Collins Kilburn returns to CUCC

As the first in a series of sermons by previous pastors at CUCC, Collins Kilburn returned on August 19, 2012 and delivered a message which was a retrospective on the 1960s, the time when Collins was pastor at CUCC.

This video is also available at YouTube.

Carolyn and Cy King Peace and Justice Award

On July 3, 2012, the Church Council voted to establish the Carolyn and Cy King Peace and Justice Award as a repeating event. Subsequently, the award has been given annually by the Social Justice Ministry.

The text of the resolution passed by Council is given here.

Resolution establishing the Carolyn and Cy King Peace and Justice Award

Honorees

2012:  Carolyn and Cyrus King, inaugural winners and award namesakes

2013:  Sandy and Deane Irving; Marjorie Eckels

2014:   Bill Towe; Slater Newman; Peg and Mac Hulslander

2015:  Judy Occhetti-Klohr and Leo Klohr; Rev. Collins Kilburn

2016:  Patrick O'Neal and Mary Rider; Jane Hunt

2017:  Alan and Ruth Reberg; Joan McAllister

Resolutions

All actions taken by the membership of Community UCC on behalf of the entire congregation must be approved at a Congregational Meeting. These occur at least twice each year. This page lists significant actions and resolutions to come from Congregational Meetings during the past several decades.

1981 The Just Peace Resolution was passed at a Congregational Meeting on September 27, 1981. This preceded the Just Peace Church resolution passed at General Synod in 1985. Following passage of this resolution at General Synod, CUCC passed its own version of the Covenant to be a Just Peace Church.

1984 On March 18, 1984 the congregation resolved to support public education in North Carolina.

1989 (The Fifteenth General Synod (1985) also adopted the resolution Calling on UCC Congregations to Covenant as Open and Affirming. By unanimous vote on December 17, 1989, the Congregational Meeting adopted a Resolution on Being an Open and Affirming Congregation. This resolution was revised and expanded and was passed by unanimous vote on January 9, 2011 (see 2011 below).

1993 In 1993 CUCC was honored to receive the Just Peace Award from the Office of Church in Society at the 19th General Synod of the United Church of Christ. Cy King's remarks on accepting that award provide a snapshot of our history and confession of how far we have to go.

2000 The Nineteenth General Synod (1993) adopted the Statement of Christian Conviction of the Proposed Pronouncement Calling the United Church of Christ to be a Multiracial and Multicultural Church. Sparked by CUCC member Robert Parrish, who is visually handicapped, the CUCC membership adopted a resolution that “CUCC would work toward inclusion of the disabled in the work and mission of the church” (November 15, 1998). The congregation convened the Multiracial/Multicultural Committee to examine the UCC statement and make recommendations. On February 6, 2000, the congregation adopted an enhanced Vision Statement and charged the Multiracial-Multicultural Committee to help implement it.

2005 On July 10, 2005 the congregation resolved to become part of the Progressive Churches network. At the same meeting the congregation approved the Iraq STEP Resolution: Sensible Transition to an Enduring Peace.

2007 The congregation resolved on May 20, 2007 to focus on Justice in a Changing Climate.

2010 On November 21, 2010, a congregational resolution asked the Wake County Board of Education to adopt a pupil assignment plan that would provide diversity and excellent educational opportunity to all children.

2011 In 2003, the General Synod adopted a resolution Affirming the Participation and Ministry of Transgender People within the United Church of Christ and Supporting their Civil and Human Rights. The UCC Coalition for LGBT Concerns shares the commitment of many in our national church setting to inclusion of transgender persons in the UCC. Local ONA churches were strongly encouraged to include transgender gender identity and expression in their statements. In 2011, CUCC expanded its original ONA resolution to state, in part:

“We invite and welcome into this Body of Christ all persons who seek to follow Jesus. Persons of every gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression are welcome to worship and enter into the full life and ministry of this church. We strive for justice and equality for all of God’s children in our journey of faith.” Full text of the expanded resolution.

