In This Week's E-Pistle, You Will Find:
This Sunday's Service: "Holy Welcome"
In the gospel reading from this Sunday's lectionary, Jesus says, "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me." In the UCC, we say we are the church of "Extravagant Welcome," but extending a holy welcome to all can be challenging, especially during the divisive times in which we are living.
Please join us this Sunday at 10 AM (either in person or streaming live online), as we explore what it means to truly extend a "Holy Welcome" to all people. Message: Rev. K'Lynne McKinley. Music: Peter Black and Bob Kruse Download This Sunday's Online Bulletin: 
UCC General Synod: June 29 to July 4
Pastor Sal is currently attending the UCC General Synod in Indianapolis, where he has been elected to serve as a Conference delegate. The Synod is the national gathering of all the UCC churches. Please keep him and all of the delegates in your prayers this week, as they vote on several important resolutions and elect a new UCC President and General Minister. To learn more: www.GeneralSynod.org
Welcome, Rev. K'Lynne McKinley!
Pastor Sal is currently attending the UCC National Synod in Indianapolis, so this Sunday we welcome Rev. K'Lynne McKinley who will be leading worship for us. K’Lynne is an ordained minister with the United Church of Christ and holds a Doctor of Ministry from Portland Seminary. She is a Certified Educator through the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education and has been the CPE Program Manager at Trinity Health Ann Arbor Hospital since June of 2017. K’Lynne is married to Sarah and together they have three children (Noah, Lyrik and Salem), two frenchie-pugs (Clarke and Charley), and a five-month-old foster baby (Santino). As a family, the McKinleys love to travel and try new things.
Last Week's Service
Every year on the last Sunday in June, United Church of Christ congregations around the country celebrate "Open & Affirming" Sunday.
More than 30 years ago, Douglas UCC was among the very first churches in the entire United States to become recognized as an "Open & Affirming" church, meaning that we are a congregation that welcomes and celebrates the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in our church's life and ministry. Please enjoy last Sunday's service, when we celebrated the special spiritual gifts with which the LGBTQ+ community blesses our church family, our Saugatuck/Douglas community, and our world. Message: Pastor Sal Sapienza. Music: Peter Black and Jeff Spangler Meet Our 16 New Members!
It was such a thrill to welcome 16 new members to our DUCC family this past Sunday! And here they are, pictured left to right: Jim DeVries, Rev. Linda Knieriemen, Lauri Donaldson, Renee Zita, John McDonald and Bruce Belich, Anne Dooley, Lisa and Wayne Titus, Rev. Colette DeNooyer, Jan DeVries, Bob DeNooyer, Nancy and Scott DeWitt. Not pictured: Scott Bryers, and Todd Smith
DUCC Annual Membership Meeting Highlights
Thanks to all who attended our annual meeting this past Sunday, and special thanks to our presenters: Peter Mueller, Mike Mok, Stacy Honson, Julie Ridl, Kathleen Mueller, Beth Stallinga, Marchiene Rienstra, and Beverly Hawkes. We honored retiring church council members, Moderator Peter Mueller, Recording Secretary Beverley Hawkes, and member-at-large David Geen, and welcomed new Council Moderator Mark Johnston, Recording Secretary Michael VerMerris, and member-at-large Mike Mok.
Retreat House's New Meditation Space
KUDOS to the team that has renovated Pastor Sal's old office into a new meditation space in the Retreat House: Marchiene Rienstra, Gemina Petruzzelli, Kathleen Mueller, Dick Bont, and Kelly Wright! And KUDOS to the Retreat House's visioning, marketing, and management team, guiding the future of this contemplative ministry Gemina Petruzzelli, Marchiene Rienstra, Beth Stallinga, Colette DeNooyer, Barbara Flynn, Kathleen Klage, and Kathleen Mueller.
Coming Up in Campus Stewardship...
“This Little Church That’s Been Entrusted to Our Care”
As outlined at our Annual Meeting, there are many areas of our church campus in need of important repair and updating. Here's our wish list: 88 Spring Street
Sanctuary and Friendship Hall
We hope to fund these projects through targeted gifts totalling $79, 725 to complete them all. You can keep watch on our funding goal at the funding poster soon to be placed in the Friendship Hall, and posts here. Meanwhile, consider if you can support these needed improvements. You can donate online at the button below, or post a check with “DUCC Campus Stewardship” in the memo line to: Douglas UCC, PO Box 519, Douglas, MI 49406. Memorial for Sidney Matheis, July 9, 11:30am
On Sunday, July 9, at 11:30 a.m., we will honor the life and legacy of our church member and friend Sidney Matheis. All church members are invited to join in this service, and after, as we spread the ashes in our Memorial Garden.
Fox17 News story featuring Larry Gammons |
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| order_of_service_june_18_2023.pdf |
Last Week's Service
In the gospel reading from last Sunday's lectionary, a woman suffering from hemorrhages for 12 years is miraculously healed as she touches the hem of Jesus's garment. He tells the woman, "Take heart, for your faith has made you well."
