PASTOR'S PEN
Our God Who Holds the Future
“’For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” - Jeremiah 29:11
Happy New Year!!
It’s hard to believe that we have lived a decade
into the new millennium…I remember it wasn’t very long ago that the entire
world was fussing over Y2K! Many blessings to you and your loved ones this
coming year and always…
“2010” – Some of you may remember
the movie by the same title (the sequel to 2001: The Space Odyssey<).
With HAL 9000 as the artificial intelligence supercomputer, several
scientists/astronauts head out into space on the Discovery. (I don’t
know about you, but I can’t seem to recall this movie without the music Richard
Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra” playing in the back of my mind!)
Well, it really is 2010 now - and the movie
(which came out in 1984) seems pretty outdated to our modern eyes, in terms of
special effects and plots. But in many ways, the supposed technology that is
presented in the film is not yet (?) a reality for us (like HAL). The writer of
the original book and the film writers did their best to imagine what the
future might look like (and of course, it being science fiction, added their
own creativity). But the actual future that we see today took a path that they
may not have even thought to imagine; like global warming, the end of the Cold
War, an African-American president of the United States...
The future has a way of doing just that…or
perhaps the better explanation might be that our ‘plans’ and ‘imaginations’
don’t always turn out as we expect. Our dreams don’t always come true in the
way that we want. Hopes are at times shattered.
But thanks be to our God who holds the future
unknown to us! As in the verse above, God knows the plans for us – a plan for
our welfare, a plan of hope. Although it may not seem that way in our immediate
futures, God holds the final outcome in God’s hand. And it is in this Hand that
we can ultimately rest our hopes, plans and dreams.
As we launch into a new year, what are your
hopes? What do you dream? What are you planning? I invite you to hope, dream
and plan – as we are called to do – and then give them to God. Let God take
those things, mold them, and take you down the path that God has prepared for
you. For it is this One who holds the future for us, and it is this Hand that
we entrust ourselves to. And remember, God continues to reassure us that, “I
know the plans I have for you…”
New Year blessings, Pastor Grace Kaori Suzuki
CLERK'S REPORT
At the special congregational meeting on December
6, the Elders, Deacons, and at-large Nominating Committee members for 2010 were
elected.
The Session, at its regular meeting on Sunday,
December 6, 2009, discussed and approved the following items:
Put
an ad in Nichibei Times’ New Year’s edition in English.
Pastor
Grace’s vacation
2010
proposed budget with amendments
Celebrate
communion on December 24, 2009
The Session, at its special meeting on Saturday,
December 19, 2009, discussed and acted upon the following item:
Approved
a baptism through profession of faith on December 24, 2009.
DEACONS’ REPORT
Welcome to 2010!!! I hope you all had a wonderful
end to 2009, and come into 2010 with hope and excitement. We had a wonderful
holiday season here at CUPC. Christmas Sunday is always a nice time to see so
many familiar faces, and enjoy the Christmas pageant with the school children.
At our Christmas Eve service, CUPC welcomed a new member into our CUPC family
as she got baptized. The celebration on her baptism continued into the next
week with a special cake during coffee fellowship time.
The Deacons also have started a new term, and
would like to acknowledge the great work that two leaving deacons have done for
our church. They dedicated their time and effort into service as a deacon. We
will miss having you on our team.
Our moderator for 2009 has graciously decided to
continue on as a deacon, and has been joined by one other new deacon. We are
happy to have you ladies join (or continue in this case) our team!!!
As we start the new year with a new team of
Deacons, we will have our first meeting at the end of the month to reassess our
ministries and to see what we want to focus on in 2010.
Please continue to pray for those in our community
and in our world.
COFFEE FELLOWSHIP:
The Deacons would like to thank the individuals
who have contributed to the coffee fellowship during the month of December.
The Deacon’s are aware there are others who do
not sign up on the list, but contribute. We would like to thank you all. Also,
if you haven’t signed up recently, I encourage you to sign up on the bulletin
board next to the social hall. Thank you in advance!
Kara Woo, Vice-Moderator
ARTICLE OF INTEREST
CUPC 125TH Anniversary Event
Now that we are in the New Year, 2010, CUPC will
be celebrating a historical event. On Sunday, May 23, we will be observing the
125th anniversary of our church, which was formalized by the San Francisco
Presbytery in 1885.
Please look forward to further news of this historical
event as plans become finalized.
Kathy Reyes
