Newsletter for September 2020
Friends and family of CVUMC, here is what is happening in our church community
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From The Pastor
September 2020
As the new school year has begun, I am thinking of all the students returning to begin a new school year and for many students, a question will be asked, “What did you do on your summer vacation?” For me, my summer vacation with my family and friends are memories that will last a life time. I also hope your experiences in returning to school from the summer months filled your heart with memories that have lasted too.
One of the greatest gifts that God has given humanity is the gift of memory. In a sense, memory allows is to relive a moment that was special to us. I love to cherish and hold on to memories. I will lift up three thoughts of what the Bible says about memory.
First, we are to treasure the small things in our heart. There are times when God is doing things and we might not understand it yet. That is why it is important to cherish the little moments on our walk with Christ. We may not know exactly what Christ is doing but we know something is being done. One way to treasure the small things is by journaling.
Write things down and pray about them. In the second chapter of Luke, we notice that Mary treasured and thought about all that occurred and was said before her. She treasured things in her heart even though she didn’t fully understand. We are called to also treasure and cherish the little things even though we don’t fully understand and see the full picture yet. “But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” Luke 2:19
Another memory is remembering others in prayer. One thing I love about the Apostle Paul is that he always remembered other believers in prayer. Paul was imitating Christ which is exactly what we are called to be doing. We are called to remember others. We have been given a privilege to be used by God in prayer. “I thank God for you whenever I think of you.” Philippians 1:3
Finally, just as we have memories may each of us leave behind a good legacy, for one day everyone will be a memory. Would it be fair to say, we all desire to leave a good memory of ourselves after we have graduated into eternal life? The memory of believers should be a blessing because of holy living. The memory should bring encouragement and inspiration to others. “The memory of the righteous is a blessing.” Proverbs 10:7a
As each of us continues our journey through this fall season and into a new year, may we each be an affirming memory to our families, friends and Christ. “But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the creator will send in my name, will bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” John 14:26.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Paul
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Every Sunday: Worship service on our church Facebook page at 10 a.m. It will be posted on our website www.cvumc.org later in the day. And it’s available on the church Facebook page continuously starting right after the “Live” worship service.
Alternate Saturdays: Sept. 5, Sept. 19 collection of non-perishable foods and paper goods for the Bailey Center and Learning Works. Learning Works also needs school supplies.
From 9:00 – 1:00 outside Fellowship Hall
All Month: Gifts & cards for Kathy Garren, sent to the office, Attention: Janice Burke or Cathy Wacker
All Month: Send your suggestions for hymns and songs to Barb Catlin-Bergeron @ barbcatlin@gmail.com or (602) 432-2678
All Month: Decide if you’d like to be part of a book study group (see Christian Education article). Contact Pastor Paul, Diane Lewis, or Linda Neate
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Birthdays
1 Tim Kobza
2 Melika Abdollahi
9 Ryan Reynolds
13 Gregory Stupakis
19 Janice Burke
20 Ricky Cosentino
22 Norma Ellis
28 Evan Wirsig
Anniversaries
3 Hector & Lisa Castaneda
4 Al & Janice Burke
10 Dan & Norma Wirsig
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Tuesday Prayer Team
The Prayer Team meets every Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom. If you have a prayer request, please call any member of the Prayer Team: Pastor Paul, Jeanne Lavieri, Diane Lewis, Debi Bois, Janice Burke, or call the Church Office (818-249-6173).
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If you would like to share in an offering or your pledge, we invite you to mail offerings and donations to the church using this address:
Crescenta Valley UMC
2700 Montrose Ave.
Montrose, CA 91020
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Greeting Cards
Do you receive greeting cards in the mail from charitable organizations that you support? Cards that you don’t need? On behalf of United Methodist Women, Peggy Griffin sends greeting cards to church family members each month – for birthdays, anniversaries, sympathy, graduations, and wishes for improved health. We are running low on our supply of cards. If you have any you’d like to donate, please call Peggy and she’ll arrange how to pick them up. Thank you so much!!
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Church Council
The Church Council members are Janice Burke (Chair), Becky Castano, Debi Bois, Dan Griffin, Connie Horton, Jeanne Lavieri, Kathy Midgley, Linda Neate, Ted Swanson, Pastor Paul Tangonan
We still are doing Church business. It is difficult during this time to see anything normal in how we run the church. Special thanks to the Foundation for continued support as we go through this tough time. We are blessed to have the Foundation as many churches do not have this back up.
