FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UCC, SARASOTA 1 SUMMER 2020

Mark your Calendars Mondays @ 3 pm Zoom Altar in the World study Tuesdays @ 11 am Zoom COLLAGE Conversation Tuesdays @ 6:30 pm Zoom Bible Study Wednesdays @ 11 am Zoom Bible Study Wednesdays @ 3 pm Zoom Conversation on the book

How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

Thursdays @1 pm Facebook Live Prayer Service

Pastor Wes will be on vacation:

June 29-July 5; July 20-26; August 3-9

Thank you to Rev. Ellen Marsey, Gordon Quimby, Rev. Dr. Sarah Melcher who will preach while Wes is away.

Prayerfully Planning God’s peace, presence, and love be with you every day. Three months ago, on March 15th, in response to CDC guidelines, we began worshipping online using an iPhone and Facebook Live. We also invested in learning Zoom Conference, which allows us to see and hear each other for conversations. In the past three months, we have continued to learn more every day and made improvements. We invested in lighting so that you could see the worship participants better. We researched and attempted to improve the audio on Sundays. However, many of the microphones for an iPhone are designed either for voice or for music. Eventually, we discovered a different way of livestreaming. In the middle of June, our Moderators, Worship Team, and Budget and Finance Team made the decision to invest in livestreaming for the long term. We have purchased a new camcorder connected to our existing soundboard connected to a new laptop. This new system will take several weeks to get up and running to work through

technical glitches. We hope to unveil the new system for you in July. This will include increased use of microphones for all participants. This new system will allow you to tune in to the livestream early, greet each other, adjust your volume before the prelude begins. This is very exciting and we look

forward to you experiencing these improvements very soon.

We ask for you to be patient as we are painting a moving train and learning day-by-day. We will continue to utilize Zoom for Book Discussions, Bible Study, Prayer Services, and our popular Coffee Hour each Sunday. We will strive to do what we can to share and shine God’s love with you in these days.

Wait...what about in-person worship? The new system will remove the additional lights and tripod from the front of the church. This is an important step so there are no barriers when it is safe for us to worship together while still livestreaming. We know that

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~ Newsletter ~ First Congregational UCC

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UCC, SARASOTA 2 SUMMER 2020

singing together will not be possible for the foreseeable future. We know that many in our church do not feel comfortable indoors right now. We know that there is a desire to just be in the sanctuary with a mask and a completely new way to worship. We know that outdoor worship during the humidity and rain of summer may not happen now, but perhaps in the future. We are exploring the dream of a patio space outside the Oasis Center that could host up to 40 people with appropriate social distancing.

While I would love to give you exact dates for all the above, especially as someone who loves to plan, I need to trust in the work of

the slow, steady stirring of the Spirit. Please watch your Midweek message for more information. Over the past three months, I have learned that one week feels like long term planning. I am committed to doing what I can to provide meaningful opportunities that are safe and varied for our diverse church. I am committed to meaningful conversations about systemic racism, including beginning July 8 on the book, How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi. If you want to talk more, I would welcome the chance to chat with you. Please be safe, be well, and may God’s love enfold you in these days.

~ With love ~ ~ Pastor Wes

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July 5: Rev. Ellen Marsey will preach.

July 12: Pastor Wes will kick off the Sermon Series, “Elements of Faith” with 2 Corinthians 4, selected verses.

July 19: “Elements of Faith” series continues with Pastor Wes focusing on Psalm 90

July 26: Gordon Quimby will share his faith story during worship.

August 2: “Elements of Faith” series continues with Pastor Wes preaching on Ezekiel 37, selected verses.

August 9: Rev. Dr. Sarah Melcher will preach.

August 16: Pastor Wes continues the “Elements of Faith” series.

August 23: Pastor Wes continues the “Elements of Faith” series.

August 30: Pastor Wes continues the “Elements of Faith” series.

11 am on Facebook Live

Greetings to all our faithful knitters! I hope you have been busy during the pandemic isolation. I would like to get a box off to our friends in South Dakota so that they can be prepared for the winter. If you have items you would like to contribute to this worthy cause, please bring them to the church and I will pick them up there. Please include your name with whatever you leave. For anyone who is not familiar with our program, we knit items such as hats, scarves, mittens, and anything else you like to make, primarily for children for the reservations and Native Americans of South Dakota. We knit in our homes or on our travels. If you want to join in, just start knitting (or crocheting). I have patterns, needles and yarn if you need them. Thank you for your help with this project.

Ethel Rudy

Stitches of Love and

Friendship

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July 14, 1:00 p.m. The Vanishing Half: A Novel by Brit Bennett.

August 11, 1:00 p.m. Nomadland: Surviving America in the 21st Century by Jessica Bruder.

September 15 (note move to third Tuesday) The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism by Edward E. Baptist.

Please email Nancy and Felix McElroy for more information. Book

Conversations On Mondays at 3 pm on Zoom, Book Conversation will discuss An Altar in the World by Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor beginning June 23rd. This is in collaboration with our Green Team.

