In February of 2020, the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (USA) formed a Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion Leadership Council (DEILC), which is developing a strategy and a plan of action, to live into the call of the Church to dismantle structural racism. In June, the following statement was drafted by 15 black members of the DEILC. The Council unanimously endorsed this statement and presented it to the agency’s Executive Team and Board of Directors. The PC(USA) continues to take social justice seriously as a part of what it means to follow Jesus.

          He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice,
          and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? — Micah 6:8 (NRSV)

History is full of watershed moments — those moments when we remember things as being either before that specific moment or after it. In the wake of the unrest following the tragic killing of George Floyd, America is at such a watershed moment.

George Floyd has joined a long, unbroken line of African American people who have died at the hands of police officers who failed to uphold their oath to protect and serve. Others have been murdered by self-appointed keepers of the status quo. Former President Barack Obama says of this moment, “The waves of protest across the country represent a genuine and legitimate frustration over a decades-long failure to reform police practices and the broader criminal justice system in the United States.” We, The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), have become keenly aware of these frustrations, and we share them; they should be the frustrations of every American.

The Stated Clerk of the PC(USA), the Reverend Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II, has challenged the Church by stating, “No longer can we hide behind not being controversial.” The President of the Board of Pensions, the Reverend Frank Clark Spencer, echoes the admonitions of Rev. Nelson and President Obama, stating, “Deep pain and suffering among Black Americans is in plain view. As an agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Board of Pensions is committed to the goal of dismantling structural racism.”

By taking tangible, intentional steps and working together within our spheres of influence and beyond, we will be an active ally for change, and we will see the realization of this goal. From lament to hope, from hope to real change. The change begins now.

The Board stands in support of racial equality, and against deeply ingrained prejudices against Black Americans and other people of color simply because of the color of their skin.

We continue to keep our country and the families and loved ones of all those suffering, directly or indirectly, from the events arising from this watershed moment in our thoughts and prayers. Please join the Board and the whole PC(USA) in the pursuit to be an ally for change.

Last Sunday we took a Zoom Poll to help us get a sense of how you, the members of the congregation, are feeling about transitioning back to in-person worship services. These results are helpful for the Session as they discern and plan a path forward. We couldn’t do this without you! Below are the poll questions and number of responses (in parentheses). Each response represents one household.
 
          1.    I will return at the first opportunity (when these services are allowed by Sonoma Co). (6)
 
          2.    I will return at 1st opportunity but with some concerns and precautions. (5)
 
          3.    I will wait several weeks (after 1st opportunity) before I return. (16)
 
          4.    It may be quite a while (after the first opportunity before I return. (6)
 
 
          Would you return sooner if worship services were held outside? (24 YES, 6 NO)
 
 
So now what? Several of our church leaders have been actively working on a transition plan that will be in compliance with Sonoma County regulations and recommendations. A first draft has already been completed and is now being reviewed. Although we don’t have a solid date on the calendar, we could start some kind of transition as early as July, and we want to be prepared. Keep in mind, we are anticipating the transition back to be a gradual one. As soon as the plan is adopted by Session we will get it out to you.
 
With regard to worship, the staff and Worship Commission have been talking about what that might actually look like during and after the transition. At this time we don’t entirely know, but we’ve got some good ideas being developed, and we’re very committed to maintaining our online presence. Zoom is here to stay, and we greatly value the interaction and real-time, back-and-forth participation that it allows. We just love having so many of you join us from afar, and join us from home.
 
So for now, stay tuned and stay tuned in. If you haven’t already, sign up to engage with us on social media. Follow FPCP on Instagram and Facebook, check out the church website from time to time for updates and YouTube video links. These are good places not only to get up-to-date information on all things FPCP, but to also interact with others who have joined our online community.
 
Finally, thank you. On behalf of all of our church staff, leaders, and volunteers, thank you for all the encouragement, support, love and patience that you have extended. We’re all doing the best we can, and every day learning ways to do it even better. This is new territory for us all, and you are weathering the church culture shock of this season remarkable well, and with tremendous grace. Thank you!
 
