Hi snow lovers,

I’ve attached two pdf’s for your use.  First, is the info letter with specifics for the trip and second, is this year’s covenant.  Talk to me Wednesday night, February 11th and I’ll be able to tell you how much you owe and answer questions you might have.

Peace, Tom

Yes friends,

Tonight is our Common Ground Kick-Off!  Join us on Monday, February 9th at 7:15pm for food, fun, and fellowship!  Get a glimpse of what this year’s Common Ground Season is going to be about.  We’ll meet in the Fireside Room and finish up by 9pm at the latest.  If you want more info, contact Tom at 408-309-9975.

See ya tonight!

Hi Friends,

Greetings from Houston, Texas.  My friend Tim and I are completing our 12 day journey to New Orleans for the Youthworker Extravaganza.  It was also a great opportunity to check out the city before our visit this summer.  This coming Wednesday night, you’ll get a chance to find out more about this enticing city as well as the gathering itself.  Even if you’re not planning on attending the Gathering, this will still be a night that will be informative and engaging.  This evening will be lead by Molly Schrey, Marianne Nadell, and Rich Teed (should be fun).

Peace, Tom

Here’s the scoop:

Wednesday, February 4th

5:30pm  Dinner at Panda Express ($10)

7:15 pm   Discussion on New Orleans and The Gathering

Hey everyone! 

This wednesday we will be having a game/movie night while we munch on our own decorated pizzas! Please bring all desired toppings that you wish to have on your pizza and $5 to cover the cost of the crust we are providing for you! Also bring your favorite movies and board games for an enjoyable night! See you at 5:30

love ALEYA WANTS POT-STICKER KING AND GETS IT Cunningham

Hey Guys!

I know its a little short notice, but we do indeed have an update for this week.  Tomorrow we will have a truly unique event here at Bethel, with a very special guest.  You have heard about him in Pastor Rick’s sermons about his many trips to Tanzania.  You may recognize him in his Giants attire (compliments of aforementioned Pastor I’m sure).  He is the one, the only, Pastor Godbless of the Kikarara Parish in Tanzania.  He is doing wonderful work there, providing schooling for the children of his congregation, and building mills.  Godbless will be joining us for a wonderfully barbaqued dinner compliments of Tom “Der Grillmeister” Hoegel.  Bring 5$ to cover the costs.  Afterwards we will be visited by the austere organization of CityTeam, who sponser the Adopt-A-Family program in which we participated this Christmas.  They work to provide gifts and clothes to underprivilidged families in our own back yard.  Hope to see you there, mostly for the service and fellowship, but also definitely for the succulent culinary stylings of our own Big Dog.

Keep it Real

Robert “Good in the Hood Rodine”

Hey All,

Just a quick reminder about this wednesday.  We will be focusing on the displaced youth of San Jose, so make sure to come down and see what you can do to help people just like you in your own back yard.  Bring your own sack lunch for dinner at 5:30 and bring an open mind to experience what should be an eye opening evening. More information is posted right below here if you feel compelled to find out more.

See you there!

Robert

We’ve got a great opportunity to learn more about the situation of many teens in the San Jose area.  Maritza Nelson and Elissa Barton will be leading us in another informative and inspirational night as we seek to learn more about global issues (this one being right here).  They’ve even got a guest speaker coming (way to go girls!)  Come join us in the Fireside Room at 7:15pm on Wednesday, January 14th.

Here’s an invite from Maritza:

In the month of January, the evening of awareness will be focusing on an organization called StandUpForKids, It is an organization dedicated to helping homeless and at-risk youth. They provide assistance in finding housing; education assistance; vocational development; counseling; health services; transportation to self-help meetings; and legal assistance. And volunteers assist in providing life-skills training, covering such areas as budgeting, banking, apartment cleanliness and safety, shopping and cooking, nutrition, and hygiene. We will be having this month’s evening of awareness on Wednesday, January 14 from 7:15 until around 9pm. We will also be having a guest speeker from the organization, the exectutive director, Peggy Sprague. She will be providing information about the organization and what ways that we can help and volunteer our time for the organization. I hope to see you all there.

What, you ask, might I be talking about.

Well, a couple of years ago we spent the night talking about My Space and it’s joys and potential perils.  Its time to check out the newest and hottest stuff on YouTube, and get the chance to show off your Facebook page and talk about what’s up on the www.

Come join us at 7:15pm in the Youth Room and let’s check it out together.  For those interested, we’ll be heading over to Pot Sticker King and Yogurtland for some pre-discussion food at 5:30.  Bring about $10 and you should be covered.

See ya Wednesday, Tom

Happy New Year Friends!

It has been an honor journeying with you all this past year.  We’ve seen a lot, done a lot, and been in the presence of Jesus through many that we’ve met.  As we’re half way through the school year I’d like to ask you how you’re doing on our 08/09 emphasis:  ”Be The Love?”  I know for myself, that when I look back at the past year, I realize the opportunities I missed to love others and the great blessings of the love I had the chance to be a part of.

Recently, Molly shared a story with us in Sunday School and I wanted to get it to all of you as an inspiration and challenge for the coming year:  Be The Love!

Peace and Love, Tom

The Cab Ride
So I walked to the door and knocked. ‘Just a minute’, answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90′s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware. 

‘Would you carry my bag out to the car?’ she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.
She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.  She kept thanking me for my kindness. ‘It’s nothing’, I told her. ‘I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated’.

‘Oh, you’re such a good boy’, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, and then asked, ‘Could you drive through downtown?’
‘It’s not the shortest way,’ I answered quickly.

‘Oh, I don’t mind,’ she said. ‘I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice’.  I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. ‘I don’t have any family left,’ she continued. ‘The doctor says I don’t have very long.’ I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

‘What route would you like me to take?’ I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.  We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she’d ask me to slow in front of a particular building or
corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, ‘I’m tired. Let’s go now’  We drove in silence to the address she had given me.It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico…

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her.  I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

‘How much do I owe you?’ she asked, reaching into her purse.

‘Nothing,’ I said  ’You have to make a living,’ she answered.  

‘There are other passengers,’ I responded.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.  ’You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,’ she said.  ’Thank you.’  I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

I didn’t pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift?
What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don’t think that I have done anything more important in my life.  We’re conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.
PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID,
~BUT~THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.
Thank you, my friend…
Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.