Newsletter

January 30, 2025

issue # 5

"Blessing Always"

Association Minister Message

Rev. Daniel L. Busch

       LOVE. One of the most familiar chapters of the Bible is First Corinthians 13, the chapter of LOVE. Paul writes, “If I speak in tongues of human beings and of angels but I don’t have LOVE, I’m a clanging gong or a clashing cymbal.” (vs. 1). Words and actions need to have consistency about them. “I do what I say. I say what I mean.” There is so much “political speech” today that offers contradicting words depending upon the group that is being spoken to. There are others who do and say things for their own advantage as narcissistic people.

     Saint Paul’s remind us that our call to mission is a “LOVE” action to the honor and glory of God for others, not for self-gratification. Each one of us has been called to LOVE God, LOVE one another as we would want to be LOVED, and LOVE who we are as children of God. What we do is to the honor and glory, yet God honors us as entrusted stewards. Gifts and graces cannot be hoarded. LOVE cannot be hoarded. Faith cannot be hoarded. We may do all kinds of amazing deeds, but without LOVE, Paul reminds us, it is done in vain. As Jesus’ followers, we are called into ministry to bring good news to the poor. We are to set captives and oppressed free from sins, blindness, and possessions to share God’s future. It is not just for our glory, but for restoration, reconciliation, and renewal of relationships with one another and God in a community of faith.

     The Gospel is not just about the “me, myself, and I,” for it offers LOVE for “us” as the family of God. LOVE “for me” is stretched so much that it embraces “ALL” and replaces privilege and advantage with extravagant welcome and hospitality. LOVE plants seeds of justice and peace to change society so that the consistency of our LOVE will reflects Jesus in us, around us, through us, and with us in all that we do. We are all called into a LOVE ministry that is an opportunity to share with others what has been so generously given to us by a LOVING God. “Now faith, hope, and LOVE remain—these three things---and the greatest of these is LOVE.” BLESSINGS ALWAYS.

Now Open! UCC Yearbook Reporting

The UCC Center for Analytics, Research & Development, and Data (CARDD) is now collecting data for the 2024 UCC Yearbook! You can create an account to enter statistics in the new UCC Database and Directories through Friday, March 21. PLEASE NOTE: Since this is a brand new system, there may be unexpected issues - updates will be provided as they are received!

Your church can download instructions and visit the Yearbook reference page with the buttons below. These were updated, so please re-download if you have already saved the previous version! An email with further details has been sent. If you have any questions, need a hard copy of instructions or data forms mailed to your church, please contact Kim Nye, Northwest Ohio Association kim@nwoa.org

Celebrations / Changes

Word has been received from El Salvador that they have elected a new bishop,

Rev. Guadalupe Cortez de Huezo on Thursday, December 5th, 2025. Installation will be held on Sunday, January 12, 2025. Our prayers & blessings to her.

Prayer Concerns / Request

Continuing prayer for: Dee Schroer, Rev. Daniel Johnson, Rev. Jim Garner,

Rev. Hafidha Saadiqah, Rev. Randall Forester, Rev. Gale Gebhart, Rev. Don Giesmann, Rev. David Culp, Peggy George, Rev. Martin Stiffler and family, Rev. Diane Christopherson, Rev. David Voll, Pastor Amy Kinney, Rev. Adrian Sunday, Rev. Jeanette Tangeman, Rev. Patrick McKinney, Regena Mummert, Pastor Amy Kinney, Rev. Marge Mair-Hansen

Please keep in your prayers:

Rev. David Voll was in the hospital. Please keep him in your prayers.

Wilma Farmer was in the hospital. Please keep her in your prayers.

MONTHLY ARTICLES

NEIGHBORS IN NEED 2024

"BECAUSE OF YOU OUR CHURCH CHANGES LIVES"

"WHAT IS OCWM AND WHY DOES IT MATTER"

The Stewardship and Generosity Team continues to work hard at finding ways to give you and your church resourcess for enhancing the giving of your congregations. We encourage you to explore the following links:

To donate to Ukraine:

Global Partners - Heartland Conference UCC (heartlanducc.org)

Resources from the Heartland Conference

Generosity & Stewardship - Heartland Conference UCC (heartlanducc.org)

Stewardship Ideas

Epiphany Greetings to you from your NWOA Stewardship & Generosity Team! At our last meeting we were sharing stories of ways our current or previous churches engaged our congregations in activities that promoted Stewardship. While we could fill numerous pages with stories, I have been asked to choose a sampling to include in a brief article for this month’s Vine.

           Mission Moments are used at a number of our churches including Sylvania UCC. These are given in worship. Whenever there is an opportunity to talk about an experience that has made a positive difference in some way, it is shared with the congregation. Examples might be people sharing after a Habitat for Humanity workday, or helping out at Grace Community Center in Toledo.

           While Mission Moments are scheduled in advance, Concerns and Celebrations are shared spontaneously by people in worship. These would involve recent experiences that the church was involved in that were especially meaningful to someone. They allow others to see the church at work and to see firsthand the impact those activities have on their members and friends.

           St. John’s UCC Tiffin engage their children in a stewardship exercise that teaches both the children and the adults the importance of sharing their God given gifts with others. They have a monthly Noisy Offering collected by the kids whereby coins are tossed into cute pails held by smiling children who say thank you to everyone.

