May is a beautiful month. The trees are in leaf. The flowers are blooming. Spring has fully come into own and summer is on the way. The month opens with May Day which celebrates workers around the world and closes with Memorial Day which celebrates those who have died. In between Mother’s Day is observed. This year it is May 9. There are other smaller observances but no major holidays. Perhaps May could be celebrated not for so many grand occasions but just for the everyday joys of an ordinary month. My wife’s mother had a simple hand lettered card pinned up in her kitchen which read “Ordinary day, help me recognize what a treasure you are.” It is a good thought for us as Christians which is picked up by Christians songs like Day by Day or Moment by Moment. God’s presence is with us in every day, in every moment. As he is with us in the great crises of our lives; He is there in the triumphal moments of our lives, but He is also there quietly in the ordinary gentle moments of life. I find great comfort in that realization. It is the ordinary part of family life that I most treasure. It is there where I am happiest. Certainly I enjoy the “great moments” and I am thankful for my family in the crisis times. Real joy comes to me in the everyday moments. The morning greeting, the good night kiss, the shared meals, the familiar jokes, the linked emotions, the hugs, the conversations, these small things of life are where life is really lived it seems to me. In these moments we are fully there and God is there as well. Family life is not the only place that the beauty of the ordinary is experienced, but it is one of those places. In some church traditions the time between Jan. 6 and Lent and the time between Ascension and Advent is called Ordinary Time while this is based on the numbers (ordinals), it is 33 or 34 Sundays out of the year. I like to think it also acknowledges the value of the ordinary in Christian experience.
05/02/2021
A number 2 pencil is really a very simple tool. It only needs to be sharpened to be immediately useful. Originally the term pencil referred to a small brush used for writing. Graphite filled pencils were a later innovation and still later mechanical pencils came on the scene. The mechanical pencil was a bit more complicated than the original paint brush, but still relatively simple. The use of computers to write was a great complicated leap forward for writing. Computers are enormously complicated. When the bead on your pencil breaks you just sharpen it again. In contrast few of us have the skill to fix a broken computer. When they work, they are wonderful. When they don’t it feels like a disaster. No one has to worry about someone hacking their pencil. There are no pass words to guard or to remember with a pencil. Pencils are very inexpensive while computers challenge our budget. The soft ware for a pencil we carry in our heads. Computer soft wear is a continuing expense. Personally I like working with a computer but sometimes simpler is best. I have found this to be true in other areas of like. A simple wedding is often more beautiful and more meaningful than an ornate excessive one. A short simple funeral service may be more comforting for mourners than a drawn out pageantry. An unaccompanied voice can often really “sell the song.” There is a place for the ornate, the complex, the intricate accompaniment, the grand pageant. Fortunately, we can legitimately have both the simple and the complex in our lives. Each has its place, but it is easy to be caught up in our complex world and miss the usefulness and beauty of the simple. To quote an ideal from the Shaker tradition “It’s a gift to be simple, it’s a gift to be free.”
04/25/2021
“Will we ever get back to normal in our country?” is a chant I hear from many. I feel that same anxiety as many of you do. I am pleased that there are small marks of more normal function slowly developing. We now have effective vaccines for COVID-19 and growing numbers who have been inoculated. Perhaps we may never get back to “normal.” Hopefully, we have learned some lessons from the pandemic which can help us in the future. I have tried to think about what I have learned. I now have a greater appreciation for things I have missed. Things like worshipping together in person, traveling to see family, and meeting friends at a restaurant are among those. I now am more consistent in hand washing. I am alert to how I affect the lives of people around me. Next flu season even if COVID 19 is not present, I may wear a mask at times to protect myself and others from the flu in addition to getting my flu shot. I have learned again how much human beings need another’s human touch. We have learned that we can survive and adapt under difficult circumstances. Perhaps it would be unfortunate if everything returned to “normal,” if we didn’t learn anything from this difficult time. Let’s bring back the best and change the worst and find a new normal. Whatever the future brings, when we get there, we will discover that God is already there ahead of us.
