One Moment in Time

credit for image: http://www.slideshare.net/bright9977/one-moment-in-time-15223228

I hope your summertime has been especially blessed! Mine has been busy and blessed. A few days with my grandson and his parents were heavenly! Kathryn and I had a relaxing vacation before she started law school at USF. So we feel blessed.

         Sadly, I must report that our church has experienced the loss of several precious church members this summer and many memorial services were held, or will be held: Sally Henderson, George Menchen, Sara Alden (to be held August 22^nd). As I write this article our beloved Joyce Beckner is in hospice care. All of these long time members will leave a legacy as good and faithful servants to our church.

         Yet, when we look beyond the sorrow we find there are often joys mixed in. In the planning of the services I have been blessed by getting to know their families and appreciated the grace that comes with ministering to them in their time of mourning. 

         In developing memorial services I am personally reminded how  precious is the gift of life. With some memorial services I even sense a deeper comfort with the hereafter. I am reminded of the importance of giving of ourselves for others and keeping healthy relationships with family and friends.

         We are experiencing eternal life now. Knowing that we are on a continuum of life that stretches into infinity is hard to grasp on a daily basis. But Einstein proved time is relative. And our days on earth are just a brief moment in time compared to the thousands of years in eternity, according to the Bible. Psalm 90:4 states: “A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.”

The late Whitney Houston sang a song that became a big hit titled,

“One Moment in Time.”

I want one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will feel, I will feel….eternity

         Even though this is a beautiful song as Christians we don’t agree with the lyrics because we know that the answers are NOT all up to us, but up to God. When we release our lives to God we go with the flow of the Holy Spirit and we can be peaceful knowing God is guiding our “race with destiny.”

         My hope and prayer for you all is to remember and show with your lives this blessing in Ephesus recorded in Ephesians 3: 16-19

       “I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, God may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Speak Up!

Adapted from a sermon by

 Reverend Dr Cynthia Alloway

Pastor of the Presbyterian Church of the Roses, July 5, 2015

Speak Up!

            How do we know when God is speaking with us? The most powerful message from the Bible is love.  And when you speak words of love, forgiveness, reconciliation, and healing, you are speaking the words of God.

            Second, when you are striving to accomplish what the prophet Micah said when he commanded us to promote justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God, then you are carrying out the intention of God.

            Third, when you are helping the oppressed, protecting the vulnerable, serving the poor, and showing hospitality to the outcast, giving food to the hungry, clothes to the naked, and water to the thirsty, and loving your neighbor—you are doing the work of God.

            In contrast, when the demons of hate, discrimination, racism, and violence possess people, so that they become irrational and shoot innocent Bible study group members, or set fire to churches, it is not the time to remain silent. In the face of evil, it is important to speak up and stand beside the oppressed, to show a holy force of LOVE in the wake of hate. We are not called to sit back quietly, but to confront the oppressor, to stand beside the victims, and to work to prevent this type of violence from ever happening again, anywhere. 

            Why? Because it is your family that is being killed and abused! These are your people because we all have the same mother.  In human genetics, Mitochondrial Eve is the matrilineal most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of us all. She is estimated to have lived approximately 200,000 years ago, and she represents the woman from whom all living humans today descend. All mitochondrial DNA in every living person is directly descended from hers.

            And our Mother Eve is from the continent of Africa.  We are all connected to Africans through our DNA. Now a quick reminder about why there is a diversity of colors in our human skin. Dark skin has more melanin, which is a natural sun screen. If you could choose to have the most resilient skin, you should choose the skin with lots of melanin, because it protects from the sun’s rays and skin cancer.

We don’t all have dark skin anymore because as humans migrated out of Africa and up to the Northern less sunny regions, they needed to absorb more Vitamin D from the sun. So humans adapted with whiter skin to help absorb vitamin D. Yet, some people don’t recognize the inherent advantage of having more melanin. Instead they have arbitrarily decided that darker skin is inferior. This racist attitude is the root cause of massacres like the one in Charleston and the recent burning of eight churches in the South.

