This is Pastor Jon's letter from the June Parish Paragraphs:

These hymn lyrics from “For All the Saints” get me every time. We usually sing them on All Saints’ Day, but it seemed fitting to sing them during our 100th Anniversary worship as well this past May 7. Because indeed, we remember and honor and give thanks for those saints who fought the good fight and finished the race—and who, by God’s grace, planted and nurtured this divine fellowship that we call Point Place UCC.
I am not only grateful to those saints, but also to the saints of today, and in particular those who helped make our celebration a joyful weekend: Leslie and Chuck Geletzke, Diane Yarrito, Jim Armstrong, Lynette Thayer who organized the directory photos, Lori and Tina who emceed the dinner, and more!
I am also conscious that as many saints have “finished the race,” they have passed the baton on to us. As we have explored some “Lessons from Our Past” over the last few weeks, I want to reiterate this:
We don’t honor the past by preserving everything they created; we honor the past by imitating their creative spirit as we seek to follow God’s GO with faith, hope, and love.
This is now our work. As I take a partial sabbatical in July and as we come together in the fall, we will be asking the question, “What now?” How do we receive God’s call to “Go with God” into the next century. I hope you will be a part of that conversation. For to be among the saints is to be called.
Pastor Jon

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.
Hebrews 12:1-2

Holy Week is called "Holy" for a reason. It is a week set apart (holy) for something very special: the remembrance, experience, and celebration of Jesus' journey into Jerusalem to the Table to the Cross and out of the Tomb. This is the week the world was changed--and is still being changed relative to how closely Jesus' followers identify with and are shaped by the life and example of Jesus. 
As Walter Brueggemann writes, the call of the Church is "to practice the memory of Jesus and to let that memory be fully present tense." Below you can see some of the ways we are going to be "practicing the memory" together, including some very special events with other churches and out in the neighborhood.

Then, at 7pm, we will join with Northpoint and CrossPoint churches at RiverPoint in a service that will help us to contemplate the Cross and all that it means to us. Childcare will be available. 

to ​During Lent, we've been exploring the times Jesus called his disciples--and us--to GO.
But like any good leader, Jesus shows the way. Jesus was also called to “Go.” During this retreat, we will look at three places Jesus went, and contemplate what that means for us, his followers.
What do we learn about Jesus as he goes

• Into the wilderness
• ​Up the mount of Transfiguration
• To the Cross

Dave Meiser will lead us along these three journeys of Jesus to a deeper knowledge of "the Author and Perfector of our faith" and hopefully a clearer sense of what it means to walk in faith with him.
We hope you will take the time to make this journey with us as Lent moves into Holy Week and we reenact the central stories of our faith.

The season of Lent recalls Jesus' time in the wilderness after his baptism. But what was Jesus doing there? Certainly, his time in the wilderness was about more than just not eating. It is instructive to note WHEN Jesus is "cast out" into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit: the beginning of his public ministry. His temptations reflect the very things he will be tempted with as he begins his ministry as the Messiah, prophet, teacher. So we might say that Jesus' time in the wilderness was a time of focusing, listening, and setting the course. By stripping away all of life's other...stuff...Jesus could hear the gentle whisper of his Father clearly--a gentle whisper he would cling to when the demanding and tempting voices of the world would be at their loudest.
It is imperative as Jesus' followers, that we we follow Jesus into the wilderness sometimes: quieting the other voices that demand our attention, listening intently for God's gentle whisper.
But what does it mean to listen to God or to hear God's voice? That's what we will be doing during Lent: learning to discern God's voice among all the other voices. We will listen to God's voice speaking to us through Creation, through the Torah/Scriptures, through Jesus, and through community.
The 3D format will be:

• Dinner: we will share a simple supper of soup, crackers, bread, and water
• Devotion: we will be introduced to a text that helps us to hone in on God's voice, and then spend time individually listening for God's voice in that text
• Discussion: we will gather back to share how we have heard God speak...or not, and how we can encourage each other to keep listening

There will be activities for kids as well. We hope you will join!

“Go with God” Testimonies and Video: January-May, 2017
We are hoping to create a series of videos that share stories of times the church has responded to God’s call to “Go.” These will be shown individually during worship services, and then edited into a longer video that will be shown during our Anniversary events in May. We need people to tell stories and people with video-editing skills.
 
“Go and Bless” Ministry Project: January-December, 2017
We are targeting our neighborhood for blessing! Each month, we will have a different Point Place/Shoreland/Toledo group that we want to bless. You can sign up with others to bless a particular group during a particular month. Your group will receive $50 seed money for whatever form your blessing takes.
 
Point Place UCC History Book: January-May, 2017
Jumping off of our last history books, we would like to create a professionally bound history book detailing Point Place UCC’s first century. We could use help collecting stories, formatting the book, and coordinating its printing.
 
Point Place UCC History Wall: February-May, 2017
Susan Korecki is heading up this project to tell our story in the main entry area. We could use help with planning, crafting, purchasing, or executing this project.
 
All Church Hymn Sing: TBD likely Late Feb or early March, 2017
We want to invite all our sister churches in the Point/Shoreland area to join us in praising God with the classics! We could use help setting up the program, contacting churches, and providing refreshments.

