Journey UCC

Helping to Save Schoharie, One Saturday at a Time

2011-09-21T14:40:00.001-04:00

A Reflection by Theresa Weinman, a member of the Journey United Church of Christ on our day of service in Schoharie, NY.

You can view the pictures via facebook at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150310293588347.354753.122388083346

On a recent sunny Saturday morning a committed group of volunteers from Journey UCC & SUNY Albany met in the early hours to begin a service day to help our neighbors in Schoharie. Most of us had watched the news and had heard some difficult stories from friends who had already volunteered and thought we were pretty prepared for day. We gathered in the Journey parking lot to share coffee, donuts, load up our tools and take a few minutes to discuss sensitivity and safety. The ride to Schoharie was the same as any other ride until we were about 15 minutes away from our destination. Only then did the damage to houses, businesses, and trees become apparent. It was then that I began to wonder if I was truly prepared for what was ahead. A few of us headed off to Howes Caves to help a friend of mine put together the pieces of her medical practice. Her practice of 30 years sat steps away from her home and her patients traveled from several towns away to see their family doctor. Her practice was completely destroyed by the floods and her building condemned. She lost her building and everything inside. Her home, just around the corner, took on water well into her first floor. She is determined to restore her home and it was humbling to see her strength and determination. We gathered the various office supplies, items she sent to us in an email wish list, and the guys loaded and unloaded dozens of boxes of damaged and disorganized medical records for her 1,000+ patients. As we loaded her newly donated office chairs, computer, fax machine and other misc items, I was struck by how grateful she was. She didn't complain that everything she had worked for over the past 30 years was gone and she was getting used and discarded items from others - she was just thankful we were there. She didn't seem to mind that she was relocating far away from her home and no longer had an entire practice - but would have 1 small room to work out of. She was putting one foot in front of the other, leaning on her friends and was sincerely moved by the generosity of strangers. I left grateful that we truly helped her in a few short hours - and frustrated that we couldn't do more.

Our next stop was to regroup with the rest of the Journey/UAlbany team in Schoharie. As we tried to join in with the rest of the team, it was clear that they had already had a few hours to take in the scene on this once beautiful street. While from a distance it looked almost "normal" as you got closer you saw the impossible water lines just below the second story windows and my mind struggled to comprehend that the water could have truly engulfed these homes to their second stories. Many had only 20 minutes to take what they could and assumed they would return to clean up flooded basements. It must still be hard to comprehend what happened to their home, their neighborhood, their entire community. Never having been a part of this process before, Pastor Sandy gave me the run down on my face mask, goggles and hammer. Before I knew it, I found myself smashing through living room walls, shoveling what was left of their kitchen into buckets and watching with sadness and pride as this group of volunteers took these rooms down to their shell. I watched as our team went from moments of laughter and camaraderie to moments of sadness - stepping out on the front porch to catch their breath and process it all it. I think working alongside the homeowners was .......Difficult. Heartbreaking. Humbling. Overwhelming. Inspiring. While we were ripping out walls and floors, they watched their lives being dragged out to the curb, as trash. One man told us how his brother was a Marine and had a whole wall full of photos, medals and honors. Not one of them survived the water - his entire history lost. As we scrapped the metal shovels across the wood floors, shoveling out the wet insulation and sheetrock, he told me his sister-in-law never let him wear his shoes on her wood floors. The sound of the shovels scrapping across those same floors must have been hard for him to stand. The incredible lady down the road whose floors were completely rotted all the way through, insisting that her house could be saved. She took us, room by room, to show us the path of the water and tell us what "used to be here" and what "used to be hanging there." She was most upset that she lost her son's handprint from kindergarten that was hanging on the wall. I'm sure our experiences are only a shadow of the desperation, heartbreak, anger and frustration that is running through so many neighborhoods. Yet this was not a negative experience. I came away in awe of the resilience of the homeowners, proud of my friends and Journey members who continue to walk the walk - not just talk the talk. Impressed that a group of SUNY students would give up their entire Saturday to work HARD. Of the woman Sarah - who runs a command center in the middle of town, placing thousands of eager volunteers in homes in desperate need of their hard work, power tools and compassion. One woman has accomplished what our government could not - she brought those in need together with those who needed to help. I am grateful for the opportunity to help in this small way and I hope that the needs of this community will not fade away when other news stories take precedence. These families are going to need our labor, love and support for many months to come. Let's not let them down.

Journey at the Movies: The Help - The Courage to Make a Diffeence

2011-09-15T22:56:00.000-04:00

A sermon preached at Journey United Church of Christ on Sunday, September 11, 2011.

Based in part on a review, “Challenging the Status Quo” by Elisabeth Leitch at www.hollywoodjesus.com

READINGS FOR THE DAY: Esther 4:1-17 (CEV)

1 When Mordecai heard about the letter, he tore his clothes in sorrow and put on sackcloth. Then he covered his head with ashes and went through the city, crying and weeping.

2 But he could go only as far as the palace gate, because no one wearing sackcloth was allowed inside the palace.

3 In every province where the king's orders were read, the Jews cried and mourned, and they went without eating. Many of them even put on sackcloth and sat in ashes.

4 When Esther's servant girls and her other servants told her what Mordecai was doing, she became very upset and sent Mordecai some clothes to wear in place of the sackcloth. But he refused to take them.

5 Esther had a servant named Hathach, who had been given to her by the king. So she called him in and said, "Find out what's wrong with Mordecai and why he's acting this way."

6 Hathach went to Mordecai in the city square in front of the palace gate,

7 and Mordecai told him everything that had happened. He also told him how much money Haman had promised to add to the king's treasury, if all the Jews were killed.

8 Mordecai gave Hathach a copy of the orders for the murder of the Jews and told him that these had been read in Susa. He said, "Show this to Esther and explain what it means. Ask her to go to the king and beg him to have pity on her people, the Jews!"

9 Hathach went back to Esther and told her what Mordecai had said.

10 She answered, "Tell Mordecai

11 there is a law about going in to see the king, and all his officials and his people know about this law. Anyone who goes in to see the king without being invited by him will be put to death. The only way that anyone can be saved is for the king to hold out the gold scepter to that person. And it's been thirty days since he has asked for me."

12 When Mordecai was told what Esther had said,

13 he sent back this reply, "Don't think that you will escape being killed with the rest of the Jews, just because you live in the king's palace.

14 If you don't speak up now, we will somehow get help, but you and your family will be killed. It could be that you were made queen for a time like this!"

15 Esther sent a message to Mordecai, saying,

16 "Bring together all the Jews in Susa and tell them to go without eating for my sake! Don't eat or drink for three days and nights. My servant girls and I will do the same. Then I will go in to see the king, even if it means I must die."

17 Mordecai did everything Esther told him to do.

Every morning, Abileen Clark entered the home of her employers, gathered toddler, Mae Mobley, from her crib wrapping her arms around her and has her repeat those affirmations. “You is Kind. You is Smart. You is Important.”

While the words initially seem to be spoken directly for baby Mae, as the movie unfolds, it becomes apparent that the mantra is just as important for Abileen, “the help”. Each is as underappreciated as the other. Mae Mobley? Well she just doesn’t fit her mother’s picture of a perfect beautiful baby. She’s too big for her age and far too needy for her mom’s life. And Abileen? Well, she’s an African-American and she’s a maid. She’s not really a person. She’s “the help.”

The Help takes us back to a time when racism was overt. Jackson, Mississippi, is just another typical southern city of the time. The white middle class households all had children and they all had maids. The maids cleaned, shopped, cooked, raised the babies .. and most importantly, they know their place.

The young white society women gather regularly to play bridge and occasionally hold a benefit for the hungry children in Africa. The maids ride buses back and forth from the other side of town to work at their houses everyday. The society ladies were likely raised by the same “help”. Now they employ them and treat them with disdain following the example of their leader, Ms. Hilly Holbrook, who begins a campaign to establish a law that would require each home to build an outside restroom for the “the help” so they don’t use the household toilets.

It all goes along unchallenged, like it has for generations, until on of their own, Skeeter, comes home from college and become the catalyst for change. Wanting to become a writer she is inspired by what she feels is a great idea – one that will bring about change. She’ll interview “the help”, gather their stories about what its really like to work for their white families.

The only problem is that she doesn’t understand how big the risk is for the interviewees. Losing their jobs may be the least of their worries.

Initially Aibileen wants no part of this, nor does Minnie of who can only get a job working for the “outcasts of white folks”. It isn’t Abileen hears these powerful words from her pastor that she changes her mind.

Video Clip

Preacher … “Courage is ..”

The whole film is an eye opener for me. It portrays a world that existed only 50 short years ago. This is the world that many of us look back on as the “good old days”. Happy Days, Ozzi and Harriet, The Andy Griffith Show, Leave it to Beaver. This is the world that all those shows ignored. As one reviewer states: “The entertainment media of that day ignored the plight of oppressed people just as the socialites of Jackson couldn’t see the plight of the women that were in their homes each day. But they would help hungry children in Africa. (Darrel Manson, Hollywood Jesus)

Of course these were turbulent times and change was on its way. For the folks in Jackson, that change begins with women of color telling their stories – both the good and the bad. They revealed the truth about the world around them. Out of contentment or fear, nobody had ever set the truth out in the open. The very act of speaking the truth was the beginning of a journey to freedom for “the help” of Jackson.

Not that much different from that Old Testament story of Esther. It’s not one we usually share with our children in Sunday School. And lord knows, we don’t usually preach it on Sunday morning. I think the only place the story may be told may be in one of those Bible studies, “The Bad Girls of the Bible”.

But just as Skeeter and Abileen change the course of history by speaking the truth with courage, so does Esther, the beauty queen. Like Skeeter, her life was actually going along pretty good; but like Aibileen the very existence of her people is at stake. And finally, with the prompting of her uncle Mordecai, she speaks the truth to her husband, the King. With great courage, she starts the ball rolling. Because she is willing to life her life out on the limb, literally thousands of lives are saved.

Esther 7:1-10 (CEV)

1 The king and Haman were dining with Esther

2 and drinking wine during the second dinner, when the king again said, "Esther, what can I do for you? Just ask, and I will give you as much as half of my kingdom!"

3 Esther answered, "Your Majesty, if you really care for me and are willing to help, you can save me and my people. That's what I really want,

4 because a reward has been promised to anyone who kills my people. Your Majesty, if we were merely going to be sold as slaves, I would not have bothered you."

5 "Who would dare to do such a thing?" the king asked.

6 Esther replied, "That evil Haman is the one out to get us!" Haman was terrified, as he looked at the king and the queen.

7 The king was so angry that he got up, left his wine, and went out into the palace garden. Haman realized that the king had already decided what to do with him, and he stayed and begged Esther to save his life.

8 Just as the king came back into the room, Haman got down on his knees beside Esther, who was lying on the couch. The king shouted, "Now you're even trying to rape my queen here in my own palace!" As soon as the king said this, his servants covered Haman's head.

9 Then Harbona, one of the king's personal servants, said, "Your Majesty, Haman built a tower seventy-five feet high beside his house, so he could hang Mordecai on it. And Mordecai is the very one who spoke up and saved your life." "Hang Haman from his own tower!" the king commanded.

10 Right away, Haman was hanged on the tower he had built to hang Mordecai, and the king calmed down.

If you were Esther, would you have lived life on out on that limb?

If you were Skeeter would you challenge the status quo?

If you were Abileen, would you be able to speak the truth?

Yes, we’ve made strides since then. When we think of destroying a whole race, we like to think we’re above that. When we see the way the maids are treated, we know immediately that such behavior is unconscionable. It seems hard to believe that this would have been acceptable such a short time ago. So it would be easy to celebrated the progress we’ve made in racial issues. Those advancements are indeed worthy of celebration.

But we also still need to have the truth set before us. There is still prejudice that is less overt that continues to infect our society. In plays out in many ways – both in personal lives and in government policies.

I am reminded of that in these days when we remember and reflect on the meaning of 9-11. This week as I want sitting with students and staff in a planning meeting for a 9/11 Interfaith Remembrance Service on campus, I was reminded that we may not always have the “big picture”. We began our meeting with introductions and I asked each person to share what they remembered about where they were on 9/11 in 2001. I wasn’t expecting much because most of our students were pretty young at the time. However, I was immediately proven wrong as the president of the Muslim Student Association shared her story. She lived in NYC at the time. She remembered that many of her classmates were picked up by their parents early that day. Their teachers didn’t tell them anything about what was happening outside those four walls, but she knew something was going on. Her suspicion was confirmed when her mother finally arrived to pick her up … her mother was not wearing her hijab – the customary head covering. She proceeded to remove her headscarf as well and she ushered her home quickly. Only then did she begin to explain that she would not be going to school the next day and that things had changed. In fact, Bibi would not leave her home for weeks and would not wear her hijab for a long, long time. A member of the Counseling Center, also a Muslim, chimed in. She remembered her neighbors yelling at her and her family to “go back to Afghanastan”. She thought it was curious because her family wasn’t even from there.

These stories stand in stark contrast to the stories I remember hearing and seeing in the days after 9/11. I remember stories of heroes and survivors. I remember seeing pictures of people working together in a time of great fear and anxiety. Not that those stories were wrong. It’s just that I didn’t have the big picture. I didn’t have all the information. I didn’t have the whole truth.

In moments like this I recognize that we have a log way to go before we have a picture that includes all aspects of prejudice and racism and discrimination. I recognize that I miss many stories of discrimination based on race, based on religion, based on sexual orientation, based on a whether a person is a legal or illegal immigrant. The list goes on an on.

To watch “The Help” and only think how wonderful it is that the world isn’t like that any more would only be to see what we want to see, like the white women of Jackson. Like Esther who is tucked safely away in the palace.

Perhaps our challenge is to continue to look for the truth – to seek out ways we continue to overlook prejudice and mistreat the people around us. And then, alongside Esther, and Skeeter and Abileen, to have the courage to speak out in small ways and in big ways. As individuals to confront the racism we encounter in the comments, jokes and attitudes of those around. To be aware of policies and systems that perpetuate that discrimination. As a faith community to work together to be informed and to speak for those who may not have a voice.

May we have the courage to make a difference recognizing that WE IS KIND, WE IS SMART AND WE IS IMPORTANT in making a difference.

Journey at the Movies: Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows (part 2) - When Good Meets Evil

2011-09-08T13:43:00.000-04:00

A sermon preached at Journey United Church of Christ on Sunday, September 4, 2011.

READINGS FOR THE DAY: 1 Samuel 16:1-13 (CEV)

One day he said, "Samuel, I've rejected Saul, and I refuse to let him be king any longer. Stop feeling sad about him. Put some olive oil in a small container and go visit a man named Jesse, who lives in Bethlehem. I've chosen one of his sons to be my king." Samuel answered, "If I do that, Saul will find out and have me killed." "Take a calf with you," the LORD replied. "Tell everyone that you've come to offer it as a sacrifice to me, then invite Jesse to the sacrifice. When I show you which one of his sons I have chosen, pour the olive oil on his head." Samuel did what the LORD told him and went to Bethlehem. The town leaders went to meet him, but they were terribly afraid and asked, "Is this a friendly visit?" "Yes, it is!" Samuel answered. "I've come to offer a sacrifice to the LORD. Get yourselves ready to take part in the sacrifice and come with me." Samuel also invited Jesse and his sons to come to the sacrifice, and he got them ready to take part. When Jesse and his sons arrived, Samuel noticed Jesse's oldest son, Eliab "He has to be the one the LORD has chosen," Samuel said to himself. But the LORD told him, "Samuel, don't think Eliab is the one just because he's tall and handsome. He isn't the one I've chosen. People judge others by what they look like, but I judge people by what is in their hearts." Jesse told his son Abinadab to go over to Samuel, but Samuel said, "No, the LORD hasn't chosen him." Next, Jesse sent his son Shammah .to him, and Samuel said, "The LORD hasn't chosen him either." Jesse had all seven of his sons go over to Samuel. Finally, Samuel said, "Jesse, the LORD hasn't chosen any of these young men. Do you have any more sons?" "Yes," Jesse answered. "My youngest son David is out taking care of the sheep." "Send for him!" Samuel said. "We won't start the ceremony until he gets here." Jesse sent for David. He was a healthy, good-looking boy with a sparkle in his eyes. As soon as David came, the LORD told Samuel, "He's the one! Get up and pour the olive oil on his head."

Samuel poured the oil on David's head while his brothers watched. At that moment, the Spirit of the LORD took control of David and stayed with him from then on. Samuel returned home to Ramah.

Ever played one of those games where you are shown a close-up picture of a familiar item and have to guess what it is? The problem is the picture close-up is usually so “close up” that you really can’t tell.

I think that little game can actually serve as an analogy for life at times. It’s not always easy to see clearly when we get focused on minute little details. We may get so consumed with the little things that we lose sight of the big pictures. It even happens as we look at the people around us. We can lose our ability to see clearly if we get obsessed with one or two smaller characteristics.

