Community at the Crossroads

29 Jan 2012 State of the Church Open Forum

2012-01-29T15:38:00.000-05:00

29 January 2012 Service

2012-01-29T15:12:00.000-05:00

Cake at Reception following 2012 Council Installation

2012-01-24T10:46:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to 2012 Council!

22 January 2012 Service

2012-01-22T14:07:00.000-05:00

15 January 2012 Sunday Service

2012-01-15T17:24:00.000-05:00

2012-01-09T11:02:00.000-05:00

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

Were you the one stilling the fears

to a lost tot in the department store?
Were you the one dressed in red,
ringing your bell to help the poor?
Were you the one telling the story of Jesus’
birth to little ones in the church?
You were there delivering clothes
and food to those in need.
For our men still overseas
cookies were baked with much delight.
Shawls and quilts lovingly made to
keep others warm
while they weather the storm.
Where have you been?
Was it you?
Who sang carols, played the keys,
cooked, cleaned, typed, answered calls.
Was it you?
Team player, preacher, teacher.
It was you who showed your love
for the Savior born on Christmas morn.

AEK

08 January 2012 Sevice

2012-01-08T13:15:00.000-05:00

Phil & Phillys Livingston on their 63rd Wedding Anniversary

2012-01-02T17:35:00.000-05:00

01 January 2012 Service

2012-01-01T13:42:00.000-05:00

Advents Readings

2011-12-27T17:01:00.002-05:00

25 December 2011 Service

2011-12-26T11:38:00.000-05:00

18 December 2011 Service

2011-12-18T14:44:00.000-05:00

CLC Christmas Party; December 10, 2011

2011-12-14T15:22:00.000-05:00

11 December 2011 Service

2011-12-11T14:39:00.000-05:00

LISTEN AND FEEL

2011-12-11T13:29:00.000-05:00

Listen-You can't see it. You can't hear it

But you feel it when the flu bug strikes.

Listen and feel-Even if you can't see

Even if you can't hear

Listen and feel-God's love around you

Listen and feel-He's right beside you

Listen-To His directions-Love one another

Feel- The love that engulfs you and the peace that abounds.

May God's love and mine be entwined.

AEK

04 December 2012 Sunday Service

2011-12-04T16:03:00.000-05:00

First Communion Video

2011-12-04T14:15:00.001-05:00

27 Nov 2011 Baptism of Liza Blue Dozier; Great Niece of A.Booth

2011-11-29T12:45:00.000-05:00

27 Nov 2011 Welcoming Tom Richardson thru Affirmation of Faith

2011-11-29T12:41:00.000-05:00

19 Nov 2011 Clean the Lord's House Day

2011-11-29T12:20:00.000-05:00

19 Nov 2011 Assembling Thanksgiving Baskets; Food Distribution

2011-11-29T12:13:00.000-05:00

November 27, 2011 Liturgy

2011-11-27T14:57:00.000-05:00

November 20, 2011 Liturgy

2011-11-20T15:25:00.000-05:00

Service 11/13 Greg Knepp guest pastor

2011-11-13T19:08:00.001-05:00

Service Nov. 06, 2011

2011-11-06T15:19:00.006-05:00

October 30, 2011 First Communion Reception

2011-10-31T11:24:00.000-04:00

October 30, 2011 Service

2011-10-30T21:44:00.000-04:00

October 22, 2011 Community Festival

2011-10-25T16:16:00.000-04:00

October 22, 2011 Community Festival

2011-10-24T11:07:00.001-04:00

October 22, 2011 Community Festival

2011-10-24T11:07:00.000-04:00

October 23, 2011 Service

2011-10-23T15:47:00.000-04:00

CLC Members Celebrating Anniversaries

2011-10-16T16:33:00.000-04:00

October 16, 2011 Service

2011-10-16T16:09:00.001-04:00

October 16, 2011 Service

2011-10-16T16:09:00.000-04:00

Words by Adel

2011-10-11T18:48:00.002-04:00

WORDS

How are they spoken?
Vile words we do not use.
Hate words there's no excuse.
Words in conversation or joke
Feelings hurt by many folks.
Be careful how we use them.
Words of endearment,
deepens our love,
To each other and to God above.
Words of encouragement,
help us strive
To care for others like bees in a hive.
Words of comfort,
soothing the heart
For our loved ones that depart.
Words of hope, faith, praise and more
are words that we listen for.
Words of our Lord-
Spread far and wide
That He is always by our side.
Spread the good words.

October 9, 2011 Service

2011-10-09T14:42:00.000-04:00

CLC Annual Meeting October 2, 2011

2011-10-04T12:42:00.000-04:00

October 3, 2011 Service

2011-10-03T16:14:00.000-04:00

September 25, 2011 Service

2011-09-26T15:32:00.000-04:00

Sept 18 Baptism Aidan Matthew Holman

2011-09-18T19:04:00.000-04:00

September 18, 2011 Service

2011-09-18T18:17:00.000-04:00

Reception after Town Hall Meeting September 14, 2011

2011-09-16T15:05:00.000-04:00

Installation of Sunday School Teachers September 11, 2011

2011-09-16T15:00:00.002-04:00

September 14, 2011 Town Hall Meeting

2011-09-16T14:08:00.000-04:00

Search and Find Poem

2011-09-14T18:44:00.000-04:00

SEARCH and FIND

On the beach, in the woods,
or a crowded mall
Little ones wander off,
till they're really lost.

Fear is felt in the search
Jubilation in the find.

What are we looking for?
Love, comfort, peace of mind
Search the book, the Bible book
No need to search, no more no more
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
Tells us whom we're looking for.
Believe and read
Our Savior Divine.
Fear not fear not
You were lost and now been found.

Jubilation in the search
Salvation in the find.

AEK

Words from a Journal - #19

2011-09-14T13:53:00.003-04:00

Words from the Journal of a student of spiritual discipline

September 7 - 8, 2011 - As I have indicated in previous writings, I long for and watch for affirmation of the words that come to me. This week I experienced one of the strongest so far. The story has three parts. On 9/7/2011 I wrote in my journal and, as shown below, focused on discipline. I then decided that these words definitely were to be posted as soon as possible. So that afternoon while waiting in my Dentist's waiting room, I composed an introduction, which as you will see below, also focused on discipline, entitlement and a society with no limits. The next morning, 9/8/2011, I decided to continue reading in a book titled, "Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life" by Richard Rohr. As I continued my reading on pages 49 and on, I see my introduction coming right back at me. Words like entitlement, no limits and too many folks wearing "I am special" buttons - in essence no discipline. So I know that the words were given to me in order to share with you, the reader.

The introduction: While in my journal this morning, I once again became aware of my lack of discipline. I then dwelt for awhile on how discipline is probably different for everyone. I reflect back on a Spiritual Discipline class I participated in several years ago. Most of the class gave up! Not to criticize anyone, but I think the D word - discipline - has a bad connotation in contemporary America, First we have been led to less and less "discipline" of our children by, in my opinion, a bunch of nut case sociologists and psychologists. Our society is and will continue paying a severe price for our misguided ways, Secondly, we have also become impatient and unwilling to spend the necessary time in learning a trade or business. No one wants to be an apprentice anymore. Everyone wants immediate gratification and expects big paychecks without the necessary skills. Our entitlement society is crumbling around us. Thus, not surprisingly, we don't have the discipline to study, pray or even read our Bibles.

