Minute for Mission
Celebrate Pride Month
by Rick Greene
MISSION GRANTS TEAM MEMBER
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“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
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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.
It has been estimated that there are over more than 20 million individuals that identify as LGBTQ+ in the United States, approximately 9.3% of the total population. Columbus has the highest percentage (4.3%) of all Midwest cities.
Columbus’ strong history of protecting LGBTQ+ rights can be seen in its efforts to ensure equal rights and opportunities for LGBTQ+ individuals, including through non-discrimination ordinances and the support of LGBTQ+ organizations. This commitment has been instrumental in creating a more inclusive and welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ residents.
Pride Month is an annual celebration of the many contributions made by the LGBTQ+ community to history, society, and cultures worldwide. In most places, Pride is celebrated throughout the month of June each year in commemoration of its roots in the Stonewall Riots of June 1969. In some areas, pride events occur at other times of the year.
In 1970, on the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, activists in New York City marched through the streets of Manhattan in commemoration of the uprising. Over the years, gay pride events have spread from large cities to smaller towns and villages worldwide—even in places where repression and violence against gays and lesbians are commonplace. The atmosphere at these events can range from raucous, carnivalesque celebrations to strident political protest to solemn memorials for those lost to AIDS or homophobic violence.
In June 2000, President Bill Clinton officially designated June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, in recognition of the Stonewall Riots and gay activism throughout the years. A more-inclusive name was chosen in 2009 by President Barack Obama: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month.
The first Stonewall Columbus Pride march was held in June 1982 with around 200 participants. Some attendees even wore bags over their heads to conceal their identities. Over the years, the event has grown significantly, evolving into the largest Pride celebration in the Midwest, drawing over 700,000 people.
The PRIDE Parade will be held in Columbus at Goodale Park on June 14, starting at 10:30. In addition to the PRIDE Parade, there are many activities supporting members of the LGBTQ+ community in Central Ohio during Pride Month. Included are events such as the annual Pride Interfaith Prayer Service Tuesday, June 10, 7 pm., at the Fran Ryan Center, 865 E. Capital St. Also, there will be a Pride Festival & Resource Fair on June 13-14 at Goodale Park. Information about these and additional activities can be found at https://stonewallcolumbus.org/pride/.
On Sunday, June 1, the Church will have a Morning Song service at FC North for the 9:00 am and 11:00 am services (please note that there will not be a 10:00 am service at FC South). The theme of the morning is one that speaks to the heart of our faith: fierce love and the inclusion of all in God’s expansive grace. Through music, scripture, and reflection, we’ll explore what it means to be fully seen, wholly loved, and invited, exactly as we are, into the abundant life God offers.
The morning will feature a compelling lineup of choral and orchestral works, including pieces by Marianna Martines (a Spanish composer from Mozart’s era from part of her cantata based on Psalm 42), Brandon Williams (text written by Emily Dickinson and a former slave, Phyllis Wheatley Peters), Coreen Duffy (using celebratory text from the Hebrew tradition), and Tim Sarsany (piece commissioned for this performance, dedicated to all LGBTQ+ and their friends). We will be recognizing and celebrating artists that honor a wide variety of “others,” including women, people of color, and members of non-Christian and LBGTQ+ communities
This is more than a worship service. It’s a call to remember and reclaim the radical, inclusive love at the center of the Gospel. We hope you will join us for this celebration of beauty, belonging, and bold faith. This article began with a quote from Rev. Sam Lundquist, “Remind us that we are loved—fiercely and forever.” In Psalms 31:16, the poet says, “Save me with your fierce love.” It is that sort of love that can stand in the face of enemies, that can overcome the implacable depredations of all sort of foes.
The concept of fierce love in scripture, while not explicitly defined as a single term, is powerful, unwavering, and all-encompassing. This love is often characterized as protective, relentless, and willing to go to great lengths for all people, whether it’s in a relationship with God or with others.
If you are interested about additional information and how you can impact change in the local community, please contact John Girard at jgirard@FCchurch.com.
