F irst Pulse
First United Methodist Church Grand Rapids | grfumc.org
March 2019
Stories from First Church and the impact on the lives of our community.
F irst Pulse
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March 2019
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Lent series “A Visionary Message to the Seven Churches.” We celebrated Sherry Gate’s 30-year anniversary on staff. Thank you, Sherry, for all you have done and continue to do!
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First Church Chancel Choir with soprano, RaeAnna Hudnell. A
OUR MISSION To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
OUR PURPOSE
To fulfill the call of Christ to be spiritually alive in the city while embracing the world.
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First Pulse | March ‘19
INCLUSIVITY Inclusiveness means openness, acceptance, and support that enable all persons to participate in the life of the Church, the community, and the world; therefore, inclusiveness denies every semblance of discrimination.
Pastor’s Message
As I write this article for the March newsletter, it is February 19th. While I can write with some level of clarity about the programmatic and topical overview of our Lenten season at First Church that begins with Ash Wednesday, on March 6, what I am most mindful about is the gathering of General Conference in St. Louis, Missouri, from February 23 - 26.
to do. I wondered if there was a better way to do it. I wondered if the potential negative ramifications would be outweighed by the potential positives.
While I have written to the good people of First Church many times to inform you about the issues and the conflict within the United Methodist Church, my writing has been futuristic. When I began delivering information in 2016, it seemed like it was an eternity until February of 2019. Almost in the blink of an eye, what was the future is now present. As I write, I have no idea what the outcome of General Conference will be. I have my hopes and dreams. I have my fears. I have studied the proposals. I have read voraciously, as though I was a delegate, but I am not. I have prayed earnestly for divine wisdom and guidance to be with the 840 delegates along with the Council of Bishops, so that together, they can be courageous and bold in both seeing and charting a way forward.
So – Sunday, March 3 is an important day for us. It is an important day to be in worship. It will be an important day to attend the Pastor’s Forum at 9:15 am to begin unpacking the decisions from General Conference. On Monday, March 4 all Administrative Teams will meet to consider what potential General Conference decisions will mean for First Church.
I learned enormous lessons over the four years that I served as a District Superintendent. I learned that every decision that we made as bishop and cabinet affected somebody in significant ways. If we made a new assignment for a pastor to move from one church to another, the decision of ours affected not just the pastor, but the pastor’s spouse (if that pastor had a spouse), the employment of the spouse (if they happened to be employed), as well as the children (particularly if they were in school). There were times when the extended family was affected, particularly in situations of being near or far from parents in declining health. Our decisions affected staff members of churches and every person in a congregation (regardless of how large or small). And every move created change with other congregations, pastors, and families, etc. Every decision had a ripple effect. The people who were affected by our decisions were beyond comprehension. There were nights that I lay awake feeling the weight of all of that. I wondered if what we were doing was the right thing
While I do not want to over-dramatize, I do hope that every delegate feels the enormous responsibility that is theirs. I hope they understand that the decisions they make will affect lives. I pray that the delegates will follow the leadership of the bishops as they requested back in 2016. If they don’t follow the leaders, it will be a huge referendum on our leadership as well.
And then … we move into the Lenten journey. The worship focus will be built around the theme A Visionary Message to the Seven Churches, based on the first three chapters of Revelation. It is not often that we delve seriously into the last book of the New Testament, but I believe that John’s message to those churches may be appropriate for us to consider anew today. There are special educational opportunities that we trust will draw you in to the circle of learning and fellowship, just as there are worship and service opportunities that call out for your involvement. One adjustment for Lent is that we are having ONE worship service each Sunday morning at 10:45 am. I (along with the staff) believe that during this season we need to be united in worship as we prepare for Easter. The Christian Education hour will continue at 9:15 am. So come and join in the journey of uniting in prayer and worship as the people of First United Methodist Church. Grace and peace to you. Pastor Bob First Pulse | March ‘19
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Radical H ospitality
pm. Students are invited to enjoy a free cup of soup and In January, I attended a lunch hosted by Grand crackers while they Rapids Community College’s President, Dr. Pink. At rest, regroup, and use this lunch, he shared his excitement for working with our wifi to catch up college students. He also shared that many students on homework. I am struggle with food insecurity and finding affordable thankful that Dr. Pink housing. When housing and hunger become a college shared his students’ student’s main concern, it’s easy to give up on school. needs so we can be To address hunger, the college has begun an onin partnership. I look campus food pantry and five snack pantries that forward to the opportunity to welcome students students can take items from as needed. Dr. into First Church and to show them First Pink asked if downtown churches would Church cares about their well-being. also like to help meet this need. Many
Soup for Students
First Church’s answer is, “Yes!”
students struggle with food insecurity and finding affordable housing.
