Go Tell It On The Mountain
Monthly Newsletter
Skyland Community Church, United Church of Christ
Minister: Rev. Kevin Omi
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Sunday Worship Service 10:30 a.m.
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July 2019 to August 18 Church Calendar
Wednesday, July 3
10:30
A.M.
Loma Prieta Club
Sunday, July 7
10:30
A.M.
Picnic Worship Service in Whitaker Hall with Rev. Kevin Omi
Sunday, July 14
10:30
A.M.
Worship Service with Rev. Kevin Omi
Sunday, July 21
10:30 A.M.
Worship Service with Rev. Kevin Omi
12:00 P.M.
Action Summit and
Potluck Sunday
Sunday, July 28
10:30 A.M.
Worship Service with Rev. Kevin Omi
12:00 P.M.
Church Council
Sunday, August 4
10:30 A.M.
Worship Service with Rev. Kevin Omi
Sunday, August 11
10:30 A.M.
Worship Service with Rev. Kevin Omi
Tuesday, August 13
10:00 A.M. to Noon Harvest Festival donations accepted & sorting
Thursday, August 15
10:00 A.M. to Noon Harvest Festival donations accepted & sorting
Sunday, August 18
10:30 A.M.
Worship Service with Rev. Kevin Omi
12:00 P.M.
Potluck Sunday
Regularly Scheduled Events in Whitaker Hall
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Mondays
:
Alcoholics Anonymous 8:00 p.m.
Tuesdays
:
Qigong
8:30-10:00 a.m. with Teacher Marcy Reynolds
Thursday
:
Qigong students only from 8:30-9:30 a.m.
Thursday
:
Yoga 7:00 p.m.
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Message from Reverend Kevin Omi
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Interim Time: Connections Continued
Rev. Kevin Omi
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Dear friends, the month of June was filled with connections, including those that occurred with the moving celebrations of life for Jan Geist and Ron Parker. Both of these gatherings nurtured relationships with our mountain neighbors.
It was wonderful to participate with Gerald Alonzo at NCNC’s (
Northern California Nevada Conference
)
Annual Gathering in Sonoma, including the gathering of the Santa Clara Association.
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I began writing this article on the flight back from Milwaukee, where I attended my last meeting on the United Church Board, followed by General Synod. The image includes the new portable baptismal font and cross commissioned by Santa Cruz-based artist, Rev. Alexandra Childs, against the cosmic backdrop of a worship service.
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General Synod occurs every two years and is attended by 2500+ members from across the country, representatives from several denominations, and global mission partners. The days are long, passionate, and very moving. They are filled with layers of connections, prayers, and, of course, gathering around many tables to nourish mind, bodies, souls, and relationships.
Some of the highlights included 8 multi-hour business meetings over several days, three major worship services (including one led by several NCNC and national PAAM
(
Pacific Islander & Asian American Ministries)
members, a march I and several hundred UCC’ers attended to protest against announced wide-spread ICE raids, discussion of 22 resolutions, reelection of our General Minister and President, the Rev. Dr. John Dorhauer; election of Associate General Minister, the Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson; and transition of many leaders. I’ll share more details during July.
Highlights for July will include an informal picnic worship in Whitaker Hall on July 7 and our reVision Action Summit on July 21, when the congregation will hear and vote upon proposals created by five proposal teams. Please make an extra effort to attend the Action Summit, as decisions made will determine the implementation timetable for new ministries, and may suggest the need for changes to our boards and committees, church bylaws, and budget. More importantly, actions resulting from the Action Summit will redefine our ministries to and with the wider community; and help define the role of our next settled minister.
The Holy Spirit has been busy at Skyland Community Church. May we embrace these words from Isaiah 43:19:
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
Rev. Kevin Omi
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Our famous BBQ chef, Gerry Alonzo, will grill veggie burgers, hamburgers and hot dogs for our Whitaker Hall based picnic after worship.
Please bring salads and side dishes for the picnic! Ice cream sundaes to end the picnic.
