JULY/AUGUST 2017 - In This Issue:
SUNDAY SERVICES
SUMMER SCHEDULE: SINGLE SERVICE AT 10:30 A.M. 
July 2
Single Service at 10:30 a.m.

"Finding Home"
Lauraina Levwood, Preaching Practicum
Finding home is a human need, but it isn't always easy.  Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, many of us long for home, for a place to belong, but sometimes we don't exactly know where it is, or how to get there. Lauraina will guide us in exploring the importance of choosing to belong, whether it be to ourselves, our communities, or our country at this time in history.
Music Notes: 
The UUkes will provide music for Gathering Music, and Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" during service. Scott and Jane Provan will also be singing "People of Hope."

July 9
Single Service at 10:30 a.m.
"Dreamwork"
Jean McKinney, Preaching Practicum

Dreams speak in a symbolic language sometimes difficult to understand. When we work to understand our dreams, we find clear reflections of our inner lives, guidance and creative solutions. Jean will share some of her experiences with "dreamwork" and why she believes dreams come in the service of health and wholeness.
Music Notes: Ivy Brezina, Marya Ilgen-Lieth and Ginger Long will provide music including "A Medley of Dream Songs" for Gathering Music, and "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" and Billy Joel's "River of Dreams" during the service.

July 16
Single Service at 10:30 a.m.
"Our Common Home: Exploring Pope Francis' Call to Care For the Environment and Each Other"
Ginger Guidry, Preaching Practicum
Ginger will examine points from Pope Francis' recent encyclical sparking renewed dialogue for the Earth, centered on compassion and justice.
Music Notes: Clarinetist Rick Lienhas, cellist Dorothy Wright and pianist Glenn Mehrbach will provide the Special Music for this service, including Gathering Music and music for the service. Music will be chosen from the trios by classical composer Max Bruch.

July 23
Single Service at 10:30 a.m.
"The Intersection of Capital Punishment and UU Faith"
Bill Rote, Preaching Practicum
Come hear of a personal encounter with capital punishment and how an evolving faith can change the outlook of one person. How do our principles require us to react? Not just to the punishment but the punished. Does our compassion end with the families of victims? How are we all tied together?   Society, the victim and the convicted? A look at a test of what we believe and the hard work our faith requires of us.
Music Notes: Danny Gotham will be providing the Special Music for this service, singing a couple of songs by Steve Earle, "Billy Austin" and "Ellis Unit One."

July 30
Single Service at 10:30
"The Gifts and Responsibilities of Sensitivity"
Leigh Hall, Preaching Practicum
In this time of conflict and violence, people who are sensitive can play an important role. It is possible for pain and negativity to be "metabolized" or transformed, rather than perpetuated. Leigh Hall will speak to the how the highly sensitive person copes in our world and the gifts that she or he can bring.

August 6
Single Service at 10:30
Rev. Thom Belote returns to the pulpit

August 13
Single Service at 10:30
Rev. Thom Belote, preaching

August 20
Return to Two Services, 9:15 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.
Rev. Thom Belote, preaching

August 27
Two Services, 9:15 a.m.& 11:00 a.m.
Rev. Thom Belote
Homecoming/Water Communion

2017 SERVICE AUCTION
The date is Saturday, November 11, 2017. Please mark your calendars so you can come join the fun and help make our largest FUNdraiser a joyful and successful event.

We need your Donations now! The more donations we receive the more fun we will have bidding. Please go to the 2017 auction catalog at togetherauction.com/ccchuu and enter your donation. Suggestions: Dinners, brunches, lunches and more, especially theme dinners; special events; services; high value treasures; food items; entertainment and activities; lodging/vacations; tickets.

This year's theme is SUUper Heroes - dress as your hero or dress as your super self. For more information and/or to volunteer your help, email Susan and Don Blanchard or call   919-237-2401.
OUR SPACE, OUR FUTURE
GREAT STEP TOWARDS THE FUTURE
The footing for our building project, on which an update was presented at the June 11 congregational meeting, just became firmer. This June, well over half of the balance on our 2006 building loan was paid off, thanks to recent designated donations by several anonymous church households, totaling $250,000.  That means our debt at the end of 2018, when the balance is due, will be under $165,000 instead of $430,000 - and we will have saved over $15,000 in interest expense. If there are further designated donations this year, this great news could become even better. If you are considering a donation this year, perhaps for tax or any other reasons, please email Ivy Brezina or call 415-663-8703  .

