Thought(s) of the Day

It has been awhile since my (our) last blog post. What do I write about? Well, a few things have been rolling around in this head of mine.

Topic one: Recently, when I attended church, someone made a comment about to me about social media and the role it plays in a faith community. These questions came up: Do congregations have to be involved in social media? Is web 2.0 the place to be? How does a congregation know if social media is the right fit?

All very good questions. For my part, I feel that social media serves as a tool to enhance our engagement, learning and service. This blog for example, is a place for people to post stories and share events. It gives us some “personality.” And our Facebook page? Well, it is a great place for fellow progressive Christians who visit or belong to First Central to connect and learn more about each other on a different level. Do I think congregations should give social media a try- absolutely! Social media or Web 2.0 as the techies call it, is very “hot” right now. It is a great time to try new things and dabble in this fun world of communication. Is it right for every congregation? Maybe not now, but it might be a year or two. Bottom line- our church family is very important. Web 2.0 will never replace face-to-face interactions. (Where would I be without that fateful conversational dinner last March?) They only serve as another avenue to serve our community, get to know one another and become educated citizens.

Topic two: Time poverty. I have extreme time poverty and I know I’m not alone. How do we make time for all that needs to get done? There are just not enough hours in the day! Between work, personal and family responsibilities they day just melts away. As I sit here, I’ve got a dish washer that needs to be emptied, laundry to be put away, trash to be taken out, people to call, research to be done and the list just goes on and on.

So, my question becomes, how on earth do we stay motivated? How do we stay connected with out burning out? How do we find time to get closer to God, deepen our spirituality or venture more on our faith journey? The answer depends on each of us. (It is my dearest hope that you are having better luck tackling the time poverty problem than I am.) One thing that makes dealing with time poverty easier, is that no matter how many Sundays I miss, I still feel welcomed at First Central. It is my home away from home and a respite from my ever-growing to-do list. Thanks for always being there for me, First Central, even when I’m not.

Posted by the blog administrator.

Reflection

Now that 2010 has started and everyone is settled into the new year-hooray! We want to provide you with some suggested reading to help you continue to reflect on service, change, life, and spiritual journeys.

The following are books that can help inspire and encourage reflection:
The Way of the Peaceful Warrior and the Sacred Journey of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman

The Prison Angel: Mother Antonia's Journey from Beverly Hills to a Life of Service in a Mexican Jail by Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan

Let Your Life Speak: Listening to the Voice of Vocation by Parker J. Palmer

Happy reflection!
Posted by Blog Administrator

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.