Abby and I both attended Normal Community High School, and she has often commented what a shock it was to her when she first began attending as a sophomore. She had moved to Bloomington-Normal from a relatively small high school in Kentucky and was amazed to see that the cliques at N.C.H.S. were just like the well-defined cliques that she had only seen before in the movies. I had attended a large Jr. High School and had grown accustomed to the social divisions around me, but she was baffled by the clearly marked groups who scattered the cafeteria and hallways. The Goth group dressed in all black, the science clubbers faithfully played the part and wore pocket protectors, the athletes strutted boisterously in their jerseys and lettermen jackets, the Barbie girls could be seen reapplying makeup together between classes, the band members had their own hallway, the skaters all had shaggy hair and ink-pen scrawled on their low-cut shoes, and the gangsters were easily identifiable by their sagging, oversized jeans. The cliques had become as common to me as the air I breathed, but to an outsider like Abby it was extremely intimidating to enter into the divided social stratosphere in search of friends.

Abby’s experience as a sophomore in high school makes me wonder what it is like for a person to begin attending First United. I typically think of First United as being a warm group of folks, and I often see and hear of people who are very intentional in welcoming new attenders and initiating relationship with others in the church. However, as one who is no longer an “outsider,” my objectivity is lost, just as it was in high school, and I likely am unaware

of how hard it is for a new person to connect with others in the church family. I wonder how many people have attended for a while, but still do not feel connected to anyone. I wonder how to uphold the ideal of unity in view of the reality that we are all very limited in our relational capacities. I wonder how as a church grows, it can grow without perpetuating cliquishness. As a church grows larger, smaller groups of fellowship are more necessary, yet these smaller groups could unintentionally work against the cause of unity. Certainly, these questions are not easy to answer, and this side of heaven, the

battle against cliques and divisions will be a continual fight for the Church. Even the apostles struggled with being cliquey, as we read in Galatians 2 that Paul confronts Peter about showing favoritism at a church potluck. He rebukes Peter, telling him that such conduct is “not

in step with the truth of the gospel” (Gal. 2:14). Indeed, when there are cliques and divisions in the church, we fail to evidence the reconciling power of the love of Jesus Christ which is the heart of the Gospel we proclaim.

I encourage you, therefore, to consider how to pursue brotherly love and unity here at First United Church for the sake of the testimony of the church and for the joy and health all who are connected to First United. Here are a few small ways that we could all move out of our comfort zones in order to pursue richer fellowship and unity:

• Consider moving from your usual pew or seat on Sunday morning and sitting in a new area in order to meet others.

• Beginning this February, we’ll be having one meal per month (usually the 4th Sunday of the month) after Sunday School. At these meals,

February Church Calendar10 Sr.’s Sunday School Class begins 8 - 8:45 am

12 Women’s Fellowship Dinner & Speaker, Darleta Gramm dinner at 5:30 pm; speaker at 6:30 pm - Family Center

24 One Another Chili Cook-Off follows Sunday School

Youth GroupsJr. High - Sunday at 5:00 pmSr. High - Wednesday at 7:30 pm

Adult MinistriesWomen’s Bible Study - Wednesday at 6:30 pmMen’s Ministry - every other Saturday at 7 amMonthly Prayer Meeting - first Wednesday at 7 pm

Sunday Worship ServicesMorning Worship 9 am-10 amJ.A.M. (ages 3 - K) 9 am-10 am every SundayChildren’s Church (grades 1-3) 9 am-10 am 1st & 3rd SundaySunday School 10:30 am - 11:15 am

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Pastor Andy’s Letter • Spotlight on Missions Revolution ConferenceFirst United News • Milestones • Attendance • Church CalendarFebruary 2013Andy Huette, Sr. Pastor Brett Monge, Youth Director Grant Stauter, Pastor Apprentice

407 W Seventh Street, PO Box 280, Gridley, IL 61744 309-747-2299 www.1stu.org

Dear Church Family,

58th Annual Pancake & Sausage Day

January 26, 2013600 served

When final expenses are paid,the proceeds will benefit

Caring Pregnancy Centerin Pontiac.

continued on page 3 inside

One Another

Our Core Values Open Bibles One Another Beautiful Feet Spiritual Growth Authentic Worship2 3

Attendance & Offering1/6 276 $ 6,682 1/13 215 $ 4,544 1/20 276 $ 5,528 1/27 290 $ 6,678

February MilestonesBirthdays

7 Will Wenger8 Steven Barnhart8 Randi Palmer8 Grace Stanhouse9 Hudson Huette10 Dennis Stauter13 Frankie Finck17 Samuel Stauter19 Nathaniel Meiss20 Sami Jo Allen21 Alisa Ihlenfeldt21 Noah Johnson21 Zachary Johnson21 Liam Kiefer26 Nicole Butikofer Anniversaries25 Dan & Carrie Dixon

Sunday School Attend Offering Kids Fed1/6 122 $ 25.39 51 1/13 126 $29.51 591/20 NA - annual meeting1/27 82 $17.33 36

Spotlight on . . . Missions RevolutionOn March 2, First United will host Missions Revolution, a conference to develop and deepen the global vision for both individuals and churches.

