In the past two weeks I've had conversations with two teenage boys who are both in Confirmation this year and their parents about baptism. Neither boy was baptized as an infant or small child and both are considering being baptized at Community of Hope sometime in the next couple of months. These have been beautiful, awkward, holy conversations.
They are beautiful conversations because they are an opportunity for us to speak of things that are very meaningful in life like what we believe and how what we believe leads us to behave in certain ways. They are beautiful conversations because of the love their parents and I have for these young men and the strong desire we have for them to give faith a chance when virtually everything around them is drawing them in another direction.
They are awkward conversations because virtually every conversation involving adults and teenagers and church is awkward. Their parents and I are asking them questions about stuff that makes them uncomfortable and they'd rather be with their friends or in their rooms or anywhere but the place where their parents and their pastor are asking them about what they believe about God and Jesus and Baptism. And expecting real answers!
They are holy conversations because they center around one of the central sacraments of the Protestant church - Baptism. A holy, sacred moment in a person's life when they go public, in a sense, with their faith. I do believe in Jesus Christ. I do want to try living as a Christian. I do want to be part of the Christian Community. I do want to turn away from evil and seek good and accept God's forgiveness when I falter. I do want to join my faith journey to the journey of this congregation and accept from them their love, support and care in the name of God. Indeed, these are holy conversations.
These conversations have also gotten me thinking about that fact that I'm the Pastor for these boys and their families. I've been their pastor in title for the past 6 years but now I'm realizing that not only does my title say pastor but my authority, my role, my place in their lives says pastor - I've earned that holy and sacred name.
I met these young men when they were 8 and 9 years old and now they're 14 and 15 years old. I know some things about their lives - the joys and challenges of the past 6 years for them and their families. I know some things about what they enjoy in life, what their questions are and they know some of these things about me.
I told them both that I would consider it a great honor and a privilege to be the one who would baptize them in the name of God who created them, Jesus Christ who redeems them and the Holy Spirit who sustains them. I told them that baptizing is one of the things I love the most about being a pastor. I love that moment when all the promises have been made and they prayers have been said and I get to dip my hand into the holy waters of baptism to anoint a precious child of God and welcome him/her into the church, onto the journey of faith, into the community that promises to love, encourage, challenge and sustain them throughout their lives. This is such a sacred moment. It is such a privileged moment. It is such a spirit-filled moment. I am deeply humbled that God and this community called me and are allowing me to stand in that place.
I really hope that these two young men in our congretation will choose to be baptized. I hope they will choose it because it is the right thing for them on their faith journeys. I also hope they will choose it because they want to honor their parents for allowing them to make that choice. I hope they will choose to be baptized because they want to acknowledge their place in this community and give thanks for the ways in which these people have loved them up until now. I hope they will choose to be baptized because they truly want to engage this community and their journeys of faith in a new way and I hope to God that I and we will not let them down. Amen.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
God our Refuge
Here is my sermon from Sunday, October 18. The text was Psalm 91. Enjoy
As I thought of the various circumstances of my life through which I believe the love of God has brought me from woundedness, hurt and despair into new life I fell in love with this Psalm. I love the images throughout this text of God as a refuge, a shelter, a fortress, an eagle covering me with her pinions, her wings, a trustworthy protector, a place to rest from the trials and challenges of life, a place to live and to abide. The statements and promises of God our protector and our refuge, which are so numerous and so clear throughout this Psalm – I will rescue and shield; I will deliver, I will cover, my faithfulness will shield you, I will deliver, I will protect, I will answer, I will be with, I will satisfy, I will show, I will honor are a healing balm to the soul. With these words God assures us there is no need to fear anything at anytime in any place – no disaster, no war, no illness will destroy us for God’s angels will guard us, will lift us up, protect even our feet from being hurt on a stone. In the world of this Psalm, between God and us there are no limits to God’s faithfulness, no elements of life, no challenges or trials that cannot be overcome by God. This is truly good news for all of us who know so clearly the challenges and difficulties of just getting through each day.
This past weekend I attended an event in the Twin Cities called Christianity21. This event featured the voices of 21 women each sharing her vision or dream for the future of the church in 21 minutes. Each presenter painted a beautiful picture with her words, her thoughts, her creativity and her faith of where we might go as people of faith and how we might be ever more faithful and effective as God’s people in the world.
Seth Donovan was one of the speakers. She’s a community organizer by profession and a member of an ELCA Mission congregation in Denver, CO called House for All Sinners and Saints. Seth talked about confession and wondered what the church would look like if it had a spirit of confession, if it took confession seriously.
As she spoke she defined confession and the vision of confession that she might hope the church would embrace in two ways. First, she spoke of wanting the church to be a place where she and all people who walk through its doors would know that this was the one place in their lives where they didn’t have to be “right.” Where we could all acknowledge that at times, and maybe even more often than we’d like to admit, we are wrong, we don’t have the answers, we don’t know what to do next in our lives, in our jobs, in our relationships. What if the church (God’s sanctuary,) were truly a place where we could bring our brokenness, our full, complete, whole selves, and our messy, beautiful, complex stories without reservation trusting them to be received and held with respect?
What if the church were a place that loved and accepted each person as they are? What if we didn’t feel that we had to check our uncertainties, our questions, our doubts, our fears, or our anger at the door? What if we trusted one another to simply be ourselves in this place? What if we accepted this gift that God offers as our refuge, our shelter, our fortress, our protector? What if we trusted that when we brought our full selves, warts and all, into God’s presence and into the community of God’s people we would still be loved? This is what a church with a spirit of confession would look like according to Seth Donovan. This is what God is like according to Psalm 91.
The second image of a church with a spirit of confession had to do with the church being a place where we are free to confess our faith. This aspect of confession at first seemed like a no brainer – of course the church is a place where we are free to confess our faith. Except that my understanding of what Seth was saying actually took this element of confession one step farther. Being free to confess our faith within the sanctuary of the church or within the community of people we know and trust and who love us is one thing but that freedom must also propel us out into the world to tell our stories of faith in every aspect of our lives and not only with words but also through our actions and attitudes.
