"Brevity is the soul of wit." William Shakespeare
If brevity is the soul of wit, I think I'm feeling soulful, if not witty. There's not much to say that wasn't said in the six Reconciler meetings I attended in the past two weeks. They were good meetings. There were also a lot of them.
I think these meetings bode well for the life of Reconciler. They show that people of purpose, commitment, and character are showing up and participating in our church in thoughtful ways and in record numbers. The Holy Spirit continues to be at work in our midst.
Monday October 15th was the first meeting of the Discernment Committee. There were eight of us, including the entire pastoral team and five members of the congregation. We spent a lot of time going over the oral history of Reconciler: How did the church get started? What were the church planters trying to accomplish? In what ways are we ecumenical? We also talked about where we might go from here, how we might set about getting a new Baptist pastor, and what the relationship between Tripp and the congregation will look like after Tripp is no longer a pastor at Reconciler. The Discernment committee meets again on Thursday, Nov. 1st at 7:30 p.m. We will share with Reconciler's Council and congregation any recommendations that come out of our meetings.
Wednesday October 17 and 24, I attended the evening prayer service at Immanuel, followed by Bible Study at Reconciler. At both Immanuel and Reconciler, we had good participation and turn-out. In Bible Study, we discussed a small book called The Biblical Basis of Sabbath Economics, which sparked a lively and open discussion about how we as Christians can relate to money responsibly. This Bible Study series continues on Wednesday, November 7th at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday the 18th, we had our monthly Council meeting. It was focused and productive, as well as an opportunity to enjoy one another's company. We had a pretty long agenda that we moved through quickly.
On Fridays we have regular Pastoral Team meetings. Along with planning worship for Advent, we've been planning for our upcoming Leadership Retreat, which will take place at the Cenacle in Lincoln Park November 30 - December 1st. We're looking forward to the retreat as a time to pray and hang out together, as well as to talk about how we as a congregation want to go about making decisions, the nature of being a church plant, and various aspects of church leadership. This retreat is open to all members of Reconciler, and there are still a few spaces available. If you'd like to join us, let one of the Pastoral Team members know ASAP.
Well, this wasn't brief. But then you didn't really think it would be, did you?
See you in church!
In Christ's love,
Laura+
The Rev. Laura Gottardi-Littell
for the Pastoral Team
The Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler
Announcements, Announcements, Announcements...
Tripp leaving imminently....Tripp will be at Reconciler for worship this Sunday October 28th, then won't be at our Sunday service again until November 18th, which is his last Sunday with us. We will have a farewell party for Tripp on November 18th after church. See a member of the Pastoral Team or Kate Kamphausen if you'd like to be on the party committee.
Discernment Committee meeting...this Thursday, November 1st, at 7:30, in the 'Nidge (Parsonage).
All Saint's Sunday -- November 4th, 10:30 a.m. service....We will be having a joint worship service with Immanuel Lutheran Church and St. Elias Arabic Christian Church on Sunday, November 4th at 10:30 a.m. Rev. Monte Johnson is preaching. Rev. Laura Gottardi-Littell is presiding. If you would like to have photos of people who have been important to your spiritual journey present in that worship service, get them to Rev. Larry Kamphausen ASAP. We will not meet that evening at our usual 5:00 worship time. Also, remember to set your clocks back one hour Saturday night November 3rd...fall back, people.
Bible Study continues on November 7th at 7:30 in the 'Nidge. We will not meet this coming Wednesday, October 31, Halloween.
Immanuel Choir Concert on November 11th at 4:00 in the Immanuel Sanctuary. We will begin worship at 5:30 that evening to accomodate the concert.
Retreat at the Cenacle in Lincoln Park, November 30 - December 1. This retreat, which will focus on leadership, consensus, and discernment, is open to all Reconciler members. There are still a few spaces available. If you'd like to join us, let one of the Pastoral Team members know ASAP.
The season of Advent begins December 2nd. This is a season of hope and joyful anticipation, as well as repentance, as we await the coming of Christ.
+++
Monday, October 29
Sunday, October 21
Sermon: Wrestling with God
Proper 24 (29), year C
October 21, 2007
Scriptures: Genesis 32:22-31, Psalm 121, 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
Gospel: Luke 18:1-8
The Rev. Laura Gottardi-Littell, preacher
+++
Today’s gospel is an equal opportunity message.
