| July 2011 |
The Good News |
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Travelling without leaving home People often tell me they wished they could travel to another country or learn another language. And I agree - it is delightful and enriching to expand one’s horizons and be exposed to different cultures. Yet, travelling and language lessons are not always possible or affordable. But what is available to most of us is the travel across time and history within one’s own culture. Sometimes it happens by accident: we stumble upon an old expression (“fetching”, “slugabed”, “beckon”) and suddenly a whole new room opens up to us. Or rather an old room which has been there all along waiting to be rediscovered. A room full of delightful words – and not just words, but concepts that come with the words. Take for example the hymn Soul, Adorn Thyself with Gladness. In contemporary English we could say: Dress yourself up with joy, my heart. Which sounds kind of strange. “Heart” just does not have the same ring as “soul” and “dress up” does not have the same ring as “adorn”. But even more interesting is the whole idea that the soul can and should “adorn” itself with gladness! Who among us contemporary Christians would think of joy as something we can deliberately “put on”? Most people think that joy is beyond our control: we tend to think that joy comes and goes like sunshine and clouds, or that joy is the result of favorable circumstances, or that joy comes when we find a soul-mate, or make money, or achieve certain goals. But what if our ancestors were on to something? But what if joy really is something we can choose? Something we can put on the way we pick out a shirt or a dress or a tie or a necklace in the morning? What if we could be joyful, simply because we make up our mind to be joyful? Such discoveries can be made in many places and in many ways, but it strikes me how easily they are made in and around worship. Many worship texts, hymns, and liturgies are a treasure-trove of old words, and even more so the concepts that are represented by these words. Think: “abiding”, “rejoicing”, “beseeching”. Of course it can be a bit unsettling to leave the familiar territory of contemporary language and encounter some of the older words, just like encountering other cultures can sometimes be a stretch for us. But these encounters can also be delightful adventures and discoveries; they can leave us richer, with an expanded horizon and a few new insights. And who knows, we might just get up one morning and decide on the blue shirt, the black pants plus a good measure of “gladness” to compliment our outfit. Hooray for Hollywood! When? What Time? Suggested Donation:
Important:
Social Action updates
Undies Sunday
Well, half way through my life I started working for Friends Outside and Sacred Heart Community Services. Wow! What an eye opener for me. There is a HUGE population out there that doesn’t have the things we in the middle class take for granted. One shock to me is the fact that many poor folk can’t afford UNDERWEAR. Yes-underwear! Used underwear is very scarce; you rarely see it in Thrift shops. So this summer we at CGS are going to focus on providing new underwear for school aged children 5-14 years of age. It is not easy to start school without underwear. So in July and August we at CGS are going to focus on supporting school aged children with underwear-for both boys and girls for ages 5-14- and socks. We call it “Undies Sunday.” Please be extra generous, the need is great.
Holy Ground Choir is on summer break, but our faith community is still alive and busy. Please accept this invitation to use our Wednesday evening time to gather together. Each Wednesday starting at 7 p.m., we will meet at the church front door and then walk to the garden for our program. (We will lock the front door at 7:10, so if you are late, do call Rosy's cell at 408-242-3672). The initial ideas: walking meditation, hymn sing, crafts, sharing our favorite Bible stories, psalms, verses, reading modern works by Bonheoffer, are traditional circle themes. Our shared wisdom and experiences might lead us to gospel music, drumming, or, who knows? Please bring yourself, your friends, and some item you want to show us. Yes, the "show and tell" model works for adults too! Rosy McCloskey will bring some special souvenirs this Wednesday to start the activities. Questions? Facebook users can check our Christ the Good Shepherd group or contact Rosy at 408-242-3673 in the evenings or at rosymc@gmail.com
Second Mile Giving for July is San Francisco Night Ministry In 2008, Crisis Line Counselors answered nearly 5000 phone calls from around the Bay Area and Night Ministers engaged in nearly 9000 significant conversations. For San Francisco, this is a ministry as urgently needed as it is challenging. When requested, the Night Minister will meet anyone, in person, anywhere in San Francisco. Occasionally other agencies will ask the Night Minister to provide transportation for a battered person to a hospital or shelter. Calls to our Crisis Line come from the entire Bay Area and beyond. All persons are eligible for assistance regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, life style, social or economic status, religion or no religion. Night Ministry does not give out money, but tries to help in other ways. Food bars and bottles of water are always available for distribution. Occasionally other items that have been donated to us can be distributed. These generally include socks, coats, blankets, sleeping bags, rain gear, hats, gloves and scarves. In addition to making referrals, Night Ministry accepts referrals from other helping agencies such as Suicide Prevention and WOMEN Inc. We are a listed agency with United Way’s HelpLink and 211 services, and 311 Information service, among others. Night Ministry also provides an open-air worship service which includes preaching, praying, singing and Holy Communion each Sunday at 2:00 PM at Leavenworth @ McAllister near United Nations Plaza. Everyone and anyone is welcome. We gather together, we worship God, we honor each other.
