March 2012

 
A Note From Pastor Ben

Dear Friends,

Over the last week the short-term direction of my life has taken a bit of a detour. As of about a week before this writing, I was preparing to take a long-awaited three-month sabbatical starting in May. Planning the sabbatical had been a bit of a saga. For a long time I dreamed of going with my family to some foreign locale--Italy, perhaps--and I applied for a couple of grants to help pay for my time away, but nothing came through for me, so I started making plans to have the sabbatical version of a "staycation," one of those vacations where you stay at home. I was lining up writing projects and making a stack of books to read.

But then I did, what I thought was a simple bit of communication. I contacted the Presbytery, letting them know of my plans, and the response was this: I was supposed to talk to the Presbytery six months ahead of my planned sabbatical. Oops.

Now, the people with whom I spoke were very nice about it. They offered to consider waiving the time constraints, but when I talked with Anne, she suggested that I listen to see if the Spirit was leading me though the voice of the Presbytery. Maybe taking more time to plan my sabbatical--even if I only end up doing a stay-at home-sabbatical--would make for a better sabbatical, and maybe next year would be better for me and the church. Who knows?  What I can say is that by the time Anne and I finished our conversation it seemed clear to me that I should wait.

So I've put off my sabbatical till 2013. It's been a bit of an adjustment, but it has also been good--freeing even--to live my life according to what the Spirit seems to be saying rather than making plans based upon the whimsy of my imagination.  The experience has been good enough that I now have a new goal: I'm going to try to be more open to the Spirit's direction. I'm going to try to be less resistant when things aren't going my way and when I don't get what I want. My prayer is that following the Spirit will add a bit of serenity to my life, which is what I was hoping to gain from my sabbatical anyway.

I’d like to invite you to join me in this work of listening for the Spirit. I believe that God speaks to us in every day events and that it is our job to listen. I also know that such listening is hard to to. It requires spiritual work. I hope you will listen for God’s Spirit and that you will let me know how God has led you. And ask me what direction I have gained from listening. Together, perhaps we can be more attentive to God’s call.

God’s Blessings for Lent,

Ben












April 1, Palm Sunday
Worship service at 10:30AM

April 5, Maundy Thursday
There will be a Simple Supper at 6PM in our Fellowship Hall
Worship service follows at 7:30

April 6, Good Friday
“Way of the Cross” worship service in Alum Rock Park at Noon
Worship service will be held in our sanctuary at 3PM

April 7, Great Vigil of Easter
Easter Vigil Service will be held at 8 pm in our sanctuary

April 8, Easter Sunday
Join us in the celebration of the Risen Lord

Worship service at 10:30AM




 

 Landscape Upgrade

Many plants in the entrance and other gardens need to be  replaced.  Buildings and  grounds would appreciate your help in donating funds to purchase new plants to refresh our gardens. Please see Marilyn Kromrey for details.

 


























*Bible Lesson*
Chapel Day with Pastor Ben
Wednesday, March 7

 *Spiritual Message is Honesty*

Christ said that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. If Christ is Truth, then it follows that lying is moving away from Christ. Being honest is about following in God's footsteps, for He cannot lie. If the Christian teen's goal is to become more God-like and God-centered, then honesty needs to be a focus.
Hebrews 6:18

"So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie."


*Special Days in March*
3/2 We are celebrating Dr Seuss’ Birthday
3/23 Bounce-A-Rama Field-trip

See's Candies Fundraiser
This fundraiser will benefit are summer field-trips and activities.  Order forms & money are due March 19th




 Jay Jordana and Anne Daniel both teach music to children through Vivace Youth Chorus (a non-profit partially supported by the City of San Jose). Vivace is getting ready to celebrate its 10th season and has recently expanded its offerings to East San Jose, meeting once a week at our church!

Classes at FPC are on Tuesday afternoons and evenings throughout the school year. Children sing, play song games, receive music theory instruction through the Kodaly method, and ages 6 and up perform at least two times a year. There are classes for ages 4-5, 6-8, and 8+. Financial aid is available.
Contact Arlene at info@vivaceyouthchorus.org or talk to Jay or Anne.





