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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 |
Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost
Our Core Values:
Spiritual Growth. Welcome. Justice-seeking
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Carol Lisek, our choir alto section leader is retiring. See article below.
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Reflection for Worship. . .
"Yes, but..."
James 1:17-27
The word "qualified" has a few meanings - often it refers to whether or not a person has the necessary skills and experience to carry out a job. Another meaning refers to how we speak to one another - whether we withhold information or have concerns/reservations about what another person has said and done. In our text for worship this Sunday, we hear about standards of conduct and speech for those in the faith community. In a reflection entitled "Yes, but...." we will consider our reservations about loving one another, supporting one another and accepting one another in our own faith community - and what the cost is of giving up our power of judgment over others. Come join us in the Chapel at 10AM this holiday weekend!
-Rev. John H. Pomeroy
September 8th Celebration Update
Thanks to all who have signed up to join us for our celebration of our ministry and history on September 8, 2018. We have a total of 108 adults and 26 children and youth who have signed up to attend and our plans and preparations continue. The deadline for RSVPs was Sunday August 25th.
Here are some notes from the music planned from that evening from our Music Director Connie Washburn:
In addition to hearing the music of our own choir and regular guest singers, our concert will include music with some of our favorite instrumentalists. Come and hear Andy Whitenack on organ, Randy on guitar/vocals, Damon on sax, Cathy on cello, Lilly on flute, and April on cello. Please come and help us celebrate!
And here are some excerpts compiled by Roberta White from the book, "Kept by Grace," written on the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of our church:
"Wednesday night May 23, 1923, a special business meeting was called after a prayer meeting to discuss the purchase of a piece of property on the corner of Walnut and Los Robles. The present building was bursting at the seams with over 1,200 members and the trustees had been looking for some time for a suitable site for a yet another new building. Mr. Fawkes was concerned about the continual drain on congregational resources from building one building after another.
As the congregation was discussing plans for the building, some worried that 1,300 seats in the sanctuary would not be sufficient, One gentleman, Harry Prinz, stood up and expressed the opinion that we would have enough seating but he foresaw that parking would become a big problem.
In keeping with the times, the overriding issue in congregational life in the 1930's was money. The debt from the new building became an enormous burden suddenly."
Save the Dates:
Sunday Sept. 9th
Building Tour
after worship with Jeff Tyler, Chair of Building Ministry
Saturday Sept. 15th -
Aid Africa Walk for Water fund-raiser.
Wednesday Sept. 26th -
Friends in Deed Jazz on the Green fund-raiser at the historic Green Hotel.
Saturday Sept. 29th -
Fall Association meeting which included the Ecclesiastical Council for Randy VanDeventer at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles (now a UCC Church!!). This is one of the final steps before Randy is cleared for ordination. Let's plan to come and support him. Copies of his ordination paper are available below as a link.
Sunday Oct. 28th Annual Halloween Party and Festivities.
Saturday Nov. 3rd Aid Africa Annual Fund-Raiser.
Saturday Nov. 4th Pasadena CROP Walk.
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Julie Burd
Peter Keller
Brian Brandenburg
Pianist & Music Director
Connie Washburn
Combined class for elementary & youth - teacher is TBA.
Church Nursery (for infants - K)
Jaquelyne Rodriguez/TBA
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 service 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
Labor Day - Sept. 3rd & 4th
Office is closed
Mon. - Thurs.
9 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 . . .
-Youth Fall Outreach Activity
-Building Transition Update
-Carol Lisek
-Walk for Water
-Friends In Deed - Jazz on the Green
-Aid Africa Fall Fundraiser
-Fall Association Meeting
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Youth Fall Outreach Activity
This Fall we are offering several opportunities for our youth to do outreach work. Many of the offerings allow us to have other FCC adults participate. We will keep you posted on them through the Touchstone throughout the Fall. Here is a sampling:
Sat. Sept. 15th Aid Africa Walk for Water in Montrose 9-11:30
Sat. Sept. 22nd Friends in Deed food sorting for their pantry 9-11 a.m.
Nike shoe drive - bring any brand old sport shoe and we will take to local Nike store for them to recycle into playground surface material.
We will also try and volunteer at Club 21, help prepare care packages for Ronald McDonald House, sponsor a family for the holidays, and visit our older members.
Join us when you can! Your Youth Outreach Committee:
Lu Burd, Jeff Tyler, Meagan VanDeventer, Neva Orr and Pastor Marlene
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Building Transition Update
In addition to working on the September 8th celebration, FCC staff and leaders continue to look for properties both to purchase and to lease. Our realtor Carl Whidden looks daily for listings. Pastor Marlene and members of Council and the Scouting committee are meeting and talking with a local church to lease potential space in the event that we cannot find a place to purchase before February 2019. We have spent the last two months negotiating possible terms for one church in particular - it is in the central Pasadena area, has adequate parking, dedicated office space, shared worship space, and a common theology and vision with us. We hope to have a written offer from them in the next month which will allow us to share the location and details with you. One thing we have learned through our extensive search process is that many churches either don't want renters, already have leased their available space, or are too small to accommodate us. In addition, we have learned that the 10:00 worship hour is the preferred time for many churches which means that we will have to adjust our worship time so that we have access to the parking lot and will not have conflicts with the earlier worshipers. We are looking at a starting time of 11:30 to be able to have the most ease in sharing space. We should be able to have some small group meetings Sunday morning and before that for up to 15-20 people onsite. There are many positives to this potential location. Please keep us in your prayers as we work to find a future home for our church.
