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

The Pilgrim - June 6, 2010

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

During our service this week, the co-chairs of our Board of Christian Education will help us honor all of those who have contributed to our programs of children’s and youth ministries during the past year. We will recognize church teachers, ZONE leaders and all those volunteers who have helped with our Christian Education programs.

In my sermon, I will talk about Rabbi Steven Moskowitz’s understanding of a particular verse in the Torah along with Muslim Shahnaz Habib’s search for a prayer room in an airport in New Delhi – both say something about the presence of God.

SERMON: Searching for Prayer Rooms in Airports
The Rev. Jerry Stinson
READING: Exodus 24:15-16; 15:1,8
LITURGISTS: The Rev. Libby Tigner and Mr. Bob Phibbs

On June 13 Jerry Stinson’s sermon will be titled “Incognito in a Metro Station.”

 

Music on Sunday

This Sunday, the choir will present Nunc Dimittis by Alexander Gretchaninof (1864-1956). The Nunc Dimittis (also “Song of Simeon” or “Canticle of Simeon”) is a canticle from a text in the second chapter of Luke (Luke 2:29–32). They are the opening words of Simeon's song of praise on the occasion of the presentation of the infant Jesus in the Temple. After seeing Jesus, Simeon joyfully proclaims that he has seen God's salvation. The hymn is used traditionally in evening liturgical services. The words are as follows:

Lord [God], now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared, before the face of all people;
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles, and to be the glory of thy people Israel.

I first heard this beautiful, eight-part anthem when I sang in the CSULB University Choir under the direction of Frank Pooler (oh so many years ago!) and I’ve loved it ever since. It’s a thrill to get to hear it again as sung by our choir!

Also, an update on our baritone soloist, Steve Berlanga. He, along with the CSULB Touring Chorus, will be performing in Germany, Austria, Prague and other places in Europe during the first part of June, followed by visits to Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid and London. We wish him a successful trip and look forward to his return.

- Tracy Halter-Balin, Interim Director of Music

 

In Sunday School

Theme: Courageous Compassion
Scripture Focus: Luke 7:11-17

 

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

Women of the Gospels in Art
By Richard Grauman

As a child I was always fascinated by the family Bible – it was big and it had pictures! The pictures made the Bible stories come alive. They seemed to capture my imagination with the figures, colors, dramatization – all frozen in time. This has had an influence on me and developed what I would come to appreciate as art.

I will present a PowerPoint presentation looking at how women of the gospels are portrayed through various works of art. We will hear the Scriptures and view various paintings that represents that passage. The classes will bring the icons and narratives of sacred art to life as I analyze the paintings that depict the principal female figures and their involvement in some of the unique events surrounding the life of Jesus. At the end of the series you will have a better understanding of what artist try to say through their paintings and what Gospel might have inspired their work. On May 30, the topic was the women of Matthew. The topics for the rest of the series are as follows:

June 6 – The women of Mark
June 13 – The women of Luke
June 20 – The women of John

You do not have to be a woman to appreciate the class or contribute to the discussion.  Each class does not depend on the last so you can come to one or all without missing out on anything!  The class will be a feast for the eyes … or feast on the donuts and coffee if nothing else!

 

 

First Church Café and Board Meetings This Sunday
By Libby Tigner

This is a first Sunday of the month, and that means that lunch is served! After church, head downstairs to the Dining Room, where a delicious meal will be waiting for you. Prepared by KBrad Lara-Gagne and Bootstrap Catering, the menu this week is:

Pizza Quiche - pepperoni, tomato and cheese
and tomato basil and cheese for our vegetarian option
Green salad, bread rolls and cookies and scones for desert
As always we will have fun snack box choices for the children.

Most of our church’s boards will meet this Sunday following the lunch. Child care is provided for board meetings for those who sign up. Just sign up in the nursery when you arrive at church on Sunday, so that the child care workers will know whether or not they will need to stay.

Of course, you don’t have to be on a board or committee to stay for lunch – everyone is welcome! The cost for lunch is $8 for adults and $4 for children aged 10 and under. If you need financial assistance with the lunch, please talk to one of the ministers.