Because if a widow, a powerless person in 1st century Palestine, could plead her case and win over a crooked judge, then surely you and I have a chance with a loving, just God. The widow in Jesus’ parable finally wears the judge down with her persistence. How much more quickly will God grant us justice, says Jesus. Especially if we put our whole selves into communicating with God.
Our Old Testament lesson is onto the same thing. Jacob wrestles all night with God and won’t let go until he emerges with a blessing. This too tells us something about God. If God made a covenant with Jacob based on that wrestling match, that suggests God has good tolerance for feisty combatants who grab on and worry him like a dog on a bone.
These lessons counter-balance the many Scriptures that focus on God’s power and might, and our need to bow down before the Lord. Today’s Scriptures show us a different kind of relationship with God, where we don’t have to be obsequious, we don’t have to kowtow. We can strive with God, and refuse to back off until God has blessed us. We can be stubborn cusses.
Faith isn’t about being passive. We’re called to speak up to God as needed. “At any time, any place, in whatever is of concern to us – God offers us the right to be heard.” The determination of the widow is a good thing. Jacob’s persistence is effective. One writer calls it “holy chutzpah.” (Synthesis, Sedgwick Publishing, October 2007 issue).
Chutzpah is a Hebrew word that’s successfully worked itself into English. It literally means “insolence” or “audacity.” In Hebrew, chutzpah “has an overwhelmingly negative connotation, epitomized by the story of a man who kills his parents, then begs the judge to take pity on him because he’s an orphan.” (Ibid., p.4).
But when Yiddish borrowed the word chutzpah from the Hebrew, it took on much more positive connotations. In Yiddish, it means a healthy gutsy-ness and assertiveness, “guts bordering on the heroic.” (Ibid.)
Today’s readings call us to have holy chutzpah in our relationship with God, in our prayer lives. Jesus tells his disciples to pray always and not to lose heart.
Some theologians argues that through prayer we can change the outcome, even change God. The neo-orthodox Karl Barth believed this. Walter Bruegemann believes it. The process theologians believe it.
Does this mean we can manipulate God through prayer?
No, because God has free will. But through prayer, through communication with God, we can affect the divine will. God listens to us. And God answers. That’s what Bruegemann, Barth and others assert.
I’ve experienced changes in my life because of prayer and I can bet most of you have too.
For me, the times of change have occurred when I threw my whole self into prayer – when I have been radically present to God, no holds barred. No pretenses. Or when I have been the recipient of passionate prayer on my behalf.
But prayer is mysterious. It’s complicated. There’s not a one-to-one correlation between what we pray for and what happens. If we pray with all our might for a loved one to survive and they don’t….does that mean we didn’t pray hard enough? That we just didn’t have enough faith?
I don’t want to go there. Many times people pray as hard as they can, their faith communities pray as hard as they can, and they still lose the loved one. It’s hurtful, even abusive, to suggest they just didn’t have enough faith.
Prayer doesn’t always give us the outcome we wish. But sometimes…it can. I think we have to wrestle with that ambiguity and complexity, and not pretend we understand all the mysteries of prayer.
I am certain that we have a much better chance of changing the outcome if we pray with our whole hearts and minds rather than in a wimpy or vague way. If we pray with chutzpah.
And I’m convinced through prayer we are able to change ourselves. To become more and more conformed to God’s image. And that regular devotions can change our landscape, our possibilities.
There’s a story about a student who had been visiting a spiritual master. He became discouraged and asked the master: “Why has my stay here yielded no fruit?” “Perhaps,” replied his master, “Because you have lacked the courage to shake the tree.”
When we persist in prayer from the heart, we shake the tree. Sometimes it’s God’s tree that we shake. But very often it’s our own tree, the “one we ourselves have been given to prune and tend.”
Prayer can transform us. And this is a joyful as well as demanding process. Jacob emerges with a blessing as well as a limp, after wrestling with God. He is no longer called “Supplanter” or “Cheater,” which is what Jacob means. Now he has a new identity. Now he is called “Israel,” which means “one who strives with God.” Jacob limps into the sunlight, into hope, into a new beginning.
Prayer is relationship. And relationships change us. Prayer is real engagement with the One who created, sustains, and redeems us. It’s active. And we need to make time for it, just as we make time for other people. We have to put God on our calendars. Place ourselves before God, time and again, as the widow keeps placing herself before the judge, as Jacob pits himself against God.
