Dear Friends,
I once met a man who stopped going to church, in part, because he felt as if the ministers and Sunday School teachers who taught him the faith had lied to him about Christmas. “Pastors will look you straight in the eye,” he complained, “and tell you that Christmas is Jesus’ birthday, but its not. They’re lying. No one knows when Jesus was born.”
Of all the reasons to be dissatisfied with religion, this one seems somewhat trivial, but just in case you, gentle reader, share the feeling that no one should be misled about Jesus real birthday, let me be quick to say that the chances that Jesus was born in December are exactly one in twelve, and the probability that December 25 is not Jesus’ birthday is precisely 365.25 to one.
At some point the Christians started celebrating Jesus birthday in December as a way of displacing a midwinter pagan holiday and because of the symbolism inherent in midwinter religious holidays: the days have gotten dark enough. It’s time to lighten up.
We celebrate Christmas in December because this is the time of year both when the nights are at their longest and when and when the daylight starts to retake the territory of the night. It is the time when hope meets despair.
So as you celebrate Christmas this year, my prayer is that you will use the season to help you understand the day. Watch as the nights reach their longest and then start to shorten up a bit. Notice the daylight’s reclamation of the morning and afternoon hours, and know that God is moving in your life, to bring light into even the dimmest corners of your soul.
Merry Christmas.
Ben
Umbrellas and Rain Ponchos
Darlene Ristrim
Foothill donated 11 rain ponchos, 7 umbrellas and $135 toward the Presbytery’s effort to provide our homeless with protective rain gear.
The Presbytery has sent in order for 2,000 rain ponchos and with our donation that number will be increased by 100. Thank you for caring and sharing.
Informational Survey - Update Your Information
The Outreach/Membership Committee
It has been a long time since we have gathered member and regular visitor information and surveyed individual interests. Address, telephone numbers and email information is used only by the church office and for updating the directory. This information is never shared outside of the church. The interest survey is useful to committee moderators seeking help for certain projects, events and committees.
Please take this opportunity to consider ways in which you might like to serve the church and let us know about your skills and interests.
To complete the survey, please use the link below or the sheet in your paper messenger and return to the church office as soon as possible but no later than 12/31/11. Thank you for your prompt response.
Survey
The Women of Foothill Presbyterian Church
Invite You To Join Us For Our Holiday Brunch
Please bring your favorite/oldest Holiday ornament to share your story with us.Saturday, December 17, 2011
9:30 – 11:00 am
Foothill Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall
Please let us know if you will be joining us by registering on the sign-up sheet in the Foyer!
A New Pictorial Directory!
The Outreach/Membership Committee
We’ve received several requests to produce a new pictorial directory. We now have software in the church office to produce a pictorial directory; therefore, we will not be contracting with a professional photo-directory publishing company.
For three Sundays in January (tentatively 1/15, 1/22/, 1/29) David Taylor, will be available to take a picture of each individual or family unit before or after church. There is no need to have appointments or come to the church at any time other than for regular church service just spend an extra five minutes with the photographer. Please plan to have your picture taken on one of these Sundays—remember a successful pictorial directory depends on everyone participating.
Watch for more information on the pictorial directory in January.
San Jose’s Ban on Plastic Bags
The ban on carry out plastic bags is for all retail stores, including hardware stores and clothing stores.
Be ready with eco-friendly shopping bags
that celebrate our Green Church.
To help the Foothill Community make the switch to reusable eco friendly bags, we’ve ordered 13x13
natural fiber bags celebrating Foothill being the first green church in Santa Clara County.
Bags will be sold for 3/$10. Please make checks
payable to FPC and write bags in the memo.
The Semibreve
Jay Jordana, Director of Music Ministries
UPCOMING MUSIC SERIES CONCERTS
Ragtime Pianists Chris and Jack Bradshaw – Sun, Feb 12th, 3 PM
South Bay Philharmonic – Fri, Mar 2nd, 7:30 PM
Monteverdi Brass Quintet – Sat, Mar 3rd, 7:30 PM
Camerata Moresca – Sat, Mar 10th, 3 PM
Flauti Dolci & Amici I – Sat, Mar 17th, 3 PM
Flauti Dolci & Amici II – Sat, Mar 24th, 3 PM
DECEMBER TIDBIT
What is the third partial in the harmonic series? Explain.
