Monday August 10^th, 2020
A daily e-mailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
  
Dear Friends,
 
Overheard: 
 
“It’s easy to have gratitude when you already have what you want.” (Anne Lamotte)
 
“The Jesus I grew up with in my Presbyterian church was quiet and nice, liked children, and didn’t cause waves. Then I read the Bible.” (Rev. Liz  Theoharis)
 
* * *
Let Comfort Come
We read while form stays
still and waits. The words sing
or speak, clamber on or say
or tell or even sometimes step
aside and hope we wander in.
Everywhere within the form
of letter, word, space, structure
rests the hush around the hurry,
the opening wherein any form —
table, door, the lover’s arm
and tongue, the cat asleep
on the sill—lies the quiet,
the shawl around us all
who have to clatter through.
Let be be the nothing of not.
–Jack Ridl
First published in The Colorado Review
Subsequently published in Saint Peter and the Goldfinch (Wayne State University Press)
 
Take on Race:
The Presbyterian Church USA hopes to be a transformative church in this intercultural era by taking eight steps to end racism. Those steps are:
1.)    RECOGNITION—As it happened in John 20:11–18, like Mary Magdalene, we hear our names called and recognize that we are captive to the power of race. We cease denying that race has power in our individual and communal lives. 
2.)    REPENTANCE—We acknowledge to ourselves and to others that race has power in our lives and contributes to our white privilege. 
3.)    RESISTANCE—We commit ourselves to combating the power of racism in ourselves, in others, in churches, and in institutional life. Because of its long reach in American history, at times we will feel like those who are battling principalities and powers in Ephesians 6:10–20. 
4.)    RESILIENCE—We are called to affirm the traditional ways of combating racism while seeking new ways to engage a powerful force that continues to be present in American life and that continues to evolve.
5.)    REPARATIONS—We commit ourselves to doing our part to repair the breaches that have been made through racism, including psychological, spiritual, and economic damage. 
6.)    RECONCILIATION—We recognize that we have long benefitted from racism and that in order for reconciliation to take place, we will need to work the first five steps listed above. 
7.)    RECOVERY—We receive and commit ourselves to live by a new vision of a humanity created by God to live in love, equity, and justice rather than in the hierarchy and domination of the system of race.
8.)    RESONANCE—We understand and resonate with our own cultural background.
 
News:
 
Your Covid-19 Response Team met last week: (1) We agreed to meet in early September to revisit when to reopen for face to face worship; the group still feels opening is unwise given the Covid numbers upward drift. We wonder if influx of UI students will radically change community Covid cases. (2) We talked about upcoming funerals, use of van for the confirmation class, DREAAM work on campus, the health of our church staff, and the possibility of outdoor small group meetings hosted by Nurture Committee.

Tuesdays Men’s Bible Study 8 am
Email zoom@firstpres.church for the link.

 
Humor/the body edition: (Serious times call for re-creation, joy, and humor.)
 
From Tom Gilmore: Why did the teddy bear turn down a second helping? Because he was stuffed.
 
Good Word:
 
1 John 4:7-8                            
(New Revised Standard Version) Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.
 
Let us pray:
 
Guide our steps, Holy God,
and our tonguelisteningthinkingwon-
deringhopingreachingrelationships,
jobsprayersparentingcareintellect,
our hello and goodbye,
our comings and goings,
our then and now,
our hither and yon.
 
Guide our steps, Holy God.
 
Amen.
 
PEACE to you all,
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church