Our Mission

In a recent prayer and fellowship Zoom, some of us talked about how important it is to say thank you.

When I broke my ankle, I wasn’t allowed to put weight on my right foot for three months. I had a walker, a wheelchair, and a borrowed knee-walker to get around. But I couldn’t even get out of my house without help. Mike was there, putting the conveyance of the day into the trunk of my car, getting it out again, time and again.

I said thank you a lot. And meant it. No matter how trivial it seems to the caregiver, it is so important for the care-receiver to say thank you. We truly appreciate what you, the caregiver, give to us.

It makes me think of how we like to be independent, and how hard it is to be dependent on anyone. Being in a care-receiving position is new, sometimes embarrassing, and uncomfortable. We would much rather be the caregiver than the care-receiver because we have a sense of control when we are the giver.

And that makes me think about how we would prefer to tell God how our lives should unfold than wait for God to do the unfolding for us. I think most of us have discovered that God’s unfolding is much better than anything we would have chosen for ourselves.

So, let’s let God be our caregiver, and let’s be grateful for God’s wisdom and foresight. Say it with me: Thanks be to God!

In gratitude,

Pr Lynn

The council met on October 22nd with all members in attendance via Zoom.

As you may have noticed, we have recently made some revisions to our Covid protocols during worship. The signage regarding the use of masks has been changed to “optional” rather than “encouraged”, the ropes have been removed from the pews and the sharing of the Peace has been moved to before the offering.

Many thanks to Jeanne Chamberlain and Donna Day who have put in countless hours updating our membership rolls. This is supposed to be done annually and submitted to the Synod but the task had been neglected for many years and we are appreciative of the efforts of Jeanne and Donna. Based on the revised membership roll, the council will be reinstituting the phone tree that can be used in case of emergencies.

As we approach Advent, our church calendar is beginning to fill with activities and the Hospitality Action Committee (HAT) has been and will continue to be quite busy.  Two of these activities include hosting a Finals dinner for our campus ministry students on December 8 and gathering together for a congregational dinner after worship on December 11^th.

Finally, in an effort to communicate in a more timely manner, council will be posting a few bullet point items from each meeting agenda in the following Sunday bulletin.

Best regards,

Becky Borgert

Congregations in transition benefit from reviewing their history and noticing patterns and trends. On October 30, after a celebratory lunch, German fare for Reformation Sunday, offered by HAT and Campus Ministry, we took some time to share the history of University Evangelical Lutheran Church.

November Servants

Preacher: Pr. Lynn Fonfara

Preacher: Pr. Wayne Kofink

Preacher: Pr. Lynn Fonfara

Preacher: Pr. Lynn Fonfara

UELC People

In Everything, Give Thanks

The Financial Stewardship campaign for this fall is called In Everything, Give Thanks. You are invited to reflect on all for which you give thanks, from the littlest thing to the greatest. There will be two Temple Talks, November 6 and November 13, on the topic. Commitment Sunday is November 20.

Thanksgiving Sunday

This year, November 20, the Sunday before Thanksgiving will be observed as Thanksgiving Sunday. Pastor Lynn hopes to collect your thanks-giving stories to weave together into a sermon. Please include stories about God’s blessings in your life, happy times, surprising gifts, amazing generosity, or other things or events for which you give thanks. Please email them or write them out and give them to her or the church office by November 16. 

Let’s try this. I envision the evening study to include a variety of topics, chosen by participants. We’ll meet on Zoom for about an hour on the 1^st and 3^rd Wednesdays at 7pm.

Offering Direct Deposits

LIFT

Due to the Covid pandemic LIFT (Lutherans In Fellowship Together) has not met for its monthly potluck luncheons for the past two years. We plan on restarting the luncheons by the summer of this new year. Of course, that depends on a lessening of the impact that Covid-19 and it many variants have on our lives. Let us all be responsible and stay safe. 

LIFT coordinator 

Young Adult and Campus Ministry

Weekly meetings continue every Thursday at 5:30 pm for dinner and a program. Details about a fall retreat are coming soon. For inquiries, please contact Peer Ministers Wilson Matungwa at [email protected] or Joel Beaudry at [email protected].

And thank you to the gameday football parkers!

Village of Hope

We will be placing an order in November for fair trade coffee, chocolate, and Palestinian olive oil. A variety of tea is also available on request. Please visit the website to find descriptions of various products at https://shop.equalexchange.coop/collections/coffee

If you would like a case (usually 6 per case) of any product for yourself or to share, please let Joan Anderson know by November 7. We will be ordering the popular mini-chocolates and will package them for sale to anyone during the Advent season.

Folks at ULC have been ordering fair trade products for many years now, supporting fair prices for small-farming efforts around the world. We serve fair trade coffee for Sunday hospitality time and several individuals regularly stock up on items. Do join in with an order. We receive bulk discounts and free shipping.

Our Pastor and Staff