**Note: The next phase of project planning is getting under way! Watch for opportunities to participate over the coming months. Please contact us
  with your questions or ideas.**
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
OUTDOOR CONNECTIONS
Saturday, August 5: Kayaks and Canoes, Contemplation and Comestibles. Cheap rentals and easy, shaded paddling in our own backyard wilderness at University Lake. Meet at the lake at 9:00. Brunch-lunch (blunch?) at City Kitchen. RSVP:  chandler-dorfman@mindspring.com
EXPLORING MEMBERSHIP
On Sunday mornings, August 6 & August 13, we'll be offering a two-part Exploring Membership class before the service. The class will provide an introduction to Unitarian Universalism and our congregation, cover the meaning of membership, provide an opportunity for reflecting on our spiritual journeys, and give you chance to meet others who are newer to The Community Church.

Classes will be held from 9:00 to 10:20 a.m. Please RSVP by sending an email to  Rev. Thom Belote or Rachel Rose. Childcare is available upon request. Let Thom or Rachel know ASAP if you need childcare to be able to attend.
2017 SERVICE AUCTION
Saturday, November 11. Mark your calendars now for this all-church fundraising event! See article above for more details.
WORSHIP, MUSIC & ARTS
ART IN THE SANCTUARY
  Paintings by Emma Skurnick

"I spend a lot of time observing the beauty and strangeness of the natural world, noting the delicate fuzz on the underside of a leaf, or the way color shifts along the length of a bird's feather," Emma Skurnick writes in her website: emmaskurnick.com. Emma observes the natural world from Bynum, NC where she lives and creates the inspiring watercolor and acrylic paintings that will illuminate the sanctuary walls July 2 through September 9, 2017.

CHILDREN & YOUTH
HOGWARTS ON THE HILL MINI-CAMP
Hogwarts on the Hill" -- A magical summer mini-camp experience--August 11-13, 2017

At "Hogwarts on the Hill"  church children and youth will  explore community, UU values, and fun In the spirit and ambiance of Harry Potter's Hogwarts -- complete with costumes. sorting. opening Feast, house ghosts, common rooms, quidditch, and wands.  Wizarding classes will include Potions, Transfiguration, Divination, and Charms.  Rising 1st-6th graders attend HotH as students. Rising 7th-12th experience the fun as prefects and assistant professors.


CAMP SCHEDULE

   8/11, Friday Evening, 5:30-8 PM 
(Opening Feast, Sorting, Exploring the School, House Bonding)

   8/12, Saturday, 9:30-4 PM
(Wizarding classes and activities, Lunch, Quidditch Practice)

   8/13 Sunday Morning, 9:00-10:00 AM
(Closing Breakfast with parents before church)
HELP WITH HOGWARTS ON THE HILL
Seeking creative souls with magic in their hearts to bring UU values to life in a new way this August 11-13. Following in the footsteps of other UU congregations, we are developing a Hogwarts/Harry Potter-themed mini-camp for church children and youth. We need adults to shop, decorate, and create the ambiance, to teach the classes, and to serve as heads of house, cooks, ghosts, music leaders, and headmaster or headmistress. We need middle-schoolers to serve a Prefects, and High Schoolers to serve as Apprentice Professors and other roles. Have you ever wanted to teach a Potions class?  Help a budding young wizard choose a wand? Dish up a gillyweed/slug sandwich (vegan, of course!)? We would like your help to create our own Hogwarts on the Hill!. If interested, contact Selden Holt (seldenholt@gmail.com or 919-260-1842)
CHALICE CAMP
We are happy to announce that we are offering Chalice Camp again this year.  Chalice Camp is a  UU Weeklong Summer Day Camp for elementary aged children.  It is held at at church this summer, July 31-August 4. Here is a link for more information and registration. 
JUSTICE & SERVICE
ECO'S ENVIRONMENTAL CORNER
First Sunday Recyclables:
July 2: Batteries
(AAA - D, button, rechargeable), corks (natural and synthetic).
August 6: All of the above, plus children '
s books. 
Note: ECO is no longer collecting plastic pencils, pens, and markers.
 
Three members of the ECO Committee had a meeting with Sen. Thom Tillis's Deputy State Director, Kim Barnes, to discuss climate change on June 13. They found the meeting to be productive and encourage everyone to keep communicating with your legislators on both the state and national level. As Eric Bannan reminded us in his sermon, "World Changing 101," big changes come from many small actions!
 
