May 6, 2022

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

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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

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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

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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

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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!

April 22, 2022

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

PEOPLES POETRY

Poetry has always been in my life. My favorite as a child was “A Child’s Garden of Verses” written by Robert Louis Stevenson. My grandmother read these poems to me and I remember them still.

Our children heard poetry early in their lives. I read to them the childhood poems and rhymes I loved. My husband Bill did not read children’s books to our children. He read poetry from T. S. Eliot and Robert Burns and others. Our four-year-old son could recite lines from “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T. S. Eliot!

We had a poetry group at Peoples Church before we moved to our present location. This group included poet Lois Beebe Hayna, who had moved to Michigan from Colorado where she had been poet laureate of Colorado Springs, CO. We had several other members of the group who also wrote and shared their own poetry. The poetry group has met only once since our move to Garland Street.

Peoples Church recently hosted a Zoom poetry event featuring Semaj Brown, the Flint Poet Laureate and are planning another event with Semaj for this May.

In the Sunday book group when we have finished a book and are waiting for the next book to come in, we have one or more poetry Sundays. Clif Turner and I have brought in poems and read them and the group talks about them. In a recent session we wrote and shared our own Haiku. We like poetry at Peoples Church.

At some point after Pastor Deb joined us, we began to read a poem every Sunday in the service of worship. The poem usually follows the Call to Worship and precedes the scripture lesson. Why poetry?

You might ask. Consider that prophets are poets and poets through their insights into the human condition are prophets. Whoever the reader is, they are called on to read poetry. Pastor Deb, Tom Travis and I (Eileen Button and Karen Eaton have also been involved) meet about once a month to select a poem for each week’s service.

The poem is chosen keeping in mind the scripture lesson, the theme, and the sermon title for a particular Sunday. Our meetings involve finding the perfect poem for each Sunday. We come to the meeting with suggestions and then we read the poems aloud and decide what works best. We must get permission from the publisher or author to use every poem that is read on Sunday. We are precluded from reading some poets because permission is not granted. You will not hear some of our favorite poets because of this restriction. Our meetings are on Zoom so we have our poetry books handy and can search through them right then if we are still looking for the perfect poem.

My knowledge of poetry, my love of poetry, and my collection of poetry books have grown through the process of choosing a poem for each Sunday. I am constantly looking for new poets and finding them! At least once a week and sometimes more, I encounter a new poet and then through
this new poet, poets they like and read. An endless wonderful search!

Maybe you have taken note of the poem that is read each Sunday and maybe you have not but might now keep an open ear and heart. If you have suggestions for a poem we might include or you want to comment on a poem we have read, please get in touch with me. I would love to talk poetry
with you! I wish you good reading!

Linda Angus

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TRANSITION UPDATES

It feels like we are in mid-transition, although really it is just starting. As we near our last two weeks with Pastor Deb, there are many things going on behind the scenes to keep us organized, focused, and engaged with the community. Here are a few of our updates.

Karla will be in the office every day, Monday through Friday, from 10-2. She is working diligently to learn how to create Peoples Press (as you are reading this you can see her success!), she is working with the Board to gather all of the information needed for the Annual Meeting (check the date/info in this edition), and she is doing all of this while learning how our systems work! Thank you, Karla!

Kendall Brown has agreed to work with Jay Cummings on the discretionary fund. He will be a great support for Peoples Church and Jay. Thank you, Kendall!

Deb has reached out to many pastors who have preached to us before. We have a scheduled sermon for each Sunday through July. Thank you, Deb!

The Executive Board is working to secure an Interim Pastor and will hopefully have news on that front soon.

As always, reach out to anyone on the board, or me, with questions, concerns, or prayer needs. We are all in this together, and what a great group to share this transition with!

Blessings,
Jamie Schmidt, Moderator
natesmamajamie@gmail.com; 810-287-8308

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SEARCH COMMITTEE UPDATES

Work continues behind the scenes, as we are compiling our church profile.

Potential candidates will be able to access the profile to attain an idea of who we are. Conversations are being held with individual members to address specific areas such as church demographics and finances. The committee is also discussing “Church Reflections” as it relates to what our
worship and faith foundation is like. It's a deep dive into who we are as Peoples Church. It's invigorating and affirming.

Thanks for your prayerful support.
Carla Pierik, Chair

A Good Good-Bye
For Pastor Deborah DeMars Conrad

Sunday, May 1, 2022
11 am Worship Service
“Farewell and Godspeed”

12:15 pm Reception and Presentations

Please RSVP to the church office and let us know if you will attend in person or via Zoom
Zoom link is on the website calendar.

(For in person attendance masks and vaccination are required.)

If you would like to contribute to Deb’s Good Goodbye, you can give in all the regular ways; just write “honoring Deb” on the memo line.

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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.

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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!

April 8, 2022

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

HELLO PEOPLES CHURCH

As May 1 creeps closer, we are working together to ensure a smooth transition in all areas of our church life. The Search Committee is in full swing. The Executive Committee (Joe Eufinger, Karen Eaton, Patti Pagels, and me) is working to find an Interim Pastor. We have met with one candidate and are
scheduling an interview with another. We are seeking candidates through all three of our denominations.

Tom Travis has become our Worship Coordinator. He is working with the worship team to create the meaningful services we love.

Dale Emery is our main contact on the patio project, working with that team to keep us on track with the proposed timeline.

Please watch this space for other updates and changes as we all journey together. Reach out to me with any questions, ideas, or help you have to offer.

Thanks!
Jamie Schmidt, Moderator
natesmamajamie@gmail.com; 810-287-8308

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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 Christianity: 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!

Ministers Discretionary Fund. This fund helps us help folks. Jay Cummings administers this fund,
now with assist from Kendall Brown, and says it's getting a little low. If you can make a special gift,
please do. All the regular ways, just mark it "discretionary fund.”

HOLY WEEK & EASTER WORSHIP

Maundy Thursday & Good Friday. We’ll gather online and in person this week, 7 pm each night, to recount the last hours of Jesus’ life. Join us both nights to hear the whole story.

Easter Sunday. We will be online and in the house celebrating resurrection and considering a resurrected life, 11 am Sunday. We’ll also receive new members and dedicate our new name! Bonnets not required.

