Second Saturday Contemporary Worship

Tonight, following the shopping and wrapping for the Angel Tree Project, we had the second contemporary worship service this parish has ever known. It was great to be a part of it. I never considered that I would enjoy a non-traditional worship service, but it was superb. The worship team was rockin', Pastor Fran's worship leadership was top notch, and we worshiped in an active and vital way that I have not seen since the last joint parish worship service. But what I am most enthusiastic about the Saturday night format is that we are seeing a whole group of people that we do not see Sunday mornings. This means that this service is a form of outreach and mission for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I hope to see the monthly Saturday night worship services continue to grow. Despite snow and the busy days that precede the Christmas Holiday, the service draws more than 70 worshipers. Thanks to the leadership of Sandra and Bob Genisot and the musical gifts of some of our youth and adults, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, this service is a success!

Please join us at 5:00pm the second Saturday of each month at Zion Lutheran Chruch and be a part of this new experiment in worship as it unfolds. See you there.

-Pastor Christian

Thanksgiving 2008

Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. These words from the chorus of Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi ring true in every generation. Maybe that’s why Janet Jackson took a sample from the song and Counting Crows did a remake of it. It is in the midst of loss that we can get a good look at what we had. The things we took for granted before gain much more importance after they are gone. A job, a house, the growth of a 401k, loved ones, good health, health care benefits, thriving schools, churches, civic and fraternal organizations, mines, farms, dairies, open lands, plenty of fish and deer. Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.

I wonder if it wasn’t the same for the pilgrims who found themselves out of luck in the Americas. It was in the midst of want and scarcity that they came together to celebrate when the harvest was plenteous. For the pilgrims who were just trying to scratch out a living at first, but whose work, dedication, and commitment along with a big old helping of God’s providence allowed for a bounty to help them survive the winters, the blessings of food, clothing, and shelter gave them reason enough to celebrate feasts of thanksgiving in honor of the Creator and Sustainer who provided these gifts. But this celebration was only as great as the list of the losses that formed the subtext and backdrop of the Holiday.

We celebrate Thanksgiving because we know that good times aren’t always a given. We celebrate and give thanks to God for all He has given to us because we know that gifts are not to be expected or taken for granted. A favorable harvest is not a given. A prosperous economy is never a certainty. Good prices on commodities, lumber, and steel are not set in stone. What is certain is that God is good, and God provides. Maybe God doesn’t provide the ways we would hope. Perhaps what God gives us are opportunities to share, to work together, and to meet the needs of others. Maybe what God gives us looks like decline at first, but really it is an opportunity to share with others the gifts we have been given and to praise God for his love and generosity in the process.

Maybe the present economic reality is a chance to meet Christ among the least of these. Maybe the crisis that our parish is facing is a challenge to rise above an old way of being the church and to be transformed by a renewing of God’s purpose to save and bless the world. In order for us to experience the transforming power of God’s love we sometimes have to endure hard times. We have to pass through the fire in order to realize that we will not be burned, but purified by its flames. I know that in the midst of these circumstances it can be hard to be thankful. I know it is easy to become stuck in our own sense of desperation and loss, but if we weren’t challenged how could we grow in endurance, in faith, in hope, and in love?

Perhaps our challenges and struggles in life are opportunities to express thanksgiving for the many good things we do have and for the good gifts of healing, life, and salvation we have received. When Jesus healed the ten lepers in the region between Samaria and Galilee (Luke 17:11-19), only one of them returned to thank Jesus and to thank God. He was the outsider, the foreigner, the one we would least expect to return, but the other nine, where do they go? I wonder if they don’t return to miserable lives trading one kind of leprosy for another; one kind of misery for another. For it is in our gratitude that we find joy. It is by giving thanks that in the midst of our fears and uncertainty that we find we have been given more than we have lost and there are certain gifts that because of their eternal nature will never be taken away. Thanks be to God.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Leaf Raking

Chappy and the Christ Parish Men's Group Gathered approximately 20 people on Sunday, October 12. Together we raked 17 lawns in the community. It is amazing how much work you can get done cooperatively! It was a wonderful fall day and a great opportunity to be united in a mission--to be the hands and feet of Christ. Many Thanks to all those who participated including those who asked people if we could rake their lawn, and those who offered to have their lawns raked.

