Notes from Susan
Dear Bridgeporter-
Tragedy struck Haiti again this week. As you well know by now, a massive earthquake has killed tens of thousands of people and destroyed what little infrastructure there was in what was already the poorest nation in the western hemisphere.
This is an enormous natural disaster, made worse by the lack of a stable government that could have encouraged safer, sounder structures and systems. There are many reasons for that (not the least being a dreadful history of US foreign policy regarding Haiti), but nothing could have prepared me for Pat Robertson's comments on Tuesday.
According to him, the earthquake is just another in a long line of disasters to strike Haiti because the nation/people are cursed. He stated: 'and this is true,' that when the people of Haiti wanted to rid themselves of the oppressive occupation of the French, they made a pact with the devil, and, as a consequence, they have been cursed ever since. And, of course (wink wink) we all know "Who" it is that's cursing them.
What an incredibly offensive- and stupid- thing to say. Of course, Robertson (along with Jerry Falwell) had similar comments when Florida and New Orleans were hit with hurricanes -- something about the wrath of God over gays, lesbians, and alleged profligate living.
Such bad theology pains me no end. God doesn't cause earthquakes or hurricanes or tsunamis. It's just nature taking its course, often compounded by the activities, the carelessness or the recklessness, of human beings.
The question should never be "why did God make this happen," but "where is God now?" In the words of the inimitable Mr. Rogers, you simply have to look for the helpers. When disaster strikes, simply look for the people who are helping. That's where God is. Rescuing, digging, encouraging, strengthening, empowering, consoling, praying. That's where God is now.
And I thank God for all the people from all around the world for all the help that is pouring into Haiti. I pray that the help will be more than just bandaids on a compound fracture- but that we will see long term assistance to a wonderful country that has suffered for way too long.
This week at Bridgeport we will take up an offering that will go to programs sponsored by the United Church of Christ in conjunction with Church World Services. You can be assured that your gifts will go to help the people of Haiti not just in the days to come, but for the coming months and years. If you can't make it to church, you can give online at the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.
I'll be preaching and we'll share Holy Communion, because when tragedy strikes, we need to stand together, and pray together, and remember -- despite what Pat Robertson says -- God's love is everlasting.
in that Big Love-
susan
In Case You Missed It...
Hey Bridgeporter--
I'm a little, er, self-conscious, as I confess that it's still Christmas at our house.
Like many folks, we used to take down the tree on New Year's Day, but over the last few years, Diane & I have taken to keeping the tree up until the Saturday after Epiphany, January 6th.
It's not that we can't bear to turn out the lights and recycle the tree, it's just that we like to remember that there are indeed 12 days of Christmas (even without all the drumming, leaping, milking and swimming) -- and so enjoying the tree just a little longer is really okay. And if it takes until the weekend to dismantle the decorations, that's okay, too - especially since at Bridgeport we like to observe Epiphany on the Sunday after the 6th.
On Epiphany we celebrate the arrival of the magi at the home of Mary & Joseph: wise men from far away who resolutely followed a strange light in the sky in search of a new-born king. Epiphany is one of those holy days that still belongs solely to the Church. (At least I've never seen any Epiphany sales coupons...) And while it is a lovely part of the Christmas story -- it begs the question: So what? What can Epiphany mean to us now?
I believe that Epiphany (and the six Sundays of the Epiphany season) is the perfect time for recalling not only how God has appeared in our world through the life of Christ, but it's also a time to notice when God appears to us now -- which can (and DOES!) happen in any number of ways, if we but have the eyes to see.
To that end, this Sunday we'll each receive an Epiphany star, a bit of a light to guide our way in the coming year, or at least to help us think about things in a different way. If you can't make it, don't despair, we'll save you a star to catch when you can.
We've got a wonderful service planned and I hope to see you this Sunday. I'll be preaching on Matthew 2: 1-12 and Isaiah 60:1-6, in case you want to get a running start.
If you can, please stay after worship for a few minutes and help take down the greens and change out the banners and such. "Many hand make light work" and all that. :-)
I know that many Bridgeporters have been collecting Epiphany stars for years. If you can, snap a picture of them and email it to me. I'd love to put them on our website!
See you Sunday.
in the Big Love - susan
Dear Bridgeporter-
The pace of December is beginning to pick up, the whirl of activities is starting to spin. This is the week that your early pledge to be present for Advent begins to get lost in the press of obligations of all kinds. When you've got so much to do, waiting seems a ridiculous notion.
An email that I received last week that gave a different perspective on Advent waiting. Sister Sallie Latkovich, CSJ from Ministry for the Arts wrote:
The mention of Advent always stirs thoughts of waiting... waiting for Christmas. I've been thinking that we've got it all wrong. We need not wait for God. God is always present, always with us. That's what the name Emmanuel means: God-with-us. And, that's the primary truth we hear in the Scriptures. God created us, and calls us into relationship. God is indeed present with us, and especially in the person of Jesus the Christ.
No, this Advent, I've come to see that it's GOD who waits for US.
. . .waits for us to notice that we are indeed created by God.
