Get tough...or not

Wednesday, May 30, 2012–My daughter Meredith completed her first marathon this past Sunday. I am one proud mom.

It is said that the last 6.2 miles of a 26.2-mile marathon are the "second half" of the race. It is in these last 6.2 miles that a runner’s grit, training, courage, and mental and physical toughness are really tested. At one point in those last couple of miles, Meredith ran past her uncle standing along the side of the course. "Get tough, Meredith!" he advised her, knowing of what he spoke, because he has not only run marathons himself, but coaches marathoners. Meredith did indeed "get tough" and dug deep, and finished the race, upright and beaming.

I’ve been an athlete all my life, certainly not an "elite"one, and only competing with others on swim teams up through high school. Still, I’ve always been active--swimming, dancing, walking, running for a brief while, cross-country skiing, yoga. I have experienced that point in a race or a practice where I did have to "get tough," pushing on through weariness and the pain of exertion, and being glad I did–or could.

But now that I am in the "second half" of life (who knows our length of days?), I find that the real challenge is to know when to "get tough" and when to "soften up, let go." I have battled judgmentalism for most of my life–of others and of myself. I find that I’ve loosened up considerably on my judgmentalism of others–I’ve heard enough life stories that have added depth and complexity and heartache to my initial impressions to know that most judgments are superficial, or at least incomplete.

But I’m still pretty tough on myself. I was never taught to learn from my mistakes, only to avoid them. So, when I forget a meeting, like I did this week, or fail to do a job the way I know it "should" be done, or make a stupid remark, I can be pretty ruthless with myself. Never mind that I, like almost everyone else I know, is juggling way too many things, trying to take care of too many other people, have had a number of losses to deal with. Get tough, I say, dig deep, shape up. And there’s certainly always deeper to dig.

But maybe, just maybe, way down deep are the Everlasting Arms, waiting to catch me when I fall and fail, ready to receive me when I finally let go, ready to hold me when my physical and emotional muscles give out. In this "second half" of life, may that be the Truth I strive to remember.

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"Dreams and Visions"-- Acts 2:1-21, Romans 8: 22-27 -- May 27, 2012

On that Jewish festival of Pentecost, or First Fruits of the harvest, the disciples and followers of Jesus who gathered in that upper room in Jerusalem were faithful Jews waiting for a Jewish messiah. (Mark Suriano, cited by Kate Huey in Weekly Seeds, 5/27/12) With the arrival of the Holy Spirit, like a mighty rushing wind, appearing to be tongues of fire alighting upon each person’s head, these backwater Galileans became "ambassadors of a more universal experience of God," (Suriano, op cit.) able to speak in the languages of all the people who had gathered in the city for the holy days. On that day, which we often call "the birthday of the church," that handful of faithful followers of "the Way" were transformed themselves for the transformation of the world. It was, in the words of one preacher, "a monumental, paradigm-changing event." (Gary V. Simpson, The African American Lectionary, 5/31/09)

We gather today as well, perhaps in the scheme of things a "handful of faithful followers of the Way," but I wonder if we have any expectation of transformation, let alone "the power from on high," which those first disciples awaited. The thing is, the story of Pentecost tells us that the power and presence of the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for the existence of the church. Without it, we have no right to call ourselves by that name.

As Gary V. Simpson, an African American preacher and teacher, reminds us, gathering together in one place doesn’t give us power. What we need is "synchronized energy," or "synergy"; and, he says, the Holy Spirit is not just "raw spiritual energy," but "divinity with personality...It is not merely a power source but God willing to be in radical relationship with believers to affect the power structures of the world." (Ibid.) And that power is totally out of our control–"And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind," Luke tells us, "and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability."

"Pentecost," Simpson says, "is not simply a day to remember the birth of the church, but it is also a way of remembering our commitment to open ourselves, to change the world and be changed by the world with the aid of the Holy Spirit." To change the world and be changed by the world with the aid of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not only Comforter, Intercessor, as we heard in the passage from Romans, but also Disturber, World-changer, Life-changer. Do we really want that? Do we know what we’re saying when we pray, "Come, Holy Spirit"? More often in the church, we hear, "We’ve always done it that way," which really means, "That’s the way I’ve gotten used to it’s being done." (David Lose, Working Preacher.com, 5/27/12)

It is sometimes said that Pentecost reverses the confusion of languages that God put into human beings in the story of the Tower of Babel. You remember that primordial story of human beings deciding together to build a tower up to heaven (It’s hard to even imagine human beings actually agreeing on something, isn’t it?), and to prevent that hubris, or that attempt to displace God, God is said to have given them all different languages, so they couldn’t understand one another and complete their task.

In the story of Pentecost, the followers of Jesus are given different languages but everyone can understand in their native tongue, and what they are given ability to communicate is the "powerful deeds of God," an invitation to enter into radical relationship with this God to transform the power structures of the world. The Word of God has that strange ability. As the great African American preacher Gardner Taylor pointed out, the masters taught the gospel to their slaves in the hopes that they would hear, "Slaves, obey your masters." But what the slaves heard was, "The ones I have set free are free indeed!" (Cited by Simpson, op cit.)

"The Gospel story has no portability or power [Simpson writes] if it gets trapped in the language and capacity or ability of the witnesses alone. We are called by the circumstances of the Church’s birth [--this Pentecost story–] to wrestle with the language we use to communicate the gospel so that our experiences are more than mere personal jubilation." The church doesn’t exist just for us and our comfort and happiness. It exists for the transformation of everyone, of the whole world, and we need to communicate that.

