Local Church Updates

• Beloit Sponsors Sixth Annual Clothing Giveaway
• Nashville Congratulates New Citizens
• New South Wales Holds Women's Focus Weekend

Beloit Sponsors Sixth Annual Clothing Giveaway

Many "thank yous" were heard on Nov. 20 from appreciative individuals who attended the sixth annual clothing giveaway sponsored by the Beloit, Wisconsin, congregation.

During the three-hour event, 535 people arrived at the Head Start building to gather clothing, household items and toys that had been donated by local agencies and brethren. Refreshments were also served by the brethren. It was wonderful to see so many people receive free clothes of all kinds that they or their family could use.

Joe Jacoby, Judy Buroker and other brethren organized the event and sent information to dozens of local social agencies asking for their help in donating clothing as well as publicizing the giveaway. We made many good contacts with these agencies that will be helpful for future use.

About 40 brethren spent the evening before setting up 40 tables and then placing clothes and household items on them. The next morning another 30 brethren completed the setup and the doors were opened just before noon. By 3 o'clock, most of the clothes and other items were gone. The Beloit congregation plans on doing it again next year.

Steve Nutzman

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Nashville Congratulates New Citizens

Gustavo and Jorge Corsi, of the Nashville, Tennessee, UCG congregation became U.S. citizens on Sept. 22, 2005.

Gustavo and Jorge were born in Tandil, Argentina, where they began attending church in 1979 with their mother, Lidia. Gustavo was 3 years old and Jorge was only 8 months. Their mother had heard about the Church from a cousin.

In November of 1992, Jorge and Gustavo moved to Lansing, Michigan, shortly after their mother married Fred Nance. Gustavo and Jorge were 17 and 14 respectively at the time of the move to the United States.

Neither brother knew English at the time. Their stepfather, Fred Nance, who had studied Spanish in high school and at Ambassador University taught them English pronunciation. But a majority of their English was learned by immersion into work, school and everyday life. The language barrier and cultural differences were difficult at first for them in this unfamiliar country.

They quickly overcame the differences and in the late 1990s, moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Jorge moved in 1997 and Gustavo moved in 1999. Both came to Nashville to study automobile technology at Nashville Auto Diesel College. Since the move, both have been a part of the Nashville congregation.

Gustavo and Jorge liked America and planned to stay here, so they decided they wanted U.S. citizenship. Additionally, they have family still in Argentina, and being Americans makes it easier for them to travel back to Argentina to visit.

They are happy and proud to be Americans. The Nashville congregation is also proud of them and held a reception in their honor on Sabbath, Sept. 24, 2005.

Gustavo and Jorge both love anything that has to do with cars, whether it is repairing them or enjoying a sport like NASCAR racing. How American is that? We welcome and congratulate them wholeheartedly.

Michele Franke

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New South Wales Holds Women's Focus Weekend

This year the New South Wales Women's Focus Weekend was held in the lovely coastal village of Corrimal Sept. 9-11. "Stimulating," "excellent," "relevant," "one mind" and "understanding" were among the descriptions of the event by the nearly 30 women who participated.

Proverbs 2:1-11 inspired the theme of this year's Women's Focus Weekend: "Reaching Out With Understanding." "We, the Church," said Jeanette Dean, "are good at doctrinal integrity, but we need to improve the way we commit our hearts and minds to loving one another."

Participants from Queensland and Victoria joined with those from New South Wales, sharing cabins at the tourist park and sharing experiences, great fellowship and good food.

The Sabbath began with prayer and Bible study by pastor Bruce Dean, who gave a very insightful discussion about the relationship Christ had with the very different personalities of Mary and Martha.

After lunch, Jeanette Dean gave a presentation on strengthening understanding and love among brethren in the Church.

Sandy Montcalm spoke on reaching out to serve others in the Church happily. We are family, she stressed.

Dawn Goodger spoke on reaching out to family. Family is neither a timetable nor a project we can run on our own terms, she said.

Mavis Stucci discussed reaching out to strangers, making liberal use of anecdotes, including personal experience, to illustrate her talk.

Jenny Huthnance gave a lively account of the Bible's real definition of women. She covered the influence of our society on the way we think, including the current problems of gender identity.

Kim Mihalec gave the last address of the afternoon, titled "A Quiver Full of Arrows." Children are a blessing from God and have the same spiritual potential as their parents do.

After dinner, Ruth Root gave a fascinating interactive session discussing the effects of age and history on the various categories of women in the Church.

On Sunday, a panel comprised of Lynn Sandland, Sue Williams and Barbara Turner discussed "Loving Your Adult Children."

The final presentation was given by Dr. Maryke Boers and Dr. Marguerite Prakash, professional counselors with expertise in the area of addictions.

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