Sermon Reflection | August 4, 2013

Read: Psalm 49 and Luke 12:13-21
Listen: The Good Life
Dig a Little Deeper: 

     It is perhaps no coincidence that I talked about letting go of material goods just after receiving an accepted offer on a house.  If I remember correctly, I preached on a similar thing shortly after moving here ( Click Here: Do I Own Too Much?). 

     Kate Huey wrote a beautiful reflection this week (she always does, and I always send you to her.  I just love her words.)  In it she includes this great, simple little side note: 

"My brother John was telling me about his recent efforts at "simplifying" - that is, getting rid of too much stuff. He said that he and his wife decided to ask themselves two questions to help them decide whether to keep something: 1. "Do we really need this?" and 2. "Really?"Good questions for the man in Jesus' story, and for us as well."

Keeping the entry short this week.  Come worship with us this coming Sunday!  Or any Sunday!  Have a blessed week this week, everybody.

Sermon Reflection | July 28, 2013

Hello Church! 

Let me tell you some things that are exciting me:

• Our youth had a brat fry fundraiser on Saturday and they raised $637.35!!  Along with a Matching Grant from the Webster Foundation, which matches up to $500, we were able to just barely break our goal of $1100!  How cool is that?  I'm really proud of them.  
• With this money, they will be going to Chicago to participate in a weekend of mission experiences including serving at soup kitchens and food distribution centers, witnessing the wealth disparity in the city of Chicago as they drive through both wealthy neighborhoods and neighborhoods in poverty, and on Sunday morning attending worship at Lawndale Community Church, a church much different in worship style and size from our own.  The program that is leading this trip is called Center for Student Missions.  You can learn more about it here.
• The community-wide VBS is coming up! I'm anxious to see how this goes, as it will be my first year seeing it in action.  The goal is to host 200 of the communities children in this way, and so far there are already 133 registered!  If you're interested, go here to register: http://www.riponvbs.org/
• We have officially hired our new, permanent Christian Education director, Olivia Wetzel!  Her job at the church is to work with the Sunday School kids and help develop opportunities for fellowship for everyone, but especially for young families, in the church (ie: ice skating, trivia nights, movie nights, retreats, etc.).  Olivia is a recent graduate of Ripon College and is going on to get her Master's Degree at the University of Oshkosh in professional school counseling.  She'll be posting here on the blog once a month, so look out for her posts!

Okay, what's really cool is that this is a lot of stuff about youth and children!  I like that kinda stuff because it's an area where I see our church evolving in the next few years, and I'm feeling confident that we have the right people-- from volunteers to paid staff like Olivia-- to lead the way.  

Now, sermon reflection. 

Read: Psalm 85 and Luke 11:1-13

Listen: Help me and Thank you

Dig a Little Deeper:  

     The book that I referred to during my sermon, "Help Thanks Wow" by Anne Lamott can be found here on Amazon.  I might suggest checking your local bookstore first (I see nothing wrong with Amazon, but I always try local first!) but if you don't find it there or don't have a chance to get out anytime soon, now you have the link.  Also, Amazon has a Kindle Edition. 

     There are about 10 million ways to talk about this passage from Luke.  I do have an appreciation for the preachers who dissect the Lord's prayer and help us remember why we say it every single Sunday.  I even appreciate the preachers who do a sermon series on it, using one line from the Lord's prayer each Sunday for several weeks.  But it didn't seem like quite the right time for that here, this week.  Instead I wanted to talk about asking God to help us in times when we feel completely overwhelmed.  I've met a lot of overwhelmed people since coming to Ripon.  This is a town full of people who DO THINGS.  Lots and lots of things.  And while I know they are often fulfilled and glad to serve, I also see people get overwhelmed more often than not. 

     So I wanted to share my image of God the Organizer.  My new favorite image, at least for this point in my life.  This is the God who sorts and stacks and arranges and helps to make our lives make more sense.  I hope you like this image of God too.  

Images of God

I am not in the writing mood today but I decided to share with you through images 4 ways I've seen God working in my life this past week.

