Montclair Presbyterian Church

Montclair Presbyterian Church…

The Community Organizes and

Orders Its Life Through the Flow of Information

Dear Friends,

Our Advent journey has begun. Last Sunday we focused on being ready and awake and the invitation to us to be current (fully present) with our lives. This coming Sunday we will focus on peace and what is required of us in order to be peacemakers. As the Celebration committee talked about the Advent themes and events, we talked about how Advent will be a bit chaotic this year. In the midst of the chaos, however, is great hope.

Some of the chaos we are experiencing is the transition we are going through with our office staff. The Personnel Committee, on behalf of Session, has hired Paul Jokelson (pronounced with a hard “J”) to be our new Administrative Assistant. The title of the position has changed because the position itself has changed. Paul is an employee of Ascot Staffing (temporary agency) and we have hired him to work for us for 20 hours per week. Paul will be with us until the end of January, when we have completed our severance pay for Christine. During the next two months, the Personnel Committee will look very closely at the position and the needs of the congregation and determine what makes the most sense in terms of responsibilities and number of hours. Paul also works half-time at a law firm in Oakland. He graduated from college with an art degree and does Administrative Assistant work for pay so he can do his art for fun! Please be sure to stop by the office to welcome Paul and to introduce yourselves. Paul will not be joining us for Celebration on Sunday mornings.

Paul’s office hours will be:

Tuesdays from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm,

Wednesdays from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm,

Fridays from 8 am to 12 pm.

Due to the decrease in office hours, the deadline for getting something in to the Contact is now Tuesday by 3:00 pm. Anything received after 3 pm on Tuesday will have to go in the following week. The deadline for putting an announcement in the Sunday Celebration bulletin is Wednesday by noon. Anything received after 12 pm on Wednesday will have to go in the bulletin for the following week. This will take some getting used to as we all change our habits. Thank you for being patient as we get used to a new person, a new schedule and some new procedures. Paul’s new email address where everything needs to be sent is office@mpcfamily.org

Christine’s last day with us was Tuesday of this week. Many of you stopped by to say good-bye and wish her well. If you were not able to stop by and wanted to, you will still have an opportunity to thank Christine for all she contributed to this community. After Celebration on Sunday, we will have a cake for Christine in the Family Room during the coffee hour. There will also be a place for gathering cards for Christine if you’d like to write her a card. Please join us if you are able as we say good-bye to Christine in her role as employee and as we thank her.

You have all experienced a great deal of loss in the past years and I continue to recognize the pain many of you continue to feel. Please know I am here for you and am willing to hear your pain if and when you’d like to talk. This week I am beginning a four week series on loss that will be held on Wednesdays from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm in the Thornhill Room. You do not have to attend every session and are welcome whenever you are able to make it.

I continue to feel privileged to be walking with you on this Interim journey. Beth

MANY THANKS TO ALL OF YOU who responded so generously to our appeal for Food Basket Funds. We collected $677 at the Food Basket table the Sunday of our announcement. At $19-$20 month per student, that Sunday you funded 34 students. Please feel free to continue to donate on Sundays or to send money to the office. Make checks payable to MPC Food Baskets. We continue to be in need of brown paper bags in which to package the food that we deliver. Please leave them at the Food Basket table in the Family Room. Jan

THE DRAMA DISCUSSION GROUP will meet in the Family Room at 6 pm. on Sunday, December 12 for a potluck. We will be discussing Berkeley Rep’s “The Composer is Dead.” We welcome anyone wishing to join us. We bring plates, napkins and our own cutlery along with glasses and a beverage of one’s choice as well as food. There will be a docent from Berkeley to facilitate the discussion. Please RSVP to either Lee Aurich at lee@aurich.com or Sari Kulberg at 510-653-6432.

CHILDREN PLEASE BRING CANS of Pork and Beans to donate to our Children’s Food Basket for needy children this 1st Sunday of the month.

