by Rev. Glen Miles, Senior Minister

The season of Lent is confrontational. It is a time to check on our souls, to ask ourselves what matters most in our lives. 

This does not have to be a negative experience. At the beginning of the year, I decided it was time to check on my health. With the onset of the pandemic, I put off regular check-ups. My doctor helped me pay attention to a few things. I'm glad she did, and I feel better, stronger, and healthier.

Lent invites us to do the same with our hearts, souls, and minds. It is an opportunity to wrestle with God. You may recall the story of Jacob in Genesis. The night before a potentially difficult meeting with his brother, he wrestles with an angel. As the fight goes on, he realizes he's wrestling with God. He's injured, but in the end, he is blessed.

Barbara Brown Taylor comments, "Who would stick around to wrestle a dark angel all night long if there were any chance of escape? The only answer I can think of is this: someone in deep need of blessing; someone willing to limp forever for the blessing that follows the wound." 

Are you in need of a blessing, a check-up on your soul? If so, you are in luck. This is the perfect time of the church year to take a long look at who you are and, if you dare, ask God for a blessing.

Rev. Glen Miles will continue the Lenten sermon series Soul Training with

Part 2-"Learning to Walk in The Dark"

John 3: 16-17

It’s pizza night! This complimentary snack supper will be served at 5:30 pm followed by a brief worship service led by Rev. Mary Kate Buchanan. Youth and adult programming will start at 6 pm. Pastor Tim Vansant will lead the adult study portion, Justice and Sacred Texts. Enjoy the food, fellowship, and fun tonight at The Gathering, FC North. All are welcome!

Midweek Missions

Wednesday evenings, grades 4-8 at 6 pm, grades K-3 at 6:30 pm.

Midweek Missions runs in coordination with Youth Choirs and takes place immediately after The Gathering dinner and worship at 5:30. All kids, kindergarten through 8th grade, are invited to attend Midweek Missions and Choir whenever their schedule allows.

This week we will make prayer flags using fabric and markers for the Mexico Mission trip participants.

by Molly Hagkull, Governing Board Chair

At our February 22 Governing Board meeting, our community-building question asked each person to share a story about their name. The stories were funny and tender or just plain informative (my last name is pronounced exactly how it's spelled: "Hag-" rhymes with bag, "-kull" rhymes with gull). In the book of Isaiah, God reminds the exiled Israelites that God has called them by name and that they belong to God. While God loves and knows us personally, in Isaiah, God is naming and calling them together as a people. In the same way, our board of individuals-- with individual strengths and ideas-- is called together to serve the mission of First Community collectively. In that spirit, we spent time reviewing our roles and duties as board members and setting norms for our year together. 

One responsibility of the board is to provide oversight of the church's finances. Representatives from Ary Roepcke Mulchaey met with the board to present the completed 2021 audit. They offered a few technical suggestions to update accounting procedures but overall were highly complementary of our business office and processes. We are already on ARM's schedule to begin the 2022 audit in July to avoid another chaotic end-of-year rush. As a pledging member of our church, it gives me confidence to know that the folks in our business office are conscientious stewards of our financial gifts. 

I am grateful for the many ways our staff and volunteers continue to serve our church community! With joy, Molly Hagkull 

by Seth Stearns, Exec. Director of Operations

First Community Foundation was established in 1961 to support the future of First Community Church’s programs and ministries. The Foundation is supported by immediate and/or planned gifts from those interested in the future of First Community and leaving a family legacy.  The Foundation encourages families, friends, and members of the church to establish Foundation funds or give to an existing funds with full assurance that donors' wishes for their legacy gift will be honored and benefit the church.  

Recently, the Foundation approved a grant to fund the purchase of a new van for our Heart to Heart ministry and mission. We are grateful for the families and their Foundation funds that made this possible:

Huntzicker/Ruth & Dick McNeal Endowment Fund

Ester Newell Memorial Fund

Arthur E Shepard Fund  

Would you like to know more about the Foundation? Click here.

Top left to right: Jackie Fleener with Gabrielle, Scott and Allison Magnuson, Laura Kuligowski with Avery.

Bottom left to right: Megan and Jon Murphy with Mara and Denison, Sarah and Bill Ackman with Oliver, Finn, and Liam.

Not pictured: Katherine Backes and Ryan Farrell

High school students (grades 9-12) are invited to join our 2023 Block of Wood Confirmation class! Together, we will discuss the value of a faith community, hear from speakers on First Community's history and theology, and spend time thinking about personal faith. At the end of the class, participants will be Confirmed as members of First Community Church. 

Block of Wood Confirmation Class meets on Sunday evenings in April. Block of Wood Confirmation Sunday is on Sunday, May 7. To register for both, please contact Rev. Sarah Kientz by March 26.

The next Family Fun Day event will be on Tuesday, March 7 from 6-7 pm at Graeter’s on Bethel Rd. Please plan to come and let your child play while you have the chance to touch base with other parents, caregivers, and First Community staff.  

