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

The Pilgrim - February 5, 2012

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

This Sunday we will celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion and there will be a Global Mission Moment during the service.

In my sermon, I want to talk about some of the critical scholarship about agrarian societies in the Roman Empire that has literally revolutionized our understanding of the context for Jesus’ ministry and the emphasis of his teaching. Then I want to compare the values of the Roman Empire to the values that seem to be prevailing in our society and causing great harm to so many people.

Sermon: Lenski’s Oil Can, Jesus’ Teaching and the 99%
The Rev. Jerry Stinson, preaching
Reading: Thomas 54, 68, 69
Liturgist: The Rev. Debra Moore

Next week, the Rev. Libby Tigner will be preaching.

 

Heard's Words: Music on Sunday

I suspect that anyone who had been involved in church music since the late 1960s is familiar with the name Jim Strathdee. He is a songwriter, songleader, performer and a pioneer in what is now considered contemporary worship music (although his lyrics, which emphasize his strong commitment to social justice, bear little resemblance to the drivel which defines much of that genre). Some of his songs are new words to familiar spirituals and folk songs such as "Woke Up This Morning" and "There’ll Be Sunshine in the Morning." He is not as well known for his choral music, but he has published several anthems, including the one we are singing Sunday, entitled "Take This Heart of Mine." Set in the style of a folk song, it beautifully conveys a simple message – that by loving others and working for justice, we make ourselves whole.

- Curtis Heard, Director of Music

 

In Sunday School

Theme: Sustaining Ministry
Scripture Focus: Mark 1:29–39

 

In Adult Education: A Discussion and a Faith Sunday
Sundays at 8:30 am in the Klar Rooms, upstairs in Pilgrim Hall
By Richard C. Grauman

I have been asked to volunteer my time in managing the Adult Education class through First Church's transition period. I consider this an honor and a task I will not take lightly. I truly believe education is important in its many forms. This week I would like accomplish two things: 1) have an open discussion on what topics and structure you might want to see in the Adult Education class, and 2) re-introduce the sharing of faith stories. 

All of us have read and/or heard faith stories from the Bible, but what about our own stories?  Sharing our stories will help us connect with each other as a church family and community. In the months ahead there will be Sundays in Adult Education designated to share our stories with one another. On the designated week, two First Church members will be invited to tell about themselves, their faith journies, what brought them to First Church and what sustains them here.  There will also be time for questions and conversation. This Sunday I will share the first faith story for this year and others can sign up to share their story.

We will meet at 8:30 a.m. in the Klar Rooms. As always, hot coffee will be waiting, child care available in the nursery, and you are welcome to join us! Bring your breakfast, bring a friend, bring your ideas!

 

 

Game Night Is Back!
By Yvonne SaMarion

All gamers and would-be gamers are invited to join in an evening of adult camaraderie this Friday night. We’ll gather in the Pownall Room at 6 p.m. for a light dinner, followed by an evening of Mexican train dominoes. If you’ve never played the game, don’t worry; I taught my three-year-old granddaughter to play over the Christmas holidays. Your night out comes at a cost of $5 per person. Please let us know that you are coming so that we can have enough food for all. Just leave a message for me on my phone at 562-436-2256 ext. 227 or email me at ysamarion@firstchurchlb.org. Please respond before 9 a.m. on Friday morning.

 

Parents' Night Out This Friday

Drop your kids off at 6 p.m. and pick them up at 9, and enjoy some time off in between! Meanwhile the kids will have fun, food and games. Please RSVP to Wally Hoeger (whoeger@firstchurchlb.org or 562-436-2256 ext. 226)

 

Share the Amore at First Church Café This Sunday

Mangiare with us as we will be serving a lovely Italian luncheon. Our menu includes:

The delicious “LG” beefy cheese baked rigatoni
Crusty garlic bread
Mixed fresh salad with Italian dressing
For the vegetarian and gluten-free appetite: cheesy vegetarian lasagna
A selection of cookies, including coconut macaroons and brown sugar cookies 
Accompanied by a non-alcoholic peach bellini
For the bambinos: spaghetti with sauce, cheese and tiny meatballs and mini meatball subs 

Lunch will be provided by Brad Lara-Gagne of Bootstrap Catering. The cost is $8 for adults and $4 for children age 10 and under. Church boards will meet after the lunch, and child care is provided until 1 p.m.

