The Typeface of Discipleship

A few weeks ago I watched a documentary entitled, simply enough, Helvetica. The subject of the film was a typeface. Unfortunately, Blogger doesn't have Helvetica as a typeface choice, but I chose the closest one I could find for this post, Arial. Helvetica was developed in 1957 and quickly rose to be one of the most used typefaces in design.
In a sense it became the "poster child" for modern design. You've seen it, probably without even knowing it. Helvetica is the typeface of the American Airlines logo, the New York City subway signs, Target, Panasonic, and 3M. It is even the typeface used on federal income tax forms and formerly on the side of space shuttle orbiters. One of the intentions of the design was to create a typeface that said so little that it could be used anywhere. The goal of the design was to get out of the way and let the message speak for itself.

In the documentary, modern designers and post-modern designers ended up in a mostly respectful debate over that exact goal. In the post-modern era, the time in which we now live, many designers see the typeface as important as the words they carry. The typeface is not just a vehicle to carry a message, but is instead part of the message itself.

I started to think about this dichotomy in relationship to our lives of faith. The first one sounds like someone who says all the "right" things, agrees to all the "right" things, believes all the "right" things, but who doesn't seem to understand that a relationship with God is about more than what we believe in our heads or even speak with our lips. I know people like that. Sometimes I probably am "people like that."

There are times, many more times than I'd like to admit, when my life gets a little sloppy. My spiritual practices of prayer, service, and stewardship start to slip. The way I treat people isn't Christ-like. I'm snippy, rude, and unempathetic. My needs come first and there's no way I want to "lay down [my] life for [my] friends." My beliefs haven't changed. The message I would speak isn't any different, but the vessel carrying it doesn't match. The typeface isn't delivering the same message as my words.

Like it or not, the typeface can't just get out of the way. Even in its original day Helvetica had a message. The message was one of modernity, style, and forward progression. The message today seems to be more corporate, but still the product or service of "everyman."
Similarly, our lives can't just get out of the way. What we say with our words and believe in our heads, like it or not, aren't the only message's we deliver. The way we live our lives delivers a message, too, and a very important one at that. The way we treat other people, the activities that fill our time, the way we spend our money -- all of these are just as much a part of our spirituality and our relationship with God as the words we say and the thoughts that we think. They deliver a message to God and to others about what we believe and who worship.

Are you delivering a consistent message? As we begin a new ministry year, I plan to take some time to make sure my typeface matches the Word I want to proclaim. Won't you join me, too?

Growing Disciples

In the March Newsletter I introduced and wrote about the Vision Statement for Children, Youth, and Family Educational Ministry at FPC. Because I believe it is important to the ministry of this congregation I would like to put it in front of you again.

The Vision of Christian Education ministry at FPC is to grow disciples; by providing experiences and tools that support the Spiritual growth with in families as well as offering experiences for enriching faith within the FPC community.
While this Vision Statement focuses on ministries of Christian Education I believe the concept of “growing disciples” is not limited to Christian Education ministries. In fact I believe that “growing disciples” can and should take place in all areas of church life including but not limited to ministries of mission and worship. Children and youth need to be involved in worship and mission opportunities. Children and youth learn by watching and participating. Thus, it is important that they not only feel welcomed by adults in worship and mission opportunities but are able to participate fully in these ministries. As adults we can make children and youth feel welcome by speaking directly to them, including them in our conversations, listening to them, and smiling at them. We can help them more fully participate by helping them follow along in worship, answering their questions, and working with them to complete a project. Pray and watch for more ways you can help our children and youth feel welcome and participate in the life of this congregation.

They also need, when appropriate, to be given leadership roles these ministries. In the coming months you will begin to see more of our children and youth taking leadership roles in worship. They are already singing and playing with New Spirit as well as providing special music. They will also be ushering, taking offering, and running the PowerPoint slides. It is my hope that we will provide more leadership opportunities for our children and youth in all areas of our church life.

I believe it is vital to our congregation and to the growth of our children and youth that are fully integrated into and engaged in the life of this congregation! I pray we can continue to find ways to make this happen.

Growing Disciples a Vision Statement

Recently the Christian Education Committee approved a Vision Statement for Children, Youth, and Family Educational Ministry at FPC. I would like to share this vision statement with you as well as some of my reflections about it.

The Vision of Christian Education ministry at FPC is to grow disciples; by providing experiences and tools that support the Spiritual growth with in families as well as offering experiences for enriching faith within the FPC community.

