THIS WEEK Monday, March 10th at 12:45pm: Bible Study, Narthex Monday, March 10th at 7:15pm: Healing Minister Meeting, Chapel Thursday, March 13th at 7:30pm: Choir Rehearsal, Chapel Friday, March 14th at 12:10pm: Stations of the Cross, Chapel ST. AMBROSE ANNOUNCEMENTS Volunteers for Holy Week services needed: On Palm Sunday, March 16, the Passion Narrative according to Matthew will be read. We need volunteers for both the 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. services to read the parts. On Good Friday, March 21st at 12 Noon, we need volunteers for the Passion according to John to be read in parts. We also need readers for the Easter Vigil on Saturday, March 22nd from 7:30pm. Please volunteer by either speaking to Father Ota or sign up on the sheet in the parish hall. Youth Mission Trip Organizing Meeting: The time has come to prepare for going on mission again! A short meeting will be held on Sunday, March 16, 2008, at 11:45am in the Chapel to discuss the possible sites and communities available for us to work with under the sponsorship of Sierra Service Project. We are targeting going on mission trip on the week of July 27 to August 2, 2008. This meeting is open to all high school age youth, parents, and adults interested in our summer mission trip program. More information about Sierra Service Project can be found at: http://www.sierraserviceproject.org/. Please feel free to call Fr. Jay if you have any questions at 415-309-8968. Join us for 1 or 2 Giants games! Friday, April 11th Giants vs. Cardinals at 7:15pm. These tickets are in section 318. Tickets are $26 each which includes a $5 donation for the church. The second game is the Giants vs. Diamondback‘s on Saturday, July 26th at 6:05pm. These seats are in the center field bleachers, section 144. Tickets are $21 each which includes a $5 donation to the church. Sign up sheet is in the Parish Hall. Hope you can join us! Easter Eggs and Candy: We need donations of plastic eggs and candy for the annual Easter Egg hunt. Please leave your donation in the church office. St. Ambrose Directory Correction: Please make a note that Janet and George Gardiner‘s phone number is incorrect in the directory. The correct phone number is 650341-5397 and e-mail gjgardiner@comcast.net. 2008 See’s Easter Candies Fund Raiser: Orders will be available to pick up today March 9th in the church office. For those who still want to order, we have Bordeaux, Peanut Butter, and Dark Chocolate eggs for sale at $5.00 each. Stations of the Cross: Every Friday during Lent, please come at 12:10pm for the Stations of the Cross service in the Chapel.
Free Tax Help! The AARP offers help for middle and low income taxpayers with their 2007 personal tax returns (with special attention to those aged 60 and older). For more information, see poster on the Community Announcements board in the parish hall, or speak to Warren Wong. Burned out? No, not you! If you have a burned out compact fluorescent light bulb, don’t dispose of it in the usual household trash. Put it in a sealed plastic bag, and bring it to church! There’s a box in the parish house where you can put it. When the box is full, it will be taken to the San Carlos transfer station for proper disposal. Coffee Hour following the 10am Worship Service: The Fellowship Committee invites members to sign up for coffee hour on the sign-up sheet on the back wall in the Parish Hall. Coffee Hour volunteers are asked to set up, make coffee, and provide treats and juice, and cleanup afterward. Questions, please call Don Peter. Thank you for your participation. Bishop’s Blend Coffee is now being served: This coffee is fair trade, organic and shade grown coffee. 15% of the cost of the coffee is donated by Pura Vida Coffee to the Episcopal Relief and Development Fund. You may purchase the coffee for a cost of $7 for a 12oz. bag of regular, and $8 for a 12oz. bag of decaffeinated. If interested, please see Fr. Ota. April Worship Leaders sign up information: Lay Eucharistic Minister, Ushers, Greeters, and Intercessors need to schedule your dates for the month of April on the back wall in the Parish Hall. Your participation in these ministries supports us all. The St. Ambrose Altar Guild prepares the altar and sanctuary for each service. As part of these responsibilities, the guild provides the beautiful flower arrangements for the sanctuary. These flowers are funded by donations from the congregation rather than from church funds. Church members may contribute toward flowers in celebration of birthdays, anniversaries, and other special days or in the memory of loved ones. Forms to order flowers are available in the Narthex. Donations are normally in the amount of $50, but any amount is welcome. If you have any questions, please talk to Merilyn Vosburg. LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR Elder Care Home Visit: After the 10 o'clock service we'll be visiting an elder-care facility in Foster City at 283 Stilt Court. If you would like to join us or have any questions, please see Jim Neubert or Steve Yuen. Sandwiches on Sunday: Through SOS the Peninsula Christian community offers a Sunday lunch and moral support to everyone who shows up at the Fair Oaks Community Center in Redwood City. For many of the guests it is their only hot meal of the day. St. Ambrose is responsible for fifth Sundays of the month. Typical attendance is 40-60 people. Our next appointment is March 30th, and we plan to serve lasagna, salad, and rolls. If you can help, please indicate your interest on the sign-up sheet in the Parish Hall. If you have any questions, please contact Jim Neubert (rkitektjim@juno.com, 522-8821).
