insideIntentional FaithDevelopment

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Risk-taking Missionand Service

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Pastor’s Message

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Extravagant Generosity

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Radical Hospitality

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Compassionate Care

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Passionate Worship

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September 2015 Edition www.grandrapidsfumc.org

Dear Friends,

“Rebranding” – is generally applied to a marketing strategy in which a product is given a new name or

a new design for an established brand. Growing up in Flint, I became a devo-tee of Buick! My parents always drove Chevrolets because my mother worked for Chevrolet. I will never forget in 1968, my grandfather (who also worked at the Chevrolet Engine Plant), bought TWO new Buicks: a Le Sabre AND a Regal. My grandfather always aspired to own a Buick. In the summer of 1968 when he bought that Le Sabre, he let me drive and my grandmother and him to Mackinac Island – and I was hooked. Today, Pigeon and I own two Buicks, but the Buick of today is NOT the same as the Buick of the 60s and 70s. The Buick of today has gone through a re-branding process. The Buick brand has been redesigned to be attractive, rela-tively economical, and highly desirable for the needs, desires, and wishes of to-day’s consumer. Their marketing is fresh and strategic because they have listened and applied adjustments to a historically reputable brand to give it new life.

September is when we introduce some “rebranding” of our worship and edu-cational life at First Church. Now don’t be alarmed: the style of worship isn’t changing! But there is going to be more variety to choose from. Let me explain.

One regular message that we heard in our Envisioning our Future process was that people wanted an earlier Sunday morning worship option. They wanted two different styles of worship as well. People also communicated that they wanted to return to a dedicated Chris-tian education hour between worship services.

After much prayer and conversation, be-ginning September 13 – HOMECOM-ING SUNDAY, our schedule will be:

8:15 am — WORSHIP in the “Upper Room.” One of the most under-utilized spaces in our building has been the par-lor. We have been working diligently to re-configure that room with appropri-ate lighting and seating. It is a beautiful space for worship. Our intent is for this service to be a bit more contemplative, following a modified order of worship for morning prayer that will include communion each Sunday. There will be a brief message each Sunday. Our hymns will be led by Eric on the piano and music will be more ensemble- and instrumental-oriented.

9:15 am — THE FAITH DEVELOP-MENT HOUR for ALL ages. You will read about new classes for adults as well as youth and children. It is a way for the entire family to be engaged in learning the Christian faith.

10:15 to 10:45 am — A BREAK. Classes will be finishing up, coffee and conver-sation enjoyed, children will be located by the parents, choir has time to gather and rehearse, pastor has opportunity to re-group, robe and prepare, and all of us have a chance to then get to the sanctu-ary for the meditative beginning of wor-ship.

10:45 am — WORSHIP in the sanctu-ary. This will be more of a festive style

of worship in keeping with what has been the tradition of First Church. The choir will be singing, there will be other musical additions as well as attempting to be eclectic and intergenerational.

PLUS… We are also rebranding Wednesday evening worship!

For many years, Taizé has been the wor-ship style on the first Wednesday of the month. We are expanding that style, and offering a worship experience on the first and third Wednesdays of each month in the Upper Room called Re-fresh! A mid-week worship opportu-nity at 7 pm. Communion will be of-fered on the 3rd Wednesday. We will embrace music from Taizé, the Iona community, new and old hymns, as well as a time for prayer, meditation, prayers for healing, and a quiet time of reflec-tion. We will begin this new adventure on September 16. Please come and join us in this important expansion of our worship life.

To play out my analogy: it is not my grandfather’s Buick anymore! Come on – give it a test drive! Rebranding is oc-curring! Invite a friend, or if someone has been missing for a while, invite them back.

See you in September!

Pastor Bob Hundley

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Intentional Faith DevelopmentMy Lesson In BreathingLong ago, we were attending a United Methodist Church in our neighbor-hood. I was a stay-at-home mom and had another baby on the way. I was having a very difficult pregnancy after having had a miscarriage the year be-fore and had to quit my job. My hus-band, Dick, helped in every way that he could but he was working long hours and I was often home alone with our daughter. At church, I was singing in the choir and in charge of the church’s monthly food collections. I also taught a children’s Sunday school class each week.

One Sunday morning, a student sat, listened intently, and then raised her hand with enthusiasum. I was thrilled that she was engaged in the Bible story I was teaching. “I really, like your ear-rings,” she said. I remember laughing but also feeling deflated. I loved being a mom and volunteering at the church but I also had an empty feeling deep inside of me. I realize now that the empty feeling was God calling to me.

An older woman in our church invited me to a new study based on the life of Jesus. Eight women planned to meet every Wednesday evening for 28 weeks. It seemed crazy to make such a commitment during this period of my life. Dick encouraged me and commit-ted to caring for two-year-old Emily each week so that I could attend.

