Montclair Presbyterian Church

During Celebration on Sunday, May 20th, the MPC Church Choir will take part in a performance of Josef Haydn’s Creation (Part One).  They will be joined by Rita Lilly (soprano), Brian Thorsett (tenor), Robby Stafford (bass) and the Montclair Chamber Orchestra.  Please join us for what is sure to be a stirring performance of an inspiring, dramatic work.

Creation brings together Josef Haydn’s amazing music with text from the Book of Genesis and Milton’s Paradise Lost.  Many consider it to be his masterpiece, and its influence can be seen in the works of many later composers.  To learn more, please visit the Haydn (The Creation) wikipedia page.

All are welcome to join us for this performance. If you’re new to MPC, you may wish to check out our Information for Visitors page; please feel free to contact us for more information.

The Annual Pasta Dinner Youth Mission Trip FUNDRAISER will be on Sunday, April 29 from 5:30-7:00pm.  This is an excellent event to invite family and friends who might be interested in learning more about our youth ministry program, to hear about the mission trip destination in greater detail (there will be a presentation from 6-6:30), or simply dining in fellowship with good neighbors and happy youth servers.  Mark your calendars, make your plans… and we thank you in advance for your generous support of this life-transforming trip.  Diane Bessette will be serving as our chief parent volunteer.  Yeah Diane!  ~Rev. Katie

TAIZÉ MEDITATION SERVICE ON APRIL 18: Treat yourself to a refreshing break in your week, amidst the slings, arrows, clanging, clamor, traffic jams, repulsive politics, and general frenzy of urban life! Mark your calendar and save 7:00-8:00 p.m. on April 18 in the sanctuary for the monthly (3rd Wednesday) candlelight Taizé meditation service consisting of music, scripture reading, prayer, and silence. The meditative songs will help you access the inner peace and serenity that may sometimes be in hiding. For child care (available upon request), contact the office by April 13.

“One Great Hour of Sharing” is the special offering of the PCUSA which will be collected at our church on Palm Sunday (April 1st) and Easter (April 8th). It brings hope to people in more than eighty countries, including our own. The PCUSA works with international partners to provide sources of clean water and food, small business micro-loans, emergency relief, and advocacy and resettlement for refugees. The offering also supports ministries for disaster preparedness and response. Please give generously.

Learn more about these programs by viewing the videos included below.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance

Self-Development of People

Hunger Program

You may also wish to watch these videos, as well as others related to Presbyterian Special Offerings, on their YouTube page.

Taizé prayer, a form of meditation that is relatively new to MPC but draws on rich years of tradition elsewhere, now takes place monthly. Our next service is Wednesday, March 21st at 7 PM.
If you are in search of spiritual refreshment in the midst of your busy life, come to our Taize service for candlelight, simple music, Scripture reading and silence. If your busy life is so full that you think you don’t have time for it… you probably can benefit from it more than anyone!
Taizé offers an opportunity to become aware of an inviting reverent space and to find the quiet place within. The Taizé monastery was founded just after WWII in France, with a mission of reconciliation. The simple songs created by the monks offer a way for people of many nations and languages to pray together. They allow us to drop down from the busyness of our heads into the stillness of our hearts, and there to encounter the Holy. The prayer service is simple, communal, and anonymous – you won’t be asked to introduce yourself or join any committees. All are welcome.

For child care (available upon request), contact the church office, one week in advance.

Our central goal is to change our culture of materialism and violence to one of generosity, compassion, and cooperation. We believe that to heal and transform our world, we must work from a larger framework of meaning and purpose, with spiritual consciousness undergirding our efforts. - from the Spiritual Activists Mission Statement.

photo by Shawn Carpenter

BOLIVIA DELEGATION TO DEPART SOON: Jay Gregory, Jean Norris, and Brad Hestir, our 2012 delegation to Bolivia will be departing in the wee hours of February 21 to meet with our partners in several Bolivian cities. They will be consulting with community leaders, and perhaps government officials concerning issues affecting poverty, health and hunger such as global warming, environmental pollution from mining, just trade, and land grabs. We have set up a web page so that you can learn more and follow their progress during the trip. Bookmark this web address and check back from time to time to learn what is happening.
Social Justice Emphasis: Joining Hands with Bolivia

This Sunday, January 29, family and friends of Serin Eggling and daughter Vanessa Hammack will gather to celebrate Serin‘s life.  The Celebration will be in the Sanctuary at 2:00 PM followed by a reception in the Family Room.  All are invited. If you would like to provide help for the reception, please contact Barbara Peters, 510-654-9677 or barbxpeters@gmail.com.  In lieu of flowers, donations in her name can be made to one of the following, or a cause of your choosing.

–Prescott Circus Theatre:

Online:  http://tinyurl.com/SerinPrescottCircus (Donate button on bottom of page)

Mail: Prescott Circus Theatre, 2425 East 28th Street, Oakland, CA, 94601.
–Montclair Presbyterian Church:

Online:  http://www.mpcfamily.org/ (Donate button on right of page).

Mail: MPC 5701 Thornhill Drive, Oakland, CA, 94611.

On Wednesday, April 4th at 7pm, author Anne Lamott, along with her son Sam, will be coming to MPC to talk about their new book: Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son’s First Son. The book is a follow-up to Operating Instructions, a journal of her son’s early years.

This free event is one of only two talks Anne will be holding in support of this book. It’s sure to be popular, so we recommend arriving at MPC a bit early to get a good seat. Parking will be available in the lot at nearby Thornhill Elementary School (see below); more parking info and directions info are available on MPC’s parking and directions page.

The book talk is co-sponsored by Great Good Place for Books in Montclair. You’ll have the option of purchasing the book from them right after the talk.

The Children of Uganda 2012 Tour of Light performed at MPC on Jan 15th at 7 PM. Children of Uganda is an organization that cares for hundreds of orphans and vulnerable children in Uganda, and the performers were their ambassadors, a select group of talented dancers, singers, and drummers from 10 years old through college students. They performed traditional music and dance, and sang Ugandan songs with our choir. A reception and party in the Family Room will followed the performance.
The performance was free to all thanks to MPC’s External Giving Grant which has supported Children of Uganda in the preparations for this tour.

Two videos from the performance have been posted to YouTube; the first is included here:

Photos of the event have been posted to the MPC Family Flickr page.