The Uniter February 2017

Maquoketa

United Church of Christ

God is still speaking

What’s Working?

An app on my cell phone tells me it’s true, so it must be. Since December of 2013, I’ve spent 385 hours in prayer, spread out over 1,024 days. I have a meditation timer on my phone which helps me keep track of my prayer time. And I’ll be honest. Some days, my twenty minutes of Centering Prayer goes as quickly as an eye-blink. Other days, it feels like the prayer equivalent of watching paint dry on a wall. Over the course of 385 hours, I have experienced profound feelings of peace and well-being and equally profound, though considerably less comfortable feelings of anxiety and sadness. A sustained prac-tice of prayer usually leads people through all kinds of mountains and valleys, but over time, the inner terrain begins to look familiar. And one thing I’ve noticed, again and again, is how easy it is for my thoughts to turn to the negative. To turn toward what’s not working, what I don’t like, what I wish was different. Psychologists call this the “negativity bias” and I believe in it 100%. Because I face it every day, at about 6:30 in the morning. Without any effort at all, my mind can turn to things called “problems” and cogitate endlessly. Think, think, think. Worry, worry, worry. Solve, solve, solve. And then, of course, the timer goes off. And I realize I’ve spent my prayer time not with God, but merely with my reptilian brain. Of course, there are real problems. But when we try to genuinely address them, too often the solutions fall short. Einstein is famous for his quote that “Problems cannot be solved with the same mindset that created them.” And he was right. If we want more peace, we have to watch our anxiety levels. If we want prosperity for all, we have to look at the minimum wage. If we want more understanding, we must seek to under-stand. Jesus called the disciples away from their workplaces, their families, and their hometowns—in other words, away from everything they knew—and called them on a journey to a new way of being and a new mindset. They didn’t grasp perfectly every-thing he showed them—far from it. But over time, the light began to dawn. The revolu-tion he called them to wasn’t a violent overthrow of the tyrants of the time. It was a revolution of the mind, of the spirit, and of the heart, and yes, even of the economic

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arrangements which kept a few people rich and most people desperately poor. What is working? That’s a different question to ask than “What is wrong?” What IS working? And how can we do more of it? We’ll be asking similar questions this spring, as our church engages in small group conversations. It’s time for another visioning sea-son in our life together, as we identify and celebrate our strengths and seek the Spirit’s guidance for the future. I’m looking forward to it. To hearing what you say and what you pray and what you hope. I’m guessing that we’ll come out of those conversations with a vision and a way forward. And that we will have a clearer sense of what is work-ing here—and how we can do more of it. The timer goes off, and no matter where I’ve been on my 20-minute journey, I do know this. There’s always tomorrow. With God’s blessings, Pastor Stephanie

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Thank You

The family of Don Nissen sends a hug-filled, heart-felt thank you to our church

family. Pastor Stephanie and Rev. Jonna guided us through this difficult time

with great compassion. The service was a true reflection of Don’s life.

At a very busy holiday time, Marta Romer and Chris Tubbs organized food and

workers (including Sydney, Delaney and Megan) to help Jeronimo's serve

Don’s delicious funeral luncheon. Chris and Steve Tubbs, Dianne Barker, Ka-

ren Garien, Sherri Oswalt and her family set up the tables and chairs and Jane

Bentrott decorated the tables. Bonnie furnished a delicious cake and Mara

brought her famous bars. The McClintocks, Bill Schwenker and others helped

with clean-up.

A special thank you to David Manning, Bonnie Schwenker, Jerry Jones and Ka-

ren Manning for the beautiful music, Karen McClintock for the reading of

“Trees” and Sam Sandberg for finding and playing music from Les Miserables

as we left the sanctuary.

Another special thank you to the confirmation class for the visit to our home.

Your long term caring, cards, prayers, hugs and other expressions of sympathy

for us will never be forgotten.

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Bring yourself and your sweetheart/ sweethearts to an intergenerational cele-bration of St. Valentine's Day on Sunday, February 12th at 9:00 a.m. in the church basement gathering room. You will be fed, there will be a game or two, fellowship, and caring. Come share the love!

