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Connections: January 10, 2024
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Hello, Church!
This past Sunday we celebrated Epiphany in worship—the revelation of the manifestation of God in Jesus. In Western traditions (Catholics, Anglicans, and Protestants), Epiphany is on January 6—marking the end of Christmastide, or the twelve days after Christmas. Churches celebrate it the Sunday before, the day of, or the Sunday after, and this celebration is largely centered on the story of the Magi in the Gospel of Matthew.
While Epiphany is marked with many different traditions, rituals, and celebrations, in the United States, passing out “star words” or “star gifts” has been a practice in Protestant churches that has grown in popularity over the last decade or so. The idea is that a list of intention words, or guiding words, are written or printed on paper stars. At some point during an Epiphany service, individuals draw a word from a basket and are invited to use that word as a guiding word throughout the year.
Those of you who were able to join us for worship (in person or online) received the gift of a star word this past Sunday. If you weren’t able to join us, but would like to receive a word, we have some available in the office and we’ll also have a basket of stars in the Narthex this Sunday. If you would like us to send you a star word, please let us know and we would love to mail you one.
My hope and prayer is that our star words invite us to pause, look up, and receive the ever-present gift that God is an illuminating presence in our daily lives: loving us, calling us, and leading us forth into our weary world with hope, together.
I hope you can join us this Sunday as we reflect on Jesus’ baptism as told in the Gospel of Mark and honor our outgoing ministry chair and committee leaders.
Just as the star showed the magi the way to the baby Jesus, in this season of Epiphany may God be our guide, our light, and our promise as we embark on a new year together.
With gratitude and love,
Jessica
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IF YOU MISSED THE WORSHIP SERVICE,
CLICK HERE FOR LAST SUNDAY'S ENTIRE SERVICE
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CCSM Annual Meeting
Sunday, January 21, 2024 at Noon
Each year the congregation meets in January to receive ministry updates and reports, approve the new budget, elect board members and ministry leads, and attend to additional business requiring a congregational vote and/or congregational input. This year's meeting will be held over a light lunch in Kloss Hall and also via Zoom.
Agenda
1. Opening & Prayer
2. A few words from Austin Mader-Clark (outgoing Moderator)
3. Action Item* Discussion and vote on the 2024 Budget**
4. Memorial for members lost this year
5. Action Item* Discussion and vote on two minor bylaw changes that will help clarify lengths of terms and service years
6. Reflection from Jessica and a look forward
7. Action Item* Discussion and vote on the 2024 Slate for the Board Members and Ministry Leads
8. "The Coming Year" from Don Ruthroff
9. Closing & Prayer
*Observers are welcome; only CCSM members may vote on the Action Items. If you have questions regarding your membership status, email jessica@ccsm-ucc.org.
**Materials for the 2024 budget are available here.
We must have a minimum of 75 members in attendance, so please plan to join us for this important event. We will also have Zoom available (here) and will be able to take a poll for voting. If you can join us in person rather than online, please do.
For voting we will follow our bylaws and voting will be done by a show of hands. For each item being voted on, if someone from the congregation makes a motion to have a written ballot, then a second for that motion, we will take a congregational vote “yes” or “no” to have a written ballot. If the “yes” vote is the majority vote, then we will have a written ballot for that item.
From our Bylaws:
Section 8. Decisions and Voting Procedures. A decision made by a majority of the members present at a meeting at which a quorum is present will be considered a decision of the congregation, except as otherwise provided in these Bylaws. Voting will be by a show of hands. A written ballot will be used on a matter if requested by the Board in advance or by a majority of members attending the meeting.
It will be an exciting day, and hopefully we will have some fun while we continue building our resilient community of faith, openness, and connection. See you there!
Austin Mader-Clark, Moderator, Board of Directors
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Music and Art will begin 2024 in the Buckham Room at noon on Friday, January 19.
BYOL (lunch), beverages and dessert are provided. After the fellowship lunch, a devotion, and short business meeting, we’ll move to the sanctuary for a program of organ music by our own wonderful organist, Angela Kraft Cross.
Please RSVP to Don Harper: donaldgharper@yahoo.com or by phone: 650-553-1800.
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New Coffee Hour Coordinator Needed
Beginning March 1st, Lin Fenn plans to leave her coffee hour coordinator position (and try a new CCSM service).
This role helps everybody rest and relax! Please see Lin Fenn for details or text her at 650-346-7763.
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QUILTING BEE PARTY AVAILABLE JANUARY 13!
The date of the Quilting Bee Pick-A-Party has been changed to January 13. If you had a scheduling conflict for the prior date, here's your second chance to sign up. And if you didn't consider this party before, please think about joining a fun and creative group of people for an afternoon of quilting (or just learning about quilting), and socializing. No prior experience necessary. Questions? Contact Susan Bell, sbell2003@gmail.com.
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PRAY FOR PEACE
Weekly on Wednesdays • 9:30-10:00am on Zoom
In light of the recent events in Gaza, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories, we are invited to join Churches for Middle East Peace, an ecumenical partner of the United Church of Christ's Global Ministries, to join others across the world in praying weekly for peace. Registration is free, but required to receive the Zoom Link.