Sunday: Admittedly, I've been out of town a number of weekends this summer and haven't spent as much time as I would like at church on Sunday. But, I had the privilege of attending worship this past Sunday and certainly felt God's presence. I enjoyed Pastor Joanna's sermon about Mary and Martha and appreciated talking about our "Mary and Martha tendencies" with my own Mary (mom) and sister Laura. The worship service outdoors gave me some "Mary" time, because I could finally focus on God.

 

Monday: This is a picture of the Green Lake County Government Building. This is a new home for me this summer. No, not the jail, but the health department! As much fun as I've had doing interny things at the Health Department, I've learned from this job that being healthy is far more than not weighing too much or exercising enough. Being healthy means having a well body, mind and soul. Not only should we, as Christians, work hard to strengthen our own souls, but we should be helping others. According to a 2012 Green Lake County Community Needs Health Assessment, 20% of County adults reported inadequate social support. As a faith community we are fortunate to have a strong network of relationships at First Congo, but I've learned that there are many more people in our area that lack loving support from others.

Monday: One Tuesday I finished one of my official favorite books of all time, Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man who would Cure the World. Dr. Farmer is the man in the photo on the left. I've talked my family's ears off about how inspirational this biography is. Dr. Farmer is a physician at the Brigham in Cambridge and a rural clinic in Haiti, infectious disease specialist, founder of "Partners in Health," and Harvard Med MD/PhD Medical Anthropologist. He's lived a life of devotion to helping poor Haitians and Peruvians and prisoners in Russia with diseases such as TB, HIV, and MDR. At some point in the book, I began to feel like I will never come close to Dr. Farmer's accomplishments; and I likely never will. But Farmer addresses this worry. The author writes that Farmer made it clear he doesn't want others to strive to fit the Farmer mold. But he wants them to do something. In fact, we need  to do something.

Tuesday: On my way to Fond du Lac today, I saw lanes of clouds like these from the road. I have never seen clouds so organized before. The angels must surely be doing some housekeeping!

God is everywhere. I am blessed. Amen.

What's in a Name, Take Two.

Once upon a time we wrote this entry (well, Stephanie wrote it, but with a common understanding) about why we chose the name "The Thinking Church."

At the time, we all thought that the name really spoke about who we were, a group of church members who want to ask questions and seek deeper answers.  As time moved on, I received critiques from several people-- church members and non-church members-- saying that we sound like we think we're better than everyone else by having that name.  At first I thought well that's not true at all; we don't think that and I shrugged the critiques off.  After a while, especially when I saw the wide variety of people who were bringing the same feedback to me, I began to realize that with this title we were projecting an image of ourselves that wasn't representative of who we are, or at least who we're striving to be. 

We are A Thinking Church, but we're not THE Thinking Church.  I know a lot of thinking churches.  I know Thinking Churches that are fundamental and Thinking Churches that are progressive and everything in between.  We're a lot of other things too.  We're a questioning church.  We're a searching church. We're a worshiping church.  We're a visioning church.  We're a welcoming church.  We're a laughing church.  We're a crying church.  We're a creating church.  We're a challenging church.  And oh dear...when I really stop and think about it...isn't just about every church all of those things?  So how can we possibly say that we have the monopoly on any of them?  

So, here's what else we are: we're a church of Grace, and in that we should be a church willing to admit that sometimes we make mistakes.  So I'm going to admit it-- calling ourselves "The Thinking Church" is a mistake.  And I hope you'll all be full of Grace and let us change the name to something we are and nobody else is:  First Congo of Ripon-- short, of course, for The First Congregational Church of Ripon.  We, among other churches, are a church who is "using heads, lifting hearts."  We're still thinking people, but we're not THE ONLY thinking people, and I hope you'll see that in the words written in this little corner of the internet world.  

Peace and Grace to all of you, from A Thinker, but not The Thinker, 

-- Pastor Joanna 

P.S.  We are not changing the URL (Riponthinkingchurch.blogspot.com) at this point because that address has been published in several places and we don't want to lose people who might still type it in as they originally knew it.  That change may happen in the future, and when/if it does we will make sure to make an announcement.

