First Church to Have “Sacred Conversation on Race”
The United Church of Christ is calling the country to have a “Sacred Conversation on Race” on Sunday, May 18. This call was partially in response to the controversy surrounding the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Senator Barack Obama.
First Church is responding to the call by planning a special worship service and “Second Hour” for that day. Current plans by the Worship Planning Committee are to meet in the Large Assembly for worship and create a special place for contemplation and speaking our truth. Watch for more details. You can hear the UCC General Minister and President John Thomas comment on the call to this conversation in the article below.
Gwen Thomas is the Assistant Coordinator of the God is Still Speaking Initiative of the United Church of Christ. She is also the daughter of First Church member Frank Thomas and grew up in First Church. She lives and works in Cleveland. She recently sent out an email with some of her reflections on the sacred conversation about race. Read Gwen’s reflections here.
Read a Pastoral Letter on Racism written by the members of the United Church of Christ leadership.
Gospel Choir to Sing at May 18 Special Service
Dr. Mark Wilson has agreed to direct the FCCB Gospel Choir for Sunday worship on May 18, when the church will be gathering for its “Sacred Conversation on Race”. Rehearsals will be Friday, May 2, from 7:00–9:30 pm in Loper Chapel; Saturday, May 10, from 2:00–4:30 pm in the FCCB Sanctuary; and Saturday, May 17, from 9:30 am to noon in the FCCB Large Assembly. All are invited to join whether you have previously sung with the Gospel Choir or not. The choir will be a great asset to this service.
Pat and Sam Travel to Iran
Update: May 2 The delegation arrived safely in Iran and folks were immediately launched into meetings and events. Read the stories that are beginning to come in on the Iran trip blog.
Read the first email we have received from Pat.
Patricia de Jong, Senior Minister at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, United Church of Christ and her husband Sam Keen, well-known author and philosopher left from New York City on Tuesday, April 29, for a 12-day fact-finding and friendship mission to Iran. They will be part of a 21-member peace delegation organized by the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), the oldest and largest interfaith peace organization in the United States. First Church member Katharine Kunst is also a member of the delegation.
Read more about this peace-making mission.
Cordelia’s Last Sunday
This Sunday, May 11, is Mother’s Day, a Jazz/Gospel Worship Service, and also our wonderful Cordelia Strandskov’s last Sunday as our Browne Barr Seminary Intern. She will preach in worship on being Spirit-filled. Join us in honoring her during our Fellowship Hour in the Large Assembly immediately after worship. This is an opportunity to shower Cordelia with gratitude and well wishes as she circulates her ministerial profile, hoping for a call to a position in a local church.
On Sunday, May 25, Cordelia will be graduating from the Pacific School of Religion and we will be celebrating this major milestone with a party at the church, in the Large Assembly, at 7:30 pm. All are welcome to the festivities.
Calaveras Performance to Benefit South Africa
On Sunday, June 15, Calaveras, an award-winning New Folk trio featuring First Church members Greg Beattie and Victoria Crebbin Blythe will perform a benefit concert at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, at 7 p.m. in the Sanctuary. The proceeds of the concert, sponsored by First Church’s South Africa Ministry Team, will go toward HIV/AIDS education and eradication in South Africa.
TEARS and FCCB Participate in Anti-Torture Month
Read more about FCCB’s TEARS Ministry Team which works on anti-torture issues.
A bold new banner outside the church will proclaim “Torture is a Moral Issue.” during the month of June. We are marking Anti-Torture Month by participating in the NRCAT (National Religious Campaign Against Torture} Banners Across America project. Congregations in Berkeley and all over the US are flying these banners this June, a powerful nationwide witness against torture.
Read and listen to an interview with The Rev. Richard Killmer, Executive Director of NRCAT, by the Christian Science Monitor.
On Sunday, June 15, TEARS will hold a Second Hour on US-sponsored torture. It will be a “Do-Something Session.” We will watch a short video, talk about our questions, and then all will be asked to help compose letters speaking out against torture—to Congress, to the editors of local papers, whomever you choose. If you are able, we invite you to bring a laptop to church on June 15 so our letters will be “printer-ready” at the end of the Hour. If you can bring a portable printer and/or thumb drive, please let Louise Specht know. You can get her contact info from the church office by calling 510/848-3696.
