Face Mask Update May 8, 2020

Face Mask Update

by Sara Laferte

On Tuesday, Beatriz, our face mask sewist (that's the current way to describe someone who sews), delivered 104 new face masks. Since we started this project with your generous help, she has made about 580 masks. The masks have gone as gifts to volunteers at the Richmond Emergency Food Pantry, the Souper Center, a church kitchen in Berkeley, Elmwood Convalescent Hospital, and to a Kaiser nurse in Vallejo who calls on small group homes and convalescent facilities. 

A dozen masks went to homeless people in El Cerrito, and another dozen were handed to people shopping at Safeway without masks.  About 160 masks went to the prison hospital in Vacaville, thanks to a grant from Board of Missions. 

Many masks went to members of our congregation and their friends and families, and those people donated generously in return, often paying for their own masks and one or two more. We always add a note saying where the masks come from -- Arlington Community Church -- and I have received such kind thank-yous for the beautiful masks which were so appreciated and useful.

Several times it has looked as if we might be at the end of this project.  But the beat does go on, and just recently we've received a request for as many masks as we can provide from the Center for Elders' Independence in Oakland. We're looking for additional donations of fabric and money; they will go to good use. If you would like to make a donation, please send a check to Arlington Community Church with the words "face mask" in the memo line. If you have cotton percale or calico fabric to donate, please email me at sara.laferte@yahoo.com. Thank you, and please keep safe and well.

April 16, 2020 Council Summary

Council Summary

Council met via Zoom on Thursday, April 16th to conduct church business.  Our financial situation is changing slowly as we make month by month adjustments. Our priority remains to maintain staff and provide worship opportunities, and face to face contacts through the internet.  Nate and the Council are open to suggestions from the Congregation on ways we can enrich our life “separate but together”.

Read below more details of our meeting. 

Linda Young, Moderator

Nate reviewed Easter Week services. We noted that the videos are improving and are pleased that Jacob has taken over editing in order to free Nate for pastoral duties. Nate is doing phone call “visitations”.  This was an opportunity to reflect on Nate’s change in job focus during this unusual time. There has had to be a shift toward learning technology. We are grateful he’s a fast learner. He will be taking a week study leave in the next few weeks.

Elena’s, Financial Secretary reported that pledge checks are beginning to come in via mail. Contributions toward the RIP Medical Debt Relief totaled $3,155 for ACC. Capital Campaign pledges are continuing to come in.

Randy’s Treasurer Report showed that we are “year to date” favorable, However the financial effects of the Covid-19 are yet to show up significantly.

o   The only Board that is spending money is the Board of Missions which is continuing to pay out its commitments to GRIP, PSR, Jubilee, and Heifer.

o   The Board of Endowment has given their OK to ACC deferring monthly payments on the Solar Loan during our confinement.

o   Payments have been made on the remainder of the Landscaping work.

Care Clusters: Captains reported in that most people are being contacted either by phone or email weekly. Each cluster is a little different, some sharing their “coping” and inspirations during this time.

Face Mast Project: Sara reviewed the activity from the beginning of the project.  A chunk of the first 80 masks went to Richmond Food Pantry and the Souper Center staff and volunteers. The next 85 masks have been distributed and 170 masks went to the prison hospital in Vacaville.

Sign for the Front of the Church – to hang on balcony over steps  is being designed by Elena and a mock up of paper will be hung this month so we can see how it would look before we give a go-ahead on production. The bulk of the money for this project has been designated already.

The Financial Advisory Committee continues to work with Linda on developing our response to the needs of the currently closed schools that provide rental income to ACC.  Any adjustments will need to be done monthly as information and needs are changing rapidly.  All the schools and the Church have applied for the Payroll Protection Plan assistance and have yet to hear the outcome.  All Capital Campaign projects have been put on hold.

ACC will soon give members and friends an opportunity to give online.  Jacob has met with Randy, Elena, and Nate to tailor a system that works best for the church. Watch for News on How to USE via our website and our Facebook page.