On Wednesdays at 3 pm on Zoom we will discuss the book, How to be an Antiracist Ibram X. Kendi. Conversation begins on July 8th. Sign up with Pastor Wes

Bible Study continues on Zoom Tuesday evenings and Wednesday mornings during the summer. This is a wonderful chance to dive and dwell in the scripture passage; to listen and learn from others; and create a beloved community. There is always more room at the Bible Study table for YOU!

BRADY: Their new campaign while families are in confinement together due to the Pandemic is called “End Family Fire.” This is to strongly encourage gun owners to keep their guns locked up safely, unloaded and ammunition stored separately to prevent gun accidents in the home often tragically involving minors. (It is estimated 4.6 million children live in homes with access to unlocked or an unsupervised gun presence.)

RACIAL JUSTICE: Events coming up:

1. Racial Justice ZOOM room seminar on Juneteenth, June 19, will be sponsored by our Peace

and Justice Team. (The time to be determined, possibly 10AM ). Pastor Bixby will moderate the panel conversations with Jim and Priscilla Crumel, David Wilkins, Rev Laurie Etter and others. In preparation it is suggested you view 2 dynamic sermons by Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III on racial injustice and systemic racism to increase your awareness. Not to be missed! You can find these links on Pastor Bixby’s mid-week messages or the National UCC website. Also there is a list of 75 things circulating we can choose from to do in response. That link was in Pastor Bixby’s midweek message.

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Peace & Justice Update

PEACE AND JUSTICE NETWORK REPORT; MEETING 6/9/2020

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2. Equality Florida Statement; LGBTQ organizations Unite to Combat Racial Violence. After studying and discussing the above open letter calling for solidarity in committing to combat racial violence and systemic racial injustice, the Peace and Justice team signed it as an organization. We strongly encourage FCUCC to construct

its own statement addressing systemic racial injustice after the Racial Justice Seminar. In the words of Desmond Tutu, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor” taken from the Equality Florida Open Letter. Chair - Sara Little, Secretary - Barbara Shaver.

barbarashaver@me.com

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Mark Sunday, July 19, on your calendar now and plan to support SURE's Solidarity Rally, a response to the movement recently ignited by the murder of George Floyd and others by police. Plans are being made to have a Drive-In Rally, complete with radio transmission, at 2:00PM on that date, at a parking lot not yet determined at this newsletter's press deadline. Watch for information about location in on-line messages, the press, and Pastor Wes's Mid-Week Letter. In addition to planning the July 5th Rally, a Zoom meeting was scheduled with Police Chief Bernadette DiPino to ask some hard questions about local police policies, especially considering SURE's longer-term criminal justice strategy with Civil Citations.

The 20-plus SURE Church Teams have spent the recent weeks doing an annual assessment of the progress made

during the past year, focusing on making Sarasota a more just community, and making plans to cast a vision for the coming year. SURE is also trying to develop a replacement for the pandemic-canceled Nehemiah Action, seeking a safe type of gathering that would demonstrate a SURE Community Presence to local officials. Meanwhile, additional churches are being recruited and will add their voices to ours next season.

SURE's Justice Ministry Network members and others interested in supporting SURE's important community work are reminded to submit promised "investments" before the end of this month, if possible. Checks made out to SURE may be mailed to Pastor Wes Bixby at our church address, 1031 S. Euclid Ave., Sarasota 34237. Any amount you can afford will be welcomed, for SURE! Thanks for your support.

S.U.R.E.

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UCC, SARASOTA 5 SUMMER 2020

From Your Green Team

Having a Place ~ Throughout scripture, the events and times God showed up were always anchored in a specific place. For you to become more connected/rooted to where you live, consider studying and reflecting on the following questions. In addition, you might think about the implications of what your answers mean to your relationship with God and others (including creation).

How can we become more deeply rooted in place?

Take time to learn the landscape of your watershed, its tributaries, and the bodies of water it feeds into. Define where you live by ecological boundaries and your watershed, not just political boundaries. (For more on this topic, read Watershed Discipleship by Ched Meyers.)

Learn the Indigenous history of the land you occupy – the names of the different people groups and their ways of life.

Find a book on native plant species for your region (support your local bookstore!) and learn the names and properties of those that grow in your neighborhood. God calls each of us by name and invites us to know the names of other living things.

Try to eat as locally and seasonally as possible, through Community Supported

Agriculture (CSA), farmers’ markets, and growing and harvesting your own food from a backyard or community garden. This supports the local economy and helps deepen place-rootedness.

Pay attention to the bird song and wildlife activity around you – their ways of building shelter and foraging for food. Learn from them.

Scripture tells us to listen to this larger circle of life:

“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; and the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and

they will teach you.” (Job 12:7-8, ESV).

Establish a closer connection to God’s Creation, and join our Green Team for another self-guided exploration of a local preserve. The directions, nature thoughts and reflective quotes will be sent out on July 8. You can explore this preserve at your convenience over the next couple weeks. The walk will be up to one mile over a dry, but sandy, uplands trail. Then we will convene by Zoom on July 23 at 3 pm to share our insights and questions.

