Montclair Presbyterian Church

Montclair Presbyterian Church

There is SO much to report that we just didn’t manage to get it all together in one email blast. So here are a few more things sent with love and blessings from Melinda and Sherrill!

ANNOUNCING THE MPC FOURTH FRIDAY NIGHT WALK
THIS FRIDAY, Jan. 24, 6:40pm, at At Thy Word, 8915 International Blvd. Oakland
Why do we walk? Does it really make any difference? YES! Read on and Come Too!

In October 2012, the city of Oakland re-launched a model violence prevention strategy called Ceasefire. Thus far, this effort has focused on a select number of our most violent areas of East Oakland and, in 2013, resulted in a 50 percent decrease in homicides in the targeted neighborhoods (a critical factor in the overall city decrease of 28 percent).

~ Rev. Ben McBride, director of CityTeam Ministries Oakland

The cause of the increase in safety is widely debated, but it’s no coincidence that six months ago the city began the process to revamp its main violence reduction strategy, Oakland CeaseFire. A re-commitment by the police department, service providers and community leaders to focus on the most violent groups and individuals has yielded huge fruit.

~ David Muhammad, CEO of Solutions, Inc. and former Chief Probation Officer of Alameda County Probation

The night walks are the most important element in the Ceasefire model. It’s a time for uniting people and houses of worship for the common purpose of saving lives. People of Faith and community leaders are not just saying, “We love you.” They are putting love into action.

~ Rev. Billy Dixon, Pastor, At Thy Word Ministries.

Please join the MPC Walkers this Friday, Jan 24, 2014 for the Friday Night Walk.

•   6:15pm – Meet for carpools – MPC parking lot
•   Drive to At Thy Word Church, 8915 International Ave., East Oakland
•   6:40pm – Sign-in and training
•   7:15pm – Start Walk
•   8:30pm (approx) – Return to At Thy Word Church and debrief
•   8:45pm (approx) – Leave to return to MPC parking lot

Please email Betsy King (kingxbetsy@gmail.com) to sign-up

FOOD CONVO: Join us on Wednesday, January 29 at 5:00 p.m. in the Thornhill Room for another conversation about food ministry at MPC. We have been experimenting with various activities and there are some great opportunities in the works. Thanks for all who so generously donated to the food barrels over the holidays. Some of you will notice that we still have one barrel in the Family Room. Feel free to keep filling this barrel because hunger continues all year. Questions? Contact Melinda.

MEET OUR NEW AND RETURNING MEMBERS

BB Banks: I’m grateful to have found a community of like minded souls to share, love and learn the great mystery that is life. I’ve lived here in Oakland for a year and a half and love it tremendously. You might not think so, having moved from Marin and living there for 17 years. But I’ve had the privilege of finding the perfect communities twice now and although my former home is a deep love, I had out grown what to me was a small corridor of over trafficked streets and not enough diversity. My spiritual journey took me to Marin and I participated in a vibrant mystery school of some 30 people and explored Non-dualism, Hinduism, Buddhism, dialogue, and a beautiful culture of authors, dancers and performers associated with this group. There was also an interim stop to Palo Alto, before I landed here, to care for my mother while ill from cancer. She moved on to the other side last year after a peaceful, no regrets, elder stage of life. I grew up in Palo Alto and had my first experience of peaceful justice with Joan Baez when I was thirteen around the grape boycott, but did not become politically active until the late nineties. My first love and passion is nature, hiking the mountains, hiking alone, hiking with a friend the trails of Marin and Point Reyes. Landscape painting, gardening, and reading are my loves and most precious of all, to be with my friends, which I now count you, as possible friends on more journeys ahead.
Thank you for being here.

Cheryl Geckeler was born and raised in Mankato Minnesota. My family was very active in the Methodist Church. I have two sisters. As a young adult I was a VISTA VOLUNTEER were I met my husband Keith ( a retired Presbyterian). We have two adult sons. One lives in Illinois and the other one lives in Berkeley. In Berkeley we also have a wonderful daughter in law and a beautiful 7 year old granddaughter. I have a Masters in Social Work and most recently worked in Hospice. I love the friendliness of MPC and look forward to becoming involved.

Deborah Brooks: I was born in Hawaii and grew up in Southern California in a series of Methodist churches where the pastor was my father. I became a member of MPC in 1992, attracted to your peace mongering activities and your special services for those of us who lost our homes in the Oakland Firestorm. I later moved to Fruitvale Presbyterian Church, which is closer to my house but closed as a church in 2012. I still help with their food bank twice a month, which we hope to keep going. I have roses and vegetables in my garden. I am the queen of a Red Hat group. I love costumes and silliness. I often say that I work hard and play hard. I currently piece together a job including English as a Second Language at Laney College, Computers for Older Adults at adult school and home tutoring in both of those.

Carolyn Vallerga: In about the mid 1980’s I returned home to Oakland from Chico, CA with my young son after being the director of a home health agency in Butte, Glen, Trinity and Shasta counties. I was a graduate of UCB 69 psychology and UCSF nursing74. My mother told me about a church I might like named Montclair Presbyterian. In Chico I had joined a small Congregational church populated with professors and their families. I enjoyed the liberal organization of the Congregationalists and designed and was a co-leader with their youth group to work in a Mexican village just south of the border in Tijuana building a concrete block infirmary in the middle of the city dumps. We stayed at a mission nearby learning “that all people are the same and are fun to work with and meet” stated by the students. Returning to Oakland after that experience I was thrilled to learn about MPC. My first day at church I sat in the back and a very sage member asked me to pass the donation plate. I was able to see all of the beautiful, eager and welcoming smiling faces as I passed by each row. I was hooked on MPC after that first day. The years that followed were a whirlwind of joining and playing and learning. I became the Family Life chairperson excited to be in a position to encourage any and all experience for MPC members to gather and feel the closeness and support that this church pledges to its members. In 2000 I moved to the Diamond district of Oakland. Ben Wier, an elder for the Fruitvale Presbyterian church, asked me to attend Fruitvale so I did. Fruitvale membership was very low. As a session member working to problem solve the low numbers I felt a failure. The Fruitvale church closed its doors. Thinking about the demise of Fruitvale makes me so very thankful for the unique joy, strength and grace of Montclair Presbyterian Church. I have just retired from a wonderful and exciting public health nursing 38 year full time career and am returning to MPC, the joy in my heart.

Andrew von Mayrhauser is a seasoned 6th grade teacher at Head Royce School, where he is well known for his sometimes-true but generally embellished stories. Now a card-carrying Californian, he grew up in Princeton, NJ, and spent 7 years in Bethesda, MD, before moving to the Bay Area in 2001. He “fell” for his wife Danielle at an ice skating party, and they have been teaching each other outdoor sports ever since. Andrew has two sons, Matthew (6) and Nico (4). He is an avid fly fisherman and is making his first forays into children’s book writing. Having grown up attending a variety of churches, he felt at home instantly at MPC and is excited to become a part of the MPC Community.

Danielle von Mayrhauser grew up in Southern California, and after college in Massachusetts and a year of teaching in France, bee-lined it back to the West Coast. She loves trail running, skiing, mountain biking and camping with her family (husband Andrew and sons Matthew and Nico). Danielle is a freelance copywriter, who enjoys working from her woodsy home in Montclair. She celebrated her First Communion in the Roman Catholic Church, was confirmed in the Congregational Church and is happy to discover such a warm and welcoming community here at MPC.