June 2010

SUMMER CAMP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

And so another summer begins...

CUPC Summer Camp is now entering its 34th year of outreach to the community, serving families from all over San Francisco Bay Area. It is my pleasure to serve another year as Executive Director for this program that I have come to love so much, it’s hard to believe that this will be my fourth year in the position.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with me, and overall this is my 12th summer involved with this ministry. I am very lucky to have a great team of Directors to work with. I am excited to work with them this summer.

Along with my three directors, I have a staff of 56 leaders, with 90% of them being volunteers. Summer Camp is truly blessed to have so many youth willing to devote their summers in order to serve the children and the church, year after year.

Here are some dates to mark in your calendars:

      Friday, July 9, 2010 is the Summer Camp Family Picnic at Speedway Meadows, beginning at 5:00pm. Everyone connected to the church is invited to meet some of the summer camp children, leaders and their families.

      Wednesday, July 21, 2010 is Parents Night at St. Mary’s Cathedral, beginning at 7:00pm. Come and watch each group perform their own skit or song as we near the end of the summer.

Thank you for your support. We hope to see you at some of our events. Please keep Summer Camp in your prayers and if you’d like to help in anyway feel free to contact me.

Peace and Love,

Jill

DEACONS' REPORT

Blessings from your CUPC Deacons. We hope everyone is doing well and will get some well-deserved rest (vacation) this summer.

The Deacons are currently praying and seeking individuals who may have the gifts of becoming a CUPC Pastoral Partner. A Pastoral Partner has the gifts of caring and nurturing and assumes responsibility for praying and staying in contact with up to five individuals in the church. They work closely with the Deacons and in some instances when necessary, with the Pastor

If you feel you have these gifts and would like to know more about the Pastoral Partner Ministry, see any Deacon or our Lay Pastor.

Deacons and the congregation held a special Coffee Fellowship on June 13, 2010, as the church said goodbye to our Associate Pastor. God has called her to another ministry. We all wish her the best as she moves forward on her Faith Journey in this new ministry.

In the Deacons Visiting Pastor Report, we always acknowledge individuals who have supported us in the Coffee Fellowship Ministry. At this time, the Deacons would like to extend a very special heartfelt thanks to those for setting up tables, tablecloths, chairs, coffee and water urns for Coffee Fellowship. Their support in this ministry was never requested by the Deacons or the church, but comes from their heart in wanting to serve the congregation. On behalf of the CUPC Congregation, thank you Rose and Tae for your service in this ministry.

Coffee Fellowship:

The Deacons would like to thank the individuals who have contributed to the coffee fellowship during the month of May.

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.

Wayne Hiroshima, Vice-Moderator

ARTICLE OF INTEREST

CUPC's 125th Anniversary

Christ Church’s historic 125th Anniversary was celebrated on Sunday, May 23, 2010 in the church sanctuary and the Kabuki Hotel in San Francisco. Our former pastor, who flew in from Southern Florida, was the guest preacher for the worship service. He spoke of the importance of the verb in God’s message rather than the noun. God is loving as being more personable than God is love.

After the inspiring service, attendees walked a block to the Kabuki Hotel for the anniversary luncheon. The capacity attendance of present and former members was somewhat like a church reunion.

The highlight of the 125 year history of our church, the oldest Japanese church in the USA, was revealed. The devotion and dedication of the families made us humble and grateful for their vision which we are realizing today at 1700 Sutter Street, San Francisco.

Our present young organization was made aware and appreciative of our forebearers who founded our historic church. The present Moderator of our denomination, was the luncheon speaker. All attendees who have been members of Christ Church for over 50 years were recognized.

Our thanks go to an individual who provided the luncheon wine, and to another, who donated the beautiful flowers for each table.

Kathy Reyes

May 2010

PASTOR'S PEN

A word this month from our Commissioned Lay Pastor, Hiroko Suzuki…

“Toward Spiritual Nurture”

“I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

Many of you may already be aware that our church focus this year is spiritual nurture. (You may have also seen it in the weekly Sunday bulletins.) So, how are we all doing in our daily lives toward this focus? Actually, what does spiritual nurture really mean? And how does one grow into Christians who nurture their spirit?

Earlier this year, our church session began reading a book called Spiritual Leadership for Church Officers (by Joan Gray, 2009) in hopes to live out our church focus of spiritual nurture. At every session meeting, we are taking time to reflect upon this topic and discuss with one another. Although we are still on chapter 3, there was something that I was reminded once again in terms of spiritual nurture. It was the above Scripture passage from John 15:5.

