The mission of Webster United Church of Christ is to worship God and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ; minister with compassion to those troubled of mind, body, and spirit; be a spiritual home that welcomes all people.
SUMMER STUDY OF THE EPISTLES OF PAUL
I greet you in the name of Jesus Christ who strengthens us in our weak moments. I am so glad that we have this opportunity to return to some form of written communications. I want to thank Nell Rooke and Rev. Bill Stuart for making this newsletter possible. And I want to thank each of you for contributing to it. The plan is to produce this quarterly until such time as we can do it monthly. If you have the gift of writing, please contact Rev. Stuart and offer your help in getting this newsletter out to the church.
I have enjoyed as I am certain you have, reading the Epistles of Paul during the summer. It is my hope that the study guides are useful in helping
you sort out the various chapters. It has been a delight writing them and I have learned so much doing the research and exegesis during the process.
I want to thank Bob Springer for keeping the website up-to-date with the readings and the study-guides. He has also moved on this journey with me by doing some research of his own. In so doing he has supplemented the study guides with some of his own findings.
The best way to use the study guide is to pick up the Bible and turn to the Book mentioned and then go chapter by chapter, reading the study guide synopsis and then reading the chapter. This is best done after reading the introduction, which provides the background information about the letter and PaulÕs intended message to his readers. Each study guide appears on the website and hard copies are available in the office.
I hope you will find this helpful as you move into a more thorough understanding of the Bible and the formulation of Christian Theology.
Blessings to you,
Rev. LaVerne M. Gill
On the third Sunday of each month, Webster Church is very fortunate to have our friends from Lansing worshipping with us. Vesta Smith-Campbell and Barbara Lee have been instrumental in coordinating transportation and needed paper products, food and clothing to supplement unmet needs.
Over the past five years, led by Rev. Gill, members of our congregation have made friends with a number of refugees in the Sanzule Camp in Ghana. Webster has also contributed scholarships for young boys and girls to attend school near the camp.
Beginning in 2005, a number of persons from the camp were resettled to the United States and other countries, and a number were settled in Lansing, Michigan. Because of the relationships formed through the Webster visits, this church became a beacon of support for a number of families and individuals.
Irene Kandihill was a nurse in Liberia when her house was burned to the ground and her daughter killed. The family fled, one by one, across to Ghana and were reunited in the Accra camp. Her son, Richard smuggled his late sisterÕs children, Victoria (now 16 years old) and Victor (now 11 years old) across the border to Ghana. Richard married while in the camp and has a son, Gideon (now 8 years old). Richard and Gideon were the first to come to Lansing. Irene brought Victoria and Victor with her and is raising Gideon, while Richard is presently living in Minnesota. Another young man, Jusu (16 years old) is also with Irene. His father is still in the camp. She is also taking care of Irene Saylee, the mother of RichardÕs newest child, Aaron Carter, 2 months old.
Irene is completing her Nurses Aide Certification program and the Patient Care Technology program.
Sahr Jusu is from Sierra Leone and is working as a maintenance employee at Geoff BakerÕs housing complex in Lansing. He is a member of Webster Church, and has a 16-year-old daughter, living on the west coast of the United States, whom he just recently began communicating with since his arrival.
James Fofanah is also from Sierra Leone and came to the Ghanaian camp during the civil war at home. He is a skillful tailor by trade. He is now at Lansing Community College (LCC) and employed there also. He joined Webster UCC last year.
The other young men: Alfred Mansaray, who was on a Webster scholarship while in the camp, is at the University of Utah, with time out to spend a semester in Sweden. He is studying International Relations and hopes to work for the United Nations when he finishes his degree in 2007; and Alie Marah, also a scholarship student in Ghana, is living in Rochester, New York.
Andrew Arhim and Fatama Gangura, with their three children, James, Jabez and Andrew, Jr. are in Lansing. Andrew is enrolled at LCC in a Computer Repair program and works at a laundry about 5 hours a day. They had their fourth child, George, in August, 2006. He was 13 lbs, 2 ozs.
Joyce Sanpon and her husband, Ibrahim Kamara, have three children, Cynthia, LaVerne (named after Pastor Gill) and Ibrahim, Jr. Joyce works at Wal-Mart about 27 hours each week, while attending LCC part-time. Ibrahim, Sr. is unable to work due to a leg disability.
