April  2023

Dear Friends,

important spiritual celebrations that occur in April this year. It is not unusual for world religions and spiritual teachings to celebrate newness, new life, service, gratefulness, light over dark, that coincide with the earth’s season of new birth. The butterflies, the chicks bursting from eggs, the transformation of the light over darkness that this rotation of the earth brings... these are all examples of the cycles of life that bring us joy.

Our faith however is not cyclical – our faith tells us that the love of God in Christ is available to us every day. The love God has for us is unimaginable. Un-imaginable because however great we think God’s love is for us, it’s even more. We have access to that love any day, no matter the calendar day or season. During those times when the world’s darkness is large, remember that God’s light will overcome it. During those times when our personal darkness threatens to overcome us, remember that God’s love will overcome that too.

God has been working in the life of this beautiful Bethany church that we get to share. Every time we have been able to gather for a fun event or a work event, the spirit present

in the laughter of games and puzzles, the sneezing of the work

dust, the taste of the glorious food, has been God’s spirit lifting

this community. May God bless the sustaining love and praise

found in the voices and hearts that enter this place.

You are safe. You are loved. You are full of the grace of God.

And Go Giants.

As always, let’s talk.

Blessings, Pastor Deb     

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January  2023

I'm sure that many of us have learned never to underestimate small things.  I had a friend in 2nd grade named Donny Donato.  He was the shortest kid in class, and people used to try to make fun of him, but he took it all in stride. He was quite loveable. Kids would race him out on the playground.  He always won, much to the surprise of the other kids.  I mean always.  Not just against the slower kids.  People went out of their way to ask him to race.  Sometimes, he would wait to start until after a few seconds to give the other person a head start.  Sometimes, he'd jog in place, or run in small circles somewhere in the middle of the race, because he knew he was going to win!  The kids that tried to make fun of him, really got a kick out of it.  Never underestimate the little guy.

What will come our way in 2023?  I'm not sure, but I know that we can expect great

things.  (By the way, if you google images of “Great expectations” all you get is

pages and pages of covers of books!)  I hope that in 2023 we will take on the

perspective that people who come to Bethany have something great that we want.

It's not just us who are great and warmly invite anyone to come be a part of us.  

That stranger out there?  Come on in – we are joyfully waiting to learn about you.  

We are small, but Bethany has always punched above its weight.  That's part of

our charm.  We take care of each other, we see each other, and we share a love of

faith in Christ. Along with inviting people from the outside in, we need to go outside

and see what's waiting for us.

Bless you all as we venture together some more!

As always, let's talk.

Blessings, Pastor Deb

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Happy New Year everyone!

I'm not a fan of bugs, but I love this image and the concept of tiny ants being able work beyond their pay grade.  I had to google it:  “Ants are super-strong on a small scale because their bodies are so light. Inside their hard exoskeletons, their muscles don't have to provide much support, so they are free to apply all their strength to lifting other objects. Humans, in contrast, carry comparatively heavy loads due to our body weight.”  (Read the study here)

February 2023

If I were good at making logos, this would be my logo for Bethany for 2023. Unfortunately, I’m not good at making them so I’ll just have to stick with the words alone.

Lead with Love has to do with the feeling you get after a conversation, when the person reveals a little more about what was on their mind. Their family struggles, their past experience with the subject matter, their current mindset, maybe a trigger point in the conversation, a vulnerability. I find myself saying, “Oh, I didn’t know that.” I try to be ready to be incorrect or redirected from any assumptions I also had before the conversation. That new feeling of understanding either makes me back off of my intensity, or my worry or frustration, or change directions completely. That new feeling of understanding is what I’m calling love. Instead of ending a discussion with this new discovery, begin the discussion – open with the assumption – that each person brings something to the table that we don’t know about or understand. Leading with love means, pretend you already know that there are things you don’t know. Pretend you come to the conversation with that feeling of understanding already in place and see if you notice your conversations changing.

Leading with Grace has to do with the same sort of thing, but it is harder. Leading with grace most often needs to happen when we know the discussion will be difficult. Difficult conversations have to happen. We all know how it works when we avoid engaging things we really need to get to. Then, when we finally do decide to engage the subject, we start out with an attitude of defensiveness, fear masked as anger, already prepped and ready to fight. This makes perfect sense because we want to understand more, we need to protect ourselves and our interests. Often, after the difficult part is over we discover that the picture was bigger than we thought; the responsible party wasn’t who or what we thought; the solution was exactly what we wanted but took longer. We learn more after the fact that, had we known earlier, we would not have acted or worried or said as we had. This is Grace. Leading with Grace means, pretend you already know that there are things that you don’t know. Pretend you come to the conversation maybe a little guarded, but not with fists raised. Pretend there is an option for a good outcome. Allow yourself that hope.

