Weekday Email to Members and Friends – 2020-10-28
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
To Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
Dear Friends,
WEDNESDAY NIGHT! Sandy Carr is our leader for tonight’s SUNDAY SCHOOL on WEDNESDAY—a study hosted by our Spiritual Formation Team. Our discussion is on a talk by Rachel Held Evans entitled “With an Open Hand.” She says, “I am grateful for doubt in my life because it has taught me that I can be wrong, even in matters of faith. It has made me more humble, more dependent on Christ. So, I am grateful for doubt—it keeps my faith alive.”
Do you have doubts? Or have you become more sure and certain in your faith? Come ready to question and share.
Join Zoom Meeting
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First Pres commits to being in prayer for our community, state, nation, and world on this Election Day. We are asking people to choose 30 minute timeslot(s) when they will be in prayer on Tuesday, November 3rd. Timeslots are available while the polls are open in our community, from 6 AM until 7 PM.
Please sign up here: https://firstpres.
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We are having a weekly alternative face-to-face worship service beginning this coming Sunday, November 1st, 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. (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. I hope you understand. Remember, your Session is doing everything it can to keep everyone safe during this season of pandemic. There is a communicable disease for which we have no cure or vaccine. The best way to safeguard against getting Covid is to limit one’s exposure to it; while we have prepared as safe an environment as possible, and all participants will be required to check in, wear masks at all times, and physically separate, we cannot guarantee that somebody won’t get sick. Those who come to worship come at their own risk.
Whew! This doesn’t 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.
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Our book study on White Fragility concluded last week. One of the things we agreed we could “do” to build a less racist world is to share great books with our children. Don Pippin pulled these titles together for us to consider. Books make great gifts to our kids and grandkids. The authors that are starred have several books published and almost anything by them would be good. What children’s books do you recommend? Let me know, and I’ll publish the titles here. (New titles are at the bottom of the list.)
PRIMARY:
The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander*
Holes in the Sky by Patricia Polacco*
The Old Truck by Jarrett Phumphrey
Goggles by Ezra Jack Keats*
The Girl with a Mind for Math: the Story of Raye Montague by Julia Finley Mosca*
PRE-ADOLESCENT
The Forgotten Girl by India Hill Brown
Rebound by Kwame Alexander*
As Brave as You by Jason Reynolds*
Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson*
JUVENILE
Words with Wings (20 works of art paired with poems by African Americans)
GRAPHIC NOVELS
The Port Chicago 50: disaster, mutiny and the fight for civil rights by Steve Sheinken
Black Panther/Shuri
March, (3 volumes) by John Lewis
BOOKS THAT MATT WOULD ADD:
The Twenty-Third Psalm by Tim Ladwig
The Lord’s Prayer by Tim Ladwig
For Beautiful Black Boys Who Believe in a Better World by Michael W. Water
White Flour by David LaMotte
Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie
Always Room For One More by Nonnie Hogrogian
Making Friends by Fred Rogers
Who Counts? by Levine/Sasso
Down the Road by Alice Schertle
Let It Shine by Asley Bryan
BOOKS THAT CAROL PENKA, OUR CHURCH LIBRARIAN, WOULD ADD:
Class Act by Jerry Craft
New Kid by Jerry Craft
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News
Styrofoam Drop-off Event! Drop of your Styrofoam so we can recycle it. Details are as follows:
· Saturday, October 31 – 9:00 am – 11:00 am
· Have all styrofoam, marked with #6 and a chasing arrow, placed in car trunk (and back seat if you have lots). No “peanuts,” please.
· Please wear a mask
· From church parking lot, turn east onto Doxology Lane
· Volunteers, wearing masks and gloves, will pick up the styrofoam from your car and deliver it to DART to be recycled
If you can, try to avoid styrofoam containers but the next best thing is to save the containers for our next Styrofoam Drop-off Event.
Thanks from your Environmental Stewardship Committee
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KITCHEN, KITCHEN: What is your vision for our new kitchen? After Covid, should we have weekly Sunday brunches? Monthly dinners? Community meals? Sunday Night Jazz? What ministry awaits us? Ideas? Please be in touch with Gary Peterson (or me) with thoughts. Thanks.
Humor (Hard times need godly laughter):
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From Skip Pickering: Logic from an uncluttered Mind
A teacher was giving a lesson on the circulation of the blood Trying to make the matter clearer, she said, “Now, class, if I stood on my head, the blood, as you know, would run into it, and I would turn red in the face.”
“Yes,” the class said.
“Then why is it that while I am standing upright in the ordinary positions the blood doesn’t run into my feet?”
A little fellow shouted, “Cause your feet ain’t empty.”
Good Word:
1 John 3:1-3
1See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is whatwe are.
LET US PRAY:
The following prayer by Michel Quoist explores the color green as a healing color, so this prayer might fit better in the season of spring when our Tree Cities shuck the brown and flower in myriad shades of resplendent greet. But, as Quoist talks about “green,” consider the beautiful, healing colors of fall. I’m praying this prayer this week. Join me in doing so.
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Green Blackboards
by Michel Quoist
The school is up-to-date.
Proudly the Principal enumerates all the improvements.
The finest discovery, Lord, is the green blackboards.
The scientists have studied the matter at length, they have made
experiments;
We now know that green is the ideal color, that it doesn’t tire
the eyes, that it is quieting and relaxing.
It has occurred to me, Lord, that you didn’t wait so long to paint
the trees and the meadows green.
Your research laboratories were efficient, and in order not to tire
us, you perfected a number of shades of green for your
modern meadows.
And so, the “finds” of humankind consist in discovering what you have
thought from time immemorial.
Thank you, Lord, for being the good parent who gives your
children the joy of discovering by themselves the treasures
of your intelligence and love.
But keep us from believing that by ourselves we have invented
anything at all.
Much, much love to you all.
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church
