Reflection from Pastor Sadie

Transcription

1 Guided by God s radical love for all, Bethany seeks to Offer sanctuary, Inspire personal transformation, Foster a faith community, and Engage locally and globally for social justice. Bethany United Methodist Church Newsletter September 2018 Reflection from Pastor Sadie Last week I posed a question to my Facebook community, "How do you manage stress?" The responses were varied. Some took the comic route with suggestions like, "wine, crying, and bashing my head against the wall." Other responses included things like vacation, napping, hiking, singing, praying, meditation, yoga. I posed the question because while we all experience stress, as someone who suffers from Crohns disease, when I'm feeling stressed my Crohns flares and so in addition to all of the other negative impacts of stress, my physical well being is severely impacted, and last week my jaw even locked -up. Clearly I need to do something different. Then, I went and watched the new Mr. Rogers documentary "Won't You Be My Neighbor" and I was transported back into the world of make believe, where Mr. Rogers used puppets to teach on serious lessons of the day. A world where he wasn't afraid of speaking honestly and directly to children about things like the Vietnam war, divorce, death, and racism. A world where Mr. Rogers wanted each and every person to remember that we were special just the way we were. If you've ever seen Mr. Rogers Neighborhood you know that it wasn't a flashy show. Mr. Rogers speaks sometimes ridiculously slow, and as his production team is often quoted as saying, he did everything wrong in the production of TV but it worked. After the documentary I went home and watched episode after episode of the old shows, introducing Eli and Emerson to the neighborhood, and singing the songs he sang and reading quotes and wisdom. By the end of Monday I felt so much better. With simple messages like, "There's no person in the whole wide world like you, and I like you just the way you are." (continued on next page)

2 Reflection (cont.) Simple. Yet profound. Words and messages that I don't think we ever outgrow the need to hear. We're special, we're not mistakes, it's ok to have the feelings, we're fancy on the inside, and love and kindness are what have the power to change our world. I didn't know how much I needed those simple reminders, from the simple lessons of Mr. Rogers, and I thought maybe if I was feeling this way, perhaps some of you all were too, and so our September sermon series is born. "The Gospel According to Mr. Rogers". Turns out a good way to combat stress is simple; be reminded that who I am is enough, and you are too. Amen. Announcing Artists in Residence: CHORUM I m delighted to announce the arrival of Chorum, whom Bethany UMC will be hosting as its Artists in Residence beginning Tuesday, August 28. Chorum, led by Artistic Director and Conductor, Timothy Silva, is an a cappella group hailing from Marin that sings a wide range of repertoire, including classical and contemporary compositions, songs from Broadway musicals, pop/rock arrangements by artists like Billy Joel, and much, much more! They will be rehearsing Tuesday evenings in the Sanctuary from 7:00-10:00 PM. A brilliant, not-to-be-missed Halloween-themed program is being prepared! Mark your calendars: Sunday, October 28, at 6:00 PM. Chorum will be presenting an exciting program that celebrates the fall season: music by Randall Thompson, poetry by Robert Frost and Edgar Allen Poe. They will also perform two striking pieces by beloved Estonian composer, Veljo Tormis: music of turbulence, loss, and longing; prayers for peace and protection. Sunday, October 28, 2018 Doors at 6:00pm - Warm beverages served Music at 6:15pm - program lasts about 1 hour This concert will be in lieu of the Second Sunday concert for October. Crossroads brings you the news from Bethany United Methodist Church

3 From the Nurture/Outreach Team Backpack Blessing Bethany has supported a long standing tradition of collecting coins during weekly worship as part of a specific mission offering that is administered by the children and youth of the church. This year, it was decided to support foster children in their transition back to school. Through a program sponsored by Mattress Firm, Bethany s kids had an outing to Target in Colma and purchased backpacks and various supplies. The donated backpacks along with the backpacks of our own kids returning to school were blessed by Pastor Sadie at worship on August 26th. The blessed backpacks have been donated to 10 foster kids in the community. Interfaith Shelter Homeless Meals As part of our annual Christmas tradition, on the evenings of December 27 and 28th, Bethany we will be preparing and serving meals for approximately 100 homeless men through the SF Interfaith Winter Shelter program. Given this important and significant undertaking, we will need many volunteers for our designated evenings. More details to follow in the coming months. Bethany s 1st Annual Lack of Talent Show and Potluck Dinner Saturday October 13th 5:30 8:30pm Bethany Sanctuary This evening will be a chance to share a meal together and to share our talents and passions. No expertise or real talent necessary. Come as you are and show off any act! Singing. Dancing. Joke telling Magic tricks etc. Looking forward to this evening of gathering together! In This Issue Reflection from the Pastor New Artists in Residence From the Nurture/ Outreach team Budget Update September Calendar

