Christian Courier

First Christian Church of Minneapolis (Disciples of Christ)

July 24, 2010 Arts, Drama, Music camp a first for region
Inside the Courier: by Deb Murphy
A new arts-focused camp debuted with the entire group to write a song. The
• A Look at the Brite this July at the Newton Conference kids titled it ―Let Your Faith Rise Again.‖
Side, page 2
Center. Sixteen youth (junior high Each day had a different theme: Hope,
• News briefs, pages and high school) and eight men- Love, Peace, Faith. Creative time was
3 and 5 tors/counselors gathered from around built into the schedule to let everyone

ourier
the region to participate in a spirit- work on a project they had started or to
• August Calendar, filled and creative camp called learn something new. Sheldon, one of the
page 4
A.D.a.M Camp. I was lucky to counselors, held continuous guitar lessons.
represent FCC as a camp counselor. And, of course, pool time – everyone‘s
Campers favorite. There was a performance every
arrived Mon- night for the
On the Web: day night and campers to
strung and showcase
fccminneapolis.org their work
tuned the 16
Disciples News guitars that and to be-
Service had been do- come accus-
nated to the tomed to
Week of Compassion performing.
updates camp from
churches and We closed
individuals in out a couple
the region. of evenings
with a drum
Each of the circle around
rest of the the campfire
four days - with
was divided into several learning Smores beforehand at least one night.
units: Music, Drama, Movement/
Dance, and Art. Drama was covered Friday night there was a final perfor-
by the counselors, as several of us mance for family and friends. There were
August 8 – had experience in that area, but guest 27 acts: improvisation, solos, groups, art
Worship & artists were brought in to work with demonstrations, instrumentals – we had it
picnic in the the campers: Monika Peltz - move- all! The camp interns even joined in at the
park (p. 3) last minute with an improv act of their
ment/dance; Ellie Radcliffe - art; and
Dave Moore, a professional sing- own. As the finale, the kids sang the song
er/songwriter - music. Dave was they h a d written ―Let Your Faith Rise
hands-down every camper‘s favorite. Again.‖ The final performance was dedi-
He told them his story as a sing- cated to Adam Barnett, a former camper
er/songwriter and then worked with musical gifts, whose parents helped
start the camp in his memory.
Page 2

A Look at the Brite Side

FCC Ministry: being a Disciples presence in the Twin Cities

Pastor Bob Brite
“There is something distinctive
about the Disciples of Christ”
Actual offerings through
6/30/10: *$91,523.22*
Budgeted offerings through
6/30/10: *114,525.06*
Shortfall: $20,001.84
Can you help with this?
A couple of weeks ago in a meet-
ing, somebody asked me, ―What is
the current ministry of First Chris-
tian Church?‖ My response off
the top of my head was, ―To be a
community of people loving one
another.‖ That‘s what I think we
do best; of course, the future of the
church requires becoming much
more so.
Now that I‘ve thought about it a
bit more, I would also add that the
current ministry of FCC is to be a
Disciples presence in Minneapolis.
There is something distinctive
about the Disciples of Christ: Our
emphasis on the table, our call to
individual responsibility in grow-
ing one‘s faith and understanding
of Scripture, our commitment to
ecumenism and cooperative minis-
try with others, our emphasis on
mission, altogether are hallmarks
of Disciples. We are a somewhat
quirky people in the context of
mainline Protestantism, and I
think that that is largely a good
thing.
As we continue movement to-
wards what we‘ll be doing in the
future, we are still called by God
to work on our ministry in the
present: A ministry of evangelism
and welcoming new and returning
folks to the Body, a ministry of
meeting needs and helping people,
a ministry of sharing the distinc-
tiveness of Disciples in the neigh-
borhood and community. We‘re
going to keep plugging away at
these as we continue to navigate
the course towards the future.
On a different note, Sunday, Au-
gust 29, will be the second anni-
versary of the sale of our building
to MIA. We will be lifting that up
as a theme in worship, a matter of
grieving and closing. You might,
between now and then, think of
those memories that are most im-
portant to you about the history
here; I may be asking you to share
them.
I‘d like to see YOU on Sunday,
Bob

In our prayers
Gracious God,
we lift up these
persons in our
prayers, asking the
blessing of your
Grace and out-
pouring of your
Love upon them.
We pray in concern for Tim Ronnei, recovering from his second surgery in
as many weeks, for Mike Ronnei and David Pyles battling cancer, for Ju-
dy Ronnei recovering from a ruptured appendix, and for Becky Whitak-
er’s father-in-law recovering from triple bypass surgery; in celebration for
for Don Cain’s 90th birthday, and for the dedication on July 18 of Adrian
Michael Ramirez by parents Cicely and Rene Ramirez, grandmother
Laura Arradondo, great-grandmother Doris Helvig and others of the fam-
ily; in sympathy with C. J. Floyd and her family of Lake Harriet Christian
Church whose husband died in a tragic scuba diving incident recently; for
the safe arrival and resettlement of the refugee family arriving July 28;
for Bob Risinger, Helen Smith and all our homebound members, Amen.

