CONTACT INFORMATION FOR PASTOR JOHN KRUEGER john_krueger425@comcast.net h: 317-467-1529/ c: 317-498-0710
A NOTE ON CURRENT OPERATIONS FOR OUR FIRST UNITED COMMUNITY For the safety of all, and on the recommendation of our Covid-19 Task Force, First United Church activities will remain out of our building at least through the month of August.
POSTING WORSHIP ON FACEBOOK In response to requests, we are posting our virtual worship service on our Facebook page. If you do not wish your name or faces to appear in the posted service, please turn off your video and/or change your screen name.
Labyrinth Stone Removal More than half the stones have been removed from the labyrinth. Thanks to everyone who has helped so far. There are plenty of stones left–you can help yourself or, if you would prefer help loading stones, come to church from 10 to 12 any Thursday. If you want to assist in stone removal, come to the labyrinth anytime and move stones outside the circle. Someone will collect these stones later. Building and Grounds.
July Virtual Choir Hymns!Are you interested in adding your voice to our virtual hymns in July? All you need is a smartphone or electronic recording device, a pair of headphones, and your voice! Please contact Sam Grace if you are interested at samuelcgrace@gmail.com. The virtual hymns with the choir in July are: July 12 – Spirit of GentlenessJuly 19 – How Firm a FoundationJuly 26 – For the Beauty of the Earth As we continue our period of virtual worship, we are looking for more volunteers to help bring artistic gifts toward our time of centering. Do you sing? Play an instrument? Write poetry? Do you have a creative gift that you would be willing to share during our worship? If so, I’d love to hear from you. You can reach me directly at samuelcgrace@gmail.com. Thank you!
CONFRONTING RACISM-Experts Discuss Race in America Perhaps no issue is as pervasive and complex in America as systemic racism. Its reach is long, its effects destructive, shaping our history and our identities, and continuing to influence virtually every aspect of our culture and politics. At the same time, a centuries-long struggle against systemic racism has left its own indelible marks on America’s past and present. A deep commitment to racial justice, shared by many citizens, has sparked protests and uprisings that continue to renew our democratic principles and move us forward, however haltingly, toward a more perfect union. Inspired by stunning instances of continued injustice and the widespread protests of 2020, Confronting Racism is a series of conversations with faculty experts from IU and other universities designed to examine systemic racism in its varied forms and to explore the modes and methods of protest used to confront this central issue in American life. Brought to you by IU’s Center for Research on Race, Ethnicity and Society, College Arts and Humanities Institute, and Arts and Humanities Council, the series will address current events as well as our country’s longer and much more expansive struggle against injustice. In this, the series represents and renews our campus’s commitment to research, dialogue, and collaborations that engage critically with the most urgent and important issues facing our nation. Streaming live, Tuesdays at 8:00pm, for the next six weeks, on the IU Arts and Humanities Council’s Facebook page.
2019-2020 Annual Report
Thanks to all for the significant work on behalf of our congregation represented in these reports.
The 2019-2020 Annual Report is available here https://firstuc.org/?wpfb_dl=292
Racial Justice Book ClubIt’s official! Please let Don Wooldridge know if you are interested in participating (dontylw@gmail.com). We are in the process of determining when we will meet and which book we will read first. More info to come!