Enjoy last Sunday's service, when we explored the healing miracles in the gospels, and how we, too, can experience miracles in own lives when we believe. Message: Pastor Sal. Music: Peter Black and Jeff Spangler
Enjoy last Sunday's service, when we explored the healing miracles in the gospels, and how we, too, can experience miracles in own lives when we believe. Message: Pastor Sal. Music: Peter Black and Jeff Spangler
KUDOS to David Geen for Planting our Zinnias!
Thank you to church member, David Geen, for planting the zinnias in front of the church this year in memory of Jim Shewell, who planted them for many years.
July Coffee Hour Treats Needed!
Photo by Food Photographer | Jennifer Pallian on Unsplash
Thanks to all who work our Coffee Hour Coordinator, Joyce Wright! The sign-up sheet for treats for July is waiting for us in Friendship Hall, but with too few names on it! If you can provide treats for coffee hour in July, please sign up there, or connect with Joyce (you will find her contact information in the Membership Directory.)
Volunteers Needed for Venetian Fest!
Sign Up Online!
The Rotary Club of Saugatuck/Douglas is looking for volunteers to help with the Venetian Festival on July 28 and 29. One of our three local Rotary initiatives is to protect and enhance the waterways (and local ecosystems). As a starting point, we have opted for a laser light show instead of the fireworks, and if Rotary continues to carry the mantle for this event in coming years, we plan to include an awareness/educational component to the weekend. Volunteers who sign up by June 25 will receive a really cool t-shirt with the new logo! See church member Kirsten Stannis (or the website) for details or questions.
Save the Date: DUCC Annual Meeting, June 25
Our Annual Church Business Meeting will be held on Sunday, June 25, at 11:30 AM in the Friendship Hall after service. All church members are wholeheartedly encouraged to attend.
Pastor Sal and our church leaders will be giving us updates. We'll affirm new Council members, and we’ll be approving last year's minutes and the new church budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
You can email Julie to request a copy of the budget for review, and click below to download a copy of last year's meeting minutes, which will also be posted in the Friendshiip Hall.
Pastor Sal and our church leaders will be giving us updates. We'll affirm new Council members, and we’ll be approving last year's minutes and the new church budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
You can email Julie to request a copy of the budget for review, and click below to download a copy of last year's meeting minutes, which will also be posted in the Friendshiip Hall.
| 2022_draft_annual_meeting_minutes.pdf |
A few Spaces Left at Jack Ridl's Oxbow Workshop, June 24
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Church member Jack Ridl is teaching an Art on the Meadow workshop at Oxbow entitled "Here's What Matters," Saturday, June 24, 9a.m- 5 p.m.
The day-long workshop includes lunch on campus. Workshop participants will spend the day exploring, through their preferred form of writing, the things that have profoundly impacted their own lives – whether they are funny, traumatic, serious, sorrowful, or joyous. Using Jack’s prompts, writers will first talk with one another about what subject they have chosen. Then, they will have time to explore that choice in writing, after which the group will engage in a delightful debriefing about what showed up as they wrote, culminating in a deeply memorable day. |
Gun Violence Awareness March, Grand Haven, June 17
Gun violence has claimed more American lives than all of the historical wars combined. Currently, guns are the number one killer of American youth, and the violence is far from over. Please join Hailey Huggett and the Huggett family on June 17th, 11:00AM at Central Park in Grand Haven MI for a Silence the Violence, silent march. This is a Michigan-wide event put on by End Gun Violence Michigan and hosted locally. The group will march silently and carry a tombstone with the names of every Michigander killed by gun violence. There will also be an opportunity to sign a collective statement for the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners which is imperative to public safety. We would love to have our congregation represented at the event so please spread the word and show up! Let’s raise our voices and put an end to this epidemic! You can help event organizers by signing up for the march. Just click this button here:
Opera MODO presents DxN Pasquale at DUCC June 17
Detroit opera company, Opera Modo, is taking a tour of Michigan, bringing an exciting new production to Saugatuck/Douglas on Saturday, June 17, at 7 PM.
D[x]n Pasquale is a new English translation of Donizetti's classic Don Pasquale. Translated from its original libretto, this new LGBTQ+ translation tells the story of a young, nonbinary artist, their intolerant, miserly aunt, and two trusted confidantes with a plan to change it all. When Dawn Pasquale tries to disenfranchise their one remaining family member, Ernesto, on the basis of prejudice, Norina and Malatesta resort to hilariously extreme measures of drag, distractions, and deception to try to open Pasquale's mind and heart.
In celebration of Pride Month, D[x]n Pasquale uproots traditional operatic standards of gender and relationships with the familiar devices of disguise and deceit to celebrate the beautiful athleticism of bel canto singing and to tell a radically inclusive story of love and acceptance.
Tickets are $25, and can be purchased at the link below!
D[x]n Pasquale is a new English translation of Donizetti's classic Don Pasquale. Translated from its original libretto, this new LGBTQ+ translation tells the story of a young, nonbinary artist, their intolerant, miserly aunt, and two trusted confidantes with a plan to change it all. When Dawn Pasquale tries to disenfranchise their one remaining family member, Ernesto, on the basis of prejudice, Norina and Malatesta resort to hilariously extreme measures of drag, distractions, and deception to try to open Pasquale's mind and heart.
