Memorable events in 2007 for Creator Lutheran Church

Since Pastor Dayle’s email about the blog I have received comments and expressions of support from the congregation. This blog apparently serves purposes outside of being a personal repository for my observations of this church’s activities. Given that I invite you again to please feel free to comment on posts or add your own posts to this blog. Simply click on the Comments link available under each posting to do this.

I especially make this invitation to comment given the subject today, Creator Lutheran’s 2007 Year in Review. Please feel free to add what you found memorable during the year.

December 2, 2007 marked the 20th anniversary of Creator’s first worship service. More 20th anniversary celebrations will happen in 2008. Hearing the stories of how Creator assembled for the first time from people who were there was fascinating during the anniversary service. How members of Creator consciously, creatively and courageously moved the life of this church forward was inspiring.

Those were years of establishing the congregation and, later, building the physical structure for the church. This was a year of recognizing and deepening Creator’s relationship to the community around us, to our cluster, to our synod and to the ELCA as a whole.

Creator participated in the last annual Cross Walk for our ELCA Oregon Trail Cluster. This was a unique ministry where church members and pastors followed a pre-planned route and carried a cross in a local neighborhood on Palm Sunday. This year Colton was the chosen neighborhood.

There was also a Synod Assembly and a Churchwide Assembly this year that both made decisions with definite impacts on Creator.

The Synod elected a new Bishop, Dave Brauer-Rieke. Besides members of Creator stepping up in important ways to take part in his installation ceremony, the Brauer-Rieke family are now active members in our congregation.

The congregation appeared more cognizant of Synod events like Living Faithfully and Stewards of Abundance this year than in the past. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds in 2008.

Highlights of the ELCA Churchwide Assembly included: the re-election of Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson and the election of Secretary David Swartling; The approval of the Book of Faith: Lutherans Read the Bible initiative (the Book of Faith emails have encouraged fresh readings of the Bible for me, you can subscribe through the Oregon Synod website) and the assembly did take action to pray, urge, and encourage the leadership of the ELCA to "refrain from or demonstrate restraint in disciplining" pastors and other rostered leaders who are "in a mutual, chaste, and faithful committed same-gender relationship".

Many memories of Creator for 2007 for me were bound to that last Churchwide Assembly highlight. Pastor Dayle preached in January about Pastor Brad Schmeling who, because he is a gay man living in a partnered relationship, fell out of compliance with the standards the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America set forth in Visions and Expectations which require chastity in singleness and fidelity in marriage.

The Gospel for that Sunday was Luke 4:14-21 which describes Jesus’ mission:

To bring good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind… and to let the oppressed go free.

Pastor Dayle made a powerful connection with the Gospel lesson and the charges against Pr. Schmeling and the ecclesiastical trial that began in January.

Creator now has an RIC team with a mission to discern Creator’s openness and welcome to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people. I believe we will understand more about how to be welcoming as a church when we are truly engaged in this process.

There was intention, spirituality, personal growth and a devotion to work in Outreach this year at Creator. Nancy launched the Back Pack Buddies program; donations to the Oregon Food Bank continued, shepherded by the Hunger Awareness Team. Pastor Mark championed our adoption of the Ntira-nya-bagira family we are now helping, who are refugees from Barundi Many members were involved in Habitat for Humanity projects.

We said goodbye to Matt as our music minister replaced by David with Kelly coming back in as Choir Director. We found ourselves singing many pieces from the new ELW hymnal (a.k.a. the Cranberry hymnal).

Greg commented on a musical highlight of the year, the choir and an amazing youth ensemble joining in Easter service performances of the Hallelujah Chorus. The music came together rather quickly because most of us knew the piece. I remember many different reactions to this full, heavenly sound that was present when it was performed. Music doesn't get much better than that.

Speaking of Greg and the Dobbe family, the newsletters and the new website were immensely helpful in reminding me of highlights and have kept us all up to date with the news, church events and photos of much of what is in this post. The website was launched in June.

Creator began a series of joint worship services with Holy Family Episcopal Fellowship this year. They also joined us in the Harvest festival, Advent worship on Wednesdays, and our Christmas Cantata.

Pastor Mark’s son Brandon was born in April and was baptized in July with two other babies, Samantha and Taylor. Among the events that happened this year for youth and family were rafting and kayaking trips and family camping at Promontory Park. People who were at the family camping had funny and memorable tales to tell. Greg commented on how this was a highlight for him.

