Seasons

Dear friends,

Today I am looking out my office window at a most beautiful fall day! I hope you've had some opportunities to enjoy the sunshine and the changing of the leaves. Each fall, with the changing of the season, I find myself reflecting on the seasons in life and the many changes and transitions we all go through. Each of us, individually, may find ourselves in a particular season of our lives. As a church, I think that we, like the earth, go through cyclical transitions. We are nearing the end of the liturgical year, preparing for Advent, a season of waiting. My first Sunday with you all, I shared that a friend once said to me that "sometimes God gives us just enough light to see the next step." As the days get shorter and the nights continue to grow longer, perhaps this is worth remembering. We are in a time of change, and sometimes we have just enough light to see the next step. And then the next, and then the next. And the more people and participation we have, the more light there will be. So I hope you will continue to come and share your light with us, so that we can all continue to move forward, together, through this season of change.

This Sunday, we'll have a guest preacher, Wayne Gustafson. And after worship, please plan to stay for an all-church meeting; read below for an invitation from the Church Council.

Blessings,
Manda

Invitation to an All-Church Meeting

You’re invited to stay after church on Sunday to hear from several church leaders.  Your Church Council would like to give you a brief update about our work.  You will hear about the progress of the Interim Search Committee, and also about a workshop, “Talkin’ Transformation, which was attended by nine people in the church.  Throughout the meeting, you will have a chance to participate, adding your questions and comments to the conversation.  The meeting will take one hour.


Texts For This Week:
Prophets           Jer. 31:7-9
Gospels            Mark 10:46-52

Spirit Day

If you look at my Facebook profile today, you'll see that my picture is purple. Today is Spirit Day, when people are encouraged to wear purple to take a stand against bullying and show their support for LGBTQ youth. This movement was started by a Canadian high school student named Brittany McMillan, who wanted to respond to the high-profile suicides of LGBTQ youth in 2010. Brittany initially wanted to show support in her own high school, and then she began working with GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) to broaden the effort.

You can watch Brittany talk about Spirit Day here: http://youtu.be/H9NeKoHN0R8

As Brittany says, "You should never back down from what you believe in, and you should always speak up when you can. Ultimately, I want Spirit Day to make just one person feel a little bit better about his or herself, to feel safe enough in their own skin to be proud of who they are. Maybe even save a life."

And that's one of the reasons our church is Open & Affirming - so that young people - and all people - will know that there is a place where they are safe and loved, "no matter who they are or where they are on life's journey."

Today and every day, I hope you take every opportunity you can to tell others that they are loved - and to know that you are also loved and cherished. Looking forward to worshiping with you on Sunday and sharing brunch with you after worship (bring a dish to share or just come as you are!).

Blessings,
Manda


Texts For This Week:  

Epistles   -   Hebrews 5:1-10

Gospels  -   Mark 10:35-45

Love The One You're With

I want to share with you some excerpts from an article by Mary Sellon and Dan Smith, of the Alban Institute. Click here to read the whole article (it's worth reading!). Consider the questions they raise and how we might love one another more authentically.

Looking forward to worshiping with you on Sunday, and I hope you can stay for the AfterWord, where Marcy Schaeffer will share one way we can love our Burmese neighbors.

Blessings,
Manda

Texts For This Week:  
Epistles  -  Hebrews 4:12-16
Gospels  -  Mark 10:17-31 
___

Our charge is to love. An old song by Stephen Stills featured the recurring line, “Love the one you're with.” Though the songwriter intended a different meaning, the line provides a fitting admonition for members of faith communities. “Love your neighbor” directs us to love whomever we are with, whether we like them or not.

The question from the Gospel of Luke in the Christian scriptures, “Who is my neighbor?” expresses a natural desire. Let me find someone I can naturally love and I will claim that person as my neighbor. The truth is that God gives us each person we encounter as a neighbor. Our neighbor is the person begging money outside the grocery store, the telemarketer who calls at dinner, and the person at the committee meeting who drives us crazy...

Six Essential Questions and Choices
We find six choices crucial for every relational interaction. These choices provide the groundwork for the relationship to be a loving relationship. These six choices make it possible for us to relate in loving ways and move toward fulfilling and life-giving relationships:

1. What do I want my relationship with this person to be like?
2. What attitudes and values do I want to honor as I’m with this person?
3. What must I let go of in order to turn towards this person?
4. What is the goodness in this person that I will see and trust?
5. How will I acknowledge to the person the holy goodness that I see in her or him?
6. What will I dare to ask of this person?

