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November 2002 THANKSGIVING SERVICE Calvary Presbyterian Church - Thursday, Nov. 28, 10 am The Rev. Sam Alexander, preaching
7:00 - 7:30 pm Nov 6 - Evening Prayers Nov 13 - Service of Healing and Wholeness Nov 20 - Guided Meditation Nov 27 - Taizé Service
FORREST CUMMINGS NAMED PARISH ASSOCIATE The Rev. Forrest Cummings, who has been a faithful member of our congregation for years, has been named to be a Parish Associate of Old First Church. AFTER-WORSHIP DISCUSSION OF SERMONS Pastor Sam often says his sermons aren’t meant to be “the last word, but only the first word in a dialogue”. Now Old Firsters have a new opportunity to keep the dialogue going; it’s an after-worship discussion of the day’s sermon. When a sermon starts you thinking, you can join a group led by Erwin or Katherine in Classroom C after the worship service.
by Cindy Burt, Moderator,
Stewardship Committee As you read this newsletter this month, you will be making a decision about how much to pledge to Old First in 2003. Perhaps you have heard a nagging inner voice saying something like this: “You know you’d like to give more to the church, but really, you just can’t afford it. Just look at the world, the economy, and your life -- it’s a mess! You better save your money, just in case. Only give them a little bit this year.” What if God used this same rationale? “I’d like to give Joe, Susan, and Tom more, but I don’t think I can. There are so many people asking me for help, and I just don’t have enough to help all of them.” We know God doesn’t engage in such pettiness, but -- what if God wasn’t unceasingly generous to us? We usually take God’s abundant grace for granted. Look around and see what a glorious world we live in! Consider the beauty of the trees, the warmth of the sun, the incredible color and perfection of a flower, the bounty of the earth, the song of a bird. What about our homes, jobs, minds, health, children, friends, families, community, and our church? Who gave them to us? All are gifts from God -- unearned and undeserved -- simply because of God’s grace and love for us. In a recent scripture lesson, we learned about the parable of the wedding-feast, (Matt 22:1-14) — a wonderful story about God’s generosity and how humans respond. In the parable, a king prepared an enormous feast to celebrate the marriage of his son. However, the inhabitants of the city, the invited guests, declined, saying that they were too busy tending their shops and farms. So the king sent out his servants to invite people on the highways and public place, as many as they could find, to join the celebration. When the king came to see the guests, among the multitude he saw one who had come without preparing for the royal wedding, wearing only his ordinary clothes. He was bound, removed, and cast out. Of course, in the parable the king is God, the bridegroom is Jesus, and the marriage is the covenant between Christ and all believers. The wedding feast contains the rich, free, and joyful blessings of God: the pardon of sin, the comforts of the Spirit, peace of conscience, the promises of the gospel, and the hope of eternal life. The guests are called, bidden to the wedding. None are excluded except those who exclude themselves. The one who came unprepared represents the hypocrites, in the church but not of it, who have not put on the garment of Jesus. The king, God, saw the person for who he was and judged him accordingly. This parable is relevant today and calls into question how we use God’s abundant gifts of time and resources in the service of the church. Who are you in this story? Do you reject the invitation? Do you put on the wedding garment of Jesus and join in the celebration:: partaking of, serving, and giving in God’s church? Are you one of the servants who calls others to join the feast? Do you come planning to be able to enjoy the feast without making any preparation and without committing anything? How will God view your actions? As we journey into 2003, Old First will continue to be a site of servanthood in the city, but the extent to which this takes place will depend upon how much support we give to the church. The questions are many. Will we be able to increase the visibility of Old First, to bring the Word to a community in need of it? to give to local and international missions? to continue to reach out to seniors, young students, and the homeless who come to our doors? to support a dedicated staff to help us carry out our mission? to make repairs to our building? to have beautiful music in worship? to have a vibrant Christian Education program? Will we be able to grow? How will we respond to God’s invitation to the wedding-feast? Come with us on a Beautiful Journey! EDGEWOOD GIVING TREE Christmas gifts for the Edgewood Children’s Center? Isn’t it a little early for that? No. In fact, it will be nearly too late for that before you know it. We need to have our gifts at the church by December 8. A late Thanksgiving