Hello Friends:

 

It looks like it’s too cloudy to witness today’s solar eclipse. All this talk abut the eclipse reminds me of a church outing at Minnehaha Falls several years ago with members of our sister church from Leon, Nicaragua. We watched the moon pass across the sun’s path. There was some cloud cover then too, but we could occasionally get a glimpse of that celestial event. But what I remember more than the eclipse was the hike along the creek, another great meal and the laughter of our two churches. Isn’t it the case that the people around an event are as important than the event itself? Hmm…makes me think of how great it is when we see each other in person on Sunday mornings.

 

Speaking of Sunday, this is our annual commitment Sunday at UBC. We’ll bring our completed pledges of time, talent and treasure to UBC and celebrate our congregation makes an impact on the world. You can fill out your pledges by clicking here, https://www.ubcmn.org/giving or by filling out the forms at UBC. On Sunday, we will also be welcoming in two new members to the UBC congregation.

 

My sermon on Sunday is entitled “Challenges from Dexter’s Garden: Hope.” It’s the second in a six-part series reflecting on pieces of the nonviolent lifestyle’s puzzle. We’re looking at Equality, Hope, Forgiveness, Understanding, Peace and Unity/ The familiar passage from I Corinthians 13:11-13 says that hope, along with faith and love, are pillars of Christianity. But what does hope look like? Is hope the same for everyone? What do we do with competing hopes? Carrie Lubke will be the worship leader and the UBC Chorale will sing.

 

As part of our series, we’re hosting an exhibit in the UBC sanctuary from April 14-28 called “The F-Word: Stories of Forgiveness”. 18 banners will be in the sanctuary, each one telling a different story of those on the forgiveness journey. You can find out more here. We hope you’ll invite friends and family to interact with this powerful exhibit. The banners will be hanging in the UBC sanctuary starting on this Sunday.

 

On April 20th, Charlie MaGuire will play at the final Roots Cellar concert of the season at 7pm. Called “A legend in the Midwest” by the Winnipeg Folk Festival; a performer “Who can sing, really sing” by Diane Sawyer of ABC-TV; and whose songs are “Damn good and so are you” by Pete Seeger. He performs songs about the Great Lakes, small towns, farming, and the people who make life interesting. To learn more, go to https://www.charliemaguire.com Tickets are $20 and available here: https://events.humanitix.com/charliemaguire 

 

And if that’s not enough, the UBC Bell Choir will be holding a concert at UBC on April 21st at 3pm.

 

Here’s what’s happening this week:

 

Tuesday—7pm memoirs group 

Meeting ID: 831 4584 1908 Passcode: 313775

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83145841908?pwd=djhuSmMwZ1NESXZ5SExNOURXa2FNQT09

 

Wednesday 3-5pm Worship Planning Team at UBC and on Zoom

Meeting ID 844 6825 0644 Passcode 726616

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84468250644?pwd=UlhrVmQzVFBsclh3UnpCcGJzeWpPUT09

 

Wednesday—6pm Choir rehearsal, 7:30pm Bell Choir rehearsal

 

Friday—11:15am Every Meal at Marcy School

 

Saturday—10am Card Club at the home of Jean Lubke

 

Sunday—10am Service at UBC - Worship in the sanctuary or join via livestream on the UBC YouTube page.

11am (or so) Joys and Concerns—not live-streamed but on Zoom 

Meeting ID 839 4725 7444 passcode 257750 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83947257444?pwd=cFZCWEdqUkR0RDgwT0JwT3hrQ3FpUT09

After Joys and Concerns, Refreshments

Forum: Louisa Hext—curator of the Forgiveness Project

1:30pm UBC Council

4pm Sacred Harp

Blessings and Peace,

 

Doug Donley