Go Tell It On The Mountain
Monthly Newsletter
Skyland Community Church, United Church of Christ
Minister: Rev. Kevin Omi
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Sunday Worship Service
10:30 A.M.
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February to mid March Church Calendar
Saturday, February 1, 2020
Mid-Winter Retreat Series: Icons
10:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
Sunday, February 2, 2020
10:30 A.M. Worship Service with Rev. Kevin Omi
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
10:30 A.M. Loma Prieta Club
Thursday, February 6, 2020
9:45 A.M. Bible Study
Friday, February 7, 2020
8:30 A.M. Meditation at Temporary Community Center
Saturday, February 8, 2020
Mid-Winter Retreat Series: Poetry
10:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
Sunday, February 9, 2020
10:30 A.M. Worship Service with Rev. Kevin Omi
12:00 P.M. Deacons
Thursday, February 13, 2020
9:45 A.M. Bible Study
Friday, February 14, 2020
8:30 A.M. Meditation at Temporary Community Center
Saturday, February 15, 2020
Mid-Winter Retreat Series: Movements & Closure
10:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
Sunday, February 16, 2020
10:30 A.M. Worship Service with Rev. Kevin Omi
12:00 P.M.
Annual Meeting
12:00 P.M. Potluck Sunday
Thursday, February 20
9:45 A.M. Bible Study
Friday, February 21
8:30 A.M. No Meditation: school break
5:00 P.M. Mountain Hangout Soup Dinner
Sunday, February 23
10:30 A.M. Worship Service with Rev. Kevin Omi
12:00 P.M. Church Council
Wednesday, February 26
Time TBD Ash Wednesday Service
Thursday, February 27
9:45 A.M. Bible Study
Friday, February 28
8:30 A.M. Meditation at Temporary Community Center
12:00 P.M. Fourth Friday Lunch and Documentary
Sunday, March 1
10:30 A.M. Worship Service with Rev. Kevin Omi
Monday, March 2
Rev. Omi Educational Leave starts
Tuesday, March 3
Election Primary Polling Place in Whitaker Hall
8:15 A.M. Qigong Class (
Lower Whitaker Hall )
Wednesday, March 4
10:30 A.M. Loma Prieta Club
Thursday, March 5
9:45 A.M. Bible Study
Friday, March 6
8:30 A.M. Meditation: Anne leads
Saturday, March 7
Sunday, March 8
Rev. Omi Educational Leave
10:30 A.M. Worship Service with Rev. Carol Barriger
12:00 P.M. Deacons
Tuesday, March 10
Rev. Omi Educational Leave ends
8:15 A.M. Qigong Class
Thursday, March 12
9:45 A.M. Bible Study
Friday, March 13
Whitaker Hall Reserved All Day for setup and event.
Building Blocks Bash
and fundraiser to support the teachers and scholarships at Building Blocks co-op preschool, supported by Loma Prieta Community Foundation. Aimee Curtis and Lesley Louden are contacts.
8:30 A.M. Meditation at Temporary Community Center
Sunday, March 15
10:30 A.M. Worship Service with Rev. Kevin Omi
12:00 P.M. Potluck Sunday
Regularly Scheduled Events in Whitaker Hall
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sundays:
Choir rehearsal 9:00 A.M.
Mondays
:
Alcoholics Anonymous 8:00
P.M.
Tuesdays
:
Qigong
8:15-9:45
A.M.
Thursday
:
Yoga 7:00
P.M.
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Message from Reverend Kevin Omi
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Ministerial Transition
Rev. Kevin Omi
Dear members and friends of Skyland Community Church:
I want to share with you a summary of the agreement with our Co-Moderators, Transition Team, and Church Council within the last week, in anticipation of completion of my initial contract as your Interim Senior Minister on March 31, 2020. I look forward to discussing this topic with you in person after our worship service on February 9, so that you can ask questions of me, our Co-Moderators, Transition Team, and Search Committee.
First, I will continue to serve you at least through March 31
st
. This is a given. My employment by Church Council as your Interim Senior Minister will shift to a month-to-month basis after that, with a final end date no later than July 31, 2020. Having a “no later than” date is important both to me so that I can plan ahead for my next adventure, and to the church, so that plans can be made. My top priority will be to allow the Settled Minister to start as soon as she or he is able to do so.
We collectively won’t know when your Settled Minister will arrive and begin serving you for some time. Your Search Committee will be the first to have an idea and they have just started their process of receiving Ministerial Profiles. The Settled Minister may start before or after July 31. Conceivably, there might be a need for a bridge pastor, the role that Jean Jeffress held last summer. No matter what, Associate Conference Minister, Rev. Davena Jones will continue to work with the Search Committee and Church Council through any needed transitions.
Please know that I am committed, with the church’s support (notably the Transition Team) to a good leave-taking process. This will involve multiple opportunities for small group, individual and congregational discussions and sharing of feelings; and celebration! It will be hard for me to leave people I love, but “getting out of the way” is important.