Nine victims of the Charleston AME church bible study massacre

            So why are people still racist to the point of violence in this country when we know biological differences are related to minor biological adaptation? One reason is a lack of education or just plain ignorance. There is not enough science education about ethnic diversity. The confederate flag wavers did not learn that we are all related to each other as one global human family and that there is no such thing as a superior race.

            When people feel powerless, they often look for someone to blame. At times when they feel insecure and unhappy in themselves, they look for someone vulnerable to pick on in order to get a momentary feeling of power and superiority. They become classic bullies. Put a bunch of bullies in white robes and you have the Ku Klux Klan who publicly gathered at the South Carolina statehouse after the confederate flag was recently taken down. After that meeting, churches began to burn.

            Prejudice and racism have caused enormous suffering across history. Prejudice and racism both refer to a negative view of one group of people based solely on their membership in that group. In reality, “race” is merely a social construct. It was used to categorize people in the early part of the 17^th century to rationalize slavery in this country. At that time they did not know the results of a DNA survey by Dr. Marcus Feldman of Stanford University that showed all humans are 99.9 percent genetically identical. (see: http://stem-works.com/external/article/859)

            This finding gives us hope for the future! We should educate one another and make our world better by making friends with people of other ethnic groups. Positive emotional experiences with members of different groups reduces negative stereotypes. Having close friends from different groups builds our awareness of what it is like to walk a mile in their shoes.

            As disciples of Christ, you have a big job to do and limited time to do it!  Challenge evil, stand alongside victims, advocate for equal rights for those who are oppressed or bullied no matter what the reason. Maybe they are oppressed due to their skin color, or their sexual orientation, or because they are disabled.

Your job as members of the people of God is to welcome, promote healing, and help provide justice for all people—even the least of these. Can you do your job?  Remember the words of Martin Luther King junior: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”  Speak up!           

Why I Support Same Sex Marriage

Photo credit: http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/09/opinion/stanley-same-sex-marriage/

In 2nd Samuel 1 there is the sad conclusion of the story of the love between David and Jonathan (the son of King Saul). In declaring his joy about the love Jonathan showed to him, David says: "Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women.”  And in1st Samuel 20: 16-17 it says they kissed and made a covenant of love between them. This relationship between David and Jonathan was undeniably a same sex loving relationship. We don’t know if they acted it out beyond kissing. But that is not important. That is private and should remain so. 

         I am very happy the PCUSA has affirmed same sex marriage. I look at it from a nurse’s perspective and know that whenever two people are allowed to make a covenant of love and commitment it is a healthy loving thing to do for their lives. (It is not sexual behavior. It is about LOVE!) Then when one is in the hospital the other in the married couple is legally allowed to be a part of their hospitalization decision-making and intimately support the healing process as any spouse is allowed to do. We have no business speculating if their loving relationship is enacted in their bedroom or not. That is none of our business. But I do know that people who are allowed to marry help build a healthier society. Less STDs and AIDS. Less alcoholism and depression and less suicide. More joy and happiness for all.

         God’s creation is good. God’s unique creation in its various forms of diversity includes not only different colors of skin but also different sexual orientations. If someone is born gay they are not born wrong, that is just part of the beautiful diversity of creation that has existed since the beginning of time. Anthropology is a favorite subject of mine and gay people can be found in every culture around the world and same sex coupling in the animal kingdom as well. 

         I have studied the science that being gay is an inborn genetically influenced trait and as the child develops they become more aware of their uniqueness. I have friends who knew around 6 years old that they were “different” but didn’t know why or how. They have grown up to be wonderful parents with same sex spouses and have become upstanding professors, doctors, choir directors, and teachers. 

