Danville Congregational Church (United Church of Christ)

Unto us a child is born! Unto us a son is given. The spread of his influence and of his peace will never end. Therefore go into the world with great joy. Go out into the world enlivening God's dreama dream of a more loving, equitable, and just-filled world.... And the grace of Bethlehem's matchless of child, the love of God who never ceases to amaze, and the fellowship of the Spirit who never wearies, will be with you this holy nightand evermore. Merry Christmas to you all!

Our Advent waiting is nearly over. On Christmas, the dreams we dreamed throughout the Advent season are birthed into the world. In the Christmas story, we are reminded that we are all dreamers. Like those gathered around the manger, we come to this night each year with awe, wonder, and holy imagination for what is possible. After a year like 2020, I think Christmas Eve takes on new meaning, as we hopefully anticipate a new day and new year ahead filled with healing, peace, an...d the justice of God. As we move into Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and beyond, I would like to encourage us to be like one of the characters we find in our nativity scenesMary. Yes, you read that right, this Protestant is urging us to be like Mary this Christmas. Like Mary, we must treasure God’s dream in our hearts. A dream of healing. A dream of peace. And once Christmas is over, with all the gifts unwrapped and nativity scenes put away, we must commit to keeping God’s dream alive. We invite you to join us tonight for a Christmas Eve Candlelight Service (have a candle ready to light!) at 5:00pm via Zoom. Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, Thursday, 5:00pm (Have your candles on-hand!) https://zoom.us/j/492975948 or by Zoom app: 492 975 948, password 322 or by phone: dial 669-900-6833 and enter 492 975 948 as the Meeting ID and 322 as the password. If you are unable to join us at 5:00 pm, the service will be recorded and posted to YouTube following the live service. (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjWo4kfvh7vsWh8upO08Wg) Image: Center Christ by Lauren Wright Pittman, A Sanctified Art LLC

We hope you enjoy this performance of Echo Carol, a traditional German carol, performed by the DCC Chancel Choir on Sunday, December 13, 2020 Directed and produced by John Kendall Bailey

This Sunday we continue in our Advent journey as we light the candle of peace and meet John the Baptist in the wilderness crying out for us to prepare the way in Mark’s gospel. As we read Mark’s gospel this Sunday, we find ourselves in a different wilderness of sorts. No doubt the preparation of this Advent and Christmas seasons are different for us at DCC. Unable to practice our traditions and rituals in personthe Greening of the Church, Christmas Music Sunday, The Nativity... Pageant, and our much loved Christmas Eve services. Even your own personal celebrations and preparations for this season, compounded by nine months of the global pandemic, may feel different. This season we may feel as if we are living in a perpetual disoriented state of wilderness wandering, much like John the Baptist. And yet, amidst the disorientation of wilderness wandering, John the Baptist cries out to us to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. Rev. Eric Sherlock preaching from Mark 1:18 Music by John Kendall Bailey, Gabrielle Goozée-Nichols, and David Brown

An #Advent prayer for today: Holy One we don't pray for easy lives; we pray to be stronger people.... And we don't pray for tasks equal to our powers but for power equal to our tasks Then, the doing of our work will be no miraclewe will be the miracle. Every day may we wonder at ourselves & at the life which has come to us by the grace of God. Amen

There’s an Advent tradition within Western Christianity of inviting people to come together for the Longest Night, a night around the time of the winter solsticewhere that are more hours of darkness than lighta time to come together for prayers and laments, to mourn the losses and griefs of the year, to let the tears flow for the hurting places in our lives, as well as for our country and our world. Following a year of such great loss, grief, and despair, The Rev. Eric Sherlock and The Rev. Todd Atkins-Whitley invite you to join this special service. Thank you A Sanctified Art LLC, Lenora & Gary Rand of The Plural Guild, and The Many for this creative, deeply moving, life-giving service of liturgy, Word, and music!

Enjoy this beautiful arrangement of Greensleeves, arr. R. Vaughan Williams, performed the Second Sunday of Advent 'at' Danville Congregational Church United Church of Christ. David Brown, viola. John Kendall Bailey, accompanist.

