August 30, 2009

Prayer List - To see prayer concerns, please visit our prayer board here.

Upper Midwest Regional Prayer Calendar - may be viewed here

Important Dates

Aug 30 Greeter Training 11:30 am
Aug 31 Newsletter Folding
Sept 1 Board Meeting 7 pm
Sept 6 Prayer at the Fair
Sept. 9, 16, 23, 30 Choir 7 pm
Sept 11 Family Game Night 6:30 pm
Sept 13 Reception for Tabitha & Shane 11:00 am

Prayer at the Fair: Mark Your Calendars

Sunday, August 30 and Sunday September 6, 9:15 – 9:45 am

State Fairgrounds, Bandshell

Add prayerful celebration to your experience of the abundance of life at the State Fair. The Minnesota Council of Churches annually organizes this ecumenical service of music and readings. For more information contact Gail Anderson at 612-230-3210 or gail.anderson@mnchurches.org.

A Table Before Me: God's Open-Armed Adventure
Come Join the Adventure!

2009 Adventure in Mission– TABLE HOSPITALITY

Every month will include a different focus; every quarter will bring a new activity; every season will provide more challenge to increase your understanding of Mission, deepen your commitment to Mission, develop your capacity for Mission stewardship.

August Mission Focus: Hunger No More

Family Game Night
September 11, 6:30 pm - whenever

Bring your favorite board game and a snack to share or just bring yourself and join in the fun!

Volunteer Opportunity
Methodist Hospital Hospice will be providing training sessions this fall for new volunteers. Our volunteers give respite care to caregivers who are caring for terminally ill loved ones in their own private homes. Commitment is a maximum of 4 hours per week, and training is 4 sessions. If interested, please call Libby Swanson at 952-993-5381. Thank you for your interest.

Shane & Tabitha You Are All Invited!

You are all invited to a reception to celebrate the wedding of Shane and Tabitha after the worship service on Sunday, September 13th. Please come to congratulate and give warm wishes to the newlyweds and maybe even some helpful hints to a happy marriage!

(They are still registered at Target)

Pastor's Pen - Click here to read Pastor Shane's latest letter

Read more!

August 23, 2009

Prayer List - To see prayer concerns, please visit our prayer board here.

Upper Midwest Regional Prayer Calendar - may be viewed here

Important Dates

Aug 26 Midsummer Night’s Gathering 7 pm

Aug 29 School for Congregational Learning

Aug 30, Sept. 6 Prayer at the Fair

Prayer at the Fair: Mark Your Calendars

Sunday, August 30 and Sunday September 6, 9:15 – 9:45 am

State Fairgrounds, Bandshell

Add prayerful celebration to your experience of the abundance of life at the State Fair. The Minnesota Council of Churches annually organizes this ecumenical service of music and readings. For more information contact Gail Anderson at 612-230-3210 or gail.anderson@mnchurches.org.

A Table Before Me: God's Open-Armed Adventure
Come Join the Adventure!

2009 Adventure in Mission– TABLE HOSPITALITY

Every month will include a different focus; every quarter will bring a new activity; every season will provide more challenge to increase your understanding of Mission, deepen your commitment to Mission, develop your capacity for Mission stewardship.

August Mission Focus: Hunger No More

Heavy Rains Inundate Portions of Taiwan

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Dear Friends,

Over the weekend of August 7-9 Typhoon Morakot triggered the worst flooding in Taiwan in 50 years. In just two days, the storm dumped the equivalent of a year's worth of rain - more than 80 inches - before moving on to China and displacing over a million people there. One entire village in the south of Taiwan was consumed by a mudslide. Many are confirmed dead, others are missing, and, thankfully, several hundred have been rescued. The flooding is devastating to the country's agriculture. The clean-up will be tremendous; representatives from Global Ministries' partner, The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, write, "it will be necessary to monitor and control any infections that could arise from dirty water, debris, dead animals and so on." Week of Compassion, in partnership with the East Asia & Pacific area office of Global Ministries, has sent an initial grant of $2,500 to assist with immediate aid. WoC will also respond to any appeals received from Church World Service for further relief and recovery.

Eye on the Atlantic

We are keeping a watchful eye on the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea as activity has picked up significantly in recent days. Hurricane Bill has become a Category 4 storm as it roars through the Atlantic and could well increase in intensity. We are grateful that Tropical Storm Ana spared the island that Haiti and the Dominican Republic share.

