This Week on the Peak

This Week on the Peak – Wednesday, September 25, 2019
This Week on the Peak
Mission Peak UU – Fremont, CA
The Home of Liberal Religion in the Tri-Cities and Beyond!
September 25, 2019

Ministerial Musings
 
A week of change, a week of turmoil, a week of passion. We were shown this week what one person can do to affect the world. If that is not an example of individual identity, I don’t know what is. Greta Thunberg has shown us what one single person can do to change the world. It doesn’t matter your age, your gender, your country, what matters is your heart and mind. She brought intelligent, succinct, honest dialogue to the table on the climate crisis. And people are listening. The most effective photo I saw this week on the Internet was the picture of her in front of the Swedish Parliament one year ago in November, where she was the sole protester against the world. Her sign reads School Strike for Climate in Swedish. And then this was last Friday in New York City. Just in New York City.
 
 
 
One young woman did this. Her individual identity is confirmed. She knows what she believes and she lives in that belief. I admire her tenacity, her courage and her young wisdom. Don’t we wish we could all be like her in her strength?
 
We can. We may not need to take on the world as she has chosen to do, but we can take on what we are passionate about. We can take on what is important to us, whether it is a local issue or a national one. We have to find that inner strength, that passion, that spirituality that will move us forward. I know that it is there. I know that sometimes it appears. I see it in you, sometimes I see it in me. Every human being possesses a strength that we sometimes don’t believe is there.
 
What is it you can turn to that strengthens your resolve? What is it inside of you that you are passionate about? Discover it, reveal it to yourself and others and then take action. We must. It is time.
 
Blessings to you all,
Rev Jo
 
 
Please feel free to contact me
By email:  minister@mpuuc.org 
By phone: 510-972-3890
 
This Sunday’s Service:

Our Inner Selves Revealed
Bring-A-Friend Sunday
  
                    
Today is Bring-A-Friend Sunday and on this last Sunday of our monthly theme of Individual Identity, let us explore those inner selves we sometimes hide from ourselves. How can hiding something from yourself not only harm you, but harm others? Let’s explore how inner reflection can not only help us to grow, but to thrive emotionally, physically and spiritually
         
Rev. Jo Green will lead the service and assisting will be Worship Associate Kathy Wallcave. Jay Steele will provide our music
 
 
 
 
Rev Jo Green will be on vacation out of town from Oct 19-23.  Please contact the below officers for any immediate needs.

To contact President Steve Wallcave,  president@mpuuc.org 
For membership contact Gayle Tupper,  gayletupper@comcast.net 
For Pastoral Care contact Rev. Barbara Meyers, bfkmeyers@gmail.com
 
Bring a Friend to Mission Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation on September 29!

Do you know someone (or several someone’s!) who might be:
  • Interested in learning about Unitarian Universalism?
  • In search of a sense of community in a religious home where diversity is appreciated and celebrated?
  • Looking for a way to add spirituality to their life?
  • Interested in religious education/exploration for themselves and/or their children?
  • In search of a way to implement their values through social action?
If so, then bring your friend, family member, or co-worker to Mission Peak with you next Sunday, September 29, 2019! We will have a potluck lunch after the service, so please bring your favorite potluck food and stay for lunch, even if you’re not bringing a visitor. Newcomers will be our guests and do not need to bring anything. We will provide a Costco cake, will need main dishes, salads, side dishes, and beverages.
APF Appreciation Video

You will recognize some members in this Annual Program Fund from Rev Vail Weller!
 
Click here for Video.
CaYRE NEEDS YOUR HELP!!!!
 
The children and youth religious education program has been an integral part of the mission and vision of Mission Peak since the beginning. As we continue forward with that mission in the start of our Fall semester we are in dire need for volunteers to help provide continued education to the young people of our congregation. If you can lead or assist in the classroom, are willing to be on our substitute list, or even will to help us sort and organize supplies please contact Shawn Snavley our Interim DRE. We need all hands on deck to help provide safe and loving environment for our young people to grow!
 