That group changed my life. I real-ized that while I was serving others, I was emptying myself each day without having a disciplined way of refilling the spiritual vacancy that had been left. With this group of wonderful wom-en, I studied scripture, prayed, talked about life, laughed, cried, and loved. And when Kara was born, these same women celebrated her baptism with our congregation. I no longer felt emp-ty. I felt full of God’s love and grace. I have committed to some type of faith development in my life ever since.

John Wesley gave us Gen-eral Rules to live by. He instructed Christians to first be merciful, caring for other’s physical needs. After works of mercy, he instruct-ed Methodists to practice acts of piety: worship, Com-munion, Bible study, prayer, and fasting. This is the only way we can remain balanced.

One of my favorite illustrations about remaining balanced is from Vital Signs by Dan Dick.

A teenager in one of the vital congregations suggested this incredible image for the bal-ance of acts of mercy and piety: “It’s like breathing. Acts of piety are inhaling; acts of mercy are exhaling. They go together. People may ask which is more important, but the answer is, ‘It depends on which you did last.’ Life depends on an equal measure of both.”

So do you need to inhale? Sign up for a class or small group at www.grandrapidsfumc.org/adults. Let me

know if you don’t see one that works for you; we’ll create something new together.

Do you need to exhale? Become a part of one of our mission ministries at www.grandrapidsfumc.org/mission.

Do you feel called to do something new? Contact me at laurem@grandr-apidsfumc.org or 616.451.2879 x105.

Laure MieskowskiExecutive Director of

Faith Development and Mission

“It’s like breathing. Acts of piety are inhaling; acts of mercy are exhaling. They go together. People may ask which is more important, but the answer is, ‘It depends on which you did last.’ Life depends on an equal measure of both.”

Adult Classes Sunday, September 13 - 9:15 – 10:15 am Couples in Faith is a place for study, prayer, fellowship and community for 30s/40s-Something couples. Fall study is The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. Class facilitators: Jess & Jake DeBoni, Julie & Eric French Living The Questions 2 is a popular video based exploration of progres-sive Christianity featuring premier religion voices of our day. Class facilita-tors: George Bob, Janet Carter, Bob Jones, Dick YouellsServing from the Heart is a 7-week journey of self-discovery where par-ticipants will assess their spiritual gifts, talents and abilities, resources, in-dividual style, dreams and experiences to serve God and neighbor. Class facilitator: Laure Mieskowski (This class will also be offered on Wednesday evenings at 6 pm, October 7 – November 18.) What Every Church Member Should Know about Poverty is the most comprehensive and useful guide available for helping churches understand and reach out to people in poverty. Class facilitators: Sue & Dave Rowe

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This fall will bring a number of chang-es within our faith community, as we grow into a vision of the future of our shared work. The Sunday morn-ing schedule is changing to reflect our values, particularly as they relate to Worship and Faith Development. The worship times are moving to allow for both alternative and vital worship. The 8:15 AM service in the reconfig-ured Upper Room (formerly the par-lor) will take on a distinctly different quality, all the while having the famil-iar elements of prayer, song, message, silence, and communion. It is hoped that this service be a true alternative, and one that fulfills a particular need in this community. A “dedicated” ed-ucation hour at 9:15 AM is an oppor-tunity for all to fully participate in the life of the church, and to support one another in this Christian life and faith. The 10:45 AM service in the sanctu-ary will allow for a significant gather-ing that both fits and fills the space with a vibrant and energetic worship experience that welcomes all.

This seems a good opportunity to speak of some of the “values” that we have as we prepare and gather for worship. It has been said of our wor-ship that it embraces tradition, with-out being “traditional.” I would be curious as to how you interpret this statement. For me, this means that while we use traditional elements in our worship, we are not stuck in doing things just because it has always been done this way. A cookie-cutter tem-plate is not used to prepare worship. Rather, we are open to new forms

of prayer, song, and liturgy. Here are some of the values that are emerging as we prepare for worship.

Worship should be increasingly participatory.Congregational song and prayer should be a priority. Newly published hymnals are pointing to an eclectic mix of music, drawing upon the best of music that builds community, and new material that is relevant both musically and theologically. Included in this eclectic mix are songs from around the world. There are some churches, and especially in smaller gatherings, that think of the congre-gation as the choir, regularly teaching new tunes, canons, and singing in har-mony. Short and meditative musical pieces, several modeled after those in Taizé, are becoming a common fea-ture in worship services for encourag-ing prayer and reflection.

