Where Marin Youth Meet Criminal Justice
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Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church Newsletter
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Weekly Happenings at SHPC
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January 19, 2017
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When Our Kids Get in Trouble ...
Guest Noah Block in Conversation with Pastor Bev
On PC(USA) Criminal Justice Sunday
At Sleepy Hollow church, it is safe to say that everybody loves children. Our children have a role each Sunday in worship, and contribute in many ways to the life of the church. We hope that each one is soaking up the love and care of the congregation, and the message that they are beloved children of God.
These Drake H.S. Wellness statistics (from the TUHSD CA Healthy Kids Survey, 2015-16; click here for the full report) set off alarm bells for all of us who care about kids:
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24% (9th) and 34% (11th) report feeling so sad or hopeless almost every day for two or more weeks that they stopped doing some usual activities; over the last 12 months
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13% (9th) and 11% (11th) report seriously attempting suicide over the last 12 months
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21% (9th) and 19% (11th) report cutting, burning or scratching themselves on purpose or intentionally
Our kids are under too much emotional stress, and God is calling us to find a way to support them. This Sunday, January 22, 2017 at 9:30 a.m., Drake H.S. Senior and Marin County Youth Humanitarian of the Year Noah Block will join us for a lively conversation with Pastor Bev about what kids do with emotional pain, what happens to kids who get in trouble with the law, Marin Youth Court's terrific restorative justice program, and what we can do to help our youth.
And TONIGHT AT 6:30 p.m., at the DRAKE H.S. STUDENT CENTER,
Drake Wellness Presents: The Students Behind the Statistics: Understanding the CA Healthy Kids Survey 2015/16 Data Through Student Voice and Community Solutions - For Parents and Students
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A Note From
Pastor Bev
Thank you to each and every one of you who made our Tribute to Dr. King such an amazing experience last Sunday. Our musicians, our Singers, 20 inspired readers, our bell ringing youth, our children at the children's time - all co-created a memorable and moving morning which we called
Civil War, Civil Rights, Civil Society, God's World, A Tribute to Dr. King on MLK Sunday.
I loved putting together the texts, and am happy to share the "script," so just ask me if you'd like a copy of the readings for inspiration.
This is a historic weekend for our country, and many of us are commemorating it in a variety of significant ways. Don't forget to pray. We'll be gathering for an interfaith service tomorrow night, Friday, Jan. 20 at 6:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of San Rafael, downtown at 5th and E, for prayer, song, and inspiration. Our own Stephen Iverson will be jamming on the chancel with Congressman Jared Huffman! We are called to be in solidarity with the marginalized and vulnerable, and that solidarity uplifts our spirits.
Traveling blessings to those of you on the road this weekend, especially our dear friends heading to Westminster Woods for the Women's Retreat, and all our marchers.
And remember always the words of Dr. King:
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
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January/February Calendar
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Friday, Jan. 20th
Noon
5:00 p.m.
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Bible Study with Pastor Bev
Yoga with Karen |
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Saturday, Jan. 21st
5:30 p.m.
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Sandra's Game at Dominican U. - S.R.
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| Sunday, Jan. 22nd
9:30 a.m.
10:15 - 11:15
10:30 a.m
10:40 - 11:15
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Criminal Justice Sunday
Where Marin Youth Meet Criminal Justice with Noah Block in conversation with Pastor Bev
YOUTH GROUP with Sandra
Coffee and Fellowship
Q and A with Noah Block
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Wednesday, Jan. 25th
6:30 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
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Hand Chimes rehearse
SHPC Singers rehearse
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Friday, Jan. 27th
Noon
5:00 p.m.
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PASTOR BEV AWAY FOR WEEKEND
For Pastoral Care Emergencies, please call Rev. Bentley Stewart at 407-489-1258
Bible Study TBD
Yoga with Karen
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| Sunday, Jan. 29th
9:30 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
10:45 a.m.
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Rev Bentley Stewart
Coffee and Fellowship -- All are Welcome!
Let's Talk - about Standing Rock
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Wednesday, Feb. 1st
6:30 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
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Hand Chimes rehearse
SHPC Singers rehearse
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Friday, Feb. 3rd
Noon
5:00 p.m.
