Novato Community of Christ

06/08/2020

Novato Community of Christ Food Pantry

During the first week of May, about 600 people were fortunate that the Novato Community of Christ Food Pantry was available in their neighborhood to provide a bag of food to aid them in this trying time of COVID-19. While other food distribution centers were compelled to close due to concerns about virus spread, we decided to remain open with drastic changes in our distribution procedures. Previously, clients could come through one door of the church, list their name and number of people in their family, and then walk down a line of tables choosing whatever food items they wished, within limits, e.g., no more than six apples. Then they would exit another door of the church. Currently, however, clients form a line down the sidewalk and into the parking lot, with distancing encouraged by tape on the sidewalk. A table is placed at the front door with a bag or box of food for each recipient that has been filled approximately equally by masked volunteers working elbow-to-elbow inside the church.

We have found that a large number of our clients also lack funds to pay rent this month. While we are not so naïve to think we can solve this huge problem, perhaps we can help with the strong assistance from more fortunate community members. Our volunteers are distributing a flyer asking for donations. Donations in the form of a check may be made to “Novato Community of Christ” and mailed to 375 Calle Arboleda, Novato, CA 94947; specifically mark the use for “Humanitarian Fund”. One hundred percent of the money collected will be dispersed to those in need of rental assistance. We do not imagine providing full rent for anyone, but we hope to provide some help to as many as possible – the more the donations, the more people we can help.

We have been operating the Food Pantry since 2009 in partnership with the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. Novato church member Dave Yost, retired District Manager for UPS, used his organizational skills to set up procedures and train leaders, and Janet Irby wrote to the Western Field Office of the Community of Christ to obtain the initial grant enabling creation of the Food Pantry. However, responsibility for operation has generally involved non-church members, as are the majority of volunteers. For example, current Pantry Coordinator Angela Flores has been a leader since 2012. Although initial operations entailed us buying products at the Food Bank in San Francisco at much-reduced prices, roughly five years ago we moved to a program with free food distributed by SF-Marin Food Bank with food from the Dept. of Agriculture, central valley farmers, and local supermarkets. Our local expenses now are due solely to the increased utilities, trash pick-up, and cleaning costs of operating a food pantry (usually with doors wide open).

09/18/2018

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Farewell Janet and Dave, and thank you.
Sunday Sept. 16 2018

05/06/2018

Permanecer en el amor de Dios
- Janet Irby
5/6/2018

¿A cuántos de ustedes les gusta el baloncesto? ¿Alguna vez has visto a Stephen Curry ... Después de hacer una canasta, él hace esto ... ¿Por qué? Qué significa eso? Si, el le da gracias a Dios.

Entonces, la escritura para hoy.

9 »Así como el Padre me ha amado a mí, también yo los he amado a ustedes. Permanezcan en mi amor. 10 Si obedecen mis mandamientos, permanecerán en mi amor, así como yo he obedecido los mandamientos de mi Padre y permanezco en su amor.

11 Les he dicho esto para que tengan mi alegría … Y este es mi mandamiento: que se amen los unos a los otros, como yo los he amado.

De todos los muchos aspectos del amor de los que podríamos hablar, hoy quiero centrarme en esta frase: permanezca en el amor de Dios y en la conexión con amar a los demás.

El domingo pasado, después de llegar a casa de la iglesia, Dave decidió que quería limpiar las manchas negras del patio.

Así que sacó la brocha de mango largo y luego puso un poco de detergente y algo de lejía en un poco de agua en un balde.

Había hablado sobre el uso de lejía para limpiar las piedras en el patio, pero no me di cuenta de que podría fluir en mi jardín y matar a mis plantas.

Cuando comenzó a fregar afuera, salí varias veces y le dije que esta solución podría matar a mis plantas.
Por segunda vez, mientras me sentía más y más enojada, él me miró y dijo: "Te escucho", pero siguió fregando.
Entonces, le pedí que no limpiara el patio después de fregarlo. Tal vez eso evitaría que la solución entre en mi jardín. Pero todavía estaba furiosa y mo**st.

Luego, después de un rato, me di cuenta de que estaba siendo muy cuidadoso para mantenerse alejado del borde del jardín, y no usó el agua para lavar la espuma que se había formado. Cuando terminó, le dije: "Gracias por ser tan cuidadoso". Estas palabras vinieron a mí a pesar de que todavía estaba enojada.

Luego me senté y mi corazón estaba en paz. Ya no estaba mo**sta. Me sentí agradecida de que la paz de Dios hubiera intervenido en nuestro desacuerdo.

Pensé para mí mismo más tarde: ¿qué pasaría si pudiera "permanecer en el amor de Dios" en todas mis relaciones? ¿Qué pasaría si yo, si Janet, pudiera alejarme y poner a Dios en el centro de mis relaciones?

La belleza de la vida de Jesús es que puso a Dios en el centro de todo. Él permaneció en el amor de Dios. Él nos enseñó a ver a otros a través de los ojos del amor de Dios. No le importaba si la gente difundiría rumores sobre él. Se suponía que los hombres no debían hablar con mujeres, y mucho menos con mujeres que eran samaritanas. Samaria era una cultura despreciada por su gente. Pero sí habló con una mujer samaritana que tenía mala reputación y la ayudó a cambiar su vida. Él no estaba buscando la aprobación de la gente. Él permaneció en el amor de Dios.

