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Christian Courier
First Christian Church of Minneapolis (Disciples of Christ)

March 19, 2011

Two Lenten practice opportunities at FCC
Inside the Courier:
This year, First Christian is offering two
• A Look at the Brite Lent has different opportunities for Lenten practice,
Side, page 2 long been one to encourage prayer and meditation,
• Bus Card Mission, the primary and one to encourage study and service.
page 3 time in the The Worship Committee has commis-

ourier
church year
• Disciples 101 by Mike
Brady, page 3 for renew-
ing our discipleship by adopting
• April Calendar, some more rigorous spiritual practic-
page 4
es to heighten our spiritual aware-
• FCC News in Brief, ness. Prayer, service, fasting and
page 5 meditation are examples of the type
of spiritual disciplines many people
On the Web:
adopt for Lenten observance in order
to become more committed disciples.
First Christian Church The 40-day period for Lent, begun
website
in the early centuries of the Church,
Christian Church (Dis- reminds us of Jesus’ 40-day fast in
ciples of Christ) the desert. This length of time also
recalls other 40-day or 40-year times
Keeping Lent in your
Household
of great significance in Jewish histo-
ry: Noah and the 40 days of rain,
Moses’ fasting for 40 days before
receiving the Ten Commandments,
the Israelites’ wandering for 40
years, and Elijah’s traveling for 40
days to reach God’s holy mountain.
These experiences were occasions
of great spiritual cleansing and prepa-
Please Give to
Minnesota
ration to encounter God in a new
Foodshare way, and serve as models for modern
March Lenten disciplines and expectations
Campaign in preparation for Easter celebration
and renewal.
sioned a devotional booklet series called
“A People on the Move,” which has
weekly meditations focusing not only on
Lent but also on the great changes that
FCC will be experiencing this year as we
move to a new location. The devotional
booklet series will extend beyond Lent, to
cover the 40 weeks of preparation for this
momentous change.
The first series of devotions for Lent
were written by members of the Worship
Committee, staff, and ministers. Members
of the congregation will contribute to the
future installments, which continue
through Eastertide and Pentecost up to
Advent. The booklets are available in the
Lounge, or online on the church website.
The second Lenten opportunity is a se-
ries of forums titled “Find My Way
Home: Seeking Solutions to Homeless-
ness.” On three Wednesday evenings
during Lent (March 16, March 30, April
13), speakers from neighborhood organi-
zations will give information on local pro-
grams working to make sure people have a
place to call home.
The forums will start at 6 pm in the Ga-
thering Room on the dates above. Snacks
will be provided. Flyers giving more in-
formation about the forums and the speak-
ers are in the Lounge or online at the
church’s website.
Adapted from materials from Living the Good News
online support site
Page 2 March 19, 2011

A Look at the
Brite Side
Pastor Bob Brite
Adam and Jesus were both sons
of God; the difference between
them was that Adam didn’t trust
God, and Jesus did.
Learning to trust God in Lent and
in our whole lifetime
As I tried to point out in my
sermon on Sunday, the central
question of the Christian life is
whether or not we trust God.
Paul says in Romans that
“death and sin entered the
world through one man
(Adam)…grace and forgive-
ness came through Jesus Chr-
ist.” Adam and Jesus were
both sons of God; the differ-
ence between them was that
Adam didn’t trust God, and Je-
sus did.
In our limited humanity, trust-
ing God is a hard thing to do.
Such trust requires spiritual
eyes to see things that aren’t in
front of us, spiritual ears to
hear words that are spoken in
the midst of our souls, and a
spiritual balance (healthiness)
that assures us that what we see
and hear by the Spirit is indeed
from God and not from the
wacko parts of our beings. So
how do we go about trusting
God, a Being generally not
present through our five
senses? We have to work at it.
We have to study God’s per-
sonhood through the Scriptures,
reach out to listen to God in
prayer, develop the relationship
with God so that God’s ways
and will are known to us, and
learn to recognize God in the
Christian relationships we have
with one another. Christian life
involves a lifetime of doing
these sorts of things.
The season of Lent was devel-
oped by the Church, in part, to
encourage the habits that even-
tually become trust in God.
We have spirituality sessions
on Wednesday night and Sun-
day morning. Please come and
join us.
I’d like to see YOU on Sunday.

