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

May 19, 2023

Dear Pali Pres,

This coming Monday marks the anniversary of the debut of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” the longest-running children’s program on television. Premiering on WQED in Pittsburg in 1967, Fred Rogers’ show introduced generations of young children (including me!) to ideas of kindness, peace, diversity, and even death and grief. As Fred Rogers once said, “The world is not always a kind place. That’s something all children learn for themselves, whether we want them to or not, but it’s something they really need our help to understand.”

Led by this conviction, and a heart for ministering to children, Mister Rogers created and hosted his TV program which helped children feel valued, safe, and special.

An ordained Presbyterian minister, Fred Rogers continues to serve as an example on how important it is to spread God’s love, especially to our children and youth. In this world that is so full of ugliness and pain, it is vital that we as God people use whatever gifts we have to bring forth peace, understanding, and hope. We may not all be good with children, and we may not all be ordained ministers, but we have each been given gifts and talents to make this world a better, more friendly place. As Jesus said, “You are the light of the world…No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

So, members and friends of Pali Pres, remember—you are the light of the world. Let your light shine before others!

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Matt

Celebrating Our Graduates!

Be sure to join us this Sunday as we celebrate our high school graduates during worship. There will be refreshments on the side patio as well as in our Youth Room at it’s grand reopening.

High School Graduates

Cal Del Valle Roswell (first row, left)

Graduating from Pali High, Cal will be attending Mitchell College in New London, Connecticut, starting late August. His favorite activities include biking, kayaking, being outdoors, and traveling. Cal dreams of future travels and seeing more of the world!

Benjamin Darvish (first row, middle)

Graduating from Pali High, Benjamin will be attending UC Davis in the fall. He loves playing the saxaphone and coding video games.

Teix McDonald (first row, right)

Graduating from Pali High, Teix will be attending UC Santa Barbara majoring in psychology and brain science in the fall. His dream for the future is to practice psychology and be of service to others. Teix has served as one of our beloved Sunday School Teachers at Pali Pres.

Austin Aragon (second row, left)

Graduating from Viewpoint School in Calabasas, Austin will be attending Fordham University, Lincoln Center in New York City, majoring in Sociology, in the fall. He plans to pursue research in hopes of better understanding cleavages within our society.

Aspen Aragon (second row, middle)

Graduating from Viewpoint School in Calabasas, Aspen will be attending Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, majoring in Dance, in the fall. Her dream is to be a professional dancer.

Jared Hamm (second row, right)

Graduating from Pali High, Jared will be attending UC Santa Cruz in the fall. His dreams for the future include getting a good all around education and learning how best to turn his passions into a successful career. Jared has served as one of our beloved Sunday School Teachers at Pali Pres.

Mwenda Gichuru (third row, left)

Graduating from Pali High, Mwenda will be leaving for the Marine Corps Boot Camp and going into active duty. Mwenda and his family have been members of Pali Pres since 2009. Mwenda was baptized at Pali Pres.

Jack Curran (third row, right)

Graduating from Los Gatos High School, Jack will be attending Santa Barbara City College in the fall. He is the grandson of Ruth Curran. His dreams for the future are to have a happy family and be able to give opportunities to his kids. Jack was baptized at Pali Pres.

Sean & Andrew Taylor (bottom row)

The twins are the grandsons of Dianne Jerome and sons of her son, Eric Taylor. The boys are graduating from Granada Hills Charter High School. Sean will be attending UCLA and Andrew will be attending UC Berkeley in the fall.

Other Graduates

Higher Ed Graduates

Jesselyn Chong - Pepperdine University; Caruso School of Law; Juris Doctor.

Avaon Aragon - George Washington University; Public Health.

Joshua Park - Brown University; Business Organization and Entrepreneurship.

Middle School

Liza Lowe - Graduating from Archer Middle School and will be attending Marymount High School.

Elementary School Graduates

Alek Iannaccone - Graduating from Canyon Charter Elementary and will start at Paul Revere Middle School in the fall.

Preschool Graduates

Luke Hardin - Stepping up from Pali Pres Preschool.

Elyse Singh - Stepping up from Pali Pres Preschool.

Jackson Kobata - Stepping up from Pali Pres Preschool.

Mary Kate Zank - Stepping up from Pali Pres Preschool.

Indira Singh - Stepping up from TK at Eclipse and going to Kindergarten at Pali Elementary.

Pastor Grace’s Sabbatical

Follow Pastor Grace during her sabbatical journey in France on Instagram!

She will be back with us on June 5th!

Pali Pres Prodigals: Do You Believe In Miracles?

Pali Pres Prodigals: 10

Adat Shalom Chaverim: 8

In what is already being called The Game Of The Century… by at least one person… our church softball team got their first taste of victory this season against Adat Shalom Chaverim!

Every team member shares responsibility for the win, but we especially want to emphasize the mighty bats of preschool dad Kevin Homsy & church member Dave Vazquez. Like so much fire & brimstone raining from the sky, Kevin & Dave drove in the runs when we needed them - including but not limited to Kevin’s Grand Slam in the 4th inning!

Yes, David hath slain Goliath. Can the Pali Pres Prodigals take this momentum and parlé it into a playoff spot? Come to the game next week and find out!

Please join us next week at the family picnic at 6pm (see flyer below) and catch the game afterwards!

Monday, May 22nd - 7:30pm - Cheviot Hills Rec Center - Field 3

“There’s no crying in baseball.” - Tom Hanks

Meet our Safety Team for our Preschool

Meet Jake (left) and Nolan (right), our new safety officers for our preschool and church campus. One of them will be on campus every school day from 8am to 2:30pm for the rest of the school year. Then they will return on June 19th for summer camp. If you’re on campus and you see them, please say hello and introduce yourself.

Preschool News

Friday May 12th was a picture perfect day for a picnic on the beach to appreciate our teachers and staff for Teacher Appreciation Week.

All week the teachers were given flowers, donuts, bagels, and croissants to start their day off on a good note. Then, on Friday we were presented with a beautiful tote bag from LL Bean filled with personalized gift cards, cozy socks, a beach cooler, cookies and other wonderful items.

The Pali Pres Preschool parents know how to make a staff feel loved and appreciated. Enjoy the photos from this beautiful event!

Pledge Update

Year to Date Actuals: $133,144

Year to Date Budget: $124,443

Pali Pres relies on your consistent giving to meet our regularly scheduled expenses. Thank you to everyone who is able to give!

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 Jean Church & Lore Meline for last week's refreshments! This week's goodies are brought to us by the Children & Family Ministries Committee!

Sunday Sanctuary Flowers

A BIG thank you to Lyla & Cindy Corrales for donating last week! This week’s flowers are brought to us by Sylvia & Jon Boyd, in memory of Sylvia’s mother, Neva Arslan.

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

Did Jesus really say that? Join us for worship on Sunday as we look at a rather barbed comment from Jesus. Who was it directed at and why? Come find out!

Give to Pali Pres

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

Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.

-1 Corinthians 9: 24-27