Ongoing Response to COVID-19
Weekday Email to Members and Friends – 2020-07-15
Wednesday July 15, 2020
A daily e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
To Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
Dear Friends,
I talked to a friend who talked to a friend who talked to a friend who was tired of talking about race. He said, essentially, “I have nothing left to learn. I like everyone. I am not a racist.”
Ouch!
Stay the course, friends. Let’s keep learning, growing, reaching.
Take on Race:
June 28 was the birthday of the founder of the Methodist movement, John Wesley (1703). He was born in Epworth, Lincolnshire, England, and his father was a Nonconformist — a dissenter from the Church of England. Wesley studied at Oxford, where he decided to become a priest. He and his brother joined a religious study group that was given the nickname “the Methodists” for their rigorous and methodical study habits; the name wasn’t meant as a compliment, but Wesley hung onto it anyway and managed to attract several new members to the group, which fasted two days a week and spent time in social service.
By 1739, he felt he wasn’t really reaching people from the pulpit, so he took to the fields, traveling on horseback, preaching two or three times a day. He began recruiting local laypeople to preach as well, and ran afoul of the Church of England for doing so. He believed that Christians could be made “perfect in love” when their actions arose out of a desire to please God and to promote the welfare of the less fortunate. He wrote: “Love is the fulfilling of the law, the end of the commandment. It is not only ‘the first and great’ command, but all the commandments in one. ‘Whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise,’ they are all comprised in this one word, love.”
He was also an ardent abolitionist. In Thoughts on Slavery (1774), he wrote: “Are you a man? Then you should have a human heart. But have you indeed? What is your heart made of? Is there no such principle as Compassion there? Do you never feel another’s pain? Have you no Sympathy? No sense of human woe? No pity for the miserable? When you saw the flowing eyes, the heaving breasts, or the bleeding sides and tortured limbs of your fellow-creatures, was you a stone, or a brute? Did you look upon them with the eyes of a tiger? When you squeezed the agonizing creatures down in the ship, or when you threw their poor mangled remains into the sea, had you no relenting? Did not one tear drop from your eye, one sigh escape from your breast? Do you feel no relenting now? If you do not, you must go on, till the measure of your iniquities is full. Then will the Great GOD deal with You, as you have dealt with them, and require all their blood at your hands.”
He’s said to have traveled 250,000 miles, preached 40,000 sermons, and written, translated, or edited more than 200 volumes. He made £20,000 for his publications but gave most of it away and died in poverty. Though there’s no evidence that he actually wrote it himself, “John Wesley’s Rule” does a fair job of summing up his life:
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as you ever can.
* * *
4-minutes 16-seconds with Oscar Romero:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
News:
Mary Gritten wants to share the sad news of the death of a cousin-in-law yesterday. (Steve’s cousin’s husband.) “They live in FL so we have made it a point to visit with them every winter. How we did enjoy our time together. Bob, the one who died, and I disagreed about many issues but we always were able to laugh and tease and have fun about those differences. And to look forward to the next round. We liked and respected each other even while taking opposite positions. I will miss him, as will Steve.”
Holy God, bless Mary and Steve as they grieve this loss.
* * *
Todd Ledbetter funeral highlights. (Thanks Ian Evensen.)
https://www.facebook.com/
* * *
Join us at 7:00 p.m. tonight for conversation and a concert. This link is:
Email zoom@firstpres.church for the link.
Thursday
Youth Gathering 4 pm
Email zoom@firstpres.church for the link.
Humor: (Serious times call for re-creation, joy, and humor.)
- What kind of dance did the snowman go to? (A snowball.)
GOOD WORD: THE GLORIOUS NEW CREATION
Isaiah 65:17-25 (NRSV)
17 For I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I am creating;
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy,
and its people as a delight.
19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and delight in my people;
no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it,
or the cry of distress.
20 No more shall there be in it
an infant that lives but a few days,
or an old person who does not live out a lifetime;
for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,
and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
21 They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They shall not labor in vain,
or bear children for calamity;[a]
for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord—
and their descendants as well.
24 Before they call I will answer,
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
the lion shall eat straw like the ox;
but the serpent—its food shall be dust!
They shall not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain,
says the Lord.
Let us pray:
With your hands of power and your heart of love, help us then, now, Lord, to work for that day when nations shall not lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid, when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.
Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day
when black will not be asked to get in back,
when brown can stick around
when yellow will be mellow…
when the red man can get ahead, man;
and when white will embrace what is right.
That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen.
(Rev. Joseph Lowry)
PEACE to you all,
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church
Weekday Email to Members and Friends — 2020-07-14
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| Midweek Online Gathering 7 pm Wednesday evening Email zoom@firstpres.church for the link. |
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Weekday Email to Members and Friends – 2020-07-13
Monday July 13, 2020
A daily e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
To Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
Dear Friends,
“Death has come up into our windows, it has entered our palaces, to cut off the children from the streets and the young men from the squares.” Jeremiah 9:21
The Corona Virus is not going away. I thought it would just evaporate with summer heat. By now I thought this past winter-into-spring would feel like a faraway dream. Fall would be a blank canvas. Fall still is a blank canvas but the need to social distance and wear a mask leave me feeling like I only get to use one color on that blank canvas.
My mom used to say, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” She probably stole that from my tennis coach, who said it to us a lot during winter strength training. In the summer and fall, Coach Mann was the defensive line coach for the mighty Hampton (Virginia) Crabbers, always a contender for triple-A state competition. The origin of that phrase may be a coach from a Texas football field, says Wikipedia.
If there’s anything true about this admonition, then I think the definition of the word ‘tough’ bears teasing out. In my experience, the toughest people are often the most tender. And ‘tough’ people speak the language of grace. Paul puts it this way to the church at Galatia: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 humility, self control” (Galatians 5:22). That’s as good a definition of ‘tough’ as one can find anywhere. We need exactly that kind of ‘fruit.’
Yes, death has come up to our windows, and it is likely the playgrounds will be cordoned off again to keep children from spreading the virus. But the ‘toughest’ among us are already making a way for the rest of us to follow.
Thank God.
Take on Race:
It’s your turn. Given Ian Evensen’s powerful essay on what he has learned about racism (on Thursday), what have you been learning? Tells us.
News:
Our internet was out Sunday due to storm damage in the neighborhood. If you weren’t able to tune into worship in the morning, you can tune in anytime. Eric Corbin preached a good sermon. Find it here: https://www.facebook.
And at:
https://archive.firstpres.church/
Humor: (Serious times call for re-creation, joy, and humor.)
(From Mary Gritten’s son-in-law. Her daughter chose a funny guy!)
- Why does a chicken coop only have two doors? Because if it had four doors it would be a chicken sedan.
- Why didn’t the skeleton cross the road? It didn’t have the guts.
- What did the mathematician say when her parrot flew away? Polygon.
- What did the mathematical acorn say after it grew up? Geometry! (Gee, I’m a tree!)
(And these chestnuts from Gary Peterson:)
- Two pickles fell out of the jar onto the floor. What did one say to the other? Dill with it!
- Why was 6 afraid of 7? Because 7, 8, 9
Men’s Bible Study 8 am
Email zoom@firstpres.church for the link.
International Friends Dinner Meeting 7 pm
Email zoom@firstpres.church for the link.
Since Judi’s photo was guessed so quickly and so many times, we’re releasing a new challenge early.
Visit http://fb.com/groups/
Please join in the fun! We would like you to select a photo from your younger years (grade school, high school or early adulthood). Photos need not be professional. Candid shots are welcome. Please send your photos to photos@
Good Word:
Genesis 28:10-19a
10Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. 12And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And the LORD stood beside him and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; 14and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. 15Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place — and I did not know it!”17And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
18So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19aHe called that place Bethel
Let us pray:
(from Psalm 139:1-6, 23-24)
1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
3 You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
O LORD, you know it completely.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
24 See if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
PEACE to you all,
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church
[1] Surely the Spirit of the Lord is in this place. There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place and I know that it’s the Spirit of the LORD.
[2] Fear? Why not awe, wonder, joy?
Weekday Email to Members and Friends – 2020-07-10
Friday 12 July 2020
Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
Dear Friends,
The only driver who never gets a ticket? Mary Gritten guessed right: a screwdriver. I hope to re-introduce my corney jokes in my next Monday emailer.