An Update on ACC Face Masks

As of Friday, April 10, Beatriz will have made about 400 face masks. Of those, about 220 have been distributed to the congregation and to the Souper Center and Emergency Food Pantry volunteers. Those masks were paid for by donations of material and money from the congregation. 

About 160 will go to inmates of the prison hospital in Vacaville, California. Those masks are being paid for by a generous donation from the ACC Board of Missions (in other words, a further donation from the congregation).

This has been a win-win situation for us all.

Beatriz is willing to make more masks, but for the moment it looks as if we should stop, unless more funds become available. 

I am deeply grateful to everyone who has donated so generously already, but please do contact me if you would like to support more of this work.

At the moment, I still have about 20 masks on hand. Let me know if you would like some.

slaferte@sbcglobal.net

(510) 526-8362

Thank you for spearheading this wonderful ministry, Sara!

One Great Hour of Sharing, 2020

Beginning on Easter Sunday, we will be collecting an offering for one of our most important campaigns for the wider church: One Great Hour of Sharing.

You can contribute by sending a check to Arlington Community Church with "One Great Hour of Sharing" in the memo line.

1.    What is One Great Hour of Sharing®?

One Great Hour of Sharing, as part of Our Churches Wider Mission, is the special mission offering of the United Church of Christ that carries God’s message of love and hope to people in crisis. The UCC works with international partners to provide sources of clean water, food, education and health care, small business micro-credit, advocacy and resettlement for refugees and displaced persons, and emergency relief and rehabilitation. OGHS also supports domestic and international ministries for disaster preparedness and response. 

2.    Who participates in One Great Hour of Sharing? 

Several Christian denominations - American Baptist Church, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Church of the Brethren, the United Church of Christ, and Church World Service work together to develop common promotional materials thereby sharing ideas, costs, and a commitment to faithful service. Each denomination receives and manages its respective OGHS offering.

3.    How is the United Church of Christ's offering used? 

60 percent of the UCC's offering supports international development initiatives, including annual support for missionaries. Currently, there are 2 OGHS supported missionaries and 1 Global Mission Intern working in disaster relief, health care, education, sustainable agricultural development, and refugee support. The offering also funds disaster preparedness and response, and disaster-related volunteer initiatives in the U.S. 

4.    Where and how are OGHS funds shared?

The United Church of Christ responds to humanitarian and development needs in the world. Specifically, we support sustainable development and refugee needs internationally and provide disaster relief and immigration assistance in the United States.

The United Church of Christ responds as a member of organizations such as Church World Service and the ACT Alliance. We also support the direct mission efforts of churches and church-based organizations that the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) have direct partnerships with through Global Ministries. Nearly one-fifth of the UCC's OGHS offering is shared through Church World Service to support refugee, and disaster programs worldwide.

5.    How many dollars are given to the UCC's OGHS offering?

In 2018, the OGHS offering received just under $2 million. Nearly sixty-five percent of UCC congregations participate annually.

6.    What percentage of OGHS donations are used directly for the mission?

On average, of every dollar given to One Great Hour of Sharing, 95 cents is used directly for mission programming; and 5 cents for interpretation materials. The associated administrative costs are paid by gifts to Our Church's Wider Mission National Basic Support.

Faith and Works Reach Around the World

 Faith and Works Reach Around the World

ACC continues to support the work of Jubilee USA, a multi-faith advocacy organization with offices in DC.  The ACC Mission and Social Justice Board just signed on to a petition Jubilee USA is sending to the IMF letter to the IMF, G20 and White House. A decision on Jubilee’s campaigns to cancel 2020 debt payments for developing countries can be made as soon as Monday - April 13th. The G20 and IMF are working through Passover and Easter weekend.    

More than $25 billion dollars is on the line for the poorest countries if the G20 stops collecting debt. "Middle Income" developing countries in Africa could immediately access more than $44 billion if they stop paying debt. This is urgently needed as the average African country only has 50 critical coronavirus care beds per country.

Below is an excerpt from a news article on the website. To learn more, go to jubileeusa.org     

Religious Development Group Proposes Solutions for Pandemic Economic Impacts

Washington, DC - The leadership of a religious development group wrote the head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, to help stop negative economic consequences of the Covid-19 virus.

