100 Years
Journey

Stories, sermons, music, and memories from the past 100 years
The life and times of Community United Church of Christ, Raleigh NC

Carolyn and Cy - 2004

Peace and Justice Award, May 26, 2019

Nancy Newell and Betty Anne Ford

Thirty-seven years ago, Betty Anne Ford and Nancy Newell co-founded Loaves and Fishes, an after-school program for students with academic difficulties considered "at risk." What started as a summer program for kids and their families who lived in the Halifax Court housing project would, through the efforts of these two women, become a year-round after school program for needy kids throughout Raleigh. Loaves and Fishes required extraordinary effort from the outset and its success took immense amounts of energy and caring for the needs of Raleigh's underprivileged children. While Nancy and Betty Anne have received accolades from many places, their attention and focus always remained on the children. Now mostly retired from Loaves and Fishes, they are eager to join William Barber's Poor People's Campaign.

Don and Shirley Birt

Don and Shirley Birt moved to North Carolina from Vermont in 1995, after having lived there for 18 years. They have two children. Their son David lives in Denmark and works for the UN High Commission on Refugees. David is married and has a son Cailen. Their daughter Lara lives in Holly Springs with her husband and their daughter Glenna. Don and Shirley have been married since 1963. They live in Holly Springs, N.C.

(Click here to read more ...)

Don describes his journey as a social activist as being a natural progression. He was trained in theology at Andover Newton Seminary and was a pastor while also focusing on work with the laity, with neighborhood organizations, and urban ministry. He began working full time with the state and then federal courts systems in New York, focusing on pretrial services and bail investigations for release. He claims significant influence by Harvey Cox, especially his world view on how the church lives in the world. He believes that what we do in the world can make a huge difference. He has his Doctorate in Theology and in Sociology.

Shirley says that her world view took root in her college experience. She has become fascinated over the years with how people evolve from infancy to adulthood, and how their experiences effect their belief system. She has spent the majority of her work and volunteer life teaching in various capacities, from preschool teaching to group work at the YWCA in Boston, from the classroom to correctional facilities. She has experienced political decision making at the local school board and city planning level. Shirley has her Master’s degrees in Elementary Education and Public Policy.

Sue Woodling

Sue has two sons and lives in Raleigh. She is the chair of Lutheran Peace Fellowship and has been to Central America as a Witness for Peace. Cy and Carolyn’s long-standing support for justice for the Palestinians gave Sue the impetus to pursue this important issue. She currently is a member of AIME (Abrahamic Initiative on the Middle East). The purpose of AIME is to develop and amplify a strong, local interfaith voice working for a just and sustainable peace in Palestine-Israel.

In 2015 Sue reached out to friends in the peace community and they came together to form Campaign Nonviolence NC which is a part of the Campaign Nonviolence movement-- a long-term movement to mainstream nonviolence and to foster a culture of peace. This movement was launched nationwide in 2014. Campaign Nonviolence NC envisions a culture of nonviolence that includes connecting the often separate efforts for change. It actively connects the dots between war, poverty, the climate crisis, and the epidemic of violence and works to solve these issues in an integral way.

Peace and Justice Award Winners

On July 3, 2012, the Church Council voted to establish the Carolyn and Cy King Peace and Justice Award as a repeating event. Subsequently, the award has been given annually by the Social Justice Ministry.

Resolution establishing the Carolyn and Cy King Peace and Justice Award

Honorees

2012: Carolyn and Cyrus King, inaugural winners and award namesakes
2013: Sandy and Deane Irving; Marjorie Eckels
2014: Bill Towe; Slater Newman; Peg and Mac Hulslander
2015: Judy Occhetti-Klohr and Leo Klohr; Rev. Collins Kilburn
2016: Patrick O'Neal and Mary Rider; Jane Hunt
2017: Alan and Ruth Reberg; Joan McAllister
2018: Lib Hutchby; Adrienne and John Little; John Paar
2019: Betty Anne Ford and Nancy Newell; Don and Shirley Birt; Sue Woodling

CUCC Receives Environmental Award

In 2016 CUCC was honored to receive the US Foods Environmental Stewardship Award given by the City of Raleigh’s Environmental Advisory Board. The award acknowledges CUCC’s work from 2007 to 2015 seeking “justice in a changing climate.”

