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Denmark Congregational United Church of Christ May 2012

Sawyer Circle will meet at 12:00 on May 1st.(Note time change) No meetings of Sawyer Circle in June or July. Plymouth Circle will meet at 7:00 on May 3rd. The choir will rehearse every Wednesday at 7:00; the dates are May 2nd, May 9th, May 16th, May 23rd and May 30th. Wacky Wednesday will meet on Wednesday May 2nd and May 9th at 5:30. On May 2nd they will be cleaning up outside in Denmark. May 16th is the End of the Year Party. The Trustees will meet on May 8th at 8:00. Christian Ed will meet on May 9th at 6:45. The Standing Committee is meeting on May 17th at 7:00 pm. On May 6th there is Communion at the service. May 13th is Mothers Day. Promotion Sunday has been changed to May 20th and that will be the last day of Sunday School.

May 17 is the Feast of the

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Ascension.

On May 19th there is a session of scrapbooking and crafting from 9:00 am. to 5:00 pm. in Fellowship Hall.

On May 20th, after the service were having Pot Luck and a church work day, sponsored by the Trustees.

May 27th is the collection for the Strengthen the Church Special Mission Offering. May 28th is Memorial Day

4H meets on the 3rd Sunday of every month, with the exception of July.
Heritage Days are the first weekend in June, the 2nd and 3rd. There is more information on the bulletin board and in this newsletter on page 7. There will also be an insert in the Sunday bulletins.

Parishable Items Greetings yall, Denmark Congregational UCC is finding itself in the enviable position of growing. We are growing numerically, spiritually, programmatically, as well as our general optimism. This means that the role of the pastor is slowly starting to change. While I will still be a leader in this church and the community, with the growth of the church, the membership (thats you) will be expected to take on some of those leadership roles that the pastor has traditionally taken sole responsibility for. So what is leadership? What does this mean for the church and its members? Lets get into it. First off, leadership in the church takes an approach that focuses on relating people to one another with the purpose of working with them to understand and address the (sometimes) complex issues of which all involved have something invested. While no single sentence can hope to contain all that is involved in leadership, this definition affirms that leadership involves other people working together, requiring relationship. There are many ways that this definition can be enacted and enforced by any leader, both positive and negative, so what follows are some guidelines to help each of us become better leaders of both the church and the wider community. Leaders love and rely on Godand help others do the same. This one may seem strange as the first role of the leader, but bear in mind that I am referring specifically to church leaders. Our primary role, if we do nothing else in our community, is to help others find the love of God in their lives. This means that whether we are in feast or famine, the role of the leader is to ensure that all who enter our community recognize that everyone is loved by God. Leaders dont work in a vacuumthere is much that surrounds them and what they do. This principle may well be called, pay attention to context. Ive said before that life is messy, meaning that our lives are full of stuff that makes things complicated. The church is

May 2012 no exception to this. In fact, because the church is full of many lives, all of them messy, the church may well be the messiest place of all. This means that leaders must be able to wade through not only the explicit conflict, but also the background context that informs the conflict. In my experience, the fight is rarely about the stated issue, but much more about the steps that lead to the stated issue. The church has a long memory, which means that context becomes all the more important to stave off divisive conflict. Leaders dont work alonethe committees, the boards and the congregation are not the enemy. The church is too big for one person, or even one committee, to run effectively. For this reason, we have several different committees and boards that have different responsibilities. Each of these committees is filled with talented people who have a vested interest in the success of the church. This means that each committee could be seen as a tool in a toolbox. Some jobs simply require the right tool. Leaders of the church will recognize which committee should have which responsibilities and how to ask for help. Leaders make decisionsand take responsibility for them. In our congregational polity, the congregation is the final word on what actions the church takes. However, there are a lot of things that go on in and around the church that dont require the voice of the entire congregation. Therefore, some of these decisions are made on behalf of the congregation. Sometimes, these decisions prove to be wrong or against the wishes of the greater body. At this time, the leader, whether it be a committee or a person, must take responsibility for that decision. There is no shame in making a mistake, but there is shame in refusing to admit or correct that mistake. These are the first four of about nine principles I have. Next month well look at the next five before determining how these principles ultimately apply to us all, whether we think were a leader or not. Peace, 2

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May 4 May 7 May 8 May 10 May 10 May 12 May 12 May 12 May 13 May 16 May 16 May 17 May 17 May 19 May 20 May 23 May 25 May 25 May 27 May 28 May 29 May 29 May 30 May 31 May 31

Max Waldschmidt Dennis Brayton Julia Kerr Lindia Stein A.J. Martin Sherry Sandrock Curtis Stein Samuel Hasenclever Marie Wolfskill Leroy Mabeus Bonnie Stein Susan Knipe Merle Hasenclever Shelly Martin Jocelyn Cole Louise Davis Alice Horstman Lindsay Lampe Cindy Landis Chris Roxberg Stephen Senti Ashland Blanchard Robert Bonar Virginia Bonar Haley Lampe

May 1 Raymond & Sharon Stotlar May 1 May 3 May 22 William & Leah Kuntz Ray & Sherry McKee Brad & Leslie Stotts

May 20 Chris & Mary Harvey May 30 Dave & Jocelyn Cole

May 6thActs 8:26-40, Ps 22:25-31, 1 John 4:7-21, John 15:1-8 May 13thActs 10:44-48, Ps 98, 1 John 5:1-6, John 15:9-17 May 20thActs 1:15-17 & 21-26, Ps 1, 1 John 5:9-13, John 17:6-19 May 27thActs 2:1-21 or Ezek 37:1-14, Ps 104:24-34 & 35b, Rom 8:22-27 or Acts 2:1-21, John 15:26-27 & 16:4b-15

If you know of anyone who does not receive the newsletter and would like to, please let the office know or tell them to let the office know.

