Weekly Updates 06.04.2021

Friends at FBCP,

Happy Friday! Here are all the updates and announcements for this week.

• This Sunday is an exciting and different kind of outdoor service! We'll be gathering in the church park at 10:30AM for worship, including communion and a celebration of our graduating seniors. Because it's Senior Sunday, brunch will be included, too. It's going to be such a fun worship party with our community! You can park in the garage and head to the Union Street gate to enter the park. Bring your ticket with you for validation. We hope to see you there!

• Hooray for all those who have been vaccinated! If you recently got your first shot or forgot to let us know you received your second dose, you can click here to share that info with our staff. We are grateful that so many in our community have been able to receive their shots.

• This week we are asking you to bring canned chicken or tuna for the Friends In Deed Food Pantry if you are able. We are excited to resume this regular practice of collecting donations for Friends In Deed, and right now this will help meet a major need in their supply. Thanks for contributing!

• Choir has resumed! If you want to join the fun and the singing, this month choir practice is in the church park at 7pm on June 16 and 30. We’d love to see you there! You can email Pastor Leslie for more info.

• The American Red Cross is hosting a Blood Drive in our gym Tuesday, June 15, from 10:00am-4:00pm. They are still in need of sign-ups, and we hope you will consider this opportunity to meet a very urgent need. Please visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter sponsor code FBCP to to schedule an appointment. Each donor will receive a $5 Amazon discount, too!

• The Memorial Service for Dr. Harold Lane will be tomorrow, June 5, at 10 a.m. at Royal Oaks Manor, 1763 Royal Oaks Dr N, Duarte, CA 91010. A reception will follow the service. You may email Nancy Jelinek at jelinek90@gmail.com for more information. There are plans to also have a Zoom broadcast, and more information about that will be shared the week of June 1. We will keep you posted with any new details we receive.

Grace and peace to you as we head into the weekend. We can’t wait to worship with you on Sunday!

Less without you,

The FBCP Community

FBCP Families | 06.04.2021

Hi Friends,

This Sunday is an exciting and different kind of service, and it's one that we hope our families with kids will join! We'll be gathering in the church park at 10:30AM for worship, including communion and a time of celebration for our graduating seniors. We'll be singing songs that we have sung together at our family liturgies, so our kids will be able to join in easily. Brunch will be included, too, and it's going to be such a fun worship party with our community! You can park in the garage and head to the Union Street gate to enter the park. We hope to see you there!

June Dates for Kids

We plan to open our nursery rooms for babies and toddlers under four years old on Sunday, June 13. Our nursery staff is fully vaccinated and will wear masks as extra precaution for our little ones. Childcare will be open from 10:15am  until the end of garage worship. We hope this allows our youngest children to have a safe place to play and connect with each other and our loving nursery staff, Tasha Cronin and Engry Lopez. Please note that the nursery will be closed on the first Sunday of June and July so that everyone can join us in the park for worship.

On Sunday, June 20, we will have kids programming in the park during the garage worship service. Kids can be dropped off at 10:15 and picked up once worship in the garage ends. We are excited to do activities and Bible lessons together, and our staff and volunteers will be fully vaccinated and ready to welcome the children in our church family. 

On Saturday, June 26, we will have another Liturgy for Families with Kids! We are looking forward to seeing kids and parents for this special worship service, and for families to continue to get to know one another better.

Youth 

This week the youth will not be meeting after worship since we are having such a special service and brunch with the whole church family. Next Sunday, June 13, the youth will be back in the park for their usual time of lunch and fellowship after worship. They are also invited to join us in the garage first and to help with Pit Crew, of course! We look forward to our time with our awesome youth.

Congratulations to Judah, who just graduated from 8th Grade, and to high school seniors Thomas and Ryan—we are excited to celebrate these milestones and can't wait for the adventures ahead!

Sending you so much love and virtual hugs!

With gratitude for you,

Pastor Lindsay & Pastor Mary

Mary

Weekly Updates 05.28.2021

Friends at FBCP,

Happy Friday! Here are all the updates and announcements for this week.