We’re called to be radically present to God. To be an active dialogue or sparring partner with God. We can nag God. We can wrestle with God! And not just thumb wrestle. We can give God a body check from time to time.
We’re called to be real with God. Being real isn’t always all sweetness and light. Holy chutzpah means we don’t need to walk on eggshells or stand on ceremony with God. We can tell God how it is, the good, the bad, and the ugly. We don’t have to keep all our feelings inside because we’re afraid or we feel unworthy.
The same principles that operate in human relationships are at work in our relationship with God. If we don’t express our needs to those around us, they often aren’t met. If we hold back feelings and experiences from those we love, we often cease to be close to them. If we dissemble, trust dies. Love evaporates. We build walls and dams and before we know it there is no relationship.
That’s not what God wants. God’s all about the relationship. God wants a relationship with our whole being. God wants real engagement. God wants to shape and mold us. And today’s readings suggest God also permits us to shape God.
Today’s images of God run counter to how I usually think about the divine. I don’t usually think I can be so direct with God, or that I can influence God that much. But Scripture does give us other examples. Like Abraham bargaining with God so that God won’t destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Like the Syro-Phoenician woman, who shames Jesus into doing the right thing and healing her daughter, even though she’s not an Israelite. Like the parable about God as a neighbor who finally opens the door and feeds you, if you persist in knocking. These vignettes from Scripture show a relationship of mutual accountability between God and humanity. They show us a God who wants us to be actively engaged and radically present. These stories show that when we behave with chutzpah in our relationship with God, the landscape can change for us. And even God can change.
We can bring our whole selves before God. Time and time again. Nag God for justice. Wrestle with God and not let go. We may limp a little, but we will walk away into the sun, in hope, with a blessing. Amen.
+++
October 21, 2007
Scriptures: Genesis 32:22-31, Psalm 121, 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
Gospel: Luke 18:1-8
The Rev. Laura Gottardi-Littell, preacher
+++
Today’s gospel is an equal opportunity message.
Because if a widow, a powerless person in 1st century Palestine, could plead her case and win over a crooked judge, then surely you and I have a chance with a loving, just God. The widow in Jesus’ parable finally wears the judge down with her persistence. How much more quickly will God grant us justice, says Jesus. Especially if we put our whole selves into communicating with God.
Our Old Testament lesson is onto the same thing. Jacob wrestles all night with God and won’t let go until he emerges with a blessing. This too tells us something about God. If God made a covenant with Jacob based on that wrestling match, that suggests God has good tolerance for feisty combatants who grab on and worry him like a dog on a bone.
These lessons counter-balance the many Scriptures that focus on God’s power and might, and our need to bow down before the Lord. Today’s Scriptures show us a different kind of relationship with God, where we don’t have to be obsequious, we don’t have to kowtow. We can strive with God, and refuse to back off until God has blessed us. We can be stubborn cusses.
Faith isn’t about being passive. We’re called to speak up to God as needed. “At any time, any place, in whatever is of concern to us – God offers us the right to be heard.” The determination of the widow is a good thing. Jacob’s persistence is effective. One writer calls it “holy chutzpah.” (Synthesis, Sedgwick Publishing, October 2007 issue).
Chutzpah is a Hebrew word that’s successfully worked itself into English. It literally means “insolence” or “audacity.” In Hebrew, chutzpah “has an overwhelmingly negative connotation, epitomized by the story of a man who kills his parents, then begs the judge to take pity on him because he’s an orphan.” (Ibid., p.4).
But when Yiddish borrowed the word chutzpah from the Hebrew, it took on much more positive connotations. In Yiddish, it means a healthy gutsy-ness and assertiveness, “guts bordering on the heroic.” (Ibid.)
Today’s readings call us to have holy chutzpah in our relationship with God, in our prayer lives. Jesus tells his disciples to pray always and not to lose heart.
Some theologians argues that through prayer we can change the outcome, even change God. The neo-orthodox Karl Barth believed this. Walter Bruegemann believes it. The process theologians believe it.
Does this mean we can manipulate God through prayer?
No, because God has free will. But through prayer, through communication with God, we can affect the divine will. God listens to us. And God answers. That’s what Bruegemann, Barth and others assert.
