Foothills Congregational UCC

Perhaps you saw these articles in the Town Crier, but if not, here are the links. Women SV is one of the agencies your undesignated giving supports.

Tuesday May 4 at 3 PM with Eric Butler, MD

* Children's Program at Home * Lessons with Teacher Laura Cultural Differences Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch https://foothills-church.org/childrens-program-at-home/

* Children's Program at Home * Sing Along! "Turning of the World" by Ruth Pelham, performed by Jim and Jean Strathdee Here’s another favorite song of the 2nd-grade-and-up class. Ruth Pelham wrote Turning of the World as a musical way for people to affirm the positive power of us working together for peace and justice in our local and global communities. Ruth says: I wrote this song one morning right after I woke up from a dream. This song is about unity, and people worki...ng together to build a safe and peaceful world. The dream of peace is not just a dream of mine. It is shared by millions of people of every age, culture, religion, and background, and is the glue that holds us together as one humanity. A great thing about being alive in these times is that millions of people all over the world are doing things to bring about peace. In every country, people are working alone or in groups to make our world better, and to assure that each of us has our basic needs met for food, clothing, shelter, and safety. Every day brings us closer to realizing this dream, and each one of us can help to make that happen. When we work together in large numbers, the results can be awesome. -from Pass it On the Journal of The Children’s Music Network https://foothills-church.org/childrens-program-at-home/ See more

May 2 - Fifth Sunday of Easter. Sermon "Transformed and Transported" by Pastor Jean. Music by Kyle Sofman. Children's Time "Cultural Differences" by Laura Click. Scripture: Acts 8:26-40. Contemporary Reading by Nancy Grippo. Holy Communion.

* Foothills Celebrates Black History Month * This week we will focus on Bryan Stevenson. Bryan Stevenson is a public-interest lawyer who has dedicated his career to helping the poor, the incarcerated and the condemned. He's the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, an Alabama-based group that has won major legal challenges eliminating excessive and unfair sentencing, exonerating innocent prisoners on death row, confronting abuse of the incarcerated ...and the mentally ill, and aiding children prosecuted as adults. EJI recently won an historic ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court holding that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for all children 17 or younger are unconstitutional. Mr. Stevenson’s work fighting poverty and challenging racial discrimination in the criminal justice system has won him numerous awards. He is a graduate of the Harvard Law School and the Harvard School of Government, and has been awarded 14 honorary doctorate degrees. Bryan is the author of Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. Bryan Stevenson was born in a rural town in Southern Delaware where his family attended the Prospect African Methodist Episcopal Church, where as a youth Stevenson played piano and sang in the choir.[2]His later views were influenced by the strong faith of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, where churchgoers were celebrated for 'standing up after having fallen down.'[2]These experiences informed his belief that "each person in our society is more than the worst thing they’ve ever done. There is a strength, a power even, in understanding brokenness, because embracing our brokenness creates a need and desire for mercy, and perhaps a corresponding need to show mercy. When you experience mercy, you learn things that are hard to learn otherwise. You see things you can't otherwise see; you hear things you can't otherwise hear. You begin to recognize the humanity that resides in each of us. -- Bryan Stevenson Foothills is celebrating Black History Month in 2021 by sharing about influential historical and contemporary Black Americans each week in February. We hope you enjoy learning about these amazing people - their contributions and accomplishments!

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February 7 - Fifth Sunday after Epiphany. Sermon: "Little Steps of Faith Are Important" by Pastor Chris. Communion. Music by Nancy Powell & Dave Ross and Foothills Virtual Choir. Scripture: Isaiah 40: 21-31.

* Children's Program at Home * Sing with Joy by Greg Gilpin Here’s a great song for when you are feeling joyful, or would like to feel *more* joyful! Listen and follow along with the music, and start singing when you feel comfortable. Start by learning just the Sing with joy section the chorus that returns several times. After that you may want to learn the Hear the music part. Then try the bridge that’s the part that starts on page 10 that sounds very different from the rest of the song. Or just listen, and feel your heart fill with joy.

Here is an important perspective as we seek to become an A2A, Accessible to All, congregation. "When we’re granted access to the world in a way that others aren...’t, we often feel guilty. There’s a discomfort in watching another person struggle to navigate spaces that we move through with ease. We can alleviate some of that discomfort when we pull someone along. Phew! I’m not one of those regular privileged jerks. I care! But when we’re focused on alleviating our own uneasiness, we’re not really looking into the face of the person whose hand we’ve grabbed. What does the person actually need? Do you even know? Is this an individual problem to solve in the moment? Or does this individual encounter reveal a structural change that needs to be made?" See more

*Black History Month Informational Series 2021* Foothills is celebrating Black History Month in 2021 by sharing about influential historical and contemporary Black Americans each Wednesday in February. We hope you enjoy learning about these amazing people - their contributions and accomplishments!