Christian Courier
Church Sunday School,
Worship and Picnic Aug. 8
ALL FCC Sunday morning activi-
ties – the whole kit and caboodle –
will be outdoors at the North Mis-
sissippi Park on Sunday, Aug. 8.
All regular Sunday morning
classes will convene ay 9:15 at
picnic tables in the park. Camp
songs and a more informal atmos-
phere will highlight the 10 am
worship service, which will have
all the ―regular‖ elements of
communion, prayers and reflec-
tions.
The all-church picnic will begin
following worship. The member-
ship committee will furnish beve-
rages and paper products, but the
rest is potluck, so bring your favo-
rite dish to share. a wading pool /
playground is available for all
children, so bring suits and towels
if anyone in your family wants to
get wet.
To get to North Mississippi Park,
take I-94 north to Exit 226. Go
towards 53rd Avenue North and
stay straight to go onto I-94, then
turn slightly right onto Lyndale
Avenue N (follow the signs).
Billman scholarships available
The John and Katharine Billman
Scholarships for incoming college
freshpersons and sophomores will
once again be available this fall.
These $500 scholarships are avail-
able simply by writing a letter of
application to the church request-
ing the scholarship and detailing
where you will be attending
school.
This application letter should be
into Pastor Bob by August 10 so
he can take it to the Finance
Committee for action on Aug. 11.
Refugee Family arriving from
Somalia July 28
On July 28, a family of four will
arrive at Minneapolis/St. Paul air-
port from Somalia to start a new
life here in Minnesota. Working
though the Minnesota Council of
Churches, Spirit of Joy Christian
Church in Lakeville along with
First Christian are working togeth-
er to welcome the new arrivals.
Warren Westphal is coordinating
efforts. While Spirit of Joy is
going to provide most of the ma-
terial goods for the family, FCC is
hoping to be able to provide trans-
portation to meetings, shopping
and other family trips. Currently,
two drivers have volunteered, but
several more are needed so that
the driving needs can be shared.
If you have a passion for refugee
ministry, or have a talent in pro-
viding hospitality, please contact
Warren Westphal after service or
call the church office.
Page 3
Update on Pyles family
David Pyles, member of First
Christian, is fighting Lymphoma.
Last year a newsletter was circu-
lated delineating the medical
treatments to date and that he was
a candidate for a bone-marrow
scrubbing and transplant.
That procedure did not occur
and for the last months David has
been on experimental drugs trying
to see if any would either slow or
reduce his tumors. Now he is on a
new chemotherapy that will hope-
fully allow him to enter a new ex-
perimental drug trial.
In that newsletter there were
things we could do to help Dave
and Janice. Currently, the most
helpful things for the family
would be preparation of small por-
tions of food that could be stored
in a freezer and a little volunteer
weeding time. The foods are sim-
ple: plain cooked brown rice
packaged in ½ cup servings; plain
cooked black beans in ½ cup serv-
ings; cooked ground turkey (can
be seasoned with onions and spic-
es) in 3 oz paddies (pkgs); Cooked
chicken breasts or thighs (sea-
soned OK) in 3 oz packages.
If you are going to prepare food
please contact Sue Bona at 651-
707-4836.
The weeding is mostly around
pathways. There is also a fund to
help defray medical expenses; as
you know, both Dave and Janice
are self-employed. You may send
monetary donations (payable to
Fund for David Pyles) to Sue Bo-
na, 5901 Laurel Ave. #334, Gol-
den Valley, MN 55416.
Please keep Janice and David
in your daily prayers.
 Page 4 July 24 , 2010

Regular Worship Hours

9:15 Church School Classes
August, 2010
10:00 Worship
First Christian Church
11:45 Fellowship Time in Lounge

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7 pm Worship 9 am Handcrafters FCC Office 9 am- Men’s
Committee FCC Office Closed Group
Closed

8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Church School, FCC Office Primary election 5:30 pm Finance 9 am Handcrafters 7 pm Book 9 am- Men’s
Worship and Closed polling in Fel- Committee Club at Group
Picnic at lowship Hall Bobbie
North Mis- 7 pm Property Hall’s –
sissippi Park Committee “Olive Kitte-
ridge”
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Food Pantry 7 pm FCC Board 9 am Handcrafters 9 am- Men’s
Sunday Meeting Group
5-8 pm Elders
meet @ Hil-
lestad’s
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
9 am Handcrafters 9 am- Men’s
Group
School for
Congrega-
tional Lead-
ers – W.
Des Moines

