Mexico Mission Homebuilding June 2013
Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church Newsletter
Weekly Happenings at SHPCJanuary 30, 2013

  

Worldwide Justice Sunday

           

     We are called to do justice each day of our lives, and to practice justice in a way that reaches the far corners of the world. This Sunday, February 2, 2014, we celebrate the ways our church comes together to support justice and to lift up the world's poor. Our guest speaker is our own Patty Sanders, Hunger Action Advocate for the Presbytery of the Redwoods, and she will take us along with her on a week long mission trip to Nicaragua with the Fair Trade Delegation of the PCUSA to support Equal Exchange coffee farmers. We'll also hear from our own Mexico Mission homebuilding team, as they preview this year's trip.  Come and learn more about what each one of us can do to support worldwide justice! Our scripture passage is Isaiah 58:1-14.

  

In This Issue
Bible Study
Faith and Courage
Children Sing on Sunday
Mexico Mission Calendar
Book Angels and Classroom Volunteers Needed
Presbyterian Action Alert
Prayers
Climate Change Speaker
Seminar on Green Investing
Rev. Carol Hovis Joins IJ Editorial Board
High School Student from China Seeks Housing
Quick Links

Bev piano
A Note From
Pastor Bev

      

     Have you ever been on a mission trip? Let me first explain that in the Presbyterian church, mission is about doing justice and promoting peace, not about gaining religious converts. This Sunday we are blessed to hear from hunger justice advocate Patty Sanders about her terrific educational mission trip to Nicaragua last month. 

 

     Back in 2008, I traveled with a group of Presbyterians to the Holy Land on a remarkable mission trip called Keep Hope Alive. We spent two weeks in the Occupied Territory planting olive trees each morning with Palestinian farmers, eating the mid-day meal with them and their families, and then meeting in the afternoon and evening with Palestinian and Israeli justice workers.  It was a life changing experience.

 

     Our church's Mexico Mission trip is just such a life changing experience. Come to church this Sunday to hear about it and to find out how you can support the trip. There is nothing like this lived experience, living in solidarity with the world's poor, and bringing dignity to our neighbors.

 

                       In peace,   

 

                                          - Bev

  

January - February Calendar

 

Thursday, January 30th 

   7:30  p.m.      Choir practice at the church - new singers welcome

Friday, January 31st
  12:00 p.m.      Bible Study with Pastor Bev

Friday, January 31st to February 2nd
                        Women's Retreat at Westminster Woods

Saturday, February 1st
   10:00 a.m.      Quarterly Meeting of the Presbytery of the
    - 3:00 p.m.    Redwoods at St. Luke's in San Rafael

Sunday, February 2nd
   9:30 a.m.       Worldwide Justice with Patty Sanders 
                        and the Mexico Mission Team
                        SHPC Children's Choir Sings at Worship
 10:30 a.m.       Coffee and Refreshments - All Welcome!

 

Thursday,  February 6th 
   7:30  p.m.      Choir practice at the church - new singers welcome

Friday, February 7th
  12:00 p.m.      No Bible Study 
                        Bev preaching at SFTS Montgomery Chapel 

Sunday, February 9th
   9:30 a.m.         Celebrating Community with Pastor Bev
 10:30 a.m.        Coffee and Refreshments - All Welcome!
 10:45 a.m.        Annual Meeting of the Congregation to Elect
                         Officers and Review the Pastor's Terms of Call 

Wednesday, February 12th
  6:30 p.m.        Session Meets with New Officers; Officer Training

Thursday, February 13th 

   7:30  p.m.      Choir practice at the church - new singers welcome

Friday, February 14th
  12:00 p.m.       Bible Study - Love in the Bible
                        
Sunday, February 16th
   9:30 a.m.        Called to Lead, with Pastor Bev
                         Ordination and Installation of New Officers  
 10:30 a.m.        Coffee and Refreshments - All Welcome!

Thursday, February 20th 

   7:30  p.m.      Choir practice at the church - new singers welcome

Friday, February 21st
  12:00 p.m.       Bible Study                 



 
Bible Study 

 

Bible Study is meeting this Friday January 31st and most Fridays in February.  The study takes place 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 read and discuss the call to social justice in the Hebrew scriptures. Our scripture passage this week is Isaiah 58:1-14. 

 

 

The Faith and Courage that Accompanies Hearing Mom Has Cancer

 

Mom has always been healthy, hard working, and energetic. A short while ago her doctor discovered a lump in her breast. After checking further, a group of specialists shared with her that she has cancer. It was not only in her breast, but also in her lymph glands in the arm pit area and has spread to her lungs.

 

One of Mom's favorite Biblical passages is Psalm 91. She choose it to be read at her wedding many years ago and she is claiming it again today.

