The Northwest Ohio Association 
The
Ohio Conference - United Church of Christ
Northwest Ohio Association
46 Wentz St.
Tiffin OH 44883
419-447-8323
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Rev. Daniel L. Busch, Association
Minister, Reflects.
This year’s Easter Gospel text suggestions
are John 20:1-19 or Mark 16:1-8. Both texts report first inquirers going
to Jesus’ tomb and finding a body missing. This is reported to other
disciples and those disciples go to confirm what they had just heard.
What is interesting in these faith
stories is an element of “doubt.” In Mark’s Gospel, the women have
spices to do the ritual for the dead. In both passages, the other
disciples did not believe the women, and they had to see for themselves.
John reports that the disciple who went in the tomb, “saw and believed; for
as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.”
And John adds an amazing statement, “Then the disciples returned to their
homes.” This began a 50 day hiding behind locked doors until
Pentecost. . read the rest
Lay School Classes meet the First and Third
Tuesday nights at the Association Office located at 416 Wentz Street in Tiffin,
Ohio. Sessions begin at 7:00 p.m. and conclude promptly at 9:00 p.m. The first
fifteen minutes is set aside for student-led devotions, business and
announcements. First Session will be February 3, 2009 meeting during the months
of February, March, April and May. Rev. Busch will teach the Spring
class. Click for brochure.
Ohio
Conference Annual Gathering www.ocucc.org
Ohio Wesleyan is inviting youth for an
exciting opportunity and in particular the youth leaders in your church. Nate Taylor
and Renee Pore are Directors of Youth Ministries at Avon Lake U.C.C. They are
members at St. John’s U.C.C. in Mansfield and teach 8th grade. This summer they
are coordinating the youth activities at the Ohio Conference’s Annual
Gathering. Read
the rest. Distribution
flyer;
At the All team meeting, Association leaders
decided to help communication by posting information such as minutes, agenda,
and appropriate reports. We believe this will help the whole church move
together as a community of communities. Information is now being posted in a
timely manner. Please send them to webinfo@nwoa.org,
or joan@nwoa.org.
1.
Cabinet After welcome by Rev.
David Plant, Moderator, those present introduced themselves and Rev. Plant went
over the agenda for the day. He outlined
the procedure for the planning module and then persons divided into their committees
or groups to meet for the remainder of the morning. Read the rest in browser . Read
in rtf format download; Ministry Action Plan
Concept;
2.
Auglaize Valley Regional
Coordinating Team Minutes
Agenda
3.
Lakeshore Regional Coordinating
Team
4. Sandusky Valley Regional
Coordinating Team
5.
Church and Ministry Team
6. Faith Formation Ministry Team
7.
Stewardship and Caring Ministry
Team
8.
Witness and Proclamation
Ministry Team
9.
Church Development Team
Lombard Mennonite Peace Center The Mediation
Skills Training Institute presented by the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center
(LMPC) is designed to equip church leaders with the skills necessary to deal
effectively with interpersonal, congregational, and other forms of group conflict.
The five-day institute also includes a component on congregational intervention
and consultation, placed within the context of family systems theory.
Flight School
GLAUCE's (Great
Lakes Association of United Church
Educators) annual event
is coming this October to Potawatomi Inn at Pokagon
State Park in Angola,
Indiana.
Dorothy Bass is the key note speaker.
"Called But Not Consumed: Practicing Our Faith" God calls us
into ministry. Our call is not intended to destroy us, but to transform
us as bearers of salvation. Click on this link to download the brochure,
workshop info and registration form. Come, join us for a wonderful two day get
away. Sabbath time is built into the program in this beautiful setting.
Download
the brochure
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The Village, NWOA's new
church in South Toledo, From Pastor Cheri Holdridge of The
Village Church: Thank you to all the wonderful churches in the
NWOA for blessing The Village as our newest UCC in Toledo.