There is nothing Pollyanna about this kind of leading. I am not pretending that outcomes will all be good, disaster will always be avoided. But with just a moment of awareness of the other, before we engage, some hurt or offense might be avoided.

Christ calls us to community and that means relationships. With strong relationships as a foundation, we can reach the heavens!

As always, let’s talk.

Blessings, Pastor Deb

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March 2023

Dear friends,

chancel and added two more candlesticks to the table. We had about six or seven chairs around the candles. From where we sat, the candle light lit our starry ceiling with a beautiful unexpected sparkle.

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At our Ash Wednesday service, we created jazz. Jazz takes the straight, expected path and improvises insuch a beautiful way that an even better sound emerges. Without electricity at church, our planned service was not going to be possible. We improvised ourselves into a beautiful intimate time of prayer and song and silence and candles and ashes. We set up the Christ candle surrounded by lots of tea candles on a few tv trays near the entrance to the sanctuary, so that people who entered weren’t forced to navigate the chairs in the dark and find their way to the front. We brought down one of the candelabras from the

In a weekly essay in the webzine “Journey with Jesus” Dan Clendenin writes, “I love Lent. It reminds me that I don't need to be stuck in old ways of thinking and acting. Renewal is possible. I can wipe the mud off my glasses. Hit the reset button. I don't need to wait for old age to magically impart a new perspective on what matters most and why.” He continues, “In a culture that glorifies excess and indulgence, hubris and bravado, Wednesday's ashes signify an outrageously counter-cultural act of humility. Lent is the most brutally realistic liturgical season of the year — it's a time when we tell the truth about ourselves, our brokenness, our mortality, and nevertheless trust in God's redemptive love. We celebrate the gift of life with all its blessings and sorrows.”

By the time our next newsletter comes to you, we will be nearing the excitement and glory of the upcoming Easter celebration. Until then, how will you use this 40 day journey you have been given? What will accompany you? Upon what foundation will you rest? What truth will you tell about yourself?

You are safe. You are loved. You are full of the grace of God. As always, let’s talk.

Blessings, Pastor Deb

I have to be honest, as a pastor and a Giants fan, it was really tough for me to decide whether to lead with Christ is Risen, or Go Giants! The Giants’ home opener is on Good Friday. What a thing to do to your emotions in one day – reflect on the worst day in Jesus’ life followed by opening day baseball. It makes my brain spin to imagine that juxtaposition. I did not grow up a big baseball fan, nor did I grow up in the church. It just proves to me that God can turn one’s life around in so many ways.

Easter (Christian), Passover (Jewish), Ramadan (Muslim), Vesak Day (Buddhist), Vaisakhi (Sikh) are all

May  2023

Dear Friends,

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Lately more and

more institutions, schools, organizations have been trying

to make the conversation around mental health possible.

Knowing that the barrier to conversation is often fear and

ignorance, awareness and education have become strong

tools in this effort. During interviews with SF Giants players

after the games this season I have seen players wearing

t-shirts that say, “Strength isn’t always physical” with the tag #endthestigma. Often when public personalities tell the stories about their struggles the rest of us gain more courage. The hope is that others will get the help they need before it is too late.

and organizations like baseball teams are able to put otherwise taboo subjects in front of us and normalize a difficult conversation. South San Francisco is having two opportunities to learn Mental Health First Aid (see the flyer on Deb’s door). In the language of faith, Drew Robinson’s story and that of many others who have fought to have a second chance at life, have experienced resurrection. Using that resurrection to help others have a second chance is like what we do as

the Church. During this season of Easter let’s do what we can to spread resurrection!

And now that Patio Season has begun,

As always, let’s talk.

Blessings, Pastor Deb

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June 2023

Dear friends,

The first time I drove to San Francisco was in 1984, with someone who was fleeing a dangerous situation in Chicago. We were very nervous, wondering if this was the right thing to do.  The plan was for both of us to drive and for me to return to college in Chicago. We drove straight through – only got out of the car twice – and drove across the bay bridge into San Francisco just 48 hours after starting our drive The anxiety was real.

Somewhere across the long and lonely highway through Nebraska (where, we decided, no people actually lived) we saw what I call a floor-to-ceiling rainbow. There was no mistaking this glorious sign spreading as far as the highway was wide, from beginning to end. We felt much better after this sign, my driving partner taking it to mean that God was giving approval for the big move Years later, when I moved to San Francisco the first time in 1991, my best friend and I put what we could into my 1989 Toyota Corolla and set out from Chicago (again) to San Francisco. She had heard the story about the rainbow on the highway and how it brought great relief to a fraught situation. She and I travelled different highways to cross the country than I had travelled earlier. Imagine our joy and thoughts of serendipity when we saw a floor-to-ceiling rainbow of our own!