Look at the priestly figure Samuel; when we find him in chapter 16, it appears he has problems focusing when it came to anointing the next king. Let’s set the stage a bit. Samuel has been told by God to anoint a new king. Kings in those days didn’t ascend to throne through their family ties. They weren’t popular elections or an electoral college. Kings came to power through appointment – an appointment by God. Now God had originally appointed Saul as the first king of Israel and he started strong. But as is the case with politicians from time to time, he seemed to lose his way. More and more he led in a way that met his own needs, not the plan provided by God. So God tells Samuel it times for a “godly impeachment” and set him on a path of appointing a new King on God’s behalf.

But in the midst of this important moment, we discover that Samuel has a blind spot … not a blind spot that impacts his physical ability to see like cataracts or glaucoma. His blind spot has more to do with his vision for how God works. He is able to see clearly enough to find his way to the right down and even to the right house – the household of Jesse. But then he loses his focus. He had all of sons parade before him; it’s like an impromptu “king contest” in Jesse’s living room. We can almost see him with his scorecard. The oldest, Eliab, walks by - Big broad shoulder, handsome face … 9.8. But God says’ “no”. Then comes Abinadab - tall and fit… 8.5. But God says “no”. Then Shammah … 7.9, but again God says “no”. It continues through all of Jesse’s 7 sons. He works his way through them all. In desperation, he asks Jesse, “are there any more”. Jesse sends for his youngest son, who is out tending the sheep. We get a sense that Samuel, with his “blind spot” and is ready to dismiss the young shepherd boy when God corrects his vision and much to everyone’s surprise, God says “yes, he’s the one” These powerful words emerge from the story. Words from God that serve as corrective lenses for those who have blind spots - “People judge others by what they look like, but I judge people by what is in their hearts.” I Samuel 13:7

Let’s face it, like Samuel, we all have blind spots that prevent us from seeing others clearly. I’m not sure we can every truly overcome our natural tendency to look at others and make at least some snap judgments about them based on what we first see. We are quick to make assumptions based on the color of their skin, the accent of their speech, how they are dressed and how they may act. And based on what we see and what we observe, we are quick to judge and label. He’d make a good king. He wouldn’t. They seem to be a good person. They seem to be someone to be avoided. They seem good. They seem bad. That person is good. That person is evil.

Reflect with me for a moment on the characters of Harry Potter.

Are these people good or bad? In this classic story of good vs. evil, on which side do they fall?

Draco and the rest of the Malfoy family?; Harry, Hermoine, & Ron?; Neville Longbottom?; Snape?; Dumbledore?

There are lots of profound lessons in the final installment of Harry Potter – The Deathly Hallows Part 2 - Lesson about sacrifice for the good of others; Lessons about friendships and alliances; Lessons about immortality … all powerful lessons indeed and perhaps one week isn’t enough for Harry Potter; we could perhaps do a whole series. I’ve read lots of reviews about all those angels… especially the good vs. evil plot that is woven throughout the whole series, but instead of going with the obvious, “in the struggle of good vs. evil, good always win” thing, I want us to look at it from a slightly different angel – how we discern good and evil. How we judge people’s nature and character. How it is that perhaps our own blind spots enter in the picture. And how it is not simply always so clear-cut as we might think.

Watch this clip and see if you can begin to understand what I’m getting at

Video Clip

Harry Uses Snapes Memories

As the final plot unfolds, I was struck by how difficult it sometimes is to tell the good-guys from the bad-guys in the movies …

• Severus Snape we discover has been working as a double-agent between the Death Eaters, the followers of Lord Voldemort, and the Hogwarts students and professors and their magical families. As it turns out, instead of being a villain, he has served has Harry’s protector all these years.

• Albus Dumbledore, as it turns out, has known the Harry’s secret all along and withheld that information from him bring Snape to accuse him with these words, “You have raises him like a lamb for the slaughter”.

• The Malfoy family, who previously have pursued Harry at every turn, secretly turn against the Dark Lord and Draco’s mother makes the important decision in the final moments to actually lie to Voldemort about whether or not Harry is dead.

• And then there’s the hero, Harry. We discover that Harry has a bit of Voldemort – a little evil - living within him; he discovers he is one of the Horcruxes he and his friends have been seeking to destroy.

God’s words to Samuel return to me .. “People judge others by what they look like, but I judge people by what is in their hearts.” I Samuel 13:7. And I recognize that I am often quick to put people in a box; label them – good/bad. I’m learning more and more these days that things aren’t always “black and white” and more and more I’m called to live with shades of gray … especially when it comes to how I see the people around me. There’s a challenge for all of us to allow God to remove the blind spots we have … to resist our urge to label and judge … to see people as God sees them … not as good or bad, sinner or saint… but as God’s beloved children who are often a little bit of both.

We would do well to remember that God invites us to a new vision

PRAYER OF REFLECTION

God, we acknowledge before you, our blind spots. We often fail to see your big picture, because we focus on the tiny minute details. We have made ourselves judges of what is acceptable and what is not, forgetting that you are the only judge. We have denies, repressed, ignored or condemned all the pieces of the world that we don’t like. Forgive us our blind spots and restore our vision so we might see clearly through your eyes. Amen.

Journey at the Movies: Water for Elephants - Riding the Train of Life

2011-08-28T10:24:00.002-04:00

A sermon preached at Journey United Church of Christ on Sunday, August 21, 2011

Genesis 45:1-15

¹Since Joseph could no longer control his feelings in front of his servants, he sent them out of the room. When he was alone with his brothers, he told them, "I am Joseph."
²Then he cried so loudly that the Egyptians heard him and told about it in the king's palace.
³Joseph asked his brothers if his father was still alive, but they were too frightened to answer.
⁴Joseph told them to come closer to him, and when they did, he said: Yes, I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt.
⁵Don't worry or blame yourselves for what you did. God is the one who sent me ahead of you to save lives.
⁶There has already been a famine for two years, and for five more years no one will plow fields or harvest grain.
⁷But God sent me on ahead of you to keep your families alive and to save you in this wonderful way.
⁸After all, you weren't really the ones who sent me here—it was God. He made me the highest official in the king's court and placed me over all Egypt.
⁹Now hurry back and tell my father that his son Joseph says, "God has made me ruler of Egypt. Come here as quickly as you can.
¹⁰You will live near me in the region of Goshen with your children and grandchildren, as well as with your sheep, goats, cattle, and everything else you own.
¹¹I will take care of you there during the next five years of famine. But if you don't come, you and your family and your animals will starve to death."
¹²All of you, including my brother Benjamin, can tell by what I have said that I really am Joseph.
¹³Tell my father about my great power here in Egypt and about everything you have seen. Hurry and bring him here.
¹⁴Joseph and Benjamin hugged each other and started crying.
¹⁵Joseph was still crying as he kissed each of his other brothers. After this, they started talking with Joseph.

Water for Elephants: Responding to Life’s Surprises

I’m probably going to date myself a little bit here, but back when I was a kid growing up in I remember when the circus came to town. It didn’t happen every year, but when it happened, it was amazing. It wasn’t just the circus performance itself, it was the whole week-long event, starting with the big set up … which happened in the big lot next to where my grandmother lived. I remember the year that my grandma invited all of us grandchildren to spend the night so we could be there to watch the unloading of the animals, the set up of the huge tent and all the side-shows. For a kid, it just doesn’t get any better.

“Water for Elephants” brings us behind the scenes glimpse into a second rate circus through the eyes of Jacob Jankowski who is looking back in the midst of his “nursing home life” …through his memories we get a picture of circus life … it’s not always a pretty picture …

As Jacob begins his ride, he’s just about to take his final college exams and earn a veterinary license like his dad before him. He’s all set to live our his dreams and live happily after, in spite of the depression that’s currently hitting the country in 1931. Then Jacob’s parents die in a car crash, and he quickly learns that the bank owns everything. He’s now penniless and homeless. So Jacob does what many other distraught young men did in that day and age: he hops a train to anywhere.

This particular train, however, belongs to the owners of the Benzini Brothers Circus. Fortunately, an old Polish circus-worker named Camel takes Jacob under his wing and saves him from being tossed back onto the tracks. He gets the drifter a job, saying, “Hold on, you’re in for the ride of your life. What a ride it is. From shovelling out the animal cars to pounding tent stakes and raising the gigantic big top to behind the scenes peep shows, this is a ride filled with surprises.

When Jacob looks back and reflects he wonders out loud … “I don’t know if I picked that train or the train picked me … “

His story shares some themes with the story of Joseph in Genesis. He too, finds himself on caravan ride to a new place and a brand new life. Unlike Jacob, it wasn’t his choice – his brothers sold him to a band of travelling merchants who take him on a ride to Egypt. There he will experience the ups and downs of life … he definitely didn’t “choose the train…”

This morning, I want us to look not so much at how Jacob … and Joseph … got on the train ride with it’s ups and downs … but how they lived life while on that train … how they responded to the ups and downs of life …

The book, “Water for Elephants” was written by Sara Gruens long before the current economic situation yet I was struck watching this how much the story speaks to today's setting. In the opening scenes of the movie, Jacob becomes painfully aware of the economic reality before him. Watch this scene as he discusses his option with the banker as he works on settling his parent’s estate….

Video Clip #1

Jacob Speaks with the Banker

1:07:00 – 1:09:00

"The only people who will be standing at the end of this Depression are those who TAKE what they need to survive."

There is a sense in which all the people in the film are struggling for survival, but the real contrast is the approaches taken by Jacob and August.

August plans to survive by the use of power and taking advantage of each situation to further his own interest. Marlena is not so much treated as his wife, but as the start of the show, he treats her more like property. When given the opportunity to acquire a new “star” – Rosie the elephant, he quietly admits that in order to pay for her, he’ll just not pay the other performers for a few weeks. He throws men off the train in the middle of the night so he doesn’t have to pay them. When the newly acquired elephant doesn’t “perform” on command, he takes the bull stick and beats Rosie

Video Clip #2

“The United State of Suckers”

Marlena’s response is to simply be “stuck on the ride”. She explains that she was born a passenger and things haven’t changed; as an infant, her mother abandoned her on a train where she was found and sent to live with strangers who used and abused her; later August would find her outside the sewing shop and in her words “I’m backing to being a passenger again.

Jacob seeks to survive through gentleness and helping others. He’s the one who intervenes to keep August from abusing his co-workers. He’s the one who figures out that Rosie wasn’t stupid, but only understood the commands if spoken in Polish. He rides the train of life with integreity.

How would you define integrity? Let’s go back to the root of the word, which is "integer." Do you remember from math class what an integer is? Well, don't feel bad; it didn't either. But let me tell: it's a whole number -- like 1, 2, 3, 4 -- as opposed to a fraction. Integrity means wholeness or completeness or entirety. Or look at another related word -- "integrated" -- integrity is when all aspects of your life are integrated or working together as a whole.

It's a biblical idea too… for you see, God wants us to functioning as whole people. In fact, if you look at the verse at the top of the outline on your program, you'll read the words Jesus said…nobody can serve two masters…that fragments their lives. A person who does one thing today and then a contrary thing tomorrow is fragmented; it's called duplicity or hypocrisy.

But a person with integrity has consistency -- what they believe is how they act; what they say is what they do. In terms of our faith, it means extending your faith to the whole of life …having congruence between what you believe and how you act.

In “Water for Elephants”, Jacob survives with integrity. In Genesis, Jacob also survives with integrity. Despite the fact they he is not treated fairly. Despite the fact that all he has is taken from him, not once, but over and over and over again. Despite the fact that circumstances are grim. He lives out his faith. He lives with integrity. And in doing so, he, like Jacob, provide us with examples perhaps of how we ride the train these days.

In a world where many are out of work or are losing their homes to banks, this film gives us something to consider. How are we to live in such a world? The banker may have been right that in troubled times we must take what they need to survive. But what do we need to survive?

Will we be like August and take those things that will give us more money or more power over others, or should we take our place within a community where we care for others and are cared for in return? How will we ride the train?

PRAYER OF REFLECTION

Loving God, you call us out of darkness and into your marvelous light. But we crouch in the shadows, ashamed of the wrong we have done, and of the good we have neglected to do. We have been timid disciples, afraid of putting our lives on the line for the good of your reign on earth. We conceal our true selves from one another, hiding behind the masks of our own power and competence. We allow divisions and discord to reign in our hearts, crowding you out altogether. Yet we know that discord is not your way. Reconciling God, call us back into relationship with you. Equip us for relationships of integrity – in our families, in our church community, and in the world you love. We pray in the name of Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and acknowledging our need for the love of God. Amen

Journey at the Movies: Kung Fu Panda 2 - The Quest for Inner Peace

2011-08-28T09:44:00.000-04:00

A sermon preached at Journey United Church of Christ on Sunday, August 14, 2011

READINGS FOR THE DAY:

Genesis 32:22-32; 33:1-4 (Contemporary English Version)

Jacob got up in the middle of the night and took his wives, his eleven children, and everything he owned across to the other side of the Jabbok River for safety. Afterwards, Jacob went back and spent the rest of the night alone. A man came and fought with Jacob until just before daybreak.

When the man saw that he could not win, he struck Jacob on the hip and threw it out of joint. They kept on wrestling until the man said, "Let go of me! It's almost daylight." "You can't go until you bless me," Jacob replied. Then the man asked, "What is your name?" "Jacob," he answered. The man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob. You have wrestled with God and with men, and you have won. That's why your name will be Israel."

Jacob said, "Now tell me your name." "Don't you know who I am?" he asked. And he blessed Jacob. Jacob said, "I have seen God face to face, and I am still alive." So he named the place Peniel. The sun was coming up as Jacob was leaving Peniel. He was limping because he had been struck on the hip, and the muscle on his hip joint had been injured. That's why even today the people of Israel don't eat the hip muscle of any animal.

Later that day Jacob met Esau coming with his four hundred men. So Jacob had his children walk with their mothers. The two servant women, Zilpah and Bilhah, together with their children went first, followed by Leah and her children, then by Rachel and Joseph. Jacob himself walked in front of them all, bowing to the ground seven times as he came near his brother. But Esau ran toward Jacob and hugged and kissed him. Then the two brothers started crying.

Philippians 4:4-9 (Contemporary English Version)

Always be glad because of the Lord! I will say it again: Be glad.

Always be gentle with others. The Lord will soon be here.

Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God.

Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.

Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don't ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise.

You know the teachings I gave you, and you know what you heard me say and saw me do. So follow my example. And God, who gives peace, will be with you.

Kung Fu Panda: The Quest for Inner Peace

When we find Po in Kung Fu Panda 2, he is living the dream. His dream of training with the Furious Five has come true. He is focusing on perfecting his Kung Fu skills (like reaching a new record for sticking 40 bean rolls in his mouth at one time).

Mr. Ping is still running his restaurant which is adorned with posters and signs alluding to the face that his sons is the long-prophesied Kung Fu Warrior. Part of the whole publicity stunt is based in a desire to capitalize on his son’s new celebrity status, but mostly it seems to stem from a deep fatherly pride.

All is peaceful in the “Valley of Peace”.

Of course, it doesn’t stay that way. That’s not a very engaging plot line. It wouldn’t be a movie without a sinister villain. Enter Lord Shen – the nasty peacock. He has been in hiding for years perfecting a weapon that he hopes will signal the death of Kung Fu and his own rise to power over all of China.

Who would have thought that a peacock could so greatly disturb the peace in the Valley of Peace. He disturbs the peace in the valley. He disturbs Po’s peace.

Soon we discovered that Po was actually orphaned at a young age and adopted by Mr. Ping, the dumpling maker. (yes, it’s fairly obvious since Po is a Panda and Mr. Ping is a goose). And as the saga unfolds we are led through a series of dream sequences in which Po comes face to face the pain of his past.

In order to unlock the strength he needs to not only conquer the evil Shen, he needs to uncover his secret and mysterious origins. There are some inner demons lurking inside him as well.

When we find Jacob in Genesis 32, he too is living the dream! He has spent the last 20 years working with his Uncle Laban. He has completed his hands-on training in tending the flocks and the herds and has not only added numbers to his own herds and flocks, he has multiplied them. The same is true of his family. Not just one wife, but two … and the children just keep multiplying. He is living large.

But his peace is also disturbed. Not by a secret about his past that is hidden from him, but by a dark history that he was very much a part of and in fact was a painful past that he created.

As a young man he had tricked his father and made off with the blessing and inheritance that belonged to his older brother. He escaped to his Uncle Laban’s farm and got a bit of his own medicine when he was tricked into 14 years of labor for not just one of his uncles daughters, but both – the beautiful Rachel and the “not-so-beautiful” Leah. He, in turn, tricks his uncle out of much of his property and now, with his newly acquired wealth, he considers going home. He packs up the family and the goods and the herds and off her goes to face HIS past.

Along the way, Panda Po will be using his Kung Fu fighting skills and Jacob will be called upon to engage his skills as an all-night wrestler. They will be on a quest for peace – peace in their “kingdoms” and that often-illusive sense of inner peace.

Fortunately, Po has a trainer along the way. Meet Master Shifu….

Video Clip 1

Inner Peace

Po doesn’t “get it” right away. As pieces of Po’s origin start to fuzzily come into picture for him, he finds himself distracted and unable to conquer the Kung Fu bad guys before him. He questions whether he was ever loved – by his biological parents and by his adoptive father.

