Manna from Heaven!

One person called it, "manna from heaven!" She was referring to the amazing generosity of so many people over the past several weeks to The Largest Table. Jerry, a new member who worked at The Ohio State Fair, coordinated getting us all of the leftovers from the Ohio Poultry Association - we're talking hundreds of pounds of mashed potatoes, chicken, and turkey and other wonderful food! Suzanne, a friend a St. John's, linked up with the Leave A Mark Church who has planted an incredible community garden this year. For the past several Tuesdays Suzanne has been harvesting fresh vegetables from the garden, bringing them to St. John's, and cleaning them all so that they are ready for our Wednesday crew to prepare the next day. To see photos of the "first harvest" go to the Leave A Mark web site, click-on the “What We Do” link and then “Community Garden.” This is easy to navigate but for some reason I was unable to connect the link here.

On Wednesday, as I sat with guests at The Largest Table, I heard comment after comment about how great it was to have fresh fruit and fresh vegetables, and of course a regular favorite - Nancy Dietz' taco salad. A couple of people mentioned that is so rare for them to eat fresh vegetables ... and these were so fresh you could smell that they were picked the previous day!

Amidst all of these generous gifts of food, we have lost some of our regular volunteers. A couple of people have left because of illness, and several other summer volunteers are heading back to school next week. As our guest list continues to increase, we are in need of some more volunteers. I am hoping they might fall from heaven, too - a few to help serve on Wednesdays from 11:45 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. and a few more saints who can help clean from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.

Floating Hope

Every morning I wake up to find a "quote of the day" from http://www.gratefulness.org/ in my inbox. I look forward to these short quotes that always help me put things in a positive perspective, but usually the quote is quickly discarded. Several days ago, though, one particular quote caught my attention and it has been in my inbox ever since.

When hope is not pinned wriggling onto a shiny image or expectation, it sometimes floats forth and opens like one of those fluted Japanese blossoms, flimsy and spastic, bright and warm. This almost always seems to happen in community.

Anne Lamott "The Impossible Will Take a Little While," Plan B

I love this image! Returning home from vacation and re-entering the community of St. John's, I am filled with all sorts of hopes for this coming year. Hopes and goals are helpful; they give us vision and purpose. And yet, as I am listening both to the hopes and the concerns of others I recognize that several things will not unfold as I had first envisioned. My family will tell you that once I get an idea in my head: watch out! I get pretty determined to make it a reality. It is an on-going challenge for me to let go of "shiny expectations."

However, knowing this community as I do, I know that the outcome of a community effort is always better than a single effort. I have seen such great blossoming in this community so often, I have come to trust it. And I am looking forward to seeing what will be blossoming this fall.

p.s. I really don't know what a fluted Japanese blossom is; the above is my best guess from a little searching on google and my own imagination.

Needs versus Wants

I have just returned from my annual trek to Crystal Lake in northern Michigan. I had thought I would post a few blog entries while away, but instead almost completely “unplugged.” I did not compulsively check email. I did not call the office to check in. I simply let myself be. I can’t remember the last time I have “unplugged” so fully; it has been more than a decade.

I slept until I woke up, and then smiled as I curled up with a book later in the afternoon knowing that it would lead to a nap. I enjoyed walking for hours on end with no regard for what I might need to do next. I sat on the beach and strolled through art fairs and street sales and farmers markets. I spent a couple of hours at a time waiting and watching for the sun to set. I painted rocks with my niece and drunk lots of coffee with my husband. Delightfully, I was able to spend each day doing whatever I wanted.

My husband and I frequented a coffee spot that had the sign: We no longer serve breakfast before 10 a.m. We chuckled every time we saw it and speculated that the owner of this popular spot must not like to wake up early, or perhaps he or she goes kayaking or running every morning as the sun rises. Maybe he or she reserves the first hours of the morning to have coffee with his or her spouse! Whatever the reason, it doesn’t seem that it would be because it financially makes sense – it is what he or she must want to do.

On my first day back, as I caught myself saying, “I need to …” and then filling in a growing list, I stopped and inserted “want” instead. “I want to check in with the Tuesday Team so that I am not left to do all the work myself. I want to review resumes so we can hire an intern.” It made a world of difference in my attitude. I may not be able to wait until 10 a.m. to start my day, but I can be intentional about why I do what I do, and why I want to do it.

Cilantro, Heavy Lifting, and Sales Receipts

The "Tuesday Team" was back at it yesterday; we prepared Mexican Chili for today's lunch at The Largest Table. I woke up this morning looking forward to lunch - the smells were great as we were leaving last night! The chili will be served with a dollop of sour cream and a few snips of fresh cilantro from the children's garden. There was something really thrilling about being able to harvest a huge amount of fresh cilantro from right outside our doors and know that it was the children of the church who planted it. I am sure not everyone will opt for the cilantro garnish today, but I think it is what will make this soup.

