In thisissue. . .

! Homeless vets ministry a go!

! We Are Together...at a ball game

! Another common table potluckmeal coming in June

! An urgent need for your help in aJune 1 fundraiser

! Core and More Bible study update

! We’ve submitted our design forthe new 7th Street lighted sign

! New information directorycoming

! Go with us to Great America!

! Renew your Knoll Newssubscription!

! This and more in your KNOLLNEWS!

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Published by: First Christian Church

(Disciples of Christ)On the Web: www.fccem.org

Phone: (309) 755-6552

Editor: Bill Coley

First Christian Church May 15, 2015East Moline, Illinois Volume 40, Number 5

And from Bill. . . by Bill Coley

“We’ve seen this

trend in our owncongregation, in

the anecdotalreports of friendsand neighbors,and in mediacontent both

broadcast andonline. ”

A new Pew Research survey, the organization’sfirst major review since 2007 of what it calls theAmerican religious “landscape,” includes manychallenging results:

! The percentage of Americans who call

themselves “Christian” has fallen by eight

points, from 78% in ‘07, to 70% today

! The percentage of Americans who call

themselves “religiously unaffiliated,” a

category that includes atheists and agnostics,

has risen seven points, from 16% to 23%

! More than a third of Americans

age 18-33 consider themselves

unaffiliated

! All totaled, there are

approximately 56 million

“religiously unaffiliated”

Americans in the U.S. today

The decline of the role of religion inour culture is on display amongcertain segments of the AmericanChristian community. Both mainlineProtestants (denominations such asours and the United MethodistChurch) and Catholics now claim 3%less of the nation’s population amongtheir ranks. Estimates are that eventhough the country’s population hasgrown since 2007, there are today fivemillion fewer mainline Protestants than eight yearsago.

And all the momentum is in the direction of thisdownturn’s continuation, perhaps even acceleration.

That’s discouraging, isn’t it? A faith so profoundand life-changing as ours is in serious decline in, ofall place, the nation on the earth that is home tomore of its adherents than any other. Why?

The report cites “generational replacement” as themain factor. That’s a ten dollar phrase that simplymeans younger generations are not as religiously

connected as older generations. Hence, as oldergenerations pass, an increasingly greater percentageof the population is comprised of little or noreligious affiliation.

But there are other factors, including residualeffects of massive failures both by governmental(Vietnam and Watergate) and church leaders (thetelevangelist scandals of the 1980's). The youngpeople disaffected by those events as they occurredare today the parents of children who, as a result,more likely than ever grew up in a religiously

unaffiliated home.

As a result, the composition of thehuman resource stockpiles that feedthe religious productions lines in ourcountry have changed dramatically; asa result, so has the composition of theAmerican religious landscape.

The numbers in the latest Pew studyare discouraging, but not surprising.We’ve seen this trend in our owncongregation, in the anecdotal reportsof friends and neighbors, and in mediacontent both broadcast and online.The world is changing. Christianity isstill among the great world religions,and is clearly the most prevalentreligion in the U.S. but it is also areligion in crisis.

The way in which these numbers are encouraging isthat they have the power to wake us up, to rattleour spiritual cages sufficiently to regain ourattention which was lost as myopically we wentabout our churchly connections focused only onourselves or our particular congregations. The factis there are lots of people in our community whodon’t know Jesus, or no longer have an activerelationship with him. The existence of those peopleis a reminder of our mission, of the fact that whenJesus talked about the fields ready for harvest, hewas talking about our time and our towns.

N e w s Y o u C a n U s eTeam guiding ministry to homeless vets tohold organizational meetingWe’ve received enough additional information about the needs of QuadCity-area homeless or newly-housed veterans to conclude that there IS aneed for the expanded ministry we’re about to establish. But the expandedministry will collect and deliver cleaning supplieswhich the vets will collect at the Outreach Center inRock Island, rather than personal care items the likesof which we have collected the last two years.

Our expanded ministry will create community-wideefforts to collect various essential home cleaningproducts which we will then deliver to the OutreachCenter on a regular basis. How frequently we askthe community to donate items and how often we will make deliveries ofcompleted collections are among the decisions that will be made by theministry team that will direct our efforts, a team that will meet for the firsttime on Thursday, May 28, at 6:30 p.m. Currently seven people haveexpressed an interest in serving on this team, but given the work the teamwill have to organize, there is plenty of room for you!

