July 22, 2021

Dr. Darrell Cluck to Lead Our Worship this Sunday
Our pulpit guest for this week and next is Rev. Dr. Darrell Cluck. Dr. Cluck was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, raised in Ft. Smith, Arkansas and educated for ministry at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Austin, Texas, and McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois. He worked thirty years in ministry at First Presbyterian Church in Natchitoches, Louisiana as Pastor, First Presbyterian Church in Amarillo, Texas as Associate Pastor, Schreiner College in Kerrville, Texas as Campus Minister and Instructor of Religion, First Presbyterian Church in Sterlington, Louisiana as Pastor, and Trinity Presbyterian Church in Little Rock, Arkansas as Pastor. He was active in supporting Habitat for Humanity, Heifer International, Arkansas’ Regional Aids Interfaith Network and many educational and mission ministries of the church on congregational, regional, and national levels. His work in innovative nurture of youth at national conferences culminated in the book, Facing the Music: Faith and Meaning in Popular Songs, co-written with two colleagues.

Upon retirement from thirty years of active ministry, Dr. Cluck returned to the Monroe area and pursued a career in education at University of Louisiana, Monroe, Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, and Northwestern University in Natchitoches. Specializing in teaching gifted and talented young adolescents, he taught at Delhi High School, Rayville High School, Neville Junior High (formerly known as Lee Junior High School), chairing the group tasked with meeting the standards of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation process, and Grace Episcopal School, where he coordinated the LAA+ program of arts integration in the clasroom. A National Board-Certified Teacher, Dr. Cluck was named Teacher of the Year by the Monroe City School District, has led various school and district committees as well as workshops on school, district and national levels, and was recognized for teaching excellence by inclusion in Dr. Harry Wong’s best-selling First Days of School.
 
Dr. Cluck is married to Monroe native, Patricia Ann Cohn, a retired Psychiatric Registered Nurse. He has one son born Robert James Cluck, a Sound Technician in Austin, Texas. His third love, after God and family, is poetry reading and writing. Dr. Cluck welcomes the opportunity to serve the church by sharing pulpit responsibilities during this transitional time in the life of the church and prays that he is not as boring as this biography!
The Prayers of the People
An opportunity to celebrate and pray alongside siblings in our community.
We pray alongside...

Our Brothers and Sisters in Cuba experiencing severe economic hardships, food shortages, and lack of medical equipment to administer Covid-19 vaccines.

Linda Mulhern family for the unexpected loss of her daughter, Laura Mulhern.
Visitation will be at 9 a.m. and the funeral service at 10 a.m. at Mulhearn Memorial Park Cemetery in the mausoleum on Hwy. 80.

Renee Decker (and Marilyn Decker), as Renee recovers from recent heart bypass surgery.

Mike Cappel as he recovers from a shunt placement procedure. He is experiencing some complications. Also, please lift up Paulette as she navigates his recovery.

Mark Block, who recently fell and is now bedridden at home.

Choir Scholar, Gavin Huval's grandmother having heart problems.

Choir Scholar, Morgan Meyer's mother recovering from injuries after a fall.


We celebrate alongside...

Lilah Kate Higginbotham (31st) as they celebrate their birthdays.
If you have concerns or celebrations you would like us to add to the newsletter, please call the church office or email office@northmin.org.
Important Information

TO HELP OUR CHURCH STREAMING

Be a subscriber on YouTube to Northminster Channel by clicking the "Subscribe" button. If you are using a TV app, use your remote by pressing the big circle navigator to see options. You can find the button easier on a phone or tablet, where you are signed into an app. You will get to see advance scheduling of our services and won’t need to find a link. You can also watch YouTube on a smart TV or cable box app. You can hookup most phones to a TV to watch with the correct adapter, if you don’t have internet. Push the "Like" button for our services when you watch. this makes us look better to strangers. Try watching our services again instead of the morning news. Thanks for you support.

Church Office Information

While Renee is recovering at home phone messages and emails will be checked frequently during the day by other members of the staff. If you are in need immediate assistance, please contact Peggy Burns, Chair of the Coordinating Council at 318-366-4431 or any other member of the staff.

Church Guidelines Still In Effect

Please remember that our church guidelines for Covid-19 safety are still in effect and we ask that you respect each persons choice, as many continue to feel cautious and very vulnerable. People are becoming more lax and forgetting that we still have a pandemic raging in our country and the world. Louisiana vaccination rate is one of the lowest in the nation and currently the number of Covid-19 cases are on the rise due to new variants. We ask that you wear a mask at all times when walking about in the church. The pulpit side of the sanctuary is still for social distancing and masking at all times. On the lectern side masks may be removed when seated.

The Work of the People
How we are responding to the Spirit of Love
Pastor Search Committee
Chosen at July Business Meeting

A list of 10 nominees were presented to the membership during Sunday's bi-monthly Business Meeting. The following individuals were chosen to serve on our Pastor Search Committee: Beth Mayfield, Carol Ann Tubbs, Craig Henry, JoAnn Alley, and Page Atkins. As per our church Bylaws, Peggy Burns, as chair of the Coordinating Council, will also serve along with one member of the council chosen by them, Patti Pate. Please be in prayer for these individuals as they seek out our new pastors.
The Streaming Team!


