News for June 20, 2023
This Sunday, June 25: In-person service
This Sunday, June 25, Rev. Polly will come back to the discussion we began on Earth Day: what can we learn from indigenous wisdom about our attitude toward the planet, and how can that help us as we deal with climate change? Chris Trinidad will return as our pianist, since Peter is still shepherding his fourth-grade boys' choir around Europe.
The Giving Sunday offering for June is for the UCC's Strengthen the Church.
Recent sermons
Check out our YouTube page to see recent sermons. Go to our archive of slides to see bulletins and slides used during recent services.
Wednesday Discussion Group this week
We had such an interesting time looking at the "clobber passages" that we decided to broaden the scope to foundational Bible stories, starting with Adam and Eve and working our way forward. If you'd like an overview of the Bible over the next few months, do join us. Next meeting will be Wednesday, July 12, at 7pm on Zoom..
Summer sermon series: "Pick a Poet"
In the spirit of the summer sermon series "August on Broadway" (2021) and "Favorite Children's Books" (2022), this summer's sermon theme is "Pick a Poet". Choose a Sunday and come tell us about a favorite poet of yours. Why do their writings resonate with you? Share a few of your favorite examples and what touched you about them. Rumi and D. H. Lawrence are spoken for, and we might need to do Emily Dickinson twice. Consider this:
Poetry and worship seem made for each other. There we are, gathered to share our understanding of a power-that-is-beyond-understanding, and we are convinced that more words will make it clearer. Along comes the poet, with a striking image and very few words, and all of a sudden we get a glimpse we didn’t have before. Thomas Hardy famously wrote, “If Galileo had said in verse that the world moved, the inquisition might have let him alone.”
Talk to Marilyn Garrison or Polly to get on the preaching calendar.
Upcoming services and events
• Taize service: Fri, July 7 (7:30 pm) at church. Also available on Zoom. Note that it's a week earlier than the usual "second Friday."
• Worship & Arts: Sun, July 9 after church. Come help us plan the summer.
• Book Group: Sun, July 9 (7 pm), Zoom. Reading the novel “Our Missing Hearts” by Celeste Ng
• Weds discussion group: July 12 (7 pm), Zoom
"Basic Bible Stories", starting with Adam and Eve and the snake. What does the Bible actually say and what has been read into it over the centuries? Everyone is welcome.
• Church Camp. July 14-16 at Monte Toyon along with Belmont UCC and others.
• Women’s retreat: Sep 1-3, Pacific Grove
Contact Polly Moore for details.
• Men’s retreat: Sep 22–24, Pacific Grove
Contact Roy Gesley for details.
Links and resources
• Puente de la Costa Sur is having an Open House on June 30 from 3-6, to which we are invited. You do need to register beforehand.
• The Graduate Theological Union has a new program of free online courses. Sample titles include "Faith and Sustainable Lifestyles", "Imaging Pilgrimage" and "Psychedelics and Religion".
• "Bernice vs The Preacher" -- a clip from the '80's sitcom Designing Women with a battle of Bible quotes. Bernice may be ditzy but she holds her own in this one!
Quote of the week
"Hell and heaven are in the human mind." -- Fernando Pessoa (Portuguese writer and philosopher, 1888-1935)
Weekly events
• Meditation group: Wednesdays at 7:30 am
In person at the church building
• Sunday worship: 10 am
In person or on Zoom — see the newsletter or this site for updates
Image: Sacred Earth
