Sunday, February 1, 2015

BLACK HISTORY MUSICAL FEBRARY 27

To celebrate and honor Black History Month this year, SE- UCC is going to present “Black History Musical: This is My Story; This is My Song,” on Friday, February 27 at 7 PM in the Sanctuary.  Director Vicky Barnes has planned  a journey through African-American religious music of all genres, from spirituals to traditional Gospel to Modern Gospel.  Performers will include the Chancel Choir, the Wright Family, the Praise Team, the Dance Ministry led by Brigette Fitzgerald, and Praise and Worship Leaders Stacy Arielle and Ronald Rucker.

Danita Harris of Channel Five will serve as emcee.

The program is free!  Come prepared to clap your hands, tap your feet, and sing along.

PASTOR'S CHAT AND CHEW FEBRUARY 26

Join Pastor Jenkins on Thursday, February 26 from 6-7:30 PM for a "Chat and Chew" on the Pastor's book of the month.  Bring a dish to share and your thoughts about the book for discussion.
The book is Motivation Manifesto: 9 Declarations to Claim Your Personal Power by Brendon Burchard. The book retails for $19.99 but is available on Amazon.com for $10.09. You can contact Diana Scott if you need to order the book and don't have Internet access.

PASTOR’S BIBLE STUDY FEBRUARY 25 – APRIL 1

Beginning during Lent and continuing until Easter Week, Pastor Jenkins will be leading a Bible Study series on Wednesday evenings at 7 PM in the Multi-Purpose Room.

Topic: Breaking Free: Discovering the Victory of Total Surrender

Description: Join Pastor J as we study selected passages from the book of Isaiah, drawing several parallels between the captive Israelites and what it means to be free in Christ.  During this season of Lent, learn how to remove obstacles that hinder freedom by identifying those things which are holding you captive and how to overcome them.

Electrified Leadership: Lay Leaders Orientation FEBRUARY 21, 8:30 AM

Leadership is never to be taken lightly.  It is a great honor and there are also great expectations that surround it.  A leader is to ebb and flow through an organization as a representative and as a peer.  Leadership is not only a role, but also a call to serve whether it is formally or informally.  Leaders lead others, but great leaders lead and follow others.  Leadership is about service to God and not to self.  It is putting the will of God and the organization over one’s own interest.
Now that the nominating committee has selected leaders to serve for this coming year and the congregation has accepted this slate and leaders have been chosen for ministry events, do we simply release these followers of Christ to go about leading the church with no guide?  Imagine if Christ chose his disciples, but provided no additional roadmap to His teachings.  If Christ just walked away after selecting them, the disciples would have been crestfallen, confused, and ineffective.  Instead, Christ was a great leader.  He demonstrated to his disciples His teachings and prepared them for when Christ returned to the Father.

In a similar vein, this is where the idea of a Lay Leader orientation surfaced.  I recall when I was nominated to a ministry and eventually selected as chair; I had a few tools in my toolbox around leadership.  However, there was so much that I did not know about leading at SE-UCC and the style of leadership that I needed to possess to be effective at the church.  If leaders are to be effective and inspiring, we have to give them the devices to lead.  The mechanisms on which to lead stem from knowledge, but more importantly they rest in the apparatus of the heart.

I invite all ministry leaders, lay leaders, and those who consider themselves leaders to come and have their leadership electrified.  If a heart stops, it must be rejuvenated and in order for restoration to occur you must have the right tools to jolt you back to life.  The lay leader orientation on February 21st will provide you the tools that will put a spark in your heart to be a compassionate leader for the heart of SE-UCC.  Leadership is not only about being a great organizer, but it is about compelling people toward a vision of a ministry or a project.  Rev. Carla Jo and myself guarantee that we will electrify, excite, and invigorate you to lead confidently this year.  Ministry leader and lay leaders are required to attend and all members of SE-UCC are welcome to attend.
I look forward to seeing you electrified on February 21st at 8:30 am.

– Al Heartley, Rev. Carla Jo Howlett

GCC UNIVERSITY: CALLING ALL SE-UCC JUSTICE-MINDED MEMBERS February 15 – 17

We are looking for members of SE-UCC to attend the upcoming GCC University, on February 15 - 17, 2015 at the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. The Church in The World Ministry is encouraging SE-UCC to mobilize around justice issues and GCC can help us learn how to effectively do this as a congregation. We would like to have 10 persons, who have a passion for justice issues and who want to see our church be a leader in acting responsibly when it comes to injustices in our community and world, attend this important upcoming GCC University. Please sign up at the information Table if you are interested in attending or would like more information. If you have any questions, please see Anita Davidson, Kathy Baker or Rev. Carla Jo Howlett.

JASA WOMEN’S MINISTRY GATHERING FEBRUARY 7TH

Our new Women’s Ministry, Just A Sister Away, gathers each month and is for ALL women of SE-UCC.  This month our gathering will be Saturday, February 7, 2015 at 12:00 noon. This month our theme is SHARING THE LOVE.  We will be focusing on empowering our relationships with women through AFFIRMATIONS.  We will also be finalizing our plans for our March PURSE Outreach Ministry where we will share love by donating toiletries in a purse to women in transitional housing.  For more information regarding JASA, please see DJ Battle or Rev. Carla Jo Howlett.

THE PULSE EXPERIENCE FEBRUARY 7

(PULSE – Place U Love Serving Effectively) The PULSE Experience is a new program that is being launched to assist members in discerning how they can get connected and begin serving at SE-UCC.  In the PULSE Experience persons will learn about the church ministries, its many service opportunities, meet some of the ministry leaders, assess their spiritual gifts and commit to their 2015 PULSE.  The first of these sessions will be on Saturday, Febraury 7 at 1 PM in the first floor Conference Room. For those that plan to attend, please sign up at the Information Table so we might plan appropriately.  If you have any questions, please see Rev. Carla Jo Howlett.

NEW MEMBERS ORIENTATION FEBRUARY 7

All persons interested in becoming members of South Euclid UCC and all who have joined South Euclid United Church of Christ but have not yet attended New Member’s Orientation, please plan to attend on Saturday, February 7, 2015 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Lower Level Multi-Purpose Room.  Attending the new member’s orientation is a requirement to become an official member of South Euclid UCC.  Those who attend will be welcomed into the congregation on Sunday, February 8, 2015.  Please sign up at the Information Table if you plan to attend.   If you have any questions, please see Rev. Carla Jo Howlett.