First English Lutheran
Redeemed by Christ to Witness and Serve. June 30, 2020
Save the Date-Adult Social Hour on Zoom
Friday, July 10th at 7pm
It's good to have something to look forward to this summer! Use this as an excuse to treat yourself to your favorite snack or make a new hors d'oeuvres recipe and have your favorite beverage on hand. We look forward to seeing you and hearing your voice.
Watch for Zoom link. The link will also be sent out via email the week of the event.
Encourage
Tuesdays @ 6:30PM
Join FELC tonight! Spend some time in prayer and conversation.
A time of guided prayer and open conversation to break through the isolation and encourage one another in faith.
An invitation with the Zoom link will be sent out to the FELC email list.
LSSI and the people it serves need our help
In Matthew 25:35-40 we read ‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
The first verses might well be a mission statement for Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI). COVID-19 has had an impact on all of us, no doubt, but for many of us, the impact is largely imposed inconvenience and adjusting how we get our groceries. For LSSI, considered an essential service, and the clients they serve, that impact is more pressing and life threatening. The need for LSSI services did not stop when COVID-19 struck Illinois. It increased and became more complicated and costly to deliver.
There was increased even desperate need for basic items such as diapers, groceries, assistance with rent and utilities, hygiene supplies for children, and healthy snacks. Suddenly in addition to its ongoing costs, LSSI also had to procure and provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to its staff who still needed to have face-to-face meetings and home visits with clients. There were unexpected costs for cleaning supplies and services. Those working from home needed technology to be able to communicate with client and other staff while maintaining social distancing and staying healthy. Staff used video conferencing with clients via phone or video conferencing platforms such as ZOOM. PPE[MK1] costs alone resulted in $1.8 million in added costs.
So how can FELC help?
· LSSI has a wish list on Amazon which enables donors to select gift cards for LSSI’s Children’s Services to use in the Peoria Area for clients’ immediate needs (food, diapers, hygiene products) or perhaps for a meal for essential staff who are working extra shifts.
Here is the website: LSSI WISH LIST
Using this site will assure that the gift cards are given to the West Peoria office for use in central Illinois.
· If you wish to send a monetary donation to LSSI in the Peoria area, send a check or money order directly to LSSI, 3000 W Rohmann Ave, West Peoria IL 61604
Book Group for July
Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the US
Join us on Thursday, July 23rd at 7pm via Zoom
From Amazon description:
Lenny Duncan is the unlikeliest of pastors. Formerly incarcerated, he is now a black preacher in the whitest denomination in the United States: the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Part manifesto, part confession, and all love letter, Dear Church offers a bold new vision for the future of Duncan's denomination and the broader mainline Christian community of faith. Dear Church rejects the narrative of church decline and calls everyone--leaders and laity alike--to the front lines of the church's renewal through racial equality and justice.
It is time for the church to rise up, dust itself off, and take on forces of this world that act against God: whiteness, misogyny, nationalism, homophobia, and economic injustice. Duncan gives a blueprint for the way forward and urges us to follow in the revolutionary path of Jesus.
Dear Church also features a discussion guide at the back--perfect for church groups, book clubs, and other group discussion.
Devotional Book
Devotion books (Word in Season and Hopeful Living) for July-September are available in the church entryway. You can stop by to pick them up during office hours (Monday-Thursday 9am-2pm), or call or email the church office and we can mail them to you.
Do Justice. Love Kindness. Walk Humbly. ELCA Anti-Racism Resources.
Please follow link to the Racial Justice tab on the C/S IL Synod webpage. You can download and read a statement released by the Synod Council on June 6th.
You can find more about how the ELCA and First English Lutheran is working to stand against the sin of racism, grow in our confession that we are one diverse body in Christ Jesus, and serve our neighbor, honoring their story and life.
Below are a few links to church webpages.
ELCA Racial Justice Ministries
Women of the ELCA Racial Justice Resources
If you are interested in reading more about racial justice, members of FELC have read and either have met, or will be meeting in upcoming months, to discuss these titles.
I'm Still Here by Austin Channing Brown
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Be the Bridge. Pursuing God's Heart for Racial Reconciliation by Latasha Morrison
Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the US by Lenny Duncan
1619 Project-Contact Pastor Heather for a copy of this Wall Street Journal magazine.
Red Cross Blood Drive at FELC
Resources for Your Sunday Worship
+An emailed copy of The Weekly Buzz is sent to our email list on Fridays.
