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Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church Newsletter
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Weekly Happenings at SHPC
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November 23rd, 2017
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Thanksgiving Blessings to All!
This Sunday, Nov. 26 at 9:30 a.m.:
Out with the Old, In with the New
Not in My Town - Love Lives in Marin - Elevate the Discussion - Love not Hate
This Sunday we're bringing Thanksgiving weekend to a close, and also closing out the church year with what's traditionally called Christ the King Sunday. The church year begins with Advent, our holy season leading up to Christmas, which starts Dec. 3. Before we get there, we have an opportunity to review the "old" year, and explore what we've learned, what we value most, what we intend to carry forward into the new year, and how we're going to do that. We live by our values when we live intentionally. Let's all keep building this beloved community!
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A Note from Pastor Bev
Today is a day for giving thanks to God for our blessings, large and small. Practicing gratitude in the midst of joy, stress, and sorrow helps us stay on the path God has set before us, the path which God lights to show us God's way for our lives.
God knows our challenges and sorrows, and is with us in and through them. And God is with us in our attempts to be kind this day while stuck in traffic, listening to relatives with very different worldviews, or realizing that the turkey is a little bit dry! (More gravy!)
Major holidays bring the stress and joy of extended family gatherings, along with missing those who are absent, sometimes excessive food and drink, juggling separated and blended families, all while making space for God at the table and in our daily life. It's BIG! And God IS with us at the table and in our daily lives, every single day.
Let's all take a moment today to thank God for all of life. And if possible, let's take a second moment to reach out with thanks, with a text, a smile, a prayer, to someone we appreciate.
Thank you for being God's beloved community, God's light in the world!
With blessings,
Bev
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November/December Calendar
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Friday, November 24
NOON
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NO Bible Study -
Happy Thanksgiving!
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Sunday, November 26
9:30 a.m.
1
0:30 a.m.
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Christ the King Sunday
Out with the Old, In with the New
Coffee and Fellowship - All Welcome
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Wednesday, November 29
7:30 p.m.
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SHPC Singers- Christmas! All Welcome
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Friday, December 1
NOON
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Bible Study
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Sunday, December 3
9:30 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
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First Sunday of Advent - One Love
Reweaving the Social Fabric - Hope
Coffee and Fellowship - All Welcome
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NO Bible Study this Friday, November 24th;
You are invited to read Luke 8:1-13, the Parable of the Sower.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Bible study will return next Friday, 12/1. All are welcome.
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Please Remember in Your Prayers
Dennis Latta and Diane, Juliet, and the extended family as they mourn the loss of Dennis' father Leroy, for God's accompaniment, comfort, and peace as they grieve.
Those who lost their loved ones and are injured and suffering on account of the Rancho Tehema shooting, the Texas church shooting, the NYC truck driving tragedy, the Las Vegas shooting, may God's comfort and healing be restorative, and may God guide us to bring less hate and more peace to the world in a meaningful way;
Those who are still suffering on account of the wildfires, the hurricanes, and the earthquakes, may God bless them and bring them strength and hope, and accompaniment through rebuilding,
Nance Rosencranz,
recovering from a stroke, for full and complete recovery, for God's loving presence to be felt;
Carolyn Goodman's sister Wendy, who lost her home to a house fire, for God's loving and constant presence, and for the loving support of all around her to be with her as she rebuilds;
Kalli Bane,
for relief from abdominal pain, and for restful sleep surrounded by God's love for her and her family;
Peg Maclise's sister Kim, for God's healing presence, and for Peg, God's strength, love, and peace;
Kelsey Lopin,
for total healing, renewed strength, continued flourishing, creativity, and energy to share her God-given gifts;
Andrea Proster, sister of Nancy Elberg, for complete healing, and for Nancy to continue to feel God's abiding presence in companioning her;
All those suffering from racial discrimination, racial violence, and hatred, for God's justice and healing;
Those living in the shadows and fearing deportation, for safety, security for their families and children, a path to citizenship, and sanctuary;
The incarcerated, and their loved ones, for a justice system and prison system that uphold our highest values;
Our country, for a way forward where we live our values of justice and equality for all people;
The refugees and displaced
, almost 1 out of 100 people in the world today, for safety, homes, the basics of life, and freedom from being scapegoated;
Our Muslim neighbors, subject to Islamophobia and hate crimes;
Our planet, the world's poor, all who suffer from disruptive climate change, may we continue our work to keep the planet livable;
The PC(USA), for courage and energy to continue our world-wide mission of love and justice for all people;
Dr. Doug Tilton, our PC(USA) mission co-worker in Southern Africa;
Our church, for the Spirit to continue to guide us and fill us with energy for mission and love for all our neighbors!
