Upcoming Events
Founder of Pescadero Nonprofit To Speak at
Books Inc., Palo Alto
This Wednesday, May 16, at 7pm
Rev. Wendy Taylor, who came to First Pres to preach and talk about her work with the immigrant farm workers in Pescadero, will be reading from her book No Longer Strangers (coauthored with Margaret Kimball Cross) at Books Inc, Town & Country Shopping Center, Palo Alto on Wednesday, May 16.
Start time is 7pm, not 7:30pm (as noted in FirstPres Press).
Come hear stories of the men who left their families for months, and sometimes years, to work the rich flower fields of Pescadero. You’ll learn about their enormous challenges in this country.
Puente de la Costa Sur, the organization Wendy founded, is the focus of ongoing support for First Pres.
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Two New Programs Support
Ecumenical Hunger Program of East Palo Alto
As we establish a deeper on-going relationship with Ecumenical Hunger Program (EHP) in East Palo Alto, we invite you to participate in the following opportunities:
Wear For All – Clothing Kids in Need
(now through June 1)
This optional spring Offering will provide funds for school uniforms and other back-to-school clothing items, such as shoes, socks and underwear. Through this donation, more children attending East Palo Alto schools will have new clothing for their first day of school. Donations of cash or check are greatly appreciated. If writing a check, please make it out to First Presbyterian Church, Palo Alto, and write “Wear for All” on the memo line. Either place your donation in the offering plate or send it to the office. We will be collecting these offerings until June 1, at which time our collective check will be sent to EHP.
Ongoing Collection of Non-Food Items
During our Sunday Offering, we are expanding our collection opportunities to include non-food items for Ecumenical Hunger Program. If you have these items to donate, please bring them on Sunday and drop them in the labeled basket. The items requested are:
- baby wipes,
- bar soap,
- deodorant,
- dish soap,
- dishwashing liquid,
- disposable diapers (sizes 3,4,5),
- face towels (washcloths),
- feminine hygiene products,
- foot powder,
- gas cards,
- laundry detergent,
- lotion,
- nail clippers,
- Q-tips,
- disposable razors,
- shampoo,
- sunscreen,
- toilet paper,
- toothpaste.
We especially would like to invite the children and youth to join this effort and bring in an item as part of the Children’s Offering.
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Help Wanted: Hotel de Zink
Homeless to Be Our Guests in July
Soon you will see Hotel de Zink sign-up sheets in the Narthex and Fellowship Hall, so be prepared to sign up to help bring or prepare meals during the month of July.
Hotel de Zink is our effort, in conjunction with InnVision, to host about 15 homeless local folk for a month. We provide them an evening meal, a safe place to sleep, and a morning meal.
There are several deacons that will be away during parts of the month, so we really need all of you to pitch in and participate this year. We are also hoping to have two other churches help us this year, First Baptist and Covenant.
We hope you’ll join us!
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Take a Trip, Plant a Tree!
FirstPres Cool Planet’s Summer Campaign
Did you know that a high percentage of carbon emissions come from air travel, which uses hundreds of pounds of fuel per passenger?
If you’re planning a plane trip, consider offsetting your carbon emissions with a donation to Canopy, a local organization that supports planting trees (and education on the importance of trees) in Palo Alto and East Palo Alto.
When you book a flight, multiply the approximate number of miles traveled by a penny per mile. For example, a round-trip to the East Coast is about 5,000 miles, so you would donate $50 to offset your travel.
Donate directly to Canopy. It’s that simple!
If you would rather not donate online, you can also write a check to Canopy, with “First Pres Travel Offset” in the memo line, and place it in the box in the narthex labeled “Handprints not Footprints.”
