Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Tuesday, October 06, 2020
Disaster Recovery
- Red Cross
- CalFresh and Second Harvest
- Monterey based Catholic Charities
- Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County
- United Policyholder
Vegetarian:
- Pesto Parmesan Tortellini
- New York Mac Salad
- White chocolate Macadamia Nut cookies
Vegan:
- Mediterranean Couscous (contains almonds)
Everyone:
- Irish Style Beef Brisket w seasoned spaghetti
- Tandoori Chicken w seasoned spaghetti
- Cajun Style Chicken w seasoned spaghetti
Friday, September 25, 2020
Financial & Tactical Help Recovering from the Fire
This Blog Post includes information about the services of Samaritan's Purse, FEMA Disaster Assistance Team, as well as a note from Pastor Edd about where you can find help.- Help Sifting Through Ashes
- FEMA Disaster Assistance Team
- A Note From Pastor Edd
Help Sifting Through Ashes
Both the Presbyterian Disaster Relief and Samaritan's Purse have trained volunteers who will help you sift through ashes. Samaritan's Purse is working with Convergence Church to help. Presbyterian Disaster Relief has had a table at the Kaiser Center for the past few weeks and has come up to help a neighbor in Country Estates find things as well as others. Samaritan's Purse has said that it is unusual for a disaster like ours not to have more people signing up for help. Please do sign up for help, they are experts at finding precious items in from the remains of a fire.
- Help Sifting Through Ashes
- FEMA Disaster Assistance Team
- A Note From Pastor Edd
Help Sifting Through Ashes
Both the Presbyterian Disaster Relief and Samaritan's Purse have trained volunteers who will help you sift through ashes. Samaritan's Purse is working with Convergence Church to help. Presbyterian Disaster Relief has had a table at the Kaiser Center for the past few weeks and has come up to help a neighbor in Country Estates find things as well as others. Samaritan's Purse has said that it is unusual for a disaster like ours not to have more people signing up for help. Please do sign up for help, they are experts at finding precious items in from the remains of a fire.
FEMA's Disaster Survivor Assistance
On Saturday and Sunday from 2-6pm FEMA’s Disaster Survivor Assistance teams will be in Boulder Creek at: Bear Creek Recreation and Community Center, 15685 Forest Hill Drive, Boulder Creek, CA, 95006.
Edd's shared this information with our church in email this week.
This week has been a learning experience for me. Wednesday afternoon I went up to the church to help Sue hand out meals and to meet with a person that Brandon wanted us to meet. Brandon is the pastor from Convergence Church in Capitola who has been spearheading the volunteer effort around the county and who has been working with Sue at our church to help us get food and water to distribute. The person he brought with him was from the national office of FEMA.
One of many things we learned from Kevin was the need for everyone who has been displaced from the fire or lost something in the fire, to register with FEMA. If you do have needs now or in the future might need financial assistance, you will never get it if you do not register now with their organization. He said one of the strange things that will happen once you register is you will receive in the mail a package from the SBA, Small Business Administration. Do not laugh. The SBA is the banking wing of the government that handles the disbursements and loans in times of disasters. That includes any personal loans you may desire to receive. The loans to help you rebuild will be available and the interest rate is in the neighborhood of 1% and sometimes the loans are forgivable. This is something you should not pass up.
And then on Thursday I gathered with a group of people on the Zoom meeting for the Red Cross. There were many different agencies on the meeting talking about the things they are doing to help people during this time. Natividad Hospital can help you get temporary Medical services to assist in paying for any medical issues you might have at this time. The Red Cross also has services that allow you to connect with a mental health professional if you are in need of counseling or other types of care services. If you or someone in your home is needing services related to Disabilities, the Red Cross has a team to help you.
