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The El Sobrante United Methodist Church Newsletter
The Appian Wayfarer
The United Methodist Church: Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors.
October
October 2014
2014
World Communion
Sunday Oct. 5
The Missions Committee is hosting
a 60-minute video presentation,
“Killer in the Dark,” on
Sunday, Sept. 28, in Keislar Hall
at 12:30 PM
If you would like to join us and have
lunch, please let us know by signing
up in the Narthex or calling the church
office, 510-223-0790
Share as we remember and
celebrate connection with
Christians around the world.
Receive the bread and cup from
two-person teams, as usual. But
be alert for differences, too. At
least one of your servers will
speak to you in a language other than English.
In addition, the bread will be served in “trays”
cut from a lobe.
Help make this a special day! Wear an item of
clothing from another country.
As usual, we will receive the World Communion
Sunday special offering. It supports World
Communion Scholarships —50% stays within the
United States, the rest goes internationally
Let's Go Holiday Shopping!!
The Crafty Ladies’ annual
“Seasonal Treasures Craft Fair”
Saturday, November 8 -- 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Keislar Hall, Room 2, and the Fireside Room
Jams & Jellies ☺ Afghans & Quilts ☺ Centerpieces
Ornaments ☺ Hand Painted Items
Towels ☺ Table Decor ☺ Plants ☺ Wall Hangings
Thanksgiving items & more...
After you have snatched up all that good stuff, please take a break by enjoying free coffee. The Crafty
Ladies have worked hard all year to bring you unique and useful items! All proceeds will be used for
special church projects which we will announce as they occur during the year.
Preparing for … Crafty Ladies Seasonal Sale
We need volunteers to sign up to bring baked goods for the Craft Fair on November 9. This year we will be asking
for specific items, based on what sold last year, in an effort to be sure all items sell, and we don't have food
wasted. As in the past, Jo Bork will be asking for sign-ups. A big thank you to all who have baked, and candied,
etc. in the past, and are willing to do so again this year. We are very appreciative of all the help, and wonderful
goodies we receive.
--The Crafty Ladies
pg. 2
The Appian Wayfarer
Mark’s Musings
Although the Nobel Committee will not withdraw a prize after it has been made, they can announce their
regret in having made the award in the first place. Which is just what they did not long ago in reference to
President Obama:
http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/25835-nobel-committeeissues-statement-regretting-obamas-nobel-peace-prize Excerpted….
“Prizes awarded by the Nobel Committee are not retracted. It remains the
obligation of the Committee to disassociate itself from actions taken by
laureates that frustrate rather than advancing the fraternity between nations
and the abolition or reduction of standing armies. The Committee therefore
joins with the public statements of several Nobel Peace Laureates
in expressing its regrets over the conduct of the 2009 prize recipient”. …President Obama.
And after the President got a vote of approval from Rush Limbaugh for his recent saber rattling…
http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/25872-white-house-vows-to-use-every-synonym-for-waragainst-isis
Poor Mr. President. An institution he respects rejects him for going to war, and someone he would never want
to have anything to do with embraces those very same actions. To repeat Gandhi again, “There is no way to
peace; peace is the way.” When will we learn?
The events in Ukraine have been given a largely “cowboy” narrative in the western press, with the (currently in
power) Ukrainians wearing the white hats and the ethnic Russian rebels wearing the black hats. And while the
downing of Malaysia Flight 17 will likely be determined to have resulted from the actions of the rebels, the
Ukrainians have taken advantage of the brutality of neo-Nazi militias to form an attack force for whose
atrocities they would like to claim no responsibility. And the western press seems not to mind the sight of Nazi
swastikas when they’re fighting Russians.
http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/25923-ukraines-romantic-nazi-storm-troopers
My how the tables have turned since WWII. Yet many of us will remember the Nazi connection of Wernher von
Braun, America’s premier rocket scientist in the post-war era, which the US government “scrubbed” when he
surrendered to the US at the end of the war. Maybe things haven’t changed so much after all.
“Corporations are people, too, my friend!” as Mitt Romney famously called out on the campaign trail, in the
wake of the Supreme Court’s opinion in Citizens United. Here’s a rather humorous, tongue-in-cheek
speculation about the theological implications for the personhood of corporations…
http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/25868-can-corporations-go-to-hell-an-existential-quandaryfor-the-supreme-court
… One cannot die and be judged as both an individual and a
member of a corporation. There is a clear prohibition against double
jeopardy in Christian law. (Although there is no clear mention of
double jeopardy anywhere in the Bible, the author earnestly believes
that divine law forbids it; therefore, divine law forbids it.) As a
consequence of this restriction, God cannot judge a corporation. If
God cannot judge a person, then that person cannot go to hell. Ergo,
corporations cannot go to hell…. Such a conclusion shouldn’t come
as too much of a surprise to Americans. No judge in this country
seems to be capable of punishing them, either.
