Living Waters: January 2026

Communications Coordinator
Jan 5
11 min read

United in Spirit and inspired by God’s grace,

We welcome all, love all, and seek justice for all Creation.

Jan. 4 Epiphany Sunday with Communion and Choir 9:15 Inquirer’s Gathering 10:45

Jan. 6 Bible Study 10:00

Jan. 7 Bell Choir 6:00 Choir 7:00

Jan. 11 Baptism of Jesus Sunday with Bell Choir 9:15

Jan. 12 Worship Team 10:00 Finance Committee 6:00 Hospitality 7:00

Jan. 13 Bible Study 10:00 Board of Property 6:00

Jan. 14 Pilgrim Guild 12:00 Noon Bell Choir 6:00, Choir 7:00

Jan. 16 Spaghetti Dinner

Jan. 17 All Bodies All Minds (Zoom) 10:00

Jan. 18 Sunday Worship with Contemporary Band 9:15 ISAIAH Caucus Training 10:45

Jan. 19 Martin Luther King Day

Jan. 20 Bible Study 10:00, Out to Lunch Bunch 12:00 Noon, Coordinating Council 5:45

Jan. 21 Bell Choir 6:00, Choir 7:00

Jan. 25 Sunday Worship with Choir 9:15 Congregational Meeting

Feb. 1 Sunday Worship with Communion & Choir 9:15, Chili Cook-off

Worship Page

Jan. 4 Epiphany / Communion Sunday with Choir

Scriptures: Isaiah 60: 1-6 (Arise, shine; for your light has come!), Matthew 2: 1-12 (Magi followed the star) and John 1: 1-5 (In the beginning was the Word…the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it).

Preacher: Pastor Kathy

Sermon Title: ‘The light shines…and the darkness could not overcome it!”

Jesus is the light of the world, and so are we! The light Cannot be extinguished, ever! We are an integral part of this Good News!

Jan. 11 Baptism of Jesus, Bell Choir

Scriptures: Is 42: 1-9 (He will bring justice to the nations) & Mt 3: 13-17 (Baptism of Jesus)

Preacher: Rev. Justin Sabia-Tanis

Sermon Title: “Bring Forth Justice to the Nation”

Jesus is baptized and named as God’s beloved child; Isaiah tells us that God’s chosen one will, without doing any harm, establish justice on the earth and liberate the oppressed. In this time of turmoil in our cities and in our world, what does it mean to bring forth justice to the nation? How might our Christian values and God’s promises offer us practical guidance and hope.

Jan. 18 2nd Sunday After Epiphany & Contemporary Band

Scriptures: Is 49: 1-6 (God called me before I was born…)& John 1: 29-42 (He will baptize with Spirit)

Preacher: Pastor Kathy

Sermon Title: “Called Before We Were Born”

God calls each of us from the moment our lives begin. We are to be ‘a light to the nations…!

Jan. 25 3rd Sunday after Epiphany & Choir CONGREGATIONAL MEETING!

Scriptures: Is. 9: 1a, 2-4a (The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light) & Mt 4: 12-23 (Jesus calls several disciples)

Preacher: Pastor Kathy

Sermon Title: “Walking in the Light”

Jesus calls all of us to ‘walk in the light.’ The disciples aren’t the only ones who answered this call!

Who walks in the light today?

Feb. 1 4th Sunday after Epiphany & Communion Sunday with Choir

Scriptures: Micah 6: 6-8 (This is what God requires of you…) & Mt. 5: 1-12 (Beatitudes)

Preacher: Pastor Kathy

Sermon Title: “What Does God Require of Us?”

‘To act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with our God’ fits the spirit of the Beatitudes. Is that all there is to it?

USHER HELP!!!!!

Two of our four ushers are traveling for part of the winter and we would love to have some replacements. Talk to Kathy Itzin or Dawn Carlson Conn if you are interested in volunteering in this way.

