a> ac Osta 8 fe- ogee onr THE CORNEASTONE, S ‘ Wo Sune 2018 “areonse ! i i i i a 3 6 7 8 9 meray nouns ee le seen i a en SD - jn [2 |B (a is [16 errr pee oMinister's Musings Does God take @ vacation in the summer? Sunshine, beaches, lakes, family, road trips, sports, no school.and no church? Summer i a great time to be vuth farm, But, did you know summer mnths is so @ very callengingtime for many church members? As 2 pastor, ve seen “Christians” take these three vacations every summer. 442 Take a vacation from church! Every summer people get out ofthe habit of attending church, ftusually tarts with “legitimate reasons? round famy, work, or play. Bu, afer a while a thought enters the mind, “I don’t need church to have @ felatonship with God” Obviousy, we ean walk with God outside of church, but we're stretching ths ea to benefit our self-centered interest aswell. 've never seen a spiritually mature Christian who is not committed to their local church, During the surmmer months, when you are in town, atend your local church! When ‘you're out of town, listen to your church's podcast, watch their videos, church emails ete: You wil enjoy fe veore when you stay connected to the biblical eammunity God has putin your if, There sno substitute for corporate worship, serving others on weekends, and encouraging athersin person, who are walking by faith ‘Your presence at church encourages others! Incidentally, when you are out af town, goto church! t's 2 great “opportunity to see God mave in other churches! Maybe God has word for vou! 142 -Take a vacation from giving! very summer there are people that stop honoring God with their finances. Usually he logic, "Vl pk uP again after summer ends” So, theyuse their tthe or offering, that typcally goes to God and vet to benches, road trips, lakes, or summer toys in ther life, Sometimes there sa thought that, “il catch uP later.” oth thoughts are not realistic, Rarely, does someone come to church in September, witha check for missed tithes in June, July, and August. It jest doesn’t happen. Something practical you can dos set up automatic ving through your bank, This wll ensure your giving stays trong during the summer, and you don't take 9 Eroak from honoring God with your finances. After all..who do you think has blessed you tothe point that you on enjoy the good tings ofife? BTW, expenses do not change in the summer months in most churches! Enjoy your vacation. Honor your God. #3 ~Take a vacation from reading your bible! Every summer trip involves a new routine, We ae routine oriented people, When we're out of our routine, Ws ery easy to get out of good habits like reading your bible, Be intentional about spending time with God, even Snyour vacation! You will discover you will actually be mare enjoyable to others, and you will have much rove patience for others tou! Mest of al..maybe God has 8 word ta share with you during that summer treakt Some of my greatest moments with God happened while | was reading my bible..on my vacation Athen you open your bible, spendtime with Jesus Crist Dont rush through scripture or prayer. Lean 10 ralk ‘to have conversation with the one who loves YOU. Pastor Ruben Vilareal ‘God never takes a vacation from ts. Yet, we find it very easy to “take a break” from regular worship and time sath God, Why is that? Why do the excuses come so easy to miss church or mis giving or miss reading God's Word? Have we taken God's grace for granted? | know |do..and need to work on that. How about you?Board Meeting: May 20, 2018 Present: Pastor Brian Wohlhuter, Charle Leaders, Caroll Olsen, Amanda Murley, Phylisha ‘Wolfe, Gretchen Cunningham, Tracey Roane, Tom Nelson, Richard Dau, & Bonnie Dollen. No corrections to the meeting notes for last month ‘Treasurer's report was reviewed and approved. motion by Amanda. 2nd by Charle-approved Pastor's Report: 162 miles driven last month, No vacations at this time. Next one wil ikely bein July to go back to Minnesota ‘The last Sunday of Sunday Schoo! withthe Youth Program was great and people enjoyed it. We vill likely continue this with kids participating to do talents on the last day of Sunday Schoo. 