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April 5, 2007
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First
Presbyterian Church |
Newsletter "First Things": April 2007Contents...
From the Pastor's PenDear Members and Friends of First Church,
Now if a person only comes to church on Christmas and Easter they might be tempted to say that they heard the same message last year. DUH - what do you expect. After retelling the same elements of the same story year after year for over 2,000 years, can the story stay relevant, fresh. Can its passion and urgency be made real one more time for a congregation? Let me ask you, is the Easter message still relevant to our world? How do we make sense of the hope and promise of the resurrection in light of the reality of rampant evil in the world? For example, the likes of genocide in Africa, the persecuted church in various parts of the world or the prostitution and sex trafficking places like Thailand and Cambodia? I would suggest to you that the Easter message has never lost its relevance. It is still as relevant today as it was in the waking hours after the women found that the tomb was and is EMPTY. The passage for me that puts the whole notion of Easter in perspective is I Corinthians 15:12-19 where Paul writes these words: "Now if Christ was preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection from the dead? But if there is not resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain... For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins... If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most pitied." Friends, the resurrection is at the very heart of Christianity. If Christ wasn't raised from the dead, then why would His disciples give up their very lives for such a cause? It just doesn't make sense, only to say it does because His resurrection did happen and the tomb is empty, contrary to the recent claims of TV director Simcha Jacobovici and "Titanic" director James Cameron who recently aired "The Jesus Family Tomb." Join me this Easter season as we ponder the question: Reality or Myth? I bet you know which side of the fence I'm on. See U in CH_RCH. Yours in Christ, From the Pulpit
Church NewsCommunity Development: Homeless Like MeSome of us will remember a groundbreaking book that was authored by John Howard Griffin titled "Black Like Me." Concerned by the lack of communication between the races and wondering what "adjustments and discriminations" he would face as a Negro in the Deep South, the late author, a journalist and self-described "specialist in race issues," left behind his privileged life as a Southern white man to step into the body of a stranger. In 1959, Griffin headed to New Orleans, darkened his skin and immersed himself in black society, then traveled to several states until he could no longer stand the racism, segregation and degrading living conditions. Griffin spent a little over a month -- parts of November and December, 1959 -- with his skin artificially darkened by medication. In that time he traveled through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, finding out at first hand what it is like to be treated as a second-class citizen -- or, as he says, as a tenth-class citizen. Everyone knows the story of big injustices, the lynchings, the civil rights cases, and for most people those are now just another page in the history text book. Griffin's experiences take the daily evils of racism and thrust them in your face, just as they were thrust in his -- the rudeness of the clerk when he tried to pay for a train ticket with a big bill; the difficulty he had in finding someone who would cash a traveler's check for a Negro; the bus-driver who wouldn't let any blacks off the bus to use the restrooms; the white man who followed him at night and threatened to mug him. Have things changed that much in almost 50 years? I am not sure that I can answer that, however, it has challenged me to think about another kind of prejudice in our society and it knows no color bounds. It involves the world of generational poverty that often reduces people to homelessness, low level begging or lifestyles, and often associated with it addictive behavior. People that do not understand the underlying issues of this cultural dilemma can easily make assumptions about "these people" who panhandle, and yes con all of us. Just for the record I was conned the other day for $25.00 and hit up four other times on another day which left me almost $20.00 poorer. I too, know the tendency to become cynical and mistrusting once you have been "used." I hear those words ringing in my ears too, "con me once shame on you, con me twice shame on me." We who have chosen to worship downtown in the middle of con country all have stories to tell. Watching you precious people who have chosen not to abandon the urban church setting so that you can avoid "these special people" have been an inspiration to me. Now I am being challenged to do something and I value your counsel. Message: My message is in the form of a question. I have been challenged in order to really understand the people that we are trying to help that I become homeless in another city for a week and become "one of them." What do you think, should I accept the dare? Write me at pastermarkford@gmail.com and tell me what you think. Direction: All of us may not feel called to become homeless for a week, but is it possible that there are things all of us can do to try to get into the world and mind of "street people?" In future articles I will try to point you in the right direction. Focus: One way we can gain focus is to educate ourselves on how generational poverty is deeply entrenched and difficult to treat, but many are getting help. Another way is to pray for this special class of people who we find to be mysterious, frightening and sometimes intimidating. Jesus said the poor you will have with you always, so they are not going away. The question is how we can teach them to fish, and not just feed them a fish for a day. Stay tuned! O.E.A.G Egg Show and SalePalm Sunday weekend FPC will again host the Ohio Egg Artists Guild