Umu Bangura lives with her roommate Attama, who has a 2-year-old child. UmuÕs family is still in the camp in Ghana and this is her main concern.
As Vesta and Barbara have reported to the congregation, there has been little assistance from Refugee Services and the needs are great. All of our Lansing friends are thankful for all of the help and love that members of Webster Church have shared with them.
Jerry and Phyllis Voorheis
On January 1, 2006, Phyllis and Jerry committed themselves to membership at Webster UCC. They live in South Lyon and Phyllis works as Deputy Court Clerk in the 14A Court in Washtenaw, and Jerry is employed as a field service engineer, but would rather be a programmer. His passion is mathematics, while she finds great joy in music and teaching photography.
Phyllis was raised Roman Catholic and Jerry a Lutheran. After their marriage on May 20, 1995, they joined a church that turned out not to be what they expected and left Òwith heavy hearts.Ó At the same time, Jenny Kulp was transferred into the office where Phyllis worked, and she suggested that they might try her church. One Sunday they decided to come to Webster Church and as she told me, Òthey were struck by the instant comfort they felt here.Ó During the service, the response, ÒSo, forget about yourself, concentrate on Him and worship HimÓ brought home to her that she was focusing only on her losses. When the choir sang, ÒLet There Be Peace on EarthÓ, they felt that God had directed them here and they heeded GodÕs call. Jerry said that, he was happy to have found a church home at WUCC.
The congregation is happy to have Phyllis and Jerry as members, and pray that Phyllis will, with GodÕs help, overcome the severe arthritis with which she was diagnosed at 26 years of age.
Mary Stuart
Mary Stuart became a member of Webster UCC at the 9:30 a.m. worship service on July 9, 2006.
She is a native Detroiter, graduated from Cooley High School and received her BachelorÕs Degree in Education from Western Michigan University. She was married to her first husband, Terry, for 20 years and has two daughters, Lori and Kim. Terry died in 1984. Mary later remarried a widower, Tom, and together they raised his pre-teen sons, Pete and Jeff. Tom died from cancer in 1996. She remained a widow until she married Bill in 2005. Together Bill and Mary have 7 children with spouses and 7 grandchildren.
Mary was raised Presbyterian and attended Westminster Church in Detroit as a youngster and then St. PaulÕs in Livonia as an adult. Mary and Bill met while serving on the Session there before Bill went into Seminary.
Although spending most of her time as an at home mom, Mary has taught both first grade and preschool, and worked at various part-time jobs.
Mary admits that it is because of Bill that she first started to attend Webster, but knows it is the Holy Spirit that really led her here. She has felt welcome from the start and looks forward to growing in the knowledge and love of Christ with each member of the church.
Beginning this September, Rev. Bill Stuart will start a MenÕs Bible Study, tentatively on the second and fourth Thursday evenings from 7:30Ð9:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. We will first spend time with PaulÕs Letter to the Romans.
What is exciting about the study of Romans is that the subjects that Paul treats in detail will never lose their universal importance. The eternal themes that deal with GodÕs relation- ship to humankind affect the needs of every age. Paul was not as much a theologian as he was a practical preacher and evangelist.
The Letter to the Romans should make for lively discussions. Righteousness and salvation, justification and faith, grace and atonement are but a few of the topics that await us this fall. There will be more information in the bulletin and a sign-up sheet in the Fellowship Hall in late August.
Jelani McGadney just completed a full year as a junior (11th grade) in high school in Yokohama, Japan under the sponsor-ship of Rotary International. The Milan, Michigan Rotary Club has been his generous sponsor since August 2005. He wrote this letter to be shared.
Brenda McGadney-Douglass and Richard Douglass.
Here is his letter;
June, 2006
Dear Webster Church,
All is well here in Japan. School has gotten better; studying in Japanese has been a challenge. I now understand some of the lectures in my classes. I can conduct just about all of my daily business in Japanese. The school system is very much unlike schools in the U.S.A. Students here donÕt engage with teachers and visa versa. It is a very strict and rigid system where the lecture is delivered from the teachers and the notes are taken by the students. Discussions about the subjects, as in for better understanding, doesnÕt happen. For math and science it works really well (except when we do experiments) but not so well when it comes with learning a foreign language or in social studies.
