News for September 08, 2024

Dear Beloved Community, 

This past Sunday we missed many of you because you were at the women's retreat in Pacific Grove. It is such a gift when we can connect outside of church, to continue to be the beloved community. I hope for those of you who were part of the retreat, that your hearts are filled with joy and peace. Overall, I hope all of you had a great Labor Day weekend. 

Thanks to Jim, Marilyn, and Polly, this Sunday we will have a "chant sing". (That's a hymn sing only with chants instead.) We will choose a set of chants, talk about where they came from or what’s special about them, and then sing each one a few times. Also, many have been wanting to include some Spanish songs in the service, so there will be some Taize chants in Spanish. This will be a great opportunity for new members to learn some of the chants that we use at church, and for all of us to start to learn some Spanish chants.

I look forward to seeing many of you on Sunday, and I hope all of you have a great rest of the week. 

Peace and blessings!

-Jorge

September's Giving Sunday offering is for Mission Hospice in San Mateo. Thanks for always being so generous with your gifts. You can learn more about the Mission Hospice in San Mateo here. 

Recent sermons

Check out our YouTube page to see recent sermons. Go to our archive of slides to see bulletins and slides used during recent services.

Recordings of our Taize services are also on the YouTube page.

Jim Mathews Celebration on Sat at 2

Our Celebration of Life for Jim Mathews will be this Saturday, Sept 7, at 2pm. Everyone is invited, whether you knew Jim or not! There will be plenty of music, which he would be happy about, and plenty of stories. His family is gathering from all over the country for the event. Come at 12:30 if you want to sing with the Instant Choir, or come early to help with chairs and setup. Jim's brother Jay wrote a great obituary, full of anecdotes and remembrances; it was published in the Daily Journal this past weekend. There's a copy on the bulletin board at church, or you can read it online here.

Upcoming services and events

• Borg Discussion Group: Thursday, Sept 5, 7pm on Zoom. Read Chapter 2 of “Reading the Bible Again for the First Time” by Marcus Borg.

  
  

• Celebration of Life for Jim Mathews: Saturday, September 7 at 2 pm.

  
  

• Taize Service: Friday, Sept 13, 7:30pm. Also available on Zoom.

  
  

• CHC Work Day; Saturday, Sept 28, 9-12. Bring a lunch and relax afterward. Indoor and outdoor jobs to do; come and find one that fits you.

  
  

• Book Group: Sunday, Sept 29, 7pm, on Zoom. This month's book is "Underland: A Deep Time Journey" by Robert Macfarlane. This is "an epic exploration of the Earth's underworlds as they exist in myth, literature, memory and the land itself." Published in 2019 and on several "top 100" lists for that year. Note change in meeting date.

  
  

• Annual Men's Retreat: October 4-6 at Polly’s house in Pacific Grove. RSVP to Roy Gesley if you are interested.

Links and resources

“Stand by Me” in a fun way

Listen here to Laura Kigweba distinguish “cure” and “healing” in a way that challenges us to consider that healing may not demand a cure and centers primarily around right relationship. 

Learn more here about the communication network hidden in the forest floor and consider how it informs our theologies of community

Quote of the week

“Silence is the language of God. All else is poor translation.” - Rumi

Weekly events

• Meditation group: Wednesdays at 7:30 am

In person at the church building.

• Sunday worship: 10 am

In person at the church building.

Image: Jim Mathews