Worship This Sunday
Jan 23 - 10:30 a.m.
In The Sanctuary
Third Sunday After Epiphany
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a (select)
Indispensable
Sermon by Pastor Dave
For those unable to join us in person, there will be a live videocast of
the worship service at 10:30 a.m. on Sundays. Go to the church's website, or use one of the links below.
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Pastor's Letter Regarding COVID
As you know, we have adopted many measures to protect the health and safety of our community during the COVID-19 epidemic. Our choices to wear masks when indoors, to hold coffee time outdoors, to increase airflow in the church by keeping doors open, and encouraging each other to get vaccinated and tested regularly, help to keep us all safe.
With the news of COVID infections all around us in our community and in our families, this event does not come as a surprise. Yet it still is a painful reminder of our vulnerability and of the need to be careful and follow our safety protocols. Free COVID testing is available at various locations in Santa Cruz County, and you can find more information here:
Sunday services continue to be live-streamed through Facebook and YouTube:
Additionally, until the peak of the omicron outbreak passes and risk levels drop again, we will forego the traditional Greeting of Peace in our worship services. We’ll find other ways to affirm God’s Spirit moving among us.
Let us hold each other in prayer as we navigate this latest chapter of the pandemic, doing our part to bring a better day.
Grace and Peace,
The Rev. David Pattee, pastor
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Note From the Church Office
Due to a rise in exposures, our church office may not be open (in-person) during our regular scheduled business hours.
Although we may not be physically in the church office, we want you to know that staff will continue to be work remotely during our normal hours. We will be available and attending to business M-F from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
If you plan to come into the office, please call ahead to schedule a time when we know someone will be in to assist you. You may reach us individually using our email addresses linked below or call us at (831) 426-2010.
We appreciate your understanding and flexibility. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns and stay healthy!
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HIP Committee Update
Peace Village Project
Our Developer partners are planning, on February 11, 2022, to bring a core drilling rig all the way up onto locations near the edge of the upper terrace to bore down into bedrock below. This work was previously scheduled for December 23, but stormy weather prevented it. This
work is part of a geological assessment that will help inform us concerning feasibility of the architect’s concept for building foundations on the slope up to the upper terrace.
When we have the results of this geological assessment and further construction cost estimates for the design features involved in the most recent architectural concept (i.e., a parking level at grade under four residential floors, and two buildings with two elevators) we will proceed with further architectural design work and designs for utilities. Our updated cost estimates will be factored into the financial model to make sure it still works.
As soon as decisions are made concerning the architectural concept, John Hall and I and Bill Walton will meet with our Developer partners to discuss it, and then we will convene a meeting of the HIP committee members for a project update, and we will update the Church Council.
For now, this is all we have to report.
We’re still making progress, despite (another) unavoidable delay!
Blessings,
Jim Weller
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Builds and Grounds Notes
Last week, our renter notified us that he had no hot water. Upon inspection, the hot water heater that serves the apartment and the kitchen was sitting in a puddle of water...Yes, it had failed after many years of service.
After contacting plumbing companies for estimates of $4100 for a residential heater and $5100 for a commercial heater, our intrepid committee (Roger Bowers, Jan Graff, and Bill Walton) put their knowledge and expertise together and purchased a new water heater. They delivered it to the church and installed it themselves last Friday. Total cost was about $1000 and several hours of volunteer labor. Just another example of how this dedicated team continues to maintain our campus facilities in a cost-effective and expeditious manner.
We continue to load the cut brush to take to the dump and can always use some extra help. You can find team members working on painting and repair projects every Friday morning after 9:00. And efforts are rewarded with coffee and donuts at 11:30, so come and join us.
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Faith Community Shelter
Our church provides an evening meal and overnight shelter on Sundays for 15-20 folks in our community who don’t have a home. We need your help to prepare and serve the evening meals!
