CUCC Weekly eNews

Dear Friends, This week the C hurch failed to be The Church ; the place for all people to belong, to find meaning and worth in their God-created identities. This is not the first time that the institutions that house our spiritual and connected lives has failed us, and it will not be the last. We have been caught up in the story of our becoming since time began; since atoms and oxygen, earth and sky, light and dark swirled into being our human-kind. We are not defined by the freedoms we seek to possess and proclaim, nor by the secular or sacred institutions that grant or withhold those freedoms from us. We are only and wholly defined as children of God whose love is unconditional, without prejudice, above and beyond the limitations brought on by the dirt, the skin, and sin of it all. We are free. Let us look no further for the source of our being, or of our belonging; we are God's. God, who labored the universe into being, is sitting at the bedside of her beautiful an...

The Southern Conference of the UCC invites all pastors and the members of the congregations to the Southern Conference African American Church Convocation, from February 28 - March 2, 2019.  Follow the link for additional information. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rHDwShya-34lUxOuepmLLdCnENv7850e/view?usp=sharing

Lectionary for the Week of March 3, 2019 Last Sunday after Epiphany/Transfiguration - White or Green Exodus 34:29-35; Psalm 99; 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2; Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a) Ash Wednesday, March 6, 2019 - Violet Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 or Isaiah 58:1-12; Psalm 51:1-17; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sunday 03/03         9:00am Nursery provided     9:00am   Taizé Worship – Sanctuary     9:30am   Lenten Animate Series - Hoffmann Room 10:30am  Worship Service with Communion - Sanctuary 10:45am Children’s Sunday School - Sunday School Rooms 12:00pm Newcomers Coffee - Hoffmann Room 12:00pm Youth Choir - Sanctuary 12:00pm Sacraments and Chancel - Library Urban Ministries Food Bags Due Monday 03/04   12:15pm Monday Lunch Group - Hoffmann Room   6:30pm Church Council Meeting - Hoffmann Room   Tuesday 03/05     9:30am Tai Chi – Vaughan Fellowship Hall 10:00am Office Staff Meeting - Pilgrim House   2:00pm Vigil at Wendy’s - Weaver Street, Carrboro   6:30pm Life and Faith - Wilson’s Eatery, 1053 E. Whitaker Mill Rd, Raleigh   Wednesday 03/06   12:00pm Drive-by Ashes - Dixie Trail Parking Lot ...

Many in the congregation requested a copy of the sermon from Sunday, February 24, 2019.  Here is a link to the written sermon... https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2QL5Ui-R24DSkpzQWd5ZVF3cDJYVVQ2QmRoV0ExaWVSMjY0/view?usp=sharing

Community Outreach Ministry is sponsoring a  glove and sock drive  for Love Wins Community Engagement Center.  This center serves homeless or near homeless persons in our area. You  are welcome to bring new or gently used gloves and socks and place them in the boxes provided in the narthex and fellowship hall.  Your gifts will truly be appreciated.   Contact Robert Parrish for additional information.

Sisters-In-Spirit (SIS)   February 28, 2019, 6:30 P.M.  919-772-8288 We are meeting at the church in the Hoffmann Room for potluck and exploration of “ Remember When” card questions. Join women of all ages for an evening of conversation, a shared meal, and laughter as we explore development of our souls' creativity and support each  other on our life journeys. As we open our hearts and right brains to envisioning new possibilities, we may discover new paths to take  that may enrich our lives. Feel free to bring toiletries to donate to the women's shelter. All women of the church are invited. Bring a friend!

If you volunteered to be a pen pal please check your email to learn your code name and your pen pal's code name. The letter exchange begins this Sunday, March 3. Instructions have been emailed to those who signed up. The reveal will be April 7th!  - Anne Bailey Zschau

On Thursday evening, February 20, Bill Bingham received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Triangle Interfaith Alliance . Bill is a founding member and has continued to serve steadfastly over the years; he is currently a board member. The award says: Triangle Interfaith Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award William L. Bingham In Grateful Admiration Of Your Leadership, Interfaith Efforts and Exemplary Life God Bless You Thank you, Bill, for your faithful work building understanding and cooperation between people of different faiths.