• Hooray for all those who have been vaccinated! If you recently got your first shot or forgot to let us know you received your second dose, you can click here to share that info with our staff. We are grateful that so many in our community have been able to receive their shots. The city is also hosting another vaccine clinic at FBCP on June 4th, so make sure to spread the word if you know folks who still need their shots. They can sign up for our location at myturn.ca.gov by searching for clinics in the 91101 area.

• We are gathering for worship in the garage at 10:30AM on Sunday. Come early to settle in and see the faces of your church family. If you haven’t read John Jay’s letter about our updated safety agreements and plans for summer, you can read all the important info here.

• This week we are asking you to bring peanut butter for the Friends In Deed Food Pantry if you are able. We are excited to resume this regular practice of collecting donations for Friends In Deed, and right now this will help meet a major need in their supply. Thanks for contributing!

• Choir has resumed! If you want to join the fun and the singing, choir practice is in the church park at 7pm every other week through the end of June (June 2, 16, and 30). We’d love to see you there! You can email Pastor Leslie for more info.

• The American Red Cross is hosting a Blood Drive in our gym Tuesday, June 15, from 10:00am-4:00pm. They are still in need of sign-ups, and we hope you will consider this opportunity to meet a very urgent need. Please visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter sponsor code FBCP to to schedule an appointment.

• We received word this week that the Memorial Service for Dr. Harold Lane will be on Saturday, June 5, at 10 a.m. at Royal Oaks Manor, 1763 Royal Oaks Dr N, Duarte, CA 91010. A reception will follow the service. You may email Nancy Jelinek at jelinek90@gmail.com for more information. There are plans to also have a Zoom broadcast, and more information about that will be shared the week of June 1. We will keep you posted with any new details we receive.

Grace and peace to you as we head into the weekend. We can’t wait to worship with you on Sunday!

Less without you,

The FBCP Community

Mary

Fbcp Families| 05.27.2021

Hi Friends,

I hope you got a chance to read John Jay's letter last week with all the exciting updates about summer and our return to the sanctuary. I continue to be so grateful for each of you and the ways that we have carried each other through the last year. Y'all are just the best community and church family!

Because there are lots of things happening for kids, I wanted to fill in a few more details on what we are planning for the coming months. As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns. We are thrilled to have more opportunities to be with our young people!

NURSERY CARE

We plan to open our nursery rooms for babies and toddlers under four years old on Sunday, June 13. Our nursery staff is fully vaccinated and will wear masks as extra precaution for our little ones. Childcare will be open from 10:15am until the end of garage worship. We hope this allows our youngest children to have a safe place to play and connect with each other and our loving nursery staff, Tasha Cronin and Engry Lopez. We have some vaccinated volunteers who are excited to return, too! Please note that the nursery will be closed on the first Sunday of June and July so that everyone can join us in the park for worship.

KIDS

We have really enjoyed our Liturgies for Families with Kids, but we also miss seeing kids on Sundays. This summer, we have both all-church events in the park and some special programming for our kids. See below for details and the calendar summary at the end of the email.

All-Church Worship

On June 6 and July 4 we will host a worship service for everyone in the park rather than in the garage. There will be communion, singing (including songs from our family liturgies!), and time to play. We hope that our families with kids will join the church for a time of fellowship in our green space! 

Special Sundays for Kids

On June 20 and July 18 we will have kids programming in the park during the garage worship service. Kids can be dropped off at 10:15am and picked up once worship in the garage ends. We are excited to do activities and Bible lessons together, and our staff and volunteers will be fully vaccinated and ready to welcome the children in our church family. 

Liturgy for Families with Kids

On Saturday, June 26, we will have another Liturgy for Families with Kids! We are looking forward to seeing kids and their families for this special worship service in the park. Details and a cute postcard to come!

