April 22, 2021 March 26, 2020 p- The Courier First ChristianThe Church Courier (Disciples of Christ), First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Minneapolis

Pastor Dan Adolphson begins sabbatical

What’s INSIDE:

A Letter from Rev. Joshua Patty, page 2

Prayer Vigils and Westminster Forums, page 3 For the worship service on April 18, the launch day for his three-month sabbatical, Pastor Dan Adolphson preached about Resurrection being real and God being with Earth Week Celebrations, us even in the midst of the pain and heartache of our current tragic events. At the page 3 end of the worship service, Pastor Laurie Feille and Martha Harris, chair of Dan’s PRC committee, read a litany of blessing for his sabbatical. Members of the May 2021 calendar, church bid Dan farewell during a Zoom meeting following the worship service. page 4 Dan left on Sunday afternoon for a week’s retreat at the Disciple Conference Center in Des Moines, Iowa. After that, he will take off for an extensive road trip Downtown Interfaith Senior to Western and Southwestern U.S, national parks, and the Pacific Ocean, with Clergy Statement, visits to family and friends along the way. page 5 Turn to page 2 of this paper for a letter to Dan from our Regional Minister, Rev. Joshua Patty. Pastor Dan will be gone until mid-July. Bon Voyage! UPCOMING Events

ACTION meeting, SH Peeps Show ... in case you missed it! Monday, April 26, 7 pm FCC ACTION Discussion, The children of SpringHouse Tuesday, April 27, 7 pm annually create Palm Sunday dioramas made with Peeps Coffee Hours continue candies. The diorama to the left is at 9 am on Mondays, based on The Good Samaritan. Wednesdays, and The other clever creations from

Saturdays; Happy Hours on this year’s Palm Sunday Peeps

Tu and Thurs, 5 pm except Show can be seen in a slideshow at on nights with FCC https://www.dropbox.com/s/mi59e meetings 04js63nojw/Peeps%20Showcase. mp4?dl=0 Page 2 April 22, 2021

A letter from Rev. Joshual Patty

To the Congregation:

In Our Prayers On behalf of the congregations and leaders of the Christian Church in the Upper Midwest I greet you in the name of Jesus. Prayers of Concern We give thanks to God for your faithful ministry. For Jess Armstrong’s father Terry, returning home after Later this month your associate minister, Rev. Dan Adolphson, rehab for surgery will begin a time of sabbatical. It is my prayer that this period For Jay Hillestad’s mother will be a time of renewal for him and for your entire Arletta who has begun chemotherapy congregation. For Elizabeth Larson’s friend These days, ministers are on call around the clock every day of For Wendy Manual’s friend the year. That has been especially true during the past year as we Mary have adapted our ministries to continue sharing the God’s love in this age of pandemic. May the coming weeks be a time of rest Prayers for the World for Dan and an opportunity to experience a different form of For our city, our state and the nation as we await the discipleship and ministry for a season. verdict of the trial and grieve This time is also an opportunity for you as a congregation to the death of Daunte Wright celebrate the gifts among you for service and leadership. You For our city, our state and are blessed with the wonderful leadership of Rev. Dr. Laurie our nation as news Pound-Feille. May this sabbatical time also invite each of you to headlines continue to report on mass killings and listen well for God’s still voice offering you love and nurturing on daily unnecessary in you new and deepening forms of discipleship and ministry. deaths from violence in our cities and towns I trust that you will all honor this time apart, even as you hold one other in prayer. May God’s Holy Spirit embrace you in the love you share. And may all of those who are a part of the ministry of First Christian Church grow in faith during this sabbatical season.

Blessings! Rev. Joshua Patty, Regional Minister and President, Christian Church of the Upper Midwest

The Courier Page 3

Post-verdict prayer vigils planned Earth Week

On the day of the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial, there will be two EventsEarth Day, opportunities to participate in a Vigil. Because the date for the verdict announcement is unknown, the plan is simply that the Vigils will be at the The SpringHouse Green times listed below on the day of the announcement. Team invites everyone to join

them in celebrating Earth 1. Join the Downtown Interfaith Senior Clergy for a 30-minute live-streamed Week. prayer gathering for peace and healing, at 4:30 on the day the verdict is announced. Live stream link: https://westminstermpls.online.church/ On Earth Day, April 22, join

a Zoom celebration of Earth 2. FCC is co-hosting a multi-faith prayer vigil at Square on the Day from noon to 1 pm that day that the verdict is announced. Plan to begin at 5:45 pm and end at 6:30 will feature Joy Persall as the pm. Plan to come, bring an LED candle, bring your prayers, wear a mask and keynote speaker. Joy is a bring flowers or other offerings if you like. woman of Ojibwe Metis’

descent committed to working More information will be shared once a verdict has been reached. for equity and justice and caring for Mother Earth. Click here to register.

