 |
Mission Peak UU – Fremont, CA
The Home of Liberal Religion in the Tri-Cities and Beyond!
March 25, 2020
|
|
|
I hope you are all doing well. Even though things are topsy turvey, there are still things to be thankful for. I am thankful for local and state officials, health care workers, people who work with the elderly, sanitation workers, store clerks, delivery drivers, and countless others who are working to keep our society functioning as well as possible. I am thankful to the UUA for giving us early guidance to not have in person services and to our board for deciding to have online services instead.I am also thankful we have been able to continue to have meaningful services using Zoom. We incorporated joys and concerns last Sunday at our second online service and we plan to have a remote coffee hour this Sunday after the service. We are working on ways to make the music streaming work better over Zoom as well and expect to roll that out this Sunday too. See mpuuc.org/zoom for more details on how to connect Sunday at 10 a.m.
I have been helping my wife Kathy connect with her 1st grade class over Zoom every school day. This has helped me figure out how to use Zoom more effectively and it is a joy watching her students interact and how excited they are to see their teacher and each other.
For those of you who are not Zoom experts I have a few hints on how to use it better below.
- Active speaker view lets you see the person who is speaking. This is the default view the first time you use zoom.
- Gallery view allows you to see many small videos of people at once. If you Google “Zoom gallery view” you can find a zoom support article on how to switch to it on various devices.
- Lots more support articles are at support.zoom.com
- Mute when you are not speaking to reduce background noise and feedback for other people. (The meeting leaders can mute you and often do in large meetings).
- Devices that have larger screens like laptops or desktop computers let you see more details and I find are easier to take advantage of different zoom options. Tablets and smartphones work well if you have good vision and do not need to control the meeting.
- You can get a free Zoom account (that limits meetings to 40 minutes, unlimited time for 2 people connections) This is a good way to connect with friends and relatives, as well as to practice for Sunday!
If anyone is having trouble connecting on Sundays contact me during the week and I will do my best to help you.
I look forward to seeing many of you online and look forward to the time when we can safely gather in Cole Hall again.
|
This Sunday’s Service:
We have transitioned to virtual services because of the Coronavirus pandemic. See
mpuuc.org/zoom each week for how to connect.
Pledging as a Spiritual Practice
Pledging is an ancient tradition in spiritual circles to not only ensure the sustainability of an institution, but also for each individual, the spirituality that it engages within ourselves. When we give unconditionally, isn’t that a spiritual experience? Join us this Sunday to explore spirituality and how it interacts with our finances.
Rev. Jo Green will lead the service and assisting will be Worship Associate Paul K. Davis. Worship Producer will be Steve Wallcave. Jay Steele will provide our music.
Because we will not have services in Cole Hall where you can donate money, below are 3 ways you can donate and/or fulfill your pledge:
- Mail check to
Mission Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation
P.O. Box 545
Fremont, CA 94537-0545
(If you use Bill Pay with your bank, you could use them to mail the check)
- Drop envelope with check or cash in Mission Peak UU mail slot addressed to:
Mission Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation
We will be collecting this once per week on Saturday.
- Pay on line at https://mpuuc.org/contact-us/donate/ with credit or debit card.
Note we use PayPal for this and they charge us around 3%.
|
Blessings Beloved Congregation,
It is my hope and prayer that everyone out there is staying safe and taking the suggested precautions. This is a difficult time in our country and it is preying on vulnerable people, not just the immunocompromised, but the financially compromised as well.
Our Pastoral Associates team has been making outreach calls to all of you and if you haven’t received a call, you will soon. We want to know your needs and we want to know that you are safe. I am working on also calling members to check on you and see that you are okay.
If you are finding that you are financially compromised, please let me know. I’m not sure how much I can help, but I can try. I may also be able to refer you to any help that you may need.
I want you all to know that I am thinking of each and every one of you. I miss seeing all of your faces each week! I am holding you all in prayer in my heart and look forward to the day when we can all be together again in person. We can take solace in the fact that we are all in this together, we are not the only ones, we are not the only country, this is indeed a global pandemic.
Keep holding the light in your mind that all will be well soon again one day.
Please let me know if you are in need.
Blessings to you all,
Rev Jo
510-972-3890
|
|
From your Canvass Committee:
Hello dear congregation!
The Canvass committee and the Fellowship committee have put our heads together and have planned some virtual, themed gatherings to happen over Zoom next week and we hope you will sign up for one! Each will last from 1-2 hours, depending on the hosts’ preference, and if you sign up, we will send you the zoom link and any instructions the host might have.
We have mailed out pledge cards and you should receive them by early next week. Please return them ASAP, so the budget committee can plan next year’s budget.
Remember, we’ve been offered a donation of matching funds for any increases!
~ Colleen Arnold
2020 Canvass Committee
|
|
Please plan to JOIN US for
What
: UUtheVote Webinar
with Youth Voter Movement and Mission Peak UU Congregation, Fremont, CA
When
: Sunday, March 29th
Time:
2 p.m. Pacific Time, 3 p.m. Mountain Time, 4 p.m. Central Time, 5 p.m. Eastern
Where
: Zoom – UUtheVote will provide the zoom meeting (link below).
Moderators:
Alex Sherwood, UUA Youth and Young Adult Programs Associate
Rev. Ranwa Hammamy, Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of California (UUJMCA)
Speaker: Julie Dunkle, Co-Founder Youth Voter Movement
Speaker: Syeda Reshma Inamdar, President, League of Women Voters, Fremont, Newark, Union City
Speakers: Alvin Lee (and others), YVM Youth organizers
Speakers: Kathi Bayne (and others), Mission Peak UU Congregation
Workshop Title:
Youth Voter Registration Workshop: How Your Congregation Can Work with Schools
Workshop Description
: UU’s at Mission Peak Congregation, through the local League of Women Voters and their project, the Youth Voter Movement have registered nearly 6,000 new voters in the past two years.