Pastor’s Column

The Gift of the Quiet Ones

Many of us are very active during the time surrounding Christmas and New Year’s. Holiday gatherings, advocating for the vulnerable, protesting injustice, addressing rising healthcare expenses, and trying to recognize political opponents as siblings are just a few of the things that occupy our minds. It’s a lot! In the midst of all this, we can miss the light of the steady, quieter ones among us.

I recently read an article that mentioned the reliable, (mostly thankless) work of snowplow drivers operating in the middle of the night. Bakers. Maintenance workers. The folks who work at Target. I thought of those who shovel the sidewalks at our church, people who mow the lawn in summer, stuff envelopes, format the bulletin, write cards to the sick, call the homebound, or attend planning meetings. This work is not flashy. It isn’t often celebrated. And yet, how would the community exist without them? We can expand this into the many, many ways that we serve our families and friends, our neighborhoods, the city, the nation, and the larger world community.

We hear about people in the news who work hard to change the world, and that includes people like us. And a large part of changing the world involves those who work quietly, without fanfare, in ways that may seem small to them. This is work that matters. This love provides the constant basis for healing, for continuing to move about, for getting things done. So, this January, as we move from “Holiday Time” back into “Ordinary Time,” let us take a relaxing breath, and thank God for the quiet ones among us. Let us take a step back and recognize the goodness of silence and peace within ourselves.

Peace,

Pastor Kathy

THANK YOU GREETERS!

We are a welcoming and hospitable congregation! However, no visitor realizes this until after worship when the smiles and handshakes happen. Therefore the role of the GREETER prior to worship is exceedingly important. Thank you to the following people who have greeted before worship in the past three months! Carol Anderson, Jim & Nancy Greenwood, Dan & Karrie Haugen, NormaRae Hunt, Lola May Moser, Millia Saade, and Garth Schumacher. Our apology if we missed your name on this list! Please join us for a now and then opportunity to serve!!

-Your Membership Growth Committee

The Out to Lunch Bunch will meet on Tuesday, January 20 at noon

at Teresa’s Mexican Restaurant, 5621 Duluth St., Golden Valley. This is a great opportunity to get to know others in a fun atmosphere while enjoying a good meal! Join us!

UPCOMING INQUIRER’S GATHERING – SUNDAY, JANUARY 4, 10:45 AM

Would you like to learn more about RPUCC and what becoming a member involves?

Please join us following coffee hour at 10:45 Sunday, January 4th, in Heritage Hall for the next Inquirer’s Gathering!

ADVENT THANKS!!!

To the many people who made our Advent meaningful and beautiful, thank you!! To Emily Braun, who led the decorating in November and to Sue and Scott Wieker, the Hammill family, and to Dave Goetsch for helping her.

To the Three Wise Guys, who put up

the panels in the back: Ken Mallak, Dave Goetsch and Dave Hendel and to Emily and Kia Hammill for cutting out and mounting the ever increasing HOPE on the back wall. Also thanks to Kia for writing the hopeful words on the doves (which were cut out and painted by Dawn back in the 90’s when RUCC celebrated its 100th Anniversary.) And thank you all for your presence at worship and other gatherings!!!!!!

Our Food Shelf committee has decided to concentrate on one or two most needed items every 1-2 months. For January and February, we are collecting diapers and wipes. Please place these items in the designated basket by the office. We appreciate your support! For more information or to help with sorting, bagging, or transporting items, contact Nicole Anderson (nicolejanderson11@gmail.com), Diane Amundson (loonlake200@hotmail.com), or Dianne Star (diannestar54@gmail.com).

UPCOMING SOCIAL JUSTICE EVENT – SUNDAY, JANUARY 18.

isaiahmn.org

You are invited on to an upcoming ISAIAH training event! WHEN: Sunday, January 18, 10:45 – 12:45 .WHERE: Here at RPUCC in the Heritage Hall. Join other people of faith in learning how to support a values agenda for AFFORDABILITY, DIGNITY, & COMMUNITY in the upcoming election year. Seven of our members have already engaged with ISAIAH events in recent weeks—we’ve come away inspired to do more!

