United Church of the Valley
A Partnership Church
United Church of Christ/Disciples of Christ
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A Progressive Christian Community
A Just Peace Congregation
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Join Us for the
UCV Body, Mind, Spirit 30-Day Challenge
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The UCV 30-Day Challenge is now Live
To register click on the link below or we can direct you from our website, register for yourself or if there are a few of you, register as a team and challenge each other. This is a UCV fundraiser, the registration fee ($38) will allow us to continue our ministries, reaching out to our valley and beyond to bring hope and love.
If you aren't interested in participating but would like to support what we do as a congregation, you can click on the link and hit the donate button.
We have all been through the ringer these last 18+ months and deserve to have some fun...so let's make it happen.
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The Month of October
Mind, Spirit, Body 30-Day Challenge. Scroll down a bit to see details.
The Month of December
December Holiday Bazaar - More details to follow. Contact person Anne and Kerry
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Calling All Craft… er well… EVERYBODY!!
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Join us for a Holiday Bazaar on November 28 & December 5 before and after services.
We would love for each family to contribute something to sell or auction (you are welcome to make that decision and to set the sale prices of your items/services). If you need a table set up, please let either Kerry or Sherian know by November 14.
Need some ideas of things to offer up?
Do you sing and/or play an instrument? How about a singing telegram for a Birthday, Anniversary or Valentine’s Day?
Do you bake? How about a cake, pie or cookies?
Do you love to cook? How about a Mexican, Italian, Greek or any other type of meal?
Make Christmas crafts?
Create Birthday or other Greeting Cards?
Have a service you can sell? Car or window washing, house cleaning, dog walking, pet sitting, babysitting, yard work, homework tutoring, hair cutting, cake decorating, photography, etc
THINK BIG and THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX!! Kids are HIGHLY encouraged to participate!
We would love to see this be a major fundraiser for the church so we need everyone’s participation. Also, on the Sundays of sale, we will need people to help run the sale.
If you have ideas or would like to help run the Bazaar, help is ALWAYS appreciated!!!
Kerry – 951.326.0945
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Friends Worshipping
Together
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Kid’s Church is Back Every
Sunday During the Service
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PUMPKIN GLOW!!
Saturday, October 30
5:00 PM
The Community House
Bring your own pumpkin and join us for a pumpkin carving party just in time for Halloween!
Pizza provided
Please contact Sherian if you want to join in the fun so we can have a headcount for food😊
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Stewardship Time!
Jamie Barnett
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It’s like the pledge drive on PBS or NPR except we have absolutely no corporate sponsors. We are completely dependent on “viewers like you.” I mean us. We are completely dependent on us. For the next few weeks we will be hounding you to pledge. I mean, we will be graciously accepting your generous pledge.
In all seriousness though, we pledge so our church can survive and continue to be a presence for peace, justice, inclusion, and love in our community. We are like a voice in the wilderness. When I try to imagine our town without the presence of UCV it is like “Pottersville” from “It’s a Wonderful Life.” I don’t even want to pretend!
Once we have everyone’s pledge information we can begin the work of creating a budget for the next year, which begins soon. So make your pledge today! Rick Hayden has made it really easy, just click the button below or you can go to the pledge card link right on our website . Thanks Rick! And thanks everybody for making your pledge today!
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October services will be live and on Zoom beginning at 10am every Sunday. The live service will be recorded and available on the UCV website, Facebook and YouTube later in the day.
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Wow! What an exciting line-up for October! We are SO blessed to have such an abundance of wisdom shared by such interesting and thought-provoking folks. Before, I share some of the reasons I think you’ll be excited too, I wanted to include an excerpt from an email that I received yesterday from one of the church music publishers that I
have regular contact with. At UCV, I think we’ve learned to understand the sentiments expressed, but here’s a good reminder. What is the first place you think of when you think about a house of prayer? A church. A synagogue. A mosque. But as we learned this past year and a half,
there are more houses of prayer beyond these religious buildings. A family room. A hospital room. Even your car. You don’t need to be in a church building to be in the presence of God. The bricks and the mortar don’t make a house of prayer, it is the community gathered that allows us to experience the presence of God. A community of welcome. A community of love. A community of acceptance. God is all around us as we minister to our brothers and sisters. “Where two or three are gathered, here I am in the midst of them.” What is your house of prayer this week? How can you open your house of prayer and your heart to God this week?
