Taizé Returns to MCC San José

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.

New “Coming Out” Support Group at MCCSJ

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.

MCCSJ at the Rodeo (and other Community News)

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.

Community News for August 22, 2008

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.

Community News for July 18, 2008

Congratulations to Larry Zellers who is opening Boomerang Hair Studio, located at 303 Grand Avenue, Suite #2 in Pacific Grove.  The Grand Opening Celebrations will take place on Saturday, July 26th from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and on Sunday, July 27th from Noon to 5:00 p.m., and will feature “A Weekend of Champagne and Orchids.” Everyone is welcome.  For more information about Boomerang Hair Studios, please click the following link to see Larry’s website.

Rev. Carol Lowe will be returning to San Jose this week as she takes a brief vacation from her work with MCC of Corpus Christi.  She invites us to join her for dinner at 6:00pm on Sunday, July 20. 

Praise to Erico, John H, Joe, Michael I, Rev. Mike, Nancy, Judd, Dick, Sherry, Kevin and everyone who has been continuing helping Sky and his family as Sky recovers from his surgery.  Sky is now home from the hospital, and will be taking things very easy for the next few weeks as he regains his strength. 

Do you know someone who deserves kudos, congratulations or praise?  Please send us suggestions at news@mccsj.org.  Watch this space next week for more MCCSJ news.

How hot was it in San Jose? It was this hot!

How hot was it in San Jose?  The photo to the left gives you some idea!

Congratulations to Michael Ingrassia, whose generative art was used on the cover of a recently-published economics textbook.  Here’s a link to a web page about the book, including a photograph of Michael’s art on the cover.  If you’re interested in learning more about Michael’s art, you can visit his Flickr page to see more images of his work.

Praise to Erico, John H, Joe, Michael I, Rev. Mike, Nancy, Judd, Dick, Sherry, Kevin and everyone who has been helping Sky and his family as Sky recovers from his surgery.  

Kudos to Ruth Huber, who will be traveling to Florida this week with the Rainbow Women’s Chorus to participate in the GALA Chorus Convention.  Click here for more information about the GALA Convention. 

Do you know someone who deserves kudos, congratulations or praise?  Please send us suggestions at news@mccsj.org. 

Rev. Mike in HIV Testing Video (and Other Community News)

Rev. Mike is one of the local personalities featured in the AIDS Coalition of Silicon Valley’s short new video “Easy Fast and Free.”  This video is part of the AIDS Coalition’s efforts to promote HIV Testing.  Click below to see this one-minute video featuring Rev. Mike, Ken Yeager, Ronnie Grigsby, Nori Herras and others.

Rev. Vicky’s wedding made the Bay Area Reporter’s Wedding Announcements page, complete with a photo of Vicky and Cynthia at their ceremony.   Here’s a link to the B.A.R.’s coverage.

Do you know someone who deserves kudos, congratulations or praise?  Please send us suggestions at news@mccsj.org.