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.

A House of Prayer

 

Please join us to pray for our community's at 7:45pm Wednesday and Saturday evenings until we are allowed to return to our remaining homes.  

1.  By calling in:

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.

https://zoom.us/j/5013145479. 

If you are not able to join us, please leave your prayer requests in the comments below or email them to us at bonnydoonchurch@gmail.com.

We have also added them to our 24 hour prayer marathon.   People have committed to praying at a specific time of day so that we have complete prayer coverage all day long.

1:00 am: Psalm 103v1-5, Proverbs 4:20-23, Psalm 34v7, Psalm 34v5, Psalm 34v10, 34v14, 91v4,v11-12,v14-16,  3 John v2)

4:00 am: Hebrew 8

5:00 am Psalm 42:11 

6:00 am Exodus 19:4, Phil4 vs 6&7, Celtic Daily Prayer

7:00 am Jeramiah 17:14 

8:00 am Psalm  34 1John 4:14&15 

9:00 am  ps 139 

10:00 am 

11:00 am. Psalm  51 “create in me a pure heart oh Lord…”

12:00 pm

1:00 pm. Psalm  34:4 Psalm 139

2:00 pm

3:00 pm. "The Joy of the Lord is my Strength"

4:00 pm. 2 Cor 5:7 

5:00 pm

6:00 pm I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me”- Philippians 4:13

7:00 pm Matt 11:28 “come unto me all you who are weary…

8:00 pm “Delight yourself in the Lord..ps37 vs4

9:00 pm

10:00 pm Luke 11:10-13)

11:00 pm

12:00 am Proverbs 3 vs 5&6

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.   

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. 

Pastor Edd

Memorial Day Weekend, Turn Your Radio On!

We hope you will enjoy Edd Breeden's sermon yesterday that we have uploaded onto Youtube as well as the little number shared by our choir, "Turn Your Radio On".  Each Sunday, we upload our sermon to this same YouTube channel for Bonny Doon Church.

Hopefully, you and your family have enjoyed a meaningful Memorial Day despite restrictions of sheltering-in-place.   In addition to remembering those who died to protect our freedoms, this weekend often marks the beginning of Summer when families take vacations and many of us look forward to camping trips.   Our church, we will continue to meet online for the foreseeable future.   We hope you will consider joining us in worship.

Since we began to shelter-in-place, our pastor Edd Breeden has been walking through the Psalms and sending a daily devotional as encouragement to anyone on our church email list.  Below is Sunday's post "Enjoying the Presence of God".  To receive these devotionals simply add your name and email and "Sign Up" at the bottom of our church's web page.  Each Sunday, he delivers a sermon on the current Psalm during our virtual church service.   

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

Bonny Doon "Virtual" Spring Craft Faire

With the "shelter-in-place" order, we have moved our Spring craft faire online. Join us on Zoom to visit with your favorite vendors and see their newest creations.

 

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.

By clicking this link you can join our virtual craft faire using Zoom video conference:
https://zoom.us/j/5013145479.

Easter Sunday & Lift Up Your Heads

Easter Sunday & Lift Up Your Heads...

Easter Sunday

Although we won't be meeting for Easter Sunrise service, this year, the lovely flower cross that Petra and Dutch made for us will available for us to place a flower in it.  

Please join us for Easter Service at 10am using Zoom video conference system.  

We will also have a Zoom "breakout room" for Sunday School following our worship service.  

Lift Up Your Heads!

A message from Pastor Edd.

One of Jesus' teachings during this final week of His life has to do with what the theologians call "the Second Coming." According to His teachings there will come a day when this world will end and the "New Heavens and the New Earth" will appear. During this last week of His life, Jesus mentions this again and the disciples now want to know more. Jesus offers more information and Luke records it in chapter 21. You can find more about this in Matthew chapter 25 and Mark chapter 13. 

Luke 21:7 They questioned Him, saying, "Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?" 8 And He said, "See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time is near.' Do not go after them.  9 "When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately." 

10 Then He continued by saying to them, "Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, 11 and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. 

12 "But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake.  13 "It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.  14 "So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; 15 for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.  

