Church World Service Recognizes Fairmont
July 29, 2011
And it’s not the first time. Once again, our response to Blanket Sunday ($880) and Tools of Hope ($810) was notable, and garnered a certificate from the CWS national office. The citation says, In grateful recognition of your support for emergency response and sustainable development around the world through Church World Service. Fairmont United Methodist Church, Raleigh, NC June, 2011. An attached report spoke of blankets and tools being distributed in Japan (earthquake and tsunami), Nicaragua (drought and water issues), and Kenya (where farmers installing biogas digesters!), as well as in North Dakota (flooding), Montana (disadvantaged Fort Peck tribes), and Illinois (flooding). Our next CWS-related ministry is the Raleigh CROP Walk, October 30 – we’ll walk because they walk!
LIVE ! LINE…July 31, 2011
July 29, 2011
LIVE ! LINE
Sunday Night LIVE!
Fairmont United Methodist Church
2501 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27607
Hello, LIVE! Friends!
The coolest place to be on Sunday nights? Sunday Night LIVE! It’s WAY cool inside.
Another of the community’s youthful artists, KaShana Sanders, will bring the music.
We’ll wrap up David with “David Redeemed,” to read all about it, see 2 Samuel 18.
See you Sunday?!
Peace and Prayer,
Pastor Steve
FLASH FOCUS…July 31, 2011
July 29, 2011
F LASH FOCUS
Fairmont United Methodist
2501 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27607
Hello, Friends of Jesus!
Here’s hoping everyone is enduring the veritable “heat wave.” It’s always cool inside at Fairmont.
‘Tis a “fifth” Sunday, there are about four a year. That is one of the several occasions we emphasize “bringing your cans to church.” Henry’s with the work team in Louisiana or he would remind us!
The message is “Bread for the world?” from Matthew 14:13-21.
Related to that is this:
Stop Hunger Now is responding to the food crisis in the Horn of Africa. Find them on Facebook, go to their web site, and read this:
Thank you for your consideration and support of Stop Hunger Now and our efforts to respond immediately to the famine in the Horn of Africa affecting more than 10 million people. Stop Hunger Now is raising $150,000 to support our long-term, trusted partners working on the ground. With your help we can provide life saving aid to those suffering from hunger as a result of this crisis.
Pastor Steve
To All the Saints in the Making…Pray 'em if you got 'em!
July 29, 2011
I spent way too many Saturday afternoons watching black and white movies, many of them were war movies. When the going got tough, some wizened old sergeant would inevitably say, “Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.” As I grew older and more wizened (!), it made a whole lot more sense in that foxhole and besieged situation to say, “Pray ‘em if you got ‘em.” Ah, but for many of us, that might be the sum total of our prayer life. We only pray ‘em when we’re under fire!
For a number of months, we’ve taken some baby steps toward “Becoming a Praying Congregation.” At first glance, we might say, well of course we are. But the strategy I propose is to learn do better what we do well, to learn to do well what we do not so well, and to jump start what we aren’t doing at all. All of us are somewhere in that continuum.
Larger strides will be taken as we devote August’s morning worship services to this theme. Texts like Matthew 5:43-48, 6:7-15, 7:7-11, and 26:36-46, from the Sermon on the Mount to the Passion of Christ will guide us on our way. Our hymns and our worship prayers will all call us to the larger theme: prayer.
As mentioned on the front page of the August Focus (you did read the front page…), we will begin using widely a resource called, When You Pray, Daily Practices for Prayerful Living, by Bishop Reuben Job (now retired). Bishop Job has given the Church wonderful leadership, his gentle spirit shining through this anthology. He has assembled a veritable constellation of authors whose brief readings will move us day by day. We will take time to learn how to use the resource, which can be used for three or more years. About fifteen to twenty of the books are already in use by our pilot group as well as by members of the Susannah Wesley Circle, introducing it on retreat.