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Bible Study with Pastor Bev
Yoga with Karen
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Sunday, Feb. 12
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Save the date for the Annual Meeting of the Congregation following the service to review the budget and approve the Pastor's Terms of Call. |
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Church Directory Updates
Has Your Address, Email or Phone Changed? Our SHPC Member & Friends Directory is being updated, and the 2017 edition will be handed out at the congregational meeting on Sunday, Feb. 12. If you have any changes that need to be made to your listing, please
contact the church office by Sunday January 29th.
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Bible Study - Friday, Jan. 20th - Noon
Isaiah 61:1-2, Luke 4:18-19, Hebrews 13:3
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Congressman Huffman is hosting an Interfaith Service/Vigil on
Friday, January 20 at 6:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of San Rafael. Pastor Bev and Stephen Iverson will be there! This will be the culmination of the Congressman's Day of Action - rather than attending the inauguration, he is spending the day working with groups throughout the district including Habitat for Humanity and the Ukiah Food Bank.
This event will be open and free to the public; it's focus will be tolerance, inclusion, social justice, and peace. It will include brief speeches by people from diverse faith backgrounds, inspirational music, and the opportunity to connect with and sign up with local groups who are working to make the world a better place.
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Please Remember in Your Prayers
The family and loved ones of Betty Swalberg,
who passed away Dec. 30, may God comfort our dear Wil and all Betty's family in their bereavement;
Our country, for a way forward where we live our values of justice and equality for all people; for a well-informed citizenry; for government of, by, and for the people, with leaders of integrity;
All our young people, especially those for whom addiction, dependence and/or abuse of alcohol and other drugs is destructive, and for their loved ones;
Our Muslim neighbors, subject to Islamophobia and hate crimes;
Those living in the shadows and fearing deportation, and their families, may they find sanctuary;
Our planet, and the world's poor, all who suffer from disruptive climate change, may we continue our work to keep the planet livable;
The refugees and displaced, almost 1 out of 100 people in the world today, for safety, homes, and the basics of life;
Laurie O'Hara and her family, for God's loving presence and comfort in mourning the loss of her mother, Carolyn;
Kelsey Lopin, for healing and full recovery from complications of Lyme disease, and for God's abiding presence, comfort, and love;
Andrea Proster, sister of Nancy Elberg, for complete healing, and for Nancy for continued strength in companioning her;
Paul Lambert's Mom, blessed assurance of God's constant presence;
The PC(USA), as it strives to speak up effectively for justice for all people, especially the vulnerable and marginalized;
Dr. Doug Tilton, our PC(USA) mission co-worker in Southern Africa;
Our church community, renew us and grant us fortitude to continue to bring light to a dark world.
Please take time this week to pray for those on our list.
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In Memoriam
Betty Swalberg
6/10/1928 - 12/30/2016
Please Join the Family at a
Celebration of her Life
and Service of Witness to the Resurrection
SHPC - Saturday, Feb. 18 at 2 p.m.
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Family Ministries Invites All to
Join the Sat. Jan. 21 B'ball Fun! At Dominican - 5:30 Game Time
Our Youth Director
Sandra has been named
In December, we had so much fun sporting our Black and Gold and cheering on Sandra #14 and her awesome team!!!
Let's do it again!!
Rides available with Pastor Bev (Peet's Red Hill at 4:45) or with Janel from Corte Madera/101 corridor
Contact
Janel Stewart for more info and let Pastor Bev know if you need a ride by clicking
here.
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Youth Group this Sunday, Jan 22nd
Come to church and sit with Sandra at 9:30
Go downstairs to Pastor Bev's Office before Stephen's Song
Get your snacks on the way in
Youth Group goes until 11:15 a.m.!
Parents are welcome to return upstairs with their coffee and snacks for Q and A/Discussion with Noah Block
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YOGA
FRIDAYS JANUARY 20, 27 :
5 - 6PM
Join us for yoga this January, ours is a community class, a place of welcome for all skill levels and experience. Bring an open heart and come as you are, everyone is welcome.
We are practicing upstairs in the sanctuary during these chillier months, walk up the stairs to your left after you enter the building.
Come early if it is your first time or you are new to yoga or would like to discuss an injury you need to work around.
This is a donation based class. Suggested donation $5-$10.We have extra mats if you don't have one.
See you on Fridays, Karen x
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Thank You to all Who Pledged!
Thank you to 55 pledgers for pledging $138,213 to the life of church in 2017!
