walker to sign a standard waiver through their official registration. There is no registration fee for Walk. However, we ask every walker to make a personal donation and commit to raising funds in the fight against Alzheimer s. Do I need to register my children for Walk? Yes, children should register. Parents/guardians can register children online or complete an offline registration form and sign the waiver on behalf of the child. Does every walker get a T-shirt? Every registered participant will receive a T-shirt after achieving the fundraising minimum of $100. Unless otherwise communicated, T-shirts will be available for pick up on Walk day. How do I get my offline donations to show up on my personal fundraising Web page? Donations can be made offline by submitting a check or money order by mail or hand-delivering to the local Alzheimer s Association office. Be sure to include your offline donation form, which can be found in your Participant Center or on your fundraising Web page, to make sure you receive credit for the donation. Donations typically take 1-2 weeks to show up on your Web page. Event Specifics Are pets, strollers, bicycles and skates allowed on Walk day? We do allow strollers, but for everyone s safety, we discourage skateboards, bicycles, inline skates and wheelie footwear. Depending on the Walk location rules, well-behaved dogs are welcome, but must be on a leash at all times. What happens if it rains? Walk is a rain or shine event. However, in the case of severe weather, we will cancel. If this is the case, we will update our Walk homepage on or before the morning of the event. We need volunteers! Know anyone who might be interested in helping us on the day of the event? We need volunteers to help with set-up, clean-up, registration, water stops, promise garden, the T-shirt tent and so much more. All interested volunteers should visit our volunteer page for more information about event day roles and responsibilities. How do I get a Promise Garden flower? On Walk day, you will receive a wristband. Each registered walker with a wristband will receive a Promise Garden flower. Please choose the color that best represents your connection to the disease. Blue represents someone with Alzheimer's or dementia Purple is for someone who has lost a loved one to the disease. Yellow represents someone who is currently supporting or caring for someone with Alzheimer s. Orange is for everyone who supports the cause and vision of a world without Alzheimer s. More information to come next month. Karen Ford

9 Songs of Hope Five Times A National Arts and Humanities Youth Award Program (NAHYP) Finalist! The global Songs of Hope company of youth performers from countries worldwide is presenting its firstever concert in Brainerd on July 22, thanks to a partnership between Songs of Hope and the First Congregational UCC of Brainerd. The award-winning Songs of Hope project, now in its twenty-fifth year, showcases the musical talents of young artists ranging in age from 10 to 20 from countries all across the globe, including Vietnam, China, Albania, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Israel, Iraq, Jamaica, Guatemala, Argentina, and USA. The annual Songs of Hope project has a well-deserved reputation for putting on lively, upbeat shows enjoyed by audiences of all ages, and the new 2016 version promises to be even better than ever. With close to seventy performers on stage, Songs of Hope will serve up a delightful mix of global music from countries large and small, plus a wide variety of U.S. songs chosen to be perfect entertainment on a warm summer s night: folk, jazz, blues, New Orleans Second Line, Cajun, rock n roll, and much more. We think of ourselves as a choir with attitude, laughs program director, Tom Surprenant. Picture cultural dress and costumes from other countries, movement, dancing, live music, imaginative sets, and much more, and you get an idea of us.