           During Vacation Bible School, Buckland UCC receives a coin offering from the children each day that is donated to various charities.

           These are but a few of the many stewardship stories we shared. We pray these may assist you in the ministry you provide in your local church setting. Blessings as you journey into this new year and explore ways in which to continue the ministry that is vital to your congregation and beyond!



In Christ’s Service,

Stewardship & Generosity Ministry Team

Stay informed through Facebook

www.facebook.com/groups/593773784349506

MONTHLY ARTICLES

As Christians, let us love those who have recently immigrated from Haiti.

Jesus expects no less of us.

Thanks for the Hills

Make Someone's Day

Praying With Our Feet

How to Know a Person: the Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen

Defiance Equality Foundation for Inclusion's (DEFI)

Back Bay Mission Long-Term Volunteer

Solar Powered Lantern by Alice Chun

Do This: Communion for Just and Courageous Living

From the Pastoral Relations Working Group

of the NWOA Church and Ministry Team

Spiritual Directors

Learn more

Anti-Racism and White Privilege

Learn more

We hope that these resources meet the needs of pastors looking for resources to begin conversations regarding anti-racism within their congregations. If you have other ideas for how we may assist in bringing resources/training to you regarding this topic, please contact Nanette Warnecke-Flood at nanettef@syctelco.com

READ ON FOR MORE RESOURCES

With the release of his new book, Yes, Love, Thank You: Meditative Prayers and Pictures to Blossom Your Heart, the Rev. Dr. David Long-Higgins and the Rev. Cassidy Hall sit down to talk about prayer, spiritual practices, and new entryways into our interactions with the Divine.

Ministry Within Wildfires

As California wildfires continue, so does the call to care for one another.

One can’t help but see the current “climate” of hurricane disasters, and wonder what the Heartland Conference is doing? Thus, I wanted to share several things related to this.

First, on Sept. 28, the CWS semi was filled during the Heartland Conference Annual Gathering. For our part, our 2024 goal was 2,024 buckets & kits. As that semi rolled out of the parking lot, it left with 2,334 buckets and kits that came from our Depot, our churches, and our partners! There were lots of other buckets and kits, besides ours…at the same time, CWS was filling trucks at its New Windsor, Maryland warehouse, in anticipation of hurricane Helene. 

Secondly, CWS did respond by sending 3,296 cleanup buckets and 4,360 hygiene kits to Florida and North Carolina. However, this has resulted in their reserve stock being very low. If your church feels God’s nudge to continue to assist with buckets and kits, please do so…and then let our Heartland Conference Disaster Response Team know! If you haven’t had the chance to assist with the creation of buckets and kits, now is a perfect time to respond! Our Templed Hills Depot continues to be open to receive these until the end of November. At that time, we will transition to Camp Christian, having established our Depot site there, as well as housing our pickup and 2 trailers. 

So…”how can I help?” Prayer. Monetary Donations (sent through the UCC Global HOPE website, or sent to the Heartland Conference with a Helene/Milton notation), CWS cleanup buckets & personal hygiene kits. 

Currently, many of the affected areas are still in the initial phase of Search & Rescue. Others are in the Immediate Needs phase, with organizations such as Red Cross, Salvation Army, Samaritans Purse, Team Rubicon, etc. providing basic needs. Eventually, it will transition into the Recovery Phase, which is where faith-based organizations typically plug themselves in. Stay tuned for more information to come, when we have it.

Thank you. 

Heartland Conference Disaster Team

Kevin Gehres, Disaster Response Coordinator

We have officially launched the UCC's 2025 Climate Hope Art Contest for children and youth. Our theme this year is “Planting Seeds of Hope.” We’ll accept art submissions from February 2nd to March 14th. Like last year, we will have winners for different age groups and an overall winner who will receive an all-expense paid trip to visit Washington, DC with a parent or guardian. (Last year's winner had two members of congress personally ask her for a poster of her artwork, so that they could hang it in their offices!) The winning art will additionally serve as the logo for UCC Climate Hope advocacy work throughout 2025.

Register now for your church to participate!

We will send you a PDF of the art contest page on which artists will create their masterpieces. We are looking forward to seeing the amazing creativity and talent of our children once again.

With gratitude for each of you,

Sue Mueller

Lead Climate Hope Organizer

United Church of Christ

Attention Members in Discernment!

Brown Scholarship Application Available

The Richard and Helen Brown Endowment for Church Leadership provides funding for students seeking a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree or equivalent. Potential Brown Scholars must demonstrate at least a year of active membership in a United Church of Christ (UCC) church and maintain a GPA of at least 3.0.

For those interested in becoming a Brown Scholar for the 2025-2026 academic year, eligible candidates may submit an online application beginning December 1 each year. The deadline to submit applications is March 1, 2025. Click here to apply for the scholarship.

To learn more about Brown Endowment Continuing Education Grant, please contact us at brown@ucfunds.org.

Mission Moments

Use Mission Moments every week to tell a story about your congregation’s connection with the wider church. Each issue – which is designed to be inserted with your newsletter or Sunday worship bulletin – is an effective way to inform your members about what they make possible through their gifts to Our Church’s Wider Mission.

Your generous gift makes our ministry possible.