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Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church Newsletter
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Weekly Happenings at SHPC
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July 20, 2017
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Summer Storytelling Continues with...
Villains in the Bible
Deliver Us from Evil?
Forty two kings and one queen ruled over the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and the Bible tells us that 31 of them were evil. Of the rest, most were incompetent. Why is it so hard to find a good ruler? What makes a villain a villain in the Bible, and how can we make sure that we're choosing the right path today? This Sunday, July 23, 2017 at 9:30 a.m., we'll explore stories about villains in the Bible and ponder how to align ourselves with God's way so that we live on the right side of history.
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A Note from Pastor Bev
Summertime is beautiful at Sleepy Hollow church. The back yard reminds us daily of God's abundant blessing,
with our Justice Garden flourishing, our flowers blooming, and the birds and bees enjoying it all. Are you spending enough time outside
to take in the beauty? Now is the time to live by the motto (given to me on a laminated sign by my chaplaincy
supervisor): "Don't just do something; sit there!"
Our spirits need a daily balance between "doing something" and being at rest. We all know there is so much to do at home,
at work, here at church, in our communities, and in the world. There are so many people to feed, house, comfort, and console. And s
o many chores, so many books to read, and then there's that garage to clean out, and your bucket list. But without creating some
spaciousness in each day, we deprive ourselves of spiritual renewal.
So let's all take the time to sit, take in the beauty, thank God, and enjoy summer each blessed day.
In peace,
Bev
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Bible Study
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Sunday, July 23
9:30 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
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Villians in the Bible
Coffee and Fellowship - All Welcome
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Wednesday, July 26
7:30 p.m.
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SHPC Singers- All Welcome |
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No Bible Study- Bev in SF |
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Sunday, July 30
9:30 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
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Holy Moments
Coffee and Fellowship - All Welcome
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Wednesday, August 2
7:30 p.m.
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SHPC Singers- All Welcome |
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NOON
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Bible Study |
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Bible Study Friday, July 21st at NOON
Psalm 23, Matthew 7:7-14
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Please Remember in Your Prayers
Wil Swalberg, for a full and speedy recovery from his Double Carpal Tunnel surgery;
Kim Alling, sister of Peg Maclise, for God's healing presence, and for
Peg, for God's strength, love, and peace;
Jeri Rayford and her family, grieving the loss of Prentis,
for God's loving presence, strength, and support in their bereavement;
Jody Brockett and her family, grieving the loss of Jody's mother Jeanne, prayers for the family to feel God's comfort and peace, and healing and strength to Jody as she moves her Father into a new residence;
Kelsey Lopin, for continued flourishing, creativity, and energy as she pursues her education and excels in art;
Andrea Proster, sister of Nancy Elberg, for complete healing, and for Nancy to continue to feel God's abiding presence in companioning her;
Katie Brendler, may God's loving presence and comfort abide with her and her family as they mourn the loss of Katie's dear Father, and for full recovery for her mother;
Sen. John McCain, diagnosed with brain cancer, and his loved ones, for God's healing presence, comfort, and strength;
Victims of gun violence, and their loved ones, and those who lose all hope and resort to violence, may God heal them;
The hungry, especially all those depending on the US government for food aid here and abroad;
Those fearing loss of medical insurance, for accurate information and honest, humane decision making by our leaders in Congress;
Those living in the shadows and fearing deportation, for safety, security for their families and children, a path to citizenship, and sanctuary;
The incarcerated, and their loved ones, for a justice system and prison system that uphold our highest values of human dignity and fairness;
Our country, for a way forward where we live our values of justice and equality for all people; for a well-informed citizenry; for government of, by, and for the people, with leaders of integrity, and for an end to hate crimes;
The refugees and displaced
, almost 1 out of 100 people in the world today, for safety, homes, the basics of life, and freedom from being scapegoated;
Our Muslim neighbors, subject to Islamophobia and hate crimes;
Our planet, the world's poor, all who suffer from disruptive climate change, may we continue our work to keep the planet livable;
The PC(USA), for the way forward to be illuminated, and for our mission and ministries to be salt and light for the world;
Dr. Doug Tilton, our PC(USA) mission co-worker in Southern Africa;
Our church, for the Spirit to continue to guide us and fill us with energy for mission and love for all our neighbors!
Please take time this week to pray for those on our list.
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Calling All Gardeners to Early Harvest
Come pick beautiful produce this Saturday, July 22 at 8 a.m. with Patti, and/or this Sunday, July 23, at 9:00 a.m. with Michael
Our garden is growing so fast that it is time to harvest - Let's fill up the table for our Farm Stand after the service at Fellowship time this Sunday.
