In addition to our Heart of Mission newsletter (below), we have a lot of news for our Tuesday emailer. Hear ye, hear ye…
 
‘‘SUNDAY IN THE PARK”…  The Nurture Committee invites you to gather in Hessel Park on September 27.  God didn’t intend for us to live in isolation. God specifically designed us to have relationships with each other.   Therefore, bring your lawn chairs and let’s gather for an hour at 11 am near the Pavilion at the north end of the park.  The committee will be available to guide you to our location and provide a safe location following social distancing, sanitation and guidelines such as wearing masks.
Psalms 133:1 NIV- How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!
We had 29 people at the Hessel Park gathering on September 13. We would sure like to see more on the 27^th. We plan to do these gatherings every other Sunday as the weather permits. 
 
PRIVATE PRAYER… Our Sanctuary will be open for private prayer on Thursday, September 24, from 4 to 6 p.m. While there will be no organized service, you may come and sit in the space to pray and meditate. Physical distancing, masks, sign in with temperature check, and registration/contact tracing will be operative. Our worship team will greet and assist you. Only fifty people at a time will be allowed in. Bring your own Bible or hymnals if you wish, as the pew materials have all been removed as a safety precaution. See you on Thursday!
 
GOOD NEWS!… The Session approved DREAAM to use our wifi and Education Building classrooms during the school day Monday-Friday during this pandemic season of remote, online learning. DREAAMers who have trouble getting wifi at home, or who otherwise can’t easily study remotely from at home, will meet at First Pres to do so. Mindy Watt-Ellis is our point person. (ESL currently does not use the space as they are meeting online for now.) This DREAAM program is working in collaboration with Unit 4 of the Champaign Public School District (who will provide food); DREAAM will work within their safety guidelines, the Champaign/Urbana Public Health District, and those of the CDC. Mindy Watts-Ellis is the point person from First Pres; Tracy Dace is the point person from DREAAM. DREAAMers will be divided into three pods, and will total no more than 25-youth and children. 
 
PRIDE FEST PRAYER SERVICE…  Happy Pride, Champaign-Urbana! TONIGHT, 7 pm (Tuesday before CU’s Annual Pride celebration) you are invited to an Interfaith Pride Service online. This service is in the spirit of “t’shuvah,” the opportunity for renewal that Jewish people seek during this season in their spiritual life. Our service happens to be sandwiched between the two Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Our Pride-themed Interfaith Service will offer, from a myriad faith traditions, words of renewal for LGBTQ+ folks from faith leaders from around our community. The event will be livestreamed on the facebook pages of Illini Hillel and Community UCC, as well as offered on Zoom. 
 