In recent years FPC has seen an influx of children and young families and we as a congregation feel God is calling us to grow this aspect of our ministry. With this in mind I thought it would be helpful for the Christian Education Committee and the congregation to have a Vision Statement that will guide us as we evaluate current ministries as well as discern new ministries for our children, youth and families. Along with much prayer and guidance from the Holy Spirit this Vision Statement will be the foundation for which we make decisions for educational ministries.

The core of this Vision Statement is the phrase “grow disciples.” Everything else is how we do this. So what does it mean to “grow disciples”? A disciple is someone who is a follower and believer of their chosen leader. As Christians we are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Not only are we called to follow and believe in Jesus Christ but God also calls us into a relationship with the Triune God.

As part of the Baptismal vows that we as a congregation proclaim at a child’s baptism we promise in essence to “grow disciples.” In other words we promise to nurture the child’s relationship and belief in God in hopes that discipleship will be a way of life for them throughout their lives. This is the foundation of this Vision Statement of which the rest of the statement grows out of.

I believe it also worth noting that within this Vision Statement there are two distinct but strongly connected avenues through which discipleship growth occurs. The first is the family. Study after study has shown that the most powerful and meaningful spiritual nurture and growth occurs within the family structure. Thus it is family that has the most impact on a child’s growth as a disciple. The congregation is the second avenue through which discipleship growth occurs. God calls us to be in community-worshipping, learning, and fellowshipping with one another. The FPC community plays an important role in the spiritual nurture of our children, youth and families!
As the weeks and months progress please pray for the children, youth and families of FPC and pray for ways you might help us grow disciples for Jesus!

Christmas Words

Christ
Hope
Renewal
Incarnation
Savior
Truth
Messiah
Alleluia
Servant

These are words that reflect for me the true meaning of Christmas! In some cases the words refer to the season, in others they refer to Jesus himself, and in a few cases they can even refer to both. I am not going to tell you which ones are which-I’ll let the words themselves do the “talking.”

What is the true meaning of Christmas for you and your family? What words come to mind when you think of Christmas? I encourage you to try the above “exercise” and share your words with your family or friends. If you would like to share them with me I would love to see them!

May your Christmas be filled with joy and love!

Dwelling in Advent

Hands down, Advent is my favorite time of the Christian year. Traditionally pastors and churches will focus their Advent celebrations on the themes of hope, peace, joy, and love, but I think most of all I get caught up in the hope more than the others.

Christmas is a glorious celebration, but the commercial version of it has gotten superficial; it has become inauthentic in many ways. The commercial version of Christmas paints a picture that is rosier than many people face. It’s a round-bellied, chortling man who gives us any wish we can dream. It’s a table full of good food and scrumptious smells, joyful carols in the background. It’s a sweet-cheeked chubby baby cooing and gurgling in the hay.

The commercial version of Christmas forgets that there are bellies that will not be full. There are places in the world where food is scarce and water is dangerous to consume. There are babies who aren’t warmly received into their families, abused or worse. The commercial version of Christmas has little important to say to these realities of life.

That’s why I love Advent. In Advent there is room for the tragedies of life. In Advent there are people crying out for God’s justice, God’s intervention. In Advent there are questions about who God is and what God will do, but there are also answers. And in the answers there are promises. Advent is a season of hope.

It is a time when we recognize that right now the world is not a perfect place. Right now there is pain and suffering and sighing. Right now things aren’t going the way we would like, but there is still hope. As unlikely as it was for that young mother Mary to become pregnant, keep her betrothed, travel to a new city, give birth in a stable, and raise her child under Roman oppression, by the grace of God it all happened. As unlikely as it was for him to preach, teach, minister and heal, speaking and acting out against the religious and civil leaders, by the grace of God it all happened. As incredibly unlikely as it was for him to be humiliated, killed, but then rise again from the dead, by the grace of God it happened, and because of this we can have hope.

We can have hope, confidence in the promises that are yet to be fulfilled, that God is conquering poverty, hunger, and injustice. We can have hope that God is defeating oppression and sin, even sin in our own lives. We can have hope darkness cannot overcome the Light of the world, Jesus whose birth we celebrate this year. Dwell this year in Advent for a little while. Face the realities of life around us with hope in Christ our Lord.

