November 2008

PASTOR'S PEN

It is All That Easy, and All That Hard…

“Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” 
Colossians 3:12-14

Now, by the time you read this, the November elections will be over, and we will have elected a new president. Whew – what an exciting presidential election season it has been! Although I’m not an American citizen and cannot vote, I can’t help but be affected by all the ‘hype’…but apart from the media coverage and the expected ‘hype’, this election has definitely posed interesting dynamics of race, gender, faith and ‘Americana’ (whatever that may mean).

One thing that has always bugged me about politics in general, (and perhaps this is ‘Americana’ too?!) is the need to prove one’s self over and beyond the ‘other’ by attacking them – either of their character (whether true or perceived), moral standards, history, etc… Having said that, I would be the first person to vouch highly for transparency, genuine dialogue for the welfare of the people, and serious debate in regards to what the role/office would mean to them, but I always wonder what message it gives to people when you have to position yourself at the expense of putting someone else down.

Maybe this isn’t going to happen until ‘thy kingdom come’, but I dream of a day when all people, not just politicians, are able to define, position and clarify their own sense of being just by doing that – defining, positioning and clarifying their OWN sense of being, not by using someone else’s sense of being and the attacking of them becoming their own stance. It’s quite a negative way to present one’s self, isn’t it – being whatever the other isn’t? Maybe I’m being too naïve or optimistic, but that’s not the way I was raised to behave among people – even if you’re a politician!

In any case, the election is over and now comes the time to deal with the ‘aftermath’ of our decisions. Granted, there are many groups of people who are angry because the ‘right’ president wasn’t picked or the proposition did/didn’t pass – and are wondering ‘what now’, how can I live in a place where….(you can fill in the blanks)? Sometimes it is in these situations that emotions are high and it’s easy to get back into the ‘attack mode’ explained earlier – ‘if ONLY so-and-so were/weren’t this way things would be fine’ or just plain give up.

But as children of God, perhaps it’s in these times that it’s even more crucial to think about how much more effective we can be if we framed our words and actions according to the One who calls us. In the above Bible verse, the apostle Paul is encouraging the followers of Christ to put on, or be clothed with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. In the previous verses, Paul mentions that in the past, they may not have acted that way. But because of Christ, they have been made anew and are therefore able to be transformed into this new way of being and doing. Paul continues on and invites them to bear and forgive one another. On top of everything, add love to the list – because it is what will unite them.

Paul’s time was no different from ours. There were conflicts and people didn’t always agree with each other in terms of what they thought the ‘right’ gospel would be. I’m sure they discussed, argued and even ‘attacked’ sometimes. Because Paul was aware of all of these dynamics, he made sure to prompt Christ’s followers in Colossians to act and treat one another in love – despite all of their differences – and remind them that they are all one in the Body of Christ no matter how different their opinions may be. It is in their working together and through their differences that the Holy is seen within and among them.

So, as we enter in a new chapter of American history, and even more so because of our challenging economic situation, I hope these same words become a guide for how all of us are called to live with one another. We may have differing political opinions. We may not always agree on what the ‘right thing’ is for our country. We may not see eye to eye on how we will get through all of the work and challenges ahead of us.

But we are also called, first and foremost, to be the one Body of Christ. And as we model the ways of Christ to one another, working through and within our differences and diversities, we, too, can become models for the rest of our world as to how we are all called to be with one another. So…maybe ‘thy kingdom come’ won’t be too far off after all! Would you like to join this journey with me…? I hope you will!

Peace and blessings,

Pastor Grace Kaori Suzuki

DEACONS' REPORT

What’s in your heart? The annual Deacon-led worship was held on Sunday, October 19. Our message was about developing your gifts and talents. On an insert in the worship bulletin, each person circled two gifts that God had blessed them with and then chose a gift that they wished to develop. The message then involved audience participation as the congregation tried to guess, through playing charades, what gifts members had chosen to develop.

There are so many ways that God can use us. We just need to be open to His calling and willing to step out in faith. In a sermon I heard a while back, the pastor said, “the greatest danger is that we will do nothing because we think we can do so little.” So this serves as the perfect segue into the Pastoral Partnership Program.

