Annual Gathering June 3
Don’t miss the fun and fellowship of the annual gathering of the congregation on Sunday, June 3, at 6 p.m. We will celebrate the past year, learn about some new projects planned for next year, and enjoy one another’s company over a good meal. For the potluck, please bring a main dish, side dish, or salad for 8. The Board of Directors will provide beverages and dessert. We will elect directors and delegates, vote on a bylaw amendment (see article below) and the SAFE proposition, accept annual reports from people who have done some amazing things this past year, recognize the volunteer of the year, and learn about some new proposals from our volunteers. [ read more ]

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Issues to Be Voted On at Annual Gathering
In addition to voting for members for our Board of Directors, for delegates to the Northern California- Nevada Conference, and approving annual reports, we will be asking the membership to vote on two other matters at the Annual Meeting on June 3. First, the Board is proposing that we amend the Bylaws to reduce the number of directors required from nine to seven. This is realistic in light of the declining membership of the church and the availability of members to serve. A copy of the text of the resolution is included in this newsletter. [ read more ]

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The Community Church congregation will participate in this year’s Mill Valley Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 28. It will be a great opportunity to introduce our church to the wider community and to showcase CCMV’s 87 years of social activism. We plan to carry signs touting CCMV’s many accomplishments: building The Redwoods, establishing low-cost daycare, supporting AIDS orphans in Uganda, feeding the hungry and homeless in Marin. (We’ll make the signs during coffee hour the preceding two Sundays, May 20 & 27.) We need plenty of marchers
so recruit your friends, adult children and grandchildren to come walk the 1.6 mile route with us. [ read more ]

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Marin Organizing Committee: “Building a Constituency for the Common Good”

Hoping to extend the number of participating institutions to northern Marin, on March 20, the Marin Organizing Committee (MOC) held an “action assembly” at the Presbyterian Church of Novato. The theme for the assembly was: “Acting Together for the Common Good: A Countywide Conversation on Quality of Life in Marin.” The proportion of the 180 attending from northern Marin was small but enthusiastic. During the assembly, we broke into small groups to respond to the question: “What are the challenges you and your family face living in Marin County?” A partial list of the problems identified included: having difficulty staying in my home, being unable to sell my home and afford retirement housing in Marin, unexpectedly having adult children come home to live because they can’t find employment, being unable to afford health care, being unable to find employment. [ read more ]

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Proposed Bylaw Amendment

Community Church of Mill Valley Resolution of Members

Recitals
The Community Church of Mill Valley wishes to change the number of elected directors required by the Church’s Bylaws from nine to seven.

Pursuant to Article IV, Section 7(b) of the Church’s Bylaws, the bylaws can be amended upon approval by a majority of the Church’s members present at a meeting of the members. [ read more ]

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Support the SAFE California Act

Position Statement
For Consideration at the Annual Meeting of the Community Church of Mill Valley, United Church of Christ, June 3, 2012

Proposing Group:
Teresa Jenkins Main, Jack Bartlett, Linda Xiques, Pam Shortridge, Muncie Shortridge

Title of Proposal:
Support the Savings, Accountability, and Full Enforcement for California Act, also known as the SAFE California Act, which is on the November, 2012 California ballot.

Type of Proposal:
Position Statement

Brief Statement of Purpose:
Adoption of this position statement will place the Mill Valley Community Church on record as endorsing and fully supporting the SAFE California Act, an act that will replace the death penalty in California with life without possibility of parole; will save the State $1 billion in five years for investment in law enforcement, education and services for the elderly and disabled; and will eliminate the risk of executing innocent people in California.
[ read more ]

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Wrapping Up the Stewardship Campaign

Our Stewardship Campaign officially ends May 13, but, don’t worry, if you haven’t gotten your pledge in yet we will gladly accept it after the “end.” Pledges in to date total just over $82,500—only about 65% of our goal of 25,000—and we have yet to hear from about ½ of our members. Many thanks to those of you who have already pledged, and pledged generously. This is a difficult economic time for many of our members and for the church. We know that each of you will do what you can. [ read more ]

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Not Just a Paperback

• Do you follow a clever interactive blog?
• Have you listened to a great audio book in your car?
• Can you recommend an e-book for a summer traveler?
• Have you discovered an underappreciated, selfpublished (POD) book available online?

Summer reading may be a paperback enjoyed on the beach or an electronic book read on an airplane or a big fat classic smelling of wood pulp and leather read in an easy chair. Whatever your preference, we want to know what you are reading and why. Some of the best things many of us have ever read were suggested by friends or colleagues. Not every great read is a best seller, so share your secrets, please. [ read more ]
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Plot a Revolution, Plan a New Mission . . .

A leading business school did a study that showed that its graduates performed well at first, but in ten years, they were overtaken by a more streetwise, pragmatic group. The reason according to the professor who ran the study: “We taught them how to solve problems, not recognize opportunities.”

Ask yourself: “What if?”

Ann Weems warns in her poem “The Church in Process”:
When process becomes more important / than people
it’s time to break through / to the poetry of promise
It’s never too late / to return to the Poet
whose sky sings stars / whose earth dances green
whose promise writes love upon our hearts. [ read more ]

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Hope for African Children Monthly Newsletter April 2012

All kids successfully ended their first school term this month. The holiday programs have already started including carrying out of home visits, center days, pigs inspection, working on getting kids school uniforms, and giving out donated clothes. We carried out pigs’ inspection to check on their living condition and health, we are glad they are all doing well and the third pig is pregnant too. We carried out parents meeting to talk about the academic progress of the children this term, selecting the parents who will be getting piglets, and the parents’ contribution.
[ read more ]

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OGR May 11, 2012 issue
click: download pdf version