News

My beloved Mt. Tam Church,

Lately, I have found that I’m receiving great joy from some of the smallest and seemingly mundane events in life. It’s the regularly scheduled events to which I am looking forward to, anticipating pleasure and fun is what leads to joy. Since these are recurrent events, that’s a consistent influx of joy. How wonderful is that?

Here are some of those “joy infusions:”
September 29: A fifth Sunday which offers us Intergenerational Worship, where the children and youth stay in church and worship is focused on all of us being children of God.  These Sundays are always more casual and free—and every time, I find that the children are truly leading in the Spirit. 

October 6: You never know who’s going to show up and what shenanigans will happen at the Blessing of the Animals after worship. This is a great Sunday to invite friends with their pets and animals to join in this practice in the tradition of St. Francis of Assisi. After worship in the front of the sanctuary….all those wagging tails are a guarantee to help you wag your tail too!

October 20: What else need I say: Pastor Dave Slorpe! I love this man—as do you—and when he preaches (opening up our Stewardship Season of “Treasure”), I feel the Spirit moving and joy come rushing in!

And believe it or not, it brings me joy to start teaching the book of Job in the Sunday morning Bible study! Job is the Bible’s message of hope in the real world of human pain and suffering. 

First and third Sundays of the month—in October, October 6 and 20. 9 a.m. in the Lounge. Coffee guaranteed. I love to delve deeply into these rich and powerful texts of Biblical tradition and wisdom. You don’t need to be a Bible expert or student or even own a Bible to come! Just come!

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin has observed that “Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.” With all these occasions that bring joy, the presence of God is with us!

Peace,

Pastor Kim

My beloved Mt. Tam Church,

Coming back from sabbatical has been both a fast-paced and slow process. Fast-paced due to catching up for being away for three months and slow in that I believe my brain remains on partial sabbatical! Thank you for the grace and welcome you have shown upon my return.

In worship this month we’re focusing on our names as well as the images of God and how and why that matters. I was surprised with the impact the first sermon had. Many people told me that this is something that they think about and wrestle with, bringing the conversation into worship is something they have wanted to do. Those are words of grace!

So I look forward to this Sunday to talk about how we address God Personally and in worship, specifically the language of the Lord’s Prayer. For me, how a congregation addresses God in corporate worship is a congregational decision, not the pastor’s.  For worship, it is OUR work, not just mine alone. So come to hear a very moving and powerful story about how one congregation dealt what seemed to be a huge obstacle of theological and spiritual divisions, how they came together to work around this subject. I believe you will be moved. We will be moved, together. That’s the church version of the Hokey-Pokey: together, cuz that’s what it’s all about.

Peace,

Pastor Kim

My beloved Mt. Tam Church,

When you think of God, how do you view or picture God?

I’m of the belief that how you view or experience God really matters. It matters because it determines what kind of relationship you have or can have with God: how you communicate with God and how you experience God working (or not) in your life and in the world. Many of us grew up with the “big old white guy in the sky” image of God, a Father who could be kind or generous but was also vengeful, judgmental, all-powerful, and punishing. Even as a child, I questioned that image because it didn’t line up with the benevolent Jesus pictured as a calm-faced shepherd holding a baby lamb pictured in my Sunday school room.

As I grew in faith, so has my image of God. And I’m sure that’s true for you as well. How we picture God and the language we use about God matters….that’s what I want to talk about the next few weeks in worship. So here’s a little homework: when you picture God, who or what do you see or experience? Bring that answer to worship this Sunday and we’ll engage together in an exploration of how we see God and why it matters.

Peace,

Pastor Kim

My beloved Mt. Tam Church,
It has been a time of connections, a summer of new relationships and renewal of associations from the past that now have new life. In this time away from church and work, I have deepened my appreciation for the connections that make up my life, my family’s lives together and my communities—and primary among those is you, the congregation God is calling me to serve.
You may hear me talk about connections a lot in the next few months. And not at all because the United Methodist Church is a “connectional system,” in the tradition of John Wesley. I’m focusing on the connections that give our lives meaning and purpose, because, at the end of the day, it’s really all we have—God giving us a deep connections with our true selves as God’s beloved child, God giving us connections with others through family, marriage, partnership, parenting, friendship, and work and God giving us the joy and responsibility of being God’s community in Christ. Yes, joy and responsibility….that’s the connection that binds us together as a congregation. Frederick Beuchner has written that: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” What is your deep gladness? What is the world’s deep hunger? Where do you—do we—fit in that connection? Do you feel that calling?
I’m grateful beyond words for this spiritual renewal time. All I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you! It has definitely been a time of restoration and revitalization. I can’t wait for Sunday morning—see you in church!
Peace,

Pastor Kim

Greetings,
Saint Paul is good at ending the many letters he wrote to churches, so I flipped open my Bible and read them this week for inspiration. What I found, to my astonishment, is that the word grace appears in every final paragraph of Paul’s letters. “ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you,” he told the church in Corinth. And to the Ephesians, he said, “Grace be with all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.”  To another church, he said, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” And even in the short note, he sent to Titus he concludes, “ grace be with you all.” I could not have said it better than that!
If at any point in your life you are feeling blue, scan through these last words at the end of every epistle.  You’ll end up breathing more deeply, standing a little taller, and be reminded that God’s love and acceptance are all around us. This grace is poured out in good times and in bad. Paul’s congregations had fights over polity and procedures. They were challenged by preaching the gospel to an unaccepting culture. And yet, in the end, they believed in God’s grace and offered it to others.
I feel great joy about my time with you this summer! In worship and study and play, you have been gracious toward me as a stranger (and sometimes provocateur) in your midst. I’m thankful that my colleague and friend Rev. Kim trusted me to do this work, and that we both had a sense that the holy spirit was working to make this happen. My husband, Mick, said that this has been his favorite summer, ever! It’s been his first experience as a pastor’s spouse and you have made it wonderful for him. How will we manage the sunrise without a gorgeous view of Richardson Bay? Our thanks overflow toward Winnie and Eike who shared their home with us for two full months. 
We soon head back to Oregon with thankful hearts, and we will carry you in our prayers and send you love from up north. Sunday after church, a parishioner told me that what she’d be remembering about my preaching here at Mt. Tamalpais summed up in my sentence, “Jesus always lands on the side of grace.” If this is my legacy, I am well pleased.
As Paul states, repeatedly, “grace be with you all.” And the bible footnote that follows this line says, “ancient authorities add, amen.” Amen, indeed.  

Pastor Karen

On April 14, our worship service will be involved in the creation of a documentary about the recently passed federal legislation on prison reform–our own Jessica Sloan has been one of the primary movers of that legislation and she will be part of a documentary being filmed about the movement and success of getting bi-partisan support and approval for this critical justice issue.

Because Jessica’s foundation for her justice work includes her Christian faith and the Methodist emphasis on social justice, our worship service will be filmed to illustrate this part of her involvement. if you do not want to be part of the filming, there will be a designated seating area that the cameras will avoid and of course, we will work to minimize the filming of children.

If the documentary producers want to use film footage that involves any images of children that are identifiable, that film will only be used with parental permission. This is just a heads-up–Pastor Kim has had experience with worship services being filmed and has found it to be a great part of being in worship together. Please let Pastor Kim know if you have any questions.