March @ Amistad

Greetings Amistad!

Here's a tentative schedule of themes for our Friday evening/Sunday afternoon Agape Meal gatherings in March. Check the website for updates.

Friday, March 5 – we’ll play "Feed My Sheep", a One Great Hour of Sharing game to familiarize ourselves with the many worldwide relief and development projects supported by this Lenten offering of the United Church of Christ.

Friday, March 12 – at Terry's home in Fairfield for her signature corned beef 'n cabbage with Irish soda bread. Vegetarian version available! Table talk will center on Celtic Spirituality. Call or email me if you'd like to carpool into Fairfield. (And see below for the "Celtic Mystery St. Patrick's Day" event in Vacaville!)

Friday, March 19 -- some will be going into Sacramento for the Totally Inappropriate performance of comic Suzanne Westenhoefer. (That's the name of the show, not my judgment about its content!) The rest of us are invited to a showing of the movie Food, Inc. at the Unity Church on North Orchard at 7:00 p.m. (Eat before you come.) Let me know what you'd like to do!

Sunday, March 28 – for the next 3 months (March, April, May) we'll try something we've talked about but never done -- meet late Sunday afternoon on the Sunday after the last Friday (instead of the last Friday.) This month it will be Sunday, March 28 from 5 - 7 p.m. Meet here at our home for the familiar Agape Meal with communion and prayer, and we'll try to get Norm to join us for a simple memorial for B.J.

Some other March opportunities:

How's your French?? (Frances, this one's for you!) In the latest email I received from Mr. Patrice Piard (Haitian artist whose wonderful painting is featured with permission on our website) he refers to a statue in Port-au-Prince which was the inspiration for his painting. I found a photo of it with a description in French!! I copied the photo, the French text and a clumsy Babel Fish translation onto our website: www.amistad-vacaville.org/ppiard.htm.
But it would be wonderful to have a better translation. Any volunteers??
While having coffee at Green Beans this morning, I discovered a lovely glossy postcard advertising "Celtic Mystery: A St. Patrick's Day Event" at 7:00 p.m. on March 17 at the Vacaville Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $15. A little googling and I discovered that this event is put on by "Three Heavens" which is a new-age spiritual incarnation of "The Mission" nee "Vaca Valley Christian Life Center". (Confused? Me too...) "This St. Patrick's Day immerse yourself in magic and mystery. Experience the land St. Patrick transformed. A magical evening of Celtic music, art, food, original stories and more." Anyway, I have some of the postcards here if anyone is interested.
We've already been busy packing our semi-annual "Balikbayan Box" for the Bingtans' Cebu Rural Christian Ministry in the Philippines. This one is our "Back to School" box with food (rice & canned meats) plus school supplies and children's backpacks for the new school year which begins in June. There's still room for additional donations. We'll ship the box right after Easter.
And during March we will have available (in addition to our regular offering basket) a donation box for the One Great Hour of Sharing, our annual UCC denomination-wide offering for global development, disaster relief and refugee assistance.
We'll also continue to accept toiletries, toothbrushes and toothpaste, diapers, and feminine hygiene supplies for clients at the St. Paul’s Outreach Food Pantry here in Vacaville.

Now, I know that's a LOT of mission opportunities! We have never expected everyone to contribute to everything, so if there is a special offering that appeals to you, please support it and don't feel obligated to support the others. (That's what I do!) But a variety of opportunities helps to raise our awareness about the needs of our own community as well as the global community, and gives us a choice of how to contribute.

Blessings, hope and health to all --

Marian