At school, I participate in the sport of kendo. It is Japanese fencing and a traditional martial art. It is a contact sport with protection that simply stops you from inflicting permanent injuries on your opponent; but minor injuries are very common. he weapon is a 1.5 inch by 6 foot bamboo pole. It is very tough and I have made the competition team. But, I like the sport. When I was a lot younger, I loved to carry sticks around, you can ask my folks. But someone would always tell me to put it down. Now, I can carry a stick (a really big one) and the armor is pretty amazing; and no one is going to bother me with silly requests like, ÒI could poke some oneÕs eye out.Ó
Later this month I will climb Mt. Fuji. I am really excited for that because it is my last major goal before I leave Japan. My overall goal is to become fluent in Japanese but that is an ongoing goal. I have also met the Emperor of Japan with the assistance of my first host family and IÕve been to Hiroshima and the Atomic Bomb Memorial twice. I am still emotionally moved, as all of the Rotary students were, by the experiences.
At the moment I live in the city of Yokohama. It is south of Tokyo by 25 minutes. It is the second largest city in Japan, but it is mostly residential. There is a lot to do, including theme park, baseball, soccer and football fields. Yes, we have football in Japan. My friends and I like to go to karaoke, and the theme park is fun, but exhausting. The baseball games are expensive, but we enjoy it. Most of the people in Yokohama work in Tokyo. Tokyo is big, too big if you ask me. But it is nice to go there on the weekends. My Rotary families have been wonderful to me and have made my time in Japan loaded with memories.
Cheers,
Jelani McGadney
JOIN THE WEBSTER Every Monday at 6:30 p.m. At the church. |
In the fall of 2005, the Webster Community Orchestra came on the scene, led by their conductor and arranger, Cherryl Vanderhoof. The orchestra held a recital on that Sunday afternoon, and donations provided scholarships for three young members of the church who were going to study abroad.
Cherryl wanted to provide a venue to rekindle the love of music among members of the surrounding communities.
This past Spring the Orchestra gave an appreciative audience a wonderful evening of Dixieland jazz and Creole-style food in the Fellowship Hall at the church. Donations provided additional scholarship support for Malik Redding to attend a seminar on rain forests in Latin America. (The Deacons also supported Malik.) Funds also were raised for hurricane Katrina victims.
Since then they have played at Pub 13 and at a party for a friend of the group. They will play at the Fall Festival on September 23rd.
Members of the Orchestra have included: Mary Clark (trumpet), Melanie Clark (bass), Daniel Clark (cello), Michael Vanderhoof (flute and tenor saxophone), Micah Vanderhoof (violin and alto saxophone), Megan Armstrong (flute), Rose Bienek (violin), Peter Ford (guitar), Mitchell Lawrence (cello) and David Swain (baritone saxophone).
Cherryl hopes that the orchestra will be able to perform once every other month beginning this fall.
Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 23rd, for the Webster Fall festival, hosted by Webster UCC and the Webster Historical Society.
This will be the 25th year that the community has looked forward to this one-day event, filled with family-oriented fun activities, celebrating the rich history and culture of Webster Township. The festival has continued to grow each year both in attendance and activities for young and old.
Hayrides abound the scenic Scadin Farm and the Music Stage will keep toes tapping. The Cadillac Cowboys will be among the talented performers. Jim Valley will have his amazing sheep herding dogs and there will be a demonstration of teepee construction by Lakota Indian Chief Kelly Lookinghorse. The Ghana Garage will once again feature arts and crafts and clothing from the Sanzule Refugee Camp.
The new Kleinschmidt General Store will display carvings of historic memorabilia. Antique cars and tractors will be on view. The Community House will be bulging with craft items by top artisans from the area. There will also be a variety of foods available all afternoon, culmin- ating with the traditional Pig Roast to please any appetite.
Bring your family and friends to the Fall Festival. We promise a great time and glorious Indian Summer weather.
Sunday afternoon, April 2nd, was a joyful day at Webster UCC. Bill Stuart had received the blessing of this congregation, the Covenant association and the Michigan Conference to be ordained and installed as Associate Pastor. It was a cloudy day, but the sanctuary was full of love and hope. BillÕs family was there, along with friends from his previous church homes, or had served, friends from seminary days, clergy from the Dexter Ministerial Association and members of the Webster congregation.
