This Christmas Eve, come experience the wonder of our candlelight service celebrating the birth of Jesus with carols, anthems, scripture lessons, and instrumental music. The service will be followed by delicious Christmas treats, hot apple cider, and fellowship.

This is a beautiful way to celebrate the season with your entire family. ALL are welcome!

December 24th at 8:00 pm

For more information please contact the office at 510.531.8212

A Thanksgiving Reminder for Pies . . . and more!
Pies for Downtown Oakland Thanksgiving Dinner
Once again, I’m asking for your help in providing pies for the Downtown Oakland community Thanksgiving dinner. Whether homemade, Safeway produced, or from your favorite bakery (or a check and we’ll buy the pies). Please bring your pies and leave them in the Friendship Room prior to 9:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning (11/24). I will pick them up then and deliver them to the Lake Merritt Church.

In addition to pies, there is a need for volunteers* to help cook turkeys and set up tables on Wednesday (23rd), to help serve the meal on Thanksgiving (12:00 to 2:00 p.m.), and to help clean up after the dinner is served. If you have an extra turkey, those are also much appreciated . . . if frozen, they would need to be delivered to the Lake Merritt Church 2 days ahead, if thawed, by 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the 23rd.

Some of the food for the 700 meals we serve is through the Alameda County Community Food Bank; and some (like the pies) is home made and donated. Lake Merritt Church is a food distribution point, twice a month, for the ACCFB.

I will circulate a “sign up” on two Sundays: Nov. 6th & Nov. 20th. This is a wonderful experience that has been my passion for over 12 years. Any questions, directions, comments, etc. just ask me or Dave, but PLEASE bring those pies!

- Paula Byrens

*Volunteer at our partner United Methodist Church’s Thanksgiving Dinner.
Other assistance needed before the event include Publicity and Musicians. Be sure to RSVP either to Paula at church, or directly to Stephen Ford. They sometimes have too many volunteers in one area and not another, so please be sure to RSVP.

Thank you!

“Justice is not an ancient custom, a human convention, a value, but a transcendent demand, freighted with divine concern” — Abraham J. Heschel

We stand at a point in history when the onerous weight of inequity has become so burdensome that it calls forth the forces of resistance. We are witnessing one of the most pronounced divides between rich and poor in the history of this country. That divide has manifest itself in the most palpable ways: months of unemployment, foreclosed homes, mounting debt and precipitous loans, and cutbacks in social services. We would be remiss to ignore that those who have been most adversely affected are disproportionately people of color, further cementing our history of racial disparity.

The circumstances we now face are similar to those described by the prophets of the Old Testament. Amos decried those who “trample on the poor” and “push aside the needy at the gate,” Jeremiah spoke out against those who “have become great and rich” with “deeds of wickedness,” and Isaiah railed against those “who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is room for no one.” In the New Testament, we read of Jesus overturning the money changing tables and calling on the wealthy to give their possessions to the poor, These are the voices of our tradition, crying out from the pages of our most sacred text.

Those same words of righteous indignation now echo through the streets of our nation. They can be read on the signs of people camping out on Wall Street. They can be heard on the lips of seasoned protestors and disillusioned young people, returning war veterans and longtime union members. The spirit of principled resistance, so epitomized in scripture, is now spreading through our country.

As Progressive Christians, we speak of God’s call to work for justice and righteousness in the world. We speak of the good news promised by Jesus—that the last shall become first, the hungry shall be fed, the naked shall be clothed. We speak of an age of hope and possibilities, of new beginnings that draw ever closer to God’s kin-dom. This nascent movement is an opportunity for progressive Christians to add voices and our vision to the plurality of people calling for change. The occupation of Wall Street & the subsequent protests that have sprung up across the country call us forward to live into our faith, to lend what resources we have, to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters, to articulate our expectations and our dreams.

People of faith will gather for a meeting in early November. For more info on official UCC coverage of the Occupy movement, check out these links:

http://www.ucc.org/news/ucc-leaders-issue-pastoral.html
http://www.ucc.org/news/ucc-congregations.html

Please call or email Pastor Laurie or Kay Gilliland if you would like to get involved!

Playing For Change Concert Benefit
Saturday, September 17th, 7 pm
Bay Area Sound Healers & Artists Unite to Play for Change
Donation for participation

Children Benefitting from Playing for Change

This is a nonprofit fundraiser and all proceeds will be donated to the Playing For Change foundation (http://playingforchangeday.org/). The Goal is to raise money to build music schools around the world helping preserve the music and cultures of communities and giving kids a positive outlet for there energy.

There will be live music, dancing, a video about the organization, a raffle drawing with prizes for a lucky few, and snacks and refreshments. This event is one of hundreds of synchronized events going on around the world on September 17th to raise money for Playing For Change!

This is a free event, no one will be turned away for lack of funds, however it is greatly appreciated when you contribute even just 5-10 dollars.

Please join us and feel free to bring your family and friends!

Sierra Leone BikeRide Fun-Raiser

Saturday, October 29th, 2011 ~ 9 AM (Registration 8:30 AM)

Have some healthy fun while helping children in Sierra Leone attend school!

Come participate in a bike ride to paradise on Saturday, October 29th to benefit our mission partners in Sierra Leone. Our partnering mission school in Sierra Leone continues to benefit from your help!  We’ve received so much reward from this tradition, we are doing it again this year.