The loss of Bethany Hartung was certainly our time of sorrow and loss for those who knew this remarkable young woman. Many attended or participated in a memorial service for her in June. In September many from Creator remembered Bethany and participated in the Light the Night Walk, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's nationwide evening walk to raise money for research to cure blood cancers.

In December Jacob Nolte for his senior project organized Notes of Hope in honor of Bethany, which was a concert to support the research of the OHSU Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Program.

For more details on individual events or services refer to the individual posts in this blog and again, if I was not there or did not write about what you remember, please feel free to post or comment on any activities I may have inadvertently missed.

December 24th, 2007 – Christmas Eve Candlelight Service

There have been so many gifts in the past week that the congregation members have given one another. Simply being with people in worship reminded me of who they were and what they gave Creator this past year.

I appreciated Ron at the early service greeting us with the lighted hat he traditionally wears. Then there was Dave at the late service with his plush Santa’s hat bringing joy to those around him. There was also the festive beauty of the sanctuary space transformed once again since the last Advent service.

This service the special music covered a broad musical spectrum. The Dobbes treated us to a cover of Relient K’s I Celebrate the Day. Kim and Vaune offered us Salve Regina and Do You hear the Mother? with their wonderful tight harmonies; the choir sang Gloria with Lux Venit, Emmanuel and Kelly’s Nunc Dimmitus; Kelly and Geoff as a duet reprised the warm, comforting Pietro A. Yon’s Gesu Bambino; and Clare Brauer-Rieke sang two pieces, O Holy Night accompanied by her father and Amy Grant’s Breath of Heaven accompanied by David, as gentle prayers on this holy night.

Pastor Mark gave the Christmas Message at the early service and Pastor Dayle gave hers at the 11:00 service. Both talked about the traditions, the busy pieces and the holy pieces of the season.

Singing the traditional carols recreated and communicated the spirit of the season like it has each year. Silent Night allowed us all to enter into that special moment where the candlelight from each candle, the voices of those close to us, the place where this is shared and our God both near and beyond all blend together.

December 23rd, 2007 – Fourth Sunday in Advent

Last night’s Agnus Dei production is behind us and the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service lies ahead of us. Pastor Dayle preached today about God’s love trumping any and all the darkness we have or will encounter in our lives.

All the Advent themes were incorporated into the banner in front; awake, prepare, hope and wait. This definitely felt like an Advent season explored and experienced as a community. It reminds me to thank you for this year, Christian friends. Your fellowship through Jesus often defied my expectations. It also has created and refined something new within me.

Before attending Creator worship I believed what so many I know still believe - that a Sunday spent at the beach or in the mountains often brought a closer, deeper knowledge of God than worship in church week after week.

I was inspired, as I still am, by poetry, philosophy, theology, the Bible and classic literature. I felt uncomfortable with the liturgy in relationship with my beliefs. An understanding of God, who I was and the world flowed from language and from ideas. The liturgy, in my mind, limited those ideas. I thought I saw people professing beliefs in worship that they didn’t carry into action in their lives. At that time Lutheran worship did not appear to be vital or transforming.

Worship, through the congregation and leadership at Creator, became vital for me and continues to transform in unexpected ways. I met people passionate about liturgical worship. I talked to people who were inspired by what inspires me and were not afraid to explore the immense or the intimate qualities of God that may, at times, appear to fall outside traditional doctrine. I worked with people who engaged in the work of the church and made it part of their lives.

I am humbled and thankful for you and the experiences we have shared.

December 21st and 22nd – Agnus Dei and the Production Party Annie & Vaune hosted

The Creator community celebrated.

Agnus Dei is a Christmas Cantata and musical journey where the total worship experience humbles and highlights the individual contributions made. On both nights Kelly’s gave a final to the choir, and included it in the prayer just before we went on, was to remember move our concentration from the sheet music to connect with the audience and communicate the joy of this music.

The choir took that to heart. I know I missed a few notes in parts I had not memorized as well but I could feel a difference. Again this was a musical journey and the ensemble of musicians, Kelly, David, Esther, Geoff gave it substance and made it shine.

The dancers gave riveting performances. Their dance demanded attention due to Sara’s choreography. The narrators gave us the familiar story with drama and made it new. The children, particularly on Thursday with Holy Family Fellowship when there were costumes, looked great and sang their songs and touched our hearts.