Christ Parish Kids Club

The Christ Parish Kids Club (formerly known as Life Together Wednesday Church School) is doing very well. Along with the name change there have been some other organizational changes that have improved the use of time. Among the changes is an opening in the sanctuary instead of a closing. Pastor Fran has is using the opening as a teaching time and offers a children's message.

Faith to Move Mountains

The theme of the servant trip was: Move! What an appropriate theme it was! First we had to move from Ironwood, MI to Mahanoy City, PA. Then we had to move out of our comfort zone and go to new places and meet new people. Then we had to move from one kind of a project to another. But when we had time to pause it became clear that we weren’t the ones doing the moving; we were the ones being moved.

We were moved by all of the things we had in common with the people from that declining former mining town in Northeastern Pennsylvania. We were moved when we found out that the day we arrived was the last day of church for the second to the last Roman Catholic Church in a town that once had six. We were moved by the generosity of the people in and on whose houses we worked and those who housed and fed us along the way. We were moved by the members of the community who brought us goodies or showed their appreciation for our work by joining in on our projects. We were moved by the children whose rough exterior demonstrated the hard lives they live.

It is fair to say that we were ministered to as much as we ministered to others. The Youthworks! staff, who organized and facilitated the work, meals, and led our times of worship and devotion, ministered directly to the sixty or so youth and adult leaders who were staying in Mahanoy City. The other youth groups who were with us ministered to each other as they went about their work and lived in less than comfortable accommodations. But most importantly we were ministered to by the people of that community who put aside their pride and out of deep humility allowed us into their lives to do something meaningful. But most importantly we were ministered to by Christ who washed our feet and commissioned us to go into the world to serve as he served.

The week was not without difficulty, or sacrifice on the part of the youth or the adult leaders as we went about loving God and neighbor, but the struggles seemed to be made easier and the discomforts weren’t as irritating as they could have simply because God carried us when we were tired, hot, and in need of a shower and gave us the eyes to see that our faith was moving mountains. Maybe these were not mountains of rock and earth, but mountains of trust, goodwill, and concern for the least of these were moved in Mahanoy City.

My prayer is that the momentum and movement of this journey is carried forward into our own community. My hope is that the inspiration we have received is contagious and the renewal of our faith changes those we meet upon our return. My desire is that when people ask us how our trip was they forgive us when we say more than, “It was just great!” It was a life transforming experience. It was a daily encounter of the divine. It was a chance to meet Christ disguised as young children, as little old ladies, as nursing home residents, and as citizens of a declining town.

God bless you all for supporting this ministry.

This community never disappoints us and never ceases to amaze us in regards to its generosity to the young people. The outpouring of support financially, spiritually, and otherwise has been tremendous, but most of all I want to recognize those who take the time to teach, mentor, work alongside, and befriend the young people in this community. You know who you are. Thank you.

Workin' at the Car Wash

On Saturday the Parish Youth held a fun-d raiser to raise money for the servant trip to PA in July. They worked hard washing cars. There were two other fund raisers going on along Hwy 2 that day, but we won the contest for loudest shirts and coolest wheels.Some more classic wheels getting a wash

Who's that hiding behind the sign?

Taking a break for a photo opportunity to show off their day glow shirts

Pentecost 5 A 2008

It is a wonder to me that anyone would want to hold a public office in this country. It is a wonder to me that this day in age anyone would want to assume a position of leadership, in government, in business, in the church or in the community. It is a wonder to me, after listening to Bill O’Reily and Kieth Oberman’s constant complaining about the leadership of this country that anyone would aspire to work in government. The vitriolic discourse of those on the ends of the political spectrum, both liberal and conservative, reveals a vision of those on the other side as the enemy. The tenor of the political debate is so much less than civil. People speak of their elected officials as idiots, deadbeats, slick, shady, and a whole lot of words I cannot say from the pulpit.

But the problem ranges far beyond the sphere of politics. Often when people rise to a position of leadership, they become an easy target for people’s disenfranchisement. When people take a position of leadership, no matter what their platform, they become targets of ridicule and criticism. Now I am not talking about constructive or dialogical criticism which is done in safety and in which differing opinions are expressed not out of anger or resentment, but out of love and with the intention of correcting. This constructive criticism leaves room for response. Negative criticism consists of bitter words aimed like arrows. Constructive criticism sounds like wisdom.