Thankfulness

Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away. For the past few years when my family and our friends gather for Thanksgiving dinner my mom has asked us each to share one thing we are thankful for. It is one of the “new” Thanksgiving traditions I have come to love and appreciate because it forces me to really think about what I am truly thankful for as well as hear what others are thankful for. It gives me a glimmer of insight into the lives of my family and friends. It is a way we can share our lives with one another and cultivate deeper relationships.

With this in mind I would like to share with you what I am thankful for. I am thankful for my Spiritual Director and the inner transformation that continues to grow because of the way God is working in me through my work with her. I am thankful for the new addition to my family. My brother was married this summer and his wife Sarah and I have become good friends. I am thankful that I live close to my immediate family so that I can see them and interact with them on a regular basis.

I am thankful for my friends and colleagues in Christian Education who take time to listen both in challenging times as well as times of celebration. I am thankful for this support system. I am thankful for the wonderful staff at FPC. It is a joy to come to work each day knowing that I will be challenged, be supported, encouraged, and will have a good laugh or two. I am thankful for each one of you! With out you this congregation would not be the same. I know God has called each one of you to this place at this time. My greatest joy is watching this congregation grow in faith and worship God in all that you do!

During this Thanksgiving season I want to challenge each of you to take a moment to think about what things you are truly thankful for and tell someone about them. Don’t forget to thank God, too!

My Prayer Discipline and Passions

If you haven’t already noticed Pastor Stephanie is back! The staff is excited to have her back and to get back to the routine that was all but absent with summer schedules. Pastor Stephanie has come back with a renewed commitment and energy for ministry with this congregation. You can see and hear it in her sermons, writings, and conversations. This energy has rubbed off on me!

I also have a renewed energy and passion for my ministry with you. This means that the educational and mission ministry ideas are flowing abundantly (sometimes to fast for me to keep up with!). The struggle for me is to discern which of these of ideas will be woven into God’s purpose and plan for this congregation and which will not. In a recent sermon Pastor Stephanie talked about the importance of prayer in the discernment and visioning process. It is important for me to return to a discipline of prayer in my ministry with you. I need to make time during the day to pray for and about the work I am doing. My hope is that through disciplined prayer and discernment I will be able to better serve you. I also hope that this will help to sustain my ministry on those days when I’m tired, worn out, and just do not feel energetic or passionate for the work I’m doing.

That said, I want to tell you what ministries I am feeling passionate about these days. First, I am passionate about our Adult Education theme for 2010-2011, A Year with the Bible. Being in conversation with God’s story, which is also our story, is one of the most important things people of faith can do. Second, I’m passionate about the potential of Small Group Ministry for our congregation. I hope that by providing both short and long term opportunities for groups of people to gather around specific topics, books, or passions; we as a congregation can grow deeper in our love for God so that we may minister more faithfully to one another and to those outside our church family. Third, I am passionate about providing varied types of mission and service opportunities that the entire congregation is encouraged to participate in. This might mean an outing to Feed My Starving Children to fill food bags for the hungry, an outing to Willow River State Park to help them on a project, or an in “house” mission activity. The options for service are endless and I would like your suggestions! What kinds of mission and service opportunities do you want to participate in?
My prayer for this congregation is that the renewed energy, passion, and commitment to the ministries of this congregation that Pastor Stephanie and I have will rub off on you as we begin a new program year!

Statistics and Stories

A few weeks ago I was reading one of our denomination’s magazines Presbyterians Today and came across some statistics about Presbyterians that I found interesting. Did you know?

• The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) consists of 2.1 million members in over 10,700 congregations found in every state including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.


• Half of congregations consist of 100 members or less and only 13 congregations have over 4,000 members.
  Nationally, average weekly attendance is 1.1 million.


• One in 3 active ministers are women (32%).


• The median age for both members and elders is 60 years; of pastors, 53 years.


• Most Presbyterians (59%) grew up in another denomination.


• Most members (74%), elders (84%), and pastors (86%) are married.


• Most members (64%) and elders (66%) are college graduates. All ministers have a master’s degree, and more than a quarter have doctoral degrees.

I have some thoughts about these statistics. As a denomination the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is larger than I thought we were. Just think each week there are 1.1 million Presbyterians worshipping God the U.S.A.! That’s a lot of people all worshiping God and this number doesn’t even include all the other Christians.

While we probably all knew this, we are a denomination of older adults. This means while we want to attract young adults and families we must not forget the older members who are already here and in the case of FPC very active. As a congregation we need to minister to and with both older and younger adults as well as families. All God’s children are an important part of the FPC family.