In the midst of his Kung Fu fighting Po reaches a turning point when he discovers that it was because of his parents great love that he was able to survive and because of the great love of Mr. Ping, he was able to thrive. Po wanted peace, and found it by discovering who he was and where he came from, ultimately to rest in peace knowing he WAS loved more than he ever realized.

Jacob’s turning point comes not in the midst of Kung Fu fighting, but in the midst of an all-night wresting match. Maybe you will remember that Jacob didn’t have a strong history of believing in God- remember he had once (when speaking to his father, Isaac) referred to God as “Your God.” Add to that, all the encounters he has had with God up to this point have either been dreams or visions; we have nothing in the text that says Jacob has ever talked with God face to face…

But on his way back home, in the verses prior to what we read this morning, Jacob, maybe in a foxhole of sorts… Jacob, our self serving, self persevering, self sustaining patriarch-to-be; for the first time in his life, admits that he needs help… and he turns to God in prayer. This is no ordinary prayer. In his prayer. He kind of “lays it all out there” and after he’s done, he makes sure everything is in order for the final leg of the journey and then he lays down by himself to sleep and the wresting match begins. As he wrestles with the mysterious wrestler he comes face to face with his demons – his failures, his past hurts and pains

Ever found yourself like Po? Questioning your identity? Doubting your worth? Feeling perhaps that if anybody really knew you, they wouldn’t really love you?

Ever found yourself wresting through the night with a decision or a dilemma? Reliving the past? Looking for the blessing?

The list of "demons" with which we fight can pretty long at times? Our mortality, our "failures," our being subject to treatment that we couldn't avoid, our issues with abuse, with loss of trust, with lack of confidence in self, with losses too numerous to mention. Like Jacob, we may find ourselves struggling with demons of arrogance, with blindness of the way that our life has hurt others, with the splinters of worthless ideologies to which we dedicated ourselves for years. There are so many ways that our past rises up to attack us, even if we have tried to "deal" with it…all so painful that we may feel as injured as Po or as crippled as Jacob …

But the tide turns as day dawns. Jacob says that he will not let go until the man blesses him. Jacob needs a blessing. He is still searching for that sense of inner peace. The blessing comes in the form of a new name … a very real sign that at last his quest is over … the past will be behind and the future will be new and different. He is told that he will have a new name. It will no longer be Jacob (which literally means “trickster” or “deceiver”); he baptized with a new name “Israel” (which means “the one who strives with God”).

Along with the new name, comes a new identity. No longer will he be the deceptive person, the one who feels he has to trick others because he is second in the birth order and wants the "perks" of the firstborn. He will go forth with God … God is not only in his name, God is in his life. And Jacob is changed. Inner peace will do that for a person.

Video Clip 2

Po Finds Inner Peace

Po says to Shen: "You gotta let go of that stuff from the past, because it just doesn't matter."

If we are honest we have all had some bad or ugly or unfair stuff happen to us. The point is that it’s not what happens to us, it how we deal with the mess that matters.

Many of us would like inner peace, but we don't know how to get it. We may work hard to attain it through stuff like Jacobs … maybe even being a little tricky, greedy or deceitful along the way; we may try to attain it by brute force like Po. But it doesn’t work that way. It’s not what you do; it's who you know.

Now I'm not sure it will help us repel cannon balls, but there are plenty of way cool things in store for us when we find peace with God. In fact, it will bring the very thing Po and Shen need most: healing. The past leaves scars; peace can heal those scars, and peace with God will also give us hope for the future. May we find that peace.

Prayer of Response

Merciful God, the story of Jacob shows your willingness to enter into the messiness of our human struggles - into fractured relationships, family differences, unreconciled situations with people we care about – into our doubts and fears, our insecurities and our deepest pain – all the things that would disturb our peace.

In the midst of our wrestling, may we find our identity in you – as your beloved children. May we find the blessings in the assurance that nothing can separate us from your love. Amen.

Journey at the Movies: The King's Speech - Finding Our Voice

2011-08-08T22:31:00.000-04:00

A sermon preached at Journey United Church of Christ, on August 7, 2011 by guest pastor, Joy Perkett.

The King's Speech
Featured Video Clip: 1:18:51 - 1:19:40 Lionel encourages Bertie to find his voice
Exodus 4:1-17

Imagine a knock-kneed, left-handed, stuttering king … it may be hard but that is the story of Prince Albert in the King’s Speech, who unexpectedly ascended the throne at the age of 41. The King’s Speech tells us about the difficult process of Albert gaining self-esteem and accepting that he is worthy to be king. Albert has struggled with stuttering since he was a little boy. In the movie clip, we met Lionel, who is Albert’s trusted friend and coach. As Albert struggles with fears about becoming king, Lionel reminds Albert of his worth and value as a human being. He offers comfort to Albert when he is afraid. In the movie, as we find out more about Albert, we discover that he is very much in need of comforting. Albert, or Bertie as his family called him, got criticized a lot as a child and those voices of criticism haunted him throughout his adult life. As a child, Albert had many things wrong with him: Albert stuttered from an early age, thus his family called him “B-B-Bertie”; he was left-handed – and his teachers made him write with his right hand - and lastly he had knock knees as a child, and so the doctors made him wear painful metal splints. Through the movie, we see Bertie struggle with the idea that he might become king because, ultimately, he does not believe he is good enough. I can imagine what Albert was thinking: I am not fit to be a prince much less a king! I write wrong, stand wrong and speak wrong. He also thinks of his father, a father who never seemed to be proud of him and was always pointing out what Bertie was doing wrong. I imagine we all feel like Bertie sometimes – like we just can’t measure up, like nothing we do is good enough. It’s frustrating! It seems easy to drum up the voices of criticism in our lives and to interpret these criticisms to mean that we are not good people. We understand Bertie’s frustration as we struggle daily to get everything done, to live up to the expectations of others, to succeed at our daily tasks and to know that who we are and what we do is enough.

In dealing with these frustrations, I like to know I am in good company. Not only does the king of England struggle with anxiety and self-doubt, but so did the most renowned prophet of the Old Testament – Moses! In the Scripture today, we read about Moses’ call to prophet-hood. Prior to these verses, Moses killed an Egyptian and fled to Midean, where he lived ashamed and disconnected from his land of birth. Not what I would expect when I think of a great prophet – but then and again God always shatters my stereotypes and assumptions. So here is Moses – a foreign criminal – and he encounters God in a burning bush. Imagine his surprise, his shock, his wonder! From this burning bush, God speaks out to his child Moses and calls him as a prophet. Moses, as you can probably anticipate, does not want the job. He, like Prince Albert, does not think he is good enough. Anxiety pervades the questions Moses asks. In chapter 3, Moses has already asked God “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” Moses is saying: Hint hint God, I am a nobody. But God doesn’t get the hint. Then, Moses assures God that his people will reject him – not even the Hebrews will want me! Yet God tells Moses, I want you. Then, as if those protests were not enough, Moses reminds God that he is a poor communicator. Some scholars think this meant that he may have had a stutter – so he wasn’t that different from Prince Albert. Moses tallies up his faults and then pleads with God … C’mon, can you just send someone else? The stakes are high and Moses’ anxiety is high. Moses doesn’t want to be called out of his comfort zone.

What I learn from Bertie and Moses is that we can get a perverse comfort from exempting ourselves from the challenge of using our gifts, of living our lives in authentic relationships with others. Sometimes it’s easier to shirk our call into the world, our call to go out into the world, to be connected with others and be invested in the well-being of the world. Yes, it would have been easier for Moses to stay in Midean and it would have been easier for Bertie to refuse the kingship. I recall my own burning bush experience – when God called me and I was terrified to respond. A couple years back I did a social work internship at a domestic violence agency. While the internship was a powerful and painful experience for me, I initially dealt with the pain by erecting walls of apathy to protect myself. I focused on the format and questions when I talked to the survivors instead of empathy and understanding. I like Moses, I thought if I remained in deserted, distant land that maybe I won’t get hurt, that maybe I could be safe – safe from the experience of life. Life it seems can be a terribly painful thing at times. At the end of the first semester, my supervisor told me that I was not connecting to clients and, shattered from my illusions, I realized something had to change. God was calling me to open up my heart and face the reality of life. To me the most terrifying part of this call was the potential of success, the potential of having to fully open my heart and experience the pain of myself and others. I had a choice: I could stubbornly adhere to my fear, cling to it with all my might, remain a prisoner of my own anxiety or –despite my fear- I could choose to move forward, to experience life and open myself up to the powerful possibilities of the Divine. I stood before the burning bush like those who come before me with a choice, a choice of living or not living, choice of staying in the safe zone or journeying into the unknown, a choice of inaction or of actively liberating myself from the chains of fear that held me bondage.

So yes, I can relate to Moses. I imagine we can each relate to Moses’ experience at the burning bush where he was faced with difficult decision of embracing his gifts. I do not take it for granted that Moses chose to become a prophet, anxiety and all. And I appreciate God’s response to Moses in the midst of his struggles. When Moses admits one of his most embarrassing struggles – his stutter - God responds lovingly that God created Moses and shaped each part of his body. God’s response harkens back to the creation story and we remember how God made humans and it was good. When we are in the midst of our burning bush experience, struggling with our decision, God is present and God reminds us that we are good, that we are worthy, that we are enough. What we learn from God’s response is that value does not depend on any outside feature – whether we can talk or walk well – but rather our value depends on the simple fact that we are God’s children, valued in and for ourselves. In my social work internship, I learned that my value does not depend on the exact words I say but rather my value rests in my sacred spark and the nature of my work is to value the sacred spark in others. Moses and Bertie learn this too – they learn that their stutter does not define who are they are – and that they can make good prophets, kings and so further simply because of their God-given worth. In the movie clip, Bertie’s friend told him: you are very much your own man. At the climax of the movie, Bertie comes to realize that being himself, being who God created him to be, is enough. God uses all of us, no matter our circumstances.

Like Moses’ encounter with the burning bush, we encounter God in our communities and in our lives. As a individuals and a church, what happens when we, like Moses, take our life seriously? What happens when we take our possibilities and the Holy Spirit seriously? What does God have in store for us? I imagine being in a church community is like being on the edge of the unknown … its like being Moses called into Egypt … it’s like Bertie being called to be king … its both exciting and scary …. God can do great things with us. This text teaches us about the inner journey of truly valuing ourselves as children made in the image of the Divine. This text teaches us what its like to stand on the edge of the unknown and be terrified of the future and we learn that even there – especially there - God is present with us. The story of Moses and Bertie is one of liberation – as they began to be liberated from their anxiety they were able to help liberate their own people become liberated from oppressive forces. Bertie and Moses remind us that it’s scary to let our light fully shine! Yet great things can come of it! The burning bush burns brightly as possibility dances like flame before us. God beckons us forth, inviting us to become what we never dared, for the first time and for forever.

Getting to Know God via Glee: Part 7 - God of Patience

2011-07-24T13:06:00.000-04:00

A sermon preached at Journey United Church of Christ on Sunday, July 24.

Glee Feature: Season 1, Episode 16 “Home”

Exodus 13:17-22; Romans 5:1-5

Without a doubt, we live in an impetuous, impulsive, fast-paced, microwave, computer-quick world, and the pace in always increasing. It’s not always a bad thing. There are parts of that I really enjoy.

The trouble is that our impatience often pushes into taking short-cuts - Short-cuts that only end up hurting us and sometimes others in the end Some of us take financial short cuts. We want to live at a high standard of living today instead of waiting for a salary to support it, so we bury ourselves in credit and debt. Debt consolidation and bankruptcy law have become a multi-million dollar business as more and more families and individuals find themselves in over their heads due to a following a get-rich-quick scheme or two. Some of us take relational short cuts. We microwave the relational process and when things don't work out with the people we're loosely connected with, we're often ready to quickly move on to the next person or group. We have this thing called “speed dating” now and it doesn’t slow down from there. Some of us take physical short cuts. We want to lose weight, but instead of adopting a healthy and balanced lifestyle for the long haul, we go on a crash diet that does more harm than good. Instead of addressing the causes of our physical ailments, it's easier to just pop a few pills and move along. Watch how it works in Glee as Mercedes and Curt find themselves as members of the Cheerios, but not slim enough to keep their place on Sue’s team…

Glee: Season 1, Episode 16 “Home”, 3:30- 4:20

I know I've attempted a short-cut here and there in life. How about you? But God is different from you and me. We always seem to be rushing, but God isn't in a hurry. God takes time. In fact, God invented time, and God enjoys making full use of it. While we’re prone to short-cuts, it seems like God often prefers the long way.

Like when God brought the people of Egypt. In Exodus, we read: God didn't lead them by the road through the land of the Philistines, which was the shortest route, for God thought, "If the people encounter war, they'll change their minds and go back to Egypt.” So God led the people on the wilderness road, looping around to the Red Sea (Exodus 13) I don't think that's the way the people of Israel would have necessarily planned the trip. They had been slaves in Egypt for over 400 years. And once they finally got their freedom, I'm sure they were ready to head directly to the promised land … the land flowing with milk and honey … following the direct route … the route that would have taken them a fraction of the time …

Instead of guiding the Israelites along a straight line from Point A to Point, God took them the long way around … on a journey they lasted them over 40 years … as they tromped through the dessert, sometimes going in circles, sometimes making progress but sometimes getting set back again… two steps forward, three steps back. Goes against our way of travelling. We like interstate highways, direct routes with rest stops that have easy access.

When Curt and I travel, I know I better hit the restroom before we head out and it would probably be best to take along reading material, beverages and a few meals along in the car … because we're not stopping. Often times we literally don't know what we're missing. However, on our recent trip to the southwest, we tried another way. Instead of having it all planned out and calculating the mileage out for each day and each rest stop, we decided to wander …. Slow down and actually stop when we saw something interesting. It was awesome! We found so many blessings in taking the time, slowing down the pace - we were more relaxed, we saw so many things we would have never seen, learned so much along the way, grew to appreciate sunsets, leisurely meals, sitting on a porch with a good book. That's not usually the way we do vacation. We usually over plan … and come back to work exhausted.

Which method do you think fits God's approach to life more fully? I have to admit that it seems pretty clear through scripture that God's style reflects more patience. And molding a life, forming a human beings, enabling them to be all God wants them to be is one of those things that doesn't happen over night.

Ever had the opportunity to see an old-fashioned potter at work? One of those with an actual potter’s wheel. The kind of takes the time to carefully form each piece of pottery. Sometimes we don’t appreciate that because most of our pots and cups and plates are mass-produced. They are uniform, they are in-expensive… they are fast and easy to make. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God described patience as the work of a potter forming a piece of clay into a unique creation. The prophet was having a difficult time understanding why his people seemed to be suffering so much hardship. In a dream God instructs him to the house of the potter where he sees him working at the wheel reshaping a piece of clay that had been deformed into a beautiful work of art.

Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the LORD. Just like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. Jeremiah 18:6

I look back over the 40 plus years of my own live and see how God has formed me bit by bit, slowly, over time … teaching lessons that cannot be learned overnight, developing character that cannot be imparted in a 2 hour seminar, providing experiences that cannot be gained by quickly skimming a few self-help books. When I take the time to remember that, I have to thank God for that kind of patience. God's patience that sees the big picture, isn't it a rush, willing to do what it takes to mold my life exactly as it should be, detail by detail … the patience that encourages me to savor the moments as they come, and challenges me to be more patience as well – both with myself and others.

God sees things from a unique perspective. God sees the big picture of our lives. God takes the time to really think about what’s important. It’s a lesson Quinn helps Mercedes learn later in the same episode of Glee

Glee, Season 1, Episode 16, “Home” , 24:55 – 27:22

God's perfect sense of patience has implications for how God operates … and it has implications for we should live as well.That's a strong message for a society that has been told that faster is always better.

I share this story from John Maxwell "Fed Ex Society" (from One Hour with God, “Patience”)

We are in such a hurry that many of us cannot imagine our lives without Federal Express – when it absolutely, positively, has to be there overnight. I don’t know what I would do without Federal Express. I probably average one or two late-night visits a week to my local FedEx office.

What would we FedEx addicts have done one hundred years ago? Back then they didn’t have FedEx; they had Pony Express. I can the commercials now: “Pony Express” – when it absolutely, positively has to be there in three months.” Can you imagine waiting three months for a package? We have trouble waiting three days!

The bad news is this: God rarely uses Federal Express to build character. God doesn’t overnight or fax character into us. It takes time to build character. Lots of time. That’s why God is taking so much time in your life. God isn’t in a hurry.

Consider this word of encouragement. You are right on schedule. Maybe not your schedule, but on God’s schedule. God knows precisely what God is doing. Every trial has a beginning, a middle and an end. You cannot determine where you are in your trial, but God knows exactly where you are. Someone once said that everything is in walking distance if you have enough time. We’ve got it …

Response Activity: We gave everyone a small container of play-dough and asked that they carry it with them this week and every time they got anxious or impatient, to take our their playdough and “form something” as a reminder that God, the potter, is forming them.

