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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 |
Second Sunday After Pentecost
Our Core Values:
Spiritual Growth. Welcome. Justice-seeking
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June 18, 2017
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 Sign up to participate in our Saturday July 29th morning date. See details below. FCC has reserved space for 10 workers.
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Reflections on Worship . . .
"Called and Sent"
Matthew 9:35-10:8
How do you live out your faith in your everyday life, sharing the good news? How is your life a reflection of the call to discipleship of Jesus?
In our reading from the Gospel of Matthew this week disciples are called on by Jesus to go out and proclaim the good news: cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons and [...] give without payment. They are told to go to where they are welcomed and shake off the dust from their feet from places where people don't listen.
Small Group on Spiritual Practices
Many of the topics of our recent small groups have been focused on social justice issues. We also recognize the need to ground ourselves in our daily and weekly spiritual practices to sustain us, whether in our work for social justice or in dealing with the daily challenges of life.
deep roots in Judaism, so the book is a reflection on the best of Jewish
spiritual practices, for Christians.
We will try out these spiritual practices together over 4 sessions beginning
Wednesday July 19th, meeting every other Wednesday
evening from 6:30-8. Please let Andy know if you are interested.
-Rev. Andy Schwiebert
We will honor our five graduates during and after worship this week. Come celebrate them and bring a card for each of these accomplished men and women!
Join a Union Station meal team. Sign up for Summer Habitat build day. Bring non-perishable food for Friends in Deed. Contact the church office or speak with a pastor for more info.
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Sandy Biehler
Robert Rinck
Kevin Cordova-Brookey
Liturgist
Combined class with Roberta White/Jeff Tyler in room 232.
Church Nursery (for infants - K)
:
Jaquelyne Rodriguez & Becky Rinck
Nursery opens at 9 :15 a.m. for early birds and then everyone comes to worship at 10:00 and stays through the Children's Time and then heads to the nursery with caregivers and parents.
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Nina Kung
Sermon Podcast:
D
id you miss a worship and want to hear the sermon? 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
Mon. - Thurs.
9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Lunch hours:
12:00 p.m. -1:30 p.m.
Tel. # 626.795.0696
Fax # 626.795.0698
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In this Edition...
Small Group forming on Spiritual Disciplines Mudhouse Sabbath
Summer Happenings!!
Celebrating Graduates June 18th
Habitat for Humanity Sign up
Report on Learnings from our (a)Spire Ministry
Reserve you Hollywood Bowl Ticket Aug. 27th
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Summer Happenings!
This Summer at FCC we will try and slow things down with a break from committee meetings for July and offer some outings/activities/small groups that help us enjoy the pace of the Summer months. Join us for any or all of our planned activities:
Sunday June 18th
- Join us as we celebrate and honor our five high school, college and graduate school folks for 2017! See article below for details.
Sundays June 25-Aug. 6th
join your preachers in exploring basic theological themes from a progressive Christian perspective. We will be using the book The Heart of Christianity by Marcus Borg and exploring a chapter each week both in our preaching and with the children/youth in our combined church school class. The first theme on June 25th is "the Bible" (chapter 3). We have books for sale at $10 each or you may purchase your own and read along with us. We will let you know what chapters we will be using and when. July 2nd is "God" (chapter 4). The intent is to increase our biblical and theological literacy with this overview of several topics and themes. Speak with Pastor Marlene if you wish to help staff our Summer Church School.
Saturday July 29th
Habitat Build 8-11:30 a.m. followed by a pool party and barbecue and Barb Bonzo's house starting at noon. Speak with John Gamber Thompson for Habitat details. Sign up for food for the barbecue after church with either Kim Story or Lu Burd in the next few weeks.
Every Other Wednesday Small Group starting July 26th led by Pastor Andy. See article below for details
Sunday Aug. 27th
Hollywood Bowl Picnic and Concert. We have five extra tickets to see Pink Martinin in concert. This eclectic musical group is fantastic. The concert starts at 7 p.m. and we will be picnicking ahead of time starting around 5 p.m. Come and join us and bring a friend! You must reserve your $25 seat by July 4th before all extras are released. Speak with Pastor Marlene to join the group.
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Graduates Celebration June 18th
 On
Sunday June 18th (also Father's Day), we will briefly celebrate all high school, college and graduate school graduates during coffee hour. We know of Lachlan Ashenmiller, Moriah Vega, Andy Speakman, James Chavers and Mary Camacho. If there are others to be celebrated, let Pastor Marlene or Lu Burd know! We will have a cake and there will be tables around the room for each graduate, including a basket to receive cards etc. So please bring a card for each and anything you'd like to include; gift cards or funds or whatever. We are very proud of our graduates!!!
