The Pilgrim - November 15, 2009

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

This Sunday our soloist will be Steven Berlanga. The Dorothy Baker Award which recognizes unique contributions to improving the lives of children and youth, will be presented to Melissa Murchison. The Children’s Sharing Time will be led by Wally Hoeger, our Director of Children’s and Youth Ministry, and Rev. Timothy Murphy, Minister of Youth and Social Justice at Pilgrim UCC in Carlsbad.

My sermon, using texts from the three major Abrahamic faiths, will look at ways we respond to fear and anger in our lives.

Immediately following the service, we will hold our Annual Congregational Business Meeting.

SERMON: Responding to Fear and Anger – Contrasting ‘New Ground’ with Glenn Beck
The Rev. Jerry Stinson, preaching
READING: Hebrews 13:3; Qur’an 49:13; Mishna Sanhedrin 4:5
LITURGISTS: The Rev. Libby Tigner and Mr. Larry Forester

Next week Jerry Stinson’s sermon will be titled “Reaching Deep Inside the Pain to Draw Out Something Redemptive.”

 

Music on Sunday

This Sunday Jerry’s original sermon topic was “Can you be spiritual without being religious?” which gave me pause. How do I select an anthem that might reflect or support this question? After some thought, I chose Bobby McFerrin’s setting of “Psalm 23” which employs the feminine pronoun for God, and the mother/daughter imagery for the father/son so often heard in churches these days. He dedicated this work to his mother, with whom he identifies his image of God and for whom he gives much thanks and love. It is a profoundly spiritual composition, and does not belong to any particular religion. See you in church.

- Dr. Leland, Vail, Minister of Music

 

In Sunday School This Week

Theme: Praise the Holy One
Scripture Focus: I Samuel 1:4-20; 2:1-10

 

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.

 

 

Pilgrim Deadline

The deadline for submitting items for inclusion in this newsletter is Friday at 12 noon.

 

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

Join the First Church 100 CLUB to ensure we raise the half a million dollars necessary to meet our 2010 budget plans.

We need:

100 GUARDIAN ANGELS pledging $1 a week!
100 SOJOURNERS pledging $10 a week!
100 TRUTH SEEKERS pledging $25 a week!
100 PROPHETS pledging $50 a week!
10 ARCHANGELS pledging $100 or more a week!

Are you a …

GUARDIAN ANGEL, SOJOURNER, TRUTH SEEKER, PROPHET or ARCHANGEL?

Remember, Jesus observed that only the poor widow gave everything. Others gave only from their surplus wealth. The idea of giving all that we have—materially, emotionally and spiritually is a daunting decision. Please be generous in your pledge.

When your pledge is received on or before November 18, a leaf is placed on our Giving Tree in the narthex with only your name on it signifying your participation in our 2010 Pledge Campaign. On Sunday November 22, a leaf will be drawn from the Giving Tree. The lucky winner will be awarded a gift certificate to dine at Utopia restaurant in Long Beach Be sure your name appears on the Giving Tree to insure your chance to dine and celebrate our successful 2010 Pledge Campaign! Remember: your contributions are tax-deductible. If you wish to prepay your 2010 pledge for tax purposes, please make your payment to the church before December 31, 2009.

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

 

The 2009 Dorothy Baker Award

On November 15, First Congregational Church’s Board of Christian Education will present the Dorothy Baker Award to honor an individual for outstanding service to children in need. This year’s recipient is Melissa Murchison, Chairperson of Operation School Bell, a program of Rick Rackers, an auxiliary of Assistance League®.

The following article is reprinted with permission from Dr. Paul Boyd-Batstone.

Who Is Dorothy Baker?

In September of 1959, Dorothy and Edwin Baker moved to Long Beach to begin an extraordinary tenure of service to children in need. Her pragmatic approach to addressing the need of the moment has led to almost 45 years of extraordinary service to the Long Beach community. As a professor of home economics at Cal State Long Beach, Dorothy began a five day a week child care program for infants through preschool from destitute families at First Congregational Church in downtown Long Beach. The Cal State students worked as teachers and teacher aides at the preschool.