Many of you may have heard a sermon, or have been a part of a Bible study in which spiritual nurture was brought up in the context of this passage. Actually, I remember writing an essay for entrance into seminary about spiritual nurture from this particular passage too. John 15:5 clearly states that apart from Jesus, we cannot do anything spiritual. However, reading the book made me realize that, without noticing, I had been living as if everything would be ok if I worked hard, relying on my own experience. More days than not, I had been depending on myself instead of depending on God.

This book, Spiritual Leadership of Church Officers, writes that there is no meaning when we act ‘without God/apart from God’. The author writes:

“Apart from me, he (Jesus) says, you can give religious speeches, but you can’t preach the gospel. Apart from me, you can hold church services, but you can’t worship. Apart from me, you can put biblical and theological information in people’s minds, but they won’t come to faith. Apart from me, you can do church work and all kinds of good deeds, but you can’t do ministry or mission. Apart from me, you can live a virtuous life, but you can’t be a Christian.” (p. 20)

What do you think about this quote? It may be easy to understand this with your head, but isn’t it actually easier to ignore God and push God away, and depend on our own thinking, intelligence and experience? However, the above quote states that without God, we cannot achieve anything spiritual.

Rev. Rick Warren, in C.L.A.S.S. 201: Discovering Spiritual Maturity, writes that spiritual maturity is about good habits. Could it be that this ‘good habit’ is about relying on God and not ourselves? Is this not about our daily habit of being silent in God’s presence, listening to what God is saying to us, and praying for guidance and help before acting? Perhaps it’s not always easy. But even as we fail and stumble, when we continue to try living by depending on God, I believe that God will indeed graft us onto Jesus, the Vine, and nurture us into people that bear much fruit. Let us have faith that this is so, and be connected to God!

In Christ,
Hiroko Suzuki

DEACONS’ REPORT

The Deacons hope that all is going well with each and every one of you.

At our April Deacons’ meeting, we discussed and took action to better a few of the Deacons’ ministries. These were the Easter and Christmas card, Nursing Home and Pastoral Partners ministries.

Our moderator shared the following statement from study materials that Session is using in their development as “Spiritual Leaders. “What is God leading us to be and do now in the place where we find ourselves?” As the church focuses on Spiritually Nurturing ourselves, our faith community and those we reach out to, the Deacons pray that each of you will also take time to develop in this area.

In the April Deacons report, you were asked to identify one or two of the gifts that you would like to develop to help you and others in your ministries. We want to encourage you to continue to move in that direction of developing those gifts. If you have not begun, now is the time to start. As you move forward also keep in mind the statement that the moderator shared: “What is God leading us to be and do now in the place where we find ourselves?”

If you have forgotten the list of talents, we have listed them below

Humility	Prophecy	Compassion	Gentleness
Evangelism	Patience	Teaching	Musical
Reconciliation	Giving	Wisdom	Leading
Knowledge	Healing	Helps

COFFEE FELLOWSHIP

The Deacons would like to thank the individuals who have contributed to the coffee fellowship during the month of April.

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!

Wayne Hiroshima, Vice-Moderator

April 2010

PASTOR'S PEN 

Pilgrimaging Along, Seeing Christ…

“While the disciples were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’”- Luke 24:36

During the week of 4/12, I will be in Austin, TX for one week of study leave. This is my second time in Austin (it’s really a beautiful city), and my second time being at Austin Seminary for the College of Pastoral Leaders conference, where I will meet with my cohort of clergy women.

I know I’ve written about my cohort group before…but for those who might not remember…A couple of seminary friends called me in the fall of 2008 asking me if I wanted to be a part of a cohort group of clergy women, who would participate in a 2-year project, with the topic of their choosing. Upon qualifying, we would receive a religious grant from the Lily Foundation administered through the Austin Theological Seminary. For each of the two years, we would attend a conference in April, where all the cohorts receiving this grant would gather together, learn from and worship with each other.


The name of my cohort is the “Way of the Pilgrim”. As we met for the first time as a cohort last April, I must admit (and also admitted to my cohort friends) that the topic of pilgrimages was unfamiliar to me. Our faith being a spiritual journey, yes, is something that I’m familiar and comfortable with. But pilgrimages – well, I didn’t know much, and I didn’t know what to expect.


This past year has been a pilgrimage toward pilgrimages for me. I learned of pilgrimage sites that I had never heard of, and learned more of some that I had. I also learned about pilgrimages themselves, and how/why people do them. (I supposed this could be a separate topic another time) But I also experienced the pilgrimage of life itself. Pilgrimages sometime involve traveling down roads that are rugged, and places of wilderness. This year, the lives of all our cohort members experienced rugged places and wilderness places – like retirement, change in pastoral calls, major surgeries, crises in congregations.