Offering hospitality to GRCC students is a natural fit for First Church, especially because of our long history with the GRCC Preschool Lab. (GRCC’s Preschool Lab was housed at First Church for many years until a new building was created for them on campus.) On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, First Church’s café area (by the church receptionist) is now open to GRCC students from 11:00 am – 1:30
If you would like to donate soup or crackers, please email samim@ grfumc.org to see what’s running low. Note: We are currently collecting only soups that come in microwaveable containers, individually packaged crackers, and Meijer gift cards.
Sami Marasigan Hospitality & Invitation
Lent Adult Faith Development: Sign up online at www.grfumc.org/sign-up-sheet. Sunday, March 3 at 9:15 am • Pastor’s Forum (Upper Room) — Led by Pastor Bob.
Sunday Evening Classes: Dinner is available on
Sundays at 5:00 pm in the church. • Gentle Yoga for 50s and Beyond (Room 304) — Sundays, March 10 through April 14 at 9:15 am Sundays through May from 5:30 - 7:00 pm • The Conversation Matters (Upper Room) — Gentle Yoga focuses on mindfulness while Unpack the results of General Conference. Sessions lengthening, expanding, and strengthening are facilitated by Pastor Bob and lay leaders. muscles. Led by Kathy Julien and Rachael • Art in Lent (Room 302) — Each week we’ll explore Richardson. a work of sacred art and use it to encounter • Space for Conversation (Upper Room) //Reserved themes like anticipation, fear, hope, and love. space for you to continue discussion from other Led by art therapist Leara Glinzak. faith development classes. • The Most Good We Can Do (Wesley Hall) — • In the Faces of Distress (Church lawn, rain Education on social injustices and effective ways to location: Sanctuary) — Sunday, April 14 from do “the most good we can” within our community. 5:30 - 7:00 pm Led by Darren McKnight. A re-examination of the stations of the cross using • Disciple III Bible Study (Room 104) — A images from Latin America, led by Pastor Tim continuing class from Fall 2018. Led by Pigeon Tuthill and Leandro Robles. Hundley.
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First Pulse | March ‘19
PASSIONATE WORSHIP Music and Arts Ministry
Music and Worship are Inextricably Linked March is made a little less “mad” this month with several musical highlights that you won’t want to miss. There really are musical highlights every week, as music and worship are inextricably linked. Sunday, March 3: What Are We Hearing and Seeing Now? The Youth Choir, Chancel Choir, and Mixed Choir from GRCC (Grand Rapids Community College) will sing River in Judea – arr. John Leavitt. This uplifting song is full of hopeful symbolism. It connects the flowing of water to the flowing of the Holy Spirit in our lives. There is a river in Judea, that I heard of long ago. And it’s a singing, ringing river that my soul cries out, my soul cries out to know. Don’t forget to “spring forward” on Sunday, March 10th, setting your clocks forward one hour. Sunday, March 10: The Role of Repentance - to the Church at Ephesus, Rev 2:1-7 On this first Sunday of Lent, the Jubilation Ringers will play Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley, in an arrangement that also presents the hymn I Want Jesus to Walk with Me. The opening stanza of this African American spiritual foreshadows the journey to the cross. The hopeful message of this hymn is that Jesus knew lonesome valleys and difficult burdens, and thus shares the heavy load with us in our own journeys. Jesus walked this lonesome valley. He had to walk it by Himself; O, nobody else could walk it for Him, He had to walk it by Himself. Sunday, March 17: Called to be Faithful - to the Church at Smyrna, Rev. 2:8-11 Because this Sunday coincides with St. Patrick’s Day, the music will have a certain Celtic theme. The organ piece, Outer Hebrides by Paul Halley, is a fantasia on three Celtic melodies. The choir sings The Old Irish Blessing, in a popular arrangement by Denes Agay. Peter VanDessel will play a processional on the Great Highland Pipes.
