june 2008 stone newsletter, stone church of willow glen

8/8/2019 June 2008 Stone Newsletter, Stone Church of Willow Glen

1/8

Recently, while riding the rails up to Eugene,Oregon, to visit my family, I found myself composinga prayer and two poems (see page 3). Of course, youre

welcome to use these pastoral snippets for your ownpurposes, or even better, find your muse and write aprayer or some sonnet for an up-and-coming occasionin your own life.

See you in Church,Rev. Dr. Ken Henry

Council Member Oliverios office called a few weeks aand asked me to offer an invocation for the San Jose CityCouncil meeting slated for June 3, so, I wrote this prayer

The STone n ewSSTone C hurCh of w illow Glen , PreSbyTerian uSa J une 2008

THE STONE NEWS, PAGE 1

A Prayer & Two Poems

A prayer for urban places

Concrete, sand, steel, and glass A sloping Victorian mansion, a chain-link fence;Obtaining permits, pursuing dreams,City planning conundrums

O God of urban places, meet us here.Meet us in this place of great responsibility and possibility.For a short while and on borrowed time,

You have given those in this chamber A sacred commission: the care and intention of making our lives better.They are here to keep a watchful eye on justice.They are here to piece together decisions on our behalf

Without doing harm. Be with them.

God of railways, freeways, airways, and sidewalks;God of museums, restaurants, civic centers, and shark tanks;God of green and gray landscapes,

We call upon you to assist your public servants Whom you have so aptly called.

Open channels of communication and conversation.

Remind all present that you created human beings with two ears--So that we might listen twice as hard and speak much less.O God of urban places, bless and keep your leaders strong,Strong in wisdom, strong in compassion,Strong in forging purposeful agreements.

God who is here now, never forsaking your over-programmed people,Help us to see down the road whether it be 680, 880, or Almaden Expressway.

And in our seeing,Mend and bridge our human relationships,

And in mending and bridging,Guide us to honor one another.

Amen.


2/8


The Stone Church Library offersmany new books to add to yoursummer fun and learning. Comeby after Worship or during the week

when the church office is open. - Sue Williams, Library Coordinator

New books for younger members:God Goes on Vaca-

tion by Edwina Gate-ley (J Gat), given by Rebecca Kuiken

Sea-shore

Identifier by Bob Lollo (YA 574Lol) and

TheVisual

Dic-tionary of Animals(YA 590 Eye),both given by Betsy

Williams

Small InventionsThat Make a Big Dif-

ference by NationalGeographic (YA 60Nat)

Each Sunday morning after Worship, you have unique oppor-tunities to learn fascinating thingsabout our church, our faith and our

world. Come to Adult Study!

June 1, 8, 15: Introduction to the2008 General Assembly Every General Assembly is signifi-cant in the life of the PCUSA, andthe 218th GA in San Jose June 21-28

will be no exception. Two honorably retired pastors who worship at Stone,Bill Lytle (former moderator of GA)and David Zuverink, discuss the Insand Outs of a GA meeting and helpus understand how key issues prog-ress from committee debate to voteby the full GA.

On June 1, Pam Byers, Admin-istrative Director for the CovenantNetwork , will speak about the key issue to come before the GA: Peace,

Unity and Purity of the Church , incluing the possible ordination of gayand lesbians. On June 8, we wilexamine how social justice issues aprocessed through GA, with a focuon the issue of mental illness. On

June 15, we will take a final look athe 2008 GA and review essentia volunteer jobs.

The class meets at the 11:15 am Adult Study time and is repeated a7:30 pm in the evening. Members othe other churches in the Presbyteryhave been invited to attend the evening classes.

