Good News
March 26, 2010
The time from Friday until Sunday: was it just a blur? There was not an ounce of suspicion, not a particle of expectation that Sunday would be a day remembered forever. Friday, infamy. Sunday, victory. Who could know? All four gospels agree on two points: the tomb was empty, and Mary Magdalene was there. It was she who discovered that Friday did not have the last word, but Sunday did. It fell to her to share that good news. As she ran her good news cup surely ran over, spilling the glad tidings upon incredulous disciples. Good news!
The word “gospel” is old English, says Webster, for godspel, god (good) spel (tale). If a story’s any good at all, it must be told!
This Lenten season’s small group discussions centered on doing just that. We had a chance to share how we had “heard the new” in ways that both invited us to Fairmont and then kept us connected. The findings from those sessions have been assembled, and offer a wonderful testimony to the good news as lived out in our place and time. On the Sundays following Easter, our worship will focus on the ways we share our witness, observing carefully those first disciples doing the same thing.
In the course of these Lenten discussions, a number of wonderful ideas were shared. On one level, we discover that our sharings of the good news are not always read or recognized. Here are two:
+ The weekly worship bulletin includes a pastoral article and events schedule. Drawback? Must show up to get one!
+ The Fairmont Focus. Every month, an array of “experiential” faith is shared. Drawback? Must read it!
The use of the world wide web (remember that term?) allows us to do these:
+ The Flash Focus and LIVE! LINE weekly highlight what we’re about. Drawback? See Fairmont Focus.
+ The website, FairmontUMC.org. In mere days, a more user-friendly version will be in place. Drawback? Must be looked up to be enjoyed!
We’re discovering that this is the age of “social networking,” electronically speaking. One area we can use that is on the Fairmont Facebook page. There are currently 50 “members,” with unlimited potential. If you are a Facebook person, you can find “Fairmont and become a friend. If you have trouble finding it, go to http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=27109290536&ref=ts If you’re not part of the Facebook community, you might want to check it out!
Despite all those wonderful tools, the essential one has not changed since Mary Magdalene sprinted away from the empty tomb. And that is that as we share our good news, our faith, ourselves, do best face to face. Phones are fine, the web is wondrous, but they don’t come close to eye to eye–or heart to heart! There is a “Sunday” word that needs sharing. The world waits.
Pastor Steve
The Haiti Response
March 24, 2010
Blankets
Sheets
Towels
Wash Clothes
Health Kits*
Food
Tarps Medical Needs
Plastic or Fiberglass Casting
Suture 3-0,4-0 Nylon
Suture Instrument Kits
Betadine
4×4 Dressing
Roll Gauze
Web Roll for Casting
Saline IV and Irrigation
Injectible Pain Medication
Injectible Antibiotics IV and IM Rocephin, ANCEF, KFLEX
External Fixture
Tools to put them in (tool boxes??)
Traction Bows and Pins
*A Health Kit contains specific items:
1 hand towel (15″ x 25″ up to 17″ x 27″)
1 wash cloth
1 comb (large and sturdy, not pocket-sized)
1 nail file or fingernail clippers (no emery boards or toenail clippers)
1 bath-size bar of soap (3 oz and up)
1 toothbrush (single brush only in original wrapper; no child-sized brushes)
1 large tube of toothpaste
6 adhesive plastic strip sterile bandages
All items should be placed inside a sealed one-gallon plastic bag. No money, notes, religious or political literature, or other items should be placed in the kits.
The World @ Communion
March 24, 2010
It no longer come as a surprise that the “@” is everywhere. The “at” sign. I looked it up, thinking that it had a fine name like “ampersand” for the & sign. But it’s just “at.” So now when I’m looking for someone, I can say, “Where you @?” Okay, maybe not.
The far larger point is that next Sunday, October 5, thousands of the churches of the world will gather “@” the table, worshiping around the “World Communion” theme. It’s an awesome thing. So many churches use the lectionary, the three year cycle of weekly readings, that our unity is in place as me move toward the table: we are hearing the same word read and proclaimed around the world.
Have you ever wondered if the sounds of worship reaching God’s ears (does God have ears??) is a cacophony of noisome practices. There’s a great scene in “Bruce Almighty,” where Bruce (Jim Carrey), who has taken over for God, is hearing all the prayers of the world – simultaneously. (Let me just say it was not conducive to restful sleep.) As we uplift the same texts and claim the unity of the whole church, perhaps the sounds that arise to God do so more harmoniously than that.
