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Weekday Email to Members and Friends – 2020-08-11

Posted on Aug 11, 2020 in COVID-19 |

God involves us in the work of the gospel in ways we do not always realize. Maybe it’s through one or more of our gifts that gets developed, or maybe it’s through a relationship or network that has developed over the years. This week one of those ways became clearer. One of our mission partners is the PC(USA) Theological Fund to which First Presbyterian has donated for many, many years. You may wonder why we give to the Theological Fund. The Theological Fund is administered by the Presbyterian Foundation and goes to support many of the PC(USA) seminaries in the United States to educate our pastors and other church leaders. It also is used to support our mission partners in the world like the Near East School of Theology in Beirut, Lebanon. NEST offers sabbatical programs for pastors in the US who want to deepen their knowledge of churches in the Middle East, Islam and Christian-Muslim relations as well as educate pastors. There is a video about NEST and our work there at https://www.presbyterianfoundation.org/near-east-school-of-theology-nest/

The school website is http://www.theonest.edu.lb/en/Home Not much has been posted since COVID19 as might be expected.

However, if you’ve have been listening to the news this week, you know where this is going, don’t you? The Theological Fund has kept us connected with our theological schools. We share news. I received an email letter from the President at NEST and Professor of Systematic Theology, George Sabra this past week following the explosion on the wharf in Beirut. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA23692
You see, the part of Beirut that exploded affected quite a few Christians, including the seminary. He writes,

Dear Friends all over the world,

This is just a brief preliminary message about NEST. More will follow.

We thank God that no one was injured at NEST as a result of the huge explosion that devastated most of Beirut last night at around 6 pm. There were not many people in the building, but those who were escaped unharmed. The damage to the building is extensive. All 8 eight floors above ground and two basements were hit. Glass windows, glass doors, glass panels inside the building, as well as many internal wooden doors were shattered. Never has NEST been hit so badly as yesterday, not even during the worst days of the 15-year war in Lebanon. Of course, we are not the only ones. The devastation in the rest of Beirut is vast.

Our wonderful team of employees and workers are cleaning the glass today, but we have no illusions about being able to replace the glass and the doors soon. There is great demand on glass panels and repairmen in the city. We will be trying to cover the shattered windows and doors with nylon for the time being.

The cost of repairing the damage will be enormous. We do not have an estimate yet, but it will be in the thousands of dollars.

We appeal for your help.

Thank you for all your inquiries and messages of support. I may not be able to answer people individually right now, but I will do my best.

God bless you and keep you safe.

George Sabra
President
Professor of Systematic Theology
Near East School of Theology
P.O. Box 13-5780 Chouran
Beirut 1102 2070, Lebanon

In response to the tragedy Jim Berger shared an article from Christianity Today with our World Mission Committee by way of a Facebook post about the situation in Lebanon. You might be interested in this link:

https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2020/august/lebanon-explosion-beirut-christians-ammonium-nitrate.html

The World Mission Committee at First Presbyterian Church Champaign is the committee in our congregation that monitors and supports global mission and oddly this includes the Theological Fund. So, please pray with the World Mission Committee as they seek to respond to this tragedy and pray for the healing of all of our brothers and sisters in Beirut, Christians and Muslims.

Peace,

Rachel Matthews, Temporary Mission Coordinator

More Mission Announcements:

Faith in Action – Faith in Action is a volunteer caregiving ministry. It is a home and community-based outreach program targeting senior adults in the Piatt County area. ATTENTION: Piatt County Residents. Faith in Action has joined forces with Community Action Piatt County to provide an emergency food pantry on Mondays from 1pm – 3pm. If you are in need please call Faith in Action at 217-762-7575 ext 2 or Community Action at 217-762-2421 for a pickup time. Located at 1115 N. State St. Suite 220 Monticello, IL.

Frontera de Cristo –

Courage Connection: If you or someone you love need help, please call Courage Connection’s Domestic HOTLINE (217)384-4390 OR (877)384-4390

Jesus Is the Way Prison Ministry – The Annual Celebration-Fundraising Banquet will be online this year on Friday, August 28, 2020 at 6-8pm. There are some things you can do to join in and take part. Join us in watching our FIRST EVER Facebook Live event at https://www.facebook.com/Jesus-is-the-Way-Prison-Ministry-1594891964064517/
on Friday Aug. 28th at 6pm.

