One huge step forward for younger families

                                                                  by Pastor Chris Neufeld-Erdman  

UPC's elders recently commissioned a study team we're calling The New Era Evaluation and Development (NEED) Team. Our beloved associate pastor, Tedd Lyons, will retire next spring, and so it's the right time for us to evaluate not only what we'll need from our new associate pastor, but also to let that need shape a more comprehensive and vision-based staffing plan that stimulates the long-term health and growth of UPC's mission and ministry. The NEED Team will perform a rigorous evaluation of past, present, and future goals for our life together and recommend staff roles and competencies needed to move us into God's future. 

      The team is made up of Julie Buchanan, Terry Lawrence, Ann Morgan, Jenny Jonas and Colin Warnes. I'm facilitating the team, and it's resourced by elder Melissa Manion, moderator of our Ministry of Human Resources. 

      The team's work will pave the way for the work of the Associate Pastor Nominating Committee (APNC), which will be elected in January 2013. The team's study will form the basis for the Church Information Form (CIF), which the APNC will use to recruit and hire our next associate pastor in 2013. It's a great privilege for us to have ample time for a good study and to develop the resources the APNC will use for its work. The NEED Team met weekly through the month of June, then will meet twice a month for a few months until the fall, when its work begins to taper off. The team plans to present its recommendations to our board of elders (the Session) by late fall so the CIF is ready for the APNC to begin its search in the winter of 2013. 

     Please pray for the work of the NEED Team and for the formation of the APNC at the end of the year. And show your appreciation to Pastor Tedd, but don't grieve; he's not going anywhere. He'll retire as our pastor emeritus and will continue to offer his pastoral skills as a pastor of visitation for as many years into the future as he wishes to allow us to enjoy his loving, pastor's heart. 

July will be a special month through our summer of integrated worship services! The Worship Committee's desire is to provide worship for all congregants, and during this month of integrated worship, there will be two special services; one will be completely traditional worship; the other will feature contemporary. Pastor Chris will guide us through each service, introducing and explaining the worship elements in each of these special services. You will be truly blessed as you learn, grow and worship with your church family.
     Our congregation is full of wonderful and talented people. The only problem is I'm not always aware of the immense talent! If you are an instrumentalist, dancer/gymnast, vocalist, or an artist of any sort, and you'd like to be involved in worship, please contact me at elisha@upcfresno.org. We can feature your talents during the Prelude as people enter the sanctuary to meditate on the Lord, or during the middle of worship such as the Offertory or a Meditation on the Word. God has given us each a specific gift, and it's a wonderful thing when we choose to give those gifts back for God's glory!

In worship this summer, we look forward to:
July 1:  All Traditional Service, featuring Cactus Harris, UPC organist
July 8:  Worshipful piano music, by Hailey Groves with percussionist Aaron Grisez
July 15:  Ruth Kallenberg's daughter, Jennifer Nagel, singing special music
July 22:  A brief presentation of the Vacation Bible School program: "Sky: Everything is Possible With God!"
July 29: All contemporary service  

The UPC Session met on Tuesday, June 12, 2012. Here is a summary of the meeting and the actions taken:

1. The elders were pleased to share supper with our new office manager, Kerry Neal, and to get to know her better.

2. The Session will meet with additional new members at a called meeting on Sunday, June 24, 2012, between services.

3. The Session approved the following members of the New Era Evaluation and Development (NEED) Team, which Session authorized Pastor Chris Neufeld-Erdman to recruit: Julie Buchanan, Jenny Jonas, Terry Lawrence, Ann Morgan, and Colin Warnes. They will be assessing the needs of UPC as we prepare for the upcoming retirement of Pastor Tedd Lyons and the formation of a Pastor Nominating Committee.    

4. The following fundraisers were approved:

  -- The publishing of a nursery "wish list" to solicit donations from the congregation for items such as a portable play structure, a sand table, a mini-fridge, etc.

  --The placement of a basket at the Vacation Bible School registration table for any parents who would like to make financial donations to help defray the costs of the week.

  -- To support the November 2012 mission trip to Laos: sending a letter to the UPC congregation explaining the mission (including a budget), and requesting gifts of support; holding a Water Festival at UPC after worship on Sunday, Aug.  26.

5. The Session approved the creation of a director of Children's and Youth Ministries position for 35 hours per week. Longtime UPC member Margie Nunez was hired for this position, effective June 13, 2012. The Children's Ministry Coordinator position vacated by Aimee Dillon (and temporarily filled by Margie Nunez) will not be filled.

6. At the recommendation of the Board of Property and Finance, the Session approved a UPC Special Reserve Fund Policy to replace the UPC General Endowment Fund Policy, and also approved dissolving the Endowment Committee and Investment Panel. These functions will now be assumed by the Board of Property and Finance. The former Endowment Fund, originally started in 2006 after the receipt of a bequest from the late Frances McConnell, did not serve as a real endowment fund; therefore, the terminology was confusing. The funds in the Special Reserve Fund will continue to be available to meet our ministry and mission needs as they have done for the last six years.  

Xhiangkhoang...an exotic name with many spellings and pronunciations. Xhiangkhoang is in the beautiful, mountainous north-central part of Laos, near the fascinating Plane of Jars. This remarkable region had the misfortune of being in the flight path of American planes targeting North Vietnamese troops during the Vietnam war, thus being the center of the heaviest bombing of any country in the world (by population). To this day, unexploded ordnance from that war take a toll in killed and injured citizens. This area is home to many ethnic Hmong, and many supported the U.S. during the war.

