I am not telling you this to brag.  In fact, at the time, it did not seem that important to me one way of the other.  It is just what we did.  There was no question about whether or not we would or would not go to Church, and Sunday School.  It never crossed my mind to ask.  It was Sunday, and on Sunday we went to Church both morning and evening.  

I went long enough and often enough that I heard the stories, and understood at least some things that helped me along the way.  I grew up in Louisiana prior to the civil rights movement, but I knew racism was wrong from an early age.  I got some of that from my family, but I also learned that at church, singing the songs, hearing the stories, and sharing with others. 

I got “rooted and grounded” in the faith at an early age.  That doesn’t seem that important to folks today.  There is so much to compete for our time, our energy, our resources, and even our loyalty.  In churches I have served over the years I have watched those various competing forces leaving most families asking on Sunday morning: “What are we going to do today?”  If I had been given the option as a young lad to stay home and read the comics, or walk two miles to church, I suspect I would have known more about cartoon characters than I do.  But I would like to think that we attended church not because we did not have other things to do, but because we knew the importance of the church in our lives.

 I asked the other day just how many “members” FCC Baton Rouge really had.  To be honest I do not think anybody really knows.  At last count there were 811 individual names on our total membership rolls.  My guess is that some of them are no longer with us.  Only about 225 members had their picture taken for the last church pictorial directory.  About 275 are labeled “participating members”. That means that you can get on that list if you sometimes show up, and sometimes give.  But what that also means is that we have about 450 individuals who once were counted as participating members who no longer “sometimes show up” or “sometimes give”.   Now I suspect that some of that 450 cannot show up or give.  They are gone, moved, dead, or no longer even want to be considered a member of FCC.  I am hoping in the next short while to identify those folks.

However those I am most concerned about are those who are a part of that 450 and some who are a part of the 275, who once counted themselves “active” members of FCC, are not dead, have not moved, do not attend another church, and need First Christiana Church. 

I hope we can form a task force soon to identify those folks and decide what we can do to change their membership status to active. 

Next week I will explain why.  I think it will be a different reason than you might expect.

Meet You at the Table

Don

The most obvious and important thing I have noticed is that this congregation is filled with a wide variety of wonderful, talented, and capable persons.  The congregation is varied in age, with a wide spread of persons of all ages.  The first sign of a healthy church is one with a demographic like the one at First Christian Baton Rouge.   Churches with persons of all ages, and enough of each age to make for good groups not only can offer many opportunities for education and growth, and greater community and service, but it becomes a welcoming community for others that can easily fit into those special communities.

The second thing I noticed is that you not only have a beautiful campus, but it is well designed to be able to meet the growing and changing needs of this congregation.  The facilities are beautifully arranged to be most hospitable and available to all who presently worship and study and fellowship here.   In addition, the facilities are designed so that FCC can use its facilities in partnering with other organizations to better meet the needs of this community.  Few churches that I have served have such beautiful and well arranged and versatile facilities.

You have a far above average staff.  I do not want to brag on the staff so much that they each expect a large raise soon, but I have seldom ever served a church with such a fine staff.  They are competent, committed, caring, and capable of doing a superior job.  It is much more pleasant to work with a staff like the one present at FCC than to spend the time looking for persons to fill those roles.

I of course also see some deficiencies.  I have not been here long enough to help in the changing of those deficiencies, but as there is agreement along the way we will address those and hopefully begin to make those changes that not only enable all of us to be more excited about FCC BR but that will enable others who are not here yet to also become excited about FCC.

One change that I would like to see soon, that not only will be of great assistance to me, and to any new minister that will come, but will be incredibly helpful in attracting and keeping new members is the use of name tags.  I suspect that I am not alone in having difficulty in remembering names.  I suspect that some of you may also find there are some persons, especially children in this church that you cannot call by name.  I have yet to find a church, no matter how large or small where everyone could remember everyone else’s name, including the children.  That is even truer where there are two services, and there are persons who may never even meet some who do not attend the service they do.

So, with the wonderful people, fantastic facilities, incredible staff, and many challenges, I look forward to the days, weeks, and months ahead.