Westminster Forum offers special May program The Westminster Town Hall Forum, a long-standing lecture series of Celebrate Earth Week by Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, is announcing a special May exploring the prairie, woods series of talks by racial justice leaders. The Forum is calling the series “The and marshes at Crosby Arc Toward Justice: Taking Stock One Year After George Floyd’s Death.” Farm Park on Saturday, April 24, 10 am to 2 pm. A With support from the Minneapolis Foundation, the Forum will host four talks treasure hunt has been created in a single month, all by nationally recognized voices in the pursuit of racial to add to the fun of your hike. justice. There will be a new program each Tuesday in May culminating on Maps can be picked up at the May 25, the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s death: pavilion near the parking lot, or you can photograph the map on your cellphone. Bring • May 4: Jelani Cobb of The New Yorker a picnic lunch if you choose. • May 11: Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III of Trinity United Church of Christ in We will provide s’mores. There are picnic tables and a • May 18: Deborah Archer, the newly elected and first BIPOC few fireplaces, as well as a president of the American Civil Liberties Union port-a-potty nearby. • May 25: Angela Harrelson and Paris Stevens, George Floyd’s aunt and cousin, alongside Ben Crump, the lawyer for the family. The trail is a 1.3 mile, level path which winds through a Each talk will go online on the Forum website (www.WestminsterForum.org) prairie, a floodplain forest and at noon CST on the Tuesday date listed. They will also be broadcast on around a lake. Crosby Farm Public Radio at noon CST and again at 9 p.m. CST on those dates. Regional Park is located just The talks will remain available on the Westminster Forum website for anyone east of the Mendota Bridge on to watch or listen to after their initial broadcast. Please also visit the Forum the north side of the website for information about these speakers. Mississippi River. It is run by the St. Paul Park System. The address is 2595 Crosby Farm Road, St. Paul 55116.

Page 4 April 22, 2021

FCC Calendar for May, 2021

1 9 am Coffee with Pastors – Zoom

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9:20 Children’s 9 am Coffee with 8:15 Lectionary 9 am Coffee with 5 pm Zoom 9 am Coffee with Sunday School Pastors – Zoom via Zoom Pastors – Zoom Happy Hour - Pastors – Zoom via Zoom 7 pm Women’s 5 pm Zoom Happy 7 pm Elders Zoom 10:30 am Worship Fellowship via Hour - Zoom Meeting (livestream) Zoom

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 9:20 Children’s 9 am Coffee with 8:15 Lectionary 9 am Coffee with 5 pm Zoom Happy 9 am Coffee with Sunday School Pastors – Zoom Hour via Zoom Pastors – Zoom Hour – Zoom Pastors – Zoom via Zoom 5 pm SHMC 5 pm Zoom Happy 6:00 pm FCC 6:30 pm PRC for 10:30 am Worship Building Hour - Zoom Finance meeting Pastor Laurie (livestream) Committee via Zoom

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 9:20 Children’s 9 am Coffee with 8:15 Lectionary 9 am Coffee with 5 pm Zoom Happy 9 am Coffee with Sunday School Pastors – Zoom via Zoom Pastors – Zoom Hour – Zoom Pastors – Zoom via Zoom 6 pm Worship 2 pm Mission & 10:30 am Worship Team via Zoom Outreach Zoom (livestream) 7 pm FCC General meeting Board on Zoom

23 24 25 26 27 30 29 9:20 Children’s 9 am Coffee with 8:15 Lectionary 9 am Coffee with 5 pm Zoom Happy 9 am Coffee with Sunday School Pastors - Zoom via Zoom Pastors – Zoom Hour – Zoom Pastors – Zoom via Zoom 7 pm ACTION 7 pm FCC Action 10:30 am Worship meeting Discussion (livestream)

30 31 9:20 Children’s Memorial Day Sunday School via Zoom 10:30 am Worship (livestream) 2 pm SpringHouse Board meeting via Zoom Note: The full calendar for FCC and SpringHouse is available online at https://calendar.churchart.com/calendar/73956030

The Courier Page 5

Downtown Interfaith Senior Clergy Statement on the Death of Daunte Wright April 14, 2021

The world is watching to see if justice will be done in Minneapolis.

