I really appreciated what Gary Smith shared recently at worship in regards to Matthew 22:36-39: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself."
We have the wonderful vision of a wholistic ministry here at CUCC but sometimes we forget to minister to our whole selves so that we may truly grow to love ourselves. The holiday season, in particular, can be quite challenging to me in regards to physical health and I don't think I am alone in this. For that reason, I will be facilitating a covenantal small group to support each other in uniting our spirit, mind and body by eating right, living well and loving God.
This will be very loosely based on the book Your Whole Life: The 3D Plan for Eating Right, Living Well, and Loving God by Carol Showalter. The group will commit to reading themed devotionals, some from this book, some not--with an overall 3 d plan (diet, discipline and discipleship). Each week, we will discuss the devotionals and our progress towards health and wholeness. Copies of devotionals will be provided for those who do not wish to buy the book.
This will be a six week challenge and will meet weekly on Wednesdays at 6:00 pm at the church from Oct 16th through Nov 20th. We will be empowered for self-control at Thanksgiving!
Leader: Joy Alford
For Visitors
No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here!
| What's it like being a visitor? |
Directions
What happens at worship?
What should I wear to worship?
What else happens Sunday mornings?
What can my children expect?
How do you include people with physical challenges?
How do I get to know people?
What do you believe?
How do I join Community United Church of Christ?A message from the pastor
Still have questions? Please call Cathy in our church office any weekday morning (9-1) at 919-787-6422 or send her an email.
Photo Gallery
The links below connect you with photo albums belonging to various members and friends of CUCC. These albums are not an official part of the CUCC website, but they provide a wonderful record of many church events and other events in which CUCC members have participated. Enjoy!
Essential Documents
These are documents that may be useful to any church member.
Many of these documents are displayed as Google documents. You do not need to have a Google account in order to view them. They will display in your web browser, and can be downloaded in either PDF or Word format. To download click the "File" menu when viewing the Google document.
Annual Reports for Committees and Ministries for Year 2014
Minutes for Congregational Meetings in 2014
Recent Friday Email (since May 2013) (archived now in the News and Chat blog)
Constitution | Bylaws
Ministry and Committee Membership (2014)
This is a live document which always reflects current status of ministries and committees.
Publicity Options
Many of these documents are displayed as Google documents. You do not need to have a Google account in order to view them. They will display in your web browser, and can be downloaded in either PDF or Word format. To download click the "File" menu when viewing the Google document.
Annual Reports for Committees and Ministries for Year 2014
- Church Council
- Communications Committee
- Community Outreach Ministry
- Deacons Ministry
- Economic Justice Task Force
- Justice in a Changing Climate Task Force
- Nominating Committee
- Property Ministry
- Religious Education Ministry
- Saturday Morning Book Group
- Social Justice Ministry
- Stewardship Ministry
- Ushers Report
- Welcoming, Fellowship and Growth Ministry
- Youth Group
Minutes for Congregational Meetings in 2014
- Congregational Meeting - November 23, 2014
- Congregational Meeting - May 4, 2014
- Special Congregational Meeting - March 16, 2014
- Congregational Meeting - January 12, 2014
Recent Friday Email (since May 2013) (archived now in the News and Chat blog)
Constitution | Bylaws
Ministry and Committee Membership (2014)
This is a live document which always reflects current status of ministries and committees.
Publicity Options
Photo Galleries
The links below connect you with photo albums belonging to various members and friends of CUCC. These albums are not an official part of the CUCC website, but they provide a wonderful record of many church events and other events in which CUCC members have participated. Enjoy!
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| Youth Sunday - June 2013 |
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| HKonJ - Feb. 2013 |
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| Justice in a Changing Climate Service - February 2013 |
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| Santi's Birthday Celebration - January 2013 |
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| NC Pride March - September 2012 |
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| Welcoming Sunday - September 2012 |
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| Inter Faith Food Shuttle Gang - June 2012 |
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| Confirmation 2012 - June 2012 |
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| Carson's Lock-In Photos - March 2012 |
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| Church School Banners - March 2012 |
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| Youth Sunday - March 2012 |
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| CUCC in the Spring - March 2012 |
CUCC moves to collaborative website
Thanks to evolving technology, an opportunity emerged in summer 2013 for CUCC to move its primary website to a collaborative environment where each group in the church can choose who will be in charge of posting and maintaining its own information. A member of the group may volunteer for this role, or the group can choose someone else in the church to help them (such as one of the several web site administrators on the Communications Committee).
