Ash Wednesday (February 22, this year) is the first day of the season on the Christian calendar called "Lent," a time of self-reflection and preparation in advance of the drama and trauma of Holy Week, when we remember the final days of Jesus' earthly life (before his crucifixion). We invite you to join us from the convenience of your home in a unique spiritual exercise on Ash Wednesday with the help of the one page document that's available for download via a click of the graphic to the left of this paragraph.

It's a self-contained exercise -- you'll need only 5-10 minutes and elements you can use for your communion bread and cup if you wish to partake. IMPORTANT: You may engage in this exercise at ANY time on February 22 (or any other day, for that matter). If you plan to participate, we'd love to hear from you. Send us an email (office@fccem.org) or use THE CONTACT US PAGE of our website to let us know of your intentions. We will celebrate and pray for a great result for you,

Click the graphic to the left of this paragraph to download a PDF version of the manuscript of the Sunday sermon of February 5, 2023, a sermon for which we could not post an audio recording due to technical glitches.

Click the graphic to the left of this paragraph to download the 2022 version of our signature ministry's annual report. Since 2015, Helmets of Hope has provided essential household supplies to veterans facing various forms of housing crisis. Download and review our latest review of Helmets' mission.

Click the "Is Jesus God?" image adjacent to this paragraph to review and download the citations to the texts from the Old Testament that our adult Sunday group will examine beginning January 9 now that it has completed its review of the New Testament. We welcome you to join the "To the Pointe" Sunday group on Sundays at 9:00 a.m. for a Bible study experience like none other you've had. [You may also (or instead) download the full content of these texts. See the item below this one on this page.]

Scroll down further on this Downloads page to find links to the nearly 450 New Testament passages the group explored, divided into two groups: the Gospels and Acts-Revelation.

Click the "Is Jesus God?" image adjacent to this paragraph to review and download the full content of the texts from the Old Testament that our adult Sunday group will examine beginning January 9 now that it has completed its review of the New Testament. We welcome you to join the "To the Pointe" Sunday group on Sundays at 9:00 a.m. for a Bible study experience like none other you've had. [You may also (or instead) download just the citations of these texts. See the item above this one on this page.]

Scroll down further on this Downloads page to find links to the nearly 450 New Testament passages the group explored, divided into two groups: the Gospels and Acts-Revelation.

Helmets of Hope is our ministry to veterans facing various forms of housing crisis through which we provide essential household supplies - cleaners, laundry products, et al - as well as a food box. For multiple reasons, the COVID-19 pandemic compelled us to delay the creation and distribution of the 2020 report. Now it is available by clicking the image to the left of this paragraph.

We invite you to review the report and then consider making a financial donation so as to help us serve those who served all of us.

Our Sunday group's comprehensive study of whether Jesus was God is about to conclude the first phase of its work, a 40+ session review of what the four Gospels tell us about the matter. Click the image to the left of this paragraph to view/download a summary of the content of the four Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John - when it comes to the question, "Is Jesus God?" The summary includes dozens of direct quotations from nearly every chapter of Matthew, Luke, and John to give you a clear and ordered presentation of what Jesus says about himself and what others say about him. Please note that while the summary does not provide verse citations, it does indicate the chapter from which each summary item comes, and also presents those items in the order in which they appear in the Gospels. If you want additional information about any item in the summary, find it in the chapter of the Gospel in which it appears.

[NOTE 1: Scroll down on this downloads page for links to the citations and content of the 150 Gospel texts our Sunday group examined as part of it ongoing study.

NOTE 2: Our group did not review the Gospel of Mark because literally 98% of its content is found, often word-for-word, in Matthew and/or Luke. Because the other Gospels provide such complete coverage of what's found in Mark, we're confident that the summary offered here indeed summarizes all four Gospels, not just the three to which it refers.]

