St



St. John’s HELPER

St. John’s United Church of Christ

1513 West Street

Rosenberg, Texas 77471

Church Office: 281-342-5159 Fax: 832-759-5548 Church Email: stjohns_ucc@

Church Website:

Rev. Daniel Haas, Minister Cell phone #801-368-1180

June 7, 2017 Rev. Donald Kolkmeier, Pastor Emeritus

No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome at St. John’s United Church of Christ

“Time to talk shop in the church: General Synod 31 in Baltimore, MD”

The church is in the business of speaking God’s love into the world. The church does not have as a primary mission to talk about its own programming and structure. But then again talking shop is necessary to run any organization. Every two years, General Synod brings together thousands of faithful members of the United Church of Christ for formal church witness, inspirational worship, and fellowship with friends (new and old). As a Protestant church the UCC is built from the bottom up. That means that “higher-ups” cannot speak on behalf of the local congregations. But we are not independent! Instead we are in a covenant relationship. That means all levels of church organization will talk and listen to one another. General Synod speaks to the church, not for the church. So let us listen to some of the resolutions proposed this year at General Synod 31 in Baltimore, MD, which meets June 30-July 4, 2017:

There is an interesting conversation over money. From the beginning of the United Church of Christ we have followed the pattern of giving: The local churches collect their offerings, pay their local operating costs, and then forward funds to the conference level. The conferences receive funds from the local churches, pay their operating costs, and then forward funds to the national setting. So basically the farther removed a ministry is from the people, the harder it will be for them to get funded. The United Church Board of Directors proposes “a new approach to generosity in the United Church of Christ consistent with the best practices of a donor-centered approach to philanthropy.” Basically every setting in the church needs to be empowered to do its own fundraising. That way “congregations and individual donors would be able to donate directly to the mission priorities that are most compelling to them.”

Another highlight is a resolution that calls for parents and guardians to reject corporal punishment and use other methods to train children. It also calls for state and local governments to prohibit corporal punishment in schools and child-caring facilities. Corporal punishment models aggressive behavior as a solution to conflict and sends a message that hitting smaller and weaker people is acceptable. Violence is clearly unacceptable for people that follow Jesus.

The wider church has been working for years on the question of how to change the way persons prepare for ministry. At this point you can either get your Master of Divinity and get ordained for the entire church or you can request licensure for one specific ministry without the requirement of a Master’s Degree. There is a proposal that suggests to basically drop the educational requirements for ordination and grant ordained standing to those who would have previously been licensed. A resolution at General Synod “calls for a time of exploration and transition using the re-visioned Manual on Ministry in our Committees on Ministry prior to the consideration of consequent changes to the UCC Constitution and Bylaws at General Synod in 2019.” A test-drive if you will.

Attendance for June 4, 2017

Church Attendance 61

Adult Sunday School 13

THOSE IN OUR PRAYERS

Requesting Prayers for Others

Gary Ashley by Jimmie Ashley

Ella Brown by Joyce Lamensky & Ella Brown

Jim Drennan by Patricia Slind

Nathan Gaskamp by Florence Gaskamp

Nelda Gutowsky by Florence Gaskamp

Gloria Himly by Walter Himly

Stan Kubelka by Kathy Kubelka

Sharon Loesch by Patsy Kubes

Lorraine Niemeyer by Shirley Niemeyer

Ginger Pawlek by Gloria Himly

Wolfgang Schmidt by Angelika Schmidt

Kara Schmith by Michelle Gutowsky

Rebecca Schulte by Gloria Himly

Darlean Swallers by Diana Beck

Mary Weimer by Petra Weimer

Sarah Weimer by Petra Weimer

Preparing for Sunday, June 11

Scripture: Acts 2:1-21

Numbers 11:24-30

Sermon: “The Holy Spirit”

Adult Sunday School

Please note that the adult Sunday School class will take a summer break for family time and will meet back the first Sunday in September.