In celebration of Pride Month, D[x]n Pasquale uproots traditional operatic standards of gender and relationships with the familiar devices of disguise and deceit to celebrate the beautiful athleticism of bel canto singing and to tell a radically inclusive story of love and acceptance.
Tickets are $25, and can be purchased at the link below!
Forest Bathing: A Guided Experience, July 8
Photo by kazuend on Unsplash
Shinrin-yoku, or Forest Bathing, is a Japanese practice that encourages you to slow down and reconnect with the natural world through all your senses. Our Creation Justice Team is partnering with the Saugatuck-Douglas District Library to offer you a free, guided forest bathing experience.
On Saturday, July 8, join Katie Venechuk (of In Your Element), at either 10.30 am or 12.30 pm for a gentle 90-minute interaction with nature in a local park. Directions will be provided to participants after registration. Although there is no charge for this program, space is limited, so please call or email the library to reserve your spot.
On Saturday, July 8, join Katie Venechuk (of In Your Element), at either 10.30 am or 12.30 pm for a gentle 90-minute interaction with nature in a local park. Directions will be provided to participants after registration. Although there is no charge for this program, space is limited, so please call or email the library to reserve your spot.
Tickets are on Sale! West Shore Aware Gala, August 19
The Summer Event is Coming! The White Party Rainbow Reunion is August 19, and tickets are on sale now. Follow the button below for tickets, sponsorship opportunities, and more details.
Birthdays & Anniversaries
June 17- Gordon Stannis, 18- Kirsten Stannis, 19- Gordon & Kirsten Stannis,
20- Jack Klott, 22- Lewis Corbin, 24- Katy Lemanski Loster
Birthday and Anniversary cards are a great way we can reach out to one another. If you wish to mail a card to one of our church members, addresses can be found in our Church Directory.
June 17- Gordon Stannis, 18- Kirsten Stannis, 19- Gordon & Kirsten Stannis,
20- Jack Klott, 22- Lewis Corbin, 24- Katy Lemanski Loster
Birthday and Anniversary cards are a great way we can reach out to one another. If you wish to mail a card to one of our church members, addresses can be found in our Church Directory.
Prayer Requests
Stan Greene; Betsy York; Dick Bont; Tom Fahlstrom Sr. (Tom Fahlstrom's Dad); Mary Westenbroek; Brian Aikens; Family of Doug Smith; Jerry Elpers and family (Beth Howley's Dad); Edie Plantinga (Nancy Plantinga's mother); Joyce Potts (Ed Korson's Friend); Eric Cooley (Jo Cooley's brother); Nicole and John (Wendy Hamlin's daughter-in-law and son)
Financial Stewardship
In-Person Attendance June 11: 113
Total Views for June 11 Online Videos: 589
Collection Plate & Mailed Donations: $3,605.00
Online Giving: $3,074.57
Total: $6,679.57
Thank you!!
Your generous giving allows us to sustain our church community and our mission of service in the world. Please consider giving online, which is easily done by texting your donation amount to
844-931-2849, or sharing through the donate buttons on
Facebook or Instagram, or at our website.
Total Views for June 11 Online Videos: 589
Collection Plate & Mailed Donations: $3,605.00
Online Giving: $3,074.57
Total: $6,679.57
Thank you!!
Your generous giving allows us to sustain our church community and our mission of service in the world. Please consider giving online, which is easily done by texting your donation amount to
844-931-2849, or sharing through the donate buttons on
Facebook or Instagram, or at our website.
In This Week's E-Pistle, You Will Find:
- This Sunday's Service — 2nd Sunday After Pentecost: "Miracles When You Believe"
- Last Sunday's Service Video — Trinity Sunday
- Pride in the Park: Photo Gallery
- Save the Date: DUCC Annual Meeting, June 25
- Thank you Notes: Linda Charvat and Max Brown!
- New Members Class: This Sunday, June 11
- Gun Violence Awareness March, Grand Haven, June 17
- Opera MODO presents DxN Pasquale at DUCC June 17
- Soul Collage with Ruth Zwald, June 10
- Forest Bathing: A Guided Experience, July 8
- Tickets are on Sale! West Shore Aware Gala, August 19
- Birthdays & Anniversaries, Prayer Requests, and Financial Stewardship
In This Week's E-Pistle, You Will Find:
- This Sunday's Service — Trinity Sunday
- Last Sunday's Service Video -- Pentecost Sunday
- My How We've Grown: Pentecost Family Photo
- KUDOS for Retreat House Garage Cleanout
- Thank You For Cereal Donations!
- Booth Volunteers Needed for Pride-in-the-Park, June 3!
- More Pride Volunteer Opportunities
- Wishbone Pet Rescue Alliance Fundraiser, June 3
- New Members Class, June 11
- Forest Bathing: A Guided Experience, July 8
- Opera MODO presents DxN Pasquale at DUCC June 17
- Soul Collage with Ruth Zwald, June 10
- Tickets are on Sale! West Shore Aware Gala, August 19
- Birthdays & Anniversaries, Prayer Requests, and Financial Stewardship
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