Angel Wings ~ Online Newsletter

Angel Wings

MCC Omaha OnLine Newsletter

September 4 2008

"On the wings of angels come glad tidings and great news". . . . . so what better way to bring you the glad tidings and great news from within MCC Omaha???

Financial Update - August 2008

During the month of August, offerings totaled $7,522.76 and expenses totaled $10,371.25. (Our 2008 budgeted monthly expenses average $10,171).

In addition to the offerings, the church raised $1,465.53 with fundraising activities (not including accessibility).

In August, General Fund expenses exceeded income by $1,382.96.

Separately, the Accessibility Fund is currently at $27,845.38 with $3,809.91 in donations during the month of August.

With regards to our Expressions of Generosity pledges, since October 2007 we have received 26 pledges totaling $ 5262 a month toward the 2008 Budget. Many thanks to each of you who have said "Yes!" to God in supporting your church!

As of August 30, 2008, our 2008 fiscal year deficit was approximately $ -26,389.60.

Construction Begins at MCC!

It's finally gonna happen!!

Construction will begin on Monday, September 8 in the front of the Church for the cement deck and accessible ramp!!!

Because of this construction, the front doors/entrance of the church will be unusable for the entire week (September 8-14).

The only entrance for the church building will be the SE Social Hall door near the alley. If you are planning to attend any meeting, or events at MCC Omaha next week, please call ahead during business hours to make sure the door is unlocked. There is very limited parking (2 spots) behind the church near the SE Door.

Along with this, the fundraising board in the front lobby of the church is now showing over $15,500 toward the $15,750 needed for the Deck & Ramp construction! Just a little bit more and we will go over the top with this phase of the Accessibility Project!

Plans are being finalized for construction to being yet this month on the accessible restroom and multi purpose room on the Sanctuary level of the church!

Also, the first order of Accessibility Bricks arrived last week and are display behind the alter in the Sanctuary. These bricks represent over $10,000 in donations to the project by individuals and organizations all over Nebraska and the United States!

Phase by phase, our Accessibility Project is finally being completed after all these years of fundraising and planning!

Cruise a Success!

CRUISE RAISES $6,500

A record crowd of 268 and tremendous community and sponsor support made the 3rd Annual MCC River Boat Cruise a booming success!

Once all the income and expenses are finalized, we anticipate raising $6,500 for the Accessibility Fund.

The River Boat team wants to thank all those who baked, those who helped with veggies, those who attended the cruise and brought their friends, those who performed, those who helped staff the event, and those who sponsored. Each of you played an important role in making the cruise a huge success!

The 2008 Cruise was made possible with donations from our generous sponsors:

The Keystone Group
Dr. PJ Malin
Diamond Foundation of Nebraska
Tony Harris
Brenner-Beckstead Ministries
Carla Petersen & Sharon Van Butsel
Rainbow Outreach Resource GLBT Center
Monty McClean
Imperial Court of Nebraska
DC's Saloon
Jim Gau
Bill Ideker
Royal Bush & Jonathan Carleton
Heartland Gay Rodeo (HGRA)
Hampton Inn
Homewood Suites
JoAnn Palmer
PFLAG-Omaha
Annicia @ shadesabovetherest.com
Kevin Marik

THANKS TO ALL for making our 3rd Cruise a huge success! We'll see you all next year!

Riverboat Wrap-Up Meeting

A wrap up meeting for the 2008 Riverboat Cruise will be held this Sunday, September 14 following the 11 am Worship Service.

Everyone who worked on the cruise in any capacity are encouraged to come and offer input on what worked and what didn't! All suggestions will be used to make the 2009 Cruise a bigger success!

Plug-In & ReCharge

As a compliment to the popular ReCharge service on Wednesday evening, there will be a new Bible Study that will allow participants to "Plug-In" to the word of God and discuss the scripture that will be used as the theme for the ReCharge Service to follow.

"Plug-In" Bible Studies will be held at 6:06 pm for six consecutive Wednesday Evenings beginning September 10 and lasting through October 15. After a two week break, another Plug-In Bible Study will begin on November 4 and run through December 16, taking off the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

This study will be just 40 minutes long, ending promptly at 7:46 so participants will have time to join in the silent meditation that precedes the ReCharge Service.

The texts for the first Plug-In Bible Study are from the Sermon on the Mount. All texts come from a contemporary English translation such as The Message.

September 10 - - Matthew 5:3 - 10
September 17 - - Matthew 5:38 - 48
September 24 - - Matthew 6:5 - 15
October 1 - - - - Mathew 6:19 - 34
October 8 - - - - Matthew 7:1 - 12
October 15 - - - Matthew 7:14 - 27

Do You Like Spaghetti???

Volunteers are needed for the upcoming spaghetti dinner fundraiser at MCC Omaha.

If anyone has the passion to help plan the dinner, which is scheduled for September 20, now is the time to get excited and involved! The next team planning meeting will be this Thursday, September 8 at 6:30 pm in the Social Hall.

This will be a great fundraiser for Accessibility and our General Fund which covers the day-to-day expenses of our church. Volunteers are needed to help planning in the following areas:

advertising
ticket sales
food preparation
sponsorships
set-up/tear down
entertainment

If you would like to get involved with a church project, this is a great one! You will have fun and probably meet some new MCC people in the process. If you can't make the meeting, but would still like to be involved on the planning team, please email Monty McClean, Tony Harris or Kevin Marik by clicking on their names to send them an email.

Rose of Dedication

This week's

Rose of Dedication is

In celebration of
David Etmund & Scott Bryant
as they celebrate their Renewal of Vows and Commitment Ceremony!!

If you have something or someone important that you wish to honor, celebrate or remember, you can sponsor a Rose of Dedication by getting a $20 donation and your dedication to the Church Office a week or more in advance. But get your dedications in early, as there will be a limit of no more than 2 roses per Sunday.