I will follow the Ordained Minister’s Code with respect to maintaining healthy boundaries as soon as my time at Skyland has ended so that the Settled Minister can get off to a good start in building relationships. I will be happy to keep the congregation notified, through the Settled Minister, of significant life events, because I know you care about me and Carol, as I care about you! I will make myself available for logistical or pastoral questions to aid the transition after I leave.
In preparation for my departure sometime during the next several months, I am already working with our Co-Moderators, Deacons, Philanthropy Team, and others to begin to transition some of the responsibilities I am able to handle as a full-time minister to others. Doing so will facilitate discussions between the Search Committee and candidates for the three-quarter-time position that will follow mine. Additionally, there is work to be done to define the church’s “to be” leadership model.
Please feel free to discuss this plan with me, our Co-Moderators: Jackie Seymour and Anne Evans, and Transition Team members: Deana Arnold, Jeremy Cole, John Heyes, Glenda McCalla, and Mary Ellen McTamaney or Search Committee Chair: John Heyes.
Surely the Holy Spirit will continue to guide us in the months to come!
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Action teams begin the New Year!
Mountain Hangout Lasagna Night Jan 17-
Over 60 community members came for a delicious home baked lasagna, bread and salad dinner with ice cream sundaes for dessert. Chef Renee with the other cooks and helpers in the kitchen before the rush.
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We look forward to the next
Mountain Hangout Soup Dinner
on February 21.
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Fourth Friday Documentaries
showed the powerful documentary
King: In the Wilderness
to an audience of about 30 people.
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After lunch we watched history unfold and Martin Luther King’s remarkable life move toward its tragic end in April 1968.
On February 28
Fourth Friday Docs
will present
Leaning into the Wind,
a film about the artist Andy Goldsworthy.
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The
Fire-Safe Roads
team continues to meet and strategize with other mountain community leaders and groups to prioritize roads and property at the school. In January
Fire-safe Roads
had meetings with Emergency Services leaders and a supervisor of Santa Cruz County, the Santa Clara Fire-safe council, and the Loma Prieta School District Board and the Superintendent to plan for fuel reduction and shaded fuel breaks at the school and along Summit road, as well as removal of nearby hazardous trees. The goal is to use current resources, apply for grants in 2020 as well as to inform the community and seek its support.
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The
Connected through Adventures
team and the
Sharing Mountain Living Strategies
team are working through new ideas and plans. One year after reVision began, all of the Action teams have successfully engaged with the community, providing a place to discuss, converse and share stories as well as share information and plan to take action on issues important to our well-being.
Email the reVision team:
reVision@skylandchurch.com
Anne Evans
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We don’t judge. Everyone gets soup! Join us for our third (we’re on a roll) Mountain Hangout. That’s right, it’s Soup Night. Many kinds of homemade soups along with bread and beverages.
We’ll see you Friday night, February 21
st
from 5:00 – 8:00 PM. Tell your friends and neighbors and come for great food and great conversation.
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Thank You for Your Love
February, 2012, and January 25, 2014, are two days that mark the beginnings of ministry for me. For some time after I graduated from seminary, I wondered what my call would become. I kept busy with occasional chaplain services and our first two grandbabies. I realized how much the conversation, singing, and the attention meant for not only grandbabies, but elders too. And, for me, as well.
In February, 2012, the first community meeting of what became Mountain Neighbors Helping Neighbors (MNHN) was held. The National Volunteer Caregiving Network awarded us one year of support to create an official functioning nonprofit that would serve the population of our mountain community with non-professional volunteer helpers.
Together, a handful of regulars plus about 40 supporters, turned this meeting of 16 people into eight years of rides, weed pulling, mattress turning, trash cleanup, fire prevention, and most recently, a center for referrals when professional help is needed.
Not quite two years later, after a period of discernment, on January 25, 2014, God and Skyland Community Church and the Santa Clara Association of the United Church of Christ ordained me to the Ministry in the name of Jesus. Surrounded by church members, Association clergy, family members and friends, and MNHN Board Members, we all sat in amazement and holy delight, as the words were said, songs sung, candles lit, and hands were laid upon me in blessing.
I am convinced that the spirits of giving, helping, and caring that live in our community will continue long after I move on in life and in ministry, because those spirits were here before any of us were born. That is how the early ranchers and foresters and farmers came together in the early 1880’s to begin Skyland Community Church. In the meantime, our community works together to love one another, respect each other’s beliefs, and needs, and to be Mountain Neighbors Helping Neighbors.
Thank you, Skyland Church, for your love, your prayers, and your hugs over these years together. Long may you live on to bring the love that Jesus offered to the least of these, to all who need that love, caring, and service.
In Thankful Prayer,
Rev. Patricia Wood
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LITANY THROUGHOUT THE INTERIM PERIOD
For God’s holy presence amidst change, we pray.
For comfort because loss is part of change, we pray.
For Christ-like steadfastness during the challenges of transition and seasons of faith, we pray.
For reassurance through frailty and failings, we pray.
For the abundant creativity the Spirit provides, we pray.
For our loved ones in this community of faith, we pray.
For God’s children beyond this community, we pray.
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Church Council News
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The council met on January 26. Anne Evans reported on the recent events of the reVision teams. The hangout evening and documentary afternoon programs were well attended and are receiving positive comments from the wider community. Donations received are mostly covering the event’s expenses.