From the journal: "... My dreams last night were standard dreams of frustration - how to progress when every step in every direction comes up short. I awoke and came to write! I know I was guided through the dreams to get up and come to the Holy Spirit for guidance and my words for this time. Not just for today, but for years to come - for others to read, digest and act upon. Of course, the "me in me" gets in the way. My lack of discipline has weakened my connection with Sophia (Holy Spirit). I am as a stranger! We talk and understand different words. It is only through discipline and concentration that one's spirit is released to soar with the eagles - to receive the love of God. Pastors tend to push "staying in the word (Bible) or staying in prayer." Both good and excellent, but I believe that we have all been given spiritual gifts - those listed in the Bible plus others that we can't even understand. We must use our personal gift to approach God thru Sophia, I know that mine is to journal! It is a form of prayer for me and of communing with the holy ones. It is how I "see" into the great beyond. But back to discipline - one must practice - long and hard! We must use our spiritual muscle constantly to make it strong. A muscle we can rely on when the going gets tough. It's a matter of faithfulness. Not that we are denied because we wander away, but our ability to receive and accept is diminished. Our window to God's guidance becomes dirty and clouded when we lose discipline! Exercise your spiritual muscle! all the time! Amen"

R. Jeremiah

September 11, 2011 Service

2011-09-12T16:49:00.000-04:00

Words from a Journal - #18

2011-09-11T15:52:00.002-04:00

Words from the Journal of a student of spiritual discipline

August 9, 2011 - Oh, Sophia(Holy Spirit)! where is my discipline? I just read several days of Merton and read one I missed last year. It was for August 4th and was titled "Getting Things Done" from his book titled "Contemplation in an World of Action." This one really hit me at my core; it is short, but profound. "Let us start from one admitted fact: if prayer, meditation and contemplation were once taken for granted as central realities in human life everywhere, they are so no longer. They are regarded, even by believers, as somehow marginal and secondary. What counts is getting things done." That is me - that is always my excuse. Interestingly enough I am here at this place because of attending a class on "Getting Things Done". I have spent my life reading books on efficiency and Getting Things Done. I spent the most rewarding part of my business career helping manufacturing folks become more efficient in of all things cleaning large 6 story chemical facilities between product change overs to avoid contamination. What a coincidence that yesterday out of the blue Pastor switched our Bible study topic and moved us back into a contemplative mood to do "Lectio Divina." A slow deliberate reading of scripture.

Sophia, I know that I have wandered away from my discipline and in some not so subtle ways you are putting me back into my Jeremiah mode. Recently Pastor asked me about my vision for the church. At first I drew a blank and then it hit me - a transformed church that will contrast with the traditional model! I see famous old church buildings standing empty and deserted or with just a few parishioners. The buildings are not the church! The people are the church! We have created our own idols. Why have we not learned? The building has always been a distraction down through the ages. In contrast to the Old Testament we find very few, if any, words from the Lord about building "temples" out of mortar and wood. The temple is within us - in our hearts. I envision a church unhampered by "erroneous" traditions. Free to commit its time and treasure to doing God's mission. A change - a transformation - in mind set and focus is required!

R. Jeremiah

Blessing 2011 Backpacks

2011-09-05T16:08:00.002-04:00

Barb and Chuck Levine's 50th anniversary

2011-09-05T16:06:00.001-04:00

Nathaniel's back to school blessing

2011-09-05T16:05:00.001-04:00

September 4, 2011 Service

2011-09-04T15:13:00.000-04:00

MAtthew 18:15 - 20 A Recipe From Scripture

2011-09-03T11:51:00.002-04:00

September 4, 2011
Matthew 18:15 – 20

God’s Recipe for Discipline and Forgiveness in the Church
Let us pray:
Merciful God, who of us has not experienced frustration? Who of us does not meet with experiences which baffle us? There are hindrances all along the pathway of our lives. At best, we cannot see far ahead. Every day impresses the fact upon us that we stand in the need of your grace. May we ask that we approach your throne today with this fact uppermost in our minds, and at the footstool of mercy, let us bow our heads in prayer for the divine guidance we so sorely need. Amen
A prayer by the Rev. Mark Ralph Gilbert, 1941

Last week we moved our daughter into her semi – completed apartment in Baltimore. The storms prevented me from being able to use the word “completed”. Despite the delay we found ourselves in good spirits until we got to the boxes of furniture from IKEA all needing to be assembled. Each box had a different set of directions and tools. Each box was as confounding for me as the next. Every page of instruction doused my hopes of ever getting her furniture put together. “Why can’t they just write out easy step by step instructions?” I consistently murmured to myself.
As I was reading today’s text this memory of instructions, these recipes for putting together furniture came to mind. How easy our Lord has made life for us! His directions for living in a forgiving community are so very clear in this text and then I began to wonder…are they as easy as I think they are?

Discipline and Forgiveness in the Church: A Recipe
Step I
a. If a brother sins against you .............. go to him and show him his faults

This step is only between the two of you
Step 2
a. If he listens .............................. all is well!
b. If he DOES NOT listen :
Go to him with 2 others who can provide testimony
c. If he refuses to listen ............................. take it to the church
d. This step is an example of something called:
“Above Ground” Church Community
VS
“ Underground “ Church Community
e. If he still does not listen to the church:
Shunning occurs
Step III
The final product of this recipe is either
Binding (Unforgiving) or Loosing (forgiving)

What the Community does on earth is reflected in heaven

Why is this recipe, this set of instructions a necessary part of Holy Scripture? They are important as getting the correct nail length in the book case shelf which will insure stability under even the greatest of pressures. They are important because interpersonal relations especially in the church should reflect the love of God in Christ at all times. Being in community means forgiving as we hope to be forgiven; realizing the power and impact that the church as a forgiving people of God has on the greater world. Christians who pray “Our father” presuppose this sacred community in Christ. Therefore, Matthew offers a recipe, a set of instructions for reconciliation which first assumes that the church’s identity is as a community founded in and actively practices the forgiveness as seen in Christ. A church community has the power to heal by modeling forgiveness.

Waiting it Out by Pastor Bettye

2011-08-26T09:27:00.002-04:00

I do not like to wait. I have a time frame and a plan for everything and I like to stick to them, makes me feel safe when I can live in this manner, under my own control and steam. Thus......storms/hurricanes like Irene set my teeth on edge. I did not plan this interruption to our schedule at church and sacred worship. I did not plan this late night trip into and out of Ocean View to rescue my cat and fill my home with outdoor furniture. I did not plan to have that discussion with the Ocean View officials that said I was not welcome to stay in my home. I did not plan for my daughter's new apartment to be flooded causing significant damage. I did not plan to carry 350lbs of sand bags to my mother-in-law's back yard to create a diversion from the coming rains. However......I also did not plan to hear from our Assistant to the Bishop Rev. Ed Kay saying that our church would be supported in whatever needs arose because of the storm and its damages; that Lowes DOES stay open til midnight to help the locals buy necessary items for storm survival, that CLC is on the prayer list of other churches because we are facing a terrible onslaught of nature, that my husband has been given emergency leave to go back to Ocean View as soon as we are allowed to in order to help with the clean up, that I would grieve and worry as much as I have been about a new place on the this earth where I have been called to serve ......I did not plan or look to God's ready intervention even in the storm.

In the Message - a paraphrase of Holy Scripture- we see the title "When the Wind Ran Out of Breath" given to the gospel of Mark's story of the storm. The disciples are very frightened, Jesus is sleeping as the unexpected, unplanned storm howls about them. Jesus dwells with them in the raging winds and waves and quiets the storm. The disciples had not panned on that response either; they were simply crying out as fearful children. God in Christ provided for their needs. Where was their faith? Where is our faith if we plan to concentrate on the fear factors, the unplanned interruptions in life? Perhaps we need to sit quietly in faith knowing that God already had a plan to save us.....from ourselves, our sins, the terrors of nature. We just wait in faith with him till this storm passes by....

til the storm passes over, til the thunder rolls no more,
'til the clouds roll forever from the sky.
Hold me fast as I stand in the hallow of thy hand ,
keep me safe, til the storm passes by.*

Til the Storm Passes By Mosie Lister

URGENT INFORMATION

2011-08-25T19:29:00.002-04:00

DUE TO IMPENDING HURRICANE COMMUNITY LUTHERAN CHURCH WILL NOT BE HOLDING SERVICES ON SUNDAY AUGUST 28TH.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL AND KEEP YOU SAFE.
PASTOR BETTYE

CLC Church Picnic Postponed

2011-08-25T10:16:00.000-04:00

Due to the impending inclement weather, our CLC picnic scheduled for Saturday, August 27 has been postponed to a yet-to-be-determined date. Apologies to all who signed up, but with the uncertainty of the storm track, we have no other alternative. Pastor Bettye has concurred in this action and has also asked everyone to stay tuned concerning Sunday services.