Unlike me, a life long Presbyterian, most of our brothers and sisters in the Presbyterian Church grew up in another denomination. They are not “tied” to the Presbyterian Church. They probably did not choose FPC because we are Presbyterian but rather because we are a friendly and vibrant congregation. They could just have easily chosen to attend Hudson UMC, Faith Community or any of the other churches in town.

While I find these statistics fascinating, I do not want to get bogged down by them. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and First Presbyterian Church are more that statistics. As they say, behind every statistics is a story. We grow in relationship with one another and God through sharing our stories. I believe it is one of the most important acts of faith we do daily. When we truly listen to another’s story and they to ours we grow.

This is one reason our Adult Education theme for 2010-2011 is A year with the Bible. The Bible is the story of God interacting with the world. During the 2010-2011 Program Year we will learn and be in conversation with some of these stories and with one another. The stories of the Bible will become important conversation partners as we continue to grow in our relationship with God. I want to challenge this congregation to make a commitment to attending Sunday School and Adult Education! May we be a congregation who tells the story of God’s people through out history!

Labyrinth Walking

The fist time I walked a labyrinth was in Seminary. I think it was for a class I was taking probably on Spirituality. I don’t remember much of anything about that first experience. Without me realizing God planted a seed in me that day. That seed has grown into a love of walking and experiencing labyrinths. Since that first time years ago I have walked many labyrinths. I have walked indoor labyrinths and outdoor ones in a variety of settings. I have walked alone and with others. I have even used finger labyrinths. My favorite is walking an outdoor labyrinth alone because I can focus on me and my walk with God. I don’t have to worry about what other people think or do.

What is a labyrinth? A labyrinth is an ancient meditation tool. It is a singular, usually circular path, that is used for prayer and meditation. Labyrinths can be found all over the world.

What is it about walking a labyrinth that is so special? Well, for one the experience is different for everyone. We all experience God’s presence in different ways and at different times. This is why it is important to remember there is no “right way” to walk a labyrinth. Some people like to walk it slowly repeating a phrase over and over, others like to pray one prayer in and another one on the way out, others like to have their eyes wide open and bask in the beauty around them, and children love to run the path. Another reason labyrinth walking is special is that it uses the entire body. The whole body is involved in the prayer or mediation.

I have one labyrinth experience that sticks out in my mind that I’d like to share with you. Barb VanLoenen and I had decided to drive into St. Paul to walk the labyrinth at St. Kates. When we arrived we headed on to campus to find the labyrinth. We walked for close to 15 minutes looking for the labyrinth. We finally found it after realizing we had walked passed it at least once already! As I started to walk I began to reflect on the twists and turns of the path I was walking. I kept thinking I was getting closer to the center but then the path would turn outward. I began to reflect on how walking the labyrinth is a lot like my life and my relationship with God. My life and my relationship with God takes many twists and turns. There are times I feel far from God or lost in the maze of life. There are other times when I know I am on the “right” path and feel close to God. As it turns out like the labyrinth there is only one path our lives take we never really fall off the path instead our path may take us in a direction we were not expecting. This is what I experienced that particular day of labyrinth walking and it made an impact on how I view my life and the lives of those around me.

If you want to learn more about labyrinths you can visit the Labyrinth Society website or the Paths of Peace website. Paths of Peace is the website of Lisa Moriarty designer of FPC labyrinth.

I encourage you to take some time to walk or wheel our beautiful labyrinth!

Spiritual Garden

I am a wannabe gardener! I love the idea of having a lush beautiful garden. For the past several years I have attempted to plant container gardens on my apartment balcony. The first year was a complete disaster. I killed just about everything. The second year was a little bit better though most things were dead by mid summer. A little over a year ago I decided to take a community education class on “container gardening” and soak up all the information I could on the best plants, best containers, best soil, and the best practices. Armed with all this information I was sure I was going to be totally successful and have beautiful lush container gardens. You can imagine my frustration when several of the plants died a month or so after planting. I had been diligent about watering and fertilizing and watching how much sun the various plants were getting…yet some of the plants died! However, all was not lost; many of the plants flourished. One of the flowers even grew at little out of control! I have come no where near mastering the art of gardening!

