This Sunday, we will celebrate communion. If you’re joining us online, remember to have your communion elements — some bread and drink that’s common to your home and household — with you when you connect to Sunday’s livestream worship.

Did you know that each time we come to the Lord’s Table for Communion, we also have the DipJar in the courtyard to help put food on others’ tables? Dip your credit card to give $5 to Sunnyvale Community Services. Want to give more? Just dip more! This method of giving is the most beneficial way to help SCS purchase needed foods in bulk. Thanks for caring!

Worshiping online? You can give online at sunnyvalepres.com/dipjar.

Christina Raycroft is our new Director of PELC. A native of Sunnyvale, Christina has been working very hard to get teachers, classrooms, parents, and children ready for the new school year which starts on Monday.

Christina’s original career path was in medical technology, but when she had her own children, she found herself drawn to the classrooms of her young boys. With encouragement from others who recognized her gifts, Christina eventually went back to school, this time in Early Childhood Education. She started working at PELC as a substitute teacher, then a floater, a teacher, and assistant director. She was ready when asked to serve as PELC’s director upon the retirement of Darlene Ogasawara in June.

Christina has a remarkable set of skills. She can engage with small children, support teachers, manage budgets, and engage in strategic planning. She is excited to be successfully navigating this stage of the pandemic while opening a new full-time class for the 3-year-olds and two part-time classes for 2-year-olds. We wish Christina and all her staff the very best in the 2022–23 school year!

At its meeting on February 15, the session of Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church voted to express its opposition to the Sargent Quarry Project, which is proposed for land known as Juristac by the Amah Mutsun, an indigenous tribal band. The proposed project threatens the cultural and spiritual integrity of this unique site, where spiritual ceremonies and dances have been conducted by Amah Mutsun for millennia.

As Presbyterians and people of faith, we understand that we are all stewards of Creation, responsible for the care of the land and preservation of sacred places. We stand with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band in its effort to preserve Juristac, which is integral to sustaining the sacred cultural heritage of the Amah Mutsun. We believe that Amah Mutsun spirituality is worthy of the same sacred respect provided to other religious and spiritual spaces in our county.

In February, the Clerk of Session sent a letter supporting the Amah Mutsun to Santa Clara County governmental entities that have to approve the permits for the proposed quarry. In June, a representative of Mission & Service spoke in favor of a resolution asking the Sunnyvale City Council to oppose the quarry. The resolution was adopted.

Last December a dedicated group of volunteers cleaned out the four storage containers that were on the parking lot for so many years. These storage units were sold because the City of Sunnyvale let us know they were not allowed on our property. This was a big loss of storage, especially for The Music School. We were finally able to solve this problem by ordering a shed kit that was put together and “raised” by a wonderful group of volunteers led by our fantastic Senior Maintenance Engineer, Gama Ramirez. Thank you to Bob Stoddard, Andreas Ott, Mike Murray, George Tharakan, Jim Shaver, Laura Compton, Bill Kunz, Mitch Ungson, Ed Ranck and Jose Romero for helping to make this happen!

This year, our Church School will feature monthly service projects creating items that can be donated to organizations benefiting our greater community. In order to raise money to buy supplies for these service projects, we will be selling sweet treats in Trinity Court after service on Sunday, August 14. Please stop by to hear more about our upcoming projects and support Children’s ministry by buying a baked good or donating. (You can also donate online.) We hope to see you there!

You are invited to join a Presbyterian Women’s Circle meeting (some online, some in person) this month to learn about the coming year and prepare for our Bible study starting in September. Contact Marian Devine at smplydivin@aol.com or 1-408-306-9389 for details.

Youth ministry is recruiting adult volunteers! • Sign up

Youth ministry is looking for adult volunteers for the 2022–23 program year. Adult volunteers are vital to the mission and vision of Youth ministry at Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church. They lead relationally, with grace, and help to connect students to the Divine in their lives with honesty and authenticity. Adult volunteers need not be experts or have it all figured out, but rather “consent to learn in public”— they consent to journeying along with young people in the community in their faith, life, and relationship to the church.

Interested in being a 2022–23 adult volunteer? Multiple volunteer roles are available to fit your interests and schedule. Please fill out the application.

Saturday, August 20 • Details & RSVP

The Pray the Calendar Youth Ministry Planning Retreat on August 20 is a day for all adults working in Youth ministry to come together, build community, and draft a program plan for our 2022–23 program year! Check the calendar to learn more and RSVP to this retreat.

10:30–11:30 am • Over Zoom

Sunnyvale Pres seniors in your 80s and older are invited to a virtual coffee! Join Pastor Karin and members of the Caring Ministry Team for music and conversation — it’s always good to be together! If we have your birthday in our database, we’ll be sending you an email reminder a few days before the coffee. Questions? Contact Roger Medsker at medskerrd@gmail.com or 1-319-400-2828.

6:30 pm video, 7 pm discussion • Zoom (password: svpcnext)

Please join us for some meaningful conversations sparked by the recent NEXT Church National Gathering. The Restoration Bible Study features a short video series (10 minutes each) with accompanying reflection guides. Topics include Sabbath, environmental justice, inequities around rest, racial justice, post-pandemic church life, and the tension between tradition and vision. If you missed the first two evenings, no worries! Jump in where we are. Feel free to preview the videos and discussion guides ahead of time, or just join at 6:30 to watch with us. (August 31 will cover sessions 5 & 6.)

Resource materials (password: svpcnext)

It’s the Bible, of course — the world’s best-selling book (according to the Guinness Book of World Records). In their November 17, 2021 TheoEd talk, Rev. Dr. Wil Gafney said that, contrary to what many are raised hearing, the Bible uses both masculine and feminine imagery for God in its original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek.

Curious to read it for yourself? Several English translations (out of perhaps 100 according to some sources), commentaries, and children’s Bibles are available on the Book Sale Cart in Trinity Court on Sundays after worship. Some use more inclusive language for God than others.

Also available: The 2007 novel The Shack by William P. Young, which depicts God in a surprising way, and its sequel, The Shack Revisited.

Fun Facts: The entire Bible has been translated into more than 700 languages. The New Testament and specific Bible portions and stories have been translated into about 2,700 additional languages — out of 7,117 known world languages.

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. Whenever you’re shopping with Amazon, just start at smile.amazon.com instead of amazon.com. It’s that simple!

Sanctuary & Zoom

We will celebrate the life of Donald Strandburg at 1 pm on Saturday, August 20. Reception will follow at the home of Kristi and Bill Pierce.

Meeting ID: 899 4313 4587

I am very grateful for all the love, prayers, cards, and sharing of warm memories at the Celebration of Life for my husband, Gary Schultz. The service exceeded our expectations in every way! A special thanks to Rev. Karin and to Emily Ralph for all they did for the family and guests as well. It was the perfect blend of music, memories and reflection. Please do continue to hold us in prayer. — Elaine Mansfield & family

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.”