Church News – Weekly Scripture Reading

Moderator’s Message: Part Two

Posted on by Kymberly

Hi Big Red Congregation and Friends!

Last week I wrote the first segment of a much anticipated council retreat trilogy. That first segment was about the bylaws, operating policies and procedures, and the organizational structure of the council. This week’s segment is about communication and I know you’ve been sitting on the edge of your seat to get this second installment! (That’s moderator humor!)
 
Communication…what does this mean? We do know from our New Beginnings series and Day of Discovery done some months ago, that people generally agree we need to improve our communication. To communicate well, for example, one says things with clarity while another carefully listens, so the speaker’s message is clearly and fully understood by the listener. Easy, right? Well, maybe not easy.
 
By all accounts, communication includes speaking, listening, reading, and writing. But is also includes broadcasting, mailing, posting, handing out, calling, announcing, reporting, documenting, and summarizing. Past communications need to be filed, organized, located, recalled, reviewed, re-read, acted on, or tossed. 
 
Let’s look at the parties in a communication. The speaker, the listener, the writer, the reader. If one speaks or writes but the other doesn’t listen or read, is there communication? What if the words of the speaker, heard exactly as said by the listener, have an interpretation by the listener that is different from the speaker? Is there communication? What if the words of the writer, read and re-read and re-read again by the reader are interpreted by the reader differently than intended by the writer? Is there communication?
 
Communication is a beast! It is hard to make it effective. One only needs to look at the bible and consider the multitude of interpretations and meanings that readers all over the world have on the very same words, written in the very same order with the very same spelling and the very same punctuation from the very same version.
 
So…what is the council going to do about communication? Form a committee, of course! I know…this sounds like a joke, but it’s not. In fact, the bylaws include a standing Communications/Public Relations Committee. Here’s what the bylaws say about this committee:
 
ARTICLE XIV
​SECTION 7. COMMUNICATIONS/PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE: The Moderator shall with Council approval appoint a Communications/Public Relations Committee of at least 3 people, designating one as the Chairperson. The committee shall be responsible for publicizing the Church’s work and events to the community through releases to the media, distribution of flyers and other available means. The committee shall ensure the distribution of a newsletter and such other notices as needed to the Congregation.
 
The council wants to expand the scope of this committee to include looking at ways to help our members feel like they know what is going on in the church. People genuinely just want to feel connected and involved and council wants to facilitate this. In addition, your council wants to improve our filing system so we can spend more time better serving you and less time trying to find the things we need to better serve you!
 
There’s a lot in this writing and I hope it makes sense. I also hope each of us will be diligent about our role in the communication process. We will speak and write when needed, AND listen and read…even seek out…communications and information when we needed. Your council knows we can improve this process and we are committed to finding better ways of facilitating the communication process! This will be a fun and interesting process, so stay tuned!
 
Sincerely,
 
Your wanting to be a better communicator Moderator

Moderator’s Message — Part 1

Posted on by Kymberly
Dear Fellow Big Reds,
Saturday, Feb 24, 2018, our church council had a meeting to look at how we can better serve you. We focused on our organizational structure, communication, and membership. Each of these three areas is inter-locking and very important for a thriving church such as ours, so I wanted to take this moment to share what we discussed.
 
We tackled organizational structure first because we agreed that by improving how we do the business of the church will also improve communication of that business within the church. To us, this started with a review of our by-laws and newly drafted Proposed Operating Policies and Procedure. Peter Wall, our church council secretary, did an excellent job making an otherwise dry task interesting and meaningful. By the end of this discussion, each of us felt we had a better understanding of the purpose and value of our by-laws.
 
We also recognized the need and importance to clarify some of the language of our by-laws to improve their usefulness to us now and in perpetuity. John Shore, just before he termed-out as CFO, developed a draft of proposed operating policies and procedures for us to review. Folks…this was a huge gift from John and we are very, very grateful that he took the time to create such a wonderful foundation upon which we can create more efficient and effective guidelines of church business best practices! Thank you, John Shore!
 
Your council recognized immediately that trying to create a powerful “race horse” of written guidelines and best practices by committee would actually yield a “camel” instead, so we formed a task force to do the heavy lifting. We are all lucky that Peter Wall, Robbyn Mosley, and John Shore have agreed to refine, refocus, and revise as needed, these important documents. As members of First Congregational Church, each of you will have the chance to review and vote on any by-law changes recommended by this task force and the council.
 