4 Budget Update The charts below give a picture of our Church Operating Budget for Thru August, total donations have been $105,500 and expenses have been $93,500. Remaining donations for the year need to be $52,500 to meet our budget. We did start the year with a budget deficit of -$11,000, however we have received additional pledges of +$11,000 to eliminate that deficit Thanks be to God that we now have a balanced budget! Stewardship Campaign for 2019 We will be kicking off our stewardship campaign for 2019 this month. Once again, we ll be asking for your financial commitment as we head into the next year. Bethany UMC is a special place because of all the special people in our community. We have a compelling mission ( thru God s radical love sanctuary personal transformation faith community social justice), we have talented staff (thank you Sadie, Ray, and Ann!), and we have a fiscally solid church because of YOUR support thank you! Key dates: Look for pledge cards in the mail around October 5 th, and we ask for their return by October 28 th during our celebratory Sunday. Also, we ll have an online option for you to use this year too. We have a lot of cool stuff going on within the walls of our church, and out there in the city and the world. Just check out our Facebook page and look for the re-launch of our website by the end of October. Thank you to everyone for your financial support! Kind regards, Steve Wereb, Finance Chair

5 Special thanks to Bell Appeal, directed by PL Grove, for providing worship music on Sunday, August 19, followed by an intimate concert at Bethany Center! Special performances by Adrienne Krug (piano), Kathleen West (violin) and Gloria Soliz (guitar and percussion). Bethany Reads Book Club It's September and Book Club resumes!! September 27 at the parsonage ~ 6:30 to 8:00 pm. We are reviewing, "The Incendiaries" by local author R. O. Kwon. All are welcome...bring a friend. ~ Kay United Methodist Women The first meeting of Bethany United Methodist Women will be held this month. It will be held the later part of the month. I am looking for feedback from those wishing to participate and those "thinking about it" for best time and day. This promises to be FUN with missions! ~ Kay ~ Mary Elizabeth Inn Annual Tea Bethany United Methodist Women will be serving tea at the annual Mary Elizabeth Inn Tea that celebrates Lizzie Glides' Birthday. This is a lovely occasion. One that the residents of the Inn look forward to every year. The Inn houses women in San Francisco that otherwise would be struggling to find housing. Mary Elizabeth Glide was a remarkable Methodist philanthropist. Glide Memorial United Methodist Church and the Mary Elizabeth Inn are living examples of her commitment to, "do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can." The Tea will be Tuesday, October 2 from 5 to 8 pm. If you would like to assist serving or need more information, speak to Kay Nemeth.

6 Nova Scotia Pen Pals I'm involved with several different online clergy groups: one is an international young clergy woman network. The Rev. Heather Ferrier was looking for a community different than her own, that her children and youth could engage with as pen-pals. I'm happy to report that for the next year our children and youth will be sharing stories, pictures and ways of doing faith with the children and youth of Trinity United Church in Novia Scotia, Canada. I look forward to our kids and youth engaging and learning from our siblings in Christ in another context. Welcome, Angela On August 26th Bethany blessed Rev. Angela Brown in her new appointment as the Minister of Community Engagement, Advocacy and Justice for the San Francisco United Methodist Churches in San Francisco. Rev. Brown is an ordained deacon in the UMC, and will work with the 10 UMC churches in San Francisco to unite our Methodist presence in the city around social justice. We look forward to working closely with her and the other Methodist Churches in the weeks and months to come. To Gloria and Carole! On July 29th Bethany Members Gloria and Carole committed to their love in a celebration with the church community, family and friends.

7 October 7, :45 am Bethany Community Harvest Fest Sunday, November 18 from 1 to 4 pm (3 hours) *15 to 20 Vendor Tables ($20.00 per table) *Drop off on Saturday afternoon to be arranged *Music and Food will be available *Congregational help needed to set up after worship Contact person: Gloria Soliz at glosol@aol.com or

8 SEPTEMBER 2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 NVDA Training 1-5p 2 Food Bank Collect 10a Worship 1045a Fellowship 1145a 3 Labor Day 4 (PS hours: 830a-530p) Curry w/o Worry 1-5p Chorum 6:30-10p Bethany Knits 7-8:30p 5 SF Sangha 7-9p 6 Al-anon 7-9p Worship 1045a Fellowship 1145a GS Meeting 4-6p Curry w/o Worry 1-5p Chorum 6:30-10p 12 SF Sangha 7-9p 13 Firecracker Math 3:40p Al-anon 7-9p SURJ 12-5p 16 Worship 1045a Fellowship 1145a Curry w/o Worry 1-5p Bethany Knits 7-830p Chorum 6:30-10p 19 SF Sangha 7-9p 20 Firecracker Math 3:40p Al-anon 7-9p Curry w/o Worry Anniversary 4-9p 23 / 30 Worship 1045a Fellowship 1145a GS Meeting 4-6p (30th) Curry w/o Worry 1-5p Chorum 6:30-10p 26 SF Sangha 7-9p 27 Firecracker Math 3:40p Bethany Reads 6:30p Al-anon 7-9p Bethany Cares SF Food Bank Sign up with Josh Webster; webste28@gmail.com; Our upcoming volunteer date is: Saturday, October 13: 12-2 pm September Birthdays 2: Adela Kelemen 3: Jerry Winniczek 11: Maranda Personius 20: Joel Creager 21: Pastor Sadie Stone 22: Alicia Saradpon Contact Us If you have articles, photos or announcements that you would like to share with the Bethany community, please contact us! Bethany United Methodist Church 1270 Sanchez St. San Francisco, CA (415) bethanysfoffice@gmail.com Visit us on the web at