I’ve experienced changes in my life because of prayer and I can bet most of you have too.
For me, the times of change have occurred when I threw my whole self into prayer – when I have been radically present to God, no holds barred. No pretenses. Or when I have been the recipient of passionate prayer on my behalf.
But prayer is mysterious. It’s complicated. There’s not a one-to-one correlation between what we pray for and what happens. If we pray with all our might for a loved one to survive and they don’t….does that mean we didn’t pray hard enough? That we just didn’t have enough faith?
I don’t want to go there. Many times people pray as hard as they can, their faith communities pray as hard as they can, and they still lose the loved one. It’s hurtful, even abusive, to suggest they just didn’t have enough faith.
Prayer doesn’t always give us the outcome we wish. But sometimes…it can. I think we have to wrestle with that ambiguity and complexity, and not pretend we understand all the mysteries of prayer.
I am certain that we have a much better chance of changing the outcome if we pray with our whole hearts and minds rather than in a wimpy or vague way. If we pray with chutzpah.
And I’m convinced through prayer we are able to change ourselves. To become more and more conformed to God’s image. And that regular devotions can change our landscape, our possibilities.
There’s a story about a student who had been visiting a spiritual master. He became discouraged and asked the master: “Why has my stay here yielded no fruit?” “Perhaps,” replied his master, “Because you have lacked the courage to shake the tree.”
When we persist in prayer from the heart, we shake the tree. Sometimes it’s God’s tree that we shake. But very often it’s our own tree, the “one we ourselves have been given to prune and tend.”
Prayer can transform us. And this is a joyful as well as demanding process. Jacob emerges with a blessing as well as a limp, after wrestling with God. He is no longer called “Supplanter” or “Cheater,” which is what Jacob means. Now he has a new identity. Now he is called “Israel,” which means “one who strives with God.” Jacob limps into the sunlight, into hope, into a new beginning.
Prayer is relationship. And relationships change us. Prayer is real engagement with the One who created, sustains, and redeems us. It’s active. And we need to make time for it, just as we make time for other people. We have to put God on our calendars. Place ourselves before God, time and again, as the widow keeps placing herself before the judge, as Jacob pits himself against God.
We’re called to be radically present to God. To be an active dialogue or sparring partner with God. We can nag God. We can wrestle with God! And not just thumb wrestle. We can give God a body check from time to time.
We’re called to be real with God. Being real isn’t always all sweetness and light. Holy chutzpah means we don’t need to walk on eggshells or stand on ceremony with God. We can tell God how it is, the good, the bad, and the ugly. We don’t have to keep all our feelings inside because we’re afraid or we feel unworthy.
The same principles that operate in human relationships are at work in our relationship with God. If we don’t express our needs to those around us, they often aren’t met. If we hold back feelings and experiences from those we love, we often cease to be close to them. If we dissemble, trust dies. Love evaporates. We build walls and dams and before we know it there is no relationship.
That’s not what God wants. God’s all about the relationship. God wants a relationship with our whole being. God wants real engagement. God wants to shape and mold us. And today’s readings suggest God also permits us to shape God.
Today’s images of God run counter to how I usually think about the divine. I don’t usually think I can be so direct with God, or that I can influence God that much. But Scripture does give us other examples. Like Abraham bargaining with God so that God won’t destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Like the Syro-Phoenician woman, who shames Jesus into doing the right thing and healing her daughter, even though she’s not an Israelite. Like the parable about God as a neighbor who finally opens the door and feeds you, if you persist in knocking. These vignettes from Scripture show a relationship of mutual accountability between God and humanity. They show us a God who wants us to be actively engaged and radically present. These stories show that when we behave with chutzpah in our relationship with God, the landscape can change for us. And even God can change.
We can bring our whole selves before God. Time and time again. Nag God for justice. Wrestle with God and not let go. We may limp a little, but we will walk away into the sun, in hope, with a blessing. Amen.
+++
Monday, October 8
Sermon: Proper 22 (27) Year C 2007
Sermon Proper 22 (27) Year C 2007
October 7, 2007 World Communion Sunday
Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler
Rev. Tripp Hudgins, preacher
Luke 17:5-10; Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
Reaching Out to Reach In
"O Lord, increase my faith!" Show me how to love. Make me love you more. Make me more faithful! You can do it! I want to be more faithful.
What a response from Jesus.
