A Word from Rev. Karen

Offering Gratitude and Alleluias

Dear CUMC faith friends,

My gratitude runs deep for each of you.

As the worship team and program staff and Rev. Martha and I have been prayerfully planning for the season of Lent, we are grateful for the many ways the congregation has engaged worship and one another in this time.

We will soon mark the one-year point of determining that as a matter of everyone's health and safety we could no longer worship in person. (Hard to believe!)

Now, as 2021 unfolds, we can see a glimmer of hope on the horizon that we will worship together again sometime in this year.

Psalm 147, our psalm this week in worship invites us to offer our Alleulias! for the many ways we see the Divine Source of Light and Love alive in our lives and in our world.

I see God holding us all as a faith community, and I treasure the stories many of you have shared of the ways you feel upheld in faith and hope.

Our struggle, at times, is in holding back our alleluias. We know the burdens many people in our lives and in the world carry, so we hesitate to sing our praise. 

Yet we seek the presence of God in all times -- great and overwhelming, sorrowful and joyful, burdensome and light. In all times in our lives we can lift our Alleluias. 

I offer prayers of gratitude for this faith community of you daily, knowing that the Divine Source of Life and Love knows the prayers and needs of your own hearts, minds, bodies and souls.

May we each find the spiritual and physical and emotional sustenance we need as Lent begins and we set our sights on Jerusalem, Easter and New Life. Our Lenten worship series is called "Holy Vessels: A Lenten Series of Recovery" and focuses on the healing stories of Jesus. A synopses of the series follows below. (Click on the document right below my name.)

And, as we continue together in our current worship series "God is Holding Your Life," I want to pause and offer a prayer that as you engage this new year you see signs of hope in your life and in the world.

I offer my gratitude for each of you and join my thanks with shouts of Alleluia!

In prayer and care,
Rev. Karen
 

A Lenten Dismantling Racism Study

Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman
Claremont UMC's Dismantling Racism Committee invites you to a six-week study during Lent of Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman. This will be a one-hour, Lenten Study via Zoom, beginning on Sunday, February 21 at 11:00 a.m. (The zoom link will be sent by a separate email closer to the first class.) Please buy this short, powerful book, available on Amazon, or your favorite book retailer. Let's read together; let's reflect on what this wise prophet is saying to the disinherited and to all of us today. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi learned from him. There is a powerful voice that comes through from the disinherited that we need to hear.

Blessings, CUMC's Dismantling Racism Committee

You're Invited to Watch: "The Black Church: This is Our Story. This is Our Song."

CUMC's Dismantling Racism Committee invites all to watch this two-part PBS Documentary on Wednesday and Thursday, February 17 and 18 at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern Time--Check Local Listings). Click HERE and HERE to see trailers and clips of the documentary. Click HERE and HERE to learn more about this amazing rich opportunity.

SAVE the Date: Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper

Virtual Pancake Supper 
Tuesday, February 16

Virtual pancakes won't taste the same as the ones our youth cooked and served last year, but flip your own and join the fun of a virtual pancake supper. All ages are welcome at all times or for the whole time.
Here is how the evening will progress:

• 5:30-5:40 p.m. Pancake contest - Bring your most creative shapes or most gourmet toppings; or share a family pancake story.

• 5:40-5:50 p.m. Mask Parade - Craft a Mardis Gras mask and wear it as we feature each household in a virtual mask parade.

• 5:50-6:10 p.m. Sierra Service Project (SSP) Focus - Joseph Makunga will offer background on SSP, and we will be counting on you to share tales from past SSP trips.

• 6:10-6:15 p.m. Closing Prayer with MYF benediction.

Special Adjourned Charge Conference Date

Our adjourned charge conference to consider the 2021 budget is set for Tuesday, February 16 at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom. All are invited to attend virtually. We'll send out  the Zoom information closer to the date.

"Life Goes On" Returns

Part of the human experience is facing all kinds of challenges, dealing with loss, and working our way through grief that at times can threaten to overwhelm us. In the last 12 months, the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged us with even more sadness. We need the comfort and support of our faith community. As in the past, Life Goes On responds to this need by offering support, comfort, and objective information in a safe and confidential setting.

Life Goes On resumes its monthly gatherings – this time via Zoom – on Wednesday, February 24 at 7:00 p.m. by considering the theme of Sadness and Resilience in the Time of COVID. Each gathering begins with prayer and a short presentation, followed by small group discussion of whatever feels important to the participants. Watch for the Zoom link the week leading up to February 24th.  All are welcome.

Life Goes On will continue on the fourth Wednesday of the month through the spring. You may drop in as your schedule allows. If you have questions, please contact Paula Hui. If you need Paula's contact info., email the CUMC office at info@claremontumc.org.

The Men's Enrichment Group

The Men’s Enrichment Group continues to “meet” through a rotating buddy system, connecting via telephone, email, and post. The group also continues fellowship, individual sharing, and devotional study via Zoom on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month. The next Zoom gathering is Wednesday, February 10 at 8:00 a.m. You are invited and welcome to join in with us. For more information, contact one of us, or email: info@claremontumc.org.

