Instead of our regular blog from our sermon or guest blogger,  here's a recent article from the Daily Gazette in Schenectady.  Since Journey is mentioned, we'd thought we'd pass it along.  Let us know what you think about social media in the church ... what's your opinion???

Daily Gazette, The (Schenectady, NY)

Daily Gazette, The (Schenectady, NY) December 5, 2010 Column: CAPITAL REGION Spirituality spreads in cyberspace Author: SARA FOSS,Gazette Reporter At First Reformed Church of Schenectady, just as many people listen to services online as go to church on Sunday. The church posts MP3 files of its services on the First Reformed website, which also features a Bible search engine for looking up scripture, discussion boards for registered users and a box where users can type in for whom or what they wish to pray and instantly receive a short prayer tailored to their concerns. Near the top of the home page is a short message from the Rev. Bill Levering, the senior pastor at First Reformed. "While no computer can capture the vibrancy of our fellowship, we hope this site will help bring us all closer together," the message states. The church also maintains a Facebook page, which provides links to the website. "We increase our web traffic dramatically when we advertise on Facebook," Levering said. "Of course, that may not translate into anyone ever showing up at church" Even so, Levering sees the value of having a church Web presence and interacting with people online. Like many clergy, he has embraced the Internet and social media and views them as valuable tools for reaching people -- even people who might never attend one of his services. "Mainstream Protestant churches have made a big mistake in thinking that the only way to do business is to have people come to them," Levering said. "There are many ways that people can experience the divine." Northway Church director of development Kevin Murrell monitors the church's Facebook page, writing responses to every post or message from the church's 2,600-plus followers. The Clifton Park-based church has a weekly TV show, and its Facebook page tends to get a lot of hits on Sunday nights, after the show airs."Sometimes I have Facebook open 24 hours," Murrell said. Northway's Facebook page is a way to promote ch! urch events but also to share inspirational thoughts and stori! es, Murr ell said. "A woman wrote on Facebook that she came to our church and her whole life changed," he said. "People read that and they get inspired. Our mission is to inspire people with love, hope and faith." People also post prayer requests and immediately receive support and encouragement from fellow users, he said. Northway Pastor Buddy Cremeans also maintains a Twitter feed and a blog. On Friday afternoon, his most recent tweets asked visitors, "Have you ever had questions about faith that you are afraid to ask?" and "Does anyone have a real 'top hat' (Abe Lincoln style hat) that we can borrow tomorrow?" He said he uses Twitter to post lighthearted anecdotes, such as stories about his dog or his daughter, but also to address more serious topics, such as leadership. Cremeans said social media "helps us connect with people who wouldn't ordinarily get connected. Church is all about relationships, and [social media] is a great wa! y to enhance community, enhance relationships. We're constantly looking for ways to take the church out of the walls." He said that he loves social media but that "you've got to have a balance. " We're about meeting people where they're at. We believe in leveraging technology, anything that can help us get the good news of Christ out there. Fighting the culture is like spitting in the wind. If you look at the life of Christ, he didn't fight the culture. He told stories. He was compelling." Rabbi Matthew Cutler at Congregation Gates of Heaven in Schenectady said that one of the big questions posed by social media is "how to get people to think or act spiritually in that dimension." Cutler has a Facebook page that he uses to keep in touch with people and publicize events, and his temple's website contains information about events and programs as well as links to Jewish websites. He said he has considered blogging but has some reluctance: "Do I al! ways have something profound to say?" he said. Cutler noted that one of the criticisms of the televangelists who rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s was that they promoted a way of worshipping -- at home, in front of the TV -- that lacked the larger sense of community so essential to the faith experience. Social media, he said, might run the risk of doing the same thing. "Does it create a virtual congregation?" he asked. "Is just logging on good enough? " Cyberspace does create an opportunity for people to interact, but I prefer face to face." Many clergy say that Facebook is a way to communicate and stay in touch with teenagers, college students and young adults. That's especially true for the Rev. Sandy Damhof, who serves as Protestant campus chaplain at the University at Albany. "Facebook is almost exclusively how I get the word out," she said. "I used to go around campus and post fliers, but this is so much easier. Every student has a laptop with Facebook loaded on it 24-7." Damhof said that Facebook is useful for promoting campus events, but it also allows her to connect with students on a deeper level. She said she believes Facebook has helped her save two lives because she was able to respond to students who had posted suicidal thoughts. "The relationships on Facebook go much deeper than people think," Damhof said. "People post things on Facebook that they might not say to your face. " I think Facebook strengthens relationships. You can friend someone on Facebook and find out quite a bit about them. Facebook makes it easier for me to get to know people. I don't necessarily have time after each service to sit down and get to know each person. But I can find them on Facebook." Damhof said keeping in touch with students through Facebook "is my job. If I were just a regular pastor, in a regular church, I might not be as consumed by Facebook. But I can't imagine [being a campus chaplain] without Facebook." Damhof actually is a regular pastor in a regular church -- Journey United Church of Christ in Delmar, which was formed about two years ago. The church has never published a newsletter, preferring to communicate with members through e-mail and Facebook or on the church website. Unlike her students at the University at Albany, Journey's adult members do not check Facebook constantly, but they do use it, Damhof said. And for people who find visiting a new church intimidating, the church website can give them a sense of what to expect there. "You can go to our blog and read last Sunday's sermon," she said. "You can see that the messages are upbeat and practical." The Rev. Tim Coombs at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Scotia also uses Facebook to keep tabs on younger members, particularly college students. The church doesn't have a Facebook page, but Coombs does; he estimates that he has 500 friends "who know me as a clergyperson. I do a lot of youth work. Half my friends are youth."You c! an't go very deep on Facebook," Coombs said. "It's a starting place. If someone posts that their friend died, I can say that I'm sorry to hear that. I can make a personal note or a phone call later." When college students post comments about being stressed out or down, Coombs takes notice, and if those postings continue, he might bring it up when they come home for a visit.  "I might say, 'It looks like you had a tough semester,' " he said. Useful tool  "If you recognize Facebook's limitations, it can be a great tool," Coombs said. "My reach is so much greater because of Facebook than ever before. It's a communication tool, and like any tool, it can be used for good or bad. I try to use it for as much good as I can." Levering said social media can have a downside. "Like anything in the church, the downside is becoming too enamored of it," he said. Facebook and Twitter can't replace community, he said. "Church is more than an institution," he said. "It's a set of relationships." Levering said that he wasn't always so enthusiastic about the Internet. "In the early days of Web involvement, I doubted whether it was worth the investment," he said. "Churches were spending a lot of time and money to create websites that attracted 20 hits a week."  But now those websites are attracting a lot of traffic, and "I believe it's worth the effort." Reach Gazette reporter Sara Foss at 395-3193 or sfoss@dailygazette.net. Copyright (c) 2010 The Daily Gazette Co. All Rights Reserved. Record Number: 133ED84AEF8E6488