The primary improvements provided by this arrangement are ...
Info for authors of website content
The primary improvements provided by this arrangement are ...
- Changes can be immediate and can be put in place by the group without need for approval by any chain of command.
- The only skill needed in order for someone to interact with the website is conventional blogging knowledge, which is a skill already possessed by numerous people in the church.
The Communications Committee will provide training as requested. For someone who has some experience with blogging, this training might take 15 minutes. For someone who is new to blogging, 30 minutes to an hour might be required. Contact the Communications Committee (Lavon Page, Chair) for more information or to enlist help for your group.
Info for authors of website content
Directions
Community United Church of Christ is located at 814 Dixie Trail (corner of Wade Avenue and Dixie Trail). You’ll find worship services and community meetings in the main building.
The church office, youth room, and small meetings of CUCC groups are next door on Dixie Trail at Pilgrim House.
Walking
Our building sits at the corner of Wade Avenue and Dixie Trail which are both lined with sidewalks. Wheelchair access is easiest from the Dixie Trail side.
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| Bike Parking (Enter from Dixie Tr) |
Lock your bike on the garden fence on the Dixie Trail side parking lot.
CAT Bus
Bus route Rex Hospital (4) stops up the hill from the church on Dixie Trail. Plan your bus trip.
Driving
Please be cautious at the intersection of Wade Avenue and Dixie Trail. In past months we have had several accidents caused by red light running, sun, or obstructed views from the turn lanes.
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| Pilgrim House - Church Office |
What time should I plan to arrive?
For most events, 10 minutes early will give you plenty of time. For 10:30 traditional worship, arriving 15 minutes early will give you time to locate your children’s church school classrooms and allow them to meet “Miss” Anne Bailey. Adults will be able to become familiar with the order of worship and to ask questions so you feel comfortable.
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| Bus Stop at church |
Some info for website editors
Here is some info provided by the Communications Committee especially for CUCC members who edit portions of this website. Some of the tips refer to website administrators. At present the administrators are Lavon Page, Jo Perry, Jane Smith, and Cathy Marshall. To be a full fledged contributor and editor of portions of this website, you do not need to be an administrator.
The Communications Committee will provide lessons for anyone who wishes to contribute to the website on behalf of any church group. If you're already a blogger, the lesson will be very short. If not, the lesson might take 30 minutes to an hour. You'll need a Google ID.
Useful Info
The Communications Committee will provide lessons for anyone who wishes to contribute to the website on behalf of any church group. If you're already a blogger, the lesson will be very short. If not, the lesson might take 30 minutes to an hour. You'll need a Google ID.
Useful Info
- If you have been asked by a group in the church to manage the group's information on the website, contact Lavon.
- You have full control over the items that you create. You cannot edit or delete items added by other authors.
- Don't try to be fancy. All the editing tools you will need are available as buttons. Don't worry about changing fonts or styles. Just type in what you want to say, use the tools at the top for lists (numbered or bulleted), indents, bold, italic, etc. Don't use multiple colors for fonts unless you have a VERY good reason. Include pictures or links to other information on the web as you like (using the picture tool and link tool shown above the text area).
- If you add any pictures, these pictures are stored in a Picasaweb Album (Google+ photo album) named "Community UCC" that is added to the photos associated with your Google account. Don't delete that album, because doing so will remove the pictures from the website.
- If you copy or paste from a document or web page, you are also copying formatting information. That formatting information can do unexpected things when you paste it into the website. You can avoid frustration if you add a simple step (converting to plain text) which gets rid of that extra formatting information . If you don't know how to do this, talk to an administrator. (With some Windows web browers, shift-control-V does this, or you can do it with a right mouse click. In Mac OS, there are menu options "Paste as plain text" in Safari and "Paste and Match Style" in Chrome.)
