"Now it begins!" On Palm Passion Sunday, I was deeply moved by the contrast of the day. Like many other Christians, that day, I waved my palm branch and shouted my "Hosannas" as we recalled Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. As always, it is difficult for me to fathom the change in temperature he found in Jerusalem. Didn't the crowd follow him in? Why weren't they able to surround him and keep him safe? Why was their support so fickle? As usual, why questions just aren't helpful, are they? They keep us talking when we need, instead, to be acting! The Grace Church choir, under the direction of Neil Harmon, presented the contrast to the joyous Hosannas as they sang the Rutter Requiem. Deeply moving and thought-provoking, the Requiem led us into the tensions we discover in ourselves each Holy Week.
The tensions continued on Thursday as we delved into the sacred stories and discovered our place at the feetwashing, the table, Gethsemane, and headed toward the cross. Would I have been the one who was horrified that Jesus wanted to wash my feet, would I have rejected his humility? Would I have been the one who would betray him? Or fall asleep, instead of keeping watch in order to protect him, as he prayed in the garden? Would I have deserted him? Do I do all these in my daily life even as he offers me experience of grace after experience of grace? Even as he showers his love on me continuously?
Every year I look forward to this journey. It's stories raise so many emotions in me; and call me to a commitment and experience that otherwise I might neglect. If I arrived at Easter, without making this journey, it seems to me that Easter would stay with me only a day or two; or perhaps only until something ugly reared its head in my life! Then, I suspect, that which had been built would topple for lack of a poorly constructed foundation. I love the preparations for the journey. They are such a vital part for me. I love figuring out, with others who enjoy it as well, how to present and tell the stories. I take great pleasure from setting them up visually. Tapping all our senses in worship is the ultimate goal so we can take in the stories in a way that fits our particular skin.
Yesterday, on Easter, as I stood at the Riverfront, at what might seem to some to be an ungodly hour but for me proved to be a Godly moment, I experienced grace and saw God build an altar in the world as the sun rose over the water as we proclaimed our Easter faith: "Christ is risen, Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!" It was an incredible moment in which I felt at one with God, totally content, at peace.
At our Easter celebration at Grace Church, the joy was palpable. Surprise was everywhere, from unexpected guests to revelations expressed in Word and music; signs of the risen Christ's presence among us!
At the end of this Holy Week to Easter journey, I am reminded that Easter signals a beginning on God's part. The "It is finished" of the cross becomes "Now it begins" on Easter. [Len Sweet and others] It's time to ask ourselves exactly what "it" is. If we don't ever consider this, then Easter will be simply a Sunday that makes us feel good; a Sunday when we experience grace without responding to the gift.
Now it begins. What is the "it" to which God invites us to give ourselves and our talents?
Monday, April 13, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
On the birthday of a friend
Today was the birthday of my friend. I called her to sing "happy birthday" to her in order to make her laugh. She lives alone in a big old house that is beautiful, but is always in need of some sort of work. 10 months ago, a tornado went through the town and two trees in her backyard fell on either side of her house, causing damage to her roof! When it happened, she called us, her "walking buddies," to come and be there with her as she assessed the damage. As we came together, it was an experience of grace; a moment in which you know that there are people in this crazy world who would do anything for you because they love you, no strings attached.
As I spoke with my friend today, I realized that our experiences of grace aren't once and for all; they linger and add lasting fragrance to our lives! Each time I talk with her, the fragrance grows stronger.
As I spoke with my friend today, I realized that our experiences of grace aren't once and for all; they linger and add lasting fragrance to our lives! Each time I talk with her, the fragrance grows stronger.
Friday, April 3, 2009
An altar in the world
I went to Dover late afternoon to lead a worship conversation at Wesley College. Two hours later, as I headed back to Wilmington, I didn't know that the journey home would include a most awesome experience of grace!
As I left Dover and made my way in the five o'clock traffic onto Rt. 1, the skies opened and the rains came tumbling out. As I passed Smyrna, the sun shone brightly through the driver's side of the car causing me to put my hand up to keep it out of my eyes; and the rain continued to come down. Six or seven miles south of the Odessa toll booths, seemingly stretching from one side of Rt. 1 to the other, was the most gorgeous, gigantic rainbow that appeared to be in 48 font! It's colors were vivid and it looked as if it belonged in the entrance to Emerald City.