Hint: If you cut a piece of string in half (and another and so on), what specifically happens to the sound?
Please email me your complete response. If yours is correct, you get to choose the closing hymn of the final worship service this month. First one to let me know the correct answer gets the prize! Hurry!
FROM THE CRITICS CORNER:
I must confess that I have never attended a gamelan concert before and hardly even knew what gamelan instruments were and how they were played so the concert on Sunday, November 6 was a real eye opener for me.
It was obvious to me that the performers were very talented and versatile (each played several instruments). However, the music left me trying to figure how it was structured, if it was at all. The wooden flute seemed to play whatever he wished at any given time as an accompaniment to whatever was happening with the rest of the ensemble. There was so much repetition in the phrases that I found myself getting very bored even before intermission. The female singer had a very sweet voice that was extremely difficult to hear above the ensemble and repeated the phrases over and over as if it were a chant.
The facial expressions on the performers did nothing to encourage my interest - they appeared to be as bored as I was. The best piece was the Rengga Renggi primarily due to some very well done changes of dynamic levels. This made the piece more interesting. All in all it was an afternoon of enlightenment and education. I will have to go to more of these programs so as to begin to understand what I heard and appreciate this style of music.
For those of you who enjoyed this program I give you a great deal of credit. However, if everyone liked the same style of music it would be a very boring musical world.
May God bless you all until my next letter from the Critics Corner.
From the Critic's Corner, this is One Man's Opinion!
Meet FPC’s Elders
Darlene Ristrim and Carol Tillman
This is the first in a series of columns that will be introducing Foothill Presbyterian Church members to the rest of the congregation. This month, we are introducing two active members of Session: Joyce Banks, Nancy Rubio, and Andrew Yarborough.
Joyce Banks
Elder Joyce Banks serves on the Worship and Nominating Committees.
Joyce was born and raised in Virginia. Her husband Robert was in the Air Force and their first home was in Red Bluff, California in 1956. From Red Bluff, the family moved to Madison, Wisconsin, then to Arizona for nine months and, finally, to the Bay Area in 1963 when Robert was stationed at the Air Force base on Mt. Umunhum. By that time, Joyce had all five children; the eldest was only eight years old. When Robert retired from the Air Force in 1964, they stayed in California and raised their family. Joyce was widowed in 2004. In addition to her five children, Joyce has 18 grandchildren, and 19 great grandchildren. Three of her grandchildren and five great grandchildren live in Texas, but most of her family lives in the San Jose area.
Joyce majored in Music in college, with a concentration on performing voice. She enjoyed singing, but opted to raise a family rather than pursue a career in performing. For many years, she was a homemaker but, when her children grew older, she learned the art of cake decorating and taught the subject for 15 years. While this career was fun, she states emphatically that she is now retired: although she still enjoys baking as a hobby, she leaves the elaborate cake decorations to other people. Joyce also enjoys crocheting.
Car racing is another hobby Joyce has enjoyed in the past. She raced cars a few times when she was younger, which she found fun and exciting, but decided that it might be too dangerous a sport for a mother of young children to pursue. Joyce also has an interest in bullfights and has seen a few live fights, although she confessed that she has always rooted for the bull.
In addition, Joyce is interested in politics. Some years ago, the city of San Jose was trying to improve certain areas and they divided the city into four model cities, each with a board of community members that partnered with the City Council. Joyce was on that board for four or five years. After the board was functioning, however, she felt that it was time to step back and allow others to lead. She had also considered running for office, but ultimately decided against it.
Joyce was raised as a Presbyterian, but was a Baptist for a few years because Robert was Baptist; however, she admitted that she didn’t understand the Baptist religion, and therefore returned to being a Presbyterian. Regarding her history with FPC, Joyce said “I first went to Foothill in 1968. My husband was very sick at the time and I was going out of my mind with worry.” Feeling the need to find a religious community, Joyce arranged for her neighbour to watch her children and says, “I just drove down the street into the church parking lot. People were very friendly and welcoming, and I felt a warmth there.” After discovering FPC, Joyce would attend church from time to time, but she didn’t become a member until 1990. “I was getting older, and felt the need to have a church community. When I decided to join a church, I knew this was the church.”
