Vine November 16, 2005 UCC NWOA

Rev. Daniel Busch will be preaching at First UCC in Marblehead this Sunday, June 11 at 10:30 am.

Rev. Kathryn Matthew Huey, Minister for Covenantal Stewardship/UCC will be speaking on Evangelism in the morning and Stewardship in the afternoon.

(for licensed, lay and ordained ministers)- Mark Your Calendars and plan to attend)

10:00 am - Noon, 1:00. - 3:00 p.m. Affirmation of Ministry Issues lead by Dr. Greenhaw.

The Ohio Conference Annual Gathering The 2006 Ohio Conference Annual

Gathering is June 16-17 at Heidelberg College in Tiffin. The theme is “One breath, One

Spirit, Our Story.” Don Clark, the national UC attorney will be speaking on “Legal

Issues Facing the UCC, Its Pastors and Congregations.” The Annual Gathering is

Annual Gathering will be a discussion of a possible model(s) for the organization of the

ministry and mission of the Ohio Conference that is emerging from the Leaders Forum.

The Leaders Forum is comprised of the executive committee of the Conference Board of

Directors and the five Association executive committees. Registration information has

been mailed to each local church and is also available on the Conference website at

Bloomville UCC Strawberry Festival – June 10 – Serving begins at 5:00 pm

Plymouth Festival Ringers will present a free concert at 7:30pm on Sunday
evening, June 11th, at First UCC in Fremont. This bell choir is on its way
from Plymouth Congregational UCC in Lawrence, Kansas to Washington, D.C. to
play at Kennedy Center.

NWOA Clergy and friends are invited to the Annual Golf Outing, Wednesday, June 28^th teeing off at 9:00 am. at Green Hills Golf Course, Clyde-Ohio. Please call John Bock to sign up by June 26. 419-862-2505 or email John at irishtar@aol.com

The First United Church of Christ, Congregational, Marblehead, is holding its 7^th annual ice cream social Saturday, July 1, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the church, corner of James and Prairie streets. The men’s group will be cranking out delicious homemade ice cream using its antique John Deere hit-and-miss engine, dubbed “The Big Green Mosheen” by the children of the church. The Ottawa County Blue Grass Band will entertain throughout the afternoon. Also on the menu are shredded chicken sandwiches, bratwurst, hot dogs, homemade desserts, root beer floats, popcorn, and more.

In addition to the social, a $1-a-bag sale of rummage left over from the June 23-24 sale will be held in the basement. Visit the circa 1900 “National Register” church just a block from Lake Erie and join in the fun.

July 7 - 16 Rev. Jeanette Tangeman and her husband, Terry, will lead a work group of 19 other Northwest Ohio volunteers to New Orleans to participate in the on-going restoration efforts being coordinated by the South Central Conference.
        The group will be housed at Good Shepherd UCC in New Orleans. Their skills might be used right at the church, which was heavily damaged, or out in the neighborhood. Work assignments will be determined on a daily basis, according to specific needs at the time, therefore, flexibility will be the most important component of the group’s experience!
         Even now, months after Katrina, the needs of the people are great. Some of you have asked how you can help with this outreach. The answer is twofold. First, the group asks for your prayers - for them as individuals and as a group, and for those in the devastated area, especially those who will touch and change their lives.   Secondly, your financial donations are encouraged and appreciated. You may wish to sponsor a volunteer by helping to pay their expenses for the week (food, gas money, insurance and $50 per person to stay at the church) or perhaps you would like to contribute toward the purchase of supplies the group will need for their work. Donations can be sent to Jeanette at, 19595 Shortline Rd. Wapakoneta, OH 45895, and please specify if this is desired to be used to help with someone's expenses for the trip or supplies.
         Work groups have been cautioned not to bring goods into the area in order to avoid storage problems and the need to deal with unusable items. They are encouraged to purchase supplies, including food for the group’s meals, in New Orleans to help boost the local economy. Any donations leftover at the end of the week will be used to purchase gift cards for needy residents or for the church to purchase more tools and supplies.
         Upon their return some members of the group will be willing to share their experience with church groups. Please contact Jeanette for a list of possible speakers.

Church Educators: “Out of the classroom Into the world” October 10-12, 2006

For Pastors, Christian Educators, Youth Ministers, Church School Teachers, and Others concerned about Christian Education. Interested in registering, call the Association office for registration form. 419-447-8323

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If you’re spiritually alive, you’re going to love this! If you’re spiritually dead, you won’t want to read it. If you’re spiritually curious, there is still hope!

A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. “I’ve gone for 30 years now,” he wrote, “and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So, I think I’m wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.”

This started a real controversy in the “Letters to the Editor” column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:

“I’ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this… They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!” When you are DOWN to nothing… God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! Thank God for our physical and our spiritual nourishment!

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