First, he tells the disciples that they don't have much faith (if any) in the first place.
"If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you."
Let me tell you a little something about faith, says Jesus. The disciples and the others gathered to listen are missing the point entirely. So he offers up a metaphor about slavery and the expectations of the landowners. He equates these expectations with the expectations of God.
Just do what your told. Feed the hungry. Clothe the poor. Do justice. Love mercy. Pray. Sing. Be obedient. When you gather, do this in remembrance of me. There are no strokes in it for you. There is no reward here in it for you. There is no praise to be had here. Not now. If you want faithfulness, know your place first. Be fully obedient to God. Be a slave.
Sisters and brothers, I promise you that this kind of word was as popular in Jesus' day as it is now.
They were slaves. The people in Jesus' company were struggling under the weight of an occupying empire. Their lives were shaped by stories of slavery in Egypt and of exile in Babylon. Why would anyone wish to be a slave?
We say we want faith. We say we want to be closer to God. But then God comes along and says: "Great. Leave all you have and follow me." Or, as in today's reading, "Fabulous! Be my slave."
"Perhaps," we say to ourselves, "God did not understand the request." What Jesus offers is not a popular notion. I don't think it ever was. I am not sure it ever will be.
We want to be moved. We want "meaningfulness" and high emotions. We thrive off of our sense of satisfaction. We are motivated by such emotions. And we should be. But the emotions don't always come. Experience does not always motivate. Worship services don't always move us. Often we are simply more aware of God's absence than we are of God's presence.
Mother Teresa has been in the news a lot lately. The letters she wrote to her confessor are being published. People in various circles have been astounded to discover that Mother Teresa of Calcutta experienced long spiritual droughts, dark nights of the soul. In spite of her tremendous work and the accolades she received from a variety of communities, she still did not feel God's presence. She wrestled like any sane person would.
How can God allow so much suffering? Where is the justice? Where is the mercy? Where is God? Like Habakkuk did so long ago, she cried "Violence!"
What is actually revealed in these letters to her confessor is her surprising faithfulness. As much as we may find ourselves hung up on this proclaimed absence, what these letters underscore is her deep faithfulness in God, her obedience.
She did as she was told with no promises of reward, with no sense of God's presence. She was faithful. She was a servant. She was a slave. This is what it can look like. This is what makes her such a great example. In the end, faithfulness is about obedience and not about the "experience of the divine." The apostles in Luke were in the presence of God incarnate and they still had the questions, the darkness, the struggles. Mother Teresa's experience and example have a scriptural foundation in verses like the one we encounter this morning from Luke and in Habakkuk.
Habakkuk was an interesting person. He's one of my favorites. But I have a bias, you see. Habakkuk was a 7th Century B.C. Temple prophet. This means that his prophetic ministry was shaped and given context by the public worship of God's chosen people, Israel. Liturgy and prophetic witness. Yeah, I'm biased.
Habakkuk is giving voice to the frustrations of a nation. The Babylonians are bearing down on Jerusalem. God is silent. There stands Habakkuk in the Temple and God is silent. The Temple was God's house. God cannot remain silent while powerful people and their armies take what they want whenever they want. Right? Well, this is Habakkuk's question.
1:2 O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save? 1:3 Why do you make me see wrong-doing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. 1:4 So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous-- therefore judgment comes forth perverted.
Habakkuk sees injustice but he does not see God. He and Mother Teresa are in good company. Likely we can all relate to this. We all experience moments of disillusionment and sometimes in dramatic ways, horrific ways.
This time last year we were all in awe and horror at the news of the school shooting in an Amish community. We were horrified that something like this could happen. And we were in awe at the response by the Amish people. They proclaimed love, love of the perpetrator of the crime, love of his family, and love for their own children. When questioned about this response, the leaders of the Amish community stated that they are commanded to love. Their proclaimed love is an act of obedience.
This love was not a denial of the horrors of that day. They professed grief, rage, and remorse. But their guiding light was their willingness, their choice, to be obedient to Christ's commandment: "Love your enemy." In the reporting at least, no one said that they did this because it made them feel good. They were simply obedient.
This is the kind of obedience that Christ asks of us. This is the depth of faith that is asked of us. It is the faith of an Amish community. It is the faith of Mother Teresa. It is the faith of Habakkuk.
