Wednesday 25 March 2020
A Weekday Emailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Dear Friends, 
 
John Muirhead wrote me on last Friday night. I pass along his poignant email:
 
Tonight a family of 7 (mom, dad and 5 children) are arriving in Champaign after making the trip from Kabul, Afghanistan to Dubai to O’Hare airport and then being transported by car and vans to C-U.  We are certainly thankful for their safe travel and recognize they are arriving at a challenging time for all of us. They will be housed at a local hotel for a few days while they participate in the search for an apartment or house to rent.
 
Also, word from the refugee center is to be aware of the fact that many families served by the refugee center are or were employed in restaurants and service-related jobs. As most will likely qualify for some benefits there is definitely going to be a period of time where they are without the income needed to feed their families.  I am sure that there are many who are more aware of the hardships than I am but this is certainly an area for discussion as to how we might be of assistance.
 
In all situations prayers are greatly appreciated and needed.
 
Friends, how do we stand in the breach for this family? How are we to “be” the church of Jesus Christ? This period of “sheltering in place” and physical distancing is difficult for all of us, but more difficult for some of us. 
 
Your church will help this family from Kabul through the pastor’s discretionary fund. The Refugee Center is providing a great web of support for these newcomers. Our church is part of that support. 
 
Pray for this family, mightily.  
 
 
News:
 
PHONE TREE: Remember, the Nurture committee has been asked to organize a phone tree. Volunteers will call on members of the flock. Please volunteer. Contact Gary and Linda Peterson at 217-398-8504 or lindakpete@gmail.com. 
 
SHOES? This from Peter Yau: It is befitting to think about shoes in the COVID-19 pandemic.  As you know the novel coronavirus is a respiratory virus.  We have been told to wash our hands, not touching our face, social distancing, etc.  I am surprised there has been no mention of cleaning our shoes.  Imagine the coughs, spit, etc, that has landed on the ground; our shoes are most suspicious. Could they be contaminated with the COVID-19 virus? Taking off one’s shoes and spraying with disinfectant before entering one’s home is good practice. That is why Moses was told to take off his sandals (because they are filthy) before stepping on Holy ground.
 
SHOPPING. Nancy MacGregor reminded me that Walgreens, Schnucks, and some other stores offer shopping hours reserved for seniors. Call ahead. Also, some places around town deliver. 
 
 
The Good Word: 
Deuteronomy 10:18-20 Common English Bible (CEB)                 
18 [God] enacts justice for orphans and widows, and he loves immigrants, giving them food and clothing. 19 That means you must also love immigrants because you were immigrants in Egypt. 20 Revere the Lord your God, serve him, cling to him, swear by his name alone!
  
 
Let Us Pray:
 
Grant unto us, O God, the fullness of your promises.
Where we have been weak, grant us your strength;
where we have been confused, grant us your guidance;
where we have been distraught, grant us your comfort;
where we have been dead, grant us your life.
Apart from you, O Lord, we are nothing,
in and with you we can do all things. AMEN.
 
(United Church of Canada, Service Book, 1969)
 
 
PEACE, 
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church

Tuesday 24 March 2020
A Weekday Emailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Dear Friends,
 
Rachel Matthews, our mission coordinator, wants us to keep our Mission Partners in prayerful mind. “People need to have information about what is happening with our mission coworkers and mission partners, which is rapidly changing,” she writes. See the attached newsletter for details.
 
Also, the Session has instructed the Nurture Committee to organize a “Phone Tree.” In Sabrina Hwu’s absence (she’s tending a sick aunt in California), Gary & Linda Peterson have stepped up. Volunteer, please. See below.
 
News:
 
MISSION NEWSLETTER. Click this link .https://www.firstpres.church/HoM20200323
 
PHONE TREE: The Nurture committee has been asked to organize a phone tree. Volunteers will call on members of the flock. If you are interested in helping out, please contact Gary and Linda Peterson at 217-398-8504 or lindakpete@gmail.com. 
 
 
The Good Word: 
 
Matthew 28:16-20                              
¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷ And when they saw him they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”
 
 
Let Us Pray:
 
O God, we thank you for this earth, our home;
For the wide sky and the blessed sun,
For the salt sea and the running water,
For the everlasting hills
And the never-resting winds,
For trees and the common grass underfoot.
We thank you for our senses
By which we hear the songs of birds,
And see the splendor of the summer fields,
And taste of the autumn fruits,
And rejoice in the feel of the snow,
And smell the breath of the spring.
Grant us a heart wide open to all this beauty;
And save our souls from being so blind
That we pass unseeing
When even the common thornbush
Is aflame with your glory,
O God our creator,
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
(Walter Rauschenbusch, 1861-1918)
 
 
PEACE, 
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church

Monday 23 March 2020
A Weekday Emailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois

Dear Friends, 
 
Diane Mortensen reached out to me with the story about how she got her cat—or, how her cat got her. In Diane’s words:
 
“Some of you may remember the devotion in These Days about a widow whose daughter told her she should get a cat to keep her company.  The woman replied, “If the Lord wanted me to have a cat, He would have provided one.” 
 
