January - Christian Church of Pacific Grove

The Lighthouse
January 2015
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
(Disciples of Christ)
OF PACIFIC GROVE
A Spiritual Sanctuary
for the
Thinking Christian.
442 Central Ave.
Pacific Grove, CA 93950
Phone: (831) 372-0363
Daniel Wm. Paul, MDiv.
Pastor
Guide Us to Thy Perfect Light!
In the celebration of the epiphany of our
E-mail:
churchoffice
@pacificgrovechurch.org
Lord !
May the Joys of 2015 bring you much
Website:
www.pacificgrovechurch.org
happiness, peace, good health, and the
strength of forgiveness. Never to give up!
Sunday Schedule:
Worship Service
Fellowship
11:00 AM
After Worship
Always know that you have a church family
here, in this most sacred place, who accepts
and loves you unconditionally!!!
In essentials, unity.
In non-essentials, liberty.
In all things, charity.
Notes From the Lion’s Den
Time
Day one of 2015, and I had time (as if I had time and time didn’t have me) to reflect upon
some of the feelings I have about a New Year’s Day. I remember pondering at my desk in
my 3rd grade classroom that I would probably live long enough to see the years begin with
20--. I wondered if we would call a year like this “Twenty Fifteen” “Two Thousand and
Fifteen” or “Two Oh Fifteen” – the twenty-first century seemed so surreal, so far away.
And yet, sometimes seeing myself sitting at that classroom desk seems like yesterday. I
got to spend the day with a dear friend with whom I spent New Year’s Day thirty years
ago. We talked about how our lives have changed – and we noticed that some things
about ourselves don’t change. The most glaring thought that played in my cranium today
is that time does indeed march on, sometimes crawls on, and sometimes sprints on. And
God moves right along with it all, at all speeds, in the changing and in the staying the
same. And today, like most days when my brain leads me into this thought, the idea is
comforting. God is great!
Here are some thoughts about time I wish to share with you:
“Chronos is clocks, deadlines, watches, calendars, agendas, planners, schedules,
beepers. Chronos is time at her worst. Chronos keeps track. ...Chronos is the world's
time. Kairos is transcendence, infinity, reverence, joy, passion, love, the Sacred. Kairos
is intimacy with the Real. Kairos is time at her best. ...Kairos is Spirit's time. We exist in
chronos. We long for kairos. That's our duality. Chronos requires speed so that it won't
be wasted. Kairos requires space so that it might be savored. We do in chronos. In
kairos we're allowed to be ... It takes only a moment to cross over from chronos into
kairos, but it does take a moment. All that kairos asks is our willingness to stop running
long enough to hear the music of the spheres.” --- Sarah Breathnach
Chronology, the time which changes things, makes them grow older, wears them out,
and manages to dispose of them, chronologically, forever. Thank God there is kairos
too: again the Greeks were wiser than we are. They had two words for time: chronos
and kairos . Kairos is not measurable. Kairos is ontological . In kairos we are , we are
fully in isness, not negatively, as Sartre saw the isness of the oak tree, but fully, wholly,
positively. Kairos can sometimes enter, penetrate, break through chronos: the child at
play, the painter at his easel, Serkin playing the Appassionata are in kairos. The saint in
prayer, friends around the dinner table, the mother reaching out her arms for her
newborn baby are in kairos. The bush, the burning bush, is in kairos, not any burning
bush, but the particular burning bush before which Moses removed his shoes; the bush I
pass by on my way to the brook. In kairos that part of us which is not consumed in the
burning is wholly awake. --- MadeleineL’Engle
Time, flowing like a river
Time, beckoning me
Who knows when we shall meet again
If ever
But time
And time keeps flowing like a river
To the sea --- Alan Parsons
See you in Church!
Dan
January in the Church
Thanksgiving Elder
Communion Elder
4– Ed Kilgore
Lori Robinson
11– Frances Weesner
Neal Heckman
18- Reuben Negron
Carole Bestor
25- Nancy Bingaman
Mike Dremel
(Elder of the Month: Neal Heckman)
Flowers
Refreshments
4– Bingaman's
CWF
11– Open
Open
18- Lori Robinson
Open
25– Open
Open
Worship Leaders
4-Steve Brydon
11-Linda Henderson
18-Deborah Streeter
25-Sandi Ellis
Sign UP!! It’s a NEW YEAR! With a NEW,
SHINY, CLEAN CALENDAR aching for
donations of FLOWERS and REFRESHMENTS!
Deacon of the Month:
Magali Negron & Marc Bingaman
You can submit your receipts for what you spend on
refreshments to Steve Brydon for reimbursement.
