Preacher on the Plaza

Five years ago today I moved to DC for the first time.

What an amazing five years these have been! The direction of my life, my theology and my focus for ministry has been shaped and formed in more ways than I can count over these last five years.

Today I give thanks for these many gifts that the Washington, DC metro area has given me:

• A supportive home church in which I was ordained
• Support of the DC Baptist Convention which endorsed my ministry credentials even though I came as an ”outsider”
• My first full-time ministry position
• The opportunity to live as my southern family members say, “up north”
• Amazing friends of all different positions in life, ages, cultures, etc who have been a constant presence of support over the ups and downs of these years
• My husband (who saw this one coming?)
• My first solo pastorate
• My love of Thai food, walking through the city streets with no particular plans, and figuring out ways to fight traffic
• And, soon to be our first purchased home!

Where would I be without DC? I certainly know I would not be the same person I am today. I am glad to be a resident of this wonderful region and I look forward to all that the next five years holds for Kevin and I and for the people of Washington Plaza.

Word to the wise, never under-estimate a dream, an internet search and a gut feeling of “I think I need to do this” even if all isn’t clear at the time! What you might find, as I have, is that more blessings than you could ever imagine were waiting a you keep trusting, praying and being open to what was new.

Five years: thank you, you’ve been the best yet!

The past two days, I’ve been attending the Festival of Homiletics, an annual preaching conference for pastors of all Protestant denominations. I’ve been feasting on good preaching, being nurtured by good friends, and worshiping alongside thousands of clergy. It has been a treat to see old seminary classmates, hear professors from my divinity school and other very cool schools, and to be reminded of how important the art of preaching is in the life of a gathered community (and an added bonus to WPBC– such an event is only bound to strengthening my preaching!)

Yet, what has moved me most today and yesterday has been the geographic place of this gathered community.

Many of the meetings I attended at the festival were held inside First Baptist Church of Nashville, TN.  This particular church holds significance for my family of origin as it is where my grandparents, dear saints of God, George and Doris spent their lives a lay leaders.  My grandfather was the best friend of his long-term pastor, taught classes and once directed the Sunday School. My grandmother was a faithful contributor in many ways, even when she found herself a widow, earlier than she would have liked. They were those committed church members that any pastor would die to have on their rolls.

Though I had been back to this church once before now, my previous visit to this sanctuary was to attend the funeral of my grandmother in 2003. And in 1997, the funeral of my grandfather too.

I couldn’t help but feel the spirit of these dear ones as I looked upon the pews from the balcony view where they sat every Sunday of their life together here.  And, so I began to think of what they would have thought of so many preachers being in their church during this week, men and women alike, skin colors of all shades, young and older. I wondered what they would have thought about me, their granddaughter being among them here.

And, I knew they were smiling down.

Though my grandmother and I never talked much about theology of what it meant for women to preach, I always knew she supported everything I did.  I always knew she was a woman with an open mind. And, I always knew she saw something special in me that often I didn’t see in myself. And, for these reasons, I believe there’s a part of her soul that leaped for joy in those moments of my being “Pastor” in her former sacred space.

I could just hear my grandfather too, singing along in his deep baritone voice as the ”Doxology”  closed one of our  worship services. And his voice dear as as sang great hymns of the church like, “Amazing Grace” and “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” I didn’t want the hymns to end. 

The deep mystery is how to explain the presence of remembering, and how in these tender moments, the Spirit of God felt so close.

It’s good to know afresh that the great cloud of witnesses, which in my opinion includes George and Doris, is cheering me and all those working toward kingdom pursuits. “Remember the goodness of the God who loves more than you could ever imagine,” and “Keep running,” they say. “For God is very good.”

What a good thing to feel and know again this week. God is very good.

Back by popular demand is a post I did this time last year about Pentecost Sunday/ season. It is a favorite celebration of all we have to look forward to in the days ahead.

http://preacherontheplaza.wordpress.com/2009/05/29/pentecost-is-coming/

A unusual sighting occurred last week near Bryson City, North Carolina on the grounds of the beautiful mountain retreat called Sabbath House, ten Baptist women who are pastors or co-pastors of congregations were together. I was privileged to be among them.