29 30 31

Elders Worship Leader Bus Driver Diaconate Greeters

August 1 Mike Brady Lu Griffin Garry Hesser Even Team Karen Kandik
Karen Kandik 612-721-4905
August 8 Karen Kandik Martha Harris Garry Hesser Even Team Martha Harris
Janice Brady
August 15 Tom Curry Mike Hesano Even Team Valerie Dunham
Warren Westphal 651-645-6758
August 22 Warren Westphal Wes Creighton Mike Morgan Even Team Ardie Armstrong &
Tom Curry 612-926-9384 Shirley Draine
August 29 Val Dunham Ann Wolverton Garry Hesser Even Team Karen Kandik
Martha Harris
Christian Courier
Athena Carlson a St. Louis Park Young
Ambassador this year
Athena Carlson was cho-
sen as one of two young
adult ambassadors for St.
Louis Park during the
June Parktacular! Cele-
bration. Athena and the
other ambassadors will be
representing the city of St.
Louis Park for this next
year, going to other cities'
events, etc. She‘s shown
here with her grandmother Lois Swenson right af-
ter the coronation.
Athena was also picked as a co-president of CYF
Camp 15 at the Christian Conference Center in ear-
ly summer.
Athena will be a senior at St. Louis Park High
school next year. Congratulations for these recent
honors, Athena!
Grande Day sale coming in October
FCC‘s women‘s ministries will again be joined by
volunteers from Spirit of St. Stephens Catholic
Community for our annual Grande Day sale on
Oct. 14, 15 and 16. Sorting will be on Monday and
Tuesday, Oct. 11 and 12.
So mark you calendars, start collecting household
items, and look for more information in upcoming
newsletters and announcements.
Aaron Dunlop on Afghanistan
engineering assignment
Aaron Dunlop will be on temporary assignment to
the department of Army, from the Army Corps of
Engineers, for deployment to Afghanistan. He will
be gone for about 13 months and during that time
he will serve as a supervisory general Engineer
overseeing military construction for the Army Sus-
tainment Command in Afghanistan. He will be
stationed at Bagram Army Airfield. Aaron, son of
Bill and Pat Dunlop, is a graduate of the U of M in
civil engineering and lives in Davenport, IA. His
most recent job for the Army Corps has involved
oversight of the operation and maintenance of the
Mississippi locks and dams from southern Minne-
sota down to St. Louis, Missouri.
Handcrafters 46 years old and going strong
by Dorothy Stegner
Dorothy Stegner and prayer shawls
In 1964, a new member of First Christian, Ellen
Aynes organized a sewing and craft club. This
group of ladies met every week to make the many
beautiful items that were sold at an annual sale. A
special project nearly every year was a hand-made
quilt.
We are now a much smaller group and cannot
make quilts or other items as we did before. Our
last sale was May 23rd! We thank all of you who
came, purchased items and visited. It was a good
sale and we shared some of the proceeds with the
Groveland Food Shelf, our Minister's Discretionary
Fund, and a small amount for the Handcrafters' kit-
ty. Any items that did not sell were given to ARC.
We are not giving up! We still plan on meeting
every Thursday for fellowship at 9:00 to 12:30. We
'brown bag' it for lunch, but the coffee pot is perk-
ing all morning. You are invited to stop by. And
we do have a project we are working on - the
Prayer Shawl Ministry! We pray for people as we
knit and give them to those or are in need or are
happy about something in their life. We have fi-
nished several shawls and are in need of people
who would be able to deliver them. If you could
visit with and give a shawl to someone, please call
Dorothy Stegner @ 612.824.4754.
 Bi-Weekly Calendar Reflections on the Word
from readings for 8/1
Sunday Worship at 10:00 am ―But God said to him, ‗You
Before Worship (9:15 am): fool! This very night your life is
Art of the Covenant Class Hearthstone/Adults Class being demanded of you. And the
things you have prepared, whose
After worship: Fellowship Hour 11:15 am will they be?‘‖ –Luke 12:20

This Week at FCC Next Week at FCC This pointed question: ―Whose
will these things be?‖ rings both
Sunday, July 25
Celebration of African America Tuesday, August 3 scary and true—―you can‘t take
Music
Worship Committee 7 pm it with you.‖ Generosity and
accumulation have always chal-
Thursday, August 5
Thursday, July 29 lenged me, and how interwoven
Handcrafters 9 am
Handcrafters 9 am
Saturday, August 7
they are! What do you not need
Saturday, July 31 Men‘s Group 9 am that someone else might?
Men‘s Group 9 am

Gracious God, who sees to

many of our needs, help us to
meet some of those needs you
cannot meet for others, and give
us grace and discernment as to
how best to do this. Amen.
--Chris Wogaman

FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH

OF MINNEAPOLIS
A Thoughtful Church in the (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST)
Heart of the City 2201 1st Avenue South
Ministry Team Minneapolis, MN 55404
All Members of the Congregation
Robert Brite, Interim Minister Address Service Requested
Dennis Sanders, Minister of Diversi-
ty and Mission
Chris Wogaman, Office Manager
Bill Stump, Director of Music
Rick Bowman, Building Manager
James Barnett, Pianist
Serena Carlson, Nursery Attendant
Martha Harris, Courier Editor
Telephone: 612.870.1868
Prayer Phone: 612.870.0984
www.fccminneapolis.org
E-mail: fcc-mpls@qwest.net
Fax: 612.870.1860
Christian Courier is published bi-
monthly (once a month in summer).
Send items and ideas to church office
or to Martha Harris
harrismartha@mac.com
by Fri . August 20 for next issue.