May 13, 2014
Mid-May Greetings from 3534 Lakeshore,
I trust that Mother’s Day brought many of you together with family and friends. Our family celebrated the day with a family dinner at La Case de Ya Ya and Hop Pop. A small family gathering used to be five, then seven, and now nine (and four dogs.)
When we gather we usually have at least one official discussion question. This year the three mothers at the table,- Karen, Kristen and Teresa – were asked, “What have you learned about being a mother?” I found their answers to be insightful. Karen answered, “Pick your battles.” Kristen said, “Value each moment because kids grow so fast.” Teresa responded, “Don’t get locked into absolutes. Just when I say ‘Henry doesn’t like that’ he starts liking it.”
Family figures prominently in “A Really Short Interview About Something Big” I recently did with Daniel Pryfogle of Signal Hill Communications. Here is the link to that interview. From the link you can read other interviews in this most interesting series.
The main Scripture in worship this coming Sunday is Acts 7: 55-60, the martyrdom of Stephen. In this text a God fearing, Bible believing mob, stones Stephen to death. These words of Rodney Wallace Kennedy, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dayton, Ohio will figure in prominently in my sermon, “Read the bible not to prove your points but to improve your character. Use the Bible not as a hammer but as a flashlight.”
Prayers of the Congregation
- Marie Johnson for Dahlia, Oma (Marian) and several friends who are fighting fierce battles
- Phil and Gloria Meads and Cindy Nelson for the Kawon family
- Cordia Lee for children as they pursue their dreams, the daughter of Mary Harris, the Alta Bates Hospital system, and herself
- Kay Baxter for herself and her family
- Sandra Dunn for her father
- Jim Cheatham for his mom (hospice care) and his wife (recuperating from surgery).
- Ken Kirkey for his father
- Sheryl Gattey for her mom
- Shirley Jones
- Joan Thatcher, ongoing medical concerns
- Ted and Doris Evans
- George and Sylvia Lee (Sylvia is currently in Kaiser Hospital)
- Steve and Carol Leichter
- Katrina Lau for her grandmother
- Jeanne Robinson for her daughter in law, Jo
- David Ferguson, Director of Open Door Mission, seriously ill
- Sarah Hogan (Pastor Hopkins’ sister) and family for Jim Golf
- Wally Bryen for his sister and brother
- All our Shut-ins
- The safe return of the kidnapped Nigerian school girls
- All who are incarcerated
- The world’s refugees
- Thanksgiving with Karen Okusu as she graduates from ABSW
- Thanksgiving with Courtney Wusthoff and Daniel Velasquez on the birth of their son Felix (May 9)
- Thanksgiving with Tyrone Mack on Tatiana’s graduation from California State University, East Bay
- Thanksgiving with Karen and me on Ethan’s graduation from California State University, Sonoma
Announcements
In light of the anticipated heat wave the LABC Office will be open only from 9:00 – 12:00 (noon) on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 13 and 14.
The ABSW Commencement Service will be at LABC on Saturday, May 17 at 2:00 p.m..
There will be a Quarterly Meeting of the Congregation following worship this Sunday.
A Friend of LABC is seeking the following assistance. Contact Pastor Jim for more information.
1 Shift:
Friday through Sunday evenings for approximately 1¼ hours to 1½ hours at$11.50/hr. I live in North Oakland near 51st & Telegraph, off of Exit 24, thus using a car for one’s safety would be preferred. Starting hour is 9p.m. Duties involve total personal care including transfer into bed from wheelchair, testing blood sugar, injecting insulin, administering 10-minute breathing treatment with nebulizer, preparing snack, removing clothes for bed, installing bi-pap on my face and turning on oxygen and bi-pap machines, cleaning seat and funnel of wheelchair, administering evening pills, washing of all used in preparation of snack and mouthpiece of breathing machine. Job starts ASAP and includes a night or 2 the week before with my current night-time Health Service Provider. Documentation necessary. I speak Spanish and English.