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Dear Friends,
A Thought for
Epiphany
As you may know, January 6th is as big
as Christmas day in many countries. On that day, they celebrate the
"Three Kings Day." Pretty much like on Christmas day in the
U.S., children wake up to open presents left by the mysterious characters
who once visited Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. For centuries, the
Christian church has observed January 6th as the day when that visit took
place and we call the celebration, Epiphany, which means "God's
light made manifest."
The Gospel of Matthew tells us that it
was "the time of King Herod." He receives a visit from a small
group of "wise men" (not wise guys...) from the East. All we really
know about the magi is that they were on an important mission: to find
the newborn King of the Jews. We know the rest of the story.
What we probably don't know is the
importance of these "wise men" to the story of Jesus as
presented by Matthew. These men are not of Jewish descent, yet they come
to worship the "King of the Jews". What's more interesting is
that they come from countries that represented oppression and war. They
were enemies! These seekers from the East, who traveled long and hard to worship
Jesus with extravagant gifts, remind us that Jesus' birth is a gift, not
only for the Jews, but for all nations and peoples.
In contrast to our propensity to think one ethnicity or people is better
than another, to view one's own people as God's chosen or blessed by God
while others aren't, and to exclude other people who are different, these
pagans from Persia show that God welcomes the worship and the gifts of
all people everywhere. The new king Jesus abolishes not only the barriers
of nation, race and ethnicity he also transcends the boundaries of
gender, religion, economics and social class. For in Christ "there
is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are
one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). The magi were only the tip of
a very big iceberg.
So, what can we learn from this story?
We learn that the smallest things, like a newborn baby, can terrify the
arrogant, and bring them down. We learn that God's grace and
unconditional love goes beyond our human limitations and prejudices. We
learn that a great light has dawned and it draws all people and calls us
to live our lives illuminated by its truth. Amen!
Old Town Community
Church Requests Your Prayers and Assistance:
On December 26, 2011, we received the sad news that Old Town Community
Church in San Diego burned to the ground. The building was situated in
the historic part of San Diego. According to Fox 5 News, "the fire
was started by a candle that was left burning" (http://www.fox5sandiego.com/news/kswb-old-town-community-church-candle-sparked-old-town-church-fire-20111228,0,1806789.story).
Fortunately, no was injured in the blaze. The congregation plans to
temporarily meet in their Chapel Museum and will hold services outdoors
when the weather permits. Cash donations can be sent to the
Conference Office, with "Old Town Community Church" in the memo
line. For other types of donations, contact the Rev. Alex Achacoso,
Pastor of Old Town Community at (619) 709-2559.
New Staff Members:
We are excited to announce the names of our two new staff members: the
Rev. Libby Tigner and Mr. Dave Palmer.
Meet the Rev. Libby
Tigner
SCNC Associate
Conference Minister for Church Relations
 The Rev. Libby
Tigner was ordained in the United Church of Christ in 1995 and holds a
Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from California State University,
Long Beach and a Master of Divinity from the Claremont School of
Theology. She served as a part-time Assistant Minister at First
Congregational Church of Long Beach from 1995 to 2000 and has been
Associate Minister for that congregation since 2001. Her primary areas of
interest in ministry are adult education and spiritual development.
The Rev. Tigner currently serves as a member of the UCC Executive
Council, and has in the past served in the Southern California Nevada
Conference of the UCC as Moderator of the Central Association and Chair
of the Central Association's Committee on Church and Ministry. She has
also been the Co-Coordinator of the Southern California Nevada Conference
Chapter of the Coalition on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
Concerns. Rev. Tigner has been on the Board of Directors of the South
Coast Interfaith Council and President of the Long Beach Religious
Leaders Association.
Libby is the Moderator for the UCC Synod 29, to be held in Long Beach in
June 2013. She begins her new position, February 6, 2012.
Meet Mr. Dave Palmer
SCNC Young Adult
Ministry Coordinator
 Hi - I'm Dave
Palmer. I'm from San Diego, CA by way of Nashville, TN and my hometown of
Chicago, IL. I am a Cubs fan, which means that I always believe that
there is hope, despite all evidence to the contrary. In 1990 I graduated
from Valparaiso University with degrees in English and Theology. Using
that education, I promptly began what became an 18-year career in the
music industry. I worked in marketing, artist development and artist
management. What I feel that really means is that I worked very hard to
look at big picture strategies that helped to facilitate artists'
identifying and working to achieve a vision for who they wanted to be, as
well as connecting those artists to people and organizations that could
help them with their goals.
During that time I volunteered in my local church and worked alongside
several youth and young adult serving organizations, including Youth
Specialties and the early days of Emergent Village. As a result of these
experiences, I have been immersed in the worlds of youth and young adults
ever since I was a participant in those communities. I enjoy the process
of connecting people, ideas and organizations to one another,
particularly as it relates to faith formation and the vitality of faith
communities.
In 2008 my family moved from Nashville to San Diego, where I worked for a
time with Youth Specialties, before establishing my own consulting work
to provide strategic direction to others. In that process we came to
belong to the UCC La Mesa community, where I teach youth Sunday School
and serve on the current transition team. As I enter into a new calling
with the conference I look forward to being both a resource for and
connector of ways to better engage young adults with our UCC
congregations and see the revitalization of communities through those
efforts and responses to God's calling.
January Birthdays:
Jan. 2
Rev. Curtis E. Miner
Jan. 3
Rev. Eleanor Scott Meyers
Jan. 9
Rev. Sarah Jeanne Halverson
Jan. 10
Rev. Linda Sieh
Jan. 12
Rev. James S. Vuocolo
Rev. Kirsten Linford
Rev. Richard S. Blakley
Jan. 14
Rev. Liki Lokeni Tiatia
Rev. Mark D. Mollet
Jan. 15
Rev. Joan Bates Forsberg
Rev. Paula J. Elizabeth
Jan. 16
Rev. Walter Bond Davis
Rev. Harold A. Jackson
Jan. 21
Rev. Dagmar Grefe
Rev. Homer D. Henderson
Rev. Hamleth Terrones
Jan. 22
Rev. Ernest Myron Fowler
Rev. Dr. Charles Mattison
Jan. 25
Rev. Milan L. Hamilton
Jan. 26
Rev. Teogenes Tawagon
Jan. 28
Rev. Yoshi Kaneda
Felix
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