We recognize with thanksgiving the following people for their generosity of giving which allowed us to complete the 2009 renovation projects to enhance our church home and place of worship.
Helen Brown (1902-2005) Her gift bequest at the time of her death, living to 103 years of age, started us thinking toward the best use of this generous gift and it seemed appropriate since Helen had failing eyesight to improve the lighting in the sanctuary so that all may see better. At the same time we were able to beautify the sanctuary with new wall board and paint. She had an eye for beauty having already contributed for the bas relief of artwork that graces our narthex.
Kay Cope (1909-2007) She lived as a close friend near Helen in her later years at the Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community. She loved nature and getting outside to walk around the courtyard there with her walker. Our reworking of the brick sidewalks leading into the sanctuary will help people like Kay who need a smooth surface to walk upon.
Rev. Howard Cunningham (d.Dec. 24,2003) He lived out his final days in Raleigh as a retired UCC pastor who served our sister congregation the African American, First Congregational Church with whom CUCC had a special relationship working together to overcome racial prejudices and barriers especially during the civil rights movement. In retirement he became an associate member of our congregation and enjoyed worshiping with us in our sanctuary.
Dr. Arthur Eckels (1919-1998) Professor at NCSU in Electrical Engineering; loving husband of Marge Eckels. As a man who volunteered countless hours keeping things around the church working, we think that Art would appreciate the new and greatly improved wiring system that allows for substantially greater electrical current to illuminate our sanctuary!
Bruce Hoffmann (1945-2008) - grew up attending CUCC as the son of Arnold and Peggy Hoffmann. Arnold died in 1999 and Peggy in 2003. They were early pillars of the church and contributed greatly to the music program. The improved lighting in the chancel area is particularly appreciated by the choir and minister.
Virginia Howells (1920-2004) She was an early environmental advocate and would be greatly thankful for the ways in which our renovations have a beneficial impact on reducing our carbon footprint by using compact florescent lighting, low "e" glass in our new doors, mildew resistant wallboard etc.
Nancy Keppel (1930-2004) She lived the ideal of the "Priesthood of All Believers" with a strong commitment to training the laity for service and social justice concerns. She was a woman of sizable wealth and even greater generosity to the church, whose inclusive vision of her faith modeled our barrier free inclusive style of worship and fellowship in Christ.
Ted Mew (1942-2005) He and his wife Binks found our church toward the end of Ted's life, soon after which he was diagnosed with what turned out to be terminal cancer. Ted worked as an environmental scientist and appreciated that focus in our congregation along with its welcoming and inclusive spiritual focus which drew them through our doors. Our new glass paneled doors express his philosophy of looking inward through worship for inspiration to look outward in service to the world.
Requesting a Room at CUCC
- Check the Calendar to see if the space is available.
- Call the church office to reserve the space and get information about room capacity, available equipment, etc. 787-6422, (9 AM - 1 PM weekdays)
- Bradow Room: $30/unit
- Classroom #1: $35/unit
- Hoffmann Room: $35/unit
- Vaughan Wing: $45/unit
- Use of the kitchen is included for coffee/drink preparation only.
- One unit = use of space for a morning (8AM- Noon), an afternoon (1-5PM), or an evening beginning at 6 PM. Full day use is charged at two units.
- Wedding for non-member of CUCC: $400 (includes use of sanctuary for rehearsal and ceremony as well as rooms for dressing.)
- Other use of sanctuary: $55/hour
- Full use of kitchen for meal preparation and serving in the Vaughan Wing: $130. Sorry, no frying or broiling is allowed on site.
- A church key security deposit of $100.00 is charged to non-members using the buildings. The deposit will be returned when the church key is returned. The key can be picked up two days in advance of the event.
- Fees for other uses to be negotiated.
Rich Park Apartments voter registration drive, Sep. 8
A small task - registering to vote - becomes a challenge if you can't afford a car or aren't able to drive.
You can make a difference, one life at a time. Folks at CUCC are organizing a voter registration drive at Rich Park Apartments where CUCC has long ties (see below). The management company has welcomed us and will be giving residents flyers informing them that CUCC teams will be coming to their doors in pairs. We need 30 volunteers; young volunteers are welcome to come with their parents. We will begin with a mandatory training so you can answer questions about the simple voter registration application form, absentee ballot form, and early voting. We also hope to learn which residents would like help obtaining a photo ID (required for 2016 elections). Our 2014 plan is to assist those who request help; we are waiting for the NC Board of Elections to set implementation guidelines.
Sunday, Sept. 8 (confirmed)
Training at 3 at CUCC, canvassing 4-6.
Call Jane Smith (919-787-6539) or sign up on the Vaughan Wing bulletin board if you are willing to help. Bev Stolarick is handling logistics at Rich Park, Jane is handling training.
Rich Park Apartments are located at 555 Method Road in Raleigh (near Neomonde and the Raulston Arboretum).
RICH Park Housing
Raleigh InterChurch Housing was born in 1968 with the dream of creating low cost housing where anyone could live without regard to race. Five congregations - three black and two white - joined together to utilize a federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program to build 100 apartment units on Method Road.
In 2008, RICH Park Housing celebrated 40 years of ministry. With the end of the HUD program, RICH Park continues to provide low cost housing in a mixed income development. The consortium of five congregations has rededicated themselves to providing oversight through a professional property management company. An on-site manager organizes a variety of programs for residents. Some of the slots for RICH Board of Directors are designated to come from Community UCC.
