July article for Plymouth's "Good News" newsletter

Dear friends and family of Plymouth,

I have just returned from a week of directing one of our summer camps, the Music Art Dance and Drama camp at Moon Beach. Four of our young people were also there, and we had a magnificent time! We are so blessed to have two amazing year-long camps/retreat-centers in our Conference. Thousands of youth and adults come closer to God and to one another at the many camps, retreats, workshops, and other gatherings that take place at Moon Beach and Pilgrim Center. Take a look at their offerings at http://www.ucci.org - you might find something that would interest you, with activities for children like summer camp, but also family camps for families of any size and ages (children not required); and activities year-round for adults like golfing, quilting, cooking, Wild Women, song writing, health and wellness, and retreats for those over 60. Part of Our Church's Wider Mission donations goes to support our camps, and through the Conference's generosity over the years we have updated them to be modern in amenities while maintaining a spiritual sense of peace and calm. 

I was also at our Conference's Annual Meeting, which is always a fun family reunion of a few hundred people from around the state. We voted for the Conference to be Open and Affirming, which was more a validation of how we have operated for the past 20 or so years than anything new. We also celebrated 20 years of our Lay Academy and the 200+ graduates, some of whom are now serving churches as licensed pastors, and most of whom are serving their congregations as dedicated and educated lay leaders. We heard reports from our search committees about thier processes in finding a permanent Conference Minister and two Associate Conference Ministers, which searches are ongoing, hopefully to be filled by next summer. And we had our usual excellent worship services, some other business (like passing a budget), and a lot of fellowship time as the gathered church. 

Here at Plymouth, we continue to work on our evangelism and outreach, with some new members to be added in the coming weeks. Our street ministry has been very busy, especially helping a few new mothers through their pregnancies and births, and also the many others of our brothers and sisters living on the streets who need food, water, clothing, rides to job interviews or help with finding work, and so on. We are doing some powerful ministry here in Eau Claire, thanks to our dedicated volunteers and many of you who have provided food, clothing, and money donations. We can always use extra money for gas - or better yet, gas cards, which will help Plymouth twice: our income from the scrip, plus the help to our street ministry.

Good things are going on for Plymouth and our denomination. You probably know someone who would love to join in on what we are doing - invite them! Lots of people are not in churches on Sundays, and a recent statistic I saw said that one reason they aren't there is because most of them have never been invited. 

Many blessings,