I can with confidence say the same thing about the art of spirituality! My spiritual life has been much like my container gardens. Sometimes my spiritual life has been very dead. It felt like I was in a desert and was stuck and couldn’t grow. Reflecting on these times in my life I realize that either I was not taking care of myself not giving myself the necessary time or “nutrients” to grow or there was something toxic in my life that was slowly killing my spirit. I find that it is during these times that I had to “let go and let God.” I had to let others tend to and nurture my soul because I was not able to do so. I realized God was planting a whole new garden.

More often than not my spiritual life has looked like my container gardens last summer-some death and lots of growth. It is in these times that I’m continually growing and nurturing my spirit and my relationship with God. Some parts of my spirit die because they are not longer needed. While this can be frustrating because it feels like I have failed I have to remember that this is all part of the art of spirituality. Our spirit is always changing and growing. Thus, it is important for parts of us to die in order to create space for something new to grow. It is exciting to see what new seeds God plants in us and what parts of us flourish during these moments!

No matter what you spiritual garden looks like remember that it is God’s garden and it is good!

(Photo Credit: SDCDeaCerte)

Recently I have been reflecting on the three “gardens” of hospitality, compassion, and worship in the parable that the Session created for our congregation. All three gardens are necessary for our congregational life and are all connected to one another. It strikes me that my work with you as your Director of Education and Mission Outreach is relevant to all three of these “gardens” or ministries. I want to say a few words about how I see this occurring in each of the three ministries.

Ministries of hospitality are “ministries that welcome people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities, meet them where they are in faith, and equip them for living their faith.” Much of the Christian Education work I do is seeking to meet the members of this congregation where they are. Then based on where you are in your life’s journey provide resources and opportunities that support and challenge you to grow in your faith both individually and as a congregation. Another aspect is providing resources and opportunities that equip you to live out your faith this complicated world. I have to continue to remind myself that this requires me to get to know you individually. I want to know your story, your needs and your desires. This year, as much as possible, I am trying to spend time with a wide variety of this congregation in different situations. So don’t be surprised if I plop myself down at your table on Sunday morning.

Ministries of compassion are “ministries that seek to recognize the brokenness of the word and individuals within it and reach out with Christ’s love to bring hope and healing.” For me this defines what “mission outreach” is. In mission outreach we seek to recognize and understand the needs of our community, our nation and our world. Once we have done that we discern how we can use our passions, strengths, and skills to respond effectively to those needs. My role is to assist you in recognizing and understanding the needs as well as working with you to establish and grow ministries that can address some of the needs and brokenness.

Ministries of worship are “ministries that assist the people of God in praising God, acknowledging the divine presences, and responding to God’s claim and redemption.” You might have asked yourself how my work in “education and mission outreach” is relevant to ministries of worship. Well you are not alone in your questioning as I too have reflected on this. My work is relevant to worship ministries primarily through worship education. For example this year the elementary children spent four weeks of Sunday School learning about worship as well as creating elements our Sunday morning worship liturgy. As adults the more we understand why, how and who we worship, we are able to more fully participate in worshiping God.

I want to challenge you to reflect on the ways your passions and God given gifts are relevant to each of these areas of ministries.

I recently attended the Association of Christian Educators (APCE) Annual Event in January. The purpose of this conference is to learn, worship, connect and reconnect with others who work and volunteer in Christian Education. The conference was held in Nashville, TN and theme was Awake My Soul. The worship services throughout the week did just that-my soul was awakened. The music, preaching, prayer, and keynote speaker were moving and I experienced the presence of the Holy Sprit in my soul. The following are some other highlights and insights.

I attended the Presbyterian Organized in Nurture and Training (POINT) conference prior to the APCE Annual Event. Our keynote speaker for this conference was Dr. Susan E. Hylen, Assistant Professor of New Testament at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. She used the story of the “Woman at the well” to help us explore and articulate our own expressions of faith as well as explore how we might lead/experience corporate discernment of faith in our community. I was most intrigued by Hylen’s unique interpretation of the story and especially the character of the woman. In many interpretations the woman is portrayed as “nincompoop,” asking seemingly unanswerable questions. In Heylen’s interpretation the woman is viewed as asking deep questions of Jesus stemming from her knowledge and beliefs of her own religious and cultural background. I wish I could remember all she said about this!