We are meeting in the next few weeks to get the reopening plan together for the Conference. Even though we are not opening that quickly it will be good to get the plan ready so when we are ready, we can give a safe experience to everyone.
There is not exact time frame for the opening. At this point we do not have any date specified to reopen and the other Churches in our Conference have not opened up yet.
If you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to contact Pastor Paul, me, Jeanne or anyone one the Church Council. We will be including the Korean Congregation in this discussion and plan.
As your leaders we are here to support the Congregation and following Jesus.
With Joy, Hope and Love,
Janice Burke – Church Council Chair.
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All of the Youth have gone back to school, not in person but online for now. Continue praying for them, their Parents and Teachers. It is difficult for all of them.
We will be meeting in the next few weeks. You will be getting an email to arrange a date for this. I have also asked all the Youth and Parents about your interest in the Youth Group and what kind of things you would be interested doing.
This is all of your Youth Group and even though our way of meeting has changed we can still be together.
Yours in Christ, Janice!
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I hope you are all well and staying safe. We have now completed our third week of reopen and everything is going well! I love seeing the children so happy to be back in their play environment. We are alive with art and sensory play, climbing & building as well as music.
The teachers have all been trained well about "Safe Environment" and the steps we are taking that other schools are not. All is running well. Please see our Montrose Preschool FaceBook page and follow us if you would like to see photos. Photos of the inside environment will be posted soon.
The carline is working and kids are doing better than expected with less separation anxiety. We just need to remind parents to stay in your car and we will get to you. At pick up if you get a busy signal or a message that voice is not set up: your call was transferred to our FAX line due to another call. Just try again... we will be there.
Our online sign-in is also working well. Parents are asked to sign in via email at our check-in Gmail account before 8:00 a.m. if possible. Children may not attend unless the Covid-19 questions are answered truthfully.
Our current hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. will be extended after the Labor Day weekend as we begin our Fall session. Our new hours, beginning Monday September 8th will be 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. As L.A. County is able to open more businesses, we look for additional enrollment opportunities and hope we can return to our original hours.
The Preschool management and I were on a telebriefing at the end of last week with the California Department of Public Health, Department of Social Services and Early Childhood Educators. Listening to this broadcast has confirmed to us that Montrose Preschool and Infant Care is following all of the suggested procedures for "Safe Environment".
We continue to be diligent to keep Children, Families and the Preschool staff safe. If you have any questions or concerns, please email us at ccc@cvumc.org.
Best wishes to all of you. Stay safe!
Linda Taylor-Bell and the Preschool Management Team
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More about our Montrose Preschool and Infant Care:
The Preschool has opened and the last few weeks have gone well. The Teachers and Children are happy to be together again. Linda Taylor Bell and the staff have worked hard to follow all the guidelines put out by the County and State.
If you want to see how it is going, check their Facebook page and you can see pictures of the kids playing safely and being outside.
They have also been advertising that they are open. Robin Goldsworthy at the CV Weekly has been kind enough to let us put in an ad announcing the opening.
Pray for Linda, the Teachers, and all the families who will be using the Preschool.
With Prayer, Janice
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Music Notes
As we come to the close of Summer and into Fall, the band and I would like to thank you for all the positive comments and love from afar. We are especially grateful that the church kept us working in this difficult time. We would love to re-pay you by playing your favorite hymns and songs. I know Janice and Debi have mentioned this in the announcements, but please shoot me an email or call with a song you'd like to hear. I will forward it to Pastor Paul. My email/cell is below.
Stay well - Stay safe - Sing lustily, as Wesley encouraged! And remember what Bob Marley told us (as repeated by Pastor Paul recently!):
“Singing’ don’t worry ’bout a thing / ‘Cause every little thing gonna be alright”
Barb and the Band
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As most of you know, our wonderful Office Assistant, Kathy Garren, has decided to leave and move on to something new. She has worked very hard for our church and held down our office many times by herself in the last year and a half. We are fortunate that she will be staying until we find someone else to replace her and train them. Kathy also works part time for the Preschool, so our new Office Assistant will be hired to cover both the Church and Preschool.
We have been collecting resumes to fill the Office Assistant Position and we will be starting the interview process soon. I would like to pray for all the people who are out there trying to find employment. As soon as we find the right person we will let you all know.
Kathy has become our dear friend and we will greatly miss her. We would like to give her a gift before she leaves, for all her devotion and hard work. So if you would like to donate with a gift card or money, we will give this to her. Please send in your gift to the Church Office to the attention of Cathy Wacker or myself (Janice Burke). Let’s surprise her!
