April 10, 2006

The Little Brown Church of Sunol is preparing to host two very special occasions this week. The first, Maundy Thursday, will include a dramatic reading by the churches youth called “Cry, the Whole Congregation”. Sure to be a moving experience, the reading will also be accompanied by soloists, pianists and spiritual drumming. The service will be held at 7:00 p.m.

A traditional Easter Sunday Service will be held at 10:30 a.m. followed by an old-fashioned egg hunt at approximately 12:00 p.m. at Sunol Glen School. The community is encouraged and very welcome to attend these special events, especially the little ones.

More church news--The churches piano accompanist, Katalin Kincses and Lesly Mohr, Arts and Worship chairperson, recognized a growing need for a place talented or just hopeful musician could play together. So, in response, they are planning an “Open Mike Night” for those in the community who wish to join in the fun.

The event will hopefully begin in June and follow with monthly or twice-monthly get togethers. Lesly said, “There’s a lot of people who have a profound love and talent for music but don’t have an outlet, we have such a diverse group of music. Yes, most of it will be Christian based, obviously, but we have gospel, pop, contemporary Christian and I’ve even brought in some classical pieces. It’s just going to be one big jam session for anybody who wants to come.”

Lesly’s husband Terrry Mohr and daughters, Brianna, 5 and Elaine, 2, also attend the Little Brown Church.

Besides these two special Lenten services, the church just recently hosted a family game night and potluck. Sunol’s only church has a very active membership and welcomes the community to attend all their functions, whether you are or are not a member; all are welcome.

They met twice a week for six months, throwing those flags and practicing their dance moves for a few minutes of fame and fun. Established 3 years ago, Sunol Glen School’s 2005/2006 Color Guard team was more organized than ever and had the largest group ever at eight members.

The team competed against schools of a much larger size therefore; their Color Guard teams were larger. The Sunol Team was also short of funds, but Thanks to the Sunol Glens School Community Club’s generous donation they were able to pull together a great routine.

There were competitions in Fairfield, Vallejo, Livermore, Pleasanton and Loomis all during the months of March and April. But, despite having probably the smallest team in the Novice – Middle School level and they captures a third place win at their very first competition.

The team consisted of eighth graders, Nicola Barnes, Christy Bissinger, Caitlin Carter and Chelsea Whiteside. Seventh grade members were Danika Beard, Katelyn Merrill, Callie Milligan and Amanda Strachan.

And of course, the team’s parents worked diligently together, shopping, creating backdrops, and fundraising to make this all happen for the students. A big thank you goes to Victoria Barnes, Ron and Barbi Bissinger, Chris and Martha Carter, Tammy Merrill, Caren and Ed Milligan, Stacy and Mark Strachan and Ginny and Kevin Whiteside. Special thanks to Barbi for the donation of team tote bags for each member of the team.

Barbi says, “We're very proud of the girls; they represented the values of their school, their community, and their families at each show”.

The team’s director is Jan Cornish and instructors were Cieara Gragg and Andrea Rost.

It’s been over 10 years, but several community members are pulling together a Sunol phonebook.
This may sound easy considering all of Sunol’s phone numbers begin with 862 and when asking for a Sunolian’s digits they will only give you the last four. But volunteers are needed to accomplish this gigantic task with hopes of a publishing deadline date of six months. This is going to be not only a fantastic residential phone book, but will also include business listings, yummy recipes, a little local history and favorite Sunolian stories.

Artwork and design will be provided by a Las Positas College landscape sketching class and there will be space available for advertising. Sunolians, watch your mailbox for more information. If you would like to help with this wonderful project, please contact Leanne at 925-862-2556.