Wednesday, February 10^th, 2021
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Friends,
 
IT BEGINS NEXT THURSDAY: Please sign up for the book study. (Call the office.) Thanks.
 
BOOK STUDY!  You are invited to a congregation-wide four session book study on race.

• WHAT? Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (One World, 2015). A father talks to his fifteen-year-old son about the realities of inhabiting a black body.
• WHEN?  Thursdays, February 18 and 25 and March 4 and 11 at 11 to 12 noon. 
• HOW? Sign up by emailing or calling Patty Farthing in the church office. We will meet on-line via Zoom. 217.356.7238 /  Patty@firstpres.church . Borrow books from our public library in paper, digital or audio form. To order through the church request copy by February 10 and transmit check to Patty.
• WHO? Everyone in our congregation and community is invited. Pastor Matt Matthews will facilitate. Our Compassion, Peace, and Justice Committee/ Spiritual Formation Committee will host.             
• WHY? Jesus asks us to love “the other. A first step is listening to understand “the other”.

Monday, February 8^th, 2021
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Friends,
 
A Memorial Day to Remember
May 29, 2010
by David L. Thomas
 
I remember my first Memorial Day in a small upstate New York town.  I was either 3 or 4 years old and was taken by my stepfather to view the march through town down to the river.  There a wreath was thrown onto the water and guns were shot off in honor of those who had given their lives to their country.  I was too young to fully understand all that was going on but it was enough to leave a strong memory that this was a significant time.  And I also remember that my mother refused to attend.  Having lost a husband and the love of her life in the war, leaving her a widow with two very young children, she wanted no part of any remembrance of the war.  It was too painful.
 
My father, Laurence H. Thomas, was a first lieutenant in the 79^th Division fighting in France.  He arrived sometime in July 1944 and was killed in action on November  20, 1944.  He was awarded the Silver Star for helping to wipe out one German machine gun installation but was killed trying to do the same to another one.  My mother and Grandmother were faced by the decision of what to have done with the body (a decision being made by thousands of other families across the country) and decided that he should be buried with his comrades that had also fallen in action.  He was buried in the US military cemetery in Epinal, France, near the area where he had fallen, along with 5251 other US military casualties.
 
No one in my family had ever visited the grave site although there were discussions over the years about doing so.  When my mother’s husband died last November we discussed going this year.  My Mom had turned 90 in December 2009 and we knew it would not be an easy trip for her but we began the plans.
 
On May 26 my wife and I flew into Paris and met my mother and my sister Kathy at our hotel.  My father got to hold Kathy after she was born in May 1944 but a few days later had to return to duty.  She was only 6 months old when he died and I was just over 2 years of age.
 
On the 27^th we took a bullet train to Epinal.  The next day we took a cab to the cemetery and were met by the Director and his assistant.  It was a beautiful cemetery, the grounds nicely laid out with the shrubs neatly trimmed and the flowers of rhododendron and azaleas in full bloom.  We were taken to the grave site where fine sand was rubbed over my father’s name and date of his death.  My mother, sister and I each approached the grave with a rose and had our time there to shed tears and to pay our respects and tributes to him and his comrades for their sacrifices.  My wife took pictures and then brought a forth rose to the grave site and paid her respects.  It was a very meaningful moment in a very beautiful and peaceful place.
 
What added even more to this time were the American soldiers we ran into later in the day.  My wife and I had gone out of our hotel for some take out dinner and ran into two American soldiers stationed in Germany who had come to Epinal for the Memorial Day ceremony to be held at the cemetery.  They appreciated hearing our story and we appreciated hearing some of their tours of duty.  One soldier had to say a few words at the cemetery and was interested in mentioning Larry Thomas who he had just heard about from us.  Later in our hotel bar we met two US airmen who were also down from Germany for the ceremony at the military cemetery.  We shared stories and they expressed their appreciation for the sacrifices of our father and our family in the Second World War and we thanked them for their service today, both in Iraq and Afghanistan.  My mother bought them each a beer, recognition in part by her of the meaning of Memorial Day and of the sacrifices of Americans down through the decades to maintain our freedoms and those of other freedom loving peoples.
 
I always think of the father that I never knew (except through photographs and stories) on each Memorial Day but the reality of his sacrifice and the connectedness of those who have gone in the past with those that serve us today was never as strong as it was on my visit to Epinal.  And when I was standing at his grave site I thought about how that grave changed my life in ways far beyond what I could measure. Three sisters who wouldn’t have been born if my father had lived, and a half brother that I found out about only later in life that would not have existed. A wife, two children and five grandchildren that would not have existed (my wife would have but not likely as my wife). It makes me realize that we cannot measure all the impacts of events that happen – to know whether those that were bad or those good would ultimately end up being good or be bad.
 
We go with the flow of life, having faith that a loving God is watching over us. We have no instrument, no scale, to measure how good or how bad things really are or could be. To even know many times which decisions are right and which are wrong. As I stand at my father’s grave I acknowledge another life which I will never know. All I can be sure of is that it would have been different, but not necessarily better or worse. My Mom would have given anything to have my Father come home alive. But if I had the power to change history I would not give up the life and family that I have now. All we can do is go with the life we are given and try to make the best of it.
 
