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Welcome

"All is Well" - Christmas Eve Service
Video of complete Christmas Eve Service (40 minutes)
“Nurturing spiritual growth and working for social justice”

Silent Night closing by candlelight - Christmas Eve
Video of Christmas Eve Service (40 minutes)
Community United Church of Christ has a long history of community involvement, courage in controversy,  spiritual depth and joy, and warmth and friendship for the newcomer and stranger. Our membership comes from diverse faith backgrounds, people seeking a church home that supports doing what they believe that Christ teaches.

Want to get involved? Learn more about our educational programs, social justice work, and opportunities to nurture your spirit. Visit our Groups page for a complete list of groups and activities. The News and Chat blog provides access to lots of current news items. To find out when meetings and activities are scheduled, check the Upcoming Events in the sidebar on the right, or visit our Google calendar or the calendar below.
Sunday Worship
9:00am - 9:30am: Taizé Worship
10:30am - 11:45am: Main Worship & Church School
Phone and Email: 919-787-6422 , office.cucc@gmail.com
Click any item in the calendar below to view details

Gracie Allen said it well ...
"Never place a period where God has placed a comma."

Annual Reports for Year 2013

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 Report for Committees and Ministries (2013)

Usher Schedule 2015

January – 4,11,18,25        Bill Lamb
Congregational Meeting – 1/25

February – 1,8,15,22      Bayard Alcorn
Ash Wednesday – 2/18

March – 1,8,15,22,29 Skip Stoddard

April – 5 (Easter),12,19,26
5 (Easter) – David Ledbetter
12 –  Bill Lamb
19 – Skip Stoddard
26 -  Bayard Alcorn
Maundy Thursday – 4/2 – Bayard Alcorn

May – 3,10,17,24,31 Sam Johnson

June – 7,14,21,28 David Ledbetter

July – 5,12,19,26 Bill Lamb

August – 2, 9,16,23,30
2 – Skip Stoddard
9 -   Bayard Alcorn
16 – David Ledbetter
23 –  Bill Lamb
30 – Sam Johnson

September – 6, 13, 20, 27 Skip Stoddard

October – 4, 11, 18, 25 David Ledbetter

November – 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 Sam Johnson

December – 6, 13, 20, 27   Bayard Alcorn
Christmas Eve – 12/24

Regular usher assistance:  Michael Herbert
Substitute ushers :             Skip, Sam, Edith, Bayard
Special occasion ushers (e.g. memorial services): Jane Smith

Peg Nowling Williams

The Reverend Peg Nowling Williams will be arriving as Intentional Interim Pastor in February.  She will join us for worship on Sunday, February 1 so you will have a chance to meet her, and we will have a potluck luncheon during fellowship to welcome her to our congregation. She will begin her duties on February 2.

Here is the brief bio given at Huffington Post ...

The Rev. Peg Nowling Williams is an ordained American Baptist minister, graduate of Christian Theological Seminary and has served seven congregations. Currently she serves as an interim minister from time to time. For seven years she served as a Field Education Supervisor at Christian Theological Seminary and more recently has taught Baptist Polity at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester NY. Her husband, Rev. Dr. W. Kenneth Williams, is pastor of First Baptist Church of Rochester NY. Together they have four children and four, eight or twelve grandchildren, depending on how you count them.

A list of her blog posts at Huffington Post is available.

Guest preachers until Peg joins us
Throughout January and early February, we welcome these guest preachers to the 10:30AM traditional worship service.

January 4 - The Reverend Jim Luck, David Sigmon's former pastor from Greensboro
     Notes from which Rev. Luck's preached :  You don't get there overnight
January 11 - Mark Zainedden, a regular participant in Sunday Taize´ worship
     Notes from which Mark preached:  Sacramental Moments
January 18 - our own Joy Alford (returned from Cuba the day before!)
January 25 - Joy Alford
February 1 - The Reverend Sheila Barrick

Calendars

What is Advent?

Advent is the first season of the liturgical (worship) calendar* for the church's year.  Beginning on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, the four weeks of the Advent season focus on the two comings of Christ:  Jesus' birth which we celebrate on Christmas (December 25) and the second coming which will happen at an undefined time when all creation will experience the fulfillment of God's promises for love and life.  Advent is a season of excited anticipation, fertile waiting, and the tension between what is and what is to come.  During Advent we prepare ourselves for God's presence - within ourselves and in the world.  Special colors, music, scripture readings, decorations, and traditions help inspire us throughout the Advent season.  Through retreats, focused studies, celebrations,and acts of mercy, we practice Advent with body, mind, and spirit.  Celebrating Advent Together at CUCC

*The liturgical calendar joins the lectionary (a three year cycle of readings from the Hebrew and Christian scriptures) in providing structure which helps us focus in worship on the major themes of both Jesus' ministry and Christian life.  Both were developed over centuries in western European Christian traditions.  Both are helpful tools, not requirements.  By using the calendar and lectionary to plan our worship, study and work together, CUCC has a guide which helps us reflect on themes like waiting and hope (Advent), incarnation of God in human form (Christmas), repentance and forgiveness (Lent), deaths and resurrections (Holy Week and Easter), the coming of the Spirit to the church (Pentecost), and the everyday work of Christians and the church (ordinary time).

