First Presbyterian Church of Urbana

3 days ago

Sunday, February 5, 2023

Worship – In-person and Streaming at 9:30 a.m.

The image is “Mother of God: Protectress of the Oppressed,” by Kelly Latimore, St. Louis, Missouri.

“Kristin Kobes Du Mez’s book, Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation, is really about what passes for “old time” religion in America. When faced with the crises of the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s, what was the response of evangelicals? For Marable Morgan and Phyllis Schlafly, two celebrated evangelical women, the answer was the recovery of “biblical” gender roles: men as bread earners, women as homemakers. “Men were entitled to lead, to rule, and to have their needs met,” Du Mez writes, “all their needs, on their terms.” Women were to graciously submit because men were fragile. Schlafly had as much to do with the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment as anyone. She believed that equality was destructive. Du Mez features example after example of noted evangelicals and delves deeply into what they believed, how popular they were among white Christians, and how their solutions were patriarchal, authoritarian, and hierarchical. That’s American old time religion and that expression of Christianity today has much bigger audience than ecumenical, inclusive, and equality-based expressions. Join us on Sunday to hear and contemplate together what the prophet Isaiah and Jesus had to say about what constitutes true religion.

Pastor David

In-Person Worship: Masking is strongly encouraged, especially if you are singing, (masks remain available in the Narthex if you do not have one), but is no longer required. We continue to strongly recommend that you keep up with boosters. Please plan to maintain social distancing and to hand sanitize often. During fellowship time when you are in close proximity to others, masking is highly recommended. If you are feeling unwell for any reason, please remain home and enjoy the services of worship online. Please understand that the pandemic is not yet over and conditions may require a return to masking at some point in the future.

In the Church Offices: Masking remains required when in the church offices and the Chapel.

The Church Office is usually open Mondays – Wednesdays, and Fridays, 9:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m. with Tracy working from home on Thursdays. Masking remains required when in the church offices. Staff requests that you continue to practice masking, social distancing, and hand washing when you visit the office.

Join Us for Sunday 9:30 a.m. Worship, in-person and streamed online.

1. Facebook:
www.facebook.com/FirstPresChurchUrbana/
Scroll down to the post from that morning

2. Zoom click on: zoom.us/j/8144246357
Meeting ID: 814 424 6357 (if necessary)
Password 475210

3. Landline or phone that is not a smart phone:
1 (312) 626-6799.
Meeting ID: 814 424 6357 (if necessary)
Password 475210

Midday Prayer: Join us Thursdays at 12:15 p.m., in the Chapel, for sharing of concerns and joys, hearing and contemplating scripture from the daily lectionary, and the offering of intercessions.

Food & More Program Item of the Month: For February the item is 4-Pack Toilet Paper. Please place it in the Food & More box near the church office.

Sunday Adult Seminars: 10:45 a.m. in the Chapel. For All Seminars in the Chapel: Chairs are spaced which will reduce capacity to about 30, two Corsi-Rosenthal filter boxes ventilate the space, and masking is required.

February 12, Streamed Only: Serving Money, Serving God: Aligning Radical Justice, Church Practice, and Church Life by Dr. Sheryl Johnson. We will be delighted to welcome Sheryl Johnson, PhD, to talk about her new book which will be released that week, Serving Money, Serving God: Aligning Radical Justice, Church Practice, and Church Life. She is a professor of ethics at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California. She has a doctorate in Christian ethics from the Graduate Theological Union. Sheryl also is an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada/United Church of Christ. And as if all of that were insufficient, she also serves a pastor at the Congregational Church of San Mateo, UCC. Since she will be joining us by way of Zoom, this seminar will be streamed.

February 19: “Plastics Recycling in Urbana-Champaign and Illinois” presented by Susan Monte. Ms. Monte, Executive Director of the Champaign County Environmental Stewards, will talk about actual recycling of curbside collected plastics in Champaign and Urbana, the impacts of contamination specific to plastics recycling that local waste haulers address, and available information regarding future trends about plastics recycling. Ms. Monte retired in June as the Champaign County Recycling Coordinator, and she recently was honored with the Steven Apotheker Award by the Illinois Re-cycling Foundation.

Ash Wednesday Service: Ash Wednesday Worship will be in the Sanctuary in the evening of February 22 at 7:00 p.m. The service will include the imposition of ashes. The service will also be streamed online on Zoom and Facebook. ... See MoreSee Less

First Presbyterian Church of Urbana

1 week ago

Sunday, January 29, 2023

Worship – In-person and Streaming at 9:30 a.m.

The image is “Dorothy Day with Homeless Christ,” an icon written by Kelly Latimore.

The Prophet Micah lived and preached about the same time as the prophet we now know as the first Isaiah. Both lived during the reign of King Hezekiah. It was a time of huge societal and economic changes, a time when the gap between those who were rich was growing ever wider from those who were poor. Micah was deeply concerned about the idolatry that was producing this disparity. Dorothy Day was deeply concerned about the great disparities of wealth and power during her time. In a life of prophetic witness, she chose to be where she knew Christ would be. Join us on Sunday as we hear one of the most well-known passages from the Hebrew prophets and contemplate its meaning and its challenge to us today.

Pastor David

In-Person Worship: Masking is strongly encouraged, especially if you are singing, (masks remain available in the Narthex if you do not have one), but is no longer required. We continue to strongly recommend that you keep up with boosters. Please plan to maintain social distancing and to hand sanitize often. During fellowship time when you are in close proximity to others, masking is highly recommended. If you are feeling unwell for any reason, please remain home and enjoy the services of worship online. Please understand that the pandemic is not yet over and conditions may require a return to masking at some point in the future.

In the Church Offices: Masking remains required when in the church offices and the Chapel.

The Church Office is usually open Mondays – Wednesdays, and Fridays, 9:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m. with Tracy working from home on Thursdays. Masking remains required when in the church offices. Staff requests that you continue to practice masking, social distancing, and hand washing when you visit the office.

Join Us for Sunday 9:30 a.m. Worship, in-person and streamed online.

1. Facebook:
www.facebook.com/FirstPresChurchUrbana/
Scroll down to the post from that morning

2. Zoom click on: zoom.us/j/8144246357
Meeting ID: 814 424 6357 (if necessary)
Password 475210

3. Landline or phone that is not a smart phone:
1 (312) 626-6799.
Meeting ID: 814 424 6357 (if necessary)
Password 475210

Midday Prayer: Join us Thursdays at 12:15 p.m., in the Chapel, for sharing of concerns and joys, hearing and contemplating scripture from the daily lectionary, and the offering of intercessions.

Food & More Program Item of the Month: For January the item is Beef Stew. More box near the church office.

Sunday Adult Seminars: 10:45 a.m. in the Chapel. For All Seminars in the Chapel: Chairs are spaced which will reduce capacity to about 30, two Corsi-Rosenthal filter boxes ventilate the space, and masking is required.

January 29: CU at Home. Melissa Courtright, the Executive Director of CU at Home, will offer a presentation about the work of CU at Home, recent changes that have taken place with the ministry, current trends, and ways that local congregations can partner with them to support their vital work. ... See MoreSee Less