Life is tough right now! For many today, this has become a kind of mantra. The world seems out of control, families are breaking, the economy stinks, houses are being lost, corporations are downsizing, pensions are shrinking, waistlines are growing, health is eroding. It's easy to think that we are alone in this, or that life will never get better.
There is another perspective. I experienced it last Sunday morning in a variety of ways, but none more profound than the simple words of an almost four-year-old. During our praise time Jennifer B. shared that her son, Jack, was going to celebrate a birthday this week. Earlier in the week, Jennifer asked Jack who he would like to invite to celebrate with him. Without hesitation, Jack announced, "I want to celebrate with my people."
Jennifer pressed him, 'Who are your people?"
Jack replied, "The church people."
And so on Wednesday night Jennifer is bringing a cake so Jack can celebrate with his people. Knowing that we've got people changes everything, whether we are grieving or celebrating--to have people makes all the difference. In a way Jack answered the age-old question, "Why do you have to go to church to be a Christian? The point of Christianity is that Christ has life in and through a living breathing group of interconnected, loving people. Jack isn't the only one who has people. We can all have people. All we have to do is CONNECT to a healthy community of faith like CUMC, and we can say along with Jack, "I've got people."
Many more around us need to know the strength and support a community of faith can bring. Let's keep working on expanding our circle of care, so that lots more in the TC area can say with confidence, "I've got people."
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
just a thought for the new year--maybe there is a place like this CUMC
The Land of Beginning
I wish that there were some wonderful place
Called the Land of Beginning Again
Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches
And all of our selfish grief
Could be dropped like a shabby old coat by the door
And never be put on again.
I wish we could come on it all unaware
Like the hunter who finds a lost trail
And I wish that the one whom our blindness has done
The greatest injustice of all
Could be at the gates like an old friend that waits
For the comrade he's gladdest to hail.
We would find all the things we intended to do
But forgot, and remembered too late;
Little praises unspoken, little promises broken
And all of the thousand and one
Little duties neglected that might have perfected
The day for one less fortunate.
It wouldn't be possible not to be kind
In the Land of Beginning Again
And the ones we misjudged and the ones whom we grudged
Their moments of victory then
Would find in the grasp of our loving handclasp
More than penitent lips could explain.
For what had been hardest we'd know had been best
And what had seemed loss would be gain
For there isn't a sting that will not take a wing
When we've faced it and laughed it away,
And I think that the laughter is most what we're after
In the Land of Beginning Again.
So I wish that there were some wondered place
Called the Land of Beginning Again
Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches
And all of our selfish grief
Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door
And never be put on again.
Louise Fletcher
I wish that there were some wonderful place
Called the Land of Beginning Again
Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches
And all of our selfish grief
Could be dropped like a shabby old coat by the door
And never be put on again.
I wish we could come on it all unaware
Like the hunter who finds a lost trail
And I wish that the one whom our blindness has done
The greatest injustice of all
Could be at the gates like an old friend that waits
For the comrade he's gladdest to hail.
We would find all the things we intended to do
But forgot, and remembered too late;
Little praises unspoken, little promises broken
And all of the thousand and one
Little duties neglected that might have perfected
The day for one less fortunate.
It wouldn't be possible not to be kind
In the Land of Beginning Again
And the ones we misjudged and the ones whom we grudged
Their moments of victory then
Would find in the grasp of our loving handclasp
More than penitent lips could explain.
For what had been hardest we'd know had been best
And what had seemed loss would be gain
For there isn't a sting that will not take a wing
When we've faced it and laughed it away,
And I think that the laughter is most what we're after
In the Land of Beginning Again.
So I wish that there were some wondered place
Called the Land of Beginning Again
Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches
And all of our selfish grief
Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door
And never be put on again.
Louise Fletcher
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Christmas
When Mary found out she was going to have a baby, the angel greeted her as favored by God. What a blessing to know that we are all favored by God--that is God looks on us favorably despite ourselves. This is a great gift! Each of through the grace of Jesus Christ is loved for who we are. We all have frailties, but God invites us to try our hardest and do our best in loving God and others. And God accepts our efforts as faithful. May doing our best for God and others be our gift to God this Christmas season.
plou
plou
Monday, September 22, 2008
Small Groups
Last night was the second study in our "Faith-Sharing" series. We had two new members. We had a wonderful conversation about each of our faith stories and how we might use our stories to connect with others for God's purposes. I am excited as I wake up this morning to know that at least five of us from CUMC are investing ourselves in the work of understanding better how to share our faith. If twelve disciples in the first century maintained and shared the gospel so it could spread through out the world, imagine what five modern day Christians could do with all the modern communication tools we have at our disposal.
...But the truth is that the most effective tool remains--regular personal invitations to others to join the journey of faith in God through Jesus Christ.
plou
...But the truth is that the most effective tool remains--regular personal invitations to others to join the journey of faith in God through Jesus Christ.
plou
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
The Call
A few Sundays ago, we studied Moses and the burning bush--a story of Moses' call to go to Egypt and confront the Pharaoh.
My most recent call began last Monday when two Jennifers from our church ganged up on me--saying, "Why don't you dance for the "Swingshift Dancing with the Stars for Charity" events? I thought about it for a moment, and said,"I don't think so." The story was that two consecutive dancers had backed out and Safe Harbor Homeless Ministries might be unrepresented at the event.
