Originally Blessed! 


       February 27, 2015
       eNewsletter from EVOLVE,
             the Creation Spirituality Ministry of
             The United Church of Christ of Annapolis
IN THIS ISSUE
Sacred Gathering the First Day of March
Lent
March Covenant Dates
Reading Groups for "The New Jim Crow"
Weekly Food & Goods Collection
Teilhard de Chardin on "Love"
Don't Frack Maryland Rally
Honoring Bayard Rustin
Support our Ministries
From Erine
Creation Spirituality Communities
Visit our Facebook Page & Website
Free Coupon!
Evolve P.O. Box Closed
Our Business Sponsors

Chuck Riley
Chuck Riley

Chuck makes a
donation  to Evolve
Chesapeake from every commission received through our community!
For your real estate needs in Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia, or across the country contact:

   

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Check out Evolve Chesapeake's online bookstore at:

CCCS Sphere

Join our Sacred Gathering on Sundays normally at
6 PM at
8 Carvel Circle
Edgewater, MD 21037

Quick Links
Join Our Mailing List

Sacred Gathering 
  March 1, 2015 at 6 p.m.
11th Sunday on the Path of Creativity

art as meditation...
 discipline... birthing... possibility... aesthetic... ... play...cosmogenesis...
 seed planting...co-creativity...
imagination...
    
 United Church of Christ of Annapolis 
8 Carvel Circle
Edgewater, Maryland 21037

Reflection by the Rev.Dr. Wayne Schwandt

  
Gathering Leaders:
Set-up/Put away: Sylvia Oliva
Greeter/Usher: Sylvia Oliva
Reader/Communion Assistant: Chuck Riley 
Community Meal (Potluck):  All are Welcome!

photo by Rick Dove
 
 Lent is an ancient word for springtime;  it designates a season of burgeoning inner and outer life.  Too often Lent has been misunderstood as a time of grim repentance, but it is meant to be a time of joy, the joy of a fresh start, the joy that greening meadows and blossoming trees proclaim each spring.
~ Bro. David Steindl-Rast O.S.B. 

March Covenant Dates
Birthdays, Anniversaries, Covenant Dates 
March    1    Tom Good Birthday 
March    5    Jean M. Dove Birthday (d. 2012) 
March    6    Gail Curry Birthday 
March   12    Delores M. Van Steenburg Birthday (d. 2001) 
March   22    Jordan Michelle Riley Birthday (2003) 
March   24    Kim Hinken Birthday 
March   27    Joshua Braelon Lekberg Baptism (2011) 


Book Groups reading The New Jim Crow
starting Feb. 23 / March 1

This Lenten Season Asbury United Methodist Church has invited UCC Annapolis to read and then discuss with them The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander.  It is an in-depth study of the sources and causes of racism in our society, highlighting it's product of mass incarceration of African Americans.  Two groups are forming to meet weekly during Lent:  one on Sunday at 1:00 pm (begins March 1), the other on a Tuesday at 6:30 pm (begins February 23). Contact UCCA at office@uccannapolis.org or by  phone at 410-266-8596 to indicate which group you'd like to join.
Weekly Food/Goods Collection  
The need for food is urgent at this time.  Please bring a donation with you this Sunday to put by our Community Table and it  will be delivered to the Food Bank.
  Many thanks to all who read Originally Blessed!!
  and all who send contributions that liven it up. 
  Please send your articles, poems, news, photos,
  announcements, petitions, pictures, cartoons, and
  whatever else you might like to see in our news-
  letter to EvolveSylvia@gmail.com by Thursday night.

The Cosmic Force of Love

"Teilhard de Chardin says that the universe will be 'unified only through personal relations.'  It will become one only under the influence of love.  Teilhard calls this the 'amortization' of the universe, the healing of the world by loving. Only love has the capacity to transform the individual parts of our lives and world into a living cum-unus.  Nothing else can do it... 'Love,' says Teilhard, 'is the most universal, the most tremendous and the most mysterious of the cosmic forces.'  How much truth and energy are we losing, he asks, by neglecting our 'incredible power to love'?"
~ from A New Harmony by John Philip Newell
in "Friends of Silence, February 2015
Don't Frack Maryland Rally on March 3rd
From the Maryland League of Conservation Voters