As the murder trial continues for the police killing of George Floyd, we, the Minneapolis Downtown Interfaith Senior Clergy, now also mourn the police . We underline our cry for justice and our condemnation of racism and white supremacy culture in the strongest terms. We call for transparency and accountability in the handling of the facts of both of these cases, and we stand in solidarity with those actively and peacefully working to dismantle the racial injustice that continues to permeate our communities.

We just celebrated Passover and Easter, and are observing Ramadan. Our traditions call us to move from degradation to dignity, death to life, and sin to mercy. Our religious teachings are clear on this point: all human beings are siblings. Every person has a spark of the divine. Every life is precious. All must breathe free. We invite our neighbors to join us in prayer for hearts and lives broken by violent systems.

Firmly rooted in our faith traditions, we stand united in our call for love and justice because, as Black theologian Cornel West phrases it, “Justice is what love looks like in public.” We know that a just society is always a work in progress – but helping create a society where all may live, grow, and flourish is our calling.

We are committed to finding hope in even the most hopeless of circumstances. We know that many people, especially people of color, are traumatized and hurting. We are committed to healing in our congregations, our community, our nation, and our world.

Together, we echo the words of Isaiah:

You will rebuild the ancient ruins, raise foundations from ages past, and be called “Repairer of broken walls, Restorer of streets to live in.” (58:12)

In solidarity and in faith,

Rev. Elijah McDavid III, Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church Imam Makram Nu’Man El-Amin, Masjid An-Nur Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman, Temple Israel Rev. Dr. DeWayne Davis, Plymouth Congregational Church Rev. Dr. Tim Hart-Andersen, Westminster Presbyterian Church Rev. Jia Starr Brown, First Covenant Church Rev. Dr. David Breeden, First Unitarian Society Rev. Kevin Kenney, Saint Olaf Catholic Church Rev. Judy Zabel, Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Imam Dr. Hamdy El-Sawaf Islamic Community Center of Minnesota/Masjid Al-Imin Rev. Dr. Laurie Pound Feille, First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Rev. Peter Nycklemoe, Central Lutheran Church Rev. Jen Crow, First Universalist Church Rev. Justin Schroeder, First Universalist Church The Very Rev. Paul J. Lebens-Englund, Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral Page 6 April 22, 2021

Sundays at First Christian Church Worship (and morning bulletin) at 10:30, online at fccmpls.org Reflections on the Word Children’s Sunday School via Zoom at 9:20 am Psalm 23: 6: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all of the “Children’s Table” activities online at fccmpls.org days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Although Psalm is often identified with funerals, it is a song about the present. It is about life. It invites us to know that God is present Revised Standard Lectionary Text whenever somebody cares for us as April 25, 2021 a shepherd. Through others God provides food for us, prepares the Psalm 23 table, and fills our cup until it overflows. We must prepare our The Good Shepherd, Julien eyes, ears, and heart to be aware of Dupre God’s presence in every person and situation we encounter. Lord, guide me to discover your presence in the fullness of life and First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Minneapolis, to communicate it to others. Amen. is a partner church at SpringHouse Ministry Center Juan Bek in Disciplines, 2009 (adapted)

FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF MINNEAPOLIS (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST) A Welcoming Community of Faith in the Heart th of the City 610 W. 28 Street Ministry Team Minneapolis, MN 55408 Dan Adolphson, Associate Pastor [email protected] Rick Bowman, SHMC Building Manager Laurie Pound Feille, Senior Minister [email protected] Martha Harris, Courier Editor, [email protected] Deb Murphy, Office Manager & Director of Spiritual Formation of Children, [email protected] & SHMC Building Coordinator, [email protected] Mike Vasich, Music Director and Pianist Office Telephone: 612.870.1868 www.fccminneapolis.org E-Mail:[email protected] Next issue deadline is Sunday, May 9.