Last week, we focused upon the miraculous sacredness and the growing scarcity of rich fertile soil.  In light of this perspective, Skyline’s Green team encourages your support in signing this petition:  for decades, oil and gas drilling has devastated Creation and harmed some of the most vulnerable communities in our state – polluting our air and water, and sickening thousands of people. We encourage you to sign this letter to tell Governor Brown it’s time to phase out oil and gas drilling in California. Many thanks, Skyline Green Team!!

Also, we celebrated our  20th Annual Blessing of the Animals, honoring the Feast of St Francis. Please enjoy the photos at the end of this letter! 

This week we focus on the sacredness and preciousness of water. Nobody thinks about water. Until there’s no more. Or, until-as is the case in the poor neighborhoods of Flint, Michigan-the tap water is poisoned. In that kind of crisis, we suddenly think a lot about water.

One of the deep spiritual truths that undergirds all of us is our connection with water. “Throughout human history, the quest for God has often been connected with a quest for fresh water,” Diana Butler Bass writes in her book, Grounded: Finding God in the World, A Spiritual Revolution.

 It’s a truth in all world faiths, Bass tells us, and especially for Jews and Christians:  The Bible begins with the deep, when God’s spirit sweeps over the waters. From wind and the seas comes all of creation. For Christians, the Bible also ends with water: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city.” The final scene in the book of Revelation is the river of God, the water that heals and washes away all sorrow. … Water in the beginning, water at the end. God is the Alpha and Omega of the wells, rivers and seas.

What role does water play in your life? When you are seeking place of renewal , do you choose to go to a river or lake or stream or the ocean?  Can you think of a time when water might’ve played at healing role in your life?   For me, as a child of the Ocean State, as someone who grew up sailing on Narragansett Bay, as someone whose ancestors lived on the shores of Ireland, water is life. Being near the water is in my DNA, the waters sing to my soul.

Join us for a refreshing, life giving worship experience in which we honor the sacredness of water, and are reminded that, as we do, we are God’s beloved children: “I love you, I am well pleased in you”. Also, join us after worship for an extended conversation about the sermon and about the sacredness of water!

Blessings, Pastor Laurie 

19th Annual Blessing of the Animals! 

Special thanks to Becky Taylor for her leadership in promoting, recruiting for, and supporting our 19th Annual Blessing of the Animals!  We were blessed with beautiful weather and wonderful visitors! Enjoy the photos!

SERMON SERIES: STAYING GROUNDED WHILE LIVING ON THE FAULT LINE

Dear Friends,

I’m back from sabbatical! 

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday!

I invite you to join me in the spiritual revolution!

This spiritual revolution rests upon a simple insight: God is the ground, the grounding, that which grounds us. We experience this when we understand that the soil is holy, water gives life, the sky opens the imagination, my roots matter, home is a divine place, and our lives are linked with our neighbors and with those around the globe. This world, not heaven, is the sacred stage of our times. (from “Grounded”, By Diana Butler Bass)

Have your views of God evolved over time? Mine have!  I “believe” less, but have more faith. I bet I’m not alone.

Do you find yourself seeking to stay grounded, while living on the fault line? Literally, as well as spiritually? Me too!

This fall, come believing as you do.  Find God, not in a far- away heaven, but here and now, within, between, and everywhere, more present than you ever imagined. 

Together, let’s open to the spirit of love and justice that shines within & around our sanctuary and radiates out into the world. Together, let’s co-create new things– new ways of talking about God, new ways of worshipping, new ways of connecting. 

Come, be inspired, be uplifted, and share your inspiration with others. Your presence matters. Being together matters.

Peace,

Laurie

P.S. It’s Homecoming Sunday– time to reconnect, and enjoy a celebration lunch after the service!

Photo by The Climate Reality Project on Unsplash

We will meet at Skyline Church, 12540 Skyline Blvd. at 9:30am and car-pool to Bart. 

The Climate, Justice and Jobs March is our voice for action before the Global Climate Summit in San Francisco, Sept.12 to 14^th, led by Governor Jerry Brown.

We are marching with other East Bay UCC groups, starting at 11am in the Embarcadero Plaza to the Civic Center in San Francisco. Please wear bright yellow, red or orange. Signs will be provided that say, “Climate: the Moral Issue of Our Time”   Bring water and food, dress for cool to warm weather. No signs are allowed that have wooden sticks.

Why Is Global Warming An Issue Of Faith?

People of faith realize that global warming and climate change are issues of environmental justice. For humans, those who are poor or unable to adjust will lose their homes to rising seas and be unable to grow food for their families.

For plants and animals, global warming means that many will not adjust in time and will become extinct, thus reducing the diversity and beauty of God’s natural creation, as well as causing permanent damage to the ecology of the earth.

“We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late.” – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I am not sure that Dr.King was speaking about climate change, but the words from the great moral leader of our time are so relevant to our situation.   If we are people who strive to follow the words and actions of Jesus we must act now to turn this around.  How can we possibly justify not taking action?  What would we say to future generations that could possibly justify our inaction?   There are no good answers to that question.