The Semibreve
Jay Jordana, Director of Music Ministries



MANY THANKS…
to Dawn Imada, Herb Miller and crew, Darlene Ristrim, Carol Tillman, and Shana Zajdel for help with the Ragtime and the South Bay Philharmonic concerts. Many thanks to Kraig Williams for the successful concert production of the Monteverdi Brass Quintet concert. We also thank Kraig for for bringing a variety of semi-pro and professional early music musicians to Foothill and to the South Bay.

CONCERT ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR MARCH 2012

Flauti Dolci & Amici I
Saturday, March 17th, 3 PM
Featuring early music to be played by recorder consorts and mixed ensembles from the Bay Area including Camerata California, SDQ, Ensemble Sonoma, and the Peralta Consort.

Flauti Dolci & Amici II
Saturday, March 24th, 3 PM
Featuring early music to be played by recorder consorts and mixed ensembles from the Bay Area including The Belmont Consort, Quintessence, Bona Speranza, Concerto Celestini, and Quartetto Paradiso.

Junko Aono and Sylvia Loebach
Sunday, March 25th, 3 PM

Chinese Dulcimer (*Yang quin) player Junko Aono and clarinettist Sylvia Loebach will feature American folk songs as well as songs from Peru, China, Azerbijian, Italy.

*The Yang quin has a 4-octave range of 135 strings that are struck by thin bamboo sticks with rubber tips.

Suggested Donation: $10 person per concert

DEATH AND TAXES? DEFINITELY NOT!
"'In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
-Benjamin Franklin in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy in 1789

I would have to disagree with Mr. Franklin because although tax day is on April 15th, we will not be celebrating death here at Foothill. Instead, we will be celebrating the renewal of life. As part of Eastertide, we will be offering special music during the April 15th worship service. Alongside semi-professional and professional musicians, our chancel choir and soloists Anne Daniel and Ronn Ealy will present the Resurrection part of Handel’s Messiah.

We are very grateful for the generosity of members of the congregation who are making this possible. Through very generous donations, we were able to create a fund called Psalm 150, which allows us to present special worship service music. With this fund, we were able to present Vivaldi’s Gloria for last year’s World Communion Sunday, for which we are truly grateful.

We welcome donations to the Psalm 150 fund for the longevity of this endeavor.

WHAT’S UP IN THE HOOD?
*Something exciting and positive is brewing in the guitar department of Foothill Church. Keep your eyes and ears open.

*Something new and exciting is upcoming with Vivace Youth Chorus (East) here at Foothill Church. Keep your eyes and ears open for announcements.

LAST MONTH’S TIDBIT
What was used by Joshua’s army that successfully collapsed the walls of Jericho? Be specific. Who used them and for how many days?

Answer: Seven priests in Joshua’s army blew seven trumpets made of ram horns for seven days to collapse the walls of Jericho (Joshua, 6:2-5):
   
The Lord said to Joshua, “See I have handed Jericho over to you, along with its king and soldiers.  You shall march around the city, all the warriors circling the city once.  Thus you shall do for six days, with seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark.  On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, the priests blowing the trumpets.  When they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, as soon as you     hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and all the people shall charge straight ahead.

Congratulations to Martha Belz for answering this question correctly.

MARCH TIDBIT
The Yang quin is a type of ________, that has evolved into many different versions in many parts of the world.

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!

 
A Family....That's All

The following is an excerpt from the Holt International Blog.   To view the entire article click here.

Help us find a family for these beautiful siblings from Africa.

*Alex, Keith, Mark and Sadie don’t need fancy clothes. They don’t want iPods, iPads or a new computer. They have no desire to eat at the finest restaurants, vacation to tropical destinations, or play the latest and greatest video game.

There is something they do want, though. It’s not something that can be found in stores or bought online. This gift doesn’t come in a package, or through the mail. But it’s a priceless, precious gift. Something they want more than anything else:

“All they want is a family,” says Pat McConnell, Holt’s director of services for Africa, who met the sibling group of four in 2011. “They are so used to having so little. They want to be able to eat. They want to go school. And they want a family. That’s all.”

Dinner and Book Discussion
6:30PM Thursday, March 29

Join Pastor Ben for dinner and to discuss Flunking Sainthood: A Year of Breaking the Sabbath, Forgetting to Pray, and Still Loving My Neighbor by Jana Riess.