Happy January Birthdays
6– Lois Rockefeller
23- Gary Ellis
30–Angelina Pardi
11–Cindy Heckman
12- Bob Polson
16- Linda Henderson
17–Sally Newberry
Happy January Anniversary’s
12– Geoff and Tiffany Bingaman
26- Conrad and Sally Newberry
January 2015
Sunday
Sun
Monday
Mon
Tuesday
Tue
Wednesday Thursday
Wed
Friday
Saturday
Thu
Fri
SSSa
1
2
3
Taize Service
Mayflower
Church @ 7PM
4
Meditation @
10:10
5
Worship @
11:00 am
Deacons Mtg
@ 1PM
11
Meditation @
10:10
12
6
Trustees Mtg
@ 6:00 PM
Choir Practice
@
7 PM
13
14
Meditation
@ 10:10 AM
Choir Practice
@
7 PM
19
20
MLK Day
Meditation @
10:10 AM
Worship @
11:00 am
Prayers for
Christian
Unity 4 pm
At the First
Methodist
Church of
Pacific Grove
(The
Butterfly
Church)
9
Bible Study
@ 1:00 PM
15
10
Church
Leadership
Retreat
9-12
Lunch Bunch
@ noon
16
17
26
21
23
24
30
31
Bible Study
@1
22
Lunch Bunch
@ noon
Choir Practice
@
7 PM
Bible Study
@ 1:00 PM
27
28
29
Stewardship &
Finance Mtg @
6:00
Choir Practice
@
7 PM
Worship @
11:00 am
25
8
CWF @ 10:30
Worship @
11:00 am
18
7
Board Mtg @
7:30 PM
Lunch Bunch
@ noon
Bible Study
@ 1:00 PM
I-Help @
6PM
"Holy" Casserole Cookbook
Thanks to everyone who has supported the cookbook sales efforts. We still have LOTS of
cookbooks left to sell.
Think of your friends who might be interested in giving our cookbooks as Christmas
gifts. Please just keep it in mind-- you never know when your casual conversation will
result in a sale. Thanks! Cindy
2015……...
Don’t Forget to Sign Up
for Refreshments and Flowers!!
Save your receipts for what you spend on refreshments,
and you can be reimbursed!!
Thanks for all your help.
The sign up chart is in Jones Fellowship Hall
Cookie Swap was a Big Success!
Our church food pantry needs replenishing. So, please consider donating
non-perishable foods, canned goods or single serving "grab-and-go" snacks
such as granola bars. You may drop off your food donations at the
church either in the basket in the church foyer (where you enter the
sanctuary) or in the closet next to the dining room table in Jones Hall. Of
course, you may also make a financial donation. Just note "CCPG food
pantry" in the memo on your check or let us know where your cash donations
are intended for this purpose. Thank you in advance for your help in feeding
those in need.
F
P
O
A
O
D
N
T
R
Y
A Big Thank You to our very talented artists within our church who did our bulletin
covers for Advent.
Carole Bestor, Angelina Pardi and Aleatha Pardi
Rummage Sale
We wanted to share some good news. We made a grand total of $7,163.50 !!!
This is the best performance of any Rummage Sale to date and our second highest
profit of any year (second only to last year when we sold a donated car!).
Thanks to Jean and her mighty team of workers. I think that our profits equal about
$1 for each of the 7,163 hours they worked on all of this!
Happy New Year!
Dawn Wilson
Are you Ready for Some…Bible Study?
By Lori Robinson
Monday nights look and sound a little different at Jean Saltsman’s house
lately. Instead of NFL couch potatoes noshing on chicken wings and tossing back
Bud Lights, Bible fans huddle around Jean’s gracious living room, balancing take away
on their knees, sharing their day’s trials or victories. Tummies full, the friends
reach for their Bibles to continue their search for understanding in the words of
God, Jesus Christ, or his disciples, closely reading and stopping to interject
questions or musings as they take turns reading aloud.
Jean opened her house as a more permanent meeting place at 5:45 on Monday
nights, offering drinks and desserts, in her lovely home. But it was Patricia Hoffman
who made the first invitation. Tricia wanted to form closer bonds with the
congregation, and since she often works on Sundays, it would be her church service
away from church, so to speak. As word got out and the group expanded, Jean made
her space available.
All are welcome to participate! For some it is sort of a girl’s night in, but we
would welcome male interaction. The trust and love shared by the group has
deepened our friendships and our relationships with God. Hope to see you at Jean’s
in January. Please speak to her for further details.
The Lighthouse
c/o The Christian Church
442 Central Avenue
Pacific Grove, CA 93950
Church Administration
Moderator: Dawn Wilson
Vice Moderator: Jackie Burns
Board Secretary - Erin Farquhar
Financial Secretary - Neal Heckman
Chief Financial Officer - Steve Brydon
Chair of Trustees– Ken Rockefeller
CWF - Christian Women's Fellowship invites you to participate
in our church’s Outreach Project to HAMILTON HOUSE: An
Emergency Shelter for displaced & battered women and their
children (A PART OF SHELTER OUTREACH PLUS)
Their funding has been drastically cut!
HELP!
WE CAN
We will be supplying "HOUSEHOLD CLEANING" products for
the HOUSE.............such as:
Dishwashing Soap (Dawn) (not for a dishwasher) Laundry
Detergent, Bleach, Dryer Sheets, Toilet Bowl Cleaner, Floor
Cleaner, All Purpose Cleaner.
LOOK FOR THE BOX LABELED
"HAMILTON HOUSE"
Chair of Elders– Nancy Bingaman
Chair of Stewardship & Finance– Ed Kilgore
Chair of Deacons– Cindy Heckman
Church Clerk - Linda Henderson
Church Secretary - Sandi Ellis
Pastor - Dan Paul
Organist— John Shykun
Pianist– Heidi Toy
in the fellowship hall to deposit your items.
Prayer Service for Christian Unity
January 25 at 4 PM
First Methodist Church of Pacific Grove
915 Sunset Dr. (corner of 17 mile drive)
This service will feature a gathering of
denominational leaders leading us in prayers for
Christian Unity. Also, Aria a tremendous women’s
choir will perform as well as great music provided by
the host church. Refreshments will follow the service
for some ecumenical fellowship. As Disciples of Christ
who claim that “Christian Unity is our polar star!” , it
would be great to have a big turn out from our
congregation to this significant event.