June 22: Worship at General Assembly - No Adult Study class

June 29: Drop-in Study Series:Reclaiming the World - RestoringRelationships

- Pat Magee, Adult Educatio

Adult Study: GA, Restoring Relations

Church Library Provides Great Summer Reading for All A New to our special sections:

Grandfathers Memories His Grandchild: A Journal Faith and Love by ThomKinkade (Fam-Gran306.87 Kin)

S t o r y b o o kTravels: 30 Best-Loved Landmarks in ChildrensLiterature by Colleen Batesand Susan Latempa (Fam

813 Bat) A Family Collection

Laura Ingalls Wilder (Bio WILDER)

Escape fromHeng Yang:The Memoir of

a 6-Year-Old Refugee Girl by

Chung Yao (Biog YAO),given by Gene Wei whotranslated the book

Fatherless Women: How WChange after We Lose Our Daby Clea Simon (Women 158Sim), given by Rebecca Kuiken

Just Generosity: A New Vision for Overcoming Poverty in America by RonaldSider (Soc. Iss. 362.5 Sid)

Additions to our adult side:Lives of Moral Leadership

by Robert Coles (170.9Col)

The Rap-ture Exposed:

The Messageof Hope inthe Book of Revelation by Barbara Rossing, given by

Pat MageeThe Great Awakening:

Reviving Faith & Politics ina Post-Religious Right Amer-ica by Jim Wallis (261.7

Wal), given by CharlotteDickson

Just Six Numbers: TheDeep Forces that Shape the

Universe by Martin Rees(500 Ree)The Wisdom

of DesmondTutu editedby Michael Battle (808Tut), givenby RebeccaKuiken

Roads: Driving AmericasGreat Highways by Larry McMurtry (917 McM)

Edwina Gateley

Are you looking to reach new heightsof fun this summer? Then youll want tohead to Stone Church for a canopy of adventures at Rainforest Adventure!

At Rainforest Adventure, youll hearstories about Jesus, make cool crafts,learn catchy tunes, play super games,eat great rainforest snacks and make lotsof new friends. Each day offers a new Bible story to explore through loads of fun activities.

This exciting Vacation Church Schoolis for everyone between the ages of 4and 11. The fun begins August 4 andcontinues through August 8. Sessionsrun from 9 am until noon each day. Thefee is $30 per child or $50 per family.

Starting June 1, stop by the registra-tion table in the Social Hall after Wor-ship. For more information, contactKate Wheatley.

See you at Rainforest Adventure!

Vacation Church School


3/8

June is a time to celebratethe end of a school year. Weat Stone Church want to cel-ebrate the graduations of ournine high school seniors (seearticle below), plus the pro-motions of our two 8th gradestudents (Matt Schroeder andMichael Searing).

This month also marks theend of my term as InterimChildrens Ministry Coordi-nator. It has been a blessingand a challenge.

I want to express my appre-ciation to our congregationfor its support during thistransition year. One of my goals was to help make chil-dren an important part of

worship. Last September, we

added the clipboard kits andhave offered special activity bags during family services.

This month we will addChildrens Bibles. This New Revised Standard Version isthe same translation as theadult Bibles in the pew racks.However, this childrens ver-sion, published last year, con-tains plenty of explanations,full color pages of pictures,maps, timelines, and ques-tions to guide reading. It isnot just selected stories. TheseBibles are meant to remain inthe Sanctuary so they can beused each Sunday. They willbe located in the shelf by theclipboard kits. I think they are wonderful and hope youdo too.

Once again we will havedemonstrated that we valuechildren and the special placethey have as part of our con-gregation. They are a gift fromGod and the future of ourchurch. Shalom, Rosaleen


Rosaleens Column

June is a Timeto Celebrateby Rosaleen Zisch, Interim Childrens Ministry Coordinator

Proud

A pastoral poem for graduates and parentsby Ken Henry

Youve made us proud,So proud, well probably repeat ourselves.

Youve made it to the floor, the stairs,the principals handshake, and the hooray!

and were so proud of yall did we already say that?One step out the front door,

one footfall in front of another. Weve been watching you for a long time

and now ... well ... Were handing you over to God.

See God is proud of you, too.Proud in the manner youve handled yourself:The pressure, the peers,The ups, the downs,The late-night papers,

The early morning exams, Your Mom, Dad, and younger sister or brotheror both,

And youve done it all without flinching.

Were proud. We hope you dont mind. We told you we would repeat ourselves. After all, youre being sent out to do great things And return to tell us what youve done. Were watching you go. We love you. Were proud.

