Phenomenal Friday #22

If you are feeling weary, angry, and sad from the news of more struggle and violence with regard to race, then we are with you. Our leaders are in the process of planning specific ways for our community to process grief and stand for justice, and we will invite you into those events during the coming weeks. Today John Jay shares a cover of a song by Ben Harper called “Fight Outta You.” It’s a call to keep fighting the good fight.

And if you missed any of the encouragements this week, check out the mixtape below!

memorial day tribute

Here is Monday’s video, which was an offering from our friend Town Losey and the Ensoma Creative ensemble. We join with Ensoma in honoring and mourning those individuals who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

FBCP Families | Weekday Wonders 11

Hi, Friends!

You and your kids are on my heart extra this week with so much heavy news circulating. As a parent and as a pastor of young people with diverse backgrounds, I feel deeply the need for truthful dialogue, mutual support, and productive action against injustice. To that end, I am sharing some resources that may be helpful for parents especially as we seek God's own heart for racial justice in our world. If you have a resource to share, please send it! We will also continue to pursue these conversations and initiatives as a church family, so more to come.  And, of course, if you want to pray or talk with us, we are here for you. Sending you so much love this Friday.

• Resources for Talking to Kids About Race 

• Infographic on When to Start Talking to Kids About Race

• Anti Racism Resources for White People

• Talking to Kids About Anti Asian Racism
  

Here are some other weekday wonders for you that we are excited to share:

New Wonders

KiwiCo Summer Resources

KiwiCo is offering some fun free resources to help fill summer weeks with innovation and enrichment. If you need something else in your back pocket to do with the kids this summer, then you might want to check it out!

Make a Zine

This article walks you through a fun little activity—making your own zine (a mini book!). They give you prompts to make a quarantine zine specifically, but you could also make it about anything you want. This is for all ages (as you will see in the example) because no one is too old to zine. 

Paper Airplanes

This site takes paper airplanes to a whole new level! It even includes instructions and planes designed for different qualities like distance, speed, and time aloft. Happy folding and flying!

Breathing Exercises 

This resource has some fun illustrated breathing exercises based on animals, and it's adorable! You could use this to talk to your kids about how important breath is to God—like when God breathed creation into being and how the Holy Spirit is often described like a breath. Breathing is such a good way to calm and center us in God's presence, too. (And adults, feel free to try these animal breathing exercises out yourself.)

Sunday Specials

Sunday Video

It's Pentecost on Sunday, and we can't wait to usher in the Holy Spirit with you! Lots of changes awaited the disciples that first Pentecost Sunday, and we are eagerly trusting God as we seek fun changes we can make during this time. See you soon!

Youth Hangout! 

We are on for our regular noon call this Sunday, and here is the meeting link that you can use each week to hop on the hangout. Games, jokes, smiles, and creative prayer activities await. Yay for our youth! 

Sending you so much ❤️and virtual hugs!

With gratitude for you,

Pastor Lindsay & Pastor Mary

John Jay follows up on the letter

An Update on Our Summer Plans

Dear FBCP Community,

I know many of you are curious what summer will look like at FBCP, especially the way we, as a congregation, will worship together while scattered and sheltered to various degrees. The leadership of FBCP would like to provide some clarity about the path ahead, while holding open the likelihood that plans will need to adjust as the situation with COVID-19 requires changes week to week. This letter has a lot of details, so take your time reading through it all. We want you to know what our plan is as well as all the considerations that are guiding our decision process. We also want you to know the values we are inviting you to hold, too, as we continue to seek what it means to be the church. All of this content will also be shared as an audio recording, so you have a choice of medium to engage it!

Let us address the big question you all have right away. In-person sanctuary worship will not resume for at least the duration of the summer. This decision is in line with health and medical guidance. Church gatherings are one of the most potent outbreak sites for COVID-19, so we feel a tremendous responsibility to adjust regular worship practices out of care for our vulnerable friends and front line health care workers. For now, our staff and leadership feel that the restrictive guidelines would cause more anxiety if we tried to open the building to worship as soon as possible. When we cannot touch one another, cannot sing, and cannot engage in the sacraments like communion or baptism, we risk undermining any possible social bonding with misunderstandings and increased anxiety. We will use these summer months to prepare our building to handle the many requirements of health and safety experts to ensure a safe worship environment. When we do begin meeting inside the sanctuary space again, our worship services initially will be very different from the services of the past. I’m sure each of you can understand the many safety practices that must be put into effect. This will be a complex and financially demanding process, so we want to take our time and get it right.

