|
Minute for Mission
LGBTQ+ Advocacy Group
by Rick Greene
“There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:23-29
First Community is an open and affirming congregation that welcomes all. As such, the Church seeks to advocate for and with friends in the LGBTQ+ community. The LGBTQ+ Advocacy group’s vision states, “A socially progressive community fostering inclusiveness, diversity, and service that makes a positive difference.” In addition, the Mission of First Community states that we model God’s unconditional love and acceptance, which transcends tolerance.
Several years ago, the Governing Board approved the conducting of covenant ceremonies, and the clergy had been previously performing them in parks and homes but were getting requests to do them in the sanctuary. In October 1996, the Board decided to begin a careful study by creating an ad hoc committee to study this issue. The committee took a year and a half to complete its report, with the final recommendations concentrating on communicating with the congregation, making educational materials available, and conducting adult education programs and discussion groups that addressed the issues fully.
In June 2013, the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act in the landmark civil rights case of United States v. Windsor, leading to federal recognition of same-sex marriages. Full marriage equality became a reality in June 2015 after the Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which confirmed same-sex couples have the legal right to marry in all states. Since then, clergy of First Community have been able to perform marriages of same-sex couples legally.
Our Advocacy group participates in community-based Pride events in Central Ohio, such as the UA Pride Day (June 11). Indeed, the Church has participated for several years, as it will in June 2023, in the Stonewall Columbus Pride Parade (June 17) with the support of the Mission Ministry Team. The church has a thriving group and also seeks to advocate for friends in the LBGTQ+ community year-round.
The upcoming Stonewall Columbus Pride Parade is an opportunity for anyone to support the First Community Church’s community outreach and the LGBTQ+ community. Volunteers are needed to walk in the parade and help decorate a parade float. In addition, activities after church services have already begun, for people of all ages, to make float decorations. For anyone looking for information concerning this group or interested in participating in upcoming Pride events, please contact Tim Vansant.
More information can be found at FCchurch.com/pride, including additional information about community resources related to LBGTQ+ issues. If you want more information about the LGBTQ+ advocacy group, First Community Church, and its other Mission programs, please email us at mission@FCchurch.com
|  |  |  | | |
Celebrate Deep Griha 2023
Video Recording
| |
|
by Kitty Rohrer
EVENT CHAIR AND DGUSA BOARD MEMBER
On April 22, Deep Griha USA sponsored a brunch in Grace Hall that included participation in the international webinar originating from Deep Griha Society (DGS) in Pune, India, the Friends of UK in England, and Deep Griha USA in Columbus, Ohio. The webinar provided an update on some of the many DGS activities and programs that were re-engineered following the pandemic. The update focused primarily on the current status of the City of Child, an orphanage for orphaned or at-risk boys in Pune's rural surroundings.
The video from Pune also showed the renovations (funded by First Community Missions) of the kitchen area flooring at the main location of DGS at the Tadiwali slum site. Recently, the DGS staff has been actively reaching out to older adults in the community, many of whom have no support system. The older adults responded well and began having lunch and hanging out together on the new kitchen pavement. The children who have sponsorships and receive lunch daily from DGS gather there, and the combination benefits both groups, the older and younger. The webinar video can be viewed anytime on the Deep Griha YouTube Channel.
