Parkway UCC
March2020
Pulse

Listen Deeply, Build Community, Act for Justice
ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING

Through the One Great Hour of Sharing offering, we are planting seeds of new life. Your generosity makes the world a better place. You have the opportunity to plant seeds into the lives of others. As we invest in futures and serve as co-workers with God, the future becomes one of endless possibility and opportunity. What a great return on our investment!

The OGHS offering will run through the entire month of March.
March Worship

Vespers March 4, 6:15
We gather in the sanctuary chancel for monthly vespers March 4, 6:15 pm. We will use the Sabbath poetry of Wendell Berry. 

Sunday, March 1: First Sunday in Lent
This Sunday we will engage a ritual of the earth using the address of Chief Seattle. Cathy Davis will share a personal witness, and we will peel away layers of hearing in the story of the eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:15-17, 3: 1-7) The choir will sing.
Following worship there will be a meeting of the Called to Care Team

Sunday, March 8: 
10:45 am Second Sunday  Join us as we view a video about White Privilege with author Robin DeAngelo and discuss our discoveries.
We worship with a litany for International Women’s Day, special music by Tom Everton, and exploration of the ways we trust in the Holy One on our journey with Psalm 121.

Sunday, March 15:   Silent Sunday. The choir sings, we share in communion in the pews, and offer prayers with anointing oil at the close of worship.  We will engage a brief meditation on the meaning of anointing looking at the story of the anointing of David (I Samuel 16: 1-13)

Sunday, March 22:   Our song team will share and we will reflect on the water which comes from the rock in Exodus 17: 1-7. A congregational meeting will follow worship to decide on the proposal to lease solar panels.

Sunday, March 29:  The pick up choir will share in worship as we engage the story of the raising of Lazarus in John 11: 1-45. We’ll celebrate traditional communion at the close of the service.  There will be a potluck after worship. 
Sunday, March 1
Call to Care following Worship
Tuesday, March 3
Women's Group 11 am location TBD
Primary Election Day
Wednesday, March 4
Vespers at 6:15 pm
Thursday, March 5
Quilters 10 am (meet each week)
Men's Group 12 pm
Lent Series begins 7 pm
Sunday, March 8
Second Sunday Gathering 9:45 am
Tuesday, March 10
Justice Team with Wentz 5:30 pm
Wednesday, March 11
Contemplative Prayer 6:15 pm
(2nd - last Wednesday each month)
Church Council 7 pm
Thursday, March 12
2nd Lent Series 7 pm
Sunday, March 15
St. Patrick's Day Celebration 3-7 pm
Tuesday, March 17
Worship & Education 6:30 pm
Wednesday, March 18
Nurture Meeting 7 pm
Thursday, March 19
3rd Lent Series 7 pm
Sunday, March 22
Congregational meeting following worship
Tuesday, March 24
Justice Team meeting 6:30pm
Thursday, March 26
4th Lent Series 7 pm
Saturday, March 28
Spring Pray Workshop 9 am- 12 pm
Sunday, March 29
Potluck following Worship
Invitation to a Lenten Practice

This Lenten we encourage you to try out a practice that can prepare your heart, mind, and spirit for deeper awareness of the sacred.   

Some possibilities:
* Choose a site in creation for you to visit at least once per week for at least a few minutes. It could be the same bench in a park, a spot in the yard, a place in your sun-room or porch or stoop, a stretch of garden, a curve of a path in the wood. Dedicate yourself to return to that same place, your holy place to observe the changes in the world and correspondingly the changes in you. How do you feel differently from week to week? How is that reflected in what you see in your surroundings?  How do your preoccupations, longings, hopes change from week to week?    How does your name or image for God change or stay the same? Here’s an invitation from the Biomimicry Resource Handbook for engaging an “iSite” -- a spot in the natural world for inspiration:

Identify a spot that feels curious to you. Once you are there, get settled and spend at least 20-30 minutes observing. What relationships do you see? How about patterns? Describe or sketch them. What are some adaptations you see as a response to wind/predation/rain/decay/etc? Rather than asking “what is this organism doing?” ask “how does this behavior fit the environment, and what will the organism do next”? 

