Upcoming at UCH

Oakland Observatory

Canadian born Anthony Chabot began working in California’s mining industry in the 1850’s devising the first hydraulic mining technology and establishing two water driven sawmills. Gaining the reputation of “Water King”, he built San Francisco’s first public water system and those in Portland Maine and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He founded the Contra Costa Water Company in 1866 that supplied water to Oakland and surrounding communities, and created a reservoir on San Leandro Creek that would later be named Lake Chabot. 

Businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Chabot donated a telescope to the City of Oakland in 1883 along with sizable funds to build an observatory.  Dubbed “Leah”, the state of the art 8-inch refractor telescope was located near downtown in Lafayette Square near Oakland High School in a specially constructed observatory. Unlike nearby San Jose’s Lick Observatory, constructed for astronomical research, Chabot designated that the Oakland Observatory was to be used by students and for public viewing at no charge.

By 1915 urban congestion and light pollution was impacting viewing and the decision was made to move the observatory to a remote location on Mountain Boulevard in the Oakland Hills.  A second telescope was added, “Rachel”, a 20 inch refractor with a 28 foot focal length making it the largest public refractor in the western United States at the time. During the next fifty years the observatory was expanded to include classrooms, a planetarium, and staffing by Oakland Unified School District personnel and volunteers. Renamed the Chabot Science Center, seismic safety concerns for the thousands of Bay Area students visiting  the observatory resulted in limiting access to the aging facility in 1977. The Oakland Unified School District, The City of Oakland, the East Bay Regional Park District and the East Bay Astronomical Society formed a Joint Powers Agency in 2000 creating the nonprofit Chabot Space and Science Center, a state-of-the-art science and technology education facility. A third telescope was added, Nellie, a 36” reflector telescope housed in a rolling roof observatory, along with a full dome Zeiss Planetarium, IMAX style theatre, displays and immersive activities.

Ash Wednesday (2025)

In Western Christianity, Ash Wednesday marks the start of the season of Lent, which begins 40 days prior to Easter (Sundays are not included in the count). The 40 days of Lent mirror the 40 years that the Israelite people wandered in the wilderness before entering the “promised land,” and the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness before beginning his ministry. We are also doing a lot of “wandering in the wilderness” at UCH and in our communities right now. So, I invite us all to pay careful attention to the movement of the Holy Spirit in coming days.

 Lent is a time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, spiritual practice (such as “giving something up”) and repentance/evaluation (Where do we need to retrace our steps and “turn around?”).  During traditional Ash Wednesday services, the minister will lightly rub the sign of the cross with ashes onto the foreheads of worshipers as a reminder of our mortality and need for this yearly practice. Ashes from the previous year’s Palm Sunday palms are traditionally burned and used. On Zoom, we have learned to be a bit more creative.

 Interestingly, the Bible does not mention Ash Wednesday or the custom of Lent since it evolved much later out of Roman Catholic tradition. However, the practice of repentance is mentioned repeatedly by John the Baptist, and Jesus, and the call for repentance. In the New Testament: metanoia: μετάνοια (Greek) and in the First Testament: shub שׁוּב  (Hebrew) are translated as repentance. According to Strong’s these words both mean: “to have a change of mind and heart, to turn back, or to return or retrace our steps.” It is such an important part of our spiritual journey to notice the places we are called to turning around, or retracing our steps; because we all get out in the weeds sometimes. God has gifted us with the spiritual practices of forgiveness, transformation, and repentance so we can find our way back out of the weeds and onto the path. And so, we can find our way home.

This Year our UCH Ash Wednesday service, “Did You Not Know What the Holy One Can Do with Dust?” Will take place on March 5, at 6:30 Pacific on Zoom. Join us for a rich time of listening, poetry, and music. We will be participating in a creative visualization of the traditional imposition of ashes, and if you would like, you can impose ashes from a candle or palm leaves you have burned in your home on your forehead or hands. Or you can just come and be in community and out of the chaos for this simple, quiet reflective service about the joys and challenges of being human, and the transformative power of dust.