UCC President Appears on Anderson Cooper 360°
Watch the YouTube video of UCC President and General Minister John Thomas appearing on Anderson Cooper’s CNN show. This clip also includes footage of a press conference at Trinity UCC featuring Thomas, Trinity pastor Otis Moss, III, and Dr. Michael Kinnamon, from the National Council of Churches, in which the church leaders call for a “sacred conversation on race” on May 18.
UCC Runs Full-page National Ads
In response to the controversy surrounding UCC minister the Rev. Jerimiah Wright, Jr., retired pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, and several weeks of information and misinformation about the UCC, the denomination ran a full-page ad in the New York Times, on Wednesday, April 2. It shares both the history and vision of the denomination, and was supported financially by scores of donations from across the country from UCC members and churches and others. Because of the strong response from donors, the UCC decided to run a second ad in USA Today on April 10, which invited the country to consider issues of race in this country on May 18, 2008.
First Church held a “Second Hour” discussion on Race, Religion and the UCC on April 6, co-sponsored by the Adult Education Committee and the Diversity in Community Ministry Team. Barack Obama’s historic March 18th speech was viewed and discussed. The Church Council voted to make a contribution of $1000 to the ad campaign.
The Worship Planning Team is also planning a special service and Second Hour on May 18th as part of this call to have a “sacred conversation” about race.
Take a look at a pdf version of the New York Times ad.
Take a look at the pdf version of the USA Today ad.
Donate online to the advertising campaign called “Tell Our Story”.
Congregation Shares Favorite Bible Verses
During the Jazz and Gospel Worship Service on Sunday, April 13, congregation members were invited to share their favorite Bible verses. The worship leaders had also asked members and friends to bring their favorite Bible to church since this was also the day that children in 3rd and 4th grades were receiving Bibles.
Read the list of verses that folks submitted including some texts and comments. (This file was updated on May 9 to include some new submissions.)
Climate Action Visits Solar Living Institute
On Saturday, April 19, the Climate Action Ministry Team sponsored a field trip to the Solar Living Institute in Hopland about 85 miles north of Berkeley on HWY 101. What an amazing place! In 1994 it was a transportation dump site with only one tree—the one with the tree house. Real Goods Trading Co. bought the property and together with other groups created a 12-acre oasis that models living sustainably in a closed ecological system (such as the earth). In the photo: Bill Cox, his daughter Carolyn Cox and Charlotte Russell. Tim Specht was also there.
Read more about this visionary example of ecological sustainability and find out more about the Climate Action Ministry Team.
Cody’s and the Challenges of Bookstores
First Church has had a long relationship with Cody&rsuo;s Bookstore which for a long time was a Telegraph Avenue landmark. It moved to Fourth Street in Berkeley but recently moved to a new location on Shattuck Avenue when their rent was raised dramatically. Read an interesting article published about Cody’s by SFGate.
Scenes from Holy Week
Thanks to First Church member Dave Sutton for most of these photos!
Holy Week at First Church was a deeply moving and powerful celebration of this most important part of the Christian story. Palm Sunday included a celebrative palm processional and four new larger-than-lifesize puppets were part of the parade. These characters, witnesses to the story of Jesus’ Holy Week journey, also returned at the end of the service when the Good Friday cross was brought in and on Easter Sunday morning. On Wednesday, March 19, the community gathered at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco to make the 5th anniversary of the war in Iraq. Story and video below. On Maundy Thursday we gathered for a simple meal and the ritual of foot and hand washing. Good Friday was marked by an ecumenical service led by representatives of the UC Berkeley campus ministry community. On Sunday morning, about 45 people gathered at 7 am for a Sunrise Service in the parking lot of the Lawrence Hall of Science in the Berkeley Hills overlooking the Bay. And then the Easter Celebration hit many high notes back in the First Church sanctuary. The place was packed, organ and brass music lifted our spirits, banners were waved and the puppet “witnesses” celebrated the resurrection, the preaching was powerful (watch here for the audio version of Patricia de Jong’s sermon), the Chancel Choir and Songs of the Soul gave stellar performances, and at the end of the service, over 75 people joined the choir in the Chancel for an impromptu singing of the “Hallelujah Chorus”.
First Church & Grace Cathedral Join for Peace Vigil
Read an article about this event at insidebayarea.com.
Watch a video news report about the event.
