Time With Sharon . . . New Beginnings

May 2008

May is a month of new beginnings. Usually, there is a slew of graduations to recognize, and this year, we have those in our congregation who will be celebrating the completion of a course of study of one sort or another. Their books will be shut, tears shed, goodbyes said, and their thoughts will turn toward what lies next in their future.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this idea of new beginnings. I think about how God is always shaping and transforming us, and how we often feel that shaping as a new beginning. There’s a hymn that keeps running through my head which holds this verse:

This is a day of new beginnings,
time to remember and move on, time to
believe what love is bringing,
laying to rest the pain that’s gone. *

As the author suggests, new beginnings are not always the result of happy celebrations. Many times they are born of pain and struggle, like the healing of a wound, the loss of a loved one, a decision to break free, or a conclusion reached with tremendous difficulty. I am reminded of the scriptural story in Jeremiah of the potter’s house (Jer. 18.1-6). The prophet was told by God to go on down to the potter’s house and await there for the Lord’s message. And so, he went, and there he watched as the potter worked on forming a pot on the wheel. But something went awry with that pot. Maybe there was an imperfection in the clay, or the wheel didn’t turn evenly. At any rate, the pot went to pot, and was spoiled. But even as the prophet watched, the potter gathered up the clay and threw it once again upon the wheel, forming it into a new, sturdy, useful creation. The lesson for the prophet Jeremiah, and for us, is that God is like the potter….forever offering transformation to us, with the hope of a new life…a new beginning.

If you are experiencing the sadness of an ending and the trepidation of a new tomorrow, sort of like a graduation from what you’ve know before and stepping in to the unknown, take comfort that God is the Master Potter, and in God’s hands, our lives will take a fresh shape…and we too can celebrate a new beginning.

Christ is alive, and goes before us,
to show and share what love can do.
This is a day of new beginnings;
our God is making all things new!

I look forward to seeing you Sunday,

Pastor
Sharon

*This Is The Day Of New Beginnings, Words by Brian Wren,
1978; Music by Carlton R. Young, 1984. Hope Publishing Co, 1987.

The Wilder View - April 2008

I am writing this article in the middle of March Madness (basketball season finals). I have not been much of a basketball fan in the past; however, I have found an interest in learning more about it because of Andy’s participation in the sport. As I have been learning about the game I have (you know me) begun to realize that theology is all around us…even in basketball. So I would like to share a few theological insights that I have received while watching basketball.

• Everyone has a common goal, which is getting the ball in the basket. As Christians we are encouraged to have a common goal of “seeking first the Kingdom of God.” If we live and work together with a common goal, we will find that we can accomplish so much more as a faith community than as individuals.
• Teamwork is valued – everyone has a role, purpose, and function. We are reminded that we are the body of Christ and that each one of us has unique and special spiritual gifts that enable and equip us to do the work of God. We can’t do it alone, we have to work together.
• There is accountability – the referees will blow a whistle if you double dribble, or travel, or other things. (They have hand signals for all that stuff.) In life we are also held accountable for our spiritual formation. We don’t have people blowing whistles around us when we get off the path, but we do have friends that hold us in prayer and invite us to grow in our faith walk.
• It is normal to foul occasionally – it happens in the middle of the heat of the game when someone might just do something that is considered a foul. The reality is that in our daily faith journey we can foul as well. Maybe we say something that is hurtful, or unthinking, or we bump into something or step on someone’s toes without being aware. We create fouls as we live out our daily lives as normal human beings.
• There are moments for reconciliation after a foul through a free throw shot (I think that is what it is called) and the game goes on. It might be a good example of how we can live out forgiveness in our midst. Name the foul, find a way to find justice, and then move on with life.
• Slow the game down – sometimes the speed of the game can get so fast that the players are playing ‘out of control’ and then the team isn’t able to get the right shot in and they aren’t thinking as clearly. There is a signal that someone makes that says, slow down the pace. It makes me wonder if sometimes God might be giving us a signal to say, slow down a little. It’s like God is saying, “I know everything is running pretty fast, but you are not functioning at the level that I created you to be.” Take a few moments, breathe, get in touch with the rest of the team, listen to your coach (the Holy Spirit) and move along at a better pace for the person he created you to be.

