The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow was elected Moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. An exciting time for the church and the family. For more details Presbyterian Church U.S.A. For more information about the church he serves Mission Bay Community Church
Read about and Reflect upon the faith community of Bethel.Download June_July_2008.pdf
Thoughts from Pastor Sarah
“You shall not bow down to them or worship them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generations of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (Genesis 20:5-6)
This passage points out two things I don’t believe in. 1)God is not jealous! and 2) God does not punish the children of parents who sin. However, previous generations do leave messes for future generations to clean up. When the men who wrote this passage, they wrote it with their understanding of who God is and what God does. What I believe is a God of love who love us no matter what and that God’s love is steadfast to all God’s children.
I bring up this scripture because I recently attending a consultation that focused on first and second generations. I am a second generation Filipina American. I was invited because I am a second generation Filipina pastor working in a non-Filipino congregation which makes my context different than many second generation colleagues in ministry.
One of the concerns shared by the younger second generation folks was that they do not understand the first generation. The first generation in most of the contexts shared were silent about their past. For example: Many first generation immigrants work long hours and often a few jobs to support their families and make life “better” for their children. However, hearing the voices of the children now adults, they would have preferred more communication. For the first generation working the long hours and many jobs was an expression of love, but the second generation would have like to have been shown or told they were loved. Sounds all too complicated!!! But very simply put: With each generation, there is a need to communicate where they’ve been in order to understand the present. For the Japanese American parents who cannot share what it is like to be put in an internment camp by their country struggle to make their kids more “American” for fear of their reliving the past. For the Korean parent who has escaped for North Korean, the stories are hidden and the pain of the journey is not shared with the children. Once the stories are shared, the second generation begins to understand who their parents are. At the consultation, the stories were compelling and the need for intentional intergenerational communication is required in order for future generations to have a grasp of their identity.
In Poland generation miscommunication is taking place right now. According to an article in The Week, June 6, 2008, “Poland’s witch hunt against ‘communist spies’ must stop…Under communist rule, many people were blackmailed into collaborating with the secret police, a large number of them gave them misleading information or signed ‘loyalty declarations’ simply to get them off their backs. But in recent years, often from a younger generation blind to the compromises forced on older Poles, have pursued an unrelenting crusade against anyone named as a collaborator…” The story goes on to say that this group has even “fingered” Lech Walesa, the founder of the anti-communist movement, Solidarity!! This for me is the classic case of the previous generous generation not sharing the fear and the environment in which they lived in earlier times. Maybe this type of communication may have prevented the “witch hunts,”
So what do I regret that my first generation parents didn’t share with me? I wish that they had continued speaking to me in their home language so that I would be bi-lingual today. Why did they stop? Because well meaning English speaking neighbors said that if they didn’t start speaking English to their children we would fail is school. And in the Filipino/Asian culture “fail” is truly an obscene four-letter word! I wish that my parents had told me more stories of the Philippines instead of pushing us to be so American that my Filipino heritage was viewed as “less than” by my parents. I did get glimpses of their life it I listened well. For my mom, when shopping for groceries, would say, “I miss the bananas that you could pick off the tree.” Or my Dad after a drink or two would talk about serenading young women in the city. But they weren’t conversations and if pressed for more information they would stop talking. I wish I new more about my grandparents. They were all dead by the time my parents immigrated here. They are both gone now and at the age of 59 I still have questions but it is too late.
What I can share with you is that I am the product of both my mother and father but for this space I share my dad with you. My father Steve lied about his age and came to the United States at the age of 16. His sister was already in Stockton and she wanted him to come to go to school. My dad ended up working in the fields instead. After working in the fields and seeing so many old Filipino men come home from the fields with their bodies in pain from bending over and lifting crates, he decided that he needed to find another occupation. He became a “house boy” in Hollywood and some of his bosses included “Laurel and Hardy.” (or so he said!) He also learned to cook and bartend. As long as I had known him he worked everyday. During the day he worked as a warehouseman and in the evening as a bartender at a local golf and country club. He was a man of few words and he wanted his kids to be happy and successful. When my brother and I were teenagers, he made us work in the fields so that we will know what it would be like for us if we ever thought about quitting school. It worked for me!! He was a man of few words but by his presence I learned that it was okay for men to cry when their sad and women weren’t responsible for cooking all the meals. My dad was an excellent cook!
One thing that I have learned is that because my parents immigrated here from the Philippines, they brought they culture, habits and ways of being with them and no matter how much they tried to make their children “all American” they instilled in us their Filipino culture by they way they raised us to invite everyone into the home as family, not to argue with “white people” (of course, that has changed a bit!) , kiss everyone good night . There are more I’ve learned that I can’t point out. But as I go through the day I often remember sayings from my mom and dad that make me laugh. My latest one was that my mom told me that the man that sits in the black and white care was my uncle. As a child, it was comforting to know that my uncle was everywhere!!!
I encourage you to find out the stories of your past so that your present and future can be made richer. Knowing the generations before you and their struggles can help you become equipped for the present and future. It is no different for the church. The first generation of Bethel sixty years ago decided to start a church a place for people to go to Sunday School and gather as a faith community. In the ensuing years, however, just wanting to be a church was not enough to keep it vibrant and alive in the changing culture it lived. We continue the journey of the faith community of Bethel, understanding that God is not done with this community of faith and that as long as we are faithful to God’s call for justice, mercy, compassion, and love, future generations will continue to journey together as God calls them to this place we call Bethel.
