Thursday, October 8^th, 2020
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Dear Friends,
 
It was quiet this morning in the sanctuary during our time of prayer and meditation. The sun made all things golden and bright. I’m not a morning person. This morning was glorious.
 
* * *
News:

Sunday in the Park….This Sunday, October 11, 11 am at Hessel Park.  Wear a mask and bring your lawn chairs; we will gather for an hour near the Pavilion at the north end of the park.

Men’s Prayer Fridays 8:30 am
Join Zoom Meeting

Don’t forget these conversations on PUBLIC SAFETY:  The City of Champaign is pleased to invite you to participate in a community listening session to share your vision for public safety in our community. All residents, business owners and community stakeholders are encouraged to take part. The goal is to help create better communication and understanding between Champaign Police, City Administrators and community members by allowing you to directly voice your thoughts and expectations around policing. Each session will include Chief of Police Anthony Cobb and Police command staff, City Manager Dorothy David, and elected City officials. The listening sessions will be moderated by Dr. Travis Dixon, an American media studies scholar and Professor of Communication at the University of Illinois.

Determining the future of policing in our community should be a collaborative process involving community partnerships, and the first step in that process is to hear from you. Each listening session will be used to gather information from the public so it can be shared with the City Council as they make future public safety policy decisions to best address the needs, interests, and values of our community. Virtual Listening Session Dates:
· Friday, Oct. 9, 1-3 p.m.
· Tuesday, Oct. 13, 6-8 p.m.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the listening sessions will be held electronically using the Zoom meeting platform. More information on how to join and participate, including how to attend via Zoom can be found on the City’s website at  champaignil.gov/CommunityConversations. Please feel free to share this invitation with others. The City looks forward to hearing your input during one of these important listening sessions.
Humor (Hard times need godly laughter): 
 
Teacher/Student jokes from Carol Penka:
 
Teacher—Maria, go to the map and find North America.
Maria—Here it is.
Teacher—Correct. Now, class, who discovered America?
Class—Maria.
 
Good Word:
 
PHILIPPIANS 4:1-9                      
1Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
 
2I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
 
4Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
 
LET US PRAY:
 
Holy God we give you thanks for the angel-song of your grace…
            for the sweetness of life,
            for blessings too numerous to count,
            too subtle for us even to notice,
                        for the last bright fall flowers,
                        for lime-green leaves dreaming of an autumn wardrobe of color,
                        for the holy way others hold us tenderly in their prayers . . .
            for these and all our myriad blessings,
            accept our praise and thanks.
 
Amen
 
Much, much love to you all.
 
 Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church

Wednesday, October 7, 2020
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
Special Edition/Covid News
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Dear Friends,
 
The single goal of the Covid-19 Response Team has remained the same: to keep our flock and our staff safe from a deadly disease for which we have no cure or vaccine. They met on Tuesday October 6^th and made these decisions:
 
1.) Worship remains essential. To that end, the Worship Team will propose an alternate face-to-face service that will begin in late October/early November. The service will be limited to fifty-people and will be offered at a time other than 9:00 a.m. on Sundays. The time of this service and other details will be announced, but will include preregistration, check-in, sign-in with temperature check, physical distancing, the wearing of masks, no spoken liturgy, no congregational singing, etc. This face-to-face service will last no more than 40-minutes. There will be no indoor fellowship, and no coffee or food service. 
 
2.) Worship remains essential. To that end, our flagship worship service will remain as is. We will record our full service and have it available for viewing at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings on YouTube, Facebook, and our church website. The recorded service will be placed on our website for future views. Go to FirstPres.Live
 
3.) We will not be having indoor, in-person Christmas Eve Services. We believe the higher incidence of traveling will exacerbate the possible spread of Covid, as the likelihood of non-symptomatic carriers (and possibly out-of-towners) will be high. The Worship Team is working on virtual options and outdoor options. (The CYF Team is already working on their virtual Nativity that will be shared online.)
 
The Session of our church will discuss and vote on these three motions on October 15^th.
 
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas with me about how we should best move forward. What I’ve learned is that everyone is making their way through this pandemic in individual ways, family by family making different decisions that seem best for them. It’s trickier doing moving forward as a congregation when different ones of us are in different places. Individually and congregationally, however, I know we’ll arrive on the other side—relieved and whole. Why do I know this? Because God has led people through tricky passages before. God is most assuredly with us now. And God is worthy of our glad trust.
 