Host a watch party at your home or church on Friday Aug. 28th at 6pm
Watch and share the LIVE feed on your Facebook page for your friends and family to view on Friday Aug. 28th at 6pm — (This is a GREAT way to help not only spread the message of JITWPM BUT also share some amazing testimonies of how GOD is transforming lives for HIS glory and help encourage others to know they also can be set FREE)
Donate silent auction service and/or products
Host a “Drive-By” to support the evening and drop off monetary donations, items for our blessing room, non-perishable food for our food pantry, etc.
Give a love offering to “JESUS IS THE WAY PRISON MINISTRY” to help meet any expenses of this special event and the continued daily costs to keep the ministry going forward

Friends of P.E.B. The High temperature in Pakistan this week was 108 degrees, the Low was 75 degrees. Did you know that heat affects learning? The schools in Pakistan do not have the air conditioning systems that we do in Champaign or even in the hotter parts of the U.S. Heat affects learning by bringing about lower test scores, decrease in memory and ability, lack of energy and loss of focus. Research shows, says a recent newsletter from PEB, that students’ ability to learn starts dropping at 80.6 degree Fahrenheit. Staying hydrated with cool water is critical yet many of the children there drink tap water that is too hot to even touch. Water helps your brain think faster, be more focused, experience greater creativity, better able to balance your mood and emotions, have a better memory, reduces stress, removes toxins and delivers nutrients. Yet when your brain is depleted with 1 percent of water, you are likely to have a 5 percent decrease in cognitive/brain function. This is very informative information from the principals at PEB! Keep the children in your prayers during this hot season and think about ways you can support PEB.

Opportunity International: Check out their Survive to Thrive Rapid Response Fund campaign: https://us.opportunity.org/project/COVID19

On Facebook they write, “In a matter of months, COVID-19 has reversed global gains towards ending extreme poverty that took two decades to achieve, leaving an estimated 2 billion people at risk of abject poverty.

“With economic activity slowed down, and even shut down in some areas, families living on day-to-day income from their small business are unable to provide for their daily needs. We are committed to keeping our clients and partners afloat so they can survive this crisis, and every $10 donated to our Rapid Response Fund will help one more person receive the crucial services they need.”

Salt and Light: From their Facebook page comes these opportunities –

Being in quarantine gave everyone time to clean out their homes and bring incredible items to our stores. Due to the inability to have volunteers for several months, we now need your help in processing these donations and stocking our shelves and racks!

We are looking for teams of 4-10 people to volunteer, processing household and clothing items. This is a great opportunity to get together your youth/small groups, book clubs, families, etc., to serve your community safely.

Contact Lisa Sheltra at lisa@saltandlightministry.org to schedule your group. Thank you in advance!

Another way to support our mission is to shop for groceries and thrift in our stores! 100% of the proceeds support our programs and services to local families.

In addition to thrift, our Urbana store also houses a full grocery store, where EVERYONE can shop. Follow us on our new grocery Facebook page, where you will find recipes, mission highlights, and weekly grocery specials.

Feeding your family with food from Salt & Light helps another local family feed theirs.

CU Folk and Roots Festival: Part of what it means to be a neighbor is to learn about and learn to appreciate the diversity of the rich cultures that people come from. The CU Folk and Roots Festival celebrates the music and arts of the people in our community. It helps promote community. So I wanted to let you know that the CU Folk and Roots Festival will happen this Fall but will happen online October 23-24. For more about this see http://folkandroots.org/

“We are not canceling the Festival—the show will go on,” explained Festival Director Cody Jensen. “We wish we could see festival friends and supporters back at our favorite Urbana venues, but everyone’s health and safety are most important.
“Stay tuned for a list of the bands, workshops, storytellers, and other activities that the C-U Folk and Roots Festival will stream straight into your home on October 23-24.”

Now in its twelfth year, the C-U Folk and Roots Festival is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting accessible art forms and building community in East Central Illinois.

Meals on Wheels – Meals on Wheels from Family Services Senior Resource Center is a mission partner for Presbyterian Women. Anyone might be interested their service someday. Here is some information I found on it:

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_0801120.pdf

Weekday Email to Members and Friends – 2020-08-10

Posted on Aug 10, 2020 in COVID-19 |

Monday August 10^th, 2020
A daily e-mailer from
Matt Matthews

To Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois

Dear Friends,

Overheard:

“It’s easy to have gratitude when you already have what you want.” (Anne Lamotte)

“The Jesus I grew up with in my Presbyterian church was quiet and nice, liked children, and didn’t cause waves. Then I read the Bible.” (Rev. Liz  Theoharis)

* * *
Let Comfort Come
We read while form stays
still and waits. The words sing
or speak, clamber on or say
or tell or even sometimes step
aside and hope we wander in.
Everywhere within the form
of letter, word, space, structure
rests the hush around the hurry,
the opening wherein any form —
table, door, the lover’s arm
and tongue, the cat asleep
on the sill—lies the quiet,
the shawl around us all
who have to clatter through.
Let be be the nothing of not.
–Jack Ridl
First published in The Colorado Review
Subsequently published in Saint Peter and the Goldfinch (Wayne State University Press)

Take on Race:
The Presbyterian Church USA hopes to be a transformative church in this intercultural era by taking eight steps to end racism. Those steps are:
1.)    RECOGNITION—As it happened in John 20:11–18, like Mary Magdalene, we hear our names called and recognize that we are captive to the power of race. We cease denying that race has power in our individual and communal lives.
2.)    REPENTANCE—We acknowledge to ourselves and to others that race has power in our lives and contributes to our white privilege.
3.)    RESISTANCE—We commit ourselves to combating the power of racism in ourselves, in others, in churches, and in institutional life. Because of its long reach in American history, at times we will feel like those who are battling principalities and powers in Ephesians 6:10–20.
4.)    RESILIENCE—We are called to affirm the traditional ways of combating racism while seeking new ways to engage a powerful force that continues to be present in American life and that continues to evolve.
5.)    REPARATIONS—We commit ourselves to doing our part to repair the breaches that have been made through racism, including psychological, spiritual, and economic damage.
6.)    RECONCILIATION—We recognize that we have long benefitted from racism and that in order for reconciliation to take place, we will need to work the first five steps listed above.
7.)    RECOVERY—We receive and commit ourselves to live by a new vision of a humanity created by God to live in love, equity, and justice rather than in the hierarchy and domination of the system of race.
8.)    RESONANCE—We understand and resonate with our own cultural background.