Please take time this week to pray for those on our list.
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Stewardship Update
from James and Karen Baigrie,
Stewardship Chairs
As of today, $140,750 has been pledged towards our goal of $147,000! Thank you very much to our 46 pledgers (9 first-time pledgers). For those who haven't pledged yet, please bring your cards to church this Sunday or send them in as soon as you can; Session is working on the 2018 budget right now. We are dreaming big and hoping to fund our part-time youth director and a pastoral intern to support Bev; we'll need to exceed our goal to realize those hopes. If you have any questions about church finance, you can email Doug Eisinger, Finance Elder, by clicking
here, and if you need a pledge card, click
here. Together, we are building up this caring community of peacemakers for the good of the world!
With gratitude,
James and Karen
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Worship is Our Sacred Gathering
Sunday worship is sacred time, a co-created safe and supportive space for the beloved community to gather and worship and pray together, so that all can be spiritually nurtured and renewed. It is not a time for discussion of church finances.
Questions and feedback about church business may be brought to the Session as a whole by emailing the Clerk, or to any of the elders, your elected representatives, individually:
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We're searching for this year's baby Jesus for the Christmas
pageant, Sunday, Dec. 17 at 9:30 a.m.
(3-18 months old)
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Don't miss - fun for all ages
Christmas
Jubilee!
Sunday, December 10th - 4pm
Featuring Stephen Iverson & the SHPC Singers, the Millar Family Singers, and emcee Hallie Foster
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To Middle and High School YOUTH and their PARENTS from Charles
Hello everyone!
Mark your calendars! We have some very important dates coming up as we go into Advent, and we don't want to forget any of them!
This year's Christmas pageant will be on Sunday, December 17. We'll be having practice for the pageant the 2 Sundays prior, on the 3rd and the 10th. Parents, please let Bev and me know if your child will be available on these dates, especially on the 17th, so that we can cast the pageant as soon as possible. We always include all the young people, same day drop-ins welcome, but are looking to fill the reader roles ahead of time.
Also, we have a special Christmas art project for our youth on Friday, December 8 at 5:00pm. We'll be using our children's creations as part of the Advent decorations in the sanctuary.
Finally, we are not going to have youth group next Sunday, November 26, because I will be out of town for the Thanksgiving Day weekend.
Please let me know if you have any questions, and have a blessed holiday!
Grace and peace,
Save the Dates:
Advent/Christmas Art Workshop Fun for all Ages Friday, Dec. 8th - 5-8
Youth Christmas Pageant - Sunday, Dec. 17 at 9:30 a.m.
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Deacon Gift Baskets for Fellowship Contributors!
Your Deacons thank all those who've helped make our fellowship time such delicious and abundant hospitality over the past year. We're wearing our hats in the photos above - having just pulled from them the names of this year's lucky winners. From left to right: Winner Carolyn Goodman, standing in for Peg Maclise is Millie Millar, Winner Patti Vance, Nance Rosencranz, Winner Frankie Eakes, Deacon Moderator Kit Argilla for Deacon Marie Ongaro, Deacon Robin Abu-Aly, and Winner John Grubb.
