Childcare on Sunday mornings

Infant and Toddler Care is available every Sunday from 8:30 AM to 12:15 PM. Childcare is available (Room 201, 202) for infants to 1st Graders during both worship services.

Bible Sunday  

Sunday, October 13, 11:00 AM  

All 2nd graders and others will receive a Spark's Story Bible during the 11:00 AM worship. We are excited to present these books to our children as they continue to grow in knowledge and understanding of their faith.

Each week this group explores how spirit guides our personal journeys, and we gain new insights by listening to each other.  It is a sacred hour +, from 9:30 to about 10:50, where the discussion might be inspired one week by a poem, another by an excerpt from a book, a film clip, or an audio tape.  You do not need to read or prepare in advance, and you can join this class from time to time, whenever you wish.  Sacred Journeys is wide open.  We close the door to create a quiet space but you are welcome to open it and come on in. Get to know new people at Central or revisit old friends and explore how the spiritual intertwines with the personal for you. Questions, email Gary Carson.

WIFI Suppers and Fun Returning in October!

"Wednesday Intergenerational Families and Individuals."  No cooking; just make a reservation and show up, by yourself or with all or part of your household.  A big success last spring, WIFI is back for all 5 Wednesdays in October.

• 5:30-6:30 Supper in Fellowship Hall.  Casual food, home cooked or catered.  Donation invited.
• 6:30-7:30 An intergenerational activity, different each week, from crafts to a "hymn jam" to Halloween Party.

Reservations for October 2 open up the week before. Watch bulletin boards and the E-News.

Special Request: Languages for World Communion Sunday

Sunday, October 6

Sunday, October 6, is World Communion Sunday; as part of our worship for the morning, we would like to have the Prayer of Our Savior prayed in multiple languages.  From the Deacons, we have German and American Sign Language. We are specifically looking for Spanish; all languages, of course, are welcome.  If you would like to pray the Prayer of Our Savior in an alternative language, please email Rev. Michael.

Pet Blessing: 

Sunday, October 6 AT 2:00 PM

Following the worship services on World Communion Sunday, there will be a pet blessing at 2:00.  In truth, we will be honoring the blessings they bring to us.  All pets are welcome and a time will be set aside to remember those beloved companions who have died.  To keep the sacred circle welcoming and safe to all creatures, regardless of our home practice, all critters need to be leashed or in a carrying container.  Please also consider making sure your dear ones are current on their vaccinations.  An RSVP is not required, but is helpful:  Rev Michael.  

Women's Daytime Book Group Meets on 4th Thursdays

An informal gathering begun this summer has taken root.  "Ladies Who Read" will continue to gather in the Fireplace Room every fourth Thursday at 1:30 p.m. September's book is And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini (author of The Kite Runner). The circle isn't a study group, but there's plenty of discussion about the book and also conversation inspired by it.  The next get-together will be September 26. If you would like to receive email reminders, send an email to Geneva Benoit.

Compassion Meditation,

An On-Going Practice: 5:45 - 6:30 PM 

Do you already have a practice of meditation? Or are you a beginner? Whatever your experience may be, you're welcome to join the compassion meditation sitting and discussion from 5:45 to 6:30. Rev. Lou will answer questions about different approaches to meditation and provide practical suggestions to help you further incorporate this practice in your life.  

Yoga For All Levels: 6:30 - 7:30 PM 

Hatha yoga is a specific type of yoga that creates balance between the feminine and masculine aspects within all of us. The instructor is Molly Grubb. ($10 per class)  

Drum Circle:  

Tuesdays Oct 15, Nov 19, 6:30 - 7:45PM

Drumming Class:

November 5, 12, 19, 26, 6:30 - 7:45 PM    

Join the rhythm of West African djembe and dunun drums.  Bring along your bongos, triangle, rattles, bells, or other rhythmic instrument.  Colleen and Amy from DrumRise will lead a free-style drumming circle.  Allow yourself to move in and out of the pulse and cadence while your spirit experiences the energy of the circle.  Djembe drums are available.  (Suggestion Donation: $15.00)

Group Spiritual Direction:

Tuesdays, Oct 15, Nov 19, 6:30 - 7:30PM

Group spiritual direction is a process through which individuals gather in a collective setting to listen, share, support, and explore each other in the experience of the luminous dimension of life. Facilitated by Rev. Lou, participants will have opportunities to share their experience and learn from others about the sacredness of daily life. (Suggested Donation: $5.00)

Every Time I Feel the Spirit:  

Spirituality and the Arts

Tuesdays, Sept 24, Oct 22, Nov 26, 6:30 - 7:30PM
This experience will touch the spirituality inherent in creating and receiving art. Explore with us the filling and outpouring as spirit/Spirit "speaks" (poetry), "moves" (music and dance) and "sees" (visual arts).

