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October 2007 |
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Congregational Community
Church of Sunnyvale
* 408-739-3285 * conglchurch@earthlink.net
1112 Bernardo Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94087 *
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by Pastor Gen Heywood
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We’ve been dealing with big issues at my home like “Is Santa Claus real?” and “How do babies get into a womb?” I asked my children if they wanted the story or if they wanted the truth. When it came to Santa, they wanted the story. When it came to babies, they wanted the truth.
When it comes to our faith we have the stories, we have the truth, and we have a third option. That is that the stories have truths and some of the stories may have really happened. But the truth is not based on facts. Truths cross time and place. They are bigger than events and deeper than words.
In the “Living the Questions 2.0”, Marcus Borg teaches about pre-critical naiveté, critical thinking, and post-critical naiveté as these relate to the stories of our faith.
Pre-critical naiveté is a stage in early childhood development. It is when we believe whatever the authority in our life says. It is easy and effortless.
Critical thinking is a stage that naturally comes as we question what the authority has told us. When we begin to wonder about the story of Santa Claus and the other stories our authorities have told us are true, we start to enter critical thinking. It is a time when we equate truth with fact. It is a deeply corrosive time.
Post-critical naiveté is not an automatic development. It is an ability to hear truth in stories without needing the stories to be factual. It is post-critical naiveté that causes shamans to tell stories beginning with “ I don’t know if this story happened or not but I know that this story is true.”
When we enter into the post-critical naiveté a whole new and greater dimension opens up to us. The story from Genesis 11:1-9 about people of one language building a great tower no longer brings up the question, ”How tall was the tower of Babel?” Rather, we are moved to ask many questions like “What is it about humans that we need to be God?” or “ Why do humans exert power over other creatures?” or “What does it mean if all humanity came from one common community?” And in those questions we glimpse truths about ourselves and our humanity.
Post-critical naiveté also allows us the opportunity to develop a greater understanding of the character of our God. This is the God, the Divine, we have met in the stories of Jesus and in the experience of our lives. Post-critical naiveté allows us to move through the process of wonder, into the corrosive world of critical thinking, and beyond it into a new relationship and a new wonder.
In this we can embrace the truths of our Bible and of our faith which goes beyond the facts.
Blessings,
Pastor Gen
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THANK YOU
from Kendra and Sam and their father Doug Evans on behalf of Bubb Elementary School in Mountain View to all the people in the Church who helped them collect bottle caps!!
Bubb has reached their goal of 1 million bottle caps to visualize that amount for the kids. And a celebration took place last week.
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THANK YOU
from the Santiago family, who moved into the house that members of our congregation helped to build with Habitat for Humanity.
“Thanks for the quilt and what it represents, warm feelings and all that good homey comfort.
I know it must have taken a lot of hours for a lot of people to construct that wonderful cosy quilt, we’ll make sure to use it in the winter and also take good care of it for years to come.
Sincerely, the Santiago family,
Luis and Carmen,
the kids: Carmen, Luis and Sophia”
A NOTE
FROM OUR FORMER MEMBER JIM MANLEY:
Gen and all - miss you!
Love getting the newsletter.
We’re thriving - and our Oakland family just had an 11 lb. 7 oz. baby girl!
Blessings, Jim
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A NOTE FROM YOUR CHURCH OFFICE:
After a long wait
it is now available:
our updated
CHURCH DIRECTORY
(compiled July 2007)
If you have not received your copy yet, please talk to Lee, Pat or Ina.
Looking back:
Our
Recovenanting Weekend
September 8/9, 2007,
Full of fun
and
meaningful!
Fall Festival: Rome
Dressing up in togas
(Thank you, Sue and Barton!)
Reclining
Taking the tour with
Pastor Gen’s capturing pictures
Enjoying authentic
Roman & Italian Cuisine
 
Church Camp Out
Camp fire
with camp songs and s’mores
Games for grown-ups
Face painting
... and Recovenanting Sunday Worship Service
with Gathering of the Waters
and Start of Sunday School, followed by
our traditional Ice cream Social
Thank you to all who brought waters from their travels near and far!
