From the Sr. Pastor's Desk | |
|
Rev. Art Cribbs, DMin
Sr. Pastor
| |
|
Summer is my favorite time of the year. The warmth of the Sun and the gentle, cool breeze of the ocean air combine to balance a pleasant experience in Southern California. After living in multiple cities across the United States, I have developed an appreciation for Mother Nature’s diversity of atmospheric and environmental conditions and experiences. The grandeur of God’s Creation allows us to feel, smell, touch, see, and hear the glorious, expansive reality of Divine presence. It would be a great tragedy if we were to overlook, ignore, dismiss, or fail to fully appreciate the significant presence of Divine companionship. It is also very unfortunate to take the marvelous reality of God’s Creation for granted.
There is a reason for God’s explicit instruction for every human being to love one another. We depend on each other for almost every aspect of our lives. We are born because two people share the intimacy of affection and produce a replication of themselves. When we reflect on the true value of human life and God’s intentional design of our formation and dependence on each other, then we can have a greater reverence for the diversity and divinity of human beings.
You are precious! That is so significant to understand, accept, appreciate, and ponder continually. In fact, with every rising Sun and the start of each new day, you have the opportunity to renew your relationship with God. Every morning presents a new beginning and expansion of your awareness and acceptance of the sanctity of every person’s life. It helps us put into perspective why we are given the basic instructions on how to live together. Human beings are not amebas. We are not designed to be fully independent. We are communal and depend on other people and the expanse of Nature for our very survival.
When we think deeply and meditate prayerfully about our purpose and reason for being alive, we begin to live with significance, clarity, greater understanding, acknowledged purpose, and more apparent appreciation for our existence. We can better appreciate God’s intentional arrangement of forming human life with an inner and overt dependency on other people. That’s why the Ten Commandments were issued so we can know our purpose and have a greater appreciation of God’s presence in every human being.
The warmth of the summer sun reminds us of God’s intentional design and divine order so we can pay closer attention to the interconnectedness of Creation. This is a time to relax, rest, take a vacation, have a picnic, and frolic in the Sun. This is when we can pay closer attention to people around us and share goodness in our hearts with one another. It’s summer! Let’s play and pray and honor God with our lives by going outdoors and engaging with Nature’s array of wonderful adventures. To God be the glory!
| |
Pastor Installation Service | |
|
Sankofa: Bringing Back a Pastor and Moving Forward
May 19, 2024, was the formal installation of the Reverend Doctor Arthur Lawrence Cribbs, Jr. as the twenty-third pastor of Christian Fellowship Congregational Church of San Diego United Church of Christ. The installation theme, “Sankofa: Going Back in Order to Move Forward,” was particularly relevant for everyone. Rev. Dr. Arthur L. Cribbs, Jr. had been our leader from 1999-2007, and Christian Fellowship was his first congregation. After more than two years of self-study and reviewing applications, the pastoral search committee was reminded that God had a plan for us. Rev. Dr. Art had thought he would retire, but God let him know he needed to return to Christian Fellowship and join us as we healed from the Pandemic disruptions and were making plans for a faith-filled future.
Our service of celebration and renewed covenant was in two parts: a worship/praise/celebration for our reunion and the installation ritual through which officers of the Southern Association of the Southern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ officially approved our congregational selection and a new covenant with Rev. Dr. Cribbs, Christian Fellowship, and the Southern Association.
The celebration was true to our mission and heritage, past and future. We gave praise through song and dance: processing in on “Siyahamba,” a Zulu song the title of which translates as “We are Marching,” by Sister Beverly Hudson’s rhythmic dance interpretation of “Let Us Worship Him,” and several renditions by Ms. Camilia Bell, a frequently invited singer from our community. We reaffirmed an understanding of “Sankofa,” an Akan Twi word translated as “to retrieve.” Still, we interpret it basically as “knowing and cherishing our history and heritage by understanding our present selves, understanding the world in which we live, and working to improve ourselves and the world. The scriptures of Psalm 23 and John 14:1-6; the presentation by Mrs. Arlene Smith, executive director of Village of Promise; the testimony of Mr. Desmond Lamont Payton, whose incarceration led to his redemption and consecration of being a Healed Person who helps Heal People embodied our commitment. Cameo appearances by Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria represented the public servants we have formerly successfully employed and their promise of continued cooperation.
