The Pilgrim - November 8, 2009

Sunday Celebration Notes from Jerry Stinson
Celebrating God’s Love Every Sunday at 10 am.

The 2010 Stewardship Campaign has included helpful mailings, creative Pilgrim articles and inspiring Stewardship Moments.

All of that has been leading up to this Sunday – our actual Stewardship Sunday when we receive the financial pledges that will determine the kind of creativity and energy this congregation can marshal for the coming year. This Sunday we will bring forward our 2010 pledge cards which will be received by the oldest and youngest members of our faith community.

We will have special music by Carlos Carlos and also by the Beloved Bells.

Our Interim Conference Minister, Jane Fisler Hoffman, will bring greetings from the Southern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ.

During the sermon time, Jane Fisler Hoffman, Libby Tigner and I will engage in a conversation about the United Church of Christ and its future. In a time of diminished church membership and increasing demands from a secular society, what kind of future does a mainline Protestant denomination have?

Following the service there will be a hot dog lunch sponsored by the Board of Parish Life and a special forum in which Dr. Fisler Hoffman will talk about the state of the conference.

SERMON: The Future of the United Church of Christ
The Rev. Jane Fisler Hoffman, the Rev. Jerry Stinson, and the Rev. Libby Tigner
LITURGIST: Ms. Kathleen O’Neal

Next week Jerry Stinson’s sermon will be titled “Responding to Fear and Anger – Contrasting ‘New Ground’ with Glenn Beck.”

 

Music on Sunday

This Sunday the choir will sing one of our favorite anthems, “Ain’t Got Time to Die” by Hall Johnson. Carlos Carlos is the featured soloist. The anthem is constructed in the call and response fashion of hymn singing in the 19th century. The soloist sings a phrase and the choir responds. Each verse builds in intensity and volume until all are rocking to the joy of the music. You are all invited to clap along with the choir. See you in church!

- Dr. Leland, Vail, Minister of Music

 

In Sunday School This Week

Theme: Risk and Restoration
Scripture Focus: Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17

In Adult Education This Week
Sundays at 8:30 am in the Klar Rooms, upstairs in Pilgrim Hall

We will continue our discussion of “First Light,” a DVD-based series featuring scholars Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan which examines the beginnings of the Jesus movement. Filmed in and around Jerusalem and the Galilee, the course discusses life in first-century Palestine and the social and cultural world into which Jesus was born and on which his teachings made such a deep and lasting impact. Reading materials prepared by John Dominic Crossan, including study questions, and are available for $1. You can pick up your copy on any Sunday morning in class.

 

 

Meeting of the Congregation on Sunday, November 15
By Jerry Stinson

Our annual Congregational Business Meeting will be held immediately following the Sunday morning service on November 15. At that meeting, we will:

• Consider and vote on the proposed 2010 budget – a budget that reflects serious reductions in order to cut our deficit.
• Elect officers and board members for the coming year.
• Consider several changes to the church’s Constitution and By-Laws.

On the members section of the church website (www.firstchurchlb.org) you can find the complete detailed 2010 budget (only a one-page summary will be distributed at the meeting) plus a copy of all the proposed by-law changes. As soon as the Nominating Committee’s report is completed, it too will appear on the website with a list of all the nominations for church officers and board members.

Plan now to attend this important meeting!

 

WHAT IF ... WE Needed Half a Million Dollars?

We do, and you can help! Join the First Church 100 CLUB to insure we meet our 2010 budget plans.

We are looking for 100 GUARDIAN ANGELS to pledge $1 a week to support our music programs. 100 SOJOURNERS pledging $10 a week will support our Christian education and mission endeavors. 100 TRUTH SEEKERS pledging $25 a week will support our office and other expenses. 100 PROPHETS pledging $50 a week will ensure our spiritual and peace and social justice programs will continue in 2010. 10 ARCHANGELS pledging $100 or more a week will guarantee First Church will celebrate another successful year of growth and inspiration!