If you have any questions or suggestions or would like to be more involved in conversations or implementation as we move forward, please contact Pastor John (ph. 206-604-0942, pastorjohnchase@gmail.com. We welcome your voice, and value the collective wisdom of the whole.

In 1967, the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America adopted its first new confession of faith in three centuries. The turbulent decade of the 1960s challenged churches everywhere to reconsider and restate their faith for a new time. Presbyterians got to work developing the Confession of 1967, which was adopted at the 179th General Assembly in 1967, and added to our Presbyterian Book of Confessions.

Modestly titled, the Confession of 1967 is built around a single passage of scripture: "In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself..." (2 Corinthians 5:19). The Confession addresses the church's role in the modern world, and calls the church to obedient action, particularly in response to social problems such as racial discrimination, nationalistic arrogance, and family and class conflict. It sees the life, death, resurrection, and promised coming of Jesus Christ as the pattern for the church's mission today, and calls on all Christians to be reconciled to God and to one another.

Crucial to all that follows in the Confession is the very first line of its Preface: "The church confesses its faith when it bears a present witness to God's grace in Jesus Christ" (emphasis mine). What the Confession goes on to say is that the Christian faith must be embodied in actions. It must take on flesh and blood and incarnational weight in the world. In other words, Christians are not simply people who believe stuff. They are people who do stuff. Discipleship is not simply believing Jesus. Discipleship is obedience to Jesus. 

The Christian tradition has been rightly criticized for its historical abuses of power, promotion of slavery, racism, and it's use of the Doctrine of Discovery to justify the displacement of indigenous peoples. The church in America has excluded people because of the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, and their socio-economic status. It has failed to welcome the stranger, and been too quick to take up arms. The church in America has not always acted like the peaceable people that Jesus intends. Certainly, I'm not speaking about all churches and all Christians. Many have exemplified God's love in the world, but still, we have work to do.

The Confession of 1967 was written to remind and encourage Presbyterians to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world, to resist the temptation to sit on the sidelines, and instead, to get out on the field.

I share this to encourage you. You are part of a Presbyterian tradition that has advocated for social justice, peace, reconciliation, inclusivity and love in the world; a tradition that has taken a stand against white supremacy and racism in all its forms; a tradition that has insisted for a long time that change starts with each of us striving to more faithfully follow Jesus by embodying his self-sacrificial love in the world.

In reading the Confession of 1967, this portion of Section 4 seemed particularly poignant for Christians and Presbyterians today.

4. RECONCILIATION IN SOCIETY
In each time and place, there are particular problems and crises through which God calls the church to act. The church, guided by the Spirit, humbled by its own complicity and instructed by all attainable knowledge, seeks to discern the will of God and learn how to obey in these concrete situations. The following are particularly urgent at the present time.
    a. God has created the peoples of the earth to be one universal family. In his reconciling love, God overcomes the barriers between sisters and brothers and breaks down every form of discrimination based on racial or ethnic difference, real or imaginary. The church is called to bring all people to receive and uphold one another as persons in all relationships of life: in employment, housing, education, leisure, marriage, family, church, and the exercise of political rights. Therefore, the church labors for the abolition of all racial discrimination and ministers to those injured by it. Congregations, individuals, or groups of Christians who exclude, dominate, or patronize others, however subtly, resist the Spirit of God and bring contempt on the faith which they profess.

In each time and place, there are particular problems and crises through which God calls the church to act. In our time. In our place. How is God calling the church to act? How is God calling you to act? I'm wrestling with that question for myself, and I've decided that I can't sit this one out. I started by joining the peaceful protest on Sunday afternoon in Petaluma, and was pleased to see some of you there as well. Wearing my clerical collar, I had people thank me, as clergy, for being there. And I was proud to say I was from First Presbyterian Church. I'm committed to listening and learning, to reading White Fragility, by Robin Diangelo, and doing the hard work of rooting out my own racism. And I'm writing this post to invite you into the richness of our Presbyterian tradition of love and justice, compassion and action.

It's a modest start, I know, but change happens one person at a time. And I can't start with you. I have to start with me. Only you can start with you, and only you can decide what that will look like, how you will bear witness.

