Local Announcements: 

Sabbath Services for February 18th, 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. Jack Radebaugh
          Sermonette: Mr. Dave Archer
          Sermon: Mr. Nathan Ekama

Upcoming Holy Days/Events:
          Passover: April 4th - 7:30pm service @ Comfort Inn (201 E. Ashland St, Morton IL 61550)
          Night to be Much Remembered: April 5th (group or private options)
          First Day of Unleavened Bread: April 6th - 1:30pm service @ Comfort Inn
          Last Day of Unleavened Bread: April 12th - 10:30am & 2:30pm @ Freedom Hall

Springfield Bible Study: The next Bible Study in the Springfield area will be on February 18th at the Curran Township building (6220 Moffet Street, Curran, IL 62670) at 10:00am. Services in Morton will remain as is currently scheduled.

Choir Practice: For those participating in the choir, there will be a practice in the side room after services this Sabbath

Central Illinois Bible Study: Our next monthly Bible Study will be the Sabbath of February 25th. We will begin 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

Local Outreach: We will be preparing another meal at Salvation Army's Safe Harbor (611 W Washington St, Bloomington, IL 61701) on March 6th from 5:00-7:00pm. If you would like to assist with preparing a meal for the homeless in the Bloomington area, please see Dan Apartian to sign up or Kim Olar or Bill Conway if you would like to make a donation to defray the cost of the meal.

March 11th Sabbath: We will have a 2:00pm service on March 11th since the Freedom Hall will have another group using the facility prior to us.

Sabbath School: Our next Sabbath School is scheduled for the Sabbath of March 11th. It will take place about ten minutes after services in the side room.

Passover Preparation Meeting: For those baptized members who have helped in the past, or would like to assist this year with the Passover service, there will be a meeting after services on March 11th.

Potluck Dinner & Game Night: We will have a BYO Dinner and game night this Sabbath, February 11th. Please plan to bring dinner and your favorite table game to enjoy together.

Health & Safety Protocols: We will have our last dinner and a game night of the winter on the evening of March 11th. Please plan to bring a dish to share with others as well as your favorite table game to enjoy together. Dinner will begin around 4:45pm with games beginning after sunset at 6:00pm.

Home Office Announcements:

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.**

Support UCG with your Amazon Purchases: If you buy anything via Amazon, there is an opportunity to have a portion of your purchase donated to a recognized non-profit organization if you begin using “https://smile.amazons.com”. If you list the United Church of God as your preferred organization to support, Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the United Church of God whenever you shop on AmazonSmile. Go to https://smile.amazon.com/ch/95-4529758 to set up your account.

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.