North to Alaska

A group of 17 Disciples volunteers answered the call made two weeks ago to accompany Carl Zerweck, Director of Disciples Volunteering, to Eagle, Alaska, to aid in flood recovery. For the next three weeks, they will labor in a remote part of the state that was devastated by a spring thaw. Follow their experience by going to www.weekofcompassion.org. Please remember them and the residents of the Eagle community in your thoughts and prayers.

Around the World, Around the Year: Where in the World Have We Responded This Week?

Disaster Responses:

Taiwan, typhoon

Mississippi, hurricane recovery

Long-Term Development:

Uganda, food security

Save the Date!

2009 School for Congregational Learning

August 29, 2009

Spirit

Past, Present, & Future

Valley Southwoods Freshman High School,

West Des Moines, Iowa

Inspiring Worship

Intuitive Keynote Speaker – Rev. Dr. Richard Hamm Executive Administrator, Christian Churches Together

Insightful Celebration

Invigorating Workshops (Including one led by Pastor Shane)

~Friday August 28th Kickoff~

6:00 PM Picnic ~West Des Moines Christian Church

Reenactment ~ Signing of the Declaration & Address

by Rev. John Bolen

Pastor's Pen - Click here to read Pastor Shane's latest letter

Read more!

August 16, 2009

Prayer List - To see prayer concerns, please visit our prayer board here.

Upper Midwest Regional Prayer Calendar - may be viewed here

Important Dates

Aug 17 Youth Outing 7 pm

Aug 21 Senior Lunch 11:30 am

Lakeshore Grill

Aug 26 Midsummer Night’s Gathering 7 pm

Aug 29 School for Congregational Learning

Aug 30, Sept. 6 Prayer at the Fair

Prayer at the Fair: Mark Your Calendars

Sunday, August 30 and Sunday September 6, 9:15 – 9:45 am

State Fairgrounds, Bandshell

Add prayerful celebration to your experience of the abundance of life at the State Fair. The Minnesota Council of Churches annually organizes this ecumenical service of music and readings. For more information contact Gail Anderson at 612-230-3210 or gail.anderson@mnchurches.org.

A Table Before Me: God's Open-Armed Adventure
Come Join the Adventure!

2009 Adventure in Mission– TABLE HOSPITALITY

Every month will include a different focus; every quarter will bring a new activity; every season will provide more challenge to increase your understanding of Mission, deepen your commitment to Mission, develop your capacity for Mission stewardship.

August Mission Focus: Hunger No More

Sing with the choir this summer!

The choir will be performing songs throughout the summer in addition to solo performances. Anyone who can make the rehearsal and the scheduled Sunday is welcome to participate. Rehearsals will take place after worship on the Sunday prior to the performance. The next rehearsal will be on August 16 for the August 23 service.

Alaskan Yukon River Flood Project, Thursday, August 6, 2009

Dear Friends,

This winter, northeast Alaska experienced heavier than usual snow and ice accumulations. When temperatures jumped 30 to 40 degrees in a short period of time, a massive spring melt was created. In Eagle and other areas along a 3,000 mile stretch of the Yukon River, water with six feet thick ice chunks crushed cars, trees and moved houses up to a half mile off their foundations.

Eagle and the other villages affected along the length of the river are remote Native American communities with residents who primarily survive by subsistence living. To rebuild their homes, the residents would be required to forego their hunting and winter preparations.

This horrific disaster has garnered little, if any, media coverage. Yet the native peoples living in these remote areas of Alaska are still in desperate need. Together with Disciples Volunteering of Disciples Home Missions; First Christian Church of Anchorage, Alaska; the Northwest Region of the Christian Church; and North Alaska Disaster Response (a long-term recovery organization), Week of Compassion is responding to the overwhelming needs as a result of the massive flooding.

From August 21 - September 14, we are organizing a work trip of Disciples volunteers willing to go to Alaska. If you feel called to respond, we are looking for a 3-week commitment from you; work days will be 10-12 hours. You would also be responsible for your roundtrip airfare from your departure city to Anchorage. All other expenses will be covered. If you are so inclined, please contact Carl Zerweck at 317.289.5061. We hope some of you will feel moved to be a part of this historic Disciples response! Or if you would like to help by making a monetary response, visit www.weekofcompassion.org

Around the World, Around the Year: Where in the World Have We Responded This Week?