Stone Church has nine gradu-ating high school seniors thisyear! Here is a brief report onwhere they are matriculating.

Rachel Buckley is going toWillamette Univ. in Salem,Oregon. Max Frohlich is goingto San Diego State. Katy Kondo will be volunteering at a local artgallery and for other commu-nity service organizations andwill intern at an architecturalfirm. Brian Nissen will travel

to Europe with his brother Mattand then go to De Anza Col-lege. Both Gordon Meacham and Emily Mertens are going toUC Davis. Stephanie Moffitt is going to UC Santa Barbara.David Moncrief is going to CalPoly at Pomona. Dan Willis isgoing to UC Berkeley.

And Ken Henrys daughter,Katie , is graduating from highschool in Eugene and is going toCal Poly at San Luis Obispo.

Hurry up and get in the car

A poetic word on traveling with children and adultsby Ken Henry

Hurry up and get in the car.Red licorice, popcorn and snacks await you

A blanket, a pillow, and a movie to sedate you. But hurry up and get in the car dear!Now, Im not trying to make you cry.Its just that were all packed and

and now you act As if youre about to die.Hurry up and get in the car!

Your brother is crying;the house alarm switched on.

The engine is running and my wallet is is gone?

Okay, I dont know where my wallet is Ill be right back.

But as for you, Hurry up and get in the car.

Stone has Nine Graduating Seniors!

Some o our graduating seniors will present brie sermons onSunday June 8, when all graduates will be recognized.


4/8


The Stone Works Committee con-tinues to help us address the seriousneeds of our country and our world.

Torture is Wrong Banner Whats with that ugly black banner

hanging outside the chapel? Stone hasjoined with congregations of all sizes,from every state and all faiths, to wit-ness religious opposition to torture

during the month of June. We hopeit will raise the questions about thecontinuing shame of torture and inhu-man, degrading treatment as govern-ment policy. It also underscores therole of religious people in speaking outagainst actions that betray our faith

and basic American ideals.

We believe that torture degradeseveryone involved, whether policy-makers, perpetrators or victims. Ban-ners Across America is organized by theNational Religious Coalition AgainstTorture (NRCAT), a group foundedby Presbyterian leaders in response toallegations of human rights abuse atUS detention centers in Iraq, Afghani-stan and Guantanamo Bay. Begun in

2006, the NRCAT now includes over130 religious organizations working toend torture (evangelical and mainlineProtestants, Roman Catholics, Ortho-dox Christians, Quakers, Unitarians,Muslims, Jews, and Sikhs).

Senator Diane Feinstein states, I

believe that our nations counterterror-

ism efforts are damaged, not improvedby using coercive, enhanced interrogation techniques. This country shouldnot stoop to the level of Al Qaedaand other terrorist organizations as

we attempt to defeat them. And as a nativeborn American of

more than 70 years, Im appalled thaour nations leaders have refused tounequivocally say that America supports the Geneva Conventions andmandates that the Army Field Manuashall apply to all groups in our government. You can add your personal sup-port by signing the NRCATs Statement of Conscience at nrcat.org.

-Dale Brac

Keep up your generous donationsPlease continue to bring personal

hygiene articles for the Hygiene Kitand SurvivalSacks for SacredHeart Com-munity Service(lists of needed items can be found athe Donation Corner). You can alsobring clean, gently used clothing fodonation to Sacred Heart, as well.

And lets make this months fooddonation on Communion Sunday thelargest ever! - Carrie Giorgiann

Stone Works Modera

Stone Works Leads Us to Oppose Torture, Help Others, Go Greene

Stone Works Photo Gallery

On Bike to Church Day , Stone Church showed how much wecare about the environment. Over 67 Stone members took altern

orms o transportation (biking, bus, carpooling, and walking)Rhonda Lakatos said, The thing I liked best about the whole dhow enthusiastic everyone was who tried some diferent way to to church. Thanks especially to Jonathan Miller or organizing

Stone Church really turned out in orce or the annual CROP Walk toraise awareness o and unds or the hungry. We raised over $4,650 (at press time, checks were still coming in) and had 30 walkers. (Some werenot available or the picture.) The organizers, Lizanne Oliver and Emily Meacham, want to thank the Stone Church congregation and riends

or your time and generosity, and most o all, or your caring.

