WHAT IS GOING ON AT CHURCH –
This Sunday:The church will be open from 10:30 to 11:30. The peace candle will be lit. It will be a time of prayer and reflection as a witness that the church is still open and ministry continues even though we are not able to gather in person for worship.
Look for a Corona Sabbath post on Friday. Check for it at the website – lakewooducc.org
Also, please subscribe to the website so that you receive regular updates about church life.
Church Family Feedback
The church has sent out a feed back form. This information will be helpful as the church looks to the future. Your thoughts are important to the process. Please return the form by June 15. If you did not receive a form with the cover letter, you can find it on the church website: https://lakewooducc.org/2020/06/03/church-family-feedback-requested/
Pentecost Zoom Last Sunday May 31
There was a wonderful faith community gathering on Zoom last Sunday in honor of Pentecost, the birthday of the church. Participants met in small groups to talk about their church experiences. And then the whole group generated a list of 50 things they love about LUCC. That will be posted on the website soon. Look for it!
George Floyd Solidarity Nightly at LUCC
In support of this citywide effort, it would be wonderful to have some people with a candle/flashlight/cellphone at church each night, along 54th Ave. S. on the sidewalk, 6 feet apart, with masks on. The request is to take the knee, with the light/candle on at 8:00 p.m. for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Many thanks to Patti Cooksey and Sue Sherwood for their witness on the first night, June 2.
https://lakewooducc.org/2020/06/03/george-floyd-solidarity-nightly-at-lucc-first-evening/
Adult Day Care Coming Soon
After a year of fits and starts, including the interference caused by the pandemic, the church and the Neighborly Care Network signed a lease today, June 3, 2020. The next steps include some adaptations to the Fellowship Hall building including the construction of 3 accessible restrooms. Once the building is ready the program will begin offering day care to seniors in the community. Many thanks to church leaders for their work on this important ministry and to Advisor Patti Cooksey for signing the lease!
Racism.
What can we do?Here is one small idea that may help you take a step forward. Talk with someone you know whose skin is of a different hue than yours and bring up what is going on. Start a conversation. Listen. Share with honesty. See what opens up. And what might come next.
As followers of Jesus, we follow his lead and are committed to creating an anti-racist society.
Labyrinth Walk Open to All
For some, the weekly labyrinth walk has provided needed grounding and spiritual support. There is a theme for each week. The gathering includes readings, scripture, prayer, reflection, and group sharing. And, yes, there is the walking of the labyrinth. If you would like to see an outline of what goes on, there are copies in the mailbox near the labyrinth or contact the church office and it can be emailed to you.
You are welcome to participate on Wednesdays at 9:00 a.m. This gathering is outside and physical distancing is maintained. Bring a lawn chair if you have one.
LUCC CREATION JUSTICE TASK FORCE update
Free online Viewing of the Film The Human Element, previously only available on Earth Day, followed by a webinar with renowned filmmaker James Balog is now available for all of you to watch!
View the film at your leisure between June 8 and June 17. Then join Interfaith Power and Light for a 45-minute webinar with filmmaker James Balog on June 17, 8pm Eastern/7pm Central/6pm Mountain/5pm Pacific.
Click here to view a preview, sign up to view the film, AND register separately for the webinar.
You can also Download a free screening guide at the same link with faith-based discussion questions, promotional images, sample newsletter article, and more. If enough interest among all the LUCC family develops, we can schedule a Zoom discussion of this film. In this riveting and visually rich drama, blending art and science, we follow environmental photographer James Balog of Chasing Ice fame as he explores the impact of wildfires, hurricanes, sea level rise, a struggling coal mining community, and our changing air. With rare compassion and heart, The Human Element highlights Americans who are on the front lines of climate change, inspiring us to re-evaluate our relationship with the natural world.
Mobile care team on the road again
Recently the care team set out on another caravan to bring greetings, joy, and love to LUCC members. This time the team, along with Ed Kaspar, drove their cars to the homes of Olivia and Amaiya where they greeted the families, from the sidewalk, with personalized cheers of celebration and thanksgiving. Amayia was celebrated for completing 8th grade and now preparing to attend Lakewood High School. Olivia was thanked for her tireless work, devotion, and care as a nurse on the Covid unit at a hospital in Tampa. The rain did not dampen the spirits or the personally designed posters (thanks to Ruth!) presented
to both Olivia and Amayia. It was a joyous experience for all, including a few neighbors standing by!
https://lakewooducc.org/2020/05/27/mobile-care-team-on-the-road-again/
Advisors At Work
The advisors met last Sunday. Though the church is not holding Sunday services, there are many things to discuss relating to the life of the church. And there are property issues to address. The advisors are actively discussing the shape of the church’s ministry going forward. There is discussion about when to resume having services of some kind on Sundays – knowing there can be no singing, no touching, people must wear masks, and stay 6 feet apart. There are no plans to resume services in the near future.
There are plans to send out a form requesting feedback and ideas from the congregation. It will be sent out this week. After the forms are returned, the advisors will have a better idea of the inclinations of the congregation. WHEN YOU GET THE FORM, PLEASE FILL IT OUT AND RETURN IT TO THE CHURCH. The advisors really do want to hear from everyone in the church family.
There was also discussion of when to let renters resume meeting and what the health and safety requirements will be for those gatherings.
There are plans to move most of the chairs out of the sanctuary and the Fellowship Hall to prevent large gatherings with people close together.
Going forward, the advisors will be meeting twice a month to address the new realities that are emerging in this time of pandemic. The next meeting will be Sunday, June 7.
Spiritual Direction Offered by LUCC Clergy Member.
