New Sanctuary Mosaic Art:  From Baptism to Holy Communion
Created by Our Youth at Church Summer Camp
Under the Direction of Charles Wei - 
Photo by Ethan Russell
Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church Newsletter
Weekly Happenings at SHPC    
July 21, 2016
Our Summer Storytelling Series Continues with...
Portrait of God from the Hebrew Scriptures
Wrathful?  Just?  Tender? 


     Whatever our experience with the Bible, the old, old stories of the Hebrew Testament play a significant role in shaping our ideas about God. Is the God of the Old Testament as wrathful as His reputation?  How does this match up with the God of Love revealed by Jesus, and the God of Grace described by the Apostle Paul?  This Sunday, July 24, 2016, at 9:30 a.m., we'll explore the portraits of God which emerge from funny and fascinating conversations between God and Abraham, Noah, and Moses.   


     Sunday is Bike to Church Day!
In This Issue
Quick Links
Bev piano
A Note From 
Pastor Bev 


The Holy Spirit moves in mysterious and wondrous ways!  Last Saturday, I got an email from Cynthia Scharf at the United Nations.  She's a Presbyterian from Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., and was in town visiting her sister. Imagine her surprise to discover a west coast Sleepy Hollow, with a Presbyterian church! She is also the Senior Officer on Climate Change to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the top leader of the United Nations! We talked, and Cynthia joined us last Sunday to speak about the United Nations' work to address disruptive climate change on a global level. Climate change is a problem which hurts the world's poor first and worst.  It is the moral issue of our time.  


Cynthia was so energized by our congregation, justice garden, and environmental leadership (see photos below), that she wants to return in the fall, to work with us to bring her message to a wider audience. She has suggested an interfaith audience, and also bringing together young people, who are deeply spiritually impacted by this crisis.  Last night our Session enthusiastically agreed to work on this with Cynthia.  Let me know how you'd like to help.  
 
In the Spirit,
Bev



 




SAVE THE DATE


Corrected Dates for Zephyr Experience 2017:


June 25-30, 2017



July/August Calendar
Friday, July 22

Noon




Bible Study with Pastor Bev
Sunday, July 24

9:30 a.m.



10:45 a.m.


BIKE TO CHURCH DAY!!

Summer Storytelling Continues - 
Portraits of God - Wrathful? Just? Tender?
Coffee & Fellowship - All are Welcome!
Wednesday, July 27

6:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m.




Hand Chimes
SHPC Choir - New Singers Welcome!

Friday, July 29

Noon




Bible Study with Pastor Bev
Sunday, July 31

9:30 a.m.
10:45 a.m.




Summer Storytelling Continues

Coffee & Fellowship - All are Welcome!
Wednesday, August 3

6:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m.




Hand Chimes
SHPC Choir - New Singers Welcome!


Friday, August 5

Noon






Bible Study with Pastor Bev

Sunday, August 7

9:30 a.m.
10:45 a.m.






Summer Storytelling Continues

Coffee & Fellowship - All are Welcome!

Wednesday, August 10

6:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m.




Hand Chimes
SHPC Choir - New Singers Welcome!


Friday, August 12

Noon




Bible Study with Pastor Bev

Sunday, August 14

9:30 a.m.
10:45 a.m.




Summer Storytelling Continues

Coffee & Fellowship - All are Welcome!

Wednesday, August 10

6:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m.




Hand Chimes
SHPC Choir - New Singers Welcome!




Thursday, August 18

5:30 p.m.






COMMUNITY MIXER -- SEE INFORMATION DIRECTLY BELOW


Bible Study - July 22nd w/ Pastor Bev - NOON
Genesis 8:20-21, Genesis 18, Exodus 3, Exodus 32 




 

Summer Camp Was Terrific! 


     What a joy to welcome back our former Youth Director, Charles Wei, who is an imaginative game designer, mosaic artist, UCC minister candidate, and mentor to kids.
     We harvested pizza toppings from the Justice Garden and made mosaics on our pizzas-- and learned about sustainable gardening and eating! 
     Then we designed and created paper mosaics.  Finally we went into the sanctuary and designed and created the REAL thing:  From Baptism to Holy Communion.  It's beautiful.  
     Game night was fun too!