RICH Park Housing Congregations are Community United Church of Christ, Cosmopolitan Baptist Church, Davie Street Presbyterian Church, First Baptist Church (Wilmington Street), Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh
You can make a difference, one life at a time. Folks at CUCC are organizing a voter registration drive at Rich Park Apartments where CUCC has long ties (see below). The management company has welcomed us and will be giving residents flyers informing them that CUCC teams will be coming to their doors in pairs. We need 30 volunteers; young volunteers are welcome to come with their parents. We will begin with a mandatory training so you can answer questions about the simple voter registration application form, absentee ballot form, and early voting. We also hope to learn which residents would like help obtaining a photo ID (required for 2016 elections). Our 2014 plan is to assist those who request help; we are waiting for the NC Board of Elections to set implementation guidelines.
Sunday, Sept. 8 (confirmed)
Training at 3 at CUCC, canvassing 4-6.
Call Jane Smith (919-787-6539) or sign up on the Vaughan Wing bulletin board if you are willing to help. Bev Stolarick is handling logistics at Rich Park, Jane is handling training.
Rich Park Apartments are located at 555 Method Road in Raleigh (near Neomonde and the Raulston Arboretum).
RICH Park Housing
In 2008, RICH Park Housing celebrated 40 years of ministry. With the end of the HUD program, RICH Park continues to provide low cost housing in a mixed income development. The consortium of five congregations has rededicated themselves to providing oversight through a professional property management company. An on-site manager organizes a variety of programs for residents. Some of the slots for RICH Board of Directors are designated to come from Community UCC.
RICH Park Housing Congregations are Community United Church of Christ, Cosmopolitan Baptist Church, Davie Street Presbyterian Church, First Baptist Church (Wilmington Street), Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh
Home Energy Self Assessment
The concept of Home Energy Self Assessment is to train a core group of individuals at CUCC and eventually other congregations to do Energy Assessments of homes and then to offer assessments to everyone in the congregation, educating the homeowners in the process. The team would then
help the homeowner (either through sharing of information or physically) follow through in taking steps toward making their home more energy efficient. Home Energy Assessments are currently available from other organizations, and this is great, but what is often found is that the homeowner does not follow up with the weatherization work to realize the energy savings. The idea of the Home Energy Self Assessment program is that, if the congregation is involved, the homeowner will have greater incentive and ability to carry out the energy saving work recommended by the assessment.
The "Home Energy Self Assessment" team is currently forming, and training of assessors will happen soon. If you are interested in participating in the assessments or if you wish to have the team assess your home and help you get the work done, contact Gary Smith.
help the homeowner (either through sharing of information or physically) follow through in taking steps toward making their home more energy efficient. Home Energy Assessments are currently available from other organizations, and this is great, but what is often found is that the homeowner does not follow up with the weatherization work to realize the energy savings. The idea of the Home Energy Self Assessment program is that, if the congregation is involved, the homeowner will have greater incentive and ability to carry out the energy saving work recommended by the assessment.
The "Home Energy Self Assessment" team is currently forming, and training of assessors will happen soon. If you are interested in participating in the assessments or if you wish to have the team assess your home and help you get the work done, contact Gary Smith.
Groups
Want to get involved in groups and activities? You've come to the right place. All active groups and activities are listed below. A visual representation of our organizations and ministries is available. Click to learn more about each group. If you know of a group that is not included on the list, please contact us.
The Moral Monday Movement
The Moral Monday Movement
August 25, 2013
August 25, 2013
Pastor Steve Halsted
Today, we lift up and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic March on Washington, and King’s magnificent moral message – his “I Have a Dream” speech. That march and that speech on August 28, 1963, were filled with a moral power that changed the world. It touched the conscience of our nation and triggered legislative changes in civil rights, racial equality and voter rights that reverberated around the world.
Let us also not forget that 1963 marked the Centennial, or 100th anniversary, of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln to free African-Americans from slavery. But in 1963, 100 years later, segregation and Jim Crow laws continued to exclude and limit African-Americans from the full freedoms and full rights of other U.S. citizens.
The march on Washington, with an integrated crowd of over 200,000 demonstrators, and the speech by Rev. Dr. King, were a plea for freedom and justice to be extended to all U.S. citizens. I’d like to point out that his speech was really a sermon, based upon Biblical moral principles found in sources like the Exodus story; whereby Jews were delivered by God from slavery in Egypt; and the teachings of Jesus, like those found in Matthew 25, with His call to help and care for the marginalized, the oppressed, and the poor. As Jesus said, “Whatever you did unto the least of these, you did unto me.”
Mrs. Coretta Scott King, at the time of her husband’s historic speech on August 28, 1963, commented, “At that moment, it seemed as if the Kingdom of God appeared. But it only lasted for a moment.”
Now we move ahead to August 2013 – fifty years later – and we are still facing similar struggles over civil rights and voting rights, right here in North Carolina. And a new African-American leader, the Reverend William Barber, has emerged with a strategy referred to as “Moral Monday,” meant to be a movement, not a moment.
Perhaps the words of the Prophet Jeremiah should be referenced toward the life and calling of Rev. Barber, who was born just two days after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Hear Jeremiah’s words again: “Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’”
In an article in the July 24 edition of Indy Week, Rev. Barber says he never had a moment of being called to the civil rights struggle. Instead, he likes to say he was “involuntarily drafted.”
Many of you here today know more firsthand about the “Moral Monday” movement than I do, since it has been unfolding here in North Carolina over the summer while I was away on sabbatical. But its issues and principles arise out of “HKonJ” (Historic Thousands on Jones Street) organized by Rev. Barber, President of the North Carolina NAACP since 2006. In 2012, we as a congregation voted to join “HKonJ” as a coalition partner in conjunction with our Economic Justice Covenant.