this year could mean the Giving Tree won’t be up in the Fellowship Hall in time to give you as much time as you would like to help with this annual project. If you want to get a head start, though, please contact Betsy Chiao. She will have the children’s wish-lists by mid-November. In a letter of thanks for last year’s gifts, the Edgewood staff said, “The holidays can be a challenging time for both Edgewood’s children and its caregivers. Our boys and girls have intense emotional needs, and require extra attention, energy and compassion during this season. Your donations saved us the time and trouble it would’ve taken to shop for those dozens of gifts, enabling us to focus on our top priority -- the physical and emotional safety and well-being of the children...... We all can’t thank you enough for your support of our work with these special children.” PASTOR'S PONDERINGS Dear Friends, I am very gratified by four things that have been happening at Old First this fall. The first is our Vespers services. We have them on Wednesday evenings and on the second Sunday of the month. Wednesday Evening Vespers have brought a number of people together on the chancel to sit quietly, move into our imaginations, walk into the presence of God through song, and through moments of healing prayer. Jazz Vespers on the second Sunday has provided moments where I have felt like dancing in the presence of God. I know I'm the Pastor, and so I'm supposed to encourage you to come to these services, but beyond that obligation, I believe that you're missing out on moments of spiritual growth if you do not ........ Up to you. Hope to see you. Second is the work that Judith Dancer is doing with the Senior Center. Some of you know the new energy and commitment she's brought to the Center. What you may not know is the work that she is doing to research new possibilities for our Seniors to serve the world through prayer while opening up space in their souls for God to move. The Tutoring Ministry on Wednesday has also experienced a resurgence. As Katherine Markov says, "Sometimes I walk around and watch the eyes of the children looking up at the people who are working to help. It makes me feel so good." The Welcome Ministry and several of our homeless neighbors met with two Board members from the condominium association across the street. We talked about sidewalk use. Our visitors from across the street came with a wonderful heart, interested in the problems of those we are serving, while sharing their understandable concerns about how to keep the neighborhood safe. What resulted was some new policy, and a new realization that the homeless people in our neighborhood have specific challenges that need our ingenuity to help solve .... More on that later, I'm sure. While I'm on the subject of the Welcome Ministry — Some have been concerned about how to handle people who come to Coffee Hour and panhandle, or ask for money on the street outside of church. WE really do not want people to give out money to our homeless neighbors. If you run into such a situation, we encourage you to let the person know that they are welcome to speak with Megan. SHE IS THE ONLY PERSON WHO GIVES OUT MONEY IN THIS CHURCH. We are living in difficult time -- global, national, local and personal. Pray for God's grace; the ground is shifting. Grace and peace, Sam THE SENIOR MINISTRY AT OLD FIRST CHURCH by Judith L. Dancer, Senior Center Director The Session of Old First has decided to evaluate the program for older adults at the church. They have established a Senior Advisory Committee that reports through the Mission Committee to the Session. The first action of the Committee was to hire me. Who I am -- I am the new Senior Center Director here. My start date was September 9th. Thank you to members, seniors and staff who have so warmly welcomed me to this church. My background working with seniors actually started at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, not too far from here. I had the honor of being the Administrative Assistant at their church and had senior volunteers in the office. I found them very warm and interesting to talk to. They often told me not to worry so much about my work; they brought a certain humanity to me I was missing in my life. And the stories! I loved to hear stories about their lives: working in a munitions factory during WWII, giving Walter Matthau a place to stay when he was down and out, traveling across the U.S. on a bus. Our joy for each other was infectious. After working at their one day a week senior center there, I decided to work with seniors full-time and became an Activities Director at an independent apartment building and community center. My last position was at Coventry Park, an assisted living community, where I ran a program for people in early-stage memory loss. I had the great opportunity of working with Dee and Verlin Yamamoto there. The Senior Advisory Committee -- Members of the Advisory Committee are: Mary Culp (Chair), Sarah Taber, Buddy