News:

Your Covid-19 Response Team met last week: (1) We agreed to meet in early September to revisit when to reopen for face to face worship; the group still feels opening is unwise given the Covid numbers upward drift. We wonder if influx of UI students will radically change community Covid cases. (2) We talked about upcoming funerals, use of van for the confirmation class, DREAAM work on campus, the health of our church staff, and the possibility of outdoor small group meetings hosted by Nurture Committee.

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

Humor/the body edition: (Serious times call for re-creation, joy, and humor.)

From Tom Gilmore: Why did the teddy bear turn down a second helping? Because he was stuffed.

Good Word:

1 John 4:7-8
(New Revised Standard Version) Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Let us pray:

Guide our steps, Holy God,
and our tonguelisteningthinkingwon-
deringhopingreachingrelationships,
jobsprayersparentingcareintellect,
our hello and goodbye,
our comings and goings,
our then and now,
our hither and yon.

Guide our steps, Holy God.

Amen.

PEACE to you all,

Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church

Weekday Email to Members and Friends – 2020-08-07

Posted on Aug 7, 2020 in COVID-19 |

Friday 7 August 2020

Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois

Dear Friends,

Sunday’s sermon is  about “Spirituality.”  How do you define that word, that work? Tune in on Sunday for worship and we can think about this together. See you Sunday at FirstPres.Live

* * *

Here’s a fascinating article and video about trees. Yes, trees. What the video, first. The visual is fantastic.

As an added Friday bonus, here are two poems from Robert Frost:

The Sound of Trees

I wonder about the trees.
Why do we wish to bear
Forever the noise of these
More than another noise
So close to our dwelling place?
We suffer them by the day
Till we lose all measure of pace,
And fixity in our joys,
And acquire a listening air.
They are that that talks of going
But never gets away;
And that talks no less for knowing,
As it grows wiser and older,
That now it means to stay.
My feet tug at the floor
And my head sways to my shoulder
Sometimes when I watch trees sway,
From the window or the door.
I shall set forth for somewhere,
I shall make the reckless choice
Some day when they are in voice
And tossing so as to scare
The white clouds over them on.
I shall have less to say,
But I shall be gone.

* * *

Birches

When I see birches bend to left and right
Across the lines of straighter darker trees,
I like to think some boy’s been swinging them.
But swinging doesn’t bend them down to stay
As ice-storms do. Often you must have seen them
Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning
After a rain. They click upon themselves
As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored
As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel.
Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells
Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust—
Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away
You’d think the inner dome of heaven had fallen.
They are dragged to the withered bracken by the load,
And they seem not to break; though once they are bowed
So low for long, they never right themselves:
You may see their trunks arching in the woods
Years afterwards, trailing their leaves on the ground
Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair
Before them over their heads to dry in the sun.
But I was going to say when Truth broke in
With all her matter-of-fact about the ice-storm
I should prefer to have some boy bend them
As he went out and in to fetch the cows—
Some boy too far from town to learn baseball,
Whose only play was what he found himself,
Summer or winter, and could play alone.
One by one he subdued his father’s trees
By riding them down over and over again
Until he took the stiffness out of them,
And not one but hung limp, not one was left
For him to conquer. He learned all there was
To learn about not launching out too soon
And so not carrying the tree away
Clear to the ground. He always kept his poise
To the top branches, climbing carefully
With the same pains you use to fill a cup
Up to the brim, and even above the brim.
Then he flung outward, feet first, with a swish,
Kicking his way down through the air to the ground.
So was I once myself a swinger of birches.
And so I dream of going back to be.
It’s when I’m weary of considerations,
And life is too much like a pathless wood
Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs
Broken across it, and one eye is weeping
From a twig’s having lashed across it open.
I’d like to get away from earth awhile
And then come back to it and begin over.
May no fate willfully misunderstand me
And half grant what I wish and snatch me away
Not to return. Earth’s the right place for love:
I don’t know where it’s likely to go better.
I’d like to go by climbing a birch tree,
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.

* * *

See you on Sunday. Invite a friend.

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 — There were no successful guesses of last Friday’s photo of Ann Stout!

Here’s this week’s photo.

