Let Freedom Ring from the Hills of Oakland!

Wednesday, April 4th, 2018 at 5:30 pm
Skyline Community Church, 12540 Skyline Boulevard, Oakland CA
https://skylineucc.org/

Well, here we go. It’s Palm Sunday. And so Holy Week begins.

Palm Sunday used to be just Palm Sunday in many progressive churches. But now it’s Palm/Passion Sunday. People weren’t showing up for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services. They were going from the triumphant “Hosanna” of Palm Sunday to the glorious “He is Risen” of Easter Sunday without going through the horrifying “Crucify him!” of Good Friday. Sure, it was kind of sneaky. But we had to do something!

I understand the impulse. Who doesn’t want to go from glory to glory and just skip the frightening, painful, anguishing, condemning stuff in the middle?  But we can’t. It’s part of life. And how much better to go through it together; and go through it aware of God’s presence through it all.

See you this Sunday! With love, Pastor Laurie

Dear Ones,
I wanted to let you know that our dear Don Grove passed away on earlier this month.

I visited with Don on Sunday after church, at the Mercy Center. He was in good spirits, joking even then, that he felt that a 600 pound gorilla had been sitting on his chest, and he was relieved that it was only a 200 pound gorilla now.  I had a chance to thank him, on behalf of all of us, for his kindness, and dedication to us at Skyline, as a loving member,  and as a talented member of our Green team. 

Don was calm, and at peace. He had just seen a grandson that had been estranged from the family for 10 years. My sense is that Don was ready.  My sense is also that his family, while sad, were prepared for his passing, and are at peace. 

Don and his family shared a “sweet tooth.”   I shared Bee Frank’s cookies from Sunday hospitality with him and his daughter and granddaughter, who in turn shared these with the care team at the Mercy Center. It was a bit like communion. 

Don was an extraordinarily kind, intelligent, curious, hardworking,  fun loving, authentic, and loving husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, friend and human being. 

I give thanks to God for his life, and for the gift of having him in our lives. On a personal note,  I will always love him. 

Cards may be sent to his daughter Barbara Grove at 353 Crestmont Drive, Oakland CA 94619. 

We will be celebrating his life here at Skyline, Saturday, April 7 at 2 PM.

with love, Pastor Laurie 

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Today, Wednesday, at 10 am local time across the US, students are pouring out of their classrooms into the streets for 17 minutes, holding assemblies, writing, performing and more to take a stand against gun violence. No longer will they remain silent. No longer will they wait for the adults to “do something”. Thirty thousand people a year are killed through gun violence in this country, through mass shootings, domestic violence, accidents, suicides, and other senseless violence. They know that more could be done to end the senseless violence if there were simply the moral will to do so.

I am inspired by their prophetic witness, their courage, and their brilliant organizing. May we, too, be inspired to strengthen our own resolve to work for justice.

Related to inspiration, this Sunday, March 18, we are thrilled to have with us the boy’s choir, Cantori.  Cantori is the advanced, after school choir from the award winning Pacific Boychoir Academy. They will sing beautiful selections of music in a child friendly service.  Proceeds from the service will support advocacy for homeless people in Oakland.

A friend of mine shared a poem,“School Prayer” by Diane Ackerman, with me last week and I offer to you in the spirit of our youth and of hope for our future.

                 With love, Pastor Laurie 

This Sunday we spring forward into daylight savings time! Rise and shine! 

I’m grateful for the gentle rains, and the deep green hills, which I promise never to take for granted.   May the miraculous growth of this season inspire us in our journeys, to never lose hope in the promise of new life.    This Sunday in worship we focus on the essence of this faith, love, and hope.  Enjoy this beautiful seasonal poem entitled “A Prayer for the World”, by Rabbi Harold Kushner.

with love, Pastor Laurie 

A Prayer for the World

Let the rain come and wash away
the ancient grudges, the bitter hatreds
held and nurtured over generations
Let the rain wash away
the memory of the hurt, the neglect.
Then let the sun come out
and fill the sky with rainbows.
Let the warmth of the sun heal us
wherever we are broken.
Let it burn away the fog
so that we can see each other clearly.
Let the warmth and brightness of the sun
melt our selfishness.
And let the light of the sun be so strong
that we will see all people as our neighbors.
Let the earth, nourished by rain,
bring forth flowers to surround us with beauty.
And let the mountains teach our hearts
to reach upward to heaven. Amen.

