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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 |
Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost
Our Core Values:
Spiritual Growth. Welcome. Justice-seeking
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Come dressed for Halloween this Sunday and stay for lunch as we host our Annual Halloween Festival.
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Reflection for Worship. . .
Mark 10:32-34, 46-52
This week we see a glimpse of Jesus on the road with his disciples as recorded in Mark's Gospel. We hear that some were amazed, and others were frightened as they followed him. We hear something of their conversation as they walk along the roads visiting places in Galilee. I once heard that Jesus never traveled more than 200 miles from his birthplace. Without the benefit of social media or television, his reputation was shared with others through word of mouth. Somehow the word got out of his works and teachings! When Jesus and the disciples come to Jericho, about 16 miles from Jerusalem, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus was sitting by the roadside and called out to Jesus. Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus and his followers several times to get their attention; finally, Jesus stopped and addressed him. The encounter is a pivotal one for Bartimaeus and after being in the presence of Jesus his blindness is gone. We will explore this story further in worship on Sunday - you are invited to read the text in advance and ponder it before you come to worship. You might ask yo
urself: in what way are you blind or in need of new ways to see.?You might consider what your answer might be to the question that Jesus asks Bartimaeus, "What do you want me to do for you?"
Guest musician Linda Zoolalian will be leading our music this Sunday. Soloists Kim and Alice will be singing with her. In addition, we will be receiving new member Michael Hutchinson into our church community. Thanks to Joey Bland for being his sponsor.
After worship we will enjoy a Halloween festival hosted by our Membership Ministry (Kim, Lu, Tara, Kevin and Marlene) with lunch served (pizza and salads from Green Street - yum!) Wear your costumes to church -no violent ones please) We will have a costume contest, a cake walk and a few other activities for all to enjoy.
See you all on Sunday!
Rev. Marlene W. Pomeroy
Also This Week
Our youth and a few adults will be helping to unload a truck load of food at Friends in Deed on Saturday morning from 9-11 a.m. We will work to organize the donated food and stock the pantry shelves.
We have room for 5 more folks to come and work with us. Please let Pastor Marlene know at [email protected] if you can come and help out this week. See article below for other youth outreach projects this Fall
November 4th
Set your clocks 1 Hour Back before
you go to sleep Saturday night
Our New (Temporary) Church Home
In a letter last week and a Forum last Sunday,
Church Council announced that we have carefully reviewed and signed a two-year lease for worship and office space within The First United Methodist Church of Pasadena, 500 East Colorado Blvd. This follows months of work searching for a space to lease or purchase by our Staff, our realtor Carl Whidden and our Scouting Committee. Our new home became possible after a conversation between Marlene Pomeroy and Rev. Sandy Olewine, the Senior Pastor of our host congregation in May of this year.
Staff and Church Council understand that persons in our congregation may not be aware of all the work that has been involved in our search, and we are aware that this transition brings with it hopes, concerns and feelings for us all. This new space is nearby, affordable, well kept, has ample parking and most importantly is shared with a congregation that shares many of our values and our mission partners in this area. FUMC Pasadena staff and leadership have been more than welcoming in beginning this transition and we here at FCC have much to be thankful for! We have a healthy congregation, meaningful and clear core values, stable and skilled leadership, financial resources to sustain our operations and ministry, and now time and safe space to discern our next steps!
Please join Church Council in thanking all who have helped us to reach this point in our transition -
and we invite you to offer prayers of thanksgiving for our new home!
Randy Vandeventer, Moderator
John and Marlene Pomeroy, Co-Pastors
Recycle Your Athletic Shoes!
We now have overflowing boxes in the church office and in the chapel each Sunday to receive your used and old athletic shoes! Any brand or type may be donated. Please keep bringing them and the church school children will drop them off to the local NIKE store where they will be sent to be transformed into playgrounds, running tracks, turf fields, etc.
any brand of shoe is accepted but they are unable to use sandals, dress shoes, boots or shoes with metal cleats/spikes.
Thanks for bringing in your old shoes to be repurposed!!
Aid Africa Fund-Raiser Sign-Up
We continue to have sign-up sheets on Sunday for folks to help bring food for the Nov. 3rd Fund-raiser. See details below. Cost is $60 per FCC member - but you can bring two for the price of one if your second person is a non FCC person unfamiliar with Aid Africa!
Save the Dates:
Through Nov. 3rd Level Ground Festival Continues
FCC is sponsoring the Level Ground Festival which is being held for the next two weeks. See details of events below.
Saturday Oct. 27 9-11AM
Our Youth will stock shelves for the Friends in Deed Food Pantr
y. Other folks invited to join us this month.
Sunday Oct. 28th Annual Halloween Party and
 Festivities following worship. Membership will provide the luncheon food and activities (including a cake walk and costume contest). You just have to
show up and wear a costume of your choice (or not!).
Saturday Nov. 3rd Aid Africa Annual Empty Bowls Fund-Raiser 5:00-8:00 p.m. in our church parlors. See below for further details.
Sunday Nov. 4th Pasadena CROP Walk. See below for more details.
Sunday Nov. 18th
Stewardship Sunday and Thanksgiving Feast after worship! See article below.
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Rev. Marlene W. Pomeroy
Rev. John H. Pomeroy
Dana Pell
Mary Camacho
Jeff Tyler
Pianist & Music Coordinator
Guest Dr. Linda Zoolalian for Connie Washburn
Combined class for elementary & youth - teacher are Grace Rinck/Krysty Leckrone.