The Heart of Mission September 22, 2020   Environmental Stewardship participated in the Faith in Place Green Team Summit last week. They even won an award! I took a screen shot of the write up and photo from the Styrofoam collection day back in January.               World Mission met last week and I realized I haven’t shared as much about our mission coworkers lately. We learned that Mission Aviation Fellowship has increased their flights since COVID-19 because of the compromised health of some of their constituents and the fact that they fly small planes with higher safety standards. Here is a video link explaining how they aid people around the world who are in isolation and at the same time spread the gospel. https://maf.org/beyond-isolation   We learned that in South Sudan where Kristi and Bob Rice are mission coworkers, August has been a month of flooding as if the coronavirus was not enough. Learn more on their blog – http://bobandkristi.blogspot.com/   Opportunity International has an online summit October 2. On their Facebook page they shared their speaker.             We are thrilled to share inventor and author of the New York Times bestseller The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, William Kwakumba, will be our keynote speaker at the Summit on October 2. William’s life story reminds us of the innovation and drive of many of our clients. In his novel and Netflix film by the same name, William recounts his childhood in Malawi, where poverty forced him out of school and set unimaginable hurdles for his family. He read book after book to fuel his understanding of wind energy, finding a way to help his family fight the drought and famine that was plaguing his community.               Register today at opportunity.org/summit2020.   Jo Ella Holman (mission coworker in Caribbean and Cuba) has retired this month. We will be able to say goodbye to her and the other mission coworkers from the Caribbean at the CPN Summit some of our Cuba Steering committee will be attending online, September 25-27.   Farsijanna Adeney-Risakotta (mission coworker in Indonesia) writes on her Facebook page (in translation from Indonesian),               Pandemic Covid-19 still haunts Indonesia and global world. There are many impacts from micro level to macro is changing human life as a person and community. But life must go on. Covid control policy-19 through the implementation of health protocol is basic capital for other life activities. In a healthy body there is a soul and spirit working. So keep Indonesia strong and smart in this challenge             Grass root organizations such as Jati Rasa Cooperative Consumer, Griya Jati Rasa, changes to the direction are better. Audit from Fair Trade Indonesia Forum has encouraged the management of Jati Rasa Consumer Consumer Cooperative Organization. Commitment to escort justice equality to employees and cooperative partners is realized in wage improvement and various workforce facilities as exposed in the RI Act No 13 of 2003 on employment. May the independence of Consumer Consumer Consumer of Jati Rasa can achieve its goals. So the discussion of this is done in the working meeting of the boarding school, managers and supervisors on September 4, 2020. Zoom meeting activity is still an option for building public activities in the pandemic period. Together with the Indonesian nation, we all hope to be able to face the present situation without giving up, through wise steps and commitment to continue.   Friends of Presbyterian Education Board shared a recipe for Chai Tea recently on their Facebook page. www.friendsofpeb.org Chai is the word for “tea” in Urdu. Sharing chai is an important part of the culture.             3-5 teabags and 5 Cups of hot water             1 ¼ Cup milk heated             1/3 Cup sugar             4 whole cloves             3 cardamon pods cracked open             1 cinnamon stick             Simmer 10 minutes then strain Peace,   Rachel Matthews, Temporary Mission Coordinator   Our Mission Agency Announcements:   Community Mission Deacons – September 22, 4:30pm, zoom.   CROP WALK – It is virtual this year. HOWEVER, let rachel@firstpres.church know if you want to physically walk. There are three of us so far! I will let you know next week the gathering spot. https://www.crophungerwalk.org/champaignil Or https://www.crophungerwalk.org/champaignil/Team/View/137664/First-Presbyterian-Church-Champaign-FPCC-Mission Sunday, October 4, 2020 at 1:30 PM Zoom Gathering By Computer: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86161903170 By Phone:        Phone Number: (312) 626-6799        Meeting ID: 861 6190 3170   Cuba Partner Network Virtual Gathering 2020 – The PC(USA) Cuba Partners Network Virtual Gathering: Celebrating our Connections in the Time of COVID, will be held via Zoom webinar, September 25 -26, 2020. Please keep the Cuba People in your prayers and especially Jo Ella upon her retirement.   CU at Home – Again, upcoming Event Highlighting Men’s and Women’s Emergency Shelter, Sept. 30, 12pm. Register with Rob@cuathome.us or Rick@cuathome.us But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man, this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”    Matthew 19:26  Would you join us in prayer for a couple who, like many during this COVID time, continue to be under spiritual warfare and facing one trial after another?        Please pray for the mental health of our friends on the street as we move from summer to fall. Would you also pray for a friend without an address who will be getting housed in the next week? This young man has made such progress and will soon have a place of his own!  Thank you God that two of our longtime friends on the street have been able to be housed in the last week!   Praise the Lord for our prayer warriors, community partners, and amazing supporters and donors! We are so excited that 70 new friends, families, and businesses have joined our “Hope Givers” monthly giving campaign! We are well on our way to our goal of 600! Praise to Jesus for those moments in our lives when we are presented with a trial and we are able to keep this perspective: Instead of asking “Why is God allowing this to happen to me?” let’s ask, “What does God want me to learn through this struggle?” DREAAM – I don’t know if you heard but it is worth sharing again:             So honored to announce DREAAM is a recipient of the ICRF (Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund). Thank you to United Way of Illinois and the Alliance of Illinois Community Foundations in collaboration with the Office of the Governor, all who established this fund. DREAAM, in partnership with The Well Experience, will use this funding to further their work to sustain a culture of achievement, engagement and behavioral health for children, young adults, and families. View the full press conference here –> https://vimeo.com/455971337 [The introduction of our founder, Tracy Dace, starts at 18:14.]   Frontera de Cristo – Coffee & Conversation Continues/Café y Conversacion Continua Mary Gritten and Rachel Matthews attended a tamale making class last Thursday. Sept. 17 de Septiembre: Clase de Cocina: Come Los Tamales Casi Dividio la Iglesia Cooking Class: How Tamales Almost Divided the Church. We have a recipe for tamales now! Did you know there are as many recipes for tamales as there is for bbq? I can hardly wait to make some and share them. They are a very involved and storymaking endeavor!             This Thursday Coffee and Conversation has been postponed to September 30: Sept 24 de Septiembre: Loteira de Frontera de Cristo: Play Virtual Mexican Bingo with us: Have Fun and Learn About the Life and Ministry of Frontera de Cristo. Email “conversation” to office@fronteradecristo.org to get the Zoom link. The reason for the postponement is to focus on a prayer gathering on both borders, September 25, 7-8:30CT (5-6:30MST): Asylum seekers, civil society, people of faith, artists, and local leaders from the U.S. and Mexico will gather on both sides of the border wall just west of the Raul Castro Port of Entry in Agua Prieta and Douglas, to pray for and commit to working toward returning to our historic commitment to asylum seekers, hear testimonies from asylum seekers, receive their claims, reflect, and take action to #SaveAsylum.             The event will be bilingual Spanish/English and will be both in person outside (masks and social distancing required, hand sanitizer and masks provided if needed) and online via facebook live. https://www.facebook.com/fronteradecristo  #saveasylum, saveasylum.org   Restoration Urban Ministries – Please keep Brother Irwin Williams, founder of R.U.M., in your prayers. The ministry is going strong but he has been under the weather.   Other Mission Opportunities around town –   Twice is Nice Thrift Store is  Open for Porch Sales 607 W. Elm St.,  Urbana   Saturdays August 22, 29, Sept.12, 19, 26 From 10am-2pm   Featured Items: Sept 26 Winter apparel, Holiday   We are not closed for good, just exercising extreme caution in these difficult times. We will not be opening the shop itself until we are safe. Your patience is greatly appreciated.   We have missed you and hope to see many old and new friends at one or all of our porch sales. Cash and checks only.   We will be requiring masks, limited numbers on the porch and providing hand sanitizer for use before and after shopping.   Let us keep all our mission partners in our prayers, those who are waiting to go back to their place of ministry and those who are able to work where they are. Listen for God’s call to you in their ministry.   Our PC(USA) Mission CoWorkers:   Mark Adams and Miriam Maldonado Escobar (Mexico) Farsijanna Adeney-Risakotta (Indonesia) Jeff and Christi Boyd (Central Africa) Jo Ella Holman (Caribbean and Cuba) Bob and Kristi Rice (South Sudan)   Our regional and global mission partners:   Kemmerer Village (and Camp Carew) Lifeline Pilots Marion Medical Mission Mission Aviation Fellowship Opportunity International Friends of Presbyterian Education Board in Pakistan Presbyterian Cuba Partnership Special Offerings of the PC(USA) Theological Education Fund Young Adult Volunteers   Here in Champaign – Urbana:   CU Better Together CU at Home CANAAN S.A.F.E. HOUSE CANTEEN RUN COURAGE CONNECTION DREAAM eMPTY TOMB, INC FAITH IN ACTION JESUS IS THE WAY PRISON MINISTRY THE REFUGEE CENTER RESTORATION URBAN MINISTRY SALT & LIGHT   Here at First Presbyterian Church   FPCC Amateur Preachers FPCC Environmental Committee working with Faith in Place FPCC Presbyterian Women FPCC ESL FPCC Children, Youth and Families FPCC Mission Possible/Go and Serve         302 W. Church Street   Champaign, IL 61820   217-356-7238   info@firstpres.church           Attachments: The_Heart_of_Mission_092220.pdf

Monday, September 21^st, 2020

A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Dear Friends,
 
Our dog is 16 and a half. She’s hobbling into the last season of her long life. In the mornings it takes her a while to stand up. Sometimes she moans. We assume she aches. She has accidents a lot now. Her hind legs often give out when she’s coming up or down the three steps into our back door. But her appetite is good, she still likes you to rub behind her ears, and when she hears something through the front screen door, she barks like crazy. Her eyes are dull, but she still fancies herself our guard dog and great protector. We love that about her, and, while I used to hush her sternly when she barked, I never do now. Bark, girl, bark.
 