Weekday Email to Members and Friends – 2020-08-06

Posted on Aug 6, 2020 in COVID-19 |

Thursday August 6^th, 2020
A daily e-mailer from
Matt Matthews

To Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois

Dear Friends,

Thank you for those who came to last night’s Wednesday Night Prayer Zoom. We prayed for family, our church family, DREAAM, schools, teachers, police, people making changes, health care and business leaders, and . . . Lord, hear our prayer.

Litany for the Church

That we may accept the responsibility of our freedom, the burden of our privilege, and so conduct ourselves as to set an example for those who will follow after;

O God, be our strength.

That we may not be content with a secondhand faith, worshiping words rather than the Word;

O God, be our strength.

That we may find joy in the study of Scripture and growth in exposure to new ideas;

O God, be our strength.

That we may be part of our churches, communities, and presbytery, sharing in the great mission, which you have set before us, and always seeking the common good;

O God, be our strength.

That we may find in your church a prod to our imaginations, a shock to our laziness, and a source of power to do your will;

O God, be our strength.

O God, who gave us minds to know you, hearts to love you, and voices to sing your praise; send your Spirit among us; that, confronted by your truth, we may be free to worship you and serve you as you have called us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
(adapted from The Worshipbook, 1970)

Take on Race:

Antiracism is everyone’s work:
https://www.christiancentury.org/article/interview/antiracism-everyone-s-work

News:

Your Covid-19 Response Team meets this evening. Please remember them in prayer as they access how we are doing and when we might begin more face to face activities.

Humor/the body edition: (Serious times call for re-creation, joy, and humor.)

What did one banana say to the other? I find you a-peeling.

Do you know why ants don’t get Coronavirus? Because they have tiny anty bodies.

GOOD WORD:

Romans 12:
Let love be genuine;
hate what is evil,
hold fast to what is good;
love one another with mutual affection;
outdo one another in showing honor.
Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope,
be patient in suffering,
persevere in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the saints;
extend hospitality to strangers.
Bless those who persecute you;
bless and do not curse them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice,
weep with those who weep.
Live in harmony with one another;
do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly;
do not claim to be wiser than you are.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.
If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God;
If your enemies are hungry, feed them;
if they are thirsty, give them something to drink;
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Let us pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, forever.
Amen.

PEACE to you all,

Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church

Weekday Email to Members and Friends – 2020-08-05

Posted on Aug 5, 2020 in COVID-19 |

Wednesday August 5^th, 2020
A daily e-mailer from
Matt Matthews

To Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois

Dear Friends,

I hope you can take a few minutes today to look around. A cardinal landed on my office window sill yesterday and we had a brief staring contest. Last week I saw for the first time what I’m told was a goldfinch. No matter how busy I am at the office, I will pause for the birds.

Take a moment to look around today.

Tell God you appreciate it.

* * *

This poem was sent to me by my dear friend Scott Paul-Bonham:

Leisure/William Henry Davies

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare

Take on Race:

John Lewis’ last words. Really worth the listen. It’s a love letter to us.
https://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/morgan-freeman-reads-rep-john-lewis-last-words-89332293780

News:

The story behind the great video:
https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2020/07/27/priests-viral-hamilton-video-reminds-parishioners-youll-be-back/?fbclid=IwAR0pviHW3vskyV1kJj3SZrAb1IoJ8Z-0EZFQ0bThv-Z0e-zBgPiLNOsUrVM

Remember, HELPING HANDS: The Presbyterian Women at First Presbyterian has a committee called “Helping Hands”. The committee’s goal is to check with people in the congregation that might need help with meals or errands for a period of time due to personal or other family events. Examples might be:

Meals needed after surgery or during an illness
Help with meals while family is visiting for a funeral service.
Assistance with grocery or pharmacy pick-ups.

One of our biggest challenges is knowing about those who might need our services. Please help us out by passing on referrals to Marcia or Patty in the church office or to Clemmie Ackermann at coletta.ackermann@gmail.com or at 217-377-7901. The other members of this committee are Lola Ruthmansdorfer, Claudia Kirby and Marty Edwards.

TONIGHT Mid-Week Gathering 7 pm
Email zoom@firstpres.church for the link.

Humor/the banking edition: (Serious times call for re-creation, joy, and humor.)

From Dave Bauer. At the Pine River bank outdoor digital sign: What sort of account did the barber decide to open? A “shavings account.”

From Ken Chapman. I heard that Tonto needed capital to start his own business but first he had to satisfy the loan arranger.

GOOD WORD:
Matthew 14:22-33
²²Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ²³And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray.

LET US PRAY:

O God,

forgive our wanton waste of the
wealth of the soil and sea and air;

forgive our desecration of natural
beauty;

forgive our heedlessness of those
who shall come after us;

forgive our undue love of money;

forgive our contempt for small things
and our worship of what is big;

forgive our neglect of struggling peoples.

For such wrongs to our natural and human
heritage,

and for many things left undone, forgive us, O God.

