| | |
Presbytery of San Jose
April 9, 2025
| | Presbytery Meeting Recap- Feb 27 & March 27, 2025 | | |
Please encourage your congregation to register to attend NEAR-1 on May 3 at First Presbyterian Church, Monterey. The day is open to all.
Registration helps us organize
- Carpooling
-
Childcare** New!
- Breakfast and Lunch
- an Afternoon Group Excursion
| |
Marketing marterials are available.
Rev. Dr. Bryan Franzen, Pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in San Jose, shares a powerpoint slide (above) for your worship service.
| | | Sunday, April 13: the Presbytery's Unity Candle will be at Santa Teresa Hills Presbyterian Church, San Jose | We're asking all churches and worshiping communities to pray for the host of the Unity Candle each week, including mention in their worship bulletins and pastoral prayer/congregational prayers. | | |
Santa Teresa Hills Presbyterian Church is at 5370 Snell Ave, San Jose near Blossom Hill Road. Their congregation is about 1/3 Cameroonian and their choir is magnificent. The Sanctuary and Classrooms are decorated in beautiful oils done by a member of the congregation. Pastor Deb Troester leads a congregation that is connectional in almost all its ministries, teaming up with other San Jose churches in a variety of ministries from the Presbytery's Youth Collaborative events to a joint Maundy Thursday service with Westminster Presbyterian Church that Pastor Deb invites us all to join!
Thursday, April 17 – Maundy Thursday, 7:00 p.m.: Communion & Healing Service – Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1100 Shasta Ave.
Choirs from both congregations will be singing. Parking is available behind the church, but please arrive early to be sure to find a space!
One of the many projects at Santa Teresa Hills Presbyterian Church supports Buea Maternity Clinic (Pronounced "boya") in Buea, Cameroon by shipping layettes of lovingly-made baby quilts and knitted caps, toiletry kits and onesies, and Christmas gifts to the clinic every year. "Last year we shipped 80 quilts," boasted World Ministry Elder Kathy Warrick, "and we received a report that all the babies born are healthy, and all the moms are healthy."
Follow the path of the Unity Candle: http://tinyurl.com/SJUnity2025
| | |
Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church will host a screening of this PDA Documentary film about eviction and homelessness, May 7 @7pm. Read about the documentary at pcusa.org.
| |  |
|
PACT San Jose Invites you to join clergy, community leaders and allies Thursday April 17, 11 am in front of First Unitarian Church 130 N. 3rd. St. San Jose. "Faith leaders from diverse traditions will wash the feet of immigrants...as a declaration of shared dignity and commitment to walk beside one another."
| | | |
Of all the common illnesses in our world today, Mental Illness is the most misunderstood. I refer to mental illness as common because 1 out of 4 people will have a diagnosable mental illness in a given year. Many sufferers do not seek treatment. Doesn’t that seem odd? That someone will be sick and not seek treatment?
Unfortunately, that statistic holds true for Christians as well. In fact, Christians sometimes do not seek treatment because of judgement from other Christians. For example, some Christians believe that mental illness is because of weak faith—if the ill person would just read scripture more or pray more they would not be sick. Do we say the same things about a stroke victim? Some still believe that mental illness is because of demon possession. That idea may seem to come from scripture, but they didn’t have diagnosed mental illnesses then.
The very worst claim that Christians sometimes make toward a mentally ill Christian is that they are being punished for their sins. This idea shows two things…the person who believes he/she isn’t that bad a sinner, and the person they are judging is being blamed for an illness in the brain that he/she cannot control. Would that same “non-sinner” have that same judgment toward a heart attack victim?
Jesus told us that to Love is our main job as Christians. Can we love the mentally ill without judgment?
| |
If you need support, here are some channels:
- Teaching Elders/Ministers in the Presbytery, can contact Neal Presa, Executive Presbyter and he will connect you to the Pastors Supporting Pastors (PSP) program.
- As well, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) benefit through the Board of Pensions for six free 1-hour sessions with a licensed therapist and unlimited 24/7 crisis counselor phone calls.
- For anyone (clergy and anyone) experiencing suicidal ideation, you should immediately contact 988 or 911.
Blessings.
| | Introducing a new feature of the Digest | | Spotlight on: Somos Watsonville | | |
Somos Watsonville is a New Worshiping Community and a 501(c)3 Nonprofit launched by the Administrative Commission of UPC Watsonville and operated by Rev. Julie Center. At the February 27 Presbytery meeting, Julie described her project for the Presbytery.
"Somos opened a community space and non-profit coffee shop that serves primarily farm workers and their children. Everything Somos does is bilingual. They've created a thriving community of highschoolers, community college students, and members of the local community that gather for various events.
"Somos has partnerships with Community Health Trust of Pajaro Valley, the Natural History Museum, the Diversity Center of Santa Cruz and other nonprofits. We try to provide both fun and fellowship in activiites, as well as resource navigation to our most marginalized members of Pajaro Valley, primarily farm workers and their children."
Ruling Elder Rosaleen Zisch added, "The coffee is good there! That is a community that needs [Somos] and is reacting well to it. Downtown Watsonville is a booming college town. Most of us who have been around for a long time don't realize the recent growth happening there." Visit Somos at 112 E. Beach Street, Watsonville, and take a look around!
| | |
PC(USA) Resources for Ministry | | |
The Faith Formation Leader Connection
Share, connect, and learn through Community Circles, Resource Zooms, Listening Circles, and Cohorts.
Their next Resource Connection Zoom is scheduled for April 24.
Register here.
| | |
Scholarships, Grants, Congregational & Ministry Funding
Many programs for:
Undergraduate, Graduate and Seminary Students;
Mid Councils, Churches, and Organizations;
Mission Program Grants for Worshiping Communities;
Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries Grants and Scholarships.
| | |
Older Adult Ministry Network Resource Guide Released
Presbyterian Older Adult Ministries Network is for organizations and individuals promoting, stimulating, developing and advocating for older adult ministry. Their new resource guide is available for download at https://poamn.org/
| |
-
10 April, 6:30pm No Other Land Screening, Westhope Pres. SOLD OUT!
-
13 April Palm Sunday, Unity Candle is at Santa Teresa Hills Pres.
-
20 April Easter Sunday, Unity Candle is at Foothill Community Pres. and First Thai Fellowship
-
27 April Unity Candle is at Comunidad Latinoamericana.
-
1 May Mission Outreach Work Group Meets
-
3 May N.E.A.R. Gathering, First Pres. Church of Monterey (registration link)
- 4 May Unity Candle is at Cornerstone Church of Silicon Valley
-
6 May Coordinating Council Meets by Zoom
-
7 May, 7pm Evicting the American Dream Screening, Sunnyvale Pres.
| | | | |