–Victoria Zibell
Now, here’s some more info about October. On Oct. 3, we look forward to hearing Matt Brown speak. Matt is a friend of the Eddy’s.
On this World Wide Communion Sunday, he will be sharing his insights about the Afghan church and his experience living in Afghanistan with his family for 8 years, along with the current refugee situation. We are hungry to know more and how best to be a part of lovingly and respectfully helping refugees transition here so his message will be especially helpful. Matt grew up in San Diego but he is currently living in Kentucky so he will be joining us via Zoom. You can read his full bio on the UCV website.
Bil Aulenbach is our speaker Oct. 10. Bil is a good friend of UCV member Joan Thompson who got to know Bil and his wife, Anne, while attending the Irvine United Congregational Church. Bil’s life has been full of interesting and meaningful experiences and work. He’s got his own blog, so you can find out more about him and his journey along the path to progressive Christianity at peacelovejoyhope.com. His bio will also appear on our UCV website. A big thank you to Joan for connecting us to him!
We’re always enriched by Rev. Steph who will join us on Oct. 17. She surely needs no introduction as we gratefully embrace Rev. Steph, her wife Adrianna and their two super kids, Lily and Lincoln, into our UCV family!
As you have seen in Moderator Monday posts recently, the Irvine United
Congregational Church has generously offered to share some of their programming with us (check out their website –iucc.org for more info). We’ve also been thinking about how we can share worship experiences from time to time. Oct. 17 will be the first of hopefully many of these opportunities to share. Rev. Sarah Halverson was an associate minister at UCV many years ago so we launched her ministry (some of us
participated in her ordination). Since then she has become a bold and fearless advocate for justice in her community and the wider world. We’re so proud of her and grateful that she has volunteered to share again with us. Because service times at UCV and IUCC are not quite compatible, the message Sarah will share will be via video. Since their church will be doing a Blessing of the Animals service the day her sermon will be live at IUCC, we decided that Oct. 24, the date we will be viewing her message,
will be a great time for UCV’s almost-annual Blessing of the Animals. We’re still working out the details so watch our weekly emails for more info nearer to the event. Then, Oct. 31 we’ll hear Rev. Jen Zechlin. She specifically asked to speak on this spooky Sunday so I think she must have something special up her sleeve. We’ll have to wait and see!
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Saturday November 6
8:00 AM
More information to come!
Start cleaning those closets!
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Need Space for your Recovery Meeting?
3 Sizes of Rooms Available·
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3 Sizes of Rooms Available
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Room A: up to 6 people (top)
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Library: 7 – 15 people (middle)
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Sanctuary: 16 – 50 people (bottom)
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Storage available for Recovery brochures and supplies (limited)
Coffee Pot and supplies available for use in Kitchen
TV screens available in Library and Sanctuary for presentations
Donations:
Room A - $15 / week based on one meeting per week
Library - $20 / week based on one meeting per week
Sanctuary - $25 / week based on one meeting per week
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**½ off first month’s cost while you establish your meeting
(During Covid we ask that all CDC guidelines are followed regarding masks, cleaning and chair spacing)
Who We Are… United Church of the Valley is a small United Church of Christ / Disciples of Christ located in the Temecula/Murrieta Valley. No matter where you are on your journey, you are welcome here.
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United church of the valley
41685 Date Street, Suite 100
Murrieta, CA 92562
Website: ucvchurch.org
Phone: 951.698.1520
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T'ai Chi with Paul Dallas
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On Sept. 22 , Sherian and Edna delivered Social Work Action Group ( SWAG) quilts to the residents of Anchor, a transitional housing situation in Lake Elsinore. They were most gracious and thankful. Breakfast and lunch are provided and dinners are donated . Edna provided dinner for all residents on Sept
29. If you are interested in helping her with this mission, please phone her at 909 518 9978. She plans to continue cooking dinners on Wednesdays.
Prayers and Squares are sewing at the church on Oct. 13 and Oct 27.
Hours are 10 till 2. Bring a lunch. We have kits if you need a project.
Bring a friend.
The Prayers and Squares Christmas bazaar is in full swing. New items keep arriving. The drawing for the Christmas quilt is Dec. 5.
