WELCOME NEW MEMEBERS

We welcomed two new members into our ministry, commu-

nity and fellowship on Sunday, May 18th. Our very own
Choir Director Ken Potter who transferred from Del Amo
Christian Church and Linda Galati, also from Del Amo. Linda
has been attending second service here for awhile and is a
faithful choir member. We welcome and are Blessed by these
people coming into our Fellowship and the Body of Christ.

Come Join Us at
Ruby’s Diner!

Summer is just around the corner and you know what that means—VBS is near!
To help raise money for class and teacher materials, we are having a fundraiser.
Please join us and be sure to bring your friends, family, and neighbors!

Where: Ruby’s Diner in Redondo Beach (245 N. Harbor Drive )

When: Tuesday, May 27th
Time: 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.

**Be sure to bring the fundraising flier with you! If you need one, there will be a
stack in the church office.

See you there!

May 22, 2008

Page 1
 Disciples Women’s Ministry
OLD TRADITIONS – NEW BEGINNINGS
Wow! What a couple of weeks the Disciples Women have shared in
the life of our church! Since our last newsletter, we have enjoyed our
traditional Family Night – complete with spaghetti and magic; cele-
brated a traditional Mother’s Day with special music; prepared a new
slate of officers for the Disciples Women’s Board for 2008-2009; partici-
pated in a dinner and a morning “meet and greet”, to meet Reverend
Steven Fietz and his wife Janie; cheered on a Church Growth hot dog booth on the
lawn for Armed Forces Day, then said goodbye to an old friend, Mott Farrell, with a
Circle of Caring memorial service and luncheon. At a congregation meeting, we
voted for new officers of the church, and next year’s budget. To top it all off, we
voted to call a new Senior Pastor! And May isn’t over yet!
It was exciting to watch and be a part of the activities as the different groups of the
church all came together to get the job done – and done it was! The DWF also held
their May Spring tea, hosted by the New Hope group, and lots of “Tea and Conversa-
tion” was the order of the day.
One of the highlights of the afternoon was the presentation of the slate of officers for
next year!
A unanimous vote was cast for:
President Michele Wood
Vice President Sakura Koontz
Treasurer Lynne Redderson
Co-Membership & Hostess Coordinators Angie Ahumada & Anna Rogers
Co-Directors of Study Linda Houston & Doris Wilson
Coordinator of Worship Gail Grove
Returning Board Members are:
Secretary Maureen Estolas
Publicity Judy Rickabaugh
Service Co-Coordinators Mary Ibe & Moggy Emmen
Group Leaders: Faith – Susan Babcock & Judy Rickabaugh
Love – Hilda Coleman
New Hope – Lynne Redderson & Chery Carew

Page 2
Each of these officers would welcome your help, ideas, inspiration and support.
Please contact any Board member if you would like to be a part of the loving gifts
and talents the Disciple’s women share with this church. Each of us can make a
difference alone, but together, we are awesome!
Jill Foster will be installing these officers at our DWF Luncheon on June 10th. More
information about the luncheon will be in our next newsletter; so be sure to mark
your calendars now, and save the day. We will be turning in our blessing boxes on
that day, so keep counting your blessings, and remembering that each coin you
add will bless not only you, but many others.
And so – the beat goes on. Old traditions guide us – new beginnings call us. May
is almost over and Memorial Day almost here. Let’s all remember to pause in
prayer, and to thank God for those who gave their all, that we might live in freedom,
and worship as we choose.
June will bring us a new minister, new leaders, new ideas, new beginnings – looks
like June will be bustin’ out all over – with exciting times ahead.
It’s a great time to be a Disciples Woman – let’s go for it!

WANNA GET TOGETHER?

We all enjoyed the tea and conversation at the
DWF luncheon, and it was suggested that per-
haps it might be fun to visit the Huntington
Library for a special “tea room” afternoon. There
is lots to see, and the tea is spectacular! We
might be able to plan a day this summer and
get it on the calendar. The price may vary, de-
pending on how many attended, and what day
we go, but it would probably be in the $30 - $40
range. Car pooling could be arranged, and it
would be fun just to go and relax and be to-
gether.
So – if it sounds like fun to you, or if you have
any questions, please contact Chery Carew,
She would welcome your ideas, and participa-
tion.

