This Sunday, January 15 • 11:15 am–12:15 pm • Fellowship Hall

With Addie Domske’s departure at the end of last month, our Youth Ministry is again faced with a period of transition. We know that those of you who depend on and care about this ministry must have many questions, and perhaps even some hopes or concerns that could be good for the whole community to hear. That’s why we want to invite the whole Sunnyvale Pres church community to be a part of a “town hall” style meeting where we can all share our thoughts about our youth ministry and start to discern our path forward together.

Our new Interim Assistant Director for Youth Ministry, Rev. Rich Pak, is going to be leading this open-format discussion. People of all ages who care about youth ministry at Sunnyvale Pres are invited to attend. We want to hear from you!

We will meet in the Fellowship Hall right after worship, this Sunday (January 15) at 11:15 am. Coffee, tea, and some light snacks will be served.

CARAVAN, our annual summer mission experience for high-school aged youth, is coming up again in 2023, and we want you to be a part of it! Come join us in Fellowship Hall as our whole community gets to find out what the exciting new setting and project is for this year’s trip!

Students in grades 8–12, parents, advisors, prayer partners, and everyone else who wants to support mission outreach and youth should come to receive information and to take in a short presentation about our 2023 mission partner and the work they are doing. There will be time for questions and discussion about the trip and the process of preparing before it. We can’t wait to share another life-transforming and unforgettable CARAVAN with all of you!

Coffee, tea, and light snacks will be served.

This Sunday, January 15 • During 10 am worship

You’ve elected people to serve as officers of the church — both as elders and deacons. We hope you’ll show your support for these new officers by joining us for worship onsite or online as they’re ordained (if they haven’t been previously ordained as an officer in our denomination) and installed on January 15. Here is a list of new officers — feel free to welcome and thank them for their service!

Deacons (all serving 3-year terms)

Thursday, January 19 • 7 pm • Zoom

What do God and Big Tech have to do with each other? Is spiritual care missing from the lives of those in Big Tech here in the Silicon Valley and beyond? Rev. Annanda Barclay will share her experience as a chaplain with STEM students attending Stanford and share her insights into this space of needed care.

Saturday, January 21 • 9 am • RSVP

The rain continues, but we’ll be brave and plan a hike anyway. Normally, we would hike the second Saturday of the month, but due to the MLK holiday, we chose to push out our hike until the third Saturday in January.

Join us at Almaden Quicksilver County Park for a beautiful 5.7-mile hike with an elevation gain of 1187 ft. It’s a bit of a climb in the beginning (we’ll take it slow) and then a breeze from there.

Meet at 9 am at the Hacienda Entrance, 21785 Almaden Rd., San Jose. Please be sure to RSVP to hiking@sunnyvalepres.com — this is especially important if we need to cancel again due to rain. We’re looking forward to seeing you there!

4th Mondays, beginning January 23 • 7–8:30 pm • Zoom

You are invited to join a small group that will come together monthly to pray for our church, community, world, and whatever else is on the hearts of group members. Praying in community can be a powerful experience that deepens connections with God and with others. Whether you have lots of experience praying in community or very little, we invite you to explore prayer with us in this new small group.

The group will meet over Zoom on the fourth Monday of each month from 7–8:30 pm. We invite you to come to the first session, January 23, to learn about the group and decide if you would like to continue. The prayer time will be facilitated by Debbie Shaver and Vicki Anderson. Contact Debbie for more information.

The church has some old photographs that we’d like to preserve in digital format. If you’re able to help, please contact kris@sunnyvalepres.com.

If you worship with us online, you know we have a nice community of folks that regularly greet one another in the chat. Each Sunday we have a volunteer logged in “as the church” to welcome folks and copy/paste links or other pertinent info into the chat. If you’re interested in being the Facebook host (it’s not hard!) approximately once a month, please contact kris@sunnyvalepres.com.

Sunday, February 5 • 6–8 pm • Fellowship Hall • RSVP

Let's have a blast together! We are excited to begin a new year with you in 2023, and to invite youth and their families to attend our annual Family Winter Party. Families will come together in the Fellowship Hall for a laser tag game in the gym and other activities throughout the Phoenix Center. Dinner provided!

This past Wednesday we held our first Modern Worship Collective — an informal, intimate and collaborative evening. Everyone is invited to join us as we discover where God is leading us in this worship journey. Whether you’re a musician, writer, worship leader, community activist — or just someone who cares about worship that is modern and justice-minded — please join us as we co-create a new, modern worship experience!

This worship service will be offered in the sanctuary and via Zoom. It will initially be offered on the third Wednesday of each month. Evensong carries on a tradition of contemplative worship introduced first in 1996 as a lay-led once-a-month worship experience. In 2003, it became the pastor-led “Early Light” service, which was offered Sunday mornings prior to the pandemic. Like Early Light, Evensong will feature Taizé music, prayer, moments of silence, and communion.

Contemplative worship is a tradition dating back centuries. Its intention is to lead the worshiper into an encounter with the God whose nature is love, and from that encounter out again into the world. In the words of Thomas Merton, “Contemplation is the highest expression of [our] intellectual and spiritual life... It is spiritual wonder.” 

Fridays • 1–3 pm • Email

Are you interested in going on a child-paced nature walk in nature preserves around Sunnyvale? Join Heather and her kids on Fridays from 1–3 pm. The walks are accessible and not strenuous. The focus is on being observant and curious in nature. This is perfect for retired folks, grandparents or grandparent wannabes, parents of preschoolers or homeschoolers, and anyone in between. Contact Heather Dunphy-Nielsen for more information!

March 24–26 • Vallambrosa Center, Menlo Park • Register • Info

We are excited to announce that registration for our in-person Women’s Retreat is now open! All women and gender non-conforming folks are invited to join in a weekend of renewal, refreshment and learning together. This is a not-to-be-missed event as we hear from the Rev. Annanda Barclay (back by popular demand) and share meals and community together. Activities including hikes, crafts, yoga, prayer stations and more will be offered. More information and registration is on the website or email the co-directors with questions.

How do we curate and nurture cultures of care in our homes and communities? We do this not because we’re women ascribed the topic of care by society as a gender burden. We explore this because we are human beings, who happen to identify as Christian women, and want to support cultures of care as a practical approach to a functional, thriving society.

And yet, “The person who does not read has no advantage over the person who cannot read.”

Some attribute this saying (updated to read “person” rather than “man”) to American author Mark Twain, but the attribution is unsubstantiated. The quote later appeared in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen J. Covey’s best-selling book from 1989, now in its 30th edition.

One great place to find a new book to nurture your spiritual life is the Book Sale Cart in Trinity Court Sundays after 10 am worship. Browse the daily meditation books appealing to varied interests: All God’s Creatures Daily Devotions for Animal Lovers Guide; Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence; Beach Calling Devotional Journal for the Middle Years and Beyond; and God’s Words of Life for Mothers.

You can also pick up a free copy of the January–March 2023 These Days Daily Devotions.

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.

Please apply for a matching employer donation if your workplace offers this option. If you’ve tried unsuccessfully in the past, please try again, because recent changes have made Sunnyvale Pres an eligible charity for more employers.

In addition to the blue prayer cards in the pew racks, feel free to 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.”