From the Pastor's Desk - Zion United Church of Christ
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From the Pastor’s Desk
“ You know the commandments: Don’t commit murder. Don’t commit adultery. Don’t steal.
Don’t give false testimony. Don’t cheat. Honor your father and mother.”
Mark 10:19
We know the ten commandments. We follow them everyday. But some people in our world
do not care what we believe or what harm they cause other people. In the past few weeks and
months I have received emails about pastors being hacked and their email being used to steal and de-
fraud people of money. You may have received a letter from the Illinois South Conference about this
topic. I encourage you to take it seriously. I want to take a moment and share with you, that if you
receive an email from me that appears to be asking for money to help pay for something know I did
not send it. If you ever wonder if I sent you something please feel free to reach out to me.
But, not everyone in our world operates as we do. Some feel the need to steal or cheat, be-
cause they think it is the only way to get ahead or it may be fun for them. Either way we have to take
precautions. I have added the letter about Cyber security from the Illinois South Conference to our
newsletter for you to read yourself. We know not to steal, it is part of our core beliefs in the ten com-
mandments, which cover more than just theft.
Do not kill, do not take a life, do not murder, I don’t know how else to say it. Too many times
I am hearing the news about another shooting. No matter who the shooter is, or who the victim is we
are hearing and seeing this too much. Research tells me that “the vast majority of Americans (90%)
believe in some kind of higher power, with 56% professing faith in God as described in the Bible and
another 33% saying they believe in another type of higher power or spiritual force. Only one-in-ten
Americans say they don’t believe in God or a higher power of any kind.” I know of no deity that in-
structs people to kill someone else to honor them. I know our God teaches, love, mercy, forgiveness,
compassion and justice, none of which are death. Let us refocus ourselves to justice and peace in our
world, our town, our neighborhoods and our families. So, let us, to the best of our ability, teach those
we meet what God teaches, love, mercy, forgiveness, compassion and justice, not hate.
Rev. Stephen Stark
HIS Ministry
The Hearts In Service (H.I.S.) Ministry of Zion UCC is a congregational care organization
that works with the pastor to determine the ministerial needs of the congregation. In the past
we have organized meals for home-bound members, visited members in their homes, in the
hospital and also in nursing homes, organized get-togethers at local restaurants and sent birth-
day, anniversary and "thinking of you" cards. Unfortunately, the past year has been challeng-
ing and we have been unable to do most of these duties with the exception of the greeting
cards. We look forward to working more with Pastor Stephen as health restrictions are lifted.
We would like to ask the congregation to do us a favor by letting the church office know your
birthday or anniversary and also checking to make sure the office has your correct mailing ad-
dress. HIS Ministry is composed of Beverly Adams (chairperson), Michelle Washburn (co-
chairperson), Julie Edwards, Nancy Hummert, Leanne McDonald, Grace Schooley and
Charissa Thorpe. If you would like to know more about us, you can talk to Beverly Adams at
514-9659.
Women’s Guild
The Zion Women's Guild will be having a business meeting on Tuesday, May 4th at
7:00 PM at the church. We will meet in the dining hall of the church so we can be
socially distanced as we discuss upcoming events, set the calendar for the year and
elect officers. Due to Covid restrictions we have not been able to meet so far this
year so we realize that it's very unusual for us to be discussing what will be happen-
ing for the year in the month of May. In the past we have had one of our biggest
events in May with an Ascension Day Service and Lunch but this will be the second
year that we will not be able to do so because of health restrictions. The Women's
Guild is open to all women of the church and we would love to have everyone's in-
put at the meeting on May 4th. For further information about the Women's Guild or
our meetings, please call Linda Bowman at 224-2020.
Board of Trustees
There really hasn't been anything substantial to report over the last couple of months aside from a
couple of doozy winter storms that made clearing and treating the parking lot more interesting.
