Funds raised in a CROP Hunger Walk assist people in need around the world. For example: $72 can provide emergency food supplies for a family of five’s needs for a month. $120 can enable three women to attend a literacy class for a year and change their lives forever. $200 can provide a struggling farm family with a draft animal to significantly increase their food production, as well as a strong back to carry produce to market. $350 can enable the eldest in a child-headed household of AIDS orphans to receive vocational training, so they can support their siblings and themselves. $1050 can support community-based health, hygiene, and sanitation training for an entire community.

What’s the point of walking? Hungry people in developing countries typically walk as much as six miles a day to get food, water, and fuel, and to take their goods to market. We walk to be in solidarity with their struggle for existence. We walk because we want to end hunger—one step at a time.

CROP Hunger Walks help fight hunger and poverty locally and globally, with 25% of the money raised going to our own Kent Social Services. In the last 20 years, CROP walks have raised more than $294 million to assist around the block and around the world those struggling to feed their families.

This is an incredible cause in which we can all take part—by walking, by financially supporting, and through our prayers for this wonderful event and ecumenical ministry. You can now also get set up to do online fundraising and to invite others to walk with you.
Let me know if you are willing to help in Ending Hunger One Step at a Time!

Blessings, Rev. Rebecca

Blessings, Rebecca

Join me in the Parlor (with air conditioning!) for VBS for Adults. The theme of our study is Sinning Like a Christian and we will be taking a look at the Seven Deadly Sins—Pride, Envy, Anger, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, and Lust. We will be taking a tour through Christian history to discover how these seven developed and came to be considered the seven deadlies.

William Willimon writes, “Their seriousness is not so much within themselves but in their ability to generate even more serious offspring. Gregory the Great spoke of the Seven as “leaders of wicked armies”. . . The church does not teach that these sins are “deadly”. . . They are more accurately called the capital or cardinal sins, the source, the “head,” the necessary first step toward other sin” (Sinning Like a Christian. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2005. p.21).

One basis for calling the Seven “deadly” is that they are difficult to shake—they are chronic. We will be looking at how they manifest themselves in life, in our own lives, and how we can seek their remedies in order to be healthier, more balanced and whole. This is sure to be a great class and I am looking forward to sharing this time of learning, discussion, and exploration with you!
Blessings, Rebecca

In July we had a great week of Vacation Bible School.  I enjoyed teaching a group of 19-20 of our adults on thematic material that went along with the kids themes—Experience and Discover God Everywhere: Life on the Edge.  We looked at biblical stories from the Old and New Testament.

At the end of July I attended the Disciples of Christ General Assembly in Indianapolis with about 6,000 other Disciples from throughout the United States, Canada and countries around the world.  While there I attended the Week of Compassion dinner where they celebrated 65 years of ministry.  Our own Amy Gopp, Executive Director of WoC, took the lead in honoring former director, Johnny Wray, that evening.

Since last summer I have been serving on the 2010 Regional Assembly Planning Team.  That event will take place at the Marriott Northwest in Columbus on October 15^th and 16^th.  The Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins, our General Minister and President, will be one of the speakers for the event.  I hope that we will send a group of people to represent our congregation.

In October and November, Jodi and I led a six week parenting class in which 11 parents participated, which focused on parenting younger children and was based upon 10 Biblical Virtues For Which Your Children Will Remember You.

We were so pleased with the participation and that we continue to have so many families with younger children who are a part of the life of First Christian—there were several families that were not able to take part in that six week course.  We hope to provide something else for parents and families sometime in the coming church year.

In January, I began serving as a board member on the Portage County Association for Pastoral Care (PCAPC) for Robinson Memorial Hospital.  This board promotes the pastoral care and chaplaincy program at Robinson, sponsors pastoral care workshops for clergy in the county and raises monies to fund the part time secretarial position for the pastoral care department.

At the of the 2009 calendar year I concluded my six years as a member of the Kent Social Services Advisory Board.  It was an honor to serve and Betty Ponick continues to represent us on the board.

In April I attended two wonderful continuing education events—“The Role of Spiritual Care Giver with Hospice and Palliative Care Patients,” at Robinson Memorial Hospital,” and “Leadership for Church Transformation: Ignite

Your Church,” hosted by Legacy Christian Church and the Christian Church in Ohio.

