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Denmark Congregational United Church of Christ July

July 1 is the first Sunday of

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2012 It will meet on August 11th from 9:00 to 5:00. VBS begins on July 22nd and runs until July 26th. VBS starts at 6:00 P.M. and runs until 8:30 P.M. The VBS BBQ is on the 29th of July after the service. Everyone is invited! The Peal Family Reunion is on July 29th at 1:00.

the month; Communion will be given at the service. There will be no meeting of Sawyer Circle this month. There is no Choir Rehearsal or Wacky Wednesday this month either. Independence Day is Wednesday the 4th.
The First Baptist Church in Fort Madison will be hosting a concert of some bluegrass gospel music by The Harper Family on Saturday evening July7, 2012. We would like to invite your congregation to join us in this exciting event. First Baptist Church, 301 24th Street, Fort Madison, IA., at 6:00 pm.

On July 31st there is a blood drive at the church. The hours are from 1:30 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. You can call for an appointment to 800-747-5401 or you can register on line at www.bloodcenterimpact.org.

On July 8th, the Committee for the 175th Anniversary Celebration is hosting a Fundraiser Luncheon to kick off the fun and festivities that will lead us to the BIG CELEBRATION to be held on May 4th & 5th, 2013
On July 10th at 8:00 p.m. the Trustees will meet. On July 11th at 6:45 p.m. the Christian Ed Board will meet. On July 17th the Standing Committee will meet at 7:00 p.m. Scrapbooking is on July 14th from 9:00 to 5:00.

The Denmark Heritage Day Organizers would like to thank the sponsors, vendors, supporters and participants for making the 2012 celebration such a success. The weather was perfect and we had a record number of vendors and exhibitors. We would like to thank the Womens Fellowship for the Bake Sale on Saturday, the Senior High PF for breakfast on Sunday and Plymouth Circle for the Ham Ball Dinner. A special thank you goes to the Christian Education Committee and Senior High Pilgrims Fellowship for the 5K run/walk. Now is the time to plan for the 2013 celebration on June 1st and 2nd. Mark your calendars; we would like to encourage individuals and groups to plan activities that would assist in the continued growth of this event. Again, THANK YOU!!

Parishable Items I was asked a while back to put some of my sermons out there for people to read. The problem is that most of my sermons are only outlined. This is one of those sermons that was written out and comes from June 19, 2011. For it to make complete sense, you may want to read the scripture passages before diving into the sermon. Famous Last Words Matthew 28:16-20 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 While in college, I went to several lectures, some required and some not. My favorites were part of the Last lecture series. These are just what they sound like. The professor was told to come up with something that they would give if they knew it would be their last lecture ever. These were often fantastic because the subject was open to anything. The lecture didnt even have to cover the professors own subject matter. One of the lectures I attended was a philosophy professor giving a lecture on the history of political thought in America. However, without a doubt, the best lectures were given by the professors who spoke within their own field of study. This was their chance to talk about something that was just for them. Whether it was important for the curriculum or not was not the issue. What was at stake was saying something that people would remember. Isnt that what last words are about? Making your last sentence have some meaning that will carry on when youre gone. Today we have two separate forms of last words. The first is from Jesus out of the Gospel of Matthew. According to this gospel, these are the last words that Jesus ever spoke to his disciples. They are a command and a promise. The command, Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Essentially, tell your story, engage the people, help them to know who you worship and why. If they want to worship, if they believe, purify them and bring them

into the fold. The promise Jesus gives as his last words here are familiar to most of us probably. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Think about what that means. You will never be alone. You will never go without a friend. You will always have support...forever and always. This promise from Christ guaranteed that no matter the circumstance, we would always have the presence of God with us, no matter if we feel it or not. Comparatively, Pauls last words to the church at Corinth seem rather anti-climactic. Paul, too, gives a command, but ends with a blessing rather than a promise. Good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, and live in peace. Greet one another with a holy kiss. A less eloquent writer could have said, follow the commandments and love one another as Christ loved you. His blessing, the last words he gives to the church at Corinth are, May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. These three blessings in one are standard, but consider that it implies that we are blessed not in one way, not in two, but in three separate yet equal ways. We have grace and forgiveness in the form of Jesus, we have love and acceptance in the form of the Father, and we have friendship and guidance in the form of the Holy Spirit. None of this has any meaning, however, unless we apply it to our lives. Human life is fragile. Our bodies, as resilient as they are can be easily broken. This means that at any time, we could be giving our last words without even realizing it. Kind of a depressing thought, I know, but if we keep that thought in the back of our heads, then our last words wont be ones of anger, hate, disappointment, or frustration. Remembering the example of Jesus and Paul, our last words, whether of a meeting, a phone call or our very lives could be words of love, joy, acceptance and grace. Those are words worth remembering and repeating. See you on Sunday,

July 2012

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The Family of Dora Horn Brent Daugherty George Harvey Soney Nickel

July 2012

July July July July July July July July July July July July July July July July July July July July July July

