As Christians we are called to bring our hope for a world where justice, kindness and humility create peace and well-being for all.

Transcription

1 Progressive Pilgrims June 2014 Dear Pilgrims, Each Sunday we have been looking at primary constructs of our faith heritage in order to understand, reclaim and enliven our faith for today. Our life choices and our faith journeys are created by the ways that we conceive of and articulate our faith. Harvey Cox works with this dynamic in his newest book, The Future of Faith. It has now become evident that the adulteration of Christianity from the way of life of a vigorous but persecuted minority into the ideology of an empire produced many changes. It not only defaced the institutional profile of the church, but disfigured the meaning of its vocabulary. Students of linguistics know how the context in which words are used inevitably alters their meaning, and this was no exception. At its onset faith meant a dynamic lifestyle sustained by fellowships that were guided by both men and women and that reflected hope for the coming of the Reign of God. But when Christianity became swollen into an elaborate code of prescribed beliefs and ritual obligations policed by a hierarchy, the meaning of faith was warped almost beyond recognition. Initially faith had meant a primary life orientation, but the evolving clerical class now equated faith with belief in certain specified doctrines and patterns of authority, which, in any case, themselves changed periodically depending on who held the ecclesial scepter. The result was a disaster for dissent and open discussion. Yesterday s heretic became tomorrow s saint, but the heretic is still dead. P179 How do you see your faith? Have you struggled with the presumption that your faith is dependent on belief in certain doctrines? Perhaps you have set aside those doctrines as irrelevant to your life, and in so doing, thought that you had given up on your faith. As Christians we are called to bring our hope for a world where justice, kindness and humility create peace and well-being for all. How do we claim this vision when we are unsure about our faith identity? How do we claim this vision when we have eschewed much of the vocabulary fo our faith heritage? Pilgrim s Church Council will be using the invitation of the National UCC Faith In project to discuss the faith journey that we are on, as a congregation. What does it looks like now and how might we be more intentional about the dynamic lifestyle that we bring to our larger community in Redding? I am very excited about the conversations and lifestyle changes on which this journey will take us. Ann News in Brief June 2 Operation Hope June 13 L Club Luncheon June 19 Council Meeting June 28 Church Retreat June 11 FCM Assembly Line with Heather June 15 Father s Day June 20 Mission Lunch June 21 Vegetarian Dinner June 29 Potluck & Game Night 1 Progressive Pilgrims June, 2014

2 SERVING REPORT!! MAY 2014!! Maria Angwin has agreed to be Co Co of Serving. (Color me happy.) She is currently finishing up the school year and then we will be getting together to review what is done by Serving.! Linda Lack and Betty Gronwoldt continue to do an amazing amount of work. They stock the pantry with cups, paper plates, napkins, coffee, tea and condiments and many other things. They also go in and clean and organize the pantry and kitchen. It is kind of a thankless job because so many use the kitchen and things are not put back where they belong, but they cheerfully go in and do it all again. They also organize the food for many special events. Thank you Ladies!!! Heather Hennessey is continuing to meet with ladies to put together items to sell at the French Country Market. She is having a good turnout and the ladies are enjoying themselves while doing something that benefits the community. Contact Heather if you are interested in participating.!! We are beginning a new program where singles who live alone and want to have a daily check-in call will receive one. It SERVING continued gets complicated because of the different times people rise in the morning. One person is being called now and there were 10 others on the list. Three of those are already in daily contact with someone and a fourth has a varied sleep schedule and does not desire calls. If you would like to receive a call or be a caller, please contact Diane !! The Wednesday monthly meeting of women who used to meet to do crafts is still meeting. We meet in the basement on the last Wednesday of the month from 1:00 to 3:00. Some days we just catch up with each other s travels, families or activities. Usually one or two are working on a craft project. Anyone is welcome to join us.!! A new group is meeting every week on Tuesday from 1:00 to 2:30 in the basement to write the story of our lives. The first meeting was May 27. Several of us have been wanting to do this for several years and just don t get around to it. A weekly meeting provides the structure some of us need. It is a casual group no one is expected to share what they write, however, they may if they wish. We discussed possible topics we may want to cover, but then everyone writes on what they choose for their story. Everyone is invited and you can invite friends. This meeting is not just for members of our church. Pilgrim welcomes all to any of our happenings. If you are interested, please contact Diane Hepburn at the above phone number.!! Diane Hepburn & Marie Angwin! Co-Cos!!! Worship Report May 2014 Choir is thrilled to welcome Cy Myers as our new permanent director, our Minister of Music. His enthusiasm is infectious. His skills are impressive. Choir hopes more singers will join and participate in this meaningful element of worship. Choir s last Sunday before summer break is June 1. Cy has been organizing a great line-up of summer music that will run Sundays through August 31st. To anyone who has ever considered joining choir, note that practice will resume in August to prepare for Fall and Christmas. Watch for specific information coming later, or ask one of us to keep updated. Remember: Our lives reflect how we experience worship. Pam Crowe and Donna Nelson Worship Co-Cos Volume 57, Issue 6 Pastor s Message... 1 What We re Doing... 2 French Country Market.. 3 About Us, Faith-In... 4 What We re Doing... 5 Our Opportunities... 6 What We re Doing... 7 June Calendar... 8 PILGRIM CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH United Church of Christ P. O. Box Fax (530) Foothill Blvd. Telephone (530) Redding, California pilgrim@shasta.com website: Newsletter Deadline for Editor: Diana Rose July is June 23 rd 2 Progressive Pilgrims June, 2014