3 weddings this summer: {in June and 2in August. Baptism: 1 in June. ‘ABoy scout troop from Colorado will be staying overnight one night in Jly since Minden is a halfway point for thelr tp Vacation Bible Schoo! planning sin progress. Tracy Wohlhuter and JllJensen are handling this, Mission Fund Report: 2 Scholarships for seniors were given out last Sunday, Balance after scholarshipsare taken out is about $700.00. Planning to do teacher gift cards again in te fll for elementary teachers at Tri-Center. ‘Trustees Report: Leak inthe janitor room behind the kitchen has not reappeared, It was large amount of water 50 Carroll checked things over and didn't find anything, It appears to have resolved itself. “The sink leaks with a steacy drip so well ry and stop it. ‘Vacuum was purchased ard works great. Crossroads Is coming on Thursdays to do cleaning, Future considerations for church maintenancé Sidewalks sinking down by the light pole out front and is getting worse. This also a tripping hazard since the sidewalk \as sunk and ereated an edge to step over. Feont step is crumbling and falling apart, This was patched several years ago, but the step is, falling apart again. ‘Trae stump wil he done hy Inhn Cunningham and will do for haf the price of the original estimate from Jacob Price. Deacon's Fund Balance Is $103.95. ‘A.couple was stranded in the church parking lot and needed a tire fixed. Pastor Brian helped {get the tire fixed and got tire from Tim's Service for $20 and gave them $25.00 in gas at Casey's. Total used from Deacon's fund was $45.00.‘Memorial Fund: No repor this month, ld Business: Sunday school update given by Pastor Brian and still need teachers for afew classes. [A preschool team teacher and a team teacher for Maureen's class is needed. Please consider helping with Sunday School Parsonage kitchen remodel i done. Total bill was SRS5M.00. Pastor ran R Teaey paid $3,175.00 as a donation te the church and due to the upgrades. Upgrades included building a pantry and then staining & sealing it, upgraded sink, and the Formica back splash, Kitchen looks very nice and will have an open house sometime to showcase the remodel “Miniature Church Float update by Carroll Olsen, CChurch replica fr float i almost done. There area couple things left to be done such as putting the church name cn the back side ofthe float and then also the windows. Phylisha will check with Linda ifshe warts todo a template or the original plece to make the front window. Small windows on the side will be done separately to make the stained-glass look. Tom Nelson donated a tralerto put the float on. Storing the float was discussed and Bonnie offered to keep it thelr place in the big shed cause there Is plenty of room even withthe combine inside. This was approved. And now volunteers are needed to pull the float for parades In Underwood, Avoca, and Neola, New business: Faucet right outside ofthe fllowship halls leaking and needs fixed but this is an older faucet ‘withthe brass screw. Going to talk to plumber about fixing leak. Debbie's “slush fund” is low. She uses it to pay postage on returned Comerstones that have the ‘wrong address. We can stop the return address feature, but then we won't know if we have ‘wrong addresses. Or, we can continue to pay postage for returned Comerstone’s, We get 35 newsletters returned each month and we update addresses as needed. Decided to put $20 back in slush fund so Debbie can pay return postage when she picks up mall Health insurance increaseis coming up again due to new age bracket and also from the previous insurance changes in general Pastar Brian suggested being pranctive ta let cangregation knaw about the increases. Options 1 inform the congregation were discussed and Included: notes in the Cornerstone, calling like \we did forthe church auction, or informational meetings - maybe a potluck or something in carly fll. Board agreed that the notes inthe Cornerstone and aso informational meetings to update the congregation would be good to prepare for the insurance inrease at the congregational