Arched in the sky, the colorful rainbow served as "an altar in the world," a place to experience God's grace. An ordinary day had been turned into something holy! Like Jacob at Bethel I thought to myself, "Surely the Lord was in this place and I didn't even know it!"
As I left Dover and made my way in the five o'clock traffic onto Rt. 1, the skies opened and the rains came tumbling out. As I passed Smyrna, the sun shone brightly through the driver's side of the car causing me to put my hand up to keep it out of my eyes; and the rain continued to come down. Six or seven miles south of the Odessa toll booths, seemingly stretching from one side of Rt. 1 to the other, was the most gorgeous, gigantic rainbow that appeared to be in 48 font! It's colors were vivid and it looked as if it belonged in the entrance to Emerald City.
Arched in the sky, the colorful rainbow served as "an altar in the world," a place to experience God's grace. An ordinary day had been turned into something holy! Like Jacob at Bethel I thought to myself, "Surely the Lord was in this place and I didn't even know it!"
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Hopesourcing
Our newly organized Hopesourcing team met for the first time on Sunday, March 29 and began a process of assessment. It is our belief that by recognizing our strengths, Grace Church can best meet the opportunities that our Lord lays before us as we seek to serve Him by serving others.
As your Senior Pastor I have made a commitment to make the work of the Hopesourcing team as transparent as possible. What appears here is an attempt to share with you the work of the team so you can give immediate feedback. The whole idea is to immediately bring you into the holy conversation so the team can receive your input, questions, thoughts, as it goes through this process.
Each time Hopesourcing meets, we will begin with a short study of a Bible passage and prayer that will lead us into the work of that particular session. The passage used for our first meeting was Matthew 9:14-17. I hope you will take the time to read this passage and see what it says to you in terms of the future direction of Grace Church. .
The theme of the first session of Hopesourcing was “You are here” and dealt with what we see as our present state. The first exercise we did was to list the “Basic Assumptions” that we have about Grace Church. The team generated the following assumptions:
Deep purpose in mission
We are to serve as a beacon to the community in downtown Wilmington.
Less consensus than in the past
Suburban church in an urban location
Twice Grace sold suburban properties and maintained urban presence
Tension within congregation and staff
Believe we need change
Sanctuary and financial endowment permit us to be here and do things
we otherwise could not do
Endowment represents the hopes of past generations
Aging population and future challenged
Not well-known downtown
Congregation is outgoing and friendly
Sense of loyalty
Worship/Sanctuary – creates space away from world/clutter
The second exercise we did was to answer the question “What is working?” The following are the responses:
Music – choirs, special programs such as “Feast of Carols”
Preschool – reputation is very good/holding up in poor economy
Physical environment – contributes to spiritual environment
Worship – multi-faceted
Opportunities for involvement
Membership efforts beginning to take hold – relatively stable
The team was divided into three groups, seated at separate tables, which was helpful in the final exercise. Each group took a “Community Inventory Quiz” on one of three zip codes: 19801(church’s zip), 19803(North Wilmington), and 19806(Trolley Square). The idea was to see what facts the teams knew upfront about their zip code.
Once they had taken the quiz, each table was given a set of demographics on their zip code put out by a group called Percept who does demographics for churches using the Census and Claritas as primary resources. There were some surprises in each group, some differences in what we perceived to be reality and what actually is.
Lastly, each person was given a set of demographics for each of the three zip codes with which to become familiar as we move forward in our work together.
If you would like a copy of the demographic information on each of the zip codes, please contact the Receptionist and she will have copies available for you to pick up during the week or on the following Sunday.
In an aim to make this a positive venture for the church, our focus will be on our strengths and on what is working for Grace Church. Please speak with the members of the Hopesourcing team if you have any questions and, foremost, keep them in your daily prayers: Paul Miller, Bill Wood, Kathleen Skomorucha, Don MacKelcan, Kate Carns, Kim Blackwell, Lee McNeil, Glen Cottman, Maryke Cottman, Fred Zell, Syd Fleming, Marv Reinhart, Jerry Buckworth, Diane Olin White, and me.
