Yesterday I went to the back of the church while the children's choir was singing at the early service. I turned around and my heart skipped a beat. There in front of me was a choir of 10 or so children and only one of them was white. In fact, he wore a prosthesis for a left lower arm and hand and was not born in the U.S.
In that moment, I knew that what God dreamed for us at Christ United Methodist Church had materialized before my eyes. A new kind of church has emerged--one more reflective of the kingdom in all its magnificent glory. Thank you God for a refreshingly beautiful glimse of your kingdom come.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Thursday, January 11, 2007
A great sample of an Upper Room Devotional.
I was blown away by today's Upper Room Devotional. We don't have to be perfect, but we so have to let go and let God work through us and our ministry. --plou
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He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
- Micah 6:8 (NRSV)
_________________________
AT the music festival the piano-duo competition was in progress. The first pair of entrants played their piece without mistakes. As the second performers were making an unsteady start, my companion leaned over and whispered, "The first pair has won already."
At the end, the judge stood. "The first contestants were letter perfect," he began. "Mechanically, their playing was good; but what we want is music. The second players had a little trouble getting started, but then we heard distinct melody and firm chords, signifying a listening and thoughtful communion. They entered into the spirit intended by the composer. They made music."
What a lesson! The music master clarified that obeying exacting rules does not necessarily convey the spirit of the music. In the same way, Jesus told us to move beyond law to the spirit of the law, which is love for God and for people.
We keep love alive by opening ourselves to the promptings of the Spirit within us through prayer, meditation, and sensitivity in our relationships. Then, by divine grace, we become channels of God's love and help to bring about the harmony that the Creator/Composer intended.
Prayer: Lord, may the promptings of your Spirit make us open channels of your love. Amen.
Hazel Keenan Schrum (Ontario, Canada)
We have a link to these daily devotionals on our home page. Just click daily devotional.
_________________________
He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
- Micah 6:8 (NRSV)
_________________________
AT the music festival the piano-duo competition was in progress. The first pair of entrants played their piece without mistakes. As the second performers were making an unsteady start, my companion leaned over and whispered, "The first pair has won already."
At the end, the judge stood. "The first contestants were letter perfect," he began. "Mechanically, their playing was good; but what we want is music. The second players had a little trouble getting started, but then we heard distinct melody and firm chords, signifying a listening and thoughtful communion. They entered into the spirit intended by the composer. They made music."
What a lesson! The music master clarified that obeying exacting rules does not necessarily convey the spirit of the music. In the same way, Jesus told us to move beyond law to the spirit of the law, which is love for God and for people.
We keep love alive by opening ourselves to the promptings of the Spirit within us through prayer, meditation, and sensitivity in our relationships. Then, by divine grace, we become channels of God's love and help to bring about the harmony that the Creator/Composer intended.
Prayer: Lord, may the promptings of your Spirit make us open channels of your love. Amen.
Hazel Keenan Schrum (Ontario, Canada)
We have a link to these daily devotionals on our home page. Just click daily devotional.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Reason to Party
On October 2 I wrote this blog post:
Last night in our "Saving Jesus" class, the commentators of our video considered the question, "Did Jesus hold services or throw parties?" Their contention was that Jesus went from neighborhood to neighborhood throwing parties with expansive guest lists that included people from all social classes and even mixed religious backgrounds. This activity was considered revolutionary because it brought people together across socially, politically and religiously enforced lines. The Roman Empire effectively worked to keep these people of various classes and backgrounds separate and hating one another, thus ensuring centralized Roman power and a dis-empowered general populous.I think it's time for the people of God to start throwing parties again--celebrations of God that bridge social, economic, political and ethnic barriers. We need to stretch our invitation list beyond our comfort zone. Anything less than a well-attended Jesus party will never accomplish the ministry and witness that Jesus did.Jesus self-proclaimed mission is found in Luke 4:18-19, 18 when he reads a passage from Isaiah 61, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, and that the time of the Lord's favor has come." What better way to say that than to throw a party in Jesus's honor?
--Well we did it! God did it! December 24th we threw a God party, sent out 10,000 invitations and people came--people with all different skin colors, people in wheel chairs and walkers, people in diapers and depends, people in ties and T-shirts. We sang to the glory of God--young and old together. We took chairs from every room to make room for the 229 people that arrived that evening. We had a birthday party for Jesus. Thank you for joining me in honoring our Savior in such a fun and powerful way.
Last night in our "Saving Jesus" class, the commentators of our video considered the question, "Did Jesus hold services or throw parties?" Their contention was that Jesus went from neighborhood to neighborhood throwing parties with expansive guest lists that included people from all social classes and even mixed religious backgrounds. This activity was considered revolutionary because it brought people together across socially, politically and religiously enforced lines. The Roman Empire effectively worked to keep these people of various classes and backgrounds separate and hating one another, thus ensuring centralized Roman power and a dis-empowered general populous.I think it's time for the people of God to start throwing parties again--celebrations of God that bridge social, economic, political and ethnic barriers. We need to stretch our invitation list beyond our comfort zone. Anything less than a well-attended Jesus party will never accomplish the ministry and witness that Jesus did.Jesus self-proclaimed mission is found in Luke 4:18-19, 18 when he reads a passage from Isaiah 61, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, and that the time of the Lord's favor has come." What better way to say that than to throw a party in Jesus's honor?
--Well we did it! God did it! December 24th we threw a God party, sent out 10,000 invitations and people came--people with all different skin colors, people in wheel chairs and walkers, people in diapers and depends, people in ties and T-shirts. We sang to the glory of God--young and old together. We took chairs from every room to make room for the 229 people that arrived that evening. We had a birthday party for Jesus. Thank you for joining me in honoring our Savior in such a fun and powerful way.
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