Connections: August 18, 2022
Sisters and brothers, 

I believe in the power of stories to transform hearts. It is why I used the story Stone Soup this past Sunday for my sermon. For years, the story of Stone Soup has intrigued me; as you know it tells about a community that is fed and nourished by one person’s story, a story which leads to the people in the community contributing the small bits of food that they have in the end, a soup is made that all can (and do) eat. The community in the story is a community after tragedy, during a time of scarce resources. May we never forget the importance of being community in an individualist society—something I believe we constantly need to be reminded of. I hope that this story continues to teach us and show us the way in the power of the collective as a faith community. 

I look forward to seeing you all next week as Rev. Ben Meyers blesses us not only with a sermon, but with his gifts of music. It is going to be a great service. See you Sunday! 

Jorge
Upcoming preacher: Rev. Ben Meyers
The Rev. Ben Meyers is a Unitarian Universalist minister who has served multiple congregations in northern California throughout his 28-year career. Rev. Meyers is a musician, storyteller, and social justice advocate, living in San Mateo County. He is a long-time friend of CCSM and a founding member of the Peninsula Solidarity Cohort, with Rev. Penny Nixon. Rev. Ben is honored and excited to be co-leading worship for us.
Click on the video above for the most recent entire worship service, or click HERE to listen to Rev. Jorge's sermon

Volunteer of the Week
Sandy McNabb
Sandy McNabb leans into CCSM in a myriad of ways. We are blessed by her capable approach and her willingness to take on so many projects. You may know her best from seeing and hearing her sing in the choir, but Sandy also served as Secretary of the Board for several years, where she was steadfast in documenting important decisions and holding the board accountable to its goals.
Sandy also volunteered to co-chair the Share Your Love fundraiser in early 2021; she is now co-chairing the Come Back to Community events and is strategizing about bringing our beloved Pick-a-Party back this Fall. Not only do these events raise important funds for CCSM, but they are signature ways we build community.
Sandy is a change-maker who shows up with CCSMers at political marches, volunteers to work the sign-in tables at CCSM events... the list goes on and on! Thank you, Sandy, for leaning into CCSM with your time and your talents!
Do you know a CCSM Volunteer you'd like to recognize here? If so, please write two or three sentences telling us about them and send it to Zoe at zmullery@ccsm-ucc.org
Upcoming Preacher Schedule
We'll have a variety of voices and perspectives throughout the rest of the summer. You won't want to miss any of these!

Aug 21 Rev. Ben Meyers
The Rev. Ben Meyers is a Unitarian Universalist minister who has served multiple congregations in northern California throughout his 28-year career. Rev. Meyers is a musician, storyteller, and social justice advocate, living in San Mateo County. He is a long-time friend of CCSM and a founding member of the Peninsula Solidarity Cohort, with Rev. Penny Nixon. Rev. Ben is honored and excited to be co-leading worship for us on August 21.

Aug 28 Rev. Talitha Amadea Aho 
Rev. Talitha Amadea Aho serves as a pastor at Montclair Presbyterian Church in Oakland, California, where she is responsible for children's and youth programming. She has been in ministry to the young since she was old enough to qualify as a chaperone at Presbyterian camps and churches. She holds an MDiv and an MA in biblical studies from San Francisco Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union.

Sep 4 Rev. Rhiana Shaw Robinson 
Rev. Riana Shaw Robinson is the Minister of Formation at Oakland City Church - a community that seeks to be People Who Don't Belong Together, Gathered Around Jesus, For the Sake of Those That Don't Belong. Riana expanded the church's City Engagement partnerships and spearheaded efforts to help the community live more deeply into its anti-racist values through teaching, relationship building, and deep listening. She feels called to name the work and abiding hope that is necessary to create the Beloved Community.
Riana is ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Reformed Church in America. She holds a Masters of Divinity at Pacific School of Religion and a B.A. in Ethnic Studies from Mills College. Before stepping into vocational ministry, Riana worked at various non-profits that focused on racial, social, and environmental justice. She served on the Steering Committee of the Faith Alliance for a Moral Economy and is passionate about faith-rooted advocacy.
Riana is an East Bay native and currently lives in Oakland with her husband, 8-year-old son, and three-year-old twins. She is extremely proud of her oldest daughter who is a senior at Howard University in Washington DC.

