Christ Church UCC Blog

Black History Month and Valentines Day

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:00:00 +0000

Sunday is Valentine's Day and the sermon will be about love and the Song of Solomon. The Rev asked us to submit love poems. Well since it is Black History month of course, I thought about my favorite African American woman poet, June Jordan. June and I were children together. We went to day camp and then sleep away camp at Robin Hood Camp run by the Brooklyn YWCA. I later found out by reading an interview in Essence magazine that June hated the camp, but I loved it. I credit my leadership skills to the fact that I went to camp and became a camp councilor. June must have learned something at summer camp because I read in her biography that she and her husband spent their honeymoon back packing! I taught hiking and back packing at the camp as a councilor.

So here is the love poem that she wrote:

Poem for My Love

By June Jordan

How do we come to be here next to each other

in the night

Where are the stars that show us to our love

inevitable

Outside the leaves flame usual in darkness

and the rain

falls cool and blessed on the holy flesh

the black men waiting on the corner for

a womanly mirage

I am amazed by peace

It is this possibility of you

asleep

and breathing in the quiet air

Reprinted from Directed by Desire: the Collected Poems of June Jordan (2005), edited by Jan Heller Levi and Sara Miles.

June was born in 1936 and died of cancer in 2002, so we are contemporaries.

Here is her impression of her education as poet in the time when there were no Black Studies programs.

"For most of her high school years, Jordan's parents sent her to a prep school where she was the only black student. Her teachers encouraged her interest in poetry, but did not introduce her to the work of any black poets. After high school, Jordan enrolled in Barnard College in New York City. Though she enjoyed some of her classes and admired many of the people she met, she described her years there in Civil Wars this way: "No one ever presented me with a single Black author, poet, historian, personage, or idea, for that matter. Nor was I ever assigned a single woman to study as a thinker, or writer, or poet, or life force. Nothing that I learned, here, lessened my feeling of pain and confusion and bitterness as related to my origins: my street, my family, my friends. Nothing showed me how I might try to alter the political and economic realities underlying our Black condition in white America." Because of this feeling of dissatisfaction, Jordan left Barnard without graduating. " (From her biography)

At the end of her life, she was poet in residence at UC Berkley. I sent a letter to her, which she was too sick with cancer to read. I got a note from her son expressing his thanks that I had thought about his mother;

Jeannette

Black History Month Resources

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:34:00 +0000

The United Church of Christ web site has a lot of good links on the Black History Month page. The link is below.

Black History Month Resources

Incidently Paul Tukey has correctly identified all three women in my black history month quiz. Anyone else want to try? I will reveal the answers at the end of the month. Maybe you can find the answer in these resources.

Jeannette

Information about the United Church of Christ

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:34:00 +0000

Paul Tukey sent a link to an OpEd on the UCC website about the UCC Bouncer ad that CBS now would have liked to air on Sunday during the superbowl.
The article is at:
http://www.ucc.org/news/opinion-ucc-reaction-to-cbs.html.

The UCC no longer has the money to spend on an ad because of making long term care of Haiti a priority which is as it should be.

On the page where the bouncer ad can be seen is a video about the UCC called UCC 101. I reccomend it to thoses of you who may not know the history of the UCC. It is a quick way to get to know what the UCC is all about.
http://i.ucc.org/StretchYourMind/UCC101/GodIsStillSpeaking/tabid/115/Default.aspx

Peace
Jeannette
Christ Church UCC Representative.

Black History Month 1. African American Women in Science

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:06:00 +0000

I write three blogs off and on. This month I will put the same information in all three blogs, because it is Black History Month and I want to convey some information to the public.

As you know I am writing a book about the history of African Amercan women chemists so I am going to give you a quiz.

I will post some photos and I am going to ask you to identify them and what was their claim to fame. The only clue is they were all chemists but what did they do?

Ok. Its up to you to tell me who they are and what they did. That's a hint they are all deceased.

Good Luck
Jeannette

Personal Reflections on the Situation in Haiti

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:35:00 +0000

These are my people. We are the same race. They live in the one of the poorest nations in the western hemisphere. I have been there to see the country so I can relate to how bad the situation must be because in normal times it was not great! There is no infrastructure to restore because there was very little to begin with.

I have been watching the TV coverage; one would say I have been obsessing over the photos and stories. The fact that the airport is a disaster area so that the badly needed help cannot get in. One plane circled the airport for five hours and could not land. Planes that did get in do not have enough fuel to take off. When they land, the roads are too bad to get to the capitol city. They are concentrating help on Port Au Prince but there are thousands in the countryside that no one is talking about because help cannot get in.

I am writing this with tears in my eyes because people are dying because we cannot get in to help them.

This situation will last a long time. It will take years to rebuild and get the county back to some semblance of normal. I read the flyer about the Lambi Fund

I will support this fund personally, as I know the Board of World Fellowship has been doing.

Again I pray that help will come that can work on the infrastructure so that the responders can get in. I hear that airport experts from McGuire airport are going to Haiti to help the situation. Thank God.

I woke up this morning with tears in my eyes so I had to write this.

Jeannette

Earthquake in Haiti update

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 23:17:00 +0000

Here is the news I received from our Deciples Ministry partners:

Your Global Ministries Update: January 14, 2010

Disciples and UCC… together in God’s global mission - Visit us at: http://www.globalministries.org//

Haiti Earthquake Update:

Global Ministries received news this morning that Patrick and Francoise Villier are safe. Patrick is the president of CONASPEH, a grassroots movement of 6,000 congregations and our largest Disciples and UCC partner in Haiti for almost three decades. Patrick is also a member of the Common Global Ministries Board. We also learned that Polycarpe Joseph, the House of Hope Director, is safe. The leaders of our two denominational partners in Haiti are alive. We are grateful to God for this, but deeply saddened by the loss of so many.

To see the latest updates as we receive them at Global Ministries, please follow this link and return to it regularly:

http://globalministries.org/news/lac/haiti-earthquake-what-we.html

The blog posting from Kim Bentrott, GM missionary in Haiti with her husband Patrick and son Solomon provides the latest details:

Dear Friends and Family,

I will write more later, but just want to let you all know that Patrick, Solomon and I are safe. We had just gotten home when the earthquake hit, our apartment building went from 3 stories to 2 in one sickening crunch, but our space stayed miraculously in tact and the people on the first floor got out in the nick of time.