2012 On June 24, 2012, the congregational meeting passed a resolution called An Economic Justice Covenant. The effect of the covenant was to create an Economic Justice Task Force. The covenant statement appeared in the July 2012 newsletter.

Cy and Carolyn King Award

On June 17, 2012, the 10:30 worship service featured a presentation of a special award to Cy and Carolyn King honoring their many years of effort on behalf of peace and justice issues. Carolyn was unable to attend for medical reasons, but Cy accepted the award and spoke (with his usual modesty) on their behalf. Part of the ceremony included that the award will be a repeating event at CUCC and will be given in honor of the Kings.

Al Adams

Biography from 2012 Induction Ceremony into Raleigh Hall of Fame

Through a long career in law, public service, and civic leadership, Al Adams has been a powerful advocate for equality and justice, arts and education, and cultural institutions serving the City of Raleigh and the State of North Carolina. Al Adams emerged as a leader at UNC’s School of Law as a member of the NC Law Review, and then as an officer in the U.S. Navy.

As a young attorney, Adams was Secretary of the Wake County Bar, and later a committee chair on the N.C. State Bar Association. During the Civil Rights movement, he advocated for African American attorneys and integration of the Wake County Bar Association. He was a partner in Sanford, Adams, McCullough & Beard, one of the first firms in Raleigh to hire African American and women lawyers. The NC Community Action Association recognized his pro bono work for underrepresented citizens with their prestigious Gloria Williams Award.

Adams served with distinction for five terms in the NC House of Representatives, where his advocacy for education laid the groundwork for North Carolina’s educational achievements in the 1980s and 1990s. He championed increases in funding to the NC Arts Council that supported both major public installations and local grass roots organizations. Adams was consistently rated as one of the most effective legislators, and later, as one of the state’s most influential lobbyists. As a lobbyist, he helped secure funds for the NC Museum of History and other cultural cornerstones of our state.

His civic contributions are no less profound. As first Chairman of the Wake County Public Libraries Board, Adams presided over the merger of white and African American libraries to form today’s Wake County Public Library System. As a founding member and Chair of the Estey Hall Foundation at Shaw University, he helped preserve the nation’s first historic structure built for African American women. He was instrumental in founding the Arts Advocates of NC, the Clarence Lightner Youth Leadership Endowment, and the Martin Luther King Resource Center. He chaired the USS North Carolina Battleship Commission, and served on the boards of the NC Symphony Society, Raleigh City Museum, NC Child Advocacy, Opera Company of North Carolina, Wake Technical Community College Foundation, and the Raleigh Civil Service Commission. He was Wake County Democratic Party Chair, and a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. Adams has been a longtime advocate for his alma mater – the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – serving as Chairman of the Board of Visitors and a member of the UNC General Alumni Association.

In recognition of his many contributions, UNC awarded Al Adams its Distinguished Service Medal for outstanding service to the Alumni Association and the University. Other commendations include the Governor’s Award, North Carolina’s highest recognition for meritorious service, NC Child Advocacy’s Tribute of Appreciation, and the Chief Justice Joseph Branch Professionalism Award, the Wake County Bar Association’s highest honor.

Representative Adams’s abilities, passions and sustained commitment have enriched cultural and educational resources, advanced social justice, and made Raleigh a better place to live. His good works will continue to improve the lives of North Carolinians for generations to come.

Lenten Spiritual Practices Calendar (2012)

During Lent in the spring of 2012, a wide variety of church members contributed to a communal Lenten Spiritual Practices Calendar. That calendar has lasting value (since Lent comes every year), and it is archived here both for the purpose of preserving this document and for the purpose of providing a shared Lenten resource of permanent value and continuing usefulness.

Lenten Spiritual Practices Calendar (2012)

(This is a 37-page PDF file and is about 7 megabytes in size, so it will take a few seconds to download.)

Youth Sunday - March 2, 2012

The youth of Community UCC produce the 10:30 worship service once each year. In 2012 this occurred on Sunday, March 25. The video of the youth presentation has been edited down to 30 minutes, but includes all the activities presented by the CUCC youth on that day.