For those who think that Government agencies can never do anything right, I have to say that The American Battle Monuments Commission does a wonderful job of honoring our fallen soldiers buried in various cemeteries around the world.  At the end of our visit my Mom was at peace with a decision she and my Grandmother made some 63 years earlier to have my father buried, along with 5300 comrads, near where he was killed in action.  We all felt that there was no better place where he would be honored and respected for his sacrifice than where he was buried in Epinal.
 
David L. Thomas
Champaign, Illinois
(Retired Chief of the Illinois Natural History Survey, member of the First Presbyterian Church of Champaign,  and resident  of the community with his wife Carol since 1985)
 
* * *
 
Please sign up for the book study. (Call the office.) Thanks.
 
BOOK STUDY!  You are invited to a congregation-wide four session book study on race.

• WHAT? Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (One World, 2015). A father talks to his fifteen-year-old son about the realities of inhabiting a black body.
• WHEN?  Thursdays, February 18 and 25 and March 4 and 11 at 11:00am to 12:00 noon. 
• HOW? Sign up by emailing or calling Patty Farthing in the church office. We will meet on-line via Zoom. 217.356.7238 /  Patty@firstpres.church . Borrow books from our public library in paper, digital or audio form. To order through the church request copy by February 10 and transmit check to Patty.
• WHO? Everyone in our congregation and community is invited. Pastor Matt Matthews will facilitate. Our Compassion, Peace, and Justice Committee/ Spiritual Formation Committee will host.             
• WHY? Jesus asks us to love “the other. A first step is listening to understand “the other”.

* * * 
 
News
 
Our Annual Meeting is Sunday February 14^th at 10:00 o’clock Sunday morning. Join us for a quick report. We’ll also vote on the pastors’ terms of call. Thanks for joining us.

Visit https://firstpres.church/meeting for the link.

* * *

Just in time for Valentine’s Day is our next virtual dessert…Tuesday, February 9, at 7 pm.
Email zoom@firstpres.church for the link.

* * *

In-person Worship begins on February 21^st at 10:15.  After careful discussion and prayerful deliberation, the COVID-19 team and the Session have recommended that we resume limited in-person weekly worship on the First Sunday of Lent, February 21^st at 10:15 a.m.  
 
For those of you who feel safe to attend, please pre-register by calling the church office at 217.356.7238. Registration will run from Monday morning to Thursday noon the week before each service. (We are preregistering not only as a means of contact-tracing, but also to keep attendance at or under fifty [50] people, including worship leaders and ushers. That is the limit prescribed by state public health guidelines.) 
 
Remember, your Session is doing everything it can to keep everyone safe during this season of pandemic. While the end may be in sight with local and statewide numbers trending downward, not everyone is vaccinated yet and Covid-19 is still deadly. Some experts guess our nationwide death toll due to Covid may total over 600,000 by later this Spring.
 
The best way to safeguard against getting Covid is to limit one’s exposure to it and to get vaccinated; while we have prepared as safe a worship environment as possible, and all participants will be required to check in, wear masks at all times, and sit at a distance of six feet from other families, we cannot guarantee that somebody won’t get sick. Those who come to worship come at their own risk.
 
These in-person services will be, essentially, services of welcome, scripture, prayer, and preaching. These brief—40-minutes, or less—services will include no spoken liturgy, no congregational singing, and no choir. The preacher will speak from behind a plexiglass barrier. There will be no indoor fellowship, and no coffee or food service before or after the service.
 
This may not sound like a very welcoming or, even, friendly invitation, does it? You know what I mean. So, make wise decisions for you and your family, stay away if you are high risk or don’t feel well, and know that I look forward to “seeing” some of you online at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday (FirstPres.Live), and others of you face to face at 10:15 a.m. 
 
God is good.
 
* * *

Humor (Hard times really need godly laughter): 
 
These gems from Marilyn Hunter Shimkus. Enjoy!
 
1.  If all the cars in this nation were red, what would we have?  A red carnation.

2.  What happens when the fog lifts in California?  UCLA

3.  Why can’t you buy the Tower of Pisa?  There’s a lien on it.

4.  Knock knock
     Who’s there?
     funnel
     funnel who?
     The funnel start once you let me in.

5.  How do you make the number one disappear?  Just add a g and it’s gone.
 
 
Good Word: 
 
Mark 1: 35                  
35In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. 

LET US PRAY

AN APACHE BLESSING:

May the sun bring you new energy by day

May the moon softly restore you by night

May the rain wash away your worries

May the breeze blow new strength into your being

May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty

All the days of your life.

* * *

 
Much, much love to you all.
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church

Friday, February 5^th, 2021
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
Dear Friends, 
 
I rushed to a friend’s hospital room when his wife called and said they were getting ready to do emergency heart surgery. The crew preparing to wheel him to surgery stepped back when I stepped in to pray. After I prayed, while the attendants unlocked the wheels of his bed, I asked, “Are you nervous?” 
 
I calculated that his answer would give me an opportunity to remind him that he was safely in God’s hands. My plan back fired.
 