When:    Tuesday, March 3, 12 pm to 1 pm
Where:   Lawyers Mall, Annapolis
A coalition of over 100 organizations has come together to demand protection from the dangers of fracking in Maryland. Led by thousands of passionate citizens across the state, this group bands together to support a bill to protect our health and communities from fracking. And on Tuesday, March 3rd, we will all come together for a powerful action in Annapolis to take this fight to the next level. Just after our rally, legislators will hold a hearing on a bill to set up a long-term moratorium on fracking. We need to show our elected officials that Maryland residents are strongly opposed to fracking and demand that our leaders act to protect public and environmental health. 
Honor Bayard Rustin with a Stamp 
From the National LGBTQ Task Force

Bayard Rustin was the chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, an openly gay man, and an LGBTQ activist. In 2013, Rustin was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  In awarding the medal, President Obama said, "For decades, this great leader, often at Dr. King's side, was denied his rightful place in history because he was openly gay." Now we all have a chance to give Rustin and his legacy the public awareness and recognition they deserve with a United States postage stamp.  Please take a few minutes to visit our campaign page where you'll find a sample letter to send to the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend a stamp in honor of Bayard Rustin.
Fundraising for Evolve's Ministry

SHOP OR SEARCH ONLINE WITH THE IGIVE BUTTON.
Join iGive and be a part of the first and largest online network of shoppers, online stores, and worthy causes dedicated to turning online shipping into much-needed donations.  iGive is totally free.  You can also raise a penny per search at iGive every time you search the web.  Try iGive's search engine and you'll see that fundraising for Evolve can be easy and free.  Click here for more information about iGive. 

As of February 27th, we have earned $1,741.82 through iGive.
         
Photo by Rick Dove 
  
CHECK OUT THE BOOKS, PHOTO CARDS AND COASTERS  
On our Welcome Table in Caton Hall there are books for sale by Bruce Chilton, Matthew Fox, John Shelby Spong, Marcus Borg and others.  You'll also find Rick Dove's large selection of nature photography.  Rick's 5 x 7 photo cards are $3 and his matted photographs are $10.  Rick is also selling his nature photos on beautifully crafted tile coasters for $5 each.     
YOUR USED CELL PHONES AND EMPTY INK JET AND TONER CARTRIDGES can also help fund our ministry. These items fit nicely in the offering basket along with remembrance of time and talent you have offered to our ministries and your financial gifts.  Bring them to Sacred Gathering with you. 
  From Erine:
  
My right now is a conflict between Myself and Myself.   I see Myself in a place where I want to run back to what is safe.  I know I'm a challenger of the social norms.  I don't fit in the square made for me.  My shape is something close to a circle.  I'm like so many for whom change is always happening.  Some folks are still basically the same and I know a few. Others change into something...  Myself and Myself almost don't know each other.  Have you ever felt that way?

CSC banner
Creation Spirituality Communities

is a network of communities ranging from intentional groups to alternative churches, which are grounded in the tenants of Creation Spirituality and revere the sacredness of all creation. Through study, ritual, celebration and action, these communities support justice, compassion, transformation and sustainability for the Universe and for all living beings.  It is both tradition and movement, celebrated by mystics and agents of social change from every age and culture.  Our online community, Chesapeake Creation Spirituality Community, is waiting for you to join. Click:  http://originalblessing.ning.com.  
Time, ferry me down the river
Friends carry me safely over
Life, tend me on my journey 
Love call me home.
                                                                                              ~ song lyrics by Peggy Seeger 
White-tailed Deer, Sandy Point State Park - Photo by Rick Dove
 * * *  FREE COUPON HERE   * * * 
Newcomers to our Sacred Gatherings, this coupon is for you!  It entitles you to a fresh loaf of home-baked bread, usually with raisins and honey, made by our Minister, the Rev. Dr. Wayne Schwandt.  Just clip this coupon, place it in the offering basket on Sunday, and at the close of our Sacred Gathering you will receive along our
                          welcome, this delicious bread. 

Visit our website:  www.EvolveChesapeake.com 

Evolve has closed the post office box, so please update your records
to show our address as: 
  8 Carvel Circle, Edgewater, MD 21037