Advent 101

Advent (from Latin, adventus, meaning "coming towards") is a four-week season of preparation for Christmas. The First Sunday of Advent (November 29, 2009) marks the beginning of the church's year.

Advent and Christmas focus both on the past--the coming of Jesus as an infant born into poverty in Bethlehem, and the future--the coming of Christ. This past and future orientation is reflected in the readings appointed in the church for each Sunday of Advent.

The color purple--Purple is the main sanctuary color during Advent. This is the color of penitence and fasting as well as the color of royalty to welcome the Advent of the King.

Also, during Advent many churches decorate with evergreen wreaths, trees and other items symbolizing the birth of Jesus and new life present.

To learn more about Advent such as the lighting of different colored candles and the history of this church season, please visit Cri Voice: http://www.crivoice.org/cyadvent.html.

Sources: http://www.ucc.org and CRI Voice.
Posted by Blog Administrator

FCC Support for our Native American Brothers and Sisters-Again!

This congregation never ceases to amaze me. This fall, the Iktome Ska Foundation’s need for winter coats and blankets was expressed to First Central Congregational Church and under the coordination of Arlene Luther, 78 winter coats and 46 blankets were donated and will be taken to the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations the weekend of December 18. These will be included in the community-wide coat and blanket drive and be piggybacked with the toys collected by the Lash LaRue Toy Drive for Christmas on Pine Ridge benefit concert series (by the way check it out: http://www.lashlaruetoydrive.com/) which concludes this Sunday night FYI~!! Nope I am not telling you here, you gotta link to the website to see it ALL.

By the way, Arlene came up with a novel idea; her Sew-A-Thon produced several beautiful homemade quilts that we are sure will be appreciated by the Lakota recipients who will know that none but loving hands were called upon to create them. Thanks again to the ladies and guys who helped create these beautiful night warmers.

If you didn’t realize, according to the 2000 census, Pine Ridge’s Lakota Sioux community is the 11th largest Native American reservation and the neighboring Rosebud Lakota Sioux community is the 14th largest reservation, yet these are among the most poverty stricken communities in the United States. Any help to these and our other relations living on reservations is needed and appreciated.

In addition, FCC members donated fifteen grocery sacks of non-perishable foods and $485 which will be used to purchase groceries this week for the food banks on the Santee, Winnebago and Omaha Reservations. The food donations will be trucked up to the St. Joseph Food Pantry where they will be divided among the three reservation pantries. This congregation doesn’t just talk the talk, they walk the walk!

The work of FCC is so deeply appreciated by the foundation and the people who are living on the reservations.

Posted by Rick Brenneman

Happy Birthday Blog

November marks the 1 year birthday of First Central's Blog. Whoot!

With this special moment here, I would like to thank all of the readers and those who wrote comments. It makes maintaining this part of our outreach fun and engaging.

A lot has happened in our church over the past year. We have seen our pastor of 13 years, Pastor Winston Baldwin, move on and begin ministry else where. We have truly begun to look inward during this time of transition and make steps to move our congregation forward and respond to the needs of our community. It has been a very busy year and I think, successful one. We started a capital campaign and have begun to restructure our church leadership, so that it reflects the needs of our congregation. I am thankful for those have who have recognized this need and are actively working to make things more "user friendly" and mission driven.

This church truly is a great place to worship, grow and belong. I am looking forward to another year of blogging, friendly conversations, spiritual growth, and serving my community. Thanks First Central!

Posted by the Blog Administrator.

First Central Game Night and Dessert Party

The First Central Church 20s & 30s Somethings Group (young(er) members of the church) is having an event again!

We invite you to participate in our Fall 2009 event: Game Night and Dessert Party.
Date: Thursday, December 3, 2009
Time: 7:00-8:30 pm
Location: 8215 Burt Plaza

We'll get to know each other by playing board and card games like Apples to Apples, Clue, Scrabble, etc., while enjoying a potluck dessert bar- yummy!

If you have a game you'd like us to play, please feel free to bring it along.

So, mark your calendars and plan to attend this fun and relaxing event. To RSVP, contact Sara at the church office.