 I look forward to being with you on Ash Wednesday evening as we begin our Lenten journey together. -Rev. Jeanne

Hayward's Munchkin

Charlie Becker, a German American actor, is best known for his role as the Mayor of Munchkinland in the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Becker was born in 1887 near Frankfurt and at the age of nineteen decided to abandon a planned career as a butcher to join more lucrative travelling “midget shows”. The three foot nine performer signed on with the Singer Midgets during the first World War and moved to the United States where the popular troupe traveled vaudeville circuits throughout the country.

Hollywood entrepreneur and opportunist Leo Singer was hired as MGM’s liaison with a contract to supply little people to populate the fantasy village of Munchkinland in their upcoming film featuring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, and Jack Haley. Singer’s contract was to provide one hundred twenty-four little people from his own troupe, supplemented by others from the Los Angeles area and from across the country. Because of his stereotype “mayoral” features of a large belly, round face and facial hair, Becker was cast to play the Mayor of Munchkinland; however, because of his strong German accent the studio decided to dub his voice.

Becker and fellow little person performer Jessie Kelly met on the set of Oz and were married the following year. The couple settled on the west coast with plans on getting work in Hollywood and “stand in’” assignments for child actors; however, because of the scarcity of movie roles for little people, Charlie returned to his original business career of a butcher and the Becker’s owned and operated their own successful German Sausage company.

Charlie Becker, The Mayor of Munchkinland, passed in 1968 and is interned on the hillside at the Lone Tree Cemetery in Hayward, posthumous recipient of a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a character actor in one of the most watched films of all time.

This Week at UCH (Week of 2/2/25)

We’re based in California’s Bay Area, but our Zoom-based gatherings regularly have participants from Arkansas, Southern California, Kentucky, Indiana, and the UK. Wherever you are, wherever you come from, wherever you are on life’s journey, you are welcome!

✨ Transitions Group: Thursday @ 10:30am PT

✝ Scripture Seekers Bible Study: Thursday @ 5:30pm PT

💒 Worship: Sunday @ 10:30am PT

Navigating Challenging Terrain with St. Brighid

Sunday, February 2 in some Christian traditions is the celebration of Candlemas or “The Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple.” In Gaelic cultures, this is also called Imbolc, or St. Brigit's (or the more ancient Goddess Brighid’s) Day. St. Brigit/Brighid’s day falls between the winter solstice and the spring equinox- and it marks the very first stirrings of spring. As the new buds start to appear in my garden- it always makes me think of a significant event in my own Spiritual Journey that I want to share with you.

 I had the luxury of spending most of the day by myself while I was visiting the Isle of Iona (Scotland). And I decided to climb to St. Brighid's Well at the top of Dun I which is the highest hill the island. There are a lot of wells dedicated to St. Brigit/Brighid in Scotland, Ireland, and England but this well on Iona is also called “The Well of Eternal Life.” It has been a place of pilgrimage for seekers (especially women) for a thousand years. I didn't realize what a treacherous climb it was until I was over halfway up. And I lost the trail among the rocks and scree and felt stuck.

I started to panic as I tried different ways of traversing and fell and scraped my knees. Blood was running down one of my legs making things worse. But I moved through my fear and tried not to look down. I found a discarded walking stick that helped me balance better, and (suddenly out of nowhere) as I walked and prayed, I was greeted by a fellow hiker- an 82-year-old Dutch nun- Marta who had climbed to Brighid’s Well many times as pilgrimage. She was more prepared than me- and retrieved a first aid kit from her pack and helped me bandage my knee. She then invited me to get behind her and follow her lead on the faint trail she pointed out. She spoke English, and we chatted freely about our spiritual lives and traditions. She was a wonderful hiking companion and as I followed in her footsteps, I realized that I was on a liminal Holy Ground, walking inside a beautiful metaphor for my spiritual journey with the Divine Feminine. When I was challenged, the Holy Spirit showed up in very human form. I found what I needed, and as I prayed - help, guidance, and companionship came in a surprising way that spoke my language. As Sr. Marta and I made it to the top, my eyes filled with tears. It was her 18th trip and my first. And the view and experience of the water splashing on my face from that “Well of Eternal Life” as I looked back over Iona was well worth the struggle and the climb.