Dale Bracey, Alice McNelis, and Rev. Dr. Ken Henry hold Stones NRCAT banner.
http://www.nrcat.org/http://www.nrcat.org/


5/8

At the Synodwide Gathering heldin early April, Lea Lawrence waselected Moderator of Presbyterian

Women in the Synod. The photoshows her acting the part of PW Wonder Woman , while telling aboutthe Churchwide gathering to be heldin Louisville, KY, in 2009.

Lea is former Moderator of PW in the Presbytery of San Jose andcontinues to serve on the PSJ Coor-dinating Team. She borrowed thecape from Pat Jones, Los Gatos, who

created it for the role of HorizonsWoman .PW in the Synod of the Pacific

oversees the work of eleven Pres-byteries in California, Nevada,Oregon, Washington and Idaho.Its Coordinating Team draws

women from those Presbyteries.Lea follows Sheena Brooke, former-ly of Los Gatos and now living in

Vancouver, WA. - Pat Magee

What is so rare as a day in June?General Assembly in San Jose, thats

what. Volunteers are still needed, socontact Bill Laka-tos if you are inter-ested.

Speaking of GA,the Women of Faith breakfast will beheld at 7:30 am,Sunday, June 22, atthe Fairmont Hotel,at a cost of $30 and

will end well beforethe opening wor-

ship service. Its a great chance to hearabout our faithful workers.

All of Stone Church marveled atthe outstanding portraits of womendisplayed on Gifts of Women Sunday.They are the work of Jeanette Rapp,

who also did the bulletin cover. How fortunate we are to have her talents!

Our traditional June picnic, toinclude installation of leaders, willbe held at noon, Thursday, June 5,at Jan Keifers home. Bring a salad toshare and layette items for our County Nurses to distribute to new mothers.This is also the time for us to partici-pate in the Birthday Offering. Childcare is available at the church.

This year the Birthday Offering willbe used for the Presbyterian Church of

Congo and the Presbyterian Churchof Kinshasa for nineteen schools. It will provide for repairs, new build-ings, teachers and school supplies. A grant has also been made to Lakeview Presbyterian Church in New Orleansto help rebuildfacilities dam-aged in Hurri-cane Katrina.

The Moth-ers Day cards,the proceeds of

which go to Net- Workers to provide mosquitonets for womenand children inmalaria zonesin Africa, raised$1,010. We areproud to sup-port this effort,

which also provides income to

women who make the nets. Thanks toall of you who joined in the celebration of mothers and made such a largesum possible.

The coupons we are targeting thismonth are Prego Pasta Sauce andHamburger Helper. We shall pres-ent all the coupons to the receivingschools at the August brunch. (Pleaselook at the list on the PW bulletinboard or take a list from the librarycart found in the social hall eachSunday.)PW Schedule for June/July

Please note that Circles and Book GroII will not meet until September.

Lunch Bunch , 11:30 am, Tuesday June 10, Taiwan Restaurant, Lincoln Avenue

Fair Trade Coffee (and other products) Sales, after Worship, June 15

Book Group I , 1 pm, Monday June 16, Liz Shanderas home, reading The Friday Night Knitting ClubKate Jacobs.

Focus Group , 9:30 am, Tuesday June 17, Elizabeth Shanderas home

Prayer Shawl Group , 4 pm, Thurday, July 24 (no June meeting - it is GA

week), Fireside Room. Janice Goertemphasizes this knitting & other hanwork group is not gender-specific.

There is no Bible study in June or July; however, we shall start up agai

in August when Rev. Marge will begiInsiders/Outsiders: A Study of the Gosof Luke for 2008-2009 . If you do nosubscribe to Horizons magazine, SalMagee has additional copies.

