minister's letter - Ashland First Congregational United Church of Christ

FROM THE MODERATOR ...by Sandy Theis
Many of you attended the picnic in Lithia
Park that served as the revitalization of
the neighborhood care circles. We had
a great time eating and chatting and are
thankful to Bill Kolacek for reserving the
tables for us. I am in the care circle that
is called “above the church.” My husband,
Larry, has taken it upon himself to
get us together, and we have had three
events since this summer. We enjoyed
pizza made on the grill at Sherri Morgan’s,
a game night at the Theis’, and
an Octoberfest at the King-Rosine’s. Of
course all of these times included food,
but we also had good conversation and
fun. Larry has taken pictures at each
event, and shared them with the entire
neighborhood, in an attempt to entice
others to join us. We have a cadre of
people who have attended, but we have
had difficulty getting others to attend.
Part of this is that we have busy lives
and the times may not be
convenient. The idea of
the care circles is that we
will get to know people in
our neighborhood so that
if there is a problem, or a
joy to share, we will know
each other well enough to
participate meaningfully.
As our church has grown,
and we have gone to two services, it is
more difficult for us to share meaningful
conversations. They just don’t happen
in the hospitality time. I encourage each
of you to attend these functions as you
are able. If your neighborhood does not
have a functioning care circle I encourage
you to take the initiative to plan the
first event and invite others to join you.
Sandy Theis
ANNUAL THANKSGIVING POTLUCK
...by Kathleen Marrs & Bill Kolacek
It’s time for the Annual Thanksgiving
Potluck!!
Thursday, November 24th
3 p.m. in the Social Hall
If you just can’t make it out of town to be
with friends and family, or if your family
is unable to come to you, or if you just
can’t get enough of our wild and crazy
UCC family, come and join us for the Annual
UCC Thanksgiving Potluck!
There are sign-up sheets in the back of
the social hall so sign up to bring a dish
to share. We need all the fixins from turkey
to pie—so invite a friend and come
enjoy a meal and give thanks with your
UCC family.
Also, we need volunteers to help with
set-up and clean up. If you can help vol-
unteer in any of these areas, please let us
know on the sign up sheet.
For more information, contact:
Katleen Marrs
541-488-2107
kathleen@ashlandoregon.org
-or-
Bill Kolacek
541-613-3692
bill.kolacek@yahoo.com
Ashland First Congregational United Church of Christ Page 3
November 2011