Christmas Eve Service - Dec. 24, 2013

The video below is abridged, but includes about 80% of the service.



Christmas Eve Service - 2013 from Lavon Page on Vimeo.

Christmas Cantata 2013

On December 15, 2013, the CUCC choir performed the Christmas Cantata "God's Son is Born, A Christmas Cantata" published in 1964 by Peggy Hoffmann. The most recent previous performance of this work at CUCC was in 1999. Peggy and Arnold joined the United Church of Raleigh around 1950, and Arnold served as choir director while Peggy was the organist. Their children Rosemary and Ted were present for the performance on Dec. 15, 2013. The notes written by Rosemary for the occasion are available below, as well as the program for the cantata.

The recording below is edited to remove long silences between selections while choir members were repositioning themselves between selections.

God's Son is Born, A Christmas Cantata (34 minute mp3 audio)

Christmas Pageant 2013

The 2013 Christmas pageant was presented on December 8 by a cast of about 30, mostly children. The Christmas pageant is a long-standing tradition at CUCC, and the director for the production again this year was Anne Bailey Zschau. The production for this season ran about 31 minutes long, and is shown here in its entirety.

Welcoming in Advent 2013

On Sunday December 1, 2013, the Deacons sponsored a "Welcoming in Advent" program at 5 PM in the fellowship Hall. The program was designed and led by Vandy Bradow. Presenters included Steve Halsted, Joy Alford, and David Sigmon. Music was provided by Amy Jensen, Doug Barrick, Geri Bowen, and Mike Schafale.

The audio program available below is slightly edited. Portions of the program which produced no audio have been omitted (for example, the making of the communal wreath, and the procession down the hallway from the fellowship hall to the sanctuary). The edited version below runs for about 36 minutes.

Welcoming in Advent 2013 (36 minute mp3)

Bob Hazel

Bob Hazel, NC Wildlife Commission
News and Observer , June 9, 1959
Click photo for enlarged view

Bob Hazel (1922-2013) joined the United Church of Raleigh, forerunner of Community UCC, in 1953 and remained a member for 60 years until his death in 2013. Bob's memorial service was held at CUCC on November 24, 2013. The complete service, shown in the video below, is slightly over an hour long and features a moving eulogy presented by Bob's son Dennis.

A detailed obituary for Bob Hazel is available online at the Montlawn Memorial Park website.

Bob Hazel obituary

Origins of the phrase "Nurturing spiritual growth and working for social justice"

edited by Lavon Page using information provided by Edith Sylla, Marty Lamb, and Jane Smith

The phrase “Nurturing spiritual growth and working for social justice” has been widely used on church publications for many years. Some recall this slogan having been added to the church bulletin and website during the tenure of Rev. Carol Ripley-Moffitt as Interim Pastor (2000-2002). But others remember the phrase itself having originated while Rev. Cally Rogers-Witte was pastor, perhaps around 1990. This article provides an overview to the context out of which this phrase may have arisen. Most of this information was researched by Edith Sylla, church historian.

Marty Lamb (Nov. 2013) recalls that “Rev. Cally Rogers-Witte did apparently suggest to the Deacons the phrase 'working for social justice and nurturing spiritual growth.'  Geraldine Bryan (on the Deacons at the time) spoke up to say she'd approve its use IF the words were put in the proper order 'nurturing spiritual growth and working for social justice.' The Deacons did approve of the current statement, so that was the authoritative group in the church who gave approval for its use.”

We don’t have a date for this discussion, but given the statement of goals adopted at the congregational meeting June 17,1990, it may have been about this time.  Peggy Hoffmann refers to similar language in her review of church history during the 1980's in The “Energetic 80’s:  A decade in the life of a small Southern church” which includes the statement of goals (p. 21). And the phrase "Working for Social Justice" appears as a header on p. 20 of that document.

As a precursor to the fall retreat held in October 2012, Edith Sylla as church historian drafted an informal overview of church history related to this matter. Edith's findings (Oct. 2012) appear below, slightly edited by Lavon Page for purposes of online readability.