This is disappointing news, I know, prudence notwithstanding. We miss each other. We miss our building and our familiar Sunday rituals. I (John Jay) have done plenty of crying about how much loss and change we are all having to bear. So even as we believe this is the most responsible course of action, it still hurts. But the truth is that the experience we are all longing for would not be the reality waiting for us were we to return right now. The things we miss most on Sunday would still be absent under the restrictions and protocols that would have to be in place to worship safely. So, our plan is to find creative ways to meet our need for connection and community as best we can in other ways. With your trust and faith, we believe we can grow and thrive as the body of Christ. It is just going to look different.

So before we move on to the next set of practices we are planning, let’s all just sit with this news. Sanctuary worship will continue to be on hiatus through the summer. We pray that God would be with us in our loss, so that our pain does not shift to more dangerous emotions like anger or resentment.

Humans are experts at scapegoating our suffering onto some outside force. The trouble with the virus is how invisible it is, and how much it has disrupted what we can see. So in our pain, we get angry at what has been taken from us. And we wonder who to blame. During war-time, there is a clear enemy (whom we are commanded to love, not blame), but with the virus, we are beginning to war among ourselves. I am asking you to receive this news with a generous heart. We’ve outlined why we’ve made these decisions below and we’ve done our best to be prayerful and caring. We do want to hear different opinions and what you are feeling, but we need your help to hold this generous space for one another.
So what will we be doing? Glad you asked! Hint: it involves several possible ways to join together in person. Double hint: drive-in church, maybe.

Summer plans

Ongoing

We will continue creating our Liturgy For the Living Room as a collaborative community experience. These have been beautiful windows into parts of our church you might have not known before. We have been blessed by the various voices and wisdoms throughout our church and know you have, too. The way we use this liturgy will shift through the summer. More on that below.We will continue the daily encouragements and Connection Teams. Pastor John Jay will also increase his sharing on the daily audio so that we have as much transparency and guidance as possible from our staff. If you have wished you had more communication from the church, then the daily encouragement text group might be just the thing! To sign up for that, text the word “daily” to (626) 727-9498. Pastors Mary and Lindsay will focus on relational ministry initiatives for kids, including visits/activities outside following appropriate guidelines and leveraging technology in interactive ways.We will be releasing a regular Executive Report from the Board of Deacons and Pastoral Staff to inform you on the health of the church. This will include financial updates as well as the health of the pastoral staff and lay teams. We are creating a Covid Task Force that will advise the Board and staff with ongoing best practices and guidelines. Individuals on the team will include members of our community who have expertise in areas like medicine, risk management, mental health, and organizational leadership.

Month of June

• Set up drive-in church equipment and test it out in preparation for a tentative July launch.

• Pastor Gretchen is exploring some ways to host Liturgy listening groups. These would be outside with safety guidelines in place. This will start out small as we assess the viability of scaling it up.

• Pastor Lindsay will start meeting with the youth in the green space regularly, similar to what used to happen on Sundays. Appropriate guidelines will be put into place and must be followed by all (distance, masks, etc.).

• We are planning a version of Community Dinners but using outdoor backyards and physical distancing. Staff will handle details in conjunction with hosts. We will also use this event to stress test a more formal reorganization of small groups around a backyard physical distance model. With the ongoing changes to Sunday morning worship, we know there is a higher need for opportunities to connect with one another.

• June 22-26: Pastor Mary and a team of local church leaders will offer Lightseekers Camp, a virtual summer camp option for kids entering 1st-5th grade in the Los Angeles region.

Month of July

• July 5: Launch first drive-in church service in the Holly Garage, using a modified version of the Liturgy for the Living Room (Liturgy For the Parking Lot?). This would include an FM transmitter setup to send the signal simultaneously to everyone present. Pastors would be able to offer certain live elements, like a welcome, prayer and a blessing. Liturgy would be a mixture of prerecorded parts and live elements. We believe that gathering in our vehicles is a good balance of togetherness and physical considerations. Many of us are not used to interacting with lots of people after such a long time apart, and this drive-in model will give everyone a chance to slowly adjust to being back together and stay safe. We hope that listening through our radios simultaneously will create connections we have all been missing. Plus we can sing and not risk spreading the virus! There is a lot of logistical work on this idea, so we want to hold these plans lightly.

• Week of July 12: Begin rolling out new home church groups based on backyard get together learning. Encourage people to meet twice a month in person outdoors.

