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We are honored to have Rabbi Moti Rieber speak at our service on Sunday, March 18. Reb Moti is the Executive Director of Kansas Interfaith Action (KIFA) and a life-long activist on peace, social justice, and environmental issues. He is a regular presence at the state capitol and testifies at hearings and meets regularly with legislators in pursuit of KIFA goal of bringing a faith-based moral voice to public policy in Kansas. KIFA acts on the belief that everyone deserves equal opportunity and equal protection, and the right to live in peace per their principles, which includes discrimination based on religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and other variables that describe marginalized populations. Reb Moti will speak on non-violence as a faith-based action for change. The Vitality Committee will host an extended Fellowship time with a light brunch and the opportunity to meet Reb Moti and learn more about KIFA and his current work in Topeka.   Mark your calendars…
Monday, March 5 - Stand with Muslim Neighbors Advocacy Day. KIFA and CAIR-Kansas are once again co-sponsoring Muslim Advocacy Day. All of us - Muslims, Christians, Jews, Unitarians, agnostics, and others - will visit the state capitol to let our legislators and the people of Kansas know how important our Muslim neighbors are to the well-being of our communities, and our refusal to see them victimized or singled-out, legally or politically. A rally will begin at 10AM in the 2nd Floor Rotunda, and there will be activities throughout the day. For more information and to register go to the KIFA website, www.kansasinterfaithaction.org Thursday, March 15 - WEALTH Day. WEALTH stands for Water, Environment, Air, Land, Transportation and Health. This is our chance to make our concern for Creation visible to everyone! The day will start with an interfaith climate vigil at 9 AM, followed by a legislative briefing/training, meetings throughout the day, and a lunch with legislators. For a full agenda and to register for the event check the KIFA website. Saturday, March 24 – Turn Off Your Lights. Annual Earth Hour, 8:30 – 9:30 PM local time. April 3 – 5 - Unite to End Racism. The National Council of Churches invites us to unite to end racism! Join faith leaders in Washington, DC April 3-5 in the clarion call to heal the soul of the nation as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination. Visit www.rally2endracism.org Wednesday, May 9, 6:30pm. KIFA Annual Event, First Christian Church, Topeka Exciting announcement about the guest speaker is coming soon! Stay informed… Want to keep up with UCC social justice actions at the national and global level? Sign up for info-packed newsletter, Take Action, of the United Church of Christ, Justice & Peach Action Network, at www.ucc.org They also have a FaceBook page. Make a difference in 2018… Last month, we started a short series based on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) Five Ways to Make a Difference in 2018. The February newsletter discussed #1: Start a Conversation (don’t stay silent when you hear words of hate), and suggested SPLC’s, Speak UP: Responding to Everyday Bigotry, available free at their website, www.splcenter.org #2 is Be Informed. Martin Luther King, Jr. once wrote: "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." Make a pledge to stay informed in 2018 about your government, your community and the injustices occurring to those around you. SPLC recommends On Tyranny, The March Against Fear, and The Blood of Emmett Till. You can sign up for the UCC newsletter, Take Action, or follow the SPLC on Facebook or request their newsletter. #3 is Stay Engaged. SPLC suggests volunteering with a cause that is important to you. We have many opportunities at First Congregational! Many community organization request help and there will be many opportunities to work for candidates and to get out the vote this fall.
Living Room Worship Night Sunday, March 4 6:30 - 8:30 pm A casual evening of acoustic guitar, singing, prayer, and fellowship. If you are hungry to deepen your connection to God and each other, join us in the living room! Location: 205 Cedar Drive, Manhattan 66502 Questions? Contact Kerry Priest, Rachel Shivers, or Lisa Tatonetti.  This year First United Methodist will be privileged to host the Community Lenten Lunch series of the Manhattan Ministerial Association. The theme of our Lenten Lunches will be “The Final Words of Christ from the Cross.” During each luncheon we will hear from a Pastor of another Christian denomination here in Manhattan. They will plan a 30 minute worship service unique to their own worship style. We will have the rich diversity from Roman Catholic to Mennonite expressions. See below for our worship leaders.