         When a person doesn’t know anyone personally who is gay why do they think they can judge the moral correctness of their sexual orientation? They have no understanding of the difficult struggle many gay people experience growing up in a society with judgmental people who assume things about them but don’t take the time or energy to really get to know their life journey. No one chooses to be gay. You know it must be an inborn trait if a person is gay because choosing to be gay would be crazy in a society that kills people for being gay. (A 2001 review of twin studies found identical twins were significantly more likely to share a sexual orientation – that is, to be either both gay, or both straight – than fraternal twins, who are less genetically close. Such findings indicate that genes do factor into a person's orientation. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biology_and_sexual_orientation)

         Just as the church changed her stance on slavery and women’s role in the church, many theologians and biblical scholars now understand these biblical prohibitions of homosexual behavior to refer instead to violent sexual acts (such as the horrible way the guards at Abu Graib prison treated their male prisoners with sexual torture in 2003).  We need to shift our focus to promoting fidelity and respect in marriage between two people. When we do not allow people to marry who love each other, we are interfering with God’s most important creation: Love. And we are putting an obstacle in the way of the Holy Spirit who inspires love between people. Who are WE to put an obstacle in the way of love and allowing people to share love with another in a mutual caring way? I don’t pretend I am God and understand all the mysteries of creation. But I do respect God’s creation and I am an ambassador of God's love.  

         In the days when Paul was writing about homosexual behavior, the Christian community needed to multiply and be very fruitful. So the big cultural pressure was on having children and more of them. It was a sin to “spill their seed on the ground” because they were supposed to use it to create more children. Now our world has over population and we don’t have that cultural influence that greatly affected what they wrote about same sex relationships. 

         Jesus never said anything about homosexual relationships. But he did explain about eunuchs: "For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.” (Matthew 19:11-12)

         When allowed to get married, those born gay are able to be faithful to each other as well. Which is what we should promote for our society’s health in general. What I believe is immoral, wrong and a sin is making gay people feel as if they are second class citizens who can never marry when they fall in love and have happy families. Unless you have journeyed alongside someone who realized they were born gay and struggled to find their place in this world, you have no ability to understand the pain and hardship they go through. Remember Matthew 7: 1-3. 

         And most of all remember 1st Corinthians 13: 1-13:

“If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly,^* but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is LOVE.”

Three is Better Than One (an excerpt from my sermon on Trinity Sunday)

Karl Barth, the German theologian who wrote an indepth analysis of God, came to the conclusion that God is slowly revealing more of God’s self to us over time. In his huge exposition called Church Dogmatics, Barth concluded that God is totally contained not needing anything from others. And yet God reached out to the “other” (us humans) because our God is a relational God who wants to be with us, the creation. The pattern of the Trinity is a symbol of the relationality in the character of God.

         Karl Barth also wrote about eternity and said it could only be understood in the light of the relationships of the three persons of the Trinity. We tend to think of eternity as everlasting time. But the Bible speaks of eternity as everlasting relationships. Each member of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Spirit are always in communion with one another. And us children of God are adopted into that relationship with God, not due to any action of our own but because God loves all of creation so much we are all adopted and heirs of God’s kingdom. As it said today in Romans 8: "For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption.”

         The Trinity or triune God has adopted you into a Trinity family made up of our Creator, Son, and Holy Spirit and YOU. …. We are always in communion with God whether we are aware of it or not. And for that we should be grateful!!

         Ted Peters, a professor of systematic theology who prolifically writes about science and religion, expands the concept of the relational Trinity in his book, God -- the World’s Future, “God is personal through one or another of the three persons. And the net effect of the doctrine of the Trinity is to understand the divine reality as a unity of relation.” Peters goes on to say, “The Trinitarian understanding of God is that God’s full self-investment in the incarnation redefines divinity to include humanity.”

         In 2010, I wrote a paper for a Cosmology course. I titled the paper: The Symbol of the Trinity Reflected in the Relational Three-Patterned Character of the Cosmos. As I researched for the paper, I found so many patterns of three everywhere!

