• WHAT’S NEW THIS WEEK WITH OUR NEW BUILDING CONSTRUCTION? In the 36th week, progress continues on all fronts. Outside, grading and painting proceed as weather permits. Inside, work advances on drywall finishing, windows, and detail work on electrical, plumbing and mechanical fixtures. Take a virtual peek at ongoing work via the Building Project webpage, here, featuring weekly-updated photos and a current mini-video, along with information galore. Contact us here if you have any questions.

• WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS WEEK IN CHILDREN AND YOUTH MINISTRY? In March, children and youth in Religious Education are studying COMMITMENT. This week, we are starting with Open Minds and valuing how our faith teaches us to grow and evolve. We will continue our time of Family Fellowship on Sunday mornings where we can share joys and sorrows. Middle School and High School youth groups will gather virtually on Sunday evening. On Saturday, the Family Fun event is Bingo! For more information about our Religious Education Program, contact Marion Hirsch or Kat Good.

• CREATE MORE JOY AND JUSTICE! SIDE WITH LOVE! Sunday, March 7, right after the Zoom Coffee Hour, Side With Love invites you to join us to celebrate our work this past year and to highlight the ways in which we all can raise up our voices to advocate for justice in the months ahead. Rev. Lisa Garcia Sampson will be our host, and members of our Love Team will be on hand to answer questions. For more information about Side With Love, check out our Activity Poster here.

• RACIAL EQUITY OFFICE HOURS: HOW ARE BLACK WOMEN STEREOTYPED IN YOUR MEDIA? Office hours are for people to talk about race in a safe space with skilled facilitators. To kick off Women's History Month, think about stereotypes of black women in your media. What portrayals keep repeating? Drop into office hours to talk more about this question, general questions you have, or any discourse about race that’s been on your mind. This is a casual setting, so drop in or drop out any time! Office hours are every week - Thursday at 2pm, here and Sunday at 5pm, here. See you there!

• SANCTUARY FOR DIALOGUE Members of our Sanctuary for Dialogue (SfD) Ministry are hosting a Braver Angels-style debate 2-4PM on Saturday, March 6. This isn't a competition, but a collaborative search for a better understanding of the topic, described in the resolution: “Resolved: North Carolina voting regulations need revision in order to ensure election integrity.” Please join us by registering here.

• WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE IN A FROG AND TOAD PRODUCTION? We will be doing a Frog and Toad Puppet Show for the March 28 Intergenerational Service. Would you like to be in it? It will be on Zoom. We will provide script, sets, puppets, direction, and support. We will record it on Zoom. All you have to do is provide your voice, talent and puppet hands! We have lead roles open (Frog, Toad, Narrator) and some smaller creature roles. Super fun. If interested, please email Marion Hirsch here by March 8.

• MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE SHARING GROUP Are you interested in sharing your mystical experience? Come and share it with a small group in this new SEA course. Four members each time will have 15 minutes to speak not only about the experience but also how it changed you, or what you learned from it. Limit 9. Three Monday nights on Zoom at 7pm: March 8, 15, 22. For more info, contact Lisa Epner here.

• HOUSING OPTIONS AS WE AGE Members and friends who are interested in exploring aging in place and housing options for themselves and their parents are invited to join our discussion group. Our next Zoom meeting is here on March 10 (1:30-3:30PM). Our speaker will be Nancy Mayer, a church member and an attorney who specializes in elder law. Nancy will talk about Medicaid and VA benefits. Links to resources can be found HERE. Contact Susan Blanchard, here, to join our email list.

• RARE WOMEN – NEWCOMERS JOIN NOW! We are Rare Women who meet via Zoom to share our life experiences and what we have learned from them. On Thursday, March 11, Bonnie Gilliom’s group (10am-noon), here, will continue discussing our NEW TOPIC, “Our Lives by the Decade,” with ages 10-19. Discussion questions can be found here. That afternoon, Susan Blanchard’s group (1:30-3:30pm), here, will have an open discussion. Contact us here with questions. Topic schedules can be found on our webpage, here.

• SIGN UP FOR REV. THOM'S CLASS ON COVENANTS--THURSDAYS 3/18 & 3/25 In partnership with the Living Our Covenant with Intention and Spiritual Exploration for Adults ministries, Rev. Thom will lead this class on the role of covenants in our religious tradition and in our particular congregation. We will begin by exploring how the idea of covenant came out of the Jewish tradition and how covenants were used by our congregational ancestors. Then, we will explore our church’s covenant and what it means in the life of our church today. Thurs. March 18, March 25, 7 pm on Zoom. Register here.

• JUST MERCY -- MOVIE DISCUSSION ON THURSDAY MARCH 18 @ 7 PM We'll watch the movie, Just Mercy, on our own, meeting together on the third Thursday of March discuss the movie. We'll explore the issues that this movie raises in our lives and how its points us in ways to respond. Just Mercy is based on the book by Bryan Stevenson by the same name. Discussions led by Kathy Hodges and Baptiste Lefebvre. Discussion starts at 7 PM on Zoom. Part of the Racial Equity Movie Discussion Series. Register here. Questions? Contact Kathy Hodges here.

