SEASIDE COMMUNITY UCC 22940 Ocean Ave., Torrance, CA 90505 (310) 375-4441

www.seasideucc.org ~ seaside@seasideucc.org

T HE G OOD N EWS

Out With the Old, In With the New

Out with the old, in with the new. That tends to be a pretty popular sentiment around this time of year. New

Year’s Eve is upon us, and as is the custom for many people, it will be a time for new beginnings, new dreams,

new goals, and of course, New Year’s resolutions. Personally, I don’t always make New Year’s resolutions.

Some years I do, some years I don’t - I suspect it usually has something to do with how much free time I have to

reflect on such things. There are other people I know, however, who are more consistent. I have one friend who is

so religious about her New Year's resolutions, that every year, she types up a document - usually several pages

long - with a list of resolutions that includes short term goals, long term goals, and an action plan with a clearly

laid out time line for how she intends to accomplish and keep her resolutions. As an added measure of

accountability, she then sends this list to several of her closest friends, which of course in no way makes any of

the rest of us feel inadequate or lazy at all about our own New Year's resolutions - or lack thereof.

On the other end of the spectrum, I have some friends who are completely opposed to the idea of New Year’s

resolutions, seeing them as nothing more than frivolous promises that are meant to be broken. These are the

people who scoff at the rest of us and our good intentions to eat healthier, read more non-fiction, or finally buckle

down and start learning that second language. "Can't teach an old dog new tricks," these folks might say. "What

you see is what you get." Most of us, I suspect, fall somewhere between these two extremes. Maybe we like the

idea of New Year’s resolutions. Maybe we have good intentions. But maybe we also don't take them too seriously

because we know from experience that our resolve doesn’t always last terribly long into the new year.

The truth is, New Year’s resolutions can sometimes be frivolous, and they are not usually anything we should

lose sleep over. Still, this year, I would like to make an argument in favor of New Year’s resolutions. Not

necessarily the kind that have to do with losing weight or going to the gym more often - though those are

certainly worthy goals. Rather, I’m talking about the kinds of resolutions we make with the aim of transformation

- with the aim of becoming better people - kinder, more courageous, more educated, or more compassionate. To

be more Christ-like - more loving, more forgiving, more accepting. Resolutions to become more spiritually

minded and more devoted to prayer or meditation practices. Resolutions to be less selfish and more giving of our

time, our resources, and our hearts. This morning, I would like to come out in favor of transformation-based

resolutions, all in the light of Christ who comes to bring God’s transformation to all.

So go ahead and make those resolutions, and know that God is there in the midst of it all. God is there in the

midst of who we were, who we are, and who we will become. Old and new. Alpha and Omega. Yesterday, today,

and tomorrow.

Peace and New Year’s Blessings,

Pastor Dave

January 2016

The Good News 2 January 2016

Words from our Moderator, Connie Sherman

Good morning friends. It's 4 am and I am awake, so I am writing my article for the newsletter. There is not a lot to report this month. We still need a facilities coordinator and a historian. Please notify a council member if you are interested. Please be mindful of Sunday mornings before worship. Pastor Dave needs time to focus before he delivers the message. So please save your comments for after church. Also, Yaya comes to church to worship and would like to focus her energies on worship and not on her job as office administrator. Again, it would be nice to wait until Tuesday, when her workweek begins. I pray that you all have a happy and healthy 2016. "It is only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth - and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up, we will then begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kubler-Ross Connie Sherman

The Good News 3 January 2016

Outreach Peg McCartney and the Outreach Team

Warm Up Sunday Thank You Thanks to all who collected blankets, warm jackets and sweaters in October. Altogether there was about $500 worth of donations delivered to Community’s Child in Lomita on November 23rd, and distributed to deserving families that evening. With the arrival of colder winter weather your generosity is much appreciated by all recipients. Love, INC Thanksgiving Gift Cards and Toberman Center On November 15th, Seaside members once again reached out to families served by this San Pedro agency. We collected gift cards and cash donations. Money added from “Other Outreach” made the total of our contributions $600 to Love INC and $300 to the Toberman Center. Thanks to all our generous donors. Harbor Interfaith Services (HIS) Turkey Dinners Thursday, November 18th, Ron and Karen Ury delivered 20 complete turkey meals to HIS in San Pedro. The partial cost of these donations was paid for from our Seaside Budget Line Item # 720 entitled “Other Outreach.” The congregation donated the remaining items. Several large bags of foodstuffs for their pantry were also donated. Thank you for supporting our 2015 Outreach efforts.