The soloists made individual moments these two nights their own. The choir never ceases to amaze. Kelly’s direction, the practice and the rehearsals come together and this beautiful sound we can not make individually but that we contribute to, pours into each choir performance.

There were so many other contributions it is hard to detail. The banners and the stage, organizing, rehearsing and cueing the children all came together in very special ways.

The Production Party afterwards was a social event we appreciated that night. Annie and Vaune were gracious, the food and conversation could not be beat. I was impressed with all the instruments displayed at Vaune’s including a bowed psaltery, an instrument I had not heard of before which reminded me a bit of a hammer dulcimer.

You could feel the enjoyment in the group of being in one another’s company. It was a great end to a great evening.

December 19th, 2007 – Holden Evening Prayer with Holy Family - Practicing Exits and Entrances

This Wednesday evening started for me in conversation with Will. Will and I spoke about our lives before soup and bread and it was an engaging talk. He remarked how good it was for him to come back to church again and receive the welcome he experienced. His grief and his observations and realizations about life since losing his wife, Franya, were poignant.

Very particular memories of Franya came to me during this conversation. I thought about her participation in the Faith Stirring sessions at Creator several years ago. Her candor and eloquence as she told stories about her church experiences she as a child made a deep impression on the group. We appreciated Franya's energy, humour and independent thinking.

The soups were delicious and the table talk was lively for soup and bread.

There was a good attendance at worship. Reverend Julie, from Holy Family Episcopal Fellowship, gave her talk in the service about angels as messengers. Reverend Julie also shared worship lead this evening with Pastor Mark and Pastor Dayle.

Speaking of Holy Family reminds me of a story that was told at practice last Sunday. Pastor Dayle was letting someone know about Holy Family's participation in our Christmas Cantata. This person who was not thinking of this as a reference to our joint Episcopalian / Lutheran events and was more than a little puzzled about Pastor's meaning. When she was asked if she knew for sure of the Holy Family participation on Friday evening Pastor Dayle simply said "Oh yes, I had an email from Mary confirming it."

Different pieces of Holden Evening prayer can become the musical focus for a particular evening of worship. That is one reason why sharing it each Wednesday never becomes tiresome. Also, David was creating meaningful musical moments in the Advent Wednesday worships this year.

Last week the Annunciation / Magnificat was a focus. This week, the three lead voices rose to make that another special moment but the highlight for me was the worship’s Litany. The repetitive refrain, God of mercy, hold us in love, had a hypnotic power as our voices fell into the hushed rhythm of the music. There was a relentless beauty in this prayer / response piece tonight.

We had the final run through of Agnus Dei after worship. The choir practiced singing, making entrances, moving off and on the stage, together with our exit from the sanctuary. The instrumentalists were all there. The chair configuration caused us to make a light bulb-shaped prayer circle which was different and Pastor Dayle led us in prayer.

The word for reflection I picked up this Advent Wednesday is Wait. Certainly this is the primary word for Advent and the question that comes up again and again is "What are we waiting for?"

I am reflecting on this and other questions and each of the answers that have come up during this Advent season.

December 16th, 2007 - Third Sunday in Advent and Agnus Dei Setup and Rehearsal

Pastor Dayle’s sermon continued an Advent message concerning our ability to overcome fear and hesitation to live as God wants us to live. She also asked about what we wait for in this season, particularly in relationship to what John the Baptist waited for concerning the messiah in the Gospel reading.

Do we wait for the messiah John the Baptist envisioned, a king and conqueror who overpowers our enemies and release us from captivity or do we wait for a baby whose life’s mission will be healing and salvation?

Pastor Dayle took a vivid illustration of two ways we can live our lives from the story of The Wizard of Oz.

The home many of us can feel that we yearn for is Dorothy’s black and white Kansas; a predictable world with easy right and wrong answers. Oz, on the other hand, has the logic of a dream and is about being on life’s journey. It is filled with color and is unpredictable. Dorothy is accompanied on her journey by friends who have problems. Dorothy will be changed by her experiences in Oz and cannot go back home being the same person she was before.

Between services, in Adult Education, we focus on a passage from Mary Lou Redding’s book While We Wait: Living the Questions of Advent. The passage is about a hesitation to pray because of a lack of faith that God will answer the prayer. Faith, the author maintains, is counter-rational. It always has been and always will be. What matters is coming to God with the faith we have. The author maintains we cannot come to God purely from intellect because faith is places importance on having a relationship with God. This turns into a great discussion that continues on the Advent themes we are following.