From Amazon.com, “This wry memoir tackles twelve different spiritual practices in a quest to become more saintly, including fasting, fixed-hour prayer, the Jesus Prayer, gratitude, Sabbath-keeping, and generosity. Although Riess begins with great plans for success ("Really, how hard could that be?" she asks blithely at the start of her saint-making year), she finds to her growing humiliation that she is failing--not just at some of the practices, but at every single one. What emerges is a funny yet vulnerable story of the quest for spiritual perfection and the reality of spiritual failure, which turns out to be a valuable practice in and of itself.”

Please sign up in the narthex– or RSVP to the church office.

Dabbler's Delight Classes Spring/ Summer 2012
Tuesdays:  12PM to 3PM in the Fellowship Hall

Oil with Jeanne Wardrip:  March 13
Watercolor with Clyde Stout:   March 27, April 3 and 10
Collage with Julie Cline:  May 15, 22 and 29
Charcoal with Robert Johnson:  July 10 and 17
Silk Painting with Carolina Mueller (no drop-ins):  TBA
Pastel with Julie Cline:  TBA
Call Jeanne Wardrip for details or to sign up, 408-259-5894

For more information about individual classes and material fees, please contact the instructor.   Tuition is $10 per Tuesday for pre-registered students and $15 for drop-ins.  Material fees will vary from class to class.  Tuition for pre-registered classes is due on the first day of class.

Purchase a CSA* Share for The Lord’s Pantry
$30 per week/ $120-$150 per month** /$1560 per year

Participating in CSA for the Lord’s Pantry supports Foothill’s ministry in 4 ways.

• Outreach– CSA brings people from the neighborhood and introduces them to all that Foothill has to offer.
• Earth Stewardship– By purchasing produce from Farmer Pete, we are supporting local, sustainable, pesticide free farming.
• Mission– Each week we donate the leftovers to the Lord’s Pantry. 
• General Fund- $2 of each share goes into the general fund.

Imagine having only processed canned and dried food to eat.  Now imagine what a blessing it would be to have fresh produce.  Consider asking your friends, family, or club members to go in on a share with you for a week, a month, or a year.  If you already regularly donate to the Lord’s Pantry, consider this option instead.  The fresh produce is much needed and appreciated.

*Community Supported Agriculture, **$150 for months with 5 weeks


 
Supporting the Lord’s Pantry
The Lord's Pantry's director, Martha Perez asks that we please help provide the following food items on a regular basis to help feed the Pantry's client families.  In addition to providing nutrition, some of these familiar food items* give comfort to people in need and are not always available through Second Harvest.

Martha and everyone at the Lord's Pantry send their thanks to Foothill for our support.  Martha wants everyone to know that the donations of fresh produce and non-perishables from Foothill have been a great help to their ministry.

Please take this list and keep it handy when you do to the grocery store.  Make a commitment to buy 1 item for the Lord’s Pantry each shopping trip you take.

Fresh items can be donated directly to the Lord’s Pantry (Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 121 S White Road) or brought to church on Tuesday to be delivered on Wednesday morning.

Grocery List

Mac & Cheese
Whole Chicken*
Peanut Butter
Soup Dry / Canned
Turkey Rolls*
Powdered Milk
Canned Fruit
Hot Dogs*
Canned Tomatoes
Tomato Sauce
Tuna Fish
Spam & Corned Beef
Canned Tomatoes
Eggs*
Canned Vegetables
Flour & Corn Tortillas
Asian Chili Sauce*
Rice Noodles*
Fish Sauce*
Jasmine Rice*
Pasta/ Spaghetti
Soy Sauce*
Rice

Winter Scene
Joanne Katherine Reinecker

Night descends
Crystalline cold
Night drops down
like a fishnet
over the land
The silver of moon
filters through the trees
craggy mountain peaks
embraced with snow
Moon glow and the
twinkle of stars
light up the heavens.