We had a group working with CONASPEH here with us from Tennessee. All members of the group were safe. Had they been on time for dinner, this note would have a different tone. Not all people in the guest house got out alive. We took the group to the embassy yesterday and they should be able to leave the country via the Dominican Republic in the next few days.

CONASPEH building has been flattened. All my nursing students were inside. Yesterday we helped pull bodies out of the wreckage and heard some voices within the rubble. Efforts continued frantically all day to reach them.

Patrick and Francoise Villier are safe. Their house seems to have held. They lost one of their foster care children in CONASPEH.

Communications are horrible. The phone network is either jammed or down completely. The manager of the guest house and our DEAR FRIEND has taken us under his wing and brought us up the mountain. He has a family with a 3 year old girl and a new born to consider as well. We are trying to figure out our next move at this point.

I will write more soon. Please pray for Haiti. In a minute's time, buildings crumbled and life was lost. So much life. And even with that said, I think the hardest times are still coming as people try to figure out how to put their lives together again.

Much love. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

Kim, Patrick and Solomon

You can follow updates from the Bentrotts on their blog: http://www.kimandpatrick.blogspot.com/

At this time the most urgent need is for funds for emergency relief. Global Ministries has wired funds from the Disciples Week of Compassion (WoC) and the UCC One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) to CONASPEH and House of Hope, our denominational partners in Haiti.

As we walk in solidarity with CONASPEH and the House of Hope during this difficult time, let us re-affirm our commitment to pray for them and their leaders, Patrick Villier and Polycarpe Joseph. Let us do all that we can to help “meet God’s people and creation at the point of deepest need” with our gifts and service. Let us also remember that as Disciples and UCC, our Critical Presence with our partners in Haiti will be required over the long haul as we help re-build the infra-structure that is so essential to the life-giving ministries of our partners. For those that have visited the CONASPEH headquarters and the House of Hope center, you will know how important these places are to the ministries of our partners… May God give us all grace for the journey ahead! '

Jeannette

The Disaster in Haiti and the UCC Response

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:47:00 +0000

The Christ Church Board of World Fellowship is well aware of the disaster in Haiti and they are working to see how they can help. They also know that although some things are urgent in the country this will be an ongoing situation so they have time to consider long-term support.
For years, they have been supporting the Lambi Fund. http://www.lambifund.org/
Bre Reiber the ex wife of our former minister Tom Martinez used to work for this organization. I contacted her yesterday and here is what she said:
"As of today (1/13), no one in the U.S. has heard from the Lambi Fund staff in Haiti, so we do not know if they are okay or not. All phone and internet service is down throughout the country, so we may not hear from them for several days. The Lambi Fund office is a small, one story building so it may have been less damaged than other buildings (unless a neighboring building fell on to it.) I do not know how badly Lambi Fund projects in the countryside were damaged. A Haitian art website mentioned that some Lambi Fund supported grain silos have been completely destroyed, but it is unclear to me how they know that for certain. Someone would have to call by satellite phone to get that info to the U.S. "
Latest news about the Lambi Fund Director: "The website news scroll says that Karen has heard that Haiti Director Josette Perard was seen walking home after the earthquake. That is great news. I know that Josette has medications she needs, though, so I hope she was able to get to them. I have no doubt she has been helping people through this. She is always there! "

The UCC has sent out and appeal for funds:
"The United Church of Christ has launched an emergency appeal for Haiti after a major earthquake struck the country. Thousands of people are feared dead and countless have been left homeless.

The quake, measuring 7.0 on the Richter Scale, struck 10 miles southwest of the capital just before 5pm local time yesterday, January 12.

It is still too early to know the full extent of the damage, but One Great Hour of Sharing is expecting very high loss of life, widespread destruction of homes, schools and other buildings, and major damage to key water, electricity and road systems.
Global Ministries personnel, Kim, Patrick and Solomon Bentrott have reported in that they are safe.

One Great Hour of Sharing funds are being rushed to our Haitian partners to support their initial emergency response. As damage assessments are made and plans for relief, recovery and rehabilitation are developed, additional support will be shared. The need is massive."

One of the UCC churches in Baltimore, part of the Central Atlantic Conference of the UCC used to have an ongoing relationship with Haiti. They would send work groups out every year. I do not know if they are still doing this.

Years ago, I spent a week in Haiti with my friend who is a physician. We witnessed the poverty first hand. We were tourist staying in a hotel and we could see from our hotel window the shacks that the people were living in. I watched them carry buckets to the water spigot so that they could have water in their home. We went to the town of Jacquemel by one of few paved roads in the county that had been built by the French army before they left. It was so bad my friend said she never wanted to return to Haiti. I did bring home some of Haitian art and have three paintings hanging in my living room.

I am happy that the United State government is mounting resources to help the Haitian people. I am sure some of the search and rescue teams that worked so hard here in New York after 911 are now in the air enroute to Haiti. I hope the summer intern that worked with me at Merck who was Haitian has now become a physician and is back working in Haiti, as was his goal.

The Prayer Chain is praying for the Haitian people. So shall we all.

Jeannette

Marriage Equality in New Jersey 3

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 04:06:00 +0000

Here is the contents of an e-mail notice that I received from the New Jersey Association UCC listserve.

URGENT: The New Jersey Senate is deferring tomorrow (Thursday's) vote on the marriage equality bill at the request of bill sponsors Senators Loretta Weinberg and Raymond Lesniak.

Garden State Equality members will "still meeting in Trenton tomorrow at 9:30 am for what will now be a lobby day.

Senators Weinberg and Lesniak want to give the Assembly a chance to weigh in, beginning with an Assembly hearing. Senators Weinberg and Lesniak also believe, correctly so, that the more than 150 people who wanted to testify at this past Monday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, but could not because the
hearing ran eight hours long, should have a chance to testify before the legislature.

Below is the statement from the prime sponsor of the marriage equality bill, Senator Loretta Weinberg.
This afternoon, Senator Ray Lesniak and I requested that Senate President Richard J. Codey hold Senate Bill 1967. We also requested that Speaker Joseph Roberts schedule a meeting for the Assembly Judiciary Committee on A2978, popularly known as the Freedom of Religion and Equality in Civil Marriage Act.

