CELEBRATING
HOLY WEEK AND EASTER
AT OUR CHURCH
Please join us for our
SEDER DINNER ON MAUNDY THURSDAY
March 20, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. - followed by the
SERVICE OF TENEBRAE

Ever wondered what Jesus’ last supper may have been like? Please join us.

Curious to spend 2 hours embraced by Jewish traditions? Please join us.

Interested to learn a little bit about the events surrounding Jesus’ last few days? Please join us.

Looking to explore how ancient Jewish and Christian traditions can be relevant to you today? Please join us.

If you are looking for a meeting of bible thumping Christians, you’ll be disappointed. We’re not. We are an affirming congregation with a beautiful church.

You are invited to join us for a remarkable, memorable Seder Dinner!

Please call us at (408) 739-3285 or use the sign-up sheet in Shephard Hall so that we can plan accordingly.

EASTER NIGHT AT OUR CHURCH

We will mark the Easter Night (Saturday March 22 to Sunday March 23) this year again by having hourly vigils in the sanctuary from 6:00 p.m. to midnight.
We will meet for the first vigil at 6:00 p.m. and then have a potluck dinner between 6:15 and 7:00 p.m. For the rest of the night, between the vigils, we will decorate the sanctuary for Easter - letting our butterflies fly, setting up the Easter fountain and Easter cross. And we might do some Easter projects
- This is a very contemplative and meaningful way to make the transition from Lent to Easter. Everyone, including families with children, are invited to sleep over at the church! Bring your air mattress and bedding - it is lots of fun! In the morning then, there will be the Sunrise Service at 6:30 a.m. and a breakfast with Easter goodies.
Please feel free to come for any or all parts of our Easter Night!

WORSHIP SERVICES ON EASTER SUNDAY
Sunrise Service at 6:45 a.m.
followed by Easter Breakfast
Morning Worship at 10:30 a.m.
followed by Easter Egg Hunt
EASTER EGG HUNT

Worship and Community Board asks you to kindly bring in filled Easter eggs during the remaining weeks of Lent for the Children’s Easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday. Thank you!

Notes from our
Treasurer Mary Ruth Green:

Jan 2008 YTD
Total Revenue $13,780 $207,031
Total Expenses $17,606 $178,211
Net Income $3,826 $ 28,821

We are in good shape at this point of our fiscal year. January expenses were high because we paid property insurance and property tax as well as higher utilities because of heating for the rotating shelter.

In December the church made a donation to Habitat for Humanity of $508.46.  This money came from 1) Christmas eve collection $208.50, 2) Red Bow sales $160 and 3) the change bucket $139.96. In addition collection donations of $381 were sent to the Christmas Fund (formerly Veterans of the Cross).

A few years ago we set up a fund for our pastor, Gen, to use at her discretion. She uses this fund to assist people in making ends meet.  Recently she has helped someone with an auto repair, another with rent, and paid someone's prescription costs.  The fund received $208.50 from the Christmas eve collection and Women's Fellowship contributes to it. Occasionally donations from members are specifically designated for this fund.  I have watched Pastor Gen talk with someone asking for gas money. I admire her understanding and ability to listen even though the timing was inconvenient. Pastor Gen is dealing with individuals whereas I contribute to organizations.  You can designate a donation to the discretionary fund by using one of the envelopes in the pews.

KIVA.ORG:
LOANING MONEY
TO ENTREPRENEURS
IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

My wife and I recently made a few loans to folks in the developing world using a microfinance website called Kiva. Microfinance had received a boost in popularity when the 2006 Nobel prize for peace was awarded to microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank. Microfinance is all about making small loans to individuals or  teams that want to better their lives.
You can go to Kiva's website (www.kiva.org) and lend to someone in the developing world who needs a loan for their business - like raising goats, selling vegetables at the market or making bricks. Each loan has a picture of the entrepreneur, a description of their business and how they plan to use the loan so you know exactly how your money is being spent - and you get updates letting you know how the business is going. The best part is, when the entrepreneur pays back their loan you get your money back - and Kiva's loans are managed by microfinance institutions on the ground who have a lot of experience doing this, so you can trust that your money is being handled responsibly. Finca, an organization helping women entrepreneurs is one of them.
It's finally easy to actually do something about poverty - using Kiva I know exactly who my money is loaned to and what they're using it for. And most of all, I know that I'm helping them build a sustainable business that will provide income to feed, clothe, house and educate their family long after my loan is paid back.

