Pastor's Reflection

A sense of elation lingers after a wonderful weekend of celebration.  The barbeque on Saturday evening was one of the tastiest I've had.  The ordination service on Sunday was outstanding!  We had about 86 people at the service and every single aspect of the service (which Deacon Debbie outlines in her "Yo God" below) was rich.  There were so many tears of joy.  We got to meet Lu's mother, Pete J.  She is a true Southern Lady with a great heart.  It was so good for her to experience the outpouring of love for our Rev. Lu.  She went home very proud of her little girl.   It's always a pleasure to have Rev. Delores Berry and Judy.  Delores is a force to be reckoned with.  She lives in tune with the Spirit and moves as the Spirit moves her.  Her songs were heartfelt and passionate and evoked a lot of tears among the congregants.  Our Elder, Rev. Arlene Ackerman, has just finished 30 years of service to MCC and still delights in each of her ministers and each of her churches throughout the region.  She was supposed to head out camping with her family for a much needed rest but chose to come to ordain Lu.  This was the first time she had seen the inside of our new church and she was delighted for us and proud of us.

We had visitors from Georgia and Texas and Nunavut (from the town of Kangirsuk, Nunavut is a territory in far northern Quebec province.)  We had friends of Lu from Niagara Falls and Buffalo.  All were moved by the service and left us knowing that the Spirit had moved strongly at Open Arms MCC on Sunday.

And now we move forward.  We are blessed to have two ordained ministers, several deacons and many many active working congregants.  And it's a good thing we have all those workers because there is a lot of work still to do to grow Open Arms MCC and to further the work of Christ in Rochester, NY.

It was bitter-sweet to give our departure blessing to Steve J and Gene V as they go out to do supervised ministry at UCC churches.  We already feel their absence.  Keep Steve and Gene in your prayers in the months ahead.

Rev. Jim

Deacon's Corner

Yo God,
I am not sure when the Holy Spirit danced in, but She was here.
The Holy Spirit welcomed each one of us as we gathered together in Sunday worship.
She ambled down with those who set the altar with the symbols of our faith.
She glowed with love as Paul and Michelle sang "Redeemer."
She sang from within Rev.Dolores whose music is indeed holy.
The Holy Spirit heard Rev Jim's message knowing it was God-spoken.
She smiled as many shared tears of laughter and joy.
She rested her hands on Lu's shoulder as Lu became ordained.
She prayed over Lu along with Rev. Elder Arlene words of hope and love.
The Holy Spirit shared the table of God with each one of us.
I am not sure when the Holy Spirit danced in, but I know that She
touched each of us Sunday...I pray that each of us lets Her
dance, leap, sing, speak, and continue to be within us. Amen

Deacon Debbie

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Bess W will be half a century old!!!

Bess W turns 50 on Sunday, August 12^th.   If you have not received a birthday invitation to her party Sunday afternoon it is because Anne does not have your current information.  Everyone from the church is invited; the party begins at 1:00 Sunday afternoon and will be a tropical/Caribbean theme – so come if you can. T2.

A Different Worship Experience

Jim and Paula Hart will be coming to worship with us on Sunday.  The theme of worship and the sermon is "Hearts and Drums".  They are both gifted drummers and will bring an assortment of drums and noise makers.   Worship will be in the round and the order of worship will be simplified.  There will be no bulletin and no projection and no keyboard.

Pastor's Reflection

Pain and Suffering.  To be alive and human is to experience pain.  To be human is to experience suffering.  There are all kinds of theories about which kind of pain is worse:  physical or emotional.  It is often said that emotional pain is worse.  That's usually said by people who have not experienced constant excruciating physical pain.  So, my friends, it seems to me that pain is inevitable.

Did you know that not everyone who has pain suffers?   I deal regularly with cancer patients who are in relentless pain.  Some of them are bright and cheerful and grateful.  They do not suffer.  Others are in pain and in suffering.  That must mean that suffering is optional.

