Tag: monthly (Page 29 of 32)

Reopening Task Force Formed

The Church Council has formed a Reopening Task Force to identify schedules and conditions to begin worshipping in the sanctuary and scheduling groups meeting in our facilities. The Task Force will identify policies and practices for reopening. They will make recommendations to the Church Council. The Reopening schedule and guidelines will be well communicated to the congregation. Our thanks to the following three persons who agreed to serve on this Task Force: Jim Gossett; Judith James and Mary Owen. The first meeting is Tuesday, June 16th. 

Family Promise Update

If it were not for the COVID-19 virus we would soon be hosting Family Promise families but that is not to be this year but the work of Family Promise still goes on. Currently  two families are being housed at the Family Promise Day Center itself. On a recent zoom call Family Promise said they have tentatively set September 1st as the date they will start hosting families in churches once again, although this could change if there is  strong second wave of COVID-19. 

Since we will not be hosting families at the church or at the camp this summer the Faith Church council will be voting to donate funds from our Family Promise fund to Family Promise.  The amount will be determined at the June Council meeting on June 9th. 

We are also encouraging Faith Church members to consider making a donation to Family Promise directly. This would in lieu of providing gift cards, or food for the families we would normally be hosting. You can donate to Family Promise through the church  or go directly to the Family Promise website and donate there.  Here is the link:   https://www.fpgnb.org/. The later will get your donation to them quicker. You can also use the above link to sign up for the Family Promise Newsletter.  Simply go to the very bottom of the web page and sign up.

Slumber Falls Camp is Moving Forward with Camps

Submitted by Rev. Jeremy Albers, Director of Outdoor Ministry

This past weekend the SCC Board of Directors approved the Decision Tree presented by the SCC COVID-19 task force on Slumber Falls Camp.  For the past three weeks the task force took into consideration the many facets of offering or not offering camp this summer.  The findings were that a simple Yes or No was not adequate because new information continues to come out and that circumstances outside of our control could have major impacts. 

From this came a decision tree that encouraged Slumber Falls to move forward. Support for camps to move forward came from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), American Camping Association and YMCA, state and local health agencies, and the Texas Department of Health which oversees our state licensing as a recognized youth camp. 

The decision on whether SFC would move forward was based on recent events, our ability to mitigate health risks, and enact our health and safety protocols if needed.  The overall well-being of our youth and the challenges they are facing, as well as our ability to acquire necessary supplies and support from third parties which are vital to offering camp were also accessed.  We also outlined the risks to the camp and conference. 

Since there is a financial component to offering camps and the fact that we are offering worry free camping this summer, the burden of costs will initially fall on the camp until the camps occur.  If camps do not happen, then the camp and conference will bear the burden of covering these costs if an exit strategy is enacted. 

The other section of the Decision tree contained exit strategies if our current resources and supply chains changed, the government and experts pull their support, or if we do not get a critical mass of registration by June 10th of 180 campers. 

We believe that summer camps are vital to the wellbeing of our youth, but health and safety concerns of our campers, staff, volunteers and families remain a priority.  Changes will be enacted this summer to many of our practices and procedures, and we will be asking our volunteers, camper families, and churches to help by following our suggestions for creating a “camping bubble” that minimizes risks.  This information is being finalized and will be uploaded to the SFC website and sent to parents with their camper letter. 

Parents are encouraged to sign up their campers before the June 10th deadline.  Registration costs this summer are worry free meaning that parents can change their minds at any point.  They can move their child to a different camp, roll their registration to the 2021 camping season, donate their registration money to the ministry of Slumber Falls Camp or receive a full refund (including the deposit) this summer. The camp will bear the risks in order to provide our parents a peace of mind.  Parents have the choice.  More information on worry free camping will be posted online.

Please keep the camp in your prayers, lift us up in your churches, and consider becoming a Friend of the Camp.  If you wish to volunteer, please sign up.  Slumber Falls is committed to sharing God’s love to all!

