God is Still Speaking... Brookings United Church of Christ WWW.BROOKINGSUCC.ORG [email protected]605 697 2882 Rev. Wade Schemmel Pastor Email: [email protected]Office Phone: 605-697-2882 Cell Phone: 701-934-2051 As I look at it. . . “Whoever you are, wherever you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here” Issue 1 January 2015 January 2015 828 8th Street South Brookings, SD 57006 Brookingsucc.org 605.697.2882 828 8th St. South Brookings, SD 57006 ISSUE 1 As we begin another year I would like to take this opportunity to look into the future and share what I am seeing. Possibly you could help me to determine which of my projections is fact and what is fiction. I would anticipate that in the coming year the United Church of Christ, Brookings will share its faithful interpretations on some of the pressing issues facing us as a nation and as a community. These issues may cover some of the hot button areas such as the Tar Sands pipe line, and immigration and may also be looking at some of the more local questions such as poverty in Brookings and relations with the Native American community in South Dakota. It is my hope that through these issues we will be able to define our faith for ourselves and for the community. For the Christian faith is not separate from the public arena, but rather through its interpretation of the issues facing the public the Christian faith becomes clearer in its meaning. I would hope that the process of looking at such public concerns is community based and involves members of the congregation and when possible, the wider community in meaningful discussion. I would envision that if such discus- sion is held in a clear and open manner and if clear stated conclusions are found then those decisions would need to be shared with leadership politically, and in business. For if the faith guides us to come to any form of definite understanding that is itself a gift that shouldn’t be kept to ourselves, but shared with others. I would anticipate that in the coming year we would continue to develop a style of worship that is embracing of the whole community while sensitive to the needs of the individual. I do realize that at first blush this may sound like talking out of both sides of my mouth. Please let me explain. It is my hope that our worship in the coming year engages the entire community in praise and celebra- tion. I would hope that it is an opportunity for us to join our voices and our spirits in both thanksgiv- ing and petition, but I would hope that we do that without losing sight of the fact that we are a con- gregation of many different types of people with many different types of needs and understandings. We must never lose sight of the face that radical hospitality is not an excuse to hold more tightly to a singular view but rather a challenge to open our doors and minds to viewing life through a wide lens, and to see ourselves as the host of a very big tent. I would also anticipate that in the coming year we will experience some numerical growth. Churches of our type rarely grow in great leaps, but rather assume a more steady paced growth pat- tern. I would hope that as we seek to grow numerically, we would also strive to grow in our under- standing and commitment to the faith. For growth in numbers is of little value if our faith continues to remains locked in its protected vision of life. My personal goal isn’t to avoid certain issues but rather it would be my wish to explore those issues with all members that we might grow into a fuller understanding of what God is calling forth from us. While I know that this holds some risk, I believe it also has some benefits because I know members may hold a wide variety of views. Finally, I am looking forward to meaningful and personal interaction with each and every one of you who are friends and members of this congregation and community. I want to assure all of you that my door and my spirit are always open and that I do believe through mutual conversation and understanding we have the potential to grow as a community of faith as participants in it. To sum this up I am looking forward to a very exciting and busy 2015. Namaste. Wade
On the first Sunday of February, February 1st a special offering will be taken to assist the Native American Cen-ter on the SDSU campus to support the American Indian graduates this coming spring. Each year the center gives a quilt and a stole to each Native American graduate. This is a cost of approximately $300 for each student. We would invite you to be generous on February 1st when we receive this very important and helpful offer-ing.
Welcome Terri and Darlene
As we begin 2015 we welcome to new members to the United Church of Christ, Brookings family. We give a special welcome to Terri Logan who is the church secretary. Terri works Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons be-ginning at 2:00 pm. Darlene Dokken works approximately 3 – 4 hours per week as the in house custodian. This position takes some stress off of the worship teams. It is with pleasure that we welcome both Darlene and Terri to the church staff.
Dear Friends of Brookings Backpack Project,
We would like to extend a big thank you to those who have helped
us already this school year. The time and generosity that our sup-
porters and volunteers give amazes us each and every day! We are
about to start the second half of the school year and currently
have volunteer opportunities available. Please respond by either
text or email if you are interested in helping Brookings Backpack
Project finish the school year strong!
Packing Bags:
When: Wednesdays at 6:00pm
Where: BBP Staging Site (216 W. 2nd St. S.)