May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, The sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your fields, and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand. May the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord cause his face to shine upon you and give you peace. Friday, March 22 at 12:00 pm: Noontime Bach The Grand Rapids Bach Festival presents three amazing solo cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach at noon. Cantatas 82, 170, and 51 will be presented with soloists soprano, Molly Netter; countertenor, Daniel Taylor; and bass-baritone Dashon Burton; conducted by Julian Wachner, the new director of the festival. This is a ticketed event, with tickets starting at just $5. See the Grand Rapids Symphony website for details. Sunday, March 24: No One Can Serve Two Masters - to the Church at Pergamum, Rev 2:12-17 As part of the Bach Festival, the symphony sends its musicians out at no cost into local churches to perform the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. This year, we welcome the principal flute player of the Symphony, Christopher Kantner. He will perform selections from the flute sonatas in b minor and E flat major of Bach, alongside a major organ piece, the Prelude and Fugue in e minor known as “The Wedge.” Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the great geniuses of music, and a composer of deep spirituality, signing his compositions with three initials, “S. D. G.,” Soli Deo Gloria, which means “To God alone be the glory.” I am reminded of the hymn, “When In Our Music, God is Glorified” that we sang in February with the Antiphon Brass: When in our music god is glorified, and adoration leaves no room for pride, it is as though the whole creation cried Alleluia! May it ever be so. Eric Strand Director of Music and Arts
Portrait of Johann Sebastian Bach by Elias Gottlob Haussmann [Public domain] First Pulse | March ‘19
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March 2019 Sunday, March 3 Communion Sunday 8:00 am – Nursery Care 8:15 am – Sunday Worship 8:30 am – Children’s Chapel 9:00 am – Infant/Toddler Nurseries 9:15 am – Church School Classes for all ages 9:15 am – Pastor’s Forum 10:15 am – Choir Rehearsals 10:45 am – Sunday Worship 11:00 am – Children & Worship and Shine: Sensory Room 11:45 am – Blood Pressure Clinic 3:00 pm – Families In Faith: Bowling 5:00 pm – Sunday Dinner 5:00 pm – Jr High and Sr High Youth Group 5:30 pm – Gentle Yoga for 50s and Beyond 5:30 pm – Game On! Monday, March 4 11:00 am – Adult Bible Study 6:00 pm – Administrative Teams Dinner & Meeting 6:30 pm – Stephen Ministry 6:30 pm – Methodist Connection Committee Tuesday, March 5 7:00 am – Work Program 10:00 am – Journey with Jesus Through Lent at Clark
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Wednesday, March 6 12:00 pm – Ash Wednesday Service 3:00 pm – Ash Wednesday Service at Clark 6:00 pm – Young Adult Group: Ash Wednesday Dinner 7:00 pm – Ash Wednesday Service Thursday, March 7 9:00 am – Fixin’ ‘n’ Fellowship 6:00 pm – Jubilation Ringers 7:15 pm – Chancel Choir Friday, March 8 12:00 pm – Men’s Lenten Luncheon Saturday, March 9 9:30 am – Feeding America Sunday, March 10 Coffee Can Offering 9:00 am – Infant/Toddler Nurseries 9:15 am – Church School Classes for all ages 9:15 am – Adult Classes: The Conversation Matters, Art in Lent, The Most Good We Can Do, and Disciple III 10:15 am – Choir Rehearsals 10:45 am – Sunday Worship 11:00 am – Children & Worship and Shine: Sensory Room 5:00 pm – Sunday Dinner 5:00 pm – Jr High and Sr High Youth Group 5:30 pm – Gentle Yoga for 50s and Beyond
