Rev. Dr. Glen Miles, Senior Minister

One of the most challenging experiences we face in life is learning to let go. It is difficult because none of us wants to feel like we have nothing to hold onto. Theologian Richard Rohr points out that we are taught from an early age to build things to hold on to. So, we spend the first half of our life building an image and creating a career while hopefully achieving some measure of success. 

There is nothing wrong with those things, and in fact, they are helpful tools in our lives. If you want to have a home and a family, earn a living, and put food on the table, you'll need some way of making that happen. But the problem begins when we realize that those things do not and cannot define us. 

During the first half of life though, we tend to think we are defined by what we do, whether we are teachers, salespersons, CEOs, or the beer guy at Nationwide Arena. We often believe that the work we are doing every day describes who we are to the world. Some may see us that way, but in the eyes of God, the beer guy and the CEO are both loved children of God. 

A well-known and often quoted psalm invites us to be still and know that God is God. Being still implies that we are beginning the work of letting go. We will let go of the phone, the laptop, and the television. We will not let them demand our constant attention. 

I know what I'm talking about here because I checked my email multiple times while writing this column. Somewhere in the middle of this paragraph, I finally turned off my phone and shut down my email!

Letting go involves more than turning off the electronics in our lives. Really, that's not all that hard. It also means letting go of control, of overseeing every situation or relationship that you think you have to control to be able to deal with it, and simply stepping back to say, "God, I trust that you are here and that I do not have to be in charge for love, hope, and healing to be made real."

What the old Hebrew poet is trying to tell us is that no matter what is happening, whether the weather is bombarding us, whether wars are continuing around the world, whether you feel like your life is in turmoil, being roiled and spun around in every direction by divorce or disease, “Be still" and know that God is our source of strength, hope, and faith.

Is your soul in pain? Is your life in turmoil? Are there storms raging across your heart and mind? Be still and know that you, right now, are held in the arms of love.

You’re Invited to Worship | Sunday, June 8

Join us this Sunday as we return to our regular worship schedule:

• 9 am | North Campus | Grace Hall
• 10 am | South Campus | Sanctuary
• 11 am | North Campus | Sanctuary

Rev. Dr. Glen Miles will preach a powerful message titled “The Power of the Power of Life,” drawing from Romans 8:14–17 and John 14:15–17, 25–27. Together, we’ll explore the life-giving Spirit that dwells within and among us—guiding, comforting, and empowering us for the journey ahead.

Whether you are a longtime member or seeking something new, we invite you to experience God’s presence in community. There’s a place for you here.

This week in Sunday school

During the summer, one K-5 classroom will be offered during the 10 am South and 11 am North services. Sunday school will not be offered during 9 am worship. The normal Sunday school schedule will resume on September 7.

This week classes will hear the story of Pentecost; the day the disciples became apostles and went out to tell the world about Jesus. After Jesus left the earth, the disciples were unsure of what to do next. Then, something unexpected and dramatic happened.

Rose Konrath, Governing Board Chair

Spring into Summer with Gratitude

As we enter June, ever closer to summer, I am grateful for the longer days, the lush green of my neighborhood, gardens coming to life and sprouting color, hummingbird feeders appearing here and there and yes, even the rain. It feels like possibility.  

During early May, my husband and I visited Italy, a country filled with art, history and beauty. Late one afternoon, as we entered the Piazza del Duomo in Florence and gazed upon the Cathedral (the Duomo), the bells began ringing wildly, loudly, excitedly. The crowd paused as one; then an announcement, “We have a new Pope!” Some looked skyward, others scrolled for details, some shed tears, some sang, others prayed. It was a moment when mostly strangers experienced a special, almost sacred moment together.

It is wonderful to be home and back with all of you in our sacred space.

Governing Board Highlights

May was a busy month for the Governing Board (GB), following are some highlights.