If yours is the gift of caring and you feel called to follow God's commandment to "Love One Another", consider becoming a pastoral partner. Each pastoral partner will keep in contact with five members of the congregation, building relationships and praying for each person in their group. The objective is that, eventually, every member of our congregation is cared for and supported in their faith journey. The training dates for the Pastoral Partner Program are Saturday, November 8, 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., December 6, and January 3. Everyone is invited to join us for the training.

The Women’s Group hosted the annual Halloween Party this past Saturday, October 25, to benefit UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, whose program assist children, in developing countries, who struggle for survival against disease, disasters and other hardships. Participants brought some very creative Halloween “finger food” enjoyed by all. The same evening, the Middle School Youth had a lock-in.

In just a few short weeks, the Deacons will be hosting the annual Thanksgiving Dinner on Sunday, November 23. Price of admission: adults - $7.00, youth - $4.00. CUPC will join together with Nihonmachi Little Friends in donating the proceeds from the Thanksgiving Dinner to the San Francisco Food Bank. So not only will you enjoy a wonderful meal and the fellowship of your favorite people, but you will make a difference in the lives of many families this holiday season through your donations. For every $1 donated, the Food Bank can distribute $9 worth of groceries. Mark you calendars for this annual gathering.

Please be in prayer for those in our community and world.

COFFEE FELLOWSHIP: 

The Deacons would like to thank the individuals who have contributed to the coffee fellowship during the month of October. We are aware that there are those who contribute but do not sign up on the list. We wish to thank you also.

Jan Der, Co-Moderator

ARTICLE OF INTEREST

 Let Us Extend Our Christmas Greetings!

We are once again offering a service of which you may wish to take advantage. It was felt that many people may wish to send Christmas Greetings to the members and friends of the church through the Visiting Pastor in lieu of sending Christmas cards, thereby saving the cost of postage and cards and allowing you the opportunity to use the money for some other worthy cause, a cause which may be especially meaningful to you at Christmas time.

What we are proposing is to make available several sheets which will be the Christmas Greeting pages of a special edition of the VP. There will be a large central Christmas Greeting message with little boxes of space (2 ½ X 1 ½ inches) surrounding it. Within these little boxes of space, you may place your Christmas Greeting message along with your name or family names.

If you wish to take advantage of this service, we ask that you contribute $10.00 for the space. The amount received will go towards off-setting the cost of publishing the V.P. during the year, so you will be helping the church also by participating in this Christmas Greetings project of the V.P.

For a copy of the reservation form, please call the office. WE MUST HAVE ALL RESERVATIONS IN BY SUNDAY, November 30th. The Christmas edition of the V.P will be mailed on December 6th in order to allow time for delivery before Christmas.

VP Committee

October 2008

INTERN'S PEN

My first visit to CUPC was on May 30, 2004, for Pastor Grace Kaori Suzuki’s ordination and installation. It seems like only yesterday that I was struggling while doing the important task of translating for Rev. Sarah Reyes of Bethel Community Presbyterian Church, and other ordained ministers who preached, gave the charges for Pastor Suzuki (who was about to be ordained) and the congregation. At that time, I was a student at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary (GGBTS) and serving as an intern at 19th Avenue Japanese Baptist Church. Little had I imagined that four years later, I would become the intern at this church.

I would like to share with you a bit about how God has led me this far. My parents owned a liquor store in Japan, and I was born as their oldest daughter. I grew up in a house which had both a statue of Buddha and a Shinto shrine. Growing up not being exposed to Christianity, I began going to church only when I came to study in the US. One of my friends introduced me to Pastor Suzuki (Miss Ishihara at that time), who was a student at the SF Conservatory of Music, and we became roommates. Every Sunday, we would take her car and attend the San Lorenzo Japanese Christian Church in San Leandro. And two years later, I was baptized.