 

Souper Bowl of Caring This Sunday
By Wally Hoeger

Last year we had a record-breaking collection for our Souper Bowl of Caring with $1,800! It is giving like that, when matched by other congregations, that has turned the Super Bowl weekend into the nation's largest celebration of giving and serving. Through this mission, young people learn what it's like to make a positive difference in the world.

This year the children of our church, instead of our youth, will be collecting in soup pots in the narthex after church. Donations will go to support our own Drop-In Center, which feeds hundreds of homeless people every Sunday. Please support as you are able and join in this powerful day of giving. If you have any questions or comments please send them to Wally Hoeger at whoeger@firstchurchlb.org or call 562-436-2256 ext. 226.

 

Parking at the Restaurant - Only 5 Spaces!

The restaurant property adjacent to the church has been rented to a new tenant, and they will be opening Potholder Too soon. They are already paying rent, so the parking lot is theirs, except for the five spaces against the back wall that have signs indicating that they are church parking. Please do not park in the rest of the lot! And please place your church member parking placard on your dashboard if you park in one of the church's five spaces.

 

Carl Glover's Last Sunday
By Yvonne SaMarion

First Church is losing a gem of a man this week. Carl Glover, our quiet, self-effacing custodian, is leaving us to work with an agency that provides recuperative care for the homeless. As you may be aware, Carl passed his nursing exams last summer and received his license. He has been volunteering with Occupy LA while working with us and, at the same time, looking for work with the mentally ill or homeless population. Their gain is our very great loss. This Sunday will be his last day with us. Please join me in congratulating him and wishing him well.

 

Celebration of Libby's Ministry at First Church
By David Cavanaugh

On Sunday, February 12, Libby Tigner will be our guest preacher. After the service, you are all invited to a reception in her honor. There will be food, fun and a few surprises! Please plan to join us!

 

Celebration of Love - Saturday, February 11
By Waverly Farrell

The Relationship Ministry Team hopes you are looking forward to the Valentine’s weekend we are planning for you. On February 11, from 1 to 4 p.m., you can explore your relationship experience with Peter Canavan and Waverly Farrell, both Imago therapists. From 6 to 10 p.m., you can throw all caution to the wind and enjoy "Love, Murder and a Crystal Ball," as you feast on a full course dinner.

At 1 p.m. workshop participants will gather together for introductions and then separate into two groups. Waverly will lead "Embracing Couplehood" where participants will explore how relationships are a path to wholeness, how challenges impact the primary relationship and how the intentional
dialogue can deepen connection between partners.

Peter will lead "Am I Being Called into a Relationship?" Participants will explore whether they are being called to committed partnership and how to live a single life in preparation for the intimacy of commitment to another. The challenges and opportunities of a committed partnership will be shared and ways to change negative programming to remain open if the gift of relationship should come.

Workshops are FREE but you must sign up. Admission to dinner and the mystery theater is $20 per adult and $5 per child. Child care is provided for both events. Ministry team members will be selling tickets and taking sign ups after the service on Sunday. For more information, e-mail Waverly at imagowave@charter.net.

 

The Next Steps in Our Envisioning Process
By Cathy Chambers, Transition Planning Committee Chair

A record number of you have completed the survey and participated in the focus groups that the Members’ Needs subcommittee of the Envisioning Team has organized: THANK YOU! Your participation has been appreciated and very much valued and the energy generated as we’ve come together these past few weeks in focus groups has been palpable.

What happens next?

During February the Envisioning Team of approximately 50 church members (working in six subcommittees -- Members’ Needs, Discernment, Outreach/Global Missions, History/Theology, Financial Planning/Staffing and Church Growth) will be compiling the results of discussions, reading and research, church visits and the survey and focus groups. In March, the members of the six subcommittees will meet twice with consultant Speed Leas, first for a day-long meeting Saturday, March 3 to share the results of our research with Speed and one another, and then again all day on March 24 to craft recommendations that we hope will help guide First Church as we begin the search for our new Senior Minister and continue the effort to live within our budget.

Then what happens?

Any recommendations that involve a reconfiguration of staff will go before the Personnel Committee, which has scheduled a meeting for this purpose March 26. The following evening, March 27, Church Council meets and will hear all recommendations and determine the steps that will follow; a Congregational Meeting about the envisioning process has tentatively been put on the church calendar for April 29.