Reserve with Bill Lewis at: billewis78@gmail.com.

We are an open and affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ in the Florida Conference of the UCC.

Telephone: (941) 953-7044; Fax: (941) 952-5245

Email: office@uccsarasota.com; Website: www.uccsarasota.com We are worshiping on-line via Facebook Livestreams each week

at 11 am and the service is posted to our website for streaming by 1 pm each Sunday afternoon.

Who We Are

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July: 7/2 John Hilficker Ken Knoch 7/4 Olivia Bixby Chris Cooper 7/5 Gwen Harris-Box John Schaefer 7/6 Al Cady Craig Collemer Sheila Noyes 7/7 Maryanna Daniel Roger Weiss 7/8 Bonnie Briggs 7/9 Joy Mayer Ginny McIntire 7/10 Buck Greenlaw Emma Wilbur 7/11 Barbara Shaver 7/12 Kate Harris 7/13 Phyllis Collins Chuck Gaskill Millie Small 7/17 Woody Fletcher 7/18 Lovette Harper 7/19 RuthAnn Waid 7/21 Earl Alger 7/24 Bob Niemiller Janet Tipton 7/25 Julie Chismar David Mitchell Robin Snuttjer

7/26 Steve Scott Joan Sheil Kevin White 7/27 Thomas Green Jeanette Sherrill 7/29 Peg D’Albert Thom Reeves 7/31 Charles Nelson August: 8/1 Sandi Armstong Sandi Tinsley 8/2 Roy Burns 8/3 Bill Brackett Joy Kuhn 8/4 Eric Hohenthal Linda Pursley 8/5 Yvonne Clarke Joe Mayer 8/7 Chad Kalisak 8/10 Robert Kitterer 8/12 Jeanne Koren Kitty Miller 8/13 dan Brown Sue Fields Peggy Wallace 8/14 Carole Sue Metcalfe 8/15 James Cross Dr. Lou Bertha Wharton 8/16 Pat Grubb Andre Plette

8/17 Lynn Jones Marjorie Long Larry Ream Becky Rives 8/18 Del Carr Tim Toops 8/19 Jean-Marie Steele 8/21 Don Dumford Howard Taylor 8/22 Jim Fogle Brenda Robinson 8/23 Priscilla Crumel 8/24 Ed Dupree Jane Hunder 8/26 Bill Plerhoples Sarah Sands 8/27 Dottie Peterson 8/29 Steve Horowitz Larry Smith 8/30 Jim Crumel 8/31 Pat Barkhuff Gerald O’Connor

7/1 Lois & Bernard Watson 7/2 James & Sandra Butterworth 7/11 Peter & Ashley Burroughs Carol & Ted Carzon 7/15 Dr Lou Bertha & Dr. Richard Wharton 7/16 Thomas & Barbara Green 7/17 James Moody & Marjorie Engelhard 7/18 Jeff & Donna Carlson 7/20 Roger & Thela Leach 7/24 Bob & Alma Niemiller Gordon & Sharon Quimby August: 8/1 Jerry & Marjorie Long 8/5 Garvey & Yvonne Clarke 8/6 Bob & Betty Goldman Lori & Michael White 8/9 David & Lois Wilkins 8/11 Bev & Ed Carrington

Bill & Mary Picott 8/12 Kathy & Kevin Kulakowski 8/14 Kristi Weiland & Michael Johnston 8/15 Jan & Hal Kamm 8/16 Roger & Myrna Morris 8/17 Ray & Janet Baker 8/19 Wes & Gina Bixby Eric & Sally Hohenthal 8/20 Russ & RuthAnn Waid 8/23 Guy & Ann Spencer 8/24 Jon & Carrie Metzger 8/25 John & Connie Schaefer Kathie & Jim Stewart 8/27 Dave & Karen Abel 8/28 Jim & Ellen Marsey Richard & Mary Jane Sparrow 8/29 Tim & Connie Toops 8/31 John & Linda Butler

ANNIVERSARIES

BIRTHDAYS

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UCC, SARASOTA 7 SUMMER 2020

IN MEMORIAM

Christine Spaulding

Barbara O’Connor

Staff

Senior Minister ............................ Wes Bixby

Minister of Music .............. Gregory Chestnut

Office Manager .......................... Bobbi Miller

Campus Manager ...................... Mark Swain

Bookkeeper ……………..…………. Bill Lewis

Collector………………………Gordon Quimby

Officers and Volunteers

Moderator ............................. Warren Bacon

Vice Moderator .......................... Carol Fields

Past Moderator……………..………Lori White

Co-treasurers ... Sarah Dousa & Robin Reich

Online Newsletter ....................Thom Reeves

Pastor Emeritus ................... Dr. John Syster

Contributing Photographer ...... Susan Moore

Worship On-Line

Felix McElroy

Liz Early Becky May

Greg Chestnut