May 2007
Congregational Community Church of Sunnyvale * 408-739-3285 * conglchurch@earthlink.net 1112 Bernardo Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94087 *

ABOUT LETTERS...
Now and then
and in this month of May

Last week I received a “MISUMAMI” card from my daughter Johanna when I came to pick up the girls at preschool. Apparently she hadn’t been feeling well during play ground time and had been wanting her mommy, so the teacher had suggested that she draw a picture for me. And the MISUMAMI card was what she came up with. (Well, just in case you are not so sure what MISUMAMI means - the more conventional spelling would be: “I miss you, Mommy!”) As you might imagine, I was quite moved - the first letter my daughter had written to me!

So I came to think about letters.

There is another very treasured letter that I have received quite some time ago. I had visited a close friend during a period when I was rather depressed. Apparently I had been overly critical of myself and demeaning myself during our conversation, without even realizing it myself.
A few days later, my friend sent me a letter. Her letter was about how she was holding me in high regard vicariously during this period when I wasn’t well able to do that myself. And also she advised me strongly to get the help I needed.
I have kept this letter in my personal calendar book for several years now - a welcome reminder, whenever I look at it, to take good care of myself. And it still makes me smile whenever I open my book, and it makes me think of my friend with great appreciation.

For millennia letters have been the only reliable means of communication between people in different places. This is true for ancient India and China, Egypt, Sumer, Greece and Rome. And of course for our Bible, too. A good number of books in the New Testament are letters, called epistles (the Latin word for letter), by Paul and others.
And we find letters in the Hebrew scriptures as well, for example the famous, hope-inspiring letter (‘edict’) by the Persian King Cyrus, allowing the people of Judah, who have returned from exile, to rebuild God’s temple in Jerusalem (compare Ezra 1).


Nowadays you can find whole books and workshops on how to write letters well:
how to start your letter,
how to express yourself with style,
how to say the right things,
how to sound polished and professional,
how to end your letter - and so on.

While it is true that with the invention of telegraph, telephone and e-mail traditional letters have lost importance over the course of the last century, they still play a significant role.
Just think of application letters, recommendation letters, reference letters, thank you letters, also direct marketing letters, and, of course, love letters...

The month of May, I’m told, is the month of love and family.
Maybe it could be a month for us to write a letter.
Maybe about love, maybe to family.
Or maybe about something else to someone else.

Why don’t you just try to write a letter to someone that you ordinarily wouldn’t write to. To someone not far, but close. Just to try out a different avenue, because a letter is different from verbal communication - you think about things more deeply, reflect more on your wording and say things differently than you would face to face. By writing a letter change the means and thus the way you communicate - and see what becomes of it...

What might your personal version of a MISUMAMI card be?

Blessings,
Pastor Ina

Vintage German letter balance
(Picture from Wikipedia)

Celebrating 30 years
in Santa Clara County
and around the world!

Last Sunday, April 29, 2007 several members of our congregation walked in the CROP WALK, raising a total of $1010!!
Out of this amount $150 was sponsored by our Women’s Fellowship!

THANK YOU
TO ALL THE WALKERS AND SPONSORS !!

The funds raised this year will help people served locally by the Second Harvest Food Bank, Sacred Heart Community Services, and globally by Church World Service and other agencies.

IMPRESSIONS FROM CELEBRATING
HOLY WEEK AND EASTER
AT OUR CHURCH...

MAUNDY THURSDAY:

SEDER DINNER

Ritual of Washing Hands

Buffet

Readings and Conversation

Searching for the Afikomen

Clean up Party in the Kitchen


AND

SERVICE OF TENEBRAE

EASTER SUNDAY



Baptism of Tyler James Carmo

The Children after their Easter Egg Hunt in the Sanctuary

PICTURES FROM OUR SPRING TEA PARTY
presented
by the Women’s Fellowship
on Sunday, April 15, 2007

FROM OUR ACTING TREASURER BONNIE:

In March 2007, donations for One Great Hour of Sharing totaled $365; this money has been forwarded to the UCC NCNC (United Church of Christ, Northern California / Nevada Conference). Income to the church budget is year-to-date ahead of expected due to growth in pledge income and in rental income.

We paid a lot for light in March. The Church Council tapped the Building Maintenance Reserve fund to make a partial payment of $6,194 for replacing light bulbs and ballasts in the sanctuary. Although this work was completed before Christmas Eve, there was a delay in paying the bill due to need to replace carpet damaged during the work. Having a Building Maintenance Reserve fund allowed us to do this work. From our general budget we paid $950 to wash the windows for Easter. From our general budget we also paid $1,610 for a Capital Improvement: the remodel and build of the Facilities Manager office. If you haven't seen this, do take a look; it's right off the meeting table room.

***
Come join
our little choir!
All abilities welcome - just drop in!
Choir practice is
every Thursday night at 7:45 p.m.
and on Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m. before Worship

***

RUMMAGE SALE
FUND RAISER
SATURDAY, JUNE 16, 2007

The Rummage Sale is coming June 16th. There are many more things to do now as activities are moving into higher gear! The very best news is that we have a place on Church property, starting May 6th, to store donated items: room 2. Thanks to Pastor Gen for the idea and Ann for doing all the foot work to make it happen. Outstanding!!! I will be working with the facilities and merchandise committees to plan how and when we will start accepting donations. The details will be communicated each week through the Church bulletin and in the next issue of the Communicator.
 
The next piece of good news is that Ted and Risa Feely have created a very nice draft of a donation flyer. The final version will be ready for distribution soon. The flyer will give all of us specific information about the types of things we will accept for donation and what we won’t accept as well as times, dates and location. With flyer in hand, we hope you will scour your homes for appropriate donations. We also hope you will hand out donation flyers to friends and neighbors, encouraging them to “recycle by donating” items in good condition and working order.
 
