Friday June 4^th 2021
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Friends,
 
How far back can you trace your family? When you think of “family,” what comes to mind? How do you define the word? Does your face look more like your mom’s or your dad’s? What part of your face looks most like God?
 
Hum…
 
Join us on Sunday as we tackle “family.”
 
(And some of you might have a bad idea of family. You might have been hurt or neglected by your family. You might think you don’t have a family. Come on Sunday for some good news.)
 
* * *
 
See you in worship on Sunday.
 
9:00 on-line FirstPres.Live
 
and
 
10:15 in-person, no reservations required. Wear your mask.
 
PEACE,

Matt Matthews
 
* * *
 
I’ve asked John McCutcheon to perform a concert at First Pres on Sunday, February 20^th. He’s a master musician: hammered dulcimer, guitar, fiddle, banjo, and a fantastic storyteller, and singer-songwriter. Check out some of his tunes (and mark your calendar):
 
Leviathan!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZQxJ5-PXKo
 
Christmas in the trenches (a true story):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJi41RWaTCs
 
Twelves strings, steel rails, and hobos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-RYTK611Bo
 
A tribute to Pete Seeger/a sing-a-long
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qfw6Y1xNyng
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvNnnkYdti8

* * *

From your Nurture Team — There were no correct guessers of last week’s photo of Katharine Jones. 

  
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 VERY 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.

Thursday, June 3^rd, 2021
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Friends,
 
A sermon from a few weeks ago, just in case you’re having a dry bones kind of day:
 
Life, Life, Life!
May 23 2021/Pentecost Sunday
Ezekiel 37:1-14; Romans 8:22-27
First Presbyterian Church, Champaign, Illinois
Matt Matthews
 
 
Ezekiel 37:1-14                       1The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry.  3He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” 4Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD.”
 
7So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” 10I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
 
11Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ 12Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. 14I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act,” says the LORD.
 
 
Romans 8:22-27                     22We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
 
26Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
 
* * *
 
 
            Imagine the elderly man sitting at the breakfast table after his wife has died, after the grown kids have gone home. He sits alone in the house, alone at the table, all alone in this wide world.
 
The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.
 
              Imagine the eighth-grade girl who wasn’t invited to the 8^th grade dance. Girls from the neighborhood filled a minivan and went together as a group. But they didn’t invite this girl to go with them. There was a dress she saw in a store window in the weeks prior to the dance. She had wondered if her parents would have bought it for her had she been invited. But she hadn’t been invited. And she didn’t go.
 
              Both this lonely, old man and this uninvited girl live in your neighborhood. You see her walking to and from the park. She weighs all of 91 pounds, but her heart alone is heavier than that. And he walks his dog hardly noticing the world around him.
 
The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.
 
* * *
 
              I’m sorry to say that most of us have been to that valley. And we all know at least somebody who’s in it right now. In every direction, dry bones litter the ground. No life. No hope. No chance of hope.
 
              But listen to the prophet Ezekial. He sees the valley God is showing him. He sees the dry bones. He feels the despair. God asks, “Can these bones live?” And listen to what the Ezekial doesn’t say: 
 
              “Are you crazy God? These bones are gone, long gone, and deader than dead. This is as hopeless a place as there is in all the earth.”
 
              No. The Ezekial doesn’t say that. He sees the barren, desolate valley of bones. He feels the dry heat of hopelessness. “O LORD God,” he says, “you know.”
 
              Ezekial knows that God is God, and God can do what God will do. Hope that is seen is not hope, says Paul. And if Ezekial has hope—and I think he does—then Ezekial has hope that is not based on what he sees. Because all he sees is miles and miles of dry bones.

• It looks hopeless, but you, O LORD God, can bring hope from despair.  
• Despair and death surround me, but you, O LORD God, can bring life. 
• My life’s partner is gone, taken too young, and I feel afraid and alone, but you, O LORD God, can heal me and help me and restore me to the land of the living. 
• No one picked me for the dance, but you, O LORD God, have not lost sight of my broken heart, and you hear my cry, and I know that at least you will never overlook me like all the others have.

