Connections: April 3, 2023
NEXT SUNDAY IS EASTER!
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Dear Beloved Community at CCSM,
Thanks so much to everyone who joined us on Sunday for our special Palm Sunday service. It was such a blessing to be in an intergenerational community as we celebrated and re-told the story that launches us into Holy Week.
It is a story that reminds us that Jesus was not the type of leader that many people expected—or that many of us would expect today. His way is one of siding with the marginalized and powerless: coming in peace rather than in force, to serve rather than to be served, showing that brokenness can be a path to wholeness and restoration.
If you missed the service, please do go back and watch it to see some truly incredible music, prayers created by kids and adults alike, communion, and, of course, the DONKEY!
And please do keep coming back as much as you can this week for our services on Thursday (at College Heights UCC) and Friday (12pm and 7pm at CCSM - the 7pm service will also be live-streamed on Facebook and YouTube). I find that the more I lean into the full expression of all that is this week, the more I can truly experience the depth of Easter when it arrives on Sunday.
Although there is much that will happen between now and Easter morning, we trust in the promise that it will come. And there will be much to celebrate — with music, flowers, kids' activities, and much more. It is truly an honor and a privilege to share with you all a message of Easter joy and where I have found resurrection, despite so much ambiguity in our world and in this ancient text.
Let's journey together this week and witness together next Sunday to the transformative power of hope and resurrection joy.
Peace and blessings,
Sheryl
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CCSM wishes Ramadan Mubarak or “blessed Ramadan” to all who are observing the Islamic lunar month of fasting, which began on March 23 and lasts until April 20. Muslims in the US and throughout the world are commemorating the month—in which Muslims believe the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad—through fasting, prayer and charity, as well as communal gatherings with family, friends and neighbors.
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We at CCSM also wish “Chag Pesach Sameach!” (Happy Passover!) to our Jewish siblings as they mark that special season from April 5-13 this year. Passover commemorates the story of the Israelites’ liberation from slavery in ancient Egypt.
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HOLY WEEK
MAUNDY THURSDAY ECUMENICAL SERVICE
April 6 at 7:00pm, College Heights UCC
CCSM will join with several local churches celebrating Maundy Thursday on April 6. College Heights, UCC and Many Journeys, MCC will be co-hosting the service which will begin at 7:00 pm. They also invite all who would like to come early for a Potluck dinner at 6 pm prior to the service. Held at College Heights, UCC, 1150 W. Hillsdale Blvd, SM.
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GOOD FRIDAY ORGAN AND READINGS
Friday, April 7, noon in the sanctuary at CCSM
Lynnelle and Angela are offering a Good Friday Organ and Readings program, featuring organ music for the passion of Christ including Bach’s Prelude in B minor, Brahms’ O Sacred Heart now Wounded, Angela’s La Pietà and Franck’s Choral 2. Lynnelle will read the Good Friday story in between the organ works. Come for musical meditation.
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GOOD FRIDAY ECUMENICAL SERVICE
Friday, April 7, 7:00pm at CCSM
Please join us (in person or livestream) for this ecumenical worship service offered in collaboration with other churches in our area to remember this sacred part of our church story. Seven preachers will offer short reflections on Jesus’ seven last words. Music from CCSM musicians as well as others from local churches will bless our time together. Please do plan to join us to experience the full spiritual range of Holy Week.
Here is the link to the streaming service:
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There are a lot of changes going on at CCSM,
and it's hard to keep up!
For those who missed Kibbie’s words at the 3/19 service about Melissa’s departure, here is what she said:
This congregation has been through incredibly hard times over the last few months, maybe years, and the changes will keep coming, for we are (as our Guiding Principles say) “evolving.”
Our leadership and ministry teams are united; they are strong and share incredible values that call forth our better selves. Sometimes, we need to be reminded of our values; so, in that spirit that we wanted to give you an update on Rev. Melissa, who chose this past Friday [March 17] as her last day. (At 11:00 Friday, I was pulled off the bench as your third string player, because Sheryl is with some of our youth at confirmation camp this weekend.) —from Kibbie's sharing, March 19, 2023
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Chat with your Moderator:
Austin Mader-Clark
Come by the Fireplace Room this Wednesday, April 5, between 2pm-6pm to talk to me about anything you’d like. If you can’t make it this Wednesday, don’t worry, I plan to do this semi-regularly. In the future, if there is a need, I will add Zoom and phone to these drop-in hours.
See you Wednesday! - Austin
Ven a Fireplace Room este miércoles entre las 2 p. m. y las 6 p. m. y habla conmigo sobre cualquier cosa que desees. Si no puede venir este miércoles, no se preocupe, planeo hacerlo semi-regularmente. En el futuro, si es necesario, agregaré Zoom y teléfono a estas horas de atención.
