This Week on the Peak



This Week on the Peak
Mission Peak UU – Fremont, CA
The Home of Liberal Religion in the Tri-Cities and Beyond!
February 28, 2018

 

This Sunday’s Service:
The Heart to Forgive
It’s hard to forgive. Anger, resentment, disappointment fuel the unwilling heart. Should we care to forgive, to learn how? Join us for a service of questions and maybe some answers too.

 

Leading the service will be Rev. Benson. Assisting in the service is Worship Associate Ilze Duarte.  Music will be provided by Peak Performers.
BENEFIT FOR MPUUC
The hilarious, politically savvy comedy of Will Durst,
Sunday,
April 22, 7pm, to be held at
36600 Niles Blvd (Niles Discovery Church).

Tickets available in advance $25 (plus small fee)
www.mpuuc.org/durst; $30 at the door.
Buy early, buy for all your family, friends, neighbors: everyone could use a good evening of laughs about now, right?
Members & Friends of Mission Peak,
 
I have been of member of our congregation for thirteen years now. A few of you I knew before joining, but most of you I have met through the congregation. It has been fabulous to expand my circle of interaction to include you all. There is such a diversity of wonderful people among us.
 
I have always tried to be forward looking, and now, especially, as we look toward calling a new minister, is a time to look forward.
 
Building a bridge to the future involves many efforts. This month, March, we are concentrating on the financial effort through our annual pledge drive. For a few years past we have had a deficit budget – not a large deficit, but a persistent one. Our reserves will only last a couple more years. Fortunately, we have a great opportunity. One of us has offered to match all pledge increases over last year’s pledges. For each and every one of us, any increase in pledge we can accomplish will perform double!
 
But money, by itself, cannot accomplish our goals. I also keep in mind that we need to rebuild our membership. For a couple years, more have moved away than have walked in our doors. We live in a community with a higher than typical rate of people moving in and out. We need to continue to find ways of ministering to this community, and of inviting and welcoming people into our congregation.
 
Our task is neither easy nor difficult. It is not so easy that we can figure we’ll muddle through somehow regardless, but it is also not so difficult that we cannot expect success with reasonable effort.
 
Please work with me and with each other to build our bridge to the future.
 
— Paul K Davis, President-Elect of Mission Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation

 

A Message from Your DRE
Hi Everyone!
Each week we are tasked to find members of the community who are willing to be part of sharing their UU values with the children in this congregation. Unfortunately, we are unable to meet our goal each week, and sometimes we have to cancel classes or host a game day to keep the kids busy. This is a decision that has to be made by
Wednesday night of each week for planning purposes and to ensure that the information listed in the OOS is accurate. It is a decision we hate to make, but without 2 community members, we are unable to hold classes.
I was recently told in a meeting that our children value the relationships they build with their peers, and the only way we are able to do this is if we have space for them to connect with each other.
Each week you receive an email from myself or Shyno asking that you contribute to this program because it’s important to the children we serve, and to the longevity of Mission Peak as a sustainable community. I ask again, that you please take a look at our calendar and sign up for 2 teaching positions and 2 assistant positions from now until the end of May, with a special emphasis on this Sunday. We have 26 slots to fill over the next few months and this commitment of 3 hours over 3 months will make an incredible difference to these children.
Thank you!

 

 

Right Now:
 

The Following statement was developed by 5 members of the Tri-City Interfaith Council, your Interim Minister, Rev Benson, among them. Please read and share broadly:
TCIC Anti-Hate Statement
January 5, 2018

As a grassroots collection of people from many spiritual traditions, we want to clearly state that our faith traditions call us to recognize all people as equal and sacred. We reject racism, bigotry, and hatred.  “read full statement here

 

 

 

 

 

 

OUR Tri-City Interfaith Council 

MPUUC is now a member organization. Only individual members can vote and anyone from the congregation may join for a $25 dues, and attend whether a member or not. Rev. Benson is a member. Join in!

 

 

 

 

              

Our friends at Temple Beth Torah will once again host the annual

 

Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day Service:
April 15th at 7:30 pm.  Interfaith participation is in the planning through our TCIC.
 