-Catherine Amo


Newsfrom PW

Lea Lawrencenamed Moderatorof PW in the Synod

On Gi ts o Women Sunday, the Stone Church PW presented FrGroppuso and Rhonda Lakatos with PW Honorary Li e Member


6/8


The Mens Book Group has made selections for summer and fall reading. Keeping in mind the political season, the first

volume to be reviewed in August Why Women Should Rule theWorld, by Dee Dee Myers.The September book isThe Post-American World , by Fareed Zakaria. In Octo-ber, and in concert withthe Henrietta Perdue Lec-tures, the book selected isIn Search of Paul by lecturer John DominiCrossan. The final book in this series isPredictably Irrationalby MIT professor Da

Ariely. In December, the group will decide

on selections for winter and spring. All men of the church are welcome toattend. Meetings are held on the thirdMonday of the month, beginning at 7:30pm. Watch for details in the weekly bulletins and on the church website.

- David McCrea

Mens Group SelectSummer/Fall Readin

General Assembly happens in a few short weeks, so please sign up now!

Your help is really needed.Our biennial Presbyterian family

reunion meets in San Jose from June21-28, primarily at theSan Jose ConventionCenter. Local churchesin San Jose Presbytery are asked to serve as hosts

for the 5,000+ commis-sioners, advisors, and other guests.There are many jobs to choose from,

including ushering and serving com-munion at the big Sunday Worshipservice, setting up before events, serv-ing as an ask meperson, greeting at the

airport or a hotel, working in a booth,and much more.

In addition to learning about Gen-eral Assembly firsthand, volunteerscan attend GA any time (with your

volunteer name tag) without payingthe $20 registration fee.

Please see Bill Lakatos at the table inthe Social Hall after Worship for a listof job titles, to answer your questions,

and to sign up if you dont have inter-net access. If you have internet access,at stonechurch.org, click on the SignUp to Volunteer at GA link. You canalso contact the COLA (Committeeon Local Arrangements) office (408-286-0927, [email protected]).

Volunteer for General Assembly NOW!

At its regular meeting, Tuesday, May 20, the Session had the sad and joyful

task of transferringEvelyn Radunichsmembership to

Church of the Rosesin Santa Rosa.Evelyn has been a member of StoneChurch since March 26, 1948.

The Session approved a special offer-ing for Presbyterian Disaster Assis-tance in aid of those stricken by thetragedies in Myanmar and China.

Session approved reinstatement of the Stephen Ministry program afterhearing a report from Mary Johnsonthat 100 people replied to a recent

survey, and 96 advocated reinstatingthe program.

Virginia Holtz reported on the work of the task force on the Use of Down-stairs Space. The group has spent a

year surveying the downstairs and theneeds for storage and meeting space. Virginia presented a detailed planfor answers to those needs. Session

will be asked to make decisions onimplementing plans at its meeting in

June. Judith Kaiser reported that the

Buildings and Grounds Committee will be planning for the use of theoutdoor space in back of the church.There is limited space, and there are

competing demands for its use, andthe committee feels the need to stepback and think about the overall useof the area.

Bea Groppuso gave a final summary

of the work of the Pantry Partners, whohave cleaned out and organized thekitchen, labeling spaces for their useand posting instruction sheets.

The Christian Education commit-tee has chosen Mary Jo Blazek as thenew Childrens Ministry Coordina-tor. Bill Ribble said Mary Jo is knownto the Stone community as one wholoves children and who works to bringChristian education to the children of Stone. - Alice Thorn, Clerk of Session

Session

Beat

Hello everyone!It has been a very rich and ful-

filling musical year for the StoneChurch choir, and we will be pre-senting a few more weeks of musicbefore our summer break. June 1

will feature a lively new spiritual,Little innocent lamb, and on June 15,the choir will present Henry Mol-licones Hear me, Redeemer as ourfinal anthem of the year.

Then on June 22, most of thechoir will be part of a group of 400+

singers at the General Assembly Sunday Worship service.

On July 14, the choir, guests fromthe congregation, and membersof both the San Jose SymphonicChoir and the Monterey Symphony Chorus will be traveling to Irelandand Scotland for a two-week con-cert tour under my direction. Thechoir will present an Irish Blessing Bon Voyage Concerton July 6 at 4:30pm, and you are warmly invited.