It takes courage and creativity to be that church. (David Lose, op cit.) It’s going to take more than wearing our t-shirts around this summer. We do need to think about what we’ll do if somebody actually asks us what they’re about, let alone what we’ll do should they take us up on our offer to join us some Sunday morning. The traditional language of the church, as I wrote in my piece for the most recent Open Door, is no longer the "native tongue" of very many people, particularly younger folk. So we need to learn other languages as well if we are to communicate this life-giving, life-changing, "good news." I’m hoping to learn more of the language of Positive Psychology through the course I’ll be taking this year. Another language we might learn from is the language of one of the most successful businesses on the planet–Apple.

In a fascinating article called, "10 Things the Church Can Learn from the Apple Store," Lutheran professor and pastor David Lose offers some translations for the church from an article by a friend of his, (Gary Kawasaki), who worked for Apple for years. Kawasaki laid out these "10 Things You Can Learn from the Apple Store" --

1. Stop selling stuff. Apple employees are taught to ask, rather, "How do we enrich people’s lives?" Lose’s translation for the church is: "Stop worrying about membership and whether people will join the church," which is our equivalent of "selling stuff." "Instead," he says, "ask people why they’re here, why they’ve come, what they’re looking for, and how this congregation can aid them in their walk with God."

2. Enrich lives. These are the first two words on a wallet-sized credo card Apple employees are encouraged to carry. The translation for the church is: "Strengthen faith." We might also translate it: Build trust in God. What if "every aspect of our lives as a congregation–our worship, our meetings, our educational opportunities, our facilities, our newsletter, and all that were intended to help people strengthen their faith and grow in their lives as disciples?

3. Hire for smiles. Apple values magnetic personality as much as, if not more so, than technical proficiency. It cares less about what you know than it cares about how much you love people. Translation for us: "Hire" for smiles! Statistics show that visitors make up their minds about a church in the first 2 minutes. Are they greeted with genuine smiles and welcome? Can they find their way around? You get it.

4. Celebrate diversity. "Mohawks, tattoos, piercings are all accepted among Apple Store employees" because that reflects the diversity of their customers. The translation for us is obvious, and pointed–Do we really welcome all people of faith or in search of faith, without regard to age, race, sex, economic condition, disability, or sexual orientation? Look around. Do we reflect the diversity we say we welcome?

5. Unleash inner genius. "Teach your customers something they never knew they could do before, and they’ll reward you with their loyalty." Translation for the church is: Everyone here has something of value to offer. We must recognize, help them discern that gift if they don’t recognize it themselves, celebrate these gifts, challenge folks to develop and strengthen their gifts, and train folks so that they can experience satisfaction and confidence in what they offer.

6. Empower employees. Apple employees are non-commissioned sales people. They don’t get paid for selling more products. They are there because they contribute to everyone’s success, and their initiative and creativity are encouraged. Translation for the church: Lose writes, "If it matters, don’t let the pastor do it!" Create a permission-giving culture in which folks try things that energize them, and then, if necessary, they can ask for forgiveness later.

7. Sell the benefit. Apple employees are taught to sell the benefit of their products–how this will enrich your life and that of your children, how can we customize this so that it will actually fit your life and not make you fit into it. The translation for the church is: Practice talking about what we love about this congregation–why we come here Sunday mornings, that sort of thing. We hope to do that more in the weeks to come.

8. Follow the Steps of Service. The 5 steps of service for Apple employees follow the letters in Apple–A-approach with a warm greeting, p-Probe politely to understand the customer’s needs. P-Present a solution the customer can take home today. L–Listen for and address unresolved questions. E–End with a fond farewell and an invitation to return. Translation for us: Take hospitality seriously. Practice it.

9. Create multisensory experiences–Apple stores are set up so people can touch, hold, see, hear the products. Translation for the church, Lose says, is: Keep worship simple, clean, and richly multi-sensorial, inviting a faith that goes deeper than our brains to reach the whole person.

And finally, 10. Appeal to the "buying brain."[More helpful for us is, Learn from brain research.] Clutter forces the brain to consume energy, we know. Apple stories are very uncluttered. The translation for the church is: What are we doing–in our worship, meetings, education–that we don’t need to? What is essential?

10 Things the Church Can Learn from the Apple Store. And Lose suggests there’s one more thing to learn from Apple, which he writes about in his article, "The Church is not Apple, but..." (5/24/12) That one more thing to learn, which was Steve Job’s real gift, is "design matters." One of the things we are learning in the revolution in cognitive neuro-science is that ‘the mind is less rational than we believe and more associative than we know." (NY Times, 1/8/12, Week in Review, p. 12) In other words, we are hard-wired to absorb images, metaphors, rather than numbers and "facts." Design matters. In our worship. In our we talk about/express God. In all our communications. In our building.

"In the last days it will be, God declares, [Peter told the astonished witnesses that first Pentecost] that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young people shall see visions, and your old people shall dream dreams..." On this day of Pentecost, may we commit ourselves to being open to God’s Holy Spirit as it seeks to transform us and transform the world. So may the church truly be re-born and the whole creation with it. Amen, and amen.

 

Rev. Mary H. Lee-Clark

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Waiting

Wednesday, May 23, 2012–According to the Christian calendar, we are between Ascension Day, when Jesus "ascended" into heaven and told his followers to wait for the Holy Spirit to come, and the Day of Pentecost, when the Spirit arrived in fiery power and "speaking ability." Until then, according to Luke’s gospel, they were in the Temple, "continually blessing God."

Luke tells a slightly different story in Acts, for though he says they returned to Jerusalem and joined the men and women in the upper room there who "were constantly devoting themselves to prayer," they also did some business–they elected a replacement for Judas. Taking care of business is another time-honored way of filling the waiting time.

Bruce’s family has been keeping company with his father as he nears the end of his long, full life. He doesn’t eat much these days and has lost a lot of weight. I have this image of there being nothing left in the bed some morning, just his clothes. Still, this time of waiting has been rich and precious, despite the sometimes awkward conversations about bodily functions and "what if’s." It has been filled both with prayer and blessing God, as well as some business. We await something that we both dread and yet see as a fulfillment, a completion.