Lectionary for the Week of February 24, 2019 Last Sunday after Epiphany/Transfiguration - White or Green Exodus 34:29-35; Psalm 99; 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2; Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a) UCC Women’s Week, March 3-9

Sunday 02/24        9:00am Nursery provided   9:00am  T aizé Worship – Sanctuary   9:30pm   Chancel Choir Practice - Sanctuary     9:30am   Adult Bible Study - Bradow Room 1 0:30am Worship Service   - Sanctuary 10:45am Children’s Sunday School - Sunday School Rooms 10:45am Youth Sunday School - Youth Room 12:00pm Caring Committee - Bradow Room 12:00pm Extravagant Welcome and MES - Hoffmann Room 12:00pm Social Justice Ministry with Cynthia Ball   - Vaughan Fellowship Hall   Monday 02/25   12:15pm Monday Lunch Group - Hoffmann Room   6:30pm Church Council Meeting - Hoffmann Room   Tuesday 02/26      9:30am Tai Chi – Vaughan Fellowship Hall 10:00am Office Staff Meeting - Pilgrim House   Thursday 02/28     6:30pm Sisters-In-Spirit (SIS) - Hoffmann Room Sunday 03/03  ...

10:00-11:00 a.m. Thursday, February 21 (optional lunch at Amedeo’s afterward) CUCC adults that are available during the day are invited to a guided tour through the James B. Hunt Jr. Library on NC State’s Centennial Campus ( 1070 Partners Way, Raleigh ). The Hunt Library’s bold design is a visual statement of NC State’s long tradition of leading transformative change. Hourly parking is available in the Poulton Pay Lot across the street from the first-floor entrance to the Hunt Library. Parking fees are $2/hour. Parking spots are numbered, and there is a pay station that accepts debit and credit cards only (no cash). Please consider going to lunch afterward at Amedeo’s ( 3905 Western Blvd. Raleigh ). To join the tour, to get a ride, or for more information, please contact Śānti Matthews at education.cucc@gmail.com or 919-961-8814. 

Community Outreach Ministries.   We have two invitations this week.   First, we need a coordinator for the Wright Center meals if we are going to continue that ministry.   Please contact Dawn Koonce, Charles Coble, or Laurel Powell if interested.   Second, we have a Lenten opportunity: a two-hour time slot from 8:30-10:30 am Saturday, March 16 to bag and deliver for the Interfaith Food Shuttle.   We need 10-12 volunteers to retain the slot.   Please contact Dawn Koonce, Charles Coble, or Śā nti Matthews if interested.

Cynthia Ball What can we expect from the NC General Assembly this session? Our own Cynthia Ball, a Democratic State Representative now in her second term in the NC House, will give us her insider’s perspective.   Now that the GOP has lost its super majority in both the House and Senate, Rep. Ball will discuss the chances for greater bipartisanship, Medicaid expansion, and possible legislative action on gerrymandering, and what she believes will be the legislature’s focus.   WHERE AND WHEN: Sunday, February 24 at 12:00 in the Fellowship Hall. Teens and older are welcome! This informational event is nonpartisan. The event is being sponsored by the Economic Justice Task Force with help from Social Justice Ministry.  For more information, contact Susan Lane (919-417-9334), Shirley Birt or Adrienne Little.

We are introducing a new activity for the children called  Pen Pal Buddies . The program is simple. Children who want to participate and adults who want to participate are paired as pen pals. They use code names to write each other a letter every week and drop it in designated spot at church. After church the buddies retrieve their letters using their code names. At the end of the term the pen pals are revealed and new friends are made. Please let me know if you would like to participate. We hope to begin the program in March and reveal  Pen Pal Buddies  on April 7th. Contact Anne Bailey Zschau, Children's Education Coordinator, at annebailey@mindspring.com.

Rev. Richard Joyner The Rev. Richard Joyner only ever wanted to escape from the land -- the farms of Pitt County where his family toiled as sharecroppers, and endured repeated racial and economic injustice.  But as he watched his 300-member community of Conetoe, NC, suffering from high mortality and high school dropout rates, and the same racial and economic injustices that still haunted him, Joyner turned to a solution that seemed unthinkable:  a return to the land that he had come to hate.  The results are nothing short of miraculous.  He is also a CNN Hero – see his story here . On Saturday, February 23rd, from 9:30 till noon, we invite you to share in Rev. Richard Joyner's story of redemption, courage, and community at Melfield UCC in Haw River (just outside of Burlington).  His presentation will be followed by a panel discussion among food, health and environmental advocates within and beyond the Southern Conference of the UCC.  We also invite yo...

March 12 Retiree Luncheon – RSVP today! Join your fellow CUCC retirees on  Tuesday, March 12  to catch up with old friends and make some new ones!  The morning will kick off at 10:30am when CUCC member Frank Gailor will talk about his close encounters with “interesting characters” over the past seven decades.  A delicious lunch will follow at 11:15 a.m.  Our crack cooking team of Susan Maleszweski, Jeanne Ledbetter and Merrilee Jacobson want to make sure we have plenty of food, so please  reserve your seat  by calling Merrilee at 919-274-4539 or sending an email to  mkjacobson123@gmail.com .  See you on the 12th!