Next Education Board Meeting: February 1st at 5:00 p.m.

Statistics from July-December, 2016: 28 Domestic Violence clients; 26 Sexual Assault clients.

Ali B. has hours on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Amber P. is here on Tuesdays. Mara D. is here on Fridays.

How you can help? Write your state legislators a handwritten note asking them to continue full funding for domestic violence survivors.

Senator Tod Bowman: 812 Grant St., Maquoketa, IA 52060

Representative Andy McKean: 509 S. Oak St., Anamosa, IA 52205

Iowa State House: 1007 E. Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA 50316

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During children’s time on January 22nd, we looked at the world upside down.

Pastor Stephanie with Chamberly Bock during Children’s time on January 22nd.

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Maquoketa United Church of Christ

February 2017

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu

*Prayer Shawl Minis-try will be held at First Lutheran this month.

1 7:30 a Centering Prayer

3:45 p Confirmation 5:00 p Ed Board meeting 5:15 p Meal Deal (potluck) 6:15 p Centering Prayer 7:00 p Choir practice 8:00 p Alcoholics Anonymous

2 8:00 a Morning Prayer1:00 p Prayer Shawl Ministry 6:00 p Karate Club7:30 p Centering Prayer

5 8:45 a Adult Bible Study 9:00 a Sunday School 10:00 a Worship 11:30 a ANNUAL MEETING

6 6:00 p Karate Club

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7:30 p Yoga

8 7:30 a Centering Prayer

9:30 a Women’s Fellowship 3:45 p Confirmation 5:15 p Meal Deal 6:15 p Centering Prayer 7:00 p Choir practice 8:00 p Alcoholics Anonymous

98:00 a Morning Prayer

8:30 a Child Advocacy Board5:30 p Council meeting6:00 p Karate Club7:30 p Centering Prayer

12 9:00 a Inter-generational St. Valentine’s Celebration 10:00 a Worship 11:45 a Qigong

13 6:00 p Karate Club

14 9:00 a Ministerial Associa-tion Meeting 7:30 p Yoga

157:30 a Centering Prayer

3:45 p Confirmation 5:15 p Meal Deal 6:15 p Centering Prayer 7:00 Choir Rehearsal 8:00 p Alcoholics Anonymous

16 8:00 a Morning Prayer6:00 p Karate Club7:30 p Centering Prayer

19 8:45 a Adult Bible Study 9:00 a Sunday School 10:00 a Worship—Joel Tubbs speaking about Haiti trip 11:45 a Qigong

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6:00 p Karate Club 7:00 p Prayer Shawl Minis-try

21 7:30 p Yoga

227:30 a Centering Prayer

3:45 p Confirmation 5:15 p Meal Deal 6:15 p Centering Prayer 7:00 p Choir practice 8:00 p Alcoholics Anonymous

23 8:00 a Morning Prayer6:00 p Karate Club7:30 p Centering Prayer

26 10:00 a Worship

27 6:00 p Karate Club

28 7:30 p Yoga

February is Teen Violence Awareness Month

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February 5

WC Steve Tubbs

GR Ann Miller & Ann Sohl

WL Bonnie Schwenker

February 12

WC Tom Breuch

GR Lin Redling &

Karen Garien

WL Chris Tubbs

February 19

WC Mary Hayward

GR John Dague &

Jerry Bybee

WL Caroline Bybee

February 26

WC Phyllis Rockwell

GR Burton & Marta Romer

WL Marilyn Deegan

Maquoketa United Church of Christ

206 E Platt Street | PO Box 1177

Maquoketa, IA 52060

Phone: (563) 652-4296

Email: info@maqucc.org

February 2017 Service Committee

Sue Sandberg & Carol Breuch

Thu Fri Sat

8:00 a Morning Prayer 1:00 p Prayer Shawl Ministry 6:00 p Karate Club 7:30 p Centering Prayer

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4 7:00 p Narcotics Anonymous