meeting ‘Meeting was adjourned ard prayer was led by Pastor Brian. Report prepared by: Phylisha WolfeIce Cream Social August 26, 2018 11:30 - 1:00 hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, salads, drinks, homemade ies, bars and Minden United Church of Christ Minden, lowa Freewill donationVACATION BIBLE SCHOOL Help is always needed for Vacation Bible School VBS is July 29 - August 2 Please contact Pastor BrianTeachers Needed Ath & 5th Grade Sunday School Team help is also needed for other grades Please contact Pastor BrianConfirmation Sunday School begins September 9, 2018MISSION FUND REPORT DEPOSITS~JAN. 15“MAY 24™, 2018 ‘Total: $1617.08 big deposit of $1023 for tshirts WITHDRAWALS (Cheek #1134-$792~t-shirt payment ‘Check #1195-$36.05~purchase mission fund envelopes ‘Check #1136-884—tshit payment ‘Cheek #’s 1137 & 1138-$200/each check for Seth and Nolan scholarships Balance as of, ‘We are always looking for new ideas and causes to support with our Mission Fund ‘money. The money is collected on the first Sunday of each month. In the past we've purchased gift cards for 7C Elementary teachers, helped campers with 1/3 of the camp tuition, given scholarships to graduating high school seniors, helped local folks with one-time monetary assistance, ete. The t-shirts were alittle fundraiser for the fund and believe we raised almost $300. Ifyou have some ideas on where the Mission Fund could help out more, and you have any good fundraising ideas we'd love to hear them, Sincerely the Mission Fund Members, ‘Tracy Wohlhuter, Carolyn Siebels, Joyce Olson, Lynn PetersonChurch Family Decisions \We want to be clear up front..ths snot a sky is fling note..ths isnot an end of the ‘world scenario. Are we clear? This information is shared about our church future to help us ‘make the most informed, spirit lead, decisions possible. The Church Board wants to let the church family know that coming up ths fall there will be some decisions to be made concerning our church. As you may, cr may not know, Pastor Brian’s health insurance rose about $4500 last year and wil aise apgroximately the same next year. The sharp rise in premiums is due to the fact we are paying back some ofthe savings we received when Pastor Brian's health Insurance dropped about $8,000 6, or so, years ago. The Board wants the congregation to be aware ofthe upcoming increase and for the ‘church family to begin to think about how we want to proceed into the future. The Church Board, and Pastor Brian, believe ts best to think about these decisions before we are ata crisis, point. The church has many options: 1) the church family raises glving to meet the increase and, ‘everything stays status quo, 2) the church explores having a time to % time pastor [unknown ifPastor Brian would do ths t this time], 3) the church looks for a cheaper pastor to replace Pastor Brian, 4) the church could explore sharing.a pastor with another church. 'As was stated during the Board meeting our church is doing very well, and a great many churches are strugeing wit the increase in health Insurance. For the Minden UCC in Minden, 1Ato have a fulltime pastor, Pastor Brian's age, for 12 plus years and to have so many ‘wonderful ministries we ae and will continue to be a HUGE success story. And, by NO MEANS, Isthis story over! The Church i still doing well, Pastor Brian has no desire to leave, and we are ‘simply being proactive in deciding our future together and discerning where the Splits leading What can the church family, you, do? Pray, Pray, Pray. Ask the Lord for guidance on the future of our church. Also, take a serious look at how you have been supporting the church both financially and with your presence. Could/should you do more? If we want to keep things as they are then we are allgoing to have to challenge eurselves to give more financially, and also give more of our timeand talents. Invite friends to come and see this fantastic church in ‘Minden and to experiencethe wonderful fellowship and community we have. Finally, be Involved when we start tohave these discussionsin the late summer and early fll. Bring your