Number of Volunteers: 10-15 per night (you can sign up just yourself or an entire group)
How Long: About an hour Comments: This is a good opportunity to do a volunteer task as a group with BBP! Unwrapping Food Shipments & Prep for Packing:
When: Mondays at 6:00 pm Where: BBP Staging Site
Number of Volunteers: 3-5 How Long: About ½- 1 hour
Comments: Although this does not involve much lifting, some of the food items are heavy, so
please be sure that you can lift heavy canned items and such before you sign up for this task.
Pickup & Delivery of Fruit:
When: Each Wednesday (consistent time can be worked out) Where: Pick up the fruit from SDSU Dining Services & deliver it to the BBP Staging Site
Number of Volunteers: 1-2 How Long: ½-1 Hour Comments: We usually get about 6-7 cases of fruit. Again, you need to have a vehicle that is
able to transport the cases of fruit. It would also be nice to have one or two people doing this regularly so that the Dining Services are used to the same people each week & do not have to
wonder from week to week who is coming.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about these opportunities.
Remember, our Packing Parties fill up very quickly!!
Ashley Dahl, Volunteer Coordinator
605-690-6396
Celebrate! Birthdays in January...
3 Elecsia Dokken
5 Rod Steele
12 Christie Delfanian
Tayla Dobrenski
13 Helen Andersen
16 Craig Treiber
18 Don Marshall
23 Katie Marshall
29 Zachery Treiber
Open and Affirming The Path to Open and Affirming is open:
During the upcoming Annual Meeting the United Church of Christ Brookings will vote on becoming Open and Affirming. This is a very important vote for it places before us the opportunity to open our ministry to a group of people that at the present time have no real home in our community. Each one of us have the op-portunity to determine if our faith calls us to vote yes or no on the issue of guiding our congregation to become accepting of the LGBT community. If any have ques-tions or thoughts they would like to ex-plore prior to the meeting please feel free to contact the church office that we might find a time for conversation.
217 4TH Street
BROOKINGS, SD 57006
605.692.5007
IMMEDIATE NEEDS: Crackers Hamburger Helper
Peanut Butter
Peaches
Sugar
Scallop or Au gratin Potatoes
Carrots
Kidney Beans
Spaghetti O’s
Egg Noodles
HARVEST TABLE:
A warm-no-cost meal served every Monday
night from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm at the First
United Methodist Community Life Center,
The meal is offered for anyone in the com-
munity looking for good food and fellow-
ship! Call 692-4345 with questions.
FEEDING
BROOKINGS
Bags of food are distributed
every Thursday from 4:00—5:00 p.m. at the
Ascension Lutheran Church
2030 3rd Street 692-6565
January food item of the month:
Pasta & Rice
If you have participated in the weekly Harvest Table,
you know that it is more than a hot meal for those in
need. They also distribute food stuffs and supplies
for families to get through the week, such as soap,
toothpaste, diapers and baby wipes to name a few.
The number of people being served each week has
grown significantly over the last few years. In July
285 people were served a hot meal, grocery items
were distributed to 145 households, 110 packages of
diapers and baby wipes were handed out to families
all at no cost to the families. The cupboards are
BARE!! The Harvest Table is desperately in need of
ta, rice, peanut butter, beans, cereal, baby food, for-
mula, fruits and juice, canned meat and other pantry
staples), personal care items (soap, toothpaste and
brushes, shampoo, mouthwash), baby supplies
(diapers and baby wipes are especially needed), pa-
per goods (paper towels, toilet paper). The needs
run the gamut. If you need it for your house, the
Harvest Table probably needs it as well. If you aren’t
sure what is most needed, money is always “the right
size and color.” With your tax-deductible donations,
the Harvest Table staff can shop for what is needed
the most. Thank you for your support. If you have
questions, contact Vonda Kirkham, Harvest Table
Director, 692 4345.
Youth Group Update:
The UCC Youth spend a night at the Movies:
January 2nd was movie night at the United Church of Christ, Brookings. The evening was complete with pizza, pop and good fellowship. Following a time of exploring what one brought into the New Year and what one was going to discover in it, the movie began. The group snuggled down on the bean bags and watched a movie that had been agreed upon. As the night ended all agreed that it was a good evening together and a good way to begin the New
What is the Faithful Response?
Ash Wednesday is Feb-ruary 18th and Easter is April 5th/ in between these two dates we have Lent. Lent is a time set
aside for the purpose of growing in our understanding of the faith, its history and its impact today. During the Eve-nings following Ash Wednesday pro-grams will be held on the theme “A Faithful Response”. We will look at some of the hot button issues of the day from a faith perspective and then make our decision. The exact times and dates are yet to be decided.