Guidelines
- Always have permission from a group before you post on their behalf.
- Never include personal contact information, even if the person gives you permission
- Never put a child’s name with his or her photo
- Dont use any unflattering photos.
Browser
If you're flexible about web browsers, give Google Chrome a try. It's the most popular web browser in the world (by far), and it works very well with our website. And it's VERY fast. (And pasting without format is built right into Chrome as a right-click option called "paste and match style".)
If you're flexible about web browsers, give Google Chrome a try. It's the most popular web browser in the world (by far), and it works very well with our website. And it's VERY fast. (And pasting without format is built right into Chrome as a right-click option called "paste and match style".)
Monday Lunch Group
"I find a circle of loving friends, a circle that shares my interest in the search for the truth and a group that believes and practices the power of prayer." - Geraldine
Generally the Monday Lunch Group chooses a book of common interest to read and study over a period of several weeks. Newcomers and walk-ins (including men!) are welcome.
Generally the Monday Lunch Group chooses a book of common interest to read and study over a period of several weeks. Newcomers and walk-ins (including men!) are welcome.
Saturday Book Group
This non-fiction group is open to women and men. Each book is chosen by consensus and is read by all members over a period of 6-12 consecutive weeks for each book, one or two chapters a week. There is no leader. All members participate in the discussion. This arrangement has worked well since 2002. For any questions, contact Ed Klemmer, preferably by email.
Current book:
"It is a very active group whose members not only show up every Saturday but all of whom read the book and participate in a very lively discussion. There is no leader. The group has both CUCC members and friends who share their interests. The books studied by the group vary from atheists such as Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins, through important secular books about science, war, economics and philosophy to religious writings such as Karen Armstrong, Peter Gomes and Marcus Borg." - Ed Klemmer
Worship at CUCC
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| A word about communion and baptism |
Sunday mornings
Taizé, 9:00 am
Traditional, family-friendly 10:30am
Weekdays
Taizé, first Tuesdays
Tai Chi, Wednesdays
Locations for private meditation
The Memorial Meditation Garden on the Wade Avenue side of the sanctuary was created to be a peaceful, beautiful location for private meditation. Designed by Mac Hulslander (a member who is also a landscape designer), the garden combines elements of Japanese landscape design and North Carolina native species. The spot is hallowed by the ashes of some of our members.Some members find the courtyard near the Peace Pole and the sunny deck behind Pilgrim House to be quiet locations for prayer.
Special occasions for worship through the church year
Advent evening centering prayerChristmas Eve worship services
Ash Wednesday service with imposition of ashes
Lenten evening centering prayer
Palm Sunday procession through the Memorial Meditation Garden
Maundy Thursday Tennebrae service
Easter sunrise service with College Park neighborhood congregations
Sunday before Thanksgiving service with College Park neighborhood congregations
services expressing concern for peace and justice
Staff
814 Dixie trail Raleigh, NC 27607
919-787-6422
919-787-2286 (fax)
Office Hours: 9am to 1pm weekdays
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| Cathy Marshall, Office Manager office.cucc@gmail.com |
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| Doug Barrick, Organist | Anne Moorman-Smith, Choir Director |
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| Śānti Matthews, Youth Leader | Anne Bailey Zschau, Children's Sunday School |
Taizé Worship - Sunday Morning
| Betsy Towler speaks about the Taizé service |
Sunday mornings, 9:00am - 9:30am, in the Sanctuary
Join in a service of quiet meditation, scripture reading, singing of chants and other simple repetitive hymns or songs, and prayer. A unique feature of Taizé is the substantial silent time for meditation. The third Sunday of each month is generally a communion service. Taizé worship originated with the Taizé community in France.
