12/5/10 Listen Watch Video
Order of Worship   Announcements

Dear Friends,

This Sunday marks the Second Sunday of Advent and the predictable, yet always astonishing appearance of John the Baptist.  If you’ve been attending church long enough, you know that every year, on the Second Sunday of Advent, John the Baptist is lying in wait for us, hidden somewhere behind the noble firs and blinking lights and stacks of Christmas presents, waiting for the right moment to pounce on us with his singular message that nobody wants to hear but everyone wants to hear: “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is near.”  Our gospel reading this week makes it clear that you can’t get to Bethlehem without making a brief detour through the wilderness, where John preaches his simple, austere message of repentance:   “Prepare a new way for God,” he says, “who is coming into the world.”

No one ever invites John the Baptist to the Christmas party.  He just shows up—fiery-eyed and obstinate and determined to tell you the truth about yourself, about the world, about the coming Savior.  Over the chaos and clatter of the Christmas season it’s a message we would not easily hear, and so John draws us out into the “wilderness,” where there are no maps and no guides and no noise, and where we are more apt to pay attention to whatever it is that God is trying to say to us. 

Each of  us knows something of what it’s like to be in the “wilderness.”  It may be a physical place on the map; it might very well be a place in the heart and mind.  Perhaps it’s a place of beauty and silence, or a place of desolation and aloneness.  Wherever it is, you know that when you go there, you are likely to gain a fresh perspective, to see a new reality, to listen to your life.   

In this Advent season, John encourages us to name our wilderness – to go to that place apart from the noise of the world where God promises to reveal new truths, new awakenings for a more faithful and fruitful life.

In the wilderness John cries, “Prepare the way of the Lord.  Make his paths straight.”

See You Sunday,

Rev. Mark

10-31-10 Listen Watch Video
Order of Worship, Announcements

Dear Friends,

All Saints Day is the church’s Memorial Day. Traditionally, November 1 is observed as All Saints Day but in our worship calendar we observe it on either the Sunday before or after November 1.  This year, for us that means our All Saints Day is on Halloween.  “Hallow” in Old English means “holy” or “sacred.” So, “Hallows Eve” or “Halloween” simply means “the evening of holy persons.”   That is a good thing to keep in mind when all the kids come ringing your door bell on Sunday night.

All Saints Day began as a day to honor Christians who were martyred in the Roman persecutions.  Over time, it has been transformed into an opportunity to honor all departed Christians.  However, when you study the Bible you will see that saints are not those who have died but those who aspire to lead a holy life.  A saint is someone whose life reflects the goodness and joy of God.  Their lives are not characterized by perfection and purity but by fidelity to God and compassion to others (Luke 6:20-31).

There is an old children’s song that is imprinted on my memory about the saints:

10-10-10 Listen Watch Video
Order of Worship 
Announcements

The mainline Christian Church, if you’d noticed, is no longer reserved a seat at the table where the power brokers and civic leaders of our day make important decisions and shape the direction of our communities.  As some Church historians have noted in recent years, “the mainline” has been “sidelined;” in other words, either the Church no longer has anything meaningful to contribute to social dialogue, or the world is simply no longer interested in listening to it.  There was a day when the Church had a central role – even a leading role, in many cases – in social and cultural movements and the transformation of society (i.e., the abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage, or the civil rights movement).  But today, mainline Christians seem either mostly silent in the face of so many escalating social problems (i.e., poverty, hunger, homelessness), or they grow increasingly obsessed with, and vocal about, issues of social morality (i.e., sexual orientation, definitions of marriage, etc…).  

Some theologians have suggested that the last thirty years or so has been something like an age of exile for the Church.  Like the ancient Hebrews carted off into Babylonian captivity, the Church today is faced with a new reality: namely, that the broader world in which it exists is mostly indifferent to, dis-interested in, suspicious of, and often antagonistic towards what the Church represents.  In other words, in a largely pluralistic and increasingly irreligious and hostile context, the Church is a minority force which must recover its message and its voice if it is to make a difference in the world today. 

This is why I find great hope in the prophet Jeremiah’s message to the exiled Hebrews so long ago.  He did not counsel them to hide in their bunkers, or to try to take over their new country, or to blend in and be like everyone else.  Instead, he tells them,

“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce…  Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile.  Pray to the Lord for it, because in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jeremiah 29:4–7).

Jeremiah is telling the exiles to bloom where they are planted, to care for the neighborhood in which they live, to act justly and compassionately toward their foreign neighbors because their own life is intricately and wonderfully tied to theirs.

It’s a good word for us today, and it’s a major reason why we dreamed up our Light Your World campaign.  Next week, we will deploy into our city and surrounding communities to serve those who are most in need – the hungry, the lonely, the hurting.  More than 300 people have signed up to serve on Oct. 17^th.  It’s not too late for you.  Many projects have openings and we hope you’ll step in and be a part of something extraordinary. 

Sign up this Sunday, and plan to join us as we follow the advice of Jeremiah: “seek the peace and prosperity of the city, because in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

See you Sunday,

Rev. Mark

5 Sep: Dolores Welty — labor movement

12 Sep: G&E — leaving a legacy

19 Sep: Jim Mumma — national security policy

26 Sep: Faith in Action I

RSVP for Sunday, September 12, at 5pm, in Founders Hall.
Following the dinner, Rev. Feldmeir will introduce the Strategic Plan for Ministry and Mission for the next three years. The Finance Committee will share their plans for the Capital Campaign funds and other program highlights will be shared. This is an all-church event and everyone is encouraged to attend. Childcare will be provided.  To help us plan for food and seating, please RSVP or contact the office by Wednesday, September 8th, 5:00pm.