This Week on the Peak

This Week on the Peak – Wednesday, May 17, 2017


This Week on the Peak
Mission Peak UU – Fremont, CA
The Home of Liberal Religion in the Tri-Cities and Beyond!
May 17, 2017

 

Rev. Jeremy D. Nickel
As many of you know, I was raised UU for most of my childhood, and was lucky enough to grow up at a congregation that piloted the Coming of Age program back in the early 1990’s.  Thanks to my dad I still have a scratchy audio tape of my credo, which I nervously delivered to my congregation in Newton, Ma about twenty-six years ago.  So getting to work with the Coming of Age class every other year at Mission Peak UU has been amongst the most special and enjoyable aspects of my Ministry here.

 

And this Sunday we will once again be given the absolute honor of hearing the belief statements of our Coming of Age Youth.  They have had quite a year.  It has involved several retreats, service projects, and a lot of time to think and talk about the issues that matter to them.  I promise you, what they have to tell us will be a gift to our ears, minds and hearts (no pressure COA team, you got this!).

 

And of course there is so much more going on in the life of this vibrant community. Our Interim Search committee has a VERY BIG announcement for you in an article below, and there are several events (including a going away party for yours truly that I hope you can all put on your calendar and come to) and other important info, so check it out!

 

I hope to see you soon,

Rev. Jeremy D. Nickel

Minister of Mission Peak UU Congregation
Fremont, CA.
Preferred appointment times: Tue-Thur
11am-6pm

 

My preferred pronouns are “He” “Him” and “His” please feel welcome to share yours with me.

Available by appt all days except Monday

This Sunday’s Service:
Coming of Age Sunday
The coming of age program provides an opportunity for our youth to deepen their sense of spiritual identity within our congregation. Come hear the credos (belief statements) of our Coming of Age youth!

 

Leading the service will be Coming of Age Youth and Worship Associate Coming of Age Mentors.  Music will be provided by Jay Steele.
 
Interim Minister
We are very pleased to announce to the members and friends of Mission Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation that our Interim Minister will be Reverend Jade “JD” Benson, of Walnut Creek, currently serving as Assistant Minister of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco. You can learn more about her from her web site, http://revjdbenson.org/, or by listening to the sermon she gave us on January 25, 2015, https://mpuuc.org/sermons/Sermon%20Archive.html. Her first week with us, beginning August 20, will be spent at the annual UUA Interim Minister conference, and she will be in our pulpit on August 27th.

Our search committee was Paul K Davis, David Lefkort, Beckett Gladney, Cara Madden-Watson, and Lisa Newstrom. Our contract negotiating team was Paul K Davis, Lisa Newstrom, and Steve Wallcave. The Board has approved the contract and it has been signed by President Melissa Holmes and Reverend Benson.

Maria Luisa Macias
Care Team Forming for Maria Luisa
As many of you know our beloved member and friend Maria Luisa is in a battle with cancer.  As she shared with us recently during Joys and Concerns, it has moved to stage 4 and is in her liver.  She is beginning Chemo treatments very shortly and has the most incredibly positive and beautiful spirit you can ever bring to such a moment.

 

In the coming weeks and months we know that Maria Luisa and her family will need support from us, and so we are forming a special care team to focus on taking care of them all.  We know that there is a huge reservoir of love and support at Mission Peak UU for this family, and many have asked how they can help.  Well, this is how.

 

At the moment they need help both with rides and meals, but this could change in the coming months.

 

Please contact the head of Pastoral Care Rev. Barbara Meyer’s at
com_minister@mpuuc.org to let her know that you want to help, and please give some indication of what you can do.

 

Thank you for continuing to show an incredible commitment to each other.  I know you all join me in sending prayers, blessings and love to Maria Luisa and her family.
Please hold your pledges for 2017-2018 until
July 1st!

The 2016-2017 church year ends on
June 30th. In order to keep all our accounting correct, we CANNOT deposit checks or cash for your 2017-2018 pledges until
July 1. We appreciate your eagerness to give!

DeAnna Alm and Natalie Campbell, Canvass Co-chairs
Sweet Tomatoes Fundraiser | June 1 Between 10AM – 9PM
Have lunch or dinner at Sweet Tomatoes in Fremont anytime on June 1st and support Mission Peak UU.
Sweet Tomatoes will donate 20% of sales generated by those who bring in a copy of our flyer. Flyers will be available on the MPUUC.org website under events or by clicking here, on Facebook events and after service.

Bring friends and family for a great meal supporting a great organization.

