This Week In the E-Pistle, You Will Find...
BEING THE CHURCHThis Week's Service: Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost - The Generosity of Creation Image by Sadao Watanabe The First Sunday of October is the Feast of St. Francis in many traditions. St. Francis is known for his commitment to peace, but also his connection to the other than human world. Remembering him creates a nice segue from the Season of Creation to the Season of Generosity. This week as we begin thinking of generosity, we will celebrate the gifts of God through God's creation! The plenty, the beauty, the constancy, the diversity, the cycles of life so evident, the amazing gifts we so often take for granted. We will consider the "gift economy - an economic system where exchanges are made without an immediate expectation of return, relying on principles of reciprocity, mutual trust, and community interdependence."Join us! Please join us on Sunday at 10am in our Sanctuary, or online, live on our Youtube Channel. Message: Rev. Jody Betten Music: Peter Black, Nancy Plantinga You will always find our latest church bulletin and service music at Bit.ly/DUCCBulletin
Last Week's Service: Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost - When The Earth Groans Photo by Bautik Patel on Unsplash Last week Pastor Dan pondered - Humans groan. Animals groan too. It’s not often, though, we hear that trees, rocks, rivers, and valleys groan as well. A snippet from Romans 8 reminds us that “the whole creation has been groaning... up to the present time.” Maybe you’ve heard this before, or maybe it’s a novel concept. Indeed, there is no such things as an inanimate object. I’m reminded of a stunning quote for Richard Powers’ remarkable book The Overstory: “People are not the apex species they think they are. Other creatures—bigger, smaller, slower, faster, older, younger, more powerful—call the shots, make air, and eat sunlight. Without them nothing.” If indeed creation has the capacity to groan, what might we be able to do about it? Click above to see the whole service and below for his message. Jody and Dan's Office Hours This Week
World Wide Communion Sunday, October 5th Photo by Caglar Oskay on Unsplash Sunday, October 5 is World Wide Communion Sunday, when we celebrate our connection to the world-wide community of faith. In a show of our various traditions, we invite you to contribute a loaf of bread which represents your family or heritage in some way, for our Communion Celebration and Coffee Hour. Please let us know if you are available to contribute a bread for communion/coffee hour or a spread for coffee hour. Thanks! Jody ([email protected]) or Mike Ver Merris ([email protected]) Learning More About DUCC Finances, Interested? Photo by Christy Dalmat on Unsplash What household doesn't talk about financials -- how to balance income and expenses to meet current and future needs? Are you interested in better understanding our finances as a faith community, how your donations contribute to our church's ministry and functioning? If so, join us for a brief presentation over coffee on Sunday, October 5. Wayne Titus, our new Council Treasurer will share useful information and answer your questions. Social Justice Team Community Conversations Our Social Justice Team has been busy making connections, and inviting local thought leaders to come to our church and help us understand current challenges to Justice For All right here in our communities. Here are the upcoming dates and times already scheduled. Stay tuned for more from the SJT. Thurs Oct 9, 6:15 pm, Mark Neidlinger, Saugatuck Public Schools Superintendent Thurs Nov 13, 6:15 pm, Lighthouse Immigration Services Representative to speak All events are scheduled for our beautiful new Friendship Hall. All are welcome Second Sunday Luncheon, October 12th Photo by Spencer Davis on Unsplash They're back and we are excited! Church potlucks, now called Second Sunday Luncheons, will help us continue to create community while sharing a meal together. Second Sunday Luncheons will begin on October 12 immediately following the service in the Friendship Hall. Bring a dish to pass, or something as simple as a nice loaf of bread or gallon of cider. We will experiment with not having a sign-up so the menu will be organic and surprising. What is your favorite dish that you would like to share? We will try to be inclusive, remembering that some of us are gluten free or vegetarian. During the pandemic, disruptions in social connections made vulnerable people more susceptible to loneliness and the impacts of isolation. Some of those realities still exist today. We understand the value of community and connections and this is one opportunity to address it! Please invite a friend who you know might benefit from being with us! If you have questions or would like to help setup or cleanup, please contact Kelly Jacobsma [email protected]. Grant Presented to Christian Neighbors Mike Mok and Rich Marth presented the Christian Neighbors Grant request check for 2025 to Christian Neighbors Executive Director, JoAnn Dejonge. Christian Neighbors is very grateful for many years of support from the DUCC congregation. The Grant will significantly help with the costs of the annual Back to School Program. Christian Neighbors provides children with new clothing, jeans, shirts, underclothing and socks. Each child also receives a backpack