From the Paster – June 2020

Recently President Trump sent National Guardsmen and police to tear gas and use flash grenades to clear peaceful protestors from  exercising their constitutional right to protest.  This was done so the President could stroll to St. John’s Episcopal Church.  He did not go there to pray for the country or George Floyd’s family.  He went there solely for  a photo op of him standing in front of the church holding a Bible.  Once the picture was taken he left.  It was later turned into a campaign style video, complete with stirring orchestral music showing him striding past National Guard troops, pumping his fist and culminating in him standing holding the Bible aloft in front of the church.

When Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, senior pastor of the church, was asked about this incident she noted the Presidents earlier inflammatory words  and militarized approach to the protests.  She went  on to say, “He did not pray.  He did not offer a word of balm or condolence to those who are grieving.  He did not seek to unify the country, but rather he used our symbols and our sacred space as  a way to reinforce a message that is antithetical to everything that the person of Jesus, whom we follow, and the gospel texts that we strive to emulate…represent.”    

President Trump and the First Lady later posed in front of the shrine for John Paul II in Washington D.C.   The Catholic Archbishop said he found the President’s actions to be “baffling and reprehensible.”

When Bishop Budde was asked what the Bible has to say to our current crisis she said, “Our faith has many things to say because it speaks to every dimension of the human experience.  And so our texts would offer words of consolation to those who are grieving.  Our text would offer words of encouragement for those who are striving for justice.  Jesus himself spoke of bringing the kingdom of God, the reign of God, God’s shalom and universal love into human experience.  The Bible speaks of God’s demand for us to walk humbly and to do justice and to love neighbor.   And so all of those things are found in our texts, and those are the texts that I would point us to as a way of saying that God stands with those who are suffering.  God walks with those who feel they are oppressed.  And God has harsh things to say to those of us with privilege and power who us that power to be instruments of oppression for others.”

Heart of Texas Association News – May 2020

As announced earlier, the Heart of Texas Association will be meeting via Zoom on Saturday morning, May 16th.  Sign-in begins at 10 am, the meeting begins at 10:30, and we intend to be done at noon or a little after.  We will have some extra security in place with a way to sign up to attend through a website link in order to prevent “Zoom bombing” harassment.  You will need to sign up to attend in advance so we have the list of people coming, and then you will get the meeting Zoom link.  (Sounds complicated but it is easy.)  If you do not know how to use Zoom, please email me ([email protected]) before the meeting date so we can help you know what to do or have a friend walk you through it.  As primary agenda items, we will be having the Ecclesiastical Councils of Kerry Kirtley and Arlene Turner whose ordination papers are already available on our Association website, http://hotaucc.org/.  We believe it will be more important than ever to for our churches to speak about their lives together in this challenging time as we share ideas and lift one another up.  We will be posting all of the documents for the meeting, including the agenda, financial report, past minutes, and any other written reports on the Associaton website, and we ask that you download those and read through them before the meeting. (It is harder to read them during the meeting while you are on Zoom.)

The South Central Conference Annual meeting will happen online on Saturday, June 13th in order to do the business of the Conference.  The SCC will be sending out information on how this will work.  Major items on the agenda will include voting on bylaw changes (posted on our Association website); meeting our new Consulting Conference Minister, Rev. Dr. Campbell Lovett; elections; budget approval; and perhaps more that I am not presently aware of. Campbell Lovett has already been working with many of us with his wise and caring counsel, helping bring resources on applying for CARES Act money and fundraising to our churches, as well as beginning to be a pastor to us, in this difficult time.

