Please read ALL of the ANNOUNCEMENTS!
Sound Bath
Friday, November 10, 7:00-8:30 pm
In the midst of the busy-ness and stress of the world, would you like to slow down? Breathe and rest? Would you like to breathe peace and love in your body, mind and soul? We invite you to Sound Bath Meditation on November 10 at 7pm in our own sanctuary at Lake Merritt UMC.

Immerse yourself in a transcendent sonic journey as the celestial melodies of the kora, sitar, flutes, and singing bowel intertwine with vibrations and bathe our souls in that holy space.
To purchase the tickets, please click this link below: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/
(Click to open full size image with QR code)
Thanksgiving Lunch
The Annual Thanksgiving Lunch is approaching! Volunteers are welcome to sign up online via the food programs page on our church website. Please sign up as early as possible as these are favorite volunteer opportunities for the entire community. Please consider baking or buying pies for the meal. They can be delivered as early as 10 a.m. Wednesday if they are not perishable. Perishable pies, such as pumpkin, need to be delivered Thursday morning by 10 a.m.
For the community: Lake lunches will be delivered starting at 11:30, and the sit-down meal from 12-2. Guests may arrive by either the 1st Ave side or the Lakeshore side. Please spread the invitation to all in the community. No one will go hungry!
Questions can be addressed to Kathleen Bell 510-333-7480 or Margaret LeWright 510 967-1374
Cookie Jars
Cookie Jars will be available after worship starting this Sunday or even Delivered if you can’t make it to church! Cost will be $10 check, cash or Venmo accepted. These make lovely Christmas or hostess gifts over the coming holidays. They are lovingly assembled by some of our youth and Children’s Ministry team.
Lake Park Community Engagement
Pastor Dale is on vacation from Nov 8th through the 24th. For any questions regarding Community Engagement programs at Lake Park, please contact Pastor Sunae. Questions on Yoga classes, please contact Kathleen Bell and Susannah Wood.
Save the Date for Your Churches’ Annual Charge Conference!
Lake Park UMC’s Charge Conference is on Monday, December 4 at noon via Zoom meeting. The Zoom link will be sent out a week before the Charge Conference.
Lake Merritt UMC’s Charge Conference is on Thursday, December 7 at 7 p.m. via Zoom meeting. All Church Council members are invited to each church’s Charge Conference with vote and voice but all are welcome to the Charge Conference. Trustees, SPRRC, and Membership Secretary, please submit your Charge Conference reports via People’s Portal by the end of November. Contact Pastor Sunae if you have any questions.
Rev. Sun Hee Kim Appointed District Superintendent
Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño announces the following new appointments. Effective November 1, 2023, Rev. Dr. Kristin Stoneking will assume the position of the Director of Ministry Innovation and Congregational Vitality in the California-Nevada Conference. Effective November 1, 2023, Rev. Sun Hee Kim will serve as the Superintendent of the Bay District. Read the announcement here to learn more about Rev. Stoneking & Rev. Kim.
Friends of Wadi Foquin Teach-In
Saturday, November 18
12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Facilitators: Rev. Ken Schoon, Rev. Emily Lin, Dr. George Han
Are you concerned about the crisis in Gaza but don’t feel like you know enough to speak out? Join Friends of Wadi Foquin for this introductory teach-in covering the current crisis and what led up to this point.
By this end of this teach-in you will be able to speak knowledgeably, faithfully, and compassionately about the current crisis in Gaza and the West Bank; you will be able to help friends understand the situation; and you will come away with concrete actions that you can take to advocate for the people of Gaza and Palestinians more broadly.
The teach-in is intended to be a space for learning as well as building relationships with other Christians who are interested in justice for Palestinians. It will be interactive, consisting of 3 sessions with time for breaks and break-out groups.
You are invited to gather at 12:30 p.m. for coffee, tea, and baklava (you are welcome to bring your own lunch). Program starts promptly at 1 p.m. and concludes by 3:30 p.m.
Please register below or at https://tinyurl.com/FOWF-
*Friends of Wadi Foquin is a U.S.-based partnership established by members of the California-Nevada Annual Conference with the Palestinian village of Wadi Foquin, located in the occupied West Bank. For the latest update in the village, click here. For more information about Friends of Wadi Foquin, visit friendsofwadifoquin.com
IM4HI Benefit Concert
The Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity (IM4HI) is excited to announce its very first Love Over Fear benefit concert on Monday, November 13, 7:00pm at Freight & Salvage in Berkeley! This event features a lineup of talented Bay Area immigrants and BIPOC musicians inspiring us to build solidarity in the face of racism, replacing fear, criminalization, and xenophobia with healing, inclusion, and shared humanity. This concert is a benefit for IM4HI to help us achieve our end-of-the-year fundraising goal of $100,000 to support immigration advocacy, accompaniment, and leadership development.
Joyeux Noël: A French Christmas with Sonos
A French Christmas with the acclaimed Sonos Handbell Ensemble, featuring guest artist, mezzo-soprano, Ellen St. Thomas. Artistic Director, James Meredith has designed a new holiday program inspired by the Louis B. Comfort Tiffany mosaic triptych, Te Deum Laudamus, that is the centerpiece of the sanctuary at Lake Merritt United Methodist Church. This incomparable treasure is made of over two million pieces of iridescent favrile glass influenced by the French Art Nouveau movement. From an art critic at the time of their creation in 1923: “Of the many mosaics executed under the personal supervision of Louis C. Tiffany for the decoration of churches and public buildings, none equals in beauty of color and sublimity of subject the three symbolic panels.”
The concert includes carols from historical regions in and around France including Burgundy, Tarn-et-Garone, Catalonia, Provence, and Basque Country. Whether a Francophile or not, you will delight in hearing many well-known and engagingly beautiful French carols plus a few other Sonos favorites. A pre-concert lecture about the Tiffany panels will be given at 1:15 by Lake Merritt UMC historian Barbara Gannich. www.sonos.org
For the 21st annual Voices in Peace concert, Voci will be embracing and exploring some of the transitions that define our existence. The program explores the changes from one season to the next, as well as transitions such as birth, marriage, leaving, and returning home.
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
1601 Mary Drive, Pleasant Hill
Montclair Presbyterian Church
5701 Thornhill Drive, Oakland
Buy tickets and learn more about Voci at VociSings.org
Now in its 32nd year, Voci Women’s Vocal Ensemble is recognized as one of the finest choral groups in the Bay Area. Voci is dedicated to musical excellence in the performance of new and innovative music, as well as treasured repertoire within the classical choral tradition. Comprised of 24-28 experienced choral singers, Voci has performed with a wide range of artists and choruses at concerts, festivals, and benefits and has commissioned and premiered over 30 new works.