      UPC Lao Partners teams have visited Xhiangkhoang several times with our friends in the Lao Evangelical Church. In 2003, our team had to sneak away from their government escorts down a small, dusty path to find a struggling Christian church led by a dedicated pastor and his faithful community of believers. On the most recent visit, our team was met openly by the leaders of this now vibrant and growing Christian church, along with local government officials as we negotiated an agreement with the Khangkhay Teacher Training College to build a Living Waters for the World water purification system on the campus.

      Team members will work on this project on our next trip in November. This project will help to build a trust relationship between the local officials and the Lao Evangelical church as they share the love of Jesus Christ with the people of Xhiangkhoang.

     Please pray for our team as they train and prepare for our trip in November.

Mission trip to Guatemala:  Thank you so much to everyone for all of your prayers and support for our Guatemala team. We raised double our goal of 40 for wheelchairs. Because of you, 80 individuals will receive the gift of mobility.

     As I am writing this, our team is just finishing preparing and packing to leave, and I cannot even begin to describe how excited we are. While we are in Guatemala, we will be writing about our experiences and posting pictures to our blog. If you have not already checked it out, you still can at upcguatemala.blogspot.com.

Youth Group @ SkyWalk: Join us for two hours of fun at SkyWalk on July 3, from 6:15-8:30 p.m. Enjoy dozens of trampolines, an enormous foam pit, and a dodge ball cage. The cost is $15. We will meet at SkyWalk (10432 Hwy 41, Fresno, CA 93720). Click here to fill out the mandatory waiver that must be submitted for kids to be able to go, log onto http://skywalk.us/waiver/. 

    Please RSVP to Stephanie at stephanie@ucpfresno.org, or call (209) 345-1137.

Upcoming Events

July 3:  SkyWalk, 6:15-8:30 p.m., $15

July 6-14:  Junior High Camp

July 11:  Receipt War, 6:30-8:30 p.m. 

July 15-19:  Vacation Bible School

July 22:  Pool Party, 6:30-8 p.m. 

July 22-28:  High School Camp

August 1:  Laser Quest, $20

August 5:  Water Day, $5 per family   

For the month of July, except for a special treat on July 8, we will be continuing the series "That the World May Know" with tour guide, ordained pastor and historian Ray Vander Laan. Filmed in Israel and Turkey where Bible events took place, Vander Laan weaves together historical, cultural, and geographical contexts to reveal keen insights into how people in biblical times understood God and Jesus' teaching.

  The series will take us on these new journeys:   

 July 1:  "When Storms Come"  When modern-day people read about Jesus and his ministry around the Sea of Galilee, they often assume the disciples and other ancient Palestinians had the same sense of the sea that we have. But the significance of the sea was actually quite different for the ancient peoples from what it is for us today. To some, the sea could be a source of fear, chaos, and evil.

 July 8:  Jeff and Christi Boyd, our own local missionaries, will be with us to interpret their work in West Africa with Presbyterian World Mission through the lens of their experiences.

 July 15:  "Piercing the Darkness"  This lesson highlights Jesus' reactions to manifestations of evil. In reacting to the culture, Jesus chose to sail across the Sea of Galilee to the modern and pagan city of Decapolis to confront this area, which was under the darkness of sin.

 July 22:  "Gates of Hell"  We will study the history and geography of Caesarea Philippi and the religious practices there in Jesus' time. This will include the fertility cults of Canaan, Baal and idol worship, and the effects of pagan worship on God's people.

 The summer should continue to be a stimulating spiritual journey! 

Our directories will be here by mid-July! We expect to distribute them after worship services as well as having them available in the church office for you to pick up. Everyone who had their picture taken will receive a directory, and there will be extra available for new members and others in our church family.

    If you have questions, contact Ruth Kallenberg, 431-7681. 

S.T.A.R.S. (Seniors That Are Really Special) will meet at special time in July for a light picnic lunch and program. Please let us know if you are coming so that our hostess, Andrea Smith, may prepare accordingly. Come Wednesday, July 11, at 12:30 p.m. to celebrate summer. Contact the office at 439-8807, for reservations before July 6.

Bi-yearly contribution statements will be available for pickup in the Narthex (outside the sanctuary) beginning Sunday, July 8. If you want to receive them via email and have not already requested that option, please email Debby Quintero, or call her at the church office, 439-8807.   

From Margie Nunez, UPC Children's and Youth Director:

      Hugs and thanks go out to each and every one of you who gave so generously so our neighborhood students can attend Calvin Crest Camp this summer. The goal has been reached! You gave so others can know Christ more deeply. You've touched more than just our children's hearts. THANK YOU!!

From John and Ta Gabel:

 Dear UPC family,
     A huge thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate our wedding last month. It was the perfect expression of God's family working and playing together, and showing God's love. We are grateful to each one of you for your generosity of time and talents, and to our God for placing us in such a loving church family. What a blessing you all are!
  With love,
  John and Ta Gabel  

* remember to submit YOUR picks for the 'Thank you' Corner.  Email Sarah Nettels  (and copy Kerry Neal.) If you don't have email, leave your submission in the "newsletter" mailbox in the UPC office!