Week of Compassion-Refugee Crisis in Europe and the Middle East

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1 January 12, 2016 vol. 16, issue 2 Join us for Sunday Worship on January 17, at 10:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m.-adult Sunday School 10:00 a.m.-service () 5:30 p.m. - Stone (prep at 3:30) Called to Serve Elders: Stu Eide, Patricia Eide Home Communion: Susan Latham Preparing Deacons: Teresa Shaw, Rick Olsen Serving Deacons: *Jim Postell, Sue Schultz, Jim Stinson, Nami Choe Flowers: NA Coffee Cart and Snack: Tim and Stephanie Ottusch Greeter: Vera Rush Stone Soup Meal Count Tuesday, 1/5-97 Saturday, 1/9-118 Sunday, 1/10-95 Staff Rev. Matt Gordon... Senior Minister Irami Osei-Frimpong...Director of Community Development Matthew Clark...Choir Director Eric Qian... Pianist Charlene Lincoln...Church Secretary Jill Shinkawa...Communications Manager Kevin Weaver... Paladin Church staff meets every Monday, 10:00-11:00 a.m. We are not available during this time. Week of Compassion-Refugee Crisis in Europe and the Middle East Life for Syrians in exile is increasingly difficult. Most live below the poverty line and in sub-standard shelters. Hope of returning home diminishes each year the civil war continues. As the rate of poverty increases among refugees, practices such as child labor and child marriage are on the rise amongst families in the deepest crisis. In the already vulnerable surrounding countries, communities are straining to sustain support for refugees as competition for employment, land, housing, water and energy grows. We can respond to the crisis in Syria and to other tragedies across the globe. Donations to Week of Compassion not only sustain a response to issues of A Few Moments from Last Sunday global refugee displacement and war, they go to support our efforts to welcome refugees as they arrive in the U.S. and adjust to a new life. 100% of your gifts designated Syria Humanitarian Crisis will directly go to help Syrian refugees and those who are internally displaced in the Middle East and in Europe. In the days to come, your Week of Compassion will continue to work with partners to provide food, water, warm clothing, and shelter to the thousands of displaced persons for whom the journey is only beginning. Thank you for your support and partnership, and for putting your Compassion into Action. Top left: The combination choir/folk service included these lovely voices. Above: During children s moment Matt talked about some rituals of baptism. Left: The kids filed back in through the choir, after getting a tour of the baptistry.

2 Disciples House from Irami Osei-Frimpong The story of Mary and Martha sits snugly in Luke 10: Jesus and his disciples visit the house of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. Martha prepares the gathering and complains to Jesus that her sister Mary has avoided her domestic duties. Instead, Mary spends her time listening to Jesus, leaving Martha to do the labor of preparing and administering the gathering. Jesus responds that it is not Mary but Martha who is distracted, presumably by all of the party preparation, and it is Mary who understands what is important: sitting down and listening to the words of Jesus. In popular reception, Martha gets flack for caring about domestic work. Jesus enters her house with a flock of disciples, and like a responsible host, Martha knows that it is impossible to listen to the King of Kings on an empty stomach or concentrate on the Word while sitting in a strewn hovel, so Martha cooks and cleans. Martha prepares the way for Jesus, not unlike John the Baptist, except instead of a baptism, Martha s more mundane sacrament involves a broom. Martha s work is conventionally degraded, especially in modern times, because it appears distracting, unending, and not particularly creative or productive of the best type of human, but this is work that must be done if we are to have the peace of mind and fullness of belly to hear Jesus s teaching. If we are to have a Church on this world, there is an extent to which we need to respect the conditions of our mortality and fold them into our Christian spiritual practices. This means appreciating domestic labor. Part of what of it means to live in First Christian Church s Disciples House is to cook and clean for yourself and other residents. Residents are not allowed to focus on their studies in a way that ignores the domestic conditions that make their study possible. For many upwardly mobile college students, this is not their most practiced skill. They can take derivatives, explain the ways of peptide bonds, or program in Python, but they are not yet practiced in sautéing an onion or cleaning a bathroom, nor do they appreciate this work s necessity. Maybe they come from homes where this work was provided for them by parents or efficient professional domestic help, and truthfully, maybe they look forward to a time where this work will be provided for them by family and efficient professional domestic help. But their time in the Disciples House is an opportunity for them to learn the importance of this domestic labor and respect the workers who minister to it. All of the residents have cleaning chores, and there is a cook schedule where each resident is responsible for preparing a communal dinner for people. The communal dinners are on every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. This way, all of the residents are guaranteed a meal three times a week (usually with leftovers), yet each resident is only responsible for preparing this meal once every three weeks. Part of the life of a resident in this house is making sure that this necessary work is carried off; just as part of Christian life is making sure that pew bibles return to their pews, roofs don t leak, and church basements Rev. Matt Gordon Senior Minister Church phone: matt@heartofcorvallis.org Open Office Hours: Mondays: 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Tuesdays: 1:00 p.m. - -4:00 p.m. Sermons Online don t flood. Martha was not wrong in understanding this domestic labor as critical to making Christian life possible. Hers was a problem of degree, not of kind. She cared too much about Mary s neglect of Mary s host duties. Martha cared in a way that was idolatrous: she worshipped the work in the wrong order, prizing this domestic labor over listening to Jesus s teachings. But getting the order right is a faithful task, missed in many ways by students and professionals alike. Let us be grateful for Martha, for even in her miscalculation, she has toiled alone for too long, laboring to make our Christian life possible. Relying on the spirit and story of the gospels, First Christian Church is supported primarily by donations. There is no charge for any event. We rely on freely given offerings to support our various ministries and opportunities. Your contributions and gifts allow us to continue to be a radically inclusive, justice-driven community of faith every day of the week. Thank you in advance for your gifts.

