Light August 2016 - First Congregational Church of Palo Alto

August 2016
Coming Soon:
August 14: Service trip participants will help lead worship
August 19-21: Church Campout at Foothills Park -- register now!
August 28: Animal Blessing Sunday
September 1: Rev. Nathan Tenney begins his ministry here
September 4: Fall Work Day
September 11: Homecoming Sunday
September 11: Multifaith Peace Walk in the afternoon
October 2: CROP Hunger Walk
October 9: Sermon in Song featuring music from Guys and Dolls
February 3-5: Men’s Retreat at Asilomar in Pacific Grove
February 10-12: Women’s Retreat at Mercy Center in Burlingame
April 28-30: Average Joe Spring Musical
The Light
First Congregational Church
1985 Louis Road
Palo Alto, California 94303
650-856-6662
www.fccpa.org
Rev. David Howell
Pastor
Tuesday Fellowship
The August Tuesday Potluck is on August 9th in Fellowship Hall at noon. We feature
Food and Fellowship! If you can, please bring a dish to share. You are welcome to join us even
if you aren't able to bring some thing like salad or dessert. We are pleased to see all who can
attend.
August Birthdays
8/2 Anne Clark, 8/4 Greg Wait, 8/7 Kathy Davis, 8/8 Jean Roth, 8/9 Carol Stivers, 8/10 Inge
Crozier, 8/15 Makee Anderson, Margaret Beeler, Cecil Lamb, 8/16 Greg Evans, 8/17 Will
Moragne, 8/19 Chris Langone, 8/24 Maie Herrick, 8/26 Gary Dawson, 8/27 Nancy Drapkin,
8/29 Andrew Chow, Bruce Boyd, 8/30 Judy Noice, 8/31 Carol Zink.
Rev. Dr. Eileen Altman
Associate Minister
Worship at 10:00 AM
August 7
Communion
We’ve Come This Far By Faith
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Eileen Altman - Sermon
August 14
Service Trip Sunday
Set Your Foundation
Matthew 7:24-27
August 21
A Little More Fertilizer
David Howell - Sermon
Luke 13:1-21
August 28
Animal Blessing Sunday
Bring your pet to worship in
the courtyard.
We will offer a special blessing
to each animal.
Animal Blessing Sunday
On August 28, we will celebrate our annual
Animal Blessing Sunday, the one day a year when we
truly welcome every member of your family. Dogs on
leashes, cats in carriers, reptiles in terrariums – all of
them are welcome! We will offer a special blessing to
each one during our regular 10:00 a.m. worship service.
We also offer blessings for special stuffed animals and for
photos of animals who are not able to be present. We will
be worshipping outdoors in our courtyard that day, so
please feel free to dress comfortably.
Note: Due to construction, we will be worshipping in
the sanctuary for the other Sundays in August this year. Our
month of outdoor worship will return next summer!
Welcome!
We extend a warm welcome
to Rev. Nathan Tenney, our new
Associate Minister for Children,
Youth, and Families.
Nathan will officially join our
staff on September 1.
I spent two weeks this July with the amazing youth of our church on Sierra Service Project
(SSP) service trips. Scott Carey and I accompanied six of our high school students to Navajo Nation
July 10-16, where we worked in two communities near Tsaile, AZ, Lukachukai and Wheatfields.
And then after 14 hours at home, I accompanied four of our middle school students to San Diego
July 17-23., We served that week in the City Heights neighborhood, rich with ethnic diversity and a
gateway neighborhood for new immigrants. Each week we were joined by youth from churches
throughout the West. Our projects included building decks and wheelchair ramps, painting,
restoring native habitats, and learning about Navajo history and culture one week, and the ways
that immigration issues affect families on both sides of the border the next.
Thank you for providing the financial support which made these journeys possible. Thank
you to Scott Carey for his ongoing commitment to supporting our youth ministry by serving as a
youth group mentor throughout the year and accompanying our youth on their service trips for
the last several years. Although I do not typically go on the youth service trips (except for the years
when we are between ministers), I consider it a great privilege that I had the opportunity to get to
know some of our young people better this year while on these trips. We are blessed by youth who
are willing to “go deep” into the ways that their faith journeys speak to the challenges of our
world.
Join us for worship on August 14 to hear more from our service trip participants about what
we did and what we learned. After worship we will share some ice cream together and view
photos from the trips. You can see some of our experience by viewing SSP photos from our weeks
in Navajo Nation and San Diego on the SSP Facebook page. — Eileen Altman
Sunday School Teachers for the School Year
Sunday School is one of the most important ministries of our church. Our faith formation
program helps children learn the biblical and spiritual traditions of our faith, feel a sense of
connection to church, and love God and their neighbors. If you would be willing to teach Sunday
School during the months of September-May, please contact Eileen Altman. Most teachers teach
about once per month and you can schedule times to teach that fit with your family’s schedule.
Summer Sunday School Teachers
Our Summer Sunday School program continues through September 4. We have three
classes each week: a nursery for toddlers; a class for those entering a 3 year old program
through rising 1st graders; and a class for rising 2nd-5th graders. This is an opportunity for those
of you who do not teach regularly to share your gifts with the children of our church. You can
create your own activity or draw upon curriculum resources provided by the church. Sign up
online.
Summer Book Discussion on August 21
The Peace and Justice Task Force is hosting another summer book discussion. The second
book group for the summer is Sandhya Rani Jha's Pre- Post-Racial America, a short (150 page)
collection of essays about the experience of discrimination and alienation of different minority
groups, often enriched with conversations from community leaders that Jha met in her role as
an organizer in Oakland. The discussion is planned for Sunday, August 21st after worship. This
was one of the books discussed at the UCC NCNC's annual gathering in June.
9/11 Multifaith Peace Walk & Picnic
SAVE THE DATE! Join communities of diverse faith traditions on a 2-mile walk in Palo
Alto to say "no" to fear and "yes" to friendship and peace. The walk will be followed by a Peace
Picnic at Mitchell Park. Sunday, Sept. 11, starting at 2pm. Our church is a co-sponsor and we
want to have a large representation in the walk, a hopeful way to mark the 15th anniversary of
the events of September 11, 2001. Click here for more information.
Fall Workday
On Sunday, May 29, we welcomed new members to our
congregation: Colleen and Paul Gormley, Laura and Robert
Lindstom; Colleen and Jay Backstrand; Suzanne Voll
On Sunday, July 17, we welcomed
Peter Joshua to our congregation
Do you want to participate in a fun-filled activity that includes a free lunch and lets you
care for the church that cares for you? Spend some time after the Sunday Service September 4th
at the Fall Workday. We’ll have tasks for people of all ages. Stay as long as you can, but we’ll all
be gone by 1:30.
If you like to garden, bring your favorite tools and Marilyn Chow will tell you about
things that need to be done to keep our grounds looking good.
Our beautiful Sanctuary needs cleaning and tidying with new pamphlets for the pew
racks and other jobs Marilyn Corvin, the chair of the Worship Board, will tell us about.
Volunteers organized by the Education Board will wash the Sunday School chairs and
tables, sort the crayons and other supplies, and reorganize the cabinets and bulletin boards so
everything is ready for the Sunday School classes which reconvene during Homecoming Sunday
9/11.
Everyone leaves the Workday feeling good about giving back to our church and making it
look great for the start of our fall season. Come join us. You’ll be glad you did! — Debby Martin