Mar. 2006

Touchstone - March 2006

Follow any of the sidebar links to read Touchstone updates from past months.

March 29, 2006

Do you have someone or something to forgive? The text for this Sunday is from Jeremiah 31:31-34 and it speaks of God presenting a new covenant to the people of Israel--a covenant of forgiveness of sins. In a brief reflection entitled "Practicing Forgiveness" I will talk about the difference between forgiveness and reconciliation, and together we will consider how forgiveness is an important part of our faith.

On Saturday April 1st we will gather at the church at 9:30 a.m. for a training session, then head to the Bungalow Heaven neighborhood in Pasadena to hand out information about our church and invite folks there to come and worship with us. Come and be a part of our Neighborhood Walkabout--call Cherryl Weaver if you have questions.

Remember to set your clocks ahead one hour on Saturday night--daylight savings time begins at midnight and we all lose an hour of sleep this week!

After worship this Sunday we will have sheets of newsprint scattered around the parlors and the Church Growth Group invites you to write up a slogan that describes our church! We are searching for words to describe the purpose of our church--we are trying to identify and refine who we are as a faith community. Your words may win the prize and end up on signs outside our doors in the near future. All ideas, as long as they are appropriately worded, are welcome!

At 11:30 a.m. this Sunday we will offer part two of our Forum series with a DVD of Biblical Scholar and Jesus Seminar leader John Dominic Crossan. Come and join us as we listen to and discuss these four presentations on biblical history and theology. Each talk includes examples that connect scripture with our present day world and politics--Ann Appley has described it as a new approach to Bible study!

At 3:00 p.m. this Sunday the Conference offices are offering another Still Speaking training session to help equip local congregations with resources and ideas for sharing our faith and our mission in the UCC! Marlene plans to attend the training, so come and join her in this work from 3:00 until 7:00 p.m. at the Conference Office on North Lake Avenue. See Marlene on Sunday if you have questions.

The Rev. John H. Pomeroy

March 23, 2006

Numbers 21:4-9

We continue our Lenten explorations by following the ancient Israelites during their time in the wilderness. We hear in this passage that the people are impatient and they are hungry. Some have even been bitten by serpents and have died and they interpret this as divine judgment on themselves. These wilderness narratives do not idealize the covenant relationship with God -- times are hard even for those who walk with God. But the question posed to us is how do we respond when life hands us obstacles? Our Lenten faith witnesses who are sharing each week have been addressing this very question and it is moving to hear how others make their way through life's difficulties.

The highlight of community is not the joyful celebrations that we share together, but the painful paths we traverse together during life's more somber festivals. These journeys are made bearable by those who care to travel with us, hear our sorrows, wipe away our tears, and comfort our heavy hearts. May this Lenten week be a time of re-commitment to those who you are in covenant with.

Upcoming Opportunities

This Saturday, March 25 from 10-12 noon, Marlene Pomeroy and Carolyn Olney will offer a "Morning of Quiet" on the second floor in our church school classroom. It will be a quiet and reflective respite from the busyness of our lives and we will spend time in meditation, reflection, prayer and conversation together as we open our lives to God. If you cannot make this day, feel free to send your prayer requests to us at pastors@uccpasadena.org and we will pray for you on Saturday. It would be helpful if you would also RSVP if you plan to attend.

On Sunday, March 26 Roberta White will be our Lenten Faith Witness during worship. Also, all children and special needs adults are invited to return their coin boxes for our One Great Hour of Sharing Offering. All others are invited to contribute to this important relief offering with envelopes that will be provided in worship. After worship we will have the first of four John Dominic Crossan forums. Crossan is an engaging biblical scholar who takes a tour through early Christianity and draws comparisons to our own lives and beliefs. There is a one-hour DVD presentation followed by 30 minutes for discussion. On Sunday evening the Vox Femina choral group is offering a concert at the Altadena Community Church at 4:00 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the door or you may contact them at www.voxfeminala.org.

The Rev. Marlene W. Pomeroy

March 17, 2006

None of us have a particularly comfortable relationship with rules. Rules or laws are the boundary fences that keep us healthy, that keep us in relationship with one another, that ultimately keep our civilization together. But no one likes to bump into a fence and no one likes to be told that they are "out of bounds." Over the years we develop ways of coping with such information--and we may begin to see the benefit of rules and laws for keeping us whole. Still, anything that "disciplines" us does not make for an easy or comfortable relationship.

The rules of our faith are contained in the life and person of Jesus of Nazareth. Before his incarnation, the people of Israel held up their covenant with God as the defining standard of their lives and the Ten Commandments are known as God's revelation of what God expects in relationship with us. The scripture text for this Sunday is the Decalogue from Exodus 20:1-17 -- the only set of commandments in scripture where God speaks directly to God's people! In worship we will consider a puzzle about these commands--that is, commands don't work unless there is a relationship in place that provides those commands with authority. Instead of a set of rules, we need to look at the Decalogue as a description of God and an invitation into a new kind of relationship! The reflection for Sunday is entitled "A New Set of Rules."