Then another call came from someone else in our congregation. You should do this, I'll call the coordinator. Before I knew it, I was on the phone with the coordinator and saying, "Yes, I guess I could do that." Nobody had told me the first competition was just three days away. So, Saturday night I danced the Zeut Suit Riot to honor my God. That was a first!
What have I learned so far, other than a few dance steps?
1. God's call often comes through others.
2. Too often our first answer is "No."
3. Faith challenges are usually not in the status quo--our comfort zone.
4. Wonderful experiences happen and spiritual doors are opened when we say yes to God's call and leave the comfort of the status quo behind.
plou
My most recent call began last Monday when two Jennifers from our church ganged up on me--saying, "Why don't you dance for the "Swingshift Dancing with the Stars for Charity" events? I thought about it for a moment, and said,"I don't think so." The story was that two consecutive dancers had backed out and Safe Harbor Homeless Ministries might be unrepresented at the event.
Then another call came from someone else in our congregation. You should do this, I'll call the coordinator. Before I knew it, I was on the phone with the coordinator and saying, "Yes, I guess I could do that." Nobody had told me the first competition was just three days away. So, Saturday night I danced the Zeut Suit Riot to honor my God. That was a first!
What have I learned so far, other than a few dance steps?
1. God's call often comes through others.
2. Too often our first answer is "No."
3. Faith challenges are usually not in the status quo--our comfort zone.
4. Wonderful experiences happen and spiritual doors are opened when we say yes to God's call and leave the comfort of the status quo behind.
plou
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Thoughts from another teacher on believing
I am reprinting this from a blog post I made several years ago...still compelling to me.
"...the God-life is not about believing all the right things about Jesus. It’s not about being able to recite the creed without crossing your fingers or believing that Jonah was swallowed by a big fish or having an instant, now-you’re-saved, “born again” experience. It is about being willing to let go of everything you think you know and allowing yourself to be drawn into the mystery that is God.
“Believing,” as John uses this word, does not refer to some intellectual process that happens in your head. To “believe” in something is to give your heart to it. The God-life then is about giving your heart to God. Your broken heart. Your disbelieving heart. Your divided, angry, fearful heart. Your hard heart. You do not, of course, have the power to transform your own heart, but you do have the power to offer it, no matter what condition it is in, to the God who is able to make all things new.
My wish, my hope, my most earnest prayer, is that church could be a place, the very place, the best place, for our children and our youth to bring their questions. And for us to bring ours. And then, as we wrestle with the questions of how we are to live and work and worship, as we grow in trust of God and each other—slowly, gradually, over our lifetimes—a new spaciousness would emerge allowing new things to be born in us and in the world.
“Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart,” wrote Ranier Maria Rilke,
and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer. "
--credit given to The Rev. Deacon Eyleen
"...the God-life is not about believing all the right things about Jesus. It’s not about being able to recite the creed without crossing your fingers or believing that Jonah was swallowed by a big fish or having an instant, now-you’re-saved, “born again” experience. It is about being willing to let go of everything you think you know and allowing yourself to be drawn into the mystery that is God.
“Believing,” as John uses this word, does not refer to some intellectual process that happens in your head. To “believe” in something is to give your heart to it. The God-life then is about giving your heart to God. Your broken heart. Your disbelieving heart. Your divided, angry, fearful heart. Your hard heart. You do not, of course, have the power to transform your own heart, but you do have the power to offer it, no matter what condition it is in, to the God who is able to make all things new.
My wish, my hope, my most earnest prayer, is that church could be a place, the very place, the best place, for our children and our youth to bring their questions. And for us to bring ours. And then, as we wrestle with the questions of how we are to live and work and worship, as we grow in trust of God and each other—slowly, gradually, over our lifetimes—a new spaciousness would emerge allowing new things to be born in us and in the world.
“Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart,” wrote Ranier Maria Rilke,
and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer. "
--credit given to The Rev. Deacon Eyleen
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
measurement of success in a simple congregation
In my last entry I gave you an idea of what a simple church might look like. The next question is how to "get 'er done." Here are a few key concepts:
Clarity is "the ability of the process to be communicated and understood by the people." The church must have a clear blueprint for the making of disciples and everyone who attends or comes in contact with your congregation should be able to see how it all works--how a person becomes and grows as a disciple through your congregation.
Movement is "the sequential steps in the process that causes people to move to greater areas of commitment." It is never enough to move into the church. We must move through the process of becoming more what God would like us to be. It is the work of the church to assist us in this process.
Alignment is "the arrangement of all the ministries and staff around the same simple process." The church must be organized fully around its discipleship purpose/process. The team must rally around the what and the how.
Focus is the ability to eliminate ministries/activities outside the process/purpose and only add those ministries/activities that fit your church's process/purpose.
Here's to learning how to become a simple church.
plou
Clarity is "the ability of the process to be communicated and understood by the people." The church must have a clear blueprint for the making of disciples and everyone who attends or comes in contact with your congregation should be able to see how it all works--how a person becomes and grows as a disciple through your congregation.
Movement is "the sequential steps in the process that causes people to move to greater areas of commitment." It is never enough to move into the church. We must move through the process of becoming more what God would like us to be. It is the work of the church to assist us in this process.
Alignment is "the arrangement of all the ministries and staff around the same simple process." The church must be organized fully around its discipleship purpose/process. The team must rally around the what and the how.
Focus is the ability to eliminate ministries/activities outside the process/purpose and only add those ministries/activities that fit your church's process/purpose.
Here's to learning how to become a simple church.
plou
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