This school year, we will offer opportunities for kids and their grown-ups to gather with other families from First Community. Family Fun Days will be about an hour long each and will take place at different locations in March, and May.  

Click here if you are interested in attending. We will add your name to a list. Your email will be used only to send reminders about these events.  

Family Fun Days 22/23 dates and times 

• Tuesday, March 7 - 6-7 pm Graeter’s on Bethel Rd.  
• Friday, May 19 - 5:30 – 6:30 pm 

Join the K-5 team for our Easter Eggstravaganza on Saturday, April 8 at 10 am outside the Rose Wing at First Community North. There will be an egg hunt, dance for candy, and a photo opportunity. This fun family event is open to all children, toddler through grade 5 and their parents. This is an outside event that will be held unless there is extreme weather. The Easter Eggstravaganza is free , but you must register HERE by Thursday, April 6 to reserve a spot. 

We are hiring substitutes for our Sunday Childcare program. First Community provides care during services at our North (9 & 11) and South (10) locations. We are looking for teachers who enjoy being with young children and will welcome them into the classroom and accept them as a part of our church family. Please contact Leigh Anne Easterling.

Safety Program

Spring Luncheon

The Women’s Guild of First Community Church is excited that we can gather in person again for the Annual Spring Luncheon. This year’s luncheon will be held in Grace Hall starting at 11:30 am on Saturday, April 29, and is open to all the women of the church and friends. In addition to fun, fellowship, and fantastic food, we have a special speaker about a timely topic affecting all of Central Ohio.

Our speaker will be Jennifer Peterson, long-time First Community Church member and Chief Operating Officer of the R.A.P.I.D. 5 Project (Rivers And Parks Imagination Design). “The goal of the project is to create the largest interconnected parks system in the Country.” It is a proactive effort to preserve our green space and waterways and to expand everyone’s access to nature and each other. This project promises to enhance the quality of life for everyone in all the neighborhoods throughout Central Ohio.

Come learn about all the creative and innovative plans envisioned for our community. Registration information will be forthcoming. We hope to see you there!

Click below to read the On a Mission! monthly news. In this month’s news you can find more information about:

• The Shrimp Boil benefitting the Back Bay Mission returns to First Community after several years. You can purchase tickets now through March 27.
• Save the date and read more about the event benefitting Deep Griha Society coming up in April.
• Is the Trading Post Grandview’s best kept secret? Discover for yourself during their March sales.
• Meeting reminders: LGBTQ+ meeting March 2
• Heart to Heart will hold a Dental Hygiene Drive on March 12, at both locations during worship services.
• The Refugee Ministry Team continues to support the resettlement efforts from the Wilondja family.
• Support Missions by volunteering on March 25, making thoughtful material donations, or by enrolling your shopper’s card for Kroger Community Rewards
• Peter Kobak, friend of First Community’s Prison Ministry, provides additional information on the campaign to release Tony Apanovitch from Death Row

by Crystal Allen, Back Bay Mission Board President and Shrimp Boil Event Chair

After a several-year hiatus, the First Community Church Shrimp Boil is back by popular demand. Join us in celebrating Back Bay Mission – Making Good Trouble on the Gulf Coast for 100 Years.

Friday, March 31, 2023, 6 pm

Grace Hall, First Community North

We’ll enjoy large delicious shrimp, homemade fruit cobblers, and the rest of the fixins’. Our own Dave Heigle will be the Cajun shrimp chef! We’ll also hear from Back Bay Mission staff about the amazing social justice history over the years and today’s work strengthening the community, seeking justice, and transforming lives. 

First Community Church has been a long-time supporter of Back Bay Mission, sending numerous work groups – living in the guest house dorm and volunteering by rehabbing homes, painting, working on new builds, helping in the food pantry or Micha Day Center, and even serving food with Loaves and Fishes. Last fall, our Mid-Week Missions Youth organized and sent hygiene kits.

Tickets for the Shrimp Boil are only $20/per person and are available online through March 27. Click the below to register. All proceeds benefit Back Bay Mission. Join us! Questions? Contact Crystal Allen

“Each part of this house has somebody’s sweat, somebody’s prayers, somebody who gave. This was built with love.”

Rebecca Fernandez

First Community’s Youth Ministry is again preparing a Mexico Mission Trip for a week-long spring break experience (March 14 – 22) in which high school students, in addition to college and adult leaders, build houses for underprivileged families in Tecate, Mexico FC has worked with Amor Ministries for several years to build 179 homes. Each spring (with the exceptions of 2020 – 2022 because of COVID protocol travel), members of our community make the journey. The Mexico Mission Trip 2023 includes 33 adults, college-age, and high school participants from the Church.

Since 1980, Amor has been dedicated to keeping families together. Previously, children whose families couldn’t afford to provide for their basic needs would be sent away to orphanages, and the group began building homes to keep more families together.

Over forty years ago, Gayla Cooper felt reluctant to spend even one day ministering to children in a Tijuana orphanage. However, after meeting a group of children from a Mexican orphanage, Gayla’s heart was touched so deeply that she decided to pack her bags and move to Mexico to work in the orphanage full-time.

