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.
 
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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!
 
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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. 
 
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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.  
 
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Tuesdays Men’s Bible Study 8 am
Join Zoom Meeting

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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