* * *
Here’s a borrowed essay from Su Voz, produced by friends in our Cuba Partnership:
GOD IS ALWAYS HERE
Psalm 34:4 and Isaiah 66:3
“I sought the Lord and he answered me…”
Psalm 34:4a (CEB)
My mother was always someone very special to me due to all of the love and kindness with which she taught me. When my father was dying, I was with him, observing how he agonized. Desperately my mother read the Bible and passed her hands through his hair, kissing his forehead and praying. Until this moment I had never accepted that God existed, that there really was a living and all-powerful God.
Something happened within me–I remembered the Lord’s Prayer that I had learned as a girl and I began to repeat it without stopping, over and over. Instantly I saw this great God’s answer, and my father was full of much peace and gently left this world.
I left from that hospital room, looked for a place to sit under the stars of the dawn, a soft breeze surrounded me and an almost imperceptible drizzle touched me. There was God in a sweet caress, saying to me: “You are not alone. You called to me and I responded: I love you.”
Dios siempre está ahí
Salmo 34:4 e Isaías 66:3
“Busqué a Jehová y Él me oyó…” Salmo 34:4
Mi madre fue siempre alguien muy especial para mí por todo el amor y ternura con que me educó. Al partir físicamente yo estaba junto a Él observando cómo agonizaba. Desesperadamente mi madre le leía la Biblia y le pasaba la mano por sus cabellos, besaba su frente y oraba. Yo hasta ese momento nunca había aceptado que Dios existía, que era realmente un Dios vivo y todopoderoso.
Algo ocurrió dentro de mí que recordé el Padre Nuestro que había aprendido de niña y comencé a repetirlo sin cesar una y otra vez. Al instante vi la respuesta de ese Dios tan grande que tenemos, mi padre fue lleno de mucha Paz y partió apaciblemente de este mundo.
Salí de aquella sala de Hospital, busqué un lugar para sentarme bajo el cielo estrellado de la madrugada, una brisa muy suave me envolvía y una llovizna casi imperceptible me tocó. Ahí estaba Dios en una dulce caricia, diciéndome: No estás sola. Clamaste a mí y te respondíí, yo te amo.
* * *
We need humor, human touch, and ice cream to survive. I’m a little nervous to share these “Mom” jokes that were shared with me. I don’t want to be guilty of ‘micro-aggressions’ against either women or moms. I have a beloved mom and I married a beloved woman. If I’ve stepped out of line, I trust you to tell me. (Seriously.)
I hope you enjoy these.
You are beautiful when you smile.
Why God Made Moms
Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions.
* Why did God make mothers?
1. She’s the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.
*How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.
*What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men’s bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.
*Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We’re related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people’s mom like me.
*What kind of a little girl was your mom?
1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don’t know because I wasn’t there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.
*What mom needed to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?
*Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom eats alot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that mom didn’t have her thinking cap on.
*Who’s the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn’t want to be boss, but she has to because dad’s such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.
*What’s the difference between moms and dads?
1. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
2. Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power ’cause that’s who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friends.
3. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.
*What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don’t do spare time
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.
*What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside she’s already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I’d diet, maybe blue.
*If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I’d get rid of that.
2. I’d make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.
* * *
See you on Sunday. Invite a friend.
* * *
Pay attention to God’s activity in the world around you.
Be amazed.
Tell somebody.
PEACE,
Matt Matthews
864.386.9138
More
* * *
From your Nurture Team — Congrats to Kathy Schoeffmann for being the first to correctly recognize last week’s photo of Bill Marble!
Here’s this week’s photo challenge.
Visit http://fb.com/groups/
Please join in the fun! We would like you to select a photo from your younger years (grade school, high school or early adulthood). Photos need not be professional. Candid shots are welcome. Please send your photos to photos@
Saturday Evening French Prayer Service 6 pm
Email zoom@firstpres.church for the link.
* * *
Friday Night at the Movies: What movies do YOU recommend? Send me the name of one of your favorites. I’ve shared with you mine. (I hope I told you about Local Hero and O Brother Where Art Thou?)
* * *
Two very different songs for your Friday concert.
Prayer…
The Lord Bless You and Keep You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
…and, from our friends at Stax Records, dancing…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Weekday Email to Members and Friends – 2020-07-09
A daily e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
To Members and Friends of
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
Dear Friends,
If there was anger or rage at Todd Ledbetter’s funeral last night in the parking lot of CU at Home I didn’t see it. There was rage and violence, certainly, when he was beaten to death within view of my office window on July 1st. One week after his death, however, peace, quiet, and muggy heat washed over the crowd. There were quivery voices. Tears. Lots of media. One elected city official (Jon Rector). Methodists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians that I recognized. About sixty gathered. It was hot. The folding chairs were spread out wide. You could ride a bicycle through the spaces in the crowd. Prayers were offered. Guests shared remembrances.