Pastor Stephen and the Council is looking into introducing several "clean-up" days throughout
the year in an attempt to encourage more individuals to help with clean-up projects that would go
much faster with more people (more hands make less work!) The Council will develop a list of
clean-up projects and combine them or split them up in the most efficient way.
Now that we're done tracking in snow and salt for the season, we will be progressing with a long
overdo scrubbing of the kitchen, fellowship hall and restroom floors. This will take several days
to complete and will be scheduled for a time in the near future while working around the busy
church schedule. This work will become an annual work item going forward.
If anyone has any thoughts for improvements or sees any issues inside the church or anywhere on
the church grounds, please do not hesitate to inform me, Pastor Stephen or any other council
member.
Thank you,
Steve Huelsmann
May Offering dates
to remember
May — Donate to our mission in Aranos, Africa to help
provide fresh produce and food to the school children
at Salmon Boois School.
May 16th Women’s Guild Bakeless Bake sale— The
Women’s Guild helps to provide items for the kitchen
and dining hall as well as various missions at
Zion and in the community.
May 23rd OCWM donation— funds the work the UCC
does in its Associations and Conferences, and in the na-
tional and global church. OCWM funds are invested in
programs, resources, and tools needed to keep local
UCC churches strong, effective, and growing. Did you
know Zion pledges $5000/ year to support this cause?
Your support is greatly appreciated!
Can You Support the
Summer Lunch
Program?
The New Baden Giving Tree will again be sponsoring the Summer Lunch
Program for kids in New Baden and New Memphis. Beginning on May 26, fam-
ilies will be able to receive monthly vouchers to be used at New Baden's Market
Center to cover the costs of specific, healthy lunch items for kids up to the age
of 18. In order for the program to be available for the kids until the start of the
2021-22 school year in August, financial support from the Zion, St. George, and
United Methodist Church families is needed. If you are able to help support this
mission project, please designate "Summer Lunch Program" on the note line of
your check and place it in the offering plate, or send your donation to Zion UCC
Giving Tree at 414 W. Hanover St. New Baden. Thank you in advance for any
donation you can give, the kids and families are very grateful for your support.
Contact Leanne McDonald, Emily Billhartz or Zion UCC church office with any
questions or concerns.
Hello! My name is Sean Cox and I am the new Office
Administrator for Zion UCC! I am a New Baden local,
born and raised for 27 years. I am married to my beautiful
wife Nancy and have an adorable one year old daughter
named Breya. In my off time, I like to read and write, play
video games, and I even run my own weather page on Fa-
cebook. For years, I have had experience working with the
general public and assisting different communities, and
now I am looking forward to helping my community with
the position here at Zion. I hope to meet some wonderful
new people and gain new experiences while I am here!
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
Thank you to EVERYONE that helped with the Zion yard sale! It
was a long and stressful week waiting to see what the weather would
do, but faith and determination won again! Special thanks to all the
wonderful people that worked so hard preparing ahead of time (Evelyn,
Joyce, Judy, Linda, Pat, Pat, Donna, and Tom) and all those that gave
their time to help the day of the sale. You are a blessing to Zion. Profits
from the yard sale were $1715.36 !!!
2—Alexandra Billhartz 19—Brandon Hoeflein
1—Brian & Crissy Krausz
7—Breya Cox Brooke McDonald
3—Jim & Judy Korte
8—Nancy Hummert 20—Evelyn Frerking
16—Chris & Jenny Bassler
9—Debbie Lilley 23—Sid Hougland
17—Gary & Bev Adams
10—Gary Adams 24—Beverly Adams
19—Sean & Nancy Cox
13—Kayne Reed 30—Jerry Aker
20—Michael & Tedi Zotz
The next Savers run will be Saturday,
May 15th. We will meet at the church at
9am to load up all the remaining yard sale
treasures to deliver. We will be back in New
Baden before 11:30am. If you are able to
help, please contact Leanne or the church
office. Your help and muscle is much
appreciated!