Ok, I know some might think it is a character flaw in me that I can’t go anywhere, or do anything without seeing God involved. Maybe it isn’t a character flaw…maybe it’s a blessing…at any rate, whatever it is, I invite you to just think about some of the lessons we can learn from our daily activities…lessons that might help us grow as individuals, and as a faith community…lessons that might help us make the world better place for all of us. Remember, God is all around us and God is constantly trying to communicate God’s plan for our lives. Who knows where we can find lessons from God next? Could it be in a grocery store, or a classroom at school, or possibly doing simple chores around the house? I guess our challenge is to look to see God, listen to hear God, and learn to serve God.

Glory Be to God,

Pastor Kathleen

Time With Sharon…Now what do we do?

April 2008

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

Easter is over…and Pentecost, with its fury of fire and outpouring of the Spirit’s unbridled power is still weeks away. We are passing through a strange time, called Eastertide in the early church, and it is a peculiar place to be. We aren’t quite ready to launch into the regular flow of ministry, with our new found passion and fever just yet. It seems emotionally, and metaphorically, we are left standing with our mouths gaping wide open, wondering, “What just happened here?”Over the days of Holy Week, we experienced the poignant last teachings of Jesus, his bloody and cruel sacrifice, and the miraculous resurrection of Christ to new life. But now the festivities are over; the company gone home, the ham leftovers eaten up, and the plastic eggs stored back in the attic. We are like the early Christians, who sat in their Upper Room, some still dazed from the raw experiences of that week of passion, wondering what to do, with what we know, now that we know it.

And what do we know? That Jesus was dead. Good and dead. Not flickering an eyelash, cold and blue dead. And then Christ was alive. In full living color, walking around, traveling and talking to folk, blessing, spirit-instilling, and cooking-them-fish-on-the-beach-for-breakfast kind of alive. How can this be? Because God has the power to bring new life to dead things.

In fact, God delights in bringing renewed vigor to the places in our world and in our lives that seem dead. We witness this miracle every spring when we see the green shoots boring their way through a cover of brown leaves in the flower beds. Imagine that maybe this could be your life, right now. If some part of your life is sloppy brown and dirt dead, God’s power can make the living sap start running again, producing green vitality that leads to new blooms. God can do it. God has done it. God will do it again.So what do we do with what we know, now that we know it? Believe it. Own it. Live it. Share it.

Once, during this same in-between time, I sat with a dear friend who felt like there was nothing more for which to live. I wasn’t sure how to offer him hope. I could have reminded him of his children who still needed their dad. I thought of ragging on him that his presence with us at church had been sorely missed. But none of those things seemed to touch the power of the truth that we had just lived through during Holy Week. Finally I whispered, “God makes life new. I don’t know how, but I know it, and you know it too.” I whispered it, not because I didn’t want the people around us to hear our conversation, but because it seemed like such a sacred and holy message. I didn’t trust my voice to say it with all the meaning that I meant it to have. It was too big. Perhaps my whisper would convey the utter importance of these words of hope.

Soon the Spirit’s power will bust forth, emboldening our voices to stand and shout from the rooftops. But now, while we are still saturated in a sense of shock and awe, let us share, even in a whisper, with great rounded eyes of wonder, what we have experienced to those who need to hear it. God has the power to bring new life to dead things. We know it. Tell someone.

Grace and peace,
Sharon

The Wilder View - March 2008

I think it was my first Lent at Lafayette Park UMC that I realized the depth of Jesus’ words, “I have come that they might have abundant life.” You see for many years my focus during Lent was on the death and suffering of Christ. Suddenly I got it; my focus shouldn’t have been on the death but rather the life of Christ! The purpose of Lent was to look at the places of death in my life and to receive the power of Christ’s life in my own life. I suddenly realized that the real purpose for Lent was to prepare us for Easter. Not the Easter that is filled with bunnies, candy, and special clothes and hats, but the Easter of life! The Easter in which we truly grasp the power of God in our lives – the power that transcends death! For us to experience that power of God intimately, moving and living in our life. For us to know with confidence that there is nothing that can separate us from God’s love. It is through this experience of Easter that we are equipped to find meaning and purpose in our daily lives.