• Focus on Finance – Our Treasurer, Mark Hollinger, worked closely with our senior leadership and our board members on our current financial challenges, opportunities, and future planning. Mark is also a key member of the Financial Leadership team.
• Giving – I’m very appreciative of the time and talent generously given by this Governing Board who provided 100% financial support for Finish Strong.
• Direction 2025 - The Governing Board was updated on the current status of the South Assessment team’s work. Several members of the Governing Board serve on this team including April Howe, immediate past chair of the GB. She has taken a leadership role in the design and delivery of the upcoming Open Houses in June. Look for updates from Direction 2025 in firstnews, Stay Connected, and Word from Glen.
• The Personnel committee, working with Executive Minister John Girard and Chair Jennifer Short, prioritized an updated Onboarding Process for new employees as its first project. 
• Mandy Levell serves as GB liaison to First Community Foundation to facilitate clear and consistent communication between the two boards. Mandy attends monthly meetings for each and keeps each updated.

Looking Ahead

Key future Governing Board items include:

• Finance review
• Direction 2025 Update
• Staff Appreciation
• Outreach calling
• Committee activities
• Begin process to identifying skills / experience needed for the 2026 Governing Board
• Darkness to Light training for GB members who are not already certified

Next Meeting

Our next Governing Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at 7 PM at First Community North, Room 102. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments. Look forward to seeing you soon.

Closing Thought from Mary Oliver’s poem Sometimes:

Instructions for living a life:

Pay attention.

Be astonished.

Tell about it.

Until next month,

Rose Konrath, Governing Board Chair

There has been a very positive response from many members planning to attend our upcoming FC South Open House sessions—but there’s still room if you’d like to join us!

We invite you to attend one of two scheduled meetings at FC South:

• Wednesday, June 11 at 6 PM
• Sunday, June 22 at 11:15 AM
• Both will be held in the Weist Room.

These sessions will include updates from the Task Force, Q&A, building tours, and space for additional feedback.

Please register by emailing Shelly Sagraves no later than Monday, June 9.

Your voice is essential to this process—thank you for your continued engagement and support.

One of our dear members, Mike Thorn, is in need of a kidney transplant from a living donor. At age 4, Mike underwent life-saving surgery for a congenital birth defect that removed his ruptured right kidney and left him with a remaining kidney that was irreversibly damaged. Mike has slowed down the decline in functioning with years of taking the best care of himself he could, but now the time has come for him to join the 90,000 renal patients in America in need of a living kidney donor.

As it turns out, the best way to find a match is to utilize social networks like Mike’s church community. If you or someone you know might be interested in getting tested or have any questions, you may reach out to Mike directly at (614) 349-1283, thornpack@yahoo.com

All testing is covered by insurance, and health information is always kept confidential.

If you are interested and would feel more comfortable speaking to your pastor instead, please give Rev. Mary Kate Buchanan a call at (614) 488-0681, ext. 227, or email at mkbuchanan@FCchurch.com

PRIDE Month at First Community

June is PRIDE month, and the Community Justice LGBTQ+ Team is offering a variety of ways to celebrate and support the LGBTQ+ community this month. 

Throughout the month you’re encouraged to participate in a variety of events and activities sponsored by Stonewall Columbus:

• June 10: 2^nd Annual Pride Interfaith Prayer Service, 7 pm, at the Fran Ryan Center, 865 E. Capital St.
• June 13 & 14: Stonewall Columbus Pride Festival, at Goodale Park. Friday 4 – 10 pm. Saturday 11 am – 8 pm.
• June 14: Stonewall Columbus Pride Parade, steps off at 10:30 am at Broad & High St.
• June 15: Bat-N-Rouge Columbus Lesbian and Gay Softball Association, at Dodge Park, at Noon.
• Jun 29: Stonewall Columbus Drag Race & Virtual 5K. Registration and information at stonewallcolumbus.org/pride5k
• A special donation drive to support a local LGBTQ+ youth program in Columbus. More details forthcoming.

