Musings from a Pastor, Educator, Wife, and Mother





Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Morning After Reflection

This week's post is written by a guest blogger, my dear friend since middle school, Rev. Erin Gaston Morgan.  Erin is the Associate Pastor for Youth and Outreach at South Aiken Presbyterian Church in Aiken South Carolina where she lives with her husband Jeff.  Erin has degrees from Presbyterian College and Columbia Theological Seminary.   When I tell the story of being King Herod in the Christmas Play at Bedford Pres, in which I was interviewed by a "reporter a foot taller than me," this is her!  I am blessed to call her a friend and a sister in Christ.

Erin was involved in the planning and implementing of a special event in Aiken over MLK Day and here she shares her reflection. If you'd like to read more about the event, attached is an article from the Aiken Standard Race relations discussed at King Day event in Aiken.  Thank you, Erin, for your willingness to work toward reconciliation for all God's people.  And for your willingness to share your reflections and your heartfelt prayer with us in this way.

"It's only by God's grace that this King Day Dinner and Movie Selma event happened, all were fed (loaves and fishes), and conversations were had around the table. I am struck by how similar our gathering was to the many gatherings of the women, men, and young people in the 1950s and 1960s. These brave souls ignited the Civil Rights Movement and set a Holy Spirit fire throughout our nation that manifested in more equal rights in more lives through the love of God. Folks, the civil rights movement is not over. We still have a lot of work to do. We are stronger when we work together, regardless of background, color or creed.

I am in awe at the power of the Holy Spirit because what took place last night was true communion fellowship with sisters and brothers in Christ. It's what Jesus modeled with his own disciples time and again. It's the love that Jesus modeled with the Jews and Gentiles, yes even with those Pharisees. It's what Jesus modeled even to those folks (governmental folk and street folk alike) who killed him when he stood up for love, truth, justice, and peace. The promise of the Easter resurrection reigns true each and every moment of our lives. Death never wins, but God’s love conquers all. 

Christ’s own words from the gospels of Matthew and John echo in my ears and touch my heart: ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.’ 
Friends, we will continue to have these difficult and necessary conversations. We will not stop with words but will act with love toward one another until we are truly able to see one another as beloved children of God. Lord, bless our incoming president, Donald Trump, and his team, whether we voted for him or not, whether we agree with them as a leadership team or not. May God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be the lamp that lights our path as we build bridges of love and peace for all people. Christ is the bread of life. 

This is my hope and my prayer to the One who cries first at hatred, discord, hurt, pain, and injustice:
 
God of all ages, take away our fears and shed light in places void of love and hope. Now when our land is troubled, be near to lead and save, precious Creator. May leaders in our nation, community, religious bodies, neighborhoods, offices, homes, and streets be led by your wisdom; may they search your will and see it clearly. If we have turned from your way, help us to turn back and ask for forgiveness. Give us light and your truth to guide our steps & continue the conversation. 

We are a nation of immigrants. Heal this land and all lands across the globe that have been destroyed by warfare, power struggles, arrogance, rape, hurt, and fear. Giver of Life, we lift up our incoming leader and his team, whether we agree with them or not. When times are prosperous, let our hearts be thankful; and, in troubled times, do not let our hope fail. 

Continue to grant prophets, holy God, to cry out for justice and mercy, to say things that we don’t want to hear or admit about ourselves. Give prophetic, every-day people the fire and love of your Word. Grant, O Creator, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart, that the barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease, and that, with our divisions healed, we might live in justice and peace. Lord, Martin Luther King, Jr., fondly known as “King” was one such person. He once said in a sermon on courage, delivered on March 8, 1965, in Selma Alabama: "A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right. A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true." 

Giver of life, throughout the years, you have given women, men, children, youth, and adults the voices to stand up for that which is right, regardless of birth, station in life, economic status, political status, job or no job, likes or dislikes, belief or creed, origin of belief. May we not forget this call that has been given to us as human beings, seres humanos. Convict us that it is okay and right to stand up for those things that matter: for our neighbors that don’t talk like us, for our neighbors across the street, on the other side of the tracks. May we not be silent about things that matter, for we know that death comes with silence. Life follows in the footsteps of speaking the truth in love. May we all be instruments of peace who empower life-giving conversations and opportunities instead of death and destruction. 
This we ask in the name of your one and only Son who taught us to pray, saying, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen."

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

When The Church Takes A Snow Day

When the church takes a snow day it means no one comes calling before worship.  Meetings and Classes are suspended until next week.  This gives people the extra hour or so to dig their cars out of the snow, add that one extra layer on before facing the frosty temps, or enjoying that extra cup of coffee. 

When the church takes a snow day it means meticulously crafted bulletins are set aside for next week because the service reflecting on the Baptism of the Lord is perfect for ordaining and installing new church officers.  And you want to have a good turnout for worship in light of such celebrations.  It means the date on the cover will be wrong. But it means the content of the service will be right.

When the church takes a snow day it means everyone sits up front.  No one left behind to sit lonely in a faraway pew. Nametags reflect the colors of the window-stained.  Choir members mingle with friends they do not often see.  Children wave as they enter the scene.

When the church takes a snow day it means the pastor has taken the time to create a new, simplified order of worship because attendance is sure to be light.  It means everyone from the staff to the ushers is surprised when more bulletins need to be made before church begins. More and more cold noses and warm smiles trickle in. 

