What shall we bring? — A Stewardship Thought About What Our Church Brings to Our Community and the World

Posted on by Lisa Bell

What does our church bring to our community and the world? Why should we support Community UCC with our time and our treasure?

Community UCC is one of the few institutions in our area that offers a view of theology, the Bible, and Christianity that understands that God is still speaking and proclaims Jesus’ ministry of inclusivity.  All are welcome at Community UCC to worship together, to listen to God’s message and to learn from Jesus’ teachings.

Community UCC provides a place where people are met with love and hope at intense crossroads of life—celebrating the new life of a child, joining together in marriage or partnership, mourning the loss of a loved one, struggling with addiction, feeling the despair of depression, suffering from broken relationships or any of the difficulties that come with living in today’s complicated world.

Community UCC provides a place where people to learn about God’s gifts to us.  Opportunities include Sunday school for our children, Living the Questions on Sunday before worship, the Aramaic Jesus study on Tuesday afternoons, the Women’s Book Study on Tuesday evenings, Interfaith Scholar Weekend, Journey into Advent, Lenten Studies, Confirmation classes, and classes for new members.

Community UCC provides a place for fellowship. People gather together to meet each other and to celebrate together after worship on Sunday, at the Saturday Morning Breakfast Group, at social events throughout the year, singing joyously at choir practice, spending a weekend in the mountains at the annual All Church Family Camp at Camp Tam, and working together on church projects and teams.

Community UCC provides a place for us to learn about the needs of our community and the world and to take action together wherever we can. Opportunities include participation in mission projects, feeding the hungry, marching for the rights of the oppressed, participating in local ecumenical and interfaith actions, and supporting immigrants and the LBGTIQA+ communities.

At our church we strive to live out our faith no matter where we are on the journey, learn new ways to meet the challenges of our world, and to share and support each other along the way with Jesus as our example.

What Shall we Bring? — A Stewardship Thought about our Buildings and Grounds

Posted on by Lisa Bell

Every week, 77 pre-school children can be found learning and playing in our church’s classrooms and playground. In 2007 solar panels were placed on our church roof.  In 2014, our grass lawns along Fresno and Browning Avenues were replaced with water-saving xeriscape landscaping. What do these things have in common?

Our partnership with Headstart allows us to share our classrooms during the week with children from our community who benefit from early childhood education. Our solar panels help the church reduce its energy footprint on the Earth.  The xeriscaping of our lawn has decreased our use of precious water through the hot summer months.

These are some examples of how Community UCC has intentionally made a commitment to reduce our use of Earth’s scarce resources and to share what we have with others.  Community UCC answers the question of “What Shall We Bring to our Community and to the Earth?” with thoughtful and effective actions.

Even with these actions, however, there still are costs that remain to be paid. It takes $5,600 per month for our church to pay for operations, buildings and grounds expenses, even with cost savings and contributions from EOC (Headstart) that help with the water, power, sanitation, custodial, and other charges that we must spend to maintain our church. (This amount does not include personnel or program costs.)   

As you consider what you shall bring to the church, please consider being part of what we bring to our community and give generously in your financial pledge to the church on Stewardship Sunday, May 19.

Link to last week’s Stewardship article.

2019 Stewardship Campaign: What Shall We Bring?

Posted on by Lisa Bell

What Shall We Bring to our Community?

What Shall We Bring to the Earth?

This is the focus of our Stewardship Campaign, beginning April 28 and leading to Stewardship Sunday on May 19.  

What is Stewardship?

The definition of stewardship is the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.  As Christians, we are encouraged to consider how we use our money, possessions, time and abilities to thoughtfully and prayerfully change lives following the example of Jesus of Nazareth.

Community UCC conducts an annual Stewardship drive to ask church members and supporters what they will bring to the mission of the church by completing a financial pledge form and Time & Talent sheet for the following fiscal year, from July 1 to June 30.  

Why are Financial Pledges important to our church mission and vision?

Our church budget is a reflection of the mission and vision of our church.  We put our resources into things we need (electricity; water) and things we want (ministers; music; Sunday School and Christian nurture classes; ways to work together to make a difference in our community).

If every member of the church completed a Pledge card 2019-2020 after prayerfully considering what they can financially bring to the church in the next year, the church budget can be built with accurate knowledge of what funds to expect and plan for what our possibilities can be in the following year. Electronic giving can make weekly or monthly giving easy to do.

What is a Time & Talent Sheet and why do we need them?

A Time and Talent Sheet 2019-2020 has a broad list of opportunities to participate in our community and is an excellent way for people to communicate what they would like to bring to our church life. Time & Talent Sheets are shared with our church ministries and leaders so that our church can plan the actions of our church in the following year and be enriched by more participation. It is an easy way for people to share their desired gifts of time, skill and ability and helps to connect people together in shared interests.

What to do if not at church on Stewardship Sunday, May 19?

Pledge forms and Time & Talent Sheets can be mailed to the church office or placed in the Offering basket during any worship service at any time.

Grateful Giving — Stewardship Sunday

Posted on by Lisa Bell

“The master of the garden is the one who waters it, trims the branches, plants the seeds, and pulls the weeds. If you merely stroll through the garden, you are but an acolyte.” ~ Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

Each year, we appeal to our members to commit to helping our church, through contributions of time, talent or treasure.

Pledges and time/talent sheets are due on Stewardship Sunday, May 6. Extra pledge cards and time and talent sheets will be available in the Narthex.

A Grateful Giving Luncheon will be provided for all members of our church immediately after church services. No charge for the luncheon. The menu will include chicken cordon bleu.

For more information, please call the church office at 559.435.2690.