• Pastors Mary and Lindsay will offer additional summer camp options for kids that will include online and in-person opportunities based on updated safety and health recommendations.

Month of August

• August 2: Return to the drive-in model having worked out issues from month one.

• August 25: Board Meeting to reevaluate this model in light of changes to the virus and community transmission. Prayerfully, we will have a clearer understanding of the spread of the virus and where we are in our preparation for re-opening in-person services.

That is all of the “what/how” we know at this time. Now we want to share some of the values that guided these decisions and that we hope you will step into with us.

Shared Understandings and Values

Constant Prayer

We will do all things in the strength, power and assurance of Christ. We will not exist in fear, including the fear of judgment for prudent and patient decisions. We will ground all of our actions in prayer. We mean this. We will not talk about prayer, but actively engage God in discernment for how to be the Church of Christ in this moment.

Community as a body.

We will prioritize the community over any individual. Because we are a multi-generational and multiracial congregation, and because our church body includes people with various kinds of heightened risk factors, we need to advise for the good of the whole, not for the wishes of any subset of the congregation. We believe it will be important when we resume in-person worship to come back together in the fullness of our church body as much as possible. Therefore, we do not envision recommending any strategy that would deliberately create winners and losers in a reopening scheme.

Consider the health and well-being (physical and emotional) of all members.

We must recognize that we are balancing lots of tensions, including how the importance of physical distancing conflicts with the need for social connection. So we will continue to structure opportunities for communal support while accepting that the previous forms of our gatherings are on hiatus.

Medical and scientific guidance.

We will follow the science and medical community guidance, sifting that signal from the noise of politics. We will interpret this guidance with generosity, always placing our neighbor above ourselves. And we will also consider the needs and desires of those in our community who are at the front lines of health care. They have told us that our church's efforts to slow the spread of this disease has a material benefit on the stress and risk of their work. So we sacrifice in big and small ways with gladness for our brothers and sisters who must risk more than many of us.

Churches are not like businesses.

Most businesses that are reopening with success can serve customers in one-on-one or very small group settings, thus limiting the risk of exposure. Churches do not operate that way. We are about group functions and large-scale gatherings, where the known risk of accidentally spreading infection is exponentially higher. We are relational in our work, not transactional, and this makes a fundamental difference in how and when we can reopen.

We will embrace the wilderness.

Scripture has much to say about wilderness seasons when disruption and loss bring to light the things we have left untended in our lives. So, we want to make good use of this season to grow in ways only possible in such disruption. We believe God has things yet to teach us, and we want to be open to them. This may take the form of public lament, expanding our understanding of who belongs in our fellowship, creating new spiritual practices in our homes, and even simple things like polishing pews while they are not in use. Another way to say this: we will stay curious about what God is showing us, even and especially when things are difficult and unknown.

We will foster a spirit of generosity.

We want to increase our love in this moment; therefore, we must extend a generous spirit to one another. That looks like honest dialogue rooted in trust, assuming the best in one another. Your staff and board are eager to serve and lead you through this time of crisis. We will pray and encourage one another, even and especially when necessary changes are painful.

That is a lot of information for today friends. We know some of you will have questions, so we are available to have a conversation and offer clarity where possible. You can email our team by using the form found at the bottom of this page [insert link in email version]. This will allow our staff and Board to reach back out and keep the dialogue going. We are here for you! We will continue to find exciting, helpful, and hopeful ways to be God’s people, no matter the circumstances. We are compelled to find new ways to worship and care for one another, and we have all we need to stay in the light of God’s love. 

Less without you,

Pastor John Jay

P.S. A special thanks to churches and colleagues around the country who shared their processes and practices with us. Much of this language is evidence of a large community of churches spread around the country and world. We are in this thing together. 

Pentecost Delivery

Hi, Parents!

This Sunday is Pentecost, which is often celebrated as the birthday of the church. So, we have a crew who will be dropping off Pentecost party surprises for FBCP kids and youth at their homes that Sunday!

Just as with our Easter delivery, we are following strict sanitary protocol to ensure that we are delivering germ-free gifts. Masks, gloves, sanitizer, and proper "wait times" for items to sit out once they were delivered to us have all been part of our process.

Unlike the Easter delivery, our Pentecost delivery team will be coming in broad daylight so they can personally wish your family a Happy Pentecost and drop off a little something fun. They will still be making a no-contact delivery, and it will still be a surprise for the kids, but this time you can wave from a safe distance or from inside your windows! We are excited for some safe connection to happen on this special day.

