The Wilder View - December 2010

Isn’t it amazing how things change so quickly? Yesterday we were walking around in short sleeves enjoying one more day of Indian summer in St. Louis, and today we are wearing sweatshirts. It seems to me that this year has been a year of extremes. We have experienced great joy as we have grown as a church in our faith walk and in our mission outreach. We have experienced significant pain in walking with each other through sickness, death, and loss of employment. We have shared laughter at the wonderful things that God is doing in our midst, and we have shared tears at the challenges of friends losing jobs, and home.

I confess there have been times this year when I have said, “God, I am ready for it to get easier,” only to find that the next day offers an even greater challenge. There have also been times when I have felt so overwhelmed I couldn’t even make my brain think. And then there have been times when I have said, “God, I can’t take any more of this because it is just so wonderful.” And then the next day offers an even greater blessing from God. Maybe you can relate to those feelings and how quickly everything can change.

There is a popular Christian song called ‘Blink’ by a group call Revived. I think the words of this song can be especially meaningful for us as we embark into a season of holidays and end of the year reflection.

Teach me to number my days
And count every moment before it slips away
Taking in all the colors before they fade to gray,
I don't want to miss even just a second more of this.

When it's all said and done
No one remembers how far we have run
The only thing that matters is how we have loved
I don't want to miss even just a second more of this.

Slow down, slow down
Before today becomes our yesterday
Slow down, slow down
Before you turn around and it's too late.

It happens in a blink,
It happens in a flash
It happens in the time it took to look back
I try to hold on tight but there's no stopping time
What is it I've done with my life
It happens in a blink.

By the time you receive this newsletter we will have celebrated Thanksgiving Day. You might find yourself joyfully looking forward to all of the festivities of the season, or find yourself wanting hide in solitude. No matter how we feel, God is present with us and will sustain us through our joys and sadness’s. I invite you to take time this Advent season to stop and listen to God’s Spirit in your life, so that you don’t miss the beauty that is around you before it flashes by.

Peaceful Advent
~Pastor Kathleen

Wilder View - December 2009

Luke 2:7 …and she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

It wasn’t a special day. I was living out my normal schedule. Running from one meeting to another, making phone calls as I traveled, and thinking about the things I needed to do in the free moments at stop lights. I pulled up to the church. Really quick now, I told myself, “you need to get in, get out, pick up ____, ____, ___, and get to the next place. Hurry!”
Then this verse came to my head. “…there was no room for them in the inn.” Wow, what an odd verse to run through my head when I am thinking about getting things accomplished. After all it isn’t even Thanksgiving yet! Why am I already thinking about Christmas? (maybe because it was getting close to the deadline for this article?)

“…there was no room for them in the inn.” The words came to me again. Hmm, I wonder… no, gotta fly, people are waiting on me. I need to get in, get out, and go.

“…there was no room for them in the inn.” Once again, these words floated through my mind. Finally I realized that it was probably the Holy Spirit working on me. So I stopped just a moment and wondered… could it be possible that there was no room in my inn? Well at least in my day? Wait a minute, I already had my personal devotional and prayer time, God; I made room for you this morning…what do you mean, there is no room?

Yet those words swirled around me once again.

My friends, we are entering a time when the world just gets faster and faster. Our calendars are getting fuller and fuller. Our commitments are becoming greater and greater, and maybe, just maybe, we are not making room for the real meaning of Christmas. Maybe the ‘inn’ is the place in our daily lives that we stop to invite the Christ child to help us see the world from the perspective of innocence and fun. How much room have we set aside in our calendar to experience the wonder of birth and life? How much room do we have in our day to be quiet and reflect upon the joy of God’s greatest gift?

This advent, I invite you to stop and intentionally make room…make room in your day; make room in your schedule, and in your life to encounter Emmanuel, God with us!

Happy Advent!
~Pastor Kathleen

Time with Sharon: Finding Hope

December 2009

Said the night wind to the little lamb, “Do you see what I see?
Way up in the sky, little lamb, do you see what I see?
A star, a star, dancing in the night, with a tail as big as a kite.”

It was back in October, 1962, and the Soviet Union and the United States were involved in a crisis centered on missiles the Russians had installed in Cuba. The United States threatened military action if the missiles were not removed. The world trembled and prayed as these two nuclear powers stood eyeball-to-eyeball.

That October, as Noel Regney walked through the streets of New York, a sense of despair was everywhere. No one smiled. Everybody hung on the words of the radio newscasters, waiting, waiting, waiting, to learn if the security that they had known was on the verge of being obliterated.

Noel knew something about war and fear of death. Forced to serve in the German army during WWII, he secretly also served the French resistance, risking his life many times as he shared German plans for harm with the French freedom fighters.

Years later, he and his wife, Gloria, living in New York, worked as a song-writing team. Christmas was approaching, and Noel had been asked to write a holiday song. In this time of thick tension and cold fear, he could not muster any enthusiasm or inspiration.

Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy, “Do you hear what I hear?
Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy, Do you hear what I hear?
A song, a song, high above the tree with a voice as big as the sea.”

But then one day walking home, he saw two mothers with their babies giggling at each other from their strollers. Their joy transformed him, and filled his heart with poetry. The little ones reminded him of newborn lambs, and he began to muss, “Said the night wind to the little lamb....”As soon as Noel arrived home, he jotted down the lyrics, and Gloria set them to music.
I am struck how this story pivots on a peek into the world of God’s reign of tenderness and goodness, even in the midst of external fear and turmoil. While the East coast sat in the sights of a belligerent world power, God was revealed in the goofy, gurgling delight of children. Hope sprung forth for this songwriter, even as it did 2000 years ago for those who, beleaguered by their lives of poverty and oppression, gazed upon the Messiah child.

