News Here you will find information on some of the exciting things going on at FCC. Visit this page often to review featured events, ongoing opportunities, and various updates from the congregation. Scott’s Column: Dark Years? Dec 3, 2024 | Events, NewsIn the late nineties, American philosopher Richard Rorty predicted that in 2016 America would elect a strongman and enter into thirty dark years, but come out the other... Scott’s Column: Wicked Nov 25, 2024 | NewsThis last weekend was Wicked. I'm only playing with the slang use of the word from my youth. I really mean the opening of the new film version of the popular Broadway... Scott’s Column: More on Awe Nov 18, 2024 | NewsOften I get asked after a sermon, "What's that book you mentioned?" For our autumn series on Awe, the main text I've used is Dacher Keltner's Awe: A New Science of... The Dark Years? Nov 18, 2024 | Education, Events, News Scott’s Column: A Pastoral Word for Young LGBTQ+ People After the Election Nov 12, 2024 | NewsFor young people, particularly young LGBTQ+ people. I know that the election results have left you confused, sad, afraid, heartbroken, and angry. These are proper... Scott’s Column: Gustavo Gutierrez Oct 28, 2024 | NewsEarlier this year, Jurgen Moltmann died. He was the great living theologian, at least the greatest Protestant theologian in the post-Second-World-War-Era. And then... Scott’s Column: The AI Metaverse Oct 15, 2024 | NewsLast week a handful of Nobel prizes went to people working in the fields of artificial intelligence. I just so happened to be reading a book on what's possible in an... Scott’s Column: Restoring the Light Oct 7, 2024 | NewsDuring our fall worship season, we are exploring Awe. The psychologist Dacher Keltner writes about how our experiences of awe and wonder get turned into ritual, art,... Scott’s Column: Sacred Sounds Oct 1, 2024 | NewsI've spent this lovely day with my office door open to the courtyard where I can hear the fountain running. I've been working on the vespers service for Friday night... Scott’s Column: God’s Presence Jul 23, 2024 | NewsSunday I preached about God's presence. Though it didn't make it into the sermon, that week I read a beautiful description of the presence of the Spirit in our lives... Scott’s Column: The Life of Hope–Remembering Jürgen Moltmann Jun 5, 2024 | NewsThis week the greatest living theologian died. Jürgen Moltmann was 98 years old. He did not grow up religious, but found God and religion when he was in a prisoner of... Scott’s Column: Happy 300th Immanuel Kant May 28, 2024 | NewsBack on April 22nd, I messaged Fred Nielsen, "Happy 300th Birthday to Immanuel Kant." To which Fred replied, "Will you be celebrating in a particularly philosophical... Scott’s Column: Summer Theology Book Club May 13, 2024 | Events, NewsOne Sunday before worship, Lou Lamberty said, "I read God's Monsters. I really need to talk about it." I had read the book not long before that and mentioned in... An Interview with . . . Allison Hardy May 8, 2024 | Interview With . . ., NewsHow long have you been a member at First Central? I've been a member of First Central since 2018. What is your occupation? I'm a corporate attorney at Kiewit. What do... Scott’s Column: Curious about Psychedelics & Spirituality Apr 23, 2024 | NewsSometime back in 2020, stuck at home, binging lots of Netflix, I watched the documentary Fantastic Fungi that I'd seen friends talking about on social media. What an... An Interview with . . . Sophie Feng Apr 16, 2024 | Interview With . . ., NewsHow long have you been a member at First Central? 15 years with the church What is your occupation? Professor What do you find meaningful about your work? Helping... Scott’s Column: Knowing Each Other Apr 4, 2024 | NewsHow well do we humans understand one another? Apparently, not very well. In his excellent book How to Know A Person David Brooks cites the research of William Ickes... Books on Grieving Apr 4, 2024 | Education, NewsBooks on Grieving By Daryl Malena The task of eventually moving out of the house my family has lived in since 1977 turns out to be every bit as difficult as I expected.... An Interview With . . . Marian Fey Apr 3, 2024 | Interview With . . .How long have you been a member at First Central? Since 1998 (I think), although I attended as a child with my mom and Pipi & Pete. What is your occupation? I'm the... Scott’s Column: The God Revolution Mar 18, 2024 | Education, NewsThe last three weeks in First Forum I've taught a series on recent theological insights into God. A number of folks asked that I put together a bibliography of all the... Scott’s Column: Spiritual Experiences Mar 6, 2024 | NewsWhat are your most profound or memorable spiritual experiences? Currently in our Wednesday Night Family Night's we are exploring and discussing spiritual experiences,... An Interview with Yvette Polinsky Feb 28, 2024 | Interview With . . . What is your name, and how long have you been a member at First Central? Yvette Polinsky. I grew up in the church but was not an official member. My family moved... An Interview With . . . La Dell Diaz Feb 8, 2024 | Interview With . . ., NewsBringing back an old feature of our newsletter, which will explore the myriad ways our congregants are working in the community to change lives and change the world.... Scott’s Column: Open & Nimble Feb 5, 2024 | NewsThis is the sixth and final in a series of personal reflections on the State of the Church in 2024. 