Due to an unusually low number of submissions for the August issue, no paper version of the Messenger was published last month. For this reason, some articles that were published in last month's eMessenger will appear in this issue.
A Note from Pastor BenFriends,
I started writing this in the church kitchen while waiting for tomato sauce to thicken. It was the end of a good week of Vacation Bible School at Foothill Presbyterian Church, and for the last day we were cooking pasta. Later in the morning Carol Tillman made spaghetti from scratch and we ate together—kids, parents, adult volunteers and church staff—under the big tree out behind the Fellowship Hall.
It struck me, as, after sending the kids home and washing up the dishes, that we pulled off something remarkable with the VBS program. For the second year in a row we have had a vacation Bible school program that was entirely organic to our congregation. I’m pretty sure this is a rare thing. Usually, when churches put on a VBS program they go out and buy a slick, pre-made, corporately produced, expensive, one-size-fits-all curriculum. There’s always a theme to these prepackaged VBS productions, perhaps some kind of adventure vibe—not unlike “Dora the Explorer meets Indiana Jones”—only instead of heading out into the jungle the kids bushwhack their way through the Bible. Volunteers are encouraged to wear pith helmets. There’s a lot of Kaki involved.
And it’s good. There’s nothing wrong with letting someone else plan your VBS, but for the last two years, I’ve been thrilled with how well our congregation has done by coming up with something that reflects who we are as a community and not what some publishing house in Waco Texas imagines we ought to be. It feels like we’re fulfilling our baptismal vows—doing the work of training kids to be persons of vital and living faith—and communicating God’s love to them in ways we and they can understand.
A lot of people worked together to make our VBS happen this summer: Nancy Rubio, Carol Goedde, Susan Andersen, Gay Southwell, Bertha Nelson, Laura Roberston, Toni Ann Gatzke, Carol Tillman, René Banks, Nancy Leonard, Anne Daniel, Jane Wallace; but most of all it was Peg Nickl, our office administrator who made VBS work by organizing us and getting us moving. Thanks to everyone.
We’ll do it again next year!
Peace,
Ben
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*Bible Lesson*Chapel Day with Pastor Ben
Wednesday, September 1
Spiritual Theme: Joy
Psalm 4:7
You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.
Psalm 9:2
I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
Psalm 16:11
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
*Preschool Closed*
Monday, September 5
Labor Day
*Special Events in September*
Friday, Septemeber 10
Grandparent’s Lunch
September 17, 5PM
Back to School BBQ
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The Semibreve
-Jay Jordana, Director of Music Ministries
MANY THANKS…
Summer Music
To those who provided special music over the summer months:
Grace Takeda, Anne Marie Daniel, Stephen Lin’s Friends of Taiwan, Int’l, Peralta Consort, Lin Peng, Carol Tillman, Ronn Ealy, Tony DeRose, Ben Daniel, Clayton and Grayson Sanchez, Jon Roblin, Brian Siegfried, and Bill Leonard.
Thank you for your generosity in sharing your time and talent with the congregation in making the worship experience a meaningful one.
Jazz On the Grass
Thank you to the Deacons for providing the sack lunches, to the Steve Turner Jazz Combo for providing the music, and to all those who attended the event. Till next year…
FPC MUSIC ENSEMBLES REHEARSAL SCHEDULE
Glory Ringers Bell Choir: Tuesdays, 7:30 – 9 PM beginning on August 31st
Chancel Choir: Thursdays, 7:30 – 8:30 PM beginning on September 2nd
Children’s Choir: Sundays, 11:30 AM beginning on September 12th
Peralta Consort - ongoing
WELCOME!
We welcome Michael Gibson and the Silicon Valley Symphony to our musical community. SVS will be using our sanctuary as a rehearsal and performance space beginning this month. SVS has become known as one of the finest community orchestras in the Bay Area. Created in 2001, the orchestra performs to full-house audiences earning the reputation of sounding ‘that close’ to professional. Members of the orchestra are exceptional professional quality musicians who donate their time and talent because of their passion for music. This being the Silicon Valley, they instead make their living as music teachers, engineers, programmers, lawyers and many other professionals. SVS has featured and will continue to perform with some of the Bay Area’s finest soloists, including stars of Opera San Jose, The San Francisco Symphony, American Guild of Organists and some of the most promising young talent in Silicon Valley.
Welcome, Michael and the Silicon Valley Symphony.