Best regards,
Markus Berber

P.S. If anyone is interested to jointly fund some Kiva loans (e.g. $25, $50 or $100), please let me know. We could make a one time donation to a church pool and then decide who to loan the money to. When the loan is paid back (typically more than 90% of the time), we'll then decide who we will
loan the money to next.

WATERWISE:
submitted by Mary Ruth Green

Water is fast becoming an endangered resource. We each have it in our power to use water more economically.
 In the early 1900's the population of the United States of America was moving from farms to towns and cities.  In setting up the utilities for urban living, some of our forebearers thought not just of their needs but of the generations to come.  They set up a water system where we can turn on a tap and receive water that is clean & healthy. This system is still intact today nationwide.

In the 1970's bottled water became fashionable. The industry hired some great marketing people and many people began to think that it is better to drink bottled water.  In some places that may be true and some places it may be more convenient, but there is a cost. It takes 3 liters of water to make a one-liter water bottle.  Therefore, when you buy a liter of water you are paying for 4 liters of water but you only get one to drink.  This does not include the additional cost of transporting the water.

So it is healthy, economical, and ecological to drink the water from your tap.

By the way, it is recommended that we each set aside a gallon of water per person per day in our disaster preparedness kits in the event that our water supply should be interrupted.

LIVE GREEN:
INCREASE REUSABLES
TO REDUCE DISPOSABLES
From an e-mail, forwarded by Markus Berber

Reusing common household products reduces waste and helps conserve materials and resources. It’s a simple way to make a positive environmental impact. Here are some quick tips for limiting your use of disposable products at work and at home.
1. Jazz up your java. Make your daily cup of coffee more earth-friendly by using a reusable coffee mug and limiting your use of Styrofoam and disposable cups. Disposable cups fill up our landfills. Styrofoam is nonrecyclable and made from nonrenewable resources. (saves an average of 40 pounds (20 kg) of carbon dioxide (CO2)/year)
2. Break the bottled water habit. More than 80 percent of water bottles end up in landfills! You can do your part by drinking tap or filtered water from a reusable cup. This also reduces the environmental impact caused by manufacturing, shipping and recycling water bottles. (saves an average of 140 pounds (60 kg) of CO2/year)3. Put a (metal) fork in it. One minute of convenience can have an untold negative impact on our landfills when it comes to disposable plastic utensils and paper goods. Take the time to grab washable plates and utensils in the cafeteria or at home. Most disposable utensils and food containers are not recyclable and end up in landfills.
4. Recharge your batteries. Rechargeable lithium-ion and nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries can be charged hundreds of times before they need to be replaced. Although initially they may cost a little more than single-charge batteries, they’ll save you money over their longer lifetime. Always recycle used batteries. They are hazardous waste and should not go to landfill.
5. Clean with cloth. Use washable cloth towels to wipe up spills and messes at home instead of using disposable paper towels.
6. Bag it. Keep a reusable cloth bag in a convenient location for grocery trips. Each year, millions of plastic grocery bags are sent to landfills. (saves an average of 70 pounds (30 kg) of CO2/year)

COMMUNITY
PRE-SCHOOL NEWS

HELLO FROM
COMMUNITY PRE-SCHOOL!

The school is in the process of getting ready for Fall registration. We will have the new 2008 fall brochures ready by February 4th, and current families will be able to register for fall classes on February 11th. Open enrollment will begin on March 3rd. We have had many inquiries into when the registration will begin for fall. We have been busy giving prospective parents tours of our school. The parents are impressed with the big playgrounds and spacious classrooms. Many parents have come to see the school, because they have heard from friends that this is a great school to attend. This is the best kind of advertisement for the school.

Some of our teachers went to a Teacher Workshop about “Choices”, how parents can avoid the pitfalls of giving children too many choices. A parent book also was bought at the conference to help parents deal with some of these parenting issues. In February the teachers will have a workshop given by Bonnie Hasson, about how to extend stories with props, and other activities that the children can get involved in.

