#Zumbanation

Hello Friends!

I wanted to make a special post first of all to give a shout out to everyone who attended our very first faith & fitness night Zumba class! You all rocked it! There was lots of fun and smiles! Also, I am making this post encourage some of you who may be a little nervous about trying out our new class here. Let me start about giving my own back story on how I got into Zumba and eventually became an instructor.

Zumba is a cardio workout program that involves elements of Latin dance and even dance from modern music. Free Zumba classes were offered to Ripon College students and staff on campus, and I went with a bunch of my roommates and teammates from the tennis team. I loved the positive energy, music, and laughing with my friends while getting a good workout. It was also a great stress reliever to have a busy college student. When I went home for summer and school vacations, I discoverer that one of the Zumba instructors in my hometown was one of my old daycare teachers! I started going to her classes and she really inspired me to dance and even help teach some songs! After that, I was hooked and I knew this was a tool I wanted to have in my toolbox when I did my own teaching. So, the rest is history and I am proud to say that I am Zumba instructor!

Today, on this transfiguration Sunday, during worship and Sunday school, we discussed seeing things in a different way and this is how I ask you to see Zumba coming into church. This offers those who wish a positive place to exercise and work on their health. It is for all abilities and all people. I challenge you during this time as we head into spring, to look at things in a brand new way or from a new angle. Give Zumba a try or do something you have always wanted to try! Connect and talk with God about what may be holding you back and what inspires you to move forward.

With God all things are possible!

Love,

Miss Olivia

Characters in Sunday School

Hello Everyone!
I am very excited to be making my first post here on the First Congo blog! Sunday School has been a joy to be apart of here and I really would like to share some of the teaching tools we have been looking at. A big goal of mine is to connect scripture and worship to things our children may have seen and also may enjoy. Also, I am big fan of film and books, so I really like to making connections using both!

We have started out our Sunday School year talking about heroes. Who are heroes in our own lives? Who are heroes in the bible? What makes a hero? We have discussed many heroes in Sunday School from Jesus to Batman, from Mom to teachers! This theme of being a hero and how God wants us to be heroes is a theme we are still carrying out through out this year and the youth have really responded well to it!

Also, we have used examples from the children's films Happy Feet and Akeelah and the bee. Both of these films give great examples of how being ourselves, just the way we are, we can make a great connection with God and great connections with others. In Happy Feet, we focused on "What is your heart song"? "How do you share your heart song with others"? And in Akeelah and the bee, we learn about the power within and with God, all things are possible. Here are the links we have have watched in Sunday School. Please give them a view and feel free to share your feelings and thoughts!

Happy Feet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKA8wkU5tdk

Akeelah and the bee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwKBxabn4QY

Currently, we have been working with the children's book, Pete the Cat. Pete has a lot of lessons to share about how no matter what happens to us in life, it is all good. With faith, love, and understanding, life is a wonderful journey we all walk through together! As we continue to look at these examples and others in the future, I greatly encourage you to connect with our youth and discuss with them your own journeys and share your own examples, thoughts, and feelings.

Blessings and love,

Olivia

Sermon Response | February 2, 2014

I really enjoyed learning about the Cowsill family this past week.  I distinctly remember seeing the "Hair" video on VH1 when I was young, back when VH1 and MTV were actually about music.  This is the documentary I watched and referred to in my sermon: Family Band: The Cowsills Story. Of course I was not even alive when the Cowsills were popular, but I asked my mom if she had any idea when they were popular that there were abusive family dynamics and she said "No, they were the family we all wanted to be like."  Unfortunately, the hidden story of abuse is such a common story among celebrities-- and not just abuse but addiction and mental illness as well.  

We tend to apply facades to our lives, celebrities or not, which make us appear perfect or unaffected by the obstacles of the world.  Yet I'd venture a guess that each and every one of us carries some painful stories of unresolved conflict-- relationships yet to be reconciled, addictions yet to be addressed, depression and anxiety yet to be medicated. 