REGISTER HERE
Make a Gift
You can also make a financial gift to help with humanitarian aid for people in Gaza, Palestine, and Israel through the United Church of Christ’s Wider Church Ministries HERE.
Call for a Ceasefire
Send a pre-written message to your elected officials through UCC’s “Just Peace Church” program HERE calling for a ceasefire and encouraging Congress to take immediate action for de-escalation in Israel and Gaza, and support steps towards a lasting peace.
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WE WANT YOU!
CCSM is looking for volunteers to serve on the Board-appointed committees and ministry teams that help our congregation function! This includes the various committees that deal with church administration (like finances, stewardship, and personnel), spiritual life, hospitality, and engagement. Click Here and scroll down for a full list of committees and ministry teams.
If you are interested in nominating yourself or another member of CCSM to serve on one of these committees, please reach out to the Frank Garritano, Chair of the Governance Committee, at fgarritano@gmail.com.
Click on tinyurl.com/CCSM-COM-Teams for a brief overview of the Council of Ministry Teams, and on tinyurl.com/CCSM-Committees for the Board Appointed Committees.
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Youth and Family News
Sunday, February 4 - CCSM Family Playdate! Please join us for lunch and a special service project to show our care for people in our church family experiencing difficult times. We will also decorate pillowcases for people staying in LifeMoves' family shelters. (This isn't primarily a youth activity, but youth are most welcome to help out!)
Sunday, February 11 - Mardi Gras/Carnaval/Pancake Tuesday! We will prepare for Lent by having a party - and learning about how various cultures around the world celebrate this special time leading up to Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. Hope to see you!
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RRRR
RRRR
All of us are familiar with the 3 Rs from the waste hierarchy: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE (do recycle, but it should be a last resort after reduce and reuse).
This year, please do those, but add these: Refuse, Repair, Repaint, Refurbish, Reset, Repurpose, Rot, and Resist.
Can you think about how to implement these helpful practices or can you think of any other ways to protect the environment?
If you throw things away, where exactly is "away?"
Personal favorite is the polite refusal… "no thank you."
Repair can be fun, especially in a group of friends or family.
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Warren Long awards Emelin Perez her academic scholarship on Sunday, January 7!
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The Pride Center and CORA are hosting two programs in January:
Vision Board Building event, Wed., Jan 17, onsite at the Pride Center.
Come together to identify and visualize our dreams, goals and intentions for 2024 and beyond. This free art event is specifically for any LGBTQ+ identifying community members of all ages to design their own vision boards. In English. For accessibility information about the Pride Center, click this link. Register using this link: bit.ly/coravb23
QT Healthy Relationships, Wednesdays, 5:00-6:30pm starting 1/24
Free, in-person weekly workshop series specifically tailored for LGBTQ+ Community members and our unique experiences. For folks 18+. It's important to note that "relationships" doesn't exclusively mean "romantic relationships". Takeaways can be applied to interpersonal relationships of all types: friendships, work, community building, family and more. Topics discussed include: Anti-Oppression and Values, Expectations and Negotiation, Accountability, Boundaries, Conflict & Community Connections. In English. For accessibility information about the Pride Center, click this link. Register here: tinyurl.com/qtskillsclass
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Kay Harris - Council of Ministries Lead
Jim Schwandt - Buildings and Grounds
Kim Rey and Troy Grabow - Children, Youth and Families
Diane Kalliam - Congregational Care
Alison Schwandt - Engagement
Gary H. White - Environmental Justice
Sandy McNabb - Connect and Celebrate
Julien Phillips - Latino/a Ministry
Linda Stoick - Liturgical Arts
Sue Bell - Music
Genel Morgan - Service and Justice
Chris Wuthmann - Spiritual Life/Adult Ed.
Martha Bronitsky - Stewardship
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You don't need to wait for the Ministry Fair to learn more, or join a ministry. Contact the Ministry Lead anytime! | |
Click HERE for CCSM's Governance Manual, and HERE for CCSM's Bylaws
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BRING YOUR BLESSING BOX CONTRIBUTIONS
ANY SUNDAY OF THE MONTH!
The "Blessing Box" outside of the entrance of CCSM is a project of the Ministry of Service and Justice, responding to the need for families in our neighborhood to access food and an expression of our call to be the "hands, feet, and face of God" in our community. The container will be in the narthex to collect food (canned, dried and boxed, no fresh food please! donations must be full UNOPENED containers, no fruits, vegetables, or bread) on any Sunday of the month. Thank you for your continuing generosity!
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JOIN THE CLICK!
If we get at least 1,000 subscribers, the YouTube algorithm bumps our CCSM site higher on people’s search engine. CCSM Media now has 451 subscribers. Let’s keep pumping it up! So, please go to youtube.com/@ccsmMediaChannel/featured and click the “Subscribe” button.
Cost: Nothing. Benefit: HUGE!
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Regular CCSM office hours:
9:00am - 4:00pm
Monday - Thursday
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ccsm-ucc.org
225 Tilton Ave. • San Mateo, CA • 94401
650-343-3694
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Scan this QR code or go to ccsm-ucc.org/give
to make a donation or pledge to CCSM.
Don't forget to ask your employer if they have a charitable donation matching program to make your pledge go farther.
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