A Joint Newsletter of Union Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ & St. John s Episcopal Church September 2017
Pastoral Ponderings September always feels like a time of change and new beginnings. Perhaps it is because Labor Day marks the end of summer fun. School is back in full swing; it s time for fall fashions, and hunting season is gearing up. Speaking of seasons For the last couple of years, our worship focus in September celebrates the Season of Creation. Where in the world did that come from? Well, it actually goes hand in hand with the curriculum we use with our children. Seasons of the Spirit curriculum and worship resources are created by an international group of Christian educators and worship leaders. Many of them come from our sister denominations in Australia, Canada and Europe. Here s a little history on the Season of Creation: Around the year 2000, the Season of Creation was being developed in Australia, in particular through the Uniting Church. At the very same time, a parallel season called the Time of Creation was being developed in Europe by the ECEN (European Christian Environmental Network). Without knowledge of each other s work, both groups chose September as the appropriate time for celebrating with creation, following a Greek Orthodox tradition of declaring September 1 the Day of Creation and St. Francis of Assisi Day, October 4, as a fitting closure. Why a Season of Creation? There is a growing concern in Christian communities about the ecological crisis and the way Earth has been treated. One of the most effective ways to focus this interest, we believe, is through worship. By concentrating our worship on God s creation and worshipping with creation, we are more likely to find ways to heal rather than exploit our planet. Our aim in The Season of Creation is a joint celebration in which we not only give thanks for creation but also celebrate with creation. Our goal is a mutual ministry in which we are not only called to serve and sustain life but recognize how creation serves and sustains life. Our vision is to celebrate Christ as personal redeemer and also as the cosmic power at work renewing and healing a suffering creation. (Norman Habel) Here in Wyoming where the beauty and power of creation is all around us, we have even more reason to give thanks for and celebrate with creation. So as we come back from our summer adventures bring your memories of places and times shared with friends and family. Bring your appreciation for the land and the rivers that are our home. Bring your openness to God s word for our lives. Let us give thanks for the wonders of creation and let us celebrate with creation the ways we together can nurture and sustain the abundance of life and the fullness of love, which are God s gift to us all. Peace and joy, Pastor Jenny
[September 1-15 Pastor Jenny on vacation] Monday September 4: Happy Labor Day (office closed) Sunday, September 10: 9:00 am Worship & Faith Exploration kick-off!! Sunday, September 17: 10:40 a.m. Council Monday, September 11: 6:00/7:00 p.m. Diaconate/Trustees Sunday, September 24: 9:00 a.m. Worship & Faith Exploration Pastor on Vacation Pastor Jenny will be on vacation August 30 September 15th for a wedding and the annual siblings venture. If you have any pastoral needs during this time please do not hesitate to call Judy Graham, our moderator or Rev. Kay Grice (307-448-0164). And you won t want to miss worship while she is away. John Malone will be leading worship and bringing the word to life on Sunday, September 3 rd. Roy Lloyd will be with us on Sunday, September 10 th. WEEKLY CHURCH EVENTS: Sundays 9:00 a.m. Worship Mondays 8:45 a.m. Coffee Group Tuesdays 9:30 a.m. Craft Group Dennis Braithwaite 4 Pam Kerr 4 Debbie Braithwaite 9 Tom Wiekhorst 9 Margie Penner 10 Jean Kirby 21 Check office calendar for scouts and other regular groups. Terry & Kathy Wiekhorst 20 WOSHIP CD S. If you just can t make it to worship, but still would like to hear the music, prayers and sermon, there are CD s available in the gathering area by the UCC guest book. If you d like to receive a CD each week, please let the office know and we will make that happen. (A huge thank you to Ray Curtis for this ministry!)
