Worship This Sunday
Dec 5 - 10:30 a.m.
In our Sanctuary
First Sunday of Advent
Malachi 3:1-2
Preparing The Way
Sermon by Pastor Dave
Coffee, Tea and Treats on the patio after worship
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.
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Advent and Christmas 2021
Especially after the separation and isolation we had to endure in this season last year, it is a great joy to share the church’s calendar for Advent and Christmas, available for download here: 2021 Advent Christmas Peace United. The First Sunday of Advent is November 28th, beginning a very full month of celebrations and service opportunities! |
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Moderator Note
In July, in the face of continued uncertainty due to COVID-19, we adopted a 6-month budget. Council promised at that time to monitor our finances closely and to bring the Congregation a proposed full-year budget in December. We will have an important Congregational meeting on December 19, 2021 at 11:30 AM in the Sanctuary to consider and approve the full-year budget for Fiscal Year 2021-2022.
Since July, we have seen improvements to our anticipated Pledge income, as well as better-than-expected rental income from events in our facilities. This is partially offset by increased staff expense associated with this increased activity (as would be expected) and the hiring of staff for children’s programs. Some uncertainty remains, dictating cautious optimism. Details of the proposed budget and a
descriptive narrative will be sent to church members in the next few days.
Bill Walton, Moderator
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HIP Update - Peace Village Project
November 30, 2021
Our Developer partners have selected an architectural firm to prepare preliminary conceptual studies toward developing our building design. Their present assignment is to propose a building design to fit the building site, and to incorporate sufficient floor area for a number of dwelling units that will meet our affordability goal of 25% and allow for enough rental income to achieve the goals of our financial model. We expect to have the conceptual design very soon
to discuss and evaluate.
We hope to be able to come up with a design that will actually build on the slope behind the gravel parking area so as to utilize the horizontal space on three floors between the toe of the slope and the top of the slope, with the fourth-floor level at or near the level of the upper terrace, for direct access from the fourth floor onto the upper terrace. We need more geological investigations to show that engineering this is possible, so we are planning soon 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.
As soon as the conceptual architectural design is ready, 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.
We’re making progress!
Blessings,
Jim Weller
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Fill the Trailer for Peace, Hope, Love
Curtis Reliford will be at Peace Church Saturday morning December 4th, from 9am - 12noon.
His impressive Peace trailer door will be open to receive gifts for the Hopi, Navajo, and Apache communities in Arizona and New Mexico. He’ll be leaving Santa Cruz on Friday, December 10th. Here are the items on the wish-lists:
- Warm jackets
- Boots
- Pants in large sizes, especially men’s
- New toys
- New underwear
- Roll(s) of black roofing “paper” for flat roofs
- Vinyl windows
- Hammers, nails, shovels, rakes
- Hand tools of all kinds
Let’s help Curtis bring an abundant, merry Christmas to our sisters and brothers in the Southwest. And he won’t say no to some cash for gas as well.
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The Best First Christmas Party!
Saturday, 4th of December
9 am to Noon, at Church!
Enjoy seasonal beverages, holiday treats, and Advent crafts throughout the morning as we green the halls and hang the lights on our beautiful campus. And, we’ll share Advent Hope with Curtis as we fill his Peace Trailer before his departure next week.
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Buttons & Large Jars Needed for Advent Workshop Crafts
To proceed with a satisfying project for our children please bring in your flat red, green, gold, and white buttons. We will use them to make a tree ornament. Kids love to sort so just bring your button box on Sunday and we can sit together after worship and pick out buttons with you.
Also needed are six jars larger than 26 ounces. We had an huge response with donated small jars, so no more needed there. Extra helping hands are always appreciated at the Advent Workshop project tables, so please drop by after worship!
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All Ages Advent Crafts Continue
This Sunday's after worship activities will be tiny glitter wreaths with beads and an easy amazing project of a separate white angel. Both meant to decorate our homes and remind us of the original good news that a very special baby is coming (and being celebrated again!)
