When you are in New York City and you ask someone how to get to Carnegie Hall… they will tell you, “Practice, Practice, Practice”. If you are at the Trenton, New Jersey turnpike exit and you ask the person in the tollbooth how you get to Princeton… they will tell you, “Study, Study, Study”. And if you ask the Scriptures how you get to Bethlehem… they will tell you, “Children, Children, Children.”

Bethlehem... It is where Rachel gave birth to Benjamin, the last of Jacob’s twelve sons, the only one of Jacob’s children to be born in the Promised Land.

Bethlehem… It is where Ruth made her home with her mother-in-law Naomi. Ruth met Boaz and they fell in love and she gave birth to Obed who was the father of Jesse who was the father of David.

Bethlehem… It is the home of David the Shepherd boy who was anointed King of Israel.

Bethlehem… It is where Mary gave birth to her first born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the Inn.

Bethlehem… It is where the Wise Men found the Christ child; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

To find our way to Bethlehem where the wonder of Christmas awaits us once more… we must become children all over again. But then, we’ve known that for a long time. Jesus called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Every year, at Christmas time we are called back to this simple truth.

“It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty founder was a child himself.” - Charles Dickens

“Christmas! The very word brings joy to our hearts. No matter how we may dread the rush, the long Christmas lists for gifts and cards to be bought and given--when Christmas Day comes there is still the same warm feeling we had as children, the same warmth that enfolds our hearts and our homes.” - Joan Winmill

“Were I a philosopher, I should write a philosophy of toys, showing that nothing else in life need to be taken seriously, and that Christmas Day in the company of children is one of the few occasions on which men become entirely alive.” - Robert Lynd

“There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child.” - Erma Bombeck

“The way to Christmas lies through an ancient gate....It is a little gate, child-high, child-wide, and there is a password: "Peace on earth good will toward all." May you, this Christmas, become as a little child again.” - Angelo Patri We all know how to get to Bethlehem… I hope to see you there.

Grace and Peace, Pastor Mark

Union Church of Cupertino Serving Cupertino since 1884

The Communicator

December 2014

REV MARK J. BRADY

UNION CHURCH OF CUPERTINO - THE COMMUNICATOR NOVEMBER 2014

Beez Jones

Bonnie Martin

Cynies, Nicolle’s aunt

Debbie Barr, facing knee replacement surgery

this month

Dorothy Shirk

Doug Lee, brother-in-law of Bonnie Lee

Doug & Jeff, friends of Phil Z, have serious

illnesses

Elsa Dusenbury

Eric, MaryLou Lyon’s grandson

Ethel Roten

Fred Leonelli, Lorraine’s brother

Gayle Pinkston, Karen V’s brother-in-law

Ian Murray, Barbara Murray’s father

Jacqueline Smith

Jean Prisock

Jean Taylor

Joan Greene

Joseph V, prayers for recovery

Joyce Hitchens, Carol McEwen’s mother

Julianne True

Kathy Bradrick, Lorraine Leonelli’s friend,

Foot injury

REV MARK J. BRADY

12/19 Rod & Bettey Baeta

12/19

Naylin Maung & Anita Singh

Kimberly Smith

Lorraine Leonelli

Lynda Yeates, friend of Bonnie Lee

Lynne Carlton

Marion Gaevert

Martha Foster

MaryLou Lyon

Mike Lyon, grandson of MaryLou Lyon

Myridia Emata, health problems

Nancy Dunagan, friend of Richard Kurkowski,

undergoing treatments for cancer.

Paul, Sue Burchell’s father

Russell, Glenda Pettit’s nephew,

congestive heart failure

Ruth Wesley

Sarah Magana & family

Theora Carey

Vicki Bliven

Wally Evans

Wes Ireland

In Our Thoughts and Prayers

12/01 Phil Zimmerman 12/14 Luis Reyes 12/05 Jean Taylor 12/15 Winkie Hill 12/11 Nils Ake Jacobson 12/18 Joan Kempf 12/11 Dean Jaynes 12/21 John Dods 12/12 Helen Frazee 12/22 Carol Aria 12/12 Sarah Nelson 12/27 Jason Wang

Union Church ~ December 2014 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1

