Photo by Moritz Knöringer on Unsplash
In This Week's E-Pistle, You Will Find:
This Sunday's Service
Photo by Moritz Knöringer on Unsplash
You are likely familiar with the adage, "Those who don't know their history are destined to repeat it." It may also apply to churches and the selection of their ministers. On Sunday, find out why the ham got cut in half for Easter. Find out what the Bible says about "marrying out." Consider your own personal history and how it affects your present (and your presence). In this Sunday's scripture reading, for the fifth of the seven weeks of Eastertide, we consider the living vine. Message: Rev. Jody Betten, Music: Peter Black and Jeff Spangler
Please Join us in church at 10am Sunday morning, or livestreaming on our YouTube Channel. Download the E-Bulletin to follow along with the service here: 
Last Week's Service: Fourth Sunday of Easter, Landing in Liminal Space
In last week's scripture reading, John is preaching a baptism of changed hearts and lives. Please enjoy last Sunday's service, when we learned to welcome change with the help of our interim pastor, Rev. Jody Betten, guiding us through this "liminal space," preparing the Douglas UCC congregation to welcome our new pastor. Message: Rev. Jody Betten, Music: Peter Black, Jeff Spangler, Rebecca Russher
Pastor Jody's Office Hours, Week of April 29
While Pastor Jody completes her work in her last church and picks up her work here with us, we will post her office hours. You'll find Jody on campus this week, the week of April 29: Monday, 4/29, 10am-3pm, Wednesday, 5/1, 3-7pm, and Friday, 5/3, 10am-3pm, as well as Sunday, of course.
Lovely Luncheon!
Thanks to The Spiritual Center team, the Pastoral Relations Team, and everyone who helped, but especially to luncheon planner Jeremy Lund, who planned and shopped and and pulled off this lovely welcome luncheon for our Interim Minister, Pastor Jody Betten last Sunday. It was beautiful in so many ways.
A Feast for the Soul, First Wednesdays through September, Beginning May 1, 6pm
Photo by Felipe Pelaquim on Unsplash
"This is how the world changes -- little by little, table by table, meal by meal, hour by hour. This is how we chip away at isolation, loneliness, fear. This is how we connect, in big and small ways -- we do it around the table."
-Shauna Niequist, Bread and Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table The Pastoral Relations team and the Spiritual Center team invite you to a series of five "family dinners" of soup and bread and conversation, to be held in the Friendship Hall, first Wednesdays of the Month at 6pm, beginning May 1, and running through September. Each dinner will host 25 people only, to assure both enough food and intimate conversation. We hope everyone will be able to make it to at least one dinner. The first 25 to sign up each week get a seat! One or two church members will prepare and host the soup meals each month, and will prepare enough food for the 25 guests. We offer you a respite, a sacred space in which to commune with your fellow church family members and process both the shared loss and hope that have been part of our Douglas UCC journey. Questions? Check in with dinner planner Jeremy Lund. Communion Bread Class, April 27, 10am
On April 27, at 10am in the Friendship Hall, our long-time communion bread baker, Elaine Troehler, will teach a class to all who wish to join our communion bread baking team, either soon or some time in the future!. Come as you are, but if you can, please let Julie Ridl know if you plan to be there so that we can plan to have enough supplies.
Altar Flower Sign-up Sheets are Up!
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Our new altar flower sign-up sheet is posted on the bulletin board in the Friendship Hall. If you can offer altar flowers for our upcoming services, please sign up, and if you are unfamiliar with the process, check in with Julie Ridl, your flower coach.
In Search Of: Art Guild Members
Our Art Guild, the team that sets the scenes for our liturgy, is looking for new members. If you have an inner interior designer, set designer, lighting designer, or artist, looking for a way to support our worship experience, here is your opportunity to share your talents on this team. Send an email to Julie, our church admin, to add your name to the candidates list!
Now Recruiting: DUCC Transition Team
Photo by Lili Popper on Unsplash
To facilitate the Interim Process, we are inviting members and friends of the congregation to be involved in a Transition Team who will guide us through each stage of the process.
There will be planning for and facilitating the various activities of each phase of the process, so one or two coordinators are needed (people with organizational skills, could be the same person for all the phases or a different person for each phase). We will need people with a variety of gifts, interests, and skills, which are listed with the various phases in the document linked below. Generally the characteristics of the people involved will be: concern with the best interest of the church, integrity, trustworthiness, creativity, people skills, and respect for the process. Imagine the time commitment to be 1 1/2 to 2 hours in a planning session for each phase, and the time as necessary to implement or facilitate related activities (perhaps 5 hours per phase or per month). Please volunteer yourself or suggest a person who you think would be appropriate for each phase. Email names and contact info to [email protected] 
Christian Neighbors' May Cereal Drive and More!
Because hunger doesn't take a summer vacation, Christian Neighbors Food Pantry, along with the Allegan County Food Pantry Collaborative, is collecting cereal to distribute this summer to neighbors with children, to keep them nourished through the summer months. The Cereal Drive Ends May 31. You may leave cereal boxes at the Friendship Hall, or in collection boxes around town, or deliver them directly to Christian Neighbors' Food pantry, located at the Douglas Community Church on Wiley. Check out the Christian Neighbors website for more opportunities to take care of our neighbors in need. Or ask our church's Christian Neighbors liaisons, Wendy Hamlin and Rich Marth!
Qigong is Back!
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