Because of your vote of confidence in the vision for another new
church, we are touching the lives of people in South
Toledo. Each month, adults and children who are
part of The Village, serve in our community. Sometimes we fix dinner
for families that are homeless. On May 17, we join "Food
for Thought" in passing out sandwiches in downtown Toledo
to hungry people. On June 6, during the Old West End Festival,
our band plays a free concert and our folks will invite visitors to
check out The Village Church. Pastor Cheri and band leader Joe
Woods have already been invited to lead worship in several NWOA
churches this summer. If you would like them to come to your
church, please contact Pastor Cheri Holdridge at Cheri@Villageohio.org
or 419-297-8031. There are many ways our NWOA churches can get
involved with launching this new faith community, so we hope you will
talk with Cheri about getting your church connected with The Village
Church.
Good News from Outdoor Ministries: As most of you are aware, the Ohio Conference has engaged
in an aggressive effort to revitalize the camps and increase
camper attendance. The Camp
Recruiter,
Stuart Fisher, is pleased to report that we are making progress!
As of May 15, with five weeks until the first camps begin,
nearly 900 campers are registered for the ’09 season. That’s
already way ahead of the 842 total campers who showed up last
year!
What made the difference? Congregations have
overwhelmingly chosen to invest in their own futures and have
responded to the invitation to build partnerships with Outdoor
Ministries to complement faith formation programs the congregations
already provide. Many thanks to the
congregations and to the army of volunteers for supporting the camp
revitalization project. How can your congregation get involved?
There are still camps with space available, and you can still receive
a discounted camp fee after May 15. The rate change scheduled
for May 15 is on hold. To reserve your spot at camp, register
today online at the following link:
http://www.ocucc.org/OutdoorMin/Summer%20Camp/SummerCamp.htm
Remember that this summer’s recruiting push is just the
first step in a multi-phase process of revitalization. With increased
numbers of campers it will be possible to hire additional staff, who
in turn will continue to improve the quality of the camping program
and facilities. A sustainable model for Outdoor Ministries is
only a couple of seasons away. As far as we know, the Ohio
Conference may be the only Conference actually expanding
its Outdoor Ministries program!
If you have questions about the camp revitalization
project, or would like to help with the project, please contact
Stuart Fisher, Camp
Recruiter,
1-800-282-0740 x 1-212 or email: stuartf@ocucc.org
To get a glimpse into the OCUCC summer camp experience, see
our camp video on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsKGb6wL__c
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Outdoor Ministries Camperships
Eye Catchers
Our Church's
Wider Mission takes each local church to another place in the world. Discover more.
Widen and deepen your church's faith, witness and membership.
A Fast that
Lasts is a 2-year model
Youth Retreat to fight world hunger. This dynamic, action-filled 24-30 hour
fast engages youth to learn about world hunger and then make personal and
community decisions to fight hunger. For more information, click Click here.
Ohio Peace Network - The Ohio Peace
Network encourages the exchange.
Foods
Resource Bank offers congregations
the opportunity to help hungry people feed themselves. Great project for
linking rural, urban and suburban congregations. A video on FRB is available
from our office.
Saint Jacob's UCC at 6128 County Road 38 Republic, OH invites
every one to come to a youth encounter Concert by the group "Water
Mark" on Saturday May 30th, 2009 at 7:00 pm. Admission will be
free. Come and enjoy a fun evening of Christian music, witness and
fellowship. There will be something for everyone from small children to
adults up to seniors. Hope to see you there.
Crossroads Needs
- 2009 List
 Church World
Service - Gifts of the Heart Kits CWS provides School Kits, Hygiene Kits, Baby Kits, and Emergency Clean-up Buckets. The contents of each
Kit have been selected with care based on years of experience to make them as
useful as possible, wherever and whenever they are sent.
Sow Seeds
to Fight Hunger is an initiative for
groups to provide seed packets, tools and basic gardening information to
communities in Africa seeking to grow their own food. For more
information, please contact our office.
Eyes
to See  offers vision to impoverished people
around the world. Mission groups collect used eyeglasses which are used by
trained opt homological volunteers on international medical mission trips. A
video that describes this program may be borrowed from our office.
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