Of course we wanted to give you a heads up and make sure we have your permission to deliver a little Pentecost gift to your child. If you do not wish for us to drop off anything, we understand.

If you would like us to leave a gift for your child, great! Please use the button below to confirm your address, any food restrictions, and instructions about the best place to leave it since this time it will be during the day.

Our hope is that your child continues to feel loved by the church as we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit and of one another. Thanks for keeping this a secret in the meantime—we clearly love the element of surprise.

Thanks for helping us love on your sweet kids. They are just the best!

With 💗,

Pastors Lindsay and Mary

John Jay

Ensoma Creative Ensemble

Here is an offering from our friend Town Losey and the Ensoma Creative ensemble. Below the video you will find the lyrics and a word on this special project they made for this year’s Memorial Day. We join with Ensoma in honoring and mourning those individuals who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

All is well; safely rest.

God is nigh.

Fading light dims the sight,

And a star gems the sky,

Gleaming bright.

From afar,

Drawing near, 

Falls the night.

Day is done.

Gone the sun from the lakes

From the hills, from the sky.

All is well; safely rest.

God is nigh.

———

All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.

Today we are reminded to take time to acknowledge the immense sacrifice of those who gave their lives for our freedoms, who exchanged their futures for the future of their country and those who live freely in it. 

All of us at Ensoma would like to give our gratitude and honor to those who have given the ultimate sacrifice, and we could think of no better way to express this thanks than through this brilliant arrangement of Taps, arranged by Ken Neufeld.

In this video, alongside our singers, we have also decided to showcase service members dear to us expressing their respect to those who they have lost. If you are comfortable and would like to share, we would love if you could post in the comments the names or a photo of those dear to you who have served, so that we may extend our gratitude to them as well.

———

Music by Ken Neufeld

Lyrics attributed to General Daniel Butterfield (1862)

Directed by Townsend Losey

Production by Josh Munnell

SOPRANO

Gabrielle Losey

Lindsay Farrell

ALTO

Wendy Taquino

Katherine Velez

TENOR

Josh Munnell

Joshua McGowan

BASS

Seth Velez

René Ruiz

Sunday Special | EP 11

Happy Sunday, Friends!

This week's video features upside-downing, hopping, and a word on waiting patiently. Best of all, it starts with a very special guest from our church family! We also have a little bit to share about the concept of change. We hope you enjoy (and that you are ready to jump around!). 

After you watch the video, you and your family members can use the following discussion prompts and activities to apply the lesson.

Talk It Out

• Recap: After Jesus ascended, what did the disciples have to do?

• Check In With Yourself: How does it feel to have to keep waiting to go back to church and do other things we miss?

• Wonder: What are you wondering right now as you think about the words of the psalm that tell us to be strong and brave? 

Apply It

• Make your own hopscotch so that you can actively learn and say the memory verse from Psalm 27:14.

• Think about all the things in life that are good and require us to wait (like growing a tree or waiting for something to bake in the oven!). How can waiting be good for us at times? Draw a picture of something that was worth the wait to remind you to hang in there when waiting gets hard during this season.

• Consider something you could change right now that might help you and your family during this season. (It's okay to change things up while we are waiting!) Maybe you want to start something new in your daily routine, like adding a certain time to pray each day, helping in the kitchen, trying a new exercise, spending more time outside, taking more deep breaths—it could be a small change or a major change! Of course talk this over with a parent first to make sure your idea won't be unhelpful to anyone in your home.

 We are praying for you! Please remember to email/call/text with any prayer requests you have. 

 Much love,

Pastors Lindsay and Mary

John Jay

Phenomenal Friday #21

FBCP Families | Weekday Wonders 10

Hi, Friends!

As we approach summer, I wanted you to know that we are in the midst of making plans for kids and youth. While we won't have our usual in-person Arts Camp, we are working hard to plan some really good stuff (throwback to Arts Camp lingo!).  We already sense God's leading in super fun and creative ways, and we are excited.  If you already know you want to be involved as a volunteer with Family Ministry this summer, then let us know!

Here are some weekday wonders for you that we are excited to share:

New Wonders

Water + Babies = FUN!

Gaby shared this idea that she has been trying with sweet baby Harrison: "On hot days we play in the water with Harrison. He looooves it! Now that he's walking we put him in the walker and chase him around the driveway with the water hose." Thanks for sending this, Gaby!