Upon first arriving, we kept looking at each other saying, “I can’t believe there are so many of us now and that we are all in the same room!” And, the feelings of amazing continued throughout the week.

Being a Baptist woman in ministry, especially when you feel God has called you to senior leadership in congregations is no easy undertaking.

It’s hard before it even begins. It is not as if you can snap your fingers after receiving your MDiv and jobs come running to you. It is not as if there are dozens of churches lining up to affirm your call to ministry through ordination.

Then, when the congregation comes along that gives you a chance to do what you’ve always most wanted to do, it is still not easy. It is not as if you attend associational and national gatherings to find faces and faces of other women who do your job exactly. It is not as if you can ever allow yourself to your work half-heartedly because when you enter a pulpit, when you enter a hospital room, when you attend a Baptist association meeting, there are always those close by who say you are ”too young” or “not the right gender” for your job.  And, the typical “women in ministry” gatherings when you are a senior pastor just don’t seem to fit the weight of the world that is on your shoulders as you lead.

Yet, to truly live into your becoming as a pastor and remain in the Baptist church, you have to get past all of this.

Complaining about the difficulties isn’t a helpful state of existence. You can’t be angry that your male colleagues have an easier path. You have to just settle in to being at the top of your game whenever you are called upon. You have to wish your female colleagues well, but stay your own course. And,  you have to love your work with your particular congregation because this is all that matters anyway.

I loved the gathering of women pastors last week because all of us came to the group on this same page. These are our shared experiences. We love being pastors. We want to be good at what we do, really good. And, there is nothing about our being that we’d call angry. We know how blessed we are, and we just want to do our job.

I left the retreat being reminded again of the wonderful Baptist churches across the country that have a like-minded focus to Washington Plaza. I left grateful for the leadership of the Alliance of Baptists for putting this event together. I left the retreat excited about the next opportunity that all of us might have to gather.

And, as I settle into the many tasks that are on my plate today, I do so holding the joys and sorrows of April, Joyce, Mandy, Amy, Abby, Amy, Dorisanne, Amy, Julie, Marsha and Paula in my thoughts and prayers.  I am so thankful to have made some new fabulous friends. Who knew it was just what we all needed?

As I watched tears flow down cheek after cheek during the pastoral prayer on Sunday, I thought anew about the concept of celebrations days not being so celebratory for many.

This was the prayer we were praying:

Mothers come in many different forms, and today we celebrate them all!

Thank God for mothers!

For those women who have joined God in heaven and whom we miss dearly here on earth.

Thank God for the mothers of the past.

For every woman who is raising her children now making sacrifices for her children’s becoming.

Thank God for the mothers of today.

For those women who have taken in others’ children through adoption and foster care, showing us that the love of God far extends beyond biological ties.

Thank God for the mothers with hearts so big.

For those women who have lost a child to death or want to have a child know they can’t, carrying on with the pain of lost dreams.

Thank God for the mothers who are so strong.

For all the women who are “mother hens” in our community; who nurture us, support us and guide us in our becoming.

Thank God for the mothers in spirit.

We thank you, Lord, for the women who have influenced our lives in so many ways.

We pray that we will honor them in everything we do. Amen.

Even with the sensitivity to all types of mothers and honoring motherly contributions in our lives of all kinds, there was still much sadness across the congregation. An entire day on the cultural calendar set to honor mothers just seemed like a slap in the face to the pains deep within many of loss!  

Yet, such experiences, I know, are not limited to Mother’s Day alone. Father’s Day can be quite difficult as well as Christmas, Easter, and even Valentine’s Day (which this year fell on Sunday).

For example, I’ve had single friends tell me that even if they are happy with the state of their social lives, the romantic love fest of Valentine’s Day seems to be like one huge slap in the face as if something wrong with them. You can’t walk out of your house or turn on the tv the week prior without seeing things that want to remind you that life is not complete without a partner. And, it’s painful.

Yet, I’m encouraged by a new tradition set by a sister church of ours, Calvary Baptist, DC. Twice a year around Easter and Christmas, the congregation hosts a service of “light and darkness” especially designed for those whom these times of the year aren’t as jolly as most. It’s a service of naming grief and allowing God’s spirit to comfort through the words of scripture and the love of the community. (And, I hope that Washington Plaza can set a new tradition like this of our own sometime in the months ahead because I’ve heard such wonderful things about it).