         The more humans discover about the creation and fundamental structure of the cosmos, the more we see the Triune nature of God reflected all around us. Think about it: in our galaxy we see the pattern of three in relationship: Stars, moons, and planets. In molecular matter we have the pattern of three in: Protons, neutrons, electrons.  Living Matter on earth all depends upon: Water, Air, and Soil. All matter must exist in one of three forms: solid, liquid, or gas. The strongest geometric pattern is the 3 sided triangle. In human biology our bodies have patterns of three. Human hearts have three valves.  Human Blood is made up of: white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets.  Our Body needs 3 basic elements to sustain life: protein, carbohydrates, and water. And 3 physiological systems necessary for life are: the brain, cardiac, and pulmonary systems.

         Social patterns also come in 3’s. Father, Mother, Child. Remember the movie: Yours, Mine, and Ours? In first grade it was Me, Marcia and Jane. The three of us would walk around the playground hand in hand every recess. Some people called us the 3 musketeers. And sometimes we would fight about who got to walk in the middle. One day Marcia was walking in the middle and we decided to play 3 blind mice and shut our eyes and run down a ravine blind. Poor Marcia broke her leg! That day 3 was NOT better than One… But it is interesting how humans gravitate towards a pattern of 3 even in personal relationships. And we say things like “Third times a charm!” Or bad things always happen in 3’s! 

         Humans are created in the image of a Trinitarian creator as body, soul, and spirit The triune three-pattern is reflected in the basic structure of our DNA. DNA proteins are made up of codons each with three base pairs of amino acids. Quarks are the tiniest particles that make a proton. They exist in three’s: two up quarks and one down quark.

         Does it really matter, knowing there are so many patterns of 3 in the world? Maybe the Trinity 3 is a symbol of reaching out beyond ourselves??

        Albert Einstein answers the question this way:  “A human being is a part of a whole, called by us 'universe', a part limited in time and space. He/she experiences self, through thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... But that separation is a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

         The Cosmos is created to be relational. What happens in one part of the Universe reverberates in another.  The Universe is considered a living organism that is relational as are the smaller living organisms that inhabit it. Vaclav Havel once said, “we are mysteriously connected to the entire Universe, we are mirrored in it as the entire universe is mirrored in us.”

         Being created in the image of God whose essence is relational in the Trinity leads us to see that all creation is relational, including the Universe.

         You were born to be relational. Don’t isolate yourself away. Remember 3 is usually better than one. Jesus died on a cross between two robbers. He was not alone. The symbol of the Trinity was hanging side by side on the hill of Calvary.

         Ted Peters concludes his book by saying, “Down at our deepest level we do not want to be alone.” And WE ARE NOT! The Bible testifies to this in the name, Emmanuel, “God with us.”  Thanks be to God!   

---

Welcoming and Inclusive

(A sermon preached by Reverend Dr Cindy Alloway May 3rd, 2015)
Our first scripture reading for today was Acts 8: 26-40. (About Philip baptizing the Ethiopian Eunuch.) I searched for a dramatic reading of this scripture and found Hearts Unbound by David Weiss. It was perfect for 7 voices to read the parts of the story in a way that gave much more context and meaning to the passage. 

The second reading was from: John 15:4-8

         "Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."

          The word “abide” literally means to accept, withstand, tolerate, or act in accordance with. But the old English definition of abide is: “to live or dwell in.” Such as, “I abide in the town of Santa Rosa.”

         Christ was using vivid imagery in this passage about the vine and the branches to teach his disciples how they must abide in him, live in him and him in them. And when we do that we do more than just say we are a Christian, we act Christ-like in all ways at all times. Abiding in Christ is a 24/7 experience!

