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Foothill Focus
Number 7 AUGUST 2008 Volume 16BringConnecting with the Covenant During the last week in June, Covenanters from all over North America gathered in Wisconsin for two important events. Early in the week,about a thousand gathered at the FEAST, a three-day family spiritual life conference. It was a great time of learning, worship, and fellowship. There were activities for all ages and intergenerational events. Following the FEAST, delegates from Covenant churches gathered as they do annually to conduct the necessary business of refining vision and mission, ordaining pastors and consecrating missionaries, ratifying missions budgets, and electing leaders and members of the various boards that oversee the mission of the Covenant. Most significant at this annual meeting was electing a new denominational president. Our retiring President, Glenn Palmberg, has served us for ten years. He led during a time of unprecedented growth in numbers and diversity. He had a special gift for connecting and uniting the diverse movements in the Covenant. Glenn also led us into a deeper commitment to the whole Gospel in the areas of justice and compassion. At the 2008 Annual Meeting, a new president, our ninth, was elected. He is Gary Walters. Gary, 53, has served us for many years as our director of church growth and evangelism. He has been among the most creative of our leaders and has been at the forefront of much of the growth we have seen. Gary is our first non-Scandinavian president. He found Christ through the ministries of our Marin Covenant Church and became a Covenant pastor in Washington, working under a former Foothill pastor, John Bergman, and then in California. He will begin his term of service in September. Please pray for Gary as he takes on this significant leadership role in our larger church family. VISION TO ACTION What's happening on our vision teams. There continues to be a feeling that we are beingtransformed even as we seek ways to be agents of transformation in our communities. Here's what's happening Community Connections: By the time you read this, we will have hosted our 4th annualneighborhood BBQ. While we don't know now how the BBQ will have gone, those who passed out fliers in the neighborhoodgot a warm response and got some valuable insights. The team found out the Foothill is valued in the community. We have a positive place because people have participated in our community events or they are part of groups that have used the buildingsor they have been cared for by Foothill members. If you wouldlike to join the team, please talk to Mark Liedstrand, team leader. Mentor/Tutors: Soon those from Foothill who tutor and mentor will be reconnecting withtheir students or being assigned new students. Some will tutor at elementary and middleschools in Mountain View and Los Altos and others will mentor students mostly at MountainView and Alta Vista High Schools. If you are interested in ministering to the needs of ourcommunity in this way, call me and I'll help get you started. Lyle Bickley, team leader TWO LOVE OFFERINGS -On August 3rd our Communion Sunday Love Offering will gotowards the emergency relief needs of members of our Covenant church in La Villa, Texas.Dale Lusk will be coordinating teams to help rebuild homes and make repairs to the churchas a result of Hurricane Dolly. If you are interested in traveling to Texas to be on a team or inmaking a special contribution, talk to Pastor Jim. Our Love Offering on September 7th will go towards a PSWC project created to help withserious repairs to parsonages in our Alaska Covenant churches. The ravages of hard Alaskawinters has taken a great toll and these churches, many in rural Alaska, need help with thecost of the needed repairs. Please plan on a generous gift on Sunday, September 7th. To findout more about the details of the project, see the bulletins on the Missions bulletin board. SAVE THE DATE! The Annual Congregational Meeting Session 2 Sunday, August 17, 2008 6:30 p.m. We will be finishing the approval of a new operating budget for 2008-09 and following a discussion of our proposed Constitution, we hope to read it into the minutes to be acted on at ournext annual meeting. The proposed By-Laws continue to be worked on in CongregationalConversations over the next nine months before being read into the minutes for action at thenext annual meeting. Please plan on joining us. Celebrate! BAPTISM - We had the joy of celebrating the baptisms of Ryan Franklin Cory, by confession of faith, and Samantha Rae Cory (daughter of Kevin & Corinne Cory) on May 18, 2008.Pray for Ryan and Samantha as they grow in grace and in the Lord. BLESSING OF CHILDREN Grace Salima Langsdorf (daughter of Tom & Megan Langsdorf) was dedicated to the Lord on July 27,m 2008. Pray for Grace as she begins her new lifewith about another seven months in the US (We'll see her and her parents again in Januaryand February 2009) before leaving for her new home on the islands of Africa. We look forward to a day when Samantha and Grace will claim Jesus Christ as their Lord andSavior. Pray to that end. Congratulations to another of our graduates! Sarah Cerrona UCSF M. S. N. - PediatricsSympathySince the last issue of the Focus, we have held memorial services for two members of the Foothill Family. Wes Matthews died on March 7, 2008 in Tucson, Arizona. His life was remembered and celebrated on May 31, 2008 here at Foothill Covenant. Dorothy Smith, Brian Smith's mother, died on June 19, 2008 at her home inMountain View. Her life was remembered and celebrated in a service at Foothill on July 19, 2008. Peace be to their memories. AUGUST WORSHIP/PREACHING -This series of stories in Matthew 14 that follow the seed parables of Matthew 13 illustrate the reception of or resistance to Jesus’ kingdom workin the world. They corresponds to the way the soil received the seed in the parable of thesower. They help us better understand the work and grow of thekingdom of God. Aug. 3 -“Seed on the path: An Intellectual Rejection” - Jim G Aug. 10 -“Seed on the rocks: A Moral Rejection” - Jim G Aug. 17 -“Seed in the weeds: Material Reservations” - Jim G Aug. 24 -“Seed in the weeds: A Mixed Reception” - Jim G Aug. 31 -“Seed in deep, rich soil: A Model Reception” - Jim G + + +MISSION SPRINGS Summer/Fall 2008 CAMP/RETREAT BROCHURES ARE AVAILABLE!Find out what's going on this summer at Mission Springs for children and youth at FrontierRanch and Wild Oak and for families. You'll get your questions answered and find registration information and forms. The brochures are available in the lobby and office. MISSION SPRINGS Camps & Retreats Covenant Women's Retreat Sept. 16-18 & 19-21, 2008 Detailed brochures and registrations information are available online atwww.missionsprings.com. + + + Part of a Larger Family Keep up to date on what God is doing in our larger church family. Visit the web sites for our Pacific Southwest Conference at www.pswc.org and for the Evangelical Covenant at www.covchurch.org. Each site has current news in churches and ministries around the Covenant. Or to have news sent to you, subscribe to Newswire by going to the home page on theCovenant web site and look for the link on the right side of the screen. Women's Bible StudyClass is now on its summer break. We will see you again in September.Women's Lunch BunchWe will meet at the Country Gourmet in Sunnyvale for lunch on the first Thursday of each month at 11:30 am, August 7, 2008. Please call Ona Avent (408-984-7625) for more information. Stretch Yoga ClassWe continue our Stretch Yoga class on Wednesdays at Noon during the summer. Call Kay Roberts (408-255-7817) for more information. Men's Breakfast Men's Breakfast: We will be meeting August 9th at 8:00 am. The speaker will be Father Samer Youssef from the Antiochian Orthodox Church of the Redeemer on Magdalena Avenue. We will meet for a hearty breakfast in the Fireside Room as usual then drive over to the Orthodox Church to learn more about icons and more. You don't want to miss this Men's Breakfast! Per, Doug, Lyle and Stan Men's Lunch Men of Foothill, please join us for lunch and informal conversation on Thursday, August 7 at Noon. However be aware that we've moved from our old meeting place in Palo Alto toBrian's Restaurant in Los Altos in the Rancho Shopping Center on Foothill and Magdalena.. Please call Jim Gaderlund at 650.967.7447 with any questions. |