March 30, 2011
Montclair Presbyterian Church
Dear Friends,
Youth discussing human rights! Yes, that was the scene last Sunday night when at Youth Group we watched a DVD about The UN Declaration of Human Rights, which itemized the 30 rights. Even before the film, the youth had some ideas about what those rights were and a knowledgeable discussion followed. The DVD was given to us by Susan tenBosch Paull, whose grandsons are in the group.
Youth Group meetings cover a variety of topics, often alternating between teen concerns and social justice and faith issues. This summer our high school mission trip will continue our exploration of concerns related to hunger and poverty. We will be volunteering with the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon in Portland. We will serve in a variety of agencies which are tackling food justice issues, such as working on an urban farm and in community gardens, distributing food to needy families through a church’s farmers’ market, and serving meals to AIDS patients through another church. There is a strong educational component to this program. Our April 10th Pancake Breakfast fundraiser supports this trip. In addition we are planning with Julia Dunbar to show at youth group at least one of the films which she is using in her Adult Ed class about food justice issues.
I personally have been so influenced by this immersion in food issues and sustainable farming that I am trying out a vegetarian lifestyle. I am excited about the changes I am making myself. I would not have guessed that this would be the outcome of leading the youth through these programs. And perhaps I have been a little bit influenced by working with Talitha, who is a confirmed vegetarian. Each week we eat lunch together, me with a meat sandwich and she with some fascinating concoction from the vegetables and grains she uses. Today I have my vegetable salad!
Susan
Rev Beth will be on vacation from March 27 – April 3.
YOUTH GROUP: We will meet this Sunday in room 2, from 7-9 PM.
CHILDREN: The children will be learning a song to sing at Easter during the last part of classes for the next 3 weeks. Please meet your children in the Thornhill Room at 11:15.
PANCAKE BREAKFAST. No need to eat Fruit Loops for breakfast. Our youth group will be serving delicious pancakes as their last Mission Trip fundraiser next Sunday, April 10, from 11 am – 12:30 pm. Donations appreciated for your meal.
FACES OF GOD: This Saturday, April 2, please meet at 9:30 am in Room 1. Both Jean and Sharon must leave early. We are reading two books about Mahatma Ghandi. The first book titled, “The Essential Ghandi.” has been offered at the book depot. Not all of us have the second book, “The Life of Mahatma Ghandi.” Please read the first two essays from “The Essential” collection to begin our discussion.
INTRODUCTION TO THE KORAN CLASS REMINDER: Come join this class, an introduction to the Qur’an for non-Muslims, especially for those who have a background in Christianity. No prior knowledge of Islam or the Qur’an is required. It will start this Sunday, April 3, at 8:30 am in Room 10. CONVENER: David Siegenthaler, 510-482-9311. dsgnthlr@earthlink.net Fee: $15
HELLO FAMILY CAMPERS – NEW & EXPERIENCED! The Family Camp committee is hosting an informational brunch at 11:30 am this Sunday, April 3rd, in the Thornhill Room. It will be a time to share stories and to find out more about Family Camp, especially if you’re new to this MPC early summer experience. Family Camp will be from June 19th to June 25th at Camp Richardson Resort, South Lake Tahoe. In addition, reservation sign-ups for both cabins & campsites will begin. Early bird discounts will be offered this day only! Hope to see you there! Carrie McKiernan & Debbie Fallehy, Family Camp Co-Chairs.
MPC TECH SUNDAYS: On the first Sunday of each month, the MPC Tech Committee will be hosting MPC Tech Sundays in the Family Room after church. We’ll be there, laptops fired up, ready to do a “show and tell” on MPC-related tech topics. This Sunday we’ll be focusing on the Web Survey that’s mentioned elsewhere in this week’s Contact — you can even use our laptops to fill it out. Drop on by!
MPC DAY AT THE OAKLAND A’S: TIME TO GET TICKETS! Baseball fans, it’s time to gather with other MPC’ers and cheer on Your Oakland Athletics. The game is Friday, July 15th, at 7:05 pm, the opponent is the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and tickets are $26 each. Even better, ticket sales benefit Thornhill Elementary School, the kind folks who let us use their parking lot. Interested in joining us? Contact Steve McKiernan at spmckiernan@gmail.com — and please do so soon, because we need to turn in the order forms by Monday, April 11th. Go A’s!
PLASTIC RECYCLE AT THE CHURCH: Many people don’t realize that Oakland does not recycle plastic bags, plastic items other than bottles and tubs, or Styrofoam. The Men’s Team picks up such items for recycle, except for Styrofoam, on the third Sunday of each month (next pickup is April 17). Leave them in plastic bags on the walk just east of the Church (next to the gas station). Here is a good article about plastics recycle and also the City of Oakland recycle info (gray can).
SAVE THE DATE! On Sunday, May 1st, the SPLASH Team will host the MPC Community Forum on Climate Change. Come hear newly-elected Oakland Mayor Jean Quan respond to a presentation of the Oakland Climate Action Plan. Do you live in Oakland? Do you live near Oakland? Do you drive through Oakland? If you said yes to any of these questions, this affects you! We will be serving a delicious lunch in the Family Room at 11:30 AM. The 1-hour program will start at 12:15 PM in the sanctuary with Q & A afterwards. Come and get to know Mayor Quan and learn about all the exciting things happening in Oakland. Child care provided upon request!
