evangelines 2015.docx · web viewvolume 59, issue 8. page 9. evangelines volume 59, issue 8 page...

EVANGELINES

EVANGELICAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRISTBlessed to be a blessing

Volume 59, Issue 8____________________________ _______ ________ __August 2015

“WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS”THE WORLD NEEDS PEOPLE...who cannot be bought; whose word is their bond; who put character above wealth; who possess opinions and a will; who are larger than their vocations; who do not hesitate to take chances; who will not lose their individuality in a crowd; who will be as honest in small things as in great things; who will make no compromise with wrong; whose ambitions are not confined to their own selfish desires; who will not say they do it" because everybody else does it"; who are true to their friends through good report and evil report, in adversity as well as in prosperity; who do not believe that shrewdness, cunning, and hardheadedness are the best qualities for winning success; who are not ashamed or afraid to stand for the truth when it is unpopular; who can say "no" with emphasis, although all the rest of the world says "yes." (Charles Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity, p.107-8.)

It can be difficult at times to do what is right and just in the world we live in. There are so many pressures, so many different directions we are pulled in. But the world needs people through the church to stand up and be counted. That means looking at the bigger picture. That means not being afraid to sometimes stand out in the crowd and take a stand on something we feel is important regardless of what others may think. It means taking some chances and allowing ourselves to fail so we can learn from our failures and rise to new life.

Evangelical United Church of Christ is a Christian community called to share God’s love with all people through the good news of Jesus Christ.

Have you heard?We’re back to two services starting

August 2nd! 8am and 10:15;

We can’t wait to worship with you!

Evangelines Volume 59, Issue 8 Page 8

Jesus built His church on flawed people who made mistakes, but were always faithful to Him. And it is no different for us today. We will never be a perfect church and that is ok. We will have things we can improve on as we continue to move forward. What Jesus wants from us is faithfulness and the willingness to not be afraid to take some risks and trust that He is leading and guiding us. The world needs a church full of people who are not afraid to be honest and stand up for what we think is right and just. As we continue to grow together as a Body of Christ let us always trust in the Spirit of Jesus to lead us. Let us not be afraid to share the Good News of our risen Savior.Christ’s Peace,

Pastor Chris

VISIONThe Visioning Process at EvUCC has been the center of a lot of preparation, excitement, and discussion these past few months, and I thought it might be helpful to outline some things as we move forward!

The Consistory, with the aid and assistance of the pastors, initially embarked upon this journey to find ways to strengthen our church and its involvement in the community. Folks were articulating that we had the people, the resources, the passion, and the spiritual gifts to help our church focus its collective energies into even more impactful and meaningful ministry opportunities.

We hired a Congregational Consultant (Sarai Rice) who has years and years of helping churches take the steps to a) identify their core gifts and strengths b) their community’s needs and then c) live into a dream where the church addresses both in ways that are helpful, invitational, and God-infused. We and Sarai are clear that she is not hired to provide “answers”, only to walk with us on the journey.

We asked a group of committed people from our church to be part of a Vision Team. These folk represent a healthy cross section of our congregation (age, gender, long-time members, newer members, gifts of deep spirituality, keen critique, financially-minded, emotionally-grounded, 8am attenders, 10:15 attenders, etc.) Together, they’ve agreed to help us survey members to determine EvUCC’s strengths to build on and assess our community’s needs.

The Surveys are now in hard-copy in our lobby, online (see evucc.org), or can be verbally taken in small groups or 1-on-1 with any Vision Team member to celebrate what God has done in our midst. There are a couple of broad categories we often hear celebrated (welcome, youth, and mission). But the Vision Process hopes to uncover new passions you have. So we want you to fill in the blank and “write in” what you think EvUCC’s greatest strengths are! There are no wrong answers. Our hope is that with enough thoughtful participation, we can identify common trends of what people love about EvUCC which will point us to our next step.

The next step will involve compiling those common trends and asking ourselves, “If this is what we love to do around here and we’re pretty good at it, how can we expand that strength to affect the community?” So instead of us trying to do everything all the time, we hope to begin to focus ourselves into doing a handful of things really well. As I mentioned in a recent sermon on Abraham and Isaac, this is about Life and new expansions, never about getting rid of the things we all love and find God in.

Once we are able to collectively notice a) the things we love and have strengths in, and b) the needs of our Evangelical United Church of Christ is a Christian community called to share God’s love with all people through

the good news of Jesus Christ.

Volume 59, Issue 8 Page 9community, that’s when we can discuss using some of the financial gifts we’ve been given to define a common vision that we have developed together (via the surveys and conversations).

That’s when things get really exciting.

