Prepared for the members & friends of: St John’s United Church of Christ (Huntersville) 300 N Huntersville Road Batesville, IN 47006 (812)934-4144, Church Office (812)933-9000, Church Fax www.stjohnsuccbatesville.org www.facebook.com/sjuccbatesville/ stjohnsuccbatesville@etczone.com pastorjoeystjohns@etczone.com Rev Joseph Feldmann, Pastor Thought to ponder: “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” -Mark Twain 2019 St John’s UCC Scholarship Recipients We are happy to be able to award of our college students Scholarships from their church this year This fund was established in 1998 as a gift from the Howard and Dorothy Borchelt family in memory of their parents Through this year we have been able to give $22,340 to our students Congratulations to this year’s scholarship recipients All of these students have >3.5 (out of 4) Grade Point Average! We are so proud of them! Kyle Emsweller He attends Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN He is majoring in Computer IT and minoring in Communication He participates in the Computer IT club at Purdue Sarah Meyer She attends Ball State University in Muncie, IN She is majoring in Early Childhood Education At Ball State, she participates in College Mentors for Kids, is a leader in Delight Ministries, and participated in an immersive learning program Garrett Wagner He attends Indiana State University in Terre Haute, IN He is majoring in Information Technology and minoring in Political Science He runs track and field at Indiana State and also is a member of the College Democrats May God guide them in their studies and let them know of the love and support of their home church, St John’s UCC!! Choirs are starting up with the Men’s Choir beginning on Sunday, Sept with practice at 9:30 AM We will be singing at the 10:15 Worship Service Chancel Choir’s first practice is on Wednesday, Sept th @ 7:00 PM We will be singing on Sunday, Sept 8th So much of our faith is centered in stories The stories of Jesus, the stories of the people of Israel, and the stories of the early Church are a large part of our Bible The stories of our congregation and tradition, both in Batesville and beyond, inform a great deal of who we are as a church And our individual stories help to determine much of who each one of US is Stories are important and meaningful, both as human beings and as Christians This is why I am so grateful to have had the chance this summer to swap stories with so many of you We gathered this summer at several small group sessions, telling stories about one another and sharing deeply about our journeys, our faith, and our lives In some places, we had meals and shared stories over dinner At others, we had snacks (and birthday cake in honor of David Hanson!) Still others featured “only” the food of good conversation Some of the stories shared were long and fascinating Others were shorter and still meaningful But each gathering, each moment of sharing, was a chance to be real with one another as we continue in this new relationship as pastor and congregation More importantly, each moment was a chance for ALL of us there to learn about one another- even among longtime friends (After every gathering, at least one person told me about a fact they had learned about a fellow long-time member.) I am sincerely and deeply grateful for the sharing of all of these stories From hearing them, I have learned much So what did I learn about our congregation by hearing all of these stories? I learned that we are a congregation full of farmers, workers for Hillenbrand Industries (in all of its varied forms), and teachers But that we also include nurses, social workers, and patriarchs of fine ice cream (Hey Gayle!) I learned that some of us grew up going to church camp; that many of us were in 4-H, and that some of us have connections to this congregation that go back generations But I also learned that this congregation’s love for each other and genuine welcome have drawn in others who DON’T have countless cousins among the members (I would say that I learned about the family trees of this congregation, but let’s be honest That will take more time than even a summer of small groups could provide.) More importantly, I learned how much worship and music have shaped us both as individuals and as members Many of the reflections about powerful worship experiences talked about music Some talked about moments of comfort in the midst of high emotions (both joy and grief) Almost everyone shared some moment where the people in this congregation stepped up and were the hands and feet of Christ to them or to the community And that, to me, is the biggest take away from these gatherings The things we as a congregation matter The moments where we show love and care to our fellow children of God really make a difference Whether it is a phone call to a friend who is struggling, a gift to the BAMA food pantry or to Safe Passage, or even the cards that we sign week after week in the back of worship, these things matter These things make a difference And if I am committed to just one thing coming out of these small group sessions, it is this I will keep striving as your pastor to find more and more ways for us as a congregation to keep doing these acts of love and kindness For ourselves as members of the congregation For the community of Batesville And for the world that Christ loves Because what we matters And by the grace of God, the love we show and live in Christ’s name can be transformational I thank you again for sharing your stories I thank you for the good work you already as a