Sea Us Grow experienced a plumbing disaster (there's no other word for it!) over the Christmas holiday.  A toilet was left running over the weekend and two classrooms were flooded!  The two classrooms are now in quarantine and cannot be used until the regulatory agencies give the okay because it was toilet overflow.  The preschool has insurance to cover this with a deductible of $1000.  That's not the real concern, however.  The school lost many books in the four-year-old range.  I'm hoping that we can put our collective shoulders to the wheel and replace the books.  They need not be new; used books would be welcome.  According to Dawn, they should be in the following categories:
 
Nature
Math
Diversity
Multi-cultural
Disabilities
 
BUT no Disney books, please.  Apparently they are frowned upon!
 
Thanks for any help you can give!
 
Mollie

Reading Luke 1 and 2 and talking together about the traditions of Jesus' birth, Christ's beginnings, the Meaning/Purpose of Christmas then and now. 

Yup: Thursday morning, 12/29, 10:30 - Noon.  See you.

Pastor Robert

A Jefferson Airplane concert is being held this Friday night to benefit FAST. The concert will begin on December 9th at 8 pm, doors open at 7:30. There will be a bus coming back and forth from Blessed Trinity on 54th Ave South in St. Pete but the concert will be held at Andrea Wood and Stuart Mellish's home. Their address is:  6316 Bahama Shores Drive South, St. Petersburg. Light hors d'oeurves and beverages will be served.  

Andrea has recently become involved in FAST and wanted to put together an event to benefit a local organization and so chose FAST. The suggested donation for the event is $20. 

Feel free to invite friends and other FAST folks.

Interested in a fresh approach to reading the Bible and basic teachings of Jesus?  Pastor would like an idea of how many books to order:  Jim Forest, Making Friends of Enemies:  Reflections on the Teachings of Jesus.  It’s short, powerful and great for down-to-earth conversation.

Wednesdays: Nov. 16, Nov. 23, and Nov. 30, from 10:30-Noon in the meeting room at church.
Session 1:  Introduction to Bible Basics:  How do we read and understand scripture.
Session 2:  Some basic passages of Scriptures approached in 3 ways:  Opening up texts.
Session 3:  Making Friends of Enemies–examples of teachings of Jesus

Format:  short presentation of material, group participation, conversation about implications for our lives, our church, our community.
If interested I would continue during Advent:  Dec. 7 and 14.

Thank you,
Pastor Robert

Faith Church has been on a journey for the past three years that would test the mettle of any congregation. Last year, because of escalating costs, we were forced to sell home of over fifty years in order to continue the missions in our community that are such an important part of our identity. We subsequently rented space from another church and continued our spiritual lives together and our commitments to those in need without the burden of debt.

We were comfortable in our new surroundings, but it didn’t take long when feelings of being disenfranchised began to set in. We slowly came to realize that there is no substitute for having your own place of worship. Despite wonderful landlords, it still was not “ours,” and there was a feeling of being “guests” that was palpable.

If anyone doubts the power of divine intervention, perhaps we are proof positive that it can happen! A small church nearby went on the market and proved to be perfect for us. It needed some work, but the potential was obvious. A few hardy souls worked hard to make the necessary renovations, and we are now ready to move back to our very own place once more.

On Sunday, August 28th at 10:30 a.m., we will hold our very first service in our new home at 1650 Pinehurst Road in Dunedin. We invite everyone to COME AND SHARE OUR JOY as we start on a new journey together.

Well, the long-awaited date is just around the corner now! We will hold our first service in our new home at 1650 Pinehurst Road on August 28th. Take it from me, the little church has taken on a new life thanks to alot of hard work on the part of a few!

Now, it’s our turn! We will need help to move our belongings from Union Street to Pinehurst Road on the weekend of 8/21. We also need folks who are willing to come by and help clean up our new home now that most of the construction/renovations are complete.

SO! Please contact me or Debbie Atchia if you can help us move into an exciting future in our very own new home! We will have sign-up sheets available on Sunday.

I’m stunned by the magnitude of press attention to the killing of Osama Bin Laden. In my view it’s too hypocritical to rail against OBL’s despicable acts. OBL was a Muslim fundamentalist/extremist. He saw injustice rampant in high places including his own people. His rationalization that his righteousness justified his slaughterings is not qualitatively different from that of other powerful leaders, now, is it? Redemptive violence is a fiction, a lie, a myth in its ugliest sense. At least that’s what I believe.

What I abhor about the current jubilation of one man’s death who happened to be THAT MAN is that it cyphons off the energy to address the gross injustices perpetrated by far too many powerful leaders. Such jubilation seeds terrorists. His death has the possibility that wise and intelligent leaders will use this moment to teach the meaning of social, economic and political justice, the meaning of moderation, the demand to practice controlling anger/rage/arrogance/self-aggrandizement. OBL as the incarnation of human fear obstructs the vision of Humanity exemplified in King, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, St. Francis, Rumi, Mohammed, Jesus the Christ, Buddha, Confucius, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Moses. The human one isn’t perfect except in an abstract dogmatic way. A terror crouches at the heart of all of us awaiting our excesses to destroy us. Hitler’s death didn’t prevent the terror of Stalin, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Saddam, Pinochet, Khadaffi and on and on.

