WORSHIP SCHEDULE

9 AM: 

• Live Children's Religious Education Service on Zoom

9:30 AM:

• Livestreamed and in-person service
• Nursery and Toddler Childcare
• Pre-K and Elementary Religious Education

11:15 AM:

• Livestreamed and in-person service
• Nursery and Toddler Childcare
• Pre-K, Elementary and Middle School Religious Education

Contact Marion Hirsch for link for Children's Religious Education Service on Zoom

and for information about Sunday evening High School Youth programming.

UPCOMING SERVICES

October 6

“The Courage to Forgive”

Rev. Thom Belote, preaching

This Sunday, we’ll continue our fall series on Courage. This sermon will consider the courage it takes to forgive and the courage required to ask for forgiveness.

October 13

“When It’s Not Eccentric. When It’s Evil, When It’s Ill”

Rev. Thom Belote, preaching

The title of this sermon comes from the title of a sermon given by my childhood minister (in 1983!) His sermon, like mine, deals with how – as individuals and as a society – we should regard ideas, beliefs, and worldviews that aren’t just wrong, but are hurtful and hateful and destructive.

October 20

“Who Are You Calling a Witch?”

Jenn Kapranov, preaching

In this service, we will consider why feminine power is so often viewed with suspicion and fear. How do we counter negative stereotypes? Let’s have fun imagining what it could be like if we lived in a society that embraced a broader perspective of feminine power.

October 27

Day of Remembrance Multigenerational Service

Led by Rev. Thom, Jenn Kapranov, Marion Hirsch, and Kat Good

Join us this Sunday for our annual Day of Remembrance service as we remember those we’ve loved and lost.

UU THE VOTE

UU THE VOTE FAMILY PARTY -- SAT OCT 12 AT 3 PM

Looking for ways YOUR FAMILY can participate in UU the Vote, the nationwide Unitarian Universalist movement for voter engagement, and YOU can have some social time with other parents?

Come to the UU the Vote Family Engagement Party on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12 from 3-4:30 PM.

• Help encourage democracy!
• Make posters, write postcards, and learn how to canvass your neighbors!
• Have fun!
• Meet other families!
• Quality snacks provided!
• Supervised playground time for kids while parents visit with each other!
• Childcare available for nursery-preschool kids!

Please RSVP by Wednesday, October 9.

CAN'T MAKE IT or EAGER TO GET STARTED? Please reach out to Wendy Jebens or stop by the UU the Vote table during Sunday Socials to pick up a Family Voting Engagement Card, kid-friendly postcard packets containing only 5 postcards (very doable), and/or neighborhood canvassing information.

Thanks to everyone who signed up or volunteered for the successful UU the Vote Launch on Sunday, September 8! As a swing state, we can really make a difference by helping people to vote. As of Sept. 15, we had 127 individuals who signed up to let us know what activity they are interested in doing. We're well on our way to the goal of 250 church members taking action for the election – that means YOU!

We have already exceeded our goal of writing 2,500 post cards! Learn more about actions you can take, upcoming events, voting rights organizations you can donate to, and to report your actions.



UU the Vote will be at Social Socials after each service from now until November 5. Come by to learn more about opportunities to take action. Our church Election Night Watch Party will start at 8 PM on Nov 5! We plan to do an in-person party and a Zoom party. Help is needed to coordinate the event, particularly the Zoom party. Contact Lynn Holbein if you would like to help with the party.

Exploring Membership Class:

Super-Session (Parts I & II combined)

Sunday, October 6, 2024

1-3:30 PM

WANT TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH

(OR, JUST LEARN MORE)?

Join Rev. Thom & Rachel Rose to "Explore Membership"!

To become a Member of The Community Church, one must:

• Take a Class (it's fun, easy, and worthwhile even for the retired UU ministers who've attended!)
• Sign the Membership Book
• Make a Pledge

WANT TO JOIN US? The class provides an introduction to Unitarian Universalism and our congregation, the meaning of Membership, provides an opportunity for reflecting on our spiritual journeys, and gives folks a chance to meet others who are newer to The Community Church.... and Rev. Thom and Rachel Rose would love for YOU to join them!

PLEASE RSVP WITH RACHEL ROSE. Childcare provided with RSVP!

CAN'T MAKE IT THIS TIME? Let Rachel Rose know, so she can let you know about upcoming opportunities.