People have also signed up to donate items and to help with particularprojects of the ministry (such as to receive donations from the communityduring collection periods or to take supply collections to the OutreachCenter). If you want to help make this ministry a success, sign those sheets.If you want to help organize and oversee the ministry, come to the meetingon May 28.

Updates on roof and sidewalk repairsRecent rains have compelled our roofing contractor to delay makingadditional repairs to our flat roof until the summer. Early this spring thecompany applied an effective sealant that stopped the leaks in the lobby.Additional work will done in July or so, and possibly then be followed byadditional work later. We will let you know as we find out more.

And we still expect the installation of new sidewalk squares in the walk infront of our main west entrance. At the moment we know who will do thework, we know his bid, and we know the work is being done as a gift tothe church. What we don’t know is when. We will keep you posted.

Another reminder

about newsletter

subscriptions

Last year we moved toa subscription-basedmodel of Knoll News

delivery for people notactively connected to

our church. In responseto that change, several

people provided adonation to cover thecost of the issues theyreceived. Many have

already “renewed”their subscriptions for

the next twelve months.If you are among those

people and have notdone so yet, please do

so soon. After thedistribution of our June

issue, we will reviewour mailing list forpossible removals.

N e w s Y o u C a n U s e N e w s Y o u C a n U s eWe Are Together... at the old ball game!Our “We Are Together” event in May is a 6:00 p.m. River Banditsbaseball game at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport on Saturday,May 23. We’ve already ordered tickets for the fifteen people whoexpressed interest, but you’re welcome to join us! Purchase your gametickets on your own then be sure to look for our group in the lower bowl,likely close to one of the dugouts.

People in our group should know that we will pick up our tickets at the willcall window around 4:45 p.m. and that gates to the stadium will open at

5:00 p.m. That’s an important bit of information if you’reinterested in the bobble head giveaway promotion that

the River Bandits are offering that night to the first1,500 fans through the gates.

Last year’s night at the ballpark was a lot of fun, anexperience we hope to repeat next weekend.

We were together... to clean!Our We Are Together event in April was a three day clean up of thechurch, primarily inside the main building, but also in the shed along thenorth side of our drive.

Taking advantage of the annual spring cleanup collection offered by the cityof East Moline, during sessions held on two weekday evenings and aSaturday morning our teams removed two flat-bed trailers’ worth ofunwanted items to the curb, installed flat screen TVs on the walls of twolower level classrooms, all but cleared out the furnace room of items thatdidn’t belong in that space, and made dramatic changes/improvements tothe third lower level classroom. Weather conditions and the number ofpeople who volunteered their time to the cleanup made it impossible to doany work on our grounds, but another team has been workingindependently on that project.

We thank the people who cleaned and we praise God for the progress theyhelped us make!

Update on kitchen

service for school

food program

Last month weprovided information

about the possible useof our building as a

food preparationstation for an after-

school ministry ofChurch of Peace in

Rock Island.

We then met with theEast Moline health

inspector, who gaveour kitchen a better-

than-expectedevaluation, though

there are changes wewill have to make if

we are to be certifiedfor the after school

ministry’s use.

We’re currentlywaiting for additional

feedback from thehealth inspector

before makingdecisions about ourinvolvement in theministry. We willkeep you posted.

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Another Pizza Ranch fundraiser is near!We have just learned that we are scheduled for a second fund-raising nightat the Davenport Pizza Ranch restaurant in Davenport.

Last year a team from our church earned us a donation of more than $400by bussing tables, delivering specialty pizzas, refilling drinks, andwelcoming guests (the donation we receive iscomprised of all tips plus 10% of therestaurant’s receipts during our threehour stint). We expect to do aswell this year when we serve from5:00-8:00 p.m. on Monday, June1.

To make this work, we need a team of 8-10people age 12 and older. The work is not difficult. The Pizza Ranch staff isvery helpful. And the restaurant’s clientele make great company. All in all,it’s an easy and satisfying way for us to raise valuable funds for ourchurch’s ministry.