 
  


Charles, Andrew, Aiden, Van Ike, Cadence, Laura
Charles, VanIke, Lucas O'C and friend, Lucas R
























VanIke, Charles, Kelsey, Aiden
VanIke & Andrew
Aiden & Kelsey
Close up of Baptism
Charles, Aiden, Milo, Andrew, VanIke
  SHPC Graced by Cynthia Scharf of the United Nations







On Sunday, July 17, Cynthia Scharf visited our church. Cynthia Scharf has served since 2009 as the senior officer and speechwriter to the United Nations Secretary-General on climate change and sustainable energy, supporting the UN's top leader in framing the discourse on these critical global challenges. Ms. Scharf leads strategic communications, partnerships with civil society and the global scientific communities, and is responsible for writing the Secretary-General's speeches, media remarks, op-eds and thought leadership material on all aspects of climate change. 
From 2011-2013, Ms. Scharf served as the head of communications for the Secretary General's Sustainable Energy for All initiative, a global public-private partnership seeking to expand energy access, efficiency and renewable energy in more than 80 countries. Ms. Scharf has some twenty years of strategic communications experience honed at the highest levels of the public, non-profit and private sectors. She began her career in Moscow covering the collapse of the communist system in the former USSR and Eastern Europe.


Call to Work with Interfaith Group, Youth, and Youth Leaders to Address Climate Change Realities, Spiritual Impact, and Solutions


We are seeking to partner with local congregations, community leaders, schools, non-profits, youth activists, and counselors to host one or more events with Cynthia Scharf in the early fall.  Let Bev know if you can help. 




Please Remember in Your Prayers


The world's poor, and all who suffer from disruptive climate change;
The PC(USA), as it discerns and follows God's call to be a Matthew 25 church, and its new Co-Moderators, Revs. Denise Anderson and Jan Edmiston, and Stated Clerk, Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson;
Joan Marks, dear friend of the Argillas, for healing and full recovery;
Michael McCarty, our music minister, for full recovery;
Ryan Burks, son of Warren and Jackie Burks, for healing, and for strength and hope for his family;
Joan Shannon, mother of Nancy Derr, for God's comfort, companionship, strength, and healing;
Praying Hands
Carolyn O'Hara, mother of Laurie, for God's comfort, companionship, and strength, and healing;

Kelsey Lopin, for healing and full recovery from complications of Lyme disease;
Andrea Proster, sister of Nancy Elberg, for complete healing, and for Nancy for continued strength in companioning her;
Betty and Wil Swalberg, for God's presence and community support and for health and vitality for Wil;
Paul Lambert's Mom, blessed assurance of God's constant presence; 
Dr. Doug Tilton, our PC(USA) mission co-worker in Southern Africa;

Rev. Kate Taber, our PC(USA) mission co-worker in East Jerusalem;
Our church community, keep us faithful to the love and justice of Jesus, strong in our commitment to the church, and make us hope-bringers to the world.


Please take time this week to pray for those on our list.
   
PC(USA) 222nd General Assembly Highlights


pcusa
     One of the most important takeaways from this year's GA is our national church's commitment to be a Matthew 25 church.  That means to "locate ourselves with the poor, to advocate with all of our voice for the poor, and to seek opportunities to take risks for and with the poor...among the immigrants, with those working to end mass incarceration, and with those who seek to protect all of us, especially the poorest of the poor around the world, from the vagaries of climate change."  Look for a series of Let's Talks this fall to interpret this charge!




They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. "Peace, peace," they say, when there is no peace.
Jeremiah 8:11 (NIV)

By Calista Malone
Summer Fellow
Presbyterian (U.S.A.) Office of Public Witness 


We are hurting as a nation. It is impossible to read or watch the news without seeing the overwhelming amount of pain our country is experiencing because of the ever-increasing violence in our streets.  This month, police killed two African American men by the names of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling. In Dallas, five police officers were killed and seven others wounded when a sniper open-fired during a peaceful protest against police violence. And in Baton Rouge there was a brutal ambush of police officers leaving three dead.  We are surrounded by the reality of racism and violence in our country. It is high time we, as a church, address the issues and take action. 
 
