A Liberal Church, Welcoming of All, Passionately Committed to Social Justice

The Pilgrim - January 10, 2010

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

This Sunday we will be displaying the Hope Quilt. For generations, quilting has represented an important women's tradition that has enabled women to build community, turn discarded scraps of fabric into something beautiful, and create something that when joined together is bigger and more beautiful than the sum of its parts.

In keeping with this tradition, the Hope Quilt stitches together the stories of housekeepers at the Hyatt and other hotels and the pain they endure everyday just to provide for their families. As the Hope Quilt tour progresses from city to city throughout the United States, each housekeeper who joins the Hope for Housekeeper movement will add a new patch to the quilt, which will grow to be hundreds of feet long by the end of its journey.

One of the hotel workers will be present to speak during our service about the plight of those who work in the hotels in Long Beach and about the campaign of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) to help the hotel employees receive a living wage and decent benefits.

My sermon, about the danger of a single story, will grow out of lecture giving by award-winning African novelist Chimamanda Adichie.

Following the service there will be a luncheon in Patterson Hall to support the work of Progressive Christians Uniting.

SERMON: The Danger of a Single Story
The Rev. Jerry Stinson, preaching
READINGS: Selections from the Book of Jonah
LITURGIST: Mr. Bill Peck

Next week Jerry Stinson’s sermon will be titled
“King’s God: The Unknown Progressive Faith of Martin Luther King, Jr.”

 

Music on Sunday

Happy New Year! The Sanctuary Choir is back on duty this Sunday. We will sing the “Kyrie” from the “Missa Solemnis (Colloredo Mass)” by Mozart. This is the mass that we will be performing for the 37th Annual Mozart Festival Gala concert on Saturday, January 30, at 8 p.m. in our Sanctuary. We will be joined by the Chancel Choir of California United Methodist Church and by members of the choir from the Unitarian Universalist Church of Long Beach. This is a free concert that also features the winner of the Mozart Festival concerto competition playing Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 in D Major. Mark your calendars. See you in church!

- Dr. Leland, Vail, Minister of Music

 

In Sunday School

Theme: Affirmed by Love
Scripture Focus: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

 

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

The Center for Progressive Christianity has published what it calls “Eight Points of Progressive Christianity.” The document reads as follows:

By calling ourselves progressive, we mean that we are Christians who ...

1. have found an approach to God through the life and teachings of Jesus.

2. recognize the faithfulness of other people who have other names for the way to God's realm, and acknowledge that their ways are true for them, as our ways are true for us.

3. understand the sharing of bread and wine in Jesus' name to be a representation of an ancient vision of God's feast for all peoples.

4. invite all people to participate in our community and worship life without insisting that they become like us in order to be acceptable (including but not limited to):

• believers and agnostics,
• conventional Christians and questioning skeptics,
• women and men,
• those of all sexual orientations and gender identities,
• those of all races and cultures,
• those of all classes and abilities,
• those who hope for a better world and those who have lost hope;
• without imposing on them the necessity of becoming like us.

5. know that the way we behave toward one another and toward other people is the fullest expression of what we believe.

6. find more grace in the search for meaning than in absolute certainty, in the questions than in the answers.

7. form ourselves into communities dedicated to equipping one another for the work we feel called to do: striving for peace and justice among all people, protecting and restoring the integrity of all God's creation, and bringing hope to those Jesus called the least of his sisters and brothers.

8. recognize that being followers of Jesus is costly, and entails selfless love, conscientious resistance to evil, and renunciation of privilege.

For the five Sundays in January, we’ll explore these eight points, and utilizing a study guide from The Center for Progressive Christianity, flesh out what each of these points might mean for us as individuals and as a congregation.

The class meets at 8:30 a.m. in the Klar classrooms. Coffee is provided, child care is available, and you are welcome to bring your breakfast and a friend!

 

 

Parent Book Study Starts This Sunday

The Parent Book Study will start this Sunday, January 10 at 9 a.m. in the Pownall Room. The book is Making a Home for Faith: Nurturing the Faith of Your Child, by Elizabeth Caldwell. The book study will meet each Sunday through February 21. All parents and those interested in children's faith are invited. Childcare provided in the nursery.

 

Getting to Know You Groups Filling Up Fast!
By Debbie Byrne

We still have a few slots left for the group that starts on Sunday, January 31 after church. The group will meet a total of three times with the last two meeting dates determined by the group. Don't miss out on this chance to get to know more people from the church in a small group setting. If you miss out on the groups starting in January, we will have more groups starting in March or April, so stay tuned. Sign up for the January 31 group after church or sign the "interested in future groups" sheet so we can contact you for the next round. We have had about eight groups meet since last fall and those that have participated have found it to be a wonderful experience, so don't miss out.

