iHOPE

Planting Trees

From Sunday:

“The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now.”

-African Proverb

 

Think Big.  Start Small.  Act Now.

Transformation

 

'If we do not transform our pain,

we will most assuredly transmit it.'

 

Richard Rohr

 

A quote from last Sunday's Sermon, "Cross Examination"

Wildfire

 Yesterday, when I shared Lee Ann's observation that the prospect of going through cancer felt like going through an oncoming wildfire. The image sparked something in Bob Rotruck.  His son is heading to Afghanistan and the image of an oncoming wildfire seemed appropriate. He was inspired to write the following poem and when I asked, he consented to letting it be printed here:

Wildfires

 I stood on the plain facing the fires fierce flames,

I was looking for someone to place all the blames.

I didn’t want my son to face the horrors of war,

I wanted to go in his place to settle the score.

But I know my son wanted to do his part,

He agreed to do it from the very start.

That is how military men and women approach life,

They know from the beginning that there might be strife.

And so we stand in this field of wildfire together,

Our spirits locked together no matter the weather.

But a third party has joined our stance,

He is not just there by mere chance.

But Jesus is there holding each of our hands,

And together the three of us are taking our stands.

To face the unknown trials of the fight,

Together in spirit we are there at first light.

I have no fear for my brave, strong son,

For at his side will always be number One.

So this wildfire, we can face each day,

Each day I will be there in spirit to pray.

“God be with my son and all his comrades,

And be home with all of the moms and dads.

For they too face the horrors of war,

We just pray, there will be no more!”

AMEN

Thanks, Bob!

In This Place & Time...

  I started a new sermon series for January on Prayer. Its one of those things that everyone knows you should do (and do more) but the dirty little secret is many of us don't pray very much. When we do, we feel like failures. What can we do to make prayer more vital, and more real?

 

  On Sunday, I suggested that the first thing we need to do is 'unlearn' some things we though we knew about prayer and about being 'spiritual'.  Contrary to the way many of us have been taught to pray (bowed head, eyes closed, hands folded & world blocked out), the best way forward may be to raise your head, open your eyes, unclasp your hands and engage the world God has given us.  In short,  I believe we will pray better when we become less 'spiritual' and more 'physical'.

Prayer in Worship : "Help Me Believe in Beginnings"

We are doing a series on prayer in January ("In This Place & Time...") and one of the prayers used in worship on Sunday was, "Help Me Believe in Beginnings."

Its a wonderful prayer for a new year- or anytime you are feeling like there is a need for a new beginning.

 

God of history and of my heart, so much has happened to me during these whirlwind days:  
I've known death and birth;
I've been brave and scared;
I've hurt, I've helped;
I've been honest, I've lied;
I've destroyed, I've created;
I've been with people, I've been lonely;
I’ve been loyal, I've betrayed;
I've decided, I've waffled;
I've laughed and I've cried.

You know my frail heart and my frayed history - and now another day begins.

Prayer in Worship, by John Baillie

We're taking the month of January to learn about Prayer- prayer that connects to the real world, "in this place and time."  I used a couple different prayers in worship and will post them throughout the week.

The first is from John Baillie. Whenever I am asked about a resource for prayer, Baillie is one of my first recommendations. He was a Scot and noted theologian of the 20th century. At one point, he was elected as Moderator of the World Council of Churches. He several books on prayer, with Diary of Private Prayer as the most well-known. This was the book I took with me all during my sabbatical a couple years ago.  If you want to deepen your prayer life, you could do a lot worse than pray along with John Baillie as your guide.

Already Arrived, Yet So Far to Go

  We started a series on Grace this week.  There is a quote that I didn't get to use in the sermon, but ought to be shared anyway. Enjoy!

In one sense we are always traveling, and traveling as if we did not know where we were going.  In another sense we have already arrived.  We cannot arrive at the perfect possession of God in this life, and that is why we are traveling and in darkness. But we already possess Him by grace, and therefore, in that sense, we have arrived and are dwelling in the light. 

But oh! How far have I to go to find You in Whom I have already arrived!  

 

Thomas Merton

Bonhoeffer Revisited

  Many people talked about the power of Sunday's service. Brigitte's story was stunning. The music was rich and varied. The life of Bonhoeffer was as sobering as it was inspiring.

  Some have asked about the name of the movie from which I showed the clip. The title is simple:  "Bonhoeffer". I saw it first through Netflix (I think it can even be streamed instantly online), but I wouldn't be surprised if the library had a copy.

  The book I mentioned was, "The Cost of Discipleship". Be careful.  It should have a warning label on the cover that says, "WARNING: This book may cause great discomfort and could be hazardous to your complacency."  Don't say I didn't warn you.

I used several quotes from Bonhoeffer.  The one the front of the bulletin was from a letter to a friend, while in prison in 1944.  Here it is again:

I discovered later, and am still discovering right up to this moment,that it is only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith.  By this-worldliness I mean living unreservedly in life’s duties, problems, successes, failures.  In so doing we throw ourselves completely into the arms of God, taking seriously not our own suffering but those of God in the world.  That, I think, is faith.

 

Love Wins- Have You Read It?

There are a growing number of us who have become acutely aware that Jesus’s story has been hijacked by a number of other stories, stories Jesus isn’t interested in telling, because they have nothing to do with what he came to do. The plot has been lost, and it’s time to reclaim it.

  That is how Rob Bell  introduces his book, Love Wins:  Heaven, Hell and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.

  Some people love it.  Some people hate. Rob has been accused of heresy for his views. Others have praised him for recovering the gospel. Most are somewhere in the middle. It definitely is a book worth reading!

  Love Wins is the second selection for the Pastor's Book Club this summer. We meet on Thursday, August 25th at 7:00 to discuss it.  We'll meet in the Castle Rock Room. Whether you have finished it or not, I hope you'll come and be part of the discussion.

 

 

Ordination Standards and the Presbyterian Church

   If you haven't already, you'll soon be hearing that the Presbyterian Church (USA) has changed its ordination standards for Deacons Elders and Ministers- specifically allowing people in same sex realationships to be ordained. At least, that is what you'll hear.

  Others will say that nothing has really changed and that what was approved is nothing more than de-centralizing the authority over who gets to make decisions about ordination of officers.

  Both of those statements have some truth- and both leave some key pieces out.