Getting to Know God via Glee: Part 6 - God of Commitment

2011-07-23T14:40:00.001-04:00

A sermon preached at Journey United Church of Christ on Sunday, July 17, 2011. Based in part on “The God You’re Looking For” by Bill Hybels

Featured Glee Episode: Season 2, Episode 19 “Prom Queen”

Most of you know that I’m a Facebook addict. A crazy almost-starker-like presence. What started as a tool to help me stay connected with my students at UAlbany, has now become woven into the fabric of my life. It helps me keep in touch with family and friends from years ago. It helps manage so much of our life together as a faith community. In fact, it’s turned out to be a huge outreach tool for Journey. The list of things I love about Facebook is long.

But I must confess there is one thing I don’t like about Facebook. It’s the “MAYBE” button. I’ve created a bzillion Facebook events over the years – setting the day and the time, adding a picture and a description and choosing whom to invite. And then I sit back and wait. Usually within minutes I get the first responses “yes” I will attend; “no” I cannot attend … and then there are always the “maybes”. Maybe’s don’t bother me initially, but as the date and time gets closer, I think Facebook should force people to choose – make a commitment already. How can I plan for “maybes”

But alas, the “MAYBE” button is not only part of Facebook, it’s part of our lives, it’s part of our society; it’s part of our world. We live in a world where commitment is almost an anomaly. We want to keep our options open

We don’t wan to choose. Commitment has become the new “dreaded C word”. Employers trade employees, athletes leave one team as soon as another team promises a few more dollars, we frequent a business until a cheaper one comes along, one brand name until a new improved label appears, partners sometimes trade in their spouses, parents sometimes abandon their children…it’s startling just how uncommitted our society has become.

Today, in contrast to all of that we’re going to re-open this topic of COMMITMEN - God’s commitment to us, our commitment to God, our commitment to other Christians, our commitment to the world around us. It’s kind of ironic that on the one hand we have a humanity created to depend on commitment, yet at the same time and we run from it as if it were the most deadly plaque imaginable

We need to have no such concerns about God. God is eager to make commitments and God delights in being faithful to them. The Bible tell us we have a God who knows faithfulness and who demonstrates commitment like no one else. All the way back in Genesis God started making promises.

God made a startling promise to a childless man named Abram. “I will make you a great nation, I will bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3) If you read thru the Bible you’ll see how God carries that one out, generation after generation. Many times the people are not faithful in return; they don’t keep their promises to God. But that does not keep God from sticking with the commitment. God promised Noah that there would never be another worldwide flood. And God kept that one. God once made a promise to David saying “I’m going the life the nation of Israel to world significance” and under David’s leadership God kept that promise as David led the nation into its golden era. God also made a commitment to Mary and Joseph the parents of Jesus: They would have a supernatural child. God kept that one. God promised the early church in Jerusalem that they would be the launching pad for churches that would someday spread all about the world. And God kept that one.

Bound up in the very heart of God is the propensity to go on record with love, to turn good intentions into rock solid promises that you can bank your life on. Romans 8:39 puts this way … Nothing can separate us from the love of God

There some principles that we can glean from scripture about how God feels about the big “C” word. The first is this: God grieves over our broken commitment. As a pastor I am well aware of how many people have been severely wounded through the breaking of a commitment. Broken commitments from family members, from friends, from those they trusted most. Talking to such folks, I have become intimately familiar with the human pain and suffering that comes as a result of broken commitments; but what has surprised me even more is my growing understanding of how God’s heart breaks over our broken commitments. It goes back to the “sorrow of God” we talked about last week …

That is not to say that if we’ve broken a promise, we’re doomed for life. The second principle is this: God heals the hurt of shattered commitments. In the past few weeks,we’ve spoken of the God of grace, the God of 2nd chances….God offers forgiveness…God offers healing.

And as much as God grieves over broken commitments, God rejoices in commitment keeping. I think of people who have really followed through on the commitments they’ve made in life. Couples who stick it out. Folks who have not only committed to their own children, but have adopted children, children with special needs. I think of people around this church who have made the commitment be part of this new baby… it’s not always easy.

That faithfulness not only honors God, excites God. In fact, it also is made possible through God. An interesting thing happens as we move along our spiritual journeys. As we rely more and more on God’s commitment to us, we often find that commitment flowing out of us as well…we will also become commitment-makers and commitment keepers

Response activity: Give everyone a small card with pearl attached and invite them to respond with their own commitments

You may want to think: Are there some commitments in your life that you have broken and need to restore? Are there some commitments that are sagging that you need to firm up? Are there some commitments that you need to renew and reemphasize because they have just gotten a little wishy-washy?

Let us look as some of the commitments that Jesus calls us to.

Commitment to God: Jesus said “seek ye first the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” Jesus is saying “When you discover the glorious news that I am committed to you, spend a while basking in that truth, but then make a commitment back to me. In fact, I want this to be the primary commitment in your life, the first and foremost commitment you made above everything else.

Commitment to make a difference: Jesus also said, “You are the salt of the earth. Don’t lose your saltiness. If you lose it, how is it good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled.” Here Jesus is saying “You lived once without a commitment to making a difference with your life, but now you must agree to become my change agent in the world.

Committed to others: In John 15 Jesus talks about the formation of a new commitment in the lives of his followers. “Love one another … just as I love you… the greatest love a person can have is to give his/her life for them.” In effect, Jesus is saying, Some of you used to be pretty casual about your relationships. If one started to break down, you discarded it like yesterday’s newspapers. Now, all of that must change. I want you to be committed to each other as much as it is within your power to do so.

Getting to Know God via Glee: Part 5 - God Who Laughs and Cries with Us

2011-07-23T14:11:00.003-04:00

A sermon preached at Journey United Church of Christ, July 10, 2011. Based in part on “Getting to Know” by Bill Hybels

Featured Glee Episodes: Season 1, Episode 9 “Wheels” & Season 2, Episode 21 “Funeral”

By the time Bill was 6 he learned that the big alligator tears he cried in his early years as a toddler were no longer acceptable. Instead he was taught that when deep sorrow came his way, the best way to handle it was buck up a bit and never let them see you cry. Shortly after that, he received a little training on coping with anger. When he was a very small boy it was OK to throw a temper tantrum now and then when he felt angry. However, as he grew, his family told him that big boys didn’t get mad any more. They just took what life came them. Never let them see you get angry By the time he was an adolescent, Bill learned even more from the “big people” around him. While earlier in life, he was able to roll on the floor with laughter and have a raucous good time, as a maturing person, he was informed that he really should learn how to reel that in a bit, muffle it some, tone it down a bit Never let them see you get too excited. Finally in his later teen years Bill was those tender moments he shared with his grandmother and baby brother were probably not in his best interest. He needed to toughen up a bit. Be a little more firm if he was to survive in this world. Never let them see your soft side

Can you relate to Bill’s life? Were you ever taught to “never let them see you express emotion”. There are a variety of methods that have been used down through time to encourage folk to be a little less expressive and little more flat. Sometimes it has quite a bit to do with the people around us – our families of origin. Sometimes, it more of a cultural issue relating to the environment or sub-culture in which we were raised. Unfortunately it sometimes is even affiliated with our faith and how we’ve been told “good Christian folk” behave.

The result is all the same. A LOT OF US SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN THE LAND OF THE BLAND. Our lives are effected … And perhaps even more importantly our image of God is affected. As we strip our lives of emotion, we likewise take away God’s expressiveness as well.

Today, as we continue our series on “Getting to Know God”, we’re going to work a bit on setting the record straight in that area. If we view God as the great philosophical stoic – impassive and unmoved by the heights of ecstasy and the depths of sadness – we’ll naturally aspire to the same characteristics. But is we come to know the God that is depicted in the Bible – and expressive God, holding and demonstrating a rainbow spectrums worth of emotion, then our muted lives will start to change

Let’s start with delight!

I invite you to use your imagination with me. Close your eyes and imagine … if God were the center for the NY Yankees … if in the final seconds of a tied game against Boston, bases are loaded … and God got up to bat … he swings, he connects … it goes and goes and goes … it’s a grand slam… what would God do? Would God calmly hand the ball back to the referee … or would God do a celebration dance with teammates on the sidelines?

If we look at Genesis, which we read earlier … we get the answer. At thevery beginning of God’s story we read a story of God who DELIGHTS in what has been created. After each day of creation, God steps back, looks at what’s been done and says, “I did well”. “I like what I created” “I take delight in the results” In fact the on the 6^th day, after creating human beings, God says “This is very, very good”. So good, God takes a vacation, rests on the 7^th day … delighting in all that has been made.

GLEE: Sues Delight in Her Sister

Season 1, Episode 9 35:38-36:50

That’s delight, joy, happiness --- call it what you will. God knows and expresses it. … knowing that somehow brings me joy ….That sense of delight is just one of our anything but dispassionate God’s many emotions. God also does compassion

You know what it’s like to have a friend look you deep in the eyes and say “How are you … how are you really” and with great tenderness and gentleness say “if there is anything I can do, let me know. Those are really the points in life when we feel God wrapping loving arms around us through another brother or sister in Christ.

At God’s core is the intrinsic gentleness that seeks to bear our burdens. When God sees people who are feeling very fragile – as I often have – God finds a way to visit them and let them know they’re not alone. God does COMPASSION and God does it like no other. Once again we see it clearly in the work of Jesus. The same man who performs miracles and offers deeply profound teachings about love utterly confounded them when he displayed an embarrassingly gentle tenderness by the little children and welcomed them into his arms. And when he ministered to the lepers. At that time, leprosy was so feared that the thought of touching a leprous man or woman would make most people wretch (like AIDS) Leprosy ate your extremities – finger by finger, toe by toe … turned your skin a ghostly white. It was one thing to offer a drive by greeting or healing, but Jesus had to stop and touch them and embrace them. He showed them a gentle side that they had never experienced.

GLEE: Beck Joins’ Cheerios

Season 1, Episode 9 19:20-20:34

God has the gentle compassionate side we need. I am moved know that, just like Sue, God has a softer side as well …

We like the thought of God who knows how to have a good time and we’re comforted by the reality of a god. What about anger? Does God ever get mad? When we look at how God is reflected in Jesus, we know how God does express anger. Jesus entered the temple and saw and saw dishonest businessmen jacking up the prices for animals that were required for sacrifice. Jesus didn’t have a problem with honest business, but these guys were the moral equivalent of show owners who start charging $10 a bottle for water after a hurricane creates a high demand. They were price gouging. They were cheating. They were turning a house of prayer into what Jesus called a “den of thieves” and he became furious.

So he grabbed some ropes and tied them together to make a whip. It wasn’t a flash of temper he would regret later. He knew what he was doing and he chose his actions carefully. He used that whip to clear the place out … quick. Jesus does anger and so does God … there are things that make God upset. The important thing is to notice WHAT makes God mad. That is found in the realm of injustice in the world. It’s a lot different than Sue Sylvestry to seems to only get mad when things upset her personally. It’s all about her.

Some of us don’t even want to think about an angry God at all… others are caught up in the trap of thinking that anger is God’s only emotion. I know lots of people who grew up with that understanding … “If you step one inch out of line, you get hit with the Lord’s lightning. You’re always just one step about from trouble with God.” It doesn’t square well with the biblical account of God’s wrath… Psalm 108 says “The Lord is … slow to anger”. Scripture doesn’t say God never gets angry, it says that God is slow to get angry. But that’s not all God does. While those circumstances make God angry, they also cause God sorrow

We read in the gospel of John that when Jesus walked up to his friends Lazarus’ tomb, he didn’t put on a brave face. HE WEPT. But nothing compared to the spirit-wrenching anguish of the night of his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus tried to explain it to his followers this way. “My soul is crushed with horror and sadness.” Jesus knew sorrow. And so does God. Psalm 56:8 says “You have seen my tossing and turning. You have seen me tossing and turning in the night. You have collected my tears in your bottle. You have recorded every single one n your book.

GLEE: Sues’ Sister’s Funeral

Season 2, Episode 21 27:40-30:30

What the Psalmist is saying is this: God knows sorrow. God feels it deeply. And God says, “I can’t stand the thought of any of you being sorrowful to the point where your tears would flow and drop to the ground and be absorbed and have no one notice. “ The thought is appalling to God. God collects every tear we shed, puts it in a bottle, gazes on them … not as part of some scientific experiment … but sharing in the pain … to show us how our sadness affects God. And I don’t know, but somewhere along the line some of us were taught that the right way to handle life is to buck up, paste on the plastic smile and say nice things that we don’t really feel. That’s the not way God is … GOD DOES SADNESS.

Now the fact that God is expressive – does joy, sadness, anger, gentleness – is a great time … it deepens our understanding of God. But there is another benefit. You see, BECAUSE GOD ALLOWS THOSE VARIED EXPRESSIONS OF EMOTIONS WE ARE RESCUED FROM AN EMOTIONLESS EXISTENCE.

Bill Hybels in “The God You’re Looking For” puts it like this: God’s emotional photographs aren’t black and white. They’re full of colors. Everyone we can think of, as well as shades, hues, blends that would boggle our imagination. As God’s children we are invited to join this relational, expressive and vibrant family.

So … May you find delight. May you delight in the blessings all around us - the big things, the important things, but also the small things and insignificant things that sometimes we don’t even take time to see.

May you feel compassion. May you look around and really see the people and situations in this world who stand in need of our empathy and our concern.

May you be angered about the injustices… not angered about the things that simply annoy you, but the things that go against God’s sense of justice and love.

May you feel sorrow for the pain of the world. May you grieve with those who grieve and stand ready to offer comfort to those who need it most.

PRAYER OF RESPONSE

God, we call you by so many names: Father, Abba, Mother, Loved One, Counselor, Friend, Guide, Alpha and Omega. Every name reflects your relationship with us, your creation. Each name pushes us beyond imagination to think of you in new ways. Help us discover you anew in every aspect of our lives, in every aspect of our living. Amen.

Getting to Know God via Glee: Part 4 - God Who is Still Speaking

2011-07-23T13:42:00.000-04:00

A sermon preached at Journey United Church of Christ on July 3, 2011. Based in part on the “The God You’re Looking For” by Bill Hybels.

This weeks Glee feature: Season 2, Episode 8 “Chessus”

A mother was observing her little girl saying her bedtime prayers. She said, "Dear God, thank you for mommy. Thank you for daddy. And dear Lord I pray that tomato would be spelled with an "e" at the end!" Her mother was surprised, "Honey, why did you pray that Tomato would have an "e" on the end?" The little girl said, "Well mommy, because that's the answer I put on my test at school."

Each of us would like to have some kind of special connection with God. In the United Church of Christ we proudly proclaim our connect with a “Still Speaking God”, but when it comes right down to it, let’s face it, we’re not always sure exactly how to communicate with God…

Today as we continue our series "Getting to Know God via Glee", we're going to focus on the theme, "Getting to Know our Still Speaking God." We're going to look at the story of Samuel.

But before we do that, lets set the stage with a little look at how one of the more interesting methods of communicating with God as discovered by Finn in Glee

MODERN PARABLE FOR TODAY: “Cheesus”

GLEE SEASON 2, EPISODE 8

Setting the Context

READINGS FOR THE DAY: 1 Samuel 3:1-10 (Today’s English Version)

The book of First Samuel is all the gift of a special person. In many ways It’s the story about a gift that keeps on giving.

As with many birth stories in the Bible, it starts off with a woman who wants nothing more than the gift of a child. She prayed, prayed and prayed - prayed that someday she could be a mom. At first it seemed like God wasn't listening. And so one day she stood in the temple and cried out with all her heart to God. You know that kind of prayer. The prayer of desperation. We’ve all been there. We may pray that kind of prayer kneeling in church. We may pray that kind of prayer sitting on our sofa a home. We may pray that kind of prayer from our beds or maybe next to a hospital bed. We know THAT kind of prayer.

Only this prayer was a little different. Across the room, the priest, Eli, noticed her lips moving but no sound was coming out. Now his pastoral response leaves a little bit to be desired; we read that he came over to her, and in not so many words said "Hannah, you must be drunk. Pull yourself together. You need to get out of here and go sober up". Not quite the kind of pastor we'd all like to have around in a crisis. But Hannah persisted. She said, "No, Eli, I'm not drunk. I'm crying out to God because I want a child." It’s HER prayer of desperation. Well, God heard that cry. And a short time later, Samuel was born.

In response to God’s gift to her, Hannah decided to dedicate Samuel to the Lord's work. It’s the gift the gives back. When he was old enough, she brought him to the temple to live and to grow and to learn.

You might imagine that a temple would be a pretty positive place for a child to grow up with all the religious education and the religious environment. But not so. In fact, here it was just the opposite. You see, Eli had some extremely evil, evil sons. And these sons did some dastardly deeds. In fact, because of all the evilness, we read in chapter 3 of 1 Samuel "In those days, the Lord hardly ever spoke directly to the people". It's not that God didn't want to speak. It was just that when God spoke, no one listened. And so the communication with God was rare. It was in that kind of environment that Samuel grew as a boy.