This process is designed to have no scary timeline, nor will there be a risk of voices not being heard. We encourage everyone to take thoughtful time completing surveys in either written or spoken form. And once all this data has been collected, there will be reports and invitations to the congregation, as we make certain this excitement is indeed where our church collectively views our passions to be. This will be a process of full transparency and welcomed involvement, as we imagine the blessings that might be ahead of us as we walk paths of faithfulness.

Love your hearts,

Pastor Will

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

Step back in time July 27th – 31st from 9-11:15 am at our VBS Hometown Nazareth, Where Jesus Was A Kid, exploring what it was like to live in the town where Jesus grew up. Kids and adults participate in a memorable Bible –times Marketplace, sing catchy songs, play teamwork-building games, dig into Bible-times snacks, visit Jesus’ mom, Mary, and collect Bible Memory Makers to remind them of God’s Word.

VBS MISSION PROJECTOur VBS hands-on mission project will be with Operation Kid-to-Kid, where our donations will be used to send kid-friendly Bibles in the Thai language to Children in Thailand. For only $4.00, a child in Thailand can have a colorful, kid-friendly, age- appropriate New Testament of his or her own. Each day our students will bring their donations in their decorated elephant banks to worship. We would like to collect enough to send 100 Bibles to the children of Thailand. Please join us in this VBS mission project by putting your contribution in our “Palm Tree well” or mark your envelope VBS.

WOMEN’S GUILDThe Women’s Guild will meet on August 4 at 1:00. After a short business meeting, we will go to Hitz Home to entertain the residents by playing Bingo and then serve them a treat. The residents appreciate the time we spend with them. Won’t you join us in bringing a little joy into their lives?



As a remembrance of their child’s baptism, each family is given a baby afghan during the service. Joan Schuetz is crocheting these for us and would be happy to accept any yarn you might have that you can spare. You can bring the yarn to the church or call Joan (654-2055) for pickup.

175TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION NEWSMark your calendars for Sunday, October 18 as we celebrate 175 years as a church family. We are proudly the oldest church in Highland beginning in 1840. What a beautiful history we have and it is good that we celebrate this important milestone in our church. Our Planning Committee consisting of Karen Mason, Ruth Augustin, Beth Hegger, Hazel Rauscher, Dwain Chapman, Missy Loyet, Jim Johns, Jenny Seger, and Pastor Chris have been working hard to plan and organize this celebration. We will be inviting former pastors to participate in the service. There will be guest speakers. The service will be a reflection of our long and storied history. A lunch will follow the service as we continue to share our stories and how much this church has meant to all of us and our community. More information will be forthcoming as October 18 draws near. Please join us as we celebrate who we are as a Body of Christ and continue to move forward in the name of Jesus, our Risen Savior.

5k Run/Walk!Help us kick off our 175th anniversary by running or walking in our first annual 5k! Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 12 at 9am. Registration forms will be available soon. If you are interested in volunteering

to help the day of the race or if you have any questions, please contact Beth Hegger at 618-978-5554 or Jenny Seger at 618-973-1329.

CHOIR AND GOD SQUAD RESUMEGod Squad and Chancel Choir rehearsals will begin on September 2nd. God squad will be from 6 PM until 6:30. Chancel choir will start at 7 PM and usually is over by 8:30.

God Squad singers! We are moving rehearsals from Sunday mornings to Wednesday evenings. We would love to have any school age children who have a heart to sing praise! Rehearsals will be short – from 6 to 6:30. God squad will sing in church once a month this year alternating between the ignite 10:15 and 8 AM traditional services. It's going to be a super year :-)

EVUCC.ORGHave you had the opportunity to check out our new website? You can find all sorts of amazing information, view recent photos and/or videos of youth, mission trips and services, view passed week’s sermons, have access


Volume 59, Issue 8 Page 9to bulletins and weekly words if you want to follow along with the radio. Check it out and let us know what else we can add to make this site helpful and informative. “GOOGLE does not help with every Search”

WEE CARE DAY CAREWee Care kids and staff are having a wonderful summer! After a soggy June, we are definitely enjoying the hot summer days that let us play outside and soak in that great summer sun. Some of the hotter days have had us adjust our plans, but we are enjoying the bright sunny days. All the kids are loving our “Sprinkler Days”- all of our classes are appreciating this extra fun outside time. Our school-age Kid Care kids also go to the pool several times a week when the summer weather cooperates with our plans!

Our summer field trips are in full swing. Our Kid Care kids have enjoyed their fun around Highland which have included visits to Core Elite, the parks, Peanut Butter and Jelly Festival and a great afternoon at the Lory Theatre, watching “Minions.” The Pre-K classes also attended the movie at the Lory. We have several more adventures planned for them that we hope will make the last few weeks of this summer even more fun.

We want to give a special “Thank You” to Darlene Nagel and the Vacation Bible School volunteers who will be bringing together a wonderful program later this month. We know the Wee Care kids who attend will come back with smiles, stories of how much fun they had at the program and showed us projects they completed.