Dick and Sophia Riehl

August 21, 2011 Service

2011-08-21T17:21:00.000-04:00

Words from a Journal - #17

2011-08-17T09:29:00.000-04:00

Words from the journal of a student of spiritual discipline.

June 21, 2011 - As I was writing it hit me that I either stumble or simply pay lip service to many Bible words that are just not part of our language or even relevant in 2011 in the USA. What are the words that we should use to show respect, thanks to and honor toward? We use the words for God of Lord or master. These terms have little true visceral meaning to us. Now there is yet another idea for a class on spiritual words and terminology. Such a class would have profound effect on our public prayers. I suspect that one reason folks hesitate to pray in public is a hangup on terminology, i.e., using words outside of our day to day experience.

I have been pretty frustrated with myself these past several months. I maintained little discipline and was easily distracted. I think this morning my spirit is like an old engine that is being started after a long time of just sitting. There is a lot of sputtering and banging and clanging and coughing. The spark plug is dirty and the spark is only periodically causing combustion. When this happens the person trying to start the engine gets tired, frustrated and angry, not to mention out of breath and ill tempered. Wow! sure sounds like me Lord. I know that the battery (the Holy Spirit) is fully charged. It is I who needs to keep my plugs clean and provide for clean, plentiful fuel - the word of God. I must come to the Lord every day with an open spirit grasping for truth and a clean windshield to give me vision but to protect me from the "bugs" of life!

R. Jeremiah

August 14, 2011 Service

2011-08-15T11:26:00.000-04:00

History Tape Number 3

2011-08-12T18:31:00.000-04:00

Jesus and the Storms by Pastor Bettye

2011-08-11T12:23:00.000-04:00

August 7th, 2011
Matthew 14: 22-33
In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face,
While the storm howls above me, and there's no hiding place.
'Mid the crash of the thunder, Precious Lord, hear my cry,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.*

How would you the listener use this story of Jesus and the storm to help calm yourself or another? The retelling of our gospel text is important in the life of a Christian. It is part of our call to give testimony about how the words of Christ effect our lives as Christian disciples in this world.
Today I would like you to leave this sanctuary with two strengths: one, to be able to share the meaning of this text with another in need; two, have the ability to apply the learning from this text to your own faith walk. One strength is necessary for the other.

Part one: What can YOU proclaim from this story?

The story of the storm on the Sea of Galilee does not appear by accident. The story whether real or metaphor is a call to a critical engagement with God in Christ. The story begins with fear and ends in worship and praise. Fear is a significant theme bombarding the reader throughout this Gospel text. Jesus is the constant relief in the face of that fear. Jesus as an example prays prior to the storms WITHOUT FEAR. Jesus does not pray IN the storm; he comforts, he acts, he is present. Jesus’ prayer life sets for us that example between the prayer life he lives and the things he is able to do.

Within the story exists three people: Jesus as the savior, Peter as the one needing to be saved, and the disciples as a single entity, a single voice watching the risk Peter is taking; one man’s risk is effecting a community of watchers! Jesus does not stop the storm in order to silence the fears of Peter and the disciples. Jesus joins them in the storm offering grace and comfort. Peter takes his eyes off of Jesus in blind fear and sinks into the raging waters. Jesus acts and does two things: he asks Peter what happened to his faith and two, Jesus silences the storm.

What did you hear in this story that can be shared?

Part Two; Engaging Christ in your own storms

Each one of us lives on the edge of a brewing storm. Living on the shore I have learned what it means to be able to watch an approaching set of dark clouds and take cover. Are we all in some way, shape or form struggling on the edge of a storm, living in a storm or sighing a deep breath of relief because the storm has passed us by? I would like you to close your eyes and imagine where you stand in relation to one storm, one fear in your life. Having heard the comforting words of our Gospel text, the promises of an ever present savior I would like you to imagine Jesus extending his hand to you. Trust him as he dwells with you in this storm. Do not take your eyes off of the savior. Do not become absorbed in fearful thoughts which pull at the borders of your peace. Trust the Savior’s hand, his love, his presence.
Now….go and ell, go and worship the one whose grace is sufficient at alltimes!
*Till the Storm Passes By
By Mosie Lister

From the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face
While the storm rolls above me and there’s no hiding place.
‘Neath the crash of the thunder, precious Lord hear my cry,
Keep me safe to the storm passes by.

Many times Satan whispered, "There is no need to try,
For there's no end of sorrow, there's no hope by and by"
But I know Thou art with me, and tomorrow I'll rise
Where the storms never darken the skies.

Chorus
Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more,
Till the clouds roll forever from the sky;
Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.

When the long night has ended and the storms come no more,
Let me stand in Thy presence on the bright peaceful shore;
In that land where the tempest, never comes, Lord, may I
Dwell with Thee when the storm passes by.

Chorus
Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more,
Till the clouds roll forever from the sky;
Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.

August 7, 2011 Service

2011-08-07T15:18:00.000-04:00

July Forum 2011

2011-08-01T11:06:00.000-04:00

Service Team's Pat & Bill Carroll

2011-08-01T10:33:00.000-04:00

July 31, 2011 Service

2011-07-31T17:27:00.000-04:00

The Way it is

2011-07-25T17:36:00.000-04:00

There's a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn't change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can't get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time's unfolding.
You don't ever let go of the thread.

William Stafford

Service July 24, 2011

2011-07-24T17:41:00.002-04:00

Ruth and Harry Sacona's 63rd Anniversary

2011-07-19T19:43:00.002-04:00

Kay and Charlie Portland's 46th Anniversary

2011-07-19T19:42:00.001-04:00

Sally and Bob Druckenmiller's 59th Anniversary

2011-07-19T19:40:00.003-04:00

Noxious Weeds by Pastor Bettye

2011-07-18T15:52:00.000-04:00

July 17th, 2011
Matthew 13: 24 – 30 6 – 43

This week we took a day trip to Furnace Town. We walked and learned and for one afternoon were propelled back to another time. Thanks to the efforts of present sponsors and their belief that the history of a small steel producing community from the 1800’s is important for today’s culture we had a glimpse into the twenty year life cycle of a community of people. Our tour was completed at the site of the home or kitchen garden section of the town. I was impressed by the keeper of the garden and his knowledge. How necessary for life it was that the tenders of that garden be able to tell the weeds from the good plants.
In another experience this weekend I learned of noxious------plants; plants that have the potential to kill. The bearded darnel I discovered is known as the “devil weed”. Its roots suck up precious nutrients and water making it impossible to root this weed out without destroying the good crop. The Bible calls this weed “tares”; Jesus mentions it in his parables. Bearded darnel or tares look exactly like good wheat until it bears seed. Then the harvester realizes why this weed is called a devil weed. It can cause hallucinations and even death if ingested. In today’s parable Jesus takes us back into the growing field to help hose with ears to listen to get an understanding of evil.
Last week’s message was fun and easy……just go and sow good seed! This week Jesus goes to the darker side of his parables and we hear about intentional evil in the world and how we have no choice but live among it. We are, however. To call evil for what it is. Last week’s story was a parable of happenstance; what happens when seed is simply sown, when the Word of God is simply brought forward into the world. Today’s parable takes us to in intentional evil that is meant to destroy and Jesus tells us to call a spade a spade when it comes to that evil. Jesus takes a firm, prophetic approach and underscores both the necessity and difficulty of this task in our individual and community lives.
Sometimes our lives resemble the farmer tending the kitchen garden in Furnace town with good plants and noxious weeds fighting for a place in our hearts, minds and souls. In Romans 7:15 we are reminded by St. Paul that, ”I do not do what I want but I do the very thing I hate.” In today’s second lesson from Romans 8: 12 – 25 St. Paul reminds us of the Holy Spirit’s power and desire to call us to our place a children of God and therefore, not to be encouraged, influenced or choked off by the flesh and the world. The key to living with evil within and without is to first call evil just what it is……EVIL. One of the gifts of the twelve step program associated with AA and ALANON is how these steps help people how have addiction problems reclaiming the good in their lives by first declaring what is bad. Step one confesses the powerless of an individual over alcohol and how because of that evil their lives have become unmanageable. In step four the alcoholic or person suffering from addiction is called to give a moral inventory and sort out exactly what Jesus calls us to today, the sorting out of the wheat and tares within us. These my friends are bold steps, difficult steps yet our Lord call us to take them for the sake of our lives and the life of the community we called to serve. Jesus knows that an infected heart can often be incased and hidden in a lovely, pleasing external presence (wolves in sheep clothing!) can kill a community over time. Just ask anyone who has lived through a church crisis or family schism. Just ask anyone who hears the Good News of Jesus Christ on Sunday morning and then engages in gossip Friday night. Jesus warns us against tares and noxious-------, people leading other people astray. He warns us today my friends “Don’t do it!” Don’t destroy the Kingdom of God found within you which is to be the bearer of good fruit for the world.”
Jesus calls us to look hard for antagonists to God’s mission and call evil for what it is. He also wants us to be cautious against a rush to judgment remembering that we cannot always tell initially a good plant from a noxious weed, loyal opposition from heresy, healthy conflict from destructive antagonism. Eventually Jesus sites in his parable that when the harvest comes we will see the differences in the fruit that has been born. This sight takes patience and time.

