CUCC Weekly eNews

SIS (Sisters in Spirit) will be gathering at 7 PM on Tuesday night November 29th for pot luck and discussion. Have you ever doubted that you could master a task but then learned to do it in spite of your doubt? If so, you might list these situations (up to 10 of them) and bring them to share with others. We can learn to navigate the learning curve. All women of the church are invited to join in. - submitted by Marty Lamb A Gathering of Friends event

Have you given Jane Smith your emergency contact information? We'll use this information to make sure you are okay in the unlikely event of a regional emergency (hurricane, evacuation, flu quarantine). If you consider yourself part of the CUCC family (whether or not you are a member), we’ll want to know you’re okay. Needed:  Names of people (or pets, if you like) in your household (even if they aren’t associated with CUCC)  Phone # to reach you in an emergency  Email to reach you in an emergency (the one you will check frequently)  Contact person who is likely to know where you are & phone # (Please let this person know you have our permission to contact them about you)  Did you have any changes in your everyday contact info during 2010? (address, phones, email)

I asked Ellen Beidler what they have been reading in the Sunday morning Bible study.  The group is about to switch during Advent (Nov. 27 through Dec. 18) to The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Birth    by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan. The group will be resuming Deuternomy in the new year.  Here is what Ellen wrote about the Nov. 13 Deuternomy discussion.  "We decided to try to keep going in Deuteronomy. Yesterday, Sue, Kathy and I decided it is worth it to keep reading. We read through chapter 15 and found the "reformed" Mosaic law pretty interesting. Do you realize that the Lord your God wants you to tithe so that you can afford a great feast in God's honor? Also, the deal is that the Lord your God will make yours a great nation IF you take care of the poor and dispossessed in your community?  The Lord your God wants you to set your slaves free after 7 years with goods enough to ...

(submitted by Vandy Bradow) Yavneh: A Jewish Renewal Community & St. Mark’s Episcopal Church invite you to experience The Art of Praise: A spiritual encounter under the guidance of Rabbi Shefa Gold A shared fundraiser for our spiritual communities Wednesday, November 30, 7:15 pm at St. Mark’s, 1725 N. New Hope Road, Raleigh, 27604 Perek Shirah is an ancient Jewish text praising the Creator. All of Creation has a voice in this celebration: the Heavens, the Earth, all Flora and Fauna contribute their songs of praise.   Together, we will unlock the secrets of Perek Shirah, through chant, silence, imagination, study, movement, and stillness, until we, too, are swept up into this holy chorus.  Spend an evening with us discovering a spiritual activism sourced in love. No donation is required to attend, although we invite you to consider the following donation categories in support of Yavneh and St. Mark’s: Heavenly Hosts, $360; All  land-based life, $180; All life...

This year our children have pledged 40 stockings to the Salvation Army. Please help us fill the stockings. This year the need in Wake County is even greater than last year. Unwrapped gifts may be donated in the Christmas box in Anne Bailey's classroom. We will stuff the stockings at the family advent workshop on December 4th a 5 pm. Join us!!! ITEMS DUE BY SUNDAY, DEC. 4 Stocking Stuffers for boys and girls Infant-2 years sippy cups/bottles hats toys blankets wipes books pacifiers 3-6 years old coloring books/crayons toothbrush/toothpaste hats & gloves bubbles, play-doh, stuffed animals dolls, cars, balls, dress up accessories, jewelry card games 7-8 year olds jump ropes jacks/cards toothbrush/toothpaste hats & gloves markers, pens, pencils stuffed animals, dolls bouncy balls pocketbooks, jewelry model cars, flashlights   10-12 year olds cards, games toothbrush, toothpaste watches, flashlights, radios pens, pencils, markers jewelry and hair accessories nail polish, lip bal...

Show Time: 7:30 PM, Friday, Dec. 2, CUCC Fellowship Hall Okay, so it's a bit of a stretch to insert "Frozen River" into a foreign film series. (It's filmed on the Canadian border with the U.S., so the setting for the movie is a mix of U.S., Canada, and the Mohawk reservation that straddles the border.) But I've had requests for weirder exemptions. For example, one person recommended a "made in Texas" movie for the series, and I had to explain that no matter how bizarre Texas politics is, I can't really consider Texas to be a foreign country. Admittedly, this is another "dark" movie, but it's one where I see the darkness as necessary to set up the redemptive ending to the movie. (And there's an underlying Christmas theme.) Frozen River is a low-budget independent film. Such films are often more creative than the big studio productions.  Here's the Netflix spin on the movie ... On a Mohawk reservation on the Canadian border, Ray E...

