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May 8, 2010
Inside the Courier :
•
A Look at the BriteSide, page 2
•
Prayers of joy andconcern, page 2
• FCC board notes,
page 3
• Vacation Bible
School, other news, page 3
On the Web:
A Handy How-To for an Important Meal
Every night of the week, homelessmen get a hot meal and a place tosleep right down the street from FCCat St. Stephens Human ServicesMen
’
s Shelter. First ChristianChurch has committed to serve mealsat this homeless shelter the third Sat-urday of each month. Warren West- phal, who coordinates scheduling for this ministry, reports openings for September, October, and December of 2010. This is a won-derful service opportuni-ty for family groups,friends and couples todivide the costs, prepara-tions and serving.Perhaps you would like
to volunteer, but aren’t
quite sure what serving ameal at St. Stephens real-ly entails. Here is a run-down of what is neededfor the dinner.
R
e
s
pon
s
ibili
t
i
e
s
:
1. Prepare and serve food for 44 menand 6 staff
–
and for your servinggroup.2. Serve at 7 p.m. entering the back door of the building at 2211 ClintonAvenue South. Parking is availablethere.3. Prepare a main dish, vegetable anddessert4. Also provide the following:
plates, cups, plastic spoonsand forks, napkins
4 loaves of bread, a large tub of margarine or butter, a large jar of peanut butter
2 gallons of whole milk
a fruit selection for men to takein their pockets (apple, orange or banana)
Pr
e
para
t
ion Tip
s
Check with Sandy Morgan to use thechurch kitchen for preparations. Largemetal pans can be found inthe pantry behind the door.Wall ovens need 30 mi-nutes to preheat. Someserving groups eat at thechurch at 6:30 before ca-tering the food to the basement hallway at St.Stephens. There is onetable for serving. A serv-ing cart from their kitchenwas used for milk, breadand butter. Allow fivehours for prep to finalcleanup at our church.FCC member Ann Wol
verton’s family
has served meals and adds this note:
“The staff and
men were most apprecia-tive. Most had a good sense of humor and even the quiet men expressedthanks. My daughter and son-in-law areready to help again next year. Skip saysthat it is really easy if you just help
serve.”
Call Warren Westphal at 612-926-8995 to volunteer.
Christian Courier
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Page 2
Pastor Bob Brite
“
Liberty and justice” create tension in politics and in Christian life
May 8, 2010
Gracious God, we lift up these persons inour prayers, asking theblessing of your Graceand outpouring of your Love upon them.
We pray for
Richard Schwersinske
who was recently back in the hospital withpulmonary hypertension; for
Kristin Cackowski
who had surgery recently, andfor
Tom and Nancy Curry’s daughter
Tara
, recovering from shoulder surgery;in celebration with
Nick Rusinak
who celebrated his 90th birthday; with
Dorothy Becker
who will soon be married to
Lester Bakken
; and with
theWolvertons/Wolfes
at the arrival of
Joseph Daniel Wolfe
; in sorrow for thefamilies of the slain and injured policemen in our community and themisguided young men who inflicted such harm; for the steward
ship of God’s
creation, and wisdom in dealing with the Gulf Coast oil spill; for all ourhomebound members includin
Jane
Anderson
and
Lois Swenson
, Amen.
In our prayers
I spent part of each of the lasttwo weekends listening to theDemocratic and Republican stateconventions on the radio, listen-ing to the rhetoric, puzzling over the divisiveness of American politics. The divisiveness has al-ways been a part of the American political system; the nastiness inthe Jefferson-Adams campaigns,or the Jackson-Clay campaigns,are similar to what has gone inrecent years. Majoritarian sys-tems of government always seemto have this good-cop, bad-copflavor to them.I
’ve finally figured out a way
to, very simplistically, explainthe fundamental differences be-tween Democratic and Republi-can phi
losophies (I’ve been
working on this for a while, as
it’s a confu
sing subject.).The tool used is the last phrase of our pledge of alle
giance: “Withliberty and justice for all.” It
seems to me that the Republican
philosophy espouses “liberty for all,” and the Dem
ocratic philoso- phy comes down on the side of
“justice for all.”
