January 27th, 2008 – RIC Sunday Morning Worship

Snow and those at the Lutherwood retreat kept numbers low at the 8:00 service and the worship was intimate. It made Pastor Dayle’s sermon particularly powerful as she preached to a group who know they are welcome at church.

Pastor Dayle gave a sermon about “being on the list” of the invited. This was a consequence of the gospel lesson which centered on the call of four of the apostles. Pastor Dayle spoke about how many women who followed Jesus were not “on the list” of apostles as followers of Jesus including Mary Magdalene, often called the “apostle to the apostles” and Mary, mother of Jesus.

Pastor Dayle elaborated on this by pointing out how when someone remarks that obviously "welcome is implied to all" it can be hard to believe if you know you are not on the list. She reminded us of those who need to be given an explicit welcome because they have not been welcomed in the past. Like Gretchen’s RIC presentation at the congregational meeting last week, Pastor Dayle imaginatively put you in the shoes of those “not on the list”. There was a slide show of Creator members’ photos as she talked about welcome. We definitely felt centered in celebrating RIC Sunday.

Some Creator members worshipped again for RIC Sunday this evening at Mission Of The Atonement, an ecumenical community of Roman Catholics and Lutherans. It was a worship hosted by Lutherans Concerned / North America and 86 people gathered with representatives from all RIC congregations in the synod.

Last year the sermon focused on the pain and hurt experienced because of exclusionary practices. The sermon tonight, given by Pastor Ronald Nitz, explored the temptation people have to draw us and them lines in direct contradiction to Jesus' message in the gospel. His sermon was often surprising. He preached that it might be interesting to have a sign above every church door reading Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here. He continued that far to many people hope that going to church or doing something will influence God to think better of them than of others.

The sermon was impressive; intellectually and spiritually engaging. Having Bishop Dave preside and more people in attendance this year than in previous years were hopeful pieces to the worship. I was drawn to the Confession / Prayer of the Day. As the confession was read the response given by us was "But you continually call to us". It was both a hopeful call to change and an acknowledgment that process can take far longer than we might expect and yet God engages our heart again and again.

Last year All Are Welcome was the music that connected to my heart. This year it was the closing hymn, We Are Called. The refrain: We are called to act with justice. We are called to love tenderly. We are called to serve one another, to walk humbly with God encapsulated the fellowship and understanding of those who were gathered in worship.

There was a reception afterwards. I met someone who worships at Mission Of The Atonement. She had lost her partner a while ago who had been a Catholic nun. She introduced herself because I looked like someone who, in her words, really hated her when she was worshipping in Salem.

Our talk was pleasant but I think she really wished I was the person she knew who had experienced a change of heart. In a way I wish I had been. It made me think back to how I learned in church when I was young and how I am seeing the church now.

January 23rd, 2007 – Book Discussion and Choir

Our book discussion focused again on Three Cups of Tea. In next week’s discussion we will decide the next book to read.

There is a similarity in our perspective to Three Cups of Tea. Greg voiced the thought many of us had that while this is an alternative response to terrorism; there is a long term focus to this response that would be hard pressed to resolve issues that have been decades, if not longer in the making. Also, this was not Mortenson’s primary motivation.

Jane brought her experiences of being in the Holy Land to our discussion. There was arrogance and disdain she felt on her trips that she experienced as an American and as a woman that underscored the importance of the respect Mortenson found in the relationships built between him and those with whom he worked.

There is a core group attending each Wednesday now. At the same time there continues to be first time attendees who bring new dimensions to the discussion of what we are reading. I appreciate the fellowship that is growing as we bring our personal experiences and perspectives of our readings to one another.

In choir, together with what we have been practicing, we started rehearsing Jesus Met the Woman at the Well with harmony made somewhat famous by Peter, Paul and Mary. The power of this traditional song, that was sung as a blues by the Reverend Gary Davis through Dave Van Ronk’s recording, is incredible. Kelly brought out the purity in the harmonic blend of the choir. It powerfully builds on the meaning of this gospel story with each verse.

We are finding a new voice in choir and the faith in the songs we are singing. We are singing old favorites, songs the choir hasn't sung for many years and new music as well. There is a weaving of theology and music that continues to grow more intricate with each rehearsal.

January 20th, 2008 - Sunday Worship / Congregational Meeting

As Mary and I arrived for the second service Larry greeted us with a little story about a musical request he made in rememberance of Martin Luther King. His request was granted during the offering at first service and Take My Hand, Precious Lord was played. Larry was particularly struck by Liz's singing during first service.