* Attend one or more of our Restorative Practice Lenten sessions on Thursday evenings at 7 pm. We have some remarkable experiences in store and each of them is stand alone so you need not commit to every week in order to participate. You might invite a friend or neighbor or colleague to join you.

Lenten Series
March 5:  
5 pm Shitake Mushroom Logs   Since we have some freshly cut red oak logs on our church lot, we will drill some holes in a few of them and tap dowels with shitake mushrooms spores into the logs and cover them with wax.  Come out to learn the process!  We’ll have simple soup and bread following.

7 pm  An introduction to the Ethic of People Care – Earth Care – Fair Share.   How do we use the principles to design our lives more closely around our passions and values and treasured relationships?

March 12:   Rev. Dr. Tom Mann will share with us some thoughts about connecting with the natural world, taken from his series at Salemtowne  Nature’s Scripture and the Glory of God looking at John Muir from a faith perspective.

March 19:   Triad Restorative Justice Director Valerie Glass will facilitate a healing circle with us as we learn a bit about the background of restorative justice.

March 26:  Sydney Hughes-McGee, practitioner at 18 Springs Healing Center will join us to share with us accessible, gentle exercises to experience our bodies as connected to the sacred and how culture influences how we live in our bodies, carry trauma, and share love.

April 2:  Rev. Lisa Wishon will help us with ways to consider Sabbath-keeping in creative, heart-opening ways as invitation rather than requirement.

* Pick up our Lenten devotional resources from the church narthex, including a wonderful guide to the Sabbath poems of Wendell Berry.

* Respond to invitations throughout Lent in preparation for each Sunday. On any given week we may ask you to send in an image, a word, or a phrase to complete a sentence which we will use as part of worship that up-coming Sunday.  
Shrove Tuesday
Youth Mission Fundraiser
A GREAT SUCCESS!!!

