UCC and Super Storm Sandy

The UCC made a comment about Super Storm Sandy one year ago.  Here are some excerpts from that article.

Life changed overnight for thousands of Americans a year ago, when they found themselves in the path of Hurricane Sandy.  The superstorm, the second-costliest hurricane in United States history, struck the Atlantic coast on Oct. 29, 2012.  In the year since, people across the life of the United Church of Christ – from national offices, to conferences, congregations, and pastors – have come together as one church to care for those impacted by the storm.

Through the UCC's One Great Hour of Sharing, $289,484 in aid was distributed to UCC congregations and relief agencies to help affected people get back on their feet.

There was a story about a church in our area.

First Congregational Christian UCC, in Irvington, N.J. has always opened its doors to the community through its food pantry. But after Sandy, and with the help of a $2,000 grant from One Great Hour of Sharing, the congregation became a shelter for a warm space, a hot meal, and eventually became a community center where displaced residents could get food and water.

"The church is known for helping. For the last 25 years we're known for our food pantry effort monthly and weekly," said the Rev. Dolores Watson, the congregation's pastor. "When this event happened, the township approached us for help, and because of the space we have and the heart that out people have it was a natural fit. The township needed somewhere where people who were put out could go.
"We just opened our doors," Watson said. "We helped whoever came to the door."

For about three straight weeks, First Congregational Christian acted as both shelter and distribution center for other churches in the area, and handed out food from the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, Watson said. First Congregational also received donations from sister churches in Pennsylvania via a truck trailer filled with water and supplies, and shared that with other churches in Irvington and surrounding communities

Other churches in New Jersey helped Sandy Victems as well by either sending volunteers to work or housing them overnight.

UCC Volunteer Ministries is directing people interested in mission work to the long-term recovery effort in New Jersey and New York.
Watson put it best when she said, "We tried to spread the word of the UCC and as we call it, 'Just doing Jesus' – that's our slogan

If you want to read the full article use this link.  http://www.ucc.org/news/HurricaneSandy-one-year-later-10292013.html

History Report

1. I purchased the book "The Lone Arranger" in order to find out how to arrange the Christ Church Archives that are currently stored in three file cabinets and in a room.  I consulted with the UCC Archivist about how to organize the archives.  I may ask students from Rutgers who are studying to become librarians and archivists to help some time next year.

2. I was able to find the name of the architects of Christ Church in a book housed in the Summit Library entitled "Images of American Summit" by Patricia E. Meola.  The Architects of the "new" building (our present building" were C. Fred Bertrand and John N. Cady.  The seating capacity of the church was 350 and the style is English Gothic.  The church was originally the First New Baptist Church of Summit.   This was the third building of the church.

3. A brief history of the church from several sources:

 In 1875, the climate was right for establishing in Summit a Baptist Church, now Christ Church a (a member of the United Church of Christ.) [i]On March 17 1876 fifteen men and women met together to form the "First Baptist Church" of Summit. "The Presbyterian West Summit Chapel was sitting empty.  It was offered to the Baptists provided they would assume its $1000.00 mortgage and maintain worship for at least a year. "[ii]  In 1886 property was purchased at the corner of Morris Avenue and Locust Drive which is now St. Teresa's playground. In 1888 a new meeting house was dedicated there which served until 1904 when the present edifice was completed at 561 Springfield Ave. The building has been enlarged twice since then. In the 1930's our membership was opened to all denominations and in 1958, the church dropped the denominational name to become Christ Church and become affiliated with the United Church of Christ as well as the American Baptist Church.

4. The history can continue to include the renovation to attach the separate Sunday School Building

5. I have copies of the documents and I know the original documents of organization are in the file cabinets.  I could use help in arranging the archives.

6. I also plan to take the oral history of some of the older members of the church, maybe even by phone because some of them have moved away.

Addendum

At the Oral History Conference in Oklahoma City last month I met some young women who attend Kean College.  They have learned to take the Oral History of  people who were affected by Sandy.  They would be willing to help me with the oral history for a fee

 

 

---

[i] Edmund B. Raftis  Summit New Jersey From Poverty Hill to The Hill City  Great Swamp Press Seattle 1996  p 101

[ii] ibd

50th Anniversary of the March on Washington

So much has been written about this march.  I hope you have been reading all the information or watching on TV.  As I write this I am listening to the live screening of the 50th Anniversary on the date August 28th.