Posted by: Blog Administrator

Congregational Economics

Congregational Economics by Martin E. Marty

Source: Sightings 11/2/09

Covering “public religion” is our assignment. To many, reporting on congregations and, worse, on “giving,” looks private, personal, beside the public point. They should look again: By far the largest sector of charitable giving is to and through religious institutions. The hundreds of thousands of congregations, parishes, synagogues, mosques, and more, are the most widely and diversely represented of American voluntary agencies. They usually fly under the reportorial radar, but what their members think and do has enormous public influence, locally, nationally, and globally. We pay attention.

One time to notice barometers is during this month of November, in many places called “Stewardship Month,” when the generosity, priorities, strategies, and moods of American people in congregations gets measured. How are they doing, so far into the recession? Not needing to rely only on spotty or anecdotal impressions, we can read a study which appeared last Tuesday, as it provides at least a beginning and partial answer. The Lake Institute on Faith and Giving at the Center on Philanthropy and the Alban Institute – an Indianapolis and Washington combo – provide the report.

The two surveyed 1,500 congregations that are busy weathering the financial storms. Are they representative? No: No matter how small or weak some may be, the fact that they reach out to the Alban Institute signals some kind of vitality that sets them somewhat (if not vastly) apart. Over one-third of them reported an increase in giving for the first half of 2009 over the first half of 2008, and over one-third stayed the same. How do they adjust and make do in hard(er) times? Only 6.8 percent reduced permanent staff and only 10.7 more cut back on part-time staff. One-sixth of them could not raise salaries, while almost that many cut utility and program costs. William Enright of the Center calls the parishes “resilient” and “imaginative,” as they reach out to meet increasing needs in their communities and around the world. James Wind of Alban puts in a plug for local congregations, which are too often taken for granted. The majority, large or small, are dynamic and creative.

It’s a them-that-has-gits situation, in that those that were increasing giving, receipts, and mission pre-crisis keep increasing or at least holding their own, while those that were suffering decline now decline further and look for ways to turn things around. Many of them, lacking funds, supplemented mission with donations of food and clothing to the community. Most clergy brought up the subject of giving no more and no less frequently than they did B.C., Before the Crisis, but 40 percent did turn the volume and frequency up to attract more and better givers.

Churches made up mainly of older members (fifty-plus years) suffered more than did those with younger congregations, something easily understood by any who overhear retirees report on declines in their nest eggs. A minority of congregations have endowments; few of these reported increase. The little churches that reported less than $150,000 in donations in 2008’s first half reported continuing decline in 2009. What is not measured here is the degree of zest and passion and enjoyment brought by both clerical and lay leadership: Do those who enjoy giving and asking others to give do better than those whose apologetic tones, body language, lamenting, signs of marking time, and running for cover are telegraphed to their membership? You don’t need a survey to certify the part of it all that we already know.

Reference:

Read the 2009 Congregational Economic Impact Study at http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/LakeFamilyInstitute/economyGiving.aspx.

Martin E. Marty's biography, current projects, publications, and contact information can be found at www.illuminos.com.

Sermon Talk Back

Sermon Talk Back for Sunday, October 25, 2009

Scripture: Mark 10: 46-52
Jesus is leaving Jericho (a hot, dry place in the “wilderness), when a
blind man yells to Jesus for help – “have pity on me…I want my sight back.”
Jesus tells him he is healed and to “go.” The man rises and follows Jesus
to Jerusalem.

Sermon Title: “Getting to Go”

Preached by: Rev. Don Hammond

Summary: Sometime being a Christian is made to appear an easy and good thing. Many
people have received the compassionate and even healing touch of Jesus, and
many say “thank you,” and get on with life. The blind man with new eyesight
said “thank you,” and when Jesus told him to “Go,” he followed. His “Go”
had new direction. Where are you “Going”?

So after you have heard this sermon on Sunday morning...get on your computer and post your thoughts and comments about what you heard!

Posted by Blog Administrator

Money Matters: Faith and Tough Economic Times

The UCC has great resources on financial wellness for your personal financial health and the health of our congregation. We urge you to check out their links and resources on the national website...

http://www.ucc.org/stewardship/faith-and-tough-econmic-times/

Best wishes,
Blog Administrator