CUCC Movie Fellowship - Spring 2019 Next Movie is "Bride Flight" - Feb. 22 The opening film "Kitchen Stories" shown on Jan. 11 drew 17 people from our mailing list as well as a few walk-ins following a UU event down the street. Upon polling the audience for this first film, we found that some have conflicts on 2nd Fridays. This led to the decision to depart from the initial plan to schedule movies on the 2nd Friday of each month. The upcoming film is scheduled for the 4th Friday of February. I'm pleased to announce that the 2nd movie is "Bride Flight", scheduled for February 22. This Dutch film (English subtitles) first circulated in the United States in 2011. The context for the film is a KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) flight from Amsterdam to Christ Church, New Zealand which took place in 1953. This flight has long been known in Dutch history as the "Bride Flight" because the passengers were largely women who were emigrating...

SIS (Sisters in Spirit) Schedule All women of the church are invited February 28, 2019, 6:30 P.M.   919-772-8288 Meeting at church, potluck and exploration of “Remember When” card questions March 15–17, 2019, 6:30 P.M. Beach retreat at Surf City   April 25, 2019, 6:30 P.M.     At church, potluck and discussion of books to recommend for a summer read May 23, 2019, Thursday, 6:30 P.M. 919-782-8100 Vivian Hunter’s house – potluck with charades

Community Outreach Ministry is sponsoring a glove and sock drive for Love Wins Community Engagement Center.  This center serves homeless or near homeless persons in our area. You are welcome to bring new or gently used gloves and socks and place them in the boxes provided in the narthex and fellowship halls between the dates of February 17-24.  Your gift(s) will truly be much appreciated.

Tai Chi is now meeting on Tuesday mornings, 9:30am, in the Vaughan Fellowship Hall.

Our new name tag tray The new name tag table is up and running! Over 100 members and frequent visitors have requested name tags — part of CUCC‘s focus on “extravagant welcome.” If you’d like a name tag, request forms are on the table in the narthex. If you have questions or suggestions about the name tags, please contact Merrilee Jacobson at 919-274-4539 or mkjacobson123@gmail.com.

Join us as our church prepares for a youth mission trip to Oaxaca, Mexico. As people of faith and conscience, we see a great need for caring for our brothers and sisters in Mexico who are striving to survive poverty, injustice, and oppression. The Oaxaca Team is serving brunch and hosting three educational workshops for EVERYONE! Please join us on the journey by learning more about the issues and realities our Mexican neighbors are living. In addition to providing us with important learning opportunities, these brunch workshops will serve as our fundraisers - each brunch will have a suggested donation of $10 person. ALL Are Welcome! No need to RSVP. Nursery care will be provided at each brunch. Sunday, March 10 12-1:30PM, Vaughan Fellowship Hall Family Style Brunch and Sustainable Farming and Food Justice Workshop Sunday, May 19 12-1:30PM, Vaughan Fellowship Hall Family Style Brunch and Fair-Trade Workshop With Witness for Peace as our host organization, ...

Dear Community UCC Members and Friends, I continue to be amazed at in the incredible influence a church the size of CUCC has in our local community. You show up when others stay home: when it’s too cold, when it's raining, when the stakes are too high. You continue to shine your light in this community even while the shadows of injustice cast their ugly stares.  As a church we are refining what it means to participate in building the beloved community; one prayer circle, one march for justice, one community brunch, one bittersweet memorial service at a time.  In my 2018 Annual Pastor's Report I reflected on the past year, as well as shared a glimpse of what I see in our present-future:  It has been remarkable to see the growth in vitality and enthusiasm that so many have for our shared ministry while also noting and feeling the lull of excitement and energy by those for whom this is one more year of many in service to the church and the greater community...

Sunday   02/17          9:00am  N ursery provided   9:00am   Taizé Worship – Sanctuary   9:30am   Adult Bible Study - Bradow Room 1 0:30am  Worship Service  - Sanctuary 11:00am   Youth Choir Practice - Hoffmann Room 10:45am Children’s Sunday School - Sunday School Rooms 10:45am Youth Sunday School - Youth Room 12:00pm Community Brunch - Vaughan Fellowship Hall   Monday 02/18    Church Office Closed - Holiday   Tuesday 02/19     9:30am Tai Chi – Vaughan Fellowship Hall 10:00am Office Staff Meeting - Pilgrim House Thursday 02/21 10:00am Hunt Library Tour    Saturday 02/23   9:30am "Food and Our Faith" - A Creation Justice Event -                          Melfield UCC, Haw River Sunday 02/24     9:00am Nursery ...