Second Harvest Food Barrel: Thanks to all who donate. We have now sent 4 full barrels to Second Harvest. As part of our solidarity with the hungry in the world and to help people locally, we ask that you bring cans of food when you come to worship and place it in the Second Harvest Food Barrel in the Narthex. Games for GI’s: Please deposit your new or used playing cards, board games, poker chips or any activity games to help our veterans pass the sometimes long hours. Thanks to Jack Burleson for organizing our efforts and taking these donations to the Veterans hospital for us. Operation MOM: We are joining with St. Matthew‘s in San Mateo to assemble ―A Little Touch of Home‖ care packages for our overseas troops. A list of personal hygiene, food and fun items is posted on the donation box in the parish hall. This is a good way for us to show that we are thinking and praying for our servicemen and women in Iraq and Afghanistan. Similar to the Adopt-a-Platoon program that we have supported in the past, for more information: www.operationmom.org. DIOCESAN ANNOUNCEMENTS Please see the Bulletin Board for more information on the following announcements. Interfaith Concerts: Leonard Bernstein's "Chichester Psalms": The joint choirs of St. Mark's, Berkeley, and Temple Sinai, Oakland, offer two performances of Leonard Bernstein's "Chichester Psalms." These performances include Ian Shields, percussion; Jonathan Dimmock, organ; Maria Mendeto, harp; Seth Coad-Douglass, boy soprano; George Anton Emblom, director; and Ilene Keys, cantor. Evening Prayer on Sunday, March 9th, 5:30pm at St. Mark's, 2300 Bancroft Way, Berkeley Cost: A free-will offering. Shabbat Services on Friday, March 14th, 7:30pm at Temple Sinai 2808 Summit Street, Oakland. Special Screening: Soldiers of Conscience: From West Point grads to drill sergeants, from Abu Ghraib interrogators to low-ranking reservist-mechanics; soldiers in the US Army today reveal their deepest moral concerns about what they are asked to do in war. Soldiers of Conscience reveals that far more soldiers refuse to kill than we might expect. Made with official permission from the US Army, Soldiers of Conscience includes never before seen footage of basic training and the war in Iraq. Soldiers of Conscience is a realistic yet optimistic look at war, peace, and the power of the human conscience. All are welcome to attend the Thursday Evening Eucharist at 5:45 in All Saints Chapel on the CDSP campus, and the Community Dinner that follows immediately ($7 for non-CDSP students; please RSVP) in the Denniston Refectory. On Thursday, March 13th, 7:30pm at Denniston Refectory, Berkeley Canterbury, 2451 Ridge Road, Berkeley. Cost: Free. Contact: RSVP for dinner CALL@cdsp.edu, 510.204.0720. Write a Will for $75 on March 8th, 15th or 29th: If you have been postponing writing or updating a will, wait no longer. Appointments will be at St. Aidan‘s, San Francisco, on March 15 and at St. Stephen‘s, Belvedere, on Saturday, March 29. For more
information, click on ―Make a Will‖ at www.EpiscopalGift.org. Consider including the church in your plans. (See Book of Common Prayer, page 445.) To make an appointment with a volunteer Episcopal estate planning attorney, contact Adair at AdairH@diocal.org or (415) 869-7811. Peace Vigil Recognizing the Iraq War's 5th Anniversary: Grace Cathedral and the First Congregational Church of Berkeley will sponsor a peace vigil on the cathedral's Great Steps. On Wednesday, March 19th at 6pm, at Grace Cathedral. The School for Deacons Annual Inquirer’s Day: Learn about the ministry and formation of the deacon—the school program and curriculum. On Saturday, March 29th beginning at 7:45am with Holy Eucharist in the All Saints Chapel at CDSP, 2451 Ridge Rd. Berkeley. The day will include: Holy Eucharist Service with students and faculty, Round-table discussion and concludes with lunch hosted by the school. For more information call 510-848-1723 or e-mail mlhintz@sfd.edu. Open House at the Episcopal Resource Center: Highlighting resources for curriculum, confirmation and vacation bible school. The Episcopal Resource Center is your source for teaching and other ministry-equipping resources. Join other teachers and program coordinators for refreshments and conversation. On Thursday, April 10th at 1pm to 4pm at St. Thomas‘ Episcopal Church, 231 S. Sunset Ave., Sunnyvale. For more information contact Julia McCray-Goldsmith at Juliam@diocal.org or 415-869-7826. On Saturday, April 5, 2008, Episcopal Charities will honor Margaret Gill at its fifth annual Night of Light black-tie gala at the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco. Margaret‘s accomplishments over the past decade