May clarity and guidance find us all- as we climb around in unmarked, challenging places longing for streams and wells of living water in our nation and in our communities. And may St. Brighid and the Holy Spirit show up in all the ways we need as we embrace this collective, bruising, scary, journey of finding springs of living water in the challenging terrain we are navigating right now.

Systemic God

by Kirk M.

The following is only my concept of God and is possibly quite divergent from the views of others. This is not meant in any way shape or form to discount or demean any other’s understanding. I am an individual with my own history, prejudices, and ways of thinking.

My title is borrowed from “systemic racism” because the recent discussion /controversy has partly influenced my thought. Being newly retired, getting into doing more gardening, and having more time to put things into perspective have also been a significant influence

First, I don’t believe God “creates” or “created,” instead I believe God is at the center of a system that will never be fully understood by humans (or our creations). I also believe that is as it should be. This thought came to me recently while pruning our lemon tree and potato bush. Both these plants grow in ways that seem quite chaotic to my simple engineering background. In pruning, you think about the reasons the plant grows in specific ways which you may be able to work in harmony with. These plants are part of a system that is everything. If ever the system could be fully defined by some algorithm, equation, story or other means, that would be God.

God is:

The leaves, the flowers, the branches the roots the soil and so much more

The face, the touch, the voice of your lover, your father, your mother, your daughters, your sons, your brother, your sister your friend and so much more

Our planet and others, the sun and stars, the universe, the background radiation of the universe and so much more

Matter, dark matter, energy and dark energy and so much more

In short

God

Is

Make Your Bed

by Jennifer Ruth Lynn Garrison

There [Peter] found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years, for he was paralyzed. Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!” And immediately he got up. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord. – Acts 9:33-35 (NRSV)

I have an app that grants its users virtual rewards for performing real self-care tasks. “Wake up!” it chirps at me each morning, followed by “Make your bed!” and “Enjoy a shower!” I complete these and a couple dozen other tasks and then click a button. With each task, a little fake confetti explodes joyfully on my phone screen and I collect a few fabricated gemstones. Even though I know it’s an algorithmic celebration, not a natural one, the dopamine hit with each of those confetti explosions is real.

I wonder what Aeneas’ dopamine response was to his healing. He had been bedridden for almost a decade when Peter commanded him to jump up and perform a little job. I wonder if, for the rest of his life, he associated his healing with making his bed. If so, was this little chore a celebration every day? Or, in time, did both the healing and the task become commonplace? What did it take for him (or really for any of us) to rejoice daily in both the miraculous and the mundane? My ultimate goal is to train my brain to associate my morning tasks with a tiny high so I can just bypass the app altogether. But in the meantime, I’m going to click “finish writing” on my phone and celebrate. 

Prayer
Healing Friend, guide us to naturally rejoice in it all, every single day. Amen.

Rev. Jennifer Garrison (formerly Brownell) is a writer, spiritual director and pastor living in the Pacific Northwest. Her published work most recently appeared in the book The Words of Her Mouth: Psalms for the Struggle, available from The Pilgrim Press.

Advent 2024: Carrying the Blessing (All the Way)

This blessing knows how to bide its time, to watch and wait, to discern and pray until the moment comes when it will reveal everything it knows, when it will shine forth with all that it has seen, when it will dazzle with the unforgettable light you have carried all this way. —Jan Richardson

One of our favorite choruses at UCH for the Advent season is “Emmanuel” from the Chalice Hymnal: “Emmanuel, Emmanuel, His name is called Emmanuel, God With Us, Revealed in Us, His Name is called Emmanuel.” (Chalice Hymnal #134)  

Matthew leads early on in his Gospel with Isaiah 7, “A young woman shall conceive and bear a son and will call his name Immanuel” Emmanuel is not a common word in the Bible - but it’s an important one because Matthew tells us that in addition to being called “Jesus” that Jesus shall also be called Emmanouél (Ἐμμανουήλ), which means God with us — in the present moment. 

The word often used for revealing (or revelation) in Greek in the New Testament is ἀποκάλυψις (apokálypsis), translated — according to Strong’s — as “through the concealed.”  An apocalypse is a disclosure of knowledge, a lifting of the veil or revelation. In religious contexts it usually refers to bringing something hidden to light.