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PEOPLES CHURCH SEARCH COMMITTEE

is up and running! After a few weeks of making connections and learning something about the process ahead of us, we had our first in-person meeting as a team. We are now meeting weekly on Zoom as we compile our Church Profile, which will be used to help us understand 'Who Are We', 'Who is Our Neighbor', and 'Who is God Calling Us to Become'? The answers to these questions will both
help us in our pastor search and help candidates understand who we are.

There will be times in the coming months that we will ask your input on these questions as well. Meanwhile, we have been in touch with all three of our denominational associations and are already benefiting from their expertise, support and direction. We value your prayers as we move ahead.

Carla Pierik, chair

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IN THE COMMUNITY

The 1619 Project. Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of the 1619 Project, will speak 7 pm April 13 at the Capitol Theatre. The 1619 Project is an ongoing initiative from The New York Times Magazine marking the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery and helping us learn about race.
The event is free; tickets are available at t.ly/B2tf.

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A Good Good-Bye
For Pastor Deborah DeMars Conrad

Sunday, May 1, 2022
11 am Worship Service
“Farewell and Godspeed”

12:15 pm Reception and Presentations

Please RSVP to the church office and let us know if you will attend in person or via Zoom
Zoom link is on the website calendar.

(For in person attendance masks and vaccination are required.)

If you would like to contribute to Deb’s Good Goodbye, you can give in all the regular ways; just write “honoring Deb” on the memo line.

March 26, 2022

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

WHAT OUR DENOMINATIONS TEACH — RACE + RACISM

A small group of Peoples people meets monthly to discuss statements our denominations produce or endorse about justice issues.

This month, we looked at two documents, a Joint Statement on Racism in the U. S. (https://t.ly/2jw79) and Ahmaud Arbery: A Call to Outraged Love (https://t.ly/YEp2).

The first document is a joint statement of the American Baptist Home Mission Society, Alliance of Baptists and the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America—Bautistas Por la Paz. We are a member of the Alliance; the others are Baptist organizations which are part of or partners with the Alliance and the American Baptist Churches, of which we are a member.

As Deb pointed out, a joint statement is, by its nature, likely to be on the weak side in order to accommodate varying opinions by those making it. Therefore, the language is not as strong as members of Peoples Church might like it to be. This document, from June 2020, addresses specific events of that time. Because it names particular people, it is clear that document was written in response to those events, not as a broad statement against racism in totality before this time. One might even think the idea of issuing such a statement had never occurred to the members until then.

The writing is not well done, especially when publishing what should be an important and profound document. There are easily correctable minor errors, as well as wording that could be far more powerful and clear. An example of the latter: calling on state and federal governments "to avoid the use of military as a response to quell peaceful protestors" would have far more impact if the call was to prohibit, rather than avoid, such a military response. There is certainly less wiggle room with prohibiting.

Similarly, the end of paragraph two: “The recurring assaults on black people and people of color (POC) prove again and again that these lives are not worthy.” Those assaults might suggest that Black lives are not worthy, but they certainly do not prove that idea.

A second issue was the lack of clarity about what church can and should do.

The 4th bullet point states:

“We call the leadership from all sectors of our society and the state and federal highest leadership to create a national table that starts meaningful dialogues with representa6ves from the grieving black communi6es to engage, united, in a deep, authen6c and sustainable social change to combat and dismantle racism and discrimination in all its forms.”

There is no mention of joining an already existing “table.” The dialogue started long ago, if one cared to learn and listen.

As in previous documents, this one ends with “thoughts and prayers,” just phrased a bit differently: “...it is essen6al to remember that grace and forgiveness heal...” AddiOonally, every potentially actionable bullet point begins “We call...” but there is no suggestion of how we will relay that call to those addressed.

The second statement, regarding the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, is undated, and large sections of it are now immaterial because the actions referenced have been completed. This makes the document confusing if the reader has no idea of the actual timeline involved. Perhaps the only still useful suggestion is the first point, which gives not only an action but the reason for it.

“Do not circulate the video of Mr. Arbery’s shooting. Seeing this video is a traumatic experience no one should be forced or surprised to have. We recognize those who circulated the video did so to call for justice. That purpose has been served.”

The other “calls to action” are not all written as actionable items, but as statements first and, finally, a suggestion for what to do. Again, this is writing that is correctable by simply starting with the appropriate verb:

Call. Contact. Pressure.

This document represent our denomination’s stand on a vital and timely topic. It should sound a clarion call to all members about where we stand and what we intend to do to counteract racism. Instead, it presents more as a “feel good because we have something addressing racism” paper, and is easily overlooked.

After this meeting, my husband, Tom, and I spent time discussing a question I came across in a book. It asked about how far we had looked into organizations that appear to be diverse but might not have actual practices or policies related to BIPOC.

So, I checked the Alliance of Baptists website and found this statement on diversity on their Who We Are page. “We are male and female, laity and clergy, people of diverse sexual orienta6ons, gender identities, theological beliefs, and ministry prac6ces.” While the leadership of of the Alliance is quite diverse, nowhere did I find any specific mention of racial diversity. Neither the joint statement nor the Arbery statement included a call to action by the member organizations to check their own practices; likewise, neither
statement prompted the Alliance even to add a mention of racial diversity in its own self description. There is a page dedicated to THRIVE, “a five-year project to ac6vely confront structures of racism in order to remove a crucial obstacle to congrega6onal thriving.” However, there is no date at all, so I cannot know if this is a recent development or something that is no longer being pursued.

I did not have the heart to check the websites of the other organizations.

Respectfully,
Mary Ellen Fox

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CREATION JUSTICE

My IRA is helping to destroy the earth!
How about yours?
I have an IRA from AIG.
I donate to several environmental groups.
Are these two statements in conflict? Yes they are!

Imagine my shock when reading a letter from one of the environmental groups to which I donate (Public Citizen) that AIG is one of the world’s largest insurers of coal, oil and gas with billions of dollars in fossil fuel investments. My IRA is fueling the climate crisis!

AIG’s support for the expansion of climate-wrecking fossil fuel production increases the frequency of wildfires, droughts, and other severe natural disasters. The AIG-insured Trans Mountain Pipeline actively harms Indigenous communities.