Seth used the word “decompartmentalize” to describe this aspect of confession. In her vision, the church should provide some of the safety and security, the boundaries and structures that help us figure out what we believe and how what we believe impacts us and our world. The church should be a place to listen for the Spirit’s call and to heed Jesus’ invitation to follow. The church should be a place where we can most fully be ourselves and know we are loved. Then the church must send us out into the world to tell our story, to live our faith every day, in every way with courage and truth. And when we are battered and broken, tossed about on the stormy seas of life God and God’s people are there always to receive us in again and nurture us back to wholeness.
These two visions of the church with a spirit of confession are the picture I see also being painted in Psalm 91. In the world of this Psalm God is a safe place, a refuge, a protector. Under the shelter of God’s wings we are free to be who we are fully and completely. There is nothing God doesn’t know about us, there is no thing that we can think or do or be that can separate us from God’s love and God’s desire to shield us from harm. There is no experience, no challenge, no difficulty that can destroy God’s love or push us out of relationship with our creator. God’s love for us is too big, too deep, too mysterious.
Under the protective shelter of God’s wings we are free to explore, to confess our faith, to heal, to grow into wholeness and then to be sent out into the world with courage to live our faith each and every day secure in the knowledge of God’s love, and aware that we have a place, a refuge, a sanctuary, a community, where we don’t have to be right all the time, where we can be fully who we are, where we can struggle and fuss, question and argue, and know without a doubt that we are God’s and God is ours and no matter what may come we are held, protected, answered, rescued honored and satisfied.
And I will raise you up on Eagle’s Wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn
Make you to shine like the sun
And hold you in the palm of my hand.
May it be so. Amen.
As I thought of the various circumstances of my life through which I believe the love of God has brought me from woundedness, hurt and despair into new life I fell in love with this Psalm. I love the images throughout this text of God as a refuge, a shelter, a fortress, an eagle covering me with her pinions, her wings, a trustworthy protector, a place to rest from the trials and challenges of life, a place to live and to abide. The statements and promises of God our protector and our refuge, which are so numerous and so clear throughout this Psalm – I will rescue and shield; I will deliver, I will cover, my faithfulness will shield you, I will deliver, I will protect, I will answer, I will be with, I will satisfy, I will show, I will honor are a healing balm to the soul. With these words God assures us there is no need to fear anything at anytime in any place – no disaster, no war, no illness will destroy us for God’s angels will guard us, will lift us up, protect even our feet from being hurt on a stone. In the world of this Psalm, between God and us there are no limits to God’s faithfulness, no elements of life, no challenges or trials that cannot be overcome by God. This is truly good news for all of us who know so clearly the challenges and difficulties of just getting through each day.
This past weekend I attended an event in the Twin Cities called Christianity21. This event featured the voices of 21 women each sharing her vision or dream for the future of the church in 21 minutes. Each presenter painted a beautiful picture with her words, her thoughts, her creativity and her faith of where we might go as people of faith and how we might be ever more faithful and effective as God’s people in the world.
Seth Donovan was one of the speakers. She’s a community organizer by profession and a member of an ELCA Mission congregation in Denver, CO called House for All Sinners and Saints. Seth talked about confession and wondered what the church would look like if it had a spirit of confession, if it took confession seriously.
As she spoke she defined confession and the vision of confession that she might hope the church would embrace in two ways. First, she spoke of wanting the church to be a place where she and all people who walk through its doors would know that this was the one place in their lives where they didn’t have to be “right.” Where we could all acknowledge that at times, and maybe even more often than we’d like to admit, we are wrong, we don’t have the answers, we don’t know what to do next in our lives, in our jobs, in our relationships. What if the church (God’s sanctuary,) were truly a place where we could bring our brokenness, our full, complete, whole selves, and our messy, beautiful, complex stories without reservation trusting them to be received and held with respect?
What if the church were a place that loved and accepted each person as they are? What if we didn’t feel that we had to check our uncertainties, our questions, our doubts, our fears, or our anger at the door? What if we trusted one another to simply be ourselves in this place? What if we accepted this gift that God offers as our refuge, our shelter, our fortress, our protector? What if we trusted that when we brought our full selves, warts and all, into God’s presence and into the community of God’s people we would still be loved? This is what a church with a spirit of confession would look like according to Seth Donovan. This is what God is like according to Psalm 91.
The second image of a church with a spirit of confession had to do with the church being a place where we are free to confess our faith. This aspect of confession at first seemed like a no brainer – of course the church is a place where we are free to confess our faith. Except that my understanding of what Seth was saying actually took this element of confession one step farther. Being free to confess our faith within the sanctuary of the church or within the community of people we know and trust and who love us is one thing but that freedom must also propel us out into the world to tell our stories of faith in every aspect of our lives and not only with words but also through our actions and attitudes.
Seth used the word “decompartmentalize” to describe this aspect of confession. In her vision, the church should provide some of the safety and security, the boundaries and structures that help us figure out what we believe and how what we believe impacts us and our world. The church should be a place to listen for the Spirit’s call and to heed Jesus’ invitation to follow. The church should be a place where we can most fully be ourselves and know we are loved. Then the church must send us out into the world to tell our story, to live our faith every day, in every way with courage and truth. And when we are battered and broken, tossed about on the stormy seas of life God and God’s people are there always to receive us in again and nurture us back to wholeness.
These two visions of the church with a spirit of confession are the picture I see also being painted in Psalm 91. In the world of this Psalm God is a safe place, a refuge, a protector. Under the shelter of God’s wings we are free to be who we are fully and completely. There is nothing God doesn’t know about us, there is no thing that we can think or do or be that can separate us from God’s love and God’s desire to shield us from harm. There is no experience, no challenge, no difficulty that can destroy God’s love or push us out of relationship with our creator. God’s love for us is too big, too deep, too mysterious.
Under the protective shelter of God’s wings we are free to explore, to confess our faith, to heal, to grow into wholeness and then to be sent out into the world with courage to live our faith each and every day secure in the knowledge of God’s love, and aware that we have a place, a refuge, a sanctuary, a community, where we don’t have to be right all the time, where we can be fully who we are, where we can struggle and fuss, question and argue, and know without a doubt that we are God’s and God is ours and no matter what may come we are held, protected, answered, rescued honored and satisfied.
And I will raise you up on Eagle’s Wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn
Make you to shine like the sun
And hold you in the palm of my hand.