Are you a …
GUARDIAN ANGEL, SOJOURNER, TRUTH SEEKER, PROPHET or ARCHANGEL?

One of the ways we live thankfully is to return a portion of the material gifts God has entrusted to our care. Returning your pledge card will insure the annual ministry of First Church will succeed in 2010. Your pledge card was mailed to you. When your pledge is received on or before November 8, a leaf will be placed on our Giving Tree in the sanctuary with your name on it signifying your participation in our 2010 Pledge Campaign. On November 15, several names will be drawn from the tree to win exciting prices! Make sure your name appears on our Giving Tree to ensure your chance to win one of these prizes.

We express our gratitude for your generous contributions to the ministry of First Church during our fiscal year 2010!

The Board of Stewardship and Finance

 

New Member Dessert on November 29
By Libby Tigner

It may be only a few weeks since you joined First Congregational Church, or it may be a few months. Either way, you qualify as a new member of our church family, and I’d like to invite to gather with me and other new members for an informal get-together to help us get to know each other.

I hope that you can join us on Sunday evening, November 29 at 6:30 p.m. for dessert at my house. We’ll mingle, enjoy some goodies, and spend some time learning a bit more about each other and the church. Bring any questions you have about any aspect of our church life and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Please let me know by Wednesday, November 25 if you’ll be able to attend, so that I have enough desserts and set out the right number of chairs. You can contact me in the office at 562-436-2256, ext. 224, or send me an email at ltigner@firstchurchlb.org.

Gail and I live at 243 Grand Avenue in Long Beach. That’s four blocks east of Redondo, and ½ block north of Broadway. Allergy sufferers beware: we share our house with a cat and a dog.

I hope to see you on November 29!

P.S. If you joined any time in the last year or two and never had a chance to attend a new member function, you are welcome to come! Just let me know.

 

Theological Study Group Meeting Cancelled
By Jerry Stinson

Because of the American Guild of Organists concert at First Church, the November meeting of the Theological Study Group will be cancelled. So group members will discuss Amy Frykholm’s book Rapture Culture on Tuesday, December 8 at 7 p.m.

 

American Guild of Organists Concert - Tuesday, November 10, 7:30 p.m.

The Long Beach chapter of the American Guild of Organists will sponsor a free concert on Tuesday, November 10 at 7:30 p.m. The organist is Randall Harlow, a doctoral candidate at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York who last played First Church’s Moeller organ at a Just After Noon Music concert in 2004. The program will feature works by Leo Sowerby, Sigfrid Karg-Elert, Julius Reubke and Adrian Vernon Fish.

The concert is free, and all are welcome to attend.

 

Volunteer Elves Needed for the One-Day Christmas/Shopping with Dignity Store
By Janet Rhodes

Saturday, December 19, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Work in two-hour shifts throughout the day.

Better Balance for Long Beach, First Lady of Long Beach Nancy Foster and our partners, the Long Beach Rescue Mission and First Congregational Church, invite you to join us for this terrific event. To volunteer contact Janet Rhodes (janetsue_rhodes@yahoo.com or 562-714-1886). To make a monetary donation to the Shopping with Dignity Store, please contact JaneK@verizon.net.

 

Change in Christmas Eve Service
By Jerry Stinson

The Church Council voted to change the time of the late Christmas Eve Service from 10:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. It is hoped that more people will be able to attend at an earlier time. The early Christmas Eve Service will remain at 6 p.m.

 

Associate Minister on Vacation

Libby Tigner on vacation during the weeks of November 2 and November 9, but will be in church on November 8 and November 15.

