Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Conversational Dinner

Food, friends and great conversations-- what’s not to love?

Join us this Sunday, June 28, 2009 at 6 p.m. for the all church Conversational Dinner. The Dinner will be held in the parlor at First Central Congregational Church located at 421 South 36th Street Omaha, NE 68131.

Conversational Dinners are dinners held 4 times a year, usually in church member’s homes. There are typically 8-10 people at each dinner, with everyone contributing something to the dinner. We have held these dinners for the last several years, and find them to be a really good way to get better acquainted with people we might otherwise not know, and to get to know better those that we already know. The last dinner of the season is a potluck held at the church.

Visitors are welcome! We hope you will consider attending the Conversational Dinner on June 28th as a way of “testing the waters,” so to speak. Don’t worry about bringing anything – be our guest. We only ask that you let us know if you will be attending, so we may plan appropriately.

Childcare will be available on the lower level of the church. Please make sure your child has eaten beforehand, or bring a sack lunch for them, since the dinners are for adults only.

Please call Sara at (402) 345-1533, if you would like to attend. We hope to see you on Sunday!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Nebraska Pride/Rainbow Celebrations: Come Visit First Central’s Booth

The United Church of Christ has supported the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people for more than 30 years, adopting the Open and Affirming (ONA) Resolution in 1985. First Central adopted our own ONA resolution in 2005. Many in the LBGT community don't know churches like First Central exist, so this upcoming event is a way to let people know we are here, and they are ALL welcome.

First Central will have a booth at the Rainbow Celebrations, Saturday, June 20th. Located at Lewis and Clark Landing (located at 515 North Riverfront Drive
Omaha, NE 68102), the event will feature many organizations that support the LGBT community. The celebrations will start at 12:00 pm and run until 6:00 pm. First Central is proud to be an Open and Affirming Church. No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here. Visit some of your First Central family on the 20th - the more, the merrier!
Posted by: Blog Administrator

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Resources: Multicultural Bibliography

The following books include the themes of call and vocation, prayer and spiritual life, worship, biblical story and scripture from a multicultural perspective. Prepared by Rev. Dr. Carolyn Landers Pettigrew

Nonfiction


Crockett, Joseph V. Teaching Scripture From an African American Perspective. Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 1985.

DeYoung,Curtiss. Coming Together: The Bible's Message in an Age of Diversity. PA: Judson Press, 1995.

De Waal, Esther. The Celtic Way of Prayer: Recovery of the Religious Imagination. Doubleday, 1997.

Edelman, Marian Wright. I'm Your Child God: Prayers for Our Children. Hyperion Books for Children, New York,2002.

Eddy, Kathy Wonson and Maren C. Tirabassi. Gifts of Many Cultures: Worship Resources for the Global Community. Ohio: United Church Press, 1995.

Gonzalez, Justo L. Out of Every Tribe and Nation: Christian Theology at the Ethnic Roundtable. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992.

Helphrey, Juanita J. ed. Worship Resources. Council For American Indian Ministry, 1991.

Kyung, Chung Hyun. Struggle to the Sun Again. Introducing Asian Women's Theology. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1990

Lesher, Jean A. Prayers For The Common Good. Pilgrim Press, Cleveland, Ohio, 1998.

Mackall, Dandi Daley. Why I Believe in God and Other Reflections by Children. Prima Publishing, 1999.

Pettigrew Landers, Carolyn and Woodward, Betsy. Children and Families in Worship: Two Perspectives. Resource developed for Ministry to Children and Families. Worship and Education Ministry Team. United Church of Christ. 2002

Pettigrew Landers, Carolyn. Integrating Multi-cultural Perspectives into Workshop, Curriculum and Resource Design, Doctor of Ministry dissertation, May 2000. Contact Rev. Dr. Landers Pettigrew for more information. Minister for Children and Families, The United Church of Christ,700 Prospect Ave, Cleveland, Ohio 44115

Pettigrew, Carolyn Landers. Spiritual Deepening in Small Groups: Facilitator's Guide and Spiritual Deepening in Small Groups: Participant's Booklet. United Church Resources, Cleveland, Ohio, 1999.

Pettigrew, Carolyn Landers and Betsy Woodard. Children and Families in Worship: A Resource. Spring, 2002. Available from the United Church of Christ's Minister for Children and Families, Carolyn Landers Pettigrew.

Santiago, Esmeralda. When I was Puerto Rican. New York: Vintage Books, 1993.

Schaper, Donna. Sabbath Sense: A Spiritual Antidote for the Overworked. Innisfree Press, Inc., 1997.

Thurman, Howard. Moods of Christmas. Friends United Press, 1985.

Treat, James. Native and Christian: Indigenous Voices on Religious Identity in the United States and Canada. New York: Rutledge, 1996.

Tutu, Desmond. An African Prayer Book. Doubleday, 1995.

Yust, Karen Marie. Attentive to God: Spirituality in the Church Committee. Chalice Press, 2001.

Weems, Renita J. Just a Sister Away: A Womanist Vision of Women's Relationships in the Bible. Laura Media, 1988.

Weems, Renita J. Listening For God: A Minister's Journey Through Silence and Doubt. Simon and Schuster, 1999.

Fiction

Kingsolver, Barbara. The Bean Tree. HarperPerennial, 1990. The Poisonwood Bible. HarperPernnial, 2000.
www.kingsolver.com

Tan Amy. The Joy Luck Club. New York: The Putnam's Sons, 1989

Children Learn What They Read: A resource for educators, families and churches, Carolyn Landers Pettigrew, D.Min. and Dawn Karima Pettigrew, M.F.A. This bibliography of award winning children's books, includes a synopsis of each book, spiritual themes, relevant scripture, discussion, spiritual applications, prayer opportunities and suggested activities for each book. The listing is multi-cultural. For more information contact Carolyn Landers Pettigrew at the address listed above.

The Way We Make Sense, Dawn Karima Pettigrew, M.F.A. Writer in Residence and faculty member at Western Carolina University. "On every page of The Way We Make Sense, a sparkling, wildly original and inventive novel, Dawn Karima Pettigrew provides us with the complex joys and strictures of a world that demands our attention. Her characters are red, white, black and brown, but above all they are real. She cares so much about them that they become a part of our lives, too. This is a most auspicious debut. "Dawn Karima Pettigrew-make no mistake about it-is a writer." David Citino, Professor of English and Creative Writing, Ohio State University. Publisher, Auntlute, October 2002.

Information taken from the National UCC website: http://www.ucc.org/children/multicultural-bibliography.html
Posted by: Blog Admin

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Change the World

Change—a goal or objective
1. Proactive. Making a difference.
2. Putting your faith into action.

An old, popular UCC bumper sticker once proclaimed, “To believe is to care, To care is to do.” Or as the book of James puts it in the Christian Scriptures, “Faith without works is dead.”

If there’s any single trait that UCC members share in common, it’s our commitment to building a better world. Our faith compels us to change things- through our advocacy, our service, our financial gifts, our prayers and our personal growth and understanding. In the UCC, ‘witnessing’ is not insisting that others must believe exactly as you do. Instead, we witness our love and faith by working for justice for the marginalized and oppressed.

Check out the National UCC and First Central's website to see and learn about all the UCC initiatives. Together we can make good things happen at home and around the world.

  • National UCC- http://www.ucc.org/change-the-world/?log-event=sp2f-view-item&nid=53243548
  • First Central Church- http://www.firstcentral.org/ministries/outreach.shtml
Posted by Hanna W.