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Forgiveness means Letting Go of Improving Others
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Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church Newsletter
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Weekly Happenings at SHPC
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October 20, 2016
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October Series - Forgiveness and Letting Go ...
Letting Go of "Improving" Others, Especially Family
The Lord's Prayer makes it plain: God calls us to forgive others. We know that letting go of our grudges and resentments could set us free and soften our hearts, which is right where God wants us. And yet... This Sunday, October 23, 2016, at 9:30 a.m., we'll conclude our
Forgiveness and Letting Go series with an exploration of how we can let go of trying to change the unchangeable past and gracefully give up on trying to "improve" the significant people in our lives. Our spiritual health depends on it!
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A Note From
Pastor Bev
Last Thursday, I was invited to join a small group of Muslims, Jews, and Christian clergy at a meeting with our Congressman, Jared Huffman, to talk about solutions to the Israeli - Palestinian conflict, and to talk about Islamophobia here in Marin. Part of the impetus for the meeting was a visit to the Congressman by Muslim constituents whose children have been concerned about what this presidential election means for their futures. The children have been asking if they are going to be locked up or sent away after election day.
I invited Mubarack Muthalif of the Islamic Center of North Marin (Novato) to be our guest here at church one Sunday. He replied with enthusiasm that he would like to bring a large group from his mosque to share a feast with us, and that they will bring the feast! Let's put together a team of peacemakers to welcome Mubarack and his congregation to our church for a feast. Let me know if you'd like to participate.
The Spirit keeps bringing us amazing opportunities to be God's hands and feet in the world. Thanks be to God!
In peace,
Bev
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October/November Calendar
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Friday, October 21st
Noon
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Bible Study with Pastor Bev
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Sunday, October 23rd
9:30 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
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Forgiveness & Letting Go concludes
Letting Go of Improving Others, Including Family
Coffee and Fellowship -- All are Welcome!
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Wednesday, October 26th
6:30 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
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Holiday Hand Chimes
SHPC Singers rehearse - come join us!
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Friday, October 28th
Noon
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Bible Study with Pastor Bev
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Sunday, October 30th
9:30 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
Monday, October 31
HALLOWEEN
5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
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Season of Stewardship
The Fruits of the Spirit
Coffee and Fellowship -- All are Welcome!
OPEN HOUSE AT THE CHURCH-
Hot cider, popcorn, and rest(rooms) |
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Wednesday, November 2
6:30 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
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Holiday Hand Chimes
SHPC Singers rehearse |
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Friday, November 4
NOON
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BIBLE STUDY with Pastor Bev |
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Sunday, November 6
9:30 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
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STEWARDSHIP SUNDAY
Eldridge String Quartet
Harvest Feast |
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Celebration of Stewardship 2016
A VERY SPECIAL SUNDAY -
ALL WELCOME!
Sunday, November 6, 2016
9:30 a.m.
Eldridge String Quartet
Offering of Pledge Cards
and ANNUAL HARVEST FEAST hosted by the Deacons
immediately following the service
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Harvest Feast
Join our church family and friends
For a traditional Thanksgiving Supper
Immediately after church on November 6th
The Deacons will supply
The main course, and will be contacting you
Regarding help with the sides.
Come one and all! Invite your friends and family!
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Bible Study - Friday, October 21st -
Noon with Pastor Bev
The Lord's Prayer - Matthew 6:5-15; Luke 11:1-4
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Please Remember in Your Prayers
The loved ones of the three young adults killed in a car accident on Sir Francis Drake this week, for comfort in their grief;
All those who have lost their lives and loved ones, and all those impacted by Hurricane Matthew;
The refugees and displaced, almost 1 out of 100 people in the world today, for safety, homes, and the basics of life;
Our vulnerable seniors, and their loved ones and caretakers;
Our country, for a national discourse of respect and dignity for all;
Steve Derr's Father, for recovery from stroke, and God's presence. And the family, God's comfort;
Ryan Burk
s,
son of
Warren and Jackie Burks, for healing, and for strength and hope for his family;
Carolyn O'Hara, mother of Laurie, for God's comfort, companionship, and strength, and healing;
Kelsey Lopin, for healing and full recovery from complications of Lyme disease;
Andrea Proster, sister of Nancy Elberg, for complete healing, and for Nancy for continued strength in companioning her;
Betty Swalberg, for God's presence and peace, and
Wil Swalberg, for God's comfort and community support;
Paul Lambert's Mom, blessed assurance of God's constant presence;
The PC(USA), as it discerns and follows God's call to be a Matthew 25 church, and its new Co-Moderators, Revs. Denise Anderson and Jan Edmiston, and Stated Clerk, Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson;
Dr. Doug Tilton, our PC(USA) mission co-worker in Southern Africa;
Rev. Kate Taber, our PC(USA) mission co-worker in East Jerusalem;
The world's poor, all who suffer from disruptive climate change, and our planet;
Our church community, keep us faithful to the love and justice of Jesus, strong in our commitment to the church, and make us hope-bringers to the world.