We are born with unique gifts and qualities as well as deficiencies and lack of qualities. God only sees our goodness, and waits for us to notice too.
. . .waits for us to notice the myriad ways in which God is with us, always. We know the Creator in the beauty and amazing capacities of creation, both earth and human. We know the Creator when we experience love. We know the Creator when we can not explain or understand mystery.
. . .waits for us to notice when we observe people acting in the image of God: in covenant with one another, both those known and unknown, both those alike and those very different.
. . .waits for us to notice the emptiness in our hearts that can only be filled by God's own Self.
It is true that in Advent we wait; but really, it is God who waits for us.
If the spin of Advent sends you sailing, you can trust that even if you can't wait, you can trust that God is always waiting -- for you.
in the Big Love-
susan
Dear Bridgeporter-
Thanksgiving is upon us, and Advent approaches.
Yesterday, I baked a mince meat pie (an old family favorite) to share with my sister Kate who is flying out to spend a few days with us. I also made the cornbread for stuffing the turkey (ex-Tex family that we are) and I am looking forward to enjoying all the football, laughter and good food that tomorrow will bring.
Still, at the same time, I’m already busy thinking about Christmas and wrestling with the commercialization that floods the stores and television: “Not yet! Please, not yet!” Not surprisingly, this tension between "already" and "not yet" is exactly the tension present within the season of Advent.
Advent comes from the Latin adventus, which means "coming." During the four weeks of Advent, we await the coming of God into the world- in the birth of the baby Jesus; in the awareness that Emmanuel ("God with us") comes to us right here, right now; and in the dream of a day when our world truly becomes God's world.
Honestly, it seems odd to speak of the 4 weeks of Advent as a time of waiting for Jesus to be born, because in a strictly linear understanding of time, Jesus was born more than 2000 years ago. But there is power in thinking of Advent this way, because we live in the tension between "the already" and "the not yet" - between what God has done, and what God has promised.
Advent is about waiting and preparation.
Waiting is hard for us. But I urge you to allow yourself (and your faith) to feel a bit awkward for a while – because your primary goal for the ramp-up through December need not be to just get your shopping done or to have your home ready for guests. I pray that your goal is to grow closer to God, and that your deepest wish, your most fervent desire, is for the coming of Christ into your life.
Thankfully, Advent is also about preparation. It give us a chance to prepare for the coming of the birth of Jesus, once again. It gives us time for prayer… that we can open our busy-filled minds to what God is doing in this season of wonder…and that our hearts can be wide awake to the in-breaking of the presence and power of “God With Us”.
Bridgeport’s Season of Wonder, which stretches from Advent through Epiphany, is a glorious, joy-filled time. May it also be a faith-filled one as well.
in the Big Love–
susan
Dear Bridgeporter
For many folks, 2009 has been a bit of a rough go. People in your church community have had lots of money concerns, health concerns, job, family, housing concerns. Every week when we gather in prayer together we lift up our worries and woes to God. And yet we also lift up our joys and express our gratitude for as hard as life can be, as painful as our losses can feel, as exhausting as our challenges are, there is still so much to be grateful for.
For as modestly as you & I live, we all live in a prosperity that is unfathomable to the vast majority of people of the world. As a baseline, I know that you have a place to call home, you have something for supper at night and for breakfast in the morning. Beyond that, each of us makes choices all the time, about so many things and for the most part we rarely appreciate that we get to make those choices which is why I really love Thanksgiving.
This is the time of year when we get to officially tally up all the things we are grateful for. And for starters, I want to go on record that I am immensely grateful for you and everyone else at Bridgeport. You enrich my life in so many ways. Thank you. Thank you. It is truly a privilege to be your pastor.
This Sunday, Nov. 22nd, we'll all get a turn to say thanks for all our blessings -- and celebrate the conclusion of our annual stewardship campaign with the Second Annual Harvest Breakfast which begins at worship time: 10:30 AM. Chef Dixon Martin once again is creating a Southern breakfast feast to celebrate Gods continued abundance in our lives. The feast will be followed by a short service upstairs and blessing of our pledges. Bring yourself, bring your friends! It is going to be great!
I've been asked to remind you (in case you haven't done it yet) to turn in your pledge this Sunday at the Harvest Breakfast. Just put it in the big pink box on the nametag table. Remember, if you return your pledge by Sunday you are automatically entered to win the beautiful lap quilt by Lisa Nisenfeld. (You need NOT be present to win!) Pledge forms and EFT sign up forms are available at church.
See you Sunday!
in the Big Love--
susan
Hey Bridgeporter-
The summer I was 19, I drove across the country in my 1951 Chevy sedan named Bertrand. My journey took me from Ohio to New Mexico, then across Arizona into California through the desert. The stinking hot desert.
Let me remind you that Bertrand was a 1951 Chevrolet. Air conditioning was not part of the package - unless you count opening all the windows and the little vent flap at the top of the hood. So it was hot. Really hot. Fry an egg on the hood kind of hot. And the landscape was unforgiving. No shade really anywhere -- and back in 1971 there were very few places to stop for refreshment. I really developed an appreciation for the canteen of water in the seat next to me and never doubted the origins of the name of Death Valley.