If you would like to join the choirnext year, please let me know. Weare ordering extra robes and musicto accommodate new members, soplease dont hesitate - come andsing with us.

Regards,Nancy

Nancys Column

Summertime isntEasy for this choir!by Nancy Wait-Kromm Director of Music Ministry

Now the world can hear our choir!The Palm Sunday presentation of Dubois Seven Last Words of Christ ,along with the scripture readingsand Kens homily of that day, are onour Selected Sermons webpage atstonechurch.org/sermons/index.php. Alice Thorns sermon of April 27 isalso included on that same webpage.

- Rod Thorn, Webmaster

Choir Recordingof Seven Last

Words Online
http://www.stonechurch.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.stonechurch.org/sermons/index.phphttp://www.stonechurch.org/sermons/index.phphttp://www.stonechurch.org/mailto:[email protected]


7/8THE STONE NEWS, PAG

A new Stone Church Pictorial Direc-tory, featuring Rev. Dr. Ken Henry, isin the works. Directory pictures will be

taken 8/29-30 and 9/12-19. Signupsfor photo shoots will begin July 13. You can sign up on Sunday morn-ings or online. The more membersphotographed, the more color pagesof church activities well have in thedirectory. Photos should be availablefor use as Christmas gifts, but there isno obligation to purchase anything.Directories should be available by the end of the year, and all members,

whether or not they are photographed, will get one. To serve on the directory committee, contact Pat Magee.

New ChurchDirectory!

My faith journey began as a teenagert the Community United Presbyterian

Church in Vacaville. High school youthgroup backpacking on Mt.Diablo and in Yosemite,mission trips, and regularparticipation in Worship

were treasured activities. And I was the youngestperson (17) to be elected aDeacon at that church

Seeking a spiritual ele-ment that was missing in my adult life,

sought my Presbyterian roots at Firstresbyterian Church in San Jose. Noteing one to sit on the sidelines, I volun-eered for church communication efforts

which led to two terms as an Elder,even years as Clerk of Session and lead-

ership of a Visioning team. When FPCreceived the gift of handbells, my short-lived experience as a samba percussion-ist made me jump right in. I followedthe handbells to Stone Church and wasso moved by the music, message andpeople here, I knew God was leadingme to a new faith community.

I moved to San Jose to study at San Jose State University, earning my Bach-elors degree in Radio and TelevisionBroadcasting. While at SJSU, I metmy soul mate, Steven. We married 10

years later and enjoy traveling, cooking,music, cool gadgets and collecting 60s-era art rock posters.

My career has included coordinatinga volunteer program for the San JoseConvention & Visitors Bureau andserving as Associate Director of Com-munications for the San Jose/Silicon

Valley Chamber of Commerce. Folloing my tenure at the chamber, I workefor InnVision, planning events anfundraising.

Currently, Im the Director of Cours ware Management for the SANS Instute, the largest source for informatiosecurity training, certification anresearch in the world. With a staff otwo, we support the worldwide effoto keep the cyberworld safe by ensurithat up-to-date curriculum and collaeral materials are delivered for all SAtraining sessions. When not coordinaing printing efforts, I travel to SANevents in the US and run the SANSchool Store, where our students puchase items that enhance their learninexperience, as well as other geeky to take home to their families anco-workers.

The Mens Flying Group[left to right: Gary Weiss, HalRathbun (Claire Ribbles brother), Bill Ribble (pilot), andDavid Minehart] recently flew from Reid Hillview to Napato tour the Experimental Aircraft Associations (EAA)B-17, the Aluminum Overcast. They also ate at the legend-ary Jonesys Famous Steak House at the Napa airport.

Rev. Dr. Ken Henry sporsome rather unorthodox headgear on Bike to Church SundaKen rode his bike all the way from Los Gatos! (See page 4a picture of lots of biking folk

The DeacoSenior Tea & Babeque was full good music (by JeKeifer & a frienbottom right), goofood (prepared b

Andrew Edwards Rodney Cannadtop right), and goofellowship (De& Joan Helms &Nancy Weiss, to

left; Mary MargaTeel, Fern SwansoRuth White, &Catherine Amobottom left).