 

Goodbye Party for Jeremy
Please join us after the service on
June 11 for a goodbye celebration for Rev. Jeremy.  We will be gathering from
11:30-3:00 at Picnic Area B at Lake Elizabeth (maps will be provided). Please bring a food item to share.  Non-alcoholic beverages and paper goods (plates, napkins, etc.) will be provided.  Beer, wine, and champagne are allowed if you would like to bring some. There is a grill if you would like to grill something (charcoal will be provided). Feel free to bring acoustic instruments, kites, outdoor games, camp chairs, picnic blankets, etc. (picnic area B is located in the grassy area just north of the Senior Center). Come spend the afternoon relaxing, hanging out, sharing stories and music, and saying goodbye to Jeremy and his family (his last Sunday with us will be
June 18).  If you have any questions, please contact Jen King.
Baseball Sunday Fundraiser
This year our annual Baseball
Sunday celebration will be
Sunday, June 18 which is also Father’s Day.  What better way to celebrate than an afternoon at a baseball game?  We will be heading south this year to see the San Jose Giants play the Visalia Rawhide at
1:00 pm. And it’s not just a fun baseball afternoon, it’s also a chance to support Mission Peak!! We’re making this event a fundraiser and for each $12 ticket we sell we get to keep $5. What could be easier? So invite all your friends and family for a fun, family friendly afternoon at the ballpark and support Mission Peak at the same time.  We have an initial lot of 75 tickets, but can get more if we sell out.  Jen King will have tickets available most Sundays, but is also willing to mail out tickets.  Please make all checks out to MPUUC.  If you have any questions or want to order tickets, please contact Jen King at 510-299-2825.
Self Awareness, White Supremacy, and the UUA — Sun. May 28
A recent regional leadership hire has revealed that staffing in our Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) shows patterns of definite white bias. As a result, UU people of color have requested that we address this problem and reflect on how it also occurs in our congregations and districts – not just in the UUA. In concert with more than 600 UU congregations who are taking time to address this issue, Mission Peak is offering a workshop on Sunday, May 28th, after our service. We will examine how our biases are linked to white supremacy, denominational history, and how we can move forward. Each of us has a stake in finding ways into and through these issues. We invite you to come support one another as we look for creative and authentic responses to what some may see as a crisis but others frame as an opportunity for growth. Your participation is strongly encouraged. Self awareness of our own part in this issue, while it may be uncomfortable, will help each of us deepen our humanity and our sense of connection to others in our faith.

Rev. Kurt Kuhwald, UU community minister, and presenter for SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice) will facilitate our workshop. Assisting Kurt will be Allysson McDonald, MPUUC Social Justice Chair.

Your presence will help us become a more welcoming congregation and inclusive association. RSVP to Allysson, by May 25
allyssonmcdonald@gmail.com

and notify her if you need childcare. Please bring your lunch.

Bio:

Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald has served 7 congregations and 3 Community Ministries as a UU minister and has preached and served widely in the PCD (including as Interim/Consulting minister here in SFUU in 2003/04). Racial Justice, Conscious Eldering, Worker and Climate Justice, are ministries that occupy his heart and dedication now in his 73rd year. Working with a community of Interfaith, climate and racial justice activists, he continues to support frontline communities in the Bay Area. He continues to be ecstatic that in October he became a grandpa!!

 

You are welcome to a special exhibit!
 
The Welcome Home Project at the John O’ Lague Galleria in Hayward City Hall. 
May 26-July 28th, 2017. Opening night will be June 9th from 5:30-7:30 PM. A panel will feature several of the participants in the Welcome Home Project. Refreshments will be served.
The Welcome Home Project exhibit is a powerful and compelling collection of  photographs and stories of formerly incarcerated Alameda County residents that have turned their lives around after many years of involvement with the criminal justice system. The photographer, Ruth Morgan, is a nationally acclaimed local photographer and her work was in the The Sentence Unseen show on Alcatraz. The
Project Coordinator,
Micky Duxbury,
is an
author and  the interviewer/editor of the stories. The Welcome Home Project humanizes the formerly incarcerated while adding a deeper understanding of the challenges of reentry.
These stories are testimony to the power of resilience, hope, and determination in the face of the barriers that most formerly incarcerated individuals face.
Community Office Hours
Rev. Jeremy’s final dates

 

Thursday, May 25
4 – 6 PM
Mission Coffee
151 Washington Blvd
Fremont

 

Tuesday, June 6
11 AM – 1 PM
Suju’s
494 Stevenson Blvd
Fremont

 

 

Final Community Office Hours:
 
Thursday, June 15
11 AM – 1 PM
Mission Coffee
151 Washington Blvd
Fremont

 

 

Mission Peak UU | 2950 Washington Blvd Fremont CA | 510.252.1477 | missionpeakuu.org
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