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In This Week's E-Pistle, You Will Find:
This Week's Service: Eighth Sunday after Pentecost: Two Dances
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How do you demonstrate joy? Do you tap your toes in public? Do you dance around the house? Do you have two left feet? Can you twirl like a ballerina? How do you celebrate the things that for you are lifegiving? Dancing is one way, not just a performance, but a way to move our bodies with joyfulness. Two stories this week, two dancers, lots of intrigue and emotion. Join us as we think about dancing, in particular; and other themes, in these stories of King David and Herodias' daughter.
Message: Rev. Jody Betten, Music: Peter Black, Jeff Spangler, Lauri Donaldson Join us Sunday at 10am in church, or on our YouTube channel live, or recorded here. Watching from home? You can download the Order of Service to your favorite device and follow along here: 
Last Week's Service: Seventh Sunday after Pentecost: Who Are Teachers Today?
What criteria do we use to determine whether someone might be a source of wisdom? Must they look or talk a certain way? Do they need to have degrees after their names or titles before them? Do they need to be human beings? Who can teach us? Last week, we explored these questions with with 3 stories: a shepherd boy becomes king, one of the greatest evangelists of all time has a "thorn in the flesh," and Jesus is not welcome in his hometown. Message: Rev. Jody Betten, Music: Peter Black, Jeff Spangler, Pamela Chappell
Rev. Jody's Office Hours for the Week of July 15
Tuesday: 12 - 8pm (Council Meeting),
Wednesday: 12 - 8pm (Feast for the Soul), Friday: 8:30am - 4pm. Feast for the Soul, July 17
This month's topic is called systems and structures (or is leadership and power more intriguing?). But what would happen in your house if you didn't pay the bills? How do you decide which business people to patronize? How is it that a family or holiday party is successful? Each of these things, and so much more, are essential to navigating life well. The same is true for a church. The organizational underpinnings may be boring to some, but they are essential to doing things well. Join us as we discuss our church's systems and structures, 6pm soup and bread supper. Spaces are limited. Sign up in the Friendship Hall.
Douglas Social, July 18
Our first Douglas Social Event is around the corner, and we are looking for a few good souls to help out in our food booth! Greet the neighbors, hand out the food, help with the cooking. Help gather up or help tear down. We need all sorts! If you can help, sign up on the sheet in the Friendship Hall!
Call for Altar Flowers
The new sign-up sheet for altar flowers is up on the bulletin board in the Friendship Hall. If you can provide flowers for an upcoming service, please sign up there, and let us know if the flowers are in honor of a person or occasion. We'll be glad to help share the memory.
Come Meet the Creation Justice Team, June 22
The Douglas UCC Creation Justice (Environmental Justice) Team would like to invite anyone interested in environmental protection and greener practices to join our next team meeting. You don't need to be a church member to participate and help us come up with ways to inspire our communities toward greater protection of our planet home.
Monthly meetings are on the 4th Monday of the month. Our our next meeting is July 22 @ 5:30. Also, the CJT has a small collection of books on Creation Justice on the book shelf at the back wall in the friendship hall. Feel free to borrow a book or add to our collection. Help Us Make our First Ever Douglas UCC Block Party a HUGE Success
On Sunday, Aug 4th from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. we will be hosting our first Community Block Party. Spring Street in front of the church will be closed for a big, fun, summer party filled with food and games. OUR MISSION We want to let our entire community know just how thankful we are for them! HOW WILL WE DO IT? We will have free food (burgers, hot dogs, and other goodies), together with a Bouncy House, 18 Foot Slide, Dunk Tank, Games, Competitions, Face Painting, and much more. ENJOY THE LIVE BAND"Random Play" featuring our own Lauri Donaldson. ITEMS NEEDED (contact Julie in the church office if you can help with these items)
READY TO VOLUNTEER? - Sign up sheet will be available this Sunday in the Friendship Hall or you can also reach out to Julie in the church office. Opportunities for cooks (grilling burgers and dogs), food servers, gameshow hosts, face-painters, dunk-tank volunteers (yes to go IN the dunk tank) and much more - see sign up sheets! Overall questions? Feel free to reach out to Julie in the church office or our Council Moderator Mark Johnston. Good Grief, August 6
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
Good Grief
Tuesday, August 6 from 7 to 8:30pm Facilitated by Rev. Marchiene Rienstra Who of us has not grieved often, in many ways, for many reasons, through many times in our lives? Often grief gets ignored, stuffed, avoided, because it is painful. And who likes pain? But grief -- not acknowledged and processed -- can cause significant injury in our lives. In this session on grief, we will explore our experiences of grief and how grief can become a source of good. The little classic book by Granger Westberg titled Good Grief will be a resource for our consideration. You are invited to read the book, but come to our session whether or not you have read it. We have much to learn from each other about grieving, and we are all experts on the subject in some way! Mediation Services -- Facilitators Needed
Our church member Pat Denner shares this opportunity to serve our community by helping young people who are involved with the Allegan County court system find a better way forward, and engage with schools more successfully.
