THE LIGHTHOUSE December 2019

THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

(Disciples of Christ) OF PACIFIC GROVE

A Spiritual Sanctuary for the Thinking Christian

442 Central Avenue Pacific Grove, CA 93950 Phone: (831) 372-0363

Daniel Wm. Paul, Mdiv.

Pastor

E-mail: churchoffice

@pacificgrovechurch.org Website:

pacificgrovechurch.org Sunday Schedule

Worship Service 11:00 AM Fellowship after Worship

In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty.

In all things, charity.

PGCC: A Beacon of hope, faith,

love and Peace.

Notes while the Lion is away

Do you recall the song, “The Lion sleeps tonight”? Well, I don’t know how much sleeping that Dan has done on this sabbatical, nor can I imagine how many miles he has traveled but I do believe he is doing just what he needed to do to be renewed, a sabbatical. So “hats off” to you for granting him this time set apart. This is such an example of how you take care of your pastor allowing him to return to take care of you in deep collaboration. Dan will come back refreshed and renewed even as he will return with the ongoing desire to not do it alone but lead mutually with each of you. We have not made as much this time of the made-up term “staybattical” but whatever that means you have shown me that you ARE leaders, each in your own way as you stay in place. . Peggy and I both have benefited greatly from your leadership and your grace filled love. Many of us have commented on how quickly this three months have gone. You have worked hard to keep things going and I am so grateful for that. Besides, it has been a lot of fun and very meaningful. So, we’ll point our van eastward, with that vehicle filled to the rim: with stuff, with memories of this sacred time, with stories and, most importantly with love: Love for each of you. Love for this grove where we serve. Love for a world that so very much needs our love. When I walked around last Sunday in our world cafe, listening in to the conversations you all had at your tables, I felt the room pulsating with purpose, with love and concern, with a desire to continue to grow into what it means so say and mean that “all means all”. That is the best memory I will tuck into our van. That’s why it has been such a privilege to serve you and with you. God bless each of you as you have blessed Peggy and me. Your interim and itinerate minister. Jim

Some thoughts on coming home…

★ Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they

have to take you in.

Robert Frost

★ A man travels the world over in search of what he needs

and returns home to find it. George A. Moore

★ We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.

T.S. Eliot

Welcome home, Pastor Dan!

With Love

Our time with Jim and Peggy Powell has been filled with love. They are filled with love, and we are full of love for them.

We have been blessed and gently nudged to share all of this love with our Church family. More importantly, Jim entreated us to reach out to those we meet outside our cozy church cocoon. Jim extolled us to invite everyone into our loving circle. He led us in rejoicing, singing about joy, and digging a little deeper to discover who we are and who we can become. With love.

OUTREACH

I want to express my appreciation to the entire congregation for your support, both financially and personally, over the five years that I’ve been your CFO. At our annual meeting, some questions were raised that were more complicated than could be answered in a few minutes. One concerned outreach—to the denomination, the region, and beyond. First, we tithe about one-percent of the general fund ($1,600) to the Disciples Mission Fund, which supports the national organization and its regions. This is what you voted on in the General Fund Budget on November 10. Beyond the General Fund, we have three other sources from which we support worthy causes beyond our four walls. First, there is a special endowment, created many years ago that produces income exclusively designated for outreach, generating about $2,500 in a year. Second, six times a year we have special offerings, such as the Christmas offering coming up December 15 and 22, which will go to support regional ministries. Other special offerings, such as Easter, Thanksgiving, and Week of Compassion support a wide variety of purposes, from education to disaster relief. So far this year, we have given nearly $2,000 to these causes, including $500 specifically designated for the Paradise Fire victims. Third, when we receive bequests or large gifts (defined as over $10,000) 10% is donated to the region and 10% is added to the special outreach endowment. This year we donated $2,500 from such donations to the region and another $2,500 was added to our special outreach endowment. If you add up all of these outreach donations, we dedicated about $11,000 to Outreach, which amounts to over 6% of what we have received in total income, including designated funds. Once again, thanks for all your support of our church mission. Monthly financial summaries (which include designated funds) are posted in Jones Hall if you would like further detail or feel free to ask me about financial issues. --Steve Brydon, Chief Financial Officer