After the service is the set up of the space for Agnus Dei and a full rehearsal that includes the choir, the instrumentalists, the dancers, the children and the narrators who will be perform this Friday and Saturday.

The transformation of the space happened quickly thanks to Paul, Scott, Brent, Peter, Randy and a team of others. The stages were setup, the chairs moved into position, the microphones and places for the instrumentalists set.

In the rehearsal itself, the choir practices our moves from narthex to stage, where to sit and stand for the various pieces, when to surround the sanctuary, and when to move back to the stage. Experiencing the way all this will work during the performances is exciting. All of us have a much better feel for how the Friday and Saturday performances will run.

Actually seeing all the elements come together at full rehearsals for Creator Christmas events is amazing every year. The sound of the instrumentalists with the choir and watching the dancers perform left me breathless at times. This is not necessarily good for a choir member but, hey, it is only a rehearsal.

Kelly’s energy and devotion to Agnus Dei is impressive. His vision, his organization and leadership and performance in the various aspects of this cantata is evident at this rehearsal as it has been through choir practices. When he is making acknowledgements of those who contributed everyone there recognizes what he has given to make this happen.

We close in prayer. Many of us do a double-take as we gather to form our circle. This circle of those involved in the various aspects of the performance only includes those who happen to be there when this particular rehearsal ended. The circle fills a good part of the sanctuary. It includes individuals who are not members of Creator and all ages are represented. Everyone brings a unique talent to the effort and the thankfulness we feel for all this is expressed in Kelly's closing prayer.

December 12th, 2007 – Soup and Bread, Service, Choir

There is a Gandhi quote “To see the difference we must become the difference”. Fear needs to be overcome to recognize and embrace what is good.

Pastor Dayle, in her message this evening, emphasized the time it takes for some things to happen despite a cultural desire for instant gratification. I continue to find it hard to break away from the guilt, judgments and expectations in my life that fuel the desire for instant gratification.

Tonight during Holden Evening prayer I felt what I anticipated feeling last week, gladness and community. Now I wonder why the joyous, encompassing feeling this week? Why was community being created from our shared voices for me tonight and not last Wednesday? In hindsight both of these Wednesday worships were powerful and, of course, my first thought is that I want, and that I'm nourished by, this week's experience over last week's. Now I wonder if this should be true.

I received a number of responses last Wednesday's blog that showed me the strength of Creator. People do bear the burdens of one another. There was concern and empathy in that response. There was a recognition of where I was and a willingness to help.

So what to do with all this? The word I picked this week to reflect on happened to be gladness. My reflections are not the same as they would have been without last Wednesday's experience.

Gladness is partly linked to the instant gratification Pastor Dayle preached about and the hurry of the season. We hurry because we feel we can make others happy in all that we are trying to do. We hurry because of memories around what made us happy and try to carry those traditions on. I think "Don't I want this to be the best Christmas season for my family and friend's? " Don't I know what will make this better than last year or, instead, is this a trap that keeps me doing rather than being?

Through Christian fellowship this congregation continues to surprise me and shapes my life in ways I would not have anticipated.

December 9th 2007 – Notes of Hope - A concert to support the research of the OHSU Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Program

I know I was not alone in my anticipation of this evening that honored Bethany Hartung and was a result of Jacob Nolte’s work on his senior project. This was a major event for many at Creator and there were many familiar faces throughout the Clackamas High School Auditorium.

The musical performers on the program were Jacob Nolte, Juli Johnson, Kirk Hartung, Kelly Carlisle, Merrily Gulglielmo, Christopher Nolte, and David Lee. Toni Hartung and Brandon Hayes-Lattin were speakers for this event.

This was a special Sunday night where it was difficult to determine highlights in a concert filled with a memorable selection of covers and originals. Jacob began the concert with a powerful set of songs. Juli, Jacob’s piano teacher, also turned in a great performance.

Kirk played a challenging piece accompanied by Kelly (they reversed that for one of Kelly’s pieces). Kirk played a Bach opus in memory of Bethany. Bach was a favorite composer for her. There was a plaintiveness that filled every note of his performance.

Kelly’s set consisted of original compositions. He premiered a new song he wrote, which set the prayer of St. Francis to music. Kirk accompanied him on this piece. There was a profound grace to the moment, the words and music as Kelly sang and the two played.