"The church confesses its faith when it bears a present witness to God's grace in Jesus Christ."

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Have courage. Go. Do. Bear a present witness.

Every Monday since the start of our Shelter in Place order, we have been helping out with food distribution for local families in need. The process has been lovingly coordinated by a long-time teacher at Casa Grande High School. While she has been making this happen for quite some time, the need has only grown as many people have lost their jobs.  We provide food for approximately 60 families each week. Much of the food is donated from local stores and restaurants and additional food is purchased with cash and gift card donations. Families usually receive 3 grocery bags full of essentials; fruits and vegetables, bread, pantry staples like pasta and beans, meats, eggs, and treats. We have also been able to supply families with toilet paper and sanitizer each week.
​
Sometimes we are tasked with filling bags. It is an amazingly organized, stream-lined system where each person has a specific bag to pack and then moves it along the line. Everyone participating wears a mask and gloves. Lucy is great at running the bags to the driveway and sorting them in preparation for the drivers to pick them up. She is also the go-to person for adding the toilet paper to the bags at the end. We are also assigned the job of taking the broken-down boxes to Casa Grande where we use their large recycle bins. It's amazing how many small details are so important in a process like this.
 
We are fortunate enough to have two full-sized refrigerators at our house, so most weeks we store the donated meat in our garage freezer to keep it fresh for the following Monday's delivery.
 
Around lunch time on Mondays, we load up the back of our car and get ready to make deliveries. We are given our spreadsheet with a list of 8 addresses to deliver to. The list has been strategically organized by neighborhoods, making the delivery process very efficient. We unload bags on the porch, knock on the door, and head back to the car; the process is completely contact-free.
 
Trey can't always join us because his school time actually starts at 12:30 but some weeks his History teacher gives him a pass to miss his Zoom class. Lucy is always eager to help and hasn't missed a Monday. Eddy is often given some of the heavy lifting jobs and he does the driving when we make deliveries.
 
Many of the people who help out each week are Casa Grande students, some are Casa Grande graduates. I feel blessed to be a part of such a loving and giving community.
 
Sincerely,
Grete K. Hansen
​

We are in the middle of Holy Week, and on Thursday night we will gather online for our Maundy Thursday service and hear the story of Jesus' final days. It has become a bit of a Holy Week tradition of mine to pull out this wonderful little story from Brennan Manning and give it a read. May it bless you in these dark days of Holy Week, as you consider the story of Jesus' saving work on the cross.

From The Signature of Jesus, by Brennan Manning

There is a story of an old man who used to meditate early every morning under a big tree on the bank of the Ganges River. One morning, after he had finished his meditation, the old man opened his eyes and saw a scorpion floating helplessly in the water. As the scorpion was washed closer to the tree, the old man quickly stretched himself out on one of the long roots that branched out into the river and reached out to rescue the drowning creature. As soon as he touched it, the scorpion stung him. Instinctively the man withdrew his hand. A minute later, after he had regained his balance, he stretched himself out again on the roots to save the scorpion. This time the scorpion stung him so badly with its poisonous tail that his hand became swollen and bloody and his face contorted with pain.

At that moment, a passerby saw the old man stretched out on the roots struggling with the scorpion and shouted: “Hey, stupid old man, what’s wrong with you? Only a fool would risk his life for the sake of an ugly, evil creature. Don’t you know you could kill yourself trying to save that ungrateful scorpion?” The old man turned his head. Looking into the stranger’s eyes he said calmly, “My friend, just because it is the scorpion’s nature to sting, that does not change my nature to save.”

Sitting here at the typewriter in my study, I turn to the symbol of the crucified Christ on the wall to my left. And I hear Jesus praying for his murderers, “Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing.”

The scorpion he had tried to save finally killed him. To the passerby, who sees him stretched out on the tree roots and who shouts, “Only a madman would risk his life for the sake of an ugly, ungrateful creature,” I hear Jesus answer, “My friend, just because it is fallen mankind’s nature to wound, that does not change my nature to save.”

A modified version of this article originally appeared on March 20 in The Exchange, the weekly FPCP eLetter.