What would it mean, what could it mean if the bulk of our congregation was thinking daily on the same scripture texts, reflecting on these writings, and praying together for our nation and world, the church, the people in our lives, and for ourselves?
This will be a different kind of worship series for us, I’m really looking forward to it. Recognizing that a few of you might miss one or more of the Sundays, I will try to offer a manuscript on the Mondays following these Sundays, which will approximate each meditation. Let me know.
Thanks be to God that we do “have a prayer!” May we work through this season of prayer together, trusting God for the outcome!
Pastor Steve
PS – We’ll invite $10 for the cost of your book, however, we do not want to prevent anyone from having one. Consider adding a “scholarship” to your $10, that everyone may have one!
Day in the Life….Does Foreign Aid Work?
July 29, 2011
I wish I knew the definitive answer to the question above! One “problem,” if I may call that, is “anecdotalism.” Yes, I made up that word, but let me try to make the case. Over and over, someone in power or influence will give a “for instance,” and tell an anecdote, a story. Hey, I love stories – I’ve been known to tell a few. The storyteller in my position, at least, is obligated to make pretty sure the story is illustrative of a point made, not just a singular, or infrequent, occurrence. I just have to say that when it comes to foreign aid, that’s not true. Yes, “aid” (as in “food supplies”) is sometimes sidetracked, misused, or downright stolen. But that doesn’t “make” those behaviors normative. What is doubly troubling is that storytellers who are disciples of anecdotalism seem (to me) to be predisposed in favor of their position, and/or their ideology. I miss ol’ Joe Friday, “Just the facts, ma’am.”
In recent months, there’s been no little dust kicked up over what it means to be a “social action” Christian. I claim that “label” not as some alternative reading of the gospels, but as a completely legitimate and very Wesleyan appropriation of the texts: they matter now, they are relevant now, and our response is important now. So we can be engaged in discussion about “foreign aid,” whether its source is secular or sacred. People in need are, well, people in need.
To me, one important way to respond to the world of want is through Bread For The World. The non-partisan BFW’s position is that letters, especially the hand-written kind (remember those?) have an impact on policy. BFW ways that as people ask for some specific action and one’s reasons for that, our represent-atives are apt to pay attention. Below is sample letter that registers concern.
Dear Senator or Representative,
“I am asking you to form a circle of protection around funding for programs for hungry and poor people in the United States and around the world.
“I am deeply concerned about some of the budget cuts Congress is considering. We need to cut the federal deficit, but we must not do it on the backs of poor people. We need to form a circle of protection around the people who benefit from these programs – struggling women and children in developing countries. Poverty-focused foreign assistance is less and 1 percent of the federal budget, so chopping it would do little to reduce the deficit.
“At the same time, we need to make sure every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely. More efficient US foreign aid programs will ensure that our tax dollars are used effectively and that the aid we give is what local people in poor countries really need. These reforms will help foster economic grown and opportunity and contribute to our national security as well. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has stated that helping countries develop “is a lot cheaper than sending soldiers.” Please protect families and children from cuts that cost lives, and support reforms to US foreign aid.”
Did you know that our Foreign Assistance Act has been in place since 1961? It might need a bit of tweaking! We know why Christians care, but why do we look to governments and not internally? Our 300 million citizens have far more resources than any other entity which we might influence. 2 billion of the world’s citizens subsist on less than $2 a day. We the people can do better.
Pastor Steve
LIVE ! LINE – July 24, 2011
July 22, 2011
LIVE ! LINE
Sunday Night LIVE!
Fairmont United Methodist Church
2501 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27607
Hello, LIVE! Friends!
It’s great to be back from my journey! I will try not to talk about it EVERY moment… but a few!
Sunday night we welcome musician Stephen Perry… he’s really good!
Two more meditations on the life of David… this one is from 2 Samuel 11, called “David’s Demise.” (Next time, David Redeemed!)
Will I see YOU in the house Sunday Night…LIVE!?
