YOUTH WORKER'S PEN
A note from Pastor Grace: I’d like to introduce Rufus Zingkhai, our new staff person since March. He was brought on to CUPC to work with our youth – and we have surely been blessed with his presence and passion for youth ministry! His ministry experiences include working with youth in various churches in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as in India, where he and his family are from. Currently, he is attending Golden Gate Baptist Seminary, furthering his studies in Christian educational leadership. So this month, here is the ‘Youth Worker’s Pen’…
Where
there is no vision, the people perish” (Prov. 29:18 KJV)
Being lost is a terrifying experience. When my
wife Akani and I get together with our children, one of our favorite pastimes
is to sit around and talk about the “good old times.” We enjoy talking about
our childhood. From time to time, I am reminded that as a toddler, I had gotten
lost once because I wandered away on my own. My uncles were supposed to look
after me, but they wanted to play. They bought me some snacks and asked me to
wait until they returned. I started to wander away after I finished eating. I
was too young to have remembered anything, but one thing I do know is that the
feeling of being lost is scary.
Without vision, it is easy to get lost in the
shuffle of life. The busyness of life can easily entangle us, and gradually
causes us to lose grip of the purpose and direction of life. Vision is
important, especially for churches and the body of Christ. Vision allows us to
plan for the future and evaluate the present. We aren’t looking into a crystal
ball and trying to interpret the future. Rather, true vision is seeing what we
can become in the future. The Bible says, “Without vision, people perish.” My
families were so thankful to participate in fulfilling the vision of the
founding fathers of our church, which set a long-term vision for us. The goal
was to be a welcoming community of faith, and united in Christ, seek to offer opportunities
for spiritual growth in our faith journeys, to build loving relationships that
are Christ-centered, and to nurture one another through spiritual growth,
prayer, life giving servant-hood, and fellowship, rooted in our worship of God.
I hope each individual in the body of Christ will continue to remember and
contribute something for the vision of the founder father of our Church. I
believe if we continue to be obedient, we will continue to experience the joy
of seeing the expansion of God’s Kingdom.
I am thankful to the founders of this church
because they had visions. They built this church with the clear vision that
allows us not to get lost in the wilderness. I am also thankful to each of our
members for contributing your thoughts in the town hall meetings for the better
serving of His kingdom. The leadership of this Church invites you to
share your thoughts and getting involved in turning our Church vision into
reality. Let us together capture our Church ‘vision in faith’.
Before I sign off, I would like to encourage you
to get involved in the Kingdom of God. It doesn’t matter whether you have a
title of an officer or not, you are God’s servant, and therefore follow your
Master’s example to humbly serve others. A reward is waiting for you to claim: “Well
done, good and faithful servant . . . come and share your master’s happiness!” Amen.
DEACONS' REPORT
As summer is quickly approaching, I would like to
congratulate all the graduates. May God continue to bless you and guide you in
all you endeavors. And for those of you who may be going on vacation, I wish
you safe and happy travels.
The Deacon Flock List has been posted on the
bulletin board downstairs next to the social hall. We will be updating
the list, so if your name doesn’t appear on a flock, please fill out a form and
we will place you on a flock. If you have any concerns or prayer
requests, please contact your flock leader.
If you have any prayer requests or needs, please
contact the church.
Irene Woo, Vice Moderator
ARTICLE OF INTEREST
One Great Hour of Sharing
The theme of this year’s One Great Hour of
Sharing is “Who is my neighbor?” Our salvation is not a private peace we can
negotiate with God. It requires our being involved with one another.
Jesus tells us that “one another” does not just mean the people who shop at the
same stores we do. It means whoever is in need. One Great Hour of Sharing
is one of the ways in which we reach beyond our own experience to the needs of
others, needs we may never have seen firsthand. It is one of the ways we share
the love of God with others. But what do we get out of this transaction?
Do we get our passport stamped so we can go straight to heaven?
Jesus teaches us that our separation from our
neighbor, especially the neighbor we don’t really want to approach, is one of
the things that separates us from true life. It is in recognizing our own face
in that of our neighbor that we can see the face of God. It is in recognizing
our common need and our common humanity with all of those we may be tempted to
think of as them that we can open ourselves up to God. As we give our
gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing, let us thank God for the opportunities to
encounter those neighbors through the mission of this offering, and ask God to
open us more and more to recognize the unacknowledged neighbors in our lives.
We will be collecting the One Great Hour of
Sharing offering on Sunday, June 24, 2007. If you are unable to attend, you can
mail your offering to the church or bring it at a later date. Please be a good neighbor.
Chris Hiroshima
Mission &
Outreach Chairperson