 

Sacred Inspirations at The Neighborhood UMC

The Neighborhood is the United Methodist Community on Pacific Avenue between Fifth and Sixth streets. We often work together with that church and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church on issues of social justice in the downtown area. They will hold "Sacred Inspirations," a benefit concert for Canta, their after-school music program for local youth, on Saturday, November 7 at 7:30 p.m., preceded by an art show at 6 p.m. The performance will include Andreas Mitisek and SuzAnne Braderic of the Long Beach Opera and original music by Kevin M. Goode and Mary Beth Bolin of The Neighborhood UMC, as well as works by Bach, Brahms, Gunoud and more. The gallery artwork is presented by the Arts and Crafts Society. The suggested donation is $15 (tax-deductible). Tickets are available at door or by calling 562-437-1289.

 

Clothing Swap Fundraiser for the Drop-In Center: November 21, Noon to 4 p.m.
By Brad Lara-Gagne

Let your old clothes becomes another's new fashion!

Bring your lightly used men’s, women's and kids' clothing, shoes, hats, accessories, unopened toiletries, makeup, luggage, books and magazines. You will have an opportunity to swap clothing in your size, in the spirit of going green and recycling. The remainder of the items left over will be donated to the Drop-In Center.

And bring your wallets and checkbooks! We will have local vendors and business owners selling items and a percentage of proceeds will be donated to the Drop-In Center. Minimum donation: $10 plus one shopping bag of clothing, or $30. Food and drink donated by The Westin of Long Beach and local Long Beach restaurants. Tax deductible receipt made available upon request.

 

Blankets for the Homeless - $10 each
By Brad Lara-Gagne

For the past three years the Drop-In Center has provided blankets to the homeless in our community. They are twin-sized, 70% wool, 30% synthetic blankets of high quality. The Friendship Blankets heat stamp makes the blankets identifiable so that when they are lost or confiscated they may be retrieved, cleaned and recycled. Our goal this year is to purchase 300 blankets. 

To contribute, you can find us in the courtyard after church, put checks in the Drop-In Center box upstairs near the offices or mail them to the church. Checks should be made out to UCO Drop-In Center with "blankets" on the memo line. Or check out our website and pay with Paypal – make sure to note it’s for blankets: www.urbancommunityoutreach.org.

Make sure to provide us with your name and address so we may thank you. You can also give these in someone else’s name if you like! Please contact Brad Lara-Gagne at bradg63@aol.com with any questions.

 

Why I Disagree with Bishop Spong's Manifesto
By Jerry Stinson

Bishop John Shelby Spong’s recent manifesto about debating the issue of homosexuality has received considerable attention. I want to print his manifesto here and then share my reasons for disagreeing with him.

A Manifesto! The Time Has Come!

I have made a decision. I will no longer debate the issue of homosexuality in the church with anyone. I will no longer engage the biblical ignorance that emanates from so many right-wing Christians about how the Bible condemns homosexuality, as if that point of view still has any credibility. I will no longer discuss with them or listen to them tell me how homosexuality is “an abomination to God,” about how homosexuality is a “chosen lifestyle,” or about how through prayer and “spiritual counseling” homosexual persons can be “cured.” Those arguments are no longer worthy of my time or energy. I will no longer dignify by listening to the thoughts of those who advocate “reparative therapy,” as if homosexual persons are somehow broken and need to be repaired. I will no longer talk to those who believe that the unity of the church can or should be achieved by rejecting the presence of, or at least at the expense of, gay and lesbian people. I will no longer take the time to refute the unlearned and undocumentable claims of certain world religious leaders who call homosexuality “deviant.”

I will no longer listen to that pious sentimentality that certain Christian leaders continue to employ, which suggests some version of that strange and overtly dishonest phrase that “we love the sinner but hate the sin.” That statement is, I have concluded, nothing more than a self-serving lie designed to cover the fact that these people hate homosexual persons and fear homosexuality itself, but somehow know that hatred is incompatible with the Christ they claim to profess, so they adopt this face-saving and absolutely false statement.

