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THE VIEWPOINT The Monthly Newsletter of Riverside Community Church

The United Church of Christ July 2014

Outdoor Worship at Northwestern Lake Park

With Bethel UCC 10 am on Sunday, July 27

Followed by a potluck picnic in the park

Directions: From White Salmon, WA: Travel west along Washington State Route 14 until its intersection with Washington State Route 141

Alternative. Turn right (north) and travel approximately 4 miles to Northwestern Lake/Park.

MESSAGE FROM THE MODERATOR

It is with a broken heart that I share with you the sad news that Scott Johnson died Sunday afternoon, June 29, 2014. He passed away peacefully at home with Elaine and their family at his side. Royal Ewing was with them. There will be a memorial service in a couple of weeks. Information will be sent as soon as plans are finalized. I know you will all join me in prayers of comfort for Elaine and the Johnson family.

May God's Grace be with us all and grant us peace as we make our way through this sorrowful time.

Gean Rains

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RIVERSIDE BULLETIN BOARD

Worship time 10:30 am. First Sunday of the month is Communion Sunday. Children grades K-5th are invited to Sunday School in the Fireside Room after the Children’s Time. Younger children may remain in worship or in the nursery with Mirian Castillo and Aundrea Braniff. Church Office Hours are 9 am – 2 pm Monday through Friday. Pockets of Plenty Offering is July. Proceeds to benefit Columbia Gorge Peace Camp. FISH Offering is July 20. Financial support and food donations are very much appreciated. Riverside volunteer week at FISH is July 14-16-18. Down Manor Bible Study on Mondays from 10 – 11 am. Everyone welcome! Cheers meets July 17 at 10 am in the Ruth Wells Room. Council will not meet in July. Next meeting August 21 at Gean Rain’s house. Potluck prior to the meeting. Coffee Hour Hosts are needed for July and August. Please sign up in the Pioneer Room.

For the Month of July Marbe Cook July 3 Vicky Stifter July 9 Joshua Humann July 16 Casey Beaman July 18 Rosie Thomas July 19 Brenda Kaiser July 21 Tim Mayer July 23 Dorothy Mellenthin July 23 David Skakel July 24 Fran Cody July 26 Matthew Fauth July 26 Michelle Redmond July 26 Eric Fauth July 28 Stephanie Harris July 28 Linda Lang July 28 Marilyn Murray July 28 Alan Bell July 30

Have we missed your birthday? Please let the church office know

at rcc@gorge.net.

It is a blessing to have others praying for us. It is also a blessing when we pray for others. Let us bring our prayers to God.

Prayers of comfort for Elaine Johnson and family, and for all those that grieve…Brett Requa…Dorothy Culbertson … Janet Wood… …Sue Hukari… Bob Manning …Hazel Bowe…Marge Jacobson and for all those in need of healing…blessings to all graduates..,.safe travels to all those on summer journeys…

God In Your Grace, Hear Our Prayers

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Riverside Community Church Council Meeting Highlights

JUNE 17, 2014 Complete copy of minutes available in the church office

Nursery Lease/Move – Gean and Elaine Room is being prepared for use. Elaine, custodian Perry Platt and Lorre organized room, positive response all around about the new space. Fire inspector will be contacted to do safety check. Concern is only one door for entry and exit. Nursery Exit and Fire Exit plan will be reviewed. A member of the building committee will be asked to be present with Fire Marshall.

Tony Robinson Visit & Follow Up – Gean Comments from council members who attended the 3 hr session. Positive sense of direction and movement to date. Council members Mariloy Fowler, Lorene Murray, Steve Nybroten, Karen Harding, ElaineThompson, and Gean Raines attended the. Gean Rains will send PowerPoint presentation and notes from meeting to council. Communication to the congregation will also be done.

Hiring for Nursery – Elaine Thompson Discussion about having a 19 yr old applicant majoring in family and business to have for summer. Council told Elaine to use her best judgment in hiring.

Warming Shelter – Sandy Spellecy Shortage of sites: Emmanuel Lutheran (will take week of Christmas), Mid Columbia Center for Living have committed. Riverside and Nazarene have not recommitted as of yet. Sandy Spellecy and Matt Rankin are committed to serving as Riverside site coordinators but NEED more volunteers. Truck sign up also needed to transport warming shelter items to next site. Possibly teams per month to commit. Moved and passed that Riverside would commit to hosting the warming shelter.

Front Porch Kitchens – Gean Rains Bringing kitchen up to code estimated at $38,000. Proposal is based on having small culinary school to prepare people for jobs in professional kitchens. Report on file at office.

Safe Church Policy / Procedures- Elaine Thompson Discussion about whether or not to change diapers in nursery. Also about background checks for all people dealing with children. Lorre will also resend policy to council members. Questions about trust, feasibility, and safety discussed. Issue will be revisited at next council meeting.

Handicap Access We need to anticipate needs for handicapped access and have several people knowledgeable about operating the outside lift. Review of handicapped access will be put on Diaconate agenda. Also need to review procedure for bringing someone out of church on a stretcher.

