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

February 16, 2024

Dear Pali Pres Family,

This past Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, Christians all over the world entered the holy season of Lent. This season is a long-standing tradition of the church, a special time set aside for spiritual preparation in advance of Easter. With our focus being on deepening our relationship with God, we, as followers of Christ, are called to simpler living, reflection, and prayer.

Throughout the next six weeks, Pastor Grace and I will be preaching on Lenten themes and our worship services will reflect the holy and preparatory nature of this season. 

That being said, I encourage you to not limit your Lenten spiritual formation to our time together on Sundays. I urge you to think about what you will be seeking after in these 40 days leading up to Easter.  How is God calling you to deepen your relationship with him?

I know I’ve shared this with you before, but one helpful exercise that I practice each Lent is to take two pieces of paper, and prayerfully do the following:

·      One the first piece of paper, I write down something

I want to refrain from because I know it hurts my relationship

with God.

·      On the second piece of paper, I write down a practice, a devotion,

or a new habit that I will commit myself to that will give me joy in

my walk of faith. 

·      Then, I post these pieces of paper in a place where I will see them

frequently and be reminded of my Lenten commitments.

I share this practice with you as a possible way for you to deepen your relationship with God during Lent. However you journey through this season, I pray it is one of deep meaning for you as we all look forward to the joy and resurrection power of Easter.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Matt

Valentine’s Day Love from our Sunday School Children

The Deacons and Pastor Grace had the honor and joy of delivering scented candles and beautifully hand-painted Valentines cards made by the Sunday School children to some of our beloved church members. The children were very excited knowing their artwork would encourage someone who is not able to make it to church as often as they would like. We hope you had a sweet Valentine's Day, spreading God's message of LOVE!

xoxo

The Children and Family Ministry

Pali Pres Preschool News

Meet our newest Teacher Assistant, Carli Glubok!

Carli was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She loves going on long, beautiful, nature hikes in Temescal Canyon. She also enjoys having sunny days on the beach. She has a passion for working with children and loves working at her old preschool, Pali Pres! Yes, that's right, Carli was a student at Pali Pres and has returned to share her gifts with the current group of children at Pali Pres.

Welcome Carli!

Lenten Calendar 2024

As we enter into the season of Lent, we invite you to take a colorful Lenten calendar from the Narthex table. It was designed for children and their families, but can be used by anyone for their Lenten journey.

Pali Pres 2024 Per Capita Appeal

Presbyterians are connected in many ways: through worship services, small groups, mission and outreach events and, on a larger scale, through our denomination. During 2024, Pali Pres is obligated to remit $48 for each active member as a way for us to share in the support of our denomination’s three governing bodies (Presbytery, Synod and General Assembly). In order for our church to conserve your generous contributions and our other sources of income to support our various ministries, we encourage each member to consider reimbursing the church for the $48 tax paid on your behalf. You may do so by check (marked Per-Capita) or on the church website. Thank you!

To read more about what per capita is—why it is important, what it is used for—check out this article from the PC(USA).

2024 California Primary Election at Pali Pres

Pali Pres will be a polling location for this year’s primary and general elections.

From Tuesday, February 27th to Friday, March 8th, voting equipment will be occupying Janes Hall. Janes Hall will be off limits, with the exception of the restrooms, preschool office and kitchen.

Please be prepared for an unusual influx of traffic.

We thank you for your cooperation and patience as we graciosuly open our church to the important needs of our community.

* Please do not confuse Pali Pres with your assigned polling location listed in your personal voting materials.

Join us for our Livestream Worship!

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

Our apologies - last week’s livestream experienced technical difficulties. The sound does not begin until 20 minutes and 40 seconds.

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. Please contact Refreshment Coordinator Jan Gong to sign up to serve.

Thank you to Caroline Nick for last week's refreshments! This week's goodies are brought to us by Evelyn & Geoff Moyer!

Sunday Sanctuary Flowers

A BIG thank you to Tove Hoch for providing last week’s sanctuary flowers. This week’s flowers are in celebration of Valentine’s Day!

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 Saunders 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 begin the season of Lent by reading about Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. Come join us as we begin this holy season leading up to Easter.

Give to Pali Pres

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

Save the Dates

Monday, February 19th: President’s Day (Campus Closed)

Tuesday, February 20th: Session Meeting

Tuesday, February 27th thru March 8th: California Primary Election at Pali Pres. Voting equipment will be occupying Janes Hall and it is off limits.

Sunday, March 3rd: Deacon Retreat

Sunday, March 3rd: Sunday Funday

Sunday, March 10th: Congregational Meeting

At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

-Mark 1: 12