The world has warmed more than one degree Celsius since the Industrial Revolution.  The Paris Climate Agreement hoped to restrict warming to two degrees.  The odds of succeeding, according to a recent study based on current emissions trends, are 1 in 20. The climate scientist James Hansen has called two-degree warming “a prescription for long-term disaster.”  Long-term disaster is now the best -case scenario.  [1]

The scientific predictions are that as ice melts on Antarctica and Greenland, sea levels will rise as much as four feet, thus displacing millions of persons who live and work and grow food near the coasts. Low-lying countries such as Bangladesh will lose most of their land mass, islands in the Pacific will disappear, and coastal marshes such as The Everglades in South Florida will be under sea water.  The number of refugees will multiply rapidly.

Photo by Boris Smokrovic on Unsplash

Our Earth home is a finite and fragile planet like no other.   Are we doing our best to be stewards of our Earth or are we the destroyers of our home? We are both.  We need to be leaders in this struggle, as caring loving people of faith, and be truly stewards.

Catherine Kessler, Skyline Church Green Team Chair.           

           From the UCC Website, here is a list of practices for individual action:

• Calculate the carbon footprint of your family and your congregation to determine a baseline for energy savings.
• Home: turn the thermostat down in winter and up in summer, insulate, get only the appliances you need and make them energy efficient, buy a smaller home or rent a smaller apartment, shade your windows, dry your clothes on the line.
• Transportation: ride a bike or walk more and drive less, purchase fuel-efficient and smaller vehicles, commute by public transportation, limit flying.
• Food: grow a garden for vegetables and herbs, support your local farmers through a CSA, limit packaging and waste, start a compost pile.  Eat less meat (it takes 15 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of meat)
• Yard: plant native perennials rather than grass to limit mowing, buy an electric mower if you need to cut grass, recycle leaves and yard waste, plant trees for shade and heat reduction, start a worm farm, compost for soil enrichment.
• Education: explore websites and community resources for more ways to save energy and cut your carbon footprint, join our congregational “Green Team” to plan for action.
• Advocacy: write or call your elected officials at every level to inform them that global warming is an issue of faith and justice and that public policy decisions to address global warming are essential.

Links and Resources

• Measure your carbon footprint
• List of energy-saving appliances

[1] NYTimes Magazine,Losing Earth:The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change, by Nathaniel Rich,August 1,2018.

Saturday, September 8, 9:15am – 2pm

The United Church of Christ Council for Climate Justice and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Green Chalice ministry are co-sponsoring the Rise for Climate marches taking place across the country on or near September 8^th. The largest march is being planned for San Francisco ahead of the Global Climate Action Summit. The schedule for this march includes an interfaith worship service at 9 am before marchers line up by constituency at 10 am near Embarcadero Plaza.

To join the UCC-DOC contingent and receive helpful updates on the march and the worship service, sign-up at www.ucc.org/rise_for_climate

We will carpool to Bart, the march starts at the Embarcadero Plaza.

Contact Catherine Kessler or Pastor Ruth via office@skylineucc.org.

Many times I’ve shared with you what the volunteer teachers teach the students at the Nueva Esperanza Preschool on Sunday afternoons. I’d like to share what I’ve learned from teaching at the preschool at the Guatemalan Mam Church, Iglesia de Dios.

First and foremost, the children are some of the best behaved children I’ve ever had the privilege of teaching. Only once did I have to tell one of the boys to get off the table which he did promptly. I’m not sure if my tone of voice scared him, but his behavior surprised me probably as much as my response surprised him. We both recovered and forged ahead to the next activity.

I’ve learned that the children are very caring and notice when a new child needs a welcoming buddy, especially when there isn’t a teacher available to give all the personal attention needed. For example, new children may arrive to preschool looking like they don’t want to be there. Typically, I’ll ask the parent to stay until the child feels comfortable or a teacher will encourage the new student to pick an activity at the different tables. It’s so sweet to see when an experienced student goes and takes the newbie by the hand and speaks to him/her in Mam, kindly making the new child feel at ease. I often wished I knew what was being said in Mam, a language that to me is very difficult to learn. Could it be that the older child is telling the new child to “suck it up, it’ll be fine” or “stay and you’ll have fun”? Maybe next time I’ll ask what was said.

It’s not hard to see where the caring and welcoming spirit comes from. The Guatemalan Mam people at the church have always made me feel welcome. Every Sunday when I arrive, the adults greet me with a handshake and a “Buenas tardes, hermana“ (Good afternoon, sister) and the adults and little ones whom I’ve grown close to over the last 3 years give me a hug.

A really big lesson I’ve learned in regards to running the preschool is not too worry so much because God, through many angels, has provided what the preschool needs. When the co-director, a Ph.D. in Literacy Education, moved to Colorado and volunteers were on the decline, I worried. But the preschool and I were blessed that she masterfully laid out how the preschool should function.