Merrily sang an Elliott Smith song, Let’s Get Lost. She played it in memory of Bethany. Elliot Smith was another one of her sister’s musical favorites. Merrily also performed an original song where she set Donald Hall’s poem, Without, to music she composed. Hall wrote the poem about his wife, Jane Kenyon, who died of leukemia in 1995.

Toni and Brandon both spoke eloquently about the evening and about Bethany. Their speeches underlined the purpose of the evening and highlighted why the work of the Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Program was so important.

Then the evening turned to musical performances again. Christopher Nolte, after his great piano improvisation based off some familiar hymns, acknowledged his son Jacob’s dedication and maturity to being able to organize the evening.

David Lee played the great Eubie Blake number, Memories of You, with a unique quality all its own. He next performed an original composition Celebration which definitively captured one part of the energy of the evening.

Jacob closed the show with one of his father’s compositions, titled Linda. This was a wonderful piece of music that showcased Jacob's talent.

The show was well-attended and, hopefully, may become an annual event.

It was clear in the course of the night that Bethany touched many lives. I will end this entry with lyrics to a song I wrote that was inspired by my memories and reflections on Bethany.

Bethany's Song

The swan and a swallow stay in Bethany's song.

Still our world is diminished, she is gone.

Her time far too brief here,

How the heartstrings are cut,

And there's too much of nothing “But,

Life moves on" some say,

“At times she comes,

At times she flies away.”

While the unending endings tucked away in us all,

Turn our heads to the skyline we recall,

Soaring migrations,

The beating of wings,

And a wild call from the passion that sings,

“Pray whatever you may,

At times we come,

At times we fly away.”

And she’d remind us,

If a day comes whenever,

We can't be together,

Keep me in your heart

I'll stay there forever.

So Lord let your servant's swan song always stay,

And help guide us from darkness into day.

Knowing God's truth looms as mystery,

Learning God's treasure is love,

She leads us, we listen to rise above.

She sings what God's words say,

With a love that comes

To never fly away.

December 10th, 2007 – Second Sunday of Advent; Prepare and Be Bold

What do we wait for? What do we prepare for in Advent?

There is another kingdom that is described in the first reading of worship from Isaiah. The familiar words of Isaiah where the wolf living with the lamb, the child plays with the asp, where the child shall lead are in this first reading. Is this the world we are trying to bring about? Is this something that can happen or is it some pie-in-the-sky vision of a world we will never know?

Today Pastor Dayle gave a sermon concerning the Gospel Lesson Matthew 3:1-12 which contains the words of John the Baptist to the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, calling them a brood of vipers and commanding them to bear fruit worthy of repentance.

John the Baptist talks about the ax lying at the root of the trees and those that do not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. He also talks about the winnowing fork clearing the threshing floor and then burning the chaff in unquenchable fire.

In Pastor Mark’s Children time he talked about the need for Christians to be bold and strong in their faith. We boldly sang the song we have done in Creator Praise Be Bold, Be Strong, with gestures, along with the children. It was a performance for the musicians, relying on Kelly’s memory of key and chords for the song. And the bold performance highlighted the message

As for John the Baptist’s metaphor of ax and fork, Pastor Dayle said in her sermon this is not a comforting image and it is not easy to see God’s love and grace in this imagery. Her vision of God’s grace comes into this as a process of addressing and distancing ourselves from all that could separate us from God. This perspective does allow both change and God’s grace and love.

The synod is also emailing devotions for Advent and Bishop Dave's email for the Matthew text talks about Matthew’s twisting of Isaiah’s prophecy in John the Baptist's mouth. Bishop Dave lets us know that Isaiah is referring to clearing the way in the wilderness and not a voice in the wilderness. We are give two ways to read the text. I look forward to the future devotions during Advent. If you would like to read / receive them follow the synod link on the right of this blog and sign up for these Advent devotions by clicking into Book of Faith Advent Devotions.

I spent the time between services having breakfast with Scott, Diane, Ron, Eileen and Will. I enjoyed getting the report about the progressive dinner from Ron and Eileen and wished that Mary and I could have attended. One story was about a huge box that had contained a 50” TV filled with straw and a lottery ticket hidden somewhere inside. Sounded like the same kind of fun there has been with the white elephant gifts we have shared during the progressive dinners in the past.