3 In Sunday School from Emily, Vicki, and Leah Epiphany A couple of weeks ago in Sunday School we pretended that we were Wise People and played a game where we followed stars around the church to find the baby Jesus. It was such an exciting journey and so much fun to find the stars that we were sometimes challenged to work together as a group and let everyone share in the joy of finding the stars and leading us on to the next step in the journey. Eventually we found our way to the baby Jesus and his family, this year represented by pieces from the narthex nativity set. Then we celebrated Epiphany and our Epiphany journey by sharing some King Cake, or Rosca de Reyes, which is a traditional cake baked an eaten on Epiphany in Spanish and Latin American culture. Last Sunday in Sunday School we began a two month study of the Fruit of the Spirit. The Fruit of the Spirit is a biblical term that sums up nine attributes of a Christian life according to Paul in his letter to the Galatians. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. In Our Prayers Lyle Miller fell and is in the hospital Joyce Miller Cherie Reynolds has cancer. Prayers for her, Neil, and family Donna Mason s brother-in-law Robin, mother of our nursery attendant Mandy, who is facing a cancer diagnosis Ely s father Louise Hayden Will Keim Charlene and Fred Vicki s sister Sheila has inoperable stage 4 cancer Mary Cotton s parents Teanna McMahan Jean Thayer Gen Erway Lynnie Evans Kathy and Bill Schaub, Jill s parents-in-law 2016 Ecuador Trip photos from fedice.org Disciples from Oregon and Southwest Idaho will travel to Ecuador during the summer of As in previous trips, the group will enjoy the great hospitality of our mission partner FEDICE, the Ecumenical Foundation for Integrated Training Development and Education. The travelers will worship and work with indigenous Ecuadoran Christians in the Imbabura province Otavalo and visit a regionally sponsored economic development project at Romerillos. They will also visit the world renowned artisan market at Otavalo Cost of the trip will be approximately $2,000 per person, much of which will pay for airfare. Because of the cost, some congregations hold fundraisers to diminish expenses. If you have interest in going, please contact Doug Wirt or Audre Bratcher in the regional church office. From Mary Stuart... Thank you for the cards, love and support we have received during this time of grief. Also, we appreciate the beautiful poinsettia that has been enjoyed throughout the holiday season. Sincerely, Mary Stuart and Janna Gilbert

