Praying for Relief

This poem Praying for Relief was penned by Nancy Callaham on June 6, 2011. I'm sharing it here with her permission. It requires no explanation or commentary, and exhibits the strength of Nancy's continuing ministry shared with all of us.

God of the Sea,
Who meets us at the waters edge;
Rolling waves of pain come at us;
Tight tendons, sore muscles immobilize our bodies and make us stiff;
Upset stomachs, varying reactions foster discomfort and  make us sick;
Heightened anxiety, nervous tension, give us unwanted stress;

Many people suffer from disease and illness,
We ask you to bring them relief at the waters edge;
You led Moses to water when the Israelites lips were parched and split;
You blessed people through Baptism with the healing water to cleanse;
You calmed the roaring sea for the disciples
With a command from Jesus for the wind to cease;

In the midst of a sea of raw emotion
You are mighty and full of compassion;
To those who live with pain,
We pray for relief to come at the waters edge;

The Rev. Nancy Callaham
June 6, 2011

Christmas Eve Service

As I usually do at Christmas time, I made an audio recording of the entire Christmas Eve Service (5-6 PM) held in the CUCC sanctuary. This year's program was diverse, with quite a number of participants and numerous musical selections interspersed with scripture readings, candle lightings, etc.

The complete program is found in our media archive in the "music" portion of the archive:

http://www.communityucc.org/podcasts/music.html

You have a choice of listening to the entire program (edited only to remove the long periods of shuffling of feet that take place between segments of the program) which runs for 45 minutes, or to listen to and browse among the 13 musical selections by a wide variety of performers. Enjoy! And while you're there you might also enjoy browsing a bit among our musical celebrations from previous years.

Skip's Children's Time

Skip's prayer concluding today's children's time caught my imagination.  He said I could print it here:
Dear God,
Thank you for making our wonderful planet Earth in such a special way that we have day and night, and a year with four different seasons to enjoy.  Help us all to do what we can to protect our planet so it will always be wonderful.  And God, even though it is true that Jesus was born in the Northern Hemisphere and it was winter for him and Mary and Joseph, we also know that his birthday comes in the summertime for many people.  Whether Christmas Day happens in the summer or winter, let's remember that is always the perfect time for a very special birthday celebration.

Christmas Pageant - Dec. 11, 2011

Several folks requested on Sunday that I announce when the video of this year's Christmas pageant is ready. Well, it's ready. You can find it at two places. It's found as the top item in the "Telling Our Stories" portion of the media archive at the CUCC website. And it's also available on YouTube. So take your choice, but enjoy our pageant this year with the biggest flock of angels we've ever had.

If you'd like a DVD version of the pageant, let me know.

Hanging of the Greens

 Thanks to the Sacraments and Chancel Committee for the gorgeous decorations.

Meals on Wheels gifts project

The Retirees will be wrapping your gifts on Monday, December 12, from 10:00am to 12 Noon. Anyone who is available at that time to help wrap would be warmly welcomed! Bring a sandwich and join us for lunch; dessert will be provided.

Meals on Wheels Wish List for Christmas

All gifts are requested to be new. Any monetary contribution will be used by the Retirees to purchase gift cards, which are really appreciated.

Small denomination gift cards (Target, Walmart, fast foods), gloves, hats, scarves, stamps and note cards, Christmas chocolates/candy. Any gift appropriate for an older person.  NO SOCKS this year.