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September 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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September 7
Knowing the God Who Knows Us Completely
Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18
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Therefore, since it is by God's mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart.
2 Corinthians 4:1
There is an ancient curse that goes, “May you live in interesting times.” We have, for a while, been reminded why that was considered a curse. We do seem to live in interesting times. It is hard to know what to do. Scripture, however,
invites us: Do Not Lose Heart. Even in interesting times we can look around and know there are good people in the world doing amazing things. We can be inspired! Who inspires you?
What inspires you? Let’s be inspired together!
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September 14
Count Their Names
Luke 15:1-10
September 21
As We Forgive Our Debtors
Luke 16:1-10
September 28
Open Your Hand to the Poor...
Luke 16:19-31
October 5
Be Strong and Courageous
2Timothy 1:1-14
October 12
Heal the Sick
Luke 11:17-19
October 19
Do Not Lose Heart
Luke 18:1-8
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2025 Church Council Meeting Schedule
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
But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the little
children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the
kingdom of God belongs."
- Mark 10:14
Accessibility for someone is good for everyone.
- Member of the Benediction Project Braintrust
Worship is the work of all God’s people. It should be our goal to make
every component of the worship service accessible to all generations.
- Nelson Cowan
“Let the Children Lead”
Whew! What a crazy summer!! It was really awesome: I got to spend a little time with family, camp at my sister’s with Elian, attend General Assembly in Memphis, TN (and visit the ducks at the Peabody!), and direct Adventure Camp. The last thing I got to do before I was able just to catch my breath with a couple full weeks in the office was participate in the braintrust (think: creative board) for the Benediction Project.
The Benediction Project is funded by a grant from good ol’ uncle Eli Lily – well, his foundation anyway – and it’s purpose is to prepare a model for intergenerational worship by intentionally making worship accessible to children. I am honored to be asked to be a part of the creative team behind this project.
I have always been at least a little bit passionate about children’s faith development, though being creative about including children in worship, in ways beyond children’s moment, is not something that comes naturally to me. It requires a lot of my creative energy. So, I confess that when I get busy and have to rush to get things done, it is often what gets left out.
The thing is, though, I think that, while we often think of things for children as “childish”, children being present and active in worship is good for children and for adults. They learn the faith from the youth and adults, and the youth and adults learn faith from them. When it comes down to it adults need some of the same things children do in worship: space for curiosity and exploration of their faith and being allowed to be experts on our own experiences while also learning the richness of the gospel.
I look forward to what this project will yield and how we at Ankeny Christian Church can utilize it to enrich our worship life: children and elders and everything in between together!
Shalom,
Pastor Owen
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Fun at the Iowa Cubs Game!
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50th Anniversary Celebration
Let’s get ready to party!!! September 13, 2026 will mark the 50th Anniversary of Ankeny Christian Church. Would you like to help plan how we will celebrate 50 years of ministry in Ankeny? We are eager to celebrate and would like to put together a planning team for that task. If you have interest please let Pastor Owen or Council President, Randy Wehofer know.
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We will once again come together and have a book and Bible Study this fall. Our topic will be challenging with the study of Revelation. We will be using the book “Breaking the Code” by Bruce Metzger and revised by David deSilva. In his introduction Dr. deSilva shared “…to see more Christians…allow Revelation to exercise its full, formative impact on them and their vision for discipleship.” He also commented that this text is best heard and studied in community. We will work together and tackle the last book of the Bible.
The class will begin on Wednesday, October 8 at 9:30 at the church. Contact me by Sunday, September 14.
Karen Fausch
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Missions Committee
If you have been to a grocery store or restaurant recently, you are aware that food is getting more expensive! We can’t reverse this situation but can help and have fun doing it.
September’s Mission Project is the “Food Bowl” with the donations to go to the ANKENY SERVICE CENTER which is a non-profit organization providing foodstuffs and other support to those in need.
Vote for your favorite Iowa collegiate football team: Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Iowa or Drake. In the past ten years, ACC has donated $13,524 to the Ankeny Service Center earmarked for their food program. Food is available at no cost to local area residents. The ’24 champ was Iowa State receiving 867 votes of the record breaking $2,735 total.
Voting is easy and anyone is eligible to participate. You may vote often with any amount. Each dollar donated equals one vote. Place your donation in the same receptacle as your regular donation. Be sure to indicate which school your vote benefits. If giving on-line, select the Food Bowl category and indicate which team gets credited. Undesignated donations are credited to the school with the fewest votes.