The “Moral Monday” movement is an outgrowth of all this, and it has gained national attention in the wake of recent legislation coming from our General Assembly which has been very controversial. I learned about some of this legislation while on Cape Cod as I read an email article by the Rev. Jim Wallis, founder and chief editor of Sojourners Magazine, headquartered in Washington, D.C., devoted to issues of Christian Social Justice. Reverend Wallis wrote a column on July 11, 2013, to address the impact that North Carolina’s “Moral Monday” was having and to endorse its cause, saying…
“I often talk about faith as something that is personal, but never private. Each of us must take responsibility for the beliefs we hold and must personally wrestle with life’s most fundamental questions. But once we have decided to follow Jesus, we cannot help but live our personal beliefs in public ways. The demands of the gospel refuse us the option of a purely inward spirituality…In a culture driven by self-interest, God calls us to care about the common good and about how our public policies affect the most vulnerable. In a world where money and power bring influence, Jesus asks us to give attention to the poor, the weak, and the marginalized.”
Rev. Wallis cites the text from Matthew 25 as the core of his faith. He goes on to criticize our Governor and both chambers of the State Legislature for “pushing a rigid budget agenda that has cut benefits to more than 70,000 people without jobs, restricted access to health care for low-income people, and attacked voting rights. The legislature is working on a tax cut for the wealthy and corporations while increasing the burden on struggling families.”
Rev. Wallis praises Rev. Barber for preaching an inclusive message, quoting Rev. Barber who said, “We had to stand up as a coalition – not liberal vs. conservative (that’s too small, too limited, too tired) or Republican vs. Democrat. We had to [give] a moral challenge because these policies they were passing, in rapid-fire, were constitutionally inconsistent, morally indefensible, and economically insane.”
The new legislation policies of the North Carolina General Assembly affect many issues ranging from economics and unemployment, to health care, the environment, public education, women’s reproductive rights, voting rights, even HB 522, the so called “Sharia Law” bill, which offends many of our Muslim citizens.
All these issues are worthy of our attention, but that lies beyond the scope of one sermon. So I briefly want to touch on only the last two I have mentioned – voting rights and Sharia law.
The expansion of voting rights, to broaden the scope of democratic decision making, lies at the core identity of our church’s congregational polity, which our forebears in the UCC pioneered. The Congregational Reformation was all about breaking away from the dictates of the King, who ruled the Church of England and all his subjects, exploiting them constantly. Our Pilgrim and Puritan forebears called themselves “separatists” as they dissented from the King’s authority and gave church members the right to vote to choose their own ministers and leaders and make their own Congregational decisions by majority rule. We, therefore, should be alarmed and raise our protest when we see our state government restricting voting rights!
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Republican, critiques North Carolina’s new voting law (HB 589). As reported in the News and Observer, Powell states, “I want to see policies that encourage every American to vote, not make it more difficult to vote.” Powell also took issue with the supporters of this bill who claim it will stop rampant voter fraud. His comment was clear and to the point: “You can say what you like, but there is no voter fraud. How can it be widespread and undetected?”
Powell spoke out at the North Carolina CEO Forum in Raleigh, on Thursday, August 22, after being introduced by Governor McCrory, who signed the bill. Public Policy Polling’s Monthly NC poll finds Governor McCrory’s approval rating at a new low – only 30% of North Carolina voters approve of the governor’s job performance, while 51% disapprove. The General Assembly has an even lower approval rating – 24%.
Other interesting findings: 49% of voters polled have a favorable opinion of “Moral Monday” protestors, while only 35% are unfavorable. And 50% think the General Assembly is causing North Carolina national embarrassment, compared to 34% who do not.
I believe that these polling results tell a story which shows that the voting public wants to take the “moral high ground,” but their elected officials are betraying them! Perhaps there is even a Biblical parallel here, as we remember that Jesus was betrayed by the governing bodies of his day – the Romans and Ruling Chamber of Sanhedrin.
The second issue, involving what the News and Observer called the “Sharia Law” bill (now called HB 522), was brought to my attention Thursday night, August 22, at a meeting of the Triangle Interfaith Alliance’s Board of Directors. My fellow board member, a Muslim gentleman named Manzoor Cheema, an independent journalist and film maker, was quite upset and offended by this law. He and others at the Board meeting, along with the bill’s many critics, feel the bill sends a message of intolerance and bigotry to followers of Islam in North Carolina. The News and Observer newspaper article cited the American Bar Association, which said in a resolution that the passage of such bills will have a “wide-spread negative impact on business, adversely affecting…economic development in the states in which such a law is passed…”
Omid Safi, a professor of religious studies at UNC-Chapel Hill feels that this phenomena of “anti-foreign-law” legislation comes from a fundamental misunderstanding of Sharia law and a “bigoted” perception of Muslims.
Today, as we reflect on our religious faith and how it intersects in the public domain, and as we reflect on the challenges we face in ministering to the “common good” and “the least of these,” I am heartened by the words found in Matthew 7, where Jesus says, “Ask and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you.” The “Moral Monday” movement has been doing these things, and intends to keep the pressure on – asking to be a moral voice for progressive justice; seeking to build a wider and wider coalition of concerned citizens, and people of faith; and knocking on the doors of our elected officials in the General Assembly when they are in session, and following them to their home constituents’ doors when they are out of session.
“Moral Monday” is a “Moral Movement” in which the members of CUCC can make a significant contribution, as we have already begun to do. Among our contributions, I want to lift up two that I feel we are well suited for:
- Work on organizing voter registration drives.
- Work on mobilizing the Interfaith Community by working with the Triangle Interfaith Alliance to articulate and promote mutual interests in justice issues, thus broadening the coalition for the “Moral Monday” movement.
If we ask, seek, and knock, Jesus guarantees it will be given! Amen
Volunteers needed for voter registration Sept. 8
Three hours to make a difference...
Life gets complicated for those who lack financial resources or are unable to drive. A small task - registering to vote - becomes a challenge. You can make a difference, one life at a time.
The Moral Monday ad hoc group is organizing a voter registration drive at RICH Park Housing where CUCC has long ties. Residents will be alerted in advance that teams will be coming to their doors in pairs. We need 30 volunteers*. You'll be trained to answer questions about this simple form as well as to check photo IDs so that we can offer future help to those who will need one for elections in 2014. Tentative date: Sunday, Sept. 8; training at 3 at CUCC, canvassing 4-6. Call Jane Smith or Bev Stolarick if you are willing to help.