3 saturday, october 4, 2014 BONJOUR! Planning and assembling items and people for FRENCH COUNTRY MARKET is well underway. Our event will be 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4. Our goals for our 4th annual event include inviting everyone in the congregation to participate in some way and to raise money for our social services distributions at the end of the year. Here s what we need for each French Country Market stall can you help? Garden led by Jim and Mary Carr and Larry Solberg: gardeners, please plant herbs, house plants and flowers in 4 and 6 plants. We also need gently used, clean pots for replanting. Garden gifts we have a small garden gift stall that needs a chairperson. Please see Michelle Martin Streeby if interested. Vintage Collectibles led by Pat Tucker and Cindy Asher Renaissance Redding generously donated many items for this booth, but we always need your vintage items. La Bonne Chance (Raffle), Silent Auction and Décor led by Val Scarisbrick We have a list of items for our Around the World baskets. If you d like to help collect items for the baskets, please ask Val for the list. La Musique led by Sheri Curtis, who is scheduling all our fine music talent! La Boulangerie led by Micki Forrell. Please let her know what you d like to bake for our wonderful patisserie! Le Bistro led by Linda Lack. The dedicated Bistro team cooks and serves our French Country Market Soup to hundreds of folks. We need: Bags of split peas; black, red and navy beans; pinto, garbanzo and lima beans; black eyed peas; lentils and barley. Deadline: June 29. Le Petit Magasin led by Tara Swanson, Paula Kahler and Mary Forbes. We have many sewing and craft kits available for our crafters on the FCM table in the fellowship hall. We need wire clothes hangers and material, preferably cotton Les Bijoux Handcrafted jewelry led by Maria Angwine and Judy Salter Le Banque Led by Lu Trullinger All donations may be left on or under the French Country Market table in the fellowship hall or in the FCM room in the basement. PLEASE see Michelle Martin Streeby or Val Scarisbrick if you are interested or have questions. We have plenty of volunteer opportunities. FCM Assembly group meets 1:30 p.m. on Wed., June 11; July 2 and Aug. 13. Anyone is welcome to come. The group assembles crafts and the FCM Soup in a Jar. Led by Heather Hennessey or heather82750@gmail.com. Merci! 3 Progressive Pilgrims June, 2014