 

Special Forum at 2 P.M. This Sunday
By Jerry Stinson

A special Sunday Afternoon Forum in the Klar Rooms will look at American uses of torture this Sunday from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

The South Coast Interfaith Council, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, and the Pacific Unitarian Church of Rancho Palos Verdes are joining our congregation in sponsoring the forum which will look at U.S.-sponsored torture from an interfaith perspective.

The forum will begin with an introduction by a former member of the U.S. military. Then a 20-minute video will be shown. That video was developed specifically for faith communities by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. Following the showing of the video, there will be a discussion looking at questions like: Can torture be justified in certain circumstances? Do "harsh interrogation techniques" make Americans safer? Can cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of prisoners be morally justified? Is there a link between the use of torture and Islamophobia? What do my religious convictions say about my nation torturing people?

The forum will end with Virginia Classick, who is on the national board of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, offering suggestions for what people can do to end American use of torture.

 

Game Night This Friday, June 4
By Yvonne SaMarion

Come join us, for Friday Night at First Church is game night! The adult gamesters of First Church will gather in the Pownall Room on June 4 at 6:30 p.m. The cost is only $5 per person for dinner, drinks and an evening of fun, fun, fun. This month is wide open as to what game will be played – we’ll have a variety available. If you have a favorite game bring it with you. Your favorite game may win the night! Come one, come all and join in the fun. We’ll have the welcome mat out for you!

 

New Member
By Jerry Stinson

Ray Ramos, Jr. joined our church on May 30. Ray grew up in Los Angeles. His was a difficult childhood in a home filled with problems. His parents divorced when he was a child and when he was 13 his family was homeless. He was eventually raised by his grandparents who were not sympathetic to his gay orientation.

Ray moved to Long Beach six years ago and attended Long Beach State University. He graduated with a degree in cultural anthropology. He is now working on his teaching creden-tial. He has completed all the classwork and is hoping to find a paid internship, but he knows that won’t be easy. This is not a good time to be beginning a career in education. Ray hopes eventually to teach history in middle school or high school.

Ray is an avid reader who loves literature, newspapers and all sorts of books. He likes music, plays the flute and sings. He writes and paints and loves to hike.

He came to First Church to hear his friend Councilmember Robert Garcia speak and he loved the service and especially the music. He likes the church’s theology and wants to be part of an inclusive congregation where everyone is seen as a child of God.

 

Don't Miss Out...
It's Time to Celebrate
Summer in the City

Downtown Associated Youth Services (DAYS) is pleased to announce its 40th year providing a free summer day camp to children and youth in Long Beach. DAYS cordially invites you to our annual Summer in the City event on Saturday evening, June 19.

To honor the mission of DAYS, this year we are paying tribute to Progressive Dinner Party. Since their first dinner in November 2004, members Cari Marshall, Donna Hilbert, Tere Sievers, Lenore Brown, and Eric de Valpine have raised more than $112,000 for non-profits in Long Beach serving women, children and youth.

DAYS believes that all children and youth ought to have access to programs that create relationships, inspire, awaken imaginations and provide enriching opportunities in a safe space.

With deep appreciation, this year’s Summer in the City honors Progressive Dinner Party for their selfless work to make a positive difference in our community.

Join us Saturday, June 19
Patterson Hall
6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Hors d’oeuvres at 6 p.m., dinner follows at 6:45 p.m.

To purchase a ticket for $35, visit www.urbancommunityoutreach.com or RSVP to Nancy Valencia to reserve your space and in lieu of purchasing a ticket, bring a unique item with a retail value of $50 or more to donate to the silent auction.

For more information or to RSVP please contact Nancy Valencia navalencia@verizon.net or 562-234-2851.

Look for a DAYS table in the courtyard after worship and purchase an opportunity drawing ticket for an Apple IPad. Tickets are available for $10.000 for one or $20.00 for five.

 

Are You a "Still Speaking Voice"?
By Libby Tigner

Do you think that being a part of the community at First Congregational Church of Long Beach has added value to your life? Do you have friends that you met at church? Do Sunday events keep you thinking throughout the week? Are you excited about what our children are learning and doing? Do you know people who don’t go to church who might be interested in something that has come to mean so very much to you?