. He also reminds us that evil can and does win out in the world and in our lives for a time ….only for a time. Jesus tells us that evil will eventually play its last card. Jesus completes this parable with a message of eternal hope in God the one who created the first garden in its pure state and will complete his harvesting judgment and will win out over the great evils in the world. God will do the final sorting of the wheat and the tares. God remains in charge of his garden, its good plants and its noxious weeds……”….and though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.” This is our message of hope God yesterday, today and for all time…..thanks be to God!

July 17, 2005 Service

2011-07-17T14:45:00.000-04:00

A farmer ahd some seeds....by Pastor Bettye

2011-07-14T12:16:00.001-04:00

The parable from Jesus begins with the two most important parts of the parable: the farmer and the seed. The soil, while interesting and varied is not the center of the parable as many listeners might think. Jesus in his teaching, in evangelism training of his disciples begins with what is needed, the farmer and the seed.
Have you ever considered yourself a farmer in God’s Kingdom sharing the seeds of the Word of God with the world? Think for a moment about your favorite Bible story or a most loved and remembered Bible passage. How did these words come to you? Perhaps they came from parents, Sunday school teachers, pastors, friends; any variety of people could have planted the seeds of God’s Word into your being and thus affected your life. For some reason these words took root. In some way the Word of God or the story of God has grown into you and quided your life. Sometimes the Word of God has been shared and has quickly dried up, been forgotten or pushed aside for words from the world. Sometimes the words of the world have choked the memories of God’s Word. Part of the challenge of Jesus parable is this: what do you do with the plant that grows from the seeds that were sown in you heart? What do you do with the Word of God once it has taken root in your being? This is where the story of and practice of evangelism to God’s glory and in the name of Jesus begins. The seeds of God’s Word once planted bring forth new growth. New growth begets other growth and so on and so on. It is the story of the Christian faith; if it the outcome of the Acts of the Apostles. The problem in many churches today is that we, the bearers of God’s Word bringing the message of salvation have forgotten how to plant those seeds as did the farmers before us. Perhaps we have become comfortable with just running our hands through the soil, planting seeds but then become too tired or busy to nurture those seeds. Preaching from that point of view allows the hearer to step aside from the real meaning of the parable. A listener in the pew might think that since they are planted in their pews and have been growing there they are the “good soil’ people so that the parable goes right past them – they do not have listening ears. Looking at the words of Jesus from the farmer and the seed does not allow the listener to escape his or her role in the planting process. The vantage point of the farmer and the seed is really where we are called to engage Jesus. He is asking us to examine how our soil is doing. Have the Words of God’s love, mercy and salvation in Jesus taken root and brought forth the plant that bears the fruit of God’s word to others?

Words from a Journal - #16

2011-07-13T15:28:00.003-04:00

Words from the journal of a student of spiritual discipline

July 6, 2011 - Today's words are actually from today! As is frequently the case, I was reading from Daily writings of Thomas Merton and was shocked to be aimed in a different spiritual direction than that in which I thought I was going. For several weeks the idea for a new Bible study has been formulating in my mind. Since it is really the topic of another writing, I will simply say that the subject is "The Ignored Gifts of the Spirit."

For as long as I can remember I have had the title of my book (if ever, it will be the first!) "Anarchy of Place." Our lives are so intrinsically wrapped up in where we are born or where we live. We will root for and in some cases even fight for our home team and so on. Merton wrote for July 8th about "Ones Place on Earth." After speaking to the beauty of the hills and valleys around his monastery, Gethsemane, he ends with "We do not realize our own setting as we ought to; it is important to know where you are put on the face of the earth." This is from his book, "The Sign of Jonas." My premise all along is that place is irrelevant! That's easy to say when you are blessed to live in the USA at this time! At this point I felt that the Holy Spirit was really challenging me with such diverse thoughts. But then I paused, maybe they are not that diverse and there is a common thread.

Where you are placed is not necessarily your place of birth. It is a temporary place in to which God placed you to do service and to learn and grow. We must recognize our "mission" at each of our "changing" earthly locations. Consider what happens when individual missions are similar in the same place. An EXPLOSION! - like at St. Philips in Wilmington. We speak of the church's mission in this place at this time, but fail to recognize that the whole is composed of all the individual missions! It is possible that most folks don't know their personal mission at this time in this place. They may even be fighting it since they are now retired and just want to do their own thing.

God has sent your spirit to this place at this time - Obviously for a purpose! There is no such thing as a siding to the railroad of life. Other than to nourish our bodies, each of our lives is on the main line of our track through time. At this time we are HERE! To do God's will! Just as Merton was enthralled with the beauty of his surroundings, his spirit caught him and reminded him that "it is important to know where you are put on the face of the earth!" Amen.

R. Jeremiah

July 10, 2011 Service

2011-07-10T16:23:00.001-04:00

July 10, 2011 Service

2011-07-10T16:23:00.000-04:00

I Surrender all.....and get what I need by Pastor Bettye

2011-07-05T13:29:00.001-04:00

Grace, mercy and peace to you in the name of the blessed Savior to whom we surrender all, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

