Wednesday, September 30^th, 2020
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Dear Friends,
 
Join our Wednesday Zoom tonight at 7:00. On this 5^th Wednesday of the month, we’ll meet for catching up and free ranging conversation. NEXT week is our monthly prayer service. This link is here:
  
* * *
 
The Covid-19 Response Team meets in six days. Please chime in to me (or to them) about when we should begin face to face worship. Some churches that I know who have returned, have done so because they are small congregations meeting in large sanctuaries. They can be spaced far apart because they are so few saints in such a large space. That is not the case for us. I’d really like to hear from you on this. The members of the Team are Peter Yau, Tim Young, Judi Geistlinger, Ken Chapman, Ruth Craddock, Ron Deering, Mark Schoeffmann, and Eric Corbin.
 
* * *
 
A short sermon:         
This passage is one of my favorites. Christians are sometimes known as the exact opposite of what this passage urges: they are mean, hard-edged, arrogant, purists who aren’t very pure. I hate to admit that I sometimes fit that description. (What about you?) But I aspire to reach higher, and, by God’s grace, to do better. I strive to live as this passage invites me to live: 
 
Colossians 3:12-14           
¹² As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ¹³ Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. (NRSV)
 
God helps me be the person I was created to be. I try to dress the part. God’s love is sufficient even when mine seldom is. Good News.
 
News:
 
PW News from Brandi Lowe…
Presbyterian Women’s Fall Gathering
Thursday, October 1
2 pm via Zoom
Program — Brandi Lowe, Moderator PW 
 
* * *
 
Everyone living in the United States on April 1, 2020 needs to fill out their 2020 Census form.  A complete count is important because it determines how much federal funding comes to states and communities for services like education, health care, libraries, social services, and transportation.
 
The last day to fill out your Census form is September 30.  Complete it online at my2020census.gov, or respond by phone at:
 
English 1-844-330-2020
French 1-844-494-2020 
 
* * *
 
Don’t forget these conversations on PUBLIC SAFETY:  The City of Champaign is pleased to invite you to participate in a community listening session to share your vision for public safety in our community. All residents, business owners and community stakeholders are encouraged to take part. The goal is to help create better communication and understanding between Champaign Police, City Administrators and community members by allowing you to directly voice your thoughts and expectations around policing. Each session will include Chief of Police Anthony Cobb and Police command staff, City Manager Dorothy David, and elected City officials. The listening sessions will be moderated by Dr. Travis Dixon, an American media studies scholar and Professor of Communication at the University of Illinois.

Determining the future of policing in our community should be a collaborative process involving community partnerships, and the first step in that process is to hear from you. Each listening session will be used to gather information from the public so it can be shared with the City Council as they make future public safety policy decisions to best address the needs, interests, and values of our community. Virtual Listening Session Dates:
· Saturday, Oct. 3, 1-3 p.m.
· Friday, Oct. 9, 1-3 p.m.
· Tuesday, Oct. 13, 6-8 p.m.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the listening sessions will be held electronically using the Zoom meeting platform. More information on how to join and participate, including how to attend via Zoom can be found on the City’s website at  champaignil.gov/CommunityConversations. Please feel free to share this invitation with others. The City looks forward to hearing your input during one of these important listening sessions.
 
Humor (Hard times need godly laughter): 
 
From Betty Hollister: Knock, knock. Who’s there? Goliath. Goliath who? Goliath down, you look-eth tired!
  
Good Word:
 
PHILIPPIANS 3:12b              
 I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 

Let us pray:

 
We humbly beseech thee, O heavenly Father, so to assist us with thy grace, that we may continue in that holy fellowship, and do all such good works as thou has prepared for us to walk in.
 
Much, much love to you all.
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church

Monday, September 28^th, 2020
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
  
Dear Friends,
 
Yadkin County, NC, Brunswick Stew (Thanks Beth Hutchens!)
 