Our own era has known some major turbulence this past year too. There is certainly fear, for shrinking saving accounts, another rent check due, and the potential of impending illness. People are still hurting each other in our neighborhoods, in our cities, even in our service bases. There is no shortage of bullies, big and small. But during this season, we are reminded that God is still with us…and will show up in the most amazing places in the least likely container. Who could have imagined that he would choose to present himself where the cows and donkeys were stabled, as the baby of politically and economically invisible parents?

Said the king to the people everywhere, “Listen to what I say!
Pray for peace, people, everywhere, listen to what I say!
The Child, The Child sleeping in the night, He will bring us goodness and light,
He will bring us goodness and light.”

As we await the celebration of the birth of Emmanuel, we are reminded that Hope is still alive through God’s presence with us. We are never alone, not ever. God’s purposes for healing and wholeness for us continue, even in the face of our present difficulties. Look into the sweet face of a child, and yet again, see the hope for tomorrow revealed. Find the truth on which we may take comfort…

“He will bring us goodness and light.”

May God’s peace and grace be upon you in this season of waiting,
Pastor Sharon

From the Wilder View - December 2008

As I write this article Thanksgiving is still a few days away. Yet, it has already begun in my home. Has it started in yours? If you have children, you know what I am talking about. “Mom, I know what I want for Christmas.” “Could I have a (insert fantasy gift here) for Christmas?” “Mom, I just have to have a … for Christmas.” And on and on it goes. It isn’t even Thanksgiving yet and the Christmas wish list is already growing very long!

In a matter of days, the rush of our materialistic world will come crashing in on us and we will start the quest to find the perfect Christmas gift for everyone we care about. The stress of the current economic situation in our world will become magnified. We just have to find the perfect gift!!! I’d like to suggest an idea for this year. Take a moment and give your heart to those you care about. Write them a letter, or sing them a song, or make a special dish. Do we really need one more thing that eventually will end up in the church’s boutique? (Of course the UMW ladies will gladly receive all unwanted gifts for their rummage sale scheduled for January 31st.)

I am reminded of a Christmas Carol, “In the bleak midwinter.” It is one of my favorite carols, but it isn’t sung very often.

When I was a younger woman at Centenary it seemed that whenever this hymn was scheduled to be sung in worship we would have a horrible snow storm and only a very few people would make it to church that day. It isn’t that I am superstitious but, I have to admit that I am somewhat reluctant to schedule it for us sing, just in case it really does cause blizzards. The third verse in the carol is my favorite. “What shall I give him, poor as l am? If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb. If I were a wise man, I would do my part. What I can, I give him; give him my heart.”

And that is exactly what I think is on God’s wish list for this Christmas…not the fancy new games, or toys, or jewelry, or gift cards. Just something simple that each of us can give no matter the status of our bank account. God would just like our heart.

May this Advent season be full of the giving of your heart to God and to those you love. I bet that you will find it to be one of your best Advent seasons ever.

Blessings on your journey.
Pastor Kathleen

Time with Sharon: The Drama of Advent

The Drama of Advent, What are we waiting for?
December 2008

This year, the Season of Advent begins November 30th. Similar to how businesses start their fiscal years on January 1st, Advent is the theological start of the Church Year for most churches in the Western tradition. It runs for four Sundays before Christmas Day, and ends at midnight on Christmas Eve.

Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, of preparation…and of longing, not unlike getting ready for the arrival of a cherished, long-awaited visitor to your home. Spiritually, there is a yearning for deliverance from the evils of the world, first expressed by Israelite slaves in Egypt over 3000 years ago as they cried out from their bitter oppression. It is grounded in the hope that was once anticipated by our Hebrew ancestors, and now experienced anew in our day, of the reign of an Anointed One, a Messiah, who will bring peace and justice to the world. Today, we still long for God’s Kingdom to come, when God’s will shall be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Through the four Sundays of Advent, the excitement builds as our anticipation grows for the coming of the Christ Child. We traditionally begin the First Sunday with the Hanging of the Green, decorating the Sanctuary with evergreen wreaths, boughs, and a tree twinkling with lights that help to symbolize the new and everlasting life brought through Jesus the Christ. Each Sunday, a candle of the Advent Wreath is lit, and the emphasis moves from hope, to peace, joy, and then love. On Christmas Eve, the Christ Candle is lit, and the light of Christ breaks through the darkness to bring new light to the world!

Just as we prepare the Sanctuary, the experience of each week in worship is important in our soul’s preparation. Together, we will study the ancient scriptures, share the music of the season, and eat lots of Christmas cookies. All are invited to give the Christ Child gifts of warm hats and mittens shared with our neighbors, gifts of clothes and toys for the families of the south city through Kingdom House, and a delicious meal for the ladies of Shalom House. If you miss even one week, you will miss out on the joy of learning, decorating, sharing, munching, and giving that are the hallmarks of this special season of the year. I challenge you to make it your Advent gift to yourself and others to be present in worship every Sunday during Advent and to participate in the sharing the light of the world during our Christmas Eve Worship Service.

What are we waiting for? We’re waiting for God. Be there.

Peace be with you,
Pastor Sharon