THE GOOD NEWS LETTER FROM PASTOR DAVE SEASIDE UCC NEWSLETTER JANUARY Happy New Year Seaside!

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1 THE GOOD NEWS SEASIDE UCC NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2017 LETTER FROM PASTOR DAVE Happy New Year Seaside! As I write this article, I can t help but think about all the joys and blessings of our ministry this past year. What a year 2016 was for us at Seaside. The movement of God s Holy Spirit and our ministry of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with ALL continue to amaze me. And with 2017 beginning, I pray we continue to listen to God s still speaking voice and all pitch in to make 2017 a banner year for our ministry as a church. Traditionally, the Christmas season ends with Epiphany, a feast day in which the early church celebrated Jesus brilliant manifestation not only to the Magi, but also to the world through his birth, baptism, and first recorded miracle at the wedding at Cana. Eastern Christianity maintains this multifaceted celebration of Epiphany, while we in the West tend to focus primarily on remembering and celebrating the arrival of the Magi, those mysterious and devoted Wise Men who traveled far and journeyed long to welcome Christ and offer their gifts. As we savor the memories of Christmas 2016 and travel into the New Year and through Epiphany, this is a good time to ponder where we each are in our own journey. As we have now crossed into the coming year, where do you find yourself on the path? Have you been traveling more by intention or by reacting to what s come your way? What direction do you feel drawn to go in during the coming weeks and months? Is there anything you need to let go of or to find in order to take the next step? In the coming months, what gift do you most need to offer that only you can give? These are all good and big questions to ponder. And a New Year, and a New Year in the life of the church, is a great time to figure them out as we follow the path and way of Jesus in the days, weeks, and months ahead together. It is my hope and prayer that 2017 at Seaside UCC will provide the place, space, and community to aide each of you in all your pondering through worship, fellowship, and spiritual formation. Be on the lookout for all these great opportunities to come. Blessings to you and yours in 2017 my friends. May this year be full of life, light, love, and laughter. And may you know beyond doubt that you are loved by God, redeemed in Christ Jesus, and sustained through the Holy Spirit! Peace, Pastor Dave SEASIDECOMMUNITY Phone: UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST SeasideUCC.org Ocean Ave. Seaside@SeasideUCC.org Torrance CA 90505

2 SEASIDE UCC NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2017 WORDS FROM OUR MODERATOR, DAYNA KOSINSKI Happy January Seaside, I hope everyone had an exciting start to the New Year. I am writing this in December (before Christmas actually), and I can already assure you that my family and I will be lucky if we make it past the east coast feed of the ball drop, well... Because... Babies are exhausting. I have not decided on any resolutions yet, and if you are still undecided too, be sure to set your sights on something attainable. Perhaps take cues from some of the good we try to take up around Lent (because who wants to give up chocolate) and then turn them into year long resolutions to bring yourself closer to Christ. I'll leave you with two verses from Isaiah 40. "Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Dayna WE LOVE MAKING Seaside Community United Church of Christ Seaside UCC SeasideCommunityUCC

3 SEASIDE UCC NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2017 CLASSES, OUTREACH & NEWS Join us for BREW THEOLOGY Led by Tripp Fuller! Brew Theology exists to brew theology and create an alliance of healthy, meaningful and eclectic dialogue in community by bringing together different people, from different backgrounds, with different perspectives, having one awesome conversation. FIRST WEDNESDAYS OF THE MONTH Begins January 4, :30 pm Seaside UCC FAMILY PROMISE Tuesday, January 24, 2017 The Family Promise mission is to help homeless and low-income families achieve sustainable independence through a community-based response. Sign up with Peg McCartney or Seaside@SeasideUCC.org to get more info! SOCK SUNDAY Sunday, February 5, 2017 Bring NEW AND UNUSED socks and underwear to service on Sundays leading up to February 5th, or drop them off during office hours to support DCFS of LA! CONGREGATIONAL MEETING & BRUNCH Sunday, January 29, 2017 Congregational Meeting & Brunch following worship in Miller Hall. All are welcome to attend!