Thank you to everyone who came out Tuesday to support our youth! It was a great success and I couldn't be more proud of our community. Thank you to Janice Nelligan, Tom Everton, Craig Schaub, David Scruggs, and Sterling Garrison for showing up to flip pancakes and prep food. Thank you to Tim Binkley, Sean Nelligan, and Rebecca Reel for music. Thank you to Janice Nelligan, Amy Wright, and John Brais for helping clean up. And thank you to our wonderful youth who helped out: Parker and Palmer Binkley, Elise Schaub, Madeline Cunningham, and Maggie Brais. You are all so amazing. 
Always, Andrea Simmonds

~~~~~~~~~~~~

2019 CROP Walk Update!

Dear Parkway family, again in 2019 we were in the top 10 group of Fundraisers for the Winston-Salem Forsyth Country CROP Hunger Walk! We had 20 walkers and raised $2988! Thanks for your support in all areas, walking, donating, and thoughts and prayers! Ann McLain and Patti Parker

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Women's group will meet Tuesday, March 3rd. Please contact Diane Jenkins for the time and location.

djenkins46@earthlink.net
336-768-8670

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
Men's Group will meet Thursday, March 5th at 12 pm in the PUCC Fellowship Hall

Please register to attend below:
Education Day for
Western Association of the
Southern. Conference,
Sat. March 7
at Abernathy Laurels
Focus will be on WISE
Mental Health.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wentz Update
Thanks to all who responded in January and February- we not only met our quota but exceeded it!!! We are well on our way to meeting our goal for March.Thanks so much for your generosity!!!
City with Dwellings/Men’s
Overflow Shelter
 
CITY WITH DWELLINGS UPDATE –On Sunday evening, Feb. 23rd.,  several members of Parkway UCC again provided and served delicious ‘comfort food’ for the men of the Overflow Homeless Shelter at Augsburg church. A “potluck’ of Soups were available, along with cornbread muffins, fresh fruit salad, a variety of cupcakes and a leftover King Cake from our Mardi Gras celebration. I want to thank Karen Binkley, Carolyn Gerber, Jon & Vivian Sundell, Lisa Wishon for making the delicious soups; Ken Boaz for providing the fruit salad and being a server; Amy Wright, Gayle Moore and Patti Woodard for the yummy cupcakes and Tom Everton and Sterling Garris for their superb job of serving and offering fellowship to the men. 
Racial Equity Institute Training (REI), Phase 1
 
REI training is a process that is designed to help leaders and organizations who want to proactively understand and address racism, both in their organization and in the community where the organization is working. 
 
The next training will take place on March 11-12, from 9:00AM - 5:00PM on both days. Lunch is provided as part of the cost of the training. Partial scholarships are available through Parkway UCC. If you are interested, please register through Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods @ nbncommunity.org . 
 
There are a number of Parkway folks who attended this meaningful training and would be willing to share this experience with anyone desiring additional information.
 
Thank you,
Karin Binkley
Community Engagement Team

St. Patrick’s Day Music Event
at Parkway
Sunday, March 15 from 3-7 pm
If you’re a fan of Irish music, join us on St. Patrick’s Day, Sunday, March 15, 2020, 3-7 pm, for Irish music and fellowship. We’ll be playing some tunes and sharing our favorite Irish foods. Please bring whatever you want to contribute to the table and put on your step-dancing shoes!
Mark your calendar for Sunday, March 22 nd when we will prepare sack lunches for the CWD. Following worship service , Patti Parker and I will need assistance in preparing 20 sack lunches for the Overflow Shelter at Augsburg Church. There will be a sign-up sheet in the Narthax  asking you to provide lunchmeat, cheese, cookies, fruit cups, etc. to pack for their lunch . We will meet in our kitchen and with plenty of help, it should only take about 15-20 minutes to assemble the lunches. Watch for the sign-up poster and help provide the necessary supplies. Thank you. Any questions, contact:  vickis@triad.rr.com


Spring Pray- and Work-shop 
Building Resilience 
Saturday, March 28, 9 am - Noon

Join us for an experience of reflecting, interacting, and acting on ways of resilience. Michael Banner of Winston-Salem's Island Culture Z, Inc urban farm will share the vision of a Winston-Salem urban farmer cooperative and ways faith communities can offer support.  We will have a time of meditation -- observing and interacting with the church outdoor area. We will learn what a food forest is and its wisdom for human community and spiritual resilience. Those who are able will then move to Zuni Bowl area of church lot to do some sheet mulching and planting. Bring gloves.   
CLICK TO VOTE FOR CYNTHIA
NC School Heroes Award
Cynthia Needham has been nominated to receive the NC School Heroes award.
Please give her your vote. Click on the link: VOTE FOR CYNTHIA
Spend time with a Book – The church library is now located on the right side of Fellowship Hall. Please feel free to borrow any book – no paperwork, no late fees – just enjoyable time spent with a book that will entertain you, energize you, give you peace, or teach you something you didn’t know. 

