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| T O U C H S T O N E - A M i d W e e k B u l l e t i n |
10:00 a.m. FCC Worship in the chapel
1st & 2nd Sundays of Advent
Our Core Values are:
Spiritual Growth. Welcome. Justice-seeking
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Nov. 27 & Dec. 4, 2016
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Reflections on Worship for Nov. 27th . . .
Mathew 24:36-44
"Advent: A Do Over"
Wouldn't it be grand if you had 'do overs' in life? That turkey or ham that did not turn out as you had hoped; even though you followed the directions step by step. With another attempt, you can surely make that dish 'look' more presentable. Or perhaps those final remarks from a particular conversation that keeps repeating in your head; we've rehearsed the words over and over wishing, hoping you could get a second chance,; a 'do over' using different words. Next time, we promise to be more loving with our words.
Our scripture, Matthew 24:36-44, warns its listeners about repeating an outcome. Implying that if the participants had realized their fate, they would have responded differently.
ADVENT is the coming i.e. the second coming of Christ, in the Christian church year. Join us as we consider options for making ready for the long awaited Messiah. Or possibly a 'do over' would be an option.
-Rev. Leo Lynch
Also on Sunday:
The Bland family (Joey, Heather, Jack and Ike) will be lighting our Advent Wreath this first Sunday in Advent. We will worship in the chapel on this holiday weekend and then move to the Sanctuary through Christmas Eve. Our building manager Sallie has worked with electricians to fix the lighting problem in the chapel so we shall not dwell in darkness on Sunday!
This Sunday our Pageant Director Krysty Leckrone will begin pageant practice with the help of the church school teachers. Please plan to have your children attend since they will only have three Sundays to prep for our pageant which is scheduled for Sunday Dec. 18th in worship.
Nina Kung will be away on vacation the week after Thanksgiving so this will be the Touchstone for Sunday Nov. 27th and Dec. 4th.
Rev. Jake Pomeroy is preaching on Dec. 4th on Matthew 3:1-12 in a sermon entitled "Blue Christmas." Pageant practice will continue for the church school children and youth.
If anyone is interested in organizing a scaled-down version of a cookie festival or bakery on Dec. 4th, please let us know!
Stewardship Update: We currently have received 23 pledges for 2017 - about half of what we expect. If you could please send in your pledge to Barbara Bonzo (you can also email her with your amount), that would help the Budget Committee do their work preparing for 2017. Many thanks to all who have turned in their pledges!
Opportunities for Outreach in December:
The Food Pantry at Friends in Deed is ALWAYS in need of food - especially cereal and canned protein. If you bring in your items any week we will get them up to them for you! The church school children have a donation box in the office for your items.
In addition, we are collecting men's clothes and shoes for men who are being discharged from County USC hospital. Over 80 patients each month are discharged and do not have clothes to wear. Sturdy shoes and pants are especially needed. Please bring your items to the church office and Dr. Laura Kalayjian will take them in for us. Thanks so much! Click here for more info.
The first of our three Bad Weather Shelter nights will take place on Saturday Dec. 17th. More information will be coming but please save the date so we can serve a meal and lay out cots and welcome folks who are coming to the shelter for the night. Please speak with John Gamber Thompson for more information on this.
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Nov. 27th Worship Leaders:
Rev. Leo Lynch
Rev. John H. Pomeroy
Dana Pell
Mary Camacho
Brian Weltman
Dec. 4th Worship Leaders:
Rev. John H. Pomeroy
Ushers:
Aren Burd
Julie Burd
Peter Keller
Brian Brandenburg
Liturgist:
TBA
Interim Pianist & Music Coordinator
The older children and youth will begin Christmas Pageant preparation with Krysty Leckrone and teacher in Room 232.
Church Nursery (for infants - K)
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Mrs. Phillips, Jaquelyne Rodriguez, and Serena Van.
Nursery opens at 9 a.m. for early birds and then everyone comes to worship at 10:00 and stays through the Children's Time and then children return to the nursery.
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Nina Kung
Sermon Podcast:
D
id you miss the gospel or homily? Please visit uccpasadena.org and select 'podcasts' from the menu on top of the home page or click below
http://uccpasadena.podomatic.com/
OFFICE HOURS:
Monday - Thursday
9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
We close at lunch
12 - 1:30 p.m.
Tel. # 626.795.0696
Fax # 626.795.0698
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What is Highlighted in this Touchstone?
-Christmas Flower Request Form
-Advent/Christmas Schedule
-Being the Church in Practical Ways
-Pastoral Relations Committee Meet with Andy
Schwiebert
-Building Forum Encourages Some Dreaming!
