But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and don’t try to stop them! People who are like these children belong to God’s kingdom.”
— Matthew 19:14 CEV

In my final year of Seminary I completed a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at the University of Chicago Medical Center. As a teaching hospital and trauma center we constantly faced crises and critical situations. As chaplains, we didn’t get directly involved in medical matters, but explored and cared for the spiritual dimensions of injury, illness, surgery, therapy, death and life. I had not yet been ordained, but had been authorized to perform certain spiritual functions.

The first baptisms I ever conducted took place there at the U of Chicago Medical Center. The parents of a child in the Pediatric ICU were invited to request baptism, and if they were Protestant or non-denominational, we Protestants chaplain interns would get the call. We would go to the PICU and prepare ourselves. We would gown, scrub in, glove, mask, and be given a bottle of sterile water and some gauze. It wasn’t what any of us pictured baptism to be, but it got the job done: we were able to remind worried parents that God loved them and their children, that God was with them in this difficult time, and that they were a part of the family of God.

I was thinking about that just now as I led the baptism of Eva Evangeline Hand. Eva’s older brother is part of the Preschool, and his family are Methodists from way back. So when Eva was born into this time of Crisis, her parents wanted her to be baptized here at the church. This morning we invited Eva’s grandparents to sit in the Sanctuary while the rest of her family joined Marty and me out in the garden. I donned a freshly washed gown and mask, and some new gloves, opened a new bottle of water and poured it into a sterilized bowl. I dipped a disinfected measuring cup into the water and poured it over her head. Once again, this was not the usual baptism. And once again, it got the job done. Actually it was  quite beautiful.

And you will get to see this!  More importantly you will get to be a part of this. Baptism if an act of the Holy Spirit, occurring in the community of faith. The congregation, as well as the immediate family, vow to support and care for the person being baptized. We acknowledge that it takes a village to raise a child, and we commit to be a part of that village. Some Christian traditions do not baptize children, preferring to wait until the child is old enough to proclaim their faith for themselves. We do not wait for this, because we understand that God Christ died and rose for us long before we ever knew we had the need for forgiveness and regeneration. In the same way, even though Eva’s baptism has already happened, through the miracle of modern technology you will be able to be a part of and to make that vow to be a part of her family of faith. – This Sunday at 8, 9:30, and 11 AM.

Pastor George

These are extraordinary times. Like water, Grace finds a way.
God of mercy and grace, fill us anew with your Spirit. Cleanse us and renew us; claim us and send us. Help us to feel your guiding hand upon us, and help us to feel the encouragement of the distanced community of faith. Where we do not yet fully understand, help us to trust in you.  In the name of your Precious Child we pray, Amen.

Do no harm. Do good. Stay in love with God.

​Rueben P. Job based on John Wesley

These three simple and yet complex rules have the power to change ourselves and our world.  I try to live them out every day, and it is difficult and easy all at the same time.  It is also how I keep sane during this time of social isolation, conflicting information, and unrest.

Trying to live into these rules is not easy and no one does it fully.  Our actions can have consequences that we never intended or didn’t even realize.  However, that is no excuse for me not to try to live into these rules each day.  It is in the trying that I find peace. In these times when I feel I can’t control anything; I can control my actions and how I relate to others.  I try to do what I can do and leave the rest to God.  That is how I keep on going through these difficult times, that right now we don’t see and end coming anytime soon.

Since I am trying to do no harm, I wear my mask, so as not to infect others.  I speak positively, and with hope, while not trying to be a Pollyanna, for that can give us false hope, which doesn’t do anyone any good.  I try to realistically hopeful. I treat everyone with respect and try to see that Christ is in them, even if they don’t see Christ in themselves.

By doing good I am trying to be helpful to others in this life.  Trying to ease the burdens of others. This for me is really the easiest of the rules.  I have always been a person who likes to help others.  I think that is because I knew what it was like to need help and not get it as child, and that even as a child I didn’t want other people to experience that.  For whatever reason that I am wired that way, I am thankful that helping others is just part of me being me.