Celebrating Advent Together - Opportunities for your spirit and to serve

Nourish your spirit for the coming of the Christ.


Family lights advent candlesSunday, November 30, 10:30AM worship
       Bring a dish to share.

Making ornaments for the children's Christmas tree.  
Sunday, November 30, church school.
       An annual tradition for children and youth together.

Christmas Tree Shopping and Lunch Out.
Sunday, November 30, after worship.
      An annual tradition for our youth.  Bring lunch $, if possible.

Midweek Taizé worship. 
Tuesday, December 2, 7PM

Sunday Taizé worship.
All Sundays, 9 AM, Sanctuary.


Celebrating Steve Halsted.  
Saturday, December 6, 5-7:30PM.
       Our farewell party of funny skits and refreshments to celebrate Steve's years with us and his retirement. This celebration takes the place of our annual Christmas party.  All ages invited!

Communion bread, two chalices and a pitcher.Communion - all are welcome!
Sunday, December 7 at 10:30AM worship.
Sunday, December 21 at 9AM worship.

Decorate the Children's Christmas Tree.
Sunday, December 7, during Church School.

Life and Faith in Downtown Raleigh Advent party.  
Tuesday, December 9, 7PM, Tyler's Tap Room.

The Spiritual Significance of Bread/Food.  
Saturday, December 13, 10AM-2PM
       Advent retreat.


Angels sing to baby Jesus at manger in Christmas pageant
Christmas Pageant.  
Sunday, December 14, 10:30AM worship.
       Grandchildren, nieces, nephews, friends, etc. are welcome to participate in the pageant.  Youth are assisting.  Talk to Anne Bailey.


Garland of greens decorates the sanctuaryDecorate the building for Christmas.
Saturday, December 20, 9:30AM.
       Lend a hand as we decorate the building for Christmas.  

Children decorate the hallway for Christmas.
Sunday, December 21, during church school (10:30AM)

Youth Christmas Party
Sunday, December 21, church school
     Youth will celebrate Christmas with a white elephant party in Church School. Please bring a wrapped gift of under $5, or find something zany at home and wrap it up.

Carols and Lullabies - Christmas in the Southwest
Sunday, December 21, 10:30AM worship
      The choir will be presenting this suite by Conrad Susa, as requested by Steve Halsted.  Accompaniment will be provided by Doug Barrick (organ), Mike Schafele (dulcimer), and Jake Wenger (cello).

Caroling at Morningside
Sunday, December 21, after worship, leaving from Fellowship Hall
      We'll walk across the street for about a half hour of singing carols with the residents at Morningside.

Christmas Eve worship for all ages.  
Wednesday, December 24, 5PM.
Candlelight Service of Scripture and carols, followed by a brief fellowship of hot cider in the fellowship hall.

Worship with your family.  
Sunday, December 28.
       No Church School for children or youth today.


Wondering how to serve others?  

Here are special Advent projects.

Christmas Menu of Compassionate Gifts
        Sponsored by Community Outreach Ministry. 
        Final day to donate after worship is December 21 and online is December 31.

Human Beans Together! serving lunch to those in Moore Square
       Sponsored by the Youth Group (adult drivers needed, too)
       Sunday, December 7


Salvation Army Christmas Stocking Project
       Sponsored by Children's Church School.  
       Final date to drop off gifts is December 7.

Urban Ministries Food Bag
       Sponsored by Community Outreach Ministry.
       Drop off December 7.

Thermometer

Let's test this script.







Progress Report on Pledges
Goal of $240,000

Fall Congregational Meeting - November 23

The fall congregational meeting (mandated by our bylaws) will be held on November 23 at noon in the Vaughan Fellowship Hall. The main focus of the fall meeting is to preview the budgetary considerations for the upcoming year, and to give a progress report on recruitment of church officers and ministry leaders and participants. If you have budget concerns, please contact Carol Kepler who leads the Stewardship Ministry. The Nominating Committee consists of Julie Robertson (Chair), Joy Alford, and Marty Lamb, so please contact one of these members if you would like to volunteer your services on any church committee or ministry.