When asked why she became an Elder, Joyce says simply, “I was asked.” Joyce also admits that she was interested in knowing what elders did, and in finding out just how the church worked. Joyce says she volunteers because she likes to be helpful. In addition, she likes people and enjoys being around people.
She believes the church is one of the most important parts of the community, and provides an opportunity for fellowship. Joyce considers any religious organization important to the community because “We all need to be faith-driven and have somewhere to share our faith and our knowledge of the faith.”
Nancy Rubio
Nancy’s Session assignment for the past three years has been with Preschool and Christian Education. Nancy has been a perfect match because of her profession in elementary education. She has taught third grade, basic skills (GED) and ESL to adults. She has a passion for linguistics and is tutoring Kate Mawi (former foster child of Anne and Ben). Her Basic Skills and ESL classes kept her on the run. Lunch was eaten as she drove between the two different locations. In 2001 she retired from teaching Basic Skills and continued with ESL classes until 2005. She is now happily retired and loves to travel with her significant other, Bill Martin.
Foothill Church was recommended to Nancy by her close friend, Jane Wallace. She joined in March 1970 and has participated in various church activities including Head Usher. Session is her first elected position. As newer members began accepting elected officer positions she began to feel guilty and when asked to serve as an Elder she accepted the nomination.
Nancy feels Foothill is a warm and welcoming church. She says “An important part of my life takes place here at Foothill”.
Hobbies include: visiting her two children and four granddaughters (20, 18, 9 and 6), reading, and volunteering at the PEO Chapter’s Nearly New Shop. Every Monday night since 1999 you will find her clogging.
When asked why she volunteers and accepted election to the office of Elder Nancy replied…”In gratitude for the people who came before in Englewood Methodist Church. I owe them a great debt, as role models and caring friends… they changed my life”.
Andrew YarboroughElder Andrew Yarborough serves on the Stewardship committee, and represents FPC at the Presbytery meetings.
Andrew was born and raised in Palo Alto where both of his parents had graduated from Stanford University. He was raised as a Roman Catholic but stopped attending church regularly at age 13, choosing to limit his church attendance to religious holidays.
After earning a degree in Applied Math from U.C. Berkeley, Andrew's first job out of college was in software quality engineering at Apple, Inc. He is currently employed in the same field at Adobe Systems, where he appreciates their graphic software. In fact, one of Andrew’s hobbies is computer graphics. However, he says that while he likes drawing things, he would rather not share his creations. In addition to personal computers and graphic software, Andrew enjoys baseball.
Andrew and his wife Jody met in 2004. When they were searching for a church to attend, their friend Kimberly Faraday had suggested FPC. They visited FPC, liked it and stayed. Jody and Andrew joined FPC in the spring of 2006, and were married at FPC on October 27, 2007.
When he was approached to become an Elder, Andrew admits that he hadn’t known what the responsibility entailed. However, he had wanted to become involved at FPC, and so he accepted the call. Regarding his work representing FPC at the Presbytery, Andrew explains that, after he and Jody had joined FPC, the general assembly was held in San Jose, and they needed arrangements to help people with disabilities attend. Jody and Andrew had volunteered to help, and were introduced to the Presbytery through their work on this assignment. Shortly afterwards, there was a vacancy for a person to attend the Presbytery regularly, and Andrew accepted the post.
Andrew identifies himself as being very community-based. He describes his philosophy on volunteering this way: “I want to give back, I want to make a difference. I want to help facilitate change if possible. Each situation is unique. I try to support the community and keep the church moving forward, and keep the idea of change alive.”
When asked why he considers FPC to be important to the community, Andrew replies, “Because I believe in its mission – I believe it has a good balance in the way it thinks about Christianity and its role in a larger community of people of faith. It just works for me; I don’t know how to say it any other way.”
*Bible Lesson*
Chapel Day with Pastor Ben
Wednesday, December 7
Spiritual Message is Giving
Give, and it will be given to you... for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.
