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Jeff Cochran, Pastor Church Office Manse/Pastor 513 Seabury St., PO Box 303 606 Sixth St., PO Box 29 Effingham Ks. 66023 Effingham, Ks. 66023 913-833-4481 Office 913-833-2379 Manse Email: effunionsec@gmail.com Email: effunionpastor@gmail.com Cindy Pangburn, Sec. Jeff Cochran |
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Schedule Sunday School all ages 9AM (during Sept to May Worship Services 10AM (9 AM from June thru August)
Women's Circles: Mary-Martha Circle (1st Wed. of Feb, June, Sept, & Nov @ 7:00 p.m.) Nite Circle (3rd Monday of mo. @ 7:00 p.m.)
Call the Church for details.
Presbyterian Connections
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EFFINGHAM UNION CHURCH SEPT 2023
FROM THE PASTOR Well, it’s September. Now is when school really kicks into gear and things get going. Do you notice that the whole community of a school district now starts to revolve around what is happening at the school? We Jesus people are no exception. We get rolling along with it all also. All of which got me cruising down a rabbit trail. Shouldn’t we followers of Jesus be getting more intentional also about getting together and learning and teaching more about Jesus?? In the gospel of Matthew two passages have been on my mind about this: Matthew 11:28-30, and 28:18-20. I have at times called these the come and go passages: Jesus wants us all to come and learn of/from him and then go and teach of/about him. I have yet to find an escape clause/loop hole for any follower of Jesus about this. Before we can teach (as we are commanded to do) we must learn (as we are called to do). Then what we have learned pass on to others to help them follow Jesus. The question we have before us this September is, “How goes it?”
Grace and Peace in Christ, Pastor Jeff
BOARD NOTES Effingham Union Church Board of Directors met August 13, 2023, 11:00 am in the Ed Building. PRESENT: Amy Eckert, James Fasse, Craig Gigstad, Diane Kiehl, Cindy Ladd, Janette Martin, Elaine Oakleaf, Gigi Perry, J R Perry, Angie Seymour, Keith Young and Pastor Jeff. ABSENT: Mike Pangburn Guests: Harvey Fasse & Jayne Wehking.
Chairperson Cindy Ladd called the meeting to order and opened with prayer. The Clerk, Gigi Perry reported that the Church had received the disaffiliated letter from the Great Plains Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church dated June 30, 2023
Pastor Jeff reported on several members of the church with health problems. He gave out 15 communion cups at Vintage Park and participated in the hymn sing with Tammy Gigstad, Jayne Wehking and Vicki Jones, the Vintage Park singers.
Fundraiser – All Aboard Atchison - Jayne Wehking reported that All Aboard Atchison will be Friday, August 18 from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm and invites everyone to come by the booth. Diane Kiehl, Cindy Ladd, Harvey Fasse, Tammy Gigstad and Jayne Wehking have volunteered to be at the booth. Donations are due from August 18 thru August 20, and you can also give donations online and watch the leader board.
Summer Sounds Community Concert – Amy reported she has gotten a keyboard and sound system and would appreciate having the song requests in by August 18 so she can have the music to play along, and the program finalized. Harvey Fasse reported that he has reserved the Blue Building in case the weather is too hot to be outside. James Fasse handed out a sample song list.
Fair Stand – Jayne reported that the Fair Stand had around $2,700 in expenses and after all collections we should have profited above $10,000. The committee thanked everyone for helping with working, making pies and cookies but next year the hours will be adjusted due to not having enough help during the afternoon hours. Also, wanted to thank Tammy and Craig Gigstad for providing the portable air conditioner in the fair stand.
Pastor Jeff closed with prayer.
Respectfully submitted, Gigi Perry, Board Clerk Cindy Ladd, Chairperson
August…wow…what a busy month for the Effingham Union Church family.
We jumped right in the first of the month with many folks helping serve, bake and keep food ready to serve at the fair stand. Not only was the project a boost to our budget but we were able to share Christian witness with our smiles and helpful hands.
Later in the month we experienced our first All Aboard Atchison. The charitable givers that are supporting our building fund once again stepped up to help us reach our goal of $8,533 and thus we will receive the maximum MATCH of $5,000 additional dollars. Donors actually helped us exceed our goal. This helps our Building Fund thermometer take a great upward leap.
