"The Vine"
An email update.... Keeping Us Connected in Christ"
This newsletter is brought to you by your OCWM Contributions
|
|
Your generous gift makes our ministry possible |
|
"Blessings Always"
Rev. Daniel L. Busch
Association Minister Message
March 17, 2021
SEE. “Sir, we wish to SEE Jesus.” John 12:21. Alex Graham in 1953 in The New Yorker magazine had a cartoon depicting extraterrestrial aliens landing on earth and talking to a horse, “Take us to your president.” Soon afterward the phrase became “Take me to your leader” and has been used ever since to tell someone that a person wants to meet/SEE the person in charge. For instance, we want to SEE the manager or chef of a restaurant to compliment or complain about the meal or service. When something is not getting done on a project we want to talk to the person in charge. Pastors or officers of the church are contacted when someone has an issue. “Who’s in charge here?” is often heard when someone does not like what is being done or said and wants to SEE the boss. Too often there is “passing the buck” rather than being part of the solution. President Truman had a sign on his presidential desk, “The buck stops here.”
John’s Gospel, chapter 12, in a very few verses, describes important details of Jesus’ ministry a few weeks before His death which was before and during Passover. In the first verses Jesus is at the home of Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus who Jesus raised from the dead. Mary took “...a pound of costly perfume...” and washed Jesus’ feet with it. Judas Iscariot complained that the perfume could have been sold and given to the poor. As the treasurer of the disciples, Judas’ motive was to get the money because he was stealing money from the treasury. Then Jesus rode through Jerusalem (Palm Sunday). The Festival of the Passover begins and Greeks were there, too, for the festival. The Greeks meet Philip (one of Jesus’ disciples) and said to him, “Take me/us to your leader—We wish to SEE Jesus” and yet we never know if they met Jesus. Jesus, instead, begins to talk about His end days.
As people of faith, who/what do we SEE Jesus to be? Do we just want to visit Jesus or does “SEE-ing” Jesus make a difference in our lives? It is important to know what Jesus did—the preaching, healing, journeys, birth, life, death, resurrection—but until we encounter Jesus as the Christ or Savior, Jesus might just be a figment of our imaginations or a historical figure without spiritual importance. The story of Jesus is just that until we SEE Jesus for who He is. Do we seriously hear His call to us to change our lives? It is SEE-ing Jesus with more than physical eyes, for we need to SEE Him with our hearts, minds and spirits. We are never the same when we SEE the love, forgiveness and welcome Jesus offers and gives us. In Jesus we SEE God who generously grants us gifts and graces to share with one another. “We wish to SEE Jesus,” for in that SEE-ing we are changed and we become life living solvers of gracious love with peace and justice for all. BLESSINGS ALWAYS.
|
|
Travel with Rev. Daniel Busch, Association Minister |
|
March 21, 2021 - Preaching at First Reformed UCC, Kenton 10:00 am
April 4, 2021 - Preaching at St. John's UCC, Fostoria
April 18, 2021 - Preaching at Union UCC, Bascom 10:00 am
April 25, 2021 - Preaching at Trinity UCC, Upper Sandusky 10:00 am
May 23, 2021 - Preaching at First UCC, Shelby 10:00 am & 11:15 am
|
|
Changes and Celebrations
Ordination Celebration
On Sunday, April 18, 2021 Emily Howard will be ordained at First UCC, Marion beginning at 3:00 pm. Watch here for complete information as far as in person attendance and watching remotely.
|
|
Prayer Concerns/Request
Continuing prayer for : Keith Huizenga, Rev. Joy Skeel, Rev. Steve Voelker, John Cox (husband of Rev. Kay Mooney Cox), Rev. Diane Christopherson, Rev. John Miller,
Pastor Dee Schroer, Pastor Bill Kerr, Rev. David Culp, Tim Metz, Jim Huckemeyer,
Rev. Pat McKinney, Pastor Tom Kagy, Rev. Frank Isaacs
|
|
2021 Disaster Kit Collection
Church World Service Buckets & Hygiene Kits
CHANGE IN THE MAKING
|
|
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Richanne C. Mankey, Ed.D.