May it be so. Amen.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Christianity21
This past weekend I attended an event called Christianity21 in Edina, MN (www.Christianity21.com). It featured 21 speakers, all women, who each shared their sense of hope and vision for the future of the church in no more than 21 minutes each in a variety of styles - stories, essays, skits, dialogue, Bible study, prayer, music, video and more.
Over the past few days I've been trying to describe my experience at this event to my family, friends and members of the church. The best word I've come up with so far to describe how I felt when I got in the car to drive home was "Revival."
Yes, for me this event was a revival. It felt like 48 hours of coming to Jesus in the best possible sense of that term. The sanctuary in which we met was filled with creative, faithful, thoughtful, sincerey, joyful and innovative energy. I didn't talk to a single person who wasn't excited about what God is doing in their lives. Everyone I talked to seemed engaged and hopeful about the future. I didn't encounter a single pastor who shared complaints or doubts or negativity about their parishioners or congregations. I didn't meet anyone who wasn't convinced that they were called to share the good news of Jesus in the world no matter their vocation, profession, age, gender, sexual orientation or background.
This event was unlike any church related event I've ever been to. It was stimulating to all the senses, not just the intellect. It invigorated me as a person of faith first and also as a pastor. It took me further down the road of having unreserved hope and optimism about the future of the Christian faith I hold so dear. It encouraged my faith and touched my passion for discerning the movement of the Spirit and the call of Jesus in my own life and in the ministry I share with the good people of Community of Hope and the Madison Christian Community.
Most of the people I met are folks who have left the circle of the evangelical world for some reason or another. For a variety of reasons that expression of faith was no longer working for them and so they set out to find a new way of expressing and thinking about faith. Somehow a group of these folks found one another and have been meeting together and expanding their reach for more than 10 years. This ever expanding network calls itself Emergent Village. Some of the people I met, like myself, are coming from one of the various so-called "mainline" traditions of the Protestant faith - Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran and United Church of Christ.
Most of the congregations represented were new church starts intentionally using the term "emerging" as a way of describing themselves and indicating their desire to be about doing something new in the name of God. Some of the congregations represented were existing congregations in various traditions seeking to breathe hope and new life. I got the feeling that it is a fairly new development for there to be "mainline" people at Emergent Village events. This feeling made me wonder what someone like me who is almost a complete stranger to the world of evangelical churches but who is also seeking new life for the future of the church might have to offer to this group. I believe I do have something to offer and hope to figure out what along the way. I know I have a lot to learn.
For the next few weeks I will be sharing my reflections on this event in some way that will reveal itself to me as it unfolds. I'm looking forward to the process. Amen.
Over the past few days I've been trying to describe my experience at this event to my family, friends and members of the church. The best word I've come up with so far to describe how I felt when I got in the car to drive home was "Revival."
Yes, for me this event was a revival. It felt like 48 hours of coming to Jesus in the best possible sense of that term. The sanctuary in which we met was filled with creative, faithful, thoughtful, sincerey, joyful and innovative energy. I didn't talk to a single person who wasn't excited about what God is doing in their lives. Everyone I talked to seemed engaged and hopeful about the future. I didn't encounter a single pastor who shared complaints or doubts or negativity about their parishioners or congregations. I didn't meet anyone who wasn't convinced that they were called to share the good news of Jesus in the world no matter their vocation, profession, age, gender, sexual orientation or background.
This event was unlike any church related event I've ever been to. It was stimulating to all the senses, not just the intellect. It invigorated me as a person of faith first and also as a pastor. It took me further down the road of having unreserved hope and optimism about the future of the Christian faith I hold so dear. It encouraged my faith and touched my passion for discerning the movement of the Spirit and the call of Jesus in my own life and in the ministry I share with the good people of Community of Hope and the Madison Christian Community.
Most of the people I met are folks who have left the circle of the evangelical world for some reason or another. For a variety of reasons that expression of faith was no longer working for them and so they set out to find a new way of expressing and thinking about faith. Somehow a group of these folks found one another and have been meeting together and expanding their reach for more than 10 years. This ever expanding network calls itself Emergent Village. Some of the people I met, like myself, are coming from one of the various so-called "mainline" traditions of the Protestant faith - Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran and United Church of Christ.
Most of the congregations represented were new church starts intentionally using the term "emerging" as a way of describing themselves and indicating their desire to be about doing something new in the name of God. Some of the congregations represented were existing congregations in various traditions seeking to breathe hope and new life. I got the feeling that it is a fairly new development for there to be "mainline" people at Emergent Village events. This feeling made me wonder what someone like me who is almost a complete stranger to the world of evangelical churches but who is also seeking new life for the future of the church might have to offer to this group. I believe I do have something to offer and hope to figure out what along the way. I know I have a lot to learn.
For the next few weeks I will be sharing my reflections on this event in some way that will reveal itself to me as it unfolds. I'm looking forward to the process. Amen.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The Gift of Generosity
Over the past three weeks our congregation has been exploring generosity. As part of that exploration I invited the entire community to send me stories about generosity they'd experienced, observed, or expressed either within our community or in other settings. I also invited them to share how generosity had transformed their lives. What follows is a cross section of their responses, which were shared in worship this past Sunday.
I want to start off by thanking the 25 people who called and sent emails to share stories and observations about generosity for this morning’s sermon. All of the stories are wonderful and unique. I wish I could share them all with you but there were simply too many. I’ve tried to select a broad cross-section of what was shared with me to share with you this morning. I invite you to sit back and enjoy these stories of our generosity.
It was New Year’s Eve, 1999 - Our youngest son was 17, and a junior in high school. The summer before one of his best friends had been injured in a diving accident and was paralyzed from the shoulders down. For New Year's Eve Our son, the friend who had been paralyzed and three other friends decided they were going to treat themselves to a fancy dinner at the Tornado Room. As normal 17 year olds, no one thought they'd need a reservation, even on New Year's Eve. The young men walked into the Tornado Room and asked for a table for five. The host said the wait would be very long. "Even for someone in a wheelchair?" they asked. Within minutes they were seated in the largest of the dining areas which was already full with New Year's Eve partiers; each of the young men had money to order the best steak they could find on the menu and all the side orders they wanted. They joked, laughed and were generally enjoying themselves. When the food came, the young men took turns feeding their friend who cannot do this for himself.
