It’s just one way to meet your church neighbors—I highly recommend it! Some pictures from a recent Halloween event are at:http://www.stmarksmonte.com/article/285/about-us/upcoming-events-recent-news/2011-events/halloween-for-kids-2011
Jim
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Halloween Outside Church Walls
In thinking about what to discuss on this Halloween Day, and connecting it with our consistent message of being church outside our walls, it was easy to decide what to present. Our own church, St. Mark’s in Montesano, Washington has for the past 8 years or so opened its doors to all of the trick-or-treaters in our neighborhoods. Our church sits within a long established neighborhood (close to three other churches) and also is near the local high school (which has its own fun house). The area is loaded with hundreds of kids and their parents walking around to get treats this day each year, and a while back we decided to join in the fun. For a couple of weeks before Halloween we ask everyone to bring in treats to give out, and we end up with several large bags to serve the large crowd. At this very moment as I write this, the walkway and the entrance to the church parish hall has been decorated with several large blowup items (a large pumpkin, a scary black cat, a large ghost), and the doors opened to to greet everyone to get their treats, to sit for a short rest in the warm hall with coffee or tea, and even to use the restrooms as needed. Even the dogs and cats which come by get a treat. The parents enjoy the short rest (if the weather is poor), and many take pictures of their kids with the decorations. And, many years this evening falls on a night when our local AA or Gamblers Anonymous group meets at our church hall, and they continue on with handing out treats and coffee for a short while as we finish at 7pm or so, so it is a shared time of giving for us all.
It’s just one way to meet your church neighbors—I highly recommend it! Some pictures from a recent Halloween event are at:http://www.stmarksmonte.com/article/285/about-us/upcoming-events-recent-news/2011-events/halloween-for-kids-2011
It’s just one way to meet your church neighbors—I highly recommend it! Some pictures from a recent Halloween event are at:http://www.stmarksmonte.com/article/285/about-us/upcoming-events-recent-news/2011-events/halloween-for-kids-2011
Monday, October 28, 2013
Say Yes
Last night we closed our Eucharistic service at Church of the Apostles with a long term friend of the the community sharing a poem by Andrea Gibson. I am sharing this video of the poet (Gibson), as a gift of hope. That's right, a gift a hope, because that is what the poem was for me. The poem was shared right after the Eucharist event- that in which we receive and become.
I hope you too can say yes.
Eliacín
I hope you too can say yes.
Eliacín
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Insiders and Outsiders
By Bishop Mike Rinehart
Reprinted from “Connections” with permission of the Synod of Texas Louisiana Gulf Coast.
Here’s my hunch. Everything for me rises or falls on this bet. I’m putting all my eggs in this basket:
The turnaround of the mainline churches will happen when we in those churches care as much about those outside the church, as we do those inside. To embrace relevance, we will have to let go of survival.
That’s it. That’s all I’ve got. If I’m wrong, fire me now. I’ll die on this hill.
What does this mean?
My theory is that the mainline churches have ceased to be relevant to the culture, because insiders trump outsiders every time.
Decisions are made for the benefit of those inside rather than those outside the church. In every single decision, even the little ones, insiders trump outsiders. Take hymns, for example. Musical decisions are not made considering what will attract spiritually hungry outsiders, but what will please the card-carrying, bill-paying membership. Most church outsiders don’t care if you ever sing “How Great Thou Art.” They won’t be slightly offended by a guitar in church. Time and time again church leaders receive heat from church insiders upset about this or that, because the insiders are trying to recreate their childhood church experience or simply have a rigid idea of what church is supposed to be. Church leaders cave in to these insiders because try control the purse strings.
More facts on the ground: insiders are inherently change-averse. People don’t like change, especially those who have status in the church. Pete Steinke taught us that every church is an emotional system. Some people are benefitting from the system as it currently is. Some benefit emotionally. They are revered as church saints. Or they are validators to whom everyone turns for approval of decisions. They are having an emotional need met by receiving recognition. Or perhaps they are simply tirelessly defending The Tradition, regardless of how new or unhelpful that tradition may be. People in power, who have privileges in the current system, will resist change and make life really hard for any leader who seeks to be a change agent. Pastors are paid from members’ giving, so there is a potential conflict of interest. If they do the right thing, some leaders will end up losing their job (or up on a cross, to reference an often-told story).
Why is this happening?
Church structures were set up to preserve what exists, not change it. These stable structures work well when society is changing slowly, imperceptibly. If something is working, protect it at all costs. But what if it is not working? What if the rate of societal change skyrockets, and old patterns and structures no longer work? Peter Drucker once said, “When the rate of change outside the organization exceeds the rate of change inside the organization, the organization is doomed.”
What do we do about it?
Change. Adapt. The church has adapted, survived and even thrived in times of tectonic change in the past. It can again.
Stable structures are a high value in a stable culture, but when in a climate of rapid change, adaptability is the higher value. In a time of stability, experience is crucial. In times of change, experience can be a liability, especially if the experienced make the fatal mistake of assuming what garnered success in the past, will guarantee success in the future. What got you where you are now will not get your where you need to go in the future. Sorry. Leaders who don’t get this are in for some rough sledding.
