February 25th, 2007

Our Lenten journey began with some farewells. This was Matt's last Sunday as Music Minister and Stephanie left for a Peace Corps assignment in Uganda.

Pastor Dayle preached about the wilderness that will be in each of our spiritual lives, the times when God appears to us to be the prodigal father (my words, not Pastor's).

Pastor Dayle spoke of the times we are led into the wilderness:

I think that when we follow our call, we are led by the Spirit into the wilderness… not as a test or a trial but as a way of finding out who we are… as a way of learning our soul… finding our strength… knowing our center.

Not as test or trial. Important thought and one I will take to heart in my time in the wilderness.

During Adult Education we talked about the selection of a Bishop at the Synod Assembly, the qualities a Bishop should have to be successful and submitted names of those who might make the list for consideration.

Using the sending hymn What a Fellowship, What a Joy Divine for the last service Matt began vamping. It was such a joy to be making music at that particular moment it is hard to describe but is a strong memory I know I will keep of Matt.

February 21st, 2007

Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. At Creator, like many Lutheran churches, we impose ash on our foreheads as a sign of repentance and to remember the shortness of our lives.

Pastor Dayle preaches that Ash Wednesday is a time to be who God is calling us to be. She also preached that the ash crosses are reminders of the cross that is invisible most of the time but truly are our tattoos from baptism.

There is a personal significance to this Ash Wednesday as we begin Lent. For me, the end of this particular Lenten journey will be a Holy Week that marks the one year anniversary of starting this blog. This isn't the most writing published for a project (I produced more writing page compared to page in a creative writing class), but it is certainly the longest period of time I stayed on a writing project.

It is also the longest time I have faithfully attended church each Sunday. Is all this something God calls us to do? Thinking along those lines can be strange. Mary feels when talk turns this way, the temptation to be too grandiose for our own good gets in the way and turns people off and can get in the way of our relationship with God. The focus can shift to why people are or are not attending worship other than ourselves. I tend to agree this focus is non-productive. The temptation to be grandiose is hardly happening tonight, however.

Tonight I think the reason for attending church to me is to affirm the central focus of our society is not moving us in the best spiritual direction.

Everyone leaves the service in silence this night with mortality weighing heavy on our minds.

February 20th, 2007

The sixth year of Mardi Gras Potluck Chocolate, David Lee & Friends playing jazz, and burning of the last year’s Palm Sunday palm leaves to remember and celebrate Mardi Gras – Fat Tuesday.

The evening starts the same. Each year there is a wide selection of chocolate and, as we are enjoying the desserts, there is a Mardi Gras trivia challenge. From the winning table a king and queen is chosen who lead us into the concert by David Lee & Friends. This jazz expresses a love of life and is the first thing that strikes the listener. The concert starts and ends with When The Saints Go Marching In that summons us to the party.

The music is spirited, up-front and exciting. The pieces moved from Indiana to the latin jazz standard Desafinado to David’s favorite Rosetta.

Gavin Bondy of Pink Martini plays trumpet; Kevin Dietz on string bass from Salem Chamber Orchestra; Pete Petersen, currently leader of Porkpie, on clarinet and saxophone; Carlton Jackson on drums and David Lee on piano.

The depth, talent and joy is extraordinary. There is a freshness in their approach to standards that is hard to describe but there love of the music shows.

Listening to David's CD is another experience I must write about later.

After the show we burned the palms. It is a smaller group gathered round cinder blocks off to the side of the Fellowship Hall. Pastor Dayle has us think about what in our lives has grown as dry as the palms since last year. Pastor Mark sings a song and people silently reflect as the fire burns out.

Many experiences, many moods that I have come to appreciate annually.

February 12th, 2007

Nancy made a presentation to the committee about an effort Creator might want to spearhead... working with the school to help kids being helped by the school during the week with breakfast and lunch with food to take home in their backpacks.

Her vision was to plan to start this work in April and take it through June, perhaps partnering with another church. She will get more details from the school about how many children would need help.

Her next step will be to talk to Pastor Dayle, Pastor Mark, the council, churches that may want to partner with us and the school.

We determined that we would not try to plan an event for Lent given our current time frame. There was some discussion about a sign in front of the church letting the community know the outreach effort we are making at Creator.