I will no longer temper my understanding of truth in order to pretend that I have even a tiny smidgen of respect for the appalling negativity that continues to emanate from religious circles where the church has for centuries conveniently perfumed its ongoing prejudices against blacks, Jews, women and homosexual persons with what it assumes is “high-sounding, pious rhetoric.” The day for that mentality has quite simply come to an end for me. I will personally neither tolerate it nor listen to it any longer. The world has moved on, leaving these elements of the Christian Church that cannot adjust to new knowledge or a new consciousness lost in a sea of their own irrelevance. They no longer talk to anyone but themselves.

I will no longer seek to slow down the witness to inclusiveness by pretending that there is some middle ground between prejudice and oppression. There isn’t. Justice postponed is justice denied. That can be a resting place no longer for anyone. An old civil rights song proclaimed that the only choice awaiting those who cannot adjust to a new understanding was to “Roll on over or we’ll roll on over you!” Time waits for no one.

I will particularly ignore those members of my own Episcopal Church who seek to break away from this body to form a “new church,” claiming that this new and bigoted instrument alone now represents the Anglican Communion. Such a new ecclesiastical body is designed to allow these pathetic human beings, who are so deeply locked into a world that no longer exists, to form a community in which they can continue to hate gay people, distort gay people with their hopeless rhetoric and to be part of a religious fellowship in which they can continue to feel justified in their homophobic prejudices for the rest of their tortured lives. Church unity can never be a virtue that is preserved by allowing injustice, oppression and psychological tyranny to go unchallenged.
In my personal life, I will no longer listen to televised debates conducted by “fair-minded” channels that seek to give “both sides” of this issue “equal time.” I am aware that these stations no longer give equal time to the advocates of treating women as if they are the property of men or to the advocates of reinstating either segregation or slavery, despite the fact that when these evil institutions were coming to an end the Bible was still being quoted frequently on each of these subjects. It is time for the media to announce that there are no longer two sides to the issue of full humanity for gay and lesbian people. There is no way that justice for homosexual people can be compromised any longer.

I will no longer act as if the Papal office is to be respected if the present occupant of that office is either not willing or not able to inform and educate himself on public issues on which he dares to speak with embarrassing ineptitude.

I will no longer be respectful of the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who seems to believe that rude behavior, intolerance and even killing prejudice is somehow acceptable, so long as it comes from third-world religious leaders, who more than anything else reveal in themselves the price that colonial oppression has required of the minds and hearts of so many of our world’s population.

I see no way that ignorance and truth can be placed side by side, nor do I believe that evil is somehow less evil if the Bible is quoted to justify it. I will dismiss as unworthy of any more of my attention the wild, false and uninformed opinions of such would-be religious leaders as Pat Robertson, James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, Jimmy Swaggart, Albert Mohler, and Robert Duncan. My country and my church have both already spent too much time, energy and money trying to accommodate these backward points of view when they are no longer even tolerable.

I make these statements because it is time to move on. The battle is over. The victory has been won. There is no reasonable doubt as to what the final outcome of this struggle will be.

Homosexual people will be accepted as equal, full human beings, who have a legitimate claim on every right that both church and society have to offer any of us. Homosexual marriages will become legal, recognized by the state and pronounced holy by the church. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” will be dismantled as the policy of our armed forces.

We will and we must learn that equality of citizenship is not something that should ever be submitted to a referendum. Equality under and before the law is a solemn promise conveyed to all our citizens in the Constitution itself. Can any of us imagine having a public referendum on whether slavery should continue, whether segregation should be dismantled, whether voting privileges should be offered to women?

The time has come for politicians to stop hiding behind unjust laws that they themselves helped to enact, and to abandon that convenient shield of demanding a vote on the rights of full citizenship because they do not understand the difference between a constitutional democracy, which this nation has, and a “mobocracy,” which this nation rejected when it adopted its constitution. We do not put the civil rights of a minority to the vote of a plebiscite.

I will also no longer act as if I need a majority vote of some ecclesiastical body in order to bless, ordain, recognize and celebrate the lives and gifts of gay and lesbian people in the life of the church. No one should ever again be forced to submit the privilege of citizenship in this nation or membership in the Christian Church to the will of a majority vote.