04/18/2021
Thursday, April 22, is Earth Day. The first Earth Day in the United States was in 1970. It is observed in over 190 countries and mobilizes 1 Billion people for action every Earth Day. The environmental concerns had been prompted in part by the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 1962. Gaylord Nelson, a junior senator from Wisconsin, and Pete Mc Closkey, a conservative minded Republican Representative recruited Denis Hayes an environmental activist to organize campus teaching for college students on the environment. The idea broadened to include many different organizations and faith groups. It was subsequently name Earth Day. It led ultimately to the formation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency of the Federal Government and many other Acts of Congress for the good of the environment. In 1990 Earth Day went international with 141 countries considering environmental issues. Earth Day now is widely recognized as the largest secular observance in the world. As we continue to face climate issues, pollution, and environmental disasters, Earth Day provides resources of information and action to support our magnificent world. As Christians, Earth Day is a good reminder of the responsibility we have to preserve and enhance the beautiful earth the Creator has provided as our home. Earth Day would be a good day to do all we can to clean, preserve, and heal the world around us. We could start small in our own small circles and join others in celebrating and participating in Earth Day. After all “This is our Father’s World”. Let’s take care of it.
04/11/2021
Easter Sunday, the sermon centered on the resurrection account of the meeting between Mary Magdalene and Jesus outside the tomb. Mary was the first witness to the resurrection. Jesus appeared to Mary who at first did not recognize him until he spoke her name. The account is full of beauty and surprise, but it is easy to miss one of the other significant elements in the account. In the world of Jesus’ time women were often seen as unreliable witnesses, perhaps because they were viewed as more emotional than men. That the resurrected Jesus chose women as the first witnesses to his resurrection with Mary as the very first witness shows a different view. The male disciples were initially inclined to discount the women’s experience until Jesus also appears to Simon Peter.How like Jesus to upset the expectations of the world and even his disciples.It was not what they expected, but then Jesus often exceeds expectations.The recognition of these women as central disciples is wonderfully remarkable for that time and still remarkable for so many in our time.There is evidence that women play a significant role in the leadership of the early church with women serving as deacon/ministers as well as prophets in those early years.The later church backed away from the role of women in leadership so that today women in ministry seems to many as a new thing.It really is a very old thing that the church as a whole forgot and that which we have again discovered.The resurrection accounts tell us many important things.Among those things is the confidence that God has in the work and witness of women of faith.Jesus is risen and in him all of us rise.
04/04/2021
One of my favorite hymns of Easter is Christ Arose. The text reads: “ Low in the grave he lay- Jesus my Savior! Waiting the coming day – Jesus my Lord. Up from the grave he arose with a mighty triumph o’er his foes. He arose a victor from the dark domain, and he lives forever with his saints to reign. He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!” I particularly like the way the verse begins to slow and soften with a meditative tone and then the chorus rises up with a shout, a change of pace, and an ascending melody. I’m not sure that makes it a great musical composition, but it is so much fun to sing. It is a rousing celebrative song of Christian witness. We would do well to sing more of the Easter hymns through the whole Christian year. I know that since Joy the the World has become attached to Christmas, I always plan to sing it in the middle of the summer. Perhaps Christ Arose or Christ the Lord is Risen Today ought to be sung during the middle of winter. It might help us remember the centrality of Jesus’ resurrection. In a way every Sunday is a mini-Easter in recognition of the day of Jesus’ resurrection. We could even start many services with the call and response: The Lord is risen, He is risen indeed. It is the joyous claim of the Christian church through the centuries, across many languages, and cultures. It is the gift of God to all humanity, to whoever will consider it. Because he lives we too shall live with abundant life now and in the eternal life now and forever.
03/28/2021
The triumphal joy of Palm Sunday is in sharp contrast to the despair at Good Friday. Is this celebration by Jesus’ disciples inappropriate for the seriousness of Holy Week; or is it a kind of whistling in the dark? How do we reconcile these two observances, Palm Sunday and Good Friday? Perhaps the joy of Palm Sunday is in anticipation of the glory of Easter even though the disciples were right about Jesus' final triumph even if they did not anticipate the troubled week ahead. So we now sing Sunday hymns about the coming glory of heaven even when we do not plan on leaving on the following Monday. We live in anticipation of that final exaltation when it arrives. The truth of the matter is that we need both joyous celebration and solemn contemplation. One without the other leaves us seriously out of balance. In our relationship with each other, scripture enjoins us to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. So whether you literally wave your palm branches on Sunday or metaphorically wave them in your mind, go ahead and rejoice. You deserve it and we enjoy celebrating with it. I imagine even the Heavenly Father smiles as we celebrate God’s triumph through God’s son, Jesus Christ. Ride on King Jesus. We will spread our coats before your path and wave our branches in your honor. You are our king and it is a joy to celebrate arrival.
