Moved...

It's time for a new beginning.

The new blog: See You Sunday.

The new church website: FPCSB.

First Press - April 2011

First Press 11-04

First Press - March 2011

11-03-Press

Possibilities

On Sunday, we were visited by John Witvliet, the director of the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship. He is usually based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but for this academic year he is on a research sabbatical at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. The clever Dotti Garcia observed that this was a great opportunity, and invited him to come as a guest preacher and visit us. He seemed right at home, and it was refreshing to hear him open God’s word for us, and invite us to engage in worship that transforms our view of the Upside-Down world in which we live. It was fun to listen to him ‘think out loud’ at lunch about churches who have used their Worship Renewal Grant process as a way of deepening their connection to God and to each other. I was energized and inspired about all the possibilities.

On Monday, I went to visit Curtis Middle School, the most economically disadvantaged middle school in our district. My tour guides were member Christa Wallis, who is a district employee and member of our Adult Ed committee, and her daughter Sharon Wallis who is teaching reading intervention at the school. Christa and Sharon brought a proposal to our Session at the end of last year that First Pres experiment with providing support to Curtis as part of our ministry to our local community. What might we do, we wondered, to encourage teachers who are teaching in challenging circumstances? What might we do to help a school succeed? How might we help students become readers by the time they leave middle school- and what kind of difference might that make in their lives? Principal Marlene Bicondova is a delight- professional, warm, and compassionate. A Christian who worships in Riverside, she longs to create a safe environment where children can succeed. She dreams that they will gain 45 more points this year on their Annual Performance Index scores, so their school can break the 700 mark. She understands the profound challenges her parents and staff and children face, and says, “this is definitely my missionary field!” It has been easy to begin- having a member (Sharon) who teaches there builds a natural bridge between church members and staff. As I listened to the reality and the hopes, I was filled with a sense of possibility and promise! You will hear more on Sunday.

A week ago today, Rev. Pam Moore and a key lay leader of First Christian Church on Arrowhead Ave came and toured our church grounds. They're in the process of selling their church campus which is now much too big for them, and they hope to buy land and build a new church in the near future with the proceeds. In between, however, they will need a temporary home, and the Session approved opening conversations with them about the possibility of their worshipping in our chapel and using a classroom on Sundays and perhaps renting office space, too. Another possibility of partnership in ministry that helps us to think creatively and see ourselves and our space in new ways.

And so as we think creatively about our worship, and our space, and our outreach, we experience the Call of the One who sets us dreaming, and travels with us on every unknown road: even Jesus.

I close with one of the delights of the week. While counting the offering, we discovered an envelope that had been opened up and used as paper for a drawing- This beautiful piece of art (which I am tragically unable to upload to this blog) is unsigned, but I have a hunch the artist’s first name rhymes with ‘Capacity’. It is a cartoon of me and my colleague Eric- it hangs on my office door.

And so with laughter and love we look toward Sunday when we will gather in the presence of God and offer our praise.

Worship Renewal Events, 2010-2011

For your calendars!

Open Our Eyes

& Our Hearts:

Reclaiming Our

Creative Heritage

To learn about the worship renewal events scheduled for 2010-2011, please see our brochure and

registration form.

What a Beginning!

On Sunday, we ‘officially’ acknowledged our return from the many places we have traveled over the summer months, and we kicked off a new year of learning and life together. It was a kickoff to remember!

Dr. Elizabeth Nordquist talked with about 100 of us about Ancient Practices for Contemporary Christians, and urged us to consider the rhythm of Sabbath and Rest. What would it be like, in our 24/7 culture, if there really were times and places where we regularly experienced the joy and the restorative grace of the Holy One? She wondered with us about our current practices of Sabbath (or lack thereof!) and invited us to think about ceasing our ordinary work and activity, feasting on the good gifts God offers us, and embracing the world God loves. How wonderful it would be, and how transforming, if we could create safe places for weary pilgrims to cease and to feast and to embrace.