Worship should be increasingly intergenerational.In order to maintain a tradition of good congregational singing, it has to be shared among the generations. The composer and song leader, Alice Parker points out that the number one factor determining whether a child

will sing is whether they see the adults they love also singing. Children natu-rally want to sing if they see their par-ents singing. In this way, the worship experience can unite the generations, especially if careful thought is given to the accessibility of the music across generational lines. I know I am a bit biased in this regard, as I’m writing this from a choir-singing course that I have attended with my children and my father for the past eight years in a row. The children sing at least 6 hours a day, and the adults nearly 8 hours. The course features a choir of about 175, with singers ranging in age from age 10 to 80-plus.

Music in the church should be full of sincerity and integrity, both musi-cally and theologically. Music should teach and inspire us in our movement toward God, and toward serving and respecting one another and our com-munity.

Eric StrandExecutive Director of

Worship, Music, and the Arts

Passionate Worship

For me, this means that while we use traditional elements in our worship, we are not stuck in doing things just because it has always been done this way. A cookie-cutter template is not used to prepare worship. Rather, we are open to new forms of prayer, song, and liturgy.

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When you think about your financial gifts to First Church, how would you characterize these thoughts? I think these thoughts fall anywhere on a continuum with folks on one end of the spectrum considering giving to be as unpleasant as income tax, and the other extreme being a feeling of pure joy in giving a tithe (one-tenth) back to God.

Extravagant Generosity

Risk-Taking Mission and ServiceJacqueline’s StoryJacqueline, her husband, and six chil-dren, were refugees from Burundi re-settled in Michigan under the auspices of First United Methodist Church in 2007. Justice for Our Neighbors – West Michigan assisted the family to become lawful permanent residents in 2008. These are all wonderful bless-ings for a family who had suffered so much loss and hardship.

Jacqueline was deeply grateful to her church, her friends at JFON, and to the country that had welcomed her and her family. She wanted to express her love and appreciation in a truly meaningful way. She wanted to become a U.S. citi-zen. She tried to navigate the process with the help of a non-attorney friend from the Burundi community. It was not a success. She came back to JFON West Michigan and attorney Liz Balck for help. Together, and with the lov-ing support of her church community, Jacqueline re-filed.

She passed the English/U.S. Civics test with flying colors and, of course, proved that she is a person of excel-lent moral character. On June 17, Jac-queline stood, raised her right hand, and along with hundreds of other new Americans across the country, took the oath of citizenship.

Liz caught up with Jacqueline after-wards and asked her about the experi-ence. “It is an honor and a privilege to

become a U.S. citizen,” said Jacqueline, choosing her words carefully. She was still a bit uncomfortable with so much attention. “I’m proud of this accom-plishment and what it means for me and my family. Thank you to every-one for helping me.” “Anything else?” asked Liz. Jacqueline smiled broadly, her eyes brimming with the sentiments she could not express. “It’s good,” she said simply. “Yes,” Liz agreed. “It’s very good!”

Liz Balck

“I’m proud of this accomplishment and what it means for me and my family. Thank you to everyone for helping me.” “Anything else?” asked Liz. Jacqueline smiled broadly, her eyes brimming with the sentiments she could not express. “It’s good,” she said simply.

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Extravagant GenerosityAt First Church (and at any church for that matter), I’m sure our congre-gation spans the entire spectrum, al-though I like to think there aren’t any folks at First Church all the way at the “unpleasant tax” extreme.

A key component of our recently communicated First Church Vision has to do with resourcing First Church ministries by growing the number of tithing members. That is, moving peo-ple along the continuum to where giv-ing a tithe becomes a joyful response rather than a sense of obligation.

How do we do that? Just creating a vi-sion doesn’t necessarily mean that we will suddenly have a huge increase in tithing members.

In our Finance Committee discus-sions, we believe the key to increased giving lies with every single person’s individual faith journey. That is, if someone is energized for ministry through their faith, then their finan-cial gifts are a natural response to that energy and enthusiasm.

The challenge is this: if someone is going to feel God’s leading them to give generously, they need to spend the time nurturing their own faith to the point where giving really is a joy-ful response to God’s presence. We need to work on getting our hearts right with God, and our treasures will surely follow.

This fall, many facets of First Church programming and ministry are being revamped and reinvigorated. There will be many new opportunities for study and learning, and new ways to find your own personal gifts for minis-try. You will soon begin hearing about our fall giving campaign, but we know our potential for financial resources lies in the faithful hearts of our con-gregation. So plan to work on your faith journey in the coming months so that we can all move toward being a congregation of joyful givers!

Chris HawkinsFinance Committee

If someone is energized for ministry through their faith, then their financial gifts are a natural response to that energy and enthusiasm.

Many of you know I’m transition-ing out of high school ministry and becoming the Executive Director of Hospitality and Evangelism. As I move into my new role, I am thankful for the many valuable lessons my stu-dents and volunteers have taught me over the years. I thought I’d share a few that relate to my new roles.