Gary Smith of the JCC task force accepted the award on behalf of the congregation and the many people in the wider community who have joined us over the years in this shared work. In addition to a certificate, the congregation was given a hand-carved bowl and pedestal made from wood reclaimed in Wake County (the pedestal was formerly a beam from a building in Wake Forest).

We were humbled to be included in the company of the other inspiring 2016 honorees. (Award Ceremony program)

Special thanks to John Little for writing the application which eloquently describes our desire to be faithful to this justice work to which we feel called by God. (Application)

Peace and Justice Award - 2018

Community United Church of Christ presented its Carolyn and Cy King Peace and Justice Award on Sunday, April 8, to John Paar, Lib Hutchby, and Adrienne and John Little during the 10:30 AM worship service. The award is issued annually to people who embody spirits of service and grace and demonstrate commitments to addressing issues of justice and peace in our community and world. Congratulations to this year’s recipients of the Carolyn and Cy King Peace and Justice Award.
John Paar was unable to join us for the ceremony, but sent an acceptance letter which was excerpted during the ceremony. Read John's acceptance letter (full text)
Lib Hutchby
Lib Hutchby is a teacher of conflict resolution and nonviolent resistance. Whether she is singing with the Raging Grannies at movement gatherings around the state, being arrested for justice (four times so far), or telling stories, she prepares us and leads us in the work at hand.

John and Adrienne Little

Carolyn and Cy King

Lib Hutchby

John Paar

Lib worked alongside Carolyn King in the integration of the state's parks in the 1960s through the United Church Camp held at Umstead Park. She was the first white teacher at Jefferys Grove Elementary School, teaching fourth grade as Wake County's public schools integrated. Her thesis for her master's degree on conflict resolution was on nonviolence in children's literature. Lib put that training to use when she was called on to help counsel and mediate following the killings of the Greensboro Five. Lib and Carolyn again connected as overnight volunteers in the early days of the Ark Shelter for men (now the Helen Wright Center serving homeless women). In 1989 she began volunteering to resettle refugees and eventually worked for ten years on staff with Lutheran Family Services.