Fifteen people enjoyed crafts last week (pictured here are Barrett, Wilder and Jovie Hutto). Many people made bookmarks. We’ll make these again on Sunday and include them in the gift bags that our Prophets of Hope will be delivering to inmates at the Santa Cruz County jail.
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Join us for a caroling party on Wednesday, December 15
All voices, high and low, skilled or not, are welcome!
We will gather in the Fellowship Hall at 4:30 to enjoy hot cider and a beautiful sunset. Singing will begin at 4:45, and we will “sing through the book.” At 5:30 we will don our warm coats and Santa hats and head out to circle the neighborhood around Westlake pond.
Bring a flashlight. Caroling books and Santa hats provided.
Spirit-raising guaranteed!
God rest ye, merry gentlefolk…
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Faith Community Shelter
Beginning in November, our church will provide 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. 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. She is organizing the various gifts and efforts of our volunteers so that each Sunday has an entrée with meat, a vegetarian entrée, salad and/or vegetable, dessert, and 2-3 people serving. Again, when you sign up online, along with giving your name and contact information, you will be asked to indicate what you can contribute and/or do.
The meal is to be served at 6 p.m. and shelter guests will begin to arrive at 5 p.m. Tables will be placed in advance by church staff. Volunteers need to organize plates, cups, utensils, napkins, and the serving of food. Shelter guests will help with clean-up. Volunteers present for the meal will need to wear a mask at all times and wear gloves while working in the kitchen or serving food. Volunteers can sit down with shelter guests during dinner but, unfortunately, cannot eat with them and must remain masked because of COVID safety protocols.
This ministry is part of our ongoing cooperation with the Association of Faith
Communities. We’re very happy to get going again (after a long time off because of COVID) and whether you’re new to Peace UCC or a longtime member, we’re eager for you to be involved with the Faith Community Shelter.
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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 Assistants!
Lower your stress, and increase your overall sense of well-being
How, you ask? By volunteering one Sunday a month to assist Kevin Rothwell 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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The Grip of Grief
Sunday, December 19
5-6:30 pm on Zoom
The holidays can be particularly difficult for many who have experienced either recent or earlier
loss. The grip of grief may create a darkness in sharp and painful contrast to the festive holiday outer world. And we know the experience of pain from loss is part of experiencing the fullness
of being human.
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The Christmas Project for Farm Labor Families - A Surprise Gift!
As we have done for over two decades, this holiday season Peace United will be helping to provide a nice Christmas for farm labor families in Pajaro Valley.
We've EXCEEDED our goal of $1000 which will provide $10.00 gift certificates for members of 23 families and we are still going!!! A family in our church community has generously offered to match all of the contributions this far, up to $1,000. There are only a few days left to donate...let's make them count!
How you can donate:
- By using the "Donate" button on our website - Choose “The Christmas Project” from the drop down menu
- By sending cash or a check to PUCC. Make the check out to PUCC and be sure to put "The Christmas Project" on the memo line.
We would like to reach our goal by this Monday, December 6.
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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
Festive Tangling!
Come and join Lisa Hoesing, and create a fun, holiday Zentangle tile.
Tuesday, December 7, 2021 at 6-7:30 PM.
The cost is $15 (sliding scale) Please email Lisa to sign up lhoesing@earthlink.net, She will send you the supplies, and the Zoom link.
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SoulCollage ® Returns to PUCC
SoulCollage ® is a process through which you contact your intuition by creating a deck of collaged cards which have deep personal meaning for you and will help you gain insight
into life’s questions.
Our Peace UCC SoulCollage ® group was meeting monthly prior to the Covid pandemic. We have been given permission to begin again. We will be wearing masks until it is safe to be together without them. Our group meets on the third Tuesdays 6-8 p.m. in the Library.
Barbara Broadbent will coordinate our gathers and provide materials. Barbara is a trained facilitator in the SoulCollage ® process and has practiced SoulCollage ® personally for 14 years.
All are welcome. If you have questions, please feel free to contact Barbara at: bbbent@comcast.net or 408-393-3751.
