Dear friends,

Some of you will remember my friend from Duluth, Diana Oestreich, the retired military person who spoke to our church last January about her personal journey from soldier to peace activist. This poem which she posted today spoke to my own unease with what happened in Minneapolis yesterday and what continues to unfold around the country. 

We’re also in a time of uncertainty globally, with our country asserting influence in places as divergent as Venezuela and Greenland. And wars continue to wage around the globe in Russia/Ukraine and the Middle East, to name a few. Now more than ever our faith and our spirituality can be a source of inner solace as well as guiding our consciences as to how to respond to all that is happening.

Our Migration theme is extremely timely this month, and we got off to a great start last Sunday. This week we will explore the theme “God Knows No Borders”, by considering the baptism of Jesus, what it meant then, and what our own baptismal heritage might mean for us as a source of unity, strength and renewal. Come experience the cleansing waters as we symbolically re-enact through the rite of sprinkling the power of renewal and covenant.

I also want to draw attention to two different programs taking place this week. On Sunday after Coffee Hour we will resurrect a popular program from last year, the Death Cafe. It’s freeing to come and talk about mortality with other people, so plan to join us at 12:30 p.m. in the Dining Room. If you have a secular or a religious friend who might enjoy this conversation, bring them along; the content is non-religious, non-sectarian. And I invite you on Monday night, via Zoom, to enjoy a conversation between two of our local UCC leaders, Rev. Rhina Ramos and Rev. Alvaro Duran. I hope to see you somewhere along the line this weekend.

Your companion on the journey,

Pastor Jim

P.S. I am doing a public event later this month with KALW that you are welcome to attend in person or online. Here are the details: Thursday, Jan. 22, 7 p.m. at 220 Montgomery St., San Francisco. Register here.

Dear friends,

This week we begin a new worship series tied into the season of Epiphany. We’ll explore migration and immigration as it applies to our spiritual lives as well as to what is happening in the world around us. Come experience the power of the Epiphany story and the gifts it has to offer.

Then, join us on Sunday afternoon at Congregational Church of San Mateo, our original parent church, as they formally install their new senior minister, Rev. Jessica Vacketta. It was two years ago on Epiphany that I was installed here at CCP and I know what a joy it was to have so many from other neighboring churches in attendance.

Live in the light,

Pastor Jim

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers over the last few weeks while I have been undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. I’m happy to share with you that everything went well. I’ll know in a couple of months whether or not additional treatment will be necessary and I’ll let you know what I find out at the appropriate time. For the present I am feeling optimistic and especially grateful to have access to high quality, and extremely current medical treatment. And grateful to all of you for your patience. I’ll be back this weekend, leading Jeannine Reininger’s celebration of life on Saturday, and preaching on Sunday morning. I’ll be scheduling appointments again next week.

This week our Jewish friends begin observing the Days of Awe, the ten days between the New Year (5786 C.E.) on  Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement. During this time the rabbis teach that the Book of Life is open and miracles and reconciliations are possible. It’s also the Autumn Equinox. The seasons are changing, and so are we. My sermon is about healing, a topic that has been on my mind, and based on Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 and Matthew 9:35-36. 

There has been so much conversation about public health this week, I have found it helpful to think about what I believe is essential to society and also a primary purpose of the church, to promote healing in mind, body and spirit. Come to church online or onsite with your prayers for healing where they will be received by God and the community. 

In Faith,

Pastor Jim

Join our team! We are hiring for a new position, Church Operations Administrator. Here’s a brief description of the role:

Congregational Church of the Peninsula is seeking a dedicated and organized Church Operations Administrator to assist our volunteer staff with oversight of key administrative functions of our church. The ideal candidate will be responsible for managing the church building, guiding people resources, internal processes, legal compliance, and financial planning to ensure the smooth operation of activities. This role reports directly to the Board of Directors. The position is part-time, 25 hours/week.

Click here for more information and to apply!

Dear friends,

This week I was moved by people exercising the freedom to protest injustices. On Tuesday I gathered with a couple hundred people at one of the sites in downtown San Francisco where immigration courts are filled with ICE officers waiting to arrest and detain people who show up for legal asylum hearings. Regardless of what happens in the courtroom they are immediately seized and sent off for likely deportation. (This happened to a friend of mine on Monday. Miguel presented himself, paperwork in hand to the court on Monday morning, and I just learned he is in Mesa Verde Detention Center in Bakersfield.)

At our prayer vigil we prayed and sang for the detained, the disappeared and the deported, and all those affected by our unjust immigration system. This particular vigil was modeled on the Mothers of the Disappeared nearly 50 years ago in Argentina. Our vigil was led by women clergy and and laity, including mothers, wives and family members of currently detained immigrants.

I was especially proud to be part of a group of UCC Clergy. Our Conference Ministers Rev. Davena Jones and Rev. Rhina Ramos called us to action. Even when we aren’t sure what we can do, we can always pray, sing and exercise a prophetic voice, and use our bodies and our spirits to make a statement of solidarity. 

Our church has committed significant financial resources so far this year to support this cause — one of our largest exercises of financial influence ever. Others are involved in accompanying people to court, or providing other kinds of assistance. I’m aware this weekend is also Labor Day, a time of worker solidarity. You might remember Joan Baez’s version of the Labor Song Bread and Roses.

Join us this Sunday in church when Rev. Thomas Crosby brings a lively word, and we light candles for an end to gun violence as seen this week at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis. Please also join us on Monday in Belmont for Prayers for Peace. We are co-sponsors of this event along with the Peninsula Multifaith Coalition. Prayer is action! 

Praying for peace and justice,

Pastor Jim