Currently Lib's work has turned to caring for creation and ensuring that it will be healthy and justice for the next generations. Whether she is singing with the Raging Grannies or volunteering with Frack Free NC, Clean Water for NC, or 350.org - Triangle, Lib is an advocate for the earth. Lib is a member of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church and active in their Care of Creation group.
You can support Lib by sitting in the gallery during her April 24 hearing. She was arrested at a sit-in outside Governor Cooper's office protesting the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
John and Adrienne Little
The Littles exemplify the virtue of showing up when justice work is needed. Both are life-long educators (John as a professor of history at St. Augustine's University; Adrienne teaching grade school to children in low-wealth schools in Raleigh, the NC mountains, and Guam). At Loaves and Fishes they continue this work as tutor volunteers and have built a close relationship with the entire family who have become an important part of their lives. Adrienne has opened her home to refugees and served as "mother and grandmother" to children and adults in a new land. She has recently been a fixture at the NC General Assembly, joining other activists in successfully advocating for criminal justice reforms. John is has sought to live out his commitment to racial justice, especially in the educational sphere. They are diligent advocates for stewardship of God's creation, for economic justice, and for a world without violence - whether from wars or from gun violence. At Cy King's last attendance of HKonJ, John navigated Cy's wheelchair in the crowds during the March.
Community UCC is glad that they have been long-time members of the congregation and leaders in the Social Justice Ministry and Economic Justice Task Force of our church. John chaired the Social Justice Ministry for several years, overlapping with Cy's time on SJM.
John Paar
Dr. John Paar, longtime Raleigh resident, cardiologist and person of faith, has been a key figure in the Raleigh peace and justice network since the 1980’s.
John’s life-long commitment has been to use his expertise as a cardiologist to improve medical care for those who lack access. And his work is characterized by the personal connections he makes with colleagues and with patients, working with compassion and respect.In Raleigh John has been an advocate for affordable medical care for the poor of Wake County, and in his roles at Wake Med. Recognizing that family members of those from out of town being treated for severe heart ailments incurred great expense while staying with their loved ones, John was an early supporter of Samaritan Inn, a Lutheran project to provide free lodging for those family members. He was a charter doctor at the Urban Ministries Open Door Clinic. His medical work with those living on low incomes led him to be a key figure in starting Raleigh’s first shelter for homeless families at what is now called Families Together. During the 1980s Overground Railroad effort to assist Central American refugees in moving through the US to asylum in Canada, John providedshelter and support, including medical aid when needed, for refugees coming through Raleigh.
In Nicaragua John went to Nicaragua in the 80’s as part of Witness for Peace to stand between the Contras and the Nicaraguan army to prevent killing. Viewing the experience through the eyes of a physician, he started Project Health for Leon (PHL) with Dr. John Rose. This organization seeks to improve the options for cardiac care at the hospital in Leon by sending experts from the US to teach and treat and by bringing Nicaraguan medical practitioners to the US to further their studies.
Throughout his life, John’s work has been nourished by his deep faith and the call it places on him to act for justice.
Award Namesakes Carolyn and Cy King
Carolyn and Cy King were members of the congregation who were noted for their service to bettering the Raleigh community, the state of North Carolina, and the nation. They were inducted into the Raleigh City Hall of Fame in 2009. Listen to an interview with the Kings full of stories about their justice work and their life together.
The award was created in their honor in 2012 and celebrates people who exemplify a similar gracious spirit in their work for justice. You can read about past recipients here.

Carolyn and Cy King Award
April 23, 2017

On April 23, 2017 the annual Carolyn and Cy King Awards were presented during 10:30 worship. The recipients were Alan and Ruth Reberg and Joan McAllister.

Caroling at Retirement Center

On December 20, 2015, members of the church were led by Anne Moorman-Smith to sing carols at the retirement center across the street. Here's a 90 second excerpt.

Grady McCallie on Coal Ash Ponds

In February 2014, Duke Energy Company experienced a major coal ash spill into the Dan River. Grady McCallie, long time CUCC member who works with the NC Conservation Network, spoke to the issues involved with this spill.

One of the presenters was Geraldine Bryan, who spoke during the worship service on August 9, 2015. The video shown here captures Geraldine's remarks from that occasion.

Revisiting our Heritage
Summer 2015

During the interim service of Pastor Peg Williams, a Transition Team led the congregation in reviewing aspects of the history of the churches that came together to form Community UCC as it now stands on the corner of Wade Ave. and Dixie Trail.

Carolyn and Cy King Award
April 12, 2015

The Carolyn and Cy King Awards for 2015 were presented by the Social Justice Ministry on

April 12. Introductions for Leo Klohr and Judy Occhetti-Klohr were given by Sue Cottle, and John Little introduced Collins Kilburn and presented his award. The following 30-minute video includes the entire 30-minute program:

Sermon by John Little
Musical tribute by John Robertson
Awards presentations by Sue and John
Acceptance remarks by Judy, Leo, and Collins

Videos of the portions appear elsewhere in this archive:

John Robertson's musical tribute
Tim Jensen's song tribute

Festival of Lights
Guest Speakers

The "Festival of Lights" program was held at Community UCC in Raleigh NC on November 30, 2014 (the first Sunday of Advent). Speakers from diverse religious traditions (Bahai, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim) reflected on the symbolism of "light" within their own faith traditions. Those diverse reflections are encompassed in this 42-minute video (which may be viewed in full screen HD). The speakers are Mehran Ghofrani, Venerable Choekyi Lhamo, Bhupender Gupta, Janet Mayer, Rev. Steve Halsted, and Zubaida Khan.

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Resolution on Fracking

On May 4, 2014, at the annual spring congregational meeting, the congregation passed a motion calling on the Southern Conference Annual Meeting to pass a proposed resolution on fracking. The text of the resolution is available here.