Kids Camp

The week of July 26-30 we are hosting a kids camp for our church family. Pastor Mary and I have been able to keep in touch with our families during the pandemic, but we know it's been harder for all of them to stay connected with each other. So, camp this year will focus on how God loves us in fun and playful ways as we reconnect and play together with our friends at church. If your kids have other friends who want to get to know our church community, you are welcome to invite them! We just don't plan to advertise outside our community or open it up to the general public as we have in previous years because of the goals of this particular camp and to make sure that we can maintain the right safety protocols and considerations for our unvaccinated population.

YOUTH

The youth will continue to gather after worship in the park except on June 6 and July 4, when the whole church will hang out together. On regular Sundays, we hope our youth will join us for worship in the garage and help out on the Pit Crew if they are interested. We are also going to start some new youth activities we have been dreaming up in our work with the Fuller Youth Institute cohort. We can't wait for folks at our church to connect with our youth as we engage in more intergenerational opportunities! Stay tuned for details and information about a parent meeting in June.

That’s enough for now! We look forward to seeing all of you soon. Sending you so much love and virtual hugs!

With gratitude for you,

Pastor Lindsay & Pastor Mary

Summary of Summer Plans

• June 6 - All-Church Worship in the Park 

• June 13 - Nursery Reopens

• June 20 - Kids programming in the park during worship

• June 26 - Liturgy for Families with Kids

• July 4 - All-Church Worship in the Park

• July 18 - Kids programming in the park during worship

• July 26 through 30 - Kids Camp 9AM-12PM

• August 1 - Final Worship in the Garage

• August 8 - Return to Sanctuary and Kid Classes!

Weekly Updates 05.21.2021

Friends at FBCP,

Happy Friday! We have a lot of important and fun updates to share with you this week, so read on for all the details.

• Tomorrow (Saturday) we will be sending an important letter with information about our plans for summer and our schedule for returning to the sanctuary. Make sure you keep an eye out for an email and text with all the important information!
  
  

• Hooray for all those who have been vaccinated! If you recently got your first shot or forgot to let us know you received your second dose, you can click here to share that info with our staff. We are grateful that so many in our community have been able to receive their shots.

• We are gathering for worship in the garage at 10:30AM on Sunday. Come early to settle in and see the faces of your church family. After worship we will head to the park area for a time of celebration and blessing for Pastor Gretchen and John Kelly. All are invited to attend! Both of these friends are finishing up their work contracts with our team in early summer, and we want to gather to say thanks for their presence and service. Gretchen is finishing up her Pastoral Residency program with us and has plans to stay in the area and continue in our community as a lay leader. Fantastic! We are so grateful for all the work she has done to build community within our church and around the city. After his internship ends in June, John Kelly is heading to Dallas, TX to join Wilshire Baptist Church as one of their new Pastoral Residents. We look forward to this time of fun as we honor their contributions to this church family!

• This week we are asking you to bring peanut butter for the Friends In Deed Food Pantry if you are able. We are excited to resume this regular practice of collecting donations for Friends In Deed, and right now this will help meet a major need in their supply. Thanks for contributing!

• We received word this week that the Memorial Service for Dr. Harold Lane will be on Saturday, June 5, at 10 a.m. at Royal Oaks Manor, 1763 Royal Oaks Dr N, Duarte, CA 91010. A reception will follow the service. You may email Nancy Jelinek at jelinek90@gmail.com for more information. There are plans to also have a Zoom broadcast, and more information about that will be shared the week of June 1. We will keep you posted with any new details we receive.

Grace and peace to you as we head into the weekend. We can’t wait to worship with you on Sunday!

Less without you,

The FBCP Community

Mary

FBCP Families | 05.15.2021

Hi Friends,

Yesterday we partnered with the City of Pasadena to provide a free Covid vaccine clinic held in our park and gym. It was so encouraging to see lots of youth show up to get their first dose, and we are so thankful for their bravery and excitement about this new opportunity to receive the vaccine! If you know some youth who aren't connected to our community but would like to receive the vaccine, we will be hosting another clinic next Friday. Parents can reserve appointments for their children through the state vaccination website at myturn.ca.gov. A parent or guardian must accompany children to the appointments. If all the slots are full, they will still take walk-ins on the day of. Parents can get more information by calling the Pasadena Service Center for help at (626) 744-7311.

