January 2010

PASTOR'S PEN

Our God Who Holds the Future

“’For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” - Jeremiah 29:11

Happy New Year!!

It’s hard to believe that we have lived a decade into the new millennium…I remember it wasn’t very long ago that the entire world was fussing over Y2K! Many blessings to you and your loved ones this coming year and always…

“2010” – Some of you may remember the movie by the same title (the sequel to 2001: The Space Odyssey<). With HAL 9000 as the artificial intelligence supercomputer, several scientists/astronauts head out into space on the Discovery. (I don’t know about you, but I can’t seem to recall this movie without the music Richard Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra” playing in the back of my mind!)

Well, it really is 2010 now - and the movie (which came out in 1984) seems pretty outdated to our modern eyes, in terms of special effects and plots. But in many ways, the supposed technology that is presented in the film is not yet (?) a reality for us (like HAL). The writer of the original book and the film writers did their best to imagine what the future might look like (and of course, it being science fiction, added their own creativity). But the actual future that we see today took a path that they may not have even thought to imagine; like global warming, the end of the Cold War, an African-American president of the United States...

The future has a way of doing just that…or perhaps the better explanation might be that our ‘plans’ and ‘imaginations’ don’t always turn out as we expect. Our dreams don’t always come true in the way that we want. Hopes are at times shattered.

But thanks be to our God who holds the future unknown to us! As in the verse above, God knows the plans for us – a plan for our welfare, a plan of hope. Although it may not seem that way in our immediate futures, God holds the final outcome in God’s hand. And it is in this Hand that we can ultimately rest our hopes, plans and dreams.

As we launch into a new year, what are your hopes? What do you dream? What are you planning? I invite you to hope, dream and plan – as we are called to do – and then give them to God. Let God take those things, mold them, and take you down the path that God has prepared for you. For it is this One who holds the future for us, and it is this Hand that we entrust ourselves to. And remember, God continues to reassure us that, “I know the plans I have for you…”

New Year blessings,
Pastor Grace Kaori Suzuki

CLERK'S REPORT

At the special congregational meeting on December 6, the Elders, Deacons, and at-large Nominating Committee members for 2010 were elected.

The Session, at its regular meeting on Sunday, December 6, 2009, discussed and approved the following items:

      Put an ad in Nichibei Times’ New Year’s edition in English.

      Pastor Grace’s vacation

      2010 proposed budget with amendments

      Celebrate communion on December 24, 2009

The Session, at its special meeting on Saturday, December 19, 2009, discussed and acted upon the following item:

      Approved a baptism through profession of faith on December 24, 2009.

DEACONS’ REPORT

Welcome to 2010!!! I hope you all had a wonderful end to 2009, and come into 2010 with hope and excitement. We had a wonderful holiday season here at CUPC. Christmas Sunday is always a nice time to see so many familiar faces, and enjoy the Christmas pageant with the school children. At our Christmas Eve service, CUPC welcomed a new member into our CUPC family as she got baptized. The celebration on her baptism continued into the next week with a special cake during coffee fellowship time.

The Deacons also have started a new term, and would like to acknowledge the great work that two leaving deacons have done for our church. They dedicated their time and effort into service as a deacon. We will miss having you on our team.

Our moderator for 2009 has graciously decided to continue on as a deacon, and has been joined by one other new deacon. We are happy to have you ladies join (or continue in this case) our team!!!

As we start the new year with a new team of Deacons, we will have our first meeting at the end of the month to reassess our ministries and to see what we want to focus on in 2010.

Please continue to pray for those in our community and in our world.

COFFEE FELLOWSHIP:

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

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!

Kara Woo, Vice-Moderator

ARTICLE OF INTEREST

CUPC 125TH Anniversary Event

Now that we are in the New Year, 2010, CUPC will be celebrating a historical event. On Sunday, May 23, we will be observing the 125th anniversary of our church, which was formalized by the San Francisco Presbytery in 1885.

Please look forward to further news of this historical event as plans become finalized.

Kathy Reyes

December 2009

PASTOR'S PEN

I believe in Santa Claus!