Happy Fourth of July!
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Mark your calendar for
Harvest Festival
on
September 14
. Preparations are underway and the sign-up sheet is posted in Whitaker Hall. So, find something fun you’d like to do and add your name! We are hoping that all booths will be lead by at least two volunteers to make sure everyone has a backup. All the areas have leaders except housewares, so we’ve made a great start but would love to have more volunteers.
We’ll begin collecting
new
or
special
items starting
now
and collecting new or lightly used items beginning in mid August.
Sorting
begins on
Tues
.
Aug 13th
.
The more the merrier; please join us on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10-12, and Sundays after church.
Set up starts three days before the event.
Do you have contact with a business or service provider that might donate to our silent auction? Please reach out to Nancy Jo so we can send a request letter.
Any questions? Please contact Shannon (
shannonedwards14@gmail.com
) or Deana (
darnold@mac.com
).
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It’s Not Too Early!
To think about
Jams
,
Jellies
and
Pickles
for
Harvest Festival
on
Sept. 14
. Fruit is in good supply; both in grocery stores and Farmer’s Markets.
I am making blueberry jam today! Please join me in making something delicious for our booth while the supplies are in full swing! Remember,
Jams
and
Jellies
is one of the first places our visitors head for!
Mary Ellen McTamaney
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Working and Praying for Peace
A practice I do regularly--that I hope will contribute to the power of gathering voices to move policy change toward for peace, justice, and equality-- is to send messages to my elected representatives. The UCC Justice and Peace Action Network helps me identify proposed legislation and understand analysis from a faith perspective that reflects my values, then use (or modify) a draft message, and send it to both senators and my congressman all at once. I find this site to be very easy to use, and would be happy to orient anyone who is interested.
Once you sign up with your information, it identifies your congressperson as well.
I am moved by my faith and conscience to speak up about many issues of concern, and especially on behalf of children and families. Here is a link specifically to "Stop the Detention of Children" and address the current policies that has separated families. There are two pieces of proposed legislation addressed in this message:
Working and Praying for Peace,
Ann Baier
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reVision: the Action Summit on July 21!
June 30 - Proposal Team Workshop and Planning
July 14 - Electronic Submission of Proposal
July 21 - Action Summit and presentations
On June 30, the 5 proposal teams will gather for a workshop and planning session in Whitaker after worship. At the workshop, the teams will complete the information they need for their proposal submissions and organize that information for presentation at the Action Summit.
The Action Summit is a celebration of the incredible work that has happened during reVision. We invite the congregation and the friends of Skyland Community Church to hear the presentations.
At the Action Summit, each team will have 10 minutes to present 1-2 activities or actions from their proposal. Then each team will place a summary of the activity on a visual timeline running from August 2019 through February 2020.
When all the presentations are finished, everyone present will vote on each proposal activity. With a simple majority the activity/action moves into the Implementation phase. The Proposal teams become Action Teams to implement the activities. Anyone interested in implementing a particular activity can join the Action teams, including people outside the church.
We are expecting some exciting possibilities! The Spirit is among us!
the reVision team:
reVision@skylandchurch.com
Anne Evans
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LITANY THROUGHOUT THE INTERIM PERIOD
For God’s holy presence amidst change, we pray.
For comfort because loss is part of change, we pray.
For Christ-like steadfastness during the challenges of transition and seasons of faith, we pray.
For reassurance through frailty and failings, we pray.
For the abundant creativity the Spirit provides, we pray.
For our loved ones in this community of faith, we pray.
For God’s children beyond this community, we pray.
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Church Council News
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The council met on 6/23/19. Anne Evans presented the status of reVision. The teams will meet on June 30 to continue work on their projects and preparing the information needed for the presentations at the Action Summit on July 21. Jackie Seymour presented information on the Philanthropy Team Timeline. Of particular interest is the information impacting some decisions leading up to the Settled Pastor Search.
Shannon Edwards and Deana Arnold reported on the status of Harvest Festival.
