Weekly E-Pistle: First Sunday in Advent

11/27/2020

In This Week's E-Pistle, You Will Find:

This Sunday's Service Notes - "Hope: 1st Sunday of Advent"
Last Week's Service Video --"Reign of Christ" Sunday
Christian Neighbors Flour Drive -- Thank You for Donating!
Mike Boston and Kathy Austin Moving to North Carolina
Advent Devotionals Available at Retreat House or Online
DUCC Glass Ornaments for Sale!
CJT Invites You to a Virtual Potluck
Holiday Family Album. Send us your photos by December 15
Centering Prayer with Pastor Sal -- Meeting Weekly in November/December
Christian Neighbors -- The Gift of Love, Deadline December 7
Amazon Smile -- Giving While Shopping
Friendship Hall News
Birthdays & Anniversaries, Prayer Requests, and Financial Stewardship

This Sunday: "Hope: 1st Sunday of Advent"

This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent, a time for us to prepare with great expectation for the birth of the Christ Light within us. At this Sunday's "Video Worship Service," we will be focusing on the theme of the first Advent candle: HOPE. Pastor Sal will be giving an inspiring message on "The Power of Hope." Plus, enjoy uplifting music by Peter Black and Jeff Spangler.

Tune in on Sunday at 10 AM via our Facebook page, YouTube channel, or here on our website.

Last Week's Service: Reign of Christ Sunday

Last Sunday (the last Sunday in Ordinary Time and the Sunday before Advent) was "Reign of Christ" or "Christ the King" Sunday. On this feast day, we celebrate Jesus as fully human and fully divine. Click the video above to watch our "Video Worship Service," as we explored Jesus as man, myth, and Messiah. Message: Pastor Sal. Music: Peter Black & Jeff Spangler. Read the text and share the Homily here.

Flour Power! Thank You for Donating!

Thank you to our Douglas UCC volunteers, who helped put together Thanksgiving food baskets for more than 400 families in need: Molly & Kelly Huggett, Denny & Gail Babel, Cathy North, Joyce Wright, Mike Mok, Larry Fuerst, Wendy Hamlin. Big thanks to Ruth VandenBosch, who coordinated the drive this year. And, thank you to everyone from Douglas UCC who donated more than 600 lbs. of flour! Lynne Snyder was our top flour power donator, winning the gorgeous meal prepared and provided by Dennis Konarski and Jim Kern!

Mike Boston and Kathy Austin Moving to NC!

Our church members Mike Boston and Kathy Austin have sold their Michigan home and are moving to North Carolina early next month. Both of them have contributed so much to the love, care and growth of Douglas UCC over the years, and we will look forward to seeing and hearing from them from their new home. Meanwhile, we will celebrate them during the Friendship Hall Zoom Call on Sunday, December 6. We hope you can join us to wish them well in their new home.

Advent Devotionals Available
at Retreat House or Online

Advent Devotionals from Pilgrim Press are available starting Saturday, November 21 for $5 each. Find them on the foyer table of the Retreat House with a box for your donation. 15 copies are available on a First Come, First Served basis. Or you may wish to order the devotional online here:
https://www.thepilgrimpress.com/collections/advent-resources/products/draw-near-2020-advent-christmastide-devotional

Douglas UCC Holiday Ornament for Sale!

The beautiful Douglas UCC Christmas ornament (pictured above) is now available for sale. Designed and crafted in Poland, the ornament depicts the front of our church in winter. This lovely ornament makes the perfect holiday gift. The cost is $25. To place an order, please email us at [email protected]. We can arrange for you to pick up your ornament at the church, or we can send it to you. Shipping is $5 more.

CJT Invites You to a Virtual Potluck

We miss our potlucks! So Creation Justice Team had an idea -- they are inviting you to participate in a Virtual "Three Sisters" potluck via home cooking and social media this year. For your Thanksgiving meal or for any meal, join us this month by cooking a recipe that includes corn, beans, and/or squash. Take a photo of your dish, and/or send the photo with the recipe to [email protected]. We will post your dishes on the DUCC facebook page. All submissions should be sent by the 30th of November. Happy cooking!

We are Building a Holiday Family Album.
Send us your photos by December 15!

We would like to build and share a DUCC Holiday Family Album, and to do that we need your help! Could you please take a selfie, in your favorite holiday clothes (or costumes!), by yourself or in groupings, and email it to [email protected]. Your deadline for this mission, should you choose to accept it, is December 15. We long to see one another, and we believe this will be a great way to pull our family together safely this year!

Centering Prayer with Pastor Sal --
Meeting Weekly in November/December

During the months of November and December, Pastor Sal will be leading a "Centering Prayer" meditation via Zoom each Wednesday night from 5:30 PM to 6 PM. Each session will begin with a short talk, followed by a 15-minute silent prayer practice. If you are interested in taking part in these sessions, please email Pastor Sal.