Anne also reported that she and Jackie Seymour met with the Trustees regarding the three updated event contracts: weddings, community events and private events. These contracts are in their final form and were accepted by the Trustees. In addition church cleaning was discussed. In the future the church will be cleaned on Tuesday afternoons. The cleaning staff requested that to the extent possible no one other than Rev. Omi be present at the church so they can clean efficiently.
Jeremy Cole reported that the Elevator project has been approved by the Santa Cruz planning department and will move ahead.
Rev. Omi reported that the Philanthropy team has already moved funds from our checking account to our savings account and they will continue to explore other income producing adjustments. Additionally, Gerald Alonzo has continued to document financial procedures in detail and confirmed the overall list of procedures was complete.
Jackie Seymour discussed the slate of committee and board membership that is to continue as is per the council approval at the November meeting. This is to be discussed by the chairs with their members. Annual Reports are in and will be compiled for the Annual meeting to be held on Feb 16. Information regarding the Annual Meeting will be sent out ahead of time.
Rev. Omi discussed the Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Ministerial Transition. This document delineates the agreement between Rev. Omi and Skyland Community Church going forward after Rev. Omi’s contract ends on April 1. The Memorandum of Understanding was approved unanimously by the council. This information will be given to the church at large and a meeting will be held on February 9 to answer questions and clarify as needed.
John Heyes spoke about the recent activities of the Search Committee. They have been in discussion with Rev. Davena Jones, the UCC NCNC
(Northern California Nevada Conference)
Associate Conference Minister regarding procedures and protocols for the upcoming interviews. They expect to receive their first ministerial profiles Monday January 27. They will be meeting in lower Whitaker on Wednesday afternoons and possibly other days. They will post a “DO NOT DISTURB” sign on the door and request that everyone please allow them privacy for their work.
Submitted by your co-moderators:
Jackie Seymour
Anne Evans
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Inspirational Thought
Epiphany
In
Original Meditation: The Aramaic Jesus and the Spirituality of Creation
, Neil Douglas-Klotz writes “When we look at life as an unfolding, ever-renewing beginning, rather than a fixed, ideal end result, we can also begin to feel respect to those who went before us and feel responsibility to those that come after us…We shift from our sense of freedom from the freedom to
have
to the freedom to
become
."
"An Epiphany enables you to sense creation not as something completed, but as constantly becoming, evolving, ascending. This transports you from a place where there is nothing new to a place where there is nothing old, where everything renews itself, where heaven and earth rejoice as at the moment of Creation." (Rabbi Abraham Kook)
May we all embrace Epiphany's freedom to
become
.
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Pastoral Search Committee Update
On January 22, the committee held a video conference with Reverend Davena Jones, the NCNC minister responsible for guiding churches in the search and call process. Rev. Jones gave the committee essential information about receiving and acknowledging ministerial profiles, maintaining confidentiality, and conducting interviews. The search committee also learned that we will receive the first group of profiles on January 27.
The search committee will provide updates to inform Skyland members of our progress. We can mention, for example, the number of profiles received, but confidentiality guidelines prohibit revealing specific details such as candidates’ names or location.
John Heyes, Search Committee Chair
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Flowers for the Altar
Several Sundays are open for floral donations. Please sign up on the calendar in Whitaker Hall.
We have enjoyed some beautiful floral arrangements on recent Sundays. If you wish to plan ahead--perhaps for a special occasion--please write your name alongside any open Sunday on the calendar in Whitaker Hall.
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hardy geraniums--
red, white, salmon, magenta
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flaming into fall
~haiku by John Heyes
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In January Skyland Church members contributed tuition for young people around the world who are pursuing education on four continents. Our members have personal links with these schools and together we donated a total of $2,442.
South India: College for one missionary student- $600
Fiji: Kadavu- Three high-school students- $450
Guatemala: (Creando mi Futuro) Three middle-school student in an art school (tutoring, family support and food)- $696
Tanzania: (Steven Tito Academy) One student in Baobab Home for HIV orphans- $696
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Shannon Edwards
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Food Pantry Update
Thanks everyone for your generous donations as the food pantry is very well stocked with a broad selection of items.
Julie
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NOTE From Your Treasurer
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Note from your Treasurer for first 8 months of our fiscal year:
Pledge income is on par with expectations based on anticipated distribution of pledge donations.
Offerings received during January were at expectations, but for first 8 months still $-1,122 below expectations.
Hall Rental is $1449 above expectations.
Fiscal year to date income exceeded expenses by $7,897.
Thanks to your generous giving, Mission Board has sent $2,442 to support foreign student education.
We are able to accept credit card payments for pledge, general and special offerings if that is more convenient than check or cash. See either Jan or myself after service for these transactions.
Here is our operating finances as of Jan. 27 for our 2019-2020 fiscal year.
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Respectfully
Gerald Alonzo, Treasurer
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Skyland Community Church, United Church of Christ
25100 Skyland Road, Los Gatos, CA 95033
phone: 408-353-1310
USPS mail: Skyland Church
P.O. Box 245
Los Gatos, CA 95031-0245
Website
http://skylandchurch.com
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