Constructive criticism offers another possibility, another solution, another way of looking at the problem. Negative criticism offers the only possibility, the only solution, and the only way of seeing the problem. Constructive criticism is empathetic and cares about the other, negative criticism is uncaring and sees the other only in terms of being wrong.

We live in a climate where there is a whole lot of negative criticism. Talk radio and television programs where the goal is to excoriate and condemn the evil doers is just one tiny facet of the lack of civil dialogue in this American life. The saddest part of this trend is that we find neighbors who used to be friends, families who used to be loving, and community members who used to care. Lucky for us most leaders don’t take it personally, and don’t go into their positions to be our friends, to be loved, and to be cared for, but to do what they think is right. But sadly for us many competent leaders avoid leadership positions for fear of becoming easy targets.

In today’s gospel text Jesus summons the twelve disciples. He gives them authority to heal and make whole and sends them out with some pretty specific instructions. Jesus sends out the laborers to work on his behalf, to work among the harvest, bringing in those who are in need of reconciliation and new life with Christ. Jesus sends them out on this their first missionary event because he had compassion on the people—those who were spiritually harassed and helpless. He sent them out offering another possibility, another solution, and another way of looking at their problems. He sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom where the sick are cured, the dead are raised, the lepers are cleansed, and the demonic is cast out.

But it is important to note who some of these people are. It is important that Jesus would employ both Matthew the Tax Collector and Simon the Zealot in the work or proclaiming the Kingdom of God. It is important because these two were as far apart politically, maybe even religiously, as you can get. Matthew had worked as a civil servant of the Roman Empire. He collected taxes for Caesar. Simon the zealot would have seen Matthew as the worst kind of traitor that could have existed. According to Simon, Matthew would have been a stooge doing the dirty work of an oppressive occupying force, worse yet a force that wanted to push its Pagan agenda on the people of God. Simon the Zealot would have wanted to assassinate and murder people like Matthew, and yet here they are the first to be called on as missionaries of Christ’s compassion. Here they are called upon to set aside their differences, empowered with the same gifts, and given the honor of being the first to gather in the people of the promise.

Now, I am sure that Jesus did not moderate their positions. I am sure that Jesus did not speak out of both sides of his mouth. Jesus did not say to Matthew, “Hey Matthew, keep on collecting taxes for Caesar, because that’s ok.” Instead, He said, “Matthew, follow me.” I am sure that Jesus did not say to Simon the Zealot, “Hey Simon, It is ok to be part of a paramilitary group of avenging priests and to commit atrocities in the name of God.” Instead, Jesus said, “Simon, follow me.”

But following Jesus is not a walk in the park. Jesus warns his disciples about the downside of being His follower. Jesus tells the twelve, “See, I am sending you out like sheep in to the midst of wolves…. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their gathering places; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me…. Brother will betray brother to death; and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name.”

It is a wonder that anyone becomes a disciple of Jesus Christ. It is a wonder that anyone can go out on a limb and speak on behalf of something that transcends tax collector or zealot; Republican or Democrat; liberal or conservative. It is a wonder that anyone can go out on a limb and believe in more than just themselves and their ability to effect change. It is a wonder that amidst debates that rage over school consolidation, the war, the economy, the price of gas, that anyone has the guts to stand up and shout, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand, and here’s what that looks like, the sick are cured, the dead are raised, the lepers are cleansed, and the demonic is cast out.”

We have received without payment and now it is time to give without payment, not with the expectation of safety, prosperity, security, growth, but with the assurance that the harvest is plentiful and that compassion is the motivation behind our mission.

Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit!Alan played Jesus in a chancel drama this Lent. This is his "Garden of Gethsemane" pose.
A classy class picture.
The Silent Cake Auction raised over $600 for this summer's Servant Trip. At this rate, that's just enough for a tank of gas.

Liturgical Dance!