Let’s face it, change is hard. Change, however is non-negotiable. The only constant in life is change. There is no growth without change. As someone once said, “The only one who likes change is a wet baby.” Any kind of change creates conflict. Leaders can only tolerate so much discontent. And even a little discontent sounds LOUD when you’re in the hot seat. So when things heat up, leaders circle the wagons, which is precisely the wrong thing to do. Instead, leaders need to sin boldly. Lead boldly. Look at any successful enterprise and you can be certain that someone, at some point, took a huge risk along the way. Nothing great is accomplished without risk.
But risk is risky, and change is simply too difficult and painful. Most organizations won’t change until they’re desperate, like the alcoholic that won’t go to rehab until s/he hits rock bottom.
So what will give us the courage to take those risks?
This takes us back to the beginning. Churches will not adapt to the new realities until they care as much about reaching those outside, as appeasing those inside.
The world is hell-bent on destruction in countless ways. It is desperately in need of a church that offers a Way of peace, truth, compassion and hope, as opposed to the world’s way of power, materialism, exploitation and violence. It needs leaders willing to risk comfort, status and economic security for the life of the world and the outreach potential of the church. It needs a church that looks less like the Pharisees’ religion and more like Jesus’ ministry. It needs a church that is willing to sacrifice everything for those outside: buildings, budgets, sacred cows, traditions, structures. It needs a church that so loves the world, that she’d be willing to die for it.
So here’s the plan. New policy. Every decision, every single decision made by staff, council and every committee is made on behalf of those not yet here. Every sermon choice, every hymn, song and musical choice, every building and grounds choice, every spending choice is made with outsiders in mind.
When we become a church for the world, the outsider, when the pain of staying the same (and dying of irrelevance) for those already here exceeds the pain of changing (and sacrificing old ways) for those not yet here, we will be the church for which God incarnate came to this earth and gave his life.
Reprinted from “Connections” with permission of the Synod of Texas Louisiana Gulf Coast.
Here’s my hunch. Everything for me rises or falls on this bet. I’m putting all my eggs in this basket:
The turnaround of the mainline churches will happen when we in those churches care as much about those outside the church, as we do those inside. To embrace relevance, we will have to let go of survival.
That’s it. That’s all I’ve got. If I’m wrong, fire me now. I’ll die on this hill.
What does this mean?
My theory is that the mainline churches have ceased to be relevant to the culture, because insiders trump outsiders every time.
Decisions are made for the benefit of those inside rather than those outside the church. In every single decision, even the little ones, insiders trump outsiders. Take hymns, for example. Musical decisions are not made considering what will attract spiritually hungry outsiders, but what will please the card-carrying, bill-paying membership. Most church outsiders don’t care if you ever sing “How Great Thou Art.” They won’t be slightly offended by a guitar in church. Time and time again church leaders receive heat from church insiders upset about this or that, because the insiders are trying to recreate their childhood church experience or simply have a rigid idea of what church is supposed to be. Church leaders cave in to these insiders because try control the purse strings.
More facts on the ground: insiders are inherently change-averse. People don’t like change, especially those who have status in the church. Pete Steinke taught us that every church is an emotional system. Some people are benefitting from the system as it currently is. Some benefit emotionally. They are revered as church saints. Or they are validators to whom everyone turns for approval of decisions. They are having an emotional need met by receiving recognition. Or perhaps they are simply tirelessly defending The Tradition, regardless of how new or unhelpful that tradition may be. People in power, who have privileges in the current system, will resist change and make life really hard for any leader who seeks to be a change agent. Pastors are paid from members’ giving, so there is a potential conflict of interest. If they do the right thing, some leaders will end up losing their job (or up on a cross, to reference an often-told story).
Why is this happening?
Church structures were set up to preserve what exists, not change it. These stable structures work well when society is changing slowly, imperceptibly. If something is working, protect it at all costs. But what if it is not working? What if the rate of societal change skyrockets, and old patterns and structures no longer work? Peter Drucker once said, “When the rate of change outside the organization exceeds the rate of change inside the organization, the organization is doomed.”
What do we do about it?
Change. Adapt. The church has adapted, survived and even thrived in times of tectonic change in the past. It can again.
Stable structures are a high value in a stable culture, but when in a climate of rapid change, adaptability is the higher value. In a time of stability, experience is crucial. In times of change, experience can be a liability, especially if the experienced make the fatal mistake of assuming what garnered success in the past, will guarantee success in the future. What got you where you are now will not get your where you need to go in the future. Sorry. Leaders who don’t get this are in for some rough sledding.
Let’s face it, change is hard. Change, however is non-negotiable. The only constant in life is change. There is no growth without change. As someone once said, “The only one who likes change is a wet baby.” Any kind of change creates conflict. Leaders can only tolerate so much discontent. And even a little discontent sounds LOUD when you’re in the hot seat. So when things heat up, leaders circle the wagons, which is precisely the wrong thing to do. Instead, leaders need to sin boldly. Lead boldly. Look at any successful enterprise and you can be certain that someone, at some point, took a huge risk along the way. Nothing great is accomplished without risk.
“The trouble with Steve Jobs: Likes to make his own rules, whether the topic is computers, stock options, or even pancreatic cancer. The same traits that make him a great CEO drive him to put his company, and his investors, at risk.”
