Bill and I were extremely fortunate to be able to have our son and his family living with us for four months recently while they were looking for a home to buy in Colorado. It was an amazing blessing to be able to be so closely involved in our grandsons’ lives for that time. Daniel (age 3) would often say “I need” or “I want.” The grown ups would then remind him that he should say, “Please may I have...” and not just constantly demand things. Even Danny’s 1-year-old brother Andrew was beginning to internalize the lesson as his favorite opening phrase began to be “Please have...(milk, snack, airplane)”. Needless to say there was a lot of requesting going on!

One night we had all just sat down together at the dinner table when Danny leaned across his plate and looked at me with his beautiful blue eyes and out of the blue said, “Nonna, you make me so happy.” You can imagine the love and pure joy (yes, tears, too) that welled up within me!

Later, as I was thinking over all of these interactions with my grandsons, it struck me that they could teach me a lesson about my relationship with God. How often am I simply bombarding God with a list of everything I want and need (or so I think)—not even thinking to make it a request rather than a demand? How often do I simply tell God how much joy God brings me? How much delight do I bring to God when I DO just bring praises to God without cluttering my interactions with requests?

Out of the mouths of babes...and I thought I was the one doing all the teaching.

Youth Spirit Artworks (YSA) is an interfaith job training program for low-income young people experiencing homelessness. Through your generous giving, the SVPC Mission & Service ministry homelessness focus area has been addressed through a donation to the YSA’s Tiny House Empowerment Village in Berkeley. See their thank you here:

“Hi Pastor Hardy! Yesterday Youth Spirit Artworks received a $2,500 check from Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church to support our Tiny House Empowerment Village. I want you to know how grateful we are!! The Village is now open with 22 residents living there. We are excited to be able to work with the residents doing awesome, awesome work setting and achieving their personal and professional goals. We appreciate the support of Sunnyvale Presbyterian enormously!!!”

Visit YSA for more information on The Village.

We are so grateful to Bethann Merriam for the years of wonderful service she has provided all of us as an employee of the church. Since she is retiring from her position at SVPC, we are seeking applicants for the position. The job description can be reviewed at this link. Please let those you consider qualified know about the opening. Those interested in serving should send a letter of application and resume to judipogue@comcast.net.

We landed on a wonderful hire, Justin Warner! Justin (he/him) is entering his final year as a dual M.Div./M.A. candidate at Princeton Theological Seminary where he and his wife live. He studied neuroscience in college and loves to try new foods, travel, hike, read, play cards, and watch TV. While we looked at both remote and local folks, Youth ministry felt that Justin was the best fit for our summer together, especially as we remain online, at least in part, while Jasmine is with us until the end of August. We loved Justin’s demeanor, pastoral presence, and ideas for spiritual nourishment in summer programming. Justin will start on June 6, Promotion Sunday, and will stay with us until mid-August.

Adult Leadership Training—All SVPC leaders welcome

Sunday, May 9 • 3:30–5 p.m. • Check the Youth Calendar

Can God be queer? Is sex bad? What are we teaching our youth when we talk about queerness and sex? Come to this month’s adult volunteer training, sponsored by Youth Ministry, to discuss what we can learn about the abundance of queerness and the sacredness of sex.

During worship on Promotion Sunday we want to celebrate with folks, regardless of age, who are finishing 5th grade, 8th grade, high school or any post-secondary promotions including professional certificates, accreditations, or degrees (AA and beyond).

To be included:

All graduates and their families are encouraged to attend the livestream worship service on Promotion Sunday. Questions? Contact Richard Collins, Director of Children’s Ministry or Addie Domske, Director of Youth Ministry.

To learn more about virtual events, videos and at-home activities for children and youth subscribe to their e-newsletters. Also, check out the Children’s ministry Facebook page or Youth ministry’s microsite and Instagram, or text ‘FLASH’ (Middle School) or ‘CLUE’ (High School) to 51400 for live updates.

You may download the May These Days devotional free from the PC(USA) Store here.

Please apply for a matching employer donation if your workplace offers this option. If you’ve tried unsuccessfully in the past, please try again because recent changes have made SVPC an eligible charity for more employers.

Continued prayers for Judy Black and Julie Forys

In place of the blue prayer cards you filled out on Sundays, please send your prayer requests anytime to prayer@svpc.us. Be sure to include whether your request should/can be:

Watch the live stream broadcast of our weekly worship service. No Facebook account is required to watch on SVPC’s public Facebook page. Or you can watch on the SVPC website.