Five years later, God led me to attend seminary. I had taken part in the Bible studies at church regularly, and thought that I had some knowledge of the faith, but when I became the chair of the Evangelism Committee, I realized how much I didn’t know about the Bible. I initially began attending GGBTS wanting to study more about the Bible. But little by little, while I studied, God revealed to me my calling to dedicate myself and be involved in professional ministry.

As graduation drew near, I was praying about how God was leading me upon finishing my studies. And God heard my prayer. Upon graduating from GGBTS in Dec. 2005, I was given the opportunity to serve at this church. In addition to facilitating a small group study in Japanese, I was thankfully given the opportunity to preach occasionally. After I transferred my church membership to CUPC, I have also been involved in other ministries, such as the Japanese-speaking (Nichigo) Sodankai and Worship Team. Through these opportunities, God has continued to affirm my calling to dedicate my life to the ministry.

As I became an elder, I sensed the need to learn more about the Reformed faith and Presbyterian government. So I began attending seminary again last year. I entered the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, which is one of the Graduate Theological Union schools which enables me to learn more about Presbyterianism, Lutheranism, Methodism, Episcopalism and Catholicism. It has been a good learning experience and training to study with other Christians of various denominations.

I began my internship here in September, and look forward to continue working hard as a church member in the areas mentioned above, as well as the new areas as an intern: preaching once every two months, developing a discipleship program, events that promote the fellowship of the young adults both English and Japanese speaking and home meeting for those who feel uncomfortable with the church setting. Even through my many weaknesses, I pray that God will help me as I give my best as an intern this year. Please pray for me!

In God’s love,

Hiroko Suzuki, church intern

DEACONS' REPORT

The beginning of fall marks a lot of happenings here at the church. Sunday School teachers were commissioned on the first Sunday in September, and the Nichigo had another successful sushi/manju sale the following week. The Soko Bukai World Communion Sunday on October 5, 2008, will be held here at CUPC. Christ Episcopal and Pine United Methodist Church will join us in worship and communion, followed by a potluck luncheon. And the Deacons will be leading the worship service on Sunday, October 19, 2008. Please be sure to join us.

The Deacons introduced the concept of the Pastoral Partner Program last year which involves setting up a network of care which ensures support for every member of the congregation. A pastoral partner is a member of our congregation whose gifts include relationship building and offering care to others. A pastoral partner does not need to be someone who has been a member for a long time or who knows everyone or who is a leader of the church. A pastoral partner can be any one of us. We hope to begin the training soon, so if anyone is interested, please contact Pastor Grace or Diana Cheifetz.

We continue to ask for volunteers who are willing to provide transportation to church for those members who may need assistance or lack a means of transportation. Even if you can only provide transportation one way, please contact Rose at the church or Jan Der.

Please be in prayer for those in our community and world.

COFFEE FELLOWSHIP: 

The Deacons would like to thank the individuals who have contributed to the coffee fellowship during the month of September. We are aware that there are those who contribute but do not sign up on the list. We wish to thank you also.

Jan Der, Co-Moderator

ARTICLE OF INTEREST

Evening of Dancing to Benefit Seniors at Kokoro Assisted Living

Everyone will get a chance to dance to a lively beat and raise funds for the Kokoro Assisted Living, Inc. (KALI) center on Saturday, October 25, 2008. The “Shall We Dance” event will feature music, dancing and refreshments from 8pm to 11pm at JCCCNC. Tickets are $60 at the door.

The “Shall We Dance” event was conceived by a committee of the Kokoro Board of Directors. With a goal to raise $50,000 a year, the first annual fundraising event is to help underwrite activities and cultural events for the residents. It will also help to maintain its affordability to many residents.

“Kokoro has become a constant in Japantown and the greater San Francisco community,” says Vickie Ina, spokesperson for the event. “It cares for our seniors so we feel it’s important that we help to maintain the programs that enrich their lives. I believe that ‘Shall We Dance’ will be a great start to an annual fundraising effort.”

