February 1, 2006

Rev. Daniel Busch will preach this Sunday, February 5^th at First UCC in Galion beginning with the early morning service at 8:30 am and also at the 10:30 am service.

The Ordination of Bradley McKibben will take place on February 5 at 3:00 pm at First UCC, 248 Harding Way West, Galion. All Authorized Ministers are welcome to attend this special day of ordination, robed and with Red Stoles. Come enjoy this day with Bradley and his family!

REVISITING, REVIVING and RENEWING THE CALL  A Day of Reflection and Recommitment for licensed, lay and ordained ministers serving Northwest Ohio Association will take place on Thursday, February 23 from 10 – 4 pm at First UCC in Findlay.  Cost is $10 which will pay for lunch and the speaker, Rev. Bill Barndt. Bill will be sharing astute thoughts on the nature of ministry and ways of keeping alive a joyful sense of adventure. A Service of Re-Commitment  and Holy Communion will conclude the day together. You may register with the flyer in the monthly mailing or by emailing joan@nwoa.org and paying at the door.  To keep faith with the call, ministers of NWOA need spiritual refreshment and encouragement. Come enjoy the day!

Jim Ditzler, Ohio Conference Disaster Response Team, is down in New Orleans and is asking for a used pick up truck. They need money towards this or if someone has one they want to give that would be great. Not looking for a brand new one but a used one. Please call Larry Creeger at 419-649-7368 if you have something that can be used.

Brown Grants for Continuing Education and Bi-Vocational and Licensed Ministry Training are available.  The Committee meets in April, July, and November, 2006 to award grants. Contact V.Jefferson for information at  1.866.822.8224, ext. 3839  or jeffersv@ucc.org

Installation at First UCC, Shelby

Rev. Rich Rader will be installed at First UCC in Shelby on March 12, 2006 at 3:00 pm.

General Synod Delegates NEEDED – Class of 2009.

Attend two General Synods: 2007 and 2009

For the Class of 2009 -  2 Clergywomen, 2 Clergymen, 2 Laywomen, 1 Layman

Note of those above – 1 needs to fit each category  -  Under 19   &    19 through 29

Must be a member of  a UCC church in the Northwest Ohio Association

General Synod will be in Hartford, Connecticut in 2007. 

If you are interested contact Donna Overholt, Nomination Committee chairperson 419-447-0572

Please return your CUE Goal with your OCWM Goal sheet to the Northwest Ohio Association.

Auglaize Valley Regional Leadership Empowerment Day – February 26 at The Oasis at West Elm UCC, Lima, OH. See flyer at bottom of this newsletter!

Lay School of Religion begins next Tuesday.  Register NOW!

Junior High Youth Event – Sponsored by the NWOA Faith Formation Team “Body Building” will be held at Pilgrim Hills Camp on February 19 and 20^th (President’s Day Weekend). Cost is $55 per person (youth and adults)  Registration Forms were mailed to all churches.  Questions please contact Rev. Joel Fetter at Peace Community in Waldo  740-726-2808 or email dce@peacecommunityucc.org

Sandusky Valley Regional Event – “March Gladness- Celebrating the UCC” with Loren Cope, Minister for Conference Relations, will be speaking.  March 19, 2006

Tom Paton Award will be presented at the Ohio Conference Annual Gathering on June 16 -17 at Heidelberg College.  A Form has been sent to all persons receiving the Monthly mailing.  Please remember if your church is applying for the award to send a letter outlining the things your congregation has done and intends to do with the completed form to the Association Office.  The Witness and Proclamation Ministry Team would like to receive this form and letter by March 1 if at all possible.

Most NWOA Churches have received an Ohio Conference Directory.  We do have extra directories in the office. If you are interested please call Carolyn at 419-447-8323.

Just so you know, this 2005-2006 directory will be the last printed directory. Directory information will be maintained in a central data base maintained by The Ohio Conference.

RECENT EMAIL & MAIL CHANGES and ADDITIONS

If your personal (or church) email address or mailing address has recently changed, let us know!

Rev. Walter Clausing

Otterbein Retirement Center, 11300 Circle Drive,  St. Marys, OH  45885

Rev. John Fleming

4992 S. St. Rd. 75, Jamestown, IN  46147   h)   765-676-5095
 

Prayer Requests

Please remember the Rev. Lon McSherley, St. John’s UCC, Mansfield in his time of loss.

Deadlines and Meeting Dates

Still time to register for Lay School beginning Feb. 7^th, email joan@nwoa with your registration.

ANNUAL REPORT FORMS due February 3.  Please try to meet this deadline.

Upcoming

February

2        Defiance Cluster Clergy 11:30 -1 pm   Defiance College/Serrick Center

3        Heidelberg Women here at NWOA  9:30 am

4        Re-Up your License 10 -2 pm

5        Bradley McKibben’s Ordination 3:00 pm First UCC, Galion

6        Sandusky Valley Clergy 11:30 am Pour House, Upper Sandusky

7        Church and Ministry

7        Lay School 7:15 pm

8        Timely Topics 10:30 – 1:30 pm

8        Stewardship & Caring Team 2-4 pm

9        Monthly Mailing Deadline

9        Auglaize Valley South Clergy 11:30 am  Lima Hospital

11      Finance and Budget 9:00 am

14      Maumee Bay Clergy 9:30 am Faith UCC, Toledo

16      Periodic Support Consultation St. John’s UCC, Bluffton  10-1pm

16      Church Development 2:30-4:30 pm

20      Office Closed President’s Day

19-20  Jr. High Youth Event-Pilgrim Hills

21      Personnel Committee 9:30 am-noon

21      Lay School 7:15 pm

22      Firelands Clergy 9:30 – 11:30 am First UCC, Fremont

23      Revisiting,Reviving and Renewing the Call, First UCC-Findlay 10-4 pm

26      Auglaize Valley Leadership Empowerment Day  2:00 pm

          The Oasis at West, Lima

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Auglaize Valley Region

Leadership Empowerment Day

Sunday, February 26, 2006     2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

The Oasis on West Elm United Church of Christ,

1606 W. Elm Street, Lima, Ohio

What’s the purpose?

