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Baptism of Christ by Guido Reni, 1622
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Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church Newsletter
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| Weekly Happenings at SHPC | January 9, 2013 |
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The Meaning of Baptism
Have you been baptized? Do you remember it? In the Presbyterian church we celebrate only two sacraments, Holy Communion and baptism. We invite people of all ages, including infants and small children, to be baptized, so many of us don't remember our baptism. This Sunday, January 12, 2014, we'll time- travel back to the 1st century to experience the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptizer. Whether or not we remember our baptisms, the sacrament will become more meaningful through our exploration! Our texts are Psalm 29 and Matthew 3:13-17.
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Everybody loves a fresh start! Baptism provides a fresh start for the newly baptized and for all of us who witness the sacrament and pledge our support and encouragement. I don't remember my own baptism at Munro Presbyterian back in Virginia, but I do remember fondly the baptisms of my children, Liz and Andy, who were ages 4 and 1 at the time. We were at First Presbyterian in San Rafael, with my minister and mentor, Dr. Norm Pott. In keeping with that church's tradition, after the sacrament the children were walked around the sanctuary by Norm and the associate pastor, to introduce them to the congregation, and as a reminder that the congregation had just undertaken a pledge to support and encourage the children in their spiritual growth. The associate took Liz's hand to walk her around, but Norm picked up Andy so he could be seen better. He made a joke about how big Andy was, which was funny because Norm was 6' 8". Little did any of us know that Andy would be 6' 5"!
If any of you would like to explore baptism, for yourselves or for your children, please let me know. I would love to talk to you about it!
With Joy,
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January Calendar
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Thursday, January 9th
7:30 p.m. Choir practice at the church - new singers welcome
Friday, January 10th
12:00 p.m. Bible Study with Pastor Bev
9:30 a.m. The Meaning of Baptism, with Pastor Bev
10:30 a.m. Coffee & Refreshments - All Welcome!
Thursday, January 16th
7:30 p.m. Choir practice at the church -new singers welcome
Friday, January 17th
12:00 p.m. Bible Study with Pastor Bev
Sunday, January 19th
9:30 a.m. Inspired by Dr. King, with Pastor Bev and the SHPC Singers
10:30 a.m. Coffee and Refreshments - All Welcome!
Thursday, January 23rd 7:30 p.m. Choir practice at the church - new singers welcome Friday, January 24th 12:00 p.m. Bible Study with Pastor Bev
Sunday, January 26th
9:30 a.m. Feeling Connected? with Pastor Bev
10:30 a.m. Coffee and Refreshments - All Welcome!
10:45 a.m. Social Media Conversation with Janel Stewart
SAVE THE DATE: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9 -- ANNUAL MEETING OF THE CONGREGATION AND ELECTION OF NEW OFFICERS
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Bible Study
Bible Study meets every Friday in January at noon in Pastor Bev's office. All are welcome, and you are invited to bring your lunch. If you are new to studying the Bible, join us! This week we explore the meaning of Baptism. Our Bible passages are Psalm 29 and Matthew 3:13-17.
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A Social Media Conversation with Janel Stewart
All Ages and Devices are Welcome!
January 26th, 10:45 a.m.
Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Facetime, Google+...
In this age of social media, where do I jump in or jump out? On Sunday January 26th, Janel Stewart will lead a discussion on the topic of social media and community. If you are an active user, a casual browser, or if you have never even heard of a "Tweet", unless it came from a songbird, this conversation is for you. All ages, stages and levels of interest and engagement are welcome and will be encouraged to share thoughts and ask questions. This is real time face time! You may bring your smartphone or tablet, so we can refer to them during the discussion.
The topic of Social Media is pretty broad. In an effort to shape our discussion time to best meet our group's interest, Janel will be collecting questions on social media leading up this discussion. If you have a question or interest point on social media please email janelstewart@gmail.com.