President, Defiance College
Giving Our Best as Servants in a World of Uncertainty
There is no better place to reap the benefits of sowing seeds than on a college campus where students with raw potential and (un)realized academic skills apply grit and faith to face an uncertain world with grace and courage. At Defiance College, as in life, continual engagement about a vision and strategies to realize it as promotes holistic learning and adaptability to guide us forward. Engage. Explore. Energize. Dr. Mankey's Bio
|
|
OCWM GIVING
(Our Church's Wider Mission)
2021 OCWM Giving Goal - $305,000
2021 Giving through February 28, 2021 - $15,846
Church Remittance Form
(use this form when sending donations
to/through the Association Office)
|
|
NWOA Periodic Support Consultation
Saturday, October 9, 2021
|
|
Youth Leader Opening - Part-time
St. Paul's United Church of Christ, St. Marys is seeking an energetic, organized and creative youth leader. Candidate must have excellent communication skills and be able to work with all age ranges of our congregation, with a focus on Senior High youth and school age children. Send resumes to: St. Paul's United Church of Christ, Attn: Pastor Rhonda Hainer, 201 N. Perry Street, St. Marys OH 45885. Applications can also be picked up at this address.
|
|
Worship Ways
Most NWOA Congregations are offering online Sunday Worship. Look at all the options to join in.
|
|
From the NWOA Stewardship and Caring Ministry Team |
|
I want to begin by thanking everyone who has continued to support their local churches and the wider church through these difficult days as we deal with this terrible pandemic. You may not realize the good you have done.
Agencies like Crossroad, Back Bay Mission, and local missions get support from the wider church and depend on our backing. Missions touch people and change lives. In the 21st chapter of St. John’s Gospel, Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him. Each time, Peter says yes. After each time he says yes, Jesus gives Peter a charge to “feed my lambs,” “tend my sheep,” and “feed my sheep.” We have that same charge.
When we joined the church we took vows to support the church “with our prayers, our presence, our gifts and our service.” The work of God’s kingdom has not stopped during this pandemic. Even when churches have had to stop meeting in person, the work goes on.
There have been distributions from the Federal Government in the form of stimulus checks, and many that get those checks need them desperately. However, some of us are not as strapped as others and could spare a portion of that money to shore up the church. The Stewardship and Caring Team of the Northwest Ohio Association is asking members of NWOA churches to prayerfully consider paying forward some of the relief that they themselves received. We are all in this together, and your gift could make all the difference.
Respectfully submitted, Rev. Adrian Sunday
NWOA Stewardship & Caring Team
|
|
Information from the Pastoral Relations Working Group
of the NWOA Church and Ministry Team
|
|
Covid Resources
The coronavirus pandemic has revealed and exacerbated places of pain and injustice throughout our institutions and communities, and clergy have borne the weight of this. The Pastoral Relations working group has listened to the pain that exists in our local clergy and have been trying to pay close attention to mental health and family concerns. Included here are links to resources for clergy and churches to be aware of. Read more
|
|
Spiritual Director
Ongoing Covid 19 issues and other daily life processes can get in the way of mental health and happiness. We are in the process of gathering names and email addresses of spiritual directors. The names we have so far are Rev. Ed Heilman whose email is echeilman@hotmail.com; Breta Gorman whose email is bretasm@att.net; and Corrie Reed coreed129@gmail.com Please contact them if you would like to explore what spiritual direction is and how it can help in your day to day life.
If there are other spiritual directors you know who would be interested, please let us know by contacting the Pastoral Relations WG of the Church and Ministry Team. Thank you.
|
|
Anti-Racism
Responses from recent pastor annual review surveys indicated a strong interest in resources to assist pastors in facilitating conversations within their congregations regarding anti-racism. This is not surprising given the events of this past year and we feel it important to address this need. Our first thought was to host a virtual training event, however, as we explored, we found many readily available resources that may meet the needs of local congregations.