Summer Sounds, a community music event was a tremendous success. Church choirs, family groups, music students and area musicians provided an evening of delightful music. Ice cream and tasty cookies and a silent auction were part of the evening fun.
THANK YOU, church family, for tirelessly working together to share God’s blessings of love and joy.
Cindy Ladd, Board Chair
Sept 4 LABOR DAY Sept 6 JAM resumes Sept 7 Mary Martha Circle meeting Sept 10 Sunday School resumes Ice cream float Sunday Church Board meeting at 11:00 a.m. Sept. 18 Night Circle Sept 26 Second Harvest Sept 29 Topeka Rescue Mission trip Oct 1 Newsletter
You can donate non-perishables such as: Peanut Butter, Jelly, Cereal, Canned Tuna, Chicken, Tuna Helper, Spaghetti and Sauce, Instant Mac and Cheese, Soup, Crackers, Canned Vegetables, and Canned Fruit.
Monetary donations are accepted with checks made payable to: THE FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH with memo to: THE ATCHISON COUNTY FOOD PANTRY @ FCC. The address is First Christian Church, 301 N 7th, Atchison, KS 66002
FINANCIAL UPDATE Our approved budget for 2023 was $118,224.91. This means the general budget plate offerings needed per month to meet this budget should total $9,852.08.
January plate offerings were $5,910.00 February plate offerings were $4,030.75 March plate offerings were $6,252.00 April plate offerings were $7,138.29 May plate offerings were $6,757.20 June plate offerings were $7,253.34 July plate offerings were $6,257.00
WEEKLY CARE & PRAYER The Vitality group is encouraging our church family to connect with and show care for others. Every week there will be two names in the bulletin: A name from the prayer list and a church family name. For example: Jane Smith (from prayer list) and Marci Jones, from our church family.
We are asking everyone to intentionally pray for the people noted that week. Along with prayers, if you are inclined, send a note or card saying you are thinking of them, praying for them or whatever you are led to say. If a phone call is your strength, that works! Watch for the first names to appear!
FLOAT INTO FALL Let’s “float” into the new church year by enjoying delicious ice cream floats after worship service on September 10th. Come, learn about the educational opportunities of the Union Church. You are NEVER too old to attend Sunday School.
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL The arrival of a new school year means the exciting arrival of learning opportunities at Effingham Union Church. First off, back by popular demand, is our Children’s Church. Laura Gigstad from the Christian Education Committee has secured the curriculum “Celebrate Wonders.” This study honors the spiritual life for children. The inquiries in the Bible this fall will include stories about God’s Creations in creativity, faith and blessings. Each lesson will include a craft or activity, Bible verse and story to share with the family. Children ages 3-9 can come join at children’s church time during worship. Worship service begins at 10:00 am.
A new class offered this fall will be for Junior High welcoming grades 5th-8th. This class will meet at 9:00 am so students will not miss worship service. The curriculum will include 12 wild truth Bible lessons with principles relevant to real life. The studies include passages from the old and new testaments such as I and II Kings, Numbers, I Timothy and the book of Luke. Come join us at 9:00 am for snacks and scripture.
As always, high school age, adult and basically everyone is invited to the “intergenerational” class which meets at 9:00 am. After enjoying several seasons of viewing “The Chosen” and working through the related Bible studies, our direction will turn toward a varied curriculum. We will be taking a tour through the Holy Land titled “In the Footsteps of the Savior” which is a DVD and related Bible study by Max Lucado. After that series, we will do a study on the book of Acts followed by a series on the Christian community. This class is relaxed and is a great opportunity for Christian fellowship.
SUMMER SOUNDS Although the Summer Sounds Community Concert was relocated to the inside of the Blue Building on Sunday night, August 20th, it was still a wonderful event. And much, much cooler! A wonderful group of talented people shared their musical talents in front of a very large crowd. Thank you to all the performers! Many braved the heat outdoors to come and join in hearing the great music and enjoying tasty ice cream and cookies. There were many positive comments heard about how nice it was to get the community together in this way to socialize. Cliff and Kate Oswald were very gracious to provide, deliver and set up the sound system that was used. Amy Eckert sought out and organized the performers for the evening. James Fasse compiled all the advertising fliers, song books and was the master of ceremonies. Board of Director President, Cindy Ladd welcomed the crowd and helped with announcements of the evening. Diane Kiehl obtained the ice cream and coordinated the cookie offerings from our bakers. We ended up with over 20 donated items for the silent auction which were well received. Total donations at the door and to the auction items totaled $2,572. Thank you to all that contributed or helped work the various stations that allowed this evening to happen.