With gratitude,
Doug, Finance Elder and Stewardship Chair
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Annual Congregational Meeting
The Annual Congregational Meeting will be held immediately following the service on Feb 12th, 2017. The Annual Budget will be reviewed, outgoing officers will be thanked, the Nominating Committee's slate of officers will be voted upon, and the congregation will vote on the Pastor's Terms of Call (compensation).
--Dennis Latta, Clerk of Session
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Volunteer Now - to Help the Kids at Short School
The adorable kids at the Short School in San Rafael are a community at risk - both because they are mostly living in poverty, and because they come from a community where fear of deportation runs high. NOW IS THE TIME TO HELP!
Our own Jody Brockett is now coordinating the After School Enrichment on Wednesdays, and she needs:
Cooking help - Wed. 2:15-3:15
Gardening help - Wed. 4:00 - 5:00
(please a few gardeners)
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REST Program Needs You
We will continue to host meals through April. To
read more information about REST and to sign-up online, please click on this link:
SHPC
will continue to organize Middle and High School students to contribute to REST -- this year youth will prepare soup and bread for our REST guests. For more info, contact Jennifer Gauna at [email protected]
If you have questions, please contact Shannon Mong at
[email protected]
(phone is 415-279-2402).
In advance - thanks for your support of this year's REST evenings!
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Wil LOVES an invite for lunch or dinner!
Thank you and bless you to all who have reached out to invite him over for a meal. You are lighting up his life!
And we thank him for his faithful and continuing FOOD BARREL MINISTRY.
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WE ALL LOVE FELLOWSHIP--
PLEASE SIGN UP TO HELP OUT
Fellowship time is organized by your Deacons. We need everyone to sign-up about 3-4 times a year.
Click below to sign up:
Sign up now and keep the hospitality
going!
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Don't be shy, Greeting is a Treat!
We've updated the signups for the new year!
Help with our ministry of hospitality by signing up to be a greeter! All you have to do is get to church by 9:15, light the candles, and hand out bulletins with a smile. Thank you to all who have signed up so far!
Thank you all for your continued support,
Jody Brockett,
Worship Elder
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"
The Day I Met Rosa Parks "
Jim Haskins, a terrific author and prolific biographer, was with me in LA one night working on a pet project of ours (a musical, of course), when he said "I think we've worked enough for today, I want to visit a friend of mine yet tonight." Jim had authored over 100 books -- including "Diary of a Harlem School Teacher", "Profiles in Black Power", along with the biographies of Stevie Wonder, Lena Horne, Scott Joplin, and many more.
He said, are you busy? I'd like you to come.
I said sure.
We pulled up to a house in the southern part of LA (near Inglewood) and entered. We were greeted by a husband and wife who obviously had known him for years. Jim had a twinkle in his eye and said how is Mrs. Parks? Is she able to receive us? My heart sank. Jim never told me who we were going to see - he loved surprises. In 1999 he had written and released her biography.
As we entered the living room, there was Rosa Parks, wrapped in a blanket. Fragile and elderly. But, she had a sweetness and spry spirit about her. She looked up and said "why Jim you've brought a friend for me to meet" -- I was speechless -- "Come here", she said.
Rosa extended her arms outward and I bent over and kissed her cheek. "Hello Mrs. Parks, I'm Paul". She looked me right in the eye and said, "Come, sit here beside me. Tell me about you".
I will always remember those words. "Tell me about you" -- I wanted to say "NO!!!! "Tell me about YOU." But that would have been highly inappropriate. So I told her about me, my family, and the Musical Jim and I were working on.
In light of what is going on today, I thought wouldn't it be wonderful if more who are throwing barbs at one another would invite the other over and say, "Tell me about you". What powerful words. Imagine if Donald Trump invited a vocal enemy over and said "have a seat ... tell me about you".
I for one know how surprising and beneficial that phrase can be -- and how disarming and revealing if two people who know they are different, have opposite views, and maybe even have publicly barked polarizing comments about the other, used this phrase as an opener -- for one thing it would cause each to listen, and I hope hear.
There are many voices to be heard today. And hear them we must. Because through many voices emerges "truth". And, we behold "these truths" in America. My time with Rosa Parks will always be a treasured memory, but so will my memory of that fantastic phrase ... "tell me about you". I'll be listening more and more in the days ahead, and asking this question. How about you?