1 chicken, 6 lb. or 2 fryers (yes, any available meat was thrown in)
2 onions, diced
2 c. Okra, cut (optional)
4 c. Fresh tomatoes or 2 cans
2 c. Lima beans
3 medium potatoes, diced
4 cups corn or 2 cans
3 tsp. Salt
1 T. Sugar 
1 tsp. Pepper

Cook chicken in 2 qts water. Bone and dice.  Reserve 1 quart of broth.
Add raw vegetables to broth.  Cook till tender. 
Add other vegetables, seasonings, plus chicken, and simmer.
If canned vegetables are used, do not drain.
 
 
And . . . for dipping chips:
 
1 can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
fresh tomatoes, chopped 
Green onions, diced
Green pepper (optional)

Juice of 1 lime
1  T. Olive oil
1 T. Chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Pinch of salt (or use salted chips)
Pinch of cayenne pepper
 
News:
 
Yesterday’s ‘‘SUNDAY IN THE PARK” was great fun. Join us in two weeks, on Sunday October 11^th, for another fellowship hour after worship. Hessel Park is a perfect place. The weather was glorious.

 
* * *
 
Don’t forget these conversations on PUBLIC SAFETY:  The City of Champaign is pleased to invite you to participate in a community listening session to share your vision for public safety in our community. All residents, business owners and community stakeholders are encouraged to take part. The goal is to help create better communication and understanding between Champaign Police, City Administrators and community members by allowing you to directly voice your thoughts and expectations around policing. Each session will include Chief of Police Anthony Cobb and Police command staff, City Manager Dorothy David, and elected City officials. The listening sessions will be moderated by Dr. Travis Dixon, an American media studies scholar and Professor of Communication at the University of Illinois.

Determining the future of policing in our community should be a collaborative process involving community partnerships, and the first step in that process is to hear from you. Each listening session will be used to gather information from the public so it can be shared with the City Council as they make future public safety policy decisions to best address the needs, interests, and values of our community. Virtual Listening Session Dates:
· Tuesday, Sept. 29, 6-8 p.m. 
· Saturday, Oct. 3, 1-3 p.m.
· Friday, Oct. 9, 1-3 p.m.
· Tuesday, Oct. 13, 6-8 p.m.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the listening sessions will be held electronically using the Zoom meeting platform. More information on how to join and participate, including how to attend via Zoom can be found on the City’s website at  champaignil.gov/CommunityConversations. Please feel free to share this invitation with others. The City looks forward to hearing your input during one of these important listening sessions.
 
Humor (Hard times need godly laughter): 
 
From Bill Gamble:
 
The passengers had all boarded. The pilot came on the PA with this 
announcement: “Ladies and gentlemen. We are having a slight delay 
loading baggage. The machine that breaks the handles off of the 
suitcases is out of order, so they are having to it by hand.”
 
 
Good Word:
 
PHILIPPIANS 3:4B-14                4bIf anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
 
7Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
 
12Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.  

Let us pray:

 
O God, I’m not there yet.
While I want to follow,
I can never imagine following
so ardently and so completely
as your Son.
 
But please, nevertheless, accept 
my stumbling efforts, and by
your grace, guide my steps, 
in the name of the One
 
whose humility and grace
inspire me to serve with
all my heart.
 
Help me, Holy Lord.
 
And thank you, Holy Lord.
 
In Jesus’ name,
In Jesus’ perfect name,
I pray . . .
 
AMEN
  
 
Much, much love to you all.
  
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church

Friday 25 September 2020
 
Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois

Dear Friends, 
 
I’m hearing that our school children are exhausted. Online learning is difficult. Parents are frazzled. Teachers are stretched. Bless them all.
 
How are you doing? Are you breathing, deeply? Have you noticed the cool of the mornings? Nightfall is sooner, and cooler. So many people in our community are feeling tugged and torn.
 
Have you ever walked a labyrinth? Prayerfully, quietly, slowly, and alone you walk into a circular path that winds to a budded center, then you unwind yourself back out, retracing your steps to where you started. It’s not a maze. You don’t have to figure out how to get there and how to get back. You can’t get lost on the path. You simply walk to a centerpoint, then you walk out. 
 