ALL ABOARD The All aboard Atchison Match Day results are in and it was a huge success!! Our donation total was $14,532.20 which surpassed our goal and will enable us to receive the full $5000 in matching funds from the Atchison Area Community Foundation. (The odd dollars and cents are due to the card processing fees which donors elected to pay on our behalf. Thank you) The foundation will keep a small percentage in administrative fees for conducting this event, but we will still be netting a sizable amount to boost our building fund. Thank you to the church members that manned the table/booth at the live event on Friday, August 18 in order to publicize our cause to a wider audience of the entire Atchison county community. An even bigger, thank you goes to all of the donors who contributed to our account and enabled us to meet our goals. Thank You to All!!
FAIR REFLECTIONS Reflecting on the Fair Stand after the dust has settled…. We are happy another year is in the books. We are also happy for EVERYONE who helped in any way big or small. It’s amazing how our young people came in and were great waiters, change makers and order givers. The “not so young” were awesome as well. Our fair stand helpers go from age 6 to 88 or so! It is not easy on the brain or body but they kicked in! And we couldn’t do it without those in the middle! We knew some of our pie bakers were down this year but some new bakers kicked in and some of our regulars hit home runs and baked many pies in one day. Even if someone made just one pie, we appreciate it. The Monster Cookies continue to be a hit! We try to order mostly hometown through Martha Frederick in Effingham and Alps in Atchison. They do a good job in giving us their best price and help in ordering. The stand has had AC in the back for a few years which is very helpful, but the front line was still warm on hot days. Craig Gigstad installed an additional portable AC unit for the week this year and the front line was very grateful and cool. So, the committee is always thinking and trying to improve things for the next year. In fact, a “potato order sticky sheet” was created this year by someone in very quick fashion one afternoon. If you’ve ever taken three orders for a baked potato at once with all different toppings it is a challenge for the person in the potato station to remember! I hate to name names, but we do thank Steve Caplinger for making the BBQ pork year after year. Also, to Diana Hawk for making the cinnamon rolls each day. Thanks to David Todd for taking over the financial tasks this year. The fair stand funds help pay the bills and is important to our church. Thanks to all! Diane Kiehl
Fair stand committee: Covell Hawk, Jayne Wehking, Diane Kiehl; and Leonard Hawk, retired but still working.
Our mission for serving lunch at the Topeka Rescue Mission is in need of volunteers after September. If interested see Cindy Ladd.
EXTRA HANDS NEEDED JAM Kids could use some extra hands for adult supervision. Can you help? We meet from 3:30 – 5:30 pm on Wednesdays, starting September 6th. If you can only help for part of that time from, we’d still love the help. If you can’t help every Wednesday, but could be a substitute, we’d love that too! Sincerely, The JAM Kids Team
Summer Sounds event was a super success! Thank you to all who helped make this happen. Times of community fellowship are a blessing to all.
Thank you to those who traveled to the Topeka Rescue Mission on Friday, August 25. They were Janette Martin, Nancy Haufler, Laurie McKinnon and Rika Rowe. Thank you for taking time to support this mission.
Thank you for your prayers, cards and calls. Please continue to pray for me as I still have a couple of hurdles to clear. God bless you all!!! Alice Johnson
WELCOME A LITTLE BLESSING Calvin William Patrick Perry was born August 4, 2023. Parents are Matt and Caitlin Perry; grandparents are JR & Gigi Perry. Welcome little one!
FROM GOD’S MOUTH TO OUR EARS 2 Corinthians 12:9–10. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.
John 8: 31 and 32. To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, 'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God …
HUMOR IS THE BEST MEDICINE
DID YOU KNOW? The oldest computer was owned by Adam and Eve. It was an Apple with very limited memory—just 1 byte and everything crashed.
LOL Last night I was walking home and decided to take a short cut past the cemetery… Three girls walked up to me and explained that they were really scared to walk past cemetery at night, so I agreed to let them walk along me. I told them “…I used to be freaked out too when I was alive…” Never seen anyone run that fast!!...
Gleaned from Facebook
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