Welcome
Welcome to the First Presbyterian Church of Urbana! We believe that everyone who enters these doors is God’s guest. This is a safe place, to search for and find God, to ask questions along with others who know that the life of faith is not about having all the answers, and to open doors to paths that might be familiar and some that might be entirely new. Read more …
PCUSA News
- ‘Like water in the desert’July 30, 2021 Registration is now open for the second of three listening circles, hosted by the offices of Women’s Leadership Development and Leadership Development for Leaders of Color of the Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries.
- We’re so quick to judgeJuly 30, 2021 For Friday’s final convocation during this week’s Synod of Lakes and Prairies’ Synod School being held at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, the Rev. Dr. Jill Duffield selected the biblical account of the woman pouring an alabaster jar of ointment on the feet of Jesus, which she washed with her […]
- Keeping the least of these from losing their homesJuly 30, 2021 The Washington office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is helping to make the public aware of billions of dollars in federal rental assistance intended to provide a safety net for struggling households, even after a national eviction moratorium is set to expire this weekend.
- Speaking the truth in loveJuly 30, 2021 One good way to live out its embodiment is for the church to speak the truth in love.
Regular morning worship with communion featuring Director of Music, Sinhaeng Lee, Organist, Ted Turner, Music Program Associate, Jennifer Immke, the FPCU Handbell Choir, Section Leader, Abby Gast, a University of Illinois DMA recital ensemble, special music offered by Bob Sheward, and a sermon based on Ephesians 4:1-16 entitled, "Maturity."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSTMRMDYlPE
Communion Sunday - August 1, 2021
Worship – Streaming at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday morning.
“Bread of Life”
In his final novel, The Fool’s Progress,” Edward Abbey paints a beautiful scene. The main character is sitting on a hillside above his home. It is late in the evening. From where he sits, he can see smoke rising from the chimney and he can see a light on in the kitchen. He knows what his mother is doing. In his hunger, after having worked all day, he begins to imagine what she is making. He imagines everything his body will experience when he walks into that kitchen. The strongest perception is smell. He can really smell the bread his mother is baking, good, warm, homemade bread. He smiles with the thought. Bread for him is more than just bread. It is, for him, an experience. The memory of all of the times his mother has made bread brings up within him something mystical and powerful. It reminds him of all that is good in that kitchen, all that is good about his mother, all that is good about home. On Sunday, we will hear a passage from John chapter 6 in which Jesus spoke to people who did not have nearly the imagination of Edward Abbey’s character. For them, bread satisfied a basic and temporary need. Jesus wanted them to the bread of heaven. We will also contemplate together a passage from the Letter to the Ephesians in which the Apostle Paul tried to help the faithful understand spiritual maturity. For him, maturity meant being willing to risk something big for something good.
Pastor David
Join Us for Sunday 9:30 a.m. 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
Return to In-Person Worship: We are delighted to announce that on Sunday, August 22, we plan to resume in-person worship in our sanctuary with the encouragement to socially distance, mask while inside, and stay home if ill, and if you have still not been vaccinated, to take part in worship online.
Children and Youth Need Volunteers and Staff:
1. The high school Sunday School youth would welcome some new faces and perspectives in Sunday School. Anyone is welcome. The classes are planned and led by Liz Greeley or Alex Winter-Nelson, primarily, so, no prep involved for the second volunteer. You can help one or more Sundays. Current events as well as religious topics are explored; plans are also underway for a one-hour service project once a month. Snacks are provided. You will find it enjoyable! The class meets immediately following worship, for about 45 minutes. The first day of Sunday School is September 12. Please let Liz know if you are interested: egreeley@illinois.edu; 217-384-4304.
2. We hope to provide childcare for any child, birth to age 10 (or so) downstairs during worship. Skylar Matteson will return as the main nursery caregiver. A second person, adult or teen 16 or older, is needed, in accordance with our youth protection policy. This is a paid position. If you know of anyone who might be interested in this please contact Cindy Strehlow. ljstrehlow@gmail.com; 217-328-2691.
Can You Help with the Food Pantry? Once fully vaccinated, anyone 18 years and older is welcome to volunteer! We need help with grocery shopping; shelving donated food; packing orders; delivering orders to our partners (those who get food); weeding and/or harvesting produce in the St. Peter’s UCC garden; and record keeping. Most volunteer activities are once a month for 2-3 hours and some, such as shelving donated food, can be done at your convenience. For more information, contact Susan Silver, 217-898-8895.
Here's the info about the county board meeting this week.
Champaign County Board Members | Champaign County Illinois
www.co.champaign.il.us
Champaign County Illinois Official Website, Champaign County Illinois GovernmentI am for Beekeepers in CC to continue doing what needs to be done as Bees are important. Dont need another stupid Law againt them.
Regular morning worship featuring Director of Music, Sinhaeng Lee, Organist, Ted Turner, Section Leader, Abby Gast, and a sermon based on 2 Samuel 11:1-5 and the Gospel of John 6:1-21 entitled, "Appetites."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYtm-19iIkw
Sunday, July 25, 2021
Worship – Streaming at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday morning.
“The Contemplative Christ,” a sculpture in the Peksow Brzyzek Cemetery, Zakopane, Poland.
When my daughter, Clara, was an exchange student in northern Germany, her class took a trip to Poland. In one of the towns where they stopped, there was a merchant who displayed a variety of wooden carvings. She bought one that is very similar to this one pictured here. I keep the wooden Contemplative Christ on my desk. I love it because it captures a most human side of Jesus. As we hear the scripture passages for Sunday from Second Samuel and the Gospel of John, we may come away with our heads in our hands, too. These are sobering scenes. The great Southern writer, Walker Percy, once said that his writing grew from his struggle to understand how people could have so much and know so much yet be so bad. I can imagine Percy with his head in his hand as he thought. Join us on Sunday as we contemplate these passages of scripture about wayward adults and as we come to understand why Jesus said that his realm belongs to children.
Pastor David
Join Us for Sunday 9:30 a.m. 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
Return to In-Person Worship: We are delighted to announce that on Sunday, August 22, we plan to resume in-person worship in our sanctuary with the encouragement to socially distance, mask while inside, and stay home if ill, and if you have still not been vaccinated, to take part in worship online.
Children and Youth Need Volunteers and Staff:
1. The high school Sunday School youth would welcome some new faces and perspectives in Sunday School. Anyone is welcome. The classes are planned and led by Liz Greeley or Alex Winter-Nelson, primarily, so, no prep involved for the second volunteer. You can help one or more Sundays. Current events as well as religious topics are explored; plans are also underway for a one-hour service project once a month. Snacks are provided. You will find it enjoyable! The class meets immediately following worship, for about 45 minutes. The first day of Sunday School is September 12. Please let Liz know if you are interested: egreeley@illinois.edu; 217-384-4304.