-Andy Schwiebert's upcoming sabbatical
-Upcoming (a)Spire Events
-Small Group Addressing Racism Begins
-You are invited to go to Uganda July 2017
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Advent/Christmas Schedule
Nov. 27th 1st Sunday in Advent - worship in chapel. Bland Family lighting the Advent Wreath. Rev. Lynch preaching. Children's Pageant practice.
Dec. 4th 2nd Sunday in Advent/Communion - worship in sanctuary. Children's Pageant practice. Possible Advent festivities and cookie festival (working out details at press time!) Rev. John Pomeroy preaching.
Dec. 11th 3rd Sunday in Advent - worship in sanctuary. Children's Pageant practice.
Special Church meeting/followed by Las Posadas after worship. Rev. Marlene Pomeroy preaching.
7 p.m. Pasadena Master Chorale's production of the Messiah in our beautiful sanctuary. See their website for more info. Free will offering in lieu of tickets.
http://www.pasadenamasterchorale.org/ for more information
Dec. 18th 4th Sunday in Advent - worship in sanctuary with our Children's Pageant as a special feature. A potluck lunch in our parlors will follow worship that day. Church School children lighting the Advent wreath.
Dec. 23rd Youth are invited to join visits to long term FCC members and friends, to bring some Christmas love and build inter-generational relationships. Please contact Nina or Marlene if your youth can take part or if you would like to suggest someone to receive a visit from our young people.
Dec. 24th Christmas Eve Candlelight Service with Carols at 5 p.m. (note time change this year) in our sanctuary. There is no nursery for this service. The nursery may be opened for any parents who need to take their children there for a break. A wassail bowl and reception will take place in our parlors following the service. You may take home your purchased poinsettias after the service. Rinck family lighting the Advent wreath.
Dec. 25th Christmas Day Worship in our chapel - an intimate affair with a "best slipper and pajamas" contest, cocoa, and cinnamon buns for those who come for this Christmas morning 10 a.m. service. Lots of Christmas singing and a festive atmosphere. Connie and Pastor Marlene in charge of merrymaking! NOTE: we will NOT have church school or a nursery this day so all ages welcome for this brief and joyful service!!
Las Posadas Brewing!
Discipleship Ministry is working on offering a justice oriented Las Posadas celebration beginning in our parlors after worship on Sunday December 11th! Los Posadas is Spanish for "lodgings" or "accommodations," referring to a nine-day celebration in Mexico (and elsewhere) based on lessons about the Christian faith modeled after the search of Mary and Joseph for a place to stay on their way to Jerusalem for the census - each day or stop on the journey involves song, food and a lesson about our faith. Come join us for some simple songs, snacks and a chance to learn about and take action on a justice issue important to our congregation! Our stations will likely be on the first floor of our building, so our journey will be accessible to all!
Special Congregational Meeting Scheduled
On Tuesday our Moderator sent a letter to members in the area - a notification of an upcoming Forum and a Special Meeting of the congregation. Church Council is asking the congregation to approve a loan from the Cornerstone Fund, UCC to cover the costs of urgently needed building repairs. On Saturday December 3rd from 3-5PM in the church Nursery we will offer a Forum to present the loan proposal and answer any questions. On Sunday December 11th directly after worship, we will call to order a "vote only" meeting of the congregation so that members can fill out and turn in a ballot on the proposed loan and our year-to-date spending from the Capital Improvement Trust Fund. Sample ballots will be available ahead of time for review; remember our Bylaws make no provisions for absentee voting, so come join us for the Forum (ask your questions) and the Special Meeting (cast your ballot).
Pastoral Relations Committee Meets with Andy Schwiebert
This week the Pastoral Relations Committee for Pastor Andy Schwiebert met to discuss the end of Aspire, his upcoming sabbatical and a few other items.
This Pastoral Relations Committee is made up of Carolyn Olney, Kim Story and Claire Richardson. Should you have anything you wish to communicate to the committee, please feel free to do so through those members. They will meet again with Andy in mid January after he's back from part 2 of his sabbatical on
January 2.
Building Forum Encourages Some Dreaming!
Seventeen persons gathered this past Sunday to compare our values as a congregation with the features of our building, and share what it would mean for any building to embody our values of Welcome, Spiritual Growth and Seeking Justice! Signs in different languages, a resource center, tech available in worship, a meditation garden, a playground for our children, restrooms - office space - lighting that cares for our environment, ample parking with plugs for electric vehicles...our lists generated ideas and faithful discussion! God speaks to her people in dreams in Scripture - dreaming is where our resistance is lowered and our imagination is unlimited. Seeking God's voice about our building, we did some productive dreaming - we will share those dreams as we continue to decide on the best stewardship of our building in the coming months.
