First Community Older Adult Times wishes you many blessings. In this newsletter, you will find current programs and gatherings along with links and emails to help you get connected. If you or someone you know would like a paper copy of this issue, please contact Robin. Find out more about the FC Older Adult ministry and view previous issues of this newsletter here.
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Dear Friends,
Here we are in November already. Next month will mark one year since the initiation of the Older Adult Times. In the grand scheme of things, a year is not that long. For someone who has started something new, a year is a celebration! And with Thanksgiving upon us, I would like you to know how thankful I am for each of you. Whether you are my friends or my family or one of my readers, you have all helped me get this newsletter off the ground. I owe much love to you all.
Whatever you're thankful for I pray some part of it is tangible. Maybe it's a hug from a friend, or the food on the table, or a note from days past. Holidays can be a time filled with joy, but can also be hard when we are missing loved ones. Know that I love you.
I want to share something I wrote for my kids. I hope these words can be relevant at any age. I am grateful for you, and your love and support over these past months.
To my sons and daughters
Know your worth…
When school is overwhelming and you don’t know the answer it’s ok, that’s how you learn. Don’t give up. Keep going, and know your worth.
When a girlfriend or boyfriend says something that makes you feel bad about yourself, break it off. That is not a healthy relationship and you deserve to be equal, loved and respected. Know your worth.
If a friend tries to make you do something that doesn’t feel right, it’s ok to say no. If they continue to make you feel less than you are, break it off. You can empathize and pray for them but don’t let them bring you down. A real friend will support you and your decision and won’t make you feel less or feel bad. Know your worth. And when you find those true friends, don’t let them go. Be there for them as they are there for you. Know their worth.
When you are working hard, and someone is making more money doing the same job, let your voice be heard to those who determine your salary. Ask questions and back your claims. If the answers aren’t justified then find the job where you are respected and that makes you happy. Know your worth.
Don’t forget the fun things. Eat ice cream, go out with friends, spend time with family, order take-out, pray, laugh, love thy neighbor (even the quirky ones), travel, have a long conversation with a stranger, buy something expensive. You deserve all the world has to offer. Know your worth.
Know that my love for you is never ending and all encompassing. Know I’m here to celebrate your accomplishments and hold you when you’re struggling. If you’re ready to fly, I’ll be your wind. And if you’re scared, don’t be afraid to come home - I’ll be here. We’ll figure out the next steps together. Sometimes the hardest part is realizing you need to try something different. You will always have a room here. I will always love you.
Know your worth. You are worthy.
Love, Mom
Blessings to you all,
Robin Hood
Congregational Care Coordinator
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Prayer Chain
Please let us know of any needed prayers. These prayers are confidential unless specified by you for a call from our clergy.
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Parish Registry
Please see the most recent parish that includes member births, weddings, and deaths.
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Daily Devotional
Come and Have Breakfast
Mary Luti
The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish. When they landed, they saw a fire there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” - John 21:8-12 excerpts (NIV)
Years ago, a young man started coming to worship. He sat in the back and spoke to no one. He stood for the hymns, but couldn’t get through them. He’d crumple, close the book, sit back down. The pastor noticed him and wanted to talk to him, but he fled before the benediction.
A deacon noticed him, too. She began sitting in his pew. One morning, passing the peace, she made eye contact. He didn’t look away. He seemed like a skittish rescue pup, she said. She didn’t mean it condescendingly; it was a tender observation.
On Communion Sunday, he didn’t stir when people started forward. She whispered, “Coming?”
“No. I’ve done some bad things.”
She nodded, waited, then said, “But do you want to come?”
His pain showed. “I can’t.”
“Well, you’d be welcome.”
He stayed behind.
The next Sunday he asked if there’d be Communion. She said no, but maybe something could be arranged. Something was.
Eventually, he moved away. Then a note came. It started with verses from John 21 about Peter the denier, and Jesus making breakfast for him.
He thanked the pastor for having served him Communion in the parlor after church that day. He said he still felt unworthy, but also grateful, because his unworthiness had made him a magnet for Jesus, or at least for one of Jesus’ deacons. He said he still sits in the back of his new church. Still can’t get through the hymns. But he lets Christ feed him.
Prayer
“No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, come and have breakfast.” - Jesus Christ
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Gratitude
By Rev. Jim Long, Minister of Pastoral Care
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Thanksgiving is a time when we are reminded of our many blessings. One of the great blessings in my life has been our church. Recently I have been going through photos and memorabilia from my family. I have found much that relates to First Community.