As you may know I grew up in the north.  My father came from Wilmington North Carolina as a young man never went back.  He told me NEVER to go south.  I was afraid when I finally did go south, especially when I was in Mississippi.  I was very much afraid when I had to take a bus from Meridian MS to Jackson MS.  When the bus stopped at a small market for a rest stop I was surprised that I was allowed to use the ONLY rest room.

 People on the mall today are talking about taking buses from the south in 1963 and not being allowed to eat anywhere much less go to the bathroom.  When I heard that I was crying.  I have been writing my book about African American women chemists.  One woman that I have yet to interview, I met in Greensboro NC.  We went shopping in Macy's in downtown Greensboro.  She said that when she was young she NEVER went downtown because of the way she was treated.  Clerks would not allow them to try on clothing in the stores.  Some of my distant relatives were involved in the Woolworth sit in.  That Woolworth store is now a civil rights museum.

 

The following is an excerpt from a statement made  about the March, on Facebook by Michelle Alexander whose book we are reading:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michelle-Alexander/168304409924191

 

In my view, the most important lesson we can learn from Dr. King is not what he said at the March on Washington, but what he said and did after. In the years that followed, he did not play politics to see what crumbs a fundamentally corrupt system might toss to the beggars of justice. Instead he connected the dots and committed himself to building a movement that would shake the foundations of our economic and social order, so that the dream he preached in 1963 might one day be a reality for all. He said that nothing less than "a radical restructuring of society" could possibly ensure justice and dignity for all. He was right. I am still committed to building a movement to end mass incarceration, but I will not do it with blinders on. If all we do is end mass incarceration, this movement will not have gone nearly far enough. A new system of racial and social control will be born again, all because we did not do what King demanded we do: connect the dots between poverty, racism, militarism and materialism. I'm getting out of my lane. I hope you're already out of yours.

 

There was a PBS program about the 1963 March on Washington entitled "The March"  It first aired on Chanel 13 on August 27.  It will air again at 1:30 Saturday August 31.  Here is info about it.;

A remembrance of the 1963 March on Washington, the massive gathering in Washington, D.C., in support of racial and economic equality that is perhaps best known for Martin Luther King Jr.'s stirring "I Have a Dream" speech. The documentary details the behind-the-scenes story of the event, including how it almost didn't come to pass; features rare archival footage; and includes remarks from many participants, including Harry Belafonte, Rutha Mae Harris, Norman Hill and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.)

 

More later.

Jeannette Brown

Christ Church Summit choir member

UCC General Synod Report

United Church of Christ General Synod 2013

June 28-July 2

Long Beach California

Report of the UCC Representative

Jeannette Brown

 

This was General Synod 49, held every two years by the United Church of Christ.  This year three other Christ Church members joined me, Rev Caroline Dean a youth delegate, Frank Bolden, who was newly installed on the new UCC Board of Directors, Christine Shesler retiring member of the UCC Board and her husband Carl Shesler.  I was happy for the company because it meant that I did not have to be everywhere to cover all the events.  Other eyes could see the events.  I hope that our team will have a debriefing meeting sometime to think about some of the action items that came out of Synod.

Because we are in the digital age, Synod was well documented by reporters so that I will put the links to the web at the end of my comments.  In addition, I have many photos to document the trip.

 

Friday June 28 

              This was the first day of Synod, which began its first session in the afternoon.  The exhibit hall was also open and it contained a bookstore and a gift shop along with displays about all the organizations of the UCC.  Here is the link about that: http://www.ucc.org/news/general-synod-exhibithall-06282013.html

              The opening plenary session started at 3:00 PM with the introduction of the Moderator and her three assistants.  The meeting consisted of administrative information for the delegates and introduction of the use of the electronic voting instrument (clickers).  They took some test votes and found out that part of the hall was dead, so they fixed that for the next time the clickers would be used.

              Next came the sponsored meals.  I attended the dinner of the Open and Affirmative Coalition since Christ Church is an O&A church. They gave information about the number of O& A churches, which constitute only 25% of all the churches.  They want to work to increase this number; therefore, they have started a fundraiser to raise money to hire a person who would work with churches on the sexism and racism programs.  They asked for pledges but since I was not authorized to pledge for Christ Church I will submit the information to the Board of World Fellowship.