Suffering is something that we humans ADD to pain.  We reflect on our pain and dramatize it.  We see ourselves as really put upon and feel that it's unfair to have such pain - whether it is physical or emotional.  That's what I mean by suffering being something added to pain.

It is not unfair to have pain.  That is the simple fact of the life experience. They type of pain varies from time to time.  We are often in anguish because of our life situation whether it be a disease or condition or whether it be problems in adapting to life or problems in relationship or a habit or worry.  The anguish is our suffering.  We really don't need to do that.

Anyone who tries to run away from pain finds that it goes along for the ride. 

So what are we to do?   I took great example from my dog, who just died last week.   He had all sorts of physical pain and discomfort so that it was not possible for him to eat more than a bite or two and whose abdomen was swollen and who had difficulty getting up to walk.  He was sweet and loving and didn't seem to know there was anything wrong with him.  Dogs don't have the capacity that humans do.  Dogs don't change their personalities because of pain.

And we don't have to either.  We can live a holy, balanced life in spite of whatever pain plagues us.   We don't have to add suffering to our pain by what we do with our minds and hearts.  We don't have to run away or isolate ourselves from those who love and support us.  We don't have to dramatize the life situations we find ourselves in.

You see, when we suffer, we tend to throw our faith away and our trust that God is holding us close.  When we suffer, we just want God to rescue us.  We make false assumptions such as "God is doing this to me and won't make it stop."

How I wish that pain was not part of our lives!  How sure I am that we don't have to suffer!

Rev. Jim

Deacon's Corner

Yo God,
The fog is thick this morning.
The visibility is limited and the feeling of being trapped sets in.
The red light leaps out as I brake just in time.
Slowly I start up again as the summer haze burns off.

Sometimes I feel my doubts are as thick as this morning's fog.
I'm not sure where I'm going or if the direction is right.
I feel trapped, lost, alone, and not sure of anything.
Then somehow a red light pops up...

Yo God, You are that red light.
You help me to step on the brake and shift into the gear of Faith.
Faith knowing that the hazy fog of doubt will burn off.
Faith that being trapped in self-doubt is my own doing.
Faith that I am not alone as I stop at a friend's house.
(Even though she was not there it was OK that I stole a tomato)
Faith that I am not lost...
Knowing that You are riding along with me through the murkiness of the moment.

Yo God, You are that red light that stops me in my tracks.
You shift me back into gear and I am ever so  thankful. Amen-
 

Deacon Debbie

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Pastor's Reflection

A phrase that has been popular in business life and in problem-solving is "thinking outside the box."  I've been finding Calls to Worship on a UCC website called "Liturgy outside the box."  When we think outside the box, we cast of all the constraints that we or others place on us.  Too many of us came from churches or cultures where "the way we've always done it" is the rule of life.  The problem is that the way we've always done it doesn't work anymore.  It may have worked once but it doesn't now.  The way we picture worship often comes from our churches of origin where there's a tight structure for worship and the same structure is used every week just like the week before.  It becomes rote.  We don't even have to pay attention to recognize the flow of worship.

Here at Open Arms MCC, we, too, have a regular flow for worship.  A sort of generic protestant order of worship.  And that's good.  It generally works for us and gives visitors a rather comfortable framework.

BUT, as we've seen over and over OUR GOD IS NOT A TAME GOD!  There is not a box that can contain God no matter how hard we or other religious groups try to stuff God into a manageable concept!  God does not fit in a box.  God cannot be contained in a comfortable order of worship.  One of the wonderful freedoms of MCC churches is the freedom to experiment.   We only have to have an offering and communion at Sunday worship.  The rest is optional.  So, we find a layout that we like and we use it - most of the time.  This past Sunday, our good friends Jim and Paula from Buffalo came with a truckload of drums and noise-makers.   We rearranged the chairs in the sanctuary into an oval.  We set aside most of the elements of regular Sunday worship and we drummed and made noise.   Most enjoyed the service immensely.   Visitors came just because of the drumming.  Inhibitions were set aside and we made many joyful noises unto the Lord.  Not everyone liked it.  A few came in late and left immediately.  A few went to other churches because they just didn't want to drum.  It's all good.  There is a primitiveness about drumming that points to the wildness of our God.