If someone asks you to surrender what does that mean? What feelings does this word “surrender” evoke? Depending on your age and life experience the word “surrender” connotes different images. For some the act of surrendering is a “giving up”; for others surrendering may be an act of giving in. Sometimes surrendering is part of negotiations towards a better in. For most people I dare to guess that the act of surrendering is an act of loss. As parents we may find ourselves surrendering our will to our children’s will on difficult issues; anything from bed time to life styles. As couples we may find ourselves surrendering our will to our mate on anything from what t have for dinner to which state to relocate to for new jobs. The act of surrendering to something is always with us in the human condition. How we handle that act of surrendering determines how we adjust to the outcome. So it is in today’s gospel text.
Judson W. Van De Venter, a hymn writer from the late 1800’s taps into the Christian experienced of surrendering to God in his hymn “I Surrender All”... the hymn refrain is appropriate for today passage from Matthew:
I surrender all,
I surrender all,
All to thee, my blessed Savoir, I surrender all.
We read the invitation to discipleship in today’s text; an invitation what comes in verses 28 – 30. To accept this invitation, surrendering is necessary.
Jesus begins today’s reading by summarizing the different stages of Jesus and John the Baptist use to call people to discipleship. Both carry messages, both call the followers to discipleship, to a surrendering of old ways for a new walk with God. The message of Jesus and John are threats to our human desire for autonomy, our lust for control, our instinctive desires to get, keep and win in this life our under our terms. We want the future we dream of, plan for, and hope for. We chafe under John’s unapologetic insistence that our surrender to God is at hand for each of us. We must examine our hearts, let God burn away the chaff and surrender our all to God’s future for us as disciples holding on to only that which God says we need.
Jesus can rub us the wrong way as well. Far more gentle then John but equally as irrational, Jesus calls us to carry his yoke, following him, drop and leave our nets and become his disciples; another hard message of surrender. Can’ we just find a happy medium?
This week I caught a few minutes of a movie during its dramatic climax at which time a popular rock sung was playing and carries an interesting tie to today’s text. As significant as W. Van De Venter’s “I Surrender All” is to some listening ears, I think that the refrain of this rock song works for other generations.You can’t always get what you want.
You can’t always get what you want,
No, you can’t always get what you want….
But if you try real hard…you get what you need.
…..and don’t we WANT everything! To our mental, emotional and spiritual depletions instead to surrendering our wills, our lives to the Almighty God of the cross, the one who has secured for all humans for all time total and complete salvation we hold back too busy working on getting what we think we want.. Perhaps, just perhaps in surrendering all……we will get what we need.
This brings us to the promises of discipleship which we will realize as we surrender to God’s will, God’s way, God’s teaching.
“Come to me all you that are weary and carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest form your souls.”
All to thee my blessed savior – I surrender all and “I get what I need” living out our lives in surrendering as an act of faith, an act of dreaming with God for humankind.
What does it take for us to surrender, get what we truly need and dream of a world to God’s glory? Today we are invited to discipleship, pushed to think more deeply as individuals and as a community of God carrying his burden and his love. How much are we willing to surrender to get what we need?
Today’s message calls us to a new relationship with the word SURRENDER as seen in a relationship with Jesus. An invitation has been extended. Come, share the good news with both its demands and comfort for his yoke is easy and his burden is light….thanks be to God!

Service July 3, 2011

2011-07-03T15:30:00.002-04:00

All Are Welcome! By Pastor Bettye

2011-06-28T10:47:00.000-04:00

June 26th, 2011
Matthew 10:40 – 42
“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me .Whoever welcomes the prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous and whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple – truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”
Arriving at a Presbyterian church in Northern Ireland theologian Sioban Garrigan was pleased to be greeted at the door by two women, church members, who seemed to invite her into the conversation. Garrigan realized that these women were ushers of some sort, whose job it was to stand at the door of the church and interview newcomers as they arrived. They quietly asked her name and the first names of any other stranger approaching strangers who wished to join in the morning worship.
Then Garrigan figured out what was happening. Hearing those names, the ushers would draw conclusions about the cultural and religious identity of each. Those with protestant names were welcomed warmly and shown their seats. Those with apparently Catholic names were told that they were surely in the wrong church and sent on their way. It could be safely assumed that Garrigan must be referring to research done decades ago; surly no church would act in this way any longer. Unfortunately it was discovered that this “selection” process remains in current practice today.
This story might be considered as foreign to North Americans because it is about a faraway congregation of Irish Presbyterians, who are nothing like us at all, still fighting their Protestant-Catholic battles. Luckily we have no such issues. Our society has moved past such discriminatory behavior. We have elected an African American president, after all, and knocked down all the boundaries and walls. In our worshipping communities everyone is welcome.
“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me…”
Confronted with the unsettling image of that Protestant church on an Irish hillside, we want to immediately dismiss such boundary keeping as abhorrent to the gospel. Perhaps, however, it is more familiar then we want to admit; a barring of the door may not be as unknown to us as we like to pretend. The churches we know would never ask the name of a stranger in some covert attempt to find them out and send them off to where they belong.
Nevertheless, if we are to be honest about the church that we do know, we would have to confess that, though we define our borders differently, we define them still and more subtly.
Perhaps we are curious about education or profession. We may wonder what neighborhood a guest may live in, or what their life status is like – married, divorced, single, above age 55 or below age 55, retired or still actively employed, children at home or children away with children of their own, members of the Elks or the moose clubs, republican or democrat, gay or straight, locals or visitors, live in a hose or a trailer. While none will be turned away from our doors we will tell ourselves that we simply have more in common with those who are “like us”.
In the twinkling of an eye, during a brief “hello” and handshake what are we doing at our doors? Is there a dominant social or political perspective that one needs to present in order to be promptly welcomed? Is there clarity about the norm for sexual identity or family model that really must be established before the doors of the church are flung wide open in welcome? The Gospel lesson today invites us to ask all of these questions about the quality of the welcome that we offer one another within the body of Christ, the church.
“……whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous and whoever gives them a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple…”
Jesus tells us in today’s gospel that there exists through him a singular means by which we are all made equal. He uses the term “righteous” or “to be made right in the eyes of God”. Our equality as humans rests solely in his offering of himself in love as the great equalizer, a love that makes us “right in the eyes of God”. No person can ever boast of a greater status or be minimized by a lesser status since all have been made right or equal in the eyes of God through the love of Christ. Jesus says take the love for family that love of your closest community and extend it, extend it further then you thought possible and then extend it some more! Welcome all those who have been made righteous – and that would mean ALL humankind – including those you do not know or understand. We don’t have to make others “right” – Jesus did that. We are called to simply love as we have been loved. This is good news my friends; good news for those who have not felt worthy to be welcomed in the past and good news for the gatekeepers who can let go of their prejudices and rejoice in the equality of all in Jesus.
Are we brave enough to preach, teach and live the way of the righteous in the name of Jesus? Our work on this side of the cross is to welcome, to offer and give a cup of cool water. Or reward her promises us will be great.
Portions of this text come from Feasting on the Word, 2011, Westminster John Knox Press, William Goettler, commentarian.

June 26, 2011 Service

2011-06-26T15:04:00.000-04:00

Dick Kauffman's Sermon at Cadbury

2011-06-22T12:36:00.000-04:00

Our concept of God May be too Small

In the beginning GOD Gen 1:1

On this Trinity Sunday we are invited to focus on the nature of God and in so doing I think we discover much about ourselves as well…for each one of us has been created in His image although admittedly that image in us has been tarnished by sin..

We therefore need constantly to guard against the predisposition of our sinful nature to try to make God in our image and instead concentrate on becoming to the best of our ability and God’s Grace on making ourselves over in His image.

J.B Phillips once wrote a book entitled “Your God is too Small”. That title flashes into my mind on many occasions.

1. It is there when I find myself making decisions about dealing with other people, especially with those with whom I disagree.

2. It is in my mind when I often ponder how somehow our nation gets on the wrong side of human history too often, sometimes supporting dictators who enslave and abuse their people and we engage in seemingly endless wars that destroy the lives of millions of God’s creatures - if not His creation itself.

3. It is on my mind when I try to interpret the meaning of Scriptures and I realize that God is the creator of all human beings and He calls upon us his chosen people to reach out in love to all persons helping them to experience His love because He calls us not to judge others, but to see them as He sees them, the sinners that both we and they are. who are objects of His love.. But we have been called to a Special Covenantal relationship with Him to love others as God loves us ….with compassion, forgiveness and to be conduits of his grace into the world that He has created in love and continues to seek to love through us..

There is a Hasidic tale from Judaism that a friend shared with me of a Conversation between a Rabbi and his students:

Rabbi: “How can we determine the hour of the dawn, when the night ends and the day begins?”

“When from a distance you can distinguish between a dog and a sheep” suggested one of the students.

“No” was the answer of the rabbi,

“Is it when on can distinguish between a fig tree and a grapevine?” asked a second student,

“No”

“Please tell us the answer then,” said the students.

Then said the wise teacher, “It is when you can look into the face of any human being and you have enough light to recognize in that person your brother, your sister. Up until then it is night and darkness is still with us.”

Hasidic tale

We are reminded in our first lesson today that in the Creation Darkness covered the face of the earth, but then God choose light!

Let there be light be light!. God choose Light….we so often choose darkness. God is a God of light …not darkness.

