News

“The roads less traveled” is the new art exhibit you can admire in the Commons for the next two months (August – September).

This is Charles Scogins’s collection of work both plein air and studio of people and places over his 60 years he has  been painting.

Check out his story below! 

When asked, “how did I become an artist” often I answer, that “I came out of the womb with crayons”.

That seems to be nearest the truth as my drive and passion to create has always been there. I’ve had the good fortune to pursue a life following that passion and am deeply greatful for it.

Credit for my good fortune has to go to my home room teacher in middle school who encouraged my parents to find outside art instruction for me. Without her efforts its unlikely I would have had the opportunities to study, work and grow as an artist. Her efforts led me to study with Antonio Mani an Italian-American portrait painter who taught me the importance of the fundamentals of drawing, color and composition. I apprenticed studying portraiture under his direction for 3 years and still feel his infuence in my lifes work.

I served in the U.S. Coast Guard during the Vietnam War and used the GI Bill to enroll in the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. I graduated with a BFA in illustration and advertising. While there I gained a certification in medical and scientific illustration from San Francisco State University. Those experiences allowed me to study under many talented artist and gain the technical facility needed to pursue a career as an illustrator, designer and art director. I worked for a variety of publishers and advertising agencies for the next 25 years until I retired. Being in my mid 40’s I returned to painting which led me to teaching as well.

The past 20 years has given me an opportunity as a painter to create portraits and commissioned works and share my passion with others as a teacher and mentor. I now try and paint or draw everyday and offer workshops on plein air, portraiture and figurative painting as well as mentor artists online. I’m always happy to share my experience and journey as an Artist.

Contact details: 

Halcyon Blue Studios
5811 22nd Ave.
Valley Alabama 36854
[email protected]

We are excited to present to you “The Monthly” for August 2025.

Check out this month‘s newsletter for:

• A Note from Rev. Liz.
• Thought Starters for “Summer of Exploration”.
• An invitation to the “Summer Sing Worship Service”.
• OWL – Our Whole Lives.
• Faith Formation Opportunities.
• Advocacy and Action Opportunities.
• The “Recipe of the Month”: ”Lime Ice Cream”.

Click here to download “The Monthly”! There are also paper copies in The Commons, in The Sanctuary and in the Church office. Be sure to add events and gatherings that you‘re interested in to your calendar.

Enjoy “The Monthly” and all the events and gatherings you are going to attend!

Because we want to give more families the opportunity to register their children for the Our Whole Lives (OWL) program, we extended  the deadline for registration to August 5th. 

The OWL program for grades 7 – 9 will be hosted at Central beginning August 16th. 

Registration and More Info here: Central-ucc.org/owl.

Dear Siblings,

This email is a quick recap of my time at General Synod 35 in Kansas City! General Synod is a biannual (tri-annual beginning in 2028) gathering of people all across the UCC who come together as delegates, visitors, and guests to discern the call of some of our work in the world. Synod is also a sort of family reunion. This was my fourth Synod! I was glad to spend time with my colleagues in the Next Generation Leadership Initiative, catch up with Harvard Divinity alumni, spend time with my youth pastor(now a conference minister in Colorado), and visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. The museum was very surprising. I learned that there were four teams owned by women, and there was an all-white team composed of members of the House of David religious group. Kansas City also has a fairly nice public transit system… perhaps MARTA’s next leaders will take a few cues from them.

Back to Synod:

As a matter of the United Church of Christ’s polity(governing structure), Synod speaks for the national setting of the UCC (our General and Associate General Ministers, national staff, etc). Synod speaks to the conference, association, and local church settings. There is indeed a difference between for and to! Curious about what that means for the UCC? Ask me!

If you do nothing else with this email, please please please make time for these two things:

• Watch our General Minister & President’s State of the Church Address (40 minutes)
• Watch my dear friend, Rev. Tony Coleman’s, sermon that was delivered during our closing worship. (20 minutes)

News From Synod

New Associate General Minister

Rev. Shari Prestemon was elected as the Associate General Minister for Love of Neighbor and Co-Executive of Global Ministries. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone in the convention hall who received more applause and love than Shari did. Read More about her historic election…

Rev. Thomas appointed Chair of the General Synod Nominating Committee

As Vice Chair, I presented part of the General Synod Nominating Committee’s report alongside our Chair, Rev. June Boutwell. I will now serve as the Chair of this committee through General Synod 36! And, we have our work cut out for us to solicit, interview, and nominate the slate of folks who will be elected to the UCC Board of Directors and lead General Synod 37.