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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 ask people to bring their own lunches and to wear masks. We will discuss how we want to handle lunches in the future. Hope you can make it in person or online!
Programs:
- Dec.12th — Christmas Caroling led by Matt Broadbent and other choir members
- Jan. 9th— The Jam Queen
- Feb. 13th—The Outrigger Group
Meeting ID: 627 858 3034
Passcode: Walton
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Poetry at Peace
Poems at Peace meets in-person on Sunday at 9-10 am in the upper room and Thursday’s at 9-10 am on zoom. We create a sacred circle with sharing, poetry and meditation. If interested contact Bonnie Lange at Bonniep357@gmail.com.
Thank you to Stew Jenkins for a refreshing perspective on celebrating death. Can you feel the Irish connection to Nature?
FOR GOD’S SAKE DON’T WEAR BLACK By Máire Malone
Do not wear black when I am dead Rather let magicians pull bright handkerchiefs
If it’s Spring wear daffodils To celebrate the sun
If it’s Summer let the children thread forget-me-nots Through braided hair to celebrate the sky
If it’s Autumn then wear gold The colour of the falling leaves
READ MORE
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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Santa Cruz "Free Service Tags"
Expire Soon
Your Buildings and Grounds team can use those Free Service Tags as we continue to make weekly dump runs to clean up the branches and trimming debris from our campus.
Every City of Santa Cruz resident with refuse service gets four “Free Service Tags” annually, good for extra curbside trash or a free “dump run” at the city dump.
Tags for 2021 expire at the end of December. If you have Santa Cruz City “Free Service Tags” that you won’t use by the end of the year, please donate them to the church. Just mail or drop them off at the church office, and receive our heartfelt thanks!
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Prayers for Peace
From the Amidah (Jewish)
We bless the One who enables us to feel deeply,
To know our needs, and the needs of our world.
May our actions flow with Your goodness, grace, love and care.
May our prayer arise and find acceptance with love.
May our lives turn and always towards You,
So your indwelling Presence will live within us always.
A Fountain of Blessing are You, Holy One, who brings Your Divine Wisdom home.
May we drink deeply from the fountain of peace,
Know peace in ourselves,
Live in peace with our neighbors,
Create peace in the world.
We bless the Holy One,
Creator of Wholeness, Source of Peace.
A Fountain of Blessing are You, Holy one, You bless us with Peace.
Bonnie Lange
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Monarch Services is excited to announce their partnership with SafeNight, a project of the Safe Shelter Collaborative. SafeNight is a mobile application that enables donors to make tax-deductible donations to cover the costs of motel rooms for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking, and their families during times of crisis.
When most appropriate for clients, Monarch temporarily shelters survivors at secure hotel locations until a plan for safe, long-term housing is developed. Last year, we saw a 133 percent increase in the demand for emergency housing, particularly from domestic violence survivors. We anticipate further escalation of need this year, as the long-term mental health and economic impacts of the pandemic continue to impact our community.
The SafeNight app offers donors an opportunity to make a positive impact with the click of a button. Monarch simply puts out an alert that a survivor requires shelter and donors are immediately notified via the SafeNight app. The opportunity to have motel vouchers funded in real-time will have a tremendous impact on the survivors and families that Monarch serves, especially during this time of escalating community need!
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Sharing Solidarity
Shabbat Service
November 19, 2021
As part of the new Santa Cruz County United for Safe and Inclusive Communities (SCCUSIC) efforts to build a safe and inclusive Santa Cruz
County, we invite you to a shabbat service at Inner Light Ministries on Friday, November 19. Reverend Deborah Johnson, Rabbi Eli Cohen and Rabbi Paula Marcus will be sharing songs, teachings, prayers, and stories about our collective vision for a community filled with justice, peace, and love.
This will be an indoor service. To protect each other’s health only those
with at least two vaccinations will be able to join. Please come at 6:30 for a
rapid covid test that will be administered before we begin the service at
7:00 pm.
This event is part of Santa Cruz County United Against Hate Week,
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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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