December 15, 2010
Montclair Presbyterian Church
BRINGING IN THE ADVENT WREATH. This Sunday it will be the K – 3rd grade children and on Christmas Eve, 4th – 6th.
ANNOUNCEMENT: There will be no Contact for the next two weeks. The next deadline for submissions will be Tuesday at 3pm, January 4th, and the next Contact will run the following day on Wed., January 5th.
Dear Friends,
What a joy it has been this past week to listen to the sounds of the season and be touched by the children who presented to us a slightly different version of the 3 wise people and the shepherd! The Soup Supper and Christmas Carol sing last Wednesday was a great time to sit down and enjoy a relaxed meal together (thanks to Jim Allardice, Hope Boije and Bill Neely who prepared the food!), and then sing our hearts out together with a wonderful mix of popular songs and Christmas hymns, which Kim so ably played on the piano and organ.
Believe it or not, after having such a fabulous time in Celebration with the children’s presentation of the Christmas story, I went home feeling very annoyed. Why? For 5 out of the past 7 Sundays that I have been here, Albert has shown up. Albert is a homeless man who is also schizophrenic. He is harmless, as are most homeless and mentally-ill people, and he is coming because these are desperate times and he wants money. Albert has a history here because he used to come once or twice a year and he was tended to by Karen Stokes and one of you. If what he is saying is true, he is a Vet and he is sometimes employed and sometimes finds places to live that are not outside. So why I am annoyed? I find myself resenting the fact that he waits for Celebration to end and then wants to talk to me. How am I supposed to greet you and get to know you if I am distracted by Albert? A few weeks ago I was greeting a whole family who was visiting and Albert jumped right in the middle of the conversation. So there I was, trying to do ministry and Albert just wouldn’t leave. Each week he has come I have taken time to speak with him and he has had the nerve to tell me how unwelcome he feels by the congregation. My feelings of annoyance with him have been strong enough that I know I need to pay attention. Sometimes God uses those feelings to wake me up.
Do you think it’s possible God has sent Albert to us? When I was newly ordained 20 years ago, I remember someone telling me to pay careful attention to the disguises Jesus would wear when showing up in various places on earth. One of those disguises, of course, was as a homeless person. It’s ironic, isn’t it, that in this season where we anticipate and celebrate the incarnation of God in Jesus, born to parents without a place in which to give birth, that I could feel so annoyed by someone who is homeless? Am I annoyed because Albert has the nerve to ask for what he needs? Am I annoyed because he is taking my time? Am I annoyed because I don’t want to give him money? Am I annoyed because he is such a tangible reminder of how so much of the world lives and I am called to do something to alleviate that kind of suffering but feel overwhelmed by it?
What would happen if every time Albert showed up, we believed him to be Jesus? What would we do differently? What would we say differently? How would we treat him differently? I don’t have the answers, but you can be sure I am asking myself these questions. How welcoming are we to all? How can we be welcoming without handing out cash to those in need? When I preached my sermon “Jesus is Coming – R U Ready” on November 28th, I had no idea Jesus might show up dressed like a homeless man. Maybe together we can provide an extravagant welcome.
Beth
TUESDAY DEC. 21st, THE WINTER SOLSTICE, we will have a Taize service of prayer and meditation on the theme “The Darkest Night.” Talitha is planning the service, which will be at 7pm in the sanctuary. Come and spend some quiet time preparing for the coming of Christ’s light.
ENDING TORTURE In Advent, we await the Prince of Peace, hope born in a stable. God identifying with the powerless. What better time to stand with victims of torture along with other religious groups across the nation. The United States has signed and ratified the Convention Against Torture (CAT), outlawing prisoner abuse. The Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) is a treaty that requires ratifying countries to set up mechanisms to ensure that torture does not occur in police stations, jails, prisons, and detention centers of those countries. It has not yet been signed or ratified by the US. The National Religious Coalition Against Torture (NRCAT) has issued a statement calling on the U.S. to sign and ratify OPCAT as a safeguard to prevent torture from ever happening again. At Family Hour come by the Peacemakers’ table and sign our petition.
DEADLINES: To submit announcements for the bulletin and Contact, please send them to office@mpcfamily.org. The deadline for Contact is Tuesdays at 3 pm and the deadline for the bulletin is Wednesdays at 12 pm. This is a change for all of us, so let’s try to remind each other!