Page 3
Dear First Christian Church
On behalf of Love INC, we would like to thank you
for your generous donation of a Trader Joe’s gift
basket. It was a smashing success this year and you
helped make it so! We sold 70 of 79 items and raised
$3,703 from the Auction. This is an increase of
$2,058 compared to last year’s donations.
“A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him
into the presence of great.”
Proverbs 18:16
Love INC connects people in need with community
agencies, church ministries and caring people like
you to help meet those needs. Through Love INC,
hundreds of different types of services are provided.
Thank you again, for your kind and generous heart
which touches and makes it possible to encourage
others to be all they can be. Please keep Love INC
in your prayers as we seek to better assist families in
our community.
“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue
only, but with actions and in truth.” I John 3: 18
God’s continued blessings,
Tamra Tomlin
Vice-President
Love INC

Page 4
 CHURCH FAMILY NEWS CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Mott Farrell passed away on May 9. A Bible Study—10:00 a.m.
memorial service was held at the church (Wednesdays)
on May 17. Choir—7:00 p.m., (Thursdays)
Praise Team Practice—6:00 p.m., (Thursdays)
Linda Houston had an episode with Memorial Day—Church Office Closed, May 26.
some sinus bleeding and is in the hospi- Ruby’s Diner VBS Fundraiser—11:00-9:00
tal at Kaiser. She will be staying for a
p.m., May 27.
few days.
Monthly Gathering—7:00-9:00 p.m., May 28.
Kit Braly is having some health prob- (Praise Night)
lems and might need surgery. Galen Goben Sharing the Message—June 1.
Amazing Gray’s—1:00 p.m., Hilda Coleman’s
Donis Johns husband Al, passed away Trustees Meeting—7:00 p.m., June 2.
on May 20. New Hope—7:00 p.m., June 5.
Russell Brammer Sharing the Message—June 8.
Andrea Whobrey’ s mother Ginny Education Meeting—7:00 p.m., June 9.
Schnepp has been in and out of the Disciples Women’s Board—7:00 p.m., June 10.
hospital and doctors are having difficulty
Worship Committee Mtg.—7:00 p.m., June 10.
diagnosing her problem.
Board Meeting—7:00 p.m.., June 11.
Please keep Wally Sandberg and his Pastor Steven Fietz Preaching—June 15.
family in your prayers. Love Group—9:30 a.m., June 17.
Faith Group—1:30 p.m., June 17.
Suzanne Nelson would like you to Elders Meeting—7:00 p.m., June 17.
please remember in your prayers her C.M.F.—8:30 a.m., June 21.
son Sargent Daniel U. Nelson. He is on Disciples Women’s Lunch—12:00 p.m. June 22.
his 3rd tour of duty in Iraq and she has
not heard from him in awhile.

Gwen Jonas would like her church fam-
ily to know that if you have a need for a
care giver, she has a good recommen-
dation. You can call Gwen at 375-2798
for more information.
Pastor Kel has a new e-mail address:
pastorkelhenderson@gmail.com
Effective May 19, our volunteer
gardeners Bill & Ester Adams
have submitted their resigna-
tion stating: “It would not look
good on our resume if we were
fired.”

Page 5
 June 2008
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursd

WORSHIP SERVICES
8:30 and 10:30 am
Sunday School 9:15 am

1 2 3 4
Amazing Gray’s 1:00
(Hilda Coleman’s)
Galen Goben New Ho
Trustees
Sharing the message 7:00 p.m
7:00 p.m.
Newsletter
8 9 10 11
Women’s Board
Board Meeting
Education Meeting Meeting 7:00 p.m.
7:00 p.m. Choir
Russell Brammer 7:00 p.m. Worship Meeting
7:00 p.m
Sharing the message 7:00 p.m.

15 16 17 18
Love Group
9:30 a.m.
Pastor Steven Fietz Faith Group Choir
Newsletter
Preaching 1:30 p.m. 7:00 p.m
Elders 7:00 p.m.