Peace,
Pastor Steve
Flash Focus – July 24, 2011
July 22, 2011
Hello, Friends of Jesus!
The best of intentions… I had this email on the desktop and was ready to send it to you just before I left town (when you read the attachments, maybe that will make sense! [note: the attachments are the July To All the Saints & Day in the Life from July 3 & 10]) Anyway, I must have been excited about going to Alaska, as it was still here when I returned. It was truly marvelous, and I’ll wear you out soon enough with stories from there.
For example: When you cut Alaska in half, what happens to Texas?
It becomes the third largest state!
In any case: Read the three “pieces, prepared for the July Focus, and Day in the Life July 3 and 10. They relate to one another, and they are integral to where we are and where we are being called to go. Please take about 20 minutes (total) to read all three. You might want to print them out or save them in a file, as they will are foundational to the days ahead.
We’ve just passed the “half way” point in our church calendar year. I am joyed by all we have done and hopeful in where God is calling us to go.
Peace and Prayer,
Pastor Steve
A Day in the Life…Heaven's Gate?
July 22, 2011
By now, you’ve heard that we’ve been to Alaska. Some of life’s dreams take awhile to come to pass. This one cooked and simmered for many, many years. We saw things we’d seen on film, or read about, or imagined. Each seemed to surpass its previous image, which hardly seems possible.
I don’t want to do a travelogue here (although there are pictures!), but rather think with you about a sense of place, or places, and what that can mean for us. God has provided us with a rich variety of “mountaintop” places – some are at sea level, for you beach mavens, some are above the clouds. For some more, sanctuaries like this one are among such God-given places. Woodlands and waterways, mountains and plains… for many of us, there is not just one holy place, but many. Some of them come upon us most unexpectedly.
Although acquainted with “the wilderness,” I wasn’t prepared for the vastness of that in Alaska, where about one third of the land is set aside as national park space. There is mile after mile of, well, mile after mile! It is a land that is ancient but very much alive. The earthquake of 1964 is a touchstone for every Alaskan alive on that Good Friday. The Pacific and North American “plates” continue to collide, the earth quakes regularly. In the awed silence before the Northwestern Glacier (Kenai Fjords), the remote stillness is continually interrupted by thunderous breakages of ancient ice, both within and out of eyeshot. 600-800 inches of snow are added each season, further compressing the ice to ten times its usual density. Trees and plants grow abundantly in the harshest of environs, and with them, the animals – whales and sea otters, puffins and cormorants, moose and grizzly bear and arctic hare.
In the midst of all that, my thoughts and prayers continually turned to you, and to the “place” we share, our place for rest and renewal, for mission and ministry, for hope and vision. On the last day in Alaska, a devotional resource reminded me that I had “missed” Jacob, his story that was last Sunday’s First Testament reading. Jacob, too, was in the wilderness, on the run from his past, but also drawn to a holy future, a future unknown. He spent the night by the river, using a rock for a pillow. Really? That’s what it says. No wonder he dreamed!
The dream was of a ladder that reached from the earth to heaven, and going up and down the ladder were angels of God. It was into that dream that God stepped, standing beside Jacob as he said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring… and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring.” When Jacob awoke, he said, “Surely the LORD is in this place – and I did not know it!” And then he said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” (GENESIS 28:17)
That was a fitting benediction to my time in Alaska. May it be yours in the places God has deemed holy for you. May those places be many, and may they surprise you often. May you also kneel beside Jacob and say with him,
“How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God,
and this is the gate of heaven.
Pastor Steve
A Day in the Life….July 17, 2011
July 15, 2011
It’s the dog days of summer and life around the Wesley Foundation is slow and easy. This is the time of year we turn our attention to the fall and begin thinking about programming and recruiting new students. The summer seems to fly by and it won’t be long before we will be back in action again. Prior to the students arriving, our Ministry Team, capably led by Joe Siler, Eliese Ronke, and Karla Shuford, will meet to map out the start of a new semester.