Our First lesson proclaims not science or history but God’s revelation of Himself and His intent for His creation that Light should overcome the darkness and He created human beings as caretakers of all he created…He crowned his creation with us. And indeed when He had finished He affirmed the Goodness of it all.

I suspect many remember what the earth looked like from space in those marvelous pictures taken on Christmas Eve 1968. We saw planet earth as God must have seen it in the moment of creation…a place of beauty and the home of all his creatures. So infinitesimal in the vast expansive universe, but the epitome of His handiwork, but only if we would choose to live in love and peace could his handiwork remain Good.

On that Christmas Eve the Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Bill Anders and Jim Lovell celebrated humanity's first orbit around the moon by reading the words we have just read "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." and the nine verses that followed. In that moment human beings saw the earth’s beauty, its mystery but also its fragility. We saw the home of us all and how life on earth required that we reaffirm our oneness We saw that we must either find a way to live together on this tiny spinning globe or perish together here. We are one or we are none.

But God is a God of LIGHT not darkness. He is also a God of LOVE, who created us all in His image with the capacity to love.!

However, when in the freedom he gave us that choice that true love requires, mankind choose to reject that loving relationship with Himself and with one another. But God never gave up on the Goodness of His creation or his Love for humankind..

In sundry ways God has sought throughout human history and continues to seek today to overcome the sin and death that resulted from mankind’s falling for the temptations of the devil, deciding he knew better how to go about life on earth than God, his Creator.

We only need to see the evening news or perhaps look into our own hearts to see the results of what our theologians call original sin, separation, and alienation — from God, from ourselves, from each other, and even from the earth.. But God is not only a God of Light but a God of unfathomable love for all his human creatures. And he never ceases to reach out to make his creation whole again.

I teach Applied Ethic and World Religions and I have researched versions of the Golden Rule, I was surprised to find that at least some basic form of this teaching of Jesus echoed from indigenous tribes throughout the globe, from the hieroglyphics in the Pyramids, the tombs of one of the most ancient of advanced human civilizations a few thousand years before Christ, from the Buddha and Confucius 500 years before Christ, and indeed from the teachings of all major religions of the world. Was this mere quoincidence or was the God we worship in the Judeo Christian tradition reaching out to all humankind in love with a message of survival for the whole human race????

I personally believe that God not only reaches out to those of the Judeo Christian Faith, but indeed to all human beings in an effort to show his love for all of us who were created in His image, and that the very survival of man and of perhaps the earth itself is dependent on we and all our brothers and sisters heading his call to love as we are loved by Him.

This is not to say that, as we believe, God has not chosen us, the people of his covenant for special responsibility in this regard. I believe we are a very unique part of Gods plan for restoration. I believe he entered into a covenant with those of the Judeo Christian faith for special responsibility in this regard. Early in the tribal history of the Middle East I believe he called forth His special people through the Family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the tribes of Israel commissioning them to bring Shalom, peace, unbrokeness, wholeness to the world. I believe through Moses he sought to reveal the Ten Commandments as basic structure for relationship with Himself and the human race. Again, this I believe he did not do as a God of wrath and judgment but as a loving God, once again trying to assist his human creatures in knowing where true blessedness of light and love were to be found in a vital relationship with Himself and one another in the family of man. Especially through the prophets we hear his call for us to reach out to the least among us in the family of man with compassion and love so that His peace and wholeness might prevail in all levels of the economic and social lives of His people.

Finally, of course I believe He so loved this world that he made the ultimate sacrifice of coming into it in human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ to show that he was not only a God of light and love but of grace and hope for all mankind. In the Covenant promised by Jeremiah he had revealed that his love was love that essentially said….I love you not because you deserve it, not because you earned it, but because you are made in my own image and you are called to eternal salvation. .I will remember your sins no more. Jeremiah 31:34 But no cheap grace here but a cross . In our baptism we have been marked with the sign of that crosss…We have been called by that cross to unity with Christ to bring to the world not only in words but in deeds… Shalom.

That Hebrew word is usually translated as “peace” in English but in other languages it has even deeper meaning of wholeness.. Lutheran Scholar Walter Bruggemann presents such meaning in his book “LIVING TOWARD A VISION” Bruggemann notes:

“The central vision of world history in the Bible is that all of creation is one, every creature in community with every other, living in harmony and security toward the joy and well-being of every other creature.”

Martin Luther King Jr. gave his life in the pursuit of that vision. He noted that…

“All life is interrelated. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny, Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. We are made to live together because of the interrelated structure of reality.”

. Thus in our Gospel lesson today we hear Jesus say to his disciples:

All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

¹⁹Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

²⁰Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:18 20.

Only where that light and love, compassion, forgiveness and peace of God prevails in the human family can there ultimately be peace and wholeness on earth and Goodwill among human beings that was proclaimed by the messengers from God long ago on that Holy Night and by whoever those messengers have been or will be. This is God’s intention for His creation.

I think our astronauts had a special revelation of the earth and the oneness of the human race from their vantage point and this is why they choose to read those verses from the Creation story on that historic Christmas eve. Less well known is a prayer subsequently offered by Astronaut Frank Borman to "people everywhere.” After completing their scientific work, he took a breath, and then prayed for God's good creation and every human being created in God’s image: “Give us, O God, the vision which can see thy love in the world, in spite of human failure. Give us the faith to trust the goodness in spite of our ignorance and weakness. Give us the knowledge that we may continue to pray with understanding hearts, and show us what each one of us can do to set forth the coming of the day of universal peace. Amen."

May this be our earnest prayer for which we are willing to offer ourselves? Only if it comes to fruition will the blessing of St. Paul to the people of Corinth from our Epistle lesson be truly ours. The international translation of that blessing is:

¹¹ Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Amen 2^nd Corinthians: 13:11

Dick Kauffman

Words from a Journal - #12

2011-06-20T16:36:00.000-04:00

Words from a journal of a student of Spiritual Discipline

It is now June 20, 2011 - I just discovered that this writing had never been posted! A bit out of season, but I am sure the meaning is still the same. Wow! a voice from the past! R. Jeremiah

"February 10, 2010 - In reading "Better Prayers" this morning I opened right to page 43 and read a strong affirmation of yesterdays call to be humble. "Your work for Christ must be Christ's work in you or else it will be good for nothing" Wow! Sophia, you surprised me so early this morning. I don't know why I am surprised, you are working in me all the time. It is I who am intermittent! ... I was going to pray for no more snow today, but snow is a part of winter so why should I be so presumptuous as to not understand the value of snow. Yes, snow has value. The moisture it returns to the soil is necessary - a redistribution of water from one place to another. Look at the value to painters and other artists - at the recreation associated with snow. Oh! Sophia, where are you taking me? What is it about church that is so necessary, but yet we avoid it and even may pray against it? Could it be the work required to operate the church; the work required for ministry! Is the concept of cheap Grace being driven home? Maybe it's not "work" in the classical sense, but the time and dedication and DISCIPLINE that is really required to be in Christ. Yes, we know we are saved through Christ, but to grow closer to Christ, to truely abide in him, takes time and effort! Significant discipline is required. As snow is beautiful, so is God's grace! Coping with snow - receiving the value from it, is the same as receiving the bountiful love of God by coping with the disciplines of Spiritual Growth. Look beyond the inconvenience of the snow or of keeping the disciplines to the beauty which lays beyond. Salvation is free, but pleasing God more and more each day requires growing in him. The disciplines are extremely demanding; perhaps if I had had real instruction as a young man I would have had the time to grow more into them. My growth has been spurty at best - a lot 30 plus years ago and then very little. But in the past year - WOW! Sophia was hiding behind a tree for many years. Every once in awhile she would jump out and say peek-a-boo! But now she is right in front of me, gesturing for me to hurry up and follow her up the trail to yet another vista of Gods creation and our role in pleasing him - it takes my breath away - it is work, but oh, such good work!"

Talk to your Pastor as to how to grow more into Christ. Which Discipline is the right one for you? Pray earnestly for guidance from Sophia. the Holy Spirit.