At the end of the meal our son excused himself to use the men's room and when he returned to the table, his friends were silent, their former animation gone. "What happened?" he asked. Finally they told him: someone paid our bill. Our son immediately went to anger, thinking one of their parents had picked up the tab when all along they had carefully planned for each one to pay his own way. He approached the host and demanded to know who had paid the bill. The host simply said: someone in the restaurant tonight saw your party and asked to pay your bill and they wish to remain anonymous. Our son returned to the table and told his friends what had happened. They looked around the dining room -- any one there could have been their anonymous angel. While they were on their way home, they had a private conversation about what had just happened. One of the boys said: we're young now but some day we will have jobs and we need to make a vow -- here, tonight -- that when we're older, we're going to be anonymous benefactors for someone. Each of the boys agreed. The pact was made. This anonymous act of generosity had a profound and lasting impact, and not only on those 5 young men. Whenever I think of this story, I try to think of something I can do that day to anonymously help someone else.
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I am continually amazed at the generosity of some women in the jail who have so little themselves and yet will share their only stamped envelope so another woman can write to her child, or their last bit of lotion from the indigent canteen.
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Recently, a co-worker and friend of a member of Community of Hope who knew that this member’s daughter was struggling handed her friend a sealed envelope and asked that the envelope be forwarded to the daughter. The co-worker explained that her mother had recently passed away and that she knew her mother would have wanted her to use the contents of the envelope to help somebody through a tough time.
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The generosity of people listening with undivided attention, really listening, has transformed my life. How? Well, it gave me a sense that I was actually here, and not invisible, and that my opinion, my story, my life, is worth something.
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It is a major pet peeve of mine when people are stingy. I suppose that I will never be fabulously wealthy but I think there's a certain attitude - of generosity, of thankfulness, of plenty, that accompanies an un-stingy life. I think there is something very liberating in a being generous - recognizing that you have more than you possibly need/want and that there is plenty for you to share.
For me currently, generosity is not as much about money as it is about art, about opening myself up and being generous with the creativity and the ideas that I see.
Above all, I do believe that generosity is a critical part of a happy life. I think it is really fundamental to my own faith.
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I have noticed how generously so many people give of their time and expertise at MCC--from great music-making to thought-provoking children's sermons to mentoring confirmation students to creating a visually inspiring worship space to supporting the Haiti ministry to teaching kids to garden and share of their abundance, to making quilts. I especially appreciate people's willingness and ability to share their ideas with others in conversation or public proclamation.
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I love this about our community, kids are not shuttled off and then not heard from again until their older -- they're brought into the fold and given the message that they are special and accepted just as they are. Not many places offer this to kids!
I think that is my overriding sense: Our community's gift to one another is a safe place to be themselves, fully accepted and embraced for who they are -- it is an incredibly generous spiritual practice to offer acceptance.
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When I was a kid in the 1950s we made lots of food at home, canning vegetables and chickens, applesauce and peaches, and of course, cookies and desserts. That food was amazing, and more appreciated when we ate it, for all the work that went into preparation. It became a medium of exchange better than money because it had personal care and style built in. We gave away lots of the stuff we made as well as bartering; friends and relatives often needed some help.
When my Confirmation mentee and I worked on learning to make better bread, we practiced that small generosity of always giving away some portion of the bread batch we made. It is as easy to make four loaves as to make two; it only takes one hot-from-the-oven loaf to make another friend. I think little acts of generosity can become habit. I want all these lessons to be learned by my children, both my own daughters and all my children in our community.
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In society’s eyes I am given many labels that threaten to devalue me. At Community of Hope, I am seen through the eyes of pure Love. Without labels or judgment, I am valued as a child of God just as special as any other. This generosity makes dreams come true for me and answers the deepest prayers in my soul-- to simply be loved and valued for who I am.
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I am grateful for the generosity of TIME given by people at Hope and the MCC (the spiritual exploration, support and prayer from my prayer group is nothing short of a miracle in my life). The time poured into my children by our youth pastors and other parents/pastors is a great gift to our family. … At MCC we are busy "building" sturdy, engaged people. That is a generous gift, indeed.
I am also very grateful for the power of example, a form of generosity I suppose, demonstrated by so many members at MCC- I often feel inspired by ways others behave (ie choices they make or ways they reach out to others). How astonishing is laughter yoga, the laying on of hands, the labyrinth?
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This summer I asked if anyone had a computer that could be donated. Someone did. It needed work, and the donor had to spend a weekend wiping his files. It was also slow; needed RAM. I bought a gigaByte to speed it up. Now a family with a H.S. student has a laptop that is sophisticated enough for the whole family. No one is surprised. "It's what we do!"
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Many, many years ago, when I was actively dealing with childhood abuse issues, there was a demonstration at the Capitol. A member of the congregation knew I would be attending. Although she said nothing to me about coming, she just appeared and stood with and by me. It was such a generous and compassionate thing to do.
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I believe that my husband’s long commitment to Hope and its community have a lot to do with the support we are both receiving at this time. He was very committed and involved himself in many ways with the various activities of Hope and its programs and governance. He was faithful in attendance even when I didn't give him encouragement and volunteered for a lot of involvement over the years. I would say that his presence in Hope was his best effort in his realm of spiritual witness.
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The Community of Hope has been a gift to me and to my family. For me, the true "mystery" of incarnation is found in the way the spirit can infuse a congregation as "the body of Christ" offering sanctuary to refugees, help to farm families in distress, reach out to youth not only in Haiti, but also on campuses here, seeking to serve the homeless, you know how long this list can be.
Without Jesus, no church, but the church is essential to bear witness - not in mouthing creeds, but through the daily acts of generosity of its members. I believe that the church that stops giving, dries up, and, like the fig tree, will soon wither and die.
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I pray that in these stories you have found a little piece of yourself and a nod of encouragement to continue growing in generosity in all the ways lifted up here and in as many other ways as you can imagine. The Spirit is alive and she is moving freely in and through each of us. She blesses us all with numerous opportunities each and every day to be channels of God’s grace, to give freely of all that we are and all that we have to share God’s love with the world. Let us go forth from this place with joy and generosity in our hearts. Let us find ways each and every day to live out of abundance and to give generously because we trust and accept God’s grace and God’s love is not only for us but for the whole world. Amen.