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by Yohan Kim
HEART TO HEART FOOD PANTRY MANAGER
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They say that April showers bring May flowers, and the pantry blossomed with the help of our friends. We only had one order from the Mid-Ohio Foodbank this month, due to the 5 Mondays in June and all of the Monday holidays in close succession. But the pantry has remained full. The Upper Arlington Police did their second Cram-a-Cruiser drive, resulting in 872 pounds of food and toiletries. Their first one was in December, which netted 1,596 pounds. This will continue each year in May and December, for the foreseeable future. Thanks to one of our volunteers, Colleen, Columbus Humane once again delivered pet food and cat litter, totaling 1,688 pounds. With friends like these, all things are possible at the pantry.
Donations go a long way towards supporting those we serve. As of this writing, prior to the last week of the month, the Drive-Thru has helped 372 households and the Pop-Up Pantry has helped 120. Collectively, that’s 1,758 people, spanning a variety of ages, ethnicities, zip codes, and countries of origin. You can participate in these acts of service by signing up for the Drive-Thru, Pop-Up Pantry, or logistics shifts like the MOFB Shop-Thru and the Shop & Stock. No Gathering for the summer? No problem! We have a Wednesday Shop & Stock, 5:00 – 6:30 pm, that entails preparing boxes of dry goods, refilling shelves, and doing some set-up of the Drive-Thru.
There are 3 not-so-basic rules at the center of Heart to Heart. The first is to “be safe”, which is the physical aspect. “Be cool” is the mental aspect that makes the others possible. And there’s “be kind”, which is the spirit at heart of what we do. Join us in sharing gifts of grace with our neighbors, each other, and ourselves. “Kindness is the only non-delusional response to the human condition”, as George Saunders reminded us. We can respond together.
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by Amy Caskie
DIRECTOR OF MISSIONS
Our next Monthly Drive is on Father's Day, June 15! We will collect all personal care items including shaving supplies like shave gel and razors. A 2022 report from The Hygiene Bank highlights how "hygiene poverty" prompts people to avoid work and colleagues out of embarrassment. The report came from the UK, and claims "3.2 million Brits are affected by struggles to buy basic sanitary items such as soap and deodorant." The Hygiene Bank reports, "from affecting mental and physical health, to acting as a barrier to education, work, family and social life, the impacts of hygiene poverty are felt across all aspects of day-to-day life."
More info available at h2h.fcchurch.com/monthlydrives
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by Beth Hanson
TRADING POST VOLUNTEER TEAM LEAD
In the last several years, as our popularity has increased, donations to the Trading Post have become astoundingly generous! It is a challenge to keep up with all of the sorting, cleaning, testing, fixing, steaming, repairing, displaying, organizing, and researching that is required to process every item that comes our way. We are sensitive to the fact that the items being donated are often sentimental, valuable, historic, and unique. But we have to be realistic, and in order to honor the items donated to us, we have found other worthy outlets for the items we can’t sell. Our goal is to find a useful home for all donations, and so very little is discarded.
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Here are some of the organizations who receive the items we can’t sell:
House of Hope: Some clothing is still serviceable, but may have a small stain or snag. We save this type of clothing for young men and women struggling with drug addiction who receive services from the House of Hope. Once a month, the Heart to Heart Pop-Up Pantry takes this clothing with them when they deliver food to this location.
Little Bottoms Free Store: We also collect children’s clothing (sizes 0 to 5T), accessories, toys, and bedding for at-risk and low-income families and babies on the west side of Columbus.
Community Kitchen & Star House: All year round, we collect winter hats, scarves, gloves and mittens for Amanda Brofford (who works in our Missions Office) to take to these two organizations through her church (Grove City Community of Christ). These include winter accessories that either didn’t sell or had small issues that made them unsellable. The Community Kitchen has provided meals for 40 years out of the St. John Food Pantry on South Ohio Street. Star House is a drop-in center for youth ages 14-24 and provides a safe place for youth to get food, clothing, hygiene items, take showers, do laundry, and get help with addiction, counseling, employment and health needs.
Open Door Art Studio & Gallery (in Grandview): Open Door provides creative support services and representation to artists with disabilities across Central Ohio. We take them frames, partially used art supplies, paper, old calendars, etc.
Low-Income Nursing Facilities, including: Capital City Gardens Nursing & Rehab, the Commons at Buckingham, Commons at Livingston, and Commons at Grant: Our volunteer, Connie Warren, regularly visits these places. The residents living there are elderly, special needs or participating in drug rehab. Many have no family to attend to them. Connie has taken them bedding, clothing, décor, pillows, suitcases, audiotapes, and Xmas cards, as well as medical and rehabilitation supplies that we cannot sell in the shop (such as walkers, crutches, and raised toilet seats).