“I’m not nervous,” he said. Then he grabbed the door jamb as they wheeled him out. “Remember that creed we said in worship on Sunday?”
 
I nodded.
 
He said, “I believe it.”
 
Thank you, Brian, for your faith and for your witness to a smart-ass pastor who thought he knew it all. 
 
This is what we said on that Sunday, and if you join us on this Sunday, you’ll see this again:
 
Affirmation of Faith/ Question & Answer #1, The Heidelberg Catechism
Q.1. What is your only comfort, in life and in death?
A.  That I belong—body and soul, in life and in death—not to myself but to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, who at the cost of his own blood has fully paid for all my sins and has completely freed me from the dominion of the devil; that he protects me so well that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that everything must fit his purpose for my salvation. Therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.
  
* * *
 
See you there on this Sunday.
 
FirstPres.Live.
 
PEACE and much love,
 
Matt Matthews
864.386.9138
matt@firstpres.church
 
* * *

From your Nurture Team — Last week’s photo challenge was a tough one!  We received no successful guesses for last week’s photo of Greg Cozad.  

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 are running low on photos, so 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.

* * *
 
The old…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXbEFTv9zr0
 
…and the new
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uecFirb4T4

Thursday, February 4^th, 2021
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Friends,
 
Carol Penka answered this question correctly, and I’ll be gladly sending some Jarling’s Custard Cup ice cream her way. I’ll gladly send some YOUR way if you want to take a stab at answering this question. (I’ll share the answer in my March 7^th sermon…) 
 
What do these folk have in common? 

•       Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, 
•       the musical genius Ludwig von Beethoven, 
•       the football quarterback Terry Bradshaw, 
•       Winston Churchill, 
•       the singer Judy Collins, 
•       Monica Seles the tennis pro,
•       Abraham Lincoln. 

BOOK STUDY!  You are invited to a congregation-wide four session book study on race.

• WHAT? Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (One World, 2015). A father talks to his fifteen-year-old son about the realities of inhabiting a black body.
• WHEN?  Thursdays, February 18 and 25 and March 4 and 11 at 11:00am to 12:00 noon. 
• HOW? Sign up by emailing or calling Patty Farthing in the church office. We will meet on-line via Zoom. 217.356.7238 /  Patty@firstpres.church . Borrow books from our public library in paper, digital or audio form. To order through the church request copy by February 10 and transmit check to Patty.
• WHO? Everyone in our congregation and community is invited. Pastor Matt Matthews will facilitate. Our Compassion, Peace, and Justice Committee/ Spiritual Formation Committee will host.             
• WHY? Jesus asks us to love “the other. A first step is listening to understand “the other”.

One of our friends said this about Coate’s book. “I know I will never fully understand the emotional trauma of racism. But, Coates’ book has helped me better understand. His writing has made me more sensitive and more deeply empathetic to the black experience.”
 
News

The Annual Meeting of the Congregation will be held Sunday, February 14, at 10 am.  Watch for the zoom link in next week’s mailers.

* * *

In-person Worship begins on February 21^st at 10:15.  After careful discussion and prayerful deliberation, the COVID-19 team and the Session have recommended that we resume limited in-person weekly worship on the First Sunday of Lent, February 21^st at 10:15 a.m.  
 
For those of you who feel safe to attend, please pre-register by calling the church office at 217.356.7238. Registration will run from Monday morning to Thursday noon the week before each service. (We are preregistering not only as a means of contact-tracing, but also to keep attendance at or under fifty [50] people, including worship leaders and ushers. That is the limit prescribed by state public health guidelines.) 
 
Remember, your Session is doing everything it can to keep everyone safe during this season of pandemic. While the end may be in sight with local and statewide numbers trending downward, not everyone is vaccinated yet and Covid-19 is still deadly. Some experts guess our nationwide death toll due to Covid may total over 600,000 by later this Spring.
 
The best way to safeguard against getting Covid is to limit one’s exposure to it and to get vaccinated; while we have prepared as safe a worship environment as possible, and all participants will be required to check in, wear masks at all times, and sit at a distance of six feet from other families, we cannot guarantee that somebody won’t get sick. Those who come to worship come at their own risk.
 
These in-person services will be, essentially, services of welcome, scripture, prayer, and preaching. These brief—40-minutes, or less—services will include no spoken liturgy, no congregational singing, and no choir. The preacher will speak from behind a plexiglass barrier. There will be no indoor fellowship, and no coffee or food service before or after the service.
 
This may not sound like a very welcoming or, even, friendly invitation, does it? You know what I mean. So, make wise decisions for you and your family, stay away if you are high risk or don’t feel well, and know that I look forward to “seeing” some of you online at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday (FirstPres.Live), and others of you face to face at 10:15 a.m. 
 
God is good.
 
* * *
 
Humor (Hard times really need godly laughter): 
 
True story?   Rudolf was a communist leader in the former Soviet Union. In retirement, he lived in a concrete high rise among other concrete high rises in Russia. Looking out the window of their small apartment one grey, wet day, he noted to his wife that it was raining. 
 
She looked, and said, “No. that’s not rain; it’s sleet.” 
 
He looked more closely, and said, “No, it was definitely rain.”
 
She said, “No, it was sleet.”
 
