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

Are you looking for a soothing evening with friends? You are just in time to participate in the last two sessions of Skyland's Soothing Series for Women. Our own Ann Baier will be sharing ideas about gardening on Thursday, May 6, 7:00. "I’ve been thinking of weeding and pruning as I’ve been doing that, and how symbolic that is for tending a life as well as a garden. Preparing for planting, adding organic matter to feed the soil. Mulch to protect…resilience." I can't wait to hear more about Ann's garden wisdom... Lesley's dear friend, Aubri Parker, will be joining us for our very last session on May 20 to give us an emotional, mental, and spiritual vision of our collective and individual brilliance. Aubri is a body intuitive and Quantum Human Design practitioner and she will give us a greater alignment with our divine purpose that sends us on our way, wrapped in love and gratitude.   Speaking for myself, I have so appreciated these sessions. They have offered a

  Council meeting report for April 19: Church Council was opened in prayer by Rev. Melanie. The March Minutes were approved. Gerald Alonzo gave the Treasurer’s report of activity of the current budget. We continue to be over the projected numbers for income for the year and under budgeted expenses.   Rev. Melanie presented Minister’s Report which included beginning conversations now about hybrid Worship Service for the summer. Such services would be in-person and on-site, probably in the parking lot, as well as on Zoom. There will be future conversations with the Council regarding opening Whitaker Hall for meetings, exercise class, meals, movies etc. with the community. Melanie and the Council are considering gathering a Faith Formation team to plan possible congregational and community activities, as well as a Vision and Assessment Team.   Finance Team: Brian Wood presented eGiving to date via website. The Vanco donation buttons on the Church website are available and begi

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21 This is that most wonderful season of the church year.  No, I speak not of Easter, though that is also a wonderful season.  I speak of stewardship season.  The Church has always thrived on the generous sharing of gifts.  From the people who fed and housed Jesus and his disciples as they traversed the countryside to the lending of a donkey to ride into Jerusalem and a room for their Passover feast to the gift of nard to anoint Jesus' feet to even the lending of a tomb for Jesus' body to be laid through the sabbath, the generosity of Jesus' followers is what enabled his ministry. Two thousand years later, this same generosity enables our ministry in Jesus' name.  In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminded his people, reminded us all, that we are willing to invest in what we value and what we invest in we come to value even more. A church budget, and a personal budget, is a statement of values, of what is

  Food Pantry Stories from those who we serve Many families on the mountain have workers who drive long distances from Watsonville, Salinas or even Seaside to work on the properties of Los Gatos mountain residents. The long commutes and long hours do not allow these workers to spend much time shopping for food or seeing their families.  The Little Food Pantry is now serving many of these workers who often carpool together due to lack of transportation.  They are so thankful.  This is the photo of one appreciative worker who helped weed whack the church today as a thank you for his weekly food donations. What a nice place to make new friends. We are feeding 44 apartments of strawberry pickers too.  Each week we get lovely boxes of strawberries to share with our volunteers too.  What a treat! If you are interested in volunteering, practicing your Spanish or being a substitute food delivery person or food pantry volunteer, please reach out to:  Shannonedwards14@gmail.com It feels good and

  Note from your Treasurer for 11 months of our ’20-‘21 fiscal year: Pledge income is $25,266 above budget primarily due to late pledge commitments after our budget was approved. Offerings are also $1,741 above budget. Thanks to our generous Mission support for our conference, $2,780 has been sent to NCNC-UCC to support One Great Hour of Sharing.   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 April 28 for our 2020-2021 fiscal year . In addition to this year’s current $28,553 operating surplus we also have last year’s $29,271 surplus . Gerald Alonzo, Treasurer ____________________________________________________________ Skyland Community Church, United Church of Christ 25100 Skyland Road Los Gatos, CA 95033 phone: 408-353-1310

  The lift is operational and is awaiting final inspection by the county. Many Thanks to Lou McTamaney for all the photos of the construction and installation.  ____________________________________________________________ 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