We’re just about midway into this Season of Lent. Many see Lent as an opportunity for self-reflection in our relationship with Jesus Christ, gaining a fuller understanding of his life and ministry, and experiencing the gift of grace which we receive through his death and resurrection. Much of this is done by setting aside time for prayer and mediation, but it is also important that we gain understanding through a daily reading of the Holy Scriptures.

I hope that you are making this an active part of your Lenten Preparation Time.

As you turn to the Scriptures as a source of your spiritual development, I also hope that you might use the following as a resource for your Bible Study.

Questions to ask as you read the Scriptures: The meaning of a piece of writing is seldom clearly self-evident to anyone who happens to read it. Especially is this true if the writing is a very old document, written for someone who lived in a very different cultural-historical setting. If we want to interpret a piece of literature, we must ask at least five questions:

1. Who was the writer and to whom was he writing?
2. What was the cultural-historical setting of the writer?
3. What was the meaning of the words in the writer‟s day?
4. What was the intended meaning of the author and why was he saying it?
5. What should this mean to me in my situation today?

These basic questions lead into other questions that must be explored in a serious attempt to understand the message of the Bible. The readers today must somehow try to enter the world of the biblical writer and seek to understand what the writer was saying. Then we must bring that ancient message into today‟s world where we live and act out our faith.

There are some basic principles that should be observed by the interpreter of the Scriptures.

1. The Bible is a divinely inspired book (2 Tim. 3:16) and should be reverently approached. Perhaps the reader should hear what was said to Moses as he stood before the burning bush: “Put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (Ex. 3:5). We must be careful to reverence the divine character of Scripture.
2. The Bible has a genuinely human element, also, since God used ordinary people to write the Scriptures. Recognition should be given to the human elements utilized by the Holy Spirit in giving us God‟s Word. To miss the human element is as much a mistake as to miss the divine element.
3. The primary aim of the interpreter is to discover the original meaning of the author who wrote the passage under consideration.
4. Preference should be given to the interpretation which is clearest and simplest, the most obvious.
5. Only one meaning should be given to any passage of Scripture, unless a later passage of Scripture assigns it a second meaning. Only an inspired writer of Scripture can be allowed to give a passage more than one meaning.
6. Careful attention must be given to the literary form of a passage in determining its meaning.
7. Careful attention must be given to the historical situation of a portion of Scripture.

(Resource: Holman Bible Dictionary, General Editor, Trent C. Butler, Ph.D)
May the Spirit of our Lord lead you through your Lent Journey.

I know, some of you are scratching your head, thinking: “What’s going on here, we call an Interim Minister, he’s here for a couple of weeks and then he takes off for a week?”

While some might think that I’m off on vacation let me assure you that it’s anything but that. In fact, my time away is an Ohio Regional Church youth program that you support through your Outreach giving, and have had several youth participate in over the past 6 decades.

Beginning February 25th, I will once again be joining 45 Junior and Senior High School Youth and 9 other Adults from Disciples congregations all around Ohio on an educational trip, as well as a spiritual journey, to our Nation’s Capitol and to the United Nations in New York City. It has been an honor, a privilege, and a blessing to have shared in this wonder program over the past 24 years. This will be my 13 UN Seminar tours. Actually, 14, if I count my time attending as a youth in 1968.

In recent years these group of young people have been linked together by the Internet (this time it’s a Facebook group) that has allowed them to share information about themselves, along with their expectations and hopes about the trip, and also their opinions about the state of the nation and world. Like those before them, this group of youth will have an opportunity to talk with members of Congress, as well as leaders and workers at the United Nations. It’s both an interesting and concerning time to be on such a journey as we daily read and hear about conflict and revolution that affects all of us from halfway round the world.

As I have followed conversations and read papers from past and present groups, I could not help but notice their passion and compassion, as well as their fears and hopes, about the need for Peace and Justice. The most uplifting thing about all this is how much their Christian faith plays a part in their thinking and understanding of what is going on around them.

I will not actually meet this new group of young people until Friday the 25th, but even now they give me hope. We always talk about our youth as the leaders of tomorrow, those who will be making decisions that will affect communities and nations. Some of them will become teachers, scientists, ministers, politicians, doctors or military leaders. In whatever vocation they choose, our hope lies in the foundation of faith that each one has and is continuing to build upon.