My sermon this week referred to the reconciliation that we are each in need of within ourselves, with one another, and with God.  We used to have a sign right next to the door to our one bedroom apartment in St. Louis which said, "If you are not in right relationship with with your neighbor and with yourself, you cannot be in right relationship with God."  I needed that advice every single day, and the only reason the note doesn't exist next to our current door is because it was lost in the move.  I should probably make a new one.  I believe that we are all deeply interconnected.  Our brokenness doesn't only affect us; it affects everybody.  Jesus Christ calls us to be truthful about our brokenness so that we can be opened up for reconciliation; so that we are available to be healed.  The point I'm trying to convey isn't the often articulated story about sin (that if we are full of sin we aren't going to Heaven); it's about wholeness, completeness, and peace-- that we will function better if we are not trying to hide our pain; if we aren't trying to live with a concealed story of brokenness.  And if we are functioning better, we can serve better.  And if we serve better, the world will function better.  Do you see the connections?  This is some of what Liberation Theology gets at. 

So what do you think?  Am I rambling or making sense?  This is the stuff that has been going on in my mind lately; and it's what I was trying to convey in my sermon on Sunday. 

Listen here: http://bit.ly/1k0Oe3Z

Sermon Response | January 26, 2014

Hi There, Friends!

You'd think with all of this cold weather I'd be blogging away, but somehow the weeks just keep slipping by.  Let's get back on track, shall we?

This week in my sermon I talked about the E Word-- Evangelism.  This tends to be a scary word for progressive Christians like myself, who want so badly for each individual to think for themselves.  But at the same time there's some balance necessary here.  When I try out a new recipe that I love, I share it.  When I hear a band or a musician I love, I share it.  So why is it that when I read a Bible passage I love, attend a church service I love, or hear a prayer that I love, I only share it with the people I know who are Christian or who are a part of my church?  This is a very difficult balance-- sharing the part of the story we love while at the same time not pushing others or forcing others to think the way we think. 

But I'll tell you what-- I really do love our church.  I love what we do, I love who we are, I love the potential we have to do big things.  But that word "potential" is a key word for our ministry right now.  We have ideas-- BIG ideas-- but we may not have the time and the energy to implement those ideas at this time.  Our time and energy has to grow, and in many ways that means finding more people to share in our journey.  How will we find them?  

I may be ruffling some feathers here.  Actually I'm ruffling my own feathers a bit.  This type of talk is out of my comfort zone because I'm one of those people who feels very uncomfortable with "The E Word."  So will you join me on this journey of finding balance between being pushy and being inviting?  Will you join me in the journey to tell the story about who we are and why you should check us out?

Read: Isaiah 9:1-4, Matthew 4:12-23

Listen: Sharing the Story

A Modern Day Nativity Scene

Two significant events occurred in the past week, one global and the other local. On December 5, Nelson Mandela passed away at the age of 95, and in the early hours of this morning a fire broke out in downtown Ripon. The memorial service for Mandela was attended by countless world leaders (well not countless, surely someone counted them), including four United States presidents. Firefighters, reporters and curious spectators viewed the blaze downtown this morning. At first, Mandela's death seems isolated from the fire in our small town. But though both of these events, I see a connection.

These events are what make us human.

I read the status of a Facebook friend this morning who wrote, "A man at the gas station (I was at the BP station by Save A Lot) noticed the fire department plate on my truck and asked if I was a fireman. I kind of laughed and told him no, but my husband is. He asked if he is at the fire in town and when I said that he's been there since 3:30 [a.m.] he told me to, 'tell him thank you for risking his own safety and life for others.' I just about tipped over --- couldn't be a prouder wife at that moment!"

You have probably seen in a newspaper or on t.v. the mounds of flowers laid by strangers in South Africa to honor the great hero.

Through the tragedy of this morning and the sadness and celebration of Madiba's passing we are reminded of the care and love in the world and in our community. My Facebook newsfeed is full of people listing the items needed by the Ripon families whose Main St. apartments suffered damage. Before 11 a.m., I was made aware of the ways First Congregational Church of Ripon is planning to help these families through donations of soup, money and other items.