Follow this link to volunteer for a Sunday (or Sundays) and indicate what you can contribute. The meal is to be served at 6 p.m. and shelter guests will begin to arrive at 5 p.m. Whether you’re just available once to be a part of the crew, or you’re able to provide some of the food we need or, maybe, you’re interested in catering the whole meal, we want to get you involved in this important ministry! Once you sign up to help, Lisa Johnson ( lisajohnsonsantacruz@gmail.com), our meals coordinator, will contact you.
Volunteers present for the meal will need to wear a mask at all times and wear gloves while serving food.
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What About Masks?
Committed to caring for our neighbor and offering hospitality, we require that you wear a mask while indoors on the church campus. This is in accord with county health guidelines and it just makes sense! If you forget to bring your own, we have masks available in the sanctuary and in our meeting rooms and classrooms. Please remember that most children haven't yet had a chance to be vaccinated and that vaccines are not perfect protection against Covid. Until the health department tells us that it's safe to go without, wear a mask. Thank you for your kind consideration of the health and safety of our entire community at PUCC.
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We Need Sunday
Tech Crew Members!
Lower your stress, and increase your overall sense of well-being
How, you ask? By volunteering one Sunday a month assist in the production of our worship experience. Research shows that learning a new language (I-Pad) improves your brain function; working in community and making new friends lowers your stress and volunteering provides an overall sense of well-being!
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We Want to Hear Your Voice
Sign Up to Be A Liturgist!
We would love to have you as a liturgist (reader) in one of our Sunday morning worship services. It's a wonderful way of serving!
Sign up for a Sunday to read live and in-the-flesh and we'll connect with you by e-mail on the Tuesday prior, sending all the information you'll need for getting ready.
If you'd like to give it a try, click on this link to choose a date.
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COPA
Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action (COPA) is an organization of civic institutions in the Monterey Bay Area. COPA is a not for profit and non-partisan organization. We work on various issues that come from pressures on families. The 28 member institutions include faith communities, labor associations, schools, health care providers and other non-profits. It was created in 2003 and PUCC is a founding dues paying institution.
A five- week training program for folks interested in COPA starts January 25 through February 22 (Tuesdays) 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Zoom. The free training will explain how COPA sees the world and how we do our work. It will include training on how to conduct house meetings and relational meetings, the primary tools that we use to organize and to develop as leaders. We will start putting those tools to use as we figure out how we want to influence the primary election in May. The training will use examples from our experience such as preventing evictions during COVID, creating the Community Health Workers program, building our relationship with the Watsonville Police Department, and helping people get rental assistance.
For more information on the training or how to find out how to register please contact Ken Thomas 831-420-7422 or kenthomas@cruzio.com.
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Crafternoons with Lisa
"I Can Totally Make That!"
Have you been wanting to spend some time with others while keeping your hands busy?
Several of us have been wanting to get back to doing a weekly crafts class like we had before Covid.
We’re starting one up! You can bring your knitting, sewing, beading, collage, or anything you want to do. Please join us on Wednesday afternoons in the fireside lounge at Peace UCC from 3 to 5 PM.
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Zentangle at Peace
The Peaceful Zentangle Group
Our next meeting is Tuesday 2/1/22
Chinese New Year!
One of the most famous traditional greetings for Chinese New Year is the Cantonese kung hei fat choi, literally ‘happiness and prosperity’. In Mandarin that’s gongxi facai. 新年好 — Happy New Year
This group will come together to do a short class, doing mindful drawing for relaxation and stress reduction. As it will be the year of the Tiger you can expect fun tiger tangling.
We regularly meet on the first Tuesday of every month in the Fireside lounge from 6:00 to 7:30 pm.
Everyone is welcome, this group is free, and materials are provided.
Any questions?
Please contact Lisa Hoesing at
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Perennial Seniors
Perennials will be holding hybrid meetings —in person and on zoom at the same time. If you have been vaccinated, please join us in the lounge on the second Sunday of the month from 12-1. We will discuss how we want to handle lunches in the future. Hope you can make it in person or online!