Yesterday I spent much of the afternoon sitting with her in the sun on our deck. I wrote, and she watched the squirrels and the breeze stir the branches of the burning bush, pink honeysuckle, and Chinese elm. 
 
There’s something sweet about sitting with an old dog in the sun on a cool, fall day. You take more time to notice things, like the single red maple leaf lying on the grass in our back yard from our maple tree that is full—for now—of still-green leaves. A single, bright, red maple leaf. 
 
These signs portend change. It’s literally in the air. A change is coming for my dog. For me. For the leaves. I am led to believe that God had exactly this in mind when God created the cosmos. 
 
And it’s all, very, very good.
 
My dog and I are taking note.
 
Pay attention. 
 
Be astonished. 
 
Tell somebody.
  
News:
 
Grief and Loss:
https://www.aarp.org/home-family/caregiving/grief-and-loss/?migration=rdrct
The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) website contains a Grief & Loss section with grief-related articles and information.

Tuesdays 8 am Men’s Bible Study
Email zoom@firstpres.church for the link.
 
Humor (Hard times need godly laughter): 
 
Here’s an old chestnut that Brandi Lowe stole from somewhere:
 
Before he died, Billy Graham was returning to Charlotte after a speaking engagement and when his plane arrived there was a limousine waiting to transport him to his home. As he prepared to get into the limo, he stopped and spoke to the driver .

“You know,” he said, “I am 87 years old and I have never driven a limousine. Would you mind if I drove it for a while?”

The driver said, “No problem. Be my guest!”  Billy gets into the driver’s seat and they head off down the highway. A short distance away sat a rookie State Trooper operating his first speed trap.

The long black limo went by him doing 70 in a 55 mph zone. The trooper pulled out and easily caught the limo and he got out of his patrol car to begin the procedure.

The young trooper walked up to the driver’s door and when the glass was rolled down, he was surprised to see who was driving.

He immediately excused himself and went back to his car and called his supervisor.  He told the supervisor, “I know we are supposed to enforce the law, but I also know that important people are given certain courtesies. I need to know what I should do because I have stopped a very important person.”

The supervisor asked, “Is it the governor?”  The young trooper said, “No, he’s more important than that.”  The supervisor said, “Oh, so it’s the president.”  The young trooper said, “No, he’s even more important than that.”

The supervisor finally asked, “Well then, who is it?”

The young trooper said, “I think it’s Jesus, because he’s got Billy Graham for a chauffeur!”
 
Good Word:

“LET LOVE BE GENUINE. ABHOR WHAT IS EVIL; HOLD FAST TO WHAT IS GOOD. LOVE ONE ANOTHER WITH BROTHERLY AND SISTERLY AFFECTION. OUTDO ONE ANOTHER IN SHOWING HONOR.” ROMANS 12:9-10
 
 
LET US PRAY:
 
Open our eyes, O God,
that we don’t miss a moment
of today’s splendor.
 
AMEN.
 
Much, much love to you all.
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church

Friday 18 September 2020
 
Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Dear Friends, 
 
Have you ever felt like you were in a wilderness? I’ll explore that in my sermon on Sunday. 
 
When I think of “wilderness” it excites and frightens me. I’ve walked a small part of the Appalachian Trail and seen sunsets from beautiful, dangerous overlooks. I’ve explored the Chesapeake Bay on sailboats; an abiding story in my family story book is how Uncle Jim spent the night hanging on to the rudder of an upside down sailboat. Several died in that down-the-bay sailboat race beset by an unforeseen squall before the Coast Guard could rescue the likes of my uncle. 
 
Wilderness.
 
Been there? Cancer? Fox hole? Pandemic? Do you know a friend in the wilderness now?
 
Bring your thoughts and your prayer concerns. 
 
See you on Sunday. 
 
* * *
 
Pay attention to God’s activity in the world around you.
            Be amazed.
                        Tell somebody.
 
PEACE,
 
Matt Matthews
864.386.9138
 
* * *
 
PHOTO Challenge! 

From your Nurture Team — Congrats to Naomi Rempe for being the first to guess last Friday’s photo was of Brandi Lowe!  

Here’s this week’s photo. 

Visit http://fb.com/groups/firstpreschampaign to make your guesses, or email them to photos@firstpres.church.  
 
Please join in the fun!  We would like you to select a photo from your younger years (grade school, high school or early adulthood). Photos need not be professional. Candid shots are welcome. Please send your photos to photos@firstpres.church.
 
* * *
 
Vivaldi. Autumn!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z21_VpNipfg
 
* * *
 
Sailing!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzgQoGvSKA4
 
* * *
 
Friday’s song for the refugee (remembering Jesus’ flight into Egypt): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npB_xNOfdxY&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR0dn2dq9k6wslKchEZ-80wHUo5G_sQ-hJWWhLC48NX3N5r8HrRiqGtjaKA
 
* * *
 

Evening Circle of Peace: 7 p.m.       
Led by Carol Penka
             Diane Mortensen  

** Note: Email zoom@firstpres.church for the links.
 
Humor (Hard times need godly laughter): 
 
From Dave Hunter: I have a step ladder. I never knew my real ladder.
 
