April 26, 2009

THE WEEKLY CALENDAR

Today (4th Sunday):

10:00am: Morning Worship

Children ages 3-preK and K-1 will be invited  by announcement to go to Children's Church!

7:30pm: SNL at The Rock on 8th!

Monday:

4:45pm: Worship Planning

Wednesday:

7:00pm: Men's Jail Ministry

7:00pm: 7th - 12th Youth Group

Next Sunday (1st Sunday):

8:30am: Temple Prayers

9:00am: Sunday School 3rd - 12^th

9:00am: Missions Prayer Time

10:00am: Worship

Children ages 3-preK and K-1 will be invited  by announcement to go to Children's Church!

7:30pm: SNL at The Rock on 8^th

Mark Your Calendars!

Missions Prayer Time Next Week: You are invited to join the Missions & Outreach Team for a time of prayer for our missionaries at 9:00am next week (and the first Sunday of each month).

Open House Bridal Shower: You are invited to an Open House Bridal Shower honoring, Hilary Marcus, Bride-elect of Joel Boonstra on Saturday, May 2nd, from 10:00am - 12:00noon at the 1st CRC Fellowship hall. Hilary & Joel are registered at Target & Herberger's.

Open House Bridal Shower: You are invited to an Open House Bridal Shower honoring, Erin Kate Parrish-Siggelkow, bride-elect of Ben Duininck on Saturday, May 9th, 10:00am - 12:00pm at Val D's home in Prinsburg. Everyone is welcome.

Unity Church Announcements

Our Love, Prayers & Sympathy: Our prayers & sympathy go out to Jeff & Jewell and the rest of the family in the loss of Jewell's older brother Bill who passed away in his sleep Wednesday night.

Our prayers & sympathy go out to Dave & Laura & family in the loss of Laura's uncle, Daryl, who passed away this past Thursday.

Our prayers & sympathy go out to Willis & Gret, Eric & Danielle, Aaron & Tracey & the families in the loss of their Mother & grandmother, Minnie, who passed away this past Wednesday.

Praise & Prayer: Linda had successful surgery this past Thursday, returning home on Friday. Please continue to remember her in your prayers as she heals.

Grandbaby Congratulations: Daryl and Bev have finally joined the ranks of Grandma and Grandpa! Nick and Jonikka had a baby girl on April 22 at 12:29pm. Her name is Eliana and she is 6lb 9 oz. Eliana is Hebrew meaning "God has answered my prayer". What a fitting name for this awesome answer to our prayers.

A Fisher Food Shower: At the suggestion of a few in the congregation we will be hosting a food shower for Wendy and Trey as they return to Prinsburg this week.  The cupboards are bare and Christina Vander Pol has agreed to be the hostess/drop off site for all food gifts.  Please consider giving a few items to help restock the Fisher pantry!

Food Shower Suggestions:

Ground beef or chicken breast or other frozen meats

Prepared frozen lasagna or frozen skillet meals

Frozen Garlic Bread

Fresh fruit, vegetables, potatoes and/or sweet potatoes

Canned soup (tomato, cream of mushroom, cream of chicken)

Spaghetti Sauce and spaghetti noodles

Cereal or packaged oatmeal

Cereal bars

Granola bars

Teddy grahams

Applesauce

Goldfish crackers

Microwave Popcorn

Yogurt

Cheese

Butter

Eggs

Pancake Mix and syrup

Small homemade meals for 2-4 or a few fresh-baked cookies or bars would be especially appreciated, or consider giving enough for a small meal such as:

spaghetti sauce, noodles, and garlic bread, or chicken breast, a can of cream of mushroom soup, and a frozen or fresh vegetable

Jon Schroeder Family Benefit: There will be a benefit dinner (carry-out available) and a silent auction held TODAY! April 26, 2009 from 11:00am - 2:00pm at the Renville Community Center in Renville, MN.  The freewill offering benefit is for the family of Jon Schroeder who passed away March 31 from a rare lung disease. This benefit will help Stacie (Vreeman) Schroeder and her children with expenses. There will be "Cards by Reese" available for purchase that day also and orders can be placed in the event of a sellout.  If anyone would be willing to volunteer your time to helping with the benefit or if you are willing to donate items to the silent auction please contact Roger & Mary A. Everyone is welcome!

Cards by Reese: If you are interested in purchasing Cards by Reese you can email your order to cardsbyreese@gmail.com, call the church office and place your order or go to cardsbyreese.com. You can purchase cards in a pack of 6 for $11.00.

Building Report: Building construction is quickly nearing completion. Marcus Construction hopes to be mostly done in two weeks at which time our architect, Tom Johnson, will come and make a final inspection.  Pews and the sound booth will be installed by New Holland Custom Woodwork the week of June 11th and then New Life Communications will begin installation of our audio/video equipment the following week. The installation of kitchen cabinets and equipment is nearing   completion and our volunteer painters are making good progress in the existing building.  Xcel Energy finally came this week to switch the electrical to the new source.  This made it possible to remove the old electrical connections from the wall in the new nursery and construction can now resume in that area.   It won't be long now until we hold our first    service in the new facility!