—Fortune Magazine
But risk is risky, and change is simply too difficult and painful. Most organizations won’t change until they’re desperate, like the alcoholic that won’t go to rehab until s/he hits rock bottom.
So what will give us the courage to take those risks?
This takes us back to the beginning. Churches will not adapt to the new realities until they care as much about reaching those outside, as appeasing those inside.
The world is hell-bent on destruction in countless ways. It is desperately in need of a church that offers a Way of peace, truth, compassion and hope, as opposed to the world’s way of power, materialism, exploitation and violence. It needs leaders willing to risk comfort, status and economic security for the life of the world and the outreach potential of the church. It needs a church that looks less like the Pharisees’ religion and more like Jesus’ ministry. It needs a church that is willing to sacrifice everything for those outside: buildings, budgets, sacred cows, traditions, structures. It needs a church that so loves the world, that she’d be willing to die for it.
So here’s the plan. New policy. Every decision, every single decision made by staff, council and every committee is made on behalf of those not yet here. Every sermon choice, every hymn, song and musical choice, every building and grounds choice, every spending choice is made with outsiders in mind.
When we become a church for the world, the outsider, when the pain of staying the same (and dying of irrelevance) for those already here exceeds the pain of changing (and sacrificing old ways) for those not yet here, we will be the church for which God incarnate came to this earth and gave his life.
Monday, October 21, 2013
Similarity
For the past year and a half, I have been involved in ministry in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). In a very real sense, North Korea is as far outside church walls as it is possible to be. The following thought occurred to me when I was there a few weeks ago:
Something we do well as a church, both nationally and in the greater Anglican Communion, is to emphasize similarities rather than differences. I think that looking for and emphasizing similarities is something we ought to do in the Outside Church Walls process; similarities between different traditions, between nations, between people of faith and the unchurched, etc. It seems to me that putting labels on others (“Christian”, “believer”, “atheist', whatever) often leads to making hasty moral judgements which tend to impede accurate data perception; and accurate data perception is of course necessary for making sound moral judgements.
In the DPRK, I sense many similarities with our own values: an abiding spirituality in the face of great difficulties, a feeling of community, a message of caring for the poor and disadvantaged, and-- despite what we are told in our media-- a sincere desire for Peace. I realize these are complex issues of missiology that have to do with the core values of a people or religion, but isn't that what we Episcopalians should be thinking about as we examine ourselves in the 21st Century? Who cares about the labels (which are really just differences of form) if the similarities (substance) are solid?
I think we should guard against feeling or thinking that others should necessarily look or act like us or do things our way in order to be acknowledged for sharing similarities.
I think we should guard against feeling or thinking that others should necessarily look or act like us or do things our way in order to be acknowledged for sharing similarities.
Peace,
Brad
Brad
Friday, October 18, 2013
The Snowball Effect and the Best Coin Ever Spent
This is the meditation from today's meeting. I suppose there is quite a snowball effect going on here, with something so simple as a child's gesture setting off this magnificent symphony.
I hope that as the church moves into the new generation, such a simple act may also spark such a resounding chorus in your heart.
Robert
I hope that as the church moves into the new generation, such a simple act may also spark such a resounding chorus in your heart.
Robert
Thursday, October 17, 2013
An Exciting Time to be a Mainline Christian?
This week's message from Tom Ehrich is challenging and its something that I wish for my own church that I serve as well as so many that I know-- I wish them to be not afraid of challenging themselves to do something beyond just muddling along content to decline and grow steadily more steadily older and older.
The time to act is now.
The thing to do is be bold and courageous.
That's my best shot. Tom's words are fair more articulate. Take a look:
The time to act is now.
The thing to do is be bold and courageous.
That's my best shot. Tom's words are fair more articulate. Take a look:
+George
ORANGE, TX -- I had the Hampton Inn's breakfast room to myself on Saturday morning. Where is everybody? I wondered. How can they maintain such a nice hotel without any customers?
Try again Monday, a local businessman told me. Every room will be taken by weekday workers at area chemical plants. In the boom-bust cycle of Texas oil and chemicals, not everyone relocates when a job materializes.
Orange has been up, and Orange has been down. During World War Two, this port city on the Louisiana border exploded from 7,000 to 25,000 as a shipbuilder for the US Navy.
Then came peace, as well as contraction in the oilfields, and Orange shrank to 18,000. Even though chemical plants are booming, they are increasingly mechanized and need fewer workers.
First Presbyterian Church has ebbed and flowed, too. It grew from 200 members to 850 during the war years and then settled back down to 200. Sunday worship feels empty to those who remember the boom.
With a fresh determination that I am seeing in many mainline churches across the country, First Presbyterian leaders are saying No to further decline and Yes to changing whatever needs to be changed to get growing.
They have added a contemporary service on Sunday to connect with young families. It meets in a gym and draws twice as many as the traditional service held later in the church's historic sanctuary.
Now they are ready to look beyond Sunday worship for the "more" a changing city requires. They are looking outward at a needy world and imagining how they can serve. They are learning from success stories in other faith communities.
In perhaps the liveliest discussion I've experienced in many months, they questioned, savored, and reacted eagerly to every turnaround strategy I presented. They won't adopt them all, of course, but I heard a refreshing willingness to engage new ideas.
