The Retreat Offers Discovery and Renewal Register Today!

Retreat (noun): a period of retirement or seclusion, esp. one devoted to religious contemplation away from the pressures of ordinary life, usually as a group activity.

Enchanted Hills Retreat and Conference Center is an ideal place to get away “from the pressures of ordinary life.” The wine country retreat is located amid 311 acres of coast redwood, Douglas-fir, madrone and tanbark oak forest on Mount Veeder, just nine miles west of the city of Napa. There are miles of nature trails for a long hike or paved paths for a short stroll. The heated cabins with built-in baths provide comfortable lodging by a small lake. Nutritious meals prepared with adult tastes in mind are served in the dining room. Our meeting space is in the Kiva, a separate, carpeted meeting center. Owned and operated by Lighthouse for the Blind, the camp is completely accessible. [ read more ]
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Keneth Graduated

Dear Community Church of Mill Valley, Let me hope you are all doing well. And I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Happy New Year to you all.

I will be leaving to Uganda on 13th January for my graduation due to take place on 18th January. I am so happy that I have finally completed my degree and I will be able to graduate. This graduation means a lot to my family and especially my mother since I am last born and first one to go to university and graduate. It is sad that I won’t be going with my wife; she has to study so I will go alone. [ read more ]
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Leadership Training for MOC

On January 12 sixty leaders from IAF-related organizations in Marin, Sonoma County and San Francisco gathered at the Dominican Sisters in San Rafael for training and sharing information about what is happening in their area. Leading the meeting were Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) staff and lead coordinator for the Bay Area, Anna Eng.

After individual introductions, as customary in all IAF gatherings, we engaged in one-on-one meetings with someone from another area that we did not know. I always find these individual meetings enriching because they enable me to meet and get to know skilled and socially concerned individuals from a wide variety of religious and ethnic backgrounds. [ read more ]
____________________________________________________________________________________

February Birthdays

February 1 Katrina Shortridge Young
February 7 Cathy Davis
February 7 Sarah Clever
February 11 Rose Taylor
February 27 Claudia Lowder
February 28 Peggy Hewett

____________________________________________________________________________________

Member Update

Teresa Jenkins Main has a new email: fuegiabasket@live.com. Her cell phone number 415/672-0673. She no longer has a landline.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Participate in one of the Civic Academies on Housing

You are invited to join the conversation with other leaders and guests from the Marin Organizing Committee (MOC).

• Learn about the real issues concerning housing in Marin
• Share your personal experiences about housing in Marin with fellow MOC leaders and guests

Participate in one of the following Civic Academies on Housing:

Wednesday, February 1, 7:00-9:00pm
Congregation Kol Shofar
215 Blackfield Drive, Tiburon [ read more ]
____________________________________________________________________________________

Rusty Evans and Ring of Fire Concert

Fairfax Community Church invites you to come listen and dance to Rockabilly Hall of Famer, Rusty Evans and his band Ring of Fire. Proceeds for this event benefit the Fairfax Food Pantry. Rusty Evans has been burning up the California festival circuit with his rollicking tribute to country music icon Johnny Cash. Check out his video at:
www.brownpapertickets.com/event/217689

At Fairfax Community Church, UCC, Fairfax Thursday, Jan. 26th 7:30-9:30pm [ read more ]

____________________________________________________________________________________

Concert in January At Community Church of Mill Valley
Canceled due to scheduling conflicts.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

World-shattering. Subversive. Earthy. Shameless. Unpredictable.
Work by misdirection. Leave the hearers responsible for the meaning.
“Jesus taught them many things in parables” (Gospel of Mark 4:2).

Were Jesus’ parables about theology and ethics?
About the coming reign of God? About subverting the world of his listeners?
Do they offer more questions than answers?
What do they tell us about Jesus?

How do parables create meaning? Generate tension and consternation?
Defy closure? Disguise themselves as simple stories?

Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is like a certain woman who was carrying a jar full of meal. While she was walking on the road, still some distance from home, the handle of the jar broke and the meal emptied out behind her on the
road. She did not realize it; she had noticed no accident. When she reached her house, she set the jar down and found it empty” (Gospel of Thomas 97).

Huh?

___________________________________________________________________________

Telling Our Stories and Making Sense of the Stories Jesus Told
Annual Adult Faith Retreat February 24-25, 2012

What?
Stories told by Jesus rather than stories about Jesus. An example from John Dominic Crossan: “The good Samaritan story in Luke told of an ordinary mugging on the dangerous desert road from Jerusalem down to Jericho.
It told of a priest and a Levite who did not stop to help and of a third traveler who did more than anyone might have
expected: bound up the sufferer’s wounds, carried him to safety, paid for his convalescence, did everything ,in fact, but give him his own donkey. Yet he was a Samaritan, not kin but a stranger, an ethnic opposite at best and an ancient enemy at worst. That story must have left behind it a very unhappy audience, challenged not just to sympathize with the mugged individual, but to identify with a Samaritan who had helped a Jew in distress. Parable was a fictional story with a theological punch, a story created precisely for that theological, or better, religio-political punch. It did not ask if you believed in a God who demanded assistance for opposites or even enemies in terminal need and what you thought, not just about helping them (which might make you feel superior), but of their helping you (which would make you feel inferior).”

Who?
All adults are welcome. The camp accommodates all ages, singles & couples, and people with limited mobility.
Pam Shortridge will serve as the facilitator.

Where?
Enchanted Hills Camp is a beautiful, secluded site above the Napa Valley on 311 acres of rolling, wooded hills with a small lake at the center. The camp is 20 minutes from the town of Napa at 3410 Mt. Veeder Road Travel time from Mill Valley is approximately 1¼ to 1½ hours. The camp is fully accessible and is managed by Lighthouse for the Blind. Lodging is in heated lakeside cabins with rooms for two, real beds, and an adjoining bathroom. We meet in the Kiva, a large private building. Delicious meals—made with adult tastes and appetites in mind—are served in the Dining Hall.

When?
6:30 p.m., Friday, February 24,
to 2 p.m., Saturday, February 25.
The retreat begins in the Kiva at 6:30 p.m. on Friday; supper is at 7 p.m. You may check in as early as 5 and enjoy a walk by the lake or a short hike along one of the trails, take a nap, or enjoy some coffee in the Kiva. The retreat ends Saturday at 2 p.m. Please plan to stay for the full time.

Cost?
The cost for lodging, 3 meals, and materials is $100 per person. (Partial scholarships up to $55 are available. Please note on your registration the amount of help you need and enclose the remainder.)

Why?
To enjoy exploring your faith in good company through stimulating conversation, prayer and worship, and playful interactions AND to take the time for a walk in the woods, to appreciate a good meal, to share stories, and to make and deepen friendships.

Registration for Adult Faith Retreat, Feb. 24-25, 2012
(Deadline for registrations is 12 noon, Friday, Feb. 10.)
Name ______________________________ Phone ____________ E-mail ______________
Name ______________________________ Phone ____________ E-mail ______________
Address _________________________________________________ Zip ______________
Scholarship requested $_______ (Up to $55 per person)
Deduct requested scholarship from the full cost ($100).
Total amount enclosed $_______ Make checks payable to Community Church. Note “Adult Retreat.”

[ read more ]

______________________________________________________________________________________

OGR Jan. 20, 2012 issue
click: download pdf version