Ever consider all of those Firsts in your life? As a parent I could hardly wait for the First word from my children, or their First step. Then there is that First car or that First house, or for that matter, that First job. When we think about it there are many Firsts.

Approaching the Holy Season of Easter, once again there are some Firsts. It is my First Easter with you. At the same time, it is also your First Easter with me as your pastor. I am learning what some of your traditions are, while adding a few of my own Easter traditions to the program.

Among the Firsts we will celebrate, is the First Easter, when our Lord was resurrected from the dead. It was a little different then, as it is now. With joy we can come together and lift our voice in song,
“Christ Arose.”

Blessings be with you all.
Milton Bryarly, Interim Minister

SUNDAY SERMON
March 29, 2009
Title: The Journey Continues—Left or Right Turn
Text: John 12:20-33

Sunday, March 22, 2009
SUNDAY SCHOOL: 9:30 a.m.
WORSHIP: 10:40 a.m.
OFFERING: $2,154.20
ATTENDANCE: Sunday School: 45
Worship: 90

VISITORS
Arlington, TX: Elizabeth and Lynn Garrelts
Wichita, KS: Ashley Baty, Weston Defoor
Jordan, Sarah, Kylie and Darian Harrold

Dan Atkeson family, Jack Braden, Ernie Hurdle, Lynn Garrelts family, Jim West, Tom VonFeldt, Ed and Pat Carr, George and Susan Hatcher, Kirby and Pat Barnes, Neva Middleton, Beulah Rees, Tony Brocato, Teresa Hall, Shaunna Hall, Aaron and April Devan, DeAsia Harding, Janet Goldwater, Shirlene Crain and family, Mary Jane Bell, Kathleen Etheridge, Louie Lewis, Richard Filipe, Harold Harp, Bill and Beaulah Eastman, Ethel Meyer, Cordelia Mayes, Wilma Elliot, Garth McGee, Michael Townley, Mr. Vandergrift, David Roberts, Helen Zoe Harder, Diane Falley, Billy and Seth Falley, Donna Atkeson, Randy and Shea Reust, Rafael Jimenez, Dan Andrade,

The men and women serving our country

Donna Atkeson had neck surgery March 18th. The surgery went well. We wish her a speedy recovery.

Continued prayers and petition for 100% recovery! The Dr’s say about 80%. I know the power of prayer!
Rafael Jimenez

Randy and Shea Reust will be relocating to Mississippi soon. We need your prayers, please.


Please remember Shirlene Crain and family in your prayers for her health problems.

Thank you for participating in the 2008 Operation Christmas Child collection. Our region collected 18,393 gifts which have been delivered to children in Ecuador, Togo, Congo, Madagascar, and Indonesia.
Lisa Laughlin, Collection Coordinator

I am writing to simply say “thank you” and to let you know how significant a partner you all are in providing a well-educated ministry for the church. Our thank you, then, is not simply for your financial gifts to us. Our thank you is for ALL you do to contribute to good ministry which is foundational for theological education.
In Christ, Gary P)eluse-Verdend, PhD, VP of Stewardship, Associate Professor of Practical Theology

The next 5th Tuesday Disciples Men meeting will be Tuesday, March 31 at Hillside Christian Church. Reservations are due now. Let Merrill or Ted know or call the office if you plan to attend.

The next breakfast for the men of FCC will be April 4, 2009 at 7:30 a.m. Invite a friend and join us for a delicious breakfast and good fellowship.