Knowing When to Add or Subtract

I saw this short video about the ways our brains default to adding rather than subtracting when faced with some sort of problem. It struck me as relevant as things in the world start to open up and the option to add more to our schedules becomes more and more of a reality. It has some profound implications for lots of aspects of life including practical problem-solving. I also know that Covid forced us to subtract in so many profound and hard ways, and I pray that we can intentionally add the things that will lead to thriving and wholeness in a post-pandemic world. I'm grateful and even excited that we get to figure out that balance together as a church community, and I am so glad that hugs will soon be one of the things we can happily add back into our communal life!

Kids

We had a blast at our Liturgy for Families with Kids last Saturday, and we even had our special furry friend Moop join us! We look forward to our next gathering and to sharing more information about our summer plans in the coming month. Thanks to all of our families for making these events so special and fun!

We also are starting to welcome new guests to our church, and that includes some new families with kids. If you are attending church in the garage, we hope you'll keep an eye out for new families and help us welcome them to our community. Yay for new friends as our family grows!

Speaking of our growing family, please pray for Gaby Martinez and Grace Goodman, two moms in our community. They are both going to deliver babies this week, so we are praying for healthy deliveries and smooth recoveries as they bring these sweet new ones into the world!

Youth

This week the youth are gathering in the park right after worship ends, and we will wrap up at 1:15pm. Lunch will be served, and we'll continue to practice safety precautions together. If your youth would like to join the Pit Crew on any Sunday, we would welcome their presence and help! Just email Chip at chip@fbcpasadena.com to get them signed up. We can't wait to see our youth tomorrow!

Sending you so much love and virtual hugs!

With gratitude for you,

Pastor Lindsay & Pastor Mary

Weekly Updates 05.14.2021

Friends at FBCP,

Happy Friday! We have a lot of important and fun updates to share with you this week, so read on for all the details.

• We are gathering for worship in the garage at 10:30AM on Sunday. Come early to settle in and see the faces of your church family. (And if you know someone who needs a church home, we would love to welcome them to our concrete sanctuary!)

• This week we are inviting folks to bring cereal and hearty soups for the Friends In Deed Food Pantry. We are excited to resume this regular practice of collecting donations for Friends In Deed, and right now this will help meet a major need in their supply. Thanks for contributing!

• On Saturday, May 15th, our global partner Melanie Baggao will be hosting a time of prayer over Zoom at 10AM. Melanie is preparing to return to Beirut after being in the U.S. for several weeks of rest and renewal. We pray she is blessed as she goes back to her ministry amidst a number of challenging circumstances in the country of Lebanon. To join the prayer time, please register with this link. Thank you for your continued prayers for Mel!

• We’ll be hosting a Basics Class following the worship service in the courtyard this Sunday. If you are newer to this community and want to learn more about church life at FBCP and what membership looks like, this is designed for you. It’s a no-pressure time to hear more about who we are and a chance to ask questions, too! Lunch will be provided. You can register online here or contact Pastor Gretchen at gretchen@fbcpasadena.com with any questions.

• Mark your calendars for Sunday, May 23rd! After worship we will head to the park area for a time of celebration and blessing for Pastor Gretchen and John Kelly. Both of these friends are finishing up their work contracts with our team in early summer, and we want to gather to say thanks for their presence and service. Gretchen is finishing up her Pastoral Residency program with us and has plans to stay in the area and continue in our community as a lay leader. Fantastic! We are so grateful for all the work she has done to build community within our church and around the city. After his internship ends in June, John Kelly is heading to Dallas, TX to join Wilshire Baptist Church as one of their new Pastoral Residents. We look forward to this time of fun as we honor their contributions to this church family!