The battle in both our culture and our church to rid our souls of this dying prejudice is finished. A new consciousness has arisen. A decision has quite clearly been made. Inequality for gay and lesbian people is no longer a debatable issue in either church or state. Therefore, I will from this moment on refuse to dignify the continued public expression of ignorant prejudice by engaging it. I do not tolerate racism or sexism any longer. From this moment on, I will no longer tolerate our culture’s various forms of homophobia. I do not care who it is who articulates these attitudes or who tries to make them sound holy with religious jargon.

I have been part of this debate for years, but things do get settled and this issue is now settled for me. I do not debate any longer with members of the “Flat Earth Society” either. I do not debate with people who think we should treat epilepsy by casting demons out of the epileptic person; I do not waste time engaging those medical opinions that suggest that bleeding the patient might release the infection. I do not converse with people who think that Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans as punishment for the sin of being the birthplace of Ellen DeGeneres or that the terrorists hit the United Sates on 9/11 because we tolerated homosexual people, abortions, feminism or the American Civil Liberties Union.

I am tired of being embarrassed by so much of my church’s participation in causes that are quite unworthy of the Christ I serve or the God whose mystery and wonder I appreciate more each day. Indeed I feel the Christian Church should not only apologize, but do public penance for the way we have treated people of color, women, adherents of other religions and those we designated heretics, as well as gay and lesbian people.

Life moves on. As the poet James Russell Lowell once put it more than a century ago: “New occasions teach new duties, Time makes ancient good uncouth.” I am ready now to claim the victory. I will from now on assume it and live into it. I am unwilling to argue about it or to discuss it as if there are two equally valid, competing positions any longer. The day for that mentality has simply gone forever.

This is my manifesto and my creed. I proclaim it today. I invite others to join me in this public declaration. I believe that such a public outpouring will help cleanse both the church and this nation of its own distorting past. It will restore integrity and honor to both church and state. It will signal that a new day has dawned and we are ready not just to embrace it, but also to rejoice in it and to celebrate it.

Where I Disagree With Bishop Spong’s Manifesto

I agree with him that “church unity can never be a virtue that is preserved by allowing injustice, oppression and psychological tyranny to go unchallenged.” I agree that “there is no way that justice for homosexual people can be compromised any longer.” I agree that “homosexual people will be accepted as equal, full human beings, who have a legitimate claim on every right that both church and society have to offer any of us” and that “homosexual marriages will become legal, recognized by the state and pronounced holy by the church.”

That is why I have consistently challenged the injustice faced by members of the GLBT community. That’s why I have challenged the oppression through sermons, articles and marches. That’s why I have been doing gay marriages, whether they are legal or not, for almost twenty years.

But what I don’t agree with is Bishop Spong’s self-righteous dismissal of everyone who disagrees with him. Yes, we must challenge injustice. Yes, we must stand up for our convictions. But we cannot let our egos run away into a kind of pomposity that demeans the integrity of all people who don’t share our own opinions.

I think those of us who want justice for all people must seek out every opportunity possible to speak with those who oppose marriage equality and equal rights for all. Without mocking and belittling them, we must see them as fellow children of God and share them the reasons why we are convinced that those in the GLBT community are equally children loved and affirmed by God.
Standing in a corner and saying “I have all the truth and I won’t talk to those who don’t” will never help overturn Proposition 8. It will never put enough pressure on President Obama to have the courage to get rid of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” It will never help school officials find ways to really eliminate gay bashing on our high school campuses.

A great many people who voted “no” on Proposition 8 would not have voted that way a decade ago. Interactions with GLBT persons, information gleaned from magazines and the media, and a variety of other forms of input helped change those people’s minds. We need more conversation and dialogue between folks who disagree – not less because we concur with the bishop that that the arguments and feelings of others are no longer worthy of our time.