It is my hope that this group of young people knows that peace is more than the absence of war or conflict. History has shown that few conflicts are ever, if never, really fought over political viewpoints. Conflicts mostly develop over the lack of something (I need food and shelter) or the desire for something (I want power and property). Most human conflict comes out of hunger and poverty basic human rights, the lack of simple human needs or an unwillingness to share them.

In the New Testament book of James, the Apostle Paul writes these words in the second chapter of his letter. What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”

One of my favorite songs is “Let There Be Peace on Earth”. The concluding line of the song is one that I hope we all could take to heart, “… And Let It Begin With Me!”

Thanks to your generous support, New Church Ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has worked in concert with general, regional and local Disciples ministries and global/ecumenical partners to continue to extend our witness and reach communities where we had no witness. We are Expanding the Table.

One of the primary ways we are raising awareness and support of the New Church movement is through the Pentecost Special Offering. And once again, the theme for this special offering is Expanding the Table. Our message is clear — as Disciples, we welcome and embrace with the love of Christ all who will come to the table. New Church Ministry will continue to be mission-driven in ways that effectively and concretely extend the witness into neighborhoods and mission fields where new churches are planted and beyond!

Did you know that the money collected through the Pentecost Offering is evenly divided between New Church Ministry, which represents the wider church, and the region where the giving congregation is located?

Our challenge continues. We need your support more than ever to help us build on the momentum of the New Church movement. To help meet this challenge we will be participating in the Pentecost Special Offering on May 16^th.  Please give generously.

Rebecca

Dear Friends in Christ,

Each year we take time to examine ourselves and invite God’s direction as we consider our Christian Stewardship and how we will give in response to God’s great love and mercy to us.

During the next few weeks, we join you in praying about what our giving will be in light of God’s love and mercy.  As we pray, may God’s Spirit prompt us to new levels of faithfulness and generosity.  We are a people blessed by God to do God’s work.  Whether we are young or old, rich or poor, a long-time participant in this congregation or newly arrived, we all are invited to share in that work.

The third chapter of the book of Lamentations tells us, The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, God’s mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  That is why we gather each Sunday—to hear again that we are not alone; God is with us.  Our fellow worshipers are here.  Our community is here.  Out of gratitude for a God who loves us and is always with us, we respond with our first fruits.  New hope and new mercy come every morning.  Thanks be to God!

Your giving, volunteering, prayers, participation, and witness make our ministry as part of the whole body of Christ possible!  Your giving supports God’s work in this congregation, our community, and around the world.  To help us plan for future ministry, a giving commitment card is also enclosed.  Please fill it out and return it, either during worship on Commitment Sunday on May 23^rd, or by mailing it to the church office.

May God bless you richly as you partner with First Christian Church of Kent.

In Christ,

Rev. Rebecca M. Heller and Dick Bennett,

Chair of Stewardship and Finance

Everywhere is the green of new growth,

The amazing sight of the renewal of the earth.

We watch the grass once again emerging from the ground.

We notice the bright green atop the dark green on

the pine, the fir, the hemlock, the spruce, the cedar.

The alder is already in leaf.

The old plum trees still blossom, leaf and give forth fruit.

The locus is late as always.

Everywhere and always the song birds. . . bees

raiding the orchard, raccoon prowling at  nightfall, the earthworm tunneling the garden, chickens and rabbits pecking and nibbling, the goats tugging to reach new delights. . . all are the ubiquitous energies of life.

O Lord,

May we today be touched by grace, fascinated and moved by this your creation, energized by the

power of new growth at work in your world.

May we move beyond viewing this life only through a frame, but

touch it and be touched by it, know it and be known by it, love it and be loved by it.

May our bodies, our minds, our spirits, learn a new rhythm paced by the rhythmic pulse of the  whole created order.

May spring come to us, be in us, and recreate life in us.

May we forge a new friendship with the natural world and discover a new affinity with beauty,

with life, and with the Cosmic Christ in whom all things were created in heaven and on earth,

visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities. . . for

all things were created through him and for him.

In his name.  Amen.

~CHINOOK PSALTER

Jesus asks “do you believe in me?“  In John 11:25- 26, Jesus says to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?” Each day, the General and Racial/Ethnic Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) answer Jesus’ question “Do you believe me?” through their witness to God’s good news.

