Community UCC eNews
July 9, 2020
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Community UCC is an inclusive and progressive Christian Church doing social justice, environmental faithfulness, interfaith collaboration and spiritual formation to help ourselves and others grow in faith, hope and love.
The Church and Office will remain closed for now.
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Sunday Worship — Zoom and Facebook Live
On
Sunday, July 12
,
Pastor Julia
will deliver a sermon titled “What if We Crack?” based on
2 Corinthians 4:7-18.
See below for details of how we will "do church" for now.
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Instructions for Zoom worship
For upcoming worship services, we are doing
Zoom
videoconferencing meetings, so we can see each other's faces even as we are apart.
Links to the Zoom worships go out each Wednesday in a separate email just to church members. Look for "Zoom links" in that email subject line.
Lisa will continue to provide Facebook Live on Sundays at 10:30 a.m., by capturing her computer screen during the Zoom worship.
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Community UCC will NOT reopen church, office for now
The past few months in this pandemic have shown us that the Church is neither a building nor defined by in-person meetings; it is people! We miss being and worshiping together; we miss welcoming new people into our worship; we miss joining together in fellowship, sharing life’s joys and sorrows. But despite our sense of loss and longing,
we will keep our church building doors closed at this time
out of an abundance of caution and concern for the health and safety of all members of our congregation and our staff.
Read more about this decision on our website.
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Invite-A-Friend Sunday — July 12
Do you have a friend you think would enjoy our church's perspective? Invite them to join our Zoom worship on Sunday, July 12, for Invite a Friend Sunday.
If you have someone in mind, you'll need to do two things:
- Share with them the link to join the Zoom meeting.
- Let Felicia Rocha know ahead of time so she can admit them to the Zoom meeting.
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We are a Welcoming Community
By Pastor Julia Penner-Zook
Imagine this text exchange between you and a friend! In fact, you end up inviting them to visit our church!
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Sunday, July 12, is our Invite-a-Friend-to-Zoom Sunday. What do we want to remember as we anticipate new faces?
On Zoom, we can ALL be part of the Extravagant Welcome Team! How can we do that well?
- Just be your amazing, warm selves and remember that everyone can always hear everything we say — not like when we chat one-on-one before church in person!
- We can remind ourselves that before and after service may be awkward for guests. They may wonder if they should just “leave the meeting” (i.e. slip out!), or they may be unsure of what’s “expected.” We can make it easier for them by taking the initiative. If we thank them for being with us, that goes a long way. (Remember: all names are visible along with pictures on Zoom.) It’s often the small things.
- We are a Welcoming Church! This is one of the many things that make our church amazing. Being welcoming means different and additional things now that we meet online.
If you have ideas of how to be a more effective, welcoming
online church
, please post your thoughts on our private
Community UCC FaceBook page
, or send me an e-mail: j.penner.zook@gmail.com.
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"A Space for Reflection" will contain quotes and poetry to contemplate and reflect upon as you move through your week. Take a moment to read the quote or poem, allow the words to wash over you. Then, see what word(s) spoke to you, what thought(s) came up for you and then y
ou might journal those thoughts or just sit with them for a while.
"
If I can stop one heart from breaking
"
By
Emily Dickinson
“If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.”
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Helping all CUCC members attend online services
Some members of CUCC cannot access our Thursday and Sunday online services because they don’t have a necessary device.
At the same time, some of us may have phones, tablets or computers we are no longer using. If you have one that someone could borrow, please email Marilyn Wall at
office@communityucc.com
or leave a message on the church phone, 559.435.2690.
We’ll compile a list of available devices, and details will follow on distribution.
Help will be available to erase personal information from a borrowed device.
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Homemade bread, jam and Starbucks raffle!
How about some treats during the quarantine? The July CUCC raffle will feature:
- Nancy Pressley's delicious homemade ciabatta bread or bagels
- The Kilburns' homemade boysenberry jam
- Ghiradelli hot chocolate from Sharon Powers-Smith
- Starbucks instant coffee
- Two beautiful mugs
There will be TWO raffle baskets to bring these delectable comfort into your life during this stressful time — one with bagels, one with bread. Buy your tickets now through Givelify (remember to put "July Raffle" in the message) or mail a check to the church.
Tickets are $5 each or three for $10. However you give, make sure you note that your money should go to the July Raffle.
Drawing will be held during Announcements on Sunday, July 26. Good Luck!!!