No more fear, they said in bold declarations. They have too much to offer, the Orange community has too many needs, and God is determined to transform lives.
This wasn't the macho swagger that characterizes Texas politics. This wasn't smug suburban bullies wearing boots and channeling Davy Crockett. It was the calm assurance of people who have dealt with hurricanes on the Gulf of Mexico, floods along the Sabine River, booms and busts, who don't flinch when told the future will be different from what they know.
My sampling of the Christian enterprise is narrow, of course. But what I am seeing now gives me great hope. After fifty years of relentless decline, marked by bitter blaming, doctrinal posturing and refusal to engage a changing world, more and more congregations are charting fresh courses.
First, they are standing up to the negative and self-serving voices in their midst.
Second, they are looking outward at a world in disarray and asking how they can help -- not how they can survive intact, but how they can adapt and serve.
Third, they are opening everything to scrutiny, from polities that discourage boldness to worship that no longer engages to facilities that are unsustainable as once-a-week havens.
Fourth, they are driving their demographic younger: bringing young adults into leadership, embracing new technology, adapting to young families whose lives aren't a repeat of the 1950s.
I began to sense these shifts a few years ago. Now I see them blooming. It's an exciting time in mainline Christianity.
October 12, 2013
Boom, bust, boom
By Tom Ehrich
ORANGE, TX -- I had the Hampton Inn's breakfast room to myself on Saturday morning. Where is everybody? I wondered. How can they maintain such a nice hotel without any customers?
Try again Monday, a local businessman told me. Every room will be taken by weekday workers at area chemical plants. In the boom-bust cycle of Texas oil and chemicals, not everyone relocates when a job materializes.
Orange has been up, and Orange has been down. During World War Two, this port city on the Louisiana border exploded from 7,000 to 25,000 as a shipbuilder for the US Navy.
Then came peace, as well as contraction in the oilfields, and Orange shrank to 18,000. Even though chemical plants are booming, they are increasingly mechanized and need fewer workers.
First Presbyterian Church has ebbed and flowed, too. It grew from 200 members to 850 during the war years and then settled back down to 200. Sunday worship feels empty to those who remember the boom.
With a fresh determination that I am seeing in many mainline churches across the country, First Presbyterian leaders are saying No to further decline and Yes to changing whatever needs to be changed to get growing.
They have added a contemporary service on Sunday to connect with young families. It meets in a gym and draws twice as many as the traditional service held later in the church's historic sanctuary.
Now they are ready to look beyond Sunday worship for the "more" a changing city requires. They are looking outward at a needy world and imagining how they can serve. They are learning from success stories in other faith communities.
In perhaps the liveliest discussion I've experienced in many months, they questioned, savored, and reacted eagerly to every turnaround strategy I presented. They won't adopt them all, of course, but I heard a refreshing willingness to engage new ideas.
No more fear, they said in bold declarations. They have too much to offer, the Orange community has too many needs, and God is determined to transform lives.
This wasn't the macho swagger that characterizes Texas politics. This wasn't smug suburban bullies wearing boots and channeling Davy Crockett. It was the calm assurance of people who have dealt with hurricanes on the Gulf of Mexico, floods along the Sabine River, booms and busts, who don't flinch when told the future will be different from what they know.
My sampling of the Christian enterprise is narrow, of course. But what I am seeing now gives me great hope. After fifty years of relentless decline, marked by bitter blaming, doctrinal posturing and refusal to engage a changing world, more and more congregations are charting fresh courses.
First, they are standing up to the negative and self-serving voices in their midst.
Second, they are looking outward at a world in disarray and asking how they can help -- not how they can survive intact, but how they can adapt and serve.
Third, they are opening everything to scrutiny, from polities that discourage boldness to worship that no longer engages to facilities that are unsustainable as once-a-week havens.
Fourth, they are driving their demographic younger: bringing young adults into leadership, embracing new technology, adapting to young families whose lives aren't a repeat of the 1950s.
I began to sense these shifts a few years ago. Now I see them blooming. It's an exciting time in mainline Christianity.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Hope Spotting in a Climate of Fear
I don’t know about the health of your soul today, but mine is deeply troubled. As is routine, my radio set on NPR, awakened me at 6:00 AM; and, for what seems like days on end, I was again greeted with this morning’s iteration about the status of the government shut down, debt ceiling stand-off and their impact on services and peoples’ lives.
I got up and Turned. . .It. . .Off. Wearily I went back to bed. As I lay there, words from Leonard Bernstein’s 1971 “MASS: the Musical” came bursting uninvited into my mind. They are words I had memorized and sung in an earlier lifetime. Now they had come ‘round to visit me again. Now? Why? Well, you read these words and then tell me what you think.
I got up and Turned. . .It. . .Off. Wearily I went back to bed. As I lay there, words from Leonard Bernstein’s 1971 “MASS: the Musical” came bursting uninvited into my mind. They are words I had memorized and sung in an earlier lifetime. Now they had come ‘round to visit me again. Now? Why? Well, you read these words and then tell me what you think.
All you big men of merit,
all you big men of merit
who ferret out flaws,
you rely on our compliance
with your science and your laws.
Find a freedom to demolish while you polish some award, but you cannot abolish the Word of the Lord. No, you cannot abolish the Word of the Lord.