Last summer, Jake Foor spent an in-tense summer with the Traveling Team learning more about God’s plan for missions, the history of missions, and how God is working through His peo-ple to take the gospel all over the world. When he returned, he shared with the Missions Team what he learned, how he believes God is calling him, and his passion to see First U get more in-volved in missions. He recommended that we invite Mission Revolution to First United.

This is a Perspectives-like crash course on missions. There is no charge for the conference but we ask that you register so we can plan for lunch.

Please come to learn more about our Beautiful Feet core value: to make the Name of Jesus known for His glory and fame among the nations.

I’ve only read the first three chapters of Tim Keller’s The Meaning of Mar-riage, but I’ve already developed a lot of respect for the vision he presents of a Bib-lical marriage. He opposes societal ste-reotypes of marriage and explores what God’s word says about the subject. He explains how sacrifice and duty within a marriage covenant bring a much deeper and more long-lasting joy than any ro-mantic fling.

Overall, I love that the book provides a combination of real world application illustrated through personal stories along with analytical arguments that sway the reader’s thinking. Whether you agree with every point he makes or not, he thoroughly develops his arguments and

pulls references from a variety of sourc-es—from ancient philosophy to maga-zines.

I also really appreciate that Keller ends every chapter by discussing how we should view each topic in light of the gos-pel. He always brings the focus back to Christ and connects the day to day mar-ried life with the foundation of our Chris-tian faith.

I would recommend this book high-ly to anyone who wants to understand God’s purpose for marriage, anyone who ever might think about getting married, or anyone who is already married—no matter how long. Anyone from any walk of life will learn more about God from reading this book. —Jil Stauter

The Meaning of Marriage — Tim Keller, author

Have you read a good book from our library? Please see Keri Hany about writing a book review.

First U’slibrary corner

Date: Saturday, March 2Time: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.Schedule: • The Biblical Basis of Missions • The Task Remaining Lunch • History of Missions • World Christian HabitsWho’s Invited: Jr. High to adultRegistration: The conference is FREE, but please register so we have enough food!Childcare: Provided for infants up to age 10 Registration is required for childcare.

One Another Chili Cook-OffSunday, February 24

The Local Outreach (LO) team will hold our annual chili cook-off after Sunday School on February 24.

Everyone who loves to make chili is in-vited to bring in a crockpot of your favorite chili. A panel of judges will taste and award the best chili.

LO will provide table service, beverages, chili toppings, and hot dogs.

On February 10 and 17, there will be three sign-ups:

1. volunteer to bring chili2. volunteer to help in the kitchen3. RSVP to attend.Brian Buchanan is coordinating the meal

for the Local Outreach team. Please see Brian with questions.

“It’s amazing how often God’s heart for the world shows up in the Bible.” —Jake Foor

At the 2012 chili cook-off, we fed 190 people with 14 chili’s entered in the judging.Sign up on February 10 and 17 to bring chili and to RSVP for the meal.

We celebrated National Sanctity of Life Sunday with baby dedications. The following children were dedicated:Tristyn Mool, daughter of Thad & Kelly Mool; Eric Hiles, son of Dale & Stephanie Hiles; Liam Kiefer, son of Jessica Kiefer; Hudson Huette, son of Abby & Andy Huette; Hattie Meiss, daughter of Derek & Sarah Meiss; Luke Kurz, son of Katie & Brian Kurz.

Baby Dedications 2013

Todd Ahrends withThe Traveling Team

is our conference speaker.

Register February 17 and 24 during Coffee Fellowshipor online at www.1stu.org

Women’s FellowshipItalian dinner

February 12 - 5:30 p.m.Darleta Gramm,

from Pontiac CPCwill speak after dinner

Donations taken for the mealChildcare provided

RSVP to Susan Laimingor the church office: 747-2299

Everyone is invitedFebruary 10 in Family Center after Sunday School

Informational meeting for the August 12-19, 2013short-term mission trip to Village of Hope, Guatemala

Questions? See Chuck & Marsha Albritton or Keri Hany

aim to sit with others you do not know very well in order to get to know them.

• Consider sharing conversation or a meal with someone from the church that is at least 10 years older or younger than you.

• Prior to attending the worship service, pray that the Lord will give you opportunity to speak with and listen to another member of the church, and to speak a word of encouragement to him/her.

• Don’t be afraid to ask for a person’s name. The temporary embarrassment of forgetting

a name is a small problem compared to the long-term problem of having a church culture where we don’t know each other.

In John 17, Jesus prayed for his disciples, saying, “Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.” May God be pleased to fulfill this prayer in our midst as we seek to love another in the Spirit of Christ here at First United.

Grace and Peace, Andy

Andy’s letter continue from page 1

Save the Date!First U’s Variety Show

Presented by theActs of Apostles Drama Team

Sunday, March 106:30 p.m.