REHEARSALS FOR CHILDREN’S DECEMBER 12 CHRISTMAS PRESENTATION will continue during class this Sunday, December 5, on Saturday December 11 noon – 1pm, as well as early on the day of the performance. We hope all the children will participate even if they have missed a rehearsal. Questions – contact Kim, Talitha or Susan.

A CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS PARTY will take place after their performance on Sunday December 12 in room 10. All parents and children are invited for drinks and snacks and time to get to know each other. Children, please bring a new gift to wrap (for any age child). These gifts go each year to Highland Hospital to needy children whose parents are hospitalized.

BRINGING IN THE ADVENT WREATH. This Sunday it will be the K – 3RD grade children. Please meet at the front door at 9:45 AM. On Dec. 12, 4-6th grade, alternating classes each week.

YOUTH GROUP meets this Sunday, Dec. 5, 7-9 PM in room 2.

CHILDREN ARE INVITED to make cookies for our Advent Soup Dinner (6 PM) and Sing-along on Wed. Dec. 8. Please contact Susan at SHunn@mpcfamily.org if you can help out. We hope many families will share this evening with us. Friends and neighbors invited.

NEED HOLIDAY HELP? I, Mariah Carray, am looking for work over the holidays. I would be happy to watch your children while you go holiday shopping. I would love to help with pre-holiday cleaning, decorating, setting up, serving, or helping to cook at a holiday party! So whatever your needs, please give me a call 299-9053 or email me at MariahCarray@gmail.com

BOUNTIFUL THANKS TO OUR MPC FAMILY for the flood of cards, notes, calls and visits marking my birthday . . . I’ve been out of sight for so long that it feels extra good to know I’m not out of mind . . . Virginia Hadsell

ADVENT EVENTS: Join us at the following events as we celebrate Advent.

* Wednesday, December 8 – Soup and salad in the Family Room at 6:00 p.m. followed by a Christmas carol sing-along in the sanctuary at 7:00. Children are invited to make cookies for our dessert and bring them to the dinner.
* Sunday, December 12, 10:00 a.m. – Children’s Christmas Pageant, followed by Children’s Party.
* Sunday, December 19, 10:00 a.m. – The choir will perform “The Magnificat.”
* Tuesday, December 21, 7:00 p.m. – Taize meditation service in the sanctuary.
* Friday, December 24 – Join us for a family service at 5:30 p.m. and/or a service with the adult choir at 7:30 p.m. with refreshments in between services.

GLOBAL CONCERNS – Fair Trade very dark chocolate bars have arrived and will be for sale with other Fair Trade items: coffee, tea, hot cocoa mix, Sunday, December 5, during the coffee hour

MORE BOOK DEPOT NEWS – I will be gone almost all of the month of January and the last week in December. If anyone is going to want me to order books for any classes, or for Christmas gifts, please contact me by December 15 at the latest. After that date, I won’t be able to order anything with a guarantee of its arriving when needed. In February, I’ll be back to my normal schedule.

Gretchen Hayes, (510) 530-3557 or gretchenhayes@sbcglobal.net. Keep the Book Depot in mind for Christmas gifts, too.

GIVING TO THE WORLD – Overheard in the Family Room, November 28: “When I see all these people on TV breaking their necks to shop at dawn, I say, ‘I just go to a little table at my church and do all my shopping. AND I feel good about it.'” Visit that table next Sunday and see why Polly Johnson feels so good about her Christmas gifts.

LOVELY PALESTINIAN CERAMICS and an assortment of other fair trade items from Bolivia, Thailand, Indonesia and Ghana will be for sale at Family Hour starting this Sunday. We will also have fair trade coffee, tea & cocoa. We hope to receive Palestinian olive oil to sell sometime during December. — Peacemakers & Global Concerns Committees

MISSING – 18” brass candlesticks. If you have any knowledge of them call George Somers at 339-8944. Thank you.

