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| T O U C H S T O N E - A M i d W e e k B u l l e t i n |
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Second Sunday After Epiphany
Our Core Values:
Spiritual Growth. Welcome. Justice-seeking
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January 15, 2017
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Andy Schwiebert and Allison Mark and their daughter Kaira celebrate with FCC friends and prepare for their new baby!
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Reflections on Sunday Worship . . .
"Claiming God"
Psalm 40:1-11
The Psalm that is our text for worship this week affirms a relationship with God that some of us may struggle to claim ourselves. How convinced are you of God's presence and activity in your life - it can be a tricky question for us to answer and our response may well depend on how happy or well we feel at any given time. In a sermon entitled "Claiming God" we will consider the challenges of affirming our faith amidst all the ups and downs of our daily lives...we will look at what practices can affirm our faith in ways that respect our concerns, our doubts, our life experience and God's urging that we change and grow! Come join us for worship this Sunday in the Chapel at 10AM!
-Rev. John H. Pomeroy
Also this Week:
Elementary class with Grace Rinck/TBA in Room 232. Youth will remain in worship.
We continue to collect
men's clothes and shoes for men who are being discharged from County USC hospital. Please bring your items to the church office and Dr. Laura Kalayjian will take them in for us. Thanks so much! Click
here for more info.
Friends in Deed can always use protein foods, cereal, and gift cards for $15 and $20. Just bring to church each week and give to the church school teachers.
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Rev. John H. Pomeroy
Rev.Marlene W. Pomeroy
Robert Rinck
Kevin Cordova-Brookey
Liturgist
Pianist & Music Coordinator
Elemetary class with Grace Rinck/TBA in room 232. Youth will remain in worship.
Church Nursery (for infants - K)
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Mrs. Phillips, Jaquelyne Rodriguez & Serena Van.
Nursery opens at 9 a.m. for early birds and then everyone comes to worship at 10:00 and stays through the Children's Time and then heads to the nursery with caregivers and parents.
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Nina Kung
Sermon Podcast:
D
id you miss a worship and want to hear the sermon? Please visit uccpasadena.org and select 'podcasts' from the menu on top of the home page or click below
http://uccpasadena.podomatic.com/
OFFICE HOURS:
Monday - Thursday
9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
We close for lunch
12 - 1:30 p.m.
Tel. # 626.795.0696
Fax # 626.795.0698
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Included in this edition:
Looking Ahead...
Office Closed on Monday. Jan 16th
Pre-Order a Church T.-shirt
Budget Forum Feb. 5th
Lookingfor aConstructive,Faithful Way to Spend ...
Women's March in Pasadena & L.A. on January 21st
Rev. Sam Pullen's Installation
Aid Africa Scholarship and Summer Trip 2017
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Looking Ahead...
Save these dates:
Jan. 15th - Deadline for Aid African Uganda Trip Scholarship - see article below
Feb. 5th - Budget Forum for 2017 budget to be presented
Feb. 4th and 18th - Bad Weather Shelter Dates
Sunday Jan. 22nd - 3:00 p.m. Rev. Sam Pullen's Service of Installation
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Office Closed Monday January 16th
 In observance of the Federal holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. our church office will be closed on Monday January 16th.
The church will close its books for 2016 on January 15th so contact our Treasurer Barb Bonzo before Monday if you need to drop off a check or make a payment for 2016.
Pre-Order a Church T-Shirt
Membership Ministry has designed a church t-shirt for us and needs to know what sizes, styles and quantity to order. Please call or email the church office and let Nina know if you would like men's or women's cut, what size and number of t-shirts you would like. Kim Story is coordinating the order for the Ministry - email her if you have questions about the order or the design. Celebrate our church's ministry by ordering a shirt for a friend!
Budget Forum February 5th
The Budget Task Force continues to put together a budget for 2017 for the church. If you are able to pledge and have not done so, please contact the church office for a pledge card or email our treasurer Barb Bonzo and let her know your plans as soon as possible. On Sunday February 5th after worship, the Task Force will present the draft budget and invite comment and questions from the congregation - we meet to approve the Budget on Sunday February 12th after worship. All members are welcome to attend.
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Looking for a constructive, faithful way to spend inauguration day?
Join Beau Wammack (former Aspire music director) and his church to pray and help send a message of solidarity with Muslims at a Mosque on North Lake Avenue or Rev. Timothy Murphy to do the same at the Islamic Center of Southern California. See below.
"Then they came for me...."
Progressive Christians Pray in Solidarity with Muslims at Mosques
Inauguration Day, 1/20, 1 pm
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out-
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out-
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me-and there was no one left to speak for me.
Progressive Christians Uniting is mobilizing its network in solidarity and support for Muslims by attending mosques for Friday juma'a prayer on Inauguration Day, 1/20.
