{"id":2764,"date":"2008-05-01T07:56:00","date_gmt":"2008-05-01T11:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/?p=2764"},"modified":"2020-12-16T07:56:59","modified_gmt":"2020-12-16T12:56:59","slug":"may-2008-newsletter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/may-2008-newsletter\/","title":{"rendered":"May 2008 Newsletter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pentecost FCBC-Style<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pentecost celebrated this year on May 11th<\/sup> was a holiday before it was a holy day. Fifty days after Passover, the Hebrew people celebrated the Feast of Weeks. The festival marked the giving of the law of Moses on Mt. Sinai. It became a covenant renewal ceremony and it also celebrated the spring harvest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can just imagine the party mood in Jerusalem on this high holiday. But to the disciples and followers of Jesus, there was nothing to celebrate. Jesus was gone from them, and life seemed hopeless and without meaning. Following Jesus\u2019 instructions, they simply waited and prayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there was a thunderous holy tremor. The wind blew and flames rested on everyone\u2019s tongues. People started to talk in different languages but they still heard and understood. And recorded in Acts 2, Peter, who couldn\u2019t even admit to the fact that he knew Jesus, besides being uneducated, preached one of the greatest sermons ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pentecost is often recognized as the birthday of the church. Disciples and followers of Jesus came together to pray, sing, share fellowship together in meals and care for each other\u2019s welfare. The Spirit of God is unleashed upon a disillusioned group of disciples and they finally became the church to tell the good news of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The gift of Pentecost is the power to bridge the differences between people making them the Body of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a recent meeting, we had a discussion on how challenging it is to have one worshiping congregation exit the sanctuary and the next one waiting to come in. One person mentioned it would be more efficient to have two doors\u2014one to go out and one to come in. Too bad we didn\u2019t think about this when we renovated the church. But our church moderator, Che Chiu Yee shared that when we are leaving the sanctuary and coming into the sanctuary for worship in our crowded vestibule is when we are able to see and greet each other. What a profound thought! This is Pentecost FCBC-Style!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surely worship services are significant at our church on Sundays. But it\u2019s when we see each other going in and coming out of our sanctuary, when we see each other on Sacramento Street going up to Cameron House and coming down to the church, when we linger on the sidewalk in front of our church in the morning and into the afternoon are the moments when we can see the spirit of Pentecost in full activity at our church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are God\u2019s people who at one time could not understand each other\u2014now have the gift of communicating, hearing, and understanding one another. Pentecost calls us, year after year, to remember that what we do in the moments of going out and coming in are when we catch a glimpse of God\u2019s new creation breathed into us by God\u2019s mighty power of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Senior Center Wishes You Well<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The primary purpose of the Senior Center is to offer you an opportunity to live long and prosper! Knowing others and being known by name is vital for life\u2014we are made to live in relationships! Enjoying healthy food and learning some simple exercises keep us on the right track. And at every Senior Center event, there\u2019s a speaker on a topic that helps you to make some sound decisions to live well. We invite you to become a regular member of our Senior Center because it\u2019s good for you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            *May 14\u2014\u201cFinancial Planning for Seniors\u201d by our Deacon Wallace Chu with Turning Leaf Financial Group. It\u2019s never too late to review the strategy you have in managing your financial resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            *May 28\u2014\u201cLiving at Home Care\u201d by Lily Zhang with On Lok Lifeways. As we live longer into the golden years of life, we will need to explore the variety of options available to us on how we would be cared for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            *June 11\u2014\u201cStroke Prevention and Treatment\u201d by Dr. Kenneth Fox, MD, Kaiser Permanente. Stroke is one of the leading causes of death. Come to learn what causes stroke, how to prevent it, how to detect when a stroke is occurring, and how to respond to an attack. Dr. Fox\u2019s talk starts at 12:15 PM followed by lunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Senior Center operates on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, beginning at12:00 noon. After the June 11th meeting, we\u2019ll take a summer break and resume in the fall. If you would like to make a donation to support the Senior Center ministry, you can write a check to First Chinese Baptist Church, San Francisco and mark it for \u201cSenior Center.\u201d For more information and lunch reservations, contact Warren Lee or Gary Eng.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bay to Breakers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Started in 1912 as an event to lift up the spirit of the city after the disastrous 1906 Earthquake and Fire, the Bay to Breakers has become the longest continuous foot race in the world. While there are many unusual and somewhat zany things that happen along the race, running the Bay to Breakers is a \u201cSan Francisco\u201d tradition. In this year\u2019s event on Sunday, May 17th<\/sup>, Pastor Don and a church group will meet to \u201cwalk\u201d the 12K course together. Our hope is to not only get some exercise before the summer but to symbolically walk across the city from the bay to the ocean to say that our ministry goes beyond Chinatown and into the entire city. If you are interested in joining us, register at ingbaytobreakers.com and contact Sheryl and Wes Chan who are coordinating our group\u2019s participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FCBC Sports<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Sports Ministry offers a sport for everyone! With the Chinese Christian Union of San Francisco, we will participate with teams in the basketball, softball, and volleyball leagues. These are exciting ways to develop skills and to fellowship with other churches. If you are interested in participating, watching and supporting our teams, contact the following: Basketball\u2014John Tom, Softball\u2014Mel Fong, and Volleyball\u2014Jayson Gatdula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our church also sponsors a Golf Tournament on Monday, June 16 to benefit our summer Day Camp program that reaches out to community children. This year\u2019s tournament will be at Monarch Bay in San Leandro; see Joel Jang or Butch Chan to sign up or make a donation to support the church\u2019s summer ministries. And if you would rather play tennis, this year\u2019s Tennis Tourney is on Saturday, June 21 at the San Francisco Tennis Club. Sign up with Jayson Gatdula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the weather gets warmer and the sun stays up longer, it\u2019s time to brush off those sneakers and get some exercise! Registration materials can also be found on our church\u2019s website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Welcome into the world Grant Josiah Takahashi<\/strong> born to Kimberly Chen and Guy Takahashi on March 28, 2008!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our deepest sympathy to Roger Chen whose mother, Phoebe Chen<\/strong> returned to the Lord on March 27, 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May Calendar<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4          9\u2014C<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            9:30\u2014L<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            10\u2014D<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            11:15\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Holy Land Bible Study, 12:30-1:30<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            CE, 1:30<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10        EFG<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            OYYAs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11        Mother\u2019s Day<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            9\u2014C<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            9:30\u2014L<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            10\u2014D<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            11:15<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Holy Land Bible Study, 12:30-1:30<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13        All-Church Staff Retreat Day<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14        Senior Center<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Mom\u2019s Ministry Group<\/p>\n\n\n\n

17        ABSW Commencement, Oakland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Sojourners<\/p>\n\n\n\n

18        Bay to Breakers Walk\/Race<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            9\u2014C<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            9:30\u2014L<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            10\u2014Dr. James Chuck<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            11\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Holy Land Bible Study, 12:30-1:30<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

            Sports Rally, 2:00<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

25        9:30\u2014Dr. James Chuck<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Joint 9:30\u2014D<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            11:15\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Holy Land Pilgrimage Pot-Luck Luncheon, 12:30<\/p>\n\n\n\n

28        Senior Center<\/p>\n\n\n\n

31        OYYAs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pentecost FCBC-Style Pentecost celebrated this year on May 11th was a holiday before it was a holy day. Fifty days after Passover, the Hebrew people celebrated the Feast of Weeks.Continue readingMay 2008 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-2764","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\/2764","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=2764"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2764\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2765,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2764\/revisions\/2765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.followgreg.com\/revdonaldng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}