Nora Unitarian Universalist Church June, 2004 June 6 – “Rainbow Path Program”
June 13 – “The DaVinci Code: Fiction and Faith”
June 20 – “The Problem with Evil” June 27 – No service
THE NEXT SERVICE WILL BE JULY 18. THE CORNER Final Report From The Search Committee! Our candidate week, (May 2–9) resulted in a unanimous ballot to accept Reverend Don Rollins as our next minister. Don conducted services on both Sundays, visited with the church board, visited at Luther Memorial Home in Madelia, spent Tuesday in Mankato, had time with the youth on Wednesday evening, visited church members in New Ulm, Lamberton, and Comfrey, and visited with Reverend Mark Yackel-Juleen at Shalom Hills Farm. On Saturday, a work crew spent some time cleaning, priming, and scrapping at the parsonage. Don and Jerry Allen had the worst of it, taking carpet of the steps and attempting to remove the adhesive and crud. Thanks to all of you who hosted or helped with hosting an event during this week. A special THANK YOU to Beverly Jean and Wally Wellmann for providing home hospitality during Don’s stay. The enthusiastic responses that were shared by many congregation members were most encouraging. I believe most all of us look forward to building relationships and reaching in new directions through our new ministry and leadership. We now enter into a time of affirming our commitment not just to ministry but to our personal and congregational missions to strengthen the presence of Nora Church in south central Minnesota. Before the ballot was conducted on May 9th, Don addressed the congregation with his thoughts regarding change and ministerial leadership. Not all change is comfortable and there bound to be times when one of us gets our feathers ruffled. One way to foster better understanding is to communicate our vision effectively and to understand the expectations we too often assume of each other. It would be helpful to read Don’s paper on the Lerm Model to appreciate his thoughts on church leadership and organization. Don will be in Hanska in June to deliver some of his belongings. During July he will be traveling and preparing himself for the transition to the Nora Church year. He will officially start ministry with us in August. Welcome, Don! We hope you grow
to love Nora Church and its surroundings and that you find this to be a nurturing
spiritual home. PARSONAGE UPDATE Here’s the status on work at the parsonage: Kitchen: First floor bath: First floor: Upstairs bath: Upstairs:
Balcony: Anyone willing to work is encouraged
to contact Darrell Hinsman or Warren Paulson. Work times have usually been
Tuesday evenings and Saturdays. If there is
a job you would like to take on at your own convenience, this can be arranged.
We have
much
to do before Don arrives and need all the help we can get. NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING As provided for in the church by-laws, the Annual Meeting will be the first Sunday in June and will follow the service on June 6. Items on the agenda
include approval of the budget for fiscal year 2004-2005, election of Board
of Trustee members (3), and other business which may come
before the congregation. SUMMER SCHEDULE The Board of Trustees voted to have at least one service at Nora
Church during the summer months. The July service will be on the 18th with
the Reverend
Wesley Hromatko in the pulpit. Our new minister, Reverend Don Rollins,
will begin
his tenure in August. He has agreed to conduct the service at the joint
meeting in Worthington on August 6th. NORA WOMEN’S SOCIETY The Women’s Society will meet at noon on Thursday,
June 10th, in the Fellowship Hall for a potluck lunch. A report on the Syttede
Mai
dinners and future projects
will be on the agenda. CROP WALK ROUND UP Fourteen members of Nora Church participated in New Ulm’s
Crop Walk this year. A total of $864 was raised from the congregation for Church
World Service.
Thanks to all who participated. TO KEEP IN TOUCH Congratulations to all graduates this year and especially to Ross Chambard who graduated May 14th from St. Cloud Technical College in the Architectural and Drafting Design Program. Ross is the son of Scott Chambard and the grandson of Alon and Carol Chambard. Congratulations also to those students who had perfect attendance for the year, received a special award (such as Rookie of the Year), and to those taking on new jobs or careers. Good Work!!! Congratulations to Susan and Jerry Allen on the birth of granddaughter Eloise Olivia Allen. Parents are Joel and Kara Allen of Cincinnati. Healthy wishes to all those who have made trips to Rochester these past few months. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Kids and parents all had fun at our pizza party in May. The kids versed the adults in kickball, and then the girls versed the boys. If fun was any indication of a win, then all players were winners. An encore performance of the Nose Hole song by Don, has been requested. It was suggested we get together for fun on a regular basis and that is definitely a possibility. JUNE 6th is our big day, the day the kids will be doing the service. If you will be participating, you should have received the parts you will do. If you have not received a part yet, they are on their way to you. We can not do it without you. Thank you so much for sharing your talents with all of us. June 6th will be our last formal RE event for this church year. Several people (Kristy Paulson, Chrissy Schmitt, Kristi Bodick, and Julie Peck) have expressed an interest in helping with the RE team for the coming year. Sheldon and Anne will look through the curriculums. Then we’d like to meet with the RE team over the summer to get everything organized and ready to start in September. If there is anyone else who is interested in helping with RE, please feel free to talk with Anne and Sheldon. LOOKING AHEAD: The kids will be running games again for Smorgasbord this fall. We are looking for donations for prizes for the games, so please set aside any extra small toys or goodies you may have that we can use. Grab bags were requested by several visitors last year and we did not have any. We will be ready this year and have them. Therefore, we are in need of paper lunch bags for the grab bags. You can start bringing your donations to church in September. The kids have expressed an interest in going to Valley Fair and/or Mall of America. We will check into these activities and be in touch with you over the summer. Valley Fair seems like a possibility for August once everyone is done with softball, baseball, etc. THANK YOU FOR THE FUN YEAR. IT HAS BEEN WONDERFUL
TO GET TO KNOW ALL OF THE CHILDREN. OUR CHURCH IS VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE SUCH
A WONDERFUL GROUP OF YOUNG PEOPLE
(They must take after their parents and grandparents!). HAVE A FUN AND SAFE
SUMMER. LUNCH BUNCH The Lunch Bunch will meet on June 21st at 11:30 AM, at the Three Sisters
Tea Room at 301 North Minnesota (the old Grand Hotel) in New Ulm. DON’T PUT
OFF . . . I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I’ve tried to be little more flexible. How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn’t suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word “refrigeration” mean nothing to you? How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched “Wheel of Fortune” on television? I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, “How about going to lunch in a half hour?” She would gas up and stammer, “I can’t. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast. It looks like rain. She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together. Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of “I’m going to,” “I plan on,” and “someday, when things are settled down a bit.” When anyone calls my ‘seize the moment’ friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes and you’re ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord. My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It’s just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy. Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask “How are you?” Do you hear the reply? When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, “We’ll do it tomorrow.” And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say “Hi”? When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift, thrown away. Life is not a race. It is a time to experience and enjoy. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over. Smell the flowers before they are gone. “ Life may not be the party we hoped for . . . but while we are here we might
as well dance!” HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!
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