Category: Announcements

Holy Week Observances

April 17   Maundy Thursday.  This will be a remembrance of the end of Jesus’ earthly life shared over dinner around the table in the sanctuary.  The observance including  a simple meal, communion and the service of Tennebrae will begin at 6:30 pm.

Good Friday  Beginning at noon there will be an oral reading of the Gospel of Mark from start to finish.  Those in attendance will be invited to share in the reading.  By revisiting the earliest gospel, we will remember the scope of Jesus’ life and witness.  Come for the whole reading or for a portion.  It will take about two hours.  All are welcome.

Easter Sunday. There will be one Festival Service at 10:30 am.  This will be in intergenerational service.  All ages welcome!

Easter Flowers
This year for Easter Sunday, the congregation is invited to bring a flowering plant to church to bring to the altar as part of the processional.  Please purchase a plant of your choice and bring it Easter Sunday!  This will be a glorious celebration of new life in Christ!

LUCC Hosts Florida Folk Concert!

LUCC Hosts Florida Folk Concert!
You will not want to miss this concert!  Grant Peeples is a well known performer in the Florida Folk music community.  He provides much needed social commentary that ranges from funny to soul stirring.  You can learn more about him at Grant Peeples.com
This is a wonderful opportunity for LUCC to welcome progressive people from the community to the church.  People need a community of support right now.  This concert could introduce people to LUCC who need just such a faith community.  Plan to come and bring some friends.  It will be a stellar evening.
Grant Peeples will perform at Lakewood UCC on Saturday night March 29 at 7:00 p.m.  Admission/suggested donation:  $20 at the door.  
Here are some comments about Grant:He’s the musician walking most closely in Woody Guthrie’s footsteps-Greg Johnson, The Blue DoorHis songs are the antithesis of hooks, ear candy, and popular music…Rick Davidson, MusicFest NewsNo performer holds a crowd like Grant Peeples —  Barry White- S. Florida Folk NetworkThe only songwriter I have ever called ‘ruthless’— John Conquest-3rd MagazineA man of deeply held conviction….and cajones —  D.C. Bloom    Lonestar MagazineComedic, acute, smart… —  Marc Stern   WMBR   Cambridge MA  

Support for Humanitarian Aid and Peacebuilding Is Non-Negotiable

When the Trump administration took office, a 90-day review of programs and projects funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was issued, immediately halting critical global work and providing a window for the administration to dismantle the agency completely. With the review period coming to an end, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that 83% of USAID programs have been eliminated.The dismantling of USAID and cutting of other foreign aid and peacebuilding programs run by other agencies, like the United States Institute of Peace, is theologically and morally reprehensible and irresponsible. It goes against our values to deprive people of life-saving HIV medications, prevent research that would cure diseases, and feed those who don’t have enough food. These are just a handful of examples of the kind of aid that is provided by USAID around the world.  Join us in urging Congress to fund fully operational international development and peacebuilding institutions! While both USAID and USIP have experienced Presidential overreach, only one of these is a government agency. The U.S. Institute of Peace is an independent 501(c)3 that’s only tie to the federal government is that it receives congressional funding in recognition of the importance of peacebuilding efforts globally and U.S. responsibility to being a leader of peacebuilding both at home and abroad. No President has the authority to make decisions about or within USIP. 
 
As a global leader, we are called to use our privilege and resources to help those in need. The United Church of Christ has been receiving updates from partners over the last 90-days whose communities have been impacted by first the freeze and now the cuts. The most immediate impact is being felt in the healthcare sphere with lack of access to various vaccines and HIV/AIDS medications.   Agencies such as USAID and the United States Institute of Peace serve an important role not just in peacebuilding but global security. Through this work, our taxes help keep individuals and communities abroad safe, healthy, and secure—in turn making the world a safer place for all of us.   The United Church of Christ’s call to build a just world for all requires us to advocate for programs that provide basic humanitarian support for all, including those run by USAID and USIP. Tell the President and Congress that we need fully operational international development and peacebuilding institutions today! 
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Come to the Sixth Assembly of the Florida Interfaith Climate Actions Network

Come to the Sixth Assembly of the Florida Interfaith Climate Actions Network (FL-iCAN!) and be inspired to dream, network, and design climate actions that will improve our world. Together we can respond positively to the new era of annual extreme weather events arising from the climate crisis.

The rituals of faith and wisdom traditions once helped cultures stay in balance with nature. That balance has been lost. The climate is in crisis. Science describes the impact on us all. Ritual attunes our hearts and wills for doing right together. The Sixth Assembly will explore both science and ritual to help us love Earth, its people, and the Commons with good intentions.

Matthew Fox will lead off Friday evening helping us to find healing in rediscovering the power of ritual in society. Saturday morning Harold Wanless will take us through the most recent science on the warming seas and extreme weather.

Then we will spend the day in workshops that focus on Earth, people, and the Commons. The one-hour workshops will be organized into three tracks: policy, action, and narrative.

How can we get affordable solar? How do we ensure we have clean water? How do we deal with rising temperatures and seas? How do we restore lost wildlife? How can we talk about climate in meaningful ways with our neighbors? What can we do that will help make the environment better? What rituals work for all of us? How is Easter a celebration of Earth? What big ideas move us beyond fossil fuels? How can we grow our own good food in the city? Let’s be honest about our past and hopeful about our future.

On Sunday afternoon we welcome everyone to participate in the Cosmic Mass: Our Sacred Earth at the St. Peterburg Coliseum. Together we’ll grieve the mess we’ve made as a society, heal our divorce from the environment, commune with all life, and discover the healing power of our joy.

Bracketing the Assembly is an opportunity to take an African-American Heritage Tour of St. Petersburg with Gwen Reese and take a deep dive into seeing how losing the Commons means destroying vital communities.

FL-iCAN! is convened by the Florida Council of Churches with programing assistance from the Connection Partners and support from the Thriving Earth Exchange. Special thanks go to the Southeastern Yearly Meeting of Quakers and Creation Justice Ministries. Most of all we are grateful to Trinity Lutheran Church for offering their facilities for the Assembly.

Contact: Rev. Dr. Russell Meyer, 813-435-5335, fl-ican@floridachurches.org

The Rev. Dr. Russell L. Meyer

Executive Director

Florida Council of Churches

3838 West Cypress St

Tampa FL 33607

813.435.5335