The Appian Wayfarer
pg. 3
October Birthdays
The McFarlands Travel
Oct. 1 Oct. 3 Oct. 4 Oct. 5 Oct. 8 Oct. 11 Oct. 13 -
Nancy and I (Jack) attended a Methodist service
this morning here in Sofia, Bulgaria. I must confess
that my reading of Cyrillic is not what it should be
for the next couple of weeks as we traverse the
Balkans. I have the vowels down, but singing with
everyone else - in time - was impossible … While
the music was very familiar, the text, for some
reason, was foreign to me. As Nancy said during
our introduction near the end of the service, “The
only word we understood was ‘amen’ (А м и н ).
We are excited to be meeting Carol Partridge
and Lee Tuesday afternoon, and we’ll be spending
a week with them. We will possibly be attending
another Methodist service with them in Tirana,
Albania next Sunday.
Please pass this message on to any who may be
interested … and we’ll see you in about 3 1/2
weeks.
Love, --Jack and Nancy
Oct. 14 Oct. 15 Oct. 16 Oct. 17 Oct. 18 Oct. 19 Oct. 20 Oct. 22 Oct. 23 Oct. 28 Oct. 29 Oct. 29 Oct. 30 Oct. 31 -
Shannon Lucas (Bork)
Judith Scarborough
Eric Slessinger, Janice Rhodes
Arlene Baker, Heather Sykes
Sandy Oberg, Christopher Hancock
Kaylene Moulton
Ceri Dierst-Davies, Ren Partridge,
Rita Nozzolillo
Lisa Openshaw (Reynolds)
Laurie Corl
Jim Woodson, Kelsey Rahmgren,
Lori Skillman
Phillip Figel
Marilyn Figel, Aaron Figel
Rachelle Harnois
Arlene Woodburn, Lydia Quiros,
Michael Ulrich
Bill Slessinger
Shirley Szekeres
Carol Parker McNutt, Tina Stormont
Maureen Basso
Kevin Button
Glen Rockeman
Jeff Kafer
Please no gifts. Cards welcome.
The Appian Wayfarer
pg. 4
GLOBAL MARCH FOR
ELEPHANTS AND RHINOS
Saturday, October 4, at 10:30 am,
starting at St. Mary’s Square in
Chinatown and ending in UN Plaza
at Civic Center
For more information go to:
www.marchforelephants.org
To our dear church family,
We carry with us your loving thoughts and
prayers in our move to another location:
5551 Tait Court, Newark CA 94560.
We will miss this very caring and friendly
congregation. Getting settled is another
challenge that we face. We can be reached at
510/320-5158. Thank you so much for
everything. We love you!
--Sam and Rowena De Leon
More Pastor Mark’s Musings
We all have our opinions about guns, gun
ownership and the meaning of the second
amendment, but wouldn’t it be nice if it could be
said of us what has been said of the Brits?
http://readersupportednews.org/newssection2/433-2nd-amendment-rights/25496focus-in-2013-british-police-fired-guns-3-times
And then there’s what’s happening in our
schools…
http://readersupportednews.org/newssection2/318-66/25941-us-school-districts-givenfree-machine-guns-and-grenade-launchers
Unbelievable. The Book of Resolutions of the
United Methodist Church enjoins us not only to
advocate for the regulation of “the importation,
manufacturing, sale, and possession of guns and
ammunition by the general public”, but also to
“call upon all governments of the world in which
there is a United Methodist presence to establish
national bans on ownership by the general public
of handguns, assault weapons, automatic weapon
conversion kits, and weapons that cannot be
detected by traditionally used metal-detection
devices.” O, and by the way, “every United
Methodist Church is officially declared a weaponfree zone” (2012 Book of Resolutions, ¶3426, pp.
492, 493). Just making sure we’re clear about that.
*****
The crisis surrounding the elephants and rhinos of
Africa is a perfect storm of human sinfulness: the
potential genocide of these magnificent creatures
(so much for creation care) in the service of
terrorists and organized crime syndicates who
treat humans with as little respect as the animals
they slaughter. If you haven’t heard, the South
African government is airlifting rhinos in a
desperate attempt to save them, and elephants are
being slaughtered at the rate of nearly 100 a day
throughout central Africa, which could lead to
their extinction in less than a decade. Show your
solidarity with, and raise awareness of their plight,
by joining a march in San Francisco, Oct. 4.
