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Our Common Life
--Words from the Conference Staff
During the West Central Regional Youth Event, we took a lot
of video footage of
our activities. In particular, we took a lot of shots of our Iowa Conference UCC group time and the
closing worship service we led.
I knew I had some interesting things when I shot the footage, but it wasn't
until I edited the small clips into a larger movie did I see some important
themes emerge. During our conference group time, we got to know each other and
discussed what we saw as challenges in the church. After taking a vote, the
issue that was most important was the dwindling numbers of young people in
church. Not a big surprise. Our discussion also named some of the underlying
problems -- that anyone who brings forth new ideas are not taken seriously and
are often dismissed.
We also spent some time "asset-mapping,"an exercise created by Luther Snow, to help groups identify their resources and
create their own projects with what they already have. Our groups
created some wonderful things -- all of them included opportunities to serve,
develop faith and create places for adults and young people to work together.
They infused humor and an incredible spirit of openness. In the end, we could
only pick one of the projects and the group chose to do a mission trip to a
Native American reservation in South
Dakota. The presentation of that idea is last in our video.
After experiencing these five days with the young people and adult leaders from
10 Iowa Conference Churches, I wondered what the church would look like if this
energy was more prominently infused into the church as a whole. What if that
spirit of openness and passion to serve really drove our churches? I'm not
exactly sure, but I'd really like to find out.
So, please let me know if you want to be part of this next venture, in
particular the planning and leading of this mission trip that these RYE attenders dreamed. Or
maybe you just want to do some dreaming. Let me know.
Rev. Nicole Havelka
Associate Conference Minister for Youth and Young Adult
Ministries
Iowa Conference UCC
My Blog includes
day by day updates from RYE,
check them out!
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Cards appreciated
Virginia Stiles, one of our authorized ministers, is at the Madrid care center after back surgery. She is using a walker to get around. Cards of support and encouragement can be sent to her at 613 West North Street - Madrid, Iowa 50156-1059.
Barb Koenig, another of our pastors, is at
Creston Nursing and Rehab Center, 1001 Cottonwood Drive, Creston, IA 50801 recovering from gall bladder surgery.
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Conference staff transitions
The conference office is going through some staff
transitions.
Judy Peterson, assistant to the conference minister, is
leaving in order to train as an American Sign Language interpreter.
Julia Rendon, editor of the Communiqué and the UCC
Reporter and website manager, has an opportunity to teach part-time, and so
is also leaving the conference office.
Lee Hood, Support Staff for
Conference Programs, has resigned to pursue other opportunities.
Judy and Julia will be replaced by a full-time person, Jo Ordway, who will tentatively begin on August 31.
The position of Support Staff
for Conference Programs is in the process of being filled.
We have appreciated the gifts of each of these departing
staff members, and thank God for what we have done together. We look
forward to new possibilities with our arriving staff members, and ask you to
welcome them when they come on board.
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Haiti relief
In July the Iowa Conference gave $1,183.16 for relief for Haitians suffering from the January 12 earthquake.
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UCC response to Pakistan floods
Torrential rains during monsoon season has
left at least 1,000 persons dead in Pakistan. The scale of the disaster
appears to be beyond the capacity of the government of Pakistan to
respond alone. The UCC is responding as part of Church World Service, and our denominational information on the disaster is here. Needless to say, your congregation's offerings can be sent through the conference or directly to Wider Church Ministries and marked in the memo
portion "International Disaster Relief - Pakistan Flooding" to Wider
Church Ministries; 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115. OR you can click the link and give online. Thank you!
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Thieves target church buildings
Marlene Hummel reports that there seems to be a professional group of thieves that are
targeting churches. I have had several churches in the southern area of
Iowa that have had computers, cameras, and petty cash stolen. They seem
to know the church scene pretty well and have been very discreet in their
entry. Sometimes the locks have been broken and other times they have
entered without any damage.
Be on the alert and do everything possible to prevent
these losses. Generally they have been under a $1000 so the church stands
all the loss. When these thieves come into a community, they will hit multiple
churches.
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Webinar on reducing your carbon footprint Sept. 14, 12 - 1:30
Don't know how to reduce your carbon footprint? Don't know what a carbon footprint is? Join this conference call to find out some practical, low-cost ways to get started with the Interfaith Power & Light 10% Percent Challenge!
Following a brief overview of the 10% Challenge, a panel of experts will field your questions. The panel will feature a number of model congregations together with:
Jerry Lawson, National Manager
ENERGY STAR Small Business & Congregations Network
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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Disaster Relief Recognition Sunday August 22
From
Florence Coppola in our national office:
As events continue to unfold on the Gulf Coast, we are aware that even if the
oil well is finally "killed," the long term recovery of the people
impacted is just beginning. The UCC Florida Conference decided to ask
their churches to participate in a conference wide worship service either on
the beach or in their own buildings on August 22 to recognize and to pray for
people impacted.
In Kent Siladi's words: "In the Florida Conference the fourth Sunday
in August has been set aside as "Disaster Relief Recognition
Sunday". This annual observance is in recognition of the disasters
that take place here in the Florida Conference - hurricanes, tornadoes, floods,
fires and in the case of the oil spill - technological disasters. Pastors
of the Gulf Coast region have been meeting to discuss how their congregations
might respond to the Oil Spill and they decided that a Conference wide
gathering on the beaches across Florida would be one such response."
This note is to invite all UCC churches across North America to consider having
a worship service or other type of event on August 22 (or on a date that would
be appropriate to their church life) as a witness to the caring nature of the
church for people whose lives have been put on hold indefinitely. Provided
here is a link to a UCNews article
and a liturgy that you may choose to use. We continue to pray...
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Church home for students
Congregational UCC in Iowa City would like to provide a church home for your members who will
be students at the University of Iowa during the coming year. In addition to
our weekly worship service at 10:15 on Sunday morning, we have an ongoing
student group that meets on Sunday evening for food, fellowship, and
conversation. If someone from your congregation will be attending UI this fall,
please let them know about Congregational UCC-we're right across from the
Pentacrest at 30 N. Clinton St. OR EVEN BETTER, send us their names and contact
information (phone number/email) and we'll get in touch with them and invite
them to our events. Thanks for your help.
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Trip to Mexico--register NOW
Celebrating Days of
the Dead in Mexico: Theology, Art, & Ritual
United Theological
Seminary of the Twin Cities
October 26 - November
3, 2010
Registration is due August 15.
This trip
has been designed especially to appeal to segments of our audience with a
particular interest in the intersection of arts and spirituality, although it
obviously has a global justice appeal as well.
If interested paste this hyperlink into your browser: http://www.unitedseminary.edu/PDFs/mexico.doc
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August 12, 2010
