Dear friends,

This week we begin a new worship series tied into the season of Epiphany. We’ll explore migration and immigration as it applies to our spiritual lives as well as to what is happening in the world around us. Come experience the power of the Epiphany story and the gifts it has to offer.

Then, join us on Sunday afternoon at Congregational Church of San Mateo, our original parent church, as they formally install their new senior minister, Rev. Jessica Vacketta. It was two years ago on Epiphany that I was installed here at CCP and I know what a joy it was to have so many from other neighboring churches in attendance.

Live in the light,

Pastor Jim

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers over the last few weeks while I have been undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. I’m happy to share with you that everything went well. I’ll know in a couple of months whether or not additional treatment will be necessary and I’ll let you know what I find out at the appropriate time. For the present I am feeling optimistic and especially grateful to have access to high quality, and extremely current medical treatment. And grateful to all of you for your patience. I’ll be back this weekend, leading Jeannine Reininger’s celebration of life on Saturday, and preaching on Sunday morning. I’ll be scheduling appointments again next week.

This week our Jewish friends begin observing the Days of Awe, the ten days between the New Year (5786 C.E.) on  Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement. During this time the rabbis teach that the Book of Life is open and miracles and reconciliations are possible. It’s also the Autumn Equinox. The seasons are changing, and so are we. My sermon is about healing, a topic that has been on my mind, and based on Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 and Matthew 9:35-36. 

There has been so much conversation about public health this week, I have found it helpful to think about what I believe is essential to society and also a primary purpose of the church, to promote healing in mind, body and spirit. Come to church online or onsite with your prayers for healing where they will be received by God and the community. 

In Faith,

Pastor Jim

Join our team! We are hiring for a new position, Church Operations Administrator. Here’s a brief description of the role:

Congregational Church of the Peninsula is seeking a dedicated and organized Church Operations Administrator to assist our volunteer staff with oversight of key administrative functions of our church. The ideal candidate will be responsible for managing the church building, guiding people resources, internal processes, legal compliance, and financial planning to ensure the smooth operation of activities. This role reports directly to the Board of Directors. The position is part-time, 25 hours/week.

Click here for more information and to apply!

Dear friends,

This week I was moved by people exercising the freedom to protest injustices. On Tuesday I gathered with a couple hundred people at one of the sites in downtown San Francisco where immigration courts are filled with ICE officers waiting to arrest and detain people who show up for legal asylum hearings. Regardless of what happens in the courtroom they are immediately seized and sent off for likely deportation. (This happened to a friend of mine on Monday. Miguel presented himself, paperwork in hand to the court on Monday morning, and I just learned he is in Mesa Verde Detention Center in Bakersfield.)

At our prayer vigil we prayed and sang for the detained, the disappeared and the deported, and all those affected by our unjust immigration system. This particular vigil was modeled on the Mothers of the Disappeared nearly 50 years ago in Argentina. Our vigil was led by women clergy and and laity, including mothers, wives and family members of currently detained immigrants.

I was especially proud to be part of a group of UCC Clergy. Our Conference Ministers Rev. Davena Jones and Rev. Rhina Ramos called us to action. Even when we aren’t sure what we can do, we can always pray, sing and exercise a prophetic voice, and use our bodies and our spirits to make a statement of solidarity. 

Our church has committed significant financial resources so far this year to support this cause — one of our largest exercises of financial influence ever. Others are involved in accompanying people to court, or providing other kinds of assistance. I’m aware this weekend is also Labor Day, a time of worker solidarity. You might remember Joan Baez’s version of the Labor Song Bread and Roses.

Join us this Sunday in church when Rev. Thomas Crosby brings a lively word, and we light candles for an end to gun violence as seen this week at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis. Please also join us on Monday in Belmont for Prayers for Peace. We are co-sponsors of this event along with the Peninsula Multifaith Coalition. Prayer is action! 

Praying for peace and justice,

Pastor Jim

Dear friends,

This Sunday we welcome back Garrett House, our ordination candidate and seminary student at Pacific School of Religion. In addition to preaching, both Garrett and his daughter Kendall will bring special music to enrich our service. If you have wondered about how the ordination process works in the United Church of Christ, here‘s a link to a good summary. 

I am preaching this Sunday at Metropolitan Community Church of Tampa, Fla. Over the years I have been fortunate to participate in the ordination process of over fifty students in four denominations, and I loved them all equally. But if I had favorites….Rev. Jakob Hero-Shaw would be one. I got to know Jakob when he was a student at Pacific School of Religion and I was working there as pastor of the campus church, where Jakob served as an intern. The occasion of this weekend is the Tenth Anniversary of his pastorate at MCC Tampa. I also preached at his installation a decade ago. Things are tough for queer people in Florida right now, and only getting harder with each passing day. Here’s a piece that Jakob wrote as things started to take a serious rightward turn two years ago. I’m looking forward to being there this weekend to bring a message of hope and solidarity to this celebratory event. At the same time I’m aware that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that could result in the abolition of legal same-sex marriage, something we lived through here in California. The difficult reality is that this could happen again, and it is a genuine fear being talked about in LGBTQ and allied circles. Please pray with me that this is not what occurs. 

I’ll be back Monday as long as the evolving hurricane doesn’t interfere! I look forward to seeing you next Sunday! Plan now to stay after church on Aug. 24 to meet our new associate Conference Minister, Rev. Rhina Ramos, the founder of Ministerio Latino, a UCC nesting at Plymouth UCC Church in Oakland and with outreach to LGBTQ immigrants all around the Bay Area. 

At our recent United Church of Christ Synod, our denomination overwhelmingly voted to be an Immigrant Supporting Church, something in alignment with who we are and who we are becoming more so here at CCP. One thing I have noticed even with our core congregation traveling this summer, is that we are experiencing strong attendance, bolstered by the vigorous and talented music program. Every member of the team has made this possible, and I want to especially appreciate our Summer Cantor, Audrey Boyd. Be sure to thank the music ministry members when you see them this Sunday. Looking forward to seeing you soon, online or onsite. 

Praying for peace,

Pastor Jim