This went on as they leaned their noses close to the cold window glass.
 
After a long moment, he looked  to his wife, and insisted it was rain. He said sternly, “Rudolf the Red knows rain, dear.”

* * * 
 
Good Word: 
 
Faith, hope, and love abide—these three. The greatest of these is love. (I Corinthians 13).

LET US PRAY (JESUS KNEW THIS SONG.) 
 
The Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou
 
A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
 
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
 
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird 
sings of freedom.
 
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing
 
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird 
sings of freedom.
 
* * *
 
Much, much love to you all.
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church

Wednesday, February 3^rd, 2021
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Friends,
 
In-person worship will begin February 21. See the announcement below.
Book study on race. See the announcement below.
Certificate for $1 million. See announcement below.
 
* * *
 
This essay is from Bill McLean, presbyter for congregation care of our presbytery:
 
When will things go back to normal? This question is being asked a lot lately. If you type the phrase “returning to normal” in Google it takes 0.56 seconds to return about 390,000,000 results. The top three results are:
· “Coronavirus variant dampens prospects for return to normal …” The Harvard Gazette
· “Coronavirus In 2021 And Beyond: When Will Life Return to …” WBUR NPR Boston
· “COVID-19: we will not be returning to the old normal – The …” The Lancet
The current pandemic is not the first time that this question has been asked. After major events or tragedies, it is common to want things to return to how they used to be. Yet, things have changed and will never be exactly as they were pre-pandemic. Much like things changed after 9/11 and we adjusted to a new normal. Or earlier after both World Wars, things changed and adjustments were made.
 
The transition is not always smooth because there will be missteps and wrong turns along the way as well as efforts to slow or block the change. Yet, as the Greek philosopher Heraclitus is credited with saying, “You could not step twice into the same river.” As the water flows, as time flows, as events happen, the world and each of us is changed. It is not possible to go back to the way things used to be.
 
Which provides us with a powerful opportunity to build on what we have learned during the pandemic and combine it with what was successful before the pandemic. While also empowering us to let go of things that prevent us from living fully in the world around us.
 
This is seen in the plans to have more meetings happen virtually to reduce driving time, impact on the environment, and personal wear & tear. We are also continuing to provide opportunities for fellowship and interaction outside of meetings, both virtually and eventually in person as well.
 
Congregations are living this out as they continue to worship virtually even as some have begun to experiment with options for safely returning to in person worship services. It is maintaining the links that have been made with the homebound, those who have moved away, and those not able to physically be in the sanctuary for worship while creating opportunities for those who can safely be in the same place.
 
What things from the pandemic response will you be continuing in the weeks and months ahead? What things from before the pandemic will you be letting go of so that you can be present in the world around you?
 
As we adjust to the changing world around us, let us remember that we are not alone. God is with us, guiding us, and supporting us. And may the peace of Christ be with you in this season of change.
 
Grace and peace,

Bill

Rev. William “Bill” McLean, II
Presbyter for Congregational Care
Presbytery of Southeastern Illinois
 
* * *
 
What do these folk have in common? Be in touch with me. The winner gets a free ice cream Sunday from the Custard Cup.
 

•       Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, 
•       the musical genius Ludwig von Beethoven, 
•       the football quarterback Terry Bradshaw, 
•       Winston Churchill, 
•       the singer Judy Collins, 
•       Monica Seles the tennis pro,
•       Abraham Lincoln. 

* * *

News
 
After careful discussion and prayerful deliberation, the COVID-19 team and the Session have recommended that we resume limited in-person weekly worship on the First Sunday of Lent, February 21^st at 10:15 a.m.  
 
For those of you who feel safe to attend, please pre-register by calling the church office at 217.356.7238. Registration will run from Monday morning to Thursday noon the week before each service. (We are preregistering not only as a means of contact-tracing, but also to keep attendance at or under fifty [50] people, including worship leaders and ushers. That is the limit prescribed by state public health guidelines.) 
 
Remember, your Session is doing everything it can to keep everyone safe during this season of pandemic. While the end may be in sight with local and statewide numbers trending downward, not everyone is vaccinated yet and Covid-19 is still deadly. Some experts guess our nationwide death toll due to Covid may total over 600,000 by later this Spring.
 
The best way to safeguard against getting Covid is to limit one’s exposure to it and to get vaccinated; while we have prepared as safe a worship environment as possible, and all participants will be required to check in, wear masks at all times, and sit at a distance of six feet from other families, we cannot guarantee that somebody won’t get sick. Those who come to worship come at their own risk.
 
These in-person services will be, essentially, services of welcome, scripture, prayer, and preaching. These brief—40-minutes, or less—services will include no spoken liturgy, no congregational singing, and no choir. The preacher will speak from behind a plexiglass barrier. There will be no indoor fellowship, and no coffee or food service before or after the service.
 
This may not sound like a very welcoming or, even, friendly invitation, does it? You know what I mean. So, make wise decisions for you and your family, stay away if you are high risk or don’t feel well, and know that I look forward to “seeing” some of you online at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday (FirstPres.Live), and others of you face to face at 10:15 a.m. 
 
God is good.
 
