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Let’s join together with our ESL family on Thursday at 10 a.m. for friendly conversation. Friends learning English as a second language will get a chance to practice conversation; those of us who grew up speaking English will get a chance to practice listening. We’ll grow together. It’ll be fun. One of our wonderful students from Iran will be giving a presentation about the Persian New Year, Nowruz, which begins on March 21^st. How cool is that? Join us! Here’s the link:
Email zoom@firstpres.church for the link.
 
If you have any questions, please email the ESL Director, Jeanette Pyne, at jeanette@firstpres.church. 

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Daily Lenten Devotion
Wednesday, MARCH 10, 2021
MARK 4:1-9
Jesus’ parable of the sower in Mark 4 prompts reflection on how we have responded
differently – and at varied times in our lives – to the gospel. The seed from the sower
falls in varied places: on the path, the rocky ground, among the thorns and into good
soil. If time and interest allows, you might also read Jesus’ interpretation of the
parable of the sower in Mark 4:13-20.
Practice: Read Mark 4:1-9 slowly and prayerfully, and imagine that
you are part of this scene, observing the sower of seeds. Imagine
the seeds falling in varied places or situations in your life. What
circumstances come to mind, and what thoughts or emotions emerge
as you consider your own life story in conversation with this parable?
Journal: Note in your journal what emerged as you prayed with
this Scripture.

The Heart of Mission
March 9, 2021
 
I have been participating in the Illinois United Way 21 week equity challenge. The map above is a racial dot map of Champaign-Urbana. I had never seen one before. I took a screen shot to share with you. The color dots represent a single person. The map shows how we are segregated by our racial identities because of where we live. You can see blocks of color in Champaign Urbana which means we are racially segregated. Our suburb towns, not shown here, Mohomet and St. Joseph, are blue blocks. Rantoul, not shown, has some green blocks among the blue blocks. Champaign-Urbana is more integrated than some cities (see chart below) but the fact that we can see distinct blocks of color on the map shows we still have work to do.

These kind of charts should inform our intentions in ministry. Often racial segregation means economic differences and places of need. How can we love our neighbor? We can work on understanding and ending these disparities not through handouts but by changing existing laws and offering greater equity in opportunities.
 
Peace,
 
Rev. Dr. Rachel Matthews, Mission Coordinator
 
Below is the continuation of our Lenten practice from the PC(USA) One Great Hour of Sharing material. The full map and activities can be found at pcusa.org/oghsmap. You might want to have a small coin bank (Fish bank, First Pres bank) to collect small coins as you do these activities. If you cannot give coins, think about acts of service you can do for others.
 
 

 
Wednesday, March 10, If you could start a business of your own, what would it be? Give a gift for every good business idea you hear from those you are with.
 
Thursday, March 11, Rainwater is rare in some places, so special collection systems are built to catch the winter so it can be used for growing plants. Give one gift for every day it rained (or snowed) in the past week.

Friday, March 12, Changing weather patterns mean old ways of farming don’t work in some areas anymore, so farmers need to be taught new techniques. Give one gift for every farm  you’ve visited.
 
Saturday, March 13, Over 780 million people around the world can’t get safe water to drink every day, not to mention water for cleaning and cooking. Give a gift for every glass of water you’ve had today.
 
Sunday, March 14, Blankets are used internationally to comfort those impacted by disasters Give a gift for each blanket in your home or find some blankets you can donate.
            Prayer of the week: Dear God, Help us to learn from what others have seen so that we might grow in understanding across lines of difference. Amen. Lectionary: Numbers 21:4-9, Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:14-21
 
Monday, March 15, Hunger-related causes kill tens of thousands every day around the world. Give a gift for meals you’ve had today.
 
Tuesday, March 16, Poverty can make people feel like their wheels are spinning and getting nowhere because of surprise expenses, problems, or illness. Give a gift for every wheel in and around your home that helps your family get places.
 
CU at Home – We are so grateful to CU at Home for all the work they have done this winter. Rick Williams, Ministry Development Assistant, sent out this in the weekly newsletter:
 
Looking out the window this week to see the warm sunshine and our friends back out at the benches by “Frank’s Garden” (photo below), it’s hard to believe that just two weeks ago our parking lot was full of slush and snow and we’d endured the longest stretch of extreme cold in recent memory!
 
February 2021 was a pretty brutal month for our friends. The average temperature was one of the lowest in local history. Our Emergency Shelters and Phoenix Daytime Center operated 24/7 for two straight weeks! Numbers at C-U at Austin’s Place were double those of February 2020, and those at the C-U Men’s Shelter numbers were 20% higher. Altogether, over 2000 nights of care were provided to 188 different people last month.
 
But there was also, as the popular YouTube site would say, “Some Good News!” Over 2700 separate donations came in from individuals, churches, organizations, and businesses in support of One Winter Night 2021! Nine new donors joined our “Hope Givers” initiative ($40/month or $480/year) to help sustain year-round emergency sheltering. With help from the Continuum for Service Providers to the Homeless, the Champaign Urbana Public Health Department held a “pop up” vaccination clinic on site for our friends!

Thank you for your generous support of the services we provide to the most vulnerable members of our community! With your help, we anticipate brighter days, renewed hope, and a positive future for C-U at Home!
 
Courage Connection is still collecting personal hygene items. They are selling two of their houses but is still operating in Champaign-Urbana. if you’ve been noticing in the news lately, domestic violence arrests have been down not because it has gone away but because it has not been reported as readily while children are not in school and around their teachers and peers. Let us pray for the vulnerable.
 
Camp Carew work day invite – If anyone is interested in attending one of these work camps to get Camp Carew set up, please let Rachel know and she will get you the information. These dates are: Saturday,  April 10 and then May 15, 2021.
 
If you are interested in attending a summer camp at Camp Carew, the brochure is out! Let Mindy know if you are interested.
 
Frontera de Cristo on their Coffee, Conversation and Compassion – Join the new Spring series conversation with our mission coworker Mark Adams and his co coordinator, Joca Gallengos. They write, Our Spring series of Coffee and Conversation (see schedule below) begins this Thursday at 4 pm AZ/Sonora time with conversations with Daniel Cifuentes and Carmina Sanchez. Daniel is a former coffee farmer who was displaced in the 1990s by the drop in coffee prices. He is the founding director of production of Café Justo who helped develop the vision of Café Justo so other farmers would not be driven from their land. Carmina began roasting coffee by hand for Café Justo as a teenager and now processes all the orders and manages the exportation and shipping of coffee. This Thursday, there will also be a time to remember in gratitude the founding members of the cooperative who have recently died.  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88650873276
For updates, email “conversation” to office@fronteradecristo.org
 
 

 
Farsijana Adeney-Risakotta, our mission coworker in Indonesia, sent us this video profile of the House of Authentic Sense Cooperative which is developing partnerships and fair trade in Indonesia. You will be interested in this because they are keeping alive a microfinancing grant of $5000 we gave them back in 2015. https://youtu.be/mVrD1Wm3FSU

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)
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
FPCC Mission Team, World Mission and Community Mission Deacons

 
 

 
  302 W. Church Street
  Champaign, IL 61820
  217-356-7238
  info@firstpres.church
 
 

• The_Heart_of_Mission_030921.pdf