25 "There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,  26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  27 "Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory.  28 "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." 

Jesus describes the times leading up to His return as a time in life where many will claim to be the Christ and offer to lead people down a path of happiness in this life. There will be wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, plagues, and famines. He talks about terrors and great signs in the heavens. But before all of these things happen Christians will be put to the test. They will be dragged into prison and brought before kings and governors for the sake of the name of Jesus. 
 
In comparison to those times, being at home because of the plague of this virus doesn't sound so bad.  
Even in the midst of "signs in the sun and moon and stars," or "men fainting from fear of the things coming upon the world," Jesus says to us, "straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." God is with us through it all. If the world offers us a virus or a war or difficulty with health or trouble within the family, Jesus is there for us. He will never leave us or forsake us. And Jesus knows the torment of feeling left alone. On the cross just a few days after He spoke these words of the end times to His disciples, Jesus cried out to the Father in heaven, "why have you forsaken me?" Even though He knew His Father would never leave Him, He felt abandoned and alone. He had the greatest of faith and yet He knew the pain of an apparently silent God. The Bible says Jesus was tempted in every way like we are.  
He knows how you feel at this moment. He knows your thoughts and your feelings. And He has felt those same temptations and trials while He lived on this earth. And He even felt the pain of wondering why God did not respond in the midst of crisis.  
His answer to us, was His actions in His time of need, and His instructions to the disciples who will be around during the end times. "Straighten up and lift your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."God never leaves us nor forsakes us. He is always with us. We might not always understand that or feel His presence, but He is here. And just around the corner the answer to our situation is coming. It seems like an eternity before God resolves our concerns, but in reality, it is just a few more days or a week away. Many of us started this quarantine over a month ago. On the 8th of March we had worship in the church. On the 9th of march most of the meetings I had on my calendar were beginning to be canceled. On the 15th of March, I offered to be in Church and Bob and Aaron came to offer music, some others joined with us for our last worship service in the church until this quarantine will be gone. 

For three weeks we have enjoyed the company of others via the wonderful technology of the computer. For three weeks we have not been in each other's presence, but we have been together in the presence of our Lord and Savior. What a blessing. To have a fellowship of friends who are praying for us, caring for us, ready at any moment to help with a word of comfort or a smile of hope or even a card of friendship.

For three weeks we have enjoyed the company of others via the wonderful technology of the computer. For three weeks we have not been in each other's presence, but we have been together in the presence of our Lord and Savior. What a blessing. To have a fellowship of friends who are praying for us, caring for us, ready at any moment to help with a word of comfort or a smile of hope or even a card of friendship.

Lift up your heads, 30 days are behind us and the plan at the moment is only 21 days left until we might be able to be together again. Do not lose heart. Continue to pray, to sing, to read, and to reach out to your friends in any way you can. Let Jesus spread His love through you.
   
Blessings,Pastor Edd 

How our worship will transition when the order is lifted? It is likely that we will have a mixed service similar to that with Edd and Aaron at church while others on Zoom watching from home.  When the "shelter-in-place" order is lifted some individuals could return to worship in our physical church and other "at risk" members of our church family could continue worshipping from the safety of their homes until the threat of contracting the virus has passed.  

Making "Remote Church" Our Mission

If you have been by our church over the past month, you couldn't have missed the lovely daffodils that have been blooming.   They beckon us forward into a new season.  

This post is a stepping stone into a new season of our church community.  In it, we share with you how to:

• Participate in our "Remote Church" service
• Access our sermons if you are not able to join our church service
• Join our new Church Email List and receive Pastor Edd's daily encouragement.  

"REMOTE CHURCH" SERVICE

A few weeks ago we shared with you that we would begin offering an option for worshipers to meet remotely at our normal time.  

We now are meeting every Sunday at 10am for "virtual church" until the "shelter-in-place" order is lifted. There are two ways for you to connect to our church Zoom video conference service. 

1.  By calling in:

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

You will then be asked for your participate ID followed by a #.  No ID is required, simply enter #.
Next you will be asked to enter a password followed by a #. Our password is 2020.  