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"God doesn't look at how much we do, but with how much love we do it." Mother Theresa's words really apply to our work with the REST program. On Monday night we had our second monthly opportunity to serve the homeless men at St. Rita's. We served 17 homeless men and truly loved doing so. It was cold, and they came in hungry and thankful for the warm greetings and nutritious food which awaited. Some of them were injured, some not feeling well, and some were brand new to the system. Others were used to coming into the shelter and so appreciative that they had a place to go. Rave reviews were given to the high schoolers' fabulous beef chili last. Thank you to everyone who prepared food or participated Monday night, including Patti and Andy, Scott, Tom, Fred, Ahmed, Crissy, Wil and Betty, Bentley and Janel, and Carter, Owen, Katie, Carly and Sasha. For us, it's a heartwarming experience to see 10-12 volunteers come together to make such a successful evening. A first time volunteer stated that this evening was perhaps the most rewarding thing that he had done in months...or maybe years. We do love this work and are grateful we have the opportunity to do it.
Kit Argilla
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Stone Foxes Combat Homelessness with Goodnight Moon Project
Sleepy Hollow has a bevy of super-cool kids who have become super-Stone Foxcool adults. To give you an idea of what one of them is doing, check out the article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal a couple of weeks ago. Elliot Peltzman's band, the Stone Foxes, has been raising hunger awareness and collecting food during tours around the country. Now they've made a video that is worth checking out. So click here to read the article and watch the video!
By the way, The Stone Foxes are a rockin' live band. I can attest: I caught them at their sold-out show at the Fillmore a few months ago.
Cheers,
Matt Ehlen
Mission Elder
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Please Remember In Your Prayers
Patty Sanders, for an enriching and safe journey to Nicaragua;
Kate Pace, cousin of Stephanie and Julia McNamara, for healing;
Andrea Proster, sister of Nancy Elberg, for healing, and Nancy, for strength in companioning her;
Jeri Rayford's sister-in-law Lee Livingston, recovering from stroke, and for her loved ones;
Jerry Lambert, mother of Paul, for healing;
Linda Peltzman, for healing from surgery;
Beth Gilmartin and her family, for comfort on the loss of beloved father and grandfather, Chuck Hughes;
Patty Kuehn and her family, for comfort on the loss of beloved father and grandfather, Dick Conner;
Gregg Elberg, recovering from surgery;
Clyde Ongaro, recovering from surgery;
All those who are struggling to find direction at the beginning of this new year.
Please take time this week to pray for those on our list.
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Work Trip to Haiti with Presbyterian Church of the Roses
Orientation: January 19th & 24th
Trip: March 7th to 14th
Reverend Dr. Cindy Alloway, Pastor of the Presbyterian Church of the Roses in Santa Roses invites those interested to join a work trip to Haiti from March 7 - 14. The team will work with two children's homes in Haiti. At one home, they will work alongside the staff to build an aquaponic garden system. At the second home, they will help plant Moringa trees. Cost is $1,090 plus airfare. The first orientation meeting is on Sunday January 19th at 11 a.m.; the second one is on Friday January 24th at 5 p.m.. Both meetings are required and take place in the Rose room at 2500 Patio Court, Santa Rosa. For more information, contact Pastor Cindy at 707-542-4272 or caollowaypastorrn@gmail.com.
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Companions on the Inner Way Retreat
March 9th to 14th
Serra Retreat Center, Malibu, CA
Meditating on the Miracles is the theme of the next retreat by Companions on the Inner Way. If the miracle stories in the Gospels were few in number and limited in spectrum, they could be dismissed as pre-rational accounts of explicable phenomena. But there are 32 of them, and some take up whole chapters. What if their purpose were to offer profound insights into the nature of God and humanity? What if they provided a mirror for the soul? What if we moved from marveling at to engaging with? Consider joining this event, which will be led by John Bell, an ordained minister of the Church of Scotland and a member of the Iona Community in Scotland. For more information and to register click here, call 510.484.3078 or email companions@seventhavenuechurch.org. Hope to see you there!
Ann Pope
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Send us an e-mail or call us at
415-453-8221 |
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