         I love this “I am the vine and you are the branches” imagery. It emphasizes connection with God and with one another.  We are all in God’s family tree. But some of us are treated like the black sheep of the family. When the queer one, or outcast is given less respect by others in the family of God and made to feel as if they are not worthy of equal benefits and justice, then Jesus is not abiding in that part of the vine. The branch has dried up and lost its vitality. And that part of the vine is not producing good fruit. Sometimes God allows that branch to be pruned and cut off to help the center of the vine grow even stronger and produce even more loving faithful fruit.

         I think that is happening to the Presbyterian Church USA. As our church government, with the help of bible scholars and faithful church leaders, has taken many years to analyze the scriptures and discern how the greater message of Love in the Bible guides our decisions about how to incorporate people of different sexual orientations into ordained ministry in the church. The new words for our ordination of elders, deacons and ministers, now focuses on submitting “joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life.” Rather than focusing on fidelity and chastity.

         The PCUSA committee that studied this topic came to the conclusion that Love is the abiding rule of God’s message in the Bible. And all that we do and say to follow Christ’s role modeling must be done in the context of doing justice, loving kindness, walking humbly, and loving our neighbors. And that means showing our love by being in solidarity with them to combat injustice.

         For example Presbyterians showed solidarity this year through participating in the Day of Silence events across the nation on April 17^th.  Founded in 1996, at the University of Virginia and at the Union Theological  Seminary in Richmond, the Day of Silence has become the largest student-led action towards creating safer schools for all, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. 

         The event brings attention to anti-LGBTQ name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. Students from middle school to college take a vow of silence in an effort to encourage schools and classmates to address the problem of anti-LGBTQ behavior by illustrating the silencing effect of bullying and harassment on LGBTQ students and those perceived to be.

         Though the conversations about LGBTQ people have changed a lot in the last twenty years, current statistics tell us why the Day of Silence is still an important and necessary event. Four out of Five LGBTQ students nationally report having been harassed in the past year. 80% of transgender students report that they don’t feel safe at school. LGBTQ youth are over 4 times more likely to have attempted suicide than their straight peers, or to have skipped a day of school in the past month due to feeling unsafe. Even more troubling, because of the overwhelming lack of support many LGBTQ students feel, they often don’t report it when they are harassed.  Life can be hard, and can be especially hard for those who feel alone, or whose voice has been taken, whether through force or fear.

         But the silence of solidarity –– is life-saving. In appreciation for the Day of Silence event, one student said, “It is the kind of silence that allows people of a different sexual orientation to know that, though things are difficult, at times even unbearably so, we are not alone and someone cares.”

        Philip listened to the Ethiopian Eunuch and heard his efforts to faithfully understand the scriptures. Rather than just pass him by Philip reached out and welcomed this man into the Christian community through discipleship and baptism. Jesus was the first, Philip the second and Paul the third true examples of what being welcoming and inclusive looks like.

         Like wise we are to abide in the way of Christ by being welcoming and inclusive of all who come to our doors here at church or whereever we may have a chance to invite someone to join us here for worship and our many programs and activities.

         This concern to be welcoming and inclusive is dear to my heart because I had a good friend in my class at Princeton Theological seminary who attempted suicide because another close friend rejected him. After my friend received supportive counseling he felt brave enough to tell his father he was gay. But his father replied, “I am, too, but don’t tell your mom!”  Being born and raised in New Mexico, he felt he had to keep silent and pretend to be straight  - to stay alive.

         In Galatians 3: 28  Paul taught the church of Galatia, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” That is the way we are to look at the branches on God’s vine of love. And we are to do all we can to enable those branches to yield more fruit for the glory of God by perceiving all of humanity as One in Christ Jesus.

         Be welcoming and inclusive. By so doing you will help yourself and our church produce good fruit and bless God’s ever expanding vine of love. Amen!

More on the State of the Church around the World

The state of the church around the world might seem hopeless when you watch the world news. The Isis destruction of Christian houses of worship and treasured Christian artifacts, the oppression and killing of Christians in Africa and the Middle East, all are very disturbing current events. It seems barbaric to see these tragedies happening as they did in the past during the crusades. When I was in Turkey I saw many Muslim and Greek temple artifacts that had been damaged by Christian crusaders. History seems doomed to repeat itself unfortunately. George Bernard Shaw once said, “If history repeats itself, how incapable must man be of learning from experience.”

