Issue 5 | February 8, 2024

"Blessings Always"

Rev. Daniel L. Busch

Association Minister

February 7, 2024

CHANGED. “And Jesus was transfigured/CHANGED before them, and his clothes became dazzling bright, such as no one on earth could brighten them.” (Mark 9: 2). It fascinates me to see someone again years later, especially children who seem to grow up so fast. I met previous parishioners at a conference meeting, including one young man who seemed to know me. “You don’t remember me?” he asked. “I was in your confirmation class, and my sisters and I stayed at your home one night when we had a terrible snowstorm and buses could not get us home in the rural area.” He told me his name, and he had totally CHANGED. He was always the shortest boy in his class, chubby, and somewhat shy. Now he was 12 years older, 6’ 4”, trim, very gregarious, married with two children, a college graduate, and a manager at a manufacturing company. We laughed together, talking about CHANGES in his life.

     This Sunday is Transfiguration Sunday, symbolizing CHANGES on our journey of faith. Sunday ends the Epiphany Season, leading to Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. The faith community leaves a season of light and enters a season of darkness and self-evaluation. It is, however, a journey to a celebration of affirmation and resurrection. In the passage from Mark, the disciples encounter Jesus in a new way, “dazzling bright.” This was a prelude to the suffering Jesus was about to endure and they were not quite sure what Jesus would be expecting them to do after He left them. They saw historical faith persons with Jesus, Elijah and Moses who God CHANGED to be God’s spokespersons.

     Mark’s story is about the disciples’ relationship to Jesus. Daniel Schultz in an article in the February 2024 “Christian Century” writes, “…’Who is Jesus?’ cannot be answered without asking, ‘Who is Jesus to me?’—which in turn requires the question, ‘Who am I?’ Paradoxically, the revelation of Jesus in his sovereign glory forces us to decide not who we want to seem to be but who we are.” In verse 7, Mark reminds us that God affirms in Jesus, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” We, too, are CHANGED and affirmed as God’s beloved. BLESSINGS ALWAYS.

Printable PDF

Feb. 11 Preaching at St. John's UCC Holgate 10:15 am morning worship and attending 2:00 pm installation

Feb. 18 & 25 Preaching at Zion UCC - Fireside, Bellevue 10:00 am

2023 OCWM Giving Goal - $285,000

(Goal approved at the 59th Annual Meeting)

OCWM Offerings through December 31st - $256,237

Supporting OCWM...

Creating A Just World for All!

Thank You!

CHURCH TREASURER

Church Remittance Form - please use this form when sending donations to/through the Association office.

UCC Yearbook 2024

The UCC Center for Analytics, Research & Development, and Data is collecting data for the annual yearbook! You can log in to DataHub to enter statistics through Wednesday, March 6. Your church can download instructions here, and also use the Yearbook reference webpage. An email with further details has been sent. If you have any questions, need a hard copy of instructions or data forms mailed to your church, please contact Joan Davidson at joan@nwoa.org.

IRS Standard Mileage Rates for 2024

• 67 cents per mile for business use, up 1.5 cents from 2023
• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

Church News, pictures, events, etc.....

Summit to office@nwoa.org by Tuesday 9:00 am.

INSTALLATION:

Rev. Jeff McCarn, Pastor at St. John's UCC, Holgate will be installed on Sunday, February 11, 2024 at 2:00 pm at the church.

Prayer Concerns/Request

Continuing prayer for: Dee Schroer, Rev. Marty Stiffler, Rev. Daniel Johnson, Rev. Jim Garner, Rev. Hafidha Saadiqah, Rev. Don Corbin, Rev. Adrian Sunday, Carolyn George, Rev. Randall Forester, Don Clark, Rev. Gale Gebhart, Rev. Don Giesmann, Wilma Farmer, Marcy Miller, Rev. Jeanette Tangeman, Rev. David Culp, Rev. Jeff King, Peggy George, Family of the late Maggie Maher, John Mummert

Please remember the Tim & Joan Davidson Family in prayer as Tim is now in hospice care.

"Because of you our church changes lives"

When we think of stewardship most of us first think of money, and then we may let out a silent groan remembering that it is once again stewardship season. But stewardship is so much more, Stewardship is the act of taking care of something. In the church it is so broadened to mean taking care of all the God has entrusted us with. Stewardship is a lifestyle.

Our church changes lives when we deliver food to a foodbank, visit the sick or those in prison, or pray for all our neighbors, even those who look different than us. Our church changes lives when we fill disaster or personal care buckets for those hit by natural disasters. Our church changes lives when we make changes in our daily habits that help instead of damage our earth.

God call us all to be stewards of this earth and all the gifts we have been given. Help us to be mindful to live our lives so that together we can help our church change lives.

