by Rev. Glen Miles, Senior Minister

Where do you go to find courage and strength? Many begin with quiet meditation. Still, others listen to music or read poetry. Sometimes I like to watch an old favorite movie, where the central character fights against incredible odds. Think Lord of the Rings or Les Misérables. I find the strength to face whatever is before me in recounting the tale of Frodo or Jean Valjean.

I have noticed in the search for courage, that it is rarely filled with great moments of bravery. Instead, courage seems to come one small step at a time. Rather than a big moment of triumph against evil, courage is often just the act of showing up to do what is needed.

When I am faced with a difficult challenge, I love to contemplate the biblical letter to a young pastor named Timothy. An old, seasoned pastor writes to his young colleague, reminding him, “...for God gave us a spirit not of fear but power and love and self-control.”

The spirit of power, love, and self-control invites us to wade into whatever life has given us with the promise that we will not be alone. It is about showing up every day to love your neighbor, care for yourself, and work toward justice, no matter how small it may seem in the moment.  

The poet David Whyte reflects on this idea in his book Consolations. He writes, 

When I was a little boy, I thought being courageous would eliminate my feelings of vulnerability. I doubt I ever used the word vulnerable, but looking back, I now know that is what I felt. I was afraid I’d be teased or maybe even worse ignored, left out, not included. Whyte’s writing says when we live through vulnerabilities, we are behaving with courage.

There are small but courageous acts you and I can do today. We can embrace the spirit of love and self-control. We can seek to care for those around us. Consider how powerful a kind word to the grocery store clerk, a note of encouragement sent to a friend, or a phone call to a loved one can be in a time like this.  

A modern translation of the letter to Timothy declares, “God doesn’t want us to be shy with God’s gifts, but bold and loving and sensible.” 

Bold, loving, and sensible sounds like a three-fold plan for facing the days ahead.

by Cydney Philbin, Governing Board Chair

The 2021 Governing Board is off to a good start. Governing Board members have their new liaison assignments and attend their monthly council, committee, and board meetings. This liaison duty is an essential aspect of the Governing Board. It provides a means to communicate Governing Board information to many groups of congregants. Also, it gives the groups a reciprocal opportunity to express ideas, concerns, and suggestions to the Governing Board.

The Strategic Planning kick-off will take place on March 6th and 7th. The Governing Board has enlisted Congregational Consulting Group's Rev. Sarai Rice to lead us through an appreciative inquiry process. Strategic planning will then take place over the next several months. Our planning team members will be eager to hear your positive First Community stories as part of the inquiry. There will be more information regarding this process coming soon.

The Governance Review Committee is finishing up work on the Governing Board Bylaws. I would like to again thank the Governance Review Committee members for their hard work updating the Constitution for presentation and affirmation at the annual church member meeting. Committee members include Jodi Patton, Elizabeth Downey, Pam Shisler, Cydney Philbin, and Steve Mushrush. Alice Finley, Governing Board Vice-Chair, is a new addition to this committee.

The Governing Board is supportive and excited to participate in the varied Lenten and Easter worship opportunities offered by the clergy and staff. We look forward to the possibility of seeing our church friends and family in person, in addition to our virtual worship together.

Join First Community clergy via Zoom for an interactive service appropriate for all ages. Engage in Scripture readings, hymns, and a guided meditation.

Attendees are invited to gather objects that will connect with the clergy’s spoken words. Please have the following on hand: a small bowl of water, a Bible, a small stone, and something soft to the touch (such as a piece of felt or a blanket).

There will be a moment during the service when clergy will offer a prayer for our community’s loved ones and the joys and concerns on our hearts. There is a place in the registration to provide your prayer requests to be included. Registration closes Thursday, March 4 at noon.

Here's a sneak peek:

Please join me in thanking the 2020 Nominating Committee for their excellent and dedicated work over the past year.

We want to welcome the new Nominating Committee Members who will join the existing committee in identifying a slate of Governing Board and Board of Deacons candidates later this year. Appreciation also to Ryan Miller for his willingness to chair the 2021 Nominating Committee.

Thank you,

Rose Konrath

2020 Nominating Committee Chair

2021 Nominating Committee Chair – Ryan Miller

Join the K-5 team for an in-person, socially distanced and masked Easter Eggstravaganza on Saturday, April 3 at 10 am OR 11:30 am at First Community North. There will be an egg hunt, dance for candy, goodie bags 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 by March 31 to reserve a spot.