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Cook's Cozy Corner -
Pasta with Pesto and Mozzarella
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The Cozy Cook in the Justice Garden |
When faced with lots more basil than one can possibly use on pizzas and caprese salads, the desperate cook makes pesto. Lately I've been making it with almonds, and liking it a lot, though walnuts are good and even pecans will work, or of course the standard pine nuts. I like to use some lemon juice or zest, and maybe also some other greens, such as parsley or mint. A little parsley will even help pesto to hold its green color a bit longer.
So, for the pesto:
Put 1/2 c. almonds, 1 or 2 garlic cloves, 4 c. loosely packed basil (flower parts are OK for this) and any other greens , 1 or 2 tsp. lemon juice and a little salt in a blender or small food processor. Blend this until you have a fairly smooth paste, then blend in 1/2 c. good olive oil. You want it to be fairly loose and creamy. Blend in about 1/2 c. grated parmesan, or other hard cheese. Adjust the salt. That's your pesto.
For the pasta:
Boil an adequate amount of salted water for the amount of shape pasta (like penne or fusilli) that you are using and add the pasta. Meanwhile, cut up 8 oz. mozzarella into half-inch chunks, and cut up some zucchini or green beans into similar-sized pieces. Add the veggies to the pasta water in the last 5 min. of cooking (or earlier or later depending on how done you want them). When the pasta is done, drain part of the hot water into a mixing bowl to heat it up, then drain the rest of the pasta/veggies. Dump the water out of the bowl, put the pasta into it, and toss it with the mozzarella pieces and some of the pesto. A little reserved hot pasta water will help make the pesto creamier. The residual heat will make the mozzarella gooey. Throw some extra basil leaves around on the top to make it look pretty.
--Michael Durphy
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Family Ministries Update
Our Doodle poll revealed (no surprise!) that most of you are very busy for next few weeks, and with out of town plans, we couldn't find even a few days where we could gather a critical mass of our young people.
But something new is cooking! Family Ministries is working with youth ministry partners to bring back Charles Wei and our regular youth ministry program. We will keep you posted!
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We Love Sydney and Ryan!
Thanks for celebrating them and wishing them well last Sunday -
They're off to college!
Our dedicated Children's Program teachers are going to college! Sydney will be attending Tulane University and Ryan will be attending University of Wisconsin-Madison.
We are thankful for their faithful service. They will be missed, but we'll make sure that they know they will be in our prayers as they start this new chapter.
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Save the Date for Let's Talk Church Finance- Sunday, August 27, 2017 at 10:30 a.m.
The final
Let's Talk Church Finance discussion is scheduled for Sunday, August 27th after the worship service. The Session has now studied our church's finances in depth, and will be sending a report of the study to the congregation with findings to share. Meanwhile, a helpful resource was presented at the June 1 educational discussion meeting and is available here:
Dennis Latta
Clerk of Session
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Session Report - July 19, 2017 Meeting
The Session met for its regular monthly meeting at the church on Wed. July 19, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. and opened the meeting with prayer. Pastor Bev shared a devotional from John Dunne's
The Mystic Road of Love. Much of the meeting was devoted to final review of the Session's Financial Resiliency Report, which will be mailed and e-mailed to the congregation when finalized and discussed at the
Sunday, August 27 Let's Talk following the worship service that day.
Committee reports were as follows:
Finance - Doug - financial reports in order; discussion of solar panel installation scheduling; great kudos to Mexico Mission team for a terrific year!
Building and Grounds - Ahmed - LMP lease extension on track; Zilbers have signed a 6 month extension of the 110 Tarry lease through end of February 2018 at $5,200/month, with thanks to Steve Derr for all his faithful service to the church as 110 Tarry property manager; significant outdoor clean-up work was done on 110 Tarry in response to the Fire Department's extensive defensible space report, again with thanks to Steve; brief discussion of offer to place ceiling fans in sanctuary.
Family Ministries - Janel - discussion of possibility of partnering with other youth programs and mission partners to bring Charles Wei back as youth director as early as August 1, and of financial realities.
Mission - Patti - Garden status and updates, again kudos to MM team.
Membership - Merle - New members class coming this fall; Church bocce event coming in October.
Worship - Jody - Attendance was very high in June w/ MM, and has been good for July with summer vacations; Advent planning starts in August.
Deacons - Kit - Still working on getting all our supplies green, but our waste sorting is going well w/ the new color-coded and labeled cans. Fellowship has been lively and delightful and enjoyed by all, especially 7/16 celebration for Ryan and Sydney and their families.
Moderator - Bev - Memorial service for Kristi Carey (daughter in law of Ralph Carey) on 7/15 was attended by over 170 and was a comfort to the family; Bev plans to take vacation 9/3-12 to be with family.
The meeting was closed with prayer.