I led my first workshop at this conference and it went very well. It was a confidence building experience as well as learning experience. The workshop’s title was Christian Education in Small Congregations. The planning process itself was useful in that it made me systematically think about FPCH and what we do that is unique because we are a small congregation. Some of these things include our partnership programs (i.e. NETworks Youth Ministry, NETworks Vacation Bible School and the Ecumenical Men’s Breakfast group), adapting curriculum and resources to fit fewer numbers, and our Family Faith Talks workshops. People in the workshop asked very thoughtful questions and shared their own stories as well resources unknown to me.

I attended four workshops three of which are noteworthy and so I “speak” to them. First, I attended a workshop titled Encouraging Family Conversations About Faith. The workshop should have been called “How to Talk with Children about God.” In other words the focus of this workshop was looking at ways to help adults, mainly parents, talk with and answer questions children have about God and faith. The presenter had some really great insights on ways to do this. I would like to offer a workshop on this topic for parents and any interested adults in our congregation.

Another workshop I went to was titled Murder in the Pew. The whole focus of the workshop was ecclesiastical mystery novels. The presenter, and avid mystery reader, took us through her bibliography of mysteries that in some way are linked to religion. Some take place in religious building and in other books the main character is a monk or clergy. I did not know there were so many of these types of mysteries. One could have a whole book club based on these mysteries. If anyone wants a copy of her bibliography let me know and I’ll make you a copy!

The final workshop I attended was titled Helping Others: Servant or Sucker. This was the best workshop I attended because I think the potential applications for the Mission Outreach ministry of FPCH are plentiful. In this workshop we looked at the culture of poverty including the different levels of poverty. We talked about how a person or congregation can begin to take on the issue of poverty in practical ways. There is too much information to summarize here. I will say I was so inspired by the presenter that I bought her book titled Loving Our Neighbor: A Thoughtful Approach to Helping People in Poverty. I’m looking forward to reading it and reinforcing my understanding of these issues. I hope to gain insights on ways FPCH can provide effective and compassionate ministry to those in poverty. I’d be happy to share the book with anyone who is interested!

I must also say a “couple of words” about the “private” concert by Christian singer Amy Grant. I was first introduced to Amy Grant’s music as a middle school student by one my youth group leaders. I have loved her music ever since then. Amy Grant lives in and attends a Presbyterian church in Nashville and asked the local conference committee if she could come spend some time with us. Her concert was amazing. She told stories of her family and her faith. These heartfelt stories were enhanced by singing of some old favorites as well as a few new songs. Even though I was sitting in a banquet hall with a thousand other people I felt like I was sitting in Amy’s living room chatting and listening to her. It was a night to be remembered!

A Garden View

At the end of September the Session of First Presbyterian Church made an overnight retreat at Wilder Forest near Marine-on-St. Croix, MN. In this beautiful setting, surrounded by majestic trees and strutting wild turkeys, we got down to the Spirit-filled business of discerning God’s purpose and will for our congregation. With hopes of keeping our retreat one that was grounded in the practices of our faith, I designed a process that incorporated prayer, Bible study, worship, and being open to the Spirit’s creative movement.

A large part of Saturday was spent studying the parables of the gospels. Parables are the short stories or long metaphors that Jesus often used in his teaching and preaching to communicate spiritual truths in an earthly way. The kingdom parables, in particular, were important for our work on the retreat. The kingdom parables describe in tangible ways the kingdom of God, God’s hope for the world at its best, God’s vision of the kingdom when everything is going according to the divine will.

After studying a few different parables, the session members were asked to join in small groups to write a “kingdom parable” for our congregation – an extended metaphor or short story that describes what our life together would like if we were at our best, at God’s best. The parables would each be a discernment of God’s vision of our congregation if everything were going according to the divine will. From the work of the different small groups we then collaborated to create one parable that best described God’s call to our congregation, God’s purpose for our ministry.

Below is the parable the session wrote to describe God’s vision for our congregation. Our understanding is that this is the ideal toward which we are working. There are some aspects of the parable at which we already excel, aspects of our call we follow faithfully. Other aspects need work; they have yet to be realized to the fullest in our life together. This parable, this vision, will help guide our congregation’s ministry and mission in the coming year.

In the kingdom of God, our community of faith is called to be a welcoming garden planted and sustained by the Spirit of God. Many hands work as one to plan, sow, nurture, and harvest. Inviting diversity, we bloom in all season of life. With compassion for those who are weary, we provide continuous shelter, healing, support, and growth. From the abundance of blessings we receive, we celebrate and share with those close and far the nourishing and life-giving love of our Lord.