Please take time this week to pray for those on our list.
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Session Report
From Dennis Latta, Clerk of Session
October 12, 2016 Monthly Meeting
Finance - Doug Eisinger - Review of monthly financial reports, year-end projections,
introduction re 2017 budgeting process,
pledge drive overview, solar fund update
House and Grounds - Doug for Fred Morfit- Door project on hold pending further financial review
Family Ministries - Janel Stewart - report on Sept. 18 meeting with families and youth, youth leader interview scheduled for Sunday, Halloween Open House 5-8 p.m.
Mission - Patti Vance - Justice Garden update
Membership Nurture - Linda Peltzman - card ministry and pastoral care
Worship - Jody Brockett - Attendance report, Advent planning, Flower Guild update
Deacon Moderator report - Kit Argilla - Harvest Feast set for Nov. 6
Clerk and Moderator Reports - Adoption of parking lot use policy.
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Food 4 Good
Youth REST Chefs Harvest from the Justice Garden and Cook for the Homeless, Taking "Thyme" To Give Back
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REST Youth Cooking Program at SHPC Seeking Kitchen Items
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Too many extra items in your kitchen? Looking to reduce what you have? The SHPC Youth Cooking Program is currently seeking kitchen item donations for use in preparing soup and breads for REST. Donations can be made to the Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church the next three Sundays or by contacting Jennifer Gauna at 415.748.1831 or
[email protected].
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Blenders
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Food processors
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Ladles
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Kitchen cook knives
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Paring knives
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Cutting boards
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Stock pots
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Slow cookers, 2
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Small glass mason jars
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Mesh strainers
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Spatulas
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12-inch kitchen wooden spoons
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Graters, peelers or slicers
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Saute pans
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18qt Storage containers with lids, 2
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Hot pads
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Kitchen scissors
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Muffin tins
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Time to Volunteer For The REST Program
About REST
REST (Rotating Emergency Shelter) provides dinner, dignity, and a safe place to sleep for our unhoused neighbors from November to April. SHPC is one of 17 participating faith communities, and donations to our Justice Garden contribute to our REST food and supplies.
- Our Men's evening takes place at St. Rita's Church in Fairfax on THE FIRST MONDAY OF THE MONTH. We typically serve 30 people (23 guests & staff, plus our volunteers).
- Our Women's evening takes place at the county's Health & Wellness Campus in San Rafael on THE SECOND TUESDAY OF THE MONTH. We prepare to serve up to 26 people (20 guests & staff, plus our volunteers).
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED -- DATES LISTED BELOW:
Volunteers' Contributions
In addition to preparing and bringing a dish in advance, volunteers arrive early to set up the room. Together we welcome and say a blessing with our un-housed neighbors, serve the meal, eat dinner with our un-housed neighbors, and then clean up the meal. Guests are usually tired from a long day outdoors, our goal is to help them feel safe, well nourished, and rest as much as possible (this is why we don't organize activities in addition to the meal).
Updates
Thanks for the survey feedback so many of you provided! Here are a few updates about this year's REST:
- If you prefer to cook and not be on-site (or the reverse), then you are welcome to find a "partner". When you sign-up online
be sure to identify who will cook/bring food and who will volunteer on-site. If there's only one name on the sign-up, we are counting on you to cook (in advance) and volunteer on-site
- 2 crock pots (with well sealed lids) will be available at SHPC to "check out" the Sunday before a REST event. Please return these before the next Sunday, so they're available for the next event.
- "Site Coordinators" will rotate to share the on-site responsibilities (Scott Hamilton & Shannon Mong for Men, Millie Milar & Jeanette Molineaux for women).
- 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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Calling Short School Volunteers! It takes a village!
Join Jody Brockett, Merle Ongaro, and Ann Pope in enriching the afternoons of students at the Short School and you will be building a kinder, more just and peaceful world.
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Take Action To End Family Detention
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Take Action to End Family Detention
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Tell the Obama Administration to Act Now!
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The committee was established in June 2015 to review DHS family detention centers and give advice and recommendations to the department about the operation of these facilities.
"Jesus said, 'Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.' In saying this, he acknowledged the deep connection between children's health and the context in which they live," said the Reverend Dr. J. Hebert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the PC(USA). "This report affirms what we have known for a long time, that families and children seeking safety in the U.S. should not be imprisoned. Prisons are not healthy communities for children."