Below are some of the pictures from Sunday's joint service at Zion. This was first time that the confirmands from all four churches were confirmed and made affirmation of their baptismal faith together and it was a powerful experience! I am so proud of Caitlin, Courtney, Alan, Alex, Rebeca, Josh, Zack, Nick, Maria, Tiffany, and Emily for so politely putting up with me these past two years, learning Bible and church stuff together, and working hard to meet their requirements.A real miracle happened on Sunday. We had two sheet cakes for the fellowship following the service and there was enough left over to feed the nursing home residents next door!
Here's the joint choir warming up.
"OK, ugh, hmm, well, just follow along in your bulletins and with God's help and guidance we'll make it through together."
The new youth worship team made their debut with a driving prelude and a rocking postlude!

Sorry, I did forget to mention the bowling outing. Here we are dancing the "Macarena." No, Jim is not dancing out of step. He is taking his turn at bowling. We got a little side-tracked I am afraid, but I bowled one of my best games ever! I am not sure of the theological significance of bowling, but the fact that you see this pastor doing the the Macarena is proof that with Christ all things are possible.

Sorry about the lack of updates to the blog. The end of the programmatic year is a busy time. Here are some photos of "recent" events.Here is a photo of the Church School Spring Musical.
Bishop Tom and Luann Skrenes are the presenters and guests of honor at the Spring Women's Banquet hosted by the Parish men's group.
Bishop Tom and Luann Skrenes are joined at the table by Augustin Kormann Muellerleile (Such a big name for a little guy).
Bad photo of the water polo game at the Christ Parish Pool Party.

In this months "Pastor Page" in the Parish Newsletter, Pastor Fran wrote about the fact that Easter is not a single day, but a whole season. These fifty days are filled with the promise of the resurrection. It is a time of joy in the abundant new life we have received in Christ Jesus, but it has been hard to get that without the springtime to remind us. School is closed today because of a big blizzard. We are still under more than a foot of snow. It feels more like early December than early April these days. But still we are in the midst of the season of resurrection. We are still huddled in our houses awaiting the end to this short ice age, but it still is Easter and hope for new life abounds!

Easter 4 A 2008 "Good Shepherd Sunday"

When I was in the "in-between times" between college and seminary I had many wonderful work experiences one of which prepared me for ministry in ways that I never could have foreseen. I worked on a little organic vegetable farm for two seasons and that experience gave me insight into the parables and sayings of Jesus that are agrarian in nature. This Pastor actually has experience working with sheep. Now, I make no claims about knowing anything about first century Middle Eastern shepherding, but I do have the real life experience of taking care of a herd of about forty sheep.

Lambing time is happening right now on the farm. The sheep are not out in the pasture because the muddy and snowy ground is void of fodder. There is nothing out in the pasture for those poor sheep to eat. They are locked away in their sheepfold. They are gated off for their own protection from feral dogs and coyotes. They are 100 percent dependant upon the farmers for hay, grain, water, and minerals. The dried up nutrients of the earth from last summer’s growth are keeping them alive, but this is no abundant life. This is simple survival. The sheepfold is desolate, bare, and muddy. The gates are shut off because right now there are no green pastures and the still waters are even now frozen over. The vision of last summer’s growth and abundance is almost lost.

But when the time is right, when the fields are green and the ground is solid underfoot, then the gates are opened and the sheep are allowed to roam. When it comes time to move the sheep out of their sheepfold, often the lambs jump where the gate was. They have never known any other life than that of the sheepfold. This new world is a mystery and yet they leap right into it. Their mothers are a bit more skittish. They run nervously and anxiously through the gate, but they follow the voice that means food and water. They follow trusting the voice that provided hay, gain, and water through the winter months. They follow the voice that means life.

As the lambs leap into greener pastures and ewes nervously cross the threshold of the sheepfold, it is easy to understand their response, and both responses are correct. The ewes know the perils of the pasture. There are flesh eating enemies out there—there are dangers and dark valleys. There are thunder storms and no place to take refuge. No wonder they are nervous and a bit skittish. No wonder they are anxious. But they follow the voice of the shepherd, a voice they know and trust.