In case you missed this past Sunday's service, visit our YouTube channel below. This past Sunday, we considered how we can "be the church when we can't go to church" and the value of "protect the environment." One way this sacred act begins, is by protecting our own environments. The words of Psalm 1 were our guide: Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law... of the Lord, and on God’s law they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. Give the service a watch or a listen and let us know what you think. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4zwQIzOJ-0

As we prepare the way this Advent, I thought I would share an article I read this week in the the Christian Century that has helped me imagine how I might prepare a way this Advent season. In it, author Traci Smith outlines three practices we can all incorporateroutine, ritual, and simplicityto make the most of this season as we prepare a way for the Christ child. I pray these practices are a blessing to you and your family. --Pastor Eric

Our youth are a blessing to our church!

First Sunday of AdventNovember 29, 2020 This past Sunday, Pastor Eric invited us to noticeto notice that God’s blessings are all around us. On the verge of a Thanksgiving unlike any other, we pray that gratitude for blessings great and small inspire and sustain you during this season. For our part, we remain grateful for a church like DCCa faith community characterized by faithfulness, generosity, and great love for one another and for the world. We are thankful to be yo...ur pastors. As we prepare to begin a new liturgical year this Sunday, we shift our noticing into deep awareness, naming hope as the hallmark of that awarenessof keeping ourselves awake, as Jesus urged in the gospel text for this week. Hope is an essential element of our faith; yet if we pay attention to the world around us, we find that for many, hopeoften clung to in the midst of trying times or great sufferingremains elusiveforlorneven goes unrealized. So as people of hope, what is it we are to be awake to? To whose stories do we pay attention and what is our role in challenging systems of oppression, inequity, and dehumanization that chip away at the hopes of those long denied justice, of those who long for, as Jesus prayed, God’s kingdom come. Rev. Lisle Gwynn Garrity writes, Advent is a season of trusting that God’s deep wisdom will guide us from disorientation (the mini apocalypse found in Mark 13) toward wonder, awe, and praise (Mary’s Magnificat). As we journey together this season, I pray that we will not only dream of a better world, but bring it forth through our choices and actions, our rituals and practices. Friends, let us pay attention to the realities of the world around us and with an active hope, dwell in that space where God’s dreams for change and new life are emerging. Let us be alert, ever hopeful, as we wait for God to draw near.

Happening today at 1230pm Pacific Rev. Traci Blackmon and Civil Rights Leader Ruby Sales speak together about activism, then and now, and voter suppression tactics. Ruby Sales is an historian, Griot, and Member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the founder of SpiritHouse Project, a national 501(c)3 non-profit organization that uses the arts, research, education, action, and spirituality to bring diverse peoples together to work for racial, economic, and social justice, as well as for spiritual maturity. We will also play a video from Trinity UCC and Otis Moss III and his family about their work for voters’ rights.

This Sunday we pick up where we left off last week in Matthew’s gospel, Matthew 22:15-22. The Pharisees are angry with Jesus and all that he has been teaching, so the seek him out to try and trap him. Their students ask Jesus, Is it lawful to pay taxes to the Emperor, or not? And Jesus responds with a line many of us know by heart, Give therefore the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s. Now, historically this scripture has been associated w...ith thinking that supports the separation of politics from religionseparation of church and state. It has also been associated with keeping money and religion separate. I wonder, however, if we have been getting our interpretation of what is really going on here wrong this entire time and if there is a third option when interpreting this text. Perhaps this is not a teaching about how religion, and money, and politics should be separate, but that they are uniquely interconnected. Like many scenes throughout the gospels, Jesus is not easily cornered by those who oppose him. I have a feeling that this Sunday we will discover a key teaching embedded in the text that may give us insight into why we are called to care for the poor, along with all of humanity. https://youtu.be/MSkFblWM3oI Rev. Eric Sherlock preaching from Matthew 22:1522 Music by John Kendall Bailey and Gabrielle Goozée-Nichols Bulletin at https://danvillechurch.org/bulletins/.

And, as this day characterized by gratitude draws to a close, we share this piece from Sunday, November 22: Vince Guaralidi’s Thanksgiving Theme performed by the DCC Jazz Quartet ft. John Kendall Bailey, Dan Northway, David Fetherstonhaugh, and Charlie Hasselbrink. May your evening be blessed.