 

The Psalmist writes ... "For He will rescue you from every trap and and protect you from deadly disease... do not dread the disease that stalks in the darkness nor disaster that strikes at midday ... for He will order His angels to protect you wherever you go ... The Lord says, I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust me. When they call on me I will answer. I will be with them in trouble. I will reward them with long life."


The Bible has been an amazing source of comfort for many years to the Lambert family  - one which is spread between California, Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas and Georgia. Mom will be 90 this March. She is our matriarch - and has outlived all the other relatives. Mom is courageous, and has an amazing confident faith in the Lord. She prays and reads the Bible every day.


If you have someone in your family who is suffering, or you yourself have received some abrupt unexpected news ... our Church family is there for you. Call Pastor Bev or speak to someone you would be comfortable talking with. Let us know what you are feeling.  We are a family and have all experienced tough times, received unexpected bad news, and have had to deal with life threatening illnesses.


Mom would want me to share one very important thing with you, and that is to turn to your Bible in tough times, and if at all possible join with Pastor Bev at noon on Fridays to connect with specific scriptures and fellow believers who will be with you and reassure you that God loves you and is fully aware of what you are going through. 

 

And now it is time for me to be encouraged and lifted up too. For Mom has always been that pillar of strength to me and a source of joy. Thank goodness at age 89 ... she still is.

 

Paul Lambert

 

 
Children Will Sing at Worship on Sunday February 2nd.  

 

This coming Sunday, February 2nd, the children will sing "Down in my Heart" during worship. Please come and hear them sing! 

 

Hallie Foster and Lora East

 

 
Mexico Mission Calendar 

  

Come to church this Sunday, February 2nd to hear about the upcoming Mexico Mission trip. This is a great service opportunity for high school and college students from our church and the wider community. The mission trip this year will take place from June 14 to June 21. Mark your calendar for Sunday March 9th, for the Kick-Off Barbecue at the church from 5-7 p.m. Application forms are due on March 16th. Mandatory meetings are held on March 30th (11:00-12:30 p.m.), April 12 (5:00-6:30 p.m.), April 27 (11:00-12:30 p.m.), May 18 (11:00-3:00 p.m.), June 8 (9:30-10:30), and June 22 (9:30 to 12:30 p.m.). If you know of students who may be interested, please pass this information on to them. Flyers with these dates are available at the church.  

 

Matt Ehlen

Elder for Mission and Social Justice 

 

 
Book Angels and Classroom Volunteers Needed for Underserved Children in San Rafael  
 

Recently, I started volunteering in the classroom at Short School in San Rafael. The school is located near Gerstle Park - near D Street on your way over Wolf Grade Road.

 

It's a kindergarten through 2nd grade school housing 160 children who aren't able to attend their neighborhood school, Bahia Vista in the Canal, due to overcrowding. Two thirds of the children at Short School are bused in daily. 88% are English learners while 93% qualify for the free lunch program and are from families below the poverty level.

 

Two things this school desperately needs:

1) Volunteers to help in the classroom; even an hour a week to help children learn their numbers and letters. Some classes have zero parent volunteers (most are working).

2) Books for children to take home to read. Eventually the school district will develop space for a library, but at the present time, there is only a book cart that all seven classes share, so there are no opportunities for children to take books home to read with their families. There's also the challenge of parents qualifying for a public library card which requires applicants to list their driver's license number, so depending on a parent's legal status, most children don't have access to a library.

 

We've started a drive to get used books donated to Short School. We also hope to raise funds to purchase new titles -  childhood favorites and classics that would not find their way into a donation box. If you would like to support either of these efforts - classroom volunteer or book angel, contact me at [email protected].  Books can also be placed in the donation box downstairs. The tax ID # for the school is 68-0194365 if you would like to make a monetary donation.  Checks can be made out to Short School - donation letter to follow.

 

Thanks for any and all assistance.  Feel free to pass the word to families, book clubs, student volunteers, companies and other organizations that might want to sponsor this project!

 

Warmly,

Patti Vance 

 

 
Presbyterian Action Alert: Urging "No" on Fast Track for TPP
 

The Presbyterian Church USA Office of the Public Witness seeks your help in supporting the interests of social justice. Please contact your Representative today and ask him or her to Vote 'No' to Stop Fast Track for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

 

Voting "No" on Fast Track will stop the TPP from offshoring more jobs, raising medicine prices, and allowing corporations to sue us in international tribunals for enforcing standards for wages, job safety, and protection of our land, water and air that we've fought for in America for a century. Congress must assert its constitutional authority over trade agreements to stop the TPP from becoming a reality.  