22 23 24 25

Women’s Lunch Choir

12:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m

29 30

.
Page 6
day Friday Saturday
June Birthday’s
Anne Beecher (1)
Trevor Baer (1)
Lisa Schwartz (2)
Mary Jo Kohlmiller (4)
5 6 7 Anne Colby (4)
David Stoodley (5)
Kelly Carmona (7)
ope Betty Donley (7)
m. Hillary Gonzalez (9)
Shirley Woodman (10)
Rose Johnston (10)
12 13 14 Eileen Powell (10)
Amel Abdou (10)
Peter Galyardt (15)
Kathy Shroyer (15)
r
Sarah Smotherman (15)
m. Gerri Stoodley (15)
Burt O’Neal (17)
Mike Henderson (17)
Jim Whobrey (24)
19 20 21 Michele Wood (27)
Verda Myers (29)

C.M.F.
r 8:30 a.m.
m.

26 27 28

r ANNIVERSARIES
m. Pat & Shirley Woodman (8)
Doug & Connie Hedde (9)
Duane & Shirley Johnson (29)
Ryan & Kelly Rogers (30)
Rolbert & Sharon Dexter (18)

Page 7
 Presents a celebration for
NATIONAL SENIOR
FITNESS DAY
May 28, 2008
We have a full day of Senior Fitness Activities planned, and
we invite you to come & join us for these special events:
9:00 a.m. Qui Gong & Chair Exercises
10:00 a.m. Tai Chi Exercise
(Sponsored by Sunset Hall)
1:30 a.m. Health Discussion
(Sponsored by Sunset Hall)
3:30 p.m. Community-Wide Drum Circle Event
Bethany Towers has been a non-profit corporation serving seniors since 1957, and is
owned and operated by the Disciples Home Corporation under the auspices of the
Pacific Southwest Region of the Disciples of Christ Christian Church. Susan Dewey
Gonzalez now sits as our Board Chair.

Robin Stallings
Activity Director
(323) 467-3121 Page 8
 ENDOWMENT FUND UPDATE
We are happy to announce that Doris Wilson will be continuing on as a director
of the Endowment Fund. On Sunday the congregation approved her nomination
to serve a regular 5 year term. Doris was one of the original members that
helped get the Fund started at our church. She has served as the secretary/
treasurer, and has always offered wise and responsible advice and counsel. We
have all benefited from her service.
Because of the current economic conditions the value of the Fund is down a lit-
tle bit but we fully expect things will turn around in due time. We are pleased
that we were able to make a previous distribution thereby returning $7,000.00 to
our church here in Torrance. We welcome any gift, large or small and if you
would like to recognize and honor a special event in someone’s life--a gradua-
tion, birthday, anniversary, etc., or make a memorial gift please consider the En-
dowment Fund.
If you have any questions please contact one of the directors listed below.

Thank you.

Doug Crawford Lee Sebaugh Andrea Whobrey Gene Wiehe Doris Wilson

Destruction and Death Massive in Myanmar

The death toll in Myanmar (Burma) from Cyclone Nargis is
now estimated to be more than 22,000 with thousands
more still missing. Destruction from the powerful storms to
homes, farmland, and infrastructure is simply “massive”
and is being compared to the devastation in other south-
ern Asia countries from the 2004 tsunami.
Week of Compassion is in an active relationship with Church World Services to
include additional relief support and long tern recovery assistance. WOC also
continues to monitor relief and recovery work from the recent tornadoes in Vir-
ginia, Arkansas, Missouri and other states.
Week of Compassion would like to say thank you for your contributions of
money that has flowed from the hearts and pocketbooks of people around the
world.

