Tune into WUPM tomorrow morning between 8:30 and 9:00am for the Tate's Coffee Clutch show where I'll be promoting Jonathan Rundman's upcoming concert at Zion Lutheran Church on March 28. I've never been on the radio before except for Salem's radio broadcast. I'm a bit intimidated, so please pray that I don't say anything silly.

Yours in Christ,
Chrisitian

Lent 2 B 2009

In his sermon on Ash Wednesday Pastor Fran mentioned a new church that was built and in the process the leaders of this church determined that there would be no crosses in the church. They made an intentional decision not to put any crosses or any representations of the cross in their new church building because the cross is such a negative symbol. They didn’t want their church to be a downer. They wanted to present Jesus as victorious and conquering. Would images of Jesus would be without wounds in his hands feet and side. Would there be no bloody representations of Jesus on the cross? It makes me wonder would there also be no mention of the crown of thorns he wore, or the lashes he bore?

It is no wonder they wanted to forego all this messy talk of Jesus passion and death. It makes us uncomfortable to talk about the suffering of the cross as it makes us uncomfortable to talk about suffering in our world. How do we hear and listen to our neighbors, friends and relatives when they tell us about a cancer diagnosis, a serious injury, an instance of abuse, or a confession of brokenness or hurt? How do we listen when someone comes to us, not with the expectation that we will fix the problem, but only that we will be there to offer comfort, support, and reassurance?

At our best we are open to the pain and suffering. At our best we listen and hear, acknowledging the pain of another. At our best we make known our compassion and care for the suffering one simply by being there for them and by becoming good listeners who listen more than speak, who gaze directly into the eyes of the one who is hurting and open our hearts to their hurts. But this makes us uncomfortable because it means making ourselves vulnerable to taking on some of that pain.

At our worst we avoid the person who suffers entirely. At worst, we change the subject when we start to get to the painful conversation. At worst we send off signals that we are not willing to hear and not willing to feel the pain of another. At worst we deny the cross that the hurting person is bearing by moving too quickly to the promise and hope of the resurrection without spending time with them at the cross.

I have done this and I am sure you have to. I have moved too quickly to finding a silver lining. I have moved to quickly to finding a solution for the problem. I have made the mistake of trying to make meaning out of someone else’s suffering when the meaning to be found belongs to them alone. I have changed the subject for fear of going to deep. I have done all these things, and it does not mean I am a bad pastor, neighbor, friend, or family member. It means that I am human. It means I am a sinner. It means that you and I are finite people, unable to bear the entire world’s suffering, but this is not an excuse to cut ourselves off from it.

In today’s Gospel Jesus corrects Peter for Peter rebukes his master and teacher for openly acknowledging the suffering that Jesus must undergo. “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed….” Peter reprimands Jesus for saying this. Peter is not corrected for being rude or obtuse or speaking out of turn, although he his guilty of all three, what Jesus’ corrects is Peter’s denial of the cross. The fact is that Peter is setting his mind on human things and not divine things. According to human plans being handed over to death on the cross is a defeat. According to human plans the cross is a real downer and if we want to be seeker friendly we should remove it from our churches because it means death, suffering, and loss and defeat. It means we have been trounced by the powers of this world.

(As and aside ask me about white Flags at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church)

No, the cross does not mean defeat; it is the very means by which Jesus accomplishes the victory. When Peter rebukes Jesus for talking about what he must undergo he is denying the reality of the necessity of the cross. For if the victory could be accomplished any other way don’t you think God would have seen to it? If salvation could be gained through any other means, don’t you think God would have spared His only Son? And if there were any other way of becoming a follower of Christ don’t you think Christ would have made it easier for us? But Jesus never says the way is going to be easy. He says the very opposite: "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.”

Faithfulness is what is required of us to become followers of Jesus. Faithfulness as modeled by Peter who first denies the cross, and then denies Christ three times, but who in the end proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ and who himself dies on a cross. And in the second lesson for today Paul holds up Abraham as a model of faithfulness. This is the same Abraham who when God promises him offspring takes a concubine because he and his wife are not certain what to make of God’s promise even though God’s promise is explicit: “I will bless [Sarah],” God Says, “ and moreover I will give [Abraham] a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.". This is the same Abraham who tries to pawn his wife off on the Pharaoh when he is traveling through Egypt. Abraham says that Sarah is his sister and not his wife for fear that the Pharaoh will kill him and take her for a wife. Abraham just lets Sarah be taken as the Pharaoh’s wife. But this same Abraham is the one who in the end would not spare his and Sarah’s only Son.