I encourage everyone who can to sign-up in Shephard Hall to help with the rummage sale. There are lots of things to do prior to the June 16th sale date as well as a full day of work on the day itself. Being the “chief leprechaun” of the rummage sale, I would like to see us earn the biggest “pot of gold” we can. While it is true that more hands make lighter work, it is also true that more hands will help us prepare more merchandise for sale and sell more items on June 16th. So please, please, and pretty please join our team of leprechauns by signing up to do your part to help our Church “go green”. A big reward of a rainbow of friends and friendship is waiting for you. Thank you so much.
 
Marilyn Martinyak
“Chief Leprechaun” of the Rummage Sale
mmartinyak@yahoo.com
408-996-3788

PRE-SCHOOL NEWS

HELLO FROM COMMUNITY PRE-SCHOOL!

Spring is in the air. It is great to have the warm weather around finally. The classrooms are filled with pictures of blossom trees and butterflies and ladybugs. Also there are drawing of Mothers, and the children have made special gifts to present to Mom on Mother’s Day.
Open enrollment started the beginning of March. We took in 65 new applications the first day. Many of our classes are already full. We are giving tours daily, and expect our classes to fill up rapidly. Our summer school classes are also filling up and we will be continuing with our tutoring program.
The school was closed March 9 for a school in-service–day. Many teachers attended the two-day CAEYC child development conference in San Jose. Staff went to various workshops concerning challenging behavior, appropriate practices and curriculum. I went to some workshops about mentoring staff, creating dynamic staff meetings and learning about the process of NAEYC Accreditation.
The Week of the Young Child was the second week in April. The teachers had various activities planned. We hosted a Sing-A-Long where the children were able to sing familiar songs with their friends and families. We were able to hold this event in the Church Sanctuary. The children’s voices were easily heard and some of them got to try the microphone too.
Throughout the year our school has had various fundraising events. Chuck E. Cheese Restaurant Night was March 28. That afternoon at 3:00 the character, Chuck E. Cheese came to entertain the children.
On May 5 the school will have its Annual Picnic and Silent Auction. We will be serving Pizza and there will be many activities for the children to enjoy, like face painting, cookie decorating and stringing necklaces. This is a way for staff to say Thank You for allowing Community Pre-School to be part of their children’s lives. This year the classes theme will be Children Around the World. Each classroom will pick a country to learn about and decorate the area outside their classroom. One of the classrooms is making Japanese lanterns and another one is painting a mural with the pyramids of Egypt in the background. I hope you can attend and take a Round The World Tour, or bid on one of our many auction items.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Barbara Steinmetz (Director)

And here is the latest news...!
(through e-mail on April 30, 2007)

Our Community Pre-School was awarded Best Child Care Center in Sunnyvale and Room 7 was awarded Best Teachers in Sunnyvale for the second year in a row! The award recipient is selected by the City of Sunnyvale Child Care Advisory Board based on parent nominations.
We are very proud of all our staff for being awarded this honor. The awards will be presented by the Mayor of Sunnyvale. The ceremony will be May 12th at the Columbia Neighborhood Center. Address and time to follow later.

Barbara Steinmetz

A letter from RUTH PETERSON,
sent recently to Pastor Gen

Hi Gen,

Seeing you at Ikea was quite a surprise! I'm so glad you came over to say hello.

I finally attended the Landmark Forum at Peri's request. It is about existentialism, so having been around when that whole 'awareness' came about; it was deja vu all over again. The long hours of sitting and forgetting to drink water just about did me in.

Aurora completed her rigorous program of rehab for the years of drug abuse, no school, etc. etc. etc. While she has had her slips, she maintained enough credibility to stay in the program and finished it. She took her GED exams at the end of March or beginning of April and passed all of them the first time around. She is now looking for a better job and chasing down information on applying to one of the junior colleges.

Life up here in Anacortes is really good and I'm glad that I made the move. The weather hasn't been too bad; we had three small storms this past winter with snow on the road for about three days. I like the change in seasons and we do get that.

I am a member at Pilgrim Congregational Church, UCC in town. It is a marvelous church with a lot of wonderful people who are involved in a wide variety of activities that could take hours to explain.
Currently, I think we have 40 - 45 members with about 25-30 people in attendance on most Sundays.

The Northwest is a great place to be (west of the Cascades). I visited the other side of the Cascades last Spring and I don't think I would have moved up here if that was the choice of a place to live.

I've been actively involved in getting some of the Beach Watcher programs out into the community and also spent a month getting over an infection I picked up somewhere along the line; not fun, but am doing fine now.

It was good to see you and thank you for your note! Please give everyone my regards. I do think of all of you frequently.

Love, Ruth

Looking Ahead
- Please mark your calendars!


***
ANNUAL MEETING
OF OUR CHURCH FAMILY

Sunday, June 3, 2007
following Worship Service.

Please, save the date!
And please prayerfully consider if you would like to serve on one of our boards.


***


Communicator Deadline

Deadline for the Summer (June & July & August) 2007 edition of our Communicator is May 24, 2007. We accept submissions of texts, photos & graphics at our office, 1112 S. Bernardo Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94087 or via e-mail (conglchurch@earthlink.net).
Office hours: Wednesdays 1:00 - 4:30 pm
Thursdays & Fridays 9:30 am - 2:30 pm

Gabriel’s Trumpet
10:30 a.m. for Sunday Worship Service and Sunday School
Children’s Sunday School begins after “Children’s Time” with the Pastor
11:30 a.m. – Fellowship (approximate time)
Chapel for Preschoolers Friday mornings 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Come join us!

Worship & Fellowship

Every Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
(nursery & childcare provided)

Bible Study, Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. - Choir Rehearsal, Thursdays at 7:45 p.m.