This Week on the Peak

This Week on the Peak – Wednesday, February 6, 2019
This Week on the Peak
Mission Peak UU – Fremont, CA
The Home of Liberal Religion in the Tri-Cities and Beyond!
February 6, 2019
 

Ministerial Musings
 
Happy Chinese Lunar New Year!!! Did you sweep your stoop and clean your house to keep the monster dragons away? It’s always good to begin a new year as clean and organized as you can. BUT do not sweep on New Year’s Day, you want to start clean. If you clean on New Year’s you are sweeping all the good luck away. Whether it is myth or fact, it can’t hurt. Luckily, I don’t sweep that much so the odds of me doing it on Chinese New Year’s has been few and far between!
 
It does bring up a thought however. So many cultures seem to have similar customs when it comes to new beginnings and I think in our church year we have done just that. We began the new church year with a new covenant with one another, committing to how we will treat each other. Then we forgave and healed and felt grateful for all that we have. We have cleaned ourselves out and now can begin the work of looking inward, maybe seeing what we do not wish to see and also seeing the glorious insides that make up this community. That is how growth happens. We need to look inward, no matter how much we may fear it or avoid it to rid ourselves of that which no longer serves us. We need to look inward to see what is working well and gives us joy and revel in that feeling of satisfaction and happiness. We have a bit of work to do in this congregation to prepare ourselves, to define who we are and what we wish to grow into being in the future. This can be exciting and thrilling work. It can also be a little sad or frustrating in looking back and re-living those moments that didn’t serve us.
 
So I ask that you all begin to think about the pros and cons of being members in this congregation. We all need each other’s input to determine how we want to be. We all need each other’s guidance to propel ourselves forward, to match those dreams we want to come true with our reality. In the next few weeks I’ll be sending out a survey to find out your true feelings of what you feel works in this congregation and what can be improved. I will ask for your input in how you see the future of this community, what you want to happen, what you don’t want to happen and your ideas in how you see these hopes and dreams coming to fruition.
 
This is an exciting time in the age of this congregation. You are celebrating 25 years of being together. You have reached adulthood so to speak. There will need to be some decisions made so that you all can recognize who you want your next minister to be. These coming months will have me asking you some hard questions, not only about who you are and what you want to be as a congregation, but also what minister that is somewhere out there who will fit into the future you see for yourselves. This can feel scary, apprehensive, exciting and magical all at the same time! And that is my wish for you all…… some scary magical exciting months ahead!
 
Blessings to each and every one of you,

Rev Jo
 
Please feel free to contact me
By email:  minister@mpuuc.org
By phone: 510-972-3890
This Sunday’s Service:

Where are our Heroes?              

Join us this Sunday as we honor two very important people in our community with our Love Hero Award.  And then let’s ask ourselves, “Who are our heroes today and where are they?”   They may be right before your eyes.     
 
Leading the service will be Rev. Jo Green and assisting will be Worship Associate Megan McMillen.  Jay Steele will provide our music.  
 
 
 

Coffee Chat with Rev. Jo

This month Rev Jo will meet for coffee and breakfast (if you so choose) to chat about social justice and what it means to you.  Let’s meet at Suju’s Coffee, 3602 Thornton Ave, Fremont, CA 94536 on Wednesday morning Feb 13th at 9 a.m.  I’d love to hear your views about social justice in our community or any other topic that is important to you.  Let’s chat over coffee!
MPUUC’s Annual Courageous Love Hero Award Goes to Two Fremont Teachers

During our service on Sunday, February 10, 2019, Mission Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation honor two local teachers, Michelle Wallace and Carl Bullard, with Courageous Love Awards. The award is given in conjunction with the national Side with Love campaign, which promotes equality for marginalized communities. The goal of the campaign is to harness love’s power to challenge exclusion, oppression and violence based on identity.   Several local heroes were nominated and members of the congregation met following the service on Jan. 6 and chose to honor both teachers.    
 
The annual Courageous Love Award is given to a member of the Tri Cities community who has faced oppression, discrimination, and prejudice with grace and inspired determination; or who has inspired a local movement for love. We see these awards as a chance to uplift others; strengthen and support our community partnerships; and to join together with joy and with purpose those who have shared values. Both of this year’s awardees have been supportive of LGBTQQ+ students at Fremont schools. Michelle Wallace, Mission Peak UU member and former teacher at Thornton Junior High, founded the Gay Straight Alliance – now Genders and Sexualities Alliance (GSA) there after hearing homophobic remarks being made in her presence. Carl Bullard, is advisor for the GSA at Washington High School has provided guidance to LGBTQQ+ students for years. In addition to making this award, the congregation will donate the proceeds of its Sunday offering on February 10th to the GSA clubs at the two schools.

“Those teachers who rise up to really lead their students and model what it is to be a kind and loving human being is the behavior we can strive for every day,” said Rev. Jo Green, Interim Minister of Mission Peak UU.  “These teachers are modeling for us how best to raise our children in loving kindness. It is an honor for us to recognize their leadership.”

Men’s Fellowship Breakfast

The next men’s Fellowship Breakfast for First Methodist Church and the Mission Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation is at 8 a.m. on Saturday, February 9th, at Minerva’s Restaurant,  37463 Fremont Blvd, Fremont. Please  RSVP to John Holmes holmesfam@comcast.net by 6 p.m. Friday, February 8th if you are coming. Questions contact Steve Wallcave
Faith, Food & Farms Conference

Join faith-based & secular leaders advancing food security & sustainability!