About Kokoro

Since its conception in 1995, the Kokoro Assisted Living Center has been dedicated to providing San Francisco area residents with elder care consistent with Japanese culture and customs. The idea was born from a recognition that first and second generation Japanese Americans would benefit most by having the option to live their later years with the food, language and activities reflective of their cultural heritage. As a result, the Japanese American Religious Federation (JARF) Senior Housing Task Force, and then later the Japanese American Religious Federation Assisted Living Inc. (JALFI), guided the development and building of the center. Today, Kokoro Assisted Living Inc. (KALI) provides corporate leadership for the facility.

We will need refreshments to serve during the evening and would really appreciate help from our church family. Anyone interested in either attending the event or donating refreshments, are welcome.

ARTICLE OF INTEREST

The Sequoias and Christ Church

The beginning of the Mission Statement of Christ Church is “Go Ye Therefore,” which in today’s term means, “Go and Reach Out,” to minister and serve beyond the church into our community.

The Sequoias, built in 1969, by the Presbyterian Church, is part of the church’s community. It is located only one block from us. Today there are about 40 Japanese American residents living there.

On Sunday, September 21, Christ Church had an opportunity to minister to the Sequoia residents in their ecumenical service. The Health Center patients were also visited and served. Our Rev. Grace Suzuki, representing the church, visited the Sequoias to minister to the residents and patients. She also gave a meaningful message and lead the afternoon service.

As a 2-year Sequoias resident, I’ve noticed that there are many residents who don't attend regular church services. The presence of Pastor Grace helped to introduce not only herself, but our church close by. I have heard wonderful comments of Pastor Grace’s visit, her message, and her personal demeanor.

Hopefully, Christ Church can become a community church for Sequoia residents, as they seek out spiritual direction in their golden lives.

Kathy Reyes

ARTICLE OF INTEREST

Annual Halloween Party to Benefit UNICEF

Date: October 25, 2008 - Saturday

Time: 5:30pm - 8:30pm

Place: Christ United Presbyterian Church - Social Hall

RSVP: Please call CUPC office

The Women’s Group cordially invites families and all of you who are “Young at Heart” to its evening gathering of Halloween activities to benefit UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund whose program assist children in developing countries who struggle to survive against disease, disasters, and other hardships.

Join us for Halloween crafts, games, costume contest, dancing and more! A supper of Halloween “finger foods” will be served. Be creative and bring some of your own Halloween “finger foods” to share!

ARTICLE OF INTEREST

Let Us Extend Our Christmas Greetings!

We are once again offering a service of which you may wish to take advantage. It was felt that many people may wish to send Christmas Greetings to the members and friends of the church through the Visiting Pastor in lieu of sending Christmas cards, thereby saving the cost of postage and cards and allowing you the opportunity to use the money for some other worthy cause, a cause which may be especially meaningful to you at Christmas time.

What we are proposing is to make available several sheets which will be the Christmas Greeting pages of a special edition of the VP. There will be a large central Christmas Greeting message with little boxes of space (2 ½ X 1 ½ inches) surrounding it. Within these little boxes of space, you may place your Christmas Greeting message along with your name or family names.

If you wish to take advantage of this service, we ask that you contribute $10.00 for the space. The amount received will go towards off-setting the cost of publishing the V.P. during the year, so you will be helping the church also by participating in this Christmas Greetings project of the V.P.

For a copy of the reservation form, please call the office. WE MUST HAVE ALL RESERVATIONS IN BY SUNDAY, November 30th. The Christmas edition of the V.P will be mailed on December 6th in order to allow time for delivery before Christmas.

VP Committee

September 2008

PASTOR'S PEN

Welcoming the Newest Members of CUPC’s Leadership 

I love September. More than anything, September has been a time of promise - of new beginnings, new openings, new opportunities. And the special one for me this September is starting as CUPC’s Parish Associate for Preaching and Christian Spirituality. It’s been a delight working with Pastor Grace and the leadership of CUPC as we’ve moved toward this point. And there is much joy in my heart now as we begin this journey together.