with school supplies. In August of this year, CN assisted 247 children. A huge Thank You to DUCC. Listening Ear: Do You Need to Be Heard? Our Listening Ear service has been a great help to our congregation during a tumultuous time, and so, after a successful trial period, this highly trained team of empathic folks -- Paul Burdick, Mike Valdez, Pat Denner, and Doug Sipsma -- will be continuing the service. Their premise is, everyone goes through rough patches in life. Sometimes stress can feel overwhelming. Talking to a caring human helps in so many, sometimes immeasurable, sometimes mystical ways. Our listeners are available at the Retreat House on Thursday afternoons from 1 to 3 pm. Prayer Requests Nancy Plantinga, and the Plantinga family; Tere Krueger; Jean Hotwagner (Annie Hotwagner's Mom); Orie Hawkes; Elinor Hite (Virginia Stuart’s sister); Dave Lawson; Christine Kerney; 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). Birthday's & Anniversary's This WeekBIRTHDAYS October 5: Stan III (Duke) Greene October 8: Jay VanDaalen October 10: Mike VerMerris ANNIVERSARIES October 6: Bernice Lopata, Carol Rice October 7: Linda and Rich Marth 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. * If you have had any changes in your information, please know you can go to the Directory and update yourself, or contact Claire to change/update.* Financial StewardshipLast Weeks In-Person Attendance : 87 Last Weeks Total Views for worship videos: 62 Collection Plate & Mailed Donations: $1,094.00 Online Giving: $712.51 Total, General Support: $1,806.51 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. Non-Profit Governance SupportDo you have experience with non-profit governance? DUCC is looking for a volunteer to assist with reviewing and updating our policies and procedures. If you're willing to share your knowledge and offer guidance, we’d love to hear from you! Interested? Please contact Barb Witt at [email protected]. Church Calendar Photo by Dari Lli on Unsplash CLASSESQigong is Back! Classes Begin in Friendship Hall, October 7th Kat VanHammen's Qigong Winter classes begin in the Friendship Hall October 7, and runs through May! 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. Financial Literacy Seminars, November 5th! AROUND TOWNMen's Coffee and Conversation October is "SOUP-TOBER"! Christian Neighbors Food Pantry is getting ready for winter and would like to stock its shelves with canned soup for its clients. For the month of SOUP-TOBER (Oct 1-31), Christian Neighbors is requesting donated cans of soup. You are invited to drop off cans of soup at church October 1-31. Financial donations are also welcomed, and can be made through the Christian Neighbors Douglas website, ChristianNeighborsDouglas.org State Wide Indivisible Michigan - Discussion with Attorney General, Dana Nessel, Oct. 8th Wednesday, October 8, 2025 7:00 PM 8:30 PM, Virtual Event (map)SWIM will be hosting and moderating a discussion with AG Dana Nessel about steps she and her colleagues in the state as well as fellow AGs are taking to protect the rights of people in Michigan. This is a unique opportunity so please plan to join. We want to be able to cover as many questions as possible so, please submit your questions by October 3 at 5pm to [email protected] League of Women Voters - Lighthouse Immigrant Advocate Speaker, October 14th Hosted by the Immigration Task Force, October’s Member Mashup will be held at the Brew Merchant on Tuesday, October 14 from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. Social time - 4:30-5:00 p.m., followed by the speaker. Kiely King, Interim Managing Attorney for Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates, will present information on the Holland immigrant and refugee community, immigrant rights, and policies and procedures that impact immigrants and refugees in West Michigan. Drumming the Dream Banners with Kat VanHammen, October 19th Are you good with cloth? Stitching? Quilting? Painting? Bedazzling? Puffy Paints? Our pal Kat is participating in a drum meeting in Grand Rapids on October 19th. Prayer flags will hang all around this gathering, and we are invited to create our own dream banners to be included in this happening. Kat will be happy to deliver and hang them if you can finish yours by October 15th. See poster above for all the info. Saugatuck Center for the Arts - Flourish Exhibition, Sowing the Seeds Sowing Seeds is a collaborative community art piece by Michigan native Kayla Powers (see link below) featured in an upcoming solo exhibition, Flourish, at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts, November 2025.
From Kayla, "Flourish explores themes of biodiversity, interconnectedness, and the cyclicality of the living world. As part of this vision, I invite you to contribute to Sowing Seeds by creating fabric "seeds" using the pattern provided below. These handmade seeds will be displayed in the exhibition, forming a collective expression of growth, reciprocity, and a gentle resistance against extractive systems." Participants can create seeds which will be included in the exhibit. Visitors to the exhibition will be invited to take a seed home, symbolizing the gift economy, generosity, and the abundance found in nature. Go to the link below to see how you can participate. https://kaylapowers.studio/sowingseeds |
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