PASTOR'S PEN
Ministry Opportunity: Director of Ministries for Families and Youth!
"'Don't push these children away. Don't ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in.' Then, gathering the children up in his arms, Jesus laid his hands of blessing on them." Mark 10:14b-16 (The Message)
Great things are happening at CUPC!!
Since September of 2010, our church had been in an intentional discernment process regarding the ministry toward our youth. After three youth directors who didn't stay very long, the church decided to take a step back, think and pray hard about this ministry. Why wasn't it 'working' as hoped? What was hindering the 'growth' of our youth ministry? Where was God in all this, and how are we being called to move forward?
With these questions in mind, the Youth Ministry Discernment Task Group was formed by the session. The Task Group first began by studying about what 'discernment' is, then prayerfully sought the guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead us in each step of the way. Long story short (as we've been meeting regularly for almost two years, I will spare you all the details!) the session has just approved the hiring of the Director of Ministries for Families and Youth!
As you can tell from the title, one of the things that the Task Group discerned was the need for a more comprehensive approach to ministry. Instead of focusing only on the youth (middle school and high school), the Task Group felt it was integral that the ministry began with the families (the children and their parents) and nurturing them as the children reach adolescence and beyond. Of course, this does not exclude the high school youth who are a big part of summer camp program as volunteers (but may not always worship with us regularly) - but placing the emphasis on families (and not just youth) seeks to journey along the entire cycle for our children's growth and their families.
The person that we are seeking to welcome will be a full-time ministry staff of the church and will work with the Sunday school program, help coordinate youth fellowships, and direct the Summer Camp program. In addition to offering continuity between these programs, this person will reach out to, resource, and support new families, creating opportunities for them to be integrated into the church and its programs.
As the church moves forward in the direction of hiring a full-time ministry staff for families and youth, I believe we have faithfully discerned to attend to Jesus' mandate toward children as seen in the verse above. How can we welcome the children and their families? How can we take down the barriers between them and Jesus? How can we make them the 'center of the kingdom'? How can we bless them? These are the questions that I hope that we, the church, and the Director of Ministries for Families and Youth will continue to ask and take steps to answer as we heed God's call together.
Thank you for keeping the search process in your prayers, and please let me know if you know of any persons which might be interested in/fit for this position. Also, many thanks and kudos to the Youth Ministry Discernment Task Group, who stayed for many late hours in the night and worked diligently for the past two years in order to faithfully discern the direction that God is leading us. It was an amazing journey to be on with you!
Indeed, great things are happening at CUPC - thanks be to God!
Looking forward to what is to come,
Pastor Grace
MOMENTS FOR CHURCH FOCUS
Continuing from previous month, the following are ways in which CUPC's committees/board are trying to live out our church focus for 2012: Love God, Love Neighbor. The transcripts below reflect what each committee/board shared with the congregation during worship.
Finance Committee: Sharon Yow, chair
Sunday, Jun 10, 2012
Sunday, Jun 10, 2012
When Pastor Grace asked me to say a few words about the Finance Committee and its ministry to the Church, my reaction was "Oh my gosh." What is there to say about the Committee other than it deals with money? So I looked up the word "finance" in the thesaurus and words like business, investment, backing, support popped up. I started to think about how the church is like a "mini" corporation. A corporation has a Chief Operating Officer. We have our minister. It has a Board of Directors. We have Session. It has shareholders. We have members and friends. A corporation has different divisions to help make it run smoothly and so does the Church. Just to name a few are the following: Christian Ed., Fellowship, Summer Camp, Worship, Japanese-speaking Ministries, Personnel, Property Maintenance, and Finance. Each committee has a chair and the chairs report back to Session at its monthly meeting.
A corporation has "investors." Our "investors" are our "shareholders" - of all ages who give not only with their pledges and donations but also with their time and talents. There is a business aspect to the church which some people don't realize. The church pays salaries, and collects rent (NLF/parking lot). There are bills to pay such as gas and electric, water, janitorial services, office equipment, etc. The Church has long range goals - what do we want, how do we see ourselves five, ten, twenty years from now. There are short term investments such as money market CDs, and long term investments such as our staff and programs. Some returns are better than others and sometimes, the budget does not allow us to continue investing or make new investments. But the most important investment the Church has is in its Congregation.
So what role does the Finance Committee play in the Church ministry? It is the oversight committee for the budget. It keeps track of monies coming in and going out. It works with Session throughout the year to make sure that there are sufficient funds for the Church to operate. Sometimes there are unexpected expenses and not enough funds available so the Finance Committee has to borrow from the reserves to balance the books. In October, the budget process begins for the following year. Finance meets with the committee chairs to go over their requests. Combined that with the Church's operating expenses, Finance will recommend to Session a budget based upon what it thinks the revenue will be for the New Year. The Committee also meets quarterly throughout the year and sometimes more, depending on what the needs are.
How does the Finance Committee fit into the Church's theme of Love God, Love Neighbor? There are some that feel that God will provide and that the finances of the Church will be taken care of. God will support us but we are responsible to take care of our own resources. We cannot continue to Love God, Love Neighbor that way we want to without the support of everyone in our church family. By the grace of God, we are blessed with the generosity of our members and friends so that the church can remain a vital part of this community, with open arms, welcoming presence, and a place to worship. Amen.
Summer Camp Committee: Wayne Hiroshima, chair
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Love God, Love Neighbor - When one is treated with respect, love, care, and wonderful teachings, the person reciprocates in the same way. The tendency is also to treat others in the same way. If you have ever heard any of the youth share their testimony during the past 35 years of summer camp, you have heard how this ministry is "loving neighbors".