Our Committee on Ministry met by Zoom for the first time during March.  The Committee interviewed Kerry Kirtley and Arlene Turner, recommending them for ordination and, as it turns out, giving them a good rehearsal for their online Ecclesiastical Councils. The Committee also voted to license Brett Hart, who is a member of St. Peter’s Coupland and is serving as their minister while Martin Garrison is on sabbatical. Brett has come to the UCC with about 30 years of ministry experience and a similar amount of experience as a high school science teacher. He left his last church position to begin the Serene Disciple Project at the home he shares with his wife at Egret Isle Farm near Coupland.  The Serene Disciple project continues, and you can learn about this unique ministry at https://egretislefarm.com/about-us/.  We welcome Brett!

As I close, I lift up our churches, ministers, and all who are working in creative and challenging ways to do ministry now.  Let’s continue to pray for each other and support each other. I also lift up a giving opportunity. The Christmas Fund, run by the Pension Boards of the United Church of Christ, is now responding to many requests for emergency help for pastors and church staff.  If you would like to know more or donate, go to https://www.pbucc.org/index.php/art-ma-landing/opportunities-for-giving.

Blessings in Christ, Liz Nash, Association Minister

Easy Way to Help Faith UCC and the Work We Do in the Community and Beyond

As you know we now have a bank next door to us, Tex Star.  They have what they call a Covenant Program which helps churches, church schools and faith-based programs.  Any church member who places a personal or business account in Tex Star can join the program and receive a special package of services, like free checking.  At the end of the year the bank will add up all the deposits the church and members have in their bank and GIVE the church a small percentage of the deposit total!  This doesn’t cost you anything!  The bank created this program as a community service to support faith based organizations.

They can also set up an electronic tithing program or giving through credit cards. 

National UCC Strengthen the Church Offering

Please join us in common mission, vision, and purpose by taking up the Strengthen the Church offering on May 31, 2020

We are amid a crisis that is demanding that we remain physically distant at a time when so many need the love and hope of a strong church to walk with them through an extraordinary global emergency. As many of us now present our ministry online, we pray that our love is being felt across technology, reaching those who need us most. Being church in new ways has demanded much of us as we have faced this challenging time together.

As we continue to explore new ways to be the church that people want in this time, your support of the Strengthen the Church offering on May 31 is now needed more than ever. The Strengthen the Church offering builds up the United Church of Christ by providing the financial resources to be a Spirit-inspired and world-changing Christian movement. Funding supports leadership development, new churches, youth ministry, and innovation; all strategies needed as we work through this current challenge and beyond. Conferences and the National Setting equally share the gifts given by members and friends through their local congregations.

The Strengthen the Church offering ensures, together, we grow stronger

Strengthen the Church funds ministry that allows us to benefit from best practices, insights, and innovations across the life of the UCC. Because of your support, new churches emerge, congregations are revitalized, and leadership skills are enhanced. Many new and revitalized churches are leading the way now as we adapt to new technology in all our congregations.

Please continue to help the United Church of Christ expand its light by taking up the Strengthen the Church offering on May 31, 2020

Materials for the offering have been mailed to churches. If you have not received your supply or need additional materials, visit UCC Resources at www.uccresources.com. Recognizing that many churches are not meeting in person, we are providing a number of digital resources online. Visit ucc.org/stc for downloadable material.

Thank you for your continued support of your local Conference, the National Setting, and our work together to build the Body of Christ. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jacqueline Owen, Development Strategist, at [email protected] or 216-736-2169.

Blessings,

Rev. Traci D. Blackmon
Associate General Minister
Justice & Local Church Ministries

Our Three High School Graduates at Faith UCC!

Kai is looking forward to graduating, even though it hasn’t gone quite as he planned. At present, he is planning on attending Northeast Lakeview in San Antonio to take his introductory college credits, and possibly attending Texas State after that. He is considering a career in physical therapy, but wants to get out in the world and see where life takes him. He recently bought his own small travel trailer so that he can have his own space, while staying on the family property, until he moves on to bigger and    better things.


Camdyn Martinez Photo.jpg

Camdyn is proud to graduate as a Unicorn, just like her Grandpa Martinez. She will be starting at William Edge Institute here in New Braunfels in June to pursue her cosmetology certification. 