• If you recently got your first shot or need to let us know you received your second dose, you can click here to share that info with our staff. Yay for being vaccinated!

• Union Station Services is hosting another online event on May 20th. Join them to learn the facts about homelessness and the critical need for more bridge (interim) housing for persons experiencing homelessness in our community.  Learn about “pallet shelters,” an innovative, cost-effective way to provide housing through small shelters that provide basic necessities of life as well as onsite intensive, supportive services for unhoused persons awaiting permanent housing. Find out how you can help provide bridge housing for our unhoused neighbors and help them transition to permanent housing. Click here to register for this free event!

Grace and peace to you as we head into the weekend. We can’t wait to worship with you on Sunday!

Less without you,

The FBCP Community

Mary

FBCP Families | 05.07.2021

Hi Friends,

I hope some of you saw our communication yesterday that we are partnering with the City of Pasadena to provide a free COVID-vaccine clinic on Friday, May 14th, held in our park and gym. There are a certain number of doses we're making available to our own church and friends of our community. We expect to hear early this week that children 12 years of age and older will be able to receive the vaccine, so we wanted to make sure parents knew about this opportunity. 

To receive the first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, you can click on this link and reserve an appointment between 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. Please forward this to friends or family who may be interested, as we still have plenty of spots open. The city has requested that we fill those slots by Tuesday, May 11, so please make sure to register by then. We are so excited for this opportunity to help more people get access to the vaccine!

Liturgy for Families with Kids

Yay! Tomorrow our families with kids will gather, see one another, sing, and grow together in faith at our family liturgy in the park. And rumor has it we may have some furry and colorful special guests joining us, so we hope you can head to the park around 10:15AM to settle in and join the fun! 

We wanted to let you know that we will once again serve snacks during the service. A while back during the surge in Covid cases, it felt safest to maximize mask-wearing and send food home for later. Now that most of our parents are vaccinated and local guidelines are allowing restaurants to open safely with certain precautions, we feel we can safely offer snacks again. As a reminder, each family will have a circle to sit in that is safely spaced from others, and we will have hand sanitizer available for everyone. We’ll also still have our masks for when we aren’t eating. We are excited to share some yummy treats and enjoy this outdoor setting together! If you have any questions or concerns about snacks, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Here's an RSVP link if you still need to let us know you plan to attend. And if you know other friends who need a church community, this is a great event to invite them to attend. We hope you will join us!

No Youth Gathering This Week

This week the youth will not meet so that they can spend time with their moms. Next week we will have our (new) regular gathering in the park right after worship. If your youth would like to join the Pit Crew on any Sunday, we would welcome their presence and help! Just email Chip at chip@fbcpasadena.com to get them signed up. We look forward to seeing our youth next week and hope you enjoy a wonderful Mother's Day on Sunday!

Treasure Hunt for Mom

To all the family members wanting to celebrate their moms, this is a fun and easy way to honor your mom right at home. All it takes is paper, tape, markers, and lots of love for the mother figures in your lives. Have fun sharing all that appreciation!

Sending you so much love and virtual hugs!

With gratitude for you,

Pastor Lindsay & Pastor Mary

Weekly Updates 05.07.2021

Friends at FBCP,

Happy Friday! We have a lot of important and fun updates to share with you this week, so read on for all the details.

• We are gathering for worship in the garage at 10:30AM on Sunday. Come early to settle in and see the faces of your church family. (And if you know someone who needs a church home, we would love to welcome them to our concrete sanctuary!)

• Friends In Deed Food Pantry is in need of cereal, canned tuna and canned chicken, so we invite you to bring one of those with you to worship on Sunday! (Pouches are also acceptable.) We are excited to resume this regular practice of collecting donations for Friends In Deed, and right now this will help meet a major need in their supply. Thanks for contributing!

• In case you missed our communication yesterday, we are hosting a free vaccine clinic on Friday, May 14th. You can find out all the details and register for an appointment time here. Yay for getting vaccinated!

