"Congregational Life envisions the spirit of the church bringing life to the congregation, and the congregation bringing spirit and life to the church. Our goal is to welcome, develop, and enrich each individual's participation in the church community. Through this mission we endeavor to offer individuals an opportunity to live their faith."

Congregational Life area coordinating team intends to focus on hospitality in 2009.

The team will endeavor to create free space where strangers become friends. Congregational Life hopes to discover and develop methods of connecting people from different backgrounds, interests and generations through activities, service and outreach.

The Congregational Life team desires that everyone experience extravagant welcome since they believe true hospitality imitates God’s welcome and creates opportunity for transformation.

Mora Payne staffs the Care Core Table after church

We hold all people of the church in care, especially those who are experiencing the many challenges life brings or those who may be celebrating a particular joy. Handmade cards and address labels are available in the Narthex at the Care Core Table, which is staffed by the volunteers of the Care Corps.

Picture . . . The People, The Possibilities. Picture receiving 154 commitments for a total of $261,064 for our fiscal operating budget in 2009. How very, very wonderful. We are almost at last year’s level of commitment.

There is roughly another $58,000 in commitments which we received last year but not yet this year. Picture getting those pledges in for a total new commitment of $311,000 which goes beyond the $275,000 we are hoping for. The new level would really would give us possibilities in 2009.

If you have not completed your pledge card, now would be an excellent time to do so. May your New Year be filled with health, happiness and great wonderful experiences.

On October 3, 2008, President Bush signed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which includes an extension of the IRA Charitable Rollover, allowing taxpayers to make current outright gifts of retirement assets. The new law provides that through the years 2008 and 2009, an owner of a Traditional or Roth IRA, who is age 70 1/2 or older, may instruct the Plan Administrator to distribute directly to a public charity, such as University Congregational Church, up to $100,000 without the distribution being included in taxable income, and that the distribution will count toward the IRA owner’s mandatory withdrawal amount. Please contact Joyce at the church office, 543-6952 with further questions, after consulting your financial advisor or tax accountant.

At their June meeting the Congregational Life ministry team planned activities which they hope the congregation will enjoy and participate in. Our goal is to provide all members and friends of our church an opportunity to gather, socialize and deepen our relationships with each other and our Creator.

Osprey Baseball Game

In August the team will gather all who are interested for a Osprey baseball game. The game is on Sunday, August 22 at 5:00 p.m. against Casper, Wyoming. Reserved seats are $7 per person. You will need to sign up and purchase your ticket previous to game time. The team will need to know how many tickets to purchase.

Ride the Hiawatha Trail

On August 28 we are planning to ride the Hiawatha bike trails. We plan to gather in front of the church at 9:00 a.m. Saturday to caravan to the trailhead outside Taft. Please pack a lunch and bring water.

For those wishing to rent bicycles or additional equipment, a group will go to Lookout Pass Ski area, which is about 5 miles from Taft. Rentals available include bikes, lights and helmets.

The cost to ride the trail is $9 per adult and $6 for children 6 to 13 years old; children under 6 are free. The cost of the shuttle to bring us back is $9 for adults and $6 for children 6 to 13 years old.

We hope to be on the trail by 12:30 p.m., and ride the bus back to the start by 3:30 p.m. We should return to Missoula about 7:00 p.m. More information is at Ride the Hiawatha or pick up a information sheet by the sign up board in the narthex.

Please visit with your friends within and outside the church and mark your calendars to join us for one or all of these wonderful opportunities. Thank you.

The 6th annual Summer Bash was such a wonderful event in July, with quite a few UCC friends expressing regret they had to miss it, so we thought “why not have another Bash in August?” And so we are! Here’s the scoop: Friday, August 20, meet at Graybeals’ ranch at 11 a.m. with either a side-dish, salad or dessert in hand (we will provide the meat, drink and place settings) to eat, visit, laugh and get better acquainted with some of your UCC family during an outdoor lunch. Wear country-summer clothes, please. After lunch we will all drive to Philipsburg to attend their all-vaudeville performance at 2 p.m. We’ve already seen it and think it is great this year. Tickets cost $17 or are discounted to $15 if we number 20 folks or more. Please sign up at church so we can reserve a theatre seat for you. Joyce will coordinate car-pooling. All are welcome, newcomers and those who attended Bash Part I. Graybeals’ phone is 288-3353 for any questions.

SHARED MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES

Look for sign-up sheets in the narthex for all individuals interested in helping with church service and improvement projects. Church service includes ushering, reading scripture, sound system and Fireside Café. Improvement projects will offer window washing, pew cleaning, gardening, painting and other maintenance items for our facility.

Be sure to check the sign-ups out or call 543-6952.

Bonnie Buckingham, here pictured with her parents, received the YWCA award as a "Woman of Excellence" on May 15, 2008. Bonnie is an integral part of the food security network in Missoula. As program operations manager of the Missoula Food Bank, she oversees the day-to-day activities and programs of the food bank. She also facilitates the Comunity Food and Agriculture Coalition (CFAC), a food policy council. Congratulations, Bonnie!

Grace and Helen with Lt. Gov. John Bolinger

The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services selected Helen Bolle, Grace Will and Shirley Tiernan to receive the Governor’s World AIDS Day Recognition Award for their efforts in HIV/AIDS prevention work. The award presentation took place Friday, November 30 in the State Capitol Rotunda in Helena. Following the awards ceremony there was a catered luncheon. We are very proud of these ladies and celebrate their commitment to a worthy cause!

Our own Amy Carter and Helen Bolle were recently honored by the Y.W.C.A. as "Women of Excellence". Amy and Helen were presented with these beautiful glass engravings and some specially designed Barney Jette jewelry at the annual Salute to Excellence Banquet on May 24th. Amy was nominated by Lisa Firehammer and Helen by Shirley Tiernan. They join a long list of Missoula women and quite a few UCC women who have recieved this prestigious award. Congratulations!

Joyce Watson was honored at the UCC National Synod in Hartford, CT! this past June as the Honored Laywoman for the Montana-Northern Wyoming Conference. Joining Joyce at the Honored Laywoman's Luncheon were most of the Montana delegation, including Rev. Amy Carter, and also Rev. Lynn Simcox, former UM Campus Pastor and former MT-N.Wy. Conference Interim Minister. Congratulations, Joyce! You let it shine!

The UCC Women's Fellowship meets the first Thursday of every month September - May at 1:30 PM for a luncheon and lecture or program,(excluding January). It is a time for women to become acquainted with one another and share hopes and dreams, find peace and quietness in our faith, widen our horizons on our faith journey, and facilitate our service in mission of God's love. Women's Fellowship is open to all people in the church, men or women, young or not-as-young. All are invited to partake.

The Women’s Fellowship will meet on February 4th at 12:30 p.m. for cookies, fruit and tea in the Fireside Room. The UCCC Preschool children will provide the music and fun! Everyone is cordially invited to attend.

What are Doris and Ruby looking at?
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