Weekly E-Pistle: Second Sunday after Epiphany

1/13/2023

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

This Sunday's Service — 2nd Sunday after Epiphany: "Martin & Jesus"
Last Sunday's Video — 1st Sunday after Epiphany: "The Baptism of Jesus"
2023 Mid-Year Congregational Meeting: Thank You!
The Prayer List Reboot
Call for Altar Flowers
Tax Letters are In the Mail
Social Justice Team Meeting: All Are Welcome: January 24
In Search Of: Camera People!
Creation Justice Team Update
Soul Collage, February 4
Did You Know? Douglas UCC Homily Library
Birthdays & Anniversaries, Prayer Requests, and Financial Stewardship

This Sunday's Service: "Martin & Jesus"

In this Sunday's gospel reading, we hear the story of Jesus calling his first followers. And, this weekend, we also celebrate the life and spirit of another follower of Jesus: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A Christian pastor and a man of great faith, Dr. King reminds us during this Epiphany season that "Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only Light can do that."

Join us this Sunday at 10 AM (either in-person or streaming live online), as we celebrate Jesus and Martin and their vision of building the Beloved Community together. Message: Pastor Sal. Music: Peter Black and Jeff Spangler

Download the Online Bulletin here:

order_of_service_january_15_2023.pdf
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Last Sunday's Video — "The Baptism of Jesus"

In last Sunday's Gospel reading, we heard the story of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist in the River Jordan. Most Christians have been baptized at some point in their lives, either as infants or as adults. But, what exactly is the meaning and significance of the ritual of baptism? Please enjoy last Sunday's service, when we celebrated Jesus's baptism and explored the meaning and purpose of baptism in our lives. We also participated in our annual "Burning Bowl" ritual. Message: Pastor Sal Sapienza. Music: Peter Black and Jeff Spangler

Click here to read, listen to, watch, and share Pastor Sal's Homily.

2023 Mid-Year Congregational Meeting

More than 60 people attended last Sunday’s Congregational Meeting, where we looked back in gratitude on 2022 and set our vision on 2023. Thank you to all who participated; to our Church Council; and to all who presented: Chris Clark, Kathleen Mueller, Peter Mueller, and Kelly Wright. We are also grateful to Beverly Hawkes to taking minutes and to Julie Ridl for monitoring those joining via Zoom.

The Prayer List Reboot

Photo by Mike Labrum on Unsplash

At our meeting last Sunday, Pastor Sal announced that we are rebooting the Prayer list this week, with a new process for keeping our prayer requests updated. If you have a prayer request you'd like include in the list, just send your request to Julie Ridl at her church email address.

Call for Altar Flowers

Photo by Sergey Shmidt on Unsplash

We have a new Altar Flower signup sheet in the Friendship Hall, posted on the bulletin board over the coffee table. There are plenty of openings over the next six weeks. If you would like to provide flowers in memory of a loved one or a special event, please sign the sheet on the bulletin board in the Friendship Hall or email Julie Ridl. Thank you!

Tax Letters are In the Mail

Photo by Elizaveta Kushnirenko on Unsplash

All of the year-end donor letters are in the mail, and should arrive in our mailboxes in the next week. If a letter is expected and does not arrive, please contact Jim Kern, our Church Council Financial Secretary, by email (click here) to let him know.

Social Justice Team Meeting: January 24
New Members Welcome!

The Social Justice Committee will be holding an organizational and planning meeting on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, at 7:00 pm in the DUCC Friendship Hall. Those interested in finding out what the Social Justice Committee is all about are invited and welcome to attend. If you are unable to attend in person, please email Bob Kenny (click here) for a Zoom link.

In Search Of: Camera People!

The DUCC Stream Team is looking for three more volunteers to run the video camera for our service livestreams. The team offers training to all camera people, no experience necessary! If you are interested, contact Lewis Corbin by email (click here).

Creation Justice Team Update

The Creation Justice team met on Monday, January 9, in the Friendship Hall. Betsy York outlined priorities for action related to light pollution, including the need for a community organization involving a broader cross-section of people. We’ll promote a citizen science project called “Globe at Night” and also look for ways to influence developers’ decisions about lighting. Virginia Stuart and Brad Hopkins will be working to add native plants to the landscape of our campus, including milkweed for monarch butterflies and flowers to attract pollinators. The team will begin a long-term effort to reduce the church’s carbon footprint. One strategy may be to try to reduce the amount of driving to the church through carpooling, walking, bicycling, and virtual meetings. We will start by learning what measures are already being taken. Paul Burdick will contact the Church Council about proposed improvements at the Retreat House and on Spring Street. The team is interested in having as many trees planted as possible through this project. We would also like to see warm LED lights installed. If you have questions or thoughts for the Creation Justice Team, contact Chris Clark by email (click here).

Soul Collage, February 4

Our friend and spiritual teacher Ruth Zwald will be giving another Soul Collage workshop on February 4. Contact Ruth at the address above if you'd like to join in and learn about this powerful means of seeking and finding soul support.

Did You Know? Douglas UCC Homily Library

Did you know that Pastor Sal's homilies are kept in this online library? Yes! Always accessible for comfort or a spiritual boost, and to share a homily with friends and family. Each homily is transcribed and bundled with the video and the podcast for that week. (And you can give Pastor Sal a thumb's up on his homilies here too!) Click here to find the whole library: https://www.douglasucc.org/homilies

Birthdays & Anniversaries

January 15– John Rossi, 16– Joyce Wright
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

Cole Hartman (Kathy Hartman' son); Chris Stuart, (Virginia Stuart's sister-in-law); Darren Dixon (Beverly Hawkes' nephew)

To add your prayer request, send it to Julie Ridl at her church email address.

Financial Stewardship

In-Person Attendance, January 8 : 88
Total Views for January 8 Online Videos: 548

Collection Plate & Mailed Donations: $886.00
Online Giving: $2890.61
December Facebook Donations: $70

Total: $3846.61

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.