For the Word, for the Word created mud and got it going. It filled our empty brains with blood and set it flowing. And for thousands of regimes it's endured all our follies and fancy schemes. It's been tough, It's been tough, and yet it seems to be growing!
O you people of power, O you people of power, your hour is now. You may plan to rule forever, but you never do somehow.
So we wait in silent treason until reason is restored and we wait for the season of the Word of the Lord. We await the season of the Word of the Lord. We wait…we wait for the Word of the Lord.
What, I wondered, does it mean now for me to wait for the season of the Word of the Lord? How does it mean for me to await? Why await? Surely, it cannot mean I am to lie abed passively woolgather. Not for long. Only long enough, perhaps, to have the following words also come marching into my mind to join the Bernstein chorus. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Those words are extrapolated from the parable of the Good Shepherd, John 10:10. “Enough already”, I said to self and got up to go about my day.
My day, 99% of the time, includes a walk. This morning I yearned for Hope. Viewing life through the lens of Hope is typical of me, and Hopeful signs are what I wanted/needed this morning. I want to live in Hope, not in Fear.
So, for this day, I decided to add a new dimension to my walking. I decided to make a prayer walk, being attentive to Hope Spottings along my way. Hope did not disappoint. I found ample evidence of Hope for life and having life abundantly, all within about two miles of my home. Come walk with me, and I’ll share my gospel for today; my Hope Spottings.
+ Two blocks into my walk I was greeted by clusters of folks chatting together while gathered on the Food Bank lawn; some were packaging up food to give and others were there to receive. The people were engaged in friendly conversation, laughter, adoring babies, chasing children and general busyness. Hope Spotting at The Food Bank and praying that all who participate there may have life and have it more abundantly, was easy business for me this morning. I wonder, will it be so next week or the next, if the people of power will not soften their hearts?
+ I dropped in at one of my favorite coffee shops. Near the back I noticed a circle of nine people speaking animatedly with one another using mostly sign language. They were sharing the gospel of their current lives. Observing their comfortable and seemingly intimate conversation, I celebrated Hope Spotting their experience of life more abundantly.
+ My walk continued through Kai Tai Lagoon where I was treated to the varied songs of birds gutsy enough to stick around these parts through Autumn and to the water rituals of Mallard families as they paddled about their marshy neighborhood. Chalk up another Hope Spotting! The Lagoon and its inhabitants have their gospel story to tell, too. Will we care enough about their lives and ours to assure sanctuaries where the birds and water fowl are protected to have life and have it more abundantly?
+ For good aerobic exercise I walked up the hill and past DOVE House. It is Hope Spotting just to know it is here! It’s the only safe haven, a sanctuary, in Jefferson County for women and children to heal and shape violence-free lives after experiencing the traumas of criminal and sexual violence.
+ Moving along into the next block, I’m Hope Spotting the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) Center as I watch women with their wee ones walk into this modest place. Here, they receive milk, health checks and other life-giving necessities for their little ones. The mothers are offered caring support, mentoring, classes and skills so they can parent their children in loving and health-giving ways. They also learn how to better love and care for themselves. And the world will be a better place for it. How’s that for a testimony?
+ I turned north and head toward home. On the way I Hope Spotted a children’s therapy center, a safe and nurturing place for vulnerable children to heal. It is a place that will live in my heart forever. Through play and art, children can express their gospel stories in a trusting relationship with able therapists and grow into the full beauty and strength that is their birthright. They and their families are offered the gift of Hope that they may have life and have it abundantly.
+ My final bit of Hope Spotting on today’s walk was an assisted living center just a long block from my home. I know this place well, because it was “home” for my mother-in- law for a couple of years, until her dementia required a different living arrangement during the final year of her life. . . I spent a few minutes talking with a small group of residents happily engaged in conversation in the living room as they waited for a movie to begin. This homey place with its caring staff of saints, gifted with an abundance of patience and sense of humor, offers the hope of friendship, comfort and care as these elders walk toward and through the “valley of the shadow of death”, knowing they are not alone.
+ My Hope Spotting walk is over for today. I’ve sat by the fire with tea and toast. I’ve reflected on the messages that jumped into my mind after I turned off the radio this early morning and initiated my Hope Spotting and Prayer Walking adventure. My need for Hopeful signs has been met for now through spottings outside church walls. The lingering, huge and haunting question that continues to roll over in my mind is this: What is happening/ has been happening inside church walls that is contributing to and informing this climate of fear that is doing great harm to all of us in every aspect of our lives? Fear, it seems to me, is the thief that comes only to steal and kill and destroy the abundant life that Jesus tells us He came to offer us. + John 10:10
Is the God who beckons you to gather in worship inside church walls a God of Hope or a God of Fear? Jesus of Nazareth, in a clear and declarative sentence commanded us to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength; And to love our neighbors as ourself. I take that to mean to love ALL people, every single one, as ourself . The Jesus I know walked his talk with every step, with every encounter of His ministry. All of us without exception are God’s precious people. What unfathomable love that is!
So, why this climate of fear? It is deeply troubling my soul. Is it troubling yours?
MaryAnn
Find a freedom to demolish while you polish some award, but you cannot abolish the Word of the Lord. No, you cannot abolish the Word of the Lord.