Anyone is welcome to attend the meeting to learn and ask questions. Members of the congregation vote on any motions which arise.

Welcoming Sunday is September 7


Welcoming Sunday is our Homecoming.  Join us as we welcome everyone back from the summer with a variety of activities: games, crafts, music, projects - and food!  Worship is in the sanctuary at 10:30, and the after-church festivities begin immediately afterward in the churchyard between the sanctuary and the fellowship hall. A potluck lunch will be held in the fellowship hall around 12:30.

Special Invitation: Claim your 30-seconds of fame!

This year the theme of Welcoming Sunday will be the Extravagant Welcome which is extended to everyone. Invite family, friends and neighbors to visit with us. The lunch focus will be on local foods. We are all aware that a food distribution system that relies on long distance transportation of food products is inefficient. So we encourage folks to consider bringing a dish that includes locally produced food. This is not only environmentally sound but supports local farmers and producers. But in any case bring a dish to share and join us on September 7. All are welcome!

[Note: If your church group wishes to have a project table at the Welcoming Sunday festivities, please let Robert Parrish or Lavon Page know as soon as possible. Project tables will be set up outdoors this year (weather permitting), and advance planning will be required to position the various activities.]

Youth Group

Youth group members smile at the camera on Youth Sunday 2014
Youth led worship during Lent 2014
For youth sixth grade through high school, youth group is the place to make friends and tackle larger projects. Youth choose and run their own service projects with adult support.
  • Joining youth and adults to repair homes with Appalachia Service Project
  • Raising funds to help those with mental illness through the Walk for Hope
  • Preparing and serving meals at the Helen Wright Center for Women
  • Collecting food for Urban Ministries
  • Raising funds to help Yahve-Jire Orphanage in Port-Au-Prince Haiti
Painted faces to light up the world
Welcoming Sunday Youth Group Project
One of the best ways to describe the CUCC Youth Group is to say that we are a close group made up of individuals. Each member is accepted for who they are, and their unique gifts are appreciated and utilized. We are energetic and thoughtful, intellectual and silly, questioning and believing, serious and fun.

Youth ham it up with their Christmas tree
A Christmas tradition:
choosing the church's Christmas tree
Youth Group News

Members of the Youth Group painted faces as part of the Welcoming Sunday festivities at the church (see photo).

The Youth Group helped organize and participated in a dog walk and blessing of the animals on August 23, 2014. A video of this event (7.5 minutes) is available in the CUCC Archive, as well as a set of photos of the dog walk made by Śānti Matthews.

Wright Center meal
On August 17, the Youth Group prepared and served a meal at the Wright Center. The photos from that event are available in the CUCC Photo Gallery.

The CUCC Youth Group is comprised of 7th-12th graders (5th-6th graders are invited to join us every 5th Sunday, and for special event planning). The group is led by Śānti Matthews. Youth meet to live out our faith by getting together for meals, service projects, retreats, worship planning, lock-ins, games, and fun. We will meet regularly this year every 2nd and 3rd Sunday from 12:00 p.m.-1:30 p.m. for lunch and activities, and at other times as planned. The youth help in the life of our church community by providing support such as child care for church events, participating in fully in church-wide events, hosting the talent show, and most recently, designing and producing church T-shirts.

Śānti Matthew - CUCC Youth Leader
Although the youth in the group vary in personality and age, and attend many different schools, we find that we learn from each other, support each other, care for each other, and genuinely enjoy each other's company. Join us any time; we welcome new faces.

CUCC's Safe Church Policies

“Sundae” Sunday – July 6, 2014

What?  You say you miss seeing the flying watermelon seeds from Gary Smith or the Kiels?  By now, you probably thought you would have heard or seen something about P2E.  Well, what happened was this:  The Watermelon Growers Association, Inc. sent a memo to CUCC stating, “Due to the massive number of seeds used for this event, you have caused a watermelon shortage!” So, therefore, they have begged us to not have the P2E competition this year to allow the growers to catch up on production.

Well, maybe that is a slight exaggeration, but Welcoming, Fellowship, & Growth has decided to take a break from the P2E competition this year and instead, celebrate the Fourth of July with a “Sundae” Sunday event.  It will take place during fellowship time immediately after the 10:30am worship service in the Fellowship Hall on Sunday, July 6th.  You will be able to make yourself a cool, patriotic ice cream Sundae as you fellowship with friends and visitors.

As we enjoy our frozen treats, we will be privileged to enjoy some wonderful slides of the American wilderness and American parks that our very own Mike Schafale took on some of his extensive travels.  Mike will be happy to talk with anyone interested about any of the slides shown.