The preschool was only the beginning, in addition to their own children; Dorothy and Ed were foster parents to a total of 11 needy children. The first two toddlers appeared at the preschool and caught Ed’s eye because they were literally without clothing and ere emaciated from lack of food. Coincidentally, they appeared while Dorothy was giving out Christmas baskets full of presents. Dorothy asked each of the preschool children to give a gift to the toddlers. Later they visited the mother who was unable to care for her children, and she asked Dorothy and Ed to take them in as foster children. Similar requests happened repeatedly over the course of their lives.

Seeing need for parent education, Dorothy initiated numerous programs at the preschool including nutrition classes, sewing groups, life management skills, and parenting. She received a $224,000 grant from the James Irvine Foundation to feed families through the YMCA of Greater Long Beach. On some occasions, there would be 300-500 people being fed and receiving parent education classes.

Dorothy bought and directed Progress School on 909 Pine Avenue. Among the unique features of the school was that it was K-12 private school that only charged tuition on an ability to pay basis. This progressive school was not age graded, but rather the curriculum was dictated by the child’s developmental level. Dorothy’s personal interest in the school began when she tried unsuccessfully to enroll her three-year-old daughter, who was able to read, in a local school. Someone suggested she go up the street to Progress School. She became involved as a parent and later owner/operator.

Dorothy initiated numerous other programs. Summer Day Camp was established to provide quality childcare and educational program during vacation months. Help with Homework was an afternoon program providing academic support to children of working families. Saturdays were not rest days, but time to provide child care, homework help and nutritious meals to children. Christmas baskets were distributed to designated families in need from Edison, International, Stevenson, and Progress Schools.

In Dorothy’s own words, “I just loved children. I wanted to make life happy enough so that they would want to do things. The education, the clothes, the teaching of parents was related to that. A lot of praise goes with it for just trying.”

In the spirit of Dorothy Baker we honor Melissa Murchison.

Melissa, working in conjunction with the Long Beach school nurses, community workers and counselors, identifies students that need school uniforms. The students are then invited to the Operation School Bells office located inside the Assistance League building on Spring Street. Once there the students choose a backpack, school supplies and a book. After that, they are fitted for two complete uniforms (tops and bottoms), socks, underwear, a jacket, and a shoe voucher if needed.

In addition, Melissa orders all the uniforms, coordinates the stocking of and reordering of uniforms and provides the students that visit the site a welcoming, loving environment. Last year, under the direction of Melissa, Operation School Bells clothed over 5,000 children in 2010 the school district is asking the program to supply complete uniforms for 10,000 student.

Please join the Christian Education Board this Sunday as we honor Melissa Murchison, recipient of the 2009 Dorothy Baker Award.

 

Kindred Spirits: November 21
By Deanna Melzian

Are you new to First Church and would like to get to know some of our LGBT members and our straight friends? Join us at our bi-monthly meeting of Kindred Spirits, a group that meets every other month for dinner and conversation. This month we will meet on the third Saturday, November 21, so we won’t be in conflict with the Thanksgiving weekend. (We normally meet on the fourth Saturday.) We’ll gather at the home of Richard Berryman (2244 E. Sixth St., Unit 1, Long Beach; 562-433-4545). Plan to arrive at 6 p.m. with a potluck dish for 8 to share. Are you an “old time” member of the group? Consider inviting someone who hasn’t attended before.

 

New Member Gathering Postponed
By Libby Tigner

Due to scheduling conflicts, the New Member Dessert planned for November
29 will be postponed until after the holiday period. The new date and time will be published once it is set.