Pharaoh, Pharaoh! 

Are your kids interested in Ancient Egypt? This site lets them explore, in 3-D, the tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses VI. Don't miss the hieroglyphics on the walls and ceiling. And for some extra fun, you can also revisit Michael Mann's Pharaoh music video!

KiwiCo's At-Home Resources

KiwiCo has a great online resource hub for STEAM activities, complete with a parent toolkit, activities by age group, and a cool weekly challenge for kids to do. Though they do offer awesome crates you can order, this particular page is full of great ideas that are all free! 

Watching Baby Birds

Our own Cynthia has a little bird family hatching right at her bathroom window! You can see a video that she took here. And this Peregrine Falcon cam lets you watch a family of peregrine falcons who live atop a Richmond building. There's almost always something fascinating happening (the chicks started hatching a week ago, and you can watch that recorded footage, too!).

Sunday Specials

Kid Video

Pastor Mary and I have something in store for you this Sunday in our video, but we can’t tell you what it is! Here’s a hint: What do the seasons, a wallet, and the cracks in your couch all have in common?

Youth Hangout! 

We had such a fun time with a big turnout of youth last week! See picture below. My heart was so full after being with them. We will continue to send food on the first Sunday of the month to our youth. We are on for our regular  noon call this Sunday, and here is the meeting link that you can use each week to hop on the hangout. We also started a four-week focus on creative ways to pray, starting with Lectio Divina. Pray that our youth will be open to some new ways to connect with God!

Sending you so much ❤️and virtual hugs!

With gratitude for you,

Pastor Lindsay & Pastor Mary

Lament for our AAPI Brothers and Sisters

A few Sundays ago, a group of us came together on Zoom to listen to our Asian American Pacific Islander sisters and brothers share their own pain, anger and fears regarding the rise in violence and harassment of Asian Americans since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. And we lamented together that pain, anger and fear, praying that God would bring healing into our history and into our present moment. This was a powerful moment for those of us who were able to participate and we are happy to share it with all of you. 

On this page you will find a number of pieces from the lament. First, you'll find the lament itself, as it unfolded. Spend some time listening along to what is shared.  Pay attention to the stories. Think about how your own story fits into this larger narrative. Be open to what God may want you to learn, share, or change. You will also see a reflection from our own Ken Fong, one of the leaders and planners of the lament. Ken talks about how this experience, lamenting with people from differing ethnic backgrounds, impacted and moved him. Finally, you will see some real-time reflections in the chat box from people who participated in the lament, as well as some reflections following the lament on what people took away from this experience of listening to one another and giving space for each other's pain. Read through these reflections, and use them to guide your responses to people in your own life who may be experiencing similar pain and fear and anger. Lastly, Pastor John Jay shares a word about how we might consider the pause of this season as an opportunity to see things we rushed past before.

In so many ways, God is calling us to be a family to one another, not just in name, but in presence and action.  Let's continue to give space to each other's stories, to pay attention to those who are hurting, and to cry out together to God so that healing, reconciliation and restoration may come.

Pastor Gretchen

---

---

chat box

19:13:55 From Zachary Hoover: Order of sharing: Jessica, Jose, Iris, Angel, Vivian; shared refrain after each person shares: We hear you. We see you. We love you.

19:13:59 From David Winchell: Amen

19:14:18 From John Jay Alvaro: Thank you Ken. Well said.

19:15:02 From Dan Linscott: Thank you, Ken. I was very sad hearing that.

19:15:17 From Leslie Cheng: Hi Jessica

19:17:11 From Zachary Hoover: Order of sharing: Jessica, Jose, Iris, Angel, Vivian; shared refrain after each person shares: We hear you. We see you. We love you.

19:17:15 From Leslie Cheng: We hear you, we see you, we love you

19:17:38 From John Jay Alvaro: Jessica, thank you for sharing. I am so sorry for your daughter's friend.

19:18:10 From Ken Fong: We hear you, we see you, we love you, Jessica.

19:19:51 From Ken Fong: We hear you, we see you, we love you, Jose.

19:20:08 From John Jay Alvaro: Jose, powerful. Thank you.

19:20:23 From Barbara Walker: Thank you, I can relate to your experience Jose.

19:23:23 From Leslie Cheng: We hear you, we see you, we love you

19:23:54 From Ken Fong: Thanks for being so vulnerable, Iris. I too can relate to that heightened sense of neuroses.

