{"id":2757,"date":"2013-03-01T15:47:00","date_gmt":"2013-03-01T20:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/?p=2757"},"modified":"2020-12-15T15:48:05","modified_gmt":"2020-12-15T20:48:05","slug":"march-2013-newsletter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/march-2013-newsletter\/","title":{"rendered":"March 2013 Newsletter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Showing Up<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A clich\u00e9 has been going around that if one wishes to have opportunities for success, one has to \u201cshow up.\u201d You have to show up at networking events to add to your Facebook friends or to be LinkedIn. You have to show up to be included whether it\u2019s lining up for a Super Bowl ticket or a big sale at a retail store or to cast your vote in the next elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pew Research Center and the Barna Group recently presented some statistics that on any given Sunday in almost any given church there may be 15% or more of worshipers who don\u2019t believe in God. When Easter Sunday comes along very much like Christmas Sunday, we can expect even more non-believers to be in worship. While these statistics may be true, I welcome the fact that these non-believers show up. They could easily show up on the golf course or at a restaurant for a nice Easter holiday lunch or just stay home and sleep in. But the point is that you who are believers a long with the possible 15% who are not, show up. And when we show up, good things begin to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On that first Easter morning when the tomb was sealed up with a big stone, Mary Magdalene came when it was still dark and discovered that the stone had been removed. She showed up and was the first to witness the resurrection. She then ran back and told Peter and John and when they arrived at the tomb, they saw that Jesus has risen. Peter and John, the one whom Jesus loved showed up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mary Magdalene was weeping outside the tomb and two angels in white showed up sitting where Jesus\u2019 body was laid. And before Mary realized it, Jesus showed up and Mary recognized him finally by saying, \u201cRabbouni!\u201d which means \u201cTeacher.\u201d Jesus said to her, \u201cDo not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, \u2018I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God\u2019\u201d (John 20:17). After this, Mary Magdalene went to the disciples and proclaimed, \u201cI have seen the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the resurrection Jesus not only was raised from the dead, Jesus returned to us. He showed up. Time and time again God is with us, not because we have been able to come to God but rather because God comes to us. All we need to do is show up and God comes to us by showing up as the Risen Christ! On Easter Sunday, March 31, the 15% of non-believers will show up. I hope and pray that you too will come and show up because we have seen the Lord!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                                                                            Pastor Don<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easter Services<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Join FCBC for Easter this year! We invite you to these special services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            *Palm Sunday & Believers Baptism, March 24<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Celebrate Jesus\u2019 triumphant entry into Jerusalem where he begins the Passion Week. We\u2019ll also receive persons into church membership by believers\u2019 baptism and transfer of letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            9:30-10:45 Cantonese Worship, Sanctuary<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            11:20-12:45 Joint English Worship, Sanctuary<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            *Maundy Thursday Tenebrae Service, 7:30 PM, Fellowship Hall<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Set up like the Upper Room, the tables are in the shape of a cross when we read and hear the passion stories and participate in the Lord\u2019s Supper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            *CCU English Good Friday Service, 7:30 PM, Sanctuary<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Sponsored by the Chinese Christian Union of SF (CCU), Christian leaders from our community will lead us to remember Jesus\u2019 suffering on the Cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            *Easter Sunday Services<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            CCU Easter Sunrise, 7:00 AM, Chinatown YMCA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Join your sisters and brothers in Christ as we celebrate the Day of Resurrection. Following the service, the YMCA will offer their annual Pancake Breakfast as a way to bring the community together and to raise funds for their summer programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            10:00-11:10 Cantonese Worship, Sanctuary<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            11:20-12:30 Joint English Worship, Sanctuary<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please be mindful of the different worship times as we continue with our new Sunday morning schedule and our use of the YMCA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senior Center<\/strong>\u2014Managing Arthritis<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the second Wednesday of every month, FCBC\u2019s Senior Center gathers upstairs in the Fellowship Hall fully accessible by our elevator. All persons who have the time to come are warmly invited! On March 13, beginning at 12:00 noon, Aileen Dillon, MD from Kaiser Permanente Education Dept. will share on the topic, \u201cManaging Arthritis.\u201d If you or someone you know who may have arthritis or some arthritic symptoms will want to come to this session. Besides getting help for our pains, you\u2019ll also have a hot and healthy lunch, celebrate birthdays, do tai chi and enjoy the friendships that support you in the days ahead. To register, contact Dick and Anna Wong. See you at the center!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All-Church Spring Clean-Up<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Join the cleaning crew to spruce up our church home in time for Easter. When visitors and guests arrive at our church, we want to show them our best. After heavy use by many of our classes and groups, we need you to volunteer to wash windows, scrub clean the kitchen, clear out clutter, wash down our front awning and our 81 rooftop solar panels, and to make our sanctuary bright and beautiful. If every one of our 20 plus fellowship groups would send only 2 representatives, we will be able to get the job done! Clean-Up is on Saturday, March 16 beginning at 8:30 and ending at 12:00 with lunch, Contact Bill Leong, Trustees to indicate your attendance. Let\u2019s show up to work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Church Membership Meeting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Sunday, March 17, 1:30, we\u2019ll have our next Membership Meeting in the sanctuary. Come to exercise your responsibilities to participate actively in the life of the church as we remain faithful to God and open to doing a new thing. Candidates for Baptism and church membership will share their testimonies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