First Church collaborated with Grace Cathedral to create a Peace Vigil on Wednesday, March 19, to mark the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq. Over 300 poeple attended. First Church Senior Minister Patricia de Jong preached. A special exhibit called “Eyes Wide Open,” created by the American Friends Service Committee poignantly illustrated the human cost of the Iraq War. It featured dozens of pairs of army boots signifying fallen California soldiers and was installed on the labyrinth.
33 First Church members attended and several (Patricia de Jong, Dave Sutton, Hank Leeper and Nan Joesten) were seen in this Channel Two news report about the event.
First Church Commits to CROP Walk
First Church is once again committing to take part in the CROP Walk to End Hunger. The goal is to have 25 walkers and raise a lot of money! Last year, The CROP Walk included 125 walkers and 16 groups raised over $11,000 for people served by the Alameda County Community Food Bank, YEAH (a youth drop-in center) and by Church World Service/CROP. This year’s walk will be on April 20 around Lake Merritt in Oakland starting from the Lake Merritt United Methodist Church at 1:30 pm. You may sign up to walk, to sponsor a walker, or to donate in the Large Assembly on April 13 & 20 or, simply contact Charlotte Russell if you are interested. We are called to not only stand in solidarity with the poor, the hungry, and the forsaken in our community but to walk with them. Come and let us spread God’s abundant love throughout our community.
Students who are in Tinley Ireland’s DeCal Class “Hunger and Malnutrition in the Berkeley Area” will also be walking as part of their final class project. This class, which is one of a series of student-initiated classes at UC Berkeley is sponsored by the First Church Campus Ministry.
You can also get more information from Marijke Fakasiieiki, FCCB member and East Bay CROP Hunger Walk Coordinator at: 510/848-7024 or by email.
Donate online to the East Bay Crop Walk.
Parker Palmer Audio Now Online
Listen to Parker Palmer’s recent Codys@FCCB presentation. Other author presentations also available for audio download!
Controversary Surrounds Obama and UCC Paster Wright
Read President John Thomas’s response to Rev. Wright’s most recent comments.
Read an essay by Bill Moyers called “Beware the Terrible Simplifiers”. Moyers had interviewed Wright on his PBS show. This article was written after the comments Wright made at the National Press Club.
Read an essay by UCC Associate General Minister Edith Guffey on race issues in our church and in the country. This piece was actually written before the Wright controversy.
Watch Bill Moyers interview of Jeremiah Wright.
The news recently has been full of reports recently of statements that UCC minister the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., now-retired minister of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, has made during various sermons in past years. Presidential candidate Barack Obama has been a member of that church, which is the largest church in the UCC (over 7000 members), for twenty years. In response, Senator Obama delivered a speech calling the United States to a conversation on race.
You can view the speech through this link to You Tube.
View a video of UCC President John Thomas celebrating the ministry of Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. upon his retirement. This YouTube video is uploaded on the Trinity UCC website, and will also give you a sense of that church and it’s congregation. If you click on the “menu” button on the YouTube screen you will be able to view other videos that represent the church.
Read an article from the New York Times telling more of the story of Obama’s connection to Trinity UCC.
Read an article that appeared in the Chicago Tribune written by a Euro-American member of Trinity UCC, William A. Von Hoene, Jr.
Read an in-depth article in the New Yorker magazine called “Project Trinity.
Read the “Truth About Trinity” blog.
Marietta Plays "By Request"
Larry Marietta, Director of Music at First Church, played a concert on Sunday, March 30, of pieces requested by members of the congregation. Over the previous couple of weeks, the community was asked to name its favorite pieces. Larry used this as the basis for choosing works for the concert, played on the church’ new organ. In the poll, the favorite was Bach’s “Air on a G String”.
Watch this “hand-held” video of an excerpt of “Air on a G String”.
Winthrop Goes to the Snow
Each year, Winthrop, the Senior High youth group at First Church, goes to the mountains for a retreat. This year’s group just spent the weekend near Lake Tahoe. Lorenzo Llanillo, one of the group leaders said this about the trip: “We had the youth to think about the changes that take place in this time of great ferment as many head off to college, or new responsibilities on the road or just a change in seeing the world. The youth really challenged themselves and I feel richer for the opportunity to share this time with them.”
Take a look at more photos from the trip, including a photo of the whole group.
