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January 9, 2010
Inside the Courier
:
!
A Look at the BriteSide, page 2
!
FCC news in brief, page 3
!
Reflections on theword, page 4
On the Web
New %ear’s *esolutions
A Letter from Pat Dunlop
! #$%ent )onsp-ra012 pa3e
Well, 2009 has left us and now weare embarking on a new path in 2010.Every year I think about what New
4ear’s resol7t-ons 8 sho7l$ :a;e an$
how I can motivate myself to followthrough on these. Perhaps as achurch family each of us should con-
s-$er <hat =e< 4ear’s resol7t-ons
will help us grow and transform as afamily of faith.Perhaps I should resolve to followthrough on the challenge given to us by Bob to invite a complete stranger to church with us. Perhaps I shouldresolve to join-in on our mission out-reach opportunities and volunteer with FCC at Feed My Starving Child-ren, Groveland Food Shelf, Immi-grant Relief Assistance, or Communi-ty Emergency Services, or becomeinvolved in the new worship and spi-ritual exploration experience that Boband Dennis will soon be bringing toour church. Maybe I should resolve
to >
pray
>
pray every day
>
pray
?or @o$’s =e< 4ear Aesol
utions.I often find myself more than willingto decide what should be resolved, but more often than not, I also find
that <hen 8’: ?a0e$ <-th a0t7all1 ?o
l-lowing through I have all sorts of excuses why I don
’
t. Perhaps therea
son 8’: so eas-l1 $e?eate$ -s that
the resolutions only have
an B8C 0o
m- ponent and not the
w
e
component of God working through and with me.
Dat E7nlop 3-%-n3 )h-l$ren’s Fal; on Fhan;s3-
ving
For the last 6 years while I have servedas board vice-chair and chair I have beentrying to discern what is in the best in-
terest o? o7r 0o::7n-t1G 8’%e not $one
this alone but with the many members of our body who served with me on com-mittees; with those of you who talkedwith us about our future; and with allwho prayed for our deliberations anddiscernment daily.As we transition to new leadership weneed to pray, more fervently, and listen
?or @o$’s resol
utions; for how we are to be a community in the future and whatthat community will look like. We needto trust in the change of the future and inthe surprises that we encounter. As Bob
so o?ten sa1s2 B@o$2 t
he practical joker that she is,
C
has a way of presenting themost wonderful coincidences and oppor-tunities if we are listening.May this New Year be our best listeningyear yet!In peace and love, Pat Dunlop
Christian Courier
Fir
st
Chri
st
ian Chur
c
h o
f
Minn
e
apoli
s
(Di
s
c
ipl
e
s
o
f
Chri
st
)
Page 2
Pastor Bob Brite
A Thank-You for Faith Sharing Efforts
We pray for
Enid Griffin
,
<ho bro;e her ar: -n a ?all on =e< 4ear’s Ea1
and
D
e
b Murphy
, who rebroke her foot; for
Barbara D
e
an
and
Corri
e
Brit
e
, recovering from recent surgery, and
Mary Lou Cain
, whose shoul-der infection was treated successfully; for traveling mercies to
Amy andSt
e
v
e
Dunlop
who will soon leave for work in Tanzania and Thailand, andfor
Garry H
e
ss
e
r
, leaving Jan. 17 for a journey to South Africa, Ethiopiaand other countries; in thanksgiving for the
Art of th
e
Cov
e
nant
class;for wisdom and discernment for
n
e
w board m
e
mb
e
r
s
and
Tom Curry
,the new Board Chair; for
Elaine Tucker’s cousin
who is returning fromservice in Afghanistan, and for all those serving our country as well as their families who wait for them; for
Audr
e
y Han
s
on
and
Bob Ri
s
ing
e
r
andother homebound members as well as all those in and beyond our churchfamily, Amen.
In Our Prayers
“Every additional person
in wor
s
hip
m
e
an
s
t
ha
t
a n
e
w r
e
la
t
ion
s
hip
c
an b
e
st
ar
t
e
d or an old r
e
la
t
ion-
s
hip r
e
newed”
On Christmas Sunday, we
$-$n’t h-t IJK people -n <o
r-ship, but we did have an in-crease in attendance of 60%over our average and, in spiteof the weather, about 15 peoplemore in our Christmas Eve ser-vice than my recollection of last year.
=o<2 8’: not tr1-n3 to pla1 a
numbers game here, but instead
8’: tr1-n3 to po-nt
out thatevery additional person in wor-ship means that a new relation-ship can be started or an oldrelationship renewed.
