Guest preacher Geoff Browning (peacemaking advocate for the Presbytery of San Jose) discussed the nature of peacemaking… and then the power went out, so we have no recording of his sermon. If you’d like to read more of his thoughts on peacemaking, his writings are available online: “The Prince of Peace is not the God of War” on Tikkun Daily, and “The Spirituality of Peacemaking” (PDF) on the San Jose Presbytery website.
Author Archive
Finding a Way Through the Wilderness of Violence and Conflict
Monday, March 14th, 2016
Broken Vessels
Sunday, March 6th, 2016
Rev. Talitha Phillips speaks to us as Mary of Bethany, showing her to be a person of great spirit and perception, and much more than just “Lazarus’ sister”.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Advisory: Palm Sunday is also the Oakland Running Festival!
Sunday, February 7th, 2016
The Oakland Marathon returns Sunday, March 20 – YES on Palm Sunday! The course will come through Montclair once again with runners along Mountain cutting off access to Thornhill from 7:45am to 10:00am. To turn onto Thornhill, you will need to approach Thornhill from the south side of Montclair Village on Mountain Blvd.
From the Piedmont side of Highway 13:
Take Moraga and head up toward Highway 13. Take Highway 13 southbound, exit at Joaquin Miller/Lincoln, left over 13, left on Mountain to return through Montclair Village, take a right on Thornhill. Note: Park Blvd. will be closed to through traffic past Estates due to runners crossing at Trafalgar at the top of Park Blvd.
From north of Shepherd Canyon:
Come down Shepherd Canyon or Snake, take a right on Mountain through Montclair Village, and take a right on Thornhill.
For full marathon details and complete city detours: www.oaklandmarathon.com
(Runner photo credit: The Q Speaks)
FAITH TRIO at the food bank – Feb 12, 8:20am
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016
Join the Faith Trio at Alameda County Food Bank and help to alleviate hunger in Alameda County – Friday, February 12, 2016; 8:20am – 11:30am.
The Faith Trio, an alliance of Montclair Presbyterian Church, Kehilla Community Synagogue, and the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California, is organizing an interfaith volunteer project against hunger in Oakland. Everyone is invited to join in. Children age 10 or older are welcome to volunteer. We will volunteer for three hours doing tasks such as bagging fruit or boxing food for distribution. This is an enjoyable volunteer activity and the facility is clean and pleasant, very well organized with a dedicated and capable staff.
Location: ACCFB 7900 Edgewater Dr, Oakland, CA
Phone: (510) 635-3663
Food bank website: accfb.org
Volunteers to wear comfortable warm clothes and closed-toed shoes. Please arrive at 8:20 am to register and get oriented.
We have participated in similar interfaith volunteer activities in the past. On Dec. 31, 2015 we got a great turnout of 35 volunteers from the participating congregations of the Faith Trio plus St. Johns Episcopal Church and Temple Sinai. Attached is a picture from the event. We have also participated in similar volunteer interfaith events on other occasions.
Ali Sheikholeslami of the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California writes: “As you know these are difficult times for the people of all faiths that are witnessing the horrific massacres of innocent people around the world and the demonization of one another, by those who claim that they are defending us and our religion. I believe one of the best ways to combat these actions is to join together to do good for the needy.”
If you would like to volunteer or have any questions, please contact Peggy Alter at (510) 338-6650 or peggyalter7@gmail.com
Inter-Generational Bible Study
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016
I hope many of you will consider joining us for Inter-Generational Bible Study. It will be held on Wednesday nights through Lent, combining dinner, simple candlelit song, and lively discussion for all ages as we go through the last chapters of the book of Mark. We hope you can join for Ash Wednesday, then the four-week Bible Study series beginning 2/17, plus the Taize service that follows (3/16) and the Maundy Thursday service (3/24) for a total of seven weeks of Lent, but we certainly also understand if you have to miss some of them. You are welcome, even if you can only attend once!
Bring your brain, booted up, and plenty of questions. We begin with dinner and then will move to the sanctuary for study in a more solemn environment. You are welcome to bring food, make a monetary donation, or to help clean up, but those are not required – we want to make sure this is available to everyone, including those who must squeeze it in between work and family obligations. No strings attached!
Dates: 2/17, 2/24, 3/2, 3/9 (Taize on 3/16, Maundy Thursday on 3/24).
Times: 6 PM dinner, 7-7:45 study
Readings: from the gospel of Mark, excerpts of chapters 10, 12, 13 and 14.
RSVP: talk to Rev. Talitha Phillips, or use this link.
Study leave (last week)
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016
Dear friends,
Thank you for including study leave in my contract. I spent last week reading and writing, and it felt very refreshing to be able to work on long-term issues and ideas rather than constantly playing catch-up, which is a game I play far too often. I’m going to try to bring that spacious feeling to work more often, and make sure I don’t neglect the big picture. My reading list, for those of you who are interested, included Ben’s latest book, Brene Brown’s Daring Greatly, a hefty Field Guide to the American Teenager, Riki Wilchin’s Queer Theory Gender Theory, Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God, and Wayne Muller’s Sabbath. My writing included pages upon pages of youth group curriculum, and materials for our Lenten Inter-Generational Bible Study.
I’m glad I got all of this accomplished, because Lent comes very early this year, thanks to the peculiarities of the lunar calendar… All seven weeks of Lent will be over and done by the end of March! So, in less than two weeks you will see Ben & me robed up in black and purple (purple is a serious color – we tell the children – because something serious is going to happen).