Elly Beauchamp.jpg

Elly Beauchamp  will be going to UTSA and majoring in Anthropology.

Our congratulations to all three of them. God bless them as they move forward in their life journey!

From the Paster – May 2020

Recently I was looking at the beautiful oak tree in the playground at church.  I noticed that there were quite a few dead branches in the center portion of the tree.  This is normal for a tree but it is often hidden by the luxurious leaves on the outside.  Years can go by without noticing these dead branches.  I brought a saw and started cutting some of these out the other day.  There were more than I thought!  

This pandemic has revealed some of the dead and dying branches in our society.  These were all hidden by the seeming roaring economy we had just l6-8 weeks ago.  Back then we had the lowest unemployment rate in decades, but almost 30% of American families had NO savings account!  Almost 60% had $1,000 or less!  The stock market was are historic highs but the U.S. government was running a trillion dollar deficit!  We have the strongest military in the world that planned for all military contingencies but our health care system and government were not ready for a virus that has killed more people than we lost in the Viet Nam War and the casualties are still climbing.  We lived in a celebrity culture that put rock stars and athletes on pedestal and valued stock brokers and bankers more than teachers, truck drivers, grocery store workers and farm workers but now we have come to see how essential these workers are.

Most of us are longing for a return to “normalcy” when we don’t have to be social distant, wear a mask, when we can go to restaurants again and weddings and graduations, etc. But maybe, with God’s help we can do better than a return to normal.  Maybe we can take what we have learned in these last weeks and create a better stronger community.

When God helped the Israelites escape slavery in Egypt the Israelites found themselves free but in a desert wilderness with all the rigors that entails.  They found themselves longing for their old lives, for the “fleshpots of Egypt” and “when they ate their fill of bread”.  Their old way of life looked better than being free and heading to the Promised Land! 

God had them wander around  the wilderness for 40 years learning how to be a true community and depend on God.  Then and only then did they get to enter the Promised Land.  Hopefully we won’t be wandering 40 years in the wilderness of this pandemic but may God help us to learn the lessons of true community and may our faith in God deepen and may we keep before our eyes the vision of the Promised Land and not our old way of life.  Amen.

Welcome Rev. Dr. Campbell Lovett to the South Central Conference

Submitted by the SCC Board of Directors

Beloved Friends,
The Board is excited to announce that Rev. Dr. Campbell Lovett has been contracted as Consulting Conference Minister effective April 1, 2020. Campbell will be working remotely quarter time for SCC from April 1 – Sept 30. Afterwhich, the Board may contract with Campbell for a full-time Interim Conference Minister starting October 1, 2020 in which he will be located in the SCC area.

Campbell Lovett, a third-generation pastor, recently completed almost eight years as the Conference Minister of the Michigan Conference, United Church of Christ. Before beginning his Michigan ministry in 2012, Campbell served as an Interim Minister, Pastor, Co-Pastor, and Senior Minister at both historic and new churches in New England and North Carolina. In addition to leadership positions at Association, Conference and National settings of the UCC, Campbell has served on the boards of agencies promoting food independence and community organizing.

Campbell’s ministry with Conferences is grounded in, and guided by, the statement of purpose of the Central Atlantic Conference:

The conference exists to provide its associations, churches, clergy and laity with an extensive and varied support system, challenging them to a higher, broader and deeper vision of Christian ministry; strengthening and sustaining them in their efforts to be faithful in mission, and linking them to wider church agencies and to each other. It strives to lift up and celebrate our unity in Christ, the gift of our heritage and the richness of our diversity; and to be an agent of mission in our society and the global community.

Campbell and his spouse, Eileen, a quilter and creator of liturgical stoles, reside in New Hampshire, and are the parents of two grown sons, Samuel, a university chaplain in Worcester, Massachusetts; and Nathan, a lawyer in Washington, DC.

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