As that chorus has floated around in my head in recent days, alongside my grief and anger, I have found myself asking: How is God with us right now? What is being revealed in us right now? How are we being called to give birth in the light of Christ in the world right now?

We will bring these questions into our Advent and current events container as we explore four powerful points of revelation in the traditional Advent scriptures: Ancestral Lines (Matthew’s Genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1), Threshing Floors (an image in John the Baptist’s Apocalyptic Preaching Matthew 3), Finding Voice/Utterance under Duress (Mary’s Magnificat Luke 2), and Standing in Integrity/Wisdom in the face of Injustice (The Magoi/Herod. Matthew 2).

I look forward to being with you for the four Sundays of Advent, and the Christmas Eve Service @ 6:00pm PT on Sunday, December 24. Message us for the link to join live, or find us on Facebook for the sermon livestream.

– Rev. Jeanne

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show

The entire Bay Area, and especially The Tri-City area is so historically rich!  We have become aware of some of that richness, thanks to Bill Ralph who gathers enticing, and little-known facts about events, historic spots, key persons, their dreams and hopes, and brings them to life for us to marvel at the courage, foresight, and results of some of our predecessors’ efforts. Since we have received many positive comments about those articles, we are featuring a column each month entitled “Historic Snippets.”

Cody’s advance staff traveled into the Bay Area weeks ahead of the Wild West Show caravan to begin obtaining licenses, and renting fifteen acres of open space for upcoming performances in San Francisco, Oakland and in San Jose. In addition to beginning publicizing the upcoming events, the staff also made arrangements for the purchase tons of flour, meat, coffee and other supplies for up to five hundred cast and crew members, hundreds of show-and-draft-horses, a couple of elephants and a small herd of buffalo. The epic show traveled from town to town with two trains, fifty flat cars loaded with wagons, box cars, cattle cars, sleeping cars, power and commissary cars. The outdoor traveling show also carried its own grandstands and acres of canvas-covering to seat twenty thousand spectators,

At its peak in the late 1890’s plainsman, scout and showman  William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s Wild West Show was making hundreds of performances a year and traveled over eleven thousand miles in the United States and in Europe entertaining millions of eager attendees. Cody traveled to Northern California with his extensive cast, crew and huge menagerie several times between 1877 and 1913.

As the orator boomed the script and Cody’s cowboy band created mood setting music in the huge outdoor arena, the stereotyped-cowboy and native American performers would kick-off their two-hour series of highly anticipated well-known skits, tableaux and demonstrations. The riding of the Pony Express, Indian attacks on wagon trains, stage coach robberies, a buffalo stampede and the grand finale re-enactment of Custer’s Last Stand were interspersed with shooting, roping and riding demonstrations by headliner star performers including the famous Annie Oakley. Following the elaborate show comprised of hundreds of costumed performers, trained animals and the appearance of Buffalo Bill Cody himself, the entire show would be struck, loaded back onto the trains and moved overnight to the next town where the complex choreographed operation would be repeated.

With the general fading of interest in the “old west”, smaller audiences, increasing costs and a four thousand dollar a day overhead, and the growing popularity of motion pictures and professional sports, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show made its final Bay Area appearance in 1913, just months before going bankrupt and disbanding. True to nature, showman and entrepreneur William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody immediately went about getting into the motion picture business by seeking backing to shoot and distribute The Indian Wars, a five-reel silent film.

Belvoir Springs Hotel

The entire Bay Area, and especially The Tri-City area is so historically rich!  We have become aware of some of that richness, thanks to Bill Ralph who gathers enticing, and little-known facts about events, historic spots, key persons, their dreams and hopes, and brings them to life for us to marvel at the courage, foresight, and results of some of our predecessors’ efforts. Since we have received many positive comments about those articles, we are featuring a column each month entitled “Historic Snippets.”

Nestled on the hillside above Mission Blvd. across from downtown Niles and hidden from view by trees and bushes is the Belvoir Springs Hotel, one of several hostels serving the busy Southern Pacific depot at the turn of the last century. Giles and Nana Chittenden purchased the one hundred- and five-acre parcel and flowing spring from Jonas Clarkin in 1884 and built a large three-bedroom farmhouse.