ideas, bring your milingnes to listen, and most of all bring your prayer filled Spit to help us all discern where the Spirit is leading. ‘Minden UCC Church BoardCome sail. away... ‘The best week of the summer! bie friends @Amazing experiments Creative games @ Tropical treats © surprising adventures @ Incredible music Minden United Church of Christ coer) VBS wil last from: July 29-August 2 asa Location: 6:00pm ‘The VBS day ends at 7:30pm Taegan Each day's fun begins at: 712-483-2903 each panes Andenucescemy For more information, call: Register @ vues mate ToJune Scripture Readings ‘June 3 - 1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20), Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 or Deuteronomy 5:12-15, Psalm 81:1-10, 2 Corinthians 4:5-12, Mark 2:23.3:6 ‘June 10 ~ 1 Samuel $:4-11, (12-15), 16-20, Psalm 138 or Genesis 3:8-15, Psalm 130, 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1, Mark 3:20-35 Sune 17-1 Samuel 15:34-16:13, Psalm 20 or Ezekiel 17:22-24, Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15, 2 Corintalans 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17 or 2 Corinthians $:6-17 ume 24 ~ 1 Samuel 17:(La, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49, Psalm 9:9.20 or Job 38: atm HT 3232, 3 Conmtiag 8 Mark 8-1 July Usher List June Usher List : July 1.2018 ‘ume3.208 Rabat Campi ae Pam Kier, Arvin a ara Shen Goss taaen anes July 8.2018 June 10,2018 Dana & Meredith Martens Jeremy & Cassie VanArsdal July 15,2018 June 17,2018 Paula & Kayden Schnack Richard & Vivian Daw July 22,2018 June 24,2018 ‘Tim & Doreen Koch David Storjobann, Carroll Olsen Dean & Joyce Olson Parking Lot Loan Info Starting Loan amount: $36,500 “5 year loan at 4% interest -Payments quarterly-Feb., May, Aug., Nov. The 4 paymen:s are $2031.21 each Money to pay off the Ioan comes from 3 areas: specified donations tothe parking lot fund, ‘undesignated donations to church that the board directs to parking lot fund, and finally all, proceeds from our church dinners goto the parking ot fund. NO general fund money or offerings go towards the parking lot fund. $26,400-Left on parking lot note‘Wa word cae pla inal nc Heke comple thi Bible page| Basar at be who cl you Eee Y youre waa Be ree bese Tam A. sights Bia C long Diol TAN OFSTED TE ‘My compliments tothe Creator | Dear God, {saw the Grand Canyon this summer, | [ics pive of worl | Love, ) Kyle (age 9) | ‘Speci Hig Day one 14, 2018 Fathers Dy, ie 17, 2018 | 1 Bist day of tmone, one 21, 208 \ —oPps! From work if 702, Weg assay ceuerunoe Here's a shoot-out to all who helped with VBS! Lone sinlnntesre, are bhachas= “Maybe VBS hada Wild West theme this yeas! je! Find ha missing lterin each alphabet below. ‘Then ead the words from top to tim to discover Isat promis rom Joshua 24:24, NN. 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Give your gift co show ove ep porous AUS no pur no yes eon oe, Bay and appreciation tease ‘DDETaAT pe eeMINDEN UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST. Receiptsand Expenses forthe Month of Api ‘Balance in Bank Api 1, 2018 815267 Income: Envelopes & Loose Oferings samo ‘Sunday School 2ias ‘Loas from Bank (a borowedtodat$7,300) 1,500.00 Bleewone Tithe 4501 Halt Renta 17500 Coffee How ate Misellncous Ease Breast 7900 Toul income s 32794 Bapenses: ‘ocwn 31500 Sabie 40891 Transfer to Mision Fund Transfer to PakingLot Social Secariy ~ Medicare Kitchen Supplies Travel Expense 102.00 Insurance Pastor ‘Annuity Pastor Socal Security — Pastor 964.86 Social Seurty - Meleare 402.4 Church insurance ites — Church soos Postage ce Supplies copier 528 custodian Supls Maitennce Church 49304 Grounds Pasomage 15750 Transfer toParking Lot 4995 Worship Supplies Crisian Bf Deparment -V.B S. 70.00 ‘ter: Sunday Seo! Teacher Gis sooo Miscellaneous ~ Transfer to Mision Fond 990 “Tal Expenses s somat Balance in Bank Api 30, 2018 s 31640THE CORNERSTONE > NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. Postage PAID MINDEN, OWA ermit Return Service Requested Malled May 28, 2018 | Spirit! Love! FORGIVE! "KEEP THE SPIRIT" My "Be YOURSELF" ig me a ee Pres og aps