03/21/2021
Passion Sunday and Palm Sunday are both on the Sunday before Easter. This always creates a conflict in my mind both emphases are important but it is hard to do both in the same service. So I like to move Passion Sunday to two Sundays before Easter. This allows us to give the suffering sacrifice of Jesus its full observance and lets us celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem its full joyous response. Since in the Church of the Brethren tradition we recognize the traditional church calendar, but are not bound by it, we feel free to make such changes when they are suitable. The church’s hymnody is rich in songs about the cross and the suffering of Jesus. Those songs touch a deep place in many of our hearts. Some can reduce us to empathetic tears while others provoke in us a profound sense of gratitude for Jesus’ sacrifice for all of us. Sacrifice is at the heart of the gospel. The example of Jesus calls us all to a life of sacrifice for others. This is not because we have low self- worth. Just the opposite is the case. Because we know how God sees us as worthy, we know that our sacrifice is the gift of something enormously valuable. Jesus bore his own cross and bids us take up our own crosses and follow him. There will be joy in our sacrifice but there will also be sorrow. A perfect hymn for Passion Sunday reads: “Man of Sorrows” what a name for the Son of God who came ruined sinners to reclaim! Hallelujah, what a Savior!” We follow Jesus into the suffering at the cross in the anticipation of the resurrection. Hallelujah, What a Savior!
03/14/2021
I keep looking hard for blessings in the midst of the pandemic. It is not easy to find them. The grief at the loss of loved ones, the loneliness of separation, the increase in depression, the economic challenges, the limitations on activity, difficulties of travel, the fear of sickness and death, and the isolation from friends have taken a toll on all of us. Still there have been some small rays of sunshine peeking through. We have all realized how significant our family interactions are to us. We have found creative ways like online worship services and zoom meetings to do important things. For my wife and I, just going out to the grocery store has seemed almost like a date night. Some have even found new ways at expressing service and care for each other. Front line workers are fast becoming our new heroes. We have even a new appreciation for many of the things we have taken for granted. Even some thing as basic as toilet tissue has a new status in our minds. Many have rediscovered the joy of cooking and baking, while longing for the full return of restaurants. One small blessing has been staying at home more. Projects that have long been put off until later have been taken on now that we have more time at home. These minor blessings do not fully offset the rigors and pain of the pandemic, but they do remind me that I can still find blessings even in the most difficult of times. I’m not sure I have learned to be content whatever the circumstance… (Philippians 4:11), but I am working on it.
03/07/2021
In Sunday School last week, the teacher asked, “What is a moment of joy you experienced in some event in your life?” I have thought about that question over this last week. It was as hard to choose just one event or moment. Some of them were great events. I felt real joy when I got married. I felt great joy when I confessed Jesus as Savior and Lord and became a Christian. I felt joy at the birth of my daughters and the birth of my grandchildren. I felt joy at my ordination to the ministry. I felt joy in the brief moments of life and the feel of a mittened hand in mine, the sweetness of a good night kiss, the savor of a perfect meal, the thrill of a beautiful anthem, the thunderous roar of a great church organ, the contentment of time around the campfire, the beauty of sunrise over the mountains, the holy silence of worship, the quiet presence of a loved one in the same room, and the laughter at a shared table. I have even experienced joy in the most unusual moments. Joy has come to me during a funeral service at the memory of an encounter with the one who has passed away, and at the encouragement of those who I visited intending to encourage them. In great ways and in small ways joy can burst into our lives. Recently my wife and I had our second injection of the Moderna vaccine for Covid-19. Injections are no ones’ favorite thing, but as we left the site after the suggested fifteen minute wait time after the injection, I was struck by relief and then by joy as I realized after more than a year that we can now plan visits to our children and grandchildren safely. I know there is still more care needed ahead, but I found joy in knowing that we are on the way toward a better tomorrow. There is still joy in life and joy in the Lord.
