CUCC Weekly eNews

Saturday, March 31, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. CUCC building, grounds, and beyond Join us as we experience Holy Saturday together through meditation, prayer, creative expression, journey, and community. This 2 hour retreat, facilitated by our Diaconate, will provide a series of opportunities that will allow us to draw closer to Spirit as we prepare for Resurrection Sunday. The creative experiences were designed with all ages in mind.  A caregiver will be available to assist children with the activities.

On April 1, Easter Sunday, CUCC will collect the One Great Hour of Sharing special offering. Through One Great Hour of Sharing, lives are literally changed daily. Your support provides clean water, food, medicines, shelter, healthcare, education and so much more. What is One Great Hour of Sharing? One Great Hour of Sharing, as part of Our Churches Wider Mission, is the special mission offering of the United Church of Christ that carries God’s message of love and hope to people in crisis. The UCC works with international partners to provide sources of clean water, food, education and health care, small business micro-credit, advocacy and resettlement for refugees and displaced persons, and emergency relief and rehabilitation.  OGHS also supports domestic and international ministries for disaster preparedness and response.   Who participates in One Great Hour of Sharing? Seven Christian denominations -  American Baptist Church, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Chris...

Hello friends! Join us on Good Friday, March 30 at the Raleigh Capitol Building -  1 E Edenton St, Raleigh, NC 27601, at Noon for the ultimate stop on the 2018 The Pilgrimage for Justice and Peace organized by Witness for Peace Southeast! Pilgrims may stand at different "stations" around the building, meant to reference the stations of the cross in reverence of the teachings of Jesus. CUCC members will be at the 1st "station" at the Capitol designated as the station: "No Ban! No Wall! Sanctuary for All!" at 11:45 AM. Parking can be tricky downtown on days like this so please meet Gary Smith and other carpoolers at CUCC at 11:15 am if you prefer to ride together. The Pilgrimage starts on March 25th in Asheville and then on to Winston-Salem and Greensboro, to Chapel Hill to Durham and finally to Raleigh on March 30th. Click here to take a look at all the planned events for the week or click here to visit the facebook page! This year's Pilgrimage is entit...

Sandling Beach Prism (CUCC's Wake Forest congregation) invites all of us to come to an Easter morning sunrise service on Falls Lake.  Here are the details from Pastor Joy Alford.  RSVP requested We are planning to meet at Sandling Beach Shelter #6 about 6:15am-6:30am ( park map ). Service will begin promptly at 6:30am. There will be restrooms there and the shelter is only a few feet from the parking lot. We will have a beach/lake view.  A permit request for opening gates early has been submitted. We are awaiting acceptance but have a verbal acceptance.  The shelter has been paid for and we can hang out all day. After worship, we will prepare and have brunch and hang out together. I am also preparing an Adult and Kid Easter egg hunt. Otherwise, you are on your own to relax, boat, read, write, hike and just socialize. Please let us know how many people you will be bringing. It is not required that you bring anything but yourself! There is a suggested list of a few thin...

Look for the Life & Faith table comma As always, this is a fluid group - just drop in!  O'Malley's Pub and Restaurant (5228 Hollyridge Drive) April 3  topic (unless someone brings something to discuss):  Our Lenten theme has been Courageous Faith.  What have you learned?  Do you have any new practices to sustain you?  Did you take a first step and what is your second?  Are you in order, disorder, reorder or the spaces in between?  Are you proudly waiving your palm, soaking in the experience of being loved even though you don't get it? Arrive at 6:30PM if you want to order dinner.  Discussion runs from 7:00 to 8:00. Questions?  Contact Jane Smith  smithjeg@mindspring.com

SAVE THE DATE! Make a Joyful Noise 6 th Annual Church-Wide Outdoor Event and Camp-Out - Umstead Park Saturday, April 28 at 3:00pm - Sunday, April 29 at 11:30am Come one, come all for some or all of our time. We’ll enjoy campfire singing, musical instrument making, drum circles, games, cookout and potluck, a hot breakfast and a Sunday morning worship.   There is camping in cabins available, as well as bring your own tent.  If you don't want to camp, come for the evening! Bring a side dish and come for activities and dinner!  Questions? Contact Śā nti Matthews 919-961-8814 or  education.cucc@gmail.com

CUCC's Social Justice Ministry invites you to attend these community events.  For more information, contact Adrienne Little  adrienne_talbot@yahoo.com. 1 - NC Holocaust Observance         State of North Carolina Holocaust Observance        Sunday, April 8, 2018 - 3:00 - 5:00 PM        Meredith College, Raleigh 3 - Fair Housing Conference        15th Annual Fair Housing Conference       Friday, April 27       Registration is now open!   Space is limited to 200 attendees The City of Raleigh's Fair Housing Hearing Board, and the Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina are proud to announce the 15th Annual Raleigh Fair Housing Conference. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Eddie J. Glaude, Jr., chair of the Center for African- American Studies and the William S. Tod Professor of Religion and African- American Studies at Princeton University.