Janice Burke – Church Council Chair
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We are continuing to collect school supplies for Learning Works throughout the month of September on the same Saturdays as the food pantry collections. Even though the students are attending classes online, they still need notebook paper, copier paper, pencils, pens – the typical school supplies. Anything you can donate is greatly appreciated. If you can’t come by on Sept. 5 or Sept. 19, please give Connie Horton a call. She’ll be happy to meet with you to pick up your donations. Thank you so much!
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New Groups Forming
We’d like to increase and deepen the ways that we can stay connected, especially during this time when we have to self-isolate. We plan to form a new group (or groups).
Are you interested in learning new skills to cope successfully with the stress of today’s world situations, surrounded with the support of others? Read below for 2 suggestions for group study. (You could work and read on your own, although a group is so helpful and loving.)
We are also suggesting a “Share, Prayer and the Upper Room” gathering.
These groups would most likely be on-line, but they could possibly be in person with prescribed masks and social distancing.
Please let Pastor Paul, Diane Lewis, or Linda Neate know if you have interest in one or more of these possibilities, and we’ll get the details worked out.
The Workbook on Coping as Christians
By Maxie Dunnam
Is there anyone who doesn’t need help in coping with the problems of day-to-day living? Maxie Dunnam defines coping as “contending or struggling successfully.”
Every day we are confronted with stressful situations, broken relationships, or other problems that threaten to undo or defeat us. Some of these problems cannot be solved completely but are, instead, recurring. They keep coming back-and we have to deal with them again and again; we have to cope. Maxie Dunnam provides the spiritual guidance that will help us learn to cope as Christians.
This workbook is designed whereby for six weeks participants will give their attention to some of our thorniest and most devastating experiences such as depression and death, as well as some of the nitty-gritty, everyday sorts of problems such as loneliness and stress.
We want to lift these experiences up, look at them in the light of God’s grace with the resources of scriptural guidance, prayer, and our commitment to Christian discipleship, and see if we can’t find a way to cope as Christians – to cope in a joyful way which, in the end, will make us what Paul said we could be as Christians: “more than conquerors.” We will move beyond coping to the solid foundation of grace-full, grace-responsive and grace-responsible living.
Finding Peace in an Anxious World
edited by Erin James-Brown
This is a 4-chapter study that uses the Book of Proverbs and “The Serenity Prayer” as a guide to help Christians find their way through anxiety, worry, and fear and move towards God’s “peace that surpasses all understanding.” If we were to read this in a group, we would probably take 8 weeks to finish the book (2 weeks per chapter).
Using “The Serenity Prayer” as a scaffold (the 4 key components are serenity, acceptance, courage, and wisdom) Finding Peace in an Anxious World explores ways to discover peace through scriptural and spiritual disciplines, so that we can be rooted in God and energized to live fully as Disciples of Christ.
You can engage with this study on your own. But if you’d like to be part of a study group, please contact Pastor Paul, Diane Lewis, or Linda Neate and we’ll figure out how to hold the study (Zoom? Meet at the park and sit 10 feet apart? Other?) even if there are only 2 or 3 people who are interested.
(To learn more about this study, go to unitedmethodistwomen.org and click on Mission Studies. There is a participant’s guide which can be printed; links to eight short YouTube videos (2 for each module of the study) that give overviews and theological descriptions; and a resource on hosting virtual meetings to aid in planning. Each participant will need to order the book from the UMW website.)
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The Foundation Board members are President Debi Bois, Becky Castano, Norma Ellis, Henry Garrett, Bettie Hull, and Chris Ruygrok
The Foundation has two joys to share this month.
The first.....Joy Padula (daughter of Lucille and Ray Catan, who both passed away this year) has purchased a leaf in their honor. It will be engraved and installed shortly, and we will notify you once that has been done. Lucille was an angelic voice in our choir for decades, and she and her husband have been missed for many years during their convalescence.
The second....we have been able to free up $50,000 - $60,000 in funds to provide CVUMC with shortfall funding through the end of 2020 and perhaps a bit into 2021. This will supplement the loss of income from third parties who have used our facilities for AA Meetings, English as a Second Language Classes, Balance Classes, and the Stone Cottage craft fairs usually held in the fall, as well as lost income generated by the newly reopened Preschool. Going forward, we will work closely with the Church Council to formulate a plan for 2021. Your support and prayers throughout the year will be greatly appreciated.