02/28/2021
Occasionally after a Bible study session someone will ask me “What is the best Bible translation?” I am tempted to say, “the one you will actually read.” With a very few exceptions all Bible translations are attempts to be accurate and convey the biblical material faithfully. That having been said, the process of translation is a difficult one. There may not be an exact equivalent for a word or phrase between two different languages. Structure in one language may be missing in another language. Even within a language usages may change over time and culture. British English and American English can be startlingly different. Old English works can require a translation to be fully available to moderns. Translation purposes can vary as well. Does the translation intend to convey the structure and vocabulary of the original or does it intend to convey the meaning in modern idiom or does it combine the two in some form? Different translations may be suitable to different groups. A translation of the bible in Basic English attempted to convey the Bible’s message with a limited vocabulary for those whose vocabulary was limited. Paraphrases like the Living Bible or the Message attempt to restate the meaning of the text while translations like the New American Standard Bible, the New Revised Standard Version, the New International Version, or the English Standard Bible try to stick closer to the text. The Authorized version (King James Version) preserves the familiar language of the 1611 translation. My advice is read them all. The all will help expose the richness of the biblical text. But whatever you do “Read your Bible.”
02/21/2021
Even though I have spent many years driving in South Dakota, Minnesota, and Michigan snow country, I am still capable of making foolish decisions. On Tuesday after the big snow I drove over to the church to check out the parking lot and to try to get in to work in the office. The lot had not been plowed but the road in was clear. When I got to the parking lot, it did not look too bad. How wrong I was. I got half way to the office door sidewalk when the car bung up in the snow. With some effort I was able to back out most of the way. I made it within a yard of the clear spot, but then there was no go. After struggling for 15 minutes, I trudged through the snow to get the snow shovel from church. I started shoveling while Sue fretted about a possible heart attack for me because of shoveling and trying again to reverse out of the deep snow. I only needed one yard to make it out but I had no luck. Finally a neighbor, Peter, came out and with a push from him we made it the final yard. We thanked him profusely. As he was leaving he said, “Have a blessed day.” I responded, “You have been my blessing today!” As I have thought about this event. Sometimes we just need a little extra push to reach the goal and that push often comes from others even at times from unexpected sources. Hope can pop up just when it seems hopeless. Admittedly getting stuck isn’t life’s biggest tragedy especially when it is the result of our own foolishness, but even the smallest trials can benefit from a splash of hope. Thanks Peter, for being our angel of hope in the midst of our frustration. Our small frustration became a source of blessing in a snowy season.
02/14/2021
I can remember when I turned 21. I had just returned from Nigeria, West Africa from a summer with Experiment in International Living. Part of that summer had been spent in Aba in Eastern Nigeria living with a Yoruba family. We had visited Northern Nigeria as a group. I never imagined the connection I would later feel with the Church of the Brethren in Northern Nigeria. Twenty-one is a kind of magic number in the US with both legal and cultural issues attached to it. It is a marker of full adulthood for all of us. For some of my contemporaries it meant that they could legally drink alcohol. That did not fit my lifestyle. It was also at the time the legal age for voting. Even then I thought it was strange that one could go into the armed services at eighteen and fight in a war, but could not legally vote. There was a new level of rights and responsibilities that had been opened up. Frankly, I didn’t feel any older or more mature than I had the day before, but in a few years I was married and working as a minister. I had worked hard to prepare for my work, but I was still very inexperienced. I now marvel at the grace extended to me by my first congregation. Many in the church were wiser and more experienced, but they listened to me and helped me grow as a person and as a minister. Today as I wrote a check with the date 2021, I wondered whether this could be somehow symbolic. Certainly this is a year with new responsibility and new opportunity. We are just beginning to emerge from a time of chaos and uncertainty. Will we be up for the challenge of 21? Can we find maturity and community to respond to the new situations? I am sure that at 21 years of age there was more potential than achievement. For the year 2021 can we move from potential to achievement together? God willing with our best effort this can be the year we all hope for. .
