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It's Not About The Religion,
It's About The Relationship!
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Happy Thursday, Church!
I hope you are finding ways to stay cool. We are heatin' up people! I must say, what was really, "cool" about this past weekend was not only getting to return to you after three months, it was also discovering that The Rev. Dr. Brandon Kertson had "grown" the church by 20%. (That was actually Freddie's observation). We had 91 precious folks in worship. I also was floored at the number of new folks that have found their way to this place. Thank you Pastor "B." Maybe, I should go away more often .... hehehe.
This is an important week for our country. It was 25 years ago, tomorrow, that our country suffered attacks that left thousands dead, and many more thousands since that day from the toxic air at Ground Zero. Most of us can tell you where we were, what we were doing, who was with us on September 11, 2001. It was a time of great fear. Churches across the country held prayer vigils and services, attempting to comfort a nation. Over the years, we still remember, but maybe not with so much emotion. But this year ... we commemorate the 25 year anniversary of this horrific reality. For a quarter of a century, we have lived with new realities of what much of the world lives with day to day. It is my prayer that even though we will remember with grief ... that we also remember with gratitude; gratitude to God for God's presence and gratitude for our first responders on that day (and for our first responders even today).
Sunday morning, we will head into a sermon series of sorts. "Back to the Basics... the Foundations of Discipleship." Our scripture this Sunday is from Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus. Ephesians 1:11-23. I encourage you to click on the link and read this letter for yourself before Sunday. I believe that it is a great place for us to begin our "Post Sabbatical Reboot."
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I love being your pastor!
Holding you close and lifting you high!
Pastor Greg
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God is Nothing But Love
I get the privilege of leading some worship through music at the family camp my wife Kendra is facilitating this weekend for the church she is a pastor at, Kensington Community Church, UCC. We will be doing a new song by Porter’s Gate from the new album “Companion Songs” they recently released. The song has been turning through my head regularly so I thought I’d share it with you this week and hopefully we’ll find a place to incorporate it on a Sunday soon. The lyrics are simple, they say “God is nothing but love, God is nothing but love, Dare to give all for love, Give yourself without fear, God is nothing but love.” It reminds me of 1 John 4:19 that says we love because God first loved us.
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May you experience the love of God this week at that is at the very heart of God’s character and the life we try to live. Here is the
Pastor Brandon
| | San Diego wirelettuce is usually a bit more wire than lettuce. It's initial lance shaped, 3 inch long leaves quickly wilt and fall away, leaving it twiggy for most of the year. Depending on the time of year, it can look like any of the three images above. | | San Diego wirelettuce is found up and down the coast of San Diego county, more dense along the coastline and becoming more spare towards the east, as can be seen in the map below. Each colored dot on the map indicates a spot where someone observed the plant and reported it to the website, Calflora.org, which can be a helpful resource for locating native plants. | | |
Getting Aid to Nepal
Before our lovely Cathy Evans left for India, she shared two suggestions for getting money directly to the Nepali people impacted by the devastating floods.
Conscious Connections Foundation, along with its local partner Conscious Connections Nepal, has mobilized to provide immediate disaster relief following the catastrophic August 2026 flash floods and landslides. Because the foundation has a long-standing, deep-rooted infrastructure in Nepal focused on rural healthcare and education, they are pivoting their network to deliver direct aid to impacted communities.
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Hands on Global is working with Instituto Dharma. HOG colleague and friend, Dr. Karina Oliani of Brazil, has a long and profound connection to Nepal. Following the devastating 2015 earthquake, she helped mobilize assistance for communities there. Her humanitarian organization, Instituto Dharma, grew from that commitment and later helped build a school in the Nepali village of Patle. Today, she is in direct contact with her Nepali Sherpa guide and local partners, gathering information about what families need right now, and what they will need in the difficult months of recovery ahead.
Hands On Global stands with Karina, Instituto Dharma, and the people of Nepal. To assist the Nepali people, you may donate to Hands on Global and reference the Nepal Flood.
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Our Church’s Wider Mission Special Offering
Greetings from the Outreach Ministry
Thank you to our Church, family and friends for your generous gifts of food for our very own pantry here at CCP. Your Gifts will bring smiles and full tummies to those that need a little extra help. Thank you so much.
For the month of September, please prayerfully consider supporting our Church’s Wider Mission with a special mission offering to be divided among the United Church of Christ’s Special Mission Offerings and Basic Support.
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Our Church’s Wider Mission Basic Support provides funding from congregations for Conferences and the national ministries of the UCC.
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Neighbors in Need supports ministries of justice and compassion throughout the US including the Council for American Indian Ministry and the UCC’s Justice and Witness Ministries.
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One Great Hour of Sharing responds to humanitarian needs in the world and carries God’s message of love and hope to people in crisis. OGHS provides sources of clean water, food, education, health care, micro loans, disaster preparedness and more.
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The Christmas Fund supports the charitable arm of the Pension Board with direct financial support of those who serve the church and are facing difficulties.
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Strengthen the Church reflects the shared commitment of people across the UCC to cooperatively support leadership development, new churches, youth ministry and innovation in existing congregations.
These special mission offerings change lives inside and outside of the United Church of Christ. Together, they create a network of support that demonstrates the Church in action, loving the world that God loves.
Please prayerfully consider how you can help these missions. Just indicate “Mission Offering” on your check or online contribution. Thank you for helping the Community Church of Poway support 5 for 5!
God’s Blessings
The Outreach Ministry
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Adult Scripture Review
On Sundays, following worship in the fireside room!
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Books and More: August Reading
Books and More is reading Tracy Chevalier's “The Glassmaker” this August.
This novel is an imaginative telling of the art glass making through the centuries on the island of Murano, 1 mi away from the city of Venice. Tracy Chevalier blends history, the Murano and Venetian cultures, the role of women, family, the essence of life, death, love and all of this with one family at the center of it.
You are invited to join this wonderful group of ladies every Tuesday, in the Fireside Room at 10 a.m.
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Centering Prayer
Tuesdays at 6:30 PM
Contact Colleen Clementson at powclem@yahoo.com or on
her cell at 858-663-6584, for the ZOOM invite
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10 Principles of Disability Justice:
Principle #10
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This is the tenth and final principle of disability justice.
There's a word used in the original version of this principle that you may not be familiar with: bodymind. It's a word used in disability studies to point out that the body and the mind cannot be separated, how the things that affect our bodies also affect our minds and vice versa. (Source)
Plain Language Version
"We Make the World Better: Our community includes people from lots of places, abilities, learning styles, cultures and ways of being. We fight for justice any time someone is being harmed. We work together to make sure no one is left behind. This is called Collective Liberation."
Original Version
"Collective Liberation: We move together as people with mixed abilities, multiracial, multi-gendered, mixed class, across the sexual spectrum, with a vision that leaves no bodymind behind. This is disability justice. We honor the longstanding legacies of resilience and resistance which are the inheritance of all of us whose bodies and minds will not conform. Disability justice is not yet a broad based popular movement. Disability justice is a vision and practice of what is yet-to-be, a map that we create with our ancestors and our great-grandchildren onward, in the width and depth of our multiplicities and histories, a movement towards a world in which every body and mind is known as beautiful." Source
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Thanks for reading, y'all. If you need to contact me, feel free to reach out at the email address listed below.
Until next time,
dez
pronouns: they/them
dez@ccpucc.org
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