Thursday April 15^th 2021
A Weekday Emailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Dear Friends,
 
I can’t wait for you to meet Janice Harrington. She’s a local poet, U of I professor, children’s book writer, and generally cool person.
 
She’ll be joining us for a Wednesday night zoom in May. I’ll give you plenty of warning. Here’s one of her poems that I’ve shared before (in a sermon, and in these mailers). It’s worth experiencing again:
 
REVIVAL
Janice Harrington
 
Through the cooling dark,
they walk, Lillian, Webster, Riley, Anna,
MacArthur and Eurel, returning
from Heavenly Father and Yes, Jesus!,
from paper fans with little brown
girls in Sunday bonnets “M-hmmmm”
from the communion of sour juice and crackers,
ah weh-lll, from church mothers in nurses’ 
uniforms and rills of sweat spilling from black brows.
Have mercy on us, Father.
Look down upon us, Father, and give us
your blessing, in Jesus’ name . . .
Above a darkened bough, a wing
beats, and in the pitchy shadows crickets
shrill, and a frog repeats, repeats,
repeats. Maybe Anna holds her father’s
hand. Maybe the boys tussle and pitch
stones into darkness while their mother
watches, humming and holding
her Bible more firmly than an ax handle,
or maybe they go weary on and quiet.
It is only their steps you hear, only shifting sand.
 
On a rural route, a family walks
while the night begins its long sermon, 
and the miles go by, and the miles go by.
If an owl calls from that darkness,
then someone will die. If a hound keens
one long, longing vowel, they will shudder.
If a star plummets, that too will have meaning.
This is faith, the road that takes them home.
 
 * * *
 
News:
 
Have you registered to come to church this Sunday?  If not, contact the church office by noon on Friday.  We would love to see you!

Sundays in the Park resume this week but this time at West Side Park.
Join us this Sunday, April 18th and again April 25th from 11:15-Noon.  Starting in May it will be the 2nd and 4th Sundays, same time. Masks will be required.  And yes, Westside park so in-person worshipers can just walk over and join us. 

* * *
 
Humor
 
Thank you, George Carlin: Only in America do banks leave vault doors open and then chain the pens to the counters.
 
 * * *
 
Good Word:
 
(another angle on) Psalm 22
 
 ¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?

¹¹ Do not be far from me,
    for trouble is near
    and there is no one to help.
 
¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
    it is melted within my breast;

My hands and feet have shriveled;^[b]
17 I can count all my bones.
They stare and gloat over me;
¹⁸ they divide my clothes among themselves,
    and for my clothing they cast lots.
 
²⁴ For he did not despise or abhor
    the affliction of the afflicted;
he did not hide his face from me, 
    but heard when I cried to him.
 
Let us pray
 
For me, be it Christ/
be it Christ hence to live/
If Jordan above me shall roll/
No pang shall be mine/
for in death as in life/
Thou wilt whisper/
Thy peace to my soul.
 
Much love to you all.
 
PEACE,
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church