*Family-friendly activity. Want to teach your child about citizenship and faith? Bring him or her with you. Your child is ready to participate if he or she is interested in helping (!) and will do well in a door-to-door project. If you need to work a shorter shift, let Jane or Bev know. Your child must attend the training with you.
Life gets complicated for those who lack financial resources or are unable to drive. A small task - registering to vote - becomes a challenge. You can make a difference, one life at a time.
The Moral Monday ad hoc group is organizing a voter registration drive at RICH Park Housing where CUCC has long ties. Residents will be alerted in advance that teams will be coming to their doors in pairs. We need 30 volunteers*. You'll be trained to answer questions about this simple form as well as to check photo IDs so that we can offer future help to those who will need one for elections in 2014. Tentative date: Sunday, Sept. 8; training at 3 at CUCC, canvassing 4-6. Call Jane Smith or Bev Stolarick if you are willing to help.
*Family-friendly activity. Want to teach your child about citizenship and faith? Bring him or her with you. Your child is ready to participate if he or she is interested in helping (!) and will do well in a door-to-door project. If you need to work a shorter shift, let Jane or Bev know. Your child must attend the training with you.
Resources suggested by the Moral Mondays ad hoc group
NEW this week
Progress NC is doing voter registration. (919) 855-2401 (from Gray)
"Forward Together" song written & performed by Bett Padgett (from Gary)
NC Election Connection a source of materials, great links, basic voter info, forms. Coming soon: voter guide for Wake County Board of Education candidates guide (responses from the candidates)
B&Vs for Justice: Breakfast and Voter Registration. The group plans to get together every Saturday between Sept. 7 and the November 2014 election (!) to do door-to-door voter registration. They meet from 8:30-9:30am at Piebird restaurant for breakfast. This community-building start to the day has been important in keeping the group going when energy flags or discouragement overwhelms. At 9:30 they load up cars for several hours of voter registration. On the 7th they may be going to Harnett County! You don’t have to commit to going each week, but you are bound to find some others going any week you show up at Piebird.
ARCHIVE
Forward Together/Moral Mondays news: NAACP NC Facebook page (anyone can see this)
Voter registration kit by Democracy NC (from Joan)
Sign up to be an election official (from Jane)
Article in Huffington Post: “9 Ways to Organize the Next Civil Rights Movement” (from Gary)
Editorial in Wall Street Journal: “Why Are North Carolina Liberals So @&%*! Angry?” (Is this the correct article, Laura?)
“No Labels”: non-partisan group working on collaborative government solutions, mentioned by Laura this morning
Rev. Barber's speech at the Wild Goose Festival (from Joan)
Contact Jane Smith if you have a resource you'd like to add to the list.
Moral Mondays and Forward Together
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| Thanks to Geoffrey Frank of UCCH for this photo of CUCC's banner at Moral Monday |
RICH Park Housing voter registration drive (Sep. 8, 3-6pm) - sign up with Jane or Bev
Recharge for the work - Moral Mondays ad hoc group meetings - joyful, energizing, action-oriented.
Next meeting: August 25, 9:15am, Vaughan Fellowship Hall
Weekly updates on projects in the works & upcoming Forward Together events
Background on CUCC and Moral Mondays/Forward Together
Sparked by the NC legislative session of 2013, the NAACP of North Carolina sent out a call to the HKonJ coalition to gather in Raleigh to proclaim a more loving vision for our state. Called Moral Mondays, these weekly assemblies were part celebration and part protest. Inspired by speeches and chants, the crowd stood in witness to the General Assembly. Some among those gathered chose to risk arrest as they took their message to their legislators in the building.
Members of CUCC responded to the call, prompted by the 2012 vote of the congregation to seek economic justice for all. Dozens attended the rallies; a handful chose to risk arrest (p. 9). As Moral Mondays became Forward Together, an ad hoc Moral Monday group has met regularly: organizing voter registration drives, assistance to people who will need photo IDs or rides to the polls, and participation in the ongoing rallies.
Moral Mondays and Forward Together update
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| CUCC's banner at Moral Monday |
Next Moral Mondays ad hoc group meeting is August 25. We'll work on voter registration drives.
Following is a summary of the discussion at this week's Moral Mondays ad hoc group meeting (August 18)
Do this week
- Spend two hours registering voters at RICH Park Housing; Sunday, Sept. 8. Training (required) 3pm at CUCC, Registering 4-6pm. Call Bev, Jane or Joan to volunteer.
- Contact Jane if you have Eva Clayton's email address. Judy has drafted a letter to her about voting in Warren County, but she and Leo weren't able to find contact info for her.
- We need people to investigate other places that we can bring voter registration forms/set up a table. Still needed: a school in an underserved neighborhood, a retirement community. Bring details next Sunday OR email them to the group this week.
CUCC voter registration: You can pick up a voter registration application from Cathy Marshall in the office. Jane will take completed forms to the BOE. Welcoming Sunday (Sep. 8) voter registration: Lena will get the applications and set up our part of the justice table. We'll also have a sign-up to catch last minute helpers for the RICH Park effort (see below).
RICH Park Housing voter registration/photo ID: Bev will confirm with RICH Park Housing that Sep. 8, 4-6, is okay for us to go door-to-door. In addition to offering people the voter registration applications, we will ask if they have an allowed photo ID for 2014 and, if not, ask if they would like help getting one. We'll decide how to proceed with photo ID assistance as we gather more information about the best way to do this without incurring a cost for the residents. We'll recruit at CUCC for volunteers to go two-by-two on this date. Training (mandatory): 3-3:45pm at CUCC, door-to-door 4-6pm. Jane will do training.
