CONGREGATION + COMMUNITY NEWS
PEOPLES PRESS
Joyfully Defiant for the Sake of a Just World
a congregation of the United Church of Christ, the Alliance of Baptists & the American Baptist Churches
TAKING THE ΩEXISTENTIAL ONE MOUTHFUL AT A TIME
In the second year of its life as a denomination, the United Church of Christ started to give attention to the issues of Stewardship of the Environment and Justice. The Second UCC General Synod in 1959 gave voice to these concerns in a Call to Christian Action in Society which included “a call for conservation and development of the Earth’s resources for the benefit of all people now and in the future.”
For 16 years this generic call generated little apparent action, although things may have been stirring out of sight. General Synod #10 in 1975 produced a Proposal on Christian Life Style and Ecology which stated,
“As Christians we are called to be responsible custodians of the natural order and prophetic witnesses for social justice. We profess our loyalty to a God of history who is also the Creator of the universe. The biblical image of shalom captures that unity between nature and history. Shalom means wholeness, integrity, social justice and reconciliation. These are the biblical motifs that inform our understanding of Christian life style and ecology.”
This is one of the early times when Care of the Environment and Social Justice were firmly linked to each other. Since then, the concern has become more and more critical. The issue has become existential (as politicians like to say to communicate their deep knowledge of philosophy and vocabulary.)
For now, I have been asked to work on the Peoples Church Creation/Justice Team. The immediate task is to keep visible the vital issues related to Creation/Justice work. Suffice it to say this is a huge project. That hugeness reminds me of the challenge to make the enterprise less overwhelming to anyone who might desire learning and doing more. Believe me, I am finding the available resources are overwhelming! I will constantly be tamping it down one small mouthful at a time.
Here is one example of the tamping down to chewable size. The Climate Justice Alliance Communities, United for a Just Transition has published 17 Principles of Environmental Justice. (https://climatejusticealliance.org/)
Here is a more printable version of 17 Principles of Environmental Justice (biologicaldiversity.org). For many folks, reading this doc. is a sure step to glossed over eyes and a sonorous sleep. The 17 principles are too much to wrap a human mind around in a single reading. So, the principles will be presented one at a time in future Peoples Press.
That is enough words for this article. Stay tuned for more to come.
Shalom,
Kendall Brown for the Creation/Justice Team
Ω Footnote: Matter of Life or Death
TRANSITION UPDATES
Hello Peoples People! We are in full transition mode, after said goodbye to Pastor Deb last week. Here are her final thoughts and words she has shared:
“I want to thank you all for a lovely day and a wonderful 8 years. The gifts and accolades were so very generous, thoughtful, and inspiring. I go with tremendous love for you all.”
Please be aware that, due to church rules, she will have no further contact with us. This is part of letting go. She will be breaking social media ties for the next little while, as we welcome and come to love our next settled minister.
Please refer to the calendar on our website:
peopleschurchofflint.org for upcoming sermon information.
Jamie Schmidt, Moderator
natesmamajamie@gmail.com; 810-287-8308
A HEARTFELT THANK YOU
Sunday's "Goodbye" to Deb (held 5/01/2022) was wonderful and I would be remiss if I didn't thank some people especially:
The invitations were done by Bill and Linda Angus.
Pictures of the day were done by Bill Angus for Deb's goodbye album. The album was assembled with help from Linda Angus and Kathy Eaton. The stole was planned and created by Laura Eufinger, Kathy Eaton, Nancy Newman (my sister) and myself.
The clever, fun and pretty centerpieces were created by Mary Ellen Fox. She also provided plates, cups etc. The food and drinks were done and served by Local Grocer, Patti Pagels, Leslie Cummings and Laura Eufinger.
Also, wasn't Tom's goodbye song beautiful and perfect?! Finally, Jamie led us all by being an excellent Mistress of Ceremonies.
It is hard to say goodbye, but People's Church of Flint did it very well.
Sincerely,
Karen Eaton
THE SEARCH COMMITTEE FOR THE PERFECT PASTOR
The perfect pastors work from 8am until midnight, are 29 years old and have 40 years of experience, smile all the time because they have a sense of humor that keeps them seriously dedicated to the church, make 15 home visits in a day and are in their office to be handy when needed...
Well, maybe the Perfect Pastor isn't all that realistic and isn't even the goal. But your Peoples Church's Search Committee is looking for a 'best fit' pastor and would like your input in what that person might look like. In the next Peoples Press we will be asking you to fill out a survey of your thoughts on what's important in a pastor for our church, for who we are now and
where we are going. It won't take long to fill out, but we would like you to spend some time in the intervening two weeks thinking about this.
We have come up with 10 "Core Competencies" and would like you to rank them from 1-10. The competencies are Caring, Financial Skills, Organized, Sociable, Impactful Sermons, Leadership Development, Sensitive/Perceptive, Time Conscious, Social Activist, and Community Involvement.
Thanks for spending some time thinking about this and filling out the survey when it becomes available. Your input is important.
Carla Pierik, Chair
CREATION JUSTICE SUNDAY
May 15, 2022
11am Worship at Peoples Church
Scripture Lesson: Genesis chapter 3, verses 7a and 8a
Focus: The Garden of Eden
Message Title: The Fig Leaf
Messenger: Kendall Brown
Worship preparation: Any time before worship, prepare your heart by using Edward Hicks painting, The Peaceable Kingdom, as your meditation guide. tinyurl.com/y38wkxn8
ANNUAL MEETING
This year’s Annual Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, May 22nd at 12:30 pm.
Voting members can attend this event either in person or via Zoom.
Please do all of what you can to arrive on time.
IN THE CONGREGATION
Links are on the church calendar. Need more info? Just ask!
Adult Forum, 9:30 am Sundays, is reading Mariame Kaba's We Do This 'Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice. Join in by zoom or in person at church. And let us know if you need a book.
Thursday Evening Study Group begins again April 28, reading Diana Butler Bass’ A Peoples History of Chris tianity: the other side of the story. Books will shortly be on the welcome table at church. Need one shipped? Call the office!
Vigil for Racial Justice is still gathering 1-2 pm Thursdays on the Genesee Courthouse lawn. But only if the temp is above 20º.
New Text Alert System. We have shifted to a new text messaging service. If you're in our church directory, you're all set. If you're not, go to t.ly/LQC71 to sign up!