There was an energy around the OFB Work Day as well and there details on that we went over. David talked about a "field trip" to Union Gospel.

February 11th, 2007

Pastor Dayle chose the Children's time to reveal Creator has received the new hymnals. She pointed out that Luther's Small Catechism is included.

The sermon was about reading the Bible in context. Pr. Dayle preached about the tree planted by the water.

A tree cannot survive without water… desert people more than any, know this. A tree planted near water will survive. In our context, in western Oregon, this time of year, a tree planted near water will probably be uprooted in the rain and could travel down a river.

As usual, Pr. Dayle's words echo what I am experiencing this week. I try to find the context to act from love, I pray for understanding and forgiveness when I fall short, which seems more often than not.

Debi was the presenter at the Adult Bible hour. The topic was Truth Discerning Communities and Mary, Al, Debi and I formed a small group for the breakout session together with the other small groups.

The talk was comfortable; from the heart and yet challenging in trying to create context for deeper communication at Creator. Debi mentioned a group at her old church that filled a need for her that she hungers for at Creator. Defining how to form the group is the trick.

Many members at Creator are trying to deepen their relationships with others and become true Christian friends / neighbors. There is a tremendous balancing act between the welcoming, that the church struggles with, and these deep relationships. Debi illustrated the issue quickly as we were talking. If you were to form a group, would it always need to welcome new members to the group? If so, will you always be at introductions and not necessarily open up completely because it is a new set of people?

Debi has a huge heart and led this discussion that I think made everyone feel comfortable.

February 7th, 2007

Matt Weiers, our music minister, is leaving.

Yesterday's email from Pastor Dayle:

Creator members:

I'm writing to inform you that after prayerful, diligent work together, the executive council has accepted the resignation of Matt Weiers.

As a community we have appreciated Matt's service and talent. He has been an asset to our ministry together at Creator. Matt has a passion for social justice and led the Hunger Awareness team on a field trip to Dignity Village last year. He also took a group of singers to Emmanuel Hospital and helped coordinate the Zoo animals last year. We're grateful for Matt's service to our faith community.

Matt's last Sunday will be on February 25th. I hope you will be at church that Sunday to celebrate Matt's ministry and to say farewell and godspeed. Matt will now focus on his original music and move forward in his career as a musician and artist.

blessings and peace,

Pr. Dayle

As Pastor Dayle wrote, Matt's work as music minister at Creator is significant. I participated in the hospital singing and Dignity Village experiences. Both stick in my memory as events where you could tell you were making a difference while they were happening.

My past blog entries reflect my thoughts and feelings about the worship music Matt led each Sunday. What I will remember during this transition and after he leaves is how, in his performance both in worship and at his concerts, his way is to focus attention on the music rather than on himself as musician.

Matt's music is amazing. He is a talented and versatile musician which will serve him well as he embarks on his new endeavours.

February 4th, 2007

The Adult Education hour today focused on the refugee family the Creator youth want to help. Youth talked about the service projects they worked on in the past. There were some plans about the future but there are still many things to be worked out.

The Hunger Awareness committee presented during the second part of the hour. David gave a quiz that is on the ELCA webite and presented a DVD on ELCA World Hunger. Also thirty or so people signed up for the Workday for Oregon Food Bank.

Rather than a sermon the youth presented a "Souper Bowl" Sunday play called Wheel of Misfortune. The play was fun with a message. So many of the congregation are committed to Christian living and defining what that means to those of us in relative affluence. Creator's outreach programs draw from the vast resource of the Christian spiritual journey and the willingness of the congregation to help. Our members continue to sincerely reinvent what they have done in the past and to find new ways to make a difference in the community and the world.

There is a vitality that comes from our collective experience and will. The difference between what Creator was like in this area a few years ago and now is tremendous. God's work through Creator and the church makes a difference we can see.

There is an intimacy of smaller churches like Creator to be treasured. There is a depth within the community and a willingness to pitch in towards the effort someone else is making.

Who are we in the eyes of God, in the eyes of one another? There is an answer to this question, these questions; each week in worship. The answers are always slightly different. This week the answer was, for me, the hands and heart willing to work.