 

This issue is pressing because Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) just introduced legislation in the House to revive the Fast Track trade authority. If the Fast Track bill passes, the TPP could be signed before Congress votes. Then the agreement could be pushed through Congress with no amendments and limited debate.

 

The best hope is that trade functions as a means of grace to create dignified work that support people's lives, puts food on the table and undergirds the creation of a just society. The moral test is whether our increasingly globalizing economies support the human enterprise and the larger creation, according to the PCUSA Resolution on Just Globalization, released in 2006. If trade further impoverishes segments of the world's population, its purpose is distorted and such injustice calls for reshaping global structures that cause economic oppression and creates wealth for only a few at the expense of the many. Such a world is a parody of the biblical vision for just community.

 

For background information on the Trans-Pacific Partnership click here. For more information on Fast Track click hereTo send a vote "No" message, click here.

 

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Please Remember In Your Prayers
Praying Hands

Jake Greenberg, brother of Barbara Zilber, for healing;

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; 

The Paige Family, dear friends of Diane Latta, and for Diane, for comfort in mourning the loss of Aunt Glo and for comfort for Uncle Mo in his illness;

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 suffer from hunger, poverty or lack of opportunity. 

 

Please take time this week to pray for those on our list.

   

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Facing the Facts: Climate Change and the Actions that Matter 
January 31st, 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. 
 

First Presbyterian Church in San Anselmo is sponsoring a "Green Chautaqua" speaker series on climate change.  At the first event of the year, come hear Dr. Melanie Fitzpatrick speak about the latest research on climate change and what actions we can take now that will make the biggest difference. 

 

Dr. Fitzpatrick is a climate scientist with the Climate and Energy Change Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (U.C.S.). Her work encompasses basic climate research, the local and global consequences of climate change, and communicating scientific findings to policy makers, the media and citizens. Dr. Fitzpatrick has been cited by the New York Times, USA Today, the Associated Press, and Reuters. To learn more about the Union of Concerned Scientists, click here. To learn more about Dr. Fitzpatrick and follow her blog, click here. First Presbyterian Church of San Anselmo is located at 72 Kensington Road in San Anselmo. A suggested donation of $10 is payable at the door but all are welcome regardless of donation. 

 

 
Seminar on Green Investing 
February 1st, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.  
  
The science of Sustainable, Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) has been meticulously developed by professional investors since the early 70's. Several recent independent studies confirm that SRI funds are perfectly capable of competitive performance when measured against conventional strategies and industry standard benchmarks. After identifying strong investment opportunities, SRI fund managers evaluate companies based on "ESG" criteria: Environmental impacts, Social responsibility (employee culture), and corporate Governance best practices. 

To learn more about Green Investing, come hear Patrick Costello speak this coming Saturday morning, February 1st at the Embassy Suites in San Rafael. Patrick is the author of Green Investing: More Than Being Socially Responsible. At the seminar Patrick will explain how busy investors can implement a Socially Responsible and Sustainable Investment strategy while earning a competitive return on their investments. If you already have a financial planner, there is no need to change advisers. The goal of the seminar is to introduce people to the benefits of green investment. The seminar is free and copies of Green Investing are available at no charge for seminar participants. The Embassy Suites is located at 101 McInnis Parkway in San Rafael. 
 
Birgit de Frondeville
Green Education Team 

  

 
Rev. Carol Hovis Joins IJ Editorial Board
 

The Rev. Carol Hovis, executive director of Marin Interfaith Council, is the new public member of the Marin Independent Journal editorial board. In this role she will meet weekly with the editorial board to discuss issues raised in the IJ's news coverage and to shape opinions expressed in its editorials. Carol is an ordained Presbyterian minister and a longtime friend of Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church. Before joining the Marin Interfaith Council in 2004, Carol served for six years as the community advocate with the San Rafael Canal Ministry. 

 

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High School Student from China Seeks Housing in the Community Starting in February 
 
A 17 year old girl from China, who is currently a junior at San Domenico, is facing a predicament. She has been living with her mother, but unfortunately her mother has been unable to secure a reentry visa in the U.S. until January of 2015. The San Domenico School does not have dorm space for her. Brice Butler, the Pastor to Young Adults and Families at Tiburon Baptist Church where the family attends services, is seeking to help find housing for the student from February through early June and from late August through December of 2014, either for the entire time, or any part of it. Her family would be able to pay for rent and food and she has access to the San Domenico school bus for transportation. A room with a family anywhere in Marin would be welcome, but the closer to San Domenico, the better. She speaks excellent English and is both kind and polite. If you are able to help with housing or have ideas of how to help this family, please contact Pastor Butler at [email protected] or 235-1231. 
 
 
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 [email protected]. Hope to see you there! 

 

Ann Pope

 



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