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Sign up for Habitat For Humanity build in Pasadena on 7/29 at 8-11:30AM
Discipleship is sponsoring a service day on
Saturday 7/29, helping to build a home in Pasadena. Volunteers need not have construction experience and must be 16 years or older (with 1:1 adult accompaniment or 1:5 adult accompaniment for 17 year olds). Can you help us build an affordable home for a low-income neighbor?
Only 10 spots are available, so if you are interested, please sign up ASAP. Here's how: click on this link:
http://vmx.me/XDVR2272
Then, click on
"New Volunteer Registration", and follow the prompts to input your information. If you can manage to connect with our group while you register, great. The name of our group is, "First Congregational Church of Pasadena". If you cannot manage to find the group during your registration, don't worry, just complete it and you can find the service day after the fact.
During your registration, you will be asked to walk through the orientation, which includes watching a couple of videos and reading some materials, and answering some quiz questions, which takes about 10 minutes.
Then, you will need to navigate to the "Volunteer Opportunities Calendar" and look for the July 29date, and click to be added to the First Congregational Church of Pasadena date.
If you have any questions, please contact Andy or John Gamber Thompson.
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Report on Learnings from (a)Spire Ministry Now Available
(a)Spire was a ministry launched 6 years ago and supported by FCC to engage the next generation of progressive Christians in the broader community. Last Fall we made the difficult decision to close our ministry and celebrate our successes. In October, the FCC Council charged the Pastoral Relations Committee for Rev. Andy Schwiebert to work with the remaining (a)Spire community to generate a report for learnings from our experiences. The report was presented to FCC Council in May and shared with the broader FCC Community at our Spring Business meeting on June 4th. We are making it available
here for congregants to read through carefully on their own time.
REPORT: Learnings from (a)Spire Ministry
Presented to FCC Pasadena at the Spring 2017 Business Meeting
This report is designed to reflect feedback from
(a)Spire
members and those who helped to develop
(a)Spire
as a new ministry at First Congregational Church, Pasadena (UCC). Over its life of ministry across the last six years
(a)Spire
brought in 25+ new members and dozens of others who in some way participated in our ministries, and subtly influenced the focus and vision of its host church (FCC). The input reflected here below comes from 25 survey responses that were massaged into a consolidated form both by (a)Spire participants and this group, the Pastoral Relations Committee for Andy.
Those who compile this report are immensely appreciative to all the persons, organizations, and agencies who helped to initiate and sustain (a)Spire Ministry through time, talent, and financial gifts. As you see in this report,
(a)Spire in its relatively short life made a difference in the lives of faiths of its members and constituents in significant and long lasting ways.
Although (a)Spire officially launched in January of 2012 and was progressing well for 2-3 years, the last two years were challenging. A significant chunk of key leaders moved away from Southern California in 2014-2015 so (a)Spire
downsized a bit in January of 2016 in hopes of recovering, and then growing. But after a realistic assessment in the Fall of 2016 by the remaining (a)Spire folks, they came to the conclusion that it would not likely get to the point of sustainability any time soon and didn't have the necessary energy and passion among the group to take us there. Because we were facing even more significant budget challenges in 2017, the group decided it was best to end (a)Spire and celebrate the many successes and learnings through a couple events in November of 2016: a celebration in FCC worship and a meal and worship in the park.
(a)Spire accomplished quite a lot over the past 6 years, and truly changed lives. Here is one video from 2014 and another from 2013, two peak years that highlight some valuable testimony. Another video from 2012 is also worth watching, as it shows some of the first members and early leaders.
-Pastoral Relations Committee Members (for Rev. Andy Schwiebert)
Carolyn Olney, Kim Story, Claire Richardson
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Summer Hollywood Bowl Outing - 5 tickets remaining!
 Membership Ministry has selected the date of
Sunday Aug. 27th for our Summer Outing to hear Pink Martini. They are an eclectic group of performers and musicians and are not to be missed! The concert begins at 7:00 p.m. and our discounted group tickets at $25 each. See Lu Burd or Pastor Marlene to sign up and pre-pay for your tickets. We have about
five tickets left in section L-1 and will plan to picnic together before the event. You must include $25 with your reservations. Any unused tickets will be released July 10th so get your tickets soon!
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