• On Saturday, May 15th, our global partner Melanie Baggao will be hosting a time of prayer over Zoom at 10AM. Melanie is preparing to return to Beirut after being in the U.S. for several weeks of rest and renewal. We pray she is blessed as she goes back to her ministry amidst a number of challenging circumstances in the country of Lebanon. To join the prayer time, please register with this link. Thank you for your continued prayers for Mel!

• We’ll be hosting a Basics Class following the worship service in the courtyard on Sunday, May 16th. If you are newer to this community and want to learn more about church life at FBCP and what membership looks like, this is designed for you. It’s a no-pressure time to hear more about who we are and a chance to ask questions, too! Lunch will be provided. You can register online here or contact Pastor Gretchen at gretchen@fbcpasadena.com with any questions. We hope to see you there!

• Mark your calendars for Sunday, May 23rd! After worship we will head to the park area for a time of celebration and blessing for Pastor Gretchen and John Kelly. Both of these friends are finishing up their work contracts with our team in early summer, and we want to gather to say thanks for their presence and service. Gretchen is finishing up her Pastoral Residency program with us and has plans to stay in the area and continue in our community as a lay leader. Fantastic! We are so grateful for all the work she has done to build community within our church and around the city. After his internship ends in June, John Kelly is heading to Dallas, TX to join Wilshire Baptist Church as one of their new Pastoral Residents. We look forward to this time of fun as we honor their contributions to this church family!

• Many of you may have heard that our own Charlie Wang is on a journey right now hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. You can check out his adventures on his blog, which he updates regularly and with tons of fun details and insights. Prayers for a great rest of the journey for this dear friend of ours!

• We are so grateful for all the folks who have been able to get the vaccine already. Thanks for keeping us posted on your status so that we can plan ahead for when we can be in the sanctuary. If you have any new information, you can let us know your vaccine status, including whether or not you have received it and if you still have questions about it. Click here to share that info with our staff.
  

Grace and peace to you as we head into the weekend. We can’t wait to worship with you on Sunday!

Less without you,

The FBCP Community

Mary

FBCP Vaccine Clinic

Hi, friends!

We're excited to be partnering with the City of Pasadena to provide a free COVID-vaccine clinic on Friday, May 14th, held in our park and gym. There are a limited number of doses we're making available to our own church community. To receive the first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, be sure to click on this link and reserve an appointment between 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. When you sign up, please be sure to sign up for just one appointment so that doses would be available for others.

We have 50 slots to offer folks connected to our community, so please forward this to friends or family who may be interested. The city has requested that we fill those slots by Tuesday, May 11, so please make sure to register by then. The city will also open up appointment times outside of the 9:30-11:00 window for general public, and those will be available using the MyTurn website at https://myturn.ca.gov/. There will be a limited amount of walk-ins on the day of, so please make sure to get an appointment if you are available that day.

If you need help scheduling an appointment or have any questions, please contact Pastor Gretchen via email at gretchen@fbcpasadena.com or via phone at (617) 894-6833.

Thanks,

Pastor Gretchen

Weekly Updates 04.30.2021

Friends at FBCP,

Happy Friday! We have a lot of important and fun updates to share with you this week, so read on for all the details.

• We are gathering for worship in the garage at 10:30AM on Sunday, and this week’s service includes communion. You can bring your own elements or take one of our prepackaged juice and wafer kits. Come early to settle in and see the faces of your church family. (And if you know someone who needs a church home, we would love to welcome them to our concrete sanctuary!)

• Friends In Deed Food Pantry is in need of canned tuna and chicken, so we invite you to bring a can with you to worship on Sunday! (Pouches are also acceptable.) We are excited to resume this regular practice of collecting donations for Friends In Deed, and right now this will help meet a major need in their supply. Thanks for contributing!