For the Word, for the Word created mud and got it going. It filled our empty brains with blood and set it flowing. And for thousands of regimes it's endured all our follies and fancy schemes. It's been tough, It's been tough, and yet it seems to be growing!
O you people of power, O you people of power, your hour is now. You may plan to rule forever, but you never do somehow.
So we wait in silent treason until reason is restored and we wait for the season of the Word of the Lord. We await the season of the Word of the Lord. We wait…we wait for the Word of the Lord.
What, I wondered, does it mean now for me to wait for the season of the Word of the Lord? How does it mean for me to await? Why await? Surely, it cannot mean I am to lie abed passively woolgather. Not for long. Only long enough, perhaps, to have the following words also come marching into my mind to join the Bernstein chorus. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Those words are extrapolated from the parable of the Good Shepherd, John 10:10. “Enough already”, I said to self and got up to go about my day.
My day, 99% of the time, includes a walk. This morning I yearned for Hope. Viewing life through the lens of Hope is typical of me, and Hopeful signs are what I wanted/needed this morning. I want to live in Hope, not in Fear.
So, for this day, I decided to add a new dimension to my walking. I decided to make a prayer walk, being attentive to Hope Spottings along my way. Hope did not disappoint. I found ample evidence of Hope for life and having life abundantly, all within about two miles of my home. Come walk with me, and I’ll share my gospel for today; my Hope Spottings.
+ Two blocks into my walk I was greeted by clusters of folks chatting together while gathered on the Food Bank lawn; some were packaging up food to give and others were there to receive. The people were engaged in friendly conversation, laughter, adoring babies, chasing children and general busyness. Hope Spotting at The Food Bank and praying that all who participate there may have life and have it more abundantly, was easy business for me this morning. I wonder, will it be so next week or the next, if the people of power will not soften their hearts?
“Give them this Day their daily bread. . .and tomorrow and tomorrow. . .
? I say this is church outside church walls. What do you say?
+ I dropped in at one of my favorite coffee shops. Near the back I noticed a circle of nine people speaking animatedly with one another using mostly sign language. They were sharing the gospel of their current lives. Observing their comfortable and seemingly intimate conversation, I celebrated Hope Spotting their experience of life more abundantly.
“O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be understood as to understand.”
! I say this is church outside church walls. What do you say?
+ My walk continued through Kai Tai Lagoon where I was treated to the varied songs of birds gutsy enough to stick around these parts through Autumn and to the water rituals of Mallard families as they paddled about their marshy neighborhood. Chalk up another Hope Spotting! The Lagoon and its inhabitants have their gospel story to tell, too. Will we care enough about their lives and ours to assure sanctuaries where the birds and water fowl are protected to have life and have it more abundantly?
All things bright and beautiful; all creatures great and small.
All things wise and wonderful; the Lord God made them all.
May we care enough about your world
to advocate for a sustainable environment
and peaceable kingdom.
! I say this is church outside church walls. What do you say?
+ For good aerobic exercise I walked up the hill and past DOVE House. It is Hope Spotting just to know it is here! It’s the only safe haven, a sanctuary, in Jefferson County for women and children to heal and shape violence-free lives after experiencing the traumas of criminal and sexual violence.
Merciful and loving God, hold closely all your people who are treated as “things”
by others and who suffer from abuse and violence. Help us to respect the dignity
of all people and work to break the cycle of violence.
! I say this is church outside church walls. What do you say?
+ Moving along into the next block, I’m Hope Spotting the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) Center as I watch women with their wee ones walk into this modest place. Here, they receive milk, health checks and other life-giving necessities for their little ones. The mothers are offered caring support, mentoring, classes and skills so they can parent their children in loving and health-giving ways. They also learn how to better love and care for themselves. And the world will be a better place for it. How’s that for a testimony?
Let us truly mean it when we say let the children come unto us. Make us ready to love them, embrace them, nurture them and encourage them to become the amazing human beings who can make our world a better place.
! I say this is church outside church walls? What do you say?
+ I turned north and head toward home. On the way I Hope Spotted a children’s therapy center, a safe and nurturing place for vulnerable children to heal. It is a place that will live in my heart forever. Through play and art, children can express their gospel stories in a trusting relationship with able therapists and grow into the full beauty and strength that is their birthright. They and their families are offered the gift of Hope that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Guide us to be servants of love and compassion, joy and wonder, laughter and creativity with all children. Help us to be vessels of healing and wholeness for the children who, in their young and vulnerable lives, have experienced terror, pain and unconscionable abuse.
! I say this is church outside church walls. What do you say?
+ My final bit of Hope Spotting on today’s walk was an assisted living center just a long block from my home. I know this place well, because it was “home” for my mother-in- law for a couple of years, until her dementia required a different living arrangement during the final year of her life. . . I spent a few minutes talking with a small group of residents happily engaged in conversation in the living room as they waited for a movie to begin. This homey place with its caring staff of saints, gifted with an abundance of patience and sense of humor, offers the hope of friendship, comfort and care as these elders walk toward and through the “valley of the shadow of death”, knowing they are not alone.
Help us to open our hearts to truly honor and respect the elders among us, remembering that we, too, will one day be old. Give us the backbone to advocate for them, assuring they will have the “daily bread” they need. Nudge us to invite them into our homes and families to bring life more abundantly to us all.
