Friends: 

 UNMASKING:  First of all, you have to keep unmasking the world around you for what it is:  manipulative, controlling, power-hungry and in the long run, destructive.  The world tells you many lies about who you are, and you simply have to be realistic enough to remind yourself of this – you have to dare to say to yourself:  “These feelings I experience, strong as they may be, are not telling me the truth about myself.  The truth, even though I cannot feel it right now, is that I am a chosen child of God, precious in God’s eyes, called the Beloved from all eternity, and held safe in an everlasting embrace.”  (Henri Nouwen Life of the Beloved)

Our thanks to Rhonda and Mmabatho for their fine presentation on the experiences of racism at our Adult Forum this past Sunday.  Layers of insight were revealed and there is much more to learn.  Future Forums with them will be scheduled during Lent.

This Sunday’s Adult Forum:  Sabbatical Highlights from Pr. Steve and an introduction to Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

The Annual Congregational Meeting is after worship on February 10.  Annual Reports have been prepared by the Council – please pick yours up on Sunday.  The Budget and By-Law changes will be distributed next week.

Partnership Sunday – February 3:  Our annual Partnership Sunday is simultaneously celebrated with Lwamondo Parish on the first Sunday of February.  The Adult Forum will be led by members of the Partnership Committee.

Time for a Mardi Gras Party!  The Horn Section of the SF Gay and Lesbian Band (aka the Dixieland Dykes) will join us for worship on February 10 and for a New Orleans style/Cajun Cuisine Meal at 5:00 pm that afternoon.  It’s a time to relax and enjoy each other before the season of Lent begins that next week.  Feel free to invite friends to join you for this wonderful celebration!

Chromatica Choir Concert:  Chromatica is a local  choir singing classical works, who rehearse at Peace on Monday evenings.  They would be delighted if you attend their concert at Peace this Friday, January 25 at 8 pm.  Reception will follow.

 Sabbatical Readings:  Here is a list of the books I got to read while on sabbatical which also made this such a time of enrichment.

The Complete Writings of St. Francis and St. Chiara (St. Clare) of Assisi; 
A Sense of Direction — Gideon Lewis-Kraus
No Gods but One:  Deuteronomy – Fr. Daniel Berrigan; 
A Brief History of Thought – Luc Ferry
The Lacuna – Barbara Kingsolver; 
Wisdom Jesus – Cynthia Bourgeault;  
JFK and the Unspeakable – James Douglass
Selected Poems – Tomas Transtromer; 
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness – Michelle Alexander
Mighty be our Powers:  How Sisterhood, Prayer and Sex Changed a Nation at War – Leymah Gbowee (Nobel Peace Prize Winner and a Liberian Lutheran!)
Bonhoeffer:  Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy – Eric Metaxas; 
The Death of the Liberal Class – Chris Hedges
The Holy Thursday Revolution – Beatrice Bruteau; 
In the Darkness before Dawn:  Selected Poetry – Thomas Merton
The City of David : History and Archeology of Ancient Jerusalem – Ahron Horovitz
By Heart: Prison, Poetry and 2 Lives – Spoon Jackson and Judith Tannenbaum;
The Power of Habit – Duhigg;
 A People’s History of the US – Howard Zinn
Arctic Dreams – Barry Lopez;
Tai Chi magazines; and Guide Books

 Best Movie – Lincoln;  Best Documentary – The Dust Bowl (Ken Burns); Best Ecological Presentation – Moholoholo by Brian Jones at Kruger Park;  Best Liturgy – San Damiano, Italy.

 “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

January/February Calendar

• Jan 29 (Tues)–Education Committee meets at 4:15       
• Feb 3–Partnership Sunday    [also Super Bowl–go 49ers!]           
• Feb 10–Congregational Meeting after Worship  
•              — Mardi Gras Party with food and live music at 5 pm
• Feb 13–Ash Wednesday Service at 7:30 pm
•    Feb 17–Jazz @ Peace featuring Kenny Washington &  The Marcus Shelby Trio at 5 pm 

Epiphany Blessings, Pr. Steve