A special part of the webinar was the tribute to Sanborn "Sandy" Wood, who recently died after battling a 3-year-long medical condition. After meeting the Onawales during their stay in Columbus, Ohio, and after his son, John's return from volunteering at Deep Griha over 40 years ago, Sandy was inspired to create a non-profit organization in the United States to provide financial support to DGS and thus Deep Griha USA was born. Sandy was an amazing businessman and an even greater humanitarian! Donations in his memory can be made through the deepgrihausa.org website or by sending a check made out to Deep Griha USA and sent to:
Barbara Anderson
8952 Tartan Fields
Dublin, Ohio 43017
| |
The Trading Post
A Very Good Day
| |
by Beth Hanson
Several weeks ago, while working at the Trading Post, I looked up to see a man and wife coming toward me in the annex building who were clearly from another country. The man wore a knee-length white shirt and loose-fitting white pants topped with a dark suit jacket. His wife wore a long dress and a head scarf. I greeted them and asked how I could help them. In a heavy accent, the man said, “Someone told us about your church and said you could help us.” “Okay,” I said, “What is it that you need?” Their reply: “We need everything……we need food and clothing.” Heart to Heart was closed, so I took them to the Trading Post to look for clothing. As I chatted with them further, I realized they had no money and would need to get clothing for free. The Trading Post has a discretionary fund for people in need, but I wanted to know more about their situation.
The husband wanted me to know that it was difficult for them to ask for help like this and wanted to make it clear to me that they were not begging. He explained that they were from Afghanistan and that he had been a translator for the U.S. Army for 17 years. When the U.S. pulled out from Afghanistan in August 2021, he, his wife, and seven children (ages 1.5 – 16) were at the infamous airport, attempting to flee. In fact, they saw the explosion that killed so many Afghans and American soldiers. They said it was so chaotic there that they left and were able to escape via a different route. They lived in numerous refugee-type camps for a year or so as their fates were up in the air. Through a program with the U.N., they were eventually sent to Columbus to live.
They feel so fortunate to have been one of the lucky families to make it to the U.S. The father told me he has two master’s degrees (political science/international relations and business), but now he is working at Walmart. It is extremely difficult for him to make ends meet with such a modest salary, but he kept emphasizing that he knew things would eventually improve. Right now, he is concentrating on ensuring his children get a good education, especially his two high school-aged daughters, who have already won awards from their school in Hilliard for academic performance and personal character. I asked him if his kids liked living in the U.S., and he said, “Too much! They don’t want to ever go back!” And then, he showed me videos of his daughters receiving their awards on the stage at school. “An education is so important! It is like getting a GPS to guide you through life.”
The couple picked out a modest amount of clothing and housewares from the shop, and in the meantime, we gave them emergency boxes of food from Heart to Heart since the food pantry was closed. We planned to use our discretionary fund (donated by a church member) to pay for their items, but by this time, their story was traveling among the volunteers in the shop. Helara Shaw, our cashier that day, told me she wanted to contribute money toward their purchases because their story resonated strongly with her. Her parents had been refugees from Latvia in the late 1940s when she was an infant. Her father was an academic, so he was slated to be shipped to Siberia by the Russian government. (His brother was shipped to Siberia ahead of him and was never seen again.) When her family arrived in the U.S., a church in Columbus took them under their wing, finding housing and providing furniture, food, clothing, and housewares. She said she is still using the dishes donated to their family way back then. You can imagine how strongly her heart went out to this Afghan family in their situation.
As this couple was shopping, another volunteer, Richard Jacob, arrived, bringing us his generous weekly donation of supplies for the shop (to help us keep our expenses down) and donated watches in which he had put new batteries. I explained a bit about the couple shopping downstairs, and he reached into his pocket and pulled out a generous donation. “Here,” he said. “Put this toward their bill. I was an Air Force man.” Again, the situation instantly resonated with his heart and life experience.
Earlier, I had called one of my fellow directors at the TP, Chris Casavant, to tell her about this family and ensure she agreed to use our discretionary fund. I explained that we also gave the family emergency food boxes because Heart to Heart was closed. The emergency boxes contained dry goods; this family also needed fresh produce and meat. Without hesitation, Chris said, “I’m on my way to my golf lesson, but I’m going to stop at Giant Eagle and get a gift card for them. I think I have time to drop it off on my way.”
My senses were on fire, witnessing the many spontaneous gestures of generosity coming forth as if from a fountain in this brief but moving encounter. It was extraordinarily heartening to witness the outpouring of empathy and sympathy from total strangers toward this family, and it brought the meaning of our life together on this planet into such clear focus.