I hope many of you will consider joining us for Inter-Generational Bible Study. It will be held on Wednesday nights through Lent, combining dinner, simple candlelit song, and lively discussion for all ages as we go through the last chapters of the book of Mark. We hope you can join for Ash Wednesday, then the four-week Bible Study series beginning 2/17, plus the Taize service that follows (3/16) and the Maundy Thursday service (3/24) for a total of seven weeks of Lent, but we certainly also understand if you have to miss some of them. You are welcome, even if you can only attend once!
Bring your brain, booted up, and plenty of questions. We begin with dinner and then will move to the sanctuary for study in a more solemn environment. You are welcome to bring food, make a monetary donation, or to help clean up, but those are not required – we want to make sure this is available to everyone, including those who must squeeze it in between work and family obligations. No strings attached!
Dates: 2/17, 2/24, 3/2, 3/9 (Taize on 3/16, Maundy Thursday on 3/24).
Times: 6 PM dinner, 7-7:45 study
Readings: from the gospel of Mark, excerpts of chapters 10, 12, 13 and 14.
RSVP: talk to me, or use this link.
Thanks!
Blessings, Talitha
Spring 2016 Women’s Retreat
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016
Registration begins this coming Sunday, February 7, and continues every Sunday this month in the Family Room for the one-day Spring Women’s Retreat, scheduled for Saturday, March 12, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church in Lafayette, with the theme of “Yesterday’s Journey, Tomorrow’s Path: Whose Footprints ARE Those in the Sand?”
The retreat will feature Dolores Nice-Siegenthaler, who earned a Master of Divinity degree from the San Francisco Theological Seminary with an emphasis on Spiritual Direction. Dolores and Retreat Co-chairs will guide us through a day of sharing our lives through life mapping, sacred listening and conversing, singing, labyrinth walking, and being nourished body and soul.
Download the Women’s Retreat Spring 2016 Flyer (PDF)
Cost: $40. Scholarships are available. Come to the registration table for more information, or contact Women’s Retreat co-chairs Eloise Gilland, Jean Gregory, Melinda Maxwell-Smith or the administrative assistant at MPC, Shane Brodie (office@mpcfamily.org).
Ash Wednesday – Feb 10th
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016
Please note that our Ash Wednesday observance will incorporate this month’s Taizé meditation service February 10, 7:00-8:00pm in the Sanctuary. The theme will be “In Times of Need.” Prepare for the Lenten season with an inward journey in a candlelit space accompanied by music, meditative singing, readings, prayer, and silence. For child care (available upon request), contact the church office by February 5.
Before the service there will be a soup supper – an occasional MPC tradition – lets you feed your body before you feed your soul at the Ash Wednesday service. Come at 6 for dinner, stay for the service at 7.
An extra helping of sweetness
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016
Friends,
I’ve taken a few days off to spend time with some friends from Scotland who are visiting (you may have seen us wearing kilts on Sunday), so my remarks for this week will be brief. In lieu of a regular weekly column, I’d like to recommend a film I’ve seen recently.
The Chorus (Les Choristes) is a French film made in the tradition of European movies that are relatively uncomplicated conduits of hope and joy. Part of me wants people to think I only see films that plumb the complex depths of human depravity by taking on subject matter of grave importance, but it’s not true. I do watch those kinds of movies from time to time and I enjoy them, but I’m also a sucker for the occasional extra helping of sweetness that has me crying tears of joy. That’s what this film is. It will make you want to believe in the goodness of humanity and it will remind you of the power of music. I absolutely recommend it. The film streams on Netflix. Here’s a link to its page on IMDB.
Enjoy!
Ben
Henry Winkler & Lin Oliver Author Talk
Monday, February 1st, 2016
On Friday, March 18th at 7pm, authors Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver will be at MPC discussing their latest collaboration Here’s Hank: You Can’t Drink a Meatball Through a Straw. The book, the newest in the Here’s Hank series, describes the further adventures of an elementary school student with reading difficulties, much the same as the young Henry Winkler. We hope you can join us for what is sure to be a heartfelt, funny, and fascinating talk.
About Here’s Hank
Henry Winkler’s inspiration to write with Lin Oliver was his own childhood experiences. He struggled with undiagnosed dyslexia, and faced a school and home environment that wasn’t supportive or sympathetic. As an adult, he wanted to write about a kid with the same problem, but who ends up having a much better time growing up because of understanding friends, family, and teachers — and Hank Zipzer was born. The first series of books featured Hank as a 12-year-old; the second “Here’s Hank” series covers his adventures in second grade. In Here’s Hank: You Can’t Drink a Meatball Through a Straw, Hank finds himself in a cooking competition with his perfectionist cousin, and they discover that they have much more in common than they realize. Read more about the book on the Penguin Books website.
About Henry Winkler
Henry Winkler is an actor, producer, and director, and he speaks publicly all over the world. In addition, he has a star on Hollywood Boulevard, was presented with the Order of the British Empire by the Queen of England, and the jacket he wore as the Fonz hangs in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC. But if you asked him what he was proudest of, he would say, “Writing the Hank Zipzer books with my partner, Lin Oliver.” He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Stacey. They have three children named Jed, Zoe, and Max, and two dogs named Monty and Charlotte. Charlotte catches a ball so well that she could definitely play outfield for the New York Mets. (source: Penguin Books)
About Lin Oliver
Lin Oliver is a writer and producer of movies, books, and television series for children and families. She has written more than twenty-five novels for children, and one hundred episodes of television. She is cofounder and executive director of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and international organization of twenty thousand authors and illustrators of children’s books. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband Alan. They have three sons named Theo, Ollie, and Cole. She loves tuna melts, curious kids, any sport that involves a racket, and children’s book writers everywhere.
(source: Penguin Books)
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.