United Methodist Church Free Store for All People on Parsons Ave., the Mid-Ohio Workers Association's clothing bank, and Friends of the Homeless: Connie Warren has also taken clothing, blankets, backpacks and small luggage to these organizations.
Habitat MidOhio Restore: The Habitat MidOhio ReStore raises money to offset Habitat MidOhio’s administrative costs. Our volunteer, Martha Popa, takes them building supplies, accessories, tools, etc. that we don’t sell in the shop. Their business model also reduces landfill reliance because they sell durable, reusable materials that would otherwise go to waste in local landfills.
Volunteers of America: We give the VOA all remaining items that are not good enough to sell, or are items we have not been able to sell after five months of trying. The VOA provides a wide range of services to disadvantaged communities, including affordable housing, healthcare, housing assistance and programs for veterans, seniors, and those with disabilities.
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So, you can rest assured that we are extremely conscientious with every single donation we receive. We are environmentalists at heart and are committed to recycling and reusing. (Several of us are hopeless dumpster divers!) We take great pains to be good stewards of all items that come our way.
The shop is in the basement of the Annex Building, and we are open Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and the first Saturday of the month from 10:00 – 4:00.
Donations can be dropped off at three locations:
- first floor hallway of the Annex Building
- collection bin in the Coat Room, FC South
- collection bin in Rose Wing entryway, FC North
Those requiring unloading assistance, or with large donations, should bring donations to the Annex while the store is open. Hours are Monday, Wednesday, Friday and the first Saturday of the month from 10 am – 4 pm.
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Refugee Ministry
Monthly Update
by Shirley Barney
REFUGEE MINISTRY TEAM LEAD
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In honor of World Refugee Day (June, 20, 2025), CRIS is hosting World Refugee Day block party on Saturday, June 21 from 11am-2pm at their office 4645 Executive Drive. This special event is a family-friendly celebration of the strength, beauty, and cultures of the refugees and immigrants in our community, featuring global arts and crafts activities for families, as well as music, food, and dance from around the world. Hope to see you there!
What can you do to help?
Volunteers:
Donations:
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Share & Learn Garden
Monthly Update
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by Kate Paulson
GARDEN VOLUNTEER
Hello from the Share & Learn Garden at First Community Church! It is May in the garden, an exciting time of growth and new plant beginnings.
Recent garden happenings:
- New 40 x 6 ft bed is filled with slicing and cherry tomatoes plants!
- The dedicated kids’ beds are planted with cherry tomatoes. The kids go crazy for these tiny healthy treats!
- Collard greens (leaves) are ready to harvest right after Memorial Day.
- Cabbage plants look fantastic, but take a bit longer than collards to mature.
- New 15 x 7 ft perennial pollinator bed is planted and will look spectacular later this year
- Pots of Wave Petunias are at the edge of a few raised beds to add beauty and attract pollinators.
- Cucumber plants are in, and will “pop” once temperatures increase
- Over 100 onion seedlings planted; very tiny, but just need some time to thrive!
- A full bed of seeds for beautiful orange Nantes Carrots were planted and have sprouted.
- Okra seeds, spicy and bell peppers are also planted
A shout out to family-owned and operated Mars Irrigation, LLC (Erik, Kim and Reed) for their patience and time maintaining our fantastic irrigation system!
As a reminder, the Share & Learn Garden is a Franklin Park Conservatory
“Growing to Green” (GTG) garden. Approximately 200 GTG gardens are located throughout Franklin County, growing food for vulnerable populations and educating the next generation on food practices.
As always, the mission for our garden is to grow healthy produce, 100% donated to The Heart to Heart Food Pantry. Please come by the garden at the rear of the North Church and check out our work!
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Mission Grants Team News
by Amy Caskie
DIRECTOR OF MISSIONS
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The Mission Grants Team is tasked with oversight and distribution of mission contributions to support mission activities locally, nationally, and internationally. We partner with numerous organizations supporting diverse communities and addressing varied basic needs. Non-profit organizations are always welcome to apply online here. The Team has also been blessed with the resources to award individual emergency grants occasionally throughout the year.