In light of the Senate Judiciary Committee?s historic passage of S1967, Senator Lesniak and I believe that the public needs another opportunity to engage legislators on this issue. Moreover, the Senate committee has substantially amended its version to include sweeping, additional protections for religious institutions. We believe that members of the public need to be afforded an additional opportunity to debate this new
provision as well.

Tuesday?s Senate hearing was extraordinary. Hundreds of citizens lined up outside the committee chambers to offer testimony on behalf of, and in opposition to, the proposed legislation. Under the leadership of Chairman Sarlo, who conducted one of the most houghtful and fair-minded hearings in which either of us has
ever participated, the committee spent seven hours hearing from scores of New Jerseyans. We had to turn away another 150 witnesses for want of time. In addition to the committee hearing, thousands of citizens, and dozens of religious and secular organizations, have engaged our members in a thoughtful and productive dialogue on marriage equality.

Accordingly, as sponsors of S1967, we asked Senator Codey to postpone full Senate consideration of the Marriage Equality Act until the Assembly Speaker has an opportunity to review scheduling the Assembly Judiciary Committee for a hearing.

We thank Senator Codey for his leadership. Marriage equality is a difficult and challenging question for members from both sides of the aisle. Throughout this debate, he has been balanced and evenhanded in his treatment of all Senators. For this, he has our deepest gratitude. #

Jeannette Brown

--------------------------------------------------

Marriage Equality in New Jersey 2

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:11:00 +0000

OK Still we wait the verdit from the Senate Judiciary Committee. Three hundred people came to the hearing today. As the reporter from the Star Ledger said. without their identifying tee shirts etc it was hard to tell the pro's from the con's. In fact according to the columnist that (when) "the question that is asked by millions of people on this issue. And that question is, "What’s the big deal?""

"Hundreds of people came today to the Statehouse Annex Building to attend a Senate Judiciary Hearing on gay marriage.In three polls before the November gubernatorial election -- by Monmouth and Quinnipiac universities and the Eagleton Institute at Rutgers -- only one or two percent of New Jerseyans saw gay marriage as an important issue. That means 98 or 99 percent didn’t"
This article also has a link to the Star Ledger coverage of the issue.

Late edition. The bill was voted out of the Judiciary Committee late last night. Now for a full vote in the Senate. Contact your Senators!
Jeannette

Marriage Equality in New Jersey

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:07:00 +0000

Christ Church is an Open and Affirming Church. This means we support and welcome Gay and Lesbian members. New Jersey currently has a Civil Union law which means our Gay and Lesbian members may be joined in our church and at least one couple has celebrated their Civil Union in our church.
This week the senante of New Jersey will be taking up legislation to leagalize same sex Marriaage in New Jersey.
A petition was circulated and "signed by more than 2,300 Democratic officials, advocates and residents has helped sway members of the State Senate Judiciary Committee.' The State Senate Judiciary Committee will take up the bil tomorrow Monday December 7th. According to the New York Times article of December 4th "A large turnout for the vote is expected by those on both sides of the issue; gay couples are planning to testify about what they believe are shortcomings in the state’s civil union law, which was passed in 2006."
It is expected that this bill will be passed by the Judiciary Committee and voted on the full Senate later this week.
There is opposition from "the New Jersey Catholic Conference (that) helped deliver about 156,000 signatures asking legislators to enforce the civil union law instead of approving same-sex marriage.
Since Christ Church belongs to the United Church of Christ, here's with what the UCC has to say about marriage equality: "On July 4, 2005, at the 25th General Synod of the United Church of Christ in Atlanta, delegates voted to adopt the resolution, "Equal Marriage Rights for All" The resources below are provided to help facilitate conversations and study throughout the church and society on this complex and challenging matter which has important implications for individuals, families and the wider community. They are intended to get people of faith talking about the purposes of marriage, looking more closely at how marriage has evolved and changed through time biblically and socially, exploring the theology of marriage, and critically discerning the appropriate roles for the church and the state in marriage." Here is the full article about marriage equality from the UCC.
The link contains resources and information about the topic. As I said in church today, we need to pray for this and contact out New Jersey State Senators, that we support the idea of marriage equality and that they should vote for this in New Jersey.
Jeannette Brown

Disaster Releif for American Samoa and South East Asia

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:18:00 +0000

UCC sets $250,000 goal for aid to Southeast Asia and the Pacific http://www.ucc.org/news/ucc-sets-250000-goal-for.html

Since the Board of World Fellowship usually has funds for disasters, I hope that some funds will be sent to the UCC for this cause.
Although the majority religion of American Samoa is reputed to be Mormon, the UCC does have churches there and I have met people from there at Synod.

"According to Susan Sanders, the UCC's OGHS (One Great Hour of Sharing) administrator, the UCC responds to a disaster, on average, about once every two-and-a-half days. "To have three major disasters, in the same general area of the world, three days in a row is unprecedented in my experience," she said. "I'm grateful we have such a large, capable network of partners who are able to respond immediately, with assistance from OGHS gifts.""

"UCC members and staff have been in contact with church partners across the region expressing sympathy, compassion and offering support. One Great Hour of Sharing emergency solidarity grants are being sent to partners to assist with immediate relief efforts.

Our UCC church partners, including Church World Service and other members of Action by Churches Together, Intl. are conducting damage assessments, providing immediate relief of food, water and shelter and making plans for immediate and long term relief, recovery and rehabilitation."

Jeannette Brown

Prayer before Breakfast

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:39:00 +0000

Actually I took place in prayer for Geoffrey Black during breakfast. I am in Tucson Arizona and the 12 noon prayer service was a 9 AM here.
It was good as I had never participated in an audio prayer service before. About 200 callers had opted in as this was good as we didn't get much notice. Some were listening via voice mail or Scype so it was probably more than 200 people.
After the call in we were allowed to voice our own prayers which will be delivered later.
You can still participate by sending prayers on line at prayer @ucc.org , I believe.

Jeannette

Geoffry Black becomes new Executive Minister of UCC

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 06:58:00 +0000

There will be a national call in prayer service for Geoffry Black the new executive minister of the UCC. The link is http://www.ucc.org/news/join-in-prayer-for-geoffrey.html.