 At their next outdoor worship service along came a stray cat who jumped up on the woman’s lap.  She took it home and named it Lucky. 
 
I read that devotion in the autumn of 2018 when I was adjusting to living alone.  One day, my granddaughter called me nearly in tears because her friend who had recently adopted a cat, found he was allergic to it and planned to return it to the humane society.  She told him, “Wait, I’ll call my Grandma.”  
 
You can guess the rest of the story. 
 
I named him Mitty Kitty.  He is part Maine Coon, has four white feet, and is playful and friendly.  When you come to see him, he will greet you at my door.”
 
Share your pet stories with us!
 
News:
 
SUNDAY WORSHIP. I’m very sorry our live-streaming was a bust yesterday for our 9:00 a.m. service of worship. Some families were able to gather; thank you for showing up. But systems were overwhelmed, and many of you who tried could not connect. We are working on other methods to get worship to you on Sunday. Thanks to all of you who tried tuning in. 
 
Remember, you can go to our church webpage where you can find archived services. 
 
 
The Good Word: 
 
John 4:7-15                         
7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)[a] 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
 
 
Let Us Pray:
 
Come to me,
O servant LORD,
pour water in your bowl,
and wash me feet.
I am bold to ask this
because of my longing
for fellowship with you.
Wash my feet, then,
and be my companion. Amen.
(based on a prayer of Origin, 185-254)
 
PEACE,
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church

Friday 20 March 2020
 
Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Dear Friends, 
 
1—First things first: In the midst of a pandemic this week, we had a birth! Louis Lemuel Kabangu Masengu is the son of Silvie and Charles Masengu and brother of Rehoboth and Monique. Welcome Louis! Send a card to: 1600 W Bradley Ave Apt. S 342, Champaign, IL 61821
 
2—Second should come a poem. But I’m saving J. Barrie Shepherd’s poem for last.
 
3—Here’s an update from your Session, which met last night via a “Zoom” meeting. (Zoom doesn’t mean fast.) Peter Yau, our Session-appointed Corona point person, gave us an update on the Coronavirus, which, he said, is “full of tricks” and quite dangerous. He’s been advising our operations on campus.
 
We approved several motions:
 

1. First Presbyterian Church will refrain from face-to-face worship on our campus until further notice.
2. We will refrain from church-sponsored face-to-face meetings, both on and off-campus, until further notice.
3. Our grounds staff will continue work under regular scheduled hours.
4. While the office is closed, someone will answer the phone during business hours, either remotely or from the office, but no face-to-face services are offered through the office until further notice.
5. Our communion schedule will not be interrupted. As the body of Christ, we will celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion via livestream during the constraints posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

 
4—Worship is essential for any congregation. While we can’t physically gather, we can “be together” in a Spirit-filled, powerful, and authentic way. From the comfort of your home, please join us on-line for livestreamed worship at 9:00 on Sunday morning. Come in your pajamas. Join us on our Facebook page or firstpres.live. You can even phone in for worship. Call 312-626-6799; when prompted for a Meeting ID, enter 367 004 801, followed by the # key.  If prompted for a Participant ID, simply press the # key. 
 
5—Prayers requested from our neighbors at CU at Home: (a) one of our friends on the street who are extremely vulnerable during this time of COVID-19? Pray for God’s hand of protection around each of our friends without an address and our staff! (b) Please pray for a friend whose mental health struggles leave him combative and argumentative at times and a total gentlemen other times. We pray for peace for his soul and that he would follow doctor recommendations on his medication. (c) Would you also pray that we would all remember that we serve a MIGHTY God who has not given us the spirit of fear and will help us overcome all that has been thrown at us over the past few weeks?
 
 6—A poem to savor: “Breaking News” by J. Barrie Shepherd:
 
The word is that springtime arrives late this week,
yet here on the Maine coast we have little to show for it.
There are, here and there, green shoots thrusting through
the rock hard crust of four months of deep frost,
buds are forming out there at the long naked tips
of dark branches. But the awakening tingle is absent.
That familiar ray of hope and bright anticipation
that has touched over eighty such promising seasons
has been shadowed, eclipsed in this leap of a year
by a portent, a grim tocsin that resounds in the ear
like the clattering rattle, clanging bell of a leper,
the rumbling wheels of a laden plague cart–
“Bring out your dead!”

