Connections: Week of October 2, 2023

Dear Beloved Community at CCSM, 

On Saturday, several wonderful CCSM members, along with Rev. Álvaro and I, spent the day in a booth promoting CCSM in the community at the San Mateo Fall Fest. It is always interesting to me to observe the reactions you get when you "wear your faith in public." It's such a good reminder of the background, assumptions, and ideas people bring. I was surprised, for instance, at the number of people who asked if we were a Catholic church — despite the fact that I was wearing a clergy collar!

But it was a great day and a great opportunity to represent progressive Christianity in our community. We networked with people working on important social justice issues (such as improving infrastructure in San Mateo to prevent flooding in low-lying areas), people from other faith communities, people looking for rental space, and yes, even some curious about coming to church! A very meaningful day when each interaction is so varied and the possibilities abound. 

For me that connected well with our service on Sunday when we celebrated worldwide communion - the whole world is not only different cultures and nationalities but also different understandings of and experiences of church! I was so grateful for Rev. Evelyn Vigil's moving message about welcoming people as they are regardless of their background or what they have done before. If you missed it, please go back and listen! It was also a powerful launch to our stewardship season - thank you to Martha Bronitsky (and the 12-member stewardship team - wow!). 

This coming Sunday, we have another wonderful service planned and we are working in conjunction with Rev. Ben Meyers who is a good friend to CCSM. He will offer some musical leadership as well as reflections. We will celebrate two baptisms and also mark Indigenous Peoples' Day. We will also have our second Bible Study after church with Dr. Sharon Jacob - this time focused on climate change. Thank you to the nearly 30 people who attended the first session (in person and online, in English and Spanish - thanks to Rev. Álvaro). Someone said to me afterward "You were right - I didn't think I was a Bible Study person but this was mind-blowing!"

Please continue to reach out with any prayer concerns or ways we can be of support to you as a church (and as a pastoral team). And mark your calendar for October 15 - Rev. Jessica's first Sunday as our settled senior minister! 

Peace and blessings,

Sheryl  

IF YOU MISSED THE WORSHIP SERVICE,

CLICK HERE  FOR LAST SUNDAY'S ENTIRE SERVICE

CLICK HERE for Rev. Dr. Evelyn Vigil's sermon,

Only One Way to Believe?

SPIRITUAL CONVERSATIONS STARTS TONIGHT: Monday, October 2, 7:15 pm

The Spiritual Conversations group will read and discuss The Holy Longing: the Search for a Christian Spirituality by Ronald Rolheiser. (Previous announcement had the wrong start date; it starts tonight!) Fr. Ronald says, “This is a book on the essentials of Christian discipleship and the foundations of spiritual life.” Rolheiser gives seekers direction on their spiritual path and shows how spirituality is part of many aspects of our lives, including our sexuality. In his writing Rolheiser uses real life stories to flesh out his ideas, making them relevant to our lives.

All Spiritual Conversations are held on Mondays zoom from 7:15 to 8:45 p.m. every two weeks. Next meeting will be Monday, October 16. For further information and the zoom link, please contact Chris Wuthmann at cewuthmann@gmail.com.

SPECIAL GUEST POET

at the Wednesday Gathering

THIS WEEK! October 4 at 7:15 pm

Local Poet and East Palo Alto Vice Mayor Antonio López will read a poem from his book Gentefication during our Latino Ministry worship service this Wednesday in the Fireplace Room. Please help us give him a warm CCSM welcome by joining us for bilingual worship and potluck meal. Childcare provided. You can read more about Antonio in this KQED article.

Rev. Jessica Vacketta, CCSM's new Senior Minister, will have her first official day here on Monday, October 9, and will preach on Sunday, October 15.

Be sure to be here!

<< Rev. Jessica visits the Tuesday Morning Men's Breakfast at the library!

CCSM's most famous trees are the grand oaks in the Memorial Garden, but now there's a new one--the logo for the church's annual stewardship drive. If the CCSM community is special to you, consider supporting it with your pledge of estimated giving for 2024. Give to a bright future together! (Just scan the QR code to get started, or click HERE.)

Youth and Family News

Saturday, October 14 - Celebrate Dia de los Muertos at MLK Jr. Park with our neighbors starting at 2pm! This event is hosted by the City of San Mateo. This is a great opportunity to celebrate and learn about this holiday. 

Sunday, October 15 - Rev. Jessica's first Sunday at CCSM! Please join us for a special service to help to welcome Rev. Jessica.

Saturday, October 21 - Chocolate Fest with our neighbors at Congregational Church of the Peninsula! Join Sheryl for the Saturday evening event - or go another time if that is better for your schedule. Tickets are available at: chocolatefestofbelmont.org 

Sunday, October 22 - 60 Minutes! Come join other youth for discussion about important topics in our world today.

Sunday, October 22 - CCSM Youth Peer Leader Lunch and Meeting. Please join Sheryl for lunch and to plan out some activities for this year! 11:45am-1pm. 

Sunday, October 29 - Peninsula Multifaith Youth Gathering - Please join youth from other faith communities at 2pm in the CCSM Youth Room. We'll play some games and ping pong, get to know each other, and start to share a bit about our different faiths and what it like to be a youth in our traditions. Snacks provided! 

Tuesday, October 31 - Come by CCSM when you're out Trick or Treating! Sheryl and others from CCSM will be there to hand out candy and connect with our community. 

Saturday, Dec 9-Sunday Dec 10 - Advent youth sleepover with youth from other Bay Area UCCs! Come learn about the season of Advent and have a fun weekend with other youth! 

The latest issue of the Pine Tree is here! It's chock full of news, photos, reflections, and upcoming events. Click HERE for a copy!

Upcoming

Board of Directors

Meetings

all meetings are Sunday at Noon

in the Buckham Room

(unless noted)

October 8

November 12

December 10

To access the Google folder containing CCSM Board Meeting minutes, go to

tinyurl.com/CCSM-Minutes-BOD

Upcoming

Council of Ministries

Meetings

all meetings are Sunday at Noon

in the Buckham Room

(dates in yellow are combined BoD + CoM)

October 22

November 12

December OFF

Kay Harris - Council of Ministries Lead

Jim Schwandt - Buildings and Grounds

Kim Rey and Troy Grabow - Children, Youth and Families

Diane Kalliam - Congregational Care

Alison Schwandt - Engagement

Gary H. White - Environmental Justice

Sandy McNabb - Connect and Celebrate

Julien Phillips - Latino/a Ministry

Linda Stoick - Liturgical Arts

Sue Bell - Music

Genel Morgan - Service and Justice

Chris Wuthmann - Spiritual Life/Adult Ed.

Martha Bronitsky - Stewardship

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!

JOIN THE CLICK!

If we get at least 1,000 subscribers, the YouTube algorithm bumps our CCSM site higher on people’s search engine. CCSM Media now has 432 subscribers. Let’s keep pumping it up! 

So, please go to https://www.youtube.com/@ccsmMediaChannel/featured

 and click the “Subscribe” button.  Cost: Nothing.  Benefit: HUGE!

Pray for Ukraine Every Tuesday at 7:30pm

CCSM held a powerful live Prayer Ritual for Ukraine on March 6th, 2022, and will share this ritual ONLINE every Tuesday until the war ends. 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: tinyurl.com/CCSM-Ukraine-Prayer

Regular CCSM office hours:

9:00am - 4:00pm

Monday - Thursday