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Church Financial Resiliency Update
FAQs from Session
If you are just tuning in to the church finance discussion, Session has prepared FAQs for you. Click here. The Session continues to lead the whole church in a discernment of God's way forward for a financially sustainable church, with the Presbyterian process of study, discernment, all-church meetings, more study, and more discernment. At t
he most recent all-church financial meeting,
Let's Talk #4
, Sunday 11/12, 40 people engaged in a lively discussion with many excellent questions. In response to the Session's downsizing (from 110 Tarry to condo) option and Mark and Chris's junior suite (subdividing 110 Tarry into two units) option, several of you have raised the question of whether God is calling the church to be in the real estate business. Several also suggested some financial due diligence w/r/t the options.
Over the last year and a half, Session has gathered and carefully considered feedback from many voices, and is still in the process of receiving feedback and discerning the way forward. If you still need information, or would like to express your feedback to Session, please contact one of us directly or through the church office. Session is working with the Presbytery's CPA to review the spreadsheets presented 11/12, since the Presbytery must approve any re-financing and all loans, leases and sales of church property. Session is also working with a general contractor in response to feedback from the Presbytery and our own congregants' questions. We are planning to wrap up the financial resiliency discussions for this year in the next couple of weeks, and focus on 2018 budget. In January, at budget approval time, and before the 110 Tarry lease runs out, the current Session will discern whether a strong consensus exists in favor of selling the church property at 110 Tarry, and if so, will call a congregational meeting for a vote on the sale of 110 Tarry.
Here are The Sustainability Criteria:
(1)
pastor housing option which is affordable to the church and a future pastor;
(2)
reduce our interest-bearing debt;
(3)
establish a capital improvement/maintenance fund to meet the significant needs of the church facility, so that we invest in our church;
(4) i
ncrease the operating budget without putting additional stress on our pledgers, so that unmet staffing, facilities, and program needs can be met (unmet needs, aka "the structural deficit") and the church can continue to grow and flourish;
(5)
direct precious volunteer energy and hours into God's work.
In peace,
THE SESSION OF SHPC
Dennis Latta, Clerk, Doug Eisinger, Finance Elder, Jody Brockett, Worship Elder, Patti Vance, Mission Elder, Janel Stewart, Family Ministries Elder, Ahmed Abu-Aly, Building and Grounds Elder, Merle Ongaro, Membership Elder, Kit Argilla, Board of Deacons, Moderator, Rev. Bev Brewster, Pastor
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Report from Session - November
Your Session met Nov. 5, Nov. 8, and Nov. 15.
Items of business included: approval of baptisms of Ava and Oliver Farbod, examination of members Cami Brunjes, Andy Eisinger, and AJ Torres; presentation on Mexico Mission finance by Chris Lopin, review of Stewardship campaign, meeting with potential pastoral intern; review of financial reports, work on 2018 budget; financial resiliency discernment; approval of Justice Garden volunteers' recommendation for donations, update on Youth Climate Summit, date is March 10, 2018 at MAGC.
Justice Garden donations:
Marin Food Bank: $1,200
Presbytery Fire Relief (hunger relief preference): $800
Pedal for Protein: $200
Interfaith Food Collaborative: $200
Short School: $300
San Rafael Street Ministry: $100
Undocufund for undocumented fire victims: $200
In peace,
THE SESSION OF SHPC
Dennis Latta, Clerk, Doug Eisinger, Finance Elder, Jody Brockett, Worship Elder, Patti Vance, Mission Elder, Janel Stewart, Family Ministries Elder, Ahmed Abu-Aly, Building and Grounds Elder, Merle Ongaro, Membership Elder, Kit Argilla, Board of Deacons, Moderator, Rev. Bev Brewster, Pastor
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CALLING ALL YOUTH REST COOKS!
Come join us: Food 4 Good,
SHPC's Youth R.E.S.T. Cooking Program
We meet the first Sunday of every month from 4-6pm to cook.
Hope your kids can join us! Please sign up online here.
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REST Sign-ups!
Our Life-Giving Ministry to the Unhoused Community
As we've done for so many years, SHPC volunteers to be part of the REST program to feed our unhoused neighbors in Marin County.
This year again, we'll feed the men on the first Monday of the month at St. Rita's in Fairfax, and feed women on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at the Wellness Center in San Rafael -- but we need YOUR help!