Again, to paraphrase Martin Luther King, Jr.:
If you can't fly, run; if you can't run, walk; if you can't walk, crawl, but by all means keep moving forward.
Your Foundation Board
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The Board members are Kathy Garrett, Peggy Griffin, Connie Horton, Bettie Hull, Diane Lewis, Loraine Locke, Mary Marino, Linda Neate, Carmena Smith, and Cathy Wacker.
Upcoming Activities: We’ve held two Zoom gatherings this spring and summer – a post-Easter program and sharing, and a summer Tea Party with sharing and games. Both were well attended, and everyone enjoyed gathering together and finding out how things are going in everyone’s lives. We are planning at least one more Zoom gathering before the end of the year. Keep watch in the newsletter and the Friday email for details!
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· Social Action – Emergency Hygiene Kits: Because of the health crisis in jails and prisons, many non-violent women and men are being released from incarceration. With your support and prayers we can ensure that these returning citizens are welcomed and prepared to make a positive transition back into their community – the goal we all have, to help God’s children return to a stable, productive life. One way to offer support is through “The Hygiene Kit Collection” of Crossroads United Methodist Church. So far, UMW members have donated $4,876 and provided many Hygiene Kits.
This is an ongoing project. If you would like to contribute monetary support, you can write a check to: Crossroads United Methodist Church (Write in the Memo section, “Hygiene Kit UMW”.) Mail check to: Crossroads United Methodist Church, 2354 N. Wilmington Avenue, Compton, CA 90222. Or you can send a check to Bettie Hull, written to CVUMW with “Crossroads” in the memo line; Bettie will send all donations to Crossroads.
· Do you find yourself in need of some prayerful insights to cope with the on-going health crisis, feelings of financial insecurity, or sense of isolation from community and family? United Methodist Women is hosting podcasts called Faith Talks.
Some of the topics are *Paid Family Leave; *Grief; *Coronavirus, Faithfulness and Online Worship; *Emotion and Anxiety; *Mass Incarceration *Dismantling Racism.
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Methodist Hospital is an award-winning, caring community resource that was founded in 1903 by one of the predecessor organizations of United Methodist Women. The Women’s Auxiliary helps support the Hospital Spiritual Care Department, whose Chaplains are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The Fall General Meeting will be held on Zoom on Sept. 28 @ 10:30 a.m. The speaker is Rev. Sandra Olewine of Pasadena First UMC. Her topic is “Status of Our Hospital in ‘Covid-19’ Pandemic”.
(818) 517-2788. You will be invited to join the meeting through email.
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There are so many people working behind the scenes at our church. They create our Sunday worship service, maintain the grounds and the buildings, maintain church financial stability and balance the books, develop interpersonal connections between and among our church family members. We lift up these folks in prayer and with gratitude for their loving service.
*Pastor Paul
*Leadership Council
Pastor Paul, Janice Burke, Becky Castano, Dan Griffin, Kathy Midgley, Jeanne Lavieri, Debi Bois, Connie Horton, Linda Neate
*Worship Team
Pastor Paul, Barb Catlin-Bergeron, Janice Burke, Jeanne Lavieri, Debi Bois, Diane Lewis, Ricky Cosentino, Tim Kobza, Alexis Sklarevski
*Barb Catlin-Bergeron
putting together the weekly Worship Service video
*All the Musicians (awesome music)
Barb Catlin-Bergeron, Ricky Cosentino, Tim Kobza, Alexis Sklarevski, guest vocalists Perrin York, Antonio Lozano
*Donations Trackers
Bettie Hull, Connie Horton and Cathy Wacker
*Food Pantry Collectors
Debi Bois, Janice Burke, and Connie Horton
*Linda Taylor-Bell
staffing and reopening of the Preschool
*Lisa Perry-Castaneda, Hector Castaneda, Marv Wacker
helping prepare the Preschool facility for reopening
*Marv Wacker
“Head Groundskeeper and Troubleshooter”
*Prayer Team
Pastor Paul, Jeanne Lavieri, Debi Bois, Diane Lewis
*Financial Team
Dan Griffin, Becky Castano, Janice Burke, Debi Bois
*Foundation Board Members
Debi Bois, Bettie Hull, Henry Garrett, Norma Ellis, Chris Ruygrok, Becky Castano
*United Methodist Women Board
Kathy Garrett, Peggy Griffin, Connie Horton, Bettie Hull, Diane Lewis, Loraine Locke, Mary Marino, Linda Neate, Carmena Smith, Cathy Wacker
Check out our church website @ www.cvumc.org for up-to-date news!
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