Part of being a pastor is trying to create relationships that hopefully will bring people into the doors of a church or gathered community.  I’ve been fascinated to see how Steve and Rebecca Haney who are leading a new Disciples church plant in Rochester, Minnesota are growing their community.  Steve has told me about how he has gone to various community meetings to strike up conversations that then lead at some point to faith. 

I look on all that with envy, because it’s not something I can do.  I’ve said this time and time again, but being autistic makes the kind of social engagement that Steve does very hard for me.  I don’t want to give the impression that I’m blaming Asperger’s for everything, I’m just stating what I know.  But I don’t think it’s impossible for someone with Aspergers to be able to talk about their faith: it’s just harder.

But this all means trying to learn the artform of talking and sharing that seems so foreign to me.  What I’m good at is sharing information, which is what I do for a living.  But sharing information and sharing your life with someone are two different things.  I think I’m learning to share my life with others, but it’s still an uphill climb.

This all leads to inviting someone to come to First Christian in Minneapolis.  Again, I’m not good at the art of persuasion, just sharing information.  But I think I can use my information, my observations to paint a story on why this church is special, so here goes.

First Christian is not a big church.  We are a small church of about 100-120 members.  We were a big church a long time ago, but people left and the church has grown smaller.  So, we aren’t the big, downtown church.  We are the small, urban church.

If you come to our present building on a Sunday morning you will see about 80 people gathered in a sanctuary that seats about 800.  That might seem rather pathetic and I know it saddens a lot of the long time members.

But I think that this church still rocks and I think you should come to this church.  And it’s not because it has two, slammin’ pastors.

First are the kids.  We don’t have a lot of kids, but these kids are special to us.  They are the “little theologians” who teach us how to be followers of Jesus.  They aren’t just trotted out during a service to show off how cute they are, but they are becoming a part of our worship and formational life.  In their simple words of faith, they can run circles around those of us with advanced degrees in church stuff.

Second, is the mission.  This church likes to think it is not engaged in mission- not like the big churches down the street.  No, we don’t do mission that way.  But I’ve never seen a more engaged bunch of folks willing to “get dirty for Jesus.”  When I ask people to pack food for hungry kids around the world, people show up.  When I ask them to spend a day at food pantry or donate items for former homeless persons, they are present and accounted for.  When asked to help a ministry half-way around the world, they do so.  This church has people involved in refugee resettlement, prayer shawl ministry and other works of compassion.  They tend to “punch above their weight” in how many people in the church participate in acts of mercy and justice.

Third, is the committment to inclusivity.  A lot of churches talk about being inclusive, especially to gay and lesbian folk, but this church really practices it.  There aren’t a lot of churches that would accept having an openly gay person as one of their pastors and yet this church has.  But it’s not just me- this is the kind of church where a kid who grew up in the congregation can feel safe enough come out at the Christmas Eve service.  True story.  This is the kind of church where a straight woman who loves kids decides to start a ministry for gay youth and the church allows her to follow where she feels God is leading.  And they even throw some money at her to help. 

This isn’t a “program” church.  First was a program kind of congregation years ago, but it at its present size, it’s far more pastoral than program.  So if you come to visit, don’t expect a youth program or outreach program.  Instead, you will find a woman who is excitied to teach one or two teens or the young adults coming together to make cookies for persons with HIV/AIDS and the like.

First Christian isn’t going to be a church for everyone.  If you want a church with  programs and lot of people your age, then we aren’t going to be your church.  If you want a church that’s packed with people, then we aren’t your church.  There are lots of other churches in the Twin Cities to fulfill those purposes.

But, if you want a church where people will welcome you not just to be nice, but because they really want to know you, this can be a church for you.  If you want to get active in ministies of justice and have ideas, this might be your church.  If you want a community that cares for each other and welcomes those outside its small circle, then this is your place.  If you are a gay person that hasn’t felt loved by a church before, this can be your church.  If you are autistic and wonder if a church could accept your “oddities,” then this is the place for you.  You get the point?

As a pastor, I’m probably not supposed to brag about the church I serve, but I do think it is pretty awesome how God has used this little church in Minneapolis.  I may not be the best “salesperson” but I hope you will come and visit sometime.  You’ll be glad you did.

As we begin another year full of change for FCC, these are good questions to ask ourselves. Where is God in the midst of what we’re doing? Are we telling God “Yes” to who we are as a community, or are we, in our lives and actions and decisions, telling God “No!!” So much of the activity on our planet seems to be of the sort that either is telling God “No” to what God has in mind for creation, or seeking to justify our actions for ourselves, rather than considering what God would have us do or say. Yep, they’re good questions to ask, and to ask constantly in the midst of our worship, devotional, and ministerial life.