The Red Cross is another place where you need to sign up in order to be given services. You can do so in four ways. You can go to the Kaiser Permanente Center in Santa Cruz. You can make a phone call to 1-800-Red-Cross and select option 4 and they will help you with immediate assistance. They have a fund that will provide $450 to any household that qualifies, to help you in the recovery or displacement. They also have vouchers for other needs you might have. You can go online to redcross.org/apply if you desire to do it yourself and answer the questions. They only want to know that you are who you say you are, lived in the effected area, and were impacted by the fire in some way.
The Red Cross has services to help you find additional resources including moving from temporary locations to your next stage in life, i.e. transportation tickets, moving trucks, rental deposits, and the list goes on and on.
Oh, and the fourth way to connect with them, in case you are counting, you can attend the Mobile resources event this Saturday, 26th and Sunday, 27th at 15685 Forest Hill Drive in Boulder Creek and sign up in person.
Besides FEMA and the Red Cross there is ongoing assistance from Valley Churches United, that has a food pantry, vouchers to Abbotts Thrift store, gift cards, to Safeway, Target, Costco, and the like. They also can provide help with utilities and hotels. Catholic Charities can also help with past rental payments that you owe or help in finding new rental housing for people displaced. And Grey Bears also has a lot of services available besides their weekly bag of food that has been going on each Thursday at our church for years.
Friday, September 18, 2020
A Hug in a Mug.
Wednesday, September 09, 2020
Fire Relief Food Distribution in Bonny Doon
Fire Relief Food Distribution in Bonny Doon
Starting Sept 10th, we began serving "to-go" lunch and dinner meals for up to 150 people at Bonny Doon Church. We now are serving coffee Saturday September 19th from 9-11am as well. Lunch is served at 12:30-1:30pm. Dinner is served at 5:30-6:30pm. We have a commitment to receive meals until October 2nd. Many people have asked how they can contribute financially to support the aide being offered at the church, people can contribute here to help fund continued community fire relief efforts.
Friday, September 04, 2020
Where to Find and Give Help
Meals for People Impacted by CZU Fire
Billy Graham's Church was at Felton Presbyterian Church earlier this week to offer prayers.
Santa Cruz County Recovery Resource Center (RRC)
Kaiser Permanente Arena, has opened as the Santa Cruz County Recovery Resource Center (RRC) for victims affected by the CZU Lightning Complex Fire. Representatives from numerous agencies will be on hand to answer questions about disaster assistance programs and other support to help families. FEMA, CalOES, and numerous federal, state and local agencies and nonprofits will be located at the RCC.
What: Recovery Resource Center
When: 11 a.m.-7:00 p.m., daily
Where: Kaiser Permanente Arena, 140 Front St., Santa Cruz
Neighbors have reported that trained volunteers from the Presbyterian Church are offering to help people go through ashes on their property to look for precious remains. They have a booth at the resource center.
To Contribute Financially
Bonny Doon School Superintendent and a handful of local families have coordinated with the Santa Cruz County Foundation to be their fiscal sponsor for a Bonny Doon Fire Relief Fund. Their intentions are to manage the distribution of funds through neighborhood captains.
https://www.bonnydoonfirerelief.org/
Peer-to-Peer Fire Relief
Many individuals who are providing immediate aide to people who have remained in Bonny Doon to feed animals and fight the fire are accepting help through their personal Venmo accounts. These individuals are providing fuel, water and food. Much of the help was offered at the airport. If you have provided that help and not been reimbursed or if you are wanting to reimburse those who paid for supplies out of their own pockets and haven't been reimbursed up please reach out to suecannon@gmail.com
Tuesday, August 25, 2020
Bonny Doon Church Fire Relief
A deer forages in the smokey dusk Saturday along Smith Grade Road near Beauregard Vineyards in Bonny Doon. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
If You Want to Donate & Help
To support the church's fire relief efforts to the Bonny Doon Community, one can donate here.
Six families of our congregation have lost their homes in the recent fires. We are accepting donations in support of these families and others who have been evacuated in the event you would like help them out financially.