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From the CUCC Archives re Long Range Planning in 1990

drafted by Edith Sylla, CUCC Historian, October 2012

In 1990, Peggy Hoffmann ended her update of CUCC history (“The Energetic Eighties: A decade in the life of a small southern church”) with the following section:

MOVING INTO THE 1990’S (excerpt from Peggy Hoffman's "Energetic 80s")

As CUCC enters the 1990’s we have set ourselves a new statement of goals, voted in a congregational meeting June 17,1990.

Goal Statement of Community United Church of Christ

As a worshipping community we recognize the God-given unity of our prayerful journey toward a deeper faith in God, our work for justice in the world and at home, and our quest to be a more loving community.

Therefore, as we move toward the twenty-first century, we commit ourselves to the challenge of affirming this unity in all that we do. Given this vision, we have set ourselves these priorities to address in the next three to five years.

• Always to be conscious of the unity of our commitments to foster faith development in our congregation; engage in ministries of peace, justice, and mercy for the earth and the human family; and, create a more caring congregation.
• To expand our ministry to and with children and youth in our congregation and in the community.
• To make the best use of space and resources available to us and to assess and address our physical and financial needs in light of expected continued growth.

Here are some items from the files that explain the background of this goal statement:

Church Council September 18, 1989. Minutes
The planning process for 1990 is being discussed. The Deacons recommend a subcommittee from the Council to coordinate the effort.... Susie Sapp made a motion that a subcommittee, appointed by the Church Council, be formed to discuss long-range plans for the Church – to be accomplished by November and a recommendation to the congregation by January with implementation in winter/spring of 1990.

Church Council October 16, 1989. Minutes
Judy Smallwood reported that those who agreed to be on the long-range planning committee are John Bush, John Niblock, Pam Troutman, Bill Lamb, Judy Smallwood, Cally Rogers-Witte and Dave Barber. Cally feels that they should meet as soon as possible.

First Annual Congregational meeting January 7, 1990. Minutes
Dave Barber reported on Long Range Planning Committee by handing out a graph showing our worship attendance and budgets for the last 12 years, and explaining some of the interesting information depicted.

Church Council January 16, 1990. Minutes
Long Range Planning: Bill Lamb passed out a list of Priority issues as voted by the Congregation, prepared by John Niblock. It boils down to 4 themes. A narrative summary is being drafted to include these. Boards and committees in February will be asked to consider this re-written material on what they feel the church should stand for. This will also be asked of the Friendship Circles. The Committee will then develop the 5-year plan by May or June.

Pastor’s Report: Cally feels the challenge of the 90’s is to balance spiritual development and justice.... Cally will offer 4 sessions in February on UCC polity, with the 4th session reviewing Long Range Plan. ... Cally mentioned that our agenda needs to include a report from the Long Range Planning Committee.

Church Council February 19, 1990. Minutes
The Board of Deacons held a retreat on Sunday, February 18th to discuss Long-Range Planning.

Long Range Planning: Bill Lamb reported that the committee will be asking Boards and Committees for a 3-5 year plan. Meeting is planned with Friendship Circles Coordinators on Sunday.

Email from Cally
To: Long Range Planning Committee
From: Cally Rogers-Witte, April 24, 1990
Review of process up ‘till now:

• Deacons’ evaluation of pastors last year led them to ask for more comprehensive, long range planning by the whole church, especially as they face spring ’90 decision about whether to continue to have two part-time pastors or not.
• Fall of 1989 – Council appointed Long Range Planning Committee which began meeting in November.
• LRP led the Jan. 7 Congregational meeting which included a time for being in touch with mission statements of our church and the denomination, then remembering highlights of the history of our local church and its involvement in mission, and surfacing dreams for the future of our church.
• Out of that congregational discussion, LRP wrote a draft mission statement and priorities and then asked the various Boards and Committees to suggest what dreams/plans/hopes/future programs they might suggest for their own work and for the whole congregation.
• All of the above was then shared with members and friends of the congregation at gatherings of the various Friendship Circles which gave feedback and added other ideas....
• After all the meetings of Friendship Circles, the LRP committee reviewed all the suggestions and rewrote the mission statement and priorities for presentation to the Council for possible presentation to the Congregation, and they also listed the various ideas that should be routed to each Board of the Committee for possible further consideration, noting the ideas that seemed to be rather widely affirmed or mentioned a number of times.