From Bill Gamble: A flight had just taken off from JFK, heading for London.  The PA came on with this message. “Welcome aboard. This the first completely 
automated trans-Atlantic flight. There is no one in the cockpit. Just 
sit back and relax, as nothing can go wrong…go wrong…go wrong…”
 
From Gary Peterson: Why did the pony get sent to his room? He wouldn’t stop horsing around.
 
Good Word:

Matthew 5:9  “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” 

 
LET US PRAY:
 
Use 
us 
today, 
O 
God. 
 
AMEN.
 
Much, much love to you all.
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church
 

Wednesday, September 16^th, 2020
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
 Dear Friends,
 
I hope soon to announce officially that the sanctuary will be open for private prayer on Thursday 24 September from 4 to 6 p.m. (I mention it now so you can mark your calendars.) While there will be no organized service, you may come and sit in the space to pray and meditate. Physical distancing, masks, sign in with temperature check, and registration/contact tracing will be operative. Only fifty people at a time will be allowed in. Bring your own Bible or hymnals if you wish, as the pew materials have all been removed as a safety precaution. Come enjoy the light and silence. Final details are still being worked out.
 
* * *
 
Robin DiAngelo writes in “White Fragility” that if we don’t know our prejudices (or fail to admit them), we won’t know what to change. I surprised myself when I admitted some of my prejudices. What are some of yours? 
 
waitresses with pierced tongues; 
people with a strong accent that I can’t easily understand; 
all people of color; 
young white men with long hair; 
anybody with tattoos; 
panhandlers of any race; 
obese people; 
people who litter; 
people who smoke;
people with “all the answers;” 
cat lovers;
rude people;
people who lie;
speeders;
people who put down the other team, regardless of the sport;
graduates of Kecoughtan High School, Hampton, VA;
anybody too much like me.
 
I’m constantly working to change, to grow, and to become the person God wants me to become. “Denying that we have [biases] ensures that we won’t examine or change them.”
 
* * *
 
When we work together, we get stuff done. You won’t believe this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZL7TqSeDus&feature=youtu.be
 
News:
 
Wednesday Night Vespers: We have some music for you and some time to visit. Be there or be square. 7 p.m. on Zoom.
Email zoom@firstpres.church for the link.

 
* * *
Humor (Hard times need godly laughter): 
 
Three more classics from Dave Hunter:
 
1 Why can’t a bicycle stand up on it’s own? It’s just two tired.
 
2 I couldn’t believe the highway department called my dad a thief. But when I got home,
all the signs were there
 
3 Have you heard about corduroy pillows? They’re making headlines
 
From Ruth Craddock: Single man with TP seeks single woman with hand sanitizer for good clean fun.
 
Good Word:

“HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO OBSERVE JUSTICE, WHO DO RIGHTEOUSNESS AT ALL TIME.” PSALM 106:3
 
LET US PRAY:
 
Holy God, continue, by your grace,
to guide our steps and lift our face
to your bright hope and love.
 
Help us to love others
in word and deed,
indeed with our whole selves.
 
AMEN
 
Much, much love to you all.
 
 Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church
 

The Heart of Mission
September 15, 2020
 
Our Fall is filling up with mission opportunities. Please check out all the new things happening in our mission agencies in the announcements below and don’t forget to check out their Facebook pages as well if you are on Facebook. Invite your friends to participate with you in these or other mission opportunities. And, then tell us about it! Send me a summary and/or a picture of what you did. And don’t forget our own in house mission: CYF (Children, Youth and Families), ESL (English as a Second Language), CPJ (Compassion, Peace and Justice) and ESC (Environmental Stewardship Committee)!
 
Today I am inviting you to an opportunity that just came my way this past week. We have quite a few walker/runners in our congregation so this is a personal invitation to you. This is a great time of year to “step up” and use your feet for mission. October 4 is CROP Hunger Walk day. I am a little late getting the word out on this but I am personally walking and am inviting anyone of you who are interested in being on a “First Presbyterian Church Champaign (FPCC) Mission” team with me to walk with me or virtually join me. Please email me rachel@firstpres.church if you are interested in walking so I can keep you posted on where I am on walk day. Otherwise join us virtually as listed below.
 
A CROP Hunger walk is a community-based walk event to raise funds to support the global mission of Church World Service, a faith-based organization transforming communities around the globe through just and sustainable responses to hunger, poverty, displacement and disaster. Twenty five percent of the funds raised are returned to the host community to support local hunger fighting efforts at the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen, Eastern Illinois Foodbank, Sola Gratia Farm, and Wesley Food Pantry. Join with me in raising funds to help our neighbors near and far get the meals they need this year. Learn more about it at https://www.crophungerwalk.org/champaignil
 
I have learned from the organizers that COVID-19 has impacted food insecurity in our local community.
 
From the US Bureau of Labor Statistics:
the C-U Unemployment rate – 
Feb 2020    2.7%
Mar 2020    2.4%
Apr 2020   10.9%
May 2020  10.0%
 
From the Eastern Illinois Food Bank – More than 100,000 people rely on them for food due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Unless it is raining, I will be physically walking on a “classic” CROP walk route. You can walk with me or you will be able to join the walk virtually on Oct. 4, 1:30pm.
 
Peace,
 
Rachel Matthews, Temporary Mission Coordinator

Background for the CROP walk – The Crop Project was organized in 1947 when farmers were asked to donate food and seed crops to our hungry neighbors in post-World War II Europe and Asia, a program that soon became known as the Christian Rural Overseas Program – CROP. In 1969 in Bismarck, North Dakota, and in 1970 in York, Pennsylvania, the first walk events were organized to raise funds to support CROP. Since then, CROP Hunger Walk events have been held in hundreds of communities large and small raising millions of dollars to eradicate hunger and poverty.
https://www.crophungerwalk.org/champaignil/Team/View/137664/First-Presbyterian-Church-Champaign-FPCC-Mission
 
CROP WALK – https://www.crophungerwalk.org/champaignil
 
Sunday, October 4, 2020 at 1:30 PM
·      
Zoom Gathering
By Computer:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86161903170
By Phone:
    Phone Number: (312) 626-6799
    Meeting ID: 861 6190 3170
 
Our Mission Agency Announcements
 
World Mission Committee – September 15, 4:30pm, zoom.
Community Mission Deacons – September 22, 4:30pm, zoom.
 
