Pastor's Corner - December 2011
How much do you spend on Christmas each year? Are you afraid to total it up? Does it take most of the next year to pay for it all? Is this a Christian Christmas or a commercial driven Christmas? Now don’t take this wrong, I think that giving special gifts to loved ones is a wonderful expression of our love, just as we received that special gift from God on Christmas Day. But what if we did something different.
Remember those special homemade gifts that you gave your parents when you were in school, or the gifts that your children gave you? Most parents still have those plaster of Paris hand prints, construction paper cards, clay sculptures, and the like. When we see these, our hearts go back to the faces of those tender children watching us for our reactions to the gift they worked so hard to make. We remember the glow of their smile when we gushed with gratitude. We didn’t gush because we held the creation of the next great artist, sculptor, or poet, but rather because we knew the love that was invested in those simple items. That love is why we still have these gifts.
Whether you create your own gift or purchase something, take the time to find a gift that expresses the love you hold for that person, Make sure that when it is opened, that the recipient knows that they are loved and that this is an expression of your love.
It may take some re-education for some of us. We have spent so much of our lives immersed in the commercials that gifts are measured by their financial value rather than by the loving intent of the givers. The worth of the gift is not in how much was spent, but rather by how much love was invested. The grandparents and the aunts and uncles who gave us gifts of clothing (I know that as children it really wasn’t what we wanted or hoped for) may have truly and loving selected these items for our real needs, not our commercially inspired wants.
Maybe give a gift of taking over a chore around the house that someone else has, for a day, for a week, for a month. Make a recording of a song or a book that the person loves, not by some famous reader or singer, but by you! Compile a slide show of photos on DVD of family and memories spanning a life. Do something to pamper the person you love. It does not have to be expensive. It only has to be genuine and loving.
May your Christmas be a blessing and the New Year be rich in the presence of God.
Shalom, Darrell
Pastor's Corner - November 2011
During my first Thanksgiving with Marsha and her family in Maysville, KY in 1979, I ate my first and last of oyster dressing. It is similar to a lot of traditional dressings one has at Thanksgiving, but it was not part of my experience growing up. It was wonderful. It was my last taste because before the next Thanksgiving I had discovered my severe allergy to shellfish. When the whole family gathers, there is still oyster dressing, but I eat the regular dressing.
We all encounter differences in the food that is “traditional” in one family and completely different in another. Change means tasting new dishes, and experiencing new ways to give thanks. It can become a real blessing to allow for our traditions to grow and change.
This November, we will celebrate our church family’s Thanksgiving fellowship dinner in our remodeled Fellowship Hall. This will be our first regularly scheduled fellowship time in the renewed facility, and will be a time of remembering and giving thanks.
This November there will be many families in Warner Robins, who may get little for their Thanksgiving dinners. There are many in Warner Robins who will be hungry on Thanksgiving Day. Hunger is a major problem, not only in places like Africa and Asia, but also in our neighborhoods, in our backyards, or across our streets. We need to give Thanks for our blessings, but we also need to be a blessing to others!
Therefore, this Thanksgiving Fellowship Dinner will be a different ”tradition.” We need to remember to be thankful for all of the gifts God has provided, even the simple gifts. The dinner this November will be a soup and corn bread meal. Beth Bickley and Ann Von Almen will be sharing information on how you can help with the meal and what to bring. But there is something we should all bring, food for others!
During the month of November, bring in canned goods, bring in the fixings for your favorite dish, bring in your “traditional” Thanksgiving foods and we will get it to the food pantries in town. A basket will be in front of the Communion table for the month, and it will be brought down to the Fellowship Hall on the night of the dinner. We can give thanks for all that our church family does to help each other in our church, community and beyond. We can also celebrate the opportunity to make sure that other families will have something for which to give thanks.
