Preacher on the Plaza

I recently wrote this as a pastoral column for our monthly publication. I thought I’d share it again here.

There is a lot of talk these days in the media about the first 100 days in office for our President. If you turn on any major news network, they will quote to you how close he is to finishing this crucial marker in his term of presidency.

 

While Obama gets 100 days, I recently read in the book The First 90 Days by the Harvard Business School Press that in the professional world you only get 90 days to set the tone. This is a time period of great significance between the leader and the organization to see if they are a good fit for one another and especially for the leader to define the values he or she is bringing into the culture of the organization.

 

As I write this article, I have completed my first 90 days, a mile marker our new venture called church together. This has been an intentional time period for me.

 

I hope that you have sensed my excitement about the mission of this organization. And, that you are beginning to see some communal values that I am very passionate about:

 

·         Quality in presenting ourselves to others:  such as on the website, newsletter and bulletin each week

·         Christ-centered teaching and worship that is thoughtful, reflective and engaging

·         Open lines of communication between church office and congregation with the utmost of professionalism

·         Spaces in community life for sharing ideas, dreams and engaging in reconciliation with one another when differences occur

·         Warmly welcoming those who visit or attend regularly to consider church membership

 

My hope is that as we continue to grow in our relationship together, these values will continue to define our presence in the Lake Anne, Reston and greater Washington DC community. My hope is that more and more people who need to know that churches like ours exist will find us. And, that they will be encouraged by our ministry.

 

Know that in the months ahead, I will continue to work hard at strengthening all we do, and that in the process, I ask for your help. Hold your church staff accountable for giving our best to God in our service here. Talk to a member of the Church Council for how you can participate in the 2009 Church Goals. Invite a friend or neighbor to join you in worship one Sunday. Continue to give of your talents to God in this place.

 

As we all continue to work together, the sky is really the limit for us here!

Pastor Elizabeth

When I was in seminary, one of the required courses for those of us on the pastoral track was Pastoral Care– how you deal with people in crisis or who are going through life changes of some sort. I found the information presented in this class very useful for in some way or another, as I find myself doing pastoral care almost every day of my job.

But, ultimately what was most useful to me in my introductory Pastoral Care class was the practice of it. While many seminaries assign internships with classes like this, at Duke Divinity, most of us were already doing church internships. An extra outside the classroom experience wasn’t necessary. So, we  were asked to practice each week of that semester on each other.

It went something like this: each of my classmates and I were assigned a group of around 5-6 people. Each week when we met with our groups, it would be the responsibility of one of the group members to bring a story to share about a situation in their life that needed great discernment. The person would tell their story (with time limits to keep us all focused). No one would be able to say anything to the person sharing until they were through. Afterwards, the rest of the group was allowed to ask open ended questions which probed the story told just a little. We would always conclude the session with prayer.

While I was a bit intimidated at this process in the beginning, this small group became one of my favorite memories of seminary. There was just something amazing about truly being heard by a group of peers. It created space for me through the stories I shared with them to reach a new life of discernment and peace that I might have not otherwise received.

I share all of this because at Washington Plaza we have opportunities for women to have this same experience. A new women’s group was formed last year which meets on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month. Over the past several months, they have been engaging in the practice of deep listening.

I visited the group last night and what I found was a storyteller and a group of women all committed to listening well and asking good questions. There was a gift of listening space unlike any I’d seen in a long while in a church setting. The storyteller was encouraged to share openly, even of the less favorable parts of the story by the loving posture of the group.  They were not going to leave until the storyteller had been heard fully.

I left this “holy space” of sorts thankful that we have offered these group member such a gift. It is a transformative experience just to be listened to well. My hope is that our congregation can find ways for this to happen with those who need it the most, mabye even in other groups like this one.

Today one of the passages I drew from during the sermon was Luke 14:15-24 and discovered that it was a great passage with many preaching angles that I didn’t get to (mainly because I was trying to stay on topic, which is always a good thing).

I’m still thinking about the parable Jesus told of the Great Banquet this afternoon especially about  the crowd that received the first set of invitations.  This was the group of people who the Master of the house invited to the great feast first but in the end made excuses as to why they couldn’t come. As the scripture was read today, I heard several folks chuckling during the “excuses” section of the content of the story. 

And, the excuses are worth laughing about.

One man said that he couldn’t come to the party because they’d just purchased a field and needed to examine his new purchase. One said he just bought five yokes of oxen and needed to go and see about them. And, the third sent his regrets after just been married (my favorite of the three– the timeless lesson that when the woman of the house is happy, the entire house is happy).

I read an article this week by Fred Craddock about this passage which he said the excuses given were totally acceptable in the culture of the society at the time. It was letimate reason to say you had to examine a new purchase of land, deal with your animals or spend time with your new wife.  Craddock urged readers of this text not to be so hard on the first round drop outs.