Bob

We pray for the people of Japan as they cope with the overwhelming dis-
asters following the earthquake; for those facing or recovering from recent
In our prayers surgery or medical procedures including Caleb Callanan, Bobbie Hall,
Gracious God, we Karen Kandik, Don Cain, and Ronda Dunham; for better health for
lift up these persons family members or friends of Belinda Flanagan, Kirsten Cackoski, Ja-
in our prayers, ask- nice Brady, Ernie Brennan, and Ann Wolverton; in joy with Fran and
ing the blessing of Russ Griffin who recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, and
your Grace and out- with Aaron and Stephen Dunlop, who recently reached the top of Mt.
pouring of your Love Kilimanjaro; for John Carter’s mission that it can recoup the losses from
upon them. the recent robbery; for those leading or serving in the military, that they
may make wise decisions; for the officers of the MPD 5th Precinct, in
thanks for their extra protection of First Christian and vigilance through-
out the night, as well as for their safety at all times; for all our homebound
members including Velma Fancher and Dorothy Wilkins, Amen.
Christian Courier
Mission Notes from Pastor Sanders
Bus card ministry small, but vital
When that tray passes by you
on Sunday mornings, do you
ever wonder to yourself where
all the money goes?
Of course some it goes where
you expect: to pay salaries for
the staff or to pay for building
upkeep. But your offerings al-
so go to actually reach out in
love to the least of these both
here and around the world.
One such ministry that we fund
is the Bus Card Ministry. Did
you know that we give out bus
cards to folks each month?
We have many people in the
neighborhoods surrounding the
church that do not have access
to basic transportation. Many
are homeless, which means
more often than not, they don't
have the money to pay for bus
fares. Each month, we give
away $10 bus cards to persons
who come by the church to re-
quest one. Each recipient gets
only one card per month and
we don’t give one out to those
who are obviously intoxicated
by alcohol or drugs.
This isn't a big ministry, but it
Alexander Campbell
is a vital ministry. Being able
to get from point A to point B
is something most of us don't
have to think about. But for
those struggling in poverty, not
having money makes it that
much harder to move around,
and much harder to make it to
doctor's appointments or job
interviews.
As a self-professed "transporta-
tion geek," I am happy when
I'm able give someone a bus
card so that they can get to
where the need to be going.
I give thanks to Transitional
Pastor Bob Brite and Office
Manager Chris Wogaman for
their work in the program and
for making it such a success.
If you want to help support this
program, you can donate to the
program directly by making a
check out to First Christian
with the word "bus ministry" in
the memo line.
Go and be church.
Dennis Sanders
Associate Pastor
Page 3
Barton Stone
Campbell-Stone
Restoration Movement
sought Unity
Part 5 of Mike Brady’s Dis-
ciples 101 series
The Restoration Movement (al-
so known as the American Res-
toration Movement or the
Stone-Campbell Movement) is
a Christian movement that be-
gan on the American frontier
during the Second Great Awa-
kening of the early 19th cen-
tury. The movement sought to
restore the church and the un-
ification of all Christians in a
single body patterned after the
church of the New Testament.
The Restoration Movement de-
veloped from several indepen-
dent efforts to return to apostol-
ic Christianity, but two groups,
which independently developed
similar approaches to the Chris-
tian faith, were particularly im-
portant to the development of
the movement.
The theology was simple and
easy to understand and, be-
sides, who wouldn’t want to be
like the First Century Church,
the Apostles, and the Apostolic
Fathers. This was the thinking
of Thomas and Alexander
Campbell, and Barton W.
Stone. In particular Alexander
(continued, page 5)
 Page 4 March 19, 2011

