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WELCOME SEPTEMBER 2010
Dear Friends,
Once again
we head into the fall, and once again there is much that is different. We are beginning to change our exterior look. Church
members and friends are joining together to prepare and paint the outside of our church building. This is a big undertaking
but there is a lot of energy developing to get it done. All of you out there in “Broadcaster Land” are welcome
to participate as you can. We need bodies willing to work and also others willing to support and affirm the work being done,
as well as those wishing to contribute to the project financially. Our interior is going through some changes of sorts as
well as we develop a Stewardship program this fall for the first time in a number of years. Being good stewards is a biblical
call to each of us and being able to talk about it and plan it as a community is an important activity for every congregation.
While often the term stewardship is equated with giving financially the concept includes much more than what we do with our
money. Our Stewardship Committee will be helping us to look at this in the broader context over the next few months.
We are also continuing to develop a Long Range Plan for our congregation. This is some-thing
that is meant to include all of the members and friends of Hollywood Independent UCC. This includes how we relate to our immediate
neighborhood and how we relate to the greater church as well as how we relate and respond to God as a community, i.e. our
worship practices, bible study, adult education and church school, outreach, etc. This could not be a better time of year
to be looking at all of these areas as our lectionary readings during the Season of Pentecost, sometimes called Common Time
(reaching from Pentecost Sunday to the beginning of Advent), focuses on the life of the early church as those Christians worked
through many of these same issues.
This fall also will be an exciting time for those of us who follow the path of Jesus for another reason. With people
like Ann Rice and Glenn Beck calling attention to the church and what it means to be a Christian it is important that each
of us take on the responsibility of helping those around us understand what following Jesus means to us. There is much confusion
in the world now, just as in New Testament times, and unless we speak up and clarify what we think and feel about our faith
in God and our church, we are only allowing
those who do so to set the agenda with the stereo-types they promote. The God
of justice, compassion, and inclusivity that we have come to know as a United Church of Christ congregation is not as visible
as the authoritarian God of exclusivity and punishment that is often promoted. As a community we know better, but how do we
help one another tell the story that is so dear to our hearts?
To help you stay in step with what we are studying we have a new seasonal “Take Home Pack” which includes
scripture readings, prayers and activities to do at home for each week of the season to help process what we will be discussing
in worship and church school. It is available in the church narthex. If it is hard for you to come by and pick one up please
contact the church office (by phone: 323-664-0036 or email: Dudega1@yahoo.com) and we will mail one to you.
And remember, “No matter where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here!”
Peace and blessings to you,
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