In these troubled times, it is important to find ways to tend to our spiritual lives. In the Christian tradition, Spiritual Direction is one of the ways of paying attention to the spirit in our lives. A Spiritual Director is someone to talk with about what is going on in our spiritual life and in our relationship with God however we may conceive of God.
Rev. Sally Purvis, Ph.D., a member of LUCC, is a retired clergy person with training and experience in Spiritual Direction. She is offering her services as a Spiritual Director to the community. The sessions would be held on Zoom and there is no fee to be paid. Church leaders are pleased to have the ministry of the church expand in this way.
Spiritual Direction with Sally is open to anyone, not just the congregation. And it is offered to everyone whatever their spiritual or religious background or affiliation or lack thereof. Sessions are generally held once every three weeks. Spiritual Direction is not a mode of therapy. It is a process for understanding and deepening your relationship with God/Spirit in ways are authentic and life-giving.
Sally was trained by Henri Nouwen, a noted spiritual guide of the 20th century, and did Spiritual Direction as part of her professional ministry before retiring in 2015.
If you would like to explore Spiritual Direction with Sally, please contact her at
sallybpurvis@icloud.com or contact the church (867-7961 or lakewooducc@gmail.com ).
The church is very grateful to Sally for offering this avenue of support to the congregation and the community.
Money Matters
The church is still under consideration for a stimulus loan/grant. Many thanks to Bill Parsons for overseeing this convoluted process!
Please note: Deposits at church are being made once or twice a month, not weekly, so there may be a delay in the depositing of checks. This is to reduce risk for those who are involved in doing the banking.
DayStar Donations
Grocery donations given to the church were donated to DayStar Life Center this week. Daystar is taking grocery donations as well as adult clothing on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. To drop off donations, drive around to the back of the building to the open bay area.
DayStar Life Center
1055 28th St. S, St. Petersburg, FL 33712
We encourage you to take your donations to them rather than leave them at the church. However, if you are unable or don’t feel comfortable going to DayStar, please do leave donations at the church and we will deliver them once a month to DayStar. Thank you.
Font Page News
UCC’s Victoria Long Featured on the Front Page of the Tampa Bay Times!Rev. Victoria Long, a UCC minister and member of LUCC, was featured in a front page article about serving as a Hospice chaplain in the difficult days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many thanks to Victoria for her meaningful ministry. Here’s the link to the article:
QUICK LINKS TO OUR RECENT POSTS DURING THE CORONA CRISIS:
Sermon videos: https://lakewooducc.org/category/online-devotional/
Sermon texts: https://lakewooducc.org/category/posts/sermon-texts/
Posts containing music: https://lakewooducc.org/category/posts/music/
For all those links, please note the “Older Posts” button near bottom of page.
FOR JUST THE MUSIC: https://soundcloud.com/hilton-kean-jones/sets/music-at-lakewood
Corona Sabbath Posts
Each Friday, the church will post a devotional with readings, video from Kim, and music from
Hilton. You are invited to access these at the website and observe the sabbath according to
your schedule over the weekend. There will be a new one posted each week.
Please use the link below to view last week’s Corona Sabbath Post –
https://lakewooducc.org/2020/05/29/corona-sabbath-11-pentecost/
In addition to the weekly Corona Sabbath devotions on the website every Friday, Hilton is also posting music, mainly hymns, on the website daily. These are also posted on the church’s Twitter and Facebook accounts. You may find links to all the music posts on the website at https://lakewooducc.org/category/posts/music/ — note the “Older Posts” button down the page.
Daily Corona Prayer
https://lakewooducc.org/2020/03/20/lucc-corona-daily-prayer
Assistance Available
If you need help of any kind – something from the store, someone to talk with, support managing during shelter-in-place, parenting concerns – please know that the church is ready and willing to help in any way needed. This situation is trying for everyone. You are not alone. We’ll make it through together. Please contact the church office (lakewooducc@gmail.com or 867-7961 or Rev. Kim Wells at wells.kim.p@gmail.com).
Miss someone from church? Give them a call or send a note. Personal contact is so important when physical contact is limited.
Music Ministry
About Hilton’s music. . . If you would enjoy hearing Hilton play more Irish folk songs, you can
listen for free at either https://hiltonjones.bandcamp.com/album/irish-
tunes or https://soundcloud.com/hilton-kean-jones/sets/irish-tunes .
June Birthdays: Genie Terrell 6/10, Tony Rogers 6/21, and Shirley Locke 6/30. Someone missing? Contact the church office with birthday information.
Circle of Concern: JoAnn Reid, William Owen, Wilbur Reid, Martha Lamar, Jen Degroot, Carolyn Moore, Ann Quinn, Maggie Brizendine, and Ann Rogers. All healthcare workers and essential workers. All those suffering from COVID-19.
Please keep LUCC member, Olivia Gibson, in your prayers. She is a nurse on a COVID-19 unit in a local hospital. We are grateful for her ministry!
Recent Posts:
- Church Family Feedback Requested June 3, 2020
- George Floyd solidarity nightly at LUCC, first evening June 3, 2020
- Shine on Justice June 2, 2020
- The Cross and the Lynching Tree May 29, 2020
- Say His Name: George Floyd May 29, 2020
- Corona Sabbath 11 Pentecost May 29, 2020
- Corona Sabbath 11 Pentecost Reflection Text May 29, 2020
- Filled with the Spirit’s Power May 28, 2020
Weekly Update: If you are involved with an activity or event that you would like to share with the LUCC family, please send the information to the Church Office by Tuesday since the Update usually is sent out on Wednesday.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 