LRP suggests that Council should be familiar with all this material and then should consider appointing three separate task forces to address each priority. LRP suggests that these task forces each be responsible to one (or more?) of the Boards, but have within the membership of each task force persons representing the different Boards and Committees affected by the priority....

There should be a way to be sure the work of all three task forces is coordinated....

In the same packet as the April 24  memo from Cally there is a version of the mission statement (probably by Cally) that includes elaborations of the three priorities. For the first, Cally explains:

(This includes our work for global justice, human rights, economic justice, peace, environmental stewardship, and to end hunger and homelessness. It also emphasizes our desire to always see the interrelatedness of all this work as well as the connections between spiritual growth and social ministry, and the effects on our own community’s life.... the commitment in the 1990’s is to a new articulation of these interrelationships and connections – so that, for example, we ask the prayer chains to pray for people in places of war or famine, and we remember to articulate scriptural and theological bases for our social actions, and we invite more and more people to participate in peace vigils and worship services as well as Bible Studies and Silent Saturdays ... keep the unity and connections always in the forefront!!)

In the same packet there are also elaborations of the second and third priorities and several pages of feedback from the Friendship circles.

On May 9, 1990 there was a long range planning retreat for the Council and LRP. There are hand-written minutes from this meeting.

Special Called Congregational meeting June 17, 1990
To consider the following business:

1. Affirmation of the Goal Statement ... and the priorities it suggests.
2. Report from Church Council and Long Range Planning Committee on appointment of task forces to work on each of the three priorities...

Minutes (selections)
The meeting was called to order by Bill Lamb, serving as Moderator...

John Niblock made a motion to approve the first priority of Goal Statement for the Church. Discussion:  Isabella Cannon spoke to the issue of unity in the goal statement to the effect that we should have an awareness of diversity and acceptance of different points of view. Dave added that the Goal Statement is not a statement of  “who we are” but where we want to be in the next few years. John Little added that he doesn’t think unity means conformity. Motion carried.
John Niblock made a motion to approve the second priority and mentioned different task forces and who will chair them.... each task force will have representatives from all committees.... Motion carried.

Church Council June 25, 1990. Minutes
Pastor’s Report. Dave reported that the congregation also approved the Long-Range Planning proposal. Only one task force (Unity) is without a chair.

Church Council September 24, 1990. Minutes
Long Range Planning: Bill Lamb reported on Space and Resources Task Force. Potential action items are purchasing nice stacking chairs for the rear of the sanctuary to receive overflow, installing sound system in sanctuary, enlarging church building by enclosing courtyard between Vaughan Wing and Library, and erecting a more sound-proof divider in large church school room (between kitchen and secretary’s office).

Church Council October 22, 1990.
Task Force on Unity: Quentin Lindsay handed in a written report. Four recommendations were presented: 1) Council could appoint an ad-hoc committee to encourage and support efforts by which all of us strive to achieve unity of spirituality and social concern. 2) Consider a congregational retreat. 3) Classes and discussion groups have “open houses” to which newcomers would be invited. 4) Consider a class “in-between” middle school youth and forum for youth groups.

It was moved and seconded that the report be accepted; motion carried. It was recommended that a copy of this report be included in the Newsletter with a cover letter standing that the “Council accepts this report and commends it to the attention of all individuals and committee members, requesting volunteers for an ad-hoc committee. Council welcomes feedback.” [This appeared in the November 1990 Newsletter. Copy of the report will be appended to this summary.]

Church Council, November 19, 1990. Minutes
Task Force on Children and Youth: John Niblock presented recommendations: 1) Internal: Resource guide for teachers; Year-end guide book; College-age youth group to be established. 2) External: Community Outreach theme adopted every month to be integrated into all youth activities. Cally suggested we ask Wider Outreach to take on the External recommendation. Geraldine made a motion that these recommendations and those of the Task Force on Space be put in the Newsletter for the congregation to consider. Motion carried. Jim Smith made a motion that a subcommittee of Council (3 moderators, treasurer, and secretary) should oversee implementation of Task Force recommendations. Motion carried.

