On Pentecost we celebrate the birthday of the Christian Church.  Pentecost is always an  opportunity to think about where we are going as a community of faith, and how we are going to get there.
            
A few days ago First Congregational Church's office moved to Polk Street, and we now look forward to building our new church home.  There are so many opportunities ahead of us to grow deeper in Christ  and go further in Christian mission.  But we are also faced with the realities that we need resources to accomplish all our tasks and hopes.

When we talk about the church we sometimes use the ancient image of the church as a sailing ship. It is not easy to sail a ship.  If you are going to set a course for a destination that is directly against the wind, you cannot just point the ship in that direction and hope to get there.  A good sailor will set the angle of the sails and direction of the ship to catch the maximum force to the wind.  With skillful steering of the rudder, the ship will cut through the water toward the desired destination.

With the metaphor of the sailing ship, let highlight some ideas.  First, the destination and the mission must be clear.  A church that only sails as if it were a vacation cruise line does not make much difference in the world.  Christ charged the church with the mission to go and make disciples (Matthew 28).  If we are to accomplish that mission we will grow by welcoming people who do not have a church home, or who are looking for new directions in their lives.  A  commitment to grow is not simply about growing in numbers.  It is about being faithful to the complete journey Jesus set for the church.  It is also the commitment to grow in spirit.  That is also a reason to come together for prayers, fellowship, and Bible studies. 

Second, for a voyage to be successful there must be an investment in the vessel, crew and supplies to accomplish the mission.  On May 8th, we will have our Stewardship Sunday.  Financially, this will be a very crucial one for our congregation.  The biggest misconception about stewardship is that it is about the sacrifice of money.  Jesus’ teaching about money always pointed people to deeper faith and trust in God.  That is why the stewardship of time, talents and treasures with a right heart should be understood as an act of worship and spirituality.  It is time for us to learn what God wants us to do with the resources with which we have been entrusted.

On Pentecost God sent the Holy Spirit to the Church.  We will turn our sails to catch the maximum force of the wind of the Holy Spirit.  This includes the openness to learn and to study, authentic worship, loving fellowship, generous giving and faithful service.  It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we will move forward.  Committing ourselves to stronger discipleship and stewardship will help us to move forward to the call of Christ.  Let us “trim the sails.”

          Happy Pentecost.

           Rev. Wilfried
          Rev. Wilfried Glabach
          minister@sanfranciscoucc.org

At this time of year, we ask our members to reflect on how to further our church's purpose with pledging financial support. Many of you have received our stewardship letter asking for your commitment this year, and know that we will collect our pledge cards on May 8th in our Sunday service. During this time of renewing our pledges, we suggest that you reflect upon your relationship with the spiritual guidance you receive as a partner in our Christian community, and to strengthen your branch on the tree of life as Jesus taught us so many years ago. We are asking you to increase your giving back to our church in financial resources as well as some of your time and talent in this next pivotal year.

Thursday, April 28th, we leave our home at the Urban Life Center of St. Mark's Lutheran Church and move our office down to 1323 Polk Street across from our property on the corner of Polk and Bush Streets. We are condensing our belongings in preparation for the demolition of our present building on Polk and Bush sometime this summer. We plan to be in our new church home by the end of 2006, God willing.

We are facing a great challenge because our only income for our day-to-day operation is from your pledges of monetary resources in addition to your time and talent. We are not able to have any rental income at this time; our main income is your gifts. We hope that you will increase your pledge to help bridge the gap, especially if your personal income has increased recently. We ask for your prayerful thought in your gift to our church. Please remember that whatever your gift may be, it will be gratefully and thankfully received.

God is still speaking!

Gratefully and with sincere thanks,

Nancy H. McManus, Treasurer
Joseph A. Story, Clerk
Co-Chairs, Stewardship Campaign

 
We just recently learned that LaVera Quigley passed away on February 26th, 2005.  She would have been 99 years old on May 10th.  She lived her last days at Central Gardens on Laguna Street.  Prior to that, both LaVera and the late Marion Monismith resided at Eden Villa, and it was LaVera who was instrumental in urging the Rev. Wilfried Glabach to conduct worship services there.  When active in this church, she was a member of the Thursday Circle and Women's Fellowship.  During their April meeting, the Thursday Circle observed a time of remembrance for LaVera.
 

Thanks, also, to Herb for his great job in coordinating the Welcome Dinner for the homeless on Saturday, April 9th.  We had 16 members and friends from our church participate.  Megan Rohrer, Director of the Welcome Ministry, spoke to our group before we started and introduced us to the event and how it works. Everyone was blessed by participating and we look forward to our next time …It was great to see Alan Weaver, in town on his way to his summer home in Maine.  Alan is now involved in a new church start in Palm Springs.

ANNUAL MEETING

SUNDAY, JUNE 19TH

12:30 PM

Note: the office telephone number will remain the same.  Also, DSL may take a few days to reconnect our internet system, so if your e-mails don't go through, please be patient and keep trying. We'll be up and running ASAP.

• 1300 Polk Street:  the space next door to our worship space.  The entrance is right on the corner of Polk and Bush.
• 1302 Polk Street:  the location of our worship space.  The entrance is between 1300 Polk Street and the former Club Rendezvous.
• 1323 Polk Street:  the location of our new office, across the street from our worship space, in the former Leland Hotel building.  The entrance is between the  building lobby and the new wine shop/tasting bar near Frank Norris Alley. 

SENIOR SERVICES FOR MAY:

• May 4th:  Coventry Park -- 1550 Sutter St. 11 AM
  
• May 11th:  Eden Villa -- 2440 Geary Boulevard 3 PM     (Entrance on Wood Street)
• May 18th:  Bridge :Point --  1601 19th Avenue 3 PM