It will be different. Rather than stuffing ourselves with turkey and dressing on a Sunday night, we will give thanks for different soups and corn bread and fixings. We will rejoice that we are blessed and that we can be a blessing to others. Make plans to attend the Thanksgiving Fellowship Dinner and start sharing the thankfulness.
Shalom, Darrell
Pastor's Corner - October 2011
After what seems to have been years, the Fellowship Hall is nearly ready to be used. We sacrificed some storage space for a room large enough to hold everyone for events like our Homecoming, and other large gatherings. Our kitchen can hold more than three people without being crowded and it is possible to wash dishes and still get to the sink for water as there are now two sinks. We have two refrigerators in the kitchen as well as a stove with an oven and a double oven. Food can be kept cold, reheated or cooked all at the same time.
No more trying to find counter space to prepare plates of food, counters run around all four walls, plus the new pass through window to the fellowship hall saves having to run into each other coming and going from the kitchen. There are also two large windows over each sink to let in light and when the kitchen gets too hot, the windows open can be opened.
New flooring in the main room looks fantastic and will be easy to clean. New lighting will allow us to have a brightly lit space for events. Everything looks clean and nice. New chairs and tables will allow us to be creative in seating arrangements so as to provide for greater fellowship and better function for meetings.
We owe a large thanks to the work of the 2010 team for developing the plan for the renovation and overseeing the design and work. Take time to thank David Von Almen, Denny McReynolds, Charlie Hebenstreit, Mike & Gidget Hurlbert and all the people who helped with color selection and design details. They have done very well!!
Now at about this point, most people would anticipate some sort of statement about the need to keep this facility in pristine order for years to come. This is the first renovation done on this building since it ceased to be the sanctuary for this congregation. We should care for it with regular cleaning and service, but I hope that we wear it out from repeated use through our fellowship events, programs, and special gatherings as a congregation. I also hope that we can add to the wear by continuing to allow outside groups to use this space for meetings.
The Fellowship Hall is one of the first places that many people will encounter our church family. We need to treat it as God’s kitchen and dining room, but also remember that according to the Bible, God wants us to welcome ALL into God’s spaces. We have a place to welcome and feel and fellowship and share the unique character of this congregation. We have a space that truly reflects our understanding of identity of “Come and Be Embraced.”
May this space be a place for feeding, for fellowship, for growing families, for service, and for welcoming others in God’s name for decades to come. May this space be a blessing to all who enter and find the love and presence of God.
Shalom, Darrell
Pastor's Corner - September 2011
This month we will mark the 10th anniversary of the attacks of September 11 on the second Sunday of the month. How can we commemorate this memorial in a manner that reflects our faith as well as our national identity?
Rather than recalling the hate that caused these people to turn commercial airliners into weapons, we need to memorialize the innocent victims of the attack. These men, women and children were from all races, economic levels, social status, and religions. They were the targets merely because they were in the place chosen as sites because the planners decided that these places would devastate our national psyche.
We need to make a determined effort to remember the men and women who gave their lives in the effort to prevent further violence by overpowering the hijackers and preventing their flight from becoming another weapon. We read that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for a friend. The people of the flight that went down in PA gave their lives for people they may never have met, let alone ever be able to call friends. Their love encouraged them to make the ultimate sacrifice of love.
Another group that gave their lives in an effort to save others were the police, fire and rescue crews, and EMTs. They set aside the natural tendency to preserve their lives and entered into the burning towers. They were following their training to bring aid and assistance to all those who were injured and attempting to escape the towers. They were not the targets; they were heroes responding to brothers and sisters in need.
The final group that we should honor and remember are the crews that went into the destruction to seek the dream of survivors and recover bodies so that families could grieve. They did not know that entering the area for extended periods would harm their health. The dust and particles were inhaled and may have caused serious health issues for those who worked to clear and recover. They now are beginning to pay for their sacrifice.