Anne Evans discussed the July 7
picnic. Gerry Alonzo will again be head BBQ chef and the attendees will help out and bring sides and salads.
Jackie Seymour brought up the need for a current memorial committee as defined in the bylaws. It was decided that the Deacons would form this committee with three members instead of five, one each from deacons, trustees and the membership at large. The committee will handle requests for memorials, the memorial book etc. according to the bylaws. In addition they will handle requests for the memorial bench plaques.
Jeremy Cole reported that women’s bathroom is moving ahead though awaiting a decision on paint color and wallpaper. Jeremy reported that Mike Schmitz repaired damage to a post and adjacent gutter caused by a leaking downspout at the corner of the church porch. We are very grateful to him for his contributions to the church. Also Gerald Alonzo did the fire safety work of cutting the long grasses on the church property on Saturday. We appreciate the work and are grateful for it.
Nancy Jo Lopp suggested that Trustees meet at a different time of the month (currently they meet at the same time as Deacons) so that Rev Omi might attend their meetings as well as the Deacons’ meeting.
Larry Lopp on behalf of Mountain Alliance requested the use of Whitaker Hall on July 10th.
Your co-moderators,
Jackie Seymour and Anne Evans
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Flowers for the Altar
Several Sundays during May and June are open for floral gifts. Please sign up on the calendar in Whitaker Hall. You can check the calendar in the links at the end of this newsletter.
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plump, ripe apricots
guarded by tin foil's glitter--
sorry, birds, they're ours.
--haiku by John Heyes
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MEDITATION MOMENT
Great Peals of Light: A Choir of Union
from An Ocean of Light by Martin Laird
This Mystery, luminous and intimate, has kissed the lives of the great saints and sages of the contemplative tradition; they realize that this creating and sustaining Mystery is likewise the Light-soaked ground that is foundational to being human conditional to light, life, and love. This luminous eMystery also kisses the lives of each of us, else we would not exist.
Union with God is not something we can or need to acquire
…God is too simple to be absent. It is we who, with complicated and cluttered minds, remain unaware that this foundational Light is flowering perpetually in the fertile and unfathomable
right now.
As St. Augustine wrote in his Confessions: You are ‘more intimate to me than my inmost self'
Rev. Kevin Omi
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MISSION BOARD REPORT: June 2019
LOCAL AID:
The Mission Board will focus on collecting for the
Harvest Festival
during the summer. Please help us with lightly used or new items to donate such as: jewelry, clothes, books, housewares, treasures, workshop items and tools, treasures and children's toys. We do not have room to store large items or furniture. Please make sure that everything you donate is in good working order. We do not have a repair team. Any items that are not sold at the
Harvest Festival
on Sat.
Sept. 14th
will go to Davenport Resource Center
https://cabinc.org/
, MHCAN
(
Mental Health Client Action Network)
http://www.mhcan.org/
and other local non-profits.
Questions?
GLOBAL SUPPORT:
The Mission's committee decided to take a hiatus this year for the Africa Library Project so that we can put our efforts into Revision and the upcoming Harvest Festival.
Shannon Edwards
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Our Food Pantry
Loma Prieta School and CT English are on summer vacation so we will not be collecting snacks until September.
The food pantry could use a few of the following:
Tuna
Vegetarian soups
Small containers of juice
Blessings,
Julie Victorine
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NOTE From Your Treasurer
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Treasurer's Report will be available July 7.
Respectfully
Gerald Alonzo, Treasurer
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PGE crews were on the church property recently to remove the old power line to the church which was attached to the large redwood tree. New rules do not allow that type of connection anymore. A new power pole was installed close to the old property line and about halfway between a oak tree and the large redwood tree.
Brian Wood
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Skyland Community Church, United Church of Christ
25100 Skyland Road, Los Gatos, CA 95033
phone: 408-353-1310
USPS mail: Skyland Church
P.O. Box 245
Los Gatos, CA 95031-0245
Website
http://skylandchurch.com
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