According to his biographer, King's last words on the balcony where he was shot were to musician Ben Branch who was scheduled to perform that night at an event King was attending: "Ben, make sure you play Take My Hand, Precious Lord in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty." Then friends inside the motel room heard the shots and ran to the balcony to find King on the ground.

Per King's request, his good friend Mahalia Jackson sang this favorite hymn of his at the funeral.

David and Kelly played it during the second service as well. Craig and Janice sang it sweetly.

Pastor Dayle gave a sermon that referred, at some points, to the upcoming congregational meeting we would have after the service and the budget coming before us. She preached from 1 Corinthians:

I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus (Christ). God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

She emphasized that we are enriched in every way with discourse and knowledge and that we are not lacking in any spiritual gift. She suggested that Creator was in “stagnant” water with our giving as a whole and how God stirs us to “living” water with our ministry.

The congregational meeting that did follow the service was the longest I have attended. There was contention about the budget. Last year, because of reserves from the sale of property to the county, the congregation passed a deficit budget. The reserve was spent last year so we passed a budget that assumes giving will go up 21% from 2007. Pledges were up 23% from last year but the amount pledged is not near what is normally given.

The question is when and if we will need to make hard, significant choices about our expenses or if it is feasible to bring our giving up significantly this year.

We passed a resolution from the Endowment Committee to create an Endowment Fund that will allow us to manage money more effectively. We also elected Craig and Sara to go to Synod Assembly this year and we agreed there should be a Fall Carnival as Outreach ministry to the community.

Gretchen spoke about a year of discernment we will enter in 2008 to explore becoming a Reconciling In Christ congregation. This involves making an Affirmation of Welcome that specifically addresses gays and lesbians.

She spoke eloquently about why this Affirmation of Welcome was necessary. She spoke warmly of the welcome she received recently as a new member of Creator. She imagined how different that welcome might have been if she were of a different race, economic class or sexual identity.

It may not even be a question of welcome but for gays or lesbians to have the courage to walk in the door, not knowing if they will be welcome because of all the exclusions and marinalizing the church performed openly in the past. Currently the ELCA's refusal to recognize homosexual clergy is not a message of acceptance.

It was a powerful, moving presentation.

Paul next gave a presentation about Solar energy. He wants Creator to explore the possibility of installing solar collectors on Creator's roof to take advantage of tax incentives that may likely disappear in 2008. This would be done together with a number of churches in partnership with a corporation.

He wanted everyone to be clear this would not be anything that would affect Creator's budget but might be gifted by individuals. The understanding is that this would have no effect on what they planned to give to the church. This would be one demonstration of Creator's commitment to stewardship of the earth.

The Holy Spirit is moving through this congregation in many ways.

January 9th, 2008 – Three Cups of Tea Discussion 1 - With one cup of tea you're a stranger, with two you're a guest and after three you are family.

The three cups of tea of the book’s title is from the Pakistani saying quoted above. The attendance was easily the largest we have had so far for the book discussion. Was it a combination of the season, the book and Pakistan being prominent currently in the news?

The reader is give details of the life and character of Greg Mortenson, who devotes his life to building schools in remote villages of Pakistan. Our first discussion centered on our initial impressions of the book. The consensus of the group was admiration of Mortenson’s achievement despite his limited resources and lack of skills for doing the work he does.

The three cups of tea saying is all about taking time to build relationships and Mortenson learns from a mentor what the book quotes in his own words:

We Americans think you have to accomplish everything quickly. We're the country of 30 minute power lunches and 2 minute football drills. Our leaders thought their 'shock and awe' campaign could end the war in Iraq before it even started. Haji Ali taught me (Greg) to share three cups of tea, to slow down and make building relationships as important as building projects. He taught me that I had more to learn from the people I work with than I could ever hope to teach them."

The meaning of the title is given in more richness from the mentor as well:

If you want to thrive in Baltistan, you must respect our ways. The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die.

Gretchen challenged us into a deeper understanding of Mortenson’s character. The group talked about the how the tenacity and single-mindedness that produces the achievements that we admire, produces those results at a cost. The main character is often in some far-flung region instead of being a father and husband. We also talked about how this work happens in some far-flung region which gives Mortenson a mystique we may not recognize in those around us, even though it may be there. Is he really a unique, larger-than-life character?

We also discussed Mortenson’s religion and spirituality which is not in the forefront of the material. What is at the forefront is that education is the key to world peace. That in itself will be interesting to discuss next week in greater detail.