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You are receiving Connections, the monthly e-newsletter of the Ohio Conference, because of your connection to a ministry of the Conference.
We encourage you to forward this resource liberally within your congregation, to leaders and committee members. Please help us expand our mailing list by providing email addresses.
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Sharing America's Resources Abroad
Visit SARA online
Sharing America's Resources Abroad (SARA) is a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Ohio Conference UCC. The mission of this ecumenical ministry is to offer medical assistance to improve the well-being of poor people around the world. SARA distributes medical supplies, equipment and expertise throughout the world - helping people to help themselves.
The article below tells the story of Dr. Ákos Kiss, a Hungarian surgeon who has worked with SARA since 2004, donating countless hours of his time performing surgery and training other doctors in Hungary, Ukraine and other countries.
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Dr. Ákos Kiss and
Sharing America's Resources Abroad
Translated from the original Hungarian by Rev. Csaba Orosz, SARA Director for Romania
 | | A young Ukrainian boy recovering from a SARA sponsored surgery to repair his sunken chest |
The relationship of Dr. Ákos Kiss with SARA goes back to 2004. In that year, in the children's surgery unit in Miskolc--the largest in Hungary--a young man from Beregszász presented himself suffering from a grave case of funnel-shaped chest.
The condition pushed in the walls of the chest, compressing the heart and the lungs and resulting in general physical weakness, fatigue, and frequent diseases of the respiratory tract.
The young man's condition added to the risk of other grave diseases, and the deformity was psychologically as well as physically disturbing. The young man clearly needed the earliest possible operation. More
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 Outdoor Ministries News
SUMMER CAMP 2011
Planning for 2011 camps is well underway.
Look for our colorful camp mailer in your mailbox in January! We look forward to seeing YOU at camp next summer.
 INTRODUCING TOM ROBERTSON
Outdoor Ministries Executive Director
After a lengthy search for a new Executive Director for Outdoor Ministries of the Ohio Conference, I am pleased to be able to introduce Tom Robertson as the candidate who has surfaced as the choice of the search committee.
Tom is currently Leadership Development Minister for Camping and Spiritual Formation for the United Methodist Church in Iowa. In that capacity he oversees three Methodist camping sites.
Read Conference Minister's complete introduction
2011 CAMP WORK DAYS
Pilgrim Hills - March 26 & September 24
Templed Hills - April 30 & October 1 Details
WISH LISTS
Want to give a gift to your favorite camp? Here are our wish lists! Templed Hills Pilgrim Hills
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 Get ready for
Camp Wonderland
2011 Camp Rally!
December 3-4, 2010
Templed Hills
This year's winter rally for Outdoor Ministries is scheduled for December 3-4 at Templed Hills. It's a couple of months earlier than previously, so the date has sneaked up on us. Click here for a bulletin insert that we encourage congregations to include in worship for the next couple of weeks. The rally, Camp Wonderland, is a free event so that people who have never experienced our Ohio Conference camps can see them decorated in holiday finery! An added bonus: we'll be introducing our new Executive Director for Outdoor Ministries, Tom Robertson. Please help us share our excitement about Outdoor Ministries by distributing this bulletin insert and registering right away for the 2011 Summer Camp Rally, Camp Wonderland.
Rev. Bob Molsberry, Ohio Conference Minister
Register today! Call 800-282-0740, Ext. 212.
Print Camp Wonderland color flyer (PDF) Camp Wonderland bulletin insert (PDF)
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Focus on our ministry partners
Your congregation, through the Ohio Conference, has 13 ministry partners that provide vital health and human services or quality higher education to folks in Ohio and beyond. Each of these partners, also known as benevolent institutions, has stories to tell about the people whose lives they have touched. We will share those stories with you each month in Connections for the next year or so.
We hope you'll enjoy these snapshots of United Church of Christ ministries. Our focus this month is on Uplands Retirement Village. The story comes from the CHHSM (Council for Health & Human Service Ministries) storybank. Read on below.
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Wharton Homes Dedicated at Uplands
A new skilled nursing facility, Wharton Homes, was recently dedicated at Uplands Retirement Village in Pleasant Hill, Tennessee.
The two Wharton Homes will house four neighborhoods of about 15 residents each. Each neighborhood has a central hearth room, kitchen and dining area as well as smaller seating areas for informal gatherings with family and friends.
Each home's design includes a garden, spa, beauty shop and laundry. Residents will choose a shared pet and will receive regular visits from nearby elementary school children and friends from the wider Uplands community. Complete story
For more information about Uplands, contact David Harsh, Uplands' Director of Development/Communications.