inspired the theme ―Helping Dreams Come True‖. As a member and president of the Episcopal Charities Board of Directors, Margaret was instrumental in reorganizing Episcopal Charities, strengthening its mission and vision, and identifying new funding sources. Margaret has also served the Diocese of California as a member of its Board of Directors for 15 years and currently serves as President. We ask you to help us in honoring Margaret‘s remarkable dedication to Episcopal Charities mission: to support new and existing non-profit agencies making a crucial difference in the lives of poor, oppressed, and endangered individuals in the San Francisco Bay Area, regardless of religious affiliation or practice. Your attendance will be helping dreams come true for many of the neediest members of our San Francisco Bay Area community. The Night of Light is Episcopal Charities principal fundraiser and we need the support of our Diocesan parishes and partners. In 2007 Episcopal Charities funded 19 Episcopal-related organizations and agencies, providing essential services to nearly 40,000 children, families, and individuals in 2007. Join us for a black-tie reception, dinner, and dancing, plus enjoy a live auction with 12 custom packages. For more information and tickets please contact Deborah Mann Productions at 415-563-6451 or email: demann@pacbell.net. To register online go to www.episcopalcharities.org. Annual Crab Feed and Silent Auction: All you can eat crab or chicken! Silent Auction, 50/50 Raffle and a secret door prize. Pre-purchase required; no ticket sales at the door. On Saturday, April 19th, 5pm open; 5:30pm seating. At St. Cuthbert's, 7932 Mountain
Blvd. (Keller exit off rt. 580), Oakland. Cost: Adults $35; Age 12 and under $15. Contact: For tickets stcuddy@aol.com, 510.635.4949. Deadline: April 1st. Renew Your Romance. Why settle for a “Good” Marriage when you can have a Great Marriage? You can make the leap from just ―good‖ to GREAT on a Marriage Encounter weekend! Marriage Encounter is 44 hours where married couples can get away from jobs, kids, chores, and phones – and focus only on each other. If you‘d like greater depth, growth, and enrichment in your relationship, you‘ll like the difference a Marriage Encounter weekend can make! Here‘s information about the next weekend in the Bay Area: April 11-13th. Please contact: Curt & Arlene McClelland at 408-3715581 or curt@sbcglobal.net. For more information or to register online, go to: www.episcopalme.com. Save the Date: Youth Take Action Day: Join youth of the diocese for some environmental action: Wetlands restoration in Marin County. Youth in grades 6 through 12 are welcome to come independently or with their youth group and chaperones. On Saturday, April 26th, at 9am to noon. Pilgrimage to Scotland and Northern England: A group of pilgrims from our diocese will travel to the land of Saints Aidan and Cuthbert in early June with the Rector of St. Aidan's, San Francisco. The itinerary includes visits to Edinburg, Glasgow and the Islands of Iona and Lindisfarne. When: June 3rd through 11th. Contact: Tommy Dillon, rectorsaintaidan@aol.com, 415.285.9540 for more information. St. Dorothy's Rest 2008 Summer Camp Dates and Enrollment: Summer Camp Registration forms are now available on our website www.stdorothysrest.org. We have 107 years of offering Specialized Camping Programs for youth ages 5 to 15 years old. For additional information, please contact Director of Programs Ben Evenbeck, sdr@monitor.net, 707.874.3319. Help Build a School in El Salvador! Families with children ages 7+ and single people, young and old, can join members of Christ Church, Alameda, in August 2008 on a 10day trip to help build a school in El Salvador. For more information contact Vicki Varghese, 510.814.6978 or vickivarghese@hotmail.com. Pilgrimage to the Land of the Holy One, November 3-15: The Rev. Mark Stanger of Grace Cathedral invites you to join a pilgrimage of prayer and study to traditional sites relating to the Gospels in Israel-Palestine. Open to clergy and laity, limited to 20 participants. Instead of hotels, we stay in two serene and comfortable pilgrim houses, one in Nazareth for our Galilee visits, and one at St. George's Cathedral in Jerusalem. A local Palestinian Christian guide and travel agency facilitates every part of our pilgrimage. For complete information, visit www.gracecathedral.org or Mark Stanger, marks@gracecathedral.org. From The Bishop's Ranch: The Bishop‘s Ranch has launched a redesigned website, with more photos and updated information. Take a look at www.bishopsranch.org. We‘d appreciate any feedback you may have. From time to time people ask about the
