February 6, 2008
Email address for Rev. Daniel Busch, Association Minister dlbusch@nwoa.org
Don’t forget to visit our website at www.nwoa.org
Rev. Daniel Busch preached at the Installation of Rev. Mary Curtis as Chaplain at Fairhaven Community in Upper Sandusky last Sunday February 3.
Prayer Requests
Please pray for the Rev. Alex Dandar in the Tiffin area. He has been ill.
Rev. John Miller was hospitalized while in Florida with a serious infection with two toes and is home now. Please keep John in your prayer and if you would like to send a card his address is:
Palm View Gardens
2221 Gall Blvd - Lot #358
Zephyrhills, Florida 33541
We would like to ask prayers for our Mission Trip to Esperanza in Tijuana, Mexico. February 2-9. We are with a group of 48 people primarily from Berlin Heights and Wooster Ohio. Pray that our trip is safe and successful as we serve in Jesus name. Thanks. Rev. Joyce Schroer
Help needed for Flooding! Call Terry Tangeman in Wapakoneta cell) 419-236-6397
Terry was able to help many the last time we had great flooding in Northwest and is willing to help now.
Boundary Training Send your registrations to Carolyn@nwoa.org today
On November 6, 2007 the Church and Ministry Team passed a motion to require all Authorized Ministers (ordained, licensed, commissioned ministers) holding standing in the Northwest Ohio Association, Ohio Conference, UCC and do any ministerial duties such as pulpit supply must attend boundary training every three years to maintain standing. Dates and locations are as followed: 9:30 am – 2:30 pm
February 12, 2008 First UCC- Fremont we need your name today for a lunch count
February 19, 2008 The Oasis at West Elm – Lima
February 26, 2008 NWOA office – Tiffin
(Registration is in the January Monthly Mailing)
Boundaries 101 for Local Church Use
The following article was written as an introduction to boundaries for laity, and published in the Maine Conference newsletter, MaineStay. Perhaps it will be useful to you.
“Good fences make good neighbors….says a character in a well known Robert Frost poem. Interpersonal boundaries are the “good fences” that help us respect one another and live together in harmony. In many ways, they are so basic we don’t even think about them. We can read very subtle signals to judge in a split second whether a hand is being offered to shake, or a hug is welcome. Complex judgments help us determine the level of conversation and closeness that is comfortable to another.
But remember that the poem begins, “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, that sends the frozen groundswell under it, to
spill the upper boulders in the sun.” Each of us has a desire to go beyond boundaries. Moving beyond boundaries can be positive, increasing closeness and trust in relationships. But boundary crossing can be negative, when it is not done with sensitivity. If we make assumptions about others’ comfort level and limits, we may unintentionally take advantage of them. Boundaries are subtle and instinctive; we may be unaware of them, and when they are crossed in unwelcome ways often our only clue is a vague sense of unease.
In community life, maintaining standards of behavior which respect boundaries takes thought and conversation. This is particularly important in the church, where respect for boundaries allows us to build the kind of trust which makes the church a sanctuary, a safe space to be the people God made us to be. Boundaries also help us prevent abuse of those who are particularly vulnerable. “Making our Churches Safe for All” requires that we talk about how we behave with children. How do we know when it is alright to offer a hug to a child- or for that matter to other adults?
Power imbalances, like those between adults and children, create a responsibility. Those with more power (relatively) must respect those with less, and pay particular attention to the boundaries. Because clergy have a special position, they too have responsibility for maintaining interpersonal boundaries in a way that honors the other, who may be vulnerable to the misuse of their position. For this reason clergy throughout the United Church of Christ attend boundary workshops periodically to discuss the situations and relationships which require particular attention. Many conferences and associations use the video series, “A Sacred Trust” as a springboard for these conversations.
Our sense of self, and healthy communities, rely on awareness of interpersonal boundaries. All congregations are called to take seriously the “Sacred Trust” of relationship with self, other, and God.
Timely Topics – February 13 – Rev. James Vijayakumar
James is the Area Executive for Southern Asia with the Partner Relations Ministry at the National Office.
Second Wednesday of Each Month
At the NWOA Association Office, 416 Wentz St., Tiffin, 10:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Bring a Sack Lunch – Drinks Available
Tentative Topics coming up:
Auglaize Valley Leadership Empowerment Day, February 24, Emmanuel UCC-Bluffton 2 -6 pm Registration information attached!
All Church Secretary’s Notice: Join Joan and Carolyn in Cleveland
To: United Church of Christ Support Staff Persons
From: Planning Committee
Re:
United Church of Christ Office Support Staff Network (UCCOSSN)
21st Annual Meeting in Cleveland
Ohio
Greetings to you. This is a chance to visit the United Church of Christ national offices in Cleveland, Ohio. We encourage you to put the dates March 27th through March 30th, 2008 on your calendar, and to begin planning on attending the UCCOSSN meeting at the Church House in Cleveland.