The waters that we received
this year at our
GATHERING OF THE WATERS CEREMONY
came from:
Half Moon Bay, CA
Eureka, CA
Lisbon Fall, Maine
Farmington, Connecticut
Waddle Creek, Big Basin, CA
Kona, Hawaii
Wild Cat Creek, Rogue Valley Creek, CA
Eagle Creek, Lake Tahoe, CA
Chula Vista, CA
San Diego, CA
Leona Valley, CA
El Dorado Hills, CA
North Sea at Baltrum, Germany
Charleston, SC
St. Michael, MD
Montreal, Quebec
Nashville, Tennessee
Asheville, Sacramento, CA
Oklahoma City, Tulsa, OK
Colorado Springs, CO
Little Rock, AK
Senora, Jamestown, Oakland, CA
Jacksonville, FI
Boufort, NC
Smokey Mountains, TN
Morgan Hill, CA
Rhine, Germany
Danube, Europe
Snake River, Grand Tetons
Yellowstone National Park
Stanwood, WA
Kootenay Lake, BC, Canada
Ten Mile Creek, San Francisco
The Nile, Egypt
Lafayette, CA
A Beautiful Space, an Update
by Foster Thompson
Thanks to many generous donations the necessary funding for the Beautiful Space has been overwhelming met, with surplus funds available for future improvements.
In August a building permit was obtained from the building department of Sunnyvale. During September work was done to prepare for building the partition between the Beautiful Space and the chancel; including moving two pews (240 pounds each). The building of this partition is planned to take place in early October. There is still a lot of work to be done. The current estimate for completing this project is the first of December. Come by anytime to see the transformation.
The Beautiful Space will truly be beautiful, a space to joyfully inspire us.
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Being Environmentally Friendly
submitted by Mary Ruth Green
The Metro Silicon Valley (August 15-21, 2007) had an article entitled "50 ways to reduce your carbon footprint".
Some interesting suggestions include:
*Get stuff free - if there are things you will only use once or twice, borrow & return it. Go to www.freecycle.org and join a local group to exchange or borrow stuff.
*turn off computers and unplug chargers when not in use.
*bring your own cloth shopping bags - for all shopping, not just grocery - and have cloth bags for produce or reuse plastic bags.
*avoid dry cleaning but when you do return hangers and bring your own garment bag.
* shop local, including farmer's markets.
*take your own mug to Starbucks.
*buy Energy Star label appliances. Freezers on the bottom of your refrigerator are more energy efficient than above. Run your dishwasher and clothes washer only when you have full loads.
Faith in Action
Rotating Men’s Shelter
Update
With December coming, our church not only can look forward to Advent, but also an opportunity to host the Rotating Shelter.
Graduates Corner: It has been a hard experience for me, this is my first time being homeless due to a back injury. I lost my job, then my housing. I have recovered and have just gotten a job. I was referred to Nadine [Case Manager] and was accepted into the rotating shelter program. As of today I have found housing, I’m very thankful for all the help and support that I have received from the churches and Cupertino Community Service.
The Rotating Shelter makes a difference in the lives of these men because everyday people get involved and take an extra-ordinary action. Eighteen churches and four other organizations provide the food and shelter for up to 15 men… 365 days a year. Once a year everyone in this extended community is invited to gather in celebration: members of host churches, food providers, people from CCS, and Rotating Shelter men past and present.
Faith in Action
The Cupertino/Sunnyvale/Saratoga Rotating Shelter
16th Annual Celebration Potluck
**Bring whatever the spirit moves you to bring.**
Please join some of the best cooks in town for dinner and our celebration honoring the volunteers & staff who have been turning Faith Into Action and Despair Into Success.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
6:00 – 8:00 pm
St. Jude Episcopal Church
McClellan Road @ Stelling Road
For Information Call:
Mary Ellen Hennig (408) 255-6382
The CCS Clothes Closet is a resource for the men of the Rotating Shelter, providing them with good clothes for job interviews and working. With the rapid approach of winter, there is growing need for warm jackets and coats in all sizes. If you have jackets to donate, please contact the CCS office: (408) 255-8033 or ccs@cupertinocommunityservices.org.