4 Looking Ahead January 12 11:30 a.m.-craft Fair meeting 7:00 p.m.-pastor/parish Committee January 14 7:00 p.m.-board meeting January 18 Martin Luther King Jr. Day-Church office is closed 7:00 p.m.-program Cabinet January 31 After service-congregational meeting February 3 9:00 a.m.-due Knots meet Birthdays 1/13 - Ryan Vanderford 1/17 - Marian Vanderford 1/18 - Alexis Vanderford 1/20 - Pat Malone, Matthias John Doerksen-Goldwater Anniversaries 1/15 - Kelley and Aaron Marchbanks Thank You! A big thank you to Kyle Theims who built a new Lent/Easter cross for the church. Kyle used wood from an old barn that was torn down. The wood is over 100 years old. Kyle is the husband of one of our nursery workers. Thank you Kyle! You can see the cross on display in the narthex. What s Happening Craft Fair Meeting Calling all folks interested in participating in this years craft fair. Our first Craft Fair meets on Tuesday, January 12 at 11:30 a.m. Pastor/Parish Committee Meeting On Tuesday, January 12 at 7:00 p.m. the Pastor/Parish committee meets. The Pastor/Parish committee is a team designed to enhance communication, evaluation and support between the congregation and the minister and to serve as a support group for the minister and the minister s family. The committee is made up of Lee Mason, Sue Schultz, David Sisson, Jim Stinson, Carol Garbacik, Dawn Lasater, Amy Berry, Christa Keim Schemeder, and Neil Reynolds. Due Knots Meet Wednesday, 3 of February from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Come and join us for work and pleasure as we tie comforters for needy children in our community. Enjoy tea and sweets together! We can use your help! Announcements FCC Corvallis Men s Cold Weather Shelter Volunteers Needed First Christian Church is responsible for filling positions at the Corvallis Men s Cold Weather Shelter on February 8, 11, and 13. Currently there are two positions open for Food Prep/ Service (one evening from 6:30-8:30 p.m.) and three greeter positions open (one per evening from 6:30-8:30 p.m.). If you would like to serve in this way, please David Sisson at dsissondvm@gmail.com to communicate your preference or if you have questions concerning volunteering. Men s Cold Weather Shelter. photo from Oregon and SW Idaho Christian Church Newsletter Here is a link to the Oregon and SW Idaho Christian Church newsletter for January 2016: Another Way to Give Did you know that online giving is available? Make your donation to the church via the website. Our website is very mobile-friendly too. You could easily make your donation on Sunday morning via our website or anytime during the week. We are hosted by VANCO, a respected online giving vendor that handles giving securely. Around Town Taizé Prayer Service The monthly Taizé Prayer Service will be held at 7:00 pm on Sunday, February 7, at the Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan on the corner of 35th and Harrison. Subsequent services will be held on the following Sundays through June; March 6, April 3, May 1, June 5. Everyone is welcome!

5 10 6:00 pm-group 4 meets at Izzy s 11 7 pm-finance Cabinet January/February 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 12 11:30 am-craft Fair Meeting (3:30 7:00 pm-pastor/ Parish Committee Meeting :00 pm-board Meeting Martin Luther King Jr. Day- Church office is closed 7 pm-program Cabinet 19 (3: am-folk and Intergenerational Worship, no Sunday School (3: After Service- Congregational Meeting 1 February 2 3:30 pm-fcc s turn to prep/serve Stone Soup supper 3 9 am-due Knots meet pm-finance Cabinet 9 (3:

6 First Christian Church 602 SW Madison Avenue Corvallis, Oregon RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Our Vision The First Christian Church of Corvallis is a diverse inclusive community providing a living witness to the compassionate Christ. From our central location in the heart of Corvallis, we seek out, develop, and support ministries to meet the human needs for physical and spiritual wholeness. On the basis of our Disciple heritage, we embrace the ecumenical movement, develop lay leadership, and promote intellectual freedom in the pursuit of truth. All are welcome to participate. Inclusivity is one of our most important values. Help us save paper, postage and money - receive the newsletter electronically. Send an to communications.manager@fcc-corvallis.org and put Subscribe Dispatch as the subject. If you are not receiving the Disciples Dispatch please inform the church office. Please recycle this newsletter.