Monday, March 11 Staff Retreat at Dominican Center 11:00 am – Adult Bible Study 5:00 pm – Board of Trustees 6:30 pm – Admin Team Leaders Tuesday, March 12 7:00 am – Work Program 10:00 am – Journey with Jesus Through Lent at Clark 5:30 pm – SPRC 5:30 pm – Finance Committee 5:30 pm – Moms’ Group: Lenten Book Study Wednesday, March 13 6:00 pm – Disciple I 6:00 pm – Young Adults at Kids’ Food Basket Thursday, March 14 6:00 pm – Jubilation Ringers 7:15 pm – Chancel Choir Friday, March 15 12:00 pm – Men’s Lenten Luncheon Sunday, March 17 9:00 am – Infant/Toddler Nurseries 9:15 am – Church School Classes for all ages 10:15 am – Choir Rehearsals 10:45 am – Sunday Worship 11:00 am – Children & Worship and Shine: Sensory Room 12:00 pm – Families In Faith: St. Patty’s Day Brunch 12:00 pm – Unplugged: Irish Luck 5:00 pm – Sunday Dinner
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Sunday, March 24 9:00 am – Infant/Toddler Nurseries 9:15 am – Church School Classes for all ages 10:15 am – Choir Rehearsals 10:45 am – Sunday Worship 11:00 am – Children & Worship and Shine: Sensory Room 5:00 pm – Sunday Dinner 5:30 pm – Gentle Yoga for 50s and Beyond
5:00 pm – Jr High and Sr High Youth Group 5:30 pm – Gentle Yoga for 50s and Beyond Monday, March 18 11:00 am – Adult Bible Study 12:00 pm – 60+ Luncheon 6:30 pm – Stephen Ministry Tuesday, March 19 7:00 am – Work Program 10:00 am – Journey with Jesus Through Lent at Clark 5:30 pm – Moms’ Group: Lenten Book Study 6:00 pm – FAN of I Light: Specialized Grief Group 6:30 pm – Missions Commission
Monday, March 25 11:00 am – Adult Bible Study 5:30 pm – Building Committee 7:00 pm – Leadership Council
Sunday, March 31 9:00 am – Infant/Toddler Nurseries 9:15 am – Church School Classes for all ages 10:15 am – Choir Rehearsals 10:45 am – Sunday Worship 11:00 am – Children & Worship and Shine: Sensory Room 5:00 pm – Sunday Dinner 5:00 pm – Jr High and Sr High Youth Group 5:30 pm – Gentle Yoga for 50s and Beyond
Tuesday, March 26 7:00 am – Work Program 10:00 am – Journey with Jesus Through Lent at Clark 5:30 pm – Moms’ Group: Lenten Book Study 6:30 pm – Congregational Care Visioning Committee
Wednesday, March 20 9:00 am – JFON: MCIRR 9:00 am – Caring Connection 6:00 pm – Disciple I 6:00 pm – Sandwiches with Jesus Thursday, March 21 9:00 am – Fixin’ ‘n’ Fellowship 6:00 pm – Jubilation Ringers 7:15 pm – Chancel Choir
Wednesday, March 27 6:00 pm – Disciple I 6:00 pm – Sandwiches with Jesus Thursday, March 28 6:00 pm – Jubilation Ringers 7:15 pm – Chancel Choir
Friday, March 22 12:00 pm – Bach Festival Concert 12:00 pm – Men’s Lenten Luncheon
Friday, March 29 12:00 pm – Men’s Lenten Luncheon
Saturday, March 23 - 24 4:00 pm – Jr and Sr High Youth Prayer Overnight
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Children’s choir performing during worship Our weekly Sunday evening dinner in the Upper Room. Our faithful Fixin’ ‘n’ Fellowship group.
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Intentional Faith Development The Sunday morning class, Advent Together, was held on November 25 as an opportunity for all ages to participate together in discovering ways to prepare for Advent. The rooms on the third floor were full of energy and excitement as church members assembled crafts, seasonal plants, or Christmas cards. Advent Together was a gathering for young families, teenagers, mature adults — well, for members of our church from ages 1 to 100! And it felt like family was gathered. Our teen daughter helped a younger member wrap garland around their family’s advent wreath. As they giggled together, a sixth-grade young man helped me put paperwhite bulbs in a vase and instructed me on how to get them to bloom. At the Christmas card-making table, I sat across from a preschool artist who could not write words but clearly communicated her care for the card recipient by drawing a huge heart on the card and confidently signing her name.