2.  By going over the Internet:

By clicking this link you can join our Zoom video conference which is a bit like FaceTime.

https://zoom.us/j/5013145479.  You will be prompted to enter a password.  Our password is 2020.


We invite you to join us as we discover what it is like to worship together from the comfort of our own homes.  We invite you to worship with us during this season of reflection.

OUR NEW PODCAST
In addition to offering a live video conference for our community to gather together in worship, we will be posting our sermons and other inspirational content from our church here: 
https://bonnydoonchurch.podbean.com/

HOW TO HELP AND FIND HELP

If you are alone and need help, please contact Edd (edd@breeden.us or 831-239-6817) or one of our church members. 

STAY HOPEFUL AND PRAYERFUL

Pastor Edd is sharing daily devotionals on the Psalms as a way to offer encouragement during this challenging time.   If you'd like to read these, please follow our Bonny Doon Church Facebook page or Subscribe to our church's new email list:

https://carnation-lizard-wz2p.squarespace.com/ 

Response to Coronavirus

We want to let you know what we are doing at Bonny Doon Church to help our county health officials combat the spread of the coronavirus––and the anxiety associated with it. There’s a lot of info to cover in this update, but please read all of it so you have accurate information. 

First, we encourage you to fix your thoughts on Jesus. He is at work even now. There is no need to fear or panic. Instead, look for opportunities to help.

With that important foundation in mind, we want to answer some questions you may have.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH CHURCH SERVICES?

On Monday March 9, the Santa Cruz County Health Department declared a local emergency and issued a statement that they “recommend cancelling or postponing large gatherings of around 50 or more.” 

After weighing options, Edd, our part-time pastor, decided to preach at church on March 15^{t.  On Marc} On March 16^th, Santa Cruz County ordered the community to “shelter in place”.  On March 14^th, Edd shared this message on our church’s Facebook page:

We are just in the beginning stages of what we will see with this coronavirus. I am not usually an alarmist, but I see the statistics and Martin Gaskell sent out an email this yesterday that confirms with data what I have been feeling. The cases in China began in early December last year and according to the graphs reported almost daily, they reached a peak of the number of cases after about three months, but the world's cases began to grow shortly before that. Now that the cases have come to our area of the world, I believe we can expect to see a quick growth in cases as well. If the statistics pan out, we could see this growth of cases continuing until at least May when the growth will begin to subside (statistically). And I, as a mathematician, think in statistics and numbers. My trust is in the love of God and knowing that He cares for us all. I believe there is something good and beneficial in this pandemic that we cannot easily see with our eyes and limited understanding. I believe we, as the Bonny Doon Church, need three things at this point. And I include all inhabitants of the Bonny Doon area in my comments and prayers.
One, we need prayer, chronicles says, if my people will humble themselves and pray. You might not want to pray, you might have an experience in your past that has convinced you that God doesn't exist or at least doesn't care and will never answer. The people of Bonny Doon Church believe otherwise. We talk about the way God answers prayers on a weekly basis as we gather on Sunday mornings. What a great opportunity we all have, to come into the presence of God and pray; for ourselves, our neighbors, the world. Ask God for protection of you and your loved ones first but also ask for your neighbors and their well being, and then send your thoughts to the different areas of the world where you have connections or have always wanted to visit, they need your prayers at this moment as well.
Two, we need encouragement, and I find that encouragement in the Bible. I make a regular habit of reading the Bible, three to four chapters per day. I start in Matthew and keep right on reading until I get to the end of Revelation. It takes about 15 minutes a day. During times like this, I try to read more. Join with me, would you? Listen to what God has to say and let the Holy Spirit come upon you as you read. Let Him soothe you and care for you and heal you and strengthen you and above all fill your mind and heart with hope. I have posted on this sight, the first of many short messages from the book of Psalms in the Old Testament. I hope you will come back each day and read the new message for the day. may you be Blessed as you read these words and especially the words of the Bible, God's words of hope to us.
Three, we all need compassion. We are all in the same boat, with the storms raging around us. We all hear the fear in the news, see the frustration in the voices of others, and can't help but notice that our own minds and hearts are growing with that temptation to be afraid, day by day. How can we stand with the love of Jesus and still the storm in the power of His name? He stood up in the boat with His disciples and spoke to the storm, and commanded it to be still. For the sake of others whom we know and love and even those who we don't know or love, can you stand with me, in the name of Jesus, and command the storm of virus to be stilled? Can you speak those words each day?

