mar under military control or the simple “I Believe” stories of faith reminded us of our utter and complete need for Jesus to do it all. Communications contributors created words and/or images that helped us communicate with each other in big and little ways during this pandemic year. These include people of all ages (20s-90s): Adugna Tahear, Allan Sholes, Ann Lawrenz, Ann VanDerMolen, Annelise Thrasher, Barb DeLew, Barbara Mill, Ben Pehrson, Beth Tebbe, Brian Blackburn, Budi Tjahjadi, Charlie Stevens, Cheryl Warner, Chris Arndt, Chris Iverson, Christy Otten, Curt Miller, Dave Jordan, Dorothy Forsberg, Ellen Elwell, Erick Solomon, George Bednar, Greg Hurst, Jacob Warren, Jeff VanDerMolen, Jeff Wencel, Jenni Paulson, Jim Hansen, Jim Tebbe, John Maust, John Melby, Jonathan Merry, Josh Moody, Julie Clemens, Karis Rigby, Katherine Baylis, Kathy Hansen, Kiersten Oslund, Leland Ryken, Leslie Trautwein, Liz Reid, Lorraine Triggs, Luis Orellana, Manny Mill, Marilyn Papierski, Mark Papierski, Marr Miller, Mary Cerutti, Michelle Kelley, Nancy Singer, Nancy Tally, Nick Girgis, Nicole H, Pat Cirrincione, Sarah Nelson, Simone Halpin, Steve Dresselhaus, Susan Zimmerman, Terri Kraus, Vijai Kuruppacherry, Vanessa Roth, Vic Trautwein, Virginia Hughes, Wallace Alcorn, Wendell Hawley, Zach Fallon. Thanks to every person who contributed to the communication ministries of College Church. In Russell Moore’s book The Courage to Stand: Facing Your Fear without Losing Your Soul, he writes, “God will usually see to it that most of what he does through you is invisible to you. Sometimes it will even look as though you are failing…That’s not the way of the hero. But it is the way of the disciple.” I hope that’s true, and that God is doing many things through me and College Church that none of us can report because we are disciples. It is his work, not ours. 14
Julie Clemens Director of Disability Ministries Usually when we write up our annual report, we focus in on what’s new and different, what was memorable and what should College Church congregants know about STARS ministry. To put it bluntly, everything is the one answer to all the above. STARS ministry has been affected the most by the pandemic than other College Church ministries. Even as I write this in early April, we have not yet met in person. That is because the vast majority of the STARS are immunocompromised and at risk of fatality if they did get coronavirus. This is especially true for our friends with Down Syndrome, who face a 10 times greater risk of mortality if they get it. So, most of the STARS families have been staying at home, but we’ve found blessings despite this. We started on Palm Sunday of 2020 with our first prerecorded class. We included worship music and prayer along with coloring books with pages to support the lesson learned. Last summer we held a VBS, and the STARS learned how to use technology and loved seeing each other. They learned about putting on the armor of God during these difficult times. In September, we went live with Sunday morning classes at 9:00. We’ve had almost 80% of our preCOVID attendance in these classes each week, and after our lessons, we break down into small groups. None of this would be possible without our volunteers who serve faithfully. We’ve also found that some STARS are joining us who hadn’t previously. This was due to distance from church, their disability and stress. When we do begin meeting in person, we will continue to include remote learners.