Meet new member,Katherine Webb Calhoon


8/8

The Stone Church of Willow GlenPresbyterian Church (USA)1937 Lincoln Avenue(corner of Clark & Lincoln)

San Jose, CA 95125-3499Website:stonechurch.org

Church Of ce: phone: 408-269-1593

fax: 408-269-8412

The Reverend Doctor Ken HenryClaudia Hoagland, Of ce Manag

The Stone News Staff:Emily Moak Meacham, Editor Pat Magee, Rhonda Lakatos,Fred Oliver, Lizanne Oliver,

Jody Meacham: Assistant EditorsSylvia Snyder, Chief PhotographeDale Bracey, Ken Henry,Shirley Kistler, Rhonda Lakatos,Dan Raby, Alison van Diggelen,Rod Thorn: Additional PhotosCatherine Amos, Dulcie Janzen,Sylvia Snyder, Fred Gardner,

Jan Keifer, Jerry Keifer: Production

Church Picnic in August!The annual

Stone ChurchWorship andPicnic in thePark will beheld Sunday,

August 17 , inHistory Park atthe south endof Kelley Park.

Non-Partisan ElectionInformation Available

Easy access to election infor-mation can be found on theLeague of Women Voters website(www.smartvoter.org). When you typein your address, your personal ballotwill appear, with polling place. Addi-tional information on the election,voting, and most candidates can beviewed, as well. - Virginia Holtz


Deborah Block and Jon Waltondescribed Presbyterians beautifully in the recent Covenant Network news-letter: We are a family. Sometimes

as a family we are a bitdysfunctional, some-times embarrassing,sometimes wonderfulto be with, and othertimes we have our dis-

agreements. But we belong together... City folks and country folks, richand poor, black and white and Asian

and Native American and Latino ...a gathering of the commonwealthof God that only God could haveimagined.

Our family is gathering in San Jose during the last week of June. We call our gathering the General Assembly. You need to be there. Thisis a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity tosee your family up close, from every state in the union, from all parts of the world. The simultaneous wor-ship services on Sunday morning,

June 22, promise to be inspiring and

uplifting. In the Exhibit Hall in theConvention Center, open Friday,

June 20, through Wednesday, June25, you can catch up on the latestresources and happenings, browsethrough the Cokesbury Book Storeand the Global Marketplace

The election of the Moderator, which takes place on Saturday, June 21, from 7 - 9:30 pm, is alwaysa highlight. If there is a particularissue with which you are deeply interested, you can sit in on the com-

mittee meetings, Sunday evening,Monday and Tuesday, where thatissue is being considered and seePresbyterian discernment in action.If you are free in the daytime, dontmiss the Ecumenical Worship Ser-

vice on Wednesday morning, 8:30-9:15 am, with Archbishop EliasChacour, of the Melkite CatholicChurch preaching and the Thursday afternoon Worship Service, 1:30 -2:15 pm, with Cynthia Rigby from

Austin Seminary preaching. You will

be enriched! - Bill Lytle

Why Should I Go to General Assembly?

The Christian Education committeeis proud to announce the appointmentof Mary Jo Blazek as the new ChildrenMinistry Coordinator.

Moderator Bill Ribble said Mary Joknown to the Stone community as on who loves cdren and wh

works to briChristian edution to the chdren of StoChurch.

Mary Jo shown her comitment to ochildren by vunteering aschurch scho

teacher for many years, helping to form thLogos program, and most recently, woring as a recreational therapist at RonalMcDonald house.

Mary Jo Blazek namnew Childrens

Ministry Coordinat

Two o the honorably retired pastors who worship at Stone, Bill Lytle ( ormer moderator o GA)and David Zuverink, are leading a class on the General Assembly through June 15(see page 2).
http://www.stonechurch.org/http://www.stonechurch.org/http://www.smartvoter.org/http://www.smartvoter.org/http://www.stonechurch.org/

june 2008 stone newsletter, stone church of willow glen

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