My daughter Meredith has been training since February for her first marathon, which takes place this Sunday morning in Burlington. She has worked hard, learned much, shared the experience and learnings in a wonderful blog (16to26.blogspot.com), and now is trying to get through the week without driving herself crazy with anticipation. Just a little more waiting.

I remember thinking I would be pregnant forever as the end of my pregnancies drew near. It seemed as though I would burst open before these babies were ready to be born, but, of course, in the fullness of time, each one was finally ready, my body began the process it was designed to go through, and two beautiful babies were each born "in the fullness of time."

"The fullness of time" – kairos – as the Greek calls it–different from chronos or "clock time." Kairos is God’s time, not to be hurried or even measured by us, only trusted in. "Continually blessing God" is probably the most appropriate way to live in kairos.

So we bless God, the Giver and Creator of Life, as we wait for the fullness of time in Russ’ life, as we celebrate and cheer Meredith on, as we open ourselves up to the fiery, windy, empowering, birthing, comforting Holy Spirit to come on whatever Pentecost Day God chooses. Thanks be to God!

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"Why are you looking up?"-- Acts 1:1-11, Luke 24: 44-53-- May 20, 2012

 

South African minister Peter Woods tells this story–

When European missionaries came to South Africa, they were faced with a theological conundrum. The indigenous people...believed that ‘God’ who they named [various names, including] The Biggest One,...and The Way-opener lived in the ground. Caves and holes were sacred spaces, which is why they were adorned with lithographs, which in turn were animated by flickering fire in the caves. To this day the traditions of Africa see their beloved dead buried in the kraal (corral). When an African is facing life’s challenges, a sacred ritual is to return to the kraal at one’s home and pour the froth of traditional beer into the earth before asking advice of the ancients who are buried there amongst their cattle.

The European missionaries were creed bound [–"...he was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell. On the third day, he rose again from the dead, he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father, from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead...--] to teach that God lived in the sky, and also that there was a place called hell (which African cosmology had no reference or need for) deep in the earth. The way they did this ‘preaching’ was to literally turn the psyche of Africans around from the God of the deep to the God of the sky, thus creating a deep tear in the soul of Africans who were already, by their very nature, profoundly theistic people.

What the missionaries did not have the insight to examine in their time was how they, as Westerners, had come to believe in the God of the sky."(I am listening, blog–5/11/10-"Up, up and inside!")

They came to believe in the God of the sky because they, like so many others, thought the earth was flat, with the sky as dome over the earth, from which life-giving rain came and the stars and sun and moon moved across that dome eternally, like the gods, so "up" was the direction of the immortals. "What if," Woods asks, "the African imagery were correct and Jesus came from God who lives in the earth and then re-descended?" Would we treat the earth more kindly and reverently?

In the Christian tradition, Jesus appeared to his followers for 40 days after being raised from the dead on Easter morning. On the 40^th day, it is said, he was taken up to heaven in a cloud, i.e. he "ascended," where he sits at the right hand of God. 10 days later the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus’ followers and set them on fire. That’s Pentecost, which we’ll celebrate next Sunday.

If you listened carefully, however, to our two readings this morning from Luke and Acts (both written by the same author whom we call Luke), the gospel reading says that Jesus was "taken from their sight in a cloud" on Easter evening, in Bethany. The Acts reading says it was 40 days (or a long time, or as long as was necessary) when Jesus "was lifted up and taken out of their sight on a cloud." Same author, different accounts. Clearly this wasn’t intended to be a documentary, but rather a testimony of faith.

Jesus wasn’t the first or only person in the bible to "ascend," of course. Early on Enoch was said to have walked with God "and then he was no more." The prophet Elijah, you’ll recall, was taken up into heaven in a firey chariot pulled by horses, right in front of his pupil Elisha. Various other famous personages in the Roman and Greek world were said to have been taken bodily into heaven, usually accompanied by clouds. It was a way of saying that these great figures were so full of the Divine that their deaths were barely noticeable and they went immediately to "be with God" or the gods.

Ascension Day is a tough sell in the 21^st century. It always takes place on a Thursday, and though some churches observe it with balloon launchings and other liturgies, you may have noticed that Thursday came and went here without much fuss about the Ascension of Christ. How far "up" would you have to send a spaceship to reach heaven, and if, say, you launched it from Australia, which way is "up"? We might do better to adopt the African scheme of things, and think of God as down, inside the earth. At least then the people of this planet would know where to locate Divinity.

But the story of the Ascension is an important story. It’s only a problem if we take it literally. It is a way of acknowledging Jesus’ very real death and, as someone has put rather crudely, it solves the problem of "what to do with the body." But even that is probably too literal. The story of the Ascension of Jesus is a true story, whether or not it actually happened that way.

Walter Wink-- great Biblical scholar, teacher, author, advocate for justice and non-violence, who died last weekend–actually wrote of the Ascension as a pivotal and crucial story. In his book, The Human Being: Jesus and the Enigma of the Son of the Man, Wink writes about how the disciples, who had lived so closely with Jesus during his earthly ministry, not only watched him heal and deal with people, listened to him teach, and then watched how he died, but also realized that they came to experience God when they were with Jesus. They even experienced Jesus’ presence with them after he died, in what they could only describe as his "resurrection body." "From now on," Wink writes, "Jesus’ followers would experience God through the filter of Jesus...Jesus, it seemed to [them], had infiltrated Godhead," (p. 152) that is, he had gone to be with God. He "ascended."

But that didn’t mean his followers should simply stand on the ground looking up. They had a blessing and an assignment–"Be my witnesses. Do what I’ve done," Jesus told them. "Men of Galilee," the two men in white robes asked them, "why do you stand looking up toward heaven?" Before he departed, Jesus told his followers to grow up, not look up. Barbara Lundblad describes a finely-etched woodcut of the Ascension she had seen, and while the disciples are looking up into the clouds, there on the spot that Jesus had just left is a set of footprints in the earth. (Day 1, 5/8/05) Jesus left footprints on the earth–you have footprints to leave as well.