What is tremendous about this faithfulness is that it is entirely centered upon other people. This faithfulness does not actually lead us to some escapist place, or to some sectarian sense of Christian community. Look at the examples we have been given. This kind of faithfulness leads us outward into the world. It takes us out of the communities that we know and are comfortable with and encourages us to reach beyond ourselves.
By being faithful as Jesus suggests, we will perform miracles...perform impossible acts like replanting mulberry trees in the sea.
We will feed and clothe and make room in our hearts for the poorest of the poor like Mother Teresa.
We will walk out of our homes and visit our enemies, comforting their wives and children, and ask how we can be of service to them.
We will proclaim a vision of God's righteousness to all the world that will echo through the ages. It has been almost three thousand years and Habakkuk's words still ring out.
2:2 Then the LORD answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. 2:3 For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. 2:4 Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith.
Jesus says "My yoke is easy. And my burden is light."
We will be called to be obedient...to be taken out of our comfort zones and do impossible things, miraculous things with mulberry trees, or our friends, neighbors, the poor, the needy, and the powerful...
People will be drawn to us because we first go to them. We will reach out in faith. And by so doing we will reach in, discovering deep wells of faithfulness and a church community shaped by growth and an increasing sense of God's presence.
We can live by faith.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
Sunday, October 7
Update
I would like to take the time for this weeks update to reflect some on the life of our small congregation. As a church we are not a program centered church but a church centered on our worship in the liturgy of the Word and Table every Sunday. In our three years it is out of our worship of God together that community has been formed and out of which we have acted in the world. It is my firm belief that gathering as the people of God each Sunday to praise God, hear God's word and receive Christ in bread and wine are foundational to the community we create as a congregation and the things we do in the world both individual and as a congregation.
I mention this (some of you have heard me say this before) again now because we are in transition in a number of areas:1) the most obvious is that we are in the process of saying goodbye to Tripp and will be looking for a new American Baptist pastor for our pastoral team. 2) in the past two months we have had a number of visitors some of whom are making Reconciler (or thinking about it) their church home. 3) We are working towards being hospitable to families with young children both by moving our worship time to 5PM but also by creating childcare during the service. 4) We have added to our pastoral team for a few months an Episcopal deacon. All of these are signs of our growth.
As we grow I hope we can keep our focus on why we come together and why we act in the world. Church is not simply another community, nor simply another organization to accomplish this or that. We come together to remember and to proclaim. We remember that God has acted in history to bring about the transformation of the world, ultimately through sending Jesus Christ to humanity. We proclaim that God is bringing about the transformation of the world through Jesus Christ and we share in that best by being joined with Christ.
Thus we are not focused on programs or what we do, we are focused on what God is doing both in our midst and in the world. We find that vision for what God is doing through worship that renews our minds and joins us with Christ. Community can be created anywhere around anything, organizations to help the poor or work for this or that cause can be created for multiple reasons and from a myriad of philosophical foundations. Church is about being united with what God is doing through the work of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we come to know this and are given eyes to see the kingdom through our worship.
May God continue to bind us together and strengthen us for the work set before us, in Jesus Christ and by the power of the Spirit.
Announcements:
We have an Episcopal deacon for several Months, Rev. Beth Scriven, but many of you may be unaware of all a deacon may do in the Episcopal church. A deacon is an ordained clergy, some will remain deacons others are what are called transitional deacons, on the way to being ordained a priest. Priests were first ordained deacons before being ordained priests. Beth is a transitional deacon. What is a deacon? A deacon assists the priest and in line with the Greek meaning of deacon, "servant", is there to help direct a congregation/parish's ministry to the world. Part of the ministry of a deacon is to preach as well as assist the priest in the liturgy and at table. As for what this means for Reconciler Beth is a member of the pastoral team as ordained clergy person, she assists in the liturgy and will preach on occasion (her first time preaching with us will be October 14th), she also will serve as with the Social Action committee. If you would like to know more or have any questions about deacons or what Beth's presence with us the next several months means for Reconciler feel free to talk with Beth or Tripp Laura and Larry.
Saturday October 27th, 9 AM to Noon, there is a meeting with Eileen Crowley to begin planning elements of the Holy Week and Easter services. Immanuel is asking for our involvement in the planning of these services with Eileen Crowley the artist-in-residence this year with Immanuel. If you are interested please let one of the pastoral team know ASAP so we can let Immanuel know who is interested in being involved.
