High Quality
Open the downloaded document, and select print from the file menu (PDF reader required).
April 10, 2010
Inside the Courier :
!
A Look at the BriteSide, p. 2
! #$%e'()$ *+((+)$
update, p. 3
! ,+(-+./e( +$ 0**
i-gration rally, p. 3
On the Web:
Easter celebration at FCC full of joy and music
The Easter Sunday cele
"#$%&'()$%)*++)&(,-./0/)$)1".230#),#'34)'5),6&-/#0()5'#)%60)+6&-/#0(78)9'20(%):&%6);$8%'#)<0((&8)=$(/0#8>))?$,6),6&-/)#0,0&@0/)$),$(/A
-free Easter basket with goodies such as biblical books and puzzles, stickers, andcraft kits. Deb Murphy handed out 13 baskets in all.The hymns and choir anthems pulsed with an extra air of celebration as BeckiWhitaker on the tympani and a brass quartet (
Heather Nicole Patton, trumpet; KrisBloomquist, trumpet; Chris Fulton, trombone; Orin Larson, trombone) joined in.
;$8%'#)B#&%078)80#2'()'()1C)D'%)'5)D$.E684)#02&(/0/)-&8%0(0#8)%6$%)%60)F08.
r-
#0,%&'(G)-&H0)-$.E6%0#G)1%$H08):6$%)&8)/$#H)$(/)%.#(8)&%)&()%')8'2
e
%6&(E)%6$%)&8)-&E6%>4))
Our congregation has sponsored four refugee families over the years, startingwith the Nguyen family in 1980, fol-lowed by the Tun family in 2000, theHtoo family in 2003 and the Fu familyin 2005.A small group from FCC is nowworking with Refugee Services, a divi-
First steps being taken to sponsor refugee family
sion of the Minnesota Council of Churches, to get ready to help another family settle in the Minneapolis area.Household goods and furniture will be needed, so if you have items another family could use, contact WarrenWestphal or Martha Harris to find outhow and when to donate.
Christian Courier
Fir
st
Chri
st
ian Chur
c
h o
f
Minn
e
apoli
s
(Di
s
c
ipl
e
s
o
f
Chri
st
)
Page 2April 10, 2010
Pastor Bob Brite
Living with both crucifixion and
resurrection
April 10, 2010
That’s the point of the Chri
s
-
t
ian journ
e
y:
t
o liv
e
a
s
c
i
t
i-
0ens of heaven while we’re
h
e
r
e
on
e
ar
t
h
.Christ is risen! One of the thingsthat so surprises me on a regular basis is just how much we livecrucifixion and resurrection inour lives, and how the two areintertwined. Every pain, strug-gle, disappointment can be spiri-tually connected to crucifixion;every discovery, joy, movementforward has its connection to re-surrection. Sometimes a resur-rection experience can imme-diately be followed by a crucifix-ion one, even though we normal-ly think of it being the other wayaround.The whole point of the crucifix-ion/resurrection connection is to provide us with opportunity togrow. Souls who run from paininstead of facing it will never know the strengthening power of crucifixion experiences, nor willthey know the heights of joy thata resurrection context can pro-vide, nor will they have the con-fidence of death being only achange, rather than an end.As I said in my Easter sermon,one of the marks of Christians is
%6$%)%60A)/'(7%)50$#)/0$%6>))I1<0$%6)6$8)-'8%)&%8)8%&(EG4)$8)%60)
Scriptures say.) While I stillhave a lot of trepidation aboutdying
J
K)/'(7%)#0$--A):$(%)%')E')%6#'.E6)%60)%'.E6)8%.55)K7@0)800()
so many times to get to death
J
Itrust in God to provide heavenlyreality for me. In fact I try to livewith a sense of heaven in my
2&/8%G)60#0)$(/)(':>))L6$%78)%60
point of the Christian journey: tolive as citizens of heaven while
:07#0)
here on earth.Have a blessed Resurrection sea-son, even if there are a few cruci-fixions here and there during thetimes.
