STTP for the week of July 14

Straight to the Point

July 14, 2020

Prayer for This Week

Gracious God, love us into change.

Love us, so we can learn to love ourselves.

Help us love ourselves, so we can learn to love others.

Help us love others, so we can learn to love You.

Gracious God, love us into change

so we may be like You.

Amen.

Prayer for Our Way Forward

Our Church Council members have been in prayer for our church from April to August. Everyone can join the Council in prayer – here’s how:

The question to lay before God each day is:

“Why did You call together — here and now, in 2020 — this group of elders who are engaged in the arts, the community, and personal and spiritual growth?”

Then become silent and listen for the still, small voice of God –

the voice that says “do not be afraid” to leave the known ways behind

and speaks of the new life and opportunity we are being led into.

Attend to the invitation you are beginning to hear in the stillness.

It should be larger than anything you can control or direct.

You will not know the way . . .

What you bring to the next meeting will be something brand new.

It will not be something you have shared at Council before.

It will not be something you know how to do.

It must be something you are willing to give yourself to wholeheartedly –

and it will necessitate your personal and full participation.

-- Pastor Anne

Search Committee Update - COVID and Congregational Meetings

The Search Committee has completed their work and identified a candidate for our position of Pastor at FCUCC. The Executive Committee has met with Search Committee and approved the calling of the candidate. A meeting of the Church Council is to be held Tuesday evening, July 14th to approve the calling.

This sets in motion the process of calling the congregation into a meeting to approve the hiring of this candidate. Because of COVID, this is a somewhat cumbersome process. The Search Committee and Church Council have been diligent in their efforts to meet the requirements of our Bylaws and recognize the need to keep our congregation safe, yet involved, in this step of the hiring process.

A congregational letter has been prepared and mailed today, July 14th and a copy will be sent by email to members’ homes no later than July 15th, 2020. It details the steps we will use to conduct the business of the church. We are asking our membership to be diligent in their responsibilities as a member by informing themselves regarding the candidate and being a part of the ZOOM meetings and voting process. Read your letter carefully and if you have questions, contact a member of the Search Committee for more information. (Committee members are: Lois Darrow, Mary Elder, Jim France, Dick Owens, Constance Popken, Jay Rosenberg, and Chris Schwerin).

Included with the letters is a MEMO from our candidate. The MEMO outlines information regarding his work as a pastor, his education, and his faith journey.

Be prayerful and take part in making a hiring decision for FCUCC. We are blessed with a wonderful church community. With God’s guidance and hard work, we will be blessed with a wonderful pastor to guide us as we minister in the name of Jesus Christ.

Sanford Center Summer Program

Sanford Center began their summer programming in June. They are running very low and will run out of snacks, cereal, and drinks if we do not help them with donations. We as a community need to step up and meet our committment to provide them with these items. If you can donate anything please do so.

FCUCC members are asked to provide cereal and individually wrapped snacks and juice boxes/water for these children. You may bring your items to church and place them in the shopping cart in the front narthex. The church office is open M-F 10-2. OR you may drop your purchases off at the Sanford Center at 1700 Geneva St. IF you would prefer to send a check to the Sanford Center for snack purchases, that would also be appreciated. Please make your check to the Sanford Center and write “FCUCC Summer Snacks” in the memo line.

The mailing address is:

SANFORD CENTER

1700 Geneva St

Sioux City, IA 51103

A Note from Dick Owens:

The Missions Committee has provided information about how we can continue to support the Sanford's Center Summer Program. Here is some additional information to consider.

A main need for the Sanford Center providing the Summer Program is money. Due to the pandemic, we were not able to hold our spring fund raiser at the Orpheum. That money was what we have used in the past to fund some of the programming costs. Knowing we would be facing a deficit, the Center has been able to get meals provided through a free food program in cooperation with the Stella Sanford Center. That is working well. But the lack of the fund raising dollars, the Center is hard pressed to cover all of the salaries and other programming cost. Because of this need, I am suggesting that we consider making financial donations to the Center to assist them. Please give this some serious thought and let's see what we can manage. I know Verlee and I will be doing this sometime this week. Any amount will be appreciated.

Thanks. Dick Owens

THANK YOU for your support of this important ministry to some of our community's most impacted children.

Missions Committee

The FCUCC Building is Closed Until at Least September 1st

Our Hearts and Hands are Wide Open!

Due to the Public Health Emergency,

UCC Church Buildings in IA, NE, SD are Closed into the Fall

Siouxland District Health is working with the Iowa Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to minimize the impacts of COVID-19 in our community. Social distancing and frequent hand washing is encouraged to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

According to Siouxland Health, it’s important to:

Avoid crowds where there are more than 10 people and practice good hygiene by washing your hands frequently
Support your local businesses
Wear a mask when social distancing is a challenge . . .

SIOUXLAND HEALTH'S BEST PRACTICES

Don’t congregate in large groups at the mall or in parks. Keep it to less than 10 people. Maintain a social distance of six feet.
Wear a cloth face covering. The CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2 or others unable to remove the mask without assistance.

Keep the Connection -- Join us on “Zoom”

Todd Siefker will be sending out an invitation link right before each event.

6:30 pm Wednesday – Weekly Reflection Time

1:00 pm Friday -- Friday Bible Study on Galatians with Pastor Anne

10:30 am Sunday – "Meet & Greet" our Pastoral Candidate

ZOOM Meetings – Remember to Invite Others!

Invite your friends to attend the Wednesday night, Friday, or Sunday morning gatherings.

Each of us knows people who need connection during this time. You can send your friends the invitation link or send their emails to Todd so he can send them the invitation. This is a way to reach out and enlarge our caring community!

