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September 2004 Evening
Prayers --
Wednesday, Sept. 1, 7:00 - 7:40 pm September
11 All-Church Picnic Old
First old-timers remember when every church year began with the all-church
picnic the first weekend after Labor Day. People had a chance to catch up
with each other after going off in all directions over the summer, and it
was often (though not always) a fog-free event. In recent years we’ve
tried picnics at other times of the year, but this year we’re reverting
to tradition. We
have reserved the picnic area at Julius Kahn Playground on Saturday,
September 11. The
Playground is at the edge of the Presidio at West Pacific and Spruce
Streets in There’s
a clean and well-equipped fenced playground for the kids, a new clubhouse
with restrooms, a few picnic tables and room for more tables and outdoor
activities. The
picnic is from noon to 3 pm, leaving time to hike or bike through the
Presidio before or after the gathering. You
can sign up at Coffee Hour through Sunday, Sept. 5, or just turn up on the
11th with some picnic fare to share. See you there! Congregational Conversation September 25 On Saturday, September 25, the Mission Vision Team will facilitate a Congregational Conversation to discuss our updated mission report. You will receive by mail the latest draft of this document and details of the plans for the Conversation. t is
essential that this document accurately describe our church today, since
it will be the basis of our search for a new pastor and our mission goals
for the next few years. It is structured around four or five major
dimensions of our community life (called “core identities”). Within
each dimension, areas that are changing or producing tensions (called
“growing edges”) are identified and the associated implications for
the pastor are described. Come,
Children, Join to Sing! The
Children's Music Program will resume rehearsals on Sunday, September 12,
9:30-10:30am in the Social Hall.
Britt LaGatta is the Director; her beautiful voice and experience
as a voice teacher are perfect for helping young voices become familiar
with both new and traditional church music. And
— this is the perfect hour for their parents and others to gather for
the fine Adult Education classes in the Munro Room! Christian
Education Teacher Training and Commissioning It
is an Old First tradition to commission our teachers for the coming year.
Teachers are currently being recruited; training will take place on
Saturday, September 18, at the church. Details will be provided. September
19 Concert Honors Rev. Bodo On Sunday, September 19, at 4 pm, Old First Concerts will present the first annual cello concert to honor its founder, the Rev. John Bodo. The
You
can see displays of the current Watch
for your personalized invitation in the mail or buy tickets during the
September 26 Coffee Hour. Jazz
Vespers returns October 10 October
15 Choir Concert Save the date of Friday, Oct. 15 for the next Old First Church Choir Concert, 8:00 pm. Dr. Jay A. Pierson will direct the program of Romantic English choral works by Howells, Holst and Vaughan Williams. On
the evening of Saturday, October 16, we’ll have a low-key, down-home
evening of chili, hot dogs and folksongs at the church. Save the date and
watch for more details. Note from your friendly local transitional pastor Last
month I introduced myself to you so that you would have a sense of who I
am. I must say that I am enjoying being introduced to OFPC in general and
many of you in particular. The
past month and a half since I began my work as your interim pastor has
been very full and very interesting. I have discovered some things along
the way: you value worship that is traditional yet lively in speech,
music, and song; the Deacon Board is the best I have ever seen in keeping
on top of “people needs”; the building is well-maintained and has a
good feel about it; a number of volunteers work hard and with much love in
the various ministries and programs of OFPC; you need an intern or
part-time staff person who will spend time and energy in the area of
Christian Education; there is a lot of talent floating around in this
congregation; ministry with the homeless is an area that needs further
discussion and some decisions; the church building is located in a vibrant
and interesting community; visitors come to worship every Sunday; and you
like being together, which is a good thing. I am
definitely a “learner”, a student of this congregation and its
history, traditions, sense of identity, ways of connecting with the larger
community, and hopes and anxieties, let alone your names and knowing
who-does-what-around-here. Don’t hesitate to remind me of your name, and
do contact me with your insights, suggestions, questions, and needs. I am
available for lunches, tea-times, phone calls, home and hospital visits,
and so on. Just leave a message by email (jeff@oldfirst.org) or phone
(415-776-5552 ext 305), and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. May
our time together yield discoveries and insights about who you can become
as a congregation, and renewed energy that becomes focused upon reaching
that future. We have quite a journey ahead of us, and I look forward to
traveling that journey with you.
Peace
be with you and yours, Jeffrey
Cheifetz, Interim/Transitional Pastor Selection
of the Officers Classes of 2007
The
Nominating Committee has been hard at work planning for the selection of
the Class of 2007 Deacons and Elders.