R. Jeremiah

Words from a Journal - #15

2011-06-20T16:01:00.003-04:00

Words from a journal of a student of Spiritual Discipline

June 15, 2011 Jeremiah has been on a sabbatical so to speak! The last "Words from a Journal" that were posted on the blog were on September 21, 2010. This does not mean that journaling has not been taking place – it certainly has! Satan really got to working on me – throwing doubt into my mind. Perhaps a better word would be “Reluctance” to share with others or even to question my “calling” to share words given to me by the Holy Spirit with others.

This has been crystallizing in my mind over the past several months, but has finally been confirmed by several events over the past several weeks. A number of “coincidences” occurred which have certainly clarified a direction for me. Several weeks ago Pastor Bettye mentioned during her sermon that new procedures have been established by The Order of St. Stephan Deacon to train Deacons. She then presented me with a copy of the literature saying that she just wanted me to be aware of the program. Well my wife and I read the literature and discussed what it all meant. Between my age and our family health issues, it seemed to be a physical impossibility for me to even consider. But the real issue is that the ministry of the Deacons is one of Word and Service that we both know is not my calling. So what is my calling? A week or so previously I had journaled that my wife was probably afraid that I would get back on council again. (as it turns out just the opposite is true!) I wrote that I must pray real hard about this one. In one sense it would seem that church administration is a calling of mine, but Jeremiah has a calling also and that has been slipping away. But the crowning coincidence was Pastor Tim’s sermon on June 14, Pentacost Sunday, when he preached on "What is it that I am to do?" The Holy Spirit will tell us if we but listen.

Listening is usually pretty easy, once the Holy Spirit has our attention. Well it seems that I needed a 2X4 to the side of my head to get my attention. Ok God I hear you. I will put some discipline back into my spirituality! Stay tuned.

R. Jeremiah

Norman's Writings

2011-06-20T08:55:00.000-04:00

Summer

Summer is here, the heat is on!

So many can't wait until it's gone.

When it was cold and snow cover the ground,

Travel was dangerous when you were home bound.

Wintertime blues, how you did complain!

Summertime heat, and you do the same.

The weather is an important part of life.

Some only consider it additional strife.

Enjoy every year, every day, every season.

Be thankful for all, for each has a reason.

Life is like the weather, a change everyday.

Make a life change, be thankful and pray.

Norman 2011

Norman's Writings

2011-06-20T08:53:00.002-04:00

How I See Jesus

How do I see Jesus? I see Jesus everywhere in numerous ways. In the faces of the people of the world. I especially see Jesus in the faces of children, the elderly, those that are deprived. All faces show promise and the love of Jesus! I see Jesus in all of nature in every concept of life. I see Jesus in music, the soothing language the world understands. I see Jesus in family and friends, in life and in death. How I see Jesus is overwhelming everyday. I see Jesus and he sees me! Jesus surely would not be even slightly overwhelmed in seeing me, but I pray he may be at least slightly pleased.

Thank you Jesus for my life. Amen

Norman-2011

June 19, 2011 Service

2011-06-19T15:58:00.000-04:00

June 12, 2011 Pentecost Service

2011-06-12T16:04:00.001-04:00

Remembering Ascension by Pastor Bettye

2011-06-08T17:27:00.000-04:00

June 5, 2011
Acts 1: 1 – 11
Remembering the Ascension

It all comes down or up to this…..
……the single most important act which rivals the resurrection.
As it is occurring Jesus is promising another will come; one with whom the followers of the Way will have direct experience…but let’s leave that story for Pentecost .
For this moment, the Ascension is the culmination of Jesus Life and Ministry.
Jesus who came from God is now returning to God and the people of the Way, the disciples and followers of Jesus are left with challenge:
· To keep their lives centered on God
· To keep their lives rooted and grounded in God
· Allowing God to be the one in whom they “live and move and have their being”
That is the hard part….
The followers of Jesus, the people of the Way had a difficult time understanding and trusting this message.
They had a hard enough time understanding Jesus purpose and now……. his ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit?!?!?
The followers of the Way wanted to run back to their old lives, back to Galilee with bags packed just in case this plan with Jesus doesn’t work out.
The followers of the Way are also looking forward to the return of Jesus and cannot quite grasp that there is work to be done for the Kingdom, harvests to gather, vines to prune in the waiting time.
They cannot grasp that another is coming to empower their mission and ministry …on the Way.
Jesus really does take his followers along the Way one step at a time.
The people of the Way are to be his witnesses, spreading the Good News to the end of the earth.
They bear and understand only so much – hasn’t the past 3 years gone by fast enough with miracle after miracle?
The followers of the Way may have just wanted it all to slow down so that they could take a breath….
Before they can even ask the next question, they are left standing dumbfounded, necks craning to see beyond the clouds – hardly believing this next miracle which would leave them….alone. (Wizard of OZ)
Suddenly voices cry out assuring them of the promise of Jesus return but…….in the meantime there is work to be done with the Comforter.
The Way begins and excitement is at hand! With the Ascension of Christ a new thorough fare or “THROUGH WAY” has been lined up and Jesus was the first to travel it.
The followers of the WAY become the bearers of the story…they will be showing others THE WAY.
God did not use the temple elite, the rich, the politically powerful to open up people’s hearts to the Way.
God used simple folk, peasants, outcasts, thick skulled, hard headed, frightened people…..
People like you and me have been called to Jesus’ radical message of hope, a heavenly home, and God’s love for us in Christ and our love for one another.
Jesus stays with them long enough to break down the barrier to the Way with his cross and them to nudge them to the edge of this new country, this new promise and then passes them off to the Holy Spirit who will continue the work of the Way he has formed.
The followers of the Way are about to find their voices for this message of truth and Good News which will be carried to the ends of the earth and into our time.
The challenge for the hearers of this Gospel Message is to go and do likewise. Those with ears to listen can be assured in the words of Jesus;
I will not leave you orphaned….you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you….you will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth.
The bearers of the message, the new people of the Way have found that traveling IN COMMUNITY is the best Way to handle this call, this journey.

Song of the Builders

2011-06-08T16:25:00.000-04:00

"On a summer morning I sat down on a hillside to think about God , a worthy pastime.
Near me, I saw a single cricket; it was moving the grains of the hillside this way and that way.
How great was its energy, how humble its effort.
Let us hope it will always be like this, each of us going on in our inexplicable ways building the universe."

- Mary Oliver, "Song of the Builders"

Poem for Pentecost

2011-06-08T08:11:00.000-04:00

Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179)

Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit, bestowing life unto life,
moving in All.
You are the root of all creatures,
washing away all impurity,
scouring guilt,
and anointing wounds.
Thus you are luminous and praiseworthy, Life,
awakening, and re-awakening all that is.

In an age when life expectancy was somewhere around forty, Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) lived a life that was remarkably long and incredibly productive. Carmen Butcher described Hildegard as an "Über-multitasking Frau" and authentic "polymath." The description fits. The Benedictine abbess founded two convents, conducted four preaching tours, penned at least 400 letters, wrote music and a morality play, supervised illuminated manuscripts, cared for her fellow sisters, and wrote three major theological tomes based upon her famous visions. All this despite her pronounced feelings of self-doubt, the lack of formal schooling, chronic illnesses that probably included depression and migraine headaches, and the subservient roles assigned to women by a male-dominated church and culture.
Hildegard was born the youngest of ten children to an aristocratic family that lived near Mainz. She started having what she later concluded were divine visions as earlier as age three. When she was eight her parents dedicated her to the religious life, and at age fourteen she entered the St. Disibod Abbey at Disibodenberg. Until her death almost seventy years later, she devoted herself to the life of a Benedictine nun. After keeping her visions to herself for decades, when she was forty-two Hildegard says that God told her to write what she had seen and heard: "So now you must give others an intelligible account of what you see with your inner eye and what you hear with your inner ear. Your testimony will help them. As a result, others will learn how to know their Creator. They'll no longer refuse to adore God."

