ANNUAL GATHERING. Walking Together...in Praise and Celebration. 2:00 to 4:00 pm St. Andrew Presbyterian Church 9850 Monroe Ave, Aptos

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1 Spring 2007 PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN IN THE PRESBYTERY OF SAN JOSE ANNUAL GATHERING Walking Together...in Praise and Celebration In addition to our annual business meeting, we will celebrate the conclusion of our program year with worship, communion, and the installation of the PWP Coordinating Team. Leaders will be Stella Matusiewicz, Associate Pastor of Westminster Presbyterian, San Jose (Latin American Fellowship), and Carmen Rosales, Director of Hispanic Ministries, Watsonville. 2:00 to 4:00 pm St. Andrew Presbyterian Church 9850 Monroe Ave, Aptos For Information, Claudia Hamm (408) CALVIN CHURCH TO CLOSE At its meeting on March 31, the Presbytery of San Jose voted to concur with the request of the congregation of Calvin Presbyterian Church, San Jose, that the church be closed and members of the congregation transferred to churches of their choosing. The closure is to take effect on June 30. The next meeting of the Presbytery, on June 9, will recognize the life and ministry of this congregation. It was organized on November 29, 1953, and was formed by a group of members from First Presbyterian, San Jose, who did not think a downtown congregation was viable any longer. The congregation of First gave their blessings, and, more substantially, a gift of $25,000. Over the years, Calvin has had a strong Presbyterian Women s organization, and that, too, will be recognized at the June Presbytery meeting.

2 CLAUDIA S COLUMN: Generosity Presbyterian Women are the best when it comes to generosity. An especially generous group of Presbyterian Women came together at the Spring Gathering: Walking Together Hand in Hand on March 17 at the Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church. Forty or so of us gathered for a simple lunch of soup and bread, then worked Together in Service tying two small Prayer quilts, knitting baby caps and blankets, and knitting Prayer shawls. Our mission offering of $128 went to purchase plastic toy tubs for Emmaus House in Hollister. Louise Ledesma, member of the Hollister Presbyterian Church and an Emmaus House board member, up-dated us on progress (an outdoor play structure donated by the Children s Miracle Network) and current needs. Offerings were taken for the 2009 Gathering scholarships ($102), Linkage ($49) and the Hunger Fund ($27). On April 13, I delivered the two Prayer quilts to Emmaus House. I was able to give the baby quilt to the mother and baby that day and we had our picture taken together. The lap quilt will remain in the living room at Emmaus House. Please keep Emmaus House and its staff and clients in your prayers. Contact me for a list of their current and on-going needs. Emmaus House will be an on-going mission focus for PW in our presbytery. Do you know about the NetWorkers Malaria Prevention program? Have you sewed mosquito nets? Well, we no longer sew the nets but we help in purchasing them, along with malaria prevention education materials, through our participation in the NetWorkers Mother s Day Project. Colorful cards can be ordered (free) from Gail Bingham ( , ext. 5573, or gbingham@ctr.pcusa.org). Suggested donation is $10 per card. Be generous; buy more than one card! This mission activity brings the gift of health to women and children in Africa as we honor our mothers and other cherished women in our lives. If you can t do it this year, be sure to do it in Here s another idea of how to use the cards year-round that I picked up at the Churchwide Gathering in 2006: send the card to a new mother in your congregation. What better way to honor new life than that! Spring also brings us the Birthday Offering. If you haven t already gotten your packet, order one on line at or call Cindy Goodman staffs our special offerings and she can be reached at or cgoodman@ctr.pcusa.org. The goal for the 2007 offering is $1.2 million. In 2006 the total giving to the Birthday Offering from PW in the Congregations in our presbytery was $1, Please encourage your PW sisters to give generously this year and to consider increasing what they ordinarily give to special offerings. PW mission offerings make a difference! If you are aware of ministries in our presbytery that may qualify for a grant from the PW Birthday Offering, please contact Cindy Goodman (listed above) for a complete list of criteria and to request an application. Finally, and most importantly, at the June 9 meeting of the Presbytery of San Jose to be held at Calvin Presbyterian Church in San Jose, we will celebrate the life and mission of that church as it comes to a close and disbands. We will be honoring the women of Calvin, who for so many years participated generously in the support and programs of PW in the Presbytery of San Jose, with a Recognition gift to Presbyterian Women in honor of their faithful service. It would be so meaningful to have as many Presbyterian Women attend this meeting as possible to stand together with our sisters at Calvin Presbyterian Church. Please spread the word! Be generous, and you will be prosperous. Help others, and you will be helped. Proverbs 11:25 Faithfully, Claudia 2