 

Board of Outreach and Progressive Christians Uniting
By Nancy Valencia

The Board of Outreach proudly announces the Progressive Christians Uniting Twelfth Annual Gala Benefit Dinner on Monday, February 15. Progressive Christians Uniting concentrates on environmental protection, green jobs and green justice, advancing sexual and gender justice and providing transformational leadership training workshops.

To celebrate the work of PCU, the Board of Outreach is sponsoring a luncheon this Sunday, January 10 after the service. Please join us for a yummy chili bar and learn more about Progressive Christians Uniting.

 

January 17 - A Very Special Sunday
By Jerry Stinson

On Sunday, January 17, our worship service will include readings and hymns from the civil rights movement. I will talk about Martin Luther King’s progressive theology in my sermon. We will present the Aaron and Maycie Herrington Pathfinder Award during the service to the members of the committee that organized the original Getting to Know You groups that led First Congregational Church to become an Open and Affirming congregation.

Following the service there will be a luncheon in the Dining Room. Profits from that lunch will support the church’s participation in this year’s Pride Parade as well as the work of the Worship and Arts Ministry Team. During lunch, we will see a special video made by high school student Kathryn Boyd-Batstone about Maycie Herriginton and the Tuskegee Airmen. Then those members of the original Getting to Know You Committee who are present will engage in a conversation with me that will be filmed for our archives about the process that led to the Open and Affirming Declaration.

At 2 p.m. we will celebrate the life of Lowell Johnson at a memorial service in the sanctuary. Lowell and Dorothy Johnson were members of that original Getting to Know You Committee.
So I urge you to plan ahead to be present on this very special day at First Church.

 

Martin Luther King Jr. Parade: Saturday, January 16

Join the First Congregational Church group marching in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace and Unity Parade on Saturday, January 16. This is a wonderful opportunity for all of us to show both our First Church pride and our dedication to peace and social justice for all.

The parade starts at 10:30 am at the corner of Anaheim and Martin Luther King Boulevard. Information on exactly where and when to meet will be sent out soon. Hope to see you there!

 

Writing the Sacred: A Psalm-writing, Journaling and Poetry Workshop
From Libby Tigner

Date: Saturday, February 27
Time: 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Cost: $15

Come play with words. Come and discover ways to unlock your creativity and give expression to your own spiritual journey through writing. At a Writing the Sacred workshop, author Ray McGinnis will show you some of the timeless poetic forms present in the Hebrew Psalms. Alongside the Psalms, he’ll draw from a splendid range of spiritual seekers who wrote poetry from St. Francis of Assisi to Rumi to Mary Oliver. He’ll offer selected Psalms, poems and journal writing exercises as prompts to help you to express your own longings and experiences of the sacred in the ordinary on paper.

In an open and hospitable setting, Ray invites you to bring to God what is on your heart: whether gratitude, lament, trust, wisdom, vision, forgiveness, loving-kindness or other emotions in your unfolding relationship with the God. Whether you are a seasoned writer or have never put pen to paper, you'll be expertly guided, step-by-step, to a place where you'll emerge with your own new psalms/sacred poems. You'll emerge from this workshop with ideas for how to use poem-making as a tool to write your own new psalms - as a companion on your own spiritual journey
or for enriching the life of your congregation. Signed copies of Writing the Sacred will also be available for purchase at this workshop for $20, cash or check.

Ray McGinnis is a poet and has written in journals all his life. He has taught over 9,000 people how to write prayers, poetry, and autobiographies, all the while guiding them to bring their whole heart, mind, and spirit to the process. Writing the Sacred is in its third printing. He lives in Vancouver and attends Canadian Memorial United Church. For more information about his workshop and book visit www.writetotheheart.com. To register contact the church office.

 

Pilgrim Deadline

The deadline for submitting items for inclusion in the newsletter is Friday at 12 noon for the email going out the following week. Due to the new email format, it is no longer necessary that items be submitted as attachments; they may simply be included in the text of your email.

 

 

The Church Mouse has heard ...

... Harold and Ellen Kameya's third grandchild, Lauren, was born on December 31 to their daughter, Valerie Kameya.

... Chris Bobo's grandmother died on December 21 at the age of 108. She was the centenarian lauded by President Barack Obama in his election night speech in 2008.

 

Parish Concerns

Your thoughts and prayers are requested for Shirley Burgess (Perry Ellwood's friend); June Martin (Debbie Byrne's partner's mother); Jackie Grover; Maycie Herrington; Leonard Larson (Richard Berryman's friend); Casey Ramsdell (Joanne Paine's son-in-law); and Gary Shelton and Janet Rhodes upon the death of their father.

In the armed forces: Daniele Ware (Karen Miller’s granddaughter, stationed in Iraq) and Laura Anderson (Kathy Young's niece, stationed in Bahrain).

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 in the church office.

 

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