Every Wednesday noon we will gather for a church provided lunch in the church’s Fellowship Hall, followed by a 30 minute worship service. The food line will be prepared at 11:45 am with our worship service beginning at 12:15 pm. Everything will conclude a little before 1:00 pm so people can return to work. A free will donation will be accepted, suggested amount $8. RESERVATIONS ARE APPRECIATED. Please call the church office, 785-776-8821 or go to the website, www.fumcmanhattan.com to make your meal reservation every week prior to Monday noon. SCHEDULE OF SPEAKERS: February 21: Father Kerry Ninemire, Seven Dolors Roman Catholic Church February 28: Rev. Jerry Reynolds, First Lutheran Church March 7: Rev. Helen Hutchison, Trinity Presbyterian Church March 14: Richard and Barbara Gehring, Manhattan Mennonite Church March 21: Rev. Valencia Jackson, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church March 28: Rev. John Parsley, First Baptist Church  Feb. 18 through Mar. 18 (five weeks) Christianity and Anti-Semitism: A Troubling History Led by Brent Maner During the season of Lent--a time set aside for reflection, prayer, and penitence--this Sunday School class will examine the horrible place of anti-Jewish violence in Christian history. We will use the insights of historians and theologians to unpack the descriptions of Jews in the New Testament and in early Christianity that became features of Western anti-Semitism from the Middle Ages to the present day. We will also strengthen our own commitment to justice and our belief in God’s universal love by considering the efforts by religious leaders to overcome this troubling history through prayer, atonement, and interfaith dialogue COURSE PACKET INFORMATION
Feb. 18, Week 1 Overview of the class Please read: Anti-Defamation League’s Brief History of Anti-Semitism, 4 pages
Feb. 25, Week 2 A Medieval turning point Please read: “Making a Martyr: William of Norwich and the Jews” by Miri Rubin (History Today, June 2010), 6 pages Two options to access: 1) If you are part of the K-State community, please download this article through K-State Libraries. Go to: http://www.lib.k-state.edu/. Type “Making a Martyr: William of Norwich” into the main “Search It” box, choose “View It” under the first item; choose one of the databases; log in. It cannot be posted to the church web site for copyright reasons. 2) If you are not a part of the K-State community, you can access via the State Library of KS databases. 1. Go to the State Library of KS databases: https://kslib.info/422/Online-Databases. Select Academic Search Premier. Type or copy and paste into the search box: Making a martyr William of Norwich. You should see one article, click on the PDF option at the bottom of the record to see the version with pictures
Please read the following short article for this week: "Holy Week and the Hatred of the Jews: How to Avoid Anti-Judaism this Easter," by Amy-Jill Levine http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2017/04/08/4650428.htm March 11, Week 4 Offending passages: Paul and the Jews March 18, Week 5 Martin Luther and the Jews Resources that I’ve been using to prepare for the class: David Nirenberg, Anti-Judaism: The Western Tradition (2013) Helmut Walser Smith, The Butcher’s Tale: Murder and Anti-Semitism in a German Town (2003) Clark Williamson, Has God Rejected His People? Anti-Judaism in the Christian Church (1982) Living Room Worship Night Sunday, March 4 6:30 - 8:30 pm A casual evening of acoustic guitar, singing, prayer, and fellowship. If you are hungry to deepen your connection to God and each other, join us in the living room! Location: 205 Cedar Drive, Manhattan 66502  Journey through Lent with the UCC Stillspeaking Writers group. We've ordered a few copies of this year's devotional book. If you'd like one, please contact the church office. The cost for each book was $5 and you can reimburse the church as you are able. An excerpt from the Lovers and Fools, the 2018 Lenten Devotional: "If you're beginning this devotional on Ash Wednesday, (February 14) you may have noticed how hard it was to get a dinner reservation after worship. If you look ahead to Easter, (April 1) you'll find it's also doing double duty. As Christians, we always live between two calendars. We celebrate a new year in November. We're confused when our pastor insists on green paraments for the first week in July, not red, white, and blue. We set aside this season for solemn study and reflection, and to the rest of the world it remains six ordinary weeks between Valentine's and April Fool's Day. How then should we observe this crowded season? What does Lent have to do with lovers and fools?"  |