19:24:01 From Jenni Ingram: Thanks for sharing Iris. Welcome back!

19:24:31 From John Jay Alvaro: Iris, your words and vulnerability are an example in so many ways. Thank you.

19:26:34 From Leslie Cheng: We hear you, we see you, we love you

19:26:45 From Leslie Cheng: Sorry for what is happening with your sister

19:27:10 From John Jay Alvaro: Angel, thank you. We are blessed to have you in our leadership and friendship.

19:27:11 From Ken Fong: Wow! So powerful, Angel. We hear you, see you, and love you.

19:27:20 From Barbara Walker: thank you Angel. I hear you and love you

19:28:03 From Rebecca Takahashi: I hear you Angel. I share similar feelings of terror and powerlessness now. I’m sorry for what your sister and her kids experienced. No one should feel less than for what they look like.

19:29:32 From Leslie Cheng: We hear you, we see you, we love you, Vivian

19:29:45 From Ken Fong: Oh my, Vivian. You have brought me to tears.

19:30:02 From Jenni Ingram: Thank you for sharing Angel and Vivian.

19:30:13 From John Jay Alvaro: Vivian, all my gratitude for sharing and for your serving.

19:30:14 From Iris Chen: Thank you for your vulnerability, everyone.

19:30:36 From Katherine.VanStelle: Your stories all touched me deeply. Thank you for your courage and vulnerability.

19:30:46 From Lindsay Dorman: Thank you, all, for your courage and willingness to share hard things. We love you.

19:31:10 From Ken Fong: Bless you, Katherine, and all other non-AAPI, who have gathered with us tonight to listen.

19:33:49 From Zachary Hoover: The guidance is about 2 min. each.

19:34:54 From Leslie Cheng: Same, Rebecca, same

19:37:25 From Dan Linscott: I’m grateful to have been offered the chance to hear all of your stories and experiences.

19:37:45 From Ken Fong: Your sharing, Rebecca, reminds me to recommend listening to my interview with Nina Wallace (haha Japanese American) @ www.aapodcast.com She explains Andrew Yang’s call for Asian Americans to be super obvious patriots “like the Japanese Americans did during WWII.”

19:38:15 From John Jay Alvaro: Rebecca, grateful for your sharing and presence here.

19:48:21 From Dan Linscott: Amen

19:48:23 From Katherine.VanStelle: Amen

19:48:43 From David Winchell: Amen and amen...

19:49:19 From Temna Meren: Amen! Glory be to God!

19:49:41 From Zachary Hoover: Major love and respect, major to all who shared and those who did not but carry them.

19:50:36 From Jenni Ingram: Yes, thank you all for your vulnerability. We’ll be praying. We hear you. We see you. We love you.

19:51:03 From David Winchell: The arrow to the right of my name will change it to everyone

19:51:12 From Barbara Walker: Amen! My heart hurts for you my brothers and sisters. We stand with you. We love you💕

19:51:23 From Evelyn Murray: Thank you. I needed to hear this.

19:51:28 From Zachary Hoover: Amen. We belong to each other.

19:51:29 From lovefrommary@gmail.com: Precious friends, I am so very sorry. I love you. Mary

19:51:53 From Katherine.VanStelle: I stand with you. I see you. I love you. Thank you for allowing me to hear your stories.

19:51:58 From Zachary Hoover: www.pbs.org “Asian Americans” May 11 and 12

19:52:27 From Zachary Hoover: www.aapodcast.com or church webpage.

19:52:34 From Zachary Hoover : (for the podcast interview)

19:53:01 From Rebecca Takahashi: Thanks to Ken for leading us through the lament. I highly recommend Ken’s podcast, Asian America! He has managed to interview many leading Asian American voices.

19:53:19 From Zachary Hoover: www.stopaapihate.com (run by A3PCON, LA Voice board member Manjusha Kulkarni is the ED)

19:53:48 From Jenni Ingram: Thanks for the info, Zachary and Rebecca!

19:54:07 From Dan Linscott: All of your sharing has been such a gift to me. I needed to hear your stories. Thank you for your vulnerability and for trusting this space. We hear you, we see you, we love you.

19:54:32 From David Winchell to Zachary Hoover (Privately): Thank you for your leadership...

19:54:45 From Lindsay Dorman: Thank you all so much. I love you. I am sorry. And I want to keep listening.

19:54:55 From Philip Hui: Thank you very much for caring for Asian Americans. This kind of compassion is very important to our community.