I was aware that banks lend money to fossil fuel companies, so I use a credit union. However, I was not thinking about insurance companies providing insurance to fossil fuel projects. Now I have to make a change regarding AIG.

Peoples Church has been looking at our investments and made changes. I am suggesting that we members need to look at where we have our money as well.

Let’s keep each other informed about which corporations are the bad actors and which are the good ones so that we can be consistent with our values. We need to make certain that our money is not destroying the earth.

— Leslie Cummings

(Peoples Church made the decision last year to move our investments to funds based on sustainability. You can read about our financial priori6es in our Financial Guiding Principles here: t.ly/Xi3f — ed.)

HOLY WEEK & EASTER WORSHIP

Palm Sunday. Gather at 11 am Sunday to ponder a parade and what it all might mean.

Maundy Thursday & Good Friday. We’ll gather online and in person each night to recount the last hours of Jesus’ life. Join us both nights to hear the whole story.

Easter Sunday. We will be online and in the house celebrating resurrection and considering a resurrected life. We’ll also receive new members and dedicate our new name to them. Bonnets not required.

IN THE COMMUNITY

The 1619 Project. Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of the 1619 Project, will speak 7pm April 13 at the Capitol Theatre.

The 1619 Project is an ongoing initiative from The New York Times Magazine marking the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery and helping us learn about race.

The event is free; tickets are available at t.ly/B2B

IN THE CONGREGATION
Links are on the church calendar: t.ly/ALHB.
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, Thursdays 7-8:30 pm by Zoom only, is finishing John Dominic Crossan's Resurrecting Easter: How the West Lost and the East Kept the Original Easter Vision. Need a book? We got you. We’ll also be figuring out what’s next. To be part of that conversation, log on!

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 shided 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!

Ministers Discretionary Fund. This fund helps us help folks. Jay Cummings administers this fund, and says it's getting a little low. If you can make a special gift, please do. All the regular ways, just mark it "discretionary fund.”

In transition news, Kendall Brown will be joining Jay in this ministry, for which we are thankful!

Flint Poet Laureate Semaj Brown has invited Peoples Church to read for the Virtual Poetry Gallery/Flint Reads Poetry, an exhibition of era poems read by groups. The recordings will be part of the permanent archives of the Academy of American Poets. (Readings are all pre-recorded, so no worries about needing multiple takes.)

If you could imagine reading a poem for posterity, email Linda Angus.

This is going to be so good!

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A Good Goodbye.

We are planning our goodbye for our amazing Pastor Deb. It will be a casual-but-important event following worship May 1. Circle your calendar and look for the invitation. If you would like to contribute to the gifts, food etc. please make your contribution to our Ministers Discretionary Fund. If you would like to participate
in the planning or work at the event, please call: 810 288 9036.

— Karen Eaton

March 13, 2022

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

FROM THE PASTOR

With thanks for your expressions of compassion since Mother's accident and death, I offer these post-tragedy thoughts on baptism and being people of faith.

Baptism was on my mind before, but more and different since I have kept vigil following a terrible accident left us waiting for my Mother to die. I actually wrote about baptism shortly before the terribleness (you can read that here).

Our Thursday book group had just finished reading Walter Brueggemann’s Tenacious Solidarity: Biblical Provocations on Race, Religion, Climate and the Economy, (Fortress Press, 2018), a collection of essays and lectures originally delivered or published from 2015-2018 or so, essays gathered under a theme of covenantal fidelity, hesed in Hebrew, often translated steadfast love, or what Brueggemann calls “tenacious solidarity.” The collection is a compelling invitation to rethink faith in a damaged world.

In chapter 19, late in the book, he begins to tie it all together with a call for “recovery of baptism as a world-changing sacrament.”

Have I ever once imagined that baptism is world-changing? I wondered. Can I imagine that my own baptism was even my-world-changing? And why dowe baptize?

We talked about it in our book group, folks from a bunch of traditions, folks with our own understandings, or our self-professed lack of understanding. Why do we baptize?

Tradition? Membership ritual? Guarantee of afterlife?

When we talked, I tried, as I always do, to keep us rooted in this world, this place of calling and need. We are people of Jesus, after all, invited to see something else and make a better world.

But what if we can see baptism as initiation into a worldview? I asked in that prior essay. Baptism back then was an overtly political act. Can it be again?

This week, I'm leaning into baptism as more than one thing.

Fifteen years ago, my Mother had a brain tumor, which, though benign, left her with substantial recovery work to do. In the before-surgery and the rehab post-surgery, she said exactly what she'd said so many times in my life — "it's in God's hands."

In the immediate aftermath of that earlier event, as various folks were working very hard to remove the last stubborn staples from her head prior to discharge, I sat with her, holding her hand and fighting back the tears for the pain I knew she was experiencing. She asked me to sing. I asked what I should sing and she chose a familiar song my young niece had sung recently with the children's
choir at their church:

Our God is an awesome god
who reigns from heaven above
with wisdom, power and love;
our God is an awesome god.

I sang, but you know my voice cracked and it was hard to get through it. For my Mother, though, it was a sure statement of her uncomplicated faith. She had been baptized in her Baptist church when she was 12, and had never wavered in her belief that she was in God's hands.

February 21, then, last month, just four days after a fall, as my family faced the excruciating task of instructing that her breathing tube be removed, I thought of that conviction, that song, that moment — and all the moments of her life of uncomplicated faith.

That night, among the songs and psalms and favorite scriptures I knew she loved, I read aloud to my unconscious Mother part of Jan Richardson's blessing for winter solstice:

This blessing
does not mean
to take the night away
but it knows
its hidden roads,
knows the resting spots
along the path,
knows what it means
to travel
in the company
of a friend.
So when
this blessing comes,
take its hand.
Get up.
Set out on the road
you cannot see.
This is the night
when you can trust
that any direction
you go,
you will be walking
toward the dawn.

As the next three days passed and Mother continued to breathe despite expectations, we reminded her of what she already knew, even if she wasn't conscious to know anything at all: that she could, with the same certainty she'd known all her life, fall into the arms of a loving God.

I don't know what all baptism means. But I know it is more than one thing.