“…to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”
- Ephesians 1:6

My older daughter (who is 8 years old) recently began asking the question, “Is Santa real?”

Not wanting to lie, yet still wanting to retain (more for me than her, I know!) the pure innocence that accompanies such beliefs, I answer with a question, “What do you think?” After some thought and rambling on her own, she always seems to come to the conclusion that Santa is indeed real. For now.

Some time very soon, I know we are going to have a ‘talk’ regarding this subject – and while I don’t want to crush her dreams and hopes, I also want her to understand that one cannot expect a jolly old man, dressed in red, to come through the chimney while you sleep and give you all of your hearts’ desires. I also want to explain to her, though, that I personally believe in Santa Claus – but not in the way she thinks.

There is something about this secular Santa Claus ‘thing’ that doesn’t fit in with the true message of Christmas. As the popular Santa Claus song sings, ‘you better not shout, better not cry, better not pout…he knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake’ – Santa only brings presents if you’re good, and if you somehow deserve it.

But the true message of Christmas is about the Divine taking human form, living among us and showing us the ultimate way. And, as in the scripture passage above, it was a grace, a gift that was freely given to us. We didn’t do something to earn it, we didn’t deserve it – it was given to us despite of it.

The ‘real’ Santa Claus can be traced back most likely to St. Nicholas of Myra (current day Turkey) in the 4th century C.E. He was known for his elaborate giving to the poor, including paying the dowry for three impoverished daughters of a Christian brother in need. The real and original Santa freely gave out of his response to God’s calling to care for the poor and needy, not because they did something to earn it. It was truly grace-filled giving.

It is this Santa that I believe in – and his grace-filled giving that mirrored God’s giving of Jesus to us. I believe that you can see glimpses of this Santa, not just at Christmas, but here and there, all year round. And sometimes, I am given the opportunity to be a Santa too!

I’m not sure if you believe in Santa Claus like I do, but I pray that this season, you will be invited into the true meaning of Christmas and the gift that was freely given to us. And as we heed God’s call to us and mirror God’s gift-giving to us, I pray that we can go out and share this real meaning and joy of Christmas – God’s grace and Gift that was freely given.

Christmas blessings,

Pastor Grace Kaori Suzuki

DEACONS' REPORT

This year the fall season just seems to be flying by. 96.5 KOIT (“light rock less talk”) radio station was already playing Christmas music before it was even Thanksgiving. Sometimes it seems like we’re so ready to move on to the next holiday, or the next best thing that we neglect to really enjoy the PRESENT.

This year, the Deacons are truly thankful for another successful annual Thanksgiving dinner. We are so grateful for the support from our church family members and friends! Without your help and contribution, we would not be able to host such a lovely Thanksgiving dinner every year. Here are some of the highlights from the CUPC Thanksgiving dinner that was held on November 22nd, 2009…

      Our turkey cooker was crowned “Turkey King”! Thank you for your super Turkey BBQ-ing skills!

      We had a fun and energetic MC for the night

      The Middle School youth decorated with festive center pieces

      Special performances by:

                        Nichigo Choir

                        Sunday School

                        M.S./H.S.

                        one church family band

Special thanks to those who helped set-up and clean-up on Saturday and Sunday. Also thanks to all those who made pie and jell-o for our event.

Please continue to uplift in prayer those in our church community and world. Lastly, we just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas & HappyNew Year!

COFFEE FELLOWSHIP:

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

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!

Kara Woo, Vice-Moderator

November 2009

PASTOR'S PEN

Reflections on Thanksgiving and Praise…

“Praise the Lord! O give thanks to the Lord, for the Lord is good….”
Psalm 106:1

Growing up having both parents as pastors, you can imagine that many of my childhood experiences were filled with ‘teachable spiritual moments’. One of them (especially when I was in that ‘phase’ of grumpiness and complaints when I was an early teen) was that of being thankful and praising God. Whenever things didn’t go my way, or if there were disappointments (both major and minor) – and I would be in that ‘foul mood’ – my parents would always get on my case that God wants us to always be thankful and that we should always give praise to God.

Oh brother.