"The celebration also recognized the leadership of the Rev. Otis Moss, senior pastor of Trinity UCC in Chicago, for taking a public stand in support of same-sex marriage. Bishop Yvette Flunder, founder and pastor of the City of Refuge in San Francisco, presented the Courage Award to Moss. His remarks to the hundreds gathered at the banquet came via a recorded video message, since Moss had to remain in Chicago for a funeral of a longtime member of his congregation"  http://www.ucc.org/news/gs2013-lgbt-coalition-06282013.html

Finally came the evening worship service.  It was preceded by the introduction of guests of the synod so that worship did not begin until about 8:30 when it was supposed to begin at 7:00 PM.  There was a great sermon by a young African American Minister, Rev. Neichelle Guidry Jones from Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago.  She was very active as she preached in the African American manner, which was good because that late at night, I personally was very tired.  http://www.ucc.org/news/guidry-jones-calls-worshipers.html

 

Saturday June 29

              The day started at 8:30 with a brief worship service.  It was a contemplative worship service with no sermon. 

              Plenary started at 9:00 AM   I gave a "Speak Out" about my book.  Speak Out is when anyone can sign up to speak about anything not on the agenda.  I was trying to get people to purchase my book and mentioned the UCC references in the book.  My photo is posted on the Christ Church Facebook Page.

At the plenary, they celebrated the fact that 47 new and renewed churches in the last two years.  Some churches request to join the UCC in fact the UCC is the most desired group for churches to join than any other mainline church organizations.

W. Mark Clark, associate general minister for the UCC, said that in order to make sure that everyone who wants to be a member of a UCC church, but lives in an area where people are far apart may become a member of a virtual church, which would be established.  The UCC staff will be divided into teams to make this happen.

In addition, in order to make this happen there will be an office of philanthropy to receive donations from individuals as well as churches and associations.  http://www.ucc.org/news/extravagance-ucc-launched-GS2013.html

              The Wilmington Ten Story was introduced by Video.  Rev Ben Chavis who was one of the Wilmington Ten was there at Synod. Dr. Chavis said in every generation we must take the risks in order to do justice.  (Note: the story was told better at the Central Atlantic Conference meeting.) http://www.ucc.org/news/forty-years-after-the-fact.html

Finally, during that morning Maria Hinojosa an Emmy award-winning journalist gave an impassioned speech about the immigrant "problem".  http://www.ucc.org/news/maria-hinojosa-urges-synod.html

              Her talk lasted so long I missed going to the Service Project that I had signed up for, but that was OK because they wanted me to paint and I did not sign up to paint.  I visited the exhibits instead.

              I met the archivist of the Congregational Archives in Boston.  They have a booklet about the methods to be used for church archives.  They also have a person who will help churches or send interns to help so I will pursue that.

              Media and Technology workshop- Since I did not do a Service Project I attended a workshop on Media and Technology in the church.  Since Christ Church is media savvy, I did not need to pay much attention.  The leader said that 83% of the 18-25 year olds in the church want less technology in the church, which was surprising.  The leader said technology should be used to enhance the worship experience and do not overload the service with technology.  http://www.ucc.org/news/general-synod-workshops.html

              The evening dinner was a Luau that was organized by the Pacific Island churches.  It was held outside in the park and there were long lines for food.  Since it was very hot, I sat down in a shady spot and waited until the lines got shorter for my food.  There was entertainment by the Samoan and Hawaiian and other Pacific Island churches. http://www.ucc.org/news/samoan-luau-GS2013.html

              The evening entertainment was Bernice Johnson Reagon and Toshi Reagon her daughter.  It was a good concert.  Afterward they did a book signing and cd signing.  I gave Bernice Johnson Reagon a copy of my book and she was well pleased.  She told me of a place where I should display and sell my books.  She signed one of her books for me.

 

Sunday June 30.

              Sunday was a day of rest. I had signed up for the United Black Christian luncheon but since I was singing in the choir, the choir rehearsal was at the same time so I had to forgo that lunch.  I sang in the Synod Choir (my picture is on the Christ Church Facebook page).  The rehearsal lasted two hours; we sang a piece Fiat Lux by Jeffrey Haeger.  He conducted his piece.  We had been sent the music and the sound track to study before rehearsal.  I found a You Tube performance so I learned the music that way.  The rehearsal was fun.  Worship Service was great and when we sang the piece went so fast that I missed it.  Rehearsal was more fun.