Meet You at the Table, 

Don

The Church year is moving toward Pentecost.  In Disciple churches it is most common to recognize this event as “the birthday of the church.”  But we are more inclined to do that with balloons and birthday cakes rather than any emphasis on the Holy Spirit.  Now, the very last thing I want to do my first few Sundays here in Baton Rouge is to scare people away from worship on Sunday mornings.  Instead I would hope to invite you into a discussion on the meaning and purpose of the Holy Spirit that enables 21^st Century rational Christians to embrace one of the major concepts of the Church in such a way that it has meaning and power in our lives and in the Church.

So, next Sunday I will begin a three sermon series on the topic of the Holy Spirit.  In those three weeks, we will lift up the primary symbols that are used in the scriptures to describe the Holy Spirit:  The Dove, The Wind and Breath, and Fire to determine if they can be helpful in bringing greater clarity to our understanding.

To assist in that dialogue, I encourage you to read John 14:25-26, where Jesus describes to his Disciples the purpose of the Holy Spirit.  The title of the three sermons will be “The Soft Side of the Spirit¨ “The Mysterious Side of the Spirit” and  “The Tough Side of the Spirit.”  Join me and invite your friends to be a part of our worship the next three Sundays. 

Meet You at the Table,

 Don

 Thank you, Lord. 

Thank you, Lord

Thank you, Lord.

I just want to thank you Lord.

The trouble is that I also provided an intentional 3-5 second pause in between each phrase.  Now, when I first heard this song I was anxious during those 3-5 seconds.  Was the leader who was singing this song expecting us, the congregation to jump in and repeat his singing?  I had never heard this song before, so I didn’t know what to expect.  Should we repeat?  Did he forget the rest of the words?  Is he waiting for a piano accompaniment to join in?  Did he forget the tune? 

3-5 seconds of silence is not long.  Yet somehow it can also seem like an eternity. 

In music we are reminded that a rest is not a time to let go and take a break.  Rather a rest is put into music as a way to anticipate what is next, to leave the audience on edge ready to hear what is next.  A rest, properly placed, keeps the music moving forward and the listeners excited to hear more.

This time of transition is like the rest in music.  It anticipates what is to come, it anticipates the rest of the song, and makes us ready.  However, much like a rest in music is not a time to sit back and relax, this time of transition requires OUR participation DURING the transition.

In Psalm 46:10 we are reminded to “Be still and know that I am God.”  This two part command can be hard, because the first command – to be still – is so hard for many of us who have very busy and hectic lives.  But it is necessary and important. 

If we are to participate in that second part of the command, and expect God’s presence to be with us, to know that God is God, we first have to still our lives enough to truly know that.  In that same way, if we are hopeful for God’s guidance during this transition, we too are expected to be present and active during this transition, being still as we seek God’s guidance.

 As you go throughout this week, and as we as a congregation embark on a new chapter of ministry with our Transitional Senior Minister Rev. Don Bohlcke let us remember to sit in the silence, to be still and know that God is here to lead us, and to minister with us, but we must first be silent to hear God’s word.  Take 5 minutes this week to be completely silent, not doing anything else.  No watching TV in silence, no snuggling with the kiddos, no showering without talking – actual, and intentional silence.  For there in that silence is where God is speaking to us, reminding us of God’s presence.  Thomas Keating says it well when he reminds us that “silence is the language God speaks and everything else is a bad translation.”

 Be still this week…. And know that God is God.

 In Peace ~ Rev. Laura

Peter already had declared that their teacher, Jesus, was "the Messiah, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:16)  But clearly Peter had not fully understood what that meant.  Peter did not realize that, to be the Messiah, was to be the one who would lay down his life, "undergoing great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests . . . killed,  . . . and raised." (Matthew 16:21)  When Peter had tried to silence Jesus -- he himself was rebuked and silenced.

On this Fourth Sunday of Easter the scripture shifts from a recounting of the events following the resurrection to a reflection on “who is Christ?”  In reading this particular passage from John 10:11-18, the goal is to assist us as we, like Mary and the disciples, seek to understand what happened and is happening to us, the flock of the good shepherd. 