Yes, I would truly think that. But underneath it would be that sense of really wanting to always be thankful and praise-filled – coupled with the sense of struggle that I actually couldn’t. Deep inside, I wanted to follow God and the biblical command that we were to give thanks and praise constantly. But there was also a deep frustration because I would try, but never succeed.

Fast-forward several decades. Today, I would like to believe that I have grown spiritually somewhat, at least enough to have a little more insight regarding this thanksgiving/praise ‘business’. I’m not sure if I have much to offer, but there are a couple of things that I have learned along the way. In humility, I share them here.

The first is that thanksgiving and praise are not necessarily tied directly to how we feel. Of course, it would be great if we always felt thankful and praise-filled. But if we always waited until we ‘felt like it’ – I wonder how often we would thank or praise God. But if you’re like me, you’ve probably had the experience of coming to worship dragging your feet – but then as you began to worship and praise God, you were filled with energy and spirit. Isn’t it interesting that praise and thanksgiving does something to us when we actually do it, even if we initially don’t feel like it?

The second thing that I have learned (and related to the first) is that our praising and thanking God is not really for God. It’s for us. God doesn’t need our praise and thanks – unlike us humans who long and need to be affirmed and appreciated. God is Godself with or without our thanks and praise.

But in our giving thanks to and praising the One who is bigger than our own self-centered small ‘world’ that we sometimes get stuck in – I often times find that it forces me out of my own little world and see the bigger scheme of things. Sure, my problems may be affecting me greatly and may be hurtful, and we do not need to disregard our disappointments, frustrations and hurts – but praising God (albeit with hesitation at first) for God’s goodness and giving thanks in the midst of that helps me to see that God is indeed bigger than all of my problems. I can begin to see God’s love for me and God’s guiding hand within the circumstances. I can begin to have faith in that love and guidance again.

In our world today (and especially in this economy!) many of us are experiencing difficult times and circumstances. There are constant messages of anxiety and fear around us. However, with the ‘season of thanksgiving’ just around the corner, how will we approach it? Can we truly give thanks and praise?

Perhaps God, in God’s gracious provision, is gently prompting us to heed the calling of giving praise and thanks – whatever our current circumstances may be. And as we begin to do that, God will take our praises and thanksgiving (however half-hearted they may be at first) and transform them into something that is true, all the while transforming us into people of true thanksgiving and praise.

What do you think? What are your reflections of praise and thanksgiving?

Sincerely,

Pastor Grace Kaori Suzuki

DEACONS' REPORT

It sure is getting cold as we are well into the fall season. I hope everyone is doing well, and revving up for the holiday season. I, myself cannot believe how quickly it is coming. For those of you who were not here for our church service on October 18, 2009, you sure missed out!!! This Sunday was designated as the “Deacon led worship.” The deacons chose to have our theme be about food. Let me recap a little for you all…

The way the service was set up was that each deacon took a portion of a “meal,” (for example appetizers, soup/salad, entrée, and desserts) and elaborated on that with examples of how they have seen food involved with how it blesses others or they themselves were blessed in ministries of our church they are involved with. We had representatives talking about a range of ministries. Some included the Tuesday night Fellowship, Youth Group, Summer Camp, Nursing Home Ministry, Thanksgiving Dinner, and JARF. It was really shown how food plays such a huge role in our ministries and how it blesses people. I think this is especially fitting to each culture and how hospitality and servanthood plays a role in that. Service was followed by a special coffee fellowship hour, where each Deacon mad one of the plase see the Thanksgiving flyer insert or call the church. “specialty/signature” dishes to share with the congregation. Yum Yum!

Speaking of food and how it blesses others, the Deacons would also like to invite you to join us in our annual Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday November 22, 2009. We always love seeing everyone there and can’t wait for this year’s gathering.

Please continue to pray for those in our community and world. If you have any prayer requests, please feel free to contact the church.

COFFEE FELLOWSHIP:

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

Also, thanks for those who contributed to the special coffee reception for our newly commissioned lay pastors on 10/25/09. 
(co-hosted by the Deacons & Worship Committee).

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.

Kara Woo, Vice-Moderator