I’ll add just a few words here about the two specific areas in which I’ll be working. In terms of the preaching, as one former seminary president once said to me, “There is nothing like preaching to your own congregation.” I have preached in lots of different contexts, and enjoy doing so. But to have your faces before me as I am writing a sermon, praying my way through a passage, and wrestling with its practical implications, is a specific kind of loving – to which I am looking forward!

In terms of the work in the area of Christian Spirituality, people usually wonder what that IS. In his book, Holy Longing: the Search for a Christian Spirituality, author Ronald Rolheiser describes Christian Spirituality as what we do with the deep desire we each have for God - whether we follow it, ignore it, or struggle with it. As a spiritual director, I help people - clergy and lay folk - follow that longing, and grow in their awareness and responsive action to the presence and movement of the Spirit of God in their lives. Together, we will shape what my ministry in this area looks like.

Many of you know me as the wife of your former interim pastor, Rev. Jeff Cheifetz, so I’ll add just a bit more here. I grew up in a Christian family, the oldest of five daughters, and attended 1st Presbyterian Church in Berkeley. Most of my extended family lives in the Bay Area and in the Santa Clara valley. Both my parents grew up on farms south of here, and they and their families were interned during the WWII in Poston, Arizona, and Topaz, Utah. While my own conversion experience happened while I was a college student at Berkeley with Inter-Varsity, God has shaped me mightily through the churches that have been the life of ministry I have had, both with my husband and on my own. Rural, suburban, urban - of all different sizes - they have been profoundly formative, as I have thought about the kingdom of God, and my own place in its work. So, even as I hope you will learn from me, I, too, will be learning from all of you, as together we share this good and rich journey to which God has called us. I am excited and grateful at the prospect of serving alongside Pastor Grace and Hiroko, sharing in the good work of God’s kingdom with all of you.

May God bless us in this and all of our new beginnings, all the lovely Septembers of our lives.

In Christ’s love,

Pastor Diana Cheifetz

DEACONS' REPORT

Summer is over and the kids are back in school. Have you noticed the new playground structure outside? That must’ve been a nice change for the young folks at Nihonmachi Little Friends when they returned. Change is good. And so we continue to grow and change here at CUPC.

The Deacons are looking for volunteers who would be willing to provide transportation to/from church for those members who are unable to join us on a regular basis due to lack of transportation, or who may be uncomfortable in using public transit. Please call the church if you would like to give someone a ride to church.

We have much to be thankful for in our lives and we come with hearts filled with joy and gratitude as we lift up our community and world.

COFFEE FELLOWSHIP: 

The Deacons would like to thank the individuals who have contributed to the coffee fellowship during the month of August. We are aware that there are those who contribute but do not sign up on the list. We wish to thank you also

Jan Der, Co-Moderator

SUMMER CAMP MOMENTS

Hello, my name is Samuel Zhou. You can call me Sam for short. Well I can say that some of you, no wait most of you don't know me. This is my first year at CUPC as well as a leader and I have found that these few weeks working here have been fulfilling and gratifying.

This week at summer camp was pretty fun. On Monday, the campers stayed here at church. They had the choice of watching movies or playing games in the social hall. The two movies were Mulan and Hercules. Personally I think that watching Mulan fight the Huns and Hercules doing his thing is more fun than board games. On Tuesday, the entire camp took the bus down to Aquatic Park for a day of adventuring. After about half a day of adventuring, where most of the kids just went to the arcade, the second half of the day, after lunch, was spent at the beach where the campers enjoyed the cold weather and playing at the beach. The leaders planned to do themes this week, and given on a certain day, we had to dress a certain theme. On Monday we didn’t dress as anything as it was the day we used to plan out what we were to wear this week. Tuesday, the leaders dressed up as movie characters. Leaders and directors dressed up from characters like Juno and the Joker, to things like the Zorro and Hancock. Wednesday, thee entire camp ventured to Yerba Buena for a fun day of bowling and playing at Yerba Buena Park. Alpha went to bowl first, and I was a little worried whether or not the kids were strong enough to carry the bowling balls, but they managed. After bowling, the campers spent the rest of the day playing at the park, enjoying the sunshine and playing with their friends. For Wednesday, the Leaders dressed their formal wear to bowling. It was a little harder to bowl, but still was an all around great day. On Thursday, we spent the early morning watching the Lion King before taking school busses all the way to Concord for a fun day of swimming. The kids looked like they really had fun. I guess you can say it was a good day to leave the city and enjoy some sunshine over at Concord. For Thursday, the Leaders dressed up as hippies, showing off our awesome tie-dye shirts. Friday, the last day of the extended weeks, we all took the school busses and spent the entire day at Marine World or Discovery Kingdom. The kids were all tired by the end of the day and had a lot of fun riding on rollercoaster’s and playing games. Some of the kids even saw Shouka, the killer Whale and other animals. For Friday, in celebration of the start of the Olympics, the Leaders dressed as if they were in the Olympics themselves. We had track stars to bicyclists to tennis players.