Disaster Responses:

Alaska, spring floods

Nepal, diarrhea outbreak

Honduras, political crisis

Pakistan, religious violence

Save the Date!

2009 School for Congregational Learning

August 29, 2009

Spirit

Past, Present, & Future

Valley Southwoods Freshman High School,

West Des Moines, Iowa

Inspiring Worship

Intuitive Keynote Speaker – Rev. Dr. Richard Hamm Executive Administrator, Christian Churches Together

Insightful Celebration

Invigorating Workshops (Including one led by Pastor Shane)

~Friday August 28th Kickoff~

6:00 PM Picnic ~West Des Moines Christian Church

Reenactment ~ Signing of the Declaration & Address

by Rev. John Bolen

2009 Honeywell Concert Band Schedule

Jeremae Francis, Director

Aug. 11 – Tue. 7:30 PM – Lake Harriet Band Shell, 4135 W. Lake Harriet Pkwy, Minneapolis, MN

Pastor's Pen - Click here to read Pastor Shane's latest letter

Read more!

August 9, 2009

Prayer List - To see prayer concerns, please visit our prayer board here.

Upper Midwest Regional Prayer Calendar - may be viewed here

Important Dates

Aug 12, 26 Midsummer Night’s Gathering 7 pm

Aug 17 Youth Outing 7 pm

Aug 21 Senior Lunch 11:30 am

Lakeshore Grill

Aug 29 School for Congregational Learning

Aug 30, Sept. 6 Prayer at the Fair

Prayer at the Fair: Mark Your Calendars

Sunday, August 30 and Sunday September 6, 9:15 – 9:45 am

State Fairgrounds, Bandshell

A Table Before Me: God's Open-Armed Adventure
Come Join the Adventure!

2009 Adventure in Mission– TABLE HOSPITALITY

Every month will include a different focus; every quarter will bring a new activity; every season will provide more challenge to increase your understanding of Mission, deepen your commitment to Mission, develop your capacity for Mission stewardship.

August Mission Focus: Hunger No More

Sing with the choir this summer!

The choir will be performing songs throughout the summer in addition to solo performances. Anyone who can make the rehearsal and the scheduled Sunday is welcome to participate. Rehearsals will take place after worship on the Sunday prior to the performance. The next rehearsal will be on August 16 for the August 23 service.

My experience working has given me an unshakable faith in the creativity of human beings. It leads me to believe that humans are not born to suffer the misery of hunger and poverty. They suffer now as they did in the past because we turn our heads away from this issue.

Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize winner, 2006

A HUNGRY WORLD

• 854 million people are hungry – That’s about equal to the entire population of the western

hemisphere. FAO/Population Reference Bureau

• Each day almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes – one every five seconds. FAO

• Most of these people are not victims of famine that so dominates our news, but suffer from what the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) calls a “covert famine” of chronic hunger and malnutrition, stunting growth, sapping energy

and potential. FAO

• Hunger and malnutrition are the number one risk to global health, killing more people than AIDS, malaria, and TB combined. World Food Program (WFP)

• Amount U.S. spends annually on foreign aid – $20.7 billion. Amount people in the U.S. annually spend on diet and weight loss products – $34.7 billion. Council on Foreign Relations/

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

HUNGER AT HOME

• 35.1 million Americans – one in ten households – live in households that experience hunger or the risk of hunger.

About one-third are children. Though most poor families in the U.S. are working families, the low wages earned by millions of U.S. workers are

not enough to cover the cost of housing, medical care, child care, transportation, clothing, and food. Employment is simply not enough to safeguard against hunger and poverty.

Household Food Security in the United States, 2005/Bread for the World

• If all 35.1 million Americans faced with food insecurity stood in line at a food pantry in New York City, the line would stretch to Los Angeles and back. Twice. 2000 Census

• In 2006, an average of 26.7 million people used food stamps each month – about 1 million more people per month than in 2005. USDA

Information taken from “Facts Have Faces: Hunger in a World of Plenty”, Church World Service

Save the Date!