Please join us and add your name to the sign-up sheet in the lobby!

Five members of our congregation attended the Sat. Dec. 13th Isaiah gathering at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The photo captures a scene with 5,000 attendees. It was an inspiring and empowering event. Isaiah is a multi-racial, multi-faith, statewide organization with a plan to promote Affordability, Dignity and Community as a campaign vision for our nation. Isaiah is providing tools and organization to help us move this vision into the political process for the 2026 election year. As people of faith, stay tuned for more opportunities to engage with Isaiah.

“Help Overcome the Blood Shortage” Blood Drive!

Blood supplies are critically low. We will start our 2026 Blood Drive schedule on Tuesday, January 6. All donors will be automatically entered for a chance to win a trip for 2 to Super Bowl LX. Other open dates are Tuesday, March 3, and Tuesday, April 28. All appointment times are 1:00 – 6:45 p.m. Make your appointment for any of all of the drives using your Blood Donor app (on Google Play Store or on Apple App Store) or at https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=RdaleUnited or scan the QR Code.

988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (call or text)

Mental Health Connect offers navigators who help remove barriers and complexity so that you can gain access to providers and resources for your unique situation. Navigation and follow-up services are free, individualized, and confidential. Call or text 612-642-1220.

Email navigator@mhconnect.org, or fill out the navigator request form on their website

at mhconnect.org. RPUCC is part of the Mental Health Connect Collaborative.

Share the Care Offering for January is Simpson Housing (simpsonhousing.org) whose mission is ”To house, support, and empower people impacted by homelessness.” To donate, drop coins into the offering plate at church; place coins, bills, or checks into the designated container at worship; or mail a check to the church.

Make checks to RPUCC and put “Simpson” or “Jan” in the memo field.

To donate online, go to https://www.osvhub.com/robbinsdale-ucc/giving/funds,

click “Give Now” under the “Other” choice and follow the directions.

Hospitality Report

We sadly said ‘Goodbye’ to LolaMay Moser who is stepping down from both our committee and being the point person for funerals. We are looking for a replacement! This person would be coordinate information with the family. An information check list is provided. Although Cordelia Strandskov will do most of the phone work, you would provide help the day of the funeral. You would not be doing it alone! Please contact KathyJo for more information!

Friday, Jan.16^th will bring our Spaghetti Dinner! Please see Karen Ell if you would be willing to put a sign in your yard! Also put Sunday February 1^st on your calendar and polish up your favorite chili recipe for our annual cook-off. Both We add Mary Herkel & Ashley Carlson decided to join our group!

We are working on a process to provide composting. Our garbage service does not include that, so we need a volunteer who is willing to take it home. Our current plates and cups are compostable, but we are challenged with how to prevent people from putting non-compostable items in the container.

We also sent out 35 Christmas Cards and delivered cookies locally to 20 of our shut ins.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!! And be Hospitable to all.

Kathy Jo Gausman

RPUCC Ministries

RPUCC members are involved in a variety of community service organizations. If you are interested in more information about one of these ministries, please reach out to the contact person listed in this table. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZXjg7fvrAkG8LcE1fmk2k0R3lxNLGLlBIto1ZOkfZ2k/edit?usp=sharing

~ Ken Beck (SheriKenBeck@yahoo.com, 612-599-0491)

GO GREETERS! The seemingly small job of standing near our church doors and welcoming all is no small matter. First impressions make a difference. The warmth of a smile and words of welcome invite us into the Beloved Community. Whether you’re a young child, an adolescent, or an adult of any age, we need a welcome.