While First Community will not have a float in the Pride Parade this year, you’re encouraged to don your best rainbow gear and attend as many Stonewall Columbus PRIDE events as you’re comfortable with, making safety and consideration a top priority for yourself and others. 

Happy PRIDE, First Community!

Click below to read the On a Mission! monthly news. In this month’s news you can find these stories:

• Opportunities for celebration in June honor both Pride month and Juneteenth.
• Heart to Heart’s next Monthly Drive is on Father's Day. We will collect all personal care items including shaving supplies like shave gel and razors. Read more about hygiene poverty and get details on making donations.
• Trading Post inventory is comprised entirely of donations, but not all those received can be sold in the store. Read about the organizations we support with the donations we cannot use, and about upcoming events!
• World Refugee Day is coming soon, and the Refugee Ministry shares information about the celebration planned by C.R.I.S.
• The Share & Learn Garden volunteers are already harvesting produce for donation to Heart to Heart food pantry.
• Read quick updates from the Grants Team, Monday Night Meals, Warm Welcome Knitters and the Mat Makers.
• For the summer, monthly Mission & Justice meetings are at FC South in the Weist Room. Representatives from SWAG will be our guests at the June 17 meeting.

Minute for Mission

by Rick Greene, Missions Grants Team Member

“God, we thank you for breathing this world into existence and proclaiming from its birth: ‘It is good.’ We come to you with gratitude for the endless blessings that we see, feel, and know on our journeys of life. We celebrate the rich diversity of your creation — every beautiful body, every shade of skin, every expression of love. Through your Spirit, open our hearts to the joy we can find in the midst of life’s challenges. Remind us that we are loved — fiercely and forever.” Prayer by Rev. Sam Lundquist

Both the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ Church have a strong history of affirming LGBTQ+ rights and inclusion, At First Community, we share a vision of a socially progressive community fostering inclusiveness, diversity, and service that makes a positive difference. Indeed, FCC has been a leader in the church movement offering same gender covenant ceremonies in the sanctuary (1998) prior to the 2015 landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court which ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples.

Click to read the entire article.

Click on each image for more information or to register.

Every year at Camp Akita we focus our discussion and quiet time around a theme. We do our best to pick a theme that will be recognizable to every camper, provide content for discussion, and serve as a new lens for seeing Camp Akita’s core values of acceptance, community, authenticity, and compassion. We are very excited to announce the 2025 summer camp theme!

Give Me Space

Get ready to blast off: Camp Akita is headed to outer space! This summer, campers will rocket into an out-of-this-world adventure. All our favorite camp games, small groups, and cabin activities will take on an intergalactic spin: campers will face off in cosmic competitions, rely on fellow astronauts, and make their own spacecrafts (get it?). We may even host an alien crash-landing!

Our “Give Me Space” theme also invites campers to reflect upon their lives. As always, Camp Akita provides much-needed “space” away from our everyday routines. We’ll reflect with gratitude on the people, places, and activities in our orbit. Who helps us feel not-so “lost in space”? How would we design our ideal planet? What would we take on a mission to Mars? We’ll also discuss the aspects of our lives (like distractions or negativity) that we need to discard like “space junk”!

No matter our faith tradition, we’ll consider the ways that we are all bright, beloved individuals—just like stars. We remember Isaiah 40:26: “God brings out the stars one by one and calls each by name; not one of them is missing.” At Camp Akita, we’ll celebrate your uniqueness, build genuine relationships, and become a constellation of community together.

We can’t wait for Camp Akita 2025! 

Cooks needed to help prepare for 1.2.3…Akita! 

The K-5 team is preparing for our 1.2.3…Akita! Journey to India program. 1.2.3…Akita! is a day camp for children entering grades 1, 2, and 3. Each year we learn about a country where First Community has a mission connection through games, art, language, stories, and food. This year we will explore India.  

We are looking for some extra hands to help prep the food the children will make during camp. This will include cutting mangos, tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers and carrots. We also need help sorting the food into pre-portioned bags. If you like to cook and might enjoy an afternoon in the kitchen with other First Community folks preparing for this fun program, please sign up.  