December 5th, 2007 – Desire

It is the first Advent Wednesday service. The Holden Evening prayer is so often, for so many of us, an extraordinary worship experience. After many recent moments of feeling deep community my expectations run high for this Wednesday but, there is little sense of community in my heart when the evening is through. During worship we are invited to take words to meditate and reflect on for the upcoming week. The word I receive to reflect on, after lighting a candle at the altar, is desire.

A double-edged word. It is part of the second Noble Truth of Buddhism: desire and ignorance lie at the root of suffering. Desire also describes our deepest longing. How does desire relate to Advent? It is an interesting word to ponder as this Wednesday unfolds.

I fight personal desire and longing for the community tonight. Throughout the evening I find I take offhand comments in the wrong spirit, even recognize it as being wrong at the time. My interactions with people feel off. There is one moment that is not like this, which I won’t describe here, but for the most part I stumble around with the wrong attitude.

In worship Pastor Mark preaches a poem he has composed for Creator called Ode to Advent. The rhymes he uses work and Pastor Mark ties the shallow and deeper perceptions of this season we are in together using those rhymes. An interesting idea he pulls off well. I feel very self-concious during the service which is not what I want to feel at all.

Choir practice is more of the same stumbling craziness. It is funny how esteem can get twisted. We practice Kelly’s Nunc Dimittis and I, as I have many times in the past, play the triangle. It adds to the piece but there is a standard half-tease to the acknowledgement of the minor nature of this additional part. It has become a bit of fun ritual for us all now, yet I feel an embarrassment surge up this evening. Memories of mistakes and muffed performances suddenly emerge. What changes the heart and feelings of worth so dramatically?

Then the free-floating guilt comes. “I should, I could do more.” “It would be better if I only I would behave like … or be interested in ….” “Why am I feeling this way? I know better than this.”

It was hard to focus on all the good things that happened, and good things happened. The announcement of Craig's successful hip replacement. Many of the soloists for the cantata became official. Phil, Janice, Craig, Marlowe were all chosen and will do fantastic performances, I know.

My temptation is keep this personal bad attitude night out of the blog because this is not what I want to acknowledge in myself. It hurts my pride. I want to blame something outside of myself. My inward desire is to rise above all this by will or reason instead of trusting what is good and true through Jesus.

I know in my heart the truth but something happens within me on nights like these. I put this in the blog as confession and for the sake of honesty.

December 2nd, 2007 – First Sunday of Advent, 20th Anniversary of Creator’s First Worship Service

The worship today fed into a strong sense of community running through many of my church experiences recently. Today Larry, Jan, Doug and Toni all told stories of the first few years of Creator establishing itself as a church. I know these stories for the most part. As Pastor Dayle remarked afterwards, even for those who did not experience all this directly this is part of our story as members of Creator.

There were stories of vision and faith. Pastor Dave Hungerford on his scooter personally inviting people he didn’t know to the first service He was worried who would attend. When a hundred people attended, he acknowledged God had a good idea starting a church here. Part of Jan's message was the strong sense of the congregation knowing that place did not matter - wherever members were gathered, that was church.

Some of the stories were about commitment and resourcefulness. The tubs that became known as “church in a box” used to transport and set up church in the school gym every week. There were no costumes or practice time for Creator’s first Christmas pageant so they worked with children who volunteered as the Christmas story was read. Doug taked about how meaningful and beautiful that was to him.

Leaps of faith came in the commitment of resources and times of uncertainty when Pastor David moved on and a new pastor was needed. Pastor Chris Nolte was called and presided while the the construction of the physical building occurred.

For this anniversary metal chairs were set up throughout the sanctuary as reminders of cold chairs that were set up in the gym that were used during the first years with an afghan draped on one of the metal chairs in memory of the blankets that were used for the congregation to stay warm. There were scrapbooks an other items reflecting the history of Creator on display. Cakes commemorating the anniversary were shared after worship and there will be more twenty year celebrations throughout the year.

In the Men's Group between services we talked about Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus. We talked about the certainty and uncertainty that can be felt when you believe you are doing God's work. Our Paul asked questions that had us imagine what we would do and feel in the circumstances the biblical Paul found himself in.

Would we go through the same conversion experience or we concentrate on the injustice or fear that might be felt with having been struck blind? It was a shorter discussion because Pastor Dayle paired each of us several times, before we broke into the general Adult Education and the Men's Group, to answer questions about who we were and where we were worshipping in 1987.