Rev. Cheryl Burke, Associate Conference Minister and Rev. Kari Nicewander, representing the Covenant Association, officiated at the service. Until Bill was called to the chancel area to take his vows, he hadnÕt been aware of the many friends seated in the pews. And as he turned to face those assembled he saw so many loving and caring persons that he let o ut a loud ÒwowÓ in both surprise and gratitude. Rev. LaVerne Gill gave a message to Bill of hope, expectation and anticipation and Rev. John Kottke, a friend from Seminary, spoke of the challenges ahead of him.
Paul Kleinschmidt, a long time member of the church presented Bill with a birdhouse, a replica of Webster Church as a gift from the congregation.
The choir sang beautifully, especially ÒHere I Am, Lord.Ó BillÕs favorite hymn. Rev. Stuart presided over the Communion service and gave the Benediction, and then led the procession out of the sanctuary at the conclusion of the service.
Everyone then convened at the Township Hall for the reception and a light dinner. The Webster Guild and Mary, BillÕs wife, turned the hall into a festive room with flowers and red tablecloths. The food was abundant and served by many loving hands.
A NOTE FROM REV. STUART
Special thanks to Rev. Gill for taking me through the in-care process and making it possible to remain at Webster Church as their Associate Pastor and serving this wonderful congregation as we continue together into the 21st century.
The 2006 4-H Youth Fair took place on July 23-28 and youngsters from Webster UCC won a sizable share of the prizes. The variety of events and classes gave a good opportunity for them to shine. From the Blue Ribbon Livestock Club were the following winners:
Emily Wetzel: An ÒAÓ award for a caramel apple pie and for photography, 2nd place in the Swine Trail Class (senior) and 6th place in Marketing.
Sophia Whitney: ÒAÓ awards in apple pie and jams and jellies; 3rd place in Swine Showmanship (senior); 2nd place in Market Hog (individual) and 8th place in Market Hog (pairs).
Malaika Whitney an ÒAÓ award in scrapbooking, 1st place in poultry ÒBest of BreedÓ, 4th place in Poultry Showmanship (junior), an honors award in photography; 1st place in Market Hogs (pairs); 4th place in Market Hogs (individual) and 4th place in Swine Showmanship (junior).
Eban Whitney: 7th place in Market Hogs (individual)
Nicholas Harnois: Cloverbud participant for Poultry Showmanship but too young for a placement award.
Melanie Clark: 2nd place in Poultry Showmanship (junior) and 2nd place in animal decoration contest.
Jennifer Whitney: 3rd place poultry showmanship (young) and a participant ribbon in the animal decorator contest.
An updated history of Webster UCC and Webster Township is scheduled for publication and sale this year.
Grace Shackman was selected, from a group of interested writers, to complete the project.
The book will cover the pre-Civil War period to the present, including anecdotal stories of native Americans and the relationship to the early township settlers.
Look forward to purchasing your copy soon.
Eight persons, 6 Webster UCC members and two friends left on Thursday, July 27th to travel to the Re-Member facility on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Re-member is an outreach program for Lakota Sioux.
Bill Minnich went for the third year in a row; Barry and Ellen Grossman, Susan Gannon, Judy, Lyn and Leigh Sutter for the second year in a row, and for Matt Hattie it was his first visit.
The outreach program consisted of mainly building bunk beds for the Lakota children. If the family has had to burn the bed to stay warm in the winter they may request a replacement the next summer. Each bed is supplied with a mattress, sheets, pillow and blanket and an age- appropriate book. Many of the children may have been sleeping on blankets in a corner with little or no privacy. Just about all of them were delighted to receive their own beds in which to sleep. Future plans are in the works to build homes. Re-Member is making a difference.
The group spent three days en-route to South Dakota, staying overnight in Davenport, Iowa, which contained a beautiful botanical garden in which they were able to relax. They also stopped in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, which has a city park, built around some pretty waterfalls and a laser show after dark.
After arriving in mid afternoon on Saturday at Re-Member, they got settled, renewed acquaintances, and learned the work group assignments and had supper. They got on buses and went out to the small reservation village of Manderson to attend a powwow, at the invitation of the local Lakotas. The dancing took place in an arbor, about 50 feet in diameter, constructed for just this purpose. Upwards of 100 Lakotas, from two years of age to eighty danced. They are very proud of their heritage and colorful regalia. Eight or ten non-Lakotas joined in from time to time. There were about ten different drum teams who played in turn for the dancers. Then there were some competitive dancing by groups of men and women, over 50 years old. There were also various bareback riding events that took place. Before the powwow was over, the group had to go back to Re-Member because lights out was at 10:30 PM and the wake-up call was at 6:00 AM.
