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

The Pilgrim - April 11, 2010

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

This Sunday, Megan O’Toole, our soprano soloist, will provide special music and Waverly Farrell and Vicki Doolittle from the Board of Outreach will offer an Information Moment about our participation in this year’s Pride Parade.
My sermon will look at a biblical story in which Jesus does not appear as a hero – he rejects a woman’s request for help. It is a story that has been the basis of several of my sermons, but this time I want to look specifically at how that woman dealt with her rejection.

SERMON: "Feeling Rejected"
The Rev. Jerry Stinson
READINGS: Matthew 15:21-28
LITURGIST: Ms. Terry McKiernan

On April 18, the Rev. Libby Tigner’s sermon will be titled "Saved. From What? For What?”

 

Music on Sunday

This Sunday, the Sanctuary choir will sing “Psalm 23” by Carol Sams, the daughter-in-law of the late Lowell Johnson. You may remember this setting from the memorial service in Lowell’s honor. Carol and her husband Jerry sang this setting as a duet. It is simply scored for two voices, so we will have the sopranos and altos on voice one and the tenors and bases on voice two. Marc Dickey will provide the accompaniment and play the obbligato instrument (originally bass flute) on an appropriate organ stop.

- Dr. Leland Vail, Minister of Music

 

In Sunday School

Theme: Resurrection Witness
Scripture Focus: Acts 5:27-32

 

New Adult Education Series: Profiles of the Historical Jesus
Sundays at 8:30 am in the Klar Rooms, upstairs in Pilgrim Hall
By Jerry Stinson

I will be leading four sessions of the Adult Education Class at 8:30 on Sunday mornings in April and May. These classes will look at profiles of the Jesus of history, profiles developed by scholars who are part of the Westar Institute’s Jesus Seminar.

April 11: At the first session, I will talk about the Jesus Seminar itself. I will look at the methodology used to determine which sayings and which actions attributed to Jesus might be the most authentic.

April 25: We will consider a profile of Jesus developed by Mahlon Smith, who teaches in the Department of Religion at Rutgers University. His profile focuses on reimagining Jesus as “Israel’s Prodigal Son.”

May 2: We will look at a profile of Jesus developed by Hal Taussig, who teaches New Testament at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. His profile, “Jesus in the Company of Sages,” pictures Jesus as a popular “cynic” of the Hellenistic Mediterranean.

May 9: Our final profile will come from Stephen Patterson, a UCC biblical scholar who teaches at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. His profile is entitled “Dirt, Shame and Sin in the Expendable Company of Jesus.”

Printed copies of these articles will be available at the classes. If you would like to buy the excellent volume that contains fourteen profiles of Jesus by Jesus Seminar scholars, it is Profiles of Jesus, edited by Roy Hoover (remember our first Valla lecturer) and published by Polebridge Press. You can buy it for $15.60 from Amazon (remember to go to Amazon via the church website so that First Church receives a percentage of what you spend.) You can also order the book from Polebridge Press at their website: www.westarinstitute.org/Polebridge/polebridge.html.

 

 

Visiting Choir to Give Concert This Thursday
By Tracy Halter-Balin

On Thursday, April 8 we will host a visiting choir from Indian Trail Academy High School in Kenosha, Wisconsin. They are passing through the area and are excited for the opportunity to perform in our historic, beautiful sanctuary. The choir consists of 35 singers, under the direction of John Choi, and they will perform a wide variety of music. The concert will begin at 7 pm. Let's show them a warm Long Beach First Church welcome!

 

Pride
By Waverly Farrell

It’s that time of year again. Balmy days, long hours of sunshine, beach breezes tousling your hair and flowers budding everywhere! It’s also that time of year when we celebrate PRIDE! This year, First Congregational Church will participate in the Lesbian and Gay Pride parade on May 16 here in Long Beach.

For 18 years, First Congregational Church of Long Beach has been an open and affirming church reaching out to a community that has often been undervalued and discriminated against. Our visibility in the parade is a way of letting the community know that we stand for a radically inclusive home for everyone.

It is you, the members of our congregation and leadership who make it possible that we continue to bring this inspiration and blessing to everyone as we again answer the call to participate in the upcoming Gay and Lesbian Pride parade. Here’s where we need your help!

We need MARCHERS! Though we are primarily supported by the Outreach Board financially, the expenses of having this presence in the parade usually exceed the cost, so we need MONEY! Here’s how you can get involved:

1. Sign up to march with us on May 16. It’s going to be great fun and we need people to participate with us.

2. Help support us by supporting us on Sunday, April 11 when we will be selling tasty baked goods to help with our costs.

We do need you to sign up to march because Pride requests names of marchers. Since we know you all are enthusiastic about joining us, here’s how you can sign up. Either email us at Imagowave@charter.net and let us know that you will be joining our group or sign up at the Outreach table on April 11 after the service. We will confirm with you and share the pertinent information you need to know that will insure a successful and PRIDEFUL event.

