Don't Miss It!
We have an unprecedented opportunity to "get inside the skin" of some of our
missionaries --namely, Tom and Megan Langsdorf. We once had to wait for the yearly visit of missionaries whom we supported to hear what was happening in their lives and ministries. The distances were so great that only occasional trips were possible. Even when they visited us, the visits were too brief to hear about more than just their ministries.
The electronic revolution has changed all that. Now friends and family of missionaries can talk for free on Skype on a daily basis if they desire. Missionaries can go online with email, often in very remote locales. Tom and Megan are taking advantageof the internet by posting a weekly blog. In their blog they have been describing lifeas young missionaries. Anyone reading the blog has gained significant insights intolife in a village in Chad --what they eat, where they congregate, how they celebrate, what is important to them. We've also had a window into the lives of Tom and Megan and how they are adapting to life in a very different culture and what spiritual challenges they face. For the week of October 28th, they describe the various creatures with whom they share their home, including, lizards, toads, spiders, mosquitoes, and shrews, among others. Tom and Megan were pleased to enter AIM's (Africa Inland Mission) two year orientation and training program because theyfound it to be such a well planned introduction into missions work. They, in turn, through their blog are offering us an orientation training program of our own in mission work.
Don't miss the opportunity to take advantage of this gift. Tom and Megan are greatwriters, so it's always a pleasure to read their blogs. You can read them in one of two ways: go to the blog on the internet at http://tmlangsdorf.blogspot.com/ or look for the printed copy of that week's blog on our missions board.
Baby Cerrona Shower
You are all invited to a Baby Shower for Sarah, Jon and Baby Girl Cerrona on Sunday,November 11 at 7:00 pm in the Fireside Room. There will be light refreshments served.RSVP to Nancy Baldwinson (961-7571).
If you are interested, Sarah and Jon are planning to register at Target and Babies R Us for what they need. Please let Nancy know if you would like to go in on a group gift.
We look forward to seeing you - men, women and children! -at this fun exciting event.
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Where has God been working in your life and blessing you in the past year? Come and share that celebration with your brothers and sisters at Foothill on Thanksgiving Eve, November 21st at 7:30 p.m. in the Fireside Room
NOVEMBER WORSHIP/PREACHING -We are continuing in astudy of 1 Timothy. In this pastoral letter, Paul gives his associate,Timothy, instructions about how to reestablish a church that has gotten distracted from it's primary mission to love the world as God lovesit. He also describes the qualities of leaders who are necessary tolead such a rebirth. It is a fitting study at a time that we are lookingtoward a new era in the life of Foothill.
What's happening on our vision teams. We've laid some foundations over the past yearthat we'll build on in the coming year. Our two vision teams have been activated for the fall. There continues to be a feeling that we are being transformed even as we seek ways to be
agents of transformation in our communities.
Hospitality Points: The team will be meeting again on Sunday night, November 3rd at 6
p.m. at the Lykkes to continue to work on plans for the coming year. It is concentrating oncreating events that offer hospitality out in our community for the primary benefit of ourneighbors. It will also be on the look out for opportunities to create bridge events. These are events that may invite the neighbors into a Foothill event that would be less intimidating thana worship service. Prompted by some Sunday sharing about caring for parents, there was talkof assembling information resources to help our own members and our neighbors in what isbecoming an increasingly common activity. If you'd like to join the team, contact MarkLiedstrand, Brenda Brown, or Doug Ericsson.
Mentor/Tutors: Lyle Bickley reported on Sunday, October 28th that our mentors for local
H. S. students have now been matched with students are beginning those relationships. Talk to Lyle Bickley if you are interested in become the mentor of a local H.S. student. We've discovered another local tutoring program that looks promising. It is called JustRead and it works with MVHS and Alta Vista H.S. student in between their campuses. It is very well organized. There is an orientation process and a scripting of the hour a tutor spends with theirstudent helping them gain skills in reading. If you're interested, this would be a great place totry out tutoring. Talk to Jim Gaderlund about the program.
Fourth Ministries: One of those at Foothill Covenant involved in a "4th ministry" is KayRoberts. For most of it's 30 year existence, Kay has been involved in the Support Network forBattered Women. This is a local ministry to women who are victims of domestic violence. It provides a 24 hour crisis counseling call center (940.7855), a shelter that can house womenand their children for up to six weeks, support groups, individual and long-term counseling,outreach services, and a clothes closet. It also coordinates services from other communitygroups that compliment its work. Over her years of involvement, Kay has been active in almost all the areas of service. Currently, she receives calls on the crisis line once a week. Kayhas observed that the problems they are encountering are becoming more serious as womenare victimized not only by husbands and boyfriends, but also by their families and sometimesby gangs.
