The Buzz newsletter | Updated Weekly
Church Council Update
The Church Council will be meeting this Thursday, July 17. A copy of the agenda is available online. The topics include provisional pastor expectations for Pastor Jim, Interim Pastor process with Ron Herms, Financial update and Treasurer position, and items for a church vote on August 10.
If you have a topic to suggest for a future meeting, or any questions or concerns, please direct those to the council member from your congregation. Please pray for the council
as they meet for wisdom, discernment, and unity in decisions to be made.

Memorial Service this Saturday
The memorial service for Kao Saelee
will be here Butler this Saturday, July 19. The viewing in the sanctuary will be from 9-10AM followed by the service. The burial will be at Fresno Memorial Gardens, and a reception will take place at Butler Church in the afternoon following the burial.
Kao passed away on July 5 following a recurrence of some critical health issues. Thank you for your continued prayers for his wife Sahn, daughters, and family, as well as our Asian Grace congregation.
In addition to prayer, those wanting to offer tangible help during this time are welcome to assist on Saturday at Butler following the reception as we prepare the spaces for Sunday worship.

Remembering Frieda Wiebe
We received news this week that our long time church member, Frieda Wiebe, passed away at the end of June, at the Palm Village retirement community in Reedley. You may recall that she celebrated her 100th birthday earlier this year. Her obituary is available online here.
Men's Fellowship Breakfast
This Sunday at 9:00 AM
is the next Men’s fellowship breakfast. Your RSVP will help with our planning! Hope to see you this Sunday!
If you would be interested in being part of a future all Butler men’s gathering please let a Pastor or Calvin Certain know. Thanks!

Ice Cream Social this Sunday
Over the coming Sundays, our interim pastor candidate, Ron Herms, will be spending time in each of our congregational worship services. This Sunday, July 20 our Common Ground congregation is hosting an all-church ice cream social to provide an opportunity to get to know Pastor Ron better. This will take place following the morning worship services, so after church plan to stop in, introduce yourself, & enjoy some sweet fellowship time together.
A bio for Ron Herms is available on the Council Updates page here.

Thrift Donations Day
Do you have gently used items you could donate to the MCC Thrift store in Fresno? "Thrift on Blackstone" is where every donation, purchase, & volunteer hour benefits MCC programs all over the world. Here at Butler on Sunday morning July 27
you can drop off your gently used items with MCC Thrift volunteers (no large furniture, please). During that morning, take a moment learn what a Thrift Store volunteer experience is like and to receive a 20% off coupon to use at the store!
Thrift on Blackstone is open during the week and on Saturdays at 6687 N. Blackstone Ave, south of Herndon. mccthrift.com

Mark Your Calendar!
The month is flying by, and another right around the corner! Mark your calendar for Sunday, August 10 for our next All Church Combined Service. We'll be in back to school season, and hear some updates on children, youth, and tutoring ministries, and pray over students, teachers, and school staff.
More news items....
Council Update
As announced this past Sunday, the candidate for interim lead pastor is Ron Herms. His role could include both lead pastor, and congregational pastor for Common Ground – also on an interim basis. There will be opportunities to hear from Ron prior to a formal church business meeting next month. (A bio was provided on Sunday and is available from the church office.)
In the meantime, Jim Holm
has agreed to serve as our provisional interim pastor for July and August. If you have any questions, please connect with your congregational representative on Council, or with Pastor Jim.
The council will be meeting again next week Thursday (July 17). Thanks for your ongoing prayers over this season of transition.
The council will be meeting again next week Thursday (July 17). Thanks for your ongoing prayers over this season of transition.

Saturday Neighborhood Outreach
Together with our missionary Nzash Lumeya, a group from Butler has been continuing to reach out to neighbors giving out bottled water, and offering prayer, and an invitation to a church family and closer relationship with Jesus. This effort is branching out to the houses near Butler to ask "How would you like Butler Church to serve this community, and how can we be praying for you and your neighbors?" Please join us in praying
over these new connections.
This will take place most Saturdays picking up again this weekend! If you'd like to participate, let Nzash know, and plan to meet in the Butler courtyard this Saturday, July 12 at 9:30AM!

Butler Cafe BYOM
Butler Cafe on Sundays is an important time for fellowship with our church family. Join in on Sundays at 10:15AM in the courtyard!
If possible, please
Bring Your Own Mug
for Butler Café on Sundays! A new law to reduce styrofoam waste means that cups will be more expensive for Butler Café. If you’d like a disposable cup, please be prepared to donate to help us cover those costs. Or better yet, BYOM and we can save on costs and reduce waste! You are also welcome to store clean mugs in your foyer mailbox. Thanks!
Text Updates from Butler Church
If you find an occasional text reminder helpful,
be sure to “Opt In”
so our “Breeze-butler” text messages get through! To share your preferences for text or email updates, you can complete the Butler Subscriptions form. Thanks!
Note: If you have signed up, but are no longer receiving text updates - try texting START to 87447. Remember that "msg & data rates may apply." Details are in the Butler subscriptions form.

Spanish Translation Available!
Our Butler website is also available in Spanish! Click the upper left corner to switch between English and Spanish. (If you notice any translation errors, please let us know!)
¡Nuestro sitio web Butler ahora también está disponible en español! Haga clic en el ícono de arriba para cambiar entre inglés y español. (Si nota algún error de traducción, ¡avísenos!)
¡Nuestro sitio web Butler ahora también está disponible en español! Haga clic en el ícono de arriba para cambiar entre inglés y español. (Si nota algún error de traducción, ¡avísenos!)
Updated on: 7/9/2025
Looking for earlier Butler news stories? You can visit our news archive here.