State of the Church Address

Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson delivered her first State of the Church Address. Among many highlights was a call for churches to “stop counting empty pews as though their emptiness illustrates the full breadth of your congregation’s vitality.” She instead invited us to consider how we might all more clearly and boldly craft the narrative of our work. She also issued a clear rebuke of Christian Nationalism, calling it an “oxymoron” while also noting the ways that it harms the church. Watch the State of the Church address here.

Closing Worship Sermon

Rev. Tony Coleman, Pastor of First Congregational Church in Memphis, delivered a powerful sermon during closing worship. He called all of us into a space of wonder and curiosity about the how and why we do things in our churches. The real invitation: an invitation not to do more work, but instead to do radically less. And he did this with a very creative metaphor about lawns, turf grass, and sweetgrass! Watch Rev. Tony’s sermon here.

Other News & Events

Bylaw Changes

Synod voted down a motion from the Board to amend the UCC bylaws and Constitution that would have shifted the positions of Associate General Minister from a called position of Synod to a hired position by the General Minister. The UCC and Unified Governance

Resolutions

Synod approved several resolutions of witness addressing:

• The ongoing Palestinian genocide
• Restoring funding for USAID and Voice of America
• Affirming the UCC’s commitment to justice for immigrants, migrants, and refugees
• Addressing human rights in India and the Philippines

Full Communion

The UCC moved forward in establishing full communion with two more denominations:

• The Iglesia Evangélica Unida de Puerto Rico
• The Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland 

What’s full communion?

And More!

And finally, we celebrated 25 years of the Our Whole Lives (OWL) program; affirmed our goals of faithfully responding to the evolving language of mental health; and, approved the formation of the Keystone Conference.

More than a year ago, Rev. Thomas and Katie B. the co-moderator of Kirkwood UCC had coffee and shared a vision for an Atlanta wide, ecumenical OWL program. With the help of our conference, and many volunteers, we’re thrilled to share that Central is hosting OWL for grades 7-9 beginning August 16th.

Registration due July 26th.

Don’t delay!

Registration and More Info here: Central-ucc.org/owl.

This year, 14 external organizations have been selected to receive grants from Central. The final list and details about each organization can be found here!

We are grateful that we can offer them support in accomplishing their mission.

We are excited to present to you “The Monthly” for July 2025.

Check out this month‘s newsletter for:

• A Note from Rev. Liz: the Summer Church – A Season of Exploration.
• “Views from the Pews: New Perspectives Studies Christian Nationalism”.
• “Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation” campaign’s results.
• Faith Formation Opportunities.
• Advocacy and Action Opportunities.
• The “Recipe of the Month”: ”Hamburger-Bean Bake”.

Click here to download “The Monthly”! There are also paper copies in The Commons, in The Sanctuary and in the Church office. Be sure to add events and gatherings that you‘re interested in to your calendar.

Enjoy “The Monthly” and all the events and gatherings you are going to attend!

Two Sundays each month, we offer an ASL interpreter.

If you know people who are looking for this kind of opportunity, invite them to attend our sign interpreted worship in person or online,  on June 15th and June 29th. 

May 10th –  June 15th

Central is participating in the TCHA “Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation” campaign, and has volunteered to collect 700 cans of BLACK BEANS by June 15th. Please join us in this worthy campaign! Look for this flyer in the Commons and the office area, and you’ll find the receptacles to put your cans. Thank you for your donations!

Update June 20th: We did it! Due to the incredible outpouring of love and generosity by Central members and friends, the final tally was 1137 cans of black beans, exceeding 160% of our 700 goal! The cans were delivered to Toco Hill Community Alliance (THCA) this week. Rev. Heilig, director of TCHA, expressed her gratitude to Central and said her heart was filled with joy. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this successful campaign!