Like Peter and Abraham, our faithfulness will never be perfect, and it will never be flawless, but that should not excuse us from trying to be faithful. Just as our compassion and sympathy for our neighbor will never be flawless or perfect, that does not give us an excuse to ignore them in their time of need. Despite our gravest sins, errors, flaws and imperfections God will still use us. Despite our discomfort with the cross and our uneasiness in talking about someone’s pain God still uses us to show forth his care, comfort, and concern. Despite our reluctance to go to the foot of the cross where Christ was crucified, God still uses us to proclaim the mystery of our faith. Even when our faith waivers: God uses us.

God can do this because even though our concern, care, sympathy, and compassion will never be perfectly expressed, Gods concern, care, sympathy, and compassion through Jesus Christ are perfected. Even though our faithfulness waivers and at times fails—God’s faithfulness in Jesus Christ will never fail but is perfect in every way. Though we are sinners, he is sinless. Though we fall away in retreat, he goes the total distance. Though we will sometimes fail, he will not. And though we suffer and die, he will raise us up. That is the promise of the cross and that is why, though we have sorrow for his suffering, we have hope in his wounds.

You can’t have restoration without the wounds; and you can’t have resurrection without the cross. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Big Brothers Big Sisters' Bowl for Kids was a tremendous success! The Parish Youth raised over $900 and we had two teams with five on each team. Even more important is the fact that we had a fun time doing a good thing for our community. Thanks to everybody who supported this effort!

Lent 1 B 2008

These days with modern transportation such as jet liners and interstate highways, it is rare that we make journeys that last for more than a few days. It is hard for us even to imagine what it would be like to journey for weeks at a time as our ancestors may have had to do in order to get from one place to another. For all of us living today there was not a time when Trans-Atlantic voyages on ocean liners and trips on trains using steam engines only took days to get you to your destination. The world has become so small as the result of our technologies that it really is impossible to imagine a trip that takes years to prepare for and months to complete. But there is one modern journey that as a boy captured my imagination.

On March 7, 1986, the Steger International Polar Expedition, made up of seven men and one woman, set out by dogsled to reach the North Pole. In a deliberate throwback to the early explorers, they sought to complete the journey without re-supply. They would be entirely reliant on the three tons of supplies they brought with them; there would be no airlifts with rested dogs, no new equipment, and no extra food or fuel. I remember, as a ten year old, hearing of the completion of their expedition. It was in the news for weeks as several members of the expedition were from my home state of Minnesota.

One of the members of the expedition even came to our town to tell the story. All the students from the different elementary schools were bussed to the High School Auditorium to hear first hand the unbelievable account of adventure, survival, and determination. The name of the explorer was Ann Bancroft (not the actress who played Mrs. Robinson in the film the Graduate). She gave up her teaching post in 1986 in order to participate in the “Will Steger International North Pole Expedition". She arrived at the North Pole together with five other team members after 56 days using dogsleds. This made Bancroft the first woman to reach the North Pole on foot and by sled.

56 days of arctic cold and limited rations…56 days of barren landscape and treacherous crevasses…56 days without the comforts of home and family…but despite the danger and deprivation the adventure of it all still captures my imagination. And to those explorers who were successful in reaching the North Pole, for them the effort is still worthwhile. The sacrifice is still worth it, not just for the glory, but for the experience itself. During those days the members of the expedition grew in many ways. Though they had the goal in mind, reaching that patch of snow and ice at the top of the world was not all that was to be gained from the journey. They were changed by the experience itself.

On Wednesday we entered onto a forty day journey. On Wednesday we stepped out into the barren landscape of Lent. We enter into these forty days of discipline and self denial to arrive at that patch of dirt, tears, and blood where Jesus was crucified. And though we have this goal in mind there is more to be gained from this journey than a remembrance of his sacrifice. As we travel from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday we enter into an experience that strengthens and deepens our faith. This is a time that captures our imaginations. That recalls forty days and forty nights of flood and destruction and God’s deliverance of an ark full of animals and people from which life on earth would start over.

On Wednesday we entered into a forty day journey that recalls the forty years that the Israelites wandered in the desert of deprivation where the breakdown of discipline and self-denial nearly threatened to break the bonds of love between God and his people. On Wednesday we entered into a journey that recalls Jesus’ time in the wilderness when he was tempted by Satan. This forty day journey to the cross is a time to set aside what is unnecessary, frivolous, petty, and distracting. This forty day journey is a time to focus on what is really important, necessary, and life-sustaining. It is a time to live into God’s life-giving promises.