My brother-in-law Gary Devan has finally started to improve following heart surgery last month! Thank you for your continued prayers. Marsha Devan


Riley Tucker got 6th place in the Pinewood Derby last week. Connie Tucker


My son Chad called WPD to aid a man trying to jump off the Kellogg overpass. The man was saved by the WPD in the nick of time. Linda Bergeson


My thumb is getting better with each passing day. Thank you for the cards, prayers and visits. It brought tears to my eyes to feel I am worthy of such love. Rafael Jimenez


Stefanie’s oral surgery went very well. She only had minimal amount of pain and is feeling great. Thanks for all your prayers. Jimenez family

My grand daughter Jordan Howard has been selected to do the art work on the front cover of a book this man is writing. We are all excited for her! Shirley Lieurance

On Saturday, April 11th we will be having our 7th annual Easter Fun Day for our children here at the church. This will start at 10:00 a.m. and will be over around 12:00. We have a sheet for you to sign so we will know how many children to expect. The day will start with craft stations set up for the children to participate in and then they will gather in the front hall to get ready for the egg hunt. After the egg hunt is finished, the adults and children will have a meal of hotdogs and chips. If you have ever come before, you know what a fun morning everyone has and the more the merrier. Everyone is welcome, friends and neighbors too.

We do need your help in a couple of areas though. We need some coins; pennies, nickels and dimes to fill the eggs. One of the crafts will be icing a cookie to eat with your lunch. Machaelle has volunteered to bake the cookies, but we need 4 cans of icing. If you could, bring the coins and icing over the next two Sundays and we will fill the eggs on Monday, April 6. We also need lots of help from the middle and high school youth for hiding eggs and helping with crafts. Thanks in advance for your donation.

Victory in the Valley
Next Sunday will be the last day to bring snack items for Victory in the Valley. Please leave them in the basket in the front hall.

UFO (Crafts)
UFO is this coming Friday night. We meet at 7:00 p.m. in the Cornerstone room. We will be putting together turbans for Victory in the Valley. You are welcome to come join us. Bring your own craft and a snack for an evening of fun and fellowship.

In order to receive the last and final rank in Boy Scouts – the rank of Eagle Scout – I am required to lead a project that shows my leadership ability and gives me a chance to practice the leadership skills I have learned from my years in scouting. The project must benefit the community or a religious organization. For my Eagle Scout project I am going to build a gazebo for First Christian Church with help from my Boy Scout Troop and other youth. With support from the church I plan to finish by May of this year.

I would like to request your support in the following ways.

1. BUY RAFFLE TICKETS TO WIN A COLEMAN ROADTRIP GRILL:
1 ticket for $1.00 or 10 tickets for $9.00 Raffle tickets can be purchased from Alex or any participating youth at First Christian Church. They are also available in the church office.

2. CHECK DONATIONS: To give a donation by check, place it in the offering tray during worship on Sunday. Please make your check payable to First Christian Church with Alex’s Eagle Project
written in the memo.

3. CASH DONATIONS: If you prefer to give cash, put it in an envelope and write Alex’s Eagle Project on the front. Please visit my stand in the church lobby for more information. Feel free to contact Alex if you have any questions.

Thank you for your support.

Well, since my last note here regarding how our church building is made into different fire zones and how we need to make sure that we close doors when we are ready to leave an area, we have been doing a little better - BUT there is still room for improvement.

I still am checking the different areas of the building before I leave on Sunday morning and more doors are being closed - but not all. (You might also make sure that you have turned of the lights.) I have also been finding doors that lead to the outside that should be latched that are not.

IF these doors are not properly latched and locked anyone who walks around the building would be able to enter and do who knows what.

Please make sure that when you are done in an area that you close the door behind you. Please make sure that you DO NOT use a door stop to hold the north or south hall doors open - this defeats our fire alarm system. And when you are going thru a door that leads to the outside, PLEASE take an extra second and make sure the door is LATCHED. Some of our doors require an extra little umph when closing so that the latch catches. Thank you for your help with this.

Mr. Safety

All adults are invited to join the Seekers and Cornerstone Sunday School classes in the Cornerstone room for brunch on Sunday, March 29 at 9:30 a.m.

We received an e-mail from Jaimee Howard-Cox. It’s on the table in the sanctuary if you wish to read it.

THE YOUTH ½ NIGHTER SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 27 HAS BEEN CANCELLED. WNL ACTIVITES WILL BE HELD AS SCHEDULED.