Community UCC eNews
July 2, 2020
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.
Communion Sunday Worship — Zoom and Facebook Live  

On Sunday, July 5 , EJ Hinojosa will deliver a sermon titled “Grace” based on John 8:1-11. EJ writes:

"We're human, and we need grace every minute of every day. We need it from God, and we need it from one another. Because of grace we are free from fear, from shame, and from hate. Grace is the foundation and the center of our spiritual lives. Show yourself a little grace today, and explore how it feels to be free."

The first Sunday of each month is  communion Sunday ,  so please have some bread and small glass of wine or juice prepared, so we may celebrate Holy Communion together virtually. See below for details of how we will "do church" for now.

Worship on Facebook Live will begin at 10:30 a.m.
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, to ensure security. 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.
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.
As our world lurches and reels —
this world of menacing shadows, 
of twisted shapes and cruel images we try to forget —
allow yourself to sink into the assurance that God 
breathes calm into threat,
coherence into dissonance, 
refuge into injustice. 
Your kin_dom come. 
~ Pastor Julia Penner-Zook
"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.

"You Can't Go Back"
By C.S. Lewis

“You can’t go back and
change the beginning,
but you can start
where you are and change the ending.”
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

This raffle basket will bring some delectable comfort into your life during this stressful time.  Buy your tickets now through Givelify 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, 2020. Good Luck!!!
'White Fragility' – Join the discussion

The Missions and Social Justice Team will host a Zoom group to discuss the best-selling book, “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism” by Robin DiAngelo.

“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.”

Anyone interested in joining the discussion group should contact Elizabeth Davis-Russell at edavisrussell@comcast.net   or (559) 862-6914 by July 5. Details will follow of when the group will begin.

Please invite your friends to join us.
  Thank you to a caring church family

I want to thank everyone for the cards, texts and phone calls. They bring hope, and cheerful messages at a time when I can really appreciate it. 

  Margery Mulvihill
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.
New Adult Education begins

We are doing an Adult Education study at 10 a.m. Mondays via Zoom.

  • July 6: Richard Rohr's "The Wisdom Pattern." Read Chapter 2

Contact Robin 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).
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.
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  faithgrowth@communityucc.com.
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.
As COVID cuts in-person voter activism, UCC ‘Our Faith, Our Vote’ goes digital

The COVID-19 pandemic is preventing the usual in-person voter registration, mobilization and education work that many churches do in a general election year. So the United Church of Christ’s Our Faith, Our Vote program is offering new ways to help people do that work online.

Among them:
  • Summer webinars featuring prominent voting advocates, including Stacey Abrams and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
  • A Civic Action Center, where people can click to check their registration status, get registered to vote, find their polling place or get help with early voting.
  • A 2020 issue-education page with videos and written “one pagers” on 10 key issues. Continue reading at UCC.com.
Happy Birthday to all who are celebrating this month!

July Birthdays
1 – Kyrie Oneal
9  –  Erin Hinojosa and Mike Powers-Smith
10 – Janice Shorgo
11  –  Kristen White-Barrett
16  –  Marge Kelly
19  – Bobbie Vivian
21  – Amy Richardson
22  – Bryan Clark
23 –  Maggie Dutton
28  – Jack Jackson, and, Devin and Deshawn Ruffin
29  – June Supersad
30 –  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

Did we overlook someone's birthday or anniversary for this month? Please let Marilyn ( office@communityucc.com ) and Lisa ( lisamboyles12@gmail.com ) know so we can get you in next week. We never intend to leave anyone out.
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.
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.

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.

The Church and Office will remain closed for the time being, due to COVID-19.

Phone: 559.435.2690 
Email: office@communityucc.com