Treasurer – Sue Hukari Report on file in office. Moved and approved that $9,000.00 be taken out of Parsonage fund to pay bills.

Building and Grounds – Steve Nybroten Question about heating just nursery vs. heating whole downstairs. Lighting front of building – explore options and costs Sidewalks finished by June. Bench and planters/plantings will be installed. Carpeting – once paving done stairs will be cleaned.

Archive Work - Lorene Murray wants to preserve one of the books that was found, a handwritten history from 1890-1928. Historical society will be asked for recommendations.

JULY                  2014                                

Sunday   Monday   Tuesday   Wednesday   Thursday   Friday   Saturday       1   2   3   4   5  

           

 

 

                                 6   7   8   9   10   11   12  Guest  Preacher  Rev.  Maggie  Sebastian  Communion  

           

13   14   15   16   17   18   19  Neutral  Pulpit  POP  Offering  

     

 

Cheers    10  am      

Noon    At    FISH  

 

20   21   22   23   24   25   26  Elaine  &  Earth  Camp  Kids  

           

27  Outdoor  Worship  

28   29   30   31      

             

Riverside Earth Camp 9 am - NoonNoo

Volunteer Week

Independence Day

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RIVERSIDE BOOK CLUB

COMING THIS FALL!

STAY TUNED FOR DETAILS…

Alternative Roots preschool now occupies the former Riverside nursery space. Come and check out the new “under the sea”

nursery off of the Fireside Room!

Turn, Turn, Turn Pete Seeger

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn) There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn) And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time to be born, a time to die A time to plant, a time to reap A time to kill, a time to heal A time to laugh, a time to weep

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn) There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn) And a time for every purpose, under Heaven

A time to build up, a time to break down A time to dance, a time to mourn A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn) There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn) And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time of love, a time of hate A time of war, a time of peace A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn) There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn) And a time for every purpose, under Heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose A time to rend, a time to sew A time of love, a time of hate A time for peace, I swear it's not too late

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CHRISTIAN NURTURE DATES TO REMEMBER!

Youth/Teen Dates to remember for JULY!

 June 29th-July 3rd

Teens at WRYE: Sunday, July 13th 2nd Sunday Night Teen group: Time/place TBA Monday, July 14th-Friday, July 18th 9-Noon Riverside Earth Camp Friday, July 18th 3:30-7PM Middlers at FISH Foodbank Sunday, July 20th Riverside church Earth Camp celebration for worship

June 2014 Special Offering Totals

Pockets of Plenty $217.50 RCC Youth Group Local Missions $ 77.11

Thank you for your Generosity!

It’s Time to Take The Plunge and Register

For Summer Camp!

Register Now at

Campadams.org

Register NOW for Riverside Earth

Camp our “Green” summer program!!

Summer dates are July 14th-18th,

Monday- Friday, 9 am - Noon.

Earth Camp is an environmentally-focused program that inspires kids to grow in faith, have fun and change the world. More information at www.riversideucc.com. Follow links to “Nurture Your Children”

Church League Softball

Women and men who are post-high school ages are invited to join Riverside’s Softball Team. Remaining games are July 8, 15, and 22 at 6:15 pm at Westside School. Contact Kaptain Kirby at541-490-5315 if you are interested in playing.

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Dear Riversiders, Summer Spiritual Ritual We have a ritual in our Middlers group we do every summer that I would like to share with you for your summer Spirits. At our Middlers meeting at Big Cedars campground this June, we talked about fears that the characters in the books they are reading faced. The characters they knew were struggling with loss, wondering about their future, hoping to make the right decisions, and were afraid of deep feelings like love. Those fears sounded familiar. We then wrote our own fears on pieces of paper. We breathed in love and breathed out fear. We took those written fears and burned them together in our campfire, turning them over to God. But as one astute Middler commented, “It’s ok to turn them over to God, but you have to be willing to put your own work in.” After that, we went to the river and found leafs to be boats. We imaged placing our dreams on the boats and then set them in the river current. Some of us were upset as our leaf boats ran into logs and got stuck, or took on too much water and drowned. But some kids waded in the river to “rescue” some of the stranded leaf boats. The whole ritual was a great metaphor for letting go, letting others help us and letting God do the rest. Build a campfire this summer and sit by a river. Take your fears and throw them into the flames. Find a leaf and let your dreams float away on the river. At the very least, breathe in love and breathe out fear. With you in prayer and Spirit, Elaine Thompson Director of Christian Nurture Riverside UCC

Congratulations to all our graduates – from high school to college! Kory Harding: Western Washington State, Major in Manufacturing Engineering, minor in Biology Mandy Redmond: University of Oregon, Major in Biology, minor in Spanish Stephanie Harris: Colorado College, Major in Environmental Science, minor in Latin American Studies Delaney Rea: Hood River Valley High School graduate, off to University of Oregon Austin Requa: Horizon Christian School graduate, off to Linfield College We are so proud of all of you!