PLM-Families Together voter registration/photo ID: Gray has delivered voter registration applications. She will offer on our behalf that we will assist them in obtaining photos IDs.
Bertie County driving to photo IDs/the polls: Here is the npr story which explains the challenges of getting people to the polls. Perhaps we can work with Rev. Vonner Horton, pastor at New Oxley Hill Baptist Church in Merry Hill, next year.
Warren County driving to photo IDs/the polls: Judy has drafted a personal email to Eva Clayton to see who is working on this so that we can offer to assist with driving. Her attempts at finding an email address have failed; anyone have it?
Upcoming events
Monday, August 19: Moral Monday in Manteo, Charlotte, Burnsville. Joan and Bev are representing us in Manteo.
Thursday, August 22: Democracy NC training on voter registration and voter ID. Carpool with Joan and Jane. Meeting is 6:30pm at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 3639 Old Chapel Hill Rd., Durham.
You need to register. 919-286-6000 or info@democracy-nc.org
Saturday, August 24: Judy and Leo will represent us at the DC celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington.
Monday, August 28: 50th Anniversary of March on Washington celebration in Boone. Joan will give you a ride and drop you off at a hotel, but she already has a home where she can stay.
Monday, August 28: 50th Anniversary of March on Washington celebration across NC.
If David Price is your representative, 5:30-7:00pm, in front of the Chapel Hill Post Office.
If George Holding is your representative, 5:30pm, Wake County Courthouse, 316 Fayetteville Street, Raleigh.
If Renee Ellmers is your representative, 5:30pm, TBD, Dunn.
Not sure who your representative is? Wake district map
October 10-12: NAACP-NC statewide conference in Rocky Mount. Call Joan if you would like to carpool. You need to register.
News for arrestees and those who love them
Arrestees are in the process of deciding whether to accept the offer of 25 hours of community service and $180 fine or to continue to plead not guilty and go to trial. At our meeting we discovered that each arrestee has his or her own questions and not everyone may make the same decision. A supportive, open conversation continues.
Want to support a friend on his/her court date? Look up the court date and courtroom.
Anyone entering the new Wake County Justice Center (where the trials are) goes through metal detectors. If you wouldn't bring it on a plane, don't take it to the justice center (nail files, pocket knives...).
Resources
NEW
Progress NC is doing voter registration. (919) 855-2401 (from Gray)
"Forward Together" song written & performed by Bett Padgett (from Gary)
ARCHIVE
Forward Together/Moral Mondays news: NAACP NC Facebook page (anyone can see this)
Voter registration kit by Democracy NC (from Joan)
Sign up to be an election official (from Jane)
Article in Huffington Post: “9 Ways to Organize the Next Civil Rights Movement” (from Gary)
Editorial in Wall Street Journal: “Why Are North Carolina Liberals So @&%*! Angry?” (Is this the correct article, Laura?)
“No Labels”: non-partisan group working on collaborative government solutions, mentioned by Laura this morning
- notes taken by Jane Smith for the Moral Monday's ad hoc group
Intentions becoming Action - Justice in a Changing Climate
On May 20, 2007, the congregation voted to embark on a congregation-wide initiative to seek to address the challenges of global climate change and its impact on those least able to prepare. With a history of advocacy for justice for people with the fewest material resources, we hope to contribute that perspective to the network of faith and community groups engaged with this challenge.
A steering committee reporting to the Council with representatives from each Ministry began planning educational events to prepare us for the work. We created a blog for sharing ideas and resources and a bulletin board to post current CUCC action options. In November, the Educational Sampler Potluck offered a series of workshops to pique congregational interest (and to celebrate with a local-foods meal).
Growing from those discussions, winter 2007/8 educational events included:
- CUCC Energy Audit - a tour of our facilities which generated a "to do" list to decrease our carbon footprint. The audit expert was provided by NC Interfaith Power + Light.
- CUCC Utilities Audit - analysis of CUCC use of electricity, gas, and water
- Thinking Green In the Bleak Midwinter - four weeks discussing ideas for personal changes at home and encouraging one another in taking the next step (repeated in 2009)
- Science of Global Climate Change - four weeks preparing members to engage in meaningful scientific discussion about the roles of humans in climate change
- Lenten Carbon Fast - weekly scripture readings and proposed steps for personal action
- Recycling Center Tour - morning tour of Waste Americas recycling site.
With the arrival of spring 2008, the congregation reached out to other congregations in the area. At the Green Tea (as it was dubbed by one of the guests), representatives of 14 congregations gathered to share what each is doing and brainstormed future initiatives we might undertake together. The Green Tea congregations continue to keep each other informed of educational, advocacy, and service opportunities that each is sponsoring.
Summer 2008 brought God's Green Earth, a weekend adventure for all ages. Activities included painting a tent for Darfur refugees, learning about what we can recycle in Raleigh, brainstorming uses for CUCC’s grounds, preparing and eating local foods, painting canvas shopping bags, building a house from trash, making receptacles for CUCC’s recycling, and singing nature songs around a campfire.
With the political season upon us (fall 2008), many of us tested public transportation for the first time. At Early Voting + Bus + Lunch we (kids and all) took the CAT bus to vote, then enjoyed Locopops together. This experience has led us to some ongoing advocacy with CAT about improving the reliability of the buses!
Throughout 2008 we looked for ways to assist those with fewer resources to tackle the challenges of climate change. We learned:
- That a house which is affordable for homeless women is also likely to be a house which needs structural repairs before weatherizing would make sense;
- That our RICH Park housing is way ahead of us weatherizing for its tenants;
- That a successful community garden requires more people who are committed to it in the long term than we currently have in our membership.
We strengthened our connection to community groups by co-sponsoring and attending:
- “Averting Climate Catastrophe: Power Plants or Clean Energy-Who Decides?” conference,
- “Transit: Is Wake County Ready for It?” roundtable,
- NCIPL green jobs event.
