Skyland Community Church, United Church of Christ, Santa Cruz Mountains, CA

  The flowers appear on the earth;       the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove     is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs,     and the vines are in blossom;     they give forth fragrance. --Song of Solomon 2:12-13     As I write this, it is Holy Week, among the most sacred times in the Christian calendar. This week we have felt the triumph of Jesus arriving in Jerusalem and we will soon feel the pain and suffering of the final days of his life. On Easter Sunday we will roll away the stone closing the tomb and discover once again that Jesus has risen and lives anew.   In these last few days it has been warm enough to sit on my patio and read comfortably, listen to the birds, and watch the antics of the squirrels. This has been a joy but the same time life continues to be odd and difficult as we isolate ourselves to protect ourselves and others.  The ups and downs of Holy Week and Easter fit very well with what we have been experiencing.   After Ea

    The Pastoral Relations Committee of Skyland Church meets regularly with Reverend Melanie. As an advisory group, our goal is to nurture the vital relationship between pastor and congregants. Reverend Melanie values direct communication and strives to be accessible to everyone. We feel blessed to be part of a congregation that communicates with honesty and care. Mary Ellen McTamaney, Jan Parker, John Heyes ____________________________________________________________ Skyland Community Church, United Church of Christ 25100 Skyland Road Los Gatos, CA 95033 phone: 408-353-1310 USPS mail: Skyland Church P.O. Box 245 Los Gatos, CA 95031-0245 Website   skylandchurch.com

  Council Meeting Minutes March 15, 2021   The Church Council met on March 15, 2021, on Zoom with 8 members present. The meeting was called to order by incoming Moderator Leslie Meehan at 10:04am. New and returning Council members were welcomed. The opening prayer given by Rev. Melanie Weiner, and the Behavioral Covenant was read for the group by Gerald Alonzo. Council minutes from the January 2021 Council minutes were reviewed and approved as submitted. The Treasurers report for March, 2021, showed that the surplus continues due primarily to lower expenses and normal revenue. The roofing project is ready to move forward with $50k in funding. The accessible lift project is making progress. Reports from committees were accepted as submitted. New business: The accessible lift project is about 6 to 8 weeks from lift delivery and installation, including an electrical modification.  The finance ministry contact for process and timeline is the Finance Team itself. Missions committee: India d

  Note from your Treasurer for 10 months of our ’20-‘21 fiscal year: Pledge income is $20,684 above budget primarily due to late pledge commitments after our budget was approved. Offerings are also $1,385 above budget. We now have online “Donations” item on our website, “skylandchurch.com”, as a convenient way to support our mission outreach and operations. You may also mail your pledge and other donations to Skyland Community Church P.O. Box 245 Los Gatos, CA 95031-0245 Here is a summary of our operating finances as of March. 28 for our 2020-2021 fiscal year. In addition to this year’s current $32,115 operating surplus we also have last year’s $29,271 surplus. ____________________________________________________________ Skyland Community Church, United Church of Christ 25100 Skyland Road Los Gatos, CA 95033 phone: 408-353-1310 USPS mail: Skyland Church P.O. Box 245 Los Gatos, CA 95031-0245 Website   skylandchurch.com

  Spring brings flowers, warming weather and traditionally, at Skyland, thoughts of stewardship as we prepare for the upcoming church budget.   Stewardship means caring for the things that are provided and in turn caring for others. Throughout the year we practice stewardship by participating in services, volunteering to help when we can and contributing through our pledge commitments. This year has been especially  challenging yet we have  found new ways to be together, to worship, to sing, to break bread .  We have found new ways to serve others, donating money and time, collecting clothing, gathering to care for each other via Zoom, and our Little Free Pantry has grown to a very large free pantry feeding literally hundreds of hungry people.    As you reflect on the year past, consider ways that you can continue your stewardship in terms of the treasures of time, talent, and money. Consider where you are and see if you can take a bigger step forward, being even more generous as we gr

        Making Summit Escape Route Firesafe a Group Project   With fire season again approaching after another year of drought, it is time for mountain dwellers to consider how to protect themselves and their property from damage. But when fires attack their homes, they need an escape route, of which there are two main choices: Summit Road and Soquel San Jose Road. It was lack of a navigable escape route that cased such loss of life in the Paradise fire two years ago. Skyland Church, under the direction of Larry Lopp, has been coordinating local efforts to prepare for fires and keep the escape route along Summit Road open. In fact, Skyland church hosts the local fire safe county roads website on the church’s own website; it may be accessed at  https://skylandchurch.com/fire-safe-county-roads/ .   At the website you will find a wealth of information about the county’s multi-agency approach to fire protection. It also contains a valuable 3-minute video by Al Feuerbach and Anne Evans, wit