As your pastor, you can imagine how I want to serve well every soul who calls this congregation home. I want to strengthen this flock by God’s grace any way I can. Please remember the herculean efforts being made to gather the flock for service, worship, and spiritual growth by way of Zoom and a few in person events. Some of those opportunities include:
* Sunday in the Park (11:00 every other Sunday in Hessel Park, weather permitting),
* The Wednesday Night Gathering (every Wednesday at 7:00), *PW circles (contact Brandi Lowe for details),
*The Pickleball Team (Wednesdays at 1:00 at Hessel Park), *Myriad church committees and study groups,
*Saturday Francophone prayer online,
*Sunday School programs for children, youth, and Easy English, etc. * Private prayer in the sanctuary; (it is scheduled to be opened on Thursday October 8^th from 7 to 9 a.m.)

Please, also, remember how your dollars are trickling through our church out into our community and world bringing all manner of healing, groceries, and hope. 
 
God is faithful even in pandemic. 
 
God is good. All the time.
 
PEACE,
Matt Matthews/864.386.9138
  
* * *
 
Our church needs to pray together. Please join me for Wednesday evening prayer tonight. 
 
* * *
 
PRIVATE PRAYER… Our Sanctuary will be open for private prayer on THIS Thursday morning October 8^th from 7 to 9 a.m. While there will be no organized service, you may come and sit in the space to pray and meditate. Physical distancing, masks, sign in with temperature check, and registration/contact tracing will be operative. Our worship team will greet and assist you. Only fifty people at a time will be allowed in. Bring your own Bible or hymnals if you wish, as the pew materials have all been removed as a safety precaution. See you on Thursday!
 
* * *
 
Don’t forget these conversations on PUBLIC SAFETY:  The City of Champaign is pleased to invite you to participate in a community listening session to share your vision for public safety in our community. All residents, business owners and community stakeholders are encouraged to take part. The goal is to help create better communication and understanding between Champaign Police, City Administrators and community members by allowing you to directly voice your thoughts and expectations around policing. Each session will include Chief of Police Anthony Cobb and Police command staff, City Manager Dorothy David, and elected City officials. The listening sessions will be moderated by Dr. Travis Dixon, an American media studies scholar and Professor of Communication at the University of Illinois.

Determining the future of policing in our community should be a collaborative process involving community partnerships, and the first step in that process is to hear from you. Each listening session will be used to gather information from the public so it can be shared with the City Council as they make future public safety policy decisions to best address the needs, interests, and values of our community. Virtual Listening Session Dates:
· Friday, Oct. 9, 1-3 p.m.
· Tuesday, Oct. 13, 6-8 p.m.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the listening sessions will be held electronically using the Zoom meeting platform. More information on how to join and participate, including how to attend via Zoom can be found on the City’s website at  champaignil.gov/CommunityConversations. Please feel free to share this invitation with others. The City looks forward to hearing your input during one of these important listening sessions.
Humor (Hard times need godly laughter): 
 
From Skip Pickering: Logic from an uncluttered Mind     

A Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they were drawing. She would occasionally walk around to see each child’s work. As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was. 
The girl replied, ‘I’m drawing God.’

The teacher paused and said, ‘But no one knows what God looks like.’ 
Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, ‘They will in a minute.’
 
Good Word:
 
Isaiah 58:10-12
 
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
    the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
¹⁰ and if you give yourself to the hungry
    and satisfy the afflicted soul,
then your light shall rise in obscurity,
    and your darkness shall become as the noonday.
¹¹ And the Lord shall guide you continually,
    and satisfy your soul in drought,
    and strengthen your bones;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
    and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
¹² Those from among you shall rebuild the old waste places;
    you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
and you shall be called, the Repairer of the Breach,
    the Restorer of Paths in which to Dwell.
 
LET US PRAY:
 
By your grace may this pandemic transform us to be a congregation full of grace, love, and compassion for the world that you have created and redeemed. May we be made more and more into the flock you would have us to be. Help us God. And, forgiving our impatience . . . 
 
hurry.
 
AMEN
 
Much, much love to you all.
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church
 

PRIVATE PRAYER… Our Sanctuary will be open for private prayer on THIS Thursday morning October 8^th from 7 to 9 a.m. While there will be no organized service, you may come and sit in the space to pray and meditate. Physical distancing, masks, sign in with temperature check, and registration/contact tracing will be operative. Our worship team will greet and assist you. Only fifty people at a time will be allowed in. Bring your own Bible or hymnals if you wish, as the pew materials have all been removed as a safety precaution. See you on Thursday!
 