Shoe Collection for Peace Vigil
To complement the “Eyes Wide Open” exhibit which was part of the Grace Cathedral Peace Vigil (see above), faith communities and individuals collected shoes to represent the more than 88,800 Iraqi civilian casualties. These shoes were lined up on the Great Steps during the vigil. Afterwards, they were donated to organizations serving those in need.
First Church members brought over 150 pairs of shoes to the Palm Sunday service. They were brought forward to the chancel during the offertory and placed around the communion table.
Steindl-Rast Shares His Deep Wisdom
As part of a Lent adult education series called “A Taste of Prayer and Meditation”, Brother David Steindl-Rast shared his powerful spirit and personal insight about Benedictine prayer and meditation practices. Brother David, a senior member of Benedictine Community in New York, divides his time between living the life of a hermit and being an internationally-acclaimed author and teacher. More information can be found at his website www.gratefulness.org.
Listen to Brother David Steindl-Rast’s presentation.
Anti-Torture Ministry Team Decries TV Torture Portrayals
TEARS, the FCCB anti-torture Ministry Team, is working with Human Rights First, an international organization that promotes laws and policies that advance universal rights and freedoms to address the way that torture is portrayed on television, and also NRCAT, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. Human Rights First has created a video called Primetime Torture. This 14-minute movie shows the difference between the way that interrogation is shown on TV and the way it ought to work in the field. The film weaves together clips from some of TV’s most popular shows with the comments of seasoned interrogators.
You can view the video in two parts on YouTube.
View Part One.
View Part Two.
You can also learn more about the portrayal of torture in primetime at www.primetimetorture.org.
More about the activities of TEARS.
New Moderator Delivers Annual Meeting Address
At First Church’s Annual Meeting in early February, Janet Eadie, the newly elected moderator, gave a moving and powerful address to begin her year in this role. Eadie has chosen “Sharing the Light of God” as her theme for the year. The Moderator chairs the Church Council and convenes meetings of the congregation. The person in this lay position is also a close collaborator with the Senior Minister.
Codys@FCCB: “Backdoor to Enlightenment”
The early 2008 lineup for Codys@FCCB events that has included Deepak Chopra, M.D., Samantha Power, and Parker Palmer, continues with Za Rinpoche & Ashley Nebelsieck (“Backdoor to Enlightenment”, May 2).
Find out more on the Codys@FCCB page.
Listen to the audio of Parker Palmer’s recent Codys@FCCB presentation.
Opera Concert Raises Money for Prisoner Issues
The opera concert “The Opera House Meets the Big House” organized by the Criminal Justice Ministry Team netted $1155 for two prisoner assistance programs. Attendance and contributions doubled from last year’s concert. The word is that a CD of the February 23rd event will be available for a donation and that planning for next year’s event is already underway! More about this concert and other social justice issues that First Church is addressing.
2007 Annual Report Online
Take a look back to see all that has happened over the last year at First Church. Download a pdf version of the 2007 Annual Report.
Nickname Experiment Shifts “FCCB” to “First Church”
First Congregational Church of Berkeley, United Church of Christ, is playing around with it’s nickname. Historically, we have referred to ourselves in the shorthand as “FCCB”. Currently it is in the process of trying on “First Church” as a nickname that might have greater meaning outside the church and make various forms of publicity easier to do.
Download a fuller explanation of the reasons for this change written by First Church’s Minister of Art and Communication, Phil Porter. This is the information he shared at a Town Meeting on April 20. The Church Council has reflected on the feedback that church members gave that morning and has referred the discussion to the Care, Fellowship and Invitation Ministry for further consideration. In the meantime, they recommended carrying on the experiment with the use of the nickname “First Church” in the more informal communications of the church.
UCC “100,000 for Peace”: Sign, Pray, Donate
During the Advent Season, the United Church of Christ continued its witness in opposition to the war in Iraq in three ways. Over 67,000 people have signed on to the pastoral letter opposing the war and many churches took copies of the petitions to their local representatives. Congregations have been offering prayers for the troops in Iraq and over 100 prayer journals were collected by the national office to be forwarded to soldiers in the Gulf. Read more about the prayer journals on the national UCC website. First Church had a red candle on the communion table each Sunday during Advent in honor of our soldiers. Over $140,000 has been raised for life-sustaining food, water, health care and education for war-affected Iraqi families displaced in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
You can still sign the petition, post a prayer and make a donation online at ucc.org.