Somehow, by the grace of God, Samuel was protected from all this. One night as he was sleeping, the Lord spoke to Samuel, "Samuel!" Of course, Samuel ran to Eli, the priest and said, "Here I am" Eli said, "I didn't call you. Go back to bed" A second time, "Samuel!" "Yes, Eli, here I am" "I didn't call you. Now go back to bed" And a third time, "Samuel" "Here I am".

Now sometimes clergy can be a little slow. Eli was one of those. But finally, the third time, he was starting to get a little insight as to what was going on here. Ah-ha! Thought Eli, maybe this is God trying to speak here. So he said to Samuel, "This time say 'I'm listening Lord. What do you want me to do?" And this time when Samuel went back to bed and heard the voice again, he responded just like Eli had instructed him. And the Lord, so excited and delighted that someone was finally listening, spoke to him. It wasn't an easy conversation to have. It was a tough word from God with good news and bad news. But nonetheless, it was an important conversation. It was a message that brought healing and hope to the nation. It was a message of new beginnings for the people of God. God was looking for someone who would listen. God wanted to speak! God wanted to be heard! And finally God finds Samuel with the GIFT of being able to LISTEN

You and I live today in a world that may not be much different. We are in a world that needs so desperately to hear from God.

GLEE:

(Let me set the context: Curt’s father has had a heart attack and is in the hospital in an unresponsive state; the Glee clubs initial reaction is to respond with messages of hope from their various faith traditions; however, Sue finds a way to ban all spirituality from school grounds so Rachel is forced to struggle with her own Jewish understanding of prayer off school property. Listen as she shares this song from ….

Season 2, Episode 3 Rachel’s Song “Papa Can You Hear Me?”

It is that kind of craziness that God wants to speak to and will speak to. God is willing, ready and able to speak to us. Even in our own lives. When we're feeling discouraged and empty. When our families are falling apart. When our finances are crumbling. When we have no hope for the future, we need the word of the Lord! And God wants to and will speak to us.

How does God speak to us today? First of all, God speaks to us through the written word. What we call the Bible. God's word is alive and active. It can speak to us.

Secondly, God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. God can also speak to us through other people, tap on the shoulder, events, circumstances, and spiritual nudges….

I don’t think the problem is on the sending end of the communication process. God is still speaking. I wonder if more of the problem is that we tend not to listen. Perhaps we are more like Eli’s sons than we like to imagine. They’ve totally tuned God out. God speaks through the Bible, but today only about 17% of Americans actually read their Bible on a regular basis. God speaks to us through other people, but how can we really get their insights if we hide behind our pretenses and fail to be honest about our reality. God speaks to us through circumstances, but often we’re just so busy flyin through life, that we don’t even see open windows around us.

Perhaps we need to look more closely at Samuel Turning Towards God and Tuning In. I’m not suggesting you need to go live in a temple or other sacred space, but what would it mean for each of us to carve out more sacred time in our daily lives so we could actually listen for God.

Secondly, we to respond to what we hear. Now there’s another big difference between Eli's sons and Samuel -- Samuel not only listened to the voice of God, he actually responded to what he heard. I don't know about you but I have developed a tremendous skill called selective hearing. You may have noticed it in your spouse, or a child, or other people you know. I only hear what I want to hear …and I only respond to things that are engaging to me. I do the same thing with God sometimes. I read in the Bible where it says "Forgive those who have hurt you". I say "Well, God, I think I'll skip that part …” I hear but I don’t respond It says "Love your enemies". I hear ... but I pretend that I don’t. It’s selective hearing. Ever been on the sending side of those communication efforts. It’s frustrating to say the least. Usually ends up with louder and louder attempts or we just throw our hands in the air and say “it’s like talking to a wall…” We long for new patterns of communication. Therapists call the solution “closing the communication loop”. You let people know you are listening to them by actually responding to what they are saying. (and one of those non-committal grunt-like sounds doesn’t cut it)

As we hear God's voice, and as God gives us a little nudge to do something we need to learn to respond. Step out and try it and we'll develop an ear and heart to hear God's voice. God is willing ready and able to speak to you. And God is going to guide you and give you new hope and encouragement, strength, energy and joy as you listen and obey. It’s great to be part of a denomination where we lift up a “Still Speaking God”. May we also be “Still Listening People”.

Getting to Know God via Glee: Part 3 - God of Grace

2011-07-05T16:41:00.002-04:00

A Sermon Preached at Journey United Church of Christ on June 26, 2011. Based in part on “The God You’re Looking For” by Bill Hybels.

This weeks Glee feature: Season 1, Episode 10 "The Power of Ballad

In this country, life as we know it, is largely based on performance. As kids, we are taught that if you really want something, you have to earn it. See if any of these ring a bell. Sit still on the way to grandpa and grandma’s house and you’ll get…(a cookie). If you study hard, do your homework, you’ll get … (an “A” on your report card). Run your sprints, work out in the weight room, practice your lay-ups and … (you’ll make the team). As adults we know the same rules apply (more or less). If you want a promotion, you have to …(put in the long hours proving yourself).   If you want to lose a few pounds … (cut out the desserts and hit the gym). If you want to succeed – be it vocationally, athletically, financially -- you’ve got to work hard … make it happen.

Unfortunately, many of us bring the rules of those games into other areas of our lives where perhaps the fit is not so good … when we come to church, as we think about our faith, as we share in a relationship with God. It’s almost as if we say to our selves, “If we can please mom and dad, teachers and coaches, bosses and co-workers by being good … then surely we ought to be able to please God by being good and doing good.’ I say that’s unfortunate because that line of thinking … that approach to our spirituality … inevitably puts us on a never-ending treadmill … the treadmill of good words (moral self-improvement). And in the end, we get nothing from that treadmill but some serious blisters …

So, today, we’re going to flip things upside down a bit … As we continue our series on “Getting to Know God” we’re going to celebrate the GRACE of God.

Bound up in who God is, is an inclination to bestow benefits on undeserving people. Ephesians 2:8-9 say "You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God's gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own."

In order to fully understand and appreciate that idea…to see grace for what it really is. To move us toward that end, look with me a “hypo-thetical situation.” (from Bill Hybels "The God You're Looking For").

Let’s say tomorrow morning you’re getting ready to leave your house. You walk out your front door and you notice something a tad bit unusual…You notice the 15 year old kid who lives a couple of houses down from you… it’s not so much that he is weird, but his actions are a bit unusual. You see, he doesn’t have his license yet. But you watch as he illegally gets in the family car, backs out of the driveway like a madman, and starts to drive away. You’re concerned not only because you know what he’s doing is not legal, but you’re also concerned because you know there’s trouble in that household. You’re not sure what it is, but you’ve heard the rumors … the parents aren’t getting along, a break-up is probably going to happen soon, and the kids are caught in the middle. There’s trouble there. Then you see the kids coming down the street. He’s driving faster than he ought to drive, and he’s sitting low in the seat, and his steering is kind of out of control. And when he gets by your house, the car suddenly veers off to the side and he mows down your mailbox, he drives through your bushes and he crunches the fence you finally got up last week. The car stops. The kid’s okay.

Now, you’ve got a decision to make. Think about it. What are you going to say to this kid? How are you going to treat him? You have three choices:

You might treat him with justice Justice means you give somebody exactly what they deserve. You get exactly what you deserve. Some of you might go up to the kid and say “You messed up, so I’m going to treat with you justice. I’m going to call the police, the police are going to come, you’re going to get arrested, you’re going to be cited for driving without a license and driving carelessly. And then I’m going to take you to my mailbox and show you the damage you did and I’m going to take you bushes, and the fence … and you’re going to pay. And I’m going to call your parents and tell them to come and get you.” If you treated that boy with justice, you’re not a bad person. You’re treating him exactly as he deserved, no more, no less. You’re just a person who knows justice.

   SEASON 1, EPISODE 10 Quinn’s parents respond to her pregnancy (31:25 – 34:21)

However, some of you might choose another option. You might choose for whatever reason to treat the kid with mercy. What is mercy? Mercy is when you know what someone deserves, but you give them a little less punishment than what they deserve. You take a bit of the sting away. You give them a little less than they deserve. So what you say to the kid is this: “I’m not going to call the police because I don’t want to get you in trouble with the law and all that. But I am going to call your parents and we are going to establish the cost of the damages and you’re going to pay me back”. If you did that, you would be merciful. And the kid ought to be grateful that you were merciful because you could have been just.

   SEASON 1, EPISODE 10   Finn’s Mom responds (34:28-34:50)

Now it’s possible that some of you would choose a third option – an option that doesn’t make much sense … it’s radical. You might decide to treat the kid with grace. You might help the kid out of the car and say, “OK, you messed up. I mean you mowed down my mailbox, you ruined my bushes, you destroyed my fence that it took me half the summer to build. But I’m not going to call the police because I don’t want to you have a record at 15 years old. And you know what, I’m not even sure that I want to get you in a whole lot of trouble with your parents. And well, I guess the mailbox, the bushes, the fence … I can fix all those. I can pay for them and I will. But how about you and me go inside and find a place where we can sit down, get something to eat, and I can find out a little more about you, what’s going on in your life, what the future holds for you. Would you do that with me?” That’s GRACE. Giving people what they don’t deserve.   And that’s how God relates to each of us each and every day. Grace is an outrageous blessing freely bestowed on a totally undeserving people.

You see, when we accept that grace, take it from God … it has real power in our life … not only in the way we relate to God, but also the way we relate to others … you see we want to in turn start spreading grace because of what it might accomplish in other people’s lives. All day every day we walk around and we’re pretty good at justice. “You bump me and I’ll bump you back” Every once in a while when we’re in an extraordinarily good mood we might be merciful to someone. “I’ll give you a break today.” “You bump me and I’ll bump you back a little less forcefully.”   But what God would like for us to do, is for US to act out of grace as well. God wants us to release outrageous acts of random graciousness.

It's not unlike the parable, guarding what we have, watching to see that someone doesn't have it better than we do…doesn't get more of a break. In the parable the landowner replies, “I just wanted to be gracious. I just wanted to perform a random, senseless act of grace. To have them say "Do you believe this. I worked only one hour. I don’t deserve this and yet here it is.” If we treat each other around this church, in our families, in our workplace, in our neighborhoods with justice, we’re just being square with each other. It’s kind of the status quo. If we’re occasionally merciful with each other, that’ll warm things up a bit. But it tell you, if every once in a while you perform a random, senseless act of grace-giving where you.

Are you open to grace? Will you open your heart up and take it in for it’s richness and its fullness.? And will you commit yourself in response to receiving that grace to sharing that grace through senseless acts of graciousness? Will you receive and give the Touch of Grace? I invite you to a time of reflection as we listen to the Glee Clubs response to Quinn and Finn ...

Song of Reflection: SEASON 1, EPISODE 10 (38:49-42:10) “Lean On”

Closing Prayer:

For being a God of Graciousness we offer up our prayer of thanksgiving. Move us now and touch us with your grace. Help us to acknowledge that it is true and it is real. Help us by faith to receive it and spread it. Help us to live in it, be liberated by it and motivated by your grace – that grace which is nothing short of amazing. Amen.

Getting to Know God via GLEE: Part 2 - The God of Guidance

2011-06-19T20:55:00.000-04:00

A Sermon Preached at Journey United Church of Christ on June 12, 2011 (Confirmation Sunday). Based in part on “The God You’re Looking For” by Bill Hybels.

This weeks Glee feature: Season 1, Episode 1 “Pilot”

When was the last time you stood at what you felt to be the crossroads of life?

One of those times in when decisions are made? to attend college or go right to work, to take this job or wait for something better to come along, to marry or to remain single, to start a family or stay child-free, to move to a new location or to stay put.

Crossroads are not simply a matter of choosing what to have for breakfast, what to wear when you get dressed in the morning, or what cell phone you’ll chose at your next upgrade. Crossroads are bigger issues … with much larger and long-lasting implications. What we do when you reach such a crossroads has a lot to do with who we will become, how our lives will turn out…they’re a little bit scary and guess what confirmands? They are part of life … and they do come with some regularity for all of us.

GLEE VIDEO: Season I; Episode 1 (Pilot)“Mr. Shu’s Crossroad” 31:07-32:44

Well, if you’re there, along with Mr. Schu, we may have just what you need. Because today, as we continue our series on “Getting to Know God via Glee”, we’re going to discover the God Who Guides Us …and how that God helps us when reach or approach those intersections of life.

First, our reading for the day, Genesis 24:1-28 from “The Message”, a Modern Translation by Eugene Peterson.

Abraham was now an old man. GOD had blessed Abraham in every way. Abraham spoke to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of everything he had, "Put your hand under my thigh and swear by GOD—God of Heaven, God of Earth—that you will not get a wife for my son from among the young women of the Canaanites here, but will go to the land of my birth and get a wife for my son Isaac."

The servant answered, "But what if the woman refuses to leave home and come with me? Do I then take your son back to your home country?"

Abraham said, "Oh no. Never. By no means are you to take my son back there. GOD, the God of Heaven, took me from the home of my father and from the country of my birth and spoke to me in solemn promise, 'I'm giving this land to your descendants.' This God will send his angel ahead of you to get a wife for my son. And if the woman won't come, you are free from this oath you've sworn to me. But under no circumstances are you to take my son back there."

So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and gave his solemn oath. The servant took ten of his master's camels and, loaded with gifts from his master, traveled to Aram Naharaim and the city of Nahor.

Outside the city, he made the camels kneel at a well. It was evening, the time when the women came to draw water. He prayed, "O GOD, God of my master Abraham, make things go smoothly this day; treat my master Abraham well! As I stand here by the spring while the young women of the town come out to get water, let the girl to whom I say, 'Lower your jug and give me a drink,' and who answers, 'Drink, and let me also water your camels'—let her be the woman you have picked out for your servant Isaac. Then I'll know that you're working graciously behind the scenes for my master."

It so happened that the words were barely out of his mouth when Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel whose mother was Milcah the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with a water jug on her shoulder. The girl was stunningly beautiful, a pure virgin. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up.

The servant ran to meet her and said, "Please, can I have a sip of water from your jug?" She said, "Certainly, drink!" And she held the jug so that he could drink. When he had satisfied his thirst she said, "I'll get water for your camels, too, until they've drunk their fill." She promptly emptied her jug into the trough and ran back to the well to fill it, and she kept at it until she had watered all the camels. The man watched, silent. Was this GOD's answer? Had GOD made his trip a success or not? When the camels had finished drinking, the man brought out gifts, a gold nose ring weighing a little over a quarter of an ounce and two arm bracelets weighing about four ounces, and gave them to her.

He asked her, "Tell me about your family? Whose daughter are you? Is there room in your father's house for us to stay the night?" She said, "I'm the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah and Nahor. And there's plenty of room in our house for you to stay—and lots of straw and feed besides."

At this the man bowed in worship before GOD and prayed, "Blessed be GOD, God of my master Abraham: How generous and true you've been to my master; you've held nothing back. You led me right to the door of my master's brother!" And the girl was off and running, telling everyone in her mother's house what had happened.

Whether we’re aware of it or not, we all have a method for decision-making. Some people, either consciously or subconsciously, automatically opt for the path that will in their minds cause the least pain, the path of least resistance, the easy way. Some people do just the opposite and venture down the path that is filled with the greatest challenge, they are the risk takers, those who love to live on the edge. Then there are those who don’t necessarily make the decision themselves; instead they rely on others to choose for them, they take the path that others tell them to take, the most popular way, go with the flow, follow the crowd. And then there are those who, like Abaraham, when they come to the big crossroads of life, look up … not just to see where the signs point, but beyond that … they look up to God as their guide through life, to see which way God is leading them, to follow the path that God has cleared for them. They claim the wisdom of the Proverbs … our verse of the week (not to mention the words of song that we sing here at Journey from time to time)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean upon your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge God and your path will be made clear” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Well, today, I want to lift up that method of decision-making. To look at how it works and how we can claim it in our own lives. Because, you see, the guidance God offers is guidance of the best kind. There is good guidance and bad guidance, just as there are good guides and not so good guides.

Look at it this way. How did your parents guide you? I’ve noticed there are two distinct parenting styles when it comes to helping children learn. My dad is a car mechanic. When he taught me how to change a flat tire, he did so by offering suggestions and insights along the way, but he let me actually do the learning … He provided the wrench, but sat back and coached me through the process, giving advice when needed.

I’ve noticed in my role as campus minister, there are parents who approach things in a different way. Their idea of teaching is to do it for their children while they watch and watch and watch. They don’t actually ever do the task. We have a name for them – helicopter parents! The hover just like a helicopter and do everything their child needs done for them. The difference? Children never really learn how to do it using that method…they end up weak and dependent, diminished and devalued in the process. When parents function more as “coaches” they become stronger, more capable, more confident over time.

The nature of God’s guidance is more in keeping with that of a good guide. God is not in the business of guiding us in a way that keeps us weak and dependent. God guides us in a way that makes us mature and wise. There is a world of difference between the two.

So, how does God do that … God guides us through a variety of ways as we journey through life… what we might want to think of as signposts or road signs along the way

We don't always like that method. Sometimes I think we wish God would be a little more “helicopter-like”, hovering and doing for us. Ever found yourself wishing that God would just write out directions in the sky, or send specific step-by-step instructions in a secret text message on your cell phone. God doesn’t guide us that way because we would stay weak and dependent in a unhealthy way. God not only wants to help us at a crossroads, God wants to help us learn, to grow up, to mature, to become increasingly wise.”

