Living Room Worship Night
Sunday, March 4 6:30 - 8:30 pm A casual evening of acoustic guitar, singing, prayer, and fellowship. If you are hungry to deepen your connection to God and each other, join us in the living room! Location: 205 Cedar Drive, Manhattan 66502 Living Room Worship Night
Sunday, January 21 6:30 - 8:30 pm A casual evening of acoustic guitar, singing, prayer, and fellowship. If you are hungry to deepen your connection to God and each other, join us in the living room! Location: 205 Cedar Drive, Manhattan 66502 When I began serving as your pastor in the summer of 2014, we entered into a covenant of shared ministry together. Together, we agreed on guiding principles for my service alongside you as your pastor. One of the items outlined in my Call Agreement is that I will be on leave for a three-month paid sabbatical after every five years of ministry at First Congregational UCC. My first sabbatical will be in the summer of 2019. My sabbatical will be an important time for me to practice what I preach: that Sabbath is a commandment, not a suggestion. On a regular basis, I do my level best to hold myself accountable before God and you in terms of keeping Sabbath. I try not to respond to messages after hours unless they are urgent. I switch my phone to “do not disturb” after 10pm so that I won’t be awoken by the buzz of text messages (don’t worry, if you have a true emergency you can call me and I’ll still hear it). I work very hard when I am in the office so that I might be able to find time for rest, family, and recreation when I am at home. I give thanks that you support an environment that makes this possible. A pastor’s sabbatical is meant to be a time of intentional rest from the labors of day-to-day ministry in a congregation, as well as a time of intentional renewal and reflection. Additionally, pastoral sabbaticals are a gift to the congregation because they provide much-needed space for the congregation to re-solidify its identity apart from the current pastor. A well-planned sabbatical can opportunities for lay leaders and other staff to step into new roles and try out new forms of ministry. Sabbaticals are good for the pastor and the congregation. The past few months, I have been thankful to be in conversation with our Pastoral Relations Committee and Cabinet about the possibility of applying for a grant through the National Clergy Renewal Program, funded by the Lilly Endowment. This program seeks to support congregations and pastors during sabbatical periods, providing funding of up to $50,000 to be used to fund activities for the pastor and congregation - mutually enriching us during our time apart and helping us all renew our passion for ministry. You are invited to join the committee that is working on the grant proposal (Dale Stearns, Andrea Chamberlain, and myself) for a Listening Session in January (see invitation box below this article). At these sessions we hope to share more details about the grant and hear your ideas, too. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to be in conversation with any of us or with our incoming Moderator Dave Smit if you have any questions. Pastor Caela Listening Sessions for the National Clergy Renewal Program for Pastor Caela’s 2019 Sabbatical Sunday, January 14th at 9:30am Sunday, January 21st immediately after the Congregational Meeting Please attend either meeting to learn more about the Lilly Endowment’s National Clergy Renewal Program and share your ideas. The Lilly Endowment National Clergy Renewal Program at Christian Theological Seminary (CTS) seeks to strengthen Christian congregations by providing opportunities for pastors to step away briefly from the persistent obligations of daily parish life and to engage in a period of renewal and reflection. Renewal periods are not vacations, but times for intentional exploration and reflection, for regaining the enthusiasm and creativity for ministry, for discovering what will make the pastor’s heart sing. Pastors serve a variety of roles in their privileged position at the center of congregational life: preacher, teacher, spiritual guide, pastoral visitor, friend, confidant. The responsibilities are continual, and the pace and demands of parish life can be relentless, often leaving even the most dedicated pastors recognizing the need to replenish their own spiritual reservoirs to regain energy and strength for their ministry. Life-giving experiences—strengthening relationships, renewing a sense of call, meeting and serving the neighbor in a new way, finding joy and purpose in a simplified life, traveling to new lands and unfamiliar territories, creating opportunities where members of the congregation can exercise their gifts for ministry—are common themes of these renewal times. Profound discoveries that pastors and their congregations describe as “life-changing events” occur as they participate in this program. The Lilly Endowment National Clergy Renewal Program at Christian Theological Seminary will provide grants of up to $50,000 each directly to congregations for the support of a renewal program for their pastor. The costs associated with family members who accompany a pastor may be included in the amount requested for the pastor. Up to $15,000 of the grant may be used to help the congregation fulfill pastoral duties during the pastor’s absence and/or to support activities that enable the congregation as a whole to be renewed in its ministry. Learn more at http://www.cpx.cts.edu/renewal The fall Dinner and Conversation sponsored by Vitality will be on Friday, November 10 at 6 PM. The topic will be fair trade in Manhattan, with guest Amy Kay Pavlovich from the fair trade store, Connected on Poyntz. She’ll tell about her journey to developing 3 fair trade stores in Kansas and will have some of the goods from the Manhattan store.
