Community UCC eNews September 26, 2019 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. Click here to learn more about who we are at Community UCC. Sunday Sermon    On Sunday, Sept. 29, Pastor Ara will deliver a sermon titled " From Trivial Pursuits to Righteous Action " during a special outdoor service for Blessing of the Animals. Worship Service Each Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

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.

WORSHIP THEME: Coercion vs. Freedom Our general worship focus for the fall will be Coercion vs. Freedom. We will be inspired by the minor prophets and the Pastoral epistles, as we struggle with the short term efficacy of coercion and threat, and the long view guided by a love ethic. How do we mature as persons of faith and disciples of Christ? It is for freedom Christ set us free. How may we live this as fully and faithfully as possible? It captures and hopefully addresses our challenge of being an Open and Affirming congregation of welcoming each of us as we are. How to be our best self, individually and as a Body!

Blessing of the Animals Community United Church of Christ will hold a special outdoor worship service at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, at Robinson Park. All house pets are welcome for blessing.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED after church on Sunday, Oct. 6, to distribute door hangers about Oktoberfest in the neighborhood surrounding our church!

Join us for the CUCC Oktoberfest Fall Fundraiser! Beer, brats, live music and more beer! Saturday, Oct. 12 5-8:30 p.m.; Community United Church of Christ 5550 N. Fresno Street, Fresno, CA             Call 435-2690 for tickets or buy at the door Fun for the entire family! Carnival games for kids: bounce house, Corn Hole, Ladder Toss and more! Unlimited access to games! Raffle tables filled with lots of great prizes for sale! SPECIAL:   16 oz. glass beer stein etched with CUCC logo : $20 Dinner at 6 p.m. with dancing after to the terrific CUCC Band! Dinner tickets: Presale price by Oct. 6: $20 Adults; $7 Kids 12 & younger After Oct. 6: $25 Adults; $10 Kids 12 & younger A portion of the proceeds go to the Syrian Refugee Project Coming Soon -- The Oktoberfest Raffle In addition to the wonderful food, beer, music and fellowship, there will be a raffle at the Oktoberfest set for Saturday, Oct. 12. The raffle will be available in Hayden Hall Sunday, Oct. 6, as well as at the Oktoberfest. This will give everyone an expanded opportunity to purchase tickets, with the possibility of winning amazing items, whether or not you are able to attend the actual event! The drawings will take place on Oct. 12.    We are asking for donations of raffle items - we plan to offer items for $1, $5 or $10 tickets, depending on the items. We have a few things that were donated prior to our last event and need lots more. Many of you are very talented crafters, artists, woodworkers, cooks, etc. We would love to have homemade raffle items which can include food items to be prepared on request at a later date, preserved foods, wine, crocheted or knitted items, artwork, household items that are in new or good condition, gift cards, and more....you get the idea! Your talents and generosity are sincerely welcomed and appreciated! We need the items no later than Wednesday, Oct. 2. You can deliver them to the church office any time up until that time. Please contact Nancy Pressley at 559.312.8621 with any questions.

Men's Book Study Group Beginning on Tuesday evenings starting Oct. 1 , from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in Room 1, facilitators Rod Zook & Chad Hayden will lead a men's book study group on the book "Naked Spirituality" by Brian McLaren. The Church Office has two more books left for purchase at a cost of $11 each. Please read prior to class: Preface and Intro for discussion.

Sunday school teachers needed for once a month From the Faith Education Team: Do you enjoy working with children? If so, we have the perfect position for you. If you can volunteer one Sunday a month to teach our children in Sunday School, it would free up our teachers to be able to attend the church worship service. Please contact Eileen at 559.251.3357 if you would like to volunteer. Thank you.

Saturday Morning Breakfast Group Saturday, Oct. 5 , Conference Room Breakfast at 8:45 a.m., talk begins at 9 a.m. Helmut Kloos will discuss his work in Ethiopia from 1972 to 2019, trying to make a difference. He was an associate professor in geography, with specialization in medical geography, at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia from 1983-1991. Since 1972 Helmut has been a research associate in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics with UC San Francisco Medical Center. Between the 1970s and 1990s, he served as a consultant to the ministries of health in Ethiopia, Kenya, Egypt and Brazil. Helmut will bring breakfast for his talk.