The experience will be led by Regina Harris Drake. Regina sees poetry in people and her divine tasks are to write and share. She believes that the arts make us "more fully human" in the words of the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire and also connect us to God-Spirit. She has a M.Div. degree from the I.T.C. in Atlanta, GA, is a licensed minister and a member of the Victory United Church of Christ in Stone Mountain, GA ($10 per class)  

Spiritual Ecology: The Cry of the Earth

Edited by Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

Tuesdays, Oct 1, Nov 5, Dec 3, 6:30 - 7:30PM

Join in the conversation of this compelling and timely book with Rev. Ginnie. Twenty essays are included from a variety of well-respected writers. These authors bring to life the complexity of nature and our impact on this diverse world. They challenge us to examine our understanding of our place in the web of life on this planet. The writers' passionate love of creation and their deep concerns for the planet make these essays beautiful and also painful to read. On Oct 1, we will be talking about the Introduction and Chapters 1 & 2. (Suggested Donation: $5.00)

For more information on the Fall schedule, go to  Meetup.com  

Questions, contact Rev. Lou Kavar .

Judy Padgett, a member of Central UCC, has offered to teach a third two-evening certified First Aid / CPR class on a mid-week evenings 6:00 to 9:00 pm in the Autumn. Please be in touch if you are interested in a First Aid Class.

The UCC Coffee Project

The UCC Coffee Project is a partnership between our UCC Justice and Witness Ministries and Equal Exchange, a worker-owned cooperative founded over 25 years ago and dedicated to fair trade. Equal Exchange works with coffee, tea, cocoa, and sugar farmer-owned coops in 20 countries, helping farmers in places like Colombia, Sri Lanka, and the Dominican Republic support their families, plan for the future, and care for the environment.

Through the UCC Coffee Project, local churches and their members make a difference in the lives of farm families, assuring they receive fair prices for their crops. And, for every pound of product UCC members order through the Project, Equal Exchange makes a donation to the UCC Small Farmer Fund, which assists family farmers in the Southern hemisphere.  Central brews Equal Exchange coffee, and volunteers staff a sales station in The Commons two Sundays each month.

Pickup Truck Needed

If you have a pick up truck and have a few free hours sometime in the next week or two, we would love your assistance in bringing a load of landscaping gravel to Central for some of our gardening. Please contact Rev. Ginnie if you are interested in helping.  

TALES FROM TOCO

Recently a woman, who we had helped with money toward her rent, returned to say that she has found a good job and is on her way to getting back on her feet.  Another client dropped by a list of mental health services that she had found helpful, so we could share it with others.  Our slogan is "Neighbors helping Neighbors" and it happens all the time at Toco Hills Community Alliance.  We are currently looking for new volunteers.  Specifically we need:

• People to welcome and listen to those who come seeking help, Monday through Thursday afternoons from 1-4pm
• People to update our resource list
• People to pick up and deliver food (Last week it was watermelons)
• People to donate produce from their home garden

If you are curious about any of this, please contact Mary-Louise Wilson Mary-Louise Wilson.  Feel free to come by and visit.  We are behind St Barts Episcopal Church.

Alternative Gift Market: November 17th - Commons

Your Christmas shopping can begin at the Alternative Gift Market on November 17th in the commons area at Central UCC. Not only can you get a head start on your shopping list, but you can help Church World Service provide aid to many people in third world countries. Sustainable living is the goal for the CWS projects.

CHANGE YOUR LIFE, GO ON A MISSION TRIP: Sept. 21-27 2014

We have an opportunity September 21-27, 2014 to participate in a work-camp at Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, Mississippi. We have made a reservation for 15 people. Will you be one of them?

"The ministry of Back Bay Mission was born in 1922 when the First Evangelical Church of Biloxi (later United Church of Christ) responded with compassion to the basic needs of poor shrimpers and their families who were living in deplorable conditions along Biloxi's Back Bay.

Through the years, Back Bay Mission continued to expand its services and ministries, always keeping the impoverished and marginalized at the center of its concern. Although no United Church of Christ churches remain in Mississippi, Back Bay Mission continues to serve as it has for eight decades, always being responsive

to the emerging and critical needs of God's people, ever seeking a day of greater justice and peace.

BACK BAY MISSION STATEMENT

Back Bay Mission, a community ministry of the United Church of Christ, serves the Mississippi Gulf Coast and the wider church community by faithful witness for social justice and compassionate service to the poor and marginalized.

BACK BAY VISION STATEMENT

Back Bay Mission shall embody with integrity and truth the prophetic mandate of Micah "to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God."

If you are interested in going to Back Bay Mission for this trip, please let Jean Haller or Bill O'Steen know. You may be able to support this mission with a financial donation, so someone else may go. We will have to pay for food and a minimal charge for housing at the Mission, as well as transportation costs to and from Mississippi.