 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
View our April calendar |
|
Two teams have been created to work on the transition of merging our three UCC churches. The teams are made of representatives of each of the three churches. The meetings have been led by Rev. Dr. Bonnie Bates of the Western Reserve Associations Ohio Conference. There is the Vision Transition Team who will take into consideration the mission and ministry, and the Administrative Transition Team who will work on combining the technical details, financial aspects, property issues, and staffing. The two teams have met together and separately over the last two months. The Administrative Transition Team has begun reviewing different types of structure for church formation. We've reviewed some useful and creative constitutions and by-laws of other churches. We feel we need to hold off in this area until we have a better idea of what the new church is all about, so visioning first. Together we have created/drafted a new Vision Statement: A Community of Faith dedicated to being welcoming, loving, and accepting of all people; we strive to learn together and live God's Word as we serve our neighbors near and far. Some of the Core Values of the Vision Statement are: Faithfulness, Growth/ Learning, Sharing, Tolerance, Serving, Living God's Word, Community, Compassion, Acceptance, Devotion, Spiritual Growth, Loving, Respecting, and Witnessing for justice. —Karen Ennes, Moderator LAUCC
First Congregational UCC will host a Maundy Thursday service at 7:00 p.m. for all five Elyria UCC congregations. St. Andrew's Episcopal will host a Good Friday service at noon, and St. Paul will host its own service at 7:00 p.m. A joyous Easter service will take place at St. Paul at the usual 10:30 a.m.
Lent is a season where Christians focus on growing closer to God. It is a time to refocus our lives to be more in line with Jesus. This may be accomplished through prayer and service, including our giving. A Special Lenten Offering will be received on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2015. An envelope was included with the March newsletter for your convenience. The Worship & Ministry Committee has opted not to use the "Lenten Folders" that have been purchased in the past. This is a cost-saving measure and is not intended to diminish your giving in any way. Everyone is encouraged to give as you are able, regardless of the amount. Additional envelopes are available at the church. For recordkeeping purposes, please designate your gift as "Lenten Offering."
All the women of the church are invited to attend the Women's Guild luncheon on Thursday, April 9 at noon. Our speaker will be Cindi Talbot from the American Red Cross. Please join us and bring a covered dish to share. Reminder: Our meetings are now on the 2nd Thursday of each month from April through December.
Upcoming Programs:
Our next dinner gathering will be April 23 at 6:30 p.m. at the Midway Diner, 2040 Midway Mall, in Elyria. A sign-up sheet is posted on the hallway bulletin board for those planning to attend.
The annual Crop Walk will be held April 25th. The event will start at 8:30 a.m. at Day's Dam in Lorain.
Our annual Mother-Daughter Banquet will be Thursday, May 7 at 6:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Tickets will be $7 for adults and $3 for ages 3-12, and will go on sale in April. This event is sponsored by Circle One.
St. Paul will be holding our Annual Rummage Sale on Friday, June 5, 2015, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, and Saturday, June 6, 2015, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. For those bringing in items, please place them in the following rooms: Place all clothing and linens in the Women's Guild Room on the table near the blackboard. Please mark sizes on bedding and draperies. All other items can be placed in the Back Storage Room located to the left of the last Sunday School classroom. While you may see items in other rooms, these have already been priced and sorted, and it is helpful to those who are doing the sorting if incoming items are put in the storage room. A list of items that we cannot accept is posted on the front hallway bulletin board. Since our bake sales have been successful in the past, we will once again include it this year. Our committee members this year are Nancy Horvath, Diane Krugman, Peggy French, Ginney Baker, Debbi Vrona, Karen Mitchell, and Debbie and Denny Uehlein. We can always use more help; if you are able, please see one of the committee members mentioned above. We also will be needing help closer to the date of sale on setting up, taking down, cashiering, and help with the bake sale. Watch for further notices in the Sunday bulletins. Thank you in advance!
|