“Oops! … I Did It Again” is a pop song recorded by Brittney Spears in 2000. The lyrics talk about love being a game.

Oops! … It Happened Again is a sad reality about yet another gun shooting in which innocent people were killed! This is not a game! This is a sad reality! Late in June, the Supreme Court dramatically expanded Americans’ right to bear arms. In a 6-3 opinion, with the court’s Republican-appointed justices in the majority, the court ruled that a New York law that heavily restricts the ability to carry a concealed handgun in public violates the Constitution.

I don’t own a gun, but I have relatives and friends who do and who are responsible citizens regarding gun safety. They do not own weapons such as the AR-15 which is engineered to cause “maximum wound effect,” as described in an article in The Week, June 17, 2022. “It fires needle-nosed bullets that travel three times faster than handgun rounds and fragment when slamming into flesh, causing enormous damage. Features such as second-hand grips and thumb-hole stocks make the weapon easy to aim and hold with both hands while firing dozens of rounds without recoil. ‘It’s the perfect killing machine,’ says Dr. Peter Rhee, a former Navy trauma surgeon. A study of mass shooting from 2000 to 2017 found that killers who used assault rifles caused 97 percent more deaths and wounded 81 percent more victims that those how used handguns.”

No one…NO ONE…NO ONE who is not an active-duty member of the armed forces needs to have such a weapon, and that person only needs it when he/she is serving!

More news from the Supreme Court: In a historic and far-reaching decision, the U.S. Supreme Court officially reversed Roe v. Wade on Friday, June 24, 2022, declaring that the constitutional right to abortion, upheld for nearly a half century, no longer exists.

Please, do not jump to the conclusion that I am in favor of abortion on demand in lieu of other types of birth control! A female who has the ability to get pregnant and gets pregnant because she is a victim of rape or incest should not be forced to carry that pregnancy to term. Nor should she be stigmatized because she has terminated the pregnancy. Also, the male causing the pregnancy should be held accountable!

I continue to pray that a majority of human beings will collectively rise to the occasion and demand a stop to this insanity. I continue to pray that the families of the victims find peace and comfort as they mourn. I continue to pray that Christ will soon return and that the New Heaven and New Earth will replace the old.

Pastor Del

Jane and I will be visiting our younger son and daughter-in-law in the Nashville area and will be out of town July 6—July 12.  I will be back in the office on July 13. If you have a pastoral emergency, please call the office and Michael will contact my backup.

A huge thank you to the volunteers who helped with the setup and the sale itself. Many hours went into this project and the volunteers worked thru some exceptionally warm temperatures. Thanks also to everyone that donated items. We had a two year accumulation of items making this the largest sale we have ever done.

Total sales were $3,225.70. When we add that to the small sale we did with Randy last spring which resulted in sales of $1,478 our total rummage income was $4,703.70. This money will be divided between the agencies we support.

Due to the heat, the cleanup still needs to be done. When it cools off a bit we will once again need volunteers to pack things up.

The Sanford Center Summer Program will be our Mission for June, July, and August. We will once again be supplying cereal, snacks, juice boxes and water bottles. You can bring your donations to church and put them in the grocery cart near the front door or deliver them directly to the Geneva Street location.

   They will be operating both locations this year with 24 at Geneva Street and 12 at the Morningside location. The program started June 6 so we need to get things to them as soon as possible.

    If you would prefer to make a cash donation, make your check payable to the Sanford Center and put Summer Program in the memo line. You can mail the check directly to the Sanford Center at 1700 Geneva Street, Sioux City, IA. 51103.

In supporting the 'gift' of moving on, we fill lives with hope and household essentials for those leaving transitional housing at Safe Place and Welcome Home.

bubble wrap (any old packaging to help wrap plates, glasses, etc)

bath towels

cake pans

can openers

3-quart saucepans

pot holders

small plastic glasses

toasters

A big "thank you" goes out to our volunteers who helped with services this week.

Live Stream- Pam Ridgway/Jerrod Kiernan

To access the directory online visit members.instantchurchdirectory.com and you should be able to create a login using the email listed in the church directory. If you need any help accessing the directory or would like a copy emailed to you, contact the church office for assistance.

Click HERE

Giving last month amounted to $10,471, from mail-in, online giving, and Sunday offerings.

You can help us stay on track by mailing in your check or setting up an automatic payment from your bank. You can also contribute through a simple app called Tithe.ly. 

Go to http://get.tithe.ly to sign up online, or download the app on any iPhone/Apple or Android device.

Sunday 11:30am-3:30pm

Monday-Thursday 9am-1pm

Monday 9am-12pm, 1pm-4pm

Tuesday 2pm-5pm

Wednesday 2pm-5pm

Thursday 9am-12pm, 1pm-4pm

7/6 - 7/12 for vacation.