Each year, First Community is pleased to present our third graders with their very own Bible. The gift of a Bible is a symbolic milestone in a child’s faith development. Bibles will be presented on April 25 at noon in a drive-through ceremony at First Community North.

To reserve a Bible for your third grader, please click the button below. For your child’s Bible to be personalized with his or her name, your registration must be submitted by April 9, 2021.

For further information, please contact Julie Richards.

The K-5 Midweek Missions kids are making Birthday Bags for clients at Heart-to-Heart. We need everyone’s help collecting supplies. Please spread the word and help us collect the items we need so everyone can have a cake on their birthday!

Donations can be dropped off in the tubs outside the Rose Wing doors at First Community North and outside the Crane Welcome Center at First Community South by Friday, March 12. Questions? Contact Julie Richards, Director of K-5 Ministry.

Registration is still open for Camp Akita Summer 2021. Remember that First Community members receive a discount on all sessions, including Summer Camp, Akita Backcountry, LIFE Guard, Family Camp, and 1,2,3…Akita! Find out more at CampAkita.org/register.

We are now hiring our Camp Akita Staff 2021, and we need more male counselors. Do you know a fun-loving, responsible, friendly, and caring guy who would make a great camp counselor? Send them our way! ⁠⁠Find out more, including employment dates, wages, and what Camp Akita will look like in 2021, at CampAkita.org/apply.

Win a weekend stay at Tail Feather, Camp Akita’s newest cabin! Construction is almost complete on our new 4-bed, 3-bath log cabin. The raffle winner will receive an available weekend of their choice in Fall 2021. Raffle tickets will be sold online from March 1 – 20, and the winning ticket will be drawn on March 21. Tickets are $25 each, or 5 for $100. All proceeds benefit Camp Akita scholarships and on-site camp improvements.

Tail Feather is a luxury log cabin that features four bedrooms: two queen-size bedrooms upstairs (one with ensuite bath) and two bunkrooms in the lower level. The cabin features three full bathrooms, one of which is ADA-accessible. Both the main floor and lower-level living spaces include fireplaces and porches with nature views. The cabin has both a full kitchen and a downstairs kitchenette. A weekend stay is valued at $450.

Tail Feather is built in honor of long-time Camp Akita camper and Counselor Haden DeRoberts. Haden passed away in 2016 at age 24 after having leukemia. The cabin is called Tail Feather because Haden and his family enjoyed pheasant hunting. Haden had a tattoo of three pheasant tail feathers to represent himself, his dad, and his brother, and to symbolize faith, family, and unconditional love. We hope the new cabin becomes a place to remember all who found a home at Camp Akita during their lifetime. We can't wait to fill Tail Feather with old and new memories!

Purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win a weekend stay at CampAkita.org/Raffle.

6-12 grade Youth Choir members are invited to gather for 30 minutes of games and fun on Zoom this month as we count down the months until we can meet in person! New members always welcome.

To receive updates, reminders, and links to our Zoom gatherings, register for Youth Choirs here. For more information about our youth choirs, contact Sally Beske or visit our website.

On Maundy Thursday, we remember that God holds all of our pain, vulnerability, doubts, and sufferings. As we venture toward the cross, we can

lean into God’s everlasting arms, knowing we are held.

We will offer drive-thru communion at both North and South locations, Maundy Thursday, April 1, 5-6:30 pm. Clergy will offer each participant a pre-packaged communion cup and give the words of institution. We hope you will join us for this safe alternative to our traditional in-person service of Tenebrae.

We will stream a worship service at 7 pm following the drive-thru communion. Watch live on Facebook and FCchurch.com.

This experience will honor the ancient story of Jesus’ death while recognizing the ways this narrative repeats itself again and again throughout the past and present. This in-person experience will provide multisensory ways to engage, confess, and lament. Participants will be invited to physically travel from one station to another.* Stations will include scripture, artwork, contemporary readings, music and more. This experience will take place throughout our North location on April 2, 7 am - 6 pm.

We are adhering to COVID-19 health guidelines and will be offering sign-ups in 15–20-minute increments in which family units will be encouraged to sign-up together. We will keep group numbers under 10, require everyone to wear a mask, and remain socially distant.

More information including registration links will be coming soon.

We hope you will join us for this special Good Friday experience.