As you may know, our denomination, the United Church of Christ, launched a new web-based video last month as an advertizing campaign for the church, called “The Language of God.” If you haven’t seen it yet, you really should! It’s great! If you go to the UCC website, ucc.org, under the menu “Big Things” you’ll find a link to the video.

To help promote our church and beloved UCC, we are recruiting folks to be a “Still Speaking Voice.” The link for that is right next to the video link on the UCC website. You’ll be taken through a few short pages in which you’ll learn about the importance of helping to spread the word about our liberal Christianity and our advocacy for social justice. Just work through those pages, fill out your contact information, and in a few weeks you’ll receive your own Still Speaking packet. It will have pins to wear and to share, a laminated card to put on your key chain to invite conversation, and several other resources to help you gain confidence in talking about First Congregational Church and the United Church of Christ.

You can also help to promote who we are and what we stand for by adding the video or logo to your Facebook or MySpace page, tweet about us, or include information about our brand of liberal Christianity in your social networks. Who knows what might happen!

Do it! I registered saying that I thought that we could easily get 25 people from First Church to be Still Speaking Voices. Why don’t YOU become one today?

 

Summer Program Information
By Wally Hoeger

In response to the cut in my position I will not be employed by the church during the months of June, July, and August. The CE Board has done a wonderful job of stepping up and covering my position while I am gone and I’d like to share with you some changes regarding our summer programming. Each month we will have a Lead Teacher who you can contact if you would like to volunteer (they still need more volunteers). There will be no Kids Club, Jr. High, or Sr. High class during these summer months. Children going into Kindergarten (and younger) will go into the nursery and those going into1st grade – 5th grade will have class in the 1st floor Vaughn Classrooms. Youth who are 6th grade – 12th grade are invited to either stay in church or volunteer to be extra helpers in the classroom. Normal class will begin on Homecoming Sunday on September 12.

I will also be around this summer in two ways. First, you will see me on Sunday mornings as a member of the congregation and as a member of the choir. Second, I have accepted the position of Program Coordinator with the D.A.Y.S. Summer Day Camp that is held here during the summer. I am looking forward to being able to participate as a member of the congregation over the next few months and being able to stay in our Sunday morning worship. If you have any questions, comments, concerns you can email me and I will address them once I come back in the fall. Contact Dorothy King regarding the month of June at allisonking@charter.net, Marsalee Malatesta for the month of July mbmalatesta@verizon.net, and Deanna Melzian for the month of August Irishrows@aol.com.

I wish you a wonderful summer and will see you again as your Director of Children and Youth Ministries in September!

 

Interfaith Taizé: Praising Our One Creator

In the Spirit of Pentecost
Interfaith Taizé: Praising Our One Creator
Tuesday, June 8, 7:30 PM
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
7th St. & Atlantic Ave., Long Beach

St. Luke's welcomes all to come celebrate the diversity of gifts God has given each of us. Members of several faith communities have been invited to share their music and prayers and together for an hour of singing and quiet contemplation in the spirit of unity among all humankind. St. Luke's is at the corner of Seventh St. and Atlantic Ave. in Long Beach.

 

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 ...

... Paul Boyd-Batstone has been been promoted to full Professor of Education at CSULB. Congratulations!

... Claire Mitchell auditioned for and made the ensemble of the musical Cinderella. It is a production of Go-Fame Youth Theatre Company and the shows will be the first two weekends in July at the CSULB Theater. She would love to see some of her church family in the audience. Tickets available at Go-Fame.org.

 

Parish Concerns

Your thoughts and prayers are requested for Beverly Batchu (Jim Snelling's aunt), Jen Uplf (Lisa Bode Heard's co-worker), Hilda Williams (Howard Williams' mother), and Eddie Nazarro upon the death of his father.

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.

 

To place an ad in this newsletter, please contact Ruth Warkentin in the church office.

 

Please reply to this email to be removed from our mailing list.

 

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