The children have been doing cold weather activities, learning about nocturnal animals and animals that live in cold climates. In one of the four year old classrooms, the teachers have transformed the classroom into a penguin paradise, with many stuffed animals for the children to play with and learn about. It is quite a sight to see! Another class is inviting children and their parents to a winter breakfast. Today a child brought into the office a container of snow she had saved from her weekend in Tahoe.

We have some fundraisers coming up in the following months. Monthly, we have a restaurant night, we went to Pizza Chicago in January and will go to Chuck E. Cheese in March. We are also going to offer a Spring Catalogue featuring bulbs that can be planted for spring. We are also participating in E-Script. There is more information on www.escript.com. Our school ID # is 013760566. Also we have the Current Fundraiser catalogue online. The catalogue features gift wrap, greeting cards, low cost magazine subscriptions and seasonal gifts. Just log onto www.currentfun.com. If you need more information, you can contact the school.

Happy Valentine’s Day,

Barbara Steinmetz
(Director)

---

 

BREAK THE SILENCE

As the election cycle ramps up with primaries, rhetoric, charges and counter-charges, voters are now saying their number one issue is the economy. Not the war in Iraq. Not global warming. The economy.

People are feeling stressed with post-Christmas credit card bills, ballooning mortgage rates and foreclosures, and elevated gasoline and energy costs. The “R” word is floating around more frequently from politicians and economic analysts – is recession on the way? The stock market doesn’t know what to do – down one day, up a little the next, down more again.

When it becomes more difficult to maintain financial stability, we know one thing for sure – women, especially poor women of all races – will be affected the hardest. Women who will be facing unintended pregnancies will be unable to access the full range of legal options available to them. It is time to break the silence about this situation.

January 22 marked the 35th anniversary year of the passage of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion in the United States. From 1973 until Congress passed the Hyde Amendment in 1976, poor women who decided not to carry an unintended pregnancy to term could expect Medicaid to cover the cost of an abortion. The Hyde Amendment cut off all public funds for abortion procedures. The National Network of Abortion Funds reports that “every year, tens of thousands of poor women and teens are forced to carry a pregnancy to term because they cannot afford to pay for an abortion.” 1

We know that almost half of the pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended. We know that poor women are five times as likely to have an unintended birth, three times as likely to have an abortion, and four times as likely to have an unintended pregnancy as women who live above the poverty level. Poor and low-income teenagers account for 83% of teenage women who have a baby and 85% of unwed teenage parents. 2

We know that three-fourths of the women who choose abortion say they cannot afford a child and that half say they do not want to be a single parent or are having a problem with a husband or partner. 3 We know that unintended pregnancies happen because of contraceptive failure, coerced sex, lack of accurate information, by mistake or the absence of good judgement, and for many other reasons. We know that it is the woman who must live directly with a pregnancy she was not alone in creating.

As the economy slips, as the unemployment rate grows, as more women have fewer financial resources to pay their bills, more women will have the added emotional and financial stress of having fewer options available to them should they become pregnant at a time when they did not intend to be pregnant. Women with health insurance or adequate financial resources will be able to access the full range of reproductive services, including pre-natal care. Poor women will not.

It is a matter of justice. Ask the candidates what they are going to do to make it right.

The United Church of Christ has more than 5,700 churches throughout the United States. Rooted in the Christian traditions of congregational governance and covenantal relationships, each UCC setting speaks only for itself and not on behalf of every UCC congregation. UCC members and churches are free to differ on important social issues, even as the UCC remains principally
committed to unity in the midst of our diversity.

1 From the Executive Summary of “Abortion Funding: A Matter of Justice” (www.nnaf.org)
2 Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice and Healing, Jan. 2008 (www.religiousinstitute.org)
3 Guttmacher Institute: “Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States” (www.guttmacher.org)

---

 

Proverbs and 6 year olds
Submitted by Mei Wang

A 1st grade school teacher had twenty-six students in her class. She presented each child in her classroom the 1st half of a well-known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb.
It's hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you. While reading, keep in mind that these are first-graders, 6-year-olds, because the last one is a classic!