When the church takes a snow day it means we have a substitute pianist, one who is known and loved in the church.  One who plays the simplest of hymns with joy and unknowingly selects one of my favorite songs for the offertory. 

When the church takes a snow day it means the pastors "shoot from the hip."  Robes are discarded in offices and liturgy is led from the Communion Table.  It means children and church members receive the message God intended for them. How to spread God's words from their own mouths.  "I love you. I forgive you." 

When the church takes a snow day it means no lemonade and cookies after church is over.  More importantly, it highlights the nature of friendly conversations enduring long after the sounds of the piano have ceased.  Regardless of whether there were snacks. 

There is a hint of magic in the air, in the quiet that lay with the white covered ground.  Community abounds.  When the church takes a snow day.

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Attitude Is Half The Battle

Where are you on your New Year's Resolutions?  Did you make any? Do they typically stick?  Mine have been to drink more water and get exercise every day.  So far today I've had two cups of coffee and been sitting at my desk for three hours. 

I woke up this morning thinking to myself, "Attitude is half the battle."  I repeated that mantra as I wrangled my son into the car.  I repeated it again, aloud to him, as he whimpered that he didn't want to go to school today when I unhooked his car seat.  I told Pastor Carl about it at my desk this morning.  He laughed and said, "I don't know about half...."

I've been thinking about the upcoming holiday celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr.  This year we will host our second Mini Vacation Bible School on this date.  Last year we talked about the good Samaritan and the charge to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.  This year I am pondering the story of Ruth.  I love the story of Ruth and Naomi. I love Ruth's tenacity.   In Ruth's case, attitude was definitely half the battle, at least half.

When Ruth lost her husband, she was still quite young.  She could have returned home to her parents and married again, a person from Moab rather than the immigrant husband she married the first time. The narrative infers for us that Ruth still had prospects, as did her sister-in-law, and mother-in-law Naomi knew it.  Naomi, however, didn't have anyone else. She lost her husband and her sons.  She was a foreigner in a land that was not her own.  She had no choice but to return, a widow, to the land of Judah.  Naomi encouraged the two women to return to their homes.  But Ruth stood fast, she committed to traveling with Naomi, "Your people will be my people and your God will be my God. Where you die I will die and be buried."  Ruth was committing, whole-heartedly to Naomi, for life.  Had Ruth's attitude not been one of positivity, love, persistence, and faithfulness...well our story would end here, completely changing the course of our Scriptures.  Attitude is half the battle. 

When the women arrive in Bethlehem, Naomi sends Ruth, who is, by the way, now a foreigner in a strange land just as her husband was in Moab--to glean from the fields what has been left after the harvest.  When Boaz, owner of the fields hears that Ruth has returned with Naomi, he encourages her to take what she needs from his fields and drink water from his well.  He saw in her, the tenacity--the great love and kindness she took to travel so far with Naomi.  Had she not been faithful, humble in this way...what might have happened to Ruth and also to the aging and widowed Naomi?  Attitude is half the battle.   

In the end, Ruth finds a new husband, she is married to Naomi's kin, Boaz, the very same who was so kind to her in the fields.  It was a risk for Ruth to present herself to Boaz in the threshing room, she was demonstrating her serious intent at marriage, but what if Boaz had turned her down.  Ruth put herself in a position where she had no control and very easily could have been shamed and lost what little opportunities she had gained in Bethlehem.  Boaz accepts Ruth and promises that all those in the village will know her to be a woman of noble character.  Brave. Dedicated. Fierce.  Attitude is half the battle.

Ruth married Boaz.  She had a son, Obed. Obed had a son, Jesse. Jesse had a son, we know him as King David.  And so the line to the great king, our Savior, Jesus Christ. In the genealogy of Matthew, Ruth is even listed by name along with several other women.  Not a practice you'd see in genealogy records of the time. 

And so, in this short story from the Old Testament, we are witness to so much of what Christ would have us be and do.  Perhaps, in hearing the stories of his ancestors, Jesus himself learned what it meant to feed the hungry and give drink to those who thirst--as Boaz did for Ruth and Naomi.  Perhaps, from these stories, Jesus recognized the importance of welcoming the stranger--from Naomi's family entering Moab due to famine, and from Ruth the Moabite being welcomed into Judah by Naomi, Boaz, and the community.  Perhaps, from his ancestor Ruth, Jesus learned the art of tenacity and the importance of committing one's life entirely to God and to God's people. 

Maybe this is where our focus ought to be in 2017.  Forget the fad diets and the expensive gym memberships you never use.  Give yourself a break when it comes to organizing that closet or cleaning the house.  At least, let those goals be secondary to the lessons we glean from Ruth.  How do you show love to those around you?  Are you committed to giving your time, your talents, your very life to God and all of God's people?  Are you willing to stick your neck out for someone else, so that they might have the very necessities of life, the same opportunities you have each and every day?  Are your eyes open to the immigrant, the stranger, the naked, the hungry?  Are your ears open to the cries of the oppressed?  I'm not asking if you yourself are the one oppressing them( although check yourself on that too).... I am asking, do you hear them?  Do you see them? Can you help them?  My thinking is that with the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life, yes you can.  You see, attitude is half the battle.