Our church has also applied for and will be receiving a disaster relief grant from the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. Our church session (current elders lead by our pastor who are governing our church administration) will be managing the distribution of these funds. Our current session members include a couple of family members who have lost their homes.
The Bonny Doon School shared this list of resources with their families they are accepting donations to help students evacuated by the fire.
Santa Cruz County is accepting contributions of large, family-sized tents at the Emeline Warehouse, 1082 Emeline in Santa Cruz. The County asks that you do not donate food during disasters.
The Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter is in need of cat litter boxes, cat litter, dry dog, and cat food. They are asking donations be dropped off at 1001 Rodriguez St. in Santa Cruz. If you have been displaced and need pet supplies, you can come to the Shelter at 1001 Rodriguez St. in Santa Cruz for supplies as well.
You can also donate locally to nonprofit organizations serving evacuated areas:
- Davenport Resource Service Center
- Valley Churches United
- Mountain Community Resources
- Community Foundation Fire Response Fund
The Watsonville Fair Grounds are in need of volunteers to provide care and comfort to people who have evacuated their homes due to the current fire.
Give toiletries, tents, and air purifiers to the Community Action Board who are serving seniors and farmworkers in Davenport.
Here is a master document where you can find additional resources and submit individual needs or offers.
Sign up for a shift at the CAL FIRE call center on Ocean Street to answer questions that local residents may have about the fires. Shifts are two hours each, and you can sign up via this link.
Offer up a room or storage space for folks evacuating using this master doc.
The Community Action Board is currently accepting monetary donations and is seeking N95 masks, gift cards, hotel vouchers, toiletries, and hygiene items. Donate here or email rubenp@cabinc.org to coordinate drop-offs.
Saturday, August 22, 2020
A House of Prayer
You can join us in singing, prayer and listen to our weekly sermon by calling:
+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
You will be asked to enter a Meeting ID. Enter this #: 501 314 5479
2. By going over the Internet:
By clicking this link you can join our Zoom video conference which is a bit like FaceTime.
We are accepting donations in support those who have been evacuated in the event you would like help them out financially. Our church session (current elders lead by our pastor who are governing our church administration) will be managing the distribution of these funds. Our current session members include a couple of family members who have lost their homes.
Sunday, May 31, 2020
The Coming of the Holy Spirit
The Coming of the Holy Spirit
Today, the Christian Church celebrates the day of Pentecost. It was on the day of Pentecost that the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples of Jesus, following His resurrection.
I Judaism the Festival of Weeks has been celebrated as a Harvest Festival for centuries. It was celebrated seven weeks and one day, hence pente, or fifty, after the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In the early first century the celebration took on a remembering of the covenant during Noah’s time that God made between Himself and “all flesh that is upon the earth.” He would never again wipe out all of mankind as He had done in the flood.
After the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD which ended the bringing of offerings to the Temple, the festival shifted from its agricultural roots to a remembrance of the giving of the law, the Ten Commandments, to Moses on Mount Sanai.
Acts: 1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
4 And while staying[a] with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested[a] on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
In the passage today, the disciples have gathered together, and they are waiting for the Holy Spirit. They actually don’t know what they are waiting for. Jesus told them to wait for the Holy Spirit, the promise of God the Father. But what that would actually look like, they had no idea. But they waited for about 10 days.
And then, as the book of Acts tells the story, “there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
The gift of tongues has created quite a stir in the Christian church over the years for many reasons. Some have and some don’t. There are even people who say in only existed in the past, during the early days of the church, and is no longer available to the followers of Jesus. But with all of the controversy, two things are true, from my perspective. It is only a gift, it is not the be-all-end-all of the Christian experience. And, it is not designed for every Christian to have the gift anyway. The apostle Paul tells us in his first letter to the Corinthian church, “ To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good…All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” There are a variety of gifts and they are distributed around the church as the Holy Spirit deems appropriate and they are to be used for the common good of the church. Gifts are not designed to make someone stand out and be better than another, but they are distributed to the members of the church so that the church can work together as a cohesive group to accomplish the work of Jesus Christ.