I am not going to ask any one to come to church on Sunday morning, but I will be there. It would be nice to send some sense of the service out to others in some form, I hope that will materialize. But I offer you an alternative if nothing else happens, drive by the church, and get a drive by blessing. I pray for the church and property often that the presence of the lord Jesus will be upon the land. Tomorrow, if you want to get out and about, get in your car and drive through the parking lot, drive around the church, sit in your car and pray, let the presence of the LORD and the love of the people come upon your car and your lives. Honk at your neighbors and friends, pray for them as you sit there. Blessed one another with the love of Jesus and His healing power. Act out your faith.
If any one knows how to get the word out, I am available to pray in specifics if they ask, edd@breeden.us, or 831-239-6817. I will be praying and would love to help as best I can. To me, what I have to offer is prayer, teaching, the blessing of the presence of the LORD God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His name, be blessed.
Edd

Bonny Doon Church is committed to the health and wellbeing of our whole community.  While we never want to respond to uncertainty with fear, we do want to be a church known for deep compassion and good citizenship.  

MAKE “REMOTE CHURCH” YOUR MISSION

Let us be clear: Church is not cancelled. It’s just changed. 

Last Sunday, our church offered an opportunity for its members to participate in worship from their homes via a videoconference service and sent out an email recording of the sermon to individuals who were not able to be present at the service.  Based on the most recent “shelter in place” order, it is likely that our worship service will go 100% online this coming Sunday.  We will share information on our Sunday plans here as well as on Facebook.

MORE WORDS FROM OUR PASTOR, EDD

Blessed is the person who walks in the counsel of the LORD; his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law, he meditates day and night.  He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers. Psalm 1: 2,3

As we begin a few months of cyber communication with the onset of the coronavirus in our community, I want to offer some words from Scripture and some hope for us all. I must admit, I do not know what will happen to us as a community, or how individuals within our community will fare. I would hope as all do, that this virus would just pass us by; that the angel would pass over our houses as happened to the Israelites during the time of the Exodus. (chapters 11 and 12) And to that end I pray.

I plan to post something every day, or as often as possible. And I will be using the Old Testament Book of Psalms as inspiration. David, the author was a man of many moods and a varying sense of faith. He would get quite angry with God at times, frustrated that others did not believe in God, critical of the "wicked" who did not seek after God, and the like. But he also shared some very comforting words and words that will be helpful for us in the coming months.

Psalm One includes the words I have used at the beginning of this post.

When you have nothing positive to think about in the days ahead turn to the word of the LORD. Turn to the Bible. The news you read and hear in the coming months will be filled with more negative ideas, more fear, more speculation than any of us need in our lives. I encourage you to listen to the news some but spend an equal amount of time reading the words of the Bible, maybe even the Psalms and the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Psalm One says a person who meditates on the law of the LORD, day and night, will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, yielding fruit, and not withering.

I would pray that each of you who live in Bonny Doon or read these words from afar, would fine the health and strength of that tree which will not wither.

Jesus, I believe You to be alive and working in this world. Why a virus like this comes our way, I do not know, but I trust that you know best and You have a love for mankind that we cannot even imagine. Please, pour out Your good upon us in these trying times, and help us to put our trust and hope in Your goodness and love towards us. Amen.

HOW TO HELP AND FIND HELP

If you are alone and need help, please contact Edd (edd@breeden.us or 831-239-6817) or one of our church members. 

STAY HOPEFUL AND PRAYERFUL

God is going to work through this in ways we can’t even imagine now. Can you anticipate that God will move in great ways now?

He will deepen your faith.

He will deepen your family’s spiritual life as you worship together.

Let’s be people of peace and people of prayer. Pray for the leadership of our county. Pray for those who are seriously impacted by this virus. Pray that people all over the world will draw closer to God. Pray for the church, that we will be united around this, instead of divided by this.