One of the things for which I am most proud that we have accomplished is the collecting and shipping of 281 Hygiene and Baby Kits for Church World Service (CWS) to help with emergency relief to the people of Haiti following the horrific earthquake that hit in January.  After the news hit, I learned quickly through Week of Compassion and CWS that the best way that we could help and respond was to assemble kits, offer financial support, and pray.  We did all three!  The response was tremendous, and we continued to respond by raising the funds needed to ship all those kits.  I am so proud and thank you for being empowered to make this happen.

We had another successful year of Spaghetti Dinners that involved great participation from church membership and brought in so many people from the community of Kent and beyond.  Thanks to everyone!

We’ve said goodbye to some special people in the last year who have passed away, and welcomed others into our midst.  We’ve had five people become members and several others who have not yet “formally” joined us but who are now actively participating in the life of the church.  Our next task is to continue to look forward and see how God is calling, how the Holy Spirit is moving us, and how Jesus is speaking and acting through us.

Rebecca

Our present season in the church year is called “ordinary time.” It begins after Pentecost (which we celebrated on May 23rd) and continues through the summer and most of the fall until we reach the first Sunday of Advent on November 28th. During these months, we won’t celebrate and special liturgical holidays that are high points in the church year. But that doesn’t mean that this isn’t work to be done.

During “ordinary” times in our lives—like the summer season—we might plant a garden, nurture the plants, and watch them grow and produce. We might get some jobs done around the house. We might take a vacation or two, visit friends or family. We might take the time to read a book that we have wanted to get to. We might take more walks in the park. The pace of summer months might help us to take more time to “smell the roses” and slow down.

What is important to remember in our spiritual journey is that a lot happens in “ordinary time” and ordinary times. We experience God’s grace, mercy and compassion. We are presented with opportunities to help others, to speak words of hope and good news, to offer a listening ear and a hug of support and comfort. We encounter God in ordinary times when we attend worship, in prayer, spending time reading and studying the scriptures, and quieting ourselves enough to listen for God.

Let’s treasure this ordinary time that is ahead of us and see what God has in store.

Blessings, Rebecca

Psalm 91:1-2

“You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.” (NRSV)

In these last weeks, God’s care has indeed been the shelter and fortress for many as wind has howled and water risen.  Ten days ago, in just a few hours, torrential rains brought flooding to Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky, including to many Disciples.  In the last several days a seasonal outbreak of tornadoes has brought death and destruction to Oklahoma and Kansas.

Now that the skies have cleared and the waters are beginning to recede, we mourn the deaths of more than 30 people and the loss of scores of homes and offices, and a lifetime of people’s personal artifacts.

For those living through these events, please know that Disciples everywhere are holding you in our hearts and prayers, and have stepped in to help.

Week of Compassion, our relief, refugee and development mission fund, was immediately in contact with pastors and regional ministers providing pastoral care and solidarity grants to address immediate needs.  Disciples Volunteering, part of Disciples Home Missions, is discerning ways to set up volunteer efforts to help rebuild.  And Glen Stewart, our regional minister in Tennessee, is continuing to minister to Disciples across the state, even though the regional office was flooded with nearly three feet of water.

At a time when so much feels fragmented, countless people have continued to show the love of Christ to those around them.  At Vine Street Christian Church in Nashville, volunteers are helping to clean out the sanctuary and other areas of the church flooded by the storms. Volunteers at Woodmont Christian Church, also in Nashville, are being matched with those in need to provide assistance. Mobile Loaves and Fishes, a social ministry based out of Woodmont, has stepped up its outreach to the homeless.  Volunteers from Disciples Divinity House at Vanderbilt University, have joined with others to begin clean up at the regional office.

In times such as these, the sheltering care of God is shown through the outreach of God’s children to each other.  The outpouring of help offered by churches, church people, Week of Compassion, Disciples Volunteering and regional staff are signs of the love of God.

The flood waters will recede and communities will rebuild.  God’s earth will heal.  And we Disciples will continue to do our part to live out our identity of being a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world by helping to bring hope and healing to those in need.

Thanks be to God.

Sharon E. Watkins

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

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

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

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