Wink writes, "The disciples experienced the most essential aspects of Jesus’ presence as having remained with them after his death...[The ascension] irreversibly altered the nature of the disciples’ consciousness. They would never again be able to think of God apart from Jesus." (153)

Wink goes even further to say that the "Ascension was an objective event, if you will, but it took place in the imaginal realm..., [way down deep in our collective unconscious], where the most fundamental changes in consciousness take place." (Ibid.) We tend to think of "objective" events as being something you can see or measure or take a picture of, but the field of psychology has studied–and maybe you’ve had experiences with-- the very real impacts and effects of "inward" events–an emotional experience, a decision, an insight, an inspiration–all these can be life-changing, if not world-altering, and for many of them, you can put a time and place as to when they happened. Philosopher Paul Ricoeur notes that the ascension confirms the belief that what is highest above human beings is what is most inward. (Cited by Wink in op cit., p. 156)

The only term that Jesus is said to have affirmed for himself is Son of Man, or, the Fully Human One, the Human Being, as Wink simply puts it. Through his life, death, resurrection, and ascension, he not only showed us what that Fully Human One looks like, but, as Wink would say, entered into all our consciousness so that we too might become fully human, should we desire to do so.

The evangelists, Wink notes, are careful to say that the Son of Man, or the Fully Human One, is not God, ["up there"], not the Self [not "just in here"], not the core of reality. The Human Being is only near to God, ‘at the right hand of the Power of God,’ serving to mediate the experience of God to those who desire it." (P. 155)

Yikes! What in heaven’s name does this have to do with us? "Is the Ascension about gravity or spirituality," asks pastor Bruce Epperly, "geography or vocation? The point of Ascension [he says] is perspective"–on the world and on our lives. We "gain a vision and mission that is larger than ourselves or our communities." (Patheos, 5/29/11)

For Thomas Merton, the 20^th. Century Trappist monk and author, any one of us can "ascend" to God in prayer and meditation. "[The Ascension] is the feast of silence and interior solitude when we go up to live in heaven with Jesus: for he takes us there, after he has lived a little while on earth among us. This is the grace of Ascension Day: to be taken up into the heaven of our own souls, the quiet peak in the darkness that surrounds God. To live there through all trials and all business with the ‘tranquil God who makes all things tranquil.’" (cited by Carl Gregg, Progressive Christianity on Ascension Sunday, 5/27/11)

You have heard it said–and have perhaps said yourself–that "Jesus died for our sins." If sin is separation from God, then it could be said that Jesus’ entire life, death, resurrection, and ascension remove the separation. They unit human and divine, opening the way for all who choose to follow. It shows us, as Paul wrote to the church in Rome, that "nothing in all creation–neither death nor life,...not things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus." It means that God is not just in some far off heaven, uninterested in human affairs, unapproachable except by the appropriate and proper prayers and hymns and offerings. Not only were the followers of Jesus changed, but the story of the ascension says that God was changed, becoming incarnate in Jesus and then receiving the Fully Human One at the right hand of the power of God.

As inspiring and admirable as Jesus’ teachings and acts are, our lives are changed only when something resonates within us that moves us and rearranges us. It is at this depth dimension that the story of the "ascension" of Christ speaks and works its truth. God is powerfully present and alive in human beings who are fully alive, extraordinarily alive, if you will. "Why do you stand here looking up into heaven?" You have footprints on earth to make yourself. May we travel that journey with that Presence, with courage, with joy, with one another. Amen.

　

Rev. Mary H. Lee-Clark

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Walter Wink

Wednesday, May 16, 2012--One of the wave of loved ones who have been carried to that Distant Shore recently is Walter Wink-- Biblical scholar, activist, teacher, author–who died this past weekend. Walter would have no idea that he was one of my "loved ones," but a 10-day course I took with him in 1997 was life-changing for me, and there is no doubt in my mind that it was Love that gave Walter his insight, wisdom, and courage.

It was Walter who made real for me (and many others) Jesus’ "Third Way," i.e. Jesus’ response to violence and evil which was neither with more violence nor with passive acquiescence. By literally acting out the passage in Matthew where Jesus’ talks about retaliation–"You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. "– Walter taught that Jesus was actually talking about a "third way" of responding to violence–with surprise, with creativity, with engagement. Turning the left cheek to an aggressor who had struck in order to demean or intimidate would force him or her to treat you as an equal. Giving your cloak when you had already given your coat to pay an unpayable debt put the one demanding payment in the position of looking upon another’s nakedness–a shameful position for the viewer rather than the viewee. A Roman soldier forcing a civilian to carry his pack more than one mile would be censured.

This insight put meat on the bones of my skeletal notion of non-violence, along with Walter’s documenting and telling stories of how non-violence had been used in places of real violence and danger to change situations. Two stories in particular stay with me–one, from Walter’s time in apartheid South Africa, tells of a line of bulldozers approaching a settlement to destroy all the homes and the women of the settlement lining up to block their way. Knowing the Afrikaaners strict "moral" code, the women stripped naked before the rumbling machines, and the flustered Afrikaaner soldiers and workers turned and fled. The other is of a woman who had long practiced non-violence–been through training, had been part of affinity groups engaged in non-violent protest, had lived life long enough to have gained a deep understanding of people. When she woke to find a young man entering her bedroom in the middle of the night, she sat up and asked him what time it was. Startled, the young man said he didn’t know and she commiserated that her watch hadn’t been working right and didn’t he find it difficult sometimes to get things to work out. So on and so forth the conversation continued, she, admittedly, shaking and frightened, but he, disoriented and moved by her treatment of him. Eventually she invited him to sleep in the guest bedroom with the promise of a full breakfast of bacon and eggs in the morning, and though she stayed awake the rest of the night, the young man left the next morning, without harming her, with a full stomach.