​To the saints who are in exile and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you, and peace.
 
I write to you from my home here in Petaluma on this third day of mandatory sheltering-in-place. In many ways, life has remained the same. I still get up in the morning, cook my oatmeal, brew some coffee, and catch up on the morning news while I eat my breakfast. Some things have stayed the same, but other things have changed significantly. The church has suspended all of its in-person activities through at least the end of the month. I can’t go to the gym. Some of our favorite restaurants are closed, and our Bay Area family can’t even drive up for a visit.
 
As we are all scattered around Sonoma County and around the country, I am reminded of God’s people in the Old Testament, conquered by the Babylonians, deported and living in exile. Public life as they knew it had come to an end.
 
In much the same way, we now find ourselves in a time of disruption, loss, disorientation and vulnerability; when so many of our familiar traditions have been stripped away, and we are left to consider the true heart of our faith, our relationship with God, our life together, and the things that are most precious to us.
 
In thinking about all this, I am also reminded of these powerful words of God, spoken by the prophet Isaiah to the people in exile. Isaiah 43:18-19:
 
          Do not remember the former things,
          or consider the things of old.
          I am about to do a new thing;
          now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
          I will make a way in the wilderness
          and rivers in the desert.
           
How might God use this peculiar time of exile to do something new in us? In our families? In our congregation? In our nation?
 
I invite you to join me on Sunday morning for something new. Join me on this Fourth Sunday of Lent as we go online and “Worship In Exile.” On the FPCP homepage you will find instructions on how to sign-in to the worship video feed. You’ll also find links to a downloadable bulletin, activities for kids, and other items you’ll want to have on hand.
 
Also, I encourage you to stay connected. Call one another. Reach out to ask how your friends and neighbors are doing. Stay informed by checking our FPCP website and social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter). And don’t hesitate to reach out to me, or any one of our church leaders if you need anything. We are here for you, and we’re in this together. Be well, my friends.
 
I hope to see you Sunday!
 
Pastor John

Hello all you wonderful social distancers!  I'm excited to have this brand new blog set up to stay in touch with you. It's a simple way to share information, but mostly it's one more way for us to stay connected. To that end, we'll be posting more frequently on the FPCP Website, Facebook, and Instagram pages -- posting for grownups AND for kids. If you're already social media savvy, check it out right now. If you're not so social media savvy, it's never to late to start. And you can start right now! if you're reading this post and wondering why some words are in blue font, that's a great question. Those words are hyperlinked to take you directly to those sites, meaning if you click on the word Facebook, it will automatically take you to the FPCP Facebook page. It's just that simple. Keep watching for new posts and updates on all our social media platforms, and I look forward to connecting with you from afar!

Today is day one since the order to shelter in place went into effect here in Sonoma County, and now, like it or not, many of us have a lot less structure to our days than we are used to. This new structure (or lack of structure) can lead to additional anxiety, loneliness, depression and boredom, but there are some intentional things we can do to help stay healthy in body, mind and spirit. 

​Click here to read a great article by Sister Mary Catherine Perry, a cloistered nun with the Dominican nuns in Summit, New Jersey. For the past 29 years, Sister Mary has chosen to practice social distancing, and she's got some helpful tips for those of us just getting started. I found it helpful, and I hope you do to.

Peace to you all,

Pastor John 

Good morning, First Presbyterian Church! I woke up this morning to the sound of rain, and was reminded of how dependent we are on things often outside of our control. I was reminded of how dependent we are on water, and how dependent we are on God and God's provision.

This is one of the themes of this Third Sunday of Lent. And since we aren't gathering for worship, I have put together a short liturgy for you to use at home. Spend some time with this Sunday Morning Home Liturgy that I have attached below. Just click on the link and it should open the pdf file. The Scripture from Exodus 17:1-7 is the story of Israel's great need in the wilderness, thirsting for water, and God's miraculous provision to satisfy their need. Spend some time with the liturgy on your own, or with someone close by. My prayer is that God in Christ would encounter you this day in your own places of fear, anxiety and need.

Grace and peace to you all.

Pastor John