Friday 19 June 2020
Juneteenth
 
Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Dear Friends, 
 
Happy Juneteenth. To celebrate, I offer two great poems by Langston Hughes:
 
Daybreak in Alabama
BY LANGSTON HUGHES
 
When I get to be a colored composer
I’m gonna write me some music about
Daybreak in Alabama
And I’m gonna put the purtiest songs in it
Rising out of the ground like a swamp mist
And falling out of heaven like soft dew
I’m gonna put some tall tall trees in it
And the scent of pine needles
And the smell of red clay after rain
And long red necks
And poppy colored faces
And big brown arms
And the field daisy eyes
Of black and white black white black people
And I’m gonna put white hands
And black hands and brown and yellow hands
And red clay earth hands in it
Touching everybody with kind fingers
Touching each other natural as dew
In that dawn of music when I
Get to be a colored composer
And write about daybreak
In Alabama.
 
* * *
 
Prayer/Litany
by Langston Hughes
 
Gather up
In the arms of your pity
The sick, the depraved,
The desperate, the tired,
All the scum
Of our weary city.
Gather up
In the arms of your pity.
Gather up
In the arms of your love–
Those who expect
No love from above.
 
* * *
 
See you on Sunday. We have GREAT preaching on Sunday. Find us at FirstPres.Live to see what I’m talking about. 
 
I love worshiping with you on Sunday. Invite a friend.
 
* * *
 
Pay attention to God’s activity in the world around you.
            Be amazed.
                        Tell somebody.
 
PEACE,
 
Matt Matthews
864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church

An Easy Photo Challenge!!
How well do you know your fellow church members and attenders?
Nurture would like to present and fun exciting challenge. 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.
You would submit the pictures to photos@firstpres.church.  Eric will be the only one who knows who they are and he will post them to First Presbyterian of Champaign Facebook Group page and also have them included in Matt’s Friday message. Correct answers will be revealed the following week. The more pictures we receive, the more often photos will be posted.

To view the photos, visit http://fb.com/groups/firstpreschampaign.  You can view them whether you are a member of the group or not, but we invite everyone to join!

Pictured is ??????