Please remember to check The Pilgrim for updates as we travel into these “interesting times.”

 

At-Large Members of Church Council
By Jim Deaton

How do members get questions answered and concerns voiced here at First Church? One way is to bring the question/concern to your specific board/committee when it meets monthly or to your board/committee chair. If you are not on a board/committee, there are three At-Large Members of he Council that would be your channel of communication. Those three elected members are Pam Chapin, Jim Deaton and Jim Snelling.

 

Painting Angel Strikes Again
By Yvonne SaMarion

Jim Lumen snuck in to do a stealth attack on another ugly spot in our church building. This time, a small entryway received his attention. After much scraping, sanding, sealing, plastering and painting, this area now looks as spiffy as its neighboring hallway! Thanks again, Jim, for donating your time and skill to First Church.

 

New Member
By Jerry Stinson

Our second new member in 2012 is JIM COMOE who lives right around the corner at 4th and Magnolia. It is exciting to have more and more people who live in the downtown neighborhoods joining the church.

Jim was born in England in an American military family. His sister was born a year later, and their parents returned to the US but were unable to care for the children. So an Air Force sergeant and his wife adopted Jim and his sister and they were raised in a wonderful, loving Hispanic family in Highland Park. Jim would later write an article about this adoption and his incredible parents and that article was featured in the Long Beach Press Telegram on Father’s Day in 2000. Both of Jim’s adoptive parents are now dead.

After high school, Jim worked for a while for the Los Angeles Police Department in booking and fingerprinting, and then he went back to school at Long Beach City College, Harbor College and UCLA.

He then began a career in purchasing and administration for an aerospace company. Each year, using his tax refunds, he tried to buy some property in downtown Long Beach. He succeeded at that and now works full-time as a property owner and manager.

Most of the tenants who live in his properties are low-income folks, and Jim likes to think of them more as family than tenants. Many have been in his apartments for a couple of decades, and Jim often has barbeques for all the folks in his apartments and really enjoys being a part of the downtown community. In fact, in the 1990s, he helped start the West End Community Association, which is still functioning today.

For the last eight years, Jim has been with his partner, Jovanny Fonseca, and each Sunday Jim brings his two granddaughters to church, Ruby who is six years old and Evelyn who is three. He loves those two girls, sees them every day and they are at the very center of his life.

How did Jim find First Church? He grew up attending a Hispanic Pentecostal Church which just didn’t work for him. Many years ago he attended a funeral here at First Church and was touched by the beauty of our sanctuary. He loves old historic things, so this church seemed just perfect to him. Nancy Kelly Hanson, one of our members, lived in one of Jim’s buildings and would talk to him about our church. So two and a half years ago, he came on a Sunday morning. He sat at the back next to Cynde Soto and really liked the service. Soon he started attending each week, bringing his granddaughters, who love Wally and the children’s programs, and he says that the more he comes the more he likes the church.

Jim also was one of those who really supported what we tried to do when we allowed homeless folk to sleep on our property at night. He would often bring people food or blankets, or perhaps give them a little money.

Sunday was Jim’s 50th birthday, and he decided that that day began a new chapter in his life. So he felt there would be no better way to begin that new chapter than by becoming an official member of our church.

 

A Mission Moment Concerning Mt. Selinda
By Chris Bobo, Global Mission Ministry Team Leader

Your Global Mission Ministry Team has established a relationship with Don and Maryjane Westra, United Church of Christ (UCC) missionaries in Mt. Selinda, Zimbabwe. The letter below was recently received from them and shares some of the recent events of their mission ministry.

Dear First Congregational Church in Long Beach:

I apologize for the long time it has been since I’ve written to you. Since I have written, Don and I have been home to Minnesota to visit our family…including my Mom and Dan, brother and sister, 7 children (the 8th lives in California not far from you…we didn’t get to see her), and 5 grandchildren. I am learning that being a missionary means a lot of tearful hellos and goodbyes.

We spent a few days in Cape Town, South Africa where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. We toured Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was a political prisoner for 18 of his 27 years. What an inspiration!