THIS MONTH’S FEATURED GROUP…
Cupertino Jazz Sextet
Sunday, September 19, 3 PM
This six-piece group got its start when a handful of musicians decided to get together and play jazz during their lunch hour. Their current repertoire features music from the ’50, ‘60s and ‘70s, and includes tunes from Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock and others. However, don’t be surprised if you hear some Dixieland and Klezmer music, too! Members are Steve Leitner on tenor sax, Mike Paivienen on trumpet, Dave Allmon on trombone, Terrill Tanaka on piano, Frank Mendoza on bass, and Todd Handson on drums. Suggested Donation $10/person
UPCOMING CONCERTS
Sunday, October 17th, 3 PM – Celtic Rose featuring Celtic music
Sunday, November 7th, 3 PM – Junko Aono featuring Dulcimer (Chinese harp)
Friday, November 12, 7:30 PM - South Bay Philharmonic featuring Russian repertoire
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Interested in your Family Roots?
Contact Marilyn Kromrey for details.
Classes start with Pam Erickson teaching on Thursday Sept 9, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Cost for the entire session is $40.00"
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Sunday School
Fall Term begins September 5th
Volunteers Needed
We are looking for volunteers to teach Sunday School. Please prayerfully consider answering this most important call.
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Thank you very much to our Summer Sunday School volunteers:
Barbara Ardrey, Anne Daniel, Greg Gatzke, Jennifer Kim-Rankin, Yvonne Siegfried, and Gay Southwell.
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5:30PM to 8:00PM
in Fellowship Hall
Join us for an evening of artistic creation.
We will have art supplies available for the kids to create masterpieces for display during the East Valley Artists annual show on October 2nd.
Adults are welcome to participate by sharing your talents as an artist or simply by sharing your enthusiasm. We are looking for volunteers to bring samples of artwork to share with the kids; drawings, sculpture, photographs, art books, fiber art or any other art items you can think of. We are also looking for artists to do demonstrations.
Everyone is welcome to join us!!
For more information, contact Peg in the church office: 408-258-8133 or foothillpc@gmail.com.
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Our thoughts and prayers go out to Valeh Pakdaman on the passing of her mother, Christiane Pakdaman, on August 15, 2010.
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Thanks to all of you who are using the S.H.A.R.E.S. cards at SaveMart and Lucky stores. We just received our quarterly payment of $675.67 for the months of April, May and June! This small chain of grocery stores has pledged to give back to the community 4.5 million dollars in 2010.
By using your S.H.A.R.E.S. card every time you shop in these stores, you are making a painless donation to Foothill – as you can see, this is currently amounting to in excess of $3,000 annually. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
If you do not have a S.H.A.R.E.S. card and would like one, they are available in the
church office.
By using your S.H.A.R.E.S. card every time you shop in these stores, you are making a painless donation to Foothill – as you can see, this is currently amounting to in excess of $3,000 annually. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
If you do not have a S.H.A.R.E.S. card and would like one, they are available in the
church office.
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Thank you to everyone who participated in our e-Waste event. We collected 4076 lbs of e-waste and raised $181!
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We are saddened by the loss of long time church member, Bettye Poe.
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A Message from Sandra Rasmussen
Hello Foothill Family,
I would like to extend my appreciation to everyone who has send me their well wishes and their support during my journey with cancer. It has meant so much to me to have you all behind me. Your prayers are welcomed and it gives me a great deal of strength.
Thanks again for everything. My chemo treatment will begin the first week in August and will be given over a 4 month period. Thanks again so much to everyone.
Regards, Sandra
---------------------------------------------------------Thanks again for everything. My chemo treatment will begin the first week in August and will be given over a 4 month period. Thanks again so much to everyone.
Regards, Sandra
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Welcome Silicon Valley Symphony!
Beginning this September the Silicon Valley Symphony will be rehearsing at Foothill in the sanctuary on Monday evenings.
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The Life of a Seminary Student & Chaplain
Maxine Millender
Inspect your own life before you look for speck in others-Unknown
In addition to the Pastoral Care visits this month, I had 2 automobile rollovers and one resulted in death, 1 suicide attempt, 12 deaths, 3 gunshot wounds, 2 self-inflicted gunshot wounds, 5 stabbings, and one baby death. This is a lot of trauma but its how I deal with it that matters to staff, family members, and myself!
