 In This Week's E-Pistle, You Will Find:BEING THE CHURCH
BEING THE CHURCHFourth Sunday of Pride: Welcome Ruth Crowe! This Fourth Sunday of Pride, we welcome to our worship hour, local artist Ruth Crowe. In describing herself she writes: “I have worn many hats in my life (US Army, Los Angeles Police Dept, College Softball Coach) but none gives me greater pleasure than the hat of the artist. It is filled with contradictions. It is a tough life. Yet the easiest. It is pressure filled. Yet joyful. It is painful. Yet rewarding. It is what we do.” To behold Ruth’s creations is to bear witness to an artistic “Spirit” who moves where she will. Ruth’s gallery is located at 36 Center Street in downtown Douglas. Stop in to welcome her! We hope you will join us this Sunday at DUCC for a unique celebration. Please join us on Sunday at 10am in our Sanctuary, or online, live on our YouTube channel. Message: Ruth Crowe Music: Peter Black, Jeff Spangler You will always find our latest church bulletin and service music at Bit.ly/DUCCBulletin About Ruth Ruth Crowe is a Michigan- based artist known for her mixed media encaustic artwork. Her creations incorporate vintage photos, layered wax, and text to explore themes of nostalgia, identity, and Americana. She is represented by dkGallery in downtown Marietta, Georgia and she also started her own gallery/studio in downtown Douglas for the past 8 months. She was a college softball coach for the majority of her adult life. Only becoming an artist because she got fired from her coaching job in 2005. She's been a full time artist for the past 10 years. Last Week's Service: Third Sunday of Pride Month -- Trinity Sunday Last Sunday we once again celebrated the infectious Spirit of Pentecost and celebrated all that is Pride. Pastor Dan shared tender life experiences he has never shared before with a congregation.It was time. A confession prompted by a recent 50-year High School Reunion. Also what ministry looks like. Both are related to a story found in Acts 10 that includes: a dream, a sheet lowered from heaven, “unclean” animals, and the invitation of God to celebrate it all. Click the image above to watch the whole service, or the button below for Dan's message. Jody and Dan's Office Hours This Week
Congregational Meeting June 29 Our Annual Congregational Meeting is June 29, 2025, immediately following the Sunday service in the Friendship Hall. The agenda will include a vote to approve the budget for 2025-26 (attached, below), a progress report about capital improvements to the campus and the Campus Stewardship Drive, a summary of church activities in the past year, and a vote to install new members to Church Council, among other agenda items. The current Council will present the following slate of three candidates for leadership positions on the 2025-26 Church Council:
We sincerely hope you will participate in this important annual meeting of the congregation. A Zoom link for the meeting will be provided to church members upon request. Just write to Julie to request the link before June 28. We will be voting to accept the draft minutes from last year (posted below), and on new officers for the church, and our budget (posted below), so all members' attendance is highly encouraged!
Say Goodbye to Single Use Plastics at DUCC, Effective July 1 Photo by Brian Yurasits on Unsplash Effective July 1, 2025, our church will no longer use these single-use plastic items in its buildings or at church-sponsored activities:
This measure was proposed by the Creation Justice Team and approved by the Church Council on February 25. In July, the Creation Justice Team will make a presentation on this topic, with time for questions and answers. Church Office Greeters -- Could This Be You? Photo by Belinda Fewings on Unsplash The church office at 88 Spring Street needs a small team of greeters who create a welcoming presence during office hours, help direct people to the events and happenings at Douglas UCC, answer the phone, pass along messages, and connect people with information on all the happenings in this busy church. Familiarity with the use of office equipment, a friendly demeanor, and willingness to team up with other greeters to establish and strengthen this important team is all we're looking for. See the opening announcement below and note the June 30 deadline for sharing your interest 
