LINES IN THE SAND & FANS ON THE TABLES

With all of the tension over government shut-downs and debt ceilings and possible war in Syria, I've heard more than a plenty about 'drawing lines in the sand'. 

Interestingly, this term is thought to come from the Andersonville Civil War Prison Camp in Georgia. They had thousands of Union POW's and no room or money to build walls, so they drew 4 'lines in the sand' and stationed a sharpshooter in each corner. The law was, "If you step over the line in the sand, you will be killed." [Note: This situation in Andersonville is also the source of the term, 'deadline.']

Put in this context, it seems that we are using rather violent language to frame our differences and our intransigence in the face of other opinions. Matthew Bolz-Weber, a Lutheran Pastor in Denver says that in his experience, whenever we draw a line in the sand between ourselves and others, Jesus is usually on the other side of the line. I don't think this means Jesus agrees with the 'other', but that Jesus is always standing with the 'other' and urging us to find a way to erase the line or to cross over it and to understand the other person, as best we can.

There's another line between two people that comes from a very different culture, the Japanese. In their very elaborate tea ceremony, there is a a part of the ritual in which the server opens a beautiful fan, closes it and sets it between the server and the guest. This is done as a sign of respect and honor, showing that each person at the table has a right to their own personal space, personal opinions and different ways of being in the world.

So, we have two 'lines', one is a barrier to human relationship and the other is an invitation to be in relationship, while honoring differences. One hurts people and the other honors them. Perhaps, if there were more fans on the table and fewer lines in the sand, life would be more peaceful and richer. Perhaps, Jesus is always calling us to place fans on the tables. What do you think????

Blessings - Laura Lee

SOME THOUGHTS ON PARBUCKLING

     

           I was entranced watching the work around the Costa Concordia (cruise ship) off the coast of Sicily.  Lots of things about it make really good illustrations about all sorts of topics, even if they are not going to make it into a sermon ever.  But it can make it into a blog!

           Many months ago, the Concordia wreck got stabilized, and then the divers and engineers started to figure out what they had to work with.  Then they spent a long time developing plans, testing scenarios, getting things thought out.  Another long period of time was building the equipment needed and getting it in place.  Finally, only last week, 20 months after the ship scraped bottom and capsized, did they get to the first big salvage effort.  Now that they have it upright, they had a lot to do for the next stage of effort.

            We are doing a kind of parbuckling at Christ Church right now: working on goals, beginning an assessment and evaluation process with our committees and consistory and very soon we will have a search committee which will prepare a church profile and then seek candidates for the pastorate here. While there is much work going on, a lot of is is not very obvious. 

            As with the Costa Concordia we are working on the parbuckling, refloating, refitting, and resailing of Christ Church. (I know the Costa Concordia, will decidedly not cruise again. But, Christ Church certainly is and will – analogies only stretch so far….)

            In terms of my gimmicky parallel, Christ Church and the people who love it want it not just upright and salvaged, but sailing the seas of the gospel. We will continue to work on our plans of action to meet our transitional goals and to undertake the pastoral search. As with the Costa Concordia, when we carefully do each part and do it well, things will go as we planned (and hopefully as God has planned) and we will find the sailing to be exciting and good.

Blessings – Laura Lee

*Note - most of these ideas were taken from a colleague/friend - David Ashby - I just shaped them a bit!

ONE SIZE FITS ALL....MAYBE NOT

Whenever I see ‘one size fits all’ on a piece of clothing, I have to laugh. It always means I am too fat or too short – or both! And, it reminds me of a time at St. Michael’s Hospital in Newark when one of the sisters asked me to go pray with a patient who wanted a ‘real minister’. When I went in the room and offered to pray with her, she said again that she wanted a real minister. And, when I inquired what she meant – she said, “Short, fat and bald!” I told her she was lucky to get two out of three and we prayed.