19:55:16 From David Winchell: I will continue to listen

19:56:00 From Barbara Walker: Amen! Thank you all so much!

19:56:02 From Vivian: Thank you so much for creating this space.

19:56:25 From Zachary Hoover: Ken, Gretchen, John Jay, and those who shared, we can do a short debrief.

19:56:25 From Dan Linscott: Love you all. I’ll keep listening.

19:56:26 From Galaxy Tab A: Thank you, church!

19:57:50 From John Jay Alvaro: In the face of death, live humanly. In the middle of chaos, celebrate the Word. Amidst Babel, speak the truth. Confront the noise and verbiage and falsehood of death with the truth and potency and efficacy of the Word of God. Know the Word, teach the Word, nurture the Word, preach the Word, define the Word, incarnate the Word, do the Word, live the Word. And more than that, in the Word of God, expose death and all death's works and wiles, rebuke lies, cast out demons, exorcise, cleanse the possessed, raise those who are dead in mind and conscience.

reflections

At first, I was ambivalent about attending. There was a part of me that was saying, "Zoom meeting to lament, what a downer." I'm so glad that I was able to be there for it though. It was important to hear those in our church who have experienced such uncomfortable or hurtful situations. It broke my heart to be implicitly told, "You are not one of us." I didn't need a bowl of water; I was crying through the whole thing. It was very meaningful to be able to be a face and a voice that could show solidarity, that they are indeed one of us. I loved that all the non-Asian-identified-persons were asked to remain silent and allow the stories to be told without interruption. I like that the space was theirs to be seen in, not for others to crowd with our feelings about it. Thank you, it was a rewarding experience and I think I am better for having taken part in it.

~Dan L.

I really appreciated the church hosting the lament and prayer meeting. It showed me that my church family is with me during this troubling time of AAPI harassment. And that the church supports AAPI and diversity in action/deed, not just in intention and words.

~Jessica L.

I really appreciated [the lament]. The design of the evening to hear individuals and respond as a group provided a good context for knowing people's experiences and expressing care. I appreciated Zach's leadership overall and, for novices like me in using Zoom, guidance in navigating it. It was especially good to hear Kathie Enriquez's observations about the health care workers and the affront she feels when people complain about inconvenience, from the staying in place orders and other restrictions. I was also grateful to see and hear people from our congregation. We recognize the value of even our briefest encounters on Sundays when we are deprived of them.

~Jeannette S.

Ed & I appreciated the prayer meeting. We felt the church's concern and love... it's good to be seen and heard. Thank you!

~Kathie E.

Thank you for having the prayer meeting. I thought it clearly met a need and gave members a place to be vulnerable. Although we can't solve the problems of discrimination, it is really important to acknowledge that it is real. The confirmations and affirmations were healing. As a person of color, I could really relate to the experiences my Asian-American brothers and sisters have experienced. Being tolerated is very different from being accepted. Most people who are not of color take pride in their tolerance. That, to me, is very sad. We should hold more of these services for: victims of domestic violence; victims of sexual abuse; and for people in non-traditional relationships. Thanks for letting me share my thoughts with you.

~Barbara W.

It was really meaningful and special. I appreciate that, as a church, we can mourn with those who are especially mourning during this time. It was also helpful to hear about others' experiences.

~Jenni I.

Thanks for organizing the meeting to show caring for Asian-Americans. It was great to hear from those who voiced out their stories, feelings, and thoughts. The pandemic virus won't be just a short-term challenge for human beings. In this unusual time, we can reflect on how to change our lifestyle, especially social relationships, and our relationship with nature. In fact, God loves all beings, including a virus that exists for a million years. Unfortunately, mankind ignored women, other races, and all "lower class" beings in the world of technological triumph! One of the causes for that is that spirituality has not developed at the same pace to provide a counterbalance. Churches have a significant role to play in promoting equality in personal, social, and spiritual development. Could FBCP lead this movement by spreading this co-existing spirit of cooperation out into our community?

~Philip H.

I had not realized the extent of the Asian backlash. I so appreciated the sharing of our members. The service was well done. Thanks for making it available.

~Carolyn D.

Very thankful for the time and the thoughtfulness that was put into it. Didn't realize how much emotion I was holding in until then. Appreciate all of you!

~Iris C.

Anger & sorrow. I am praying that I can be more intelligently praying for prejudice around the world, country, state, county, city, neighborhood... thank you.

~Dave W.

