Community UCC eNews
July 16, 2020
Community UCC is an inclusive and progressive Christian Church doing social justice, environmental faithfulness, interfaith collaboration and spiritual formation to help ourselves and others grow in faith, hope and love.


The Church and Office will remain closed for now.
Sunday Worship — Zoom and Facebook Live  

On Sunday, July 19 , Pastor Julia will deliver a sermon titled “Is Hope Delusional or Disruptive?” based on Romans 5:1-5. See below for details of how we will "do church" for now.

Worship on Facebook Live will begin at 10:30 a.m.
Instructions for Zoom worship

For upcoming worship services, we are doing Zoom videoconferencing meetings, so we can see each other's faces even as we are apart.

Links to the Zoom worships go out each Wednesday in a separate email just to church members. Look for "Zoom links" in that email subject line.

Lisa will continue to provide Facebook Live on Sundays at 10:30 a.m., by capturing her computer screen during the Zoom worship.
Community UCC will NOT reopen church, office for now

The past few months in this pandemic have shown us that the Church is neither a building nor defined by in-person meetings; it is people! We miss being and worshiping together; we miss welcoming new people into our worship; we miss joining together in fellowship, sharing life’s joys and sorrows. But despite our sense of loss and longing, we will keep our church building doors closed at this time out of an abundance of caution and concern for the health and safety of all members of our congregation and our staff. Read more about this decision on our website.
Lessons from the Mask

We must find ways to filter toxicity out of our mental, political, societal, and theological discourses just as we wear masks to filter out harmful viruses and environmental impurities. 
~ Pastor Julia Penner-Zook

 Michael Amadeus via  unsplash.com, open source photo
"A Space for Reflection" will contain quotes and poetry to contemplate and reflect upon as you move through your week. Take a moment to read the quote or poem, allow the words to wash over you. Then, see what word(s) spoke to you, what thought(s) came up for you and then y ou might journal those thoughts or just sit with them for a while.
Compassion

A beggar in the street I saw,
Who held a hand like withered claw,
As cold as clay;
But as I had no silver groat
To give, I buttoned up my coat
And turned away.

And then I watched a working wife
Who bore the bitter load of life
With lagging limb;
A penny from her purse she took,
And with sweet pity in her look
Gave it to him.
Anon I spied a shabby dame
Who fed six sparrows as they came
In famished flight;
She was so poor and frail and old,
Yet crumbs of her last crust she doled
With pure delight.

Then sudden in my heart was born
For my sleek self a savage scorn, –
Urge to atone;
So when a starving cur I saw
I bandaged up its bleeding paw
And bought a bone.

For God knows it is good to give;
We may not have so long to live,
So if we can,
Let's do each day a kindly deed,
And stretch a hand to those in need,
Bird, beast or man.

Helping all CUCC members attend online services

Some members of CUCC cannot access our Thursday and Sunday online services because they don’t have a necessary device.

At the same time, some of us may have phones, tablets or computers we are no longer using. If you have one that someone could borrow, please email Marilyn Wall at  [email protected]  or leave a message on the church phone, 559.435.2690.

We’ll compile a list of available devices, and details will follow on distribution.
Help will be available to erase personal information from a borrowed device.
Thank you, Alex and Armando!

Alex and Armando Madrid have generously donated the gift cards they won in a church raffle back to the church, which will now distribute the cards to others.

The Gifting Tree raffle featured gift cards valued at more than $400 and was a 
fundraiser sponsored by the Missions and Social Justice Team. A drawing for The
Tree was held during the worship service on June 14.
Homemade bread, jam and Starbucks raffle!

How about some treats during the quarantine? The July CUCC raffle will feature:

  • Nancy Pressley's delicious homemade ciabatta bread or bagels
  • The Kilburns' homemade boysenberry jam
  • Ghiradelli hot chocolate from Sharon Powers-Smith
  • Starbucks instant coffee
  • Two beautiful mugs

There will be TWO raffle baskets to bring these delectable comfort into your life during this stressful time — one with bagels, one with bread.  Buy your tickets now through Givelify (remember to put "July Raffle" in the message) or mail a check to the church.