We're off to a great start this fall semester for adult Sunday School. About 15-20 of us have enjoyed working with Tai Amri for Peace Training these past few weeks. We've done a lot of deep breathing and holy sharing with one another. Our next class begins on Oct. 1st and we'd love to have you join us!
Dave Smit will be leading a seven-week class on "The Language of Faith." Class is each week at 9:30 a.m. and there are options available for all ages (the nursery is open and Sunday School is available for ages three and up). Grab a cup of coffee and join us! October 1 through November 12 (seven weeks) The Language of Faith Led by Dave Smit Ever hear the slogan, “Take people for what they mean, not for what they say?” It turns out the slogan is right. We understand each other in complicated ways that cannot be accounted for primarily by the words we use. The context in which we use words may be more important than the words themselves. In this class, we’ll examine how we talk about what matters to us, following the procedures of Hermeneutics, or the theory and practice of interpretation. We can call it Hermen, for short. We’ll begin by studying how we rely on context to understand each other’s everyday speech and writing, then move on to examine how we bring our own background and experience to written texts. With this as a framework, we’ll delve into how to effectively use terms such as “good” and “bad,” and “right” and “wrong,” how to appropriately interpret sacred texts, and how to share our faith with others who may think our beliefs and values are very strange. We’ll explore ways to make our judgments seem reasonable to people who disagree with us and our faith sensible to those whose beliefs are very different from our own. How do we learn to take the Bible seriously, but not literally?Join us bi-weekly on Sunday evenings at 7pm as we discuss tough biblical questions and explore progressive Christianity. This group is open to adults of all ages and will meet at ECM (Ecumenical Campus Ministry, 904 Sunset Avenue). For more information contact Kowan Russell (billyrussell@ksu.edu),
Mattie O'Boyle (mattieob6@ksu.edu), or Craig Weston (craig@craigwestoncomposer.com). If you consider yourself to be a young adult and are looking to connect with other young adults in our community, consider joining this monthly gathering. Those with and without children are welcome. The group typically gathers for a potluck in someone's home or out in the community each month.The August gathering is on August 19th in the home of David and Jared Hoff. Questions? contact David Williams (email or text/call), who coordinates the group.
Do you feel awkward when faith comes up in conversation? Do you struggle to find the “right” words? Are you worried about coming across badly? You’re not alone. But telling our stories is powerful, and you never know how your story will help somebody else. To help each other discover, explore, and share our stories, Sean Weston will be hosting two stand-alone “Telling Your Faith Story” workshops. We’ll explore our own stories and learn how to share them with others, either in 15 seconds or in long conversation. Sunday, April 30 at 12:15pm after worship in the Conference Room with a light lunch, or Monday, May 22 at 7pm in the Conference Room.
On Wednesday, April 26 from 6:30-8:00pm, the Vitality Committee invites members and friends to a Social Justice Write-In, a casual event for people to spend time together reading and writing or just sitting quietly in community. You might write to local policy makers, a neighbor, a close or estranged family member, or in your diary. We will provide coffee and tea, as well as writing materials and stamps. Feel free to bring your supper or snacks. Contact Rachel Gintner for information or suggestions.
On Tuesday, March 14, from 7 – 8:30, the Vitality Committee invites members and friends to a Social Justice Write-In, a casual event for people to spend time together reading and writing or just sitting quietly in community. You might write to local policy makers, a neighbor, a close or estranged family member, or in your diary. We will provide coffee and tea, as well as writing materials and stamps. Feel free to bring your supper or snacks. Contact Rachel Gintner for information or suggestions. Facebook event to share |
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