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May 2003 MAY CLASSES ON “THE
MORAL EDUCATION OF CHILDREN” Steve
Johnson, a professor of ethics at Santa Clara University, will lead an
adult education class on The Moral Education of Children, May 4, 11 and
18, 9:30 am, Munro Room. The
course will be ideal for parents, tutors, teachers, aunts, uncles, and any
adult who has an interest in how to communicate with children about their
value systems. JAZZ VESPERS - SECOND
SUNDAYS - 5 PM
May 11 - John Calloway Quartet
June 8 - Mad & Eddie Duran Quartet
July 13 - The Promenence Project WEDNESDAY EVENING WORSHIP
--- 7:00 - 7:40 PM
May 7 - Vespers Service
May 14 - Service of Healing and Wholeness
May 21 - Guided Meditation
May 28 - Taizé Service
CALVARY SOLOISTS PRESENT
CONCERT ON MAY 16 Our
own Pam Sebastian, soprano soloist at Calvary Presbyterian, and her
colleagues Janet Campbell, mezzo-soprano soloist, and Jeff Fields,
baritone soloist, will present a concert of French and American music
called “Vive la France” at Calvary on Friday, May 16, at 8 pm.
The concert program will include songs and/or duets by Erik Satie,
Claude Debussy, and Gabriel Fauré, as well as French and American opera
arias, and a very American finale with big jazz influence.
This
is a fundraising effort for Calvary’s choir’s concert tour to France
in September. Admission is “$20, or whatever you care to contribute”.
They're hoping for a good turnout and Pam, especially, would love to see
some Old First faces beaming back at her! Calvary is located at 2515 Fillmore Street at Jackson.
ANNIVERSARY LUNCH
MAY 18 On
Sunday, May 18, we will celebrate the 154th birthday of Old First with a
luncheon in the Fellowship
Hall immediately after the worship service. A
program of “Further Presbyterian Tales of the City” will
highlight memorable people and moments from our past and present.
Lunch will be a catered Chinese buffet. Tickets
are now on sale on at Coffee Hour. Before May 11 the cost will be $6 for
adults, $3 for children age 6-12. On May 11,
the price
goes up to
$8 for adults,
$4 for children. “COME AND SEE”
PROGRAM DEDICATED On
Easter Sunday, April 20, Old First launched a new effort to reach out to a
city where “People are
dying for lack of knowledge of their God.” A symbolic window was opened
as we committed ourselves to a program of offering an intelligible faith,
a spiritual path, and service in God’s name, supported by a
strong community. The
Evangelism Committee is now meeting with all the other church committees
to ask for their
participation in creating and carrying out a campaign to encourage,
educate and strengthen the congregation in ways to make our church more
accessible, understandable and welcoming.
PASTOR'S PONDERINGS Dear Friends, This
Easter Sunday we commissioned our Evangelism focus for the year. I thought
it might be good for all of us to keep praying the prayers we
prayed that morning, so I offer them here: The
words on our stained glass window say, “Open wide thy tents,” and we
come to a moment in our history when our tent must indeed be open wide. We
are surrounded by a culture starving for spiritual food, sometimes even
unaware of their spiritual nature. The Lord said in Hosea said, “People
are dying for lack of knowledge of their God.” That’s not true here at
Old First. We are coming to
life here. The time has come to open the window and let people see what
sort of a congregation we are. Open wide thy tents, let the people come
in! The
congregation and the children sang Taste and See that the Lord is Good. Jesus,
our teacher, our savior, our friend,
For centuries your church has worked to understand your gracious
word. We have sought to understand the meaning of your life, your
crucifixion, your resurrection and your promise to remain with us always.
Our ways of understanding this mystery have changed as our views of your
creation have developed, but there is a central truth, a central hope to
be described. We commit ourselves to that task in this age. As we open
this window let it inspire us to invite all that surround us to come and
see; see and join a congregation offering an intelligible faith. The
congregation and the children sang Taste and See that the Lord is Good. Holy
Spirit, You surrounds us and yet so few are aware of your presence. So
many lives are filled with anxiety, fear, and depression. The world needs
to know you — not simply understand you, but know you, from within their
hearts. Open us to this transforming relationship in you; let us develop
the disciplines required to grow in Spirit. As we open this window let it
inspire us to invite all that surround us to come and see; see and join a
congregation offering a spiritual path into the heart of God. The
congregation and the children sang Taste and See that the Lord is Good. God
of all creation, you have made us to love you and to love one another. If
there is no way to express our love for the world around us, there is no
way for us to be completely human as our Lord was completely human. Jesus
healed the sick and fed those around him. It is work that brought him joy
— the joy of spreading the love of God. As we open this window let it
inspire us to invite all that surround us to come and see; see and join a
congregation that loves and serves the world around us. The
congregation and the children sang Taste and See that the Lord is Good. God
of grace, For more than 150 years now we have loved one another, struggled
with one another, helped one another. We have been companions to one
another along the way. More than anything else, that is what we have to
offer here. We do want to offer an intelligible faith. We do want to offer
a spiritual path into the loving arms of God. We do want to offer
opportunities to serve. But most of all we will offer ourselves — a
community of God’s people. Form us, join us, make us the body of Christ
in this place. As we open this window let it inspire us to invite all that
surround us to come and see; see and join a community growing closer to
God. Amen.
Taste and See that the Lord is Good,
Sam OLD FIRST WILL HAVE AN
OFFICIAL ENTRY IN THIS YEAR’S GAY PRIDE PARADE ON JUNE 29!