Here are some recommendations for March:
  Church Humor : Awkward Christian Soldiers or 101 things to do with a Dull church;
  Spiritual: Be the Message by Kevin & Chris Shook (Taking your faith beyond words to a Life of Action) or The Holy Vote – Politics of Faith in America by Ray Suarez
  Climate Change & Environment: Green Faith by Fletcher Harper (Mobilizing Gods People to Save the Earth)
Children:  In the Beginning by Dandi Daley MacKall; or Just in case you ever Wonder by Max Lucado
 
If you would like to assist me in taking care of the church library, please contact me:  vickis@triad.rr.com
Coming in April
Maundy Thursday, April 9, 6:30 pm
We hold our annual soup and bread supper and service with Wentz Memorial in our fellowship hall. Soup and bread will be served at 6:30 pm with the service of readings and darkness to follow. Watch for the sign up to bring soup and help with clean up!

Good Friday, April 10, 3 – 6 pm
We will have available a labyrinth in the fellowship hall from 3 to 6 pm on Good Friday for you to come and pray and reflect.

Keep Winston-Salem Beautiful is coordinating the annual Great American Cleanup in Winston-Salem on Saturday April 4 from 9AM to noon and we need volunteers to help clean up local neighborhoods, parks, schools and streams. We’ll provide all the supplies as well as drinks and lunch! Adopt-A-Street, Adopt-A-Park and Adopt-A-Streams can use this time to do their regular cleanups. Public schools can use this time to clean up their campus before we conduct the spring Clean & Green judging. Youth groups, schools, etc. can use this opportunity to complete service hours. If you don’t have a cleanup location we’ll find you one.
 See the attached brochure with all the information about how to register your group. To participate please mail or fax the form back or call City Link at 727-8000 or e-mail me at georges@cityofws.org .  I’ve also attached the waiver that everyone needs to sign and bring with them.
Easter Sunday Brunch, 9:30 am
Join us before Easter Sunday worship for our annual celebration brunch. We invite you to bring a brunch item to share.


Sunday, April 19, 3 pm
Parkway will be hosting an Ecclesiastical Council for Andrea Simmonds. This is a final step in a process of approval for ordination led by the Western North Carolina Association Committee on Ministry.  Representatives of congregations within the association will come and reflect with Andrea on her readiness of ministry using the UCC Marks of Faithful and Effective Ministry.  Plan to come on out and support Andrea!
UCC Mission Moments - March 1 , 2020
First Sunday in Lent
Abundant Grace
Matthew 4:1-11
UCC Women’s Week, March 1-7

It’s the first Sunday in Lent, the season when we act in deliberate ways to help us move closer to God. You may have learned that Lent is a time to give something up, but it can also be a time to take something on. Maybe this is the year you will take on a new commitment to faithful learning and activism. If so, consider registering now for Ecumenical Advocacy Days (advocacydays.org), coming up in Washington DC on April 24-27, 2020.

Every April more than a thousand Christians, including many in the United Church of Christ, descend on Washington DC for Ecumenical Advocacy Days. According to their website (advocacydays.org), this “…is a movement of the ecumenical Christian community, and its recognized partners and allies, grounded in biblical witness and our shared traditions of justice, peace and the integrity of creation.” The goal of Ecumenical Advocacy Days is, “…through worship, theological reflection and opportunities for learning and witness, is to strengthen our Christian voice and to mobilize for advocacy on a wide variety of U.S. domestic and international policy issues.” The United Church of Christ and Global Ministries of the United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) are proud to be sponsors of this important weekend of learning, prayer and action.

This year, the theme of Ecumenical Advocacy Days (EAD) is “Imagine! God’s Earth and People Restored.”

“Temperatures are rising dramatically and dangerously everywhere, disrupting ecological systems and every type of human activity. The generations of tomorrow depend on what we do today. EAD 2020 will explore the intersection of climate change and economic injustice. This will galvanize our advocacy on behalf of policies and programs to chip away at the systems of oppression that keep people in poverty and push all life on earth to the brink of destruction.
…Churches continue to respond actively to the climate crisis with disaster relief to support low-income communities and ecosystems most impacted by climate-related disasters. They are also working to build resilient and sustainable communities and economies that can create jobs and prevent future disasters. Churches are partnering with youth, indigenous communities, civil and human rights organizations, the international community, and others to address inequality and strengthen the movement for climate justice.”*

*“2020 National Gathering.” Ecumenical Advocacy Days. https://advocacydays.org/2020-imagine-gods-earth-people-restored/
Parkway United Church of Christ
1462 Irving Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27103
336-723-1395 Office: parkwayuccofwinstonsalem@gmail.com