              Since I was tired, I did not do any evening events so I missed meeting the ministers who write the Still Speaking Devotions.

Monday July 1

              This was a workday for the delegates.  Since I was staying at the hotel where the Central Atlantic Conference group was staying I went to the 7 AM meeting.  At this meeting, the Rev Geoffrey Black attended along with his chief of staff and other UCC staff.  He was up for reelection to his post as General Minister.  The meeting lasted one hour followed by breakfast

              The plenary started at 8:30 AM. They started to vote on the resolutions.  The resolutions are listed on the UCC website, but by the time, they come up for a vote; a committee of delegates has worked on them so they may not look like the original resolution.

·       Resolution on Immigration Reform was passed and there was a later march.  We were asked to meet with our congressional delegations to speak about our views of immigration reform. http://www.ucc.org/news/GS2013-immigration-reform-march.html

·       The Doctrine of Discovery Resolution was passed. Many people have been patiently waiting for their time, especially Native Americans who have been displaced from their homelands because of the Doctrine of Discovery," he said. The Doctrine of Discovery, a well-established idea among Christian nations for many centuries that is still being used today, claims that any land not belonging to Christians can be taken into possession by the one who discovers it.   http://www.ucc.org/news/GS2013-Doctrine-of-discovery-repudiated.html

·       The resolution about Veterans passed. http://uccfiles.com/pdf/gs29-10-VeteranCompassion.pdf

·       The resolution about a relationship with the United Church of Canada passed

·       The resolution about revision of conference borders passed.

http://www.ucc.org/news/GS2013-UC-Canada-veterans-conference-borders.html

 

Lunch was a Sponsored meal for The Wider Church Ministries.  Some of the missionaries were at this lunch and spoke about their work.

 

The afternoon plenary was more work for the delegates.

·       The Resolution about Divestment from Fossil Fuel Companies passed after some discussion and revisions.  The Pension Board and the other boards will decided which companies would be on the list for divestment as some companies are working towards working on green energy. They will bring their decision to the next Synod.   http://www.ucc.org/news/GS2013-fossil-fuel-divestment-vote.html

·       The National Officers and the new members of the board were reelected. 
http://www.ucc.org/news/GS2013ucc-national-officers-reelected.html

·       The resolution about women passed with Rev Loey Powel head of a new women's group. http://www.ucc.org/news/synod-votes-to-resist-actions.html

·       The resolution to make churches more carbon neutral passed. http://uccfiles.com/pdf/gs29-2-CarbonFootprints.pdf

 

The Christ Church team met for dinner. (See photo on the Christ Church Facebook Page.)

 

The evening Plenary

 

·       The resolution about funding for Seminary Students evoked a big discussion so that it was to be continued the next day.

·       The 100th Anniversary of the Pension Board was celebrated. http://www.ucc.org/news/GS2013-pension-boards-celebrates.html

A hip-hop minister led worship that evening. http://www.ucc.org/news/worship-in-a-season-of-new.html

 

July 2 Tuesday

·       The resolution about funding for Seminary Students passed but not over whelming so the minority voters were asked to present the minority view which was added to the resolution. http://www.ucc.org/news/GS2013-seminary-aid-resolution.html

The next group of resolutions passes almost without comment, probably because the delegates were tired.

·       Resolution on Outdoor Ministries passed.

·       Resolution on gun violence  http://www.ucc.org/news/synod-affirms-OMA-fellowship-gun-letter.html

·       The affirmed the relationship with the Samoan Community (Caroline Dean was on that committee). http://www.ucc.org/news/ucc-recognizes-united-samoan.html

·       Resolution on tax fairness passed. http://www.ucc.org/news/general-synod-resolution.html

·       Resolution about Honduras passed http://www.ucc.org/news/general-synod-delegates.html

·       Resolution against bullying passed http://www.ucc.org/news/synod-bullying-decried.html

·       Resolution about affordable housing passed without discussion http://www.ucc.org/news/affordable-housing-is-an-act.html

·       Resolution about mountaintop removal passed. http://www.ucc.org/news/synod-mountaintop-removal-mining-vote.html

 

Lunch Sponsored lunch was sponsored by Our Church's Wider Mission, which our Board of World Fellowship supports.  Christ Church Summit and the Congregational Church of Montclair donated the most money for their size in New Jersey and they were highlighted in the booklet.