02/07/2021
As a youngster, I participated in the Boy Scouts of America. We were taught the Boy Scout motto, composed by Baden Powell, “Be prepared.” It was designed to help boys be prepared in mind and body to do their duty to God and country. I often now see articles, books and ads counseling people to be prepared. Like the Scout’s motto the motive seems to be to protect oneself and one’s family for a supposed coming disaster. There seems to be little focus on civic duty or responsibility to the larger community. There seems to be some wisdom in preparing for a power outage or a weather disaster, but where is the concern for the larger community? The toilet paper crisis of a year ago seemed largely set off by people buying up more than they needed to protect themselves. Grocery stores had to limit how much was sold to individuals or there would not be enough for everyone. Civic regard for each other was literally as thin as tissue paper. I do not fault anyone who does advance planning to prepare for emergencies, but there are good reasons to avoid a run on the bathroom tissue bank. As we prepare to take care of ourselves and our families, could we also think of how our preparedness might include our neighbors? If we share, perhaps, there will be enough for everyone. Perhaps that may seem idealistic, but it does remind me of Jesus telling his disciples to give the crowd something to eat. Then he broke the bread and divided the fish and afterwards baskets of left overs were taken so that there was more to share. For Jesus the pattern always seems to be to look beyond just ourselves to also consider the needs of those around us.
01/31/2021
I am amazed at how new products can, in a short time, become “necessary” parts of our lives. Sticky notes are an example of that phenomenon. A failed experiment for a new adhesive found a market in notes that can both sick where they are put, but can also be easily removed without damage. Now these little notes can be found everywhere. They appear in various sizes and colors. Someone even found notes shaped and decorated like Hawaiian shirts. I’m not sure what I would do without them. Other new products may have become popular, but have unexpected consequences. When polyester double knit fabrics became available they swept the market. But I found them to be hot in humid summer weather and much too breezy in winter weather. One summer I went to garage sales and found wool trousers which many were eliminating in favor of polyester. That winter I was toasty in my wool trousers while others had frosty knee caps. Sometimes the new is superior and at other times the old is much better. I like the mix of things old and new. Chicken and noodles with an old stewing hen seems much better to me than chicken and noodles with a spring chicken. But for fried chicken I like the tender spring chicken best. The richest world seems to be one where the new and old get together in creative balance. I want to sing the old songs right next to the new songs. I want to read the classics and also the new up and coming others. I want to eat Grandma’s old fashioned recipes and find new cuisine to sample from places I have never visited. I love the poems I remember from my youth and hear the new voices of young poets. The richness of the old and the freshness of the young both fill me with delight. – Both are gifts from God.
01/24/2021 Guest Columnist: Gene Roop
I’m glad to see that many people are eager to find a way over, under, around or through the walls we have built to separate us from those with whom we disagree. It is apparent on the national scene and perhaps also within and between many congregations, communities and ethnic groups.
The first condition that enables such walls to come down: both sides want that to happen. Very little progress can be made if the conditions don’t work in favor of a new community. Often people only want the wall to come down if the other side “sees that we’re right”. That only reinforces the existing wall.
The tragedy at the capitol on January 6 may have made possible the dismantling of the wall reinforcing the political divide. We don’t know that unless we try. There is no excuse for such violent “invasion” that killed, injured and threatened the legislators and others. However, violence of some sort is frequently the result of the continued escalation of polarizing words and actions. I’m inclined to say that it is inevitable, but I don’t quite want to believe it is “inevitable.”
In my “bones,” I felt a tragedy building. I had hoped it could have stopped before words and attitudes became violent. But not so. Does this make a “new” relationship possible? I don’t know, but I want us to try.
I absolutely believe that God remains active, creating a “new community.” So this is not our last chance. God won’t let it be the last chance. But let’s use this moment as best we can to develop a more respectful community of dialog. The goal is not to put an end to disagreement. That won’t happen. But we can develop a community where disagreement is not polarized into allies and enemies.
01/17/2021 Pat Beck
It is hard to watch the news anymore because there is so much going on in the world that is destructive. So, I would like to take a moment and bring to you some “acts of kindness” that have occurred during these trying times.
A doctor in Arkansas gave a special gift to his cancer patients. They each received a card and in it they found a message that said that their debt for treatment had been paid. In total, the doctor spent around $650,000 to help those who were struggling with paying their healthcare bills.
A high school in Texas opened a food pantry that looked like a grocery store. It is available to any student and their family who need some assistance. They get a card with points (amounts depend on size of family) that they use to “buy” their groceries. This atmosphere was established so that those who utilize this service could keep their dignity.