The Life of a Chaplain

 Maxine Millender

God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others-Hess

During the month of February I worked a total of 13 nights. I had many calls which consisted of gunshot (1), strokes (7), code blue/death (12), baby death (1), rapid response (3), heart (1), crisis (2), falls (3), full arrest (1), and regular visits (11). This has been a short month with many visits. From the different calls ranging from gunshots to death, it is still a crisis for a patient and sometimes very traumatic. A visit for a medical power of attorney can also be a crisis for some patient. This is because they have to make a decision to name a person to make medical decisions for them, if they are unable. Sometimes this causes anxiety for a person because they have to choose and this makes them feel uncomfortable. 

What I want to share with you  this month is the amount of death I had, including the fetal demise. The baby deaths are still very emotional.  I thank God for the strength when I am in the room to offer comfort, prayer, and have a service to bless or baptize the baby. I ask if I can hold their baby and then I will present the baby to the parents.

On the night of 2/18, I had a total of four deaths and a crisis call. I had to wake the resident in the sleep room because of a code blue, which resulted in death. So, on this night, there were a total of five deaths.

The crisis call was a 17 yo male who came in highly intoxicated. He had been to a party with friends and drank too much. When his parents arrived, they were in shock! Their son became combative which prompted a decision to intubate him. When they tried to extubate him, he turned blue and the parents started to cry. When I arrived, it scared them because I was the Chaplain and all they could think of was their son and me telling them he was going to die. They explained that he had not done anything like this before and they wanted him to be ok but were so scared. This gave me the opportunity to spend time with them and explain what would happen, {I had received information from the charge RN and given the ok to share it}. They allowed him to sleep it off and then admitted him to a room for the night. His parents felt much better but were still visibly shaken.

The four deaths were men and women with ages of 53, 74, 85, and 94. The 53 yo was a female who was drinking with her boyfriend. She went into the bathroom and fell in the bathtub. He called 911 but she refused them when they arrived. He called the next morning and she allowed them to take her to the hospital. The catscan results showed a very large bleed and one she would not recover from. Her daughter (lived in Colorado) was called. She arrived and was faced with making a very difficult decision, which was to withdraw her Mom from life support. After making the decision, she informed me that she wanted her Mom’s body to be donated to science. I contacted the medical examiner and several donation places to see who would take her. Her Mom died within 5 minutes of the withdrawal.

The deaths of the 77 and 94 yo were both female. When reviewing their charts, they had many health related problems during their life and death was expected by their families. The death of the 85 yo male was expected but his spouse said she would be lonely again. Her first husband died a few years ago and she married again. She said she was glad her children lived close by to provide comfort to her during her grief.

On the night of 2/25, I had several crisis calls. There were two deaths, a baby death, person with a stroke, a 22 yo female who fell while dancing, and a man who drove him and his spouse to the hospital because he had difficulty breathing. When I received the page for the fetal demise, The mother and father of the baby (23 wks) were crying when I entered the room. The baby had many problems and would not have survived. The mom’s first child was a Down syndrome baby and they wanted another child.

The baby was wrapped in a blanket, she had a lot of hair on her head and the baby’s mom asked if I could bless her. I said of course I can and would love to. After reciting some Scripture and offering prayer, I held the baby and recited her name. After presenting the baby to her mom, she cried and said thank you.  We shared about the love of God and God’s presence. I thank God for the strength it takes to comfort parents who have lost their babies.

The young lady of 22 yrs was at a party with her husband and some friends. She had too much to drink, started to dance, and fell. She hit her head on the cement of the garage and was rushed to the hospital. Fortunately the catscan did not reveal any head bleed so they let her sleep until she was sober enough to be released. Her husband was upset with her. He shared that she had done something similar to this in the past and has not learned about drinking.

The two deaths were female and both 90 yrs old. The families shared that their deaths were expected and they were grieving appropriately when I left them. The person with the stroke was given an assessment and admitted.

When the 30 yo man drove himself and his spouse to the hospital, he arrived and could hardly breathe. She told me he did not want an ambulance called and she would be ok. She did not want to speak with a Chaplain because she had been through this before and knew what to expect. I did give her a prayer book and let her know I was available all night, if she changed her mind and wanted to speak with the Chaplain.

Ordination Status: I will be ordained on Sunday April 29th at 3 pm. I am very happy and excited. I am working on the ordination ceremony and trying to complete the ordination bulletin. Putting all of the details together is like planning a wedding. I thank God for the time and help I am receiving from others. I am praising God for my happy moments and thanking God for every moment.

