The Days of Our Lives
By the time you receive this newsletter, we would be in the middle of Lent, the traditional church season of 40 days of reflecting on the meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross and our response as his disciples today. Since Ash Wednesday on Feb. 22nd, there are 40 days not counting Sundays in Lent before Easter, the Day of Resurrection.
In the season of Lent, we bring our attention to what we might sacrifice for God as Christ sacrificed his life for us. We are called to repentance of our foolish and sinful ways in order that we may be forgiven. We even focus on the meaning of suffering and death knowing that there is no satisfying answers to our questions except that God himself suffers with us, redeeming our suffering and death.
Some churches today still practice the disciplines of Lent by drawing people to a closer relationship with the Lord through prayer, fasting and giving. Since Jesus prayed passionately in the Garden of Gethsemane, we invite you to pray every day. Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness at the beginning of his public ministry therefore fasting can be a way to subordinate our physical needs to be spiritual. You might consider fasting from a meal to draw your attention on God. And lastly, since God has given himself to us in Christ, we show our appreciation by giving to God and others. You will receive our annual Easter Letter to provide you with an opportunity to give.
When I start my day, there are many ways that remind me what day it is. My smart phone tells me when I have a meeting. My laptop has a date on the upper right hand corner. My Day-Timer gives me a Week-at-a-Glance so that I don’t overbook. And then there are clocks everywhere including the watch I wear on my left wrist! If you are like me, spending 40 days focusing on Lent may just be too much for me to keep up. I think I would need to get away from it all and go to a place with no phone, internet and Day-Timers.
But I venture that while being out of this world may help me to be more disciplined in Lent, it is practicing these spiritual disciplines in the world that would ultimately lead me to become the serving disciple that God is calling me to be. Undoubtedly, I’ll try to be more prayerful, eat more consciously and perhaps even fasting from a meal, and make an almsgiving. And by the end of these 40 days, you and I both know that Jesus Christ receives us as his disciples because it is Jesus who did it all on Good Friday and on Easter morning.
May these days of our lives be an opportunity for us to draw closer to Jesus Christ who loved the world so much that he died on the Cross for us so that we who have been saved and redeemed may go out into this world to bring Good News of God’s love and grace.
Pastor Don
Easter Services
We invite you to participate in Lent followed by the services in Holy Week. May this sacred time lead you to a closer walk with God.
Palm Sunday, April 1
Jesus enters triumphantly into Jerusalem when the people lay down palm leaves for him to pass. We will celebrate Believers Baptism at the Joint 9:30 English Worship and the 11:30 Cantonese Worship both meeting in the sanctuary.
Maundy Thursday, April 5
Joining our sisters and brothers at the Chinese Congregational Church, celebrate the Last Supper by reading the passion stories in a candle-lit upper room in the hope of Easter. The service will be at the Congregational Church at 21Walter Lum Pl. at 7:00 PM.
Good Friday, April 6
The Chinese Christian Union of SF will sponsor a Cantonese Service at the Presbyterian Church at 925 Stockton St. at 1:00 PM and an English Service at FCBC at 7:00 PM.
Easter Sunday, April 8
The CCU will sponsor a Sunrise Service on the patio of the Chinatown YMCA at 7:00 AM. The Y will be serving their annual Easter Pancake Breakfast following this service. At FCBC, come to the Joint 9:30 English Worship and 11:30 Cantonese Worship to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord!
We invite you to come and worship with us!
Men’s Fellowship
While we think we are exercising more and eating better, there are some particular health issues facing men. All men are invited to learn from Dr. David Louie, cardiologist at Kaiser Permanente on how men can continue to be strong and healthy for their loved ones and for the Lord. Men’s Health will be on Saturday, March 10th, beginning with breakfast at 8:30 AM at Dr. David Louie’s home in Berkeley. Contact Nelson Wong of your attendance and for more information.