This 90-minute workshop will lay out their model of student organizers and adult volunteers working collaboratively with schools, community partners and events to coordinate voter registration drives that target high school and college students. Attend to learn more about the Youth Voter Movement and how you may replicate it near you
.
|
|
Children and Youth Religious Education in the midst of shelter in place
Now more than ever it is incredibly important that we keep our young ones connected to our congregation! In order to help continue our program virtually our DRE will be leading the following weekly opportunities!
Virtual Youth Group Sundays from 3 p.m. to 430 p.m. starting March 22nd.
Parent and Guardian Coffee Hour Tuesdays from 2 p.m.to 3 p.m. starting March 24th.
Sing a long songs for toddlers Fridays from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. starting March 27th.
Interactive Story Time Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. starting March 28th.
Please contact Shawn @
dre@mpuuc.org if you have any questions. Zoom links will be posted on the MPUUC RE webpage this week.
|
|
Board Briefs
The board had two recent meetings, on March 12 and March 18th where we spent most of our time figuring out ways to operate during the Coronavirus pandemic. We decided to transition to virtual services starting March 15th. We also approved new money procedures since we will not be having collections in Cole Hall. The new way to collect money is listed in the Sunday Service section of today’s Week on the Peak.
Beckett resigned, effective 3/17. We appreciate her years of service to our congregation and will miss her.
Jay started as our board secretary on 3/18, with the boards thanks.
|
|
Free Furniture
Beckett and Paul are moving and are giving away some of their furniture. You would need to get it by Sunday. See
mpuuc.org/free-furniture/
for details.
|
|
It’s NEVER Too Early to Start Thinking About The Black & White Gala
Our annual Black & White Gala is our congregation’s largest fundraiser of the year and, while providing funds to help keep our congregation going is its main purpose, the year round social interactions that result are just as valuable to the life our our congregation. November 7, 2020 might seem very far off right now, but NOW is the time to start thinking about what events you might want to offer to be held in the spring or summer of 2021. Below is a testimonial by Jo Ann Schriner about the fun that was had at the recent Tom Lehrer Sing-along event:
“OMGOSH! The most fun party ever!! We just had our second annual Tom Lehrer sing along, a most rowdy auction item. We laughed, heard stories about family connections with Tom Lehrer and about TL’s life, sang and tried to keep up with zippy fast lyrics, and laughed some more. Our stomachs churned as we sang along to the quite gross Irish Ballad and we noshed on Vatican II wafers (honoring The Vatican Rag). I Hold Your Hand In Mine is up at the top of the creepy horrible songs list, and possibly my favorite of his.
This gloriously irreverent evening came about due to the genius idea of two Raunchy Ringleaders – Paul Clifford and Terri King. Thanks to them and to the Fearless Musicians and our Special Unsuspecting Guests for making a gathering of like-minded souls so fun.”
So put your thinking caps on now and start coming up with new and exciting and interesting events that you might want to host or that you would definitely bid on if someone else hosted. There’s no need to wait until October. Share your brainstorms and with Jen King now!
|
|
Hygiene Unit Collection Update
Thanks to everyone who brought items before our planned March 15 collection date! Before we went to the current on-line services.
Valerie delivered the items to Jim Thomas at Niles Discovery Church (NDC), he is the Homeless Taskforce Coordinator at NDC. Mr. Thomas said to express his thanks- they still host the Mobile Hygiene Unit two days per week and the supplies are always needed.
If you were planning to bring items last Sunday, March 15, our planned collection date, please hold on to them until we meet again! We will have a final collection date whenever that happens. NDC will continue their hosting, so our collections are always welcome!
|
|
Brown Bags Needed at Tri-City Volunteers
Our friends at Tri-City Volunteers are still in operation. For the safety of their staff, they created social distancing by shifting their food distribution to “grab a bag and go.” They have run out of paper bags and would rather spend money on food than paper bags.
If you have a stash of paper grocery bags, please drop them off on your way to or from your grocery shopping (an allowed activity) at Niles Discovery Church at 36600 Niles Blvd near Nursery Avenue (there is a cardboard box near the door) or at TCV Food Bank at 37350 Joseph Street at Peralta (look for the “bag drop-off”). If you want to help financially, you can always send donations to TCV.
Thanks!
|
Hi Mission Peak,
I received this from our Tri-City Interfaith Council members. Please view to see how our faith communities are weathering this pandemic.
Blessings to all, Rev Jo
Dear friends,
Allow me to share an incredibly moving ABC Channel 7 fifty-minute Coronavirus Feature, that aired on Sunday and included a number of our clergy:
‘Finding Faith: Better Together:’
Bay Area Interfaith Community Worship
|
I received this email from a Pax Christi friend regarding placing a moratorium on evictions in the tri-cities during the COVID-19 crisis.
I thought you’d be interested, as it’s to protect our vulnerable neighbors. Please consider signing and passing it on to any folks you know who live in Fremont, Newark, or Union City. (There’s a separate link for each city council.) Thank you.
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
Senator Kamala Harris
(202) 224 – 3553
Senator Diane Feinstein (202) 224-3841
|
|
|
Mission Peak UU | 2950 Washington Blvd Fremont CA | 510.252.1477 | missionpeakuu.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