Covered Dish Dinner

You are invited to a covered dish dinner this Sunday, June 11th in the Parish Hall immediately following the morning worship service. Meat entrees, vegetables, salads and desserts are being requested so feel free to make your favorite dish and share with others. We hope that you are able to attend to share lunch and fellowship.

Graduates

Do we have any high school, college or trade school graduates for this year? If so please contact the church office with their name and school so that we can acknowledge their achievements in a future newsletter.

Confirmation Class

We welcome the following new members from our Confirmation Class. Erich Upton, Morgan Kubes, Riley Evans and Ashley Evans.

Slumber Falls Summer Camp

Its summer camp time at Slumber Falls, so go to their website and see the dates for the various summer camps being offered. Scholarships are available through the church.

There’s even a bring a friend discount, family discount and military discount,

|CIT Training Camp |Jun 04-07 |14-17 |$380.00 | |

|Roaring Rapids |Jun 11-17 |15-18 |$475.00 | |

|Eco Camp |Jun 11-17 |9-12 |$475.00 | |

|Streams of Faith 1 |Jun 18-24 |9-11 |$475.00 | |

|Creeks in Creation |Jun 25-Jul 01 |12-13 |$475.00 | |

|Springs Alive |Jul 05-08 |6-8 |$315.00 | |

|Living Waters |Jul 09-15 |13-15 |$475.00 | |

|Sports Camp |Jul 09-15 |9-12 |$475.00 | |

|Streams of Faith 2 |Jul 16-22 |9-11 |$475.00 | |

Men of the Brotherhood

The Men of the Brotherhood will not be meeting on Thursday, June 8th as previously listed in the HELPER. The men will be taking the summer off to be with their families.

Strengthen the Church Offering

This past Sunday a total of $378 was donated towards the Strengthen the Church special offering. Thank you for your support.

Mature Adults

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, June 20th when the Mature Adults will meet for an afternoon of games, refreshments and fellowship.

Women’s Guild Salad Luncheon

The Women’s Guild will meet on Saturday, June 24th at the home of Margie Krenek for a salad luncheon and meeting beginning at 11:30 a.m. For more information please contact Margie Krenek.

Vacation Bible School

If you would like to help with Vacation Bible School this August then please mark your calendar for a planning meeting on Tuesday, June 13th at 9:00 a.m. in the Parish Hall.

[pic]Calendar

For Sunday, June 11, 2017

Lay Reader: Janet Enax

Flowers for Altar:

Gaskamp & Sebesta family

Greeters & Ushers for June

Fritz Oberhoff, Gary Oberhoff,

Margie Krenek, Ann Mikeska,

Jimmie Ashley

Lay Readers for June

Sandra Bailey, Janet Enax,

Tommy Gaskamp, Daniel Dunton

Altar Flowers for June

Ann Mikeska, 6/4

Gaskamp & Sebesta family, 6/11

Nikki Tibe, 6/18

Melvin & Gaynell Blahuta, 6/25

June 11, 2017

Rev. Daniel Haas will deliver the

morning message entitled,

“The Holy Trinity”

Covered Dish Luncheon

Looking Ahead

SCC Conference in Dallas, 6/9-6/10

Parish Hall Rental, 6/10

Covered Dish Luncheon, 6/11

VBS Planning Meeting, 6/13

Cambridge Communion, 6/14

Father’s Day, 6/18

Church Council, 6/19

Mature Adults, 6/20

SPJST Communion, 6/21

Reliable Oaks Communion, 6/21

Guild Salad Luncheon, 6/24

Family Ministry Team Meeting, 6/29

[pic] Thought for the week:

“When a Prayer becomes your habit, Miracles become your lifestyle. Amen.”

“Enroll” your Kroger’s card with the Brotherhoods Community Rewards Program. Go online and use #84302 as the organization number.

Link to Kroger’s Community Rewards website:

(On your computer push Control and click your mouse at the same time while hovering the mouse over the above link and it will take you directly to the Kroger registration page.)

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