Both are important to Ameri-can citizenry, yet the necessarytension between the two is at thecore of American political life.Unbridled liberty results in capi-talistic excess, the fruits of which
we’ve seen in the recent rece
s-sion; unbridled pursuit of justicehas as its natural by-product ex-cessive bureaucracy and policystructures. I can sympathize justas much with the Tea Party sen-timents as I can with liberal ac-tion groups, simply because Irecognize the necessity of hold-ing the two in tension.These same sorts of tensionsexist in Christian life as well.God is a rugged individualist,cherishing each individual souland the gifts he/she brings to thetable of life.Yet God also insists on wehumans working things out incommunity.
“Where two or th
ree are ga-
thered, there am I.” said Jesus,
which means (among other things) that holy life is meant to be relational. What is missing inthe political equation on bothsides are the factors of wisdomand trust (maybe because theformer is rare and the latter has been battered out of existence?).If we are truly Christian, we seek wise rather than expedient solu-tions. If we are truly Christians,we behave in a trustworthy man-ner. Perhaps if our culture weremore truly Christian, in fact ra-ther than in label, the tensions between liberty and justice could be lessened.
I’d like to see YOU on Sunday
Bob
A Look at the Brite Side
Congrats!
We rejoice with the Wolver-ton-Wolfe family at the arrivalof Joseph Daniel Wolfe onMay 4, 2010, 5 pounds 11 oz.He is the son of Kristin & DanWolfe, grandson of Ann &Skip Wolverton. L
’
chaim!
Christian Courier Page 3
Board Notes
FCC News Briefs: New Adult Class, Vacation Bible School and more . . .
The General Board of FCC met April 20 for itsregular monthly meeting. Twelve people attendedto hear reports and vote on various motions. High-lights from the board minutes include the follow-ing:
Future Treasurer’s
reports will includemonthly giving totals compared withmonthly budgeted giving
Eld
e
r
s
will be gathering as a group inhomes each month to develop stronger per-sonal ties; monthly business meetings willcontinue as scheduled
Outr
e
a
c
h
c
ommitt
ee
is looking at optionsfor partnering with other churches for therefugee family sponsorship
Tran
s
ition T
e
am
will put out congrega-tional surveys on property futures duringthree Sundays in May
S
pirit of St. Stephen’s
has been grantedhalf of the storage room and the SundaySchool office for their use
Pa
s
tor Brit
e
is looking into hiring a part-time youth person at 5-7 hours a week
Sunday morning Adult
Class in “Disc
iples 101
”
What do you know aboutour denomination, the ChristianChurch (Disciples of Christ)Do you want to know more?Come to the Sunday Adult Bi- ble Study Class to find out.Mike and Janice Brady areleading the class, focusing on both the history and the currentstatus of the denomination to-day. The adult Class meetsSundays in the HearthstoneRoom at 9:15am.
“GREEN theme” for Vac
a- tion Bible School
Three Disciples churchesare holding a joint VacationBible School June 26-27.Children ages 6-18 are invitedfor this weekend of learning,which will be at PlymouthCreek Church in Plymouth.FCC will join PlymouthCreek and Lake Harriet Chris-tian
Churches in a “green
-
themed” VBS. Grounded inJesus’ Pa
rable of the Sower,
“ReNew: The Green VBS”
brings together the Bible andenvironmental stewardship.Kids will grow in faith asthey play, learn, sing, and work toward renewing their congre-gations and communities. Byserving in the community andinviting the community into thechurch, kids will demonstratethat being green can be easy,faithful, and fun.If your kids or grandkids areinterested in taking part, con-tact Deb Murphy. You canregister or volunteer by goingto the Plymouth Creek websiteat www.plymouthcreek.org.
Wedding Bells to ring
Dorothy Becker, a long-timemember of FCC, will be mar-ried soon to her junior highschool sweetheart, Les Bakken.Dorothy and Les both graduat-ed in 1935.Our warmest congratula-tions and best wishes to thenewlyweds-to-be!
Handcrafters Sale May 23
The Handcrafters Group willhost a sale on Sunday, May 23,in the Hearthstone Room fol-lowing worship. Many hand-made items will be for sale.We even have a $1 table and afree table. Come and check outall the beautiful handmadeitems and the bargains!
Jane Anderson recognizedby Senior Center
FCC member Jane Andersonwas recently named
"Lady of the Month” at the
Southwest Senior Center Health-a-thon Celebration.Congratulations to Jane for thisrecognition!
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