Text of fracking resolution

Climate Change Vigil

On September 21, 2014, a national climate change rally was held in New York. In support of that rally, the Triangle Interfaith Alliance held a supportive vigil at Community UCC to coincide with the New York demonstration of support for national action on climate change. Representatives from a wide spectrum of Triangle religious groups participated in the vigil, which was led by CUCC Pastor Steve Halsted. The vigil lasted for approximately an hour. The video included here is a 10-minute condensation that shows the breadth and scope of the vigil. In order to make the vigil as "public" as possible, the vigil was held on the corner of Wade Avenue and Dixie Trail on the lawn in front of the church. Thus there is considerable traffic noise in the background. (Filmed by Lavon Page and Karen Withem.)

Carolyn and Cy King Awards
Feb. 9, 2014

The Carolyn & Cy King Peace and Justice Awards was established in 2012. On February 9, 2014, the awards for 2014 were presented during the 10:30 worship service.

This year's honorees were Peg and Mac Hulslander, Slater Newman, and Bill Towe (posthumous award accepted by his son Christopher). Cynthia Ball managed the ceremony, with help from Sue Cottle, John Little, and Frank Gailor. The video below runs for 35 minutes.

Cy King addresses Forum Feb. 9, 2014

On February 9, 2014, the annual Carolyn & Cy King Peace and Justice Awards were to be presented during the 10:30 worship service. In conjunction with that even, Cy himself was invited to speak to the Sunday Morning Forum. The resulting crowd at the Forum was one of the largest to attend a Forum session within memory.

The recording below includes almost all of that Forum session. The video runs for 49 minutes and was filmed in the Vaughan Fellowship Hall by a stationary camera.

Marge Eckels and Cy King -
March 17, 2013

The Sunday Forum on March 17, 2013, featured a dialog between Marge Eckels and Cy King on their many years of participation in social action initiatives at CUCC. The moderator is Sue Cottle, and the event was filmed by Lavon Page at the request of the Social Justice Ministry.

Steve Halsted at Press Conference

On February 4, 2013, Pastor Steve Halsted of Community UCC participated in a press conference regarding Duke Energy’s request that the N.C. Utilities Commission approve a considerable rate increase. AARP, NC NAACP, NC Justice Center and more talk about why proposed rate hikes for Duke and Progress Energy would harm North Carolina. This video may also be viewed at YouTube.

Rev. Curtis Gatewood - NC NAACP

On January 20, 2013, Rev. Curtis Gatewood of the North Carolina NAACP was invited to speak in conjunction with the MLK Holiday celebrations of that weekend. Rev. Gatewood is the coordinator for the HKonJ initiative, an economic justice campaign sponsored by the NAACP. Rev. Gatewood’s sermon is 28 minutes long and was filmed by Lavon Page in the CUCC sanctuary.

Carolyn and Cy King Award -
June 17, 2012

On June 17, 2012, the 10:30 worship service featured a presentation of a special award to Cy and Carolyn King honoring their many years of effort on behalf of peace and justice issues. Carolyn was unable to attend for medical reasons, but Cy accepted the award and spoke (with his usual modesty) on their behalf. Part of the ceremony included that the award will be a repeating event at CUCC and will be given in honor of the Kings.

Karen Withem Film
on NYC Police Issues

Karen Withem joined CUCC on May 15, 2016, and participated in church activities for several years before that. Karen moved to NYC in fall 2018, but remains a part of the church community. Karen has a long career in the film industry, and used her skills on several occasions for CUCC. (See the Lenten clips from 2017, for example). The film listed here is a public service film made by Karen in spring 2020.

Robert Parrish and Alexus Rhone

Alexus Rhone, a close friend and frequent visitor to CUCC, presented a virtual program on Juneteenth 2020. One of the participants and presenters was our own Robert Parrish, long time CUCC member. The video includes the entire program, but it begins with Robert's presentation which starts 48 minutes into the program.

Climate Vigil - September 21, 2014

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