I have an agenda kept by my grandfather, Dr. Link Murphy, of the meeting a few years after World War II where the church "burned" the mortgage on the sanctuary built before the Great Depression. I have a letter from Dr. Roy Burkhart to my father after he received his Block of Wood. He was the first of three "Jimmy Longs" to get this symbol of confirmation in our church. "Burkie" wrote a note that he "did great."
I also found a letter from him to my parents Jeretta and Jim Long in which he enclosed their check given as an honorarium for officiating at my sister Jan's funeral service. He said he had been given free medical services by my grandfather during a period of ill health. In the letter, he said that they had become "so close to me that they seem like my children."
He went on to say that their wedding "was one of the greatest I have ever shared in." Later Clare Nichols and I were married in the same sanctuary by Dr. Arthur Sanders, and our daughter Elizabeth and Jason Downey were married there by Dr. Richard Wing.
Not long after my parents accident in 1966, I had spoken in a worship service. Dr. Otis Maxfield wrote me a letter thanking me and wishing my brother Bob and me well as we were going to live with my aunt and uncle, Bob and Phyllis Murphy, and their family. I have a picture of my cousin Vickie and me in the High School Bell Choir in the sanctuary at FC South during those years. I also have photos from Camp Akita and Outpost Camp.
Of course, I am now coming to the end of over 27 years on the church staff. In the course of my time, I have been privileged to officiate at many weddings and funerals of family and friends in the church and community. What I now realize is that this church and community have ministered to me and my family through the years for which I am exceedingly grateful.
I read somewhere that gratitude is the beginning of spirituality. I am thankful to God and our community of faith for its influence on my life and those I love. You have been a blessing to me always.
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Finding Hope in the Midst of Hopeless Times
by Reverend David Hett, Dean of The Burkhart Center
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Injustice prevails where hopelessness persists.
--Bryan Stevenson, Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative
The Tuesday@Ten group is using as discussion starters lectures from the Chautauqua Institution’s summer series on “Many Americas: Navigating Our Divides.”
I find these talks important for I find it easy to slip into hopelessness about America and the world situation, leading to Bryan Stevenson’s quote above. In her lecture, “The Conflict Trap,” journalist Amanda Ripley said that when asked, “Do you feel stressed about the future of the United States?,” 80% of Americans said yes. So, she said, “There is something we all agree on!”
Bryan Stevenson more simply says, “Hopelessness is the enemy of justice,” and adds that “hope is our superpower.” Apparently, I have been exposed to a lot of kryptonite, because my superpower is fading fast.
Amanda Ripley is talking about “High Conflict” as the enemy of “good conflict,” and how we might avoid getting seduced into high conflict, which she says is “hard to resist” with the presence of many “conflict entrepreneurs” in our media, institutional, and personal life. Conflict entrepreneurs promote high conflict “for profit.” She says to look for “conflict interrupters,” work to “create a counterculture of good conflict” which starts with learning how to actively listen, to avoid humiliating those with whom we disagree, and with starting with managing the “inner conflict in our own hearts.” Her book is called High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out.
Princeton professor Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., who has quickly become one of my favorite author/speakers, gave a powerful lecture at Chautauqua that same week, where he challenged us to ruthlessly look at the “gap between who we imagine ourselves to be and who we really are” (as a nation, as white Americans). “We all must become poets, and step outside our comfort zones,” we must “get clearer on our conception of justice,” and those of us who seek justice “must become aggressive” to go after the equality we profess.
In his book, Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own, Dr. Glaude brings the prophetic wisdom of James Baldwin to life and presents his own challenging yet, for me, hopeful view:
We have to create spaces to accomplish this work [of seeing ourselves and America anew] without succumbing to the depression and exhaustion produced by the onslaught of the reassertion of the lie [basically the lie is that some lives—white lives—matter more than the lives of others]….
The future isn’t set, but we can say, based on our current condition, that the future will damn sure be hard. … And the work that needs to be done to defeat the forces that strangle American democracy will be painful and will require, as Baldwin said, ‘an overhauling of all that gave us identity.’ We have to muster the moral strength to reimagine America. We have to risk everything now, or a choice will be made that will plunge another generation into that unique American darkness caused by the lie. . . .