Matt Matthews
 
 
* * *
 
BOOK STUDY!  You are invited to a congregation-wide four session book study on race.

• WHAT? Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (One World, 2015). A father talks to his fifteen-year-old son about the realities of inhabiting a black body.
• WHEN?  Thursdays, February 18 and 25 and March 4 and 11 at 11:00am to 12:00 noon. 
• HOW? Sign up by emailing or calling Patty Farthing in the church office. We will meet on-line via Zoom. 217.356.7238 /  Patty@firstpres.church . Borrow books from our public library in paper, digital or audio form. To order through the church request copy by February 10 and transmit check to Patty.
• WHO? Everyone in our congregation and community is invited. Pastor Matt Matthews will facilitate. Our Compassion, Peace, and Justice Committee/ Spiritual Formation Committee will host.             
• WHY? Jesus asks us to love “the other. A first step is listening to understand “the other”.

* * *

Join us tonight for our midweek gathering at 7 pm…
Email zoom@firstpres.church for the link.

* * *

The Annual Meeting of the Congregation will be held Sunday, February 14, at 10 am.  Watch for the zoom link in next week’s mailers.

* * * 
 
Humor (Hard times really need godly laughter): 
 
Two more from Bill Marble:
 
A friend of mine doesn’t pay his exorcist. He got repossessed. 
 
My friend wants to become an archaeologist, but I’m trying to put him off. I’m convinced his life will be in ruins. 
 
* * *
 
Good Word: 
 
Colossians 3:11b       [T]here is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!

LET US PRAY (THIS IS A GREAT PRAYER): 
 
A poem from Linda Peterson. It’s a modern prayer, a contemporary psalm. Send me yours.
 
Looking Up/January 28, 2021
 
High on the tops of the trees cling shimmering crystals
The naked branches also bathed in sunlight
Radiating the warmth of healing balm
Lifting spirits to soar within the heavens
Peace and joy overcome us with the passing of dreary darkness
The heaviness is lifted as the playful smile returns
Looking up with thankfulness.
  
* * *
 
Much, much love to you all.
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church 
 
(There is no certificate for $1 million. Thanks for looking.)

Monday, February 1^st, 2021
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Friends,
 
There’s a LOT in this daily emailer, and some important news and announcements:
 
The following great essay (and recipe) comes from Nancy Whitford. What better way to kick off a new month than by reflecting upon God’s call to model hospitality?
 
* * *
 
In-person worship will begin February 21. See the announcement below.
 
* * *
 
At the bottom of this essay is a long-ish blog from Diana Butler Bass about “silence.” We live in an age of lots of chest beating, angry tweeting, unhinged social media posts, and general volume. The recent snow invites silence. Consider my sermon from yesterday, then try Diana’s blog.
 
* * *
 
The Joy of Hospitality
 
Contribute to the needs of saints and seek to show hospitality.  Romans 12:13
 
Throughout the Covid 19 pandemic, people have been asked what they’ve missed most during this sheltering-at-home period.  Spending time with family and friends usually tops the list, followed by travel, dining out and attending movies and concerts.   Of course, we’ve all missed being in church on Sundays, experiencing the service in person and interacting with our friends. 
 
One thing that I’ve missed is the joy of hospitality.  I love calling a friend or two and asking them to join me for a cup of tea at 4 in the afternoon or a glass of wine at 5.  David and I have missed welcoming our friends into our home and sharing a special meal and a fun evening together.  
 
In both the Old and New Testaments we learn of the importance of hospitality.  Jesus’ first miracle, turning the water to wine at the wedding in Cana, occurred at a social event.  As we read the story we can picture a festive occasion, with friends and family celebrating together. 
 
When we’re able to return to church, I hope we can experience the joy of hospitality in our church life.  We have a new kitchen so let’s use it to welcome friends and strangers.  On several occasions Matt has asked for ideas of ways to use this new facility.  Let’s all do our part and come up with a wide range of suggestions.   We’re all hungry for social interaction. 
 
Matt asked me to include a recipe that goes with my thoughts.  So, here goes! I like to keep a tin of these crackers on hand, just in case someone drops by or I call a friend for a spur-of-the-moment get together.  I look forward to the day when that happens again.  Best of all, these crackers go well with both tea and wine!
 
Cheese Crackers
 
1 stick unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups flour  (divided)
1 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes  (or more for a little more spice)
1 teaspoon salt
 
Mix all ingredients together, using 1 1/4 cups of flour.  I have the best results when I pulse them together in my food processor until there is a ball of dough.  Spread remaining flour on a wooden board. Place dough on the board, incorporate the additional flour, and roll it into a log, then wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Slice log into ¼ inch slices, place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake in preheated 350-degree oven for approximately 20 minutes.  

* * *
 
News
 
After careful discussion and prayerful deliberation, the COVID-19 team and the Session have recommended that we resume limited in-person weekly worship on the First Sunday of Lent, February 21^st at 10:15 a.m.  
 
For those of you who feel safe to attend, please pre-register by calling the church office at 217.356.7238. Registration will run from Monday morning to Thursday noon the week before each service. (We are preregistering not only as a means of contact-tracing, but also to keep attendance at or under fifty [50] people, including worship leaders and ushers. That is the limit prescribed by state public health guidelines.) 
 