If you’re able and willing to serve on the team, contact the church office orsign up at Mission Central on one of the next two Sundays. If serving onthe team isn’t your thing, then consider having dinner at Pizza Ranch onJune 1 during our three hours, and thereby supporting our cause as acustomer.

July 31 trip to Great AmericaHere’s your first notice of our annual amusement park trip, this year’sscheduled for Friday, July 31, when we’ll again head for Great America

Park near Chicago. We leave early in the morning and return thesame day, so you only have to pack enough “stuff” to

get you back home. In past years we’ve takenSaturday trips; this year we’re hoping for a bit

small crowd on Friday.

If you’re interested, look for a sign upsheet coming soon to Mission Central.

A timeless word

for our time 1 God is our

refuge and strength, always ready to help

in times of trouble. 2 So we will not

fear whenearthquakes come and the mountains

crumble into the sea. 3 Let the oceans

roar and foam. Let the mountains

tremble as the waterssurge!

4 A riverbrings joy to

the city of ourGod,

the sacredhome of theMost High.

5 God dwellsin that city; it

cannot bedestroyed.

From the very breakof day, God will

protect it. 6 The nations are

in chaos, and their kingdoms

crumble! God’s voice

thunders, and the earth melts!

7 The LORD ofHeaven’s Armies is

here among us; the God of Israel is

our fortress.

Psalm 46.1-7 (NLT)

Recent ConcernsJoan Mercer - Scheduled for thyroid removalsurgery in June. Colleen Kannenberg - Home following carecenter and hospital staysLois Tallman - Currently a patient at UnityPoint Medical, Rock Island campus

HomeboundEthel Dawson - 2638 5th St. Ct. East MolineFran Littlewood - Rosewood Care Ctr - rm 219, MolineLois Tallman - Ft. Armstrong - 1900 3rd Ave, #611, Rock IslandAnn White - Illini Restorative Care - rm. 26, Silvis

U p d a t e s

Participation report

Here we report weekly participation numbers for worship and our Sunday groups. Welook forward to the increases of these numbers as the transformation of our churchcontinues.

Date

Sunday

Worship

Sunday

Groups

April 19 39 7

April 26 29 17

May 3 27 14

May 10 38 12

Finances through April 2015Income. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $21,182.00Expenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $23,506.40Were income on pace w/2015 budget . . . . . . . . . . $23,008.82

Financial Situation

Perhaps this year’s mostconsistent financial trend

for us has been the factthat our giving has

outpaced last year’sgiving, but out giving

has not kept pace witheither our budget or our

actual expenses; thelatter of those two trends

is reported in thismonth’s report. The

former of those trends isreported in the fact thatas of today, giving this

year is up 12% over thistime last year. So our

needs continue, and Godcontinues to provide.

A sad note

We are sad to report theMay 15 death of PatSullivan, Nicole and

Andrew Sullivan’s father.We praise God for Pat’s

courageous battleagainst cancer, and for

God’s promise ofeverlasting life for Pat,and presence for Pat’s

children.

Serving in June. . .

Welcome Team: PraiseLand Team:

Sheri, Kate McBride The PraiseLand team

Communion Prayers: LifeSOUNDS:

Bev Hartman Shari Coley

Preparing Communion: Serving Communion:

Marsha Jones Shari Coley, Deb Langley

Providing Childcare: Kim Kapple/Deb Langley/Bonnie Thompson/Marsha Jones

June BirthdaysLois Tallman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Abby Williams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Shelby Ledbetter.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Jim Karstens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

June AnniversariesBill & Sheri McBride.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Jerry & Bonnie Thompson. . . . . . . . . . . . 30

REMINDER: We can't tell people about yourbirthday or anniversary unless you tell us.Contact the church office with your information.

NOTE: If you subscribe to the Knoll News via

donation to our church and haven’t submitted

a new donation for the next 12 issues, please

do so soon.

“Core and More” Biblestudy group progressSince our Core and More Bible study group isin the final year of its epic 4-1/2 year journeythrough the entire Bible, we’re giving monthlyupdates on the group’s progress.

The group has three sessions left in Acts, andthen will move to the letters and epistles of theNew Testament, beginning with four sessions inRomans.