Later that same week, my family volunteered for the Hanging of the Greens. Again, we were all ages and after a tasty dinner of pizza, were assigned tasks and went about the business of preparing our beautiful sanctuary for Christmas. While hanging red bird decorations on one of the narthex Christmas trees, I talked with a member of our church who rarely can attend Sunday morning worship due to an unyielding work schedule. So coming on Wednesday night to help decorate was his way to stay in touch with all of us. By now you are wistfully thinking it’s too late to join in those intergenerational events. Oh, no my friends! Mark your calendar for April 14, when we’ll gather for an intergenerational stations of the cross event. During Advent, we attended “Game On!” where my husband played a classic game with calm and skilled participants. I played a new game with a young
mother and her excited-by-life son, as well as a church member’s charming five-year-old grandson, and the intelligent game host, Naomi. So we more or less played a game that seemed to have changing rules, which caught the other mom and I off guard as well as made us laugh out loud. I think my partner and I may have cheated a little bit just to get the game back on track. Don’t tell anyone. Next we played Monopoly Gamer (based on Super Mario). It was barely Monopoly, but fun to learn, especially with the same vivacious participants. In thinking about these intergenerational events, I realized how much of a family we at First Church truly are. We are family together, all at different stages of life but learning from each other. We have opportunities to laugh together, learn together, and grieve together. In Christ, we are brothers and sisters. At church, we learn to be family. And like Saint Paul, I thank God for you. Colossians 1: 1–6 Paula Gibson
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Risk-Taking Outreach and Mission Place. Dwelling Place is a nonprofit organization in Grand Rapids that improves the lives “Do not neglect to do good and to share what of people in West Michigan you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” by creating quality affordable (Hebrews 13:16) housing, providing essential support services, and serving I don’t know about you, but this past month’s snowy as a catalyst for neighborhood winter weather has me feeling rather… unpleasant. revitalization. At the Lunch and I’m at that frozen point where I can no longer Learn event, we had a chance to hear stories from an remember what it was like to experience the warmth artist who is living and working in a space provided of a summer afternoon – and I also have not by Dwelling Place, we got to see where yet embraced the hope of Spring. This is, some community gardens will be full of of course, a familiar feeling for those food this summer, and we were able of us who live in Michigan. Will this to hear many other stories about season ever change? This is also a how Dwelling Place is helping familiar feeling for those of us residents connect to resources “Do not who are deeply engaged in the and grow as community neglect to do work of mission, outreach, leaders. Dwelling Place is and justice. Sometimes it good and to share doing incredible things can seem that there is too what you have, for to bring new life to West great a distance between the Michigan. And guess what? such sacrifices are way things should be and the First Church has something pleasing to God.” reality of how things actually to do with this! 37 years ago are. The weight of violence, Hebrews 13:16 First Church was one of seven poverty, racism, and other forms local organizations that came of injustice and oppression often together to form Dwelling Place become so heavy that it’s difficult to in an effort to preserve affordable believe that things will ever change. housing in the Heartside Neighborhood. Today, Dwelling Place provides over 1,400 Yet the work to which God calls us is always affordable apartments and town-homes in 10 marked by hope. Stories of hope are all around different communities across 4 counties in West us if we look for them. I had an opportunity to Michigan. hear many stories of hope a few weeks ago when I attended a Lunch and Learn event for Dwelling While it can often be difficult to believe that the things we do today make a difference for the future, Dwelling Place is a good reminder that the work our congregation has done is already making a difference in our neighborhood and in our world. May stories like these sustain our hope as we continue to participate in God’s work of mission, outreach, and justice.
Will this season ever change?
Dr. Joan VanDessel Director of Community Outreach and Missions
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EXTRAVAGANT GENEROSITY Resource Development
When The Power Goes Out If you’re like me, you likely experienced a time without electricity during our recent ice storm. As we were eating breakfast, suddenly the house went dark and silent. Although we were suddenly sitting there in the dark, we somehow didn’t care too much because we knew this was a temporary inconvenience. We knew that we were on the same grid as heavily traveled and heavily commercialized Alpine Avenue, which meant our service restoration would be a priority. As the house began to grow colder, we knew we could switch on the gas fireplace to keep us comfortable. We knew that we had plenty of food, we had running hot and cold water, and a gas range for cooking. Simply put, we had no reason to be discouraged. Sure enough, after about five hours the lights were back on. I suspect most of us at First Church who lost power had similar experiences. When we can simply wait out these events as minor inconveniences, it’s hard to remember that so many people right here in Grand Rapids face these issues every single day. Many within just blocks of the church struggle every day with paying utility bills, putting food on the table, getting to work in the brutal winter weather, or even keeping a roof over their heads. For these, when the power goes out, instead of it being a minor inconvenience, it is just another challenge in an already difficult existence.