Remember, your Session is doing everything it can to keep everyone safe during this season of pandemic. While the end may be in sight with local and statewide numbers trending downward, not everyone is vaccinated yet and Covid-19 is still deadly. Some experts guess our nationwide death toll due to Covid may total over 600,000 by later this Spring.
 
The best way to safeguard against getting Covid is to limit one’s exposure to it and to get vaccinated; while we have prepared as safe a worship environment as possible, and all participants will be required to check in, wear masks at all times, and sit at a distance of six feet from other families, we cannot guarantee that somebody won’t get sick. Those who come to worship come at their own risk.
 
These in-person services will be, essentially, services of welcome, scripture, prayer, and preaching. These brief—40-minutes, or less—services will include no spoken liturgy, no congregational singing, and no choir. The preacher will speak from behind a plexiglass barrier. There will be no indoor fellowship, and no coffee or food service before or after the service.
 
This may not sound like a very welcoming or, even, friendly invitation, does it? You know what I mean. So, make wise decisions for you and your family, stay away if you are high risk or don’t feel well, and know that I look forward to “seeing” some of you online at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday (FirstPres.Live), and others of you face to face at 10:15 a.m. 
 
God is good.
 
Matt Matthews
  
* * *
 
BOOK STUDY!  You are invited to a congregation-wide four session book study on race.

• WHAT? Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (One World, 2015). A father talks to his fifteen-year-old son about the realities of inhabiting a black body.
• WHEN?  Thursdays, February 18 and 25 and March 4 and 11 at 11:00am to 12:00 noon. 
• HOW? Sign up by emailing or calling Patty Farthing in the church office. We will meet on-line via Zoom. 217.356.7238 /  Patty@firstpres.church . Borrow books from our public library in paper, digital or audio form. To order through the church request copy by February 10 and transmit check to Patty.
• WHO? Everyone in our congregation and community is invited. Pastor Matt Matthews will facilitate. Our Compassion, Peace, and Justice Committee/ Spiritual Formation Committee will host.             
• WHY? Jesus asks us to love “the other. A first step is listening to understand “the other”.

* * * 
 
Humor (Hard times really need godly laughter): 
 
Bill Gamble has something for us to think about. Comments?
 
From a high-school inspirational speaker from the middle of the last century:
 
“You will never need more than half of what you learn. The problem is that you do not know which half.”

* * *
 
Good Word: 
 
If we say we have no sin, 
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 
      If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just 
      will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 
 (1 John 1:8-9)

Let us pray: 

 
Thank you, LORD.
 
      For snow and light,
      for busy day and quiet night,
      for all wrong things 
      we strive, by God’s grace, to make right . . . 
 
Thank you, LORD.
 
* * *
 
Much, much love to you all.
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church
 
 * * *

From The Cottage
by Diana Butler Bass
(from her blog read on 31 January 2021)
 
I woke up this morning to silence. 
 
It is snowing in my neighborhood. And quiet accompanies snow. People inside to keep warm; no cars on the roads. 
 
The winter landscape turned into a whitened world. 
 
Silence. 
 
This month, I’ve been thinking a lot about silence — and longing for it. Perhaps because of the January 6 madness, the screaming of the rioters, the QAnon lies. But partly because of the breathless, continuous outrage on social media and in the news. There’s a continual demand to take sides, speak out, prove one isn’t “complicit” with whatever structural injustice has become viral on any given day. 
 
Yet, when I long for silence, two familiar quotes come to mind, both by Martin Luther King, Jr.:  “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.”
 
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
 
And others as well remind me that speaking out is a necessary part of the work of justice. 
 
“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.” — Elie Wiesel
 
“Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on.” — Thurgood Marshall
 
“What is the source of our first suffering? It lies in the fact that we hesitated to speak. It was born in the moment when we accumulated silent things within us.” — Gaton Bachelard
 
“Every word has consequences. Every silence, too.” — Jean-Paul Sartre
 
There’s another MLK quote that I’ve been reflecting on this month:  “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” 
 
I emphasize the words, “about things that matter,” because not every silence leads to death. Only silence about things that matter. How do we know what matters if we are yelling all the time? If we live in perpetual outrage? If we never enter into silence to gain perspective, deepen understanding, and to discover what matters?
 
Right now, our public culture is marked by a sense that every single thing is a world-historical crisis to the nth degree. We are living in a time with multiple, demanding crises — climate change, economic inequality, the structural injustice of hierarchies of race and gender, and the challenges of technological society and globalization. Few generations of human beings have had to face such a set of interlocking challenges, and these difficult times demand insistent, passionate, and clear voices — those who point to the problems and offer possible solutions. 
 
But understanding these problems and leading toward solutions isn’t about viral tweets, jumping on the cause of the day, or public shaming of those who resist the latest bandwagon. The things that matter are often a matter of discernment, research, creativity, empathy, and innovation — the things that matter aren’t always entirely visible, and the things that matter are something just beyond what is immediately obvious. We sometimes think we know what matters only to learn later that we were wrong.
 