These excerpts from the files are only a small fraction of what was going on at the time.

People Clips - 2013

Welcoming Sunday was September 9, 2013. Members were invited to say a few words "on camera" about why they are drawn to CUCC or what they like about the church. Here is the result of that invitation ... [Note: there are lots of videos on this page. Sometimes your web browser may not load all of them properly. If the "play" button does not respond in a video, try reloading the page.]

Send-Off to Church Camp

Youth Group is off to church camp

Send-off on June 30, 2013

Marge Eckels Memorial

Marjorie Mills Robinson Eckels died June 5, 2013, at age 91. She died peacefully at home in the loving care of her daughters Marilyn and Christine. Marjorie was born in Hartford, CT, where she grew up the cherished only child of William and Violet Robinson. She attended U of Conn where she met her husband and life partner Arthur Raymond Eckels. They were married for over 50 years. Marjorie completed a Master of Social Work degree at the U of Chicago. Between 1949 and 1953, Art and Marjorie's four children were born, Alan in Mt. Carmel, CT, and Peter, Marilyn, and Christine in Raleigh, NC, where Art taught at NC State. The family moved to Burlington, VT, where they lived for five wonderful years in a countryside home with a spectacular view of Lake Champlain. Following their move back to Raleigh for Art's professorship at NC State, Marjorie worked for years in her chosen field of social work. Despite busy lives working and raising four children, Marjorie and Art opened their home to minority students and students from other countries. In their retirement years, they welcomed the Angar family, friends from Afghanistan, into their home. Marjorie also maintained a close relationship with her Aunt Margaret of Manchester, CT, her father's youngest sister.

Marjorie lived among the trees, flowers, and birds she loved in the family home in Raleigh for 52 years. On Feb. 1, 2013, Marjorie moved to the Oaks at Whitaker Glen where she joined many longtime friends, including many church members. She was happy and comfortable there in her new home, being, as she said, a woman who adjusted easily to many circumstances. Marjorie was a transplanted New Englander who surprised herself by her deep affinity for her adopted home in the South.

Marjorie had an abiding faith in God's mysterious presence in all people and creatures of this earth, and in the earth itself. She loved her church community at the Community United Church of Christ, where she and Art were committed members throughout their adult lives. Marjorie expressed her faith actively in her commitments to people and causes that mattered to her deeply. These included many years engaged in this country's Civil Rights Movement and the Women's Rights and Gay Rights Movements. Community action was important to her. For years, Marjorie delivered meals for the Meals-on-Wheels program, collected food bags for the Urban Ministries Food Pantry, and participated on the Rich Park Board. She was proud to participate faithfully in the Raleigh Peace Vigil as a “Grandma for Peace!” Recently she was honored with the Carolyn and Cy King Peace and Justice Award, a tribute she treasured.

Marjorie enjoyed so many experiences in her good, long life, but simple pleasures meant the most to her: cooking and sharing meals with family and friends, playing games at her dining room table, watching birds from her breakfast table, picnics on the back deck, evenings by fireside, reading, sewing, knitting, and tending her garden. She also enjoyed tent camping with her family; establishing a Christmas Tree Farm at Art’s family home in CT; and lifelong learning through the CUCC forum, Elderhostel, and college courses at Meredith College and elsewhere. She loved visiting art museums, attending ballet and symphony performances, and going to the theater. She always focused on the positive and accepted life's imperfections and minor disappointments philosophically.

Marjorie and Art shared a love of travel, both visiting other countries and living in them. With their children they lived in Taiwan, Japan, and Afghanistan, while Art taught Electrical Engineering at local universities. One experience of which Marjorie herself was incredulous in her later years was bringing her four young children home from Taiwan solo. While Art finished his work in Taiwan, Marjorie shepherded her children home to Vermont aboard a Danish cargo ship. Those who knew Art as well will understand that this was, in fact, his idea! Marjorie and Art were active in SERVAS and Friendship Force in their retirement years. A highlight for Marjorie, her daughters, and Christine’s husband Michael in recent years was a small boat cruise from Croatia to Greece on the Adriatic Sea. Marjorie and her daughters also enjoyed retreats to the NC mountains, the NC and Oregon coasts, and one exceptional trip to the English Lake District and Scotland. Marjorie enjoyed many special times with her son Alan who died in 2005, and her son Peter who lives in Raleigh.