4 SEASIDE UCC NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2017 SEASIDE HOLIDAY GIVING WARM UP SUNDAY THANK YOU Thanks to all who collected 29 blankets, and 31 warm jackets and sweaters in October. Altogether there was about $400 worth of donations delivered to Community s Child in Lomita, and distributed to deserving families that evening. With the arrival of colder winter weather, your generosity is much appreciated by all recipients. LOVE, INC THANKSGIVING GIFT CARDS AND TOBERMAN CENTER On November 13th, Seaside members once again reached out to families served by this San Pedro agency. We collected gift cards and cash donations. Money added from Other Outreach made the total of our contributions $600 to Love, INC and $300 to the Toberman Center. Thanks to all our generous donors. HARBOR INTERFAITH SERVICES (HIS) TURKEY DINNERS Friday, November 18th, Ron and Karen Ury delivered 23 complete turkey meals to HIS in San Pedro. The partial cost of these donations was paid for from our Seaside Budget Line Item # 720 entitled Other Outreach. The congregation donated the remaining items: 31 bags of nonperishables! Several large bags of foodstuffs for their pantry were also donated including: 11 boxes of cake mix, 6 boxes of potatoes, 9 boxes of stuffing, 9 cans of green beans, and 11 cans of creamed corn. Thank you for supporting our 2016 Outreach efforts. DCFS GIFT CARD PROJECT & ALTERNATIVE GIFT MARKET In December, for the 6th year, Seaside participated in a Christmas gift project to provide holiday gifts for 56 foster youths who are served by Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. There are well over 1,200 foster children in the South Bay area and DCFS tries to have a gift for each of these youngsters. There are several churches working together as a faith based committee to help in this effort. Special thanks to Marsha Bannon for coordinating this community outreach for our congregation again this year as she has the previous 5 years. Also, many thanks to everyone who supported the Alternative Market on Sunday, December 4th. Ron Ury represented the Heifer International table; Karen Ury handled the CWS table; Karen Gebhart & Marsha Bannon represented the DCFS Table; and everyone assisted in a major way with the setup and dismantling of the market. Peg McCartney served as our cashier and Richard Sherman played some Christmas tunes to entertain us all. The proceeds were: Church World Service $ 819 Heifer International $1,060 Habitat for Humanity $1,075 GRAND TOTAL OF GIFTS $2,954 YEAR END OUTREACH FUND DISTRIBUTION Los Angeles LGBT Center $ Shared Bread at Redondo Beach 1st UMC $ Project Needs St. Paul s UMC in Redondo Beach $ Harbor Area Half Way House in Long Beach $ Hathaway - Sycamores $428.21

5 SEASIDE UCC NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2017 MINISTRY NEWS AND UPDATES SISTERS IN SPIRIT WOMEN S GROUP Friday, January 20, :30 pm in the Happy New Year everybody! We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday with lots of time with family and friends. We re looking forward to seeing you all this month when we return to our regular schedule. January s topic will be by time management expert, Laura Vanderkam, on How to Gain Control of Your Free Time. There are 168 hours in each week. How do we find time for what matters most? She studies how busy people spend their lives, and she's discovered that many of us drastically overestimate our commitments each week, while underestimating the time we have to ourselves. She offers a few practical strategies to help find more time for what matters to us, so we can "build the lives we want in the time we've got." We will send out a reminder before our gathering so we know how many are coming and can start making plans for the evening s refreshments. Hope you all can be there! SEASIDE BOOK CLUB will meet Monday, January 9, 2017 at 7:00 pm at the home of Harvey Eidinoff Book of the Month for January The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah Book of the Month for February Citizens of London by Lynne Olson PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY We meet on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month at 5:00 pm in the. Are you keeping someone in prayer?? Do not hesitate to ask for a prayer shawl. We love to send out our gifts of healing love. If you need a prayer shawl, please contact Marilyn James at (310) or any other member of the group. THE GENEVIEVE KISER SEASIDE SENIORS CLUB Our next meeting is at 2:00 pm January 26, 2017 in the

6 SEASIDE COMMUNITY UCC Ocean Ave. Torrance, CA (310) seasideucc.org - seaside@seasideucc.org JANUARY 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Communion Sunday Congregation Meeting & Brunch :30 pm Brew Theology, 9 7:00 pm Book Club, Harvey Eidinoff s house :00 pm Prayer Shawl Ministry, :00 pm Leadership Council Meeting, Family Promise :00 pm Prayer Shawl Ministry, Newsletter Deadline 26 2:00 pm Seaside Seniors, 20 6:30 pm Sisters In Spirit,

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8 The Good News is published monthly by Seaside Community United Church of Christ. The church is located at the corner of 230th and Ocean Avenue in Torrance. Phone: (310) SEASIDE COMMUNITY UCC Ocean Avenue Torrance, CA SENIOR PASTOR The Rev. Dave Sigmund OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday: 10:00 am to 3:00 pm Wednesday: 10:00 am to 3:00 pm Thursday: 10:00 am to 3:00 pm Friday: 10:00 am to 3:00 pm ADMINISTRATOR Yaya Barahona Everyone is invited to join us for Worship on Sundays at 9:30 am ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED DATED MATERIAL CHURCH LEADERS MODERATOR Dayna Kosinski PAST MODERATOR Connie Sherman SECRETARY Janet Robertson CHRISTIAN EDUCATION Lynn Van Zandt FINANCE Scott Bannon WORSHIP Desirée Feigley FELLOWSHIP Amber Cole FACILITIES Lisa Hansen OUTREACH Peg McCartney SAVE THE DATE JANUARY 4 th Brew Theology 1st Wednesday of every month JANUARY 24 th Family Promise JANUARY 29 th Congregational Meeting & Brunch FEBRUARY 5 th Sock Sunday NEWSLETTER ARTICLE DEADLINE If you have anything to share about our community, please send your updates and articles for the February edition to the office by January 19, 2017 seaside@seasideucc.org