 

Other actions.

              General Synod adopts statement on Supreme Court voting rights ruling http://www.ucc.org/news/general-synod-adopts.html

              United Church of Christ Board introduced to General Synod Frank Bolden is a member of this Board. http://www.ucc.org/news/united-church-board.html

Theological reflections bring further meaning to Synod actions and activities this was done by Rev. Rita Nakashima Brock and the Rev. Quinn Caldwell as tag team.  It reminded the delegates why they were there. http://www.ucc.org/news/theological-reflections-bring.html

The scarf project wanted 3 thousand scarves and got 10 thousand.  They were giving them away to anyone who promised to fulfill the pledge against bullying. I brought back 13 to be worn by the choir in the Let Justice Role concert.  (humm I will have to make more!)  http://www.ucc.org/news/gs2013-scarf-project-06282013.html

 

Synod ended with a worship Service in the evening.

 

Comments

As a synod junkie, I have some comments both pro and con about this synod.

·       I noticed that many young people were involved in synod as delegates, volunteers and attendees.  They had a whole synod program for young people, which started a day before our meeting, and those kids did a lot.  Caroline Dean was impressed and thought we should bring our kids to the next Synod.

·       I also noticed a lack of interactive music.  At other synods, a musician who made us stand up and sing or sway to the hymns or folk music broke up the meetings.  The plenary tended to go straight through with the business without a break or only a short break.

·       The housing was not listed only to go to the chamber of commerce list.  As a result, I booked the wrong hotel, as I did not know that there were two Residence Inn's in Long Beach and I booked the wrong one.  I found that out at the last minute but lost my roommate and the Synod hotel rate. (The national staff person in charge of this was new to the job.)

·       The shuttle buses were great which was the reason I had to change hotels to be on the shuttle route.

·       They had great volunteers and a lot of them.  The Conference asked for volunteers from every church in the conference!

·       They did not bring out the traditional cookies until Sunday Afternoon.  By then most of them tasted stale. http://www.ucc.org/news/synod-cookies-06302013.html

 

 

Submitted by

Jeannette Brown

July 13, 2013

Messiah by Handel

On Sunday the Christ Church Chanel Choir and some of the youth choir will sing excerpts from Messiah by Handel.  This will be the entire church service.  The first service is 9:30 AM and 11:15 AM Sunday December 23.

Here is some information about Messiah.  Handel used it as a fund raiser which most contemporary choirs do now.  Here is a link to the story about how Handel used it as a fund raiser.  It aired on the PBS nightly news in 2009 and I thought it was worth repeating.  http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/july-dec09/composer_12-23.html

During our rehearsal of Messiah Mark Miller our choir director told us how important this piece was.  It is based on the King James version of the Bible which means it does not use inclusive language.  But it was written in English.  He said that remember when we sing it, there may be people in the  congregation who have never heard Messiah.  I could not believe this since I practically grew up singing Messiah because I have sung it in several choirs and in the Christ Church choir many times.

I asked my voice teacher Martha Elliott about that and she said remember that classical music is her blood and my blood but there are many people for whom this is not true.  I thought about that and now know it is true.  Because as I listen to contemporary music on the radio or TV I do not recognize the music or the singers.  I turned on the concert that was broadcast on 12/12/12 and heard the first act.  I did not realize that the singer was Bruce Springsteen until it was point out to me.  Having said that this means that it is very important that our choir give a good performance of Messiah.  But not just for the music, but for the words as well.

Speaking of singing, my teacher is the author of a book "Singing in Style".  I looked in the book to see what she says about Messiah. She says " One of best known works of Baroque vocal music, Handel's Messiah has be performed virtually every year since its first performance in Dublin in April 1742."

Handel rewrote the music for difference voice parts pending on the singers which he had available at the time so many of the solos are written for different voice parts in different keys.  ( I am currently learning something usually sung by the base)   The size of the orchestra varies as well as the size of the chorus.  Because of this since the her book is for vocal soloists, she advises those singing Messiah to essentialy go with the flow and sing the style that the conductor or other singers are singing.