“Economic forecasts warn that a possible financial crisis or depression, spurred by the coronavirus, could be worse than the 2008 financial crisis,” warned the letter sent on Monday to the IMF from Jubilee USA's executive officers, Celeste Drake, Reverend Steve Herder, Rabbi Matthew Cutler, Reverend Aniedi Okure and Eric LeCompte. “Nearly 100 million people, mostly women and children, were pushed into extreme poverty and 22 million jobs were lost worldwide in the 2008 crisis.”

The letter urges expanded debt relief and aid to bolster health-care for developing countries impacted by the coronavirus. Additional letter recommendations include debt payment moratoriums, improved debt restructuring, encouraging public budget approval processes for countries and raising revenue by curbing corruption, tax evasion and tax avoidance.

One of the specific solutions advocated in the letter was expanding an IMF process which delivered health-care aid through debt relief and a grant-like process during the 2014 Ebola epidemic that devastated Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Jubilee USA worked with the IMF, G20, US Treasury and the White House to establish this process, the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust.

Council Summary from March 19 and March 20 meetings 2020

Council Summary from March 19 and March 20 meetings 2020

When Council held two “conference call” meetings last week, the situation caused by the Covid-19 virus was just beginning for ACC.  We discussed adjustments occurring in worship and ministry, possibilities for Holy Week, and looked at progress on the Medical Debt Relief offering which on March 19 stood at $1679 from ACC.  Nate’s ministry continues with online services and phoned “visitations’ to members. The online ministry is spreading far beyond the membership, a very exciting development.   

The Council is looking at the financial impact on the Church due to canceled rentals of all groups using the church social hall and meeting rooms. We agreed to close rentals until the end of the shelter-in-place order.   

This is a considerable loss of income, yet we felt returning both fees and deposits is the right thing to do.  We are communicating with the schools who are renting our space and closed when the West County School District closed for Shelter in Place.  A Crisis Response Finance Committee has been formed including Randy Laferte, David Hertzer, Elena Caruthers, and myself to begin looking at the consequences of Covid-19 closures on our finances for different periods of time up through the Summer.  The information gathered will guide Council decisions.   Stabilizing pay for our staff has been a top priority. We’re giving Jacob more time in the office to take care of some long neglected tasks, and Javier has shifted his work to deep cleaning and painting. 

Faith gave us a thorough report of the activities of the boards: Hospitality and Outreach, Missions and Social Justice, Faith Formation, and Deacons (Worship).   We continue to Be the Church. 

In Building and Grounds improvements, we have paid the balance of the Labyrinth project cost, approved funds and completed the patio landscaping, and put on temporary hold the replacement of the sidewalk in front of the church. We continue to explore an esthetically pleasing and clear sign for the building to be placed on the balcony over the steps. We have temporarily slowed down the exploration of feasible designs for bathroom remodel due to Shelter in Place orders.  Two plumbers have agreed to give us feasibility advice when we can begin bringing folks into the building.

Council is nearly finished with revising and updating ACC Policies. A next step is forming a small committee to draft procedures for tracking and acknowledging memorial gifts. If you’d like to help with this, please let Sara Laferte know.

The Care Clusters are keeping us in “Community” as we work through this difficult and unpredictable time.     On the behalf of the Council, I’d like to wish the members of the Congregation Well as we Shelter in Place. 

Linda Young

Moderator,  ACC 

A Note From Ed Moore, About His Parents Milton and Nona's Passing

A note from Ed Moore, about his parents Milton and Nona.

My father passed away Nov. 22. He had a stroke about a week or so prior to his passing, and it was a blessing he went rather quickly. Mom died March 5 in her sleep. She had Alzheimer's for a 8 or so years, but it would come and go. But like all such things, it progressed. I suppose one of her blessings is that she became rather lucid a couple of days prior to her passing. 

Dad was an only child, and so was mom. He was born in 1920 in Anaconda, Montana. Mom was born in Fargo, North Dakota. They met in high school in Butte, Montana, and participated in dances and their church youth group activities. 