I also have a renewed appreciation for Joan and Mary, and our core "Wednesday Team." Between all of the cans of tomatoes, beef broth and black beans that were opened to make chili for 300 last night, I think Latsi was opening cans for more than an hour straight! I am sure she will be able to feel the workout on her arms this morning. And then there was Stephanie who was able to lift our largest pots FULL of browned ground beef, onions, and peppers to drain them and return it the pan. But that is not at all unusual. Our volunteers often need to open that many cans. We always have full and heavy pots. The quantities of food we are preparing now are really quite amazing. I wish I had taken a photo of all of the empty cans - maybe I can get one later today and post it here. Think multiple cases that filled the entire back of my car! So, I have renewed appreciation for the physical labor that our volunteers engage in week after week.

I also have a renewed appreciation for their thriftiness. I am not sure how Joan does it. Routinely, she is able to shop for a meal to serve 200-300 people for less than $200. That is less than $1 per serving for a home cooked meal with all of the food groups. Repeat: I am not sure how Joan does it. I think of myself as a pretty good shopper, but I wasn't quite able to work her magic. I think she has the in with the loaves and fishes guy.

Why Bother? Part Two

Yesterday I blogged about why I "bother" to go to the General Synod, and likened it to why I bother to the read the news, or enter into dialogue about issues that have no apparent resolution. There is another reason I "bother" to go; and it is the same reason I "bother" with worship. Worship - long before I was a pastor - was a central and essential part of my life.

At its best, worship reminds me of my highest aspirations and connects me to God as well as to the larger community. When I am struggling, I realize there are others who are struggling also. When I am too proud or too focused on myself, worship pulls me out of my self-centeredness and focuses me on a larger picture.

At Synod, we had some inspiring worship experiences with marvelous preaching, and wonderful singing. I only knew a handful of people but I felt connected through our common bond in Christ. Today I am looking forward to being in my home congregation where I know and am known by nearly everyone. It's not a bother; it's a blessing!

Why Bother?

With every new members class I find myself talking about how the autonomy (or the freedom) each congregation in the United Church of Christ has is both a blessing and burden. This freedom is certainly a blessing because we are free to govern ourselves and make our own decisions; we can live as fully into God's call for us as we are attentive, inspired, and willing to do. Yet, it is also a burden for these very same reasons. Within our denomination there is no one who will mandate what our position should be on an issue, or whether we should restructure ourselves, or change hymnals, or perform commitment ceremonies. That sounds great until we realize that in order to bring about change we must risk initiating those changes. We must risk being the one to take a stand or initiate dialogue. There is no larger structure to hide behind with the excuse that "they are making us do this!"

Upon returning from the General Synod, I have had a couple of people ask me (essentially), "Why Bother?" Why bother going to the national meeting when there is nothing that really happens with any authority? Why bother going through the whole resolution process and sitting through discussions and plenarys when all that ends up happening is that the national church gives us some recommendations?

On this Independence Day, I woke up and realized that my answer to "Why Bother?" is much the same as to why I listen to the news, why I read different perspectives, why being a part of a community is so important to me. If I live in my own little world (as comfortable as that can be), I can't possibly live responsibly. If I am not aware of different problems and perspectives, how can I respond to them?

At the Synod we spent much time talking about the challenges we still face with racism. We didn't solve the problems, but I became more sensitive to them, as well as more hopeful for the future because I know there are many who care. I felt stretched by things I have heard and found myself reflecting more deeply on the intersections of race and poverty, race and our criminal justice system, race and education. I am not sure where that is leading yet, but I know I was helped by the discussion.

I came upon this photograph titled Freedom is the Possibility of Isolation. It is titled after a quote from "The Book of Disquiet" by Fernando Pessoa. I am one who loves the beautiful sand and sky and times of isolation; yet on this Independence Day, I am saying a prayer of thanks for the community that pulls me into relationship and responsibility.

Immersed in Worship Ideas

One of the things that I have been watching closely here at Synod are the many ways worship participants have been pulled into the experience through all of their senses. Yesterday I learned of the team that met last November to plan how they might bring to life the theme, "Immerse Yourself" in Grand Rapids. From the evocative stage and energetic dancers to the varied music and litanies, we have been wading deep into this theme that draws from the gift of water.


The Rev. Alexandra Childs, a pastor at Alameda (California) First Congregational Church coordinated the physical set. It took Childs and a dozen other volunteers five days to create the handpainted 25 x 42 foot canvas that serves as a backdrop, (the floor actually) for the worship participants. It has whirls and wisps of blues and greens that evokes a vivid interpretation of sky, mountain, lakes, and rivers. There is also an 8 by 8 foot immersion pool at centerstage and 200 gallons of water that recycled itself over 3 levels creating a beautiful waterfall that is not only lovely to look at but wonderful and peaceful to hear. Framing these falls were plants and fieldstone. At the back wall there are two "rain panels" made out of multi-blue hued LED lighting and soft fabric.

In addition there is a jumbo screen and then many video panels throughout the hall so everyone can see everything that is happening. The images on the screens have been so thoughtfully selected that they enhance rather than distract my worship experience. Within every worship service there is a variety of musical styles and instrumentation. There is dancing. There are different languages spoken. There are many, many ways to engage each participant.

Part of my keen interest in these worship elements this year is because I have been thinking about and praying about how we might more effectively use a variety of experiences in our worship service. The space in our sanctuary is entirely different from a convention hall but the need to be attentive to all the ways people experience and learn has inspired me to try to expand what we are doing now.

Is there anyone who wants to dream about this with me?