+Our webpage has a copy of The Weekly Buzz linked to it under "What's Happening-Weekly Announcements."
The worship and sermon videos are also posted on the front page of the webpage. Previous sermons can be found in the Sermon Archive.
+You can find links to the worship and sermon videos on our FELC Facebook page. @felcpeoria
Inspire
Sundays @ 9:30AM—Inspire
A time of devotion and conversation, calling on the Holy Spirit to speak to us through the scriptures. This is a great way to kick-start or enhance your at-home worship experience.
Led by Pr. Ryan.
An invitation with the Zoom link will be sent out to the FELC email list. You may contact Pr. Ryan if you have any questions or trouble getting to the link.
Serving in Worship Online During July
COVID Prayers
Let us pray:
Gracious God, it is good for us to gather as your beloved in community. We treasure your presence with us in word and meal, song and prayer. Be with us in these days when gathering together as often as we would like is not possible. When we must be apart for reasons of safety, we trust that you surround us with your sheltering wings. Encourage us in connecting as we are able, reaching out to our neighbors in need and being persistent in prayer. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our constant companion. Amen.
Intercessory Prayer in the midst of the spread of COVID-19
O God our Healer, show your compassion for the whole human family that is in turmoil and burdened with illness and with fear. Hear our cry, O God,
Listen to our prayer.
Come to our aid as the coronavirus spreads globally, heal those who are sick, support and protect their families and friends from being infected. Hear our cry, O God,
Listen to our prayer.
Grant us your spirit of love and self-discipline so that we may come together, working to control and eliminate the coronavirus. Hear our cry, O God,
Listen to our prayer.
Make us vigilant, attentive, and proactive in the eradication of all diseases, malaria, dengue, HIV & AIDS, and others [may be named out- loud or in silence]... that create suffering and often result in death for many people. Hear our cry, O God,
Listen to our prayer.
Heal our self-centeredness and indifference that makes us worry only when the virus threatens us, open ways beyond timidity and fear that too easily ignore our neighbor. Hear our cry, O God,
Listen to our prayer.
Strengthen and encourage those in public health services and in the medical profession: care-givers, nurses, attendants, doctors, all who commit themselves to caring for the sick and their families. Hear our cry, O God,
Listen to our prayer.
Inspire, give insight and hope to all researchers focused on developing a vaccine. Hear our cry, O God,
Listen to our prayer.
Sustain all workers and business owners who suffer loss of livelihood due to shut-downs, quarantines, closed borders, and other restrictions... protect and guard all those who must travel. Hear our cry, O God,
Listen to our prayer.
Guide the leaders of the nations that they speak the truth, halt the spread of misinformation and act with justice so that all your family may know healing. Hear our cry, O God,
Listen to our prayer.
Heal our world, heal our bodies, strengthen our hearts and our minds, and in the midst of turmoil, give us hope and peace. Hear our cry, O God,
Listen to our prayer.
Hold in your gentle embrace all who have died and who will die this day. Comfort their loved ones in their despair. Hear our cry, O God,
Listen to our prayer.
Remember all your family, the entire human race, and all your creation, in your love.
Amen!
From the Lutheran World Federation linked on this page.
ELCA Faith Formation at Home
"We offer curated Christian faith formation resources,
so you don't have to scour the internet yourself."
There is a plethora of links, articles, poems, and prayers from around the ELCA collected here.
Ways to Give at FELC-THANK YOU.
We, the Body of Christ together, are blessed with your spirit of generosity when it comes to keeping our mission and ministry steadfast in uncertain times.
If you are looking for a way to give—or looking for a new, easier way to give—First English provides these options:
+ Check by Mail
- making it out to “FELC” ensures it goes to greatest need
+ tithe.ly app
- download the app or
- hit the “Support FELC!” button on our website, www.felcpeoria.org
+ Simply Giving
- automatic deposits from one of your accounts
- contact the office for details on signing up
+ Sending donations through your banking institution
For more information on any of these options, please contact the Church Office at 309-685-0337.
Thank you for continuing to support our work together as you are able.
—Stewardship Committee
Keep In Touch with FELC
Submit prayer requests to the prayer chain email address: prayer@felcpeoria.org
Please update your contact information by calling Lois Neptun in the main office. office@felcpeoria.org.
Email: office@felcpeoria.org
Website: www.felcpeoria.org
Location: 725 E Forrest Hill Ave, Peoria, IL, United States
Phone: 309-685-0337
Facebook: facebook.com/felcpeoria