Your support of the 2010 Easter Offering witnesses to our belief that we can do all things through Christ Jesus who believes in us.  Your support of these ministries extends our church’s witness from your doorsteps to the ends of the earth.

Do You Believe In. . . Providing leadership to the Disciples ecumenical witness?  Celebrating our historical question for Christian unity?  Learning from our Global Partners?  Do You Believe In. . .  Witnessing and serving beyond the borders of the United States and Canada?  Opportunities for hands-on mission work?  Do You Believe In. . .  Supporting students in their faith development through campus and ecumenical ministries?  Transformational Ministries and training events for congregational revitalization?  Do You Believe In. . . Education for and learning from children and youth?  Young adult leadership development?  Supporting leaders through conferences on leadership and training?  Do You Believe In. . . Ministerial Relief Pensions?  Providing supplemental income to retired clergy living below the poverty level?  Do You believe in. .. Benevolent Care Ministries serving those who are differently-abled?  Using old facilities to house new ministries?  Christian Women’s and Men’s Ministries?  Then You Believe in Us!!

Your gift to the Easter Offering shares the message of resurrection.  Your gift says “You believe in the power of the resurrection!”  The Easter Special Offering will be received on March 28^th and April 4^th.  Thank you for your generosity to the whole ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Rebecca

We are all on a journey together. . .

To the center of the universe. . .

Look deep Into yourself, into another.

It is to a center which is everywhere

That is the holy journey. . .

First you need only look:

Notice and honor the radiance of

Everything about you. . .

Play in this universe.  Tend

All these shining things around you:

The smallest plant, the creatures and

objects in your care.

Be gentle and nurture.  Listen. . .

As we experience and accept

All that we really are. . .

We grow in care.

We begin to embrace others

As ourselves, and learn to live

As one among many. . .

~by Anne Hillman

Blessings,

Rebecca

After the earthquake disaster in Haiti, I learned that a practical way that we could make a difference in helping the people of Haiti was to make Hygiene Kits and Baby Kits for Church World Service (CWS), whose warehouse was empty.  A large Disciples of Christ congregation in a different part of the country set a goal of preparing 250 kits, and I thought, “We can do that!”   Well, guess what?!  We Did It!  I am pleased to announce that First Christian Church has put together a total of 263 CWS Kits (which includes 245 hygiene kits and 18 baby kits).  As a result, 263 different people will be helped.  I am so proud and delighted.  Not only did we put together all of those kits, we also came up with a lot of funds to ship them—first to the Church World Service warehouse and then from CWS to Haiti. Thank you to everyone that participated in making this a reality.   A special thanks goes to Diana Secaur, her students and their parents at Field School, who responded so well to Diana’s request and provided 83 kits, plus extra supplies and help with shipping costs, adding to our total numbers.

Following their Art Show Fundraiser, the Christian Education Committee tithed 10% of what they raised, in the amount of $55 to cover some of the shipping costs of CWS kits.  Since funds were needed at the time of shipping, checks were written from both the General Fund and the Pastor’s Discretionary Fund.  The Discretionary Fund still needs to be reimbursed in the amount of $186.

I am proud to serve such a generous and compassionate church.  Thank you for responding.  I thought, “We can do that!”   and We Did It!! Thanks be to God.

Blessings,       Rebecca

In his final moments with his disciples, the Good Shepherd asks Peter, “Do you love me?” “Yes,” Peter replies. Then, “Feed my lambs,” Jesus tells him. “Tend my sheep.” Three times, Jesus passionately repeats his instruction, pressing his followers: If you love me, take care of the people I love. Live your love for me by actively tending these for whom I have sacrificed everything.(John 21:15-19)

Soon, you will have an opportunity to offer your gift to Week of Compassion, empowering Disciples’ relief, refugee and development fund, meeting basic needs in Christ’s name throughout the world, and sharing resources that strengthen people to improve their own lives and communities.  Soon, each of us will decide how to respond to Jesus’ question, “Do you love me?”