Over the years the Chittendens developed a profitable fruit and nut orchard, dairy, and vegetable farm west of Sulphur Springs Ranch and adjacent to John Rocks’ California Nursery Company.  

With the beauty of the surroundings and Nana’s welcoming charm, they added a summer camp for friends and travelers, and guest rooms in the farm house basement to board school teachers and railroad employees during the winter months. When a fire destroyed much of the original building the Chittenden’s took the opportunity to replace it with three-bedroom a twenty-two-room craftsman style hotel they named Belvoir Springs (French for “Beautiful View”).

Niles was a sleepy agricultural community when Gilbert “Broncho Billy” Anderson and the cast and crew from Chicago’s Essanay Film Manufacturing Company arrived in town in 1912 with many of the troupe temporarily staying in tents on the hotel grounds.

As they found permanent housing, a who’s who of silent screen stars continued to visit the Belvoir Springs Hotel for lunch or dinner. Marguerite Clayton, Anderson’s leading lady, lived at the hotel, while Anderson, Augustus Carney, Wallace Beery, Marie Dressler, James Gleason, Edna Purviance, Ben Turpin and Charlie Chaplin could be spotted making their way from the studio on Niles Blvd., crossing the Southern Pacific tracks and Hayward-Mission San Jose Road and strolling up the shaded driveway to the hotel to dine and unwind after long days of cranking out fifteen-minute westerns and comedies.

The Essanay Studios closed in 1916 after four short years and the troupe left town just as quickly as they had arrived. Nana Chittenden decided to retire the following year and the once flourishing hotel changed hands multiple times in succeeding decades. The acreage was sold off piecemeal and the hotel allowed to fall into disrepair.

In 1994 new owners undertook a major renovation of the historic Belvoir Springs Hotel and its remaining grounds to create an upscale special events and extended stay venue. However, as of this date the website appears to be abandoned and the ambitious venture unsuccessful. Now a private residence, the historic hotel with the “beautiful view”, sits on the hillside above Niles, out of view and unknown by passing motorists on Mission Blvd.

Stewardship & Gratitude

How vibrant is your outreach to others as you continue to be “Light for the World” and “Salt for the earth?”  Such a wonder-filled responsibility we have received. . . What is it you really care about? How does that make a difference in your life?

Stewardship and gratitude can be expressed in many ways.  We opened our November Journey Notes issue with this poem by our own Pamela Blank. 

The Beauty of Wrinkled Hands

Thank you God for my wrinkled hands I see and use each day,
It’s a gentle reminder of life I’m living and to be grateful in every way.
Each wrinkle is a memory, as the years pass by for me,
A long life is such a gift, that many do not get to see.
So, each morning as I wake and my hands have daily chores to do
May I feel blessed for every wrinkle, knowing life is a gift from You.

A Tale of Two Clocks

by Marchae Grair | published on Dec 2, 2019

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years,and a thousand years are like a day. – 2 Peter 3:8 (NIV)

I grumbled as I shuffled to the outdoor trashcan after cleaning up my dog’s millionth accident. I reached for the doorknob of my apartment and couldn’t get in. I had locked myself out and my partner was asleep. I had such a long to-do list for the morning that I immediately started berating myself. How could I finish unpacking in a timely manner if I accidentally dedicated an undetermined amount of time to creeping around my house, seeing if I could get my partner to let me in? Where would I reallot my regular morning session of worrying about things I couldn’t change?

After about fifteen minutes, I accepted my fate. I was wedded to my front stoop until my partner found me.

And then, I saw the kind face of the woman collecting cans from neighborhood receptacles and the gentle gaze of the man who wanted to make sure she made it up the hill without losing her cart. I saw my next-door neighbor for the first time, as he wished me a great weekend. I met a sweet neighborhood dog, whose excitement eventually made my dogs bark and led to my partner finding me.

I would have missed so much of a beautiful morning working on the things I thought couldn’t wait, chasing time and simultaneously hoping time didn’t catch up with me.

I’m so thankful for the reminder that God’s time isn’t about my tasks or to-do lists. God’s time is about the interconnected breaths and moments that remind us we all belong to each other.