Several important things will happen @ our communion table. The first is the musical leadership of Sango Malamu, a group of Congolese musicians. They will fill several of the musical slots of the service, including the prelude – so come a little early to enjoy that! Sango Malamu means “Good News Singers.” I am really looking forward to hearing them!
The second is our World Communion offering, one of six “special Sunday” offerings each year. Proceeds provide scholarships for international and US racial- and ethnic minority students and minority persons seeking second careers in church-related vocations. Half of the offering goes to World Communion Scholarship.s. So help as you’re able.
The most important thing that will happen is that we will claim once again the signs of Christ in our midst. Beyond the texts, the songs, the prayers and practices, it is the sacrament of holy communion that unifies believers as the body of Christ now dwelling upon the earth. That is a profound and humbling, powerful and glorious act of worship.
I look forward to seeing you @ the table!
Pastor Steve
O, Praise!
March 24, 2010
Choir members often share (in good humor) that we can’t get the most recently performed anthem out of our heads. We find ourselves singing it, even wake up in the night with it fresh in our minds. Almost always, that one yields to the next one. For me, today’s anthem is an exception, because it “cut in line.” As is our custom, we’ve rehearsed it for several weeks, but this one got in my head well ahead of today’s performance. I’ve even caught myself singing it out walking through the neighborhood. That is in large part a tribute to the skills and remarkable composition of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In his 35 years of earth time, he managed to crank out 600 compositions. Whew!
In the ongoing effort to go deeper in our understanding of worship, I invite you to think with me about “praise.” Definitions of praise range from exuberant joy to giving credit where credit is due. Perhaps in your circle of acquaintance are those who punctuate conversation and daily life with “praise the Lord!” I don’t have a clear idea of whether our biblical ancestors behaved thusly, but it sounds like a direction one or more of the biblical parties were headed, trying in every way to follow the scriptures. If it says praise the Lord, then that’s what we’ll do! I have a friend in another tradition (with more Pentecostal leanings) who will begin any kind of worship moment with, “Let’s give God some praise!”, followed by thunderous applause. That may not be our “thing,” but hey, look it up, it’s right there in Psalm 47:1 – “Clap your hands, all peoples!” (and how about this?) “Shout to God with loud songs of joy!”
The psalms offer a really rich understanding of “praise.” I excerpted Psalm 106 and 105 for two parts of today’s liturgy, the first to begin the service, the second as a prayer of thanksgiving. In worship, praise of God is where we begin, praise is evident throughout. Quite a few psalms are filled with the language of praise, framing with praise the mighty acts of God, the story of salvation. Even the psalms of lament, which are deep and heartfelt utterances of life’s agonies, find their way toward praise. For instance, Psalm 69 begins with, “Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold… I am weary with my crying,” but near the end says, “Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them. For God will save Zion…”
The psalms are typified by their honest expression to God – sometimes it seems a little too honest! From the depths to the heights of human emotion, the continual reminder is that this is our God and we are God’s people. When we recognize that, we offer praise.
In today’s anthem, you’ll here the following phrase, uh, more than once! “Praise the Lord our God forever!” Let me know how you do with the music-in-my-head syndrome!
Pastor Steve
A People At Prayer
March 24, 2010
“Will you pray for me?” I cannot think of a more humbling moment for the one who asks or for the one who is asked – the asker and the askee. In my estimation, what is at the heart of the question is, “This thing is bigger than I am. Will you help?” And don’t we always say, “Yes, of course.”
This “Day” column is the next installment in a series on “worship.” The Worship Team is in hopes that our understanding of worship’s whys and wherefores will deepen our understanding, and thus our experience, of worship.
We pray in a number of ways. Near the beginning of most services, we pray a “form” prayer, one that we share together. We are apt to use a form also in praying as Jesus taught us, The Lord’s Prayer, and in thanksgiving to God at the time of our offering. Worship is a corporate act, and much of our life at prayer becomes one of the unifying moments within the larger service. That doesn’t mean there aren’t more ways to pray, and certainly we are called to pray in words of our own, or in utter silence, day by day.
Our “intercessory” prayer is an answer to the question with which this began: “Will you pray for me?” On an expanded level, that can mean, won’t you share the burden of my heart, for myself or for another? Won’t you rejoice with me over a moment in life? Won’t you validate the deep concern I have? Won’t you walk with me through a troublesome place, a dark valley? Won’t you grieve with me my loss of one I love? Won’t you join me in reaching out to God on behalf of the wide world, and the most vulnerable of God’s children? We say yes, of course.