People walk labyrinths to clear their heads. To pray. To unwind themselves from a stressful life. To think. Ideally, one feels calmer and more centered after the exercise.
 
I’m walking and I’m praying for our frazzled flock, for those ‘working from home’ and finding the lines between home/work blurred. I’m walking and I’m praying for those isolated from loved ones across town or across the country/world. I’m walking and  I’m praying for those who are struggling financially, for the furloughed, the laid off, the gigging artists who find themselves without an audience, without a stage, without an income. I’m walking and I am praying for those in hospitals who can’t be visited by their family.
 
Join me. Help me pray for our world.
 
* * * 
 
What are you devoted to? I’ll ask you on Sunday morning in worship. See you at 9:00 at FirstPres.Live
 
* * *
 
After worship, join us for Sunday in the Park. Hessel Park, north/main entrance, Sunday 11:00. Wear a mask and be prepared to be ‘checked safely in’. Bring a lawn chair. I’ll be there rain or shine. 
 
* * *
 
Tom Ulen is excited to invite us to the Wesley Fall Seminar. He says the speakers are stellar. It’s online, so you can join from the comfort of your home. The topic is super relevant. America 2020:  Pulling Apart or Coming Together? See below for all the details. 
 
* * *
 
Pay attention to God’s activity in the world around you.
            Be amazed.
                        Tell somebody.
 
PEACE,
 
Matt Matthews
864.386.9138
 
* * *
 
PHOTO Challenge! 

From your Nurture Team — Congrats to Suzanne McNattin for being the first to guess last Friday’s photo was of Michael Hogue!  

Here’s this week’s photo. 

Visit http://fb.com/groups/firstpreschampaign to make your guesses, or email them to photos@firstpres.church.  Pastor Eric will be taking some time off the next couple weeks, so you’ll have a bit longer to make your guesses.
 
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@firstpres.church.
 
* * *
Join the Wesley Fall Seminar this Sunday…
America 2020:  Pulling Apart or Coming Together?
U of I Professor Emeritus Tom Ulen, Moderator

Join the Wesley Student Center and United Methodist Church online via Zoom and Facebook Live on September 27 at 2 pm as we hear from various presenters covering topics of racism, police brutality, media bias, civil and public discourse and many other topics.

These topics and many more will be presented by Chancellor Jones, Director Michael Schlosser, Professor Brant Houston, Professor Ned O’Gorman, and Professor Jennifer Robbennolt.  Following the presentations there will be a 25 minute Q&A session.  We look forward to having you with us online for this event.

Click on the links to access the Zoom Meeting on the day of or join us via Facebook Live.

Facebook Event…
https://www.facebook.com/events/696537790967368/

Zoom Meeting…
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85958621534?pwd=N0RvaExMT2RWTEVyQlM4eGJ5UytZZz09

Speakers and Program:
Chancellor Robert Jones — Addressing racism
U of I Police Training Institute Director Michael Schlosser — Police Brutality and Police Reform
U of I Professor Brant Houston — The Role of the Press
U of I Professor Ned O’Gorman — Political Engagement Without Political Polarization
U of I Professor Jennifer Robbennolt — Civil Public Discourse
 
* * *
 
‘‘SUNDAY IN THE PARK”  The Nurture Committee invites you to gather in Hessel Park on September 27.  God didn’t intend for us to live in isolation. God specifically designed us to have relationships with each other.   Therefore, bring your lawn chairs and let’s gather for an hour at 11 am near the Pavilion at the north end of the park.  The committee will be available to guide you to our location and provide a safe location following social distancing, sanitation and guidelines such as wearing masks.
Psalms 133:1 NIV- How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!
We had 29 people at the Hessel Park gathering on September 13. We would sure like to see more on the 27^th. We plan to do these gatherings every other Sunday as the weather permits. 
 
