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CUCC Weekly eNews

New Members Joining – January 17 at 10:30am Worship

New Members Joining – January 17 at 10:30am Worship Have you been considering CUCC as your community of faith? There will be an opportunity for new members to join on Sunday, Jan. 17. If you’d like to know more, please reach out to Pastor Lacey (lacey.cucc@gmail.com) Why become a member of Community United Church of Christ? Membership is taking the leap of belonging. In the covenant of membership, a person and the congregation promise one another to be in relationship with God and with one another. You join a journey in progress of people who are also trying to figure out how to live in the model of Jesus. In the thousand small tasks of being a community, in the decisions about community goals or how to spend money, you’ll practice together being Christian, figuring it out together as you go along. Over time you’ll be known and loved as you are, grand and flawed, and you will find deep friendships. Of course, at CUCC some people who journey with us have chosen not to make that c
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Watch party and community reflection: The Black Church

Invite your friends for shared reflection following the two-part PBS series "The Black Church:  This is our story, this is our song" by scholar and educator, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr..  The two-part series traces the history of the Black church in America.  The reflection the week after the series concludes is an opportunity to share with one another what we learned, and, for those who have worshipped regularly with a US Black church, to tell us how their experience compares to that described in the series.  This reflection time is offered as part of Community UCC's ongoing commitment to having Sacred Conversations on Race and is sponsored by CUCC's Racial Justice Affinity Google Group.  For more information, contact Jane Smith at smithjeg@mindspring.com. The Black Church:  This is our story, this is our song Airs on PBS Tuesday, February 16 and 23, 9PM Watch at home Read more about the series here Post-series reflection for the community Tuesday, March 2, 7-8PM, on
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In this week's eNews...

New opportunities keep popping up every day, so keep checking the CUCC Online Calendar .   December 31, 2020 edition Friday, January 1 New Year’s Day Café Saturday, January 2 Deadline to submit Children We Love Sunday, January 3 Taizé worship , then fellowship Sunday Morning Adult Bible study Worship with communion , then fellowship  Caring Committee Monday, January 4 Monday Lunch Group Path Forward Task Force Tuesday, January 5 Farm to Church CSA Life & Faith Wednesday, January 6 2020 yearly reports due Compost bin emptied Tai Chi Lectionary Lunch with Lacey Thursday, January 7 Growing Together Pilot deadline Deacons Ministry Friday, January 8 CUCC Café Other important news in this edition Bring bread and wine* for communion at 10:30 worship Children We Love deadline – January 2   What types of prayer are indigenous to you?  - January 5 Decision time:  join a CSA that makes a difference  - January 5 Lectionary Lunches for Epiphany season CUCC Cafe open on Christmas and New Year&
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Bring bread and wine* for communion at 10:30 worship

At Community UCC we practice an "open table," meaning that you do not have to be a member of our church to participate. You don't have to be baptized or have gone through a confirmation process. People of all ages are welcome, even our young children! The only pre-requisite is an open heart. We believe that all people of faith are invited to join Christ at Christ's table for the sacrament of Communion. Just as many grains of wheat are gathered to make one loaf of bread and many grapes are gathered to make one cup of wine, we, the many people of God, are made one in the body of Christ, the church. On January 3, at 10:30 worship, we will celebrate communion.  Bring wine and bread* - whether orange juice or Merlot, a slice of whole-grain or a gluten-free cracker - to worship services.  We will join in Christ's meal together. Email the office to get the Zoom meeting information for worship. office.cucc@gmail.com.
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Children We Love deadline - January 2

Fill out form , then email photo Each year CUCC celebrates the new children who have come into our lives by birth, adoption and marriage.  Whether the new child/teen is your child, sibling, grandchild, cousin, niece/nephew or godchild, we want to thank God for the new person in your family. The 2020 "Children We Love" celebration will be held January 10 during 10:30 Zoom worship when we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus.   To include your 2020 children/teens in the celebration, fill out this form AND submit a photo to Amanda Jost.  Deadline is January 2.   Because this year we are worshiping on Zoom and not in the sanctuary, we are asking you to confirm with the child's parents that sharing the photo and information during worship is okay with them.  We do not record the services to share them later online.   You are welcome to invite the entire family to join you for worship January 10; let me know if you have invited anyone so I recognize them in the Zoom Waiting Room. -
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What types of prayer are indigenous to you?

When Life & Faith gathers on Zoom, libations in hand, on January 5, 7-8PM, our backup question will be:  What types of prayer are indigenous* to you? The previous two times we met we wondered together, "Are there limits on what we can pray for? How do we know a prayer is answered?"  Let's continue that conversation about prayer to learn about one another's default prayer practices.  How did we stumble across them?  Are they solitary or with others?  Are there tools that assist us, or sensory stimuli that enrich our prayer?  Do we turn to different types of prayer depending on the situation? About Life & Faith Life & Faith gathers on first Tuesdays, currently 7-8PM on Zoom, but hopefully one month soon in person at a local pub.  Whoever shows up is welcome, so bring a friend.  Jane Smith prepares a backup question (see above), but we start by inviting those attending to raise a question of the intersection of their life and their faith that has been nagging
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Decision time: join a CSA that makes a difference