6. Given all of that I want to return to the theme I’ve been trying... Scott’s Column: Impacts on Churches Jan 30, 2024 | NewsThis is the fifth in a series of personal reflections on the State of the Church in 2024. 5. What are the impacts, then, on churches? There are the trends we are well... Scott’s Column: Cultural Trends Jan 22, 2024 | NewsThis is the fourth in a series of personal reflections on the State of the Church in 2024. 4. As if all of that weren’t enough, there are other cultural trends and... Scott’s Column: In a Context of Crises Jan 14, 2024 | NewsThis is part three in a series of personal reflections on the State of the Church in 2024 3. Beyond the demographic trends, what else shapes the context in which we are... Scott’s Column: Changing Religious Demographics in America Jan 4, 2024 | NewsThis is part two of a series of reflections on the State of the Church in 2024. 2. Even thirty years ago Mainline Protestantism was grappling with decades of decline. ... Scott’s Column: The State of the ‘Big C’ Church Jan 2, 2024 | NewsNormally in late December I begin working on my Annual Report and my State of the Church presentation for the Annual Meeting. Over the past year or so I've been trying... Scott’s Column: Christology Against White Supremacy Dec 18, 2023 | NewsSo, like I did in the First Forum class last summer, I'll draw this exploration of some contemporary Christology to a close by focusing in on one particular thinker, J.... Scott’s Column: The Power to Transform Humanity Dec 13, 2023 | NewsThe great 20th century Russian Orthodox theologian Sergius Bulgakov wrote that "All human beings will be resurrected without exception." Why? Because, as he draws... Scott’s Column: Riffing on Christ Dec 12, 2023 | News"The inability to articulate just how God was present in Christ and how that reality shapes the character of our life together destroys the very integrity of the... Scott’s Column: Happy Allhallowtide! Oct 31, 2023 | NewsHappy Allhallowtide! That's one of the formal names for this season in which the church remembers and honors the dead, made up traditionally of the three days of All... Scott’s Column: Why We Care for Children Oct 16, 2023 | Education, NewsFaith Formation: Why We Do It In our struggle with time—how to tell it, how to keep it, what to do with it, how fast or slow it goes—what we truly long for is a feeling... Scott’s Column: How Faith Formation Happens Oct 9, 2023 | Education, NewsFaith Formation: How Does It Happen? Note: this is part three in a series on the principles undergirding Christian Education. You can read the first installment here... Scott’s Column: Habit-Making Practices Oct 2, 2023 | Education, NewsForming Our Faith—Habit-Making Practices Note: this is part two in a series on the principles undergirding Christian Education. You can read the first installment... Scott’s Column: A Way of Seeing Sep 21, 2023 | Education, NewsForming our Faith: A Way of Seeing Back in the spring I taught a three-part First Forum series on what principles shape Christian Education, after that question had... Scott’s Column: Happy (Belated) Labor Day Sep 5, 2023 | NewsHappy (Belated) Labor Day! Last week a Washington Post article declared the eight-hour work day to be dying. It stated “only about half of office visits now last for... Scott’s Column: Hip-Hop’s 50th Anniversary Aug 17, 2023 | NewsLast week was the fiftieth anniversary of Hip-Hop. In his book Blue Note Preaching the Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, III, Senior Minister of Trinity UCC in Chicago, wrote: Now... Scott’s Column: Passport to Exploration Aug 14, 2023 | NewsOn the final day of our recent family summer vacation, Sebastian and I visited Pipestone National Monument in southwest Minnesota. There's a short, easy trail that... Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Grief Jul 27, 2023 | News“For as one reweaves the fabric of one’s life after a loss, and as the thoughts around which one has defined one’s aims and aspirations change tense, one becomes to... Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Forgiveness Jul 20, 2023 | NewsI was listening to Leonard Cohen’s final album You Want It Darker and the moving second track “Treaty.” The lyrics of the refrain are: I wish there was a treaty we... Scott’s Column: Resources for Living-Sex Jun 27, 2023 | NewsThe best book I've read on sex from a (liberal) Christian perspective is Good Christian Sex by UCC pastor Bromleigh McCleneghan. I met and befriended Bromleigh earlier... Scott’s Column: Happy Pride! The Struggle Continues Jun 13, 2023 | NewsFor most of my pastorate I've been a regular contributor to the From the Pulpit feature in the Omaha World-Herald. When I was first invited to submit, we were asked to... Scott’s Column: Pride Books for Kids May 30, 2023 | NewsJoyce Wilson, who died in April, loved penguins. And her favorite children’s book was And Tango Makes Three which tells the real-life story of two male penguins at the... Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Mental Wellness May 18, 2023 | Mental Health, NewsMay is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the United Church of Christ recognized Sunday, May 21 as Mental Health Sunday. In our worship, we used the liturgies they... Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Changing (Dis)Abilities May 11, 2023 | NewsIn the first column for this series, I asked if there were any topics you all thought I should write about, and I’ve received one request so far stating, “I think that... Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Anger Apr 24, 2023 | NewsHow to deal with anger is a question I’ve often been asked by congregants seeking pastoral care. So that’s a great topic for my second installment in this series of... Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Awe in Nature Apr 18, 2023 | News“We create wonderful places by giving them our attention, not by finding ‘pristine’ places that will bring wonder to us.” So advises biologist David George Haskell in... Tug, My “AA” Buddy Oct 7, 2020 | Events, NewsThank you Kathy Hoyt sharing this story of her faithful Tug at this year's Pet Blessing! Unlike the rest of us, Tug is getting older. He’s not the same one or... Pandemic Spirituality Jun 24, 2020 | NewsThis spring Senior Minister Scott Jones wrote a series of five essays connecting our pandemic and quarantine experiences with the spiritual wisdom of the church. 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Scott’s Column: Wicked Scott’s Column: More on Awe The Dark Years? Scott’s Column: A Pastoral Word for Young LGBTQ+ People After the Election
Scott’s Column: Dark Years? Dec 3, 2024 | Events, NewsIn the late nineties, American philosopher Richard Rorty predicted that in 2016 America would elect a strongman and enter into thirty dark years, but come out the other...
Scott’s Column: Wicked Nov 25, 2024 | NewsThis last weekend was Wicked. I'm only playing with the slang use of the word from my youth. I really mean the opening of the new film version of the popular Broadway...
Scott’s Column: More on Awe Nov 18, 2024 | NewsOften I get asked after a sermon, "What's that book you mentioned?" For our autumn series on Awe, the main text I've used is Dacher Keltner's Awe: A New Science of...
Scott’s Column: A Pastoral Word for Young LGBTQ+ People After the Election Nov 12, 2024 | NewsFor young people, particularly young LGBTQ+ people. I know that the election results have left you confused, sad, afraid, heartbroken, and angry. These are proper...
Scott’s Column: Gustavo Gutierrez Oct 28, 2024 | NewsEarlier this year, Jurgen Moltmann died. He was the great living theologian, at least the greatest Protestant theologian in the post-Second-World-War-Era. And then...
Scott’s Column: The AI Metaverse Oct 15, 2024 | NewsLast week a handful of Nobel prizes went to people working in the fields of artificial intelligence. I just so happened to be reading a book on what's possible in an...
Scott’s Column: Restoring the Light Oct 7, 2024 | NewsDuring our fall worship season, we are exploring Awe. The psychologist Dacher Keltner writes about how our experiences of awe and wonder get turned into ritual, art,...
Scott’s Column: Sacred Sounds Oct 1, 2024 | NewsI've spent this lovely day with my office door open to the courtyard where I can hear the fountain running. I've been working on the vespers service for Friday night...
Scott’s Column: God’s Presence Jul 23, 2024 | NewsSunday I preached about God's presence. Though it didn't make it into the sermon, that week I read a beautiful description of the presence of the Spirit in our lives...
Scott’s Column: The Life of Hope–Remembering Jürgen Moltmann Jun 5, 2024 | NewsThis week the greatest living theologian died. Jürgen Moltmann was 98 years old. He did not grow up religious, but found God and religion when he was in a prisoner of...