Heritage Services
Security Reminder While we tend to think of Willow Glen as a fairly safe neighborhood; unfortunately, that is not always the case. Within the last month, key components of the Great Hall sound system were taken. There were no signs of forced entry, so we believe it was someone who found easy access to the building. While property can be replaced, we are even more concerned about the safety of our staff and volunteers who often are at the church alone or in small numbers. Please do your part to help keep CGS safe and secure. Check each door and make sure it is closed and locked!
CGS's 40th anniversary
A special anniversary page will be posted on the CGS website where you can stay informed about the celebrations and how you can get involved throughout the year.
W.E.L.C.A.
My Dear Friends
Birthdays
Anniversaries
Calendar of events
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July Good News In this issue: Travelling without leaving home |
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The Good News e-Version July 2011 If you wish to subscribe to this newsletter, email us here. Our mailing address is: 1550 Meridian Ave San Jose, CA 95125 Our telephone: 408-266-8022 Copyright (C) 2011 Christ the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church All rights reserved. |
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We will be ending our collection of Personal Kits for LWR on Sunday July 10th. It looks like we are having a good response. These kits fill an ever present need at home and abroad. Thank you for your generous response. Next we will focus on a local need for our Summer of Comfort. See the article by Esther Rechenmacher for more information. 
Hi, I’m Esther! I grew up in this valley in a middle class family. All the basics were provided for me, and for many years I thought everyone lived like that and had all they needed.
What is "Holy Ground"? Moses and the Burning Bush, Elijah's visions, Jacob's Ladder, Jerusalem, Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, our church sanctuary (Latin root Sanctus), where we are now, where YOU are now, or all of the above.
The San Francisco Night Ministry provides middle-of-the-night compassionate non-judgmental pastoral care, counseling, referral and crisis intervention to anyone in any kind of distress. Through our Crisis Telephone Line staffed by trained volunteer Crisis Line Counselors; and through person-to-person encounters with ordained clergy on the streets, this ministry is available every night of the year from 10:00 pm - 4:00 am.
Do you have a favorite hymn we haven't sung in recent years?
A liturgy or prayer that's dear to your heart? The members of CGS come from a rich variety of traditions, and there's surprising diversity even among Lutheran traditions. On Sunday, July 10 after worship, there will be a meeting for all interested in helping to plan the Heritage Service scheduled for August 21
Now that summer is here, there are more opportunities to go outside and enjoy the beautiful outdoors at the church. This also means there are more doors that need to be checked and locked. If you are the last person to leave a room or the building, please check all the outside doors to ensure they are closed and securely locked. Two areas that are often overlooked are the sliding doors in the Fireside Room and the exterior door from the hallway between the kitchen and Fireside Room. We recently found both of these doors open on a Sunday evening. 
Christ the Good Shepherd marks its 40th anniversary this year. The anniversary committee is planning a series of celebrations and activities that will kick-off in September to commemorate the ministry of CGS. More details will be coming soon. However, we need your assistance now in the following ways:
The WELCA meeting for July will on the 17th. We will be having an off-site picnic, details to be announced soon. 
This is a belated Thank You for the welcome and friendship I experienced as the visiting-from-Florida choir member during Palm Sunday and Easter. It was pure joy to sing with you and to worship together. I cherish the new friendships I made and look forward to seeing you all again. Thanks to each of you. I will be back, I just don't know when. Until then stay well and happy,
Peace.
Sally Larson, Gainesville, FL 