I guess Sunday was worship outside the box.  And God was there.

Love,

Rev. Jim

Deacon's Corner

Yo God,
Just a wonderful late summer afternoon here by the pond.
Gert and Tillie are chasing sticks into the water and out again.
Labs are such water lovers. They jump in with no inhibitions.
They bounce into the water in search of the stick.
No matter how far out, they leap with pure joy to retrieve the stick.

God, why is it that I do not have that same drive in my Faith?
To bound and leap with joy into the places You call me.
To jump into the unknown over and over again without inhibitions.
To journey out into the deep water, knowing that there is always a way home.

God, I pray that when You call me to leap into the unknown, I will go.
I pray that my Faith will enable me to keep going, no matter how far.
I pray that when I am tired, I can return home to rest a moment...
then once again bounce with joy to Your call.
Like Gert and Tillie as their bodies quiver with anticipation...so too may I.  Amen
 

Deacon Debbie

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Pastor's Reflection

I spent last weekend in Windsor, Ontario, with my good friends, Sharon and Charlie and Martha.  Sharon and Charlie hosted me and treated me like royalty.  Sharon is a minister of the United Church of Canada and Charlie is pastor's spouse.  Martha is an MCC minister and pastor of MCC Windsor.  I have the honor of calling her friend.  Sharon set me a punishing schedule - she  is a driven woman, clearly Type-A.  I got there on Friday afternoon and found that Sharon had invited a man who had lost his wife so I could enjoy dinner and do a little grief counseling on the side.  On Saturday, I went into downtown Windsor to meet Martha and have lunch with her.  I had orders from Sharon to be back by 1:30 to go with her on a pastoral visit.  When asked what I wanted to do Saturday evening, my response was an emphatic - NOTHING!  I neglected to say that Sharon takes vigorous walks morning and evening and I was encouraged to go along.  I did. On Sunday morning, I had the great pleasure of preaching to her congregation.  They were warm and welcoming and had a dozen children in attendance who got a special Children's Time and then left the main service for Sunday school.  Preaching was quite difficult for me.  I am so used to the spirited response I get during my sermons at Open Arms MCC, that I was taken aback by the total lack of response I got from that congregation.  They were really not lively and demonstrative, but were very serious and attentive.  I didn't preach very well, I'm afraid.   I didn't even know how dependent I've become on the constant feedback I get during sermons at home.  I have a new level of appreciation for our congregation and the support we give one another.

After months of trying to recruit a musician and advertisements, I have started receiving responses from the various ads I've placed.   One person changed her mind when she found out that we were an LGBT church.  One young man is an "experimental" musician.  One has a doctorate in performance music and much church experience.  I hope to announce very soon that we have a professional keyboardist.

Rev. Jim

Deacon's Corner

Yo God,
There has been a nip in the air these past few days.
Mother nature is reminding us that the season will be turning soon,  
that the cycle keeps rotating from Spring to Summer and Fall to Winter,
that the earth blossoms and grows than is harvested and sleeps.
That is the gift of nature that You have given us.

We too have our life cycle, birth to youth and adult to old age.
Somewhere along that path our minds stay young but our bodies move to old age. We seem to still see ourselves twenty to thirty years younger than our bodies really are. So often the mind and heart are willing but the body is slow to follow.

God, our Faith also grows through a cycle.
We learn of Your wonder and You are magical to our young hearts.
In our youthful belief we hear the stories that have been passed down by Your people.  As adults we question and search and struggle to believe at times...
In our old age we still question and learn but there is no doubt that You love us.

Yo God, thank You for the gift of changing seasons.
For the joy of this journey we call the cycle of life, and
praises for this never-ending passage called Faith. Amen

Deacon Debbie

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