No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome at Zion!  Sunday Worship 10:00am 51 W. Central Ave Delaware
Immediate Prayer Concerns 
Matt Fields
Sandy Nichols
Kay Lundy Ellen Richardson Teri Granier Happy Birthday! 
Nancy Townley September 5 Blessing of the Animals 
Sunday, October 7th during worship 
Lantern Fellowship September 21 - 23 
Pilgrim Hills Camp ocucc.org 
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This Week at Zion
Join us for worship this Communion Sunday as
Pastor Pete brings us the message
"Majoring in the Minors". Plan to be with us!
Thank you for serving Zion this Sunday:
Liturgist: Terry Williams
Ushers/Greeters: Chad Allen & Jason Abahazi
Acolyte: Elizabeth Abahazi
Fellowship: Bob & Betsy Johnson
Nursery Care: Melissa Peterson
Altar Flowers: Jerry & Ann Elliot
Communion Prep: Johnnie Hoopes
Office Hours
The week of September 3, Carrie will be in the church office on Tues., Wed., & Thurs. from 10:00am-2:00pm.
Mark Your
Calendars! 
Wednesday, September 5:
Voices of Zion 6pm-7pm
Sunday, September 9:
Sunday school resumes
Bell Choir 11:30am
Monday, September 10:
Church Council 7pm
Friday, September 28:
Catacombs: A Night of Worshipping Jesus 7:30pm
Sunday, October 7:
Blessing of the Animals worship service
Sunday, October 14:
Zion's 175th Anniversary Celebration!
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From the Pastor's Desk
 Tradition
We are familiar with the story of Tevye and his daughters in the popular production of Fiddler on the Roof. Tevye is painfully aware that forces and factors in his world are pulling his family further and further away from traditional Jewish practices and traditions. It is a great struggle for Tevye to keep his family together in the face of such changes.
Holding on to practices and customs just for the sake of tradition may come at a cost as Tevye becomes painfully aware. Jesus tells us as much in this week's focus text. In Mark's Gospel (7th chapter) we read of Jesus confronting the Pharisees for being so bound up in rules and tied to tradition that "their hearts are far from me". He quotes Isaiah further when he says "they worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules". This is a pretty strong statement but, of course, we would expect Jesus not to mince his words.
Stated another way, Jesus is accusing the Pharisees of not being able to see the "forest for the trees" or, in another sense, they are Majoring in the Minors (this week's message title). Do we miss the point when we are tied to traditional means of worship and traditional ways of searching for how God's Spirit is calling and directing us that we miss the point. This is, unfortunately, entirely possible.
So, in this week's message I hope we can thoughtfully reflect on where some of these examples are found in our lives today. Where are we acting liking like Pharisees? I do not profess to have any profound answers to offer but, as you know, I sure like us to ask the question! Perhaps just taking time to ask the question is the first step back to listening with our hearts for God's call to us.
In Christ,
Pastor Pete
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Note from Camp
(Sarah attended camp in July, but the postcard just arrived this week from Outdoor Ministries.)
Dear Zion,
Thank you all who supported the trip fund for this camp. I had a lot of fun rafting, swimming and dancing on a catwalk under a bridge 650ft in the air. It was very kind of you to pay that much to let me come to this camp.
Sincerely, Sarah
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Local Mission Offering
In August, $690 was given to Local Missions. Your donations will provide local families with emergency relief for food, medicine, rent, gasoline and other emergency requests as they come to our attention. Thank you for your generosity!
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Catacombs:
A Night of Worshipping Jesus
Friday, September 28th
7:30pm at Zion
This night is open to anyone from any church! We're coming together to worship God through songs, prayer and fellowship. Please spread the word!
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Musical Gifts?
Come and share your musical gifts with the Voices of Zion or Zion's handbell choir. With the advent of fall, both groups are looking for new members who are interested in not only sharing their musical gifts but who want to share in the fellowship that comes with praising God through music. Our first rehearsals of the season are listed here in this week's Zmail.
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