2009 School for Congregational Learning

August 29, 2009

Spirit

Past, Present, & Future

Valley Southwoods Freshman High School,

West Des Moines, Iowa

Inspiring Worship

Intuitive Keynote Speaker – Rev. Dr. Richard Hamm Executive Administrator, Christian Churches Together

Insightful Celebration

Invigorating Workshops (Including one led by Pastor Shane)

~Friday August 28th Kickoff~

6:00 PM Picnic ~West Des Moines Christian Church

Reenactment ~ Signing of the Declaration & Address

by Rev. John Bolen

2009 Honeywell Concert Band Schedule

Jeremae Francis, Director

Aug. 9 – Sun. 7 PM – Como Park Pavilion, St. Paul, MN

Aug. 11 – Tue. 7:30 PM – Lake Harriet Band Shell, 4135 W. Lake Harriet Pkwy, Minneapolis, MN

Food Drive

As Part of VBS, our youth will be collecting food and donations on August 9th. Please bring your food or monetary donations to church on the 9th to help support their efforts.

Pastor's Pen - Click here to read Pastor Shane's latest letter

Read more!

August 2, 2009

Prayer List - To see prayer concerns, please visit our prayer board here.

Upper Midwest Regional Prayer Calendar - may be viewed here

Important Dates

Aug 6 IOCP Earl Cup Golf Tournament www.iocp.org
Aug 7-9 Vacation Bible School
Aug 8 Feed My Starving Children 11:30 am – 2:30pm
Brooklyn Park FMSC
Aug 9 VBS Foodshelf collection
Aug 12, 26 Midsummer Night’s Gathering 7 pm
Aug 17 Youth Outing 7 pm
Aug 21 Senior Lunch 11:30 am
Lakeshore Grill
Aug 29 School for Congregational Learning


A Table Before Me: God's Open-Armed Adventure
Come Join the Adventure!

2009 Adventure in Mission– TABLE HOSPITALITY

Every month will include a different focus; every quarter will bring a new activity; every season will provide more challenge to increase your understanding of Mission, deepen your commitment to Mission, develop your capacity for Mission stewardship.

August Mission Focus: Hunger No More

Vacation Bible School

August 7-9

This year our VBS theme will be “Hunger No More”. The children will discuss the issue of hunger throughout the world and what we can do to combat it. The weekend will include a mission trip to Feed My Starving Children on Sat. August 9 for children in 3rd grade or above. For more information or to register, please go topccc.pbworks.com/Vacation-Bible-School-2009, look for materials in the Narthex, or call the church office to have a registration form mailed to you.

Registration Deadline – Aug. 2

Sing with the choir this summer!

The choir will be performing songs throughout the summer in addition to solo performances. Anyone who can make the rehearsal and the scheduled Sunday is welcome to participate. Rehearsals will take place after worship on the Sunday prior to the performance. The next rehearsal will be on August 16 for the August 23 service.

Food Packaging Event

Saturday Aug. 8

11:30 AM -1:30 PM

Come join our VBS youth at this FMSC event. We have 24 spots to fill so we need you! If you will be able to attend, please sign-up on the sheet in the narthex or contact the church office at secretary@plymouthcreek.org or 763-559-1469

Save the Date!

2009 School for Congregational Learning

August 29, 2009

Spirit

Past, Present, & Future

Valley Southwoods Freshman High School,

West Des Moines, Iowa

Inspiring Worship

Intuitive Keynote Speaker – Rev. Dr. Richard Hamm Executive Administrator, Christian Churches Together

Insightful Celebration

Invigorating Workshops (Including one led by Pastor Shane)

~Friday August 28th Kickoff~

6:00 PM Picnic ~West Des Moines Christian Church

Reenactment ~ Signing of the Declaration & Address

by Rev. John Bolen

2009 Honeywell Concert Band Schedule

Jeremae Francis, Director

Aug. 9 – Sun. 7 PM – Como Park Pavilion, St. Paul, MN

Aug. 11 – Tue. 7:30 PM – Lake Harriet Band Shell, 4135 W. Lake Harriet Pkwy, Minneapolis, MN

Food Drive

As Part of VBS, our youth will be collecting food and donations on August 9th. Please bring your food or monetary donations to church on the 9th to help support their efforts.

Pastor's Pen - Click here to read Pastor Shane's latest letter

Read more!