               We know the story from there. God tells Ezekiel to speak to the bones. And what God says will happen, does happen. The bones come together. Then flesh covers the bones. And, then, the breath. And the breath came into those dry bones, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
 
* * *
 
              God’s word is like that. It changes things. 
 
              All around us we hear voices saying “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.” We have said words like those ourselves.
 
              But God says: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD.”
 
              Ezekial had the right idea. When God asked him if that valley of bones could live, Ezekial didn’t say what was obvious. He didn’t say what he saw: “No, God, these bones are gone, long gone, and deader than dead. This is as hopeless a place as there is in all the earth.”
 
              Nope. Ezekial said, “O Lord God, you know.” I don’t know, but you do. With you all things are possible. 
 
* * * 
 
              I need to be reminded of what God can do with situations that feel hopeless. Sue Grey, president and CEO of our local United Way, recently reported these staggering facts.
 

• Nearly half of the households in our community struggle to make ends meet every single month. While people of all races struggle financially, a disproportionate number of Black and Hispanic families are ALICE families. 
• One-in-five of our children live in poverty. It also disproportionately impacts Black and His- panic children. 
• More than one ‘shots fired’ incident a week has been recorded in 2021 alone. Last year was record breaking, and this year is on track to exceed numbers from last year. 
• Child abuse and neglect cases are some of the highest across the state. 
• 15% of households in Champaign County are food insecure.  
• Champaign Unit 4 and Urbana Unit 116 schools reported 45% of incoming Kindergarten students did not demonstrate any kindergarten readiness. 
• Unit 4 data shows 93% of African American males in 3rd grade are not meeting standard expectations in Reading/Language Arts; in Math is 90%.  

                  I look around and I see a valley of dry bones.
 
* * *
                  Ezekial reminds us what God does with dry bones. God pours out his Spirit and those bones begin to rattle, and life pours over, into, and out of those dry bones, and those dry bones are people, are communities, is a nation—alive and well, alive and dancing.
 
                  God brings life from despair: which is why organizations like DREAAM work in our community to turn around all those numbers that Sue Grey writes about. Yes, the situation feels dire. Lives are being lost on our streets. But DREAAM is rubbing God’s Spirit on all the broken places and lives are being saved. 
 
                  God brings life from despair: which is why Rob Dalhouse at CU at Home helps our neighbors without an address.
 
                  God brings life from despair: which is why our mission partners Bob and Kristi Rice are soon heading back to the South Sudan.
 
                  God brings life from despair: which is why we keep investing in upstream solutions that enhance systems affecting complex social change over the long-term.
 
                  God brings life from despair: which is why the elderly widower keeps on keeping on. It’s an act of deep faith.
 
                  There’s an eighth-grade girl from his church who lives down the street. She walks her dog in the evening. He walks his. They walk together. She tells him how bad it feels being left out. He tells her that his late wife had 47 boxes of shoes that he finally had the energy recently to give away. 
 
                  They are the dry bones under God’s good care. The dust has been covered with living flesh, and those once-broken bones are up and walking, and that walking down their neighborhood street with dogs tugging at their leashes becomes the first stumbling steps of a dance, a new day, a whole new life.
 
                  Mortal, can these bones live? 
 
                  Contrary to the physical evidence—yes. 
 
                  God uses prophets by the name of Ezekial, Tracy, Lola, Eric, Carol, Steve, Tom, Vern, Jeanette. God tells these prophets to speak, to care, to nourish and nurture—and these bones start to rattle and dance. And God breathes God’s Spirit and there is life, life, life.
 
                  That’s what God does.
 
                  That’s who God is.
 
                  Thanks be to God. Alleluia!
 
 
# # #
 
Matt Matthews
864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church
 
* * *

All are invited and welcomed (that means ALL PEOPLE) to the Presbyterian Women’s Spring Gathering on TODAY, June 3rd at 12 p.m.  We will be installing our new officers for the 2021-2022 year.  We will do this meeting over Zoom (hopefully our last Zoom only meeting). 
 

Wednesday, June 2^nd, 2021
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
 Friends,
 
Don’t let worry kill you off—let the Church help.
 