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'White Fragility' – Join the discussion
“White Fragility” was recently No. 1 on The New York Times nonfiction best sellers list. The newspaper describes the book this way: “Historical and cultural analyses on what causes defensive moves by white people and how this inhibits cross-racial dialogue.”
The group will meet on Mondays for six sessions beginning July 13. The time will be 7-8:30 p.m. The schedule will be:
July 13: Introductions, expectations, and establishing ground rules
July 20: "White Fragility," introduction and chapter 1
July 27: chapters 2-4
August 3: chapters 5-7
August 10: chapters 8-10
August 17: chapters 11 and 12
A Zoom link will be sent to participants.
Anyone interested in joining the discussion group can still sign up by contacting Elizabeth Davis-Russell at
edavisrussell@comcast.net
or (559) 862-6914.
Please invite your friends to join us.
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Thank you from Marilyn
Thank you for the phone calls, emails, Blue Mountain card, flowers
and your prayers for the passing of my mom (mother-in law). They were very much appreciated.
Marilyn & David Wall
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Pitman and Tidyman scholarships available
CUCC annually offers two scholarships: the Martha and Paul Pitman Scholarship and the Phyllis A. Tidyman Scholarship.
The Pitman Scholarship Fund – established in 1998 – supports the theological education of students preparing for ordained ministry and “in care” of the church.
Graduate students or re-entry students returning to school after a two-year absence are eligible if a seminary student doesn’t apply.
The Tidyman Scholarship Fund – established in 1999 by the Tidyman family –provides scholarships for church members.
The Pitmans and Mrs. Tidyman were longtime church members.
Completed applications are due in the church office by July 31.
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Adult Education
We are doing an Adult Education study at
10 a.m. Mondays
via Zoom.
July 13: Richard Rohr's "The Wisdom Pattern."
Contact Ann Scott if you need a link to the Zoom meeting (or check the email to church members that went out on Wednesday with Zoom links for this week).
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Office hours for Pastor Julia
Office hours for our Pastor, Julia Penner-Zook, are
Tuesday afternoons
. If you’d like to chat with Julia by phone, please email or call Marilyn to have her set up a time for a call. Marilyn will organize this flow. If you have any questions, please contact Marilyn.
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If you have a prayer (of joy, for healing, gratitude, love) for someone or someplace that you would like lifted up during worship on Sunday mornings please send them to
j.penner.zook@gmail.com
(Robin is on vacation the next few weeks).
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In each week's eNews, we include a news article from our larger denomination, the
United Church of Christ
,
to show the faithful work being done in other places.
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Our Faith. Our Voice. Our Vote: Faith and Politics with Sen. Elizabeth Warren
12:30 p.m. (Pacific Time)
July 9
Join
Rev. Traci Blackmo
n and
Sen. Elizabeth Warren
in the first in a series of conversations with public leaders about how their faith informs their politics in this world.
What does faith have to do with politics? And how does faith shape a view of the world that translates into policy and transforms the world. Come, listen, share, and learn, as these leaders speak of their own work and journey with faith into changing the world.
Rev. Sandy Sorenson will also join the webinar to share ways everyone can become involved in the Our Faith/Our Vote Initiative.
Register here.
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Happy Birthday to all who are celebrating this month!
July Birthdays
1
–
Kyrie Oneal
9
–
Erin Hinojosa and Mike Powers-Smith
10
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Janice Shorgo
11
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Kristen White-Barrett
16
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Marge Kelly
19
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Bobbie Vivian
21
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Amy Richardson
22
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Bryan Clark
23
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Maggie Dutton
28
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Jack Jackson, and, Devin and Deshawn Ruffin
29
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June Supersad
30
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Susan Chavez and Carolyn Evans
31
–
Al Evans
July Anniversaries
8
– Stacy and
Tony Fazio
21
–
Bobbie and Ron Vivian
31
–
Elizabeth Davis-Russell and Thomas Russell
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Upcoming Church Events
- We will resume listing in-person events after things get back to normal. For now, events have either been cancelled, will be rescheduled or will be held virtually.
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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
. Lisa Boyles Bell (
lisamboyles12@gmail.com
, 559.244.9502) is the volunteer communications liaison for our church. Lisa and Doug Hoagland (
doughoagland@att.net
) alternate working on
eNews.
Send your announcements to both of them for newsletters from June to August.
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We've updated our Joyful Giving page to reflect the many ways members can help support our Church's missions and operations, especially needed in these critical and uncertain times.
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The Church and Office will remain closed for the time being, due to COVID-19.
Phone: 559.435.2690
Email: office@communityucc.com
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