Upcoming Events
Zion is now holding in person services in the sanctuar. Please consider joining us online for a Facebook live stream of our service. We also have a radio station carrying our service live that you can access from our parking lot. Tune to 96.5 to hear the service as it happens. October 4th Neighbors in Need Offering Communion during worship October 12th Ladies' Fellowship Mtg in the Sanctuary Letter from
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In the News!Want to receive the Chimes newsletter electronically? Email the church office at zionuccbaroda@gmail.com with your e-mail address and you will be added to the list.
Mend the Wing Photo Gallery Zion's web-site now accepts on-line donations! UCC Daily Devotions
Each day authors from the UCC provide a powerful devotional. Click on the link to take you to the day's reflections. Contact Us:
Rev. Calandra Nevenzel - Pastor Susan M - Office Manager zionuccbaroda@gmail.com Rhonda H - Bookkeeper zionuccbaroda@gmail.com Music Director zionuccbaroda@gmail.com Jessica M - Christian Education jmachiniak@gmail.com Office Hours: Mon-Thur: 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. How We are Doing Church in a Pandemic
The MLG, Pastor Cal, and many others of us are carefully watching and waiting as we review safety protocols in light of COVID-19. We will keep you updated, but for now we will be continuing with the current way that worship is being done. We urge you to stay home and view our livestream which you can find on our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/ZionUCCBaroda or join the “Parking Lot Party” outside the church building to listen to the radio broadcast. If you are unable to do so, we are allowing a small number of folks to worship inside the building as long as you follow the current protocols. We want to highlight some of the extra safety precautions we are taking at Zion UCC, as these are important in protecting one another and folks in our community. It is also important to take extra care now so that we are able to move forward and do the things we love to do again. Please remember that only our sanctuary and narthex are open right now in the building on Sunday mornings. Avoiding other spaces helps so that we only have to clean and disinfect a smaller area. Masks are required for entry into the building. If you are uncomfortable wearing a mask, you can access our worship service from one of the other ways it is being offered. Please sit at least 6 feet away from other families and do your best to keep distance between you at all times. You will notice some pews taped off to help guide us. Please remember not to congregate or take off your masks right outside the front door. We want to give space for folks to exit while still socially distancing. I would encourage you to continue wearing your mask outside, especially if you are within 6 feet of other people. During the worship service, we will not sing out loud and we will do very little responsive reading. We will not be passing offering plates, but there is a plate at the back of the sanctuary and you can also give online. If you would like give during the offering time, you could write your check or donate on your phone: https://www.zionuccbaroda.org/donate.html We know this is not comfortable for any of us. Let us stay the course and be the church no matter what. These small precautions are just a little inconvenience for us as we protect one another and our community. Let us love God and love our neighbor! 
A singular focusWhen we try to focus on too many things at once, sometimes we end up doing nothing well. During a visit to their house (see Luke 10:38-42), Jesus tells Martha that only one thing is needed and that Mary has chosen rightly. Surely Jesus doesn’t mean that quiet devotion is needed while serving others is not. But when we let ourselves get “worried and distracted by many things,” we may lose sight of the one crucial thing: love.
St. Francis is credited with the following quote: “God came to my house and asked for charity. And I fell on my knees and cried, ‘Beloved, what may I give?’ ‘Just love,’ God said. ‘Just love.’” And in Galatians 5:6 (NRSV), St. Paul writes, “For in Christ Jesus … the only thing that counts is faith working through love.” Amid all the worthy pursuits that fill your days, remember to choose rightly — by choosing love. 
All workers are essential The concept of vocation, Latin for “to call,” previously referred only to a calling to church work. But then Martin Luther emphasized the importance — and even sanctity — of all types of labors. The reformer pointed out that “God doesn’t need our good works, but our neighbor does.” RJ Grunewald, in a blog post titled “God Makes Pizza,” describes how this looks today: “God is busy about his work in the midst of your work whether you realize it or not. The laundry, the spreadsheets, the phone calls and the cups of coffee are all deeply spiritual because God is at work in the world. He is serving your family, your coworkers and your community through the work you do. God is at work providing ‘daily bread’ through the work that you do, no matter what that work is.” |