 A big “thank you” to the many volunteers who helped out with the March 24 church work day.  We tackled a long list of painting, repair and landscaping projects. Hope to see many of you on August 25, our next work day. In the meantime, please contact Skip Stoddard ( skip.stoddard@gmail.com)  or Merrilee Jacobson ( mkjacobson123@gmail.com)  if you’d like to take on a project on your own time. We have tasks for all ages and skill sets! - from the Property Ministry

Show your continuing support for our youth as they are working toward an end to gun violence. Please join us as we march in the  Raleigh March for Our Lives.  This march is in unison with the Washing D.C. march. To carpool, meet in the church parking lot at 9:00am or meet at  400 Fayetteville Street  at City Plaza. We will march to Halifax Mall ( 16 W. Jones St .) where the rally will take place. For additional info, contact Śānti Matthews at  education.cucc@gmail.com

Join the team for the March 24 work day! The Property Ministry invites people of all ages and skill levels to help out with the  Saturday, March 24  work day.  Drop by anytime between 9 a.m. and noon to tackle indoor and outdoor projects.  No special skills are needed!  While supplies and equipment will be provided, outdoor workers may want to bring work gloves and their favorite tools.  Food and beverages will be available throughout the morning in the kitchen.  For more information, please contact Property Ministry co-chairs Skip Stoddard  (919-827-2346 ) or Merrilee Jacobson  (919-274-4539 ).

This Sunday, March 25, the Children will sing during the 10:30am worship service.   Immediately after worship, the children will enjoy an Easter Egg Hunt.   Come join us!

Monday Lunch Group sponsoring healing service Rev. Robert Parrish and Rev. Jenny Shultz-Thomas will be leading a healing service on Monday, March 26, 2018. The service will be held in the sanctuary and all members and friends of the church are invited to participate. It will take place at 1 PM. (Monday Lunch Group will convene at 12:30 in the Hoffman Room as usual, but will transition to the sanctuary for the healing service at 1 PM.) The tradition of holding a healing service in association with Lent goes back many years at CUCC, and member Geraldine Bryan attributes the original idea to Rev. Cally Rogers-Witte who served as Senior Pastor at CUCC for 17 years extending from the 1970s into the 1990s.

Dear Friends,            It is with mixed emotions that I approach this Holy Week before us. I am eager to share in the joys and sufferings of Christ with you, and to participate in the healing work of reconciliation one to another through sharing our stories, our fears and grief as well as our blessings.            Thank you for the thoughtful work and energy that you have poured into this Lenten season of preparation. So many of these moments, preparing the way, can feel like hollow rituals or duties to check off of a list, and so I want us to remember together what it is that we are actually preparing for.  Lent  means to "lengthen," and is about the lengthening of days during this winter season, and the lengthening and stretching of our hearts and minds. It is about deepening our faith, one ritual, one prayer, one blessing at a time, as we remember our baptisms, and prepare for Resurrection life. So often whe...

Sunday    03/25  -  Passion/Palm Sunday   9:00am   Nursery provided     9:00am   Taizé Worship – Sanctuary   9:15am Courageous Faith Book Discussion - Bradow Room   9:15am “Animate Spiritual Practices” - Hoffmann Room   9:30am Choir Practice - Sanctuary 10:30am Worship Service -   Sanctuary and Processional 10:45am Children’s Sunday School - Sunday School Rooms 10:45am Youth Sunday School - Youth Room 11:45am Fellowship - Vaughan Fellowship Hall 12:00pm Social Justice Ministry Meeting - Bradow Room 12:00pm Children’s Easter Egg Hunt - Church Grounds   4:00pm Covenant Community - Bradow Room Monday 03/26   12:15pm Monday Lunch Group - Hoffmann Room   1:00pm Healing Service - Bradow Room                         Sponsored by Monday Lunch Group - ALL ARE WELCOME Tuesday 03/27     9:30am Offic...

Sisters in Spirit - (SIS) Sisters in Spirit (SIS) will meet on the fourth Tuesday, March 27, 6:30pm, at the home of Vivian Hunter for potluck and lively discussion. Contact Vivian at vivian.hunter@gmail.com or 919-782-8100 for directions and additional information. All women of the church are invited.