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Pastor’s Corner:
Lenten Blessings
Lent is a season of preparation, when we turn toward God, renew our faith, and prepare for the new life that awaits us on Easter morning. This particular year at LOUCC, the season of Lent has found us preparing for new life in some additional ways. As a church, we are preparing for the upcoming birth of my child as well as planning for the new life that we will all experience during the pastoral sabbatical in 2017. While these are both joyous occasions, they have created a busier than usual Lent for our church leaders, and I am deeply humbled and grateful for the work that they are doing.
In particular I want to thank our Moderator Nan Deane, who has been confidently leading our church into this season of parental leave. In addition to all of her ongoing Moderator duties, she has been chairing our Parental Leave Team (Linda Mines Elliott, Nan Deane, Nathan Osborn, and myself), who also deserve a huge round of thanks. After a busy January and February, this team has identified an excellent candidate, whose name we will be announcing soon. I have so appreciated working with Nan, Linda, and Nathan as they have prayerfully considered the needs of our church and chosen their candidate who will be the best fit for us at this exciting time.
I also want to thank Moderator-Elect Pam Rossio, who in addition to all her Moderator-Elect duties and her ongoing service on the Worship Team, has also been helping to lead our Sabbatical Planning Team (Bee Neufeld, Gary Tandy, Pam Rossio, and myself). This team has also put in many extra hours in recent months to assist me and lead the congregation in dreaming about our sabbatical plans for next summer. We are under deadline to submit a grant to the Lilly Endowment, and this next month will be a pivotal time for this team. Please hold them in your prayers.
I am also extremely grateful to our Worship Team, who in addition to our weekly Sunday worship and extra Lenten services, have also planned our excellent Lenten series “Grounded in the Spirit.” Many thanks to them for also leading and providing food for the Wednesday installment of the series, and to Sharon Davis and the Adult Education Team for leading and providing food for the Sunday series.
In addition, a huge thanks goes out to our Trustees, and especially Chair Patrick Balducci, who have been caring for both the finances and property of our church. In addition to their diligent financial management and ongoing maintenance projects (both planned and unplanned), Patrick in particular has graciously entered the financial/human resource world of pregnancy related disability leave, payroll, and all the financial hoops of having a pastor on parental leave. So many thanks to him as well.
Finally, I want to say thank you also to Bill Davis, Mary Cox, and Jim Crane for stepping into leadership at pivotal times for our congregation. Bill has been leading both our Worship Team and our Generosity team this year and has been doing an awesome job at both. However, due to his health concerns, last month he had to step down from chairing these teams. Graciously, Mary Cox agreed to chair Worship Team for the rest of the year, stepping in at a critical time when she and the team will be working closely with our Parental Leave Pastor. And Jim Crane graciously agreed to chair the Generosity Team, ensuring that we have continuity of leadership and helping us continue to be strong stewards of our time, talent and treasure.
Of course there are many more people leading, facilitating, volunteering, and making our church run, and to all of you, I am extremely grateful. One of the hallmarks of the United Church of Christ and Lake Oswego UCC is covenant and the idea that we are mutually bound to one another—called to love and support one another. I am so aware of the how the church is supporting me during this season of preparation—for Easter, for birth, for sabbatical—and I’m grateful for how our leaders are also supporting one another and our entire congregation during this time. This mutual love, this care for the church and its ministries, this living by the Spirit is who we are as a community, and I thank you for being a Lenten blessing to me.
As we continue to prepare for the new life of Easter, of babies, of sabbatical, and of resurrection, may we sense God walking with us, and we may we rejoice that we walk this road together.
With great thanks and admiration,
Moderator's Corner
The Spirit is at work at LOUCC.
- 23 folks of all ages headed to the Food Bank to both pack food and present the Souper Bowl of Caring check to the Oregon Food Bank
- The Lenten series is being offered at two different times each week
- The Parental Leave Planning Team is in the final stages of hiring a Parental Leave Pastor! Yay! (More details to follow as they are finalized. Soon, I promise! Stay tuned!)
- LOUCC will serve dinner at Operation Nightwatch in April
- Adam Erickson is leading a lively Monday Bible Study
- Sojourners are meeting weekly
- The choir is making beautiful music
- Shawls are being knit
- Sunday School classes are growing
- Banners are changing with the seasons
There are so many ways to get involved. Please let me know if you have a new idea you’d like to try, or if you have any questions.