Rev Black takes office October 1, 2009 and that is the date of the prayer service which will take place at noon eastern time. I will be taking part in this service even though I will be in Arizona on vacation.

Rev. Black will need all the help he can get with the issue of reorganization and the problems it caused. For more information about that see my previous posts about the General Synod.

Jeannette Brown

Last Weekend of Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 11:12:00 +0000

Well it has been a very busy summer. I spent the beginning of the summer at the Chemical Heritage Foundation working on my book. I had another fellowship there. Then I went to Synod and I have blogged about that.
I have just come back from Washington DC and Atlanta GA. I was in Washington for the American Chemical Society meeting and I also took the oral history of one of my African American women chemists. I went to Atlanta to take the oral history of three more at the expense of the Chemical Heritage Foundation. They have a program in which they are taking video oral histories of women chemists so my women fit into their program. I experimented with my video camera and took both an oral history and a video history. It was fun.

The good news is that I have a publisher for my book about these women. I won't say who is going to publish the book yet until I sign the contract. I am in the middle of contract negotiations now. I have two lawyers looking at the contract as I don't know whether to accept their terms or negotiate. I could use some help. My editor is very supportive. I think he stacked the deck in my favor because two of my friends on the women chemists committee of the American chemical society told me that they were the blind reviewers. I got three positive reviews for my book proposal. So I will be very busy from now on. The book it due to the publisher in September 2010. There is a lot of work to do besides writing as it is a non fiction book so I need permissions from a lot of people. I have begun to blog about this I set up another blog http://aawomenchemists.blogspot.com.
Jeannette

Post Synod Musings #5 Music

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:08:00 +0000

I did not sing in the choir at this synod. It was the first time. I missed the call for choir members and when I spoke to the UCC minister in charge of the choir he said I could join but the rehearsal was at the same time as the United Black Christians lunch that I was to attend so I did not go. It was OK because they only sang one anthem not a lot a music like previously.

But I did go to the workshop which was the launch of the UCC's new praise hymn book. "Sing Prayer and Praise" OK you say praise music? It is not the usual praise hymn book it has some wonderful modern hymns one of which I have already sung as a solo at Grace United in Flemington.

Here is the UCC definition of praise music:

"Definition of Praise Music Praise music is a memorable, melody-based composition which is musically accessible without being simplistic; it has a fresh sound incorporating less-traditional rhythms and harmonization. Praise music makes one “feel” something with a goal of establishing a deeper relationship with God. It can move one to thought, action, and reflection based on the text or theme. The language of praise music is inclusive and accessible. It encompasses traditional religious vocabulary; explores non-traditional, contemporary images of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit; and draws from the rich imagery found within sacred Scripture. Praise music seeks to embody the covenantal values of the United Church of Christ: Justice and Peace, Multiracial/Multicultural, Open and Affirming, Accessible to All – as we seek unity; celebrate diversity; honor inclusion; hope for relational, loving communities; and explore multiple images and understandings of God.” ~Adopted by the Praise Song Advisory Team, Sunday, July 22, 2007"

Since they were running a sale on the books I purchase five, two of which I am giving to Holly and two for the music director at Flemington and one for me. They are paperback editions which just the music and the words. The full book with the accompaniment will be published later this year. Holly has already ordered the full book and I have also placed an order for myself.

Holly has already asked me to chose one of the pieces for a solo so I will sing the one I know already which is called "Dream God's Dream" and maybe learn a new one.

It is always fun to learn new music.

Jeannette Brown

Post Synod Musings #4 Health care reform #2

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:46:00 +0000

Margaret Tompsett spoke about the health care reform bill from the Doctors point of view. She urged us to take action on the single payer options. She gave the web sites. I believe one was Physicians for a National Health Program.

Here is the resolution that the UCC approved at General Synod. An Urgent Call For Advocacy in Support of Healthcare For All, as in H.R. 676 - A Resolution of Witness - Approved

Congressman Conyers came to synod to speak about this bill. I did not attend that meeting.

Jeannette Brown

Post Synod Musing #3 Healthcare Resolution

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:46:00 +0000

Since Margaret Tompsett will be speaking about the single payer health care legislation that is in congress, I thought I would post the resolution about health care that was passed at Synod.
We were asked to march for universal health care and some people did, here is the story:

Marchers spill into the streets in support of universal health care

Written by Micki Carter
June 30, 2009

Two hundred Synod-goers marched from DeVos Place to City Hall Monday afternoon and gathered in the shadow of Grand Rapids’ signature Calder stabile to demonstrate their commitment to universal health care.

Chanting "Health care now!" they wound their way through downtown streets on a path cleared by city police. Leading the15-minute walk was Mayor George Heartwell, a UCC pastor, and the demonstration organizers, Bert Perry of the Florida Conference and Peter Wells, an Associate Conference Minister from Massachusetts.

At the Calder, marchers were joined by Paul Mayhew, a Baptist minister and Kent County Commissioner who is also a mental-health activist.

"We've got a president who's committed to health care for all, but we have to keep him on task," Mayhew said. "We've got to get on the telephone to our Congressmen and the White House so everyone knows where we stand."

Perry introduced Barbara Baylor, the UCC minister of health care justice, who told the group "the UCC still speaks prophetically for health care for all. . . . Remember that two people die every hour every day due to the lack of health care."

Recalling the story of Joshua and the walls of Jericho, Baylor led the marchers in a chant, repeated six times, "All the walls of health-care injustice came down!"

The entire event was staged in about 36 hours. Perry and Wells were chatting on Saturday, and "we couldn't believe that the UCC was meeting in the middle of a city and we weren't out in the streets making a public statement," Perry said.

She added that they immediately identified the issue they wanted to take to the streets of downtown Grand Rapids. "Quality health care should be available to all, and that's the issue on everyone's mind right now."

Perry and Wells recognized that they needed to enlist some local help and they knew just whom to call.

"When the mayor welcomed us to the city, he gave out his cell phone number and said to call him if we needed anything. So I called him," said Perry.

And he answered. "We called the mayor on Saturday," Wells said, "met with him on Sunday and marched with him today."

