In This Week's E-Pistle, You Will Find:
This Sunday's Service: "The Spirituality of Animals"
September is Creation Month. This Sunday, we are going to be focusing on the "Spirituality of Animals." A gift from God, animals are our spiritual teachers.
Join us this Sunday at 10 AM (either in person or streaming live online), as we explore what animals can teach us about the spiritual life. For, as it says in Job 12:7: "Ask the animals, and they shall teach you." Message: Pastor Sal. Music: Peter Black and Jeff Spangler Download this week's online bulletin here: 
Last Week's Service Video — 13th Sunday after Pentecost: "Welcome, Rev. Lillian Daniel"
Last Sunday, we welcomed Rev. Lillian Daniel, our new UCC Michigan Conference Minister! Rev. Daniel is a nationally recognized preacher, teacher and writer who cares deeply about clergy and congregations. Rev. Daniel is also a widely read author whose latest book, Tired of Apologizing for a Church I Don't Belong To, generated international conversation about the changing religious landscape and was featured in the New York Times and on PBS. Please enjoy last Sunday's service, when we welcomed Rev. Daniel, who shared an inspiring message with us. Special Music: Peter Black and Stan Greene
Photos from Rev. Lillian's VisitThe Return of Coffee Hour: We Need a Treat Planner!
New Vaccine Formulations Available Near You
Though our Covid infection numbers continue to drop -- slowly -- our county is still experiencing infections, of course. The good news is, the newest formulations of the vaccines and boosters are now available at local Meijer, Rite-Aid, and Walgreens pharmacies. You can stop in with your vaccination record to get the latest. The CDC reports that finding COVID-19 vaccine locations near you is easily done by searching vaccines.gov, texting your ZIP code to 438829, or calling 1-800-232-0233.
Meal Sign-up for Demetrhea and Betsy!
Beach Cleanup September 17
The annual Oval to Douglas Beach Cleanup will be held on Saturday Sept. 17, 9am -12 noon.
All are welcome to participate...surrounding community residents, visitors, and (supervised) children. Check-in will be anytime between 9 -11am at the Oval Beach parking lot. Bring a bucket & gloves. Plastic bags and latex gloves will be available. This event is sponsored by the Creation Justice Team of Douglas United Church of Christ in conjunction with Alliance for the Great Lakes. Brad Hopkins will serve as the the on-site coordinator for our annual beach cleanup. If you would like to help with the cleanup this year, a sign-up sheet is in the Friendship Hall, or email Brad Hopkins. Debra Rienstra, Guest Homilist: September 18
Our church has been reading Refugia Faith by writer/professor Dr. Debra Rienstra, who is the daughter of our church members Rev. Marchiene & Dr. John Rienstra. And we are so delighted to share that Dr. Rienstra will be joining us in service to give the homily on September 18. You can learn more about Dr. Rienstra andher books at her website, debrarienstra.com.
Support the CROP Walk and Ease Food Insecurity*, September 18
Sometimes a family hits a bump in the road. In one local example, mom and dad have full-time jobs, and they own a home. Their son was diagnosed with autism, and their daughter began struggling in school. So they made a difficult choice: mom home-schools their daughter and takes care of her brother. With only one income, expenses are a huge challenge. Help from a local food bank allowed them to allocate some of their limited income to other necessities.
One-quarter of the money raised by the Saugatuck-Douglas CROP Hunger Walk goes directly to food banks in our area. You can support the DUCC team with an online donation of any amount! It's also not too late to join the team! Go to https://tinyurl.com/crop22ducc and scroll down to the blue “Join the team” button. Do what you can to raise money, and then join us for the walk on Sunday, September 18 at 2:00 pm. Contact Chris Clark or Mike Mok to learn more. *Food insecurity is a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. We Need You: Highway Cleanup, October 1
The Douglas UCC Creation Justice Team has scheduled our highway cleanup for 9 AM on October 1. We are looking for many hands to work together to make light work of cleaning up our three miles of highway. Sign up on the sheet in the Friendship Hall or by writing to [email protected]. Thank you for helping us keep our corner of the world clean!
On the Brink of Everything: Stephen Ministry Book Read, Thursdays in October
"Every day, I get closer to the brink of everything... When a serious illness or accident strikes, or someone dear to us dies — or we go to a class reunion and wonder who all those old people are — it becomes harder to ignore the drop-off that lies just over the edge of our lives."