Several years ago, Kay and I attended a national meeting of the Center for Progressive Christianity in Philadelphia. Bishop Spong was the keynote speaker and he told his own personal story of holding strong heterosexist convictions until his interaction with a gay priest opened his eyes to new truth. What if that priest had previously decided he would not waste his time engaging unenlightened people?

In the last issue of The Pilgrim, I reprinted an article by Brent Childers who describes himself as one who was a bigot six years ago – one man who condemned homosexuality as a threat to children and society and told his own son that being gay is a ticket to hell. Fortunately his own mother, who didn’t share Spong’s notion that it is a waste of time to talk with those with whom we disagree, challenged Childers to look at his beliefs and the true intent behind the teachings he held in blind faith. "Do you think your views are Christ-like?" she asked him. That dialogue with her son started him on a journey that led him to leave the Southern Baptist Church, to become the Executive Director of Faith in America (which is dedicated to ending religious bigotry toward the gay community) and to join last month’s National Equality March in Washington, DC. Isn’t that kind of transformation what justice-seeking people would want and affirm?

If we truly want a day of new equality, we will have to put aside our smugness and arrogance and be willing to share our convictions in civil and respectful ways with those with whom we disagree.

 

Report from Summer Day Camp
By Nancy Valencia, Summer Day Camp Director and Downtown Associated Youth Service Committee Chair

"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is “thank you” it will be enough." - Meister Eckhardt

Forty years ago, Dorothy and Edwin Baker saw a need to help underprivileged and impoverished children and youth in the downtown Long Beach area. With the support of the members of First Congregational Church, Mrs. and Mr. Baker started an after-school program and a free summer camp for children in the neighborhood. Today their work continues through the support of First Church and the Downtown Associated Youth Service (DAYS) committee, a program of the non-profit Urban Community Outreach.

Several of our 2009 summer camp employees were campers as children and many of them along with the older youth campers spoke very fondly of their childhood summer memories spent with the Bakers. Their memories were gentle reminders of the important work the Bakers started long ago.

Summer Camp 2009 was very busy. We registered over 300 children and youth with a daily average attendance of 240. DAYS introduced the Senior Youth Program to help prepare the youth for the job market by teaching responsible work standards and ethics and give them meaningful, supervised work experience. This summer approximately 60 youth participated in our Senior Youth Program, providing support by developing and organizing an attendance program, creating science and craft projects, supervising young campers, overseeing the breakfast and lunch program and supervising the computer lab and the photography class.

In spite of the economic downturn the camp provided qualified instructors and partnered with Hire a Youth Summer Program in Long Beach. Working together Hire a Youth and DAYS provided employment for 10 young people. In addition through the support of businesses in the community the campers were introduced to numerous activities such as Theater and Dance 101 (provided by Long Beach Opera) and Girls Inc., a program designed to address economic literacy, body image and more. In collaboration with the nonprofit The Neighborhood/La Vecindad UMC and their Fitness for All program, the campers participated in yoga classes and running classes which were held three times a week in the church neighborhood. The Neighborhood/La Vecindad also offered the campers the use of their church space for our weekly movie showing. A Boeing representative offered workshops to introduce the concept of aerodynamics by making and flying paper airplanes to the middle-school-age campers. And the Long Beach Aquarium Education Coordinator came and discussed the behind the scenes mechanics of what makes the aquarium run.

The State of the Art Project, a program devoted to nurturing the imagination through photography, held a six-week class for interested campers. Each Monday, Tuesday and Thursday two photography classes were offered. The students learned techniques, theories and tips to create interesting, thought-provoking photos about their lives and the world around them. They shot with digital cameras and then developed their photos using computer software. At the end of camp, the photography class held an exhibit titled “Listen and You Will See.”