Pictures of Peace

A Sermon from Journey United Church of Christ
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Isaiah 11:1-10 & Matthew 3:1-12

 We’ve all had those experiences of encountering folks who – well, how shall I say this – are a little out of the norm. Maybe it was the person in the cubical next to ours who has a rather odd habit that a cubical can’t hide? Maybe it’s the person sat next to us on our last flight or train ride? Or maybe it’s that eccentric aunt who you only see once a year?


I’ve always kind of thought of John the Baptist that way. When I was first introduced to him as a child, his “out of the norm” style was a bit fascinating – that whole live-in-the-wilderness, meals-of-locust-and-wild-honey thing was intriguing for me as a kid. Kind of like that odd fascination I have with that show "No Reservation" where the guy travels around the country eating the most crazy "local" food.  I know it's not going to be pretty, but I just can't stop watching. Outside the norm … but in a good way.


Then when I started to pay attention not only to what he wore and what he ate, and started to pay attention to his message, I have to admit that he began to scare me a bit. He seemed like an angry kind of guy. My grown-up aversion to harsh judgment placed him way outside the norm … in a bad way. Especially when it comes to pairing gospel texts with the Christmas story. John just doesn’t seem to fit.

Now, on the other hand, when I look at the picture painted in the prophecy of Isaiah that we read earlier, I must admit that I am more likely to think of it as “within the norm”. I’m not alone. The “lion and the lamb” provides one of the most beautiful and comforting images in the Bible, and there are countless versions of the picture printed on Christmas cards every year.


