CUCC Weekly eNews

All are invited to join the Sunday morning Bible Study each week at 9:30am in the Bradow Room. Our summer study is Reading the Bible Again for the First Time , by Marcus Borg. This book provides a fully authentic, contemporary  understanding of the scriptures. Reading the Bible can be difficult and can  sometimes be heavy with baggage. Join us anytime you can this summer as  we work to help lighten the load through this study.  Please direct questions  to Ellen Beidler, study facilitator, or Santi Matthews, Education Coordinator:  education.cucc@gmail.com

Yes, you are in the right place!  The CUCC Weekly eNews has a new look.  We hope it will be easier to read and search. Cathy Marshall, Editor of the CUCC Weekly eNews, and the Communications Committee

Look for us at the table with the comma At Life and Faith, anyone who shows up joins the conversation.  The goal - to listen to and learn from one another as each of us seeks to connect our faith and our day-to-day life. June 5  Topic :  One way of thinking about the church is that it is a "school or studio of love" where we all learn and practice (and make mistakes) together as we seek to be disciples of our teacher Jesus.*  Bookish soul that I am, I'm intrigued by the idea that a church is more like a dojo than a classroom, where wisdom is passed from experienced person to novice, and skill is learned by practice in community, not the solitary work of memorization, reading, and essay-writing. Let's explore this way of thinking about the church.  Where have you experienced the school or studio of love?  Who have been your guides?   Have you ever found yourself in the role of guide?  What would you miss about church-as-teacher-of-bel...

The CUCC Youth Group and The Mission Trip Team are collecting gently used women's clothing, accessories and shoes, for an organization called Women Giving Back ( womengivingback.net ).  Please consider contributing any gently used casual or professional clothing, shoes, belts, purses, and accessories. Donations will be collected until Sunday, June 10 . Our donation box is located in the Vaughan Fellowship Hall.  Women Giving Back serves clients that are currently in shelters or transitional programs. The clothing helps these women to renew their  confidence and feel their own beauty, as they strive to reenter the  work force to support themselves and their families. Contact Śā nti Matthews at education.cucc@gmail.com

The Voice of God by Jennifer Brownell, June 3, 2018 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Now the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." - 1 Samuel 3:9-10 I recently heard that a childhood family friend, Sister Rosemary, died. My brothers and I always said "Rosemary is cool." I'm not sure why we talked about her this way, because really she was the opposite of cool. She was sensible and kind and her eyes crinkled when she laughed. When I was thirteen, I went to spend the night at her apartment one time. My brothers and I usually ran in a pack, so I'm not sure why I was staying there alone. Whatever the reason, before we went to sleep, we sat on her hard little couch and held hands to pray. Or rather, Rosemary pray...

CUCC has begun composting during fellowship after worship. What’s next for CUCC's compost project?   Bring your ideas June 8, 7:00PM, Hoffman Room. - Submitted by Gary Smith, Justice in a Changing Climate Task Force

Lectionary for the Week of June 10, 2018 - Third Sunday after Pentecost - Green 1 Samuel 8:4-11, (12-15), 16-20; Psalm 138 or Genesis 3:8-15; Psalm 130; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1; Mark 3:20-35

Sunday  06/10         9:00am Nursery provided   9:00am Taizé Worship – Sanctuary   9:30am Adult Monday Morning Bible Study - Bradow Room 10:30am Worship Service - Sanctuary 10:45am Children’s Sunday School - Sunday School Room 10:45am Youth Sunday School - Youth Room 11:45am Fellowship - Vaughan Fellowship Hall 12:00pm BYC New Camper Meeting - Youth Room 12:00pm Community Outreach Ministry Meeting - Hoffmann Room 12:00pm Website Discussion - Pilgrim House   4:00pm Covenant Community - Bradow Room       Monday 06/11  11:30am Caring Committee Meeting - Pilgrim House 12:00pm Poor People’s Campaign - Vaughan Fellowship Hall                      through 10:00am, 06/12/18 12:15pm Monday Lunch Group - Hoffmann Room ...

Did you know CUCC is on Twitter and Facebook?  Follow us on Twitter at @RaleighCUCC (Community UCC)  Follow us on Facebook at Community United Church of Christ .  For questions contact Cathy Marshall at the church office  or Jane Smith at smithjeg@mindspring.com

Please join the Congregations for Social Justice at their monthly meeting on Wednesday, June 13, 8:30am – 10:00am at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 2723 Clark Avenue, Raleigh. Click HERE for directions. The speaker will be Jonah Kaplan of WTVD Channel 11/ABC News.  He will address “fake news” and the role of the media during this current era. - Submitted by Merrilee Jacobson

Sign a Petition to End Gerrymandering After worship today, the Economic Justice Task Force will have available petitions in support of ending partisan gerrymandering as a way of strengthening our democracy: "Gerrymandering robs too many North Carolinians of their vote on Election Day. Sign to voice your support for nonpartisan, independent redistricting and an end to gerrymandering in NC. Please stop and sign if you feel led to do so.   Contact Mac Hulslander for additional information.

We are working on developing the capacity to place audio recordings of Jenny's sermons on the website.  This post is part of our homework. Are you able to listen to the sermon?  You may experience a ten second delay.  Please let me know.  We will be building our capacity to record more of Jenny's sermons and need to know what works for you. Sermon  June 3, 2018 Gospel Text:  Mark 2:23-3:6 Jane Smith smithjeg@mindspring.com

See more photos of the workday Fifteen stalwart volunteers worked for several hours on June 2 to pull weeds, trim bushes and trees, remove poison ivy, install steps to the storage building, caulk a leaking window, plant new gardenias and install gravel to stop erosion. Our lovely church grounds are in great shape for the summer days ahead.  Thank you!

Interfaith leaders in the Raleigh community held a press conference at Shaw University in response to the May 30 release of body cam videos showing the beating a Raleigh man. Our own Rev. Shultz-Thomas was there.  To see the press conference, go to  https://www.wral.com/news/video/17594158/

Surely God Was In This Place by Talitha Arnold, May 29, 2018 "Surely God is in this place and I did not know it!" - Genesis 28:16 Jacob could probably be forgiven for not knowing that God was in the desert where he'd spent the night with only a stone for a pillow. The harsh landscape around him matched the landscape of his own life. He was on the run from his older brother Esau whom he'd tricked out of both his birthright and also their father's blessing. Not surprisingly, Esau was out for his brother's blood. So Jacob escaped to the wilderness. That night he dreamt of a ladder that stretched to the heavens, filled with angels going up and down. Nothing in the landscape around him pointed to the possibility of such an amazing vision. No wonder he woke from sleep and proclaimed, "Surely God was in this place and I did not know it!" Moreover, Jacob could have easily proclaimed "Surely God is in me, and I did not know it!" A conniver and a che...