Community UCC eNews
May 14, 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 be closed until the City of Fresno's "Shelter in Place" advisory is lifted.
Sunday Sermon — Zoom and Facebook Live (not at church, for now)  

On Sunday, May 17 , Felicia Rocha will deliver a sermon titled “ Love of Church. ” 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 will do a Zoom meeting, so we can see each other's faces even as we are apart. Zoom is a videoconferencing interface available for video and audio conferencing, chat, webinars and more.

Links to the Zoom worships will 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.

NEW: If you are using Zoom for worship, you should have received an email about updating to Zoom 5.0, which has enhanced security features . After May 30, 2020, all Zoom users on older versions will receive a forced upgrade when trying to join meetings. Check your email for this communication from Zoom.
Stewardship Campaign 2020: Four Great Loves

This year's Stewardship Campaign – Four Great Loves – kicks off on April 26 and will culminate on Stewardship Sunday, May 17. Each week will feature a different theme and different speaker:

  • April 26 – Love of Creation, featuring Sharon Powers-Smith
  • May 3 – Love of Neighbor, featuring Janet Capella
  • May 10 – Love of Children, featuring Doug Hoagland
  • May 17 – Love of Church, featuring Felicia Rocha

Community UCC conducts an annual Stewardship drive each spring to ask church members and supporters what they will bring to the mission of the church for the following fiscal year, from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. Pledge forms and Time and Talent sheets are due this weekend.

If you want to print out and mail in your forms, here are links to do so:

NEW: Or you can submit your answers online via these links to Google Forms:
Hello CUCC congregation,

As everyone makes sure to get their time and talent sheets and pledge cards in, I am here to remind you that it’s still possible to join a team.  Most teams meet once a month (although during this time of shelter in place, some teams are meeting virtually and some are postponing till we can meet in person) but I know either way they’d love to have you. 

Here is our current list of teams:
  • Faith education
  • Missions and social justice
  • Building and grounds
  • Finance
  • Fellowship
  • Extravagant welcome
  • Charitable gifts
  • Worship plannings 
  • Personnel 
  • Communications

If anyone has any questions about what a team does, wants to just find out more information or wants to sign up, please feel free to send me an email at  flearocha82@gmail.com  or send me a call/text at 559.284.9921 and I’d be happy to help. 

Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy! 

Sincerely, 
Felicia Rocha
Vice Moderator
Speaking of teams Congregational Meeting is June 14

Team leaders,

Your team reports are due via email to Marilyn in the office by Thursday, May 21, to give her time to prepare them for the annual report for members of our congregation. This year's annual congregational meeting will be held via Zoom immediately following worship on Sunday, June 14.

In addition to discussion of the annual reports, the congregational meeting is where we will take action on the proposed budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year.
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
LAST CALL: We want to celebrate our grads!

If you have a child, grandchild, niece or nephew who is transitioning to a new school level, let us know so we can share in your celebration during the May 17 worship service and in next week's eNews! Sixth-grade to middle school, middle to high school, senior or college grad share them all!

Please send the following information to Rod Zook:
  • Name, grade, school and a photo.
Living the Questions

We will resume the Living the Questions study at 10 a.m. Mondays via Zoom.

  • May 18: Creative Transformation
  • May 25: Embracing Mystery

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).
Sequoia Association annual meeting

3 p.m. Monday, May 17
The meeting will be held via Zoom. Details to join the meeting were sent just to church members in the weekly "Zoom links" email yesterday.

The Sequoia Association, of which Community UCC is a member, is the group of the five southern-most churches of the Northern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ. It stretches from Northfork to the south.

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.
Strengthen the Church grants create a faith home for seekers in Texas, California communities

Two United Church of Christ congregations in two very different communities have something in common: each is a faith home to people who thought they'd never find one again.

Ministerio Latino UCC  in eclectic Oakland, Calif., offers a special welcome to LGBTQ people rejected by their Latinx churches of origin – some of them recent arrivals in immigrant caravans.

Touchstone Community Church  in conservative Boerne, Tex., is a new oasis of affirmation in a religious landscape of more than 50 other churches that keep LGBTQ people on the margins.

Ministerio and Touchstone have one other thing in common. They can do what they do because of grants made possible by  Strengthen the Church , one of the UCC's  Special Mission Offerings . Many congregations will receive the Strengthen the Church offering on Pentecost Sunday, May 31. Continue reading at UCC.com.
Happy Birthday to all who are celebrating this month!

May Birthdays

1 Wendy Thompson
3 Sarah Fey, Thomas Russell
6 Benjamin Kloos
7 Louise Andrews, Bill Dailey, Mirth Lundal
8 Adriana Wall
11 Gail McDougle
15 Marty Mulvihill
16 Hayden Shea
17 Lynn Samuelian, Victoria Wall
19 Marilyn Wall
21 Tom Carroll, Promila Mahtab
22 Robin Carlson, Karri Jones    
24 Sib White
25 Spence Hipp
29 Maria Contreras
31 Donna Wright
NO May Anniversaries

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 remotely.
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 (lisamboyles12@gmail.com, 559.244.9502) is the eNews editor and communications liaison for our church.
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 be closed until the City of Fresno's "Shelter in Place" advisory is lifted.

Phone: 559.435.2690 
Email: office@communityucc.com