Lavon, your post couldn't have been more timely.  Yesterday at the Welcoming, Fellowship and Growth Ministry meeting we decided to extend an invitation to CUCCers who might want to eat together on Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day.  Thanksgiving Day:  If you'd like to eat a meal with others, call the church office.  Carol will put you in touch with others with the same interest and together you can decide whether to go out to a meal, do a potluck in one of your homes, or perhaps gather for a dessert potluck. Christmas Day:  How about eating Chinese food and going to a movie?  Call Gray Woodard if you'd like to join a group going to a restaurant/movie.  Out-of-town family members are welcome. A Gathering of Friends 

Do you ever feel that with today's emphasis on social media, e-mail, text messaging, and even cell phones, we are losing our face-to-face communication skills and habits? Does this sometimes seem dehumanizing? Does the quote below speak to you? ... the electronic culture ... is making a new world and a new man. Mass communications are drawing us together in a universal embrace. Privacy is dying, and with it the private person ... we are becoming a unified global family. The developing worldwide electronic network is shaping the world into an "electropolis." The possibilities of this are both frightening and hopeful. This is frightening because that which relates men in "Electropolis" is not necessarily love. The global village isn't necessarily a "brotherhood." The gender based language here probably gives it away, but the concerns seem remarkably 21st century. This is Pastor John Lackey writing in the March 1971 CUCC Newsletter, more than 40 years...

The "Gloria" by John Rutter, is a short, three-movement work for choir, brass, tympani, and organ. The CUCC choir will be combining with the choir at Fairmont Methodist Church to perform this on Sunday, Dec. 18th at 6:30 p.m. at Fairmont Methodist on Clark Ave.  It will be presented during their evening Advent service.  The Fairmont Choir director, Eric Grush, will be conducting the combined choirs.  All CUCC folks are encouraged to attend this presentation of this magnificent work to help usher in Christmas week.  Listen to a taste of the " Gloria ."

Bring your lunch for intercessory prayer, study, and great conversation.  Come one Monday or every week, 12:15pm.  Here's what is planned. Nov. 7  Bill Lamb leads discussion of Norman Wirzba's Living the Sabbath .  Read part I. Nov. 14  Bill Lamb leads discussion of Norman Wirzba's  Living the Sabbath .  Read part II. Nov. 21  Steve Halsted and Tama Eller talk about the Earth Sabbath Celebrations as we continue to explore living the sabbath. Nov. 28  Discussion of Job .  Read the whole book before you come. Dec. 5  View a Job-like comedy, "Adam's Apple." Dec. 12  Writing Christmas cards to missing friends. Dec. 19  Christmas Luncheon Dec. 26  We'll meet, but topic TBD.

Children and youth, bring your parents and grandparents to this advent tradition.  Along with the usual fun, we'll practice for the Christmas pageant (Dec. 11) and share a pizza dinner.  Remember to bring cookies for the cookie exchange.

The children's church school has voted for our fall charity, selecting the Salvation Army Christmas stocking project again this year. Last year we pledged 25 stockings which we filled with YOUR help. This year the children have ambitiously pledged 40 stockings so we are once again asking for your help. A donation box wrapped in Christmas paper will be in our classroom. Please donate small toys, coloring books, crayons, bubbles, toothbrushes , etc. We appreciate your support!!! We need your donations by Dec. 4.  We will use our Sunday School offering to help purchase items for the stockings.

Which glass do you prefer to the new sanctuary windows?  Samples of window glass is exhibited in the fellowship hall windows so that the congregation can see and evaluate them. Please take time to view the windows in daylight so that you can express your opinion on November 13.. New front lawn sign coming:  A thank you goes to Joan McAllister and Lena Gallitano for their work with a company to design a sign and to the Property Ministry and Growth Committee for their input in deciding on the choice. The sign has now been ordered and is due for installation in January. November Property workday has been cancelled.

To any, and all of you artistic beings in our congregation: The Art Wall (across from the Hoffmann and Bradow rooms) is available for photographs, paintings, fiber art, and/or anything you would be willing to hang. Artists of any age are welcome.  If you're interested, or need coercing, please contact Linda Baker

Wednesday Nov. 23, 7:30pm Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, corner of Clark and Brooks Avenues Join with long-time friends from other neighborhood congregations as we express our thanks to God.  Our choir will join with the others for a massed presentation that is always a delight.

Thursday, November 17, 6:30pm Sponsored by the Triangle Interfaith Alliance Held in neighborhood homes with a simple vegetarian meal followed by sharing of people’s faith perspectives by selecting different user friendly questions to speak to. To sign-up go to their web site and you will be assigned a home to visit for a wonderful evening with neighbors from all the major faith traditions.

We call for a Congregational Meeting on Sunday November 20, after worship, to review the proposed budget and nominations report for 2012 and any other business suggested by the Church Council. Copies of the proposed 2012 CUCC budget will be available on the 13 th , for those who would like to study it in preparation for the congregational meeting.