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August 08, 2017

A couple Spire issues ago, I mentioned Ruth Brown’s undesignated, large gift to 1st UMC, and a process from the Church Council to discern how we should use it. The first step was to hear from the congregation. Thanks to all of you who shared your ideas, which you should have received with the last Spire. You may have noticed that the top three areas of concern/ suggestions raised were about 1) paying off the HELOC (Sanctuary renovation “loan”); 2) the condition of Hale Hall, and 2) investing the funds, so that Ruth’s gift could “keep on giving” for many years.

The next step in the process was that our elected Leaders would meet on Sunday, July 30, for further discern-ment to narrow down your/our list of suggestions. At that meeting, which about twenty Leaders attended, that list was narrowed to the items you’ll see below (continued onto page 3!). How did we get there? We split up into three groups to look more closely at each item that was suggested. The items suggested under “Prayer and Praise” and “Study” were in one group. “Service” and “Other” were in the second; and “Facility,” which had the largest number of suggestions, was in the third. In the “Service” area below, you’ll see a sug-gestion that was inadvertently left off of the original list of suggestions when they were being compiled. The Leaders went to one of these three groups after a time of silence. The task of each group was to identify 1-3 items to pursue. The number for the “Facility” group was higher, since they had almost as many suggestions as the other groups combined!

At the end of the meeting on the 30th, each of these items was assigned to a Leader for further research – cost-estimate of implementation, possible time-line, etc. The group is going to come back together by Au-gust 21 to receive these reports. Our discernment will continue, with the help of this information. Our hope is that by the end of that meeting we will have identified which items to accept.

I ask that you keep praying for our Leaders and our discernment. There may be some more creative juices or nudges of the Spirit moving among us. But, for now, here’s the list of items that rose to the top for further research or a closer look:

Prayer/Praise: - Increase the budget for the music program - Broadcast/Live Stream our Sunday Service - Place a Labyrinth in the courtyard

Study: - Hire Staff for the Christian Education of our Children and Youth

Service: - Provide “Seed Money” for a Circuit-sponsored Campus Ministry at Cal State East Bay

Facility: - Replace the Flooring in Hale Hall - Replace the Hale Hall Roof - Install Solar Panels - Fund a Handicap Access Door at the parking lot entrance - Renovate the Hale Hall Stage (Continued on Page 3)

Faith Matters

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Please let us know if you know of someone who

could use our prayers of intention so we can include

them on our list.

Continued prayers of healing for our homebound

and/or chronically ill, and those who are recovering

from accidents/illnesses, who include: Charles

Dumm, Dorothy Feick, Barbara Humphrey, Lynne

Kersting, Julia Kruse, Marge Loudy, Priscilla McIntire,

Charlotte McMahon, Kevin Meehan, Pauline Palmeri,

Betty Quadros, Mary Lou Smith, Mae Stagnaro,

Darrell Thomas, Lynn Van, and Marie Watson.

***********

Pamela Jensen’s surgery for a broken hand she suffered during a bad fall, while she was recovering from knee replacement surgery, went well. She is in

good spirits, but still needs our prayers, as the start of school is looming ever closer. Feel free to send her your get-well wishes, if you haven’t already, at: 2122 via Barrett, San Lorenzo, 94578.

Mary Lou Smith is currently at the Hayward Convalescent, located at 1832 B St., Hayward, 94541. She’s in Rm. 28.

Akapusi Liku’s father passed away in Tonga on July 27. He did make it to Tonga in time to see his father before he passed. Condolences to the Liku family may be sent to 1231—96th Ave., Oakland, CA 95603.