Here in Zimbabwe we are involved in many projects and activities; it feels like spinning plates in the air. I am working as a hospital administrator for a mission hospital. My background was in non-profit administration, so this is a good fit for me. The hospital has 175 beds (give or take) but a census of only 30-50 per night. We deliver 3-5 babies per day, so our maternity ward is very busy. We alsohave an outpatient clinic and a volunteer counseling program for people effected by HIV/AIDS, which is around 13% of the population. (Down from 20%. Something is working.) In addition, I provide administration for the Children’s Home. (Please don’t call it an orphanage, most are not orphans, and this is their HOME.) Currently there are 40 children living in the Home.

Let me tell you about Trymore Mashava. He was born with HIV. Hid development lagged behind and at the age of 17 he was the size of a 12 year old. He was taking ARV’s (to reduce the symptoms of HIV/AIDS and prolong life) but it is believed he defaulted on the regime. He was always a thin boy, but in September he began losing weight and had chronic diarrhea and vomiting. Clearly he was dying but no one, not even the doctors, wanted to admit it. We did our best to make him comfortable as we watched him waste away and finally slip away. This wasn’t the first HIV/AIDS death for me, but it was the first one I felt responsible for.

We are entering the rainy season, so everyone is getting their fields ready to plant. Almost everyone has a small plot and they depend on the maize and kovo (green, leafy vegetable) they grow to feed their family. It is a time of production and optimism.

Don is involved in food security. Many years ago, this mission was self sustaining and had a large farming operation. Don is working to revive farming on the mission in hopes they can feed themselves and provide income to many people in the area. He is starting his second season of crops, maize and sugar beans. He also has a large garden for the children’s home and hospital, plus pigs and chickens. In addition, he is coordinating some water projects in nearby communities and our sister mission station, Chikore.

We thrive on mail and emails. Did you get the CD we sent with pictures and video? We’d love to hear about your church and its activities.

Our home church is Federated Church (UCC and Prebyterian) in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.

Blessings on all of you and thank you for your friendship and support.

Maryjane and Don Westra
Global Ministries Missionary
Mt. Selinda, Zimbabwe

In addition to corresponding with Maryjane and Don, the Global Mission Ministry Team has donated to a child sponsorship of a young man in Mt. Selinda. His name is Shelmouth, and Maryjane tells us that he received good grades this last term, and she invited him and some of his schoolmates to her home for a celebration meal. Here is a photograph of Shelmouth:

You can help support Shelmouth’s education by contributing to the $150 per month that is paid to sponsor him. Simply use one of the envelopes in the pew, check "Special Offering," write "Child Sponsorship" on the outside of the envelope and place it in the collection plate. Any amount would be greatly appreciated.

If you would like to learn more about child sponsorship, or even look into sponsoring a child yourself, please visit the UCC website at http://globalministries.org/get-involved/child-sponsorship/ .

 

Injustice at This Year’s “California Conference for Equality and Justice” Interfaith Breakfast
By Jerry Stinson

Members of First Church have always been supportive of CCEJ – the California Conference for Equality and Justice (formerly known as the Long Beach branch of NCCJ – the National Conference of Christians and Jews). This is an organization that has worked to build bridges between people and to promote racial and religious harmony. They have a history of remarkable accomplishments, especially with young people.

We have purchased tables at their various fund-raising events like their annual Interfaith Breakfast, which draws close to a thousand people. Individual members of the church have often been involved in the organization’s leadership, most recently Rev. Libby Tigner served as a member of their Board of Directors.

But I have increasingly found myself at odds with CCEJ’s leadership. In my opinion they have been so busy developing cozy relationships with big corporations and in courting the favor of government leaders that they have ignored the needs of those most in need of equality and justice – the poor, like those who will be serving breakfast at their next event.

Below you will find a letter I sent to the President and Vice President of CCEJ indicating why I will not attend this year’s Interfaith Breakfast and why the church will not purchase a table for the event. I have just been informed that the previous president, Margaux Kohut, has resigned and that a board member is acting as the interim president. I have also learned that some of the staff at CCEJ also intend to boycott the event, which I think is great. Here is my letter:

Dear Margaux and Rene –

In the Fall of 2010, we communicated via email and phone about events that CCEJ had scheduled at the Hyatt Long Beach. I expressed my deep concern about CCEJ holding events at a hotel with a history of labor problems and I indicated that very soon there would probably be a boycott of the hotel by a variety of justice groups. You indicated that you support the justice efforts of workers but that it was too late to cancel one of those particular events.