Now, as the lambs leap into the new world of the pasture their response is correct as well. They follow the voice too, but their response of leaping forth into new and uncharted territory is driven by the promise that the grass is so much greener, and richer, and abundant than it was in the sheepfold. They have just started to nibble at the tender shoots of spring—they have tasted it, and know that it is good. Beyond the sheepfold life is less certain, but it is more exciting and full of possibility. Abundant life is not possible in the sheepfold. Life in the sheepfold is based on predictable deprivation. In the sheepfold there is just enough fodder for survival. In the pasture the sheep grow fat on the abundance of forage.

The winter has been long and full of deprivations. Economic insecurity, social problems that result from forty years of decline, empty buildings, rampant alcohol and drug abuse, a community marked by high anxiety, bitter conflicts, steady decline, and the herd is not growing any younger. We have grown accustomed to the sheepfold and its dreary muddiness. We have developed a taste for what is dried up and hard to swallow. We have settled for our predictable rations that we have to stretch further and further as the storehouses and hay bails dwindle. But this life of deprivation is not the life that God in Jesus Christ has called you into. The voice of the Good Shepherd calls us out of the old life of the sheepfold into the new life of the pasture.

Abundant life is not found in here, it is somewhere out there. It is beyond the gate of our fears, and the sheepfold of our insecurity. It is beyond the winter of our discontent in the springtime of new and abundant life. This is where God is leading us. Jesus is calling us out of our upper rooms where we hide for fear of thieves and bandits, those who would steal us away from what God is doing in and among us. Spring is coming; it is almost here and when it is, the door will be flung wide. The gate will be opened and some will leap across the threshold while others will move with a bit more caution.

Abundant life is with the Good Shepherd who leads us out of the sheepfold and into new and uncharted territory. Abundant life is with Jesus Christ who leads us beside still waters and restores our souls. But abundant life is not without its challenges. There will be enemies, there will be dark valleys, there will be the shadow of death, but that shadow is just an illusion. When we are in the midst of the abundant life of the good shepherd who prepares a table before us, then death looses its sting—death becomes the gate to eternal life. When we are in the presence of the Good Shepherd, when we have come to follow him who has defeated death, then all things become possible including abundant life even in the face of death and decline. I repeat: abundant life even in the face of death and decline.

We follow Jesus because we trust Him. We follow him because he calls us by name. We follow him because he leads us into green pastures and besides still waters and protects us from death and destruction. Sometimes we follow him cautiously and other times we follow him with abandon, but we follow him because we know his voice.

Amen.

New Link

Thanks to Diana Garthwait for all her work on getting organized for the upcoming Relay for Life. Check out http://events.cancer.org/rflgogebiccomi to find out how you can get involved or give to this great effort. The link will be added to the blog in the right hand column.

This year there is an international theme for the Relay and our theme nation is Sweden. Check it out! Get involved! tack så mycket.

Kindness Eggs

"...what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God?" The Life Together Church School and Confirmation Students worked this Lent to bring us a new Lenten discipline. In each egg was a slip of paper with a proposed act of kindness on it. Sometimes it took a few tries to get one that was right for you, but many acts of kindness were carried out as a result of these suggestions.

New Bibles at Church School

"The grass withers, the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever." Due to gracious gifts given in memory of our beloved former Superintendent Beth Forslund, the Life Together Church School is equipped with new Bibles. The picture is due to the courtesy of Bonnie Maki.

The Christ Lutheran Parish Youth Participated in the Big Brother's Big Sister's Bowl For Kids on Saturday, February 23. We had enough bowlers for 2 teams and we raised more than $500 for BBBS. At top Bert is demonstrating the granny method of bowling strikes and below is a picture of Nick bowling a strike with mind numbing speed and agility.

You know you're a Yooper if...

In addition to the Super Sub Sale there was another fund raiser that drew to an end this week. The "Shave It or Save It" campaign was decided on Fat Tuesday. At finally tally the "shave it" bottle had $40 more than the "save it" bottle. Here are some photos to document the process. Sorry, the Fu Manchu Mustache has since been removed. Again, the funds raised go to benefit this summer's youth servant trip to Pennsylvania. Above are the photos that document the "Shave it" process.

Sunday's Sub Sale was a Super Success!

One Satisfied sub-eater said on Monday, "If I had known that these subs were going to be so super I would have sought several more." The funds raised from the sale go to support this summer's servant trip. Thank you all for your help.