January, 2010
Dear Friends,
One of the highlights for me during Advent was when we were packing our Christmas Food Boxes for families in need in the Capay Valley along with RISE Inc. At first we were going to 70 and then up to 90 only pack boxes for 30 families, then it went up to 50, then families! One family has 17 members, so well over 400 people were served out of our little church basement. Thank you to everyone who donated food, cans and time to help serve our community.
One such person who helped pack boxes was Michael Pluth. He is married to Rena Gallant, who has been with our church for many years. Michael was in prison for 31 years and got out on Groundhog’s Day last year. This was Michael’s first Christmas outside of prison in 3 decades! It was a delight and honor to pack boxes with Michael. He and I were giddy as he held pallets of cans and I put them in the boxes spread around the room. We had so much fun along with the many others who there, too!
Michael’s joy was infectious as he was so happy to be doing something good for the community and experiencing Christmas with great appreciation - as if it were his first one. I felt like I was looking at the season with new eyes and a fresh perspective.
Sometimes life can be dulled with the routines and ordinariness of daily living that we miss the magic in the simple things. In 2010, may we see and experience everyday with fresh perspectives and new appreciation. May everyday be incredible, and every act fulfilling. May we find great joy in simple things; simple things like putting a can in a box.
Peace & Shalom,
Pastor Pamela
“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 1:3-6
Guest Preacher
Jeri Vieira-Dahlke will be our guest preacher on Sunday, January 24th. She is a part of the Sacramento Presbytery staff as the Director for the Resource Center. Jeri is a wonderful preacher and she looks forward to being with us on this day.
Almond Festival
Raffle Tickets
Cindy Brock has already organized raffle tickets for an antique quilt for this spring’s Almond Festival.
There is a wonderful story behind it. In the 1950’s there was a quilt group that gathered at the church. If you’ve noticed, there is a classic painting of them in our Social Hall. They would gather and lovingly craft beautiful quilts. In the early 60’s, the group donated one of their quilts to be raffled off as a fundraiser for the church, and Edith Davis of Esparto won the quilt.
A year ago, Edith found out that she had cancer and died peacefully last spring. Before she passed away…she donated the quilt that she had won back to the church. So guess what we’re going to do. We are going to re-raffle Edith’s quilt as a fundraiser for our church. May whoever wins it enjoy and cherish it for many years to come like Edith did!
Tickets are $1 a piece or $5 for 6 tickets. You can pick up tickets several ways: 1) in the church office, 2) in the Social Hall during coffee hour, 3) if you live a long ways away, we can mail them to you, or 4) you can buy them on the day of the Almond Festival.
It’s a beautiful quilt with a great story. Pass along the word!
Recycling
We continue to collect plastic bottles and aluminum cans for our recycling program. Our bins are located in the triangle garden located to the left of the front doors of the church. Thank you for your support. A little can go a long way!
Annual Congregational Meeting
Our Annual Congregational Meeting will follow the church service on Sunday, January 31st. Please make sure to mark this on your calendar.
Coffee Hour
If you’ve been wondering how you can get more involved with Countryside Church, but are not quite sure how, maybe signing up to do a coffee hour could be a way to do that. Just bring some bread or cookies (they don’t have to even be homemade!) and start the coffee before the service. Voila! Simple as that. Coffee hour makes such a big difference for people to connect after the service, and if this is something you’re interested in, there’s a sign-up sheet in the Social Hall. Thanks to everyone who has helped in the past and the future…we really appreciate it!
Emailing the Chimes
If you’re online, we would like to email you the Chimes in the near future. This gives you the opportunity to forward it to family and friends and you will get news in a timely fashion. If you could email your address to Pastor Pamela at pamela-usa@hotmail.com, that would help us begin the process. Thanks!
New Secretary
Debbie Kaake has been our church secretary for the past three years and she recently got a new job! Congratulations Debbie! Beth Conn-Ossenfort is now our new secretary and she is very excited about this opportunity. Beth has been a member of our congregation for many years and we look forward to working with her. If you have any email and address changes, you can email Beth at Ossenfort1@aol.com or mail the information to her at: Countryside Community Church, P.O. Box 156, Esparto, CA 95627. Thanks for your many years of service Debbie, you did a terrific job! And Beth…welcome aboard!
Jonathon Hoggatt
Jon went before Judge Johnson in early December for his sentencing and was looking at 9 years prison. Judge Johnson showed compassion to Jon and he is not in prison, but rather serving probation. Please keep Jon in your prayers as he begins this new phase in his life. And if you have an encouraging word, I’m sure he would love to hear from you. Thanks everyone!
Congregational Reports
If you are a committee chair, please email your annual reports to Pastor Pamela at pamela-usa@hotmail.com, by January 24th. Thanks everyone!
Los Tios
Jobs Wanted
As we all know, things are a bit tight with our economy, and some folks in our community are looking for some extra work. One in particular is Jodie Treat. She's looking for odd jobs, cleaning, gardening, etc. She's very motivated and a hard worker. If you're interested in hiring her, please give her a call at 787-1854. Thanks!
January Birthdays
January 4 Joel Hielmfelt
5 Vicki Ousey
7 Michelle Brock
9 Larry Williams
11 Allen Hielmfelt
13 Janet Hayes
13 George Spiva
14 Jay Jensen
14 Leslie Schaupp
16 Nicky Schwall
17 Don Koeppen
18 Charles Schaupp
20 Lynn Hayes
21 Winifred Hayes
22 Elizabeth Jensen
24 Erica Hielmfelt
21 Jay & Deb Jensen
21 Tom & Kathy McIntosh-Smith