It's time to sign up for the new Farm to Church CSA which connects black farmers to congregations. Farmers of color in the United States endure systemic racism causing social, economic, and political harm. We are attempting to address this by forming a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) here in Wake County between farmers of color and Wake County churches.   Our goals are to 1. Create relationships between farmers of color and local church congregations,   2. Create economically-equitable, mutually-beneficial and sustainable food-based partnerships.  We believe that this will  1. Create income for the farmers, 2. Increase understanding between farmers of color and faith communities,   3. Provide congregations with increased access to fresh, healthy foods. About 10 congregations are interested in this first opportunity.   The CSA is starting this spring with an 8 week (April and May) offering from Elke and Steve McCalla at Rocky Ridge Farm .  We are coming to know Steve
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Lectionary Lunches for Epiphany season

What is reflected in the scripture readings for the Sundays during Epiphany season? Lectionary Lunches with Lacey Wednesdays, January 6 through February 10 1-2PM, on Zoom This ever-changing gathering for discussion is open to the community.  Bring a friend.   What happens at Lectionary Lunches with Lacey? Those gathered choose which of the lectionary readings to consider for the discussion.  No homework is required, though you may want to read the brief passages in advance.  You are welcome to bring your lunch to eat while we talk. Click here for the lectionary readings for Epiphany season.    If you are curious about how the lectionary readings were chosen, read here . To get the Zoom meeting information, contact office.cucc@gmail.com a few days before the group gathers.  The Zoom information is also in the Saturday Zoom email. If you would like to receive the weekly reminder on Wednesday morning, contact Pastor Lacey at lacey.cucc@gmail.com. Thank you to photographer carulmare for Sc
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CUCC Cafe open on Christmas and New Year's Days

Join us for casual conversation on Christmas Day and on New Year's Day at the CUCC Cafe, 1-2PM, on Zoom. Bill Lamb will open the Zoom room at 1PM and, if no one has arrived, will close it at 1:15. The Zoom meeting information will be in the Saturday Zoom email.  If you would like to receive that email, contact office.cucc@gmail.com.
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CUCC Café 2021

Sometimes called the Retirees’ Café because many of the regulars are in that age group, the CUCC Café is for anyone who happens to be free between 1-2PM on Fridays. There is no agenda – just time to catch up on what is happening in each other’s lives.  During these long months of stay-at-home orders, having a regular time to anticipate see other smiling faces is a good way to begin your weekend.  Friends are welcome! Bill Lamb and Merrilee Jacobson co-host. For the Zoom information, check your Saturday Zoom email or contact the office at office.cucc@gmail.com. 
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Growing Together Pilot deadline - January 7

You are invited to sign up for the Creation Care Growing Together Pilot , a new community opportunity through CUCC's Justice in a Changing Climate. The Growing Together Program connects the dots between faith, science and creation care.   The pilot, a project of the Creation Care Collective, consists of five monthly one hour Zoom to be held form January through May 2021. Sessions are on second Thursdays at 7PM. Pilot topics include:   Introduction: Faith, Science and Creation Care Eating: Theology of Food Purchasing: Living Simply and Justly Recycling: Soil and Compost Growing: Pulling it Together   The Growing Together Pilot provides an excellent opportunity for the CUCC community to learn and collaborate as we seek to do our part to promote Justice and Creation Care.  Register here before January 7, 2021  and contact Greg Eades to let him know you are participating as part of CUCC's group (wgeades@att.net).
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New members joining - January 17

Choosing to become a member of CUCC is like saying, "Okay. This is my spiritual home. These are my people. This is where I want to anchor my journey." As a part of the United Church of Christ, we are a non-creedal church. That means we view creeds and statements of faith as "testimonies not tests." We do not require you to believe any particular set of doctrinal statements but instead emphasize that membership is a covenantal commitment between the individual, the wider church, and God. Are you ready to join or do you have questions about the denomination and want to learn more? Please reach out to Pastor Lacey for a more in-depth conversation. lacey.cucc@gmail.com
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Deck the Halls!

On a chilly Sunday evening, members of the CUCC choir and band gathered in the church parking lot to celebrate the Advent season with “leaded” egg nog and wassail and individually packaged treats.  After being fully fortified, the group surrounded a blazing portable fire pit to sing carols – masked and standing a safe distance apart.  It was a wonderful pre-Christmas gift for all involved!
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Pastor Lacey taking Christmas week off

Pastor Lacey will take time off from Christmas to New Year's Day. She plans to be back in Raleigh on January 2 and will lead the worship service on January 3rd.  If you should have a pastoral care need, please reach out to Paul Atkinson, Chair of Deacons,(paulatkinson@mac.com) or Śānti Matthews, Youth and Adult Education Coordinator (education.cucc@gmail.com).
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Interfaith dialogue opportunity

The Sunday Morning Bible Study group of Community UCC invites you to be a part of an interfaith opportunity. The Triangle Interfaith Alliance (TIA)  is made up of people from various faith traditions.  As this group has serious but lively discussions on an array of topics, enhancement of one's own faith is gained while much is learned from other faith communities.  In a compassionate and nonjudgmental environment, the commonalities are clearly revealed and differences accepted.   The group meets every third Tuesday via Zoom from 10:30 until noon.  If you would like to engage with TIA please email Judy Jacobs at judyejacobs@gmail.com. Your faith walk will be blessed. - submitted by Robert Parrish for the Sunday Morning Bible Study  robertcparrish7@gmail.com
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