This Week 5-29-08

Well, it was quite a weekend!

In spite of wildly unseasonable weather (snow?! Who has snow on Memorial Day ???) about 80 of us gathered to celebrate being Family, and to celebrate God’s presence with us.

Kids threw slushballs at each other with glee, adults sipped coffee and had spacious conversations. We made T-shirts and tiaras and beeswax candles and journals and friendship bracelets, we prayed together in morning watch and at vespers.

Stevie Earp played his guitar until we were done singing, (I am amazed his fingers didn’t fall off) and we had races and balloon games and all manner of silliness.

We were conscious of things that had changed since last year- folk like Paul and Bill who were no longer with us- and were grateful for the gift of life and togetherness.

One of the things I love best about family camp is the way we create worship together- taking responsibility for acting out scripture or making the sermon visible, the way that we sing and share in the prayers, the way children and adults together take leadership in bringing us before the Holy. Celebrating communion in such an informal setting is full of tenderness and genuineness, an affirmation that we come as we are, and Jesus welcomes us and sends us out as his own. “No longer do I call you servants, but I call you friends...”

This weekend I am the retreat speaker for the women of Upland Pres, and their candidate for ministry Lee Ireland will preach at FPCSB. I will miss you.

Peace-
Sandy

p.s.- the great photos above are courtesy of Dale Showman!

This Week

5-22-08 This Week At First Pres

They stood before us, full of life and purpose, singing “God, don’t give up on us...”

The witness of our students on Sunday demonstrates to me that God has not, in fact, given up on us. Nor on the world God loves. Nor on the future.

Youth Sunday was full of joy, of movement, of music, and of tears. No one in the congregation, regardless of their age, left untouched. It was clear that the Presence was in our midst, that we were witnessing a work of the Spirit.

We were called to care for Creation in all its variety and beauty and wildness.

We heard the scripture in many voices, ‘and it was good’.

We were invited to sing in the style of 50’s pop (“singing doo-wah-ditty-ditty-dum-ditty doo”)

And to move with uncharacteristic energy (“Do you want a Revolution?”)

We were led to pray for justice and for freedom, that all God’s children might live: here, and in Myanmar, and in China.

We were reminded that when you fall, it’s possible to get up, that the path of Christ is ‘awesome’.

We heard about how God is present in the great outdoors, and in cancer treatment and in grief.

We bore witness to how a loss can be a beginning, the start of ‘a new relationship’ between God and us.

I was struck by the way that the teenagers in this congregation trust the adults, and are willing and able to tell the truth- there is a great deficit of such trust in the world.

I was moved by the fact that they seem to think they are more likely to find God in the real stuff of life, even the hard and painful parts, than in a varnished fairy tale of other-worldly spirituality. This is a pretty valuable faith-lesson for our seniors to know as they prepare to launch. Where is Jesus when their whole world changes? Right beside them, no matter where they find themselves.

Days later, I am touched by the privilege of walking the road of discipleship with them.

This weekend we head for Family Camp. Polly, whose dad died suddenly a couple of weeks ago, said to me with great passion that she treasures the years she spent there, that they have become a deep part of who she is as an adult, she recalls them with ‘huge joy’. Her baby is due in a few weeks. Maybe, she says, next year, she will come again, and sing around the campfire with the rest of us. Until then, she wishes us well.

Let us, then, remember that each day is a gift from God. Let’s share the gift, and savor it. See you in the mountains-

5-16-08 This Week at First Pres

'In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit….' Acts 2:17-18

It is the season of Pentecost, and all around I am seeing signs of God's Spirit poured out on this people! In a flurry of wind chimes and crepe paper and the flutter of wings we celebrated Pentecost Sunday with abandon, I am still grinning as I remember the amount of laughter and depth we shared in worship (and the amount of crepe-paper there was to clean up!)

- This morning, daily bread has been given to twelve dozen families in our community. They have been blessed by the hands and hearts of volunteers led by the Spirit, who are doing discipleship together.

- I couldn't help noticing the crisp look of the fresh white paint, blue trim, and power-washed brick of our sanctuary. The stewardship committee has made that happen (especially Dale), and the project was paid for by gifts to the campaign we called 'A Lot of Work'. I think we meant that there was a lot of deferred maintenance to do, but today I think "We need fresh paint and a safe parking lot- we have a lot of work to do, and we need welcoming space in which to do it!"

- The Spirit has been poured out on our youth, and the young men and daughters of this congregation are ready to lead us in creative and energetic worship on Youth Sunday! I can hardly wait!

- And look! We have a new website!!! The Spirit has been poured out on the multi-talented Jennifer Butler, who has created this beautiful resource to keep us connected and to invite new friends in.

I am particularly moved by all of this, since I was under the weather and missed a couple of days of work this week. But look! The Spirit never falters, the Body of Christ is Creative, and the work of ministry springs up all around!

Remember to pray for our 7 confirmation students: Trevor, Jacob, Matt, Zane, Christian, Grant, and Bethany. They begin writing their statements of faith Sunday, trying to wrap words around what they believe, who they want to follow, and how they want to live. Pray that the Spirit of God will be poured out on them, that they will see visions and dream dreams- and be empowered to make them come true.

See you on Sunday~

Sandy