Your friend ... Paul
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Paul Lambert is a member of SHPC who travels extensively for his career as a producer of Broadway-bound musicals. He is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute who studies the Bible daily and attends our Bible Study whenever he's in town. He posts this blog each week no matter where he is, to the delight and comfort of many. SHPC thanks you, Paul.
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Our presbytery consists of 48 congregations, 5,922 congregational members, and 151 minister members. Our geographical boundaries stretch along the northern California coast from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border, including the counties of Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Lake, Mendocino, and Humboldt. We are a partnership of Christ's disciples with a variety of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. In the midst of our diversity and differences, we respect and support one another as we carry out our individual ministries and our common mission as a presbytery.
To find out more about what's going on in the presbyte
ry,
click here.
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Presbyterian groups to join thousands in Washington, DC for national Women's March
by Rick Jones | Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE - Hundreds of thousands of people will be making their way to the nation's capital in the coming days, not to take part in the presidential inauguration, but to send a clear message to the new administration that "women's rights are human rights."
The
Women's March on Washington is scheduled to take place Saturday, January 21st, one day after the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. Organizers say the event is not intended to target the new president, but is about being proactive on women's rights as well as other social justice and human rights issues from race, ethnicity and gender to immigration and healthcare.
Among those planning to attend is a group from the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Wooster, Ohio, also home to the College of Wooster. Emily Oshinskie, a Young Adult Peace worker at the church, is among those making the trip.
"How do we as women stand up when we feel powerless in a lot of different ways?" asked Oshinskie. "It's a great way to locally and nationally reframe our context by engaging in a national Women's March. It helps bring the community together."
The church is partnering with the local NAACP chapter, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, as well as the Office of Interfaith Campus Ministry and Center for Diversity and Inclusion on the college campus.
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"How do we as a mostly white, traditionally male denomination bring up women leaders and women of color?" she asked. "This march will be a good springboard for a community to reflect and look back at ourselves and how we as a community, celebrate women leaders."
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Organizers are hoping to model the event after the August 1963 march on Washington, where Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. Their plan is to march on Independence Avenue at the southwest corner of the U.S. Capitol building and continue along the National Mall.
To read this article in its entirety,
click here
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The Women's March is a national movement to unify and empower everyone who stands for human rights, civil liberties, and social justice for all. We gather in community to find healing and strength through tolerance, civility, and compassion.
The Women's March in San Francisco is on 1/21 (
3-5pm Rally, 5-8pm candlelight march). If you're interested in going, here are some things to do:
Whatever you're doing on Saturday, I hope you have an opportunity to share a message of unity with those in our community who are most in need of visible support -- immigrants, LGBTQ+, the unhoused, and our Muslim neighbors.
--Shannon Mong, our REST program coordinator
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PC(USA) signs on to climate and justice letter to President-elect Trump
Saying the group believes "the United States can and must play a leadership role in addressing these environmental challenges which threaten our planet, our security, the health of our families, and the fate of communities throughout the world," the letter asked the new administration to work across party lines to "safeguard God's creation, address the impacts of climate change on our most vulnerable brothers and sisters."
Key policy areas identified for action by the faith communities are greenhouse gas emissions, energy-specifically clean energy production, just transition and job creation in pursuit of a clean energy economy, climate finance, upholding international climate commitments, preserving public and sacred lands, safeguarding American Indian and Alaska Native rights, protecting endangered species, ensuring humane U.S.-Mexico border policies, and a renewed commitment to ensure all communities have access to clean, safe and affordable drinking water.
The letter ends with a request to meet with the incoming administration to discuss these issues, praying the President-elect will use his "leadership role to act together in solidarity with God's earth and in hope for our shared future."
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Tuesday, January 24, 6:00 - 7:30pm
Dominican Sisters Gathering Space
1520 Grand Ave
San Rafael, CA 94901
The first in a series of facilitated conversations to promote understanding across the issues that divide us. We will listen and respond from the centered Wisdom of our faith traditions.
This first conversation focuses on voices from threatened communities as together we discern how to respond to the new political reality in 2017.
Panelists include:
Fatima Hansia, Islamic Center of Mill Valley
Lucia Martel-Dow, Canal Alliance
Nancy Flaxman, The Spahr Center
Love offering at the door
(The venue has asked that no minors attend due to their liability contract.)
For More information, contact
Janice Ennik
415-456-6957
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Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church
100 Tarry Road
San Anselmo, CA 94960
Katie Brendler,
Editor
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