PASTOR'S PEN
Outreach Sunday!
"Jesus said to them, 'Go into the whole
world and proclaim the good news to every creature.' - Mark 16:15
Going in to the world - outreach - it's a
word that tends to get used and tossed around in the church world a lot. But
being a part of the Christian church for as long as I can remember, I can
attest to the fact that this word means different things to different people
and different church communities. There are differing understandings (and
theologies) of 'what' the good news is, and 'how' to go about doing that.
I am hoping that discussion about the various
understandings and how they get implemented will take place in the near future
- whether it via another newsletter article or Sunday worship. But no matter
what, as Jesus tells us in the above Bible verse, the bottom line is for us to go
out - out of our church walls and out into the communities
and the places around us. (I can safely state that all would be in agreement
regarding this.) Our own church mission statement, too, clearly states for us
to "Go Ye Therefere...into the larger community reaching out and
sharing God's Good News."
And so, for us to be faithful to Jesus' call and
our own mission statement on which it is based - we will be holding our first
OUTREACH SUNDAY! It will be held on September 18, 2011 from 10am with
worship. We'll gather for our regular worship with Mission and Outreach
Committee chair speaking briefly about outreach. Then, as a response to hearing
God's word and call for us, we will all participate in an OUTREACH ACTIVITY
together in the sanctuary, which will be to make care packages for the
residents of Kokoro Assisted Living, Kimochi Home and the Sequoias
Health Center. To finish off our activity, we will form groups to visit
each of the facilities and bring the care packages to them to give.
When we think of outreach, we sometimes think it
has to take place in a grand scale, and/or in a place far away. But outreach
includes the people right outside our doors - in fact, I believe that it's the
place we need to start! And it doesn't have to be something monumental - it can
'merely' be a small act of kindness, like care packages. This small act of
kindness could be just the kind of 'Good News' that someone is in need of and
is longing for.
So, I invite you to not just join us to worship
with us on September 18, I invite you to participate with us in the
all-church OUTREACH effort at CUPC. It may not be the 'biggest' of all outreach
efforts, but I believe that it is a good, solid effort for us. I believe we are
headed in the right direction - I believe we are truly trying to be faithful to
Jesus' call to us!
And for those of you who cannot join us due to
physical proximity, health and otherwise - I invite you to think about how you
can do outreach in the context of wherever you are. Could it be to find
ways to go out into the community that you are placed in? Could it be to write
letters and/or pray? Please remember that reaching out, no matter how small,
could be Good News that God can use!
Prayerfully, I invite you to join us - and
together, may we respond faithfully to Jesus' call to us to 'go into the whole
world!'
Peace and blessings,
Pastor Grace Kaori
CLERK'S REPORT
There is no Clerk of Session's report for this
issue - the next session meeting will be held on September 25, 2011.
Note:
Everyone is invited to attend our regular session meetings. If you are
interested in how the session, our governing body, discusses ministry at CUPC,
please come and join us!
DEACONS' REPORT
Hello Everyone:
I hope that every one had a wonderful summer. The
summer is coming to an end and school is starting soon. This year time is
flying very quickly for me. Throughout the summer I have been keeping myself
busy with summer camp and other things. Every time I write something for the VP
it seems it is getting shorter.
The Deacons would like to thank the individuals
who have contributed to the coffee fellowship during the month of July.
The Deacons are aware there are others who do not
sign up on the list, but contribute. We would like to thank you all!
COFFEE FELLOWSHIP:
The Deacons would like to thank the individuals
who have contributed to the coffee fellowship during the month of July.
The Deacons are aware there are others who do not sign up on the list, but
contribute. We would like to thank you all.
Ralph Tanaka, Co-moderator
SUMMER CAMP MOMENTS
Each Sunday during worship in the summer, leaders
from our Summer Camp program share with the congregation what has been going on
at camp, along with their reflections. You will see what they shared below:
Edward Wong
July 10, 2011
Good morning and hello. This is my 2nd year
volunteering at CUPC. Anyways, this past week was a relatively short week
because July 4th was a holiday. We started on Tuesday and we took the campers
to Julius Kahn. The play structure there was nice and it seems like everybody
had a good time at the play structure.
One of the more memorable parts of the week came
as we were leaving Julius Kahn to head back to camp. I think some people were
going to paint something and they left a box of paint at the corner of the
street as we were about to cross that part of the street and you guys could
probably already guess what happened next. Anyways, we told the campers to be
aware of the box and most of them were able to get by the box successfully,
however, one camper tried stepping over the box and he tripped on the box and
the paint splattered all over his clothes. It's a good thing his parents didn't
get too mad and most of the paint did wash off.
On Wednesday, we went to the zoo. It was awfully
crowded that day and I think we all saw some people we knew there. One of my
campers actually got upset because she saw her brothers classmates and it made
her miss her brother. On Thursday, we stayed at church and watched movies. It
was actually really nice to relax a bit because we were all extremely tired
from taking the campers out to the parks and zoo. During Friday, we went ice
skating. So, we skated for quite a while and the ice because rough with
shavings of ice everywhere. Then, one leader decided to make a snow ball out of
the shavings of ice on the rink. She had it for a while and I wasn't sure who
she was going to throw it at. After a minute, she launched it at me and it hit.