We need organizers and marchers and help making a banner. If
you’re interested, contact Jeanne Kirkwood. FROM THE MINUTES OF A
SPECIAL SESSION MEETING HELD ON MARCH 22: It
was moved and seconded that the Rev. Sam Alexander be released from his
prior commitment to obtain housing within the city limits of San Francisco
until July 2004, at which time (or before) the decision would be
revisited. Following lengthy discussion, the motion was amended to release
Rev. Alexander from said commitment until he decides to buy a house and
enter into a shared appreciation loan agreement with Old First. The motion
carried with eleven elders in support, one nay vote, and one abstention. In
addition, it was moved, seconded and carried that Session’s Investment
Subcommittee be directed to study the financial and other ramifications of
various pastoral housing options and make recommendations to Session
regarding 1) the best investment use of the Devoe Fund, to preserve our
ability to assist pastors with housing costs; 2) real estate trends in San
Francisco and Marin; 3) the financial effect of mortgage assistance funds
being used for rental housing, and 4) appropriate timing for any proposed
actions. The Investment Subcommittee was directed to bring a preliminary
report to Session in June with a final recommendation on or before the
stated meeting of Session in October. WELCOME to new members received
March 30. Larry Browne, Rob
Hilligoss, Alfred Martin, George Weaver
-- All joined by Reaffirmation of Faith. LECTIONARY May 4 -- Acts 3:12-19;
Ps. 4; 1 John 3:1-7; Luke 24:36b-48 May 11 -- Acts 4:5-12;
Ps. 23; 1 John 3:16-24; John 10:11-18 May 18
-- Acts 8:26-40; Ps. 22:25-31; 1 John 4:7-21; John 15:1-8 May 25 -- Acts 10:44-48;
Ps. 98; 1 John 5:1-6; John 15:9-17 May 29 -- Acts 1:1-11;
Ps. 47 or Ps. 93; Eph. 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53 June 1 --
Acts 1:15-17, 21-26; Ps. 1; 1
John 5:9-13; John 17:6-19 JIM WILSON’S PROBLEMS
WITH WINE AND WOMEN A “Presbyterian Tale of
the City” from the 2002 Anniversary Lunch In
the 1960’s and 70’s, to be an elder one had to serve at least three
years as a deacon. Election was a popularity contest. Postcards were
mailed to the congregation with names to be considered; the ones receiving
the most votes were elected. I was chosen and became chair of the Worship
Committee. My
wife Mary Lou told me, “You have to do something about the Communion
service.” We had 12 white male elders. (Ted Chiao or Buddy Choy would
never have had a chance to be elected an elder in those days; Ted would
have had two strikes against him, since he was in the wine business.) We
were gradually electing a few women elders, so I asked one of them, Helen
Smith, if she would serve Communion the next Sunday, and she said yes.
Helen sat on the chancel, wearing a nice suit and a pretty red hat. The
service went well, but after the service -- the roof fell in, on me. I
was asked to resign, to go to another church. One person offered to pay my
fare back to Scotland. The next Communion Sunday, there were 12 male
elders serving. The surprise came on the following one, when I had ten
male and two female elders up there. The women were here to stay. Two
groups of people never let me forget that Sunday. One was the elder
statesmen, who said I had ruined Communion for them, and one was the group
of women who said they should have been consulted and it should have been
one of them. After
that, we decided that if Jesus had served wine, so should we. We set the
trays up the way they are now, with both wine and grape juice. Well, James
was in trouble again -- Was I going to turn the congregation into drunks?
I pointed out that people would have a choice; sure enough, nobody got
drunk.. In
summer we had two services, one at 9:30 am, with between 30 and 40 people,
and the regular 11 am service. One Sunday I had only 8 elders serving
Communion, and I was informed in no uncertain terms that Jesus never used
fewer than 12! LARKIN STREET DROP-IN
CENTER OPENS ON SUTTER STREET • from the San
Francisco Chronicle story on April 4, 2003 A
thin layer of dust covered the hardwood floors. A bucket and sponge rested
in one corner. Workmen in hard hats carried pails of supplies through the
doors. But for the teenagers who would soon call this space home and the
staffers who scraped together close to $1 million to fund its makeover,
the building was already perfect. "This
new facility is nice - cleaner, more space for us to walk around and do
our thing," said Chris, 16, who had been using the facility for three
weeks. Chris, who left his home in the Sunnydale Projects after arguing
with his parents, is one of thousands of homeless teens who find their way
to the drop- in center each year. The
brightly colored, well-lit building boasts 7,500 square feet of space with
a greeting area up front, a large lounge in the middle and a kitchen,
showers and bathroom toward the back. Case workers will occupy private
offices to one side of the lounge and a public school teacher will run a
small classroom on the other side. Doctors will care for teens in medical
clinics in an adjacent area. The
drop-in center serves as a gateway to Larkin Street's 17 other programs,
which include shelters and job training. About 800 teens used the old
center each year, and that number is expected to rise to 1,000 in the new
center, thanks to its larger size and more welcoming atmosphere, staffers
said. The
center was at 1044 Larkin St. for almost 19 years, but the building's
landlord refused to agree to a long-term lease on the 5,000-square-foot
space. Staff members were happy to find a vacant building around the
corner and scooped it up. That the new Larkin Street Drop-in Center would
now be at 1138 Sutter St. didn't faze the staff, according to executive
director Anne Stanton. "Larkin
Street is so much more than an address," she said. "It's the
belief we have in the youth, and this space really communicates
that." But
turning the space - formerly a furniture store - into a fun, accommodating
hang-out for teens came with a whopping $950,000 price tag. During
construction on the new space, the center paid rent on both sites -
totaling $22,500 monthly. The
Mayor's Office of Community Development and the Department of Public
Health gave a combined total of $400,000, and other groups - including
HEDCO Foundation, a medical services company, and the Herbst Foundation -
gave large chunks of money as well. Complete article at
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