After the first of the year, the session will be inviting you, the congregation, to join in our discernment process. We value your commitment to helping First Presbyterian Church grow in faithfulness to God’s call to be a community of hospitality, compassion, and worship. There will be an opportunities both in and out of worship for all of us to join in discerning how our current commitments and possibilities for the future fit into God’s vision for our life together. We hope you will join us in this prayerful and exciting process.

Grace and peace to you in the Advent and Christmas seasons. May the celebration of Christ’s coming prepare us to be his witnesses in the world.

(Those aren't "our" butterflies pictured above, but just as soon as I find my own pictures from our church garden I will replace it!)

Grace

It was a very busy Sunday morning a couple of months ago that had not been going well. I was frustrated and anxious. I stepped out of my office and looked down the hallway toward the Fellowship Hall and said hello to Phil, Karoline, and William. All of a sudden William came running full speed toward me. I’m thinking to myself where is he going…what does he see? Thinking he’s going to run past me, I squat down to catch him as he goes by. Much to my surprise he runs right into my open arms and gives me the biggest and longest bear hug! In that moment my frustration and anxiety melted away. William’s hug changed me that morning. As I was driving home that day I realized that this was grace!

William’s hug was a gift from God. God knew what I needed that morning even though I didn’t know I needed it-at least until after the gift was already given. It was undeserved-there was no earthly reason that I should be given such a gift by God other than the pure fact that I’m a child of God and God loves me. This is grace. Grace is a gift from God that comes when we least expect it but most need it and brings us joy.

Beginning in my college years I realized that I was afraid of grace. I didn’t even like to utter the word. It was something I avoided like the plague. In seminary and a close friend and I were having a conversation and I shared with her my feelings around grace. She gave me Philp Yancey’s book What’s So Amazing About Grace? told me to read it and pass it on when I was finished. With hesitation and trust I read the book (I still have the book J). It changed my whole perception of grace. It finally clicked in my head that grace was not something one earned. Grace comes from a loving God who loves me beyond my sins and imperfections.

I think this quote from Yancey’s book sums up what grace is all about
Grace does not excuse sin…but it treasures the sinner. True grace is shocking, scandalous. It shakes our conventions with its insistence on getting close to sinners and touching them with mercy and hope.

My hope this Advent season is that we as a community of faith will see and respond to God’s love filled gift of grace with our own gracious actions towards on another.

Why Christian Education?

In a recent blog entry Pastor Stephanie asked “Why are you Presbyterian?” This sparked the questions Why Christian Education? Or more accurately Why is Christian Education important to ones faith journey? However before we can answer this question I think we have to ask a more basic question; What is Christian Education?

In recent years the idea of Christian Education has taken on several other names which I think are helpful in our understanding of Christian Education. One name is faith formation. The name faith formation hits home that we are not just educating people about God and Christianity but rather helping individuals recognize, accept, and respond to God’s gift of grace (this concept comes from theologian Craig Dysktra). A second name is spiritual growth. I like this name because it emphasizes God presences in and around us as well as the fact that we are always learning and growing. For me Christian Education is a combination of both of these ideas.

With this in mind we can ask the question Why is Christian Education important to ones faith journey? I think the most important reason is that God wants us to continually recognize, accept and respond to the gift of grace he gives to us freely. We are continually changing and our world is continually changing so we need to rediscover how to recognize, accept and respond to God. Thus, it is our job as children of God to do so. In order to discover or rediscover and begin to understand God’s grace we have to be in relationship with God and with the community of faith. This is not to say that God only gives grace to those who know him but rather that when one knows God and is in a relationship with her it is easier to recognize, accept and respond to the grace given. One cannot be in relationship with someone that they do not know. Because God is not here in flesh and blood we have to learn about God through the Scriptures, through others encounters with God and through the world around us. In other words we have to know something about God to know God. Once we know about God we can continue the important work of exploring our relationship with God. We can together in community see where God’s grace is give and discover how we are called to respond to that grace.

Christian Education provides an opportunity for begin and grow in our relationship with God. Christian Education also helps us build relationships with those in our congregation. Christian Education provides an opportunity to learn about the ways we can respond to God grace in our lives, in our homes, in our congregation and in our community. Christian Education is important for everyone because God’s calls us to be faithful people recognizing, accepting and responding to the gift of grace in our lives! And God keeps on giving grace anew each day!