3 Horizons Bible Study: SFTS San Francisco Theological Seminary will once again host a day of review of the Horizons Bible study, featuring the author, on September 15, Written by Dr. Carol Bechtel, the new study is titled Above and Beyond: Hearing God s Call in Jonah and Ruth. In Memoriam: Dorothy Metzger Dorothy Metzger, who served for 12 years as Mission Advocate for the Presbytery of San Jose, has died after a four year struggle with cancer. A Memorial service was held April 14 at Trinity Presbyterian Church, San Jose, where she and Don had been long-time members. Further details about the day will be coming, but put the date on your calendars now. Carol Bechtel was the Bible study leader for the 2000 Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women. She is professor of Old Testament at Western Theological Seminary (a seminary affiliated with the Reformed Church in America). She grew up on a farm in Fulton, Illinois, and attended Hope College and Western Theological Seminary. Carol received her PhD in Old Testament from Yale University in She now lives in Holland, Michigan, with her husband Tom Mullens and their four teenagers. She will be remembered as a consciously up-beat person, who never showed discouragement. Michael Parker, serving in Rwanda, wrote, Perhaps this sounds unremarkable, but Dorothy is the only one that I have encountered in the PC (USA) at the Presbytery level that has made this much effort to promote missions. Dorothy is survived by her husband Don, who served with her as Mission Advocate in recent years, and by three children (Charles of Kerrville, TX; Don or Roseville, CA; and Kathy Newton of Burney, CA) and six grandchildren. Carol has written several books, including Esther: A Commentary for Preaching in the Interpretation Series. The Introduction to the study begins, Many of us remember Ruth as a kind of Semitic Cinderella story. And our impressions of Jonah may make it seem like the biggest fish story of all time! While these impressions are a place to start, they fall far short of what these Old Testament books have to tell us. Whether you can barely find these books in the Bible, or you know them like the back of your hand, there is something here for you to learn. Subscribers to Horizons magazine have received their copies of the study. Prayers for Isaiah Jones The Rev. Isaiah Jones, until recently pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church, Palo Alto, has been diagnosed with advanced leukemia. He has retired from his pastorate, and as Moderator of the Presbytery of San Jose, and is undergoing intensive treatment in Texas. Isaiah is a renowned hymn-writer and worship leader. His hymn, Fill My Cup is in the Presbyterian Hymnal. He gave up a lucrative career as a songwriter, musician and recording artist in Hollywood to attend seminary. He served as a pastor in Pacific Presbytery and as campus minister at Oregon State University prior to coming to Covenant. The Rev. Marge Palmer, Interim Pastor, Stone Presbyterian, San Jose, was installed as Moderator of the Presbytery at the meeting on March 31 where Isaiah announced his resignation. 3

4 Next Presbyterian Global Exchange: Eastern Europe The next Presbyterian Women Global Exchange will take place in September 2008, and will focus on Easter Europe and how the changing political climate has affected women, the Church and the Roma people (itinerant ethnic groups in Europe, previously referred to as Gypsies). Every three years, a group of Presbyterian Women travels to another part of the world to listen to the pain and joy that their sisters experience, and to share their faith stories and ministries with each other. The Exchange happens when a group of women from the same part of the world are invited to attend the Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women to tell their stories to their North American sisters. Recovering from the effects of more than 70 years of communism, the people of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Ukraine are struggling to adjust to new economic, political and societal realities. They must deal with rapid changes in education, health care, environmental issues and social equality. The churches of Eastern Europe are working to renew a sense of cooperation, mission, servantleadership and lay involvement. Ministry to the Roma is a central mission in the region. Churches are developing faith communities for the Roma, while addressing the issues of discrimination, poverty and social separation. In the Czech Republic, emerging from a long period in which religion has been a source of controversy and enmity, our partners feel a need to move toward grade and healing. In Hungary, the problems of migrants, refugees and the trafficking of women and children are major concerns. In Ukraine, a nation of the former Soviet Union, multiple churches are reemerging after almost 75 years of state-sponsored atheism. Mission partners are working to encourage cooperation between denominations and to build healthy connections with sister churches abroad. Anyone interested in participating in this Exchange is urged to fill out the application form, available from Claudia Hamm. At least one participant is chosen from each of the 16 Synods; approximately 30 women in all will go on the trip. Applications must reach the moderator of PW in the Synod of the Pacific, with a copy to the Moderator of PW in the Presbytery of San Jose, by June 1, Contact Claudia Hamm for an application form for the Global Exchange, and for the USA Mission Experience described below. USA Mission Experience: Beyond Borders A second opportunity to experience mission firsthand will send 20 to 30 women to El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico for the week of April 12-19, These women will be challenged by the issues around immigration and the responsibilities of Christians today. Partnering with mission projects, the weeklong trip will combine education with hands-on ministry. When they return, participants will share their experiences in their synods and raise awareness of the ways people of faith confront the issues that divide us. Migrants comprise 3 percent of the global population. In 2005, there were an estimated 191 million migrants worldwide, up from 177 million in 200. According to 2005 estimates, the United States hosts 10.3 million undocumented immigrants, with 500,000 arriving each year. The United States has the largest absolute number of undocumented immigrants, which make up about 30 percent of its total foreign-born population. In 2005, nearly half of global migrants were women. PW will focus on the relationship of immigration to violence, poverty, racism, exploitation of women and children, and global economic policies. 4