DAYS continues to benefit from a large volunteer base. Cara Varnell held art classes for the campers, and Jen Ford provided nutritional snacks and attended several field trips to assist in supervision. Michele Wilson presented a Law 101 class to the youth, Susan King, a neighbor in the area, offered classes in Life in the Sea, Steve Schatz participated in the running program and Paul Boyd-Batstone, Lisa Bode Heard and Stan Dewitt performed songs from the Great Kapok Tree book. George Suematsu and Randy Nielsen helped to ensure that the campers had a wonderful barbecue on the last day. In addition, Yvonne SaMarion and Ruth Warkentin made sure everything ran smoothly.

Funding challenges required that we limit the number of field trips. However, we were able to take advantage of the beach, the California Science Museum and the Long Beach Farmers Market. Our summer theme of “So You Want to Be a Rock Star” gave the campers a framework for introduction and discussion to a variety of jobs. Guest speakers in various real life careers assisted in allowing the campers to imagine themselves in the occupation and offered clear explanations of their job description.

Forty years later, the need is just as great, appreciation is just as deep, the smiles are just as wide, and the love is as profound as it was in the summer of 1970. As we approach the season of Thanksgiving the Downtown Associated Youth Services recognizes this was all possible due in part to the support of members of First Church. Your generous financial support and words of encouragement gave the campers the gift of time. On behalf of the children and the Downtown Associated Youth Service Committee we thank you.

 

 

The Church Mouse has heard ...

... Linda Sonnenstine (a long-time friend of First Church and big help to our financial campaigns a few years ago) and Craig Spery, her long-time partner, recently married in Nantucket. We delight in their happiness.

... Bob and Pat Kalayjian's new granddaughter, Hazel Jane Miller, was born on October 30 to their daughter Leah.

... Yvonne SaMarion is celebrating the recent birth of her great-great-nephew, Cameron Mitchel Harris.

... Margaret (Peg) Vigars Wilke died peacefully at her home in Claremont, California on Saturday, October 17. She was the mother of our former Associate Minister, the Rev. Kit Wilke. A memorial service will take place at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3 in Decker Hall at 665 Avery Road, Pilgrim Place, Claremont, CA.

CORRECTION to Lowell Johnson's address at Bixby Knolls Towers: the zip code is 90807, and his room number is #244. He doesn't have a phone number yet.

 

Parish Concerns

Your thoughts and prayers are requested for Uma Ballinger (Lisa Bode Heard's friend); David (Jon Rodgers' boyfriend); the family and friends of Jason Downey, who recently died (Carol Welsh's friends); Joe Ernst; Jeff Ford; Veronica Martin (Carol Welsh's friend); Garnett Phibbs (Bob Phibbs' father); Randy Snelling (Jim Snelling's son); Mark Thompson (Amy Peer's brother); Lowell Johnson; Mike and Mark (Ron Cuttriss and Perry Ellwood's friends); Nardos and Emilia (Amy Sutton's partner and her child); Terri Pagels (former church member); and Julie Snelling (Jim Snelling's daughter-in-law).

In the armed forces: Daniele Ware (Karen Miller’s granddaughter, stationed in Iraq).

Names on the Parish Concerns list appear in two consecutive editions of the newsletter. Those in the armed forces serving in combat zones are listed until they come home. To put someone on either list, put a note on the Parish Concerns board on the Third Street landing or contact Ruth Warkentin.

 

Becoming a Member of First Church

Whether you have been attending for a few weeks, a few months or several years, we would like you to consider becoming a member of First Church. When you are ready to take that step, please call or email Rev. Jerry Stinson at 562-436-2256, ext 230 or revjstinson@verizon.net.

 

Online Calendar

Don’t miss out! Check the online church calendar at www.firstchurchlb.org/calendar.html for details about all church events. You can use the online calendar to email invitations to friends to church events and to set up emailed reminders to yourself. Just click on any event to see information about it.

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First Congregational Church - 241 Cedar Avenue - Long Beach, California 90802
562-436-2256 - Fax: 562-436-3018 - E-mail: office@firstchurchlb.org