After the Grand Jury Decision

As I was waiting to hear the Grand Jury decision, I found myself reading scripture and praying,  I found a Psalm that is deeply precious to me, it is Psalm 46.

 

God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.^[c]

⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.

 

It is clear to me that we are in a time of trouble and that we also hold the potential to become a city who makes God glad.  So I hope that these words can bring comfort, hope, healing, and whatever else is needed you each of you personally as well as for our community.  We are not alone and God is helping.

 

One of the things that I deeply cherish about the people of Lafayette Park is that we can be on two opposite sides of a situation and still roll up our sleeves and serve God together.  It is one of the reasons that each Sunday I say, “Christ is our peace who has broken down the walls that divide us so we are no longer strangers we are family.”  Every family has members who see issues one way or the other and they talk them through (sometimes with loud voices and frustrations) however, they know that they can talk the issues through because the bond of love is stronger than the disparity of view point.  I am so proud of the bond of love we have for one another and God at Lafayette Park UMC.

 

As we walk together through this time after the Grand Jury decision, we all have many feelings, denial, fear, anger, hope, loneliness, sadness, and so many more that I can’t even begin to name.  There are a few things that I hope we can remember.

 

1. There are honorable people on all sides of this issue.
2. There are police and national guards who are working hard to provide safety in a tenuous atmosphere.
3. There are people who need to cry out for a change and they have a right to protest.
4. There is a difference between those who protest and those who commit crimes.
5. Those who commit crimes often try to hide in the midst of those who are trying to peacefully protest.
6. Truth and Light will reveal the intentions of each one’s heart by their actions.

There are a couple of churches that in the areas where these is the most unrest.  These churches have agreed to extend their hours in ministry to the community.  They provide a safe spot for people who live in the area to be safe, to have prayer and counseling, to provide drinks and food for those who do not feel safe to be in their own homes.  They are not places that are harboring people who want to do criminal acts.  Maria has forwarded an email of various items they need to help support the people who are living at ground zero in our community.

 

I am available to pray, talk, visit with you during this time.  It doesn’t matter what you think my view point or your view point is on this situation, we can join together in prayer for truth, light, healing, and a vision that helps our community truly become one that is built upon God’s foundation of peace, truth, grace, and love.

 

I hold you in my prayers and give thanks to God for the amazing people of Lafayette Park.  I hope that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I look forward to seeing you Sunday as we begin Advent and we wait for the coming of Christ, Emmanuel, God with us.

 

Deep peace of Christ be with you.

 

Pastor Kathleen

Pumpkin Patch Our Outreach Ministry

I thought working in the patch would be mostly about setting it up and working each day to sell pumpkins and pumpkin foods.  I was wrong. It was much, much more.

So many interesting people came to visit.  Some were looking for pumpkins. Others were looking for more. 

There was a man who told me his pastor wasn't helpful to him and asked if I knew of a "good pastor."  Another young couple said they always admired the church building and wondered if they could be married here. Many children came and shrieked with delight as they found the "front door" of the patch designed by Steve Weurth. Some kids practiced their math skills by helping me count the prices of the pumpkins they chose.

A grandfather named Michael brought his 10 grandchildren. They had planned to go to a place in Illinois.  When his son needed surgery and chemo for throat cancer at Barnes, they came here instead.  (He went away with a gift of a beautiful pumpkin from all or us at LPUMC for his son, along with our prayers for his recovery.)

Some came from out of town to visit their families in Lafayette Square. I could see they were pleased when they learned where the money we raised went and how the Navajo and Hopi in New Mexico were helped to earn a livelihood by 2100 churches across the U.S. who hold patches and sell their pumpkins every year.

Some days Patrick just came by to take a break from his duties and we had a chance to enjoy the afternoon sun and a cup of coffee together.

One day I realized this was a ministry as much as it was a fund raiser. Maybe God didn't see it the way we all do.  Maybe God saw it as a way to give and receive love and fellowship and support and laughter to each other, to friends and to strangers who now were no longer strangers.

As someone said:  "God comes to us disguised as our life." I think God spend most of October in the parking lot.

