Church Phone 313-271-8552 Worship Service: 10:00 AM Every Sunday
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Dearborn Congregational United Church of Christ provides opportunities for worship, spiritual growth, fellowship and service in a small congregation where all are valued and supported wherever they are on their individual faith journeys.
Pastoral Letter to Dearborn Congregational Church
Fourth Sunday of Lent - March 22, 2020
Grace and peace to everyone:
These are trying times for everyone, the nation, and all churches. Please know that your pastor and lay leaders are working hard to keep us all together through this time of trial, isolation, and crisis. Always know that God is with us to bless us, guide us, and protect us.
Your leaders and I will be meeting via conference call every week through this time of trial and crisis. We want you to know the following:
WORSHIP
Please find attached An Order of Family and Personal Worship to be used today and daily. Since it is not possible for us to gather together as a congregation, we invite you to worship and pray at home, daily! We will be sending you a new order of service each week. May God bless you and your family in this worship.
OFFICE OPERATIONS
Pastor Blair will still be in the office on Tuesdays and Thursday mornings from about 8:00am to 10:30am. If you need to call him or contact him, that would be a great time to do. The best way is to use his cell phone; 1-734-748-6039. Our secretary, Liz, we will be in the office when the building is vacant due to health and families issues. CALL her before coming.
MEETINGS AND EVENTS
As you may have guessed, all meetings and events at the church are cancelled, including worship, dinners, and other activities. We will update you weekly as this is very fluid at this point. We DO NOT expect to be able to have Palm Sunday or Easter services. Please stay tuned for updates.
YOUR FINANCIAL GIVING
Many have asked about their offering. We suggest the following: you can simply mail your offering, you can leave it in the outside mailbox, or you can drop it off on Liz' desk in the office. Or you can choose to set aside weekly amounts at home and catch up with your offering when we return in person. We want you to do whatever is comfortable. THANKS for asking!
PASTORAL CARE
Please let me know ASAP if there are specific pastor care issues. I will be more than happy to respond to needs as they arise.
CARE FOR ONE ANOTHER
This is a lonely and difficult time for people. All of us are stressed to the limit and our mental health is being challenged. So, right now, pick up the phone and call three people in the church. Call 3 people who have not been in a while. Call 3 people you do not know. Just simply ask them how they are doing and let them know they are not alone. Caring is just that simple. You can do this!
Stay well, stay blessed, and stay in love with God,
Pastor Blair
Dr. Eugene A. Blair
Ann Arbor, MI
1-734-748-6039
Attached is "A Family and Personal Prayer Service for Such a Time As This Fourth Sunday in Lent - For the Week of March 22, 2020. To be used for Sunday worship while worship together is not possible, and to be used daily as an act of worship and devotion. Hymns can be found in your family hymn book or on YouTube. Use these offered or choose your own daily. Prayer Service.
Easter Flowers We will not be ordering Easter Flowers from Schwartz. Nancy will be reimbursing those who have already paid.
Join Us For Dinner – March 25: Our dinner planned for March 25 to Malek Al Kabob is cancelled due to the restaurant being closed.
Book Club This month's book is Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
Palm Sunday Brunch - April 5: Palm Sunday Brunch is cancelled at this time.
If You Have a Key or Key(s) to the Church... Please let our Secretary, Liz, know and give her your Key Number. The Key Number is the number which appears by itself on one side of the key. It's NOT the number "069" which is on all the church keys. You can contact Liz by email (dccucc@gmail.com), leave a note on her desk, or tell her in person. Thank you.
KROGER COMMUNITY REWARDS: It’s been 22 years since our church became a recipient of 5% back on all purchases except gas, alcohol and prescription drugs made online or in the store. I hope to renew your interest in this free money that goes directly to our church each quarter. If you use a Kroger Plus Shopper’s Card (which we all do in order to get discounts) please register it online if you haven’t done so. ANYONE can register our church as a recipi-ent, don’t need to be a member. Invite your friends and family to register us. All your points for gas, coupons and everything else remains the same. Nothing special to punch in when checking out at the store. To be sure that our church is receiving the 5% back from your pur-chase, look at the bottom of your receipt and it will display Dearborn Congregational Church.
Go online to Kroger Community Rewards and follow the instructions to register. No codes are needed – just type in the name of our church and it will come up. When we first began the program we were receiving approximately $500 a year and other than registering once, there’s nothing more to do. Contact me if you have questions. – Diana Schilbe
Helping Hands Food Pantry
Cherry Hill Presbyterian Church in Dearborn has reached out for our assistance to help support its Helping Hands Food Pantry that is open every Wednesday from 9:30am to 1:00pm. They are asking for help with food donations to keep up with the ever increasing demand during these cold weather months. We will collect items through February and continue to collect for Downriver Veterans during alternate months. Cherry Hill is asking for these specific items: Canned Goods
Tuna
Soup
Vegetables
Beans
Fruit
Pasta Sauce (without meat)
Jelly
Peanut Butter
Dry Goods
Boxed Cereals
Hamburger Helper
Sleeping Mats for the Homeless Project: This is an ongoing project where any-one can make sleeping mats from plastic shopping bags. The group meets on Mondays from 6-8 pm at First Presbyterian Church, 600 Brady St. Dearborn, MI 48124. Bring your bags and your friends. For more information, call Charlie at (313) 506-0907, or see the orange flyer in the sanctuary.
Prayer List Update We've updated the prayer requests listed in our Sunday bulletin. If someone's name has been removed and they are still in need of our prayers, please contact the church office at 313-271-8552 to have their name added back on the list. To keep our list current, we will date when the prayer request is received and after a month, unless it is renewed, it will be removed.
Book Club: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, by Kim Michele Richardson is the book for February.
Strengthen the Church Offering: Our Strengthen the Church Special Offering begins today. As God calls our local congregations to be the Church in new ways, your gift will help create new churches, awaken new ideas in existing churches, and develop spiritual life in youth and young adults. Special offering envelopes will be in the pews through June 9.
Downriver for Veterans: We are collecting non-perishable food items for Downriver for Veter-ans located on Fort Street in Wyandotte. Only in its second year, this organization needs on-going support to assist local resource-limited veterans with food and other needs. Some veterans are on disability income and don’t have enough to pay their bills and buy gro-ceries. You can place your donations in the Totes of Love bin in the back of the Sanctu-ary. Please check the expiration date to make sure items have not expired. Thank You!
Attention Amazon Shoppers: If you currently have an Amazon account (regular or Prime) your purchases can now earn our church .5%. All you need do is sign into Amazon Smile and log in just as if you were on your regular Amazon account, designate our church as your charity and shop. Please share our Charity with friends and family – anyone who has an Amazon account can donate to us. See Diana Schilbe if you have questions.
Altar Flower Dedications: Please check the flower calendar in the back of the sanctuary. There are many Sundays available to reserve flowers in honor or memory of loved ones.