(Forgive Us, adapted from Willard L. Sperry)

PEACE to you all,

Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church

Weekday Email to Members and Friends – 2020-08-04

Posted on Aug 4, 2020 in COVID-19 |

  THE HEART OF MISSION
August 4, 2020

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! Just yesterday morning I read in Su Voz, our Cuban Partner Network e-devotional, a poem about walking. It talks about what to walk away from which adds a nice balance to all the other walking I am doing. In case you missed it, I will share it again:

  WALKING IS THE BEST EXERCISE

I Timothy 4: 6-10

“…stay away from such”.

  I Timothy 6: 5b (Reina Valera)

  Walk away from arguments that don’t lead you
  anywhere but into anger

  Walk away from people who freely put you down

  Walk away from any thought that reduces your value

  Walk away from failures and fears
  that paralyze your dreams

  Walk away from people who don’t care about you
  and who are opportunistic

  The more you walk away from things
  that poison your soul, the happier your life will be

  So, walk . . .

Prayer: Beloved God, thank you for each of the blessings that you have placed in my life. Lord, I put this day into your hands praying that your will may be done in me. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Peace,

Rachel Matthews, Temporary Mission Coordinator

More Mission Announcements:

Frontera de Cristo – First Presbyterian Church raised $3250 to this point for the Raindrop Offering which goes this year to Frontera de Cristo. There may be a little more coming in in the next couple of weeks as happens with offerings but I wanted to share the good news with you and with Frontera. We hope it will lessen the impact Covid19 has had on our neighbors on the border. Thank you all who contributed in whatever way you did. Your help doesn’t have to stop with the Raindrop Offering! You can continue to help this ministry with your prayers and also with your own education and advocacy about what is happening on the border. Notice that the ‘Coffee, Conversations and Compassion” will continue in August:

On Thursday, August 6th, we will resume our “Conversations.” We welcome your ideas and suggestions for topics or ministries that you’d like to know more about. Please send your ideas to mark@fronteradecristo.org.

The coffee “special” will continue through August 31st. You can continue to order your coffee online here and help your sisters and brothers during the pandemic. You will receive delicious 100% organic coffee cultivated, roasted, and shipped by the Café Justo cooperative and your purchase will continue to help families affected by COVID-19. We invite you to comment on the campaign on our Facebook page and invite friends to order Café Justo.

Courage Connection:
Courage Connection Needed: Diapers (not size 3) sizes 1, 2, 4, 5, 6. Baby wipes, Clorox wipes. Take them to Michael Hogue’s house and he will deliver them.

CU at Home:
Needed: men’s (and women’s) underwear, sanitizing wipes, prepackaged snacks, and volunteers! Take items to Rachel’s Church Office or to CU at Home directly. If you are able to volunteer, call CU at C-U at Home, 70 E. Washington Street, Champaign, IL 61820
217-819-4569  www.cuathome.us

Also, CU at Home has partnered this month with a local jewelry company, Almsey.com! Shop at Almsey.com now until September 1st and 20% of all proceeds will be donated to C-U at Home!  Almsey produces minimalist jewelry with a social impact. Live alive. Give life. Do good. AlmseyTM products lead our movement to do good, propagate acts of kindness, and spread love & unity in the world. Learn more at almsey.com Every AlmseyTM purchase supports a charity or positive effort detailed in the product description.
Friends of P.E.B. PEB recently sent out a newsletter about the Summer Science projects the schools were doing despite the pandemic. I encourage you to read it. Also, a little trivia in there about the P.E.B. school we sponsor in Sangla Hill:

Sangla Hill got its name because of large hill just outside the city.
There are unconfirmed stories of Alexander the Great passing through Sangla Hill during his invasions.
The Sangla Hill School is the largest school in terms of area in all the PEB schools.
The Sangla Hill campus also houses the offices of SHE & SHA Projects of PEB.

Cuba Partner Network – Conversation with Rev. Liudmila Hernández
Vice Moderator of the IPRC Synod

Rev. Liudmila Hernández regularly joins the monthly meetings of the CPN Steering Committee, providing updates on the situation in Cuba. Here is a summary of her report from our July meeting:

Most provinces in Cuba have entered Phase 2 of re-opening. With the exception of Havana, where there are still new cases each day, the other churches have reopened and are joyously worshiping, at a distance.

The economic situation continues to be dire; severe shortages continue, with long lines for food, hygiene supplies, medicines and other essentials. Restaurants, bars, B&B’s, so helpful to the economy in the last two years, remain closed. In the communities, people have formed WhatsApp groups to communicate on the availability of medicines. The churches continue to provide for their communities however they can.

The Steering Committee asked Liudmila what life is like for pastors in the isolated setting of the pandemic. She says that pastors have had to be creative in caring for their congregations through visiting, providing meals, maintaining hope and taking care of the peoples’ physical and spiritual needs. In her experience there is not a feeling of isolation, but rather, there is so much to do and so many to take care of, there is no time to feel isolated or discouraged. Congregations are caring for their pastors and caring for each other.

Liudmila sends all of the US churches warm wishes from Cuba. She affirmed that our churches are like a family, always in prayer for each other.

Save the date!

CPN Virtual Gathering: September 25 – 26, 2020

The Cuba Partners Network Virtual Gathering will be held via Zoom from Friday, September 25 to Saturday, September 26. The CPN Program Committee is working on a full program which will include many items of interest, from advocacy to partner communications. Look for more information and a link to register via email in early August.