We also participated in a vigil at Representative Bob Etheridge’s office (sponsored by NCIPL) and a climate change rally.
We were fortunate to work with the Landscape Design class of NCSU’s professor Will Hooker in early 2009. The students created six alternative designs for our grounds, incorporating green concepts alongside our desire to welcome the community and continue with current ministries.
We attended the Franciscan Coalitions’ “Hunger No More” conference which included a focus on the role of climate change on global hunger. Through the Social Justice Ministry, CUCC has encouraged our federal representatives to support reform of US foreign assistance structures so that we are in a better position to assist hungry people around the world.
We continued to explore how we might encourage the development of a more robust public transportation system. Steve Jackson, NC Justice Center, briefed the JCC on the politics behind transportation policy in NC. We continued to explore the possibility of moving the CAT bus 4 stop to our property so we could offer a roofed, safe and comfortable place for neighbors to wait for the bus.
All Things Congo, a collaborative effort of CUCC and The Good New Message Church with help from the Congolese Community of the Triangle, has held three educational events; in 2009, the third featured Dr. Sam Mozley who connected climate change to the particular effects in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2010, the collaboration grew to include our participation in the NC celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the birth of the free nation of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
On the home front of our effort to make a difference for those who are most vulnerable to climate change, Community Outreach Ministry led the congregation in collecting fans and cash for the Cool for Wake fan project.
As 2009 rolled into 2010, we had the opportunity to learn from and assist Emory University seminary student Tama Eller as she completed her final graduation paper. Tama’s interest was in studying a congregation engaged in creation care in order to learn what is working and what isn’t. She also used us in an educational program pilot, holding an extended workshop to help us keep our energy focused and our work moving forward. With the JCC Initiative concluding its third year, that review helped us move into a new phase.
Some of the earlier projects continued to roll forward: greening CUCC’s grounds and making them more friendly for fauna and flora, implementing improvements from CUCC’s Energy Audit, and making personal changes at home. Collaboration continued; we participated in a panel at Cary Presbyterian Church, celebrated the first National Preach In on Global Warming (including sending “love the earth” Valentines to our federal representatives), and in the Evangelical Environmental Network’s Creation Care Challenge. The God’s Green Earth summer all-church weekend returned with new workshops and wide participation.
In 2011 our focus was on action to reduce carbon consumption, improve the quality of life for some families with little resources, and to increase our work with other churches on this. We recognize that with climate change, the need for insulation here in the south is increasingly important. As such, Gary Smith met with leaders of NC Interfaith Power+Light and Lyle Addley-Warrick of the Raleigh Friends Meeting to discuss and determine how we could collaborate to help weatherize homes. We learned that “Resources for Seniors” of Wake County has a weatherization program for people of low income. The program is funded by the federal Stimulus program and is quite successful. We also learned, however, that some families do not qualify for the weatherization because their house needs minor repairs or has some debris that prevents the weatherization crews from doing their job. Lyle and Gary met with Garman Troup of “Resources” and agreed that our churches could help make these “walkaway” houses ready to be weatherized by doing the repairs or cleaning out the debris. On Easter Saturday, we cleaned out the crawlspace of a house in Raleigh. This enabled “Resources” to insulate the crawlspace and attic and replace the family’s HVAC system. After this house, we cleaned out two additional houses, and on the Saturday before Thanksgiving we completed some significant repairs on a fourth house. Along the way, we worked with people from four other churches and met some wonderful families; we pray that all of the families are more comfortable and will see their energy consumption decrease in the coming years.
We continued the “preweatherization” work in 2012, and a number of other congregations expressed interest in helping. With this additional people resource, we provided information to groups seeking to expand pre-weatherization to other NC counties. Still ongoing: CUCC’s greening of buildings and landscape, personal projects, the Valentines for legislators project, and cooperative recycling and disposal of hazardous waste (batteries, florescent bulbs).
At the All Church Retreat (October, 2012), members of the congregation expressed an interest in exploring whether installing solar photovoltaic panels at CUCC would be a sensible green investment for the congregation. Throughout 2013 we have been investigating this possibility. We’ve been learning about funding options (ex. some members forming an LLC) and have had an assessment of our energy generating capacity. The next step will be bringing that information to the congregation for consideration.
Meanwhile our preweatherization work with Resources for Seniors has been winding down. They haven’t had homes which need our attention. That closing door has opened another one. Working with Laura Langham, Energy Conservation Program Manager of NC Cooperative Extension, we are part of a pilot program to equip congregations to assist members and people in the community with basic home energy audits and weatherization skills. In fall of 2013 a team of CUCCers will be trained and begin doing audits.
Don't Worry - Be Faithful
Don’t Worry, Be Faithful
August 18, 2013
Pastor Steve Halsted
Let me begin by sharing a few words from my journal which I kept “religiously” throughout my Sabbatical the past three months. Page #1 reads “FIRST DAY OF SABBATICAL! The entry begins,
"Sitting in RDU airport with Marcy, awaiting our flight to Seattle to spend two weeks in the Pacific Northwest. On our trip we plan to explore the cities of Seattle, Vancouver, Victoria, and Portland. Can’t wait to see the new Art Museum of Chihuli Glass Works and the Rock & Roll Museum featuring the music of Jimi Hendrix – hometown hero of Seattle! Also very excited to anticipate visiting Olympic National Park (I now have a Senior Citizen free pass) and its claim to being the most northern latitude for any rainforest in the world! And my mother has highly recommended we see the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia, in Canada! But now we have an hour to kill before our flight is boarded…so I’ll begin to read the first book on my sabbatical list: The Great Work, by noted cultural historian and eco-theologian Thomas Berry, a native of Greensboro, North Carolina, who taught at Fordham University…”
Orion Magazine, one of America’s finest environmental magazines writes: “Berry is our conscious, our prophet, our guide. He speaks to what is best within us, in a voice that is inclusive, ecumenical, generous, and wise.” And Newsweek writes: “Thomas Berry is the most provocative figure among the new breed of eco-theologians.” Thomas Berry died in 2009.
