Ongoing Response to COVID-19
Weekday Email to Members and Friends – 2020-04-09
Thursday April 9th 2020
A Weekday Emailer from
Matt Matthews
To Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
Dear Friends,
Today is the 5th day of Holy Week.
It’s “Maundy* Thursday.”
When I think of today, I think of the Jimmy Buffet song “Come Monday.” I used to think the word “Maundy” was a strange way to say Monday. As a kid I had no idea what Maundy Thursday (or, Monday Thursday) was. Except that it was a service of worship to which my family went. It was dark. It was mysterious. We had communion. The cross felt like an ominous presence, like it might fall over from that hill and crush us all. Every word was spoken with an edge of inevitability, drenched in the smell of burial spices.
Tonight, come to our online service (go to FirstPres.Live for ways to find us. Or, Facebook). We’ll have communion, so bring a cracker and juice. I’ll be there. You’ll be there. Who knows, in these days of electronic connectivity, maybe even Jimmy Buffet will show up. All comers are welcome.
See you tonight.
Bless you all.
News:
Book loans! This note from Ginny Waaler:
Good Morning friends, I like Nancy’s idea of sharing books. Just recently, some of my college friends recommended Where the Crawdads Sing. Does anyone have it and would like to share it with me?
Jack has tons of books that he would be glad to share. Let us know. Jack’s lending library includes:
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Return to the Reich by Eric Lichtblau
Thank you for Being Late by Thomas L. Friedman
Herndon’s Lincoln, Edited by Douglas Wilson and Rodney O. Davis
Stay well! Ginny
Good Friday is tomorrow. Join us for our on-line service at 7:00 p.m. Go to FirstPres.Live
Humor from Tanya Deckert: Still haven’t decided where to go for Easter—the Family Room or the Living Room.
Good Word:
John 13:1-17; 34-35
13Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper 3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4got up from the table,* took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. 6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ 7Jesus answered, ‘You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ 8Peter said to him, ‘You will never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.’ 9Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!’ 10Jesus said to him, ‘One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet,* but is entirely clean. And you* are clean, though not all of you.’ 11For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, ‘Not all of you are clean.’
12 After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? 13You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. 14So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16Very truly, I tell you, servants* are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. 17If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
. . . 34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
Let us pray
Write your blessed name,
O Lord, upon my heart,
there to remain so indelibly
engraven, that no prosperity,
no adversity,
shall ever move me from your love.
Be to me a strong tower of defense,
a comforter in tribulation,
a deliverer in distress,
a very present help in trouble,
and a guide to heaven
through the many temptations and dangers of this life.
[Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380–1471)]
Much love to you all.
PEACE,
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church
* “Maundy” means “mandate” from which we derive the word “command.” Tonight we remember Jesus’ new command to love one another.
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Weekday Email to Members and Friends – 2020-04-08
Wednesday April 8th 2020
A Weekday Emailer from
Matt Matthews
To Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
Dear Friends,
Remember, when you get an email from my personal account, it is from Matt@FirstPres.Church. If it comes from somewhere else, asking to be in touch with me immediately, or asking for money or gift cards, it is NOT me. Please forgive the solicitations which insist on coming from “Matt Matthews” or “Pastor Matthews” but are not me. Argh…
In better news, Nancy and Dave Whitford are back from Hilton Head. Nancy wrote with this idea:
I have an idea for another way to add to our sense of community. We could start a book exchange. Since the public library and bookstores are closed, why don’t we set up a book sharing program? Many of us do this informally anyway.
For example, I have a copy of The Dutch House, by Anne Patchett, and currently on the best seller list. I shared it with several people in Hilton Head and now it’s sitting on the shelf in my family room. If anyone would like to borrow it, they can call me and I’ll put it on my front porch for them to pick up. Or, if they can’t get out, I’ll put it on their front porch.
Members could provide a list of books they think others would enjoy, and the church facilitates this community by sharing the information via email. When Miriam Chenault called me last week to check on us, she mentioned that Ginnie Waaler’s book club had a Zoom meeting. As an example, members of that group could share the book they discussed.
Also, I enjoyed Kristi Corbin’s bread recipe, perhaps others could post favorite “shelter at home” comfort food recipes. In short, how about making the daily email more interactive?
Nancy has these books for immediate loan: The Dutch House, Devil in the White City, Being Mortal, and several of the Miss Julia Books. Her email is: nancy@whitfordconsultants.com
News:
Maundy Thursday Service of Worship, 7:00 p.m., tomorrow. Go to FirstPres.live for log-in instructions, or the Facebook page of First Presbyterian Church Champaign.
Good Friday Service of Worship (with Methodist friends), 7:00 p.m. Friday. Go to (where? you should have this committed to memory) FirstPres.live for log-in instructions, or the Facebook page of First Presbyterian Church Champaign.
“These Days” (April) a daily devotional available online:
https://mcusercontent.com/
Humor from Tanya Deckert: Hey creative community! Just a reminder that Shakespeare was quarantined for the plague when he wrote King Lear. No pressure!!!
Good Word:
Matthew 26:6-16
6 Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. 8 But when the disciples saw it, they were angry and said, “Why this waste? 9 For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum, and the money given to the poor.” 10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service for me. 11 For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. 12 By pouring this ointment on my body she has prepared me for burial. 13 Truly I tell you, wherever this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”
14 Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What will you give me if I betray him to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.