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2011 Annual Gathering
June 10 - 11 ˇ Heidelberg University, Tiffin, Ohio
Tony Robinson is an ordained UCC minister who has served four congregations. He is currently a speaker, teacher, preacher, consultant and coach. He is the author of nine books, the most recent of which is Changing the Conversation: A Third Way for Congregations
Save the dates! More details coming soon!
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 Spend a Day with God and Self
A day-long retreat offering an opportunity to re-connect to the Holy At Pilgrim Hills' Prettyman Center
For educators, clergy and laity-offering an opportunity for individual and group spiritual guidance
2011 Dates
March 19
May 3
September 10
November 1
9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ˇ $30
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Join your colleagues at the. . .
Ohio Ministries Convocation
January 24-25, 2011
Columbus Marriott North
Faith and Race: New Opportunities
Sponsored by the Ohio Council of Churches in partnership with the Kirwan Institute, the Columbus Community Relations Commission, and Everyday Democracy.
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Healthy ConnectionsWhat innovative health programs or projects is your church involved in?
Submit an entry for Spring edition of the 2011 Resource Guide of innovative UCC church ministries related to health and human services. Deadline: December 15, 2010. More information and online form.
Questions? Ferne Clements: email or (216) 736-3725.
Questions about health care reform? Barbara Baylor, Minister for Health Care Justice, United Church of Christ, is available to lead an educational session on health care reform. Contact Barbara Baylor: email or 216-736-3708
www.ucc.org/justice/health
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New Church Builder Bonus
Rewards Investors
On November 16, 2010 the Cornerstone Fund will release a new investment product developed to help UCC churches and organizations raise money for their general fund or for a capital campaign.
Cornerstone Fund investors have always enjoyed earning good rates - and now they can earn a bonus of 1.5% with the new Church Builder Bonus program.
Invest a minimum of $10,000 in a 5-year investment, designate a "give-back" gift of at least 10% to any UCC ministry or organization, and enjoy the bonus for the entire 5-year investment term. Read more about it.
www.cornerstonefund.org
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Short Subjects
OHIO CONFERENCE DISASTER RESPONSE CLEANUP KITS NEEDED. After recent deliveries to flooded areas in the Midwest, our inventory of cleanup kits is low. This is a great project for Sunday School classes, youth groups, annual meeting service project, men's & women's groups. Click here for complete instructions and ingredients for cleanup kits. NOTE: Personal care kits are not needed at this time.VERIZON WIRELESS DISCOUNT for UCC STAFF! A corporate discount is available for UCC staff members! If you have a Verizon phone in your name and are a national, conference, association or local church staff member, you may take advantage of a 12% discount immediately! Use the link below to register existing accounts, activate new service, or upgrade existing equipment with a 12% discount. To register for the discount, go to the site below, enter your zip code, scroll to the bottom of the page - select enroll, and then register your information. Go to:
SEEKING LEADERS with a passion for justice! UCC Justice & Witness Ministries seeking Regional Trainers to work with local church leaders to strengthen justice ministries. More
YOUTH - Calendar of repeating wider church events for youth and young adults. Include these events in your annual youth program planning. PARISH PAPER - Ideas and Insights for Active Congregations. November and December 2010 issues now available. November - What Are the Big-Picture Trends in Congregations?
December - Fifty Years Later: What Has Changed?
Our Conference Minister welcomes invitations to preach or visit local church gatherings. Contact Bob Molsberry by email or phone (800-282-0740, Ext. 203) to schedule a date.
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Conference Minister's Corner
Rev. Bob Molsberry
Change Is As Unrelenting As It Is Unsettling
I preach a message of change and transformation across the Conference. That's about all I do. My stock sermon is variations on the theme of transition and renewal. I don't apologize for this monotone message. I tell people, "When everyone 'gets' this message, I'll prepare a new one."
Change is a two-part process. The first stage is letting go of the old or current reality. The second stage is embracing the new. People have a hard time letting go. I know that we have to grieve the past in order to move into the future. But I'm relentless. Let it go. We need to move on.
But change has come into my own situation recently, and now that it's personal, I'm finding it not so easy.
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Grief and the Holidays Seminar. Amherst Cong. UCC, free event, call to register:440-988-9148
More
Simplicity with Substance
Subscribing churches give an enthusiastic endorsement to 'FAITH PRACTICES' online resources, designed to revolutionize the way congregations equip their members to talk about faith.
More
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Camp Wonderland, 2011 Camp Rally. December 3-4, Templed Hills
Ohio Ministries Convocation, January 24-25, 2011, Columbus Marriott North It's Your Turn! Youth Leaders Lock-In, January 28-29, 2011, St. John's UCC, Dover Spring Lantern Women's Retreat, April 8 - 10, Pilgrim Hills General Synod, July 1-5, 2011, Tampa, Florida |
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