Prayer Concerns
March 21, 2010
Prayers for Transition Tea+ at ,irst C.ristian/
0o.n and 2.3liss Ta5e5a6a/ t.e 7a+il3 o7 Bill
Bliss/ Cl3de and 0enni7er Bo9ler grieving the
death of Clyde’s grandmother, for :te;e and
<e=e>>a ?ane3 as they begin the task of starting
a new church in Rochester, MNP for the congre-
gation of Tie+po N9e;o as they move loca-
tions, that they may continue to growP Mar5
Carlson and others dealing with unemployment.
We remember the people of :o9t. A7ri>a. You
can find out about the many ministries and mis-
sionaries to lift up in prayer by going to
www.globalministries.org. We pray for the fol-
lowing churches in our Region: Indianola
?eig.ts C.ristian C.9r>., Ges Moines, Io6a/
,irst C.ristian C.9r>., M9s>atine, Io6a/
,irst C.ristian C.9r>., 2anora, Io6aH
We also pray for C.ristian C.9r>. in t.e :o9t.I
6estH
The Bulletin
Ministry Team
All Me+=ers o7 t.e Congregation
<o=ert Brite, Interim Minister
Gennis :anders, Minister of Diversity and Mission
C.ris Joga+an, Office Manager
Bill :t9+p, Director of Music
<i>5 Bo6+an, Building Manager
0a+es Barnett, Pianist
:erena Carlson, Nursery Attendant
Mart.a ?arris, Courier Editor
Telephone: E12.HI0.1HEH
Elders Meeting Evening Prayer
If you have a prayer re-uest or would like to
5oin our online prayer team, please contact ei- The Elders of First Christian Church will Feel free to come on Wednesday
ther Pastor Bob Brite at pas- meet today, March 21 after worship in evenings at IPM for Evening Prayer.
tor>fccminneapolis.org or Associate Pastor the Hearthstone Room. During Lent we will use the medita-
Dennis Sanders at associatepas- tions and images from Deb Murphy’s
tor>fccminneapolis.org. You can also leave a Transition Team Meeting eXhibit as our guide for prayer.
message by phone by calling the church office The Transition Team meets this Tues-
at E12-HI0-1HEH. day, March 2Z at IPM in the Lounge. Feed My Starving Chil-
dren
The Bulletin
Our neXt trip to Feed My Starving
“The Sacred on the Children will be on Saturday, March
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Street:” A Visual Medita- 2I from 11:Z0am-1:Z0pm at the
Coon Rapids facility. We will be
tion for Lent sharing this mission event with our
Throughout Lent, First Christian will be sisters and brothers at Gethsemane
showcasing the photography of our own Episcopal in downtown Minneapolis.
Deb Murphy. Her works, “The Sacred A signup sheet is available in the
on the Street” were part of an installa- lounge.
Have an announcement to share? Please tion at United Seminary last fall. Stop by
drop it off in the church office or email it after worship in the West Hall _across Follow Bob Online!
to office@fccminneapolis.org by Wednes- from the Hearthstone Room` to look and
day. stay tuned to how it will become a part Did you know that Pastor Bob Brite
of First’s Lenten Prayer Practice. You is blogging as his Lenten practicef
can also follow along on the church You can follow along by going to the
website _fccminneapolis.org` or pick up First Christian website,
a weekly devotion in the Lounge. www.fccminneapolis.org and click
on “blog.”
Minnesota Foodshare
www.fccminneapolis.org
Prayer Vigil Signup
In 200a, almost 1b percent of Minne-
Twitter: www.twitter.comVfccminneapolis Those interested in participating in
sota households did not have enough
Facebook: www.facebook.comVfccminneapolis this year’s Prayer Vigil _described
money to buy food, and those numbers
E-mail: office>fccminneapolis.org above` can sign up on sheets in the
will increase in 2010.
FaX: E12.HI0.1HE0 Fireplace Lounge, call the church
Our goal at FCC this year is to raise office, or call Shirley Draine at 1-
cd00 and d00 pounds for Groveland HII-2bZ-2H2Z _dial Ed1-bda-aE02
Foodshelf during March. when prompted`.
! Thoughtfu* +hurch in the 1eart of the
You can drop off your non-perishable A special small section will be set
+ities4 food item in the Big Barrel in the nar- up in the church sanctuary as the
theX, or put contributions in the offering prayer space. There will be prayer
Jors.ipK :9nda3s at LMK3Ma+ plates _mark “foodshelf” on check study helps there to help focus your
memo line`. prayer time if you need them.
This Week’s News
Register for JRLC’s Day-on-the- Communities of Faith Working
Hill together to End Homelessness
T.9rsda3, Mar>. OP, OMLM, QK3Ma+ to Rp+
Morning session at t.e <i;erCentre, 7ollo6ed
=3 rall3 and +eetings 6it. legislators at t.e
MN :tate Capitol, MN :tate Capitol
Be part of a uni-ue interfaith lobby day focusing
on poverty, healthcare, 5udicial fairness, housing person unable to go home due to abuse from her
and taXation. Register now for the Joint Reli-
gious Legislative Coalition’s Annual Day on the cannot make enough money to support three chil-
Hill. To register visit www.5rlc.orgVday-on-the-
hill.