Prayer

Dear God: Keep resetting my clock to keep me mindful of others and closer to You. Amen. (Marchae Grair)

FESCO

As Autumn moves along, we begin to think of falling leaves, and eventually, harvest time and gratitude.  It’s a good time also, to be grateful for the way FESCO (Family Emergency Shelter Coalition) walks along with and provides resources for families to recover those things we often take for granted like electricity, running water and a place to call home.  Perhaps, you too have faced the trauma of being “One paycheck away from homelessness.”  Be inspired by FESCO’s vision and practical resources. 

– Jackie F.

FESCO’s Mission: We know that quality, affordable housing is scarce and nearly impossible to find. As a result, many of our friends and neighbors have found themselves in unexpected situations, which can include couch-surfing, temporarily living in their cars, or in even less stable conditions. Our mission is simple and complex: to end homelessness.

We accomplish this goal by assisting homeless and low-income families and individuals to secure permanent housing, using approaches that instill or restore dignity, self-respect and self-reliance, so that families, individuals, and the community are strengthened. Since 1986, FESCO has built a community of organizations and people, just like you, that pool our resources to give these families a fighting chance though:

• Emergency Shelters

• Transitional Living Homes

• Supportive Coaching and Access to Resources Like Job Training

Find out more and support FESCO’s Programs.

Transitions Group: The First Thursdays of the Month

Please invite friends and loved ones you think would benefit from this circle of support and wisdom. We use poetry as a container and do talk about spirituality and the divine, and our format is very ecumenical and welcoming of all. I’m grateful we have this opportunity to offer each other the big-hearted spiritual journey support that is one of our core strengths at UCH.  We are using Jan Richardson’s book The Cure for Sorrow: Blessings in Times of Grief to guide our conversations.

Message us here for the link to join or with any questions.

California Nursery Company

In 1884 John Rock and four business associates purchased the Jose de Jesus Vallejo Adobe located on five hundred acres of rich alluvial soil near Alameda Creek in Niles, and established the California Nursery Company. Rock was an experienced nurseryman with three successful operations on Coyote Creek in San Jose and planned to focus the new site on wholesaling grape vines, ornamental plantings, roses, fruit and nut trees to California’s flourishing agricultural industry. He worked with Luther Burbank and other West Coast plant breeders in introducing new horticultural hybrids and within a few years listed nearly five hundred varieties of fruit trees, seven hundred ornamental shrubs and two hundred and fifty roses in his widely distributed mail order catalog.

The booming California Nursery Company, an occasional location for Bronco Billy silent western films, was commissioned to landscape a portion of the grounds of San Francisco’s Pan Pacific International Exposition in 1915 by providing four hundred Canary Island Palms to line the fair’s grand promenade. CNC also received a gold medal for its immersive redwood forest exhibit, attracting the attention of William Randolph Hearst who selected the Rock’s Niles based operation to landscape the grounds of his fabled San Simeon castle.  

Ownership of the nursery changed hands several times after Rock’s passing, and in 1917 George C. Roeding, proprietor of Fancher Creek Nurseries in Fresno, purchased California Nursery Company. George Jr. took over management from his father in 1926 and at the time employed as many as one hundred fifty workers, reached annual sales exceeding $200,000, and had customers located around the world.  Roeding guided the nursery through the great depression by scaling the grounds back to two hundred and sixty acres and receiving the assignment of landscaping the approaches to the newly completed Golden Gate Bridge.  California Nursery Company became a destination for local gardeners and aspiring horticulturists in the 1940’s and 50’s with up to five thousand attendees to the Annual Spring Bulb and Summer Rose Shows. The City of Fremont restored the Jose de Jesus Vallejo Adobe in 1975 and began the creation of the twelve-acre California Nursery Historical Park at the corner of Niles Blvd. and Nursery Avenue that now attracts curious visitors to its informative entry plaza, heirloom rose garden, towering palm trees, eclectic forest, shaded pathways and rich history.

A milestone in our ministry outreach!

Hello Everyone,

This Sunday we will be going “live” for my sermon on Facebook for the first time! (Live: means that anyone can watch it that wants to-during or after.) This has been something the Tech Team has wanted to do for a while, and Ashley has been hard at work making it happen in recent days. It is not easy to get Zoom and Facebook to play together. But Ashley is demonstrating that it is possible. This will drastically increase our outreach potential.