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Carol Lisek
 Carol Lisek, our choir alto section leader, is retiring and moving to the Big Bear, where she and Charlotte have owned "the lodge" for three years. This past Sunday we honored Carol's 21 years of dedicated service to the choir and music of this community. Through the years she has given us much beautiful music in Sunday services, coffee houses, her own USC D.M.A. early music degree concerts, and as part of Vox Femina. Carol retired from PCC spring of 2016 and is semi-retired from Claremont Graduate University.
We wish them all the best and will look forward to hearing Carol in special services in the future, the first being Sept. 8.
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Please join us on Saturday Morning Sept. 15th at Montrose Community Park for the Walk for Water fund-raiser. We will gather at 9:00 a.m. for a brief bit to hear about the work of Aid Africa. We will then fill our water cans and walk through Montrose to the Fire Station and back. Once we return we hope to relax together for a picnic at Montrose Park around 11:30. Please let Peter or Irene Keller know if you can participate.
Glendale Sunrise Rotary Club
Sponsors a
Walk for Water
A Clean Water Fundraiser
To Benefit the
Water Projects of Aid Africa
Saturday September 15, 2018
-Registration is at 9 am at the Montrose Community Park
3529 Clifton Place, Glendale 91208
-Walk to the Montrose Fire Station
less than a mile
-Inspect the fire equipment
-FILL your water container
-CARRY your container back to the park
-LEARN what it is like to get water when it doesn't come from your kitchen faucet
-ENTRY FEE is $25 and include a T-shirt
-GET FRIENDS to sponsor you
-TELL EVERYONE what it's like to carry your own water
-YOUR DONATIONS save lives!
*80% of communicable diseases are water born.
*1 Billion people in the developing world don't have clean water.
*Women and girls especially bear the burden of finding and carrying water.
*Less time is available for school, farming and family care when women and
girls have to walk long distances.
For Information and Sponsorship Forms
-Call - 818-389-6442
Donate Online at: AidAfrica,net/donate
Checks to: Aid Africa
3916 Pennsylvania Avenue, La Crescenta, CA 91214
Jeff Levison sharing stories of the work of Aid Africa in Uganda: life there, the size of Africa
(several countries can fit inside of it!), and the iconic stove given out by Aid Africa. Our church donated $1500 to Aid Africa this week to build a new water well. Thanks to the Appley Fund that allowed us to do that! You may support this organization at
www.aidafrica.net
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Friends in Deed Jazz on the Green
 On Wed. Sept. 26th Friends in Deed will host their annual Jazz on the Green event at the historic Castle Green Hotel. This is their biggest fund-raiser of the year and provides support for their growing services. The event includes live jazz, food and drink as well as a silent auction on the first floor of this grand old hotel. The tickets are $95 each and we are supplementing up to 20 tickets for FCC folks thanks to the generous donation of the Appley Foundation. The cost to FCC folks is $50 per ticket to the first 20 folks who RSVP to Pastor Marlene. Over 10 folks attended last year and really enjoyed an evening out together. Please click on
http://www.losakatombros.com/
to hear sample music of the jazz group LosAKAtombros who will be playing this year.
Please click on
UPDATE - we have 9 people signed up and 11 remaining tickets for $50 each. Please give a check to Pastor Marlene if you wish to attend.
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Central Association
of the
Southern California Nevada Conference
United Church of Christ
Fall Association Meeting
Featuring a wonderful 15 minute prelude on their world famous organ, a festival of hymns including the singing of many of the traditional hymns of our faith, and exciting additional events. Also the date of our Moderator Randy VanDeventer's Ecclesiastical Council. See below for a link to his Ordination Paper so you may read in advance.
Saturday, September 29, 2018, registration begins at 8:30 am. Meeting begins at 9:15-10:15 Hymn singing on their great organ. Business meeting to follow at 10:15.
First Congregational Church of Los Angeles
540 South Commonwealth Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90020
RSVP
Marcia L. Hoffman, by text at (626) 940-7497 - Cell
Cost:
$5 per person for registration
$5 per person for lunch
Proposed Amendment to our Bylaws
The Executive Committee, upon the recommendation of the Committee on Church and Ministry, recommends the following amendment to Central Association's Bylaws as section "j" on Page 9 of 11, line 382: Section IX. Committees, 2. Church and Ministry:
(j) Sections of the Committee may meet separately from the Committee of the Whole, on, at most, a quarterly basis, as that Section's workload or agenda may require. When a Section elects to meet separately from the Committee of the Whole, a written report must be submitted to the Chair of the Committee prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee. At any meeting of the Committee in which a Section is not present because that Section has or will meet separately in that month, no formal decisions will be made by the Committee. Any pending votes will carry over to the next meeting of the Committee of the whole. The quorum for any Sectional meeting shall be a majority of its membership. The quorum for the Committee of the Whole shall be a majority of its membership. The quorum for two Sections meeting together shall be a majority of their combined membership.
Explanation: As you may remember at the Fall meeting on Oct. 28, 2017, this item (paragraph "j") was removed from the bylaws and referred to the Committee on Church & Ministry for rewording. The above amendment is the result of that referral.
Child care will be provided
Randel VanDeventer's Ecclesiastical Council
Ordination Paper Attached
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Aid Africa Fall Fund-Raiser
This year FCC will be hosting the annual fund-raiser for Aid Africa on
Saturday Nov. 3rd from 5:00-9:00 p.m. We will be feasting on home-made soups in a hand crafted pottery bowl for dinner. We will also see and hear updates from Uganda and the work of Aid Africa. More details and invitations will be forthcoming but save the date and plan to attend!
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