The truth is, ministers – real ministers – come in all sizes and shapes, theologies, gifts and skills. We range from white-haired men & women who maintain traditional churches and theologies to the edgy ‘new church’ pastors who have many tattoos and piercings and theology to match – and everything in between. There are some things, I hope we all share: a heartfelt commitment to our calling to serve the church of Jesus Christ; theological curiosity; kindness and passion and skills for the mission, vision and goals of the church they are serving.

Beyond this, there is huge variety and as much as most pastors I know want to please the people they serve, we are all just one person (one size) and we can never perfectly fit or fulfill everyone’s personal expectations of a pastor. We may not say something in prayer that you wish we had said, we may spend more time doing some things than you think we should...... It seems that no matter how hard we try, we have always disappointed somebody - or even lots of people – and we wish it weren’t so.

In an address at the General Assembly of the Unitarian/Universalists a couple of years ago, “From iChurch to Beloved Community”, Fredric J. Muir talked about the decline of mainline churches. In this speech, he said that as long as we expect our pastors to fully meet our personal expectations and if we keep expecting them to ‘make us happy’, they and we, as congregations, as doomed to failure. But, if we expect our pastors to zealously support the mission of the church and if we zealously support the mission of the church – we will all be happy because we will be doing God’s will.

Now, this is much easier said than done, pastors want to fit all sizes and you want us to keep trying to do that. But, if we strive to do what Dr. Muir suggests, we will ask questions rather than make accusations, we will be gracious and give our pastors room to be themselves and most importantly, we will trust that our pastors want what’s good for the church and trust that they do care for each person in church – we just may express it imperfectly…..because one size really doesn’t fit all. We just all work to come as close as we can.

Blessings – Laura Lee

THINK GLOBALLY - ACT LOCALLY

Some may remember this bumper sticker from a couple of decades ago. In it's own way, it sparked a revolution - Eat Locally - Support Local Businesses - Block Parties - Neighborhood Yard Sales - Even Carpooling. All of these things make a difference from building community to helping the environment and lots of things in between.

Christ Church, like many churches, has a broad and amazing array of opportunities for Outreach. We undertake an annual Mission Trip to some place away from here and our Youth participate in an annual Spring Clean-Up to help our seniors get their yards ready for summer. We give to the Community Cupboard and the Clothing Bank and we provide meals for two programs in Lancaster. We contribute to One Great Hour of Sharing, disaster relief, water projects, local agencies, denominational ministries and more. We are truly generous and we do consider the whole world as we seek to serve.

Sometimes, however, we miss some of the needs of our local neighbors - right here in Elizabethtown: a child who needs safety goggles to take a shop class; someone who needs the fee to take a GED test, someone who needs a sofa or a refrigerator or clothing for a 9-year old. Thanks to Churches That Care, we learn about these local needs that are referred by our school social workers and our local pastors. AND, we at Christ Church have developed a way for each of us to help:  we receive emails detailing the need and we post them on the white banner with the red hearts on it (thanks to Tana Parrett!). 

Whenever you are at the church, check the banner, there may be something you can do - like give away the refrigerator that is sitting in your garage. There may be something that you care passionately about - like helping people get their GED's. Or, you may just want to help out a neighbor. Anyway, you can just take the tag and follow-up as directed. And, like the recycling and the carpooling and the highway trash picking up, you can make a big difference in the lives of your neighbors! 

Blessings, Laura Lee

RE-JOICE

We church folks often urge people to ‘Rejoice!’ especially during Advent, Christmas and Easter. Anne Lamotte* wonders why we do this, when most of us haven’t even been ‘joiced’ in the first place! Her wisdom is worth taking to heart. Too often we walk around burdened by the awfulness in the world. Too often we take everything, including ourselves, too seriously. Too often we see the glass as half-empty and fall into whining and complaining. In short – we act like we never have been truly, deeply ‘joiced’!

