Friday, March 5, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
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(which came out in 1984) seems pretty outdated to our modern eyes, in terms of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
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
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
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