Let us pray
Almighty and eternal God,
so draw our hearts to you,
so guide our minds,
so fill our imaginations,
so control our wills,
that we may be wholly yours,
utterly dedicated unto you;
and then use us, we pray, as you will,
but always to your glory
and the welfare of your people,
through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
[William Temple (1881–1944)]
Much love to you all.
PEACE,
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church
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Weekday Email to Members and Friends – 2020-04-07
To Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
Dear Friends,
A Holy Week prayer:
Gracious God we thank you for the blessings, large and small, that, by grace, we have discovered in this deadly pandemic that grips the world you love. We thank you for the ways we have seen life anew: with deeper, more sacred appreciation.
Bless all those working to relieve suffering, to find a cure, and serving others with open hands in a no-touch season. Help and heal those who are sick.
And forgive us.
Forgive us for, until now, taking our lives and freedoms for granted. Forgive us for the times in our recent past when we avoided connecting with others when they so desperately sought holy fellowship in us. Forgive us for the important things we kept putting off that needed doing at that kairos moment-now-past. Forgive us for the ways we looked backwards to the past or forward to the future and disregarded the many graces of the present moment. Forgive us for our addictions to sensationalism, false modesty, and car-crash curiosity.
Forgive our sin.
Unburden us from all that which keeps us from living deeply and serving humbly and gladly.
We ask it in Christ’s holy name. AMEN.
News:
Here’s a link to the newest Heart of Missions, our “Mission” newsletter update. Click here: https://www.firstpres.
Remember, when you get an email from my personal account, it is from Matt@FirstPres.Church. If it comes from somewhere else, asking to be in touch with me immediately, or asking for money, it is NOT me. Please forgive the solicitations which insist on coming from “Matt Matthews” or “Pastor Matthews” but are not me. Argh…
DO BEES HAVE KNEES? If YOU think YOU are working hard these days, consider the BEES. Charles “Stretch” Armstrong shared this video from the beehive in his back yard. It’s glorious! Click here to see it: https://www.youtube.com/
Some of you have shared pandemic HUMOR. This is from Beth Holm:
Three of my fav hobbies:
1.) Eating out of restaurants
2.) Shopping at non-essential businesses
3.) Touching my face.
Good Word:
Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,
sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
Let us pray
From Augustine (I love the mention of restless waves)
O God, full of compassion,
I commit and commend myself to you,
in whom I am, and live, and know.
Be the goal of my pilgrimage, and my rest by the way. Let my soul take refuge
from the crowding turmoil of worldly thought beneath the shadow of your wings.
Let my heart, this sea of restless waves,
find peace in you, O God. Amen.
Much love to you all.
PEACE,
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church
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Weekday Email to Members and Friends – 2020-04-06
Monday April 6th 2020
A Weekday Emailer from
Matt Matthews
To Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
Dear Friends,
My Friend Kevin Murphy is writing daily reflections on the Psalms to the flock he pastors in Xenia, Ohio. Last week, townsfolk remembered a local tragedy from years before. Here are Kevin’s words:
Earlier this week I was reminded by a long-time resident of the significance of this day for Xenia. It was in 1974 on April 3rd that a half-mile wide tornado hit Xenia, killing 34 people, injuring another 1,150 and destroying over half the buildings in town. It was the event that spawned the [merger] of 1st Presbyterian and 2nd Presbyterian to form Memorial United Presbyterian. Personal memories of that fateful day are a part of just about every family’s history. I’ve heard many of those stories. Lives were drastically changed in a few short minutes that day, and those who experienced it will never forget it. Just as our lives are being changed by this virus and we will never forget this spring.
The psalmist has just finished complaining to God when he comes to his right mind and proclaims; And I say, “It is my grief that the right hand of the Most High has changed.” From that point on he can only be amazed at God’s mighty deeds and how it was that God brought the Israelites out of slavery.
I am becoming increasingly amazed at how the right hand of God is in the process, right now, of changing our grief. The fear and anxiousness that marked the beginning of this COVID-crisis has somewhat subsided. (You can now find toilet paper at most stores.) More and more people are taking seriously the restrictions, closures, distancing, staying at home and hand-washing. We are learning new ways to make our lives work during this crisis, new ways of being present for each other while we keep our physical distance. We are checking on our neighbors and calling our family and friends. We are offering money and prayers to those in need. In my mind, that is the amazing work of God changing our grief. Just as God was at work in Xenia following that tornado—changing grief into works of compassion and caring.
May God continue to change our grief.
News:
Good News: Kristie Cozad does not have inflammatory breast cancer!
A Video Message from Matt: Observational arborist? Click here: https://youtu.be/
Good Word:
from Psalm 77
And I say, “It is my grief that the right hand of the Most High has changed.” I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord; I will remember your wonders of old. I will meditate on all your work, and muse on your mighty deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy. What god is so great as our God?
You are the God who works wonders; you have displayed your might among the peoples. When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; the very deep trembled. Your way was through the sea, your path, through the mighty waters; yet your footprints were unseen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Let us pray
This prayer is the first and last verse of the old hymn, “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind”
Dear Lord and God of humankind,
forgive our foolish ways;
reclothe us in our rightful mind,
in purer lives thy service find,
in deeper reverence, praise.
Breathe through the heats of our desire
thy coolness and thy balm;
let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
speak through the earthquake,
wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm! Amen
Much love to you all.
PEACE,
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church
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