In This Week's E-Pistle, You Will Find:
This Sunday's Service: "Dying Before You Die"
In the Gospel reading for the 5th Sunday in Lent, Jesus says: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains but a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." That "single grain" refers to us. We need to do what Jesus and the mystics of all the major faith traditions instruct: "Die before we die" so that we can produce the fruit of the Spirit. What does it mean to "die before we die"? Tune-in this Sunday for our "Video Worship Service," as we explore this question together. Message: Pastor Sal. Music: Peter Black and Elizabeth Estes.
Tune in on Sunday at 10 AM via our Facebook page, YouTube channel, or here on our website. Last Week's Service
Last Sunday's Gospel passage contains one of the most repeated lines Evangelical Christians quote from Scripture: John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." Does this mean one must believe in Jesus in order to have eternal life? Was Jesus God's only son, or are we all sons and daughters of God? How do we as Progressive Christians make sense of John 3:16? Please enjoy last Sunday's "Video Worship Service," when we explored these questions together. Message: Pastor Sal. Music: Peter Black and Jeff Spangler.
Click here to read, watch, listen to, and share last week's homily. Happy Anniversary, Pastor Sal!
On March 13, 2016, after serving for two years as our pastor, Pastor Sal was officially installed as a UCC pastor in our church. It was a wonderful day in the long history of this little church, and the memory brings us great joy!
One Great Hour of Sharing Collection
Every March we collect and match gifts to the UCC's One Great Hour of Sharing Endowment Fund, which has long supported emergency relief, disaster response, sustainable development, and social services in some of the poorest areas around the globe. These gifts and this work make an enormous difference in so many lives. Will you consider making a gift to this special fund by March 28. You can make this gift online, or by check (please write OGHS in the memo line of your check made out to Douglas UCC). Please mail checks to Douglas UCC, P.O. Box 519, Douglas, Michigan, 49406. Thank you so much for your ongoing support of the work of the United Church of Christ.
Green Faith Designation
We are so delighted to announce that Douglas UCC has been recognized by Interfaith Action of SW Michigan as a Green Faith church in recognition of the work of our Creation Justice Team, especially for the efforts we have made to assure our church campus operates under all of these greening efforts. Congratulations to the team and the congregation for all of your good work!
Announcing Sunrise Movement -
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Our online giving pages have just become easier to use, with a new page outlining all the ways we can give to the church, and a new online giving page that makes special collections easier to contribute to. Here is a video showing how it works, or tune in to this week's Online Friendship Hall (link in your email on Fridays) for a quick demo. Importantly, if you already make gifts using our online donation site, you don't need to do a thing! Your userid and password and giving history all still work with this new page. And we were able to implement it with no charge to the church. Win! Win! Win! |
Allegan County Senior Services
We wanted to make you aware of our amazing, Allegan county-wide program that allows those of us who are seniors to age gracefully in our homes.
In 2006, the citizens of Allegan County voted to provide for it's senior citizens through a Senior Millage. These funds provide these services:
- Adult Day Care
- Home Delivered Meals
- In Home Supports
- Personal Emergency Response Systems
- Senior Transportation
As the website says: "But it's more than that; it's the voters giving back to those who came before us. Most of the advances we enjoy today in technology, medicine, agriculture, etc. are a direct result of the efforts made by citizens that are no longer part of the work force; senior citizens. Through their dedication to improving our communities, we all enjoy a better quality of life. Senior Services is committed to providing the necessary supports that allow the seniors of Allegan County to remain independent in the homes where they have lived and raised their families for as long as possible."
"Dedicated to serving Allegan County seniors by developing and coordinating services that support their independence, maintain their dignity, and preserve their quality of life."
Allegan County Senior Services, 3255 122nd Ave., Ste. 200, Allegan, MI 49010
Phone: (269) 673-3333 Toll-free: 1-877-673-5333 Fax: (269) 673-0569
Facebook Link
Book Discussion Video Online Now
Did you have to miss Thursday night's discussion of the celebrated "The Beauty of Your Face," hosted by Interfaith Action? We've got you! Here is the recording of the meeting with the author, Sahar Mustafah, discussing her amazing and award winning first novel.
Lakeshore Coalition Beach Cleanup
The Creation Justice Team wants to share this great news! The US Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded a grant to the Macatawa Area Coordinating Council and the Allegan Conservation District to support beach and river cleanups in Ottawa and Allegan Counties! This project is in partnership with Ottawa County Parks and Recreation, the Ottawa Conservation District, Hope College, the ODC Network, the Allegan Conservation District and the Kalamazoo River Watershed Council. Partners will hold volunteer beach and river cleanups throughout Ottawa and Allegan Counties over the next couple of years. Each partner will organize and run their own events and the MACC has posted the full list with registration links. As events are completed, they will also report the results on their website. You must register to participate in these events at the links below:
April 13th, 2021 from 10am - 12pm
Oval Beach, 690 Perryman St, Saugatuck, MI
Register here.
April 27, 4pm-6pm
Douglas Beach Park, 3099 Lakeshore Dr, Douglas
Register here.
May 8, 10am-12pm
Laketown Beach, 6710 142nd Ave, Holland
Register here.
More West Michigan Beaches and Dates for Cleanups here.
April 13th, 2021 from 10am - 12pm
Oval Beach, 690 Perryman St, Saugatuck, MI
Register here.
April 27, 4pm-6pm
Douglas Beach Park, 3099 Lakeshore Dr, Douglas
Register here.
