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Event Items || News Items || News Archives

| Date |
Event |
| Mar 3, 6:30-8:00 pm |
Lenten Soup & Story Series in Fellowship
Hall |
| Mar 6, 5:30-9:00 pm |
Ecumenical Hunger Program, Bistro 412, Palo Alto |
| Mar 7 |
First Sunday Food |
| Mar 7, 9:30 am |
Adult Education: Learning
Forgiveness w/Rev. Julie Kim |
| Mar 7 |
Godspeed Gathering |
| Mar 10, 6:30-8:00 pm |
Lenten Soup & Story Series in Fellowship
Hall |
| Mar 12, 10-11:30 am |
Senior Chat: Housing Issues |
| Mar 13, 6:30 pm |
Ringers Hit the Road |
| Mar 14 |
Daylight Savings Time Begins |
| Mar 14, 9:30 am |
Adult Education: Learning
Forgiveness w/Rev. Julie Kim |
| Mar 17, 6:30-8:00 pm |
Lenten Soup & Story Series in Fellowship
Hall |
| Mar 20, 8:00 am |
Covenant Men's Breakfast in Fireside Room |
| Mar 21, 9:30 am |
Adult Education: Learning
Forgiveness w/Rev. Julie Kim |
| Mar 24,
6:30-8:00 pm |
Lenten Soup & Story Series in Fellowship
Hall |
| Mar 25, 6:45 pm |
Covenant Children's Center Spring Sing in Fellowship Hall |
| Mar 26, 10-11:30 am |
Senior Chat: Support Services |
| Mar 28 |
Palm/Passion Sunday |
| Mar 28, 9:30 am |
Adult Education: Learning Forgiveness w/Rev. Julie
Kim |
| Apr 4 |
EASTER SUNDAY |
| Apr 24 |
All-Church Work Day |
| Apr 25, 1:30 pm |
CROP Hunger Walk |
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Ongoing |
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| Sundays 9:30 am |
Sunday School for Children |
| Sundays 10:45 am |
Worship in Church Sanctuary |
| First Sunday of Month |
Communion during Worship |
| First Sunday of Month |
First Sundays Food |
| Thursdays 6:30 pm |
Covenant Bell Choir Rehearsal in Church Sanctuary |
| Thursdays 8:00 pm |
Covenant Adult Choir Rehearsal in Church Sanctuary |
NEWS

Haiti Disaster Relief:
Donations
On Sunday, January 17, Covenant members donated $1,700 for
emergency relief for Haiti through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. Madeleine
Fackler sent the check within days.
You can still contribute through the church, by writing a check payable to
Covenant Presbyterian Church, memo line “Haiti Relief” or through the PDA
website, where you will find information about other disasters and relief
assistance worldwide at
www.pcusa.org/pda.

PNC UPDATE
The Pastor Nominating Committee continues to meet regularly.
We are reviewing PIFs, and we’re also interviewing several promising candidates.
Please keep us in prayer as we continue our search for Covenant’s next pastor.
Frank Bernstein, Secretary

EASTER MEMORIALS
You are invited to remember a loved one with an Easter
Memorial gift directed this year to Easter flowers and garden plants or to the
South Palo Alto Food Closet. You can make an Easter Memorial Gift by completing
the form available at a table in Fellowship Hall after worship on March 14, 21,
or 28, or by returning the enclosed form with your check, payable to Covenant
Presbyterian Church, memo line “Easter Memorials,” to the Church Office no later
than March 28.

SEARCH BEGINS
Covenant’s Nominating Committee begins its work soon to
identify candidates for Deacon and Elder for the Class of 2013. If you’re
interested in serving in one of these positions or suggesting someone else who
is, please talk to any member of the Nominating Committee: Charles Scott,
Moderator; Mary Lee Templeton (Session); Michelle Touton (Deacon); or
Members-at-Large Jennifer Espinoza, Howard Hushbeck, Diane Jones, and Chuck
Wunder.

LABELS FOR MENAUL
Bonnie Wilcox reminds us to save labels for the program that
benefits Menaul School in New Mexico. A list of product labels redeemable for
supplies and equipment is
posted in Fellowship Hall.