On
Sunday, September 14, 2004 the formal call for nominations from the
congregation will begin.
Nomination forms, as well as materials describing the duties of
Deacons and Elders, will be made available at the end of the worship
service. Please
give thought and prayer to this process and nominate those you feel can
best provide leadership to Old First for the next three years.
As in the past, self-nominations are also welcome.
The
nomination process will end on Sunday, September 26, 2004.
On October 17, 2004 the Nominating Committee will submit the slate
of proposed officers to the congregation for its deliberations.
The
formal election of officers will be conducted at a Congregational Meeting,
which will be scheduled to coincide with the Town Hall meeting on Sunday,
October 31, 2004. Peacemaking
Offering “I
will grant peace in the land” (Leviticus 26:6) is the theme for the 2004
Peace-making Offering appeal, which will be kicked off by Ted Chiao on
Sunday, September 5. The appeal will continue on each Sunday in September
when Minutes for Finally,
on Sunday, October 3, World Communion Sunday, the annual peacemaking
offering collection will take place.
As in years past, 25 percent of the offering is used to support a
local project. The
Peace and Justice Committee is working on exploring programs for youth in
the area which develop leadership skills and well as are proactive in the
creation and maintenance of a culture of peace and nonviolence. This
year’s appeal culminates on World Communion Sunday with the visit to Old
First of guest “peacemaker” Allan Solomonow,
who will deliver the sermon.
Mr. Solonomow presently teaches at U.C. Berkeley in the Department
of Conflict Studies.
He has worked for the Jewish Peace Fellowship and the American
Friends Service Committee.
His main focus has been on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He has
been in that part of the world many times, most recently this spring,
encouraging the work of these two groups towards peace.
The
yearly Peacemaking Offering gives us a chance as a congregation to reflect
on the many aspects of “peacemaking,” whether it be on an individual,
family, community, national or global level.
We must be at peace with ourselves and with our Creator before we
can emanate peace into our families and communities. I
suggest that each one of us during the month of September take time each
day to meditate on the word “peace,” to pray for “peace” and to
visualize “peace” in all aspects of our lives as well as in •
Pat Devine, Peace & Justice Committee Would
You Like to Usher at Old First? Every
Sunday morning a team of ushers greets Old First members and visitors,
rain or shine. Ushers
are often the first people visitors encounter when arriving at church, and
being greeted in a friendly manner greatly influences one’s opinion
about a church. Ushering
is fun, and it offers an opportunity to meet new people and get better
acquainted with long-time members.
The ushering committee is always looking for new people who would
like to usher on Sunday mornings.
Four ushers work each Sunday morning.
The lead usher arrives at 10 am, but the others at arrive at 10:30.
Ushers’ duties are completed in time to enjoy coffee and
doughnuts downstairs. If
you are interested in volunteering to usher, please talk to James Wilson
any Sunday, or see Emmy Clausing or Sarah Taber. We are currently working
on the October-through-December schedule.
We look forward to hearing from you! Sunday
Morning Telephones Imagine
calling Old First on Sunday morning and having the phone answered by a
real live person. How’s that for an original concept?
OK,
it’s pretty strange, but we’re going to try it anyway.
We now have a volunteer in the church office from 10 to 11 am every
Sunday morning to answer calls and to check the voicemail messages and
pass along any that need attention before Monday. If
you’d like to help by donating an occasional hour before the worship
service, please contact Rosemary Bledsoe. Lectionary Sept 5 - 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Jer.
18:1-11; Ps. 139:1-6, 13-18; Philem. 1-21; Luke 14:25-33 Sept 12 - 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Jer.
4:11-12, 22-28; Ps. 14; 1 Tim. 1:12-17; Luke15:1-10 Sept
19 - 25th Sunday in
Ordinary Time
Jer.
8:18-9:1; Ps. 79:1-9; 1 Tim. 2:1-7; Luke 16:1-13 Sept
26 - 26th Sunday in
Ordinary Time
Jer.
32:1-3a, 6-15; Ps. 91:1-6, 14-16; 1 Tim. 6:6-19;
Luke 16:19-31
Oct 3 - 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Lam.
