8/27/15, 10:21 AMThe Messenger of the First Christian Church

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September 2015

The MessengerA Communication Ministry of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Edwardsville, Illinois

First Christian Church(Disciples of Christ)310 S. Main Street

Edwardsville, IL 62234

Sundays ~ 9:00am ~ Traditional Worship Service 10:30am ~ Contemporary WorshipServicePhone: (618) 656-7498Fax: (618) 656-3082

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Rev. Dr. James Brooks, Lead Minister, jrbrooks@fccedwardsville.org Rev. Jeff Wrigley, Youth & Children's Minister, jwrigley@fccedwardsville.org

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Visit our website!Link to Calendar

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September Anniversaries

Mark & Sally Speciale 6Paul & Angela Meier 14

Jim & Sandy Speciale 17Rob & Karen Luster 28

Mark Your Calendar

Please join us Sunday, September 13th to help us kick off the new2015/2016 Sunday School Year!! We will be doing Sunday School

promotions and the Commissioning of our Sunday School Teachers followedby Sunday School and the annual Church Picnic! You won't want to miss it.

It's going to be a fun-filled day at FCC.The Education Committee

Welcome New Members who joined in the 10:30am worship serviceon August 16th. Gary Brasfield, Devan Multidor and Phillip Multidor werebaptized. Brian Brasfield, Heather Brasfield, Kristy Schroeder, and RyanTorpea each joined by transfer of membership. We are excited to be acommunity wherein they can express their gifts for ministry!

L.eft to right: Briana Brasfield, Heather Brasfield, Gary Brasfield, KristySchroeder, Devan Multidor, Phillip Multidor, Ryan Torpea

PurposePoints: Musings on MinistryBy: Dr. James R. Brooks, Lead Minister

"Listening to God"

What would be on the list of ways you listen to God? Would you list"prayer" as first on the list? Maybe "going to worship" is in your top 5?

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September Birthdays

Bev Brown 1 Josh Royer 2

Carolyn Case 5Alyssa DeWitt 7Danny Rolens 7

Cam Potter 9Janet Lynch 10

Allan Culberson 11Joanne Kelley 13

Ed Small 13Christian Adams 19

Linda Hester 19Ed Young 20

Robert Heckel 21Carol Best 22

Keaton Smith 22Barbara Durham 23

Rob Luster 23Nancy Polon 23Max Rolens 28

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Thank you....The family of Mariam Hostetlerwishes to thank all the members ofthis congregation for all the cards,thoughts, and prayers offered up forMariam and her family during herhospitalization and her passing.Thank you Ed Sitton

The youth group would like to thankall of the individuals who donatedbaked goods and items for theirfundraiser at the Municipal bandconcert. Your donations allowed forthis evening to be a productive one. It was also a great way for us to be inthe community serving.. They raised$133 in just a couple hours. Thankyou!

Thank you for your support of theEdwardsville Cross-Country andTrack and Field Booster Club.

Here is my partial list (in not particular order) . . .

~ Prayer: private and public conversation with God~ Worship: offering praise and thanksgiving as wegather around the Lord's Table~ Dreams: in the Bible, God spoke to several of ourancestors through dreams~ Spiritual Retreat: intentional time apart from myregular life so as to be with God~ Faithful Conversations: talking with people aboutfaith stuff~ Preaching: preparation and delivery provide meopportunities to experience God~ Reading: from the Bible to secular material provideme opportunities to listen for God~ Nature: from exercise to relaxation outside to encounter God in God'screation

I am so blessed to have a multitude of opportunities to listen to God. I amthankful for the many ways our congregation encourages me to be aboutthese activities. Currently, the ACTS Class is giving me another opportunityto return to the Bible to hear the Spirit of God at work.

Seasons are changing. Students and teachers are returning to school. Theweather is changing. I am seeing leaves on my lawn.

What a perfect time to try a new spiritual activity! What if you added a newway of listening to God to your list? What if you gave some daily attention toa particular way of talking with God? At the end of 2015, imagine what youwill have heard, dreamed, hoped!

So often, for us to hear is less about removing the obstacle and moreabout opening our ears.

See you Sunday!

Policy Helps Make Legacy Gifts a Blessing

ONE OF MY EARLY EXPERIENCES AS a development officer with theFoundation found me visiting a congregation and invited to sit in on its boardmeeting.

It was a rather mundane meeting as board meetings go, until the board chairannounced the congregation had received a $10,000 bequest. Thingsheated up quickly as every member had an idea of what the donor wouldhave wanted the church to do with the sudden gift. Ideas ranged from property repairs, such as new carpeting in thenarthex and renovating the nursery, to pay increases forstaff and adding musicians.I just sat back and watched and listened. What hadbeen a wonderful gift had suddenly became a point ofdivision. It left me feeling sad.

What the church leaders didn't know was that part of myvisit to town included meeting with a woman in thechurch who wanted to leave a much larger gift to thecongregation in her estate plan. She, too, sat in that

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Your generous donation will help theEXCTF Booster Club support theBoys and Girls Cross-Country andTrack and Field Teams at LibertyMiddle School, Lincoln Middle Schooland Edwardsville High School.Thanks to the efforts andcontributions from businesses andfamilies such as yours, MudMountain XX was a huge success.The Athletes, Coaches and Familiesof Edwardsville School DistrictCross-Country and Track and FieldTeams would like to thank you foryour sponsorship and yourdedication to our programs.THANK YOU!