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Grant Weisinger William Blanchard Mary Raid Colton Engeman Lollie Krogmeier Kathy Houston Elizabeth Stein Chris Harvey Betsey Hasenclever Elsie Crabtree Pastor Chad Savage Cindy Barnes Don Wolfskill Owen Weisinger Amy Hasenclever David Weisinger Maxine Stotts Nancy Blanchard Brandon Barnes Nicole Meller Miriam Weisinger Annah Blanchard

July 1 st2 Sam 1 : 1 , 1 7- 27; Ps 1 30 or Wisdom of Sol 1 : 1 3- 1 5, 2: 23- 24 or Lam 3: 23- 33; Ps 30; 2 Cor 8: 7- 1 5; Mark 5: 21 - 43 July 8th2 Sam 5: 1 - 5, 9- 1 0; Ps 48; or Ezek 2; 1 - 5; PS 1 23; 2 Cor 1 2: 210 Mark 6: 1 - 1 3 July 1 5th2 Sam 6: 1 - 5, 1 2b- 1 9; Ps 24 or Amos 7: 7- 1 5, Ps 85 8- 1 3; Eph 1 : 3- 1 4; Mark 6: 1 4- 29 July 22nd2 Sam 7: 1 - 1 4a; Ps 89: 20- 37; or Jer 23: 1 - 6; Ps 23; Eph 2: 1 1 - 22 Mark 6: 30- 34, 53- 56 July 29th2 Sam 1 1 : 1 - 1 5; Ps 1 4 or 2 Kings 4: 42- 44; Ps 1 45: 1 0- 1 8; Eph 3: 1 4- 21 ; John 6: 1 - 21
Trustees Meeting Minutes from 5/8/12 Meeting was called to order at 8:00 p.m. Present were Joel Bobb, Scott Weisinger, Dave Houston, Ben Heckart, Ray McKee and Pastor Chad. Minutes of last meeting were approved on a motion by Ben and seconded by Scott. We discussed the need to correct the Annual Report so Capital Improvement expenses no longer show up as parsonage repair. We discussed the financial reports. Ben made a motion to transfer money from the Money Market Account (#50106860) to the CD #12343 to bring the value up to
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July 3 Sarah & Nathan Weisinger July 1 1 Jack & Maxine Stotts July 21 Dwight & Cindy Barnes

Please call Sue Watson at 528-4494 or the church office at 528-4465 with any prayer concerns. We are praying for: Patty Dochterman Tony Haeffner Sandra Parrish Chris Jackson Clayton Whitmarsh Mike Horn Mike & Carol Smith Ralph Evans Rick Goldie Steve Daugherty Babe Grossman

$20,000.00 for 18 months. The motion was seconded by Dave H. and it carried. Scott moved to accept the financial report, seconded by Dave H. and the motion carried. We discussed Heritage Days and how different church groups will be involved. OLD BUSINESS: We discussed various projects for the Church Work Day and asked Pastor Chad to put work day information in the weekly bulletin. NEW BUSINESS: We discussed allowing Christian Ed to build a play area, not only for small children (siblings) of Wacky Wednesday participants, but also to be used at other times. Motion was moved by Scott and seconded by Dave H. and the motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m. The next meeting will be June 12th at 8:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Pastor Chad Savage
Who is ready to Celebrate our Dodransbicentennial? Definition: Dodrans is a Latin contraction of dequadrans which means "a whole unit less a quarter" (de means "from"; quadrans means "quarter". 175 years is a quarter century less than the next whole (bi)century or 175 = (-25 + 200).

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July 2012 May. However your assistance is needed. Check out the list below and help where you can: Donations are needed. We will have a jar to collect change/coins (of course cash and checks are also welcome) outside the main door each Sunday beginning soon. Please give if you can. A few coins add up quickly. We need pictures and video from events that have occurred here at the church. Please put the pictures in an envelope with your name, phone number, and email address (if you have one) and place in the collection container in fellowship hall. Pictures will be scanned and returned to you. Videos or DVDs can be placed in an envelope with your name on it and placed in the same box. Do you have any memorabilia from past events, programs, etc.? Is it something that we can use for a display before or during the anniversary celebration? Please let one of the committee members know. Do you know of anyone who used to be a member of the congregation who should be invited to this celebration? We are planning to invite former Pastors and their wives, Interim Pastors and their husband/wives, and former music directors. Please provide their contact information to Gina Hardin (528-4285) as soon as possible. Join us July 8th after church for the kick-off luncheon for this celebration! Bring a friend or two! Watch for and attend future luncheon fundraisers. Watch the Church website and Facebook for upcoming happenings, trivia facts, and more. Join us for church each Sunday to learn about the history of the church. This is going to be a celebration that you will not want to miss! Contact any of the Committee members to assist on one of the sub committees. 175th Anniversary Committee Co-Chairs Sherry McKee and Deb Ireland. Sub-Committees (help needed): Fund Raising Karen Stotlar Food Deb Ireland History Linda Roxberg Advertising/Marketing Gina Hardin Video To be determined

"Celebrating 175 Years of Faith and Fellowship" will be the theme for the entire year
long (ok almost a year long) celebration. Plans are underway for the 175th Anniversary of the founding of the Denmark Congregational United Church of Christ (UCC). This spectacular event will take place in 2013, specifically on Saturday, May 4th and Sunday, May 5th. Lots of activities are being planned between now and