Fhat’s the p7rpose o? )hr-st-an
community, and particularlythat needs to be the calling of everyone in the life of thecommunity. The body of Chr-ist here at FCC will, guided by
@o$’s sp-r-t Lhope?7ll1M2 3ro<
in number because we grow inthe spirit of relationship.
No2 8’: not 3o-n3 to be sha%-n3
my beard at this time (but will probably offer it up as a futuregoal); however, I am going tosend some cash to regional
:-n-str1 to sa1 BFhan; 1o7C to
the congregation for engagingin the efforts of faith-sharing,as well as to encourage you to
B;eep -t 7pGC
I also wish to offer a word of thanks to all who providedwonderful munchies, though-tful notes, and other things dur-ing the Advent Christmas sea-
sonG 8’: st-ll enOo1-n3 so:e o?
the munchies! Bless you for the blessing you are to me.
8’$ l-;e to see 4PQ on N7n$a12
Bob
A Look at the Brite Side
Gra
c
iou
s
God
,
w
e
li
ft
up
t
h
e
s
e
p
e
r
s
on
s
in our pray
e
r
s
,
a
s
k
- ing
t
h
e
bl
e
ss
ing o
f
your Gra
ce
and ou
t
- pouring o
f
your Lov
e
upon
t
h
e
m
.
January 9, 2010 Page 3
FCC News in Brief
New study groups, offerings, and much more
Rick Bowman earns certification
Congratulations to our building manager Rick Bowman on his recent certification by the Minne-sota Department of Labor and Industry as a Li-censed Boiler Engineer (2-C). Rick's achievementwill help assure that our heating plant is operatingsafely and efficiently, and will result in loweringour costs for contracted engineering services.Thanks, Rick!
Prayer Circle hoping to restart
A Sunday morning prayer circle began this pastsummer, meeting in the library at 9am. Pastor Dennis Sanders is trying to gauge interest in res-tarting the Prayer Circle on Sundays at 9:15am.People would gather and read a devotional and a piece of Scripture and then pray for those on the prayer list. The prayer circle would keep to a timelimit of 20-30 minutes.If you are free and able to attend, please contactPastor Sanders at:associatepastor@fccminneapolis.org. I look forward to hearing from
you.
90th Birthday celebration for Stan Moe
Longtime FCC member Stan Moe will celebratehis 90th birthday on January 10, 2010, from 1-3:30pm at Summer House, 9850 Lyndale Ave. S.,Bloomington, MN (55420). Contact Nancy Hall,
Ntan’s $a73hter2 ?or :ore -n?or:at-onG R -s SJI
-431-1949.
DisciplesWorld ceases publication
DisciplesWorld, the award-winning journal of news, opinion, and mission for theChristianChurch (Disciples of Christ),will cease publicationafter almost eight years. The magazine publishersno longer have sufficient resources to publish dueto declining subscription and advertising revenueand charitable gifts.The last issue of the magazine will be the Jan-Feb2010 issue. Information about obtaining this issue, back issues, a history of the magazine, website in-formation and other details about the dissolving of DisciplesWorld can be found at:http://tinyurl.com/DisciplesWorldDissolves
!"#ahl' o*era offerin0s hel* su**ort
Feed My Starving Children
Offerings made for the Advent opera
A
m
ahl and
t
h
e
Nigh
t
Vi
s
i
t
or
s
, presented at FCC on Dec. 19,came to $1450. With a matching offering from theOutreach committee, the total donation for FeedMy Starving Children came to $2900, enough to provide 17,000 meals.
Study of Spiritual Disciplines
The Sunday morning Adult Sunday School Classhas begun a 13-week of Richard Foster's book
C
e
l-
e
bra
t
ion o
f
Di
s
c
iplin
e
and scripture. The class willstudy the 12 spiritual disciplines: inward discip-lines (meditation, prayer, fasting, study), outwarddisciplines (simplicity, solitude, submission, ser-vice), and corporate disciplines (confession, wor-ship, guidance and celebration). All are welcome tocome and check it out!!!
Wednesday Group begins spiritual study
How would you describe your faith with God?Could you describe it to others?If you have trouble answering either question, youmight want to join us on Wednesday Evenings at6pm. The Wednesday Lectionary Group begins an8-week study on spiritual growth and faith sharing.We will be using the guide
Tal
k
ing Fai
t
h
, a curri-culum designed for mainline Christians to be ableto share their faith with others as part of a conver-sation and not to as a way to coerce others. All arewelcome to take part!
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