Church Nursery (for infants - K)
J. Rodriguez and Lachlan Ashenmiller
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
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 Happenings
-5th Annual Level Ground Festival
-Aid Africa Fall Fundraiser Nov. 3rd
-UCC: Hurricanes & Disaster Relief
-Annual FCC Thanksgiving Dinner, Nov. 18th
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Youth Outreach Work and Confirmation
We have outreach outings several times this Fall for our middle and high school youth. Please let us know if your youth can attend. Our continuing project is collecting used sport shoes each week for recycling.
This Saturday we will gather to sort and stock donations at the Friends in Deed food pantry from 9-11am.
Other upcoming projects will include volunteering at Club 21, putting together care packages for Ronald McDonald House, sponsoring a family for the holiday through Friends in Deed, and visiting members of our church. The Youth Outreach Planning Committee is: Lu Burd, Meagan VanDeventer, Jeff Tyler, Neva Orr and Pastor Marlene.
Also for Youth - Pastor Marlene will be in touch with parents of all 7th-12th graders in the next few weeks about their interest in a Confirmation Class. Confirmation is a time for young people to learn about the traditions of the Church and God/Jesus/Holy Spirit, explore their faith, and determine if they would like to be confirmed. Pastor Marlene will be in touch with parents in the next few weeks to find a time for an initial meeting. Parents may also be in touch with Marlene with any questions. Pastor Marlene will also be recruiting sponsors for our youth.
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5th Annual Level Ground Festival Oct. 5th-Nov. 3rd, 2018
There will be five events as part of this festival which is an arts cooperative that provides creative access to diverse artists and audiences. This year there will be a
stand-up comedy show and three other projects which explore the intersection of queer identity, body image, and the nature of self. Our FCC Lambda group and our Church have
donated $750 to help sponsor this year's event. Info can be obtained at
levelground.org/festival. All events are free; there will be an opportunity to donate when you reserve tickets if you wish.
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Aid Africa "Empty Bowls"
Saturday Nov. 3rd
At an "Empty Bowls" dinner, you get a beautiful hand-crafted bowl for your dinner and then you get to take it home with you.
The fundraising dinner is
Saturday November 3rd here at FCC from 5-8PM. We'll have some auction items and some entertainment. We'll have some of our previous visitors to Uganda speak briefly about their memories of Aid Africa.
Please join us! Bring friends! Bring children! Just
click here to go to our web site to buy tickets. If you live too far away, you're still welcome to make a donation. The work we do depends on your generosity.
Please speak to Joey Bland, chairperson of our Discipleship Ministry, or Peter/Irene Keller for more information.
Thanks!
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Dear Friends in Christ,
Hurricanes and disaster events keep coming. You are responding through UCC Disaster Ministries to the needs of people affected by 2018 hurricanes within the United States and around the world.
The UCC's 2018 Hurricane Recovery Appeal puts you at the heart of the response to 2018 hurricanes now and in long-term recovery.
Hurricane Michael slammed into the Florida panhandle on October 10th as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 155 mph. The winds and rain continued across Georgia and the Carolinas with widespread flooding. These areas were impacted last month by Hurricane Florence.
Hurricane Florence roared ashore in the Carolinas in September. Communities experienced mass flooding. The environmental and economic impacts of the storm's damage are vast.
Super Typhoon Mangkhut (AKA Ompong) devastated parts of the Philippines and wreaked havoc in Hong Kong, China and other parts of Asia.
VOLUNTEER
Your service is needed now in Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Florida, recovering from 2017 hurricanes. Your service will be needed in long-term recovery in the Carolinas and Florida. Bookmark
UCC Disaster Ministries Volunteer page
for details.
One hundred percent of UCC disaster relief funds are used for direct service to individuals and communities, and rehabilitation programming. In addition, many employers match donations for disaster relief efforts. Check
here
to see if your employer is one of them.
Make a secure online donation, or mail your gift made payable to the United Church of Christ:
700 Prospect Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44115
Memo: 2018 Hurricane Relief
Stay up to date on the UCC response to hurricanes and other disaster events: Visit our disaster
website. Follow us on
Facebook
for updates.
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Save the Date - Nov. 4th - CROP Walk
 Come join us in walking to support hunger relief and the development work of Church World Service on Sunday afternoon November 4th from 1-3PM at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church 1879 North Lake Ave. Altadena 91001. Parking is at Westminster Presbyterian Church, right next door!
You may sponsor a walker, register to walk online (say that you are walking with FCC) or we have packets to hand out on Sunday mornings when you come to church.
See Joey Bland, Chair of Discipleship or Jake Pomeroy for details - there is a 5K loop or a simpler 1 mile walk and children and friendly dogs are invited!
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IT'S NEVER TOO EARLY TO BE THANKFUL
Mark your calendars for Sunday November 18th to attend
the final FCC Thanksgiving Feast
in our current building
For almost 50 years FCC has held a Thanksgiving Feast for our church community on the Sunday prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. This event gives everyone a chance to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal after our worship service, while spending a relaxed time with church members, extended families and friends. We are serving turkey dinner with all the trimmings in our church parlors. Please bring a vegetable, salad or dessert to serve 8 to complete the meal. Membership Ministry is assisting with the feast this year. There are many tasks that go into making the event successful, so other volunteer help would be appreciated. We will be taking reservations and signups for food after church on the three Sundays before the Feast. Please join us!
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