October 09, 2024
Dear Beloved Community,
I hope all of you have been able to stay cool during this hot weather, or as I have heard it called, our second summer, this past week. Meanwhile, we missed most of the men this past Sunday while they were on retreat in Pacific Grove, where it might have been cooler for them; we can’t wait to see you all back on Sunday.
This Sunday I will be reflecting on Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 from the Hebrew Bible where the people of Israel are living in exile. It’s not what they wanted. They didn’t choose to go. They were forcibly sent from Jerusalem to Babylon, and their lives will be forever changed. I will touch on how sometimes life gives us what we neither wanted nor chose. Also, themes of new life weave through the text this week. I believe this reading points to the barriers in accepting the good God intends for us, the perseverance required of us before new life is born, and our various responses to God’s work of healing - each with its own impact on individual and collective life. Faith, trusting in the reliability of God’s promises to us even in the presence of evil, undergirds our ability to welcome what is, to be honest about what was, and to participate fully in the future God is birthing.
I look forward to being in community with all of you this Sunday, and I do hope the week is full of wonderful surprises for each one of you. See you this Sunday!
Peace and blessings!
-Jorge
October's Giving Sunday offering is for the UCC's Neighbors in Need fund. Thanks for always being so generous with your gifts. Learn more about what this fund supports 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.
Upcoming services and events
Borg Discussion Group: Thursday, Oct 10, 7pm on Zoom. Read Chapter 4 of “Reading the Bible Again for the First Time” by Marcus Borg.
Taize Service: Friday, Oct 11, 7:30 pm. Our monthly contemplative service of chant and prayer. Poetry by Jane Hirshfield. Trumpeter Danny Cao will be back to play for us. Also available on Zoom.
Council Meeting: October 20th, after church service.
Celebration of Life for Karen Conklin: Saturday, Oct 26, 2 pm. Stephen wrote a lovely obituary for Karen, posted here.
Monthly Church Potluck: Sunday, Oct 27, right after the church service.
Book Group: Sunday, Oct 27, 7pm, on Zoom. This month's book is "Parable of the Sower" by Octavia Butler. This is an acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel published in 1993 but set in the years 2024-2027. In northern California of all places.
Links and resources
There's a Meal Train calendar to coordinate providing food for Isabel and her mom while her mom is recovering from a fall. The 24/7 caretaking bit is exhausting, as those of you who have done it know. Any help you can provide is very much appreciated.
Masterworks Chorale's fall concert is coming up, Oct 26th at 7pm and 27th at 4pm, at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Redwood City. The concert features Ralph Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem, a powerful anti-war message based on Walt Whitman's poetry.
Quote of the week
“I believe unconditionally in the ability of people to respond when they are told the truth. We need to be taught to study rather than believe, to inquire rather than to affirm.”
-Septima Clark
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.