Dennis Latta
Clerk of Session
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Ted Talk Worth Watching-
How to engage in conversation with those who HATE and make progress towards understanding
Remember the Ted Talk Bev mentioned in her sermon Sunday, July 9th?
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The horrifying "picket signs" of the Westboro Baptist "church" |
For those of you who did not hear about it, provided below is the link to the Ted Talk by Megan Phelps-Roper, who grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church, more a hate group than a church. She was on the "picket line" from the age of 5 holding signs she couldn't read that said God hates gay people. [Note from Pastor Bev: God loves all people, and no one has to try to hide or change their gender identity or sexual orientation to be fully loved by God. The WBC group most definitely does not speak for God.]
Listen and learn as Megan shares her story about how conversations on Twitter helped her come to a new understanding and leave this hate group, which was her family and her life. Maybe it's time to sign up for Twitter and take part in these conversations?
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Ideas from PC(USA) Churches around the Country:
from the Presbyterian News Service
Members pay monthly fees at new worshiping community to work out physically and spiritually!
Rev. Michael Plank, half-time pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Hudson Falls, New York and his spouse opened up a gym, Underwood Park Crossfit. There members can work out physically and spiritually every Friday as a group. They explore their spirituality while talking about their problems and opening up to one another. Read more of the
Article and watch the video to see more about this experience of body-mind-spirit worship.
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Big Tent workshop speaks to Presbyterian effort to dismantle racism
Dismantling racism was a popular topic this year at the 2017 Big Tent. The workshop was attended by fifty percent more people than had registered and helped participants better understand the thinking and behaviors that lead to systemic and structural racism. Read more to see what possible steps are next for the anti-racism
journey. Click here.
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Please thank our interim office administrator and communications associate, Kara New, who has been our newsletter editor while Katie Brendler has been away. Kara is a rising senior at Dominican University, majoring in communications and media, and she is currently interning for the Warriors AND the SF Giants! You can reach her at the office email,
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Sunday Offering Counters Needed
Members needed to count the offering and deposit the funds in the bank each week. You'll be teamed up with a veteran! Contact
Doug or
the office if you are interested in this important way of serving the church.
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-Note From The Office-
If you would like to be reimbursed for an authorized expense, please come upstairs to the church office and fill out a blue Reimbursement Request form and put it in Jen Boynton's (our bookkeeper's) folder on the corner of the upstairs office desk nearest the door. You can find the forms hanging on the left side of the wall immediately after you have entered the office in a black reimbursement folder. Thank you for your cooperation!
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Lost and Found
Time to come see if you have anything in our lost and found
. Please check out our table downstairs this Sunday, July 23rd.
Please take home
anything that belongs to you.
We'll be donating the unclaimed items soon.
Thank you!
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Wil has moved!
Wil would like you to know that he has moved to Alma Via in Terra Linda. YES, he still plans to come to church! At Alma Via, he'll have 3 meals a day, and so now he'll be inviting US to eat with him! Please call the church office to get his new cell phone number.
And thank him for his Food Barrel ministry!
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WE ALL LOVE FELLOWSHIP--
PLEASE SIGN UP TO HELP OUT
NEW FOLKS - We will match you with a veteran so that you can be trained on our highly complex coffeemaker and have FUN!
Fellowship time is organized by your Deacons. We need everyone to sign-up about 3-4 times a year.
Click below to sign up:
Sign up now and keep the hospitality
going!
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Don't be shy, Greeting is a Treat!
We've updated the signups for the new year!
Help with our ministry of hospitality by signing up to be a greeter! All you have to do is get to church by 9:15, light the candles, and hand out bulletins with a smile. Thank you to all who have signed up so far!
Thank you all for your continued support,
Jody Brockett,
Worship Elder
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Free Parent Support Group
The Muir Woods Adolescent and Family Services provides two free services for parents.
"Navigating Parenting of a Teen Suffering from Substance Use Issues"
2nd Saturday of every month from 1:00 pm-4:00 pm
Giving parents the opportunity to share experiences and give insight from pears.
"The Sky Is The Limit, Boundaries are the Base"
4th Saturday of every month from 11:00 am- 12:30 pm
A multi-parent process group focused on psycho-education, family support and healthy relationships with their child.
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Alcoholics Anonymous is a worldwide fellowship of men and women who help each other to maintain sobriety through sharing their recovery experience with others.
Looking for more information? Check out the
San Francisco/Marin AA website for more information including meeting times and places, including meetings at Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church every Tuesday at 8:30pm
24-hour hotline is also available for immediate listening and guidance if wished -
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6pm-10am in Marin
415-499-0400
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10am-6pm - SF Central Office
(415) 674-1821
(they will refer Marin callers to Marin resources)
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Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church
100 Tarry Road
San Anselmo, CA 94960
Kara New,
Editor
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