Senior Center
On the second Wednesday of each month, seniors gather for learning, fellowship and a hot healthy lunch. On March 14th, the topic is “National Dollar Stores,” an earlier prototype of WalMart. Our own Danny Lee will lead this interesting discussion on retail businesses. We begin at 12:00 noon in the Fellowship Hall, accessible by the elevator on the 4th floor. Sign-up with Dick and Anna Quan Wong so we know you are coming!
Women’s Retreat
The 13th Annual Women’s Retreat on the theme, “Chew on This!—Where Food Meets Faith” is March 9-11 at San Damiano Retreat in Danville. The retreat will be about honest reflection, self-awareness, asking hard questions, and digging deeper about the place of food in life and faith. Rev. Lauren Ng, an American Baptist minister and former pastor at FCBC is the guest speaker. Brochures and registration materials are available by calling the church office.
Spring Cleaning
God’s House like ours needs sprucing up twice a year! Before Holy Week (Palm Sunday through Easter) comes, join our church family to vacuum the pews, wash the windows, clean off the solar panels that give us electricity, degrease the kitchen, and clean out all the dust bunnies! With our newly installed staircase and hallway flooring, we’ll have less to do this time. When we work together, we can get all the work done. We invite at least 2 representatives from each of our fellowship groups to volunteer on Saturday, March 24, beginning at 8:30 with coffee and donuts and ending at 12:00 noon with a free lunch. Contact Bill Leong of the Trustees of your attendance.
America for Christ
Engaging in mission in the United States and Puerto Rico is more critical than ever. The divide between those with wealth and those without is getting wider every year. The ministry of the American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) provides life-saving programs directly like prison, military and hospital chaplaincy and enabling local churches to reach out to children, youth and adults through Sunday school and book publishing. One ABHMS advocacy is immigration and refugee resettlement in response to the large influx of Burmese (Chin and Karen) refugees who have settled in the US in recent years. This year’s America for Christ Offering on the theme, “Engaging Discipleship—Open My Eyes, My Heart, My Hands” (Mark 10:46-52) is an opportunity for you to support home missions. You may give at worship in March or send your contribution to the church with your check marked for: “AFC.” Our 2012 goal is: $4100.
Membership Meeting
A highlight at FCBC is when candidates for Baptism and church membership share their Christian testimonies with the church. These brief stories capture how God has been transforming lives through Jesus Christ. On Sunday, March 25 at 1:30, you are invited to come to witness God’s changing powers on our lives leading to wholeness and purposeful lives.
Transformed by the Spirit
Launched in June 2011, American Baptists are engaged in exploring spiritual renewal through an initiative called, “Transformed by the Spirit.” Commonly when there’s a problem, our response is technical—try something else. But for substantive answers, the problem is much deeper that requires adaptive change trusting in God’s Spirit to move among us. On Saturday, March 31st, 9:00 AM at the First Baptist Church, Alameda, you are invited to attend a challenging presentation by Rev. Alan Roxburgh who will show how churches in the 21st century need to change to remain relevant and vital. If you would like to attend, contact, Pastor Don Ng for more information.
March
1-3 BASS Convention, Castro Valley
2 Lanna Coffee
3 Redwood Glen Campaign, 9:00
4 9—Rev. Richard Chung
10—Rev. Richard Chung
11—P
CE, 1:30
Music, 2:30
7 Church Staff, 10:00
9-11 Women’s Retreat, San Damiano
10 Men’s Fellowship, 8:30
10 DST (Turn clocks 1 hr. forward)
11 9—D
10—D
11—P
Trustees, 1:30
3 on 3 Basketball, 1:00-4:00
14 Senior Center, 12:00
18 9—D
10—D
11—P
Deacons, 1:30
20 Church Staff, 10:00
24 Church Clean-Up, 8:30
Sojourners
25 9—D
10—D
11—P
Membership Meeting, 1:30
30 Transformed by the Spirit Pastors Dinner, ABSW
31 Transformed by the Spirit Meeting, FBC, Alameda