8:00 a Morning Prayer

8:30 a Child Advocacy Board 5:30 p Council meeting 6:00 p Karate Club 7:30 p Centering Prayer

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11 7:00 p Narcotics Anonymous

16 8:00 a Morning Prayer 6:00 p Karate Club 7:30 p Centering Prayer

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7:00 p Narcotics Anonymous

23 8:00 a Morning Prayer 6:00 p Karate Club 7:30 p Centering Prayer

24 25 7:00 p Narcotics Anonymous

February is Teen Violence Awareness Month

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Council Minutes

The council minutes will be

posted on the bulletin board out-

side Pastor Stephanie’s office

after they have been approved

by the council.

Joan Crawford Feb. 2

Chris Nissen Feb. 12

Rosemary Francois Feb. 15

Chamberly Bock Feb. 20

Sarah Hobbs Feb. 21

Dates to Remember:

February 2—Prayer Shawl Ministry

held at First Lutheran Church

February 5—Annual Meeting

February 9—Child Advocacy Board

February 12—Inter-generational St.

Valentine’s Day Celebration

February 19—Joel Tubbs speaking

about his trip to Haiti

February 20—Prayer Shawl Ministry

at First Lutheran Church

If school and choir are can-

celled for weather condi-

tions, Confirmation and

Meal Deal will also be can-

celled for that evening.

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Thank you to whomever donated the Keurig. We

have found it very useful to be able to serve single

cups to guests. Confirmation students also enjoy it.

Thank you to those who have donated K-cups. We

encourage anyone to help themselves to a hot drink.

With the Keurig and the hot water pot, there are

many drinks available to help yourself to.

The Christmas Fund

Thank you to all who shared the Christmas

spirit by generously giving to the Christmas

Fund. Your gift totaling $375 provides direct

financial assistance to retired and active

United Church of Christ authorized ministers

and lay employees and their surviving

spouses, including pension and health pre-

mium supplementation, emergency assistance, and Christmas thank-

you checks.

We Need Your “Stuff”

The Treasure Sale tables in the basement contin-

ue to stay active, plus Geni has sold quite a bit by

word of mouth.

Please continue to bring items to be sold. Over

$70 has already been turned in this year!

Thanks!

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"For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper." - Psalm 72: 12 Psalm 72 begins "Give the king your justice, O God." It implies that justice is a God-given matter, and though in our time we have no king, the seeking of justice remains one of the marks of authentic government. So today's verse describes compassion for the needy as one of the attributes of a good king. Ancient Israel's kings derived authority by virtue of their divine calling, symbolized by anointing, but in Israel's long history there was another kind of authority, which we might call "reputational authority." They knew that there were good kings and bad kings. King David, to whom this psalm is attributed, was a good king, and thus became the model for the expected messiah. I'm reading Robert Caro's magisterial multi-volume biography of President Lyndon B. Johnson. Caro describes vividly the kind of ex-treme poverty that existed in the Texas Hill Country where Johnson was born and raised. Johnson is chiefly remembered for escalating the tragic war in Vi-etnam. But during his presidency he signed into law some of the most far-reaching social legislation in our history. He especially sought to help our nation's most needy members with "a social safe-

January 19, 2017

Written by Richard Floyd

"Helping those who have no helper"

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ty net." Out of his own experiences of deprivation he found the em-pathy to use his authority to advance what was good and just. We'll see if the social safety net remains in place in the new admin-istration. But whether our government is more just or less just Scrip-ture leaves no doubt that God cares for the poor and requires that we do as well. And the church in every season and under every ad-ministration must always be ready to hear the call of the needy and to help those who have no helper. Prayer God of justice and righteousness, give us your justice and a heart of compassion for our brothers and sisters who need a helper.

About the Author Richard L. Floyd is Pastor Emeritus of First Church of Christ (UCC) in Pittsfield, Massachu-setts. A writer and author, his most recent publications are Romans, Parts 1 and 2 (with Mi-chael S. Bennett), new titles in the "Listen Up!" Bible Study Series. He blogs at richard-lfloyd.com.

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