Scott’s Column: Happy 300th Immanuel Kant May 28, 2024 | NewsBack on April 22nd, I messaged Fred Nielsen, "Happy 300th Birthday to Immanuel Kant." To which Fred replied, "Will you be celebrating in a particularly philosophical...
Scott’s Column: Summer Theology Book Club May 13, 2024 | Events, NewsOne Sunday before worship, Lou Lamberty said, "I read God's Monsters. I really need to talk about it." I had read the book not long before that and mentioned in...
An Interview with . . . Allison Hardy May 8, 2024 | Interview With . . ., NewsHow long have you been a member at First Central? I've been a member of First Central since 2018. What is your occupation? I'm a corporate attorney at Kiewit. What do...
Scott’s Column: Curious about Psychedelics & Spirituality Apr 23, 2024 | NewsSometime back in 2020, stuck at home, binging lots of Netflix, I watched the documentary Fantastic Fungi that I'd seen friends talking about on social media. What an...
An Interview with . . . Sophie Feng Apr 16, 2024 | Interview With . . ., NewsHow long have you been a member at First Central? 15 years with the church What is your occupation? Professor What do you find meaningful about your work? Helping...
Scott’s Column: Knowing Each Other Apr 4, 2024 | NewsHow well do we humans understand one another? Apparently, not very well. In his excellent book How to Know A Person David Brooks cites the research of William Ickes...
Books on Grieving Apr 4, 2024 | Education, NewsBooks on Grieving By Daryl Malena The task of eventually moving out of the house my family has lived in since 1977 turns out to be every bit as difficult as I expected....
An Interview With . . . Marian Fey Apr 3, 2024 | Interview With . . .How long have you been a member at First Central? Since 1998 (I think), although I attended as a child with my mom and Pipi & Pete. What is your occupation? I'm the...
Scott’s Column: The God Revolution Mar 18, 2024 | Education, NewsThe last three weeks in First Forum I've taught a series on recent theological insights into God. A number of folks asked that I put together a bibliography of all the...
Scott’s Column: Spiritual Experiences Mar 6, 2024 | NewsWhat are your most profound or memorable spiritual experiences? Currently in our Wednesday Night Family Night's we are exploring and discussing spiritual experiences,...
An Interview with Yvette Polinsky Feb 28, 2024 | Interview With . . . What is your name, and how long have you been a member at First Central? Yvette Polinsky. I grew up in the church but was not an official member. My family moved...
An Interview With . . . La Dell Diaz Feb 8, 2024 | Interview With . . ., NewsBringing back an old feature of our newsletter, which will explore the myriad ways our congregants are working in the community to change lives and change the world....
Scott’s Column: Open & Nimble Feb 5, 2024 | NewsThis is the sixth and final in a series of personal reflections on the State of the Church in 2024. 6. Given all of that I want to return to the theme I’ve been trying...
Scott’s Column: Impacts on Churches Jan 30, 2024 | NewsThis is the fifth in a series of personal reflections on the State of the Church in 2024. 5. What are the impacts, then, on churches? There are the trends we are well...
Scott’s Column: Cultural Trends Jan 22, 2024 | NewsThis is the fourth in a series of personal reflections on the State of the Church in 2024. 4. As if all of that weren’t enough, there are other cultural trends and...
Scott’s Column: In a Context of Crises Jan 14, 2024 | NewsThis is part three in a series of personal reflections on the State of the Church in 2024 3. Beyond the demographic trends, what else shapes the context in which we are...
Scott’s Column: Changing Religious Demographics in America Jan 4, 2024 | NewsThis is part two of a series of reflections on the State of the Church in 2024. 2. Even thirty years ago Mainline Protestantism was grappling with decades of decline. ...
Scott’s Column: The State of the ‘Big C’ Church Jan 2, 2024 | NewsNormally in late December I begin working on my Annual Report and my State of the Church presentation for the Annual Meeting. Over the past year or so I've been trying...
Scott’s Column: Christology Against White Supremacy Dec 18, 2023 | NewsSo, like I did in the First Forum class last summer, I'll draw this exploration of some contemporary Christology to a close by focusing in on one particular thinker, J....
Scott’s Column: The Power to Transform Humanity Dec 13, 2023 | NewsThe great 20th century Russian Orthodox theologian Sergius Bulgakov wrote that "All human beings will be resurrected without exception." Why? Because, as he draws...
