Spotlight
“Foster Parents’ Night of Respite” Saturday, October 3, 2009, 4:30-9:30 p.mIn partnership with Help One Child, a local ministry to foster and foster-adopt families, ODCMV will provide a fun evening for foster children on our campus so their parents can have a night of respite. This is wonderful way to make a difference for families who are dedicated to serving foster children in our community.
You can volunteer for the evening or for just a portion of it. Some of the volunteer positions only require an hour and half of time (such as the set-up, registration, and clean-up tasks). Here's a list of the volunteer positions that are available:
- Registration check in for the parents and the volunteers
- Help the children with crafts (Project instructions and materials will be provided)
- Play games with the children
- Serve dinner to the children and the volunteers
- Help with clean-up
Men's Purity Conference - Saturday October 10, 2009 - 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Men Pursuing Purity invites you to a one-day conference, a rallying cry for healing and freedom from sexual addiction, for all men who struggle to remain pure in our sexually broken culture. Join us as we draw near to God to learn not only His will for our lives as men, but His grace when we cry out for mercy. Led by Peter Kockelman, we'll be challenged to see our sexuality according to God's design, and learn strategies for holy living. Together we will seek to lean not upon own efforts but upon His power to transform us into the men He has created us to be. Registration: $30. Register Online: http://mppc.ccbchurch.com/app/w_form_response.php?form_id=604. Contact Peter Kockelman, 650.224.3886, pkockelman@summitsteelworks.com.
Food and Clothing Drive for the Salvation Army - Sundays in September
The Service Outreach team would like to invite you to participate as we join First Presbyterian Church in collecting food and children's clothing for the Salvation Army. While we are all feeling the pinch of the economic downturn, the agencies which serve the neediest among us are trying to meet significantly higher demands with equally diminishing resources. You are invited to help by donating nonperishable food and/or children’s clothing at the ODCMV campus during the month of September. Please bring donations to the bin in Fellowship Hall located near the entrance. Questions? Contact Jennie Bader, jsbader@sbcglobal.net.
Castro Bookshelf Project - Saturday, October 24, 2009 - 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Join the planning team! Your help is needed for our upcoming "Bookshelf in Every Home" project. Join ODCMV in partnership with Reach Potential to help low income Kindergarten students at Castro Elementary School learn to read and love reading for a lifetime by providing them with their own bookshelf and books. Join us Saturday, October 24 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Castro to assist children in decorating their own bookshelf or support a workshop for their parents on how to help the children read. Our current need is for volunteers to lead a supporting team or join the planning team. To sign up today, contact Trina Weller at kweller@sbcglobal.net.
Castro Book Drive - Sundays, through October 18
In conjunction with the “Bookshelf for Every Child” project, we will be collecting gently used and new kindergarten and first grade books. The goal is to get enough books to fill the 40 bookshelves that we will provide and decorate with the children on October 24! Look for the green donation tub in the back of fellowship hall on Sundays through October 18. Questions? Contact Trina Weller at kweller@sbcglobal.net.
Mountain View Campus Happenings
Dinners for 8 happen when eight (or so) people gather in a home for an informal dinner and evening together. Everyone brings something to share, freeing the host to focus less on the meal and more fully on enjoying this great time to get to know others in our congregation! Right now we're looking for hosts willing to open their home one evening between mid-October and mid-November. If you'd like to provide one of the tables where others can gather, please contact Kimberley Moran, 650.968.3606, itsmek2m@sbcglobal.net, with 3 dates that would work for you.
Mothers Together Mountain View - Thursdays 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Mothers Together is a unique community. We come together to receive support, to learn, and to grow. At Mothers Together, we believe deeply in the importance of relating to you as God's beloved daughter - the foundation of who you are. Each month, September through May, we will spend time together in small groups as well as in one large group in Fellowship Hall at Open Door Church Mountain View.
Small Group Bible Study1st, 2nd and 3rd Thursdays of each month. Each meeting will include teaching, small group discussion, and time for intentional connection and prayer. Join us in October and November as we study the book, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, by Joanna Weaver. The book will be available for purchase but is not required to participate.
