The weekly e-news of First United Church of Tampa!

 

 

October 30, 2014


 


TWENTY FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

 

 


 

From Pastor Bernice

 Tuesday is Election Day...
 

... although the truth is that we have Election Days now.  The election actually started a few weeks ago, as mail ballots went out and continued a few days ago, as early voting began to take place. Yet we know that too many people who are eligible to vote just won’t bother to do so.
 
Meanwhile, others seem to be working to keep our citizens from voting. State-by-state, the right to vote is being taken away. These are the words of Congressman John Lewis from Georgia, who was beaten and jailed many times in the 1960’s because of his work to get African Americans full civil and voting rights:
 
"... legislatures around the nation are creating barriers and making it more difficult for citizens to vote.  There is not just one law, but many types of laws that are disenfranchising millions of voters: voter photo identification laws, proof of citizenship laws, barriers to registration, elimination of early voting and absentee voting, and laws making it harder to restore voting rights for people who have paid their debt to society.  These laws are a barrier to an inclusive democracy.  We are stepping backward toward another dark time in our history."
 
There is a long and bloody history in our nation of those working for the right to vote being killed – names like Medgar Evers and James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner; names like Viola Liuzzo and Vernon Dahmer (who was a Hattiesburg, MS businessman who allowed people to pay the poll tax at his store so they wouldn’t have to travel to the courthouse and was killed when the Klan set fire to his home.)
 
Here in Florida Harry and Harriette Moore were killed on Christmas Day, 1955, when a firebomb was placed directly under their bedroom in Mims.  Both of the Moores were educators involved in many civil rights issues in Florida, including voting rights for African Americans. No one has ever been charged with the murder of the Moores. 
 
And let’s not forget that women in this country could not vote until 1920.  While the struggle for women’s suffrage was not as bloody, it certainly was not easy.  Women like Alice Paul were arrested for daring to organize a suffrage parade to coincide with President Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration in 1913.  She was placed in solitary confinement and then force fed when she and others went on a hunger strike.    
 
So, we really have no excuse at all for not voting.  If you are ill, you can vote by mail.  If you are working or busy you can vote early. If you have child care problems, take them with you and teach them what it means to be an American.  If you are tired, just think about how tired the Moores must have been as they slept on that fateful Christmas morning. 
 
In Hillsborough County, early polls are open through Sunday, November 2, from 7 am – 7 pm. In Pasco County, early polls are open through Saturday, November 1. Check with the Supervisor of Elections for locations.  Then, of course, you can always vote on Election Day, November 4.  Wherever and however you do it, just vote.
 
The legions of voting rights angels, who gave up so much for this right that we take so lightly, are watching…

 
In Love and Peace,

Pastor Bernice                                                                  
 
revbpjackson@ucctampabay.org





Sunday, November 2

The texts for Sunday are:
Josh 3:7-17
Matt:23:1-12
 

Readers:
Quench -        Dove Wimbish
11:00 AM -      English  - Daphne Thomas
                        Spanish -  Graciela Flores                   
Pulpit Assistant - Rev. Graciela Flores

Rev. Bernice Powell Jackson will be preaching on "Loving Love" 


SUNDAY SERVICES:
9:00 AM - Quench,  
 
Quench your spirit’s longing for God and community in an intimate service of message, music, and media.  Communion every Sunday.


11:00 AM - Worship Service
a larger service with prayer, choir, sermon and children's church



Prayer requests

Pat Allen; Doris Rampolla, Julian Cunningham;  Alice Wilber; Karen Mattheis' daughter, Shandy and her sister Debbie; Rev. Bernice’s brother, Nick; Lois Whitehurst; Diana Legg, Leroy Herschberger, Jim Christison, Bob Mitchell, Kenn and Steve Antonelli's mother, Antoinette; Barbara Nichols and family, Barbara McFarland's sister, Diane; CL and Ione Townsend, Thelma Ashley, Willy Emerson, Rev. Sara Zimmerman, Paul D'Agostino, Gigi Allard, Gail Barber, Mimi Reid
 


 

Meetings and important events

Coming Up:


Saturday Concert Series 


Saturday, November 22 - Mo' Pleasure in Concert
      Internationally recognized R and B singer

Donations: $20/pp

Social Action Committee
Next meeting Sunday, November 2 after the second service

Fall Clean-up Day Postponed One Week
Now on Saturday, November 15,  8am

Memorial Service for Dorathy Montonye
Saturday, November 8, 2 p.m.

Blessing of the Animals
Sunday, November 9 after the second service

Next Supper Group - Saturday, November 15 - 6:30 pm
Our hosts for this evening will be Lorrin and Leslie Shepard and Michael Marcionese and Alan DeNote.  A notice will be sent out two weeks ahead of time with further details. Hope to see you there!


GETTING OUR HEARTS (AND MINDS) READY FOR ADVENT
Four Tuesdays of studying together "Pastors Sound Off: Causes We Can't Keep Quiet About"
and appropriate scriptures
Tuesdays November 4, 11, 18 and December 2 @ 6:30 pm

 

HELP! PEOPLE NEEDED FOR MURDER PLANNING!

Set designers, wedding planner, caterer, actors, publicity, Stage Manager, ASMs, On-the-day helpers, and on December 6 wedding guests… and detectives! Contact Doreen Dorsham2@aol.com.

 

Sunday adults' discussion group


The adults' discussion group has resumed! They will be reading The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible  by Charles Eisenstein. Join them at 10:10 in the library.



