“Caring for others in Pasadena and beyond since 1885.”         

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Music from Connie

This week our choir returns to sing a song of thanksgiving. Also, fiddler Phil Glen joins Grace, Jenna, and Neara in a vocal trio. We hope you can join us too.

Connie Washburn, Music Director

Also on Sunday November 23rd

Liturgist: Cheryl Farrell

Zoom staff: Anne Cohen * Usher: Jeff Tyler

NOTE: We are in need of volunteers for Sundays through the end of the year.

Church School on November 23rd

After the "Time With Children," children will go with staff for games and stories.

They will re-join us for fellowship time in the Fellowship Hall.

Church School during Advent

As we prepare for the Advent and Christmas Season, church school will change focus.

On November 23 our young and competent staff will provide Childcare.

On November 30 all children and youth will rehearse for the Christmas Pageant which will happen in two parts: December 7 and 14.

Come and celebrate the Season!!

If you are a Zoom worshipper, you will be able to access the Bulletin through a link when you log onto Zoom on Sunday. The worship link is at the bottom of this Touchstone.

The Rev. Carolyn Olney

is assisting with Pastoral Care.

Current Staff and Preaching Arrangements

The Rev. Anne Cohen is currently serving 10 hrs./week as Acting Office Associate. She is serving an additional 5 hrs./week as a Staff Coordinator offering support for our staff. The Rev. Scott Furukawa and the Rev. Anne Cohen are leading worship, preaching and are available on Sundays after worship for pastoral interactions with folks.

UPDATE from the Interim Minister Search Committee:

We are in conversation with two NEW candidates.

Be patient - the process is working!

Jeff Tyler, Wesly Moore, Nevajoy Orr, Grace Rinck.

Please refrain from questioning search members on Sundays. They need a day of rest too!

Current Worship Schedule

November 23 - Rev. Scott Furukawa

Liturgist: Cheryl Farrell

Childcare: Staff

November 30 - Rev. Anne Cohen - ADVENT I

Liturgist: Wesly Moore

Advent Candle Lighters: Wes Moore and friend "Hope"

Children: Pageant Practice

December 7 - Rev. Scott Furukawa - ADVENT II

Liturgist: Bettie Teel

Advent Candle Lighters: Furukawa-Jae Family "Peace"

Children: Christmas Pageant 1

December 14 - Rev. Scott Furukawa - ADVENT III

Liturgist: TBA

Advent Candle Lighters: Biehler-Teel Family "Joy"

Children: Christmas Pageant 2

December 21 - Rev. Scott Furukawa - ADVENT IV

Liturgist: TBA

Advent Candle Lighters: Hughes Family "Love"

Childcare: Staff

December 24 - Stories and Carols - 7pm

CHRISTMAS EVE

Readers: TBA

Candle Lighters: Sherow-Story Family "Christ"

December 28 - Rev. Anne Cohen - PAJAMA SUNDAY

Liturgist: TBA

Childcare: Staff

The preaching schedule will be added to or changed

once an Interim Minister joins us.

Much Ado for Freedom

Last Thursday evening a large group from Pasadena UCC attended this performance by the Improvised Shakespeare Company, a fundraiser for My Refuge House. Many thanks to Joey and Heather Bland for a meaningful and hilarious evening!



Women's Retreat

Over the weekend two of our members braved the rain and enjoyed a wonderful conference-wide Women's Retreat at Pilgrim Pines Camp and Conference Center. The theme was "Rest is Resistance." 20 Women from 8 different UCC churches were there. We return rested and ready to continue the work of Resistance to current Injustices!

FUMC Women's Interfaith Tea

On Sunday FUMC held their annual Women's Interfaith Tea. Representatives of each group that worships in this building (Jewish, Muslim and Christian) offered a blessing. Roberta White said a prayer written by Carolyn Olney and Kim Story also represented Pasadena UCC. Grace Rahn offered music. It was a lovely event which we hope to attend with a larger group next year!

Roberta and Kim pictured here with Dori from FUMC.

Advent Festival

The First Sunday of Advent (November 30) our Membership committee is planning an Advent Festival. There will be a catered lunch, gingerbread house decorating for the kids, an advent craft, and a Christmas cookie exchange.

(If you are able and WANT to bake, bring 2-3 dozen cookies to exchange and share.)

We are looking forward to spending the holidays with you!



Holiday Shopping Locally

Many local business have struggled since the Eaton Fire. This is a good time to support them by purchasing gift certificates and products.

Any time between now and Christmas if you shop at 10,000 Villages on South Lake and mention St. Mark's Church, 15% of your purchase will go toward rebuilding that church. (The only exception is Small Business Saturday right after Thanksgiving when they have other discounts going.)

On Sunday, December 7, at 11:15am FUMC is opening their Alternative Christmas Market. Consider dropping in to Fellowship Hall before or after worship.

There are multiple weekend fairs and markets coming up...

Jackalope was postponed to November 22-23.

You can download (above) a long list of LOCAL places and people to support by shopping - as well as more fairs and events.

Nurture Your Body & Soul

These are ongoing ways to participate in hands-on outreach work and things that nurture your spirit.

Join us! Details below.

