The church recently sent a detailed email with updated information from the Reopening Committee about the recent surge in Omicron and the safety measures we are taking. Until it is deemed safe, we will refrain from singing or playing wind instruments during in-person worship. The committee also suggests that people who have not already done so to please prayerfully consider getting vaccinated. Masking is still required at all in-person gatherings—but we encourage use of N95/KN95 masks instead of cloth masks, per CDC recommendations. Finally, if you have been exposed or have any symptoms please stay home and do not attend in-person worship or other events. We appreciate everyone’s diligence in keeping each other safe! You can read the letter here. If you have any questions or feedback for the Reopening Committee, please contact Carol Heath.

The Queer Fellowship Group seeks to cultivate a safe and vibrant fellowship space for our LGBTQ+ community members. Meets on the 3rd Thursday of the month.

Join other parents, friends and allies in a safe space to share, ask questions and affirm each other’s journeys at the Family and Friends of LGBTQ+ Group. Meets on the 1st Tuesday of the month.

For more information about each group, check the church website.

Saturday, January 22 • 11 a.m. • Tickets

The Music School’s Teddy Bear Concert will be virtual again this year! Join us for our annual faculty concert with instrument demonstrations and a repertoire specifically selected for young listeners. Admission is by donations of any amount, and all proceeds benefit the Janice Williams Memorial Scholarship Fund. Click here for ticket reservations.

Hey CLUE (high schoolers) — join this year’s Sunnyvale Pres Youth Retreat at Westminster Woods! Students will have a chance to engage in frank and age-appropriate discussions about sex, gender, and sexuality as it relates to living a faithful Christian life. Inviting a friend? Use the code HALFSCHOLAR22 for 50% off! Learn more and register here.

Sunday, January 30 • 9–10:45 a.m. • Over Zoom • Register

If you’ve been attending worship and are interested in the next step, come and explore membership with us. Rev. Karin Hejmanowski will be teaching the next one-session New Member Class over Zoom. Those who become new members will also need to meet with our leadership on Tuesday, February 15 in the evening, and be received during our 11 a.m. worship service on March 13. To register for the class, click here.

Join us for Black History Month: A Case for Reparations

Wednesdays in February • 7–8:30 p.m. • Over Zoom • Register

In this year of racial reckoning, join others in our faith community as we explore a powerful resource together. The artistic graphics, clear highlights of history, and intriguing case studies all combine to flesh out how we got to this place and where we might go from here.

Led by Stephanie Lutz Allen, each session will involve discussing the materials and then participating in a creative activity. While “reparations” can be a loaded word, you’re invited to listen to these voices as we explore together. The first session will be a hybrid meeting (in-person or over Zoom) and the remaining three sessions will meet over Zoom. Register here for more information and the Zoom link.

We are excited to begin 2022 by inviting youth and their families to attend our annual Family Winter Party! Families will come together in Fellowship Hall for a “Paint and Sip Party.” Painting supplies and refreshments will be provided. Masks expected. No RSVP required. We hope to see you all there!

Immanuel House is looking for a new house manager. Immanuel House is a nonprofit in San Jose that provides transitional housing to newly arrived refugees. The house manager receives free rent and utilities in a manager’s suite in return for safe operation of the refugee transition household. No salary is provided; this is a volunteer position. Responsibilities include providing new residents with an orientation on household maintenance and house rules, ensuring residents complete weekly chores, collecting and distributing mail, and communicating with the board and partner organizations. Please contact info@immanuelhousesj.org for more information about the position.

July 16–24 • Chicago • Info & Register

In July, SVPC Youth ministry will head to the Southside of Chicago, Illinois to learn from community members about the effects of segregation and institutionalized racist city policies that have kept Chicago as one of the most segregated cities in the country. We hope to return with concrete tools to address our own version of housing issues here in the Bay Area so we have eyes to see the ways we segregate our lives from each other each day. Interested in learning more or registering? Click here.

Please let those you consider qualified for this position know about this vacancy. Job description and the process to apply can be found here. We’re so grateful for the faithful service of retired long-time employee, Suzanne Ungson.

You can, too. The Sunday that Beth Pole (pictured with Carol Heath) purchased Be the Gift by Ann Voskamp from the Book Sale Cart, she crossed the line, going from book seller to book buyer. Book Sale Ministry team volunteers face this temptation every Sunday in Trinity Court.

The team invites you, too, to be both a book seller and buyer and succumb to the temptation of books. (Not all temptations are to be resisted!) Talk to any team member.

In Be the Gift, Voskamp suggests that even in our brokenness, God can use us to be the gift to others that mends our own life. The book presents quotations, inspirational verses, photos by Voskamp, and 60 ideas for blessing others.

“No amount of regret changes the past. No amount of anxiety changes the future. Any amount of gratitude changes the present,” says Voskamp.

To learn more about events for children and youth subscribe to their e-newsletters. Also, check out the Children’s ministry Facebook page or Youth ministry’s Instagram or Linktree, or text ‘FLASH’ (Middle School) or ‘CLUE’ (High School) to 51400 for live updates.

Use Amazon Smile and Amazon will automatically donate 0.5% of all eligible purchases to Sunnyvale Pres if you list the church as your charity. When shopping with Amazon, start at smile.amazon.com instead of amazon.com. It’s that simple!

In place of the blue prayer cards you filled out on Sundays, please send your prayer requests anytime to prayer@sunnyvalepres.com. Be sure to include whether your request should/can be:

Look for the red banner at the top of our new website (SunnyvalePres.com). Click the white button, “Join online worship & events.”