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February 2025 Newsletter
Sunday Worship
10 AM
Sunday Fellowship
11 AM
Worship services will continue to be live streamed on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. You can either use the Facebook Link or the YouTube Link to see the live feed, or even worship a little later if you need to. Use the buttons below to choose which link fits your needs best.
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Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
-Ephesians 4:31-32
Forgiveness is a word that is used in church, a lot; we pray to receive it and acknowledge our need to offer it every Sunday when we pray the Lord’s Prayer. Yet, it is also a word that can mean different things as it is used in different contexts. As such, it is a word that raises many questions. What does it mean to be forgiven? What does it mean to forgive? Do I have to forget what has happened to me? What does forgiveness feel like? What does forgiveness look like? How do I forgive someone? Do I have to forgive even if someone won’t acknowledge they have hurt me? Does it mean that I am saying it is okay for people to do bad things to me? Is God’s forgiveness of me dependent on my forgiving everyone who has wronged me? What if I just can’t seem to forgive? What if I can’t forgive myself even after others have forgiven me? We will explore what forgiveness means in relation to God, others, and self through this 6-week series.
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February 2
A Family Re-Union: Reconciliation
Genesis 33:1-17
February 9
Do I Have to Forgive Them?
Luke 17:1-6
February 16
I Just Can't Forgive Myself!
2 Corinthians 5:11-21
February 23
The God Who Sets Right
Psalm 103
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2025 Church Council Meeting Schedule
Sunday, February 23 @ 11:30 AM
Sunday, March 23 @ 11:30 AM
Sunday, April 27 @ 11:30 AM
Sunday, May 18 @ 5:30 PM
Sunday, June 29 @ 5:30 PM
Sunday, August 24 @ 5:30 PM
Sunday, September 28 @ 11:30 AM
Sunday, October 26 @ 11:30 AM
Sunday, November 23 @ 11:30 AM
Sunday, December 14 – Congregational Meeting
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Pastor's Ponderings
Toward the beginning of his ministry in Luke’s gospel, Jesus claims as his purpose a text from Isaiah that reads, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor…” (Luke 4:18ff). In the same vein Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is quoted as saying, “Any religion that professes to be concerned with the souls of men and is not concerned with the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them, and the social conditions that cripple them, is a dry-as-dust religion. Such a religion is the kind the Marxists like to see---an opiate of the people.”
To put it simply, if the gospel we proclaim and seek to live is not in some sense good news to the poor, then it is not the gospel of Jesus Christ; we are not proclaiming the gospel that Jesus was.
There is a lot going on in our country right now and a lot of noise to go along with it. Along with the news of any event happing comes finger pointing and blaming. Cries of “unity” and “working together” seem only to come from the voices who were given ‘the upper hand’ in the most recent election. It is so easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of claims out there, not to mention the work it requires to ferret out fact from fiction, spin from report, and error and misspeak from outright lie. It would be so easy just to be paralyzed by the weight of it all.
However, we are called to be more than that. How do we seek to be the faithful people of God in a moment like this? As a church amid many churches, how do we embody the unity Jesus prayed for in John 17… “that they may be one,” rather than the polarization of our partisan politics; especially when we have our own partisan leanings one way or the other?
As with anything right now, I don’t know that I have any easy answers. However, I can’t help but think that if we continue to work together to be good news to the poor, we would go a long way to living as the faithful people of God. The thing is, I think that it can look different for each of us. Some of us may choose to be politically active and vocal. Others of us may choose to learn more about particular issues and find ways to act. Still others may seek to volunteer at local agencies, or donate funds, or build relationships, or…well, other ways.
We are also called to be the church in this time and place. The church, is, by its very nature, a community. We are brought together as the people of God to be followers of Jesus. So, Ankeny Christian Church, how, in this moment, can we work together to be good news to the poor, regardless of how we each voted in November? What things might we do together to love and serve the way Jesus loved and served? I am hopeful about the work we can do together over the next months and years. May we live faithfully and bear witness to the gospel together!
Shalom,
Pastor Owen
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Thank You
Ankeny Christian Child Care would like to thank the members of Ankeny Christian Church for their generosity and the lovely gifts we received at Christmas. We feel so loved and supported.
-Ankeny Christian Child Care Staff
To ALL who sent me cards, e-mails, text messages, and made facebook posts (which were delivered to me), thank you so very much. My "huge" birthday was thoroughly enjoyable and filled with wonderful surprises, blessed by the sentiments you shared, our reminiscing, laughter, and friendship. My family did not exactly follow the rules I set forth, but actually did a stellar job making it one to remember for sure. One should never fear aging when in such great company! Thanks again for your thoughtfulness.
-Georgene
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The Congregation is invited to have lunch together on Wednesdays during the season of Lent. Beginning Ash Wednesday, March 5th, at 11:30 AM there will be time to have lunch followed by a devotion time. For our first week together bring your own lunch and then we can discuss how we want to move forward with our meal. This is an informal time, and if you work in Ankeny and can get away for an hour, we would love to see you. | |
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Missions Committee
Our February Special Offering supports Week of Compassion, a vital ministry of our whole Church that serves vulnerable communities globally. Our faithful giving allows God's love to be heard and seen in places of great need - in war-torn regions, in areas devastated by weather-related disasters, and in communities struggling with poverty and injustice.
Let us give generously and joyfully, knowing that through our offering, others will hear and see God's love in action.
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Click on the photo to be taken to the registration page! | |
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News from The Disciples of Christ
General Board and Moderator Team Nominations
"We're reaching out to ensure your congregation is informed about these important changes and has the opportunity to participate in the nomination process. To support you in sharing this information, we've provided a range of resources designed to guide your congregation through the process. The button below includes the following materials:
- Informative pamphlet detailing the nomination process.