congregation to share love to all of God’s people And I invite you to keep dreaming with me ways that we together can build upon the foundations of that love we have already built Stop in anytime to share your dreams, to share more stories, or simply to talk I look forward to continuing these deep and meaningful conversations Shalom, I would like to thank the Sunday School Board for helping send me and Aly to Merom's "Just You and Me Kid" camp We had a great time meeting new friends, playing fun activities (like Hungry Hungry Hippos in the pool!), making crafts, entering a talent show and learning about the fruits of the spirit and the Parable of the Sower It was great to disconnect a few days from our busy schedules and connect with each other and with God We definitely caught the "Merom Spirit" and can't wait to go back next year If anyone wants to go with us next year please see me for more details Thanks again! We were truly blessed with your financial support! Love, Amber Wirth There will be an informational meeting for the new Confirmation year on Wednesday evening September at 6:30pm This meeting is for both confirmands and their parents Confirmation will begin the next week with Year One meeting at 6:00pm and Year Two meeting at 7:00pm If you cannot make the informational meeting, please see Pastor Joey ASAP Have a great year, Confirmands! Our deepest sympathy goes out to: *the family of Mike Shane who passed away on July 29 Mike is the father of Chantel Weiler Join us for Rally Day on September as we kick off the new Sunday school year On top of special events during the Sunday school hour (can you say ice cream?), we will be honoring our teachers and renewing our shared covenant with them during both worship services We will also be giving Bibles to our new Confirmands It will be an exciting day that you won’t want to miss Be there! *the family of Lillian Ross who passed away on July 31 Lillian is the Aunt of Cindy Feller *the family of Julie & Chad Staat whose stepdaughter passed away Step-grandparents are Jim & Jane Link *the family of Bill & Ella Meyer (Ella’s mother passed away) Please keep both families in your thoughts and prayers Congratulations are going out Dowden at a birth of a girl August 15th Hadley weighed grandchild of Todd & Congratulations to all! to Jayson & Rebeca “Hadley Grace” on 8# oz She is the Kindred Lehfeldt Hey youth! Let’s talk There will be a gathering for the youth of St John’s on Thursday, September 12 at 6:30 to dream about the future and to share about some upcoming events This is the place to let us know what YOU want in a youth fellowship This is the place to hear about the CROP Walk overnight being hosted at OUR congregation, as well as National Youth Event (NYE is a gathering of a 1000 or so UCC youth and it will be in Indiana this summer.) Plus, we will have pizza! So join us on Sept 12 and help us plan for the future Thank you for your help and donations YOUTH OVERNIGHTER SMILES Group Our SMILES Group will be going to the Milan 54 Museum on Thursday, September 26 th, and enjoying lunch together at the Reservation restaurant in Milan We will meet in our church parking lot and car pool from there Times will be announced later As always, everyone is welcome! The annual Rummage Sale will be held October 3, and We will be setting up tables and relocating shelving, etc from the shed around the fourth week of August This event takes a lot of hours to prepare for and we need you help on Thursday evenings putting items out on tables beginning in September We usually work from 6:00 to 7:30-8:00, or any time with those hours you can help All hands are welcome To those donating items or know of anyone outside the congregation, please have all items clean and in good repair I cannot stress this enough Our goal has always been to have a clean and organized sale Clean and working articles sell much better No one wants to purchase anything that has been pulled out of a shed without it being cleaned We will be accepting items at the School House on the following dates and times as well as Thursday evenings: Saturdays: September 7, 14, 21, 28 - 9:00 to 11:00 am Sundays: September 1, 8, 15,22,29 - 9:00 to 10:00 am Sunday, September 29 will be the cut-off date for accepting items Jenell Schroeder: 812-663-7422 or 812-5910371 Jeanie Carter: 812-934-3562 Owenita Grubert: 812-934-2709 A county-wide Youth Overnighter is planned for Oct 5th 6:30 to Sunday at 1:30, joining the CROP Walk All youth from 7th thru 12th grades are invited We hope to learn about hunger and related issues, the work of Church World Service, meet new friends and find ways to help those most in need here and abroad You will need to bring your enthusiasm, interest and items you will need for overnight Everyone will get a special T-shirt highlighting the 50 th anniversary of CROP Walks Our hope is that this ecumenical group will worship together in the host church before lunch and going to the walk There will be no fee for this event if you bring your sponsor form with $30.00 in sponsorship We hope to make an impact to the CROP walk as we arrive in mass to join the walkers Let’s all join and make this an event to remember! Contact: Barb Foster (812-933-5667) Date: October 6, 2019 Time: Registration at 1:00; Begins at 1:30 PM Location: St Peters UCC (Fink’s Church) ********* Our congregation will be participating in the Ripley County CROP Walk taking place on October this year The CROP walk is an annual fundraiser to help the hunger fighting efforts of Church World Service CROP Walks are the largest fundraisers