Prayer List - To see prayer concerns, please visit our prayer board here.
Upper Midwest Regional Prayer Calendar - may be viewed here
Sept. 30 Choir 7 pm
Oct. 4 Great Communion, Valley Christian Church 4 PM
Oct. 11 CROP Walk
Oct. 16 Senior’s Lunch, Lakeshore Grill 11:30 AM
CROP Walk 2009
This year’s CROP Hunger Walk campaign is just getting underway and already we have 10 Walkers! There will be a couple of changes to the event this year.
IOCP will receive 6.25 of the NW Suburbs total earnings to help in the local community. In addition to raising funds, this year’s walkers and congregations are encouraged to bring canned goods to the walk. PCCC has been asked to donate soup for IOCP
The walk will be held on October 11. If you would like to be a part of the team or you would like to sponsor a walker, please contact Chana Weaver.
Hunger Progress and Distress
• In September 2000, 189 countries, including the United States, endorsed the Millennium Development Goals to cut in half the percentage of people living in extreme poverty and substantially improve health and education in impoverished countries by 2015.
• In 19 developing countries, the number of hungry has dropped by 80 million over ten years.
• However, higher food prices are likely to push 100 million deeper into poverty.
• Over 923 million people around the world remain hungry – more than the population of the western hemisphere.
• Most of these people are not victims of famine, but suffer from chronic hunger and malnutrition that stunts growth and saps energy and potential.
• Every day, more than 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes – about one child every five seconds.
• 1.4 billion people live below the international poverty line, earning less than $1.25 a day.
What is poverty? To come home and see your children go hungry and not have anything to give them.
Brazil
Brazil
WoC Responds to Flooding in Georgia
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Dear Friends,
As Ray Miles, Regional Minister of the Christian Church in Georgia, writes, "What started as an inconvenience and a topic of conversation has escalated in many parts of Georgia to a natural disaster." Homes have been destroyed and some lives lost to the torrential rains. As of now, we do not know of any Disciples churches damaged, though some members of Disciples congregations have been significantly affected. In response Week of Compassion is sending a 'solidarity grant' to the Christian Church in Georgia..WoC has also been in touch with the regional ministers and local church pastors in several other states that experienced flooding over the weekend, and so far, there are no reports of other Disciples congregations or members affected.
Thank You, Team Alaska!
The Disciples Volunteering Disaster Response Mission Team returned from Eagle, Alaska, on September 15 after a successful and challenging mission trip. Week of Compassion gives thanks for their ministry and has been proud to partner with them. If you want to read some of their closing thoughts and reflections, be sure to check out the website gd4jc.org/.
Next Ecumenical Rebuild in Cedar Rapids
Week of Compassion is getting ready to team with Church World Service to help plan a 2010 Ecumenical Rebuild Project in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to help with that community's continued flood recovery efforts. This project is only in the planning stages, so please be on the lookout for more details!
Floods in Mauritania
Through our partnership with ACT International, Week of Compassion is responding to floods caused by an overly abundant rainy season in Mauritania. A country that normally receives very little and scattered rains, Mauritania has this season been "blessed" by more rains than usual. This has created serious population displacements, especially in Rosso, because of the flooding of large parts of this city. The response to this emergency has been slow, due to the twin assumptions that the first rains were a freak event and the situation would be under control quickly.
However, more rains have aggravated the situation, and some 3700 people have been camping in provisional shelters 7 kilometers north of Rosso on higher ground. Their neighborhoods have been flooded, and it is not likely that they will return soon because rains continue to fall. They have appealed for immediate assistance with food, water, shelter and sanitation.
The emergency response is scaling up at this stage and will likely include the provision of clean drinking water through tankering, community mobilization around the management of water points, cleaning and disinfection of toilet areas, and removal of garbage. ACT also plans to assist with mosquito control.
Tropical Storm Jimena
On September 2 and 3, Tropical Storm Jimena hit Western Mexico. Two hundred thousand people were affected by the flood. Water, in some places reaching more than ten feet, destroyed houses and bridges, knocked train cars off the railroad, and damaged electrical delivery and countless pieces of personal property.
Week of Compassion has sent a solidarity grant to the Christian Congregational Churches of Mexico to support the efforts of the local congregation of Empalme. The Church in Empalme will collect food, used clothes and shoes, furniture and appliances for the poor families.
Gifts for all these concerns and other needs around the world are always welcome. Visit www.weekofcompassion.org or send a check to WoC, PO Box 1986, Indianapolis, IN 46206.
Around the World, Around the Year: Where in the World Have We Responded This Week?
Disaster Responses:
Mexico, flood relief
Mauritania, flood relief
Georgia, flood relief
Long-Term Development:
Illinois, food security
Week of Compassion is sharing resources and changing lives. Thank you for sharing your resources and helping to change lives.