Corona, the word echoes and re-echoes
through these days. Corona, ancient Latin for a crown–
and “uneasy lies the head…” all heads that wear it.
Recalls us, if we hearken, to another jagged headpiece
pressed brutal down across the broken brow of one
who mended lepers, bore away the festerings
and plagues that cursed our mortal race and–
in this very season–wrought a healing and a cure
that may yet bring final close to every isolation,
tear down the narrow walls of quarantine,
and seat us, newly welcomed, round
a common table where fresh bread is broken,
rich new wine is generously poured.
 
 
* * *
 
During this surreal season of Coronavirus, focus on things besides television news.
               Pay attention to God’s activity in the world around you.
                              Be amazed.
                                              Tell somebody.
 
I can’t wait to worship with you again via our live-stream on Sunday.
 
PEACE,
 
Matt Matthews
864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church
 
 
Another message from your church:
https://youtu.be/kflBt46TAj0
 
If you communicate with someone who is not able to stream the service live, but would like to worship with us a bit later, the link to the most recent worship service is always https://www.firstpres.church/currentworshipvideo
 
The Last Supper has been the subject of many visual artists. Check this out:
http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/7-things-to-look-for-in-paintings-of-the-last-supper/
 
 
Do you want to take a free, Ivy-League, on-line course? Art, existentialism, engineering…
https://www.classcentral.com/collection/ivy-league-moocs
 
 
I’ve got two movie ideas for you. Both are comedies. The first is not for kids; the second is rated PG and could work with a younger audience my boys when they were little loved it;
 
Friday night at the movies:
Ebert’s take on the movie “Death At A Funeral”
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/death-at-a-funeral-2007
 
And . . . Ebert’s take on “Osmosis Jones.” I have two words: Chris Rock.
 

“Osmosis Jones” is like the dark side of those animated educational films depicting the goings-on in the bowels. It takes us inside the human body for a tour of such uncharted neighborhoods as the Lower East Backside, and such useful organs as the Puke Button. These sights are depicted in colorful, gloppy, drippy animation, and then we switch to live action for the outside of the body in question, which belongs to a man named Frank (Bill Murray).
 
Frank follows the Ten-Second Rule, which teaches us that if food is dropped and stays on the ground less than 10 seconds, it’s still safe to eat. In the case of the hard-boiled egg in question, he might also have reflected that before the egg dropped, he had to pry it from the mouth of a monkey. The egg is crawling with germs, sending the inside of his body into emergency mode.
 
At the cellular level, we meet Osmosis Jones (voice by Chris Rock), a maverick cop, always being called into the chief’s office for a lecture. In the first animated microbiological version of a buddy movie, he teams up with Drix (David Hyde Pierce), a timed-release cold capsule, to fight the viral invasion, which threatens to kill Frank after Thrax (Laurence Fishburne) introduces a new and deadly infection.
 
The live action scenes, directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly (“There’s Something About Mary“), use Bill Murray’s seedy insouciance as a horrible object lesson in what can happen to you if you don’t think all the time about germs. His second, potentially lethal, infection comes as he visits a science fair where his daughter Shane (Elena Franklin) has an entry. Chatting with another entrant, he learns that the lad’s experiment involves the cleansing of polluted oysters; assured that the oysters are cleansed, he eats one.
 
The inner, animated sequences, which occupy about two-thirds of the movie, were directed by Piet Kroon and Tom Sito. Imagine the journey through the human body undertaken by Dennis Quaid in “Innerspace” (1987), as if it were drawn by Matt Groening (“Life in Hell”) on acid, and you will have an approximation. I especially liked the way various parts of the body represented neighborhoods in the City of Frank (the stomach is the airport, with regular departures to the colon; the Mafia hangs out in the armpit; lawyers can be found in a hemorrhoid).
 
Inside Frank City, the Mayor (William Shatner) tries to maintain the status quo in the face of campaigning by his opponent, Tom Colonic (Ron Howard), a “regular guy.” Outside, the unshaven Frank embarrasses his spic-and-span daughter with his uncouth behavior, and mortally offends the science teacher (Molly Shannon) by throwing up on her after eating the wrong oyster. (I am reminded of Dr. Johnson observing to Mr. Boswell: “Sir, he was a brave man who ate the first oyster.”) Back inside Frank, Osmosis Jones frets that he acted too quickly in pushing the Puke Button.
 
Who is the movie for? Despite my descriptions, it is nowhere near as gross as the usual the effort, and steers clear of adventures in the genital areas. It was originally classified PG-13, but was upgraded to PG after some trims, and is likely to entertain kids, who seem to like jokes about anatomical plumbing. For adults, there is the exuberance of the animation and the energy of the whole movie, which is just plain clever.

Hello, middle school parents.

   I hope this message finds you and your families doing well. I wanted to reach out and let you know some virtual activities we will be having for youth. I would like to set up a time to do a live virtual gathering through Zoom. Would Sunday evenings be good or some during the week be better?  I also encourage you and your youth to follow the FPCC Facebook group and @fpccyouth on Instagram as I will be posting scripture, activities, and short devotions on this page for youth. As always feel free to reach out to me by phone or email if there is anything you or your youth need or if you want to chat with someone outside of your home. I can be reached by voice or text (email if you don’t have that number) or by email at lizz@firstpres.church. 

