Southeast Asia Ministry: Living Waters for the World in Laos

   This November brings the third LWW installation in the communist nation of Laos during the past three years. This speaks volumes for how quickly Christianity is spreading throughout the modern world. It also acknowledges the dedication and hard work of UPC's Lao Partners to build collaborative relationships within the Lao Evangelical Church. None of this would be possible without the prayerful, financial, and moral support of the UPC congregation, its Session and pastors. This is a wonderful tribute to fulfilling the need for clean water and spreading the message of Jesus Christ.
          Ba Na Sang Pai will become the first non-urban LWW installation in Laos. The Luang Prabang Teachers College and Nasai Church installations are located in urban areas where hardware/supplies were readily available during the installation process when needed. Ba Na Sang Pai is more of a rural community where hardware/supplies will be less available combined with some unknown challenges.

         Ba Na Sang Pai is being perceived as a model for future LWW installations in rural  areas of Laos. The Ba Na Sang Pai installation is scheduled  for Nov. 7-11.
           The November 2011 UPC travel team members are John and Lorna Bosavanh, Chanthay Phothivongsay, John Gable and Cordie Qualle. Perspective new member DonnaLee Zimmerman is part of the team, also.

      Pastor Khampheng and two other LWW-trained LEC leaders will be actively involved with the installation. Please pray for the success of this mission!   

Music and Worship: Ringers still needed! 

       Choir members are friendly and sociable and will train you. We rehearse Thursday  at 6:30 p.m. and participate in worship about once a month, usually at the 8:30 a.m. service.  Come join us!  For more information, call David Knudson, 438-8820 (home) or 285-3373 (cell - any time) -- or speak to any member of the bell choir.  Join us and make a joyful noise this Advent and Christmas season!

Adult Ministries: Learning and growing together     

 In November we'll offer two educational opportunities.

 --- Point to the Power of Genesis: Walt Blore continues this in-depth Bible study of the book of Genesis.

 -- The Reason for God: We will complete this unscripted study led, via video, by pastor and author Timothy Keller. It's been a very stimulating experience as we observe a group of six people with serious doubts and objections to Christianity. We've been following up THEIR discussion with OURS as we respond to the group's challenging observations. This month we'll grapple with:

        Nov. 6: Why Is the Church Responsible for So Much Injustice?

                     Why Are Christians Such Hypocrites?

        Nov. 13: How Can God Be Full of Love and Wrath at the

                      Same Time?

                      How Can God Send Good People to Hell?

        Nov. 20: Follow-up discussions on issues raised.

  We'll end the month -- and the church year -- with "Hallelujah: The Bible and Handel's 'Messiah.' "  On Christ the King Sunday, Nov. 27, we prepare to begin Advent and a four-week study exploring the scriptural texts of Handel's "Messiah."  

Missions: Plug into our neighborhood ministry

UPC's after-school computer lab is overflowing with excited students, and we need more laptops!!  If you have a PC laptop with Windows 98, XP, or a later version that you can donate, please contact Sareta Deal, 224-6458, raisinreta@earthlink.net.  

Youth Ministries: A harvest of cider and fun   

Apple-picking was a huge success as four carloads of youth headed up the mountain to collect apples. In the first round of picking, we succeeded in filling an entire bathtub with apples: large, sweet green apples, small, sour red ones, and a delicious, beautiful red variety. It was not long before this tub of apples turned into gallons of juice, thanks to a lot of hard work at the apple press. We had yet to fill up our containers, though, so we returned to the trees to harvest ANOTHER

tub and a half! In the end we filled every one of our containers and headed to the kitchen to pasteurize it. By the time we headed down the mountain, everyone was exhausted but incredibly excited about having fresh cider to enjoy.

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Thankfulness and Worship

November will be a month of thanksgiving and worship for the youth group. On Nov. 19, we're going to the Christian Winter Jam concert at the Save Mart Center. The doors open at 5 p.m. and tickets are $10. With bands such as Newsboys, Kutless, Matthew West, RED, Newsong, Fireflight, and KJ-52, this will be a night to get ready for! Also, look forward to a thankful feast in November involving good food and a mystery menu.

       For more information about events happening in November, feel free to contact Stephanie Wright at Stephanie@upcfresno.org.

The kids in our Children's Ministries will bring the light of Christ, the true gift of Christmas, to children around the world again this year, Nov. 14-21,  through Operation Christmas Child.  Once again, you can take part by filling a Christmas shoe box for a needy child, but this year, in addition to the gift-filled box, when culturally appropriate, we will offer children "The Greatest Gift of All," an illustrated Bible storybook in the local language. When possible, children can further explore a faith in Jesus Christ through a voluntary Bible study program.

 But the main donation  will be our shoe boxes.  

    To participate by giving your own shoe box, you simply:

-- Find a NORMAL-sized shoe box for giving.

-- Choose the age and gender the box will be packed for. Age groups are: 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14

-- Pick up a pre-formatted mailing label at the Children's Ministries table between Sunday worship services. 

    Help us reach as many children as we can this Christmas.  

For more information,  email Aimee Dillon at  

Session Summary - Cindy Correia, Clerk of Session

The UPC Session met on Tuesday, Oct. 11. Here's a brief summary of the meeting and the actions taken:

1. The Session met with new member candidates and welcomed the following into membership at UPC: David Albright, David Foster, Dave and Chris Gromis, Trish Orr, Barbara Schlueter, Dorian Sherman, and Dorothy Wood.

2. The Session adopted a 2012 line item budget totaling $732,174. Additions to the budget included: (1) new air conditioning for the sanctuary, as the current unit is 40 years old and undersized for the remodeled sanctuary configuration; (2) increased health insurance costs for lay employees and the cost of matching their retirement contributions; (3) web page development; (4) upgrade and replace microphones for use in worship; and (5) costs associated with staffing both the traditional and contemporary worship services.

3. The Ministry of Evangelism will be selling UPC-themed polo shirts and hats at cost to the congregation, while Youth Ministries will be holding a car wash on Nov. 4 to raise funds for their mission trip in 2012.

4. New member Chris Gromis was approved as an additional team member of the Ministry of Worship and Music for 2011.

5. The church will now be charging a "Facility Host Fee" of $50 for those events that require someone to be on the church campus during their event.

6. There will be a single worship service on Sunday, Dec. 25, from 11:15 a.m. to noon (a simple service of carols, prayers, and an inspirational message, advertised as "A good way to give a spiritual focus to your Christmas Day activities; Come, let's pray together at midday on Christmas Day!");and on Sunday, Jan. 1 (a single, combined unity service at 11 a.m., inclusive of classic, contemporary, and Lao elements).

7. The prayer doves in the Sanctuary will be repositioned, around Oct. 30, and reinstalled in the Narthex in an artful display created by Susan Quinn, Tom Gravette and Cyndee Gravette. There will be no burning of the doves and no service of committal since the doves are not being moved to this position indefinitely. This will make room in the chancel for new artistic expressions of sacred art.

8. The Session agreed that some "tailgating" could take place at UPC on a limited basis on the north side of the paved parking lot before the Fresno State football games. However, the primary goal remains parking cars for each game, so that we can raise funds for the church's programs. Tailgaters will be expected to clean up when they are done, and will be reminded that no alcohol is to be consumed on the church campus.

"Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food."

                                                                           -- James 2:15