May 3, 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!

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 Duininck's home in Prinsburg. Everyone is welcome.

Unity Church Announcements

Building Project Update: All exterior work on the new building is about finished and work on the removal and replacement of the west parking lot should begin soon.

The pews are scheduled to arrive next week Monday, May 11, and installation should be completed by the end of next week.  We are waiting for some more fireplace stone and that is scheduled for installation May 18.  The carpet will not be laid in the gathering area until the fireplace is complete.  Hopefully the audio equipment will be installed the week of May 18 along with acoustical panels.   We hope to thoroughly clean the new building with volunteers the last week of May and hold our first worship service in the new facility on Sunday, May 31. 

In the next couple of weeks we hope to move the offices and nurseries into the new addition from their temporary locations in classrooms.  All the classrooms will then scheduled to be renovated so we will again be calling on our volunteer painters.

The new addition will be blocked off on Sundays for the next couple of weeks and we ask that you stay out of the new construction areas.  Much of the concrete floor in the auditorium has been prepared for sealer and must not be walked on.  As construction winds down there are areas that have or will have new carpet and other finished surfaces, while other areas still have construction dust which we do not want tracked around.  Thank you in advance for your cooperation!

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!

***The community meal sign up sheets have disappeared! If you signed up last week to work, bring a lasagna or a dessert please sign up again. Please accept our apologies! Thank you so much for all your help!

SRYG Fundraiser!: Youth Group is offering to install docks as a fundraiser for the upcoming Chicago mission trip and ongoing youth group expenses.  If you would like your dock installed please contact Kirk Vander Pol and we will do our best to work out a time that fits your schedule.

Mental Health Month!: May is Mental Health Awareness month.  On Monday, May 11th, Central MN Christian School will host an informational meeting with Wendell Veurink, a school and family counselor with Greater MN Family Services. Mr. Veurink will talk about common mental health conditions, how to recognize them in your loved ones, and ways to promote positive mental health habits. There will also be time for questions and discussion.  This meeting will take place at Prinsburg in the high school music room at 7:00 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend.

Quote for the day... "Any relationship, if it is going to grow, needs private space, time together without an agenda, where you can get to know each other. This creates an environment where closeness can happen, where we can begin to understand each other's hearts. 

You don't create intimacy; you make room for it.  This is true whether you are talking about your spouse, your friend, or God. You need space to be together. Efficiency, multitasking, and busyness all kill intimacy.  In short, you can't get to know God on the fly.

- A Praying Life by Paul Miller""

Used by permission of Pray!  Copyright 2009, The Navigators.  Used by permission of NavPress.  All rights reserved.  To subscribe, visit www.praymag.com or call (800-691-7729.)"

Mayor's Prayer Breakfast "Holy Stones and Living Stones" (Reflections on a recent trip to Israel & Palestine): If you are interested in attending the Mayors Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, May 7th, from 6:30am - 8:00am, tickets are available from the office until Monday, May 4th. Cost of the tickets is $10.00. The Prayer Breakfast will be held at the Willmar Holiday Inn & Conference Center. Special speaker will be Pastor Jon V. Anderson, Bishop of Southwestern Minnesota Synod, ELCA.

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

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!

BUTTER BRAIDS FOR BREAST CANCER!!! Now is your chance to order butter braids and receive them before graduation (they make a great alternative to cake)!  Three girls from our area (Sarah Punt, Allison Warne and Katie Ziehl) are selling butterbraids in order to raise enough money to do the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for a Cure in Minneapolis on August 21 - 23, 2009.  This walk is a 60-mile walk spread over 3 days (20 miles per day).  Each participant in this walk is required to raise a minimum of $2,300 (all proceeds go towards breast cancer research).  We have our work cut out for us, but we are all very hopeful and excited to be able to walk for a cure in August!  We would gladly welcome anyone who would be interested in joining our team for this walk!  Otherwise, you can help us make it happen by making a donation or by ordering butter braids!  The available flavors are:  Cinnamon, Blueberry Cream Cheese, Cherry, Apple, Cream Cheese, Raspberry and Carmel Rolls (9 ct.).  The cost is $10 each.  Feel free to share this ordering opportunity with family, friends and co-workers!  Please make checks payable to:  Sarah Punt and place your order form and check in your church secretary's mailbox by Sunday, May 10!  Your butter braids will be delivered to the Prinsburg First CRC Fellowship Hall on Wednesday, May 20 and can be picked up at 5pm.  If you have a conflict with the pick up date or time, we would be happy to make other arrangements for you to get your butter braids.  Please call Sarah Punt (320) 979-6941 or Allison Warne (320) 894-3346 with any questions!  Thank you in advance for your support.;

Joppa this week: Tuesday, May 5- Men's Bible Study "The Purity Principle" led by Tony Martin, 5:30 at YFC; Contentment and Happiness DVD (Part 2), 7:00 at YFC. Friday, May 8- Party at the Link's, 7 pm at Heidi & Heather's farm.   Joppa is a young adult ministry affiliated with West Central MN Youth For Christ. We meet at the YFC building (the Warehouse) on the corner of 1st street and Litchfield Ave. Check us out at www.joppaonline.org. 

YATEC: Young Adults Together Encounter Christ (YATEC), an outreach ministry for young adults will be held June 12-14 at First Covenant Church, 801 Willmar Avenue SW, Willmar, MN. YATEC is an intense, event packed, worship filled, life-changing, 3 day retreat which focuses on the life of Christ. It is a weekend for spiritual growth, and for loving and serving others. If you need to be refreshed by the Spirit or you know someone needing to be introduced to Christ, YATEC is a place to do both. For candidate applications, please go to www.yatecmn.org If you have questions, please call 320-905-034