In 2014 families began arriving at the U.S southern border in numbers never seen before. These families from Central America, overwhelmingly meeting the initial legal standard for seeking asylum, believed they would receive protection in the U.S. The U.S. government, while acknowledging that this was a humanitarian crisis, reacted by creating three new prisons, two of which are privately run, to house families seeking asylum and other forms of immigration protection.
The PC(USA) has been in the center of this crisis from the beginning. Congregations in Texas organized and serve as Christ's hands and feet by visiting families in detention and, when released, meeting them at the bus station to provide for their basic needs as they journey to their next destination. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has been walking alongside emerging outreach ministries, like the one in Texas, providing resources and guidance. The denomination's Office of the General Assembly visited two facilities in May of 2015 and created a
film and resources to inform Presbyterians about this practice and how to advocate for an end to family detention.
The ACFRC
report and it's recommendation to end family detention inspires hope for asylum-seeking families and the faith and community leaders who have advocated for their human rights, but it is up to the Obama Administration to act upon the recommendations.
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FOLLOWING UP ON...
Let's Talk about Visiting Immigrants in Detention
At
Let's Talk
on September 11th, we viewed an educational, revealing, moving 20 minute film from the PC(USA) about the warehousing of immigrants for profit in the USA called Locked In A Box and the life-saving difference visitation makes. We are assembling a team and ask for your patience as we deal with bureaucracy. Thank you so much to all who have volunteered!
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The Crisis In Syria: Looking Toward the Future
by Rachel Yates, Associate Director of Program Presbyterian World Mission
"What is their future?" In response, the director of this church school for Syrian refugee children got a faraway look in her eyes. She slowly shook her head. "I don't know," she confessed.
Like nearly two million others in Lebanon who fled civil war and violence from extremists, the parents of these students are now restarting their lives-this group on rented land near Minyara, roughly nine miles from the Syrian border.
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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 thank him for his faithful and continuing FOOD BARREL MINISTRY.
MOST RECENT DONATION TOTAL:
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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 are in need of greeters to sign up through the signup genius website.
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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Reading Scripture Feels Good In Any Zip Code
This week I'm in NY and am away from the comforting surroundings of San Anselmo.
The city is full of hustle and bustle tonight as Hillary Clinton held a fund raiser at the Imperial Theater on Broadway. Everyone in the theater community was there. Billy Crystal hosted and Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Julia Roberts, Sara Jessica Parker, Hugh Jackman, Josh Groban were all outside buzzing with the swarm of people on the sidewalk.
When I'm away to work on projects in NY I usually cram too many meetings into each day --- but at some point, all of that is finished, and I am in a secluded place all alone, and read scripture. It's so calming.
Reading the Bible allows me to feel that God is right here with me, and that God's ear and active nature are ready to spring into action from whatever zip code I'm in. Below are excerpts from some of the verses that lift my spirits when on the road ...
"Take hold of my instructions; don't let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life"
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
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"Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.
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" God is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
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"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
"Trust in the Lord
with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
Verses like these get me ready for whatever I am about to face. Meetings go better, unexpected frustrations are dealt with better, I rest better at night, and am healthier and happier. When I really grasp how interested God is in partnering with me everyday ... life really takes on a new dynamic. It becomes an adventure and one in which we know we matter and have a role.
I hope you will make Bible reading a regular part of your daily routine. It's an inexpensive luxury that's meaningful from any zip code - especially 10011 here in Manhattan.
Your friend ... Paul Lambert
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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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S
aturday, October 22nd 2016 the Marin County Sheriff's Office in conjunction with the DEA will be hosting the National Take Back Initiative. This is a national program designed to safely collect and destroy expired, unwanted, and unused medications. Please bring your unwanted medications to one of our two collection sites the Marinwood Fire Station @777 Millercreek Road, Marinwood or the Marin City Public Safety Building @ 850 Drake Ave, Marin City. The collection times will be
10am-2pm.
Please send Deputy Sheriff JoshuaThaller
[email protected]
an email if you have any questions
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Fall 2016 Speaker Series
To learn more about the Ross Valley Healthy Community Collaborative, talk to Pastor Bev, who is serving on the Steering Committee as Faith Community Representative.
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Cannabis Brochure for Marin
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Thursday, Nov. 3rd, 6-8:30pm
Mill Valley Community Center
180 Camino Alto
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The Marin Interfaith Council's 11th annual Visionary Marin will honor Abbess Schroeder and Bishop Johnathan Logan, for their decades of community service. Read More Here
Reception * Culinary Delights * Drawing * Silent Auction * Music
One reservation = $90, Two reservations = $160, Ten reservations = $750
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Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church
100 Tarry Road
San Anselmo, CA 94960
Sophia De Quattro,
Editor
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