THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER
As this edition of The Spirit goes out, the universal church will be celebrating Maundy Thursday—remembering the Last Supper and Jesus’ final moments with his disciples. For church leaders and volunteers, Holy Week becomes an extremely busy roller-coaster ride of the ups and downs of the final moments of Christ’s life. We celebrate Palm Sunday, just as we did here at First Christian, with the waving of palm branches and the celebration of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. But the mood of celebration is quickly turned somber as we anticipate what is to come tomorrow with our Good Friday Tenebrae service of shadows and darkness. Ultimately, the celebration returns as we celebrate the defeat of death and the empty tomb of the Resurrection. (I told you it was a roller-coaster)
As a minister, it is all too easy to get distracted by the busyness of this week—the extra bulletins, worship service planning, and extra sermons (not to mention, the collaboration with other churches and the Ministerial Association). The reality of what makes this week the most holy of all weeks is that each of the ups and downs is reflected within some of the most important stories to our faith. These are stories that need to be heard, shared, and experienced often throughout our lives of faith. The ups and downs of this roller-coaster week remind us of the ups and downs of our lives. More importantly, we are reminded that Christ experiences life with us, just as we do.
I invite you to be sure that you are fully experiencing the importance of this week—all the ups and downs that go with it—the various celebrations, as well as the pain and suffering. The Ministerial Association will be joining Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church for their Good Friday stations of the cross service tomorrow at 12, noon, with a luncheon to follow. First Christian is hosting the joint Good Friday Tenebrae service with Community Baptist at 7:00 pm tomorrow evening. Then, Easter morning I will be preaching at Greater Norris Chapel Baptist Church for the Ministerial Association’s Sunrise Service at 6:30 am.
Finally, please plan on being in worship at First Christian Church on Easter Sunday at our regular time of 10:30 am as we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord. I will be kicking off a new lectionary-based sermon series that will take us through the Easter season to Pentecost. We will focus on the resurrection stories. Stories that remind us that Jesus returns to us to be close to us and to bring us closer together with one another. In these stories, people come together to hear and respond to the amazing news of Easter. I hope you will each come together with us as we continue the tradition of sharing these amazing stories with one another.
Before Jesus’ followers become the heroic saints of the church, they are simply a group of friends hearing and telling one another a story for which they can barely find words. We continue to share these stories today, building relationships with one another and with our neighbors and strangers as we embody the resurrected Christ. We build up our relationships with one another through these stories as we grow closer with God and one another so that we will be equipped to boldly share the story of Jesus with our fragmented world.
Join me the remainder of this Holy Week and our upcoming season of Easter in sharing these life-changing stories by inviting someone to worship with you.
Peace Always,
Rev. David Clifford
Your Leadership Teams at Work
Board Meeting: At its March meeting, the Board addressed three items: church maintenance, a defibrillator and an interim report from the task force exploring long range solutions to our financial situation.
Gale Myers, Chairman of the Building and Grounds Committee, presented a report covering long range maintenance needs of the church building, grounds and parking lot. Board members agreed that these items should receive high priority in budget discussions going forward.
The Budget Task Force reported that their first discussion explored ways to permit online viewers to contribute to offerings, especially on Sunday mornings. There are several ways to do this and congregation members can expect implementation of some of these methods in the near future. This was the first interim report of the group. More to come.
Bill Aldridge was authorized to order the electronic defibrillator discussed last month. Receipt of the defibrillator will likely take several months.
There continues to be an opening for a member at large. Communicate suggestions you may have for filling this opening to Board chair Nic Womack.
Ministry Team: The Ministry team had its first in-depth discussion of The Other Half of Church by Jim Wilder and Michael Hendricks. The authors write about what brain science can contribute to spiritual growth, especially in the areas of Christian community and overcoming spiritual stagnation. The team will continue to study this book for the next several meetings.
Mara Beth Womack distributed a card developed by the Communication team. The card describes beliefs and practices of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and is intended to help church members explain our church to others. Multiple copies are now available in the church office and in the pews in the sanctuary. Members are encouraged to take as many as they need.
The team reviewed the calendar and events that should be included.
A chairperson for children’s ministry has not yet been identified. If you have a suggestion of a church member who might volunteer for this position, contact Rev. David Clifford.
Easter Dinner at First Christian Church
This year a strange thing happened at FCCH. The Easter bunny must have become confused because he hid his eggs the night before Palm Sunday—very weird behavior for a bunny who should have known to wait until the night before Easter Sunday. But, no worries. Hospitality chairperson Gail Myers had organized the church family’s Easter dinner for Palm Sunday after church. There were plenty of children on hand to find the eggs and they had a great time doing it.
There were also plenty of adults present to enjoy the food and socialization. Ninety-eight people shared in the Palm Sunday celebration.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
On April 7, Good Friday, FCC will host the Tenebrae service @ 7:00 p.m. This will be a joint service with Community Baptist Church.
Open House celebration for David Watkins’ 80th Birthday. April 8 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Rookie’s located at 117 Second Street. No Gifts, cards welcomed.
The Easter Special Offering supports general ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Gifts to the Easter Special Offering will support ministries that help Disciples witness to the good news of God’s love. You will find the Easter Offering envelopes in the bulletins.
Easter Sermon Series: Closer and Closer: An Eight-Week sermon series focusing on the resurrection—deeper relationships with God and one another. This sermon series will highlight the resurrection narratives—people coming together to hear and respond to this amazing news. Like bedtime stories and old family lore, we share our stories in relationships close and safe so that we will be equipped to boldly share the story of Jesus in the world. Next week’s sermon is titled “Reach Out and Touch” based on 1 Peter 1:3-9 and John 20:19-31.
Pastor’s Bible Study: Rev. David Clifford’s Bible Study is focused on the Gospel of Matthew. Our next class is Wednesday, April 12 at 6 p.m. Not Enough Food, Too Much Water: please read Matthew 14:13-36.
The Senior Saints will gather again on April 18 for a luncheon. The group will have Boston Butt and sides. The cost is 7 dollars. Please RSVP to Evina or call the church office.
The FCC’s board meeting is scheduled for April 20 @ 6:30 p.m.
The Ministry Team meeting is schedule for April 25 @ 6:30 p.m.
We are looking for our 2023 Graduates. Please call or email the church office with your graduates’ information.