Before leaving the store, the husband bestowed blessings on all of us, our children, and our children’s children. They were so grateful and relieved that they had been welcomed and not made to feel like strangers or to feel “less than.” I helped them back to their car with their bags of clothing and food boxes, and the father continued to be effusive with his thanks and gratitude. He looked me straight and said, “I cannot thank you enough. We will never, ever forget this day!” I gave him a warm pat on his shoulder, wished his family well, and told him I hoped he would come back to see us. I turned to hug his wife, who spoke no English. I felt bad that I hadn’t been able to communicate with her, but I wanted her to know that I felt warmly toward her. She was much shorter than I, so I bent down to hug her. It must have looked like a giraffe bending way down to hug a be-scarfed marshmallow. She hugged me tightly and warmly and kissed me on both sides of my neck. Our embrace said everything we couldn’t say to each other. They had found a port in the storm, and I felt God was in our midst.
Later that day, I told a shopper about what had taken place that morning. She was so moved that the following week she brought me an envelope of money to give to their family the next time I saw them. So the love continued, and their visit was more of a gift to all of us than we were to them. It was a very, very good day at the Trading Post.
| | | |
|
This little girl was buying Hello Kitty Dominos and her brother was buying a truck. (Julie Osborn at the counter.). The little girl was swinging back and forth and jumping up and down with excitement and exclaimed “I just LOVE them!!” I think she was talking about the dominos. | | | |
This is a doll from the 1920’s that Barbara DeHays has repaired and rejuvenated to sell at the TP. Barbara is a professional doll repairer who has started volunteering with us. This doll had a cracked head and is missing some digits but has been fixed up. She is still so cute. | |
| |
Open 10 am to 4 pm on Saturday, June 3 | |
Yellow Tag Sale starts June 5 | | |
|
Wilondja Family updates:
- Asukulu was in a car accident. During the accident, he hit his mouth, lost a tooth and many of his other teeth became loose
- Mary Buzby has helped Asukulu with dental appointments, medication, and logistics with getting a replacement tooth. He is feeling better and has returned to school
- Les Sauer continues to support transporting various family members to and from their medical appointments
- The lease ends at their current apartment at the end of July. Mary is helping the family look for new places to live
Other RMT Activities:
- Mike Collins is making great strides with the RMT video. We have gathered pictures, started videos, etc. When complete, the video will be posted on the Refugee Ministry Team page of the FCC website
- Mary helped provide washer & dryer to a recently arrived Syrian couple who is related to another refugee family the team supported in the past
- Shirley Barney continues to build existing team and tools to support recruiting new members, etc.
- We continue to support other refugee families in need with donations, household items (bikes, baby supplies, dishes, TVs, etc.)
Help wanted:
-
Car donation - Looking for a car in good condition to be donated to the family for transportation to work, school, appointments, etc.
-
Volunteers - Are you interested in supporting these families or joining the RMT? Supporting resettling refugee families is extremely rewarding.
If you are interested in volunteering or donating, please contact Shirley Barney.
| |
Heart to Heart
Monthly Update
by Yohan Kim
HEART TO HEART FOOD PANTRY MANAGER
Service never sleeps at Heart to Heart. As of this writing in May, the Drive-Thru has served 329 families, and the Pop-Up Pantry served 156. The Drive-Thru numbers include 66 new families! We’ve seen a resurgence on Tuesdays to our 2022 demand levels, even with a 30-day limit between visits. That’s 50-60 families showing up at First Community South each day we are open.
The Heart to Heart Ministry Team met on May 17 to finalize plans for the September church-wide Tailgate Saturday kickoff event. The team has also undertaken Civil Rights, Food Safety, and FreshTrak training as part of the development of training requirements for pantry volunteers.