I want to start off by thanking the 25 people who called and sent emails to share stories and observations about generosity for this morning’s sermon. All of the stories are wonderful and unique. I wish I could share them all with you but there were simply too many. I’ve tried to select a broad cross-section of what was shared with me to share with you this morning. I invite you to sit back and enjoy these stories of our generosity.
It was New Year’s Eve, 1999 - Our youngest son was 17, and a junior in high school. The summer before one of his best friends had been injured in a diving accident and was paralyzed from the shoulders down. For New Year's Eve Our son, the friend who had been paralyzed and three other friends decided they were going to treat themselves to a fancy dinner at the Tornado Room. As normal 17 year olds, no one thought they'd need a reservation, even on New Year's Eve. The young men walked into the Tornado Room and asked for a table for five. The host said the wait would be very long. "Even for someone in a wheelchair?" they asked. Within minutes they were seated in the largest of the dining areas which was already full with New Year's Eve partiers; each of the young men had money to order the best steak they could find on the menu and all the side orders they wanted. They joked, laughed and were generally enjoying themselves. When the food came, the young men took turns feeding their friend who cannot do this for himself.
At the end of the meal our son excused himself to use the men's room and when he returned to the table, his friends were silent, their former animation gone. "What happened?" he asked. Finally they told him: someone paid our bill. Our son immediately went to anger, thinking one of their parents had picked up the tab when all along they had carefully planned for each one to pay his own way. He approached the host and demanded to know who had paid the bill. The host simply said: someone in the restaurant tonight saw your party and asked to pay your bill and they wish to remain anonymous. Our son returned to the table and told his friends what had happened. They looked around the dining room -- any one there could have been their anonymous angel. While they were on their way home, they had a private conversation about what had just happened. One of the boys said: we're young now but some day we will have jobs and we need to make a vow -- here, tonight -- that when we're older, we're going to be anonymous benefactors for someone. Each of the boys agreed. The pact was made. This anonymous act of generosity had a profound and lasting impact, and not only on those 5 young men. Whenever I think of this story, I try to think of something I can do that day to anonymously help someone else.
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I am continually amazed at the generosity of some women in the jail who have so little themselves and yet will share their only stamped envelope so another woman can write to her child, or their last bit of lotion from the indigent canteen.
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Recently, a co-worker and friend of a member of Community of Hope who knew that this member’s daughter was struggling handed her friend a sealed envelope and asked that the envelope be forwarded to the daughter. The co-worker explained that her mother had recently passed away and that she knew her mother would have wanted her to use the contents of the envelope to help somebody through a tough time.
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The generosity of people listening with undivided attention, really listening, has transformed my life. How? Well, it gave me a sense that I was actually here, and not invisible, and that my opinion, my story, my life, is worth something.
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It is a major pet peeve of mine when people are stingy. I suppose that I will never be fabulously wealthy but I think there's a certain attitude - of generosity, of thankfulness, of plenty, that accompanies an un-stingy life. I think there is something very liberating in a being generous - recognizing that you have more than you possibly need/want and that there is plenty for you to share.
For me currently, generosity is not as much about money as it is about art, about opening myself up and being generous with the creativity and the ideas that I see.
Above all, I do believe that generosity is a critical part of a happy life. I think it is really fundamental to my own faith.
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I have noticed how generously so many people give of their time and expertise at MCC--from great music-making to thought-provoking children's sermons to mentoring confirmation students to creating a visually inspiring worship space to supporting the Haiti ministry to teaching kids to garden and share of their abundance, to making quilts. I especially appreciate people's willingness and ability to share their ideas with others in conversation or public proclamation.
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I love this about our community, kids are not shuttled off and then not heard from again until their older -- they're brought into the fold and given the message that they are special and accepted just as they are. Not many places offer this to kids!
I think that is my overriding sense: Our community's gift to one another is a safe place to be themselves, fully accepted and embraced for who they are -- it is an incredibly generous spiritual practice to offer acceptance.
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When I was a kid in the 1950s we made lots of food at home, canning vegetables and chickens, applesauce and peaches, and of course, cookies and desserts. That food was amazing, and more appreciated when we ate it, for all the work that went into preparation. It became a medium of exchange better than money because it had personal care and style built in. We gave away lots of the stuff we made as well as bartering; friends and relatives often needed some help.
When my Confirmation mentee and I worked on learning to make better bread, we practiced that small generosity of always giving away some portion of the bread batch we made. It is as easy to make four loaves as to make two; it only takes one hot-from-the-oven loaf to make another friend. I think little acts of generosity can become habit. I want all these lessons to be learned by my children, both my own daughters and all my children in our community.
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In society’s eyes I am given many labels that threaten to devalue me. At Community of Hope, I am seen through the eyes of pure Love. Without labels or judgment, I am valued as a child of God just as special as any other. This generosity makes dreams come true for me and answers the deepest prayers in my soul-- to simply be loved and valued for who I am.
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I am grateful for the generosity of TIME given by people at Hope and the MCC (the spiritual exploration, support and prayer from my prayer group is nothing short of a miracle in my life). The time poured into my children by our youth pastors and other parents/pastors is a great gift to our family. … At MCC we are busy "building" sturdy, engaged people. That is a generous gift, indeed.
I am also very grateful for the power of example, a form of generosity I suppose, demonstrated by so many members at MCC- I often feel inspired by ways others behave (ie choices they make or ways they reach out to others). How astonishing is laughter yoga, the laying on of hands, the labyrinth?
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This summer I asked if anyone had a computer that could be donated. Someone did. It needed work, and the donor had to spend a weekend wiping his files. It was also slow; needed RAM. I bought a gigaByte to speed it up. Now a family with a H.S. student has a laptop that is sophisticated enough for the whole family. No one is surprised. "It's what we do!"
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Many, many years ago, when I was actively dealing with childhood abuse issues, there was a demonstration at the Capitol. A member of the congregation knew I would be attending. Although she said nothing to me about coming, she just appeared and stood with and by me. It was such a generous and compassionate thing to do.
