Waking Up

I must confess I have conflicted feelings about my blackberry. Well, no, I actually like my blackberry very much, but I have become increasingly sensitive to how my blackberry (or, rather my looking at it and using it) can be a distraction to personal relationships. A friend and I were out with our two sons this past week and we (my friend and I) both reached for our blackberries at some point in the conversation to google the topic of conversation. Our boys immediately picked up on the fact that their mothers were using their phones during dinner! I was embarrassed. My husband is great about leaving his phone at home when we go out for a date, but I can’t do that. I protest that I can’t leave it behind .. someone might need me, but then I have been quick to pick up for something that I know is not an emergency. It is hard for me to just let the phone ring or press “ignore.”

I will continue to struggle with appropriate blackberry etiquette, but I have discovered one wonderful thing about the blackberry: I can wake up and reach over to receive some daily inspiration before I ever get out of bed in the morning. After I have pressed the snooze once or twice, my groggy hands reach out for my phone and I fumble at the keys to read three emails that are sent in the very early morning hours every day. I only have to have my eyes open to enter this spiritual discipline. It is a great way to wake up in the morning … I think of it as simmering time – those moments when I am awake but not at full boil: a perfect time to reflect and ponder.

Here are the sites that shoot me a morning email:

http://www.gratefulness.org/

http://i.ucc.org/FeedYourSpirit/Subscribe/tabid/101/Default.aspx

http://www.cacradicalgrace.org/getconnected/subscribe.php

The Old Wooden Doors

We had the doors on the East side of the building varnished last week. They are old, heavy, wooden doors; and the ones on the East side get battered by the wind, rain, sun, and snow so they need to be varnished frequently. Every time we do this I think of Howard Nicklaus.

Howard Nicklaus was the first person I met at St. John's after meeting with the search committee and going through the search process. From the moment I met him I knew he cared deeply about St. John's. He was involved in many ways - as an usher, the chair of the Personnel Committee, the maintenance team, and more. He would occasionally meet me on a Sunday morning with a friendly suggestion about something we could do to make things better, or he gently coached me on traditions of the church. I valued his guidance and support.

What I remember most, though, was how Howard would varnish the doors. As far as I could tell no one had asked him to do it; he took the doors on as a project he could do that would be helpful. Even when he faced physical limitations and some health challenges, he would still show up every couple of months with varnish and his paint brush and spend the good part of the day freshening up the beautiful doors. When he no longer could do it, I knew he was concerned about how it would get done. His quiet faithfulness continues to inspire me every time I smell the new varnish and walk through our doors.

Many, many people have walked through those doors. Some of those people, like Howard, have passed on to the saints of light. Some have been here for generations, and through their faithfulness and shared wisdom continue to inspire those of us who have not been here as long. This year we are beginning what I hope will become a new tradition, Heritage Sunday. On September 27 we will honor all of the people who have been members of St. John's for 50 years or more and thank them for their faithfulness to God and to St. John's.

Do Not Lose Hope!

Two great men were honored at Synod today; they are both men who have continually helped me move forward in hope.


The first man honored was Ralph Quellhorst, our current Consistory president, who is retiring from his work with the Pension Board. At a surprise reception for him, one by one, different people from all over the country came forward to share a memory of Ralph. I noted how a recurring theme was mentoring and encouragement. I wonder just how many people have been nurtured in their call from Ralph; I realized I am just one among many! What a gift he has brought not only to these individual lives, but to the denomination and the greater Church through his constant encouragement.

Tonight the Synod also celebrated the work of our General Minister and President for the past ten years, John Thomas. John has been leading the UCC for just about as long as I have been ordained. I have always been impressed with John's pastoral, theological, intelligent, and prophetic leadership. Tonight his address to those gathered moved me a great deal. Every time I am with him I sense his authenticity, and tonight was no exception. I appreciated the way he was able to talk about his honest assessment of the past ten years - the disappointments as well as those things we can celebrate. As one person said, "He is able to tell us everything that is wrong and we are still inspired!"

The refrain tonight was, "Do not lose hope; let your light shine; treasure your call in Christ Jesus!" These men have been people who have helped me do just that.

God's Punctuation

Greetings from the UCC General Synod #GS27!

