Sunday, September 22: Cathy Dale, Linda Bray and Ashley Lund will present special music during worship.
Monday, September 23, 6 pm: Lectionary StudyEach week we lift up a passage from this week’s lectionary and let our hearts and mind and faith take a journey from those words. We’d love to have you join us!
Wednesday, September 25:~ History Work Day, 10 am: All are welcome to help sort and organize and discover pieces of UPC history.~
Grill’s On, 5-ish to 7-ish: The kindness and welcome continues! Each week we are greeted with an amazing banquet of diverse yummy goodness created and donated by the collective. We get things going around 5 pm, and usually wrap up around 7 pm. Games are set up and more games are welcome. As always: bring what you have, or just bring yourself! There is always enough!
NOTE: Next week, we have Choir at 6:00, so we’ll get things ready earlier for those that want to sing. You are welcome to head upstairs to hear the choir practice (or join us!), or just stay downstairs and enjoy the food and fellowship.
Choir Practice, 6 pm: You don’t have to sing like an angel, you just have to love to sing! Practice is 2nd & 4th Wednesdays and then our gift of song is shared the following Sunday. We’d love for you to join us! No experience? Think you can’t carry a tune? We’ll teach you!!. Questions: Contact Karen Robnik, 218-565-0943.
Looking Ahead: UPC Halloween carnival is planned for Saturday, October 26, 4-7 pm. Help will be needed for set-up, clean-up, games, tickets, kitchen, etc. Watch for sign-up sheet to help, and posters will be available to put up at businesses. There was a large turn-out for this carnival in 2018.
Thank You!
**Pastor Paul received the following note from Arlene Putikka Tucker, Finlandia Foundation Northland: “Thank you so much for making the Kardemimmit Concert a success. Your helpfulness & excitement was appreciated. I hope this helps open up more music and fellowship for your wonderful church community. Kiitos”
**13 people turned out to enjoy fellowship while making (and eating) doughnuts on September 18. Thank you to Sandie Chelstrom for sharing her expertise.
FYI:Sunday School: We are still in the process of re-forming Sunday School for children in the church. If this is an area of interest to you, contact Pastor Paul.
Intentional Conversation: Evangelism/Outreach: If any church is to thrive, new participants must be welcomed and older participants must be supported. There are a myriad of ways we can approach these tasks, and Pastor Paul would like to meet with you to explore a variety of ideas and resources. If you are interested in sharing in this ministry, please contact Pastor Paul (218-349-0143). We’ll find a time to talk, discern our mission and steps to accomplish it, and get to work for the good of the church!
From Pastor Paul, Toward Sunday: I keep a list, tucked somewhere in my papers and files, of folks that did their job well. Some were professionals, with titles and authority, and some worked simple jobs, barely making ends meet, but all of these people had a professionalism about them – a confidence in their work…but more importantly, each of them had a kindness and welcome that went well beyond the ostensible occasion of their labors….and here I pause to look for that list, and it concerns me that I cannot find it. So I lift up their names from memory:Kat – grocery store stockerShannon – at a soup kitchenJon – consultant for institutional security systemsAmy – advocate for the agingHeidi – a botanistNick – personal trainerFaye – grocery store cashierGary – mechanicLyle – middle school science teacherBrad – in natural resourcesRob – tool and die maker Not bad from memory, eh? See, when I think of these people my back straightens up, my chest opens, and I find a smile on my face. I keep this list because I want to be like those people. I want to work and welcome others as these people did, and even though they came and went in various chapters of my life, I don’t want to forget them, because they are living and working in a way I think we all should be. Should you meet them, they would welcome you warmly. Should you need their help, they would not hesitate. Should you need their experience, you would be impressed by their abilities. God gives each of us gifts, internal and external, but the greatest gift (to borrow a line from Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth) is love. They work, and they live, with love at the center. And you? If you’re like me, you see this as a worthy goal, but also reflect on the ways you have stumbled along that path. My question to you is: how can this church support you in this goal? Last week, I asked folks that read this weekly note to share a “YES” for ministry in the church. Specifically, I asked folks to complete the following sentence in an email to me: <pastorpaulvanantwerp@gmail.com> “To glorify God and to honor God’s call to United Protestant Church I say YES to ________” This is not simply to give your pastor clear direction from the congregation on areas of interest and call, but also to inquire: how can we help one another, even as we help the ministry we share. Can service to a shared ministry help any of us accomplish the accolades I give to the names above? You betcha! Can it light a fire for God in our community and membership? Indeed!….And can you imagine a church full of folks that work well and love well? Now THAT’s good work that I can put my whole self behind! We’re on that road, friends, perhaps more than many here may be aware of, but I see it – even in the midst of fear and negativity – shining daily among us!
Let’s talk!
Pastor Paul
218-349-0143