The Hebrew Prayer book offers these words so that we can keep the events of 9/11 in proper perspective. “When God created us, He made us in His own image, in the likeness of the divine. Both male and female He created; He blessed them, and at the same time of their creation He called them Human. Therefore was a single human created to teach you that to destroy a single human soul is the equivalent to destroying an entire world; and to sustain a single human soul is equivalent to sustaining an entire world.”
The hatred that led these men to hijack planes and turn them into weapons did not destroy our world. The sacrifices of the men and women who gave their lives in efforts to save others preserved our world. We claim a faith based upon a single individual sacrificing His life to the power of hatred so that the world of God’s love could survive and grow.
Pray for those whose hatred continue to lead them to destruction. Pray for those who still struggle with the losses of that day. Pray for the workers who are suffering from health problems that may relate to the dust and debris of that day. Then go out and work to save the life of one person and save an entire world.
Shalom, Darrell
Pastor's Corner - August 2011
On the doors in and out of our house is a small device that holds a scroll with the words from Deuteronomy 6:4-9. It is a mezuzah, a reminder in a Jewish home to remind them of the covenant with God made after the Exodus.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
Do we remember to talk about our faith in our home, to our children? Do we remember the promises of God when we depart and when we return? Are they ever before us and with us like our hands and our reflection in the mirror? Probably not. We tend to talk little about what we truly think is important, favoring instead to discuss popular topics such as sports, weather, and politics. What do you talk about with your family?
John Adland is the rabbi at Temple Israel in Canton, OH. He became Marsha’s rabbi and a friend of my family when he was in Lexington, KY. He does a weekly piece which he sends through Google documents to those who know and respect him. His “Shabbat Shalom” column sent out on July 15, 2011 inspired this article. Here is what John said.
“Every Friday morning on NPR at 6:25 AM is a segment called Story Corps. ‘Story Corps is an independent nonprofit project whose mission is to honor and celebrate the lives of everyday Americans by listening to their stories.’ What you get is a snippet of a conversation or interview between two people. It could be a husband and wife, siblings, friends, relatives. This morning a father was telling his daughter about her grandfather. The details aren’t important though it was very emotional for him to speak about this, but what is important is that he didn’t learn an important detail of his father’s life until late in life. His father didn’t talk much or share much.
“I thought about this as I listened to something I have counseled often to parents. ‘Tell your children about your life. Tell them what you do, where you volunteer, what you like and dislike, what is important and what you are passionate about.’ I met a couple this week, who were talking to me about end of life issues and I said the same thing to them so that when the time comes to prepare a eulogy they will know about their mother or father. More often than not our children are not present in our lives. Sure we share vacations with them when they are younger or go to their schools for performances or watch them compete, but do we tell them what meetings we attend in the evening, where we contribute our money, why we vote the way we do, or what is truly important to us? Our children leave and live their own lives and when they do the conversations aren’t about these things. It was different when people grew up and lived their lives surrounded by family, but for the most part this doesn’t happen. Add to this scenario the fact that when the children are able to see, hear, and remember what we are doing when they are at home is when they are teens. Most teens don’t take a huge interest in the lives of their parents.”
How well do you know your parents? DO you know what they felt was important? DO you know why they believed as they did? I do not have a complete knowledge, but I do have a sense from conversations with them and their actions. Most of this knowledge I gained when I was in college. I hope that my children know what I hold important and what I believe. Maybe if we were more willing to discuss our feelings and beliefs with our families, we would not fear as much to share our hopes and dreams with others. We might find a strength in sharing more than superficiality with friends, colleagues, and family. We might even find the strength to follow the words of Deuteronomy and live in closer covenant with God.
Shalom, Darrell
Pastor's Corner - July 2011
With the end of the school year, a lot of the attention to bullying has diminished. While our attention has shifted, the problem has not ended. Bullying is a type of abuse we associate with school children picking on each other, calling names, ostracizing, and fighting. The recent attention was garnered when children and young people killed themselves rather than continue to suffer this abuse.