A Huge Thank you

Celebrating 25 years of service to the families of Highland

On August 13, 1990, Evangelical United Church of Christ opened the doors of Wee Care Day Care to provide care and nurturing to Highland's children and families. The staff of Wee Care Day Care is so proud to be a part of a place of caring and education that has impacted the lives of so many children. We know this would not be possible without the unfailing support and commitment by the EvUCC members. Many of you have given hours of time serving on our Day Care Board, discussing our needs in the Consistory Meetings, and generously helping us by adding to our materials and programming and in maintaining our facility.

You have lifted us up when times were challenging.You have always given when needs were mentioned.



Thank you for allowing us to be the serving hands, feet, smiles and hugs to this wonderful ministry that has touched so many children over the years.

We could not have done it without you.

We are hosting a hot dog lunch for our kids and families on Wednesday, August 5th, along with some special fun activities that day to celebrate our anniversary. We have also finished collecting lids for our picnic table and a second bench. We will be having a bake sale and selling a cook book of recipes from our children and families to raise funds to purchase them in honor of this very important milestone.

SHARING THE EXCESSContinuing into August, the Stewardship Board will be hosting a produce table each Sunday morning. We will have a table set up in the narthex, and encourage members to bring in extra produce from their garden to share with others who may not have access to home-grown fruits and vegetables. This is completely a free service. Bags will be provided for those who wish to take items home. Please help us out by sharing the "fruits" of your harvest with others and know that this is just another opportunity to show how you are BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING.

THANK YOU’SThe Vacation Bible School committee says “Thank you” to Melissa Reinarman for designing and assembling our VBS bulletin boards. Thank you to Paula Redman , Gary Gaehle, Kay Whitecotton, and Elaine Fenton for the use of their tents for VBS. Thank you to Marla Baer, Lynn Rivas and Jim Johns for their help in setting up and decorating tents for VBS Hometown Nazareth. Also a big thanks to all who donated supplies for VBS.

Darlene

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Thanks to everyone who donated $$ for Pastor Will’s, Mayor Joe’s, and Jay’s pies which were to be auctioned at the Celebrity Pie Auction held June 19 to benefit Relay for Life . The auction was scheduled to be held at the PBJ Festival on the Square, but due to the weather was moved to the Weinheimer Building. Unfortunately, due to health reasons, at the last minute Mayor Joe was unable to participate this year – so his donations were applied to the bids for the other two pies. Thanks to your generosity, EvUCC was the successful bidder for BOTH of these pies -- Pastor Will’s “Life of Pi[e]” Rhubarb Pie and Jay’s Blackberry Pie!

Special thanks to Soundra Green, chief organizer of donations and bidders! The Celebrity Pie Auction is an annual event that benefits Highland’s Relay for Life and the fight against cancer.

Thanks for your support,Paula Redman


Volume 59, Issue 8 Page 9

CAUGHT IN THE ACT OF SERVICEThank you to the following people for volunteering and serving when needed:

Robert Engelmann for his years of dedicated service as a offering counter. The Membership board for all of their hard work on our church floats. The Property board and Ron Mortland for the research on the parking lot project.

OUR CHURCH FAMILYWe rejoice in the baptism of:

Lucas Lee Schlechte baptized on June 28th. Lucas is the son of Josh and Andrea Schlechte and the baby brother of Gracyn.

Elsie Morgan Ecker baptized on July 19th. Elsie is the daughter of Phillip and Shauna Ecker and the baby sister of Evelyn.

We bestow blessings on the marriage of:

Maddie Eisentraut and Chris Swed married in Florida on June 19th.

Casey Fields and Jed Driemeyer married at EvUCC on Saturday, June 20th.

We extend our sympathy and rejoice in thepromise of resurrection with…

The family of Ethel Michaelis who passed away on July 10th.

The family of Dean Lanphere who passed away on July 20th.

Also, please continue to pray for…

Connie Louer Abert, Bob Barney, Marie Bimes, Robin Chumbris, Marge Clayton, Florence Collmann, Carolyn Crabtree, Jeanne Dankenbring, Viola Deibert, Randy Dellamano, Bob DePew, Gene and Debra Dilley (Marsha Rinderer’s sister and brother-in-law), Marlene Dickerson, Rev. Tom Drewer, Jared Emig (nephew of Jerry and Karla Zurliene), Alma Erwin, Ellen Gelly, Olivia Genteman, Elaine Grundhoefer (Harold Byers’ sister), Norma Haberer, Maurie Henricks (Tom’s father), Carol Hoffman, Don Hundsdorfer, Curt Iberg, Janet Jenny, Dorothy Johnson (Aunt of Ron and Kathy Schneider), Betty Kamm, Maurice Knebel, Vera Kunz, Betty Legier, Herman Louer, Marion Marcus, Mary Marchal, Ruth Meffert, Henry Metzger, Joe Michaelis, Becky Morris (Shirley