CHILDREN’S FOOD BASKET: Would you be interested in volunteering or just learning a little more about the program? Before this school year ends, you could visit on a Thursday to see how the bags are packed and/or ride along as we deliver 64 bags of food to children at the two East Oakland schools we’ve partnered with for about ten years. We are also conducting our periodic program review and will be meeting with the school principals to ensure that our efforts are maximized. We welcome any questions or comments. Please contact Janet Mulshine, jmulshine@comcast.net (510) 658-9183 or Ruthann Taylor, clydetaylr@att.net (510) 527-0673.
POETS AND STORYTELLERS: Reminder that Sharon Noteboom is collecting writings from our congregation about “Loss and the Experience of Aging”. This writing should be turned in to Sharon by the end of March. Soon! The stories, poetry, and ideas will be presented as a performance piece for our Works In Progress program, September 16. Our writers will share individual stories about Aging and Loss, something we all experience. We are looking forward to a broad interpretation of this topic. Please send to Sharon via email, slnoteboom@att.net, or call (925) 943-5685.
MPC WEB SURVEY: The MPC Tech Team would looooove to hear your thoughts about the website. Could you do them a huge favor and go to www.mpcfamily.org/survey. The online form at that link will take 5 minutes to complete and will greatly help us make a better website for our whole community. Thanks very much!
ALL IN THE FAMILY:
- Former longtime member Dr. Ed Foster died last Friday, after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease. Ed will be remembered for his involvement with our Extended Families program, serving on the Education Committee and hosting many of our youth and young adult retreats at his lake home. Our prayers are with his adult children Kimberley and Geoff and their families. No memorial is planned at Ed’s request.
- Virginia Abascal experienced a bad house fire on Saturday. She is looking for another place to live, and in the meantime can be reached on her cell phone, (510) 708 7113. Our prayers are with her in this time of difficulty.
YOU ARE NOT DONE YET! Please make sure to read the information at the end of this Contact about the Japan Earthquake.
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!
MPC Calendar:
http://www.mpcfamily.org/getting-involved/calendar/
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MONTCLAIR PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
5701 Thornhill Drive, Oakland, California 94611, (510)339-1131
Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00am-3:30pm
Rev. Beth Buckingham-Brown, Office hours Monday-Wednesday, 10:00-3:00 pm
Susan Hunn, Associate for Children & Youth: Office hours, Tuesday-Thursday, 9:30-2:30 pm
Sherrill Figuera: Administrative Assistant: Office hours: Tuesday-Friday, 9:00-3:30 pm
Talitha Phillips: Coordinator for Children and Youth
Kim Rankin: Associate in Music
Marcia Roy: Organist
Gil & Maria Chiguila: Caretakers
Rev. John Hadsell: Theologian in Residence
Rev. Kathy Ray: Parish Associate
Ajit Abraham: International Partner in Residence
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MPC Earthquake Response (Japan Earthquake, and Thailand and Myanmar)
Some of us may not have decided how to respond the 9.0 Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan, and now there has been another 6.8 on the border of Thailand causing more shaking and tsunami destruction in Thailand and Myanmar.
Our best assistance is cash to fund organizations already present in the regions affected, like American Red Cross (Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami fund), Salvation Army (Japan earthquake relief) and our own Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA). PDA is in Japan, with $100.000 of One Great Hour of Sharing funds, providing the basic needs for 250,000 individuals in 100 evacuation sites in the northeastern area of Japan (Miyagi, Fukushima, Iwate, Ibaragi, Tochigi prefectures.)
Support includes:
- ready-to-eat food, potable water, gas and fuel supplies
- sanitation kits including napkins and soap, to fill the significant sanitation and hygiene gaps
- blankets to help protect people from the cold, which is becoming an increasingly dire need as fuel and gas supplies run out
- batteries to maintain radio contact and to enable people to receive vital news on nuclear and radiation related developments
What you can do
GIVE. MPC invites you to make your donations to PDA through MPC. On your check, in the memo line, identify the fund you want to support:
PDA fund DR000148 for relief efforts wherever disasters occur.
PDA fund DR000117 exclusively for response to the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami disasters.
Or give online for disasters around the world (http://gamc.pcusa.org/give/DR000148/) or for the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (http://gamc.pcusa.org/give/DR000117/)
ACT. As you follow the situation in the news, please consider planning a special worship service using some of the resources available on this web site (http://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/pda/japan/)
Stay informed and share information about the need with others. Situation reports: http://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/pda/japan/ Sign up to receive PDA Rapid Information Network (PDA-RIN) email notices to alert you of additional needs. (http://gamc.pcusa.org/subscriptions/lists/pda-rapid-information-network/)
PRAY. Please keep the people of Japan, and other areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami, in your thoughts and prayers. Examples of prayers from the Office of Theology and Worship can be found on this website. PC(USA) leaders have issued a Call to Prayer.