I arrived in Grand Rapids earlier today for the UCC General Synod. Grand Rapids has rolled out the red carpet for what is shaping up to be the largest convention to ever be held in this city. I get a thrill of seeing so many different people together in one place, bound together by our commitment to Christ. However, the highlight of the day for me was this evening's worship service that featured the choirs and the Rev. Otis Moss, III, from Trinity UCC in Chicago.

Any day I get to hear Rev. Moss preach is a good day! He is so skilled, and smart, and filled with the Spirit! Tonight Moss preached on Revelation 1:1-8 and talked about "God's punctuation;" he brought the Still Speaking comma into a whole new perspective. I won't share the whole sermon here, only one thought that emerged as Moss was just getting started that has stayed with me. Moss says that since God is the "Alpha and the Omega," and the "Beginning and the End," only God can really use a period. Too often, we are quick to put a period after things. We consider lives, or circumstances, projects or dreams to be "said and done." When we don't think that there is any use to keep exploring, working, or dreaming, we attempt to finish it off with a period. Moss put this into context most clearly for me when he spoke about children.

No child should ever enter this world with a period behind his or her name. No child should ever enter this world or live in a world where people have his or her future figured out before he or she does. Every child should enter this world and be nurtured in this world with a question mark behind his or name - a question mark that signifies that whoever he or she is to become is something that will unfold with the grace of God, hard work, and the nurture of those around them.

It reminds me of Paul who will sometimes sing for us in church a song about how each of us is "full of possibility." How might we more fully cultivate this sense of possibility, this life with a big question mark for each of us?

Gloria

I woke up this morning before my alarm clock went off to a nice breeze through the window, the sound of birds outside, and the opening measures of Gloria by Antonio Vivaldi in my head. It was a beautiful way to begin the day.

Last night we had the final rehearsal, with orchestra, for Vivaldi's Gloria which will be part of our worship service this Sunday, April 5th. There were a few times during the evening when I could close my eyes and listen to the orchestra playing, or the beautiful solos being sung. As I listened, I could actually feel stress leave my neck and shoulders and a peacefulness settle in. Hearing it all come together, I realized why the Gloria is so well-loved. It is beautiful, soul-stirring music!

Following the rehearsal, May, our Minister of Music, asked us to reflect on what singing in the choir meant to us. I heard people say that the choir was like an extended family, that the music helped them get through the week and helped them feel God's presence. Several of us commented on how May made such a difference by always being positive and bringing out the best in each of us. (She is one of the most positive and uplifting people I know!) And, like me, there were others who found that the music would often replace stress with peacefulness, and stay in their heads throughout the week.

On Sunday, the Gloria will provide the sermon-in-song. I am sure it will be a message that people remember!

Be Creative!

Yesterday I dropped off a member of our congregation at her home and saw an abundance of purple crocus forcing their way up through the earth. As I drove on to my next stop, I found myself reflecting on the hard work it takes to bring anything to new life.

This Lent, my preaching and teaching has been loosely based on Irwin Kula's book, Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life. This week we are looking at the yearning each of us has to create. So often, we think of creativity as something playful or crafty like painting or sewing. Kula pushes us to think more deeply about creativity. He identifies four stages: inspiration, preparation, incubation, and illumination. Writing about inspiration, he says this: Inspiration is about yearning, not finding. It is the moment we recognize a problem that needs solving, not the moment of finding a solution.

This past summer, I had the honor of marrying a wonderful couple. In one of our sessions together, the bride described how when she would become overwhelmed with a problem or felt stuck in a particular situation, her partner would listen attentively and then ask, "How can we figure out a way to be creative?" Those two words, "be creative," invited her to think outside the box and develop a different approach for whatever she was doing.

For more about creativity, how it is teachable and trackable, and helps us solve nearly any problem, you can read more here: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=how-to-unleash-your-creativity

A New Channel of Communication

For the past year I have been considering entering the blogging world, mostly because I had heard that blogging is such a powerful channel of communication. However, there is a difference between hearing about something and experiencing it. My experience convinced me that this was something I should try to do.

Recently I have been following two blogs, Mary's Blog for Healing and Tom's Ohio Nature Blog. Each, in a different way, has not only informed me about what is happening in his or her corner of the world, but has also inspired me to see grace and hope in my own life experience. As the pastor of St. John's, I have a unique vantage point from the church that sits at Third and Mound. Through this blog, I hope to share some of the things I see that inspire me.

What are the blogs that you follow and how do they inspire you?