So let's look at what the signposts or road signs are. The first is pretty obvious - THE BIBLE. When we are trying to become good decision-makers, when we are trying to receive guidance from God, we need first to look to God’s word the Bible

Psalm 199:105 says “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path"

Seems king of obvious, but studies indicate that folks really aren’t into reading it much any more. When we don't read it and study it and commit it to memory, it's like throwing away the instruction book

But sometimes we need more specific guidance on how to apply scripture and for that God gives us another “signpost” - the HOLY SPIRIT. Now, this form of guidance may make us “mainline Protestants” feel a little bit apprehensive. We kind of like to read about the Holy Spirit once a year, on this – Pentecost Sunday – and then we’re really more comfortable packing it up and putting it away again. Kind of like we do with the Christmas decorations and the plastic Easter eggs. Once a year, whether we need it or not. No more, no less. Once a year.

While audible words booming out of the clouds are not God’s usual method of guidance, God does “speak” to us through the gentle prompting of the Spirit, “impressions from God”, spiritual nudges or tugs. The Spirit will prompt you if you are open to it. We fully claim that promise as the United Church of Christ. “God IS Still Speaking.”

That’s the way God works. When we are coming to decision points, God offers us the wisdom of the Bible, God often uses the Holy Spirit to nudge us, tug us, guide us in a certain way, and sometimes, God uses THE COMMUNITY OF FAITH – real life people.

God often speaks to us through other people … particularly though the guidance of godly friends (and I think that more often than not, that's a plural in the Bible) Proverbs 24:6 "In the multitude of counselors there is safety." I have learned the hard way that my life is better served by multiple mentors instead of a single one. I have my husband, I have people in this church, I have colleagues within the UCC who I ask for advice, I have a group of clergy women whom I meet with regularly. When I have the counsel of some wise mentors I am adding to the basis for making good decisions I am receiving the guidance from God

Yet, when listening to that wisdom, that advice, I also need to take into account my own UNIQUENESS, who it is that God created me to me, and the special circumstances in which God places me. What may be right for someone else may not be right for me. In allowing God to guide us, we need to be aware of our circumstances, what is happening around us … and who God created us to be.

Watch how the decision-making unfolds as Mr. Schu gets some wise counsel from none other than Emma, the guidance counselor, who understands how a path that may be right for one person may be wrong for someone else….

GLEE VIDEO

SEASON 1, EPISODE 1 (PILOT)

“Emma, the Guidance Counselor” 34:49 – 39:38

If you’re open to all the signposts along the way, you should be able to reach the crossroads and make a clear-cut decision….

But, I want to end with one final thought this morning.

What happens if you come all the way down this road and you get right here and you have to make the call, and you do the best you can, but after you decide, you discover a bit down the path that perhaps you didn't make the best choice. You find yourself heading in the wrong direction.

I want you as confirmands (and the rest of you), to remember that with God, course corrections are possible. Romans 8:28 “ God can make all things work together for good to those who love God and who are called according to God’s purpose.” Going down the wrong path can be painful, gut-wrenching, lonely and sometimes even depressing. But what you will find out is that there is grace available to you even if you choose the wrong path and wind up on the wrong road. If we make wrong decision, life is not over. Grace does not end there. God still wants to redeem that situation and bring you back on the right road some time.

PRAYER OF RESPONSE:

O Guiding God, today many of us are at crossroads. Some are at spiritual crossroads. We have been tugged here by your Holy Spirit. You guided us here. And we are at a very important crossroads of the heart. We pray that your Spirit would nudge them a step closer to you. For all those who are who are at that crossroads today, please make it clear.

Help us surrender more completely to your directing hand. Teach us how to be wise over time, and to follow your wisdom and to cooperate with your guiding hand. And as we do this, we trust that you will lead us down paths that honor you and lead us into paths that satisfy and fulfill. Amen.

Getting to Know God Via GLEE: Part 1 - The God of Refuge

2011-06-16T00:20:00.000-04:00

A Sermon Preached at Journey United Church of Christ on June 4, 2011. Based in part on “The God You’re Looking For” by Bill Hybels.

This weeks Glee feature: Season 1, Episode 8 “Mash Up”

I’d like to ask you think back - back to the time when you were a kid. Who was the class bully? Do you remember that kid in your neighborhood or your local playground who made everyone run with fear and trembling? How many of you were that bully?

In our neighborhood it was a kid names Chris. She was the meanest, roughest, scariest little kid in my class. The worst part was that she lived only two blocks away on same street further down the path to and from school. That meant that my entire journey to and from school every day was fraught with peril. My only hope was to get there before she did in the morning (which wasn’t difficult since she was usually late). And then on the way home I would hope that she would find someone immediately on her way out the door that she just had to beat up right then and there – that meant I could get a head start and be safely locked away in my home by the time she began stalking 7^th Avenue.

At McKinley High School, the setting for the hit series GLEE, bullying takes on a unique form of abuse in the form of the “Slushy Facial”. The cools kids are on the throwing end of the slushy and the outcasts are on the receiving end. As difficult as it is to receive “the slushy”, what’s even worse is to find yourself moving from the throwing side of the social order to the receiving ends. Early on in GLEE, Finn and Quinn experience first-hand the reversal of their social standing.

For those of you who are not fans of the show, let me set the context. Quinn is captain of the cheerleaders (aka “The Cherrios”), she is also president of the celibacy club. Her boyfriend Quinn, is captain of the football team and equally admired by everyone at McKinley High. All is well, until Quinn finds herself pregnant (we find out later that it’s not by Quinn, but by his best friend, Puckerman) … if that weren’t enough, Quinn makes a decision to join GLEE club which lowers his status as well … and here’s what happens

Season 1, Episode 8, “Finn and Quinn Get A Slushy Facial”

In the culture of the Ancient Middle East, there was a good deal of running and chasing going on, only IT WAS FOR REAL … it was far more serious than a childhood bully and worse than a slushy in your face.

You see, in ancient times, in certain parts of the Middle East, societies were not all that organized and judicial systems hardly existed. To fill the void left by the absence of police, judges and courts, people were often left to take matters into their own hands.

Here’s how it worked: If someone in your family or extended family lost their life at the hands of someone from another family, your family would call a meeting. You’d discuss the situation and you would appoint what came to be known as a “blood avenger”. A blood avenger was a representative from your family whose full time job (at least temporarily) was to find whoever it was that killed your family member and chase them down, run after them, until they collapsed … then they would kill them as an act of retribution.

Now when you had these meetings to decide who was going to be your blood avenger, you did not choose happy-go-lucky, Aunt Dorothy. No, no, no. You would choose one of your relatives who lives in da Bronx … someone like Anthony or Vinny … or fleet-footed cousin Nick. Whoever was the strongest, fastest, most persistent person in your family.

Your blood avenger tracks down the whereabouts of the person who killed someone in your family. As a matter of honor, the blood avenger would run after and run down the killer until he dropped, and then justice would be achieved and he would go back to the family with proof of the kill. And they’d have a big old party to celebrate.

It’s a little crude, a little bloody, but it sort of kept the law and the order.

But a problem arose. There was no provision for accidental homicides and unintentional deaths. For example, let’s say a woman is in hurry to get to the market. She jumps on her camel and takes off. But a five-year old steps out in front of her. The five year old is knocked down right there in the middle of the road … it’s a terrible accident. The woman feels horrible. She gets down off the camel, tends to the little one … but it’s too late … he dies. She didn’t mean it. But what happens? The five-year olds family calls a meeting and they appoint a blood avenger. And the blood avenger’s orders are clear “track down the camel-riding housewife and you catch her. You chase her until she can’t run another step and then you kill her.”

“That’s not fair,” you say. She didn’t mean to cause the death. It was an accident. It’s not fair. And you are right. But nobody knows what to do about it.

No one but God. God addresses the problem by establishing “cities of refuge.”

Joshua 20:1-6 (TEV)

Then the LORD told Joshua to say to the people of Israel, "Choose the cities of refuge that I had Moses tell you about. If any of you accidentally kills someone, you can go there and escape the one who is looking for revenge.

You can run away to one of these cities, go to the place of judgment at the entrance to the city, and explain to the leaders what happened. Then they will let you into the city and give you a place to live in, so that you can stay there. If the one looking for revenge follows you there, the people of the city must not hand you over to that one. They must protect you because you killed the person accidentally and not out of anger.

You may stay in the city until you have received a public trial and until the death of the man who is then the High Priest. Then you may go back home to your own town, from which you had run away."

Get the picture? If someone could make to the city of refuge before the blood avenger tracked them down … they could not be harmed. It was a place of protection. A place of safety.

The point I want all of you to grasp today is this --- the idea for these cities of refuge flows right out of the very heart of God. It’s God’s nature. It’s God’s nature to provide safety and refuge for folks who are feeling hunted down and oppressed.

Now, stop and let that sink in for a bit. It may be very contrary to what we’ve often been told about God. At times, we’ve been led to believe that God is more like the “blood avenger” trying to hunt us down and make us pay for the awful things we’ve done. Have you ever seen God like that? Have you ever felt like God was some kind of “cosmic cop?”

I’ll bet if I asked how many of you can related to longing for a safe and secure place so that you can hide out and heal for a time, I’ll bet I’d see a forest of hands.

It’s unfortunate because that view of God is simply not the picture painted for us in scripture. In fact, one of the most beautiful pictures of what a refuge is in a spiritual sense is found in Psalm 91. Look at verse 4 where it says “God will shelter you under her wing” Have you ever seen little chicks hop around chirping, pecking, doing chick stuff … and then all of the sudden the chicks and the mother hen become aware that there is a predator. The mother hen doesn’t schedule a seminar, plan a self-help class, or start handing out brochures. She lifts her wings and within seconds, all the baby chicks disappear underneath them.

Where once there was just a hen and a bunch of little chirpers, now the predator sees nothing but one mean mama. The chicks hide there. They are sheltered there.

God offers to be our spiritual refuge and our strength. And let’s face it, how many of us need that kind of refuge these days?

But God doesn’t just offer to be that kind of refuge, God invites us to carry on that legacy and imitate the very nature of God in our lives as well.

Those of you who watch Glee on a regular basis, know that at McKinley High, the Glee club becomes that kind of place for the kids who need it most. Glee club is a “slushy-free” zone. Mr. Schuster provides a place of refuge where everyone is welcome – the kid in the wheel chair, the gay kid, the pregnant cheerleader and her boyfriend, the Asian kids, the drama queens and the list goes on and on.

Sounds vaguely like “no matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey … you’re welcome here.” I can’t tell you enough how delighted I am that we are a church of radical hospitality and extravagant welcome. That challenge will always be before us. At times it’s easy. Of course we feel compassions for those who society has treated harshly through not fault of their own. We easily become a place of refuge. But what about the folks who are less like us? What about the folks who defy our sense of justice and push our sense of mercy? Can we equally welcome them?

In Glee it’s not always easy and while it’s easy to accept some folks, it’s not easy for them to accept others who threatened their sense of identity. It’s easy for self-absorbed Rachel to welcome Kurt, but it’s not so easy to welcome someone whose talent threatens her role as the lead soloist.

Will that be us? Or can we meet the challenge to fully be a place of refuge?

Let’s pray …

Our refuge providing God, we know that there are many people here today who are tired out from running away from avengers. There are many people here who are desperate for a safe place. There are those who hurt and grieve and others who are lonely and scared and frightened. We pray that you would give us all faith to believe that if we call out and pour out our hearts to you, you will shelter us under your wings.

Enable us to fully live into your character as we seek to be a place of refuge, a place of radical hospitality and extravagant welcome when it is easy and when it is a challenge. Give us strength for the ministry you have called us to, wisdom as we plan and perseverance for the journey. Amen.

Taking God to Work

2011-04-16T20:13:00.000-04:00

For the first time in my career I am able to take all on me into the office, and by that I mean that I don’t have to leave God at the door. I started a new job two weeks ago at the Capital Region Theological Center (CRTC) In Albany, NY as the Office Administrator and as a Christian based organization God is not only allowed into the workplace, he is welcomed with open arms.

I have been in the workforce for a long time and have always had to be careful about what I said about my faith so that I didn’t offend any of my co-workers who may not believe in God or may be of another faith so you leave God at the door.

One of the things that we offer at CRTC are Christian based courses, the last one being on Women in the Old Testament, which are open to staff, so not only can I bring God in the door I have the opportunity to grow in my faith from the courses that we offer.

I hope and pray that all of you get the chance to work in an atmosphere where God is welcome at some time in your life, because like the old saying goes “you don’t know what you are missing, if you never had it to begin with”, well, I have realized in the couple of weeks at CRTC is that I really didn’t know what I was missing by leaving God at the door until I didn’t have to.

Andrea Van Allen

Member

Journey United Church of Christ

Thoughts On Uganda

2011-03-16T15:22:00.000-04:00

Sara Weinman, a 16-year old member of Journey UCC, and part of Engeye Teen Connection was part of a group that traveled to Uganda recently. Here are some of her thougths on the trip. You can read her whole blog http://engeyeteenconnection.blogspot.com

I loved the trip to Engeye in Uganda and I can't wait to go back. I am even more motivated now to fundraise and help the children and families in Ddegeya. I want to return to Engeye as soon as I can. I think one hard part about going to Engeye is the travel. It is soooo far away. I wish it were closer. But despite the 7 hour bus ride, 16 hour plane ride, and 3 hour car ride, it is worth all the time it to get there. It was great to meet everyone at Engeye Health Clinic and to work with the Union Fellows at St. Gertrude's Primary and the Engeye Afternoon Program. I was also able to help at the clinic and log in patients and assist with vitals. One of the most challenging moments was when I was asked to teach a class at St. Gertrude's school by myself. But it turned out to be so much fun. . I've never met such amazing kids. We would teach them things that they had never even heard of, and in a language that's not even their own and they would completely understand it by the end of the class.

I was so fortunate to be able to go to Sydney Paul and Bishop Ddungu to meet all of the Scholars. One of the most memorable parts of my trip was spending time with Susan and meeting the boy I sponsor through Engeye Scholars, Wilbur. It really reminded me how much I missed Susan, and how the $250 I send each year to Wilbur is really doing something important and making a difference. I realized that we are really helping this amazing little boy. I always knew that the Engeye Scholars program was doing great things and helping a lot of kids. But when I actually met the scholars and I personally saw how bright and full of life they are, I was overwhelmed with joy and pride.

I have to admit, the national elections happening, no bathrooms and getting sick, certainly created some challenging moments for me. But, it was crazy how everyone would just focus on what had to be done and push these concerns to the back of their mind, and make it the least of your worries. I also realized every time I saw any of the kids that they live this every day and, I just had to endure it for a short time and then it puts it into a biggerperspective and it is not such a big deal for me. I was so glad to be a part of a team that was just so much fun! We were laughing and joking on the car ride to JFK so I knew that we were going to have a great team. Everyone had a great experience and I loved getting to know the Ugandan staff. I also loved spending time with the kids from the village and sharing things like music, bubbles and pop rocks - they were so happy and fun to play with. Being a part of this trip has helped me find some clarity on my college plans and I am now considering looking at schools that will provide me with an opportunity to minor in Social Justice and Peace studies.

I plan to spend the next year working with Engeye Scholars and Engeye Teen Connection to find ways that we can help the local schools and children. I would really like to help the two schools I visited, Sydney Paul and St. Gertrude's Primary School. The schools literally have little or no books to teach with. Many of these kids have never held a book in their hands and I am hoping that by this time next year to have been able to get every child in every grade at least one book, and to work with the members of ETC to help provide the teachers with the text books that they need to give the students an invaluable education.

Sara Weinman

Don't Worry - Stay Focused

2011-02-21T13:02:00.000-05:00

Simba has just escaped what he thinks is an impossible situation. He just left his family and everything that is familiar and journeyed to a distance place where he meets two interesting and upbeat new friends - Timon and Pumba. Here’s what happens…

YouTube: Hakuna Matata

Hakuna Matata! What a wonderful phrase

Hakuna Matata. Ain’t no passing craze

It means no worries for the rest of your days

It’s our problem free philosophy

Hakuna Matata!