As your Senior Pastor I have made a commitment to make the work of the Hopesourcing team as transparent as possible. What appears here is an attempt to share with you the work of the team so you can give immediate feedback. The whole idea is to immediately bring you into the holy conversation so the team can receive your input, questions, thoughts, as it goes through this process.
Each time Hopesourcing meets, we will begin with a short study of a Bible passage and prayer that will lead us into the work of that particular session. The passage used for our first meeting was Matthew 9:14-17. I hope you will take the time to read this passage and see what it says to you in terms of the future direction of Grace Church. .
The theme of the first session of Hopesourcing was “You are here” and dealt with what we see as our present state. The first exercise we did was to list the “Basic Assumptions” that we have about Grace Church. The team generated the following assumptions:
Deep purpose in mission
We are to serve as a beacon to the community in downtown Wilmington.
Less consensus than in the past
Suburban church in an urban location
Twice Grace sold suburban properties and maintained urban presence
Tension within congregation and staff
Believe we need change
Sanctuary and financial endowment permit us to be here and do things
we otherwise could not do
Endowment represents the hopes of past generations
Aging population and future challenged
Not well-known downtown
Congregation is outgoing and friendly
Sense of loyalty
Worship/Sanctuary – creates space away from world/clutter
The second exercise we did was to answer the question “What is working?” The following are the responses:
Music – choirs, special programs such as “Feast of Carols”
Preschool – reputation is very good/holding up in poor economy
Physical environment – contributes to spiritual environment
Worship – multi-faceted
Opportunities for involvement
Membership efforts beginning to take hold – relatively stable
The team was divided into three groups, seated at separate tables, which was helpful in the final exercise. Each group took a “Community Inventory Quiz” on one of three zip codes: 19801(church’s zip), 19803(North Wilmington), and 19806(Trolley Square). The idea was to see what facts the teams knew upfront about their zip code.
Once they had taken the quiz, each table was given a set of demographics on their zip code put out by a group called Percept who does demographics for churches using the Census and Claritas as primary resources. There were some surprises in each group, some differences in what we perceived to be reality and what actually is.
Lastly, each person was given a set of demographics for each of the three zip codes with which to become familiar as we move forward in our work together.
If you would like a copy of the demographic information on each of the zip codes, please contact the Receptionist and she will have copies available for you to pick up during the week or on the following Sunday.
In an aim to make this a positive venture for the church, our focus will be on our strengths and on what is working for Grace Church. Please speak with the members of the Hopesourcing team if you have any questions and, foremost, keep them in your daily prayers: Paul Miller, Bill Wood, Kathleen Skomorucha, Don MacKelcan, Kate Carns, Kim Blackwell, Lee McNeil, Glen Cottman, Maryke Cottman, Fred Zell, Syd Fleming, Marv Reinhart, Jerry Buckworth, Diane Olin White, and me.
An "unnamed woman"
She stopped into the church to see if I would give her a voucher for emergency housing. She had been down at Dunkin' Donuts the day before and someone there had told her to come to the church and see me; that I would help her. I invited her into my office where I planned to tell her privately that there was nothing I could do for her because we don't assist with housing, refer her to the local social service agency, and get back to the agenda I had set for myself for the day.
Instead, I found myself in the presence of one who reminded me of those "unnamed women" in the Bible who found their way to Jesus for help and healing. Those women who were so persistent in their requests to him that he could do nothing but help them. This "unnamed woman" told me her story - at least the parts with which she trusted me. Homeless...staying in a hotel because the few shelters that will take women without dependents were filled to the brim.
She pulled out pieces of paper, worn and tattered, with numbers of the various organizations in the city and county written in every possible space. She asked me for the number of a church on Kirkwood Highway called United Methodist Church. I told her that I couldn't think of a United Methodist Church on Kirkwood Highway. She told me she was sure it existed because her "friend" had told her it did. I called off some names of United Methodist Churches in the area and none seemed to mean anything to her. Finally, exasperated, she said that she just needed the number of a church called United Methodist Church. I explained to her that there are many United Methodist churches, that she was in one. As what I was saying dawned on her, she asked me to give her the name of several United Methodist churches close to Kirkwood Highway because someone had told her that a United Methodist church there would help her.