The second sacred part was covenant-making. Rev. Dr. Cribbs’s covenant included his promise to “serve this church faithfully, preaching and teaching the word of God, administering the sacraments and fulfilling the pastoral office.” Christian Fellowship promised “to labor with him in the gospel's ministry and give him due honor and support.” The officers and the (many) members of the Southern Association of the United Church of Christ who had come to participate in this installation service confirmed that they had gathered here as “a sign of [their] covenant and in celebration of our mutual ministry in Christ’s name.”
Afterward, we all enjoyed a lively and delicious reception.
This occasion was profoundly moving and affirmative because it was an all-church effort. We are grateful to the volunteer committee, the individuals, and the ministries who contributed time and talent and to all those who contributed time, talent, and treasure.
| |
|
Submitted by,
Rita Monteiro, Ph.D.
Co-Chair, Ordination Committee
On, and Acting Chair, Member in Discernment Committee
| |
|
ORDINATION OF REVEREND MONICA O. BRADLEY
Christian Fellowship Congregational Church of San Diego, United Church of Christ (UCC) held an Ordination for the then Minister Monica O. Bradley on Sunday, April 28, 2024, at 3 pm. Reverend Bradley earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at San Diego State University. She worked for over 20 years in human services before answering her call to a full-time vocation in ministry. During her human services career, she was a recruiter, director of programs, certified trainer in nonviolent crisis intervention, and trained in trauma-informed care.
After answering her call, Monica became a Member of Discernment, returned to school, and earned a Master of Divinity from Brite Divinity School with a certificate in Sexual and Gender Justice. As a student at Brite, she served as an Admissions Ambassador, Research Assistant, and Secretary-Treasurer of Brite Black Seminarians. She was recognized as an outstanding student, receiving five faculty book awards and a Walker Ministerial Scholarship. She also earned a Certificate in Women and Gender Studies from Texas Christian and was an inductee into the National Women’s Studies Honor Society.
As a minister, Monica served as a Student Pastor at New Church United Church of Christ in Dallas, Texas; a Sabbatical Supply Minister at University City United Church of Christ in San Diego, California; and an Assistant Minister for Digital Worship at University Christian Church in Fort Worth, Texas. Minister Bradley was a founding member of the Racial Justice Collaborative in the Dallas, Fort Worth area.
Reverend Bradley was Ordained by the Southern California Nevada Conference (SCNC) of the United Church of Christ. She currently serves as the Director of Admissions at Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, and as the Senior Associate Pastor of Justice at New Church United Church of Christ in Dallas, Texas.
The Worship and Ordination service started with a drum call, during which Monica and the SCNC Clergy marched in and took their places. Then, the band “New Vision of Praise” led the congregation in singing “We’ve Come This Far by Faith.” Libations were poured, ancestors were remembered, scriptures were read, and the Speaker was introduced. The Speaker was our past Pastor, Reverend Dr. J. Lee Hill Jr., who started Monica on her discernment journey. He gave an outstanding message.
Transitional music led the church into the Ordination Service, a ritual ceremony performed by our church and the SCNC. The service ended with a Laying on of hands and a robbing. Dr. Michael Miller from Brite Divinity School eloquently explained the purpose and meaning of the robe and the robing ceremony, capturing the focused attention of the entire church. Reverend Monica Bradley served communion, and the whole church sang “Let the Church Say Amen” as we recessed out to the reception for Reverend Monica O. Bradley, held in a tent behind the church. All were joyous and filled with the Holy Spirit.
| |
Do Dates Make a Difference | |
Submitted By Frances Foster | |
|
Do Dates Make a Difference;
or Musing on Juneteenth as a
Federal Holiday
Lately, I’ve been thinking. Juneteenth seems successful commercially. Barbeques and parades increase the profits of businesses already going wild with Juneteenth accessories. Media makes a big deal of Juneteenth. Local news outlets show photos or present video clips of folk explaining what Juneteenth means or used to tell when it was a community event. History.com defines it as commemorating the “effective end of slavery in the United States.” Most people say Juneteenth is a shortened form of June 19, 1865, the day “slaves” in Texas learned they were free. But these are not facts.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not anti-Juneteenth. Any time someone bound, subjugated, or deprived of their human rights regains their life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness is an excellent time to celebrate. But I have long wondered why we celebrate the day a few enslaved people were the last to be told they were free—even when they were not accessible in truth or fact. And even more bewildering is why Abraham Lincoln and his Emancipation Proclamation get the credit.
Do I need to correct my dates?
-
June 19, 1862, US Congress prohibited slavery in all current and future United States territories (not those already enslaved in Union states).