Wikipedia reminds us about the massacres that occurred during the first crusades that remain in historical records. “The First Crusade was part of the Papal response to the Muslim conquests, and was followed by the Second to the Ninth Crusades. The Roman Christian crusade was political more than religious-based and the first major step towards reopening international trade in the West since the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The Crusaders arrived at Jerusalem, launched an assault on the city, and captured it in July 1099, massacring many of the city's Muslim, Christian, and Jewish inhabitants.” (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Crusade)

Isis causes us to reflect on this history as they proclaim an aim to conquer Rome. Yet the people joining Isis are not all Muslim. They are those who feel hopeless about their own lives so they look for ways to get power, fame, and fortune. James Reese, CNN Global Affairs Analyst, stated that ISIS members are using Islam as a shield but most are not true Muslims. He said as they analyze those joining Isis, they discover that some purchased the book: “Islam for Dummies” to learn what they are supposed to say to impersonate having the Muslim faith. Nevertheless, Isis is using desperate means to get attention. 

Evil does exist in this world. Yet it should not make us feel hopeless about the survival of Christianity, but rather inspire us to be more prayerful, ecumenical, and trusting in God.When I am feeling scared by the news and hopeless about the state of our earth that God planned to be a kingdom of peace “on earth as it is in heaven,” I turn to reassuring scriptures such as these:

·       For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

·       But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head. (Psalm 3:3)

·       And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. (1 John 5:14-15)

·       The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)

·       Not by might nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord God Almighty. (Zechariah 4:6)

·       Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid of them! The Lord your God will go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor forsake you. (Deut. 31:6)

May your faith never fail and may you always trust in these words knowing that our almighty God is more powerful than any evil on earth. The good news we can trust in the face of terror is that God’s love will win in the end. So be optimistic about the state of the church and let God’s love flow out from you to each person you meet proving that God’s love is powerfully real in the world today.

9 Things I Know About the "State of the Church"

When I was asked to preach at the Synod of the Pacific meeting coming up, I felt as if I should fashion some sort of “State of the Church” sermon. But then I realized I have no idea what the “State of the Church” is right now! But these things I DO know based on: my past 10 years as an ordained minister, personal experience attending two East Coast seminaries, and from leading the Church of the Roses historic church in Santa Rosa, currently.

Photo credit: http://meridianpointchurch.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/State-of-the-church-1024x576.jpg

1.  The church is growing. By the end of May we will have 30 new members in the past year and ½. Promoting authentic faith and preaching inclusivity and love with enthusiasm for the future while promoting new and meaningful missional connections to the regional community (and to orphanages in Haiti) seem to inspire attention to the church and growth. The congregation is more diverse than it has ever been in its 62 year history.

2.   Even when you build a Youth Ministry they might not come. We discovered after hiring a Director of Youth Activities that the high school youth that attend our free breakfast every morning are 75% Catholic. That means they are probably not interested in joining us for worship or other church programs. But, they need community service hours and Catholic charities might help us fund our breakfast program in the future.

3.   The churches I know well on the West and East coasts are very happy about the Same Sex Marriage amendment  and have new hope for the future of the PCUSA. I am glad to have the freedom to conduct a holy marriage service and seal a covenant of love and commitment among all sorts of couples who wish to do so. This is the healthy way to live as couples, in a loving covenant.

4.   There is a place for keeping traditional hymns and liturgy while merging them with newer creative ways of doing worship.  We are trying more hands on participatory worship experiences. They are fun to try even if there isn’t a big influx in attendance for these services, yet….

5.   People love to learn about the physical effects of prayer and the advantages of having faith. When I share information about the evidence-based faith and health studies the congregation seems more motivated to deepen their faith.

