Community UCC eNews
November 27, 2019
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Community UCC is an inclusive and progressive Christian Church doing social justice, environmental faithfulness, interfaith collaboration and and spiritual formation to help ourselves and others grow in faith, hope and love.
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Sunday Sermon
On Sunday, Dec. 1, the
first Sunday of Advent
, Pastor Ara will deliver a sermon titled "
Gifts of Hope - Unbelievable? Believe It,
" based on the scriptures
Luke 1:5-25, 26-38
.
Worship Service Each Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
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NOTE:
We broadcast our Sunday Worship service on
Facebook Live
beginning at 10:30 a.m. We want to make service accessible to members or friends who can't be with us on Sunday mornings. The camera captures the front of the Sanctuary and the first couple of rows of seats.
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Looking for something to do Thanksgiving evening?
We will still hold our weekly Thursday Evening Worship service at
7 p.m. Thanksgiving evening
. Please join us for this special contemplative, interactive, spirit-filled worship service in the Sanctuary.
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You can purchase a poinsettia for $10 in memory of or in honor of a loved one. The poinsettias will decorate the Sanctuary until the Christmas Eve service.
Order forms will be available in the Sunday bulletin or you can call Marilyn at 559.435.2690 to place an order.
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Living the Questions 2.0 returns
Living the Questions resumed beginning
Sunday, Nov. 3
. Below are the upcoming calendars (subject to change) and themes for November and December.
Theme: INVITATION TO JOURNEY
Dec. 1
—
Lives of Jesus
Dec.
8
—
No LTQ, Hanging of the Greens
Dec.
15
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A Passion for Christ: Paul the Apostle
Dec.
22
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Out into the World: Challenges Facing Progressive Christians
Dec.
29
—
No LTQ
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THIS WEEKEND:
Raffle tickets available for two Christmas quilts
Two Christmas quilts made by local quilter Becci Zaninovich especially for our church will be raffled off separately on
Sunday, Dec. 1
. Raffle tickets will be available each Sunday in November and in the church office for $10 each.
There will be a separate raffle for each quilt so buy several tickets and put them all toward your favorite quilt or split them between the two. Sponsored by the Finance Team. Contact Sharon Powers for more information.
Next up, just in time for Christmas, Lisa Boyles will raffle off a jigsaw puzzle fun basket with snacks! Plan a fun family evening or invite over some friends. Tickets on sale beginning Dec. 8, raffle drawing to be held Dec. 22.
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Women's Book Discussion Group
The Women's Book Discussion Group is currently reading
"The Sparrow"
by Mary Doria Russell. This group meets from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays in the Conference Room.
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Men's Book Study Group
Facilitators Rod Zook and Chad Hayden lead a men's book study group from
6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays
in Room 1 on the book "Naked Spirituality" by Brian McLaren. Now reading Chapters 14 and 15.
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Calling all actors and actresses of all ages!
Our
Christmas Eve service
is right around the corner. If you are interested in participating in the service, please let Robin know. There are many parts, speaking and non-speaking. Come and join us as we bring the light of Jesus into the World!
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Music: Holiday Happenings at Community UCC
Announcing: The Community UCC Choir Advent Program!
We’d love for you to join the choir for a short stint this Holiday Season!
Here’s the time commitment: Rehearsals from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on
Dec. 4
and
Dec. 20
. Performances on
Dec. 8
(Hanging of the Greens),
Dec. 20
(Christmas Program), and
Dec. 22
(Last Sunday before Christmas).
Rehearsals are in the church Sanctuary, and they’re lots of fun! If you’re interested in joining us for a short stint, please contact EJ Hinojosa at
ejhinojosa@hotmail.com
or by phone at 559.303.8658.
No long-term commitments, and
ALL SKILL LEVELS ARE ENCOURAGED TO JOIN
!
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Saturday Morning Breakfast Group
Saturday, Dec. 7
, Conference Room
Breakfast at 8:45 a.m., talk begins at 9 a.m.
For Dec. 7,
Michael Kunz
will discuss "John Muir, Climate Change, and the Future of the Sierra Nevada Ecosystem.” Michael published a book titled "
Muir's Temples; A Natural History of Sequoia Grove Plants," available on
Amazon
. The Hoaglands' will provide breakfast for this date.
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Community UCC is now part of the AmazonSmile Foundation charitable organizations that can be supported while you shop at
Smile.Amazon.com
. Register Community UCC as your charity and Amazon will donate 0.5% of the eligible purchase price to our church. How does it work?
- Log onto Smile.Amazon.com. Use your regular Amazon log in information. The online page will look exactly like your regular Amazon.com page and all your lists and history will be there. Prices will be the same. There is no difference between the Amazon.com and Smile.amazon.com sites except that the AmazonSmile Foundation will make charitable donations to your selected organization if you use smile.amazon.com for eligible purchases.
- Select Community Ucc as your charitable foundation and be sure you pick the one in Fresno CA. The last two "c"s are lower case letters. If you can't find it by name, use our EIN: 94-6050078.
- Whenever you want to shop on Amazon, log on to Smile.Amazon.com.
- Phone shopping: Android has an app for AmazonSmile, but the iPhone does not. There are many suggestions online for how to set up a work-around on the iPhone if you shop from your phone.
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In each week's eNews, we include a news article from our larger denomination,
United Church of Christ
,
to show the faithful work being done in other places.
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Conference Ministers tour sacred sites in Alabama in a group commitment to racial justice
Thirty United Church of Christ Conference Ministers, along with national officers John Dorhauer and Karen Georgia Thompson, shared an immersion experience around racism and racial justice in Alabama, touring several sacred sites forged in the struggle for equal rights.
"I would call it reclaiming a history that has been untaught and unknown by most people in America for over 100 years," said the Rev. Marilyn Kendrix, soon-to-be bridge Conference Minister in the Southern New England Conference. "I have been dismayed by the way slavery, reconstruction and the civil rights struggle are glossed over in our schools. What we saw in Alabama was what can happen when black people work together to reclaim the narrative and set the record straight."
Continue reading at the UCC.com website.
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Happy Birthday and Anniversary to all who are celebrating this month!
December Birthdays
2
–
Steve Edwards
3
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Miles Barrett
7
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Jessica Swan
8
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Curtis Richardson
10
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Janina Smith-Schulz
16
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Matt Horton, Amy Kilburn
17
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Barbara Kilburn, Pearl Supersad, Kyle Carlson
18
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Ed Sanchez
26
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Tim Tidyman-Jones
28
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Seth Tilley
31
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Allen Church, Noah Ruffin
December Anniversaries
10
–
Marilyn & David Wall
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Upcoming Church Events
- Nov. 28 & 29, Office closed (Thanksgiving)
- Thursday Evening Worship - weekly at 7 p.m., we hold a weekly contemplative, interactive, spirit-filled worship service in the Sanctuary
- Dec. 1 - Recycling Sunday, First Sunday of the month
- Sundays at 9 a.m. - Adult Education in the Conference Room
- Tuesdays - Women's Book Discussion Group, Conference Room, 6 p. m.
- Tuesdays - Men's Book Study, Room 1, 6 p.m.
- Dec. 7 - Saturday Morning Breakfast Group, Michael Kunz will speak
- Dec. 8 - Hanging of the Greens
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eNews deadline is 10 a.m. Wednesdays
CUCC eNews is a weekly publication distributed every Thursday.
Deadline for submitting announcements is 10 a.m. Wednesdays
(and earlier is appreciated).
Please send your announcements to Marilyn at
office@communityucc.com
.
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Phone: 559.435.2690
Email: office@communityucc.com
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