Monthly Pulse Newsletter

April 2025

Moderator's Minute

Council and respective teams have kept very busy this month. Along with our church staff, we look forward to meeting in April to look at our 2025 goal of improving communication and organization within our church.

The Pastor Search Team continues to meet each Tuesday, reviewing profiles and interviewing via Zoom. The review includes profiles from both denominations.

Three upcoming baptisms were announced at the meeting. We look forward to celebrating this sacrament in the near future with two families.

There was an approval of funds for another Community Easter Egg Hunt organized by Noah Moore and other volunteers of the church.

Council created a policy for inclement weather where the building will be closed and staff will not need to report to work on days that the school district cancels classes. The pastor and moderator (or vice-moderator) will decide on canceling any service due to inclement weather. Notices will be given to the congregation through emails, publications online (including our website and social media), and announcements on local radio.

The Social Concerns Ministry Team announced their next project of making red cards available for our congregants to distribute to those in need of them. These cards give instructions on the rights of immigrants if faced with having to defend themselves.

The Worship Team is preparing for Holy Week. The Congregational Life Team enjoyed putting on Game Night this month. The Mission Team was busy delivering Mobile Meals and collecting for Rachael’s Light and One Great Hour of Sharing.

Feel free to contact any council members with any comments or concerns. A list of contact information is located at the bottom of weekly and monthly Pulses. Our next meeting is open for anyone to attend and will be held Monday, April 28 at 6:30 p.m.

The theme for this year’s Lenten Vespers is “Embracing Transformation.”

We will gather on Wednesdays from March 12 to April 9, starting each evening with a soup and bread supper from 5:30-6:15 p.m., followed by a brief Vesper service at 6:30 p.m.

The guiding scripture for this theme is Psalm 51:10-12:

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

The topics for the weeks are:

April 2: Becoming Whole—Integrating spiritual and emotional transformation.

Speaker: Jerry Ganfield, "An Easter Carol"

April 9: Living as Transformed People—Walking in new life after Lent.

Speaker: Nan Silkunas

Easter Flower Orders

LAST CALL!

Help decorate our Sanctuary on Easter Sunday by purchasing flowers in memory of a loved one or in celebration of a gift from God. This year, we are offering 6.5" lilies, as well as 6" pink or yellow begonias or kalanchoes. The deadline to order plants is Sunday, March 30th. After Easter service, you are encouraged to take your plant home or give to a family member or friend to enjoy. The cost is $13 each for the lilies and $15 each for the begonias and kalanchoes. Please make checks payable to "Associated Church" and put "Easter flowers" in the memo line. There is a sign-up sheet in the Narthex as well and an online order form HERE.

Continuing this month, you are invited to join the study as we feature fascinating conversation with John Crossan based on his book with the late Marcus Borg. The exploration is theological, exploration of historical situations, with opportunities to consider application opportunities for today.

April 6: Good Friday’s conversation explores who is involved in the execution, and the concepts of “substitutionary atonement” and “substitutionary sacrifice.”

April 13: John Dominic Crossan leads dialogue and Bible readings focused on the THE LAST WEEK leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection. Saturday events offer reflections including Jewish-Christianity and the roots of several theological concepts’ which may or may not be familiar to you or others.

April 20: Easter. No Conversation.

April 27: John Dominic Crossan leads dialogue and Bible readings focused on the THE LAST WEEK leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection with a focus on Easter Sunday.

From the Pastor's Pen

And Now, a Moment of Peace . . .

The word vespers comes from the Latin root vesper, meaning, quite simply, evening. At its purest, the rite is a part of the Liturgy of the Hours in many highly-structured denominations, also sometimes known as the Divine Office. The service follows a specific format, either on its own or in conjunction with other prayers and rites.

In its less formal setting, Vespers is more flexible, depending on the purpose or desired tone of the service. Vespers is also called Evening Prayer or Evensong, among other names. This ancient practice usually begins somewhere around dusk or nightfall.

Here at The Associated Church, Vespers is crafted around a more homegrown order of worship that allows for comfortable rote mixed with a level of flexible variation. No matter its form, Vespers at Associated seeks to provide a quiet, reflective, worshipful atmosphere where God is the center and we are as we are. It’s a brief respite from the topsy-turvy, often chaotic secular world in which we live, an invitation to join together to rest in the presence of the Triune God and be filled with whatever is most in need of replenishment. The messages brought by laypeople are remarkable in their depth and variety. Without fail, I come away with gratitude for a fresh perspective and the blessings of being welcomed into the speaker’s spiritual journey. Without fail, I also come away with a renewed sense of peace, punctuated by sharing the experiences of the evening with other faithful souls who need to cling to God’s love as deeply as I do.

Our spiritual selves—our spirits, our souls—need rest and rejuvenation every bit as much as our bodies and emotional systems need renewal through rest. What a blessing we have to be able to step aside from the world’s craziness, and soak into the peace and tranquility of God’s love and encouragement. The world’s stuff will still be there when we return…but we will be bolstered to reengage in ways that make a positive difference, in ways that offer divine love rather than human hate, attempted understanding instead of rigid negative expectations. It’s certainly an honorable goal, and not bad for an “evening’s” work.

Peace,

— Pastor Elizabeth

One Great Hour of Sharing

We will be collecting funds for One Great Hour of Sharing during Lenten services through Palm Sunday. One Great Hour of Sharing is one of four special mission offerings of the United Church of Christ and Presbyterian Church USA. This Lenten offering supports the disaster, refugee, and development ministries of the UCC within Wider Church Ministries and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.

Pick up a fish bank from the table in the Narthex or Fellowship Hall. Like the loaves and fishes story in the Bible, sharing resources can change lives, so let’s use our “change” and fill a personal fish bank.

1. Get a fish

2. Color it and put it together. (It’s pretty easy to put together, but we have some pre-assembled. You can color your fish at Java, Juice and Joy or fellowship time after Wednesday Lenten service.)

3. Name your fish.

4. Now that you can your fish have gotten to know each other, FEED them daily! Pennies are fine but silver is more nutritional.

5. Bring your fish to Palm Sunday Worship for our One Great Hour of Sharing offerings on April 13, Palm Sunday. (Non-colored fish are welcome of course, but coloring is a great stress reliever.)

Challenge accepted? Your change can change lives.

Associated Church Scholarships

Associated Church is pleased to offer its members post-secondary scholarships again this year. Application deadline is April 30th.

The scholarships are not need or merit based but on Associated’s commitment to supporting post-secondary education in an accredited college or vocational school.

We invite you to apply for a 2025-26 Associated Church Scholarship at the following link: www.associatedchurch.org/scholarship

The application can be completed entirely online.

Red Cross Blood Drive

The Associated Church will host a Red Cross Blood Drive on Friday, May 16, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Volunteers will be needed to register blood donors, and to offer hospitality as well as snacks and liquids.

A sign up sheet will be available by Sunday, April 27.

If you can donate blood, visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter: Associated Church to schedule an appointment. You can also call: 1-800-733-2767

Thank you to all who can help with this blood drive.

Community Conversations Recap

On March 13th Associated Church hosted a Community Conversation titled Homelessness in Steele County. We had 4 wonderful guest speakers who provided a lot of valuable information about what homelessness looks like in Steele County, what is being done to address it and what we as citizens can do to help. If you were not able to attend or if you want to watch the presentation again, you are in luck, you can watch the entire presentation on Associated Church's Facebook page.

Special Notes and Reminders

Copies of the devotional booklet These Days for January through March are available in the Narthex and Office. There is no charge for this resource. Please help yourself.