First Presbyterian Church of Urbana

3 days ago

Second Sunday in Lent - February 28, 2021

Worship – Streaming at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday morning.

Fellowship and Seminar – Streaming following worship.

“Abraham Holding a Soul in Heaven,” a relief in the Abbey of St. Pierre, Moissac, France.

Because we so often forget basic, important things, when I see an image like this stone carving of Abraham holding a soul, I find myself thinking, “Would you look at that. That stone mason got it right.” What the mason nailed, or chiseled, is the calling of Abraham. The blessing that we will hear about on Sunday, that he is to be the father of many nations, was not intended just for him and Sarah, and their family, and their descendants. The promise was not just for the people of Israel. It was for everyone. Which is what this relief depicts. Abraham is not holding a Jewish soul, although he could be. He’s holding a soul, could be any soul. Which is what God intended from the beginning. Could the wisdom of the stone mason be connected to the fact that the founder of this monastery, Saint Calminius, is said to have given the monastery relics of St. Peter? Peter will be featured in the Gospel reading we will hear on Sunday, and we will hear how Peter struggled with to whom the blessings of God were intended. He was thinking they were just for his people, the Jews, the nation of Israel. Jesus makes clear that God has much bigger plans than that, and had such plans from the very beginning. Join us on Sunday as we hear these wonderful passages of scripture and contemplate once again the extravagant nature of the love of God.

Pastor David

Lenten Adult Seminar Series: “Seeking the Intercultural Church” continues this Sunday, February 28. Following worship, we’ll have fellowship, then the seminar will begin at 11:00 a.m. The Zoom link is the same as for worship (as listed below).

Despite the civil rights movement and the efforts to desegregate American society, including churches, almost fifty years ago, little has changed, even as church models and worship styles have gone through many revisions to stay relevant to culture and technology. While congregations have been trying to push for a more diverse congregation with “Welcome All!” signs and forums on race and reconciliation, they are still far less diverse than their neighborhoods. Why is it so difficult for white congregations to be more inclusive?

This six-session adult Lenten seminar series will examine the biblical foundations for seeking the intercultural church and will help us understand the challenges we may face along the way. Ultimately, participants will spend the Lenten season working toward discovering and discussing the cost and joy of the spiritual discipline of repentance, and what it can look like for a congregation seeking intercultural transformation.

Written by Samuel Son, a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) minister who works in the area of diversity and reconciliation for the PC(USA), each week includes a Participant Handout for adults to read. The handouts will be distributed in a special E Report the week before each seminar (the first background reading was emailed February 18). The first seminar in the series was Sunday, February 21, and will continue through Sunday, March 28.

Feb. 21 – Rejecting the False Gospel of Discrimination (Acts & Galatians)

Feb. 28 – Understanding God’s Purpose in Being Intercultural (Ephesians)

Mar. 7 – Confronting Powers that Exclude (Ephesians)

Mar. 14 – Moving from Language of Division to Language of Community (Ephesians)

Mar. 21 – Speaking Truth (Ephesians)

Mar. 28 – Practicing Repentance: The Church Becoming the Church (Gospel of Luke)

Join Us for Sunday Worship!

1. YouTube Channel:

www.youtube.com/channel/UC0Eiz3KggoReHXIW6ns5HWg

2. Facebook link to YouTube at:

www.facebook.com/FirstPresChurchUrbana/

Scroll down to the post from that morning

3. Zoom click on: zoom.us/j/8144246357

Meeting ID: 814 424 6357 (if necessary)

Password 475210

4. Landline or phone that is not a smart phone:

1 (312) 626-6799.

Meeting ID: 814 424 6357 (if necessary)

Password 475210

Church Announcements

Title: Inserting image...Zoom Updates: Zoom regularly provides new versions of the Zoom desktop client and mobile app to release new features and fix bugs. It's a good idea to keep your Zoom desktop client and mobile app up to date. If the Zoom desktop client displays a pop-up notification about an update, go ahead and install it. Computer users can confirm they are using the latest version by opening the Zoom client and navigating to the zoom.us menu > Check for Updates…

Mobile app users receive notifications when updates are available.

For more information about updates, click here:
support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362233-Upgrade-update-to-the-latest-version

COVID Vaccine Clinic: Champaign-Urbana Public Health District’s website says that they expect to have more first doses allocations this coming week, which could open up any day, including Friday when you receive the bulletin and E Report, so please keep an eye on their website c-uphd.org (and/or Carle.org/home/covid-19-resources/covid-19-vaccine-information.) ... See MoreSee Less