Back home
When Vince and I came back late Wednesday, we definitely felt we were coming “home,” and that was a good feeling. Our trip to Chicago was a wonderful, low-key time with our daughter and with many different friends there. We talked, we cooked, we ate, we worshipped, we saw movies, we completed household projects, we played games, and we slept.
And now we’re back again with all of you in southwest Ohio and northern Kentucky. It’s good to be back!
I especially want to thank the Nexus folk – Reg Olson, Michelle Wilkey, Leslie Baum, Mark Smith, Chip Bramlage, and the Nexus band & singers – who stepped up and made worship possible last Sunday. If you missed the good sermon by the Rev. Henry Marksberry, you can still listen to it at our website. Click “Listen In” at www.nexusucc.org
Was Jesus a socialist, a non-political community organizer, or…??
These are some of the questions that have come up lately in an on-going debate in the letter-to-the-editors section of the Hamilton Journal. (Thanks to Judy Waldron, some of the links are
The rhetoric has been fiery, the comments less than polite, and the theology dubious. But I confess that I am (mostly) glad to see folks desperately trying to connect their faith with what’s going on in our country today.
In worship Sunday we won’t try to take on all these questions, but we will explore “What’s really important?” The story of how Jesus began his ministry in his hometown (Luke 4:14-21) guides us today to focus our energies on what’s really important.
Opportunities to learn, to serve, and to follow Jesus
I’ve never seen more opportunities for us all to put our faith into action. Some are one-time events, some are several weeks long. Some are right here in southwest Ohio, some are elsewhere.
Below is yet another updated list of ministry opportunities that have recently come across my desk. The new ones are at the top. I kept the previous ones at the bottom so that you could have them all together in one place. By the way, if you know of more opportunities, please let me know, and I will share them.
May the fire of God’s Spirit warm you through and through,
Mike
A Potpourri of Opportunities
Life after Death – an eCourse with Bishop Spong
Do you wrestle with the big questions of life, death and life beyond death? Here’s an opportunity to soak up sixty years of scholarly study, wisdom and experience. Join with others in exploring Bishop Spong’s latest book Is There an Afterlife- A New Vision Beyond Religion, Beyond Theism, Beyond Heaven and Hell.
The e-course will run from Monday to Friday over three weeks (January 25- February 12, 2010). You will receive an email each morning that you can study at your leisure. In this e-course, you will receive summaries of each chapter, key quotes from the book plus searching questions for further reflection. You will be able to interact with other participants on the e-course discussion board. The cost is $17.
For more details:
Healthy activity in Butler County
Great Miami Valley YMCA and Lakota YMCA are partnering with local health organizations to offer an exciting new program to encourage the community to get active and get healthy.
This is a FREEyear-round healthy living awareness program that challenges youth and adults to get active and get healthy. There is also a group challenge component. This can be a great way to get your office or work group motivated and excited about leading a healthier lifestyle…and it’s FREE!
The kick-off event is Feb 20 and they need a variety of volunteers. If you are able to be a volunteer for part or all of Saturday, Feb 20, please see me for a registration form or contact Kim Harrison at the Y (harrison@gmvymca.org).
Essay Contest for Youth Advocates
SIECUS, Advocates for Youth and the Sierra Club are sponsoring an essay contest for advocates between the ages of 16 and 24 as part of the fifth annual One Voice: Reproductive Health and Population Summit. Contestants are invited to submit 500-word essays on the roles youth play in advocating for a more just and sustainable world, where all have access to sexual and reproductive health services and a healthy environment. The winner will receive a trip to the One Voice summit inWashington, D.C.(March 26-29, 2010). Deadline for entries is Feb. 3, 2010.
Grassroots work for LGBT rights
Equality Ohiois forming local action teams to build a grassroots movement for equality across Ohio.
The major activates of the local action teams include
- Speaking locally on behalf of equality in an organized, unified manner at a moment’s notice;
- Visiting with Senate District state elected officials in-district on a quarterly basis and on Lobby Day each year to discuss pro-equality issues;
- Visiting with Senate District local elected officials and media as needed to discuss pro-equality issues at the municipal level;
- Creating a record of legislator and media visits and outcomes over time;
- Working with Faith leaders in Ohio’s major cities to educate legislators, the community and media about LGBT equality.