Peace,
Sarah
The Bethel Community will go camping the weekend of June 20-22 at Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe. We potluck dinner and have a great time of fellowship around the campfire with our favorite coffee with additions and the smores are excellent. Contact Pastor Sarah reyesgibbs@gmail.com for more information.
If you want to come during the week of the 22nd, we also have a few campsites that can be shared that week again, contact Pastor Sarah.
For update on the May Experiment and pictures of Women's Tea and Shrimp and Pasta Feed click Download Bethel_Newsletter_2008-05.pdf
Bethel will host a mutli-church choir fest fundraiser to raise money for the San Leandro Interfaith Task Force for the Homeless. The event will start at 4PM on June 8. We will end the evening with a Potluck dinner. Please bring a potluck dish to share with at least eight people. There will be products you may purchase that will be given to the people who are served the program.
Bethel will sponsor a "Faith, Science & Music" - "It is Good!" Camp from August 4-8, 2008. On Friday August 8, there will be our traditional camp out on the grounds!
The program will be from 10AM - 3PM with child care available at an additional cost from 8-9:30AM and 3-5:30PM. The cost for materials and registration will be $75 per child plus any additonal child care costs. Siblings will be $50. After July 21, the cost will be $100 per child and $75 per siblings. Scholarships will be available.
The children will build their own solar systems, learn about nature by exploring the grounds for insects and other wildlife, and we will learn to celebrate how God has made each one of us unique and wonderful! The children will learn music through a musical that they will perform on Sunday August 10 at 10AM.
Bethel is a faith community that strives to follow the teachings of Jesus and practices God's unconditional love. We are a faith community that is open, inclusive and welcoming to the diverse community surrounding us. ALL ARE WELCOME! "It is Good!" will focus on God's creation, the environment, peace and compassion through faith stories, science projects and a musical production.
For the flyer Download flyer_for_faith_science_music_summer_camp.pdf
For a registration form please Download registration_form
On May 25@4PM, Fred "Fritz" Moser, a member of the Bethel Faith Community will share his experience of being a prisoner of war in Indonesia . He has an amazing story to tell. HIs experiences have taught him compassion, care and the need to be with others in time of sickness and need. Here' is a bit from his written story.
"On June 10, 1941, I was drafted into the army...Dutch with pressure from the United States, declared war against Japan. Japanese came in the Pacific, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. We had all the military, the battleships, aircraft. The other countries didn't have that. In March of 1942 Japanese said if you don't surrender we are going to bomb all the big places so we surrendered and they made us prisoners. I was a prisoner for 3.5 years..."Fred has more to share, come on Sunday, May 25@4PM.
This past Sunday was the first Sunday of Bethel's experiment of having Sunday activities from 4-7PM.
At our 4PM Faith Encounters, we heard from a group of people who visited Palestine last February as they shared with us how difficult it is to live in Palestine with the Israeli Government constantly harrassing them and making it very difficult to live day to day. The Israeli's have built walls all over and around every Palenstinian community so to go from one end of Palestine proper to another,one would have to go through several checkpoints. The Palestine in 1947 was one contiguous country, now with the Israeli settlement bulldozing down buildings and orchards, the country now looks like swiss cheese. The "holes" in the country are Israeli settlements that have occupied the land. Thus walls have been built around the settlements to "protect" them so that there is no one thoroughway to get from one place to another easily. Their presentation was eye opening. Please pray for those affected by the bulldozers!!!
The big question during Sunday Supper was "What did you do on Sunday Morning?" Some folks attended other churches and got a different perspective of how communion is served and how some congregations actually move to the music. (Bethel is still thawing from the "frozen chosen" era!) Others did community service with the program that serves people who were homeless. Others slept in and decided that "sabbath" meant "sleep in!"
I had a lovely experience of going to church in the morning and sitting quietly in the sanctuary! Talking to God, praying for people, and wondering what the day would bring with this experiment. I met a few people in the morning and then I went to brunch with my husband. At first it seemed odd, that we weren't on vacation and here we were with all the other folks who don't go to church on Sunday morning. The restaurant was filled with families! Couples abound! Diverse in everything!!! Looking around, taking in the talking, high energy and great food, I thought, "Now, this is church!!"
Can't wait until next Sunday morning!!
Please join us for Faith encounters@4PM/Children's Church & Choir@4PM/Sunday Supper@5PM/Worship@6PM.
On May 18@4PM Rev. Pablo Morataya will share with the community the effect of immigration policies on the community he serves in Oakland. Rev. Moratya is the pastor of Primera Iglesia Presbiteriana de Hispana in Oakland.
|
| Subscribe to Bethel's eList |
| Visit this group |
Worship @ 9:50am
Church school, childcare and choir every Sunday. Hope to see you soon!
ADDRESS
14235 Bancroft Avenue
San Leandro CA 94578
google.maps
hosting by typepad
domain by dotster
design by reyes-chow