Those promises of God are always marked by a sign. There is always a visible reminder of God’s promises. In the case of the Great Flood the sign was a seven color promise. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet are the colors of the Roy G. Biv Covenant. God’s bow in the sky shows forth God’s promise never to destroy the earth again. But now God uses a different kind of flood to signify his promise to us. And like the Rainbow Covenant, this promise is once and for all. This promise was not based on the death of the disobedient many, the rebellious hordes or evil men and women, but on the death of the one obedient person. This promise is not signified by a rainbow in the sky, but by the sky being torn apart, the descending of a dove and a voice from heaven saying, “You are my beloved Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.”

This new promise, or new covenant, is signified by something plain and simple that we use in every day life. This new covenant flows out for us freely and abundantly because of one who let his life blood flow freely and abundantly for us. This new covenant is marked by our daily journey into the death resurrection of Jesus. This covenant is revealed by our baptism into the cross and into the empty tomb. This covenant is shown forth by our daily dying to sin and rising to new life with Christ. This New Covenant is the promise of our salvation.

“The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God has come near, repent, and believe in the good news.” These are the first words of the ministry of Jesus according to Mark. With the arrival of the Messiah, the anointed One of God, a new age is ushered in. The end time has begun. The time is fulfilled and continues to be fulfilled; the Kingdom of God has come near and gets closer every day. During Lent we journey even closer to this reality. During Lent we show how this promise has changed our lives. We do this by renewing our commitment to repent: that is to turn away from our sin and turn closer to God. We do this through exercises and disciplines that God may use to help deepen and strengthen our faith in the good news of Jesus Christ.

On Wednesday you stepped aboard. Marked once again by the cross of Christ your ticket was punched, your fare was paid. You have begun the forty day journey, a journey of transformation. It is a journey that will take you to new places—some of which may seem a bit strange and uncomfortable at first. It will not be always be easy, but because God is faithful, we know it will be worth it.

Bon Voyage.

A Pastors’ Page on the Darker Side of Baptism

When I instruct parents of children who are going to be baptized or candidates for baptism it is easy to talk about the positive aspects. I usually talk about how baptism does spiritually, what water does physically. It renews and cleanses. We are carried in water and the word in the same way we were carried in water before we were born. We are reborn out of this water into eternal life as children of God (See Titus 3:5-8). All of this, though it some if it sounds weird, is relatively positive and easy to understand.

The water and word of baptism refreshes and renews like the water we drink. The water and the word cleanse and purify like the water in which we bathe. The water and the word carry us into life like the amniotic fluid that carries us into the world and by it we are reborn children of God. That’s the lighter side of baptism. But there is a darker side, and being that this is Lent, it is appropriate that we should explore this darker side.

When asked what baptism signifies Martin Luther Answers: “It signifies that the old person in us with all sins and evil desires is to be drown through daily sorrow for sin and repentance.” Spooky right? Baptism involves a sort of death of our sinful selves. Through daily sorrow for sin and repentance our old person with all its sins and evil desires is put to death. Baptism is a kind of death. It gets even spookier.

Paul writes in Romans: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death….” Like water here on earth, baptismal water, that is water with the word of God, can be dangerous. It drowns sinners. It suffocates the old Adam and Eve who is in the heart of each of us. This is powerful stuff. This is shocking language. You who have been baptized have been submerged in death, the death Jesus died on the cross. But there is a reason for this.

Remember how Martin Luther said that baptism signifies the drowning of the old sinful person? He goes on to say “that daily a new person is to come forth and rise up to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.” In other words baptism is something we live out daily. Lutherans like to say that because of baptism into Jesus we daily die and rise with Him; each and every day we die and rise with Christ.

After Paul says that we have been baptized into Jesus’ death he goes on to say, “...so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” We die with Him so we can be raised with Him. That is what baptism and faith in God’s word accomplishes.

As Lent begins we remember that we are dust and to dust we shall return. This is an affirmation of our mortality. God created us out of the dust of the earth, but with Christ things do not stop there. By baptism into Christ we are reformed, remade, and reborn children of God. The darker side of baptism acknowledges death, but the lighter side, the resurrection side, promises abundant life. The painful death we die to sin gives way to the resurrection promise of new life.

God bless you as you begin your Lenten walk to the cross. May this be a time of new disciplines and deepening of faith so that when we come to the end of it we can cling even closer to the baptismal promise and hope of the resurrection of our Lord.

In Christ,

Pastor Christian

Born and raised in the isolated Finnish-American communities of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Jonathan Rundman has been writing songs and performing across the country since he was 18 years old. He emerged on the national music scene in the late-90s as a Chicago-based touring artist, generating rave reviews in Billboard, The New York Times, Performing Songwriter, Paste, and countless regional publications. Now living in Minneapolis, he continues to tour and record. Jonathan's songs can be heard on radio stations across America, in Scandinavia and England, and have been featured on the Ellen Degeneres Show.