Missions & Social Justice Neighbors in Need (NIN) Special Offering Sunday, Oct. 6 This years theme: Love of Children Neighbors in Need is the UCC's annual offering to support ministries of justice and compassion throughout the United States, including the Council for American Indian Ministries (CAIM), justice and advocacy efforts, and direct service projects funded by the UCC's Justice and Witness Ministries.

Meal Train for the Baird Family From Erin Hinojosa, originally posted on Facebook: The Baird family is reunited, after their accident nearly two months ago. After listening to suggestions, I have put together a Meal Train to coordinate meals for Grandma, Mom, and Dad, which would be the greatest source of support for them at the moment. Your meal will help feed Neil and Linda Baird, their primary care giver Alice Farmer, and whichever one of us family members happens to be with them on a given evening. THANK YOU! Linda is gluten-intolerant, so gluten free options are best (though she DOES do well with sourdough bread!) Lower sugar options would also be helpful. If you have questions or need guidance, please text Erin at (559) 451-6066. Favorite meals: Gluten-free pastas, casseroles, soups, etc. that keep well would be wonderful, but variety is great, too! Least Favorite meals: Anything too spicy! Otherwise, they aren’t picky. Allergies or dietary restrictions: Gluten-free, lower amounts of sugar preferred. No shellfish either due to Mom’s allergy. Gift cards for SaveMart, Trader Joe’s, and services like Grub Hub, Uber Eats, and Door Dash would also be a tremendous blessing. Please private message me if you’d like e-mail or phone information to send th ose too. We are unbelievably grateful for your continued love and support, and have been humbled by how much you all have held up our family during this great trial. Much love to you all, and thanks for sharing in our joy as Dad is returned to his family this week!

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.

From coast to coast, UCC turns out for youth-led Climate Strikes Across the country, United Church of Christ members, following the lead of young people everywhere, joined millions striking in the United States and around the world in a call to action on the climate crisis. Environmental advocates gathered Friday, Sept. 20, from coast to coast, marching on public squares, city halls and state capitols to spur change that addresses the rising carbon dioxide emissions that are fueling climate change. Students, like 17-year-old Grace Lambert, left their classrooms to lead them. Continue reading at the UCC.com website.

Happy Birthday and Anniversary to all who are celebrating this month! October Birthdays 1 — David Contreras, Jess Garcia 3  — Adrian Ramirez, Nayele Wall 5  — Joe Mack 6  — Dena Reynolds 8  — Cristi Newport, Chad Hayden 12  — Sarah LeBeau 18  — Hayden Shea 25  — Nancy Pressley, Dru Ramirez 27  — Debra Westhaver-Church 28  — Nanete Maki-Dearsan, Boone Watkins 31  — Pat Gebs, Claire & William Knapp October Anniversaries 2  — Ruben Fernandez & Lynn Samuelian 6  — Charlene Toews & Michael Dillahunty 8  — Annie & Jack Van Patten 26  — Kelli & Alan Chaffin

Upcoming Church Events Sundays at 9 a.m. - Adult Education in the Conference Room Tuesdays - Women's Book Club Discussion began "The Universal Christ" by Richard Rohr Sept. 29 - Blessing of the Animals, 10:30 a.m. Oct. 1- Men's Book Study, Room 1, 6 p.m. Oct. 5 - Saturday Morning Breakfast Group, Helmut Kloos will speak and bring breakfast Oct. 12 - Oktoberfest fall fundraiser, fun for the entire family! (See article above) Oct. 20 - Fresno/Clovis CROP Hunger Walk, details at crophungerwalk.org/fresnoca/ Oct. 26 - Memorial Service for Margaret Fullerton, 11 a.m. at the Church. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to this church in her name. Nov. 22-24 - Journey into Advent, with Julia Penner-Zook, theme is "While it Was Yet Dark" Keep up to date with our Church's online calend ar !

CROP Walk Sunday, Oct. 20 First Congregational Church (Big Red), 2131 N. Van Ness Blvd. 1:30 pm Walker Registration, 2:30 Walk begins. CROP Walk is a community walk event in support of local and global hunger and disaster relief. We need volunteer walkers! Sign-ups will be Sundays in the Breezeway of the church.

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   Website: communityucc-fresno.org

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