Calling for volunteers!

Help Wanted:
Exciting Volunteer Opportunities
at First United
 
Sunday Morning Worship Power Point Tech
We need one more person who can rotate the responsibility of changing the power point slides during the service. See or talk with Pastor Bernice or Brandon Martin for more information.
 
 
 children's church teachers and teacher's assistants
Right now we have only 4 teachers committed to working with our children. We need to begin to have two different classes to accommodate the age differences and so need at least 3-4 more teachers, plus a few persons who are willing to be teacher's assistants, helping when the classes are larger or when there is some special need. If we have a large enough pool, you should only need to work one Sunday a month. Please see or call Debra Warner (813) 909-0591 if you are interested.
 
Hospitality Coordinator(s)
We still need one more person to help coordinate Sunday morning hospitality. That means sending out sign up sheets quarterly to make sure we have coverage and picking up coffee, plates and supplies quarterly. We have one volunteer and need one more. Please see or talk with Pastor Bernice if you would be willing to volunteer.




Thanks!

Once a year we take a special UCC Luv offering.  We ask that everyone make a $20 special contribution to cover the FL Conference $14.50 per capita and the balance goes to Our Church's Wider Mission.  We ask those who can make a larger contribution to do so to help out someone else who cannot make the full $20 contribution.  So far we have collected $1205, which does not cover our per capita for the Conference.  Nor does it provide additional funds for Our Church's Wider Mission to go to the Conference and the National church.  We can receive funds for our Special UCC offering until the end of the year.  Please think about how much the UCC means to us and give generously.
 


 

HOPE latest news
We were, in Brandon's words, 21 strong at the HOPE Convention on Monday.  We committed to a turnout of 100 for the Nehemiah Action on April 20 (mark your calendars!) That means we need an additional 6 or so Justice Ministry Network members to commit to coming to the additional meetings (just 3) and to bring three additional folks to the Nehemiah Action.  Maybe you had been trying to decide whether to commit - now is the time!

At the Convention we heard the stories of two young people who cannot find affordable housing in our county.  We know there are thousands of others.  So the Convention decided to continue to work to get an Affordable Housing Trust Fund set up.  Might you consider working on the Affordable Housing research committee? Meanwhile, we are continuing to work on the Fair Chance Hiring policy.  The Tampa City Council has re-scheduled the Fair Chance Hiring workshop for Thursday, November 13.  If you are free during the day, please plan on joining us.  We need as many folks as possible to turn out that day.

In addition, we agreed to work on expanding the use of Civil Citations for children and youth in order to reduce the number of children and youth arrested in Florida and Hillsborough county. In Hillsborough County only 8 offenses are included for Civil Citations, thus only 38% of children eligible for Civil Citations under the state statute actually get them.  Moreover, we will work with our sister organizations in Florida to get the wording of the statute changed so that Civil Citations become the default for first time misdemeanors by children and youth.   

And oh by the way, First United raised the largest amount of money during our investment drive.  We contributed $7,125.  That's amazing!  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

This is important and life-changing work.  We can all support it by making a commitment to be a JMN member, by joining a research committee and by investing money.

 


How many people have been killed by guns since Newtown?

Click here to see an updated tally.




Listen to sermons online

Now you can listen to recordings of Sunday sermons on our website, www.ucctampabay.org.  Tell your friends!





Please help us on Sundays

If you are the last one to leave the church property on Sunday, PLEASE be mindful to check that all doors are locked.  Thank you!





Sunday School news

Sunday School classes are as follows:

Primary (ages 4-10) - The children will be in church for the pastor's time.  Then they will leave for class with the teacher at approximately 11:10 AM.

Nursery (ages 3 and under) - The children can be with parents and participate in the pastor's time until all children go to the classrooms.

You can visit
www.sermons4kids.com and www.kids2kidsmissions.org to see the kinds of activities that are in store for your children.  If you have any questions, please call Debra Warner at 813-909-0591.

Needed! 3-4 more teachers and 1-2 teacher's assistants.  Would you consider being a teacher or assistant at least once a month?  Our children need you.



2 x 3 = 6

Six hours spread over three months – the amount of time Hospitality Hosts contribute to making our Sunday Fellowship Time the best.  Each host “team” member agrees to serve once a month for three months – providing food, enjoying rich fellowship and – yes – cleaning up.

You are invited to become part of this continuing ministry.  As a regular member of a team – pick your Sunday – or as a substitute available as needed.
One further note – Paul D’Agostino and Jim Roney come early every Sunday to make coffee in addition to serving as fifth Sunday hosts.




First United name badges

We are ordering name badges for members, friends, and visitors.  The cost is $10.00.  Please contact the church office at 813-988-4321 or churchoffice@ucctampabay.org.




Submitting items to Courage in the Struggle

We hope you enjoy receiving Courage in the Struggle, the weekly e-news of First United Church of Tampa.  If you would like to submit an item that would be of interest to the members and friends of First United, please email it to webservant@ucctampabay.org.  Attach your submission as a Word document.  Submissions may be edited for length or clarity.  For events, be sure to include the date, time, location, and cost (if any).  Thank you!
 
 
 
 
 

 

First United Church of Tampa
7308 East Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL  33617   -   813-988-4321
Founded in 1885
www.ucctampabay.org

OUR FOUR CORE VALUES:
EARTH CHARTER
MULTIRACIAL AND MULTICULTURAL
OPEN AND AFFIRMING
PEACE WITH JUSTICE
 
 



 
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