In a recent statement, the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Rev. Dr. J Herbert Nelson, lifted up General Assembly actions on racism and gun violence and called on the church to act.  "These assembly actions have no meaning unless we as people of faith act to eradicate racism in our nation. Our efforts must begin in our own communities and require courage. Racism is a cancer that has historically pervaded our society. It blatantly disrupts the flow of building Jesus' call for the Beloved Community."  
 
We must follow God into the public square by acknowledging the problem, writing to government officials, advocating for change, signing petitions for change, and calling on others to do the same. 
 
We are called to practice advocacy as Jesus did. Walter Wink, author of 
Jesus and Nonviolence: A Third Way, says "Jesus abhors both passivity and violence as responses to evil." We must remain strong in our faith and act with Jesus guiding our actions. In order for us to be effective, we must move past only lamenting.  We must grow stronger and braver in our actions. 
 
With two more African Americans dead and the highest number of police killed since 9/11, the time is now to take action. We must educate ourselves on the issues, call on Congress to take action, mobilize our communities, and, above all, we must love and support each other because we are all God's children.
 
Here are a few ways to get involved: 
Click HERE for an tool kit on advocating against gun violence. 


Click HERE for a letter to Congress from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and their ecumenical partners to stop gun violence. 


Click HERE for a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) study guide on anti-racism. 


Click HERE for a tool kit on promoting justice in policing.  


 
Friday Afternoon Yoga This Week


July 22
August 19


Join us for summer-time YOGA IN THE HOLLOW we will practice from 5:30-6:30pm at Sleepy Hollow presbyterian Church.
                                         
 Summer heat is wonderful, it opens our bodies and muscles is a seasons for moving and getting outdoors. 
Yoga is the perfect union of movement and energy and the cooling and centering we need at the end of a hot day.
 
Join us for a flowing, centering and heart opening flow.
 
The main class will get going at 5:30pm, but I will be available from 5:15pm if you are new to yoga or would like to arrive early to discuss poses or adaptations.
 
We are a community class for all levels and all ages.
 
Class is donation based, $5-$10 suggested, anything welcome. 


Karen
 
 

Patty Sanders will Visit this Sunday to Speak all about Pedal For Protein


Pedal for Protein is coming up in September, beginning the 18th and continuing until the 22nd. 


You can register for the 5 day tour, 48-37 mile ride, 20-10 mile ride, and two day rider slots. 


Regular Registration dates are 6/1/2016-8/31/2016 and Late Registration is between 9/1/2016-9/20/2016


Patty will be present this July 24th to answer any questions you may have. 






Cook's Cozy Corner - Tomatillos


This year our garden is growing a new veggie that some of you might not be familiar with.  Tomatillos are not like small tomatoes; in fact they're more closely related to cape gooseberries than to tomatoes, and they have tropical flavors like pineapple and guava that you don't find in tomatoes.  But like tomatoes, you don't have to cook them to enjoy them-they're great just sliced and tossed into a salad.  You can also turn them into an easy salsa: just take off the husks, boil them for 5 minutes, and chop them up along with onion, garlic, peppers and cilantro.  There's no one way of making tomatillo salsa, and you can make it with cooked or fresh tomatillos.  Here's my most recent version:
1 lb husked tomatillos
1/2 red onion
2 garlic cloves
1 or 2 poblano chiles
Put all these in a large skillet (cast iron is good) without oil and let them blacken and melt slightly.  
Place in a food processor along with:
3/4 cup cilantro
1/2 t. salt
Puree it all to the degree of smoothness you want.
Then adjust the heat to your taste with hot sauce and adjust the salt.
This will make about a pint.


--Michael Durphy
Note from Bev:  this is absolutely delicious!!
The SHPC Green and Garden Teams 
would love your support - 
With your donations of dollars (any amount) 
and your precious time,
we are building up the world.
Share these opportunities with friends!
 
Donate now: www.generosity.com - Search for "Small Steps"

or write a check to "Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church" and note "Solar Project"
Log into Volunteer Spotall you need to input is your email, and sign up for the various activities occurring this summer/harvest season. The following sign-up includes opportunities to help grow food, sell food, deliver food and teach younger people about great food! Please contact [email protected] with any questions.