In Indianapolis, police officers were given 50 gift cards to randomly distribute to citizens. A local businessman donated the funds that purchased the cards. What an awesome way to change the relationship between officers and the citizens they serve.
These are just a few of the many acts of kindness that go on every day and I hope these stories bring a smile to your face. I do not need to remind you all to be kind, because you have shown kindness to others on numerous occasions and I, too, have been the recipient of your kind words and actions. Have a wonderful week. Grace and Peace.
01/10/2021
DEVOTION FROM BULLETIN COVER
I’m going to be completely honest. I’m afraid of the dark. My biggest fear is that I can’t see what’s in front of me and I’m afraid of the unknown. I have an active imagination that creates dangerous scenarios when I’m in the darkness of night. And yet, it was exactly in this darkness, when the earth was a formless void, that God came in and started all of creation.
The first thing God created was light. God saw that the light was good, and there was evening and morning on the first day. The light that God created burst forth into chaos, into darkness, into the shadows of the night, and shined so radiantly that the world began with its first day.
For many of us, last year was a year of darkness and chaos. The pandemic, the economic crisis, and the ongoing injustice of systemic racism plagued our minds and our hearts. We missed out on in-person worship, summer camp, and our own Annual Conference. As 2021 begins, may we join God in creating light for this broken world, so that all may know of God’s love and grace in this new beginning.
God, we give thanks for the creation of light that shines so brightly to bring us hope, grace, and love in the broken darkness of this world. As this new year begins, help us to use our own creativity to join you in bringing light and life so there is justice and peace for all your beloved creation. Amen.
Mandy North,Manassas, Virginia
01/03/2020
A beloved choir director used to remind us in the church choir that God has perfect pitch. It was his humorous way of reminding us that staying in pitch was very important. Sagging in pitch could make us flat against the well- tuned piano and driving sharp was equally disastrous. Even those with limited musical skills can hear when the piano and the choir are fighting a pitched battle. In reality the best musicians cannot measure up to a God sized musicianship. Christmas reminds us that carols can be joined even by those who would never be asked to sing a solo. As we age some of us notice a change in our voices from earlier times, but we sill experience the joy of singing with the choir or congregation even if our pitch is not perfect. One of the ways God is perfect is in his perfect acceptance of us flawed human beings. God’s grace is not a grudging acceptance of us, but a whole hearted welcome to us and to whoever will come to God. So we sing out knowing that our voices together rise up before God as a poem of praise to our God. From the lilting vices of children to the quavering voice of the most aged among us the song reaches the ears of God and he pronounces it well done. We will always try to present our offering of musical praise in the most accurate way that we can manage. It is, after all, our gift of worship to the great ruler of the universe but we will be confident that our best effort however, inadequate it seems to us, will please our loving heavenly Father. Soli Deo Gloria, “To the glory of God alone,” was inscribed by J.S. Bach on his compositions. Many others like George Fredrick Handel have done the same. Even when not directly expressed it is in the heart of the true worshippers of God.
12/27/2020
For lo, the days are hast’ning on, By prophets seen of old. When with the ever circling years Shall come the time fore told. When peace shall over all the earth Its ancient splendors sing. And the whole world sends back the song Which now the angels sing.
This is still our hope that we might live in a world at peace. A world where people listen to each other rather than shout slogans at each other, a world which rattles olive branches rather than sabers, a world which shares rather than grasps to itself, a world which measures people by content of their character rather than the color of their skin, a world where no one is left behind, isolated or ignored, a world where the humble sit at the table with the elect and both are heard, a world of love rather than hatred, a world of security rather than fear, a world of plenty rather than want, a world of dignity rather than shame, a world of gentleness rather than violence, a world of equality rather than discrimination, a world united rather than divided, a world well rather than sick, a world full rather than hungry, a world of family and friends rather than enemies and opponents, a world of peace rather than war. I know that the poem “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” is too optimistic about how near that world is to fruition, but even it seems to move more like glaciers than melting than flash floods. Can we not still work to bring that world closer? 2020 has been a hard year. Can we promise each other that we will make 2021 a better year? A year in which that idealized world comes a little closer to reality? Soli deo gloria. To God alone be the glory!