If you have already taken the Exploring Membership class and feel ready to join,  you can sign the Membership Book in person with Rachel Rose on any Sunday morning, or with Rev. Thom by appointment.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT:

The Marquez Shaad Family

Jason Shaad (he/him), Trilce Marquez (she, ella), Seneca Marquez-Shaad (he/him), Kahlo Marquez-Shaad (he/him), Cora Marquez-Shaad (she/her)

Trilce was born in Venezuela, grew up in Chapel Hill, attended college in Asheville, and spent 12 years in New York City as a public school teacher. Jason was born and raised in Kansas, attended KU and moved to New York City to teach and eventually lead schools. They met in New York and moved back to Chapel Hill to raise their children: Seneca, Kahlo and Cora.

Jason says The Community Church “immediately felt like a community that we wanted to grow in our lives. Having time to connect with the deeper aspects of our lives, as well as with a welcoming, vibrant community, is something we are excited about each week. The children’s programs - from Rainbow and Water Circles in Religious Education to the Holiday Pageant - convinced us that this was a great place for kids to learn and grow. We're usually jetting out to get the kids snacks/lunch, but we're always looking at ways to be involved in justice and community work. It is important to live into our values, and we see this as a place of both personal growth and of commitment to doing good, and sometimes difficult, work in pursuit of love and justice.

Welcome, Jason, Trilce, Seneca, Kahlo and Cora!

HELP MAKE SUNDAY MORNINGS HAPPEN - SERVE AS A GREETER!

Our church is busy, and we need people to welcome people - both newcomers and longtime members - into our church on Sunday morning... and we have some Greeter spaces open over the next few weeks! Please sign up, and help welcome folks into our community. Please join us when you can for this simple, but important work. Thanks so much - your help is appreciated!

GOING, GOING, BUT SOON TO BE GONE!

Bidding is open for the church auction, but ends Sat. Oct. 19 at noon!

With more than 225 items on the auction site, spirited bidding is well underway. Find great choices in 20+ categories, with donations that include:

• original art
• Merritt’s Grill gift card
• UNC basketball tickets
• voice lessons
• knit socks
• quilted place mats
• Indonesian dinner
• baked goods
• Myrtle Beach vacation
• Chef in Your Home
• handyman services, and much more!

Bid now. Bid again. Don't miss out on your favorite items.

Bidding ends at noon, Sat., Oct. 19.

Be part of the fun, help build our church community, and raise needed funds!

Check the Auction page on the church website for links to the auction login page and instructions.

Need additional help/information? Email the Auction Team: Kathleen Farinola, Joan O'Brien & Mary George!

TAKE A SACRED PAUSE FOR COURAGE!

THURS OCT 10 -- 7 PM & SAT OCT 19 -- 10 AM

Join us for A “sacred pause“ with reflections, readings, music & meditation, guided discussion & sharing, and refreshments. Take a moment to step out of the busyness of your life. Join us as we gather for a collective sacred pause. May we create courage in community!

“The Masks We Wear” Thursday, October 10 - 7-8 PM

Rev. Alison Eskildsen with Danny Gotham, guitar

Halloween is a time we’re given permission to wear a mask or costume, hiding who we really are. But what about the masks we wear the rest of the year? What would encourage us to remove these masks and reveal our true selves? .

“Finding Our Spiritual Center” Saturday, October 19 - 10-11 AM

Rev. Jenn Kapranov with Josh Socolar, piano

We often consider practices for becoming centered in our bodies. We also consider practices to become more centered emotionally.

Registration: Sign up on the church website is encouraged for all of the sessions. A donation of $5 is suggested for the dinners on September 19 and November 14. For questions, or additional information, please contact Kyle Terrell.

WE BUILD ON FOUNDATIONS WE DID NOT LAY!

“We build on foundations we did not lay. We warm ourselves by fires we did not light. We sit in the shade of trees we did not plant. We drink from wells we did not dig. We profit from persons we did not know. We are ever bound in community.”

- Rev. Dr. Peter S. Raible

Learn how the Community Church Endowment Fund helps us continue to uphold the mission of our church, and how you can help leave a lasting mark on our future.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with any of the Endowment Committee members: Charles Lee (Chair) - Mary Ellen Adams - Peter Hendee – Ginger Long - Ed Chaney - Glenn Davis (Board Liaison)

COMMUNITY CHURCH CONCERTS PRESENTS COUNTRY GONGBANG OCT.4!

Community Church Concerts will launch the 2024-25 concert season with South Korea's unique bluegrass band, Country GongBang, Fri., Oct. 4 at 7:30 PM. The band name, rendered in Korean as 컨트리공방, roughly translates to "Country Studio Performance", or "Country Study Show". We discovered this unique, talented band at IBMA'S 2023 World of Bluegrass in Raleigh and FELL IN LOVE! Help us launch the season and fill our seats for this beloved church fundraiser!

And...Looking ahead: Kruger Brothers: Dec. 6; Gibson Brothers: Jan. 4; Henhouse Prowlers: Feb. 8! Season passes and single concert tix available.