MCC Book Sale

MCC Omaha will be having a book sale - in the middle of September.

If you have gently used books - that you have read and no longer need, then consider donating them to the church for the sale. There is a tub in the hallway outside the social hall for you to leave your books in.

The sale will be on Friday, September 12 from 10am-4pm and Saturday, September 13 from 9am-4pm in the Church Social Hall. If you are available those days during those times, there is still a need for volunteers to work the book sale bagging and selling popcorn, nachos and chips.

If you have any questions or would like to help, please call Connie Dohse-Ross at 391-2292 or via email!

Love, Appreciation & Trust

As a community of faith committed to living, proclaiming, teaching, and celebrating Christ's all-inclusive love, we are called by God to

INVITE Others To Share in the Journey

Some of the ways we show this are by.....

Welcoming and greeting others wherever we are
Getting to know our church family one-on-one
Making a place within ministries for others to be involved
Affirming each individuals's value
Helping others find a place
Developing healthy relationship
And.....in many other ways

Coming October 5 at 10 am will be a Brunch & Learn where all six components of LAT are reviewed and then on October 19 at 12:30 pm a Lunch & Learn covering the same information.

All of this is in preparation for the November 9 Congregational Meeting, where the Deacons will pass on their work on LAT to a congregational task force, who will move us further down the road to creating a culture of Love, Appreciation, & Trust at MCC-Omaha.

We invite all congregants to be in prayer now asking for guidance in who will make up the congregational task force. For now the deacons encourage all MCCers to INVITE OTHERS TO SHARE IN THE JOURNEY!

Win a NEW Laptop!!!

MCC Omaha member Ray Page is selling raffle tickets for a chance to win a brand new laptop!

Actual Laptop is pictured! --------->

Tickets are only $1 each, and the drawing will be on September 20 - at the Fall Spaghetti Dinner - but you do not need to be present to win!

The Dell laptop has a 15.4 inch monitor, 3 GB memory, 160 GB hard drive, wireless internet capacity, 3 USB ports and lots of other great functions! There will also be great 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th place prizes given away!

All proceeds from the raffle will benefit the MCC Omaha Accessibility Fund to help make the church fully accessible to all persons in our community! You can purchase raffle tickets online.

Community Meals Ministry Needs You!

As part of the Park Ave. Faith Community, which MCC Omaha belongs to, every 3-4 months, MCC will prepare a Community Meal for about 125 people that will be served on a Saturday from 11- 1 at First Baptist Church on Park Ave.

MCC Omaha will be in charge of providing the food; preparing it; serving it and we doing the clean up afterwards. To do this, we will need a team of about 10 people every 3-4 months.

Working with us will be another team of about 10 people who will come from all the various groups who make up the Park Ave. Faith Community. They will do the indoor and outdoor monitoring of the people who come to enjoy the meals.

A lunch will be served EVERY Saturday - - but the groups will each take their turn providing the meal. This activity is being done by the same group who put together the BLOCK PARTY in Hanscom Park three Sundays ago.

Training will be required for all workers. One training session has already been set! It is scheduled for Saturday, September 6, at First Baptist Church, from 11am - 1pm. There will be more training sessions set later. The first of the Saturday meals begins September 13. MCC's volunteers are, of course, invited to come and join the other volunteers for this first Saturday to see how it works.

MCC's first meal will be Saturday, October 18. If you are interested in helping out with this first meal, please contact Carla Petersen at 556.9907 or via email.

Volunteers are also needed to help weekly with the meals. If helping feed the hungry in Omaha is your passion, please contact Kevin Marik, Minister of Community Service at 658.8494 or via email.

MCC Celebration's Corner!

Join us in wishing

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to:

Cassandra Burgdorf (9-4)
Kevin Marik (9-4)
Elizabeth Oliver (9-9)
Breanna Fosmire (9-13)
Chuck Wooley (9-18)
Fr. Rich Maciejewski (9-18)
Susan Knutzen (9-18)
Mildred Bush (9-20)

Nick Belt (9-21)

Gary Winingham (9-25)

Kim Findlay (9-30)

Ryan McDonald (10-1)

Congratulations to the following couples celebrating their
ANNIVERSARY:

Joe Price & Mark Pedersen (9-1)
David "Salza" Scott & Rick Carey (9-1)

Ray Page & Linda Birdsley (10-2)

If you are an Active Member, or a regular attender of MCC Omaha, we would like to be able to recognize you on your birthday and also during your birthday week. In order for this to happen, MCC Omaha is asking for your birth day and month.

If each person would take a moment to respond via email to the church office or by phone at 402.345.2563, we will add you to the birthday list! We would like to be able to recognize you on your important day.....you don't have to provide the year - just the month and day!

Mid week got you down?

Do you need a ReCharge to finish the week?

Need a spiritual boost?

Spend 30 minutes during the week at MCC Omaha in worship!

Take time to ReCharge on Wednesdays at MCC Omaha 7 pm!

ReCharge is a short 25 minute service that will get you back on track each week. This quiet candlelight worship is largely in the Taize style of meditative worship.

Together we will experience the beauty of dozens of candles, gentle meditative singing, and the regenerative power of silence.

Join us for the weekly candlelight meditative ReCharge Worship service.

Worship with MCC every Sunday!

We invite you to join us for one of our services which best suits your schedule. All services are held at 819 S. 22nd Street in Omaha.

Sunday Worship Celebration 9:00 A.M.
Fellowship 10 A.M.
Sunday Worship Celebration 11:00 A.M.
Children's Sunday School after the Children's Time during Worship Celebration

**Remember, we now have 2 Worship Services
9 AM and 11 AM

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