Again and again, we find ourselves at the foot of the cross, at the pit of despair, in the face of death, in the grip of state-sanctioned violence. “Here” is an emotional place. “Here” is grief. “Here” is the reality of sin and brokenness. On Good Friday, we are called to sit in the silence of death, knowing that God is here.*

Join us on April 2 at 7 pm on Facebook and FCchurch.com.

Easter comes to us, again and again, even if we don’t know what to make of God’s resurrection ways. Again and again, the sun rises. And some days, that is enough.*

Join us as we celebrate Easter, on Sunday April 4, at 9 and 11 am on Facebook and FCchurch.com.

Updates on the blog this month from:

This has traditionally been the time of year that First Community has hosted a festive dinner to celebrate Deep Griha Society (DGS), an outreach program working in the slums & rural areas of Pune, India. Unfortunately, in this age of COVID, we can't gather & share a meal. In its place, however, DG USA is joining with DG UK & DGS in Pune to present a Global Webinar to celebrate the outstanding work & services that DGS continues to provide to the residents of Pune despite the challenges of COVID. The need for assistance & support of basic needs is greater than ever. At the end of this exciting event, there will be an opportunity to initiate or renew child sponsorships &/or to donate to the area of greatest need. Details of the event are on the flyer above. Hope to see you there!

If you are interested in learning more about First Community or considering membership, the first step is to attend Coffee with Glen. This is an opportunity to learn more about the church, get to know Rev. Glen Miles, and explore ways to get connected to First Community programs. Email Carrie Schwab to learn more and to register.

by Jackie Cherry, Church Historian

In early 1941, when the church staff began talking about adding a second worship service to the Sunday morning schedule, two Music Committee members recommended hiring a young musician with whom they knew. They had worked with him in downtown productions of The Young Business Men's Club. Lowell Riley was a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University with a music theory degree and employed by radio station WBNS as their musical director. He had already acquired a reputation in Columbus as a singer, composer, arranger, and organist.

On May 1, 1941, Lowell was hired to form and direct a youth choir to sing at the early Sunday morning service and organize a men's chorus. A November article in the newspaper published by the youth enthusiastically described the activities that Lowell was creating. By then, the youth choir numbered 70 members of high school and college-age who sang every Sunday morning for the 9:30 service. They had also participated in a united youth worship service and had appeared on a program of the OSU Chapel Hour. Lowell frequently played organ recitals of popular music followed by dances in the gym and aimed at the teen audience.

When so many young men began leaving for military service following the outbreak of World War II, the Youth Choir dissolved and was replaced by the all-girl Cloister Choir. Recruiting enthusiastic singers who wanted to become Cloisters was never a problem, especially after Lowell left WBNS to accept an appointment as Director of Vocal Music at both Grandview and Upper Arlington High Schools, where his impact was enormous. He arranged popular music, which led to swing assemblies and talent shows written and produced by students. He organized elite choral groups that sang for conventions and civic events as well as church functions. One group, the Hi-Jinx Chorus, sang for several years on a weekly radio program on WCOL, aimed at the local teenage audience, and even appeared on a national radio broadcast of the Ted Mack Amateur Hour.

In The Columbus Dispatch issue of November 1, 1942, a front-page article featured Lowell as "the composer of the first important musical composition on a war theme by a local artist." His requiem to honor America's war dead was premiered by the combined Chancel and Cloister Choirs on November 15. The article continued to comment on his musical achievements. "For a man not yet in his 30's, he has composed an astonishing amount of music. In choral work mainly, Riley has been outstanding. First Community Church officials look upon him as the sort of young man who will eventually lead church music out of its many outmoded patterns." And that prediction came true!

(To be continued.)

Nearly one in four households in the US experienced food insecurity last year. That means, as defined by the US Dept. of Agriculture, more than 35 million Americans were in a situation of limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods. In Franklin and surrounding counties last March through December, there was a 23% increase in the need for food compared to 2019.

First Community’s Heart to Heart Pantry meets the needs of hundreds of Columbus families each month. The Pantry is supported with designated funds from First Community Foundation. Last year the Foundation awarded grants totaling $6,715 to Heart to Heart.

However, the need infiltrates neighboring communities. Hilliard Food Pantry located near FC North, at 4100 Cemetery Rd. in Hilliard, is often serving more than 1000 families monthly. The Foundation recently granted $2,000 to fund delivery of weekly food boxes to older adults in and around Hilliard. The check was delivered to Pantry Ex. Director Erin West by Foundation board trustee Lynne Ayres (on the R.)