We have to find and rest in a community of love. That community doesn’t have to take any particular shape or form; it simply has to be genuine. It can be made up of family or people who hold similar commitments or those who make us laugh with full-belly laughs and those without whom we could not imagine living. Here genuine mutuality serves as the basis for a broader, more collective expression of mutuality necessary for a vibrant democracy. …
In our time, with so much hatred and venom in our politics and our culture, we must actively cultivate communities of love that allow us to imagine different ways of being together. That means pulling people we love closer; opening ourselves to the unexpected pleasure of meeting and knowing someone new; and retreating into the comfort of their company as a counterweight to the ugliness of our politics. (My boldface.)
In a Columbus Dispatch opinion piece, Jane Goodall and Heather Templeton-Dill give three “powerful reasons to remain hopeful despite the severity of our crises:” the resilience of humanity, the resilience of life, and the empowerment of young people. “Real hope,” they conclude, “does not exclude fear, anger, or frustration—it harnesses them. Hope does not deny the difficulty and all the danger that exist but strengthens our determination to overcome them.”
All words I need to hear.
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Older Adult Council
Heritage Sunday
November 14
The Older Adult Council is hosting Heritage Sunday. Join us this Sunday to celebrate our 40+ year members! We will honor our longtime members at all four services (9 am North, 10 am South, 11 am North, 5:30 pm North). At our 10 am service we will also recognize our newest 40 year members and have a reception following worship. We hope you can come! I will be at the 10 am service at South, so come say hi if you are there!
Christmas Gathering
December 14
Save the date for Tuesday, December 14 at 5:30 pm in Grace Hall. Come hang out, listen to music, and have some pizza with Rev. Jim Long, Rev. Mary Kate Buchanan and Dr. Glen Miles. This is a time to rejoice and enjoy the “presence” of the Christmas season. Hope to see you there! Contact Robin Hood to RSVP.
Seeking New Members
January 2022
The Older Adult Council is seeking new members to join the January 2022 class! The Older Adult Council is involved with planning various gatherings and fellowship for the older members of the congregation and wider community. If you would like to be a part of this fun ministry, please contact Robin. |
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Congregational Care
By Robin Hood, Staff Liaison
The Congregational Care Council will be transitioning into the Congregational Care Ministry beginning next year. This ministry team will undergo training and then will be commissioned during a worship service. We are excited to grow this ministry and to expand our ways of pastoral care to the wider church and community. More information will be coming in January.
We are also gearing up for the rose deliveries this December to our Sweethearts. Remember to let us know if you would like a rose - you need to opt-in to receive one. And, we are already planning the Burkhart luncheon in the spring! Save the date for April 30! If you would like to attend this luncheon (formerly the Sweetheart luncheon), please let us know. We are expanding this invitation to include all our older adults 65 and older, so we hope you can join us! Call or email Robin to be included on the list. |
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A Piano Story
By Sally Beske, Associate Organist/Director of Youth Choirs
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Several of you, in the process of downsizing, have contacted me asking how to sell or donate your grand piano. Although I am of little help, as the market right now seems to be flooded with used pianos, it has prompted me to share this story.
In the early 1990s I bought a magic piano. My husband Bryan and our two young children had only recently returned to Ohio. We had just bought a house in Westerville and had stretched ourselves financially to make the move because we wanted to raise our young family close to grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The aging upright piano from my childhood made the trip, somewhat the worse for wear after surviving a cross country trek, first to Colorado, then to New Hampshire and now more permanently to Ohio.
My Great Aunt Esther, wanting to encourage my musical future, wanted me to purchase the icon Steinway brand grand piano for my new home. Being a little out of touch with things, as a great aunt can sometimes be, she offered me $1200, thinking that should do it. Move the decimal over a place, multiple by at least 2 and maybe you would be close to the cost of a small 6–7-foot Steinway at that time. Not wanting to crush her enthusiasm, I explained that the pedal on Steinway pianos were meant for a man’s foot, up too high for a petite girl like me, so would she be ok with another piano brand? She was a little disappointed but agreed to any grand piano I would select.
There was a grand piano sales event at the state fairgrounds that year. Hundreds of different brands of pianos placed side by side. Even though I knew I was tens of thousands of dollars short, it was a great opportunity to hear and play a wide variety of different brands. So, I went. Most pianos I eliminated after playing just one chord, but I latched on to a particular Yamaha. Not as expensive as a Steinway, but seemingly a perfect match for me. I played and played in that giant room, not wanting to leave. But as a no-income stay-at-home mom with 2 small children in a newly purchased home, that $1200 would barely cover a down payment. I wrote down the serial number and reluctantly said goodbye.
