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Weekly Memo for July 29

7/29/2016

Last Sunday, July 24, we concluded the sermon series, “Leaps of Faith.” At the end of the sermon I invited everyone listening to commit to one of the “leaps of faith” we have been exploring this summer. Today, in case you were not there to hear the invitation, I want to extend it to you.

The list below can seem overwhelming, so choose one, just one, and try it out for a couple weeks. These weeks on my vacation I’m doing more reading of scripture. Here are your choices and a brief reminder of what we said about each.

Spend time reading the scriptures for your personal spiritual formation. There are many different ways to do this; books, daily devotional guides, you can even just start reading a little bit every day. If you choose this, start with the gospel of Luke

Remember that as a part of this community, you are a part of a long tradition. You are not alone as you seek to grow closer to God. In our tradition, growing closer to God is both deeply personal and fully engaged in our world

Receive the sacraments. The next time you receive Holy Communion, try coming forward with your hands cupped in a posture of receiving. The mystery of God’s love for you will fills you not because of anything you have done or will do, but because God wants to.

Pray…Prayer is an intention for life, not just words we utter. Try taking one day, one hour, one part of an hour being a bit more aware. Or before you start a project or begin a conversation, utter a simple prayer of recognizing God’s presence with you. And then reflect about how that made a difference.

Attend worship….that’s easy enough. We worship here every Sunday at 10 a.m. Maybe commit to a way to be a bit more regular in your attendance. And when you come to worship, remember it’s not just about you, it’s about God and what God needs us to do in God’s world.

Consider being a part of a small group for spiritual formation. Or recognize a small group you are in now as being one that leads you to a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. In a small group we gain perspective, are held accountable and find support as we support each other.

Cherish the moments of awe and wonder you experience. And may they inspire you to also make a leap of action.

Take a leap of faith today…Swing high….and God will be waiting to both catch you and push you into the life you were created to live.

Keep the Faith,
Pastor Dan

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Weekly Memo for July 21

7/21/2016

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We have had more visitors in the parking lot this week than I can count. They are playing an interactive game called Pokémon Go. Don’t ask me about it; I only know you walk or ride around with your phone or tablet trying to capture Pokémon characters for points. Our parking lot is a place you can find a gem. I saw one guy standing in front of the labyrinth (the prayer walk) and thought that maybe he was looking for Jesus, but he just got back into his car and left.

It’s not uncommon for folks to come walking or riding a bike or in their cars into the parking lot during the week. A lot of folks from the businesses to our rear use the paths behind our sanctuary and the parking lot to take a walk on their break. On a less healthy note, there are a few folks who drive over here on a break and sit in their cars, listen to their tunes and take a smoke break. Our mailman finds some shade most days.

During the school year a bus driver or two will pull out from the garage just behind us and then wait for school to get out at the Middle School just up the road. From time to time you can find a police squad in our parking lot. Usually though, they are parked on the side of the road, right after the little hill coming west on Scenic Heights road. (You are welcome.). I make it a point to say a hello to those folks when I can.

But this Pokémon craze is something different. I don’t know how or who it was that put us as a Pokémon stop, but it has taken me most of the week to learn not to ask the folks if I can give them any help. Folks just ride or walk or drive in, capture whatever or whoever they are capturing on their phone, and leave. Different churches are reacting differently to this. Some are a bit anxious. Others are having some fun, like the one church that put something on their outdoor sign like, “Come here for a Pokémon stop on Sunday and stay for church at 9 a.m.”

I understand the need to take advantage of a “marketing opportunity,” but I think we are just going to let people come, get their Pokémon and go as they please, maybe with a little wave. Sometimes being a good neighbor is sharing your space without asking anything in return. It’s letting somebody “do their thing” without making it fit into “our thing.” Sometimes it works out. Like the night of the first Huddle when a neighborhood mom was taking her kid to our playground and ran into 60 people having a picnic. She said a few hellos, had some lemonade, and watched her kid play with other kids for a while. It was great.

I’m not sure where all this is going other than to say in these days and weeks when there is so much violence surrounding us, when so much seems to be a stake, I thought it would be good to remember how we are being something like a good neighbor. Maybe if we all took a little closer look at what being a good neighbor is about… maybe it would make something of a difference.

Keep the Faith,
Pastor Dan

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Weekly Memo for July 7

7/7/2016

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My car is spending a week in the shop. When asked about the why of this unfortunate circumstance I have been responding with something like, “Murphy showed up and introduced the side of my 4 Runner to the side of my garage door.” I’ve said this sort of sheepishly to a couple of guys from church and have received a very interesting and compassionate response each time. Something like, “We’ve all been there, though we usually don’t admit it.” It may not seem like much but I’d like to thank those guys because at the time, I believed I was the only guy in the world who has ever done anything that is, and this is how I feel about myself….that stupid.

Knowing myself, I go to the expense of having good insurance and when I first filed the claim I had a similar experience of grace. The nice woman on the phone had to ask a few questions like: How fast were you going? Did you have your seat belt on? Was anyone hurt? I told her the only thing hurt was my pride and the rear panel of the car. She said, “Don’t feel so bad; you are literally the second client in a row to call with the exact same accident.” I don’t know if that is true, but I sure appreciated her saying so.

When I took it in to the body shop and was again asked how it happened, the guy taking care of me said, “Stuff like this happens every day; you would not believe it.” When I told him how bad I felt, he had this knowing look on his face. He said, “You know, life sometimes just happens.”

It may sound strange, but that look and those words from the manager at the body shop really helped me to stop beating myself up and begin dealing with the issues surrounding this incident including, at the urging of my wife, how I might avoid repeating it in the future. It also occurred to me that if this kind of calamity happens every day and at least some of the people in the world get as bent out of shape as I do about it and keep beating themselves up… then it’s a good thing there are gracious people around, like my wife and that woman in claims and the guys at church and this guy at the body shop, to say things like, “you’re not the first today “ and “you know life happens” and “we’ve all been there.”

This incident reminds me a lot of how the experience of God’s love, what we call grace, helps me deal with other mistakes I make in my life which are much worse -- times when I make poor choices. Times when instead of running into the garage door, I run over somebody’s feelings. Sometimes we call this kind of messing up, sin. It happens, to quote the guy at the body shop, “every day.” And when mistakes happen, when we sin… our faith in a loving, forgiving, gracious God allows us not to ignore it or hide it or offer excuses… but to deal with it.

In the Gospel of John Chapter 8, Jesus meets a woman who has messed up her life. Some of the religious authorities are pressing Jesus to make a judgment on her, so they can stone her to death. Jesus says to them, “The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone.” They walk away. And then Jesus turns to the woman. He doesn’t say, “Now, first you should spend a lot of time beating yourself up.” He says, “Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?” She says, “No one, Master.”

Then Jesus says, “Neither do I; go on your way. From now on, don’t sin.”
Even though I believe Jesus is saying the same thing as all the rest of the people who helped me stop beating myself up about my car, I’m still going to keep my car and homeowners insurance paid up.

Keep the Faith,
Pastor Dan

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