Donna Dorsch, NWOA Stewardship & Generosity Team

WHAT IS OCWM AND WHY DOES IT MATTER

“What is OCWM?” “What do those letters mean?” That’s a question I get asked often. We would not expect a visitor or newcomer to know what OCWM means. What surprises me, however, is that active church members sometimes don’t know what OCWM means. For pastors and lay leaders, I see two challenges:

• Explaining OCWM

and

• Sharing Stories About Why It Matters

For those of us familiar with it, what OCWM is about is clear: OCWM funds the broader mission of the wider church. As denomination literature states, “OCWM funds the work we do in conferences as well as in the national and global church.” But many people don’t realize that there are five components to OCWM. One of our UCC resources uses the analogy of a hand with five fingers. I find this analogy to be helpful in explaining the different components. “Basic Support is like our thumb, crucial to the flexibility and dexterity of our hand. The four special offerings are like our fingers, helping us reach out. Together, OCWM Basic Support and the Four Mission Offerings allow us to reach out and impact the lives of our neighbors near and far.” The hand analogy, along with other available resources, helps explain OCWM and its five components. That’s one step. Another step is to help people understand WHY it’s important; why OCWM matters. READ ON

Rev. Vern Swett, NWOA Stewardship & Generosity Team

Pastor at Sylvania UCC

Do This: Communion for Just and Courageous Living

Recently, my congregation and I have been reflecting on how to make more connections between our Sunday services and God’s work of justice and peacemaking. We’ve added “mission moments” to our services during which representatives of the missions we support update us on their work. We’ve incorporated the disaster relief kits into our offering. We’ve also included special prayers and blessings for the planting season, school year, music ministry and others. We ask God’s Spirit to be at work within them, so they can contribute to God’s work in the world.

I’m sure these ideas are nothing new for you, and that you have tried these and more with your congregation. This month, on behalf of the Witness and Proclamation Committee of the Northwest Ohio Association, I wanted to highlight another resource you may or may not have heard of that also makes connections between our worship services and God’s work in the world.

The resource is a recent publication of The Pilgrim Press called Do This: Communion for Just and Courageous Living. It is a collection of communion liturgies, prayers, hymns, and activities written by members of the Still Speaking Writers Group and edited by Mary Luti. 

Look at the following themes that organize this resource to get a sense of how Communion can connect to the work of justice.

1.      What If No One Remembers? - Communion and Memory

2.      It’s Not the Same Without You - Communion and Belonging 

3.      Bearing Fruit – Communion, Creation, and Labor

4.      One Skin, One Kin – Communion and Bodies

5.      No One Unsatisfied – Communion and Hunger

6.      You Give Them Something to Eat – Communion and Just Mercy

7.      Eating Your Way to Love – Communion and Reconciliation

8.      Please, Come In – Communion, Hospitality and Healing

9.      For as Long as It Takes – Communion and Perseverance

The following permission is given for use:

Local Churches, Conferences, Associations, and other settings of the United Church of Christ may use these reflections for any not-for-profit use by any medium (including by not limited to print and online), so long as credit is given to the reflection’s author and to this resource. The reflections must be used in their entirety and the content may not be altered in any way. For other uses and permissions questions, contact the United Church of Christ National Setting through the permissions team of the Pilgrim Press.  

May God bless our worship that it may bear the fruit of justice and peacemaking in our world.

Rev. Karsten Snitker, Trinity UCC - Tiffin PDF Form HERE

El Salvador Mission Trip

Interested in the El Salvador Mission contact Mr John Gilberg

El Salvador Mission Coordinator jjgilberg@nktelco.net

SUMMER CAMP REGISTRATION OPENS

FEBRUARY 1, 2024!

ATTENTION: Pastors/Faith Formation Leaders and Confirmands/Youth!

2024 Faith Formation Conference - Worship As Faith Formation

Satellite Locations in Each Association!!

The world needs people formed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ in ways that transform the world with love and justice for all. Worship is a foundational space where this formation can happen. 

We encourage you to join us on March 2nd 2024 to:

·   Expand your understanding of worship as faith formation

·   Experience the wisdom and creativity of Rev. Dr. Claudio Carvalhaes

·   Engage confirmands/youth as partners in worship that matters

Explore creative new ways for faith-forming worship planning (hands-on lab)

Please Note:

• All participants must register themselves. 

• Parents will need to register Youth/Confirmands.

• Contact our Executive Administrator, Becca Hoskins (becca@heartlanducc.org) if your church wants to pay for your folks to attend the conference. We can help you set up a coupon code to give to them before they register. 

If you have any questions or concerns reach out to Becca Hoskins by email at becca@heartlanducc.org.

Mission Moments

Use Mission Moments every week to tell a story about your congregation’s connection with the wider church. Each issue – which is designed to be inserted with your newsletter or Sunday worship bulletin – is an effective way to inform your members about what they make possible through their gifts to Our Church’s Wider Mission.

MTSO’s Seminary Hill Farm seeks paid interns

Seminary Hill Farm on the campus of Methodist Theological School in Ohio is seeking full-time, paid farm interns. The intern experience is open to applicants 17 and older who have a calling to steward the land and engage in justice-oriented personal and community development. People from diverse life paths and of non-traditional ages are welcome to apply.

Compensation includes pay of $13 per hour, campus housing, lunch in the MTSO dining hall and a free weekly share of produce grown on the farm. Start and end dates are flexible. The season for internships spans March through mid-November annually.

More information and instructions for applying are at //seminaryhillfarm.org/employment.

Founded in December 2013, Seminary Hill Farm has grown to become the most visible component of MTSO’s broad commitment to sustainability and social justice. Covering 10 acres of MTSO’s campus in greater Columbus, the farm provides fresh produce for campus meals, people in need and members of its Community Supported Agriculture program.

Methodist Theological School in Ohio provides theological education and leadership in pursuit of a just, sustainable and generative world. In addition to the Master of Divinity degree, the school offers master’s degrees in social justice, public theology and theological studies, along with a Doctor of Ministry degree.



Engage with MTSO through Facebook and Instagram (@MTSOedu).