This Thursday! Ohlone College Diversity, Inclusion, Advisory Committee (ODIAC) in collaboration with NAKA Dance Theater present: **5th Annual Social Justice, Inclusion, and Equity Symposium ... Radical Resistance, Radical Imagination** This year's symposium will showcase a series of performances and discussions with prominent local artists and activists exploring the intersection of contemporary art , social justice, ritualistic healing, and community empowerment. This year's symposium will be a 5-part virtual series. Everyone is welcome and all events are free to the public. Our first of the series will feature: Regina Evans / 52 Letters Thursday, October 8th 3pm - 5pm PT Join the Webinar by clicking here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82929725280... Passcode: Ohlone About Regina Evans: Regina Evans, a native of Oakland, California, is a Poet, Playwright , Social Justice Performer, and a Modern-Day Abolitionist in the fight against sex trafficking. Her most current stage play, 52 Letters, a poetic stage play bringing awareness to the issue of sex trafficking in the United States, was honored to win a Best of 2013 San Francisco Fringe Festival Award. Ms. Evans has also performed 52 Letters as a part of the 2013 DIVAS Tell All series, curated by Catherine Debon, at The EXIT Café in San Francisco, CA, 2013 DIVAfest, at the EXIT Studio in SF, CA (as a part of the DIVAS Tell All Series), and at the 2013 SF Fringe Festival, EXIT Stage Left, SF, CA. As a Modern-Day Abolitionist, Ms. Evans is a member of The S.H.A.D.E. Project, an organization founded by powerhouse Sarai Smith-Mazariegos, which empowers survivors of exploitation and trafficking with the thought that survivor Leadership is paramount to creating positive change and empowerment within and outside the movement. Ms. Evans also volunteers with Love Never Fails, a Bay Area Anti Trafficking organization, founded by the extraordinary Vanessa Russell.

A little music for your Thanksgiving. First, Thanksgiving Song by Mary Chapin Carpenter, performed Sunday, November 22 by Gabrielle Goozée-Nichols, soprano. John Kendall Bailey, accompanist. Grateful for each hand we hold Gathered 'round this table... From far and near we travel home Blessed that we are able Grateful for this sheltered place With light in every window Saying, "Welcome, welcome, share this feast Come in away from sorrow" Fathers, mothers, daughters, sons Neighbors, friends and friendless All together everyone In the gift of loving kindness Grateful for what's understood And all that is forgiven We try so hard to be good To lead a life worth living Fathers, mothers, daughters, sons Neighbors, friends and friendless All together everyone Let grateful days be endless Grateful for each hand we hold Gathered 'round this table

Traditionally, the Sunday before Thanksgiving has been marked as "Thanksgiving Sunday" at DCC where we celebrate the past year and give thanks for all that we have received and for all that will come. This year, however, the holiday feels a bit different for me. I imagine you may have similar feelings. Unlike years before, our Thanksgiving tables this year may be less crowded. We may welcome a smaller group to gather around a common table, physically distanced. Some of us wil...l decide to remain sheltered at home, partaking in our Thanksgiving meal with members of our own household, virtually, or alone. Whatever your decision or circumstance, this year's Thanksgiving holiday is unlike any other that has come before. I remember in seminary one of my professors said that Thanksgiving is one of the hardest times to preach for a preacherother than telling people that they ought to be thankful, what else is there to say? I have to be honest, after a season of pandemic, loss, social unrest, and a divisive election cycle, my professor's statement has never been more true. It is not my place to tell you how you "ought to feel" right now. You have the agency to feel whatever it is you need to feel in this moment, and my preaching that you "ought to be thankful" is not going to change how you feel after the year we have experienced. Nonetheless, we are tasked with coming together this Sunday and to reflect on the scripture at handLuke 17:1119. In Luke's gospel we read the story of the healing of the ten lepers and the gratitude of one of the ten who received healing. I wonder what the one leper’s experience of healing, noticing of his healing, and his giving thanks might have to teach us as we reflect together on this Thanksgiving Sunday. Rev. Eric Sherlock preaching Music by John Kendall Bailey, Gabrielle Goozée-Nichols, and the DCC Jazz Quartet

Friendsthis is the incredible Regina Evans whose abolition work to end sex trafficking I shared as a way to fight alongside the marginalized. via KQED THIS is the GOSPEL IN ACTION!! ^PT