PCU will participate in an interfaith demonstration of solidarity and support at the Islamic Center of Southern California at 434 S Vermont in LA at 12:45. Members of First Congregational Church of LA will be present for juma'a prayers, as well. Contact: Rev. Timothy Murphy, revtimothymurphy@gmail.com
Northland Village Church, the Level Ground fellowship, and Pasadena-area progressive Christians will make a solidarity visit to Masjid Al-Taqwa mosque, 2181 N. Lake Avenue, Altadena. Contact: Beau Wammack,
bwammack@gmail.com
Progressive Christian students from the University of Southern California and the wider community will be at the Omar Masjid mosque at the corner of Exposition and Vermont in Los Angeles. Contact: Rev. Jim Burklo, jtburklo@yahoo.com
Progressive Christians will be present in solidarity at the Islamic Center of Irvine, 2 Truman St. Contact: Pastor Paige Eaves, pastorpaige@uumcirvine.org
Members from Brea Congregational United Church of Christ will pray in solidarity with their Muslim neighbors at the Islamic Institute of Orange County in Anaheim, 1220 N State College Blvd, at 1 pm. Contact: David This, davidthis@gmail.com - David This.
Progressive Christians and others from the local interfaith community, through People of Faith for Justice, will be present at the Islamic Society of the Central Coast's Mosque of Nasreen, 1136 Walnut St in San Luis Obispo. Contact: Gina Whitaker, uuspirit@me.com
The Progressive Christian Forum in Santa Cruz will be present at the Santa Cruz Islamic Center, 4401 Capitola Road suite 2. Contact: Robert Strayer, rstrayer@sbcglobal.net
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| People of many faiths came out in support of their Muslim neighbors at a 2015 event at Northhaven United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas. |
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Pasadena and Los Angeles Women's Marches Jan. 21st, 2017
Saturday January 21, 2017
at 8:00 AM
100 N Garfield Ave., Pasadena
This march is a pre-gathering for local folks; you may join the Los Angeles march by taking the Gold line down to Pershing Square.
From Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles, women are uniting at marches and rallies to stand together in solidarity for the protection of their rights, safety, health, and their families. Women's March Pasadena recognize and affirm that vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of the country and the community. The Pasadena Women's Rally in the Rotunda affirms that women's rights are human rights... "We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us. We support the movements that reflect our multiple and intersecting identities. We call on all people of good conscience to help unify our communities and ensure that women have parity and equity at all levels of our society. Join us!" Then, following the Rally on the Rotunda, march to the nearby Gold Line and head down to Los Angeles to join in the march from Pershing Square to LA City Hall and back again.
WOMEN'S MARCH LOS ANGELES
JANUARY 21, 2017: Downtown Los Angeles
Gather at 9:00 a.m. Walk begins promptly at 10:00 a.m. from Pershing Square
The Women's March is a national movement to unify and empower everyone who stands for human rights, civil liberties, and social justice for all.
We march to support and inspire each other and the nation to celebrate, honor and protect our diversity, freedom and human rights. We gather in community to find healing and strength through civility, and compassion. This is a non-partisan march. We welcome all people to join us as we unite locally and
nationally
, on January 21, 2017, to stand together in justice, respect and inclusion for all. This is only the beginning...
OUR MISSION We stand together in solidarity for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our families - recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country. In the spirit of democracy and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice who have come before us, we join in diversity to show our presence in numbers too great to ignore. We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us. We support the advocacy and resistance movements that reflect our multiple and intersecting identities. We call on all defenders of human rights to join us. This march is the first step towards unifying our communities, grounded in new relationships, to create change from the grassroots level up. We work peacefully while recognizing there is no
true peace without justice and equity for all.
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Sam Pullen Installation on Sunday January 22nd
You are cordially invited to attend Sam Pullen's installation as the settled pastor of the Los Alamitos United Church of Christ on Sunday Janaury 22nd at 3PM. Jake Pomeroy is preaching the installation sermon and others from our Association are involved with the service - come join us for a time of celebration and affirmation for Sam's work in the ministry.
The Central Association of the
Southern California Nevada Conference of the
United Church of Christ
Joyfully invites you to the Service of Installation
for
Rev. Samuel Pullen
Sunday, January 22, 2017 at 3 P.M.
"CELEBRATING GOD'S INCLUSIVE LOVE"
Click here for more information
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You are Invited to go to Uganda July 2017! See below for Scholarship offered.
 We are offering a trip for one FCC/((a)Spire member to travel  to Uganda with Aid Africa next summer. You will see beautiful Uganda, meet the amazing Aid Africa staff and participate in their projects in the rural communities; visit the source of the Nile, go on a safari through a national park, and enjoy scenic side trips to waterfalls and local shopping. We sent Meagan VanDeventer on the tour last summer and she had a wonderful time. Ask her to tell you all about it.
If you are a member of our church
(male or female) you are already eligible to take advantage of this great opportunity.
The Women's Legacy Fund Aid Africa Uganda Trip Fellowship provides $2,650 toward the cost of the trip.
A short Application must be submitted by January 15, 2017. Additional information about the trip, what you'll need and other costs can be found in the soon-to-be-updated Travel Brochure and the Visitors & Volunteers Tour Guide. If you have any questions about Aid Africa or this opportunity to travel to Uganda, ask Peter Keller, Irene Keller, Meagan VanDeventer, or Elizabeth Lanski.
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