There have been several notable donations so far in May. The Baby Care Drive at First Community netted us $50 and 269 pounds of diapers and baby wipes, much of which has been given to very grateful parents. The next themed donation is a Shaving Supply Drive at First Community’s worship services on Father’s Day, June 18. We’ll be taking disposable razors and shaving cream.
The supply chain continues to be strained, and the pantry still needs an assortment of toiletries, canned foods, snacks, peanut butter, and jelly. That can be donated at any time. Thanks to our friends in Marble Cliff, Our Lady of Victory, we received 575 pounds of food from their Sunday School and 142 pounds from their monthly food drive. Grandview Middle School donated 256 pounds, and Wickliffe Progressive School donated 100 birthday boxes.
As we look towards the future, our operations continue to improve as we aim for “mutual benefit” through “maximum efficiency with minimum effort,” as the principles of Judo go, so that we may serve our neighbors to the best of our ability, both individually and collectively with our Missions partners at First Community.
|  | | |
Mission Workday
Amy Caskie will lead a day of cleanup and organizing in Lincoln Road Chapel, the Annex, and main church building. Volunteering will benefit many Missions of the church, including Heart to Heart, Trading Post, and Refugee Ministry.
Sign up to volunteer June 19
Wednesday Evenings
As the school year comes to an end, our youth team heads to Camp Akita for the summer. Many of the students have camps, vacations, and other activities over the summer as well, so they can't volunteer regularly. This means our Wednesday evening volunteer shift is now available for anyone to volunteer, starting this week! During this shift, volunteers fill empty dry goods boxes, stock food and other items, and prepare the next day’s Drive-Thru.
Sign up for Wednesday Evenings
Order Unloading
About twice a month, Heart to Heart orders a truckload of dry goods from Mid-Ohio Food Collective. Once the truck delivery is complete, volunteers are needed to unpack, sort and stock the items. This is an afternoon volunteer shift and requires a bit of heavy lifting. Our next truck comes June 12 and we are still looking for about 8 helpers.
Sign up for June 12 Order Unloading
| | |
Greg Esparza Parole Hearing Update | |
|
by Jeff Leister
Greg Esparza, a member of First Community Church, has been awaiting his parole hearing since his sentence was reduced from Execution to 30 years with time served. Greg had been on Ohio's Death Row for 40 years at the time of his re-sentencing in January 2023. His Parole Hearing is scheduled for sometime in July. Currently, a small group of friends is gathering information and encouraging people who know him to write to the Parole Board to support his release. Among the things the board is looking for in Greg is that he has secured a place to live, a job, and people to support him. Greg has a friend in Columbus who may be able to obtain a room for him at the Elvis House, a halfway house for released prisoners, and the possibility of a job. Even though the courts have ruled that his sentence is over, the Parole Board has the authority to hold him for another ten years while he proves that he can safely re-enter society. Greg has watched Sunday morning services on TV and hopes to attend services in person someday - soon.
Anyone wishing to write to the Parole Board to support Greg can do so online here. His full name is Gregory Esparza, and his inmate number is A179450.
| |
In The Garden
Updates from the Share and Learn Gardens
| | |
The Share and Learn Garden at First Community North sits on the property behind the Mary Evans Child Development Center. All the produce grown in the garden comes directly to Heart to Heart. The garden is managed and harvested by a small but mighty and fun group of volunteers. Master Gardeners Cheryl and Loren VanDeusen, and their daughter, Kate Paulson, are the group's leaders. The group convenes on Tuesday mornings, weather permitting. We receive weekly updates from Kate Paulson during the growing season, including these excerpts below: | | |
|
May 19, 2023
Hi gardeners!
First, a thank you for the hard work last week planting tomatoes and peppers! The auger my dad picked up was super helpful making neat planting holes thru the red mulch!
Note: I moved the start time to 9:30…the weather is still pretty ok in the morning, and this allows 30 extra minutes to get all of the seedling flats to the garden!
This week is also ambitious, but this is planting time!:
- plant additional tomatoes and remainder of the hot peppers. I have additional collard green plants, however they need another week of growth.