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I believe that my husband’s long commitment to Hope and its community have a lot to do with the support we are both receiving at this time. He was very committed and involved himself in many ways with the various activities of Hope and its programs and governance. He was faithful in attendance even when I didn't give him encouragement and volunteered for a lot of involvement over the years. I would say that his presence in Hope was his best effort in his realm of spiritual witness.
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The Community of Hope has been a gift to me and to my family. For me, the true "mystery" of incarnation is found in the way the spirit can infuse a congregation as "the body of Christ" offering sanctuary to refugees, help to farm families in distress, reach out to youth not only in Haiti, but also on campuses here, seeking to serve the homeless, you know how long this list can be.
Without Jesus, no church, but the church is essential to bear witness - not in mouthing creeds, but through the daily acts of generosity of its members. I believe that the church that stops giving, dries up, and, like the fig tree, will soon wither and die.
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I pray that in these stories you have found a little piece of yourself and a nod of encouragement to continue growing in generosity in all the ways lifted up here and in as many other ways as you can imagine. The Spirit is alive and she is moving freely in and through each of us. She blesses us all with numerous opportunities each and every day to be channels of God’s grace, to give freely of all that we are and all that we have to share God’s love with the world. Let us go forth from this place with joy and generosity in our hearts. Let us find ways each and every day to live out of abundance and to give generously because we trust and accept God’s grace and God’s love is not only for us but for the whole world. Amen.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The Phoenix Affirmations
Last week I started reading Asphalt Jesus: Finding A New Christian Faith Along the Highways of America by Eric Elnes. This book tells the story of Elnes' cross-country walk from Phoenix, AZ to Wasthington D.C. to spread the good news of progressive Christianity and deepen the dialogue about faith in America. His idea was to walk all this way with a statement about progressive Christianity that he would post on the door of a church in Washington D.C. a la Martin Luther's 95 Theses. The Phoenix Affirmations, included here, are the statement he and his congregation, Scotsdale Congregational, UCC and others developed in preparation for this walk. Check it out.
The Phoenix Affirmations
From Asphalt Jesus: Finding A New Christian Faith Along the Highways of America by Eric Elnes
From Asphalt Jesus: Finding A New Christian Faith Along the Highways of America by Eric Elnes
The public face of Christianity in America today bears little connection to the historic faith of our ancestors. It represents even less our own faith as Christians who continue to celebrate the gifts of our Creator, revealed and embodied in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Heartened by our experience of the transforming presence of Christ’s Holy Spirit in our world, we find ourselves in a time and place where we will be no longer silent. We hereby mark an end to our silence by making the following affirmations:
As people who are joyfully and unapologetically Christian, we pledge ourselves completely to the way of Love. We work to express our love, as Jesus teaches us, in three ways: by loving God, neighbor, and self. (Matthew 22:34-40//Mark 12:28-31//Luke 10:25-28; cf. Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18)
CHRISTIAN LOVE OF GOD INCLUDES:
Walking fully in the Path of Jesus without denying the legitimacy of other paths that God may provide humanity.
Listening for God’s Word, which comes through daily prayer and meditation, studying the ancient testimonies which we call Scripture, and attending to God’s present activity in the world.
Celebrating the God whose Spirit pervades and whose glory is reflected in all of God’s Creation, including the earth and its eco-systems, the sacred and secular, the Christian and non-Christian, the human and non-human.
Expressing our love in worship that is as sincere, vibrant, and artful as it is scriptural.
CHRISTIAN LOVE OF NEIGHBOR INCLUDES:
Engaging people authentically, as Jesus did, treating all as creations make in God’s very image, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, age physical or mental ability, nationality, or economic class.
Standing, as Jesus does, with the outcast and oppressed, the denigrated and afflicted, seeking peace and justice with or without the support of others.
Preserving religious freedom and the church’s ability to speak prophetically to government by resisting the commingling of church and state.
Walking humbly with God, acknowledging our own shortcomings while honestly seeking to understand and call forth the best in others, including those who consider us their enemies.
CHRISTIAN LOVE OF SELF INCLUDES:
Basing our lives on the faith that in Christ all things are made new and that we, and all people, are loved beyond our wildest imagination – for eternity.
Claiming the sacredness of both our minds and our hearts and recognizing that faith and science, doubt and belief serve the prupose of truth.
Caring for our bodies and insisting on taking time to enjoy the benefits of prayer, reflection, worship and recreation in addition to work.
Acting on the faith that we are born with a meaning and purpose, a vocation and ministry that serve to strengthen and extend God’s realm of love.
As people who are joyfully and unapologetically Christian, we pledge ourselves completely to the way of Love. We work to express our love, as Jesus teaches us, in three ways: by loving God, neighbor, and self. (Matthew 22:34-40//Mark 12:28-31//Luke 10:25-28; cf. Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18)
CHRISTIAN LOVE OF GOD INCLUDES:
Walking fully in the Path of Jesus without denying the legitimacy of other paths that God may provide humanity.
Listening for God’s Word, which comes through daily prayer and meditation, studying the ancient testimonies which we call Scripture, and attending to God’s present activity in the world.
Celebrating the God whose Spirit pervades and whose glory is reflected in all of God’s Creation, including the earth and its eco-systems, the sacred and secular, the Christian and non-Christian, the human and non-human.
Expressing our love in worship that is as sincere, vibrant, and artful as it is scriptural.
CHRISTIAN LOVE OF NEIGHBOR INCLUDES:
Engaging people authentically, as Jesus did, treating all as creations make in God’s very image, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, age physical or mental ability, nationality, or economic class.
Standing, as Jesus does, with the outcast and oppressed, the denigrated and afflicted, seeking peace and justice with or without the support of others.
Preserving religious freedom and the church’s ability to speak prophetically to government by resisting the commingling of church and state.
Walking humbly with God, acknowledging our own shortcomings while honestly seeking to understand and call forth the best in others, including those who consider us their enemies.
CHRISTIAN LOVE OF SELF INCLUDES:
Basing our lives on the faith that in Christ all things are made new and that we, and all people, are loved beyond our wildest imagination – for eternity.
Claiming the sacredness of both our minds and our hearts and recognizing that faith and science, doubt and belief serve the prupose of truth.
Caring for our bodies and insisting on taking time to enjoy the benefits of prayer, reflection, worship and recreation in addition to work.