Dad served in the army during WWII. When they moved to Kensington, they made a lot of friends in the neighborhood of Anson Way and Eureka Ave. The Parkers, Ferreiras, Zettles, Cunninghams, Cox's, Newkirks, Greeps, and McCombers were chief among them in that area, but their friends also included the Spencers, Weldons, and many others who I can't recall at the moment. I know I'm leaving out some people and misspelling names unintentionally, and I apologize.

Dad worked on the Manhattan Project when they moved to Richmond after the war. The Richmond house preceded the one in Kensington. After that, he worked for the Atomic Energy Commission in the Berkeley office on Bancroft. Mom was a bookkeeper at a drug store on Telegraph and later for the Hotel Durant. One of my fondest memories is when we had water balloon fights. Mom would sneak outside, turn on the hose and squirt everyone, which of course would draw fire from those of us with any water balloons left. Other fond memories were when she and Janice Parker would take us to Stinson Beach to body surf. 

Their friendship with the Parkers grew, and we went on many camping trips with that family in California, Nevada, Idaho and Montana. All in all, mom and dad struggled in their early life, but they always took care of my brother Steve, who is a retired law enforcement officer in Nevada, my sister, Nancy, who worked for AT&T, and lives in Mission Viejo, and me. I am a retired writer for newspapers and corporations. 

My parents moved from Kensington to Mission Viejo, to be near Nancy, around 2011. I moved from the Bay Area to live with them and provide over night care in late 2013. They had caregivers during the day. My sister and brother and me made sure they had a good life all they way to the end. I'm sure they would want me to thank everyone for your friendships. I know you meant more to them than than words can ever express. 

Please feel free to print this in the Outlook, and again, please forgive me for leaving out some people, and misspelling names. Please accept our sincere thanks for you friendship and love for them and us. So now our family turns another page, and we begin a new chapter in this book of life. Please say a prayer for my dad and mom. I'm sure they will appreciate it. Please feel free to contact me. Bye for now.

Cancelling In-Person Worship & Small Group Gatherings

Dear friends and members of Arlington Community Church,

Governor Newsom’s recent executive order, which you can read here recommends that "Gatherings of individuals who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 should be limited to no more than 10 people, while also following social distancing guidelines."

Because the core of our congregation is in the higher-risk category, we are making the difficult decision  to cancel March 15 worship, and to suspend small group gatherings (including Bible Study, Memoir Group, Choir and Bell Choir rehearsal), until further notice . 

My heart breaks at the loss of connection with these gatherings going away temporarily, but this is clearly a crucial time in the spread of the virus in our country. We cannot be certain who is infected, and we need to make sure that we are doing everything we can to keep the most vulnerable among us safe.

Rest assured that church is not disappearing. I will be offering a  “virtual church video”  with a short message and prayer that will be available for you to experience from home on Sunday morning. Information on how to access the video will be in tomorrow’s Parishscope. 

ACC is also in the process of forming a “care team” that will be able to respond to people’s needs, in the event that members of our community do get sick. While respecting your privacy, I hope you will let me know (revnateklug@gmail.com) if your own health situation changes. 

During this frenetic day, two hymn lyrics have been running through my head: “The storm is passing over” and “We’ve come this far by faith.” We don’t know what the next day will hold, but we do know that one day this, too, shall pass. In the meantime, we move forward accompanied by God’s tenacious love.

Please don’t hesitate to be in touch.

Rev. Nate Klug, Pastor

Linda Young, Moderator

Arlington Community Church Council

February, 2020 Council Summary

February, 2020 Council Summary

Greetings members of ACC, 

This is to let the Congregation know what is going on in Council.  Our first meeting of the “new” 2020 Council was on Thursday the 20th.  You have a lively bunch looking out for ACC and are welcome to visit any Third Thursday.  We regularly hear a report from Nate, summarizing his work for the month, and hear reports regarding our finances. We discuss and make decisions regarding operations of the Church, improving the building, and programming.  One recent project has been reviewing and revising all our church policies. Sara Laferte is coordinating that work, and we are nearly finished updating all policies.  When those are complete (probably this Spring), we’ll give you information about how to access the Bylaws and the updated policies. 