With the rain coming down this week it's hard to even think about being without water, but this Sunday, that's just what we're going to do. The stories of the Israelites in the desert complaining of thirst to Moses until he taps into a spring (Exodus 17:1-7 ), and Jesus asking the woman at the well in Samaria for a drink of water (John 4: 1-42) are but two of the dozens of Bible stories about thirst - some literal and others metaphorical. This Sunday we will search for water too, and explore our own thirst and the challenging encounters that thirst brings.
I hope to see you Sunday morning. It's going to be a great day of worship.
In the Big Love-
susan
Hey Bridgeporter --
Its been kind of a rough week for me. My dear friend Carol died on Monday evening, and while she was in her 80s, her death was very unexpected. Many of you met Carol at one of our 4th of July parties as she held court under the pear trees with Joe, her husband of 57 years. Carol was one of the kindest, most gracious and deeply principled people I have ever known. She loved her family and her friends fiercely, had a great sense of humor and was determined to live her life without complaint.
As I reflect on all the things I loved about her and learned from her over the years we had together, its clear to me that Carol is one of my saints.
Saint is a French word that comes from sanctus the Latin for sacred. And while in the Christian tradition it is most often used as a title of a person formally recognized or canonized, a person of great faith or virtue - someone who mentors us in a life of faith & goodness - can be embraced as a saint. In that sense, Carol is one indeed.
We all have our saints: people in our lives who exemplify faith, love, grace, justice, commitment, joy and all kinds of other wonderful attributes. They have helped us to become who we are today, and who continue to point us in the way we should grow.
This Sunday, we are celebrating All Saints Day. You are invited to bring a picture of your saint to place on the chancel table and light a candle in their memory before worship begins. Its also Homecoming Sunday, and everyone whos ever walked through our doors is invited to come back and visit! If you know someone who used to attend, this is a great Sunday to invite them back with you, so please, spread the word!
It is going to be a wonderful day in worship and I really hope to see you there.
in the Big Love
susan
Hey Bridgeporter -
Back in the day, many, if not most Americans had the preamble to the Constitution and the Gettysburg Address committed to memory -- maybe even some poetry was stashed inside the ol grey matter. But theres not a lot of memorizing going on these days (outside of theater, that is) -- except maybe in church. The 23rd Psalm is still something most of us know by heart at least most of it. But the one thing us churchy folks can pretty much all recite is The Lords Prayer. Oh sure we may vary when it comes to the trespasses/debts/sins part, but we get back together before being led not into temptation and the big finish. But what is this prayer that Jesus taught his disciples about anyway, and why are we still saying it in King James' English? This Sunday well be looking at a number of translations and interpretations of Jesus prayer and trying to get a better handle on what he was trying to teach us and why we pray together.
Heres one version now:
dad@hvn, ur spshl.
we want wot u want
& urth 2b like hvn.
giv us food & 4giv r sins
lyk we 4giv uvaz.
don't test us! save us!
bcos we kno ur boss,
ur tuf & ur cool 4 eva! ok?
Um, okay, maybe not this one& but you will be almost as dazzled with the others. :-)
Speaking of dazzling, you really need to get your tickets asap for Dueling Divas Part Deux!! Talk to me or to Verna on Sunday. It looks like its going to be a sellout.
The flu season is really beginning to settle in here in Portland. One of Bridgeport's RN's wrote me to remind you that if you feel sick, stay home, rest, drink lots of fluids and get better -- and stay home a full 24 hours past the time you don't run a fever without the help of any medication. Portland hospitals are jammed with folks who have this truly nasty bug. Because good hygiene is really important, we've got lots of bottles of hand sanitizer at the church -- feel free to use it. Stay healthy!!
I hope to see you this Sunday as well as Sunday, Nov. 1st which will be our very first All Saints Day celebration! Well remember & honor all the folks in our lives who have showed us the way we should grow. Bring a picture to share & and candle (& holder) to light in their memory. Its also Homecoming Sundayeveryone whos ever walked through our doors is invited to come back and visit! Spread the word!
See you soon.
in the Big Love
susan
Dear Bridgeporter
Im a devoted reader of the funny papers, and always have been. The classic comics (Peanuts), the newer comics (Pearls before Swine), the comics I adore (Ernie Pook) and the comics I dont really get most of the time (Bizarro) The comics that tell stories (Prince Valiant) and the comics that comment on our 21st century lives (Doonesbury). I read em all.
For the last 20 years or so (probably something to do with my calling) I have marveled at how often the comics try to address what seem to me to be real theological issues. Take this weeks storyline of Pickles. Have you seen it? This is the comic from Monday:
This strip got me thinking about one of the Stump the Preacher questions from a while back:
Could you discuss the difference between self determination and free will, and Gods intervention and the action of Grace in our lives?
Uh, well, maybe. With a running start.
This week, much to the amazement of a number of my preacher pals, Im taking that running start. This Sunday well be exploring free will and grace and poking around at the Ifs. In the meantime, check out the rest of this weeks Pickles series at http://comics.com/pickles/.
I hope to see you Sunday!
in the Big Love
susan