Sept 11 Rev. Melissa Douaire — our new Interim Senior Minister!
Melissa earned her MDiv from Chicago Theological Seminary and has served as an Interim Pastor and Pastor in the Chicagoland area. Melissa has certificates in grief counseling and intentional interim ministry, among other disciplines.  
Chuck and Jordan will be back NEXT Sunday, August 21st with The Logos Method Sound Bath. Doors open at 4pm. Sound bath begins at 4:30. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $15 for CCSM Members. The Sound Bath has been described as “music for the soul.” If you not experienced this gift, come try it out.
THE SENIOR MINISTER SEARCH COMMITTEE has finalized its schedule for congregational input. The formal process, with an electronic survey and roundtable discussions, will kick-off on Homecoming Sunday. If you'd like to share any thoughts, schedule on one-on-one meeting with a committee member, or learn more about the ongoing process in the meantime, please make contact with Alexandra Gillen, Dave Olson, or stop by the Committee's table at coffee hour in August. We'd love to hear from you.
BLESSING BOX
comes to CCSM
Food insecurity is a very real problem is our city. Since 2019, 40% of those who have visited a food bank requesting assistance are there for the very first time. 

If you have any extra non-perishable food items please bring them to church to help stock the recently constructed Blessing Box installed on the front lawn on the Tilton side of the building. 

Canned foods, pasta, rice, cereal, granola bars, crackers, etc. all work well.
 
Thanks so much for your help!
FIRST SUNDAYS OF THE MONTH ARE COMMUNION SUNDAYS
If there’s a way you can be in person on the first Sundays of the month, communion is a meaningful time to be together.
If you’re not able to be with us in person, you’re invited to share in communion while online with us from wherever you are; just have some bread and juice ready and you can participate with us that way.
SPIRITUAL CONVERSATIONS RESTARTS WITH THINGS HIDDEN
Spiritual Conversations, a book discussion group, has restarted via Zoom. We’ll be reading and discussing Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality by Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest, popular teacher and speaker.

Father Richard’s book uncovers what the Bible says about morality, power, and the grace and wisdom of God. The book gives readers a vision of how love, meaning, and a mature relationship with the Divine can counteract the fear, greed, hate, and violence of the world and shepherd us on our path to spiritual transformation.

If you’re interested in checking us out, please contact Chris Wuthmann at  cewuthmann@gmail.com or Chase Montara at cmontara@ccsm-ucc.org for more information and the Zoom link. The group meets every other Monday from 7:15 to 8:45 p.m. Next meeting will be August 22. All are welcome.
SIGN UP DEADLINE FOR TEEN RETREAT is TODAY, MONDAY, AUGUST 15!
Invitation to Participate in Homecoming Sunday 2022

Earlier this summer, we asked everyone to contemplate a simple question:
What was something you missed or gave up during the Pandemic that you reconnected with this summer?
Was it a spiritual experience, an event, a person, or place?  

Whether you attend worship at 225, on Wednesday evenings, or virtually, we invite you to share your experiences with your CCSM family. The Liturgical Arts Team will be creating an installation for Homecoming Sunday with anything you provide that represents your experience. It could be a photo, poem, art work, rock, flower, or anything that evokes your experience.

This is a wonderful way to enrich the life of our community!

INSTRUCTIONS
To participate, bring your item(s) to the Church office starting August 19 through Sept 5. 

FOR OUR VIRTUAL COMMUNITY, please mail to CCSM (225 Tilton Ave., San Mateo CA 94401) with Attn: LAM Homecoming included on the outside of your package or envelope. All items will be returned if possible. 

You can also EMAIL any stories or pictures to Laura Pierce-McKenzie. Her email is in the Directory. 

Please include:
  • What type of experience was it? trip, activity, event, etc.
  • Who experienced it? Family, friends, others. Include your name
  • Date and location

CCSM Playlists for inspiration

If you're looking for some comfort and inspiration, one place to look might be one of the playlists Chuck has created on Youtube where you can find uplifting prayers and songs selected from our services. You can find the prayers here and the songs here. Please make use of this wonderful resource!
Pray for Ukraine Every Tuesday at 7:30pm

CCSM held a powerful live Prayer Ritual for Ukraine on March 6th. We have decided to premier this ritual ONLINE every Tuesday until the war ends. We hope you will join us online weekly to continue our prayers and heal our hearts. These are challenging times and this offering is a way to bring our community together and magnify our prayers.

Please share this link with your friends and family so we can extend this offering to as many people as possible.

Link for Prayer Ritual on YouTube: tinyurl.com/CCSM-Ukraine-Prayer
225 Tilton Avenue • San Mateo, CA 94401
(650) 343-3694