Back to my journal entry…
“Now writing on the plane – waiting for take-off – the monitor screens above the seats are showing beautiful images of flowers in nature: a flower in slow motion opening, orange California poppies blowing in the wind, wonderful tranquil images to relax the passengers and alleviate their worries associated with air travel in a post 9/11 world.”
Matthew’s Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, thunderously speaks, saying, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear…consider the lilies of the field, how they have grown; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. Will God not much more clothe you? Oh ye of little faith? Therefore, do not worry, saying, what will we eat? Or what will we drink? Or what will we wear?”
Okay, Jesus! I hear you! But, we are a worrisome people, living in a worrisome age. So, let’s all just take a deep breath and relax – just a little bit. Let’s all try and let go of our worries long enough so they don’t get a stranglehold on us, and choke out the good, the beautiful, and the true elements in life that are all around us – and are free for the taking – free for the experiencing – because as Jesus alludes, they come to us through the “grace” of God…if we live by faith.
Back to my journal…
“In the airport, before our flight to Seattle, we spoke with a young mom with two young children, one three years old and the other eighteen months old. It was obvious she had her hands full, trying to cope with two tired, unhappy children and cope with all their stuff and all their needs: feeding them, providing drinks, changing diapers. And here’s Jesus saying, ‘Don’t worry about what’s to eat, or what’s to drink, or what to wear.” Here’s the mother telling Marcy and I that ‘this is the absolute worst day of my life!’ And who can blame her – try flying with two little kids! Many of us have been there! Done that!”
Many of us have tried to be the perfect parent or the Madonna Mother and have failed; we have worried, and we have heaped upon ourselves the guilt of our worries as we face the family challenges of everyday life. We don’t need Jesus telling us not to worry! Or do we?
In one sense, we don’t, because worry comes so naturally to us; it’s a natural defense that keeps us on guard for our own safety, and for the safety of others around us, like our children or grandchildren.
Surely Jesus experienced a great deal of worry for his own future and the future of his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane when he was so troubled that we are told he sweated blood. Talk about worry!
And surely God continues to worry, to show concern for the plight of the poor, the plight of the oppressed peoples of this world, and for the fate of the earth itself and all elements within God’s creation.
So what was the point that Jesus was trying to make in this brief message contained in Matthew 6:25-31? For me, the part I need to hear has to do with obsessive worrying. When we get stuck on something and worry about it all the time, when we can’t get it out of our mind and it becomes all consuming, and it (the particular worry) begins to eat away at all that is good, and beautiful, and true about life. For me, Jesus is saying, “Therefore I tell you, do not be obsessed with your worries or they will totally govern your outlook toward life.” These worries, if you let them, can have the power to turn you into a perpetual pessimist. So Jesus is simply saying not to let that happen to you – life can offer so much more, if you put your faith in the goodness of God.
The Feminine Voice of Wisdom found in Proverbs, Chapter 8, seems to be a good remedy for our obsessive worries. Here it counsels, "Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice? ...To you, O People, I call, and my cry is to all that live. O simple ones, learn prudence; acquire intelligence, you who lack it."
My religions dictionary defines “prudence” as follows: “A cardinal virtue of wise self-regulation, avoiding all excess and folly.”
So we are counseled to cultivate prudence in our lives and it will become a healing presence to remedy our obsessive worries. In other words, don’t worry to excess because to do so is sheer folly. Remember once again how Jesus counsels with a question, “Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” And we all know the answer to His question – It’s NO, of course, but excessive worry causes great stress to the body, the mind, and to the spirit; and excess stress leads to all sorts of illness that can in fact reduce the span of our lives, and make the quality of our lives rather bleak.
Our passage in Proverbs also declares a further remedy for our worries as Wisdom speaks, saying, “When God marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside God, like a master worker; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing before God always, rejoicing in the Lord’s inhabited world, and delighting in the human race.”
For me, after my sabbatical experiences, the words that jump off the written page and resound in my ear are “rejoicing” and “delighting.” These two words can hold so much power for our lives…”rejoicing” and “delighting.” Perhaps the opposite or antidote of excessive worrying is to be delighting and rejoicing. Rejoicing in the Lord’s inhabited world, a world of beautiful rock mountains, and sandy beaches, of flowering plants, and towering trees, of birds and bees, of sunsets and sunrises, of animals in the world and pets in our homes, and the “animals” we are most familiar with – ourselves, and our families – as we are biblically called to delight in the “human animal” race.
To delight and to rejoice is to be faithful before God – not fearful, as Jesus so often warns against, and not obsessive with worry which he addresses in Matthew, saying, “Look at the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.”
In the book of Job (of all places), we find these pastoral words of guidance in Chapter 12:7-8, “But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall teach thee; or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.” The message here is that we all have a great need to sometimes put aside our human perspectives for a while, and retreat from the human world of words, to communicate on a different level, to learn what the earth and all its other beings have to teach us.
Walt Whitman, mystic and poet extraordinaire, wrote in his masterpiece, Leaves of Grass, “Now I see the secret of the making of the best persons. It is to grow in the open air, and to eat and sleep with the earth.” And Henry David Thoreau proclaimed, “In wildness is the preservation of the world.”
So what did I do on my sabbatical? Here is just a sampling…
- I climbed a mountain! Mt. Stowe in Vermont that proved to be a good challenge for a 64-year-old with gimpy knees!
- I swam in the ocean daily at Oregon Beach on Cape Cod during the six weeks I spent with my 88-year-old mother, in her cottage in Cotuit.