NOTE OUR NEW START TIME: 7:30 PM

Want to volunteer? EMAIL CHERYL DIEGEL

Questions? EMAIL JANE PROVAN

SIDE WITH LOVE

EMMA'S REVOLUTION CONCERT - COMING OCT. 11, 7:30 PM

With great excitement the Side with Love Team will host Emma's Revolution for a church concert on Fri. Oct. 11 at 7:30. This Get Out the Vote Benefit Concert is for Rides to the Polls / Disability Rights NC and Down Home North Carolina. If you have heard Emma's Revolution before you know you will not want to miss this exciting & uplifting evening of music. If you haven't heard them, please join us for a great concert which will benefit two important causes!

Tickets are $22 in advance, $25 at the door

If you can do more, please consider a Sponsor Ticket for $45 and join us for a Meet and Greet with the artists at 6:30 PM before the concert. 

Or livestream for $20!

Tickets:  Tickets for Emma's Revolution October 11

Questions? Contact Ginger Long

CHAPEL HILL RALLY - 1ST DAY VOTING & VOTING FOR CHOICE

Community Church members are invited by our Reproductive Justice team to join with 12 other area congregations to rally in downtown Chapel Hill. We will gather from 10 AM-12PM on Thursday, Oct. 17, the first day of early voting, at the Peace and Justice Plaza at 179 E. Franklin St. (in front of the Post Office). Our church is one of the founding members of Interfaith Voices for Reproductive Freedom, which is sponsoring the Rally for Voting & Choice. We will remind people of Early Voting & how reproductive healthcare is on the NC and national ballots. We will hand out a flyer with basic voting info. The rally will be across the street from one of the early voting sites. We are stronger together. Bring a poster promoting voting.

QUUILTERS

We meet on Saturday morning, October 5, 9-11:30 AM, in the Gathering Room. We are turning our attention to making placemats for Meals on Wheels participants. Check-in time is 9:30 AM. We love to see what else y’all are working on. Fabric, batting, and some kits are available to work on at home.



SEE OUR WEBPAGE FOR MORE INFO

SUPPORT IMMIGRANT JUSTICE THIS MONTH

Our "I Walk With Immigrants" awareness campaign is in full swing, and we hope you are logging miles to recognize the challenging journeys people face in hope of a new life. Before they even reached our border, our asylum-seeking families walked an average of 1900 miles. And then, the work of navigating our daunting immigration system began.

Our church started the Immigrant Justice Initiative at what felt like a time of great peril to immigrants. As we face an election that threatens a return of that peril, it's good to recognize the difference we've made in the lives of these families. Stop by our table at the Sunday Socials and look at the list of milestones achieved, from finding jobs and reuniting with family members to buying a first home. So many of you have joined our efforts, helping in ways large and small. We could not have achieved this without your work, and your generosity. The offering on Oct. 20 will go toward continuing to help strengthen our nation of immigrants.

NONFICTION BOOK DISCUSSION FOR OCTOBER

On Saturday, October 19 from 10:30 AM to 12 PM in the Living Room, the Nonfiction Readers will discuss Suleika Jaouad’s Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted. The two kingdoms in this case are the well and the sick. The author was in her early 20s and starting a job as a journalist when she was diagnosed with a form of leukemia that has only about a 35% survival rate. More than just a narrative of her travails and treatment, this memoir is largely an accounting of her non-medical—psychological—recovery, helped by a 15,000-mile road trip. Her introspection and ponderings come across very well and are meaningful to all of us. Peter Aitken will lead our discussion. New members and drop-ins are welcome. Contact Ed Steffes to ask questions or to be placed on the group’s email list.

HIKE THE ENO RIVER AND ENJOY LUNCH WITH WOMEN'S CIRCLE!

Attention Women of Community Church! Join us for a hike on October 9 at 10 AM. RAINDATE: October 10. The hike will be 2 miles along an accessible, paved trail that is by the Eno River in Hillsborough. We will meet near Weaver Street Market and walk to Gold’s Park. If enough people want to do a faster and slightly longer hike, we will do two groups. We will meet afterwards at Weaver Street Market where you can partake in their hot bar, salad bar or other foods. Led by Janet Stevens and Jane Provan. RSVP below and please indicate if you would like to carpool and arrangements will be made accordingly. See you on the trail!

SIGN UP FOR DINNERS IN HOMES OCTOBER 6 AND 13

Sign up to either host a potluck dinner at your home or join others for dinner at their home.

Sign up after each service during the Sunday Socials on October 6 and 13. Questions? Contact Marc Silling.

The Community Church of Chapel Hill Unitarian Universalist

106 Purefoy Road

Chapel Hill, NC 27514

919-942-2050

c3huu.org