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F r a n c i s c o

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Public Affairs
Issue 9 February 2014

Stake Choir Participates in Two Interfaith Have You LIKED Us?! Keep up-to-date on the latest stake Choral Concerts news by liking the Friends of the
Where Words Leave Off, Music Begins
- Heinrich Heine

October 27 Latter-day Saints once again added their vocal skills to the fifth annual Peninsula Interfaith Choral Concert. This years musical feast was hosted at First Presbyterian Church of Burlingame with the theme of With Heart and Voice. The proceeds from this concert went to benefit Home and Hope. Financial strains at Home and Hope caused us to set a goal of doubling last years donations. The record attendance of 400 people helped us to beat our goal of $5,000 by $900. Thank you to all who donated! The standing room only audience was captivated with performances from the following church choirs: The Church of Jesus Christ of Letter-Day Saints, St. Matthews Episcopal Church of San Mateo, Congregational Church of San Mateo, U.C.C., St Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, Burlingame, and First Presbyterian of Burlingame. November 2 Our singing Saints also achieved a longtime goal of creating an interfaith choral concert in San Francisco this year. Working on very short notice, we put together a beautiful program. The event was hosted at the historic and beautiful St. Vincent de Paul on Steiner St. A fantastic $1,500 in proceeds came from the concert to benefit the San Francisco Interfaith Council Programs. The LatterDay Saint choir had the opportunity to sing with choirs from St. Vincent de Paul, Providence Baptist Church, Temple Emanu-El, and Golden Gate Boys Handbell Choir.

San Francisco Stake Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/sflds Participating in Public Affairs events is a great way to introduce family, friends, and neighbors to the church. Stay connected so you can take part in the next activity! _____________________________________________________

Defending Our Religious Freedom: New On-line Resource From The Church
Religious Freedom is a fundamental human right and the first among rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution.

Is Religious Freedom disappearing in the United States? According to our Church leaders it definitely is. The Church has launched an exciting and powerful new on-line resource to help both members of the church and non-members combat the deprivation of our essential religious freedoms. This influential resource can be found at: http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/official-statement/religiousfreedom Unique videos, inspirational talks, and important definitions can be found on this webpage. People of all faiths and anyone of conscience will benefit from studying and sharing this informational source. Elder Quentin L. Cook said that we need to civilly defend our religious freedoms on the internet, in our neighborhoods, and in our communities. BE AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT, NOT A SILENT OBSERVER. This new on-line tool can help us in our quests to do this. To stay even more connected with the Churchs effort to defend religious freedoms, please like their Support Religious Freedom page on Facebook!

Debbie Grewal, Stake Director of Public Affairs: grewal.debbie@gmail.com Desirae Barton, Interfaith Relations, Media Relations Matt Mosman, High Council Advisor: mfmosman@gmail.com Misty Cox, Interfaith Blood Drive

Ashley Rasmussen, Community Affairs Jen Jacobson, Home and Hope Paul and Brittany Larsen, Social Media Richard Harris, SF Interfaith Council Rep.

Whats Happening in San Francisco Stake Public Affairs

An Outpouring of Love: MLK Service Day
All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 20 Bright and early on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, hundreds of volunteers streamed into the First Presbyterian Church of Burlingame to start a day of service. The collection of service projects was sponsored by the North Peninsula Multifaith Coalition, which our stake is proud to be a member of. After a hearty breakfast, the 385 volunteers dispersed to work on 11 different projects including serving at a homeless shelter and food bank, sorting and boxing clothing, collecting books for schools, crafts and story time with children, a youth choir performance for the elderly, arts and crafts for a Ukrainian orphanage, and making improvements at a local elementary school. Our stake helped to lead two of these service projects. One of the projects spearheaded by our stake was the arts and crafts project for orphans in Ukraine. Everything from the clothing to the walls in these orphanages is white, so we wanted to give the kids a splash of color. With over 80 volunteers coming from the 16 different congregations, we made 20 baby beanies for infants, tied 20 fleece blankets for toddlers, created over 200 bracelets for tweens, designed 23 personalized journals for teenagers, and made 50 Valentines Day cards for everyone. Congresswoman Jackie Spiers also joined us and helped to tie the fleece blankets! The project was a huge success. Not only were most of the crafts completed but everyone had a great time serving together. We are excited to give these orphans something colorful to call their very own and cant wait for them to receive their handmade gifts. Our church was also in charge of the coat and clothing drive for Syrian Refugees. The civil war has been raging in Syria for over three

years. There are over 2.3 million registered refugees who are cold, wet, and in need of clothing. Because of these brutal conditions a coat can save a life. Donation bins were placed in the various faith houses to collect coats, sweaters, socks, scarves, hats, and gloves prior to the day of service. At the service project volunteers sorted, boxed, and labeled all of the donated goods. 73 different boxes were filled with approximately 30 articles of clothing per box. This equaled a total of 2,010 pieces of donated goods. With the aid of the organization, Helping Hand for Relief and Development, soon many Syrian refugees located in Aqaba, Jordan will be warming up in their new coats and clothing. It was an honor to serve alongside the various faiths and religions who came together to serve. Thank you to all those who participated and everyone should look forward to attending next year! January 20 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was also honorably represented at the San Francisco Interfaith Council events on Martin Luther King Day in San Francisco. Congregations were invited to march in a parade that traveled from San Franciscos Lefty O-Doul Bridge, stopped at Willie Mays Plaza AT&T Park and then continued to Yerba Buena Gardens. Religious prayers and other activities then took place at Yerba Buena Gardens. While striding behind a fantastic banner for the LDS Church, our stake members sang the song, We Shall Overcome. The following members participated in the parade: Lily Donovan, Dennis Donovan, Mary Liz Harris, Abby Donovan, Josh Chavez, Robin McKoy, and Jim McKoy. Thank you for representing our church!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

March 23 We have been invited to co-host a traditional Jewish Seder Dinner with our Jewish neighbors. Watch for more information. April 26 Mormon Helping Hands. 9:00 12:00. Grab your friends, family, and neighbors for our day of community service at McLaren nd Park in San Francisco. McLaren Park is the 2 largest park in SF and we have the chance to clean and beautify this gem. Dont miss this opportunity to serve with our neighbors and enjoy a delicious lunch afterwards.