There was something different about this homeless "unnamed woman;" a dignity that spoke of better days economically; a persistence to find the key to wholeness. When she asked to use a phone to call around to see if there were any organization that could help her, I offered her mine. We worked side by side; me at my computer, she on my phone calling a dozen or more places seeking housing, persistently seeking aid, telling her story time and time again to no avail.
I wondered what was going to happen if she reached the end of her list with no positive results.
I found myself praying that something would turn up for her. Her last call was to one of the United Methodist churches on the list. With discouragement in her voice and the certainty that she would be turned down, she told the secretary her need and asked if the church might be able to help her.
All of a sudden, I saw her sit up a bit straighter in her chair as a look of relief lit up her face. Within moments, she gave the secretary the name of the hotel where she was staying and directed her to speak to the desk clerk so she would know how to make out the check and where to mail the room rent money. This woman walked out of my office feeling differently than she did when she walked in. She had experienced grace.
An experience of grace, such as this, always changes us in some way. What difference did it make in the homeless woman? in me?
Instead, I found myself in the presence of one who reminded me of those "unnamed women" in the Bible who found their way to Jesus for help and healing. Those women who were so persistent in their requests to him that he could do nothing but help them. This "unnamed woman" told me her story - at least the parts with which she trusted me. Homeless...staying in a hotel because the few shelters that will take women without dependents were filled to the brim.
She pulled out pieces of paper, worn and tattered, with numbers of the various organizations in the city and county written in every possible space. She asked me for the number of a church on Kirkwood Highway called United Methodist Church. I told her that I couldn't think of a United Methodist Church on Kirkwood Highway. She told me she was sure it existed because her "friend" had told her it did. I called off some names of United Methodist Churches in the area and none seemed to mean anything to her. Finally, exasperated, she said that she just needed the number of a church called United Methodist Church. I explained to her that there are many United Methodist churches, that she was in one. As what I was saying dawned on her, she asked me to give her the name of several United Methodist churches close to Kirkwood Highway because someone had told her that a United Methodist church there would help her.
There was something different about this homeless "unnamed woman;" a dignity that spoke of better days economically; a persistence to find the key to wholeness. When she asked to use a phone to call around to see if there were any organization that could help her, I offered her mine. We worked side by side; me at my computer, she on my phone calling a dozen or more places seeking housing, persistently seeking aid, telling her story time and time again to no avail.
I wondered what was going to happen if she reached the end of her list with no positive results.
I found myself praying that something would turn up for her. Her last call was to one of the United Methodist churches on the list. With discouragement in her voice and the certainty that she would be turned down, she told the secretary her need and asked if the church might be able to help her.
All of a sudden, I saw her sit up a bit straighter in her chair as a look of relief lit up her face. Within moments, she gave the secretary the name of the hotel where she was staying and directed her to speak to the desk clerk so she would know how to make out the check and where to mail the room rent money. This woman walked out of my office feeling differently than she did when she walked in. She had experienced grace.
An experience of grace, such as this, always changes us in some way. What difference did it make in the homeless woman? in me?
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Experiencing Grace
Finally, I have been able to get this blog up and running. It's only taken eight months of dreaming of it and talking about it! The act of creating it has been an experience of grace offered to me by a kind colleague who knows far more about things such as this than I do. I'm grateful to her for her quiet encouragement.
I feel as if we live in a world where experiences of grace get lost as we treat daily living as if it were more about us and less about God. What would happen if each and every day of our lives we stopped at the end of the day and identified where grace has touched us? How would it change us? transform us? shape our relationships?
I feel as if we live in a world where experiences of grace get lost as we treat daily living as if it were more about us and less about God. What would happen if each and every day of our lives we stopped at the end of the day and identified where grace has touched us? How would it change us? transform us? shape our relationships?
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