The Sunday morning Taizé service is planned and led by a lay group from the congregation on a rotating basis. Musical leadership is varied with guitar, organ, flute, and piano employed from one week to the next. The schedule for leadership is maintained by Peg Hulslander and Etta Barksdale. Generally attendance at the Sunday morning Taizé service runs from 15-25 participants. Feel free to drop in on this service at any time even if you don't plan to attend regularly.
Family potlucks
Life and Faith in Downtown Raleigh
Look for the Life and Faith comma when you arrive by 7 pm. You may order a dinner or simply a beverage (with or without alcohol). We try to tip our server generously since we have separate checks. We’re generally done by 8:15. New folks and friends of new folks are always welcome.
Living the Questions
Joy Alford and the Sunday Morning Bible Study are teaming up to offer the same dvd discussion series at two different times and locations this summer (June to August). This will be a condensed summer version of a spiritual formation group loosely based upon a practical dvd study used inter-denominationally.
It is used to bring together, equip, and re-educate thinking Christians. People know that at its core, Christianity has something good to offer the human race. At the same time, many have a sense that they are alone or the minority in being "thinking" Christians and often think that "salvaging" Christianity is a hopeless task. What is needed is a safe environment where people have permission to ask the questions they've always wanted to ask but have been afraid to voice for fear of being thought a heretic. This small discussion group will explore beyond the traditions and rote theologies in which so many people and local churches seem to be stuck. Ideal for Christian invitation, initiation and spiritual formation, Living the Questions will help seekers and "church alumni/ae" alike in discovering or re-discovering the significance of Christianity in the 21st Century and what a meaningful faith can look like in today's world. This is perfect to invite your “un-churched’ but seeking friends to. It is an introduction to progressive Christianity.
Venue 1: Sunday Morning Bible Study, 9:15am (no RSVP needed)
Venue 1: Sunday Morning Bible Study, 9:15am (no RSVP needed)
Venue 2: Wednesdays in Joy Alford's living room (limited space; call Joy or the church office)
From Joy: "I am excited to be facilitating another Living the Questions (LTQ) group in my living room. Due to the size of my living room, please call me or the church office asap if you are interested in becoming a participant. Host living rooms may rotate if the group agrees (North Raleigh/Rolesville/Wake Forest)."
From Joy: "I am excited to be facilitating another Living the Questions (LTQ) group in my living room. Due to the size of my living room, please call me or the church office asap if you are interested in becoming a participant. Host living rooms may rotate if the group agrees (North Raleigh/Rolesville/Wake Forest)."
Retirees' Fellowship Group
When: 2nd Mondays, September through May, 10:30-1
Where: Vaughan Fellowship Hall
Bring: Your lunch, but we take turns providing dessert. Free-will offerings are given to non-profit organizations such as Loaves and Fishes or Meals on Wheels.
Sunday traditional, family-friendly Worship
Sunday mornings, 10:30am - 11:45am, in the Sanctuary
The Traditional service combines elements common in most American Protestant worship services with some elements reflecting particular Community UCC traditions and values. Worshippers speak, sing, and listen, using a bulletin to follow the service and find hymn numbers. The sermon - designed to help congregants focus on some aspect of their faith journey - takes a variety of forms.
While generally presented by the pastor, sermons may be given by a guest, a member or a committee of the church (for example, the Wider Outreach Committee, the Youth Group, the Church School Children, a chancel drama group or the choir). Childcare is available for those aged 3 and younger. Children and youth should check the introduction to the bulletin to find out if they have church school that Sunday.
Recent Sermons
Videos of special past sermons (CUCC Archive)
What happens on a typical Sunday?
The first two segments of worship - We Gather to Worship God and We Listen for God's Word - bring all generations of the congregation together. During a brief welcome and sharing of announcements, everyone is invited to sign the Caring Roll; this is an easy way to learn the names of those seated with you in the pew.
The call to worship, prayer of invocation, and scripture readings occur while the children are present with their families. These are followed by the Children's Time when children gather on the steps of the sanctuary for a short discussion (often with props); parents are welcome to join their children. Children are then dismissed to church school. Those children who prefer to remain in worship with their parents may do so. Worship continues with special instrumental or choral music, additional scripture readings, and the sermon.