The Heart of Mission October 6, 2020 Our Environmental Stewardship Committee won an award this past month at the Faith in Place Green Team Summit. We were surprised to learn that there was a beautiful trophy involved. I think we will show it off a few virtual places so you may see it again! We are proud of the mission our members do for God’s beautiful creation. In fact, as you read this on October 6 at 9am, the Green Team is out around Church and State Streets picking up trash as part of their adopt-a-highway program. Thank you, Green Team!   CU at Home held a pastor’s (volunteer) lunch last week attended by our mission deacon Lola Ruthmansdorfer and myself. What amazing statistics the director Rob Dalhaus shared with us on how much money (hundreds of thousands), incarceration and human suffering it saves our friends and community to house and care for our homeless rather than leave them to fend for themselves on the street. CU at Home and we are celebrating because CU at Home has become such an important hub for ministry to our friends without an address. There is a DayCenter, a night shelter for men and now for women, with the addition of Austin’s Place, a night shelter for women on the other side of the facility. CU at Home works closely with many of our food ministries and social ministries for domestic violence and substance abuse in town. We are so grateful.   And this past Sunday the Virtual CU CROP Walk First Presbyterian Church Champaign team raised more than $210 (some has been donated through cash and check and has not yet been counted in that total). Four of us actually walked! Matt is taking the picture and walked with us. We walked 3.4 miles! Champaign Urbana has until Nov.2 to gather all donations. The Champaign Urbana Virtual Walk of which we were a part so far has raised $10,992. There were 14 churches that took part. Last year, our confirmands walked the CROP Walk. The total raised last year in the CU community was more like $30,000. We hope people will continue to give online until the Nov. 2 deadline. Thanks to all who have participated so far. This is a strange year! And, next year let us hope that we can have a crowd walking!! We certainly had fun! FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/CU.CROPWalk     Peace,   Rachel Matthews, Temporary Mission Coordinator   Our Mission Agency Announcements:   Mission Team – 4:30pm, October 13, zoom World Mission – 4:30pm,  October 20, zoom Community Mission Deacons – 4:30pm, October 27, zoom.   Canteen Run – Needs: toothpaste razors Men’ briefs-all sizes men’s long sleeved shirts-all sizes men’s gloves men’s light-weight jackets-all sizes men’s winter coats-all sizes comb and/or brushes men’s socks drivers and coordinators, drivers you need to go to https://app.betterimpact.com/login/volunteer?fbclid=IwAR0sd231L4YmKVA9OAv95dsXvSWNXVuvIapUgY_G3lt0fA3VE7c3exdK9Jw   You can check Canteen Run out on Facebook, and twitter canteenrun@ Canteen Run.   CYF – Have you ever considered teaching middle schoolers or high schoolers with our own Children, Youth and Families? See Mindy@firstpres.church if you would like to help our educational mission!   Environmental Stewardship Committee Adopt-a-Highway – October 6 at 9am. Bring your own gloves and sign a waiver and release form prior to coming. Rachel can email you a copy. We pick up trash up and down State Street and Westside Park.   Friends of PEB – The Pakistan group had a surprise visit from a friend of Friends of PEB, Lynn Miller, who was traveling through Champaign this past week from up in Minnesota. Some of you met her on one of our trips to Pakistan to visit PEB and the Sangla Hill girls school. Traveling mercies for her and prayers for her mother, who Lynn was on her way to see. Also, we have been learning as a group how difficult it is to be a non-government organization (NGO) in Pakistan and all the audits and agencies NGOs are accountable to. Supporting education in Pakistan is no small feat! We are proud of them. The girls at Sangla Hill who we support received high academic marks recently on their annual achievement tests. FOPEB are in their scholarship drive seeking more than 1000 scholarships this year. Educating young women can change the world. Check out their website at www.friendsofpeb.org   Presbyterian Women – The PW books are in!  You should be getting one soon if you ordered it. If you did not and want a copy, Rachel did order extra and you can let her know if you would like one.   Let us keep all our mission partners in our prayers, those who are waiting to go back to their place of ministry and those who are able to work where they are. Listen for God’s call to you in their ministry.   Our PC(USA) Mission CoWorkers: Mark Adams and Miriam Maidonado Escobar (Mexico) Farsijanna Adeney-Risakotta (Indonesia) Jeff and Christi Boyd (Central Africa) Jo Ella Holman (Caribbean and Cuba) – And, for the mission coworker you are preparing to take her place upon her retirement this month. Bob and Kristi Rice (South Sudan)   Our regional and global mission partners: Kemmerer Village (and Camp Carew) Lifeline Pilots Marion Medical Mission Mission Aviation Fellowship Opportunity International Friends of Presbyterian Education Board in Pakistan Presbyterian Cuba Partnership Special Offerings of the PC(USA) Theological Education Fund Young Adult Volunteers   Here in Champaign – Urbana: CU at Home CANAAN S.A.F.E. HOUSE CANTEEN RUN COURAGE CONNECTION DREAAM eMPTY TOMB, INC FAITH IN ACTION JESUS IS THE WAY PRISON MINISTRY THE REFUGEE CENTER RESTORATION URBAN MINISTRY SALT & LIGHT   Here at First Presbyterian Church FPCC Amateur Preachers FPCC Environmental Committee working with Faith in Place FPCC Presbyterian Women FPCC ESL FPCC Children, Youth and Families FPCC Mission Possible/Go and Serve     302 W. Church Street   Champaign, IL 61820   217-356-7238   info@firstpres.church     302 W. Church Street   Champaign, IL 61820   217-356-7238   info@firstpres.church           Attachments: The_Heart_of_Mission_100620.pdf