That’s a famous blooper that’s been passed around in church newsletters for decades. The message means that when you are feeling stressed, lean on your friends at the church. Call on your pastors. Let us help you get through the rough patch. What the message actually says is that the church often adds to your worry, and worry on the human body ends badly.
 
I look around at the many people in our church who work so hard on so many things. Sometimes the work is thankless and stressful. I know plenty of you sometimes worry about the projects and ministries for which you care. As the church wakes up from pandemic, more and more of us will be doing more and more. Thank you, in advance. Call on your friends at church when you need a breather, when you need a brother or sister, when you need a break.
 
Today please join me in praying for our unsung heroes. I’m not talking about our paid staff. (They’re heroes, too, of course.) I’m talking about our volunteers. For all of YOU who do something compassionately, thoughtfully, joyfully for our church—THANK YOU. Even if others don’t notice what you contribute, God notices.
 
This leads me to another famous blooper. Your staff are paid to do good. Volunteers are good for nothing. 
 
Bless and thank you ALL.
 
Thanks be to God.
 
Matt Matthews
864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church

* * *

Let them wake whole again
To brand new dawns
Fired with the sun
Not wartime’s bloody guns

May their peace be deep
Remember where the broken bodies lie
God knows how young they were
To have to die
God knows how young they were to have to die

Give them things they like
Let them make some noise
Give roadhouse bands, not golden harps
To these our boys

And let them love, Peter
Cause they’ve had no time
They should have trees and bird songs
And hills to climb

The taste of summer in a ripened pear
And girls sweet as meadow winds
With flowing hair

Tell them how they are missed
And say not to fear
It’s gonna be alright
With us down here

Let them in, Peter
 
 * * *
 
Isaiah 2:4 And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
 
* * *
 
See you in worship on Sunday.
 
9:00 on-line FirstPres.Live
 
and
 
10:15 in-person, no reservations required. Wear your mask.
 
 
PEACE,

Matt Matthews
matt@firstpres.church
 
* * *
 
Listen. The video dawns slowly. (David Wilcox version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4odzRETc3VA
 
Listen again, and close your eyes. (John Gorka live)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsWUqziBzUo
 
And a long-weekend bonus, Natalie Merchant’s
NPR Small Desk Concert. Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOdsAE8Mq7I&t=393s

* * *

From your Nurture Team — Linda Sandquist was the first correct guesser this week!  She correctly identified last week’s photo of Diane Mortensen. 

   
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 VERY 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.

Thursday, May 27^th, 2021
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Friends,
 
One of my daily emails caused Marilyn Shimkus to write about her husband and memories they shared on a long-ago trip to France. This is a wonderful essay for Memorial Day. Marilyn wasn’t eager for me to share this essay with you, but I talked her into it. Her memories may trigger yours. Remembering those who have made sacrifices is part of what this weekend is about. I’d love to hear from you. And, thank you, Marilyn, for sharing this with your church family. 
 
* * *
 
A Memorial Day Essay
by Marilyn Hunter Shimkus             
 
My husband, Morris Hunter, and I were driving in northeastern France on our way to Germany.  We came across an American WWI cemetery.  It was much like your author’s description of the WWII cemetery.  This cemetery also had a tall pointed building with interior maps of the fighting in that area.  I remembered my Mother talking about my Uncle fighting in Belleau Wood, which narrative was a part of the displayed maps on the interior walls. As the village of Belleau was 5 miles in distance, we next drove there.  Sure enough, there was about a block square of a woods left beside a beautiful American WWII cemetery.  My Mother had asked my Uncle (her brother) if he had ever really killed anyone.

My Uncle told her a German sniper was up in a tree, and had killed 2 buddies ahead of him as the Americans went into the woods. My Uncle said he shot the sniper out of the tree and for my Mother never to ask him such a question again. My Uncle also said that 200 some Marines had gone into the woods, and 75 came out alive.