The challenge for us now, as a Church, is that we have experienced so many resurrections over the last few years that they might feel a bit common place. Remember the miracle of becoming cash positive, and the tower climb? Or the miracle of getting the west stained glass window restored. What about the miracle of paying our apportionments for the first time in many decades? Or getting the carpet installed. Or the VIM trips to Juarez, and New Orleans (the way God provided the roofer and the roofing materials was a miracle.) Or the fact that our worship attendance has grown from the low 80’s to 111 last year. Truly God is doing miracles at Lafayette Park. God is showing us how to powerfully live out our faith. Yet, I believe that God would have us experience more miracles. God is using our church to help other churches grow stronger. God is using our church to transform our community. God is using our church to make us stronger disciples for Christ. Truly we are focusing on the life of Christ and the joy that his life brings to us.

It is my hope that during this season of Lent you will take the time to prepare yourself to experience the power of resurrection in your life. That by spending time in reflection or by taking on spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, meditation, journaling, or even just sitting in God’s presence you may find the Easter that releases you to experience the power of God’s life and love in your life, for nothing can stop God’s love for you…not even death.

Happy Easter,

Pastor Kathleen

Time With Sharon…Clothed in Christ Jesus

March 2008

As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free,
there is no longer males and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”
Galatians 3:27-8

In the month of March, we will be celebrating another Confirmation class at LPUMC. The confirmation experience is a process of growth and introspection...a time of learning about God, about ourselves, and about the United Methodist tradition. Most importantly, it is a time of decision for our young folk.

In the early church, (I mean the church formed in the first 150 years after Jesus walked among us...not the 8:00am service), those preparing to take their vow of membership went through an extended time of instruction in the sacred rites and rituals, of learning the gospel accounted of Jesus and his ministry, death, and resurrection, and of prayerful meditation. Then as the day of their inauguration into the church neared, they would fast and pray, and others would join them in the final stretch. Then, often on Easter morning, these persons would don a robe, which they would drop before entering the pool (don’t get too excited-men baptized men, and women tended to women), and be baptized into “new Life”; Paul described it like putting on the clothes of Christ. Then the newly-baptized would join the faithful in sharing the bread and the cup at Christ’s Table of Grace.

Over the last 8 weeks, our Confirmands have been learning and exploring too. Together, we have explored the character of God, the wisdom and truth found in holy scripture, the elegance of the sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion, and how the way we live our lives can (if we so choose) carry on Jesus’ ministry of compassion and justice. We have come to know about the passion of John Wesley to help people experience the grace of God through reading scripture, prayer, worship, and Christian dialogue. We’ve talked about what we do in worship and why we do it. We’ve met with Bishop Schnase and heard his personal testimony, joined with our Jewish neighbors at Central Reformed Community to experience the worship of our spiritual ancestors, and served our neighbors supper at Centenary UMC.

Yup. We have been exploring what it means to be followers of Christ...and more particularly, to be United Methodist Christians.

As infants, some were baptized into the faith of their parents, and it was the adults and the church congregation who took the vows of discipleship. Now it is our Confirmands’ turn. On March 30th, these young folk will be given the opportunity to stand before their congregations of choice (Lafayette Park and Centenary), and make for themselves the promises of the heart. They will declare whom they will call “Lord” of their lives. And they will choose with whom they will continue their faith journey moving forward, promising to support The United Methodist Church with their prayers, presence, gifts, and service.

As members of the church, I invite you, just as the members of the early church were, to be in active prayer for these young people as they complete their studies, and meditate on God’s claim on their lives. As we do this, may we be reminded what it means in our own faith journey to be “clothed in Christ”. Do Christ’s clothes still fit? Hmmmm....

- Pastor Sharon