SoulCollage® is a practice that helps us express our inner life by using images from magazines, photos, the internet and more. It is deeply intuitive as you put together certain images that you are drawn to. Join us for creativity and community each month. Learn more at https://soulcollage.com/

The next SoulCollage® workshop is this Saturday, November 22, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00p.m. in person and on Zoom. Contact leader Rev. Anne for questions or to be added to the monthly email list: acohen99@sbcglobal.net

We continue to offer occasional Table Gatherings modeling after Jesus who gathered with folks around tables to share food and drink. We invite folks to open their homes/yards for a meal. It’s a chance to have a potluck together, connect, and catch up on a meaningful level.

If you wish to host one, please reach out to our Membership Chairperson Christy Furukawa at veggiechristy@icloud.com

Tangible Ways To Support Community Outreach

Here are some hands-on ways to get involved with helping others.



-Friends in Deed-

Lu Burd who coordinates our outreach with Friends in Deed is in touch with them about additional volunteer needs. We currently stock shelves in the Food Pantry on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month from 2:00 p.m. -3:30 p.m.

Please contact Lu at luburd@gmail.com 

if you want to volunteer.

 Friends In Deed * 2025 Christmas for the Kids

Thank you very much for again being a part of our 2025 "Christmas for the Kids" event. We are glad to have your participation. Attached is a spreadsheet with 4 children's names. The spreadsheet contains the following fields – Family # (this is for us, here at FID), Kid’s Name, Gender, Age, and "Likes".  The "Likes" field is filled with ideas given to us by the parents. It is meant to be helpful to you in trying to determine what a child would like for Christmas. It is by no means a requirement to purchase any or all of the “likes”. We understand that in some cases we haven't been given much for you to go on. That's okay. The families will be happy no matter what. 

We will be giving the presents out on the afternoon of Sunday, Dec. 21. Ideally, we would like to have all of the gifts, here at Friends In Deed (444 E. Washington Blvd, Pasadena 91104), by the afternoon of Thursday, Dec. 18. This will give us a chance to get everything organized before the Sunday event. 

• If you are going to have any gifts sent to Friends In Deed, please include the following information in the address:
  Friends In Deed – Christmas for the Kids
  444 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104
• If you are buying clothes, shoes, or something that might need to be exchanged for a different size, color, etc., please include a gift receipt if possible. This will make it easier for the family when doing the exchange.
• Please make sure all the presents are unwrapped. If they come to us wrapped, we will need to unwrap them before giving them to the parents.
• If you are giving a gift card, it is really helpful if you can make sure to include the amount on the card somewhere and to include the activation receipt that you get when the card is purchased. 

If you have any questions or if you need anything, please let us know. Your part in this event that brings joy to so many families every year, means a lot to us. As our motto says, “Doing together what we cannot do alone” and we couldn’t do it without you. Thank you.

All our best, Tim, Eva, & Kristina * 626.797.2402 * www.friendsindeedpas.org

Volunteers Needed

Friday, Dec 19, 10:00a to 1:00p - We need 2 or 3 people.

Saturday, Dec. 20, 9:00a to 11:30a - We need 4 or 5 people

Saturday, Dec. 20, 11:30a to 2:00p (or later) - We need 4 people

Sunday, Dec. 21, 1:00p to 3:30p - We need anywhere from 5-8 people, not counting young kids.

Besides bringing out the gifts, this is helping to breakdown at the end of the day and cleaning up. 

Please contact Lu at luburd@gmail.com if you want to volunteer.

-Union Station Homeless Services-

We have been serving meals monthly for decades. We prep and serve a meal the 1st Monday for nine months each year. If you are interested in being on a team or subbing, please contact Lu Burd at luburd@gmail.com

Upcoming Events for your Calendar

November 22: SoulCollage(R)

November 30: Advent Festival (after worship)

***

December 2: Church Council Meeting (zoom)

December 7: Christmas Pageant Part 1

December 13: SoulCollage(R)

December 14: Christmas Pageant Part 2

December 19-21: Christmas for the Kids at Friends in Deed

December 24: Christmas Eve Service (7pm)

December 28: Pajama Sunday

December 31: New Year's Eve

***

January 1: Rose Parade

January 13: Church Council Meeting (zoom)

January 25: Budget Hearing (after worship)

February 1: Winter Business Meeting (after worship)

More about each event as we get closer!

Photo: Flowers from Bonnie's service.

Updated Member Directories are available by contacting the Office Associate at:

ChurchOffice@uccpasadena.org

Printed and online/pdf copies available.

New Emails for Church Staff

In order to streamline operations for FCCUCC Pasadena, Mary Camacho has created a domain for us. All our files can be stored here. Each staff person can have a generic email rather than use personal email for church business. As they are created (e.g. Minister@, Treasurer@) we will post them here.

Bookkeeper, Arcel Clementson: bookkeeper@uccpasadena.org

Office Associate, Anne Cohen currently: churchoffice@uccpasadena.org

Please add these to your contacts and use them as much as possible for church business. This will ease future transitions!

Office Hours

Sallie McNair

Sallie is typically in the office from

8:30am-12:30pm on

Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Please email Sallie at salliefcc@yahoo.com 

for more specific hours.

You may also leave a message at 626.795.0696

Office Hours

Anne Cohen

Anne is typically in the office from

9am-1pm on

Tuesdays and Thursdays

Please email Anne at churchoffice@uccpasadena.org

You may also leave a message

at 626.795.0696