First United Parent Group Are you a parent in need of a social outlet and/or some support from other parents during this extended stay at home time? Gather together via Zoom (link below) on the following Sunday afternoons at 2:00 p.m. for discussion of how our parenting lives have been impacted by this pandemic and other conversations of interest to the group present. Questions? Contact Hopi Stosberg (hopi@stosberg.com). Please join us for 1 or more: THIS Sunday, July 12: What are you doing with your kids? (Come prepared with 1 thing that has saved your sanity during this time and 1 thing that you are still struggling with.) Sunday, July 19: School in the Fall (Come prepared to discuss what decisions your family is making regarding school in the fall and what questions, concerns, or challenges that will pose for your family.) Sunday, July 26: Grandparents Day (Come prepared to discuss how this pandemic has impacted the relationships between grandparents and their grandchilden.) First United Church invites you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: First United Parent GroupTime: Jul 12, 2020 02:00 PM Indiana (East) Every week on Sun, 3 occurrence(s) Jul 12, 2020 02:00 PM Jul 19, 2020 02:00 PM Jul 26, 2020 02:00 PMJoin Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/86421915551?pwd=RS9MZkpjRmV5c09ya3UzRWkyajFWZz09Meeting ID: 864 2191 5551Password: 931742
Ongoing Virtual Church EventsOur work as a caring community continues on Zoom through Sunday worship and lectionary study, and Tuesday’s Virtual Café and Adult Study class. For more details on these opportunities please visit https://firstuc.org/online/We are also working to develop new ways to reach out in this stressful time of isolation. If you have suggestions or needs (your own or others’) please reach out to Pastor John, Derek or Shelli, or Mary Peckham.We depend on your sustained giving in this difficult time. If you can, please maintain, or consider increasing your regular giving, to support our work. Options for giving include:
- mail (checks strongly preferred)
- online giving at https://tinyurl.com/GiveFirstUnited
- by phone at 1-800-675-7430 [account ID is ES799783 (First United Church, Inc.)].
- by text: 812-432-2002
VIRTUAL COMMUNITY AND WORSHIP SERVICES
Join Us for Worship this Sunday!! “Our worship will begin at 10:30am. You may begin logging into Zoom at 10am.” Zoom Meeting Link:https://zoom.us/j/94635708633?pwd=NE9CdGtTWk5ndGRzRnQ2TTVrQmlZZz09Meeting ID: 946 3570 8633Password: 879535 OFF TOPIC SCRIPTURE CIRCLE (formerly known as Lectionary Discussion)Want to read and discuss the week’s scripture readings with friends before church? In a casual setting where you will never be asked to leave your brain or your heart at the door? Do we have the place for you! Click below to join us, Sunday mornings from 9-10am.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84002403978?pwd=N0sxS093T1JobkVxTVVGRlFBdVUwUT09
Meeting ID: 840 0240 3978
Password: 122688 VIRTUAL CAFÉ and TUESDAY ADULT DISCUSSION Tuesday mornings from 10-10:30am to meet up virtually for a cup of coffee (BYO), a check-in, and a brief meditation/reflection and prayer. Join us if you can!Immediately following our virtual café, a theological discussion led by Derek Roe will begin at 10:30am and end at 11:30am.
Join Shelli Yoder, MDiv, MS, virtually for coffee (BYO) and conversation. We will be using the article below as an impetus to our discussion. “White Fragility” (the book mentioned above) has a Whiteness Problem AKA What’s Missing From “White Fragility” by Lauren Michele Jackson. This article was published on Slate.com, September 4, 2019.
- From your laptop or desktop computer https://zoom.us/j/309686166?pwd=OVZ2VXFUSDV6R2IwM0xTMTd4TEVCdz09, OR
- From your landline telephone or cell phone: (253) 215 8782 then enter the meeting ID: 309 686 166# Password: 399499
- Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/aCaOLQbW3
FIRST UNITED’S SPECIAL COVID-19 FUNDYour generous support of Council and Outreach’s request for donations to our special fund supplementing the Love Fund to assist members and friends needing help in this time of layoffs and closings was overwhelming. If you or someone you know in our church community needs help, contact church leadership for more information.
PREVENT THE SPREADAll church activities will be out of the building at least through August. Our COVID-19 Task Force is advising Council as we move ahead into a challenging new period of finding best practices for opening our congregation. Remember that much of our success depends on us; we can and must make responsible choices to protect ourselves, our families and our community: maintaining 6 feet of social distance; washing hands often; wearing a face mask in public; staying home when sick; getting tested immediately if symptoms appear. Need a fabric face mask? Let Rebecca Nunley know: reblea99@gmail.com
MEANWHILE GRASS AND WEEDS CONTINUE TO GROW whether church is open or not. If you have time and energy to work at socially distanced mowing, weeding, or general upkeep on our grounds, Laura Kao is graciously available to provide guidance. Laura has also posted a to-do list of discrete tasks on the shed door for all comers. Contact laura_b_kao@hotmail.com or 812-361-6074
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