Project Homeless Connect
Mon6ay8 March 9:; Minneapo*is +on=ention
+enter
Are you a people personf Have some time on
your handsf Pro5ect Homeless Connect is a mas-
sive, semi-annual effort by Hennepin County
that puts hundreds of service providers in direct
contact with homeless persons and others in
need. First Christian is looking for volunteers
who must receive training. There are five up-
coming training sessions: March 1d _Brooklyn
Center`, March 1E _Minneapolis`, March 1I
_Minneapolis`, March 22 _Minneapolis` and
March 2Z _Minnetonka`. For times and locations support of Heading Home Hennepin _HHH` and
visit www.homelessconnect.orgVvolunteer.
Easter Flowers
Orders will be taken in the lounge Sunday,
March 1b and March 21 for Easter flowers. The
last day to order is Mar>. O3. You may leave
orders in the church office or e-mail them to fcc- !o find o() more -.o() D0123 4le-se 7isi) )8eir
mpls>-west.net
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Think about all those losing their housing during
this eco-
nomic re-
cession,
think about
a young
parents, think about the single parent family who
dren, think about the veteran who eXperienced war
and returns to the United States with Post Trau-
matic Stress Disorder and doesn’t get the help
needed, think about the person with disabilities
living in shelters.
Currently, our shelters are overflowing with people
with stories similar to these listed. As people of
faith, we have the opportunity, the call, the vision
to strive for a healthier, better vision of our com-
munity. The vulnerable in our society need us to
raise our voices to make it known that our commu-
nity can be better.
As the Downtown Congregations to End Homeless-
ness _DCEH`, First Christian works with other faith
communities to transition from to ending home-
lessness and poverty through advocacy, education,
building relationships with the homeless, near
homeless, congregations, volunteers and commu-
nity organiiations. The collaboration of our faith
communities works to raise our voices together to
shift the paradigm from giving handouts to helping
people achieve self-sufficiency.
9e.si)e -) 999:d;e8:or<:
T H E B U L L E TI N
“Brotherhood”
D(rin< =en)3 9e 8-7e .e r(nnin< - series of me>
di-)ions .-sed on De. ?(r48y’s eB8i.i)3 C!8e
D-;red on )8e D)ree):E Fo( ;-n re-d -nd 7ie9 )8e
im-<es -) )8e Girs) 08ris)i-n 9e.si)eH
999:f;;minne-4olis:or<: 2ere is )8is 9eek’s
ins)-llmen):
“Thin places” are those places and spaces where
we encounter God, the
Divine, the Holy. I chose
the title “Brother-
hood” _in spite of a lack
of inclusivity` because of
the photographic opportu-
nity that arose to look at
the hood in church and
on the street. This monk
_and often other clerics`
wears a hooded robe. The
kid on the park bench is
wearing today’s manifes-
tation of the hood, usually
referred to as a “hoodie.”
4446on>t *et pub*ic opinion inf*uence ho@
you *i=e out our g*orious8 +hrist;
originate6 faith4 Af a Ban enters your
church @earing an
expensi=e suit8 an6 a street person @ear;
ing rags coBes in right after hiB8 an6
you say to the Ban in the suit8 DSit here8
sirF this is the best seat in the house!D
an6 either ignore the street person or
say8 DBetter sit here in the bacI ro@8D
ha=en>t you segregate6 Go6>s chi*;
6ren444K 444Go6 operates Luite 6iffer;
ent*y4441e chose the @or*6>s 6o@n;an6;
out as the Iing6oB>s first citiMens8 @ith
fu** rights an6 pri=i*eges4 This Iing6oB
is proBise6 to anyone @ho *o=es Go64
JaBes 9:P;Q RThe Message Bib*eS
It is easy to let our first impressions categoriie
people and deal with them as a stereotype, al-
though we are familiar with the old jlooks can be
deceiving’ adage.
And I’m sure by now, you know I’ve set you up.
The young man hanging out on
the park bench is really one of
the nicest young actors I’ve
ever worked with _although he
did provide the wardrobe for
the shoot from his own closet`.
Some -uestions to ponder:
The obvious -uestion: Have I
ever treated people in the way
pointed out in the book of
James - either in church or else-
wheref
The neXt -uestions: Did I real-
iie at some point that I had done thatf How did I
feel about what I had donef How difficult was it
to admit to myselff
Lastly: What did I do about it - right then with that
personf Later, in my dealing with others in other
situationsf
T Di=ine Tne8Ve coBe together to encounter8
@orship8 praise an6 thanI you for a** your *o=e
an6 care of us4 1e*p us to reBeBber that e=ery
stranger cou*6 be you8 that by taIing care of the
6o@n an6 out an6 the Bargina*iMe68 @e sho@
our *o=e of you4 May @e constant*y an6 consis;
tent*y sho@ your *o=e to a @or*6 that so 6esper;
ate*y nee6s it4 !Ben4
De. ?(r48y )e-;8es o(r Jr) of )8e 0o7en-n)
;8ildren’s ;l-ss -nd is - s)(den) -) Kni)ed Demi>
n-ry in Le9 Mri<8)on3 ?L:
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