My husband, Morris Hunter, was a WWII Navy pilot, but during his 3 ½ active-duty years he never actually saw combat.  When he got his wings in May of 1942, HALF of his class were made instructors to train more
pilots as the losses in the Pacific were so severe.  He was one of the ones selected as an instructor. He and I were married on that leave. By the end of that year, 1943 and part of 1944, the Pacific tide of the war had changed and there wasn’t the need to train so many more torpedo single engine pilots. He was assigned to learn 4-engine transport planes.  
 
He was then based in Hawaii and flew supplies from the US as far as the Philippines for the invasion of Japan and brought the Pacific wounded back to the states.  At the end of another year, the US dropped the bomb. Every couple of months Morris had a flight to the US, so I had stayed on the coast and worked on the Berkeley, CA, campus. I was the private secretary to the Personnel Director of the Manhattan Project. I realized that the Personnel Director could get any man deferred from service to work on the Manhattan Project; I learned a lot of the details, but not exactly the extent of what the Project was doing until the first atomic bomb was dropped. Morris was discharged in December 1945.
 
 The war was over.
 
* * *
 
Happy Memorial Day to you all.
 
* * *
 
PEACE to you all,
 
Matt Matthews
864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church
 
* * *
 
P.S.
 
Some of you missed this in last Friday’s mailing. Here it is again:

• The Covid-19 Response Team of the Session of First Presbyterian Church encourages everyone who can get vaccinated to do so. 
• Based upon the CDC guidelines, vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks. There is roughly a five-percent likelihood that a vaccinated person can get or spread Covid-19. Therefore, the Covid-19 Response Team recommends that out of abundant concern for others, particularly the unvaccinated, such as children and the medically compromised, that we continue to wear masks in indoor worship at this time.
• Increased capacity of sanctuary to 240 people (60-percent of capacity). No physical distancing required. No reservations required. No congregational singing at this time. No coffee, tea, or snacks after worship at this time.      
• Physical distancing is no longer required indoors.       
• Masks not required for outdoor events.      
• Vaccinated members of our choir may sing together, spaced and masked, for one hour. Currently, we recommend that the choir not sing in worship.      
• We recommend that DREAAM needs to follow all Champaign Unit-4 rules.

Wednesday, May 25^th, 2021
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Friends,
 
This from the Washington Post:      Nine fully vaccinated members of the New York Yankees — including one player and eight other staff—tested positive for the virus that causes covid-19 last week. To many, this may suggest the vaccines, which are extremely effective, don’t work as well as advertised. In fact, the Yankees outbreak is a case study showing how well the vaccines are working.
 
Read more here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/05/17/yankees-covid-outbreak-vaccines-work/
 
* * *
 
This from Frederick Buechner:        IF THE WORLD IS sane, then Jesus is mad as a hatter and the Last Supper is the Mad Tea Party. The world says, Mind your own business, and Jesus says, There is no such thing as your own business. The world says, Follow the wisest course and be a success, and Jesus says, Follow me and be crucified. The world says, Drive carefully—the life you save may be your own—and Jesus says, Whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. The world says, Law and order, and Jesus says, Love. The world says, Get and Jesus says Give. In terms of the world’s sanity, Jesus is crazy as a coot, and anybody who thinks he can follow him without being a little crazy too is laboring less under a cross than under a delusion.
  
News
 
Last week, your Session agreed that those who produce our Wednesday Night Zoom Celebration needed a break for the summer. So, this evening’s program will be our last until the fall. If you enjoyed the Wednesday Zoom and have suggestions, thoughts, or ideas, please share them as they will help us plan.

 
* * *
 
Humor (Hard times really need godly laughter): 
 
 “To write with a broken pencil is pointless.”
 
* * *
 
A Jewish rabbi and a Catholic priest were good friends. At a picnic one day, the priest was eating a ham sandwich. “You know,” he said to his friend, “this ham sandwich is delicious. I know you’re not supposed to eat ham, but I don’t understand why such a good thing would be forbidden. When will you break down and try it?” 
 
To which the rabbi replied, “At your wedding.”
 