Prayer Requests Debra Carr and Carr Family; Orie Hawkes; Tony & Stephanie (Wendy Hamlin's family); Maciek (Matt) Wozniak (Robert Fisher's partner); Family of Fred Hamlin; Elinor Hite (Virginia Stuart’s sister); Dave Lawson; Rich Marth; Christine Kerney; Nancy Plantinga and her family; Dan McGavin and Family of Carol Brown; Rev. Marchiene Rienstra Family; Ann and Jim Hopkins; James Higgins (friend of Shane Anderson and Michael Tuleja), Joe Scarpone (friend of Tom Fahlstrom); John Kerr; Ruth Fahlstrom (Tom Fahlstrom’s daughter); Mary Westenbroek; Jerry Elpers and family (Beth Howley's dad); Max Matteson; Eric Cooley (Jo Cooley's brother). Birthdays & Anniversaries This WeekBirthdays: June 22- Lewis Corbin, 26- El Clough, 27- Stephen Lewis, 28- Dick Riekse Anniversaries: June 25- Jack & Julie Ridl, 27- Lisa & Wayne Titus, 28- Jody & Chris Maitner 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. Battling Power outage! Stay tuned! Financial StewardshipIn-Person Attendance, June 15: 98 Total Views for June 15 worship videos: 125 Collection Plate & Mailed Donations: $2,284.20 Online Giving: $5,595.00 Total, General Support: $7,879.20 Strengthen the Church Collection: $102.84 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. Church CalendarOur Church calendar is online! Use it to look for space for your event, click on an event to get all the details, or copy an event to your own calendar software. So convenient! When you have events to schedule anywhere on campus, scan the calendar for a spot, then contact [email protected] to make your reservation. Reservations are first come, first served. Email is best so she can keep track of requests. VOLUNTEERING & GIVINGLetters for Gaza Here's an opportunity to add to our prayers for Gaza: A letter-writing campaign to participate in and share with your friends and neighbors. It's always a good time to demand action from our representatives. The power of now is joining in a national movement to do so. CLASSESQigong is back! Tuesdays at 3pm, Retreat House Lawn Photo by Sajad Nori on Unsplash Once again Kat VanHammen will be offering Qigong at the backyard of the Retreat House on Tuesdays at 3pm. Qigong is a wonderful 5,000 year-old practice from China, very much like Tai Chi. It involves simple movements that build strength, flexibility, balance and well being. It also employs visualization, breath, and mindfulness to integrate the body, mind, and spirit and develop our felt sense of Interbeing. Class is one hour long and involves both sitting and standing practice although it can be done sitting if needed. There is a requested donation of $10 per class but for those of you on limited incomes, any amount will be gratefully received. HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!Looking for Booth People for Holland Pride in the Park, June 28 HOLLAND PRIDE IS MOVING TO BEAUTIFUL KOLLEN PARK THIS YEAR! 240 Kollen Park Drive, Holland, MI Read All About It Right Here: https://www.outonthelakeshore.org/events Out On the Lakeshore is proud to present the 2025 Holland PRIDE Festival! Saturday, June 28, 2025, 1 pm to 6 pm And Douglas UCC will be there! So! We need Pride Booth Volunteers for:
See the sign-up sheet in the Isabel Graham Center or see Holland Pride Representatives: Pastor Dan Plasman [email protected] or Dennis Konarski [email protected] AROUND TOWNRelativity Redux at Saugatuck Woman's Club June 28 and 29 Our church members Jim Kern, Shannon Connell, and Virginia Stuart are reprising their roles in Mark St. Germain's "Relativity," with performances June 28 and 29 at 7pm, at the Saugatuck Woman’s Club, 303 Butler Street in Saugatuck. Tickets are $25 at the door.
Relativity (which this trio mounted here at DUCC last year to help fund our building projects) is a remarkable play about the little-known (shocking?) story of Albert Einstein's famiy life. It is set in 1948, in Princeton, NJ, where Einstein (Jim Kern) continues to research, advise, and teach. As the play opens, he is 69 years old and well beyond his crowning revelation of E=MC(2). Other characters are Miss Dukas, his live-in housekeeper (Virginia Stuart), and Margaret Harding, a journalist who approaches him about conducting an interview with him (Shannon Connell). As the play evolves, the mysterious circumstances of Einstein’s first child’s death reveal a dark secret from his past, and Einstein and Margaret must come to terms with the secret and the consequences of his past decisions. Ultimately, Relativity asks “what if?” and provides a probative glimpse into the great man who may not have been a good man. Relativity is for mature audiences, not because of language or sexual content, but because it is a thoughtful, compelling story about adult decisions and filled with intellectually challenging arguments and questions. It runs about 75 minutes without intermission. |
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