Walter introduced me to the idea of the "angel" of a church or institution, and had us draw the angel of our church. This gave me great insight into our church here at Second Congregational and how to creatively deal with our "angel." Walter’s trilogy of books on the "powers and principalities" was brilliant and helpful in "Engaging the Powers" in the real world. One of his later books, The Human Being–Jesus and the Enigma of the Son of the Man, provided a framework for me to talk and think about Jesus as the quintessential human being and what his "ascension" meant. Ascension Day happens to be tomorrow!

So thank you, Walter, and, as Pepper would say (see a couple weeks’ ago blog)–Walk on.

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Minutes to the 175th Annual Meeting

OF

THE SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH,UCC

OF BENNINGTON, VERMONT

 

January 29, 2012

(These minutes do not become official until approved by a future meeting of the congregation.)

 

Actions taken are shown in bold print.

 

The meeting was preceded on January 22^rd by an advanced review of the proposed 2012 Operating Budget,  On January 29 it was preceded first by a generously augmented “brown bag” lunch.  Sixty seven people were in attendance at the beginning of the meeting.

 

The meeting was called to order at 11:55 by the Moderator, Eric Webster.  Pastor Mary Lee-Clark led those assembled in prayer, using an Irish blessing by John Donohue..  The Clerk, David Durfee, then read the Warning of the meeting.

 

The minutes of the January 30, 2011, 174^th Annual Meeting were approved without correction  The Moderator next proposed that reports not requiring action be accepted as a group after all were heard, rather than a separate action after each one.  This was agreed to without objection.

 

The Pastor called attention to her report and asked if there were any questions or comments.  Lorna Cheriton noted that she had found the written report “inspiring” the way it looked forward to the future with hope.  No questions were asked concerning the Moderator’s report. The Clerk, when called upon, noted that this was his 15^th Clerk’s report and asked the groups indulgence to allow him to comment on its implication.  He characterized the statement as “his version of a ‘doom and gloom’ speech.”  He noted slow but continuing declines in many of the numbers, noting that he felt that they would have been much worse, considering such a time of change in societal conditions and attitudes, had it not been for the skills ands quality of the Pastor.  David expressed concern about a growing risk aversion, and cited the fate of Kodak and football’s prevent defense as examples of the likely unhappy effects of such behavior.  He ended by encouraging all to attend the church retreat planned for Saturday, February 25, to begin consideration of transformation.. 

 

No additions were made to the Pastoral Relations Committee’s report.  With appropriate enthusiasm, Ernie Tetreault, for the All Church Fellowship, remarked the the celebration of the 175^th Anniversary was wonderful and that he looked forward to many more good things ahead.  David Haley, co-chair of the Board of Deacons, commented that the written report he had prepared was longer than usual, but that he had wanted members of the congregation to have an understanding of the wide range of activities of the Deacons.  Called on to present the report of the Ministry for Healing, Jane Norrie thanked all for their constant affirmation. She spoke of the meaningful experiences she had had at the Rowe Center and with the Unitarian Universalist Society.  Jan Lerrigo invited questions or comments on the report of the Board of Missions.  David Durfee called attention to the list of Opportunities and Appeals for Giving handed out separately from the yearbook.  He underlined the significance of several of the columns, praised the total generosity, and reminded all that the church neither encouraged nor expeced individuals to give more than they could afford.  Bruce Lee-Clark announced that Heifer Project alternative-gift purchasers exceeded $2,000 and that the youth thanked congregants for their generosity and for “making it fun.”  Bruce also spoke of Greater Bennington Interfaith Community Services (GBICS) to which church members contribute time, talent, and treasure.  He noted that the group’s Kitchen Cupboard helps one-quarter of the population of Bennington.  Jane Norrie, a volunteer, spoke of seeing lives changed.  Pastor Mary spoke of the church people who helped at he Free Clinic  and of the growth of both the need and resources of the Fuel and Food Fund, both of which are also under the aegis of GBICS.  Trudy Durfee mentioned all of the food items given to the Bennington-Rutland Opportunity Center (BROC) at Thanksgiving and throughout the year.

 

The Pastor had prepared the written report for the Board of Christian Education.  She noted that there would be a small coordinating Board in 2012.  Rachel Payne and Emily Unphlett were commended for their work with the children in Godly Play.  Michelle Marchetti offered to answer questions about the Jr/Sr High Youth Group report but those present apparently found the written report informative enough.  Eric announced that he would skip over the report of the of the Structure and New Keys Task Force for the moment.  Linda Johnson stated that she had sufficient confidence in the reading ability of those present to feel it necessary to elaborate on the written Adult Choir report.  Cindy Riddle was equally brief about the Report of the Organist, Hand Bell Choir Director/Choir Accompanist.  It was announced that Sue Wiskoski had agreed to take over the Callirgos Loan Fund from Jerry Handspicker.

 

Ann Barber noted that the Endowment was slowly inching its way back up from its 2008 low point.  The church is taking out as little as it possibly can for operations  She commended the investment adviser, Don McKenna.  In response to a question, Ann noted that the church had received no bequests in 2011 but had received one statement of intention.  NancyJean Steffen reported for the Trustees.  She noted that the Operating Budget did a little better than expected in 2011.  The projected deficit had been about $12,000 but the actual was closer to $6,000.  The Board had managed to keep the building together.  Finally, since she was completing at least six consecutive years on the Trustees, she noted that from this time on notes about light bulbs that were out, repairs that were needed, and other deficiencies noted, should go in Doug Krause’s mailbox, not hers.  Several present offered thanks from the congregation.  Linda Wall, saying that she thought it had been eight years of service, spoke of how the Trustees would miss NancyJean’s presence.