DECEMBER 1 IS WORLD AIDS DAY AIDS has killed more than 25 million people, and an estimated 33.2 million people worldwide live with HIV/AIDS. A few weeks ago, there were headlines announcing a drug that may prevent HIV infection; however, there are still almost 40,000 new HIV cases each year in the United States. There are thousands of diagnosed HIV/AIDS cases in Oakland, and many more who are infected but have not been tested. The epidemic is not over; the media has just moved on. So, what can you do? Volunteer, donate, get tested, get educated. Contact the AIDS Project East Bay (www.apeb.org), the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (www.sfaf.org), or Jim Allardice (allardice.jim@gmail.com) for information.

HOUSE SITTERS FOR LATE DECEMBER Dear friends Ted and Kim Ross will be in town December 23 – 30th. Ted is a very well know dance instructor and mentored Marilyn Moore some time ago. They were our wonderful neighbors before moving to Ashville, NC where Ted teaches and competes in ballroom dancing. If you think Dancing with the Stars is good, you should see Ted and Kim perform. They will be in the East Bay for dance collaboration and are looking for a home to sit starting December 23rd and leaving for NC on December 30th. Our home is full, so I wondered if there might be any opportunities for MPC folks traveling during that time who might like a most responsible couple to care for their home. Please call me if this is a possibility. Bill Neely (510) 531-1361.

COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENTS

FAMILY ROOM RENOVATION: A HUGE THANK YOU to the Men’s Group and others who did such a beautiful job painting the Family Room and installing the bulletin boards! What a wonderful improvement! We also applaud Bud Sisson, our Storage Coordinator, who has done amazing work and continues to organize our various church storage areas. Now the Family Room Renovation Committee is focusing on cleaning out closets, recommending policies for the bulletin boards, as well as other jobs that need to be done. Would chairpersons who are interested in reserving a bulletin board please contact Barbara Peters at 510-654-9677 or barbxpeters@gmail.com.

A NEW ANTHOLOGY, LIVES IN PROGRESS 2010, is on the way and will go on sale Sunday, Dec. 5. Storytellers sponsors this annual collection of original stories and poems by members and friends who have participated in this year’s classes and events. Included are family stories, faith journey reflections, social comment and a new “Godly Play” section of writings and/or drawings by ten of our children. A wonderful gift to the family.

“Come see Bye Bye Birdie produced by Oakland School for the Arts in the historically renovated Fox Theater. Several of our own youth attend this school and some are participating in the play. Show times are 7 pm, Dec 9 & 10. Tickets are $20 adults, $15 students, sold after school starting at 3:30 or through Ticketmaster http://www.facebook.com/l/e8cd6OdyO8G4lRQ6mGsO6XZKncA;o.socl.be/nbl0spe4). Groups of 20 or more are $15 per person. Last year we had 3 nights and sold out each night. If you’re interested, be sure to get your tickets soon! Contact Leslie Louie (510-551-3702) for tickets if you want to save the Ticketmaster fees. Hope to see you there!”

Mark your calendars: Montclair Village Holiday Stroll will be Thursday, Dec. 2, 6:00-8:30.

San Francisco Theological Seminary invites you to attend Lessons & Carols, a 36- year tradition of Christmas music, scripture readings and fellowship on December 3rd & 4th at 7:00 pm in Stewart Memorial Chapel, San Anselmo. This year’s theme , “Rest, and Hear the Angels,” features the Seminary Singers and a dessert reception immediately following the service. For directions or more information, call 415.451.2861 or visit our website at www.sfts.edu

MPC Calendar:

http://www.mpcfamily.org/CalendarPrelim.htm

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MONTCLAIR PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Office Hours: Monday – Thursday, 9:00am-4:00pm

Rev. Beth Buckingham-Brown, Office hours Monday-Wednesday, 10:00-3:00 pm

Susan Hunn, Associate for Children & Youth: Office hours, Tues-Thurs 9:30-2:30 pm

Talitha Phillips: Coordinator for Children and Youth

Marcia Roy: Organist

Gil & Maria Chiguila: Caretakers

Rev. John Hadsell: Theologian in Residence

Rev. Kathy Ray: Parish Associate