NEW WEBSITE COMING SOON
Are you as atwitter as the AppleManiacs were about the debut
of the iPad? Covenant’s website task force hopes to have our new website up and
running in March, so stay tuned.

THROUGH LENT TO EASTER
Here’s a preview of our Lenten worship and services leading to
Holy Week, beginning March 28. We hope you’ll join us for our Lenten journey to
the Celebration of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday, April 4.
Lenten Sermon Series:
Rev. Paula Kelso preaching,
The Elephant in the Sanctuary
March 28 Palm/Passion Sunday
Procession of Palms
One Great Hour of Sharing Offering
April 1 Maundy Thursday
Lenten Dinner, Fellowship Hall, 6:30 p.m.
followed by Communion
April 2 Good Friday
Vigil at the Cross
12:00-3:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary
Music, Meditation, Scripture
Come for all or part of the vigil
April 4 Easter Sunday
Sunrise Service in the Patio, 6:30 a.m.
Breakfast following in Fellowship Hall
Celebration of the Resurrection
10:45 a.m. in the Sanctuary
Festival Te Deum, by Donald Dillard
for Sanctuary Choir and Brass

One in Christ
Dear Friends,
Last week two deaths occurred among the congregation; truthfully, it seems more
accurate to say “two more.” Covenant has had a hard, concentrated season of
losing loved ones. In an email I asked the session and deacons to reach even
deeper into their personal wells of compassion and in effect, become pastors for
each other and for us all.
Mary Lee was the first responder. She says I may share with you what she wrote,
which I want to do because for me, it was an immediate gesture of the very thing
I had asked. I was comforted by her poetic imagination and touched to cleansing
tears as I read it. You should have the same opportunity.
I had said that I was just so sad, and she replied: “As I went out the front
door to put [sympathy] cards in the mailbox, the wind had come up and was
blowing pink flowering plum petals in front of me. The image that crossed my
mind was...even the trees are crying. I know the sun will come back, but it’s
hard to remember that sometimes.”
May we be comforted by our oneness of community, with creation, in Christ.
Paula

From the Organ Bench
Last month we looked at the Covenant
Church organ console and its accompanying pipes and electronic speakers. This
month, we’ll take a look more specifically at the organ pipes and their digital
electronic counterparts.
If you look at the titles printed on each organ draw knob, you will notice a
number above them, such as, 16’, 8’, 4’, 2’, 32’, etc. These numbers relate to
the length of the sound wave, not to the length of the pipe itself. Generally
speaking, an organ pipe open at the top produces a sound wave equal to the
length of the pipe. But if the pipe is plugged at the top —what is known as a
stopped pipe—it produces a wavelength double that of the length of the pipe.
Many such stopped pipes are used in churches where there is limited space above
the pipes. For example, an open pipe 8 feet in length will produce (C2), a note
two octaves lower than “Middle C” or what would appear as the lowest key on the
manuals. A stopped pipe of 8 feet will produce an octave lower than that,
equaling the sound of an open pipe of 16 feet. If a hole is drilled through the
middle of an 8’ pipe, the sound produced will be an octave higher than that of
an open pipe the same length, or a wave of 4’. This is similar to the function
of the “octave key” on a flute, oboe or saxophone. This whole business of using
sounds of different octaves allows an organist to add highs and lows to the
sound while playing only a few keys.
Organ pipes come in a variety of general physical characteristics. But there are
really only four main categories of pipes: wooden flues (yes, flues, like a
chimney “flue”), metal flues, strings, and reeds. The wooden flues are square
and usually stopped at the top. The metal flues are cylindrical and usually open
at the top, but may also be stopped. The strings are mostly made of metal and
tapered or “nicked” and “bearded” at the mouth. These last two techniques serve
to highlight the upper harmonics of the tone to make it more “stringy.” The
reeds are metal pipes that actually have a brass reed inside, similar to those
in a harmonica or accordion, and give a brilliant sound like a trumpet or tuba,
but are also used to produce lighter reed sounds, such as those of the oboe or
clarinet.
The pipes are arranged in rows, called “ranks,” resting on a “wind chest” like
test tubes. Under the rack of pipes are leather “pallets” that act as valves
that open as each key on the console is depressed, allowing air to move into the
pipe. The “stops” (or draw knobs) on the organ console determine which rank of
pipes will be brought into play. An opening at the bottom of each pipe, known as
the “toe hole,” receives the air. As the air moves upward into the pipe it is
directed toward the “mouth,” a horizontal opening a few inches above the toe
hole. From there the air is forced against the “lip,” a narrow slit behind the
mouth that gives the pipe its unique tonal character. This is also where the
actual pipe sound begins. From there the sound wave moves upward to the top of
the pipe, the length of which will determine its pitch.
One last thing about the organ console that I didn’t mention in my last article:
the top manual on a three-manual organ is called the SWELL, because originally
it was the only manual on which the volume could be controlled; the middle
manual is called the GREAT, because it contains the biggest sounding pipes; the
bottom manual is called the CHOIR, because its pipes were originally nearest to
the choir to keep them on pitch.
Now, is that everything you ever wanted to know about organ pipes? If not, talk
to me and we’ll go into more detail. But for this venue, that’s all for now!
Donald E. Dillard

