Tongues of Fire
There are not too many places around the world where a cacophony of sounds exists in the same place as they do at First Chinese Baptist! The English spoken at the 9:00 Worship reflects contemporary slang and a younger culture. But English of another style is spoken at the 10:20 Worship that includes traditional words of sacred hymns. Formal Cantonese is used at the 11:30 Worship but there are many of us including this pastor who speaks Toisanese, a guttural village dialect often associated with village farmers and middle-class merchants. While these may be some of our major languages spoken at our church, there are those who speak Burmese, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, and others. Stepping just outside our front doors with the whole world of tourists visiting San Francisco, we hear languages and dialects from all over the earth!
On the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came and empowered the disciples that were gathered in Jerusalem, it was like there were “tongues of fire.” They were able to speak in other languages but they were also able to understand each other (Acts 2:1-21). The Day of Pentecost is the birthday of the church that we will celebrate on May 27th.
In almost every aspect of life, we are divided up and separated by race, language, gender, and socio-economic class. There are some places that we are eligible to go and there are places where because of our identity, we are not welcome. But in the church, the Holy Spirit transforms strangers into friends. By Baptism and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, the church is formed out of nothing, not as most human communities are formed—through affinities of class, self-interest, or economic location—but rather by the work of the Holy Spirit, just like the Spirit hovered over the dark waters at creation and brought forth a world out of nothing.
One of the strengths that First Chinese Baptist has developed through the years is the ability to be the church without the human need to understand everything that is being said. While there are places where English-only is required, our church welcomes and celebrates the many languages spoken. There’s a Spirit-filled patience to hear translations when necessary. There’s a humility that recognizes the truth that there will be times when you may hear something that you don’t understand, but it has nothing to do with you but rather it is probably about doing God’s work. When the Holy Spirit is upon us, understanding everything is actually not necessary because we believe that the Spirit is mysteriously uniting us!
The church, our church is therefore that human gathering that wouldn’t be here, and certainly could never survive, without the creative, convening work of the Holy Spirit. Gifted by this amazing ability of being capable of speaking a cacophony of languages and building up the Body of Christ to reach out to all people of all ages, of all backgrounds, of all languages, we are the church of Jesus Christ. Join us and add your languages and voices as the Holy Spirit continues to transform us to be the church today. Happy Pentecost!
Pastor Don
Live in Harmony
We need to take in breath in order to send out breath to make beautiful sounds. It’s like the Holy Spirit breathes into us so that we can sing together in harmony as the church. On Sunday, May 27, 2:30-4:30 PM, “Live in Harmony,” our annual event to celebrate the musical talents that we have at FCBC will be sponsored by our Music & Performing Arts Committee. Contact Wendy Quan to participate. When we live in harmony we embody the Body of Christ. When we are live in harmony, we bless one another with the gifts that God has given to each one of us.
Plan for Summer Camps!
It’s time to plan your summer!
*Vacation Church School/Day Camp, June 18-July 20
For 5 weeks, 8:30-3:30, Monday—Friday, children and youth will experience a great summer of fun and learning in Bible study, games, crafts and field trips. On the theme “Cool Story Bro,” (Romans 10:17), this year’s camp is co-directed by Rachel Jensen and Melanie Ng.
*Youth Camp, July 29-August 4
For one-week at Redwood Glen, junior and senior highs will once again deepen their discipleship in Bible studies, learning activities, chapel, campfire, and fellowship. Our guest speaker is Mike Tam from Cornerstone Christian Fellowship, Bellevue, WA on the theme, “To Be Continued…” (Isaiah 55:10-11). Youth Camp is co-directed by Matt Chin and Jonathan Wong.
*Family Camp, September 1-3
The annual end of the summer gathering of families over the Labor Day Weekend will focus on the book, Parenting Beyond Your Capacity—Connect Your Family to a Wider Community by Reggie Joiner and Carey Nieuwhof at Happy Valley in Santa Cruz. Join your friends to strengthen your family life, great fellowship and good food!
Registration materials are available for both Day Camp and Youth Camp on our church website: fcbc-sf.org. Family Camp registration materials will be available soon.
Senior Center on Safety
Preying on seniors happens all the time and often not reported. On Wednesday, May 9th, the Senior Center will focus on “Personal Safety and Cyber Safety” with Audrey Moy from the Fraud Awareness Program. How can we become more aware of our surroundings to prevent being exploited and violated? What are clues to identify fraud and shams often targeting seniors? Come to this interesting and timely program that begins with a delicious and healthy hot lunch at 12:00 in the Fellowship Hall (4th fl.), accessible by the elevator. Contact Dick and Anna Quan Wong to register.
2013 Lands of Luther Tour
After walking where Jesus walked in Israel and following the footsteps of the Apostle Paul in Turkey and Greece, Pastor Don Ng will lead a tour to Germany to visit the Lands of Luther. As Protestant Christians, we trace our roots to the Reformation movement when Martin Luther opposed the misuse of the indulgence system in the 1500s. The tour will be 11 days beginning on April 29 and returning on May 9, 2013. The total tour price is approximately $3600 including round-trip airfare from SFO. Limited to 32 participants, please indicate your interest to Pastor Don at your earliest convenience. We invite you to come on this tour to grow in your faith in Christ.
Family News
Welcome to FCBC those who were baptized on April 1st: Linda Choy, Erica Chun, Jimmy Yung, Sherry Zhang, and Steven Zhen; and to Danny Chun Yau Poon on March 14th! May God continue to bless these new disciples and empower them to use their gifts and abilities to perform your work in the world.
Our deepest sympathy to Anthony Liu and Susanna Liu in the passing of their mother, Yue Jin Liu on April 11th. May God grant comfort and mercy to the Liu family.
May
4-6 Sojourners Retreat, Redwood Glen
6 9—Dr. James Chuck
10—Dr. James Chuck
11—P
9 Church Staff, 10:00
Senior Center, 12:00
12 PCBC Spring Conference, Alameda
13 Mother’s Day
9—D
10—D
11—P
18 Redwood Glen Meting, 1:00-4:00
19 ABSW Commencement, Allen Temple, Oakland, 2:00
20 Finance, 8:15
9—James Lee
10—D
11—P
Deacons, 1:30
23 Church Staff, 10:00
27 Pentecost
9—D
10—D
11—P
Live in Harmony, 2:30-4:30
28 Memorial Day Holiday (Office closed)