In the midst of who we are as a Christian community, it is cer-tainly my hope and, I think, the hope of all of us, that we are keeping God’s will of love and justice at the forefront of our souls. That is, after all, what we’re supposed to be about.

I’d like to see YOU on Sunday,
Bob

Longtime member Pat Dunlop spoke on October 19 for a few minutes before worship about the ministry of Plaster House. Plaster House is part of the Arusha Lutheran Medical Center in Arusha, Tanzania and provides orthopedic and corrective plastic surgery to children. Pat’s son, Dr. Steven Dunlop (who grew up at FCC), and his wife Amy have volunteered their time at the hospital.

Below is what Amy has to say about Plaster House and what they are needing:

Plaster House is a home for children, age 0-18, preparing for or recovering from surgery in Arusha, Tanzania, East Africa. Arusha is the stepping off point for safari in to the Serengeti and Mt kilimanjaro. Medical staff from Selian Lutheran Hospital do outreach into surrounding areas to find children in need of plastic and orthopedic surgery due to burns, birth defects, and injury. These children are often malnourished because of their poverty and lower status related to their physical handicaps. They come to Plaster House to gain strength for healing and then remain for postoperative appointments, further surgeries, and rehabilitation for up to a year and their surgeries are subsidized or free. Unless the children are breastfeeding, their families stay behind and 20+ children are cared for by 2-3 adults. Their basic needs are met but they have little to do to pass the time. Most of them do not speak English, many of them do not speak Swahili, the national language, and few have ever been to school. Along with the correction of their physical handicaps, their exposure to education and more modern ways of the big city often raises them up in standing within their families. The goal is to someday have a full-time teacher in place, but for the next 5 months I will be doing what I can to provide some activities and learning opportunities. Below is a list of resources that could be helpful. We are also fundraising to provide more surgeries and for a new house to be built closer to the hospital. Currently, the children ride over miles of bumpy dirt road and highway to and from surgery and appointments.

First Christian would like to help this ministry by raising funds and supplies for Plaster House. As Amy said they are need of supplies, so if you want to donate any of the items below, please drop them off at the church between now and November 1.

Children’s Scissors
coloring books – preferably educational or nature/animal related
jigsaw puzzles 25-100 pieces
Sketch books
Easy reading books and picture books
Constriction paper
Glue sticks
Easy crafts
Heavy duty manual pencil sharpener
10-12″ balloons
Pencils
Colored pencils
Crayons
Hole punch
Die cuts

We are also looking to raise money to help Plaster House. Any money raised between now on October 31 will be matched by our Outreach Committee. You can give on Sundays at First or you can give online by clicking on the link below. Please consider giving to help the God’s children in Tanzania.

She notes that she is committed to this ministry.  Dorothy recently gave a prayer shawl to a new member.

When I came over recently to take a picture of Dorothy with some her shawls, she noted that there were some flaws.  “On those days,” she said, “I was the one who needed prayer.”

Recently, Dorothy shared in an email that others are working with her in making prayer shawls and that two reciprients were especially grateful for these handmade gifts of love.

This is the sort of “spiritual entrepenuership” that is needed in the ongoing transformation of First Christian.  We need others who feel called to use their talents and skills to be the church throughout the week to be able to freely heed the call and be supported with our thoughts and prayers.

The pastoral staff is working with the Elders and the Deacons  to make sure the shawls get to homebound members.

Dorothy is looking for others of all ages who might be interested in joining her in this ministry.

If interested,  please contact Associate Pastor Dennis Sanders at associatepastor@fccminneapolis.org or call the church.

Praise God for Dorothy and her effort to be church!

courtesy of Eric Celiz/CWS

When the quake struck Port-au-Prince on January 12, Church World Service cleaned out its warehouse of Hygiene Kits to send to Haiti.  CWS needs to replenish their supply for future disasters as well as for Haitian relief.

We are collecting items on February 7 and 14 for the Hygiene Kits and will make at least 30 kits on February 20.  We are looking for people to signup to bring the one of the following items:

• 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®

If you can donate an item, please contact Associate Pastor Dennis Sanders at associatepastor@fccminneapolis.org or call the church at 612-870-1868   and include what you are donating and how much.  You can then drop off your item during the week from 9am to 4:30pm Monday-Friday or on February 7 and 14. There will also be signup sheet available in the church lounge on February 7 and 14.

If you have an questions, please contact Dennis Sanders at the church.

As I sit here,  I am literally weeping for the people of Haiti.  They had so very little and now what they had is likely lost.