Office: (510)483-0606 9 am—1 pm, Monday—Friday Pastor: Rev. Myrna Bernadel-Huey pastor@fumcsl.org NOTE: Fridays are her day off. Office Manager: Kathy Moore office@fumcsl.org

Music Director: Position Filled! (more news later)

Accompanist: Marcie Avalon

marciemusic@theavalonfamily.com

Custodian: Nancy Skinner

custodian@fumcsl.org

Facilities Manager: Position Open

Nancy, until position is filled office@fumcsl.org

Prayer Chain (Confidential): Dawne Teske (357-0770)

dawneteske@att.net

Wedding Coordinator: Judi Pitcher

wedding@fumcsl.org

Birthdays

Pauline Palmeri –Aug 2 Scott Skinner– Aug 2 Enriquetta (Keta) Mahe– Aug 3 Carolyn Keeney– Aug 4 Laura Clark Perri– Aug 7 Olivia Bernadel-Huey– Aug 11 Mark Filiau– Aug 15 April McNeely– Aug 15

Kevin Meehan-Aug 21 Li Wang-Aug 22 Fred Fletcher—Aug 24 Julia Kruse –Aug 31 Anniversary’s

Lynne & Florence Kersting Aug 9 Kent & Catherine Kavasch Aug 20

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Caring & Sharing our Prayers, Joys, and Tears

Anniversary & Birthday ‘s for August

… And, speaking of Birthdays and Anniversaries….

If you’d[ like your birthday and/or anniversary to be recognized correctly in the Spire, please send us your special date(s) if you

haven’t yet entered it in the “Birthdays and Anniversary” booklet now located in the back of the Sanctuary. This would be a BIG

help, so that we don’t forget or misstated your Special Day. Thank you!

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Regular monthly meeting days and times:

1st Tues.: UMW off for the summer; Trustees, 7 PM., in the Wesley Rm.

2nd Tues.: Finance Committee, at 6:30 PM, in the Library

2nd Sun.: Staff-Parish Relations (SPRC), 12:30 PM, in the Wesley Rm. or Library

4th Sun.: Church Council, 12:30 PM, in the St. Francis Rm.;

Regular weekly Christian Education/ Spiritual Growth/ Health gatherings:

Sundays: Children’s Sunday School, during worship; Adult Sunday School, ~11 AM-~12 PM: Bible

Study, in the Library, and Video Study Apocryphal Jesus in the St. Francis Rm.

Mondays: Gentle Exercise Class, 10:30 AM in Hale Hall. Taught by Nancy Skinner

Wednesdays: Meditative Communion, 12:15 PM (except the Second Wednesday), Chapel

Wednesday evenings, 6:30 PM - Small/Covenant Group, Wesley Rm.

Our Shared Ministry

(“Faith Matters,” continued from front page)

Other: - Paying off the HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) [We learned that doing this now, rather than wait til the repayment is “due,” would save us $18,000!] - Create an Endowment to address General Budget expenses

Again, I want to thank all of you who shared your suggestions, made proposals, etc. We are not done; but we’ve taken a good step forward. The “nudge” on my heart is to say that if you see something that is glar-ingly absent from this list, please let me know. And, I repeat: keep your Leaders and our process of discern-ment in your prayers.

Grace & Peace, Pastor Myrna

PLEASE NOTE: There is now a new email address for the Church Office. It is office@fumcsl.org. IF YOU HAVE A SPAM FILTER, PLEASE ALLOW THIS ADDRESS TO SEND YOU MAIL. Thank you.

INVITATION TO VISIT OUR UNITED METHODIST WOMEN

We would like to invite any women who are available during the day to join us on September 5th at

11:00 am to our meeting. Just bring a sandwich or preferred lunch item. UMW provides the condi-

ments, dessert and coffee and tea. We have a short meeting, devotional and program and then lunch.

The United Methodist Women is the largest denominational faith organization for women with

approx. 800,000 members. Members raise up to $ 20 million each year for programs and projects re-

lated to women, children and youth in the USA and in more than 100 countries. Our vision is turning

faith, hope and love into action. UMW started in 1869 with just 8 women. We would love to have

you visit with us on Sept. 5th.

Any questions? You are welcomed to contact Dawne Teske @ 357-0770.

Sincerely,

Dawne Teske, president

Note: Meetings are 1st Tuesday of every month.

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Need Help? Dial 211 24 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week for

FREE information about health, housing and social services (including food kitchens), etc.

or visit www.edenir.org

Looking Ahead... Aug. 17-20—School of Congregational

Development; Atlanta, GA. Pastor Myrna will be attending.

Thurs., Sept 7—Choir Rehearsals begin again!