 * * *
 
Good Word 
 
Philippians 2:5-11
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 
   who, though he was in the form of God, 
          did not regard equality with God 
          as something to be exploited, 
   but emptied himself, 
          taking the form of a slave, 
          being born in human likeness. 
     And being found in human form, 
        he humbled himself 
          and became obedient to the point of death — 
          even death on a cross.
   Therefore God also highly exalted him 
          and gave him the name 
          that is above every name, 
   so that at the name of Jesus 
          every knee should bend, 
          in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 
   and every tongue should confess 
          that Jesus Christ is Lord, 
          to the glory of God the Father.
 
LET US PRAY
 
Lord, I read that from everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required . . . Compared to a billionaire, I don’t have a lot, and I’m glad less might be required of me. But compared to the rest of the world, I’m wealthy; so, more will be required of me?
 
More?
 
Less?
 
 Forgive me for thinking my way out of discipleship.
 
My cup runneth over. Let everything I do be another way of saying thank you, thank you, thank you. 
 
(Help me.)
 
AMEN.
 
* * *
 
Much, much love to you all.
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church

Monday, May 24^th 2021
To Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church, Champaign
 
Dear Friends,
 
As I write this note to you during Sunday twilight, at least two emergency vehicles are carving their way through west Champaign. The two sirens blare urgency. They elicit prayer. 
 
It is muggy on my back porch. The air is heavy with the fragrance of trees and flowers, a fragrance often spelling allergies for me, sneezes, watering eyes. My eyes water for other reasons on this beautiful night.
 
Birds whistle and tweet in the gathering dark. They are busy tonight, hosting gathering, calling in their kids to baths and bedtime. Our dove is nested in the outdoor light fixture under the eaves on the wall of our porch. She’s sitting on two white eggs. She used to fly away when we opened the back door, but now she remains nested. She watched us warily, at first, ready to burst into flight to the safety of the higher limbs of our maple. Now, she’s settled. 
 
After weeks of her getting used to us, I think of her as a companion. Her chicks will be our grandbirds. I talk to her about my day. I sweep the porch as quietly as I can. I talk and talk. I talk to her like I image some people talking to a bartender. She doesn’t answer. But she watches me. She watches over me. And I feel I’m being heard.
 
God is watching over the emergency that pierces this evening with sirens. Nothing escapes God’s vigilant, compassionate gaze. I hope our EMTs, fire, or police servants are heading to the slightest of fender benders and that all will be immediately well.
 
Wednesday’s deadly shooting in Champaign has shaken many of you. What do we do about rising violence? I think we do what we have been doing, and doing faithfully. We support our local (and worldwide) mission partners like DREAAM House and CU at Home and Courage Connection and SAFE House. We celebrate and support our Sunday school (they had a full house today!) and our ESL program. We gather together to remind the world that the church is alive and well, and God draws us and welcomes us together, and that together we all are Christ’s body on this earth, and we aren’t complete without each other. Our church is a safe place. We welcome all-comers. We proclaim in word and deed that God’s name is love, that God uses even us as healers, that God’s got the whole world in God’s hand. 
 
What do we do?
 
We listen more than we speak. 
 
We think big picture. 
 
We remain curious and compassionate.
 
We ask, “What can I learn about my community that I don’t already know?”
 
We pay attention to the ways our heart callouses over and hardens. We resist this.
 
We don’t let our anxiety get the best of us.  
 
And, of course, we settle, breathe, listen, and pray. 
 
Here are two prayers.
 
* * *
 
In every age your saints remind us that you, O God,
walk with us.
 
Walk with us now as we strive to build your kin-dom
here on earth as it is in heaven. 
 
We lift up the family of police officer Chris Oberheim,
and the Champaign Police Community. 
 
We pray for officer Jeffrey Creel, shot three times, who is 
recovering at home.
 
And we pray for Darion Lafayette who also died at the scene.
 
Holy God, you know and we do not know the gifts
our community will need to heal. Help us to be your
hands and feet to share your love here. 
 
We don’t know the way, so our eyes are glued on Jesus.
 
Guide our steps.
 
Amen.
 
* * *
 
A Father’s Prayer Upon the Murder of His Son
 
O God we remember not only Baharam but also his murderers. Not because they killed him in the prime of his youth and made our hearts bleed and our tears flow, not because that with this savage act they have brought further disgrace on the name of our country among the civilized nations of the world, but because of their crime we now follow in thy footsteps more closely in the way of sacrifice.
 