Discipline yourself to answer these questions as you prepare to be with people. These choices can enhance already good relationships and improve difficult ones. Practice making these choices with a variety of people. Over time, this process will become habit, done with unconscious competency. These six practices will strengthen all of your relationships and increasingly connect you in deep ways with others.

Excerpted from Practicing Right Relationship: Skills for Deepening Purpose, Finding Fulfillment, and Increasing Effectiveness in Your Congregation, copyright © 2005 by the Alban Institute. All rights reserved.

World Communion Sunday

This Sunday is World Communion Sunday, an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to "coming back to the table" - for it is God who sets the table and invites us to come, and it is God who has the power to heal wounds and build community. It is a powerful meal in which we, the Body of Christ, become bread for the world.

In addition to inviting you to join us this Sunday, I also want to share with you an opportunity to learn about how you can be involved in a meaningful ministry to world neighbors who are becoming Ithaca neighbors. Read below for more information from Marcy Schaeffer, and plan to join us on the 14th after worship to learn more.

Blessings and peace,
Manda

Texts For This Week:
Epistles - 2 Timothy 1:3-12
Gospels - Luke 14:1-14 

Note: The texts in bold type will be read in the worship service and the one with an asterisk will be used as the focus for the proclamation of the word.


Dear Church Friends,

I’m asking you to join me in doing something so meaningful. Just a small amount of
time on your part could have tremendous impact.

It’s about a family that has been waiting for 10 years in a refugee camp in Thailand and
with financial support from the United States is moving to Ithaca. I will join 40 or so
sponsor families who are helping 122 Burmese refugees. Although I will be the primary
contact for this family, I cannot do it alone, and do it well. So, I’m asking for your help.

The parents of this family fled religious (they are Christian) persecution in Burma (Myanmar) where many Christians have been injured or killed.  They fled to refugee camp in Thailand.  The parents met, married and had children at the camp. Two of the father's siblings died from illness at the camp.  The 3 children are spaced about 3 years apart with the youngest a 5 month old.

As political refugees these Burmese immigrants are provided with relocation funds for housing, food and in a year can apply for a green card and in 5 years can take a test to apply for citizenship.  The father of this family has a sister and her family (the Htoo family) have been here for over a year so they will be able to help with translation, logistics and welcome support.  The sister's family Ae Say, Aung Htoo, Will Mu Htoo (fifth grade at Belle Sherman) and Roe May Htoo (third grade at Belle Sherman) participated at the FMSC at the church Sept 7th.  Aungh Htoo thanked me for bringing them to help.  The Htoo family have their own sponsor who some of you may know, Graham O (a beloved midwife)  and her husband Ken "Otto".

There is already support for immigrants in Ithaca (Burmese and others).  The adults go to English classes Mon-Fri at the First Presbyterian Church for the first year and many continue longer. An Ithaca College professor,  Dr. Cathrene Connery has helped coordinate her education students, community refugee sponsors, school support staff and community leaders supporting the Burmese community.

The Afterword on Oct 14th will include information about opportunities, an invitation to join the Lotsa Helping Hands website for this family and may include a video from one of the high school Burmese immigrants about what they transitioned through.  If anyone has specific questions or comments beforehand please feel free to email me so I can be as prepared as possible. 

Thank you, Marcy Schaeffer

Mjcsch@gmail.com

The Gift of Pause

Dear friends,

On Thursday, I joined Laura Lee for her monthly lunch with church members who live at Longview. They had a new staff person, who was incredibly friendly and gracious, albeit a bit slow. But that's to be expected with anyone who is learning something new and finding their way in a new environment. I was reminded of the gift of pause, and I chose to sit and enjoy the present moment with these wonderful people, rather than thinking about the next thing on my agenda, or the tasks that weren't getting accomplished while I waited for food.

As we move into this weekend and Laura Lee's last Sunday with us, I think this devotional from the UCC is worth our time and reflection. I invite you to breathe deeply and be in the present, to have patience with one another as we find our way through uncharted territory, and to listen with open minds and open hearts.

Blessings and peace,
Manda


Texts For This Week:
James 2:1-10, 14-17
Mark 7:24-37

Note: The texts in bold type will be read in the worship service and the one with an asterisk will be used as the focus for the proclamation of the word.

