Dear members and friends of BCUCC,
Here are the files you will need for our big Congregational meeting July 1. Click to download.
Thanks for being a Congregational church!
Pastor Terry
News and Upcoming Events
Ongoing
AROUND THE UCC:
KNITTING4PEACE is an interfaith and global community dedicated to knitting together the Beloved Community, and based out of Park Hill Congregational UCC, in Denver,
Learn more about their ongoing ministry, here: http://www.knitting4peace.org
News and Upcoming Events
Ongoing
UCC Diversity: First Congregational Church of Second Life (Online)
The first virtual reality located church with full standing in any mainline denomination achieved another first on January 7, 2018, the Sunday celebrated as the Baptism of Christ. At the regular evening worship service Mr. Jonni Connor, a member of First United Church of Christ Second Life, was baptized in a ceremony that included both virtual world and real world participation. Connor has been a member of First UCC Second Life for many months and requested baptism. The sacrament had not been administered for him in real life.
Rev. Christine Metcalf Ng and Rev. Dr. Jerold Garber planned the liturgy for the occasion to include use of Connor’s real life name and for a member of Connor’s family to sprinkle water at the same time the ritual was performed by the avatars representing the participants in Second Life. “We knew that Mr. Connor is challenged by autism,” said Garber, “which prohibits him from interacting verbally, being in a crowded environment, or being touched in the real world.” “We believe that God is present in all places, and that conducting the baptism with real life use of water and using the real name of the person being baptized, were sufficient,” Garber added.
Some of those attending the service remarked that they were in tears of joy. Connor is currently working on a book on autism to help persons not familiar with the condition better understand those who live with autism. His ability to interact in the First UCC Second Life community has led to him being appointed a Guide, the virtual world version of usher.
First United Church of Christ celebrated four years of ministry in October of 2017 and was installed as a church with full standing in the Eastern Association, Southern California Nevada Conference in November of 2016. Information about the ministry is available on the church website http://www.firstuccsl.org
News and Upcoming Events
Ongoing
News and Upcoming Events
Ongoing
Housing desperately needed!
If you or someone you know has a room for rent with kitchen privileges in the $500 range, this is a great boon to someone who cannot afford an apartment. Shelly, our shelter host, would love to help make a connection for someone making a new start in their life.
Rising rents in Orange County make it that much harder for homeless people to get back on their feet (even as they create more homelessness…). It used to be that getting a job was enough. Now a long search for an affordable living situation often prolongs the time people with jobs must continue to use shelter facilities. College students and visiting scholars also need affordable living situations, if you have space and are not ready for a permanent housemate.
P.S. Veterans in need have some amazing programs available in Orange County to house them and support them and get help with ptsd symptoms, Read this article if you’re wondering why your PTSD symptoms won’t subside.. But these programs are not always well known. Mike, the case manager working with ISN, knows these resources—we can make a contact if you know a veteran in need of support.
Creation Care Tip: Enjoy nature; spend time outdoors in gardens, parks and wild areas. Appreciation and gratitude make us better stewards of God’s earth.
News and Upcoming Events
Ongoing
Creation Care Tip: Challenge yourself to use as little packaging as possible. Can you skip a produce bag? Can you buy the item with the least packaging?
News and Upcoming Events
Ongoing
About A.C.T.
The A.C.T. (Active Christians Today) Office, at St. Angela Church on Walnut Street, was established in 1972 to help those in need. They are a food pantry, and can sometimes help with utility bills. They are open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9:00 to 1:00. Maria Fulton is the coordinator.
Members, Nancy Roeder and Janine Arp, are frequently found helping to assemble shopping bags of food at A.C.T. Janine and Dennis Arp take our First Food Sunday donations there.
A.C.T. provides bread, bakery, and grocery items, as well as government commodities, to needy families, the homeless, and hungry. Those commodities usually come as attractively packaged canned food, peanut butter, pasta, milk, and other staples.
Some foods are not available in bulk, or there are special needs. These are the foods we are asked to buy in the monthly reminders that Janine provides to us on Facebook, and in our News. They also accept cash!
A.C.T. provides referrals for dental, medical, and legal assistance, while maintaining a cooperative relationship with Brea Community Emergency Council.
A.C.T. welcomes volunteers to help with food stocking, packing, and sorting. This could be a summer activity for high school age youth! If you want to help out, stop by or call Maria at 714-529-1821 x 142.
