By posted by Joy Davis
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Have You Heard? Your Conference Staff Sees You!

Have You Heard?, Have You Heard?, Home Page
Luke 24:13-35 Writer Elaine Wainwright shared this text something like this, and it spoke to me. The story’s beginning “immediately grounds the people in the material of the road, the distance and immediacy of all that has just happened.” Two of Jesus’ disciples are walking together on the road from Jerusalem to the nearby village of Emmaus. The evangelist does not initially name the two disciples so that they could be any disciple, male or female. We can all enter this story in the corporeality of our bodily experience. Then another traveler joins the two disciples on their Emmaus journey,…
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By posted by Joy Davis
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Have You Heard? The Elephant in the Room Has a Lot of Wrinkles.

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I have a fourth cousin who is moving to Orlando, Florida. She landed a job as an “imagineer” with Disney. It’s her dream job. Good for her! She happens to be white, cisgender, and straight. Because I am a trans woman, I cannot go to Florida. There are multiple states to which I cannot travel including North Carolina, Texas, Georgia, and Tennessee. They want to erase us. When I moved to the Bay Area in the late summer of 2017, my plan was to take I-70 out of Pittsburgh to St. Louis, pick up I-44 to Oklahoma City, then I-40…
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By posted by Joy Davis
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Have You Heard? Jesus Loves ALL People 

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Blessed Holy Week to all of you from all of us, your Conference Staff. Every day, but especially in these days and times in which we live, I thank God for Jesus.    I was blessed yesterday to witness people from different places on their life’s journey have their feet washed by clergy from five denominations. Young, elders, white, black, republicans, democrats, rich, poor, housed, unhoused, the haves and the have-nots, gay, trans people, and pastors like me. One moment that stood out to me the most was observing how attentive an elderly white minister, carefully and tenderly, washed the feet…
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By posted by Joy Davis
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Have You Heard? Growing Movements of Loving Resistance from Moments of Hateful Violence

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As many of you have heard, our NCNC kin at Loomis Basin UCC have been the targets of a horrific campaign of hate because of their support and love for LGBTQ+ youth. Our hearts are broken to know that Pastor Casey Martinez-Tinnin has been specifically targeted by a deliberate misinformation campaign and both he and the church have been threatened with violence.  What’s more, the life-saving space that was being created to nurture the flourishing of these amazing queer youth has become a target of fearmongering hostility. People of good will from all over the Conference have reached out to…
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By posted by Joy Davis
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Have You Heard? NCNC 2023 Annual Gathering will be held at First Congregational Church – Palo Alto

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The conference staff, the Conference Council, and the Annual Gathering (AG) Team are excited to officially announce the location of this year’s AG. We will descend upon FCC-Palo Alto June 15-17th. By having the AG at a local church, we can provide a more cost-effective experience, and it will be a much simpler project to manage. In connection with the theme, The Elephant Within, our keynote speaker will be Rev. Marvin Silver. Rev. Silver serves as Associate Conference Minister for Justice & Witness Ministries with the Central Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ. He has an unquestionable commitment…
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By posted by Joy Davis
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Have You Heard? A Proud Boy Attended Worship at Loomis Basin UCC and Stayed for the Potluck

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We know that our churches are places of welcome, justice and love. It is a decades old message we are called to share in our local communities and the world. The extravagant welcome of the United Church of Christ has been a beacon of light for the LGBTQIA+ community for years. People have found a church home where they can bring their whole self into the worship community and to God. Loomis Basin hangs a banner with a version that represents the ministry in their community: "Whoever You are, Whomever You Love, Wherever You find Yourself on Life's Journey, You're…
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By posted by Joy Davis
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Through the Valley with The Prince of Peace

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A Little Church Responds to Deadly Gun Violence On Transfiguration Sunday, Bishop Bonnie A. Perry, Diocese of Michigan, began her sermon with these words: “There are text led sermons and there are life led sermons. This is the latter.” She was addressing recent gun deaths in her jurisdiction, including the mass shooting at Michigan State University. (see link below to her sermon video) Our little church has also heard a call from the Holy Spirit to dedicate this Lenten season to an intentional awareness and response to our culture of violence, including gun violence. Our Lenten journey, “Through the Valley…
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By posted by Joy Davis
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Have You Heard? Jesus Fed the Multitude

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When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food and Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” Twenty million dollars for a Superbowl advertisement and the Servant Foundation plans to spend another one billion dollars to advertise, "Jesus Gets Us.” Let’s discuss mission, outreach, and justice, and not the…
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By posted by Joy Davis
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The Elephant in the Room

Have You Heard?, Home Page, Racial Justice
Five Black Police Officers Killed a Black Man “Dominator culture has tried to keep us all afraid, to make us choose safety instead of risk, sameness instead of diversity. Moving through that fear, finding out what connects us, reveling in our differences; this is the process that brings us closer, that gives us a world of shared values, of meaningful community.” -- bell hooks Another unarmed Black man was killed by the police. What I am trying to understand is the why, the what, and the how this could have been done by five Black men. A colleague shared a…
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By posted by Joy Davis
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Join the Movement

Racial Justice
The Join the Movement Team wishes you a blessed New Year! As disciples of Jesus, we believe it is our mandate to work for and seek justice, love, and compassion. We believe stories from local congregations working to dismantle racism reinforces the UCC’s commitment to continue movement toward becoming a restorative racially just denomination. There are new resources, toolkits, and calls to action, as well as updates on the Join the Movement webpage featuring stories from within your Conferences. As we celebrate Racial Justice Sunday February 12th in the UCC, we invite you to make use of these worship and…
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