One specific change to how we may do business going forward, is to have the 5 ministry chairs be the 5 voting directors at large that are specifically called out in our by-laws. In practice, the 5 directors at large have not been the ministry chairs. We believe, and many of you have expressed agreement, that having the 5 ministry chairs on the council will improve communication between and among the council and the 5 ministries. Additionally, to increase input and involvement and communication between the council and the congregation, we may propose that we add 2 or 3 more directors at large council positions. This possible proposal will be made clear in the coming weeks and each of our members will have the opportunity to vote on this change.
 
Next, we tackled communication which has been an issue of importance for so many of us since it floated to the top as one of the key areas of need during the New Beginnings/Day of Discovery process completed just as Pastor Ara was coming on board. You may have noticed some of the changes and improvements made so far with help from our very creative and capable Kim Williams! BUT…I’m going to wait and tell you more about our conversation about communication and membership later because there’s nothing more exciting than anticipating the sequels of a thrilling trilogy!! 😉
 
With Much Appreciation for a Very Talented Council,
 
Your “By-Law Aware” Moderator

A Healthy Relationship Honors God

Posted on by Kymberly

From Rev. Ara Guekguezian
Interim Pastor

For the next six Sundays, the theme of the proclamation (the sermon) will be all about the relationship. We will hear from the Gospels, the Torah, the Prophets, and the Poets. The theme runs through our sacred text from the beginning to the end. It is a powerful stream and oft neglected as we focus on the rules: ‘What must I do to get to heaven?’

Sunday, January 28th, shook me up and strengthened my resolve in focusing on the Bible’s guidance on creating and sustaining healthy relationships. I usually don’t watch the Grammys, but I needed to see Kesha perform. For she is one who has suffered from the abuse of power in her life, both personal and professional. Although born in LA, she is not Hollywood. Hollywood has its own very serious issues in sustaining healthy relationships, as does the church. But a song, music, has a power unlike any other form of expression.

I don’t cry when I watch television, even on the big TV in my cave. As I have gotten older I do cry on occasion at the movies, as I am drawn into the world within the big screen. On Sunday night, I was sobbing as I watched Kesha sing. I am not a big fan of hers or of her genre. But I know her story under the thumb of Dr. Luke. It reflects the story of so many artists and their management team. Kesha was spitting out the words of ‘Praying’ with such ferocity. It was beautiful and powerful. It was built on the core of pain, abuse, and brokenness. I thank God for her strength and intelligence and her spirit. It moved me to feel the shame of being part of a world that tolerates such appalling action from one human to another. How often the contract allows for abuse, because the differential in the power dynamic is unaccounted when the terms are applied.

I am grateful that we are a nation of laws. But I am more grateful that because of the stability the nation of laws provides, I can live fully as a human being, seeking out relationship and working tirelessly to keep them healthy. And upon the inevitable failure of health to seek and grant forgiveness, as a child of the most gracious God and a disciple of Christ.

I hope and pray that we will be as encouraged and as challenged as I have been in hearing God’s word to me, and over the next six Sundays to us. If not, listen to Kesha sing ‘Praying’ at the Grammys on YouTube. Then do all that you are able to never inspire anyone to express themselves that way again. Again, I thank God for Kesha, for I experienced the sadness, the brokenness, the pain, vicariously.

Peace, not as the world gives,
but of Christ be with you,

Pastor Ara

 

Scott’s Thoughts: 2018 Pre-flight Safety Speech

Posted on by Kymberly

Anyone who has flown commercially has heard the pre-flight safety speech given in the unlikely event of an emergency. Should the cabin depressurize, for example, oxygen masks will drop from overhead. People are shown how to secure their own mask, initiate the low of oxygen, and asked to take care of their own needs before helping someone else. We understand that we must first take care of ourselves before we can take care of others. 

Indulge me and think of the plane as life and oxygen as God. Like God, oxygen is always there, but we often don’t think about it. But when life, like a plane, hits turbulence, we need oxygen. If we look up, we will find it waiting to aid us. Once we feel safe and secure, we are able to think about others. If they need help and we have the oxygen, we are able to offer it. 