HERE I AM, LORD As summer winds down and perhaps life gets back to a more normal pace, please consider signing up to be a greeter, reader or even fellowship host on a lovely fall Sunday. Being a Greeter is a great gift of hospitality to all who come to worship. Plan on being at church by 8:40 a.m. to pass out bulletins and welcome people. It s also a great way to meet people you might not know yet. Readers share the scriptures for worship. You ll get an email of phone call with the readings usually by Wednesday. Fellowship time can be as simple or as extravagant as you like to make it. Any questions about Sunday hosts and leaders? Just ask one of our Deacons or Pastor Faith Exploration Sunday, September 10 th is our kick-off for a new season of discovering God s word and exploring faith. On the 2 nd and 4 th Sundays of each month, children are invited to go with teachers following the Chancel Chat for their own special time of learning, laughing and growing in God s love. Loose Change = Clean Laundry Wow! Our Sunday coin offering brought in over $53:00 - enough money to purchase 150 individual packages of detergent for people in need. Thanks for sharing your loose change! Impromptu Disaster Relief Offering Sunday, August 27, the congregation contributed $250.00 to send to Texas with Pastor Jenny. Funds will be given to St. Peter UCC in Houston to help with recovery work following the devastating floods from Harvey. At least one family in the church has water in their home and the rains will continue for another 2-4 days. Yikes. Love and prayers to all those struggling to stay dry and safe. 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.
Pumpkin Patch is Just Around the Corner! It s hard to believe that in only a little over a month that big old semi will be pulling into our parking lot with a whole lot of pumpkins for us to sell. We have been gathering pallets and making plans in anticipation of their arrival. We requested they be delivered on the 10 th, 11 th, or 12 th of October, but at this time we have not received a confirmation of delivery. Plus, as most of you know, delivery depends on the weather. Wet pumpkins cannot be loaded. Please try to be available to help unload when they do arrive. We are hoping to recruit some younger folks to help, but we need all the help we can get. As we get closer to delivery, there will be a sign-up sheet for volunteers to sell them. Of course we will also need help covering and uncovering them each day. This is a huge project, but it has been remarkably successful due to all the wonderful folks who are willing to help. Thanks in advance! Return of the Craft Fair It s been absent for a few years, but the craft fair is back. We will be selling crafts and baked goods on Saturday, October 21 st in conjunction with the Pumpkin Patch. Crafts aren t limited to fall and winter holidays. We are advertising Crafts for all Seasons. So be creative and let s have a successful fair. Fall Faith Formation Volunteers Welcomed! Teachers are needed for the second and fourth Sundays of September, October, November, & December Season of Creation is the theme this month. Individual file folders for each session are in the secretary's office with the curriculum thanks to Jackie Rockhold. Ellen Jacobsen has decorated and organized the Sunday School area and made it very welcoming to all. The teachers and students have access to books, crafts, music and files that certainly will be valuable as we meet our challenge of educating our young people. Ellen or Sandy will be happy to walk interested persons through the shelves and baskets. PLEASE let Sandy Johnson know when you can take one hour on a Sunday to meet with the kids. It is very rewarding for sure. Sandy's number is 871-4367 or 875-9561.
Moderator s Message September 2017 Who is your neighbor? Does your neighbor live next door? Or across the street? Or maybe you haven t met your neighbor because your neighbor is invisible but in plain sight. This was the situation in the neighborhoods which are around the I-90 bridge where it crosses Rainier St in Seattle, Washington. I learned of this story of Neighbors while visiting Bill s brother and sister-in-law in Seattle. They are a group of neighbors who are members of Rainier St. Pop Up Kitchen. After hearing of the pop up kitchen, following them on Facebook and watching a video about this kitchen, I have a much different view of neighbors and the homeless who live under this bridge. Today I think about the kind of neighbor I wish to be and can be. So let me share their story with you. One snowy day last winter a young single father and his little daughter noticed the people living under the bridge and realized they could be cold and hungry. He brought blankets, 100 hamburgers with fries and gave them out. After posting what he had done and wondering what could be done by just an everyday person, a small group of people joined him in bringing a home cooked meal to the people who reside at that bridge. Needless to say, they were questioned about what church they were from, or which organization they represented but they were told instead that they were just their neighbors sharing their Sunday meal with them under the bridge. On most Sundays since that day, the neighbors arrive with tables covered with red checked tablecloths and chairs as well as the home-cooked meal. At first, the providers did everything for those living outdoors. Today, as they sit together and share the meal Sunday after Sunday, the Bridge Residents and their Neighbors work together to sweep the eating space and set up the table and chairs. It has become a group activity of trusted friends and neighbors. Do we have neighbors around us whom we don t notice? Do we have hidden neighbors? What kind of neighbor could we become? I shared this story and a video on Facebook with Church Council just to share what one person could do. Before our meeting was over a plan to become a better Neighbor emerged which we ll share in the near future. If you re interested in this kitchen search Rainier Pop Up Kitchen on Facebook and ask to join the group. You will have a new and different view of our unnoticed neighbors. Ask yourself, what kind of neighbor can I be to those I know and to those I have yet to meet. As a neighbor, Judy Graham, Moderator 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.