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TRUSTEES MINUTES MARCH 13, 2012

The Trustees met on March 13, 2012 at 7:00 pm. Those in attendance were Joel Bobb, Scott Weisinger, David Houston, Ben Heckart, Laurel Klopfenstein, David Fincher, Ray McKee and Chad Savage. Minutes of the previous meeting were approved on a motion by David F. and seconded by Scott. The Financial Reports were approved on a motion by David F. and seconded by Scott. Reports: No reports. OLD BUSINESS: A new monitor for Chad has been purchased. NEW BUSINESS: A letter will be sent by the Memorial Committee to different accounts on the designation of funds. The water heater is leaking and Cordray will come and fix it. Denmark School will use the church on history night at no charge on a motion by Ben and seconded by David H. Ann Menke has reported it is not worth getting credit on health insurance premiums. The Trustees will sponsor a work day after church on May 20th. The work day will be preceded by a Pot Luck. The next meeting will be April 10, 2012 at 8:00 pm. Meeting adjourned. Pastor Chad led us in the Lords Prayer. Respectfully submitted, Laurel Klopfenstein

STANDING COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES MARCH 18, 2012

(Secretary K. Bobb absent from meeting.) Meeting minutes compiled from Harleys notes.) Terry Hoenig called the meeting to order at 11:15 am. Terry Hoenig, Sherry McKee, Mariellis Hasenclever, Kathy Blanchard, Jeff Weisinger, Harley Morton and Pastor Chad were present. Pastor Chad provided the opening prayer. Secretary report: February 2012 meeting minutes were presented for committee review and approval. Motion carried unanimously. Harley presented the mission report with an account balance of $295.41 in the Wider Mission account and $1082.76 in the Media Account, making the total fund balance of $1378.17 Old Business: Chair Terry drafted a letter to the memorial Committee requesting $4000.00 for the multimedia project. The by-laws committee membership was discussed. The first meeting of the committee will be April 22nd. Committee members include: Mary Weisinger, Ben Heckart, Dave Houston, Kathy Blanchard, Linda Roxberg and Harley Morton plus one additional at-large member.
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The church history update will be The schedule for opening the church

speaking regarding the conference.

May 2012

discussed at the next meeting. was discussed: Terry Hoenig and Harley Morton are scheduled for February. Jeff Weisinger will open the church in March and prepare communion for March 4th. The Food Pantry continues to need saltine crackers. The schedule for opening the church is Sherry in April and Kathy Blanchard in May. The Lent Dinner hosted by the Standing Committee served 52 people and over $300.00 was collected for mission funds. The 175 Anniversary for the church will be celebrated in May of 2013. The celebration was discussed by the committee including forming a committee for the purpose of planning this event. The committee will have 5-7 people. Sherry McKee volunteered to participate on the committee. New Business: A complaint regarding the projector screen was received and discussed. The church calendar was discussed. Maundy Thursday service is scheduled for 7:00 pm. on April 5th, Good Friday service at 7:00 pm. on April 6th, Easter service at 7:00 am. and 10:00 am., on April 8th, with Easter Breakfast being served by SHPF at 8:00 am. Sunday April 29th is the fifth Sunday of the month and the Conference Minister will be
th

(approximately 5 minutes) Pastor Chad will be gone on Sunday May 20th and SHPF will be providing the service. Pastor Chad and Elizabeth will be on vacation beginning June 9th and absent from the June 10th service. Committee discussed whether we need greeters for schedule, pencils and visitor cards in the pews. The committee discussed new member acknowledgement, including providing members with a card and copy of the church by-laws. The committee discussed Financial Peace University (Dave Ramsey). The committee discussed placing an Easter Cross in the front of the church. Next meeting is scheduled for Thursday April 12, 2012 at 7:00 pm. The meeting adjourned with the Lords Prayer at 12:15 pm. Respectfully submitted, Kjrsten Bobb, Secretary

The churchs 175th anniversary is approaching. If you are interested in working on the anniversary committee, please call and talk to Sherry McKee at 319372-2176 or Linda Roxberg at 319-5284538. We are trying to form a group of 5-7 people that can work creatively with others and can effectively delegate responsibilities
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to the rest of the church. The Standing Committee, over the course of the year is available to hear any questions, compliments, comments and concerns regarding Pastor Chads performance. They will be engaging in a proactive evaluation of Pastor Chad and the church throughout the year so that any issues can be brought up and addressed before they become problems.

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Make sure you keep August 24th open. There is a surprise coming that is for everyone!!

Please call Sue Watson at 528-4494 or the church office at 528-4465 with any prayer concerns. We are praying for: Patty Dochterman Tony Haeffner Sandra Parrish Chris Jackson Clayton Whitmarsh Mike Horn Mike & Carol Smith Rick Goldie The Family of Mary Amenell Steve Dougherty

Pastor Chad & members of Congregational UCC, Thank you so much for your warm welcome this past Sunday. I look forward to resourcing your growing ministry to children, youth and families. Peace, Nicole Thank you from Blanche Hardy to everyone for their cards, phone calls, visits and food. It was so thoughtful and is very much appreciated. Blanche Hardy

The events for the June calendar must be submitted by June 18th; the newsletter will be printed on the 25th because of the Memorial Day weekend.