The members of the family of God — from those we know to distant sisters, brothers, and cousins in parts of the world we may never visit — are God’s flock, the sheep of God’s pasture (Ezekiel 34:31). Yet, God’s flock is often forcefully scattered and stalked, as people are chased from their homes and livelihoods by brutal expressions of war, as communities and futures are blasted by natural disasters, as societies and countries are ground down by unrelenting hunger, disease, and poverty.

Jesus calls us to tend his sheep caught in these situations of deep need. And with love and energy, the Church responds!Through Week of Compassion,

• disaster victims quickly receive shelter, food, water, and medical supplies.

• local communities develop secure sources of food and clean water.

• minds and bodies grow stronger with new schools and medical clinics.

• refugees receive housing and long-term help to construct new lives.

In challenging times, we often wonder how much we can afford to sacrifice to help feed Jesus’ beloved sheep, when our needs remain pressing. Perhaps only our prayerful conscience can answer that. But remember the feeding of the 5,000: when Jesus asked the disciples to feed the thronging crowd, the disciples despaired (Mark 6:34-44). The five loaves and two fish seemed insignificant compared to the massive need. Yet when each gave sacrificially from what they had, through God’s blessing, their gifts turned into a miracle of compassion for all.

Through Week of Compassion, our gifts meet compelling needs, while also bringing the blessing of compassion into our own lives. The current economic situation is challenging for many of us. For many others, it has pushed beyond challenging to be life-threatening. I intend to increase my gift this year, and encourage you to consider doing so, also. Heed Jesus’ call to feed his sheep with a generous, even sacrificial, gift to Week of Compassion. Sharing your resources, you will change lives — including your own.  We will receive the Week of Compassion Special Offering on February 21^st and 28^th—or at any time of the year you wish to give.  Thank you for your generosity.

Blessings,    Rebecca

I am so pleased to report that FCC is already responding to the earthquake disaster in Haiti.  This morning I counted up the Church World Service (CWS) kits that have been brought to the church.  We are sending 71 CWS Hygiene Kits and 12 CWS Baby Kits to Western Reserve Christian Church in Hudson (our local collection location) where they will be shipped to the CWS warehouse.  From the warehouse they will then be shipped to Haiti to help 83 people in great need.  Thank you to everyone who has already participated in this wonderful outreach project.  I’m so proud.  Let’s keep the kits coming!

To assemble a Hygiene Kit you will need:

1) One hand towel measuring approximately 16″ x 28″ (no fingertip or bath towels), 2) One washcloth, 3) One wide-tooth comb, 4) One nail clipper (no metal files or emery boards), 5) One bar of soap (bath size in wrapper), 6) One toothbrush (in original packaging), 7) Six Band-Aids®, $2.00 for processing each kit

Please do not add toothpaste to the Hygiene Kit. Toothpaste that has an extended expiration date will be added to Hygiene Kit shipments just prior to shipment. Seal all items in a one-gallon plastic bag with a zipper closure.

To assemble a Baby Kit you will need:

1) Six cloth diapers, 2) Two T-shirts or undershirts (no onesies), 3) Two washcloths, 4) Two gowns or sleepers, 5) Two diaper pins, 6) One sweater or sweatshirt, 7) Two receiving blankets (one can be a hand-knitted or crocheted baby blanket), $2.00 for processing each kit

All items should be new. Wrap items inside one of the receiving blankets and secure with both diaper pins.

When I first put out the call to make kits, I didn’t realize that we needed $2.00 for processing each kit (the cost of shipping from CWS to Haiti).  Some money came in for shipping costs and I have sent that to Western Reserve CC to help them cover costs for shipping to CWS.  A check written from the Pastor’s Discretionary Fund was sent with our kits to cover the processing costs in the amount of $166. I’m hoping that some of you can donate to reimburse that fund.

We currently have odds and ends for more baby kits to be assembled.  We need more cloth diapers, especially.  Diaper pins have been challenging to find, but some of you have not rested until they have been found.  If you want to do Baby Kits, DON’T BUY DIAPER PINS!  We have lots in the church office now.

Monetary gifts for Week of Compassion have been coming in as well and a check for over $400 is being sent in the mail to them today for Haiti Relief.  Others have made donations to Week of Compassion through their website, www.weekofcompassion.org which is also a great way to donate and you can specify that you are a member of First Christian of Kent.

Thanks so much for your generosity and response.  Keep it up!  Blessings,

Rebecca