St. Andrew’s Update–July 17, 2024

General Assembly

I was on the Finance Committee for the PCUSA General Assembly. My committee was 45 people and we met on zoom for the 3 days prior to going to Salt Lake City.

The committees discuss each motion brought before them and vote on bringing each motion before the full Assembly. I am very proud of the PCUSA and its stance on not supporting companies that supply
equipment or technology for war.

Following are some of the motions that passed and then passed the General Assembly vote.

FIN 1: On Engagement with General Electric and Palantir Technologies, Inc. Divestment Recommendations this was approved. This begins the talks with these companies and begins the process of divesting.

FIN 3: MRTI (Mission Responsibility Through Investment) Recommendation to Remove HP Inc. The process to divest begins with communication with the Companies. HP, Inc. was on the divestment list, in working with MRTI and HP they were able to come off the list. This is a longer story, if you are interested ask me about it and I would be happy to go into more detail.

FIN 15: Divest from Governmental Debt Held by Countries Maintaining a Prolonged Military Occupation this was approved. PCUSA holds government bonds with 3 countries that the UN named as “Occupiers”. These bonds are unrestricted and essentially war bonds. The three contries are Isreal, Morroco and Turkey.

FIN 12: Special Offerings Task Force Report. This passed, however I did not vote yes on this one. I spoke loudly against it in committee and again on the floor. As of 2026, there will be only 3 PCUSA offerings. · Christmas Joy Offering; One Great Hour of Sharing; and World Communion Offering. There will be no Peace and Global Witness Offering. By doing this, they have removed the 25% given back to the local churches for local mission work. As of 2026 Churches will need to apply for a grant to be used for local mission
projects.

This is just a snippet of the highlights of my time spent at GA. It was a large time commitment, but, well worth the hours. It was amazing to see how the PCUSA works on the national level.

Dana Monk

Open House Lunch for Christopher Davis

St. Andrew’s former pianist Christopher Davis will be in town briefly before moving to Mexico. There will be an open house lunch at Dana Monk’s house and all are invited. If you are interested, contact Dana Monk at 805-705-6929 for more information and for address.

Be a Planet Protector!

St. Andrew’s is now collecting plastics that cannot be recycled at home. Bring in your plastic film labeled #2 or #4 and turn them into residential flooring. To learn more about Planet Protectors, click here. Here are examples of what we can take:

Pallet Wrap
Grocery Bags
Bread Bags (turned inside out)
Case wrap (toilet paper, paper towels, water bottles)
Dryclean bags
Newspaper Sleeves
Electronics Wraps
Bubble Wrap
Plastic Shipping Envelopes
Air Pillows
Ziplock bags
Produce Bags
Ice Bags
Salt Bags
Wood Pellet Bags

All plastics must be clean and dry. Collection is located in the Narthex.

Choir Pot Luck!

The annual choir pot luck will be held on Wednesday, August 28th at 6:00 pm. Do you love to sing? Take advantage of this opportunity to work with Erin McKibben, regardless of your skill level. Join us to learn about this year’s music and meet your new choir friends.

Five Stars for St. Andrews

If you love our congregation and hope to grow together in numbers and faith, would you consider submitting a positive, personal reveiw to Google and/or Yelp? Often a Google search is a potential visitor’s first step to finding us. A few simple words about why you love St. Andrew’s will help others make an important decision.

Excuse The Dust!

The construction on the flat roof and stage in Morgan Hall is more extensive than originally thought. Work will continue through July. Updates are coming.

The Numbers Are In!

St. Andrews’s donated 112 pounds of food to the Food Bank of Santa Barbara!  Great job everyone!

Let’s make our August donations even bigger by bringing in items such as…

• Peanut butter
• Canned soup
• Canned fruit
• Canned vegetables
• Canned stew
• Canned fish
• Canned beans
• Pasta (most prefer whole grain)
• Rice (most prefer brown rice)

Transition House

Sign up to cook and/or serve in 2024.

Third Friday of the Month.

Invite a friend! Instructions available.

Sign Up sheets are in the church office.

2024 Worship Schedule is Up!

The 2024 Worship Schedule is up and ready to view.  Please click the following link here to access the Schedule.

Thank you for your gift of time and dedication and Happy New Year!

*happy*birthday*happy*birthday*

June Birthdays

Birthdays will be in the Weekly Updates from now on!  If you don’t see your birthday on here and would like to get it added please email Silkie at silkie.hur@standrewspcusa.org.

7/10     Enid Englund

7/16     Janet Ewart

7/17     Dana Monk

7/17     Jim Gilmour

7/21     Louise Carey

7/26    Shelby Malengo

7/27    Abby Webber

7/28    Marie Sue Parsons

7/29    Scott Eschbach

7/31     Bob Parsons

Calendar of Events

Happening This Week

7/18 (Thurs) –

7/19 (Fri) – Llamada Final 6:30pm (MH)

7/20 (Sat) – Llamada Final 6:30pm (MH)

7/21 (Sun) – Worship 9:30am (S); Fellowship 10:30am (MH)

7/22(Mon) – Running Stitches 9:30-12:30pm (WR); AA Grateful Group 8pm (YL)

7/23 (Tues) – Parkinson’s 1pm (MH)

7/24 (Wed) – Llamada Final 6:30pm (MH)

It Takes Many Hands

Church ministry is the work of many hands and includes everything from caring for the grounds to planning worship to organizing mission opportunities and more. If you are interested in lending a hand see one of the Elders below about joining a committee or you can talk to Pastor Jen anytime:

• Buildings & Grounds – Porter Spencer
• Congregational Life Team – Shannon Gerow
• Worship – Carol Lefley
• Personnel – Diana Lee
• Mission – Tamara Skov
• Finance – Melinda Gerow
• Membership – Melinda Gerow
• Digital Presence Team – Kirk Grier
• Adult Education – Rachel Tobler
• Children & Youth Ministry – Caroline Willsie
• Youth Engagement – Lila Woodard