Thank you to Leith Letcher and Jim Shewell for the beautiful Thanksgiving display on the altar at last Sunday's service. We are grateful for their talents and service to our church.

Wow! Thanks to your generous giving, our church was able to donate 920 pounds of flour to Christian Neighbors Food Pantry for Thanksgiving Boxes to families in need!! Our goal was 700 pounds, and we far exceeded that number!!  Thank you so very much for your generosity, and thank you to our church members Alan Weathers, Carey Idema, Wendy Hamlin, and Garnet Lewis for helping with the delivery and distribution.

Thank you to all who took slips of paper from our Christian Neighbors Giving Tree last Sunday. These gift requests were given by families in need. Please purchase the gift request written on the paper and then place the unwrapped gift inside the "Holiday Box" in the Friendship Hall by Sunday, December 8.  There are still some requests left on the tree.  Thank you, as always, for your generous giving.

​The beautiful Douglas UCC Christmas ornament (pictured above) is now available for sale. Designed and crafted in Poland, the ornament depicts the front of our church. The cost is $25. We will be selling them in the Friendship Hall after Sunday worship until December 22.

​The Lakeshore Community Chorus will celebrate its 10th anniversary during the upcoming 2019-2020 choral season. Under the artistic direction of Nancy Plantinga, with accompanist Vivian Boot, the festivities begin with LCC’s holiday concerts on December 7 and 8, called “A Season to Remember.” The concerts will feature music from LCC’s past nine years of holiday performances, including pieces which chorus members voted as their favorites from prior years. The chorus will be accompanied on several selections by instrumentalists from Grand Valley State University, featuring LaAlma, an all women’s choir, directed by Pamela Pierson. Both holiday concerts will be held at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts (SCA). The SCA has received compensation for the venue space for this event, benefitting the Lakeshore Community Chorus, a non-profit organization. Purchase tickets now at the SCA box-office (400 Culver Street in Saugatuck) or by calling 269-857-2399. You can also purchase tickets ONLINE.

​Douglas UCC will be holding a Vigil for Victims of Gun Violence on Saturday, December 14 
at 5 PM in our sanctuary. This vigil is held every year on the anniversary of the Newtown school shooting to remember the lives lost to gun violence. Thank you to Hannah Huggett and members of our church's Social Justice Team for coordinating. We hope you will join us.

This Sunday (the last Sunday in Ordinary Time and the Sunday before Advent) is known as "Reign of Christ" or "Christ the King" Sunday. On this feast day, we celebrate Jesus as fully human and fully divine. Come join us this Sunday at 10 AM, as we explore Jesus as man, myth, and Messiah. ​We will also be celebrating Thanksgiving, too!  Special Music: Nancy Plantinga.

Last Sunday, we held our 1st Annual Douglas UCC "Groups Fair."  It was such a great success! All of our church groups gave out information about their group and signed up new members. It was such an informative (and fun) way to raise awareness about our groups and to get new people involved. We are grateful for such an active church community!

​Wow!! What a great turnout at Douglas UCC for Tuesday’s screening of the Climate Change documentary, “Paris to Pittsburgh.” Thank you to all who attended and to our church’s Creation Justice Team for facilitating. To learn more about our Creation Justice Team, visit their blog.

Douglas UCC was proud to co-sponsor the local "Transgender Day of Remembrance" Candlelight Vigil this week. Thank you to all from Douglas UCC who attended.

Our Pastor Sal and Douglas UCC church member, Derek Hoehn, recently appeared in this great TV news segment on LGBTQ life in small-town America. Click above to watch.

Click below to read the latest editions of the Pastor's Report and Church Council Minutes:

This Sunday is the last Sunday to bring in 5 lb. bags of flour for the Christian Neighbors Thanksgiving Baskets. We are so close to our goal of 700 lbs. of flour!  Thank you to all for your generous giving.

​A Message from our church member, Jane Harrison:

"Dear Friends, I just received another cancer diagnosis, Lung Cancer, which is my 4th cancer since 2013. For 7 years, I have been battling this disease. Not only is this battle exhausting emotionally, but also financially. I have created a " shopping bazaar" in my home, with paintings, antique English furniture pieces, decorative items, plus crafts, all marked with Sale Tags!! I am hoping that you will stop over and do some holiday shopping for yourself or someone on your list. I am available at my home at
417 Summer Grove Dr. in Douglas, all the time.  Stop over, or call/text me at 516 982-3405.  This sale is on-going. Thank you.