Please volunteer to make food, set up, serve, share the meal, and clean up -- either with the Men's and/or the Women's program.
To volunteer to be a part of the women's program,
sign up here
To volunteer to be a part of the men's program,
sign up here
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact our REST coordinator, Carolyn Goodman,
[email protected] or 415.250.6264.
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For the Planet -
Please Protest the Tax Bill
Last Thursday, the House passed an irresponsible, unethical, and environmentally devastating tax bill. Now we must stop it in the Senate.
In order to deliver huge tax breaks to corporations and wealthy individuals, this package would slash tax credits for renewable energy, pull the plug on electric cars, and open the pristine Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. All while maintaining $15 billion in subsidies for the fossil fuel industry.
Speak out against this immoral tax plan.
This tax plan is moving fast - and that's by design. Polling shows that a majority of voters oppose these unfair tax breaks, including a majority of Republicans. So their only chance of getting it through is to pass it quickly with minimal hearings and little attention. The 400-page House bill passed in record time, with NO hearings and over the objections of Democrats and some Republicans.
Please, urge your senator to oppose this devastating tax bill.
Cutting tax credits for renewable energy could slow or even reverse the extraordinary momentum we have been seeing in adoption of renewable energy in the past few years. You, and thousands of other people of faith called congressional offices, mailed postcards, sent emails and visited elected officials to make those credits law - we can't lose them now, just when they are starting to get results. We can't let this bill pass. God's Creation and our children's future are too important.
We need to make sure our senators know that people of faith DO NOT support a tax bill that ignores the threat of global warming, threatens our sacred Alaska wilderness, and costs lives.
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THIS HOLIDAY SEASON JOIN US FOR COMMUNITY YOGA
TUESDAYS,
DECEMBER 5 & 12
5:30-6:30 PM
(PLEASE NOTE LIMITED DATES!)
FAQ:
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Wear comfortable clothes that you can move in.
- Bring a mat if you have one (we have extras if you do not).
- We are a donation based class ($10 suggested)
- 10% of proceeds will be giben to the SHPC Hunger Programs
- This is a community class which means all skill levels are welcome
Yoga is defined as a combination of three things: breath, movement and a single point of concentration. If you can breath and move (nothing fancy, just breathing while moving...) then you are two thirds of the way there! Join us as we breath and move meditatively, opening up new places in our bodies and hearts.
TAKE TIME FOR YOUR YOGA THIS HOLIDAY SEASON.
AS WE UNWIND OUR BODIES AND GIVE OUR HEARTS ROOM TO EXPAND, WE FIND WE ARE ABLE TO MEET CHALLENGES WITH GRACE & LOVE THAT REFLECTS WHAT WE ARE CELEBRATING AT THIS BUSY TIME.
Karen x
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Big thanks to Wil and to all who keep contributing to Sleepy Hollow's Food Barrel, which goes to feed the hungry through the Marin Food Bank.
Our last donation was 76 lbs!
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WE ALL LOVE FELLOWSHIP--
PLEASE SIGN UP TO HELP OUT
NEW FOLKS - We will match you with a veteran so that you can be trained on our highly complex coffeemaker and have FUN!
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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SFTS Seminary Singers in Concert!
Come start your holiday season with an evening of music, singing, and celebration at San Francisco Theological Seminary. On December 2, 2017, the SFTS Seminary Singers Gospel Choir will offer an energetic and exciting Advent and Christmas concert, as we anticipate and celebrate God's love for the whole world, alive in Jesus Christ, and alive in us!
Seminary Singers Gospel Choir is a community-based choir at San Francisco Theological Seminary. The group reflects the broad diversity of the seminary community, and the choir celebrates the gift of singing across many different musical styles. The choir is directed by SFTS student Carolyn Anderson, in partnership with worship innovator and designer, Dr. Marcia McFee. We look forward to seeing you! For tickets, please
click here.
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If you are interested or have questions, please contact
Sue Burr
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Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church
100 Tarry Road
San Anselmo, CA 94960
Katie Brendler,
Editor
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