The gunshot wounds perplexed me and caused me to wonder why someone wanted to take their lives but no answer has come to me. A lady who was 50 years old at a birthday party and suffered from depression (police/husband’s info) had gone upstairs in the house and probably did not know her son had followed her. She pulled the trigger and shot herself. They rushed her to the hospital, the Doctors tried to save her, she was given 2 pints of blood but there was too much blood loss. Her family was brought to police headquarters for questioning. The son was so devastated seeing him Mom shoot herself that the police Chaplain was called to spend time with him. I was able to get the patient’s name from the police officer but they would not allow me to speak with the husband so I asked the RN to speak with the officer to give him information. This all happened on the morning of July 4th. When I called the medical examiner, he yelled at me because we had not called him within a certain amount of time. I had tried to explain that I was calling because the RN was still too busy but learned my lesson from this one- Chaplains are not supposed to call the medical examiner. Her body was sent to the medical examiner’s office.
My second self-inflected gunshot wound was on the morning of July 17th. He was 30 yrs old, had a wife and son. He shot himself in a school yard while walking with his family and they were so distraught they could only give the police officers his name. When I called the police dept, they gave me his name because I informed them he had no id on him and I did not want him to be considered a doe. His body was sent to the medical examiner’s office.
The other gunshot wounds were the result of someone shooting the person (some intention), all died and had to be sent to the medical examiner’s office. One young man had gone to visit some friends and he was shot in the chest and hip-the police told me it was intentional. When I called his Mom to tell her, she called other family members, and they drove to the hospital. This death caused a chain of events that caused me to be frustrated. I had called the Doctor to wake him up so he would be available for the family, he asked me to call another Doctor but this Doctor had already left for home. So, when the family arrived I took them to OR waiting and told them their son did not make it, had to bring them back to ER for a Doctor to give them a medical update and then bring them back to OR waiting to see their son. Before they left the hospital, they told me how much they appreciated me.
A young man (32 yrs) sliced his wrist because he wanted a better life, as he shared with me. He told me he wanted a change in his life; he could do it on his own and did not need help from anyone. He gave me his life history and it was so sad but I listened as he shared. He told me he appreciated my visit with him but he was ok. Before leaving him I did ask him to call the Chaplain’s office if he changed his mind. He never called!
The patient’s who have been stabbed this month were robbery related, incidents at nightclubs, disputes between spouses, disputes with boy and girlfriends, and jealousy. We get a lot of policemen coming to the hospital and I am getting more familiar with them now which is a good thing because of information sharing. Before I knew many of them, they would add information in their notebooks and put it in their pocket but now this information is shared back and forth which is helpful, especially when the stabbing are suspicious.
The rollover which resulted in death was a young man (22 yrs) who was drinking, driving too fast around a curve, hit a sign, his car rolled several times and he was hanging upside down in his seatbelt when the police arrived. His neck had snapped and he was basically dead when he arrived. I checked his cell phone, got his Dad’s and Mom’s phone numbers and had to call them at 3:30 in the morning to tell them their son was in critical condition at the hospital. These are difficult calls to make! When they arrived, I brought them to the trauma waiting room and asked the Doctor to come update them. The Grandfather fell to pieces, the Father cried and sobbed, and his step-Mom cried. When the patient’s Mom arrived, she was distraught! The only one who wanted to see him was the Mom because she needed closure. They decided to donate some of his organs to save a life, which is a good thing because there are many people on the waiting list.
The other rollover was the result of a 19 yo woman who drove into a ditch to prevent someone from following her. She was brought to the hospital, had some x-rays taken, given pain medication, and released with medical instructions.
The baby death- she was 17 weeks old born to an 18 yo old. The baby was 5.5 ounces, given a name, and blessed. This was the Mom’s second death of a baby. I had a service for her family and we made a blessing certificate for her keepsake.
Seminary status
School will begin on 8/23 and I will be well rested after reading over 30 books so far and none which are theology related.
~ to be continued
Worry is pulling tomorrow’s CLOUDS over today’s SUNSHINE-Adrian Rogers
---------------------------------------------------------The Life of a Seminary Student & Chaplain
Maxine Millender
Inspect your own life before you look for speck in others-Unknown
In addition to the Pastoral Care visits this month, I had 2 automobile rollovers and one resulted in death, 1 suicide attempt, 12 deaths, 3 gunshot wounds, 2 self-inflicted gunshot wounds, 5 stabbings, and one baby death. This is a lot of trauma but its how I deal with it that matters to staff, family members, and myself!