Weds—Friday, Sept.27-29: Leadership Institute, at the Church of the Resurrec-

tion UMC in Leewood, Kansas Sunday, October 22—Laity Sunday Sunday, November 12—Church Confer-

ence.

For Your Information….

Calendar and Up-Coming Events

Find us on Facebook

facebook.com/fumcsl

The Soil and the connection to your life

“The soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all. It is the healer and restorer and resurrec-tor, by which disease passes into health, age into youth, death into life. Without proper care for it we can have no

community, because without proper care for it we can have no life.”

― Wendell Berry, The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture

Pastor: Immigration act contrary to Christian values

WASHINGTON (RNS) — The Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment Act seeks to separate families and commodify the worth of individuals in a “merit-based” system, says the Rev. John L. McCullough, United Methodist pastor and executive director of Church World Service, in a commentary for Religion News Service. But Christian faith, he writes, calls us to love. [Use the link below to read the Commen-tary in Religious News Service.] Read RNS commentary

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Want to receive the Spire via “snail mail” in 2017? As the cost of postage has gone up, we are going to have to charge more. So, the cost for the Spire by mail will be $15 for the year. Just send your check to the Church Of-fice with “for the Spire” in the memo line.

Keep

Your Mind Fit

Five Birds

Here are five birds mentioned in the Bible. The letters of each are in order but mixed up with

those of the others. What are they and where do you find them in the Bible?

QEUAAGILLERSAPVAERNRDOOWVE

In The Methodist Connection

Prison Ministry

Bishop Carcaño, Conference and District Superintendents have observed that a great number of the churches in our conference are located near places of incarceration. We have also begun to learn of several Clergy and Lay people in the conference who are in ministry to those who are in-carcerated and to families of those who are incarcerated. Inspired by the historical commitment of the United Methodist Church and its outreach to those who are in prison and by a desire to work for a justice system that reflects God’s desires for the world the Bishop has call for a Consul-tation on Prison Ministry. The Bishop is gathering conference leaders and persons from local churches currently involved in prison ministry for the purpose of educating leadership about the issues and resources related to prison ministry so that a vision and strategy can be developed to lead the conference into mean-ingful ministry with those who are impacted by the prison system. You are receiving this invitation because you or someone from your congregation filled out our Compassion and Justice survey indicating that you are involved in some way with issues and or ministries related to incarceration. We want to learn from your experience and participation in the conversations that will support the development of a vision and strategy for conference engage-ment with those who are impacted by the prison and justice systems. We encourage you to send people to this important learning and vision casting consultation.

Save the Date: Sept 12 – 13, 2017 Location: UM Conference Center, West Sacramento

Time: Starts 12:00 pm with Lunch on the 12th and concludes at noon on the 13th.

Lunch and Dinner on the 12th will be provided.

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First United Methodist Church of San Leandro is a Chris-tian Community which believes that every person is a Child of God. We invite you to grow with us in your rela-tionship with God, through a repeating cycle of Prayer and Praise, Study, and Service.

For more information, please visit us on Facebook while our website is under reconstruction.

Sunday Schedule:

9:30 AM Worship & *Children’s Sunday School

11:00 AM Adult Sunday School & *Children’s Choir

*September—June

Service Ministries and Agencies FUMC Supports: Interfaith Homelessness Network (IHN) “April Showers” on

the 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays of each month at the Girls’ and Boys’ Club of San Leandro

Red Wagon food collection to benefit Davis Street Family Re-source Center. You may bring in non-perishable food items to share as part of the Offertory on any Sunday Morning—or place items any day of the week in the barrel in the Breeze-way.

Contact the Church Office: (510) 483-0606

Office Manager Hours: Monday-Friday;

9:00 a.m.— 1:00 p.m.

FUMC Office E-mail address:

manager@fumcsl.org

The Spire is published on the second and fourth Tuesday of

each month by the First United Methodist Church of San Lean-

dro. Articles may be submitted electronically at man-

ager@fumcsl.org.

All Articles Due by 9:00 am Monday of Spire Week.

DATED MATERIAL

Please Do Not Delay

Return Service Requested

June 13, 2017