The past few weeks at Christ Church have been a time of visioning and planning and discernment. – and maybe, just maybe – a time of ‘joicing’. You have shared your particular love for Christ Church and your hopes and dreams and prayers for the future. MANY people have been a part of this work – the Transition Team, the Leadership Needs Committee, the Consistory and all of the people who attended a focus group, filled out a survey and/or participated in our Day of Discernment on July 14^th.

I have watched and listened intently as you have worked to name those things that are meaningful and life-giving for you personally. I have experienced your stepping back to think about the whole congregation and to prayerfully consider where God might be leading you. In church circles, we call this ‘discernment’ – doing the impossible – trying to know the mind of God.

What I have learned is that when we deeply listen to each other and intently listen for God’s calling, we are ‘joiced.’ The Spirit moves among us and we find new energy and new commitment and new joy that comes with being part of this part of the Body of Christ. So, as we continue this sacred work, I invite you all to get ‘joiced’. And when Advent comes….The Rejoicing will abound!

Share your comments on the blog site – let others know what ‘joices’ you at Christ Church!

Blessings – Laura Lee

*Anne Lamott is a popular writer and author of Traveling Mercies, Plan B, Grace Eventually  and many other books.  

Boring

Have you ever seen someone who is unhappy about getting a raise or a new car or a new house??? Have you ever heard someone say they wish we sang the same hymns every week or heard the same sermon – at least for a month??? The truth is, we all want things to change because monotony and predictability are boring. If things stay the same, even if they are good things…we lose interest and excitement and we walk away.

So why do we keep hearing that people in churches resist change? Ron Heifitz (Director of the Leadership Center and the Kennedy School of Business at Harvard) says that people – even people in churches – want change. They just need to know what they are changing and what they are working toward. No one wants to be told that they have to change and not be told what they’ll be changing or why.

This is why it is important for us to identify our church’s vision for the future and some specific goals that will help us live into the vision. Then we will have a sense of what we are striving for and what we believe God wants for our future.

Many of you have participated in Focus Groups to help us imagine Christ Church’s vision and goals for the future – not something that everyone loves completely – but something that is authentic to who we are and to the ministry to which we are called. Now, the Transition Team and the Leadership Needs Committee and the Consistory will take all of the input from the focus groups and will prayerfully begin the work of discernment. Later in the summer, the fruits of their labors will be shared with everyone and probably refined some more.

My guess is that much of this work will be a strong affirmation of the strengths and gifts and values of this church that are known to all of us. And, I am guessing there will be a few surprises, because one of our strengths lies in the imagination and creativity of our members – and, interestingly – in our diversity. I feel certain that the results will be solid, inspiring and certainly not boring – it’s just who you are! As the sign in front of the church says, you are a people who gather for worship and go out to serve – and that’s never boring…..

Blessings for the Days Ahead – Laura Lee

Travelling On Uncharted Ground

In 1922, a bunch of men crossed over from British colonial India into Tibet on a quest to climb to the summit of Mt. Everest. When they crossed that line, they were on totally new ground – for English-speaking people! No one who was British had ever been there, mapped the territory, spoken to the native people or seen many of the plants and animals there. Crossing that border was like a leap into outer space: they were on uncharted ground. In 2011, Wade Davis wrote a gripping book about the first three expeditions to climb Everest – before maps, before down clothing, before portable oxygen and it is called, “Into the Silence.” I strongly recommend it.

There are some analogies to those three journeys and to the interim journey here at Christ Church…. We are moving on totally new ground – at least not traveled since 1980, when Larry Potteiger was called to be the Senior Pastor here. And during that time, so much has changed in the landscape of how we plan for and search for pastors, that it might as well be totally new.

The British mountain climbers learned some good lessons very quickly, mostly to rely on the experts they had brought along – the map makers and the naturalists and the explorers who had been on uncharted ground before. And, they learned to rely on the Tibetan people, for whom the terrain and the weather and surviving in thin air were not new. They were also wise enough to know their limits (most of the time) and to not assume that climbing in Tibet was just like climbing in the Alps.