2015 Women’s Retreat
Weekend of April 24-26
Plan to attend.
More information to come!
The Appian Wayfarer
pg. 5
Dollars and Sense
At its August meeting, the Administrative
Council approved a budget for the current
year, 2014, taking into account the
adjustments required as a result of the
change in pastoral leadership. Included here
is a summary of actual income and expenses
through the end of August (the left-hand
column), the budget for the same period
(the middle column), and the 2014 budget
for the entire year (the right-hand column on
the accompanying chart). The numbers in
parentheses in this report correspond to the line items used in the accounting of the congregation’s
funds. The good news is that actual income is right on target, and expenses are below projections by
a little more than $8000.
Actual income through August 31 is $120,358, and actual expense is $137,082, leaving a shortfall of
$16,724. This shortfall is covered essentially by borrowing against ourselves, that is to say, against
funds designated for special purposes totaling some $56,000 that the church has in its bank account,
but that are not a part of the operating budget. We owe it to ourselves to make those funds whole
again.
For some years, there has been a concerted effort to eliminate discretionary spending as much as
possible. A quick glance at this operating budget will show that program expenses are quite modest
(less than 2.5% of the total) and that the maintenance budget is almost non-existent. The ongoing
program of the congregation is greatly enhanced through personal donations made by many
members (not to mention the Crafty Ladies!), as well as borrowing against our investments in the
United Methodist Foundation, currently worth nearly $231,000, for certain capital projects. In order to
preserve the capital of these funds, the church has been “paying back” $669 each month, an amount
that is accounted under “Transfer to Foundation,” line item 5661, listed near the bottom of expenses.
The annual budget shows anticipated total income of $195,078, anticipated total expenses of $223,866,
and an anticipated shortfall of $28,788. The budget includes a monthly housing allowance for the
pastor of $2,000, starting July 1, or a total of $12,000 for the 2014 budget year. It is intended that this
expense will be offset by income generated from the investment of the proceeds from the sale of the
parsonage and, as necessary, up to $10,000 from funds the church has invested in the Foundation.
Although the parsonage is currently on the market, the final disposition of the sale of the parsonage is
at this point unknown, and so this projected income is presently excluded from the budget.
This fall our Stewardship campaign will address not only the projected needs for 2015, but also the
shortfall projected for 2014. The campaign will begin in mid-October and end before Thanksgiving.
Please give your prayerful consideration to the part you can play in meeting our financial challenges.
pg. 6
The Appian Wayfarer
The Appian Wayfarer
pg. 7
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
October
2014 Calendar
5
6
7
9 AM Kairos
Service
11 AM Traditional
Service
6:15 PM Cub Scts,
R2
7:15 PM Bell
Choir
5:30 PM Cub
Scouts, R2
6:30 PM Yoga,
R1
7 PM Boy
Scouts, KH
7:30 PM
Missions
12
13
14
9 AM Kairos
Service
11 AM Traditional
Service
6:15 PM Cub Scts,
R2
7:15 PM Bell Choir
7:30 PM
Finance Mtg., Ost.
10:30 AM Sarah
Cir, R1
19
20
21
9 AM Kairos
Service
11 AM
Traditional
Service
6:15 PM Cub Scts,
R2
7:15 PM Bell Choir
12:30 PM Kafers’
50th wedding
anniversary
celebration, KH
7 PM
Worship
Committee,
chapel
1 PM Stone
family party
for dad’s 95th
bday, KH
6:30 PM Yoga,
R1
7 PM Boy
Scouts, KH
7:30 PM
Kairos
Rehearsal
5:30 PM Cub
Scouts, R2
6:30 PM Yoga,
R1
7 PM Boy
Scouts, KH
7:30 PM
Kairos
Rehearsal
26
27
28
9 AM Kairos
Service
11 AM Traditional
Service
6:15 PM Cub Scts,
R2
7:15 PM Bell
Choir
7:30 PM Trustees
6:30 PM Yoga,
R1
7 PM Boy
Scouts, KH
7:30 PM Kairos
Rehearsal
Wednesday
Thursday
1
10 AM Bible Study, R1
11:30 AM Motion
Class
1 PM Crafty Ladies,
R1
6:15 PM Girl Scouts, KH
7 PM Al Anon, R1
7:30 PM Choir practice
7:30 PM Faith Expl
FS
2
8
10 AM Bible Study, R1
11:30 AM Motion
Class
1 PM Crafty Ladies,
R1
7 PM Al Anon, R1
7:30 PM Choir practice
7:30 PM Faith Expl., FS
9
15
10 AM Bible Study, R1
11:30 AM Motion
Class
1 PM Crafty Ladies,R1
6:30 PM SPR, Ost.