Board of Christian Education
The Sunday School will honor all of the ladies of the church on Mother's Day,
May 9. There will be flowers in the gathering space and we ask that you choose one
after worship. We wish all of you a Happy Mother's Day. On May 16th,the BCE
will recognize all 2021 graduates. If you are a graduate of high school, college,
trade school, etc., please inform the church office of your degree, your school, your
school colors and any future plans that you want to share. Congratulations to you
all! We appreciate all who were able to contribute to our Scholarship Sunday.
Thank you for your support. We will be building a float for the June Jamboree pa-
rade. We will be looking for volunteers to help create the float and ride on it. Con-
tact the church office if you want to help. The BCE will be meeting soon to organ-
ize for summer and fall. Hope to see you all soon.
WE PRAY WITH & FOR….
Cathy and Larry Wolfe Hilda Hair
June Mitchell Jim Heatherly Jenn Spengler Elizabeth Jeffries
Sharol Guerin— Clinton Manor
Clara Ballard Dorothy Bridgeforth Bill Malina – Trenton Village
All those in the military, at home and abroad
All those dealing with difficulties related to COVID - 19
Master Schedule
May 2021
Date Time Liturgist Acolyte A/V Tech
May 2 8am Linda Bowman Malory Rodney Washburn
10:30 am Laine Huelsmann Seth Bev Adams
May 9 8am Leanne McDonald Brody Rodney Washburn
10:30 am Tom Hund Bailey Scott Billhartz
May 16 8am Leanne McDonald Seth Rodney Washburn
10:30am Tom Hund Cassie Bev Adams
May 23 8am Laverne Laux Brody Rodney Washburn
10:30am Joe Hummert Maddie Scott Billhartz
May 30 8am Julie Edwards Mallory Rodney Washburn
10:30 am Laine Huelsmann Seth Bev Adams
Thank you to those that help with church services!
Treasurer's Report for the month of March 2021
General Account Memorial Account Building Fund
Balance, 3/1/2021 $43,568.78 $25,362.43 $158,923.32
Income $18,276.39 $433.74 $997.64
Expenses -$16,277.21 $0.00 $0.00
CDs at various banks $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Subtotal $45,567.96 $25,796.17 $159,920.96
Capital Campaign Acct. $91,208.90
Emergency Fund $27,739.01
Balance, 3/31/2021 $45,567.96 $25,796.17 $278,868.87
CYBER SECURITY
Have you been getting spammed with emails asking you to veri-
fy your purchase, your credit card, your address, or other personally
identifying details? These occurrences are not just happening in big
cities. This criminal activity is affecting us locally, too. Recently, crimi-
nals have been sending emails meant to appear as if they are from lo-
cal pastors - asking you for help and to send money. The biggest prob-
lem: the pastors never sent those emails. The authors of this article are working computer security
issues as our profession, so we were asked to help with some easy to follow advice and guidance
that all of us can use to make it harder to be scammed.
First – let’s examine the math involved with passwords. Have you checked your passwords
lately? When was the last time you changed them? So, before we give you our advice, a little-known
fact about 4-digit passwords. If you just restricted yourself to the 26 alphabetical characters (52
when upper and lower case are allowed) and used a 4-digit password, there are around 7.3 million
possible combinations to try for someone to break your password. If you add the numbers and al-
lowable special characters you now have 67 possible values for each character, which adds up to
over 20 million combinations. Adding just a few extra characters makes a huge difference in the
number of possible tries needed to guess that password. That’s only considering 4-digit passwords.
If you increase the number to eight digits in the password the possible combinations are in the tril-
lions. Adding numbers and special characters increases the difficulty it requires to break your pass-
word by 8 times. Hopefully now you can understand why everyone wants 8 digits or more in your
password – it just takes a lot more effort to guess your passwords.
