News of the Presbytery of San Jose
"For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God; you shall be holy, for I am holy."

Leviticus 11:45

We want to keep you informed!
Below is a list of current events happening in the Presbytery of San Jose.

Also remember to check the Presbytery
website at www.sanjosepby.org.
SJ PBY logo.
Presbytery Meetings

The scheduled dates for pending 2021 Presbytery meetings are below. Check back on the Presbytery website closer to the respective date for registration information and the docket.

An email will also be forthcoming regarding the September meeting's Zoom registration.

September 25th

November 20th
Be sure and visit the Presbytery website at www.sanjosepby.org for ongoing current information.
Cultivated in Creativity

On the second and fourth Sundays of each month, Theresa Nelson of Cultivated in Creativity will teach art classes at Trinity Santa Cruz' Fellowship Hall.

Where: Trinity Church – 420 Melrose Avenue, Santa Cruz (corner of Melrose & Poplar Avenue)

Next Gathering: Sunday, September 12th from 11:45 am to 2:30 pm

More information may be found on the Presbytery website at: https://sanjosepby.org/cultivated-in-creativity-art-after-church-at-trinity-pres-santa-cruz

The registration page may be found here:
https://www.cultivatedincreativity.org/book-online
Looking for ways to help the refugees leaving Afghanistan? The Immanuel House has needs and suggestions! Click here for their latest dispatch:

On September 22nd at 7:00 pm, Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church is hosting a film screening and discussion relating to For They Know Not What They Do; a film for the Church about loving, welcoming, and affirming those who identify as queer.

It's a hybrid event including both a Zoom and in-person gathering in the fellowship hall. The Zoom link is here:

Movie trailer may be found here:

Contact Kris Sheridan for more information at kris@sunnyvalepres.com.
Current Open Positions


Stone Church
Stone Church of Willow Glen is looking for a part-time "Tech Coordinator." The position would require 15 hrs/week at $20 - $25/hr. The details may be found here:


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Sunnyvale Presbyterian
SVPC is seeking applicants for an AV/IT Coordinator

Information is available online at:

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Santa Teresa/Foothill
STHPC and FCPC are looking for a part-time youth director to oversee a combined youth group.


Contact Rev. Deborah Troester at prdebsthpc@gmail.com for more information.

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Gilroy Presbyterian Church
GPC is looking for a "Family Ministry Director." Details may be found here:

The current Mid-Council Newsletter may be found here:

Administrative Commission Updates


Beach St., Watsonville Property

The property is currently being rented out on a short-term basis to various groups. The commission is also in the beginning stages of developing a long-term vision for the property.

Urban Ministry Center, San Jose Property

The next steps in the construction permit process have been initiated for renovating the former education building and chapel on Westminster's campus.

A lease agreement between the Bill Wilson Center and Westminster Presbyterian Church has also been established.
The Presbyterian Women's group is excited to announce that among other speakers, author Kathleen Norris will be sharing via webinar regarding "Resilience: Challenges of Mind, Body, Spirit."

The webinar is set to take place October 16th from 10:00 am to 2:30 pm. Save the date!

More information will be forthcoming.
Information for Prospective GA 225 (Summer 2022) Commissioners

(FYI) The meetings of the 225th General Assembly will be a blend between in-person Assembly committee meetings held at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville and online plenaries convened via Zoom. Our Presbytery will seek nominations in September 2021 and elect commissioners at our November 2021 meeting, but we wanted to alert any interested potential commissioners about the new format and timing for Summer 2022.

How will the GA meetings work? All Assembly meetings will be held between Friday, June 17, 2022, and Saturday, July 9, 2022. Commissioners and advisory delegates are asked to hold this full block of time until they have been notified of their Assembly committee assignment. Assembly committee assignment and specific dates for travel to Louisville will be distributed on or about Feb. 28, 2022. Requests to change committee assignments due to scheduling conflicts or other preferences cannot be honored due to the committee assignment requirements of the GA Standing Rules.

Link to more information :


A video link with details: https://vimeo.com/592783966

In addition, for those preparing to nominate commissioners, instructions may be found here:


Pastoral Reflection

I’m currently on study leave in the high desert of Eastern Oregon, surrounded by the smell of juniper, dust, and wildfire smoke.  The peaks and foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range are my scenery.  It’s an amazing place to be contemplating the book of Leviticus and the order of creation built around land, air, and water.  Living in the midst of a global viral pandemic is also an opportune time to think about categories of clean and unclean.  At the center of it all is our belief system built around “dirt” within the present material world and how it relates to the supernatural.

Mary Douglas, an anthropologist, talks about our discomfort with ambiguity relative to dirt and a need to categorize our surroundings.  She believes eliminating dirt is not a negative undertaking, but instead a positive effort to organize our environment; a creative movement relating form to function.  Purification is about imposing a system on an inherently untidy experience.  She also says that it’s only by exaggerating the difference between within and without that a semblance of order is created.

In some ways our current cultural divide is an attempt to make the other conform to a particular ordered system as we live with the dirt of a virus. The theology of Leviticus also incorporates the interrelationship between disparate material experiences and centers them around holiness.  Holiness isn’t a bad centering point for the wider Church.  Perhaps we could find common theological ground around categorizing this dirt that we’re dealing with and doing the holy work of bringing order to the chaos as stewards of Creation.  

May we find ways to participate creatively and positively in our world as interrelated members of Creation, and may we experience an imminent end to this pandemic.

Amen


Rev. Dr. Jennifer Bales
Communications Director &
Pastor of Evergreen Presbyterian Church

Phone: (408) 279-0220 Website: www.sanjosepby.org