Before each Zoom session, you will receive an email invitation to the session. By clicking on the link included in the invitation, you can join the session.

You can join online with your computer OR by phone.

Follow the instructions that come in the email.

On Wednesday evenings, at 6:30 pm Todd Siefker will lead a reflection time.

On Fridays at 1:00 pm Pastor Anne is leading a series on Galatians.

This Sunday is a "Meet & Greet" with our Pastoral Candidate from 10:30 a.m. to11:30 a.m.

You can join in at any time during the morning by using the Zoom link.

Friday Bible Study with Pastor Anne -- 1:00 pm on Zoom

(online or by phone)

Although we're not meeting at Pierce Street Coffee Works right now, we can connect our tables together by meeting on Zoom. You're invited to join Pastor Anne for a series on Paul's letter to the Galatians.

July 17 Free to Change (Galatians 2:15-21)

July 24 Free to Receive (Galatians 3:28-4:11)

July 30 No session

August 7 Free to Create (Galatians 5:22-6:5)

Sunday Tech Buddies Needed

Our Council is attempting to include all members into our Sunday Zoom church services. To do this we have been brainstorming in several options. One of these is to set up Sunday Tech Buddies. To do this we need to:

Get a few Chrome Books (or the like) and set up to do Zooming.
Find a few volunteers who have “hot spots” on their phones, and who are willing to be Sunday Tech Buddies.
Have the Sunday Tech Buddies bring a Chrome Book and their “hot spot” to those who do not have internet access. They would share the church service in a socially distanced way (masks, 6’ apart, using hand sanitizer before and after).

If you have a “hot spot” on your phone and are willing to be a Sunday Tech Buddy to someone who cannot attend church right now, but would like to, give Tiffany Watts or Lois Darrow a call and we will begin working on this project. Call Tiffany at 712-239-3385 or Lois at 712-490-5969.

Our Pastoral Candidate

Katherine Trautman

The Beier-Parker Family

Jay Rosenberg’s mother

Anne Cleghorn

Joan Lewis

Leo Leonard

Cameron Mower & Family

The Willmott Family

John Dilenschneider

Lon Claeys' Family

Take Some Time to Check in With Each Other

Remember to “check in” with the person(s) before you and after you in the current church directory. Let's make sure everyone is connected during this time!

Prayer & Support For Our Local Restaurants

This week: Pierce Street Coffee Works

Although the "Foodies" may not be able to meet in person, we can still pray!

This week, we're praying for, and supporting, the owners and the staff at Pierce Street Coffee Works at 1920 Pierce St. Established in 1994, Pierce Street Coffee Works is the oldest coffee shop in Sioux City. It claims to have the best sandwich in town, The Nutty Bird! If you plan to order from a restaurant this week, order from Pierce Street. We'll let them know the members of FCUCC are praying for them.

Moving-On Box Needs

Toasters - these are especially needed right now

Bath Towels/Hand Towels

Washcloths

Cake Pans

Silverware

The Soup Kitchen

The Soup Kitchen has been hit hard with the expanded need of families and individuals needing food assistance during COVID-19. They have recently reached out and have received a wonderful amount of food - so much so that their shelves and freezers are well stocked with fresh produce and canned goods. Because of this expanded need in our community, they are asking that we continue to contribute, but to do so with Gift Cards or monetary means so that they can appropriately purchase foods as needed. Gift Cards from Faraway, Hyvee, Walmart, etc. would be greatly appreciated. They have served well over 8000 meals since the beginning of the Pandemic and the need is growing. You can drop the cards off at the Soup Kitchen or Mail them to:

717 W. 7th Street

Suoix City, Iowa 51103

They also have Venmo and Paypal for those who would like to donate through that method. Here is the info from them:

If you are wanting to make a donation please use the following:

Venmo : @siouxland-soupkitchen

PayPal : [email protected]

All donations can be issued a receipt for tax purposes.

Remember to Support FCUCC Financially During this Time!

During this COVID-19 event, having no in-person services has impacted our normal income. Thank you to those who have mailed in checks!

FCUCC Finances for June 2020

Giving in June amounted to $6,611.00 , all from mail-in and online giving.

You can help us stay on track by mailing in your check or setting up an automatic payment from your bank. You can also contribute through a simple app called Tithe.ly.

Tithe.ly is our online, app and web-based giving system. Tithe.ly is convenient because it:

· Accepts debit, credit or bank account info

· Can be set up for a one-time payment, or automatic regular payments

· Can be changed at any time (there are no contracts or commitments)

Go to http://get.tithe.ly to sign up online, or download the app on any iPhone/Apple or Android device.

Rummage Sale

For those of you doing your spring house cleaning during this time, there is plenty of room to store things you wish to get rid of. Just bring them to church when Tiffany is in the office (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and she will open the doors for you.

Sharing Our Community Memories and God Moments

In the spirit of Pastor Al Hohl's book on Prayer we've been talking about the importance of Remembering. To Pastor Hohl, forgetting is not the opposite of remembering. He says that DISmembering is actually the opposite of REmembering. He writes, "...to not remember is to tear apart. What we tear apart runs the risk of being scattered in our imaginations" (Hohl 2020, 172). I believe we would rather not run this risk.

We are starting our own Story Corps Project. We would like your story about how this faith community has benefited your life in written, audio recorded, or video recorded format. Please send them to Todd at [email protected] or back to Tiffany at our church email at [email protected]. In case you need some prompts from Pastor Anne to get started, here are a few that might help:

I came to FCUCC because . . .
The person or group here who has made the most difference in my life is __ because . . .
I learned something new here that deepened my faith when . . .
I was able to make a difference in the community/wider world through FCUCC when . . .
A time I met God through FCUCC was . . .
A favorite memory I have of my time with FCUCC is . . .