Spread the word about children, obesity, and advertising
A recent report by Children Now found that in ten hours of television programming, a child will see 55 commercials for the least nutritious food, compared with only one commercial for highly nutritious food. With the holiday season behind us, will you make a New Year's resolution to bring this problem into the national spotlight? You can start right now by using an easy on-line form to tell your friends about this campaign: http://act.ucc.org/site/Ecard?ecard_id=1181
Spare Kids the Ads is a national campaign sponsored in part by our contributions to the United Church of Christ. For more details:
Kenya, service, health
Nexus Churchand other UCC churches in the Southwest Ohio Northern Kentucky Association (SONKA) have a special relationship with Rubate, Kenya.
Rubate is the location of the “the clinic that love built,” the medical facility which sits on the campus of the Presbyterian Teachers College/Rubate. It was entirely built by SONKA donations. More than two-thirds of the SONKA churches contributed to the construction of this modern medical clinic for the people of the Rubate neighborhood, who had no medical facility or personnel in their area to turn to in times of sickness or injury. The Rubate clinic was dedicated in the fall of 2007.
This summer another group of volunteers will leave for a service/work trip to Rubate. The tentative dates are June 21 – July 7. The cost for airfare, ledgering, meals, and work equipment is estimated to be $3,000. This year’s trip will include, but is not limited to, people who have some experience in the medical, dental, physical therapy, educational and related fields.
Preliminary applications may be downloaded from the SONKA website:
Digital media, worship, and Lent
United Theological Seminary in Daytonwill offer an all day workshop Saturday, Feb. 6, for individuals or media teams about how to use digital media to enhance the church’s journey through Lent.
Participants will be divided into teams and will write a script, storyboard ideas, and shoot and edit video. A DVDwill be created of each group’s work and provided to all workshop participants for use at their home churches during Lent. The cost is $50 per person, including lunch. Enrollment is limited to 50 participants.
One of the instructors will be Jim Eller (jeller@united.edu) who visited with us at Nexus at our Anniversary Luncheon in December. For more information:
Summer camp, s’mores, and snow
The Ohio Conference of the UCC invites everyone to experience camp Jan.29-30 at Templed Hills campground near Bellville,Ohio 44813.
Campers can stay overnight Friday in one of the winterized cabins (slumber-party-style, with boys in one cabin and girls in another). Check in will be from 5 6:30 p.m.on Friday, Jan. 29, followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m.and a campfire, complete with s'mores and camp songs. The next day, campers will enjoy some typical camp activities. Parents and grandparents are welcome. Saturday only campers are also welcome.
There is no charge for the rally, but freewill donations are always welcome
Register on-line at
New Orleans, homes, work
A trip to work on homes in New Orleanswhich were damaged by Hurricane Katrina is being planned by the Ohio Conference for May 1-9. Housing will be in the St. Paul’s Fellowship Hall in the Uptown district of New Orleans, which is a pleasant, safe neighborhood. St. Paul’s is equipped with bunk beds, air mattresses and has generous bathrooms, with multiple showers, for each sex.
The individual cost will be about $300, which will cover transportation, housing and group meals at the church. Meals while traveling and any New Orleansrestaurant meals will be each person’s responsibility. There will be opportunities for touring and sightseeing.
For details or to register, contact Jim Ditzler, Ohio Conference Disaster Response Team Co-Director, at 330/262-3242 orjditzler@sssnet.com.
Maternal mortality, reproductive health
The Religious Institute has launched the Rachel Sabbath Initiative to engage faith communities in educating their congregants about the crisis of maternal mortality worldwide.
According to the World Health Organization, maternal conditions are leading causes of death and disability; more than half-a-million women die from pregnancy-related conditions each year in the developing world. Nearly all maternal deaths are preventable through timely prenatal and postnatal care, skilled birth attendance during delivery, and the availability of emergency care to deal with complications.
A Rachel Sabbath project at Nexus might involve such activities as preaching on global women's health, holding an educational program on the crisis of maternal mortality, offering a prayer or responsive readings, or raising awareness through newsletter columns.
The initiative is named for the matriarch Rachel in the Hebrew Scriptures, who died in childbirth (Gen. 35: 16-19).
For more information:
Hope Floats2
The second Hope Floats cruise tour of Alaska will embark from VancouverJune 18. The cruise will help benefit Hope Homes’ ministry to those with developmental disabilities.
For more information, visit hopehomes.org and follow the "Hope Floats 2" links. Telephone
inquiries and reservations may be made to travel agent Sue Ball at Benefit Cruise at 216/4599094
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