Within a month or so, as I made a few friends, someone invited me to the Zucchini Festival in Hayward. Hey, wow! We didn’t have those in Chicago! While there I picked up a really nice small wooden arc with long silky strands in the colors of a rainbow – to remind me of both of my adventures with floor-to-ceiling assurances. My new friends kind of giggled as I exclaimed my delight about this rainbow wind piece. They snickered as they explained to this Bay Area newbie, what the rainbow "really” meant.

I was a little upset at that. Rainbows mean lots of things to lots of different people, why did they tell me about this “real” meaning and ruin my own personal claim on my rainbows?

Genesis 9:13 says, “13I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”

Of course, I did not have to trade in my rainbow for the rainbow symbolism taken by the Queer community to represent the love God has for all of God’s people, including the gay community who was reeling from the epidemic of AIDS particularly in the San Francisco area. I can have both. The symbolism of the love God has for all people, is especially needed for a community that has consistently been rejected by, hurt by, forced to change by, and vilified by the Church. How perfect. Bethany has a rainbow flag flying on its flagpole to represent our acceptance and affirmation of the real living children of God who identify as part of the Queer community.

Bethany will join with all who celebrate Pride month this June! We invite you to wear any rainbow configuration that you’d like, all month, to show your support for the richness and gifts of all the people of God.

Don’t forget, Patio Season has begun, so let’s talk,

Pastor Deb

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July 2023

Hello friends,

I have a friend who has birthday parties for her kids on their half-birthday, because their actual birthdays occur during particularly busy times of the year. In other words, in addition to recognizing the birthday on the day, they also have a celebration at say 10 1⁄2 or 12 1⁄2 yrs old. It’s a fun way to have a celebration at a time of year when there isn’t a lot of distraction in their family’s life. I think of how much fun it must be to be them, thinking outside of the box, being creative about having fun, mixing things up.

How about if we do that? Here we are, jumping off into the second half of 2023 already! What would you celebrate from the past six months? What are you looking forward to for the next six months?

I love the poetry of Mary Oliver because she is always inviting us to look, notice, examine and examen. In her poem entitled “Invitation” she invites us to linger a while.

As you reflect on your blessings from God, as well as what you desire from God, know that God desires for you, all good things. Jeremiah 29:11 says “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”

How will you linger today?

Don’t forget, Patio Season has begun, so let’s talk,

Pastor Deb

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“Invitation” by Mary Oliver

Oh do you have time, to linger, for just a little while,

out of your busy and very important day;

for the goldfinches that have gathered in a field of thistles for a musical battle,

to see who can sing the highest note,

or the lowest, or the most expressive of mirth, or the most tender?

Their strong, blunt beaks drink the air as they strive melodiously not for your sake

and not for mine and not for the sake of winning but for sheer delight and gratitude –

believe us, they say, it is a serious thing just to be alive on this fresh morning in the broken world.

(a portion of Mary Oliver, “Invitation,” A Thousand Mornings (New York: Penguin Books, 2013)

August 2023

Happy August Bethany! IT’S HAPPENING!

On August 10th of 2019, George sent me an email about picking me up

at San Bruno BART the next day so that I could be your guest preacher

on August 11th. When George made that first cold call to invite me, I

said no because I didn’t have a ready way to do pulpit supply outside of

San Francisco, but if he couldn’t find anyone, he should call me back.

He did call back, and in what I have come to know as true Bethany

fashion, he made it work.

After a joyful ride with George and Ollie, and after a beautiful, gentle,

friendly and helpful welcome by Bonnie, the liturgist for the day, I met

many of you. Bonnie showed me the grounds, and explained about the

mural. At that point in my life, I had been regular pulpit supply at many

different churches, one at a time, and was not looking for a permanent

pastor position. I just didn’t think there was a church out there that I

would want to be committed to. But when I left Bethany after my first

time here, I was a little dismayed to discover that I felt so attached. “Too

bad I’m not looking for a pastor job, because I think that’s a church I could enjoy.” I loved especially the powerful witness of a group of people who turned to art in the most grievous time of pain. I was a little mad about these strong feelings I had, because I couldn’t not pay attention. I didn’t share my feelings with anyone – no need to get anyone else involved, who might then encourage me, and then, well, who knows what might happen!

George called after my second pulpit supply opportunity with you, and asked if I would apply for the transitional pastor position you were offering. I said, “Well, funny you should ask. Let me tell you about my first impression of Bethany that day.” Later he asked if I could put together a resume by the next day because a few people wanted to meet me. I asked if this was a job interview or a chat and he said, oh, no big deal, a few people want to meet you. The next day, 11 people and I met for a 2-hour “non-interview.”