2 10am Bible Study

3 6pm Play Rehearsal 7:30pm Choir practice

4 8am Breakfast at Chateau 1pm Women’s Fellowship 6:30pm Women’s Bible Study

5

6

7 Crystal Choir Performs 10am Worship & Communion 10:15am Sunday School 11:15am Coffee Fellowship 11:30am Deacon’s Mtg

8 10am Missions Meeting

9 10am Bible Study 7:30pm Trustees Meeting

10 6pm Play Rehearsal 7:30pm Choir practice

11 6:30pm Women’s Bible Study

12

13 9am Final Play Rehearsal

14 Christmas Play 10am Worship 10:15am Sunday School 11:15am Coffee Fellowship

15

16 10am Bible Study

17 7:30pm Choir practice

18 8am Men’s Breakfast

19 12:00pm Christmas Poinsettia Info Due

20

21 Christmas Cantata 10am Worship 10:15am Sunday School 11:15am Coffee Fellowship

22

23 10am Bible Study 7:30pm Official Board Meeting

24 Christmas Eve 7:00pm Christmas Eve Service 10:00pm Christmas Eve Service

25 Christmas Day Merry Christmas!

26

27

28

10am Worship 10:15am Sunday School 11:15am Coffee Fellowship

29

30 10am Bible Study

31 New Year’s Eve 7:30pm Choir practice

Union Church of Cupertino

“Share with us in the joy of the journey”

Rev. Mark J. Brady

Inter-denominational Church

Come Join Us…

Sunday Worship Service: 10am

Sunday Coffee Fellowship: 11:15am

Tuesday Bible Study: 10am

Thursday Bible Study: 7:30pm

Office Hours Monday – Friday 9am -2pm

20900 Stevens Creek Blvd

Cupertino, CA 95014

Telephone: (408) 252-4478

Email:

unionchurch4471@sbcglobal.net

Website:

www.unionchurch.org

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

December 7th Crystal Choir Performs at Sunday Service

December 14th Christmas Play

December 21st Christmas Cantata

December 24th Christmas Eve Services at 7pm & 10pm

CHARLIE’S CORNER

Belonging. That is a word that covers a lot of territory in our culture. We belong to so many things, and pretty much take it all for granted, but it is pretty sad when you meet people who don’t belong to anyone or anything… that is where loneliness comes into the picture. Years ago I went with Kathleen to visit her Aunt Marie in a rest home near Grove, Oklahoma. As we entered the large lobby we encountered a sea of wheel chairs whose occupants were all reaching out to us and begging us to visit with them. We touched hands and smiled our way through the traffic jam to the reception desk to get directions to Aunt Marie’s room. The sight of all those poor love-starved people, who’d been put out to pasture, induced a baseball sized lump in my throat, and to the present day I have a negative attitude toward such places, and am so grateful that we are still able to get by on our own. Our visit with Aunt Marie was in a nice semi-private area. Just one of the poor wheel chair ladies was positive that we were there for her too. Aunt Marie welcomed her, and that was one happy lady. If she had been a pussy cat she would have purred up a storm. Her actions spoke volumes, “Look at me everybody, these are my people and I have company.” That rest home brought to mind a TV program we saw years ago. The oldest son had returned home after a prolonged absence, and was accompanying his folks to visit his aunt who was suffering from one of those mind robbing illnesses. She was bundled up in an arm chair with a catheter bottle discretely placed behind it. The rather stilted conversation was about the aunt but didn’t include her. The boy was terribly disturbed about his aunt, and when it was time to go he told his folks he’d stay a few more moments and catch up with them. He moved his chair over close to his aunt and you saw images of what he was talking about. You saw her teaching him to ride a bike, the two of them with large ice-cream cones sharing an occasional lick with the dog, her teaching him to drive. He told her how much he loved her and kissed her, and as he left the room he had tears in his eyes. The camera panned from the closed door to the aunt. She had tears in her eyes too. She understood. The rest home lobby reminded me of mail call overseas in the Navy. As we would be entering a port, the first order of business, while we were still underway, was to get the motor-whale boat and the mailman over the side and on their way. And when the mailman returned from the Fleet Post Office with the mail, I can’t describe how precious those letters from home were, and how sad it was for those that didn’t receive any, or, saddest of all, the poor guy getting a Dear John letter telling him his sweetheart had found someone else. Goodies from home became instant community property among your group as Toll House cookies were popular in the states, but they didn’t travel well. By the time they would finally catch up with our ship, they were a mass of tasty crumbs. They didn’t go to waste. I thought that I hated fruit cake even though I had never tasted it. I had received a fruit cake for Christmas. We were in port and toward late afternoon on Christmas Day I was pretty homesick and finally gave the cake a try. It was delicious. I saved all of Kathleen’s letters. I would open them by tearing a thin strip off the end of the envelope so it could be reused. We still have all our mail someplace, and on rare occasions, when it becomes accessible, I have been teased for laughing out loud at how funny I sometimes was seventy years ago. ~ Charles Calhan

UNION CHURCH OF CUPERTINO - THE COMMUNICATOR DECEMBER 2014

FEBRUARY 2014 Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!