Rejoice All Living Things

2011-06-07T18:55:00.004-04:00

June 5, 2011 Charlie Zahm Performing at Community Lutheran Church

2011-06-06T18:09:00.000-04:00

June 5, 2011 Service

2011-06-06T15:45:00.000-04:00

Playing for Change Video

2011-06-06T10:12:00.002-04:00

Walking by AEK

2011-06-01T15:33:00.002-04:00

The telephone company tells us
"Let your fingers do the walking"
in their telephone book.
If your house needs repairs do not despair.
"Let your fingers do the walking".
Needing a number to call a friend
"Let your fingers do the walking".
Better yet the Bible book.
go now and take a look.
The Bible has better ways,
use your finger to turn the page.
It tells the way to repair our life.
God sent His son to right the wrong
In His great love we belong.
Eternal life is promised us.
What more is there to discuss?
No numbers are needed to talk with Him;
ask forgiveness - be rid of sin.
Walking, walking in faith with Him.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

Service May 29 2011

2011-05-30T20:13:00.002-04:00

May 22 Baptisms

2011-05-22T18:20:00.002-04:00

May 22 Service

2011-05-22T18:18:00.000-04:00

Believing the Obvious By Pastor Bettye

2011-05-21T10:07:00.000-04:00

May 21, 2011
John 14: 1 – 14
Believing the Obvious
Grace, mercy and peace to you this day in the name of Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life. Amen
In John the fourteenth chapter Jesus is standing metaphorically speaking at his own grave. He knows his death is imminent; the reason for his birth is at hand. He knows the fear of the disciples, their misunderstandings and tender faith. Jesus speaks at this place his farewell discourse and offers words at a time of impending loss. At a grave side Jesus gives words of hope by:
Stating the obvious
Consoling those with ears to listen
Giving his followers direction for the future
Leaving them with a promise

Jesus does all this in the words found in John 14: 6-7:
“I am the way the truth and the life;
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you know me, you will know my Father;
From now on you do know me and have seen Him.”
Jesus states the obvious, consoles, gives direction and a promise.
The way, the truth and the life are words from Holy Scripture which give disciples hints from the historical paths of their ancestors and their own paths with Jesus. The way brings forth the memory of the journey to the promise land; and the journey of Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem - the way all disciples must walk. In John 1:17 we first hear that while the law came from Moses, truth comes from Christ. From John 1:4 is where we greet Jesus with the words, “In him was life and that life was the light of the world.” The obvious is tied together by Jesus, the way the truth and the life. In our sorrow s and fears we can be consoled by Jesus, the great I AM from the Gospel of John.
“No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 is directions for the future. These are also highly charged words in today’s society and religious circles. They are words of inclusivity for all not exclusivity. They are not the words of the “If….then” thinking population but rather “Because…therefore” thinkers in Christ. Jesus eclipses all other ways to God. The power of the Christian faith holds this statement as the central point of consolation and hope. The destiny of humankind comes through the way, the truth, and the life and this way, truth and life is not for only a few but for all for all time.
The future comfort for the world as offered by Jesus in the gospel according to John comes through the knowing of him because knowing Jesus means that we therefore know God. The intimate relationship between God and Jesus is inseparable; one holy God bond together- one as the same as the other. Because you know God therefore you know the Messiah! What eternal joy and hope this brings for our future and the time yet to come; the now and not yet.
Jesus leaves a promise at the grave side. “From now on you know him and have seen him.” John 14: 7. These words indicate the future gift of eternal life because the Jesus you have come to know is God and therefore you are called into the promise secure by God in Christ. Thanks be to God!
What does this mean for you today? My friends over the past five Sundays of the Easter season we have been remembering what it means to be people who have seen Jesus. On Easter morning we reminded ourselves in community of the ways in which we “see” Jesus and our calls to go and tell what we have seen. We remembered the markers of the church: Baptism and Holy Communion as ways on which we see Jesus and invite others to share this glorious site with us. Last week we “saw” ourselves as community cared for and called to care for others by Jesus the Good Shepherd. Today as the glow of that Eastertide begins to fade, as we face our individual “graves and losses” we are again called to see our God in Jesus and rejoice. We are given good news from the one who states the obvious:
“I am the way, the truth and the life;
No one comes to the Father expect through me.
If you know me you will know my Father.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.” John 14: 6 – 7
Let us pray:
Christ is Risen…He is Risen indeed!
You are the Easter one; you stalk the earth with new life, you soar the heavens with fresh governance. You are the life giver, and yet… you are strange among us. In the days of anxiety and in a world filled with death you bring life…life eternal. You appear to us and say, “Fear not,” and we are comforted, you say “Peace I give you,” and we are less restless. You say “Go and sin no more,” and we glimpse a new innocence. You say and we listen, you act and we are healed, you …and us, you and life eternal, you and newness, you for us, you with us you, you , you Lord Jesus….we are dazzled in our gratitude! Amen*

Taken from the prayer: You who stalk the earth with new life” by Walter Brueggemann, Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth. Augsburg Fortress, 2003

The Shepherd's Community by Pastor Bettye

2011-05-21T10:06:00.000-04:00

May 15, 2011
John 10:1 – 10
The Shepherd’s Community
Grace, mercy and peace to you this day in the name of the one who calls us to live with him in community, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I know my dress size. I know what fits and feels best on my person. However, depending upon which mirror I look in, some clothes look different on me then others. I know that when I try on clothes at one ladies boutique their mirrors make me appear a certain way; at another boutique another way. Different mirrors reflect different images. They are all images of me, I just see myself differently through these varying mirrors. I bring up this idea of how and what we see as an introduction today’s Gospel in order to address John’s image of the Good Shepherd.
Each of the Gospels in the New Testament brings us a view, a picture of the character of Jesus. In Bible study class I have e asked the question, “Which presentation of the character of Jesus resonates most with you?” Each gospel text offers the listen a different view of our incarnate Savior – not opposing – just different. I for one am especially warmed by the Gospel according to John which gives us the vision Jesus as the good shepherd. I am especially warned by the views in John’s Gospel that we are a community lovingly tended by the Good Shepherd.
The writer of John’s Gospel uses a shepherd metaphor for the Old Testament and ascribes it to Jesus, the Incarnate One. John, chapter ten read this fourth Sunday of Easter portrays Jesus as the fulfillment of Israel’s hopes for a good shepherd. A good shepherd will intimately shepherd a community of people providing protection and identity for God’s own. This view of Jesus and his relationship with the community he loves is fully realized in this season of Easter as the good shepherds lays down his life for his sheep. In doing so the good shepherd gives new life to a new community.
Jesus is the one we follow, the one we know and trust. He is the one who is called to ensure the safety of the community he loves. The idea of community is a central thought with the writer of John’s gospel. Jesus restores Lazarus to community; the writer of John portrays Jesus as one with a community as seen in the vision of the vines and the branches. The gospel according to John continues to show us a Jesus and our placement, our part in a community of faith; the flock whom he gathered together and prevented from scattering.
This view of the intimate relationship Jesus seeks with us in a community is one we care called to holed hear and to emulate Jesus. The Spirit of God gathers, enlightens and protects us in community and gives us the charge to maintain that community to the glory of God. We are sheep who often go astray, who would follow each other off of a cliff if we take our eyes off of our good shepherd. We are also the beloved of God given the call by our good shepherd to take the responsibility of community as part of our life style. In the closing verses of the gospel according to John Jesus turn to Peter and tells him to “feed my lambs”, “take care of my sheep”, and “feed my sheep”. Peter, the rock of the church, is given direction to form a new community in the form of the church. In ACTS we hear of this new community:
Acts 2:42-47 (New International Version)
The Fellowship of the Believers
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

The Good Shepherd calls us to join him in community. Later today we will celebrate the community called Grace of God as she takes her first steps out into the worlds as an organized, incorporated community whose Good Shepherd is Jesus Christ. She bears the same message of salvation which this community does. She claims the same God, the same mission, the same Savior, the same Good Shepherd. Jesus will protect, love and tend this new community as he does others gathered in his name and to God’s glory. Together we are called to be a community of believers sharing the Good News of the Good Shepherd!