Multi-Faith Action Coalition
Join your Hillcrest friends and others of various faiths to Connect, Reflect, Learn and Take action to help others in our community!
Race and Faith: Workshop 2
Free Zoom Workshop with Lev White on Transformation through Grieving into a new life of equality, justice and love.
Hillcrest Church Fundraiser for: Winter Nights
Hillcrest Church Fundraiser: April 26th-May 1st, 2021 Faith & Food for Families Feeding homeless families housed at the Winter Nights family shelter has been a fulfilling community outreach service for Hillcrest Church members for many years. This year, due to Covid-19 restrictions, we are not able to prepare and serve the meals ourselves. Rather, our…
Race and Faith : Looking Ahead Two Workshops
Unconscious Bias and Microaggressions – Sunday, April 18 11:00a.m. – 1:00p.m. This training is designed to help you identify your unintended biases and microaggressions to better engage in relationship with others who don’t share a common identity.. This worshop is free and open to all. Check out Hillcrest’s Facebook posting for more information. To participate,…
Holy Week Invitation
Rev Fred will introduce you to Hillcrest’s Holy Week observances and invites you to participate virtually in a communal, congregational meal as filmed by Wild West productions at Hillcrest in 2019. Click on the video below. Available for viewing beginning Monday morning, March 29th @ 8:00 A.M. https://youtu.be/w0a1McStmJE
Breakfast Bags for the Homeless HILLCREST PARTNERING WITH TRINITY CENTER:March 15th-21st
Breakfast Bags for the Homeless Hillcrest’s Food Room, under the umbrella of the Outreach Ministry, will be making Breakfast Bags to be given out to the homeless who come to Trinity Center in Walnut Creek for help. Trinity Center gives out 300 Breakfast Bags each week.We are asking for your help. We need to buy…
Ash Wednesday Worship
2-17-2021 Virtual worship recording for the Ash Wednesday worship service, worship bulletin and summary.
Ash Wednesday Service Feb 17
Lent is just around the corner!! A special online Ash Wednesday worship service will post at 8:00 a.m. and Zoom gatherings for Holy Communion will take place at Noon and 7:00p.m.
Anti-Racism Series: ICCCC Implicit Bias Training
This Sunday, January 31st from 2:30 to 5:00 pm ICCCC’s Elected Council invites others to join in an online extended ImplicitBias Training with Fresh “Lev” White. Registration in advance for this ZOOM meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUkdu6ppj8rHdEZEFozhMyk4oMv4vUwSjfm After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Interfaith-Council-Anti_Racism_-UCCC-Implicit-Bias-Training_2021_Jan_31Download
Pre-Post Racial America: Spiritual Stories from the Front Lines
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Pre-Post Racial America
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Message from Rev. Fred
Senior Minister
Stones in the Temple of God
As I write, MLK Day has just passed and it is the afternoon of Inauguration Day. Many things are in my heart and mind. I want to share one image, or set of images, having to do with building.
Just a little over 1,900 centuries before Martin Luther King, Jr., a preacher named Ignatius wrote a letter from jail. He was the bishop of Syria within the still-new Christian church and had been imprisoned by the empire for his faith. In his letter, Ignatius pictured the people of God as ones defined and “kindled” by “love.” And he continues, “You are as stones of the temple of [God].” What’s more, “You are then all fellow travelers, and carry with you God, and the temple.”
Along with the love that is so core to our Christian faith and that Ignatius knew so well, the imagery of building and buildings was clearly important and dear to him. He had been arrested, taken away from his people and ministry, and carted off to the imperial city for trial. He was concerned for the future of his church and for all churches. And yet he knew and felt and prayed that the love and caring to which he had been called would not stop. And not only that it would not stop, but that it would continue to build. And it would…through people. People are the stones that build God’s temple, house God’s presence, and share God’s love in the world!
Just about 160 years ago, Abraham Lincoln stood in front of the not-yet-completed capitol dome in our nation’s capitol building and used similar language to that of Ignatius. The building must continue and it must ever go on. When we stop building with and for love and peace, then who and what are we?
Sisters and brothers of Hillcrest—here’s to the Spirit of love alive among us and alive among anyone and everyone of any faith and no faith. Let us at Hillcrest ever be about leading the way in showing people what love alive in the world looks like. Like Ignatius says, we are living stones in the temple of God.
Let it be so, O God, let it be so.
Blessings,
Rev. Fred