Congratulations....Samantha Voss for winning theFCCE & Helen Morrow Scholarships.

Beth Gori for becoming an attorneywith Gori Julian law firm.

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Have you remembered your churchin your will? Through the Permanent

Fund, you can provide a lastinglegacy. For more information:

info@fccedwardsville.org

meeting and watched and listened.

She called me a few days later, and we began to explore other ways shecould make a difference to the church without causing such a commotion.

That board meeting would have looked and sounded quite different if thecongregation had done one simple thing: Create a permanent fund policythat provides a process for the handling of undesignated bequests of allsizes.

Legacy gifts to a congregation can be a tremendous blessing. As a churchleader, you have the opportunity to keep the gift from becoming a nightmare.

Grateful for your partnership in ministry.

Gray W. KidwellPresident

"Thankfully our congregation has a wonderful in place to guide the use of ourPermanent Fund. If you would like a copy of the policy or wish to make acontribution to the fund, please contact the church office."

Summit on Racial Justice Coming to St. Louis Sept. 19th

gather. challenge. act

The Disciples Summit on Racial Justice will be an opportunity to bring St.Louis-area congregations together to dialogue around issues of racial justiceand to equip congregations theologically and emotionally to enter, andsustain, this difficult work.

To help facilitate these efforts, the National Benevolent Association iscontracting with Rev. Dietra Wise Baker, who will serve in a temporaryposition to coordinate the local organizing of the Disciples Summit on RacialJustice. Baker will manage event communications and logistics, workingclosely with Rev. Jacque Foster, pastor of Compton Heights ChristianChurch and co-host of the event.

Baker serves as chaplain and program development manager for EpiscopalCity Mission; adjunct professor at her alma mater, Eden TheologicalSeminary; and pastor and planter of Liberation Christian Church in St. Louis.Responding quickly to the Brown shooting, in August 2014 Baker becamethe clergy caucus co-leader of the Gamaliel Networks' MetropolitanCongregations United, an organization that resourced clergy andcongregations in the early stages of the community responses that emergedfollowing Brown's death in Ferguson.

"We have to come face to face with the fact that racial injustice iseverywhere-in our churches, schools, police depart- ments, and localcourts," says Baker. "We are calling St. Louis-area Disciples to decide howwe will work together and be known for mission and ministry around racialjustice issues. Right now we are known for our hearts-it's time to be knownfor our hands."

"My prayer is that Disciples will come together as we have not cometogether before-to hear and support each other and to enter into a newdepth of ministry to build an anti-racist community," says Foster. "In this lastyear, God has moved us to a new place. I believe this is a moment of criticalopportunity for us."

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HAVE A PRAYER REQUEST?

http://fccedwardsville.org/#/contact-us/prayer-requests

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Chancel Choir Rehearsal

Begins September 2 @ 7pmNew members are always welcome!

For information call Liz Enloe @ 791-5343.

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Board Meetingis rescheduled to Sunday,

September 20due to the church picnic.

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Prostate Cancer Screening

Anderson HospitalWarren Billhartz Cancer CenterThursday, September 3, 2015

2pm-4pmCost $10.00 for PSA

Please call 391-5900 or 391-5902 to register

Walk-ins are Welcome

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Mark Your Calendar

The Loyal U & I Class rummage salewill be Saturday, October 10.

Donations of gently used items areappreciated. No clothing! Pickup forlarger items, please call the church

office. Please price your items.

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To learn more about racial justice initiatives in the St. Louis region and/or toparticipate in the Disciples Summit on Racial Justice, pleasecontact STLsummit@nbacares.org.

The 4th annual youth scholarship golf scramble sponsored by the Jack H.Enloe Memorial Foundation is on Sunday, October 4th at 1pm. If you wouldlike to assist the youth in any way (gift card donation, volunteering at theevent, golfing, becoming a sponsor) please let me know. If you have not yetregistered your team please do so ASAP. Thank you, Jeff Wrigley, Youth & Children's Minister

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Guests from the NationalBenevolent Association

On Sunday, August 16th, April Lewton, Vice President of

Development andMarketing, and Kasi

Zieminski, Director of Marketing,worshipped with us and brought

greetings from the NationalBenevolent Association (NBA). Rev.

Lewton shared about the XPLORministry: "Unleash Your Potential,

Impact Your Neighborhood". XPLORis an opportunity to participate in

Hands-on Service / Justice work, toenjoy simple communal living, to gainpersonal, professional and spiritualgrowth, and experience Disciples

leadership development. For moreabout the XPLOR ministry:www.nbacares.org/xplor.

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Mark Your Calendar

Trunk or TreatOctober 24

2:00pm - 5:00pm

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The Church Office will beclosed September 7 - 10.

If anyone needs the office toassist with church picnic

projects, please contact theoffice before Wednesday,

September 2.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Youth Group at Edison's Entertainment

The youth group was able to enjoy an evening of fun at Edison'sEntertainment. We started off the evening bowling and eating pizza. We didnot have one perfect game among us. It didn't matter though because wewere enjoying each others company. After an hour of bowling we playedunlimited games and laser tag for the next hour. We had a lot of smiles andlaughter from both the youth and the adult sponsors. Thank you to thesponsors who attended this event.

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First Christian Church | 310 South Main Street | Edwardsville | IL | 62234