Sunday November 4th is All Saints Sunday. We will be worshiping with Immanuel and St Elias. Laura will be presiding and pastor Monte of Immanuel will be preaching. The service will be at 10:30 AM and we will not be worshiping at our regular time of 5:00 PM.
Our Bible Study series on Sabbath economics and money will begin October 17th. We are beginning with reading and discussing the book The Biblical Vision of Sabbath Economics, by Ched Myers. If plan to take part in the Bible Study and do not already have this book talk with Jeremy John.
Our all church leadership retreat is Friday November 30th and Saturday December 1st, at the Cenacle retreat center here in Chicago.
December 23rd we will be having a joint worship service with st Elias and Immanuel, at 1:30 PM, we will not be worshiping at our usual time of 5 PM.
In Christ,
Larry Kamphausen
I mention this (some of you have heard me say this before) again now because we are in transition in a number of areas:1) the most obvious is that we are in the process of saying goodbye to Tripp and will be looking for a new American Baptist pastor for our pastoral team. 2) in the past two months we have had a number of visitors some of whom are making Reconciler (or thinking about it) their church home. 3) We are working towards being hospitable to families with young children both by moving our worship time to 5PM but also by creating childcare during the service. 4) We have added to our pastoral team for a few months an Episcopal deacon. All of these are signs of our growth.
As we grow I hope we can keep our focus on why we come together and why we act in the world. Church is not simply another community, nor simply another organization to accomplish this or that. We come together to remember and to proclaim. We remember that God has acted in history to bring about the transformation of the world, ultimately through sending Jesus Christ to humanity. We proclaim that God is bringing about the transformation of the world through Jesus Christ and we share in that best by being joined with Christ.
Thus we are not focused on programs or what we do, we are focused on what God is doing both in our midst and in the world. We find that vision for what God is doing through worship that renews our minds and joins us with Christ. Community can be created anywhere around anything, organizations to help the poor or work for this or that cause can be created for multiple reasons and from a myriad of philosophical foundations. Church is about being united with what God is doing through the work of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we come to know this and are given eyes to see the kingdom through our worship.
May God continue to bind us together and strengthen us for the work set before us, in Jesus Christ and by the power of the Spirit.
Announcements:
We have an Episcopal deacon for several Months, Rev. Beth Scriven, but many of you may be unaware of all a deacon may do in the Episcopal church. A deacon is an ordained clergy, some will remain deacons others are what are called transitional deacons, on the way to being ordained a priest. Priests were first ordained deacons before being ordained priests. Beth is a transitional deacon. What is a deacon? A deacon assists the priest and in line with the Greek meaning of deacon, "servant", is there to help direct a congregation/parish's ministry to the world. Part of the ministry of a deacon is to preach as well as assist the priest in the liturgy and at table. As for what this means for Reconciler Beth is a member of the pastoral team as ordained clergy person, she assists in the liturgy and will preach on occasion (her first time preaching with us will be October 14th), she also will serve as with the Social Action committee. If you would like to know more or have any questions about deacons or what Beth's presence with us the next several months means for Reconciler feel free to talk with Beth or Tripp Laura and Larry.
Saturday October 27th, 9 AM to Noon, there is a meeting with Eileen Crowley to begin planning elements of the Holy Week and Easter services. Immanuel is asking for our involvement in the planning of these services with Eileen Crowley the artist-in-residence this year with Immanuel. If you are interested please let one of the pastoral team know ASAP so we can let Immanuel know who is interested in being involved.
Sunday November 4th is All Saints Sunday. We will be worshiping with Immanuel and St Elias. Laura will be presiding and pastor Monte of Immanuel will be preaching. The service will be at 10:30 AM and we will not be worshiping at our regular time of 5:00 PM.
Our Bible Study series on Sabbath economics and money will begin October 17th. We are beginning with reading and discussing the book The Biblical Vision of Sabbath Economics, by Ched Myers. If plan to take part in the Bible Study and do not already have this book talk with Jeremy John.
Our all church leadership retreat is Friday November 30th and Saturday December 1st, at the Cenacle retreat center here in Chicago.
December 23rd we will be having a joint worship service with st Elias and Immanuel, at 1:30 PM, we will not be worshiping at our usual time of 5 PM.
In Christ,
Larry Kamphausen
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