for the good work of Church World Service And 25% of all the funds raised will be going to local food pantries, including the one here in Batesville This is the 50 th Anniversary of the CROP Walk, which means some special events will be a part of it, including … - An overnight event for youth (grade 7- 12) hosted at OUR congregation - A concert by The Keith Swinney Band before the walk begins - Special 50th Anniversary t-shirts for all participants This is one important way that we as a congregation care for the least of these and fight hunger You won’t want to miss being a part of the 2019 CROP Walk Please see Pastor Joey or Barb Foster for more details BAMA Food Pantry requests for the upcoming holiday season: St John’s is assigned “BOXED POTATOES” These are needed for the months of November and December To make our goal – we need 350 boxes for each month, a total of 700! We will need the 1st 350 boxes by the end of October and the next 350 boxes the middle of November The boxed potatoes will be used for the Food Pantry Thanksgiving and Christmas meals Thank you all for your donations! Installation Save the Date!! Pastor Joey’s Installation is scheduled for October 26 in the afternoon More details will come soon! #437 This favorite hymn, often the first hymn learned by children, was written by Anna Bartlett Warner Warner was born August 31, 1827 on Long Island, NY She edited “Hymns of the Church Militant” in 1858 She died on January 22, 1915 in Highland Falls, NY “Jesus Loves Me” was originally written as a poem to comfort a dying child, in a novel, “Say and Seal,” written by her older sister, Susan (18191885) The lyrics tell us that God loves us despite our sins and faults The tune, CHINA, was written by William Batchelder Bradbury, who was born October 6, 1816 Bradbury was an organist who studied harmony and composition in Germany He composed the music for many hymns, including, “Just As I Am, Without One Plea,” “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” and “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us He died in Montclair, NJ, on January 7, 1868 David W Hanson, organist/choir director St John’s (Huntersville) UCC FOR “SEPTEMBER” 01 - YES Home 08 - Centerstone/Uspiritus (Brooklawn) 15 - Member Services (funeral meals, etc.) 22 - Boy Scouts of America, Troop #634 29 - Pastor’s Fund (To see thank you notes / letters from various missions - they are posted on bulletin board in Commons) A page from the hymnal… JESUS LOVES ME PLEASE REMEMBER THESE FOLKS IN PRAYER Please keep these members and friends in your prayers These folks are in nursing/retirement homes: St Andrews: Carol Maple, Willis Rouse The Waters: Toni Frye Aspen Place: Luella Meyer Living with Daughter (in Greensburg): Irvin Placke “GREETERS” DURING SEPTEMBER – Jerry & Bev McKinney – Rick & Carol Dial 15 – Don & Georgia Haarmon 22 – Marlene Riehle 29 – Mary Ann Klingworth 1– 8– 15 – 22 – 29 – “LITURGIST” DURING SEPTEMBER Jessica Wagner (8:00 AM) Laura Vest (10:15 AM) Mike Schumacher (8:00 & 10:15 AM) Mike Vonderheide (8:00 & 10:15 AM) Bill Narwold (8:00 AM) Amber Wirth (10:15 AM) Danny Narwold (8:00 AM) Larry Eaton (10:15 AM) SEPT “NURSERY ATTENDANTS” (10:15) – Volunteer needed – Volunteer needed 15 – Bev Schwier 22 – Volunteer needed 29 – Kara Shane 134- Paul & Sheryl Voss Paul & Vyona Borchelt Joshua & Amy Pohlman Bill & Kathy Walsman - Kyle & Lindsay Wilhelm - Brian & Lori Mauer - Bob & Carleen Weiler 10 - Richard & Carolyn Dieckmann Janine & Alex Walter 14 - Joe & Barb Foster Jeremy & Junelle Welborn Rob & Kara Shane 15 - Jody & Kim Fledderman September Anniversaries, continued: 16 - Zachary & Sarah Bryant Dick & Cindy Feller Tom & Pam Gutzwiller 17 20 21 22 24 25 26 28 29 30 - 134568910 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 22 24 25 26 27 28 30 - Jeremy & Amber Borgman Mac & Gail Miller Rev Dennis & Rev Linda Frische-Mouri Gerald & Candy Bessler Robert & Sharon Wessel Art & Nancy Meyer Richard & Barb Blanton Ron & Jenell Schroeder Mike & Gayla Vonderheide Erin & Chad Bischoff Brian & Jenny Blanton Jamie Arkenberg, Pam Flodder Sarah Jaisle, Randy Gibbs, Joan Westerfeld Glen Kelley Dale Wittkamper, Bonnie Huff, Nancy Bailey Bonnie Johnston, Anna Mauer Kyle Meyer Richard Dieckmann, Tom Gutzwiller, Payten Sarringhaus Cindy Wilhelm, Austin Pohlman Tyler Johnson Kathy Placke, Amanda Walsman, Isabella Haakinson Amanda Bauman, Grace Mauer Dakota Meyer, Connor Brebberman, John Moody, Lily Benoit, Lance Weiler Jeff Brebberman, Joe Foster, Taaron Meyers Dale Koester, George Miller Gary Weber, Alexa Arkenberg Melvin Siefert, Grant Meyers, Alex Walter Gaberiel Richards Noah Kuykendall, Opal Yarber B.J Bauman, Eli Sitterding Amy Johnson, John Kuhlman Melanie Gibbs B.J Narwold, Myron Kanning, Ana Shane NEXT MESSENGER DEADLINE September 15, 2019 Please note: The newsletter is typed on Tuesday following the deadline date Any items submitted after 9:00 A.M on that day will be TOO LATE to be included in the Messenger! ... (both joy and grief) Almost everyone shared some moment where the people in this congregation stepped up and were the hands and feet of Christ to them or to the community And that, to me, is the biggest... members of the congregation For the community of Batesville And for the world that Christ loves Because what we matters And by the grace of God, the love we show and live in Christ’s name can be... faith is centered in stories The stories of Jesus, the stories of the people of Israel, and the stories of the early Church are a large part of our Bible The stories of our congregation and tradition,