Whatever things are

think on these things

Vol. 59 , No. 4 February 26 , 2010 Barbara Strader Editor

Conversation & Slides March 3 --- Triple C ---

with Betty Young John Norall
This Sunday, Feb. 28, 11:30 a.m. in Tamalpais Please join us on Wednesday, March 3, at noon,
Hall, there will be a Conversation and Slides with when we will enjoy at tasty lunch prepared by
Betty Young, Director of Native Plant Nurseries Judith Reneau followed by our traditional March
GGNRA. After completing her degree in Plant program presented by our own John Norall. Join us
Science/Nursery Management at UC Davis in the for a thrilling slide-show adventure “From the Alps
early '80s, Betty has worked in diverse areas of of Switzerland to the Sands of Egypt.” Pure travel
nursery management. pleasure.
• Five years as nursery manager at Filoli His-
torical Gardens Lunch is at noon; $6.00 at the door. The program
• One year as propagation manager at a large at 1:00 is free. Please bring guests. Everyone is
wholesale landscape nursery welcome.
• Seven years as nursery manager at Circuit
RSVP for lunch and for rides from The Redwoods
Rider Productions growing exclusively native
to Meta Bare 383-0783
plants for habitat restoration, specializing in ripar-
ian and oak woodland habitats.
And the last 13 years as the Director of Restora-
tion Nurseries for Golden Gate National Parks Congregational
Conservancy, where the five community-based
native plant nurseries in the park grow over 400 Budget Meeting
species of plants from foredune to salt marsh and
oak woodland to serpentine grassland. Sunday, March 21, 2010
11:30 a.m. in Tamalpais Hall
Betty directs the collection of seeds in the park,
the growing of over 150,000 native plants each Have some coffee and treats after worship
year, the community volunteer and educational and hear about the Board’s budget
programs, and has managed the construction of proposal for 2010-2011.
five different types of greenhouses in the park
nurseries. Betty has the privilege of supervising
the 9 staff members that comprise the amazing In This Issue
team that grows plants in the parks’ five nurseries.
Update on Blower Motor Installation 2
She has spoken to many groups and published ar- Census 2010 Now Hiring 2
ticles about growing plants for habitat restoration Thursday Lenten Book Discussion 3
in a community-based restoration context. In her “Creating A Worm Bin” Workshop 3
off hours, her favorite activity remains hiking the Calendar of Events 4
beautiful trails of our own national park.
 ration and electrical specifications. Our electri-
Update on Organ cian, Chris Reimer, in addition to receiving the
written specifications, has been in telephone con-
Blower Installation tact with Schoenstein for his part of the work.

