
| GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS St. John’s UCC (Niles) Celebrating 150th Anniversary: Southwest Michigan Choral Group To Sing On March 28 at 4 PM We’re invited, so if you are interested in going, meet at the church at 3:15 AM to carpool to the event. Gulley at Portage United Church of Christ (PUCC), Portage MI April 9 & 10, 2010 As a part of its ACE (Adult Christian Education) program, Portage United Church of Christ welcomes Quaker pastor and author Phil Gulley back to our area. The author of If Grace is True and If God is Love will discuss his new book, If the Church were Christian: Rediscovering the Value of Jesus, published by Harper Collins on February 2, 2010. Gulley will review this latest book and answer questions from 7-9 p.m. on Friday evening, April 9, and continue on Saturday morning, April 10 from 9-11:30 a.m.. Each session will address different aspects of the book. The chapter titles from If the Church were Christian are: 1. Jesus Would Be a Model for Living Rather Than an Object of Worship 2. Affirming Our Potential Would Be More Important Than Condemning our Brokenness 3. Reconciliation Would Be Valued over Judgment 4. Gracious Behavior Would Be More Important than Right Belief 5. Inviting Questions Would be Valued More Than Supplying Answers 6. Encouraging Personal Exploration Would Be More Important Than Communal Uniformity 7. Meeting Needs Would Be More Important Than Maintaining Institutions 8. Peace Would Be More Important Than Power 9. It Would Care More About Love and Less About Sex 10. This Life Would Be More Important Than the Afterlife There is no charge for this event; however, guests are requested to register in advance with the church office by April 5th. Please call 327-3114. Haiti Kits to Be Made At SWA Meeting On Sunday, March 21 At Portage UCC The Southwest Association will be having a brief Spring business meeting on the 21st, followed by a time of putting together more Haiti Kits for Church World Service. The goal is to make 1000 kits, of which we’ve already made 83. Please considering attending this 2:30-5:00 PM meeting. Registration will begin today— there is no cost to attend the meeting. “A Sabbath Trust” Stewardship Campaign Begins Today With Accompanying Sermon Series On “Trust” Instead of having our stewardship campaign begin in November, as it has in the past, we will be doing a spring/late winter campaign, with a focus on the year-long Sabbath theme we’ve been living into since September. Cards will soon be available for Pledge Sunday, March 28 (Palm Sunday). CHRISTIAN EDUCATION Church To Continue A Study of THE PATH: CREATING YOUR MISSION STATEMENT FOR WORK AND FOR LIFE This Week One of the important things on church’s upcoming calendar is a revision of our mission and vision statements…but the best place to start that process is to work on our own personal mission and vision statements. We’ll be shepherded along by the wisdom of Laurie Beth Jones’ book THE PATH. This short, but wise book is now available for purchase for $13 at the church, though you can easily purchase at bookstores or online. There will be a Sunday morning group that meets after worship, starting this Sunday, March 7 but another study group has already begun, and will meet next on Tuesday, March 9 at the home of Suzi Blough. Lenten Soup & Study Focus Will Be On Parker Palmer’s Book A HIDDEN WHOLENESS: THE JOURNEY TO AN UNDIVIDED LIFE—Continues This Wednesday Evening at 6:00 PM At St. Paul’s UCC Our annual Lenten Soup & Study tradition has begun once again and will continue on Wednesday, March 3, at 6:00 PM at St. Paul’s UCC in Bainbridge, with Pastor Chu teaching. Parker Palmer is one of the great spiritual leaders of our time and has given us some of the most beautifully written books of the past 30 years. Soup Supper Schedule: March 10—St. Paul’s UCC at 6:00 PM March 17—First United Methodist Church of Watervliet at 6:00 PM March 24—Riverside United Methodist Church at 6:00 PM |
| Weekly Announcements at First Congregational UCC For March 7, 2010 |