The gunshot wounds perplexed me and caused me to wonder why someone wanted to take their lives but no answer has come to me. A lady who was 50 years old at a birthday party and suffered from depression (police/husband’s info) had gone upstairs in the house and probably did not know her son had followed her. She pulled the trigger and shot herself. They rushed her to the hospital, the Doctors tried to save her, she was given 2 pints of blood but there was too much blood loss. Her family was brought to police headquarters for questioning. The son was so devastated seeing him Mom shoot herself that the police Chaplain was called to spend time with him. I was able to get the patient’s name from the police officer but they would not allow me to speak with the husband so I asked the RN to speak with the officer to give him information. This all happened on the morning of July 4th. When I called the medical examiner, he yelled at me because we had not called him within a certain amount of time. I had tried to explain that I was calling because the RN was still too busy but learned my lesson from this one- Chaplains are not supposed to call the medical examiner. Her body was sent to the medical examiner’s office.
My second self-inflected gunshot wound was on the morning of July 17th. He was 30 yrs old, had a wife and son. He shot himself in a school yard while walking with his family and they were so distraught they could only give the police officers his name. When I called the police dept, they gave me his name because I informed them he had no id on him and I did not want him to be considered a doe. His body was sent to the medical examiner’s office.
The other gunshot wounds were the result of someone shooting the person (some intention), all died and had to be sent to the medical examiner’s office. One young man had gone to visit some friends and he was shot in the chest and hip-the police told me it was intentional. When I called his Mom to tell her, she called other family members, and they drove to the hospital. This death caused a chain of events that caused me to be frustrated. I had called the Doctor to wake him up so he would be available for the family, he asked me to call another Doctor but this Doctor had already left for home. So, when the family arrived I took them to OR waiting and told them their son did not make it, had to bring them back to ER for a Doctor to give them a medical update and then bring them back to OR waiting to see their son. Before they left the hospital, they told me how much they appreciated me.
A young man (32 yrs) sliced his wrist because he wanted a better life, as he shared with me. He told me he wanted a change in his life; he could do it on his own and did not need help from anyone. He gave me his life history and it was so sad but I listened as he shared. He told me he appreciated my visit with him but he was ok. Before leaving him I did ask him to call the Chaplain’s office if he changed his mind. He never called!
The patient’s who have been stabbed this month were robbery related, incidents at nightclubs, disputes between spouses, disputes with boy and girlfriends, and jealousy. We get a lot of policemen coming to the hospital and I am getting more familiar with them now which is a good thing because of information sharing. Before I knew many of them, they would add information in their notebooks and put it in their pocket but now this information is shared back and forth which is helpful, especially when the stabbing are suspicious.
The rollover which resulted in death was a young man (22 yrs) who was drinking, driving too fast around a curve, hit a sign, his car rolled several times and he was hanging upside down in his seatbelt when the police arrived. His neck had snapped and he was basically dead when he arrived. I checked his cell phone, got his Dad’s and Mom’s phone numbers and had to call them at 3:30 in the morning to tell them their son was in critical condition at the hospital. These are difficult calls to make! When they arrived, I brought them to the trauma waiting room and asked the Doctor to come update them. The Grandfather fell to pieces, the Father cried and sobbed, and his step-Mom cried. When the patient’s Mom arrived, she was distraught! The only one who wanted to see him was the Mom because she needed closure. They decided to donate some of his organs to save a life, which is a good thing because there are many people on the waiting list.
The other rollover was the result of a 19 yo woman who drove into a ditch to prevent someone from following her. She was brought to the hospital, had some x-rays taken, given pain medication, and released with medical instructions.
The baby death- she was 17 weeks old born to an 18 yo old. The baby was 5.5 ounces, given a name, and blessed. This was the Mom’s second death of a baby. I had a service for her family and we made a blessing certificate for her keepsake.
Seminary status
School will begin on 8/23 and I will be well rested after reading over 30 books so far and none which are theology related.
~ to be continued
Worry is pulling tomorrow’s CLOUDS over today’s SUNSHINE-Adrian Rogers
Foothill Fellowship Lunch
Wednesday, September 29th
11:30AM @ Denny's
Capitol Ave & Berryessa Road
Fiber Arts Group
meets every 1st & 2nd Saturday
in Room 9 at 10AM.
All are welcome.
Men's Breakfast
Saturday, September 4th
8:30AM in Fellowship Hall
