News

Volunteers needed!

The Green Team needs volunteers to serve on ad-hoc workgroups for activities related to the composting pilot project, reducing plastic pollution in our community, and voter turnout for the upcoming Georgia Public Service Commission election. These workgroups are short-term and open to anyone; no need to be a Green Team or church member. If interested, please contact Mary W.

Sun Day – September 21 & Advocacy cards for members of Congress!

On September 21, the United Christ of Christ will join other national organizations to celebrate Sun Day, a day to recognize God’s gift of clean energy like solar and wind and take action to protect our climate. The National Setting of the United Church of Christ will provide our congregation with advocacy cards to write messages to members of Congress. Look for these cards from early to mid-September at church. Once completed, the cards will be collected and then delivered to local congressional offices.

World Rivers Day – September 28 – Interfaith Community River Cleanup

Our partners at Georgia Interfaith Power and Light are joining with other faith organizations to celebrate World Rivers Day with a special Interfaith Community River Cleanup on Sunday, September 28, from 2:00PM to 4:00PM, at six metro Atlanta sites, including Mason Mill Park.

For more information and to register: https://gipl.org/events/wrd25 .

Does anyone remember “humility”? Before this week’s gospel reading in Luke 14:1, 7-14, I hadn’t put that old word together with the unrest I have experienced lately but there it is. (The way these lectionary texts appear just as they’re needed is spooky, or maybe I should just acknowledge, “it’s a God thing.”) Is meanness the opposite of humility? There’s a bull market in that.

This is from Frederick Buechner:

      Humility is often confused with saying you’re not much of a bridge player when you know perfectly well you are. Conscious or otherwise, this kind of humility is a form of gamesmanship.

      If you really aren’t much of a bridge player, you’re apt to be rather proud of yourself for admitting it so humbly. This kind of humility is a form of low comedy.

     True humility doesn’t consist of thinking ill of yourself but of not thinking of yourself much differently from the way you’d be apt to think of anybody else. It is the capacity for being no more and no less pleased when you play your own hand well than when your opponents do.

       (~originally published in Wishful Thinking and later in Beyond Words; frederickbuechner.com)

Frankly, that sounds a little too distant from the way we play in this culture. But then, so does Jesus’ lesson in this passage about humility and hospitality. When was anyone ever rewarded for not thinking more highly of themselves than others? How can you win if you don’t imagine yourself better than your foe? Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike competition?

Once upon a time, when I used to gather with a Bible study group on Wednesdays at lunchtime, my dearest deacon friend checked in telling us about his grandson whose T-ball team had lost their game and how grandad had scolded him. Silly me, I asked: “Is winning that important?” To which he replied, “Winning is everything.” But, by your measure, I thought to myself, Jesus lost…

 Recently, it seemed I might be ready to sneak a peek at the news more than once a week. Alas, I’m not quite there yet. A little more time with cultivating my internal capacity for grace and mercy and love is needed. Especially if I am to have a word of Good News by Sunday morning.

 Streamers and Gatherers, come join us for worship on Sunday. I look forward to praise, prayer and singing together with you, and to renewing in our fellowship the courage and love to continue to attempt the Christian life. Gotta refuel. 

Love and hugs,

 Rev. Liz

Dear Siblings, 

What a joy it was to celebrate Julia’s baptism this past Sunday! I’m also thankful that so many of you shared your reflections with me after this service about its meaning for you and your faith journey.

For me, aside from the baptism, the highlight of our service was how readily you all jumped up to join our movement prayer at the end of the Story for All Ages! Reaching your hands up high and drawing them back to your chest, as you claimed God’s love for you. Let’s keep doing that, yes?

This Sunday, we’ll sit with the story of Jesus breaking the sabbath to heal a woman. Again, we’ll ask “what do we intend?” I don’t think I believe that “rules are meant to be broken,” but rather that rules should be considered in the context of their origin and the present-moment. By asking “what do we intend,” perhaps we’ll find a way to guide ourselves and our decision-making. 

Be well, 

Thomas

Dear Siblings, 

Our hymn sing last Sunday was a wonderful time to connect with our faith through song! If you missed it, you can check it out online. In fact, you can find all of our recent services and sermons online by Monday afternoon. 

This Sunday, our first OWL class for grade 7-9 will meet. We’re excited to support five teenagers in this important aspect of their lives. And, we’re already building a list of folks who will participate in the other grades offered in the spring. It has been a long road, but OWL is taking flight!

On Sunday, we will also celebrate the Baptism of Julia Henning! Baptism is an outward and visible sign of the Grace of God. Of course, this occasion is important for Julia and her family, but it is also important for our church community. Indeed, in the church today, baptism includes commitments and covenants between the baptized and the community that they formally join.

If my math is correct, this is Central’s first baptism in several years. So, I hope to see many of you in the pews and online as witnesses to this sacramental celebration.

Part of our liturgy on Sunday will include this observation from Rachel Held Evans:

“In the ritual of baptism, our ancestors acted out the bizarre truth of the Christian identity: We are people who stand totally exposed before evil and death and declare them powerless against love.”

