News of the Presbytery of San Jose |
And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm.
Matthew 8:26
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We want to keep you informed! Below is a list of current events happening in the Presbytery of San Jose. Also remember to check the Presbytery website, particularly the Events page at www.sanjosepby.org.
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Presbytery Meetings
With the passing of the new standing rules, the Presbytery is consolidating the annual number of meetings to four in the coming years. The remaining dates for the 2020 meetings are below. Check back in future months or on the Presbytery website for the respective dockets.
September 19th: Location TBD
November 21st: Location TBD
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The Mid Council Newsletter may be found here:
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A note from the Polity and Government Committee:
The Polity and Government Committee recently met with the Stated Clerk, the Moderator, and chairpersons of Council and Financial Affairs. The conversation centered on the task assigned to Council at the most recent Presbytery meeting regarding the possibility of amending the Standing Rules to more clearly articulate who may request Presbytery funding and when Presbytery approval might be required. Several procedural items were also noted. Council will meet on August 27, 2020, to continue the conversation.
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From Rev. Nan Swanson and the Peace & Justice Working Group:
With all the divisiveness in the air around us, the threat of serious illness facing us each day, and the isolation of SIP, it seemed a good time to gather as the people of God in the Presbytery and declare our oneness in Christ. About 117 of us gathered on Saturday, July 25th, at 10 a.m. You are so faithful! It was a gift to be together as the Body of Christ and worship. A special thanks to Collette Lynner, our administrator, who put it all together in such an appealing way.
There was glorious music from six of our choirs, Covenant; First, Monterey; First Palo Alto; Los Gatos; Stone; and Sunnyvale. What talented groups we have. How good it was to hear from choirs again! Music touches us more deeply than words and that was certainly true that day. Our presbytery exec, Joey Lee, welcomed us and almost all our participants were from a different nationality. Diversity is a great benefit to the whole. Our preacher, the Rev. Annanda Barclay, gave an inspiring and informative sermon that fed us emotionally, spiritually and intellectually. Our stated clerk, Erica Rader, gave the pastoral prayer. Annanda blessed us and sent us out to be a blessing in this world and to see everyone as made in the image of God.
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Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church's Youth Ministry Dept. is hiring! See the link below for a description of the position and contact information:
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Dear Friends and Colleagues:
It is with sadness that I share the news that Marianne Butziger, spouse of the late Rev. Bob Butziger, passed away Sunday, August 2nd, after contracting COVID 19. Bob was an Honorably Retired minister member of our presbytery, and served First Presbyterian Church, San Jose and Foothill Presbyterian Church, San Jose in a transitional capacity.
In life and in death, we belong to God. Please join me in giving thanks to God for the life of Marianne Butziger.
Joey Lee
Executive Presbyter
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Just a reminder that the presbytery website is full of useful information on various meetings, resources, and dates; including the online application form for Ministry Funding during this difficult time for our churches. Visit us at http://www.sanjosepby.org
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Kaleidoscope 2020
Due to the travel restrictions and impacts of Covid-19, this year's Kaleidoscope conference will be a virtual event.
The Registration Fee is $45 and will provide access to three weekly online lectures, live question and answer period with the presenter each week, as well as access to the event recordings at the end of the program.
The Presbytery of San Jose is going to cover your registration costs for the three-day virtual event. It will be held on three Tuesdays from 11:30 to 1:30 EDT September 22nd, 29th and October 6th.
A link to access the online event will be emailed each week prior to the event itself. The live events will take place on Tuesdays beginning September 22nd, with subsequent events on September 29th, and October 6th.
The online registration link may be found below. A receipt may be submitted to the Presbytery via Diane Case for reimbursement. Diane may be reached at rdtcase@comcast.net.
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A lot is happening with Sweaty Sheep and the presbytery's Hunger Advocate, Rev. Ryan Althaus! To help you stay up-to-date with his ministry, Ryan is working on the creation of his own newsletter. If you would like to receive his specific newsletter and announcements, please submit your email address:
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From Kris Valerius and the PC(USA) Bearing Witness Team:
Communities of faith and people across the nation are joining the movement to confront the sins of racism and white supremacy, protesting the unlawful and unjust killings of innocent Black individuals and demanding that Black lives of every age, gender, gender identity and sexuality are no longer ignored, dismissed or pushed to the margins of our society.
It is an endeavor to provide...
Click below to continue reading:
From Nan Swanson and the Peace & Justice Working Group:
The Peace and Justice Working Group would like to hear from you! Let us know how you celebrated this action week. In what did you participate? Did you do something different daily? Or did you do something sustained throughout the week? Did you think of other ways to celebrate Black Lives Matter?