¡Te veo el miércoles! - Austin
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Welcoming our new Board Member!
Hello Church Family, my name is Don Ruthroff, you may know me as the big tall guy that sits down front on Sunday mornings, and I am honored to be your newest Board of Directors member. I felt called to offer to fill a seat on the Board at this point in the church’s history, because I believe with all my heart that as we are journeying through a valley at this moment, this is an opportunity for our congregation to chart a course for renewal and exit the valley stronger and prepared for what is next for us together.
You may wonder what I bring in the way of talent to the Board, well I often tell folks that I was destined to be Lutheran as I was born on Reformation Day (October 31) in the Lutheran Hospital and my first 38 years the Lutheran Church is where I was, including over 5 years planning and leading the contemporary worship service in the largest Lutheran Church west of the Mississippi, for over 30 years. More recently I came to CCSM in 2016, when my husband and I were looking for a church home and I already knew Penny. I am a singing member of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, singing in my 21st season with them. I own my own architectural practice, that I just opened after being a owner and working for a mid-size architectural firm here in the Bay Area for 23 years.
I believe I bring an inquiring mind and a deep faith in God to the Board. I am not afraid to ask questions and challenge “norms” in order to move things forward. I am also a listen-first person, who believes there is so much to gain from listening to all points of view in the conversation before making a determination. I look forward to the challenges ahead and to working together with you to build on the foundation of what has come before at CCSM to create something new and vital as we welcome a new Senior Minister and begin a faith journey together under their leadership.
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Hike Huddart Park this Saturday! There’s still room in this Pick-A-Party, hosted by Carol and Doug Henton. It’s a 5 mile hike this Saturday, April 8, from 8:30am to approximately 1:30pm. This is a great opportunity to shake off all the stress and worry about CCSM and just enjoy nature and your fellow members. Contact Sandy McNabb, Sandra.j.McNabb@gmail.com, 650-678-5650.
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One act of racial harm could have ripple effects across an entire organization. A single microaggression compounded with other acts of interpersonal racism and institutional policies that perpetuate unequal access to opportunities for staff of color can have sweeping consequences. Sending an email apology is like applying a Band-Aid to a systemic issue. And while organizations may opt to leave the role of accountability to their HR departments, cultivating a culture in which everyone practices a commitment to anti-racist community care and responsibility requires much more than compliance to labor policies and practices.
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How to Build a Culture of Accountability and Advance Racial Equity
Presented by Piper Anderson, Former Professor at NYU’s Gallatin School
Moderated by Barbara Wheeler-Bride
Tuesday, April 4, 2023
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. PT
Webinar price: $79
Program includes live session & one year access to webinar video
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SCHOLARSHIPS FOR HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS AND GRAD STUDENTS
DEADLINE APPROACHING! 4/15/23
The Youth Ministry at CCSM is pleased to support high school seniors and graduate students with scholarships for the 2023-24 school year thanks to the generosity of CCSM members.
High school seniors and graduate students who are active members of CCSM are encouraged to apply for scholarship support. Information about the scholarships and application packets are available at the following links: for the graduate packet, go to tinyurl.com/CCSM-grad-schol-2023, or for the undergraduate packet, go to tinyurl.com/CCSM-undergrad-schol-2023. Applications with supporting documents and letters of recommendations are due by April 15, 2023.
The Congregational Church has been supportive of education through our denominational history. In fact, many of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious educational institutions such as Harvard and Yale Universities and Bowdoin College were founded by the Congregational Church. CCSM follows in that important tradition of helping to educate our younger generation with scholarship aid.
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BECAS PARA ESTUDIANTES DEL ÚLTIMO AÑO DE ESCUELA SECUNDARIA Y ESTUDIANTES DE GRADUACIÓN
El Ministerio de Jóvenes de CCSM se complace en apoyar a los estudiantes de último año de secundaria y graduados con becas para el año escolar 2023-24 gracias a la generosidad de los miembros de CCSM.
Se alienta a los estudiantes de último año de secundaria y graduados que son miembros activos de CCSM a solicitar el apoyo de becas. La información sobre las becas y los paquetes de solicitud están disponibles en los siguientes enlaces: para el paquete de posgrado, vaya a tinyurl.com/CCSM-grad-schol-2023, o para el paquete de pregrado, vaya a tinyurl.com/CCSM-undergrad-schol -2023. Las solicitudes con documentos de respaldo y cartas de recomendación deben presentarse antes del 15 de abril de 2023.
