Local Church News
Recent events held by Church family and news from members.
Sabbaths in the Park: Celebrating a 30 Year Tradition
On April 25, 2026, the Orange County congregation hosted its 30th “Sabbath in the Park,” with 99 attendees from the local congregation and other Southern California congregations. In a region of sprawling cities, the opportunity to have church services outdoors was especially meaningful and appreciated. This semiannual event began in 2009 and is typically held in April and November, when the park is less crowded.
Services were held beneath a canopy of large trees in a quiet area of Irvine Regional Park, a beautiful spacious park more than 125 years old and nestled in the rolling foothills of the Santa Ana mountains. Surrounded by oak and sycamore trees with open grassy areas, the setting provided a peaceful retreat just minutes from urban life. Our reserved picnic area, with tables accommodating up to 250 people, offered plenty of space for church services, lunch together and fellowship.
Services began at 11:00 a.m., with pastor Mario Seiglie delivering the sermon—generally focused on a fascinating aspect of God’s creation. Hymns were accompanied by talented guitarists and other instrumentalists, adding to the uplifting atmosphere. Because they don’t allow powerful sound systems in the park, we just use a low-powered battery system that doesn’t disturb others in the park.
Following services, attendees enjoyed a deli-style “make your own sandwich” lunch provided by the congregation, along with a wide variety of salads, side dishes, and desserts contributed by members. The day offered not only physical nourishment but also spiritual refreshment and warm fellowship.
Many who regularly serve each Sabbath appreciated the chance to relax and connect more deeply with others in a peaceful outdoor setting.
We look forward to continuing this special tradition—a time to worship in a natural setting, reflect on God’s creation, and share a meal and joyful fellowship. - Jean Updegraff
Remember What God Has Done
The fifth annual Western Canadian women’s enrichment weekend was held in Fairmont Hot Springs, British Columbia, from April 17–20, 2026. There were 46 ladies from Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, New Brunswick, Washington and Ohio who shared a wonderful time of fellowship, enrichment, fun and relaxation.
There was a snowstorm on the Wednesday and Thursday before the weekend began, and some ladies traveled two days to get to the event. Despite having to trek across blizzard conditions, the storm did not stop them from coming!
Friday evening began with a lovely welcome reception. Tonya Erickson gave a truly inspiring opening message introducing the theme for the weekend: “Remember What God has Done” (Psalm 105:5; 1 Chronicles 16:12). One comment that stood out was how “remember” is such a common word, yet such a powerful tool that can help us grow in godly character. The word appears over 230 times in the Bible.
The ladies played “Getting to Know You Bingo” and participated in opportunities for extended fellowship each day in the meeting hall, as well as the hot springs pool surrounded by God’s awesome creation in the mountains.
On the Sabbath, we enjoyed several special music pieces including a piano solo by Kim Eckert, a vocal solo by Eve Shaw and a duet by Willetta Ellington and Synnove Teetaert. Guest speaker Aaron Dean gave an encouraging and faith-strengthening sermon.
Also that day, Michelle Dean gave a presentation sharing her personal life experiences and how, looking back, she can see God was preparing her for future events in her life through those experiences.
We had several table topics discussing the theme for the weekend and sharing inspiring stories of how God has carried us through our trials. Each lady was able to share in a smaller group at her table of six. This was a very important part of the weekend as it allowed bonding in smaller groups.
On Sunday there was a craft activity in which each lady got to choose a souvenir water bottle and then apply vinyl stickers with a custom design to decorate.
A silent auction held throughout the morning raised over $2,000 to help sponsor a women’s enrichment weekend for the ladies in Lusaka, Zambia.
Tracy Nyhus-Jongerius, a registered psychologist, presented an informative session on “Post Traumatic Growth.” Ladies were divided into small groups to put into practice engaging as women characters in the Bible and learning how to be more effective and purposeful in our communications with one another. One key takeaway from the presentation was how we need to develop a vocabulary to describe our feelings, which ultimately helps us to express how we are truly feeling when someone asks us, rather than just saying “I’m ok” or “fine, thanks.”