From both of these sad events I am filled with joy. I feel jubilant that God has given us the gift of compassion that we can share with others. When we suffer heartache we don't suffer alone. God mourns with us and gives us brothers and sisters to carry the burden as well.

This year, in my own thoughts, I've explored what it means to be human. What I've found most compelling is how we react to times when life is really tough. From those moments I've seen the most beauty in people, and I believe that is a direct expression of God's presence within all of us.

From the physical loss of Mandela I have seen a world that has taken time to celebrate his beliefs, not because they were his but because they are all of ours: love, education, resilience, harmony. From the downtown fire I see care from the community for the families and business owners on that block, even when some of us don't know any of those affected by name.

In a previous blog post Pastor Joanna wrote that the image of baby Jesus is one of her favorite depictions of him. I would agree with her. I believe that visualizing Jesus as a tiny baby is an image of each one of us. We cannot avoid the pain of tragedy and we feel helpless when it comes. But we are surrounded by wise men, angels, shepherds, Marys, and Josephs who take care of us and who love us. 

We are made in the image of Jesus, but I also think we are made in the image of all who attended his birth, and in this way we have the gift of compassion and love to share with the world. 

Sermon Reflection | December 1, 2013

Read: Psalm 122; Listen: A Secular Psalm Response to Psalm 12, by Maic D'Agostino, and read by Erin Ter Beest

Listen: Finding Peace, Sharing Peace

Dig a Little Deeper:

Last week I ranted about shopping on Thanksgiving.  I said that I think it's ridiculous, and even quite sad, that we've begun shopping on the one day of the year dedicated to giving thanks for what we already have.  In response, one of our worship committee members came up with a pun on Psalm 122: "I was glad when they said to me 'Let us go up to the house of the Lord & Taylor."  My husband, who is a poet by calling, took the pun a step further and wrote this Secular Psalm: 

A Secular Psalm Response to Psalm 122, by Maic D’AgostinoI was glad when they advertised to me,    ‘Come shop in the house of the Lord & Taylor!’  Our feet are stampeding    to your gates, O Macy’s,
And Wal-Mart, too—built like cities    that are full of deals upon deals upon deals.  To the department stores the shoppers go up,    the shoppers of Saving & Buying, as was decreed for First World nations,    to give thanks to the name of the Sale.  For there the thrones for CEOs are set up,    the thrones of the house of Revenue. 
Pray for the stocks of Wall Street:    ‘May they prosper who are shopped by you.  Opulence be within their walls,    and low prices within your towers.’  For the sake of my relatives and friends    I will say, ‘You won’t believe how much junk I bought.’  For the sake of the house of the Large Retailer,    I will seek your doorbusters.

Advent is my favorite season of the year, both as a preacher and as a Christian.  The image of Little Baby Jesus speaks to me like no other image of Jesus.  I'll tell you why.  I've seen the vulnerability of my own babies.  I've seen them floppy and completely dependent.  I've seen them sick and unable to understand why they are in pain.  When I imagine that God chose a baby-- floppy and vulnerable-- to redeem the whole wide world, it completely changes the way I see God.  It completely changes the way I see myself.  It shows that God trusts and believes that we, tiny and flawed and vulnerable as we are, are capable of bringing about the Kingdom. God doesn't need the strong and powerful to do the work; God just needs us to come as we are. 

I'll get into that more this season.  I hope you'll be around to share in the conversation with me. 

--Pastor Joanna 

Sermon Reflection | November 17, 2013

Hi Friends!
I don't know how long it takes a normal person to get back into the swing of work after maternity leave, but I feel like I might be finally getting there.  This week is my fourth week back.  I am usually about 15 minutes late every morning, but I do make it to the office, and I am always dressed.  This morning I fit back into some pants I haven't fit in for a while and my 2-year-old exclaimed, "Oh Mommy, congratulations!" followed by, "You're soft; I want to hold you."  I always wonder how those little minds work.  She is certainly back into the swing of toddlerhood and has taken to life as a big sister quite well.  She only likes the baby when he does something, which is very rare at this stage in babyhood.  At least it gives me confidence that she will love him more the older he gets!