Here is the article about the resolution that was passed:

Single payer health care gets nod from UCC assembly

Written by Jeff Woodard
June 30, 2009

Citing both specificity and urgency, General Synod 27 passed without amendment Tuesday a resolution "Calling for the Support of H.R. 676 – Single Payer National Health Care Reform to Advance Health Equity for All and to Eliminate Health Disparities."

Mary Beth Cross, a delegate from the Nebraska Conference, said after a unanimous vote out of committee Monday that the time to rally is now. "This is a Gospel-mandated mission of faith for everyone to make sure that universal health care becomes a reality."

Several delegates expressed an urgency for action within the next four months, before another election cycle begins. They concurred that it was crucial for the resolution to support a specific action – H.R. 676, in this case – rather than a general endorsement of universal health care.

The resolution was submitted by the Council on Racial and Ethnic Ministries (COREM). Key among its proponents has been Barbara Baylor, UCC Minister for Health Care Justice.

"We lift up our (belief) that all persons deserve and must have quality, accessible, affordable health care and related social services – including mental-health service and full accessibility for the disabled," said Baylor.

H.R. 676 (the U.S. National Health Insurance Act) is a bill introduced by Rep. John Conyers of Michigan to create a single-payer, publicly financed, privately delivered universal health-care program. Its goal is to cover all Americans without charging co-pays or deductibles and guarantees access to the highest quality and most affordable health-care services regardless of employment, ability to pay or pre-existing health conditions.

In a "single payer" system established by the government, one entity handles all billing and payment for health-care services. The current system involves several thousand payers. Reports suggest that administrative waste accounts for roughly 31 percent of the money spent on health care.

I will look for a copy of the resolution and bring copies on Sunday.

Jeannette

Post Synod Musings #2 Michael Jackson?

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:38:00 +0000

OK. You are probably wondering what Michael Jackson has to do with Synod. Well nothing really except if you are a media hog like me, you can't avoid the news and my synod experience started when I was in the Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago. I was waiting for the train to Grand Rapids when the TV that was tuned to CNN announced that Michael Jackson suffered a cardiac arrest and was in the hospital. I was not watching it, but I did notice they went on for almost a half hour about this story. Then when we got on the train the conductor who was African American stated that he was only in the hospital. Later on as the train moved on he made the announcement that Micheal was dead. The train car that I was in was full of people going to synod. I don't think there was any real reaction.
Then all that week, USA Today and the TV had stories about Micheal Jackson. It was the lead story. I wondered why all the fuss but I sort of listened. I looked at the photos of the young boy who I thought was cute change to the body he designed for himself and I wondered why he had to try to change nature. Would he have been such a star if he had the same body he grew up with? I look at his brothers and I can see what he would have looked like.
Well I started this blog because of the music. I could not avoid watching pieces of the memorial service for him. The song "I'll be there" got to me and also his favorite song "Smile". I go to church for the music.
Then Rev Al Sharpton said at the memorial service that Michael brought all races together. So maybe in his way Michael held a sacred conversation about race except he seemed not to like his race by changing the color of his skin.
Anyway I just had to get this off my mind before I went to bed tonight. I will go on to real musings about Synod next.
Jeannette

Post Synod Musings #1 Single Governance

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:40:00 +0000

I am still en route home from Synod. I made it as far as Washington DC. I missed my connecting train from here to Trenton NJ so I have time to muse. I would have made the connection except for the fact that the Red Caps were busy and they did not come to collect me until it was too late.
No matter, I am getting on a train that goes directly to Princeton Jct so that I will not have to change trains in Trenton and I have time to muse on this blog.

I received the following e-mail from John Deckenback our Central Atlantic Conference Minister. You have met him at Christ Church. I am copying it here without comment. That will come in further musings.

"Single Governance" for the national settings of the UCC was a major topic of conversation at the CAC Annual Meeting last month as we considered resolutions from the Catoctin and Potomac Associations.

This was also a major topic at the just-completed General Synod in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

In the end a "substitute" motion was presented by a Synod Committee. Here is the final text as approved by the delegates:

1 SUBSTITUTE RESOLUTION
2 TOWARD UNIFIED GOVERNANCE FOR THE NATIONAL
3 SETTING OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

4 APPROVED

5 BE IT RESOLVED that since the dialogue regarding governance has surfaced historical
6 and present tensions regarding matters of race and ethnicity in our denomination, the
7 General Synod requests the Executive Council and the Covenanted Ministries Boards to
8 engage in further sacred conversations on race, especially around what it means to be an
9 anti-racist, multi-cultural, multi-racial church. This conversation would be separate from,
10 although possibly concurrent with, the discussion on governance in recognition that we
11 cannot heal relational issues through governance discussions, but we do need to move
12 toward reconciliation.
13
14 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the General Synod requests that the Executive
15 Council appoint a Working Group with representatives from the Collegium of Officers,
16 members of the Executive Council, Covenanted Ministry Boards, Affiliated and
17 Associated Ministry Boards, the Council of Conference Ministers, and the Historically
18 Underrepresented Groups, to guide work toward Unified Governance in preparation for
19 action by the Twenty-Eighth General Synod. In consultation with the Chair of the
20 Executive Council, each of these bodies would identify their representative so that the
21 diversity of the church would be well represented in the Working Group.
22
23 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that General Synod requests that local churches,
24 Associations, Conferences, and Historically Underrepresented Groups engage in dialogue
25 and discernment regarding Unified Governance for the National Setting and report back
26 to the Working Group by Fall 2010. The Working Group, in a transparent way, will
27 document all information received and include it in the discernment process.
28
29 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Twenty-Seventh General Synod affirms the
30 principle of a Unified Governing Board as the basic governance structure of the national
31 setting of the United Church of Christ, based on theological reflection, and practices of
32 good governance that include strategic planning, resource development, and monitoring
33 and oversight, incorporating the principles and concepts contained in the Fall 2008
34 Governance Follow-up Team II proposal, in order to carry out faithfully the mission of
35 the church.
36
37 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the General Synod requests that the Executive
38 Council and the Covenanted Ministry Boards bring to the Twenty-Eighth General Synod
39 a proposal for a Unified Governing Board with changes in the constitution and By-Laws
40 necessary to begin implementation of a Unified Governance structure.
41
42
43
44 The above resolution replaces 10 resolutions sent to Committee at
45 General Synod. The Committee recommended “no action” on the
46 submitted resolutions.