With much gratitude,
Nan
Notes from the Music Director
We look forward to creating beautiful music this month. Some of the choral highlights include "Kyrie" from Schubert's Mass in G Major; a joyful arrangement of the hymn "Hosanna, Loud Hosanna," with bells ringing; and an 18th century motet "Adoramus Te," by Italian composer Quirino Gasparini.
We also welcome flutist Laila Murphy on Easter Sunday, with music that will be joyful and inspirational!
Tina Sandoval
Director of Music Ministry
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Faith Development
Church School
Church school this month focuses on the good news of Easter. Zoomers (ages 2.5 thorough kindergarten) celebrate "New Life" with the Easter story. We will be planting seeds, discovering eggs and learning about animals and their babies. Bloomers (1st-6th graders) will explore the "Colors of Easter" with stories and activities about God's unending love and how we are reflections of that love. Teens (7th-12th graders) meet on the 2nd and 4th Sundays at 10:30 a.m. in a continuing conversation about life, faith, science, caring and all the most interesting topics and ways of being. Other Sundays of the month Teens are in worship with the congregation.
Easter Sunday, March 27, the children will be in worship with special activities for all ages. The nursery will be open for those up to age three.
The Zoomer class needs one more teacher or helper until the end of the program year (mid June). If you have one Sunday a month to share with our adorable Zoomers (ages 2.5 through kindergarten) please contact Sue Rosenau at susankrosenau@gmail.com or Linda Mines Elliott. at lmineselliott@gmail.com. Curriculum, activities, a co-leader and lots of fun are provided.
THANKS - Teen Class Food Drive and the Souper Bowl of Caring
 Our thanks to everyone for your donations of food for the Teen Class Food Drive, and to the 23 volunteers who signed up to work at the Food Bank on February 27, deliver the food and the Souper Bowl of Caring donations (look in April's newsletter for a photo).
The total raised this year for the Souper Bowl of Caring was $2,058! (including a donation from the Missions Team.) This is our biggest donation to the Food Bank ever! Thank you!
Linda Mines Elliott
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Congregational
Care Note
The contact person for Congregational Care support during March is Pat Crane. Please contact Pat at pdcrane@comcast.net or (503) 636-0503 or (610) 308-3577 if you are, or if you know of anyone, who is in need of support: meals, visits, or rides to church or any type of appointment. Thank you!
2016 Lenten Series Focuses on Loving God
Wednesday Nights and Sunday Afternoons Through March 20
 As part of our Lenten theme “Grounded in the Spirit,” our 2016 Lenten Series focuses on loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength as a way that we get grounded in the Spirit. Drawing from the 2016 UCC Still Speaking Devotional, Heart, Soul, Mind, Strength, each week we'll explore how we deepen our relationship with God through our heart, soul, mind, or strength, as well as what challenges get in our way. We’ll also engage in a new prayer practice each week, as we seek to ground ourselves in the Spirit of God’s love.
Sessions are being offered twice per week—on Wednesday evenings from 6-7:30 p.m. and again on Sunday afternoons from 12-1:30 p.m. Each session includes a simple meal, discussion, and activities. Food will be provided.
Weekly discussions are based on readings from the UCC Devotional Heart, Soul, Mind, Strength. Copies are available in the entryway of the church. Please pick up a copy and enjoy these short, inspirational reflections. Look forward to seeing you at the Lenten Series!
Wed, Mar 2 and Sun, Mar 6—
Loving God with All Your Mind
Wed, Mar 9 and Sun, Mar 13—
Loving God with all Your Strength
Wed, Mar. 15 and Sun, Mar 20—
Loving God with all Your Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength
For questions, please contact:
Mary Cox ( mecox@pacifier.com),
Sharon Davis ( sdavis1518@gmail.com), or
Jennie Ott ( pastor@loucc.org).
Mission and Social Justice
An Opportunity to Help in the Community
 On Saturday, April 2 we will be serving dinner at the Operation Nightwatch SE center. We need a total of eight people to prepare and serve a spaghetti dinner for approximately 100 individuals. Please sign up if you are interested in helping - look for the sign-up sheet in the narthex. (If there are more volunteers than space, we will be doing this project again in August.)