I still believe it is a commitment to a particular kind of resistance to the powers of this world. I believe it is a call to a task of creating the world Jesus imagined.

But, for my Mother and her grieving family, it was also the grace to face the worst moment with just a little less despair.

I'm not saying baptism is a requirement for God's mercy; that's not how I know God. I'm not saying it is about saving a seat in some far-away heaven; I'm still not sure what I believe about that, and, as you've heard me say before, the ending of the television show The Good Place makes as much sense to me as anything else. My faith isn't nearly as uncomplicated as my Mother's.

But for a few days in the worst time of our life, there was, for us who would remain, the comfort of knowing that a baptized faith in the hesed of God was making my Mother's journey a little less disorienting for her.

God's tenacious solidarity. A gift in the hardest of times.
- pastor deb

Jan Richardson, The Cure for Sorrow: a book of blessings for times of grief. Orlando: Wanton
Gospeller Press. 2016, 2020.

---

TRANSITION NOTES

Jamie Schmidt is Moderator of Peoples Church, and will keep us updated on
transition things in this space.

Five years ago, when my family first visited then-Woodside Church, we were wounded. We thought we had made good choices for our little family, but the time in our former church had hurt us.

We hobbled into the doors of Woodside, on the advice of a friend who said, “Jamie, I think I’ve found the church for the rest of us.” “The rest of us”, as I understood it then and still do, are those striving for something more than feeling good on Sunday. Those looking for something other than memorized Bible verses and ladies' brunches. Those seeking out something other than judgment and meanness that can come with church.

So we found seats in the old building, in the small chapel. Now a friend, but
then a kind stranger, Dee gave us a bulletin and a gentle welcome. A very stylish woman greeted us, as we entered the room. Linda Angus still has a way that makes me feel welcomed.

I don’t remember each detail of the sermon on our first Sunday, but I remember hearing a wonderful laugh (at the appropriate time!) during the sermon. I still find Karen’s laughter at Deb’s jokes a highlight of my Sunday.
Our questions of a children’s area led us to Laura, who, with a broken arm and a calmness about her, was with the children but took time to share with us.

We came back, week after week. The sermons kept us focused. They are passionate, hard, beautiful, inspiring. But we also came back because we found a home with Dee and Karen, Linda and Laura, Jim and Kat. With Jay and Leslie, with Joe and Clif. We found a home for wounds to start to heal. We found a home to learn from Tom, from Linda Lee. From Carla
and Dale. We learned from and prayed with the not–named–but–loved countless others who have a great impact on our family's life.

It is dangerous to mention people because it’s not possible to mention everyone. But my point is this: Peoples Church is the people. We are Peoples Church! We are moving, without hesitation, into a new era. The Garland Declaration isn’t wavering and neither are we!

As the moderator, I am listening to the voices that know the history of this church as well as the voices of those that will be the future. Pastor Deb will spend the Easter season with us and will preach her last sermon here May
1st. After that, an interim pastor will be with us as the Search Committee works to find our next pastor. (That Search Committee is listed elsewhere in this edition. - ed.) This process will take 6-12 months. During that time we
will keep you informed of our process through email and text. Please be sure that you are signed up to receive these.

We are not alone. We have our partners, the United Church of Christ, the American Baptist Churches, and the Alliance of Baptists, sources of encouragement and of candidates when the time comes.

Please know, if you are a member of Peoples Church, you may be called upon to help in some capacity. Please keep an open mind and an open heart. We will have many needs as we navigate this together.

Please reach out to me or other leaders with questions and thoughts. Know we will not always have the answers or be able to share the answers, but we can listen and absorb. Let’s keep our eyes on the future. Let’s stay positive
through this experience and be gentle with each other. Someday, when we are on the other side of this, let’s be able to look back and marvel at proving how strong we really are!

Blessings,
Jamie

PEOPLES’ PASTORAL SEARCH COMMITTEE

Last month, Pastor Deb announced her resignation, as she has accepted a call to a congregation in Colorado. (You can read her resignation letter and leadership response here: t.ly/P3j7.) Her last Sunday is May 1. Since then, your leaders have been laying the groundwork for a successful transition.

Here are the folks guiding the pastoral search: Carla Pierik, chair; Linda Angus, Dee Johnson, Harvey, Adam Schmidt, Carol Higgins. Please hold these folks in a spirit of grace, and trust they will do what is righteous for this congregation — even when they can't tell you what's happening!

OUTREACH + SOCIAL ACTION (OSA)

We have received thanks for our support in 2021:

• Youth Arts: Unlocked received $250.00 in their 10th year of bringing the arts to court-involved youth. With such gifts they bring expression, learning and discovery to youth in the juvenile justice system through weekly visual arts, dance, theatre, poetry and yoga workshops.

• Motherly Intercession: $250.00 for serving children of parents currently or previously incarcerated. MI works to strengthen families by breaking the cycle of intergenerational incarceration. Some 45,000 children in Genesee County have a parent who is or has been incarcerated. A prison sentence for a parent punishes the children, who lose stability in their lives and often have no means of visitations. Motherly Intercession provides tailored support both during and
  following incarceration.

• Michigan Council for Youth Justice (MCYJ): $500 to work through policy, practice and legislation to reform an unjust system. This was the core group that passed “Raise the Age” requiring children be 18 years old before they can be imprisoned as adults. MCTJ works to reduce confinement and supports trauma-informed, racially equitable, socio-
  economically and culturally responsive, community-based solutions for Michigan’s justice-involved children, youth and young adults. It offers information and organizes actions. At its annual gala May 5 (at the Weber Center, Ann Arbor) it will announce plans for the 2022. We hope to have representatives there!

Finally, OSA will gather friends and members to attend the June 18 Poor People’s Campaign March on Washington DC. Watch for more info or contact Carla Pierik or Jay Cummings.

CREATION JUSTICE

Woodside is a member of the Michigan chapter of Interfaith Power and Light that envisions “a stable climate where humans live in right and
just relationship, interconnected with a healthy, thriving, natural world.” We support their mission to “inspire and mobilize people of faith and conscience to take bold and just action on climate change.”