    Skyland women and other women friends continue to participate in a series of "Soothing" presentations. We meet for an hour, 7 PM to 8 PM, on Thursday evenings twice a month. We have had amazing presenters and have learned how photographs and memories, dynamo food boards and quick sketches can be soothing practices. We have been grounded in spiritual practice by Rev. Melanie and we are building a caring community with women. It is not too late to join us and we welcome you. On April 8, Paula Leary will present some ideas on music as a soothing practice. On April 22, Nancy Jo Lopp and Shannon Edwards will share movement and exercise practices. We can all use a little soothing...we hope to see you.   Anne Evans, Lesley Louden, Jan Parker and Connected Through Adventures                 Soothingseries@skylandchurch.com ____________________________________________________________ Skyland Community Church, United Church of Christ 25100 Skyland Road Los Gatos, CA 95033 phone: 4

  The Handicap Lift project is underway and is being led by Lou with help from Gerald and Jeremy. Here is a photo of the progress. Completed concrete pad for the Lift. Electrical prep is done. Now awaiting arrival of the lift mechanicals in about 4 weeks. ____________________________________________________________ Skyland Community Church, United Church of Christ 25100 Skyland Road Los Gatos, CA 95033 phone: 408-353-1310 USPS mail: Skyland Church P.O. Box 245 Los Gatos, CA 95031-0245 Website   skylandchurch.com

       Skyland Community Church's Little Free Pantry Little Free Pantry- April 2021 The Little Free Pantry is growing into the Medium Sized Free Pantry as we are now feedling 75 families a week! We have over 20 volunteers sharing the work load seven days a week now.  Thank you, team :) Thanks to San Agustin's Catholic Church in Scotts Valley and Second Harvest of Santa Cruz Count y we get large bags of veggies and boxes of staples as pictured on the bench on Wednesdays midday.  On Thursdays, Grey Bears drops off half bags of different vegetables and bread weekly. How blessed we are to have it brought to us:) On Saturdays we are now working with Hunger at Home in San Jose to receive USDA food box es of protein that include meat, cheese, yogurt, milk, potatoes, and fruit. And, we have new friendships with Peninsula Food Runners who brings us special treats, like candies and snack foods and more for Easter:) If you want to help with pick ups or sorting, we need substitute dri

      I am sure that you have all heard that Santa Cruz County has moved to the Orange Tier on the state's pandemic response system on March 31st. This level is called "Moderate Risk," but it is still not safe for us to meet together in person, especially with some areas now having more cases of the more highly infectious virus type. Last July the Council adopted a policy about reopening saying that we will not host in-person gatherings of any kind, including worship, until a vaccine is available to all. The Council will revisit this policy later this year.  For now we will continue to worship over Zoom and connect with each other in socially distant ways. It isn't perfect, but it is what we have. Let us be grateful for the technology that allows us to gather while we wait for that joyful day when we worship together in person again. Rev. Melanie You can click below for further information: https://covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/ ________________________________________

  Loma Prieta Education Update I grew up off of Aldercroft Road and attended Skyland with my family. When I was lucky enough to move to the mountains with my own family and young children one of the many things, I loved about our community were the schools. Both of my children receive a wonderful education and the teachers at Loma and C.T. have gone above and beyond to show up for our kids during these trying times.   With Measure N not passing the school is facing  over a $650,000  shortfall.  The district has already notified teachers of cuts to their hours and to their programs for the 21/22 school year.  Many programs and positions will be impacted and fundraising will go towards counseling,  middle school electives, library and education technology specialists.  LPEF is reaching out to all members of our community - as part of our KEEP! Campaign, asking our community to consider making a donation to help bridge the funding gap.  L oma Public Education Fund (LPEF) is a nonprofit or

  Skyland Community Church, United Church of Christ 25100 Skyland Road Los Gatos, CA 95033 phone: 408-353-1310 USPS mail: Skyland Church P.O. Box 245 Los Gatos, CA 95031-0245 Website   skylandchurch.com