7 PM Al Anon, R1
7:30 PM Choir practice
7:30 PM Faith Expl., FS
16
22
10 AM Bible Study, R1
11:30 AM Motion
Class
1 PM Crafty Ladies,
R1
7 PM Al Anon, R1
7:30 PM Choir practice
7:30 PM Faith Expl., FS
23
29
10 AM Bible Study, R1
11:30 AM Motion
Class
1 PM Crafty Ladies,
R1
7 PM Al Anon, R1
7:30 PM Choir practice
7:30 PM Faith Expl., FS
30
Friday
3
Saturday
4
6:30 PM
Yoga, R1
Setting up in
KH for the
Kafers’
anniversary.
10
11
17
18
6:15 PM
CScts, R2
6:30 PM
Yoga, R1
6:30 PM
Yoga, R1
7:30 PM Ad
Council
10 AM
Souper
Center
165 – 22nd
Richmond
24
6:15 PM
CScts, R2
6:30 PM
Yoga, R1
Community
potluck and
game night,
KH
5:30 PM
25
GRIP Hunger
Walk
AA
Halloween
party
Use of KH,
4-11 PM
31
The Appian Wayfarer
pg. 8
Prayer Concerns
John & Charlotte Neyhouse, Chip Scarborough, Evelyn Petty, Pauline Webber, John & Nancy
Corl, Maxine Hilburn, Shirley Szekeres, Helen Skillman, Lee & Helen Hunt, Betty Staley, The James/Luffey Family, Jim
Flagg, Shirley Woodson, MaryEllene Reynolds, Betty Reynolds, Linda Hawkins, Carolyn Daughton (friend of Rita Nozzolillo),
Reid Carlsten (Judith Scarborough’s brother), Michael Fleming, Sherry Lea (friend of Rena Cutright), Suzette Ledford (friend
of Rita Nozzolillo), Richard Clarke, Terrie Partridge, Jim Harvey (Wendy Allen’s son-in-law), Victor (friend of Lisa Dwiggins),
Kurt Ribak (friend of Eileen Johnson), Frank & Steve Dembrowicz (Joanne Smart’s son-in-law & his brother), Maryann Finn
(friend of Karen Jarrell), Kara Hefner (Hilda Nielsen’s granddaughter), Linda (friend of Edna Luffey), Jerry Fleming (Darlene
Fleming’s brother-in-law), Jean Marchant (Dot Boyce’s sister), Deanna Shiu (friend of Karen Jarrell), Lauren (friend of Carol
Harnois), Jan Hennesey (friend of Bob & Shirley Neyhouse), Beverly Cartwright (friend of Ken & Shirley Kille), Bill Enfield
(brother-in-law of Obergs), and Pat Weishahn (Weishahns’ sister-in-law), our shut-ins, and others we name in our hearts.
th
28 Annual Harmony Walk
to end Hunger
Saturday, October 25
Richmond Civic Center Plaza
8:00am- 11:30am
Let’s get this on our calendars.
Who’s willing to WALK?
Wayfarer
Helping at GRIP’s Souper Center
can be fun!
As you may or may not know, ESUMC volunteers with the
GRIP Souper Center monthly…the third Friday of each month.
This month the following ESUMCers helped out:
Mike McGoon, Linda Hill, Suzi Stone, Wendy Allen,
Carolyn Iverson, Arlene Baker, Marilyn Lomelino,
Paula Hammond, Don Carson, and Pastor Mark.
El Sobrante United Methodist Church
670 Appian Way, El Sobrante, CA 94803
October 2014 issue
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Resident Bishop, Warner H. Brown, Jr.
District Superintendent, Schuyler Rhodes
Pastor, Mark Zier
Director of Music, Eileen M. Johnson
Lay Minister, Jacqueline Corl-Seidel
Lay Minister, Charlene Kafer
Treasurer, DuBose Scarborough
Office, Denise Quiros
Find ESUMC online
www.esumconline.org
Facebook, search for “El Sobrante United Methodist Church”