Second – here’s how most criminals work at using your information against you once they get
it. Most of the criminals use compromised password lists against your information (such as your
email address) you may have provided them. Especially if your information can be linked to a spe-
cific password. It is easier for the criminals if you re-use passwords: once they have a success with
one account, it is easy to guess your password for other accounts. Using the same password every-
where can turn a single account compromise into an all-out war on your accounts and identity. If
those credentials are linked to credit cards or bank accounts, your financial problems can very quick-
ly add up to large debts as criminals will drain your account or spend your account maximum.
Scared yet? Here’s some guidance on how you can shore up your personal defenses:
Passwords are every individual’s starting point to personal security. Most of the time,
you control the password’s content. So, we always start at passwords. How do you create good pass-
words? How can you create a password scheme to enable you to remember them? Below are two
suggestions. For additional information, contact the authors for a personal discussion.
1. Use a password phrase such as “I Like Chicken Parm”: you can remove letters from
that phrase and get a password like “iLkeChParm”. That is a 10 digit password that is easy to remem-
ber as it's a phrase you know. Next, add a supplemental character like the @, #, $ or ! (we use a
different symbol for the type of site – shopping, banking, subscriptions, etc.) and a website indicator
like AZON for Amazon (you use different versions of the site indicator) and you have a very difficult
password to break, but easy enough that you can remember it. If you are like us however, you can
write these passwords down in a way only you could decode. Our example would be written as
“passphrase shop sym AZON”, and anyone who sees that written would have a hard time guessing
your password. However, you can look at it and easily decode it.
2. Activate two-factor security, if your websites offer that option. You still have your
passphrase, but the site will send you a text to your phone or a code to your email to verify it is real-
ly you.
That can help you keep your access credentials secure, but what about those fraudulent
emails? Below are some tips to identify the pesky criminals sending out fraudulent emails:
1. Look at the sender’s email address. Not the name displayed but the actual email ad-
dress. You can see it by hovering your mouse over the email address displayed. Don’t click anything,
just hover over it. Look closely. The good criminals use an address that looks close to what you ex-
pect, sometimes substituting numbers for letters. Other criminals use another email account they
may have compromised and just change the display name to one you may know. If it is not the cor-
rect email address – trash the email right away.
2. If there is a link in the body of the email, DO NOT CLICK IT! If you already were suspi-
cious about this email you were not expecting, don’t click on any link within it. If it appears to be
from your bank, call your bank and ask if they sent this. If it is from your credit card company, go to
their website and access your account that way.
3. If in doubt, do not do anything with that email and call someone who can help you
examine the email. It is amazing how another set of eyes on the email can spot problems you did
not see. The IRS does not send you emails to ask for your information, the Social Security office
doesn’t either. Sometimes the email may have dramatic or emotional messages to make you act
quickly or outside of your normal scope of behavior. You can get caught in the situation and not re-
member those tidbits of information, but your neighbor or your local computer expert will see it
right away.
4. If all goes wrong and you are scammed, then acting quickly is imperative. There is a
federal website for cyber fraud. www.FTC.gov contains an official reporting link for fraud. You will
want to file a police report. You will want to get some professional assistance. The number of scams
happening each day is tremendous. For the first time we have a coordinated effort to help get them
reported, and hopefully with all the agencies working together the criminals can be caught and
brought to justice.
5. A valuable site that can be used that can be checked to see if your email has already
been compromised is the “HaveIBeenPwned” site. https://haveibeenpwned.com/ This is a known
site that has been collecting breach information from several sources and lets users check their
emails, phone numbers or even their passwords to see if it shows up in any of the known breaches
that have been made public. We should note that this site only shows lists that are “Publicly ex-
posed”.
About the authors, Fred Klapetzky, CISSP, is the CEO and Principal
Consultant for A Going Concern, inc. (fred@agoingconcern.com).
Gared Seats, CISSP, is Cyber Security Engineer for Accenture Feder-
al Services. Jodie Seats has a Masters of Science in Information As-
surance
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