We have hired Jason and Laura Dannen to be the custodians for our church.  They will be responsible for maintaining both the building and the grounds.  We appreciate their desire and willingness to work in this position!

We are in the process of compiling a "Gift Registry" for our new building.  There are a number of items, particularly furnishings,that were not included in our budget.  Hopefully, when the list is made available, various members will be willing to purchase items on the list for the church.

The contractor is giving us a $2,000 credit if we do the final cleaning of the building at the end of construction.  We've agreed to take Marcus Construction up on this offer so we're going to need lots of volunteers (and Windex).

Pictures Needed!: Work has begun on the Dedication/Anniversary celebration that will take place in August.  We are looking for pictures that you might have of events that have taken place over the past 25 years.  We are looking specifically for pictures that cover the last 15 years.  Please contact Mary A if you have any pictures that you would like to share.

Unity's Newsletter: Unity will be putting out the next newsletter on Sunday, May 17th! Please submit to the office your birth announcements, engagement announcements, wedding announcements and any other special announcements you would like to see in the newsletter! Parents of Seniors (High School and College!) please submit your graduates information, (Photo, graduation date, open houses, future plans, activities they were involved with in school) (College graduates what are your plans after graduation? Work, more school?)

National Day of Prayer: The National Day of Prayer is Thursday, May 7. You are invited to begin this day by joining many others from this area at a Prayer Breakfast at the Holiday Inn in Willmar, starting at 6:30am.  Breakfast will be served until 7:00am.  Following breakfast, the guest speaker will be Pastor Jon V. Anderson, sharing reflections on his recent trip to Israel and Palestine. The morning will also include moments of prayer and worship. Cost is just $10. Tickets are available through our church office. The breakfast is hosted by the Willmar Mayor's office and the Willmar Area Ministerial Association.

National Day of Prayer & Community Meal: Unity CRC has accepted the invitation of Willmar CRC to join with them for a Prayer Night and Community Meal on Thursday, May 7, as part of National Day of Prayer.  1st Reformed Church of Willmar will also be joining in for the evening.  A community meal will be served at Willmar CRC from 5-7:30pm, open to all three church fellowships and anyone from the community who wishes to come and eat.  At the same time, worship and prayer, led by Unity & Willmar worship leaders, will be hosted in the Willmar CRC sanctuary, with a "come and go as you wish" format.  The heart of the evening is to break bread together and pray together. 

WE NEED YOUR HELP!: To help out at the community meal (expecting about 300 people), Unity is asked for the following:  7 (seven) lasagnas(9x13), 7 (seven) desserts (9x13), 3-4 volunteers to help serve from 4-6pm (first shift), and about $85 to cover a portion of the costs for salad, bread, and beverages. CAN WE COUNT ON YOU?  Sign Up sheets and a donation box are located in the back of the sanctuary.  Recipes for the lasagna are attached to the sign up sheet.  THANKS!  Mark your calendars TODAY for this special time together as churches next Thursday evening!

Community Announcements

Jarveis Family Benefit: There will be a Dad's Belgian Waffle Supper & Silent Auction Benefit for the Jarveis family on Thursday, May 28th 4:30-7:30pm at CMCS. More details to come! If you have any questions please contact: Tricia Nelson or Kris TeBrake

Camp G.K. Bear: 2009 Camp Date and Location are Saturday, May 2, 2009 10:0 am - 3:00 pm at St. Mary's Church 713 12the Street SW Willmar, MN. For more information or to register call: The Grief Center 320-230-4714. Also see the flyer and registration form on the bulletin board by the mailboxes.

"Voices of the 60's": The Prairie Arts Chorale will present "Voices of the 60s-A Magical Musical Tour". Concert dates and locations are as follows:

Redwood Falls-Friday, May 1, 7:30pm

New London-Saturday, May 2, 7:30pm

Marshall-Sunday, May 3, 4:00pm

*** For ticket information, contact Paul Knapper

New 2 You Thrift Store: The New 2 You Thrift Store (next to Napa in Willmar) is looking for volunteers to help with tagging, sorting, and basic store functions.  You can work one day a week, ½ day, every other week, or every day if you want!  There are many different volunteer positions that you can choose from.  We need the young, old, and everyone in between-both men and women.  If this is something that you can do, please contact Becky at the store 320 231-1850 from 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.  We would love to have you come and help. Bring your friends!

Hymn Sing, Bethany Reformed Church, Sunday, May 3 at 6:00PM: Join us for an evening of fun with music as we sing and listen to hymns that we have grown to love throughout the years.  The evening will begin with a medley of songs entitled "The Old Country Church" sung by Dalen Caspers, Chuck Ammermann, and Terry Vreeman, accompanied by Merlyn Cadwell, Lee Hagemeyer, and Pam Knapper. Dalen, Merlyn and Lee will also favor us with an instrumental medley.  We welcome you to join us for an evening of music!

Joppa This Week: Tuesday 4/28 5:30pm, Purity Principle (Guys only Bible Study) Tuesday 4/28 6:30pm, Contentment and Happiness Part 1:  Following Jesus in a World of Plastic Promises- DVD study