         ~ to be continued~ Worry is pulling tomorrow’s CLOUDS over today’s SUNSHINE-Adrian Rogers

February 2012

A Note From Pastor Ben
 
Dear Friends,

In 1888, in an essay written for Scribner’s Magazine the great Scottish writer (and Northern California sojourner) Robert Louis Stevenson wrote:

…the racy sermon against lust is a feature of the age. I venture to call such moralists insincere. At any excess or perversion of a natural appetite, their lyre sounds of itself with relishing denunciations; but for all displays of the truly diabolic--envy, malice, the mean lie, the mean silence, the calumnious truth, the backbiter, the petty tyrant, the peevish poisoner of family life--their standard is quite different. These are wrong, they will admit, yet somehow not so wrong; there is no zeal in their assault on them, no secret element of gusto warms up the sermon; it is for things not wrong in themselves that they reserve the choicest of their indignation.

There is something timeless in Stevenson’s denunciation of Victorian moralists, who cared so deeply about what traditional Christian language refers to as “the sins of the flesh” while turning a blind eye to what must certainly be the more serious human failings. Things really haven’t changed so much. Many Christians today talk a lot about “family values” (by which they mean things like opposing gay marriage and the administration of vaccines against the cancer-causing human papillomavirus), but in the process spend little time promoting values that actually add value to the life of a family or bring happiness to the home.

Whatever you may or may not think about the issues many modern Christians gather under the banner of “family values” (and I know we will have our differences of opinion on such issues) I hope you will join me in making this Lent about pursuing the kind of morality that makes us better people and better Christians. The forty days (plus Sundays) that lead up to Easter are meant to be a season of penitence—not just in order to feel guilty, but so that we  might rededicate ourselves to living righteous lives—and I hope the morality we seek to achieve will be marked by such virtues as kindness, patience, goodness, forbearance, forgiveness, compassion, generosity and relating peaceably to everyone around us. If we can pull off that kind of virtue, we will be living as Christians ought to live—and not just because Robert Louis Stevenson said so 132 years ago, but because Jesus himself said so many years before that.

Blessings for the Season of Lent,
Ben










Photo Directory

Peg Nickl, Office Administrator

The Membership Committee has purchased directory publishing software so we can create and publish our own 2012 directory.


How will this directory be different?

• Publishing our own directory gives us more flexibility.
• No portrait appointments or publisher deadline.
• Each person and family will have an opportunity to submit a favorite photo.
• Photos can be changed or updated at any time to keep the directory current.
• Directory is available in hard or electronic copy (eDirectory)
• Unlimited copies available

Thanks to David and Isabelle Taylor's hard work taking pictures after worship in January, we have a great start to our 2012 directory. But we still need pictures from more than half of our congregation.

How do we get the rest of the pictures?
For anyone who isn't able to travel, David and Isabelle have generously offered to come to you. Call the church office or the Taylor's directly to set up a time.

We ask that everyone else PLEASE submit a picture to the church office. The picture can be emailed or you can bring in a print to be scanned. Pictures can be formal portraits or candid shots. All we ask is that the photo be current and that faces be easily seen and recognized. Look through your pictures from Christmas or last summer vacation and send us your favorite. If you don't have one photo with all of your family members, you can send us several different photos. Want to include your entire household including your pets? Great! We'd love to include everybody.

The church office will be contacting families to encourage participation. If you need someone to take your picture, please let us know and we'll make arrangements. If you are able to help us get pictures of our members in care homes, please let us know.

An updated photo directory is a wonderful resource for our church community. Being a smaller church we should have no trouble putting together a complete directory that includes all of our members and friends.  You don't need to be a member to be in the directory.  Please help us and submit your photo as soon as you can.

Here’s a little update on how we’re doing.  Luckily we have a fifth Sunday in January which is not yet included below, but as you can see, we need your help.  The roof repair this year was a substantial bill that we need your help paying back.   It’ll take at least two years of special appeals to meet the goal.  With a little help from each of us, we can meet our goals.  Thank you in advance for your extraordinary help with this challenge.