Living Water’s 21 Week Anti-Racism Challenge Toolkit offers congregation members the opportunity to better understand systemic racism and to inspire local community engagement. This Challenge was developed by the YWCA of Greater Cleveland who has partnered with Living Waters Association to host the Challenge. The Challenge asks participants to make weekly time and space to build more effective social justice habits – particularly those dealing with issues of race, power, privilege and leadership for a period of 21 weeks. Each participant who registers receives daily tasks via e-mail to help foster their understanding and awareness about racial equity. Participants from a congregation can then meet to discuss the weekly Challenges. Weekly tasks may include articles to read, tips for developing social justice habits, or opportunities to reflect on personal experiences. Learn more here to determine if this may be right for your congregation:
White Privilege: Let’s Talk – A Resource for Transformational Dialogue, is a resource offered by the National UCC office. The UCC offers a full curriculum, divided in 4 parts, complete with lesson outlines and facilitator resources. In addition, there is a 6 session webinar series available at this site called White Privilege: Let’s Talk, that is very comprehensive. Each session is led by national leaders within the UCC and other denominations and tells the story of spiritual journey through the lens of race and invites participants to become an ally in pursuit of racial equity. These resources are free and available by clicking the following link:
The UCC also offers an additional curriculum titled, “Sacred Conversations to End Racism”. This program is led by Dr. Velda Love, Minister for Rachial Justice and Local Church Ministries. Dr. Love will also be the keynote speaker for The Heartland Faith Formation Conference, titled, “Live It: Engaging the Sacred Texts Through the Lens of Culture”, which will be held virtually on 2/26 and 2/27/2021. This conference includes significant time for small and large group discussion following her keynote addresses each day. The link to the Sacred Conversations site is:
Attached to the end of the newsletter is an additional list of available resources.
We hope that these resources meet the needs of pastors looking for resources to begin conversations regarding anti-racism within their congregations. If you have other ideas for how we may assist in bringing resources / training to you regarding this topic, please contact Nanette Warnecke-Flood at Nanettef@syctelco.com
|
|
Food Pantry Grant - To assist those Northwest Ohio Association (NWOA) churches who support Our Churches Wider Mission (OCWM), a $200 grant is available by request, to those who host a food pantry or are affiliated with a community food pantry. Complete this form to apply.
Funding for this grant will come from the NWOA Disaster Gifts Fund given by many Northwest Ohio Association Churches during any given time.
*Please provide a written letter from the Local Church Leaders stating information you think is relevant to your request and will make your application stronger.
|
|
Lay School of Religion
The Northwest Ohio Association of the United Church of Christ and the Lay School Board offer classes to expand knowledge about the Christian faith to those folks in congregations who are actively involved in the life of the church.
Next Class: Pastoral Care
Beginning: September, 2021
Instructor: Rev. Catherine Lawrence
|
|
Special Offerings
2021
May 23 -Strengthen the Church
October 3-Neighbors in Need
November 14- Stewardship Sunday
|
|
|
|
|
Chaplain at Parkvue Community, Sandusky
Full Time Opening
United Church Homes, Inc. is seeking a Chaplain to join our team! This position is responsible for providing a program of spiritual care and worship for residents and the community at assigned United Church Homes (UCH) facilities; and providing public and church relations activities in support of the community's goals. The Chaplain models pastoral competencies in accordance with United Church of Christ and The Association of Clinical Pastoral Education professional standards.
|
|
Introducing the new Heartland Conference Website! |
|
Reports from the following:
|
|
Summer Camp Registration is open! |
|
Find the camp session you are interested in and click on it to learn more and to register. Please remember that minor children must be registered for camp by their custodial/legal parent.
Volunteers are needed for camp, too! Volunteer application forms can also be found on the event calendar.
If you’d like more information before registering, please attend one of our parent information sessions. You will find them on the calendar of events on the link above.
|
|
Upcoming Webinars
-
Thursday, March 18, 3:30 pm ET - Celtic Worship
-
Wednesday, March 24, 10 am ET- Journey to the Waters: A Service of Remembrance and Healing
-
Thursday, March 25, 6:00 pm ET-Lessons from the Hebrew Bible: the Enduring Resilience of African Descended Women
-
Wednesday, March 31, 2:00 pm ET- Commission on the Status of Women
|
|
Proclaim God's Word in Worship and Worshipful Ways
Strength our Witness to the Gospel in the World
Discern God's Will for Faithful and Effective Ministry
Manifest Faithful, Wise and Responsible Stewardship of all God's Gifts
Demonstrate Care, Compassion, Forgiveness and Accountability to and for One Another
|
|
|
|
Stay Connected
Rev. Daniel Busch, Association Minister
cell: 419-934-5386 email: dlbusch@nwoa.org
Joan Davidson, Office Manager/Search Coordinator email: joan@nwoa.org
Deb Long, Bookkeeper
email deb@nwoa.org
OFFICE PHONE 419-447-8323
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