Rev. Dr. John R. Deckenback
Conference Minister
United Church of Christ Central Atlantic Conference
916 South Rolling Road, Baltimore, MD 21228
410 788 4190 (office) 443 253 2343 (cell)

Jeannette Brown

Synod Day 5 Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:11:00 +0000

Well this was the day! I decided I needed to sleep and then have my last swim in the pool followed by breakfast so I arrived at the Plenary session late, 9:30 AM, they start promptly at 8:30 AM! I arrived just in time to find out from my new friend that they were finishing the voting on Single Governance which was the most controversial business of the synod. They gave one committee all six or more resolutions which dealt with the topic of single governance. This committee looked at them all and came up with a new resolution which was a compromise. Here is the report that is on the UCC website:

Synod votes for a unified governance structure

Written by W. Evan Golder
June 30, 2009

Tuesday morning’s first order of Synod business was consideration of a unified governance structure for the national structure – and the motion was adopted. The effort required 49 minutes, with 29 speakers engaging in debate.

Currently, five different boards guide UCC policy and decision-making in the national setting. With this motion, General Synod affirmed the principle of a single, unified governance board.

GS27 asked the Executive Council and the Covenanted Ministry Boards to bring to General Synod 28 a proposal for a single governance board, along with necessary constitution and bylaw changes. That Synod is planned for Tampa, Fla., in 2011.

Conspicuous by its absence was any floor discussion of the issue that had attracted the most opposition prior to Synod: the concern of the racial and ethnic constituency groups about losing their hard-earned representation on the current governing boards.

After the vote, protesters gathered at microphones to request reconsideration of the vote so they could introduce a minority resolution. The moderator ruled the request out of order.

Now I was at the meeting and from what I heard, people were at the mike to present the minority opinion but the question was called before they could speak. Calling the question ends debate according to Roberts Rules and the delegates voted to end debate.

Well that's went the ruckus started and they wanted to reconsider the vote etc but according to Roberts Rules it was out of order. People are allowed to react to this at the center mike according to the standing rules of the synod and react they did. Minorities in the UCC, African Americans and Asian and Pacific Islanders felt that they were not a part of the original meetings about the new governance structure and wanted a pause so that all voices could be heard. I have a copy of the resolution that was passed and I will scan it or try to find it on the UCC web so that you can read it. One of most important things in this resolution that was passed is that the Sacred Conversations about Race should continue. I will write a separate blog about that in the future because of course, I have some opinions.

In fact there was another resolution about "Sacred Conversations about

Race" that was introduced and passed. It called for resources from UCC to facilitate these conversations:

Synod says Sacred Conversations on Race to continue

Written by J. Martin Bailey

June 30, 2009

The 27th General Synod requested the Justice and Witness Ministries covenanted ministry to take the lead in continuing the program of Sacred Conversations on Race.

The delegates called on conferences, associations and congregations to "establish, promote and encourage" the conversations.

The resolution, which passed without objection, had been proposed originally by the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference.

They went on to other business before lunch. At lunch time I decided to find the Bank of America ATM to save money and found a newly opened restaurant that served Mediterranean fast food. Greek and Israeli. I had lemon chicken soup and a Greek salad which was good.

After lunch the delegates concluded business. There are a lot of resolutions that they considered but I will highlight one here. The rest can be found on the UCC website. Here it is:

General Synod encourages diversity education in public school

Written by J. Martin Bailey
June 30, 2009

The experience of two UCC congregations in California prompted the denomination's General Synod to urge churches in assisting public school efforts to protect children and help them understand people of other races and sexual orientation.

The congregations in Hayward and Alameda have longed worked with their local schools and their pastors accepted invitations to participate in school programs designed to end bullying and harassment. Delegates learned that frequent taunts of "You're so gay!" has led to violence and to two suicides.

Those schools and several others in California have been targeted by "traditional values" groups following programs designed to create safe schools as required by state law. An organized campaign of intimidation has been directed at schools that have sought to protect children of gay and lesbian parents and children whose parents are immigrants or from a different country of origin.

The General Synod action, approved by an overwhelming majority after extensive debate, encourages public schools to develop programs that help to keep all children safe, and for churches to assist in appropriate ways. The resolution includes recommendations to local churches, Conferences and to national ministries.

The educational programs are to embrace students of all races, ethnic origins, genders, faiths, abilities, sexual orientations, gender identities, socio-economic classes, countries of origin, and their families.

During the debate Synod delegates listened to appeals that the California churches not expect nationwide support for programs designed to protect children of gay or lesbian parents, or that sexual orientation and gender identities be separated from racial and ethnic diversity. Attempts to modify the resolution failed.

The two UCC pastors have resisted the pressures that included personal threats and legal actions. Both Eden UCC in Hayward, Calif., and First Congregational UCC of Alameda, Calif., have supported their pastors, the Rev. Arlene Nehring and the Rev. Laura Rose. Their efforts have also been supported by their Conference Minister, the Rev. Mary Susan Gast.

It is my opinion that this resolution mixes apples and oranges. I agree that schools should have education programs about sexual orientation, but I also think they need to have programs that cover the racial diversity of the students so that they can understand the differences and similarities between races. That has not happened yet in some schools.

The evening ended with a worship service which ended Synod.

The next Synod will be in 2011 in Tampa Bay Florida. This was a switch from Hawaii due to the economy.