• OUTDOOR CONNECTIONS: March 20, 10AM Outdoor Connections walk on Pump Station Trail. Join Outdoor Connections for the Pump Station Trail in Eno River State Park. The Pump Station Trail is known as the best spring wildflower trail in the park. Length is about 1.5 miles. Meet at 10AM at the first trailhead on Rivermont, when coming from Cole Mill Road. If you park at the second entrance, walk back 1000 feet to the first one. Our walk will end at the second entrance. RSVP HERE. RSVP to receive notices of reschedule or cancel in case of rain.

• NONFICTION BOOK DISCUSSION FOR MARCH On Saturday, March 20 from 10:30 to 12PM, the Nonfiction Readers will discuss Brain Rules for Aging Well: 10 Principles for Staying Vital, Happy, and Sharp, by John Medina. This meeting will be held via Zoom. Laurence Kirsch will be leading our discussion. The Readers meet on the third Saturday of each month; new members and drop-ins are welcome. Contact the group here to ask questions, or to be placed on the distribution list for meeting information.

• HOT COCOA & WHEELS SOCIAL: March 21, 2PM We hope you can join us! Weather-permitting, we will meet in socially-distanced assigned (& rotating!) spots in the large parking lot at church for a fun (and tasty!) social event, including hot cocoa, fun and fellowship. For kids, we have "wheels-distancing". Kids can bring their wheels - bikes, trikes, scooters, and skateboards and ride in adjacent area of the parking lot for fun. For safety and Phase 3 compliance, there is a strict guest number limit, and registration is required. Please complete this form to RSVP.

• Study of the Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching) March 23, 30 and April 6 (on Zoom: 7-8:30): Kari Andrade will lead this study this primary text of Daoism (Taoism) written 2500 years ago; it is the second most translated book in the world after the Bible. Together we’ll study 6 of the 81 chapters focusing on the 3 treasures of Daoism: compassion, moderation and humility. We will read several translations and discuss their meaning and how these ancient ideas still apply to our lives. Each chapter is similar in length and complexity to a poem. Contact Kari Andrade here with questions.

• HOW WILL YOU SIDE WITH LOVE FOR JUSTICE THIS WEEK? Check out our Activity Poster, here, for links to the Historic Thousands on Jones St NAACP rally and the after-party with area UUs, the Poor People’s Campaign, a UU the Vote discussion group on Beloved Community and anti-racism, and this month's Write Here Write Now letter-writing for Economic Justice --raising the minimum wage. Even in our separate homes, we can work together to bend that moral arc towards justice!

• JANUARY-FEBRUARY ISSUE OF BUILDING BLOCKS BULLETIN The latest BBB issue highlights the notable progress made in recent months – progress both in LOWERING THE GAP and in RAISING THE BUILDING. Not available on newsstands, but it’s at your fingertips via the Building Project webpage, here! There you’ll see the direct link to all BBB issues, including this one - the first of 2021!

• WE'VE ADDED A SECOND CHURCH ZOOM ACCOUNT! We've added a second Zoom account so more church groups can meet. Moving forward, we have "Zoom 1" or "Zoom 2". You can check to see if either is available for a specific time by looking at our Calendar and reserve one of the Zoom accounts by filling out this form. Regardless of whether you use our church or your personal Zoom account, please remember to fill out the reservation form so we can add all events to our calendar, here, and make all our offerings visible and accessible to our community!

• SCAM ALERT Several members of the church received email from an address imitating Rev. Thom's, or those of other staff members. These messages ask people to purchase gift cards to give to people in the hospital, or something similar. These messages are a scam. If you receive them, please report them and delete them. If you have any concerns, please email Rev. Thom here. Please know that Rev. Thom and the staff of The Community Church will never send out email solicitations asking people to purchase gift cards.

• RACIAL EQUITY OFFICE HOURS The Community Church of Chapel Hill is working on building open and safe spaces to have discussions about racial issues. Racial Equity Office Hours are a space where people are encouraged to tackle challenging questions and reflect on their own interactions with race throughout their lives. There will be experienced facilitators present to provide topics and guide the discussions in general. We meet via Zoom Sundays at 5PM, here, & Thursdays at 2PM, here.

• LECTIO MEDITATION GROUP We meet at 12 noon every Friday on Zoom. Using readings from poetry and the sacred traditions of world religions, we practice meditation through deep listening. If you’re interested in joining or would like more information, contact Barb Chapman here. (Please put LECTIO in the subject line of your email.) All are welcome!

• ART IN THE SANCTUARY For the next several months the art on the wall behind the place where Rev. Thom preaches for our online services will be fiber art and mixed media by Peg Gignoux. Peg says "Somebody asked me once to define art in ten words. I decided on this recipe: Art is color, light, story and passion urgently requesting exercise. "