Bullying has been around for a very long time and almost all of us can tell stories of being a victim of bullying or witnessing bullying taking place. We also pretend that it is limited to school aged people. Because it has been with us, and because we tell ourselves that you outgrow it, we do very little about bullying that takes place around us all of the time.
This behavior is rooted in the idea that in order to be superior to others, I have to demonstrate that superiority in ways of power and force. Anyone who is different or at least different from me is therefore less than me and needs to be shown that they must fall into my framework of being, or at least acknowledge my superiority. As we get older, and as technology has increased the ability to communicate, bullying has grown more sophisticated and sometimes less obvious.
The playground bully can now text and tweet and use the internet to broaden the impact of his/her abuse. What might once have been limited to a single schoolyard is now available globally in minutes. This is very serious and destructive.
What kind of actions can we as a church take to begin to alter this bullying? Be aware of how we talk about other people with whom we disagree. Do we verbally diminish them and categorize them in ways that seem to lessen their right to hold a different opinion or belief? Do we listen to and support media practices that insult any who disagree? Much of what passes for news can give the appearance of bullying and teach children that not only is it acceptable, but also the proper way to deal with those who are outside our framework of normal. The attitude of hostility and attack that is so prevalent in our political society can lead people to believe that bullying is the way to win success in life. Be the best bully, the most powerful bully and you will win.
Jesus taught us to see each other as Children of God. He taught us to avoid passing judgment on the worth of others. He challenged us to love each other as we should love ourselves. If you weigh the number of times Jesus verbally condemned someone as opposed to lovingly guided someone, you will see the proportion we should follow. Those who received the most scathing words from Jesus were those who chose to condemn the behavior of people they were charged with guiding, without an effort to be understanding and treat them with justice and righteousness.
Help teach children to listen and strive to understand why someone might be different from them. Help them to understand that each child is special and important in their own ways. A parent with more than one child may at some point be asked, “Which child do you love more?” We often respond by saying that we love them all the same. This is not exactly accurate. We love each child for themselves and since they are each different, we must love them differently. The child going through the hardest time at that moment needs the greatest amount of love at that moment. Our love for our children is not a calm pool equally doled out, but rather a tap that flows with the amount of love needed for each child at the moment of their lives. We need to teach the children to see that loving others does not diminish the love for family and friends.
We must also demonstrate with our own lives the proper way to show respect to other people. We often say that respect must be earned. This is true, up to a point. As each of us is a child of God, we must begin by offering each other that level of respect that we would show God. We are the visible Image of God in the world, so is everyone else. Therefore, we should begin our dealings with a basic level of respect for every person. From there we can offer greater or even lesser respect as it is merited. Also remember that you too, must begin at that same level when you meet new people. Do not expect to be granted greater respect than you demonstrate.
Finally, we need to remember that while bullying is an act of force, equal force does not defeat it; neither does greater force. Jesus defied the bullying of the Roman Empire, even to the point of his crucifixion. God defeated that bullying in the resurrection. The one who was called names, beaten, and killed became our source of hope and shalom.
Shalom, Darrell
Pastor's Corner - June 2011
Starting on June 5th, the Summer Camp season begins. One of the ways to stay up on what is going at Camp Christian is by going to www.gadisciples.org and checking out the posting of photos and news from each camp. Another way to participate is by sending letters and emails to the campers. The address for the camp and directions for sending emails is also at this site. Here is the list of Campers and the camps they will attend.
CYF will run from June 5-11. Mitchell and Ethan Thompson, Jessica Hebenstreit, and Taylor Hicks will attend this camp.
YADA runs only for the Saturday and Sunday of June 11th and 12th. Due to the brevity of the camp we have little chance to send mail and emails. However they will post news and photos. Melissa Hebenstreit, Shannon Bosarge, Nicole Hicks, Chris Rogers, and Mitchell and Matt Thompson will be there.