“I’m proud that FC’s Foundation extends its reach to those in our Franklin County neighborhoods who are hungry,” said Ayres whose donor-advised fund was tapped for the gift.

You can help too by going to the Foundation’s refreshed web site at fcchurch/foundation.com to learn about the Foundation’s role. Or donate to the Foundation from the church’s web site’s “Ministries” and “Giving” options.

In 2019, First Community Foundation received a generous gift from the estate of Bill and Patty Mielke, who passed away in 2018 and 2014, respectively. Their grown children Heather (Kelly) and Heath shared memories and the inspiration about their parents’ generosity at the First Community Foundation’s luncheon in 2019.

Since then, the Bill and Patty’s previous wishes to draw their annual operating campaign pledges paid from the Foundation’s Patricia W. and William L. Endowment Fund Foundation are being fulfilled. When the married children were contacted by the Foundation’s Director Paul Anderson to verify these payments, the reaction was one of complete agreement. Heather’s reaction was, “Of course, the gift from their estate was in recognition of how much Heath and I benefited from the church from preschool through high school. This ongoing support of First Community is how they wished to honor the church they loved and to help ensure its future.”

This dedication through a planned estate gift is an example of lasting stewardship. You can access the web site from Fcchurch.com via the Ministries and Giving menu options as well as through the Foundation’s direct link. If you are interested in serving on the Foundation Board or discussing a legacy gift, contact Foundation Director Paul Anderson at (614) 488-0681, Ext. 287.

We are pleased to announce an upcoming in-person worship experience.

Beginning Sunday, April 25, we will offer an abridged worship service at 10 am, in the Sanctuary at our North location. This service will continue weekly. We will adhere to 100-person limit with required registration, masks and adherence to social distancing.

More information including the registration link will be coming soon.

First Community is launching a new Job Search Group. It is a tightly focused program to assist you with developing skills to find a job YOU love.

Over three sessions, Mike Collins (a retired third-party recruiter) will guide the group through:

These sessions will be focused on individual progress. We hope to offer them regularly.

If you’re interested, email or call Robin Hood (614-488-0681 ext. 235).

The First Community Prayer Chain Ministry is a group of people whose call is to pray for others while honoring the standards of respect and confidentiality. Prayers are sent to the group daily. You may remain anonymous or choose to leave your name. You can also let us know if you would like a minister to call on you. There are several ways to send a prayer request to the Prayer Chain:

On the app. Click the “Contact” button and then “Prayer Needs” where you can fill out the form.

Fill out the online form here.

Contact Robin Hood or (614) 488-0681 ext. 235

Our first blood drive of 2021 will be on April 8 from 12 - 5 pm at South (1320 Cambridge Blvd) in Brownlee Hall. You can register several ways.

As a reminder, Red Cross continues to test all blood donations for COVID-19 antibodies. You will receive your results within one to two weeks through your donor account on RedCrossBlood.org and through the Blood Donor App.

How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

ElderWisdom is a group of people who enjoy reading and discussing a variety of books. This group is perfect for anyone looking to connect with others and for some fellowship. The monthly gatherings are currently meeting on Zoom. We hope you will join us for our next meeting on March 25 at 1 pm. You do not need to have read the book to attend – all are welcome. Please contact Lorelei Lanier Lotozo at (614) 209-7125 or Robin Hood, Congregational Care Coordinator, with questions or to add your name to our email list to receive the Zoom meeting invite.

A sneak peek of this month’s book: “Ibram X. Kendi's concept of antiracism reenergizes and reshapes the conversation about racial justice in America--but even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. Instead of working with the policies and system we have in place, Kendi asks us to think about what an antiracist society might look like, and how we can play an active role in building it.” -ibramxkendi.com 

Click here to get your copy or to read more about the book.

The annual Burkhart Luncheon for our Sweethearts (members who are 65+ years young) will be an online program with the theme “Growing.” This year you can attend the luncheon from the comfort of your home. Like how we are worshipping online at FCchurch.com and on Facebook, you will be able to access the luncheon in the same way. In addition, some amazing sponsors will provide a Brunch Box to each of you that morning.

Invitations with more information will be going out later this month to all our Sweethearts, so if you if you would like to attend, please let us know by contacting Robin or (614) 488-0681 ext. 235. You need to “opt-in” to the Sweetheart group to receive invitations to the luncheon, so if you are not yet a part of the group, let us know. Hope to “see” you there!

The Burkhart Center has produced its own newsletter which includes:

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You can read the publication by clicking the button below.