So we take some time in worship to gather those prayers, and then offer them to God, no longer “mine alone” but “ours.” No, we don’t know all those people. Sometimes our guests must wonder at the degree of brokenness that touches our lives! Well, yes, of course.
Two things have lately emerged which can enhance our prayers in worship. One is to freely use the prayer cards in the pew pockets, especially for those persons in “second” or “third” circles of acquaintance (ie, my boss’s cousin, my friend’s uncle’s fiance). Prayer cards are also used by those who choose not to speak out in the service, another excellent way to share. Prayer requests on the cards will find their way to the next week’s bulletin, and also the on-line “Fairmont Prayers” we share each week (Not getting that? Want to? Sign up at fairmontprayers@earthlink.net ), where prayers can be uplifted day by day. A second is following through. We are now providing stamped postcards at the back of the sanctuary: if you have raised a prayer request for another, think what it will mean to her/him to get a note from you that says, “On Sunday, we uplifted you in prayer.”
Will we pray for you? Yes, of course.
Pastor Steve
And now "The Word Interpreted" Huh?
March 24, 2010
Usually they’re called “Sermons,” sometimes “Meditations” (signaling that they won’t be so, er, windy). At some point in my life, probably during seminary (let’s just say well over 50% of a life ago), I adopted language that I had heard at my local church, “The Word Interpreted.” The frequent reaction of guests is, “do what now?” Sorry about that. There is actually some thinking behind it, which I have shared in a few conversations, but not in the venue of this weekly column. In an effort to unravel the mysteries of our worship life (a project of our “worship team”), please let me talk about that.
To preach the word, even after and especially after lo, these many years continues to give me pause. That is, it’s a fearsome thing! (No cracks about what it is to listen to it!) I frequently recall the moment in our ordination as elders of the church, where the bishop says: ” (name) , take authority as an elder in the Church to preach the Word of God, and to administer the Holy Sacraments.”* I continue to marvel that my name was plugged into the blank. For centuries, authority to “preach the Word of God” has been passed along by the laying on of hands and the claiming of the Holy Spirit.
As far as I know, there is no, there can be no single standard of what constitutes “preaching.” That may just be a way to let myself off the hook, but there it is. I don’t have the clearest memory of the dialogue from the Robert Duvall film, The Apostle, but I remember him answering a question from a radio station’s owner, “What kind of preaching do you do?” The Apostle E. F.’s answer was something like, “Well sir, Pentecostal preaching, preaching in tongues, miracle preaching, well, you know, all kinds of preaching.” Sonny (The Apostle) and I don’t do it exactly the same…
That brings me to the phrase, “The Word Interpreted.” Week by week, with considerable awe, and frequent fear and trembling, I take the Word in hand, and interpret it. Ask questions of it. Wrestle with it or do outright battle with it. Draw lines that connect it within the book, and within the Book. It’s an organic process, one that is alive, and for me, lively. And at long last, by God’s grace and mercy, it is the thing I offer to the community, this “interpretation” of The Word. I have made more mistakes than I can count, and you, graciously, have not counted either, at least not aloud.
As a community of faith, the Scripture, this sacred writ, provides us an anchor, a common language, a story that is all of ours. I am not alone in offering the interpretation in the congregation, as we Protestants are big on “the priesthood of believers.” But it is the pastor’s task to be faithful to an elder’s ordination to “Word, Sacrament and Order.”
The interpretation is at its best when dialogue ensues – at the front door, over lunch, throughout the week. That tells me that together we have engaged and been engaged by the Word. Ours is to be drawn into the Presence, the Mystery, the Divine, to be open to some moment that is formative or transformative. We may find new “marching orders.” We may be convicted in a direction contrary to the one we’ve been traveling. In any case, we will have had the opportunity to sharpen our beliefs, our understanding, our faith, all because we came together for “The Word Interpreted.”
Pastor Steve
* The United Methodist Book of Worship, Abingdon, Nasvhille, 1992, p. 678.
The Sacraments II, Baptism
March 24, 2010
Dr. Elliot Engle (is he still at NC State?) credits Charles Dickens with the invention of the “serial” form of literature, which led to “soap operas” (!). Dickens fashioned monthly installments of “The Pickwick Papers” in London. His method was to leave readers eagerly awaiting the next exciting episode – at least one literal “cliff hanger” was involved, thus coining that phrase from then until now. Of interest to me is Engle’s claim that Dickens wrote in desperation, under deadlines, and without much direction as to where he was going. Discriminating readers may get why I take comfort in that…
This summer, the weekly “Day In The Life” columns have become a kind of “serial,” as we move through a variety of themes central to our worship life. I have yet to develop that just right cliff-hanging moment, but I’m working on it.