Yet at the same time as these cultural and even church calendar year celebration days are meant to be obviously celebratory, so you want to honor those persons who feel this way. You want to use Mother’s Day as an opportunity in the Christian community to talk about God’s gift to us of nurture, care and support. You want to fully embrace the joy of Christmas Eve. You want to sing alleluias at Easter. And, we must do all of these things. It would be wrong not to, out of fear of tapping into waters of pain.

But, the question remains, how can we as a community of faith both sing with those who are rejoicing and cry with those who grieving?

I believe it is on these celebratory days of the year that we hold such a truth together in tension. As pastoral leaders, we seek but often struggle to find the right balance.

However,  if we are mature enough to be sensitive both to our own experiences of these days along with those sitting next to us, we come to understand more fully what it means to stick close to the heart of God. We share in one another burdens in a way that makes scripture’s call to us come to life.

For as much as any day of our life is joyous, it is sad for another. As much one day is painful for us, there is hope being birthed anew in our neighbor. And, this is the human story. And, in the body of Christ, we are able to become more human by having community to understand this story.

Let us not be sad or simply happy, but let us be a community that holds one another life experiences and emotions in our hearts so that we may truly come to understand what it means to be woven together as one. I’m looking forward to continuing to figure out wha this means with you, my friends, on Sunday.

Several months ago while attending a Lenten lunch series at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, I found this information sheet in the church office. I asked Kimberly, the communication director about it and she informed me that one of the congregation’s growing edges was how to assimilate young adults who were visiting the church into the community. The following “do’s” and “don’ts” were an attempt to help the more seasoned members know what to do when someone under 35 walked into a Sunday service.

As Washington Plaza continues to grow in terms of our young professional population, I thought I’d share St.  Paul’s list here to see if it spurred on any conversation for our community. Feel free to comment with “I think that’s true” or “No, that’s totally off.”

DO

- Smile and say “Hello!”

-Iintroduce this person to one of our staff

-Tell this person about our wonderful website

-Be the first person to say: “Welcome to St. Paul’s”

-Ask this person if there are any questions that you can answer

-Invite this person to join in on a fun congregational wide event that is on the horizon

DON’T

-Smile and say: “You are the future of the church.”

-Introduce this person as the ONLY young person we’ve seen in the church in LONG time

-Ask this person to teach you how to use Facebook

-Be the 15th person in 5 minutes to ask this person to join St. Paul’s

-Ask this person to tell you why most 20-35 somethings don’t frequently attend church

-Begin a sentence with “Would you like to join a committee?”

The frame of life reference found in this quote never ceases to waver in its power for me.

“All will be well, and all will be well, in all manner of things all will be well.”

-Julian of Norwich

Consider using this as a breath prayer today as you are walking to work from your car or stuck in traffic or thinking through a difficult situation in your life. Repeat the words several times over and over again.

You can read more about this saint of the Christian faith here. 

As I studied Julian in seminary, there were two things that stuck out to me about her particular beliefs. For one, she was a strong advocate for the love of God, not judgement. Not that there wasn’t and isn’t evil in the world, or sin as we like to call it which keeps us from God’s best for us. But, it was Julian’s understanding that our shortcomings are what ultimately draw us deeper into the life of God which can a very wonderful gift. Without sin, we might not know how much we need God. And, we might not experience the love of God at the level which can transform our souls. 

And, also through her visions of Christ during a time of particularly difficult illness (that almost ended her life), Julian began to speak  the trinity with inclusive langauge. Julian spoke of God as Father and as Mother. As you might imagine, such claims were quite controversal (as the controversy continues even today in some circles). But, Julian was so well-respected in her community that she was allowed to live (not sent to her death as a heretic).

It is miracle to me  to know that any of her writings survived into the modern era. Yet, I’m so glad they did, for her prophetic witness is a powerful one.

All will be well, in a matter of things all will be well.

May you know this day the inclusive love of a God who is your Father and your Mother, a God who is working even now through the broken webs of your life to find you on the other side of something which is a little more whole.