And, while I certainly agree with Craddock, more grace is what all of our relationships need more of, I couldn’t help but draw modern parallels to this passage about how few of us are willing to “stick with” our commitments too.

I’ve thinking a lot lately about how so many of us make commitments to be at events, meetings or even parties and then just don’t follow through.

In the church, you find a completely volunteer run organization. We are completely dependant (minus what our paid staff does)  on contributions others are willing to make above and beyond their income earning jobs.  As a result, I like my other non-profit colleagues am always grateful for whatever time, energy and finances others are willing to give. Anything is always better than nothing, right? But, yet still wonder at times what it would be like if we all gave our best and make our spiritual and service commitments a priority?

I’ve also seen this lack of “stick-itwith itness” (an Elizabeth version of a word) in my social life with friends and family. It is so easy to get caught up in your own world and those who live in your own household. It is easy to think you have time for commitments and then life happens and you realize that you can’t do all that you promised. (Good self-care, which I am a fan of, is a part of saying no, even sometimes at the last minute. Saying no when we really can’t do something is about being a sane human being).

Yet, at the same time, I often think that our society really does little these days to model for future generations the qualities of loyality and faithfulness. It is the norm to make appointments and cancel them as it didn’t matter. It is the norm to take weeks to return phone calls. It is the norm to say you are going to be somewhere and then not show up without a call or an email explaining why.

So often, we don’t really know how to stick with partnerships, friendships, or even civil or community responsiblities past the time that we enjoy doing them. Accountiblity on this topic is at an all time low.  Probably because many of us seem to be so bad at it  that we really don’t want to call ourselves out too.

What’s the solution?

All I know is that somedays you just have to set your mind to the tasks and committments at hand. And stick to them knowing that what you are doing is (even if you don’t like it all the time) is treating your fellow human brothers and sisters with respect.

And, if you find that you cannot consistently keep up with a commitment you have made- let the person who recruited you know you would like to gracefully step down. There is no shame in this. It is being honest.

It is the beginning of a new week. I hope that all of us find ways to “stick with it” for whatever your “it” is in the coming days. And, I would ask that you’d continue to hold your leaders, like me, accountable for doing what we said we’d do. I think this type of accountablity is living into the “excellence” that Paul asked long ago of the early church.

Even if you aren’t in a religious profession, conferences are always a part of our professional lives– especially if we want to always be on the top of your game. And, most professional folks will say that we’ve all gone to conferences that are lame and those that make you love more what you do.

I have to say that I’ve had a wonderful experience as part of my year long Lewis Fellowship and am enjoying my time with the group as it continues this week.

I love being around so many intellectually driven people who also love the church.

I love being challenged by new ideas and coming home with tons of new possibilities for ministry.

I love being humbled by the gifts and accomplishments of my peers for it makes me want to be better at what I do.

I love having the opportunity to be around ministers who know what it means to be labeled a “young pastor.”

I’m sure I’ll want to add more reflections about this experience as this week continues. But, for now, I want to share a statement shared with the group by Rev. Tom Berlin, pastor of Floris United Methodist Church (in Herndon- our neighbor!).

He said the that work of pastors is to love the church and teach others to love it as much as we do. Yet, often, it is in seminary that we come to love the church and get there and find that it is not what we had hoped it to be. Rev. Berlin went on to add that it is the love of the church that we learn in seminary, the vision of what we believe the church to be is what we spend our professional life trying to create. And, that on our worse days of ministry– when everything does not go as plan and discouragement comes– it is the vision of the church which propels us on.

I felt like that was just the right word for me at this time in my professional life.

There are mountains we need to climb at Washington Plaza to continue to grow into the church that likes up to its potential.

With us, some days things will not go as planned. Some days we are going to disagree. And, even some days, I might be caught in the middle of disagreements which I might or might have not caused. And, all of this is difficult, draining work.

Yet, I feel confident that we are about becoming a different kind of Baptist church at Washington Plaza. What we are doing is so important. There should be nothing stopping us, no matter how high the mountains are.

So, I will remember this vision that I learned in seminary and am reminded of during weeks like this: that God longs for the church to become a place that reflects God’s kingdom in ways that show love, acceptance, prophetic social change, embodiment of the good news of Jesus Christ.

I am thankful for the blessing that the Lewis Fellowship is in my life. And for the joy that I have from holding tight to the fact that church has relevance and importance in today’s time and generations to come.

Today in worship we began a new sermon series called: Practicing Resurrection. We will be taking our cues for the next six weeks from Diana Butler Bass’ book: Christianity for the Rest of Us and thinking about the values that our congregation can embody as we seek the new life Christ offers us. (If you are interested in learning more about the worship series, click here).