Click the play button in media player at the bottom of this page to listen to the 90 second voicemail left at our church by a representative of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Silver City, New Mexico, for which we recently prayed. The audio is not great, so here's the text of the representative's message:

"Hello. My name is Dora (???). I’m a volunteer in the office of Church of the Good Shepherd in Silver City, New Mexico. And these days I go in once a week to take in mail. There’s like three of us that go in on three separate days, and then we can do whatever: collections, or treasury, or delivering the mail.

"I want to thank you so much for your kind letter and prayers. Please pass on the word to the prayer group that sends the letters out to the churches. I have made a (???) to our interim priest who actually lives 150 miles away these days because she only comes in part time anyway, and our treasurer, and our senior warden. Our people will be receiving copies of those letters.

"I want to say it’s absolutely wonderful! And I praise God for all the churches, synagogues, and mosques all over the world that are praying for worldwide peace and love. So thank you, thank you, thank you! It’s a wonderful ministry, and I bet they’re going to get the ball rolling to do the same thing in Silver City. So maybe you’ll get a letter from us, too. 

"Take care. Muy gracias! And I can’t thank you enough. It made my day, and it will, I’m sure, to everyone who hears that letter. Bye."

Click the image to the left of this note to download the lyrics we'll use during our May 3 worship by phone. You can print them out or access them on your PC, tablet, or phone. Your call. 

Click the Helmets of Hope logo to the left of this paragraph to review and download the year-end report from our essential household supply ministry to veterans. 2019 was a record-setting year, one which has inspired plans to expand the services we provide to vets as they escape the streets and move into their own housing the VA assistance. Find out more in the 2019 report!

Click the "Is Jesus God?" image adjacent to this paragraph to review and download a list of the texts from the book of Acts in the New Testament through the book of Revelation that one of our adult Sunday groups will examine once it completes its review of all relevant Gospels' texts. And be sure to join our "To the Pointe" Sunday group on Sundays at 9:00 a.m. to discuss these and many other texts. [If you'd also or rather like to download the full content of these passages, see the item below this one on this page. Next up in this series of text citations will be a list of passages from the Old Testament, but it'll be a while before that list shows up, given that the group has John's Gospel and all 291 of these passages to get to first!]

Click the "Is Jesus God?" image adjacent to this paragraph to review and download the full content of the texts from the book of Acts in the New Testament through the book of Revelation that one of our adult Sunday groups will examine once it completes its review of all relevant Gospels' texts. And be sure to join our "To the Pointe" Sunday group on Sundays at 9:00 a.m. to discuss these and many other texts. [If you'd also or rather like to download just the citations for these passages, see the item above this one on this page. Next up in this series of text citations will be a list of passages from the Old Testament, but it'll be a while before that list shows up, given that the group has John's Gospel and all 291 of these passages to get to first!]

In response to recent words and actions of our nation's president, Bill wrote the column you can read and download by clicking the "Fight to Unite" image adjacent to this paragraph. The column is provocative and strong-willed, evocative of Bill's passion for issues of racial justice and equality.

One challenge many Christians face is the time it takes them - not to mention the frustration is creates - to find passages in the Bible.

"Where is Obadiah, for goodness' sake?!"

You don't have to memorize the order of all 66 books to improve your verse location skills. Click the "Where to Find Bible Books" image adjacent to this description to view and download a helpful infographic we've created to give you some tips to speed up your searches.

Click the "Is Jesus God?" image adjacent to this paragraph to review and download the New Living Translation version of the Gospel texts our Sunday morning Bible study is exploring. As you review the texts, ask yourself, what is there in these verses that helps me understand who Jesus was? And then join our "To the Pointe" Sunday group on Sundays at 9:00 a.m. to discuss these and many other texts. [If you'd rather download a list of text citations rather than their full content, see the next item on this page. Additional text collections will be posted on this page as they become available.]

Click the "Is Jesus God?" image adjacent to this paragraph to review and download a list of the Gospel texts our Sunday morning Bible study is exploring. And be sure to join our "To the Pointe" Sunday group on Sundays at 9:00 a.m. to discuss these and many other texts. [If you'd rather download the full content of these passages rather than just their citations, see the previous item on this page. Additional text collections will be posted on this page as they become available.]

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