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Weekly E-Pistle: Third Sunday in Lent

3/5/2021

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

  • This Sunday's Service Notes - "Third Sunday in Lent: Cleansing the Temple"
  • Last Week's Service Video --"Second Sunday in Lent: The Fullness of Life
  • Remembering Jim Shewell
  • Today is National Day of Unplugging
  • Welcome Home. Mark Anthony and Patrick!
  • Lakeshore Coalition Beach Cleanup
  • Women's History Month and The State of Women
  • The State of Creation with Brooks Berndt and Jim Antal
  • Centering Prayer Group during Lent, Wednesday Evenings at 5:30 p.m.​
  • Community Read with Interfaith Action: The Beauty of Your Face
  • Contact Tracing App: It works if we use it!
  • Sign up for your vaccine! Here's How!
  • Friendship Hall News
  • Birthdays & Anniversaries, Prayer Requests, and Financial Stewardship

This Sunday's Service: "Cleansing the Temple"

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In the Gospel message for the Third Sunday in Lent, Jesus gets angry... so angry, in fact, that he brandishes a whip and overturns tables! This certainly is not the gentle "Prince of Peace" with which most of us are comfortable and familiar. Is Jesus demonstrating that it's okay for us to get angry? If so, what positive purpose can anger serve in our lives? Come join us for our "Video Worship Service" this Sunday, as we explore "The Upside of Anger."  
Message: Pastor Sal. Music: Peter Black and Pamela Chappell.


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

Last Sunday's Service

In John 10:10, Jesus said, "I have come so that you may have life, and have it to the full." As Joan Chittister reminds us, the season of Lent is about becoming, doing, and changing whatever it is that is blocking the fullness of life in us right now. At last Sunday's "Video Worship Service," Pastor Sal gave a Progressive Christian message on what it truly means to experience "The Fullness of Life." We had uplifting music from Peter Black and The Huggetts. Click above to enjoy the video service, or click here to read, listen to, and share Pastor Sal's homily.

​Remembering Jim Shewell

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It is with heavy hearts that we share the news that our church member, Jim Shewell,
passed away on Wednesday. Jim was under hospice care at an assisted living facility near Lansing, where he lived with his husband, Leith Letcher. His transition was a peaceful one. 

Pastor Sal officiated Jim and Leith's wedding in the church in 2017. Most churchgoers have come to know Jim (left) and Leith (right) for planting the beautiful zinnias in front of the church each year. Due the pandemic and Jim's health, they were unable to come to Douglas this past year, but we planted zinnias in their honor. 

A service for Jim will be held in our church's Memorial Garden later this spring. Cards of condolence can be sent to Leith Letcher at 5525 W. St. Joe Hwy. #8, Lansing, MI 48917.

​Today is National Day of Unplugging! 

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Church Member Chris Clark invites you to observe this year's 'National Day of Unplugging' on March 5-6. To “unplug” is to refrain from using all digital devices and electronic media - phone, tablet, laptop, desktop computer, television, camera, radio, and so on.

Unplugging gives you a break from the daily overload of stressful email, disturbing news, toxic commentary, misleading ads, inane videos, and spiteful social media. It’s a chance to explore healthier alternatives to tech. Where safe, it’s a day to interact with live human beings face-to-face.

Since 2009, there has been an “official” National Day of Unplugging, and in 2021 the time frame is March 5-6. You can pick an entire day, go from noon to noon, or slice it some other way. If you want, sign up at the NDU website. Otherwise, just unplug on your own. Download the NDU's ideas page, below for ideas of how you might spend all the extra time that day.
national_day_of_unplugging_ideas.pdf
File Size: 97 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


Welcome Home, Mark Anthony and Patrick!

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(L to R) Patrick Ziegler, Gregg Smith, Sal Sapienza, Mark Anthony Lord
Our friends at Unity on the Lakeshore church in Douglas have announced that they have been working with Rev. Mark Anthony Lord to become the minister of their church beginning in May! As many of you know, Rev. Mark has been a friend of Pastor Sal for many years now and has presented several workshops at our church over the years, as well joining us for Sunday worship. Rev. Mark's partner, Patrick Ziegler, is also no stranger to our church, having taught the popular Artist's Way workshops at Douglas UCC. Rev. Mark is currently the minister at the Unity church in Naples, Florida. He and Patrick will be moving here full-time this spring, and they have purchased a home in Douglas (just one block away from our church!). How wonderful it is to welcome them full-time to the Saugatuck-Douglas community!

​Lakeshore Cleanup Coalition Beach Cleanup! 

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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.