So, let’s give the watermelon growers a break as we enjoy our Sunday Sundaes.

Submitted by Robert Parrish for Welcoming, Fellowship, and Growth

"Summer Solstice" Worship Celebration

Join others in celebration of the “Summer Solstice” on Tuesday, June 24, 7:00pm – 8:30pm, Yates Mill County Park, 4620 Lake Wheeler Rd, Raleigh, NC.  There will be prayers, meditation, and singing to celebrate the spiritual meaning of Summer Solstice.  Meet on the back porch overlooking the lake at 7:00pm.  Please bring with you a reading to share that connects you with the solstice (and a drum if you have one).  Contact Joy Alford for additional information.

Fracking in North Carolina

For several years Community United Church of Christ has been working to educate people about the risks of hydraulic fracturing (fracking), a technique for extracting fossil fuels.  We have invited experts to speak at Sunday morning's Adult Forum and at special events throughout the week.  That educational work has led to a commitment to encourage our legislators to oppose allowing fracking in North Carolina.  Members of CUCC are involved in a variety of ways, some spending many hours working with North Carolina organizations, others writing personal notes to legislators, and still others signing petitions after worship on Sunday.  We work in coalition with groups throughout North Carolina, especially Clean Water for North Carolina (to whom we made a large donation in 2012 for a special project in their grassroots campaign) and FrackFreeNC.  Both the Social Justice Ministry and the Justice in a Changing Climate Task Force, in collaboration, lead the congregation in this work.

Read more about hydraulic fracturing

In May 2013, the Social Justice Ministry of CUCC sent John and Adrienne Little to the United Church of Christ's Southern Conference's Annual Meeting asking them to pass a resolution to "petition members of the NC General Assembly and its political appointees to work against any further actions that promote or allow the development and employment of hydraulic fracturing in our state but rather to support and encourage the development of renewable and healthy sources of energy now and for the future."  That resolution passed at Southern Conference.  

In May 2014, the congregation urged the Southern Conference at its Annual Meeting to pass a  resolution which would ask the General Synod of the United Church of Christ to work against hydraulic fracturing, study, monitor, and report to the churches on justice issues related to fracking, and encourage local congregations to learn more about fracking.  John and Adrienne Little are taking that resolution to the 2014 meeting of the Southern Conference in June.  The congregation also voted to place anti-fracking signs on the church lawn so that those driving on Wade Avenue (including North Carolina legislators on their way to the General Assembly) are encouraged to oppose fracking.

If you are interested in learning more about the church's work to protect people and the environment by opposing fracking in North Carolina, talk to any member of the Social Justice Ministry.

Entering the Transition Zone

The Deacons have asked all of us at Community UCC to be part of the process of preparing for and searching for a new pastor.  Their first request is that we become familiar with the Local Church Profile, a document which we will complete together that will help candidates decide if we might be a place they are called to serve. Read through the document and, if there is a part you would be willing to help compile, contact one of the Deacons.  They will have more details for us soon.

Meanwhile, the Deacons are meeting with Nora Foust, the Eastern North Carolina Association Minister for Church Affairs, to learn more about the United Church of Christ's recommended process for calling a new pastor and for the transition time between pastorates.  You can learn about that process at A Pilgrimage Through Transitions and New Beginnings.  Please pray for the Deacons as they help us initiate this time of transition.

We are blessed that Steve Halsted continues to serve as our pastor through the remainder of 2014 and look forward to joyful months of ministry together.

Local Church Profile

The Deacons have asked all of us at Community UCC to be part of the process of preparing for and searching for a new pastor.  Their first request is that we become familiar with the Local Church Profile, a document which we will complete together that will help candidates decide if we might be a place they are called to serve. Read through the document and, if there is a part you would be willing to help compile, contact one of the Deacons.  They will have more details for us soon.

Meanwhile, the Deacons are meeting with Nora Foust, the Eastern North Carolina Association Minister for Church Affairs, to learn more about the United Church of Christ's recommended process for calling a new pastor and for the transition time between pastorates.  You can learn about that process at A Pilgrimage Through Transitions and New Beginnings.  Please pray for the Deacons as they help us initiate this time of transition.

We are blessed that Steve Halsted continues to serve as our pastor through the remainder of 2014 and look forward to joyful months of ministry together.

Where can I recycle at CUCC?