Peace,

Lizz Pippin 

Thursday 19 March 2020
A Daily Emailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois

Dear Friends, 
 
At 3:09 a.m. CST Rachel and I arrived home from O’Hare with our son John Mark safely in tow. Like study abroad students everywhere, his program at Universidad ORT in Montevideo, Uruguay, closed for a week, then another, and now promises on-line classes. We’ll see. He and his cohort from the University of South Carolina have all safely returned to their homes. 
 
In the meantime, he’s self-quarantined upstairs with an electric piano, acoustic guitar, banjo, and wifi connection. Rachel and I are not quarantined, per Peter Yau’s instructions, unless John Mark shows symptoms or we do. We all feel fine, so far.
 
Is everyone in your family settled? Traveling mercies if they are not.
 
My CPA’s sister-in-law said, “We’re about three weeks away from knowing everybody’s natural hair color.” 
 
News:
 
PHONE CALL. If possible, you’ll get a prerecorded call from me today. We’re still working out the bugs, and are doing our best to be in touch by phone with folk to whom we are not yet connected via email. Ask your church friends if they are getting these emails from their church; if they are not, consider adding them to this list.  Send their name(s) and email address to info@firstpres.church and we will get them added.
 
YOUR SESSION meets tonight via Zoom with our Corona advisor Peter Yau. Pray for them. They are:
Ken Chapman – Spiritual Formation
Ron Deering – Spiritual Formation
Judi Geistlinger – Worship
Sabrina Hwu – Nurture
Celeste Kim – Clerk
Debra Miller – Missions
Mark Schoeffmann – Finance
Eric Stickels – Outreach, Nominating Committee
Ann Stout – HR
Steve Tock – Finance
Karin Vermillion – Children, Youth, and Families
Tim Young – Building and Grounds
 
SUNDAY WORSHIP. We will be worshiping this Sunday remotely on-line. Tune in on Facebook or firstpres.live
 
The Good Word: Psalm 23 (King James Version)
 
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
 
Let Us Pray:
 
Disturb us, O Lord
when we are too well-pleased with ourselves 
when our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little, 
because we sailed too close to the shore.
 
Disturb us, O Lord
when with the abundance of things we possess, 
we have lost our thirst for the water of life 
when, having fallen in love with time, 
we have ceased to dream of eternity 
and in our efforts to build a new earth, 
we have allowed our vision of Heaven to grow dim.
 
Stir us, O Lord
to dare more boldly, to venture into wider seas 
where storms show Thy mastery, 
where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars.
In the name of Him who pushed back the horizons of our hopes 
and invited the brave to follow.
 
Amen
 
(Attrib. Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu adapted from a prayer by Sir Francis Drake.)
 
PEACE,
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church

Wednesday 18 March 2020
A Daily Emailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 

Dear Friends, 
 
Thanks for staying in touch with one another via emails, calls, and notes. Here’s an email I got yesterday from Beth Hutchens: 
 
“Today I am grateful . . . 

•        that our heating system works on a chilly morning (am reminded of a Valentine’s Day ice storm years ago when Church St. was without power for 6 days)
•        that phones and internet are working and tv too
•        that we may be socially distant but we are not emotionally distant
•        that God is near”

 
Thank you, Beth. 
 
Respond to this email and tell me what YOU are grateful for these day? Marcia will compile our responses and I’ll share them soon. 
 
If you’ve looked out your window lately, or gone for a stroll, you’ll notice that spring is springing! God is good!
 
News:
 
YOUR STAFF. Your staff has met and is working hard to stay in touch with you. They are praying for you. Consider praying for them and their families.
 
YOUR SESSION meets tomorrow (Thursday at 7:00) via Zoom.
 
SUNDAY WORSHIP. We will be worshipping next Sunday remotely on-line. Tune in on Facebook or firstpres.live
 
REACH OUT. Set a goal of reaching out to a few “new” people each day. I am particularly concerned about our flock who do not connected electronically. Lots of us don’t use Facebook or, even, email. That’s where YOU come in. There is healing in your “touch.” Please, reach out.
 
 
The Good Word:
Matthew 6:25-34                                            
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 
 
26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 
 
27 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 
 
28 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 
 
31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
 
34 “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
 
 
Let Us Pray:
 
Christ be with me, Christ within me
Christ behind me, Christ before me
Christ beside me, Christ to win me
Christ to comfort me and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger
Christ in hearts of all that love me
Christ in mouth of friend or stranger.
 
(attrib. St. Patrick of Ireland, 390-461 A.D.)
 
 
PEACE, 
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church