Nice in theory … right? But in reality it’s impossible to live “problem free”? Even Simba eventually learns that “it’s a jungle out there … problems don’t go away. So we have no choice but to learn how to survive difficult situations when they arise. That seems to be the theme of this section of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount - “Letting Go of Worry” or “How to Survive in the Jungle of Life”

Begin by calling to mind your “Life in the Jungle this Week." What issues did you face – what “stressors” did you encounter: work – presentation to make, deadlines, hard sell; family – tension with a child or spouse; health – illness, doctors visit; finances – bill that don't get paid

We all have our own special set of “stressers”? Jesus “got that." What’s different is how we respond. Curt and I did Friday night at the movies, and finally got to see “The King’s Speech – the story of King George IV’s fight to overcome his speech impediment. His fear of stuttering in public and particularly during radio speeches, had him living a life of fear that nearly drove him from embracing his role as King and leader. We’ve all experienced that kind of “hand-wringing worry” that immobilizes to one degree or another … perhaps in our own lives or maybe in the lives of people we know best. Do you anyone who is stuck in a bad job, but won’t even think about interviewing for a new one, because “they’d never get it anyway” Do you know anyone who is afraid of going to the doctor because they just know that’s they have some horrible disease? Someone who’s afraid to go back to school because they don’t think that they’ll be able to keep up? Someone who’s in a really, really bad relationship, but puts up with it because they don’t want to rock the boat or risk being alone? WORRY CAN DO THAT --- STOP US SHORT – IMMOBILIZE US IN ALL SORTS OF WAYS …even spiritually …Even the disciples in the wake of Jesus' departure are immobilized by fear … unable to continue the ministry until the spirit descends on the day of Pentecost.

Most of us already know the truth that Jesus pointed to in scripture: Worry gets us no where! "Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? (Matthew 6:27 "The Message") Thousands of yeas ago, Jesus already knew what modern scientific studies reveal today: worry doesn’t add anything to the length of our life; indeed we know that it reduces our life. With that reality in mind, it seems as if everyone these days has an answer for ridding ourselves of worry, once and for all…songs about being worry free, talk shows and radio shows, self-help books galore. It’s all nice in theory … but it seems like we are worrying more these days, not less …so is it really possible to live “worry free"? Jesus says “Yes” … but it’s not the result of singing a happy song or reading another book

You see most theories revolve around ridding ourselves of problems or making the difficulties of life go away. We have a tendency to think if all our problems go away, then we can be worry free: we try to change jobs, change lifestyles, change spouses. Jesus is clear - that’s NOT going to happen. In face, Jesus promises over and over again to his disciples that they will have problems, they will confront opposition, they will encounter obstacles …On one occasion, Jesus made this very point: “In this world you will have trouble.” John 16:33 We cannot eliminate PROBLEMS from our lives but we can choose how we will RESPOND

Towards that end I want us to engage in an old study technique we used in seminary a lot - "A Word Study - A Worry Word Study"

Let's start with “ANXIETY”: According to Fred Craddock, the Greek word that is translated “anxiety” or “worry” means “split attention” or “divided concern”. Think of that in terms of the opening verse of our reading today where Jesus points out the opposing masters of God and material wealth. Worry comes from trying to divide our loyalty … from trying to play both sides … from trying to live according to what the material world can provide for us and what is offered by God.

Then let's take “LOOK/CONSIDER”: Jesus is very poetic in his observation of the birds and the lilies, but his speech is more than pretty words. These are strong verbs in the Greek that urge us to learn something about the god of abundance by studying nature: “Jesus commands us to look … really look .. at a world where God provides freely and lavishly, a world where anxiety plays no party, where worry is not a reality. Jesus invites us to allow our imaginations to enter such a world, to compare this world with the world in which we must live most of our lives. “ This is perhaps the most difficult thing for responsible, hard-working people – like us – to understand, and it does in fact require a lot of imagination on our part.

Finally, consider the word “STRIVE”. Jesus ties the call to not worry to the kingdom of God – “But strive first for the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness ..and all these things will be given to you as well…” “Strive” means to exert a lot of energy and effort toward a goal. So, far from simply saying we should rely on the eventual coming of God’s kingdom as an antidote to daily worry … Jesus is saying we should actively work for the spread of that kingdom … and as we do, some of the things we fret about are going to become non-issues because we’ve got more important things to be busy with. His words are directed to people who DID have to sow, to reap, to toil and spin .. and he wasn’t telling them to stop doing these tasks He simply wanted them to understand that their lives were a lot more than the sum of their sowing, reaping, toiling or spinning …

None of this is to say we won’t have some normal worries – JUNGLE LIFE. We can’t love someone without worrying about threats to his or her well-being. We cannot be sensitive persons without occasional concern that we haven’t done all that we should. We cannot listen to the news without some uneasiness about the direction many things in the world appear to be going. But we can be focused enough on the things of God that we’re able to relax about our own priorities and have confidence in God’ care.

O Great Provider,
    we love to worry,:
        we worry about our looks,
        we worry about our health,
        we worry about our jobs,
        we worry about money,
        we worry about the future,
        we worry about worrying too much.
We act as if you do not know our needs.
We act as if the birds go hungry.
    and the flowers go unclothed.
We act as if you care more for the world around us
    than you care for us.
Wake us up, O God.
Help us see our value in your eyes.
Help us feel your care for our every need,
    through Jesus our Lord. Amen.

2010-12-22T23:06:00.000-05:00

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.

Pictures of Peace

2010-12-09T13:52:00.000-05:00

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.

The Multiplication of Generosity

2010-11-22T16:47:00.000-05:00

A Sermon from Journey United Church, Sunday, November 21, Thanksgiving Sunday/Stewardship "Faith Promise" Sunday

Note: The following message was based on John 6:1-14 "The Feeding of the 5000" and the story "Stone Soup" by Marcia Brown.

I was perusing through possible videos to use to open our worship today when I came across one that set a much-different tone than the one we viewed earlier. The video opened by inviting viewers into a “year in review”. It contained a litany of all the horrible things that have gone down this year. The catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, the oil spill in the gulf, a car bomb in New York City, and a pastor threatening to burn the Quran; it was all mixed in with a reminder of the recession and its effect on the national, state and local budget and how it has impacted so many of us personally in a wide variety of ways. It was a one-minute and 55 second downer.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that any one of those things isn’t horrible in and of themselves. I’m not suggesting that the reality doesn’t exist. But I do grow weary of only hearing bad news. And I’m growing more and more aware of the impact that constant exposure to bad news is having on our lives. We’ve been drawn into a culture of fear. We’ve been told things are bad and there simply isn’t enough. We’re constantly exposed to a new form of heart disease - cold, closed hearts. And it seems to have almost reached epidemic proportions.

It's some ways it's not a new disease. It’s the theme woven in the opening lines of the story of Stone Soup. The local citizens see three soldiers coming down the road and in fear there hearts turn stingy and cold and closed. It's just that today the symptoms may look a bit different. Today, many Americans are tempted these days to “circle the wagons”, to hold our things tightly and to hold our things more closely than before.

Fortunately, there is a remedy. And it’s found in this season of thankfulness…

The German mystic, Meister Eckhart, is repute to have said that “if the only prayer you make is ‘thank you’, it will suffice. Thanksgiving is the virtue of interdependence, the recognition that our achievements are not fully our own, but emerge from a network of relationships that sustain and shape us, giving us the material from which we create our experiences moment by moment by moment. Thanksgiving as a spiritual practice reminds us that all of our gifts are communal as well as individual.”

Thanksgiving as a spiritual practice reminds us taht all of our gifts are communal as well as individual. Now that's a theme that becomes apparent as the story of Stone Soup unfolds. And it's a theme that emerges as Jesus feeds the 5000.

Let’s look at the stories a bit more closely. First the story of the 5000...

Jesus crossed Lake Galilee, which was also known as Lake Tiberias. A large crowd had seen him work miracles to heal the sick, and those people went with him. It was almost time for the Jewish festival of Passover, and Jesus went up on a mountain with his disciples and sat down. When Jesus saw the large crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip, "Where will we get enough food to feed all these people?" Philip answered, "Don't you know that it would take almost a year's wages just to buy only a little bread for each of these people?" Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the disciples. He spoke up and said, "There is a boy here who has five small loaves of barley bread and two fish. But what good is that with all these people?"

I wonder about the details of the story. I wonder if there were really only five loaves of bread and two fish among the huge crowd that day? Or was that all the food that anyone who admit to when the disciples polled the crowd to find some food?

Along with other Bible Scholars and Theologians down through the ages, I find it difficult to imagine that that’s all there was. We know that when we leave home for an extended time, we plan ahead. We pack the things we need – including food, water, extra clothes, the list goes on and on. I can’t imagine that people living in that hot, harsh land, would leave their homes and villages so unprepared. Especially in a time when there wasn’t a Stewart’s on every corner. When you could just stop at the local deli and pick something up.

Now let me be clear. I raise the questions NOT to raise doubt about Jesus being able to multiply fish and loaves for thousands. I have no doubts that Jesus was able to do such miracles. I just wonder if the miracle done on that day was a miracle of a different nature. A miracle that involved a multiplication of glad and generous hearts.

Let’s say that the folks on the hillside that day did leave their homes and villages prepared. Could it be that most of them had bags of food and water? Could it be that when the disciples ask only a few were willing to offer up their loaves and fishes due to presence of fearful, untrusting and ungrateful hearts? Could it be that when the disciples came asking for offerings people thought to themselves “well, I have enough for myself and my family here … but if I offer it to everyone, it will be gone in no time at all …”? Could it be that most folks made a decision to keep their food hidden? Could it be that the only one who offered up his food was a small boy who didn’t know any better .. the one who hadn’t learned the cold, hard facts of life yet?

Yet, what looked liked scarcity is miraculously transformed into generosity as Jesus takes the small gifts, gives thanks and begins to distribute them. Could it be that Jesus’ own thankful heart was able to stir up the hearts of those who were there that day … to also open their hearts in thanksgiving? And as they opened their own hearts, could it be that they began to open their bags and break out their food and share it? And could it be that in that act of sharing they found abundance?

A multiplication of bread and fish is impressive, but ISN’T A MULTIPLICTION OF THANKFUL HEARTS AN EVEN GREAT, MORE FAR-REACHING MIRACLE?

Do you see? It’s one thing to physically multiply bread and fish once or twice two thousand years ago. To be able to open up cold closed human hearts, not just that day, but today and every day, is a miracle on a whole new level.

I know because I've been in situations where the absence of that kind of miracle has left me frustrated and confused - especially when it occurs in church. But the good news is that I've also witnessed first-hand the profound difference that kind of miracle can make. And many of those miracle experiences have occured right here at Journey. We know how it works. We’ve seen it in action. It’s why we witness and serve and give as a church, as a faith community and not just alone. Cold closed heart conditions can be contagious, but so can giving generous hearts.

One person alone can’t make much of a different in a country like Uganda, but when we work together, when we team up, not only as a congregation, but also with others in the medical field and others with differing skills, we can really begin to make a difference … together! There’s a multiplication of generous and thankful hearts.

One person might not be able to go to Price Chopper and get all the food needed to feed an extra family this Thanksgiving. But when we work together, the grocery bags overflow and there is more than enough. There’s a multiplication of generous and thankful hearts.

One person alone would find it difficult to help a refugee family on their own. But remember earlier this fall when we worked together to put together a “welcome kit” for a new family? It was so much easier. There’s a multiplication of generous and thankful hearts.

It’s at heart of who we are as faith community.

In our world it’s easy to fall victim to the contagious effects of fearful, cold and closed hearts. Experts may tell us that the trends of the recession may be reversing, but most of us don’t feel it. We know people who are still unemployed and some of us face that fear daily. We feel the effects of cuts in our national budget, our state budget and our household budgets. We may still feel like we only have five loaves and two fish. Fearful hearts are all around us.

Yet, in the midst of what seems like an epidemic, I’ve seen the multiplication of generous and thankful hearts time and time again among the Journey family. It’s nothing short of a miracle. For that reason, I come before you on this Stewardship Sundy when we make our "Faith Promises"- our pleges - for the new year expecting that same kind of miracle to take place again. As we consider our comittment to this faith community and the work we do here, may the mireacle continue. May the multiplication of generous and thankful hearts continue.

And as we enter into a time of Thanksgiving, followed by what we have come to know as the "Holiday Season", may be the antidote to the epideimic of cold, closed-hearted. As we interact with others in our neighborhoods, at work, at the mall, in the midst of family may our sense of thanksgiving and generosity be contagious. Together, with God's help, we can begin to be a force for change.

Holiday "Wants" and Holiday "Needs"

2010-11-17T23:20:00.000-05:00

Note: Our blog for November is written by Marcy Corneil, a member of our Leadership Team. Marcy first presented these ideas as devotions at the beginning of our meeting. Her reflections have been slightly revised below ...

We have several significant secular and religious holidays that begin in November and continue into December:

Veterans’ Day: We recognize those who gave up their own safety to secure it for others.
Thanksgiving Day: We gather to give thanks for the blessings we have received.
Advent: We prepare for God’s gift to us … HOW?
Christmas Day: ?????

We give honor, recognition, and thanks on the first two days, but how do we celebrate the last two periods?

How have we strayed this far from the stable? How have Advent and Christmas become a time of parties, decorations, and presents? How has it become a season when we pack so much in that we create unreasonable expectations of perfection? When magazines give us timetables and gift suggestions and stress relievers for something that is supposed to be sacred, I think we are out of alignment.

This reminds me of a request a friend made of me years ago, when his wife went back to work. He knew that I worked, and – from the outside – it looked as if I “had it all together.” He asked me to give her some tips on being a working wife and mother.

She was a good friend, and I wanted to retain that relationship. No way would I give her unasked for advice! But I did want to help. I recognized the situation she was in: trying to do everything she had done before going to work, then adding work time on top of that. As Tom would say, “Putting 10 pounds of sugar in a five pound bag.” So I asked her what she was going to give up, now that she was working outside the home.

Some Christians give up things for Lent, as they prepare for Easter.

I think it might also apply to Advent. And I may start by finding something that I don’t need to do, that has no relation to preparing to receive God as a person among us – and giving it up. Or I may try to fast for a day each week during Advent. I KNOW I will purchase fewer (no?) frivolous gifts that people have no need for.

If you read my daughter’s blog on her children, she has an amusing anecdote about 2 year old Henry and his whining as he adjusts to sharing the spotlight with a new sibling. IWANTMILKIWANTMILKIWANTMILK repeated endlessly prompted an ultimatum from his father: “If I hear IWANTMILK once more, I will leave the room.” After a pause, Henry replied, ‘INEEDMILKINEEDMILKINEEDMILK.’

At Christmas, God gave us what we NEEDED, not what we WANTED.

For Advent,

• I will give for needs, not wants.

• I will do what NEEDS to be done, not what others WANT me to do.

• And I will give up something – probably fast for a day each week -- to remind myself of those who have much less. (I picked this up from the Muslims we met at Al-Fatemah Islamic Center during Ramadan.)

Marcy Corneil

A Ramadan Visit

2010-09-13T16:43:00.001-04:00

On Friday, September 3, members of Journey took a "field trip" to Al-Fatemah Islamic Center to share a Ramadan experience. We were welcomed and given a tour of the center (which is only about 7 years old and is home to over 100 families). Professor Mafi (a Professor at Union College) gave us an "Introduction to Islam" and the we joined the others upstairs for their evening prayers. Following prayers were were treated to the most delicious meal as we broke our fast together. We were treated like royalty! (their version of "the UCC extravagant welcome"). After dinner we continued our dialogue with members of the mosque. We asked questions about Islam; they asked questions about Christianity. As we departed we were presented with copies of the Qu'ran (with the promise we would not take them to Florida). The evening was a profoundly moving experience for us as we heard stories and shared laughter and tears. Plans are underway to invite our new friends over to Journey and to continue to explore our faith traditions together!

http://www.journeyucc.com/
http://www.alfatemahic.com/

Below are reflections by three members of our group:

Journey goes to a mosque – what a unique opportunity, and one that is truly memorable! Hopefully, we have the beginning of a relationship that will be nurtured among believers of different faiths but corresponding values. This visit, billed as a sharing of Iftar with the Muslim community in Colonie, became an educational experience and a lesson in hospitality.

It began in the parking lot, when as soon as we were present in a group of four, a representative from the mosque came out an introduced himself. We were briefly separated by gender, since the women enter through the front door of the Mosque while men have a back door short cut! Removal of all shoes underlined the fact that we were entering a respected space. As females, we were asked to cover our heads, another tradition of respect that might be viewed as derogatory, but did not feel that way. Many present recalled the time when women were expected to wear a hat or kerchief to worship services in Christian churches.

A short seminar on the basics of Islam was given. Not a total propaganda session but rather a very interactive discussion that underlined the passion and depth of faith of those speaking. I wondered if I could be as eloquent and definitive if I were to provide a synopsis of my Christian beliefs. Readings from the Qur’an in the original Arabic were chanted, then translated for our benefit. Although many of our hosts are not native speakers of the language, their Qur’ans provide translations as well as analysis of the original text. A question and answer period was interrupted by the call to prayer.

Again separated by gender, we were invited to sit and observe the evening prayer. The women donned shawl-like garments, covering themselves completely except their faces. There seemed to be skill involved in the covering of one’s head and body with these garments; I could imagine myself completely tangled in cloth without being adequately covered.

Although the prayers are very structured, the women’s side of the mosque is a social place. Friends are greeted and babies fussed over while a steady stream of women come and go to participate in prayer. The prayers seemed quite ritualistic; moving from standing to nearly prostrate with foreheads to the ground while silently following the Imam’s chanted prayers. The ritual appeared to be passionately followed by some, while some seemed to follow the movements by rote.

