View this email in your browser

Sunday's Coming

John 9:1-41 is the third of four long passages from John during Lent. In this passage, the disciples ask Jesus about a person who was born blind, whether he sinned or if his parents did. There was a belief that God punished people for the sins of their parents or grandparents, found in the Hebrew scriptures (Exodus and Isaiah). Jeremiah and Ezekiel had started to call this into question as part of their prophetic ministry 500 years before Jesus. So Jesus is not giving a new answer to an old question, but rather suggesting that the question is pointless to begin with. However, this passage is still very troubling. It suggests that people with disabilities are to be used as examples of how God works through healing miracles. In our world today, we often single out persons with disabilities as examples of triumph over disability to be examples or inspiration for others. We may indeed find their struggles to be inspiring, but I’m certain that the parents of children with disabilities would take issue with this. I also admit that the healing passages of Jesus can be troubling, but they reflect a worldview of the first century that disability meant someone was not whole and not able to participate in society—that they were somehow less than others and that Jesus made them whole. But the other part of this passage is that the man was a beggar (vs. 8)—if you were disabled in the first century, you could not work and had to beg in order to survive. This man no longer has to beg. In today’s world, we have learned that persons with disabilities can fully participate in society and work and play with everyone else. Nancy Eisland, who wrote The Disabled God: Toward a Liberatory Theology of Disability would say that we are all “temporarily abled.” While this long passage is included in the lectionary during Lent as a way of revealing who Jesus is, that Jesus is the one who opens the eyes of the people metaphorically to see God in a new way—we must be aware of how this passage has been read in the past and how it can be used to limit our view of persons with disabilities. May we have eyes to see. . .

Please “join” us for worship online this Sunday at www.firstpresencino.org

Session Meeting 3/17/2020: Report to the congregation.

The Session met at the church Tuesday night. We did have the usual committee reports. The Property and Finance Committee reported repairs on a sewer pipe in the wall. Also leaks have
been reported in the roof area at the of the Sanctuary and Music Office. However the meeting was focused on the repercussions of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Please look for further
updates. This is the news as we know it now:

First of all the Sunday church services, and Messy Church will immediately cease meeting until re-evaluation on 4/21/2020. In addition the Encino Presbyterian Children’s Center (EPCC) has
also closed. There are no meetings scheduled at our church for the immediate future.

The PNC will essentially be on hiatus at this time. We are also delaying our 75th anniversary celebration until probably the end of May.

We are doing our best to work with our employees during this time. For example the EPCC employees will be paid their standard wages for up to four weeks, in a plan that includes their
existing Personal and Sick time.

We still plan for there to be coverage in the Church Office. Should you need to reach Rev. Ann Hayman, she can be reached on her cell at 818-314-7074.

The meeting was closed with prayer.

Wash Your Hands
A Poem by Dori Midnight

Good news! You can now give through our website! The secured portal can be found in the menu under GIVING. There's opportunity to give once or set up a recurring donation. You can also specify where you'd like your funds directed via a simple text box; for example: flowers, Messy Church, Deacons, EPCC, hospitality, pledge, etc.
A receipt will be emailed for your records in addition to a year-end statement.
https://firstpresencino.org/

First Presbyterian Church of Encino -
75th Anniversary Celebration!
Sunday, May 3, 2020

Click here for updates from Messy Church

Did you know you can go to our Facebook page to friend and give us a like?
Head over to the Events page to see upcoming events.
You can let us know through there whether you'll be attending!
Click the Facebook icon below to visit our page!

Copyright © 2019 First Presbyterian Church, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
4963 Balboa Blvd Encino CA 91316

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Wash Your Hands A Poem by Dori Midnight

Wash Your Hands
A Poem by Dori Midnight