All the Best,
 
Shawn
Interim Director of Religious Education
510-397-8758
Black & White Gala – November 2, 2019 – Mark Your Calendar

Our annual Black & White Gala will be Saturday, November 2 from 6:00-10:00pm. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year. It’s a great opportunity for you to dress up (if you’d like) and support Mission Peak by participating in our service auction, buying unique and handmade items at our boutique, and testing your luck by participating in our basket raffle. All while enjoying yummy sweet and savory snacks and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Please put the Black & White Gala on your calendar, invite friends, plan your outfit (our theme this year is Vintage Hollywood), and start thinking of items you can donate to the auction and make for the boutique. It will be a great event and a TON of fun, but we can’t do it without you!! Tickets are now on sale. Tickets are $25 each or you can reserve a table of eight for $200.
 
It’s also time to start figuring out what you can donate for the event. We need:
  • Auction Items: Services only – no physical items. If you want to donate something, but don’t know what…ask Jen King and she’ll help you brainstorm ideas. The best idea is to offer to share what you enjoy doing!If you drive, offer transportation. If you garden, offer to beautify someones garden. If you like to bake, bake goodies for auction day or for a future date. If you like to cook, offer to cook a meal, deliver a meal, or share a meal. If you like picnics, offer to gather all the fixings for a dream picnic for 2. If you are good with hammer and nails, offer to help build or repair something. If you like to do a craft, offer to teach it to someone else or create a unique personalized item for someone.If you love kids, offer to babysit and give parents a much needed night out. If you have an eye for organizing, offer to help organize closets. If you own a truck, offer to haul stuff. If you love animals, offer to pet sit. If you have a talent, offer to share it. If you have a skill, offer to teach it.
  • Items for the Boutique:- Homemade items – jewelry, knitted items, pottery, art, baked goods, bookmarks, stained glass, cross stitch, etc.
  • Themed Baskets: You can shop and put together a themed basket or donate $$ for someone else to put together a basket. We also need volunteers to sell raffle tickets the night of the event.
  • Sweet & Savory Snacks – We need both sweet and savory goodies donated for the buffet for the event. Items do not need to be homemade. Please sign-up to donate if you can.
  • Beverages – We need donations of beer, wine, champagne, Martinellis, soda, etc. to serve at the event.
  • Volunteers – We need lots and lots of volunteers for the day of the event.Sign-ups will be available every Sunday after services.
  • Bidders & Buyers – Please plan to attend this fun event which provides not only finances for our congregation, but fellowship opportunities for the whole year. Please invite friends and family who you’d like to introduce to Mission Peak UU or who you believe would support our mission of inclusiveness and social justice. The more the merrier. Tickets are $25 each (although no one is turned away if the price of a ticket is a hardship). We will be selling tickets every Sunday after services.
Appreciative Inquiry Committee  
 
 
Hello everyone!  There were 5 people during this workshop that offered to be on this committee and I neglected to write your names down!  Please contact me as I know you were interested and I need your help!

Last June we held an Appreciative Inquiry workshop where many of the members interacted and answered questions about their memories of MPUUC, their hopes for the future and what they saw as this congregation’s strengths. I have compiled all of the information you all contributed and now I am looking for a committee to be formed to gain conclusions about what this congregation needs and wants and sees in their future.
 
As your Interim Minister, I have been guiding you through the journey of grieving, of healing, and preparing to transition you all for a new settled minister to come. This workshop gave us some answers as to how you see yourselves, what you value, what stories in this congregation are life-giving, and how this congregation has made a difference in your lives.
 
Appreciative Inquiry is a way to keep a congregation thriving and recreating itself by its conversations and its stories. It is a process that you can apply and look back on in the future and use in any walk of life. This is an opportunity for this congregation to define itself, to hold those memories which are most important and to define your future!
 
Please contact me, Rev Jo, and notify me if you would like to be on this committee. This work is very important for this congregation and will give you new insights and direction in moving towards the future you wish to have.
 
I look forward to meeting with you all!

Blessings,

Rev Jo
The Fellowship Committee Needs YOU!

Do you enjoy the social events we have at Mission Peak? Would you like to see more events? The Fellowship Committee needs more members. Many hands make light work, and we could use a few more hands. We meet around once a quarter and try to plan or support 2-3 events a quarter. Best of all we have a lot of fun together. If you’re interested in joining our ‘merry band’, please contact Jen King.
WE NEED VOLUNTEERS!!