Jonathan will be live in Concert at Zion Lutheran Church
Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 7:30 CT
Doors Open at 6:30

The Christ Lutheran Parish Youth are bowling in the 9th Annual Gogebic-Range Bowl For Kids on Saturday February 28, 2009 at the American Legion Bowling Lanes in Hurley, WI. If you wish to sponsor any of our bowlers please contact Pastor Christian at the Parish House 932-2538.

Many people are familiar with Big Brothers Big Sisters' traditional mentoring programs, but not many know that in our community BBBS also supports and facilitates the High-Five Mentoring Program that provides grade school kids with positive mentors from high school. This is their primary fundraising effort.

Bowling for Kids gives our youth a chance to do something good for their own community while having fun at the same time. Thanks for your contributions to this effort!

Transfiguration Sunday B 2009

Charles S. Houston chronicles a failed attempt to climb K2 of and writes about the “call to climb” in the book K2, The Savage Mountain: The Classic True Story of Disaster and Survival on the World's Second Highest Mountain. He writes:

During the terrible days of storm at camp VIII we thought seldom of the reasons which had brought us to the mountain; all our energy was focused on survival. We were trapped in three small mountain tents near the summit of the highest unclimbed summit on earth trapped by an endless storm of wind and snow which made impossible advance or retreat. All eight of us had been working for two months to establish this high camp and another one still higher from which two men might reach the top. All eight of us and many others had been planning for a year to make the expedition possible. During the ten days of hardship and disappointment, of pain and tragedy which climaxed our venture, we spoke of the summit and of home we remembered other storms and other critical times. No one tried then to answer the question, “Why? Why climb mountains?”

In that year that passed since our ordeal we have been asked that questions many times and have answered it in many ways. No answer is complete or satisfactory. Perhaps there is no single answer; perhaps each climber must have his own reasons for such an effort. The answer cannot be simple; it is compounded of such elements as the great beauty of clear cold air; of colors beyond the ordinary, of the lure of unknown regions beyond the rim of experience. The pleasure of physical fitness; the pride of conquering a steep difficult rock pitch, the thrill of danger—are also there. How can I phrase the most important reason of all? It is the chance to be briefly free of the small concerns of our common lives, to strip off non essentials, to come down to the core of life itself. Food, shelter, friends—these are the essentials, these plus faith and purpose and a deep and unrelenting determination. On a great mountain all purpose is concentrated on the single job at hand, yet the summit is but a token of success and the attempt is worthy in itself. It is for these reasons that we climb and in climbing find something greater than accomplishment.

The Gospel of Mark moves at a fever pitch. One event, sometimes several events, occur with immediacy—one after the other. From the Baptism of Jesus, to the gathering of disciples, to proclamation of the good news of the kingdom, to healing the sick, cleansing the unclean, preaching, teaching, and the working of miracles all occur one after the other until at last we reach the great climax, or what appears to be a great climax. We have climbed the mountain which marks the midpoint between Christmas and Easter. We stand on the hinge between the Epiphany, the manifestation of Christ begin at Christmas, and Lent that marks Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem to suffer and die and rise again on the third day. We have traveled with the disciples, Peter, James, and John, who have been with Jesus since the beginning of his ministry, to the top of the mount of the Transfiguration where we behold but a glimpse of Jesus’ glory.

Today we reach the summit of this mountain to experience a great theophany, where the glory of God is revealed in Jesus Christ. Jesus is met on the mountain by Moses and Elijah, two figures whose appearance represents the beginning of the end. Peter’s instinct is to build tabernacles so that all three may dwell upon the earth, but Moses and Elijah do not remain. And in the same way Jesus will not remain either. But at the top of the mountain Peter, James, and John are witnesses to a terrifying demonstration of the Glory of God. Jesus gleams with radiance, prophets whose presence mark the end of days, a cloud shrouding the mountain and a voice that speaks from the cloud, the very voice of God, that says “This is my son, the beloved, listen to him.” All these phenomena reveal just a glimpse of the glory that will one day be fulfilled through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

But Peter, James, and John cannot remain on the mountain forever. They have to descend back into the drudgery of the small concerns of their common lives. Worse than that, their next destination is where their master, friend, and teacher will be tortured and killed. But for this brief moment, the transfiguration of Jesus, they have insight into the very mind and purpose of God. For this brief moment they feel a closeness to God that will carry them through times of loss and grief and abandonment. From the transfiguration the disciples will go down the mountain with a glimpse of the glory that God is about to reveal in Jesus Christ.