For many of us, Big Red is oxygen. Big Red offers safety, security, acceptance, and healing. At Big Red people are refreshed, revitalized, and re-energized to better deal with life’s turbulence. Once our oxygen mask is secure and we feel the flow of God within us, we can and want to help others. 

People come to Big Red to find peace.
They stay at Big Red to share peace. 

 For 2018, let’s all: 

    Look up. 

           Breathe in. 

                Feel our lungs fill. 

                     Slowly breathe out. 

                          Give thanks. 

                               Look around. 

                                    Help Big Red help others. 

     Repeat. 

 

Happy New Year!

Scott Baucher

Big Red Co-pilot (and Moderator)

 

Happy New Year! I don’t think so.

Posted on by Kymberly

From Rev. Ara Guekguezian

The Grinch in me rears its ugly head as the celebration pick ups as the end of one leg ends and a new leg is about to commence. All things new? No, not true. The pains of abuse and neglect from 2017 do not just magically disappear on January 1st of 2018. The last month of 2017 was very painful for me. To hear the voice of our national leadership say unequivocally that some matter more than others — because that is what budgets say, — these are our priorities. The statement was coming from the same mouths that make verbal statements about a Christian nation. And it makes me ill. Leave Christ out of your mouth, as you have out of the federal budget.

We at First Congregational have budget decisions to make and they must reflect the light of Christ. There will be a lot of energy expended in setting the course for the way our tithes and offerings will be used to make peace and establish justice, and to extend the love of God.

As I was in my angry mood, I thought that we should take a moment each week to try and understand what God does indeed desire of God’s people. The noise from our culture tends to focus on personal piety and purity in body. My understanding of scripture as it bears witness to the Word (Jesus), is that it starts with God and God’s love for creation and its creatures, including — especially — we humans. God desires and demands right relationship. The implications of this is made clear in the what is heard over and over and over again in the word of the prophets and in the word of Jesus.

So beginning in mid-January, on the 17th we will resume Sacred Pursuits on Wednesday evenings at 6 p.m. in the Heritage room for 50 minutes. We will begin with a study of the Minor Prophets. These short pieces will have much broader implications as we determine historical context, form and mindset, and do some translating work to our age and worldview.

The study of the Biblical witness keeps me on task and hopeful. I do not get to wallow in my anger. Nor do I succumb to hopelessness. I am also reminded that it is not our world or my world. This century does not belong to the Chinese or the West or the U.S.A. It does not belong to a dictator or the one with the biggest gun or the biggest bankroll. It is God’s universe.

And it is good to hear God’s desire for the universe and us on a regular basis.

Peace,

Pastor Ara

 

Scott’s Thoughts: Holy cow! 2017 is gone!

Posted on by Kymberly
From Scott Baucher
Moderator
 
At the close of every year, I wonder where the time went. Usually all I can say is: “Holy cow!” Too often, I’ll confess, I feel a bit saddened or guilty that I didn’t get many of the things done that I hoped for at the start of the new year. This year it’s no different…EXCEPT…instead of beating myself up for not getting things done in the year gone by…I’m going to pick myself up by focusing on what will be getting done in the year to come!! 
 
This year, let’s try some new things. To start, think about a box you may have recently opened for Christmas. After opening the box, you discovered something interesting inside which was much more important than the box it came in, so the box was set aside. 
 
In 2018, let’s set boxes aside. When we talk, let’s engage in “no-box talks”. Let’s set aside preconceptions and look at things anew. For example, if I write i-n-f-r-a-s-t-r-u-c-t-u-r-e, how many of us think: “Boooor-ing.”? Or, do we think: “Cooooooool! Infrastructure! We’ll get more things done faster and easier!”? 
 
If we hear that Big Red might reorganize how we conduct our business, do we think: “What a hassle!”? Or, do we think: “Awesome! Better communication, networking, fellowship, and service!”? 
 
If we think about remodeling, do we think: “It’ll cost a billion dollars and be a mess around here for eons!”? Or, do we think: “Sweet! We can better serve and feed the needy and make parents feel their kids are safer in our care!”?
 
Infrastructure, no-box talks, Road to Nexteryear, cameras in day-care so parents can see their kids while in worship, wi-fi locks on church doors, food trucks for homeless meals, 200 average Sunday attendance for both services, too many kids in Sunday School to count, a thrift store that fully funds a home for battered women and their kids, property tax exemptions for the poor so they can stay in their homes…why not?
 