• Vocal Health Zoom Clinic: Singing is an integral part of our collective worship, and it is so important that we take care of our instruments! Please join us on Wednesday, May 5, at 7:00 pm for a Vocal Health Clinic over Zoom. Terry Ma will be our clinician, and she is an extremely talented singer who is also a clinical specialist speech therapist for Emanate Health. She’ll be sharing some best practices for how to take care of the voice you have through vocal hygiene and vocal recovery. We are inviting our whole community to participate since singing is our work to do together, but this will also be a great opportunity to consider joining the choir as we make preparations to resume rehearsals. Hope to see you there, ready to give your voice some love and self care!

• We’ll be hosting a Basics Class following the worship service in the courtyard on Sunday, May 16th. If you are newer to this community and want to learn more about church life at FBCP and what membership looks like, this is designed for you. It’s a no-pressure time to hear more about who we are and a chance to ask questions, too! Lunch will be provided. Keep an eye out for registration link in the coming week!

• Join Union Station Homeless Services and The Gourmandise School for an evening of cooking for a cause! Sharpen your chef's knife and ready your apron for an evening of cooking and community on May 12th from 6-8 pm. Chef May Henneman from The Gourmandise School will teach an intimate cooking class with lessons on how to make Gnocchi with Brown Butter & Sage, Salad with Dill Vinaigrette, and Olive Oil Cake. While we're cooking, you'll also hear the latest updates from Union Station Homeless Services. All proceeds will go to benefit some of our most vulnerable neighbors. For more information and to register, click here.

• Many of you may have heard that our own Charlie Wang is on a journey right now hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. You can check out his adventures on his blog, which he updates regularly and with tons of fun details and insights. Prayers for a great rest of the journey for this dear friend of ours!

• We are so grateful for all the folks who have been able to get the vaccine already. Thanks for keeping us posted on your status so that we can plan ahead for when we can be in the sanctuary. If you have any new information, you can let us know your vaccine status, including whether or not you have received it and if you still have questions about it. Click here to share that info with our staff.
  

Grace and peace to you as we head into the weekend. We can’t wait to worship with you on Sunday!

Less without you,

The FBCP Community

Mary

FBCP Families | 04.29.2021

Hi Friends,

We are continuing to pray and ask for God's leading as we look ahead to summer and imagine what we might offer kids and youth. Their safety is still our top priority, and we will keep you posted as we discern what opportunities we can offer for our kids and families to connect in meaningful ways. We also are praying as many kids finish out another strange year of school either on campus or at home, and we are sending all our young people so much love and gratitude for their resilience during the pandemic! 

Local Market on Saturday

If you are looking for something fun to do outside this Saturday, you might check out the local pop up market Loretto's Community Place  in Filipinotown from 11am-4pm. There will be a variety of vendors selling food and handmade items, and Carla, one of our FBCP parents, will be there with a booth for her succulent creations! You can find out more details here, and the address is 285 N Union Ave, Los Angeles 90026. 

Contemplative Walking

I read a brief post about contemplative walking last week and thought about how many of us have walked our neighborhoods more during the pandemic. I know from strolling with Brody that paying more attention to the flowers and the tiny creatures and the huge trees has been a very centering experience for me. If you're looking for reminders about how to use a walk to connect with God and the whole of creation, you might find the tips in the last section of this post helpful. Happy walking!

Next Family Liturgy for Families with Kids

It's almost time for our families with kids to gather, see one another, sing, and grow together in faith at our family liturgy in the park! Mark your calendars for Saturday May 8th at 10:30AM. We are so thankful for our families and these times we get to be together, and we are dreaming up new ways for us to connect and learn in this format. If you know other friends who need a church community, this is a great event to invite them to join. Here's an RSVP link so you can let us know if you plan to attend.  We hope you will join us!

Youth Group After Worship

This week the youth will be in the park, but our gathering will be after worship. Our hope is that youth can attend worship at 10:30AM if they want and that they will serve on our Pit Crew if that is something that interests them.  After worship we will head to the park for lunch and our time together in fellowship and Bible study. We will continue to maintain our safety precautions and adjust as it is safe or necessary to do so. If you have any questions about these changes, feel free to reach out. I will, of course, send reminders in the coming weeks. 