Bulletin: brown wooden container in narthex

White paper, chipboard, flattened cardboard, and newspaper: green recycling curbside container under kitchen table

Cans, glass jars, plastic drink bottles: green recycling trashcan in kitchen

Rigid plastic lids: box on hutch in Vaughan Fellowship Hall.  Linda Baker is taking them to Aveda.  A request from Linda, "I appreciate all the bottle caps I've been able to have recycled through your donations. I would only ask that you NOT use ziploc bags to bring them to the church, as they are NOT recyclable.  I use the plastic grocery bags from the grocery (Harris Teeter, or Food Lion), which are recyclable, and then there is no waste!"  Acceptable lids collection guide

Batteries (not leaking):  hand to Jane or Gary Smith.  Do not put them on the shelf in the fellowship hall - fire and battery acid hazard.

Florescent light bulbs - tube and CFL (unbroken): hand to Jane or Gary Smith  Do not put them on the shelf in the fellowship hall - toxic mercury vapor hazard if broken.

Willing to collect an item from others at CUCC for cooperative recycling? Call Jane Smith.

Easter Sunday Worship

Bob, Bill and friends add flowers to the Easter Cross
Adding flowers to the Resurrection Cross
He is risen!  He is risen indeed!

Easter:  Sunday, April 20

The Annual Easter Ecumenical Sunrise Service will be 6:30am on the lawn of Fairmont United Methodist Church.

Meditative worship in the style of the Taize' community in France will be from 9-9:30am in the CUCC sanctuary.

Lectio divinia prayer through scripture is open to anyone.  9:30 to 10:15am.

Steve smiles beside the Resurrection Cross
Rev. Steve Halsted celebrates
At our 10:30am traditional, family-friendly service at CUCC, we invite you to bring fresh flowers for decorating our Resurrection Cross in the Courtyard.  Ask someone to snap a photo of you by the cross as part of your Easter celebration.

(There is no Adult Forum Easter Sunday)

Floor Waxing March 14-15

Good afternoon,
 
Brad from Jani-King will be cleaning and waxing the floors in the church.  Please be aware that some areas of the church will be off limits until the wax on the floors dry.  He will begin this Friday morning, March 14, and will not be finished until some time Saturday, March 15.  Please be careful and look for signs indicating newly waxed/wet floors.
 
Thanks,
 
Cathy

How Did the Rich Get Richer and the Middle Class Get Left Behind? Don Birt

From the Economic Justice Task Force:
How Did the Rich Get Richer and Middle Class Get Left Behind? (July 2013 CUCC Newsletter)
In a blog on June 17th, Stephen Strauss, an adjunct lecturer of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, asked, “Why Let a Bank Write U. S. Financial Reform Legislation?” Congress has opened the way for one of the big banks that was bailed-out despite its acts of fraud and mismanagement to draft new reform legislation. The only reason, Strauss posits, was because this big bank had “experience.” Here then is another case-in point of how politics and the financial sector have come together in “organized combat” that has resulted in an endangered middle-class. At the same time it has made the rich richer.
This “Thirty-year War” is the subject of an enlightening work: Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer-And Turned its Back on the Middle-Class. Published in 2010 by Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson, professors of Political Science at Yale and UCLA Berkeley respectively, we commend it to you for consideration. Their research covers the thirty-year period prior to the economic collapse in 2007-2008 and highlights the reasons for the widening gap between the rich/poor and the ‘have and havenots.’ They point to the sharp increase in wealth inequality in recent years. They note the current discussion about recovery which continues among economists who are divided between a more liberal, Keynesian notion of spending during downturns and more conservative economists who advocate tax cuts for the wealthy that would result in a trickle-down effect in bad times. However, the authors focus instead on the impact of the relationship of the political realm and Wall Street and the financial sector. We have become aware of the now-familiar 99% and the upper 1%. But how did that happen? Was it just better education or new technology? These latter elements may have contributed to the problem. But the major cause was that politicians in both parties rewrote the rules that created a winner-take-all economy that favors the 1%, granting tax cuts and fewer and looser regulations on financial markets. But in so doing, the middle-class (thought at one time to be the backbone of our economy) lost jobs, wages and salaries stagnated, mortgage defaults increased, and many lives were severely interrupted. Money became more important to political campaigns. Citizen’s United opened the floodgate of funds going to candidates.
And, as we started this note, at least one big bank and Congress are coming together to draft new financial reform legislation. (That’s a little bit akin to putting the fox in to guard the henhouse!) The authors note briefly, “The banks are organized; its customers are not.” They refer to this process as “engineered inequality” in which we now have a small number of financial elite and (perhaps) only a remnant of a middle-class. Their conclusion is that a broken political system got us into this position, but the political system will of necessity get us out. But that will not be overnight.
(For a discussion with the authors, see the Bill Moyers, Moyers and Company program, January 17, 2012.)
                                                                           Submitted by Don Birt (EJTF)