FALL GATHERING: Saturday October 6. Connections... With our Amigas y Hermanas

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1 Fall 2007 PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN IN THE PRESBYTERY OF SAN JOSE FALL GATHERING: Saturday October 6 Connections... With our Amigas y Hermanas Join us for a lunch of Latin American foods, including hand made tortillas, and hear from Stella Matusiewicz about ministry with Latin American peoples at Westminster Presbyterian Church, and Carmen Rosales about the ministry at Watsonville United Presbyterian Church. There will also be music from different Latin American traditions. While we commonly think of Hispanic as meaning Mexican, in fact the ministries draw people from a number of countries in Central and South America, as well as Mexico. This means that while all are Spanish speaking, not everyone speaks the same Spanish, and ministry means picking your way among differences in language as well as cultural traditions. Stella and Carmen will talk to us about their journeys as Hispanic women in the church Stella is ordained in the PC (U.S.A.) and Carmen is completing requirements for ordination. Olga Smith will act as translator where necessary; she is a Peruvian member of Westminster Presbyterian who has in the recent past owned a restaurant in San Jose and is active in civic life. 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Westminster Presbyterian Church 1100 Shasta Avenue San Jose, CA Reservations: Call the church (408)

CLAUDIA S COLUMN: Yesterday (September 19) was just an ordinary day and an ordinary meeting of the Coordinating Team of PW in the Presbytery of San Jose.

2 CLAUDIA S COLUMN: Yesterday (September 19) was just an ordinary day and an ordinary meeting of the Coordinating Team of PW in the Presbytery of San Jose. At least it was ordinary until we began to discuss the Presbyterian Women Palm Project, a new Together in Service mission project to develop palm plantations in the Congo. Congo uses palm oil for cooking and, until destruction of agricultural capabilities, was the world s largest producer of palm oil. They now must import palm oil from Malaysia for their domestic use. This change in the market has given Presbyterian Women an opportunity to help women s groups and hospitals of the Presbyterian Community in Congo to plant new varieties of Costa Rican palms that produce three times more palm oil than the current stock can produce. A gift of $20 can purchase about ten plants. Here is where our questions began. The new trees are low-growing, making it easier for women to participate in the planting, maintenance and harvest of the crop. OK so we wanted to know what fruit these palms produce? We also wondered whether the women harvest the fruit and extract the oil themselves or sell it to a larger operation that does the extracting? We know about date palms and coconut palms but nothing about oil palms. How can we decide about participating in this mission project without more information? Several of us were inspired by the need to know and went home and googled such things as Costa Rican oil palms and processing palm oil, and learned more than we ever thought we d want to know! Cheri Harper, PW Program Associate in Louisville, also responded to some of our questions and ed a picture of the fruit, (actually, nuts) that grow in clusters at the base of the oil palm trees. The trees take three to five years to produce a crop, depending on soil conditions and rainfall. She also told us that when the nuts are harvested, the women press them to extract the oil and package the oil for local sale. Cheri also says that the time lag between planting the palms and the first harvest is actually a good thing for the Congolese. Since they have only known war and deprivation for the last 10 years, they have gotten into the habit of survivalist thinking, and have forgotten how to plan for the future. Planting and tending the small palm plantations for 3-5 years will help them re-learn how to look to the future. So our Coordinating Team meeting went from ordinary to extraordinary as we learned more about this new mission opportunity, and now you know what we know about the PW Palm Project. We continue to have an active on-line dialogue among several of us about this project and that s good. I hope this project will generate dialogue in your local PW as well. A brochure with more details will be in the mail to you later this fall. Claudia 2

Together in Service: Emmaus House In 2006 Presbyterian Women in the Presbytery of San Jose selected Emmaus House in Hollister as an on-going mission focus.

3 Together in Service: Emmaus House In 2006 Presbyterian Women in the Presbytery of San Jose selected Emmaus House in Hollister as an on-going mission focus. Emmaus House provides shelter and aid to women and children who are victims of domestic violence. In talking about what we could provide as continuing support, we decided to start an account that would provide funds to buy new shoes for the children who are staying there on an as needed basis. When your PW is thinking about local mission projects, consider a contribution to the PW Shoe Fund at Emmaus House. Contact Peggy Huffstutler, Manager, for more information. Her is peg.emmaushouse@sbcglobal.net or the office phone number is (831) She can tell you how to direct your contribution. At the Spring Gathering in March we tied two quilts for Emmaus house, a baby quilt and a lap quilt. The baby quilt was given to a family with an infant and the lap quilt will be used in the living area of the house. Thank you for your support of the worthwhile project! Joey Lee is Elected Executive Presbyter At its meeting on September 15, the Presbytery of San Jose elected the Rev. Joseph Shulin Lee (known to everyone as Joey) as its Executive Presbyter. Joey has served the Presbytery as Associate Executive Presbyter for Program since 1996; Before that he was the organizing pastor of the South Bay Asian American New Church development in San Jose. He will begin his new duties on January 1, The new Executive s story, like many Californians, is that of immigration. He was born in Korea to a Chinese family. They immigrated to the U. S., settling first in Denver, Colorado, where he was baptized as an infant. The family moved to San Francisco and he grew up as a member of the Presbyterian Church in Chinatown and as a participant in the youth program at Donaldina Cameron House. He was ordained an elder in 1977 and a Minister of Word and Sacrament in His wife, Irene Yang, is a fourth generation Presbyterian. PWP Moderator Claudia Hamm holds one of the quilts created at the March Gathering. She is with the family who received the quilt. 3