Trustee Report/Newsletter Article by Ken E. Rockefeller Trustee Chair November2019

TheChristianChurchofPacificGrove

Helloeveryone,ThankyouforthesupportreceivedfromyouduringoursafetyawarenessdrillacoupleofSundaysago.Ourgoalistohavesomesortofcadenceifweareeverputinanemergencyandwithpracticewecan.Letusalldoourpartinmakingourchurchasafeplaceforusandourguests.TheTrusteeswelcomeyoutoourmonthlymeeting.Wecoverupcomingprojects,projectsathand,andanythingelsethatcomestomindonthefirstThursdayofeverymonthat6pminJonesHall.TheTrusteeCommitteethanksyouandwelcomesanyinputthatwillmakeourchurchasaferplace.TheTrustee’susedfundsthispastmonthtoperformtheyearlymaintenanceofthechurchesfireextinguishersaswellasreplacingfaucetsintheSwannBuildingandintheParsonage.WepurchasedanewWi-Fiextenderbecauseourlastonestoppedworkingandweshoppedforthemonthlybathroomandkitchensupplies.Wealsorentedatrailertomovethelastofthisyear’srummagesaletoitsfinalrestingspot.WearestillinlimbowiththegassupplylineandtheCityofPacificGrove.Justwhenwethinkwearemakingforwardprogresswearequicklyremindedthatnotallthingswillgothewaywewantthemtoorwhenwewantthemto.Itisagoodlessoninhumilityandremindsusthatwecan’tcontroleverything.Wehaven’tbeensittingidlewiththisprojectbyanymeans.HoursofourpersonaltimehasbeengraciouslydonatedtoexploringdifferentapproachesinnothavingthecapitalexpenseofinstallinganindependentgasmetertoservicetheSwannBuilding.Itisbecomingclearthatwemayhavenochoicebuttoaccepttheinevitableandburdenthecostsofanindependentmeter.Wewillkeepeveryoneabreastinanydevelopmentswiththismatter.Wearecurrentlywaitingforaresponsefromthecityonceagainandshouldfindouttheirdecisionthisweek.StandstrongandstayyourcourseandtheLordwillseeusthroughanyobstaclesinourlives.Untilnextmonth,thisistheTrusteessaying,goodday.

AdditionalOpen&AffirmingResourcebyLoriRobinson

I'dliketoshareanexcellentresourcetoaddtoourunderstandingofbecominganopenandaffirmingchurch:sixvideos(each10minuteslong)inwhichthetopicisexploredbyadiversegroupofstakeholders.Thiscanbefoundonthedisciplesallianceq.orgwebsite,buttheycanbedifficulttolocate.Theyareentitled:BodyandSoul:WeBelong. Body and Soul: We Belong

**Pacific Grove Pet dedication, Fall 2019

Thank you for your time and gifts of service Jim & Peggy Powell!

Goodbye SHARES, Hello

If you’ve recently visited Lucky or Save-Mart, you may have noticed that you no longer receive credit for donating a portion of your purchase to the Christian Church of Pacific Grove. Lucky discontinued the program earlier this year. However, there is another way you can donate a portion of your purchases to support our church. We participate in Amazon Smile. If you register our church as the organization you wish to support, .5% of your purchase will be donated to the church. To skip the step of having to choose from among about a million organizations, you can use the following unique link to directly register the Christian Church of Pacific Grove as your selected charity: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-1279820 We hope you will continue to support our church and its mission in this way.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1Meditation9:45AMWorship11AM