Words, words, words

With many other people around the country I have been wondering what has happened to civility. It seems that in the last month or so people in all sorts of walks of life have forgotten what it means to speak to others with respect and dignity – outbursts at town hall meetings, outbursts in Congress, threats on a tennis court, rude interruptions on an award show stage. Each was an individual occurrence, but is the clustering of these events a sign of something larger going on in our culture?

Preachers around the country who use the lectionary were bubbling over with excitement at these news reports. OK, maybe that’s an over-statement. Rarely do we celebrate rudeness and disrespect. However, the epistle lessons assigned toward the middle of September, when all of this was going on, came from the book of James. Here are a few verses my colleagues were wrestling with in their sermon preparation:

“Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on first, and is itself set on fire by hell.” (James 3:5-6, NIV)

The warnings are strong about the power of words and the mouths that say them. In a Children’s Sermon I recently talked about the old adage children have been taught for generations, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” We decided together that this is not true. Words can hurt. Words matter! The words we choose to say, when we choose to say them, and the tone with which they are spoken MATTER.

Back to my first question – are the recent “newsworthy” events a sign of a larger problem in our culture? Well, I don’t know. I think it’s too soon to tell. I think the outrage of the public about these events is a good sign. It tells us this sort of behavior and treatment of one another is still shocking and considered unacceptable to many. I also think that, if nothing else, these have been a wake-up call to many, and a reminder to Christians of our call to treat others with respect and dignity. James puts it this way:

“With the tongue we praise our Lord and father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.” (James 3:9-10, NIV)

It should not be. All human beings have been made in the image of God, and all human beings deserve to be treated in such a way. This does not mean there can’t be debate, discussion, and disagreement. This does not mean there can’t be protest. It does mean, however, that our disagreement should happen in a way that honors the humanity of our partners in conversation, their creation in the image of God.

The words we speak matter. They matter to those to whom they are directed. They matter to those who overhear them for they speak volumes about what we believe. They matter to God. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” (Ps. 19:14, NRSV)

Why are you Presbyterian?

Last month our denomination’s moderator, the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, asked in his blog (essentially an interactive internet journal): Why are you Presbyterian? The question comes as the start of a larger conversation about how the church is doing and will do ministry in the 21st century. He invited others to respond to this question for themselves in their own settings. I did. Will you?

I guess you could say it’s in my blood. John Calvin would probably rather me say it’s in my spirit. Our Reformed theology would likely call it Providence. I didn’t know it when I started attending a Presbyterian church in the 2nd grade, but my ancestors on my mother’s side have been Presbyterian since there were Presbyterians in this country. In fact, we are related to John Witherspoon, the moderator of the first General Assembly, held in 1789, and the only clergy to sign the Declaration of Independence.

Again, I didn’t know that, though, when I started going to Sunday School. I didn’t even know my mother had grown up Presbyterian. All I knew when I started going to Eastminster Presbyterian Church was that the teachers were friendly, the stories were fantastic, and the love was unconditional. It certainly wasn’t the musty, moldy smell of the room where my class met that brought me back. It wasn’t the dried out markers that worked SOME of the time. It definitely wasn’t the pretzel and water snack we got mid-way through the morning. (Wow has that church changed!!!) I kept coming back week after week, which turned into year after year, because the people welcomed me, the faith fed me, the community loved me, and, over time, through all of that God used me.

As I got older, I learned more about what it meant to be a Presbyterian, a particular flavor of the Christian faith. It’s probably a chicken and egg question as to whether I liked the theology and therefore stayed in the church or I was in the church so I learned to like the theology. But however it happened, and I like to think it was a little of both and a lot of the Holy Spirit, I found my spiritual home in the PC(USA).

So why have I remained Presbyterian? I appreciate our
- declaration that Christ alone is Head of the Church;
- respect for history;
- openness to the always reforming Spirit of God;
- connectional nature that holds us accountable to one another;
- partnerships around the globe;
- insistence upon getting involved in God’s work in the world OUTSIDE the walls of any particular church building;
- theology and polity that honors the call of God on all lives, not just the lives of ordained clergy;
- historic and continuing emphasis on the education of all people.
Most of all I have remained Presbyterian for the same reason I started a Presbyterian – love.

We are not a perfect body, but I continue to believe that we are a faithful body. Despite our denominational struggles, despite positions that I have held that have “won” AND “lost,” I have remained Presbyterian because in this church I have felt the love of God and the love of my brothers and sisters in Christ. In this church I have been led to love and serve God and others.

This is why I am Presbyterian. How about you?