K7/)-&H0)%')800)MNO)'()=.(/$AP
Bob
A Look at the Brite Side
In our prayers
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
.
We pray in thanksgiving for all our
r
e
gular and gu
e
s
t mu
s
i
c
ian
s
who brought us beautiful, worshipful music for Easter; for
F
e
rn Ri
s
ing
e
r
,now in rehab recovering from back problems, and also for
Bob Ri
s
ing
e
r
;for
!"s$or (ri$e’s former f"$.er
-in-law
who recently had quadruple by-ass surgery; for
/ris$en 1"2koski’s sis$er
-in-law Sharon
who is under-going chemotherapy; for
De5 67r8.y’s mo$.er
having hip replace-ment surgery, and for
D
e
b
78)5''%)&(Q.#A)%#0$%20(%R)5'#)%60)5$2&-A)-'8%)&()
the fire in south Minneapolis, and the family in Woodbury who lost their home but escaped injury from a fire; for those dead and missing minersalong with their families from Whitesville, WV; for those fighting addic-tions and in joy for those finding sobriety through Christ; for all our homebound, including
Audr
e
y Han
s
on
and
H
e
l
e
n Smith
. Amen
.
Christian Courier Page 3
Anderson mission update
Ron and Judy An-derson, former members of FCC,are still keeping busy with missionwork. Ron recentlyshared this updateon their adventures:
1S./A)$(/)K)830(%)TU)/$A8)&()=-&/0--G)D'.&8&$($)
on the alternate spring break build. A hugechurch/community Missions Center building is being built at FCC Slidell, Louisiana, for jointuse by the church and mission stations. The ex-terior dimensions of the building are 40ft X80ft. We also worked on several homes thatneeded a great deal of repair in the area. Thesecond week we were there over 100 young people were there. You can check out picturesat the blog site: gd4jc.org
Blessings to all, Ron and Judy
K5)A'.)-''H)$%)%60)3&,%.#08)F'()20(%&'(8G)A'.7--)800)
his familiar suspenders as he helps raise the trussesfor the Mission Center.
Dining Out for a good cause
Want to go out for dinner with friends and do goodat the same time? On April 29, restaurants in theTwin Cities will participate in Dining Out for Life,an annual event where eateries donate a portion of their proceeds to help the Aliveness Project, a localcharity that provides nutritious meals to those withHIV/AIDS.First Christian is taking part and would like toget a group to go to a local restaurant. If you areinterested, please sign up in the Lounge after ser-vice on April 11.
Camp Registration due April 18
The Christian Conference Center in Newton,Iowa, offers summer camp experiences for all ages,from Pee Wee camp for kids up to 2nd grade, toJunior, Chi Rho and CYF Conference camps, tograndparents-
E#$(/,6&-/#0(78),$23G)%')C/.-%)
Couples Canoe camps. Information about all theseand more can be found at this website:www.uppermidwestcc.org/ministries_camp.html. Registration forms, available online at theabove website, should be in the church office byApril 18 so that all forms may be sent together
.
Disciples join in Washington, D.C.rally for immigration reform
A diverse group of people from allwalks of life ga-thered on the Na-tional Mall inWashington, D.C.on Sunday, March21 to march insupport of compre-hensive immigra-tion reform. Dis-ciples could befound among thecrowd, includingrepresentatives of Disciples Home Missions and itsRefugee and Immigration Ministries, Global Min-istries, the Disciples Justice Action Network, andDisciples Haitian immigrant groups. General Mi-nister and President Sharon Watkins gave the in-vocation for the three-hour March for America.Watkins also preached the interdenominationalworship service for Ecumenical Advocacy Days(EAD) earlier that morning. EAD's annual meetingcoincided with the rally and also focused on immi-gration. To read a review of Watkins' sermon, visit:http://www.ncccusa.org/news/100321eadwatkins.html Numerous faith leaders, including Watkins, metwith White House and Congressional leaders thenext day, Monday, March 22, to call for just, hu-mane immigration reform policies. Click here for more: snurl.com/v21jv
Add a Comment