One of the exciting parts of planning for this series for me was how the community seemed to get involved. While attending a Lake Anne Merchant Association meeting two months ago, I asked the business owners for their input into how the church could better partner in the neighborhood. I explained my desire to have more art in the sanctuary as our walls are perfect for gallery type showings.

And, before I too many words of my plea out, Pat Macintyre, founder of the Reston Art Gallery spoke up and told me about the Gallery’s community art project: the desire of the gallery’s artists to get more of their work out where the people are. I was thrilled to hear about this and began arranging the details with her. I went to the gallery and had the opportunity to select paintings which would fit in nicely with the themes.

Today’s worship focus was hospitality. This is the painting that was displayed at the front of the sanctuary to go along with the theme. Congregation members we asked to meditate on it during our five minutes of silent reflection (which we have together each Sunday).

 The title of the painting is “The Conversation” by Reston artist, Joan Kelly. We were blessed to start off our series with it. In the future weeks, we’ll be examining topics such as diversity, justice, worship, testimony and discernment.

We look forward to an opportunity to open up our doors to the community to celebrate the work of the great artist in our display before they have to go back to the gallery.

Below are some photos of some Washington Plaza folks hanging up and enjoying the artwork. It is great to be practicing resurrection with these wonderful folks!

Several weeks ago, I wrote about my search to find a place to workout that met all my requirements of cost, location, and of course free parking. I described my frustrations with the progress and how I came to understand that many people feel as discouraged about finding a church as I did a gym.

Well, I am happy to report that a month ago, I made the plunge and found a gym that met all of my requirements. (I waited a month to say anything, in case it didn’t stick). I am now a member of  a local YMCA branch. It is not the fanciest place with the most high tech equipment, but when I heard that there was no joining fee and no quitting fee, I knew I had my place. Plus, it seemed that the group classes (which are a great motivation for me to actually go) seemed to meet my schedule as crazy as it is.

I’m still in the exploratory phase of trying to figure out what classes or aspects of the Y that I will visit on a regular basis. And, as I found myself in a Zumba class last night (looking ridulous, I might add), my mind couldn’t help but wonder again, how my experience is a lot like the church . . .

Here I was in the class, that from the outside would seem like a place that “younger” attendees would like- it is dance afterall! But, such was far from what I found.

I was the youngest person in the class by at least 10 years. I was doing Indian dance poses next next someone who could be my grandmother. And, while I love people who are my elders, and had a wonderful relationship with my grandmother (who is no longer alive), the thought of being in a exercise class full of grandmas was really hard for me.  (Plus, if you can’t keep up, you feel even more bad about yourself than when you walked in, which defeats the purpose, I think).

I realized that this is how some people of my generation might feel when they walk in Washington Plaza. Though our young professional group is growing (we’ve increased in numbers of the under 40 crowd by over 100% since January), Washington Plaza is led right now by some very dedicated grandmothers and grandfathers and those who might be grandmothers or grandfathers in a couple of years.

And, it might be hard to consider sticking around when you don’t see as many people who look like you in the congregation. I totally get this. (Hey, I walked out of the Zumba class after 30 minutes because the group just wasn’t for me).

But, at the same time, I think there is something that a church of elders offers the 20 and 30 something crowd. Among many other things, we are given a family that we many of us don’t have locally. We are given the joy of human interaction and fellowship on a weekly basis that know no bounds in terms of age. We are given the opportunity to learn from those who have passionately believed in and worked for an church even when the future looked uncertain.

So, my 20 and 30 something friends, know that you are welcome at Washington Plaza. I believe that as you get to know all of us from this young pastor on up, you will find that we are a lovingly faithful group of people that want to bring God’s kingdom in the ways we can to Reston, VA and beyond. We are on a journey to find meaningful things to do with our time together– a journey that is more about what we do than who does what.

And, maybe I’ll give Zumba with the grandmothers one more chance too . . .

It has been said that Easter and Christmas are the days that most Christian churches are at their fullest. Such a statement is usually made in a negative tone of voice too, especially by regular church goers and pastors directed toward the crowd who only come 2x a year. And, while I do not dispute this fact, I’ve been thinking more about this topic recently, especially after experiencing the joy of Easter Sunday only two days ago.

I don’t think we have to have such a negative approach.

Our little church had 40 more people in attendance this Easter than last year.

We had a fabulous lunch together after worship where an Easter meal was shared by all (like we do every Sunday). Instead of just individuals and family groups doing their own thing, we ate together as a sign of our common life as a church.

There was excitement in the air throughout the day with more children in the children’s program than in a long time, the choir singing beautiful pieces, and even a NEW MEMBER joining the congregation at the conclusion of the service. (I can’t wait to baptize now at least 2 adults on a Sunday in May!)