May 8, 10am-12pm
Laketown Beach, 6710 142nd Ave, Holland
Register here.
More West Michigan Beaches and Dates for Cleanups here.
Centering Prayer Group during Lent, Wednesday Evenings at 5:30 p.m.
During the season of Lent, Pastor Sal will lead
a "Centering Prayer" meditation via Zoom each Wednesday
evening from 5:30 PM to 6 PM.
If you are interested in taking part in these sessions,
please email Julie for the Centering Prayer link.
Sign up for your vaccine! Here's How!
Local public health departments are working to distribute vaccines in West Michigan. Click here to visit Vaccinate West Michigan for news of distribution in our region. If you are an Allegan County resident and wish to have a vaccine and/or volunteer to help out , follow this link to register with the Allegan County Health Department website. You may wish to register with your local Meijer, whose clinics will be set up to distribute Covid 19 vaccines. Here is the link to register at your closest Meijer pharmacy. Hope is on the horizon!
Please note that healthcare advisors in our own church and across the nation are advising people who have received the vaccine to continue to wear masks and practice social distancing for a while longer. Patience is the gift we give to each other. Here's a good explanation of why masking and distancing will still be necessary.
If you have the time and the skills to help people sign up and receive their vaccines, Allegan County has a volunteer application form you can use to let them know of your skills and availability.
You need to sign up online, and here is the link for Allegan County:
http://cms.allegancounty.org/sites/Office/Health/PHEP/SitePages/Volunteers.aspx
And here is the link for other locations in Michigan:
http://mivolunteerregistry.org/
Please note that healthcare advisors in our own church and across the nation are advising people who have received the vaccine to continue to wear masks and practice social distancing for a while longer. Patience is the gift we give to each other. Here's a good explanation of why masking and distancing will still be necessary.
If you have the time and the skills to help people sign up and receive their vaccines, Allegan County has a volunteer application form you can use to let them know of your skills and availability.
You need to sign up online, and here is the link for Allegan County:
http://cms.allegancounty.org/sites/Office/Health/PHEP/SitePages/Volunteers.aspx
And here is the link for other locations in Michigan:
http://mivolunteerregistry.org/
Friendship Hall News
Debra Carr reminded us all that March 13 we celebrated Pastor Sal's 5th anniversary of his ordination as a UCC Minister (see photo above)! Rose Marie Stephenson shared her idea for helping people who live alone to stay connected, for their safety at this time. We considered a church-wide calling service, the Allegan County services for seniors (see above for more information). Garnet Lewis shared news of a tri-community hazardous waste pickup event coming along, and encouraged us all to "Like" the Tri-community Recycling and Composting Facebook Page to learn more about that event. Chris Clark shared great news about his niece, Julia DeMario, who has been on our prayer list. She and her premie baby are doing well! Pastor Sal led a discussion on returning to church, and lots of great ideas came out of that discussion. Debra Carr and Stan Greene reminded us that even when we are vaccinated, we can still pass the virus. As Pamela Chappell and Rose Marie Stephenson noted, we have seen cases climb in Southwest Michigan, including cases of the more transmissable variants. Stan shared this article about masking in the months ahead. Chris Clark made the point that we should consider encouraging people to wear masks in the sanctuary during every flu season. We offered prayers for Dennis Konarski's brother, Ronald, and "traveling mercies" for Becca Waaso and her family as they prepare to make the drive to their new home in Oregon!
Birthdays & Anniversaries
March 22- Tim Schwartz, 25- Meridith Ridl, 26- Michael Bojko, Bill Underdown
Birthday and Anniversary cards are a great way we can continue to reach out to one another during this time. If you wish to mail a card to one of our church members, addresses can be found in our Church Directory. If you don't have a directory, please let us know, and we will email one to you.
Birthday and Anniversary cards are a great way we can continue to reach out to one another during this time. If you wish to mail a card to one of our church members, addresses can be found in our Church Directory. If you don't have a directory, please let us know, and we will email one to you.
Prayer Requests
Ronald Konarski; Dick Lucier; Julia DeMario (Chris Clark's niece); Mark Reiman; Leith Letcher and his family; Becky Hoeppner (Demetrhea Terrien's niece); Dale Lower; Sherri Kanten (Ruth VandenBosch's friend); Diane Carr (Debra Carr's sister); Michael (a friend of Dan Mack's); Mike Boston and Kathy Austin; Myron (Wendy Hamlin's grandson, Fred Hamilin's great-grandson); Chris Stuart (Virginia Stuart's sister-in-law); Kurt McDonald (John McDonald's son); Matt Brazys (Friend of Pete Wehle's); Darren Dixon (Beverly and Orie Hawkes' nephew); Mary Elizabeth Loudin (friend of Laurie VandenBeldt); Richard Graham; Char Clausing (Nancy Plantinga's cousin); Chris Robinson (Peter and Kathleen Mueller's nephew); Gregg Kirchen (Sheryll and Greg VanPortfleet's friend); Daniel Ver Meulen (Susan Fleming's son); Marcia Sullivan (Jo Cooley's friend); Len Lynch (Kathleen Mueller's brother); Curtis Coffin (Marty Coffin's brother).
Reports & Minutes
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Financial Stewardship
March 14, 2021
Viewers for March 14 Online Service Videos: 768
Online Donations: $4,424.55
Collection Plate (Mailed in): $2,985.00
Total: $7,409.55
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.
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