Junior 1 runs June 12th-17th. Levi Cook is the only camper from our church at this camp.
Chi Rho follows on the 19th-25th. Dalton and Haley Crofutt, Gavin Edmundson, Savanna Gowin, and Andrea McCleese will be campers.
Chrysalis begins the camps of July, running from the 17th to 20th. Sarah Cook will be there.
Overlapping the Chrysalis Camp will be Junior 11 on July 17th to the 22nd. Levi Cook, Oliva Gowin, Tyler Hurlbert, Mary Martin, and Carter Nolde will be at this camp.
The last camp of the year will be Genesis. This is the camp for kindergarteners and a family member. It is on the weekend of July 22nd to the 24th. Andrew and Sara Hebenstreit, Austin and Mike Hurlbert, and John and Jim Stokes will enjoy the last camp.
Please take advantage of the news and opportunities to communicate with our campers. As I write these words, we have passed the hour designated as the time and date of the end of the world. We as Christians often fall sway to the desire to know when the end will come. We want to make ready in the last part of our time for that heavenly finale to get into heaven. Unfortunately, we will never know when. We are to live in faith, not absolute certainty. We are not to cram for some kind of final exam; rather we are to live daily in the way taught by Jesus.
In Matthew 25:31-46, we find the most concise instructions for living in the way of Jesus. We are to love, and feed, and comfort, and care for people all around us. Not just the people we like or with whom we agree, but even the least worthy, the least important, the least loveable. When we treat people as if they were Jesus, we are fulfilling our calling as disciples. If we live in this manner, we will have no need to fear the end of time, for no matter what, we will be welcomed as sheep by our loving Shepherd.
Whether someone says that the end comes tomorrow or in 2012, or whatever date, live as Disciples of Christ described in this passage of Matthew and celebrate the joy of already living in God’s Kingdom.
Shalom, Darrell
Pastor's Corner - May 2011
May, already? Easter is over, Mother’s Day, graduations, and Memorial Day lie before us. We will seriously look at plans for summer vacations and trips (probably measured by the price of gasoline). The long break in the church year is over, or we often think so. This year Pentecost is on June 12th. The church’s birthday becomes like the birthday of some of us who try to slide past it without taking notice so we can pretend to be younger or to not make a big deal of getting another year older.
But we are not talking about a birthday that marks the passing years into infirmity and lessening abilities, at least we hope not. The church, while it is a living, functioning Body of Christ in the world, it should be more resilient than you or me. The church should listen to the voices of all generations as they grow in their journeys of faith and thereby resist aging. For the church, the celebration of Pentecost should re-ignite the child-like excitement of an upcoming party, with all the trimmings. Why not fill the sanctuary with red balloons that float in the Divine Ruach (Hebrew for wind and spirit), let the languages of children, often difficult for adults to translate, fill the sanctuary with sound. Celebrate the presence of God and dine at the Table of the Lord. Sing Happy Birthday to the church, and to each of us as we remember the day we were born into the church’s life.
Our world could use a place where there is joy and hope. The news is too often grim and depressing as it is. People struggle with the economy, and struggle to maintain their jobs or finding a job, struggle to see a purpose for their own lives. The Sanctuary needs to be that place of fulfillment and joy-filled hope. This summer our children and youth will be experiencing the camp theme ”Got Spirit.” It is a question to ask ourselves before we get to Pentecost. Do we see the Spirit of God in the world around us? If not, are we even looking for God in the world? Do we listen when that spirit-filled voice inside each of us speaks, or do we drown out the voice with noisiness? Do we rejoice in the Good News that is the gift of God, or do we think this news is for someone else?
Each of us is loved, each of us is given this Gospel of hope and promise. Open up that package. It is not to be saved for that special rainy day need. Open it every day and put it on, and taste it, and share it with other people. IT IS HERE FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!