Acting on the faith that we are born with a meaning and purpose, a vocation and ministry that serve to strengthen and extend God’s realm of love.
During the process of developing the idea for these affirmations Elnes asks himself a question; "Which principles would you be willing to die for?" As he answered this question, Elnes realizes that Jesus doesn't ask us to sacrifice for principles or ideas but for people, for relationships.
When I think about it, this way of viewing our lives as people of faith makes an incredible amount of sense. Even though I have often been known to interpret Jesus' death as one that came about because of his refusal to compromise principles of justice, equality and love another interpretation is certainly that Jesus made this sacrifice because of his love for God and for us. He knew that dying on the cross wasn't going to automatically make the world more just or more fair but maybe he had hope or faith that what would happen is that people like you and me would be so moved by this love, this ultimate sacrifice that we would seek to do the same in our own lives. Just thinking about this fills me with peace and also with agitation all at the same time.
The peace comes from the assurance of being loved and valued even to the point of the ultimate sacrifice - one's own life. The agitation comes from fear and anxiety - am I grateful enough for this gift, does my life measure up, what more could I do, how could I be different in the world to more closely and more faithfully follow Christ's example?
At the same time I remember that the love of God and of Jesus is a gift. We don't have to earn it. We don't and can't deserve it. All we have to do is receive it with gratitude and not guilt or obligation. And once we've received this gift prayerfully discern what response if any is ours to make.
I really appreciate coming across the Phoenix Affirmations and their simple but powerful message of the faith I love and seek to live each and every day. I pray they are a blessing to you, too.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Doing Something New
This week I had lunch with two colleagues in ministry. We are meeting every 6 weeks or so to talk about our various interests in the emerging church and in what we see emerging in our own lives and in ministry. This is the second time we've met and I very much enjoyed and was fed by the conversation.
One colleague reported that since our last meeting there have been two gatherings of the house church that he and his wife are starting along with some others they've met along the journey. The most remarkable thing he said to us over lunch is that when he tells people he' s a pastor of an established congregation it's a conversation stopper. They don't ask questions, they don't wonder about worship times, they don't engage in further dialogue. But, when he mentions this new church effort people are instantly curious and interested in checking it out. They want to know what is happening, where and when.
This experience, which mirrors my own, seems to bear out my feeling that it isn't faith that people are hesitant about - it's the institution of the church and what they imagine or know to be true about the religion that comes along with that institution.
It is also my feeling and experience that even though many people are opting out of church they still carry very strong associations of the role and authority of a pastor. I feel these assumptions and associations come crashing down like a heavy weight whenever I mention that I'm a pastor. Sometimes the reactions are downright negative at other times they're just sad because all of a sudden I'm not me anymore - I'm a role or a position and I'm every painful or negative or distancing experience they've ever had with a clergy person or the church.
But, my colleague's experience is different from this when he tells people about starting a new church. Maybe he doesn't mention he's a pastor and so people are free to be curious about this new thing that he and some friends are trying. Maybe it's just the very idea that it's something new and different taking place in a completely unfamiliar setting that allows people to have curiosity. They don't have years of associations about who clergy are or what they do or a lifetime of varying impressions of The Church to weigh them down or turn them off. They are free and my colleague is free to express the creativity, the desire for community, the yearning for meaning and a connection with others who are taking their faith and the call of the gospel seriously.
I admire my colleague and his courage in starting something new. I also admire his vision and creativity and his willingness to follow the Spirit's lead in listening to the yearning of his own heart but also to the yearnings in the hearts of people he was meeting. The way he talks about this experience, it's a necessity for him to do this because what he experiences in The Church is so completely wrong for him and his family - even in his role as a pastor. He wants his children to grow up with faith, he wants his family to be able to worship together, he wants the community in which he worships to be a faith community that can support and encourage him along his own, personal journey of faith and unfortunately, the church he currently serves is not able to be any of those things. Which doesn't mean that established churches can't do these things it's just that some won't.
So, this week I've been thinking a lot about what is emerging within me and within the faith community I serve. I don't have the clear vision of my colleague. But I do have the yearning and I know that there are others around me who share that yearning. I wonder where the Spirit will lead us? I wonder what it would be like to be free from the weight of history and expectation to really try something new? I wonder what it would be like to share the story of the ministry I love and have people ask me for more?
One colleague reported that since our last meeting there have been two gatherings of the house church that he and his wife are starting along with some others they've met along the journey. The most remarkable thing he said to us over lunch is that when he tells people he' s a pastor of an established congregation it's a conversation stopper. They don't ask questions, they don't wonder about worship times, they don't engage in further dialogue. But, when he mentions this new church effort people are instantly curious and interested in checking it out. They want to know what is happening, where and when.
This experience, which mirrors my own, seems to bear out my feeling that it isn't faith that people are hesitant about - it's the institution of the church and what they imagine or know to be true about the religion that comes along with that institution.
It is also my feeling and experience that even though many people are opting out of church they still carry very strong associations of the role and authority of a pastor. I feel these assumptions and associations come crashing down like a heavy weight whenever I mention that I'm a pastor. Sometimes the reactions are downright negative at other times they're just sad because all of a sudden I'm not me anymore - I'm a role or a position and I'm every painful or negative or distancing experience they've ever had with a clergy person or the church.
But, my colleague's experience is different from this when he tells people about starting a new church. Maybe he doesn't mention he's a pastor and so people are free to be curious about this new thing that he and some friends are trying. Maybe it's just the very idea that it's something new and different taking place in a completely unfamiliar setting that allows people to have curiosity. They don't have years of associations about who clergy are or what they do or a lifetime of varying impressions of The Church to weigh them down or turn them off. They are free and my colleague is free to express the creativity, the desire for community, the yearning for meaning and a connection with others who are taking their faith and the call of the gospel seriously.
I admire my colleague and his courage in starting something new. I also admire his vision and creativity and his willingness to follow the Spirit's lead in listening to the yearning of his own heart but also to the yearnings in the hearts of people he was meeting. The way he talks about this experience, it's a necessity for him to do this because what he experiences in The Church is so completely wrong for him and his family - even in his role as a pastor. He wants his children to grow up with faith, he wants his family to be able to worship together, he wants the community in which he worships to be a faith community that can support and encourage him along his own, personal journey of faith and unfortunately, the church he currently serves is not able to be any of those things. Which doesn't mean that established churches can't do these things it's just that some won't.