The ECO Committee and UU Non-Fiction Readers co-hosted a screening of "This Changes Everything" at the Varsity Theatre on May 23. A discussion was held after the movie and representatives from NC Interfaith Power and Light, NC Warn, and the Citizens Climate Lobby provided information. Over 80 people attended.
SHARE THE PLATE
STP - JULY 9
PATIENT AND FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER  
The recipient of Share the Plate on Sunday, July 9, will be the Patient and Family Resource Center (PFRC) at the UNC Lineberger Cancer Hospital. The center provides incredible support for cancer patients and their caregivers through a lending resource library, patient education materials, a wig and head covering boutique, and patient and caregiver assistance. This assistance includes gift cards for groceries and gas; blankets, gloves, hats, and slippers; individually packaged snacks and healthy drinks. As a long-term cancer patient at UNC, I have received head covers and educational materials from the center. My concern is for those patients who have no other way of acquiring basic needed items. The tremendous stress of a cancer diagnosis, its treatment, and side effects is overwhelming; not having basic needs met increases the strain and may interfere with the ability to receive appropriate treatments. Please give generously to help patients in need who rely on the PFRC for help. (Submitted by Nancy Reichle)
STP - JULY 16
SCHOOL SUPPLIES PROJECT 
 
Mark your calendars for the 2017 School Supplies Project. Proceeds will be used to purchase backpacks  and basic learning tools such as pens, pencils, paper, highlighters, etc... all the necessary supplies to jump start a successful school year for some worthy students in Chatham and Orange Counties.
Thank you, in advance, for your support! (Submitted by Eleanor Armstrong)

STP - AUGUST 27
SISTER COMMUNITIES OF SAN RAMON  
Our Aug. 27 Share the Plate will go to two schools in the remote mountains of Nicaragua supported by our church through the Rural School Partnership, a part of Sister Communities of San Ramon. This is our third year to provide funds for these two schools.
 
The parents at each school decide how the funds will be used and so far have purchased school supplies and used musical instruments for a marching band. They have also paved a play area and made other improvements to the schools.
 
This year we have an exciting opportunity to help bring water to both the village and one of the schools. Engineers Without Borders has agreed to the project but the community has to contribute $700, a sum beyond their means. The parents of "our" students are hoping to use our funds to enable this essential project to go forward.
LEARNING & FELLOWSHIP
FLAMING CHALICES SOFTBALL
UU READERS

On Saturday, July 15, at 10:30 in Kirby Room, Lila Berry will be leading our discussion of The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Society Stronger.  This comparative analysis of societies on the basis of their equality (or inequality) draws clear and powerful conclusions.  The authors are British public health researchers.

Join us for a stimulating discussion.  UU Readers welcome folks on a drop-in basis.
WOMENCIRCLE
Join 20 or so FABULOUS COMMUNITY CHURCH WOMEN at the Haw River State Park Conference Center on October 6-8.  Canoeing in the lake, hiking (or strolling), sitting around a roaring fire, etc.  Steevie Parks will be offering a creativity workshop on Saturday afternoon putting together a 3-D collage of natural things gathered on a morning walk.  All meals are included in the registration fee.  Information has been sent by email to the women on the WomenCircle email list the middle of June.  If you are not on the WomenCircle list, email Sindy Barker or call 919-969-4529 and ask her to send you a copy of the information and a reservation form.  Reserve your spot with a down payment to with Valerie Vickers, 1146 Great Ridge Parkway, Chapel Hill 27516 by July 15.   It will be a great time of fellowship, outdoor activities and creativity.
COMMUNITY CLICKERS
Check out our new web page under Learning and Fellowship! From there, you can also find a link to Patterns and Instructions, which currently has patterns for knitted blocks and some instructions. Crochet patterns can be found on the ERUUF site under "Patterns for most projects may be found here."  We use 7" x 9" blocks (made from washable acrylic, #4 worsted weight yarn) to make our donations. Join us from 2-4 PM on Wednesday July 5th in the Commons area and/or from 7-9 PM on Monday July 17th in the Straley Room to click, chat, and design projects. Can't knit or crochet? We will teach you! Have leftover yarn or needles/hooks you no longer use? We will take them! Meeting attendance is not required. Donate finished blocks at our table on the third Sunday of each month (7/16).   Contact clickers@c3huu.org for more information.
COMMITTEES & MINISTRIES
ENDOWMENT COMMITTEE
Application Period for Endowment Fund Mini-Grant now open through Sept 15, 2017:  Up to $7,000 is available for distribution this cycle with priority being given to projects that align with the Our Space Our Future Project.  Awards will be finalized by a congregational vote at a called meeting later in the fall of 2017 with funds available beginning January 1, 2018.  Application form and further information is available online here. If you are uncertain about whether your project falls within the scope of what the Endowment Committee funds, please contact an Endowment Committee member. Members are listed on the church's website.
SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS NEED TO BE IN BY AUGUST 20

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If you would like to learn more about joining the Community Church of Chapel Hill, please contact our Membership Director, Rachel Rose, by calling the office (919) 942-2050, emailing c3hmembership@gmail.com, or find her at one of our Sunday services. Whether you are brand new or a longtime attendee, and whatever your beliefs or background, we welcome you to our community of friendship and ideals.