We'd like to make a report to presbytery about the many ways our churches and members participated. Please let us know! Send the PJWG your response via swanson.nan77@gmail.com.
Wishing you creativity and vision with your involvement. We can't wait to see what you do with this!
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Join a Zoom Conference on "Engaging with
Mental Health & Illness
as Community Leaders"
-Saturday Aug 15th
-9am-10am Pacific Time
Presenters:
Rev. Ryan Althaus - Presbytery Hunger Advocate and Founder of Sweaty Sheep
Donna Miller - Chair of the National PCUSA's Mental Illness Network
River Krimmer - Therapist and founder of Living Evolution
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Images of
The Kingdom of God
while Sheltering-in-Place
Hi! I would like to introduce a new column to the newsletter. I think it would do our hearts good to celebrate how the Church has continued to worship, minister in the community, and care for one another while sheltering-in-place.
I (Jenni Bales) will post pictures every month of how our churches have been active and continue to live out the Kingdom of God in the present moment. I think it would stir our joy and our hope to see God continuing to bring transformation to our community during these challenging times. Please send photos and a brief description to pastorjennibales@gmail.com. (Please ensure you have permission to use photos of individuals, particularly children.)
I'll start it off with some of Evergreen Presbyterian Church's work in the community:
Every other week, Evergreen has been collecting and donating food and other items for a food drive founded by Annabel Leyva of Servant Partners and San Jose Bridge Communities. It's co-sponsored by her church, the First Apostolic Church of San Jose. The effort been reaching 65-75 families regularly with fresh produce, canned goods, paper goods, dry goods, and more recently clothing to help meet current needs in East and North San Jose. It's been particularly needed as people have lost employment during the pandemic and stores in East San Jose were temporarily closed during the George Floyd demonstrations. It has been amazing to hear stories of God miraculously providing where needed when other resources were lacking. Evergreen has been blessed to be a part of it!
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A Message from the Executive Presbyter, Rev. Joey Lee
It has been 151 days since we first recommended churches suspend in-person worship on March 12, 2020. Much has happened since then, in our communities, our nation and our world. What we hoped might be a few weeks has stretched into months. An interruption has turned into disruption, and it has caused us to rethink home life, work life, church life, and our national life. No end to the pandemic in sight, lingering questions about coming to terms with racial injustice, a looming presidential election, and ongoing turmoil from Beirut to Hong Kong.
Our presbytery had its own challenges with a special presbytery meeting that raised questions about decisions made regarding the Watsonville Public House and process questions. We continue to work through the decision of the presbytery to proceed with the Public House and our own polity, rules and processes. A special note of thanks to Moderator Frank Bernstein and the Presbytery Council for navigating us through these waters.
Troubled waters near and far remind me of the story of Jesus calming the storm (Mt 8:23–27, Mk 4:35–41, Lk 8:22–25). Former Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, the Rev. Grayde Parsons, gave the following benediction having preaching on the passage:
Get in the boat.
Go to the other side.
There will be a storm.
You will not die.
Joey Lee
Executive Presbyter
Reminder of Counties Orders
Monterey County
Q. Attend Church?
Santa Clara County
GATHERINGS
At this time, the State Health Officer has generally prohibited gatherings of all kinds statewide, with additional restrictions for counties that came onto the State’s monitoring list. The only gatherings allowed in Santa Clara County are (1) outdoor worship services and cultural ceremonies, like weddings and funerals, and (2) outdoor protests. You may not gather with anyone who is not a member of your own household for any other reason. All outdoor worship services, cultural ceremonies, and protests must comply with the local Health Officer’s Mandatory Directive on Gatherings, which limits gatherings to 60 people and imposes other rules and restrictions.
Santa Cruz County
On May 25, 2020, in an effort to balance First Amendment interests with public health, the State Public Health Officer created an exception to the prohibition against mass gatherings for faith-based services and cultural ceremonies as well as protests. Those types of gatherings are now permitted indoors so long as they do not exceed 100 attendees or 25% of the capacity of the space in which the gathering is held, whichever is lower. State public health directives now do not prohibit in-person outdoor faith-based services or protests as long as face coverings are worn and physical distancing of 6 feet between persons or groups of persons from different households is maintained at all times. All other gatherings are prohibited until further notice, except as otherwise specifically permitted in state public health directives (including in applicable industry guidance).
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Phone: (408) 279-0220 Website: www.sanjosepby.org |
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