Cuba Partner Network Virtual Gathering 2020 – The PC(USA) Cuba Partners Network Virtual Gathering: Celebrating our Connections in the Time of COVID, will be held via Zoom webinar, September 25 -26, 2020. Registration is $20 for all three days. If you are interested in attending, please contact Rachel@firstpres.church for the registration link.
 
CU at Home – Again, upcoming Event Highlighting Men’s and Women’s Emergency Shelter, Sept. 30, 12pm. Register with Rob@cuathome.us or Rick@cuathome.us
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man, this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”    Matthew 19:26 

• Would you join us in prayer for two of our friends who relapsed earlier this week? We pray for their hearts to remain humble and open to receive help.      
• Please pray for all of our staff and friends on the street that they would remain healthy as we move towards fall and flu season.   
• Would you also pray for a friend whose father passed away a couple weeks ago? We pray for comfort and God’s peace as this family deals with this unexpected loss. Thank you God that one of our friends without an address who is working towards housing as well as going back to school at Parkland this fall! 
• Praise the Lord for the cooler weather which brings relief from the heat and motivation for some of our friends as we are reminded that winter is right around the corner. 
• Praise to Jesus for the men’s and women’s shelters which continue to see high attendance each night! To date, the men’s shelter has seen over 470 different men while the women’s shelter has seen over 120 different women since October 31, 2019! The need is great and we appreciate your prayers and continued financial support!

DREAAM – University of Illinois is offering a free course regarding our pandemic on Sunday nights from 8-9pm. This is a very informative course. One of the speakers on December 6 is Tracy Dace, the director of DREAAM. You do have to register. https://covcourse.web.illinois.edu/
            COV-Course: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Understanding the Pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented public health crisis. In this course, created by provost Andreas Cangellaris and other campus leaders, you will gain a comprehensive, multidisciplinary understanding of the pandemic. The course will guide you through past, present and future perspectives on the pandemic, with weekly topics that range from history, biology and business to data security, racial disparities, mental health and more.
            This non-credit course is free of cost and open to all. Classes will be held online from 8:00–9:00 p.m. every Sunday evening during the fall semester. See the course schedule for details about the instructors and topics covered.
            12/06 – Social Life: COVID-19 and the CU Community
            Introduction: Antoinette Burton (Professor of History and Director, Humanities Research Institute)
            Speakers: Julie Pryde (Champaign-Urbana Public Health District), Tracy Dace (DREAAM)
 
Environmental Stewardship Committee – The Faith in Place Green Team Summit is happening this week, September 13-17, connecting the dots between climate change, COVID-19 and racism and all the other environmental crises we seem to be facing right now. This Summit is sponsored by the Interfaith Power and Light organization. Several of our own Environmental Stewardship Committee “Green Team” members will be attending this virtual summit. You can still attend by registering at
https://www.greenteamsummit.org/?emci=77e1d458-e1f1-ea11-99c3-00155d039e74&emdi=cfaa9d04-86f6-ea11-99c3-00155d039e74&ceid=3615334
 
Frontera de Cristo – Coffee & Conversation Continues/Café y Conversacion Continua

• Sept. 17 de Septiembre: Clase de Cocina: Come Los Tamales Casi Dividio la Iglesia Cooking Class: How Tamales Almost Divided the Church
• Sept 24 de Septiembre: Loteira de Frontera de Cristo: Play Virtual Mexican Bingo with us: Have Fun and Learn About the Life and Ministry of Frontera de Cristo

Email “conversation” to office@fronteradecristo.org to get the Zoom link
 
Other Mission Opportunities around town –
 
Twice is Nice Thrift Store is 
Open for Porch Sales
607 W. Elm St., 
Urbana
Saturdays August 22, 29, Sept.12, 19, 26
From 10am-2pm
Featured Items:
Sept 19 Puzzles, Games, Toys, Books Stationery
Sept 26 Winter apparel, Holiday
 
Let us keep all our mission partners in our prayers, those who are waiting to go back to their place of ministry and those who are able to work where they are. Listen for God’s call to you in their ministry.
 
Our PC(USA) Mission CoWorkers:
Mark Adams and Miriam Maidonado Escobar (Mexico)
Farsijanna Adeney-Risakotta (Indonesia)
Jeff and Christi Boyd (Central Africa)
Jo Ella Holman (Carribean and Cuba)
Bob and Kristi Rice (South Sudan)
 
Our regional and global mission partners:
Kemmerer Village (and Camp Carew)
Lifeline Pilots
Marion Medical Mission
Mission Aviation Fellowship
Opportunity International
Friends of Presbyterian Education Board in Pakistan Presbyterian Cuba Partnership
Special Offerings of the PC(USA)
Theological Education Fund
Young Adult Volunteers
 
Here in Champaign – Urbana:
CU Better Together
CU at Home
CANAAN S.A.F.E. HOUSE
CANTEEN RUN
COURAGE CONNECTION
DREAAM
eMPTY TOMB, INC
FAITH IN ACTION
JESUS IS THE WAY PRISON MINISTRY
THE REFUGEE CENTER
RESTORATION URBAN MINISTRY
SALT & LIGHT
 
Here at First Presbyterian Church
FPCC Amateur Preachers
FPCC Environmental Committee working with Faith in Place
FPCC Presbyterian Women
FPCC ESL
FPCC Children, Youth and Families
FPCC Mission Possible/Go and Serve
 
302 W. Church Street
  Champaign, IL 61820
  217-356-7238
  info@firstpres.church
 
Attachments:

• The_Heart_of_Mission_091520.pdf

Monday, September 14^th, 2020
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Dear Friends,
 
Yesterday about 30 of us met at Hessel Park with lawn chairs and masks. That sounds like the set up for a joke, doesn’t it? In another age, it would be. 
 