- Amy Gopp
(Excerpts from State of the Church 2009)
What do I hear as the State of the Church?
What I hear as the state of the church in the Upper Midwest is something different and I boldly proclaim . . .
I believe that we are reclaiming that different ministry and way of being ‘church’ that our founders dreamed of when they first set out to put forth a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.
Here is what I have heard in the last six months to inspire me to believe that we have arrived:
I have heard the Regional Board get excited about moving in some radically different directions not just to save money, not just to make a move out of desperation, but out of a vision and a dream to see where God might be leading us again.
I have heard that even though the economy is down, and we budgeted to be down 4% in Disciples Mission Fund giving, You, the Congregations in the Upper Midwest, found a way to increase the giving over this time last year. And you didn’t do it by just a little, together you increased it by $30,000, an increase that we have not seen in over a decade. But that’s not all…
I have heard that though we started this year with a line of credit debt of $190,000, not only have we not had to borrow anymore money this year, we have been able to pay the line of credit down by $60,000.
When we first put out word that we would be hosting a retreat for those who might be hearing a call to ministry, our first call, was from the mother of a ten year-old who wanted to know if her son could attend. He is not alone, I have heard the voices of many who are hearing the calls to ministry. We, as Disciples Together are raising up a new generation…
To all the members of the Region’s Commission on Ministry; “Get ready you are going to be very busy.”
For all these things, “I am thankful you all have arrived! Oietchu!”
To read the complete State of the Church 2009 or other Regional Transition documents, go to www.uppermidwestcc.org
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Dear Friends,
As Ray Miles, Regional Minister of the Christian Church in Georgia, writes, "What started as an inconvenience and a topic of conversation has escalated in many parts of Georgia to a natural disaster." Homes have been destroyed and some lives lost to the torrential rains. As of now, we do not know of any Disciples churches damaged, though some members of Disciples congregations have been significantly affected. In response Week of Compassion is sending a 'solidarity grant' to the Christian Church in Georgia..WoC has also been in touch with the regional ministers and local church pastors in several other states that experienced flooding over the weekend, and so far, there are no reports of other Disciples congregations or members affected.
Thank You, Team Alaska!
The Disciples Volunteering Disaster Response Mission Team returned from Eagle, Alaska, on September 15 after a successful and challenging mission trip. Week of Compassion gives thanks for their ministry and has been proud to partner with them. If you want to read some of their closing thoughts and reflections, be sure to check out the website gd4jc.org/.
Next Ecumenical Rebuild in Cedar Rapids
Week of Compassion is getting ready to team with Church World Service to help plan a 2010 Ecumenical Rebuild Project in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to help with that community's continued flood recovery efforts. This project is only in the planning stages, so please be on the lookout for more details!
Floods in Mauritania
Through our partnership with ACT International, Week of Compassion is responding to floods caused by an overly abundant rainy season in Mauritania. A country that normally receives very little and scattered rains, Mauritania has this season been "blessed" by more rains than usual. This has created serious population displacements, especially in Rosso, because of the flooding of large parts of this city. The response to this emergency has been slow, due to the twin assumptions that the first rains were a freak event and the situation would be under control quickly.
However, more rains have aggravated the situation, and some 3700 people have been camping in provisional shelters 7 kilometers north of Rosso on higher ground. Their neighborhoods have been flooded, and it is not likely that they will return soon because rains continue to fall. They have appealed for immediate assistance with food, water, shelter and sanitation.
The emergency response is scaling up at this stage and will likely include the provision of clean drinking water through tankering, community mobilization around the management of water points, cleaning and disinfection of toilet areas, and removal of garbage. ACT also plans to assist with mosquito control.
Tropical Storm Jimena
On September 2 and 3, Tropical Storm Jimena hit Western Mexico. Two hundred thousand people were affected by the flood. Water, in some places reaching more than ten feet, destroyed houses and bridges, knocked train cars off the railroad, and damaged electrical delivery and countless pieces of personal property.
Week of Compassion has sent a solidarity grant to the Christian Congregational Churches of Mexico to support the efforts of the local congregation of Empalme. The Church in Empalme will collect food, used clothes and shoes, furniture and appliances for the poor families.
Gifts for all these concerns and other needs around the world are always welcome. Visit www.weekofcompassion.org or send a check to WoC, PO Box 1986, Indianapolis, IN 46206.
Around the World, Around the Year: Where in the World Have We Responded This Week?
Disaster Responses:
Mexico, flood relief
Mauritania, flood relief
Georgia, flood relief
Long-Term Development:
Illinois, food security
Week of Compassion is sharing resources and changing lives. Thank you for sharing your resources and helping to change lives.
- Amy Gopp
(Excerpts from State of the Church 2009)
What do I hear as the State of the Church?
What I hear as the state of the church in the Upper Midwest is something different and I boldly proclaim . . .