4 FAITH, IN On Saturday, June 28, 2014 at 10 AM Pilgrim Church will be meeting at the Shasta Library (Fireside room) to launch the FAITH, IN project. This is a retreat for the whole faith community. Join us. Organize a campaign - What needs doing in Redding, CA? Don t wait for someone else to do something! Take charge, recruit others from our congregation, make a plan and follow through. Get your hands dirty - If you ve been a spectator, why not jump in and be a doer? Deepen your faith by digging in. If you really want to get your hands dirty, teach a Sunday School class! Partner with a school - Provide filled backpacks each fall for lowincome elementary school students. Start an after-school tutoring or homework-help program. Create art - Change the atmosphere of your neighborhood or Redding. Form a string quartet, a barbershop quartet or an acapella group and perform for free wherever they ll let us. Host poetry readings, drawing classes and concerts at Pilgrim. Incite laughter - Laughter in the sanctuary makes everything even holier. Lighten up, loosen up; find something funny in every worship service. Give faith muscle - Keep praying, but give God a hand by getting up off your knees and getting to work. Put some muscle behind what you 4 Progressive Pilgrims June, 2014 FAITH, IN continued believe, and you ll be amazed at the results. Promote random kindness - Let the person with two things go ahead of you in the grocery line. Spruce up the town - You know what Redding needs you can be the one to do it. Start thinking about what you can change instantly by just doing it. Promote peace - It takes more than a bumper sticker. Don t avoid conflict but don t seek it out for fun, either. Peace starts with you. Shake hands more. Wave and smile at people you find it hard to get along with. See what happens. Read with children - Establish a Parents Day Out program a parttime preschool that could be just one afternoon or morning a week. Show up - It s 99% of life. Be present. Show support by being there when you re needed and never assume that you re not needed. Teach understanding - And practice it. Make an honest effort every day to understand the point of view of someone you completely disagree with. Engage civic leaders - Know who they are and know something about them. Vote in local elections, follow local news, shop locally. Share food - You know how to do this: food pantries, potlucks, bean suppers, chowder suppers, free community meals, or donations. Have garden swaps in the summer. FAITH, IN continued Inspire joy - Happiness is contagious. Make sure you contribute at least one big smile to someone you meet in your neighborhood or workplace every day. Celebrate diversity - Seek out and welcome newcomers to our town and new people you meet. Encourage non-conformity. Make new friends - Strong connections make a strong community. Step outside your usual circle and find new people. Get to know your neighbors. Join the choir, or the softball team. Advocate justice - Write letters to legislators and to the editor of the Record Searchlight. Be the church worth joining - Speak up, make yourself known, be an actor in your community. Welcome children sincerely. Refurbish the bathrooms. Be bold. Live your faith - Just try it. You won t believe the difference it makes... until you do. Love your community - And it will love you back. It s time to really be wherever God has planted you. Put down roots and grow. Join the I have FAITH, IN Redding project. Upload photos, videos, events or even write a blog. Find out what other spiritual communities are doing.

5 5 Progressive Pilgrims June, 2014 Pilgrim Congregational Council May 2014 Minutes CALL TO ORDER: Vice-Moderator Rubin Cruse called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. in the Fireside Room on May 33, OPENING PRAYER: The invocation was given by Pastor Ann Corrin. ROLL CALL: Those present were Rick Bonetti, Ann Corrin, Pam Crowe, Rubin Cruse, Micki Forell, Diane Hepburn, Bill Justice, Paula Kahler, Donna Nelson, Larry Solberg, and Lu Trullinger. MINUTES: Larry Solberg moved that the corrected minutes of the April meeting be adopted as corrected. (Corrections being a spelling typo and the meeting was called early due to Maundy Thursday service.) The motion was seconded and passed. FINANCIAL REPORT: Bill Justice reported that the Finance Committee had met regarding shortfall in cash flow. Pledges are behind schedule and unexpected expenses had to be met personnel issues thus and overage of approx. $2000 was covered from the building acct. A letter will be sent - in June - to all members and regular attendees to encourage and remind everyone of the importance of pledges and the operation of the church. CO-CO REPORTS: Membership was discussed and will be addressed as to those who are no longer attending, for whatever reason. Contacts are needed as well as invitation to re-covenant participants. Serving: Diane Hepburn and Maria Angwin are setting up a list of members, who live alone, and would like a Good Morning call daily. The Wednesday craft groups are going very well, as well as Heather Hennessey s FCM group of busy ladies. Learning: Paula Kahler spoke of the summer Sunday school plans and the need for more volunteer teachers. The curriculum is being well received by the young folks. Donna Nelson moved to approve the Consent Agenda as discussed. The motion was seconded and passed. CALENDAR: June 28 Retreat will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Redding Library Fireside Room, with no-host lunch at Angelo s Pizza on CA Street. All are invited Rick Bonetti and Ann encouraged use of the website for Calendar events of all kinds. Co-Cos were urged to keep the updates in a timely manner. Ann announced the Day on the Lake for Pilgrim Church on Saturday, September 13th, from 2 p.m. 7 p.m. with potluck at 5:00 All are invited and families will find a great time at this event at Oak Bottom, Whiskeytown Lake. NEW BUSINESS: Rick introduced the notion of a 2020 Vision for Pilgrim and we discussed our participation in UCC s FAITH IN project, which is the focus of the Church Revisioning Retreat that will facilitated by Rachel Hatch. We also discussed being intentional about reaching out to millennials. Lu Trullinger moved that the Retreat be open to all church-goers. Motion seconded and passed. Ann mentioned that we have a very open, welcoming front door and this also a smaller, but significant back Bonding is Bridging, being intentional with ideas and activities to be seen as a welcoming entity. More about the FAITH IN will be continued at the June Council meeting on the 19th. Donna and Pam brought up a discussion about the need for cleaning in the choir room and the stairs. Maintenance company will be contacted about their responsibilities. ADJORNMENT: There being no further business brought before the Council, the meeting was adjourned by Moderator Rubin Cruse at 8:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Micki Forell, Clerk for the Council