To energize and equip local church leaders with transformational leadership skills and program ideas that will help your congregation to better live and witness the love of God in your own community.

Who’s invited?

Clergy and lay leaders  (both youth and adults) engaged in ministry throughout the life of your church.

Schedule:

2:00 p.m.          Registration - $2.00 per person 

Leadership Empowerment Resource Store opens

2:30 p.m.          Opening Worship & Keynote – Rev. Daniel Busch

3:00 p.m.          Workshops – Session #1

4:15 p.m.          Workshops – Session #2

5:15 p.m.          Table Talk with Supper

6:00 p.m.          Closing Hymn and Benediction

Proposed Workshops for Leadership Empowerment Day

First Session Workshops and Leaders

1.     Music Wars: How to Bridge the Divide

Leader: Joan McConnell – Organist, Trinity UCC, Tiffin, OH

2.     Keeping Christian Unity in a Divided Church

Leader: Rev. Robert Chase – Proclamation, Identity, and Communication Ministry Minister & Team Leader, Publisher United Church News

3.     Forum for Church Moderators & Church Council Presidents

Leader: Rev. Daniel Busch – Northwest Ohio Association Minister, Tiffin, OH

4.     Leading Contemporary Worship & Song Selection

Leader:  Mitch Reed – Associate Pastor, First UCC, New Knoxville, OH

5.     Keeping Them Connected: Ministry to College Students

Leader: Rev. Janice Bechtel – Campus Minister, Defiance College, Defiance, OH

6.     Purpose Driven Youth Ministry

Leader: Rev. Ron Shifley – Pastor, Spencerville UCC, Spencerville, OH

7.     Multiply Your Ministry: Moving From Sitting to Serving

Leader. Rev. Barry Bordenkircher – E4 Church Coaching (www.e4churchcoaching.com)

Second Session  Workshops & Leaders

1.     Music Wars: How to Bridge the Divide

Leader: Joan McConnell – Organist, Trinity UCC, Tiffin, OH

2.     Keeping Christian Unity in a Divided Church

Leader: Rev. Robert Chase – Proclamation, Identity and Communication Ministry Minister & Team Leader, Publisher United Church News

3.     Hurricane Rebuilding in New Orleans

Leader: Rev. Jeanette Tangeman – Buckland UCC, Buckland, OH

4.     Rotation Model Sunday School: Taking It to the Next Level

Leader: Rev. Ron Shifley – Pastor, Spencerville UCC, Spencerville, OH

5.     Teen Leadership… a Workshop Just For Teens!

Leader: Mitch Reed – Associate Pastor, First UCC, New Knoxville, OH

6.     Forum for Choir Directors: Taking Your Choir to the Next Level

Leader: Jack Hansbrough – Choir Director, St. Paul UCC, New Bremen, OH

7.     The Right Sound & Projection Equipment Makes the Difference

Leaders: Bruce Klucharich & Robert Eiber – Media Integrators Inc., Oakwood Village, OH

The Rev. Robert Chase, Director of Communication, United Church of Christ

            The Rev. Robert Chase of Lakewood, Ohio, is Minister and Team Leader of the Proclamation, Identity and Communication Ministry of the 1.4-million-member United Church of Christ. As such, he is the denomination’s Communications Director. Chase began work at the UCC’s national offices in Cleveland in April 1999.

            Chase is an award-winning video producer with more than 100 productions to his credit.  In his present position, he is responsible for directing and providing vision for the denomination’s efforts in public relations; marketing and education; video, radio and emerging technologies; and advocacy issues such as access to communication technology.  He is publisher of United Church News, the UCC’s national newspaper.  His task is to help others in the United Church of Christ tell stories of how God’s eternal love has intersected with the confounding reality of their lives.

            For 15 years, from 1982-1997, Chase was founder and President of Creative Connections in Media, a full-service communications company based in Rhinebeck, N.Y.  The staff of 10 produced promotional and interpretive resources in a variety of media, primarily for a not-for-profit clientele.  Much of the firm’s work was documentary in style and took him from the northern slope of Alaska to the black townships of South Africa, from rural Chinese villages to the urban favellas of Brazil.  These experiences allowed him to meet some amazing and heroic people and to tell their stories.

            An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Chase served most recently as interim pastor of Palisades (N.Y.) Presbyterian Church. This unique congregation consisted of artists, writers, scientists and entrepreneurs. Gay partners and young families worshiped side by side.  This pastorate combined a deeply spiritual prayer life with a strong sense of mission and a demand for preaching that was both healing and intellectually challenging.

            He also has served as senior pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Teaneck, N.J.; Associate Director of Willowbrook Ministries, an inter-faith ministry in a shopping mall in Wayne, N.J.; and as Youth Minister in Packanack Community Church in Wayne, N.J.

            Chase earned a Master of Divinity Magna cum Laude from New Brunswick (N.J.) Theological Seminary, and a B.A. with honors in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania. He grew up in Port Jefferson, N.Y., graduated fourth in a high school class of 525, is married, with two adult daughters and one grandson.

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