Use this link to let us know you will join us. We will meet on Sunday, July 20 from 2:30-4:30 pm in the First Community North kitchen. Please bring your favorite chef’s knife, a paring knife and a cutting board.  

Women’s Guild Mini Garage Sale

“Oliver’s Best Day of the Year”

Despite the cold and record-setting rain on May 3, hard core garage-salers visited the FC South parking lot looking for treasures at the Mini Garage Sale in conjunction with the Grandview Community Garage Sale. Most of our items were sold on a donation basis and some of the shoppers were very generous.

While we didn’t have as many items to sell as in past years, we still were able to make (after expenses) $1,310 for the Guild’s missions and church-related needs. In addition, the garage sale helped introduce many Grandview residents to the Trading Post, a treasure right here in their midst, and as a result, the Trading Post had a good day of sales as well!

None of this could have happened without our dedicated volunteers, many of whom hung out in the cold rain with numb hands and feet. Over the course of the garage sale, there were at least 25 Guild and family members who helped to tote, set up, and take down tables, sort merchandise, cover items that wouldn’t fit underneath the tents, dispose of the trash, and provide general clean up.

And of course, nothing could have occurred were it not for the many people donating their unwanted items and the many shoppers willing to brave the cold and the rain to find “that perfect thing for that empty corner.” A great big “thank you” goes out to all of our volunteers, our donors, and our buyers!! Also, we want to acknowledge the Top Dog Tent Company, a new company from whom we rented the tents that saved the day!

Our favorite experience of the day is the story of Oliver. Oliver and his young teen friends were serious shoppers, checking out the items they were interested in and paying with money they had obviously been saving for just such an event. For the last few months, there has been an 8-foot wooden painted forest & animal scene standing in the Trading Post entrance to the annex building. Having had no offers to buy it, the staff at the Trading Post donated it to the Garage Sale. Our young shoppers expressed quite an interest in it and Oliver negotiated a fair price and purchased it. Since he couldn’t take it home on his bike, he left to get his father to help transport his purchase home. During his absence, 3 different adults expressed an interest in buying the item and left their names and phone numbers in case Oliver didn’t return or his family wouldn’t permit him to buy it. When Oliver returned to pick up his purchase, his father shared that “Garage Sale Day is Oliver’s favorite day of the year. He is so excited about his purchase. He and I have an agreement that he can buy anything he wants at the annual garage sale as long as he uses his own money.” As Oliver and his dad loaded his purchase into the truck, Oliver was smiling with delight.

Save the Dates!

Upcoming Women’s Guild Activities

• 08/24/25 Lemonade Sunday

Homemade cookies and lemonade after the 9:00am and 11:00am worship services. This event provides an opportunity to learn more about the Women’s Guild from Guild members.

• 08/27/25 Fall Kickoff and Installation Potluck

All women invited. 5:30 in Wing Grace Hall. This year’s charity recipient is Friends of the Homeless, in celebration and in memory of Carol Baker, who was the long-time coordinator of Monday Night Meals.

Some of the needs identified include:

· Twin Sheets

· Pillow Cases

· Bath Towels

· Wash Cloths

· New Underwear

· Socks

· Flip Flops

· Soap

· Shampoo

· Deodorant

· Male Toiletries

• 10/11/25 One-day Women’s Retreat at FC North

Planning is underway for a retreat that focuses on the International Day of the Girl, celebrating our strength and our joy. Keynote speakers will be Pastors Mary Kate and Sarah. All women and girls ages 10 and up with their grown-up are invited. Further details will be forthcoming.

• 11/4/25 Betty O’Neill Election Day Bake Sale at both FC North and FC South

Your gift helps us live out our vision to serve the world.

Please consider a gift in memory or an honorarium to the

Church or Foundation.

Click here to securely give online.

*Some content in this newsletter was generated with artificial intelligence.