The Marriage of

Joseph & Michelle Bumbaca July 19th, 2014

at Union Church of Cupertino

Christmas Poinsettias

We will be decorating our Sanctuary Wednesday, December 24th, and Sunday, December 28th service with beautiful poinsettias! You are invited to share by ordering a poinsettia of your own, in memory of or in honor of a family member or friend of yours.

You may order a poinsettia plant with us or you may purchase your own plant and bring it in with you on Sunday, December 21st.

Please make sure to fill out a form and include a $6 donation is turned in to the church office on or before noon on Friday, December 19th. If you plan to bring a poinsettia of your own, but want to add a dedication to the list, please have your dedication information into the church office by Friday, December 19th as well. Order forms will be available on Sundays.

UNION CHURCH OF CUPERTINO - THE COMMUNICATOR DECEMBER 2014

Adopt-a-Family This year Adopt-a-Family will be held at West Valley Community Services (10104 Vista Drive, Cupertino). If you would like to volunteer with this program, please call Mary at 408-255-8033 x 303. Volunteers will be needed between December 8-13, 9a-5p, plus evenings on Tuesday the 9th and Thursday the 11th.

Christmas Cantata

Be sure not to miss the Christmas Cantata on Sunday, December 21st, at 10am. This concert will feature the Union Church choir, as well as instrumentalists from the local symphonies.

Children’s Christmas

Play The Children’s Christmas Play entitled “The Best Gift of All”, written and directed by Barbara Murray, will be presented to the church on Sunday, December 14th at 10am. Invite your friends and family for this exciting event!

Rehearsal dates & times: *Wednesday, December 3rd 6:00pm - 6:30pm Pizza 6:30pm - 7:30pm Rehearsal *Wednesday, December 10th 6:00pm - 6:30pm Pizza 6:30pm - 7:30pm Rehearsal *Saturday, December 13th 9:00pm - 12:00pm Final Rehearsal in Sanctuary

For information or any questions contact Barbara Murray at 408-286-9994 or bmurray@scu.edu

Clean-Up Day A Success! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

We want to thank everyone who showed up to help out with cleaning up the facilities and the grounds on Saturday, November 22nd, and to those who helped serve refreshments and goodies. We appreciate your dedication and hard-work!

Members who helped with Clean-Up Day:

Richard & Carol Aria Linda Sanders Dale Adkison Yuko Shima Ross Hoksbergen Dick Taylor Jane Larsh David Tsai Vivian Liu Glenn Ventura Steve & Sarah Nelson Dick Walter Annette Olson Lillian Whitaker Teresa Perasso Curt Woodruff Doris Rausch

Decorating the Sanctuary!

MANY THANKS!

We extend a great big thank you to everyone who came out on Saturday, November 29th to help with decorating the sanctuary in preparation for the Christmas season. We appreciate you donating your time and efforts!

Crystal Children’s Choir at Union Church of Cupertino

Crystal Children’s Choir sings with us in Worship Sunday, December 7th at 10am

Invite Your Family & Friends!!!

Crystal Children’s Choir sings with us in Worship on Sunday, December 7th at 10am. Celebrated around the world for their excellence in music, Crystal Children’s Choir makes their home at Union Church. Also,

Come and join us for a “Pizza Party” right after service. Everyone is Welcome!

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

December 7 | Crystal Children’s Choir Performs at Sunday Service

December 14 | Children’s Christmas Play “The Best Gift of All Written and Directed by Barbara Murray

December 21 | Christmas Cantata Performs “Bethlehem’s Child” Directed by Ross Hoksbergen

December 24 | Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at 7:00pm

December 24 | Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion Service at 10:00pm

January 4 | Communion Sunday and Celebration of Baptism

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UNION CHURCH OF CUPERTINO

THE COMMUNICATOR DECEMBER 2014 Share with us in the joy of the journey... .

UNION CHURCH OF CUPERTINO 20900 Stevens Creek Blvd.,

Cupertino, CA 95014 Phone: (408) 252-4478 www.unionchurch.org

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