Here we are three-plus years and a global pandemic later and you are about to install your next permanent pastor! This may be a big day for me, but it’s a huge day for you, the people of Bethany now, as well as your ancestors who have nurtured Bethany from the beginning. Congratulations to all of you for all of the love and work that sustains not only calling a pastor, but maintaining the community.

For me, being “installed” sounds like I am a refrigerator, or dish washer, or that pesky new plumbing fixture. Thus the construction graphic above. For a time, using the word “installation” was in question, so we tried to come up with names like “The Non-Installation of our New Pastor.” Thus the crossed out word “installation.” Being playful and purple, well that’s just me...with help from Cathleen!

Please plan to come and share in the excitement and fun on September 3rd at 4pm! In gratefulness for God’s work,

(not-Transitional) Pastor Deb

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September 2023

And thanks for the i

And thanks for the installation, now I’m going away! I will be on vacation from September 11 thru September 18. If there are any pastoral needs, please call the church office and an elder will be in touch with a pastor on call.

Thank you all for everything that you do!

Blessings,

Pastor Deb

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Happy September Bethany!

Well, my flowers in pots on my cement patio are dying, so it must be getting closer to fall. I’m not quite ready for full fall colors yet though – I’ll save that for October. So look at the cool flower of the month for September! Asters!

Long ago someone teased me that if I described my favorite things, they would all be “the kind you draw.” My car – four door Toyota Corolla (’89), my rental house – the kind you draw (window, door, small chimney), my favorite flower – daisy (stem, petals). Like this Aster! I feel seen!

The installation service will be great fun – but then it’s over. So many other things are happening in September at Bethany. We’ve already collected items for the shelter, we’ve already collected yummy school supplies for schools. Folks are back to their routines, schools are back, rehearsals are back, 3Q taxes are due (oh, wait). Our Chancel Choir will return this month and we will kick off the new church year with a fall luncheon. Check the rest of this newsletter with your calendar in hand so you don’t miss things like game night, movie night, and other special events.

Happy October everyone,

Which fall food, activity, temperature, holiday, picture of nature, sport, do you think of at this time of year?

For a while, the Giants were on our minds even in October.  Today as we enter the final week of baseball in the bay area (maybe not, maybe not, maybe not!), we'll just have to see.  Personally, I've traded in thoughts of hotdogs, for thoughts of learning how to make soup this year.  As the dark comes upon us earlier and earlier, my thoughts also go to warm blankets and light jackets.  The nature picture that comes to mind is the colors of the rolling hills of the wine country as each grape species unveils a different color leaf.  A little spiced cider or hot chocolate sounds good too.

The church enters some new seasons at this time of year too. The first Sunday in October is World Communion Sunday, a time for us to remember that when we celebrate

the Lord's Supper, we celebrate with Christians around the world, and remember that Christ's love reaches far and wide.  We will celebrate our connections to one another as we participate in the Peace and Global Witness offering during October.  In November we will begin our Stewardship campaign, asking ourselves to consider how each family and household may be able to partner with us in the work and witness of our congregation for each other and our community.  With movie night, our Thanksgiving dinner and talent show, what the church calls “Ordinary” time seems like anything but ordinary.  And we haven't even begun to talk about Advent yet!

There is a good energy at Bethany these days.  We hope you will keep church involvement on your calendar because we don't want you to miss out.

Recently, several people have shown interest in reading the book I mentioned in my sermon last week, and have asked for the title.  If there are more than three or four who would like to read it, I would like to start a group.  It is a hard read, and cannot be rushed, so it will take at least 6-8 weeks of commitment if we want to go ahead.  I am willing if you are.  The book is What Kind of Christianity?  Anti-Black Racism and the Presbyterian Church.  

Thank you all for everything that you do!

Blessings,

Pastor Deb

December 2023

Dear friends,

Am I the only one who feels like going to bed at around 4:30 each night, as darkness comes? That’s not too early, is it?

I really prefer light to darkness!

December is the month that Christians move through the Advent season toward the day when we celebrate the birth of the Light of the World, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Light is a commodity that often seems in short supply. In those dark times, Psalm 139 reminds us that “even there God’s hand will guide me, God’s right hand will hold me fast.” The darkness that our world, our country, and our communities have been through in times past and in more recent times has been hard, and real, and exhausting.

This time of year is not a time to ignore any of that, or how it makes us feel. But this time of year also grants light to that darkness and is the time when we remember that the love of God and the light of the world was born a babe in a manger. We celebrate the birth of the One who came to bring us the Light that will never dim, will always seek us out, and will always show us the way.

Christmas Blessings,

Pastor Deb

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“They looked up and saw a star

Shining in the east beyond them far,

And to the earth it gave great light,

And so it continued both day and night.”