But, back to the story. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended in a violent way, a mighty rushing wind filling the whole house where they were gathered. Each of the people began to speak and the languages were not their normal language. Yet the commotion caused a large crowd to gather around the disciples and those people were from all over northern Africa, the middle east, and southern Europe, as we know these places today. And each of the listeners were surprised because they were hearing the disciples speak in their native language about the mighty acts of God.
It was quite an experience and over 5,000 people said they wanted to follow Jesus as the Christ on that day.
We know the Holy Spirit is God. We believe in what we call a Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Without going into the theology of the Triune God or Trinity, let me just say, the Holy Spirit is God, along with the Father and the Son, Jesus. The Holy Spirit is given to all believers at the time they believe in Jesus as their Savior. The Father knows how to give good gifts to His children and He freely gives the Holy Spirit to us when we ask.
It is nice to have the experience of feeling the Holy Spirit come into our presence and touch us in some mystical way, but the joy of the Holy Spirit is all of the things He does for us behind the scenes. He is our spiritual teacher. He is the one who helps us understand the Bible when we read it. He reminds us of the words of Jesus when we need to have the spiritual help they offer. We can read the Bible and promptly forget what we have read, but when the time is right for us to know something from the Bible, the Holy Spirit reminds us of the words we have read. In this way, we have the spiritual knowledge we need at the right time in our life.
The Holy Spirit also makes us aware of our sins, not to condemn us, but to help us. When I am aware of my sins and let God know how I feel, He does not try to make me feel bad about what I have done, but because of what Jesus has done, God forgives us, restores us, and helps us make better choices I the future. Those better choices are another thing the Holy Spirit does for us, He teaches us about righteousness, or living according to God’s agenda rather than our own.
There are so many other things the Holy Spirit does for us, but it is interesting how the Bible shares that His main task is to Glorify Jesus. He gives people words and music so they can write songs for the church to sing. He helps us to see the work of Jesus in all of creation, I love seeing a beautiful sunset and remarking, “Jesus painted a good one tonight.” He helps us in our relationships with one another, so we set aside what we want and seek to help others in the body of Christ find what is best for them.
What a blessing the Holy Spirit is for our lives. Often, we do not even see evidence of His presence, but He is actively at work.
The Holy Spirit is available to help. The first step in having the Holy Spirit is to ask Jesus to come into your life, forgive you, and make you whole. Without Jesus, the Holy Spirit cannot do His work in your life. Then you need to ask the Holy Spirit to pour out over you. We often sing the little chorus, “Spirit of the Living God, Fall Afresh on Me.”
I Bless you in the name of Jesus, with the hunger to know more of Jesus and with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Especially on this day of Pentecost.
May the Holy Spirit have free reign in this world, to calm the disruptions in people’s lives and to bring wisdom to the research doctors and scientists so they might find a vaccine for this virus.
Monday, May 25, 2020
Memorial Day Weekend, Turn Your Radio On!
Enjoying the Presence of God
Psalm 69:1 Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.
3 I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.
My eyes grow dim with waiting. This is where an attitude adjustment is needed. Why am I waiting and not enjoying? This is a choice we can make, we either accept our situation and make the best of it or we become more and more discouraged.
Solomon was a king who tried everything to find happiness. He lays out a litany of experiences in the book of Ecclesiastes. In chapter 3 he speaks the words, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:” (Ecc. 3:2) And after a long list of conditions he concludes with, “What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.” (Ecc. 9-13) According to Solomon, God does His best for us. We need to accept our “lot” in life and move on. Apparently, we have a choice, although many times finding the switch to change from “eyes growing dim” to “being joyful,” is not an easy thing to do.