The Monks Who Take Long Pauses

http://www.ucc.org/feed-your-spirit/daily-devotional/the-monks-who-take-long.html

September 28, 2012

The Monks Who Take Long Pauses

August 24, 2012

Psalm 69:7

"Because of you, I look like an idiot."  (The Message)

Reflection by Lillian Daniel

I had the chance to join some Benedictine monks for evening worship with a group of pastor writers at theCollegeville Institute. The Benedictines, well known for their hospitality to the stranger, asked our mostly Protestant group to meet with Brother John outside the chapel fifteen minutes before worship for an orientation. He spoke to us a bit about the striking modern abbey church, and then took us inside to our seats in the section next to the monks. 

There he explained which book we were to open and when. It was complicated and we needed all the help we could get. There were going to be all kinds of responsive readings where the leader would speak, and then the monks on one side of the church would respond as "choir one" and then the other side would respond as "choir two." "You're choir two," he told us, and then added this as an afterthought:

"The pace here at the abbey is slower than what you are used to," he explained. "The monks take pauses in the responsive readings, pauses that will seem long to you. So you might want to hold back at first and really listen to them, to get their pace before you join in."

I had no idea what he meant until the service began. Then, when it was choir two's turn to read several lines of a psalm, I heard my own voice and a few others from the visitor's section bleating out alone, as the monks took a long silent breath after each line. I am so used to finding my place and quickly saying my lines in a rush. But the monks said a line or a phrase and then all stopped to pause, as if to really listen to it, to take it in.

I was struck by how often I just barrel through readings in worship and how often I barrel through conversations in life. What a difference a few quiet pauses might make.

Prayer

Listening Lord, help me to listen too. Amen.

About the Author Lillian Daniel is the senior minister of the First Congregational Church, UCC, Glen Ellyn, Illinois. She is the author, with Martin Copenhaver, of This Odd and Wondrous Calling: the Public and Private Lives of Two Ministers.

Upcoming Meeting

Dear Members & Friends of FCC,

Our Church Council has invited you to an All-Church meeting following worship this coming Sunday. I plan to attend and encourage you to come and be a part of the conversation. Certainly, we will come with a wide range of feelings and our elected leadership wants to listen. We will come with many questions, which I believe the Council members will address as best they are able.

Last April, as the Church Council began to address various complaints, I  told them and the members of my Pastoral Relations Committee that I trusted they would work diligently to discern God's leading and would make decisions based on what is best for the whole church. I know that this decision-making process was truly difficult and that for some of them quite sad. I trust everyone honored their role as a church leader when they determined it was not possible for them to work with me to address the challenges facing our church. Thus, a change in pastoral leadership is best for the whole church.

This is not the decision I would have made. However, I have always trusted that the Holy Spirit moves among us all.  In our congregational polity, pastors are called to work with the elected leadership and the whole membership to strengthen the Body of Christ. If this is not a shared trust, it is not possible for us to move forward together.

Paul's encouragement to the Romans may stand us all in good stead: “For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.  Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words."

Like Paul, I encourage you to join me in the hope that God is preparing someone to come here with whom your leadership can work to move FCC in different directions and that God is preparing a place for me where it will be possible for me to use my gifts and skills to build up the Body of Christ.

It is imperative for all of you to come to the meeting and share your thoughts, questions and feelings. Most of all, come to listen for the leading of the Spirit, as you prepare for an important journey of transition.

In Christ, Laura Lee 

Texts for This Week:

Psalm 15

Mark 9:30-37

Note: The texts in bold type will be read in the worship service and the one with an asterisk will be used as the focus for the proclamation of the word.

The Feed My Starving Children

The Feed My Starving Children Mobile Pack was a great success! Thank you to everyone who participated and donated funds. With the help of over 1,500 volunteers we packed 334,368 meals.  That will feed 916 children for an entire year!

Continuing our focus on hunger, the special offering for the rest of September will go to our local Kitchen Cupboard.  Together we can truly impact the problem of hunger.  Many of you know that September is traditionally when we take a special offering for the School Nurses fund.  Happily, at this time, the fund is financially very healthy!  However, we have recently learned that our local Kitchen Cupboard, on the front lines of our local hunger initiative, is in dire need.  Did you know that our canned goods donations only account for 5-10% of what they need to operate?  As of the last ACT meeting, Kitchen Cupboard indicated that they have only $3000 on hand for buying food. They are now spending $4 to 6,000 each month due to increased local need!  To respond in a timely way to this urgent appeal, our September special offering will benefit the Kitchen Cupboard.  Thank you for your continued generosity which surely serves as witness to the local community!

This Sunday our Children and Youth programs resume.  We look forward to seeing everyone on Sunday.

Blessings,
Laura Lee and Manda


Texts for Sunday

Romans 14:7-12

Mark 8:27-43