ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

JULY COMMUNION OFFERING – Angola Partnership

The California-Nevada and West Angola Conferences are continuing a partnership begun in 2004.  This partnership provides the following:

 

Pastoral Support – In a land where unemployment is 70 percent, a pastor’s salary of $100 per month would often go unpaid were it not for assistance.  Church membership is growing by 20,000 per year.

 

Medical Assistance – In a land where malaria is the #1 cause of death, and people are plagued by cholera, typhoid, and many other diseases, most Angolans never see a doctor or dentist.  The Partnership supports professional volunteerism.

 

Agricultural Assistance – The United Methodist Church has land on which to plant food producing plants to support the church’s outreach ministry to homeless children.  The Angolan people and volunteers do the work. 

 

Support for Education and Training – The Social Program with Children has four facilities around the province of Luanda .  The centers provide vocational and academic training for children aged 14 – 17.

 

Your contribution to the Angola Partnership saves lives and builds hope.

 

 

Tuesday Evening’s Book Group

Vacation is over for the Tuesday Evening Book Group.  We will resume meeting in the library of the Knoles Building at 7:00 p.m.  The first post-vacation meeting is Tuesday, July 8, 2008.  Everyone is welcome.

 

NEW BOOK STUDY

Sandra Exelby will lead a new book study group at Central.  The study will feature Eckhart Tolle’s book A New Earth – Awakening To Your Life’s Purpose. Join us on Tuesday afternoons at 3:30 pm.  We will plan to end at 5:00 pm.    If you don’t have your book already, Barnes and Noble has some.  Because parking is limited in Sandra’s neighborhood, the group will meet at Central UMC in the Fireside Room.  Plenty of parking!  

 

 

QUESTIONING CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Beginning on Sunday, July 20^th, and continuing for five Sunday mornings, a DVD adult study, featuring Sister Helen Prejean one of the world’s leading authorities and outspoken critic of state-sponsored execution, will be offered from 9:45 – 10:45 a.m. in Room 14 of the Knoles Building .

 

A Roman Catholic Sister and leading American advocate for the abolition of the death penalty, Sister Helen has ministered to numerous inmates on Death

Row, and has authored two books based on these experiences, Dead Man Walking and The Death of Innocents:  An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions.  She is the founder of the Death Penalty Discourse Center in New Orleans .

 

Alan England, a retired probation officer and Marriage and Family Counselor known to many of you, and El Hoffman will serve as your facilitators.  All interested adults are invited to participate in this unique adult discussion and conversation series.

 

Movie Night is this Thursday, July 10, at 7 p.m. in Central Park .  If the weather is too hot we will move inside.  Bring your blankets and chairs; we will show “The Bucket List” featuring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.

 

 

COFFEE SALES POSTPONED

UMW generally sells Fair Trade coffee and products on the first Sunday of the month.  In July we will be moving our date to the second Sunday of the month, July 13, after both first and second services.  If you need coffee before the 13^th, you can always pick it up at the church office.

 “Red Skelton Remembered”

Central United Methodist Church

Sunday, August 3, 2008

12:15 pm

Fellowship Hall

Lunch & Program - $10 per person

Phone the Church Office for reservations
 
Tomorrow evening our first study group for adults with children/youth will begin at 6:45 p.m. in the church library.  This group will be studying Barbara Essex’s book Bad Boys of the New Testament Exploring Men of Questionable Virtue.

There are a number of dubious male characters in the New Testament that we will be examining as a group.  We are blessed to have sacred texts that give us pictures of real people who are not one-dimensional.  We will look at the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Remember, the Bible does not present perfect people. 

There will be a program for your children.

Wednesdays mean Concert time in Victory Park .  Bring dinner and your lawn chairs and join a group from Central this Wednesday to hear Jazz City .  Look for Alan Cook and his patriotic red chairs beginning at 5:15 p.m. The concert begins at 6:00 p.m.  It’s a lot of fun.  Great conversation and music!

 

Quadratos Begins Friday evening, July 18.

Join us for a simple meal and a discussion of the book Beyond the Biography of Jesus: The Journey of Quadratos by Alexander J. Shaia at Alan and Jane Cook’s house beginning Friday, July 18, at 6:30 p.m.

In Beyond the Biography of Jesus: The Journey of Quadratos Shaia offers a fresh and important interpretation of the traditional gospels and answers current controversies about the Christian scriptures.  He says, “The gospels are not four stories about Jesus’ life.  Rather, when read in their original sequence, they lead us through a spirit-filled, universal process of transformation and healing.”  Shaia names this pate “The Journey of Quadratos,” a progression he had identified within the core traditions of Christianity as well as those of most great faiths and spiritual practices.  In fact, he believes that underneath Centering Prayer, labyrinth walks, the Christian year, Celtic spirituality, and most psychological systems – lies the same blueprint – The Journey of Quadratos.

The Journey of Quadratos group will meet July 18, August 1, September 5, October 3, November 7, and December 5.  Space is limited to 8 people.  The first 8 people to sign up after church today will become the Journey of Quadratos group.  The text is $15.

On Sunday, July 20, our Sierra Service Project Work Team will be leaving at 8:30 a.m. for a week in South Central Los Angeles.  They will be joining other youth groups from Trinity United Methodist Church ( Berkeley ), Valencia United Methodist Church and Faith Episcopal Church.  They will be staying at Vermont Square United Methodist Church and working on homes in the area.  The work will consist of painting, building wheelchair ramps, roofing and other assorted assignments.  The homes are owned by seniors near the church.

 

The Ralph M. Pedersen, Sr. Youth Fund, individual donors, the United Methodist Women, donors to our penny jar and those who attended the Easter Breakfast and Jazz Brunch have assisted the group in going to Los Angeles.

 

There are still ways for you to help.  We are looking for three luggage racks for the top of the vans. (donation for 1 week).  Or, you can make a financial donation to help pay for gas.  Or, you can pick a mailing label for one of our SSP’ers from the SSP table.  Then write a letter to that person and mail it on one of the following days:  July 17, 18, 19, 20, or 21.  We need at least 20 writers.  This is really important and it is very meaningful to the group members.  Or, you can pray for our journey and for us while we are in Los Angeles .

 

Check out the video from our last trip today!

Thanks for all your help.

 

 

ARTS COMMISSION MEETING SUNDAY, JULY 13, 2008

Purpose:  Planning for upcoming session of Art Shows and Viewpoint presentations.  This meeting is very important for member artists, but it will be helpful if interested members of the church attend.  Any questions, contact Lowell Jennings at 471-1333 or 957-3480.

  

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME!

Save Saturday, August 9^th, for the CUMC evening at the Ports game.  Come join the fun at the ball park.  Like the song says, “Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks,” hot dogs and sodas, too.  Tickets will be on sale July 6 through July 27 after both services.  The price is only $9.  Don’t miss this chance for fun, fellowship and the all American pastime – baseball!