Spread the Good News About Garden of Dreams

Spread the Good News About Garden of Dreams

by Andria Ryberg

As we approach the first year anniversary of opening our doors on September 2, we are so thankful for all of the support that the church has given us.  We have been able to serve over 100 students this past year.  Our student body and staff members come from diverse socio-economic and racial backgrounds.  We have established ourselves as a high-quality center with a loving environment.  And, we have new babies lined up to enter our school 6 months from now!  It's been a successful year, and we could not have done it without you.

We host two classrooms of a FREE, state-funded preschool program for four-year-olds, called the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP).  We still have 8 slots left for that program, which starts in mid-September.  Can you please help us spread the word about those spots?  This is a highly educational, joyful, full-day Pre-K program that helps prepare children for Kindergarten.  We want to make sure that as many people as possible find out about this program and participate.  Again, it's a FREE program and a family of four can make up to $70,000 a year and still qualify.  

Please help us spread the news about this FREE program by doing one/all of the following:

1.  Email your network of friends - you never know who might be looking for preschool, even if you feel like you don't know anyone with a four-year-old.

2.  Share information with co-workers, clubs, etc, either via email or in person.  We have promotional materials available near the front desk at church if you want to take some to a gathering.

3.  Share information about Garden of Dreams on Facebook.

Sample Email to Co-Workers, Friends, Network

Our church hosts Garden of Dreams Community Preschool and Child Care.  Part of the school's mission is to serve a diverse student body, and as such, we have two FREE Pre-K classes for four-year-olds.  These classes are part of the state's Great Start Readiness Program and families making up to $70,000 a year for a family of four qualify (or more, if you have more children.)  Please share this opportunity with any families you know looking for a great preschool program for their four-year-old!  The phone number at Garden of Dreams is 269-788-0081.  You can check out the website at www.gardenofdreamspreschool.org and the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/gardenofdreamspreschool.  

Build Strong Families--Aug/Sep Congregationalist 2015

Build Strong Families

By Jaimie Fales-Brown

In the previous Congregationalist, I shared five ways that the Church can help build strong families. This month, I would like to highlight how the Church can build parental resilience by helping families exercise flexibility and develop inner strength.

My son, Isaac is three. You can only imagine the number of things that don’t go the way I plan each day. I often find that when I am trying to get things to go a particular way, that’s when I get the greatest resistance from my son. This resistance can be a huge source of stress for any parent.

Sometimes, this stress is what causes me to lose it and snap at Isaac. Almost every time I snap, I feel ashamed of losing it just because he’s doing what comes naturally to him—being a three year old!

One of my greatest sources of encouragement as a parent is grandparents. I’m not just talking about my parents’ parents. I’m talking about all of the older adults in my life who know all about this stress. No matter the differences in opinion about child rearing or the age gap between us, grandparents get the stress of parenting.

The difference is, they are on the other side of this stress. They help remind me of the joys of parenting even if I can’t remember them (mostly due to sleep deprivation.) They also remind me that I can do it. That I have what is needed within me to parent and love well. They remind me to stop and find sources of resilience in G-d through self-care and looking at things through a difference perspective.

This spring, the church offered the Wisdom Heart Parenting Retreats. During the retreat, we focused on a phrase to help us gain perspective and accept circumstances when they don’t go our way: “It is what it is. In light of what it is, who do I want to be and what do I want to do?”

The Church is full of grandparents who can help remind us of who we want to be as parents and how we want to parent—especially when parenting doesn’t go as planned! Parents can’t change the fact that three year olds don’t like getting dressed or don’t understand the words, “Hurry up! We’re late!” But through the support and encouragement of grandparents who have “been there and done that,” we learn to accept what we can’t change and parent with intention and grace.

Pastor Tom Ryberg August/September Congregationalist

As you probably know, I have been out for some weeks this summer, spending some fabulous family time with my newborn son, Luke. At the time of writing this, Luke is 15 weeks old. He's doing well, and Ellie is relishing her new role as big sister. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you, my church family, but also my collective employers, for the space to be away, and for valuing family leave enough to offer it in your call agreements with pastors.

Unfortunately, paid family leave is not a given in America. The legal standard is six weeks of unpaid maternity leave, which doesn't always help new moms make ends meet, and doesn't offer anything to dads. By contrast, here at FCCBC the call agreements we offer our pastors include six weeks of paid family leave, regardless of gender. What a tremendous difference!