Jeannette

Synod Day 4 Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:53:00 +0000

Monday was Service Day for visitors and work day for delegates. Some people went to Habitat for Humanity to help build a house and some went to a nursing home to talk to the old people. Since I am one I did not want to do that! So I chose to go to the United Church Outreach Ministry Center. It is a food bank, tutoring center for kids and and education center for adults. Food banks in Grand Rapids are all linked so that the people must register to receive food and wait while they are checked to see that they are not abusing the service. Then they can come once or twice a month to receive food. Plus Fema supplies milk so once a week they can come and receive an amount of milk depending on the number of children in the family. They also have a used clothing and furniture center. The center is located in an old funeral home but they have space for the food and several trucks stocked with excess food and furniture.
We were greeted by the director of the center who assigned jobs to us. Some people cleaned out the freezer so it could be moved some people stocked the shelves with food, some people repacked flour and other food that was supplied in bulk. Some painted the walls and offices and I chose to help get the notebooks used in tutoring to be ready for next fall. They reuse notebooks so I had to make them look like they were new and put new labels on them so that the kids could put their name on them. I found out about the tutoring program and plan to send them some science activities from the American Chemical Society that they can distribute. I will also see if some of the college student who tutor can help with the science activities.
Another group of students arrived after we came and they were also put to work, mostly painting. The youth groups at Synod had been working all week doing service projects so this was not new to them. I will write more about the youth and young adults at Synod later. About 11:30 AM lunch arrived! We had pulled pork sandwiches which was good. The bus to take us back to the convention center was to arrive at 12:30 but the director kept people working even after lunch until we got on the bus. I finished my job and went out into the parking lot to practice my Speak Out.
We got back into the convention center about 1:30 which was well in time for the the afternoon session.
The first thing that happens during any Synod business session is "Speak Out". This is a session where anyone can "Speak Out" for one minute about any subject not on the agenda of Synod. I chose to speak about blood cancers of course and funding for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society via the "Light the Night" walk. I managed to do it in one minute. After my performance I went to sit in the audience and observe the delegates debate the resolutions. I will talk about the resolutions in a later blog, I just want to give an overview of my day here. I wound up sitting next to another visitor from the state of New York. His wife was a delegate. He had printed out all the resolutions and was following the voting etc. It was nice to sit next to him as we had a running conversation going about the event. We wound up sitting next to each other by choice during all the plenary sessions.
That evening Geoffrey Black was elected the new General Minister replacing John Thoma. He was the New York Conference Minister and he is the second African American to head the United Church of Christ. We also elected The Rev Linda Jaramillo Executive Minister of Justice and Witness Ministries and The Rev. Stephen Sterner Executive Minister of Local Church Ministries and members of the board of directors.
The evening ended with a short worships service which is different because it was liturgical dancers interpreting Scripture as it was read.
I will write about Tuesday tomorrow. I am a day behind because I got tired Monday night and went to bed instead of blogging. Tomorrow Wednesday, I leave for home, I will have time to do some blogging tomorrow since I have a long layover between trains in Chicago.
Jeannette

Synod Day 3 Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:41:00 +0000

Today was Sunday and another day of rest. Well it was a day of rest for us visitors. The delegates are working hard on resolutions. I will speak about them tomorrow. Today started out with the Sacred Conversations about Race. We will have them some time at Christ Church I hope. We were supposed to have them last fall but somehow that did not happen. There were several different groups who talked about several different topics. The topics were: Race, Media and Politics, Race and the Environment, Race and Gender, race and LGBT, Race and Immigration, Race and Religion, Race and the New Generation, Race,Economics and Poverty, Race and Education, Race and Daily Life, Race and the Criminal Justice System, Race and Culture,and Race in the UCC. So you see there is something for everyone to discuss. I was torn between Race and Education and Race and Every Day Life. I chose Race and Education because that's my passion but Race and Every Day Life is something I live. For example when I went to buy a dress for a big occasion at a store in the Short Hills Mall, the clerks ignored me and I was ready to pay $l00 or more for that dress. That's is an example of Race and every day life. Or else clerks come over to you with the "Can I help you?" and then hover over you while you are in the store in case you are going to steal something, I guess.
But in the Race and Education group was a diverse group of mostly educators. It started by a talk by a young African American music teacher who teaches Band at a middle school in Greensboro NC. He spoke about his experiences as a teacher and the impact of the "No Child Left Behind Act" on the schools. Then we broke up into groups of three to discuss this and then larger groups. Each of the larger groups then reported out our finding. Most of what was said has been said before. The big action item is telling Congress when they reauthorize "No Child Left Behind" to put teeth into the bill. Right now it is an unfunded mandate and teachers spend a lot of time teaching to the test for fear of their jobs. It can be done better with alternative means of assessment. But I have blogged about this before so look at the old blogs.
Today was also the United Black Christians Celebration Luncheon. I had a ticket to this luncheon so I dressed up for the occasion. I wore my Afrocentric dress as most of the people there tend to wear Afrocentric clothing both men and women. The United Black Christians was started in 1970. It's mission Statement is:
To provide VOICE for all of the African American members of the United Church of Christ.
To strengthen the Black churches within the United Church of Christ.
To train and nurture leaders of our churches for Gospel inspired service to the Black Community
To provide support for institutions that strengthen our community,
To provide a relevant ministry for our youth and young adults,
To empower the laity for a present day ministry,
To be active advocates for liberation and racial justice at home and abroad,
To provide spiritual nurture for our members,
to enhance clergy-lay ministry partnerships, and
To preserve our history as a people within the United Church of Christ.

I am a member of the United Black Christians. John Thomas came to the luncheon to say his goodbye's as well as the new General Minister nominee Rev. Black.
The program was filled with music and another sermon by an African American minister Rev. Henry Simmons.

After the luncheon we all went back to the convention center to attend the afternoon worship service to which the general public was invited. The Rev John Thomas preached and the choir sang. I am glad I was not in the choir because they only sang one song and their rehearsal was during the United Black Christians luncheon.

After the worship service the delegates got down to business to review the numerous resolutions. Since I am not a delegate I went back to my hotel for rest and relaxation. Tomorrow is the service project day.
The Synod is being webcast live if you would like to see what is going on.
Jeannette Brown

Synod Day 2 River City Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 03:34:00 +0000

Today was a special day River City Saturday. It was a day of special events which means the business of the Synod was not done while we had these special events which were fun, but I think I would be mad if I were a delegate because there is a lot of work for the delegates to do and not a lot of time assigned to that work. But this is the view of a visitor maybe they are working behind the scenes.
The day started with worship at 8:30 AM in the Plenary Hall. Ina and I got there late but in time to hear Eugene Robinson the Washington Post writer and TV commentator speak. He is writing a book about African Americans and their status post civil rights legislation. He started it before the election of our current president. He spoke about his life growing up in the segregated south and the status of African American now. One of the things he predicts is that our races are becoming blended and there will be no minority race in 40 years. He said "there is no right American history , no standard American history, our divisions are our strength".

