“Lord, as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us be mindful of those who are without even a bowl of soup to eat.”
This is the prayer that started the Souper Bowl of Caring in 1988. On Super Bowl Sunday, churches and charities collect donations of canned goods and money to support people in need. Over $8 million were raised nationwide last year. Here at RCLPC we raised $1300 last year, along with 30 canned items. This year, lets beat that! The food pantry needs your help!
On Sunday, February 3, bring your donations of canned goods and money to church. Youth will collect donations in large soup pots at various places around the church. Part of the purpose of the Souper Bowl is for youth to learn about caring for others—let’s all learn together!
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We are collecting pennies for the 30-hour famine. We are trying to collect 29,000 pennies—one for each child that dies from hunger a day. Bring your pennies to Teri’s office. Thanks.
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Last September, the Primetimers group brought back the Bread Basket Ministry to deliver a fresh baked mini loaf of bread with a thank you note to our first time visitors. Visitors have been quite surprised and pleased to receive these unexpected gifts. The Primetimers are continuing to make baked goods and deliver to new visitors, but we are excited to welcome a new coordinator for this ministry, Amy Collins. Amy will now be coordinating the details that keep this ministry going. We can help Amy by volunteering to be a part of this ministry. If you would like to help, please call or email Amy or call the church office at 815-459-1132. Our visitors will thank you.
Here at RCLPC we are a friendly bunch. We can let the world know by extending a special welcome when visitors join us for worship. How you can help: Sign up to bake and deliver a goodie to visitors sometime during the week after their time in worship with us--usually 1-3 deliveries in a given week. Sign up in the Connecting Link! Thanks to all that participate! ~ Amy Collins
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Bring a pot of chili--all kinds, all spice-levels, all flavors welcome! We'll share our chili creations with one another, enjoy some friendly competition, and who knows--there might even be prizes! The evening's entertainment will include a game or two of Bingo and the viewing of a family-friendly movie.
Come join the fun! |
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Interested in exploring membership here at RCLPC? An inquirer’s class has been scheduled to begin on Wednesday evening, March 5, from 7-8pm and will run for three consecutive weeks (March 5, 12, & 19). This class will meet in the Lounge. We will explore what it means to be a Christian, what it means to be a Presbyterian, and what it means to be a member of RCLPC. Dinner and childcare will be provided. Dinner is part of our WEAVE program (Wednesday Evening AVEnues) and is served between 6 and 7pm and is open to everyone. Please RSVP to the church office (815-459-1132) for the class itself or sign up in the Connecting Link. Please note change in day and time. |
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Girl Scout Cookies will soon go on sale. We will be shipping cookies to RCLPC's six troops: Ryan Atkinson, Jonathon Roach, Justin Roach, Andrew Pohl, Charles Gay, and Christopher Erwin. I will place a box across from the office at the end of February when the cookies start to arrive, and you can put your donation there.
Thanks! ~ Mary Moltmann |
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Thanks to everyone who made Valentines for our Marines and soldiers in Fellowship Hall recently and who donated items or money for postage and the purchase of items. Care packages have been mailed that include your Valentines, magazines, chocolate, candy, comedy DVDs, CDs, a phone card, peanut butter and jelly, beef jerky, foot powder, gel insoles, duct tape, nuts, batteries, potato chips, skin lotion, and cookies from the Senior High Bake Sale. Please keep Ryan Atkinson (friend of the Stiptatis), Christopher Erwin (nephew of Rob and Julie Baser), Charles Gay (friend of Karla Koenig), Michael Lambert (friend of Ed and Val Krukiewicz), Andrew Pohl (nephew of Jim and Laura Bauman and Rick and Laurie Pohl), and Jonathon Roach (son of Cindee Robinson) and all our troops in your prayers. If you have a loved one serving in the military who you would like to add to the Cookie Lift project please contact me at cookielift@rclpc.org. ~ Mary Moltmann
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(Excerpt from News From Indian Country, The Nations Native Journal newspaper, issue of January 7, 2008 by Rob Capriccioso)
“Through many tears, much anger and quite a bit of confusion, hundreds of Indians are being forced to leave their long-established homelands in Alaska. This time, however, it is not like the relocation their ancestors experienced but Mother Nature who is forcing several Native communities to uproot and reconfigure their unique livelihoods, customs and cultures.
This scene in Alaska is magnified in large part by global warming. Permafrost foundations are melting at an alarming rate, the length of seasons is changing, storms are stronger and flooding and erosion grows worse by the day. The only thing stronger is the resistance of the state and federal governments to provide funding. As Senator Ted Stevens stated, ‘Your one village’s needs are almost more than the entire funding we have available’. (The funds to which he refers are those set aside to improve Alaska’s infrastructure to preserve the 600 person community on an island just north of the Bering Strait by the Denali Commission). Shishmaref, the town central in this article has increasingly lost ground due to climate change and the true scope of the problem is being studied. |
A report in 2004 found that erosion and flooding affect 86 percent, or over 180 Alaska Native villages to varying degrees; four villages in imminent danger. Another report in 2006 explored the cost of keeping several villages intact in their current locations versus moving all or part of the communities to a different, more weather-protected area in Alaska. Naturally, the residents feel the price is worth paying. Homes have fallen into the sea and individuals have been forever lost while trying to hunt. ‘I hate to put things in economic terms’, said Sally Russell Cox, ‘because these are human beings we’re talking about. People who have led their lifestyles for thousands of years as passed on to them by their forefathers. How can you minimize all that and put it into economic terms?’
Many folks are concerned that because the problem affects so few people compared to the rest of the U. S. population it is difficult to get Congress to act on the issue. This is a new kind of emergency. We get it first but it’s coming everywhere”. ~ The Native American Connection
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Our next trip to Rosebud and Pine Ridge Indian Reservations will be June 22-27th. If you are interested in exploring the possibility of being a participant, contact Joy Martin immediately. Attendance at classes in May/June are mandatory for first time participants and a refresher course for those who have gone on previous trips with RCLPC members. ~ Joy Martin
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