 

Christmas Dinner - Saturday, December 12

Parish Life wants to invite everyone to our Annual Christmas Dinner. This year we will again have Avocation and Friends for our entertainment and of course a visit from Santa. We are also trying to arrange pictures by the fireplace. The reception will start at 5:30 p.m. to mix and mingle with your friends, followed by dinner at 6:30. The cost this year is $8 per adult and $4 per child. Please mark December 12 on your calander and come join your church family for this fun event.

 

Uncommittee at Work
Photograph by Heather Chambers

Bob Kalayjian ascends a ladder to clear vines. The Uncommittee also built
an additional wheelchair area in the sanctuary.

 

Helping Hands!
By Cathy Chambers

Thanks to the efforts of crafters and the enthusiasm of buyers, the Craft Fair raised a total of $2,967 for the Member Benevolence Fund. An additional $888 was raised from the free-will offering at the Avocation Concert.

 

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.

 

Practicing Peace at Cal State Long Beach
By Bob Kalayjian

On November 17, 2 noon until 5 p.m., there will be a multivenue presentation at Cal State University Long Beach (center of campus) put on by the Center for Peace and Social Justice. The two prominent speakers will be Tom Hayden talking about the war in Afghanistan at 1 p.m. and Paul Chappell from the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation talking about nuclear disarmament at 2 p.m. In addition there will be music, dance, poetry, native drumming and ceremonies, etc. This is a great opportunity to show solidarity and support for peace, the students and the campus.

 

“May Peace Be with You”: World March Update
By Bob Kalayjian

The World March for Peace and NonViolence is in Europe and Africa now and on its way to the United States on November 30. It will be in Los Angeles on December 2, a short three weeks from today. I hope everyone has been taking in the photos of all the gatherings in the various countries on the growing poster in the Koinonia Room. There will be another dozen or so photos this coming Sunday. For some moving videos of the march in Europe, click on the following links (if that doesn’t work copy and paste them into your browser – watch full screen for best viewing).

Oslo, Norway: http://www.theworldmarch.org/index.php?secc=videos&quevideo=BTeam&acc=verid&vd_id=802

Budapest, Hungary: http://www.theworldmarch.org/index.php?secc=videos&quevideo=BTeam&acc=verid&vd_id=778

Prague, Czechoslovakia: http://www.theworldmarch.org/index.php?secc=videos&quevideo=BTeam&acc=verid&vd_id=764

Save the evening of December 2 to join the Peace Train (aka Blueline) to Emanuel Presbyterian for a march and peace concert with members of the World March Team that are coming to LA. More news to come. Peace!

 

One Church's Reputation
By Dale Whitney

Early one recent Saturday morning, I left a box of Farmers Markets tote bags on a low wall in a Long Beach superrmarket parking lot on the way to our Cerritos Farmers Market. I drove off and inadvertently left it in my rush to get to the market. When I realized my mistake, I phoned the person who was going to sell those tote bags in the market that day, and she went by the supermarket to look for the box of bags. It was not there anymore, but when she went into the nearby laundromat and inquired, the people there said that they were homeless folk and they had the box and they were intending to return it to the delivery address on the box, which was First Church, because they knew that church and its good work with the homeless community.

The Farmers Markets got their lost tote bags back for only one reason - the good reputation that First Church has among the homeless community of Long Beach!

 

Health Care Reform - A Matter of Life and Death
By Jerry Stinson

The article below was printed in the Raleigh News and Observer on October 30, 2009. The author, Yonat Shimron, has granted us permission to reprint the article in The Pilgrim. It reminds us why we must continue to push for affordable health care for all.

What Costly Care Cost Them
By Yonat Shimron

Leslie Boyd said her son died because he couldn't afford a colonoscopy.

Thursday night, she clutched a framed photo of Mike from behind the lectern at the Unitarian Uni-versalist Fellowship and showed an audience of about 100 people his face.

The occasion was an interfaith memorial service for people who have suffered or died from lack of affordable health care. Organized by the North Carolina Council of Churches, the service was intended to draw people of faith to action as Congress wrestles with a bill to remake the health-care system. The council is a coalition of 16 Christian denominations that work on social justice issues.

