Taizé prayer, a form of meditation that is relatively new to MPC but draws on rich years of tradition elsewhere, now takes place monthly. Our next service is Wednesday, March 21st at 7 PM.
In words attributed to St. Francis de Sales, “half an hour’s meditation daily is essential, except when one is very busy. Then a full hour is necessary.” Join us for some spiritual refreshment.

BOLIVIA DELEGATION TO DEPART SOON: Jay Gregory, Jean Norris, and Brad Hestir, our 2012 delegation to Bolivia will be departing in the wee hours of February 21 to meet with our partners in several Bolivian cities. They will be consulting with community leaders, and perhaps government officials concerning issues affecting poverty, health and hunger such as global warming, environmental pollution from mining, just trade, and land grabs.

This Sunday, January 29, family and friends of Serin Eggling and daughter Vanessa Hammack will gather to celebrate Serin‘s life. The Celebration will be in the Sanctuary at 2:00 PM followed by a reception in the Family Room. All are invited.

Mark your calendars: on Wednesday, April 4th, author Anne Lamott will be coming to MPC to talk about her new book: Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son’s First Son. The book is a follow-up to Operating Instructions, a journal of her son’s early years.

The Children of Uganda 2012 Tour of Light performed at MPC on Jan 15th at 7 PM. Children of Uganda is an organization that cares for hundreds of orphans and vulnerable children in Uganda, and the performers were their ambassadors, a select group of talented dancers, singers, and drummers from 10 years old through college students. They performed traditional music and dance, and sang Ugandan songs with our choir. Videos have been posted to YouTube and photos to Flickr.

On Sunday, December 4, at 10AM, the Montclair Presbyterian Church Choir will present Christmas music from the English choral tradition. Featured works include Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Fantasia on Christmas Carols” and Gustav Holst’s “Christmas Day.” MPC’s adult and children’s choirs will be joined by a string ensemble and pipe organ. Come celebrate the season with majestic music written for Gothic cathedrals!

The congregation will gather next Sunday, 11/13, right after celebration, to take another step in engaging the Mission Study Process. The purpose is to ask, answer, and share about some questions regarding Montclair Presbyterian Church and our vision of the future. Everyone’s voice is important, whether you are an “old timer” or have just started attending MPC. These conversations will continue to inform decisions and direction for the church.
At the same time, and even if you cannot attend the meeting, we are asking all church members & friends to take a survey!

The Harvest Dinner is an annual event celebrated by the Faith Trio partners (Montclair Presbyterian Church, Kehilla Community Synagogue & the ICCNC) in turn at each congregation’s locale. MPC is the host this year for the seventh anniversary of this lively occasion, Saturday Nov. 5th.

The time has come for MPC women to retreat to the hills of the East Bay! This year our retreat falls on Halloween Weekend, and so our focus will be (aptly) The Masks Women Wear, led by Rev. Beth Buckingham-Brown. Our gathering begins Friday evening, October 28th for dinner and continues through breakfast and celebration Sunday, October 30th. This is a time out from the hurry of our lives, a time for reflection, singing, sharing, laughing and community.