View this email in your browser  This Sunday- This Sunday: The requested sermon topic for this week: “God’s bigger cosmic plan when all looks dark and hopeless.” There are bleak times for us all. How do we keep our spirits secure within the embrace of Divine Love? Take a look at Genesis 2:1-9, 15, and Revelation 22:1-2. The service will include special music by Chris Ferguson. There will also be a time to share stories of the distribution of the Blessing Bags! Summer Sundays Services are more relaxed. Hymn requests are sung each week. Summer Sundays is a beautiful time to worship and build community! This Sunday is a Communion Sunday. In addition to the celebration of Holy Communion, the Communion Offering will be received. This offering is used to help people in the congregation and in the community with basic needs such as utility assistance, rent assistance, bus fare, etc. Your generosity helps to make the love of Jesus real to those in need. The service is at 10:30 a.m. and Childcare is provided. Pride Events- Thank you Lexi Green and Sharon Dunaway-Alt for representing Lakewood at the Pride events over the past weekend.  July Events- July 17th Day of Action in St. Pete. Honor Civil Rights Activist John Lewis by making some good trouble on Thursday July 17th 4:30-6:00 PM. People will be gathering for a visibility protest at William’s Park. You are encouraged to protest around the perimeter of the park and wave signs, or drive around the park and honk in support.Event Information:https://tinyurl.com/StPeteJuly17Event Registration:https://mobilize.us/s/NBIFXM Seed Library Interested in having some indoor or outdoor plants? The West St. Pete Community Library, located at 6700 8th Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33710, has free packets of seeds! Members of the library can get packets of fruit, flower, vegetable, and herb seeds every week. You are also welcome to donate seed packs or suggest plants not already offered. NEW TIME FOR WEEKLY LABYRINTH WALK  The Labyrinth group will be taking a break for the month of July. Weekly guided walks resume Wednesday August 6 at 9:30.  Pastor Away For the first week, Kim will be attending the biennial General Synod of the United Church of Christ in Kansas City, MO with her daughter, Angela. This is a national gathering of the UCC with workshops and speakers, etc. Then there will be vacation time spent with family in the Red River Gorge of Kentucky. Rev. Wells will be away from Wednesday July 9 until Saturday Aug. 2. If pastoral care is needed, please contact Patti Cooksey at cooksepa@eckerd.edu. SPECIAL MUSIC IN THE SUMMER  After Pentecost, the choir goes on hiatus over the summer and resumes rehearsals and singing in service the Sunday after Labor Day. In place of their anthems, it’d be great of there were solo or duets or even small groups during the summer months. Vocals are, of course, okay, but they don’t need to be a vocals. instrumentalists are very welcome: guitar, balalaika, flute, cello, ocarina, harmonica, tuba? It doesn’t need to be anything fancy: it can be just a hymn or a simple song and it doesn’t even need to be particularly “religious.” Many secular/pop songs from any decade have positive messages that align with the values of Lakewood. You definitely don’t need to be perfect. Just be you. Any age, too: kids, young adults, old folks, middle aged. If you’d like to perform something during the summer, please let me know. I’d truly love for that to happen! If you have a selection you’d like to do, great; if not, I can help you find one. — Hilton Property Projects You have probably noticed the new planting around the sign, the painting of the sign, the installation of the Trinity symbol near the mailbox, & the makeover of the bed next to the Sanctuary door on the north side. The advisors are tackling three more property projects in the weeks ahead: drainage concerns, the Memorial Garden, and the damaged built in cabinets in the Sanctuary. The drainage and the cabinets are hurricane mitigation projects. The goal: safe & dry! Care Closet Needed for Refugee and Migrant Women’s Initiative, Inc. This is a local group that assists migrants and refugees. The following brand new items are needed: full-sized hygiene items, soap (laundry, dishes, hand), bedding, utensils (cups, plates, baking and cooking supplies), trash cans, laundry baskets, cleaning products, towels, toys, babycare items, school supplies for K-12. Good Samaritan Food Pantry The food pantry has requested pet food and breakfast cereal. Donations may be placed in The Caring Closet here at the church. Plastic Bags for Missio Dei Missio Dei is in need of plastic grocery bags for the homeless and needy. Please place bags in The Caring Closet at church. Operation Attack in Need of Volunteers O.A. is an ecumenical food pantry at Lakeview Presbyterian Church. LUCC was a founding partner in this ministry in the 1960’s. Volunteers are needed and nonperishable food is always in demand. Contributions can go in The Caring Closet at church. Toiletries for Celebrate Outreach Celebrate Outreach is a local ministry with people who are living without shelter in St. Petersburg. An average of 135 people are served each week. Here is a list of donations needed: towlettes travel size, socks and underwear. Please leave your donation in The Caring Closet at church. Clothes for Those Released from Jail Along with Pilgrim UCC, we are collecting clothing for Pinellas County jail inmates to wear upon release from the jail. T-shirts, shorts, sweat pants, socks & underwear M/F. Please no suits, dresses, or dressy clothes. Just comfortable used clean clothing placed in The Caring Closet at church. USEFUL LAKEWOOD LINKSLakewood UCC YouTube ChannelLakewood UCC Bluesky accountYou can listen to Hilton’s music and videos for free at https://hiltonkeanjones.com/.  July Birthdays! Are there any birthdays in July? Please let the church office know. Many thanks!  Circle of Concern Josette GreenJason RiddellCathy GieseyVictoria LongMichelle Cloutier Ann Cloutier, Michelle’s mother JoAnne Reid Shelly Wilson Rick Carr Paula and Tony Pelletier Deb Kenneda Barbara Walburn Yvonne Riesen Leslee and Holly Van Ranst Sorenson Denise Williams Vita Uth Dot Thrush Chip and Dana Cosper Cate Colgan & Marty Seyler’s dog, Trinity Jackie Shewmaker All school students, families & staff Caregivers The 280 women and men on Florida’s Death Row 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 Wednesday. Please provide the information in paragraph form with pertinent details and links. THANK YOU!  New Office Staff Hi! My name is Elizabeth (Liz) Edmonds and I’m delighted to be a part of LUCC office staff. I share a lot of the same passions for equality, diversity, and peace as the congregation here. Community building and mutual aid are big corner stones in my life and I couldn’t imagine a better place to work. If you need anything, or have any suggestions about the weekly update, please email me at lakewooducc@gmail.com. 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Lakewood United Church of Christ 