Sending you so much love and virtual hugs!

With gratitude for you,

Pastor Lindsay & Pastor Mary

FBCP Families | 04.24.2021

Hi Friends,

I am so grateful for the leadership and presence of our youth in last Sunday's service! They bring so much to our community, and it was a privilege to amplify their voices and hear more of their hearts as they led us in gratitudes, prayer, scripture, offering, and The Church Organized for Work. Thank you to our families for sharing your kids with the church and for allowing us to learn from them as we continue to pursue God and the way of Jesus. They are a source of good questions, valuable insights, and renewed hope in the midst of such a challenging and heavy time in our world. I pray that we can continue to cultivate and honor the gifts of being a diverse body, including diversity in age. Thank you all for being a special place for them to belong!

There are some important updates for kids and youth this week that we are excited to share with you. We hope to see you Sunday if you are able to join us in the garage!

Next Family Liturgy for Families with Kids

It's almost time for our families with kids to gather, see one another, sing, and grow together in faith at our family liturgy in the park! Mark your calendars for Saturday May 8th at 10:30AM. We are so thankful for our families and these times we get to be together, and we are dreaming up new ways for us to connect and learn in this format. If you know other friends who need a church community, this is a great event to invite them to join. Be on the lookout for an RSVP form next week. We hope you will join us!

Important Youth  Group Changes 

We have been so thankful for the ways that our youth have chosen to stay plugged in to our church community during the pandemic. Through Zooms, outdoor and spaced-out movie nights, and safe gatherings in the park, they have been so flexible as we have shifted our plans and adapted to the ever-changing world we live in. They are amazing!

With things opening up and vaccine levels rising (our youth leadership team have all received at least one of two shots!), we are grateful for the increased safety we have in meeting together. While Zoom has served us well in many ways, it feels like the right time to shift to mainly in-person gatherings going forward. We are also going to change the time we meet in order to make all-church worship accessible to our youth as it was before the pandemic . 

So, this Sunday we will not gather as a youth group (we hope you enjoy time with family!). Next week (May 2) we will be in the park, but our gathering will be after worship. Our hope is that youth can attend worship at 10:30AM if they want and that they will serve on our Pit Crew if that is something that interests them.  After worship we will head to the park for lunch and our time together in fellowship and Bible study. We will continue to maintain our safety precautions and adjust as it is safe or necessary to do so. If you have any questions about these changes, feel free to reach out. I will, of course, send reminders in the coming weeks. 

Sending you so much love and virtual hugs!

With gratitude for you,

Pastor Lindsay & Pastor Mary

P.S. Here's a poem for our children from author Kayla Craig in honor of Earth Day.

Weekly Updates 04.23.2021

Friends at FBCP,

Happy Friday! Here’s what you need to know for worship this Sunday and the week ahead:

• We are gathering for worship in the garage at 10:30AM on Sunday. We have increased our seating area but still have parking for those who want to remain in their cars. We continue to be grateful for the chance to gather safely and worship together! Come early to settle in and see the faces of your church family. (And if you know someone who needs a church home, we would love to welcome them to our concrete sanctuary!)
  

• Our own Cynthia Kirby is part of an ongoing series hosted by Union Station Homeless Services, and you’re invited to attend the next online session on April 29 from 5:30-7:00PM over Zoom. In this webinar, Changing the Narrative Series: Broken Systems, Not Broken People, three prominent panelists will discuss how broken systems, not broken people, are the causes of homelessness and how to change those systems to be equitable for all members of society. You can register to attend here. Thanks to Cynthia for her continued advocacy and engagement in this important work!

• We are so grateful for all the folks who have been able to get the vaccine already. Thanks for keeping us posted on your status so that we can plan ahead for when we can be in the sanctuary. If you have any new information, you can let us know your vaccine status, including whether or not you have received it and if you still have questions about it. Click here to share that info with our staff.
  

Grace and peace to you as we head into the weekend. We can’t wait to worship with you on Sunday!

Less without you,

The FBCP Community