Expectations regarding the group’s completionof its journey have recently changed. At themoment the expectation is for 31 more groupsessions – 157 have been held to-date – plus acatered meal to celebrate the achievement.Those expectations move the group’scompletion of the Bible back to January orFebruary 2016, depending on weather and otherunforeseen factors.

N e w s Y o u C a n U s e N e w s Y o u C a n U s e

General board approves design for new 7th Street lighted signWe’re excited to unveil the design of the new panels that will soon adornthe two panels of the lighted sign on our 7th Street lawn.

At its May meeting, our board endorsed this design as a modern andeffective successor the one that has been on the sign since its originalinstallation 22 years ago.

At some point inthe next couple ofmonths our lightedsign will bepainted, raised up,expanded via abrick housing,

receive new bulbs,and be modernized with these new panels. Along with our recently stainedbanner display board, we believe the lighted sign will present an attractiveintroduction to our grounds.

And more from Bill...The “And from Bill...” newsletter archive now contains 90 entries thatrepresent 30 of the 31 calendar years we have been together. I don’t knowthat I have saved the best for last, but I assure you that your visits to theArchive in these final six weeks will bear great fruit.

For me the highlight of the finalfifteen entries, and perhaps thehighlight of the entire archive,will be entry #104 which isscheduled to be posted on July 3.That entry will be the only entrynot written by me, for on that day I will proudly surrender an Archivespace for a column written 95 years ago by... another author. I hopeyou’ll visit in order to read a truly masterful piece that I believe is atimeless companion for any of our nation’s Fourth of July celebrations.

When the Spirit

arrived, all Heaven

broke loose!

On the day ofPentecost all the

believers were meetingtogether in one place.2 Suddenly, there wasa sound from heavenlike the roaring of a

mighty windstorm, andit filled the housewhere they were

sitting. 3 Then, whatlooked like flames or

tongues of fireappeared and settled

on each of them.4 And everyone

present was filled withthe Holy Spirit andbegan speaking in

other languages, asthe Holy Spirit gave

them this ability.

5 At that time therewere devout Jews from

every nation living inJerusalem. 6 Whenthey heard the loud

noise, everyone camerunning, and they were

bewildered to heartheir own languagesbeing spoken by the

believers.

Acts 2.1-6 (NLT)

Second “Common Table Potluck”coming June 28The team in charge of planning the second of four “Common TablePotluck” meal events for the people of several churches in the UnitedTownship area has decided that the event will be held on Saturday, June28, at Phipps Prairie Park, on 12th Street, west of Colona Road inSilvis. Our church held a very successful We Are Together event at thatpark in 2014, so consider nextmonth’s gathering there to be aWE Are Together, where“WE” will be the Body ofChrist, not just the people ofour church.

The “rules” for the potluck aresimple: Bring food to share ifyou can, but if you can’t bring food,COME ANYWAY because GodALWAYS provides!

Common Table Potlucks are an initiative introduced during theCommunity Praise Worship held at our church last November. Themission of the potlucks is to bring the people of several churches togetheraround common tables so as to break down walls of division based onrace, denomination, or neighborhood. As the people of our churches get toknow each other better, we expect that they will deepen and expand theirconnections. In 2016, in addition to common meals and worship, webelieve God will open doors of opportunity for our churches to worktogether in mission endeavors and other common projects.

Our church was the site of the first Common Table potluck, held at theend of January. The event received nearly unanimous affirmation fromthose involved and prepared us to have great expectations for what willhappen on June 28. Join us! [One note about Phipps Prairie Park: It’s sitewith a large and high quality playset, as well as a large field (prairie) forwalks and hikes. So feel free to bring your kids, grandkids, nieces, andnephews.]

In July “We Are

Together” to have

fun at our place!

For our July “We AreTogether” event we’ve

decided to takeadvantage of the great

setting of our facilities.Join us on Saturday,

July 11, for a cookoutand play time. We’ll

grill burgers, hotdogs, chicken breasts,

whatever people bring,plus play games andhave a great time onour expansive lawn

that lies south of thechurch building. The

meal will be a potluck.The games will come

from whomever bringsthem to share(horseshoes,

volleyball, wiffle ball,are among the many

options). The fun willcome in knowing that

once again we aretogether in the name of

Jesus.