Tickets are $5 each or three for $10. However you give, make sure you note that your money should go to the July Raffle.

Drawing will be held during Announcements on Sunday, July 26. Good Luck!!!
Pitman and Tidyman scholarships available

CUCC annually offers two scholarships: the Martha and Paul Pitman Scholarship and the Phyllis A. Tidyman Scholarship.

The Pitman Scholarship Fund – established in 1998 – supports the theological education of students preparing for ordained ministry and “in care” of the church.
Graduate students or re-entry students returning to school after a two-year absence are eligible if a seminary student doesn’t apply.

The Tidyman Scholarship Fund – established in 1999 by the Tidyman family –provides scholarships for church members.

The Pitmans and Mrs. Tidyman were longtime church members.

Completed applications are due in the church office by July 31.
Adult Education

We are doing an Adult Education study at 10 a.m. Mondays via Zoom.

July 20: Richard Rohr's "The Wisdom Pattern."

Contact Ann Scott if you need a link to the Zoom meeting (or check the email to church members that went out on Wednesday with Zoom links for this week).
Office hours for Pastor Julia

Office hours for our Pastor, Julia Penner-Zook, are  Tuesday afternoons . If you'd like to chat with Julia by phone, please email her at  [email protected]  to schedule a time. She would love to hear from you. 
If you have a prayer (of joy, for healing, gratitude, love) for someone or someplace that you would like lifted up during worship on Sunday mornings please send them to  [email protected] (Robin is on vacation the next few weeks).
In each week's eNews, we include a news article from our larger denomination, the  United Church of Christ ,  to show the faithful work being done in other places.
Team name-change announcements elicit cautious hope from UCC activists

Thirty years ago this summer, Indigenous mothers testified at a national United Church of Christ women’s meeting about the harm caused by stereotypes of American Indians used in everything from pictures on soda pop labels to names of sports teams.

The result was a  resolution  – first adopted by what was then known as the Coordinating Center for Women in Church and Society, then by the 1991 General Synod – calling for an end to the “negative stereotyping of Native Americans” in sports and commerce.

This week, after years of activism, local and national UCC leaders are watching developments that could be major steps toward that goal. The National Football League team in Washington, D.C.,  confirmed   on Monday, July 13, that it will abandon its name, widely regarded as a racial slur, and its accompanying logo. Continue reading at UCC.com.
Happy Birthday to all who are celebrating this month!

July Birthdays
1 – Kyrie Oneal
9  –  Erin Hinojosa and Mike Powers-Smith
10 – Janice Shorgo
11  –  Kristen White-Barrett
16  –  Marge Kelly
19  – Bobbie Vivian
21  – Amy Richardson
22  – Bryan Clark
23 –  Maggie Dutton
28  – Jack Jackson, and, Devin and Deshawn Ruffin
29  – June Supersad
30 –  Susan Chavez and Carolyn Evans
31 –  Al Evans  

July Anniversaries
8  – Stacy and Tony Fazio
21 –  Bobbie and Ron Vivian
31 –  Elizabeth Davis-Russell and Thomas Russell

Did we overlook someone's birthday or anniversary for this month? Please let Marilyn ( [email protected] ) and Lisa ( [email protected] ) know so we can get you in next week. We never intend to leave anyone out.
Upcoming Church Events

  • We will resume listing in-person events after things get back to normal. For now, events have either been cancelled, will be rescheduled or will be held virtually.
eNews deadline is 10 a.m. Wednesdays

CUCC eNews is a weekly publication distributed every Thursday. Deadline for submitting announcements is 10 a.m. Wednesdays (and earlier is appreciated). Please send your announcements to Marilyn at [email protected] . Lisa Boyles Bell ( [email protected] , 559.244.9502) is the volunteer communications liaison for our church. Lisa and Doug Hoagland ( [email protected] ) alternate working on eNews. Send your announcements to both of them for newsletters from June to August.

We've updated our Joyful Giving page to reflect the many ways members can help support our Church's missions and operations, especially needed in these critical and uncertain times.

The Church and Office will remain closed for the time being, due to COVID-19.

Phone: 559.435.2690 
Email: [email protected]