News for July 10th, 2024

Dear Beloved Community,

I hope all of you are staying cool and hydrated during this hot week. I know for me when it hits 80 in the Bay Area it’s too hot!

This past Sunday there were so many of us, that I had to sit next to David Wartman outside the circle. Also, I am grateful for Meg blessing us with her presence and guidance with a time of silence after the scripture reading. I know for me silence is a spiritual practice that has helped me connect with God, my higher self, and inner peace. It has also been a way to renew my spirit and reduce distractions. It is another language of the soul for me.

This Sunday I will be preaching on Mark 5:21-43. I will share about God’s abundant compassion. The call to rise into new life. The love we experience in lovers, companions, friends, and strangers that sustains us. Because overall, for me, let there be no confusion - God is the helper, not the afflicter.

So, I look forward to not only sharing with all of you this Sunday, but being in community and gathering as the beloved community. See you Sunday!

Peace and blessings!

Jorge

July's Giving Sunday offering is for "Catherine Center". Thanks for always being so generous with your gifts in life. Below is their programs video.

Recent sermons

Check out our YouTube page to see recent sermons. Go to our archive of slides to see bulletins and slides used during recent services.

Recordings of our Taize services are also on the YouTube page.

Upcoming services and events

Worship & Arts: Sunday, July 7 after worship. Join us and help plan worship for the rest of the summer.
Celebration of Life for Gail Bishop Welter: Sunday, July 7, 2pm at Carlmont High School Performing Arts Center. Also available live-streamed at this link.
Borg Discussion Group: Thursday, July 11, 7pm on Zoom. We are moving on to Ch. 4 of Marcus Borg’s “Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time”, for a discussion of Jesus’ role as a wisdom teacher.
Taize Service: Friday, July 12, 7:30pm. Our regular in-person contemplative service, also available on Zoom.
UCC Family Camp: July 19-21st, Monte Toyon Retreat Center, Aptos, CA. Save the date to join Belmont UCC like last year! Additional details will be shared closer to the event.
Church Council: Sunday, July 21 after worship.
Book Group: Sunday, July 28, 7pm, on Zoom. We’re going to try again with “Catastrophe Ethics” by Travis Rieder. (The gathering last time was very small!). Al recently led a 20-person discussion of this book at Enso so he’s totally into it. The question it deals with is ‘How to make choices when every action has so many ripple consequences, many of them unintended and unknown? It’s tempting to conclude that individual actions don’t matter, but that logic is flawed too.’
Annual Women’s Retreat: Labor Day Weekend (Aug 30 - Sept 1) at Polly’s house in Pacific Grove. All church women invited; details to come. Save the date!
Annual Men's Retreat: October 4-6 at Polly’s house in Pacific Grove. Details to come. Save the date!