Creation Care Tip: Drive less. It’s that simple. Maybe you can combine errands.
BCUCC News and Reminders
A weekly publication of Brea Congregational United Church of Christ
300 E. Imperial Highway, Brea CA 92821, 714-529-3014, www.breaucc.org
News and Upcoming Events
Ongoing
“Panmunjom Declaration”: the beginning of
a new history of reconciliation and peace (excerpts)
Statement by the National Council of Churches in Korea, April 27, 2018
…Having recognized the absurdity and pain brought forth by separation, for more than 50 years the NCCK has worked for the reconciliation and peace of Korea while praying without ceasing. Therefore, the NCCK welcomes the historical Declaration pronounced by the two Korean leaders at the Panmunjom Peace House on April 27, and we show a great respect to the two leaders who eventually worked out the Declaration….
The NCCK hopes that the agreements are thoroughly enforced to ensure the end of the 70-year-old separation and conflict, and in their stead to bring long-lasting peace in the Korean peninsula. Furthermore, we hope that through the North Korea-US Summit next month, there will be permanent peace in the peninsula and we ask that all countries, civil societies, and churches actively cooperate.
Creation Care Tip: This one’s for the techies! Shut down hidden power hogs. Buy or borrow a “kill-a-watt” meter to see which devices around your home are using electricity when “off” but still plugged in. (Great project for kids.) All kinds of gadgets allow you to turn off outlet power remotely, as well as turn lights and devices on and off around your whole house from your phone or a central remote. Tech heaven!
News and Upcoming Events
Ongoing
California pastor joins lawsuit against city’s anti-sanctuary ordinance
(Excerpt from UCC News)
A California UCC pastor, supported by his congregation, has joined the American Civil Liberties Union in a lawsuit against the city of Los Alamitos for trying to exempt itself from the state’s Sanctuary law.
The move follows a decision Monday evening by the Los Alamitos City Council, which passed a precedent-setting ordinance on April 16, that relieves the city from following the California Values Act, which limits local police cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “The atmosphere the city wants to create goes against what we stand for as a church, and what I stand for as a pastor,” Pullen said. “We have a lawsuit we think we can win. In just a short period of time, progressive voices have come out of the woodwork. Our church has been the hub of that grassroots coalition.” The lawsuit contends the Los Alamitos anti-sanctuary ordinance is unlawful, wastes taxpayer money and threatens the safety and well-being of the city’s residents.
“The Southern California Nevada Conference supports the right of immigrants as a faith mandate, officially declaring itself a Sanctuary Conference in 2017. Community Congregational, UCC, Los Alamitos has become one of the Conference torchbearers in ensuring the rights of immigrants. In doing so, they have decided to be prophetic at a time when their city leadership has decided to turn their backs against the marginalized and oppressed,” said the Rev. Felix C. Villanueva, conference minister of the United Church of Christ in Southern California and Nevada. “In taking such a brave stance, Community Congregational, UCC is paving the way for other congregations in this Conference to oppose similar actions now on the docket of nearby cities and ensuring that our churches are places where everyone is welcome!”
Creation Care Tip: Clean your refrigerator coils at least annually with a shop vac or brush. If you have a pet you will be amazed at what you find! Saves electricity on what may be the most energy-intensive appliance you own, and keeps your milk fresh!
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Why “Creation Justice”?
Within a covenantal understanding of the web of life, the emphasis on justice arises as a central guiding impulse. If the word “creation” signals the totality of relationships with God, then creation justice signals the movement toward right relationships among all of God’s creation. Building on the concept of eco-justice, creation justice entails an integrated, holistic ecology. It entails an understanding of the world which includes the built environment, culture, economic and political activity, and all of humanity as part of God’s creation.
Using the term “creation” instead of “eco” or “environment” demonstrates our humble self-awareness that we are part of the created order our Creator constantly is at work with us to redeem and sustain. Using the term “justice” rather than “care” indicates our commitment to not only heal, tend, and restore God’s creation, but to ensure the protection of God’s planet and God’s people from exploitation, as well as provision for the remediation of the damage that has been done. Because of the connotations and meanings of the phrase creation justice, it was adopted in the naming of UCC’s national Creation Justice Ministries. More recently, the United Church of Christ has named their green church recognition program “Creation Justice Churches.” (We are exploring that program.)
Sign up to receive the UCC Creation Justice blog, “The Pollinator.”