Tate Choy, and Oliver Spencer. They all have a wealth of experience and information about the senior population. We are in the process of looking at opportunities for new activities and programs and possible funding. We are also discussing the Eldergiver program, where church members go to Central Gardens Nursing Home and hold a monthly service for residents. There may be other ways the congregation can participate with the Eldergiver program, which we will share with you soon. Finally, we will be evaluating all the programs designed to serve our older members. Cameron House Trip Planned -- As part of our trying new things, we have planned a trip with interested seniors and volunteers to Cameron House on Thursday, November 7th, leaving the church at 10 a.m., returning at 2 p.m. We will hop on the bus a block away on Clay and later ride back down Sacramento. We will have a tour of Cameron House and hear the history of the mission of this worthy Presbyterian cause and how they have served Chinatown residents for many years, see some temples nearby and eat lunch at Hang Ah, the oldest teahouse in San Francisco. We invite you to accompany us. The only cost to you would be your bus fare! The cost of the lunch has been generously donated. Please RSVP by Nov. 4 by calling me at the church at 776-5552, extension 316. Thanksgiving Gratitude -- The Senior Center is creating a Thanksgiving meal on Monday, November 25th for the seniors; we would love extra help for that meal and gratitude celebration. Please consider taking some time out of your busy schedule and joining these wonderful, vivacious people for this time to be grateful to be alive and break bread together. Any form of entertainment is also encouraged — reading poetry, singing, dancing, playing an instrument: use your imagination! In the Spirit of Giving, you will get so much back, believe me. I am constantly surprised at the gifts I receive. My connection to Spirit is through these people! Blessings to you all! It is an honor to serve the seniors, the Advisory Committee and this church. THE FAITHFUL FOLLOWING by Megan Rohrer The other day, Erwin, Tom and Katherine were coming back to the church from lunch when a homeless man asked Katherine for some change. She gave him my card. The man's face lit up and he said, "I know her, she's my friend. Is she at the church?" The man jumped up and followed them. When Erwin, Tom and Katherine walked back to the church that day, they had a crowd of homeless people following them. When Katherine told me this story, it reminded me of all the crowds that were always following and pushing in on Jesus (especially in the Gospel of Mark). Why does everyone want to follow Jesus, Katherine, Erwin and Tom? It may be because people want things. Many people in the crowds wanted healing, money, clothes, food, fame, etc. However, there was probably something greater that people wanted: hospitality. People expected Jesus to heal and help people, but they did not expect him to help tax collectors, sex workers, gentiles, social outcasts, people who were unclean or during the Sabbath. This was not because these people did not deserve charity; it was because Jesus did not treat them like tax collectors, sex workers, gentiles, social outcasts and people who were unclean. The Welcome Ministry's following among our homeless friends is also due to our focus on hospitality. Our homeless friends know that this place is different. People do not come for the food. They come for what they call the "teaspoon of love" that is put into it. Our guests cherish the hospitality of the Welcome Center so much that they volunteer to help here when they could be out on the streets panhandling for money. I am continually surprised by how much our homeless friends give to the Welcome Ministry. In fact, they donate more clothes, books and food to the Welcome Ministry than anyone else (not including monetary donations). Our homeless friends are great examples to follow in this season of giving and thanksgiving. Welcome Center much-needed items: Socks, shoes, sleeping bags/blankets, razors, books, bibles, warm clothing. Monetary donations. Transportation tokens, vouchers, passes. LECTIONARY Nov 3 - Josh. 3:7-17; Ps. 107:1-7, 33-37; 1 Thess. 2:-13; Matt. 23:1-12 Nov 10 - Josh. 24:1-3a, 14-25; Ps. 78:1-7; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Matt. 25:1-13 Nov 17 - Judg. 4:1-7; Ps. 107:1-7, 33-37; 1 Thess. 2:-13; Matt. 23:1-12 Nov 24 - Ezek. 34:11-16, 20-24; Ps. 100; Eph. 1:15-23; Matt. 25:31-46 Dec. 1 - Isa. 64:1-9; Ps. 80:1-7, 17-19; 1 Cor. 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37 BAPTIZED September 29 - Hannah Unruh Lee, daughter of Jonathan Lee and Esther Kim, sister of Abigail. GOODBYE, KELLY We’ll miss Elder Kelly Cunningham, an active member of Old First since she joined on our Sesquicentennial Sunday in May, 1999. She left San Francisco at the end of October to travel in Southeast Asia for a couple of months, after which she will move to North Carolina.
