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News and announcements to keep you informed about the ministry of Community Spirit Church (UCC)
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The Week Ahead at Community Spirit Church (UCC)
Thursday, April 22, 2021

Community Spirit Church ★ Calendar of Events (click for details)
Click to view details and full calendar

Love Notes

A few words from our pastor

And we’re off... ! By the time you read this, we will have one sermon under our belt and one very special congregational gathering to reflect upon and savor. As we journey together toward Community Spirit’s eighth birthday, as well as the birthing day of the church universal at Pentecost, we who call Community Spirit our spiritual home are being intentional about considering what it means to enter into sacred covenant with one another and our God.

In last week’s sermon, I talked about covenant in general and then lifted up the first two covenant promises we make when we declare ourselves members for the coming year: prayer for the church and its pastor, and regular participation in worship. (If you missed that service, reach out to me and I will gladly email you a copy of the sermon or a link to the recorded service.)

This Sunday my sermon focus will be on the Relational Covenant we created early on, why our church’s health and well-being benefit when we dare to be clear about our behavioral expectations for ourselves and others. I’ll have a story or two to tell about times when having these expectations produced marvelous, life-changing fruit as well as a story or two about times when the absence of clarity around expected behavior cheated folks of the joy God intended.

Because it’s doubtful that you have the Relational Covenant committed to memory (and if you’re new, you might not even have seen it), I’ll invite you to click on this link before we gather on Sunday. Take some time to acquaint yourself with the covenant that arose from much conversation and discernment in our first year together as a church.

In the reading and the reflecting on our Relational Covenant, may Spirit stir you to envision how—by covenanting together to speak and act in wise, faithful ways—we can discover a life together that satisfies our souls and at the same time gives glory to God.

SSee you on Sunday!

Karen

  • April 25
    We promise to live into our Relational Covenant.
  • May 2
    We promise to participate in Community Spirit’s programs, ministries, and missions.
  • May 9
    We promise to serve in life-giving ways and as the Spirit leads.
  • May 16
    We promise to support the church financially.
  • May 23
    Pentecost Sunday!  We make our membership covenant promises as we celebrate CSC’s eighth birthday and the birthing day of the church universal.
Be the Church, wherever you are, working for the common good of the whole, as faithful followers of Christ, in community with one another and others.
 
(Community Spirit Church Guidepost)

Worship With Us This Sunday

Community Spirit UCC gathers each Sunday morning for an online worship service via Zoom. Log in between 10:15 and 10:25 AM. Worship begins at 10:30 AM.

All you need is a phone or a computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone AND a weekly email invitation from Pastor Karen with the link to follow. (Reach out to her at revkaren@communityspiritucc.org if you're not receiving these invitations.)

Read last week's sermon: On Our Way to Pentecost
If you would like to view last week's service online, please reach out to Karen for the link.

Please check your email inbox on Saturday to make sure you’ve received your worship link for worship the following day. This will give you time to be in touch with Karen if you need help. If you’re running late on Sunday morning and run into trouble, please reach out to a fellow church member who may be able to forward their Zoom link or help you troubleshoot. After 10:15 AM., Karen does not check her email or texts.

Pastor's Column

In case you missed it, Karen’s occasional column appeared last Saturday in the Montrose Daily Press.  You can read it on our website: Pastor's Perspective: Lost and Found

Earth Day Rally & River Cleanup

This Saturday, April 24th, the community will gather at 11:00 AM in Demoret Park on the corner of Main Street and Townsend Avenue. Bring your signs and posters to a rally for the protection of the earth for our future generations.

At noon, they will move to the Main Street River Trailhead to clean up along the Uncompahgre River. Bring your own work gloves and trash bags.

Learn more at facebook.com/events/485109605955914.

Spring Creek Road Cleanup

It's road cleanup time again! As is our practice every spring and fall, we will be gathering at Loncar Park (15236 6165 Road, Montrose) this Sunday, April 25th at 2:00 PM to clean up along our two-mile stretch of Springcreek Road. Bring hats and work gloves... the In/Out team will take care of the rest.

Please plan to stay afterwards and we will spend about 30 minutes assembling more homeless care kits (containing personal and hygiene items) for our friends at the Lighthouse Shelter.  We will then reward our hard work with refreshments and lively conversation.  What a wonderful way to spend a spring afternoon!

APRIL BIRTHDAYS
4 Chuck Greenacre
7 Shea Vincent
11 Terri Huntley
12 Jamie Gann
12 Pat Riddell
12 Paul Webber
18 Joan Dilts
30 Luca Field
Are we missing you?  We want to make sure everyone is on this list, so please send Kim your birth date.

 Current Phone List
 Current Email List

Prayer for a Gray Day

When the days all look alike,
and people's voices start to sound the same;
when this hour is just like the last,
and probably like the next one, too —

When, in short, the stream of my life
is all still water
with no white rapids of excitement
or glorious waterfalls —

Then, O Lord, I ache for color —
for butterflies,
and sunrises,
and incandescent rainbows in the skies.

When days are gray, then I am gray,
praying for your almighty hand,
to transform the dull hills and valleys of my life
into a Yellowstone,
or a Grand Canyon.

What a shock to hear your cheerful reply,
"May I lend you my paintbrush?"

— George Miller

RMC Annual Celebration: June 7-13, 2021

We are just 60 days from the 47th Annual Celebration of the Rocky Mountain Conference!

CHURCH ANEW
This year as we gather we will explore what it means to be Church Anew. The dictionary defines anew this way: "in a new or different and typically more positive way.” This year we want to share stories of how we are living into a new and different church. What experiments have we tried? What has worked? What has failed? What have we learned about being church? How have we changed? What does it take to sustain innovation and imagination? What is needed from our faith tradition in this particular moment? What is our unique contribution? We are eager to be in these questions and others as we gather together in multiple ways during our Annual Celebration as a Conference.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
We are thrilled to announce our keynote will be presented by Valarie Kaur, a civil rights activist, lawyer, award-winning filmmaker, founder of the Revolutionary Love Project, author of See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love, and Sikh American voice. You can view her latest TED Talk here. The first 125 voting Church Delegates to register will receive a free digital copy of Valarie Kaur’s book.

REGISTRATION & TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Registration is now open! Please complete your registration as soon as possible. This year, we will ask each RMC church to contribute $100 to share the costs of the Annual Celebration; each church will receive information on this in the near future. No cost will be due to participants at the time of registration. All events will be held virtually again this year.

Please see the Tentative Schedule for details about session dates, times, and topics. While this schedule is still subject to change, this is a fairly complete outline of our events this year. Stay tuned for a more detailed schedule.

BUSINESS ITEMS
You can see and download documents for the Annual Business Meeting on our website at rmcucc.org/annual-celebration-2021. All documents will be posted on this site by May 12, 2021.
 

Your RMC Staff
Rocky Mountain Conference of the United Church of Christ
www.rmcucc.com

Real. Relevant. Relational.

 

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1516 Barbara Street
Montrose CO 81401-5114

970-765-7070  Church Office
970-765-6615  Finance Team

We are unable to receive mail at the Ute Museum, so please always use the address shown above.

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Community Spirit Church (UCC) · 1516 Barbara Street · Montrose, CO 81401-5114 · USA

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