La Iglesia Congregacional ha apoyado la educación a lo largo de nuestra historia denominacional. De hecho, muchas de las instituciones educativas más antiguas y prestigiosas del país, como las universidades de Harvard y Yale y Bowdoin College, fueron fundadas por la Iglesia Congregacional. CCSM sigue esa importante tradición de ayudar a educar a nuestra generación más joven con becas.
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Evening Gathering for Prayer
Sunday nights, 7:00-8:00 PM in the Fireplace Room
(hosted by Kibbie Ruth)
Join us every Sunday night for contemplative time together and spiritual start to the next week. This is an open gathering, so all are welcome to come once or every week. In addition to being a conversation with God, prayer is one way to be in touch with our inner selves, and be present with and to one another.
NOTE: there will be no gathering on Easter Sunday.
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Youth and Family News
Sunday, April 9 - 10:30am - Easter service! Special activities for kids during the service and an Easter egg hunt after church! Youth are invited to help with kids activities both during and after the service.
Sunday, April 23: 10:30am - 60 Minutes conversation for youth led by Mike and Michele. Each month, high schoolers choose a discussion topic. This month our topic is current issues in the news.
Sunday, April 30: 11:45am - Youth interested in Confirmation are invited to join Sheryl for lunch, conversation, and discussion/writing of faith statements.
Sunday, April 30 - 4-7pm - High School Multifaith Park Cleanup and BBQ. Meet youth from other San Mateo-area faith communities to do a service project, eat dinner, and build community. All highschoolers are welcome. More details to come!
Sunday, May 7: 11:45am - Family picnic lunch at San Mateo Central Park. All are welcome! We'll meet by the playground.
July/August 2023 - Summer camp sessions at Camp Tamarack! Please check the website to learn more and to see which week is open to your age group, registration should be open soon. Please let Sheryl know if you are interested for help with carpooling, assistance with fees, etc.
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COFFEE HOUR ASSISTANCE NEEDED
Coffee hour volunteers are still needed for the months of April, May,
and June. A sign up sheet is available in Kloss Hall. Please consider signing up for a Sunday. Linda Fenn, Robert Leung, or Melodie Lew is usually there to give guidance and also fill in as needed, so you are not alone. Thank you for your help.
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LIFEMOVES BENEFIT BREAKFAST RETURNS:
April 27, 7:30-9:00am, Hyatt Regency
CCSM members are invited to attend the LifeMoves Benefit Breakfast at the Hyatt Regency in Burlingame. This is the first time the annual event has been held in person since the start of Covid. The featured speaker will be bestselling author and film producer Liz Murray, speaking on “From Homeless to Harvard.” LifeMoves provides critically needed funds to support interim housing and services that move people off the streets and into stable homes. CCSM has been a strong supporter of this organization for many years. Seating is limited. Registration is free. There will be an optional opportunity to donate to LifeMoves at the breakfast. Use this link to register: tinyurl.com/2023-LifeMoves or call the Life Moves office at 650-685-5880. For questions, email Kimberly Adinolfi at kadinolfi@lifemoves.org
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BRING YOUR BLESSING BOX CONTRIBUTIONS ANY SUNDAY OF THE MONTH!
The "Blessing Box" outside of the entrance of CCSM is a project of the Ministry of Service and Justice, responding to the need for families in our neighborhood to access food and an expression of our call to be the "hands, feet, and face of God" in our community. The container will be in the narthex to collect food (canned, dried and boxed, no fresh food please! donations must be full UNOPENED containers, no fruits, vegetables, or bread) on any Sunday of the month. Thank you for your continuing generosity!
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Solar Project-related UPDATE:
PG&E has changed the dates for the electrical shut down at the church to Monday, May 1 - Wednesday, May 3 (instead of 4/17-4/19). The church will be without power for those three days, which means we will be without the fire alarm system and without lights or phones. We are therefore strongly encouraging all rehearsals and events be canceled for those days out of caution for everyone’s safety. The church WILL be open April 17, 18 and 19.
It is possible that PG&E will change these dates again, so you may want to wait to cancel or re-schedule your events until closer to those dates. Sincere apologies for the inconvenience. Chase will be in touch with those who were previously re-located to other sites.
There continue to be ongoing fenced off areas in the parking lot, reducing our number of spaces. This changes frequently, as the workers move the fences around to try to provide us as many parking places as possible at any given time, depending on what they are doing. Please remember that there is additional Sunday parking available in the lot kitty-corner from the church, at Tilton and San Mateo Drive.
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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.
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225 Tilton Ave. • San Mateo, CA • 94401
650-343-3694
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Scan the QR code above or go to
to make a donation or pledge to CCSM.
Don't forget to ask your employer if they have a charitable donation matching program to make your pledge go farther.
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