Our keynote speaker will be the Rev. Kathryn Huey, Minister for Covenantal Stewardship. The theme of the meeting will be “Tending God’s Garden – God Works Wherever We Work.”
We will inform you as soon as the on-line registration becomes available. The registration fee (which covers all program materials and 6 meals) will be $100. Perhaps funding sources can be found through women’s groups, individuals within the congregation, etc.
To find out more about our organization, please go to: www.uccossn.org.
An Invitation to Our
Churches
At this year's Ohio Conference Annual Gathering, June 8-10 at Heidelberg
College in Tiffin, we are planning to hold discussion forums on topics
suggested by local congregations in the Ohio Conference. We want to provide
an opportunity for the church to discuss important issues of the day. One of
our concerns is how the Ohio Conference can be prophetic and pastoral
regarding issues that are timely and pertinent to the vitality of our local
congregations without voting on resolutions, which tended to be divisive,
creating winners and losers and fracturing the unity of the church.
You are invited to help
determine topics of interest. Please submit your suggestions to us
(preferably by e-mail to pamb@ocucc.org)
by February 15, 2008. In addition to stating the topic, please tell us why
it is important to the vitality of the local congregations in the Ohio
Conference, not just your congregation. Please include suggestions of
persons who are knowledgeable about the topic and would be able to address
it from either side of the issue. You might be asked to help organize the
forum and provide some leadership. The Ohio Conference Board of Directors
will review all submitted topics and decide which ones will be presented at
the Annual Gathering. A list of the chosen forums will be published along
with other advance materials for the Gathering.
Thank you for your help as we seek new ways to bring vitality to our
churches and our shared life together.
The 2008 Annual Gathering Planning Committee
Pamela Brown, Administrative Assistant
Ohio Conference UCC, 6161 Busch Blvd., Ste. 95, Columbus OH 43229
800.282.0740 pamb@ocucc.org
Transition Ministry 101 - SAVE THE DATES – more information and how to register later!
We asked who would be interested – over a dozen of you said you were – more are welcome. We are pleased to announce the following series will be presented in 2008-09 taught by the Rev. Jack St.Cyr-Smith, who has done interim/transitional ministry around the country and who has been one of the trainers for the Interim Ministry Network. This will NOT be equivalent to that training but will be helpful for those doing interims without benefit of training and for those considering getting the full training with the hope of doing interims. The material may also benefit pastors in settled pastorates. The cost to participants will be $20 per session and sessions will run 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. with snacks and beverages included. Location will be Lakeview United Church of Christ in Maineville, OH. We will welcome participants from other nearby Associations of the UCC as well as SONKA if they wish to come.
September 20, 2008 – Session 1: Entering and Exiting (types of interim ministers, contracting, ethics, etc)
October 18, 2008 – Session 2: Developmental Tasks – Introduction to the 5 developmental tasks associated with the transition time between ministers
November 15, 2008 – Session 3: Developmental Tasks – continuation of session 2
February 21, 2009 – Session 4: Family Systems – inner workings of the institutional church
March 21, 2009 – Conflict Resolution – recognizing & responding to conflict in the church
April 18, 2009 – Resources for Times of Transition
Attention: Interest has been shown in beginning a support group for those clergy who have or have ever had depression and anxiety. The group would be led by a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and a fee would be involved. The time and location would be determined by the group. If you have any interest in this; please contact Rev. David Culp at his home. The number is: (419) 447-9548.
Update your web page
would you like to update your church webpage, ask
webinfo@nwoa.org for help. Visit
www.nwoa.org
for more Association information.
Deadlines and Meeting Dates
Upcoming
February – 2008
9 Finance & Budget Meeting 9-12
12 Boundary Training Meeting First UCC, Fremont
12 Lay School 7:00 pm
13 Timely Topics 10:30 am
14 Auglaize Valley Clergy 11:30 am Old Barn Out Back, Lima
14 Auglaize Valley RCT 1:30 pm same location
18 Office Closed/President Day’s
19 Boundary Training Meeting The Oasis at West Elm, Lima
19 Lay School 7:00 pm
20 Maumee Bay Clergy 11:30 am Bob Evans, 4805 Monroe St., Toledo
23 Cabinet Meeting 9:30 am
24 Leadership & Empowerment Day Emanuel, Bluffton 2:00 pm
26 Boundary Training Meeting Tiffin NWOA
NWOA Annual Meeting – Saturday, April 26, 2008 First UCC - Galion
Ohio Conference UCC 2008 Annual Gathering Sunday thru Tuesday · June 8 - 10 Heidelberg College, Tiffin
2008 National Youth Event, “Living the Life” – July 24-28, 2008 – University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
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