Think of the mountain tops that you have been to in your own lives; those moments when you could feel the hand of God in your life. Think of those mountain tops when you fearfully and wonderfully held a baby in your hands for the first time, when you started out on a new career path that you knew came about at the right time, when you glimpsed the glory of God in the kindness of a stranger, when your faith blossomed and you were worshiping God with your whole being, when you hit your stride and the things that before you had to do with hard work and determination became like second nature, when the small concerns of your life were stripped away and all you were left with were the essentials. Do you remember that moment? Do you wonder sometimes why those moments don’t seem to last. Do you wonder why we can’t remain on that mountain? I sometimes do.

But the reality is that mountain top experiences do not last, but they are there long enough to get us through the valleys and dips and depressions of our lives. Because of them we can approach the foot of the cross where we lay our burdens down. All we get is but a glimpse of that light, a hint at the glory that is to come—a foretaste of the feast. But one day we will see even greater things than these.

Last weekend I had a mountain top experience. Two great worship opportunities happened in our Parish. The Second Saturday Contemporary Service felt natural as though we were really getting the hang of it. The joint Parish Worship on Sunday was splendid, the music, the dance, the liturgy all sang of God’s glory. Those experiences grant a feeling of the power and potential of our churches to become even more relevant, an even more important part of the lives of worshipers. In those times I see a glimpse of God’s glory being revealed in a new way in our churches.

I won’t be here to see the full glory. I won’t be here to see the full story of how God is at work in the four ELCA churches here in Ironwood, but I have seen a glimpse of His glory. And God will send you other ministers, and God will raise up new leadership among you, and God will equip you to meet the months ahead.

Just look again at the first reading for today. The story is not about that sweet chariot comin’ for to carry Elijah home. It is a story about God providing a successor to Elijah who can do even greater things. It is a story about the passing on of a mantle, the handing down of a tradition, the giving up of the reigns to another for the greater glory of God.

Let us pray,
We pray, Oh Lord, that you allow us to glimpse the fullness of your glory through the life, death, and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ. We ask that you begin in us again the work of testifying to the truth of His salvation through our words and deeds. We ask for the grace and peace to acknowledge where your Holy Spirit is leading us to work for the good of your Kingdom. We ask this in the name of Jesus whose brilliance we have glimpsed in part, but who one day we will see face to face.

Amen.

This weekend we had a lot going on in our parish. We had two very unique opportunities for worship. The Second Saturday Contemporary Service happened to fall on Valentine's Day. Attendance was in the high fifties which is good for a prime date night. Also, the parish held its quarterly Joint Parish Service at Zion on Sunday morning. The energy and enthusiasm at both services was contagious! On Sunday Pastor Fran led the Chicago Folk Service liturgy, there was a special band featuring many wonderful local musicians, a bell choir played a beautiful prelude, there were liturgical dancers, a special choral anthem, and the preaching wasn't bad either.

These joint services reveal the potential of our churches and show us what kinds of things we can do together. I believe God is at work in the midst of the decision making and planning now underway in our parish. He is showing us that though there may be loss in the short term, there is also much to gain through such expressions of unity as the ones we witnessed on Saturday and Sunday.

Our united efforts as a parish remind us that "⁴There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all." Ephesians 4:2 I eagerly await the next joint worship service, not because it is less work, because in fact I think it is more, but because it is there that we see where God is leading us. It is in worship, not around a council table, where we see what Christ Parish really is and what it can do.

It's purpose is not to share resources, pastors and support staff, or even to save money. The purpose of the Parish is to share the joy we have in Christ. Resources, buildings, money, and pastors all come and go, but the Word of God remains forever. May we keep this in mind as the Long Range Planning Task Force gathers this Thursday evening for discussion of the future of this Parish.

In Christ,

Christian

Jim, Grace, Ellen, Jane, and I took a long snowshoe around Wolverine at the Chappy winter fun event. Here are some pictures taken along the way. The pictures don't do justice to the majesty of the day, but they do give some idea of what a good time we had.

Gathering as people of Christ Lutheran Parish for winter fun at Wolverine proved to be a great time. There was an impressive turnout of folks who don't mind a little snow underfoot. The conditions were perfect for skiing or snowshoeing and the food was delicious. I was especially impressed by the wonderful desserts including brownies, cakes, and cookies. Thanks to everybody who turned out that day and to Wolverine for having such a beautifully maintained trail system and warming house. I'll post some pictures when I get a chance.

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.