The breaking of the fast was an impressive meal. Our visit was on a Friday, the most holy day of the week, and the dinner provided was fantastic. We were told that families volunteer to provide the food for Iftar, and that the food that day was of Afghani origin. The amount of food was impressive. No one could go hungry, even in a hall crowded with women and girls.

During dinner, our group was spread throughout the room, and various women welcomed us and shared their experiences with us. One lady provided education in the fundamental differences between Sunni and Shia Islam, while others shared their perspectives on life, faith, Ramadan, and Islam in America. Everyone made us welcome in their own way, sharing their food and their stories.

As dinner concluded, we received word that the question and answer session that had been cut short by the call to prayer could continue if we were willing to stay. To a person, our group embraced the chance to participate in further discussion with our hosts. As we moved back to a united group, many members of the Al-Fatemah community joined us, sharing the chance to answer our questions and relishing the opportunity to pose questions to us. The session became a learning experience for both guests and hosts. As the more formal questions dwindled and the session ended, informal conversations continued. It seemed no one wanted the experience to end!

Overall, the entire experience was incredibly positive. The Muslims we met were unfailingly welcoming and hospitable, and provided us with an unrivalled educational experience. In turn, we were able to demonstrate curiosity without bigotry, and could convey our desire to build an interfaith community that extends beyond Christian congregations. It is incumbent on us to ensure that the community which began on that Friday evening in Ramadan will continue and grow through the coming months.

Phyl Cunningham

Warm, welcoming introductions to a new way of worshipping. Separate entrance for women, wall cubbyholes for shoes. Graceful, flowing patterned drapes bowing in prayer – not in unison as the men, but in time with an inner rhythm. Chanted words spoken/sung in a language unfamiliar to me, but evocative of the Middle East. Helpful girls/women leading us to chairs, places of rest, the head of the sumptuous buffet line. English speakers ever present to explain, encourage, assure. Delightful, intelligent dinner conversation. A mixed-gender question and answer period, open communication, much in common. Gifts of the Qur’an made to individuals and to Journey. Closing prayer opportunity given to our pastor. One of the greatest evenings of my life.

Marcy Corneil

As usual for me, when I sign up for something like visiting the mosque, it seems like a great idea... and on the actual date of the event, I get the "what was I thinking, I don't have time for this" feeling. I am so glad I followed through. This was my first time in an all-day fast ever. Growing up Catholic, fasting meant not eating between meals! Not even drinking water from early morning to after sundown made me appreciate one small part of the Ramadan observation.

Professor Mafi was so engaging as he explained the parallels between our Christian faith and Islam. I learned that "Allah" is the Arabic word for "God" used in all faiths. The reader who "sung" the verses of the Koran had a beautiful voice. I liked the explanation of the women's modest dress -- the better to interact with women on the basis of the content of their minds, than the outlines of their bodies. But I was still a little irked by the separation of men and women; after all, I am a 1970s feminist who has chosen . This minor annoyance disappeared when we went to the women's side of the prayer room. The TV monitor showed it was all business -- prayer -- on the men's side. But on the women's side, the women prayed, greeted each other, interacted with children and other women. It was beautiful to see small girls and tweens take a prayer rug from the pile and quickly finish their prayers. I have to remind my daughter to keep her cell phone in her pocket during church services.

A few of the women urged us to go down quickly to room where the iftar, the meal to break the fast, was served, lest we find ourselves far back in the line of hungry women. They were so concerned for our comfort! "I hope the food will not be too spicy for you" I heard more than once. It was explained that the members of the mosque took turns cooking each day, and there were many ethnicities represented... Afghani, Iranian, Pakistani... Oh, my! Such delicious food! And time after time we were offered fruit, brownies, and more food. So gracious were our hostesses!

I was surprised when the entire community expressed a desire to have another, post-dinner question-and-answer period with us. They were as curious about us as we were about them! A lovely women in a red salwar kameez with matching headscarf described the difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims in a way that parallels our own Christian sects... the Sunnis being more fundamentalist, and the Shia believing that religion must evolve. This being a Shia mosque, the "lady in red" (oh, why am I so bad at remembering names?) was fascinated and excited about the when I told her about the UCC's "God is Still Speaking" message. Another parallel point between our faiths! We were offered, and accepted, copies of an English translation of the Koran. She was concerned that we might misinterpret some of the text that is, admittedly, harsh in today's world. She urged me to tell others to read it with an understanding of 5th century history... very harsh times when female babies had so little value they were buried alive. So, "beat your wife lightly" is an order to be more gentle. She also wanted us to know that the Koran is organized in chapters mainly for ease of recitation... each numbered line may be a separate pronouncement from God through Mohammad.... so one verse may be totally unrelated to the verse before it and the verse after it. Interesting -- and unlike the Bible.

I hope to have the opportunity to continue our exchange with our sisters in faith... a different faith, but the same God.

Amy Klein

Reflections on Uganda

2010-09-12T21:28:00.000-04:00

This month's blog is written by one of youth, Sara Weinman. Sara is a founding member of Engeye Youth Connection, a group committed to serving the needs of Dgeye village in Uganda. It's a story of how youth can be empowered to make a difference in the community... and around the world. Journey is extremely proud of ETC (Engeye Teen Connection and their passion to make a difference ...

I met Susan Nabukenya and John Kalule when they stayed with my family in the summer of 2008. I immediately decided to join the cause and try to make a difference in the lives of the youth of Ddegeya. I realized that while teens in the United States often complain about going to school, the kids where Susan lives can only dream of such an opportunity. This fact and meeting Susan were the start of what now is Engeye Teen Connection (ETC), a group whose goal is to raise funds for the Engeye Scholars Program. I also decided that I wanted to sponsor Wilber, an 8 year-old from the village, and ensure that he receive an education. I am working on many projects aimed at raising more money, including the Engeye Bracelet, which has already raised money for the Scholars Fund. I will be traveling to Uganda in February 2011, when I will finally get to meet the inspiring children of Ddegeya in person. I'm very lucky that I have so many people supporting what I'm doing, because I wouldn't be able to do any of this without the support of my family, friends, and Journey UCC. So many of them have given time and money to ETC whether its by buying a bracelet or by attending the ETC cafe night at my church, I wouldn't be able to do this without the people around me.

Sara Weinman

Robin Hood: Speaking Truth to Power

2010-08-02T17:11:00.000-04:00

Movie Reviews, Video Clips and more reflections available at: www.hollywoodjesus.com

Over the last decade our newspapers, TV and other media sources have been filled the scandals of politics and politicians. John Edwards cheating on his cancer-stricken wife; S. Carolina Governor Mark Sanford’s steamy affair with his mistress in Argentina; Remember Rod Blagojevich’s bid to buy the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama'; and our very own Eliot Spitzer’s taste for high end prostitutes. Those of us who live and work in New York State seem to be living in a constant state of disarray when it comes to politics and politicians

In the 2010 version of Robin Hood there are more than enough scandals to go around.

The film sets the scene with a picture of young Robin – an expert archer in King Richard’s army. It’s not a particularly pleasant picture. Richard himself has problems. He’s just returned from the crusades and as if that whole sage wasn’t bad enough, on the journey home, we find him sacking and plundering village after village, castle after castle. At this point in the drama, even Robin isn’t a particularly noble character. He’s concerned about one thing and one thing only – self-preservation and saving his own skin so he can make it back home alive. One review described Robin as “the poster child for post traumatic stress disorder.” He has killed countless people, destroyed property, plundered wealth and is uncertain of his role outside of war.

However things will soon change. As he learns that King Richard has died in the latest attempt to plunder a castle, Robin finds himself facing a new challenge and stands at a cross road where he is given the opportunity to redefine himself in a more favorable light. He travels to Nottingham to fulfill a promise he’s made to one of his fallen fellow warriors. His mission: to return the man’s sword to his aging father

When he arrives, he discovers a town suffering from the corruption of the evil sheriff and a system of excessive taxation that has left the commoners without a means of survival. Given the reality that his own childhood memories are missing, he quickly assumes the life of dead friend. It proves to be an opportunity to better himself and he soon finds himself living the life of a noble complete with the wife of the deceased soldier who will soon become his partner is opposing the various forms of corruption. Enter the take-charge, sword-bearing Maid Marion.

It becomes clear to Robin and the residents of Nottingham that even though the crusades were in a place far, far away, they have a crushing impact. Then, as now, wars weren’t cheap and somebody needed to pay. Prince John, who has now risen to the throne, has no problem placing a greater tax burden on the land-owners; the taxes are increased to a level where the entire country is on the brink of collapse.

Unfortunately, the picture of “the church” isn’t much brighter. If you’re familiar with the history of the time, you’ll know that “the church” and “the state” were rather strange bedfellows. Sadly, the church was just as guilty of imposing taxes and taking their non-so-fair share as well.

That’s where Robin takes on a new role as leader. Robin starts to recruit a small army and inspires them with this speech…

(INSERT VIDEO: THE SPEECH)

King John uses his power to bludgeon the people. Robin knows the power should not be used to abuse, but to aid the people.
In many ways Robin Hood’s mission is similar to that of the Old Testament Prophets such as Jeremiah and Micah whose words we read earlier. They are people who challenged the status quo.

First another quick history lesson. Back in ancient times, Israel, in a desperate attempt to be like all the other nations begged God for a King. Against God’s warnings, they institute what will become a long legacy that can be described as “the good, the bad and the ugly”. They had some good kings and some bad kings; kings who honored God and kings who chose to ignore God; kings who embraced justice and mercy and kings who abused their power throwing justice and mercy out the window.

King John isn’t that much different from King Jehoiakim who is addressed by Jeremiah. Jeremiah is told by God to say: "King Jehoiakim, you are doomed! You built a palace with large rooms upstairs.You put in big windows and used cedar paneling and red paint. But you were unfair and forced the builders to work without pay. More cedar in your palace doesn't make you a better king than your father Josiah. He always did right— he gave justice to the poor and was honest. That's what it means to truly know me. So he lived a comfortable life and always had enough to eat and drink. But all you think about is how to cheat or abuse or murder some innocent victim. Jehoiakim, no one will cry at your funeral. They won't turn to each other and ask, "Why did our great king have to die?" You will be given a burial fit for a donkey; your body will be dragged outside the city gates and tossed in the dirt. I, the Lord, have spoken."

Later, the prophet Micah would address another King and the faltering nation with these words: "What offering should I bring when I bow down to worship the Lord God Most High? Should I try to please him by sacrificing calves a year old? Will thousands of sheep or rivers of olive oil make God satisfied with me? Should I sacrifice to the Lord my first-born child as payment for my terrible sins? The Lord God has told us what is right and what he demands: "See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God."

Do We Need a Robin Hood? Do we need a prophet?
In the United Church of Christ, we’ve described those words and those actions as “speaking truth to power”

Robin Hood, bravely spoke truth the powers of his time in a bold attempt to confront the injustices of his day.The prophets spoke truth to the power of their time in a challenge to the status quo of their day. Robin is willing to be a bold leader. He refused to stand by while others suffer innocently. One reviewer describes him as “a man who loves others, who values truth, who works tirelessly, who refuses to let injustice go unchallenged.” Shouldn’t those be the characteristics we aspire to display in our own lives.

Thank goodness for characters like Robin Hood .. and for real people like Jeremiah and Micah, Jesus and Martin Luther King and Ghandi. They inspire us to believe in something bigger than ourselves. Can they also inspire us to stand up boldly against the wrongs of our own time?

Can we be bold? Can we speak truth to power in the big issues like the ones we’ve been discussing is past weeks – when it comes to war, environmental dangers, economic oppression, immigration reform, health care … the list goes on an on …

And can we be bold? Can we speak truth to power on the smaller scale in our own personal lives? When someone shares a racist joke? When someone demeans another in their words or in their actions? When is comes to our personal decisions that impact the lives of the those around us?

WWJD: The BP Oil Spill

2010-07-11T21:09:00.004-04:00

A Sermon from Journey UCC on Sunday, July 11, 2010
Sermon Notes: www.thedailygreen.org;

“BP, You and Me”, a sermon by Dave Russell, First Baptist Church, Ames, IA, www.davidrussell.com/2010/06/bp-you-and-me-June-6-2010.html;

“BP’s Oil Disaster: What Would Jesus Do?”, Don Gordon, Ethics Daily, www.ethicsdaily.com

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bp+oil+spill&aq=f

It’s been going on for weeks now. In addition to the YouTube you just watched there are an abundance of bloggers, columnists and commentators weighing in on the oil spill. Daily we see images of oil slicks, tar balls, oil-soaked wildlife and more. The disaster seems to be growing out of control.

Thousands have lost their jobs. Fishermen who can’t fish. Shrimpers whose boats are not able to make their daily rounds. Those who harvest oysters whose livelihood has been most dramatically affected. Those who work in the hotels and restaurant industry who will not be able to keep their businesses open. Those who are out of work have children to feed and clothe. They have mortgages to pay and expenses to cover. Some of the communities most affected by the spill were not affluent areas to begin with. It’s hitting those who are least able to cope.

As in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, there are reports of sickness among those who are working to clean up the mess, spending day after day breathing in fumes from the oil-filled waters and beaches. There are the kinds of losses we don’t even know about yet.

There is good news: There is hope that a new containment cap will be installed this weekend which will greatly reduce the amount leaking in to the gulf each day; BP anticipates that by the end of the month the first of the relief wells will be completed and the flow might be cut off completely. Unfortunately, hurricane season is just starting up. The oil is moving quickly to coastlands near and far.

The easy answer might be that Jesus would simply raise his hands and start shouting out commands and miraculously heal the Gulf. Stop up the gusher , remove the oil, cleanse the beaches and heal the wildlife. The story of Jesus calming the waters of the Sea of Galilee comes to mind.

But the reality is that Jesus has intervened so dramatically since he left this earth nearly 2000 years ago. These days, he works through people to accomplish his purpose, so the question isn’t so much “What Would Jesus Do?” as “What Would Jesus Have US do?” What should WE be doing?

We see the images, we read the reports, we hear the news on a daily basis … yet, in some ways it feels like we are in some ways very disconnected from the whole thing. At times it feels very removed from us.But it’s NOT! We are all connected!!! Scientists understand that reality; a change to one part of the system will affect the whole. A biologist will tell you the same thing. As will social scientists, sociologists and psychologists and political scientists. The parts are all connected - in our ecosystem, in our relationships, in almost every aspect of our world. It’s something our faith teaches as well. Our readings for today bring home the point. We are connected to creation and we are connected to one another.

From the opening chapters of Genesis, we are told that human beings are to care for all of creation. Adam is instructed to till and keep the garden – to care for it. It is God’s good gift to humanity. We’ve done pretty well with the “tilling” part; we’ve not done so well with the “caring” part.

The earth has a great capacity to heal itself. But it is still fragile and when one part of creation suffers it has repercussions that we don’t often grasp. The oil spill threatens wetlands and coral reefs that serve as buffers and protect the mainland from storms. The dispersants that are being so widely deployed will have consequences we’re not aware of. Many fear they are more dangerous than the oil itself. We see the animals dying on the shore, but we don’t see what is happening in the depths of the ocean, an dhow those effects may ripple through the food chain.

Our actions have consequences. We do have the power to change the earth. The disaster serves as a reminder that we are all connected. Our constant need for more and better stuff and the choices we make about how we live leads to a huge dependence on oil; our need for oil leads to drilling in the ocean, our desire for quick profits leads to cutting corners which led to the disaster.

Fouled waters lead to fishing grounds being closed and plant and sea life dying and decreased travellers to the coast; all of this leads to businesses closing; which leads to people losing their jobs and eventually to coastal communities drying up. The connections go on and on.

And in the midst of the connections we’re reminded that we’re not only connected to creation, but we are also connected to one another. The Apostle Paul had a similar image in mind when he said that we are all part of the Body of Christ. We are interlocked with other human beings in the consequences of our actions, thoughts and feelings … not just here at Journey … but way beyond our geographical boundaries as well.

In many ways, the spill is a huge wake up call that reminds us that our actions which are often rooted in our materialism and our consumerism have an impact on people in other places. Our addiction to oil and failure to move toward clean, renewable energy will deeply affect our planet and the people we share this planet with.

The disaster in the gulf is a reminder of our connectedness.

So, what’s the answer? What would Jesus have us do?

We could make a long list: corporate responsibility, more regulations and oversight of industries with potential for such tremendous environmental damage, actions to protect waters, coastlands, plant and animal life, and people’s livelihoods.

But it's not just about "them"; it's also about "us"

Jim Wallis, from Sojourners, had a great article in the Times Union yesterday and if you haven’t ready, you can check out the link on Facebook. Here’s what Jim has to say early on in the crisis: “We literally need a conversion of our habits of the heart, our energy sources, and our lifestyle choices. And somebody will need to lead the way. Who will dare to say that an economy of endless growth must be confronted and converted to an economy of sustainability, to what the Bible calls stewardship? What about the community of faith?”

We’ve started to take his words to heart. As a church, we use energy efficient light bulbs, we don’t use paper towels or paper plates or paper cups. On a personal level, most of have taken steps to avoid gas guzzlers, to purchase energy efficient appliances. We try to support initiatives that are sustainable and earth-friendly. But can we do more?

What will be our next steps….