With regards to our sister church in Luyano, please keep them in your prayers as they have opened up the church for in person worship now.

DREAAM HOUSE The Summer program is coming to a close. The COVID19 interrupted what would have been a trip to New York City but that has not kept the DREAAMers down. Already DREAAM is looking ahead to 2021 or 2022 when they hope to take that trip to the Big Apple! More about that later!

Salt and Light: Salt and Light are offering gift cards now. If you have a friend who is in need or have a friend you’d like to thank, consider these gift cards. It will get double duty!

Kemmerer Village – I wanted to report on the good news happening at Kemmerer Village. Read their Summer Newsletter here:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/564e3957e4b0ebe1a4b5f512/t/5f21b7ab509f742614dfe482/1596045230256/195272+Voice+Newsletter+-+July+2020_v7.pdf?bbeml=tp-fnJ026uBG0qkcZHu5DiuVA.jaZd1cWYvfUe7AJwsGbMqLw.rb1DsRFNtH02fuTfUswwqbQ.lzGbxGrKDnUKq5R7vBl4UDQ

Opportunity International:
Opportunity International has been having virtual webinars during this time of COVID19. In their next webinar we’ll be joined by our colleagues from around the world, Wednesday, August 5 at 11:00 a.m. CT, to hear how the pandemic has impacted the lives of women and girls specifically, learn about research that’s changing how we serve this critical group, and discover how you can be a part of the response. Register at this link:
https://opportunity.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAlf-6urDsvGd0nUfoAuACChaRwvrxsvWco

The webinar will be hosted by Muffy MacMillan, Opportunity International’s Global Ambassador for Women & Girls. Guest speakers will include:

Renée McAlpin, EduQuality Manager
Dana Lunberry, Digital Financial Inclusion Manager
Mary Pat McVay, Research and Knowledge Manager

Attachments:

Heart of Mission 080420

Weekday Email to Members and Friends – 2020-08-03

Posted on Aug 3, 2020 in COVID-19 |

Monday August 3^rd, 2020
A daily e-mailer from
Matt Matthews

To Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois

Dear Friends,

Rev. Dr. Steve Montgomery died in a bicycle accident over the weekend. Last year, he retired from his post as pastor of Idlewild Presbyterian Church in Memphis.

Upon his retirement last year, Montgomery wrote “Twelve Things I Have Learned In The Ministry” for the Daily Memphian. Among them:

Jesus never used the word “tolerate.” Tolerate one another? Tolerate your neighbor? Tolerate your enemy? Nope. “Love one another.” “Love your neighbor.” “Love your enemy.” There is all the difference in the world.
I have always grown the most spiritually, intellectually and emotionally from those who are different from me: women, members of the LGBTQ community, Central Americans, Jews, Muslims, African Americans, and yes, evangelicals.
Children are not the future of the church. Enough of that nonsense. They are the church now. And they need the church’s nurture and advocacy.
Being Presbyterian, I am all for doctrines and creeds, but it is bad religion to deify them. They are only to be used as signposts and not hitching posts. Doctrines, you remember, supported slavery and apartheid. Some still support the marginalization of women and members of the LGBTQ community. Love alone is the hitching post. Faith can divide, but compassion can unite.
Whenever you engage with the Bible, make sure others are a part of the conversation, or else we ended up baptizing our own prejudices.
It really is a joy to be with irrepressible people who are so precisely because they follow the One who said, “I have come that your joy might be full.” Or to be with people of any faith who decide not to be members of the Bystanders Association, but rather embrace life fully. As Bishop Irenaeus said early on: “The glory of God is a human being fully alive!” It is a joy to be loved. It is a joy to love others.

News:

HELPING HANDS: The Presbyterian Women at First Presbyterian has a committee called “Helping Hands”. The committee’s goal is to check with people in the congregation that might need help with meals or errands for a period of time due to personal or other family events. Examples might be:

Meals needed after surgery or during an illness
Help with meals while family is visiting for a funeral service.
Assistance with grocery or pharmacy pick-ups.

One of our biggest challenges is knowing about those who might need our services. Please help us out by passing on referrals to Marcia or Patty in the church office or to Clemmie Ackermann at
coletta.ackermann@gmail.com or at 217-377-7901. The other members of this committee are Lola Ruthmansdorfer, Claudia Kirby and Marty Edwards.

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

Humor: (Serious times call for re-creation, joy, and humor.)

Why are elephants banned from swimming pools?
They can’t keep their trunks up.

Good Word:

Matthew 14:22-33
²²Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ²³And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. ²⁵And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. ²⁶But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. ²⁷But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
²⁸Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” ²⁹He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. ³⁰But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” ³¹Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³²When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

LET US PRAY (AN ENCORE):

My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

(Thomas Merton)

PEACE to you all,

Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church

Weekday Email to Members and Friends – 2020-07-31

Posted on Jul 31, 2020 in COVID-19 |

Friday 31 July 2020

Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois

Dear Friends,

In this Friday greeting, I include a sermon (!) for you from a great Charlotte preacher named Jerry Cannon. There’s nothing quite like hearing this stellar preacher preach. He’s a fine writer, too. So, read a Friday sermon.