We are collecting 5 lb. bags of flour for Thanksgiving Baskets that will be distributed to families in need through Christian Neighbors. Our church's goal this year is to donate 700 pounds of flour! We can do this! We will be collecting every Sunday in November. Please drop off your bags of flour on the designated table in the Friendship Hall. Thank you!​

​On Tuesday, November 19, our Douglas UCC Creation Justice Team will host another Movie Night, this time screening the documentary, “Paris to Pittsburgh.” Doors will open at 6:30 PM for popcorn. Bring your own Beverage. Movie starts promptly at 7 PM. Named Inc. Magazine’s "Best Business Documentary" of 2018, "Paris to Pittsburgh" focuses on the incredible action individuals, communities, businesses and local governments in the U.S. have undertaken to combat the threat of climate change in their own backyards in the wake of the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. The film explores the very real social and economic effects of climate change-fueled disasters – from America’s heartland to the nation’s coastlines and the island of Puerto Rico. Please sign the sheet in the Friendship Hall if you plan on attending.

The Lakeshore Community Chorus will celebrate its 10th anniversary during the upcoming 2019-2020 choral season. Under the artistic direction of Nancy Plantinga, with accompanist Vivian Boot, the festivities begin with LCC’s holiday concerts on December 7 and 8, called “A Season to Remember.” The concerts will feature music from LCC’s past nine years of holiday performances, including pieces which chorus members voted as their favorites from prior years. The chorus will be accompanied on several selections by instrumentalists from Grand Valley State University, featuring LaAlma, an all women’s choir, directed by Pamela Pierson. Both holiday concerts will be held at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts (SCA). The SCA has received compensation for the venue space for this event, benefitting the Lakeshore Community Chorus, a non-profit organization. Purchase tickets now at the SCA box-office (400 Culver Street in Saugatuck) or by calling 269-857-2399. You can also purchase tickets ONLINE.

PFLAG Holland/Lakeshore and Gender SAFE Meetings- Friday, November 15

At the PFLAG meeting, Amy Bailey and Ben Kaiser will describe the work of Arbor Circle, one of the few foster care/adoption agencies in Western Michigan that actively recruits foster/adoptive parents from the LGBTQ community.  We begin at 7 PM with a business meeting and support, followed by a time for refreshments at 7:50 pm. Afterwards, the program will begin at 8:10 pm. Bring a snack to share, if you can.

Also this evening, Gender SAFE meets from 6 to 8 PM. Gender SAFE (Supporting All For Equality) is a support group that is open and welcoming to all people who are or who love someone who is transgender or gender diverse.

Both PFLAG and Gender SAFE meet on the ground floor of Grace Episcopal Church, 555 Michigan Avenue, across the street from Holland Hospital.

​THEM: Images of Separation is a traveling exhibit courtesy of the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia that showcases items from popular culture used to stereotype groups of people. This exhibit will be on display at the Holland Museum from November 15 till February 22. 

And, on November 21 from 7 - 8:30 PM, Dr. Fred L. Johnson III from Hope College will be speaking on "A Deal too Good to Refuse" at the Holland Museum. He will be discussing the short story and film, "Space Traders." 

In Sunday's Gospel, Jesus says: "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living," meaning there is life after death. But what does life after death look like?  Will we be in physical form?  We will be reunited with our loved ones?  Come join us this Sunday at 10 AM, as we explore these questions and more together.  Special Music by Stan Greene.  Followed by our "2nd Sunday of the Month" Potluck (see details below).

KUDOS: Thank you to our church member, Barb Lucier (pictured left) who is stepping down after many years of service from her role as our Christian Neighbors Board Member, and thank you to church member, Wendy Hamlin (pictured right) for her willingness to take over and represent our church in this role.  We are grateful!

We're excited to announce that Vita, our service dog in training, is being placed as a Service Dog in Arizona. Vita was raised and housed by our church members, Bob and Louise Kenny.

Congratulations to our church member, Jack Ridl, Poet Laureate of Douglas, who had one of his poems published in last Sunday's New York Times Magazine. 

​The Season of Advent begins on Sunday, December 1.  Copies of the 2019 UCC ​Advent Devotional, A New Earth, are now available in the Friendship Hall for $5.  A New Earth includes a biblical text, reflection, and prayer for each day of Advent.  Plus, new for 2019: this popular resource now includes daily readings through Epiphany. 

Thank you to all who helped with last weekend's Fall Clean-Up Day at the church: Larry Fuerst, Leith Letcher, Peter & Kathleen Mueller, Dan & Barb Witt, Alan Weathers, Chris Clark, Mike White, David Bohn & Brad Hopkins. We are grateful for their service and good stewardship.

Douglas UCC is proud to be a co-host with ​Gender S.A.F.E. (Supporting All For Equality) of this year's Transgender Day of Remembrance Candlelight Vigil on November 20 at 7 PM at Herrick District Library in Holland. This vigil will be held to recognize and remember the lives of transgender people who have been violently killed in 2019 due to anti-transgender violence. We hope you will join us for this important event.

Pastor Sal will be on sabbatical from January thru March 2020.  He will be spending time at Spirit Mountain Retreat Center in Idyllwild, California. Please watch the above video to learn more about the center.