Thus, we need to recognize that there are two kinds of silence involved in the work of justice and the common good: some silence is that of neutrality, ignorance, or fear; yet other silences are that of inner work, healing and insight, and making room for new awareness and activism. The latter needs to be encouraged, and the former needs to be challenged and overcome. Silence can be consent or complicity; but silence can also be mourning past words, a voiceless sorrow and suffering, pain without any shape other than groaning. It is extremely important to be able to discern one from the other.
 
There are silences that are wrong, sinful, evil; there are silences that are the most holy of things possible.
 
Some silence fuels injustice; some silence is truth in the face of injustice.
 
Silence can be indifference. Silence can also be profound empathy, a stunning solidarity.
Silence can emerge from fear, but silence can also be a strategy of survival by victims or potential victims of injustice and violence.
 
Put simply, not all silence is the same. Knowing when to speak, knowing when to hold silence — this is a spiritual practice. And it is wisdom. 
 
Mystics of all religious traditions have known this. So many of history’s greatest activists for justice have also been history’s most profound contemplatives. Silence and justice are not opposing energies, but part of a single fabric of our inner and outer lives. Silence is not quietism. Instead, silence is guide and path toward the world envisioned by our gurus, prophets, and God. 
 
I can’t say I know this from being one such contemplative. I know it from being a writer. For writers are contemplatives of a sort — we withdraw to discover the things that matter and to put just the right words to those things. Writerly silence is often the hardest of practices (at least for me), as I’d prefer to be in the fray, at the protest, pontificating online, and preaching prophetically. But silence is necessary for the right sentence to be birthed so that the things that matter may shine brightly in written word. Not every word does this. But the best work — the work of transforming the world — comes into being when words that matter and things that matter converge. And, I know from experience, that doesn’t happen without blanketing silence. 
 
You can’t force someone into or out of such a silence. That silence is an enveloping cloud, the hush of the snow storm — it just is. It is like Jesus’s forty days in the desert or his refusal to speak before Pilate; Paul’s three years of contemplation and learning; Israel’s forty years in the wilderness. Silence should be welcomed for its generative power, not condemned as a moral failing.
 
America needs to wake up in silence. 
 
Silence. To hear. To see a different landscape. Wait in silence until the snow melts.
 
We need the counter-cultural practice of silence.
 
Perhaps if we keep more silence instead of less, we’ll be able to speak words that matter and understand the things that matter to face the crises that threaten our neighbors and our future. We are in desperate need of the right words about the right things.
 
—
 
For more from Diana, see the following link:
https://dianabutlerbass.substack.com/p/words-that-matter-and-things-that
 

Friday, January 29^th, 2021
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
Dear Friends, 
 
How would you describe our church? 
 
Conservative? 
 
Contemporary? 
 
Justice-minded? 
 
Inclusive? 
 
Liberal? 
 
White?
 
Predictable?
 
Moderate?
 
Interesting?
 
Black?
 
An active church?
 
A spectator church?
 
Vital?
 
Launch pad?
 
Crucible?
 
Dead?
 
A Sunday only church?
 
A seven-day-a-week church?
 
Haven?
 
Hopeful?
 
Jesus-centered?
 
Challenging?
 
Welcoming?
 
Engaged?
 
Loving?
 
Faithful?
 
Some of those titles or categories may be helpful, but others, decidedly, are not. But the words we use to describe our congregation are important, especially to the degree that our words create worlds. Be careful what you say. 
 
“Being church” with you is an honor. 
 
And, for me, Sunday worship is at the center of things. As a kid and teenager, I was dreadfully bored with morning worship, particularly the preaching, which I often didn’t understand and usually slept through. I loved the hymns, though, and singing next to my dad was comical because he was more or less tone deaf. But that didn’t stop him from singing loudly. I loved it. The prayers were powerful moments each week. The prayer of confession made me feel small within the larger grace of God’s firm grip. Communion, albeit perfunctory, was something way bigger than my brain could contain, and I felt connected to the cosmos in ways I could not understand. Still, the best word that describes the sacraments for me are “holy mystery.” At evening vespers after youth group, I was blown away. My faith smoldered all week long but caught fire on Sunday nights. 
 
I’ve been in love with God’s church my whole life.
 
What does our church mean to you? What do you call it? Do you love the world through our church? Do you feel the brokenness of the world through our church? Are you warmed within its fellowship? Inspired? 
 
One of the best words that describes my experience of church is a four letter word. 
 
Home.
  
 
See you there on this Sunday.
 
FirstPres.Live.
 
PEACE and much love,
 
Matt Matthews
864.386.9138
matt@firstpres.church
 
* * *

News:

From your Nurture Team — Judi Geistlinger was the first to recognize last week’s photo of Naomi Rempe (with many others close behind.)   

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 are running low on photos, so 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.
 
* * *

This four-minute zoom movie from Jane Alsberg inspires…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQQIOMubFAI
 
Summertime… (I miss summer’s warm and light.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3kQt14_5OQ
 
Marcus King…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RNNQYpnukA
 

Thursday, January 28^th, 2021
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Friends,

We put our beloved Casey Dog down two weekends ago and reminders still explode into our daily routine flashing light and tears through which Casey saunters into our mind’s eye, one ear up, one ear down, with that ready smile. This is my anthropomorphism at work, I’m sure, but I imagine her saying to us, I miss you, too. 
 