This week’s Be the Church value of Fight for the Powerlesswhich could be restated Fight Alongside the Marginalizedis framed by Jesus’ response to those who challenged his authority. To make his point, he tells them a parable about two sons and makes a clear distinction regarding the choices those sons made. Though the parable we heard last week was more existential in nature, this one lends itself to a more allegorical interpretation; it echos not at all quietly into our ...2020 context. Never before have we witnessed a greater gap in power between the most powerful and the most marginalized than today. Jesus calls us to do better. So together, we will wrestle with this text and this particular value of being the church. And we will be invited into a moment of ritualto remember the grace offered to us through our baptism, and the extension of grace it requires of us. This is tough workbut it’s work God’s people are called to do, together. Rev. Todd Atkins-Whitley preaching from Matthew 21:2332 Music by John Kendall Bailey and Gabrielle Goozée-Nichols https://youtu.be/C7hRDUs24ik

Preaching [or rallying] this morning: Be the Church: Fighting Alongside the Marginalized 9:30am, Danville Congregational Church United Church of Christ, via Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/492975948

Last week our children received Fruit of the Spirit care packages, and our youth received Blessing Boxes! #dccucc #ncncucc #unitedchurchofchrist #blessingbox #fruitofthespirit #lovejoypeacepatiencekindnessgoodnessfaithfulnessgentlenessselfcontrol #galatians5v22and23 #community

Enjoy this 2018 performance by the DCC Jazz Trio shared during worship this past Sunday. From the fears that long have bound us free our hearts to faith and praise. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage... for the living of these days. See more

This Sunday we are invited to consider the Be the Church principle of Sharing Earthly and Spiritual Resources while we continue to discern how we can be the church in this moment of global pandemic and diaspora. As we consider this, we are accompanied by a parable of Jesus, one that could raise the hackles for any business-minded personThe Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard. Like many of Jesus' parables, it's full of exaggeration and not intended to be taken literally. ...If taken literally, we could miss Jesus' existential teaching. Instead, when reading a parable of Jesus, we are invited to think and consider its meaning for us within our present context. I hope you will join us for the challenge ahead this Sunday. May we continue to labor together to make meaning and connection of our faith in this most unusual time in our world. Rev. Eric Sherlock preaching from Matthew 20:116 Music by John Kendall Bailey, Gabrielle Goozée-Nichols, and the DCC Jazz Trio https://youtu.be/_XyKEpXKfRc

So yesterday, your worship planning showed up to our Zoom each wearing BLUE. Wonder if we'll be matching this Sunday...??? Tune in at 9:30am to find out. Ok and also tune in to consider what it means to BE the church when we can’t GO to church. Pastor Eric will be preaching on Be the Church: Share Earthly and Spiritual Resources and John and Gabrielle will provide us with more amazing music. We hope you'll join us! You can experience previous worship services here: https://danvillechurch.org/sermons/.

The DCC Choir returned this past Sunday, under the direction of John Kendall Bailey and featuring Gabrielle Goozée-Nichols, performing Franz Schubert's Agnus Dei from Mass in G Major at Danville Congregational Church UCC Sunday, September 13, 2020. https://youtu.be/dBvbYmN3NXg

Is There Anything Too Marvelous for God? Worship at DCCSeptember 6, 2020 Rev. Todd Atkins-Whitley, preaching from Genesis 18:115; 21:17 Music by John Kendall Bailey and Gabrielle Goozée-Nichols... The vaccine to hopelessnessis joy. This is not a ‘fake it ‘til ya make it’ joy-ride. This is an intentional ask, seek, and knock kinda pursuit. In times like this We have to CULTIVATE joy. We have to diligently LOOK for it. We have to INSPIRE it in those who are around us. ... Yes, the times we live in are dire. The season of quarantine, of dismantling white supremacy and smashing the patriarchy, are bound to be filled with strain and struggle and loss. But the God who created each one of us, who knit us together in our mother’s womb, says to us just as God said to Sarah and Abraham: ‘There is nothing too marvelous for me. https://youtu.be/cHv-QXI_y88

The following quote by Julian of Norwich was shared yesterday by one of our deacons as a part of her prayer closing the gathering of our Diaconate. "All shall be well, all shall be well...for there is a Force of Love moving through the universe that holds us fast and will never let us go." May we all find comfort, strength, and reassurance from these ancient wordstrue as ever in this present age.... . . . . Thanks to Greg Rakozy for making this photo available freely on Unsplash.com. See more

Your worship staff is hard at work planning for the fall season over Zoom! Guess who just had to wear the unicorn to our meeting?!