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Fortunately, we at First Church are actively involved in reaching out to these and others in our midst. We will receive somewhere around $300,000 this year in gifts that flow directly into outreach ministry. This giving is made up of the portion of our budget that supports a variety of local agencies, expenses for staff whose positions are exclusively to manage our important outreach ministries such as the Work Program and our MLK School Ministry, our special holiday offerings for hunger and outreach, and other gifts received during the year for specific mission and outreach activities. As you click the thermostat up a degree to get a little cozier, are you also contributing likewise to the church so that others may also have warmth? As you reach into the fridge for tonight’s dinner, are you remembering those who will not eat tonight? First Church provides many, many ways to get involved in hands-on ministry, and many opportunities to financially support all that we do. Out of your gratitude to God for having been so extravagantly blessed, are you giving back with equal extravagance? Praise God for the amazing witness for Jesus Christ we provide and for the many saints at First Church who make it happen. Chris Hawkins Finance Committee
Congregational Care
Visitation is a large component of Congregational Care ministry for First United Methodist Church and Clark Retirement Community. Our work focuses on meeting individuals where they are and creating meaning while drawing on God’s grace in these moments. The team is composed of staff and trained volunteers who work in different settings from facilities like the hospital or Clark to a home. The team draws on listening skills partnered with spiritual practices to meet human needs creating meaning in moments of uncertainty. This daily work happens around the clock and doesn’t stop for holidays. There are three primary groups of trained individuals within the community. The Pastoral Care Team rounds daily in the hospitals, facilities, and homes. These individuals spend most of their time working with a situation or crisis, including
Congregational Care
Stephen Ministers
Pastoral Care Team
end-of-life spiritual care. The work is not curative and directed for the stirrings of the soul. This work is done daily and changes rapidly. The Congregational Care Assistants also work in the same environments on short-term followup spiritual care. They may spend time with an individual following a surgery or death in the family. Stephen Ministry is designed for a weekly meeting with a caregiver and a trained volunteer care receiver. This is meant for long-term issues that need time to process and move toward healing. Each person, staff or volunteer, is working to provide spiritual care in the short-term or long-term. Every team member is valuable for the gifts they bring. We are working to meet spiritual needs in many ways. Please do not hesitate to contact our team for spiritual care. We are pleased to welcome Rev. Joe Huston to our ministry area. Joe has served in the Michigan Area, most recently in Lansing. He and his wife, Peggy, have relocated to Grand Rapids. This move places Joe closer to family and provides an opportunity to work part-time with our Clark Retirement Community partnership. Please take a few moments to welcome Joe when you see him. Rev. Tim Tuthill Associate Pastor and Director of Congregational Care
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Lent Adult Faith Development: Continued from page 4... Tuesdays:
Wednesdays:
• Journey with Jesus through Lent (Game Room at Clark, 1551 Franklin St SE) — Tuesdays, March 5 - April 16 at 10:00 am Join Richard Youells, George Bob, and our Clark friends for a Lenten study. The devotional readings are from the book Journey With Jesus Through Lent by Glenn Porter Sr. • Moms’ Group: Lenten Book Study — Tuesdays, March 12 - April 16 from 5:30 7:00 pm Book Study of The Art of Neighboring: Building Genuine Relationships Right Outside Your Door by Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon. Meet weekly for a potluck dinner and discussion at various group members’ homes.
• Sandwiches with Jesus hosted by the Young Adults Group — Wednesdays, March 20, 27, and April 10 at 6:00 pm All are invited to join us for a 3-week lenten group, based on Marcus Borg’s book, Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time. Join us in The Vine for sandwiches and study. • Disciple I Bible Study (Room 104) — Wednesdays through May at 6:00 pm This is a continuing class from Fall 2018. Led by Joan VanDessel.
Fridays:
• Men’s Lenten Luncheon — Fridays, March 8 April 12 at 12:00 pm Rev. Mike Conklin will facilitate a study of transformation over lunch in a private room at MeXo (118 Fulton St E). Lunch is offered as a fixed menu for $11 each week; scholarships are available. Please sign up so we know you are coming.