Today it was the refrigerator notes on dog-care for the sitter that broke the gates through which memory flooded in. Those notes now come down. The auto-fill on her drugs from the pharmacy are cancelled so we won’t be getting those pesky robo-calls about Casey’s medicine being ready for pick up. No more Gabapentin. No more Quellin. And no more watching our sweet dog stagger around in dazed pain, nine pills a day.
 
But now we have to pick up the bacon scraps from the floor because she no longer Hoovers that stuff up. There is no dog bed to step over in the wee hours on my way to the toilet. No staccato click-clack-click of toenails on the hardwood telegraphing her location. No fierce barking when another dog walks by on the street and the front door is open. No barking when the UPS truck idles outside at the curb and the front door is closed. 
 
There is no canine shadow to follow you from room to room to room napping wherever you read, watch tv, or chat. She used to watch us being consumed by our computers. “What are you doing?” she seemed to ask. “You should play with me instead of talking into that strange machine that makes you irritable.” 
 
There is no scratching at the back door to go out, no looking up and asking with big brown eyes, “Isn’t it time for you to scratch my ear and give me a dog biscuit?” No twitching and whimpering in her dreams as she chases squirrels or does whatever dogs do in their dreams. No marking her ground around everyone’s mailbox and not caring one bit about what and where property lines actually fall. No sniffing strangers’ crotches and panting an earnest hello. No wrestling my sons with her snarl and flip of that tail, frolicking, pretend-biting, licking, nuzzling. No barking at our play-fights when she says to us, “Quit that fighting, guys, or somebody might get hurt.” 
 
No dog to lie upon our socked, winter feet. 
 
No dog that smells of manure and fish to argue with about having a bath. 
 
No dog pacing around our property lines as if we lived in a castle and she were our proud protector, never mind that crooks would be greeted with the same tail-wagging welcome the Pope would get. 
 
No chasing her tail in a dervish blur. No basking in a pool of sunshine lifting her face and closed eyes up and up to the warm light. No more wide, halitosis yawns. No ghastly flatulence to which she always said, “It’s not my fault, it’s what you feed me.”
 
For these and other of the tenderest memories, thanks be to God.
 
* * *
 
In-person worship will begin soon. The Covid-19 is working out plans with the Session. The rough start-date is February 21. Stay tuned. In the meantime, sign up for your vaccine! 
 
* * *
 
I’m excited about the book study that’s coming up. This will deepen our conversation about race. I’m looking forward to it because I want to learn more. I’m eager to be part of bridging the chasms that are splitting our country apart. Join me. Invite a friend. See below.

* * * 
 
News
 
Remember: When we get wind of Covid vaccine schedules, we are forwarding them to you as soon as we receive them. The schedules fill up by the next day, so be diligent. 
 
* * *
 
You are invited to a congregation-wide four session book study on race in America.

• WHAT? Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (One World, 2015). A father talks to his fifteen year old son about the realities of inhabiting a black body.
• WHEN?  Thursdays, February 18 and 25 and March 4 and 11 from 11:00am  to 12:00 noon.
• HOW? Sign up by emailing or calling Patty Farthing (patty@firstpres.church or 217.356.7238) in the church office. We will meet on-line via Zoom. Borrow books from our public library in paper, digital or audio form. Books can be also directly ordered from Amazon at $16.63 each or downloaded on your Kindle at $12.99.  To order through the church office, request a copy by February 11.  Make checks payable to First Presbyterian Church for $17.50 (includes shipping costs). Send to First Presbyterian Church, 302 W. Church St., Champaign, IL 61820.  Mark checks for “book study.”
• WHO? Everyone in our congregation and community is invited. Pastor Matt Matthews will facilitate. Our Compassion, Peace, and Justice Committee/ Spiritual Formation Committee will host.             
• WHY? Jesus asks us to love “the other”. A first step is listening to understand “the other”.

Purchase books in paper, electronic or audio formats online or order from either of our public libraries. Registration is required through the church office for the zoom link.

* * * 
 
Humor (Hard times really need godly laughter): 
 
(Thanks Bill Marble)
 
Why don’t crabs give to charity? Because they’re shellfish.
 
Why did the man name his dogs Rolex and Timex? Because they were watch dogs.
 
What’s the best way to watch a fly-fishing tournament? Live stream.
 
My wife asked me to sync her phone, so I threw it into the ocean. I don’t know why she’s mad at me.
 
* * *
 
Good Word: 
 
If we say we have no sin, 
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 
      If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just 
      will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 
 (1 John 1:8-9)

LET US PRAY: 
 
Holy God, we come to you in this new year seeking your guidance and your joy. Many things vie for our attention, affection, and allegiance. If we aren’t careful, we end up worshipping idols instead of you. We follow ideas and ideologies that contradict your Gospel. We care only for “our own” instead of the whole world. Forgive us. Help us fix our sights on your son, Jesus, who knows the way and, by your Holy Spirit, guides our steps. AMEN.
  
* * *
 
Much, much love to you all.
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church