Increasingly, such memorials are being held across the country as clergy of all faiths unite to express their growing conviction that extending health care to all is a human right and a sacred obligation.

More than 30 clergy, including prominent members of Raleigh's Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and Muslim congregations, sponsored the memorial, and at least half attended the service. One woman told how her dialysis treatment forced her to give up her job, and by extension her insurance. Another said prayer is the only insurance she can afford.

But Boyd, who lives in Candler near Asheville, gave a public face to the grim reality that Americans die unnecessarily because of lack of coverage. Her son Mike Danforth died April 1, 2008, at the age of 33. He had been a student at Armstrong Atlantic University in Savannah when his health began to decline. But like many older students, he opted out of health insurance because he couldn't afford it.

When his doctor told him he needed a colonoscopy, he postponed a procedure that typically costs about $3,000 without insurance. By the time he finally did get a physician to probe the lining of his large intestine, cancer had ravaged his colon.

Fighting back tears, Boyd blamed the health-care system. “To them, he was worthless,” she said. “To me, he was worth everything.”

Steve Taylor of Raleigh choked back tears as he told how his parents lost their home and had to file for bankruptcy because of mounting medical bills.

Mack and Susan Taylor of Macon, Ga., are both entitled to Medicare, but a series of health problems including his heart condition and her brain aneurism led to hospital stays they couldn't afford. In a few weeks, the couple – he is 75, she, 69 – will have to move into a rental.

“It shouldn't be this way,” said Steve Taylor, who works as missions director for the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church.

The Rev. David Forbes, pastor of Christian Faith Baptist Church in Raleigh, was even more emphatic. “We are ashamed to call ourselves Christians, Buddhists and Jews,” he said during a prayer midway through the service. “Forgive us, oh God.”

 

November Birthdays

1 - Harold Curtis, Ron Nelson, Loren Solem-Kuehl
2 - Joseph Askin, David Cavanaugh
3 - Veronica L. Bloomfield, Michelle Cook
4 - Cheryl Doorbar, Mildred Moore, Gail Schwandner
7 - Maycie Herrington, Rick Travis-Bourassa
10 - Noah Gardner-Orr, Bob Northcutt
11 - Tony Abrahano, Ruth Atkins, Mary Light
12 - Jackie Grover, Monica Silva, Greg Suematsu
13 - James Schatz, Carol Welsh
16 - Tim Bolton, Chris Jaeckel, Eddie Nazarro
17 - Judy Crawford, Mikayla Williams
18 - Victor Bogdanoff, Jeff Miller
19 - Sasha Advani, Nancy Himel, Susan Jaeckel
20 - Ronda Holman, Brad Wells
21 - Mary Martin
22 - Tom Larson, Jerry Stinson
25 - Ron Willey
26 - Mara Rhoads, Allison King
28 - Naomi Suematsu, Michelle Williams
29 - Mary Granger, David McMillin, Yvonne SaMarion

 

November Anniversaries

4 - Christine and Mara Rhoads, 4 years
15 - Tracy and Matt Balin, 1 years
16 - Brad Wells and Nancy Valencia, 24 years
20 - Clive Graham and Dorianne Campbell-Graham, 17 years
21 - Tom and Susan Dorsey, 22 years
22 - James and Cindy Loeffler, 20 years
23 - Leslie and Charmaine Charles, 14 years
26 - Gordon and Lane Shepherd, 50 years

Editor's note: My apologies for neglecting to include the November birthdays and anniversaries in the first newsletter of the month.

 

 

 

Parish Concerns

Your thoughts and prayers are requested for 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); Julie Snelling (Jim Snelling's daughter-in-law); Christopher Aiden Bedolla (son of Mark Cortes' friends); the Negri-Doran family (Cynthia Holt's friends); Lisa Orr upon the death of her mother, Corinne Orr; and Bob Phibbs upon the death of his father, Garnett Phibbs; and Ed Reeves.

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