-- Parker Palmer The Stephen Ministry team is hosting a book discussion of Parker Palmer's On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity, and Getting Old. Discussions will take place on Thursdays in October, beginning October 6 at 3pm in the Friendship Hall. If you'd like to join in, sign up via the church sign-up sheet, or drop a note to [email protected]. The book is available in e-book, audio book and hard cover formats through your favorite booksellers, includingAmazon, right here. Soul Collage Session, October 8
Our friend and spiritual teacher, Ruth Zwald offers her next SoulCollage session on October 8. Connect with her by email to sign up for this session.
Interfaith Action Celebration of the Harvest and Harvesters, October 9
Our partners at Interfaith Action of West Michigan have invited all of our church members to join in for this year's Celebration of the Harvest and Harvesters. Bring your donations to the October 9th Celebration where trucks will be waiting along with volunteers to unload items in your car into the trucks. Save a small basket of items for a procession at the beginning of the service.
Mt. Baldhead Run for Boys & Girls Club Needs Course Volunteers, September 10
The Mt. Baldhead Run is looking for course volunteers for Saturday morning, September 10, to help keep people safe and pointed in the right direction.
If you can help, please sign up here: https://runsignup.com/Race/Volunteer/MI/Saugatuck/MtBaldheadChallenge The run is the sole fundraising source for the Boys and Girls Club in Saugatuck-Douglas, an after-school program that serves hundreds of local youth and families throughout the school year (from 3-6pm) and all day during the summer. For many parents (and especially single parents) these programs are a LIFELINE! Arbor Circle, Final Taste of Summer, September 20
Enjoy a Final Taste of Summer with Arbor Circle at The Saugatuck Center for the Arts! Join us for an exclusive evening of camaraderie including a food and wine pairing with Chef Mindy Trafman and a chance to enjoy the SCA's galleries and garden. Please plan to register by September 19th.
Poetry is Art is Poetry, September 14
A Course in Miracles at Unity Church, September 24
Styrofoam Collection, September 24 
Birthdays & Anniversaries
September 11- Anne Peterson, 14- 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. Prayer Requests
Martha Cronin Bolin; Dr. Paul Lewis (Stephen Lewis's brother); Michael Lynch; Jennifer Roe-Lazzaro; Tony Marr (friend of Ed Korson); Mary Baxter (Marjorie Reiman's friend); Dianne Soper (Beverly Hawkes' sister); Elwood Cephus Stith (Mark Reiman's friend); Pete Wehle; Rev. Lou Grettenberger (friend of Ginny Mikita); Rachael Rienstra; Phil Sturdevant (Pete Wehle's friend); Darren Dixon (Beverly and Orie Hawkes' nephew); The Hotwagner Family; David Zylstra (Laurie VandenBeldt's friend); Elinor Hite (Virginia Stuart's sister); Judy Baxter (Kristine Sherman's Mother); Joann DeJonge; Richard and Joanna Weber's grandson Mattox (friends of the Ridls); Al Overweg; Beverly Willming (John Willming's mother); Jay North (friend of Dan Pierce); Hannah Sherman; Maureen Pierce; David Abbot; Sarah Johnson Lock; Vicki Latham (Ruth VandenBosch's cousin); Cole Hartman; Mike Sneedon (Peg and Jack Donohue's friend); Tim Reineck, Matt Brazys, Suzanne Cook, and Ken Cassbon (friends of Pete Wehle and Pamela Chappell); Richie Czarnowski (Mark Reiman's friend); Sherri Kanten (Ruth VandenBosch's friend); Chris Stuart (Virginia Stuart's sister-in-law); Mary Elizabeth Loudin (friend of Laurie VandenBeldt)
Financial Stewardship
In-Person Attendance, September 4 : 90
Total Views for September 4 Online Videos: 294 Collection Plate & Mailed Donations: $4,882.00 Online Giving: $2,100.70 Total: $6,982.70 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, or sharing through the donate buttons on Facebook or Instagram, or at our website. |
Previous
|
||||||
RSS Feed
56 Wall Street • Douglas, Michigan 49406
© Douglas Congregational United Church of Christ. All Rights Reserved.