America for Christ Offering<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theme for this year\u2019s AFC Offering is a call to \u201cbuild communities of hope\u201d (Matthew 5:13-16) as salt and light for Christ. Christians bring the promise of God\u2019s love to our world by participating in the dynamic transformation of our neighborhoods. As we build and strengthen our communities, we bear witness to the gospel of Christ that brings hope of new life. On Sundays, the bulletin inserts tell of the many ways this special offering will be used. In March, we receive the AFC Offering with the goal of $4100. Please, give generously to build communities of hope together. If you would like to write a check and on the memo, write \u201cAFC,\u201d your gift will be added to our total contribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family News<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presidential elections: Congratulations to Pastor Peter Lee<\/strong> who was installed as the President of the Chinese Christian Union of SF on January 20th<\/sup>; Arnold Mew<\/strong> is the new President of the Wa Sung Community Service Club on January 26; and Sheryl Chan<\/strong> is the new President of the Asian Women\u2019s Auxiliary Club in San Jose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones: Ellen Ung<\/strong> on January 7; Donna Quan<\/strong> on January 9 and Mari Ann Choy<\/strong> on January 20. May our merciful God grant them comfort at this time of grief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congratulations on the marriage of Cliff Tom and Dephine Chow<\/strong> on December 22! We welcome new babies into our lives: Alyssa Wu<\/strong> on December 25 to Karen Au and Chris Wu; Jonah Taylor Hom<\/strong> on January 11 to Jason and Anna Hom. May God continue to bless these families as they commit their lives in being Christ\u2019s disciples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

March<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2          Redwood Glen Campaign, 10:00<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            OYYAs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3          10:00  English\u2014V<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            10:00  Cantonese\u2014P<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            11:20 English\u2014D<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            CE, 1:30<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Lands of Luther, 3:00<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6          Church Staff, 10:00<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8-10    Women\u2019s Retreat, San Damiano<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9          Men\u2019s Fellowship<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            EFG<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Daylight Savings Time (Turn your clocks 1 hour ahead)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10        10:00 E\u2014V<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            10:00 C\u2014P<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            11:20\u2014D<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            3-on-3 Basketball, 1:00, YMCA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13        Senior Center<\/p>\n\n\n\n

16        All-Church Spring Clean-Up<\/p>\n\n\n\n

17        10 E\u2014V<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            10 C\u2014P<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            11:20\u2014D<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Membership Meeting, 1:30<\/p>\n\n\n\n

20        Church Staff, 10:00<\/p>\n\n\n\n

22        Lanna Coffee, 7:30<\/p>\n\n\n\n

23        Xplorers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Sojourners<\/p>\n\n\n\n

24        Palm Sunday & Baptism<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            9:30-10:45 C\u2014P<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            10:45-11:20 Sidewalk Reception<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            11:20-12:45 E\u2014D<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Deacons, 1:30<\/p>\n\n\n\n

28        Maundy Thursday Tenebrae Service, 7:30<\/p>\n\n\n\n

29        CCU Good Friday Service, 7:30<\/p>\n\n\n\n

31        Easter Sunday<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            7:00 CCU Sunrise Service, YMCA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            YMCA Easter Pancake Breakfast<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            10:00 C\u2014P<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            11:20 Joint English–D<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Showing Up A clich\u00e9 has been going around that if one wishes to have opportunities for success, one has to \u201cshow up.\u201d You have to show up at networking eventsContinue readingMarch 2013 Newsletter<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-2757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-donald-ng-newsletters","tag-fcbc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2757"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2758,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2757\/revisions\/2758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}