Many of our capital improvements are nearing or at completion including the installation of the Labyrinth, and Landscaping of the Patio.  (Plants will be mulched soon.)   Our next step in capital improvements are repairing the sidewalk above the church in front. David Hertzer is managing that project and it will be funded by a bequest and some of our surplus funds.  In the meantime, we were just presented with architect drawings of options for remodeling the bathrooms in the Narthex. We wish to expand capacity and to comply with ADA requirements. An ad hoc committee is forming to review those options in detail, narrow down options, and have a feasibility study done. If you are interested in serving on this committee, please see me.  The options are helping us think creatively about use of limited space.  Given the large groups that use our facility it Is more important that ever that bathrooms are accessible and long lines can be avoided.

Soon a new sign will be hanging on the railing above our entry with the name of our church and directions to office, sanctuary, and social hall.  The new small signs that Nate and Jacob have already put in place have been a good beginning to help visitors find their way around the church.. Nate, Joe and Elena are working on the new sign project.   

If you have questions, feel free to ask any of the members,   

Linda Young, Moderator   

Faith Able, Vice Moderator

Randy Laferte, Treasurer

Elena Caruthers, Financial Secretary

Sara Laferte,  Secretary

Joe Pratt, At Large Member

Eleanor Crump, At Large Member

David Hertzer, At Large Member

Nate Klug, Pastor

Help ACC Erase $4 Million of Medical Debt in the East Bay

Help ACC Erase $4 Million of Medical Debt in the East Bay

Inspired by other UCC congregations in Chicago, St. Louis and around the nation, nine UCC churches in the East Bay, including Arlington Community Church, are working together to erase the medical debts of our neighbors in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.

What is Medical Debt?

Medical debt destroys the financial stability of large segments of America’s most vulnerable communities: the sick, the elderly, the poor, and veterans and is a primary cause of homelessness. It also targets the middle class, driving many families who are barely getting along into poverty. By forgiving this debt we strive to give struggling individuals and their families a fresh start, and prevent new cases of homelessness amongst our neighbors.

How does this work?

Our local campaign will be made possible by an extraordinary non-profit organization called RIP Medical Debt, founded in 2014 by two former debt collections executives. Over the course of decades in the debt-buying industry, they met with thousands of Americans saddled with unpaid and un-payable medical debt and realized they were uniquely qualified to help these people in need. They used their expertise and compassion to create a process to forgive medical debt: they would use donations to buy large bundles of medical debt, and then forgive that debt with no tax consequences to donors or recipients.

The results have been spectacular— over $1 billion in medical debts eradicated so far, providing financial relief for over 520,000 individuals and families. The best part is how cheaply we can buy the debt: for literally one penny on the dollar. Our “stretch” goal as local churches, over the course of Lent, is to raise $44,000 together – which will retire $4.4 million in medical debt in the East Bay. 100% of this money will go to freeing our neighbors in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties from medical debt.

Who is participating?

Nine local UCC congregations are leading this effort, all of whom will come together to worship on Good Friday: FCC Alameda, Arlington Community Church, Berkeley Chinese Community Church, First Church Berkeley, City of Refuge UCC, Mira Vista UCC, First Congregational Church of Oakland, Plymouth UCC, and Sycamore UCC. Every local UCC church is raising their own collection, which we will bring together during Holy Week.

What is our goal?

Again, our collective goal is to raise $44,000 together – which will retire $4.4 million in medical debt in the East Bay. How powerful would it be, if we could announce during our joint Good Friday worship that we have accomplished much of our goal?

How can I contribute?

Here at ACC, we will be giving the entirety of our weekly “loose offering” during Lent to this campaign – that’s six Sundays worth of offerings. So, bring cash or check with the memo line “RIP Medical Debt” to worship each Sunday. We have a large goal to reach, so each week’s contribution matters!

We will also accept individual lead gifts. If you would like to make a lead gift to get our campaign underway (remember: every dollar given forgives $100 of debt!), please email Rev. Nate at revnateklug@gmail.com.