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Friday Email - 30 AUG 2013

Julia Mackintosh
Congratulation to Jaci, Tam, and Jonathan Westbrook
Food Bags Due this Sunday
Forum Resumes this Sunday, Sept. 1
Taizé’ Worship
Welcoming Sunday
Fall Church Retreat
Keeping Homeless Families Together
Voter Registration Applications
Voter Registration Drive
Sept. 8 Rich Park Voter Registration Help Needed
Youth Parent Retreat
Launch of New CUCC Website


Julia Mackintosh
Julia Mackintosh, frequent attender of Forum at CUCC, died last Saturday, Aug 24, surrounded by her family.  The memorial service will be on September 14, at 2:00pm, at Community United Church of Christ.  To view her memorial page on the Cremation Society of the Carolinas' webpage, go to:
http://www.memorialsolutions.com/sitemaker/memsol.cgi?user_id=1070802

Congratulation to Jaci, Tam, and Jonathan Westbrook!
Jaci Clayton and her Godson Jonathan Westbrook actively participated in CUCC prior to moving back to the Washington DC area to rejoin Jaci's partner/Jonathan's mother Dieu Tham Westbrook.  With the legalization of same gender marriage in Maryland, Jaci and Tam will become legally married on Friday.  Tam is completing the requirements for promotion to major in the army and Jaci is working in real estate and property management.  They send their warm regards to CUCC and hope to move back to the triangle when Jonathan finishes high school.

Food Bags Due This Sunday
The Food Pantry at Urban Ministries will provide one week’s worth of groceries for more than 8,000 families in need, including 9,000 children. Our contributions may seem small, but they are vital and greatly appreciated.  Please double-bag your items, and if you sort your bag into two bags, please tie them together or label them so that we know they go together.  A food bag costs about $20 to fill.  If that’s a little steep for your budget, get together with a buddy and split the cost.    The items to include in a food bag are:  1 lb. grits; 1 lb. rice; 1 lb. dried beans; 2 cans of tomatoes; 2 cans of applesauce; 2 cans navy, pinto or pork ‘n beans; 1 can of carrots; 1 jar of peanut butter;  2 pkgs of macaroni & cheese; 2 1-qt pkgs dry milk.

Forum Resumes this Sunday, September 1
9:15am, Vaughan Fellowship Hall.  The first forum will be:  "2013 Legislation and the Responding Social Activism: Where are we headed?"  Open discussion on 1) the new legislation passed by the 2013 General Assembly in areas impacting social and economic justice, and 2) the increased social activism the legislation generated.  Discussion facilitated by Cynthia Ball.

Taizé Worship
As your week kicks into high gear, still your mind and wait in the presence of God.  The silence is punctuated by reading of scripture and chanting meditative songs.  No sermon, no offering, no announcements.  Friends are welcome.  Tuesday, September 3, VFH.

Welcoming Sunday
Join us Sunday, September 8 for our version of “Homecoming.” As we welcome everyone back from the summer, we participate in a variety of activities: playing games like horseshoes and croquet, signing petitions, and creating our own art work.  We then celebrate the day with fried chicken!  After a brief worship service, beginning at 10:30am, we gather in the main church yard where all are invited to enjoy the events and games.  We’ll have a chance to check out and enroll in health care plans, make Gay Pride posters, record 30 second spots on what CUCC means to us, and commune with our fellow CUCCers.  Besides fried chicken provided by Welcoming, Fellowship, and Growth, members are asked to bring a dish to share.  Welcoming Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to invite your family, friends, and neighbors to visit with us.  We always have a great time.   It just might be like having a taste of heaven.

Fall Church Retreat
If you haven’t signed up for the Fall Church Retreat, you still have time to join our merry band.  The deadline is September 8 to register for the retreat held at Blowing Rock from Sept. 10-12th. Call the church office at 919-787-6422, or mail your registration to the church office or place it in the offering plate along with your $50 deposit.  For more info, or to get a registration form, pick up a newsletter at the back of the sanctuary or online at communityucc.org.  Thank you to those who have already registered and paid your $50 deposit. The rest of the payment is requested by September 8th. Rooms are being reserved in the Corriher Lodge at BRCC.

Keeping Homeless Families Together
Please continue to help families be able to live together as they transition from homelessness to temporary housing to permanent housing by contributing household items.  Take a post-it or two from the bright poster in the Vaughan Fellowship Hall, purchase the item(s) written on the post-it(s) and then return the item(s) to the basket under the poster.

Voter Registration Applications
Voter Registration forms are available in the CUCC office.  Fill out and return it to the Board of Elections yourself or Jane Smith will return it for you.  Deadline to register is September 13.  Early voting begins September 19.  Election Day is October 8.

Voter Registration Drive
A small task - registering to vote - becomes a challenge.  You can make a difference, one life at a time.  The Moral Monday ad hoc group is organizing a voter registration drive at RICH Park Housing where CUCC has long ties (as a founding congregation).  Residents will be alerted in advance that CUCC teams will be coming to their doors in pairs.  We need 30 volunteers.  You'll be trained to answer questions about the simple form as well as to check photo IDs so that we can offer future help to those who will need one for elections in 2014. Tentative date:  Sunday, Sept. 8; training at 3 at CUCC, canvassing 4-6.  Call Jane Smith (919-787-6539) or Bev Stolarick (919-859-3851) if you are willing to help.

Sep. 8 Rich Park Voter Registration Help Needed
We still need at least 20 more people to help register voters at Rich Park Apartments on Sunday, Sep. 8.  Required training at 3:00 in Vaughan Fellowship Hall; we’ll be going door to door registering from 4:00-6:00pm.  Young volunteers welcome to come with their parents.  To volunteer, sign up on the Vaughan Wing bulletin board or contact Jane Smith at 919-787-6539 or smithjeg@mindspring.com .  For more details, check the website Hot Topics section.

Youth Parent Retreat
On Saturday, September 14 we will have a Parent Retreat upstairs in the Pilgrim House from 9:00 am-12:00 pm.  Coffee, juice, bagels, cream cheese, and fruit will be provided. This is an important meeting to look over our plans for Church School and Youth Group activities for 2013-2014. We need parent input on Church School Curriculum, Confirmation, BYC, ASP, Service Projects, etc. Parents please respond to Śānti (forsanti@aol.com or 919-961-8814) to indicate whether or not you will be able to make this meeting.

Launch of New CUCC Website
In late August, the Communications Committee launched a new church website which has been under development since late May. Council has previewed the change and approved the unveiling of the new site. Construction of the new site has been a group project involving more than half a dozen people. It is a move toward a collaborative approach to maintaining the church website (as opposed to the traditional approach of having a single webmaster who makes all the decisions). And the primary goal of the effort is to enable groups within the church to interact in a more direct fashion with their website content. In upcoming months you will hear more about how your group can become more involved in describing its activities on the church website. So stay tuned. Conceptually, this transition is part of the evolutionary process whereby social media is changing the way we present and share information. --- submitted by Lavon Page for the Communications Committee