We were living into resurrection on Sunday morning. We were mirroring what the entire Christian year is to be about. If we never saw what it was to be on at least one Sunday, how would you expect the church to have any hope the rest of the year?

Though some many say all of these things were overrated, that it was just about a fluffy Sunday when people feel they are expected to come to church, I have to believe it was about so much more.

It was a day to remember why we call ourselves a Christian Church.

It was a day to remember that being a Christian is a joyous thing, even as we live in a world of hardship.

It was a day to remember that God has great plans for our community.

It was a day that the pastor tried to give all she could to the sermon because she knew this might be the church’s only chance to encourage some folks about the life of faith.

Of course it would be nice that the same big crowd that came on Sunday was in the pews again this week. Yet, knowing this is probably not the case, I still have a lot to celebrate on this first week of Eastertide.

I’m already excited about how our congregation will be even more spiritually formed by our next Easter together.

 Jesus called out with a loud voice:“Father into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.”

Luke 23:46 

“Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit.”

As we sit here with the very last word of Christ, death has come. We have reached the end of our watching and waiting by the cross.

If we read earlier in this passage, we know that symbols of this death were all around before Jesus spoke his last.  Darkness fell over the whole land. The sun literally stopped shinning in disapproval.  Many signs of God’s presence in creation were gone. It was a shattering moment— a moment that people of faith or no faith at all were forced to recognize. Everything was changing. Everything had changed with those last breaths of the one who was called God with Us.

Yet, if you have sat beside the death of any, you know that the last of the last words are always hauntingly important. They are the words that stick with us, that we hear played in our head over and over after they have passed. We recite them to others. We remember them often times more than anything else the dying person has said previously.

So, if you only listen to one word of Christ, hear this:

When Jesus uttered his last, we hear in this utterance an acceptance of his death. What we hear is not a combative last wish, or an “I wish I’d done more of this” or “Why really do I have to die this way?”  Or, “Why aren’t there more people here mourning my death?” But, an, “I accept the fact that even though this all is so painful and uncertain- I WILL leave this earth in acknowledgement of my Father God.”

“Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit.” 

Even more so, what we hear in Christ is a TRUST in the Father to handle what he could not—the outcome.  

In his last words, Jesus showed a trust beyond what his human body could feel. Jesus showed a trust beyond what his human mind could reason.

Jesus showed a trust beyond the cursing and disbelief others might be whispering under their breath about him at that moment.

He was able to let go of human life and what many would call his hour of defeat without doing anything to control it with a heart full of trust.

Brennan Manning writes: “We often presume that trust will dispel the confusion, illuminate the darkness, vanquish the uncertainty, and redeem the times.  But . . . our trust does not bring final clarity on this earth. It does not still the chaos or dull the pain or provide a crutch. When all else is unclear, the heart of trust says, as Jesus did on the cross, ‘Into your hands I commit my spirit.”

When we trust in the way of Jesus, we never really can prove the outcome. We never can be certain of what we think will happen will actually occur.  We may never have our questions of “Why does a loving God allow this to happen?” answered.

But, it is this kind of faith centered trust that we will carry us through this Holy Week—to keep walking through Saturday, the darkest of all dark days.

It will be trust that will help us believe that all is not lost when the sun refuses to shine as darkness falls all over the land.

It will be trust in a God who SAID Christ would be raised on the third day that will help us leave this place in peace this afternoon.

It will be trust that helps us to also commit OUR spirits to God as we go through the valleys of the shadow of death.

Let us fear no evil. Let us remember that even walk through such a valley that God art with us. God is with us and will be through the very end.

AMEN

I am continually amazed at people of faith that I encounter that seem to have it all together.

They have answers to every question nicely summed up in a Bible verse.

They are always smiling.

Their problems are summed up in the statement: “God will make a way.”

They seem to have no need to explore anything outside of their comfort zone.

I guess, I am in awe of such folks because faith like this has never worked for me (even though in my early years I tried such a path).

Now, I just don’t understand how faith can be summed up in simple statements. I don’t understand how such a path of faith can bring happiness. I just don’t understand how you can read the Bible literally and it still can make any sense.

I’m actually a bit scared of faith that seems to be nicely wrapped together like a pretty Christmas package.

I like to frown sometimes. Sometimes I’m sad and need to grieve.

I like to ask questions.

I like to say that often I’m unsure as to why bad things happen in the world without quoting something to explain the pain away.

Because the more I know, it seems the more I don’t know at the same time. And the more I am willing to encounter those who look at life from a different perspective from me. 

As I begin to think about what I will be preaching in the next couple of days, the high days of the Christian season, I will keep these ideas close to my heart.  Hoping that as I continue to ask lots of questions and be a continual student of my faith, I might be closer to God’s plan for my existence as I go.