Another opportunity to know individuals better that I believe we all appreciated.

November 28, 2007 – Soup & Bread, Concert and Choir – Singing a New Song

The John Nilsen concert last night was a kick off to what will be our Wednesday evening Advent services in December. I appreciated the soup, bread and conversation last night. There was the opportunity to get acquainted with people I had not met before who were with Dave and Vera.

Also there was a chance to find out what was going on with friends after being so busy last week. During the meal I thanked Gretchen for the loan of Dorothee Soelle’s Theology for Skeptics, which I am still reading. Soelle writes about feminist theology and other reflections she has on God. She writes about God suffering as we suffer. There are ideas that are revelation to me.

Just before the concert Peter talked to me about Aldous Huxley’s The Perennial Philosophy. His excitement about Huxley is evident. I have read Huxley’s novels but this book is new to me. My conversations with Peter and Gretchen make me reflect on what consistently inspires me about this congregation. The support for our mutual spiritual seeking delights and challenges me.

Huxley’s book comes from many sources; Christian, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist and Taoist. The Perennial Philosophy is actually expressed most succinctly in the Sanskrit formula, tat tvam asi ('That art thou'); the Atman, or immanent eternal Self, is one with Brahman, the Absolute Principle of all existence; and the last end of every human being, is to discover the fact for himself, to find out who he really is. I appreciate that we share our explorations of God without worrying that the other will misunderstand our Christianity.

The concert was intimate. Nilsen interspersed his own songs with well-known Christmas carols. The highlight for many was the concert closer John Lennon’s Imagine. There was beauty, longing and a clarity in the way he played it that was unique to his performance.

After the concert was choir practice. Kelly had called people and the number who came to practice reflected his efforts. Over twenty came this evening.

We focused on Agnus Dei. There are old musical moments that I hear again that the choir is making new for me.

November 25th – Christ The King Sunday Worship Service and Adult Education Hour

Christ The King Sunday marks the end of the church year. The service was filled in music and word with king and shepherd imagery. Pastor Dayle talked about the elements of cross and crown. She preached that no earthly kingdom will shepherd us or lead us to do what is essential and of the spirit.

My recent reading has included a book by Dorothee Soelle, Theology for Skeptics. She argues against using the imagery of God or Christ as king because it is so easy to leap to the assumption that God is all-powerful and is the cause of suffering; ultimately that humans thus suffer for some greater purpose.

Soelle’s view is that God suffers and is powerless alongside us. Humans are to struggle together against oppression, sexism, anti-Semitism, and other forms of authoritarianism. This fits in with the what Pastor Dayle preached about Jesus being a political activist.

People from the book group and readers of this blog may know my discomfort around thinking of Jesus as a political figure. This discomfort comes from two places within me and I am not sure that it isn’t healthy to leave it unsettled.

The first level of discomfort for me is that when Jesus is attached directly to politics it is easy to assume we know how God wants to work within the political process. It becomes harder to understand and love those who pursue different views.

The second is that there is a tendency to discount internal change, the metanoia that is often translated as repentance instead of “mind change” or becoming a new man. Instead seeing Jesus as a political activist promotes action that changes the world and addresses social injustice.

Deep in my heart I want to be committed to both those changes. I don’t know that one is forced to choose between these views. The good part of leaving this unsettled and uncommitted to just one is that it can drive us deeper into the divide and challenge us to both change internally and promote change that brings about justice. It is not good if we do not change internally but attach ourselves to the promise of political change, or feel we have changed internally but there is no fruit in the form of action taken.

During the Adult Education I attended the Men’s Group led by Paul. We talked about Advent and explored the concept of waiting. Mary asked me about what we are waiting for in Advent, if there is something during this time of year that has not yet come that has come during other parts of the church year.

When I think of this I think about God time and knowing the beginning, middle and end of a story. I think about the story of Abraham and Isaac; a story we know as exploring the depths of faith. Yet not knowing the end of the story radically changes it, at least in my mind. God is commanding Abraham to disobey the laws of God and man by sacrificing Isaac. It moves from a comfortable Sunday School story to a terrifying choice.

And so, with the coming of Christmas and Christ’s birth, do we pretend to wait for what we know happened historically, or do we move into God time where somehow history has not happened yet, or do we wait for the coming of something else?

These are the questions that are in my mind as I prepare for Advent.