On Monday, October 17, at 6:30 pm St. Paul’s UCC Church will host an Indigenous Peoples’ Day event
with two national speakers from the Division of Indian Affairs in Minneapolis. We will invite members
of Indivisible, the Delano Diversity Task Force, and members of the Delano Spirit of Community. With
this size of a group, we will need to set up all the tables in the fellowship area. In addition, we will serve
snacks like the ones we do each Sunday morning (coffee, juice, water, crackers, sausage, cheese, fruit,
cookies, bars). If you are willing to bring something, sign up or let Lani and Shawne know.
Last year in a proclamation, President Biden said we should “honor Native Americans, their resilience,
and their contributions to American society throughout history, even as they faced assimilation,
discrimination, and genocide spanning generations.”
In July Pope Francis was in Canada, on what he called a “Pilgrimage of Penance”. He traveled around to
apologize for the Catholic Church’s role in residential school systems where indigenous children were
mandated to attend. Residential schools were funded by the government and administered by the Catholic
Church. They aimed at erasing the culture and language of indigenous children. The apology from Pope
Francis this summer comes after years of allegations detailing abuse and neglect at these residential
boarding schools. Our speakers will tell the story of this history.
***September Council Meeting Minutes ***
St. Paul’s United Church of Christ
Council Meeting Minutes
September 11, 2022
Call to Order – Dave @ 10:50am
Additions or Deletions to Agenda – 5-year plan
Review and approval of Council Minutes from August 14, 2022 – Motion to accept minutes
made by Shala, seconded by Mike and unanimously approved.
Review and Approval of financial statements – Major annual donations received and will help
support UCC and Missions going forward. Most expenses were normal with two exceptions.
We paid balance of Cushion expense and reduced frequency of lawn care / expense. After
agreeing to minor housekeeping on Report, Shala made motion to approve, Dave seconded,
and motion carried.
Pastor’s Report – Back from a week of vacation and preparing for Bible study beginning this
month. 1Corinthians is on the agenda and this study will demonstrate much similarity with our
society today.
Newsletter Ideas – Jim made a impassioned appeal for Newsletter input recently at Sunday
service and it worked. Good job Jim. Thanks to all for your newsletter input and please keep it
coming.
Old Business
Website/Social Media improvement update by Mike & Jim – We have begun working with Rod
@ Tech warrior. We started learning about current website, editing content and Themes. A
Theme is a website format, if you will. What we want it to look like. Initial homework
assignment was to research Themes and learn more about current site. All Events will
eventually be posted. (i.e., AA, Bible studies, etc.) Will note pertinent AA meeting types.
Aug 27 Culturally Responsive dinner review – Event went well. Interesting food and great
documentary.
Pastor Bridget’s vacation / Sunday 9/4 service review. Service w/o Pastor went well. Shout
out to all reader’s and especially Margaret who kept us all on track.
Indigenous People’s Day on Monday Oct. 10 & St Paul/s will host an Event on the 17th at 7pm.
We will have a speaker and serve coffee and light snacks.
Cemetery Committee Update – Committee will meet soon. Judy suggested cemetery clean up
not necessary this year. Dave also will check in on trees.
***September Council Meeting Minutes Continued ***
New Business
Church grounds cleanup/maintenance – Council walked the church property.
As usual, Dave has done much work on the church grounds. Many Hosta plants and wood chips
have been reclaimed for use at no cost for our property. Our walkabout yielded much potential
upkeep and maintenance to consider. Roofs, trees, concrete repair and others. We will revisit
some outdoor items at the October council meeting. Others will make their way to our 5- year
planning. Be prepared for a short notice call to help rake leaves and window cleaning.
Holiday season ahead – We are looking for Holiday suggestions. Everything from new church
service ideas to music planning, and as always, innovated decorations suggestions.
Next Council meeting will be October 9th following Fellowship.
Shala moved to adjourn, and Dave seconded. Motion carried @ 12:30pm.
October Cultural Responsive Dinner
On Saturday, October 29th St. Paul’s Church will hold our next Cultural Responsive Dinner at
the Rieder Homestead Barn at 5:00. The country and culture we will celebrate is Liberia,
Africa, on the opposite side of the continent from Tanzania. James Woiwor is from Liberia
and will talk about his experiences in Liberia and his decision to move to Minnesota. Watch
for recipes from Liberia later in October, but James warns us that they are spicy.
Liberia is a coastal country in West Africa which
was founded by freed slaves of color from the US who
purchased land with the help of a private organization
(American Colonization Society). Liberia was founded in
1822 as an outpost for returning freed slaves from the
Americas. It grew into a colony and eventually became a
commonwealth and achieved independence in 1847. Liberia
was recently in the news because in 2016-2017 Liberia
was among the countries who had cases of Ebola. Liberia
also had a woman president from 2006-2018. Join us on
October 29th to learn more about Liberia.