Messiah is still a fundraiser.  This season The Masterwork Chorus is singing it's 250th Messiah in Carnegie Hall on December 24.  The New York Philharmonic is doing a series of Messiah's as is the New York Choral Society.  Princeton Pro Musica of New Jersey sponsored a Messiah in New Jersey and the Princeton Amature Singers read through the piece last Sunday.  There are also Messiah sings where people bring their music and join the chorus.

Messiah was originally sung at Easter but now it is mostly sung at Christmastime. 

So we hope that you will come and hear us sing Sunday December 23 as a way to start the Christmas Season.

Jeannette Brown
Christ Summit New Jersey
UCC Representative
461 Springfield Ave.
Summit, New Jersey.

Incidentally the title is not The Messiah,  the title is Messiah.

A Resource for Helping kids cope with Death

Here is an article from the UCC News about books sent to Newtown CT.

Jeannette Brown
Christ Church Summit NJ
UCC Representative.
____________________________________________________________________________________


The UCC and The Pilgrim Press overwhelmed with donations for Connecticut children’s campaign

Written by Emily Mullins
December 18, 2012

The United Church of Christ and The Pilgrim Press quickly surpassed their goal of sending 1,000 donated copies of the Water Bugs and Dragonflies: Explaining Death to Young Children coloring book to NewtownUCC members, partners and supporters.
"The members of the Newtown Congregational Church UCC and all who are affected by the Sandy Hook tragedy would like to thank the people of the United Church of Christ for the gift of 1,000 copies of Water Bugs and Dragonflies," said the Rev. Dr. Michael Ciba, UCC Connecticut Conference Southwest regional minister. "These coloring books will help our church minister to families and children facing the grief of these horrible events."
On Dec. 18 – in the wake of the tragedy in Newtown – the UCC and its denominational publishing house, The Pilgrim Press, coordinated an online campaign to send 1,000 Water Bugs and Dragonflies coloring books to Newtown Congregational Church UCC. These 1,000 books have been shipped to the church for distribution to Newtown parents, teachers, families and friends.
"The UCC and The Pilgrim Press are thrilled with the response we received from this effort," said Ann Poston, publisher of The Pilgrim Press and director of communication for the UCC. "Since it was first published 30 years ago, Water Bugs and Dragonflies: Explaining Death to Young Children has helped explain the mysteries of death to those both young and old, and we hope the people of Newtown will also find some comfort and peace through this resource."
After surpassing the goal of 1,000 coloring books, additional copies will be sent to other area churches in coordination with the UCC Connecticut Conference.

Thank you for your Donation to the FoodBank

 

Here is a story about a woman who worked in corporate America.  The company decided to run an early retirement plan and it was suggested that she partake in this plan.  She took the offer.  She then found out that because she had a loan on her 401K the company would have to take back the loan money out of her last paycheck.  This happened to be the month of December so that she had very little money for Christmas.  She happened to be a HomeSharing provider  and client so she was able to take the food basket that HomeSharing  donates for Christmas.  Someone had donated Christmas trees that year so that she was able to have a Christmas tree that year.  It was a sad Christmas but made better because she had access to food and a Christmas Tree. 
Note: The Board of World Fellowship currently supports HomeSharing and the agency is active in Union County.  The agency will be giving out food baskets and donated items at a lunch for clients that have requested them tomorrow at the office.

As you may have guessed by now I was that woman.  But I shed a tear as I remembered that year.

I thought of this as I delivered the food  to the Somerset County Food Bank in Bridgewater New Jersey.  This was the food that you had donated and had been sitting in the atrium for about a month.
I guess I jumped the gun as Pastor Chuck said they were to deliver the food to the Hillside Food Bank.  But I heard from the volunteer who helped me deliver the food that Hillside Food Bank is the main Food Bank.  The one in Somerset County would have to BUY food from them when the run out of food.  It would be a a low rate but their funds come from monetary donations.  They prefer direct food donations to the local food bank.  They also take monetary donations because they can purchase food at a lower rate than a regular person could.  They also need volunteers to help stack the shelves.

 While I was there I saw several clients coming in to shop.  They had shelves with food and bread and even some fresh fruit.  I saw oranges on the shelf.  In the parking lot there were Christmas Trees free for the taking that someone had donated.

