PASTOR'S PEN
Some Budding Ministries at CUPC...
"Look! I'm doing a new thing; now it sprouts up; don't you recognize it? I'm making a way in the desert, paths in the wilderness." - Isaiah 43:19
Recently, I attended an
amazing concert held by Jesse Manibusan and Valimar Jansen. Some of you may
remember Jesse from the times we held two concerts here at CUPC some years
back. And if you've attended any of his gatherings/concerts, you know that
one of the responsive sayings he uses with the congregation/crowd is where he
would say, "God is good..." and everyone would respond, "All
the time!"
Well, God is truly good,
all the time - even in times when we don't recognize it, or seems shadowed by
the things around us. But then, there are times where we are able to see
glimpses of God's goodness, and as in the Bible verse above, the new things
that God is doing around us! So here, I'd like to give brief introductions to
two newly budding ministries at CUPC:
G.I.G.: A Music Fellowship
of CUPC
GIG stands for "God Is
Good" - and is a fellowship group for anyone - amateur or not - who is
interested in learning to play a new instrument and jammin' together. It
is lead by a prominent member of our Worship Team.
The initial gathering had
about 15+ interested folk from children to mature adults who wanted to learn
ukulele, guitar, bass, drums, etc. They hope to meet regularly to practice,
to 'jam', to have fun together, and play for church together. Music is such a
powerful tool to bring people together and provide fellowship with one
another...so I truly look forward to hearing how God works through their
musical experience and their time together!
Youth R.O.L.E.
This is our latest youth
ministry group. This group is a service-project oriented group where high
school youth seek to live out Jesus' call for us to serve each other and our
surrounding communities. Thus, the 'ROLE' in their name is most appropriate
and stands for 'Reaching Out Loving Everybody'. (The youth collaboratively
came up with the great name too!)
The 'core group' has met
twice already and had great, positive energy. They came up with quite a few
creative ideas for projects, and have been tasked to coordinate/lead them. Be
on the look out - they may be working on a service project near you! It is
truly wonderful to see the leaders of the next generation be so passionate
about serving God through serving others.
Please remember, support
and pray for these new ministries at CUPC. And please join as you feel led!
As we give thanks for these budding ministries, I pray that we will all be
able to find God's new thing that is happening all around us. I believe this
is possible if we open our eyes and heart to them, and being attentive to
them.
After all, God is
good...all the time! All the time...God is good!
Peace and blessings,
Pastor Grace
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
If you have never been to a
Jesse Manibusan concert, you have yet to experience one of God's greatest
gifts to us. His music fills you with such hope and joy in the Lord. You want
to laugh, cry and "Fly Like a Bird"...all at the same time.
ValLimar Jansen joined Jesse onstage at Sacred Hearts this past Sunday
evening, with her beautiful voice and wonderful gift of storytelling. The
parables of Jesus came alive through her powerful and humorous
dramatizations. Their message to us was that we as peacemakers need to stand
together with those who are hungry, thirsty, persecuted, and excluded,
sharing our time, talents and message that God is Good, All the Time.
Thank you all for coming
together to share your stories and favorite dishes in celebrating the life of
one of our members, on Saturday, September 3. We will remember her generous,
welcoming and caring spirit always.
COFFEE FELLOWSHIP:
The Deacons would like to
thank the individuals who have contributed to the coffee fellowship during
the month of August.
The Deacons are aware there
are others who do not sign up on the list, but contribute. We would like to
thank you all!
Jan Der, 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:
Marissa Choy
August
7, 2011
Hi everyone! I've been
coming to CUPC summer camp since the first grade, and this is my third year
as a leader. This year my group was Oldest Girls, 6th and 7th graders.
Although they're older and aren't so cute and little anymore, they're still
great kids and I had a lot of fun getting to know them and being their
leader.
This summer was my first
time working an Extended week. I was so excited to come back and experience
all the fun trips we took. Everything was so much fun, I felt like a camper
again: the ferry ride to Sausalito where we walked around and looked at all
the interesting shops, bouncing up and down on trampolines at House of Air,
water slides and swimming pools at Raging Waters and Heather Farms. This week
I had Group ABC, and had plenty of 1st and 2nd graders running around to keep
me busy. One great memory from this week that I will always remember is when
CUPC took our trip to Raging Waters. My fellow leader and I took the campers
to the Wave pool which tosses you up and down every 5 minutes. The campers
were scared, but excited. We all held hands and when the waves came towards
us, they all started screaming and tried to run away. But when the water
started bouncing them up and down, they couldn't stop laughing. One camper
named Colin started cheering, and the rest soon joined in. Seeing them
laughing made me so happy and we rode the waves another 4 times after.
This whole summer has
taught me how our camp works together. Like the parts of the body, we all
depend on each other and are all equally important. The campers, 8th grade
helpers, leaders and directors are what make CUPC so great. Devotion taught
us more about respecting and appreciating each other and our environment.
Guess there's no more picking grass at the park!
Being at CUPC for 11 years,
I can't imagine what a summer would be like without it. No matter how much
things change, I always
Hi everyone! I've been
coming to CUPC summer camp since the first grade, and this is my third year
as a leader. This year my group was Oldest Girls, 6th and 7th graders.
Although they're older and aren't so cute and little anymore, they're still
great kids and I had a lot of fun getting to know them and being their
leader.
This summer was my first
time working an Extended week. I was so excited to come back and experience
all the fun trips we took. Everything was so much fun, I felt like a camper
again: the ferry ride to Sausalito where we walked around and looked at all
the interesting shops, bouncing up and down on trampolines at House of Air,
water slides and swimming pools at Raging Waters and Heather Farms. This week
I had Group ABC, and had plenty of 1st and 2nd graders running around to keep
me busy. One great memory from this week that I will always remember is when
CUPC took our trip to Raging Waters. My fellow leader and I took the campers
to the Wave pool which tosses you up and down every 5 minutes. The campers
were scared, but excited. We all held hands and when the waves came towards
us, they all started screaming and tried to run away. But when the water
started bouncing them up and down, they couldn't stop laughing. One camper
named Colin started cheering, and the rest soon joined in. Seeing them
laughing made me so happy and we rode the waves another 4 times after.
This whole summer has
taught me how our camp works together. Like the parts of the body, we all
depend on each other and are all equally important. The campers, 8th grade
helpers, leaders and directors are what make CUPC so great. Devotion taught
us more about respecting and appreciating each other and our environment.
Guess there's no more picking grass at the park!
Being at CUPC for 11 years,
I can't imagine what a summer would be like without it. No matter how much
things change, I always find myself on the first day of camp working four or
five weeks a summer. CUPC is like a family; they support me and always
provides a place for me to have fun and be with God at the same time. Thank
you CUPC for another amazing summer, I can't wait to come back next year!
ANNOUNCEMENT:
To the August 13 cleanup
crew:
A giant thank you to
members AND friends who washed, dusted, scrubbed, wiped, polished, sprayed,
oiled, vacuumed, swept, mopped, replaced mini-blinds, weeded, watered,
trimmed trees/shrubs, cleaned the roof top, waxed, composted, recycled on our
cleanup day. The results are a spiffy CUPC in readiness for the fall.
CUPC's Iron Chef did a
super job of preparing a luscious lunch of grilled items, a fine meal at the
day's end. Others shared with their favorites.
Without the willingness of
one and all, the job would not have been completed so smoothly and well.
Sincerely,
Gale Kondo
Co-chairperson