 

It was then moved, seconded, and voted unanimously that all the preceding reports be accepted.  

 

The Moderator next called on Barbara Houle to present the proposed budget for 2012.  Barbara directed attention to the appropriate pages in the Annual Report noting the short list of income sources and much longer list of expenditure areas. She talked first about the latter, noting that projected expenses included  2% salary increase for most of the staff.  Barbara commented that program area expenses had been held at minimum levels for a number of years and that most areas had asked for the same amount in 2012.and they could not be cut.  Wherever possible, projected expense amounts are based on facts and past experience.  The Trustees first budget plan called for a balanced budget.  Estimates of giving, however, came in lower than expected and some earlier overlooked items of expense had to be added. The Trustees were concerned about maintaining the endowment and recognized that its figure was likely to include unrealized loss.  (Unrealized loss was explained as resulting from the fact that items in the portfolio were carried on the books at their purchase amount until sold even if their actual value had changed.  Unrealized losses, or gains, did not become actual ones until the items were sold.)  To prevent any greater draw on the endowment, the decision was to cut Basic Support for Our Churches Wider Mission (OCWM) almost in half.

 

At this point David Durfee offered a motion: Moved, that the amount on the line for OCWM Basic Support in the 2012 budget on page 30 of the 175^th Annual Report be changed from $10,000 to $19,750, recognizing that this will increase the projected deficit in the Net Ordinary Income line.  It was seconded. Lengthy discussion followed, usually with for and against speakers alternating.  Arguments for the motion included: (1) OCWM provides the money needed for the Conference and National denomination to exist,  (2) we, and smaller churches especially, are going to need them more and more in the coming years of trial for all churches, (3)  a personal testimony from a former pastor’s wife about the tremendous support received from the Conference when needed by his church, (4) support of OCWM is a covenant responsibility (5) we have to identify this as a real priority, and (6) we need to think in  bigger terms about our mission.  There was also a comment that for several years in a row now we had heard that we were spending down the endowment and that it was in danger, but, in actuality, it is still at the same level that it was six years ago.

 

Arguments against the amendment included: (1) we are already taking too much from the endowment, (2) we are very generous in mission and could cut OCWM this year and come back to it next year, (3) we must remember unrealized loss, (4) endowment is for the future, (5) a neighboring church was being sued for taking too big a draw from its endowment, and (6) saying God will provide is not enough. Finally, it was noted that other churches have not given their share in the past and in 2011.

 

A motion to move the previous question and vote immediately on David’s motion was approved by more than the required two thirds vote.  The meeting then voted on the motion and the motion was defeated.  Ernie Lafontaine then moved that if at the end of 2012 total income for the Operating Budget ( not including any amount drawn from the endowment in excess of the allowed formula amount) exceeds total expenses from the Operating Budget, the difference will be sent to OCWM   This was seconded.  A friendly amendment was accepted inserting the words not to exceed $8,750  between “ difference” and “will” in the last line.  The motion was passed. 

 

The budget, as amended, was then passed.

 

Eric then called for the report from the Structure and New Keys Task Force report.  Attention was called to the written report.  David Durfee and Ernie Lafontaine expanded on it, noting the concern about the declining numbers that had been raised several times during the meeting.  Many had noted that the need was to expand our membership, but experience has shown that we can’t just hope they will find their way to Hillside Street and come in.  We must become clear about, and confident about, what we have to offer, in God’s name, and how we can bring it to others in a time of social, attitudinal, and technological change.  The retreat on February 25 will be a start.  Ernie and David urged all to attend.

 

Before the report of the Nominating Committee, the Clerk offered a motion, which was seconded and passed, Moved, that Constitution and Bylaws provisions related to the numbers and terms members of the Boards and Standing Committees of the Church be suspended until the next Annual Meeting.  The Nominating Committee then proposed election of the slate as printed.  This was seconded and the slate to fill position until the 2013 Annual Meeting was elected.

 

Eric expressed the church’s thanks to all who had served and were now leaving Boards.  He also thanked the All Church Fellowship people who had overseen the lunch and Tom Steffen for setting up the room for it and the meeting.  After a final plea to attend the retreat, the meeting was  adjourned at 1:31.

Respectfully submitted,

David A. Durfee

David A. Durfee, Scribe

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"At Home in God"--Acts 10:44-48, John 15:9-17--May 13, 2012

Everything is changing around us. When I heard this week that fully one-half of recent college graduates are without full-time jobs and that a college education is no longer almost a sure guarantee of a decent job, I realized that one of the bedrock assumptions I had grown up with was no longer so solid. I had known that when my kids were looking for jobs, my advice to them was practically useless to them–you know, the "write a great, intriguing cover letter along with your resume, follow up with a phone call if not a visit to the office, they’ll love you once they meet you" kind of advice that parents used to give their children. A. Almost everything happens by e-mail these days, B. They’ll probably call security if you stop by the office, and C. There are hundreds if not thousands of extremely qualified applicants for every job opening. The most a parent can do, it seems, is tell their child that you love them and get their room ready for them to move back in.

If you have not made the leap into cyber-space and don’t use a computer, you know how "left-behind" you can feel. Then there’s the cell-phone, or "smart phone" divide, for those of us still tethered to land lines, not to mention all the cultural references which can sound like a foreign language as one generation tries to communicate with another. Our bodies are changing everyday, maybe getting stronger and healthier as you recover from an illness or injury or work toward some fitness or health goal, but for others of us, the changes are in the other direction–weaker, less cooperative, growing or shedding things that you never knew were so changeable.

The church is in the midst of change as well–not just us, but The Church, worldwide–in the midst of that 500-year rummage sale, as we’ve talked about before. I read this week that if 1950 should come around again, the mainline church will be totally ready for it. Alas, or thank God, 1950 will never come around again, unless we tumble into some kind of crack in the space-time continuum, in which case we’ll have bigger fish to fry.