Now, when Pentecost arrives you can join in the celebration. The concerns about whether to vacation or stay-cation, can be set aside for a time along with all the other worries and concerns that fill your life. The Gospel is an easy burden and its load is light. Rejoice in this gift again, like Paul, I say rejoice.
Shalom, Darrell
Pastor's Corder - April 2011
This month is the celebration of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Easter Sunday. On Thursday, April 21, 2011, the Maundy Thursday Service will begin at 7:00 p.m. During the service we will share a time of recreating the Lord’s Supper and the celebration of Communion. Please come and celebrate this special service.
On Easter Sunday we will hold an Easter Egg hunt and celebration with the children during the Sunday school time. Bring your children and come and play, then join in worship and the celebration of the Empty Tomb and the promise of life.
What are we celebrating at the end of this month? What does it mean for us that God overthrew death and offered us the opportunity to become His heirs and brothers and sisters to Jesus. It means that we are more capable and are fully worthy of God’s love and grace. In the book Common Prayer, a Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals, the readings for Easter include the following:
“Clarence Jordan, co-founder of Koinonia Farm, wrote, ‘The resurrection of Jesus was God’s unwillingness to take our “no” for an answer. He raised Jesus, not as an invitation to us to come to Heaven when we die, but as a declaration that he himself has now established permanent, eternal residence here on earth. He is standing beside us, strengthening us in his life. The good news of the resurrection of Jesus is not that we shall die and go home to be with him, but that he has risen and comes home with us, bringing all his hungry, naked, thirsty, sick, prisoner brothers with him.’”
No matter where we have been or what we have gone through, we are to build the community of God in this world to mirror the kingdom in heaven. Easter is the time to celebrate and live as Jesus taught and as God created us to live.
Shalom, Darrell
Pastor's Corner - March 2011
Beginning with Ash Wednesday, on March 9th, we enter the season of Lent. According to Common Prayer; a Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals, “Lent is the forty-day season of reflection and preparation for the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is a time of repentance, of considering Christ’s suffering and rethinking how we are called to take up our own crosses. Some of us have given up things like chocolate or television during this season as a sort of fasting, and others try to integrate something new into their lives, like visiting folks in prison, sewing clothes, exercising, or praying. It is a good season to rethink how we live and to let some things go, or maybe even to develop some new holy habits”.
Over the last year, nearing two years, we have all heard stories, known people, or been the ones impacted by the recession. We have been challenged to really examine what is important and necessary for our own lives. Unfortunately, these crises also cause many to “circle the wagons” to take care of their own and forget about those on the outside. We learned the concept of circling wagons from old westerns. It looked good for movies and TV, but in reality it wasn’t as successful, mainly because those attacking refused to ride around in a circle and face the fire from those inside. We circle the wagons and create a siege mentality, the only way to survive is to outlast the threat. We cannot open the circle to let anymore in because we might become more exposed.
Jesus taught the disciples to be aware of the most ignored areas of the community. He taught, healed and ate with people that were not the cream of society. They were thought of more as the dregs of society. During Lent, we, like Jesus, need to be more aware of those in our community who were never in a circle of wagons, because their wagons were taken away. We need to help lift those still suffering because they didn’t have the luck, the connections, the depth of resources, the family, the friends, the whatever to see them through to the other side (assuming we are coming out on the other side). We need to be aware that as we deal with budget challenges around the city, county, state and nation, that many human beings, many of God’s children will be part of what is cut, not just numbers.
Lent is a season of preparation that we may better appreciate and receive the justification with God. It is also a season when we must be aware that we are called to be justified with our neighbors as well. Justified means to be lined up with God; to be brought into balance again with our Creator. We also need to be brought back into balance with our brothers and sisters as well because justification is not a solo experience; it is to be communal. Jesus went to the cross not to justify only you or me, but to justify everyone. Use the 40 days of Lent to start reclaiming balance for yourself and for your neighbors.
Shalom, Darrell