On Sunday, I’m going to look right into your eyes and preach about wrestling with God. Some of you, I know, could preach about that topic from personal and immediate experience. Bless you all. And while we’re at it, bless me, too. If it’s true that preaching is to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable,” about half the time half of you are mad at me.

See you on Sunday. Follow the links at FirstPres.Live and join us at 9:00 on Sunday.

See you on Sunday. Invite a friend.

Pay attention to God’s activity in the world around you.
            Be amazed.
                        Tell somebody.

PEACE,

Matt Matthews
864.386.9138

* * *

From your Nurture Team — Congrats to Kathy Havey for being the first to guess last Friday’s photo was of Mark Schoeffmann!

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.

* * *
Grace for People Who Have Messed Up
by Rev. Dr. Jerry Cannon

“13 Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So, Levi got up and followed him. 15 Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) 16 But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?” 17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” – Mark 2:13-17 (NLT)

God uses whom God chooses, and God moves through folk who are willing to serve. God works through those who are open and humble; and God speaks through those who make themselves available to carry God’s Word.

Through the preacher, God gives proclamation, through the teacher, God gives illumination. Though the disciple, God develops discipline, through those in crisis, God brings out commitment.

Through the challenge, God builds character, and through the struggle, God shows strength. Through pain, God raises power and through hopelessness, God sends the Holy Spirit.

Yet God’s grace and God’s invitation to a Christ centered relationship is particularly extended to sinners, and people who have messed up.

Sinners according to Mark’s gospel are the focal audience of Jesus’s evangelism. And this invitation of inclusion is emphasized as Jesus says: “I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” Jesus invited Levi, (also known as Matthew) the tax collector to enter a relationship with him and to follow as a disciple. What must be noted is that tax collectors were viewed as traitors and thieves among their own people because they got rich working for the Romans in the earliest forms of a corrupt political system. Yet appearing as a top draft pick for “team Jesus” was someone whose reputation was shady and whose “Linked In” profile was a “known sinner.” And as if drafting Matthew weren’t enough, Jesus also went to a house party with other tax collectors and sinners!

And one may raise the question, didn’t Jesus care about ruining his credentials by hanging out with shady characters like sinful tax collectors? I believe he cared, but not in the way that you and I care. For he said: “Healthy people don’t need a doctor — sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

Thus, the wow for me in the text lies in the inclusive word “sinners.” And it is only inclusive because Romans 3:23 (NIV) says: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The truth is, “sinners” refers to everyone; the folk at the dinner party who thought that they were better than everybody, the other tax collectors hanging out at the buffet table, and everybody else in earshot of this proclamation.

It is here that God’s saving Grace is being offered not just to the greedy but to the needy. This grace was packaged and wrapped particularly for folk who the “self-righteous” looked down on, and folk who knew they needed redemption but may have felt unworthy given their current lifestyle and vocation.

Because we are all sinners, saved by grace; Jesus offers us a chance of redemption and transformation that moves us from selfishness to Christlike expressions of inclusion and acceptance of all. It is this grace, extended to folk who have slipped up, fallen down, and messed up, that hope arises that acceptance and inclusion in our community and our world evolves. It is the Grace that comes to messed up people like you and me, who become transformed miracles. It is the Grace that comes to messed up people like you and me, who inspire and witness to “self-righteous and the sinners” of our world.

Jesus said: “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

I am glad to have a savior who seeks sick people, sinners, and folk like me who have messed up.

Rev. Dr. Jerry Cannon serves as a Minister of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Presbyterian Foundation. He is Pastor/Head of Staff at C.N. Jenkins Memorial Presbyterian Church, a thriving congregation dedicated to community service in Charlotte, N.C. He has served as a mentor to many young adults since being installed in September of 1992.

* * *
Thank you, Mr. Lewis. Rest in Peace.
https://vimeo.com/62834898

* * *

Did you like Hamilton? You’ll love this!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFduNE4pXAQ

* * *
I miss the Chesapeake Bay. Sing it, Otis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTVjnBo96Ug

* * *
Turn it up. My bucket list includes hearing this song live in Chicago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEmvBdRLg4k

Weekday Email to Members and Friends – 2020-07-30

Posted on Jul 30, 2020 in COVID-19 |

Thursday July 30, 2020
A daily e-mailer from
Matt Matthews

To Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois

Dear Friends,

Thomas Merton wrote the beautiful prayer at the end of this email. I post it here and there in hopes you’ll read it twice. (The parens are mine.)

My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.

(Sometimes I feel guilty about this; if pastors are holy enough and ‘good’ enough, aren’t they supposed to know where they are going? I do know I’m surrounded by faithful, good people, and that we are shepherded by a faithful God.)

I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.

(I love this line; just because I presume I know what God’s will is doesn’t mean I do. I’m wary of people who are full of absolutes.)