Scott’s Column: Riffing on Christ Dec 12, 2023 | News"The inability to articulate just how God was present in Christ and how that reality shapes the character of our life together destroys the very integrity of the...
Scott’s Column: Happy Allhallowtide! Oct 31, 2023 | NewsHappy Allhallowtide! That's one of the formal names for this season in which the church remembers and honors the dead, made up traditionally of the three days of All...
Scott’s Column: Why We Care for Children Oct 16, 2023 | Education, NewsFaith Formation: Why We Do It In our struggle with time—how to tell it, how to keep it, what to do with it, how fast or slow it goes—what we truly long for is a feeling...
Scott’s Column: How Faith Formation Happens Oct 9, 2023 | Education, NewsFaith Formation: How Does It Happen? Note: this is part three in a series on the principles undergirding Christian Education. You can read the first installment here...
Scott’s Column: Habit-Making Practices Oct 2, 2023 | Education, NewsForming Our Faith—Habit-Making Practices Note: this is part two in a series on the principles undergirding Christian Education. You can read the first installment...
Scott’s Column: A Way of Seeing Sep 21, 2023 | Education, NewsForming our Faith: A Way of Seeing Back in the spring I taught a three-part First Forum series on what principles shape Christian Education, after that question had...
Scott’s Column: Happy (Belated) Labor Day Sep 5, 2023 | NewsHappy (Belated) Labor Day! Last week a Washington Post article declared the eight-hour work day to be dying. It stated “only about half of office visits now last for...
Scott’s Column: Hip-Hop’s 50th Anniversary Aug 17, 2023 | NewsLast week was the fiftieth anniversary of Hip-Hop. In his book Blue Note Preaching the Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, III, Senior Minister of Trinity UCC in Chicago, wrote: Now...
Scott’s Column: Passport to Exploration Aug 14, 2023 | NewsOn the final day of our recent family summer vacation, Sebastian and I visited Pipestone National Monument in southwest Minnesota. There's a short, easy trail that...
Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Grief Jul 27, 2023 | News“For as one reweaves the fabric of one’s life after a loss, and as the thoughts around which one has defined one’s aims and aspirations change tense, one becomes to...
Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Forgiveness Jul 20, 2023 | NewsI was listening to Leonard Cohen’s final album You Want It Darker and the moving second track “Treaty.” The lyrics of the refrain are: I wish there was a treaty we...
Scott’s Column: Resources for Living-Sex Jun 27, 2023 | NewsThe best book I've read on sex from a (liberal) Christian perspective is Good Christian Sex by UCC pastor Bromleigh McCleneghan. I met and befriended Bromleigh earlier...
Scott’s Column: Happy Pride! The Struggle Continues Jun 13, 2023 | NewsFor most of my pastorate I've been a regular contributor to the From the Pulpit feature in the Omaha World-Herald. When I was first invited to submit, we were asked to...
Scott’s Column: Pride Books for Kids May 30, 2023 | NewsJoyce Wilson, who died in April, loved penguins. And her favorite children’s book was And Tango Makes Three which tells the real-life story of two male penguins at the...
Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Mental Wellness May 18, 2023 | Mental Health, NewsMay is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the United Church of Christ recognized Sunday, May 21 as Mental Health Sunday. In our worship, we used the liturgies they...
Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Changing (Dis)Abilities May 11, 2023 | NewsIn the first column for this series, I asked if there were any topics you all thought I should write about, and I’ve received one request so far stating, “I think that...
Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Anger Apr 24, 2023 | NewsHow to deal with anger is a question I’ve often been asked by congregants seeking pastoral care. So that’s a great topic for my second installment in this series of...
Scott’s Column: Resources for Living–Awe in Nature Apr 18, 2023 | News“We create wonderful places by giving them our attention, not by finding ‘pristine’ places that will bring wonder to us.” So advises biologist David George Haskell in...
Tug, My “AA” Buddy Oct 7, 2020 | Events, NewsThank you Kathy Hoyt sharing this story of her faithful Tug at this year's Pet Blessing! Unlike the rest of us, Tug is getting older. He’s not the same one or...
Pandemic Spirituality Jun 24, 2020 | NewsThis spring Senior Minister Scott Jones wrote a series of five essays connecting our pandemic and quarantine experiences with the spiritual wisdom of the church. Here...