So, this week I've been thinking a lot about what is emerging within me and within the faith community I serve. I don't have the clear vision of my colleague. But I do have the yearning and I know that there are others around me who share that yearning. I wonder where the Spirit will lead us? I wonder what it would be like to be free from the weight of history and expectation to really try something new? I wonder what it would be like to share the story of the ministry I love and have people ask me for more?
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Re-Imagining Preaching Part 3
In his book Preaching Re-Imagined: The Role of the Sermon in Communities of Faith Doug Pagitt writes: ..."Preaching isn't an end in itself. We don't particpate in Christian communities so we can produce and hear great sermons. We take part in these communities because we believe they're where we're formed and shaped to become the people of God - people who are actively living in the kingdom."
In seminary I learned that the purpose of the sermon was to compel people to change their lives, be more faithful disciples, be better Christians, be more justice-oriented. I was taught that the fate of the souls of the people in my future congregation would lie in my hands and that I had to lead them to salvation through my cleverly constructed, skillfully researched, compelling speeches/sermons. I never liked that job. What a burden to bear as a pastor. And what an incredibly arrogant perspective on one person's role in the life of a community or in the lives of individual people. Ever since seminary, I have resisted this definition of my role and tried at every turn to get out from under it.
Despite my attempts to get out from under this particular definition of preaching, I have been told that I have a fair amount of skill as a preacher. I enjoy telling stories and have a sense of humor. I'm a good enough writer. I speak clearly with adequate volume and possess enough self-confidence. I work diligently and faithfully on my sermons every day. I'm not afraid to tell stories from my own faith journey. I love to tell stories from other people's journeys. But I can barely remember what I've said on Sunday morning by the time Monday rolls around and I can only imagine the recall time is shorter for the folks in my congregation. One-way, monologue communication is not how we learn. It's not how we absorb information the most effectively and it's not necessarily what we seek when we're hoping to transform our lives. If this effort is what is supposed to lead people to Jesus, I and all except perhaps the most skilled of preachers/speech makers are doomed to failure.
Educators have known this for a long, long time. Children and adults learn best when there is a variety of ways that information is shared. People learn best with there are multiple opportunities for hands on experience, discussion and dialogue so that they can interact with what their learning, test out their ideas and thoughts and receive feedback from others. It is our life in the community where we are formed and shaped into God's people. It is the community that guides and inspires our efforts to seek, live in and co-create God's realm. We inspire and challenge, encourage and guide one another most effectively in relationship not through making speeches.
I've heard many comments from my congregation about our Sermon in Community Sundays. People really liked it but many say "we wouldn't want to do that every week." So far, unfortunately, I agree with them. It would be difficult for me to sustain that schedule every week, in part because of the sheer number of evening meetings I attend in any given month (which is a topic for another discussion). But I wonder why they don't want to do that every week if they like it so much. (I think I'll start asking them...)
My best guess is that it's just a shift in form that is unfamiliar and people, like me, have been trained to believe that the one-way sermon is what you need and what you should want from your pastor on Sunday morning. It's something I'm struggling with still but I know there's time and that with time, if we stick with it, this Sermon in Community idea might catch on or we'll find something else that seems more real for us and then we'll do that. No matter what we do I pray that the Spirit will continue to lead, inspire and challenge us to continue being and becoming a community that thoughtfully and fearlessly forms and shapes us to be and become the people of God living in God's realm at all times and in all places. May it be so.
In seminary I learned that the purpose of the sermon was to compel people to change their lives, be more faithful disciples, be better Christians, be more justice-oriented. I was taught that the fate of the souls of the people in my future congregation would lie in my hands and that I had to lead them to salvation through my cleverly constructed, skillfully researched, compelling speeches/sermons. I never liked that job. What a burden to bear as a pastor. And what an incredibly arrogant perspective on one person's role in the life of a community or in the lives of individual people. Ever since seminary, I have resisted this definition of my role and tried at every turn to get out from under it.
Despite my attempts to get out from under this particular definition of preaching, I have been told that I have a fair amount of skill as a preacher. I enjoy telling stories and have a sense of humor. I'm a good enough writer. I speak clearly with adequate volume and possess enough self-confidence. I work diligently and faithfully on my sermons every day. I'm not afraid to tell stories from my own faith journey. I love to tell stories from other people's journeys. But I can barely remember what I've said on Sunday morning by the time Monday rolls around and I can only imagine the recall time is shorter for the folks in my congregation. One-way, monologue communication is not how we learn. It's not how we absorb information the most effectively and it's not necessarily what we seek when we're hoping to transform our lives. If this effort is what is supposed to lead people to Jesus, I and all except perhaps the most skilled of preachers/speech makers are doomed to failure.
Educators have known this for a long, long time. Children and adults learn best when there is a variety of ways that information is shared. People learn best with there are multiple opportunities for hands on experience, discussion and dialogue so that they can interact with what their learning, test out their ideas and thoughts and receive feedback from others. It is our life in the community where we are formed and shaped into God's people. It is the community that guides and inspires our efforts to seek, live in and co-create God's realm. We inspire and challenge, encourage and guide one another most effectively in relationship not through making speeches.
I've heard many comments from my congregation about our Sermon in Community Sundays. People really liked it but many say "we wouldn't want to do that every week." So far, unfortunately, I agree with them. It would be difficult for me to sustain that schedule every week, in part because of the sheer number of evening meetings I attend in any given month (which is a topic for another discussion). But I wonder why they don't want to do that every week if they like it so much. (I think I'll start asking them...)
My best guess is that it's just a shift in form that is unfamiliar and people, like me, have been trained to believe that the one-way sermon is what you need and what you should want from your pastor on Sunday morning. It's something I'm struggling with still but I know there's time and that with time, if we stick with it, this Sermon in Community idea might catch on or we'll find something else that seems more real for us and then we'll do that. No matter what we do I pray that the Spirit will continue to lead, inspire and challenge us to continue being and becoming a community that thoughtfully and fearlessly forms and shapes us to be and become the people of God living in God's realm at all times and in all places. May it be so.
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