Cuando Jesús estuvo en la comunidad, permaneció en el amor de Dios. Cuando entró en una mala situación, le enseñó a la gente cómo amar a sus vecinos.
Recuerde cuando muchos hombres en la comunidad iban a arrojar piedras a una mujer que se cobro las reglas. Jesús los detuvo y les dijo: "Dejen que cualquiera de ustedes que esté sin pecado sea el primero en tirarle una piedra". 8
Cuando los ciudadanos lo pensaron, se dieron cuenta de que todos habían pecado y que nadie arrojó piedras. Jesús encontró la manera de ayudar a las personas a establecer límites en su capacidad para lastimar en lugar de amar a los demás.
Tengo una idea. Como humanos, podemos visualizar e imaginar. Usemos ese regalo por un minuto. ¿Qué pasaría si pudieras ver el espíritu de Dios como un color? ¿De qué color sería? Para mi, es amarillo. Imagine una situación en la que esté enojado con alguien o algún evento haya creado un muro entre usted y otra persona. Imagina ese conflicto como un muro entre ustedes. Ahora recuerde ese color que ha asignado al Espíritu de Dios y vea que el Espíritu baje y disuelva ese muro que se encuentra entre usted y los demás. Ahora tu puedes ver esa situación de una nueva manera.
Imaginar un color para el Espíritu es solo otra forma de recordarnos que podemos permanecer en el amor de Dios. En esos momentos, el Espíritu te lleva a decir algo que es amoroso y algo que invita a la paz entre ustedes. Esto me sucedió en mi conflicto con Dave el domingo pasado.

Mientras nos preparamos para tomar la comunión, los invito a que se abran al amor de Dios, busquen el perdón y la curación y permanezcan en el amor de Dios.

05/06/2018

Remain in God’s Love
May 6, 2018
by Janet Irby

How many of you like basketball? Have you ever watched Stephan Curry… After he makes a basket, he lays his hand on his heart and then points up. Why? What does it mean?
Yes. He thanks God and gives the glory to God.

Now let's look at today's scripture. John 15: 9-12 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my JOY may be in you …. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

Of all the many aspects of love we could talk about, today I want to focus on this phrase—remain in God’s love. I also will focus on how this connects to loving others.
Last Sunday after we came home from church, Dave decided he wanted to clean the black spots off of the patio.
So he got out the long handled brush and then he put some detergent and some bleach in some water in a bucket.
He had talked about using bleach to clean the stones on the patio, but I didn’t realize that it could then flow over into my garden and kill my plants.
As he began to scrub outside, I went out several times and told him that this solution could kill my plants.
About the second time, while I was getting more and more upset, he looked at me and said, “I hear you” but he kept right on scrubbing. Then I asked him not to hose down the patio after he had scrubbed. Perhaps that would keep the solution from going into my garden. But I was still fuming and upset.
Then after a while, I realized that he was being very careful to stay away from the edge of the garden, and he did not use the water to wash away the suds that had formed.
When he was done, I said, “Thank you for being so careful.” These words came to me even though I was still upset.
Then I sat down, and my heart was at peace. I was no longer upset. I felt thankful that God’s peace had intervened in our disagreement.
I thought to myself later—what would happen if I could “remain in God’s love” in all my relationships. What would happen if I – if Janet- could step away and I could put God in the center of my relationships?

The beauty of Jesus’s life is that he put God at the center of everything. He remained in God’s love. He taught us to see others through the eyes of God’s love. He did not care if people would spread rumors about him. Men were not supposed to talk to women, much less women who were Samaritans. Samaria was a culture that was despised by his people. But he did talk to a Samaritan woman who had a bad reputation and he helped her change her life. He was not looking for approval from the people. He remained in God’s love.
When Jesus was out in the community, he remained in God’s love. When he walked into a bad situation, he taught people how to love their neighbors.
Remember when many men in the community were going to throw stones at a woman who had broken the rules. Jesus stopped them and said, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
When the citizens thought about it, they realized they had all sinned and so no one threw stones. Jesus found a way to help people set limits on their ability to hurt rather than love others.
I have an idea. As humans we can visualize and imagine. Let’s use that gift for a minute. What if you could see God’s spirit as a color? What color would it be? For me it would be the color of my yellow roses. Now, imagine a situation where you are angry at someone, or some event has created a wall between you and someone else. Imagine that conflict as a wall between you. Now remember that color you have assigned to God’s Spirit and see that Spirit come down and dissolve that wall that is between you and others. Now you are able to see that situation in a new way.

Imagining a color for the Spirit is just another way to remind us that we can remain in God’s love. In those moments, the Spirit leads you to say something that is loving and something that invites peace between you. This happened to me in my conflict with Dave last Sunday.

As we prepare to take communion, I invite you to open yourself to God’s love, to seek forgiveness and healing, and to remain in God’s love.