A Response to General Synod 29 | Sunday July 7, 2013

Read: Psalm 30 and Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Listen: Why I Love Church (There was a sound glitch in the beginning, but it picks up after a few seconds)

Watch: Here is a slightly longer version of the video I was planning on showing instead of summarizing it myself.  You can see the meditation in its entirety, along with Rita Nakashima Brock, here at 1:09:00.  

Inspired

Today, I'm excited by the supreme court ruling on DOMA and Prop. 8 and I'm excited by a book I finished called "Behind the Beautiful Forevers" by Katherine Boo.

I believe we, as a nation, are finally raising our heavy feet from the quicksand of prejudice to lovingly embrace brothers and sisters who have been fighting a silenced struggle for too many lifetimes. And I'm overjoyed that regardless of the political outcome today, Americans across each state are and have been affirming their support of those who simply want their love for another to be acknowledged. I'm inspired by where we've come and where we're headed. I'm inspired by countries like Norway and South Africa and Belgium that set examples of LGBTQ acceptance for the U.S. I'm inspired by the way God is uniting lovers, families, churches and political leaders in the name of loving thy neighbor and loving God.

As I mentioned, I also found inspiration in the book, "Behind the Beautiful Forevers." I strongly recommend this book as it tells a non-fiction narrative of the lives of individuals of Mumbai's Annawadi slum. Boo spent 5 years investigating the daily routine, struggles and triumphs of children and adults who collect and steal polyurethane bags, plastic bottles, and scrap metal to sell in order to make a few rupees each day. What made this story incredible to me was not the squalor in which these people live, but the intelligence, thoughtfulness and hope of the people. Emotions and dreams very much like my own. Survival is certainly at the forefront of most Annawadians' minds, but extending deeper than that is their desire to achieve success for their family through a child's completion of school, finding a stable job or moving into a more prosperous slum. One boy described his goal to be "ice," which is water (something all people have in common), but a "better state." He understood the link that connects all individuals but knew he wanted a life of meaning for himself. He didn't want to be forgotten after he had died, but rather strived to make a lasting difference despite his grim circumstances. THAT is inspirational to me.

What both the court rulings and content of Boo's book reminded me today is that we are all one people united as children of God. God forgets about no one, even when our marital laws and living conditions cause us to forget about the basic needs of our fellow humans. As a Christian, I frequently feel like how Jesus' disciples are often portrayed, trying to do the right thing, but not quite getting it right. Jesus set the perfect example and the disciples did their best to follow, but often stumbled. As I learn more about the world I see that we have a long way to go before we are loving our neighbors and giving a coat to someone who needs it. We might think we're doing the right thing, when in fact, God's will is far from our actions. That said, I'm inspired by the dreams and realities of those who are making the world a more heavenly place in the U.S. in India and in many, many other places. I praise God for acting in the lives of these people, and I have so much hope for the future of the world.

What is General Synod?

Hi Church and Church Lovers!

I'm about to attend the ultimate church-lover conference: General Synod.  This is a gathering of the national denomination of the United Church of Christ which occurs every 2 years in a different location in the US.  This year, it's in Long Beach, California!  At the conference, we attend workshops, gather with various groups for networking opportunities, worship together, and vote on Resolutions and Formal Motions of the UCC.  

The United Church of Christ is a denomination in which the local churches work both autonomously and covenantally.  What that means is that each church makes its own individual decisions, but because of the covenant made with the denomination the decisions made at synod are recommendations to the local churches.  So, those resolutions and formal motions linked above are recommendations to us, the First Congregational Church of Ripon!  

What do you think about them?  As a delegate, I am your voice!  I'd love to hear what you think so that I can make decisions that represent both myself and this community.  

Any time that General Synod is in session (plenaries, worship, etc.) in the main hall, they will be webcasting live. In general that means that they will be following the schedule found in the Detailed Agenda.

The stream will be seen live on this page and on the UCC Facebook page.  I highly encourage you to tune in for the worship times.  I will be posting on Facebook just before worship each day as a reminder to tune in. 

On Thursday, I will also be attending a pre-Synod gathering of the 2030 Network of the UCC.  The 2030 Network is made up of ordained and licensed clergy in their 20s and 30s.  This will be a day of fellowship, discussion, and worship which I am so, so looking forward to!

Stay tuned!  I'll be updating along the way!

-- Pastor Joanna