Local Announcements: 

Sabbath Services for April 15th, 2023: Tomorrow's Sabbath service will be held at the Freedom Hall (349 W Birchwood St, Morton, IL 61550) @ 1:30pm. The service will also be webcast on our local congregational website​ (link for local webcast) as well as offered via audio only for those who would like to call in (701.791.9819). These connections typically go live about 15-minutes prior to the start of services.
          Song Leader: Mr. Dan Apartian
          Split-Sermon: Mr. Glenn Radebaugh
          Split-Sermon: Mr. Nathan Ekama

Upcoming Holy Days/Events:
          Second Passover: evening of May 4th
          General Conference of Elders: May 6th-8th, webcast from Cincinnati @ 1:30pm, Freedom Hall
          Pentecost: May 27th, @ 1:30pm, Freedom Hall

Springfield Bible Study: The next Bible Study in the Springfield area will be on the Sabbath of April 22nd at the Curran Township building (6220 Moffet Street, Curran, IL 62670) at 10:00am. Services in Morton will remain as is currently scheduled.

Central Illinois Bible Study: Our next monthly Bible Study will be on the Sabbath of April 22nd. We will begin the book of Joel about 15-minutes after services. If you are not able to join us in person, here are a few ways that you can join our Bible Study:
          - Here is the link to access our Bible Study via our local webcast.
          - Here is the phone number to call for an audio-only connection: 701.791.9819

Second Passover: If you were unable to take Passover on the evening of April 4th, the second Passover will be on the evening of May 4th. Please see Nathan Ekama is you have any questions regarding the second Passover.

Sabbath School: Our next Sabbath School is scheduled for May 20th. It will take place about ten minutes after services in the side room.

Health & Safety Protocols: We ask that any who exhibit symptoms of illness practice the biblical concept of quarantine. Face coverings are not required during our services; however, if you are more comfortable wearing a face covering when congregating, please do not hesitate to do so.

Home Office Announcements:

United Youth Camps Announcement: The United Youth Camps program will once again host five teen summer camps, seven pre-teen summer camps, one teen winter camp as well as the young adult boundary waters adventure. The details for each camp can be found at uyc.ucg.org. It is important to note that several camps have an application deadline of May 1—just two weeks away, so please apply right away! If funds are a concern, scholarships are available, so please speak to your pastor if you need one.

Feast Announcements:
Festival Planning Brochure Posted Online: Some members have already received their 2023 Feast Planning Brochure in the mail. If not, it should arrive over the next week or so. In the meantime, the Festival Planning Brochure has been posted online at the UCG webpage at ucg.org/members/feast.
St. George Feast Site Alert: We still don’t have a contract with Utah Tech University in St. George, Utah. This will be the third consecutive year at the university, so we expect the process to complete soon. However, it is recommended that members not make housing reservations until the contract is finalized—or at least not to make non-refundable housing arrangements.
Feast Site Registration Info:
          April 23 (Sun) - Online Festival registration begins
          April 23 (Sun) - Early housing reservations begin for those who qualify
          April 30 (Sun) - General housing reservations begin for U.S. and Canada

Teen Instagram Account: Due to popular demand, the home office media team is working on creating Instagram content specifically for our teens. We will be using the existing Compass Check account to share encouraging and fun spiritually uplifting content, including Q&A’s, updates on local events and special sneak peeks of ongoing projects. We would also encourage feedback of content you would like to see. This project is specifically for our youth, and we want to hear from you! Make sure to follow us at compasscheck on Instagram (instagram.com/compasscheck) and DM us for any more info, suggestions and questions.

Light of Hope Helpline: The United Church of God is providing a new service available to its ministry and members. Light of Hope is a helpline supported by Church members who are licensed social workers, counselors and other clinical professionals.
They will provide mental health and addiction resources to those in need including individual, couple, family and teen consultation. These specialists will also assist in connecting people in need with appropriate resources in their communities while keeping all information confidential.
The Light of Hope helpline is available at any time. When you call, it will initially record your message so that one of our professionals can respond within 24 hours. This service is also provided in several different languages including Spanish, French and German.
Light of Hope also plans to develop online materials on a variety of topics such as depression, anxiety, stress management, suicidal thoughts, communication skills, problem solving strategies, teen issues, parenting issues, etc.
The helpline number is (888) 241-6211.

Prayer Updates: The home office has created a new web page where church members may access recent church-wide prayer requests at any time. The address is register.ucg.org/intranet/PrayerRequests and the password for the page may be obtained from your pastor.

Job Opportunities: The United Church of God is continuing to accept job applications for a French Communications Analyst, a Systems Administrator/Programmer and a Web Developer. Details about all of the current job postings for the Church may be reviewed at ucg.org/members/news/current-job-openings.

Beyond Today: Beyond Today airs locally in Illinois (Springfield/Decatur/Champaign) on WICD 15 ABC, Sundays at 10:00 a.m..
          **BT content is also available via our YouTube channel and via Roku and other smart devices.**

Online UCG Radio from Australia for the whole world: The online radio station for United Church of God is now streaming 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. You can listen to booklet and magazine readings, Bible readings, Bible Q&As, sermons, Bible class lectures, podcasts, the BT Daily series, music and more! A radio schedule in PDF can be downloaded which will show you upcoming programs. You can reach it easily on your computer at https://www.ucg.org.au/radio or from the UCG Streaming Radio app that allows you to listen on your mobile device. Simply search your app store for "UCG Radio" to install the free app.