DCFS Gift Card Project In December, for the 5th year, Seaside participated in a Christmas gift project to provide holiday gifts for 93 foster youths who are served by Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. There are well over 1,200 foster children in the South Bay area and DCFS tries to have a gift for each of these youngsters. There are several churches working together as a “faith based committee” to help in this effort. Special thanks to Marsha Bannon for coordinating this community outreach for our congregation again this year as she has the previous 4 years. Alternative Gift Market Thank You Many thanks to everyone who supported the Alternative Market on Sunday, December 6th. Ron Ury represented the Heifer International table and Sara Morrison represented Habitat for Humanity; Karen Ury handled the coffee fellowship; Lynn VanZandt represented the DCFS Table; and Bob McCartney assisted in a major way with the setup and dismantling of the market. Marifrances Trivelli served as our cashier and Richard Sherman played some Christmas tunes to entertain us all. The proceeds were:

Year End Outreach Fund Distribution

Los Angeles LGBT Center $337

Shared Bread at Redondo Beach 1st UMC $337

Project Needs St. Paul’s UMC in Redondo Beach

$337

Harbor Area Half Way House in Long Beach $291

Hathaway - Sycamores $337

Outreach Annual Report 2015

Church World Service $359

Heifer International $1,060

Habitat for Humanity $235

Grand Total of Gifts $1,654

The Good News 4 January 2016

Outreach Peg McCartney and the Outreach Team

5 The Good News January 2016

Sisters in Spirit Women’s Group

Friday, January 15, 2016 at 6:30 pm in the Church House

We hope everyone enjoyed the holidays over the last few weeks. We are looking forward to seeing you all again in the new year. For our January topic, instead of discussing our New Year’s Resolutions where we resolve to add something new to accomplish, let’s think about what we’re ready to let go of, to see if we can simplify and un-complicate our lives. As usual, we will send out a reminder email a few days before our gathering so we can start planning what we would like to bring for the evening’s refreshments. Hope we have a great turnout!

Prayer Shawl Ministry

We meet on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month at 6:00 pm in the Church House.

Are you keeping someone in prayer?? Do not hesitate to ask for a prayer shawl. We love to send out our gifts of healing love. If you need a prayer shawl, please contact Marilyn James at 310/325-7745 or any other member of the group.

The Genevieve Kiser Seaside Seniors Club

Our next meeting

is at 2:00 pm, January 28, 2016

at the Church House

Seaside Book Club will meet Monday, January 11, 2016

at 7:00 pm at the home of Harvey Eidinoff

Book of the Month for January Euphoria

by Lily King

Book of the Month for February The Girl With No Name

by Marina Chapman

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CHURCH LEADERS

Moderator Connie Sherman

Past Moderator Marsha Bannon

Secretary

Dayna Kosinski

Christian Education Lynn Van Zandt

Finance

Scott Bannon

Worship Angel Jimenez

Fellowship Amber Cole

Facilities

Sara Morrison, interim

Outreach Peg McCartney

Seaside Community Church, UCC 22940 Ocean Avenue

Torrance, CA 90505

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

DATED MATERIAL

The Good News is published monthly

by Seaside Community Church,

United Church of Christ.

The church is located at the corner of

230th and Ocean Avenue in Torrance.

Phone: (310) 375-4441

Transitional Minister:

Rev. Gail Benson

Office Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

10:00 am to 2:00 pm

and

Friday

12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Publisher:

Christina Russell Seaside@SeasideUCC.org

Deadline for November’s

News articles:

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Everyone is invited to join us

for Worship on Sundays at

9:30 am

Sunday School and

Child Care are available

Seaside Community UCC 22940 Ocean Avenue

Torrance, CA 90505

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

DATED MATERIAL

The Good News is published monthly by Seaside Community

United Church of Christ. The church is located at the corner of 230th and Ocean Avenue in Torrance.

Phone: (310) 375-4441

Senior Pastor

The Rev. Dave Sigmund

Office Hours:

Tuesday: 9:00 am to 3:00 pm Wednesday: 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Thursday: 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm Friday: 9:00 am to 3:00 pm

Administrator Yaya Barahona

Everyone is invited to join us for Worship on Sundays

at 9:30 am

January 24th Congregational Meeting

January 26th

Family Promise

February 7th Sock Sunday

*NEWSLETTER ARTICLE DEADLINE*

If you have anything to share about our community, please send your updates and articles for the February edition to the office by January 21, 2016

seaside@seasideucc.org