Thank you in advance for your support. “Positive People Doing God’s Work” can make a difference.
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A Birthday Party!
Ankeny Christian Church is turning 49 years old in September! Join the Care Connections Team on Sunday, September 14 for a potluck meal celebration right after the 10:00 service. Table service and beverages will be provided. A generous benefactor has also offered to provide meat and buns. So all you have to do is Just bring a salad or side dish to share and stay for the fun. Other than singing happy
birthday to ACC, there is no formal program planned.
We will have 12 tables decorated and ask you to sit at the table of your birthday month. Have a great time discovering your friends who share the same zodiac sign/season of birth and find out who had the best party as a kid! There will be cake with candles at each table for you to enjoy. To that end, we are still in need of 5 volunteers who would be willing to bake and decorate a cake or 12 cupcakes for a particular month. Please let Georgene Raver know if you could provide the same.
Ravergrands6@gmail.com or
515-577-5573.
Thank you!
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Blessing the Backpacks
Students! Teachers! School Administrators and Employees! On September 7th we hope you will be in worship (in-person or online) with your backpacks, school supplies, or tools of your trade so that we may bless them (AND YOU, of course!) for the school year ahead.
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Ankeny Love Lunches Update
Our second week of being the lead church for the Sunset Park site went well. It involved 28 people- 17 from Ankeny Christian and 11 from other churches. For the week, we provided 462 lunches. Compared to our second week last year (243 lunches) that's an increase of 219 lunches or about 90%. Last year's week must have had some hot or rainy days.
For the entire summer (63 serving days) our site served 6,395 lunches or an average of 101 lunches per day. Compared to the summer of 2024, our site served 1,771 more lunches in 2025 or an increase of 38%. Of the 6,395 lunches served in 2025, 74% were served to children and 26% were served to adults. Our largest day this summer was 162 and the smallest day was 52.
Thank you to those of ACC who helped serve lunches this simmer. Thank you, too, to those who contributed financially- a total of $1,390.
Ankeny Love Lunches has proven to be an important program as it helps provide nourishing lunches to some Ankeny children and accompanying adults during weekdays of the three summer months. We look forward to participating in this program again during the summer of 2026.
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Worship Schedule
At the end of this year I will have been creating the Worship Schedule for three years. I would like to pass this task on to someone. It is not time consuming, we use a google spread sheet and it takes about 2 hours during the last month of each quarter. I fill in the blanks and then send it to the office manager who copies it in color. I will share my notes on how I create the schedule and be available to help as needed.
Karen Fausch
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Childcare Update
We are so excited that the Church Council announced that Ankeny Christian Church has renewed its contract with Little Futures, Inc. to continue operating daycare in the church building through December 31, 2028. Financial terms remain the same supporting the church's mission and financial stability.
For more details please see the letter posted on either the bulletin board in Fellowship Hall or in the front entryway.
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Kudos and Celebrations
- Ray Green for playing the drums during worship.
- Nathan Green, Karen Fausch, Larry Squier, and Eleke Ukpabi for stepping into Pastor Owen's role on June 22, 2025
- Robert and Emily Dalluge for facilitating the adult missions brainstorming meeting
- Counselors and directors at the Christian Conference Center: Layla Hart, Evan St. Clair, Sophia Patchin, Mary St. Clair, EWric Lahart, Halle Wulfekuhle, Grace Porath, Cathy Helmke, Owen Cayton
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September Birthdays
9/3 Angela Johnson
9/4 William Harris
9/5 Madilyn Moellers
9/6 Tanya Cox
9/8 Adam Olson
9/9 Diane Aurand
9/10 Marlys Lapham
Corbin Widaman
9/14 Deanna Clingan-Fischer
9/19 Norma Sperry
Randy Wehofer
9/20 Wesley Helmke
9/22 Sally Hanley
Susan Hanley
Kingston Ukpabi
9/23 Jodi Murphy
9/24 Logan Olson
Zola Parker
Emily Porath
9/25 John Lindley
9/29 Nate Shelburg
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September Anniversaries
9/5 Darin & Lori Leach
9/6 Jon & Jennifer Hauschildt
9/8 Glenn & JoAnn Smith
9/17 Adam & Angie Olson
9/20 Curt & Megan Narwold
9/28 Larry & Nancy Squier
| | 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. | | |
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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