-
September 22, 1862. Lincoln proclaimed that if the Confederate states kept fighting, that as “a necessary war measure” and “upon military necessity,” he would issue an order freeing all their “slaves.” (The President of the Confederate States of America was Jefferson Davis, not Abraham Lincoln.)
- January 1, 1863. Lincoln’s executive order that we know as “the Emancipation Proclamation,” declaring “all persons held as slaves within” the states and parts of states named in the Proclamation were then and forever free. (Did not make slavery illegal.)
-
June 19, 1865. Union General Gordon Granger told some enslaved people in Galveston, Texas that according to his General Order No. 3 all slaves in Texas were free. (Texas was still fighting the Civil War.)
-
December 18, 1865. 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution outlawing slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for a crime went into effect.
-
Aug. 20, 1866. President Andrew Johnson ended the Civil War officially when he signed the Proclamation – Declaring that Peace, Order, Tranquility, and Civil Authority Now Exists in and Throughout the Whole of the United States of America. (Earlier he had declared fighting over everywhere but Texas)
|  | |
|
The Emancipation Proclamation affected red states. The “slaves” in the aqua states were Union and not affected.
Am I the only one who wonders why Juneteenth is so popular these days?
| |
Mystery Person:What's-his/her/their-name? | |
Submitted By Frances Foster | |
|
I hope you enjoyed our last newsletter’s mystery person and discovered it was Melvin Scott!
Like Brother Melvin (and so it appears, most of us), this issue’s mystery person is not a San Diego native. Like so many of us, s/he’s from a small country town known only to a favored few; this time, it is Lucy, Tennessee. And, is it a coincidence that s/he comes to us courtesy of the United States Military?
Our mystery person moved to San Diego a few decades ago. As did many of us, being in a new community, away from extended family, s/he was “church shopping” when invited by a member to visit Christian Fellowship. Having grown up in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, s/he liked our Afro-centric but relatively structured, quiet Afro-centric services. The UCC form of congregational controlled leadership was a new but exciting aspect. S/he kept coming back, but it took a long time before s/he joined. As for so many of us, the deciding factor for them was the people themselves. When asked who their role models were, their list was so long that I couldn’t list them all. However, they include Aary Armstrong, Barbara Geiger, Bettie Jackson, Hezekiah Taylor, the Claytons, and the Barnhills. I chose these because they are clues as to how long s/he’s been a member of this congregation, and they are reminders of how crucial individual evangelism has been and must continue to be for Christian Fellowship Congregational Church of San Diego, UCC, to be a Christian fellowship (or should I say “family?”) [1]
Growing up on a farm in rural Tennessee, s/he had few playmates outside of their six siblings and occasional visits with cousins. No childhood is idyllic, but they were considered “spoiled” by some people. “Our parents didn’t raise their voices to us. They never gave us whippings. We had very few chores. I spent much time climbing trees and walking along Lucy Road, shaded by its wonderful woods on either side.” Going to school was great, not just for academics, but for the company of other kids and the feeling of being safe and cared about by the teachers. So, with desegregation came some of the most challenging days of their lives. They were bussed to the white school and endured the hostility, slights, and violence that so many young children did during that era. Theirs was even more traumatic because a cousin who made the mistake of liking a white girl went to visit her once – and never returned. Despite their family’s reputation as Christian, hardworking, farm-owning, long-time, and “respected” residents, the accusation was that the boy was killed as he tried to steal a pig.
Our mystery person – again, greatly influenced by the military -- lived in several places before buying the first home in Spring Valley. Before our mystery person came to San Diego, their favorite place to live was in a small town in Washington state. S/he loved walking in the quiet beauty of its countryside and enjoying the lake view from their porch. When desiring more action, s/he enjoyed taking the ferry from Bremerton to Seattle. But, s/he also thought, “I am too young to stop here.” So, instead of settling there, San Diego – and Christian Fellowship --got lucky.
Our mystery person has been a fulcrum of the church, serving tirelessly on virtually every committee and volunteering for many projects. Volunteering here is one of the ways s/he serves. Like most “retired” people, s/he stays seriously busy. S/he serves on several boards, including the George L. Stevens Senior Center, the Malcolm X Library, and the Performing Arts Center. S/he is taking singing lessons and has joined the California division of a national choral group. S/he is learning to play the piano. S/he is keenly attuned to physical and emotional wellness and enjoys regular massages and chiropractic care. Our mystery person is another highly visible congregant, but can you guess who it is?