Regular Worship Hours

9:15 Spiritual Formation Classes
April, 2011
10:30 Worship
First Christian Church
11:45 Fellowship Time in Lounge

1 2
6 pm Open 9 am- Men’s
Table Group

3 4 5 6 7 8 9
8 pm AA 7 pm Worship 9 am Nikkei 9 am Handcrafters 9 am- Men’s
Committee 6:30 Bell Choir Group
7:45 Chancel 10 am
Choir Women’s
Ministries
Lenten Brunch

10 11 12 13 14 15 16
7 pm Carter 7 pm Property 5:30 Finance 9 am Handcrafters 9 am- Men’s
Circle @ Committee Committee Group
Wolverton’s 6 pm Forum on 10 am – Laura
8 pm AA Homelessness Lynne/Naomi
with Cathy ten circle
Broeke 6 pm Serve
6:30 Bell Choir dinner at St.
7:45 Chancel Stephens
Choir
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Palm Sunday 8 pm AA 9 am Mpls. 9 am Nikkei 9 am Handcrafters Good Friday 9 am- Men’s
FCC Board Retired 6:30 Bell Choir Maundy Thurs- Prayer Vigil Group
Meeting Teachers 7:45 Chancel day until 3 pm
following luncheon Choir 7 pm Communion
Worship Service 7 pm Service
5 pm Elders Prayer Vigil starts
Mtg following
service
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Easter Sunday 7 pm Book 6 pm Bible Study 9 am Handcrafters
Group @ resumes 7 pm Ministry
Westphal’s 6:30 Bell Choir Center Board
8 pm AA 7:45 Chancel
Choir