Yes, bizarre indeed! And yet, we practice this ritual all the same. 

Rev. Liz and Josh are both away this weekend, but they are with us in spirit and celebration! 

See you Sunday,

Thomas

The Sandwich project is seeking donations of new or used insulated water bottles to distribute to the clients at Central Outreach and Advocacy.

Our next sandwich making Sunday is August 24, so please drop off donations in the specially marked baskets in the Commons and the office area by August 22nd.

Thanks in advance for your generosity!

Dear Members, Friends, Siblings, All,

On Sunday, we will sing to our hearts’ content. Central has always been known to me as congregation that loves to sing. Well, if that sounds like you, please make plans to join us for the Hymn-Sing Service on Sunday, August 10. Of course, no special vocal gifts are required, only that you love to raise your voice in song to the glory of God.

When Summer Church: A Season of Exploration began, some of us wanted to explore what music and worship mean to Central, what part they play in our faith development and congregational life, and what possible creative possibilities could enrich our worship life together. As you may recall, we asked people to share favorite music and to say a bit about how it comes to be meaningful. Each contribution has a wonderful story, I have no doubt, and I would love to hear them all. These stories can teach us things about ourselves and our faith—yes, our own story—that may not be visible to us until we are asked and probe for significance.

Our questions and your contributions have led us to this service. Thank you to everyone who submitted music that is meaningful to them: hymns from the denominations we grew up with, beloved family songs, and newer lyrics and rhythms that awaken us to a “God is still speaking” church. We now have a rich collection to use for the next Hymn-Sing service, and we will invite suggestions again later.

For now—that is, after the service on Sunday—please give some thought to your favorite hymns or those that seem to come up often for you; that you draw encouragement or comfort in singing or humming. What’s that story? Where do you remember that song from as far back as you can remember? What was the setting, what was going on? Were there other people there, are they/were they special to you? What did it feel like, smell like, look like, taste like, cold or hot—as much sensory detail as you can uncover? And most important: How did it make you feel, what was your emotional state in that moment? Can you remember?

These are the elements of a story that make it come alive with meaning for us in the telling. Often, they reveal patterns that have significance now that only become visible over time. And sometimes, our stories reveal concealed riches, gifts that only become available to us when uncovered and set free.

Oh, the stories I could tell! But I must go to rest my vocal cords and prepare my lungs for Sunday. Whether you share your favorite hymn story or not, please try to “appreciate” the service on Sunday and share that with us. By appreciate it, I mean reflect on what it felt like to be part of a worship where we sing more than we speak, and what you felt was the best thing you were able to take away from being part of our big choir experience together. You can tell us what you didn’t like but try not to begin and end your reflections there. It’s an experiment that we want to learn from and your input will help.

One last thing: There are other “discovery groups” at work, some of which I could name and others that I could not. Quite on my own, I have claimed the Monday Creative gatherings as one, as it is surely an “exploration” of what is possible at Central for encouraging imagination, creativity and community, and creating space for what is possible. By the end of our season of exploration and in advance of the annual meeting, I hope we will plan for a “Discovery Expo”—think high school science fair with posters—on September 14^th where we share the explorations and discoveries with the congregation during coffee and conversation. And we must have cake. More on this come.

Gotta go now but with every hope that you will be with us for singing worship on Sunday, Streamers and Gatherers alike. We will be lifting every voice, singing, praying and praising God! It won’t be the same without you so, do come. It’ll be good.

Love and hugs,

Rev. Liz

Dear Siblings, 

Can you believe that it’s already August? I can’t, but that doesn’t change reality! And so, this Sunday we’ll join together for our 3rd Annual Blessing of the Backpacks service. I love this service for many reasons:

• It honors and celebrates the youngest among us as they start a new school year
• It highlights the teachers, coaches, custodians, and more who will pour into them in this next year
• We get a chance to acknowledge that there are adults in our midst who are starting school too… they too should be celebrated
• It’s just fun! 

On a personal level, the service is also a marker of sorts for me. This is our 3rd Blessing of the Backpacks service, which means that it is the start of my fourth year as your Associate Minister. Around this time in 2022, I had just signed my call agreement and was getting ready to load my moving van and drive down here from Boston. 

Yes, it’s hard to believe it’s August. And, even harder to believe that we’re closing three years in ministry together!

And yet! Here we are. A bunch of oddballs and outcasts doing our best to love God and love people too. So, come! Come this Sunday for the Blessing of the Backpacks, to gather around the table for Communion(with a new communion hymn), eat Pizza on the Playground after worship, and welcome our new Artist in the Commons, Charles Scogins, during our coffee hour. 

Bring your backpack, briefcase, coffee mug, lunchbox, etc with you on Sunday!

Come, not because you must but because you may. 

And keep coming! 

• August 10th: Hymn Sing Service
• August 17th: Baptism of Julia Henning

Be well, 

Rev. Thomas

“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!