In worship, 15 of our number presented “The Bible in About an Hour”, which began at The Very Beginning (with Creation), and closed with Jesus’ invitation to follow. Along the way, we met the snake, sang about Noah, heard Gabriel visit Mary, and engaged stories of the prodigal and the wise and foolish builders. How wonderful it is to remember the long story of God’s work in the world, and the fact that our lives continue that story in our day.

And then five new members (not to mention their cool children!) stood before the community and affirmed their trust in God and their desire to walk with us in the way of Christ. Two of them were men who had never been baptized, and so we marked a new beginning in their lives with the sign of water and the ancient sacrament of naming and blessing them. One of them, Mark, has been an active participant in our common life for over 35 years. Though he had thought often about his faith, and was clear about his ‘belonging’ here, he had avoided being baptized in order to honor the Jewish parents who gave him birth. This fall, he found himself ready to take another step on his spiritual journey, not leaving behind his heritage, but affirming his present circumstance, and following the Spirit’s prompting to risk and trust in a new way.
How wonderful it would be if all of us, no matter how long we had been sitting in a pew or how long we had been following Jesus, felt like we could respond to God’s invitation to take new steps of faith.

After worship, two of us went to the chapel to offer prayers for healing and wholeness for those who wished them. It was a holy thing to welcome one after another, to hold before God a wide range of concerns: cancer, pre-school age children, broken relationships, crises in faith, physical pain and chronic illness. The Spirit of Jesus the healer was present, and all of us went away strengthened and encouraged. How wonderful it is to help one another experience the healing love of God.

What a beginning it was! We were The Church this weekend: Remembering The Story, taking new steps of faith, offering healing grace, and seeking God’s promised Rest! May all of these things continue to be visible in this church in the year ahead! So rise, and shine, and give God the glory, glory- And thanks be to God.

A Pilgrim Heads for Home

I spent a week on the island of Iona, off the coast of Scotland, all by myself this summer.

I went on pilgrimage, feeling called by God to a time of journeying and reflection. I went seeking to hear 'a word' from God, I went carrying a question in my heart.

It was an astonishing trip: beautiful and mysterious and lovely beyond description. I will be telling stories over and over about my holy time on the island, I am sure.

But now I am heading for home. I have one more week away, helping to lead a conference for preachers, and then I am Home for good. The work I am beginning now is the work of re-integration.

My friend, who regularly leads groups of people on pilgrimage to seek God in the wilderness, says that perhaps this is the most difficult part. It takes a long time, and there is always the danger of simply giving in to the gravitational pull of 'business as usual'.
My friend offers this question "How does the new take root, O God?"
How indeed?

When we hear a new invitation from God, when we hear a new call or catch a new vision, how do we bring it home and integrate it into our ordinary lives? When we are convinced that a change is called for, or when we are blessed with a new enthusiasm, how do we integrate it into the living of our days?

If we want to be a vital community, directed by the Spirit and responsive to the world, this is a pretty important question.

How does the new take root?

One way is with the support of those who understand, and who share your desire to live responsively, to be in tune with what the Spirit is doing.

In the ancient Celtic tradition, those who sought to be Holy had an anam chara- a "soul friend", who could help a pilgrim listen for the whispers of the Spirit, who could lend courage and support for changes, who would pray and be present to a friend who was seeking to live in God's way.
An old Gaelic saying said, "Anyone without a soul-friend is like a body without a head."

So I am grateful today for my soul friends, for those who help me listen to my experiences and hear the voice of the Spirit, who give me courage and support when I am called to make changes, and who pray for me and are present to me in a way that reminds me of God's presence and faithfulness.

I am praying too, today, that we can increasingly be a congregation of Soul Friends, who recognize and encourage in one another the Life of the Spirit, who help each other walk in the way of Jesus.

The lectionary for tomorrow, strangely enough, includes this prayer of Paul:
" ...that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.." (Eph 3:17)

How does the new take root?
Well, evidently it takes place continually, if we are willing. Christ dwells in us, and we are being rooted and grounded in love.

Thanks be to God for home, and for homecoming, and for soul friends.
May all of us bring home gifts from the Sabbath of summer.

Amen.