February 15, 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 will be joining First Congregational UCC in Berlin Heights on February 24th to celebrate the churches 185th Anniversary. This celebration will begin with Sunday service at 10:30 am. Also Rev. Busch will be attending the Auglaize Valley Leadership Empowerment Day at Emmanuel UCC, Bluffton from 2 – 6 pm. on this day.
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 Address Correction
3331 Gall Blvd - lot #378
Zephyrhills, Florida 33541
Help needed for Flooding! Call Terry Tangeman in Wapakoneta cell) 419-236-6397
Terry was able to help many, during the summer flooding and is willing to help now.
Youth needed for Ohio Conference Annual Gathering
The Ohio Conference would like each Association to include 5 youth delegation (high school age) to the Annual Gathering of the Ohio Conference. This Gathering will be at Heidelberg College in Tiffin on Sunday, June 8 and Monday June 9. Funds will be available from the Association for each youth delegate. If you are interested or know someone that is interested please send a name, address, email address and phone number to joan@nwoa.org.
Still time to register
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 19, 2008 The Oasis at West Elm – Lima we need your name today for a lunch count
February 26, 2008 NWOA office – Tiffin
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.
Auglaize Valley Leadership Empowerment Day, February 24, Emmanuel UCC-Bluffton 2 -6 pm Registration information attached!
Mission Questionnaire 2008
Our churches in the Northwest Ohio Association support mission in many ways. The Witness and Proclamation Ministry Team is seeking to gather information that will be used to celebrate what we are doing and provide a way to connect churches who many seek information or support. Complete the Mission Questionnaire attached to this email and your missions will be printed in the Annual Meeting Book. Deadline March 1, 2008
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
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
March – 2008
3 Sandusky Valley Clergy 11:30 am Fairhaven, Upper Sandusky
4 Church & Ministry Meeting
4 Lay School 7:00 pm
6 Church Development Meeting 10:00 – 2:00 pm
6 Sandusky Valley RCT Meeting Trinity UCC, McCutchenville 5 pm
7 Re Up Your Licenses 416 Wentz, Tiffin
12 Timely Topics 10:30 am
12 Faith Formation Meeting 1:00 – 3:00 pm Tiffin
13 Auglaize Valley Clergy 11:30 am Old Barn Out Back, Lima
18 Stewardship & Caring Meeting 3:30 – 5 pm Tiffin
18 Lay School 7:00 pm
19 Maumee Bay Clergy 11:30 am Bangkok Cafe
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
************************************************************************
If you wish to be deleted from this mailing list, please contact joan@nwoa.org
Don’t forget to visit our website at www.nwoa.org