September 24, 2024

Dear Beloved Community, 

I am sorry I will be missing you next week, not only on Sunday for worship and the inaugural end-of-the-month picnic, but also on Saturday for our Work Day to help organize and clean up our church. I won’t be around because I was invited by the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity organization to be part of their “2024 Pilgrimage to End Detention: A Journey Toward Freedom.” This is an interfaith, spiritual pilgrimage as part of a multi-year effort to close six remaining immigrant detention centers in California. During this pilgrimage we will bear witness to the sacredness of the land, the ancestors, and the preventable harm and suffering caused by immigrant detention in California. We will gather in reflection, prayer and action at six immigrant detention centers and other carceral institutions and meet with local organizers along the way. We will reflect on the impacts of settler colonialism on Indigenous peoples, the land and the waters of California, and how this has paved the way for a carceral state that can and must be transformed. I am grateful for your prayers and overall support while I embark on this journey. 

This Sunday we will have a guest speaker, thanks to Roy. Her name is Stefania Michelucci. She is Professor of English Studies and World Literature at the University of Genoa, Italy. She has been a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley, UC Davis, and many universities in Japan, South Africa and Europe. She has published many essays and the book, Space and Place in the Works of D.H. Lawrence. I do hope many are able to show up and give a huge welcome to Stefania, as she blesses us with her presence. 

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.

Upcoming services and events

• Borg Discussion Group: Thursday, Sept 26, 7pm on Zoom. Read Chapter 3 of “Reading the Bible Again for the First Time” by Marcus Borg.

  
  

• 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.

  
  

• End-of-the-Month Potluck Picnic: Sunday, Sept 29, after worship. Bring something to share and enjoy a lunch outside if the weather holds.

  
  

• 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.

  
  

• Celebration of Life for Karen Conklin: Saturday, Oct 26, 2 pm. Stephen wrote a lovely obituary for Karen, posted here.

Links and resources

Check out the history of the Six Grandfathers here. 

Reproductive Justice: A Reading List

I Made 13 Cents an Hour as a Prison Janitor. Here’s Why I Donated My Wages to Gaza

Quote of the week

We never know how our small activities will affect others through the invisible fabric of our connectedness. In this exquisitely connected world, it’s never a question of ‘critical mass.’ It’s always about critical connections. - Grace Lee Boggs

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.