If you would like to help but can’t join us in person, we will be collecting fresh fruits to take with us. Your donation of any fresh fruit is welcome (many people have poor oral health so soft fruits like bananas are the most popular.)
Do you like to sew? Shop for sales?
We are going to support a new organization called "Pajama Gramma”. This organization collects pajamas for families newly entering women’s domestic abuse shelters in Clackamas county. We will collect for both boys and girls, from babies to teens. Often families escape with only what they are wearing. Having a variety of new pajamas to offer the kids will help to remove one small concern. If you like to sew or shop start picking up items on sale, or get out your sewing supplies. We will collect the pajamas during the month of May.
Mission Trip to Nicaragua
Saturday, July 30 through Sunday,
August 7, 2016
Our Mission trip to Nicaragua is still being planned for the first week of August. It is not too late for you to join! If you are interested please email Mina Bacigalupi at minabaci@comcast.net or Leslie Crowder at ljc2crowder@gmail.com
Social Justice & Mission Team
Sabbatical Planning Update
Come Plan for LOUCC’s Sabbatical
“Creating Green Spaces”
Saturday, March 5, 9:30-11 a.m.
Following up on our January 31, all-church, sabbatical brainstorming session, the Sabbatical Planning Team is hosting a follow-up conversation to turn our key themes into concrete ideas as we prepare for the sabbatical in the summer of 2017. All are invited to participate in this planning session on Saturday, March 5 from 9:30-11 a.m.. Coffee, tea, and bagels will be provided.
As we work with the theme “Creating Green Spaces”—which for Jennie includes travel, time for creativity and new growth, and time with family and friends—we want to explore how we can create green spaces (and opportunities for new growth) here at LOUCC. A large part of Jennie’s sabbatical is engaging her right brain through arts and comedy as well as time spent with her growing family.
As we reviewed the results of the sabbatical brainstorming session ( see full results here), there were several key themes that emerged as a way that we could “create green spaces” at LOUCC. Several groups wished to incorporate more arts into worship—including visual art, music, and multi-media ways of engaging our faith. Other groups talked about building community with each other through intergenerational services and specific hands-on activities that engage our whole congregation. Several groups mentioned wanting to expand our sense of community with mission activities into our wider community.
As a congregation and as a Sabbatical Planning Team, our job now is to take these key themes and narrow them down into about three concrete goals that we can accomplish over the Sabbatical Period from May-August 2017. This is our goal for the March 5meeting. All are welcome to participate, and we especially invite those of you who are interested in expanding the arts, community, and mission at LOUCC. Please let us know if plan to attend by RSVP'ing to Bee Neufeld at bqneufeld@gmail.com.
Thank you!
The Sabbatical Planning Team
(Bee Neufeld, Pam Rossio, Gary Tandy, Jennie Ott)
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One Great Hour of Sharing Special Offering
Sunday, March 6
 On Sunday, March 6 during worship we will receive the One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) offering, one of five special offerings in the United Church of Christ. OGHS involves us in disaster, refugee/immigration, and development ministries throughout the world. When a disaster strikes or people are displaced or made refugees by violence or extreme poverty, we are part of the immediate response and of the long-term recovery.
Through OGHS, we engage in holistic development programs including health care, education, agriculture, food sustainability, micro-financing and women’s empowerment. Because the UCC relates in mutual partnership to churches and organizations through Global Ministries and worldwide response and recovery networks, our contributions to One Great Hour of Sharing put us in the right place at the right time for the relief, accompaniment and recovery of the most vulnerable. We meet immediate needs and we address the underlying causes that create those needs in the first place. For more information see www.ucc.org/oghs, and please plan to give generously on March 6 .
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Green Team:
Leaders in Sustainability Program
 LOUCC is an Earthwise congregation striving to honor, protect, and educate others about the planet and our role as stewards of creation. As part of this we are working toward becoming certified in the Clackamas County Leaders in Sustainability program. This program supports businesses and organizations seeking to adopt and strengthen sustainable best practices, enhance their triple bottom line (economic, social, and environmental) and celebrate success. This certification showcases our efforts and achievements towards eliminating waste, conserving resources, promoting a healthy place of worship and community engagement. LOUCC is close to achieving this honor which we hope to celebrate at our Earth Day celebration .