—Rabbi Harold S. Kushner

We live in time,  where, if you’re paying attention it is easy to become cynical. What’s needed in these messy, empty and unsettling times; beyond reason, beyond doubt, beyond fear; is faith.  Join us as we walk together, not in certainty, but in faith. 

Blaise Pascal, 17th century
“It is the heart which perceives God and not the reason. That is what faith is: God perceived by the heart, not by the reason.”
Khalil Gibran, 20th century
“Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother.”
Anne Lamott, 21st century
“I have a lot of faith. But I am also afraid a lot, and have no real certainty about anything. I remembered something Father Tom had told me–that the opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty. Certainty is missing the point entirely. Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns.
Augustine, 5th century
“Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.”

This year, Lent begins on Valentine’s day, inviting us to consider the relationship between love and our own mortality.   I believe that facing our own impermanence brings with it the gift of awareness of how precious everyone and everything is, and the urgency to love now.    Join us this Wednesday (yes Valentine’s day) for a short and beautiful beginning to our spiritual journey of Lent, to strengthen our soul’s capacity to love.  And,  join us this Sunday as we enter the wilderness together. 

In the words of the Hebrew scripture’s Psalmist, “Create in us, a clean heart oh God”,  I leave you with the beautiful words of the poet, Mary Oliver, and the Psalmist from the Hebrew scriptures.

“When it’s over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement.
“There are a hundred paths through the world that are easier than loving. But, who wants easier?” 
—————————————————————-
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?” 
————————————————-
“to live in this world
you must be able
to do three things
to love what is mortal;
to hold it against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go” 

Two Opportunities to Take Action

by Mirtha Ninayahuar

Work Opportunities
Opportunity to Help Asylum Seeker by Offering Odd Jobs: Caregiving, gardening, handyman services, and more. Mount Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church’s immigrant accompaniment team is assisting a young Nigerian man, Justin, who recently fled his country to escape violence against his family. He has applied for asylum and is awaiting his verdict. Meanwhile, we are soliciting offers for temporary work or odd jobs to help him support himself. Raised on a farm and holding an Australian nursing degree (experienced with the elderly as well as disabled adults/kids), he could provide caregiving, babysitting, pet sitting, gardening, and handyman services. Please contact: MDUUC accompaniment team member Will Dow at 925-639- 2708, willdow12@gmail.com.

Immigrant Preschool Needs Volunteers
 
The Nueva Esperanza Preschool for the Mam-speaking families from Guatemala at the Iglesia de Dios Church, 3315 Farnam Street, in the Fruitvale area is looking for volunteers. The preschool meets each Sunday from 3–5 pm. Volunteers should be able to commit at least one Sunday a month to help in interacting with the children, organizing the snack time and setting up and breaking down the items associated with the preschool. The children speak both Mam and Spanish and some speak some English. English-only speaking volunteers are welcome as well as Spanish speakers (at any level).
Please let Mirtha Ninayahuar if you are interested or would like more information via the office at 510-531-8212   office@skylineucc.org.

Transfiguration …the indescribable mystery and beauty of standing upon the mountaintop, in radiant glory,  and seeing for one brief moment the place where heaven meets earth, God incarnate.  Savor the words of Pulitzer prize winning poet Mary Oliver that speaks of our desire to behold Jesus in the flesh.  Join us this Sunday as we seek to experience Transfiguration as well. Also, join us for a conversation after the service to explore Transfiguration more deeply together. Childcare is provided, if needed. 

The Vast Ocean Begins Just Outside Our Church: The Eucharist – by Mary Oliver

Something has happened
To the bread
And the wine.

They have been blessed.
What now?
The body leans forward

To receive the gift
From the priest’s hand,
Then the chalice.

They are something else now
From what they were
Before this began.

I want
To see Jesus,
Maybe in the clouds

Or on the shore,
Just walking,
Beautiful man

And clearly
Someone else
Besides.

On the hard days
I ask myself
If I ever will.

Also there are times
My body whispers to me
That I have.