Louis Patterson of Schoenstein Organ Builders has The new blowers will be housed in a single enclo-
been to the church to survey the premises and take sure 3’-6” wide by 3’-6” deep by 3’-0” tall that will
the measurements for the installation of the new be placed in the storage room behind the Sanctuary
blower motor in the room behind the Sanctuary. along the outside wall where the existing blower is
Timelines have been established for installing and located. A wind line will come out of this new en-
updating the electrical elements. Jack Bethards, closure, run parallel to this same wall and then go
President of Schoenstein reports that the installa- through a new opening in the floor and attach to the
tion spot looks ideal and should work very well. existing wind line. Once the new enclosure and
blowers are in place, Schoenstein will coordinate
Based on the survey, the church received updated with Reimer for the best location for the magnetic
costs for the purchase of the motor. Obviously, starters, disconnects and any other equipment in the
there have been some price changes since last room.
April, but we are still pretty close to the original
quote. The delivery cost of the blower is now Schoenstein is tentatively scheduling the blower
$9,745. Schoenstein estimates the cost of installa- installation for the week of March 22 and will con-
tion at $5,230. If they are able to do it for less, they firm this as the time gets closer. They anticipate
will pass the savings on to us. The survey, which two days at the church to complete the work.
was quoted at $650, only cost $520. The electrical
work will be done by Chris Reimer of Valley Elec-
tric and those costs are additional..
Census 2010
The blower is built to order and is now in the proc-
Now Hiring
ess of being manufactured. The blower, by the The U.S. Census Bureau is recruiting temporary,
way, has two motors, one for basic pressure and part-time census takers for the 2010 Census with
one for a step up to the required high pressure. We pay starting at $20/hour. To schedule an eligibility
have chosen a single phase model as we do not test call 866-861-2010. You may download an ap-
have three phase power in the building. The church plication form and other valuable information at
has received written requirements for the new or- www.2010censusjobs.gov. Brochures in Tam Hall.
gan blower installation which includes space prepa-
The Community Church of Mill Valley
United Church of Christ
An Open & Affirming Congregation
8 Olive Street, Mill Valley , CA 94941
Phone 415/388-5540
Fax 415/388-1678
e-mail CCMVUCC@comcast.net
www.millvalleyucc.org
Pastor: Pam Shortridge Sunday Morning:
Minister Emeritus: Jack Bartlett 9:00 a.m. “The Unexpected Word” Class, Foster Room
Parish Associate of Mission: Dora Ford 10:00 a.m. Worship Service, Sanctuary
Minister in Covenant: Jacquie Hoffman Nursery Care for Infants & Toddlers, Nursery
Seminarian In-Care: Arn Lou Mutia Program for Children in Preschool through Third
Seminarian In-Care: James Christie Grade, Children gather in the Chapel
Director of Music: Esther Archer 11:15 a.m. Coffee Hour in the Tamalpais Hall
Executive Editor: Barbara Strader
Facility Operations Manager: Aaron Young Of Good Report is published on the second and fourth Monday of each
month. Deadline for submissions is the previous Monday at noon.
2
2
 Thursday Lenten
Book Discussion
During Lent you are invited to join the discus-
sion of Confessions of an Eco-Sinner: Track-
ing Down the Sources of My Stuff by Fred
Pearce. (Available in paperback at local
bookstores and online.)
The first gathering was held February 21 with
discussion on Chapters 1 through 11.
“People talk a lot about carbon foot-
prints. But our personal footprints are
much bigger than that. And they are so-
cial as well as ecological. The trouble is
that in our charmed world we know little
about what our footprints are. It all hap-
pens so far way. The people and the pol-
lution that sustain us are invisible to us.
“. . . My purpose in writing this book
was to discover the hidden world that
keeps us in the state we have become
accustomed to . . . I have traveled the
world to find out where the cotton in my
shirt comes from, the coffee in my mug
and the prawns in my curry, the com-
puter on my desk and the phone in my
hand . . . to find out who grows or mines
or makes my stuff, and where it goes
when I finish with it . . . to find out
whether I should be ashamed of my pur-
chases . . . or proud to have contributed
to some local community . . .”
(Fred Pearce)
The group will meet in the Foster Room at
7:30 p.m. two more times during Lent.
Mar. 11: Chapters 12 through 20.
Mar. 25: Chapters 21 through 29.
You may read the book from cover to cover,
or a few chapters from each part. Each chap-
ter is a 5 to 10 page adventure to a corner of
the world many of us have seen only briefly or
never imagined. Come join the discussion on
one, any or all dates.
3
Conversation: How to
Start a Worm Bin
Worm bins provide a great way to reduce your
household garbage and turn your food scraps into
super soil. You can use the soil as fertilizer for
your household plants, or for your vegetable or
flower beds. Worm tea is also a by-product of the
process, and is used as an organic fertilizer and
foliar spray. Worm bins are simply a way to com-
post in miniature. They don’t require pitchforks
and muscle to turn a pile, and in general are much
easier to create and manage than a compost pile.
Join Barbara Strader, on Sunday, March 7, at
11:30 a.m. in Tamalpais Hall for a conversation
on the whys and hows of starting a worm bin. It’s
easier than you may think!
Barbara’s love of gardening began at the knees of
her British immigrant grandfather who cultivated a
classic English flower and herb garden in his small
backyard in suburban Detroit. During her annual
two-week summer visits, she would follow him
around the garden as he tilled the soil, grew asters,
trimmed spent blossoms and told her stories in-
spired by the flower fairy illustrations of Cecily
Mary Barker .
Barbara became a Marin Master Gardener in May
2009 after completing an extensive 18-week train-
ing course. Marin Master Gardeners focus their
training and volunteer projects on the following
principles: sustainable landscape practices, feeding
our neighborhood and creating local food sources,
as well as training people to promote youth garden-
ing. There are a myriad of volunteer projects in the
county in which Master Gardeners participate.
Barbara particularly enjoys volunteering at the
Novato Farmer’s Market Information Stand and at
the information Help Desk in the University of
California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) office in
Novato, answering questions, researching and diag-
nosing plant problems, and giving horticultural as-
sistance to home gardeners who phone, email or
come in with plant questions and problems. This
spring she is also a “Desk Tutor” for the new class
of Master Gardener trainees.
The Community Church of Mill Valley Postage
United Church of Christ
8 Olive Street
Mill Valley, CA 94941
Return Service Requested

Upcoming Church Events

Sunday
9:00 a.m. Discussion Group: Connections, Tamalpais Hall
“We must learn to . . . recognize the interconnectedness of all living
creatures, and to respect the value of each thread in the vast web of life.
This is a spiritual perspective, and it is the foundation of all Green politics”
(Petra Kelly).
9:00 a.m. Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary (Newcomers welcome)
10:00 a.m. Worship
Child care for children 4 and under, Nursery
11:15 a.m. Coffee and Conversation, Tamalpais Hall,. All are welcome.
11:30 a.m. Workshop: Conversation with Betty Young, Director of Native Plant
Nurseries GGNRA
11:30 a.m. Easter Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary
This Week
Mon., Mar. 1, 4:30 p.m. Keneth Kiyija Task Force Meeting
Wed., Mar. 3, 12 Noon Triple C Lunch and Program, John Norall
Coming
Sun., Mar. 7, 9:00 a.m. Discussion Group: Food and Farming
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” (Michael Pollan)
10:00 a.m. Worship, Third Sunday in Lent
11:30 a.m. Workshop: Conversation with Barbara Strader,
Creating a Worm Bin
11:30 a.m. Easter Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary
2:00 p.m. Memorial Service for Carol Schmiedel
Mon., Mar. 8, 12 Noon Of Good Report Newsletter Deadline
Wed., Mar. 10, 11:45 a.m. Men’s Lunch, Moylan’s, Novato
Thu., Mar. 11, 7:30 p.m. Lenten Book Discussion, Confessions of an Eco-Sinner: Tracking
Down the Sources of My Stuff by Fred Pearce