Doing good is one way that I connect and stay in love with God.  The different ways people connect with God are as varied as there are people.  Also, the ways we connect can differ in our season of life.  The one constant connector is prayer.  Prayers help me to connect and love God, more than I can ever explain.  Sometimes I don’t even talk or try to think, I just let my mind go and be in God’s presence.  For some this is meditation, for me it is just being still and feeling God’s loving presence envelope me, which these days brings me to tears, most of the time. Listening to sacred music, be it contemporary or classical, can help us feel God when God might feel distant from us, and remember when God does feel distant from us, it is us who have moved away, not God. Being in nature, the artwork of God can calm the soul and helps me through a tough day.  There are so many ways to connect and stay in love with God, and we all have ones that touch us deeply.  We are blessed to have so many different ways to God and feel God’s love.

So that is how I get through these difficult times of closing, opening and closing again, of not knowing what or who to believe.  I know that God has not given up on us and doesn’t want us to give up on him or on each other. So, I just keep my head down, wear a mask, wash my hands, and live out my faith to the best of my ability. I try to live by those three simple, but not so simple rules and let God handle the rest.

Gracious & Loving God, Help us to trust you, help us to live out our faith in real tangible ways so that others will know that we are Christians by our love.  Give us grace to be able to let things go that are not in our control.  Create in us a heart that will be still and know that you are God, so that we can be filled with your Holy Spirit and live out our faith in you another day. Amen

Be safe, stay well.  

Suzanne

“Praise the Lord! Let my whole being praise the Lord!2 I will praise the Lord with all my life; I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.”          Ps 146:1-2

Good Day to you all!

A few years ago I began helping to decorate our worship space in the sanctuary. This is something that I love to do. I love the creativity of placing many different types of textiles and colors together to create a visual, an imagery that can evoke a fresh or new or different way of seeing something. In the case of the sanctuary, I attempt to bring a visual, a sense or a feeling to the liturgical seasons of the Church and or to the scriptures that are being focused upon.    

The season we are in right now ironically is called Ordinary Time. I think we all would agree that these times have been anything but “ordinary,” but for the church this is the season that we are in. In the Christian Church there are two cycles of celebration: the Christmas Cycle (Advent-Christmas-Epiphany) and the Easter Cycle (Lent-Easter-Pentecost). After each of these cycles there is an ordinary time of growth symbolized by the color of green, we are in the second cycle.

Ordinary time, sounds so, plain and simple, a bit ho-hum. But I believe Ordinary Time matters deeply, both in the Church calendar and in our personal walks. It is time that matters, time that is to be counted and measured. It is our ordinary, common, routine of everyday life, life that matters in our spiritual walk and life that matters deeply to God.

This Ordinary time comes after Pentecost, the birth of the Church, empowerment of the Holy Spirit that sent the Apostles and disciples out to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. This is the longest season of the Church calendar, it is a celebration of how our work for God in daily life matters. It is not a season of big events like Christmas of Easter, it is a season of doing, each and every day, the little things that Christ has called and commissioned us to do. The color green is a symbol of new growth, of becoming enlightened through change and new understandings. 

During this unusual Ordinary time, while we are social distancing and staying healthy, it may also be a time of reflection into our own personal walk, our spiritual journey, in light of current events may we be reminded of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives and our calling to love all of humanity to further God’s Kindom on earth.

Holy and Ever Present God, may you walk with us through these unordinary day of our lives. Surround us with your Holy Spirit as the very air we breathe. Remove our fear and sorrow, fill us with your joy – joy for life – joy for creation – joy for the common good of all for You are good all the time. We ask these things in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Blessings, Brenda

Things I Have Learned From My Garden

One of the things that I brought back to life during this stay at home time was my vegetable garden.  This involved having to move its location because over the years my neighbors’ tree has grown and now produces constant shade, which is not great for a vegetable garden. Before I moved my garden boxes, I laid black plastic down to kill the grass underneath.  I used this technique with my original garden, and it worked great. When I lifted the plastic off, the grass was dead, so I cleaned the dead grass out as best I could and proceeded to add the soil and plant my vegetables. Gardening had begun by a very novice gardener at best.