UCC President Preaches at First Church
On Sunday, January 20, also Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Rev. John Thomas, the President and General Minister of the United Church of Christ, preached at FCCB. You can hear his sermon, “After Forty Years: The Urgency of Now”
Listen to John Thomas’ sermon.
Up the Ganges: A Trip to Explore Religious Traditions in India
Alice Clark and Charles Taylor, who have both been students of India for a long time, took a group of travelers, including several First Church members on a tour up the Ganges River. They explored the various religious practices of the country, including Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Jainism, and Sikhism, as they traveled by train and bus. The group presented images and stories from the trip. Some of the photos are below.
First Church celebrates its many connections with other peoples, places and traditions, and encourages its members to share what they have learned from their travels with the rest of the community.
Church Dedicates New Organ and Renovated Sanctuary
On Sunday, December 9, during Sunday morning worship at 10 a.m., First Church dedicated its renovated sanctuary and its new Petty-Madden organ. Over 400 people attended. The planning for the changes in the Sanctuary began over 10 years ago, and countless members and friends of the church contributed to the project. The chancel of the sanctuary was expanded, and all elements on it were made so that they could be removed. The organ pipes that used to be on the center back wall have been moved to the sides and a wheel-chair ramp was installed. Lighting was updated and the whole room was repainted. Special music was performed on the organ during a special prelude. A wonderful catered lunch followed with great food and a stirring celebration of all that was accomplished.
Dr. David Harrison Visits First Church
The South Africa Ministry Team hosted David Harrison, M.D., South African physician and friend of the congregation, on Sunday, December 2. David participated in worship on Sunday, December 2, 2007, and was the featured speaker at a Second Hour presentation on the same day.
Find out more about the South Africa Ministry Team
First Church Member Honored with National Medal of Humanities
Congratulations to FCCB member Henry Snyder, who received a National Medal of Humanities from President Bush on Thursday, Nov. 15 in an East Room White House ceremony. Henry, a scholar and innovator, was being recognized ”for visionary leadership in bridging the worlds of scholarship and technology. His direction of massive projects in the digital humanities has opened new frontiers in cataloguing and preserving ideas and documents for future generations.“
Winthrop Videos
“Winthrop” is FCCB’s Senior High youth program that meets on Sunday evenings. Recently, for one of their programs, the youth were given a list of words and a camera and asked to stage photographs in the neighbor to illustrate the words. This twist on the “scavenger hunt” idea resulted in two videos that you can check out on the Youth programs page.
Take the “Carbon Challenge”
What is your carbon footprint? How much carbon dioxide are you adding to the planet? Would you like to learn how to reduce your emissions? Climate Action, a new Ministry Team at FCCB invites you to take part in the “Carbon Challenge”. They hope that 50 families at FCCB will sign up to monitor their carbon emissions and work to reduce them over a period of months. The team is also holding “Carbon Anonymous” meetings to help members reduce their carbon use, where they also distribute helpful information. Check out lots of interesting resources on the Climate Action newspage!
Now You Can Hear Codys@FCCB
FCCB has teamed up with Cody’s Books to present authors and speakers who are addressing issues important to those who share progressive values both within the church and in the wider community. Cody’s Books, a popular Berkeley-based independent, is located on Fourth Street in Berkeley and on Stockton Street in San Francisco. FCCB is committed to seeking and sharing truth and fostering an open dialogue of ideas.
Audio: Progressive Christians Approach the Creation/Evolution Debate
The cultural debate about creationism and evolution is an important one for progressive people of faith. In a recent series of talks, experts in the fields of Science and Religion presented their views. Listen to Dr. Ted Peters, seminary professor and co-author of Evolution from Creation to New Creation: Conflict, Conversation, and Convergence and Dr. Robert Russell, founder and director of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences at the Graduate Theological Union.
Listen to Dr. Ted Peters—Evolution vs. Creation: Who’s Fighting Whom for What?
Listen to Dr. Robert Russell—Science and Religion: What Does A Progressive Christian Believe?
More About Us
- Read a “Seekers Statement” recently composed by members of this community
- Read our statement of inclusive community (Open and Affirming)
- Read about some of the courageous actions of FCCB and the United Church of Christ