Christian Neighbors -- The Gift of Love
Deadline December 7

Thanks so much to all of our church members who have been contributing to our Giving Tree project! We just received a batch of new gift tags for area teenagers. Good gifts for these kids includes cards for Subway, gas cards, manicure sets and nail polish, makeup, slippers, warm socks, pajamas, cologne -- gifts that cost around $20.00. Gift cards should be for no more than $25. Instructions are included on the tags. Gather your gifts and drop them, unwrapped please, in the big gift box or deliver them to Christian Neighbors at the Community Church of Douglas by December 7. We need volunteers to help families select gifts for children too. Call Christian Neighbors at 269-857-1050 for work dates and times. And as always, thank you so much for giving your time and treasure in this way.

Friendship Hall News

It was so good to see Pamela Chappell, recovering so well after receiving a new hip! And so good to hear that Dan Mack was exceeding his new knee goals, and will have stitches out and increased mobility soon! Dale Lower shared that his husband, Ted Sommer will learn the results of recent tests on his heart this week. They are recovering well from Covid, and encourage us all to be vigilant and stay safe! We checked in with Greg and Sheryll VanPortfleet, who are starting to feel well enough to finish moving their mom into assisted living. We shared news of Nancy Plantinga at home helping her family members with various health concerns and moves, wishing her strength and grace at this time of caregiving. We discussed ongoing individual gifts of food, blankets, and sheets to Christian Neighbors -- there is a drop area outside of their location at Douglas Community Church, and details on hours and contact information is on their website here. As we wrapped things up, Pam asked Pastor Sal about the history and significance of the rainbow flag. Sal gave the history, of Gay Rights Activist Gilbert Baker's design, and each stripe's meaning, and our own precious gift from Greg Plowe and Steve Debbink of a portion of the world's largest pride flag carried in the pride parade in New York to mark the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riot. We hang that memorial flag banner during pride month every year here at Douglas UCC.

Amazon Smile: Giving While Shopping

Thanks to Bev Hawkes for this hint! Did you know about Amazon Smile, a program you can opt into to generate donations from Amazon to your favorite non-profit organization? And those organizations include the Douglas Congregational United Church of Christ! When you shop from your desktop from smile.amazon.com, or activate Amazon Smile from the Settings menu on your Amazon phone app (not yet available on iPads or tablets), you can choose a non-profit to receive a small income based on your purchases. Let your shopping trigger giving from Amazon! (Hint: On Amazon Smile, DUCC is listed as Douglas Congregational United Church of Christ.)

Birthdays & Anniversaries

November 30- Max Brown, Paul Murphy, December 5- Brad Hopkins, David Nadeau

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 List

Jimmy Hotwagner; Tish Swinehart and Diane Carr (Debra Carr's sisters); Char Clausing (Nancy Plantinga's cousin); Jerry Ferguson; Brent Havens; Ruth VandenBosch; Sheryll and Greg VanPortfleet; Catz Dienes; the family and friends of Chris Cook, especially Larry Fuerst and Sue Scott; Pamela Chappell; Bubba Beaudreaux; Sarah Weaver (Ed Korson's family); Marilyn Ondersma (the Reimans' friend); Chris Robinson (Peter and Kathleen Mueller's nephew); Dan Mack; Leith Letcher and Jim Shewell; Warren Plantinga (Nancy Plantinga's father); Gregg Kirchen (Sheryll and Greg VanPortfleet's friend); Sidney Matheis; Jodi Berault, Dirk Hollebeek (Ruth VandenBosch's godson); Larry Gregsbeek (friend of Mark Reiman); Daniel Ver Meulen (Susan Fleming's son); Vivian Libby (Sheryll Van Portfleet's Mom); Hannah Sherman; Gary Plantinga (Nancy Plantinga's brother); Barbara Klatt (Barb Lucier's friend); Myron Freund; Terry Stough (Catz Dienes' son); Ted Sommer; Phyllis Wallis (Kathy Austin's mother); Drew Carter; Jeff Cooley (Jo Cooley's brother); Marcia Sullivan (Jo Cooley's friend); Len Lynch (Kathleen Mueller's brother); Curtis Coffin (Marty Coffin's brother).

All of our Covid-19 pandemic first responders, and for the researchers and scientists working on effective tests and treatments for Covid-19. Prayers for all in the military and their families; all who are homeless or addicted or abused or neglected or rejected or hungry; The UCC; the Grand West Association; our Church Council; our Stephen Ministers; our church committees; our communities, our schools, our nation and our planet.

To add or remove a name from the Prayer List, please email us.

Financial Stewardship

November 22

Viewers for November 22 Online Service Videos: 1,243
Online Giving: $2,938.85
FaceBook donations: $340.00

Total: $3,278.85

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.