2 3ClergyLectionary@10AMElder’smeeting@6:00PM

4GirlScouts@5:30PMChoir@7:00PM

5LunchBunch@12PMTrusteesMeeting@6PM

6CWUMeeting@9:30AMChaliceCloset12-4PM

7ChaliceCloset1-4pm

8Meditation9:45AMWorship11AMCookieSwap@12:15PM

9

10ClergyLectionary@10AMFinanceMeeting@5:30PM

11GirlScouts@5:30PMChoir@7:00PM

12

13ChaliceCloset12-4PM

14ChaliceCloset1-4PM

15Meditation9:45AMWorship11AMHangingoftheGreens&TreeDecorating

16

17ClergyLectionary@10AMAdministrativeBoardMeeting@6:30PM

18GirlScouts@5:30PMChoir@7:00PM

19CWF@10:30am

20ChaliceCloset12-4PM

21ChaliceCloset1-4PM

22Meditation9:45AMWorship11AMChristmasPotluck@12:15PM

23

24ClergyLectionary@10AMChristmasEveService@6:00PM

25ChristmasDay

26

27ChaliceCloset12-4PM

28ChaliceCloset1-4PM

29Meditation9:45AMWorship11AM

30

31ClergyLectionary@10AM

2019

Serving Our Church

Worship Leaders 1- Pinkie Weesner 8- Janet Billets 15- Kimberly Brown 22- Tom Hoy 29- TBD

Serving Elders

Thanksgiving Communion 1- Kimberly Brown Lori Robinson 8- Ed Kilgore Heidi Toy 15- Lori Robinson Ed Kilgore 22- Tom Hoy Kimberly Brown 29- Tom Hoy Carole Bestor

Elder of the Month Tom Hoy

Deacon of the Month

Mark Bingaman

Flowers Fellowship 1- Birthday Cake

8- 15- 22- Christmas Potluck 29

December Birthdays 1 Dawn Lowery-Peterson

3 PooPak Heydarynia 4 Sean Bigelow

7 Patrick Flanigan 8 Charles Murray

9 Dawn Wilson 10 Kimberly Brown

12 Jannelle Bingaman Silva 19 Mike Dremel 22 John Shykun

24 Magali Negron

December Anniversaries

Please Join Us for our Annual (and much anticipated) Cookie Swap on Sunday, December 8th immediately following worship in Jones Hall. Everyone is invited to bring 2 dozen or more of your favorite home baked (or bakery purchased) holiday cookies to share with members of the congregation. Janet Billets and Pinkie will be facilitating and Janet is making arrangements for decorative receptacles to carry your stash home! We always have an amazing selection of treasured favorites. Please join us in sharing your treasures, too. Please Join Us for our Annual Hanging of the Greens and Tree Decorating on Sunday, December 15th immediately following worship in the Sanctuary and in Jones Hall. Many hands make light the work! Regardless of age or your perceived decorating ability, we need your help! There will be food, fellowship, and fun while we bring the delicious smell of pine and the delightful memories of seasons past into our worship and fellowship spaces. You come, too!

CWF on Thursday, December 19, 2019 at 10:30 AM. Lunch at 12 noon, bring a sack lunch. Pastor’s Bible Study at 1:00 PM.

All are welcome.

Christmas Potluck, December 22. Please plan on bringing a favorite dish, including traditional holiday foods. We need volunteers to set up and clean up.

THE LIGHTHOUSE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF PACIFIC GROVE 442 CENTRAL AVE PACIFIC GROVE, CA 92950

Church Administration Moderator – Lori Robinson

Vice Moderator – Nancy Bingaman Board Secretary/Clerk –Linda Nichols

Financial Secretary – Perci Paulsell Chief Financial Officer - Steve Brydon

Chair of Trustees - Ken Rockefeller Chair of Elders – Frances Weesner

Chair of Deacons – Janet Billets

Church Staff Pastor - Dan Paul

Minister of Music– Heidi Toy Organist- John Shykun

Choir Director – Pam Brydon Administrative Assistant- Nanette Murphy

Nursery Attendants- Larisa Sutter, Sat Jiwain Khalsa

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