SEARCHING FOR HOME: LARKIN STREET YOUTH CENTER STRUGGLES TO OPEN ITS NEW REFUGE FOR TEENS Heather Knight, Chronicle Staff Writer (Friday, September 13, 2002) Glance inside the Larkin Street Drop-in Center in the Tenderloin -- with its purple walls, rows of artwork and humming computers -- and it could be any freshman dorm. The strains of Lenny Kravitz's "American Woman" compete with the din of daytime TV. A teenager sleeps on the couch while others clear their breakfast plates in the adjacent kitchen. But look and listen a bit closer, and it becomes clear. At this intersection, where painful pasts meet hopeful futures, lives can take a different course. Robert, 17, sits hunched over a puzzle he's determined to piece together. He's been spending his days at the drop-in center for the past two weeks after his friends told him the place was "all right." Robert lived with his mom and stepfather in Sacramento until last October, when his mom, an alcoholic, died of liver disease. He moved into his aunt's house in Hunters Point, but didn't like it. ("Too much drama. Too many gunshots at night," he said.) Robert has been shuttling between San Francisco and Sacramento for a while. But he can't answer the most basic question: Where's home? Like the kids who walk through its doors, the Larkin Street Drop-in Center faces its own crossroads. The center, which offers homeless and runaway kids a place to eat, shower, change clothes and just hang out, has called a 5,000- square-foot space at 1044 Larkin St. its home the past 18 years. A 7,500-square foot vacant site, which used to house a furniture store, was for grabs around the corner, and Larkin Street snatched it up. But with the double blow of Sept. 11 and the faltering economy, donations to the nonprofit dwindled, and renovations at the new space have been going slowly. The project will cost a total of $850,000. The Mayor's Office of Community Development and the Department of Public Health have contributed $350,000. Even adding private donations, the organization is about $200,000 short. Until the project is completed, the organization is paying rent for both locations: $7,500 for its current spot and $15,000 a month for the new one. "It's killing us," said Anne Stanton, executive director of Larkin Street Youth Services, who said it's much harder to raise money these days than it's been in the past. Stanton hopes to make the move to the new space at 1142 Sutter Street by the end of the year. The drop-in center is just one of Larkin Street Youth Service's 18 programs in 10 locations throughout the city, including shelters, medical clinics and employment help. The center is critical to helping kids get out of survival mode, Stanton says. Then they can plan for getting an education, finding a job or finding housing. The search for home brings about 3,000 people aged 12 to 23 to Larkin Street every year. On average, the kids have an eighth-grade education and no marketable skills. About 40 percent are gay or lesbian, many of whom have been kicked out of their homes after coming out to their parents. More than 80 percent of the kids have been physically, sexually or emotionally abused, and 73 percent cannot return home because their families can't provide for them or simply don't want to. ""But life on the streets is a horror show, “ she says. “You're a 15-year-old who all of a sudden is selling your body to get something to eat. Or in order to have a bed to sleep in, people tell you that you have to join this group and sell this drug. I really do believe it's life and death to them." About 20 to 25 kids drop into the center after it opens each day at 9:30 a. m. An average day might include breakfast, a discussion group on domestic violence, lunch, a field trip, watching "Good Will Hunting" as a forum to discuss education, then dinner and games of pool. When the center closes at 9 p.m., kids are encouraged to take a bus to one of Larkin Street's shelters to spend the night. "Kids can come and go as they please," said Aron Sumii, 29, director of underage services. "Our main focus here is building trust and rapport. The great thing about it being a voluntary program is that when kids come in, they want to be here." THINKING OF SUCH A PLACE BEFORE GOING TO SLEEP, I SLEPT ...... by Forge Toro Il Gesù is on one of Rome’s main bus lines. Inside this church are columns of lapis lazuli, steps of porphyry, walls of agate. In the 17th century lapis lazuli came from the ends of the world, places such as Afghanistan. The stone was so rare it was unavailable in large pieces. With awesome cleverness, the Italian stonemasons fitted together seamlessly the small, ultramarine blue pieces to make thirty foot columns. Bigger than life statues of cast silver add to the splendor. Lamentably, the statues there now are of plate. The originals were turned to coin to pay the costs of war. Above, the ceiling gilt with the melted idols of Inca and Aztec. Bursting out of the midst of that horror vacui background is Giovanni Battista Gaulli’s trompe l’oeil painting, Triumph of the Name of Jesus. The Elect rise to Paradise into the light of the name of God. Heretics are in shadow, Protestants and Mussulmen cast down to damnation. I cannot tell where paint ends and plaster begins. I am oppressed by all this sumptuousness. It gives me a headache. Thinking of such a place before going to sleep, I slept. Then I had a dream. I dreamt I was in a fabulous palace made of marbles in every color. The stone was smooth and soft. I saw myself reflected in the floor, the walls. They were like a mirror. In every one of its thousand rooms was a party with people from every land. And I had been given gifts, at first small. A ball of rose quartz, an amethyst fish and, always out of my reach, was a carnelian phoenix, orange-red and white. It was the grandest gift of all, in the hands of another and I wanted it. Soon, it too was given me. When called to see my host, the one who lived in that great and wonderful palace, I rushed to give him my many stone objects, now my turn to give gifts and grateful that he had invited me to so beautiful a place. In my haste, I dropped the carnelian bird. It shattered into many pieces. My host and his friends came to me and saw the many pieces on the floor, noting each fragment had a hint of the beauty of the whole. I love the idea of using gemstones as a construction material. Imagine the flash of a skyscraper made of black opal or citrine vitrines or amber rooms. The technology is coming to partly make this possible. Carbon is vaporized in a vacuum to plate everyday objects with a thin coating of the hardest substance known, diamond. This means the most mundane object will have the prismatic glint of an eternity band. Art and man’s device combine to great effect. I pray we have the wisdom to use that skill wisely. |
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