Several years passed. Bryan and I decided that we were now able to replace my car. What if we didn’t, I suggested, and bought a grand piano instead? The car was a Honda, and holding up well, so the decision was made. That old Honda was going to have to last for 10 years because we were going to buy a grand piano! Armed up with the $1200 from Aunt Esther and the little interest it had gained, I headed to a store that carried only Yamaha pianos. Maybe I would be lucky enough to find one that I liked as well as the Yamaha at the fairgrounds from years before.
Like before, I sat down at piano after piano. I would play one chord and immediately know it was not for me. Until I found it. It was just as wonderful as the piano at the fairgrounds, maybe even better! I was so excited as I signed the papers and made all the arrangements. When the piano was delivered, my new house suddenly felt like a real home to me.
Years later I found the paper where I had written down the serial number of the Yamaha grand I loved so much at the fairgrounds. Curious, I checked the serial number on the paper with the serial number on my piano. It was indeed a little bit of magic. I had chosen the same piano, twice. And oh, that old Honda? It held up great with nearly 200,000 miles when we finally traded it in. One of the best cars I have ever owned, for many reasons.
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Blood Drive
December 9, 10 am - 4 pm
Grace Hall, North
Thank you to all who have donated blood, whether that was during one of the drives hosted at First Community, or at another location. To date this year we have been able to provide 25 blood donations. We hope you might consider donating at our next blood drive on December 9 from 10 am - 4 pm in Grace Hall, North. (All individuals at blood drives must wear a face mask regardless of vaccination status.) You can register several ways:
- Online at redcrossblood.org and enter our sponsor code: FCCNC
- Contact Robin Hood at (614) 488-0681, ext. 235 or rhood@FCchurch.com
- Use the free Red Cross Blood Donor App by texting “BLOODAPP” to 90999 or by downloading it from the App StoreSM or the Google PlayTM store.
Thank you for helping us in this continued time of need!
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Quest Singles
By Nancy Dunn, Leader
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If you are a single who enjoys meeting new people, join us for a dinner and/or book discussion. Most of us are in our sixties and up, but we welcome all ages. If you would like to be on our e-mail list, contact Nancy Dunn at ndunn1975@gmail.com or call (614) 771-4869 for more detail about current plans. If you have an idea for a fun activity, let us know!
Upcoming dates:
Thursday, November 18
5:30 pm
Sunday, November 28
5:30 pm
Book Discussion
Bring a title you want to share.
Thursday, December 2
Christmas Dinner
5:30 pm
Let Nancy know if you plan to attend any dinner.
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Volunteers Needed for Youth Department!
By Julie Richards, Director of K-5 Ministry
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Please consider volunteering to help the K-5 team with our annual Christmas Workshop on Wednesday, December 15 at First Community North. Children will have the chance to make gifts for family and friends. This is a wonderful opportunity to support our children as they learn to thoughtfully give and not just receive at Christmas, enhancing their understanding of the spirit of this sacred season.
We are looking for adults to help lead activities at 8 craft stations. The projects have been planned, and all materials will be purchased and set up. The event runs from 6-7:30 pm, but volunteers are needed from 5:15 to 8 pm.
Email Julie Richards, Director of K-5 Ministry with questions or to volunteer at Christmas Workshop.
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Welcome to Creative Connection. This program is intended to be an extra outreach to our members who are not able to get out as much as others, who might be homebound, not able to be online, or who need extra love and attention. You will find activities and readings below.
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Grief Group : Led by Rev. Jim Long and parishioner Janice Beaty. Meets the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month at 7 pm in the Narthex at North.
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ElderWisdom Book Group: Meets the 4th Thursday of the month at 1 pm in the Library at South. Contact Lorelei Lotozo or Robin Hood at (614) 488-0681 ext. 235 to be added to the email list.
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Recipe of the Month
November brings us lots of yummy food! The recipe is given to us by Nancy Donaldson. A perfect compliment to any fall meal.
Pumpkin Bread
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp soda
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/2 tsp each of: nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice
- optional: 1/2 cup nuts
Directions
Beat eggs and sugar together.
Add oil and pumpkin.
Sift dry ingredients - add the oil and pumpkin and water (or apple juice)
Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until center is crested. (May be more than one hours.)
Wrap in aluminum foil while still quite warm. Freezes well.
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Mission Updates for Christmastime
First Community Missions wants to share information with you, as you may hear about requests for help for Christmas gifts or other assistance during the upcoming holiday season. Please see a message below from Amy Caskie.