Mediation Services will be offering Restorative Circles practices to our communities, and to accomplish this, they need Restorative Circles Facilitators. They are offering to train anyone who is interested in serving kids and communities in this way. You do not need to have any experience working with young people to become a facilitator. Volunteers will support the building of relationships, but will not be developing a relationship themselves with the youth. This three-day interactive training promises to be a gratifying experience. See the flyer, above for details. Or download a printable copy, below. Once people are trained, Mediation Services will ask facilitators to commit to volunteering six hours a month. Mediation Services will offer this training again in September. Got questions? Use the contact info above to get answers. Or download this flyer, below, while you consider it or to share with a possible candidate. 
Tickets are On Sale: West Shore Aware Funder Derby Downs, August 17 
Prayer Requests
Ann and Jim Hopkins; Sally LaRowe (Linda Charvat's friend); Janice Campbell children & grandchildren (Pete Wehle's friends); Rich and Linda Marth and the Marth Family; Tim Mikita (Ginny Mikita's Father); James Higgins (Friend of Shane Anderson and Michael Tuleja), Joe Scarpone (Friend of Tom Fahlstrom); Fred "Fritz" Royce and Sara Hurley; Sydney Williams and Baby (Kristine Sherman's Daughter); Rev. Marchiene Rienstra Family; Fred Hamlin; The Chappell-Wehle Family; Carol Brown and Dan McGavin; John Kerr; Dave and Shirley Lawson; Ruth Fahlstrom (daughter of Tom Fahlstrom); Nancy Grib (Friend of Pamela Chappell); Stuart Family; Mary Westenbroek; Brian Aikens; Jerry Elpers and family (Beth Howley's Dad); Edie Plantinga (Nancy Plantinga's mother); Max Matteson; Eric Cooley (Jo Cooley's brother)
Prayers for all in the military and their families; all who are homeless or addicted or abused or neglected or rejected or hungry; The UCC; the Grand West Association; our Church Council; our Stephen Ministers; for our Pastoral Search Team, our Church Transition Team, our church committees; our communities, our schools, our nation and our planet Birthdays & Anniversaries
Birthdays: July 15- Scott Overweg, 16- Adelle Van Daalen,
18- John Ellis Ortman, 20- Martha Cronin Bolin Anniversaries: July 16- Paul Burdick & Michael Valdez 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. Grant Proposals
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Organizations that wish to apply to Douglas UCC for funding consideration can download and fill out this Grant Request form, below, and mail it to: DUCC Grant Proposal Team, PO Box 519, Douglas, MI 49406.
Stewardship Drive
Stewardship Drive Giving Week ending July 7:
Pledges to Date = $228,800.00 Pledge Fulfillment to date = $139,175.55 Thank you to all who pledged toward our Campus Stewardship Drive. Weekly Stewardship Drive totals are posted here and on the giant ‘thermometer’ poster in the Friendship Hall. If you have not received a pledge card, you can pick one up in the Friendship Hall. Or you can help us reach our goal of $275,000 by giving online here: Financial Stewardship
In-Person Attendance, July 7: 98
Total Views for July 7 worship videos: 189 Collection Plate & Mailed Donations: $3,390.00 Online Giving: $3,091.38 Total, General Support: $6,481.38 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. |
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