Come and join us for worship this Sunday in our Chapel at 10:00 a.m. Our Children and Youth Choir will have its first outing in worship under the direction of Carol Lisek and the First Church Ringers will play in our worship service. Also in worship, Jeff Tyler will speak as our Lenten Faith Witness and Carol Penn Romine will share something about our offering next week--One Great Hour of Sharing. After worship and coffee hour, our Church Council is having lunch together in the parlors from 11:30 a.m. until 1:15 p.m. At 2:00 p.m. our Youth Group is headed out to see a film together with advisors Jeff and Judi Tyler. On Tuesday March 21st our Church Growth Group is meeting in the parlors at 7:00 p.m.--all are welcome! And make time to stay after worship next Sunday, March 26th when we begin the first of four Adult Forums on Biblical History with a DVD presentation by scholar John Dominic Crossan. Call the church office at (626) 795-0696 if you have any questions.

The Rev. John H. Pomeroy

Be Part of a Volunteer Group to Help Rebuild the Gulf Coast

The Southern California Nevada Conference would like to put together a volunteer group to help rebuild homes damaged by the hurricanes in Florida and on the Gulf Coast. The decision of which we go to will be left up to the majority of the group and/or availability.

Florida currently has 41,000 homes still to be rebuilt. Their work groups can be up to 28 people and will stay either in churches or in mobile homes placed near the site being worked on. Work groups for the Gulf Coast are currently being housed in a church in Metarie, LA. Work groups there may total 20 people. Minimum age for volunteer work groups is 16. Groups are responsible for their own meals and must pay for their own transportation. A variety of skills are needed from unskilled clean-up, to skilled construction work.

The first group will leave April 17 (the day after Easter) and return on April 23, 2006. If you are interested, please contact Gail Geisel 818.351.0166, or glgeisel@earthlink.net.

If you are interested, but can not go on those dates, let Gail know also, as there may be another group going next summer.

Thank you and Blessings,

Gail Geisel

March 8, 2006

This week we are privileged to welcome Rabbi Marv Gross to our Sunday morning worship service! He is celebrating ten years as the Executive Director of Pasadena's Union Station Foundation, a shelter for women, men and children that provides job training, case supervision, housing and meals to those in need. Marv will speak on a text from Exodus (chapter 32, verses 15-24) and his sermon is entitled "A Covenant Interrupted, a Covenant Restored."

This text is an account of Moses returning from Mount Sinai with the tablets that contain God's law--the Ten Commandments! Joshua and Moses find the Israelites celebrating with a golden calf at the center of their jubilation. Moses is deeply angered by this celebration and at Aaron's lack of faithful leadership. Moses destroys the calf by melting it in the fire and forces the Israelites to drink water laden with the remaining dust of this idol. Despite Aaron's best intentions at modeling a tribute to God, the people fall prey to idolatry and a kind of selfish distraction. Their covenant with God is apparently broken!

For us, in this season of Lent, it is often all we can do to remind ourselves to take time to study or pray. Whether we use a Lenten discipline like meditation or fasting, or simply try to attend church programs more regularly, it is not easy to set aside any part of our daily routine to make more room for God to speak to us. Never mind that we may not understand what God says, nor may we like what God has to say about our lives! Come and join us for worship as Marv Gross reflects on our covenant with God and our role in that relationship.

After worship Marv will lead an Adult Forum in our parlors entitled "Homelessness Today - An Update From Union Station." The Forum will run from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. and all are welcome. On Saturday March 11, our member Leo Lynch will have his Ecclesiastical Council to transfer his ordination to the United Church of Christ at 10:00 a.m. at the First Samoan Church, UCC in Los Angeles; call Marlene if you would like to attend and need a ride. After worship on Sunday, our children and youth will have another choir practice in the music room, directly after the end of our service; call Carol Lisek if you have questions. On Tuesday March 14th we have our Common Ministry meeting and dinner, beginning at 6:00 p.m. And in worship on Sunday we will have Lenten flyers available, describing events in the church through Holy Week--pick up a copy and give one to a friend! Call the church office with questions at (626) 795-0696.

The Rev. John H. Pomeroy

March 3, 2006

Welcome to Lent! The scripture readings for the next few weeks often center on a common theme of Covenant. There is the original covenant of God with God's people, described in the Hebrew Bible through the stories of Moses and Noah. In the New Testament there is the "new covenant" that comes through the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...and throughout Christian history there are examples of God's people modeling covenant intentionally--the Pilgrims who landed on and settled what we now know as New England are perhaps the best known examples. In these few examples this Lent we are invited to reflect on and renew our own covenant relationship with God, recognizing that God is God and we are God's people. Something as simple as finding our place with God turns out to be a key element of our faith journey! Stay tuned in these forty plus days to learn more about why covenant is such an important image for us all...

Come join us this Sunday March 5th when our worship service will be led by Church School teachers, youth and children. After worship, Carolyn Olney and Mel Smith will tell us something about their own faith journeys in our Faith Sharing Forum from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Parlors.

Next Sunday we are privileged to welcome Rabbi Marv Gross, the director of Union Station Foundation, a shelter for men, women and children in Pasadena. Marv will preach in worship and lead a Forum describing the work of Union Station, including our relationship with the shelter for over twenty years as we housed women and children on our first floor every night. Discipleship Ministry will invite all of us to find a time when we can sign up to serve a meal at Union Station on a Monday night, cooking and cleaning up with fellow church members. Call the church office (626) 795-0696 if you would like more information about any of these programs...and we hope you will come and join us!

The Rev. John H. Pomeroy