Bringing a kind of platform to "lament" itself is church together indeed. To me, racism is not color or region specific but "exposure deficiency syndrome." I grew up in one tribal region until I had the opportunity to interact with more than 20 tribes in Nagaland alone. Then I realized what it means to be disciplined from anything that hints at a"tribalism" slur. Then, I went to metropolitan cities in India as a church mission project where I encountered a way different culture and set up, though in one demarcated country. Today, I am here in LA with an international community - where I continue to renew myself in exploring towards a new humanity in Christ as I journey through the missional goals in my life. How I wish and look forward to better teaching my family about the wide diversity of life in this God given world but one humanity! Thanks for the opportunity to share.

~Temna M.

Thanks for creating a space for us to be seen and heard.

~Jose L.

Michael

We're finding ourselves in the midst of a lot of unexpected shifts and changes due to the COVID 19 outbreak and quarantine. These shifts have had an emotional impact on us all that can be hard to put words to, and even harder to know how to process or grieve.

This Sunday we will come together again over Zoom at 7PM to explore what grief looks like in this time of COVID. We will take some time to name our grief, bear witness to each other's grief and bring it together to God in lament. We hope this will be a time of encouragement and connection with one another and with God. You can email Pastor Gretchen for more information. Please join us!

To receive the Zoom link and join, text the word “lament” to 626-727-9498 or click the button below.

Click Here to RSVP and Receive Info

Lament on Grief and Loss

Lindsay

John Jay

Sunday Special | EP 10

Hi, Friends!

This week we have a little something that your kids can make to go with the Bible lesson. Our story covers the Great Commission and Jesus' Ascension. Your young ones can make a Jesus figure from a toilet paper roll, some string or ribbon, and some paper. Pastor Mary has one to show as an example, and it's super fun to watch Jesus disappear into the clouds!

After you watch the video, you and your family members can use the following discussion prompts and activities to apply the lesson in a practical way.

Talk It Out

• Recap: What did Jesus tell the disciples to do from that moment forward?

• Check In: How does it feel to know that Jesus has the same instructions for us as he did for the disciples?

• Wonder: What are you wondering right now as you think about the Great Commission and the ascension of Jesus?

Apply It

• Make a Jesus figure and reenact the ascension! You could follow Pastor Mary's example or make up something on your own. And make sure you send us a picture of your creation so we can see!

• Share the love of Jesus with your neighbors in a creative and fun way. You might decorate your sidewalk with chalk and include messages of love and hope, tape some loving notes in your window, or something else that you think of!

• Send a note or a drawing to someone who is feeling sad or alone. We can connect you with the Enriquez family, our global partners, and other folks in our church who are feeling especially lonely these days. They would love to hear from you!

We are praying for you! Please remember to email/call/text with any prayer requests you have.  

Much love,

Pastors Lindsay and Mary

Gretchen

Phenomenal Friday #20

FBCP Families | Weekday Wonders 9

Hi, Friends!

We love to share anything fun we find each week, but we also know that you have become your own experts at making the most of staying at home. Do you have a cool project, creation, or idea you have put into place during quarantine? We would love to hear about it! Even a quick photo and a few words is great.

Here are some weekday wonders for you that we are excited to share:

New Wonders

Stained Glass Windows at Home

If you/your kids want to create some stained glass window magic, then check out these two ideas: one for inside and one for outside. Send us photos if you make some homemade stained glass!

Wonderopolis

Wondering how jelly beans are made or what music is in your DNA? Check out Wonderopolis where there are countless amazing videos answering a question of the day about a range of topics. You can also submit a question you are wondering about.  For all the curious thinkers out there, this site is for you! 

360 Cities

This site has amazing access to 360° camera footage from all over the world. You can check out everything from historic cities to underwater diving with tiger sharks!

Help with Childcare

If you need help with childcare in your home, Brianna Johnson (from our church family!) is looking for a family or two to work for now and during the summer. She is super qualified and has a ton of energy. You can contact her directly at brilynnxd@gmail.com or you can always reach out to me for more information.

Sunday Specials

Sunday Video

We are working on a plan for our Sunday offering for kids, and we love thinking about all of our youngest church family members! Kids, please know that we love and miss you. Make sure to let us know if we can pray for you by using the button below.

Youth Hangout! 

We are on for our regular  noon call this Sunday, and here is the meeting link that you can use each week to hop on the hangout. Yay for youth!

Sending you so much 💗and virtual hugs!

With gratitude for you,

Pastor Lindsay & Pastor Mary

Temna