possibility of an individual retreat. It is possible to visit the Ranch on a personal, selfdirected retreat. The Ranch maintains an email list to alert individuals if space is available on a weekend. There is also often space available for midweek retreats. If you‘d like to be added to this email list, are interested in a midweek retreat, or have comments about the redesigned website please contact us at info@bishopsranch.org. We hope to see you at the Ranch! Stay in touch @ bishopmarc.com. Bishop Marc and friends are participating in an ongoing conversation at bishopmarc.com. Come by and find out what's going on with the Bishop of California and others working for spiritually-based social justice. Bishopmarc.com is updated regularly with blogs, audio, and video. And be sure to visit Bishop Marc's photo blog at flickr.com/photos/bishopmarc. Sign up for DioBytes: To enable better communication with the diocese, we‘d like to encourage everyone to subscribe to DioBytes. Subscription to DioBytes, the weekly diocesan e-newsletter, is open to all. You can subscribe at episcopalbayarea.org. MDG Byte of the Week: Meditate on the Statistics. As you spend time in prayer and reflection, you may like to take a moment to silently understand with your heart the focus statistic we include each week (see below). Our hope is that you will find this series of statistics a useful resource in preparing presentations. Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women. Target 3.A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015. ‗At the beginning of the 20th century, 90% of war victims were soldiers and 10% civilians. In the wars of the last decade, 90% of the victims were civilians mostly women and children.‘ Source: Newsletter Gender and Armed Conflict, 2007. The newsletter, although produced for Western Asia, provides a good overview of impacts of wars and armed conflict on women and recommendations on how to mainstream these gender concerns. www.escwa.org.lb COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS Please see the Bulletin Board for more information on the following announcements. Ombudsman Services of San Mateo County is seeking volunteers who have compassion for the elderly, and would like to serve as an advocate in the long-term care facilities. Ombudsman are trained to monitor facilities, receive, investigate and bring resolution to complaints on behalf of residents. Training begins on March 12th and involves 40 hours of classroom study followed by a brief internship. Please call 650349-7008 for further information. Hillbarn Theatre presents “The Notebook of Trigorin.” Constantine premieres his new play at his uncle’s lakeside estate. The group, idling away the languid summer months, includes his mother the famous actress, Madame Arkadina; her companion, the charmingly successful author, Boris Trigorin; and Nina, the young actress whom Constantine dotes on but who only has eyes for Trigorin. The interweaving of their lives,
the romance, hope and disappointment create compelling tapestry evocative of real people and life that ultimately culminates in a deeply moving experience. From March 13th through April 6th. For ticket, show and pricing information call 349-6411 or www.hillbarntheatre.org. San Francisco Ballet 2008 Season with Coach Bus Service from San Mateo: Ride in comfort to three San Francisco Ballet performances during the season. Arrive relaxed with plenty of time for a leisurely lunch before he Ballet. The bus departs from San Mateo Commuter Park & Ride lot off US 101 at Route 92 arriving at 11:45am in Hayes Valley. At 2pm the Ballet begins at the Elegant Ware Memeorial Opera House. After the performance, simply board to coach to ride back. Performance dates on March 15th, Christopher Wheeldon‘s pas de deaux from After the Rain and Caarousel and May 3rd, New Works Festival. You can order online at sfballet.org/coachbus or call 415-8652000, M-F. San Mateo County housing resources: HIP Housing, a 35 year non-profit organization in San Mateo, offers 4 housing programs: Home sharing links people who have housing to share with those seeking a place to live; Home Equity Conversion Counseling provides objective information about Reverse Mortgages to senior homeowners; Self-Sufficiency offers 1-3 years of housing and case-management for families with children who are working toward educational & career goals; and Property Development allows HIP Housing to provide subsidized and below-market rent in 190 units. San Mateo County has many persons in need of housing and many renters and homeowners who could use some help with their housing costs. For more information contact: Laura Fanucchi 348-6660 x303 lfanucchi@hiphousing.org.