! I say this is church outside church walls. What do you say?
+ My Hope Spotting walk is over for today. I’ve sat by the fire with tea and toast. I’ve reflected on the messages that jumped into my mind after I turned off the radio this early morning and initiated my Hope Spotting and Prayer Walking adventure. My need for Hopeful signs has been met for now through spottings outside church walls. The lingering, huge and haunting question that continues to roll over in my mind is this: What is happening/ has been happening inside church walls that is contributing to and informing this climate of fear that is doing great harm to all of us in every aspect of our lives? Fear, it seems to me, is the thief that comes only to steal and kill and destroy the abundant life that Jesus tells us He came to offer us. + John 10:10
Is the God who beckons you to gather in worship inside church walls a God of Hope or a God of Fear? Jesus of Nazareth, in a clear and declarative sentence commanded us to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength; And to love our neighbors as ourself. I take that to mean to love ALL people, every single one, as ourself . The Jesus I know walked his talk with every step, with every encounter of His ministry. All of us without exception are God’s precious people. What unfathomable love that is!
So, why this climate of fear? It is deeply troubling my soul. Is it troubling yours?
MaryAnn
Monday, October 7, 2013
“Why Are You Afraid, You of Little Faith?”
This past Saturday, October 5, 2013 we gathered together in Regional Pre-Convention meetings. We listened to Bishop Greg Rickel via video as he asked us to consider the place and power of scripture in our worship, in our lives and in the world.
We then had a Bible study, Luke 4:14-30, when Jesus filled with the power of the spirit, returned to Galilee and began to teach in the Synagogues. Read this passage of His when He came to Nazareth His home town and the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah. The crowds were amazed and thrilled as He started, but as He lectured to them and told them that no prophet is accepted in His hometown they became enraged, drove Him out of town to hurl Him off a cliff, but He passed through the midst of them and on His way.
We were asked two questions:
A lively discussion and period of reflection followed which was positive and good. I had read Forward Day by Day for Saturday, October 5, 2013 prior to our meeting and it struck me as being more than coincidental! Matthew 8:18-27 “Why are you afraid, you of little faith” speaks to us today as Jesus and His disciples did then. It spoke of a prominent pastor giving a conference to a group of colleagues on strategy he employed to get people in the door. When they expressed FEAR TO USE HIS IDEAS he said, “how do you expect anyone to know Jesus if you are too afraid to tell them”?
Faith requires that we take risks. Fear is not a Christian virtue and we cannot allow it to dominate us. Amen.
Chuck
We then had a Bible study, Luke 4:14-30, when Jesus filled with the power of the spirit, returned to Galilee and began to teach in the Synagogues. Read this passage of His when He came to Nazareth His home town and the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah. The crowds were amazed and thrilled as He started, but as He lectured to them and told them that no prophet is accepted in His hometown they became enraged, drove Him out of town to hurl Him off a cliff, but He passed through the midst of them and on His way.
We were asked two questions:
- How did Jesus use scripture to stir up the people?
- How can scripture move, inspire, and even offend us today?
A lively discussion and period of reflection followed which was positive and good. I had read Forward Day by Day for Saturday, October 5, 2013 prior to our meeting and it struck me as being more than coincidental! Matthew 8:18-27 “Why are you afraid, you of little faith” speaks to us today as Jesus and His disciples did then. It spoke of a prominent pastor giving a conference to a group of colleagues on strategy he employed to get people in the door. When they expressed FEAR TO USE HIS IDEAS he said, “how do you expect anyone to know Jesus if you are too afraid to tell them”?
Faith requires that we take risks. Fear is not a Christian virtue and we cannot allow it to dominate us. Amen.
Chuck
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Lacey Washington - A Sandwiched Place
One aspect of being middle-aged is being part of a sandwich generation—caught between care of our children and care of our aging parents. It is never easy to live in that sandwich; people who live with that reality can feel squeezed and sometimes isolated as their role in the family changes on both sides of their life. Maybe this idea of sandwiched people can also describe communities—Lacey certainly feels like a sandwiched place to me—squeezed between different places and definitely without a communal center but plenty of big name stores.
Lacey is sandwiched between the Joint Base Lewis McCord (JBLM) and Olympia, our city capital and home to the illustrious Evergreen State College. Lacey is a suburb that grew quite fast—for most of the early 2000’s, Thurston was the fastest growing county in the western part of our state. Lacey is sandwiched between Suburban growth and Rural areas.
Lacey is diverse in its population; hosting people of all ethnicities and color. As for the spread of ages, Lacey boasts several retirement communities—including Panorama, which is the largest retirement community on the west coast. On the other end of the spectrum, Lacey also boasts a big population of younger generations—given our close proximity to the military base as well as a large university in our town (Saint Martin University). Strangely enough, there are less people that are middle-aged in Lacey. The majority are senior citizens and younger generations.
If you were to draw a five mile radius from the city hall and library, you would find a good 7-10 trailer park neighborhoods. Most of these complexes cater to people that are living on the edge financially. Meth use as well as crime within that radius is higher than in other parts of the county. Or at least that was the opinion of a law enforcement officer that I have spoken with.