We Heed God's Call moves us toward an outward focus with a Ministry Moment which suggests ways to serve in and beyond the church, the collection of financial offerings, and the prayers of the people. Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month. After worship, we gather in the fellowship hall to meet visitors and to talk with each other; join us for coffee and light snacks!
What time should I plan to arrive?
Arriving 15 minutes early will give you time to locate your children's church school classrooms and allow them to meet "Miss" Anne Bailey. Adults will be able to become familiar with the order of worship in the bulletin and to ask questions so you feel comfortable. We have quiet time in the sanctuary from 10:15-10:30 to prepare our hearts and minds for worship.
Recent Sermons
Videos of special past sermons (CUCC Archive)
What happens on a typical Sunday?
The first two segments of worship - We Gather to Worship God and We Listen for God's Word - bring all generations of the congregation together. During a brief welcome and sharing of announcements, everyone is invited to sign the Caring Roll; this is an easy way to learn the names of those seated with you in the pew.
We Heed God's Call moves us toward an outward focus with a Ministry Moment which suggests ways to serve in and beyond the church, the collection of financial offerings, and the prayers of the people. Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month. After worship, we gather in the fellowship hall to meet visitors and to talk with each other; join us for coffee and light snacks!
What time should I plan to arrive?
Arriving 15 minutes early will give you time to locate your children's church school classrooms and allow them to meet "Miss" Anne Bailey. Adults will be able to become familiar with the order of worship in the bulletin and to ask questions so you feel comfortable. We have quiet time in the sanctuary from 10:15-10:30 to prepare our hearts and minds for worship.
Taizé worship, first Tuesdays
We are on hiatus in January and February to allow our new interim pastor to get settled. See you in March.
1st Tuesday evenings, 7:00pm-7:45pm, in the Vaughan Fellowship Hall
Our spiritual needs cannot be met by a noisy, fast-paced, materialistic society. But the thirst of our souls can be quenched with meditative prayer through which we connect with God.
Taizé worship is marked by a spirit of contemplation, prayer and extended periods of silence. One aspect of Taizé worship is the repetitive singing of short and simple chants which enable us to let go of the clutter of our minds and to listen and pray to God with our hearts.
If you long for peace and quiet…,
If you want to pray for yourself or for others…,
If you love to feel the words of Scripture wash over you…,
If you yearn for a deeper connection with God…,
then please join us.
The once a month first Tuesday group is small but still....God is with us and God meets us where we are….
1st Tuesday evenings, 7:00pm-7:45pm, in the Vaughan Fellowship Hall
Taizé worship is marked by a spirit of contemplation, prayer and extended periods of silence. One aspect of Taizé worship is the repetitive singing of short and simple chants which enable us to let go of the clutter of our minds and to listen and pray to God with our hearts.
If you long for peace and quiet…,
If you want to pray for yourself or for others…,
If you love to feel the words of Scripture wash over you…,
If you yearn for a deeper connection with God…,
then please join us.
The once a month first Tuesday group is small but still....God is with us and God meets us where we are….
Greeters
We help people and newcomers feel welcome by greeting people at the sanctuary door as they enter worship, giving new visitors a loaf of welcome bread and spending time with visitors during fellowship after worship.
Live Your Faith
- Say hello to someone you don't know yet. Whether new to the church or a long-timer, everyone wants to be noticed and wanted.
- Invite newcomers to Fellowship. Introduce them to someone else with a connection: home town, occupation, wanderlust, avocation.
- Widen your circle at Fellowship. Decide to meet one new-to-you person each month.
- Build connections. Send Steve Halsted an email or phone message with news, whether newcomer or long-timer. Names, background, interests, needs and desires. The tidbits help him help us care for each other.
- Become a greeter just a few times a year.
What should I wear to worship?
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| We care about who you are on the inside, not what you wear |
We suggest children and youth wear clothes they can get messy; in church school we sit on the floor, play games, create art, or work in the garden. Wearing a jacket is a good idea in case we go outside.