If you were not aware of it, you should know how extensively our campus and buildings areused by the community. In a given week, in addition to our church use, there is seldom aday in which our land and buildings are not used by another church, a community group, thelocal schools, or other Christian groups. This is what a typical week might look like:
Sunday - Church of God's LoveMonday - BSF leaders/Election workers' training eventTuesday - 200+ BSF studentsWednesday - Oak School Brownie troopsThursday - Oak School Brownies and 100+ cars for a MVHS football gameFriday - Al-Anon Group at NoonSaturday - Armenian Church Men's Breakfast/French Bible Study Monthly potluck/GRXHarvest Fest
The schedule changes every week, but it's always busy. As we open our campus to the community, they begin to see us as a community center and an integral part of the neighborhood.They value our presence. Hopefully we gain trust and good will so that we can share theGood News. Here's a recent thank you note after GRX used the Ark and grounds for theirHarvest Fest.
Dear Foothill Covenant Church Friends, On behalf of GrX and KidZone, thank you so much for allowing us to use your facilities once again last Saturday, Oct. 27th. . It was the perfect place to host our Harvest Festival, and it brought back many VBS Fiesta 2006 memories! Thank you for your generosity, hospitality, and partnership! With gratitude, Maureen
Maureen Chen, KidZone Director Great Exchange Covenant Church
If you have a neighbor who is looking for firewood, let them know there is a good supply,free for the taking on our empty land along the water yard fence. A local tree trimmer has provided a supply. It's yours or your neighbor's for the taking.
Class continues on Wednesday mornings at 9:45 am in the Fireside Room. We will not be meeting the day before Thanksgiving, November 21st. Marian Ecklund will be leading us through the Book of Joshua. Her lessons are always challenging and class is a lot of fun. We welcome new at-tenders.
We meet at the Country Gourmet in Sunnyvale for lunch on the first Thursday of each month. Please do join us on November 1st at 11:30 a.m. The more, the merrier. If you have any questions, call Ona Avent at 408-984-7625.
We continue our Stretch Yoga class on Wednesdays at Noon during the autumn (except for November 21, the day before Thanksgiving). Please join us. Call Kay Roberts (408-2557817) for more information.
Men's Breakfast
Men's Breakfast: Come on November 10th at 8:00 a.m. to the Fireside Room. There will be a hearty breakfast and good fellowship. Our speaker will be Jeff Budd, church planter with New Life Covenant Church. He'll be sharing about the important cultural shifts in our area that will affect how he plants a new church. Don't miss it.
Per, Doug, Lyle and Stan
Men's Lunch
Men of Foothill, please join us for lunch and informal conversation on Thursday, November 1st at Noon at Dinah's in Palo Alto. Please call Jim Gaderlund at 650.967.7447 with any questions.
We extend our sympathy to Mike Staufenbiel and his family on the death ofhis mother, Celia Staufenbiel, on October 23rd. A memorial service was held on October 27th. Peace be to her memory.
Our Book Lovers could not have asked for a more perfect fall day when we filled Kay Roberts inviting living room to "talk books." But first she enticed us with her delicious homemade black cherry crisp!
Our prolific readers shared sixteen books they were enthusiastic about---here is just a briefsampling: Three of our members have read "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen, #2 on the
N.Y. Times Bestseller list--a young man and an elephant save a Depression era circus. Several have read "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini, #3 on the list--an Afghan-Americanreturns to Kabul to learn how a childhood friend has fared under the Taliban. Also by thesame author "A Thousand Splendid Suns"-- a friendship between two women in Afghanistan against the backdrop of 30 years of war. "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert-- awriter's yearlong journey in search of self takes her to Italy, India and Indonesia, #1 on thelist. "Inextinguishable Symphony" by Martin Goldsmith--a true story of Jews in Germanyduring The Holocaust, "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress" by Dai Sijie--two boysare sent to the countryside in China and forced to work in the fields. "Above Suspicion" byHelen McInnes--a page turner about spies, secrets and clues during WWII. "The Preacher and the Presidents" by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy--yes--it is about Billy Graham andhis friendship with many of our U.S. presidents.
Come join us when we meet again in January with your recommendations.
It is often overwhelming to listen to the news and hear of yet another tragedy some where inthe world. Drought, tsunami, hurricane, war, or famine confront us almost daily. It is easy tofeel helpless in the face of the tremendous need; to want to help, but not know how. Fortunately, we in the Evangelical Covenant family have a wonderful means of reaching out tohelp: Covenant World Relief. Many of us have directed our emergency relief funds throughCWR for many years. Recently it gave us a means to contribute $490 to the victims of the fires in October in southern California.
It's not too late to pick up a Covenant World Relief Soup Can Bank. You are invited to "fill the banks" until Thanksgiving when they will be collected.
Thanks for your generosity in giving $480 towards Bibles for those serving in the military. Those funds will be distributed through Campus Crusade for Christ.
If your edition of the Foothill Friendship Directory does not have a purple cover, it's out of date. Pick up a current copy (Look for the purple cover) on the missions table in the lobby or on the office counter.
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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 the Covenant web site and look for the link on the right side of the screen.