6.   When people quit coming to church that doesn’t always mean they don’t like church. It is because as they age they have more and more trouble getting up in time. Consider creating a later service. Include a communal meal each Sunday there isn’t another food related event. Food is a draw for every congregation and group. Engaging the community (even if food is involved) is the harder sell if they aren’t church goers to begin with.

7.   Jesus is still the best thing we have as a beacon of hope to light up our PCUSA’s future.  The unique nature of our Lord and savior, when understood, helps us value faith. Help them see that faith is a verb. The more we show God’s love in action, the more action our church receives from the curious and blessed. The pastor must be an ambassador of the church everywhere. Talking to cashiers, store clerks, café chefs, and haircutters creates a connection to the church that may reap newcomers visiting for worship in the future.

8.   Making friends with the hungry who come for our free food bags each day connected us to our first baby and three adults for baptism in 7 years. We reach out to not only be good imitators of Christ, but until they are asked, most of those folks in need don’t assume they will be welcomed to a church service.

9.   Don’t be afraid....try something new, reach out to the misfits, speak your heart, and love unconditionally. Be a fearless love and peace-promoter wherever you go. Memorize Isaiah 41: 10 "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (NIV)

The Unexamined Life: An Ash Wednesday Homily

I was just in Ephesus, Turkey last week and the visit inspired me to think about Plato and Socrates. Socrates lived before Christ in Athens between 470-399 BC. As he matured he believed in one God and was accused of impiety by the governing Athenians because he wouldn’t worship the gods of the state. At age 70 he was forced to commit suicide by drinking hemlock. One of his most famous quotes was: “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

I have been thinking about how Socrates' philosophy connects to the Lenten season which begins tonight with Ash Wednesday. If Jesus had been alive when Socrates lived, I think they would have agreed on many things. Both came from families of stone-cutters and carpenters. Here are three philosophies for living they both believed in: 1. Humility was an important virtue to Socrates as it was to Jesus. 2. Behaving righteously and being conscious of right and wrong at all times was taught by both. Socrates promoted ethical philosophy and behaving ethically which was the way of Jesus.   3. Socrates like Jesus, prioritized truth over falsehood and the pursuit of virtue over the pursuit of material wealth.

If they engage one another in heaven, wouldn’t it be interesting to listen in on their conversations? Throughout history, Christians have been striving to be virtuous and humble. During Lent we are called to draw near to God through fasting, prayer, and reading the Word of God. Especially during the Lenten season we are encouraged to examine our lives to assess where we have sinned or need improvement, and to be aware of God working in and through our lives.

This Psalm 103 of David is a favorite of mine. These memorable words are wonderful to memorize and meditate on during lent. They are very reassuring of God’s loving care and forgiveness: “Bless the Lord Oh my soul and all that is within me bless God’s holy name. Bless the Lord Oh my soul and forget not all his benefits”….And there are many benefits listed! I love the way it says God redeems your life from the Pit, and satisfies you with good as long as you live^* so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 

That image of flying like an eagle is especially uplifting, isn’t it? Humans have revered these birds since the ancient times. I was at a Temple reconstructed in Turkey at Sardis. It was the temple built for the Goddess Diana. There was an enormous marble table with two huge eagles supporting it on each side. It was a table like our communion table but made of marble.

This psalm goes on to promise that: “The Lord works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed. And reminds us that: The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” 

Abounding in steadfast love. That steadfast love of God does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. "God removes our transgressions from us. As a parent has compassion for their children so the Lord has compassion for us. For God knows how we were made and remembers that we are dust."

Take a moment. Examine your life. What obstacle do you place in the way of the Holy Spirit or "sin" do you need to let go of, in order to truly accept God’s embrace of steadfast love and compassion?

(Postscript: After writing the homily above, I found this: "Percy Bysshe Shelley refers to Socrates as “the Jesus Christ of Greece.” See this website: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/socrates/)