Page 9
 YOUNG ADULT CAMP
Loch Leven Camp & Conference Center
June 26-29, 2008

A Place To Renew Your Spirit

Young Adult Camp hasn’t happened for a few years, but it is back, and it’s here to
stay. From Thursday June 26th to Sunday June 29th, young adults from all across
the region will gather at Loch Leven to enjoy a weekend of fellowship, service, and
spiritual exploration. Can’t make it Thursday night, you say? No problem. Just come
up Friday after work.
Tom and Cathy Perring will be leading music and delivering the message for a time
that will focus on rediscovering God in your life. Often times, young adults feel dis-
connected from the Church and from God because their local church just isn’t
meeting their spiritual needs. If you feel this way, you are not alone, and the week-
end will focus on ways that you can make God relevant in your life, and ways that
you can make yourself relevant in the life of the Church! Young adults are capable
of being powerful leaders in the Church, and we want to give you the tools to make
your voice heard.
The cost is $125.00, and limited scholarship funds may be available, so please
don’t let the cost keep you from attending. We want you there and will work to find a
way to make it happen.
For more information contact either Robbie Arevalos at rob8384@hotmail.com
Or Andy Holmer at andyholmer@gmail.com
Hope to see you in June!
Loch Leven
Who doesn’t love Loch
lts
ng Ad u es
e ag st
Leven? Whether you have
You n t h a
twee nd at le ol,
been camping at Loch
be a Leven all your life or have
re ..ish scho
ou a . never been, you won’t be
If y and 30 of high .
8 t t
of 1 year ou ng adul able to help feeling a
u sense of spiritual renewal
one re a yo
a
you just walking the grounds.

Page 10
Mile Markers
Traveling the road together as Disciples in Ministry
Isaiah 1:18 Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord.
“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by
John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he
saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove; and
a voice came from heaven, ’Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well
pleased’.” (mark 1:9-11)
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit…” (Matthew 28:19)
People who know little else about us Disciples can tell you that we baptize by
immersion and observe the Lord’s Supper weekly.
Both practices were central tenets held by our “founding fathers” in their effort
to bring about Christian unity by restoring New Testament ways. Today, we
refer to these as “sacraments” of the Disciples’ tradition. We see these sacra-
ments as symbolic acts of the church, ordained by Christ, in which the whole
gospel is recalled and experienced. (Next time we will explore the Lord’s Sup-
per.)
Don grew up in the home of a Disciples pastor and learned a lot about who we
are and what we practice as Disciples. So when it came time to be baptized,
he knew it would be immersion. He was actually baptized at age 9 in a local
river called Ben Davis Creek, near Rushville, Indiana.
Susan grew up in a Catholic home and was initially baptized as an infant. Later
she became a member of the United Methodist Church. After she was married
and began serving the Vista La Mesa Christian Church in La Mesa, she and
Don both transferred their memberships and became members of the Christian
Church Disciples of Christ without the need to be “re-baptized.” Although for
some time Susan knew she would someday re-affirm her baptism by immer-
sion, it wasn’t until her 50th birthday that she decided this was the right mo-
ment to recommit her life to the service of Jesus Christ.
It is through the Christian community that we come to know the love and grace
of God in Christ and baptism is our response of faith and mark of discipleship.
Together in Ministry, Don and Susan
Co-Regional Ministers

**Next Newsletter articles need to be at the church office by 6/2/08.

Page 11
 FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
NON PROFIT ORG.

(Disciples of Christ)
PERMIT NO. 109
TORRANCE, CA

2930 El Dorado Street

Torrance, CA 90503
(310) 328-2820 Fax 310 328-2929
E-mail - fcctorr@pacbell.net
Web address - fcctorrance.org
Sunday Schedule
8:30 a.m. - Worship - Informal
9:15 a.m. - Church School for all ages
10:30 a.m. - Worship - Traditional
Children’s Worship - Ages Pre-school through
2nd Grade
(During the Traditional Worship Service)
Nursery Provided
For birth through age 3 during Sunday School
and the Traditional Service
Office Hours
Monday - Friday
8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Staff
Ted Oden-Minister of Contemporary Worship
Administrative Assistant– Camelia Olloque
Choir Director - Ken Potter
Nursery Attendant - Sherril Wiechmann
Officers
The Christian Messenger

Chair - Basil Ibe

Vice Chair - Doug Crawford
TIME VALUE DATA

Treasurer– Richard Koontz

2930 El Dorado Street

DO NOT DELAY
First Christian Church

Torrance, CA 90503

Financial Secretary - Moggy Emmen

EXPEDITE

Clerk– Chery Carew

Page 12