The terrible fire of this calamity burns up all selfishness and possessiveness in us. Its flame reveals the depth of depravity and meanness and suspicion…the dimension of hatred and the measure of sinfulness in human nature. It makes obvious as never before our need to trust in God’s love as shown in the cross of Jesus and his resurrection.
 
Love which makes us free from hate towards our persecutors, love which brings patience, forbearance, courage, loyalty, humility, generosity, greatness of heart. Love which more than ever deepens our trust in God’s final victory and his eternal designs for the church and for the world. Love which teaches us how to prepare ourselves to face our own day of death.
 
O God, Baharam’s blood has multiplied the fruits of the spirit in the soil of our souls, so when the murderers stand before thee on the day of judgment, remember the fruit of the spirit by which they have enriched our lives and FORGIVE.
 
— Shared by Rev. Dr. Kenneth Bailey; written by Hassan Dehqani-Tafti
 the former Episcopal Bishop of Tehran, Iran, upon the murder of his son.
 
* * *
 
PEACE to you ALL.
 
Matt Matthews
Matt@FirstPres.Church
864.386.9138

Friday May 21, 2021
To Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church, Champaign
 
Dear Friends,
 
We still grieve the shooting Wednesday morning leaving two dead, including Champaign Police Officer Christopher Oberheim and Darion Marquise Lafayette, one police officer wounded, and our whole community scared, scarred, and aching. We pray for all involved, all grieving families, and the Champaign Police family. Lord, have mercy.
 
In my sermon on Sunday, I address the letter that appears in your May newsletter from our local United Way charting violence, poverty, and education deficits in our community. One elder in last night’s Session meeting who grew up in Champaign said there has never been this much shoot ever in our community. 
 
First Pres remains a place for all to gather, to pray, to laugh and learn, and to build and rebuild a community of love. How is God using you and your church to be Christ’s hands and feet in our community?
 
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The Session’s Covid-19 Response Team has met and the Session has approved the following steps as we move out of pandemic. The Team will meet again (on June 8^th) prior to the end of the governor’s bridge program. The goal of the Covid-19 Team has always been to keep our flock safe in the midst of a deadly pandemic for which we now have a vaccine, but no cure.   

• The Covid-19 Response Team of the Session of First Presbyterian Church encourages everyone who can get vaccinated to do so. 
• Based upon the CDC guidelines, vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks. There is roughly a five-percent likelihood that a vaccinated person can get or spread Covid-19. Therefore, the Covid-19 Response Team recommends that out of abundant concern for others, particularly the unvaccinated, such as children and the medically compromised, that we continue to wear masks in indoor worship at this time. 
• Increased capacity of sanctuary to 240 people (60-percent of capacity). No physical distancing required. No congregational singing at this time. No coffee, tea, or snacks after worship at this time.
•  Physical distancing is no longer required indoors.   
• Masks not required for outdoor events.
• Vaccinated members of our choir may sing together, spaced and masked, for one hour. Currently, we recommend that the choir not sing in worship. 
• We recommend that DREAAM needs to follow all Champaign Unit-4 rules. 

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Note that Sunday worship in the sanctuary is open to 60-percent capacity, which we count as 240 people. Reservations are no longer required. The wearing of masks in support of the unvaccinated (children, etc) is still required. The Covid Team will meet in 17-days to reassess. 
 
This is been a long road. If you think our Covid Team is moving slowly, we are. Intentionally. We’d rather be abundantly safe than sorry. 
 
Thank you for your patience.
 
Let everything that breathes, praise the Lord.
 
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See you Sunday in Worship at 9:00 on-line, or at 10:15 in-person. Sunday looks to be a great day to join us for a Sunday in the Park at West Side Park at 11 am following the 10:15 am in-person worship.  
 
PEACE,
 
Matt Matthews
Matt@firstpres.church

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We need God’s vision.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9dLsd3-4QU

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From your Nurture Team — Naomi Rempe was the first correct guesser again this week!  She correctly identified last week’s photo of Mary Gritten.  

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 VERY 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.