CUCC Weekly eNews

I Have a Frisbee Written by  Vicki Kemper June 27, 2017 ( Reprinted from ucc.org) Give me an undivided heart to revere your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart.  - Psalm 86:11-12      There's undivided, and then there's complete. There's whole, and then there's overflowing with radiant joy.      Sister Helen of the Eucharist has been a nun for 67 years. That's a lot of time to revere God's name. "You were not born," she says, "and I was already a nun."      She was nine years old when she wrote a letter to her parents saying she wanted to enter the convent; now she is 85. She loves Christ's body and blood so much that she made it part of her name.      "I have a banquet every day," she smiles.      She spends the better part of each day praying and singing, reading and doing a little manual labor.      For most of us, "undivide...

Remembering Grace June 23, 2017 Written by Emily Heath " I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance. I know that you cannot tolerate evildoers; you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them to be false… But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.  Remember then from what you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first."   - Revelation 2:2,4-5 Perhaps this is wrong, but I have a hard time trusting church people who never admit imperfection. I don't mean imperfection of the minor kind. I don't care that your kids' school lunches aren't perfectly balanced, or that you skipped yoga class three times last week. I mean real imperfection. You got addicted to something. You got fired from your job. Or you messed up big time and it was all your fault. When people and things at a church are just a little too neat and tidy, I get a little curious about that church's spiritua...

Sunday          7/09     9:00am          Taizé Worship – Sanctuary                                    9:30am          Choir Practice - Sanctuary                                    9:30am          Adult Bible Study - Bradow Room                                  1 0:30am          Wo...

Lectionary for the Week of July 9, 2017 - Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Green Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67; Psalm 45:10-17 or Song of Solomon 2:8-13 or Zechariah 9:9-12; Psalm 145:8-14; Romans 7:15-25a; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Our July watermelon seed spitting contest! Who will be champion this year? Bring your smiles, and your spitting skills, to our easy breezy fellowship time after worship on July 9. The youth will sponsor and provide leadership for this event. If you’re not a spitter, come enjoy watermelon anyway, be a spectator and cheer on your special spitter!

Celebrating Our Elders: Exploring Ageism Together  July 12, Wednesday, 6:00pm - 7:30pm A pizza and salad bar dinner will be provided.  All are welcome! ¨   What does your age mean to you? ¨   What makes you see someone as young or old? ¨   What's surprising about getting older? ¨   Have you ever had someone tell you that you don't look your age? These questions are fascinating for all of us to consider! Join us as we share experiences of ageism. Our youth will lead us in this exploration of stereotypes with regard to age. Dinner provided. This Church-Wide Summer Series, “Celebrating Our Elders”, will be held from 6:00pm - 7:30pm, on the 2nd Wednesday of each summer month: July 12, and August 9.

As always, this is a fluid group - just drop in! Our next gathering will be Tuesday, July 11, 6:30 PM to eat, 7PM conversation begins O’Malley’s Pub and Restaurant 5228 Hollyridge Dr, Raleigh Look for us at the long table in the room on the left. July focus for our discussion:  This month's discussion is sparked by Mike's comment about time and Shabbat (see below).  I also found a one page essay on Sabbath in which Rabbi Heschel* expands on the idea of time and Shabbat. "The meaning of Shabbat is to celebrate time rather than space.  Six days a week we live under the tyranny of things in space; on Shabbat we try to become attuned to the holiness of time.  It is a day on which we are called upon to share in what is eternal in time, to turn from the results of Creation to the mystery of Creation, from the world of Creation to the creation of the world." Abraham Joshua Heschel* as quoted in the Reform Siddur, Mishkan T'Filah.  Originally found in Heschel's 1951...

Please join us Tuesday, July 18th, 7:00pm, as we share with each other The Sacred You .  More than a support group, The Sacred You invites Queer folk and their friends, family, and allies to experience true community within a spiritually rich safe space. Let’s celebrate who we are together!! Open to LGBTQ and their friends, families, and allies. Place: Community UCC,  Vaughan Fellowship Hall, 7:00pm. For additional questions or information, contact Pastor Jenny at 919-809-8850.

Have you been concerned about the plight of those living in coal country and wondered what you could do to make a concrete difference?  Join CUCC friends Rosemary and Bill Pate as they lead an adults-only long-weekend repairing a home in Jonesville, VA.  Rosemary and Bill are great team leaders who combine knowledge of construction with a sense of fun and deep caring for the homeowners and team members.  You will have a great experience.  They were team leaders on several of the ASP trips that CUCC youth have done with other congregations over the years. If you are interested, contact them directly. "Christ The King Lutheran Church is sending a group of volunteers to Jonesville, VA on October 19-22, 2017 to participate in the Appalachia Service Project. Volunteers will make homes "warmer, safer, drier" for families living in substandard housing. We will leave Cary on Thursday morning to travel to Jonesville, will work on Friday and Saturday, and drive back to Cary on...

While the UCC General Assembly is in session, a live stream is available via the YouTube video below, or if that's not working for your browser you can view the live stream at YouTube directly .