Marjorie and Art took great pleasure in their grandsons- Peter's son Jonathan, Marilyn's son Daniel, and Christine's son Damian. Visits with Grandma and Grandpa were much- anticipated by all. Art and Marjorie had many adventures with Jonathan at their CT Christmas Tree farm. With Daniel, they explored the parks and enjoyed campfires and s'mores in Bellingham, WA. With Damian, they enjoyed outdoor activities in Fort Collins, CO, and Corvallis, OR. Despite all living at a considerable distance from NC, Marjorie and Art were a strong, caring presence in their grandsons' lives.

In recent years Marjorie was happy to see her grandson Jonathan, who lives on Long Island, marry and have a son of his own, Daniel. She was proud to see her grandson Daniel complete an MBA degree and accept a position as a Management Consultant in DC. She was thrilled that her grandson Damian was selected for NOAA Corps where he worked aboard a hydrographic research vessel and is soon to enter graduate school at U of NH. Marjorie was proud of her grandsons' accomplishments, but what made her happiest was that they were embarked on meaningful, satisfying lives.

Love, humility, and compassionate acceptance of differences were the threads that ran through Marjorie's life. She never waivered from her belief that we are ALL God's children, equally beautiful and deserving in God's eyes. Marjorie was an inspiration to all who knew her. She was a beautiful and much loved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend. We will miss her everyday, but we are so thankful, family and friends alike, for her loving and faithful presence in our lives.

Marge Eckels and Cy King - March 17, 2013

The Sunday Forum on March 17, 2013, featured a dialog between Marge Eckels and Cy King on their many years of participation in social action initiatives at CUCC. The moderator is Sue Cottle, and the event was filmed by Lavon Page at the request of the Social Justice Ministry.

This video is also available on YouTube.

Duke Energy Rate Hike Press Conference

On February 4, 2013, Pastor Steve Halsted of Community UCC participated in a press conference regarding Duke Energy’s request that the N.C. Utilities Commission approve a considerable rate increase. AARP, NC NAACP, NC Justice Center and more talk about why proposed rate hikes for Duke and Progress Energy would harm North Carolina. This video may also be viewed at YouTube.

Santi Matthews - Honoring her on her birthday

On January 20, 2013, the youth of CUCC honored Santi Matthews for her dedicated service as Youth Leader for many years. The occasion was Santi’s 50th birthday, and after the service a reception was held in Santi’s honor in the fellowship hall.

This video is also available on YouTube.

Rev. Curtis Gatewood - NC NAACP

On January 20, 2013, Rev. Curtis Gatewood of the North Carolina NAACP was invited to speak in conjunction with the MLK Holiday celebrations of that weekend. Rev. Gatewood is the coordinator for the HKonJ initiative, an economic justice campaign sponsored by the NAACP. Rev. Gatewood’s sermon is 28 minutes long and was filmed by Lavon Page in the CUCC sanctuary.

This video is also available on YouTube.

Geri Bowen - Children's Message

This children's message, on January 20, 2013, was given by Geri Bowen during the 10:30 worship service in commemoration of the Martin Luther King holiday.

This video is also available on Youtube.

A Conversation with Cy King

On January 8, 2013, Lavon Page sat down with Cy King in Cy’s apartment, and Cy talked for two hours about his memories of the period from the late 1940s until 1970 in Raleigh’s United Church, the forerunner of Community UCC. The dialog has been edited, and split into three segments totaling about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

A Conversation with Cy King - January 8, 2013 (Part 1 - 29 minutes)

A Conversation with Cy King - January 8, 2013 (Part 2 - 23 minutes)

A Conversation with Cy King - January 8, 2013 (Part 3 - 19 minutes)