BUCC ANNOUNCEMENTS
March 7, 2010
FOR OUR COMMUNION SERVICE, grape juice is used instead of wine for the purpose of showing solidarity with those among us who may be in recovery from addiction.
GUEST SPEAKER AT BUCC - Tuesday, March 9th at 7:00 pm, Neal Szpatura will present a program on Shamanic Spirituality. Shamanism has been called the first spiritual practice of humanity. The most basic belief of Shamanism is that everything exists as Spirit in its ultimate nature, and that Spirit can be accessed and engaged, in ways that bring about positive life-change. It also teaches that our own dreams and visions can be accessed as tools for our personal and spiritual growth.
This is the second of a series of programs on Diverse Spiritual Practices, presented by our Christian Education Ministry. Upcoming speakers will share perspectives on Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, as well as some Christian practices differing from our own. In our multicultural society, it is important that we be willing to listen to and learn from the faith perspectives of others. The great benefit of this is, that by doing so, we also learn a lot more about our own faith! Please join us in the parlor on March 9th for this fascinating and enlightening presentation.
LENTEN FISH FRY- March 12th! Please join us at St. Michael’s Church in Independence for another fabulous fish fry! We will meet at the Church at 5:45 pm and carpool over to St. Michael’s. Cost is $7 per person. Entrée choices include baked tilapia, shrimp, fried fish or pierogi. Side dishes and beverage included. No trans fats used in cooking! Look to sign up during Coffee Hour. Any questions, contact Kathy Smith(440-343-6354) or church office(440-526-4364).
HELP CELEBRATE EASTER with your dedicated flowers in our sanctuary. Please fill out the enclosed form and drop it into the collection plate or return it to the church office.
ON SUNDAY APRIL 18, following the morning worship service, there will be a Crock Pot - Pot Luck. Everyone is invited to bring delicious and tasty items that will fit in your crock pot. Barbara Gartland is available to answer any questions. (440 740 0136). Mark you calendars and please look for any membership committee members to sign up during fellowship hour.
DON'T FORGET to set your clocks ahead on Saturday night when Daylight Savings Time begins again. Also don't forget to replace the batteries in your smoke alarms at the same time. To help you on that, BUCC has available a small inventory of unused, fresh 9v batteries on first come - first served. These are unneeded with our coming FCC-mandated changeover to our new wireless microphones which will use AA batteries. Please take as many batteries as you need and put any amount of money you wish into the Blessings Jar.
FROM OUR PILLAR - Received in a Christmas note to Ann & Bill Toneff from former Interim Minister, Jim Smith: ". . . of the various church newsletters I regularly receive, the BUCC one is the best. It is attractive and well edited. I don't know the editor, but then, I do see a lot of new names that I don't recognize. That is certainly a good sign that the church is attracting new members. It really sounds as though things are going very well under Dave's pastoral leadership."
NEW! TUTORING MINISTRY: If you are interested in tutoring students of any age (K-8) in any subject, Marion Sterling School at E.30th and Central Ave. in Cleveland would be delighted to have volunteers on Tuesdays from 2:30-4:00 PM. If we have enough interested people, we might be able to offer help on additional days as well. Please contact Kate Klonowski for details or to sign up. klonowski314@hotmail.com or 216-534-3498.
NEW! PRISON MINISTRY: There are a large number of youth detainees at the Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility (in Highland Hills) who are grateful to have the opportunity to visit with those of us who are willing to pray, talk, or offer academic assistance to them. We will be offering a brief information session (TBD) for those who are interested in learning more about this fantastic ministry. Training will be provided. Please see Kate Klonowski for more information or contact her at klonowski314@hotmail.com or 216-534-3498.
MARCH FOOD PANTRY items are spaghetti sauce and pasta. Please leave your donations in the basket outside of the office door. Let’s not forget to also bring in all kinds of non-perishable food items to be distributed at the emergency food centers at Brookside Community Center and Community Corners. The economic downturn has particularly affected the inner city dwellers. Monetary contributions are always welcome. Please mark your envelope “Food Pantry.”
REMINDER - The last person out of our building should be sure the doors are locked. The doors of our new South Entry are locked and unlocked from outside with the key on the chain. Please check the handles. The hex-key is used to lock-down and release the panic bar of the west door to permit its handicap operation with the blue buttons. The high toggle switch for that door should always remain in the “on” position. All interior fire doors, those with metal kick plates, should be closed.
UTILITIES - are a significant cost of the operation of our church building. Please be sure lights are off when not needed. Savings are also needed in areas of heating and air conditioning.
NAME TAGS are available for you to wear in the church and at coffee hour. These are helpful to visitors and new members to get to know our people. If you are missing a name tag, please let the office know.
ARE YOU LOOKING for a way to offer your gifts and be involved at BUCC? Serving as a volunteer in the church office is a great way to do that. Some computer skills are an asset to be a backup for preparation of the bulletins. There are a variety of other office duties--answering the phone, using the copy machine, checking the email. All of us in the office are volunteers and we try to be flexible with our schedules. We're also looking for people willing to be called to substitute when one of the "regulars" is unavailable. If you can see yourself in this role, please contact the church office.
PASTOR DAVE can be contacted at the church office, 440-526-4364 or at home, 440-546-1193. He also be contacted by e-mail at: buccpastor@sbcglobal.net. Please do not hesitate to contact him if the need arises.