We have a new website this year and I would like to thank Kyle Otsuki and Arman Hirose-Afshari for their wonderful work on the new website.
Three words are used to describe our Summer Camp: Fun, Fellowship & Faith. I would like to share with everyone a few examples in each area that shows how this ministry accomplishes "Love Neighbor".
Fun: daily activities, sports and outings.
Fellowships: Belonging to a group and developing wonderful relationships.
- Happens between ED, Director, leaders, campers, families and CUPC Faith Community.
- Family Picnic and Parent's night
- Leader overnight trip
- Friday Night Youth Fellowships
- The discipleship of the Executive Director, staff and leaders.
- Weekly devotions to campers.
- Friday Night Youth Worship Services.
- Sunday Worship Service and Sunday school.
CLERK'S REPORT
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! You are also welcome to read the minutes, which are public documents. The minutes are available in the church office.
COFFEE FELLOWSHIP:
The Deacons would like to thank the individuals who have contributed to the coffee fellowship during the month of June. 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:
Elijah Totten
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Hello everybody. My name is Elijah Totten. I am 16 years old and I go to George Washington High School. I have been coming to CUPC for 8 years now. This week at summer camp, we went to a lot of fun places. We went to Sharon Meadows in Golden Gate Park. Afterwards, those who signed up for it went to Valley of the Moon for the overnight. Those who didn't went to the Academy of Sciences and the beach. This week during our devotion we talked about stereotypes of the poor and homeless. We talked about how god loves everyone including homeless people, and stereotypes in general are not true. We talked about how being poor in spirit and being humble and not boastful is a very important aspect of life. After we talked about those things, I didn't see any stereotyping during camp after the talk.
This week I went along on the overnight and watched after the 3rd, 4th, 5th grade boys. It's been a long week. I have been to the overnight 5 times, but this was my first as a leader. I realized that it's a lot different as a leader. As a camper all I had to do was show up, bring everything I needed, and have a great time. As a leader, I had to plan, pack, clean, lead, direct, worry, do Manual labor, stay up until the wee hours of the morning making sure everyone was asleep, and keep a watchful eye on everything. Being a leader is harder than I ever imagined. For example, Christina, our omega director, Evan, a leader from oldest boys and I had to bring a bale of hay far down a hill so we could use it for archery. However, some of them were raving about it like it was the one reason they came on the overnight. No, I thought to myself, I can't let them down; I have to make sure this bale of hay gets down there. Once it was finally down and ready; after all that wheezing, grasping, dragging, and heaving, I felt great. Not my body of course, but I felt as if I had done something that was really going to impact someone.
That's how it is in general for me at CUPC summer camp. There's a lot of work involved in being a leader, sometimes I have to stay that extra hour, or go that extra mile. But, at the end of all of it, I think that I made someone's summer camp experience as much fun as it could possibly be. Every summer, I come back to CUPC summer camp not because I am forced to by my parents, not because I have nothing better to do, but because I feel I am needed here for the effort and work that I provide. I would like to thank all of you for all your support and prayers, and hope that you continue to do so in the future. Thank you.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Relay for Life 2012
Christ United Presbyterian Church is participating in the Relay for Life walk with the American Cancer Society again this year. We've formulated a strong leadership committee for this ministry, and are currently recruiting members to join our team.
The Relay for Life event happens on August 4-5, 2012 starting at 10 a.m. at Crissy Field in the Presidio. It's a unique, challenging, and fun way to raise money for the American Cancer Society. It involves forming a team to walk in honor of those who have been affected by cancer, and at least one member of the team must walk the track during the entire 24 hours.
We're hoping and praying that everyone who worships at Christ United Presbyterian Church will participate in this outreach ministry. You can contribute in ways other than walking in the relay such as praying; sponsoring a team member; joining one of our church teams; donating to help purchase refreshments, supplies + equipment for our teams; providing transportation to and/ from Crissy Field; and/or asking others to support our ministry. We will also be selling raffle tickets at church before and after worship as well as at the event. We need your support in providing raffle prizes to be given out during the day of the event. Suggestions for prizes include but are not limited to gift cards for Peet's Starbucks, Jamba Juice, Target, iTunes, Trader Joe's or bottles of wine or entertainment tickets, etc. We would be extremely grateful for your support if you would inform stores, restaurants, vendors or anyone else that would provide prizes for our raffle. Our goal is to raise $20,000 as a group for the American Cancer Society to find a cure and fight the disease. You can donate either to the team or an individual team member by visiting CUPC's home page address below:
Find us on Facebook ("Friends of CUPC") for updates on how our team is progressing. Join our team and let's beat cancer together!
Fall Prevention Forum
A forum on Preventing Falls will be presented on Sunday, July 29, 2012 at 11:45 a.m. by Jackie Kwan. Come learn how to prevent falls in your surroundings: at home, at work, while walking outdoors…in all environments. This forum is appropriate for all ages. Pastor Jackie Kwan is a Commissioned Lay Pastor for Congregational Care of Christ United Presbyterian Church and is also a licensed registered nurse, geriatric nurse practitioner.
Manju Sale Report
The Japanese-speaking ministries held an Omanju sale on July 1, 2012. The net profit was about $575.00. Additional monies from JSM account yielded a total of $ 1,000 which will be donated for the rebuilding of Fukushima 1st Bible Baptist Church in Japan.
Thank you to all the church members and friends who helped to make our Manju Sale a success!