A representative of his family was present. Todd’s mom was the second-born of a family of twelve kids. He learned the Bible from his grandmother. One man said Todd shared everything he was given. “Wealth brings many friends, but the poor are left friendless,” says Proverbs. While this may be often true, it’s not always true.
Last night was proof.
Ten or so people spoke. They all shared some variation of one theme: friendship. Friends make our lives rich, somebody said.
One man said he was rich because Todd was his friend. Take on Race:
One Thing I Learned About Racism Last Week
By Ian Evensen
“Black lives matter!”
“Actually, all lives matter.”
You might not see anything wrong with saying “all lives matter”. “All lives” includes “Black lives”, so what’s the problem? Until recently, I thought that “Black lives matter” and “all lives matter” were interchangeable, because they were both phrases that advocated the idea that everyone should be treated equally. For this reason, some people might say “all lives matter” with good intent, but I’ve learned why we should stop using this phrase.
The Black Lives Matter Movement was created because of the excessive amount of people in this society that have failed to understand that “Black lives” falls under the category of “all lives”. The movement fully recognizes that all lives matter- it’s simply saying that in order to truly believe that, you must also believe that Black lives matter as much as all other lives.
An analogy I read online sums it up perfectly: imagine you are having dinner with your family, and everyone gets a serving except for you. You say “I should get my fair share”, but your family replies, “everyone should get their fair share”. This analogy represents the problem with countering “Black lives matter” with “all lives matter”- you didn’t mean “only I should get my fair share”, you meant “I should get my fair share too.” Likewise, the Black Lives Matter movement isn’t saying “only Black lives matter”, it’s saying “Black lives matter too.”
In today’s world, Black Americans are the ones that need attention. They are oppressed, mistreated, and subject to systemic racism and violence. The countless instances of Black Americans being brutally treated by White police officers clearly demonstrates that they are chronically treated like their lives don’t matter. While “all lives matter” is a true statement, it draws attention away from the unique struggle that Black Americans face- it’s a general statement that ignores the fact that there is one group of people that is disproportionately impacted by injustice and inequality.
The analogy I discussed earlier is applicable in this regard as well- the reason you complained at dinner was that you didn’t get your fair share when everyone else did. Similarly, the reason people say “Black lives matter” is that Black Americans are the ones that don’t get treated with the same justice, objectivity, and righteousness that other people get treated with. How could your family say that “everyone should get their fair share”, and at the same time, choose not to address the fact that you didn’t get yours? In the same way, people who say “all lives matter” avoid addressing the fact that Black lives are the ones that are in need of help.
This issue with the phrase “all lives matter” was one that I learned about recently, and I now know how important it is for all of us to educate ourselves about racism. We need to be aware of it in order for us to learn how to treat Black Americans better. We need to learn about racism and encourage others to learn about it so that we may better understand why so many people are upset, and so that we can make a change.
News:
Thank you Rachel Matthews for hosting, Eric for teching, and Claudia for telling her story at the Wednesday Vespers last night.
Fridays
Men’s Prayer Group 8:30 am
Email zoom@firstpres.church for the link.
Friday Night Lights Study Group 7:30 pm
Email zoom@firstpres.church for the link.
As of yesterday, the $2,500 PCUSA grant check First Pres sent to CU at Home is in their bank account with their gratitude. Lola Ruthmansdorfer, our Community Mission Deacon, called Rob today to touch base. He said, “It meant a lot.”
* * *
Nobody has asked me where the jokes went. Remember how I used to collect corny jokes for you each day? I’ve been saving some up. Please send me your favs.
What kind of driver NEVER gets a ticket? (I’ll tell you tomorrow.)
Good Word:
John 15:12-17
12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
Let us pray
Our Holy Father, we confess the weakness and sinfulness of our lives. We have often turned away from thee to seek our own desires. And often when we have done no evil, we have undertaken nothing of good, and so have been guilty of uselessness and neglect. From this sin of idleness and indifference set us free. Lead us into fruitful effort, and deliver us from profitless lives. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
[Martin Luther King, Jr.]
PEACE to you all,
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church