CUCC Weekly eNews

Pictures from Cullen and Caitlen Pictures from Kent Durham and Nadege Brutus From table cameras From Bill and Marty Lamb from Emily Goodreau, Alissa Leeper, and Sue Tolleson-Rinehart

Ron Howell, Anna Roach-Howell, Abby and Gary Smith, Sam and Jack Alcorn, and Austin Osborne-Newman left for their ASP week in West Virginia this morning. They are part of a 37 person team from Prince of Peace Episcopal Church in Apex. Let's keep all of them and the families they'll be serving in our prayers this week.

The Pilgrim House workday July 15 wasn't all that bad. To see Rachel's photos of the progress we're making, check the Children & Youth bulletin board across the hall from the kitchen. Abby is leading the group in the design & decorating part of the process for her International Baccalaureate project at Broughton High School. The group's decision on colors? The green of an ivy leaf for the main room, the sky blue/navy blue of a cross for the small room, and clean white for the bathroom. A few more adult carpentry hands for our August workday would help us speed things along so we can begin painting. If you have a few hours to spare Aug. 5 after Taize', let Jane know.

We describe ourselves as a "peace and justice" congregation, but the recent murder of Jenna Nielsen and her 8-month old fetus throws an uncomfortable spotlight on our hypocrisy. Jenna's family is correctly pointing out that it is folks like us who are responsible for the N.C. law that prohibits murder of the fetus being classified as anything other than assault. That law may or may not be useful as part of the political moat that the pro choice lobby has built to protect Roe v. Wade, but is it "justice"? I've known many a pro choice mother who by the 5th month or so had bonded so strongly to her baby that nothing in the world would convince her that baby wasn't already part of the family. In one case the mother was wrestling with troublesome medical reports that the fetus may have some abnormalities, and I recall the mother concluding "handicaps can be dealt with" and letting nature take its course (and having a healthy baby). When a mother has...

JoAnn Newman won the Hair Grow Bingo by choosing the exact date my crown hair would be an inch long, July 15. It was also her birthday! So congratulations to JoAnn and happy birthday too! Joan McAllister

Session Five: Kenosis: The Path of Self-Emptying Love In past sessions, we have seen how Jesus is a master of the art of metanoia , going into the larger mind, or, in other words, a radical change of consciousness that sustains unlimited love. The parable of the vineyard in Matthew 20 can be seen as a litmus test on where you are on in terms of this consciousness, binary operating system or non-dual thinking. In essence, Jesus is holding up a mirror. How do you understand the story? How do you shift your consciousness? What is the path? What is the way? This session concerns praxis —the practice, the things you do that bring about the metanoia consciousness. Not all wisdom paths have the same methodology. Jesus is typical of the wisdom tradition in terms of the center or goal but the way he gets there is very different from other traditions’ paths. Jesus’ path was radical in his time and still is today. One of the problems with modern Western Christiani...

I'm hungry for a weekly time to sit in prayer with others. Perhaps a little time to share prayer requests & to read the notes in the CUCC prayer jar, then silent and spoken prayers as the Spirit moves? Sometime after Aug. 27, one hour max, between 8:30 am and 2:30 pm on a weekday, location negotiable. Interested? Every week or every other week? Try it for the fall and then revaluate?

I listened intently to the sermon on sunday about the war in Iraq . The sermon was excellent and it really did make me think. It helped make me realize it is time for me to write down my thoughts on this war. I’ve not been outspoken in my position in part because I have seen my fellow left wingers go from divided about Iraq to united against it. I tend to vocalize more what unites me with people rather than what divides us. And Iraq can be divisive. Nevertheless, here goes. Human rights as the center of foreign policy I am a believer in human rights as a pillar of good foreign policy. This is not to say I am a pacifist. Just as standing up to a bully may require violence, so does aggressively defending human beings from the brutality of dictatorships. When a murderer gets into power, I believe that doing nothing is actively protecting their power. Here are examples of major human rights violations in this century. What is the Christian thing to do wh...

Hi all- update on the hair growth- as of Sunday (8 July) it was just shy of 7/8"- so I am figuring that another week to 10 days will be it. The pot stands at $64. Good luck to all!! Joan McAllister

Greetings from Cape Cod! Steve & I have just arrived here following a wonderful week camping in Acadia National Park. The weather was delightfully cool - a lovely change from the heat of NC in July! We were with old friends and did a lot of fabulous hikes, took a sailboat ride, and spent one day biking on the carriage road system that crisscrosses the lovely scenery of this glorious place. Birding was excellent here as well and Steve was especially excited by the spottings of a pair of immature Bard owls, a pair of loons, and an immature eagle. Prior to leaving for Acadia, Steve spent several days at the Synod in Hartford and was quite inspired by the experience. He especially liked listening to Bill Moyer speak, as well as Barack Obama. He also got to spend a day there with his former mentor, Pastor Win Nelson, and his wife and was very grateful to have the time to do that. We will be here on the Cape now for the next two weeks. While we are here we will be visiting with some folk...

Encountering the Wisdom Jesus by Cynthia Bourgeault Session 4: The Path of Metanoia What does repentance mean? Bourgeault posits that it means “to move beyond the mind” to see the world from a perspective of wholeness, instead of the conventional “reality” of separation, difference, and selfishness (AKA the binary operating system). In fact, the heart of the message of Jesus concerns getting into the larger, unitive mind. How do we do it? What is it all about? What does it look like? In this session, we experience the familiar teachings of Jesus through the lens of Wisdom teachings about inner transformation. The Beatitudes . These are the most densely packed teachings of Jesus. They are nine little sayings that summarize his teaching in a nutshell. Bourgeault presents a Wisdom interpretation of the first seven Beatitudes. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven . From a Wisdom perspective, this means, “blessed are th...