CUCC Weekly eNews

6:30 am sunrise service at West Raleigh Presbyterian Church (Traditionally, we share sunrise worship with other neighborhood congregations.) 9:00am Taize' in the sanctuary 10:30am  traditional worship for all ages in the sanctuary* *Remember to bring a flower or some greenery for the resurrection cross.  Bring a camera to catch great family photos.

Launching on Easter Monday, April 1, 2013 , and continuing through the great 50 days of Eastertide, United Church of Christ congregations, colleges, seminaries, camps and outdoor ministries, and health and human service agencies will join together in a shared mission campaign to: • Collectively offer more than ONE MILLION HOURS of engaged earth care, including clean up, advocacy, education, and behavioral changes that will impact the environment. • Collectively plant more than 100,000 TREES locally and globally in partnership with the National Arbor Day Foundation and the UCC's denominational partners around the world. • Collectively write and send more than 100,000 ADVOCACY LETTERS on environmental concerns to elected officials and local and national newspapers. - from the UCC's Mission 4/1 Earth web site The Justice in a Changing Climate Task Force at CUCC invites you to add your hours/trees/advocacy letters to the national tally and to practice 50 days of earth care mindf...

I talked with Rev. Diane Faires, Associate Minister at St. Paul's Christian Church , who is planning our joint worship for Maundy Thursday.  She said young children are definitely welcome and will find ways to connect in the worship service.  Soup and bread dinner at 6:30pm in St. Paul's fellowship hall (dinner with vegetarian options is being provided) Worship 7pm in St. Paul's sanctuary What to expect: The core of the service is a dramatic reading of the stories of Maundy Thursday, including Jesus's washing of his disciples feet and the eating of the meal which we now remember as communion.  While Diane didn't mention them, I believe they usually also include the stories of Judas betraying Jesus, Jesus' prayers in Gethsemane garden, and his arrest.  While the reading won't involve costumes or acting, multiple readers will be doing the reading and the stories are engaging. After the reading, people will be invited to come forward for communion by intinctio...

On March 17 at the Sunday Forum, Marge Eckels and Cy King engaged in a dialog moderated by Sue Cottle. The topic was their long involvement with social action issues in Raleigh. On behalf of the Social Justice Ministry, Edith requested that I record a video of the dialog. That video is now available and is part of our permanent archive found at cuccarchive.blogspot.com . The video is 63 minutes long. For more information about this video or other material in the archive, please feel free to contact me. Lavon Page

The youth have been preparing for weeks to lead our worship this Sunday, March 24.   Preparation has included a lock-in overnight (including tie-dying t-shirts)  and a trip to Defy Gravity to get their creativity bounding.

This week, prayerfully consider adding a pink stripe to your driver's license, in solidarity with DACA immigrants and in protest of the NCDOT policy. - from the Social Justice Ministry What is the pink stripe? The NC Department of Transportation has decided to offer a driver’s license to undocumented immigrants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.   The new license has a pink stripe and the bold words “NO LAWFUL STATUS.”   To be qualified for the DACA program, the immigrants must be younger than 30 and have graduated from high school or are currently in school or be an honorably discharged veteran; they can't have been convicted of any serious criminal offense.   If they qualify, they can apply for a Social Security card and be legally employed in the US.   The US Department of Homeland Security has said it is up to officials in each state to decide whether to issue DACA participants a driver’s license.” 1   The NC Departm...

New date:  Sunday, March 17, 5-7 pm at Richard and Laurel's home This date is a change from our previously scheduled date of March 10 (this Sunday). Please RSVP to Richard and Laurel so they know how many people to plan to host. This is a potluck dinner for families with younger-than-middle-school children; bring a dish your child enjoys and a toy to share.  While the children play, we'll share rituals that help us convey what we believe to our children. A Gathering  of Friends event

The March Sunday Adult Forum series leads us to think about "Living into our Economic Justice Covenant."  All are welcome to attend:  Sundays, 9:15-10:15, Vaughan Fellowship Hall. March 10 - Living into our Economic Justice Covenant I: In Living Well While Doing Good , Donna Schaper presents strategies “to ground and inspire sustainable passion for social and personal transformation” by simplifying money, domesticity, children, joy, and much more. Discussion of Donna Schaper’s short books will be led by Marty Lamb and Edith Sylla.  March 17 - Living into our Economic Justice Covenant II: How can we ground and sustain social activism? Stories and reflections from long lives of activism by Marge Eckels and Cy King . Facilitator: Sue Cottle .  March 24 - Living into our Economic Justice Covenant III: Living simply so that others may simply live. Being intentional in our earning and spending. Led by Mac and Peg Hulslander.  March 31 – Happy Easter! No forum. 

Our next  First Wednesday Night Potluck  will be  March 6, 6:30pm - 8:00pm .    These potlucks are a great time to meet, eat, and enjoy each other’s company.     Come and get to know fellow CUCCers in a relaxed setting. Everyone is invited.    To continue our theme of “healthy eating,” we will celebrate “National Nutrition Month.”    Bring your favorite nutritious dish to share, along with the recipe for those folks who have food allergies and who will also love your dish! A Gathering of Friends event

Saturday, March 16, 9:00am - Noon     The Property Ministry invites everyone to come help clean the sanctuary, Sunday School rooms, kitchen, and fellowship hall. Please come with dusting cloths, furniture polish, buckets, window cleaning supplies, rubber gloves, etc., to help with our first  WORKDAY for 2013 . There will be no outside work done this day. Please come out and help make your church sparkle!

Śānti Matthews  will be available to answer camp questions and provide registration forms and information on  Sunday, March 10, at 10:00am  in the youth room. All interested youth and parents who have questions, be sure to attend. Please contact  Śānti  at  forsanti@aol.com  if you have questions and this timing does not work for you.

Raleigh art collector  Geraldine Bryan  is proud to present  muse,  an intimate solo exhibition of new work by artist  Luke Kurtis .  Please join her in the Hoffmann Room on  Saturday, March 9 , from  2:00-4:00pm,  for the exhibition opening and to hear the artist discuss his work in a casual setting.  The exhibition will remain on view on the Art Wall until  April 20, 2013 , and is viewable by appointment (call  919-787-6422  or  919-787-8494 ).   muse  is a series of never-before-exhibited digital collage prints that evolved out of the artist’s  Jordan’s Journey  project.  Through a detailed process combining both digital and analogue techniques,  Kurtis  probes the areas of spirituality, history, science, and fashion.  For past works by Kurtis, see his   portfolio . Luke Kurtis  (also known as  Jordan M. Scoggins ) is a Georgia-born in...

Okay, you asked for it!    And, here it is: The Welcoming, Fellowship, and Growth Ministry is hosting a "fun bowling night"  on Monday, March 4, 2013.    Come join  Robert Parrish  for an evening of bowling at  Western Lanes, 2512 Hillsborough Street (across from NC State) in Raleigh.  The cost for the evening is $5.00 per person for unlimited bowling for up to two hours. Please meet  Robert  at the entrance of Western Lanes at  7:00pm . The entire family is invited to come and “have a bowl and a ball.” - A Gathering of Friends event

Based on his article with this title , Michael Schwalbe , professor of Sociology at NCSU, will speak on pro-military practices squeezed into small cultural spaces, such as printing “support our troops” on bank receipts. This is related to efforts of Peace Action to move funds from military spending to meet human needs. All are welcome to attend the Sunday Adult Forum  - March 3, 9:15 to 10:15am , Vaughan Fellowship Hall.