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Being the Church in Practical Ways
In light of increased incidents of folks being harassed in our country, we as your pastoral staff are looking to pass along suggestions for ho
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we can continue to be the loving, welcoming, intentional, justice-seeking people of faith that we are called to be. Please see ideas below and in the coming weeks that we are passing on to you. As always, take what works and leave the rest. - Pastors Andy, Jake and Marlene.
If you follow this link, there are four persons from the American Friends Service Committee (Quakers) that share what would be helpful to them in their work for social justice - what it would look like to be an ally in a time of discrimination and violence.
Rev. Molly Phinney Baskette, UCC pastor and author of Real Good Church, is now at the First Congregational Church, UCC in Berkeley, CA. She invites us to show our solidarity with persons around us in our lives who may need support...
Wear a safety pin visibly on your clothing to show that you are trying to be a safe person in a time of turmoil and challenge - if asked, let persons know that you are a part of the UCC and that your faith calls you to stand in the way of discrimination and violence.
Sit next to persons on the bus or train who wear a hijab
Ask persons who identify as veterans about their service
Believe the story if a survivor of sexual violence shares with you
When asked, let persons know that our church welcomes LGBTQ persons as beautiful and beloved of God
Accompany persons who feel unsafe to their car or bus stop after a meeting
Learn why refugees are seeking shelter and safety in our country
When appropriate, introduce yourself to a person with a visible disability, without assuming they need help
Notice what persons of color around you at work say and experience
Listen if persons share that they are tired, afraid, anxious and in need of support
Contact a friend at church or your pastor if you want to talk about your experiences trying to be an ally
Consider signing onto this
Sanctuary pledge that our UCC Immigration and Refugee coordinator Noel Anderson has put together with Rev. Alison Harrington (Southside Presbterian Church in Tucson) and Groundswell.
It is for individuals to sign, and also could be something that our congregation could decide to join and actively participate in. After all, FCC was part of the Sanctuary Movement of the 1980s and actually housed a refugee family in our building and supported them through difficult times. Given the renewed campaign promises shared in the past few days, immigrants and refugees and Muslims are all living in a heightened state of fear, and many could even face deportation in the near future.
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Work On Our Building Continues
This past summer our Church Council commissioned an inspection of our building to learn from a professional about the condition of our building. Our Building Ministry and Building Manager then looked carefully through the 70 page report to prioritize work that needs to be done and seek bids for those projects. With the inspection, report, summary and bids now nearly complete, the Church Council has asked a sub-committee to bring back a proposal for funding these upcoming, necessary projects. In the next week or so, the Council will send a letter to the congregation with a proposal for funding this work on our building, a date for a Forum on this proposal, and a date for a Special Meeting of the congregation to vote on any proposed funding. Many thanks to our Building Manager, Sallie McNair, our Building Ministry (Jeff Tyler, Chris Herb, Bob Rinck, Brian Weltman), Rev. Marlene Pomeroy, Moderator Elizabeth Lanski, Investment Chair Don Hughes and the members of Church Council for helping us to act responsibly and faithfully with our building.
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You are Invited to go to Uganda July 2017!
 We are offering a trip for one FCC/(s)Spire member to travel to Uganda with Aid Africa next summer. You will see beautiful Uganda, meet the amazing Aid Africa staff and participate in their projects in the rural communities; visit the source of the Nile, go on a safari through a national park, and enjoy scenic side trips to waterfalls and local shopping. We sent Meagan VanDeventer on the tour last summer and she had a wonderful time. Ask her to tell you all about it.
If you are a member of our church
(male or female) you are already eligible to take advantage of this great opportunity.
The Women's Legacy Fund Aid Africa Uganda Trip Fellowship provides $2,650 toward the cost of the trip.
A short Application should be submitted by January 15, 2017. Additional information about the trip, what you'll need and other costs can be found in the soon-to-be-updated Travel Brochure and the Visitors & Volunteers Tour Guide. If you have any questions about Aid Africa or this opportunity to travel to Uganda, ask Peter Keller, Irene Keller, Meagan VanDeventer. or Elizabeth Lanski.
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Pastor Marlene with one of our feast coordinators Ken Biery
Nina Kung (20 yrs.), Connie Washburn(10yrs.), Gerald Washburn (15 yrs.)and the Rev. Leo Lynch (10 yrs.) were all honored for their years of service to the church.