Michael Desmond

A Prayer For Ferguson

by Assistant Pastor Dan Shanks
Call to Worship - 8/17/2014

For those who have seen their lives torn apart by violence of all kinds

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For the family of Michael Brown, his friends and his community.

For all those who grieve the loss of life tragically ended.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For those who believe the only response to violence is more violence,

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For those people of faith willing to step out and to lead in times of trouble.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For those who look at a situation from a distance, neglecting to get  involved or too easily passing judgment.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For those in positions of power who work for reconciliation and justice.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For those who hold places of authority but have abused that power towards unjust ends,

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For the people of Ferguson and of St. Louis, city and county—north and south, east and west,

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Easter Greetings

As I have been thinking and praying about what to write in this Easter letter, I found that my experience this past fall kept invading my thoughts. As many of you know, I encountered a heart attack on Oct. 11 of last year. On Oct. 12 it was revealed that I had two blocked arteries. One artery was blocked at 95% and a stent was placed in that artery immediately. I remember feeling a great sensation of when the blood began to go through my body. Life began racing through my body and it was an amazing feeling. I had no idea that my arteries were blocked and impacting my health. On Nov. 21, I received a second stent and now I have no blockages in my heart and I am on my journey to health and wholeness.

In many ways, I believe I had an Easter experience last October. I hadn’t realized that my life and health were in jeopardy. In some ways, the blockage in my heart was like the stone placed upon Christ’s tomb. I experienced the miraculous power of God’s healing through a trained and caring medical team. I also experienced the sustaining grace and love of God through my faith community, you, the people of Lafayette Park UMC. These two experiences transformed my life. I now find that things that used to cause me to lose sleep at night no longer have power over me because in truth they are not life and death issues. They are things that no one will think about or even remember in a month or two.

I realize now that even though I have always considered myself an Easter person I haven’t really lived an Easter life. An Easter life is one that approaches each day knowing that we have already died and are living a resurrected life. Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in Christ who loved me and gave himself for me.” Each day I try to learn more about how to walk around in a healthy body empowered by God. It will be a long journey because I am a Methodist and, as Wesley invites us to do, I am going on to Christian Perfection.

In coming weeks I would like to request a few things for you to consider. First please join us this Sunday, March 25, after worship for a special gratitude fellowship from the Wilders. It is our humble way of trying to say thank you for all of the prayers, meals, rides, gifts, and amazing ways you have supported our family.

Secondly as we approach Easter, reflect on ways that you might be living as I was living, blocked and worrying about things that no one will remember in a month. What are the ways that you too can live in the power of a resurrected life? What habits or thought patterns need to shift to transform your life?

Our Easter offering this year will go to the restoration of the large east stained glass window. At the writing of this letter, we have over $39,000 towards our goal of $60,000 to restore the window. This restoration will give new life to our window and increase the quality of life in our sanctuary. It will care for the window for the next 100 years.

I pray that whatever you do in the next few weeks you may also experience the transforming miraculous power of Easter in your life.
Blessings,

Pastor Kathleen

What Lent Means To Me - 4/1/2012

This is the fifth in a series that will be included in the Sunday Bulletin each week during Lent.

by Cindy Pillow

There were tables in the shape of 3 large crosses, hot cross buns and hot tea. You must behave yourself. You are eating with at least 50 elderly women. There is a Sacrificial Breakfast at church. What fun??? Why call it “Good Friday”, Jesus DIED today. A program that is especially boring for children. Oh no, those are not
raisins in the hot cross buns, it’s that nasty candied fruit, I wonder if I can hide it under my plate?

Dying eggs, new shoes and what’s for Easter dinner? Oh, my it’s Lent, “What should I give up?” Maybe it should be soda, ice cream or CHOCOLATE? Where can I get Easter crosses for the Easter Baskets? No candy for the child with braces. While in a hurry to prepare for Easter the season of Lent is delegated to a mild inconvenience of remembering to deny myself a pleasure, but God’s love is never denied to us.

Now, repentance, self denial and gratitude from Ash Wednesday to Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. We should not be giving up but giving more. I should be giving my time for a letter of thanks or praise of a job well done. Giving my abilities to listen, lead or create. What more can I give when Jesus gave it all?