For me, it goes beyond a pretty Christmas card. Isaiah promises a world ruled by justice and righteousness, a world where the poor and the weak and the vulnerable come out on top for once. No more pain or suffering. The lion and lamb will lie down next together. A baby can play next to the snakes. I love the picture … and I want, with all my heart for it to be the norm now and in the future.
But I need to remind myself that getting to that “norm”, was everything but normal. Painting a new picture of normal took some work. Changing the shape of the world wasn’t easy. Before we get to pictures of peace and harmony, of justice and righteousness, things were about as abnormal as John the Baptist eating locusts in the wilderness. Not a pretty sight, but nonetheless, a reality.


Back up a chapter in Isaiah and you’ll see what I mean. In the passage right before today’s reading, at the end of Chapter 10, the prophet describes God as what Kate Huey defines as “a divine forester who chops down with terrifying power the tallest trees of Lebanon, the most beautiful part of the world.
Now, in Isaiah, those magnificent trees represented the mighty rulers of the empires and kingdoms that surround the vulnerable little land of Judah and the city of Jerusalem.  Isaiah paints of vision of God just plowing through like an ancient version of “swamp loggers” … just mowing them down with nothing left standing. Just a few hopeless stumps.


Sounds remarkable like John the Baptist’s words describing an ax that is cutting down trees at the root.


Neither is a pretty picture and neither is what we like to think of as normal pictures of peace. Yet in the midst of the devastation … Isaiah tells of a new norm … a tiny shoot springing forth from the stump.  The new norm for which John the Baptist calls the people to prepare. There seems to be understanding that for peace to enter the world things need to change. And for the "Prince of Peace" to share his message and for that message to be heard, things need to be different.

The normal order of things in our world has been “survival of the fittest” where the strong always win and weak always lose. God’s order – God’s norm calls for what seems like a complete reversal of that “norm”, a restoration of shalom, a return to God’s way, where lamb and lion can lie next to each, where children can play next to snakes, where a tiny vulnerable shoot from what seems like a dead stump not only shoots forth, but survives and thrives and grows.


And Isaiah and John both agree that in order for that to happen, some things need that perhaps we have comfortably assumed are “normal” need to be pushed aside to make room for the “new norm” that is characterized wisdom and understand, counsel and might, knowledge and honor, righteousness for the poor, equity for the meek … “

It’s all part of John’s message to “PREPARE”  Someone and something is coming, he says, and how you get ready matters. “Get rid of everything that’s blocking the way of the ONE who is to come,” he urges.  Get ready for what will be a new “NORM” - God’s NORM


Perhaps John wasn’t so outside the norm after all. And perhaps this Advent it would do us well to reflect on what it would mean for us live outside society’s norms and to more fully live God’s norm? To work with the divine forester in removing that which blocks our vision of what should be. To work to prepare the way … making the path straight?


Think of your own journey through advent? What needs to be removed so that peace can more fully thrive and survive? Are there old patterns that need to be chopped down as you work to set the stage for deep, meaningful, long-lasting inner peace?

How about your relationships? Where do you desire more peace? What needs to be “pushed aside” to make it possible. Might we need to cut down our own self-righteous attitudes or old resentments or bitter grudges? Maybe something new shoots forth in the form a conversation with or a letter to someone from whom you’ve been separated?


Reflect on situations within our own community and around our world that call for peace? What can we do to be active peacemakers who help cut down injustice and what can we do to establish a peace that would more fully reflect Isaiah’s vision of the lion and lamb? What small new thing might God be calling forth from our faith community?


This is the season of Advent, as we too are waiting for the ONE who is to come. Not just waiting for Christmas to celebrate the birth of baby Jesus, but waiting for the coming of Jesus Christ and the total embracing of the new norm.  But we don’t just wait. We participate. We can radically re-orient our lives, clear a path and prepare the way. We can reshape our lives and the life of this community and we can reach out to world beyond these walls, beyond our city, even beyond our nation, and speak and live, words of peace. God’s norm.
Let’s move some trees together with God … and get a new view of what is to come.