First Presbyterian Church of Urbana, a Member Church of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. and More Light Presbyterians

Sunday, February 17, 2019

Bible Study – 8:15 a.m.
Worship – 9:30 a.m.
Childcare is available for infants through preschool age, downstairs in Rooms 4 and 5 for morning and evening services
Fellowship Time – after worship
Sunday Seminar: “Overview of the Bible: How We Got the Bible in English” – 11:00 a.m.
Theology Discussion Group – 6:30 p.m.

“Trees Beside a Stream,” by Eliphalet Andrews, in the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, in Washington DC.

The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship has called us to remember two anniversaries. “On February 14, 2018, a former student entered the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, with an AR-15-style semi-automatic weapon. In 7 minutes, he killed 17 students and adults. In February of 1893, Presbyterians first participated in the Universal Day of Prayer for Students, lifting to God the lives of children, teenagers and young adults. In February of 2019, these two anniversaries coincide in a way that calls the church to take seriously the steps needed to protect students and all of us from the crisis of gun violence in our nation. In June 2018, the 223rd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) marked 50 years of GA statements calling for practical steps to prevent gun violence in America, beginning in 1968.

Fifty years of calls for change, for wisdom, for exhibiting the common good, rather than partisan advantage. Since there has been little change, precious little wisdom, and much partisan ambition, those who seek the common good and the welfare of us all have suffered 50 years of frustration. So this year, we mark another anniversary. We grieve the lives of so many students lost. And we renew our resolve to demand change. Join us on Sunday when we will hear and contemplate the call of the scriptures to live into something big. Will mere problem solving get us where we need to be, or is God calling us to something so much greater: a vision, a dream of wholeness?”

Pastor David