Connections: April 11, 2022

Holy Week and Easter
Dear friends,

What a great Palm Sunday!!!! So many people in person and online joined in the celebration. The church was buzzing with activity and joy! It lifted all of us to see so many people back in church. Make sure you keep scrolling down so you don’t miss any opportunity to be back in community together.

Hope to see you this Easter Sunday so we can experience resurrection together!!!

Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous
to be understood.
How grass can be nourishing in the
mouths of the lambs.
How rivers and stones are forever
in allegiance with gravity
while we ourselves dream of rising.
How two hands touch and the bonds
will never be broken.
How people come, from delight or the
scars of damage,
to the comfort of a poem.
Let me keep my distance, always, from those
who think they have the answers.
Let me keep company always with those who say
“Look!” and laugh in astonishment,
and bow their heads.
—Mary Oliver
 
Come this Sunday not for answers, but to be astonished at the mystery of resurrection all around us.
 
Love,
Penny
Click on the video above for the most recent entire worship service, or click HERE to listen to Penny Nixon's Palm Sunday sermon, Let's Ride On!
HOLY WEEK
Please join us this week for these special services.


Maundy Thursday service
Thursday, 7:00pm, April 14
Congregational Church of Belmont
751 Alameda de las Pulgas, Belmont
Please join the CCSM community for a multi-church Maundy Thursday service to be hosted at the Congregational Church of Belmont. Please wear a mask and bring your vaccination card. 
The service will be very meaningful, featuring several choral pieces and selected scripture readings with a candle being snuffed out at the end of each. Musicians and worship leaders from CCSM and several other churches will be featured. 
Please reach out to Sheryl Johnson with any questions. 

Good Friday Service, presented by Music and Art
April 15, 1:00pm, in the Sanctuary
There will be special organ music by Angela Kraft Cross interspersed with scripture readings by members. (Note: the Music and Art core group will have lunch at noon in the Buckham Room. Remember to bring your own bag lunch, beverages and dessert are provided. A brief business meeting will follow and then we’ll adjourn to the Sanctuary for the program).  All are welcome, but please RSVP by emailing Susan Duty at susanjd52@gmail.com or by calling 650-533-6830.

Ecumenical Good Friday Service
April 15, 7:00pm
Live at 225 in the Sanctuary, and live on Facebook
An ecumenical Good Friday gathering of music and meditations on the Seven Last Words of Christ at CCSM. Eight congregations: Congregational Church of San Mateo UCC, St James AME Church, St Peter’s Episcopal Church, College Heights UCC, Many Journeys MCC, Island United Church of Foster City UCC, Mercy Center Burlingame, Trinity Baptist Church of San Mateo.
WE LOVE EARTH Festival
April 16, 10am - 2pm Flood Park, Menlo Park
CCSM will participate in this Earth Day event at Flood Park in Menlo Park. We’ll have a booth with posters to share what we are doing to become a Climate Church and to provide information and encourage discussion about CCSM in our spiritual life and community. We’ll have handouts describing our church and handouts of plant-able seed cards encouraging visitors to Nurture the Earth and Nurture Your Spirit at CCSM. 
Please plan to visit or join the team in the booth to talk about CCSM!

For more information, contact Warren Long (longlake15@sbcglobal.net) or Sheryl Johnson (sjohnson@ccsm-ucc.org).
First
Coming Back to Community event:
PIE SOCIAL
in Kloss Hall, May 1
Join us immediately following the service on May 1 for our first Coming Back to Community event... a Pie Social! Everyone is encouraged to bring a pie to be raffled off, followed by lots of pie eating and laughter. You’ll also be able to sign up for more events to be held over the spring/summer. 

Want more details? Click here for a flyer or contact Sandy McNabb (Sandra.j.mcnabb@gmail.com, 650-678-5650) or Diane Kalliam (dkalliam@gmail.com, 415-279-1359).   

THE PINE TREE: Issue #2, 2022
Holy Week and Easter Season

This month's edition of the Pine Tree newsletter contains some crucial information for the CCSM community, including Penny's announcement of retirement from church ministry, Holy Week and Easter, and much more. You can read it by clicking HERE or on the image.

There's a lot in it; be sure to take a look!
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Pray for Ukraine Every Tuesday at 7:30pm

CCSM held a powerful live Prayer Ritual for Ukraine on March 6th. We have decided to premier this ritual ONLINE every Tuesday until the war ends. We hope you will join us online weekly to continue our prayers and heal our hearts. These are challenging times and this offering is a way to bring our community together and magnify our prayers.

Please share this link with your friends and family so we can extend this offering to as many people as possible.

Link for Prayer Ritual on YouTube:
225 Tilton Avenue • San Mateo, CA 94401
(650) 343-3694