  • Learn about successful models from diverse faith leaders in food justice!
  • Bring home resources to grow your congregation’s work for healthy food for all!
  • Be inspired by projects communities of faith are advancing nationally and locally!
  • Prepare to influence federal and local policy!
The Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative’s 7th annual Faith, Food & Farms Conference is designed for lay leaders and clergy active or interested in food projects to connect with each other as well as secular leaders of the sustainable agriculture movement. The Faith, Food & Farms Conference emphasizes participation and problem-solving to empower congregational leaders in their own communities.
 
Workshop topics include: CSA (community supported agriculture), food policy advocacy, produce stands and mobile farmers’ markets, food waste reduction, and faithlands. 

Who should attend? Leaders engaged or interested in food projects with their faith community and farmers seeking to develop relationships with faith-based groups.
Cost: $45 by March 1st, $55 after March 1st  Click here to register 
 
Questions? Contact info@interfaithfood.org or call us at 707-634-4672
Celebrating Mission Peak’s 25th Anniversary – Save These Dates!!

2019 marks 25 years of MPUUC’s existence as a congregation and we think that’s a milestone worth celebrating.  We will have many different celebrations throughout the year.  Please reserve the following dates on your calendar now.  You won’t want to miss them!

February 23 – 6:00-9:00 pm
– Potluck and movie night.  We’ll be sharing food, munching on popcorn, and watching The Shawshank Redemption (which was released 25 years ago in 1994!)

March 16 – Canvas Kick-Off Dinner
– Location and details TBA – Watch this space for more information about this exciting event!

May 5 – Charter Sunday
– Come celebrate the Charter that started it all with a special service and a Potluck BBQ afterwards.

June 28-30 – MPUUC’s annual Campout!
  This year we’ll be back at Puma Point at Anthony Chabot Regional Park so that we are close enough for those of you who are not so excited about camping to join us during the day on Saturday, June 29.  We will have many fun activities planned and will end the day with a potluck BBQ and campfire.

September 8 – 25th Anniversary Picnic Celebration
– After the annual Water Ceremony at Cole Hall we will gather at one of the reserved picnic areas at Lake Elizabeth for a Picnic/BBQ celebration.  We will have games for the kids, a jam session & sing-a-long, and other fun activities.  Come join us and enjoy hanging out with friends & family and celebrating MPUUC.

[More details regarding these events will follow closer to the dates.  If you have questions or suggestions for additional events or you want to help with an event, please contact Jen King].
Request for Class Proposals – Adult Education – Spring 2019
  
The Adult Education Committee is seeking proposals for classes for the Spring quarter-April through June of 2019. This is an opportunity for you to share what you know with others.
 
Past topics have included Buddhist meditation, healthy eating, art and spirituality, the Enneagram, Poems, and celebration of the sacred feminine. Classes can vary from one-time events to meeting every week.
 
How can you submit a proposal? Contact Ilze Duarte at (408) 627-2558 (texts preferred) or email her at ilzeduarte@earthlink.net  with your course information.
 
Please submit your proposal no later than February 10th. Thank you!
Volunteers Needed in Our Classrooms

We are in need of Teachers and Assistants in February.  The K-5th class will be continuing on their Passport to Spirituality.  Our 6-8th graders will continue to explore our neighboring faiths, which includes a trip to a Buddhist temple in February.  If you have any questions please email cayre@mpuuc.org

You can sign up using our new online sign up form by clicking on the link here
 
You can also sign up using our sign up poster at the back of Cole Hall this Sunday.
Second Saturday Documentaries at Niles Discovery Church

February Documentary:  One of the most important, yet least known activists of our time, Dolores Huerta was an equal partner in founding the first farm workers union with César Chávez. Dolores documents Huerta’s life from her childhood in Stockton, California to her early years with the United Farm Workers, to her continued work as a fearless activist. Come to the free screening of the film (followed by a discussion led by Huerta’s long-time friend Wendy Greenfield) at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 9, at Niles Discovery Church, 36600 Niles Blvd., Fremont. More info at j.mp/ssds1902
.
 
March Documentary:  Come see “The Bail Trap” on Saturday, March 9, 1:30 p.m., at Niles
Discovery Church, 36600 Niles Blvd., Fremont. The free screening will be followed by a discussion. Money bail is one of the main feeders of America’s mass incarceration system – and yet something most Americans know very little about. This movie is an opportunity to change that. Learn more at
   
Turning Love Into Justice:
 
The Tri-City Interfaith Council (tcicouncil.weebly.com is a grass-roots organization bringing together people of diverse religious beliefs from Fremont, Newark, and Union City (California). Rev. Jo Green, Rev. Barbara Meyers and Paul K. Davis are members.  Join in!

 
                          
Call your Elected Officials!  
 
Calls can make a difference! Contact your representatives to alert them to your views!

Congressperson Eric Swalwell 510-247-1388 or go to house.gov 
Ro Khanna  (202) 225-2631 
Senator Kamala Harris   (202) 224 – 3553
Senator Diane Feinstein (202) 224-3841
 
 
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