On June 27, as Northminster Church ended an unprecedented 14 months as a church separated to the exile of our homes by a worldwide pandemic, we came to the end of weekly video services, which had become essential to the ongoing life of the church.  We enjoyed and depended on these services in our homes, via YouTube when in-person worship was not possible. These recordings had been prepared by our staff and cobbled together with IPhone videos and webcam produced footage from our sanctuary and sound recordings of our music files. This was a very time consuming process. Many people, members and nonmembers, came to rely on this weekly connection to Northminster Church. 
The only way to continue these services online was to record and livestream our weekly in-person services. This required an outlay of money for equipment and skills, which none of us had yet acquired. Only through several significant monetary gifts and in working together and pooling our knowledge were we able make this project a reality. We want to say a very special "THANK YOU" to all who gave money and time to this effort. The Stream Team now consists of Mara Loeb, Samuel Boateng and Hannah Clark. Others helped including, Mark Wilson, D.H. Clark, and Tony Cortelini (of Matt’s Music). 
If you are interested in helping with this ministry, by learning to operate the equipment and taking part on some Sundays, please contact the church office.  Live streaming of our Sunday services was a life-saving ministry during the pandemic exile and has now transitioned into an important ministry of outreach and proclamation for our church.
July Mission's Trunk:
School Supplies
Needs:  #2 pencils, blue pens, loose leaf paper, black 3" binders, backpacks, speckled notebooks, 24 pk. crayons, washable markers, scissors, plastic sheet protectors, colored pencils
Come, Let Us Make a Joyful
Noise Unto the Lord


If you like to sing and enjoy being a part of a group effort, come join the Northminster Choir. Choir practice takes place in the sanctuary each Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. and each Sunday morning at 9 a.m. prior to the worship service. The requirements: YOU MUST LOVE TO SING!


Volunteers Needed to Help Immigrants in Detention
Volunteers are needed to sign up to answer phone calls for certain time slots, and convey needs to those responsible for specific functions (arranging penpals, transportation, and food delivery). If you are interested please contact the office and we'll forward your information on to the team.
Our Worship for Sunday, July 25

OUR WORSHIP IN SONG
Sunday, July 25, 2021
 
Opening Hymn: "The Trinity of Love"
This test was written by Dr. Darrell Cluck for the Trinity Sunday at Northminster Church in 2012. The words are set to the very familiar tune, ST. ANNE (Our God, Our Help in Ages Past), which was composed in 1708 by William Croft. Dr. Cluck dedicated these words to Rev. Dr. Welton Gaddy.

Acclamation: "A Jubilant Song"
Allen Pote, composer was commissioned in 1983 by the First Parish Church Congregational, Dover, New Hampshire for the celebration of the 350th Anniversary of its founding. The test is based on Psalms 90 and 96.

Communion Anthem: "O Taste and See"
The choir will sing this short piece by English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, as a prayer response. The test is from Psalm 34:8, O taste and see how gracious our God is. Blest is the one who trusts God alway.

Closing Hymn: "Called as Partners in Christ's Service"
One of Jane Parker Huber's most widely sung texts, this hymn was originally written for a women's breakfast at the 1981 Presbyterian General Assembly meeting to celebrate the partnership of women and men in service of the church. The text is set to the tune BEECHER composed in 1855 by John Zundel. We will sing this hymn at the close of our commissioning of our new Pastor Search Committee.
 
Come and enjoy being together and sharing worship as one people of God. There will be an insert in the Order of Worship with more in-depth discussion of the hymns for the day.
 
Pacem, 
Debi

Click here for a link to the live stream on YouTube which will begin around 10:45 AM on Sunday morning.
Around Town
Fun in Northeast Louisiana
Upcoming from
CA Studio for Kids

Midsummer "Mardi" Gras will run two Monday sessions, July 26 from 1-4 pm for children ages 5-7 Cost is $35 per child per session. Register at NELCM.org or call 318-361-9611
Bayou Masterworks Chorale

The 16th Season of the Bayou Masterworks Chorale (formerly the Monroe Symphony Chorus) will begin Monday, August 9th at 7pm in the choir room of ULM. Join us!


Floral Offering
To the Glory of God



Sunday Service Floral Offering



The July 18 floral offering was given to the Glory of God and was arranged by Robert Crawford.

If you wish to give flowers in honor or in memory of someone, please contact the church office. Approximate cost is $100.
Giving to Northminster
Support Northminster's Work
If you have found a space of community, or healing, or hope at Northminster and believe in the work we are doing, please consider supporting us financially so that we will be able to continue creating spaces like this in all the days to come.

To support Northminster financially, you can click here, or scan the QR code with the camera on your phone.
Over the Coming Weeks
Worship This Week, July 25

Dr. Darrell Cluck will preach this week's sermon, and a stream will be available using the link below.
Upcoming Events

Sunday 8/1
10am - Sunday School
10:45am - Preludes
11am - Sunday Morning Liturgy


Wednesday 8/4
Choir practice at 6:30 pm
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