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

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. --Psalm 118:24 A few days ago a woman came to the food pantry and received food for her family.  She was overcome with gratitude, so thankful that she asked for paper and pen to write a note. She wrote one to say thank you and that we will be in her family's prayers and another to ask for prayer for a  member of her family.  In her time of great need, a time in which she doesn't have enough to eat and she has serious concerns for a family member with cancer, her response was gratitude. The composer of Psalm 118 writes about being completely surrounded by enemies buzzing like bees, poking like thorns, and yet there is time for gratitude to God.  There is time to rejoice that today has come. When we are surrounded by difficulty, fear, pain, and tragedy, it would be easy to retreat into ourselves and to throw our hands in the air and give up, let us try to do as the psalmist does and as our pantry client doe

  On October 3 and 10 we will take a special offering for  Neighbors   in   Need , one of the four special offerings of the United Church of Christ.  Money given for  Neighbors   in   Need  supports ministries of compassion and justice within the United States. One third goes to the Council for American Indian Ministry and two thirds to compassionate ministries throughout the US. You may contribute to  Neighbors   in   Need  by the same methods as you contribute to the church and noting  Neighbors   in   Need  on the contribution or you can donate thru our secure online eGiving platform here . Please give generously to support these important ministries. -- Rev. Melanie Weiner __________________________________________________________ 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 Council Minutes September 20, 2021 Meeting called to order at 8:37 a.m. with 7 members present. Opening prayer was given by Rev. Patricia Wood. Covenant was read by Randy McCalla Council minutes from August 16 were presented and it was moved and seconded to approve as submitted. Approved unanimously. Treasurer’s report: ·       Receipts were a little above plan and expenses were a little below plan. ·       The Missions budget section is still being revised from the older format and discrepancies are being resolved. ·       Discussion was held re. keeping track of contributions, expenditures and other activities for the food pantry so that we can be aware of what it would take to replace the activity if the supplying agencies or contributors were to change their donations. Moved, seconded, and unanimously approved to do so. Old business: no topics. New business: No questions on minister’s report or other business. ·       COVID 19 guidelines: o    Backup people

  Note from your Treasurer for first three months of our ’21-‘22 fiscal year. Pledge income is $470 above budget. Offerings are $1,388 above budget. Expenses are $1,439 below 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 Sept. 27 for our 2021-2022 fiscal year. Gerald Alonzo, Treasurer   ___________________________________________________________ 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 Food Pantry Potatoes, onions, cabbage, cauliflower, apples?  Some foods are always available as Food Distribution sites and we often get an overabundance of these items. We hope that you can help us spread the word that the pantry is like a good neighbor who you can borrow food from.  "Give what you can, take what you need" Is our philosophy; this pantry serves ALL on the mountain and we are happy to be of service with 5 deliveries a week and 20 volunteers a week keeping the shelves full.  Thank you!  Finding those special foods that give joy to the 50-100 or so families who use our pantry is always a challenge since things change every week.  Sometimes we get pastries, cookies and cakes and these things go quickly.  Meat, milk, eggs, yogurt and cheese go so quickly too.  The lovely unusual veggies sometimes take longer to leave the frigs and we have added an "animal" scraps box to the pantry now.  Rabbits, chickens, horses and more ar

  The article below was in the Sept 4th issue of the Mountain Bible Weekly Newsletter. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Mountain Bible Weekly Newsletter   September 04, 2021 https://mailchi.mp/8e19448248cb/mbc-womens-potluck-14805614?e=f88a572b0f MOUNTAIN FOOD-SHARING Skyland Church  has been a great partner in the effort to provide food to those who need assistance in our community. They have a 24/7 pantry that is available to locals while also serving folks who work in the mountains but live somewhere else. They even reach 40 strawberry pickers from Watsonville in winter!  West Valley Community Services is a supplier of their goods, just like for us, in addition to a network of donors. When they have surplus food, which is often, the Skyland food team led by  Shannon Edwards  shares this with us. The food is passed on to beneficiaries of the Thursday community food pantry which we host, as well as to our congregation on Sundays. Likewise, MBC shares food that we ha