Ashley will be with us during worship and driving everything behind the scenes- including managing folkx that have comments or want to chat on the livestream about what I am saying. We need for everyone on Zoom to make double sure you are muted during the sermon so we can get the best sound possible and avoid echoes and delays. Also be aware that the reflection portion of worship (after the sermon) will not be livestreamed (at least yet). That is something we can talk about doing as we go.

Your Tech Team is excited about this upgrade in our outreach and also grateful to Ashley for navigating all of it.  We invite you to pray for this new outreach endeavor. And we’ll see you in Zoom worship on Sunday (Message us here to join live!). 

-Rev. Jeanne and the UCH Tech Team

New Bible Study Course: The Holy Land Revealed

with Professor Jodi Magness, Holy Land Archaeologist
Thursday evenings at 5:30

Comb through the rubble of an ancient citadel in the City of David, the contents of a rock cut tomb in the Kidron Valley, correspondence from caves in the Judean desert, and other remains from one of the most important regions in the history of civilization.

Delivered by archaeologist and award-winning Professor Dr. Jodi Magness, “The Holy Land Revealed” helps you relive and encounter life in the ancient Holy Land through the lens of archaeology. These 36 lectures are your change to get up close and personal with ruins, artifacts, murals, documents, and other long-buried objects that will take you deep beneath the pages of the Bible.

Dr. Jodi Magness is the Kenana Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism in the Dept of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has excavated throughout Israel and Greece and has codirected excavations of the Roman siege works at Masada and the Roman for at Yotvada.

Each night we will be viewing a 30-minute lecture and having discussion afterwards. I will also be bringing relevant scripture to the conversation that highlights the sites and artifacts Dr. Magness is discussing. I look forward to being with you.

P.S. This course has lots of graphs, and pictures. Here is the video preview so you can take a look. It’s the perfect time to join us if you have been thinking about it. Please contact me with any questions.

-Rev. Jeanne

Faith & Democracy: Confronting White Christian Nationalism

What does a Christianity look like that is not deeply tied to racial injustice and White Christian nationalism, forces captured in the images of the January 6, 2021 insurrection? With a national election just around the corner, how might Christians live into a richer narrative that underscores the nonviolent legacy of Jesus?

Join us for an intimate, online conversation with three renowned thought leaders on the current state of Christianity in the US. Our guests Gary Dorrien, Obery Hendricks, and Grace Ji-Sun Kim are internationally known for their insights on the Christian faith and the role that it can play for those committed to democracy, peace, and social justice. (Follow the links or see below for additional information about our guest panelists.) The Christian Century's editor/publisher Peter W. Marty will serve as moderator. 

Sponsored by the Christian Century and the D.L. Dykes, Jr. Foundation, this conversation will explore the challenges that the growing presence of White Christian nationalism poses to congregations and people of faith and conscience.   

Note: This is an online only event and requires registration.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PANELISTS:

• Gary Dorrien is the Reinhold Niebuhr professor of social ethics at Union Theological Seminary and professor of religion at Columbia University. He is the author of 24 books that range across the fields of social ethics, philosophy, theology, political economics, social and political theory, religious history, cultural criticism, and intellectual history. His books include American Democratic Socialism: History, Politics, Religion and Theory and Breaking White Supremacy: Martin Luther King Jr and the Black Social Gospel.

• Obery Hendricks is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Democracy Collaborative in Washington, DC. He is the author of the bestseller The Politics of Jesus: Rediscovering the True Revolutionary Nature of Jesus’ Teachings and How They Have Been Corrupted. A widely sought after lecturer and media spokesperson, Dr. Hendricks’ appearances include CNN, MSNBC, CBS, Fox News, Fox Business News, the Discovery Channel, and PBS.

• Grace Ji-Sun Kim is professor of theology at Earlham School of Religion. She is the author of 24 books including When God Became White and Surviving God (co-written with Susan Shaw). Grace is a series co-editor for the Palgrave Macmillan Series Asian Christianity in the Diaspora and has served on the American Academy of Religion’s Board of Directors. Grace hosts the Madang podcast.