Monday, October 5, 2020
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Dear Friends,
 
Our Covid-19 Response Team meets tomorrow, Tuesday, at 5:00. Please pray for the team and be in touch with them with your questions/concerns: Peter Yau, Ken Chapman, Ruth Craddock, Judi Geistlinger, Eric Corbin, Tim Young, Mark Schoeffmann, Matt Matthews, Ron Deering.
 
* * *
 
PRIVATE PRAYER… Our Sanctuary will be open for private prayer on THIS Thursday morning October 8^th from 7 to 9 a.m. While there will be no organized service, you may come and sit in the space to pray and meditate. Physical distancing, masks, sign in with temperature check, and registration/contact tracing will be operative. Our worship team will greet and assist you. Only fifty people at a time will be allowed in. Bring your own Bible or hymnals if you wish, as the pew materials have all been removed as a safety precaution. See you on Thursday!
 
* * *
 
The CROP Walk yesterday was fun. Rachel will have pictures (we hope!) in tomorrow’s mailer. I’m told we walked between 3.2—3.4 miles. I think we walked thirty. Funds raised in CROP Walks nationwide support the efforts of Church World Service to transform communities around the globe through just and sustainable responses to hunger, poverty, displacement and disaster. 
 
* * *
 
Wednesday Nights:
 
1^st VESPERS—prayer meeting hosted by our Worship Team
2^nd MISSION TRIP—hosted by our Mission Team
3^rd: DINNER MUSIC—hosted by our Worship Team
4^th WEDNESDAY SUNDAY SCHOOL—hosted by our Spiritual Formation Team
5^th HAPPY HOUR—social time.
 
News:
 
Remember, HELPING HANDS: The Presbyterian Women at First Presbyterian has a committee called “Helping Hands”.  The committee’s goal is to check with people in the congregation that might need help with meals or errands for a period of time due to personal or other family events.   Examples might be:

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

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

Tuesdays Men’s Bible Study 8 am
Join Zoom Meeting

* * *
 
Don’t forget these conversations on PUBLIC SAFETY:  The City of Champaign is pleased to invite you to participate in a community listening session to share your vision for public safety in our community. All residents, business owners and community stakeholders are encouraged to take part. The goal is to help create better communication and understanding between Champaign Police, City Administrators and community members by allowing you to directly voice your thoughts and expectations around policing. Each session will include Chief of Police Anthony Cobb and Police command staff, City Manager Dorothy David, and elected City officials. The listening sessions will be moderated by Dr. Travis Dixon, an American media studies scholar and Professor of Communication at the University of Illinois.

Determining the future of policing in our community should be a collaborative process involving community partnerships, and the first step in that process is to hear from you. Each listening session will be used to gather information from the public so it can be shared with the City Council as they make future public safety policy decisions to best address the needs, interests, and values of our community. Virtual Listening Session Dates:
· Friday, Oct. 9, 1-3 p.m.
· Tuesday, Oct. 13, 6-8 p.m.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the listening sessions will be held electronically using the Zoom meeting platform. More information on how to join and participate, including how to attend via Zoom can be found on the City’s website at  champaignil.gov/CommunityConversations. Please feel free to share this invitation with others. The City looks forward to hearing your input during one of these important listening sessions.
Humor (Hard times need godly laughter): 
 
What is the favorite fruit of twins? Pears.
 
Good Word:
 
Isaiah 58:10-12
 
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
    the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
¹⁰ and if you give yourself to the hungry
    and satisfy the afflicted soul,
then your light shall rise in obscurity,
    and your darkness shall become as the noonday.
¹¹ And the Lord shall guide you continually,
    and satisfy your soul in drought,
    and strengthen your bones;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
    and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
¹² Those from among you shall rebuild the old waste places;
    you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
and you shall be called, the Repairer of the Breach,
    the Restorer of Paths in which to Dwell.
 
Jimmy Carter said: “A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others. It is a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with bluster and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity.” 
 
LET US PRAY:
 
Holy God, help us to remember
that beyond our brief day
is the eternity of your love.
 
(Adapted, Reinhold Niebuhr)
 
Much, much love to you all.
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church