As a result of this policy, I have been able to spend significant time with my son during some of his most formative, rapidly-growing weeks. He is at an age where nearly every day brings something new that he couldn't do yesterday. Being able to be present while he learns and grows, I have gotten to know him deeply already -- and he clearly knows who his daddy is as well! I have relished this time with him, and I return to my pastoral work with a sense of deep peace, gladness, and gratitude for the time I have been given with Luke.

So, my church, thank you for being a community of faith that values families. From the preschool, to the Joyful Path children's program, to the family leave you have written into your pastoral call agreements, it is clear that we value children and strive for their well-being however we are able to best impact them. To the extent that my own family has been blessed by this generous commitment this summer, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Pastor Tom Ott August/September Congregationalist

We are a different church today than we were eight years ago when I first came to Battle Creek.  Some familiar faces are no longer present when we gather.  Beloved members and staff have died, moved away, become infirmed or have left our faith community.  Other new faces have come into our church life, some at our 10:00 service and lots at our Koinonia celebration (which only began meeting in 2011). 

For the last six years, we have been guided by the recommendations of Paul Nixon, the church consultant and author of the book, “I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church.” Nixon met with us, studied our demographics, financial trends, membership data and helped us identify the most urgent priorities for our life together. 

His consultation helped us recognize that as a downtown church with an aging membership, we had a limited window of opportunity to reach out to expand our congregation by attracting younger and more diverse people.  His recommendations included:

· Hire an outstanding associate to help us reach the young adults who are not currently in our congregation.

· Reduce the debt burden by at least half

· Market our Open and Affirming status to intentionally create a more diverse church

· Grow the number of small groups until at least half of the worship attendance is engaged in small groups.

· Think families with kids in all things

· Pay close attention to worship growth.

The good news is that we’ve made significant progress on each of these priorities.  That is why we are a different church today then we were when I first came.  And because of the progress we have made and the growth that we have experienced, we have lots of new questions and issues to faithfully discern today.

That is why our church council has decided to engage the entire congregation in a ninety day discernment process called, “ReVision.”  The purpose of the ReVision process to clarify our understanding of the desired future that God is calling us to embody in our life together.  Through a series of six small group conversations, we will work at discerning God’s vision, mission and core values for our faith community.

We will begin the ReVision process in September of this year by inviting everyone to share a daily prayer discipline.  In our worship life we will focus on the sacred texts and songs that speak to the purpose and mission of the church.  And during September, October and November, we will invite everyone to join a small group that will share six guided conversations to help us listen closely to God’s claim on our lives.

At the heart of the ReVision process is the assumption that vision is discerned in community.  It comes to us from God but requires us to listen intently as God speaks through every voice to articulate God’s desired future for First Congregational Church of Battle Creek.

Having greater clarity about our shared vision, mission and core values will help us navigate all of the perplexing challenges and choices we will face as we move forward together in faith.  I look forward to engaging in this community wide discernment process with you throughout the months ahead.

5 Ways the Church Can Build Strong Families

One of the first ways I connected with First Congregational Church was Wednesday night dinners. My three year old, Isaac, looks forward to eating dinner at the church each week. He loves to sit with Tom and Patrice Ott, Toby Haughey and other friends. He especially likes the end of the serving table that usually holds cookies, cake or ice cream.

I love watching my son interact with friends of all ages. Our church has been a place where I have found support and love as a parent of a toddler. Parenting is a mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically exhausting journey. One night a week, I got to have a break. I didn’t have to think about what to make for dinner. Other people wipe Isaac’s face, ask him about what he did at Garden of Dreams Child Care during the day and just love on my son.

Wednesday night dinners are an example of how our church can build strong families. We feed many, many people from the community. Attendees from both services in our faith community attend. Families with children can connect with one another. The sound of little feet and laughter fill the Courtyard.

The Church has the opportunity to build strong families that can greatly influence a child’s life long term. Hosting space such as Wednesday night dinners, provides natural opportunity for church members to take an active role in building strong, resilient families. There are no lesson plans to prepare. It isn’t “children’s ministry.” You don’t have to have special training or certain spiritual gifts to participate in this ministry. You offer yourself, your presence and your love. You show up.

In the Battle Creek community, a group of service providers who work with families with young children convenes each month. We have been talking about five specific ways that we can help build strong families. As we have been discussing these, I have been encouraged by the opportunity that our church has to truly embrace these five ways of building strong families. 

The Church can:

1. Build parental resilience by helping families exercise flexibility and develop inner strength.

2. Assist parents in nurturing social and emotional competence as they give children teach their children to effectively communicate and interact to build positive relationships.

3. Host space for parents and children to make social connection through friendship. These social connections build a support system.