I would say, after working these past, oh, 3 weeks with CUPC, I have changed as a person. In my relationship with God, I feel as if I have gone closer to him, just by working with the kids. I personally believe that working with kids reflects the goodness of god and his love for children. I have grown as an individual, as it was hard to come here to meet all these new campers and leaders that I hardly know. I have made new friendships that will last a lifetime. Although my three weeks here have been short, all the memories and the friendships I’ve made this summer will continue to grow and stay with me always.

Throughout my time here at CUPC, I have been given the opportunity to make memories with all the friends I've made here and to serve the community at the same time. It has been truly a gift, coming to camp each day and seeing the smiles on the kids faces as they play their favorite game or sing their favorite song, knowing that I was given the opportunity to share in their experience at CUPC. I hope that the Leaders and Directors of the Extended Week two will have just as good as a week as I did. Thank you.

Good morning, Unfortunately, and sadly, this last week was the very last for CUPC Summer Camp 2008. Since this is the last camp moment for this year I hope this piece is halfway decent.

Well my name is Alex Kawano. This summer has been one of many steppingstones for me. This was my first year as an Omega department leader. I have had the privilege to work with older kids for the first time. With the younger campers my patience level had to be rather high, but with oldest boys my patience level just fell off the table. But after all the stressful moments with the oldest boys, I managed to have a blast, just as I do year after year of coming to camp. I also had fun being on the God Squad. This was the first time I did anything like this, leading and discussing devotions with campers and fellow headers, and becoming vulnerable by sharing life struggles and believes in God with my fellow leaders. Being on this devotional team, I was able to get one step closer on my faith journey.

As for this week, it had its ups and downs. The only sad thing about this week was saying goodbye to everybody. As far the rest of the week, it was uber fun. Monday, well actually that was also a down moment. We had to clean! However, I'm sure the campers enjoyed watching movies, playing board games, and playing outside. Throughout the week the leaders dressed up for an apparel theme, Monday’s being Giants day, Tuesday, we graduated to Sausalito. We all dressed up in our caps and gowns, resulting in a lot of questions and weird looks from strangers. The campers, as well as leaders were able to buy an array of things while window shopping. The merchandise ranged from loads of candy, to unibrow kits, to very phony wallets and of course, Starbucks. Also, it was Sir Mix A Lot's birthday. Wednesday we went to Yerba Buena Gardens for ice skating. Once again, the leaders got a lot of peculiar looks. It was mismatch day and we were sporting some pretty unusual and bright outfits. Over the next two days we got super wet, sliding at Raging Waters and swimming at Heather Farms.

This week I had added to my book of countless memories at camp. I will remember some hilarious remarks by the campers, some scary accounts with the leaders, the building of the new play structure, and the friendship that I have built upon. As far my 10th summer at camp, it’s gone by so fast and it’s just been a blast. I'm so thankful for this camp because it has presented so many great opportunities for me. I have been able to share the same joy that I have as a camper with the campers. I have also been able to sharpen my leadership skill and build friendships and great memories that will stay with me forever.

Lastly, I think we should all be thankful that God has blessed us with this amazing camp. We should also thank everyone who made this summer another successful one. Thank you.