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Tony Robinson returned to Riverside for a “Leadership / Followership” workshop on June 7th. Twenty-one sat in a circle for 3 hours listening, sharing, and generating excitement for who we are and what we do / hope to do within our Riverside Family and our Gorge Community. Meeting notes and Tony’s presentation slides are available in the church office. On Sunday, which was Pentacost, he was guest pastor and wove into his sermon some of the relevant issues we discussed on Saturday. For those of you who missed his sermon, or for those of you who would like be reminded of what he said, here are his words of wisdom. “When I turned to the Pentecost story (Acts 2: 1 - 21) the three themes I picked up were the following:

1) Particularly in the first five or six verses there is a repetition of the words "all," "each," "everyone." The spirit came to each of the gathered community on Pentecost. I think the church that is emerging in the 21st century is pentecostal in this sense. Each participant is a spiritual person. Each has a right to and responsibility for his/ her own spiritual growth/ deepening. This

might be contrasted with a model that said the ordained minister was the spiritual person, the rest were not. I think that's over or needs to be. But as I say this doesn't just mean that people can claim their own spiritual life, it also means they have a responsibility for their own spiritual growth/ development and maturity. I see the church of tomorrow as being effective in helping people claim, build and deepen their own spiritual lives and gaining tools for spiritual growth.

2) When the Spirit came on Pentecost and rested on "each one," they were driven out of the upper room into the teeming streets of Jerusalem, where people were gathered for the Pentecost festival, people who spoke in all the languages of the known world. The gift of the Spirit enabled the followers of Christ to speak in many languages and/ or for people to hear of God's "mighty deeds" each in his own language. I connected this to reaching out, or really being pushed out by the Spirit, into the community where the church encounters people speaking other languages -- business, civic life, addiction, recovery, sports, arts, windsurfing, kitesurfing, etc., etc.. Pentecost means engaging those who speak in other tongues, speaking of God in their language. I related this to the "front porch" ministry theme, and of the church going out to people where they are and not simply waiting for them to come to us.

3) Lastly, I addressed the "pyrotechnics" of Pentecost, the mighty wind and the flames of fire. In the mainline, liberal church we tend to want to explain -- and often explain away -- such beyond rational stuff. I argue that people are hungry for magic, hence all the interest in fantasy/ adventure stuff (Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, etc.) People want to believe and are ready for a faith that says there's more here than can be rationally explained. Sort of the Loving Spoonful's old song, "Do You Believe in Magic?" The church needs to embrace the beyond, non, other than rational parts of faith unapologetically and stop trying to turn it all into moral advice.”

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Dear Riverside Family and Friends,

What an energized congregation we are! Things are happening at Riverside and I give thanks for all of you for making it so.

Our visit with Tony Robinson was successful. He was impressed with all that has happened at Riverside since his visit in October 2012. He acknowledged our vote to declare ourselves an Open and Affirming church. He said that the “chronic, low-level conflict” he saw then has been replaced by an enthusiastic and forward looking congregation. He also acknowledged our efforts to make the building itself more welcoming to those passing by or walking in the doors. Thanks to all who participated in the workshop and worship with Tony, and a special thanks to all who have worked so hard at making Riverside the church it is today.

Our new nursery is about to open its doors. A huge thanks to the folks who have worked so hard, and on a deadline, to empty and clean the old nursery so that Alternate Roots can move in on July 1st. We are blessed with the talents of Christine Kaiser, Allison Thompson, Lexy Duback and Alexandra Buckles their creative skills in creating an “Under the Sea” nursery off the Fireside Room. Our little folks are going to be so excited! Thank you for your gift of time to make this happen.

Thank you to Rodger Schock and Gary Rains for power washing the front entrance of the church. After months of road construction there was a pretty thick layer of dirt that we were tracking into the church. (If any of you would like to have the same amount of fun consider coming down and power washing other parts of the building.)

Thank you to the Building Committee for addressing several building issues that need attention this summer.

Thank you to the Endowment Committee for your work in finding alternate means to financially support Riverside.

Thank you to the people who are researching the possibility of revitalizing our kitchen so that it will better serve Riverside and our Gorge community.

Thanks to the individuals who have come up with ideas about a Riverside Book Club, a HAPPY video, an art gallery and more.

Thanks to all of you who quietly serve and support the church in so many many ways. With Gratitude, Gean

Riverside Community Church United Church of Christ Hood River, OR 97031 Pastor Vicky A. Stifter

The Viewpoint

is published monthly by Riverside Community Church, 317 State St., P.O. Box 656, Hood River, OR 97031, 541-386-1412.

Editor: Lorre Chester-Rea - email address: rcc@gorge.net. Editor reserves the right to edit for space and content.

All errors, typos and omissions are sincerely regretted. Visit our website at: www.riversideucc.com

Also visit: ucc.org and cpc.org For more information on

The United Church of Christ