CUCC Weekly eNews

Carson Roach-Howell made a very nice video of Dave Barber's return to the pulpit last Sunday. Carson's video of Dave Barber is now available as part of our media archive, and is also available at YouTube . Two guest appearances remain. Carol Ripley-Moffitt will be here on September 30, and Cally Rogers-Witte will visit on October 7. All of these appearances will be recorded for the "Pulpit" section of our permanent archive .

What dreams have you been imagining for CUCC? Have you been chewing over an idea?  Had a recurring glimpse of what you'd love our future to be?  An idea you've been meaning to discuss with someone? Are you curious about what others think it means to be CUCC?  To "nurture spiritual growth and work for social justice?" God is still speaking, CUCC's All Church Retreat Friday, Oct. 26, 6-9pm (starting with dinner) Saturday, Oct. 27, 9a-4pm (lunch included) St. Paul's Christian Church 3331 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh Who will be gathered?  Anyone currently participating in the life of CUCC. RSVP to the office  What ages are the children you will be bringing?  Do you have dietary restrictions? RSVPs due by Oct. 15! Child care provided if you RSVP. The Youth Group lock-in is woven throughout the retreat (more details from Santi to come)

As we move toward the planning retreat scheduled for next month, I would like to share an interesting and perhaps relevant letter that is part of our historical archive. The letter was written by Rev. Allyn Robinson to the congregation of the United Church of Raleigh on September 30, 1943. The United Church of Raleigh is the mother church from which our present CUCC was born in 1969, and the United Church was the home and the nurturer of the Institute of Religion which ran through the 1940s and 1950s after being started under Allyn Robinson's leadership in 1939. His letter in 1943, however, berates the congregation (in fairly strong language) for their lack of enthusiasm for Sunday morning attendance and worship. And he urges the congregation to "put first things first." And he concludes that the result of people "failing to put first things first" is "that the liberal church is weak." The letter makes a very interesting read, and I pass it along for t...

There are some pictures that I need help with. First, there are two pictures from the 1940s that show what I believe to be a large portion of the congregation of the United Church of Raleigh. The only person I can identify in either picture is Rev. Eutsler, the Pastor. I would love to identify some of these 1940s church members. Second, there's a picture taken in our present church that labels a small group of people as "the first consistory". I believe this might be a group of people from the E&R church in Raleigh which built our church building at the corner of Dixie Trail and Wade Avenue in 1957. The info that we have includes the names of most of these people, but I haven't yet run into anyone at CUCC who is familiar with these names (T. Edsel Cooke, William Cope, Helen Peeler, W. C. Pickett, Jr., and Perry Moore).  If you can provide any information about any of these people, please contact me.

On September 16, Rev. John Lackey returned to CUCC by invitation from the Board of Deacons. Rev. Lackey served as pastor in the 1970s prior to the long term of Rev. Cally Rogers-Witte (who will visit here on October 7). The video of John Lackey's presentation is now available in our Media Archive. The video can also be found at YouTube .

Gather for discussion of the intersection of faith and life at each Sunday's Adult Forum.  We meet in the Vaughan Fellowship Hall from 9:15-10:15am. UPCOMING SCHEDULE, September 2012 September 16  - " Open Discussion on the Visioning Process and the Upcoming CUCC Retreat" led by members of the planning committee September 23  - "A Brief History of Pride" led by the Open and Affirming Task Force (ONA) September 30  -  30-minute video on events leading up to and surrounding the Selma to Montgomery march followed by a discussion led by Joan McAllister - information from Cynthia Ball and the Forum Planning Group 

There will be an informational/organizational meeting of the Economic Justice Task Force on Sunday, September 16th, at 12:00 in the Bradow Room to plan a future meeting date and agenda. We hope that anyone who is interested in finding out more about the Task Force will join us as we begin to plan the directions and focus of the group.  ‒ Submitted by Shirley Birt  

Days are cooling, weeds are growing.  We can use a few more hands to get down and dirty to  improve CUCC’s grounds.  Gardening Therapy is continuing into the Fall and we hope you all will  add these dates to your calendar:  September 4 and 18  October 2 and 16  We begin at 9:00am and work until noon.  See you there!         ‒ Submitted by Lena Gallitano