Why do I focus so much on the circumstances than on the blessings God has given me? Because, right now, I do not see the blessings as blessings. I see the circumstances as in the way of my plans and I do not see any benefit for me in my situation. What does it take to change that thinking to, “Whatever situation I find myself in, God is with me and He is going to help me through this and together we will be victorious?” I heard a quote last week that I liked, “We live in fear” and I might add, frustration, “because we project our past into our future.” Why not project the truth into our future, God has given us life to be busy with and He has made everything beautiful in its time? Let’s look to the future with the eyes of faith that God will always do what is best for us. And that includes the circumstances we currently find ourselves in.
10 When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach.
11 When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.
12 I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.
David talks about the reaction he receives from the people around him. There is a fine line between having people like you so you can share the gospel with them and sharing the gospel with them whether they continue to like you or not. David talks about God and gets persecuted. Do we avoid talking about our faith to remain friends with those who might not like what we have to say? This is not an either-or question. There might be times when the best approach is to ease up on our conversation to give others a chance to process the faith in their own time. And there might also be times when if we do not say something about our faith in Jesus and their need for the same, that might never again have a chance to know Jesus. Are the fields ripe for harvest, as Jesus called it, or are we still in the process of cultivating the field?
There is no right answer to this question. We each have to decide that timing for ourselves. But do not wait too long to avoid persecution that you fail to share with others the reason for the hope within you.
22 Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.
23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually.
27 Add to them punishment upon punishment; may they have no acquittal from you.
David’s approach of what He wants God to do to his enemies is contrary to the Christian way of thinking. It is much in line with what we feel often. Somebody has done something to us, and we want them destroyed. We are so angry we would like their plans to backfire and consume them. We would like to have them wallow in their own circumstances and have it be difficult for them. And we might even feel like David, let them receive punishment upon punishment.
That is our old nature coming out. The human attitude is to have the enemy destroyed. Yet Jesus said we should turn the other cheek when we are confronted. Meaning we should not let our enemies get the best of us by wearing us down and causing us to think and do the same evil they do.
God said that vengeance belongs to Him, and He is the only one who can clearly bring judgment in the best way possible. Any attempt I would have on dishing out judgment on others would not be enough, that is why the first thought is to wipe them off the face of the earth. But God says, “love your enemy, do good to those who hate you.”
What is God trying to do? If you love others, with the love of Jesus Christ, no matter how they treat you, you will show them something they do not have. Jesus knows they will appreciate this love and strength in such a way that they will think about changing from “the kingdom of darkness” to the “kingdom of light.” It is when they cannot understand the love that they melt. If we treat them like they treat us, they do not see the difference between us and them. They cannot see a benefit to following Jesus if He does not make a difference in our lives. But if we live in such a way that they see a disconnect between their way of thinking and ours, then they will question where we have something more real than they do. And they just might then be able to listen to the Holy Spirit and make a change.
Life is good, God in present, and He is blessing you, no matter the circumstances in your life.
Do not hide your faith in Jesus, especially not to avoid persecution.
And do not seek revenge against others, Let God handle them, just love them with the love of Jesus.
Be Blessed Today.
Edd Bredden
Friday, May 01, 2020
Bonny Doon "Virtual" Spring Craft Faire
Bonny Doon "Virtual" Spring Craft Faire
So how will the online craft faire work?
When joining the online craft faire, you will initially enter a Main Room. Our craft faire host will help you navigate between different vendors. Each vendor will have their own "breakout room" which acts as a virtual booth. When you would like to check out a vendor, you indicate to the craft faire host which vendor you'd like to visit. The host will place in in the vendor's "breakout room". Once you are in the vendor's breakout room, you will be able to visit with the vendor and other individuals in the room. Whenever you are ready, you will be able to leave the room on your own and return to the Main Room.
When you have found "that perfect something" that you'd like to purchase, you will work with the vendor to sort out payment. Each vendor will have their own mechanism for accepting payment. Some may use Venmo, others may use Square ore PayPal. Payment for products and delivery of products is left up to you and the vendor.
https://zoom.us/j/5013145479.

