#1 – It’s important to ask questions. Over the years, some questions have made me laugh out loud, others made me stop to think, others have made me do further research. With my new role, I’m asking a million questions. And that’s ok, because First Church is a place where questions are wel-comed. I love how you are quick to help the person who looks a little lost or doesn’t know where the “narthex” is. You are excited to share our expe-riences and wisdom with a younger generation. Which leads to #2.

#2 – Our students have so much to share! Their energy and excitement is contagious. There have been mis-sion trip mornings where I have wo-ken up on the floor in a high school and thought to myself, “I don’t know if there is enough coffee in

the cafeteria to make me a happy camper...” Then, a student will start talking about how excited she is to paint the kitchen for a widow she is helping this week. I guess I didn’t need coffee, just a little perspective.

#3 – Be real. We may look like we’ve got it all together, but we don’t. Over the years, I’ve walked with students in their darkest moments. From the outside looking in, you would have never guessed the pain. As adults, we are slow to share our struggles. But isn’t that what Christian community is for? When we share our struggles, we open the door for others to of-fer hope. When we share stories of past dark times, we offer hope to those in the midst of those times.

#4 – When you love something, you share it with your friends! Maybe it’s a movie, maybe it’s ice cream. Either way, you share it. Over the years, I have met so many friends of students. Why? Because they brought them to church - Sunday school, youth group, or on a mission trip. Many times these friends became regulars. When is the last time you invited a friend to First Church?

This fall, I challenge you to be radi-cally hospitable! Invite a friend to church. Welcome the visitors who’ve joined us for worship (and help them when they can’t find the “narthex”). Reach out to our students. They are amazing, young Christians who want to use their faith to change the world.

Sami MarasiganExecutive Director of

Hospitality & Evangelism

With my new role, I’m ask-ing a million questions. And that’s ok, because First Church is a place where questions are welcomed.

Radical Hospitality

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Marj Timmerman, Executive Director of Congregational Care, asked me to write the Congregational Care column for this month. It is probably a punish-ment for not writing a Lenten Devo-tional earlier this year!

There are a huge number of ways members of this congregation care for each other. I’ll tell you about some of them that I am involved in. If you have the time and inclination, you can be a part of various caring ministries here at First Church.

Prayer MinistryI did not grow up in a home where prayer was practiced. My dad, in fact, rarely attended church.

When I began my teaching career in August of 1962 at a Catholic High School, the principal announced at the new teacher orientation, “By the way, all classes start and end with prayer.” I was soon wondering how I would handle that. Forty years later I found myself attending an Adult Council meeting here at First Church and heard those words again, this time from Laure Mieskowski. “By the way, all classes start and end with prayer.” Wow! That I can handle.

A lot of class leaders ask for prayer re-quests at the end of class. In the Dis-ciple classes, you get to know folks in a much closer manner and begin the process of sharing prayers for each other over time and develop that sense of community. This also happens in Retiree Bible Study, which meets on Mondays. You can also be part of our prayer chain and see the requested prayers that come in from the Work Program, the website, and the Taizé service.

Transportation MinistryDid you know that we have only two or three drivers available to provide trans-portation for those unable to drive or

for those who have difficulty driving at night or in bad weather? Usually rides are needed to and from medi-cal tests for which you are not allowed to drive yourself home.

(I’ve made use of that!) You get good directions from Marj and from those you are driving. Usually it takes about two hours or so. Bring a book and you are all set.

Caring ConnectionAnother opportunity is our Caring Connection. Like to send cards? Visit? Make a phone call?

Then this is for you! We meet the third Wednesday of the month at 9:00 am at New Beginnings on Michigan St NE for breakfast. We get a list of names from Marj of those who are experi-encing change in their lives and need a little TLC. If you are working, and would still like to participate, Marj can get the list to you.

A Caring Congregation Congregational care may be a bit in-ward looking and focused on ourselves. But, we are also a caring congregation and reach outside our walls to others.

The bins in the north lobby are always there to receive items for the food pan-try, MLK Tutoring Center, and others. You can also help out with the Work Program, Justice for Our Neighbors, and the MLK Tutoring Center. You can reach out even further and go on one of our mission trips. All this we do in the name of Christ.

George Bob

Compassionate Care

“If you shift your focus from yourself to others, extend your concern to others, and cultivate the thought of caring for the well being of others, then this will have the im-mediate effect of opening up your life and helping you to reach out.” Dalai Lama XIV

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• 8:15 and 10:45 am• 9:15 am Church

School for All Ages

Come home to First Church following summer travels and vacations. Invite your friends and neighbors to make First Church their home, too!

A homecoming meal will be held following the 10:45 am worship service in Wesley Hall. Suggested donation $7 per person or $20 per family.

sundaySEPTEMBER 13

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First United Methodist Church227 Fulton St EGrand Rapids, MI 49503-3236

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