* * *
Japanese pianist in the aftermath of Tsunami
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqoV4ZW7xTA
 
* * *
 
Labyrinth:
https://www.historicchristchurch.org/pray/labyrinth/
 
* * *
 
A story about how a man met his wife. (You’ll like this.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW_nwxlwfyo
 
* * *
 
Champaign-Urbana Symphony!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP-K_ZMnXnM

 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JATVc72zfH0
 

Thursday, September 24^th, 2020
A weekday e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Dear Friends,
 
I mentioned yesterday that Pat Phillips was to lead last night’s Wednesday Zoom. She did a great job. But I mentioned that because she’s a great discussion leader we should expect to “grow.” I ended that sentence with an exclamation point. It made that last word look like this: grow! Some read that “growl.” Well, no one growled and, I think, everyone grew. 
 
My mom taught me how to make my dad’s mom’s Brunswick stew. I’m not a cook, but I make this often. See my recipe after the prayer below. Here’s a poem that I’ve probably shared before. 
 
Brunswick Stew
(A Poem by Matt Matthews
about My Mom)
 
You taught me how to make Brunswick Stew 
from Grandmother Matthews’ family recipe.         
Chicken, limas, white corn, tomatoes, broth,
Worcestershire sauce. 
 
You’d pour a Kilimanjaro of salt into your soft palm 
then dash it in, rubbing your folded hands together, an oblation, 
stirring, taking a taste, then allowing it to simmer a long, long time, 
slowly. The whole house knew what was for dinner. 
 
It’s best the second day after the ingredients begin 
impersonating one another, a communion. Serve it with piles 
of sweet cornbread hot out of the oven, slathered, of course, 
with butter. Or saltines with butter. Or eat it plain.
 
It was perfect for winter’s cold days. I ate it happily as a boy 
though I vaguely remember once secretly feeding the limas to 
the dog and getting busted for it. Shaggy dutifully licked each lima 
but didn’t like them, either, and after dinner when 
 
Dad and me sat in the living room watching TV, 
you found fifty polished limas on the linoleum floor beneath 
my kitchen chair. I remember you getting mad at me for what 
I thought Shaggy should get yelled at for. That dog.
 
You said Brunswick Stew is a catch-all, a base for whatever meat is at hand. 
When your father, my Deda, hunted, squirrel or rabbit filled my Baba’s
stew pot. I’m not game for such additions, but sometimes I add
hunks of polish sausage, feeling like a traitor. 
 
Your version was comfortably predictable, and tame, the same, reliable 
stuff, batch after batch. Who am I to mix it up? So, I make it like you—
this do in remembrance of you—filling our two biggest pots, feeding
hungry people at church, some of whom eat around the poor limas—
 
Shaggy’s ghost nodding his head and wagging that short tail.
When I was a kid, it steamed my face and warmed my hands holding the bowl. 
I’ve always associated its smell and hearty flavors with home cooking, 
and now that you’re gone, with your special brand of practical love.
 
* * *

News:
 
‘‘SUNDAY IN THE PARK”…  The Nurture Committee invites you to gather in Hessel Park on September 27.  God didn’t intend for us to live in isolation. God specifically designed us to have relationships with each other.   Therefore, bring your lawn chairs and let’s gather for an hour at 11 am near the Pavilion at the north end of the park.  The committee will be available to guide you to our location and provide a safe location following social distancing, sanitation and guidelines such as wearing masks.
Psalms 133:1 NIV- How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!
We had 29 people at the Hessel Park gathering on September 13. We would sure like to see more on the 27^th. We plan to do these gatherings every other Sunday as the weather permits. 
 
* * *
 
PRIVATE PRAYER… Our Sanctuary will be open for private prayer on TODAY from 4 to 6 p.m. While there will be no organized service, you may come and sit in the space to pray and meditate. Physical distancing, masks, sign in with temperature check, and registration/contact tracing will be operative. Our worship team will greet and assist you. Only fifty people at a time will be allowed in. Bring your own Bible or hymnals if you wish, as the pew materials have all been removed as a safety precaution. See you on Thursday!
 