- Engaging video on the nomination process by Rev. Bill Spangler-Dunning.
- PowerPoint slide designed for integration into worship services.
- Bulletin insert to share key nomination details.
- Dynamic General Board Nominations video for social media or worship services.
- Shareable social media post to spread the word on your platforms.
Thank you for helping us raise awareness about this new process and for your role in fostering a more connected church community."
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Tone Chimes Rehearsals
February 9 (Time may be adjusted for Super Bowl Conflicts)
February 16
February 23
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The work of repentance is the work of transformation; the work of change. It is challenging but doable work about which Rabbi Danya Ruttenburg invites us into conversation. It is also work that at some point all of us need to do because, not only have we all been harmed, but we have all done harm. Join us for this faithful and helpful conversation around the work of repentance and repair on Sunday evenings at 6:30.
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Missions Committee Recap for 4th Quarter of 2024
The following information contains totals from the Missions Committee
for the months of Oct, Nov and Dec of 2024.
October – The project was the ‘Shoe Walk’ which was supplemented by additional donations from the congregation and the Missions budget. In total, over $1200.00 was received and was used to provide a gift for each of the Ankeny Christian Church Child Care staff prior to Christmas.
November – We supported two causes in November – our silent auction and the Disciples Mission Fund Thanksgiving offering. Our silent auction was very successful with lots of fun and competitive bidding. The end result was $1,745.00 going to supplement our local Missions budget and provide assistance to several households within our church family during the Christmas holiday season. The DMF donations totaled $25.00 and was sent to our national offices for distribution to various causes within our denomination.
December – Again, we supported two causes – providing clothing and personal items for Central Iowa Shelter and Services and the Disciples Mission Fund Christmas offering. The CISS items were distributed to the homeless people they serve before and after Christmas. We didn’t count the number of items donated but they more than filled six large tubs and one large box. The DMF donations for the Christmas offering stay within our region (Christian Church in the Upper Midwest) and are used to help underwrite regional programs such as the Christian Conference Center. The DMF donations totaled $410.00.
Thank you for your generosity to these Missions projects.
Missions Committee
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2024 Contribution Statements - Tax Form
You will receive your 2024 Contribution Statement from Ankeny Christian Church (ankenyccdoc@gmail.com) on Sunday, January 29th by email, providing you have an email on file with us. Please note there will be an attachment to the email which contains the Contribution Statement. Paper copies will be mailed to those members for whom we do not have an email for.
If you have questions or need further assistance please contact Jackie Black at 641.521.2659 or blackgj@centurylink.net .
Thank you,
Jackie Black
ACC Treasurer
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Kudos and Celebrations
- Tara Widaman, Judy Shelburg, Patrice Sayre, the youth, and the youth leaders for putting together the Trunk or Treat event
- Those who decorated their trunks: Tammy Ulrich, Patrice and John Sayre, Frank and Sheri Prowant, Glenn and JoAnn Smith, Owen, Elian, and Tai Cayton and Jocelyn, Chuck and Karen Fausch
- Judy Johnson for purchasing the bread for World Day of Communion
- The youth for presenting information about their mission trip
- Lisa Grace's suggestion for the sermon series on hymns
- Judy Shelburg for beginning Kid's Zone at 9:40 Sunday Mornings
- Christine Stoffa for deep cleaning room 5
- Jerry Vandendburg, Pat Fliger, Judy Johnson, Marlys Lapham, Karen Fausch, Georgene Raver
- Those who provided items and food for the Thanksgiving silent auctions and meal
- To the church council for taking on the structure initiative
- The excellent work completed by the Nominating Committee- Judy Krase, Lori Leach, and Lisa Duffy
- Judy Krase for assembling the Asset Mapping results
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February Birthdays
2/2 Gary Black
2/4 Brian Jass
2/7 Thomas Cox
Jennifer Hauschildt
2/9 Cameron Porath
2/17 Dennis Peterson
Arnie Porath
2/20 Jonathan Rawson
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February Anniversaries
2/11 Gary & Jackie Black
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If you would like to continue (or begin) to contribute to the work of the church financially, you can mail in a check to 2506 SW 3rd Street Ankeny, Iowa 50023 or you can give online by clicking the link below. There you can set up one time or recurring donations. | |
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Current Office Staff:
Pastor Owen Cayton, Senior Minister
pastorocayton@gmail.com
Nathan Green, Music Director
nategreenaccdoc@gmail.com
Kasey Romano, Office Manager
ankenyccdoc@gmail.com
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2025 Leadership
Officers:
- President: Randy Wehofer
- President Elect: Open
- Past President, Chair Personnel Committee: Darin Leach
- Secretary: Angela Johnson
- Treasurer: Curt Narwold
- Member at Large: Pat Warner
- Check Writer: John Lee
- Chair of PRC: Karen Fausch
- PRC Members: Karen Fausch; Mike St. Clair; Shanon Buckroyd; Roby Duffy; Karen Rawson; Dan Fliger
- Nominating Committee: Judy Krase, Lisa Duffy, John Sayre
Current Committee Chairs:
- Christian Education: Lori Krase-Cayton and Mary St. Clair
- Stewardship & Finance: David Rawson
- Property: Arnie Porath
- Worship: Karen Fausch
- Social Life: Team Party Squad
- Missions: Chuck Fausch
- Evangelism: Open
- Endowment: Judy Krase
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Ankeny Christian Church
2506 SW 3rd Street
Ankeny, Iowa 50023
515-964-1083
ankenyccdoc@gmail.com
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