From the Library: Library Funded
More changes are coming at your local Church Library. Did you notice in the
budget for next year that after your Librarian visited a Session meeting, the
Session approved $500 for library additions for the coming year after not having
any funding in recent history? Last year we made a few changes in the library
corner, adding some new shelf signs and creating a “Young People’s Shelf.” Now
we have a new opportunity to make the library better serve our needs and
interests.
Please let me know if you are interested in being a part of this adventure.
Paula Kelso and some Session members have entered the discussion, and I
encourage as many as are interested to join in. We will be getting Presbyterian
Life and Presbyterian Outlook magazines, and we already have a small number of
new reference books in mind. Really, the only limitation is shelf space.
I see DVDs as a great opportunity that we haven’t taken advantage of yet. I have
a strong interest in science and faith and in the early church, but I need to
hear from more folks before I would grow those areas very much. I am very weak
on the subject of books for children and youth, so I would especially appreciate
support in those areas.
New additions this month? We just received from Kristen Sheau a donation of the
book Gardening Eden; How Creation Care Will Change Your Faith, Your Life, and
Our World by Michael Abbate (2009), a new work about environment and the church,
a subject drawing the interest of many individuals and churches. In line with
another topic currently of interest because of the Adult series on forgiveness,
I’ve added Forgive for Good; a Proven Prescription for Health and Happiness by
Fred Luskin of Stanford University (2001). This book is especially of interest
because it describes the Stanford forgiveness project carried out in
collaboration with our friend, Byron Bland, a local Presbyterian minister who
has often worshipped with us.
How about joining me in this adventure of expanding and updating our Church
Library? I welcome your help and interest!
Rudy Dyck, Librarian

EVENTS

Wednesdays in Lent
The season of Lent begins with Ash
Wednesday, February 17. Join us at 7:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary for communion and
a time of prayer, music, and scripture to begin the liturgical season set aside
for reflection and repentance as we anticipate celebrating the resurrection on
Easter Sunday.
Beginning February 24, from 6:30-8:00 p.m., we will have a series of Lenten Soup
and Story nights, a time of cross-generational fellowship and a story to reflect
on for Lent.

Christian Education
Adult EducationThe Adult Study series on Learning Forgiveness, led by
Rev. Julie Kim, continues through March 28, Palm/Passion Sunday. Rev. Kim is a
graduate of San Francisco Theological Seminary. An Asian American Presbyterian
minister, she seeks creativity and new models and images of God as grace and
mercy in our communities that will help us to be the people that God has called
us to be. Join us in the Fireside Room, 9:30-10:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings as
we consider with our heads and hearts the Christian invitation to receive and
imperative to offer forgiveness.

Covenant Men's Group
Covenant’s Men’s Group will meet Saturday, March 20, at 8:00 a.m. in the
Fireside Room. After a delicious breakfast prepared by our in-house cooks, we
share a time of study, usually Biblically-based and led by José Espinoza,
followed by sharing our joys and concerns. This month’s topic is “If you could
have a beer with Jesus, what would you talk about?”
Our monthly breakfast meetings give Covenant men a chance to see each other
outside of church and away from work that helps us discern the direction God is
giving to our lives. We’ve formed lasting friendships and achieved greater
peace in hectic and strenuous times through this easy opportunity to get
together. Please join us.