Funding for these grants is primarily provided by sales at our thrift store, the Tri-Village Trading Post. Donors may also contribute to this fund online.
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A list of the grants awarded in 2024 is available in the January 2025 issue of On a Mission! For a visual representation of the global reach of our support click here.
New Awards
Since last month, the Mission Grants Team has awarded the following grants:
- $15,000 Tandana Foundation
- $3,000 Individual Emergency Grant
Read more about the team at fcchurch.com/missions. Click on each logo below for more information on the organization.
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Celebrating Juneteenth
Festival & Worship Service
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by Rick Greene
MISSION GRANTS TEAM MEMBER
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One hundred and sixty years ago, the African American community in Galveston Texas celebrated the first Juneteenth festival in the nation. General Gordon Granger read official order #3 to the African American captives of Galveston Texas June 19, 1865. Two and a half years earlier President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation January 1, 1863, freeing all African American captives in the rebellious south. This is the event recognize as African American Independence Day, the first act of freedom African Americans cherished as the opportunity to reunite with family members and to be self-determined as a people.
The first celebration of Juneteenth included soul food cook offs, drinking ice cold red pop, singing spiritual hymns, performing re-enactments, and stage plays that shared tales of bravery, and courage shown by the Buffalo Soldiers, Harriet Tubman, John Brown, Denmark Vesey, and many other heroes of the time.
This momentous act is the reason why the Juneteenth Ohio festival continues to be a stable and meaningful celebratory foundation in the lives of African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans in the state of Ohio. Throughout our 26 years of celebration, Juneteenth Ohio emerged as the enjoyable family weekend of cultural discovery, filled with a variety of events promoting cultural unity, enrichment, and ethnic diversity.
Today Juneteenth is celebrated in over 200 cities nationwide. Juneteenth Ohio has indeed evolved into the 3rd largest celebration in the country, this accomplishment in itself speaks greatness to the support from the local and statewide community.
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Mat Makers
Joan Talmage
TEAM LEADER
Mat Makers are in need of more people to knit or crochet mats for the homeless. These mats are made from plastic grocery, shopping bags, therefore saving them from the landfill while serving another purpose. For twelve years we have supplied various agencies with 3’x6’ sleeping mats and find they are still in demand. For anyone who already has knitting or crocheting skills, or wishes to learn, this group is for you! Presently we give mats to House of Hope and Jacob’s House.
Our group meets every first and third Tuesday of the month from 1:30 - 3:30 In the Guild Room at FCC South. Contact Joan Talmage for more information. We would love to meet you!
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Monday Night Meals
by Pat Porterfield
TEAM LEAD
Each Monday, volunteers from First Community provide a meal for the men staying at Friends of the Homeless. Small groups have been established that volunteer for the same week each month, each with their own routine, recipes, and assignments. The group members purchase items, assembled the meals and deliver them, with some staying to serve the meal. New volunteers are welcome on many of these weekly groups. Some groups bring additional donations for the men housed at FOH. If you would like to make a donation, or join one of the weekly teams, contact Pat Porterfield.
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Warm Welcome Knitters
Pat Porterfield
WARM WELCOME TEAM
"Thank you to the knitters who donate your stash to our Warm Welcome Knitters. Our hats, scarves and mittens (produced year round) are all sizes for families of all ages. Please contact Pat Porterfield if you have a yarn donation. We’ll transform it into cold weather wearables."
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Monthly Mission & Justice Meeting
For All Ministry Teams
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by Rev. John Girard
MINISTER OF MISSION & JUSTICE
Everyone involved or interested in the work of our Missions and Community Justice teams is invited to join us for our monthly meeting. This month, we will be joined by representatives from Scioto Watershed Action Group. SWAG works to protect, preserve, and enhance the Scioto River as it flows through central Ohio, along with its associated tributaries and drainage area.
At 6:30 pm on Tuesday, June 17, Joe Carter and Petra Schmalbrock will give us more information about the organization including current needs, projects, and opportunities for collaboration with First Community. Meetings in June in July will be in the Weist Room at FC South. If you have a suggestion for a guest speaker, a topic you'd like to cover or an item to add to the agenda, please contact Rev. John Girard ahead of the next meeting.
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News from our Mission Partners | | | | |