- I watched a spectacular sunset at Rock Harbor in Eastham on Cape Cod (holy ground to me from my childhood vacations).
- I saw a spectacular double rainbow from the town of Port Townsend, in Washington State, near Olympic National Park.
- I slept on the ground in a tent for a week at the Abode of the Message – a retreat center in New Lebanon, New York; and visited Hancock Shaker Village.
- I smelled the roses and delighted in the beauty of fragrant flowers in Victoria, Canada, at the Butchart Gardens.
- “The earth laughs in flowers” (Ralph Waldo Emerson). I saw it laughing in the waves along Oregon Beach and wrote this Haiku poem: Waves smile, revealing sparkling dimples, laughing upon the shore
- I was awed by the richness of the Rain Forest in Olympic National Park, so well-known for its incredible biological diversity and every shade of green you can imagine.
- I snow-shoed on Mt. Rainier in a thick fog that revealed new mysteries of delight every ten feet or so when something else came into sight.
- I worshiped each morning using a prayer for guidance, a prayer for healing, and a prayer of thanksgiving directed toward the four directions: East, South, West, and North (using the wisdom of the Native American tradition).
- I read and reflected upon the writings of Thomas Berry and others, mostly environmental writers.
- I watched and listened to the birds: turkeys gobbling and ospreys soaring.
So, what did I do on my sabbatical? There are many answers to that question. In my mind, one of the most important things I did was to cultivate “prudence” and to set aside the obsessive worries that seem to come with the role of being a pastor to so many people.
It is one thing to take on the cares and worries of one’s own family. Then multiply that in the church family and it is only a matter of time before it becomes overwhelming and “burn-out” may ensue. I was very much ready and in need of a sabbatical for rest and renewal of body, mind, and spirit, and I thank you all for supporting my time away. I know we will all benefit by it.
Thanks be to God. Amen
What's next for Moral Mondays?
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| Thank you, Geoffrey Frank of UCCH, for the photo. |
Following is a summary of the discussion at this week's CUCC Moral Mondays ad hoc group meeting (August 11)
Do this week
- We need people to investigate other places that we can bring voter registration forms/set up a table. Still needed: a school in an underserved neighborhood, a retirement community. Bring details next Sunday OR email them to the group this week.
- Contact Jane, Joan, Leo, Judy, or Gray if you are willing to staff a voter registration table for a few hours between now and September 13.
Chavis and Pullen parks - Gray
CUCC office - Jane is checking with Cathy
Democracy NC - Gray
League of Women Voters (Wake) - Gray
Loaves and Fishes - Gray
Method Child Development Center - Joan
New citizens - Leo and Judy have been attending citizenship ceremonies and have already turned in 20 completed voter registration applications!
RICH Park Housing - Joan via Bev
Schools - Jane is waiting to hear from with Wake PTA Council and Wake Education Partnership. She is also checking with Broughton High and Joyner Elementary. Other members of the group are invited to contact their local school, then let the group know if you'd like someone to join you at a table there.
YWCA (Hillsborough Street) - Jane
Upcoming events
Monday, August 19: Moral Monday in Manteo and Charlotte. Call Joan if you would like to carpool to the rally in Manteo.
Monday, August 28: 50th Anniversary of March on Washington celebration in Boone. Joan will give you a ride and drop you off at a hotel, but she already has a home where she can stay.
October 10-12: NAACP-NC statewide conference in Rocky Mount. Call Joan if you would like to carpool. You need to register.
Change
The NAACP NC is replacing their website with a public NAACP NC Facebook page. Anyone can see this page; you do NOT have to be a member of Facebook. Check here for updates on Moral Mondays and the Forward Together Movement.
News for arrestees
Anyone entering the new Wake County Justice Center (where the trials are) goes through metal detectors. If you wouldn't bring it on a plane, don't take it to the justice center (nail files, pocket knives...). Want to support a friend on his/her court date? Look up the court date and courtroom.
Resources
Forward Together/Moral Mondays news: NAACP NC Facebook page (anyone can see this)Voter registration kit by Democracy NC (from Joan)
Sign up to be an election official (from Jane)
Article in Huffington Post: “9 Ways to Organize the Next Civil Rights Movement” (from Gary)
Editorial in Wall Street Journal: “Why Are North Carolina Liberals So @&%*! Angry?” (Is this the correct article, Laura?)
“No Labels”: non-partisan group working on collaborative government solutions, mentioned by Laura this morning
Buses from NC to March on Washington 50th celebration
Rev. Barber's speech at the Wild Goose Festival (from Joan)
- notes taken by Jane Smith for the Moral Monday's ad hoc group
Hand and Foot
“Hand and Foot” is a card game based on Canasta. It’s very easy to learn and you are invited to join a group of enthusiastic and non-competitive card players that meet on the third Wednesday of every month in the Vaughan Fellowship Hall at CUCC. We meet around 12:15pm for a brown-bag lunch and begin playing around 12:30pm. You don’t have to come every time and you can leave when you need to. It’s a fun way to fellowship and get to know your fellow card players. Contact the church office at 919-787-6422 and let us know if you can join us. It’s a lot of fun! All are welcome! Our next card playing extravaganza is Wednesday, November 19, 12:15pm.
Groups and Activities
- Arts in Worship
- Caring Committee
- Choir
- Communications
- Greeters
- Interim Pastoral Search Committee
- Life and Faith in Downtown Raleigh
- Monday Lunch Group
- Retired Peoples' Group
- Sacraments and Chancel
- Saturday Book Group
- Sisters in Spirit (SIS)
- Sunday Morning Bible Study
- Sunday Morning Forum
- Tai Chi
- Ushers
- Wednesday Evening Bible Study
Mission Moments Calendar
Click scroll bar on calendar or blue arrow buttons to view future mission moments that are already scheduled or to view past mission moments.