We NEED your help! Cole Hall does not magically transform into a special place for our services each Sunday. It requires a small army of volunteers. We’ve had a few ‘retirements’ lately and we have some spots
to fill. PLEASE let Jen King know if you can fill in for any of the following:

URGENT: We have no one to do set-up for the 2nd Sunday of each month!

We also need people for the following:

Additional Set-up assistance for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Sundays of each month

Additional Greeter for the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month

Powerpoint Clickers & AV Technicians for many Sundays (We will train you! We
promise!)

Additional Take-down assistance for the 2nd Sunday of each month.
 
You can sign up on an ongoing basis for the Sunday’s indicated above by contacting Jen King, or you can sign up on and ad hoc basis by following this link:

UU Justice Ministry of California presents
 
  An all-day event connecting Unitarian Universalists, faith leaders, and climate justice activists in California. Programming will include faith-grounding, presentations/workshops from local organizations, regional strategy building, and opportunities for congregations/communities to share their efforts, struggles, and successes in community. 
 
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Hosted by the Mt. Diablo UU Church (Walnut Creek, CA)
 
For more information and to register click here:
 
 
 
SUPPORT OUR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT TO BOYCOTT  
 
(UUA 2019 Action of Immediate Witness)
 
UUA defines Immediate Witness as “the public profession by word or deed of the convictions of an individual or group regarding a particular issue. Actions of Immediate Witness profess convictions grounded in Unitarian Universalism” and “requires immediate action to make an impact.”  
 
For those who are willing and able: 
Then UUA is distributing a Petition in Support of Our First Amendment Right of Free Speech!

…We affirm our commitment to the constitutional right to free speech. We affirm that boycotts and divestment in support of human rights are free speech and are aligned with UU principles upholding democracy in human affairs and the right of conscience… 

Copy of the full petition will be available after the worship service on Sunday for all those interested in signing.

You can also print and sign a copy to mail at



Upcoming Training for Asylum Project Volunteers – Please RSVP

Two Sundays ago, Kelly Younger from Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity spoke to us about the Nueva Esperanza Accompaniment Team (NEAT) program. NEAT trains teams of volunteers from congregations across the Bay Area to “accompany”, i.e., walk alongside, asylum seekers who have recently arrived in the United States and do not have family to support them. NEAT works with congregations whose members provide housing to asylum seekers and also matches congregations with asylum seekers who are already housed elsewhere. 

NEAT has two upcoming training sessions for accompaniment team volunteers. These training sessions are both on Sundays from 2-5 pm, on October 6 (in San Francisco) and November 3 (in Contra Costa County). If you are interested in being part of an accompaniment team, if and when MPUUC decides to go forward with supporting one or more asylum seekers, or if you are interested volunteering more occasionally as part of this project, please consider attending one of these two NEAT training sessions. Email Allie King at allie.king@gmail.com (or call 561-901-5446) with your availability and she will coordinate sign-up and carpools.


Upcoming Training for The Rapid Response Network to Help Protect Our Undocumented Neighbors From ICE   

The next trainings in Santa Clara County are on these dates:

Monday, October 7, 7:00pm in a private home in West San Jose, register for address and details
Friday, October 18, 6-8pm, Sunnyvale Community Services, 725 Kifer Rd, Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Sunday, October 27, 2-4pm, Stone Church, 1108 Clark Way, San Jose, CA 95125
Please sign up for these trainings by sending email to    carols@sacredheartcs.org please give your name and email address and specify which training/s you wish to attend.


Write a Letter of Encouragement to Angel Benito

We have been contacted with an update on Angel Benito’s case from EBIIC, the East Bay Interfaith Immigration Coalition. They spoke with his mom Maricela today and unfortunately, Angel’s appeal was denied at the Board of Immigration Appeals and his family is now planning on moving the case to the 9th circuit court. Sadly, Angel has now been in detention for 2 years and he is crushed that this will still take more time to be resolved. Maricela shared that Angel is extremely depressed because he hasn’t seen his children during this time and the communication with them has become less. She asked if we could come together as a community once again and send Angel letters of encouragement and support. To read more about Angel’s story and for the instructions on writing him, see the attached document.



