“No matter who you are, no matter where you are, you are welcome here!”

June 9, 2023

Dear Pali Pres,

Today, June 9, is the birthday of novelist and peace activist Bertha von Suttner, who was born in Prague in 1843.

Suttner and her husband were devout Christians who committed their lives to the European peace movement of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. Together they established the League Against Anti-Semitism in response to the growing antisemitism in Eastern Europe. As Suttner once wrote, “true religion is neighborly love, not neighborly hatred. Any kind of hatred, against other nations or against other creeds, detracts from the humaneness of humanity.”

Interestingly enough, at one point in her life Suttner briefly worked as an assistant to Alfred Nobel, who made his fortune by inventing dynamite and developing weapons of war. Over time, Suttner persuaded Nobel to include a peace prize among the “Nobel Prizes” that he established with his fortune. Just a few years later, in 1905, she became the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for her audacity to oppose the horrors of war.”

I am continually amazed and inspired by the lives of people like Bertha von Suttner. Such people of faith utilized God’s word and the courage of the Holy Spirit to leave a positive, lasting impact on our world. May we all continue to practice putting our faith into action in ways that help and bring forth God’s peace.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Matt

“After the verb ‘to Love’, ‘to Help’ is the most beautiful verb in the world.” - Bertha von Suttner

Pali Pres Book Drive is Almost Here

Are you busy Spring cleaning? Trying to downsize your library? Do you have books you would like to donate to a non-profit? Kids getting too old for those cute childrens’ books? Here’s your chance!

Pali Pres is holding a book drive June 11-25. Bring your books to church and drop them in one of the marked boxes in the narthex or church office.

Books will be donated to ‘Re-Book It’! They have partnered with the Pasadena City Library to provide books (hardcovers, paperbacks, even magazines and LPs) to charities, hospitals, local libraries and schools. Their goals are to keep books out of landfills, maintain our community’s literacy, and provide books into the hands of readers throughout Southern California.

Questions? Contact Nancy Gillette, Elder for Missions & Outreach Committee.

Upcoming Celebrations of Life

On Sunday, June 11th join us on the patio after worship for a fellowship coffee hour in memory of Bob Nathan, hosted by the Nathan family.

On Saturday, June 17th, please join us for a memorial service and reception for Rev. Shelby Larsen at 2pm. The service will also be livestreamed HERE.

Family Corner

It was such a joy to have the Sunday School/Pali Pres Preschool Children’s Choir sing two classics, Deep and Wide & This Little Light of Mine, at our Music Appreciation worship service last Sunday! The children loved being a part of the program and they look forward to singing again in the fall. Thank you for all of your support, love, and encouragement!

Please save the date for the Children and Family Ministries Ice Cream Social on July 9th, after worship service on the Pali Pres Patio!

In Christ’s Love,

The Children and Family Ministries Committee

Last Children’s Chapel of the School Year

Pastor Matt, Pastor Grace and Ms. Lucy enjoyed the last chapel of the school year with our preschool kids.

A Special Note from our Director of Music

Dear Church Family, 

Praise the Lord!  What a joyful celebration it was to serve alongside our chancel choir and the contemporary band last week on Music Appreciation Sunday!  The chancel choir would like to thank the congregation for all your support for the our music ministry throughout the year.  Also, on behalf of the choir and band I’d like to thank you for your generous donations.  Over $1,100 was raised to support special music ministry events and concerts here at Pali Pres!

In the upcoming months, the choir will be taking a summer break with our staff section leaders leading hymns, service music, and anthems during worship.  Our interim organist for the summer will be Austin Ho from UCLA (his bio is below). 

As I have mentioned to some of you, I am visiting my family in Hong Kong now!  I was warmly greeted by my parents at the airport.  I haven't seen my family since last summer, so it is truly a joy to be able to spend some quality time with them.  Thank you for your prayers and blessings.  

Best wishes,

Dr. Pierre Tang, Director of Music

Welcome to our Interim Organist, Austin Ho!

Austin is a solo and collaborative pianist/organist who has performed throughout his native Southern California. Currently principal pianist of the American Youth Symphony (AYS), Austin has performed a wide variety of classical and modern repertoire. He has performed in LA Philharmonic’s “Sounds About Town” series at Walt Disney Concert Hall, featuring a collaboration with the National Children’s Chorus. Austin graduated cum laude from UCLA with a BA in music performance and a minor in mathematics, and is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree at UCLA. Welcome to Pali Pres, Austin!

Pali Pres Prodigals

Our church softball team is in the midst of an historic two game winning streak! Can the Pali Pres Prodigals continue this unprecedented run after two weeks away from the field? Show up next week at Cheviot Hills Rec Center and find out!

Monday, June 12th, 9pm, Field 4

Join us for our Livestream Worship!

Join at 9:50am on Sunday Morning to enjoy the prelude, with worship beginning at 10am.

Sunday Refreshments

Bringing refreshments on Sunday mornings to share with our church is a loving and very important ministry. Thank you to all of you who have been doing this so faithfully. We need folks to sign up for spring. Please contact Refreshment Coordinator Jan Gong.

Thank you to Brendan Kim & Jesselyn Chong for last week's refreshments! This week's goodies are brought to us by The Nathan Family.

Sunday Sanctuary Flowers

A BIG thank you to Dewey & Whaja Park for donating last week! This week’s flowers are brought to us by Bill Walker for our amazing Deacons!

We invite all of our church members and friends to provide donations for flowers to adorn our sanctuary, along with a special dedication of your choosing. The cost is $75 per week.

Please contact Will at will@palipres.org and the church will order flowers from a local florist to be placed in the chancel on Sunday morning.

Our Deacons will distribute the flowers to one of our members/friends after the service.

Thank you for helping make our sanctuary even more beautiful!

Sunday Sermon Teaser

This Sunday we will explore one of God’s most underrated (and unwanted) gifts to us—the gift of failure. Yes, failure! Be sure to join us as we learn together!

Give to Pali Pres

Don't forget, you can easily give your tithes and offerings through our website!

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people groan.

-Proverbs 29: 2