5 PW Grant enabled Female Judges in Syrian, Lebanese Church Courts Women can now rule on cases in the courts system of the Evangelical Churches in Syria and Lebanon (ECSL), thanks to help from Presbyterian Women. The Supreme Council of the ECSL publicly said thank you earlier this month to PW for awarding it a $10,000 grant used to update and amend its constitution to permit the election of women to the church courts, which try personal law cases, including divorces and inheritance rights. The work has been completed and the new constitution printed and distributed, and during [a] recent Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly Council meeting here March PW was formally recognized for its efforts and given a bound copy of the amended constitution. The thanks and recognition was passed on from the Rev. Salim Sahiouny, president of the Supreme Council of the ECSL, through GAC Executive Director Linda Bryant Valentine, who spent time with Sahiouny in Lebanon as part of a PC (U.S.A.) delegation to the Middle East in January. The Supreme Council of the Evangelical Churches in Syria and Lebanon is the umbrella organization of various Protestant churches in those countries. We believe that it is important for women to participate in the judicial process, PW Moderator and GAC member Catrelia Hunter said in an interview with the Presbyterian News Service. We think it s very important for people to see that women are involved in the process. Ultimately, that involvement will bring more equity... And more justice, she said. The grant was awarded through PW s Thank Offering.... In both Syria and Lebanon, personal law is handled by religious communities and their church courts, and not the government, said the Rev. Victor Makari, coordinator for the PC (U.S.A.) s 5 Middle East Office. Civil law is not applied to persons when their personal affairs are regulated by rites, principles and values that are shaped by their religious authorities (scriptures and traditions), he said. The constitution of the Supreme Council of the Evangelical Churches in Syria and Lebanon had stipulated that men serve on church courts, but has now been updated and amended to include women, Makari said. It was unfortunate that women (in Syria and Lebanon) were not allowed to participate fully before, Hunter said. In that area and around the world, that particular grant can serve as a model as to what can happen if given the resources. This article was written by Toya Richards Hill, and was published by the Presbyterian News Service, March 29, Used by Permission. The Linkage costs $1.00 per person per issue ($4.00 per year) for printing and postage; currently there are about 200 people on the mailing list. Donations to help defray this cost are welcome. Checks payable to Presbyterian Women in the Presbytery of San Jose (PWPSJ) and marked Linkage may be mailed to Linda Hagan, 7940 Fall Court, Cupertino, CA The Linkage is published 4 times a year by Presbyterian Women in the Presbytery of San Jose. Editor is Alice Thorn, PWPSJ Communicator. Information and comments can be directed to her by phone (408) or to alice_in_blue@sbcglobal.net. You may receive Linkage by by sending your address to the editor. Look for The Linkage on the web site of the Presbytery of San Jose.

6 Dates to Remember May 20, 2007, Annual Gathering, Walking Together in Praise and Celebration, 2:00 4:00 pm, St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, Aptos September 15, 2007, Horizons Bible Study Day with author Carol Bechtel, at San Francisco Theological Seminary Check Out PW Websites General PW Information Leadership Development and Resource (Leadership training; Anti-racism and Racial Ethnic Dialogue; PW History) Nurturing Your PW Groups (Building Community four pages of community builders & discussion starters; Planning & Evaluation; Services for Lighting of the Christ Candle) Justice & Peace Links Office of Women s Advocacy s advocacy PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN In the Presbytery of San Jose 1711 Harte Drive San Jose, CA

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