Last week, I named the first of our sacraments, holy communion, today I take up the second, baptism. Not exactly cliff-hanging, unless we take into account that in the matter of the first there was betrayal, a tortured death, and a resurrection, and in the second, the near death experience of those who have gone before. No? If one stays under water… well!
As with communion (Do this!), baptism was instituted by Jesus, here, the Risen One: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). If that sounds to you like “The Great Commandment,” you heard rightly.
I’ve had a good time with visiting Baptists as we view together our “Baptist” window – John the Baptizer (east side of sanctuary) is pouring a bit of water on Jesus’ head. They’re convinced Jesus was immersed in the Jordan River, and hardly regard our window as convincing evidence to the contrary. For us, it’s a big tent: we do immerse, more commonly, a handful of water suffices. As we understand this to be God’s business, and God’s initiative, and God’s gracious gift, the amount of water is not paramount in our Wesleyan theology. Nor do we insist on infant baptism, but simply open the way to celebrate God’s goodness from the earliest moments of life.
What is important for us is that God is at work. We name that, we celebrate that, and lay claim to that through water, as primal and ancient a symbol as there is available to us. Our liturgy names the waters of creation, the nurturing waters of the womb, the delivering waters of the great flood. Water becomes the sign that connects us with both birth and rebirth, where we are both born of water and born of the Spirit.
Baptism marks us as children of God, a part of the people of God. We wear that new identity from that moment on, and forevermore. It has been described as “initiation” and as “adoption.” Homework: what is your favorite metaphor?
Pastor Steve
The Sacraments I – Holy Communion
March 24, 2010
In the Jewish Passover service, a youngster is given the task of asking the following question: “Why is this night different from all other nights?” The answer is the story of the Exodus, the deliverance from Egypt marked by the “passover lamb.” Hebrew homes marked by the blood of the lamb were spared as the angel of death “passed over” them. The Passover story is told year by year in homes at Seder services, resembling the one we hold here on Maundy Thursday, when there is special meaning to the oft-read liturgy that says, “On the night he was betrayed…”
The youngest among us don’t hesitate to ask such questions. One within arm’s reach of you this morning might ask, “Why is this service different from other services?” What would you say?
Many of us come out of a tradition where communion was only celebrated “quarterly,” and since one of them was the July 4th weekend, even that rhythm was disrupted – it certainly would be in 2008. Most United Methodists are now in between that practice and that of weekly communion, and many are leaning that way. Why? Certainly our ancestor in the faith, John Wesley, would approve. He counted holy communion among the “means of grace,” and encouraged the faithful to receive it at least weekly. For him, a means of grace was one of several ways God reaches us with the gift of God’s loving and life giving presence.
The Jewish foundation from the Passover is a “memorial” element of holy communion. Communion tables often say across the front, “In remembrance of me,” citing Jesus’ words at the table with the disciples. There is also a forward looking and hope filled aspect to the sacrament. So we are not only remembering, we are envisioning a new future, renewed by the practice of holy communion. And unless we do “practice” the sacrament, we’ll not receive the benefit of it! Today, I hope you’ll listen anew to each aspect of the liturgy we repeat as we practice the sacrament.
So what is a sacrament anyway? In the United Methodist way, as with most Protestants, they are the things “instituted” by Jesus. Roman Catholics include a number of other sacraments, for a total of seven. Beyond communion and baptism, they include marriage, reconciliation, confirmation, holy orders, and anointing the sick.
This has been the latest installment in the summer series about worship. Next week, The Sacraments II – Baptism.
Pastor Steve
Hymns
March 24, 2010
You may be surprised at the worship topic I’ve chosen for today: I don’t sing in the choir, I don’t play an instrument, and if you’ve ever stood near me when we sing a new hymn, you know I also have no sense of timing. Yet to me, music — hymns in particular — is a vital part of worship. For me, the words of the hymns often express what I feel in my heart and soul, yet do not have the words to say. One of the reasons I so enjoy what is called contemporary Christian music is that the music sounds like the music to songs I grew up listening to, while the words are Biblical and faith based. Many of the words in praise songs (that we like to make fun of for saying the same 7 words over and over) come directly from the psalms.
