March 13, 2010

Inside the Courier :

•

A Look at the BriteSide, page 2

• Easter Week

schedule, page 3

On the Web:

blogMore art and reflec-tions from Deb Mur-phyLenten reflectionsfrom National CityChristian ChurchFCC Flickr photosfrom Fat Sunday

“Young Trees”: A Lenten reflection

by Deb Murphy

I personally love this picture of thekids with Bob Brite. We had to printit in black and white for the bulletincover, but the color version here andon the website is vibrant! This wastaken during the Children

’s Moment

on February 14th, hence all the red.Bob is ata tablewith thekids, sur-roundedby the restof us attables be-cause of the dinnerafter theworshipservice.If you look closely, there is a lot of life in this picture. Bob was gesturingat the moment I took the picture, sohis hand is blurred with movement.Fletcher is moving closer to see

what’s in the basket. Elizabeth has

turned around to look at her mom.Tristan has turned toward Nancy.Aidan is reaching out to the little girl

in Val’s

lap. (The two Masons are outof sight -

but being active, I’m sure.)

Earl is watching intently. There arefresh red tulips. Again, if you look

closely, you’ll notice communion

-the bread and the cup - on the tables,symbolic of new life in Christ.Why did I title this picture

Young Trees

?Two things contributed to the title. Oneis the lectionary Gospel (Luke 13: 6-9)for Sunday, March 7. The owner of avineyard wants to get rid of a fig tree

that hasn’t pr

oduced any fruit in thethree years since it was planted. Thegardenerbegged tobe allowedto aeratethe soil andfertilize thetree to helpit produce.I see thechildren asthe youngtrees in ourvineyardthat need both physical and spiritual nur-turing and sustenance. And if you look at the picture again, these trees of oursare surrounded by a large roomful of gardeners. The second reading that con-tributed to the title came from a recenthomework assignment. In his book

FivePractices of Fruitful Congregations

,Robert Schnase makes reference tomembers of the congregation "plantingseeds for trees whose shade they willnever see." (p.108)

I’m awfully fond of shade trees. As their gardeners, let’s be sure ours continue to

grow tall and strong, providing shadeand bearing fruits of the Spirit.

Christian Courier

First Christian Church of Minneapolis (Disciples of Christ)

Page 2

Pastor Bob Brite

New worship service still a question mark

Christian Courier

Some people have asked in thelast couple of months about the

new worship service we’re

looking at starting; it was ap-proved in the budget for 2010.After chewing the matter overin the Transition Team, thematter came down to an official

“maybe.” The question comes

down to the investment of ownership

–

time and effort

–

by the congregation of FCC.When that comes together itwould be time to start the time-table towards getting thatgoing. If anyone is interestedin putting in some of that timeand effort, please feel free to letme know by e-mail or in per-son. I hope to be getting agroup together in a few weeksto start some conversation onthe subject.The discussions and work of the Transition Team have beendeep, fruitful, frustrating,confusing and, bit by bit, pro-

gressive. We’ve had meetings

with other congregations, readthrough books, prayed togethera fair amount, and are in theprocess now of discussionabout how to bring the congre-gation as a whole into the manyand varied issues facing thiscongregation and its future.I am so impressed with thefaithfulness, intelligence, andwisdom of this group: BobbieHall, Skip Wolverton, TomCurry, Pat Dunlop, Val Dun-ham, and Martha Harris. Den-

nis and I are both “chi

ping in”

in the process.As we continue the journeythrough Lent, please pray forthese folk as we continue towork hard towards letting God

be the Creator of FCC’s future.

I’d like to see

YOU on Sunday,Bob

A Look at the Brite Side

In our prayers

Gracious God, welift up these personsin our prayers, ask-ing the blessing of your Grace and out- pouring of your Loveupon them.

We pray for health and healing for

Pat Carter

Dorothy Wilkins, Ri-chard Schwersinske

Janice Brady

and

John Takekawa

who have allexperienced health issues in recent weeks; for

John Billman

as he ad- justs to his new living situation; for friends and family members of

Kirs-ten Cackoski

who are suffering from grief, illness and life’s difficulties;

for

Clyde Bouler

as he grieves over the loss of his grandmother;

for

Mike and Janice Brady’s daughter Becky

as she moves with her fami-ly to Iowa; for the

congregation of Tiempo Nuevo

as they move loca-tions, that they may continue to grow; for all those affected by earth-quakes in Chile and Haiti, and for individuals and agencies who are of-fering help and support; for all our homebound members, especially

Velma Fancher

and

Stanley and Elaine Moe

, Amen.

March 13, 2010

Time for EasterFlower orders

Prayer Vigil sign up

Mark your calendars for Easter Week services

Page 3

Camp Registrations due April 18

It's time to register for church camp. Camp forms are available inthe church office and on line at:www.uppermidwestcc.org/ministries_camp.html. Please have your form in to the church office by April 18 so thatall forms may be sent together

Make sure that you mark in your calendar thefollowing times for worship and prayer in the lastweek of March/first week of April:

Maundy Thursday

–

we begin with the Pastor’s

Soup Supper at 5: 30, followed by a service of footwashing and communion at 6:30. Pastor Bobis putting together three delicious soups -- Chili,Chicken Barley, and Lentil Sausage

–

with the

help of Sandy Morgan; it’s meant to be a simple

meal commemorating the simple meal of thePassover at which Jesus added the observance of Holy Communion. People should also wear ap-propriate footwear for the foot washing obser-vance in worship, though a hand-washing optionwill be available.

Prayer Vigil

-- following the prayer service willbe the beginning of our overnight prayer vigil, in ex-

ample of Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Get

hsemane.The sanctuary will be available by sign-up for 30 or 60minute intervals from the end of the service to mid-night; then people will be encouraged to sign up forprayer in their homes from midnight to 9:00, whereu-pon the sanctuary then becomes available again. The

prayer vigil ends at 3:00 p.m., the “ninth hour” of the

day when Jesus died, at the time he gave up his Spirit.

Good Friday

–

our Good Friday service will begin at7:00 p.m., in observance of the day that Jesus died.

Easter Sunday

–

Easter Sunday morning begins withbreakfast at 9 am, regular classes at 9:15, and worshipat 10:30 featuring special music with brass and tympa-ni, and joyful prayer to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in our lives!!Orders will be taken in thelounge Sunday, March 14 andMarch 21 for Easter flower. Thelast day to order is March 23.You may leave orders in thechurch office or e-mail them tofcc-mpls@qwest.net

This year’s plants are Tulips

(red, pink, yellow) and Hyacinths(mix and solid colors) at $6.50;Easter lilies (white or pink & yel-low hybrid), 5-8 blossoms for$7.50 or 12 blossoms for $15.Lilies can be planted in outdoorgardens.Questions? Ask Beverly Sin-gewald or call the church office.Those interested in participat-

ing in this year’s Prayer Vigil

(described above) can sign up onsheets in the Fireplace Lounge,call the church office, or callShirley Draine at 1-877-243-2823 (dial 651-459-9602 whenprompted).A special small section will beset up in the church sanctuary asthe prayer space. There will beprayer study helps there to helpfocus your prayer time if youneed them.

March means MN Foodshare

In 2009, almost 14 percent of Minnesota households did notave enough money to buy food,and those numbers will increasein 2010.Our goal at FCC ths year is toraise $500 and 500 pounds forGroveland Foodshelf duringMarch.You can drop off your non-perishable food item in the BigBarrel in the narthex, or put con-tributions in the offering plates

(mark “foodshelf” on check

memo line).