Each work crew got to prepare or clean after several meals during their time at Re-Member. Lakota Ministry Chairs are Brad Clark and Bill Minnich.
On Sunday morning after breakfast and the daily session of Wisdom of the Elders, the group took buses to the site of the 1890 Wounded Knee conflict. It was sobering to hear the story of the defeat of 250 Lakota by 750 federal soldiers. There were pictures of the dead Lakota and soldiers when they visited the Red Cloud south of Pine Ridge. Communion was offered to all attendees. Then the group performed the ritual of cleaning the cemetery and surrounding area.
Sunday afternoon was spent familiarizing themselves with their work crews before getting ready for the community supper, also attended by their Lakota neighbors, who had the opportunity to sell some of their hand-made crafts. New friends and old had a good time.
Beginning on Monday and ending on Thursday, the work crews were divided in half. One half worked on the bed detail, while the other half toured the reservation, learning about the Lakota culture. One half of the bed detail worked in the shop preparing components and sub-assembling beds, while the other half delivered and finished constructing the beds in the required homes. There always seems to be a waiting list for beds. Some of the delivery team was pressed into service, either scraping and painting the exterior of a small church, assisting in the construction of an arbor just below the Wounded Knee cemetery in preparation for a powwow, or construction of a shelter for cooking food at the Pine Ridge powwow grounds.
The group that toured had an opportunity for a short hike in the Badlands; lunch at BetteÕs Kitchen, run by Lakota women; a guided tour of Pine Ridge in South Dakota and White Clay in Nebraska; a visit to the grave of Chief Red Cloud and the Red Cloud School, south of Pine Ridge; a visit to RosieÕs Singing Horse Trading Post and the Ogala Lakota College and their Iron Gallery; lunch at La India Bonita, and a visit with a local community leader.
On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, a taste of Lakota culture was presented. On Monday night Will Peters spoke about how our two cultures were similar and we sang Lakota songs. On Tuesday night Larry Swalley did the same. Wednesday evening was craft time, where local people, Kelley Looking Horse and Harvey White Woman, explained how the crafts were made and had them available for sale.
There are few job opportunities for Lakota people so that they have very low self-esteem. They feel that they are unable to provide for their families. There is practically no way that a Lakota can obtain a loan to start even a small business. The only ÒbankÓ in Pine Ridge is a mobile one that shows up in the parking lot of a gas station on the first day of the month when the Lakotas receive their assistance checks. Every first of the month there is a flea market across the street from the ÒbankÓ where Lakotas purchase items. These merchants are from far away and are only interested in the money they make. There is only one motel on the reservation, owned and operated by the Lakotas. Re-Member has a few Lakotas on their staff.
White Clay, Nebraska, seems to exist solely to supply alcohol to the Lakota. There are about five liquor stores, which sell 12,000 cans of beer daily. We saw Lakotas lying asleep on the sidewalks after spending some of their much-needed money on liquor. The town ÒgraciouslyÓ installed streetlights so that Lakotas may walk more safely beside the road. Several years ago, Lakota boys were murdered just outside White Clay, but no one has of yet been arrested.
Late Thursday afternoon, all work crews took down the teepee and cleaned up the grounds, buildings and washed all of the Re-Member vehicles. All recyclables must be bagged or bundled for a 100 mile trip to Rapid City. The evening meal was pizza and ice cream sundaes for dessert.
On Friday morning after Wisdom of the Elders, good-byes were said and the groups headed home. The Webster group spent nights in Sioux City, Iowa and Ottawa, Illinois on the way to Dexter.
The trip was a good opportunity to get to know fellow volunteers and to reach out and get to know the Lakota people.
The wounds of years past are slowly healing. Most of the Lakota people today do not blame us for what our ancestors perpetrated upon these people many years ago. They are still trying to have their sacred Black Hills returned to them.
This article was written by Barry Grossman.
Editor: Rev. Bill Stuart Production: Nell Rooke Send articles, picture story ideas to: Fall Schedule begins September 10. Two services: 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sunday School: Adult 9:30 a.m. Confirmands 9:30 a.m. Youth 10:30 a.m. THE WEBSTER WORD Webster United Church of Christ We are on the Web! Telephone: 734.426.5115 |