Local Church Updates

• New England Congregations Celebrate 40 Years
• Mankato and Austin Senior Citizens Honored
• 10-Year-Old Donates Hair to Locks of Love
• Oregon Young Adults Take Care of Yards
• Lagos Holds Second Young Adults/Family Weekend
• Sacramento Women's Club Launches
• Bricket Wood Holds Winter Social

New England Congregations Celebrate 40 Years

On Nov. 18 the two United Church of God congregations in New England got together to celebrate the 40-year anniversary of the first congregation established in New England.

Of the 178 people who attended the service, approximately 40 were guests. Many were old friends from the beginning, and they very much enjoyed getting reacquainted with one another and sharing stories of what had happened over the past years.

The guest speaker for the day was Fred Kellers. He and his wife, Lucretia, made the journey from Nashville, Tennessee, where they now serve. Mr. Kellers was the pastor in New England from 1968 to 1972. His sermon was based on "God's Perspective of Time." It was very well received.

Too many members were involved in the planning to name everyone, but thanks are due to all for the effort put out so that the event was a successful celebration of the 40 years.

—Paul Suckling

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Mankato and Austin Senior Citizens Honored

Senior citizens from the Mankato and Austin, Minnesota, congregations were honored with a special luncheon on the Sabbath of Dec. 9, 2006. As they arrived, the seniors were presented with a flower corsage and were escorted to their tables by teens from the area.

The teenagers then served the seniors a luncheon of croissant sandwiches, coleslaw and fruit, with turtle cheesecake for dessert.

Tables were set with everlasting rose (wooden) centerpieces. Each senior was given one to take home as a remembrance of the day. During the luncheon, beautiful piano and violin music was provided by our young people.

Following the luncheon was time for some stories and light entertainment. The activity concluded with a presentation of gift baskets and pens to show appreciation for our senior citizens.

—Marlys Peterson

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10-Year-Old Donates Hair to Locks of Love

Heidi Braun, 10-year-old daughter of Martin and Ailsa Braun, donated more than 10½ inches of her own hair in June 2006 to Locks of Love. Locks of Love is a charitable organization that uses donations of hair to benefit financially disadvantaged children with long-term medical hair loss.

Heidi attends the Charlotte, North Carolina, congregation along with her parents and younger sister, Heather. She is homeschooled and in the fifth grade. Her hobbies include piano, singing, reading and playing dolls with her sister. She has performed in three piano recitals at a local assisted-living facility, the latest being just before Thanksgiving in November 2006.

—Ailsa Braun

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Oregon Young Adults Take Care of Yards

The young adults of the Salem and Eugene, Oregon, congregations volunteered their time on Oct. 29 and Dec. 17, 2006, for two service projects. A combined effort was put forth to clean up the yards of Annabelle Lee and Mr. and Mrs. Albert Summey, three elderly members of God's Church.

Everyone involved put forth a tremendous effort to produce two trimmed and well-manicured yards. Both Mrs. Lee and the Summeys were very grateful for everyone's hard work.

—Sabrina Koester

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Lagos Holds Second Young Adults/Family Weekend

The Lagos, Nigeria, congregation held its second young adults/family activity from Dec. 28 to Jan. 1. This program is designed to help bring the various groups in the Church together through fun-filled activities, excursions, Bible studies, shared experiences and workshops where various useful skills and talents can be shared.

The theme of the program was "Equipping the Saints," taken from Ephesians 4:11-15. All the Bible studies, lectures and workshops focused on that topic.

The first weekend held last year was so edifying and popular it was decided to make it a regular event.

This year's event attracted eight young adults from other congregations who braved the rough Nigerian roads and traveled as far as over 800 kilometers to attend the program. The highest attendance recorded during the activity was 56.

Activities commenced on Dec. 28 with an introduction by Oludare Akinbo, the associate pastor, on the reason for the event. He followed with a presentation on the theme "Equipping the Saints," using PowerPoint slides to make the message come alive.

During the program, there was a bead-making class given by two of the young adults, Ibirogba Lola and Akinbo Ronke. The interest by both men and women to acquire this useful skill that could serve as a source for supplementing meager incomes and allowances was very encouraging.

There was also a tie-and-dye class/workshop where participants were taught how to convert old and faded clothes into beautiful patterns. This is also a useful skill that could help reduce the burden of purchasing new clothes for kids and adults alike. It is also possible to use this as a means of boosting income.

The high point of the program was the Sabbath service Dec. 30 where mothers and senior citizens were especially honored. All mothers with young children were saved the responsibility of looking after these children by the young adults. This allowed the mothers to concentrate on the message, titled "Preparing Our Children for the Kingdom of God."

After the service there was a special lunch. The senior citizens being honored gave some words of advice and encouragement to the young adults gathered.

There was an excursion by the preteens and young adults on Dec. 31 to a nature conservation center in the coastal part of Lagos. At the conservation center we saw several large tortoises said to be over 95 years old, and we climbed a tree house built on top of an almost 60-foot-tall tree!

The entire five-day program was blessed by God with safe travel, pleasant weather and wonderful fellowship, and all went back home with a stronger sense of fellowship and family.

—Oludare Akinbo

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Sacramento Women's Club Launches

Jan. 14 was a much-anticipated date for the ladies of the Sacramento, California, congregation. The Women's Fellowship Club got off to a great start with 26 of the ladies joining in on the inaugural meeting. Held at the upscale Regency Sierra Retirement Village, the women enjoyed an animated meeting coordinated by Jackie Horchak.

Joe Horchak, pastor of Sacramento, welcomed the women and thanked them for their enthusiasm and support for the club. He explained that the primary focus of the club would be to provide the environment for true Christian fellowship for the ladies of the congregation.

He expressed that he believed that the club was a wonderful opportunity for each of the ladies to make her individual contribution to the whole club, as well as the congregation, over the months and years ahead.

The formal meeting got started with an icebreaker speech presented by Adrienne Hostetter.

This was followed by a lively discussion on the Proverbs 31 woman, as outlined in the Bible and portrayed in the book Women of the Bible, used as a resource for the club.

The meeting was rounded out by having the women work together in groups on specific areas of etiquette, which all agreed has become somewhat of a lost tradition. The ladies were provided hypothetical situations and then discussed what might be the appropriate ways to handle them. Each group had a spokesperson who shared the ideas with the other groups. Bev Butler volunteered to compile each set of ideas each month and make them available to all of the ladies to keep for later reference.

Once the meeting adjourned, it was almost like trying to leave after the Last Great Day—nobody wanted to go. Eventually they did amid a buzz of anticipation for the next club meeting set for Feb. 11.

—Joe Horchak

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Bricket Wood Holds Winter Social

The Bricket Wood, England, congregation held its annual winter social in St. Stephen's Hall Jan. 13. There were 67 in attendance for the Sabbath service and a few more guests came for the evening events.

In addition to the superb food provided by the ladies, a highlight of the evening's entertainment was a screen photo presentation of members involved in various church and social activities during the last year.

Excerpted from UCG–British Isles National Announcements Jan 20, 2007.

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