I believe that we are reclaiming that different ministry and way of being ‘church’ that our founders dreamed of when they first set out to put forth a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.
Here is what I have heard in the last six months to inspire me to believe that we have arrived:
I have heard the Regional Board get excited about moving in some radically different directions not just to save money, not just to make a move out of desperation, but out of a vision and a dream to see where God might be leading us again.
I have heard that even though the economy is down, and we budgeted to be down 4% in Disciples Mission Fund giving, You, the Congregations in the Upper Midwest, found a way to increase the giving over this time last year. And you didn’t do it by just a little, together you increased it by $30,000, an increase that we have not seen in over a decade. But that’s not all…
I have heard that though we started this year with a line of credit debt of $190,000, not only have we not had to borrow anymore money this year, we have been able to pay the line of credit down by $60,000.
When we first put out word that we would be hosting a retreat for those who might be hearing a call to ministry, our first call, was from the mother of a ten year-old who wanted to know if her son could attend. He is not alone, I have heard the voices of many who are hearing the calls to ministry. We, as Disciples Together are raising up a new generation…
To all the members of the Region’s Commission on Ministry; “Get ready you are going to be very busy.”
For all these things, “I am thankful you all have arrived! Oietchu!”
To read the complete State of the Church 2009 or other Regional Transition documents, go to www.uppermidwestcc.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.
September Mission Focus: Equal Exchange - Disciples of Christ Coffee Project
October Mission Focus: CROP Walk
Women's Tea
November 14, 2009
Anyone interested in helping to organize the annual Women's Tea, please contact Glenda Glore at gglore@comcast.net or 763.475.0803.
October Sermon Homework-
For the month of October, Pastor Shane is preaching a sermon series titled "Adventures of Biblical Proportion." Here are the scriptures to look at ahead of time. Consider it your sermon homework for the month. No tests, but gold stars and extra credit for those who complete the homework on time!
October 4- Daniel 3- The Fiery Furnace
October 11- Judges 15:9-19- Samson and the Donkey Jawbone
October 18- Judges 4 - Deborah and Jael
October 25- Acts 27:1-2, 7-11, 13-15, 18-20, 27, 39, 42-44- The Shipwreck of Paul
This I Believe Invitation
In July and August, a small group of Plymouth Creekers studied the wonderful book "Unbinding the Gospel," which helps Christians share their faith more lovingly and courageously. One of its central claims is that we often have difficulty sharing our faith because many of us just don't know what to say! We know Jesus and church are important, but they're so personal that words often escape us. So if we want to get better at sharing faith (and I know I do!!), we need to practice. And what better place to practice then the supportive, intimate community that is your church, Plymouth Creek?!
So the group concocted an idea. Have you ever heard of the NPR series, "This I Believe"? It's real simple. Normal, everyday people write a short essay describing ONE THING they believe, and telling the story of why that is. My favorite is "I believe in always going to the funeral..." Check out thisibelieve.org if you want to learn more.
Anyway, we want every person at Plymouth Creek to write a "This I Believe" essay regarding one aspect of your faith. Each week for the next year, we will put one or two of these in the weekly bulletin insert, so that we can learn from each other what's important about faith, and how to put that into words. One wrinkle: We won't publish your name. Every essay will be anonymous- so no one needs to feel self-conscious, competitive or worried about judgment. Only Pastor Shane will know who wrote the essay (or not, if you just slip it under his door!)
Sound intriguing?! I hope so. Remember the ground rules, 1) 350-500 words, 2) Tell a story; make it personal, 3) Describe one thing about your faith, i.e. don't try to include everything. Email them to pastor@plymouthcreek.org, or hand it to Pastor Shane, or send it via snail mail. Our first installment will be next week and, hopefully, over the next year, every person at Plymouth Creek will have a turn. Thank you, in advance, for sharing your faith. May the intimacy this creates, and boldness it fosters, lead more people to know the glory and grace that is Jesus our Lord!!!
Fall Sunday School Schedule(s)
Reminder- Sunday School has started. 9 AM (8:45 for Adults) every week. Get ready for another adventure in learning. Here's what's happening for:
Children (through fifth grade)- Chana Weaver is teaching about Heroes! No Cape required, but come (or bring your kids and grandkids to) learn about the heroes of faith, and be inspired.
Youth (sixth through twelfth grade)- Pastor Shane is teaching about Liquid...? Liquid is an inspiring series of short DVDs that deal in a hip way about fresh and relevant topics for youth. To start- Issues of change and crossing over to new places in life. Upcoming- God's Top Ten! Oh, and there's gonna be a whole lotta fun!
Adult- (everyone else!)- This will be lay led and team taught. We will use DVD series about contemporary issues of faith and practice, which will combine good teachers with important life questions. First up- A six-week series on Prayer and stories of prayer in the Bible. Next- you decide!
Pastor's Pen - Click here to read Pastor Shane's latest letter
Read more!
