HRC, the DeFrank Center, and the local “No on Eight” Steering Committee are working together to organize a “No on Eight” rally this Sunday, September 21, outside MCC at noon (just after our Sunday service). The rally is expected to last half an hour to forty-five minutes, and will be a crucial opportunity to show the media that there is strong local opposition to Proposition Eight.
Proposition Eight is designed to take away the right to marry for same sex couples and treat gay and lesbian folks unfairly.
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Please join us at 7:30pm on Wednesday, September 17 for the return of our monthly Taizé services. Our choir has grown, and we sound better than ever! Next Wednesday’s service will feature the choir singing Fettke’s “Simply Alleluia”, a solo version of “Phos Hilaron,” and the deep and beautiful music of the Taizé Community. We hope to see you there!
A complete set of dates for our 2008-2009 Taizé season can be found on our Taizé page.
Are you struggling with your sexuality and would like to find a safe place to explore what all this means for you? Do you wonder how “coming out” will affect your relationship with God, or your life in the Spirit? MCC San Jose welcomes you to visit our new “Coming Out Support Group,” every Friday evening beginning September 19th, 2008.
Remember, “Perfect love casts out fear!” Come, journey with us!
For more information, please call Rev. Sky Anderson at (408) 279-2711 ext. 3.
Dale Parker will be leading an “A Course in Miracles” Playshop at MCCSJ this Saturday, September 13 from 2:00pm to 6:00pm. Participants are encouraged to bring a dish to share at a potluck dinner at the end of the playshop. To sign up for this workshop, please call Dale at (408) 280-1955 or e-mail him at JDaleParker@sbcglobal.net.
For more information, please click the following link for a downloadable poster.
I woke up one morning, recently, as Melissa C. I was lonely, tired and coping with a depression that has left me disabled for many years. It was a Friday. When I went to bed that night, I was Charlie. Charlie went to bed a little scared, a little happy, feeling a lot freer and maybe, just maybe, open to being loved. Charlie had found acceptance as a transgender seeking transition information and support. Charlie had found a voice suppressed for over 50 years. Charlie had found MCC San José.
The Coming Out Support Group at MCC is an insightful group of folks at all levels in the coming out process. We discuss it all, from self-acceptance to community acceptance and beyond. Our faith is a multifaceted world, open to discussion of faith in ourselves, God, and each other. We are guided in common belief and old adage that we believe in God and God believes in us. I came out with my transgender feelings at age 57. Come out and meet Charlie. Come out to acceptance. Come Out!
Please click the following link for more information about MCC San Jose’s Coming Out Support Group.
Many thanks to our rodeo volunteers, L.G., Dave O., Heather, Destiny, Erico, Rev. Mike and Madera! Thanks to their good efforts, we sold $322.75 of popcorn and candy at the annual Gay Rodeo in La Honda. Rev. Mike also officiated at a wedding in the rodeo arena – complete with horses!
Kudos to our new worship leaders Madera and Dave Y. They both took the “Introduction to Worship Leading” class earlier this month. Praise also to veteran worship leaders Judd, Nancy, Karl, Rev. Mike, and Paul who participated in the class to hone their worship leading skills and support our new worship leaders!
Congratulations to Ruth Huber, whose piece “Jewel in the Lotus” will be performed by the Ateneo Chamber Singers, an internationally-acclaimed, award-winning chorus from the Phillipines as part of their U.S. Tour. This piece was originally composed for a service at MCC San Jose. The Ateneo Chamber Singers will be performing in the Bay Area on October 11. For more information, please click the following link to visit their website.
Do you know someone who deserves kudos, congratulations or praise? Please send us suggestions at news@mccsj.org.
Many thanks to Judd Ingram, who took our fire extinguishers for their annual check-up.
Praise to Karl Vidt, who gave a presentation on Reiki at the DeFrank Center. Kudos also to Nancy and Judd Ingram, Phyllis Gallagher, Sue Orr, and Shannon Robinson from our Reiki ministry who attended the presentation and helped give Reiki treatments to the attendees.
Congratulations to our choir for reorganizing and cleaning out our choir books. The new choir books feature the MCC San Jose logo on the front cover and the MCC denominational logo on the back. To the left, you’ll see a photo of some members of the choir with the new choir books.
Many thanks to James Briones and Rev. Mike, who attended a Ritual of Healing and Hope at the First Unitarian Church of San Jose after the tragic church shooting at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Knoxville, Tennessee. Both James and Rev. Mike spoke as part of the service and they also sang “Hashivenu,” a Hebrew lament, as a duet during the service.
Praise to Reiki ministers Judd, Dal, and Rev. Mike, who volunteered to give Reiki treatments at the Center for Living with Dying’s most recent Rejuvenation Retreat.
Many Thanks to Rusty and Eric Tooly who donated a media tower to the church. The media tower serves as a much better platform for our worship slide projector – not only is it more attractive, but it keeps the projector from shining in the eyes of our choir folk.
Kudos to Rev. Mike, who spoke to a class at Santa Clara University about the lives, spirituality, and experiences of LGBT people.