Grace Waves

Friends:

Prayer for Creative Self Love
Lord, keep me friendly to myself;
Keep me gentle in disappointment.
May I welcome the Stranger
May I welcome the newness of the future.
Bring innocence to my eyes so that I may see what is already here but un-noticed.
Open my ears to hear the other speak their truth.
Open me to be aware and delight in my body-being,
for you have created the mystery of me;
Give me the wisdom to pause, inhale and sense the sweetness of your creation.
Lord, may we be your Body in the world;
breathing  your Spirit, flowing freely, healing all with your compassion.

Peace/Prison Internship:  I am delighted to announce a Matching Fund Gift of $5,000 in support of Brock’s internship among us!  This gift prompts Matching Funds to be gathered during February and it will conclude on March 1.  Rev. Donna Duensing is also requesting contributions from friends beyond Peace and around the country, asking them to donate now.  Checks can be made to Peace with the notation “Intern/Matching Funds” on them.  Online contributions can soon be made on our web page.
Brock is initiating his Internship Project for the year which will involve members of Peace in a Visitation Ministry and sharing worship on site at the Federal Corrections Prison in Dublin.  Our thanks to Brock’s Internship Committee for their wise guidance during this year:  Ron Elsdon, Chair; Ken Budesa, Nancy Carlston, Tom Hall and Gun Johnston.
Forum this Sunday:  The Sermon on the Mount.  It is said if all we had of the New Testament was just the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus would still have transformed the world.  Come find out why.
Crab Feed—March 1 at 5:00 pm.  Arrangements have begun for our Crab Feed.  Six volunteers have already signed up to assist.  We hope to have another 6 people volunteer to share the organizing and arrangements for this delicious event. Sign up on Sunday.  Encourage friends to join you!
The Veil Tapestry:  Last Sunday Bill Carmel introduced the Veil Tapestry Project which will gather words and phrases from the sacred texts of all the spiritual communities in our Valley.  The Council has approved this project and Bill Carmel is requesting your financial support to help raise the $400 needed.  Speak with Bill to learn more.
This week Artist John Barry (with Bill Carmel’s assistance) has mounted his B’ainting (created with bicycle wheels) on our Veil Wall.  It’s an intriguing piece you will enjoy this Sunday.
Souper Bowl:  Our thanks to Linda Elsdon for her report on the meals our Food Bank Barrel has provided these last few months.  You are encouraged—in light of the Super Bowl—to bring additional cans of food to worship this Sunday.
Valentine’s Jazz at Peace:  On Sunday, February 9 at 5:00 pm Marcus Shelby’s Trio will join us with singer Tiffany Austin for a Valentine’s Celebration.  There will be an Artist’s Reception for John Barry the creator of our B’ainting.  Plus Noci Bella Chocolate (organic ingredients in luscious chocolate) will be served with wine and other beverages at the Reception.  Bring someone you love—it will be divine!
Keep in your prayers—those who inhabit Peace throughout the Week:  The people who walk our Labyrinth—with dogs, strollers and on bicycles; those who receive counseling and spiritual direction; the kids who climb on our boulders; those learning to drive in our parking lot; those learning from and loving our Native Garden; those in attendance at our AA and NA meetings; those who enter our sanctuary for the first time and stand in awe and sigh; those who pause to marvel at our Peace Mosaic; the neighborhood kids who play in our play ground; the recitalists who fill our sanctuary with music;  people who pray and meditate here; those who care for and clean our facility and grounds; Stratford children, families and teachers; the Pacific Choir who rehearses here; members of KCOV Korean Congregation; the Archives Committee; interfaith groups who meet here to encourage one another; and artists who create music, art and dance here.  And pray for Rain!
First Friday Films—The Happy Movie on February 7 at 6:30 pm.  Come enjoy this film which shares experiences and stories from Happy People all around the planet.  It’s wonderful to keep your options open!
The Early Communion Class is such a blessing.  Please keep Regan, Reese, Natalie, Ava and Ronald and their parents in your prayers.

If the church does not recapture its poetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral and spiritual authority. If the church does not participate actively in the struggle for peace and for economic and racial justice, it will forfeit the loyalty of millions and cause people everywhere to say that it has atrophied its will.  But if the church will free itself from the shackles of a deadening status quo, and, recovering its great historic mission, will speak and act fearlessly and insistently in terms of justice and peace, it will enkindle the imagination of mankind and fire the souls of men, imbuing them with a glowing and ardent love for truth, justice, and peace.  People far and near will know the church as a great fellowship of love that provides light and bread for lonely travelers at midnight.
—Dr. Martin Luther King

Epiphany Blessings,  Pr. Steve