10 With an Arts Access Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board (thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund), the Songs of Hope directors are excited to be visiting Brainerd for the first time in the project s history. Surprenant explains, In 2004, we received our first touring grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to visit Mississippi River cities south of our home base in St. Paul. Maybe because our first trip was to the south, we ve tended to head in that direction ever since. After years of successful concert tours visiting cities in southern Minnesota down to Iowa, Surprenant and his Songs of Hope co-founder, artistic director Jeanne Junge, decided it was high time for some new scenery. We were pleased that the state arts board liked our plans to head north, adds artistic director, Jeanne Junge. We ve been to Duluth a couple of times, but there are a lot of cities in between that we ve missed. We needed to fix that. With new cities like Brainerd on the tour calendar for 2016, Junge and Surprenant are feeling the motivation to come up with a particularly memorable show for their new audiences. The fact is, audiences see our show once and they want to come back for more, says Surprenant. That s always our minimum standard, but we re planning to do even better in 2016. We ve got a great program of music planned, with maybe a few surprises. As Junge and Surprenant prepare the new concert show, they will have some very talented artists helping them. Cheryl Kramer is an experienced keyboard player who brings loads of experience playing African, Latin, and Caribbean music with many diverse Twin Cities ensembles. She has played in various bands, including the chick funk band, Kat Klub, the Calypso band, Cyril Paul and the Calypso Monarchs, blues band, Blind Date, Soca band, Shangoya, African music band, Marimba Africa, Brazilian band, Battuci Brasiliero, "island" band, 33 North, and others. She has been keyboard player for Songs of Hope since 1991. Nadège Kokoe is the project s vocal director. A native of Togo, a small country on the west coast of Africa, and a recent graduate of McNally Smith College of Music with a degree in Music Performance, Ms. Kokoe currently teaches K-8 music at a private school in south Minneapolis. As a vocalist, she has been involved with various groups and local choirs, including Marimba Africa, Guayaba Tropical, World Vocal and Latin ensembles of the McNally Smith College of Music, the International African Choir of Saint Olaf Church, and the acclaimed Cathedral Choir of the Cathedral of Saint Paul. Ms. Kokoe joined Songs of Hope in 2015. David Burk is one of the most versatile multi-instrumentalists in the Twin Cities, with numerous past and present musical associations including The Rose Ensemble, the Georges Lammam Arabic Orchestra, Voices of Sepharad, famed Persian singer Sattar, traditional Persian group Robayat, Ethnic Dance Theatre, Fuego Flamenco, and Intergalactic Contemporary Ensemble. Angel Diaz is a Venezuelan-born percussionist who specializes in timbales while playing many other drums. His credits as a drummer include Heart of the City, Nachito Herrera, World Voices Choir, and Grace Church Big Band His percussionist work also includes Tropical Sun, Salsabrosa, Salsa Del Sol, Mixed Blood Theatre, and Minnesota History Theatre. TICKETS: No admission charge, general seating This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

11 Nunsense Brainerd Community Theatre presents the musical comedy Nunsense! The play takes place on the evening of a fundraiser for the Little Sisters of Hoboken. Nunsense has been a favorite of theatres everywhere in the country, with its zany cast of five nuns. Produced by special arrangement with Samuel French. July 14-16 & 20-22, 2016 Chalberg Theatre 7:30 p.m. Click to learn more or buy tickets! "You don't have to be Catholic to love Nunsense!" - Entertainment Tonight CLC Performing Arts Center Central Lakes College 501 W College Drive Brainerd MN 56401 Email: clctheatre@clcmn.edu Box Office: 218-855-8199 www.clcmn.edu/arts

Church Calendar July 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 10:30 Book Group 12 3 10:00 Worship 11:00 Fellowship 4 Office Closed in Observance of Independence Day 5 6 9:30 Prayer Circle 11:30 Men s Group @ Sawmill Inn 7 8 10:30 Book Group 9 10 10:00 Worship 11:00 Fellowship 3:30 Cooking Group @ Claire Steen s 11 12 13 9:30 Prayer Circle 11:30 Men s Group @ Sawmill Inn 11:30 Clergy Cluster 14 5:30 Committee Meetings 15 10:30 Book Group 16 17 10:00 Worship 11:00 Fellowship 18 19 20 9:30 Prayer Circle 11:30 Men s Group @ Sawmill Inn 7:00 Council Meeting 21 22 10:30 Book Group 4:00 Soup Kitchen 7:00 Songs of Hope Concert 23 24 10:00 Worship & Food Shelf Offering 11:00 Fellowship NEWSLETTER DEADLINE 25 26 National Youth Event at Disney World 27 9:30 Prayer Circle 11:30 Men s Group @ Sawmill Inn National Youth Event 28 National Youth Event 29 10:30 Book Group National Youth Event 30 National Youth Event 31 10:00 Worship 11:00 Fellowship National Youth Event