-Kathy White
Arts & Adult Education:
LOUCC Marks National Poetry Month
 Arts and Adult Education is sponsoring discussion of Christian Wiman’s "My Bright Abyss: Meditation of a Modern Believer." A well-respected poet who teaches Religion and Literature at Yale Divinity School, Wiman addresses issues such as how reading poetry affected his spiritual life while he was struggling with an advanced form of cancer.
Bob Miller, who was profiled in the February Newsletter, will be facilitating the discussion of this short but challenging collection of essays. He notes that they might not appeal to people who are absolutely sure that they hate poetry as Wiman likes to quote it. But Bob adds that the book is not for poetry-lovers alone—that it might appeal to any person of faith who has struggled with a major illness, or from the grief that follows a losing battle with one, and sought solace through thoughtful reading.
Discussions will begin in the Weidman Room at 11:45 a.m. on April 3, 10, and 17, each session lasting no longer than 90 minutes. A light lunch will be available. For questions about the book or about the discussion of it, contact Bob at (503) 628-9438. For a copy of the book, contact Penny Holcomb at (503) 957-1922.
Arts and Adult Education
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Beyond Racism
There are many events in our community that can help us understand racism, increase our awareness, and give us the tools to advocate for diversity and fight hate. One of these events are listed below:
Everybody Reads 2016
Tuesday, March 8, 2016, 7:30-9 p.m.
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
1037 SW Broadway, Portland
 In partnership with Multnomah County Library and The Library Foundation, Literary Arts is proud to present Cristina Henríquez, author of "The Book of Unknown Americans", at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall as the culminating event of the 14th annual community reading project. Henríquez’s novel explores the lives of two families who have come to the United States from Mexico and Panama, as well as the experiences of men and women who have immigrated from all over Latin America, as they pursue different versions of the American Dream. The Book of Unknown Americans was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book of 2014, one of Amazon’s Best Books of 2014, the Daily Beast’s Novel of the Year, one of The Washington Post’s top 50 fiction books, and an NPR Great Read, among other accolades. Henríquez’s fiction and nonfiction have appeared in numerous distinguished publications, including The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and The New York Times Magazine.
| 6th |
Speaker:
Theme:
Text:
Reader:
Scripture:
Ushers: |
Rev. Jennie Ott
Grounded in the Spirit
through Compassion
Isaiah 55:1-9; Luke 13:1-9
Penny Holcomb
Hilary Martin Himan
Pat Crane, Bill Deane,
Dona and Todd Sweetland |
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Counters: |
Paula Larson and
Roy Schreiber |
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| 13th |
Speaker:
Theme:
Text:
Reader:
Scripture:
Ushers: |
Rev. Jennie Ott
Grounded in the Spirit
through Justice
Isaiah 43:16-21; Luke 13:10-17
John Howell
Nancy Hayes
Cindy Ellison, Connie Irwin, Wana Maurer, and Gary Tandy |
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Counters: |
Paula Larson and
Roy Schreiber |
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| 20th |
Speaker:
Theme:
Text:
Reader:
Scripture:
Ushers:
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Rev. Jennie Ott
Palm Sunday
Grounded in the Spirit
Through Trust
Luke 19:28-40;
Luke 22:14-23; 39-46
Monica Honegger
Dawn Hayami
Carol Bellows, Carol Heath, Elaine Smilko, and Ruth Wallin |
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Counters: |
Paula Larson and
Roy Schreiber |
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24th
7:00 p.m. |
Theme: |
Maundy Thursday
Communion and Tenebrae |
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| 27th |
Speaker:
Theme:
Text:
Reader:
Scripture:
Ushers: |
Rev. Jennie Ott
Easter Rejoicing
Isaiah 65; Luke 24:1-12;
John 20:1-18
Connie Irwin
Penny Huckabee
Carol Apple, Penny and Ralph Holcomb, Penny Huckabee |
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Counters: |
Paula Larson and
Roy Schreiber |
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 Other March Responsibilities:
Coffee Hour: Green Team
Good Newsletter Deadline: March 25 |
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Generosity Corner
Financial Summary as of
January 2016
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| |
Budget
($) |
Actual
($) |
| YTD Income |
18,669 |
16,797 |
| YTD Expense |
13,224 |
8,434 |
Attendance
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| |
2016 |
2015 |
| January 3 |
44 |
87 |
| January 10 |
118 |
83 |
| January 17 |
91 |
88 |
| January 24 |
86 |
118 |
| January 31 |
98 |
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