One of IPL's top four critical climate policies in 2022 is Federal Rights specifically the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act
and the Freedom to Vote Act. “The John Lewis Voting Rights Act would protect voters against discriminatory changes to voting rules that target communities on the basis of race or background. The Freedom to Vote Act
would protect and expand voting rights, take steps to remove dark money from political campaigns, and limit partisan gerrymandering — all steps that help us tackle the climate crisis.”

Woodside's Creation Justice team members have already sent our letters to our Senators and President Biden to move quickly to pass the Freedom to Vote, the John R. Lewis Act. Won't you join us?

Go here to read more: t.ly/Z2Im. Or here to share your views: t.ly/S0Mj.

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IN THE CONGREGATION

Zoom links are on the church calendar here. Need more info? Just ask!

Adult Forum, 9:30 am Sundays, is beginning Mariama 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, Thursdays 7-8:30 pm by Zoom only, is just getting started on John Dominic Crossan's Resurrecting Easter: How the West Lost and the East Kept the Original Easter Vision. Need a book? We got you.

Vigil for Racial Justice is still gathering 1-2 pm Thurs, on the Genesee Courthouse lawn. But only if the temp is above 20º.

Thinking about Holy Week & Easter worship. There are several special services in April that we're planning for right now! If you want to read, pray, light a candle or participate in some other way, email Karen!

Worshipping in a COVID Time. Our stellar Covid Advisory Team has lifted the moratorium! If you're vaccinated, masked and willing to distance, join us in person Sundays at 11 am. Not feeling it? Find us live on Facebook and YouTube.

Facebook greeters needed! These are folks who welcome folks to worship on behalf of Woodside each week. You can serve from the comfort of home or in the sanctuary. Let us know and we'll train/orient you to the task. Willingness to jump in? Willing to try? Talk to Jamie.

New Text Alert System. We are shifting to a less expensive messaging service in the next two weeks. If you're in our church directory, you're all set. If you're not, watch for a new link on our website to sign up!

Alliance of Baptists is our next arena for agitation. Peoples Church is creating a short video compilation to introduce our plant-based resolution to the Alliance. We need several 30-90 second videos of individuals or families telling where they are in this journey toward plants, why it matters or how they began. Willing? We can help you record! If you're willing, please email Pastor Deb ASAP!

Ministers Discretionary Fund. This is the fund through which we help folks keep lights on, avoid eviction, pay for needed medical care or other emergencies. Jay Cummings administers this fund, and says it's getting a little low. If you can make a special gift, please do. All the regular ways, just mark it "discretionary fund."

New Member Info Sessions convene this Sunday, March 13 for a series of 3 meetings. If you're wondering if Peoples Church is right for you or whether this is the time to formally join, log on for these zoom meetings to find out more. We'll welcome new members on Easter Sunday.

Name Change Update. We are quickly becoming Peoples Church in the public and congregational imagination! These things take a little time, however. You'll see changes in our website, our social media, our email addresses, our banners and signs. Watch for it! And after a couple of weeks, let us know if you find the Woodside name lingering someplace.

Flint Poet Laureate Semaj Brown has invited Peoples Church to read for the Virtual Poetry Gallery/Flint Reads Poetry, an exhibition of era poems read by groups. The recordings will be part of the permanent archives of the Academy of American Poets. (Readings are all pre-recorded, so no worries about needing multiple takes.) If you could imagine reading a poem for posterity, email Linda Angus. This is going to be so good!

WHAT OUR DENOMINATIONS TEACH—GENDER EQUITY IN HEALTHCARE

Peoples Church "What Our Denominations Teach" series continued in January with a look at the Alliance of Baptists' statement regarding Women, Transgender, and Gender Non-Conforming Health and Reproductive Justice. The document can be found here. t.ly/WIou. Reflections here are from Mary Ellen Fox.

In our discussion, three major questions were considered:

1. What do these statements accomplish?

2. What did this document say, and what would we have liked for this statement to have said?

What are we being called/asked to do, if anything?

The statements of our denominations obviously do little if general membership is unaware of them. Having a statement that is unseen is
ineffective and unproductive.

Our initial reaction was that it was good to have a statement from the Alliance of Baptists promoting the importance of health and reproductive justice. The wording is earnest (recognize, affirm, value, committed) and asserts trusting people's ability and moral capacity to make decisions in their lives.

Further examination, however, led to the conclusion that what is left unsaid is far more important than what is written. There is no mention of what, exactly, any of the problems or barriers are that are in place. (There is a footnote link to an article from the National Center for Transgender Equality dated April 1, 2012 titled Transgender Sexual and Reproductive Health: Unmet Needs and Barriers to Care.) There is no mention of the vital role of the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) in the issue. The role of racial injustice in particular is given nothing more than a passing mention. The final paragraph ends "In addition to prayer, we pledge to work to protect and advance healthcare, human rights, and justice for all."

So, thoughts and prayers are covered but not one actionable suggestion or idea. However, in time-tested Peoples Church fashion, we came up with several ideas about what actions might be taken.

First, pressure your national legislators on health care and reproductive rights. As with every other issue, they need to hear from constituents.

• Write to the SCOTUS justices, as they are human and care about popular opinion (that may be open for debate, but you get the idea—apply pressure.). t.ly/C6UW

• Collect signatures for the ballot proposal to make abortion legal in Michigan (it currently is illegal here, but superseded federally by Roe v Wade). This ballot measure would make it legal regardless if Roe v Wade is overturned or further weakened. t.ly/u7GM

• Look into the potential to forgive medical debt related to gender health care issues. Work to influence companies we (congregationally or individually) are invested in to participate or begin such an action.

• Read related material, possibly including Handbook for a Post-Roe America by Robin Marty. I also saw an Amazon link for The Care We Dream Of: Liberatory and Transformative Approaches to LGBTQ+ Health (Zena Sharman, 2021), but have no personal knowledge of this book.

Our affiliated church documents are only as good as we, the members of said denominations, make them.

Our next conversation
7 pm Tuesday, Mar 22 via Zoom
We will discuss two more statements from the Alliance of Baptists.

We'll read:

• Joint Statement on Racism in the US (2020) t.ly/ruNV

• Ahmad Arbery: A Call to Outraged Love (2020) t.ly/xD3V

Hope to see you there.
—Mary Ellen

March 6, 2022

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

You may have noticed a few changes!