All Togethers
4th and 5th Thursdays of each month. These mornings include guest speakers as well as time for fellowship and discussions with other moms on topics of faith, motherhood, and personal growth.
The Children's Program, which is supported by the church and through donations, welcomes children from 3 months through Kindergarten. Infants are welcome to stay with mom.
Our prayer is for Mothers Together to be hallowed ground - a place during the week where there are no barriers to receiving and feeling God's love and grace ... AND the love and grace from each other. Please come as you are - no matter what stage you're in. We look forward to welcoming you and to hearing how God is working in your life.
For questions, contact Lynn Duisenberg, lynn@duisenberg.com or Angelyn Knab, aknab@mppc.org.
Operation Christmas Child Collection, Sundays, November 15 and 22
By taking an ordinary shoe box and filling it with toys and other presents, you have a special gift for a child in need of joy and hope. The boxes are distributed all over the world in areas of poverty, war, disease, and natural disaster. To join us in this effort, please do the following:
- Pack a shoe box with practical and fun gifts that a child would enjoy.
- Designate on the outside of the box whether the gifts would be most appropriate for a boy or girl.
- Bring the box on one of the collection dates - Sunday, November 15 or Sunday, November 22.
This is a great project to do with your family, small groups, or individually! If you have questions or would like to learn more, contact June Darmanian, 650-960-3601, darmanian@earthlink.net.
Children’s Choir
Children’s Choir
Join us this Fall for ODCMV’s newly formed Children’s Choir starting October 15. This choir is for children in K-5th grades and will practice on Thursdays. To find out more about specific practice dates, times, and description of the choir, contact Jane Liddle, jliddle@mppc.org. We are really looking forward to this!Avodah Launch for Fall
Do you have an interest in choral singing? Do you wish we did a bit more of that? Avodah, ODCMV’s choral ensemble, under the direction of Denise Collins, will be starting up again soon. Join us for Thursday rehearsals and performances this Fall. Please contact Denise Collins, niecyann@gmail.com or Jane Liddle, jliddle@mppc.org. We are looking forward to hearing YOU!
Holiday Gift Fair - November 14-15 - Kickoff Meeting Sunday, October 4
We will host our second annual holiday gift fair November 14 and 15 in partnership with Trade as One, an organization that sells beautiful handmade items made by women and men in developing countries. Join us Sunday, October 4, from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. for our kickoff meeting. We will meet at Kathy's house - 1106 Sussex Square, Mountain View, 94040. Volunteers will choose which planning team they would like to join. For more information, please contact Kathy Fisher, kathyfisher1106@sbcglobal.net or Michelle Leavitt, michelle_leavitt@msn.com.
Service Outreach Team Lunch - Sunday, September 27, 12:00-1:30 p.m.
Join us after services to celebrate and learn more about how we can continue the work God began last year through local ministry projects and Compassion Weekend. You'll learn about opportunities to continue our serving partnerships with Help One Child, Castro School, Trade as One, Green Pastures, Jeremiah’s Promise, Operation Christmas Child, and others. Discover ways you can be involved individually, as a Small Group or as a family. This informational meeting, along with a light lunch, will be held in the Fireside Room (toward the back of Fellowship Hall) in Mountain View from 12:00-1:30 p.m. on September 27. All are welcome! RSVP for lunch to Michelle Leavitt, 408.264.6294, michelle_leavitt@msn.com or Bonnie Clark, bonnclark@yahoo.com.
Want to give handbells a try? First Presbyterian Church of Mountain View's bell choir, "Son Ringers", has several openings to fill and they're extending an invitation to those at Open Door Church Mountain View who would like to be a part of their exciting and fun ministry. Rehearsals are on Thursdays at 6:00-7:15 p.m. They play for the FPC service about once a month and also have been involved in the Cupertino Spring Ring annually. If you're interested, please contact Larry Sue, 408.499.9915, larry@choraegus.com.
