September 8. 2022
Dear Family in Christ,
Greetings to you all in the name of Christ! I had an absolutely wonderful time with my family back in Erie, Pennsylvania! We had a lot of fun together and cherished the time being together. I am so thankful that Bethany granted me this time away—you gave my family and me a very special gift.
I'm also excited to be back and am eager for our new program year to begin! That said, I will say I'm not so keen on these crazy temperatures. As I write this, temperatures are, once again, skyrocketing. The predicted high for today is 111. (A big thank you to all of the volunteers helped staff our informal "cooling center" this past Monday and Tuesday.) We are all waiting with bated breath for "cooler" temps in the 90s slated for this Saturday. Indeed, yesterday's high was 106, and strangely, it seemed a bit more reasonable!
It's funny how our perspectives are constantly changing and adapting. For as much as we all struggle with change, we humans are actually fairly adaptable. Our text for this Sunday is from John 14:1-7; 24-29—as Jesus shares his final words of hope with his disciples just before he is arrested and then put to death. I'll be preaching about how our faith helps to determine our perspectives and keeps us in a spirit of hope despite all that we face.
As always, the worship service will begin at 10:30 a.m. Gathering music by pianist Natalya Amelchenko starts around 10:20 a.m. Folks can join from home on Facebook. (You can also watch prior services at any time here.) Consider asking a friend to join you in person at the service … or start a “watch party” on your Facebook account!
We know that Bethany is a time of great change—we are all adapting to what it means to be the church in the year 2022. The good news is that activity seems to be returning to a more normal state as we can safely gather in groups again. Several times a month the office receives requests for use of space from local nonprofits and neighbors. Weekly, as you most likely know, Grace Community Presbyterian Church, led by Pastor Philip, meets for worship and for a college-aged gathering. Altar of Truth, led by Pastor Alex, meets for worship and a weekly Bible study.There are 2 Alcoholics Anonymous groups which meet monthly and one Al-Anon group which meets weekly. The SSIP Food Closet generates the most activity as five days a week it serves nourishment to our most food-insecure neighbors. Sacramento Cultural and Linguistics Center headquarters in one of Bethany’s buildings as its staff provide translation, interpretation, and immigration services. Wow! There is a lot going on besides what is on Bethany’s calendar.
In these tumultuous times, we are also doing a lot of experimenting, especially as resources and volunteers aren't as available as they once were. This is just a reminder that the church office is open on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (Maria now works from home on Tuesdays.) It's wisest to call before coming to the office, as things do come up and now and then.
UPDATES
Maria has just received notice of jury duty—so the office will be closed on Friday, September 9. I am going to be having hernia surgery this coming Tuesday, September 13. I am hoping that my recovery won't take too much time, but I am planning on laying low next week. I'm eager to connect with everyone, but it may take a little time to do so!
Robert Madrigal is now only responsible for caretaker duties (an evening walk-through of our campus and locking up our buildings, as well as taking out the trash weekly cleaning up messes outdoors on occasion). He is no longer doing any custodial duties at Bethany. Robert and Lety Lopez continue to contract with Bethany to offer cleaning services for a few hours a week. If you have a job to complete or find an issue on our campus that is concerning, please reach out to Maria. She'll then be in touch with our Plant and Facilities Commission volunteers who help maintain our building. Mark Strack has been helping out with a variety of tasks around Bethany.
Sunday, September 18 is "Share Sunday.” You are invited to bring a friend to worship as we want to share with friends and strangers alike all of the meaningful things that are happening here at Bethany. Bethany Bears will be distributed to child, so be sure to invite young ones, too!
Sunday, September 9 is "Affirming Sunday.” We want to take some time to celebrate the gifts that all humans are endowed with by our creator, but we especially want to give thanks for the lights shined by GLBTQ+ folks. Our songwriter-performer friend KC Shane will be joining us once again to share some music with us.
Our next discussion of "Sailboat Church" is following worship on September 18. We'll be discussing chapter 6. Click here for the times and dates of discussions. I encourage you to visit this web site to learn more about the special endeavor that is behind this book and join us for these important discussions concerning Bethany's vision and future.
Our church family is grieving the death of long-time member Gail Powell, who passed away peacefully Tuesday evening. She was surrounded by her children and we were able to pray over her as she made her transition. Our prayers are with Gail's family as they mourn her loss.
The word "pray" appears in the Bible over 300 times while "prayer" is mentioned over 600 times. Prayer is certainly an profoundly important aspect of our faith. Prayer is a way of communicating with God: sharing our joys and concerns, our hopes and fears, our questions and our doubts. It is a holy time of setting aside the many duties and distractions of life, and seeking to come before God just as we are—trusting that God's Spirit is present and in the promise that Christ will help us to bear all of our burdens. In this wild life, there is certainly no shortage of tragedies and joys to offer prayers about. In order to help us weather the many storms of life, and to better tune ourselves into the many blessings that continue to surround us, I encourage us all to continue to cultivate an active prayer life. Even pausing for a few minutes at the ending or beginning of each day can help us to feel supported in all that we carry with us. Generations of the believers have prayed to God in good times and in difficult times, and God continues to help us along the path of faith.
If you have a prayer concern you'd like to share with our church family, please let me or office manager Maria Mar know. We also have a special page on our web site dedicated to sharing prayer concerns; click here to send a prayer request by e-mail.
Philippians 4:6-7 reminds us, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." May it be so.
Jesse