2018…Let’s embrace it from Awesome to Zeal! 
 
Scott Baucher
No Box Talker
December 25 | Advent Devotional

December 25 | Advent Devotional

Posted on by Kymberly

From Charles Ray Barrett
Westminster Presbyterian Church
Luke 2:15–20

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to men upon whom his favor rests.”

Advent!

There was a time, before cell phones, when I was with my Reconnaissance Platoon (First Battalion, Thirty-Fifth Infantry, Fourth Infantry Division,) in Vietnam’s western Plieku Provence. My guys and I were following some enemy unit trying to figure out where they were going, and how many there were.

The night of October 26–27, 1969, was still and a little tense as we went into the perimeter defense in two locations per standard operation procedures. We did not know how far we were behind them, and, therefore, how close or far they were from us.

My shift with the radio ended about 2 am. I gave the good old A/N PRC 25 radio to Platoon Sergeant Homala for his shift, and stretched out right next to my “slit trench” foxhole for my turn at “shut-eye.” My wife Midge and son Mark were half a world away. She was near term with our second pregnancy. (That pregnancy was my family “DNA Insurance Policy” in case I was “greased” in the field. I had suggested the name “Sean” in a letter to her recently.)
Somewhere between 0400 and 0500 hrs. Homala shook me awake and handed me the handset with a terse, “Hey, LT! Battalion wants to talk to you,” and he puts the handset right in my hand. Through the fog I exchange groggy call-signs and hear, “Stand by for groups.” This meant that the boys in the Tactical Operations Center at the “Firebase” are going to transmit an encoded message in the nighttime to a lowly Platoon Leader in a lonely but quiet ridge in the jungle.

It also meant that I had to slide into that fox-hole, find my poncho to cover up, then rummage the bottom of my rucksack to find my green, right angle GI flashlight, and see if I still had a red filter for the stupid thing as I wondered, “Whose stupid idea is this?”

That was not all! I had to find that dumb little notebook and that pencil! I know that I still have a pencil! “Where is that pencil? I got a pencil! I know it.”

Found it!

Must be pretty important. This was so unusual, that I was a bit frightened by the implications.

“One Three, this is Five-Three! Send your groups!” (“This” I thought, “better be a pretty important message.”) IT WAS!

When unscrambled, the message read “The American Red Cross is pleased to inform Lieutenant Charles R. Barrett, United States Army, that on October 25th at 8:30 AM in Fresno California his wife Margaret Barrett, gave birth to a heathy baby boy. Mother and child are doing well. Congratulations”

DNA Insurance!

Now we were not exactly watching for sheep out there, but there was another time in Palestine where some other men were in another field doing just that.

Luke 2:3–14 describes the Angel of the Lord appeared to some other fellas in the field. Those guys were also scared. They didn’t know what to expect either.

They did not need to be scared. The message was all good. The message is still good – in fact, it’s the best!

The message to those fellas on that starry night was: “Today, in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you.”
This scared them at first, just like that message from headquarters coming at night and in code scared me, at first. But both messages, as it turned out, wound up being very good. Very good indeed!

Eternal Life Insurance!

December 24 | Advent Devotional

December 24 | Advent Devotional

Posted on by Kymberly

RePresentations: An Advent Meditation
From Ara Guekguezian
First Congregational Church
Matthew 1:18–25

In a broken world, we hunger for wholeness, for unity, for shalom. We pursue it with varying degrees of passion and commitment. It remains elusive. Why, in spite of our “best” efforts? We, in the United States, are reminded about this every two years though our election process. “Let us put all the acrimony of the campaign aside and work together.” “After what you said about my mother? When Hell freezes over!”

The relationship, if there is one, is broken. There is a call from the one in power to let bygones be bygones. There is an invitation to come into my tent. But all the good seats are taken. Even among the gracious, there is pain and hostility lingering under the surface that breaks through at the slightest provocation, continuing to remind all of the space between. Sometimes the distance is small, just across the aisle. Other times the chasm is so wide we cannot see the other side.

We suffer as families, in neighborhoods, in our province or state, in our nation, in our world, and even in our congregations, denominations, and the Church.