We are thrilled to begin the transition to our new name. This first edition of Peoples Press is one of those steps, replacing Woodside World. It may be a bit ad hoc for a few weeks or so. But, do watch for the latest news and perspectives from Peoples Church of Flint!

—Patti Pagels

In the 1960s, First Baptist Church (c 1853) began doing business as Woodside Church, a reflection of the times, its mission and sensibilities, and its new location on East Court Street—next to several acres of woods.

In 2014, Woodside called Pastor Deb Conrad and began a years-long process of redefining its mission, clarifying its community presence, and coming to terms with the changing realities of both Woodside and of Flint. In 2018, Woodside left East Court Street and, after a hiatus in Central Park, landed in Carriage Town just 2 blocks from where it
first built in 1872.

The move away from the woods was a metaphor of sorts for its move away from the bucolic, pastoral “suburban” life. With its new mission tagline, “Joyfully Defiant for the Sake of a Just World,” the congregation leadership began another conversation about whether a new name might better suit this congregation as it emerged prepared for ministry in the 21st century.

The Statement of Faith, the newly drawn Garland
Declaration, and the new location all seemed to point to a congregation committed to the well-being of people—not simply individual people who crossed its path (although there is that), but a world of people drowning in the

excesses of capitalism and dying from lack of the things that hold life together. The congregation, following the lead of Jesus, of Isaiah, of scripture, had put the Common Good at the center of its life.
“Peoples” has a long history of indicating a care for the oppressed and downtrodden ones. Examples came to mind: The Peoples Law Office in Chicago that defended the Black Panthers; Peoples Grocery in Memphis, where Ida B Wells witnessed racist hatred and began her journalistic crusade against lynching; Peoples Clinic in Austin, where so many sought free health care in an unaffordable economy; The Peoples Water Board in Detroit, which has been fighting for years for safe and accessible water, protecting people from the ravages of corporate indifference.

So this new name, Peoples Church of Flint, then, is first a reflection of a long history of this congregation caring for people, standing for justice, working for well-being; and second a restatement of our commitment to what is right—the vision of God of a world that works for all.

Welcome to Peoples Church of Flint!

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Leadership Response to Deb's Resignation

Hello Peoples Church/Woodside Family:

There is another change at our doorstep, or actually, at our garage door-step.

After 8 years in the midst of us, blessing us with hundreds of sermons, hours of fellowship, and years of service, Pastor Deb is moving to another congregation to share her gifts. She will be opening new eyes and hearts, she will be leading new people to a new way of looking at church. A church that will fit anyone willing to ask questions, do the work, and just love. We are better for the sermons, fellowship, service. We are stronger, bolder, and more confident.

Peoples Church/Woodside has a responsibility to our community, the world community, ourselves, our faith. Your leadership team is steady. I have spoken to Cheryl Burke in the UCC Michigan Conference office, and we will be working with them, as well as the American Baptists, to help resource our interim pastor, as we take time to breathe, pray, and look to our future. We have plenty of time to share our thoughts, discuss our needs, and then go forward with a search committee. But for now, let’s celebrate Pastor Deb and her ministry.

If you have any questions, thoughts, or needs, please feel free to reach out. The entire leadership team is listed in the Annual Report. As the moderator, I welcome your communication. You can email me (natesmamajamie@gmail.com) or text (810-287-8308), and you can always call (but I might have to call you back).

Blessings,
Jamie Schmidt, Moderator

Letter from Pastor Deb

Epiphany 2022

My dear Woodsiders:

Eight years ago, we said yes to each other and began the work of finding Woodside’s path for a new era. The work we have done together has been inspiring, exhausting, exhilarating and satisfying. Woodside, forever the First Baptist Church of Flint, and now to be “Peoples Church,” is well-positioned for another generation of joyful, spiritual defiance.

Throughout all this, Hannah and I have lived separate lives, doing our best to be family across too many miles.

It is time for a change.

There is a church in Colorado facing many of the same challenges that we have tackled here, and they and I believe we could do similarly affirming work together. They have called; I have said yes. Hannah and I will move to Denver together this spring, a great source of joy for us despite some fear and sadness.
Some of you may worry that my departure will break Woodside’s momentum, stalling or even undoing the work we’ve done. This is not so! One of the things I love about this congregation is your willingness to imagine, to be involved; you have learned to trust and to take risks together. There is stellar leadership here; the congregation is in good hands.

In a new member info session last year, someone asked what would become of Woodside if I left. Jamie responded, with no hesitation or anxiety: “We know who to call. We know what to do. We’ll be fine.” I was so gratified and proud to hear that confidence, as I have been so appreciative of Jamie’s organizational leadership these past couple of years. (I know she has one more eligible year to serve as Moderator, and I hope she will say yes!)

The board is strong; the staff is skilled. (And I am confident we will shortly have the admin seat filled.) The worship/tech team has grown in strength and clarity these past couple of COVID years and I have complete trust they will continue to lead this congregation in grace. All the other things will continue to fall into place.

We still have a bit of time together. (The board and I will figure out when my last Sunday will be.) There will be priorities to set, a future to see, transitions to arrange, emotions to feel, and memories to enjoy. There is also a new name to establish, a patio transformation to move forward (Peoples Plaza!), and other endings and beginnings to tend. There is time for all that.

For this moment, I want to give you my thanks.

When I came to Woodside, as with many of you, I was not sure about church, not sure about my life as a pastor. I was new in the UCC tradition and the Baptists were not even on my radar. You have helped me grow, helped reshape my faith in life-giving ways, made me a better preacher and taught me to have hope for the church again. You made a safe space for truth-telling and question-raising, and we are better followers of Jesus because of that.

So, thank you. My life is richer because you invited me to serve among you. Thank you.

Now let me remind you again of the StoryPeople art in my office, a piece called Awakening given me by board members during one of our first retreats together:

In those days, we finally chose to walk like giants
& hold the world in arms grown strong with love
& there may be many things we forget in the days to come,
but this will not be one of them.

I give you thanks for these eight years, and I commend to you the work of walking like giants: Joyfully defiant for the sake of a just world.