 

 

                  LGBT tobacco prevention project
:  Contact Tri-City Health Center,  Brian Davis, for more
information. HIV-infected individuals and Trans women on hormones have increased negative health consequences if they smoke. Help with this education project.

 

 

 

 

Justice: Next meeting for members to discuss MPUUC  justice efforts:
March 1, 6 pm-7:30 pm Ockerman 7

 

 

 

 

Call your Elected Officials!  
Keep your representatives alerted to your views! Keep these names and numbers where you can refer to them at any time. There’s a new bill to be introduced in the House of Representatives to decriminalize marijuana. So many people are in prison, in some places for long prison sentences, even for small amounts of marijuana.  Rep. Barbara Lee, Oakland, is one of the bill’s sponsors.  Let your representatives know your thoughts.  Let’s do all we can to interrupt the school-to-prison pipeline!

And let them know what you think about immigration justice, DACA, and the proposed “wall” between the US and Mexico.

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
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
 

 

*Baby ShowerTime
:  Allysson McDonald is looking for one or two folks who would enjoy helping coordinate a virtual baby shower for an expectant mom recently rehoused by Abode Services. The money collected by our congregation in December will go towards the purchase of a crib. Rhea’s baby is due in just a few weeks! Please contact Allysson if you can help.

 

 

 

 

*Ask what committees can use new members or specific tasks done: contact Gayle Tupper, Membership or Jen King, Leadership Development

 

It’s your community. Be a part of it with a little time and talent, too!

Save the date:
 
 

 

 

 

 

Our friends at Niles Discovery Church, Second Saturday film series, invite one and all:
On 3/10 at 1:30 pm the movie at Niles Discovery Church will be “Requiem for the American Dream.”  Noam Chomsky unpacks the principles that have brought us to the crossroads of historically unprecedented inequality in the United States.

 
 

 

 

Regional Assembly Delegates Needed

 

This year, a Regional Assembly for the Pacific Western Region is replacing our annual District Assembly. It is coming up in Portland on
April 27-29. Because of the added travel costs for attending, the Pacific Central District is providing funds to each congregation in the district to help offset some of the costs.
This year’s theme is
Stories of Hope, Courage, Resistance and Resilience. One of the featured speakers is Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, the new president of the UUA. Complete information and schedule is available at
https://www.uua.org/pacific-western
Mission Peak is entitled to 3 delegates (in addition to our ministers who are automatically delegates). If you think you might be interested in attending let me or President Michealle Havenhill know.

Also, if you’re not already receiving the regional newsletter, you can go to this same website to signup.

 

 

 

 

Anne Abrams
A Celebration of Life will be held for former member Anne Abrams at the Palo Alto Unitarian Church at
3 pm
on
March 11
. Please rsvp Leonard Abrams
lnrdabrams2@gmail.com
Help for
Sunday Services Needed
Helping set up or take down for our services every
Sunday is one of the easiest ways to give back to the congregation and get involved. We currently have several spots that we DESPERATELY need volunteers for:
  • 1st Sunday of the Month: Set-up (1 person needed), Greeter (2 people needed), and Take Down (1 person needed)
  • 2nd Sunday of the Month: Take Down (1 person needed)
  • 3rd Sunday of the Month: Aesthetics (1 person needed)
We also need more people to sign up to fill in for coffee subs.
If you can’t commit to one
Sunday per month, please consider being a substitute so we won’t have as much trouble filling slots when our regular volunteers have to be out of town.
Please contact Colleen Arnold at
colleenag@sbcglobal.net
  or text her at 510-589-7481, if you can help. Thank you!

 

UU in America: Learning Opportunities
On March 11, from 12 noon to 2 pm, members of our congregation and the larger community are invited to hear Rev. Dr. John Buehrens discuss the subject of his newest book. The title of his presentation is “The Transcendentalists: What You Didn’t Know That You Didn’t Know About Them.”
Rev. Dr. John Buehrens was president of the UUA from 1994 through 2001 and has authored many books.
This presentation will take place in the Sanctuary of First United Methodist Church, down the driveway. No sign up necessary.
Mission Peak UU | 2950 Washington Blvd Fremont CA | 510.252.1477 | missionpeakuu.org
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