In the years, decades, and centuries, and even into our own time, the followers of Jesus have sought for ways to express, in words and images, who was and who is this person Jesus Christ.  John, for example, opened his gospel account with the grand vision of the one who was before all time and through whom all things came into being.  Jesus was the very Word of God made flesh.  And they turned to the images Jesus had taught them about himself.  He told them that he was the vine and they were the branches.  He told them that he was the bread of life and living water that would quench their thirst forever.  And he taught them that he was their shepherd; they were his flock.

What does it mean to be a sheep of Jesus' flock?  It means that we enter through his gate.  Jesus is the way to a restored wholeness with God.  We know his voice and follow him.  He cares for us, keeping us safe.  And when we wander away, which we know we do all too often, he comes searching for us.

These are wonderful, comforting images, but this passage includes one other challenging thought.  The good shepherd decides who is in the sheepfold, we do not.  "I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold." (John 10:16)  The Pharisees and the disciples alike thought that they knew who the chosen ones of God were.  But this shepherd is telling them, and telling us, that there will be "one flock, one shepherd" and it is God, in Jesus Christ, not us, who brings together that flock.   May we forever be enfolded in his flock, embracing ALL who enter this flock that Jesus Christ has brought together.

~ Rev. Laura Phillips

(Portions from “One flock, one shepherd…” by Lucy Lind Hogan, Professor of Preaching and Worship at Wesley Theological Seminary)

In places all over the country churches are filled (or not filled) with members and visitors who faithfully come to worship every Sunday.  However, in response to an energy filled Easter worship may not expect a certain “type” of worship on the Sunday AFTER Easter.  The songs may not be as loud, or as upbeat, the prayers somehow seem different, and often times there is a different preacher.

In John 20:19-31 we find the disciples who have returned to the Upper Room after the morning of the resurrection.  It wasn’t quite a week after that bright Easter morning, but they certainly didn’t know what to expect.  Time seemed different, the Upper Room in which they sat with Jesus just a few days before seemed different, and there was a different gathering of people that there had been the last time they gathered. 

Like the disciples in the Upper Room, on “Low Sunday,” or even the few Sundays following Easter, we might not have reason to expect something extraordinary like the resurrection, but perhaps that’s just when something – or someone! – amazing could show up!

“When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

This is not to serve as a guilt trip if you weren’t at church on Sunday, nor is it a plea to show up just because we might have low attendance on a certain Sunday.  Instead, it is a reminder that when we least expect it, or when we are certain that nothing extraordinary is going to happen, is exactly when something – or someone – amazing could show up!

Our commitment to worship and to church is not about when we expect certain people to be there, or only when we have certain duties.  It’s not even about showing up when we know, or even “just in case” something extraordinary happens as it did to those disciples in the upper room.  Our commitment to church is about the ways that we are committed to our own relationship with God and the ways that we trust in God’s power and grace to help us grow.  It is certainly difficult to follow the excitement of a high holy day such as Easter.  There is a certain power and excitement that comes from so many people in worship, and knowing that we are celebrating such a special day.

However, there is also a certain power in knowing that God WILL speak to us no matter what Sunday, or what day it is, IF we are open and listening for God’s voice.  What if we treat EVERY day like this “just in case,” trusting that God will offer something extraordinary if only we come to meet God each and every day?  Let these Sundays and doubting Thomas serve as a reminder that God IS there each and every day, even “low” Sunday, our job is to open ourselves to hear God’s voice and trust that it will always be there.

Please take note of the many opportunities we have during Holy Week.  There are individual articles in the newsletter concerning each of these events.  We hope you will make every effort to be a part of our family of faith during this special time in the church year.

Monday, April 2 – Thursday, April 5

Daily devotional service @ noon

Thursday, April 5   - Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday worship @ 6:30pm      

Friday, April 6 - Good Friday  

Continuous Reading of the Gospel

7:00am—7:00pm

 Saturday, April 7

     Children’s Easter Egg Hunt & Party

     10:00 a.m. – Fellowship Hall

Sunday, April 8 - Easter Sunday

7:00 a.m. – Sunrise worship

8:30 a.m. – Worship

9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. – Breakfast 

      10:50 a.m. –  Worship

The original blog post can be viewed on her blog, by clicking here.