We divided into three circles, but few of us sat down. We just wandered around and mingled, laughed, caught up, told each other about our summer, and generally enjoyed one another’s company. It was amazingly good to see your faces.
 
At one point, I got hit in the head with an acorn. I turned around and thought for a second that Vern Snoeyink threw it at me. While I was looking at him, trying to read his masked face, another hit my shoulder. The oak tree was tossing the acorns. 
 
The Nurture Committee will arrange another social like this again. Stay tuned. 
 
In the meantime, please keep your guard up. This virus is pesky. Don’t get it. Don’t share it. We’ll be on the other side soon enough. Every day we are a day closer. 
  
News:
 
Wednesday Night Vespers:
1^st Wed is our monthly prayer meeting.
2^nd Wed is presented by our Mission Team
3^rd Wed is presented by our Worship Team (often a concert!)
4^th Wed is Study Night sponsored by our Spiritual Formation Team.
5^th Wed is social time.

Join us each Wednesday at 7 pm…
Email zoom@firstpres.church for the link.

Tuesdays Men’s Bible Study 8 am
Email zoom@firstpres.church for the link.

 
* * *
 
 

Humor (Hard times need godly laughter): 
 
Three classics from Dave Hunter:
 
1. A dog went to college. when he got home his master asked what did you learn? The dog said I studied foreign languages. His master said okay, say something in a foreign language. The dog said “meow”.
 
2. What did the Buffalo say when his male child left for school? Bison
 
3. Where do doctors learn how intestines work? In alimentary school.
 
Good Word:

Colossians 3:14         
And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 

Let us pray:

 
Holy God, don’t make us ready for the coming fall.
We don’t need help facing the winter.
We need help savoring this moment.
O God of all good gifts,
help us live fully in this
present.
 
AMEN.
 
 
Much, much love to you all.
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church
 

Friday 11 September 2020
 
Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Dear Friends, 
 
Where were you on 9-11? 
 
I was moving quickly through the narrow hallways of our church preschool checking in with teachers who exuded a calm they did not feel. Their smiles were big and plastic. Little children held their legs, as usual, and other kids played with the stuffed animals in their classrooms, building blocks scattered around them like so many fallen towers. 
 
Fathers and mothers had been tearing into our parking lot, asking to see their kids whom they had just dropped off. They wanted to hug them goodbye. One. More. Time.
 
These young men and women were heading to their duty posts. Most of them were Coast Guard. Some were Navy. Many of those not in the military worked in the Norfolk Shipyard. They were so young and their eyes were so far away.
 
I assured them their children were in good hands. They left tread in our parking lot. 
 
The morning was amazingly calm. It was another sunny, warm day. Kids were settling in for another morning of play with their friends. And those teachers—so calm on the outside, so loving on the inside—were so amazingly present to the duties at hand.
 
Where were you on 9-11?
 
September
(remembering 9/11/01)
Matt Matthews
 
 
September comes.
Summer’s haze has been lifting.
The hot days give way
to the sighs of the fall.
 
The skies are clear blue
above ashes still shifting.
Eight stories of rubble
crane crews lifting it all.
 
Too busy to notice
the season is changing.
Frost in the meadow,
summer is gone.
 
September comes.
Summer’s haze has been lifting.
The season is changing—
summer is gone.
 
* * *
 
Billy & Loretta Rickett for 911…      
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnkhKSX71Qw
 
 
* * *
 
See you on Sunday.
 
Pay attention to God’s activity in the world around you.
            Be amazed.
                        Tell somebody.
 
PEACE,
 
Matt Matthews
864.386.9138
 
* * *
 
PHOTO Challenge! 

From your Nurture Team — Congrats to Linda Sandquist for being the first to guess last Friday’s photo was of Nancy Martin!  

Here’s this week’s photo. 

Visit http://fb.com/groups/firstpreschampaign to make your guesses, or email them to photos@firstpres.church.  
 
We are getting low on photos, so please join in the fun!  We would like you to select a photo from your younger years (grade school, high school or early adulthood). Photos need not be professional. Candid shots are welcome. Please send your photos to photos@firstpres.church.
 
* * *
 
Peter Yau has brought to my and Rachel’s attention this special course offered by the University of Illinois in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
This course is offered by faculty and guests of the University. The course is on Sunday evenings at 8 PM (Central Time), it is available FREE to everyone in the community, you just need to register to be able to log in. If you miss a discussion, you will be able to view an archived video on the specific topic.  
 
The url to the website is: https://covcourse.web.illinois.edu/.  You can go there to register and sign up for the class.
 