It was nice to see that she fell and hit the ice immediately after she threw
the snowball at me. It was a perfect example of karma.
Anyways, that pretty much sums up my week at
CUPC. Thanks for listening.
Cameron Kurozawa-Chow
July 17, 2011
It's already week 6 of camp and things seem to
move by a little too quick. The beginning of this week was like any other camp
day, going to the park and playing with the kids, except for the fact that it
was really cold and wet outside. Thursday was song contest and the oldest boys
dominated the competition. Due to their leader who makes us sing 100 songs a
day.
Friday we spent the day at Great America. I
remember passing all the 4th grade boys leaders sitting on a bench with no
campers and I asked where they were and their head leader, points to my right
and all of 4b is laying on the pavement in the sun because they are soaking wet
from running through the water park area of Great America.
This week's devotion theme was loving and
respecting the environment. And the kids really took part in picking up trash
and trying to understand why we need to respect our environment. But it wasn't
just the campers that made an effort to clean up, on our way back from the park
on Thursday, the 8th grade dept. director saw someone writing inappropriate
comments on stickers and posting them on the bus. After he sat down she really
wanted to take them down but she didn't want to be seen by the guy so some of
us kind of surrounded her so that she wouldn't be seen and peeled them off. We
had a good laugh over it, but she was able to embody this week's devotion theme
more than anyone.
Being able to work at a camp where you grew up in
is really rewarding. CUPC will always be like a second family. Thank you,
congregation.
Calvin Ma and Quincy Ouellette
July 31, 2011
Calvin: Good morning. My name is Calvin Ma, I was
the Oldest Boys leader.
Quincy: Hi guys! I'm Quincy Ouellette. If you
can't tell I really love it here. So this week was Extended I week. It's a
little different from the rest of the weeks because most of the days are field
trips and are more relaxed yet still very busy for the leaders.
Calvin: But anyways, this week we did a number of
things. On Monday the campers watched a movie in the sanctuary. But on Monday,
the leaders had to clean out the supply room. Lucky us, right?
Quincy: Tuesday we went bowling at Yerba Buena.
We first spent the day at the play structure at Yerba Buena than later on in
the afternoon we actually went in to bowl. Us leaders and directors are quite
the trash talkers so we ended up team bowling with the losers having to wash
cars and cook the other team dinner. Lets just say some of us leaders have next
weekend already planned out for us. Its always nice to see the kids go bowling
granted they used the bumpers I did see a few 4th graders bowl over a 100 which
is far above my average.
Calvin: Wednesday we went to Fisherman's Wharf
and Pier 39. Having first and second graders, group ABC, was very tiring. It's
not that the campers don't listen - they listen very well. It's just that they
get distracted very easily which prompts me to repeat myself, all the time. But
then again, the campers are too cute to get mad at.
Quincy: Thursday we went to Six Flags Marine
World. Lets just say last year I had the 1st and 2nd graders and boy was that
hectic having to watch tiny kids amongst a thousand other people. Luckily this
year I had 5th graders. The day went pretty well seeing that they would
actually ride rides unlike last year where I spent most my day at the Looney
Toon Starport Waterpark. It was eventful, I even got stuck on a ride whoop tie
doo.
The kids enjoyed going on the water raft where
you can pay a measly 25 cents to shoot a water hose at your campers as they go
by just to hear them say YOUR MEAN! FOR GETTING US WET! right when they get
off. They also got to spend their parent's precious money at the arcade trying
to win ginormous prizes in what seems to be impossible games. Overall it was a
great HOT day at Six Flags.
Calvin: Friday, we went to Heather Farms in
Walnut Creek to go swimming. Swimming is always one of my favorite things to do
because all I end up doing is throwing them around at their request.
My most memorable moment of all of my 8 years at
CUPC would be when I was in Oldest Boys, along with Quincy, and our group won
the song contest. I have never felt so accomplished, since our leaders back
then always told us that Oldest Boys haven't won in centuries. After that year,
I felt like my life was complete. Which brings me to my highlight of this
summer - Song contest. In the beginning of the summer, I gave up teaching the
Oldest Boys songs because they never wanted to learn them. But I really wanted
them to win the song contest, so in order to get them to sing, I just told them
to sing 40 different songs in one sitting, yes, the Oldest Boys are hardcore.
On the day of the song contest, my group was anxious and excited. So was I. but
I decided that I would refrain from helping my group, hoping that they would
all work together to win. My campers were very shocked and mad at me for not
helping them, but I realized I did the right thing when I saw a lot of teamwork
and bonding throughout the contest. In the end, my campers prevailed and we
were all extremely happy. I was very proud of them, and I told them that they won
this contest by themselves, without any help. After hearing that, all my
campers smiled and we had a huge group hug. It was an amazing experience, and I
will never forget it.
Quincy: CUPC really means so much to me. It is
honestly my second home. I have friends vie made here that I will always
remember and even gained some family members who I know will always be there
for me and keep me in line and check up on me in college. CUPC really isn't
just a camp to send your kids to keep them busy while you're at work during the
day. It's a lifestyle that I wouldn't ever give up or regret having. Its really
one of my favorite places on earth and I can't even try and express in words
how much these people mean to me. I'm so thankful for all of them. I'll miss you
all, but while we're still here lets live things up! GO CUPC!