"Abide in my love," Jesus said to his disciples. There’s a 1950's kind of word–"abide"– "Make yourselves at home in my love," is the way Eugene Peterson puts it. "I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done–kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love."

The use of the word "commands" or "commandments" here is a little surprising. – "This is my commandment," Jesus said, "that you love one another as I have loved you." How can you command someone to love? Biblical scholar John Pilch says that in the Mediterranean understanding, love is about attachment and bonding (The Cultural World of Jesus, Year B, p. 82), it’s not about feeling or emotion. "Love one another as I have loved you," Jesus said. Here in John’s gospel he has just finished washing the disciples’ feet, and John’s community in the last decade of the first century and we in the second decade of the 21^st century, know that Jesus would also give himself over, completely, "lay down his life," to express his love. "No one has greater love than this," he says here in John’s gospel, "to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you."

It’s not really conditional love–I will call you my friend if you do what I command you, though the Greek gets translated that way. Remember that all these "commandments" are in the context of love, Jesus’ love for his followers, God’s love poured out for and through Jesus and into the Risen Christ. We live, move, and have our being in this love, like fish live in water. If we intentionally make our home in this love, we will bear much fruit, we will live lives that become part of God’s loving intention for the world, we become that "someone" who is "kind while others are unkind, that someone who refuses to hate while others hate, that someone who serves another in love, is calm in the storm, is loving everybody." [from children’s time]

"No one has greater love than this," Jesus says here in John’s gospel, "to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." The word for life here is psyche, so we might think of laying down one’s life as "setting aside one’s heart, soul, or being." Peter Woods suggests this translation, "There is no greater unconditional love than when some one gets their ego out of the way for another." (I am listening blog, 5/9/12) We may not–and hopefully will not–be called to literally lay down our lives and die for another, but we are called to give of ourselves–set aside our heart, soul, or being, get our ego out of the way–for another. That is what healthy maternal love is like–being willing and able to set aside our own self-serving desires for the sake of our child and yet having a healthy enough sense of self to lay aside.

It is this very love that binds together not only mother and child but the community that calls itself by this One who loves. UCC pastor Kate Huey writes that "an other-centered, belonging-to-something-greater-than-yourself love was crucial to the struggling little community John was addressing," (Weekly Seeds, 5/13/12) as well as to the disciples who were about to witness Jesus’ death. It would have been very tempting for them–as it is for us–to turn inward, towards our own survival, rather than outward in an ethic and action that serves the world, that "bears fruit" for the kingdom of God.

That early Christian community, which is written about in Acts, shared everything in common. They fed not only their own poor, but any person in need, much to the chagrin of the Roman emperor. In our reading from Acts this morning, we must not miss how absolutely astonishing– even "excruciating," as someone has called it (David Lewicki, Odyssey Network, 5/8/12) it was for those first Jewish Christians to realize that God intended Gentiles to be part of this inbreaking kingdom of God. Such an inclusive community would not be universally applauded, of course, as the very next verse warns that the disciples will be "hated" by the world.

We know that today, inclusivity is not a universally held value, and President Obama’s "evolution" in thinking about gay marriage has probably been no less astonishing and even excruciating than the Jewish Christians opening up their fellowship to Gentiles. The Holy Spirit is at work everywhere in the world and in all people, so we must be careful to not too quickly label someone as "flip-flopping." If none of us are allowed to change, we deny the work of God’s Spirit.

"You are my friends if you obey my commands, that you love one another as I have loved you," Jesus said. This "command" helps us understand what it means to "abide" or be at home in God’s love. It means that when all else seems to be changing or falling away, this love–this attachment, this self-giving, this sharing of resources and energy and life–remains. "You did not choose me, but I chose you," Jesus said. "This choosing by Jesus," says one commentator (Texts for Preaching, ibid.), "provides enormous staying power when the task of bearing fruit becomes difficult." Not only do we invite God into our lives, into our "home," when we open ourselves up to God in prayer or meditation, when we take communion into our bodies, when we consciously live in such a way that we witness to the love of God; but even in those times and places when we are not able to do that–because we are too weak, or too scared, or too preoccupied, or too foolish, or too willful–God chooses us. We are still beloved, precious children of God, beautiful to behold. If we can remember that, keep coming back to that, keep returning home, it can make a huge difference in our lives.

These times of change over which we have no control may actually remind us that it’s really not all about us, that it’s not all up to us, that we are not alone. Jim Wallis tells the story of being at a conference in New York City, attended by religious leaders of all kinds. A Native American leader addressed the mostly all-white crowd on social justice:

Regardless of what the New Testament says,

[he observed] most Christians are individualists with no real experience of community...Let’s pretend that you were all Christians. If you were Christians, you would no longer accumulate. You would share everything you had. You would actually love one another. And you would treat each other as if you were family. [He peered out at the crowd]. Why don’t you do that? Why don’t you live that way?"

(Cited by Kate Huey, op cit.)

"I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me [Jesus said]. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done–kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in [God’s] love...You are my friends...if you love one another as I have loved you." "You friended us, Jesus, [one blogger writes] and we clicked ‘like’ and you said ‘Meet me Thursday at the Ocotillo Pub and we had a few beers and played darts...The non-virtual friend lays down real life..." (Michael Coffey, May 8 blog, Textweek.com)

In the midst of job loss, the loss of loved ones, changing bodies, changing living situations, changing cultural and political situations, climate change, church change-- make yourself at home in God’s love. It’s not as easy as going in the front door and closing the door behind you, though that isn’t always that easy either–it takes practice and discipline and a certain amount of going against the grain. It involves being part of a community of people who can be ornery and frustrating and challenging sometimes, but who can also love you through your failures and losses, who will stand by you when you need a friend or advocate, who will cry and laugh and struggle with you. But ultimately, it’s not all up to you. "You didn’t choose me, remember," Jesus said to his followers, "I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit."