The course schedule is below. You will see that our own Tracy Dace is one of the speakers scheduled for December 6.  
9/6 – Pandemics in History
Introduction: Antoinette Burton (Professor of History and Director, Humanities Research Institute)
Speakers: Carol Symes (History) and May Berenbaum (Entomology)
Video recording (coming soon) / Suggested additional reading
9/13 – Infection: Biology and Anthropology
Introduction: Neal Cohen (Professor of Psychology and Director, Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute)
Speakers: Jessica Brinkworth (Anthropology), Rebecca Smith (Veterinary Medicine)
Join Livestream
9/20 – Diagnostic Technologies
Introduction: Neal Cohen (Professor of Psychology and Director, Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute)
Speakers: Paul Hergenrother (Chemistry), Rashid Bashir (Grainger College of Engineering)
Join Livestream
9/27 – COVID-19 and the Election
Introduction: Rachel Switzky (Director, Siebel Center for Design)
Speakers: Robin Fretwell Wilson (Institute of Government & Public Affairs), Brian Gaines (Political Science)
Join Livestream
10/04 – Mental Health
Introduction: Brent Roberts (Professor of Psychology and Director, Center for Social and Behavioral Science)
Speakers: Tara Powell (School of Social Work), Karen Tabb Dina (School of Social Work)
Join Livestream
10/11 – Health Inequities
Introduction: Gene Robinson (Interim Dean, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Director, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology)
Speakers: Ruby Mendenhall (Sociology and African American Studies), Christy Lleras (Human Development & Family Studies)
Join Livestream
10/18 – Families and Other Relationships
Introduction: Brent Roberts (Professor of Psychology and Director, Center for Social and Behavioral Science)
Speakers: Leanne Knobloch (Communication), Eva Pomerantz (Psychology)
Join Livestream
10/25 – Arts in a Pandemic
Introduction: Antoinette Burton (Professor of History and Director, Humanities Research Institute)
Speakers: Jason Finkelman (Music), Gabriel Solis (Music and Theatre)
Join Livestream
11/01 – Data Security and Privacy
Introduction: Neal Cohen (Professor of Psychology and Director, Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute)
Speakers: William Sullivan (Rokwire), Sanjay Patel (Electrical & Computer Engineering)
Join Livestream
11/08 – Global Impacts
Introduction: Rachel Switzky (Director, Siebel Center for Design)
Speakers: Jerry Dávila (History and Executive Director, Illinois Global Institute), Tim Liao (Sociology)
Join Livestream
11/15 – Food Security
Introduction: Brent Roberts (Professor of Psychology and Director, Center for Social and Behavioral Science)
Speakers: Alex Winter-Nelson (Agricultural & Consumer Economics), Craig Gundersen (Agricultural & Consumer Economics)
Join Livestream
11/22 – Higher Education
Introduction: Antoinette Burton (Professor of History and Director, Humanities Research Institute)
Speakers: James Anderson (College of Education), Robb Lindgren (Curriculum & Instruction)
Join Livestream
11/29 – Financial Consequences
Introduction: Gene Robinson (Interim Dean, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Director, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology)
Speakers: Heitor Almeida (Finance), Robert Lawless (Law)
Join Livestream
12/06 – Social Life: COVID-19 and the CU Community
Introduction: Antoinette Burton (Professor of History and Director, Humanities Research Institute)
Speakers: Julie Pryde (Champaign-Urbana Public Health District), Tracy Dace (DREAAM)
Join Livestream
12/13 – The Future with COVID-19
Introduction: Rachel Switzky (Director, Siebel Center for Design)
Speakers: Eliza Forsythe (Labor & Employment Relations and Economics), Derek Long (Media & Cinema Studies), Benjamin Bross (Architecture)
Join Livestream
*Course schedule is tentative and subject to change. 
 
* * *
On a day of remembrance like this, we turn to the Prince of Peace
Another rousing Christmas song from Nigeria
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I64z0hxyS4
 
 

Thursday, September 10^th, 2020
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
 Dear Friends,
 
This just in: The Nuture committee reports that they are hosting “Sunday in the Park.” Gather with church friends (bring guests) in Hessel Park on THIS Sunday, September 13^th. (Grandparents Day). Bring your OWN lawn chairs and wear masks. You may bring food or drink for you, but we will NOT be sharing food. 
 
God didn’t intend for us to live in isolation. God designed us to have relationships with each other. Therefore, bring your lawn chairs and let’s gather for an hour at 11 AM near the Pavilion at the north end of the park. The committee will be available to guide you to our location and provide a safe location following social distancing, sanitation and guidelines such as wearing masks. 
 
Galatians 6:2 – Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ
Psalms 133:1 – How good and pleas- ant it is when God’s people live together in unity! 
Matthew 18:20 – For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
 
* * *
 
Here at the beginning of the school year, we’ve been hearing from each other about our favorite teachers. Gary Wisemen wrote this about two of his beloved teachers.
 
You asked for teachers that influenced our lives. In seventh grade my social studies teacher was a male, not too common in rural southern Illinois in the fifties. I will never forget the time he pulled me aside and said, “Gary you should become a History teacher.” From that day on I never considered anything else. 
 
Another teacher was also an elementary teacher who was anything but “macho” until he told the class his war story. When the war began, the Air Force made him a gunnery instructor. This was fine until men who had completed their 25 missions and who had never been to gunnery school were rotated back to the States to gunnery school. Mr. Wagner was to teach them how to shoot down a German plane which they had done and he had never seen. So, he was sent to England to fly five missions as a waist gunner in a B- 17and then return to the States as an instructor. On his last mission he parachuted from his burning plane, was captured and spent the war in a prison camp. Needless to say I never saw him as the same man and I hope I learned something about prejudging people.

Thanks for Sunday church. However, we sure miss the old Sundays. 

By the way, how does it feel to be upstaged by a white fuzzy puppet?
Thanks again 
Gary Wiseman 
 
(Ed. Note: I’m used to being upstaged by everyone. That’s what happens when you associate with talented people like you. And Jip—our newest white-haired, fuzzy friend–is a star!)
 
* * *
 
A replay from my wife, who contributed this in the Tuesday, August 4^th,  emailer:
 
I’ve been doing a lot of walking lately for my health. 
 
On my walks I pass by people. I try to wear my mask and that gets in the way of my usual smile and nod. I heard on CBS that just making eye contact and saying “Hi” to a stranger can actually increase your Oxytocin (feel good hormones). 
 
We are social creatures. God, Being in relationship, Three in One, created us to touch, shake hands, hug, move in close, laugh together. We are made in God’s image. 
 
Lately, we have been limited in our ability to do those things. So, walking is good, not just for my body parts (and letting go of the many pounds I have to shed!) but for the social body in which I live, move and have my being. Walking is good. Jesus walked. He walked in other people’s shoes with his mind, his heart and his deeds. Jesus showed us who to walk with (our neighbor) and how to walk.  He showed us walking could be loving. 
 
That is the heart of mission! 
 
News:
 
Gathering in Hessel Park (see above). Wear your masks!