GIVING SUMMARY - THANK YOU!
As of January 23, 2012     Month      Fiscal Year To Date
 Offering needed               19,188                 134,316
 Offering collected            13,098                  112,568
 VARIANCE                     6,090                    21,748


It’s February and our Per Capita assessment is now due.  Here’s where we are:

PER CAPITA SUMMARY - THANK YOU!
As of January 23, 2012          Fiscal Year To Date
 Per Capita assessment                      5,626
 Per Capita collected                         1,670
 Still to go                                         3,956

Please submit your Per Capita support as soon as possible.  Each person is asked to contribute $30 of per Capita support.  If you are able, consider donating a little extra for those in our congregation who may not be able to afford it.   If you don’t have the blue Per Capita envelope, please mark your check in the memo section “Per Capita”.  And for those who have already contributed, many thank yous!

Thank you for your faithful giving.  We’ve been able to open our facilities to so many community activities as well as to our worship community.  We are blessed with your faithful commitment.  Thank you.

Humbly,
Sue Williams

Silk Painting Class
 March 6, 13 and 20, noon to 3 PM in the Fellowship Hall

East Valley Artists are once again presenting art classes on Tuesdays in the fellowship hall.  Carolina Mueller will kick off the series with a silk painting class that will last 3 sessions, March 6th, 13th and 20th, from noon to 3 PM. The class fee is $30 ($10 per individual session). There will also be a materials fee.  For details about the class, contact Carolina Mueller.  To register, send a check for $30 to Clyde Stout, 2817 Evergreen Way, San Jose, 95121. Please include your contact information (either an e-mail address or phone number) and indicate that you are registering for the silk painting class. The check should be made out to East Valley Artists. The registration deadline is February 28th. The materials fee will be collected during the first class. The class will be limited to 10 students. Only pre-registered students may attend the class, no drop-ins.

 


















 *Bible Lesson*

Chapel Day with Pastor Ben
Thursday, February 2

Spiritual Message is LoveGod’s Love Scriptures
For God so loved the world,that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8



Special Days in February

2/14 Valentine's Day Party
2/20 Presidents Day, Preschool is Closed
2/24 Field Trip to Disney on Ice

The Semibreve
Jay Jordana, Director of Music Ministries




RAGNOLIA RAGTETTE
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19TH, 3 PM

Sparkling and lively ragtime music is coming again when duo pianists Jack and Chris Bradshaw team up with the Drivons, Robyn and Steve (adding tuba, percussion & vocals). Their program, The Joy of Ragtime, covers 100 years of toe-tapping, rib-tickling, smile generating, heart bursting ragtime pieces including favorites such as Willie Anderson's Keystone Rag, Henry Lodge's April Fool Rag, and Charles L. Johnson's Stop It! This is a program that will appeal to all ages. Families welcome! Come and bring a friend. Suggested Donation: $10

MUSIC SERIES SNEAK PEAK

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 - Sat, Mar 17th, 3 PM
Flauti Dolci & Amici II - Sat, Mar 24th
Chinese Dulcimer Musician Junko Aono - Sun, Mar 25th, 3 PM

Read More

DEATH AND TAXES? DEFINITELY NOT!
"'In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
-Benjamin Franklin in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy in 1789 >

I would have to disagree with Mr. Franklin because although tax day is on April 15th, we will not be celebrating death here at Foothill. Instead, we will be celebrating the renewal of life. As part of Eastertide, we will be offering special music during the April 15th worship service. Alongside semi-professional and professional musicians, our chancel choir and a few members of the FPC Brass Ensemble, soloists Anne Daniel and Ronn Ealy will present the Resurrection part of Handel’s Messiah.

We are very grateful for the generosity of members of the congregation who are making this possible. Through very generous donations, we were able to create a fund called Psalm 150, which allows us to present special worship service music. With this fund, we were able to present Vivaldi’s Gloria for last year’s World Communion Sunday, for which we are truly grateful. We welcome donations to the Psalm 150 fund for the longevity of this endeavor.

WHAT’S UP IN THE HOOD?

*Dawn Imada’s ukelele class is up, running, and thriving! For having just very recently started this class here at Foothill, she is now up to 4 diligent students who come to the sanctuary every Tuesday from 9-10 AM. Aside from teaching this class, Dawn also plays in the bell choir. We are very grateful to have Dawn as part of our music ministry.

