Weekly E-Pistle: Pentecost Sunday

5/21/2021

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

This Sunday's Service Notes -- "Pentecost Sunday"
Last Week's Service Video -- "7th Sunday of Easter: "Ascension Sunday"
Announcement: Returning to In-Person Worship
New Air Cleaning Filtration Installed in the church
Pentecost Sunday! Wear Red at Zoom Friendship Hall for Pentecost Screenshot!
Pride Care-A-Van Coming on June 5 -- Start Your Planning!
Lakeshore Community Chorus - Spring Concert, June 6
Radar Hill Hiking Club Celebrating National Trails Day, June 5
Friendship Hall News
Birthdays & Anniversaries, Prayer Requests, Reports and Minutes, and Financial Stewardship

This Sunday's Service: "Pentecost Sunday"

In our lectionary reading for Pentecost Sunday, we'll hear the story of how the Spirit of God set the hearts and minds of the first disciples on fire. This very same Spirit is alive today, but how do we kindle its spark within ourselves and fan its flames in one another? Tune in to our Pentecost service this Sunday, as we celebrate the Holy Spirit, alive and aflame in our hearts.
Message: Pastor Sal. Music: Peter Black and Stan Greene.

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

Last Week's Service Video - "Ascension Sunday"

Last Sunday was "Ascension Sunday," which marked the end of the Easter Season. At our "Video Worship Service" we heard all about Jesus's ascension into heaven, and we also learned the path to our own personal ascensions. Pastor Sal uncovered the "12 Symptoms of Spiritual Awakening." We hope you will enjoy this inspiring message and uplifting music, when we celebrated Ascension Sunday. Message: Pastor Sal. Music: Peter Black and Pamela Chappell.
Click here to read, listen to, watch, and share Pastor Sal's homily.

Announcement: Returning to In-Person Worship

On Tuesday, our Church Council met to finalize plans for our return to in-person church services beginning June 6. Click on the video above to hear Pastor Sal share news of their decision. Also, Pastor Sal is fully vaccinated and has returned to in-person meetings in his office. Email Pastor Sal if you would like to schedule an appointment.

New Air Filtration Installed in the Church!

Good news for our return to church. With the help of generous church members, our new air filtration units from Surgically Clean Air have been installed in the Sanctuary, ready for in-person church services to begin. Along with new cleaning methods and safety-first service elements, our Church Council has worked hard to make services safer for our return. Click on the video above to learn more about how the new system works.

Pentecost Sunday! Wear Red at Zoom Friendship Hall for Pentecost Screenshot!

This week is Pentecost Sunday, when it is the tradition in our church to wear red and pose for a group shot of the congretation. We can't do that this year, but we hope you can join us for the post-service, online friendship hall via Zoom, and wear red for a congregational screenshot! Look for the Zoom link in the "Online church links" email that goes out on Friday morning, or email Julie for the link.

Pride Care-A-Van Coming on June 5 --
Start Your Planning!

The annual Community Pride event is scheduled for Saturday, June 5, at noon. Like last year, this year's Pride event will be a "Care-a-Van" Car Parade from Douglas to Saugatuck. Decorate your car for Pride and join in the parade! Route begins at the corner of Blue Star Hwy and Enterprise Drive, Douglas. Prizes will be given for best-decorated car! For more information, follow this event on the Community Pride Facebook page here.

The Pride Committee is also selling T-shirts for $25 apiece for sizes small to Extra large, and $30 for sizes 2X to 4X (please pre-order for smaller or larger sizes, deadline May 10). The color is Heather Blue. Ruth VandenBosch will manage the t-shirt sales and will have a total of 150 shirts available. For pre-orders, email Ruth at ruthvandenbosch@gmail.com. Small Pride flags (and snap-on car flags) are also available for sale.

Lakeshore Community Chorus - Spring Concert

Lakeshore Community Chorus is preparing their spring concert to premier online on Sunday, June 6, 2021 at 7 pm!! Many of our friends and church members will be performing! Follow them on their website or on Facebook for more information and links for tuning in!

Radar Hill Hiking Club Celebrating
National Trails Day, June 5

Radar Hill Hiking Club is sponsoring a local observance of National Trails Day in the Saugatuck-Douglas-Laketown area on Saturday, June 5, 2021. Our goals are to inform residents and visitors about local hiking trails, and advocate for trails and conservation. For more information, follow this link to the Radar Hill website.

Friendship Hall News

Our Ascension Sunday Online Friendship Hall was full of chat about returning to in-person services. With the Council scheduled to finalize their plans at their meeting this week (see Pastor Sal's video announcement, above), we talked about our readiness and concerns, and what it would take to return to services under present conditions, acknowledging that not all of us will be ready at the same time, and that's okay! We caught up with church members we haven't heard from in a while, and looked forward to more spring-like weather, promised for the coming week! We also noted that Online meetups will continue, but not on Sundays after in-person services have begun. Stay tuned for future opportunities to meet up with Pastor Sal and other church members and friends near and far!

Birthdays & Anniversaries

May 24- Ron Beisel, 28- Kessie Karg
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

Sarah Ver Meulen (Susan Fleming's Daughter); Mike VerMerris and all of Luke Burnett's family; Bev Hawkes; Cole Hartman; Walt Lawrence; Shannon Connell; Dennis Konarski and the Konarski family; Mike Sneedon (Peg and Jack Donohue's friend); John Leon (Marjorie Reiman's uncle); Marjorie Reiman; Pamela Chappell; Sandy Feldman; Tim Reineck, Matt Brazys, Suzanne Cook, and Ken Cassbon (friends of Pete Wehle and Pamela Chappell); Richie Czarnowski (Mark Reiman's friend); Dale Lower; Sherri Kanten (Ruth VandenBosch's friend); Michael (a friend of Dan Mack's); Myron (Wendy Hamlin's grandson, Fred Hamilin's great-grandson); Chris Stuart (Virginia Stuart's sister-in-law); Darren Dixon (Beverly and Orie Hawkes' nephew); Mary Elizabeth Loudin (friend of Laurie VandenBeldt); 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).

Reports and Minutes

approved_church_council_minutes_april_2021.pdf
File Size:	408 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

pastors_report_may_2021.pdf
File Size:	301 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

Financial Stewardship

May 16, 2021

Viewers for May 16 Online Service Videos: 693
Online Donations: $1837.17
Mailed-in Collection Plate: $3,630

Total: $5,467.17

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.