Rev. Christine Isham to lead book study Rev. Christine Isham, FCC member and chaplain who lives in Wisconsin, will lead a book study for FCC members on Barbara Brown Taylor’s An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith,” beginning May 17. Readers will gather via Zoom during this six-week study to discuss Taylor’s book. The book has 12 chapters, so each session will address two chapters.

Asked why she chose this book, Isham said, “It seems like a perfect book for right now, when we can’t gather in a building. Taylor’s book is about looking for God in the world and being aware of God in the world. I’m trying to do that myself, and I thought it would be a good thing for people to explore together.”

One website said this about the book: “With the honesty of Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) and the spiritual depth of Anne Lamott (Grace, Eventually), Taylor shares how she learned to find God beyond the church walls by embracing the sacred as a natural part of everyday life. In An Altar in the World, Taylor shows us how to discover altars everywhere we go and in nearly everything we do as we learn to live with purpose, pay attention, slow down, and revere the world we live in.”

Interested readers should send Rev. Isham their email address; she will send out Zoom links as well as focus questions for each session. Her email is ch.isham@yahoo.com.

Get your game on! Game Night starts May 8

A few of the deacons have put their heads together and created a Game Night. The first one will be a Trivia night on Friday, May 8 at 8 pm via Zoom. The next one will be

Pictionary on Saturday, May 16 at 2 pm.

We will continue to alternate between Friday nights and Saturday afternoons. Questions? Contact Jen Krengel (jnkrengel@gmail.com).

The COURIER May 6, 2020

What’s INSIDE:

Voices and Views by Mary Oliver,

page 2

FCC Board notes, page 3

News Briefs ,

page 3

UPCOMING Events:

Elders’ Meetings via

Zoom, 7 pm, Wednesdays in May

PRC for Pastor Dan,

Tuesday, May 12, 7 pm

FCC Board, Tuesday, 7 pm, May 19 via

Zoom

First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Minneapolis

Don’t Hesitate

In Our Prayers. . .

Prayers of Concern For Jimmy Burnett’s brother

Robert as he continues to recover for hospitalization

For Pastor Dan’s husband Keith as he deals with eye issues

For Elaine Tucker’s co-worker Caroline and her family

For Deb Murphy’s friend Sarah For Interim Pastor John

Richardson’s daughter Julie Prayers for the world For all medical workers, first

responders and other front line people putting their lives at risk to help others

For the people of Puerto Rico who recently suffered a 5.4 earthquake

For transgender men and women who are undergoing increased attacks, deaths, and punishing governmental policies, that they may know that they, like all people, are children of God

May 6, 2020 Page 2

Voices and Views Mary Oliver

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that's often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don' be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb

Mary Oliver (1935-2019), beloved and best-selling poet and author, continues to be widely read. “Don’t Hesitate” was published in a collection of her poems called Devotions.

FCC Board Notes Graduation Sunday planned for June; names needed! Even though physical graduation ceremonies may not be held, we still want to celebrate the graduates in our church family. If you or someone in your family is graduating from high school, a technical or undergraduate program, a graduate or post-graduate program, please notify the church office. Deb will need to know name, degree, degree program, and school - and what’s next if any future plans have been made. We will celebrate Graduation Sunday sometime in June.

Tuesday morning Bible study open to all New faces are always welcome at the regular Tuesday morning Bible studies (8:15 am to 9:30 am) that SpringHouse members have been having for several years. We e-mail parts of Luther Seminary's "Working Preacher" lectionary resources prior to Tuesday for those who wish to hear the Luther Seminary "Sermon Brainwave", read the Gospel commentary, and consider the Seminary's "Dear Working Preacher" preaching suggestions. But some of us walk into the weekly discussion purposely with no preparatory reading. Anyone from SpringHouse or with no direct ties to SpringHouse is welcome and invited to join our discussions whether occasionally, rarely, or regularly (as about 7 of us do). If you'd like to get an email with a ZOOM meeting invitation for the next weekly Bible study, send a request to Michael Vanderford at “michaeljvanderford@gmail.com

Help provide food those providing sanctuary As Sanctuary Supporting/Immigrant Welcoming churches, we network with other faith communities in South Minneapolis who are either providing sanctuary or providing support to communities that are providing sanctuary. One need is to help with the cost of food for those in sanctuary. You can help by donating. To donate by check, simply make your check out to First Christian and write "Sanctuary" on the memo line and mail it to the church. To donate online, use the Givelify app. There will be an ‘envelope’ to use for Sanctuary.