There will be a route just for you!  We will have different ride routes to offer for kids, families, and advanced riders — everything from our church courtyard (for kiddie rides), to intermediate and advanced routes involving Cull Canyon Road and Redwood Roads, (ranging from 6 to 35 miles).

$10 minimum suggested donation.  There is also a $1,000 donation sponsorship level for a child’s college education. Any level of contribution will provide teachers, school supplies and other materials for the children.

Registration begins at 8:30 AM at Skyline Church. Rides scheduled to depart at 9 AM.

Please contact Marilyn Shaw for any further questions at (510) 531-3353 or marilyn_shaw@sbcglobal.net

You are invited to Skyline Community Church for the
Annual Blessing of the Animals!

Sunday, October 9th, 2011  ~ 3 pm

(Registration at 2:45)

Cookies, Biscuits, and Bones for ALL!

Come share the powerful spirit of the animal kin-dom, as we welcome them into our worship setting. We acknowledge and receive their blessings upon us during this special occasion. Afterwards, come and walk your pet through our unique labyrinth.

Blessing of the Animals will be held in the beautiful courtyard of
Skyline Community Church
12540 Skyline Boulevard
Oakland Hills, 1/2 mile south of Redwood Road
510.531.8212

Skyline Church Invites Community to Attend 9/11 Healing Service

Skyline Church invites the public to come to a special 9/11 healing ceremony with Sufi prayer and dance on Sunday, September 11, at 10 a.m. As part of the ceremony, attendees will celebrate and learn about the Church’s recent donation partnership with Alameda County Community Food Bank (Food Bank). In July 2011, Skyline Church presented a $25,000 donation to the Food Bank, which Skyline is pleased to offer via a connected private estate with the church.

Here in Alameda County, 1 out of 6 people currently use the services of the Food Bank, and the number of people has been steadily rising. The Food Bank distributes food through a network of more than 275 agencies across the county, including St. Mary’s Center in Oakland and Bay Area Community Services (BACS).

For many years, Skyline has participated in various Food Bank drives, including its annual children’s program for “Souper Bowl Sunday.”  Skyline specifically designated the Food Bank as its donation recipient because of its remarkably effective programming. Ninety-six percent of every $1 donated goes to feeding Alameda County residents. For every dollar donated, ACCFB distributed $5 worth of food. In 2010, the Food Bank was awarded Charity Navigator’s highest rating – four stars – for the fourth consecutive year. This represents a record of fiscal excellence matched by just 9 percent of non-profits nationwide.

The gift of $25,000 is considered a major grant, comparable to the size of many of the Food Bank’s major corporate sponsors. The gift is intended to inspire further contributions, with the goal of being doubled through a dollar-for-dollar matching contribution campaign Skyline has established with the Food Bank.  The matching grant campaign will coincide with the Food Bank’s annual Fall fundraising event, “Savor the Season.”

“We were delighted to receive this generous gift, and it will go a long way in helping us serve our neighbors in need,” said Suzan Bateson, executive director of the Alameda County Community Food Bank.  “Skyline’s contribution ranks among the largest single gifts we’ve received from a faith-based organization, and is an exceptional gesture given the size of their congregation. We’re very honored to partner with Skyline for our Fall campaign and we know that their gift will be an inspiration to others.”

Skyline Church invites all to attend service on Sunday, September 11, at 10 a.m. when special Alameda County Community Food Bank representatives will be present to share more about their work.

12th Annual Laurel Street Fair
Saturday, August 13th
11 am – 6 pm

Exciting news! Skyline Church will have an informational booth at a neighborhood street fair to let our neighbors learn more about Skyline! We still need a few volunteers for the afternoon (between 1 – 3 PM) to reach out to our community and attract new members. We are also seeking some teenagers to help us out.

We plan to pass out brochures & other promotional materials, have a few UCC t-shirts on hand, and offer face painting and cookies. If you can come or have any other ideas or offerings, please be in touch with Pastor Laurie ASAP!

A reminder that for this holiday season, we’ve revived our online Virtual Food Drive from the spring. Look for Skyline in the list of available groups to select from!

https://www.vfd-accfb.org/selectgroup.aspx

We ask that you go to this link to “virtually give” what used to be canned soup donations of the past…With demand at an all-time high, (1 out of 6 people in Alameda County have made use of the Food Bank!), the ACCFB has to purchase more food than ever in order to meet the needs of their 275 food pantries, soup kitchens and community agencies. For those who want to donate cash or checks, please write “ACCFB Virtual Drive” in the memo line.

For those of you who don’t know the history of Oakland East Bay Switchboard, the Switchboard got its name as a “hotline” for people seeking to evade the Vietnam War draft via asylum in Canada. The switchboard was actually started by a Skyline Community Church member, Joan Wunderleich, whom some of our longer-term members might know.

Since its founding in the 1960s, the name has stayed, but the mission has evolved to become a program for people in transition seeking food and clothing in Oakland. Particularly during these challenging economic times, the Switchboard has seen an exponential increase in demand for its services.

This year, we are focusing on providing shoes & clothing for men, women, and children, and toys for children to the Switchboard. We ask that they be either new, or lightly used and clean. Please bring your gifts to the Christmas party or to Sunday worship on December 12th. Or, feel free to bring your donations to the Switchboard during their drop-off hours, M through F ~ 10 AM to 4 PM. They are located at 1909 73rd Ave., Oakland, CA 94606. Their phone #: (510) 569-6369.