As far as the declining number of volunteers, I realize many people can’t sustain volunteering on Sundays as this is typically a day to spend with family and friends. I’ve been putting the word out about needing volunteers, but sometimes a volunteer seems to just appear unexpectedly. As in the story of the latest angel that appeared at a senior center, sitting next to me ready to watch a movie. We knew each other from work. She had recently retired and asked what I was doing. As soon as I described the preschool, she said she wanted to volunteer and she has been coming each Sunday. What a blessing!

Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity staff found another angel who is willing to commit to volunteering twice per month starting in September and perhaps step in if I can’t be there. Yet another angel is one of my best friends,Yvonne H., a gifted arts and crafts queen and animal lover. She organized a special lesson to celebrate the last day of preschool and graduation day. Her handsome pet, a hairless guinea pig, thrilled us all along with a beautiful photo display showing him in action at his comfortable pet condo. My friend provided folders with pictures of guinea pigs for coloring. The kids asked if they could keep the folders and they were so happy to know they could. My friend has agreed to come back to give more lessons.

                        Children coloring in their guinea pig coloring folders.

Another angel, Catherine K., provided a portable baby playpen that she found during the cleaning of the Church’s downstairs room. She asked me if the Guatemalan preschool church could use it and that very day I took it to the church and was surprised that it was just what we needed. You see, the ladies of the church prepare food in a corner of the preschool room to sell for church fundraisers. This one lady who was preparing food also had a toddler who she let loose in the preschool area which was not a good idea as there are so many small toys to choke on. The playpen is just what was needed. The mother gladly agreed to use it for her toddler where she could be safe while mom cooked.

I look forward to learning more among the angels, the big ones and little ones, when preschool resumes in September. One of the lessons that I have to learn over and over is not to worry and to have faith that everything will work out with the preschool. Thank you Skyline Church family for supporting the preschool, especially Nancy T., a consistent volunteer, and thank you volunteers from other churches and the secular community. All your love and support is a divine gift.

Mirtha Ninayahuar

by Tom Manley

Hello friends,

At a recent Spiritual Life meeting, a bunch of us sat around a coffee table in Colette and Colin’s living room to discuss our Statement of Faith. The conversation was riveting.

I urge you all to go and read the UCC’s Statement of Faith (copied below) as well as Skyline’s. They’re fairly similar and very interesting. As a member of a UCC church, or a member of our community, I think that it is important to understand not just what the denomination does, but why. The Statement of Faith explains the why.

One fascinating thing that came up in our conversation was that different parts of the UCC’s Statement caused different people to pause… some parts caused me to pause. Since then, I’ve spent a fair bit of time contemplating my own faith. One of the things that I value most about the UCC, in general, and Skyline in particular, is that we truly welcome anyone, as Pastor Laurie regularly reminds us, “Whoever you are, and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome here.” Even, or perhaps especially, if you are questioning your faith.

All of us are on spiritual journeys and the wonderful thing about the Skyline Community is that we’ve chosen to walk our paths together. We offer support, we ask for guidance, we come together to listen to, and listen for, God’s calling. We come together as disciples on the road.

We are not all at the same place on our journeys and our paths are not all the same. What we share in common is that we are curious and compelled: curious to explore the example and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth and compelled to do so together.  The important part isn’t reaching some anticipated final destination and it isn’t answering the questions.

What is important is to take the journey and to ask the questions. Our Statement of Faith raised questions for all of us in that meeting. What questions does it raise for you?

In the coming year, the Spiritual Life Service Team will host events and create spaces where we can explore those questions together, where we can examine our journeys, ask our questions, and listen together for God’s still-speaking voice. I hope you will join us. Our next event is Sat, Aug 18, 1:00 – 4:00 PM for a film and discussion. 

Peace and love,

Tom.

United Church of Christ Statement of Faith—adapted by Robert V. Moss

http://www.ucc.org/beliefs_statement-of-faith

We believe in God, the Eternal Spirit, who is made known to us in Jesus our brother, and to whose deeds we testify:

God calls the worlds into being, creates humankind in the divine image, and sets before us the ways of life and death.

God seeks in holy love to save all people from aimlessness and sin.

God judges all humanity and all nations by that will of righteousness declared through prophets and apostles.

In Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Lord, God has come to us and shared our common lot, conquering sin and death and reconciling the whole creation to its Creator.

God bestows upon us the Holy Spirit, creating and renewing the church of Jesus Christ, binding in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races.

God calls us into the church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship, to be servants in the service of the whole human family, to proclaim the gospel to all the world and resist the powers of evil, to share in Christ’s baptism and eat at his table, to join him in his passion and victory.

God promises to all who trust in the gospel forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace, courage in the struggle for justice and peace, the presence of the Holy Spirit in trial and rejoicing, and eternal life in that kingdom which has no end.

Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto God.

Amen.