“There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.”

Jesus died because of our sins. Jesus lived that we might know what life is and live it fully. OBL’s deadness is the bitterest of joys. Surely, God is weeping. Watch how some will twist my words to imagine that I accept or justify OBL’s ways and words and influence. Couldn’t be farther from the truth. Will his death sharpen our appetite for goodness, for genuine rather than legalized justice (that is, what is good for all), for preparing for a world we could all cherish? Or will it fan our conceits, proving we are ugly Americans? Let us be the light to the nations that befits our mythology and history.

Peace, brothers and sisters. This is the Eastertide of the Prince of Peace. It’s time we were a blessing to God.

Pastor Robert

Dear Faith friends,

This letter is specifically directed to those Faith friends who have departed for cooler climes, although there may be a few of us locals who have missed our current news as well.

About two weeks ago now, I received an e-mail informing me that a small church in Dunedin was sporting a “For Sale” sign, and that I should consider taking a look at the property. At first I was skeptical feeling that we had just completed a difficult move to Union Street I just could not conceive going through that again! However, Howard Reed had received the same information, and we ultimately had a telephone discussion about it. The more we thought about this and looked at the description of the property the more we came around to thinking that perhaps we should take a look! Howard ran some quick numbers, and we came to the conclusion that we should not pass up on a possible good opportunity for Faith Church.

We called an emergency meeting of council at the location and toured the facility with the realtor. Howard reviewed the financials in greater detail, and a unanimous vote was taken to make an offer to buy contingent on our sale to SPC and congregational approval. We elected to offer to buy the property outright, i.e. no financing ergo no mortgage for us should our offer be accepted.

The asking price was $299,000. The church sits on 2.5 acres in a very pretty neighborhood across the street from Dunedin High School. Inside the sanctuary has pews that accommodate 120 people. There is a multi-purpose room, office space for two, and mens and ladies rooms. The current owners intentionally priced the property for a quick sale and based the price primarily on the value of the property. There is no kitchen.

Our attorney worked with SPC’s attorney and a letter was included with our offer attesting to the fact that we would be closing within two week’s time and would, therefore, have the money required to close the deal.

Our offer was accepted! The congregation approved the purchase enthusiastically yesterday, May 8th. We hope to close on both properties on May 17th. Everyone is excited that we will have our own home again! We must provide Union Street with 120 day’s notice, so it may be that we will not actually move until September. Should Union find another tenant, we may move sooner but we do have some cosmetic work to do on the property anyway.

I am attaching photos of our new “home” for you all to see. Feel free to e-mail me or call me if you want to discuss this exciting news further!

God’s love to all!
Mollie

Saturday, January 8, 2011, 1 human kills 6 humans and critically wounds 10 others with bullets shot quickly at human targets.

January 15, 1929, a baby is born who will preach peace, teach nonviolence, live a Christ-inspired life, no stranger to fear but, nevertheless, a “drum major for justice and peace.” Martin Luther King, Jr. is killed by a bullet.

January 12, 2011, St. Pete Times op-ed piece by Vaughan Bell, a clinical and neuropsychologist in Colombia and England, cautions against blaming the killing in Tucson solely on mental illness. In cases of violence deeper issues are typically at work, research shows—especially the use of alcohol and drugs, writes Bell.

It’s too easy to hurl labels like “insane, mad, deranged” and further stigmatize those who suffer from mental illness. What about harsh feelings such as hatred, intolerance, rage? Who among us can claim perfect freedom from these dark emotions?

Most people keep a tight lid on emotions—even selfless, happy ones. Who wants to be thought frivolous or weak or easy? Alas, as I see it, imperfections, pettiness, silly differences, small stuff seem to have a way of building up and threatening personal calm, family harmony, and social stability. Most of us “let off steam” with people we trust, or through sports or exercise, or involvement in hobbies, the arts, entertainment, novels, shopping, and on and on.

One need not be mentally ill to trigger the dark emotions—drugs, alcohol, various addictions may pull the trigger. It’s a little too convenient to assign mayhem to mental illness without exploring contributing factors. There are many such factors—the shameless name calling, judgmentalism, verbal violence against opponents.

The importance of treating others the way we want others to treat us is not just a Sunday School lesson. It is at least as demanding and rewarding a way of life as any alternative, and to those who follow Jesus, it is The Way.

While mourning the senseless loss of lives and the killing, will we forget the importance of Jesus’ message and his example of the way of peace, the life and example of Martin Luther King, Jr. whom we will honor this weekend? We must find the courage to exercise nonviolence or the violence within and around may kill us all. Surely violence is the way to a bitter end. Nonviolence is the way of the Human One. Are we willing to learn this Way? Together?

There’s a popular bumper sticker these days that reads: “We’re all in this together.” Let us pray that “THIS” is the way of Jesus we learn in Matthew 5-7.

Among candles in the dark,

Pastor Robert