​Women's History Month and the State of Women 

As we begin Women’s History Month, leadership from the World YWCA and the Cleveland YWCA discussed the state of women globally. Women continue to live at the margins across the world often unemployed, underemployed, and fighting for human rights and dignity. Together with UCC leaders, this group discussed the issues facing women and children, including sexual and gender-based violence, digitalization, and the impact of COVID on young people. Watch the video above to witness this remarkable conversation and learn how we can all be better partners in raising the state of women globally.

​The State of Creation
with Brooks Berndt and Jim Antal 

What is necessary to halt the deleterious effects of climate change in the 21st century? Join Rev. Brooks Berndt, Minister for Environmental Justice, UCC, and Jim Antal, author, public theologian, Special Advisor on Climate Justice to the General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ for this important address. Rev. Antal reviewed:
• The current state of climate change
• The impact of the roll-back of over 100 EPA regulations and disengagement from the Climate Accord; needed reforms
• The role and responsibility of people of faith
• Actions we can engage both as individuals and as communities in 2021
Rev. Brooks Berndt moderated follow-on dialog on what we can do together to ensure God’s creation thrives in 2021 and beyond. This program was part of the UCC's "Tuesdays for Nurture" webinar series. 

​Centering Prayer Group during Lent --
Wednesdays, 5:30pm, through March 31​

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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. 


​Community Read with Interfaith Action: 
​The Beauty of Your Face 

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The DUCC Social Justice Team, in partnership with West Michigan's Interfaith Action, invites you to read and discuss The Beauty of Your Face. Our friend Beth Kenagy writes, "The novel was named one of the New York Times's 100 Notable Books of 2020.  It's rich with details of the Islamic faith and Arab culture and the prejudice that confronts American-Muslim immigrants.  The generational conflict that sometimes arises within immigrant families is also a central theme."

The author will join the ZOOM discussion on Thursday, March 18 at 6:00. 

Nevine Khalil, a journalist from Saint Joseph, and Tatiana Reinoza, a Notre Dame professor, will moderate the discussion. 

Click here to register for the online book discussion.

​Contact Tracing App: It works if we use it! 

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We can protect one another as we work to stay safe by downloading and using the MI COVID ALERT app for our apple or android smart phones. The app a free and is managed by the state health department to help with contact tracing and notification, which will slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan. Using the MI COVID Alert app along with following and observing existing public health recommendations will help us all stay safe when we meet up, socialize, work or travel.
​ Click here to find and download the app to your phone!


​Sign up for your vaccine! Here's How! 

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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/

​Friendship Hall News 

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Pastor Sal opened friendship hall with the news of Mark Anthony Lord and Patrick Ziegler's move to Douglas in the Spring. Sal shared how great it will be to have his friend and colleague nearby. That prompted Sue Scott to offer Pastor Sal a really lovely thank you for all of his leadership both within our church family and in the wider community. (So lovely, there may have been tears...) We encouraged Linda Charvat, who was preparing for the end of her dear dog Rosie's life. We caught up with Greg Sherman, who sends along his love from both he and Kris Sherman. We had a nice visit with Freddy Bell. We all admired The Huggetts beautiful song in this service. And then came reports of still more Valentine Critter visits, including some from this lovely cow, above! How that cow carries roses with his ears we can't quite fathom. We heard about families who have been watching services with their kids during Pandemic time, and looking forward to joining us when we meet in person (Will we start a children's program? Thoughts?) And we encouraged -- or did we beg? -- Peter to record a collection of his work. And meanwhile when it feels much too long between Peter performances, you can ask Alexa to play this lovely Songs from a Summer Songbook concert he posted for us.

Birthdays & Anniversaries

March 7- Tom Gehringer, 8- Jane Harrison, 10- Joyce & Kelly Wright, 12- Annie Hotwagner
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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

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Leith Letcher and his family; Linda Charvat; 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). 

Financial Stewardship

February 28, 2021

Viewers for February 28 Online Service Videos: 657
February podcast listeners: 290

 Online Donations:  $2,408.31
Facebook donations : $395  
Collection plate (mailed in)…   $8,425
Memorial Garden…   $200
Lenten Devotionals…  $45

Total: $11,473.31

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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  • About Us ▾
    • Meditation Garden
    • Retreat House
    • Our Staff
    • Our Stories
    • About Douglas UCC
  • Connect & Serve
  • Worship & Music Videos ▾
    • Podcast Library 🔊
    • Homily Library 📖
  • Calendar & E-pistle ▾
    • E-Pistle
  • Contact
  • Giving
  • Events