Evelyn Davis presented an inspiring wrap-up speech, and thanked everyone who was involved and reflected over the past five years of Western Canadian Women’s Enrichment weekends and what God has done in the lives of the women who have been attending and the special bonding that has been happening over the years. Michelle Dean commented how wonderful it was to see how everyone worked so well together to make things happen.
A gathering outdoors with a light lunch and snacks was provided by the local brethren as a grand finale for those who had to leave early.
Several adventurous ladies went on a 20-minute nature hike to a natural hot spring in the area, on what turned out to be a beautiful sunny day with blue skies. In the evening, 29 ladies participated in a group painting activity.
It was wonderful to come together as a group of sisters in Christ to enrich each other spiritually, share our personal experiences, uplift each other, create precious bonds of support and glorify God in all we did.
We look forward to welcoming all who are interested in joining us for next year’s Women’s Enrichment Weekend! Stay tuned for more information. - Michelle de Campos and Tonya Erickson
Facing Life with Strength and Laughter
Putting together a women’s weekend is no small task. There’s always so much to do and many hands involved in making it all work. It’s really a marvel how a small group can come together and do all that needs to be done and the Southwest Missouri Women’s Weekend was no different.
Held from March 13–15 in Ozark, Missouri, the weekend’s theme was “Facing Life With Strength and Laughter.” From 11 states, the furthest of which was Arizona, 40 ladies attended this event. There were 62 in attendance for Sabbath services. Sabbath special speakers were Hansel New and Tom Robinson.
After services we all enjoyed a scrumptious meal. We never want to leave our male family members to be sitting around in hotels or at home alone, so once everyone’s bellies were satisfied from lunch, 13 of the men headed out to Warren and Joan Ott’s farm for a chili fellowship.
Our charming moderator Jamie Bettes welcomed us to the weekend. Opening remarks were given by Merna Leisure-Eppick, who went over the history of United’s women’s weekends and noted that 14,000 women worldwide have attended these weekends.
Wanda Cook had to stay home due to her health but soldiered on and recorded a beautiful piano solo of “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen for us to enjoy. This was followed by a get acquainted activity, “Are You A Lion, Otter, Golden Retriever, or Beaver?” led by Laurie Cogle. The activity had us all thinking about what qualities we either had or didn’t have and comparing notes with one another.
Our keynote speaker from the St. Louis area was Donna Robinson. Her speech titled, “There are Blessings Even in Despair” centered around her aunt and mother who both died of ALS and how her mother did not let ALS defeat her and retained her humor through it all.
The next speech was titled, “Strength Rooted in Joyful Service” given by Emily New. She spoke of joy and being a light. A few takeaways were: “Joy is deeper than happiness,” “Joy can overflow into generosity” and “There is strength in community.” We continued with table discussions led by Cristal Curtis and then began the silent auction.
On Sunday, while the men went off to breakfast together, we heard a speech from speaker Cheryl Carlson called, “Never Give Up!” She explained how she came into the Church, ended up marrying two different men with the last name Carlson, and how she survived being a widow twice with the love of God.
Our next speaker Rachelle New, asked the difficult question, what five books of the Bible would you keep if you could have only five? She then gave us a wonderful iron sharpening iron 31-day wisdom challenge. Another group activity was led by Rhonda Lopez. Each table was handed a kit of supplies to create a snowman. As the weekend was cold, it seemed an appropriate craft. It was a fun project, and we all ended up laughing and trying to show off our crafty prowess.
Jamie Bettes was our next speaker. She told us about two toxic relationships she had with her dad and ex-husband and how that affected her. She also spoke of how God had worked with her before she was led to the Church and her current husband. Our final speaker was Linda Boswell whose topic was “Overcoming Nothing.” She explained how she had been targeted by a scammer, and how she finally came through it with God’s help.
As the day wound down our silent auction ended. Overall, with donations, we raised $2,000. The funds will be split between the women of Zambia and LifeNets for whatever use is most urgent at the time. The ladies also signed cards that will be given to LifeNets to be distributed to the Zambian ladies.
The remainder of the day was spent enjoying some rambunctious minute-to-win-it games and hearing closing remarks by Donna Robinson and Linda Martens. What a fun and wonderful weekend it was! We all look forward to welcoming even more ladies next year! -Lorelei Nettles