Coming Up:
- Feb. 13th—The Outrigger Group
Meeting ID: 627 858 3034
Passcode: Walton
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Poetry at Peace
This poem shared by Anna Citrino is a reminder of the power of nature. We were reminded of this with the tsunami on the other side of our Mother Earth, that had Soquel creek running backward! All is connected. Enjoy!
WIND by Ted Hughes
This house has been far out at sea all night, The woods crashing through darkness, the booming hills, Winds stampeding the fields under the window Floundering black astride and blinding wet
Till day rose; then under an orange sky The hills had new places, and wind wielded Blade-light, luminous black and emerald, Flexing like the lens of a mad eye.
At noon I scaled along the house-side as far as The coal-house door. Once I looked up - Through the brunt wind that dented the balls of my eyes The tent of the hills drummed and strained its guyrope,
The fields quivering, the skyline a grimace, At any second to bang and vanish with a flap; The wind flung a magpie away and a black- Back gull bent like an iron bar slowly. The house
Rang like some fine green goblet in the note That any second would shatter it. Now deep In chairs, in front of the great fire, we grip Our hearts and cannot entertain book, thought,
Or each other. We watch the fire blazing, And feel the roots of the house move, but sit on, Seeing the window tremble to come in, Hearing the stones cry out under the horizons.
Many Blessings,
Bonnie Lange
"Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day,
if you listen carefully, you can hear her breathing."
~ Arundhati Roy
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Prayers for Peace
Sisters and brothers,
let us lift our hearts in faith
to the One who hears all prayers
and holds close all those in need.
We pray for:
- Liz and Sebastian with their dialysis treatment
- Tony Phillips and his wife, Leona
- The Owen family, for Kristin’s health, for Doug’s role as caregiver, for their granddaughter, Keira, adjusting to an eating disorder, and Kiera’s family.
- For all those with flu, colds and similar illnesses
- Safety for those in care facilities; protection from Covid.
- Everyone experiencing trauma from the Jewish hostage event in Colleyville, TX. We give deep gratitude for all who contributed to the ultimate safety of the hostages.
- The people in the country of Tonga and those in all the other countries damaged by the recent volcano.
Holy God, you gather the whole universe
into your radiant presence
and continually reveal your unconditional love.
Bring healing to all wounds,
make whole all that is broken,
speak truth to all illusion,
and shed light in every darkness,
that all creation will see your beauty and know your Christ. Amen.
Bonnie Lange
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We Want Your Face!
Most of us cringe when we see ourselves in photos, but you probably have one photo that shows your face the way you would like other people to see it. We want that photo for our records! Pastor Dave especially is interested in having a pictorial record because there are so many of you he hasn't yet been able to meet in person.
Here's how you do it...please email Devon a digital photo of yourself and she will take care of the rest! Thank you. We look forward to "seeing" you soon.
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Office Hours!
Some days we're on campus, some days we're remote, but 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, staff are attending to the business of our church office: monitoring e-mail, answering telephones and/or responding to messages, working on the dozens of different projects and connections that keep our ministry moving forward. As on-campus activities increase in the months ahead, so will our in-person presence in the church office, Monday through Thursday.
Pastor Dave also is working out of the church office, Monday through Thursday, and most weeks will have office hours on Saturday too, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Friday is his day off. In case of emergency, the pastor is available by cell phone, 773-255-8095. If you would like to schedule a meeting or would like to "drop by", please contact us via email using this link to make an arrangement.
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Small Groups and Ministries of Outreach
Use this link to find information about our various small groups and
ministries here at PUCC.
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Peace UCC Activities Calendar
To find information about what's happening at Peace UCC,
check our events Calendar or view our availability click here!
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We're registered on Amazon Smile! Learn more and designate Peace UCC as your chosen charity to receive 0.5% of your Amazon Smile purchases, at no cost to you, here.
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Our conference staff and the offices have
moved to a new address. The new address is
1320 Willow Pass Rd., Suite 600, Concord, CA 94520
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Sign up here to further peace and justice around the world
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Find out more about global ministries here.
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Get a daily devotional here.
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