With deep love and abiding respect,
Pastor Deb

January 28, 2022

Woodside World

NEWS of CONGREGATION + COMMUNITY

Joyfully Defiant for the Sake of a Just World

a congregation of the United Church of Christ, the Alliance of Baptists, and the American Baptist Churches

MORE CREATION JUSTICE…

It's a new year, a good time to reflect on the earth that sustains us and awes us with its beauty, majesty, and wonder.

But the earth is also telling us in no uncertain terms that it is suffering. And there's no denying that we humans are to blame. It is not enough to bemoan the state of creation; we must accept responsibility for the health of the planet by making some tough changes to how we live.

It is true that it's the big corporations and fossil fuel companies that bear the bigger responsibility for changing their practices and that will have the greatest impact on
the dramatic effects of climate change, but we are the consumers of their products, of the food, energy, and stuff that drives the corporate machine.

What we buy matters. How much we buy matters. How much and what type of energy we use matters. Our food choices matter. Our vacation choices matter. Our consumption choices are a reflection of our values, and they matter.

At Woodside we are committed to living in a way that honors the world we live in, the very world that enables life itself.

The board has committed to using the Creation Justice Guiding Principles as a tool for how to live sustainably as a church community. These principles are now posted alongside our Garland Declaration and our Financial Guilding principles here: t.ly/77m5.

We invite you to look this document over, to hold us accountable, to suggest improvements, and to join us in our journey to sustainable living.

The Creation Justice team would love to hear from you, or better yet, have you join us in finding new ways to challenge ourselves to live better and to love doing it!

If you'd like to join the work of the Creation Justice Team, email Carla!

A WOODSIDE ORG CHART, SORT OF

It's a new year, and we are constantly welcoming new people, so maybe it's a good time to refresh our memories about how Woodside is structured for mission and ministry. We want everyone to be able to access the right people and resources,
so, here goes:

We are a "congregational" body, which means our denominations exist to support and collaborate with us, but not to dictate or compel anything.
We are guided by our pastor and governed by our Board of
Directors as we "live Jesus' way of social justice."

Our Officers and their areas of responsibility:

Jamie Schmidt, Moderator (President). Jamie works with Deb to keep all the plates spinning. She presides over the board and congregation meetings and is ex oficio on almost everything.

Karen Eaton, Vice Moderator. Karen supports Jamie, but is also chair of our Personnel Committee. If you ever have a staff thing
to discuss, she's the one.

Joe Eufinger, Treasurer. Joe, just as you might guess, works with our bookkeeper Jerry to keep us on budget, to mind our financial business and help make possible all the things we dream about. Joe also chairs the Finance Committee.

Courtney Cody, Clerk. Courtney is responsible for minutes and records, plus certifying our membership roster each year. She also chairs the Nominating Committee. (Which may be another reason we're telling you all this: spring elections are coming.)

Dale Emery, Director of Buildings & Grounds, tends to the well-being of our physical space.

Carla Pierik, Director of Outreach & Social Action, including things like Creation Justice and our weekly racial justice vigil.

Jay Cummings, Director of Church & Ministry, which is all things related to faith formation, congregation care and programming.

PLUS, WE HAVE STAFF!

Tom is our music leader
Samantha is our worship production coordinator
Lazarre is our custodian & building manager.

So, there's Polity, Pt 1. Woodside tries to be non-controlling, to make space for folks to get involved. And now you know who to find if you have a need, an issue or an idea!

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IN THE CONGREGATION

Zoom links are on the church calendar here. Need more info? Just ask!

Adult Forum, 9:30 am Sundays, by Zoom only, is reading Allan
Boesak's Dare We Speak of Hope?: Searching for a Language of Life in
Faith and Politics. Let us know if you need a book.

Thursday Evening Study Group, Thursdays 7-8:30 pm by Zoom
only, continues our consideration of Brueggemann's Tenacious
Solidarity: Biblical Provocations on Race, Religion, Climate, and
the Economy.

Vigil for Racial Justice is still gathering 1-2 pm Thurs, on the
Genesee Courthouse lawn. We'll be there anytime the temp is
above 20º. Can't make it to Flint? Choose a courthouse near you,
and sit with your sign for an hour. Virtual solidarity!

Year-end notes: Jerry has reminded us that gifts for 2021 can be
remitted until January 16. Just date your check with the year you
prefer it be counted — 2021 or 2022.

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WORSHIPPING IN A COVID TIME

We're now in Omicron season, which means, for now, we are streaming only — no worshippers in the sanctuary except the worship leaders.

If you want to be a reader, please let us know. We want to include anyone who wants to participate. Vaccinated and boosted only, please!

Please, if you're experiencing symptoms when it is your turn to read, stay home & call Pastor Deb (502-550-1236). We're ok covering last
minute changes, and want everyone to be safe and well.

IN THE COMMUNITY

Creation Care and Indigenous Peoples. The Great Lakes Creation Care Collaborative hosts Treaties Broken, Earth and Lives in Crisis: How Do We Change the Narrative for the Land and All Its People?

7:30-9pm EST, Jan. 13.

Frank Bibeau, tribal attorney for Honor the Earth and the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, will speak on the treaties that continue to be broken by white settlements and corporations working with the U.S. government.

More info and registration link here: t.ly/KhEa.

Tribute to Dr. King. The 43rd annual citywide tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr is 6 pm Jan 13.

The event is completely virtual. The 2022 theme is America's Pandemic: Distrust, Hatred & Racism. The keynote speaker is Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Tickets are $25/person, available at mcceventsonline.com.

Chevy Commons ("Chevy in the Hole"). Flint Neighborhoods United and the Flint River Watershed Coalition will host a public discussion from 6:30-8:30 pm on Jan 19 about this community park.

You can watch livestream on YouTube (t.ly/DzUW) or participate via zoom. For a zoom link, email parkswebteam@gcparks.org for a link.

A Change is Gonna Come. The Music of Sam Cooke starring Bradd Marquis, depicts the life and music of one of America’s most iconic and
talented performers.

Feb 5 at the Capitol Theatre. A soulful performance, a live big band.

Tickets & info: t.ly/1Nzl.