I just assumed that meant you would not hold future events at that hotel until the labor disputes were resolved. And of course, as you must have known – or at least should have known – an official boycott of the Hyatt Long Beach was soon thereafter put in place and that interfaith justice organizations like Clergy and Laity Concerned About Economic Justice are strongly supporting that boycott. My own denomination, the United Church of Christ, which will hold a major national conference in Long Beach in 2013 has already indicated that unless the boycott is over, they will cancel their reservations for rooms at the Hyatt and will not hold any events in that hotel.

So I was absolutely shocked to see the location for this year’s CCEJ prayer breakfast – once again the Hyatt. There are many large hotels with banquet facilities in Long Beach but you seem to have a particular affection for the one with the worst record in terms of relating to its employees. That confirms for me my long-held conviction that CCEJ is most comfortable working with people in the business world and folks with lots of money. You fill the banquet rooms with those who can afford to donate to your efforts, while you could care less about the “help” who put the meals on the tables.

I remember that you moved the prayer breakfast out of the Hyatt when you honored labor leader Dolores Huerta who said she wouldn’t come if you insisted on meeting in the Hyatt. Then in the height of hypocrisy, you moved right back to that hotel.

It is such a tragedy that you have selected the Hyatt in a year when you honor Gene Lentzner who has been such an important force in interfaith unity. I think you are insulting him by your choice of venue. I would hope his own Rabbi, your co-chair of this event, would feel likewise.

My congregation will certainly not buy a table this year and I personally won’t be present at this event or probably at any future CCEJ event. I will certainly share my concerns with the my congregation and I am copying this email to a number of my colleagues hoping that they too will care more about honoring the labor boycott of the Hyatt than supporting an organization that has the audacity to use the word “justice” in its name and then disregard the quest for justice among those at the bottom of our society. I would love to hear you tell the housekeepers and waiters and other Hyatt employees how the California Conference for “Equality and Justice” could write them off with such ease.

 

Pilgrim Deadline

The deadline for submitting items for inclusion in the newsletter is Tuesday at 1 p.m. The Pilgrim is emailed every Wednesday.

 

 

February Birthdays

1 Cathleen Clay, Miguel Criado, Madeline Sharpe
2 Katie Mendez, Evan Nutt
3 Douglas Schading, David Sroka
4 Ray Ramos
5 Laverne Joseph
6 Matthew Hartert, Margaret Jones
7 James Woods
8 Ed Allen, Barbara deJong, Vicki Doolittle, Cathleen Flynn, Jeremy Morales
9 Martin deJong, Aaron Palmer, Patrick Wells
10 John Callahan
12 Christopher O'Keefe
15 Vincent Malatesta, Norman Paredes, Bret Witter
17 Don Clay
18 Marjorie McMillin
20 Stephanie Fisher
21 Steve Schatz
22 Elizabeth Schatz
23 Katrina Kershaw, Jerry Wulk
24 Claire deJong, Bruce Russell
25 Clarence Dendy
27 Barbara Kingsley, Lily Penner, Linda Silas
28 Raj Advani
29 Lisa Orr

 

February Anniversaries

4 Glenn Agoncillo and Mike Andrzejewski, 11 years
13 Jerald Stinson and Kay Gault, 25 years
14 Bob Phibbs and Bill Pratt, 24 years
21 Timothy Anderson and Anthony Ramos, 13 years
21 Randall and Scott Juhl, 20 years

 

The Church Mouse has heard ...

... The Rev. Dr. Ed Bloomfield was selected to be the first faculty member inducted into the newly established Cerritos College Hall of Fame. There will be an awards ceremony and dinner on April 12. (Ticket details will be in The Pilgrim closer to the event.) Congratulations, Ed!

 

Parish Concerns

Your thoughts and prayers are requested for the family of Christopher Singer (Kathleen O'Neal's cousin's grandson, killed in Afghanistan); Doris Sutherland (Harold Sutherland's mother); the family and friends of Maxine Cadwell; Kai Force; Bill Blundell (Ruth Keller's in-law); Stephanie Bussi (Ben Rockwell's friend); Garry Peck (Wendy Chavis' father); Kathleen Gillespie (Cheryl Doorbar's friend); Tammy McMaster; and Gloria Reed (Ruth Keller's mother).

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.

 

ADVERTISING

 

 

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