The next event I went to was the Praise Hymnal workshop. The UCC has produced a new Praise music hymnal entitles "Sing!Pray and Praise". This workshop talked about how the hymnal was written and how they chose the music. Right now it is just words and music the accompaniment version will come out later this year. There is some music in it that is good so I purchased five copies ( they were running a sale). I will give two to Holly and Ms Allie and the other two are going to the church in Flemington and one for me.

I was tired and but instead of going back to the hotel I got some lunch and went to watch the river. In the afternoon there was a talk by Ray Suarez of PBS and Krista Tippett of "Speaking of Faith" on NPR. Both talks were very good.
After that Ina and I went to dinner and then to the evening event which was a send off for John Thomas the current General Minister of the UCC. Synod will elect a new General Minister this session. John Thomas's twin brother Dick was also there and confused one video photographer. Since Dick is a member of the New Jersey Association and in New Jersey I don't confuse them. Besides Dick is a fellow chemist.
Tomorrow is Conversations about Race. That should be interesting.

Jeannette Brown

27th General Synod UCC Grand Rapids Michigan

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:23:00 +0000

Here is my blog from GS27 in Grand Rapids Michigan. This is about the fourth or fifth time I have been to a General Synod as a visitor. My first Synod was held in Providence Rhode Island.
This time I took the train from Washington DC to Chicago IL and then the train from Chicago to Grand Rapids after a layover of all day. The Grand Rapids train ride was interesting. We found out later that most of the people on the train were going to Synod. In fact the conductor commented that he had never seen so many people bound for Grand Rapids. The train left the station on time and got somewhere in Indiana and stopped. We waited for a while and then the train backed up. It seems the CSX dispatcher had sent us on the wrong track! CSX the freight line owns the track. Well we got almost to Grand Rapids and we stopped again. It turns out that CSX said there was Amtrak equipment in the way. They got that straighten out and we headed for Grand Rapids one hour late.
Ina Isobe was waiting for me at the station. She is from Union Congregational Church in Montclair and also a visitor at synod. She is my room mate till Sunday. She was among a group of UCC bikers who biked from Syracuse to Grand Rapids. She is going home by Amtrak.
This morning I visited the widower of one of the women chemists that I am working on for my book. He is an Episcopal priest at St. Marks here in Grand Rapids. The woman died in 1997 but I wanted to check with him about her life.
At about noon I checked in to synod and attended a hearing about the proposed governance changes. The UCC would like to change the governance structure to have one group rather than the five groups each with their own board that meets twice a year. it is very complicated but if you want more information about this I refer you to the UCC website.
After the hearing the business of Synod started.
I went to the Science and Religion Network dinner. The Science and Religion Network is a group of scientists who ponder the interface between religion and science. They are now working on evolution. There was a speaker at the diner who talked about evolution.
After the dinner it was back to the Opening Worship in the Plenary Hall. We had a rousing sermon by The Rev. Otis Moss III who is the new minister of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. This was the same church that Barack Obama use to attend. Choir members from that church sang the music and the liturgical dance troupe danced the music. I have always wanted Christ Church to have a liturgical dance group, because I think it is so cool. The Rev Moss sounds a lot like Martin Luther King Jr. when he preaches, or maybe it is the same lively way all African American ministers preach. They start out slowly but their body seems to be on springs as they jump up and down and then they wind up and let it fly and it goes on and on for an hour. He was very good. We got back to the hotel late last night and I fell asleep writing the first draft of this blog.

Jeannette

Christ Church Women's Retreat and other retreats

noreply@blogger.com (Jeannette Brown) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 10:22:00 +0000

Well I finally went on the Christ Church women's retreat. It is run by Rev Julie Yarborugh our associate minister. Julie said this was the 13th retreat that she has run. Well 13 is my lucky number as I was born on the 13th and lived at 13 Dennis Place in Summit for years so I am not afraid of the number 13. It the first time I had no real excuse not to go on the the retreat so I went and I am glad because I had fun.
This year it was held at a new location for the retreat, the Carmel Retreat Center in Mahwah New Jersey which is about as far north as you can go in New Jersey without going into New York state.
It is lovely in the hills of New Jersey, I hesitate to say mountains in case people who really live in the mountains read this. I went with my Hillsborough friend and Christ Church member Kathryn and for us it was a straight ride up I 287. We could have gone all the way on Route 202, but even though that would be scenic it would also be very slow.
The Carmel Retreat house" began as the private estate of Clarence Chapman, a New York financier whose principal interests were in mining and shipbuilding. A ship's bell forged by the Menelly Bell Company of Troy, New York in 1903 still reminds visitors of Mr. Chapman's business interests when they visit the site of his summer home in the Ramapo River Valley of New Jersey. He named the estate "Welawiben", a word created by him to connote good health and fellowship " For more information about the estate and it's history see this website: http://www.carmelretreat.com/html/about/history.html

This year thirty women decided to go on the retreat which is the largest group ever. Julie thought it was because of the topic. "Hope in HardTimes". I guess I went just to see what it was like.
I am not going to discuss everything we did because that would not be right. It was an opportunity for me to meet and interact with some of the women of the church and their friends as we were allowed to bring non church members. Almost everyone in the church knows me because I sing in the choir and I am very vocal about UCC announcements but I don't know everyone in church. This was indeed a way to interact and meet with the women.
What was good about the retreat was silence. Many people took a walk or a run around the property when we had breaks. It is a beautiful property to walk. I did not because walking is hard for me and I also have a cold.
Sunday we did a craft project lead by Lynn our crafts person. At first we all thought it might be too hard but we all got into the project and came out with very pretty accordion books that we made by making a printing block and printing on paper.
The meals were good and a good time for informal fellowship and talks with people whom I did not know until then.
This retreat was good time to get away and think about our lives without the hustle and bustle of life.
So as not to reveal all that we did I will leave it at that.
This was the first Christ Church retreat I have been on but not the first retreat in my life. I am a Turtle Sister which means I have been on the Turtle Island Project retreat twice. This is held in Arizona in the fall. This year it will be either the first or second weekend in October and I hope to fit it into my plans again. You are welcome to join me.The highlight of this retreat is the sweat lodge. The retreat is run by three therapists, one of them being a Native American and another being Native American and African American. The sweat lodge takes some getting used to. As I said I hope to go again this year if I can fit it into my schedule.
Sorry guys these retreats are only for women. Do you have retreats like this?
Jeannette Brown