Here are some of the materials produced as part of the Growing Together campaign:

Campaign Overview

Ideas for Giving

Ministry Celebration Brochure

Commitment Card (side 1) Commitment Card (side 2)

To read a PDF file, you need Adobe Acrobat.
Don’t have Acrobat Reader?
Click the button to download.  It’s free.

The Outreach Committee continues to compile kits to assist with earthquake relief in Haiti, Chile, and other places around the world. If you would like to help, here is a list of supplies that go into each kit:

• One hand towel measuring approximately 16″ x 28″ (no fingertip or bath towels)
• One washcloth
• One wide-tooth comb
• One nail clipper
• One bar of soap (bath size in wrapper)
• One toothbrush (in original packaging)
• Six standard size Band-Aids®

Supplies can be brought to the church office and labeled “Hygiene kits”.

I spent the last several days at Christmount, our camp and retreat center in Black Mountain, NC. This was my first visit to Christmount, and I can see why those of you who have been there love it so much! There is certainly a sense of peace and grace there, which I suspect comes as much from the years and years of prayers offered in that place as the beauty of the mountains and the changing colors of the leaves.

I was there for a series of lectures that focused on the mystics as an important resource from our Christian tradition. A mystic, as our speakers suggested, is one who has had a direct experience of God that results in a direct relationship with God, and whose experience inspires and teaches others. Mystics have lived in every century, and whether or not you know their names, they have taught and influenced us. Our lectures focused on four: St. Gregory the Great, Theresa of Avala, St. Therese of Lisieux, and Thomas Merton – all people who lived and learned and struggled with their faith.

I appreciated my experience at Christmount this week for a  lot of reasons – a chance to connect with other clergy, an opportunity to visit Christmount, a couple days of mountain air – but maybe especially this: Whenever I learn about the historical figures of our tradition, I am reminded that we are just the latest in a long line of people and communities who are trying to live faithfully in the presence of God. The way we practice our faith has been shaped by all those people who came before us. Apostles Peter and Paul, mystics Gregory and Theresa, Disciples founders Barton, Thomas, and Alexander… even those saints of First Christian Church who taught you in Sunday school, gave generously to build this building, and lifted up their prayers in our sanctuary.

That might be worth remembering as we enter this stewardship season. By now, you’ve probably received a letter from our Stewardship Committee asking you to consider your pledge for next year. As you consider how much you will give, I hope you’ll take a moment to review our ministry plan and remember all that God is calling us to do here in this time and place. What an amazing thing it is to stand here in this tradition, with all those prayers behind us, and all that promise ahead of us.

First thoughts toward Sunday’s message:

James 5:13-20
“Are any of you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.”

In many ways, the letter of James is very different from the other letters of the New Testament. But like Paul, James knows the power of prayer. Here in these closing remarks, he reminds the congregation that whatever their troubles, whatever their joys, it is good and right to take it all to God.

It’s got me thinking about prayer – what it is, what it does, how we do it. I like the idea that our ordinary words become holy words when addressed to God in prayer. I suspect that each of us has a slightly different idea of just how prayer works. I like Kathleen Norris’s definition, from her book Amazing Grace: “I have learned that prayer is not asking for what you think you want but asking to be changed in ways you can’t imagine.” That makes sense to me. What do you think? Join us Sunday and we’ll talk more…

If you missed last week’s Summer of Service celebration dinner, here’s a look back at the summer by the numbers:

3 Saturdays

4 Special Dinners

12 Projects

47 Participants (35 more than once)

41 Health Kits for Church World Service to distribute after disasters

13 Chicken Pot Pies to be given to families in crisis

8 Bags of stuffed animals collected for EMS and Firefighters

40 Backpacks given to refugee children

75 Popsicles shared by kids and volunteers

163 Life Rings filled out

823 (and counting!) service hours completed

Thanks to everyone who participated in and prayed for the Summer of Service!

Ephesians 5:15-20
John 6:51-58
First thoughts toward Sunday’s message:

More bread talk here from Jesus. This is important – and difficult. It takes practice, repetition, like learning long division, or the periodic table – most of the time we look at it with glazed-over eyes, but occasionally, light breaks through and you understand, something, a momentary understanding that makes the difference, for awhile, anyway.

Bread here, we are finally beginning to understand, is not flour, water, yeast… Bread here is that which comes down from heaven, sustains us in our hunger, finds us in our wilderness, brings us back to life and gives us strength for the journey.

But while our story two weeks ago made us hungry for fish sticks and last week we headed home for honey wheat loaves, this week’s passage is not one to be read on an empty stomach. It is graphic and bloody, carnal in its very nature. A stranger from outer space would think we were cannibals and would hesitate to stay for lunch. In fact, the early Christians were accused of cannibalism, eating, as they did, “the body and blood” of Jesus.

So perhaps this passage is just startling enough to catch our attention. The incredible carnality of these words might just be what we need to remember the incredible incarnation of God through Jesus Christ.

Incarnation – God really is right here with us. That’s what we celebrate each week when we come to the communion table, and eat the bread and drink the cup.

An excerpt from Sunday’s message:
John 6:1-21
Ephesians 3:14-21

There’s a little boy in this story. He only gets one line, and of the four gospel writers who tell this story, only John mentions him, but he’s the one who had the picnic basket that made all the difference.

He almost didn’t go that day, I like to imagine. He almost stayed home, where there were chores to do, a baby sister to look after while his mother was up to her elbows in laundry and his father was off working in the field. He almost stayed home, but his mother sees him standing longingly at the doorway, watching people from the town head out to the hillside.

“Go,” she says, “I’ll pack you a lunch.” He grins and scampers back inside to find the basket.

“Take a little extra,” his mother says. “You might need to share with someone.” And she reaches up to the top shelf where the bread is kept. There isn’t much, but she gives him everything she has, and wraps it in a cloth. She kisses him on the head and tells him to be safe, then turns back to the baby and the laundry. The little boy takes the basket and heads out the door. Read more »

We kicked off our Summer of Service project last weekend with a special dinner Friday night, with special guest speaker Hollie Rose, the director of the Volunteer Center of Greensboro. Rev. Rose inspired us to reach out to our community, and told us there are lots of ways to get involved right here in Greensboro.

Then Saturday morning, we held our first work day as part of the Summer of Service. Three work groups went out and spent the morning doing some home maintenance, working at Beacon Place Hospice Center, and working in our church garden.

On Wednesday, we welcomed Rev. Nancy McLean to speak at our Third Wednesday Fellowship dinner. Rev. McLean is the director of Joseph’s House, which provides a safe home for homeless young adults. We’re looking forward to doing a work project with Joseph’s House in July.

In many ways, it has been a difficult week as well. For many months, we have been praying for two members who have been battling cancer, and last week, the struggle ended for both of them. As we grieved their loss and celebrated their lives, we gave thanks that God walks with us through all our days. Our prayers continue for their families.