As we were unloading the car an older African American woman was driven in by a car service.  The driver got her walker out for her and she was wearing red shoes.  The volunteer and I commented on her read shoes and called her Dorothy (Wizard of Oz).  She made a quick trip into the Food Bank to "shop" and came out and got into the car and was driven away.  I waved goodbye to her.

I was wished Merry Christmas by the volunteer who helped me who was also a retired chemist and his wife is also a Shawl Ministry knitter.

All in all it was a good experience and I am glad I jumped the gun and was able to help people who need food.  As I saw on a sign in the Food Bank, "Hunger Does Not Take A Holiday"

The manager of the Food Bank was surprised that I came from Summit.  I told her I go to church in Summit but live in Hillsborough.  Christ Church Summit got the credit for the donation.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR DONATION!

Jeannette Brown
Christ Church Summit
UCC Representative.

 

Let us place our trust in God, not in guns

Today was a horrible day.  I expected to go shopping for Christmas but then I heard on the TV the news of the massacre in Newtown CT.  The whole day the TV talked about nothing but the problem.  I sent out a prayer to the prayer chain.

I am so upset that we are now in a period where we can't go shopping, to the movies or even to elementary school without fear of a crazy person shooting you.  Let's pray for the victims and for all of us to see that something can be done to stop these things.  Get rid of the easy access to guns.

 

The prayer from my church was We pray, O God, that you are present with the poor families of those victims of this devastating shooting spree in Newtown, Connecticut.  It's really unfathomable what has happened

 

People talked about it on  Facebook all day.  None could believe this was happening to young Innocent children.  The President came on air and broke down because he was thinking of his two daughters and the children whose lives have been cut short.

 

Here is the report from the UCC about the massacre.

 

The National Officers of the United Church of Christ issued this reflection and prayer in response to the elementary school shooting in Connecticut which resulted in the deaths of 27 people, the majority of which were children under 10 years old.

Reflection from Amistad Chapel:
This afternoon, we gathered in the Amistad Chapel to pray, to share our grief and our frustration. We gathered to lament the loss of life that has taken place today in Newtown Connecticut. This loss of innocent lives is a national tragedy. It took place in Connecticut, but it affects the whole country. Of course, we identify with the people of Connecticut closely. We grieve for the children who died, for the teachers and administrators who died, for their families and their schoolmates. Our prayers are with them today, and in the coming days and weeks.
As we grieve we are aware that this kind of tragedy happens over and over again in this country where for some the gun has become God. We must renew our efforts to control guns and thereby prevent violent tragedies such as this. We must learn how to place our trust in God, not in arms. We must turn swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks.

Our Prayer:
Loving God, our hearts are broken as we take in the tragedy at Sandy Hook School in Newtown. Tears flow as we see the pictures of young children, teachers and parents fleeing a scene of terror and fear, and as we hear the shaken voices of those who escaped. But mostly, Holy One, we are simply stunned that this kind of violence has once again erupted in our nation. We lift our prayers to you now, prayers that your comfort will surround the families of those children and teachers who lost their lives, and prayers for the community of Newtown. We pray for the hope brought afresh to us by the birth of the Prince of Peace this time of year. May it be born in us and infuse all of our relationships. May your hope and peace touch this world as never before. May your love crowd out our despair and feelings of helplessness. May the star which rested over that manger light the way we take as peacemakers. In the name of the One who is to be born we pray. Amen.

The Collegium of Officers of the United Church of Christ
The Rev. Geoffrey A. Black 

General Minister and President

W. Mark Clark 

Associate General Minister

The Rev. J. Bennett Guess 

Executive Minister, Local Church Ministries

The Rev. M. Linda Jaramillo 

Executive Minister, Justice and Witness Ministries

The Rev. James Moos

Executive Minister, Wider Church Ministries

 

I visited Amistad  Chapel when I was in Cleveland.  It is a peaceful place/

The Connecticut Conference of the UCC is weeping for the people of Newton.  Here is the link to the prayers. http://www.ucc.org/news/connecticut-weeps-for-the.html
The conference minister is Rev Chuck Wildman who used to be a minister in the New Jersey Association of the UCC and I have met him.

Jeannette Brown
Christ Church Summit NJ.
UCC Representative.