Godspeed Expands
Beginning in March, Covenant’s
Godspeed program for youth in grades 5 through high school expands to two
meetings each month, usually the first and third Sundays, time and activity to
be announced.
Godspeed is excited to welcome Lindsay Sauln as our new activities director to
help plan the monthly field trip activities to off campus locations and events.
Lindsay is enrolled in Latin American Studies at Foothill College and leaves
soon for a trip to El Salvador. She also volunteers as an art teacher in Palo
Alto’s Art for Well Beings program.
Another surprise for Godspeed is in the works for a Pentecost project. Young
people of Godspeed age are invited to check out what’s going on next week, March
7, and bring a friend to share the fun

First Sunday
Food
The South Palo Alto Food Closet has
served as many as 71 families per week in recent weeks, up substantially since
last fall. Our first Sunday food offerings, this month on March 7, help support
their efforts to supply food to needy neighbors.
Jan Hoover, one of Covenant’s newest volunteers for the South Palo Alto Food
Closet, reports that because of your generosity, the tuna supply is in good
shape right now. But because of changes in resources available from Second
Harvest Food Bank, our local Food Closet now needs breakfast cereal and canned,
diced tomatoes.
We hope you’ll add items for First Sunday Food to your grocery shopping
regularly. They also welcome cash gifts at any time. You can leave a check,
payable to Covenant Presbyterian Church with “SPA Food Closet” on the memo line,
in the offering plate or the Church Office. We thank you for your continuing
support of this important local mission program.

Senior Chat
Senior Chat meets monthly on the second and fourth Fridays, from 10:00-11:45
a.m. in the Fireside Room. Our information is geared to holistic health—mental,
physical, emotional, spiritual. We are fortunate to live in an area with so
many resources and dedicated individuals. Chats combine friendship, food, a
little exercise, and a stimulating presentation. Please join us. For more
information, call Rev. Dona Smith-Powers, (650) 494-3093.
March 12: Housing Issues
Whether we plan to stay in our own home or to move, we need to think of ways to
make our lives easier, safer, and more comfortable. Cindy Hofen, the owner of
Senior Transitions Management, will share with us the questions that we need to
consider in a variety of living arrangements, and help us answer questions about
where to live and how to live.
March 26: Support Services
Diane Churchill is a program director working with Stanford Hospital and Clinics
Aging Adult Services. She will tell us about the multitude of services open to
the community and give us the complete “scoop” on Lifeline, the leading medical
alert service. If we live in our own homes or have friends who do, this is
valuable information.

The Ecumenical Hunger Program in East Palo Alto holds its annual fundraiser,
Steppin’ Out for Ecumenical Hunger Program, on March 6, 5:30-9:00 p.m. at Bistro
412, 412 Emerson St., Palo Alto. Tickets for the festive cocktail party auction
with an auctioneer, music, and dancing, are $60 per person for great snacks and
wine, with almost all proceeds going directly to EHP.
You can order tickets online or call Flavia Berys at (650) 833-2419 or email her
at flavia.berys@dlapiper.com. Wear your favorite hat to compete for a prize.
Gotta have a hat to “Step Out!” Cindy and Alan Sauln are keeping their chapeaux
a secret.

This year for the first time the Covenant Ringers will participate in the Bay
Area Spring Ring, an annual event offering area handbell groups a day of
workshops focusing on the various aspects of bell ringing.
The groups prepare one or more songs, rehearse together during the day, and
participate in a mass ringing ensemble in an evening concert which also features
music performed by some of the individual groups attending the event.
Covenant Ringers have been learning 2 of the 4 songs and look forward to
participating in the day’s activities. You’re invited to come and enjoy the
concert on Saturday, March 13, 6:30 p.m., at Valley Church, 10855 N. Stelling
Road, Cupertino.

Annual Bay Area CROP Walk
The 33rd annual Bay Area CROP Hunger Walk is Sunday, April 25, 2010, 1:30pm start time, with one and five mile options,
at Hoover Middle School, 1635 Park Avenue, San Jose, Ca.
Last year, the Bay Area CROP Walk raised a little over $55,000 total for
fighting hunger both locally and globally. For more information about Church
World Service (CWS) CROP Walks, please visit this
site.

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