St Johns Call
April 13, 2011
Oh my God!
How exciting and Spirit-filled is St. John’s right now?
I love it! love it! love it! love it! love it! love it!
Easter, Resurrection Time
Don’t miss the kids’ dance this Palm Sunday.
And then, Maunday Thursday worship and soup at 6:30pm.
Easter Sunday, new members join St. John’s, and there’ll be
an Easter Egg hunt after worship. Hopefully, youth as well as adults
who want to join the church can come next Tuesday evening, April 19,
to meet the Session, 6:30pm. Call Pastor Max if you have any questions.
Love,
Pastor Max
Holy Week at St. John’s
April 17 Palm Sunday: at 10am Worship Service including
Children's Dance/Procession
Coffee & fellowship & Adult Forum following worship
The SOA (School of the Americas) watch action in
Washington DC: a report by David McPhail
April 21 Maundy Thursday at 6:30pm
Soup Supper and Worship Service in Campbell Hall
April 22 Good Friday starting at 7:00am
Worship & Protest at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
(Sponsored by Tri-Valley CAREs). For more info 925-443-7148.
Apr 24 Easter Sunday at 10:00am
Worship Service with special Easter music. New members joining!
Special coffee hour & fellowship & Easter Egg Hunt following the service
Sunday Forums in May
May 1 Church Finances: Lynn Royer, assisted by Ken Lynch and
Elisay Digiuseppe
May 8 Mother’s Day - No Sunday forum
May 15 All Church Retreat!
St. John’s as “Holy Grounds”
The following is the beginning of a conversation about what our grounds should look like. Don Rising is responding to Marilyn Chilcote’s suggestion that we go native / sustainable with our landscaping. Don, who seems to be a font of information, lays it all out here for us to think about, and I found this pretty fun to read.
Pastor Max
Wow! Biological Xenophobia.
I must admit that I curse the Argentine ants in my house and garden, and hate some of the invasive exotic weeds such as the Oxalis I was pulling yesterday and the Crocosmia which seems to be taking over my son's yard.
From what I have read, seen in early photos, and been told, originally the East Bay Hills (my old fashioned definition--Bay to the top of the hills where Grizzly Peak and Skyline now run) were mostly grasslands. You would find some trees along the many creeks. The original native grass was mostly clump grass. By the mid 1800s the grass had been replaced by European grasses common to the Mediterranean.
In the creeks, as today, you would find California Live Oak (Quercus Agrifolia) and California Bay Laurel (Umbellularia Californica). The California buckeye (Aesculus Californica) was also around, and can survive not far from the creeks by going dormant very early. Of course there were annual plants, including wildflowers, but because of the long dry California summers, not much grew on the hillsides in the way of perennials. I understand that some little branch of a creek flowed under our property originally.
The Redwoods that we have on site, both Sequoiadendron Gigantia and Sequoia Sempervirens (coastal redwood), would not have been on a west facing slope such as ours. We have a great big live oak on the SE corner of the lot right now that I think was a volunteer.
I am not sure what makes ground holy. When I spent my summers in Lake County as a boy, I had the feeling that I was treading on holy ground there, especially when I was alone in the wild. Some folks might see our yard as a holy place already, and it can be pretty nice having lunch on the lawn or under the trees.
For a long time, I have thought that it would be nice to have a Bible garden, with plants mentioned in the Bible. There is such a garden in Carmel, CA, at the Church of the Wayfarer. It would be instructional to the kids if they could see Frankincense, Myrrh, Hyssop, the Balm tree originally in Gilead (Commiphora Giliadensis), Cedar of Lebanon and Sycamore Fig growing. The climate in some of the Middle East in biblical times was not unlike our part of the world today. It is quite a bit hotter and dryer there now. A lot of the plants from the Bible do not require much water. At least we have an olive tree growing.
We should include people in our planning that actually do work in the garden. Gloria for one, and she does not have email, and the folks at Maybeck School, who want to transplant their school tree right now, a cedar (I think a California native, but about 3500 feet in elevation out of its range), and who do regular planting.
Our lawn is a big issue from a green standpoint. The lawn is enjoyed by lots of people and takes less intensive gardening than flowerbeds, but it also takes a lot of water, and is not native. Another issue is all the pretty low maintenance ivy at the edges of the lawn. It may harbor rats and mice that are driving us crazy right now.
Another problem is all the plantings next to the buildings. It is not a good idea to have plants close to any building from a building maintenance standpoint. It is a place for pests to live. The trees drop leaves on the roof and clog the gutters. Siding may rot. You want the area near the building to stay dry to prevent the foundation from sinking. The sinking building is causing problems near the stairs coming up from the garage.
Maybe an adult study session on the issue of what our grounds should be would be a good idea, as well as a Camp Elmwood project. . . . Amen! (Have an opinion to share?)
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The memorial for longtime member Vic Decker will be held Saturday, April 16, 2:30pm
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Flick Flak will meet at 6:30 pm on Friday, April 29, for a potluck in the Campbell Reception Room. The films to see are "Of Gods and Men" currently at the Albany Theater, and/or "Win Win," playing at the California and the Piedmont Theaters.
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Women at the Well will meet on Saturday, April 30, at 8:30am in the church office.