Scott’s Column: Our Church’s Wider Mission Oct 21, 2019 | News In the last month our congregation participated in the National Trans Visibility March in Washington, D. C., an ecumenical trip to Venezuela to see the impact of sanctions on our mission partners, the 2019 Arctic Circle Assembly dealing with the impact of climate change, and work to provide a quality education at the Mission of Hope School in Kpaai district Liberia, a school that had to close a few years ago during the Ebola epidemic. “Wow,” you might be thinking. “I knew Scott & Katie were busy but I didn’t realize they did all that.” Scott & Katie didn’t, but our congregation participated in those and similar activities around the globe because we are part of a wider church. Our involvement in the United Church of Christ provides us necessary resources, helps to train the future leaders of this congregation, challenges and inspires us, and also allows us to be present in the vital work of God. You and I can’t get to the scene of every natural disaster, attend every social justice event in the nation’s capital, educate every new minister, or provide direct care for every elderly person in a UCC-affiliated nursing home. Yet we are present because we are part of the body of Christ that is the United Church of Christ. This congregation has long been active in leadership at every level of the church, including at the current moment when Michael Cich-Jones serves on the national Board of Directors of the UCC and as chair of both the Development and Marketing Committees Kerrie Kleppin-Winn is a member of the advisory board of the Mental Health Network Daryl Malena is a member of the Science and Technology Network and a member of our Association’s Church and Ministry Committee Scott Jones is Chair of the Nebraska Conference Board of Directors and a member of the Tri-Conference Board Steve Jackson is President of the Living Waters Association Judy Bouma is Treasurer of the Living Waters Association Pat Lamberty is a member of the Nebraska Conference Board of Directors Katie Miller is a member of the Youth and Outdoor Ministry Committee and the Church and Ministry Committee, and Adam Steffen is a member of the Endowment and Investment Committee and the Finance Committee. Whew, that’s a lot. Those folk serve in these varied capacities because they believe that our work as a congregation is bigger than what we as one congregation can do. Your gifts support the work of these church members serving as leaders in the denomination. The work of the UCC is funded by regular giving from our church budget, called “Our Church’s Wider Mission,” and by a variety of special offerings and donations throughout the year such as “One Great Hour of Sharing” and “Neighbors in Need.” Watch a video about it here. When you donate to our church, think of how your gift means that you are virtually present, around the globe, when you can’t be there yourself. You are playing your part in all the great work that God has called us to do.