1:1-16; Lam. 3:19-26 or Ps. 137; 2 Tim. 1:1-14;
Luke 17:5-10 _________________ The
following is printed at the request of Buddy and Jeanne Tate Choy. Buddy
was a victim of this pastoral abuse and Jeanne served on the Cameron House
Task Force for Healing and helped write the report used by GAC. They say,
“It has been very healing for us to have this information and apology
made public.” GAC
Apologizes to Sex-abuse Survivors by Evan Silverstein
RICHMOND
, June 26 — The General Assembly Council (GAC) has
unanimously approved a letter of apology to a group of young males who
were sexually abused by a former Presbyterian minister in An
investigative committee concluded that F.S. Dick Wichman sexually abused
at least 18 children between 1947 and 1977 while he was executive director
of Cameron House, a ministry to Chinese families, a mission of the
Presbyterian Church. The Presbytery of San Francisco, of which Wichman was
a member, appointed the investigative committee that looked into the
allegations. "Reading
the stories now, we are overwhelmed with remorse for what happened to
God's children entrusted to Wichman's care," the GAC said in a letter
approved Thursday during a regular GAC meeting here. "We express our
humble apology for the abuse that continued there for many years." The
abuse allegations began surfacing in 1987, about 10 years after Wichman's
retirement. In November 1988, when the presbytery was about to bring
charges against Wichman, he denied the allegations and removed himself
from ordination as a Presbyterian minister. Because Wichman was no longer
an ordained minister, the PC(USA) judicial process was terminated without
a trial or formal judgment of his guilt or innocence. The
presbytery consulted with the San Francisco District Attorney's office,
which determined in 1988 that it could not bring criminal charges against
Wichman because of statute-of-limitation provisions. In
2002, Cameron House's board of directors appointed a "Healing Task
Force" to recommend what the institution could do to help the abuse
victims recover.
Some of the task force's recommendations are included in a package
of 11 proposed Book of Order amendments intended to help the Presbyterian
Church (USA) respond more quickly to charges that Presbyterian ministers
have abused or sexually molested people in their care. The amendments will
be considered by the denomination's 216th General Assembly, which opens
here Saturday. The
GAC's executive committee voted to send a small delegation to meet with
the survivors. Cameron House officials have also written a letter of
apology and asked the presbytery to do the same. TET from
The Country of Dreams and
Dust by Russell Leong 1993,
West End Press, He
has a head, Neck,
and tail. His
skin and hair are soft. Men
ride on his back. Tet
is the New Year celebration, the
day the Offensive began. That
day the reverend took me away from
my father and mother who
work hard and braid my
sister's black hair keeping
her head above water, her virginity intact.
They
believed that boys like me who
fight right, play cards and
basketball could fend for themselves. rules
his named
Donaldina Cameron House. In
his private office he
insinuates at least three kinds of
Christian love: philia, agape, eros. But
which love is which lie, which passion is which poison? twice
as wide and whiter than
my real father incarnate, incarcerate
me in your arms. Save
me with your hands on
my chest and legs. Promise
not to tell in
the name of him who died to save us all. Who
moves inside me, plucks ribs, forks
intestines, enters
esophagus, takes
tongue? What
is a mercenary's hand doing
here/ Where
is the shame, what's
in a name/ What's this evil game? like
a basketball out of court, I cry foul. the
mashing of mah jong tiles, sewing
machines, machetes
under the moon. Under
his irreverent hands my body slips.
His
skin and hair are soft. Men
ride on his back. ___________________________ Moderator’s
Justice Award goes to Network Ministries At
General Assembly, the first-ever Moderator’s Justice Award recognized
the work of Glenda Hope and San Francisco Network Ministries.
Glenda
was Assistant Pastor at Old First before establishing Network Ministries
in 1972. She
has built up an organization that has long been recognized as a leader in
compassionate, effective service in _______________________ Jeanne
Kirkwood attended the PC(USA) 216th General Assembly in You
know you’re in the South when...... •
People say they’re glad to see you even though you’ve given them no
reason to be. •
A young girl asks her father what a bagel is. He tells her “It’s like
a super-hard donut.” •
Local volunteers are assigned to stand in the sun and hold the doors of
the Convention Center open for all the GA attendees, all day. They smile
as they do so. •
The Saturday show on the sports radio station is All NASCAR, All Morning. •
An attendee needs to get to a meeting faster and more reliably than the
official shuttle bus can accommodate. He asks the hotel clerk to call a
cab for him. She gladly does so, and then is delighted to announce the cab
will arrive in an hour. •
When something untoward happens, no matter what the cause, the response
is, “Well, bless your heart.” •
There are billboards around asking, “Isn’t she a little young?” in
big, bold script. Below it says “Sex with a minor — don’t go
there.” This information is provided by the Virginia Department of
Health. •
Crape myrtle is in bloom everywhere. Blossom colors range from snowy white
to pale lilac, and then there are the pinks — from delicate to vibrant
to primary red. Ahhhhh!
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