My first lesson I learned is patience.  Looking back I should have kept the plastic down longer than I did but I was in a hurry to get going and pushed on even though there was still grass that I could not remove but I figured that it would be 6-8 inches under soil. I reasoned that all plants need 3 things, soil, water, and sun.  The grass wasn’t getting sun so all should be good.  Wrong! I now have grass coming up in my vegetable garden. So instead of pulling out weeds I pull out grass. 

This past Sunday I was out removing grass when I started reflecting on relationships and learned a few more things in the process. Relationships like gardens need to be tended to and nurtured. As I looked at a green bean plant that was truly not doing well, it was time to acknowledge that its time had come to an end. I thought about how God has put into my life different people during times when I needed their gifts the most.  For some of those people, our relationships have come to an end.  It wasn’t that they weren’t tended or nurtured, it was just that they did the work that God was asking them to do. I learned that even though the bean plant had come to an end, just like some of my personal relationships, the time that we shared together was a gift.

As I trimmed off dead leaves on my zucchini plants, they pricked and poked my arms.  I learned that just like zucchini plants some relationships are scratchy.  They don’t always go smoothly and there can be some uncomfortable times.  But the pricks and pokes aren’t lasting. As I looked at my tomato plant full of tomatoes, I thought about how some relationships flourish. I learned that there are relationships that produce meaningful dialogues and memories and, in these relationships, both people nurture each other just like the relationship between the plant and gardener.

Some of my relationships have required patience and not all of them have lasted forever and some have had their scratchy moments, while some have really flourished. Sometimes my relationship is like that with God too.  I sometimes lose my patience and think God isn’t doing enough or doing it fast enough. There have been times in my life that I have let my relationship with God end and times where it has really flourished.  I am thankful that through all these different experiences that God has remained patient with me tending and nurturing me like a gardener to their garden.

“Thanks be to God for God’s inexpressible gift!” 2 Cor. 9:15

 Dear God, We have many different relationships with many different people, and you have been there with us through them all. You have guided us through the hard and difficult times and have celebrated with us when relationships flourish. That brings us comfort to know that you walk with us in those relationships. God, we give thanks for the relationship we have with you and the patience that you grant us when we stray away.

Many blessings, Marty

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
   I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
   your rod and your staff—
   they comfort me.”
— Psalm 23:4 NRSV

The other day Kathy and I headed out to the hardware store. As we got into the parking lot, I realized that I didn’t have my mask with me. But Kathy was prepared: she had a stash in her glove box. Of course, these were all mass produced to fit the heads of children and normal-sized people. There was no way that this was going to work. “That’s OK,” she said, as she pulled off a shoe and took out one of the laces, “I wasn’t going inside anyway!” So I tied Mickey Mouse’s face across mine. My love had my back – or at least the back of my head.

As I picked up the materials and stood in line, I considered all of the face-masks I usually wear. Each one of these has been hand made by someone I know, and many have been made extra-extra-large, just for me. I was struck by how many opportunities we have in these times for simple acts of grace, mercy and love. Wearing a face-mask at this time is an act of love and care for others. We also keep from touching our faces. But it occurs to me that in this time of new disciplines, you who have been making masks are able to touch, again and again, the faces of those who wear your masks. Your handiwork provides comfort to the wearers and a sign of love to all who meet them.

Pastor George

Dear God, we thank you for discipline. We ask that in our regular practices we may find comfort in your guidance and your presence. Allow us to know that as we do what is necessary to protect our families and those we meet, that we may perform these as a gift of love. May we thereby share your comfort in difficult times. This we offer in Jesus’ name. Amen.