The Membership Growth Team, Lola May, Millia, NormaRae, Pastor Kathy, and Victor, thank the following adults and young people for also serving as greeters in this last quarter. Jim & Nancy Greenwood, Jeannette Rost, Garth Schumacher, Dick and Nancy Larson, Nathan Syverson, Dan and Karrie Haugan, Jim and Louiva Puffer, Ashley Carlson, Charlie Stout, Aleric Loelman, and Mary Herkel Never greeted? We’d love to have you don an RPUCC vest and start greeting 20 minutes before worship!

SHARED MINISTRY – AN INTEREST & SKILLS INVENTORY IS COMING TO YOU!

Our congregation has always had a partnership of laity and clergy serving in myriad ways to follow Jesus into the world. Serving together usually falls into these areas:

· spiritual life such as worship and spiritual practices · belonging and community, such as congregational care and hospitality · outreach, service and justice, offering both charitable service and justice work,

· administration, such as buildings and grounds care, finances, church governance, etc.

· faith formation, supporting children in Sunday School, youth in Confirmation, and adults in Bible study, book groups, and forums

These are many ways of serving God, making us a healthy and vital spiritual community.

One year ago, the strategic planning process known as “Growth & Vitality” added a 2026 goal of further developing our shared ministry. Very simply the goal is to better organize our ministry in all the areas listed above. What do we mean by better organize? Allow more ways for more people to share the load. Instead of relying on one person to hold all the knowledge or responsibility for a particular part of our ministry, we need to have several people share that knowledge and responsibility. We need to have ways for folks to both rotate on and off a committee, for example. We need to strengthen our lay leaders by supporting relevant workshops or resources in each area of ministry.

The Shared Ministry team was recently formed and includes John Lapointe, NormaRae Hunt, Sue Wieker, Teresa George, Tim Hoppe and Pastor Kathy. Our purpose is to empower partners in ministry by calling forth the skills, experience and interests of the laity for the purpose of servant leadership. We are here to help recruit, orient, and celebrate lay leadership throughout the year.

This month, on January 4^th, you will hear from Rev. Kathy Itzin about our shared ministry goal of offering a congregational interest and skills inventory. This inventory will be available on four Sundays, beginning the second Sunday, January 11^th. We want you to complete this inventory!

The Shared Ministry team will then gather the results and share that information. We’ll find out from the inventory who is interested in serving in one-time opportunities, (such as helping with a fundraiser or yard clean-up day), shorter recurring commitments (like greeting, ushering etc.) or a term limited committee opportunity. All these ways of serving are equally valuable and essential. Stay tuned, as we begin this new year by exploring with you the ways you may serve as a partner in ministry.

Treasurers Report:

My report here will be brief. We are behind in pledges for 2025 by about $17,000. Please make sure that your pledges for 2025 are up to date!

Our expenses for 2025 (so far) are below what was budgeted. Please make sure that you submit your pledge for 2026. Our 2026 budget depends on your pledge!

The finance team continues to work on a draft operating budget for 2026. It will be brought to the Council in January and then to the congregation for approval at our congregational meeting on Jan. 25th. We are expecting costs to increase due to inflation, so next year’s budget will be tight. Costs will be going up and some sources of income will no longer be available.

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Ken Beck, Treasurer

sherikenbeck@yahoo.com

Summary of Council Meeting, December 16, 2025

Here is a summary of the RPUCC Council meeting of 12/16/25. If you would like a full version of the notes, please let Teresa George know and they will be emailed to you (tmorigeorge81@gmail.com).

With the assistance of Mr. Jim LaDoux (Growth and Vitality Committee consultant), Council recommended term limits and a renewal period, as well as a process for implementation of term limits for all current committees. There are some “affinity committees” for which there are exceptions as to the length of involvement (choir, etc.) The recommendations will be presented at the January 2026 meeting of the Shared Ministry Launching Team. The finance report notes work is being done on the 2026 budget. Several items tabled for January 2026 requiring further discussion time: possible additions to the Faith Community Covenant, requests for building use, a possible Wellness Fair, and the endowment disbursement.