6 Thanks June Volunteers USHERS SOUND OPERATORS LITURGISTS FELLOWSHIP HOSTS COUNTERS June 1 June 1 June 1 June 1 June 1 Rubin & Cheryl Cruse Robb & Karin Lightfoot Glenn Hoxie Nancy Milton Nancy Patterson Betty Gronwoldt Nancy Milton Pat Tucker June 8 June 8 June 8 June 8 June 8 Deanie Coon Diane Hepburn Claudine Cupples Paula Damico Lynne Bonetti Leon Nelson Pam Crowe Mickie Forell Rosemary Thomas Peggie Linville Deanie Coon June 15 June 15 June 15 June 15 June 15 Don & Sue Crandell Peggie Linville Tara Swanson Janet Tyrrel Tere Hancock Lu Trullinger Peggy LaBella Bob Cross Dick Kahler June 22 June 22 June 22 June 22 June 22 John Crowe Linda Lack Larry Solberg Joanne Nelson Pete Angwin Val Scarisbrick Paula Damico Phyllis Solberg Larry Solberg Keith Asher June 29 June 29 June 29 June 29 June 29 Sonny/Bev Stupek Dick & Paula Kahler Viv Thompson Janet Tyrrel John Loomis Mickie Forell Barbara Cross Jim Carr Vera Neal 6 Progressive Pilgrims June, 2014

7 6 Cynthia Turbin 18 Mary Forbes 19 June Mackey 22 Claudine Cupples 30 Donna Nelson June 23 Donna & Leon Nelson Learning Co-Co s We would like to continue Sunday School for our children through the summer months. This year our UCC Seasons Curriculum does run all the way through August 31st. But we need teachers:) We have found it to be most effective if a teacher can commit to four Sundays (or a month) in a row but we realize this may be more difficult during the summer months. If you can do all of June or July or August please let us know...that would be awesome! If you can only do two Sundays and someone else can take the other two that would work also. If you can only give us one Sunday... we ll take it:) Please let us know and we ll put out a master calendar and get the curriculum printed for all. Thanks in advance for giving a few summer Sundays to our kids. We know you will enjoy them:) Kaarin Brooke and Paula Kahler All totals as of April 30, General Fund $ Restricted Fund $ 8, Building Fund $15, Endowment Fund $91, Income April $10, Expenses April $16, Income Year to Date $51, Expenses Year to Date $62,737 As you can see from the above totals, we are in trouble financially with our General Fund and operating budget. April was our lowest income month in a long time. That caused all of our reserve to be used and we are using money from the building fund to cover our operating expenses. Two things are causing our financial problems. We have had added expenses in our staff costs and we have a significant number pledges that are not up to date. The deficit in pledging is over $9,000. On a much brighter note, we owe a debt of gratitude to Nick Anderson Construction. He has built a wall in the basement, fixed electrical and plumbing problems and is planning a project to stop leaking in the basement. He has donated his time to the church on all of these projects. Bill Justice Glenn Hoxie Margie Adkins Rhoda Antos Caroline Bosecker Wayne Bosecker Den Corrin B J Edwards Chuck Johnson Angela Mitchell Marge Stewart Stu Stewart Our next Vegetarian Potluck will be held at 5:00 p.m., Saturday, June 21 in the Fellowship Hall. Please join us with a vegetarian dish to share along with the recipe, or at least a list of the ingredients, and your own table service. Dinner will be followed by the first half of a DVD, KING CORN You Are What You Eat. Two college friends move to Iowa for a handson adventure--to grow an ace of corn and see how it ends up in our food chain. Their findings? Very thought-provoking. Try to arrive as close to five as you can, so that we can finish eating no later than 6:00, and then move over to the Fireside Room to view the film. We will try to keep to this schedule for the benefit of anyone who needs to leave early. Everyone is welcome. Call me at if you have any questions. Y all come now! Alice 7 Progressive Pilgrims June, 2014

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