FAT TUESDAY BLUES AND JAZZ PARTY: Tuesday, February 21st @ 7 PM

Published by admin on Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

After the success – and fun – of our concert to support emergency heating in the Berkshires on Thanksgiving Eve, local jazz and folk musicians have asked to do it again! So, some of the best local artists will join forces on Tuesday, February 21st – the day before Lent begins – to raise funds and spirits. All gifts will go to the Christian Center, the oldest emergency help agency in the Berkshires.

The music will be grounded in the blues and jazz – and will include Carlton Maaia II, Rebecca Leigh, Andy Kelly, Linda Worster, Grahm Sturz, Between the Banks and MANY more. Join us for the fun – and help feed our hungry neighbors in need.

FYI: In the most recent edition of The Christian Century, November 29, 2011, First Church is featured in the cover article by Steve Thorngate. Check it out @ http://christiancentury.org/article/2011-11/new-harmonies

Learn more about us, too here:

We are unique within the Christian family: we celebrate democracy and a radical sense of God’s grace. We are not controlled by a bishop, chart our own course as inspired by the Spirit and share ministry and mission with others in the region and throughout the world.

Take a look at this short video and learn more about our faith tradition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4NiU_9REYE

At the core of our faith community is a commitment to compassion and justice – right relations among people – and a sharing that allows us to celebrate life’s joys while joining one another’s burdens, too. Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-zLzwo7QV4

We love to use music and art and humor to help us open our hearts to God’s love in community. We are intentionally inter-generational and committed to honoring the presence of the Lord within every person. A recent column written by Diana Butler Bass best summarizes our commitment as a faith community: This is a fool-proof plan for welcoming people to our church…

	1. Be genuine. Do not under any circumstances try to be trendy or hip, if you are not already intrinsically trendy or hip. If you are a 90-year-old woman who enjoys crocheting and listens to Beethoven, by God be proud of it.

2.	Stop pretending you have a rock band.

3.	Stop arguing about whether gay people are okay, fully human, or whatever else. Seriously. Stop it.

4.	Stop arguing about whether women are okay, fully human, or are capable of being in a position of leadership.

5.	Stop looking for the “objective truth” in Scripture.

6.	Start looking for the beautiful truth in Scripture.

7.	Actually read the Scriptures. If you are Episcopalian, go buy a Bible and read it. Start in Genesis, it’s pretty cool. You can skip some of the other boring parts in the Bible. Remember though that almost every book of the Bible has some really funky stuff in it. Remember to keep #5 and #6 in mind though. If you are evangelical, you may need to stop reading the Bible for about 10 years. Don’t worry: during those ten years you can work on putting these other steps into practice.

8.	Start worrying about extreme poverty, violence against women, racism, consumerism, and the rate at which children are dying worldwide of preventable, treatable diseases. Put all the energy you formerly spent worrying about the legit-ness of gay people into figuring out ways to do some good in these areas.

9.	Do not shy away from lighting candles, silence, incense, laughter, really good food, and extraordinary music. By “extraordinary music” I mean genuine music. Soulful music. Well-written, well-composed music. Original music. Four-part harmony music. Funky retro organ music. Hymns. Taize chants. Bluegrass. Steel guitar. Humming. Gospel. We are the church; we have a uber-rich history of amazing music. Remember this.

10.	Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

11.	Learn how to sit with people who are dying.

12.	Feast as much as possible. Cardboard communion wafers are a feast in symbol only. Humans can not live on symbols alone. Remember this.

13.	Notice visitors, smile genuinely at them, include them in conversations, but do not overwhelm them.

14.	Be vulnerable.

15.	Stop worrying about getting young people into the church. Stop worrying about marketing strategies. Take a deep breath. If there is a God, that God isn’t going to die even if there are no more Christians at all.

16.	Figure out who is suffering in your community. Go be with them.

17.	Remind yourself that you don’t have to take God to anyone. God is already with everyone. So, rather than taking the approach that you need to take the truth out to people who need it, adopt the approach that you need to go find the truth that others have and you are missing. Go be evangelized.

18.	Put some time and care and energy into creating a beautiful space for worship and being-together. But shy away from building campaigns, parking lot expansions, and what-have-you.

19.	Make some part of the church building accessible for people to pray in 24/7. Put some blankets there too, in case someone has nowhere else to go for the night. 20> Listen to Wisdom and love and God more than you speak!