St John s Episcopal Church 350 Mansface / P.O. Box 400 Green River, WY 82935 mansfacechurch@sweetwaterhsa.com St. John s September Worship Schedule September 3 Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost 11:00 Holy Eucharist Service Leader: Rev. Walt Seeley Reader: Angie Bennet September 10 Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost 11:00 Holy Eucharist Service Leader: Rev. Ruth Lauritzen Reader: Lollie Lebario September 17 Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost 11:00 Holy Eucharist Service Leader: Rev. Walt Seeley Reader: Terry Weikhorst September 24 Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost 11:00 Morning Prayer Service: Chuck Realing Reader: Chuck Realing The next Vestry meeting will be Sunday, September 3 after coffee hour.
Please remember these families in your prayers: Eleonore (Lucy s Mother), Jose Alvarez, Margo, Jack, Kyle, Tim, Evie Grace Huebner, 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. Alexander Shafe 12 Kenny Deichmueller 19 Autumn King 21 Harris & Freidie Foster 4 Al & Carolyn Carollo 14 Thursday Night Book Study The Thursday evening Bible class is studying the gospel of John. The class is led by Rev. 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.
The Priest s Corner As I contemplate what has transpired since my last entry here, the division and animosity in our country strikes me as the worst I have seen in my lifetime. Almost no matter where you look you see hate, intolerance, violence and unrest. Most of us don t have to look very far in order to see examples of this division around us. As one watches reports on the television or catches up to the news on social media, it is hard to not get discouraged and even feel as if there is no hope. However, as followers of Jesus we know there is hope. The God of love has the last word and can redeem even this mess. As followers of Jesus, or as Presiding Bishop Michael Curry puts it, the Episcopal branch of the Jesus movement, we are called to stand for what is right and be a force for love and reconciliation in the world. In a message on August 17 th Bishop Curry said: I m a follower of Jesus of Nazareth because I believe the teachings, the Spirit, the Person, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus have shown us the way through the chaos to true community as God has intended from the beginning. Through the way of love, he has shown us the way to be right and reconciled with the God and Creator of us all. Through his way of love, he has shown us the way to be right and reconciled with each other as children of God, and as brothers and sisters. In so doing, Jesus has shown us the way to become the Beloved Community of God. St. Paul said it this way: In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself and now he has entrusted us with the message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19). I know too well that talk of Beloved Community, which Jesus was describing when he spoke of the kingdom of God in our midst, can be dismissed as nice but naive, idealistic yet unrealistic. I know that. But I also know this. The way of Beloved Community is our only hope. In this most recent unveiling of hatred, bigotry, and cruelty, as Neo-Nazis marched and chanted, The Jews will not replace us, we have seen the alternative to God s Beloved Community. And that alternative is simply unthinkable. It is nothing short of the nightmare of human self-destruction and the destruction of God s creation. And that is unthinkable, too. We who follow Jesus have made a choice to walk a different way: the way of disciplined, Intentional, passionate, compassionate, mobilized, organized love intent on creating God s Beloved Community on earth. You might ask, how do we create God s beloved community on earth? It sounds like a pretty insurmountable task, right? The good news is it is God who establishes the Beloved Community. Our responsibility is to follow him and work toward furthering the reach of the Beloved community, one person at a time. Individually we can t change the world. Together, however, if each of us simply loves each person we come in contact with we can make a difference. It doesn t have to be a huge gesture a simple smile and heartfelt greeting, expressing appreciation to someone working in the service industry, a hug and truly listening to someone, giving a hand-up to someone who is struggling these things can change a person s day and perhaps even their lives. That s all it takes for all of us to work together to further the Beloved Community here on earth. The stakes couldn t be higher and the alternative to the Beloved Community is unthinkable. Let us go out and help establish this Beloved Community by spreading God s love, one person at a time. -Walt