4. Encourage parents to be come their children’s expert. Parenting is part natural instinct and part learned skill.

5. Show parents where they can get concrete support in times of need. Connection to community support and resources increases resilience.

I am so thankful for how members of our faith community have showed up and helped make my family stronger. My son and I are stronger because of you. I hope and pray that other families in our community can view the local church as a place to find to strength and resilience.

—Jaimie Fales-Brown

Pastor Emily Joye July 2015 Congregationalist

I got back from General Synod less than a month ago. My body is finally starting to settle back in from the trip to Cleveland where I spent day after day listening, discerning, voting, and engaging as a delegate on behalf of the Michigan conference. It was my second time as a delegate, and no less charged with passion, responsibility and frustration than the first. Synod is an unparalleled gathering in the life of our denomination: many people, many tasks, lots of worship, time for study, shopping, mingling and very little time for sleep. It was good to reconnect with friends from seminary, to see people from the UCC summer camp I attended as a kid, to see fellow youth group members I grew up with at Claremont United Church of Christ now serving on the denominational Board of Directors as adults. It was good to see a resolution go in front of the national church for the South Dakota Conference to make reparations to the Lakota people by returning land. 

It was even better to see the Synod body vote in almost unanimous favor of that resolution, to watch the wrongs of history being righted before my very eyes. It was powerful to witness the collective body wrestle with language in addressing the human rights violations in Palestine. It was disheartening to hear folks who know very little about what they were talking about stand at the microphone with religious conviction, using God's name as if they were experts needing to address the crowd. Synod is a lot of things but boring isn't one of them!

One of the things that hasn't left me since coming home is how grateful I am to be your pastor.. When I tell people from around the country what kind of ministry we are doing at FCC/Koinonia, people let me know in no uncertain terms just how lucky I am. I don't say that with vanity. I say it with a humble acknowledgment that somehow I've landed the best gig there is. That we are a risk-taking congregation when it comes to worship and social witness, that we are seeking to be actively anti-racist and in solidarity with communities of color as a historically white church, that disability justice is becoming more of a priority, that we are open and affirming without apology especially regarding transgender people, that we engage in ministries of compassion and justice for those on the margins of society, that we have innovative, artistic expressions that fill our worship services with vitality, that children are at the heart of our Koinonia community, that emotional health and care are visibly seen and palpably felt in our membership, that intellectual honesty and theological challenge are core values of our faith--all of this stirs up such pride in me. I can't help but talk about this place with a sense of passion and gratitude.

I know this isn't the church for everyone. I know some folks have had to walk away because our church was/is too progressive or "too political" (whatever that means--though I suspect it has something to do with privilege being challenged). I know some people take issue with pastoral leadership for personal reasons. There is pain in that for me, for us. Truth be told that pain can get louder than the pride for me on some days. But all I have to do is talk with my colleagues and friends around the country to be reminded of just how good we have it here.

I'm grateful to be back home. I'm grateful this church is where I live, move and have my being. With you. 

Pastor Tom Ott July 2015 Congregationalist

For the past few months we’ve watched the water stains spread across the sanctuary ceiling and the plaster loosen as rainwater infiltrated the roof.  After finally paying off the $6.5 million mortgage from the church renovation, it has been a bit heartbreaking to see the beauty of our sacred space marred.

But as homeowners, we all know that facility maintenance and upkeep is never completed.  It requires our ongoing attention and investment.  The same is true of our church facility.  At our congregational meeting on June 10^th we authorized the facility team to replace the roof over the sanctuary.

The facility team has received bids from several different contractors and has chosen the one they believe will provide the best solution to our roofing needs.  They have also chosen a contractor to do the plaster repair on the sanctuary ceiling.  We anticipate the cost of replacing the roof and repairing the plaster to be approximately $120,000.   We are currently in the process of applying to the United Church of Christ Cornerstone Fund for loan to provide the funds necessary to complete the work as quickly as possible.

During the months of August and September we will be asking for everyone’s help to cover the cost of replacing the roof.  It isn’t an expense that we can cover from our operating budget and will need additional funds.  I know that is a big ask, especially since we just completed a third capital campaign to pay off our mortgage, but needs to be done and we can make it happen with everyone contributing what they can.

In August we’ll send out letters informing

everyone of the details of the scope of the work and the costs incurred.  On September 13^th we’ll kick off our fund drive to “raise the roof” and on September 27^th we’ll celebrate the gifts that we have received.

Thank you in advance for your deep commitment to support the work of our church.  I’m excited about all of the inspiring moments we will share together Under This Roof.