Friday Men’s Prayer 8:30 am
Email zoom@firstpres.church for the link.
 
* * *
 
This news from Dick Arnould:         
Lou Liay, Dick Arnould and various neighbors of Shorty Eichelberger are planning a PARADE of CARS to honor Lila Jeanne on Friday, September 11, 2020 at 4:30 pm.  This is being advertised as LILA JEANNE (Shorty) Eichelberger Day in Champaign.  Mayor Deb Feinen is presenting a Framed PROCLAMATION that will be given to Shorty in the “Drive-By”.
 
Those who join the drive by parade will remain in your car and if you have cards or mementoes for Shorty, there will be a few neighbors ready to retrieve them from your car as you slowly pass by. Cars should meet on VALLEYBROOK DRIVE. Please enter from Duncan Rd west on to Valleybrook.  (There will be a sign with balloons stating to TURN WEST from Duncan to Valleybrook.)  Cars will line up on both sides of Valleybrook  At 4:45 the parade of cars  we proceed on Valleybrook turning left on Meadow Valley Rd. for 1 block, then turning right back West on to  Meadowbrook Drive. We hope to have sheriff deputies to help direct traffic going west one way on Meadowbrook Drive to the western edge of Valleybrook Drive. Yes, you are encouraged to have signs, balloons or decorate however you like. The purpose is to show appreciate for Shorty and all she has done in our community throughout her years since beginning her teaching career here in 1954.
It is NOT HER BIRTHDAY, it is an APPRECIATION DAY.
 
And, YES, Shorty is aware of the parade and is looking forward to it.  She plans to decorate her house. (She loves displaying both Illini and PATRIOTIC symbols).  It is 9-11 Day so if you would like to wave a FLAG, that is appropriate.   FLAGS, ILLINI STUFF, anything significant!
 
Two Things you can help the committee with are:
 
#1  Please send an e-mail to GALE BIUCKEL at the Alumni Assoc.
gbickel@uillinois.edu  or text her at 217-412-4612 so we have an idea of how many cars there will be.  OF COURSE, we HOPE a lot.
 
#2 PLEASE, pass along this information to the vast number of friends of Shorty who might want to participate in this special day honoring her, her service and love demonstrated in her 92 years.
 
Hope to see you in the parade.  Barb Barker
 
Humor (Hard times need godly laughter): 
 
This from Brandi Lowe: An 80-year-old lady was marrying for the 4th time. The newspaper asked if she would mind talking about her first 3 husbands & what they did for a living. She smiled & said, “My first husband was a Banker, then I married a Circus Ringmaster. Next was a Preacher & now in my 80’s, a Funeral Director. When asked why the 4 Men had such diverse careers, she explained “I married one for the money, 2 for the show, 3 to get ready & 4 to go!
 
Good Word:
 
Romans 12:4-5 NIV   
For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
 
Let us pray:
Pardon our sins, O Lord, 
and make us truly grateful
for these and all our many
blessings.
 
In Christ’s name, AMEN.
 
(William P. Matthews, Sr.
prayed this prayer over 
every dinner he ever ate.
Thank you, Dad.)
 
Much, much love to you all.
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church

Wednesday, September 9^th, 2020
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Dear Friends,
 
1. When is the last time you read King’s letter from the Birmingham, AL, jail? Note the link below and give it a slow, thoughtful read. When he describes well-meaning white people who want to go slow, he’s talking about me. That’s how I would have reacted to Dr. King back then. I hope it is not how I would react now. Consider joining our White Fragility study group beginning next week. Phone the church office to reserve your slot.
 
2.  Tonight our Wednesday Zoom at 7:00 p.m. will explore a Mission Theme. Join us for conversation and celebration. 
 
3. The school year has begun. I lost some emails, including some of yours. You wrote brief stories about memorable teachers. Here’s one from Diane Mortensen:
 
Miss Hall, was my sixth-grade teacher. She was not friendly and laughter didn’t happen in the classroom.  She seemed very old, even older than my parents, probably almost fifty!

She required us to memorize poetry, to listen to classical music and identify the sounds of individual musical instruments.  We had to identify birds and flowers and study details of geography and Greek history. I can still recite the names of the 72 counties in Wisconsin.

I didn’t know then that she would be the teacher I would most appreciate in my adult life. I didn’t know she was teaching me to widen my horizons, to appreciate fine arts and to persevere in difficult situations.
  
I wish I could tell her that now.
 
News: 
Midweek Gathering TONIGHT 7 pm
Email zoom@firstpres.church for the link.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. “LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL” 

Martin Luther King’s 1963 letter from prison addresses the urgency for civil rights, and the betrayal of white liberal Christian friends who named support for integration, but did not speak up or act in the struggle for justice.
 
Humor (Hard times need godly laughter): 
 
A couple more brilliant jokes from Bill Gamble:

A group of dyslexic Agnostics were sitting around discussing the existence of dog.

And

In 1984, South Africa was awash with jokes about a man named van de Merve.

So van de Merve arrived at a large fancy house to do some repair work.  
The owner said to him: “The Jarra-wood floors have just been polished, 
and may be slippery.”

To which van de Merve replied: “Not to worry.  I’ve got me spikes on.”

And (last one)
 
Van der Merwe was watching the British Lions test match at Loftus in Pretoria. The stadium was packed – of course – and there was only one available seat, next to – you guessed it; Van der Merwe.
 
“Is that seat taken?” asked the neighbour.
 
“Yes, it is for my wife”, replies Van der Merwe.
 
“Why isn’t she here?” he asked.
 
“She died”, said Van der Merwe.
 
“So, you didn’t give the ticket to one of your friends?” asked the neighbour.
 
“They’ve all gone to the funeral”, said Van der Merwe.
 
Good Word:
1 John 4:7-8              
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 

Let us pray:
A prayer for the morning: O God—help us, help us, help us.
A prayer for the evening: O God—thank you, thank you, thank you.
 
(Anne Lamotte)
 
Much, much love to you all.
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church