IN OUR DENOMINATIONS

Make Congress Do Something! The United Church of Christ hosts a
webinar 1 pm EST Jan 12 called Getting Congress to Act: Strategies,
Tactics and Vision for 2022.

There is no cost to attend.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Mchigan-13, will be among the guests and speakers.

To participate, register here: t.ly/qTFyly/qTFy.

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HOLIDAY THANKS

Gifts for Children: Voices for Children has expressed thanks "for
blessing so many children this holiday season."

"We were overwhelmed by your kindness and generosity! Without you and your congregation we couldn't provide such a wonderful Christmas experience to our children."

Woodside Staff. Thanks have also been received from staff for the
kindness and well-wishes of the season. It is good to work at Woodside
Church!

And for our worship leaders, from Pastor Deb:

Woodside has a wonderful and rich worship life, observing the seasons and trying to keep it all fresh and inspiring. I am thankful for the many
folks who said yes when asked to read, sing, light a candle, say prayers nor something else. Karen continues to design our altar; Adam and Cory
lead our technical life (while still coaching Samantha on our system); Tom engages musicians and finds songs to include; Linda Angus writes
our prayers each week and curates our poetry readings.

It is a gift to work with such dedicated and talented people, who clearly care about the spiritual life of this congregation!

NOT TOO LATE FOR A CHRISTMAS OFFERING

The Board of Directors has designated 2021 Christmas Offerings to our patio project, our vision of a place where people can gather, where people who struggle and people with reasonably well put together lives can bump into each other and begin to feel like neighbors, where people can find the community love and support they need.

It will include space for sitting or napping, a source to charge phones or other devices, water access for folks to fill bottles, trees and loveliness, shelter from weather, a place to just be when there never seems to be a place to be.

We think this is a reflection of the anti-pharaoh intentions of scripture, of Jesus, of Woodside. An oasis of sorts, an equalizing space to express our neighborliness. This is something we can do, something we can offer. We’re even planning to reinvigorate our bay doors, to let us enjoy indoor/outdoor events — health clinics, poetry readings, live music, blessing the animals, community meetings.

We have garnered grants so far of $19,500 toward a goal of $50,000 (restoring the bay doors is the largest expense) and hope for other grants and gifts.

If you'd like to contribute, you can in all the usual ways (link on the website) and designate "Christmas" or "Patio."

— Thank You!

January 21, 2022

WOODSIDE WORLD

NEWS of CONGREGATION + COMMUNITY

Joyfully Defiant for the Sake of a Just World

a congregation of the United Church of Christ, the Alliance of Baptists, and the American Baptist Churches

ABOUT THAT PLANT-BASED RESOLUTION…

Maybe you've noticed that Woodside has been learning more and more about creation justice (environmental justice) in the past few years. Maybe you've noticed we've been paying attention to racial justice, too, and
economic justice.

There is a place where all of this comes together, a thing we can do that affects all of those and more. It is in "plant-based consumption."
Woodsiders are leaning into this in a variety of ways and at a range of paces. We've written a resolution for our denominations to embrace and learn more about this vital justice issue. The Michigan Conference UCC is avoiding the conversation (but we're still working on it); the American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago has just formed a Prophetic Witness team, which I hope
will soon take up this cause.

The Alliance of Baptists is on our minds today.

The Alliance has expressed a willingness to put this before the member congregations at our annual meeting in April. Yay! Carla and I have said yes to Woodside's leadership in this outreach. Specifically, we want to create a very short video telling the Alliance what we are doing and how we are doing it, inviting others to take their own first steps, and encouraging the Alliance to adopt a statement encouraging this lifestyle change for justice.

For some folks, that means just trying new animal-free recipes and getting used to the idea. Others are taking steps toward becoming vegan or vegetarian. And some of us are almost fully vegan, having given up all meat, eggs and dairy products, and working to eliminate honey, beeswax, wool, leather, lanolin and other animal things. (It's a lot to think about, I know, and hard to get it 100 percent right, so we're all just taking it at our own pace.)

Are you in that range someplace? Thinking about it? Learning more? Experimenting? Embracing?

Yeah? Great! Would you like to be in our video? I'm thinking several folks with 20-30 second statements about what you're doing, why it matters and what benefits you experience from it.

If you can imagine participating in this, please email me! We have a deadline of mid-March, and this is an opportunity too good to miss.

With you on a justice road, — pastor deb

IN THE CONGREGATION

Zoom links are on the church calendar here. Need more info? Just ask!

Adult Forum, 9:30 am Sundays, by Zoom only, is reading Allan Boesak's Dare We Speak of Hope?: Searching for a Language of Life in Faith and Politics. Let us know if you need a book.

Thursday Evening Study Group, Thursdays 7-8:30 pm by Zoom only, continues our consideration of Brueggemann's Tenacious Solidarity: Biblical Provocations on Race, Religion, Climate, and the Economy.

Vigil for Racial Justice is still gathering 1-2 pm Thurs, on the Genesee Courthouse lawn. But only if the temp is above 20º.

Thinking about Lent & Easter worship. There are several special services in March and April that we're planning for right now!

If you want to read, pray, light a candle or participate in some other way, email Karen!

Worshipping in a COVID Time. For now, we're worshipping from home, but watch this space. As Omicron settles, we hope to invite folks into the sanctuary once again!

New Member Info Sessions. Thinking it's time to join Woodside? We'll have a series of sessions to help you figure it out, all the

Sundays in March, 1 pm, via Zoom. Register here.

Christmas Eve worship. We've learned that our Christmas Eve worship was removed from YouTube for "violations of community standards." While we figure out how we've offended, that worship video has been posted on our website. t.ly/Y1i3. (Offending isn't always a bad thing, we know.)

IN THE COMMUNITY

BLM Flint needs support! If you can join this work for racial justice by financial gifts, you can send them to Woodside; if you have time to volunteer, let us hook you up.

Free COVID Tests. A 15-second sign-up will get 4 home tests delivered to your door. It's easy peasy. Use this link: t.ly/oBLd.

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CONGREGATIONAL MEETING

Woodside members meet via Zoom 2 pm Sun, Jan 30 to hear a final presentation and vote on a new name! Registration required. Sign up here.