And, of course, you can suggest recipients for our lovely quilts which will be prayed upon and tied by church members. Contact Edna 909-518-9978
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It’s exciting for me to even be writing something under this title. It has been so frustrating knowing what is safe and possible to do with music in these confusing times and I’m so grateful for the musicians who have been able to share instrumental music and videos while we have tried to stay safe and avoid live singing. But, Christmas is coming and we need to be ready. We have had a wonderful tradition of doing an annual cantata during the advent season, usually joined by some of our immensely talented instrumentalists. If it’s going to happen, we’ve got to get to work. Our plan factors in our difficulty in knowing what the status of covid will be by Dec. So there are three contingencies that we can pivot to as we get closer. All three of those contingencies start with rehearsing and learning the music, so that’s what I’m proposing we do. A quick poll of at least some of our choir members indicates that the best time for rehearsal will be on Sundays at 11:30-12:30pm after our weekly service. Our first rehearsal will be Oct. 10. We’d love to have some new voices join us (and, of course, those who are seasoned members of our choir). Please let me know if you’d like to sing with us (lbradley93168@gmail.com). If you sing only in the shower or have previous singing experience you’re welcome to join us. There will be rehearsal recordings and probably a few zoom practices to help us learn quickly. I need to know who will participate so that I can have enough copies ready so please confirm that you can participate. For rehearsals, we will meet in the sanctuary, VERY socially distanced and we will wear masks for everyone’s safety.
Likewise, I would love to know who wants to play some simple bell music. We’ll need to be creative about rehearsing (maybe before church??) To get started, I’m thinking of music simple enough that a couple rehearsals would be all that we’d need. And, as with the cantata, we’d welcome anyone who wants to try their hand at ringing. It’s pretty easy (some musical experience is always helpful, but I mark the music in such a way that beginners can catch on quickly). If you can count to 4 (occasionally only 3!) you can do it!!
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Bringing our tithes and offerings to God is an important spiritual practice that cultivates gratitude and generosity. While we cannot physically pass the offering plate, we can continue to bring our gifts to God through online or mail-in donations.
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To send a check, please use:
United Church of the Valley
P.O. Box 1312
Murrieta, CA 92564
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Or donate online:
(3.5% fee)
Venmo: @ucvchurch (free)
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UCV Birthday Bank
October Birthdays
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The Birthday Bank has been a tradition at the United Church of the Valley for many a year. When your birthday comes around you get to put $1 for every year into the birthday bank (the $1 per year is only a suggestion). Of course we would love to celebrate with you during our social after the Sunday Service, we'll even provide the cake. Is your name on this list?
October Birthdays
- Jeff MacLean - 3rd
- Kate McGrath - 4th
- Larry Elwood - 6th
- Ann Grim - 6th
- Bev Perkins - 9th
- Steve Falgout - 11th
- Corina Wolfe - 16th
- Nita MacLean - 18th
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Please email any joys & concerns you would like read aloud to Sherian Spencer at sherianspencer@gmail.com. You can also send confidential prayer requests. Just indicate as such and let Sandy know if you want it shared with any of the other spiritual counselors.
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Behind the Pulpit in October
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During the month of October our Sunday service will be live on our Zoom channel. The recording of the service will be available online later that day on Facebook, YouTube and on our Website.
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October 3rd - Matthew Brown (Worldwide Communion Sunday)
October 10th - Bill Aulenbach
October 17th - Rev. Stephani Toon
October 24th - Rev. Sarah Halverson (Blessing of the Animals)
October 31st - Rev. Jennifer Zechlin
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You can find our Sermons, past and present, on our YouTube channel (click the video) as well as our website (click the button).
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There’s not too much new news from Chacraseca. Another musician friend of Abimael has died and, of course, we continue to mourn the passing of Oscar, a brilliant guitarist in Amalgama, the wonderful group who visited us a few years ago. In addition, all of Nicaragua continues to need our prayers for safety and stability as the November “elections” loom. With most of those opposing the current president, Ortega, having been imprisoned, these are worrisome times indeed.