- Barton Wilson
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The Santa Clara Association
in the
Northern California Nevada Conference
of the
United Church of Christ
with
First Congregational Church Santa Cruz
Cordially invites your presence and prayers
as we celebrate the Ordination to Christian Ministry
of
Barbara Eileen Altman
on
Sunday, October 21, 2007
3 pm ~ A Service of Worship & Ordination
A Reception Follows the Service
Child Care available on request
Clergy are invited to robe and gather
at 2:45 pm in the Lounge
Join Us & Celebrate!
First Congregational Church in Santa Cruz
900 High Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
831-426-2010 - office@fccsantacruz.org
(Please RSVP by October 14
for reception and/or childcare)
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 COMMUNITY
PRE-SCHOOL NEWS
HELLO FROM COMMUNITY PRE-SCHOOL!
The children are getting used to their teachers and classrooms. Friendships have started to form. This month the classes are focusing on self-image and talking about families. As I walk from class to class I can see family banners in one room and big paper doll figures in another class, or children painting with a special friend.
Parent night was during the third week of September. Parents were able to meet the teachers and learn more about their child’s schedule, and get input on how their child was doing. During that week we also had the Scholastic Book Fundraiser. The parents were able to shop later that evening at the Book Fair, before the Parent Night.
During the third week in October Life Touch Studios will come and take individual and classroom photos. We are pleased we are able to offer this service for our Community Pre-School Parents.
We like to utilize many of our community resources. On the 10th and 11th of October a children’s dentist will come to talk about proper nutrition and good dental hygiene. Also at the end of the month a storyteller will come to tell a Halloween story.
Our first scheduled Parent Night will be on the 24th of October. We will have two speakers talk about Speech and Language Development. They will give information about expressive language and proper articulation and resources available to help children with speech delays.
There are also activities planned for the teachers. One Saturday the teachers will be able to take a field trip to RAFT. This is a teacher’s resource store that uses recyclable materials that various companies donate. Also many of our staff will be going to a Child Development Conference presented by Foothill College. There are workshops about bringing science, math and language to life for young children. Also there will be many workshops about how to be a mentor to other teachers or how to promote active communication between parent, child and teachers. It should be an exciting conference that all of us will benefit from.
More parents are requesting for their child to attend chapel. I have invited parents to observe the chapel service with their child. Pastor Gen has a wonderful program that brings the stories of the Bible to the children’s level of understanding.
I wish you a happy October.
Barbara Steinmetz (Director)
Notes from our
Treasurer Mary Ruth Green:
Expenses $ 9,594
Net Income $10,906
The August expenses do not include the payroll costs of approximately $9,000. These will be included in the September expenses along with the September payroll.
At the end of August, we have $16,501.46 in our solar panel fund. This includes donations of $2975.00, rummage sale proceeds of $3,267.57, and $10,258.89 from money invested in a 6 month CD with Cornerstone in December 2006.
Also at the end of August, $1,198.00 had been donated to the Beautiful Space project. Since then additional donations have brought the total past the $1500 needed for work to begin.
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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
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 Looking Ahead
- Please Mark Your Calendars!
Combined Church & PreSchool
Work Party
on Saturday, October 20, 2007,
9:00 AM to noon
We will do some yard work in our Memorial Garden and repaint PreSchool picnic tables with Redwood paint.
All tools to be supplied by the Church and the PreSchool.
Please sign up in Shephard Hall! Thank you!
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Join us for our
Halloween Tailgate Party
on Wednesday,
October 31,
from 6 pm in the
Remington parking lot!
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Women’s Fellowship Annual Bake Sale
November 11, 2007 after Worship.
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Communicator Deadline
Deadline for the November 2007 edition of our Communicator is October 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, Thursdays, Fridays
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
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