WHILE MARIA IS AWAY: If you have a committee meeting or event between now and January 4th, it will be your responsibility to do set up and clean up (taking down chairs, etc). We have a janitorial service that will clean the rooms and buildings, but they will not cover basic set up and clean up from meetings or events. Thank you very much for your help with this as Maria enjoys time with her family in Mexico! Gil will be home alone during that time so think of ways you can include him in various activities. He might also enjoy some Christmas treats!
YOU ARE INVITED TO THE HIGH SCHOOL & COLLEGE-AGE Christmas Party this Sun., Dec. 19, 6pm at the home of David McEwan, 111 Monte Cresta Ave., Oakland (from Piedmont Ave, turn onto Linda to Monte Cresta). Please bring an hors d’oeuvre or dessert to share (finger food).
GET A BEAUTIFUL AND UNIQUE luggage tag while helping to protect children from exploitation. See Sari Kulberg at the Giving to the World table to purchase a Tassatag.
THE YOUTH GROUP RAISED $885 FOR THE WATER PROJECT. Thanks to all who joined the youth in this vital project.
OLIVE OIL, CERAMICS & OTHER FAIR TRADE ITEMS FOR SALE It’s here! Delicious extra virgin olive oil from Palestine will be for sale at Family Hour for $16 a bottle. It is from the first harvest and the freshest you will find! You may also purchase lovely Palestinian ceramics and an assortment of unique fair trade items from Bolivia, Thailand, Indonesia and Ghana, as well as fair trade coffee, tea & dark chocolate bars. The profits from the sales of Palestinian goods will go to KEEP HOPE ALIVE, a joint advocacy initiative of the YWCA in Jerusalem and the YMCA of Bethlehem in support of the olive tree farmers and the ceramic industry. — Peacemakers & Global Concerns Committees
GIVING TO THE WORLD: Overheard in the Family Room, November 28th: “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 on Sunday, December 19 (last chance!), and see why Polly Johnson feels so good about her Christmas gifts.
Advent Events: Join us at the following events as we celebrate Advent.
- Sunday, December 19, 10:00 am – The choir will perform “The Magnificat”.
- Tuesday, December 21, 7:00 pm – Taize meditation service in the sanctuary
- Friday, December 24 – Join us for a family service at 5:30 pm and/or a later service at 7:30 pm with refreshments in between services.
NEED HOLIDAY HELP? Youth Mariah Carray is looking for holiday work: child care, cleaning, helping at a party. Please give me a call 299-9053 or email MariahCarray@gmail.com
BE ALERT WHEN YOU LEAVE THE CHURCH AT NIGHT There was a theft from a car this week in the early evening behind the Ed Building and also from a purse on Sunday in the Ed Building. It’s best to keep valuables with you and also to exit in groups after dark.
ADULT EDUCATION
YOU ARE INVITED to two classes during January. Sign-up this Sunday, Dec. 19 in the Family Hour.
HELP FOR HANDLING DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS BETSY KING
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Based on reading the book “Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most” (of the Harvard Negotiation Project) explores what makes conversations difficult, why we avoid them, and why we often handle them badly. It applies to how we deal with children, parents, employees and others.
Instructor: BETSY KING. Class Size: 5 to 15
Dates: SATURDAYS, JANUARY 8, 15, 22, 29. Time: 9-10:30 AM. Place: Thornhill Room
Convener: PAULA MOSELEY, 510-339-8570 baxterblanco@gmail.com Fee: $15 incl. book
THE ONCE AND FUTURE CHURCHJOHN HADSELL, BRUCE REYES-CHOW, CAROL MILES
COURSE DESCRIPTION: As we search for a new pastor, we will also be rethinking our future as a congregation; at least two possibilities for the future stand out: (1) Try to stay the course with little or no change, or (2) re-think and perhaps re-shape ourselves and our mission. This seminar will look closely at the second option, including reading the book – “The Once and Future Church” by Loren Mead – and hearing from outside speakers with suggestions on how to move into a promising future.
Date: SUNDAYS, JANUARY 9, 16, 23, 30. Time: 8:30-9-45 am. Place: Room 10.
Class Size: 10- 25.
Convener: DAVID SIEGENTHALER, 510-482-9311 dsgnthlr@earthlink.net Fee: $20 incl. book
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
Paul Jokelson: Administrative Assistant: Office hours: Tues-Wed 8:30-5:00 pm, Fri 8-12 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