All of us desire to have purpose in our lives.  See what Austin Texas is doing for their unhoused community.


   
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!  
   
Join the Interfaith council as we stand together for the

WE ARE ONE RALLY – CLIMATE JUSTICE 
Thursday, September 26, 2019
5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Paseo Padre & Walnut, Fremont
                          
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
 
 
LEAF Garden

GARDENING FROM THE GROUND UP WORKSHOP // Saturday, September 28 
10 AM – Noon // No fee
This free workshop taught by local gardening expert, Lori Caldwell, will provide a comprehensive guide to building and managing healthy soil for growing food, cultivating and maintaining a Bay-Friendly garden.
LEAF C.R. Stone Garden at 55 Mowry Ave


1ST ANNUAL LEAF SEED SWAP // Saturday, September 28
1 – 3 PM // No fee
Come and learn how to save and store seeds. Free seeds for everyone that comes.
LEAF C.R. Stone Garden at 55 Mowry Ave

Valerie Stewart
Encourage Governor Newsom to SUPPORT Affordable Housing
 
The Legislature wrapped up their business for the year in the early morning hours on Saturday, and there are now more than a dozen Eden-supported affordable housing bills on Governor Newsom’s desk!  
 
The governor has until October 13 to sign legislation, and Eden hopes he’ll support all of these much-needed bills-which will increase funding for affordable housing, accelerate local permitting for new affordable developments, offer new density “bonuses” to 100% affordable projects, and expand the inventory of surplus public land available for affordable development.  
 
Please help California’s low-income families by sending a message of support to Governor Newsom.  
 
COPY AND PASTE THIS SUGGESTED MESSAGE INTO THE GOVERNOR’S CONTACT FORM HERE
 
I urge the governor to sign this year’s package of affordable housing legislation. With millions of Californians desperate for more affordable housing, these critical bills will increase funding for affordable development, accelerate local permitting for new affordable projects, allow denser affordable development near transit, and open more surplus public land to affordable housing. 
 
Affordable housing is the foundation of a successful life: It allows families to care for each other, find jobs and go to work, and to live with dignity. I believe this year’s legislation will make important progress toward expanding access to affordable housing for the low-income Californians who need it most. I urge you to sign this critical legislation.  
 
 
Thank you for being a housing advocate.
 
Sincerely,
 
Daniela Ogden
Vice President of Communications, Advocacy and Fund Development

  Join the Interfaith Choir!

Do you like to sing?  Join the Interfaith Choir!
Supporting the Interfaith Thanksgiving Service
“Growing in Unity”
Rehearsing at Mission Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation

Please click here for more information.
Pioneers Leadership Academy
Presents
Interview Skills Workshop for the Youth

The Springboard for Success 
 
Is it better to learn the interview skills
before the interview, or after?
 
While many people go on interviews after interviews without realizing why they did not get a job, it is prudent to learn the interview skills before the interview. This will increase chance of success at getting the job while reducing the stress of job hunting, wasting energy, time and money.  Pioneers Leadership Academy is the
springboard for success. We are pleased to offer this unique program so our youth can maximize their effectiveness and their chance of success while they save time, energy, and money.  
 
The workshop is intended for the youth between 12 to 18 years old and will be offered in Fremont on every Friday starting October 11, 2019 to November 15, 2019 from 6 to 8 PM.
 
Us Together Center
3755 Washington Blvd., Suite 102 B
Fremont, CA 94538
www.UsTogetherCenter.com
 

Mystery Theater Tickets on sale at First Unitarian, San Jose

Please make plans now to attend the 10th annual Musical Mystery Comedy Show from the First Unitarian Titanic Players called, “A Show Within a Show”.  These shows are always a lot of fun!  The Comedy/Musical raises money to support the Santa Clara County Community organization PACT.  There will be performances, on Sat Oct 5 & 12 at 7 PM with dinner for $25 and 2 Sunday matinees on Oct 6 & 13 at 2:30 for $15.  Shows are in the Social Hall of First Unitarian Church, San Jose at 160 N 3rd St, San Jose.

To RSVP and purchase tickets, contact FUCSJoffice@gmail.com.
For more info contact Connie. wr5@gmail.com
Mission Peak Wish List
 
New Computer for the office
Color Printer for the office

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