Virtual Conversations with John Cobb

This Sunday, February 7: FOLLOW JESUS’ CALL TO COMPASSION!   

Reading assigned this week: (23 pages)
Chap 12:  How Ecological Civilization Is Possible, p. 133-147
Chap 13:  Can God Help? pp. 149-156

Jesus failed in his mission in his day, but he changed history! We can repent of our earth-destroying ways and seize the “ecological civilization”, which is at hand. This chapter emphasizes positive, practical ways to adopt the way of Jesus. We can learn much from China, in its commitment to “ecological civilization.” We can also celebrate those glimmerings of success in living into the “divine commonwealth” for our time. We’ve seen it in ecumenical Christian Protestant and Catholic expressions, in Gandhi’s expressing Jesus’ love for enemies, and in China’s concern for countryside development and attention to an economy that honors the earth.

Can God help? Jesus’ Abba is not omnipotent. God can’t just fix a broken planet being destroyed by “modern” people who make “matter” omnipotent. But we can respond to God’s Call Forward, joining God’s aim to realize value. We can live into compassionate acceptance of ourselves and our mission, knowing we affect God! “Our task is to let God work in and through us.” “Ask not whether God can help us, but whether we can help God.” “Let us respect and love one another and put our hope in God’s weaving out of our small contributions a habitable planet, sensible ideas, and a humane society.”

The Zoom link for the class will be included in the Saturday "Where to Find Worship" email. Thank you for not sharing the Zoom link on social media.

~ Rev. Ron Hines

Valentines for Teachers

The Education Commission continues plans for Valentines for the Teachers at Mountain View School, a Title One, Category 9 school right here in our neighborhood. Title One means that a majority of Mountain View’s students come from low-income families, who are often unable to help provide basic classroom supplies. The teachers of Mountain View School often purchase classroom supplies out of their personal budgets.
 
This year, because of the ongoing pandemic and the stay-at-home order, we have decided to purchase gift cards for the teachers to use for the purchase of supplies for their classrooms. The Education Commission will purchase the gift cards through our preschool, offering the added benefit of supporting the ministry of our own preschool, as well. 
 
Please send your checks for the Valentine gifts to the church before February 12. The checks should be made payable to Claremont United Methodist Church or CUMC, with "Valentines for the Teachers" on the memo line. We hope to deliver the gift cards to the school on or around Valentine’s Day, February 14.  
 
This project is our way of expressing God’s love and care for the children and teachers of Mountain View School. Students, teachers, and administrators are always excited to see us coming with our load of gifts that are so helpful to the school. This year our delivery will be physically smaller in the form of gift cards, but our heartfelt care and support for the school community will be just as big as in the past. Your generous giving through the Apples for the Teachers and Valentines for the Teachers has allowed us to give many meaningful gifts to every classroom at Mt. View and other schools over many years. Thank you so much for your generosity!
 
Please remember to send your checks for Valentines for the Teachers to the church as soon as possible. Many thanks for your gracious giving to our neighboring school.

 ~ The Education Commission

Happy February Birthday!

Please contact the church office if we accidentally failed to list your birthday (or if we have it incorrect), and please accept our apologies! We wish a special Happy Birthday to Dr. John Cobb, who celebrates his 96th birthday; and to Bill Beck, who celebrates his 85th!

1--Ken Layman
2--Tommy Wang
3--Roger Connor
3--Olivia Richardson
4--Melissa Conrad
5--Julia Barrett
5--Caroline Delgado
5--Elizabeth Delgado
5--Nathan Delgado
7--Donna Rowe
8--Esther Trickett
9--John Cobb
9--Garrett Willsey
10--Andrew Rhodes Buchanan
10--Luke Roy
11--Doug DeLong
11--Justin Soltero
11--Dick Tipping
12--Rosemary Davis

12--Kevin O'Connor
14--Eleanor Dornon
15-Thom Armstrong
16--Jim Jeffery
17--Margarita Cordova
17--Gania Trotter
18--Daniel Cordova
19--Justine Oullette
19--George Williamson
20--Bill Beck
22--Sharyn Landers
25--Sean Connor
26--Barbara Durost
27--Marie Soltero
28--Abraham Alobaidi
28--Janette Combs
29--Nathan Harris
29--Andrew Mohr

A Musical Meditation from Katie

The hymn for this week is "O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee" found in The United Methodist Hymnal, no. 430.

Click HERE and enjoy!
~ Katie Franklin Ledsinger

We Are Praying For...

If you have someone you would like Claremont UMC to keep in prayer, and list on our prayer list, please email Jessica, prayers@claremontumc.org. Please indicate whether they are to be listed on the public prayer list, or kept private. Please pray for these dear ones on our prayer list, HERE.

Claremont UMC Website

www.claremontumc.org
https://claremontumc.org/events/
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