 

It’s Not Too Late to Sign Up
THE FIRST ANNUAL ROMERO LECTURES
The Intersection of Faith and Practice
Friday Evening, April 23 and Saturday, April 24

The First Annual Romero Lectures will be held at our church. This event is presented by Centro Romero, a ministry of the United Church of Christ’s Justice and Witness Ministries and the Southern California Nevada Conference of the UCC. The focus will be on "The Politics of Crossing Borders: Borderlands, Culture and Tradition."

On Friday night there will be a gala dinner in Patterson Hall. On Saturday there will be a keynote speech Dr. Robert Orr, Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations for Strategic Planning and Policy Coordination. There will also be exciting workshops and a panel discussion.

You can register for the full experience or for just the Friday Night Gala Dinner. For more information and to register go to www.theromerocenter.com.

 

Special Upcoming Sundays - Save These Dates
By Jerry Stinson

PUT THESE DATES IN YOUR CALENDARS NOW!

SUNDAY, APRIL 25 …
Aziza Hasan, Director of Interfaith Relations for the Muslim Public Affairs Council will be our guest preacher. She will tell her own faith story during the Sunday Service. At a forum after the service, she will speak about the group she co-directs, New Ground: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change.

SUNDAY, MAY 2 …
Our Annual Youth Sunday – exciting and creative worship led by our Junior High and Senior High Youth.
Youth_Sunday.gif

SUNDAY, MAY 16 …
Our Pride Sunday – a shorter service than usual and you will want to hear theRev. Robert Stapp and Rev. Linda Silas share the sermon time as they talk about their own respective journeys to participation in the Pride Parade.

SUNDAY, MAY 23 …
Pentecost Sunday when we will observe the Rite of Confirmation for five of our young people.

 

 

One Great Hour of Sharing
By Lloyd Wright, Board of Outreach

Last year our OGHS total was $4,084.72. This year it was $4,851.08. A genuine thanks to all who gave. This offering will mean new hope and new lives for a great number of people.

 

We Deeply Appreciate Your Support
By Nancy Valencia, Chair, Downtown Associated Youth Services

The Downtown Associated Youth Services (DAYS) would like to thank First Church members for helping to make our annual tea party a big success! In addition to a delicious menu, we all were honored to help Marion Hinze celebrate her birthday. And for the second year Claire Mitchell received a prize for her hat. Thank you to Adreana Langston, Randy Nielson and Lisa Heard for helping to put the finally touches on our event. And a very special thank you to Clayton Heard and Steve Schatz for assisting in clean-up.

The continued support of First Church allows DAYS to provide a free summer day camp to the children in Long Beach. This year DAYS will celebrate its fortieth summer. Mark your calendar for our annual fundraiser, Summer in the City, Saturday June 19 at First Church - an event you won’t want to miss.

 

Scholarships Available: Apply Now!
By Sara Schoenfelder, Scholarship Committee Chair

Are you a graduating senior planning to attend a college, university, or trade school next year? Are you currently attending one of the institutions of higher learning mentioned above? Are you in need of financial assistance? Then read on ...

The First Church Scholarship Committee is now accepting applications for scholarships funded by the Kenneth Caskey and the Harriet S. and Nancy A. Merritt Memorial Scholarship funds. These scholarships will be awarded to assist qualified students attending (or planning to attend) any college, university, technical or trade institute at any level. We encourage you to apply if you qualify!

Applications are available in the church office, from the church website members’ area under the Awards tab, or you can email me, Sara Schoenfelder, Scholarship Committee Chair, at (sara.schoenfelder@cox.net). Time is of the essence - get your application, complete it thoroughly (including two reference forms), and return it to the church office or to me by email ASAP. The deadline is April 30.

 

Taizé Service at St. Luke's

On Tuesday, April 13 St. Luke's Episcopal Church will hold an Eastertide Taizé service at 7:30 p.m. All are welcome at this quiet service of prayer, song and stillness.

 

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.

 

The Church Mouse has heard ...

... Steven Harold Mota was born on April 2. He is the son of Jennifer and Brian Mota, the grandson of Linda Kellogg, and the great-grandson of Harold Curtis.

... Fran Holand is looking for a place to live, possibly a room in someone's home or a small place. Any help would be appreciated. She can be reached at 562-431-8328.

 

Parish Concerns

Your thoughts and prayers are requested for Kenia Casarreal and Jacob Adajian; Art Brewster (Teri Brewster's husband); Trish Ploehm (Vicki Doolittle's friend); and Sheila Pope (Vicki Doolittle's friend).

In the armed forces: 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 the 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.

 

The following information is paid advertising. To place an ad in this newsletter, please contact Ruth Warkentin in the church office.

 

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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