Luke 6.38
Special Days in December
Every Thursday- Music day with Jay
11/29-12/5 Scholastic Book faire
12/1 Tree Decorating
12/10 The Christmas Store
12/15 Wear color red day
12/16 Christmas Program
12/22 Wear color green day
The Life of a Chaplain & Seminary Student
Maxine Millender
They witness best who witness with their lives - Fitzhugh
During the month of October, I worked a total of 9 nights. Statistically, this is the time of year when there are more traumas, more car accidents, and more people suffering from strokes. When our Ethics person goes on vacation, we have to carry the pager and during this month, I carried it 7 nights. For trauma related calls, I had motorcycle collisions (3), motor vehicle collisions/accidents (13), code blue/death (5), gunshot wounds (4), overdoses (3), short of breath (2), autoped (2), heart attacks (2), strokes (10) and one bull stomping.
I had one crisis call from a woman (28) who had twins (boy, girl) and the boy was not doing well, she wanted prayer, and someone to listen to her. Her son is on life support because of a brain bleed and will not make it-she has been informed to think about her options, his quality of life, and possibly withdrawing him from life support. She asked how she could make this decision like this about a little child when she has 2 girls, wanted a boy and was going to put her daughter up for adoption. She talked and I listened. We spoke about her children, her faith in God, the difficulty of this decision, her discernment, and I explained to her why I could not make this decision for her. I told her that I would support her, comfort her, and be there for her in addition to the availability of the other Chaplains during the day. She held my hand, thanked me for the visit, said she knew but really wanted someone to listen to her. We prayed together and she seemed calmer when I left her.
Early Sunday morning (10/23), there were people outside a house when a young male walked up with a rifle and started shooting. There were 7 people wounded and one killed. The young lady killed was his ex-girlfriend. Three (2 women, 1 male) were brought to the hospital and one of the ladies had to be rushed to surgery. They were barely able to give me a phone number of their parents before they were put on life support. Making a phone call at 5 o'clock in the morning is pretty scary for the person on the receiving end, especially if I cannot share medical information. Fortunately I asked the patients if I could share that they had been shot with their parents and both said yes. This is still a VERY difficult call to make because no parent wants to hear someone say their child has been shot “or” is in the hospital. I always ask them to ask for me when they arrive and I NEVER tell anyone on the phone I am a Chaplain.
We had several policemen in ER and I am thankful we all work well together to share information. I think the saddest thing about the shootings is when the Mother of the young lady called to see if her daughter was there-she had been told she was killed but she wanted to know for sure. I spent 30 minutes on the phone trying to comfort her. When someone dies on the scene, they are pronounced and then taken to the medical examiner’s office. When the family members arrived, most of them knew each other and when I took them to our trauma waiting room, there was standing room only. As a Chaplain I can go into the surgery control room and most times someone is available and on this particular morning, the charge RN was there and she was willing to go speak to the young lady’s Mom. When the RN left, the patient’s Mom sobbed and I was glad to be there for her. This event made headlines! Because many people have cell phones, can text and take photos, most of the information was already shared so I did not have to call the male patient’s Mom but did rush to get his RN to give her a medical update.
A young lady was walking on a street that had no sidewalks and was hit by a car. Because the police had her purse, I called them and asked them to please call family to let them know she was in the hospital. Her family lived 3.5 hours away and did not speak English. We don’t have interpreters and my Spanish is limited but I was able to get our operator to connect three ways so that I could speak to the family member who could translate for me. When they arrived and asked for me, they thanked me for pulling an RN aside to give them medical information.
A young man (42) who lives with his Mom, took her car, drank some beer and crashed into a guard rail. When I called his Mom, she was shocked that he had left the house. When the policeman arrived, he spoke to the patient, informed me and his RN that he needed a blood sample from him. The patient insisted he did not remember what happened, we don’t always get the details, and we could not provide any additional information for the policeman.
Seminary status
When my Professor emailed my first exam to inform me I had some errors and he was giving me the opportunity to re-write it, I felt happy but sad. I sent him an email to thank him for the opportunity to rewrite it. After completing it I received a B and he wrote good essay. Many people had to rewrite it and all I can say is there is grace! I have written 10 pages on my research paper have 10 more before the due date. My second exam has been completed and sent to the Professor. I hope it was a well written essay this time.
Thank you so much for your continued prayers. ~ to be continued~
Worry is pulling tomorrow’s CLOUDS over today’s SUNSHINE-Adrian Rogers