* * *
 
GOOD NEWS! The Session approved DREAAM to use our wifi and Education Building classrooms during the school day Monday-Friday during this pandemic season of remote, online learning. DREAAMers who have trouble getting wifi at home, or who otherwise can’t easily study remotely from at home, will meet at First Pres to do so. Mindy Watt-Ellis is our point person. (ESL currently does not use the space as they are meeting online for now.) This DREAAM program is working in collaboration with Unit 4 of the Champaign Public School District (who will provide food); DREAAM will work within their safety guidelines, the Champaign/Urbana Public Health District, and those of the CDC. Mindy Watts-Ellis is the point person from First Pres; Tracy Dace is the point person from DREAAM. DREAAMers will be divided into three pods, and will total no more than 25-youth and children. 
 
* * *

PUBLIC SAFETY…  The City of Champaign is pleased to invite you to participate in a community listening session to share your vision for public safety in our community. All residents, business owners and community stakeholders are encouraged to take part. The goal is to help create better communication and understanding between Champaign Police, City Administrators and community members by allowing you to directly voice your thoughts and expectations around policing. Each session will include Chief of Police Anthony Cobb and Police command staff, City Manager Dorothy David, and elected City officials. The listening sessions will be moderated by Dr. Travis Dixon, an American media studies scholar and Professor of Communication at the University of Illinois.

Determining the future of policing in our community should be a collaborative process involving community partnerships, and the first step in that process is to hear from you. Each listening session will be used to gather information from the public so it can be shared with the City Council as they make future public safety policy decisions to best address the needs, interests, and values of our community. Virtual Listening Session Dates:
· Thursday, Sept. 24, 6-8 p.m.
· Tuesday, Sept. 29, 6-8 p.m. 
· Saturday, Oct. 3, 1-3 p.m.
· Friday, Oct. 9, 1-3 p.m.
· Tuesday, Oct. 13, 6-8 p.m.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the listening sessions will be held electronically using the Zoom meeting platform. More information on how to join and participate, including how to attend via Zoom can be found on the City’s website at  champaignil.gov/CommunityConversations. Please feel free to share this invitation with others. The City looks forward to hearing your input during one of these important listening sessions.

Humor (Hard times need godly laughter): 
 
Thank you, Linda Peterson:
 
Knock, knock. 
Who’s there? 
Funnel. 
Funnel Who? 
The Funnel start once you let me in!
 
* * *
 
What do music and chickens have in common?
Bach, Bach, Bach!
 
* * *
 
Where did Captain Hook get his hook? At the second hand store.
 
* * *
 
Good Word:
 
Galatians 5:14                        
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 
 
LET US PRAY:
 
O God, I’m not there yet.
While I want to follow,
I can never imagine following
so ardently and so completely
as your Son.
 
But please, nevertheless, accept 
my stumbling efforts, and by
your grace, guide my steps, 
in the name of the One
 
whose humility and grace
inspire me to serve with
all my heart.
 
Help me, Holy Lord.
 
And thank you, Holy Lord.
 
In Jesus’ name,
In Jesus’ perfect name,
I pray . . .
 
AMEN
 
Much, much love to you all.
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church
 
Alice Parramore Matthews’ Bruswick Stew
 
Try this:
 
In a giant pot, pour some chicken broth.
Put in a bag of white corn. Yellow corn, too, if you want. 
Add a bag of lima beans. (If you hate limas, leave this out.)
Stew a chicken (or a bunch of your favorite parts of a chicken; I use a bag of frozen breasts.)
Chop the chicken. Add the chicken.
Pour in some salt, unless you doc says go easy on the salt.
Add pepper.
Throw in Worcestershire Sauce.
Red wine or white wine is good. Put some in the stew, too.
Throw in some sausage, if you want.
If you can’t stir it, add more chicken broth.
Add some canned tomatoes.
Add some chopped tomatoes.
Chop an onion, or ten, if you like onion.
Do you like other spices? Add them to taste.
Bring to a boil, then simmer for a long time. 
When you whole house smells wonderful, it’s ready.
Make cornbread.
Invite friends.