Sign Up Here: http://vols.pt/umt5dT
Become part of the Volunteer Team at Short Elementary, one of the most under-served schools in Marin 


SHPC's own Merle Ongaro teaching at the Short School


We are joining our mission partner, First Presbyterian Church of San Rafael (FPC/SR), in inviting you to participate in an after-school enrichment program with art, science, cooking, and computer technology classes at Short School Elementary in downtown San Rafael. Working with small student groups in grades K-4, volunteers assist the program teachers with creative instruction and help each child succeed in school.


Short School is a kindergarten through fourth grade school with one of the most under-served student populations in Marin County. 97% are Hispanic children from the San Rafael Canal neighborhood.


We are seeking volunteers to assist the program teachers by accompanying and helping the children as they do their projects. We are hoping volunteers may be able to assist Wednesday afternoons from 2:00-4:30 once a week or 1-2 times per month for a semester, September - December 2016.



Youth on the Move After-School Program


Contact FPC/SR to become a volunteer or

find out more about the program.



Ann Pope | 
[email protected]
www.fpcsr.org | 415-456-6760 xt.15



Cooking & Nutrition

Wednesday from 2:00 - 4:15 pm

Two 40 minute class sessions



Students learn about nutrition and prepare simple,

delicious food to eat each week. Volunteers support the

cooking teacher by helping to set up and clean the kitchen

and demonstrate safe food practices. Chef Hollie Green

from JoyFoodly provides weekly menus for class lessons,

visit www.joyfoodly.com to see what we're cooking!



Gardening

Tuesday from 2:00 - 4:15 pm

Two 40 minute class sessions



Students learn how to care for a community garden by

preparing soil, learning about seeds, tending to the planting

and watering, and the harvesting of herbs, fruits and

vegetables. Our volunteers support the gardening class

by participating in group discussions, interacting with student

and demonstrating organic gardening practices.



Art & Science

Wednesday from 2:00 - 4:15 pm

Two 40 minute class sessions



Students learn the basic elements of art and science with

hands-on activities. Volunteers support the teachers by

helping prepare class lessons, demonstrate concepts and

encouraging students to explore new materials. Our aim

is to create rich learning opportunities that foster growth,

learning and fun!



We're changing things up a bit!
You are encouraged to ask Wil over to your home for dinner!  Any night by pre-arrangement.


Pictured at right, Wil and Nance sharing a birthday cake at our TLC Fiesta!


Wil is spending most afternoons with Betty at Harmony House, so please call him in the morning or evening at 415-454-8303.  And bless you!

WE ALL LOVE FELLOWSHIP -
PLEASE SIGN UP TO HELP OUT
Fellowship time is organized by your Deacons. We need everyone to sign-up about 3-4 times a year. 
Click below to sign up: 



Sign up now and keep the hospitality going!
Don't be shy, Greeting is a Treat!


We are in need of greeters to sign up through the signup genius website. 


Help with our ministry of hospitality by signing up to be a greeter! All you have to do is get to church by 9:15, light the candles, and hand out bulletins with a smile. Thank you to all who have signed up so far!




Thank you all for your continued support,


Jody Brockett, 
Worship Elder
"Do Everything You Can ... Then Let Go"


Despite everything the world dishes out, we all have to discover how to interact with disruptive unpleasantries. No one escapes them. 
 
You'd think powerful and popular people might, but they face conflicts, unexpected disruptions and disappointments just like we do. 
 
So what do we do? 
 
The answer is ... do everything you can ... "then let go" ...  and, as best you can, don't be attached to the outcome. 
 
There are things we have to accept and certain things we can't change. When you've done as much as you can, realize that's as far as you can go. God sees everything and knows exactly what's happening and why.
 
Sometimes we need to give up trying to know "why" things happen. We'll never know in many cases, and there are times when constant wondering leads to constant suffering. So, I encourage you to join with me in learning when to let go and move on. 
 
God is unfolding things in our lives. Sometimes this unfolding starts with an unexpected disruption. Brene Brown teaches that "vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation and change, and that darkness does not destroy light; it defines it."
 
I believe we each have access to the quiet and distinct voice of God. Make time to be alone with God when dealing with unpleasantries. And be really honest ... "God I don't have the answer to this situation. It's now bigger than me. I'm turning it over to you. I'm letting go."
 