Meanwhile, Scott Congdon traveled to the same orphanage with a community service group from his college. The children had such a profound impact on Scott that when he returned home, he began collecting food and clothing for the children, returning to deliver the collected items.

Together, Scott and Gayla (since married) soon discovered that they shared the same dream of ministering alongside the poor in Mexico. In March of 1980, Scott and Gayla founded Amor Ministries. They recruited their first ministry group to participate in a building project at a Tecate orphanage that fall. Today, the ministry continues living out Scott and Gayla’s initial calling and builds homes alongside families daily.

Participants work hard during the day, then camp under the stars at night. They help build relationships with families and hand over the keys to their new homes. The Mexico Mission Trip invites high schoolers to expand global perspectives, become immersed in a new culture, and think deeply about our call to serve.

At the worksite, an expert from Amor works with team members onsite to guide the building process. Building houses is an important part of the trip, but participants also learn to love and serve people. During the trip, members talk to the family, play with the kids, or invite people to join the work.

Two ways to support the Mexico Mission Trip 2023 are through a Flower-a-Month Fundraiser ($75) for a membership card to Bloomtastic (good for a bouquet each month for 12 months) or a donation through the church. If you would like more information about The Mexico Mission Trip, First Community Church, or its other Mission programs, please contact Rev. Sarah Kientz.

Upcoming Ministries 4 Movement March

In February, sixteen members of First Community participated in the Ministry for Movement March on the south side of Columbus. Members of our community justice teams have been a part of these marches on the first Sunday of each month for well over a year. As you may have heard, while on this march calling for peace and an end to community violence, a police shooting occurred directly across the street from the back end of the march. Some of those engaged in the march were in the direct line of fire. This includes neighborhood children and the elderly. 

There are several questions that are yet to be answered, however we pray for all that were involved in the situation. We pray for the trauma it has caused and for a community that is in pain.  Members of the First Community, while shaken and hurting for our friends on the south side, are committed to continue our support of ending community violence and support our siblings. If you are able and share the same sentiment, we highly recommend you come support the next Ministry for Movement march on March 5 at 3pm that begins at Family Missionary Baptist at 996 Oakwood Ave, Columbus. If you are interested in attending this worthwhile event, please sign up here if interested. 

Anti-Racism Church Coalition

We recently joined an anti-racism church coalition made up of local and diverse congregations that gather in fellowship together and speak to our various backgrounds and issues around race. This group meets to discuss current events and engages in anti-racist studies and activities. The next meeting of this coalition is on Saturday, March 25 at Woodland Christian Church located at 143 Woodland Ave, Columbus at 4pm. Please sign up here if you would like to attend. We will be taking a van and/or caravanning from the North at 3:30 pm that same day. Please indicate on your signup if you would like to travel with us from North. 

LGBTQ+ Advocacy Group

We recently started an LGBTQ+ Advocacy Group that will participate in Pride events, but will also seek to advocate for our friends in the LGBTQ+ community year round. If you would like to get in on the ground floor of this worthy effort, please see next meeting time information below.  

Sacred Ally Quilt and Art Exhibit

This past month, First Community and our community justice teams hosted the Sacred Ally and Quilt Exhibit that was touring four locations in Ohio. This exhibit displayed powerful faith-based anti-racism messaging in memorializing the last words of George Floyd. First Community presented Raise Mass Gospel Choir and a documentary screening around the making of Sacred Ally in conjunction with hosting the exhibit. Reverend of the UCC Heartland Conference, David Long-Higgins, noted, ““The opening in Columbus was quite powerful…(and) evoked recognition that we have so much work to do.” Over the course of the weekend over 420 people were able to view and experience the exhibit! A huge thank you to the Sacred Ally Quilt Ministry, Heartland Conference, and our volunteers for this wonderful and challenging event.

2023 Spiritual Searcher Event coming in fall

A committee is selecting the 2023 speaker for the Center’s flagship program, the Spiritual Searcher lecture. These dynamic, thoughtful national leaders share their wisdom and help us make sense of faith, spirituality, and love in a complex world beyond central Ohio. We’ll keep you updated as we plan for their visit.

March book selection:

Damnation Spring By Ash Davidson 

Thursday, March 23, 1 pm

South, Library

Join us Thursday, March 23 at 1 pm 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 Kathi Williams with questions or to add your name to our email list.

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 details about current plans. If you have an idea for a fun activity, let us know! If you plan to join us for dinner, please let Nancy know. 

You are invited to fellowship with First Community members and friends Wednesday mornings from 8-9 am in the Library at FC South. Each week, this group gathers for breakfast (coffee and donuts) and conversation. Speakers, including FC staff, enlighten and inform.

Below are the March speakers:

March 8 - Bob Jacques will lead a Sandel lecture

March 15 - The Hanson sisters will discuss The Trading Post

March 22 -Mary Kate Buchanan

This fellowship group is open to all. Please contact Larry Anderson if you plan to attend or have any questions at larry.anderson297@gmail.com

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