But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.

(I hope so.)

And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.

(I try. Most of the time.)

I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

(Amen.)

And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.

(God knows even when/if I don’t. Whew!)

Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

(Trust, trust, trust.)

I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

(Thank you, God. Thank you, thank you, thank you.)

Take on Race:

            One of the things our church gave up during the pandemic was a trip to visit our sister congregation in Cuba. The Cuba Partnership Network produces these devotionals each day. In solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Luyano, Havana, Cuba, I share this devotion. (The English version is at the end of this email.)

LAS CARGAS DE LA VIDA/La prueba de vuestra fe produce paciencia. Santiago 1:3

            Los miembros de ciertas tribus africanas se colocan una pesada carga sobre la cabeza cuando deben vadear un río importante. Ese peso los impele a caminar con paso más seguro y mantenerse siempre en perfecto equilibrio con la mirada puesta en la lejanía. ¿No tenemos en esto una hermosa imagen del creyente que atraviesa una prueba cuya carga pesa sobre él?

            Debo poner los ojos en Jesús, el autor de la fe, para no dejarme llevar por la duda o el desaliento, ni estar preocupado por la fuerza de las olas.

            Debo llevar mi carga bien erguido, con confianza, contando con la ayuda de mi Señor. Entonces experimentaré que la prueba atravesada es menos pesada de lo que temía.

            Debo asegurar mis pasos, apoyándome en la oración y la Palabra, para discernir la voluntad de Dios en cualquier decisión cotidiana de mi vida.

            Debo mantener mi equilibro. La prueba nos hace tomar conciencia de nuestra flaqueza. Nos acerca al Señor.Sepamos llevar la carga “sobre la cabeza” y el Señor irá con nosotros.

Oración: Dios todopoderoso, gracias porque tú nos fortaleces y nos permites llevar la carga con victoria. Amén.

News:

Sarah Laufenberg’s father, Gordon Brown, died yesterday afternoon. Let’s pray from his wife (Sarah’s mom) Kathleen, and our very own Mark, Sam, Henry, and Ellie (and their dog).

Let’s pray for Jan Holmes, too. She has cellulitis in her legs and will be discharged from the hospital today, but is still in pain.

Did you know the church has a “Prayer Chain”? We do. Contact Marcia  in the church office if you want to get weekly notices about prayer concerns.

Blaise Pascal and family have one more week in isolation after their son recently weathered Covid.

Today at 4 pm Zoom Youth Gathering
Email zoom@firstpres.church for the link.

Friday Men’s Prayer at 8:30 am
Email zoom@firstpres.church for the link.

Humor: (Serious times call for re-creation, joy, and humor.)

Did you hear about the big fight that broke out at the local fish restaurant tonight? All the fish were battered.

What did the ear of corn say she wrecked her bike? Aw, shucks.

Good Word:

Genesis 32:22-32 (The Message)
22-23 But during the night he got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven children and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He got them safely across the brook along with all his possessions.

^24-25But Jacob stayed behind by himself, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he couldn’t get the best of Jacob as they wrestled, he deliberately threw Jacob’s hip out of joint.
²⁶The man said, “Let me go; it’s daybreak.”
Jacob said, “I’m not letting you go ’til you bless me.”
²⁷The man said, “What’s your name?”
He answered, “Jacob.”
²⁸The man said, “But no longer. Your name is no longer Jacob. From now on it’s Israel (God-Wrestler); you’ve wrestled with God and you’ve come through.”
²⁹Jacob asked, “And what’s your name?”
The man said, “Why do you want to know my name?” And then, right then and there, he blessed him.
³⁰Jacob named the place Peniel (God’s Face) because, he said, “I saw God face-to-face and lived to tell the story!”
^31-32The sun came up as he left Peniel, limping because of his hip. (This is why Israelites to this day don’t eat the hip muscle; because Jacob’s hip was thrown out of joint.)

Let us pray:

My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

(Thomas Merton)

PEACE to you all,

Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church

THE BURDENS OF LIFE/After all, you know that the testing of your faith produces patience. James 1:3 (CEB)

            The members of certain African tribes are known to carry a heavy load on their heads when they have to wade an important river.  This weight forces them to walk with more secure steps and to maintain perfect balance with their eyes focused on the other side.  Don’t we have in this a beautiful image of the believer who goes through a test whose burden weighs above him or her?

I must keep my eyes on Jesus, the author of faith, so that I won’t stop carrying through doubts or hunger, nor be too burdened by the force of the waves.

I must carry my load upright, with trust, counting on the help of my Lord.  Then I will experience that the test of crossing is less heavy than I feared.

I must ensure my steps, supporting myself in prayer and in the Word, so as to discern the will of God in any daily decisions of my life.

I must maintain my balance.  The test makes us notice our laziness.  We draw close to the Lord. When we carry the load “above our heads”, the Lord will go with us.

Prayer: All powerful God, thank you that you strengthen us and allow us to carry the load with victory.  Amen

Author page: admin

What did one banana say to the other? I find you a-peeling.

Good Word:

Good Word: