Pastor’s Page

The real ending of the Gospel of Mark is pure genius.  It may be an accident, but it is perfect.  It ends with three women too scared to tell anyone anything about Jesus having been raised from the dead.  “They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid” (NRSV Mark 16:8 from b)  

            Any listener worth his/her salt will ask, “so who told?”  I say that right then the one reading should be prepared to tell how they have encountered the risen Lord, or the majesty of God, or whatever it is that leads you to share the story at all.  Most UCC people I know would rather not share the good news at all than be confronted with that expectation.

            What do you get if you cross a UCC member with a Jehovah’s Witness?  Someone who can knock on the door, but if it is answered, has nothing to say.  That is an old joke.  I would not knock on the door in the first place.  Is that better or worse?

            But if someone will listen to the good news and ask questions, that is wonderful.  I will tell them what I can, what I know, what I feel.  We need a way of getting people interested in our faith.  We want a safe place to share our faith and our doubts, our belief and our unbelief.  For us that is the church.  Clearly for the women in Mark that was not true.  In a male dominated society, they feared to tell a bunch of male disciples that a strange young man in white was seated in Jesus’ tomb and told them impossible things. Gerry’s sermon on Easter dealt with that nicely.

            So what is your story?  Have you ever told anyone?  Take courage.  Someone has to tell.   

                                                                                                ~ Rolf ~

We apologize for omitting Sally Short’s name on our “Welcome to new UCCSC members” in the April 2009 Communicator.  We are indeed glad you have chosen to be part of our church family, Sally.  Welcome.  We also want to thank you for signing up to be one of our liturgists.

Environmental Wholeness

Forget Gold-Gold, although it is good to have some in challenging  economic times.  Reduce use of Black-Gold to reduce global warming and be less dependent on foreign oil.  More importantly, start thinking Blue-Gold.

Never heard of that term?  Blue-Gold is water, the source of life.  A documentary film titled “Cadillac Desert” was produced in the late 1990’s about water sources and diverting and damming projects that defined our way of life as we know it.  It was suppose to be a “take notice” call about the consequences of our decisions.   The movie “Chinatown” with Jack Nickleson and Faye Dunaway was about the Hoover Dam.  The general population did not realize the significance of these films.   With our concern about global warming and climate changes, we are now taking serious notice.

“Cadillac Desert” is in 5-6 parts on VHS and can be found in the Peninsula Library System.  Women’s Fellowship has borrowed a private DVD copy of Parts 3 and 4 for showing at their May 12^th meeting.  This may be split into two showings as each is about an hour long.  Please do come to the meeting and see the film.  It is hoped that this snippet will motivate you to explore further into Water Issues.

We will be collecting EWASTE in front of the church on:

Saturday June 20, 2009

9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Acceptable Items:

            Computers, Monitors, TV’s, Laptops, LCD TV’s, Plasma Screens, Cell Phones, Printers, Copiers, Servers, Scanners, Keyboards, Mouse, Circuit Boards, Power Adapters, PDA, Telephones, Camcorders, VCR, Cables, Wire, DVD Players, Cameras, Hard Drives, Optical Drives, UPS Power Supply Units, Tape and Zip Drives, Fax Machines, Radios, Stereos, Hubs and Routers, Chargers, Video Game Consoles, and many more!

We also accept small household appliances:

            Microwave, Blender, Coffee Maker, Water Dispenser, Toaster, Waffle Maker, Rice Cooker, Toaster Oven, Paper Shredders, Heaters, Air

Conditioners, Hair Dryers, Shavers, Electric Toothbrush, and many more!

We do not accept:

            Large Appliances, Refrigerators, Washing Machines, Dryers, Vacuum Cleaners, Ovens, Dishwashers, Furniture, Wood.

If you need help getting items to church, call Ed or Meg Malloy @ 650-654-7905 before June 17^th.

Liturgists and Ushers Schedule-May and June, 2009

Liturgists/Readers                                        Ushers

5/3       Beatrice Halaby                                5/3       Irene Gibson

                                                                                    Rowan Hansen

                                                                                    John Dusel

5/10    Martha Van Der Veen                      5/10     Jim & Susan Roberts

5/17    James Akin                                        5/17  Tom Kimura

                                                                                    Alyce Bishop

                                                                                    Bob Dormoy

5/24    Dorothy Van Buskirk                         5/24  Bill & Dolores Malmborg

                                                                                    Dorothy Day

5/31    Celia Skipton                                     5/31    John & Siv Nickerson

                                                                                    Beatrice Halaby

6/7       Sally Short                                          6/7       Larry,Gareth,Abigail Wang

6/14    Susan Roberts                                  6/14    Jeanette Callis

                                                                                    Bob Black

6/21    Bev Oldfield                                       6/21    Bill & Dolores Malmborg

                                                                                    Dorothy Day

6/28    Robin Hansen                                    6/28    Irene Gibson

                                                                                    Rowan Hansen

                                                                                    John Dusel

Fellowship Hour Host: May - Council, June - Trustees

Women’s Fellowship will meet on May 12^th at 11:00 a.m. in the Parlor.  Our program will be showing of the film “Cadillac Desert”.  See Environmental Wholeness section about this film.  Please bring a bag lunch and join us.   Dessert and beverages will be available for $2.00. Everyone welcome!

Deacons Fund

Under the supervision of the Deacons and our minister, we maintain a fund that is to be used for members of the church and people in the community when they have financial emergencies.  This fund is supported by the members of the congregation.  Traditionally a basket is made available in the sanctuary the first Sunday of each month to receive these funds.  Checks should be made out to “Deacon Fund of Community Church.”  The basket will be available on May 3 and June 7.  Of course, if you would like to mail in your contribution for this purpose, that would be welcome too.