In this space comes out God. The One who calls us to repent, to turn back to the source of all being, our being, COMES to us. We have heard, “come to me all who are heavy laden…”, and yet if we witness what has happened and what is happening, what is done, we see that God has come in the flesh to all those who are heavy laden. In the person and work of Jesus, beginning with the incarnation, the birth of the child to Mary and Joseph, God has come to us. To repent, to turn back, to go across the aisle, to get across the chasm, we just have to turn around, and there is the healing, the bridge, the Source, our God.

After the turn, then we see, hear, and are called to “Follow Me”. The ones who have turned, now have the joyful and challenging call to be the re-Presentation of Jesus, Emmanuel (God is with us) to the broken ones in this broken world. We are not to invite people into the tent from our seat at the table, but we are to go outside, cross the aisle from our position of comport, of wealth, of power, to the ones who are in need, in pain, grieving, imprisoned, addicted, enslaved, broken, and walk with them as they turn to the Light and start on the Way.

As faithful followers there are signposts on the way, not only a well-worn checkbook or a worn out donate key on the computer, but a passport in need of additional pages. During this Advent season, as we prepare to receive the Christ child anew, step out of our glorious settings at home and in the Sanctuary of the Lord, and be a representative of the One who comes in the flesh.

Prayer: Holy Lord, as You have come into this dirty, disordered, and broken world, fill us with the Holy Spirit that we may have the courage and will to come into the places where Your children need to see You again. Amen.

To download the full devotional, click here. 

December 23 | Advent Devotional

December 23 | Advent Devotional

Posted on by Kymberly

From Kenny Schoelen
First Congregational Church
John 7:40–52

When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, ‘This is really the prophet.’ Others said, ‘This is the Messiah.’ But some asked, ‘Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he?’

I think this may be the earliest mention of profiling. We have a large group of people that seem to be a little different than the other people, and the unspoken implication here is that nothing good is gonna come out of Galilee.

Jesus had a way with words that no one was ready for. He spoke the truth with the ways of a prophet, while the rulers of this time where afraid of saying the wrong thing. It didn’t matter whether it was the truth, it mattered only that it would keep them in their position of power. Kind of like today’s politicians.

The facts seem to be a little mixed up once we make it to the birth of Christ. Jesus did come from Galilee, but was born in the little town of Bethlehem (do you see the light).

But before you rush to say, “It looks as if nothing good has ever come out of Galilee!” just because you can spin the facts that the Messiah actually came from Bethlehem, remember:

Don’t overthink stuff until you know all the facts.

Don’t let people influence you; make up your own mind. You never know which neighborhood, city, side-street, suburb, or small town great Kings may come from.

To download the full devotional, click here. 

December 22 | Advent Devotional

December 22 | Advent Devotional

Posted on by Kymberly

From Kim Williams
First Congregational Church
Hebrews 1:1–14

Who is he to come in here like he owns the place?

How often has that phrase come up? I know I’ve said it at some of my favorite restaurants as they’re changing ownership and my favorite items are no longer available, and I’ve definitely heard it when friends who have been in a position for ages are suddenly reporting to a superior who has less real world experience, is younger, and is now a pay grade above them.

Imagine this scene: God, who is timeless, and who isn’t stuck in a linear timeline like we are, is with the Angels, who have been there, and have been serving faithfully for every conversation with prophets, every revelation relayed to humankind. They’re the old guard. The tenured staff. God sits down one day in the weekly production meeting and says “Okay, so I need an angel to send to find this young girl named Mary. What does your week look like, Gabriel? See me afterward, we’ve got some exciting changes coming.”

Can you imagine the water cooler discussions if this happened in one of our earthly conference rooms? The tension of wondering who will be getting fired would be extreme.

The next bit though would send any of us over the edge — especially if we were next in line for a promotion. God’s big news is a birth announcement! Not only will this child be born a human, but because he’s God’s own son, he will be superior to the angels. The angels will worship him, even!

Thank goodness Angels are better at receiving such news than people. It’s right there in their job description, “Are not all angels spirits in the divine service, sent to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?”

God, we are thankful for your angels, who have a clear understanding of their purpose, and with grace, accept the call to serve your son. Thank you for sending Jesus to us; we needed — and still need — him to be better able to navigate similar, sudden changes in our own lives.

To download the full devotional, click here.