This is a new journey for most of you, but you have ‘in-house’ folks who have had experiences in other places and who sought out the wisdom of others, who have been on this journey more recently. You have Pastor Fred, who knows you well and cares about your future. You’ve called me to be a guide, not to take the trip for you, but to walk with you and help in whatever ways I can. And, you have Thom Webster and others in the Penn Central Conference who have lots and lots of wisdom and expertise to share.

Those first attempts at Everest were not easy. In fact, they were brutally difficult and required great courage and patience and willingness to trust in each other. Church transitions are not easy, either – they never are – but, yours can be filled with opportunities to be excited about the future, to develop trust in each other and to strengthen the ministry of an already strong community.

We’re on uncharted ground, and as Paul wrote to the Romans, “We hope for what we do not see.” What we do know is that we are not alone and that if we are patient, God will guide us to the next adventure.

Blessings – Laura Lee 

Mirror....Mirror....

Every morning, at some point, I look in the mirror and do something to get my hair in a presentable array – for this day. And, as I am looking in the mirror and am fussing with my hair, I also make a more strategic decision about my hair – Is it OK, for now? Do I need a trim? Am I happy with this cut or should I consider going to someone else? Should I think about totally changing the style (after all – it’s been pretty much like this for years!)? And, if so, what might it look like?

Interim Ministry is a bit of a ‘mirror experience’. Every day, I hold up a mirror and we do some work to figure out what needs to be done that day. And, there are more strategic decisions, at staff meetings and committee meetings, in worship and in planning meetings and consistory meetings, I keep holding up the mirror and ask, “What do you think?”  

Sometimes you like what you see and think it’s OK, for now. Sometimes you can imagine a ‘trim’ and just want to spruce up what you see. And then, there are times when a significant ‘re-do’ might be a good thing. This is all part of the discernment, the reflection and the assessment we are doing. Mirror-moments help us ask questions we may not have been asking.

When we look in the mirror, we hopefully see some things we might not have seen before. When we ask, “Why do we do this?” It’s not necessarily a judgment, but maybe it’s a mirror-moment to ponder and learn more about what we do and how we started doing it. “Is this what God is calling us to do?”  Maybe so and maybe not.

We’d be a mess if we were always looking into the mirror. But, we’d also be a mess if we never  do. So, let’s make good use of this time to reflect on what we see and to think about the church we are becoming. 

Blessings – Laura Lee

It’s Pencil Time!

I used to be a ‘pen’ kind of person – I love beautiful fountain pens – or even good gel pens. And, back when I used to do a lot of crossword puzzles, I would brag that I did them in pen. And, I kept my calendar in pen….. well, pen and white-out. It finally occurred to me that IF I use a pencil, I can erase the changes and my calendars and (my crosswords) won’t be such a mess.

So, now I’m a ‘pencil’ kind of person – or more accurately, a ‘pencil and eraser’ kind of person. Erasers help us make changes easily and neatly. They can be a metaphor for experimentation, forgiveness, second chances….

Interim time is a ‘pencil and eraser’ time for a congregation. It’s a time to experiment with new kinds of leadership, different things in worship, new ideas and new programs. It’s a time to try some things without having to cast them in stone. Some things will work for us and will stay in place and others will need to be erased, so we can try something else – or go back to what we were already doing.

This pencil and eraser time can be life-giving for a church – after all, the 7 last words of a dying church are:  “We never did it that way before!” So, I encourage you to embrace this pencil & eraser time:

            1. Suggest new things you would like to try – to me, to Pastor Fred, to someone on the Transition Team (Scott MacDerment, Patricia Best, Janie Kaelberer, Christ Eurich) or to someone on the Consistory.

            2. Offer feedback on the new things we are trying. Think of ways we can strengthen our work and witness, as we prepare for a new Senior Pastor.

The good news, is that I came here with lots and lots of pencils (and erasers), so we can try things and change things and go back to things – in whatever ways God is leading us to be.

Blessings – Laura Lee