This is when God often chooses to provide instruction and guidance. Carolyn Myss has said "Sometimes when we follow our pain, it's as if it were a candle in the night, that leads us to a place of decision". You can live your life angry, bitter or mad or you can take a deep breath, let go of the source of it. Nothing in the universe can stop you from letting go.
 
Here's to letting go of things that are holding you back, the things that truly need God's involvement and strength to resolve.
 
In New York, your friend .. Paul


*********************************************************

Paul Lambert is a member of SHPC who travels extensively for his career as a producer of Broadway-bound musicals.  He is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute who studies the Bible daily and attends our Bible Study whenever he's in town. He posts this blog each week no matter where he is, to the delight and comfort of many.  SHPC thanks you, Paul.
Donate Furniture to SFTS Students!


Donations will be accepted: Sunday, August 21, 1:00-4:00 pm Monday, August 22, 2:00-6:00 pm.
Drop off at Lower Alexander Hall, 40 Kensington Rd, San Anselmo, CA 94960 


Items especially needed: tables, chairs, sofas, love seats, desks, bookcases, linens, kitchen & laundry items, and kids' gear. Please no tube TVs, fold-out sofa beds, or oversize furniture. 
For more information, contact: Nancy Gutgsell, 415.451.2816, [email protected] 
You are so appreciated!



Our mailing address is:

San Francisco Theological Seminary
105 Seminary Road
San AnselmoCA 94960

HORIZONS BIBLE STUDY DAY



Saturday, September 10, 2016 | 10:00am - 3:30pm | $40 in advance | $50 at the door

Spend the day learning and preparing to lead this magnificent study which invites you to join  "a journey to expand our understanding of who Jesus was and is-a journey of our hearts and our minds, a journey that we will take together." Rev. Dr. Judy Yates Siker, author of the 2016 Horizons Bible Study, invites you to be good conversation partners along the way, sharing with one another how you see and experience the various lenses and how these different perspectives impact your understanding of who Jesus is. READ MORE



Foster Parent Outreach






Become a Resource Family

1. Attend Orientation

Learn about the process of becoming a resource parent at one of our monthly

orientations with a social worker and an experienced resource parent.



Orientation Calendar 2016

July 26 | August 31 | September 22 | October 18



7-8:30pm at 3240 Kerner Blvd, Room 110, San Rafael

November 17 | December 8

7-8:30pm at 3250 Kerner Blvd, Room 107, San Rafael





2. Apply

Complete an application and background check.



3. Complete Training

Complete a training course and become CPR/First Aid certified.



4. Get Approved

Work closely with a social worker during a 60-90 day approval process. There will be interviews with family members and a home safety inspection. The interviews help make matches between a family's strengths and children's needs. Become a Resource Family




Resource Family Orientation

Learn about fostering opportunities!



July 26 | August 31



7-8:30 pm

3240 Kerner Blvd. Rm 110

San Rafael 94901
FosterOurFutureMarin.org
Questions? (415) 473-2200


 Directed by our own Jen Boyton, with an OUTSTANDING CAST!  Jen is featured July 22nd and 24th! 



YES THEATER
Summer Playwriting Workshop 2016
with Andrea Hart 
AUGUST 15th-19th


TIMES:M-F, 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. 


PLACE:White Hill Middle School RM 601


COST: $150 Full Week    
$ 35 Daily drop in


You do not have to sign up for the entire time!
Different options Available


All current Middle School students are eligible to participate! Bring a friend!
Students will use a variety of writing, devising and improvisational exercises to create a play. Participants will discuss topics and themes, use a variety of exercises to explore those themes, devise short scenes around those themes and create a larger work incorporating the ideas of the entire group. Methods used might include physical improvisation, found and source material writing, Silent Sustained Writing, site-specific writing and other methods of devised theater.
 
Participants will learn about character development and arc, plot, universal themes, dramatic writing, employing stage directions, and using design elements to create a story.
 
Come for both weeks, one week or one day
REGISTER HERE
 
or contact Yes Theater Managing Director 
China Tamblyn at [email protected]


Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church
100 Tarry Road
San Anselmo, CA  94960
Sophia De Quattro, Editor
E-mail us at [email protected] or call us at 415-453-8221


Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church | 100 Tarry Road | San Anselmo | CA | 94960