and your favourite Stoic Exercise is …. The Retrospective Evening Meditation
You may know that our Tri-Tip/Bratwurst Ministry sells Tri-Tip Sandwiches and Bratwurst Sausages at the street faire every Thursday afternoon. What you may not know is that the profits from those sales support these projects and charities:
- The Fullerton Crop Hunger Walk
- Heifer International
- Loch Leven Camp & Conference Center
- Orange County Habitat for Humanity
- First Christian Church Hot Meal Ministry
- Week of Compassion Disaster Relief
- First Christian Church Scholarship Fund
- Disciples of Christ Disciples Volunteering Fund which helps send members of our congregation to places like Loveland, Colorado, to help victims of disaster
You may know that our Hot-Meals Ministry serves nutritious meals to anyone who is hungry at 6pm every Wednesday night in our Fellowship Hall.
What you may not know is that this ministry has been in service for close to 30 years and is shared by St Paul’s Lutheran, Fullerton Methodist, and Fullerton Congregational Church as well as a new group of volunteers from various churches and agencies in the Fullerton area.
Vital, but involving a minority of the worshipping congregation
These are vital and powerful ministries for which First Christian Church is well known in the community.
But as vital and powerful as they are, they involve a small minority of our worshiping congregation. Our priority of Participating in Hand’s-On Ministry is to get more and more of our congregation involved in face-to-face ministries with “the least of these” in our community.
Our strategy for accomplishing this is not to create more ministries based out of our church building. The strategy is to encourage congregation members to take advantage of volunteer opportunities with already existing ministries — ministries hosted by the many other churches and non-profit organizations reaching out to “the least of these” in exciting ways.
So we have set a goal that, by September, we will post a list of volunteer opportunities in Fullerton and the surrounding area on our church website. We invite you not only to take advantage of these opportunities but also to help us keep the list up to date. Hopefully, we can engage as many of our congregation as possible in a ministry that brings them face-to-face with “the least of these.”
50% of our time
Three weeks ago, I shared a quote from a wise man who said of the church, “50% of our time and energy and resources are worth investing in those who are not here.” This sentiment is at the core of our three priorities for the next six months: Providing Excellence in Worship, Developing a Culture of Invitation, and Participating in Hands-On Service.
Slogans
In support of this sentiment, I have been suggesting slogans for each of our three priorities.
The slogan for Providing Excellence in Worship is: “First Christian Church — where encounters with God are not only ordinary, they’re extraordinary.”
The slogan for Developing a Culture of Invitation is: “First Christian Church — where invitations not only happen on occasion, they happen on every occasion.”
The slogan for Participating in Hands-On Service is: “First Christian Church — where hands not only give to the needy, they serve the least of these.” (I am less happy with this one. I am open to your edits and suggestions.)
We have three slogans. I pray that you will join me in any way you can to make these slogans more than words — to make them come alive and in time become part of our very DNA as a congregation. Then, we too may hear the words of our Lord:
“Truly, I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”
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