JustHope (yes that means Hope with Justice!) is holding it’s annual fundraising event, “Wine to Water” on Oct. 7. The night starts at 5pm PDT with a virtual celebration on zoom. We’ll hear about the accomplishments from this year, check in with Nicaraguan staff, JustHope staff, Nicaraguan companions and founder Rev. Leslie Penrose. Then we can log in to the virtual after-party and a more informal time for interaction, games and discussion. Please ask Lynne if you have questions or want more info. I understand that one of the important questions being discussed will be “which wine pairs best with gallo pinto?) If you haven’t been to Nicaragua, let me explain that gallo pinto is the traditional national dish of rice, beans and spices, often eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
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- Continue prayers for our teachers and students due to covid.
- Prayers for Holly Rolfe.
- Sandy Selby is doing better now. We are glad that she is back at church.
- Irene's mom is doing good after having hip surgery. Prayers for Irene's uncle who is going in for triple bypass surgery soon
UCC News
The fall meeting for our Southern Association will be on Sunday, Oct. 10th via Zoom They will be voting on our new budget. They are encouraging pastoral relations committees and church leadership to attend for an important program. Registration will start at 2:30pm with the meeting starting at 3 pm. Notify the association office if you can attend via Zoom at southernassociatin@sascncucc.com. Give them your e-mail address so they can send you the login information.
We will need small pieces of wrapped candy for the Christmas candy tubes for the food pantry. The rolls are partially wrapped and are waiting to be filled with candy. We will fill the tubes in December and give them to the Murrieta food pantry just before Christmas.
It sure is good to be in our church facility with our friends. Please continue to send cards to our homebound members. They so very much appreciate your cards:
- Archie Aitchison - 32162 Caminita Osuna--Temecula, CA.
- Sue Berry at Generation Health Care - 44280 Campanula Way--Temecula, CA. Phone # is 951-239-0716
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Pilgrim Pines News--There will be a Fun For All family camp and Apple Day. Family camp starts on Friday evening Oct.8th and goes through Sunday morning Oct. 10th. Apple Pie Day is Saturday, Oct 9th from 9:30am to 5:30pm. There will be a chili lunch with apple pie for dessert. salad. Reservations are needed as soon as possible. To register and buy tickets go to pilgrimpinescamp.org/fall-camp. Donna and her friend Julieanne did several small work camps in Sept. Come to the mountain and see what they did.
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Services will be live and on Zoom at 10am on Sundays. The live service will be recorded and available on the UCV website, Facebook and YouTube later in the day.
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Even fellowship can be online, thanks to the innovative minds at Zoom! Join us for Sunday Service live and on zoom beginning at 10am. UCV has its own Zoom meeting room at https://zoom.us/j/9516981520
You can join from your Zoom app using meeting number 9516981520
Or you can join by phone:
One tap mobile
+16699006833,9516981520# US (San Jose)
or dial
+1-669-900-6833
and then enter
9516981520#
You can start your own online fellowship, too! Just email Sandy Selby at moderator@ucvchurch.org to get on the meeting schedule.
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Sunday Service - Live and on Zoom, 10AM
Monthly Game Night -SUSPENDED until further notice. Every 3rd Saturday of the month from 6:30 - 8:30 at The Community House
Monthly Potluck - SUSPENDED until further notice
Book Club - SUSPENDED further notice. We are meeting online every Sunday at 9am Zoom Meeting Room
AA Meeting - Monday - Friday 7am
Voices of the Valley Youth Choir - SUSPENDED until further notice
UCV Council Meeting - 1st Monday of the month 6pm Zoom Meeting Room
AA Meeting - Every Monday 7pm
Women's Al-Anon Meeting - Every Wednesday 5:30pm
Men's AA Meeting - Every Wednesday 7pm
TVP Board Meeting - Currently on Zoom
AA Big Book Study - Every Friday 7pm
AA Step Meeting - Every Saturday 8am
Trans Family Support - 1st Saturday of the month 4pm
Citizens Climate Lobby Meeting - 2nd Saturday of the month 9:30am
C.O.D.A.Meeting - Every Sunday 5:30pm (Currently still on Zoom)
AA Meeting - Every Sunday 7:30pm at The Community House
The Community House is located at
41685 Date Street, Murrieta 92562
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United Church of the Valley is a Partnership Church
United Church of Christ/Disciples of Christ
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951-698-1520 admin@ucvchurch.org
www.ucvchurch.org
41685 Date St. Murrieta
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