But we also experienced the rich friendship and comfort of our pilgrimage companions – praying for one another, checking up, following up, calling up…and offering a tender word of advice when helpful. God’s healing and guiding presence was surely among us. It was like Jesus was in our midst!


As we have transitioned from the season of Lent (40 days before Easter) to Eastertide (50 days after Easter), we are called to find the resurrected Jesus among us, in our sometimes mundane, daily lives. For me, my cohort this past year became an opportunity to see and experience this risen Christ. Just like the disciples in the verse mentioned above (who were in the first days after Jesus’ resurrection), while we were talking with each other about our everyday joys and troubles, Christ stood in the midst of all that and became a part of our conversation.


As we walk these days of Eastertide, how will you find the risen Christ in your midst? How will you experience God’s renewing power of the resurrection in your daily lives? You are invited to have open hearts as you look for and experience glimpses of Easter, as Jesus stands among us and says, “Peace be with you.”

Eastertide blessings,

Pastor Grace Kaori Suzuki

DEACONS’ REPORT

The Deacons hope that each and every one of you had a wonderful Easter.  In one of our past Deacon-Led Worship Services, the message was focused on “Gifts and Talents”. These were God given “Gifts and Talents”. Given the unstable state of the world, look over the following lists of “Gifts and Talents” and determine which ones you are strong in and identify one or two that you would like to become more effective in.

Humility	Prophecy	Compassion	Gentleness
Evangelism	Patience	Teaching	Musical
Reconciliation	Giving	Wisdom	Leading
Knowledge	Healing	Helps


Take the one or two that you would like to develop and look for someone who you have identified as having strengths in these gifts. Talk with them and share that you would like to spend sometime praying and discussing with them how they have developed these gifts. Make a commitment to God that you will work on developing these gifts between now and Christmas.


By doing this you will help lives and maybe even communities become a little more stable. It will also become a process of “Spiritually Nurturing” yourself and others.


Speaking of gifts, especially during these difficult financial times, CUPC has been blessed by one of our members who continues to financially support the ministries of the Deacons.


A few years ago one individual donated a large amount of money to the Deacons and we created a special fund. These funds are being used to support the ministries of the Deacons and the church.


A few weeks ago, this individual made another large donation to the Deacons. We thank God for all of our members who contribute their various gifts. However, at this time we especially wish to thank this individual, whose gifts are helping CUPC do God’s work.

COFFEE FELLOWSHIP: 

The Deacons would like to thank the individuals who have contributed to coffee fellowship during the month of March. The Deacon’s are aware there are others who do not sign up on the list, but contribute. We at this time would like to thank you all.

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!

Wayne Hiroshima, Vice-Moderator

ARTICLE OF INTEREST:

Sturge Sunday, May 16, 2010 

A special observation is held each year to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Ernest A. Sturge. He was born April 28, 1856 so this will be his 154th birthday. Dr. Sturge was called the father of Japanese Presbyterian Churches in America and was not originally called to serve the Japanese. After spending sometime in Thailand (5 years to be exact), in the summer of 1885 he arrived in San Francisco to recuperate and regain his health after a grueling medical mission, when he was assigned to help the Chinese in SF but found himself serving the immigrant Japanese instead. Besides helping the Japanese in their religious endeavors, Dr. Sturge assisted them in their social and physical needs as well. We owe much to him for organizing the Japanese Presbyterian churches throughout California, and he is remembered and revered in all Japanese Presbyterian Churches on the West Coast.

Dr. Sturge and his wife owned and lived in their SF home next door to the church on 1500 Post Street, our last address before we moved to the present site. He bequeathed his home to the San Francisco Japanese community. When we built the present church facility on 1700 Sutter Street, the Sturge Building was built at 1716 Sutter Street next to our church, just as it was on Post Street. This building is separate from our Christ United Presbyterian Church, and is owned and administered by the Board of Trustees of the Japanese Church of Christ. Although the Sturge Building is separate, the facility is managed and operated by our church. We are indeed blessed to have use of the building throughout the year.

We invite you all to join us in our celebration on Sunday, May 16 and give thanks to a remarkable servant who gave so much to the founding of the Japanese Presbyterian churches in the USA, and CUPC in particular.

Sturge Board of Trustees

CUPC 125TH Anniversary Event

Invitations have been sent out for our 125th Anniversary Event!

If you are planning to attend, but not have received an invitation yet, please contact the church office (415) 567-3988 as soon as possible! Please RSPV by Monday, May 3.

Looking forward to seeing you all there!