Come home, God says. The door is always open.

Rev. Mary H. Lee-Clark

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Spring Plant Sale

4^th Annual Plant Sale

Saturday, May 19^th

9 am until Noon.

Second Congregational Church

115 Hillside Street, Bennington.

(side street by Friendly’s Restaurant).

Come and see all the variety of plants that will help you start or expand your own garden.

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Mothers

Wednesday, May 9, 2012–No two mothers are alike. Some are "domestic goddesses," others have no homes to keep. Some run marathons, others have no legs (and some mothers "run" marathons in wheelchairs). Some mothers are warm and loving, others are so wounded that they lash out in abuse. Some mothers have physically given birth to children from their own bodies; other women have given birth to children through their teaching, guidance, wisdom, and nurturing and so are mothers too.

Just as there are many different kinds of mothers, so Mother’s Day has many different meanings to different people. For some it is yet another day to celebrate and thank the woman who has given birth to them, though they don’t really need a national holiday to tell them to do that. For others, it is a day of memories of a mom now departed. For women who have never physically given birth to children, Mother’s Day can be a painful reminder of a dream never fulfilled. For families where relationships have a long history of strain and stress, Mother’s Day can feel like a fraud.

In the United Church of Christ, this day is called "Festival of the Christian Home" in an attempt to give space to this wide variety of meanings. The church has all too often romanticized motherhood, even saying it is the primary, if not only, suitable role for women to take, and so caused great pain for those who have not fit into that mold. "Festival of the Christian Home" is a good place to start, but the "Mother’s Day"messages from our culture are pretty overwhelming.

"As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you," God says through the prophet Isaiah. God, who is beyond names and words, is Mother and Father and so much more. "Abba," Jesus called God, which in Aramaic means Daddy but also Source of the Radiance and Creative Breath. The relationship between God and us is as intimate as our breath, as intimate as a child suckling at a mother’s breast. And God, like a good mother, also nurtures and encourages us to grow into our own strength and maturity, free to act and live as we choose, while containing that "DNA" within us.

Held within that great Heart of Love are all mothers of children and all children of mothers, which pretty much covers us all. That is to be celebrated and honored with each breath, each moment, not just one day a year.

"Now thank we all our God with heart and hands and voices, Who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices; Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way With countless gifts of love and still is ours today.

"

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Youth Sunday Enjoyed By All

The Youth shared their message of discovering God's Abiding Love on Sunday, May 6th with both their "Green Eggs and Ham Remix sermon," and the "Love without End" story during a Time for the Children in All of Us.

 

We have many talented musicians in our youth group who shared their music ministy during the service.

 

We thank our Organist and Handbell Director, Cindy Riddle, who worked diligently with our musically inclined youth, as well as our novice musicians with the Handbell Anthem "Amazing Grace."   (Wish we thought to video tape the Anthem it sounded wonderful!)

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[gallery]

 

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Youth Adventures With Rock Climbing

 

Youth Group tried their hands (and feet) at rock climbing after attending the Earth Day Service at Grace Congregational Church. 

Competition was fierce to see who could climb all the walls at the Adventure Center, but all remained friends by the end of the day.

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Youth attend Earth Day Service

Members of the Southwest Association gathered together at Grace Congregational Church in Rutland.  Worship featured a combined choir, soloists, and instrumentalists in "Missa Gaia" (Earth Mass) by Paul Winter.   

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One Great Hour of Sharing

OGHS: revised collection through total through April 30th is $1,956. Thank You!

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Organically Changed

Wednesday, May 2, 2012–We celebrated the life of the woman who had been our church secretary for over 35 years here on Saturday. Pepper lived fully for 80-something years–"I had a wonderful life!" she had written, and we celebrated with music and laughter and, despite her instructions, a few tears. Pepper lived well and she died "well," as Dr. Ira Byock of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, spoke about on NPR’s "On Being" with Krista Tippett this past Sunday morning.

Dr. Byock is Director of Palliative Medicine at D-H and has been "contemplating mortality," as the title of this show is called. He suggests that dying is one more developmental stage in life, like moving from infant to toddler, or adolescent to adult. What if we think of dying "well," not as opposed to dying "badly," but being "well" as we die, that is, whole, complete, fully alive in this moment, still growing and changing, still being fully who we are?

"When my place is made ready for me," Pepper wrote on the paper she had prepared for her memorial service, "I shall walk straight ahead, I will not turn my head and look back, for I know I shall be going to be with my heavenly Father." That’s "dying well." When news of the death of a member of our church family came to us, Pepper would say, "Walk on, [John, or Jane]. Walk straight ahead." Dying well.

My father-in-law is "dying well," fading but radiant, as sure as ever of the Love that has surrounded him all his life and continues to surround him. My mother-in-law, too, died "well," though cognitively impaired. She still radiated love and was grateful for every kindness shown to her.

All of these deaths that I’ve experienced over the past 9 months–of family and friends– have certainly sunk into my body, mind, and spirit, but it feels less like a weight and more of changing my chemistry. I have been organically changed; life seems different now, not just because these loved ones are no longer physically present, but because they are present in such a changed way, deeper, in ways that stretch and defy my imagination. The Mystery is so vast! Yet I am also convinced the Mystery is loving. I pray that "when my place is made ready for me, I [too] shall walk straight ahead..."

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Spring Cleanup

On Saturday April 28, a number of folks of Second Congregational Church came as early as 8am and began the annual clean and green up. Some were raking and sweeping the parking lots of sand and gravel from the winter. Others weeded, pruned, fertilized and mulched the shrubbery. The rock part of the meditation garden needdto be tidied. Drains were freed of leaves, coffee and donuts were enjoyed.

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