Egg Show & Sale. Join us for a Tenebrae Service Please mark your calendars for a special Good Friday Tenebrae Service that will be held in the sanctuary beginning at 7:00 p.m. Our friends and neighbors from the Church of the Holy Spirit Church will be joining us again this year. In case you were wondering the word “tenebrae” is Latin for shadows. The service was originally designed for Good Friday, but it can be used for Maundy Thursday as well. The service can be divided into seven, eight, or nine parts, each one assigned to a different reader. The purpose of the service is to recreate the emotional aspects of the passion of Christ: the betrayal, the abandonment, and the agony of the events, and it is left unfinished because the story isn’t over until Easter Sunday. Come and join us. for this moving service as we prepare our hearts and minds for the great Resurrection Day. One Great Hour of Sharing Offering: Who is my neighbor? Luke 10:29Each year the members and friends of First Church are given the opportunity to contribute to our denomination's One Great Hour of Sharing offering. This year's offering will be collected on Easter Sunday during the worship service. In the year since you last gave to this offering, there have mercifully been fewer disasters than in either of the two previous years. Nevertheless, it takes years to recover from the destruction of a hurricane, earthquake, or tsunami, so recovery will continue for some time, though recovery efforts have moved toward rebuilding. In the past year, thousands of Presbyterians have given their time and talents to helping people in the Gulf Coast region rebuild their homes and lives. In the process of meeting and helping these new neighbors, many of those volunteers have found their own lives profoundly changed by the experience. This April a group from our church will be traveling to Orange Grove (Gulfport), Mississippi to work with the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance work in that part of the state. At the same time, the ministry of One Great Hour of Sharing is continuing to help our neighbors who have suffered from poverty, hunger, and lack of opportunity find a foothold on more solid ground. Thanks to your gifts, both immediate and long-term ministries of One Great Hour of Sharing continues to be faithful witnesses to the love of God in Jesus Christ throughout the year and around the world. Invite Your Family, Friends, and Neighbors to Our Easter Celebration ServiceThe service is 10:45 a.m. APRIL 8th. Now is the time to begin inviting your family, friends and neighbors to our glorious Easter Sunday service as we worship and praise our Lord for His mighty victory over death and the hope that He gives to people.
Spring Cleaning/Work DayNow that Winter is officially over, it is time to think about sprucing up the church. There is a lot to do and many hands make light work. So, keep your Saturdays open in May so you can help out. The date is to be announced soon. Campus/Youth/ChildrenWide World of YouthWe are heading into Astonishing April ! Read all about it on the Youth page. Fellowship/Study GroupsTuesday ClubThe Tuesday Club will meet on April 17th at Gus' Chalet, 938 E. Tallmadge Ave., Akron. Call the church office for more information. Morning CircleMorning circle will meet Monday, April 2nd, 2007 at 10:00am in the church parlor. Discussion will be on the Biblical books of Jonah and Ruth. Welcome to all who come to our fellowship. WNGsThey that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles..." Isaiah 40:31 Women of the church are invited to participate in the Wednesday Night Intergenerational Caring Group at 7:00 pm. Upcoming gatherings include: April 4th - Holy Week - no meeting Evening CircleThe Evening Circle will meet Tuesday, April 17th at 7:00 pm. Call the church office for more information and directions. First Faithful FriendsFirst Faithful Friends will next gather on Tuesday, April 10th. We shall view the movie, 28 Days, a movie about drug addiction and the challenges of rehabilitation. Come, bring a friend, and RSVP by April 9th. Loss Support GroupFor the past few months a group of people have been meeting one Monday night a month to support each other due to loss - for example the death of a family member or friend, death of an animal, change of a relationship, loss of job, etc. Our next meeting will be Monday, April 16th from 7-8:30. Men's Bible StudyThere are two men's bible study groups at First Presbyterian Church.
Contact the church office for more information. Session News Session Highlights
Newsletter DeadlinesThe deadline for the May issues of First Things (First Presbyterian Church newsletter) and WASS-UP (Eastminster Presbytery newsletter) is April 8, 2007. Plain EnglishLife is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
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Have
you heard the rumor? Now that I have your attention, allow me
to let you in on the rumor going around in pastoral circles.
Ready, here goes. It is widely rumored in pastoral circles
that Easter Sunday's sermon is among the most difficult to prepare
for and preach. There, now you know.
George Barna reports that marketers devote billions of dollars to penetrating the Baby Boomer market – the generation of 77 million individuals that populate the nation. There is another market segment equally as large that is of interest to the faith community: the 76 million adults who regularly avoid going to church. A new report based on its annual tracking survey by The Barna Group reveals that one-third of the adult population (34%) has not attended any type of church service or activity, other than a special event such as a funeral or wedding, during the past six months. What a great opportunity to reach out to those who do not attend church. Who could you invite to FPC this Easter Sunday? 