1.
Don't change horses
until they stop running.

2.
Strike while the
bug is close.

3.
It's always darkest before
Daylight Saving Time.

4.
Never underestimate the power of
termites.

5.
You can lead a horse to water but
How?

6.
Don't bite the hand that
looks dirty.

7.
No news is
impossible

8.
A miss is as good as a
Mr.

9.
You can't teach an old dog new
Math

10.
If you lie down with dogs, you'll
stink in the morning.

11.
Love all, trust
Me.

12.
The pen is mightier than the
pigs.
13.
An idle mind is
the best way to relax.

14.
Where there's smoke there's
pollution.

15.
Happy the bride who
gets all the presents.

16.
A penny saved is
not much.

17.
Two's company, three's
the Musketeers.

18.
Don't put off till tomorrow what
you put on to go to bed.

19.
Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and
You have to blow your nose.

20.
There are none so blind as
Stevie Wonder.

21.
Children should be seen and not
spanked or grounded.

22.
If at first you don't succeed
get new batteries.

23.
You get out of something only what you
See in the picture on the box

24.
When the blind lead the blind
get out of the way.

25.
A bird in the hand
is going to poop on you.

26.
Better late than
Pregnant

---

  Looking Ahead

- Please Mark Your Calendars!

PROSPECTIVE NEW MEMBERS LUNCH
ON SUNDAY, MARCH 16,
AFTER WORSHIP SERVICE

If you are considering to become a member of our church, please meet with Pastor Gen and church leaders to learn about the UCC and what it means to formally be part of our church family!

HOLY WEEK AT OUR CHURCH:

Palm Sunday, March 16
10:30 am Worship with Procession of the Palms

Maundy Thursday, March 20
Seder and Tenebrae
Gathering at 6:00 pm, Seder at 6:15 pm.

Good Friday, March 21
The church is open from noon - 3:00 pm.

Holy Saturday, March 22
Vigils and Decorating from 6:00 pm.

Easter Sunday, March 23
Sunrise Service at 6:45 am
Easter Worship at 10:30 am

CROP WALK
SUNDAY, APRIL 27 AFTER CHURCH


ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND
MAY 3 AND 4

It’s been 10 years that the tornado hit and the Preschool has its 40th anniversary this year!
There will be various events on this weekend - please save the date!

UPCOMING LECTURES AND CONFERENCES:
(for more information than given here please call the office or refer to the bulletin board in Shephard Hall)

February 22 and 23: “The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in Revelation”
with Dr. Barbara Rossing
at Stone Church of Willow Glen

March 9: “Tomorrow’s Christianity:
Not Rescuing Sinners,
but Transforming Humanity”
by Bishop John Shelby Spong
at First Congregational Church, UCC, San Jose

April 24 and 25: 29th North American Conference on Christian Philanthropy
in Cleveland, Ohio

May 15-18
UCC NCNC Annual Meeting at Asilomar
“Transformation - Walk the Talk”

******************************* 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
___________________________________________________
Communicator Deadline

Deadline for the April 2008 edition of our Communicator is March 25, 2008.
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, Thursdays, Fridays
10:00 AM - 3:00 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!

February & March 2008 Calendar

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.

---

Wednesday, February 6
7:00 PM Service of Oil and Ashes

Thursday, February 7
1:00 PM Staff Meeting

Wednesday, February 13
7:00 PM Worship & Community Bd. Mtg.

Thursday, February 14
4:00 PM Finance & Personnel Bd. Mtg.

Wednesday, February 20
11:00 AM Women’s Fellowship

Wednesday, February 27
6:00 PM Church Council Meeting

Thursday, March 6,
1:00 PM Staff Meeting

Sunday, March 9
Noon Worship & Community Bd. Mtg.


Sunday, March 16
Noon Prospective New Members Lunch

Wednesday, March 19
11:00 AM Women’s Fellowship

Thursday, March 20
6:00 PM Seder Dinner
followed by Worship of Tenebrae

Good Friday, March 21
noon to 3:00 PM
Sanctuary open for meditation

Holy Saturday, March 22
from 6:00 PM Easter Night
Hourly Vigils and Decorating of Sanctuary

Easter Sunday, March 23
6:45 AM Sunrise Service
followed by Easter Breakfast
10:30 AM Easter Worship
followed by Easter egg hunt