Thoughts from
Rev. Dr. Tassie Green,
Interim Senior Pastor.
Let’s lift up once again that FPCE is a diverse church. Twenty percent of you have been drawn together into this body of Christ from all over the world, including two of our newest members who come from Shanghai and from Nigeria. You are diverse in other ways: in politics, in economics, and in life-stages. And this year the congregation has recognized and named your diversity in theology, especially about biblical interpretations about gay marriage and ordination.
THE GIFT OF RECONCILING WITH ONE ANOTHER
It helps a church to name and to recognize that within our diversity, we find unity in Christ, as the Scripture passage from last Sunday exhorts:
I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk in a manner
worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility
and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace: there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to
the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one
God and [Parent] of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
– Ephesians 4: 1-6
Session is working with me and Rev. Dr. Barbara Wilson, Associate Executive Presbyter of Chicago Presbytery, to envision what it might look like for the church to move forward with dignity and respect for all, even in our differences, while “bearing with one another in love” and while “making every effort to maintain unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
THE GIFT OF MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER
Session will soon invite you as the congregation to envision together what might come next, how to take positive steps, how to move forward in peace. They will open opportunities to co-create in sacred spaces for listening, for lament, for dreaming, for healing, for reconciling. WHY? To shape a healthier church for one another and for the next generation.
I am working with Our Children, Our Families Council (OCOF) on a strategic process, which will also include listening, giving families opportunity to share ideas, hopes, and outcomes. OCOF and our staff—Youth Director Ben Graham and Children’s Ministry Director Abby Cunningham—will invite families to evaluate recent experiments in ministry and shape highest priorities for what comes next. Look for more information soon.
THE GIFT OF YOURSELF
This Sunday is Giving Sunday. If you’ve been attending First Presbyterian Church of Evanston over the past six weeks, you would be hard pressed to have missed all the various bulletin blurbs, slides, announcements, and videos asking you to be in prayer as you decide what to give throughout 2025.
This year, we spent less time reminding you that giving to the church – stewardship – is more than just sending your hard-earn money our way. As we like to say around here, stewardship is the giving of time, talent, AND treasure to God’s purposes. We put time first because it is something any attendee can give in one manner or another. Talents are given in specific areas where we have experience or gifting, and treasure is, well, money or things we have been provided by God.
But anyone who attends our church on Sundays, whether in person or online, has something to offer in terms of his or her time.
So, Session and staff are announcing this week that November 2024 will officially be Volunteer Sign-Up Month at First Presbyterian Church of Evanston.
Without a doubt, we have experienced much transition in the space of 18 months. While it might seem like a good time to pause and take a breath, all that effort of working internally means it is now time to take all that steam we’ve been building up and get ourselves, get our “train,” moving down the tracks.
What does that look like? It means we will move forward in 2025 with exciting experiments meant to focus efforts on these three priorities Session has set for the church:
- Pouring energy and imagination into children and youth ministry.
- Becoming outward facing toward the community.
- Moving forward through reconciling within our diversity.
Over the next month we will be providing lots of information about the volunteer opportunities available and experiencing a need for more participants. Each of these will be great opportunities to use your giftedness and gifts where they fit, but many will also have more to do with simply showing up and giving your time.
We know that many, many of you already give above and beyond what should be expected of any one church member, and some are on the verge of burning out. Part of our efforts will be to help relieve some of those burdens.
We believe that the process of recruiting more volunteers should result in a larger body of volunteers, helping out in a manageable variety of ministry areas.
GETTING CONNECTED
Right after worship this Sunday, we’ll celebrate Stewardship Commitment Sunday with an Agape meal and PIE-osity! Your generosity, combined with lunch and PIE!
AND if you haven’t actively served recently, you can explore options, volunteer, or recommit. Program directors Abby, Ben, Caryl, Hannah and Jim will be available in Roy Hall during the 11/3/24 Agape meal to invite you to try out exciting, new ways to serve and to answer your questions. Each of you has God-given gifts and value to the BODY of Christ.
Here are some examples of serving opportunities which fit within the three priorities Session is having us pursue, including some newly created ones:
- Priority of Children & Youth Ministries:
FirstKids — Picture the energy of the family, gingerbread-decorating event coming to life here at FPCE each week. You can make it so! We are seeking Children’s Worship volunteers, teachers for Nursery and Sunday School lessons, and planners for future events. Bounce houses at the fall Come-n-See event and the Hocus Pocus Family Picnic last week drew local families to visit. Volunteer to help with the next FirstKids event. Email Children’s Director Abbigail Cunningham at acunningham@firstpresevanston.org.
“FirstKids is where it’s happening in the church!”
– FPCE volunteer
FirstYouth—Confirmation students will request mentors this winter to walk alongside as they write faith statements. If you are invited by a youth, please say yes. We need new leaders-in-training and mission trip chaperones for the week of July 13, 2025, mission trip. Email Youth Director Ben Graham at bgraham@firstpresevanston.org.
- Priority of “Outward-facing” church:
Mission — First Friends will host their annual Thanksgiving gathering on November 10 from 3-6 p.m. They will need cooks, table hosts, youth to play games with our guest kids, and more. Email Mission Director Caryl Weinberg at cweinberg@firstpresevanston.org to learn about other outward facing opportunities.
Sunday Worship — There are always opportunities to serve as ushers and greeters—It’s a good way to get to meet and know your faith family, a good team to join.
Greeting visitors warmly and collecting their info for FPCE to follow up makes a difference in seeming welcoming!
Other Sunday Service options — The Audio/Video team is always looking for new volunteers, and each week has a need for liturgists in the worship services; Choir, Bell Choir, Summer Choir email Hannah McConnell at hmcconnell@firstpresevanston.org to get plugged in.
”Amazing music! Why wouldn’t you want to sing with this choir in worship?”
– FPCE worshiper
- Priority of Moving Forward through Reconciling within our Diversity
Cook and/or help out at churchwide gatherings—Agape meals like the one this weekend, and our annual Chili cook-off have lots of opportunities to step up and help. Email Bob Bastian to learn about options for serving.
Discipleship Council and the Small Group Committee will be seeking new leaders to help us learn together with curiosity about the Bible through a new class—“This Present Word”—and to dialogue about hot topics Such as this fall’s class “The After Party.“ Through each of these efforts, we invite one another to Know Christ and to Grow in Christ, as we grow in respect and seek dignity in our diversity. Email Jerry Gabrielse with questions about opportunities.
Reconcile & Respect Gatherings—Join in a team being created to help envision together what might come next, how we can take positive steps, how we will move forward in peace. You can email me at tgreen@firstpresevanston.org if you are interested in learning more.
On the journey with you,
Pastor Tassie
Interim Senior Pastor