However, my love of music is not purely based on the contemporary movement. Some of it has to do with tradition. At my last appointment, a group of us went twice a month to nursing homes for a devotion and hymn sing. I loved knowing that at least twice a month I would get to sing the first and last verses of “Amazing Grace”, “Count Your Many Blessings”, and “The Old Rugged Cross”, among so many other classics. There is peace in knowing that these hymns have touched people spiritually for decades or even centuries. The words gain power in the knowledge that despite individual Christian preferences, we have the same basic beliefs. We may be divided on many issues, but we can all agree that God’s grace is amazing, and we’ll come together to sing about it.
Hymns also play a role in our theological development. Most of us have at least heard of John Wesley. Most Methodists know him as the father of Methodism and are aware of many facets of his understandings of God and faith. However, many of us learn our theology from John’s brother Charles Wesley. He wrote thousands of hymns, some of which are in our current hymnal. In those hymns, Charles writes about many topics of faith. We sing those hymns, and thus, we learn about God, about faith, and about living Christian lives. A side note of interest: John was a big fan of singing during worship, but he did not think there should be choirs, harmonizing, organs, Latin hymns, or fuguing tunes. He believed the text was primary; everything else was a distraction. Obviously, the Methodist church has moved away from this, as Garrison Keillor has pointed out in the past.
For many worship leaders, there is a temptation to select favorite hymns for times of worship. However, every effort should be made to select music that complements the service, the scripture, and the sermon. Obviously, we wouldn’t want to sing an Advent hymn on Pentecost (see last week’s article if you aren’t sure about Advent and Pentecost) just because we like the song. And unfortunately for preachers, the congregation often learns more from the hymns than they do from the sermon, so it makes sense to have everything match.
I leave you with a final thought on hymns. Karl Barth, a well-known theologian, says that a community that doesn’t sing is not a faith community. So our hymns are not just an effort to break up the amount of time we spend sitting during worship, or to give the worship leaders a break from merely talking. Hymns play a vital role in our understandings of God, the Bible, and our faith, in addition to uniting our voices as we lift them up to the Lord.
Heather Wong
Worship
March 24, 2010
Why do we worship as we do? An excellent question! The work of the Fairmont Vision Task Force stated our mission this way:
The mission of Fairmont United Methodist Church is to love God, worship joyfully, advocate for peace and social justice, embrace diversity, and serve with Christ-like compassion.
The further we go in examining that statement, the more in awe I am of it! Where we “live into” those faith principles, we will be living a piece of the kingdom.
The task force has led us into four areas of focus, one of which, named in this morning’s sermon, is “passionate worship.” Among the strategies to accomplish that are these:
1) Establish a Worship Team
2) Begin Worship Education efforts
The first of those is in place, the second begins with this column. It is my hope that these will be posted on our web-site, for those who were not here to read it (!), and also for those finding their way into the community that we can direct to this resource for information and reflection.
In last Sunday’s sermon, if I may be so bold or foolish to quote myself, I mentioned the various mysteries confronting those new in our midst, including our very worship bulletin. It is what one might call “evolved!” If you do not notice the size of the print, then that means it’s big enough! At one point, we were printing two copies of the bulletin, with one a “large print,” and a third item, which was the Sunday Night LIVE! service. All three of those are brought together in this one weekly document. While it takes a bit of becoming accustomed, and an extra fold or two, we think it’s the best tool for us.
A second theme for today is how the service is organized. Long time worshipers probably to not notice that there are five capitalized headings: THE GATHERING, CELEBRATION OF COMMUNITY, PROCLAMATION, RESPONSE TO THE WORD, and THE SENDING FORTH. You can see for yourself the things that call us together for worship; that name the nature of community through our prayers, an anthem usually focusing on the day’s theme, and our children hearing a word geared to them; the Word prepared for, heard, and interpreted; our responses to that Word, through the sacraments of communion or baptism and the offering; and then we are sent into the world, refreshed and equipped for service – we hope!
There is a certain flow to such a service, one where we are gathered, prayed over, challenged, a challenge to which we respond as we depart for the days ahead. At its “heart” is the scripture, with prayer the “life blood” and music the “pulse.” There is flexibility, as evidenced by the recognitions, special moments, and presentations that also find their way into worship.
As we move forward, members of the Worship Team and I will take up additional themes such as the church seasons, colors, symbols, sacraments, sanctuary, music, praise, prayer in its several kinds, offering, thanksgiving, and more. It is our hope that these will be conversation starters rather than “the last word.” Enjoy!
Pastor Steve