*Members of our newly formed FPC Brass Ensemble have been invited to play at the Lantern Festival sponsored by the South Bay Taiwanese Association. It will be held on the Quinlan Community Center in Cupertino on Feb. 11th at 7 PM. 

*Members of our chancel choir have taken a personal hiatus and will be back. We look forward to their return.

*Our Vivace numbers in the Intermediate class have increased! From 3, we are now up to 7 students! The Intermediate class meets every Tuesday from 5:30 – 6:45 PM in the sanctuary and is taught by me. We teach healthy vocal production/technique in the context of choral singing, and we use the Kodály system to teach music theory. Most of all, we keep it fun! Word-of-mouth is working! Our goal is to build a strong Vivace Youth Chorus presence here in the East side. So please, keep talking!

LAST MESSENGER’S TIDBIT

What is the third partial in the harmonic series? Explain.
Answer: The third partial in the harmonic series is the 5th.
Congratulations to Ronn Ealy for answering this question correctly.

When a vibrating body (i.e. a piece of string, reed, vocal cords, etc…) is struck, we usually hear one audible pitch/tone. In actuality, even though the human ear does not usually perceive them separately, a vibrating body produces various pitches, simultaneously. These pitches are called partials. Theoretically, these partials go to infinity, but the human ear is insensitive to frequencies above 20,000 Hz. (That’s why Spot gets very excited when he hears the postal worker several blocks away).

So let’s take a piece of string... When we pluck it, the following partials are produced in exactly the same order every time (Isn’t that amazing?!):

1st partial – called the “fundamental.” This is the loudest partial that we hear and is what we say the pitch of the note is.
2nd partial – the octave above the fundamental
3rd partial – the fifth
5th partial – Major 3rd
6th partial – Minor 3rd

And so on….

So you have to answer this now: If a piece of pipe produces a C pitch/fundamental when you hit it, how much do you have to cut to make it be a G? Just kidding… You don’t have to answer this, but can you believe that this was my first test question in my first theory class?!!

FEBRUARY TIDBIT

What was used by Joshua’s army that successfully collapsed the walls of Jericho? Be specific. Who used them and for how many days? 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!








The Life of a Chaplain
Maxine Millender

You cannot touch your neighbor’s heart with anything less than your own- Sim K. Tee 

During the month of January, I worked a total of 9 nights. During this time I had many calls which consisted of strokes (2), motor vehicle (4), crisis calls (7), deaths (7), withdrawals (2), heart (5), assaults/domestic (3), miscarriage (1), baby deaths(1), gunshots (2), falls (2), autoped (1), and pastoral care visits (7). One night was for blessing of the hands for staff.

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When I walked into the room of the young couple whose 22 week old baby boy had just died, I felt so sad for them. She was holding her baby and her boyfriend was leaning over her. Both were crying. After introducing myself to them as the Chaplain, I expressed how sorry I was for their loss. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and said she knew there was a God, loved God, believed in God but her baby died. She said, “I really wanted him.” She spoke his name to me and said how beautiful he was and he was going to be tall like his Dad. The baby weighed 1# 13 oz and was 13” long. I listened and thought about their disappointment, suffering, and no matter what I said, it would not be enough. After she finished talking, I said, “I don’t have the answers to your question about why, I have no response to why your body could not carry him to full term but there is one thing I can tell you. God loves you all very much. God’s grace is sufficient because his strength is made perfect in our weakness and you can rest assured that God is suffering with you. I also said that suffering is one of the hardest questions to answer.”

After encouraging them to share things about the baby, I asked them to call their baby by name and talk about him. I explained that I was there for them, as long as they needed me. When prayer was offered, I blessed the baby and blessed his Christian name. I explained what would be done for the baby (foot and hand prints, photos, certificates) and they could hold him as long as they wanted. I discussed grief with the baby’s Mom and shared how grief is unique for each person. I also shared that this death was unexpected and could possibly result in a longer grieving period. I hugged them and let them know that Jesus wept and in his weeping he understands and comforts those who mourn. Baby deaths are still difficult!