We’ve all seen on TV the pictures of devastation and destruction caused by the 7.0 earthquake yesterday.  Just about a year ago, I was so very fortunate to spend two weeks on the island of Hispaniola.  I had opportunity to visit with Patrick and Kimberly Bentrout, our Global Ministries missionaries in Haiti.  They live in Puerto Prince, so they’re right in the middle of it all.  Glen Stewart, Regional Minister of Tennessee, at this very moment, is in Haiti with a delegation of Tennessee Disciples on a mission orientation trip.  Initial and very vague communications tell us that all those persons are OK, but the devastation, they say, is massive.

We’ve only seen the pictures from the city, and it really looks bad.  When we ultimately see the pictures from the countryside (in some places there are no roads to get to where the people live), the destruction will be much, much worse.  We will ultimately find out that of a population of nine million souls, in a country the size of Maryland, perhaps thousands will have died and the destruction will be unbelievably widespread.

Initially, I want to ask you to please keep all of these persons in your thoughts and prayers.

CONASPEH, the protestant church of Haiti, our mission partner organization in the country, will definitely respond to the very best of their ability – but their ability is drastically limited.

And the beautiful people of Haiti do not have the resources to respond to this disaster.  The government is corrupt.  50% of the population is unemployed.  70% of the people live on about $2 per day.  There are no building codes.  Some of the homes are just shacks, and the buildings are so poorly constructed that you and I would not have lived in them in the first place.  There are no national relief agencies.  Rebuilding?  Not an option.  Insurance?  Non-existent.  Raw materials?  None.

International relief through the Church is absolutely a requirement.

I’ve just been reminded that I’m going to be on vacation next week, and you know, I’m going to spend more money on that single week’s vacation than over half of the people in Haiti will earn in a lifetime.

As soon as I get home, I’m going to write my check to the Week of Compassion designated for Haitian relief efforts.  I invite you to do the same.  I invite you to ask the persons in your congregation to respond to the best of their ability.

The need in Haiti is beyond our imagination.

Please give with generosity.

Don Hiscox
(waiting in an airport)

Regional Minister for Congregational and Clergy Care
Christian Church in the Upper Midwest
PO Box 41217
Des Moines, IA 50311-0504
Cell Phone 515-577-9020
dh@uppermidwestcc.org

The need in Haiti is real.  Please consider giving to Week of Compassion, the disaster and development agency for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  You can give online.

• We restarted FoodShelf Sunday in February. Every Third Sunday, we bring our non-perishable food items and our donations to help Groveland Foodshelf.

• We went to Feed My Starving Children in June, August and October and were able to feed thou-sands of children around the world.

• We were represented for the first time at Twin Cities Gay Pride.

• We established a relationship with Community Emergency Services, a local agency that helps the poor in South Minneapolis.

• We took part in a back-to-school drive to help Whittier Elementary;

• We gave children’s books to Project Homeless Connect to give homeless children stories to read and enjoy;

• We baked cookies for the Aliveness Project;

• Raised $1000 for the Heifer Project.

And so much more.

As a community, we also were able to help restart our children’s Sunday School program with Art of the Covenant. We have seen kids come and learn the stories of the Bible by using the arts. It has been a smashing success of which we thank God for. We are also thankful for Deb Murphy’s willingness to step up and create this rewarding ministry.

What’s on tap for 2010? Things are still forming, but we hope to see more continued involvement with Feed My Starving Children and Community Emergency Services, increased work in helping the community become more diverse in all forms, working with other community groups such as Tubman, an agency that helps those dealing with domestic violence, and continued work with the Downtown Congregations Ending Homelessness.

First Christian, I am thankful for you for not only going to church on Sundays, but for being church everyday of the year through your acts of compassion, love and jus-tice. May God bless you all in 2010 and may we together as First Christian Church in Minneapolis continue to be church.

Dennis Sanders

Associate Pastor for Diversity and Mission

Toilet Paper.

A few weeks ago, a few of us from First Christian went to Community Emergency Service, a ministry located in the Phillips Neighborhood in Minneapolis.  We spent a few hours taking the food and other items located in the warehouse (which used to be the sanctuary- CES is in a former Methodist Church) to the foodshelf downstairs.  We were able to fulfill the most of the foodstuffs, but when it came to toiletries like shampoo or toilet paper or toothpaste, those things were in short supply.

When we think of people who have trouble making ends meet, we tend to think about them being able to eat, which makes sense.  But we tend to forget that people who need food also need to take a bath or brush their teeth.  And they need toilet paper.

So, after coming back from that experience, First Christian has asked for people to donate toiletries during Advent, ending on Christmas Eve.  All the donations will go to Community Emergency Service that as I said earlier, really needs it.

We are looking for the following items:

• shampoo;
• soap;
• deodorant
• toothpaste
• toothbrushes
• toilet paper

You can drop these off at church during the day or on Sunday.  As we celebrate the One who came to live among us and redeem us, in love for God and for each other, let us help the “least of these.”

Thanks!