As a mother of a young man who played football, my heart breaks every time I see the picture of Trayvon Martin in his football uniform. I have a dozen such pictures still on my fridge and in photograph albums, pictures taken as I watched my little boy grow into a man. When I think that Trayvon’s mother will not have that same joy, I am overwhelmed with sadness. She, especially, and all those who love Trayvon are in my prayers. In my prayers as well are the Zimmermans, the police and the entire community of Sanford, Florida.

The tangled intersection of beliefs and assumptions that have made Trayvon’s death and the aftermath controversial in Florida, are also at work in our church. It makes it difficult to say exactly the right word in a church as diverse as ours. But to say nothing is unacceptable.

No matter what specifically happened in the moments before an adult, primed to be suspicious, took foot and followed, then shot an unarmed teenager, something wrong happened here. This occurrence has spotlighted for us again the complicated reality of race and guns in our society.

Would the armed man have shot a young white man? Would he even have felt threatened enough to call 911 and then go after him? Unlikely. Racial stereotypes played a role here. As they do in so many situations.

Our church is 10 years into a pro-reconciliation/anti-racism priority. Some have said it is too much; we took care of these matters in the ‘60s. But the shooting of Trayvon Martin shows us otherwise. Until we can see clearly how race impacts our interactions – and also do our best to stop the detrimental effects – we still have work to do.

Brother and Sister Disciples, let’s keep up the work. Support Reconciliation Ministry with your gift. Get involved with the anti-racism team in your region. Enter into partnership with a congregation of a different race in your community. Learn what you can do to erase the unintended ways that race affects your own thinking.

Let’s do our part to build communities of wholeness where neighbors are not separated by suspicion but are rather united in a common desire to see the best for each other and our children. May God guide and direct our thoughts and our actions.

~ Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins

 This year, Week of Compassion continues to focus on the ways “Sharing Brings Joy,” specifically on how “Sharing Brings Joy to Others.”  Much of the time our gifts bring joy to others through the tangible results of our sharing:

• A family displaced by natural disaster or political unrest is grateful to receive food, shelter, and the comfort of a safe place to begin to rebuild their lives.
• A woman who has had to walk miles to carry potable water for her family smiles as she draws water from a clean well near her home.
• A child excitedly arrives for the first day of class at her village’s new school.

Of course, when we “sow bountifully” by giving to others, we reap bountifully by sharing in the joy that our gifts bring to those whose basic needs are met through the important work of all our partners in service.

But in his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul reminds us of another way our giving brings joy to others.  In encouraging the Corinthian church to give to the collection for the believers in Jerusalem, he reminds them that when the Jewish believers there receive gifts from their non-Jewish brothers and sisters, they will be moved not only by the gifts themselves, but also by the unity in Christ the gifts represent.  Across social and economic lines that might have separated them, followers of Christ reached out to support one another.  The awareness of another’s need allowed them to recognize their own abundance as a gift from God, one they were called to share.

When we become aware of the needs of our extended global family, we are rescued from the fearful sense of scarcity our competitive culture of consumption can instill.  We are awakened from the daydream of our isolation and reminded of all those around the world with whom, in the Spirit, we are one.  Then we see others in need, not as recipients of our charity, but as sisters and brothers with whom we are called to share abundantly.

And the joy they experience from sharing in God’s abundance extends beyond the tangible expressions they receive.  Knowing there are those who would share willingly with them, they are reminded of who they are: beloved children of the Creator, sisters and brothers of us all, each one a person of sacred worth.

 This week as you consider sharing your tithes and offerings with our special offering for Week of Compassion, remember all the ways your gifts bring joy to others.  Sow bountifully and share abundantly, knowing that you are not only helping change the statistics, you are also helping change lives.  May we all give cheerfully and multiply the joy!