Elders Worship Children’s Diaco- Bus Drivers Greeters

Leader Moment aco-
nate
April 3 Barb Creighton Don Cain Dennis Sanders Even Garry Hesser Martha Harris
Dean Creighton Team 612-7721-4905
April 10 Val Dunham Mike Brady Janice Brady Even Mike Hesano Valerie Dunham
Russ Griffin Team 651-645-6758
April 17 Martha Harris Ardie Armstrong Bob Brite Even Mike Morgan Ardie Armstrong,
Arlene Hillestead Team 612-926-9384 Shirley Draine
April 24 Russ Grifin Martha Harris Deb Murphy Even Garry Hesser Karen Kandik
Val Dunham Team
 Christian Courier
FCC News in Brief
Surveillance System installed
Six video cameras are now installed around the ex-
terior of First Christian’s building, a measure taken
by the Property Committee to counter the spate of
vandalism FCC has experienced in the last two-
and-a-half months.
The Property Committee and staff of FCC acted
quickly to seek bids from several local companies,
and chose Mill City Security Systems to provide
and install the motion-triggered surveillance sys-
tem. Mill City also provided a night guard until the
system could be installed.
The Board of Trustees authorized up to $10,000 for
the equipment and installation, but the whole
project came in under $5600 for 6 cameras, a DVR
device to record motion sensed by the cameras,
wiring and complete installation.
Regional Assembly scheduled April 9
A called regional assembly of the Christian Church
in the Upper Midwest will be held on Saturday,
April 9, 10:30 – 2:00 p.m., at the Highland Park
Christian Church, 4260 NW Sixth Drive in Des
Moines. The region is trying a new model of par-
ticipation in regional life, and would like at least
two (or more) representatives from each congrega-
tion to share in the meeting and the ministry.
If anyone from FCC is interested or inclined,
please contact Pastor Bob as soon as possible.
Share the Care coming May 21
Mark your calendars: The joint spring Share-the-
Care Saturday will be May 21. Details will follow
soon from the Property Committee.
Thank you to the Handcrafters
The Handcrafters recently donated $25 to the
Groveland Food Shelf, and another $25 to the
Bus Card Fund. A hearty thank-you goes out
to the Handcrafters for their generosity.
Page 5
(continued from page 3)
Restoration Movement sought Unity
felt this when it was explained in clear terms in the
many writings that were published in The Christian
Baptist and its successor The Millennial Harbinger,
and would cause most people and denominations to
fall in with them.
The two largest segments of the movement sought
to end the divisiveness that had arisen with deno-
minational differences. They wanted to found the
unity of the church in the simple acknowledgment
that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, and an accep-
tance of Him as Lord. Both were opposed to the
use of creeds as a test of faith. They believed that
the simple confession that Jesus Christ is Lord was
sufficient to unite all Christians. They considered
man-made creeds divisive.
Both groups looked to the New Testament to dis-
cover practices that united the early church. The
term, the Restoration Movement, has been used to
describe their interest in restoring the New Testa-
ment church. In their reading of the Scriptures,
both groups found that the early church gathered
on the first day of the week (Sunday) "for the
breaking of bread." They began to celebrate the
Lord's Supper every week, rather than on a less
regular basis as was common on the frontier be-
cause of lack of ministers. They left behind the
practice of Morning Prayer and some other tradi-
tions of Anglicanism and the Presbyterian Church.
In their study of the Bible, both groups determined
that baptism as portrayed in the New Testament
was for adult converts and accomplished by im-
mersion in water. They adopted the practice in their
churches and abandoned infant baptism.
Blessings, Mike Brady, Lay Minister
Source: History of the Christian Church, Disciples
of Christ
 Bi-Weekly Calendar Reflections on the Word
Readings around John 3, 3.20.11
Sunday Worship at 10:30 am
Before Worship (9:15 am): “those who do not believe are con-
Art of the Covenant Class Hearthstone/Adults Class demned already, because they have not
believed in the name of the only Son
of God.” --John 3:18b
After worship: Fellowship Hour 11:45 am
This chilling verse is omitted from the
This Week at FCC Next Week at FCC lectionary reading for 3.20.11. Yet the
statement is clear: unbelievers are
Sunday, March 20 Sunday, March 27
Breakfast club 8:45 am condemned. This thought has helped
Food Pantry Sunday
Breakfast club 8:45 am Karin Wolverton baby shower 12 n to launch sometimes violent crusades
Elders meeting 5 pm Monday, March 28 to convert unbelievers to Christianity,
Wednesday, March 23 Book Club @ Westphal’s 7 pm and caused others to lose faith. Theo-
Bell Choir 6:30 pm Wednesday, March 30
logian Karl Rahner averred that Jesus
Chancel Choir 7:45 pm Ann Carlson of Dignity Center may do the work of salvation in those
Thursday, March 24 at Find My Way Home forum 6 pm who do not profess belief. It’s not
Handcrafters 9 am Bell Choir 6:30 pm within our power to save ourselves; yet
Ministry Council Mtg 7 pm Chancel Choir 7:45 pm where does belief fit in? During Lent,
Thursday, March 31 gracefully ponder this question a bit.
Saturday, March 26 Handcrafters 9 am
Men’s Group 9 am Feed My Starving Children 6 pm Loving Savior, take us beyond the va-
garies of our dim faith and belief to see
Saturday, April 2 more clearly your stunning reality.
Men’s Group 9 am For you know we struggle, and yet you
save. Thank you for your love. Amen.
--Chris Wogaman

FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH

A Thoughtful Church in the OF MINNEAPOLIS
Heart of the City (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST)
2201 1st Avenue South
Ministry Team Minneapolis, MN 55404
All Members of the Congregation
Robert Brite, Interim Minister
Dennis Sanders, Associate Minister Address Service Requested
of Diversity and Mission
Chris Wogaman, Office Manager
Rick Bowman, Building Manager
Deb Murphy, Director of Spiritual
Formation & Community Ministry
James Baumgartner, Interim Music
Director
Bryon Wilson, Interim Organist
Serena Carlson, Nursery Attendant
Martha Harris, Courier Editor
Telephone: 612.870.1868
Prayer Phone: 612.870.0984

Christian Courier is published bi-

monthly. Send items and ideas to
church office or to Martha Harris
harrismartha@mac.com
by Sun., March 27 for next issue.