Montclair Presbyterian Church

We will honor those in our church community who are graduating or being promoted from one school to another. We will honor those who are transitioning from 5th grade to Middle School, those who are transitioning from 8th grade to high school, those who are transitioning from high school to college and those who are receiving a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree. Please join us as we celebrate these important milestones!

FROM THE MISSION STUDY TEAM: Don’t miss our FINAL Congregational Gathering, Sunday, June 3, from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm. Bring your own lunch. Again, we will provide fruit, granola bars, and beverages. The Team will share some of the learnings and questions for further consideration culled from previous congregational gatherings, our survey, and research from our task subgroups. The Team appreciates the participation and input of the congregation over the past eight months as we have engaged in dialogue in previous gatherings. The Team is beginning to distill a mass of information. Please join us on June 3 for an “in-process” report-out!

Let us remind you of the journey we have taken together. Here is the list of questions addressed in previous gatherings.
10/02/11 – What is most important to me about MPC? What do I worry most about when I think about MPC? If I could change one thing about MPC, what would it be?
11/13/11 – History/past identity: When did you arrive at MPC? (Not necessarily when people joined) What brought you here? What are three highlights (or experiences that resulted in your feeling closer to the PC community) from your time here at MPC? What are up to three things that resulted in your experience of distress here at MPC?
01/22/12 – Identity in greater depth: How would you describe MPC to someone who doesn’t know us? What are the characteristics that are core to our identity? Who are we today as a community of faith?
02/26/12 – What is our purpose? (Why do we exist?)
03/17/12 – Who is our neighbor? Presentations by principals from Thornhill and Montclair Elementary Schools.
05/06/12 – What is God calling us to do? Who is God calling us to be?

The Oakland East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus will help us celebrate Pentecost this Sunday, May 27th at 10:00 am!  Wear red, orange or yellow or all of them together. Rev. Beth will be preaching on the transformation that occurs when we are heard.  Together we will create the wind that represents the Spirit coming on the day of Pentecost.  All are welcome!

Art installation by liturgical artist Virginia Thibeaux.

During Celebration on Sunday, May 20th, the MPC Church Choir will take part in a performance of Josef Haydn’s Creation (Part One).  They will be joined by Rita Lilly (soprano), Brian Thorsett (tenor), Robby Stafford (bass) and the Montclair Chamber Orchestra.  Please join us for what is sure to be a stirring performance of an inspiring, dramatic work.

Creation brings together Josef Haydn’s amazing music with text from the Book of Genesis and Milton’s Paradise Lost.  Many consider it to be his masterpiece, and its influence can be seen in the works of many later composers.  To learn more, please visit the Haydn (The Creation) wikipedia page.

Update: recordings and of this Major Work have now been posted to our music samples page. You can also listen/download using these links:

• Chaos: from “The Creation” Part 1 by Franz Josef Haydn
• In the Beginning
• Now Vanish before the holy beams
• And God made the firmament
• The marv’lous work behold amaz’d
• And God said:Let the waters/ Roaming in foaming billows
• Let the earth bring for grass / With verdure clad
• And the heavenly host proclaimed / Awake the harp
• Let there be lights / In splendor bright is rising now the sun
• The Heavens are Telling
• The Lord is Great

The Annual Pasta Dinner Youth Mission Trip FUNDRAISER will be on Sunday, April 29 from 5:30-7:00pm.  This is an excellent event to invite family and friends who might be interested in learning more about our youth ministry program, to hear about the mission trip destination in greater detail (there will be a presentation from 6-6:30), or simply dining in fellowship with good neighbors and happy youth servers.  Mark your calendars, make your plans… and we thank you in advance for your generous support of this life-transforming trip.  Diane Bessette will be serving as our chief parent volunteer.  Yeah Diane!  ~Rev. Katie

“One Great Hour of Sharing” is the special offering of the PCUSA which will be collected at our church on Palm Sunday (April 1st) and Easter (April 8th). It brings hope to people in more than eighty countries, including our own. The PCUSA works with international partners to provide sources of clean water and food, small business micro-loans, emergency relief, and advocacy and resettlement for refugees. The offering also supports ministries for disaster preparedness and response. Please give generously.

Learn more about these programs by viewing the videos included below.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance

Self-Development of People

Hunger Program

You may also wish to watch these videos, as well as others related to Presbyterian Special Offerings, on their YouTube page.

BOLIVIA DELEGATION TO DEPART SOON: Jay Gregory, Jean Norris, and Brad Hestir, our 2012 delegation to Bolivia will be departing in the wee hours of February 21 to meet with our partners in several Bolivian cities. They will be consulting with community leaders, and perhaps government officials concerning issues affecting poverty, health and hunger such as global warming, environmental pollution from mining, just trade, and land grabs. We have set up a web page so that you can learn more and follow their progress during the trip. Bookmark this web address and check back from time to time to learn what is happening.
Social Justice Emphasis: Joining Hands with Bolivia

This Sunday, January 29, family and friends of Serin Eggling and daughter Vanessa Hammack will gather to celebrate Serin‘s life.  The Celebration will be in the Sanctuary at 2:00 PM followed by a reception in the Family Room.  All are invited. If you would like to provide help for the reception, please contact Barbara Peters, 510-654-9677 or barbxpeters@gmail.com.  In lieu of flowers, donations in her name can be made to one of the following, or a cause of your choosing.

–Prescott Circus Theatre:

Online:  http://tinyurl.com/SerinPrescottCircus (Donate button on bottom of page)

Mail: Prescott Circus Theatre, 2425 East 28th Street, Oakland, CA, 94601.
–Montclair Presbyterian Church:

Online:  http://www.mpcfamily.org/ (Donate button on right of page).

Mail: MPC 5701 Thornhill Drive, Oakland, CA, 94611.

On Wednesday, April 4th at 7pm, author Anne Lamott, along with her son Sam, will be coming to MPC to talk about their new book: Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son’s First Son. The book is a follow-up to Operating Instructions, a journal of her son’s early years.

This free event is one of only two talks Anne will be holding in support of this book. It’s sure to be popular, so we recommend arriving at MPC a bit early to get a good seat. Parking will be available in the lot at nearby Thornhill Elementary School (see below); more parking info and directions info are available on MPC’s parking and directions page.

The book talk is co-sponsored by Great Good Place for Books in Montclair. You’ll have the option of purchasing the book from them right after the talk.