Recruiting new students is always a challenge because the start of the academic year is packed with welcoming events by the University and other student organizations. We have to find creative ways to get the word out to United Methodist students and encourage them to visit the Wesley Foundation. Once we get them in the door, we need to make them feel welcome and like they have found a place to belong. Sound familiar? We make an effort to do the same here at Fairmont when folks visit on Sunday morning.
So, I’m making a special appeal to each of you to help us make new students feel especially welcome this fall. Let’s show them that Fairmont is a special place to worship with a caring and nurturing community. Take a moment to greet those that look like college students around you. Even if they are younger or older than “traditional college age” they will still feel complimented! Welcome them to the community and encourage them to visit the Wesley Foundation. Just knowing they are surrounded by a community that is welcoming and caring will go a long way.
Here are some dates to get on your calendar and prepare for “Student Watch 2011″! New students move in the weekend of August 12-14. We can expect to see new faces popping in on the 14th. Classes start on August 17th so our “Welcome Students Lunch” will be August 21st. Please plan to stick around for lunch and dine with a student. The Wesley Foundation believes in “Gastro-Evangelism” and sharing a meal around the table is a great way to make folks feel welcome. Our first Wesley On Wednesday will be August 17th, so help us spread the word!
Fairmont is a great church with a great sense of community. We are blessed to be in partnership with you!
Kirk
Director, Raleigh Wesley Foundation
A Day in the Life…Professing Faith
July 8, 2011
For a third time, how do we mark our vitality? In recent publications (July Focus, July 3 Bulletin), I have named the three markers (metrics!) our North Carolina Conference (with others) is using: worship attendance, missional giving, and professions of faith. While I dug deep to write about the first two, this third one may be the most elusive to articulate. As I seem wont to say lately, we shall see.
It is too simple to say that everyone who joins the church is professing faith. An argument could be made, and I am, that there should also be a crucial metric for reclaiming the unchurched and profoundly de-churched, but so far, I have not prevailed. Those “professing” faith are those coming to faith, or in some cases, being restored to the faith. Our guiding document, The Discipline,* says:
“When persons unite as professing with a local United Methodist church, they profess their faith in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; in Jesus Christ his only Son, and in the Holy Spirit. Thus, they make known their desire to live their daily lives as disciples of Jesus Christ. They covenant together with God and with the members of the local church to keep the vows which are a part of the order of confirmation and reception into the Church.”
The essence of that commitment, or profession, can be found in The United Methodist Hymnal, pgs 33-39. And while we are not a “creedal” church, we are guided by The Articles of Religion of The United Methodist Church (Disc., p. 59ff).
You might be wondering by now, do we have any who profess faith! Yes! Let me offer three powerful examples. The first is “confirmation.” While we stand with the historic church (our Articles say, “The Baptism of young children is to be retained in the Church”), we offer our young people the opportunity to “say yes to” that which was promised on their behalf at baptism. At Easter, six of our young people were confirmed, one was also baptized that day (we have no upper or lower age limits!).
Second, from time to time, we welcome an adult who was baptized as an infant, but the family moved around, or somehow lost touch with the church. Recently we received such a member who professed her faith for the first time.
Third, the language of our church sometimes names those who profess faith or are “restored.” From time to time, someone leaves not only the denomination but Christian faith all together. To welcome back such a person to the church, to restore him or her, is also a time of professing faith.
With that bit of tutorial in mind, does it become any clearer how such as these are vital to the life and health of the church? I do not intend to in any way diminish those who become members of our community by transfer from other Christian denominations! There were twelve last year, eight so far this year, with many more expressing interest. Church visionaries recognize that the whole Christian movement is strengthened the most through those new to the faith, another step beyond the “moving parts!”
Who do you know who has lost touch with the church of her/his youth? Who do you know who has some questions about this whole thing and is willing to talk about it? This, too, is the task before us. How will we do? We shall see.
Pastor Steve
* The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, Abingdon, Nashville, 2008, para. 217.