I'm also feeling as if we're getting back into the swing of things because the church seems to be revving up again.  First of all, yesterday was our largest attendance in two months.*  Second, our little one-room Sunday School is building in consistency and excitement.  We don't have a lot of kids in our church, but the ones we have are so fun and unique and I want them to have a great place to learn here.  Our new CE director, Olivia, is doing such a great job serving kids ages 2 years to 7th grade - a very, very difficult task.  And the best part-- they're coming!  Consistently!  And they're enjoying it. Third, we have many great programs and ideas in place and ready to get started.  I'm afraid several things fell by the wayside when summer came along.  People were out of town, I was tired and pregnant . . . but now we're ready to start book study again, along with a monthly film viewing called "Popcorn in the Pews."  We'll be joining Madison's Prison Ministry by attending worship services at Fox Lake Correctional Facility.  Confirmation class is up and running . . . Well, let's just say it feels like the church is a fun place to be right now!

*Don't get me wrong-- I fully believe that numerical attendance isn't a sign of success in itself but it is still great when people show up!

Okay folks, part of getting back into the swing of things is that I'm ready to get back to my sermon reflections on here.  So here goes!

Read: 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17*, Luke 14:28-35
It's important to read The Message Version of this passage, which goes: "May Jesus himself and God our Father, who reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of unending help and confidence, put a fresh heart in you, invigorate your work, enliven your speech."
Listen: "Look What We've Built!"
Dig a little deeper: This week was Stewardship Sunday.  I am always asking the church, "what gifts do you have?" in a rhetorical way, and therefore no one ever responds to me!  This Sunday I asked about surprising gifts, but in an even broader sense.  I asked the question, "What are three things about you that might surprise us?"  Here were some of the many interesting responses we had:

Several people responded about what they want to be when they grow up.

• Maria, who is a musician, said, "As a child I loved to draw house plans and wanted to be an architect."
• Laura, a senior in high school, said, "I tell people that I'm interested in psychology and journalism, (and I am,) but when it comes down to it I truly have no idea what I want to be when I grow up."
• Holly, one of our college students, said, "I want to be a high school guidance counselor when I grow up."
• Casey wants to raise bison and meat chickens and his wife Erin has no idea what she wants to be when she grows up!
• My husband used to want to be a priest but now he wants to be a stay-at-home dad.
• Maggie, a freshman in high school, said, "I want to be a pilot."
• When Robyn, a mother of two, grows up she wants to still be a kid.

Several people talked about fears and things they hate

• Barb is afraid of coffee.
• Kara is afraid of heights.
• Maggie is afraid to become an adult.
• Maria hates coconut.
• Tim hates "labels, and people who hold fast to dogma, ideology, and political parties." (I wasn't surprised)
• Maic "doesn't care for" the Beatles, Harry Potter, Star Trek, and Vodka

And I couldn't believe the things some people said about their eating habits: 

• Stephanie has eaten raw fish eggs out of Green Lake.
• Tim loves M&Ms and bacon, together I assume.
• Andy has eaten raccoon
• Kurt, one of our tall, lean members likes to eat fast food once a week
• Bob loves meatloaf and mashed potatoes (at least some people around here are normal...)

So, what does this all have to do with our faith?  What do you think?  How do you think silly questions like this help us to grow together as a faith community?  Answer in the comments!

P.S.  I didn't have the time to write a sermon reflection on this sermon from last week (From One Generation to Another), but I do think you should listen to it, and if you do you might want to see the following articles, which I referenced in the sermon.
1. NPR "To Stave Off Decline, Churches Attract New Members With Beer"
2. This article on Nadia Bolz-Weber is where I first learned about her, but you're probably better off looking at her personal website.
3. National Geographic show, "Church Rescue"