Summer camps another casualty of COVID-19 The Camp Council leadership for the Disciples in the Upper Midwest has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 camping season at the Christian Conference Center in Newton, IA. Likewise, the local South Minneapolis Day Camp has announced they will not be able to offer in-person day camp. Both organizations are making plans for online options, materials to deliver to homes, and possibly campfires in different parts of the Upper Midwest region. As plans unfold, FCC will share updates through Facebook, eblasts and this newsletter. Stay tuned!

Page 3 The Courier

24 members Zoomed in for the April 21 meeting of FCC’s church board. Highlights of the meeting included the following: • Board chair Kirsten Cackoski proposed that we start talking about our vision for the church in the next five to ten years. The board members spent time brainstorming ideas and agreed to keep this discussion going in the coming months • Reporting for Mission & Outreach team, Pat Dunlop reported on monies given to organizations we support. • Treasurer Pat Dunlop reported that FCC is doing OK financially, and SpringHouse has kept up with its obligations to pay for staff costs. • Deb Murphy reported that boxes of “stuff” were sent to kids at home for Palm Sunday and for Easter. • Pastor Dan Adolphson reported that he is working on a new T-shirt design for FCC • Pastor Laurie Feille reported that the Paraguay trip has been delayed until 2021. She said that pastoral care is happening by Zoom, text, phone calls and emails. She thinks we will not be back in the building for quite some time, perhaps through the summer.

Heart of the Matter text for Sunday, May 10 John 14: 1-7

Sundays at First Christian Church LiveStream Worship at 10:30

Li

First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Minneapolis, is a partner church at SpringHouse Ministry Center

A Welcoming Community of Faith in the Heart of the City

Ministry Team Dan Adolphson, Associate Pastor, dan.adolphson@fccmpls.org Rick Bowman, SHMC Building Manager Adam Conrad, Music Director & Composer-in-Residence Laurie Feille, Senior Pastor, pastor@fccmpls.org Martha Harris, Courier Editor, harrismartha@mac.com Lara Moll, Youth Minister, springhouseyouth@fccmpls.org Deb Murphy, Office Manager & Director of Spiritual Formation of Children and Youth, deb.murphy@fccmpls.org & SHMC Building Coordinator, events_SHMC@fccmpls.org Rhiana Peterson, SHMC Child Care Maria Thieling, SHMC Child Care Tanner VanderKrabben, Bell Choir Conductor Mike Vasich -Co- Music Director and Pianist FCC Office Telephone: 612.870.1868 www.fccminneapolis.org E-Mail: office@fccminneapolis.org Christian Courier is published bi-monthly. Send items and ideas to church office or to Martha Harris harrismartha@mac.com Next issue deadline is Sunday, May 17.

Reflections on the Word. John 14: 1 – “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” Pastor Laurie recently preached about how in this strange COVID time, we are living each day with grief and with the reassurance of your presence. Our hearts are indeed troubled, but that does not have to be where we stop. If we take a deep breath and open ourselves to the Spirit, we can move beyond the troubles of the hour and of the day.. Loving God, Draw us more deeply into you through scripture read, bread broken, wine poured, so that when our hearts are troubled, we will know you more completely as the way, the truth and the Life. Amen

FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF MINNEAPOLIS

(DISCIPLES OF CHRIST) 610 W. 28th Street

Minneapolis, MN 55408

Page 4 May 6, 2020

Moonlight, by Washington Allston