Evangelines Volume 59, Issue 8

Hug’s niece), Daniel Morris, Richard Moser, Anthony Perez (friend of Steve and Denise Clayton), Alicia Rayner (Al & Shirley Flath’s daughter), Sandra Reinacher, Don Rinderer, Joan Sackett, Flo Schneider, Doris (mother of Barb Stallard), John Snider, Nathan Steding, Gloria Stuckwisch, Samantha Strom (friend of Tina Kutzgar), Carladine Vulliet, Alvin Whitsell (Florence Collmann’s brother-in-law), Dale Wiesemeyer (Niala Keilbach’s brother), and Kathy Wilsman (Nancy Byers’ sister), and Howard Zbornak.

COFFEE HOUR HOSTSAugust 2 Membership August 23 StewardshipAugust 9 Memorial August 30 Women’s GuildAugust 16 Mission

VALETSDate 8:00 10:15August 2 Kerri Reilson TBDAugust 9 Connie Sparlin TBDAugust 16 Lori Miscik TBDAugust 23 Julie Mason TBDAugust 30 Karen Munie TBD

August Service CalendarDate Ushers Layreaders Nursery

August 2 8:00 Stan Giffhorn Gloria Klaus Bob Kruse Janet Kruse Tom Wehrle Merle Wernle Rodney Zobrist Debi Zobrist

10:15 TBD

8:00 Debbie Zobrist

10:15 Barbi Marti 10:15 Jane SudhoffAugust 9 8:00 Harold Byers Nancy Byers

Vicki Clayton Shirley Pollmann

10:15 TBD

8:00 Jill Foehner

10:15 Alicia VerDuin 10:15 Ruthie Shownes| Delores Halbe

August 16 8:00 Larry Rinderer Gay Rinderer Gary Gaehle TBD

10:15 Denise Clayton TBD

8:00 Jeanne Meyer

10:15 Shirley Anderson 10:15 Jan TebbeAugust 23 8:00 Bill Kraus Janet Kraus

Brian Stoff Amy Stoff

10:15 TBD

8:00 Soundra Green

10:15 Paula Redman 10:15 Alicia VerDuinAugust 30 8:00 John Hester Dolores Hester

Dorothy Deibert Margaret Rowold 8:00 Janice Hartman


Volume 59, Issue 8

10:15 TBD 10:15 Dennis Foehner 10:15 Alicia VerDuin

Tech Team ScheduleDate 8am Sound 8am Slides 10:15am Sound 10:15am SlidesAugust 2 John Kay Connor BradenAugust 9 John Kay Dan DeniseAugust 16 John Kay Connor BradenAugust 23 John Kay Mary Beth BillAugust 30 John Kay Dan Connor

MORE THANK YOU’SThe Board of Christian Education would like to thank Jim Johns, Scott Schmitt, and Rodney Knackstedt for their help in setting up the Hoyl Cow Ice Cream stand for the Schweizerfest, as well as Pam Schmitt, Connie Hug, Jeanne Meyer, Jeremiah and Amy Knackstedt, Darlene Nagel, Janice Hartman, Amy Kreher, Tracey Zobrist, Marianne Kohrmann, Timmy Kohrmann, Tim Kohrmann, Nancy Ramsey, Gloria Klaus, Ruth Bickline, Todd and Kerri Reilson, Art and Joan Schuetz, Katy Goldman, and Jenny Seger for working a shift at the stand! We appreciate you all for your help!!Thanks! Lynn Rivas

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EvUCC Scholarship Committee ,Thank you for awarding me with a scholarship. It means a lot to me to be given a scholarship. This scholarship will help me continue my education and reach a goal of mine, which is graduating from college with a degree. Thanks again. Clint Reilson

BAPTISMAL BLANKETSAs a remembrance of their child’s baptism, each family is given a baby afghan during the service. Joan Schuetz is crocheting these for us and would be happy to accept any yarn you might have that you can spare. You can bring the yarn to the church or call Joan (654-2055) for pick-up.



Evangelical United Church of Christ

Permit No. 173U.S. POSTAGE PAID

Nonprofit OrganizationHighland, IL 62249

2520 Poplar St.Highland, IL 62249

RETURN SERVICEREQUESTED

Office: 618-654-7459Email: [email protected]: www.evucc.orgFax: 618-654-6346

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Volume 59, Issue 8 Page 9

Have you heard? We're back to two services starting August 2nd! 8am and 10:15; we can't wait to worship with you!


evangelines 2015.docx · web viewvolume 59, issue 8. page 9. evangelines volume 59, issue 8 page...

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