“See All the People” Photo Shoot/Wall: March 26, 2017
We want to capture the essence of the church: its people. To do this, we are hoping to have a photo shoot that will turn into a photo wall in the lounge. We could use photographers, people willing to get their picture taken, and people to frame and hang photos.

100th Anniversary Logo T-Shirts
We are planning to print 100th Anniversary t-shirts. They are in the design phase right now, will be printed by Terry and Donna Serviss, and will be available for sale.
 
Point Place UCC Logo Mugs
These mugs will printed by Terry and Donna Serviss and available for purchase for twice the cost of production. The “profit” will be used to finance mugs that can be given to visitors.
 
100th Anniversary Celebration Worship: Sunday May 7, 2017
This worship service will celebrate 100 years of God’s faithfulness to PPUCC. We could use help planning the service, decorating the sanctuary, preparing coffee hour, and contacting guests.
 
100th Anniversary Celebration Dinner: Saturday May 6, 2017
This catered meal will invite members and leaders past and present to celebrate 100 years as a church. We could use help with decorations, invitations, set up/clean up, etc.
 
Point Place Days Parade Float: TBD, likely Saturday May 27, 2017
We would love to have a float/presence in the parade this year. We could have people who want to help plan the Parade (Feb. 6 is the first meeting) or simply coordinate our presence in the Parade.
 
Concert in the Park Ice-Cream: TBD, likely Tuesday June 14, 2017
As a way of blessing our neighborhood, we have spoken with the library about piggybacking on their annual “Concert in the Park” to serve ice cream and maybe provide a bounce house. We are looking for people to coordinate volunteers, ice cream, bounce house, and/or anything else we might want to do.

1. Celebration! Duh. One hundred years means generations of children, women, and men who have gathered to worship, grow, and serve together out of a love for God and a love for others. We will honor those who have come before us--and many who are still with us--for the ways they have responded to God's call to "Go."

2. Jubilee! What? Ok, so last year, a lot of us were inspired by learning about the Old Testament idea of Jubilee (that informs a great deal of Jesus' ministry, incidentally). Every 50th year was supposed to be a Jubilee year, and that year was to be all about leveling the playing field, giving people second chances, and lifting up those who are in need. 100 years would mark our 2nd Jubilee, and we want to make this anniversary not just about us, but by following God's call to "GO" to our neighbors with the blessings we have received.

3. Dream! 100 years is a great time to dream about where God is calling us to "GO" now. God has brought us this far, and we trust God has more for this community of people who are glorifying, growing, and glowing right here and now and in years to come.

We have all kinds of plans and ideas for making this anniversary year a great one that propels us into the next century. But like all things church, it starts with God's people responding to God's call to "Go." This anniversary year will be as meaningful as the whole church makes it. So we hope you don't just stay tuned for what's coming up, but that you help make it happen as well.
God's Grace and Peace to you all! 

The key is this: do we have room? House, stable, cave, doesn't matter. Are you making room in your life for God to move, for Christ to be born? We hope that you do make some room on Saturday--Christmas Eve. This is a time to--like Mary--"treasure up all these things in our hearts." There are lots of things jostiling for position in our hearts and lives. It is our work of faith to continue to make room for Jesus and the community Jesus came to establish. 
We look forward to seeing you on Saturday at 5:30pm (music) or 6pm (worship) as we welcome Christ into our hearts, into our world once again.

As much as the so-called "War on Christmas" gets the press, I'm far more concerned about the "War on Advent." I know, I know, you didn't even know Advent was under siege. But hear me out. Advent is about waiting, fasting, lamenting, quiet, slowness, darkness--everything our modern holiday season ISN'T about. During this month, we are about busyness, buying, and avoiding anything that might bring us down.
I encourage all of you to "Make Advent Holy Again." One of the ways you can do this is by following along with our Advent series/theme: "The Gift." We will explore how God's true gifts can be received when we embrace darkness, uncertainty, loss, vulnerability...and ultimately, reality. You can listen to the messages in the series here. And you can follow along in our Advent devotional. The first week is posted above. You can also get a hard copy booklet from the church or follow along at our Facebook Page. 
May you find the gifts of God this Advent Season.

Impossible? Nah. We've got you covered.

The Point Place churches are coming together for our 2nd annual Christmas VBS. This one-morning event will be filled with music, laughter, storytelling, and a focus on the greatest Christmas gift: Jesus himself.

This event is for kids age 3 (potty-trained or accompanied by parent) to 5th grade (hopefully also potty-trained). There will be snacks, games, crafts, bells, and stories all centered on the lifelong process of unwrapping the gift of Jesus--God's Gift to us and to the world.

​We will also be collecting toys for Mustard Seed and cash offering will go to a local charity TBD.

Please register here. And invite your friends. There's room for them too! 

If you have any questions, just email Pastor Jon, or talk to another one of your local Point Place churches involved in this event: CrossPoint Community Church, Messiah Lutheran Church, Northpoint Church of the Nazarene, RiverPoint Ministries, and St. John the Baptist.

​Jesus’ mission is a robust vision for our individual lives, the community called the “Church,” and all of God’s Creation. In other words, as we receive the blessing of God, we are filled to overflowing with a grace that transforms our lives and outward to transform the Church, our neighborhoods, all nations, and the creation itself. This was God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:2, “I will bless you…so that you will be a blessing.”