- sow carrot seeds (this will be an entire bed!!!)
- sow pole bean seeds (to grow up the metal archway located in the playground).
- place trellises in bed and sow cucumber seeds (to grow up)
- plant marigolds (courtesy of Karyl & Dave) ❤️
Enjoy! Kate
| | |
|
May 17, 2023
Hi all!
A note to let you know I seeded the bed adjacent to the memorial tree with zinnia and cosmos.
I also planted the Okra seeds in one of the playground beds (the okra sign marks the bed).
I have attached pictures of the seed packages i planted. There are also pink cosmos, but the seed package was misplaced.
All of the new plants we just planted appear to be doing great!
Marcy….the roses are on the same watering zone as the tree and zinnia beds. Because this bed wasn’t set to water as often, that is why the roses were dry yesterday. All of the beds got a drink today!
The landscaping crew was working at the church today, and said they all really enjoy the garden. 😎
More later.
Kate Paulson
| | |
|
May 12, 2023
Hi friends and gardeners!
Tuesday we are back at it again. It will be a BIG day with LOTS of planting!
Last week everyone got all of the planting beds weeded. On Wednesday, Mike graciously added soil and hummus and tilled ALL of the beds, so we are full steam ahead!
This week we will:
- apply red mulch to the 2nd tomato bed
- plant Sungold and 4th of July tomatoes
- plant bell and hot peppers
I will be out of town May 23 and May 30, so I will most likely make up the days by planting the zinnia, cosmos, and okra seeds this week. If anyone would like to help later in the week by planting the carrot seeds, that would be great!
The garlic is growing along, and will be ready mid-June. I am also growing additional collard green seedlings and tomatoes, which will be big enough to plant in the next few weeks.
AND…the remote watering system continues to be amazing and convenient!
See you Tuesday!
Kate Paulson
| | |
|
May 7, 2023
Good Sunday evening!
First of all, thank you to everyone for coming to the session this past Thursday.
It was a very productive session; we planted about 56 collard plants, put down red mulch on the new tomato bed, weeded the 2nd future tomato bed, and Bruce and Ellen (patiently!) assisted me in recovering the row covers.
Mike graciously dug up the sod around the newly installed archways and laid down mulch to improve aesthetics and weed/grass control.
This Tuesday we will:
- weed the 2 remaining beds (inside the playground)
- touch up weeding on the former pollinator bed (future pepper/okra bed).
Mike is out of state on Tuesday, but indicated that he would add soil and rototil the 2nd tomato bed and pie shaped bed on Wednesday.
In the coming couple of weeks, we will need to plant the tomato and pepper plants as they are getting big!
Hope to see you Tuesday morning!
Kate
| | |
|
April 29, 2023
Happy Saturday!
We are back at it again this Tuesday at 9am!
Goals this week include:
1. Plant collard greens
2. Lay red mulch cloth in tomato beds in preparation for planting tomatoes in a few weeks
3. Clean out bed In preparation for planting carrot seeds
4. Cover row covers with new agribon (for collard plant protection)
Seedlings continue to grow…attached is a picture of the bell peppers (now in solo cups) and an overview of all of the trays.
Our new rain bird controller was installed Thursday. It is pretty awesome and can be controlled remotely via an app on my phone.
Thank you to everyone who came last week, and hope to see you again!
Kate Paulson
| | |
Monday Night Meals
Join the Third Monday Team
| |
Upcoming All Church Events | |
Did you miss the last issue of On a Mission!? View it, and all past issues, by clicking the link below. | |
| |
|
Did you know Heart to Heart is on social media? Click the buttons below to follow us. We also have a blog! Read the weekly blog posts at h2h.FCchurch.com/blog | |
Did you know Trading Post is on Facebook? Click the button below to follow us. You can also sign up for the email list for occasional announcements, sales, and events. | |
|
News from our Mission Partners | | | | |