The WomenBuild Home: Completed and Occupied Increase the Harvest: Thank Offering 2007 All the work and planning of Habitat for Humanity came to fruition in June 2007 when the Larimer House was

4 The WomenBuild Home: Completed and Occupied Increase the Harvest: Thank Offering 2007 All the work and planning of Habitat for Humanity came to fruition in June 2007 when the Larimer House was dedicated. Sadly, though the house was designed for use by a child with disabilities, Joshua Larimer, died before the family could move in. The rest of the Larimer family is now living in the new home for which they worked. The construction project was overseen and built by women, a first for Silicon Valley. PWP and PW s in the Congregation contributed both money and builders for the project.. Since 1888, Presbyterian Women have funded aid programs through the Thank Offering. That year, Eliza Clokey challenged the members of the Women s General Missionary Society to give one dollar above each member s usual contribution as a thank offering to her Lord. After more than a century, her vision continues. The Thank Offering supports programs that relieve pain, provide clean water, alleviate homelessness, provide educational opportunities and lift up the lives of women and children throughout the world. This year, we continue the tradition by supporting 49 projects chosen from 77 requests received. The $983,194 contributed to the 2006 Thank Offering will fund 16 projects in the United States and 33 projects internationally. At least 40% of the offering is designated for health ministries. This grant will enable the organization to prepare, reproduce and disseminate written materials and prepare and offer oral presentations for health care professionals, with cultural consideration given to treating Afghan women. An Afghan woman will be hired and trained to serve as a medical interpreter. Through the gifts of the Thank Offering, Presbyterian Women offers hope to the world, confident in God s steadfast love for all humankind. We give as we are blessed, offering mercy to others as God in merciful to us. To order your free Thank Offering packet (PWR ), call Presbyterian Distribution Service at (800) or order on-line at In the our synod, the Synod of the Pacific, Opening Doors, Inc., Sacramento Afghan Women s Health Outreach is a recipient of a $30,000 grant. 4

5 Restoring Creation the Gifts of Care Many people are questioning, rightly, justice issues in areas of immigration (reform and care), Torture (NO), Fair Trade (Free Trade largely isn t Fair), and of course HOME (care of). As many of us plan to travel in the next few months, we want to be aware of what we are doing or can do, to mitigate the impact of airplane flight or road travel. Light travel means having some enlightened insights and positive actions. Air flight has a major NEGATIVE impact on the air/carbon dioxide levels through burning high jet grade fuel. A positive re-action to this fact is to invest in tree planting (careful here, though) and/ or investing in alternative energy development such as solar farms which includes sun, wind and more exotically, tidal gradients. Ah Wilderness! There is so much to love, appreciate, learn and live. One web site for further understanding CARBON footprint issues is: Carbonfund.org. And thinking of good and what can be done, be sure to check out the August/September issue of Horizons which featured San Jose Presbytery s great efforts. Pat Plant, Hunger Action Advocate; Ben Daniel, Pastor of Foothill Presbyterian Church, San Jose (which was the first Green Business in Santa Clara County); and Jeanette Rapp were featured in their very real work with and love for activating people to do what should be done. Green and Creation are well paired; love of each has deep roots. Finally, thinking of hostess gifts, consider a basket of Fair Trade items coffees, teas, nuts, dried fruit, CHOCOLATE bars, and cocoa mix. This is always a lovely way to say thank you fairly and tastefully. Then there is Alternative Gifts a no-stuff gift for all seasons. Questions about resources? Call or Linda Hagan Vice-moderator: Justice and Peace (408) ljhagan@sbcglobal.net PW In the Congregations: PW at Covenant, Palo Alto, holds a Bazaar every year in November which is actually two events in one: PW has a sale of high quality Treasures as well as very nice handmade items created by members of the Sewing & Crafts group. Last, but not least, there is a Bake Sale. Last year s Bazaar netted about $2, for Covenant. At the beginning of the year, when the budget is planned, these funds are donated to several charities, including Muscular Dystrophy, Alzheimer s Research, and the Presbyterian Menaul School. For many years, we have assisted Community Activities Committee (CAC) by giving them the use of the Fellowship Hall for their rummage sale on the same day as our Bazaar. CAC raises money for scholarships for minority students. The two events together bring in a larger group of customers than either would generate alone. Bonnie Wilcox, Moderator **Let us know what your PW is doing by contacting Alice Thorn, Linkage editor, or Claudia Hamm, Moderator of PWP.** The Linkage costs $1.00 per person per issue ($4.00 per year) for printing and postage; currently there are about 135 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, phone (408) or alice_in_blue@sbcglobal.net. You may receive Linkage by by sending your address to the editor. Or, look for The Linkage on the web site of the Presbytery of San Jose. 5

6 Revised PW Manual Do you know the whereabouts of your PW Manual? No matter. Now the newly revised PW Manual, the essential guide for PW Circles and leaders, is available. The 2007 edition includes the fundamentals structure and relationships, sample bylaws, sample budgets and more as well as a new guide for treasurers and tips for leaders. Things have changed, so call PDS and be one of the first to be up-to-date on the current structure of Presbyterian Women. The Phone is (800) ; The Manual costs $6.00; order No. PWR 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

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

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