One thing I can say with certainty is that there is a higher rate of poverty in our part of the county. The satellite food banks in our part of the county are more populous than in other parts of the county. The need for programs that help with school supplies and winter coats is generally greater in North Thurston County where Lacey is located. We know from a recent count in Thurston that over 700 adults are homeless in our county and over 1100 children.
Social services for homeless or at risk families is hidden if at all accessible in Lacey. Olympia is considered the place to be if you are homeless and/or in need of services. Many of the poor in Lacey live either in trailer parks, doubled up in apartments, moving from motel to motel or in their car. They are invisible in this sandwich town or more often, squeezed out entirely—not part of the community.
There are some big political fights going on concerning water in our city and land use in our county. There are concerns about the ways we are using our water and with first nations groups that have much invested in the Salmon and the water, there are different opinions about water conservation as an issue.
There is also a big concern in our county about land use and a concern for over development on flood plains or other ecologically sensitive areas. However, others say that such concerns are secondary to creating revenue streams and allowing people the freedom to build and develop the land as they wish.
I want to go back for a moment and mention the First Nations that are our neighbors. The Nisqually Tribe live minutes down the road. The level of poverty on the reservation is apparent as you drive into the community. There is a jail in Nisqually, a medical clinic and a big casino.
There are options in towns like Lacey—even with the squeeze between different opposing ideas that is present, there are options and economic opportunities. There is a thriving middle class as the median incomes tend to be slightly higher than the national average and of course, significantly lower than other more affluent parts of our state. Once again, another piece of our reality: middle class to poor make up the majority of working people in Lacey.
This is the weather in Lacey; a community that grew faster than it could plan for, a city that is sandwiched between many different opposing ideas and views, a town that has incredible poverty if you scratch the surface and look a bit more carefully. There are diverse populations from Military to immigrants, government workers, and retirees.
The challenge in a place like Lacey is to find a center, a community that can hold those tensions with ease, maybe even delight in them. Speaking the Good News in Lacey and being church means a creation of community that can speak a word to both the middle class and the invisible but present ones that are living on the margins economically, it means creating community that can live with great diversity in ideas, ethnicity and background, and age.
Lacey is sandwiched between the Joint Base Lewis McCord (JBLM) and Olympia, our city capital and home to the illustrious Evergreen State College. Lacey is a suburb that grew quite fast—for most of the early 2000’s, Thurston was the fastest growing county in the western part of our state. Lacey is sandwiched between Suburban growth and Rural areas.
Lacey is diverse in its population; hosting people of all ethnicities and color. As for the spread of ages, Lacey boasts several retirement communities—including Panorama, which is the largest retirement community on the west coast. On the other end of the spectrum, Lacey also boasts a big population of younger generations—given our close proximity to the military base as well as a large university in our town (Saint Martin University). Strangely enough, there are less people that are middle-aged in Lacey. The majority are senior citizens and younger generations.
If you were to draw a five mile radius from the city hall and library, you would find a good 7-10 trailer park neighborhoods. Most of these complexes cater to people that are living on the edge financially. Meth use as well as crime within that radius is higher than in other parts of the county. Or at least that was the opinion of a law enforcement officer that I have spoken with.
One thing I can say with certainty is that there is a higher rate of poverty in our part of the county. The satellite food banks in our part of the county are more populous than in other parts of the county. The need for programs that help with school supplies and winter coats is generally greater in North Thurston County where Lacey is located. We know from a recent count in Thurston that over 700 adults are homeless in our county and over 1100 children.
Social services for homeless or at risk families is hidden if at all accessible in Lacey. Olympia is considered the place to be if you are homeless and/or in need of services. Many of the poor in Lacey live either in trailer parks, doubled up in apartments, moving from motel to motel or in their car. They are invisible in this sandwich town or more often, squeezed out entirely—not part of the community.
There are some big political fights going on concerning water in our city and land use in our county. There are concerns about the ways we are using our water and with first nations groups that have much invested in the Salmon and the water, there are different opinions about water conservation as an issue.
There is also a big concern in our county about land use and a concern for over development on flood plains or other ecologically sensitive areas. However, others say that such concerns are secondary to creating revenue streams and allowing people the freedom to build and develop the land as they wish.
I want to go back for a moment and mention the First Nations that are our neighbors. The Nisqually Tribe live minutes down the road. The level of poverty on the reservation is apparent as you drive into the community. There is a jail in Nisqually, a medical clinic and a big casino.
There are options in towns like Lacey—even with the squeeze between different opposing ideas that is present, there are options and economic opportunities. There is a thriving middle class as the median incomes tend to be slightly higher than the national average and of course, significantly lower than other more affluent parts of our state. Once again, another piece of our reality: middle class to poor make up the majority of working people in Lacey.
This is the weather in Lacey; a community that grew faster than it could plan for, a city that is sandwiched between many different opposing ideas and views, a town that has incredible poverty if you scratch the surface and look a bit more carefully. There are diverse populations from Military to immigrants, government workers, and retirees.
The challenge in a place like Lacey is to find a center, a community that can hold those tensions with ease, maybe even delight in them. Speaking the Good News in Lacey and being church means a creation of community that can speak a word to both the middle class and the invisible but present ones that are living on the margins economically, it means creating community that can live with great diversity in ideas, ethnicity and background, and age.
+George
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