A 75 yo man tried to cross the street before the car reached him but he was not successful. He was hit but EMS had no idea about the driver’s speed. He was brought to the hospital with EMS personnel giving him CPR because the stress caused him to have a heart attack. After rushing him to catscan, he immediately went to trauma/ICU. I called the police dept. to get next of kin information and they finally located his spouse. When she called me, she wanted to know how he was and the only thing I could tell her was he had gone to catscan and would then go to ICU. It would take her 2 hours to drive to the hospital, from where they lived. When I returned to work the next night, I was informed he had died from internal injuries and complications. I was also informed how devastated she was when she arrived and received news that her spouse died and she was alone.

A 35 yo woman was brought in by careflight because she was involved in a motor vehicle collision. She had been drinking and was unable to move her legs. When I spoke to her, she told me how embarrassed she was because she and her spouse had argued. She left the house upset and went to a bar to drink but should not have gotten behind the wheel. I tried calling her spouse but he did not answer the phone. I called her Dad and it took him 1.5 hours to arrive. The state trooper arrived and asked for her blood to be drawn because she would be charged with DUI and reckless driving.

Guns are not a toy! This is funny but also sad. A 21 yo man bought a gun, took it home and tried doing what’s called quick rounds-when you are twirling the gun around and around on two fingers. He accidentally shot himself in the thigh. He said he had no idea the gun was loaded. When the careflight crew was coming down the ramp with him, they had to suppress their laughter. A Fort Worth policeman asked me to tell him how dumb it was and of course I didn’t share any of this.

When a 45 yo man was brought in because he was having a massive heart attack, his wife cried/sobbed as the CV clinician explained what was happening. She could not believe how or why her husband was having a heart attack at his age. I spent 45 min with her trying to reassure her he was in good hands with the great physician (God) and the heart specialist. She only wanted to know if her spouse would live and I explained that it was not in our hands but in God’s. He did live, he is doing fine, and I spent 45 minutes with her.

When a Doctor gives you a diagnosis that you have cancer, it is scary. A worker at the hospital (44 yo F) was diagnosed with cancer and given a few months to live. She could not believe it. She yelled at her husband and asked him to leave the room. When I spoke to her she told me how angry she was about the prognosis. She said her husband did not say a word. I asked her if he was scared and afraid of losing her but could not express it at the time. When she said, “whatever,” I knew she was in the denial, shock, and angry stage.

Grief is very difficult for everyone! I don’t believe there is a standard for emotional expression of loss nor a timeline. It’s personal, it happens with all ages, backgrounds, health status and if it is sudden or unexpected, grief takes longer. De Haan says that “Love feels the sorrow others feel and it longs to give support.”

I was given the opportunity to work one night to bless the hands of staff. This is an annual event but is difficult at night because of crisis and trauma calls. I was able to bless a total of 144 hands throughout the hospital. Warm water is poured over their hands, anointing oil is poured over them, and then a prayer is said with each person. Each prayer consists of a blessing for years of service, compassion, and their healing touch. It was a pleasure to do this all night while the other Chaplain had the pager.

Ordination Status
On Monday January 23rd, I had my final ordination interview with ~21 Pastors. It was very enlightening, engaging, heartfelt, and incredible. I felt comfortable with everyone, was truthful in my responses, and at times asked for clarity. I was calm and relaxed as I shared about theological things such as Suffering, the Cross, Pastoral Care, and Abandonment. I was asked questions about the Bible, my theology, my work as a Chaplain, Sacraments, and Resurrection of life. I shared about baptizing babies who would die and the comfort it brings to parents. When my mentor and I left the room for 5 minutes, we were called back. I felt the presence of God and was informed that I was affirmed for ordination. I was given many positive affirmations. Also, I was asked to share about my trip that I took to Amarillo, TX in June of 2011. You see, things don’t just happen! There is a reason and God placed me where I needed to be. Ordination: April 29th at 3pm

~ to be continued~
Worry is pulling tomorrow’s CLOUDS over today’s SUNSHINE-Adrian Rogers

December 2011

 

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

 Marian Grandi wishes to express her appreciation for the support that she received after the loss of her son, Joseph Grandi. She thanks her Foothill family for their heartfelt sympathies and for the beautiful  flowers.

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!

Coming in January - 
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