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Once again the Christmas Presence program has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we have come up with an alternative to enable us to assist client families in need this holiday season.
Groups, families, and individuals are welcome to sponsor a family or families that request holiday assistance this year financially through the purchase of gifts for them. Sponsors will be asked to contact their sponsored family directly to get ideas for Christmas gifts and make arrangements for delivery or pick-up. There will be no suggested expenditures for each family, as we would like sponsors to help in the way they best see fit.
Clients who are in need of assistance this holiday season will be asked to notify Heart to Heart by phone or email to hearttoheart@FCchurch.com. Staff will get contact information and family make-up from the clients and pass the information along to our dedicated volunteer and social worker extraordinaire, Kitty Rohrer. Kitty will then match inquiring families with those looking to sponsor them.
We will continue to match families and sponsors through December 15 (extended from the previously published November 17 cut-off date). After that date, all inquiries, both clients and sponsors, will be referred to other programs by our team of resource volunteers. This small group answers emails and voicemails received through Heart to Heart’s resource line at 614-488-0681 x241. The group is made up of social workers and community advocates familiar with programs available to our clients.
We are eager to help our clients in need, but also cautious about large gatherings as the pandemic continues. We encourage both sponsor and sponsored families to follow appropriate social-distancing guidelines and wear masks, especially if unvaccinated. Hopefully, this effort will prove to be a sufficient alternative to Christmas Presence. We hope to continue the tradition of partnering with the Trading Post again next year!
For information about our holiday hours and closings, click here.
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ElderWisdom
November/December book selection:
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Thursday, December 2, 1 pm
South, Library
Join us Thursday, December 2 in the Library at South (1320 Cambridge Blvd). You do not need to have read the book to attend – just come and join us for an open discussion. Please contact Lorelei Lanier Lotozo at (614) 209-7125 or Robin Hood with questions or to add your name to our email list.
To get your copy and to read more about the book click here. |
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One Final Thought
Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation
Week Forty-One: Contemplating Creation
Creation-Centered Prayer
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In a conference on Franciscan mysticism, Fr. Richard talked about the “Four Splits” that keep us from recognizing and accessing the presence of God at all times and in all things. As he reminded the audience:
The spiritual nature of reality, and the material, the physical, have been one ever since the Big Bang. The incarnation did not just happen 2,000 years ago; rather, matter and spirit have been one since God decided to manifest himself/herself. . . .
Christ is everywhere. The entire planet is anointed and messianic, if you will. All bears the Christ mystery. The whole point of going to communion in church is to sacramentalize the universe. We’re not only in communion when we go to communion. We’re always in communion when we learn this. We’re in communion driving to church. We’re in communion walking up the steps of the church. We’re in communion at the bathroom break. We’re in communion when we’re in nature.
Franciscan sister José Hobday (1929–2009), a personal friend of Richard’s and a beloved presence in the early years of the CAC, was a Seneca elder, an author, and a storyteller. She writes of how she learned to “pray always” from the Native American spirituality of her mother, which honored this sense of being in constant communion and harmony with God in all things.
My mother prayed as a Native American. That meant she saw living as praying and praying as living. She tried to pray her life. She expressed her prayer of gratitude, for example, in the way she did things. She told me many times, “When you stir oatmeal, stir it slowly so you don’t forget that oatmeal is a gift and that you don’t take it for granted.”
She made a prayer out of the way she stirred oatmeal. Doing things prayerfully. That reflected her approach to prayer. She always did that. She even did it in the way she walked. She taught me and my brothers to walk with our hearts high and to walk softly on the earth because the earth is our mother. . . . As we walked, she said, we should be ready to enter into every movement of beauty we encountered. . . .
So, what things have I learned from Native American spirituality? First, to make my prayer creation-centered. Indians pray as relatives of the earth. They consider the sky their father, the earth their mother. The sun can be a brother or a sister. This makes you a creature with a relationship to creation, not someone above it or better than it. . . .
In our prayer, we might very well reflect on . . . creatures, and their relationship with creation. That is what Native Americans have done. It has not only kept them in touch with creation, but with the Creator as well.
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Interested in Membership? |
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To learn more about First Community or to become a member, contact Shelly Sagraves. |
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If you would like to make a gift to First Community, you can click the buttons below to make your pledge or to give. |
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Do you have thoughts or comments about the FC Older Adult Times? Please email or write Robin Hood, Congregational Care Coordinator and Editor, at 1320 Cambridge Blvd, Columbus, OH 43212.
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