[1] Confession/Testimony from your Contributor. I write these columns to increase and encourage our understanding of WHO Christian Fellowship is, HOW we came to be who we are, and WHAT beautiful resources we have to grow, nurture, and develop our ministries. As always happens when I try to follow God’s promptings, I am blessed with greater and greater appreciation for my Christian Fellowship family and the amazing possibilities God has given to this church.
| |
Congratulations Achiever Torrien! | |
|
May God continue to order your footsteps.
Love,
The Lewis Family
| |
Member Spotlight: Sydney Thomas | |
|
Sydney Thomas was selected as an Outstanding Alumni for Francis Parker School.
She is among the first two students in Francis Parker's history to be selected for this award. The award is given to alumni who embody the ideals of intellect, initiative, and social responsibility, which are the essence of a Parker education. They exhibit the school’s core values through excellence and selfless service in their careers and lives. They commit to their community and strive toward local and national recognition.
Sydney Thomas is the founder and General Partner of Symphonic Capital, a venture capital firm that invests in companies that aim to improve the lives of the 99%. She has created a network invested in this space, profiles these companies, launched a newsletter where she writes about them, and organized events where she organized people who care deeply about the impact these companies can have on our society.
| |
|
The DEIC Power100 is a first-of-its-kind list and awards ceremony recognizing individuals and firms in alternative asset management that deliver exemplary investment results, demonstrate industry leadership, and contribute positively to closing gender, wealth, health education, and other social and economic equity gaps. Sydney was selected as one of its recipients in 2024.
Sydney Thomas founded Symphonic Capital to make pre-seed and seed-stage investments in tech and digital healthcare companies, which she believes can help close the health and wealth equity gaps in underserved communities. She began making a name for herself as the senior investment professional at Precursor Venture VC before becoming a firm advisor. During her time at Precursor, Sydney played a pivotal role as the earliest member of the team, contributing to the firm's growth alongside its founder, Charles Hudson. During her time at Precursor, the firm expanded from $3 million assets under management to well over $100 million, increased its portfolio from AU M to making 100 million in a UM, and increased its portfolio from 10 companies to over 200. She initiated her fund within a challenging fundraising environment. However, Thomas has secured solid institutional support and investments from other GPs. She was recognized as a future leader among leaders.
| |
Member Spotlight: Marne Foster | |
Supporting Events in the Church & Community | |
|
In the News... Flood Victims scramble to find housing...
https://youtu.be/PviuyPnveGw?si=jpo0aBbgQRqX-mNh
Dear Community Leaders and Residents,
Please join us on Monday, July 1, 2024, at 5:30 p.m. at the Jackie Robinson YMCA, where we will continue our focus on addressing the needs of our community affected by the floods. In addition, we will discuss the following: Where are we in terms of who needs help? Call to Action Clean up and Repair Volunteer Service, Flood Relief Committees, and Breakout groups.
In Person Meeting Details:
- Date: Monday, July 1, 2024
- Time: 5:30 pm
- Location: Jackie Robinson YMCA - Community Room
151 YMCA Way, San Diego, CA 92102
Zoom Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85234902538?pwd=UERraU54MTZ5b0hqUEswQU5pcXJDZz09
Meeting ID: 852 3490 2538
Passcode: 127665
Disaster Intake Form
You will be transported to the Community Recovery Team Intake Form.
We serve only the County of San Diego, Calif
https://communityrecoveryteam.org/disaster-intake-form/
If you would like to volunteer on a committee, please sign up using the following link.
Fred Sotelo
619-250-2800
toltecone@gmail.com
SOCIAL NETWORKS
http://www.facebook.com/fredsotelo
http://twitter.com/fredsotelo
| |
|
Greetings D4 Community and Partners,
This is a friendly reminder that UCP is hosting our Joint Town Council Meeting THIS WEEK, Wednesday, July 3rd, from 5:30 PM to 7 PM.
Kevin Mattson, CEO of San Ysidro Health, and Selena Ellis-Vizcarra, Senior VP of Operations at the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, will discuss San Ysidro Health's pending purchase of the Joe & Vi Jacobs Center.
District 4 Joint Town Council Meeting
Date: Wednesday, July 3rd, 2024
Time: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Zoom meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89850346765
Meeting ID: 898 5034 6765
Also, could you save the date for our Coffee & Community Pop-Up at Brooks Huffman Plaza on Saturday, August 31, from 9 AM to 12:30 PM?
See you Wednesday!
Urban Collaborative Project CDC
San Diego, CA 92114
www.ucproject.org
| | | | |
