Pastor’s Notes

Just the Facts, Ma’am…

G.K. Chesterton and several other literary figures were once asked what book they’d want to have with them, if they were stranded alone on a desert island.

“The complete works of William Shakespeare”, one writer quickly replied.
“I’d choose the Bible”, offered another.
“And what about you?” they asked Chesterton, who thought about it for a moment and then replied, “I’d want to have Thomas’ Guide to Practical Shipbuilding.”

A wise man, that Chesterton. And a good reminder to all of us that sometimes it is enough to supply “just the facts, ma’am”, and to ask only for what we need in the moment.

Years ago when I was pastor of the Silverton United Methodist Church, I led a church retreat in which I asked everyone to come up with a title and the first five chapters for their own autobiography. One of the young men on this retreat was a bit uncomfortable with any kind of personal sharing (he told me his palms would begin to sweat at the beginning of every Bible study class when we did the “check in” with each other), and this is how he responded to that exercise: the title of his book was Just the Facts, Ma’am; and his first five chapters were labeled:

Chapter One: I Was Born
Chapter Two: To School and Back Home
Chapter Three: Love and Marriage
Chapter Four: Daddy
Chapter Five: The Working World

It was enough to give the group the essence of a life – no more, no less. It was just exactly what I had asked for in that one moment. And it was enough.

The temptation can be great to come to church, to engage with fellow believers, even to approach God and ask for “The Complete Works” of life. When all we really need is “The Practical Guide” to the present moment. The recognition that sometimes “Just the Facts, Ma’am” is enough can be the beginning of spiritual wisdom which enables us to stay awake and aware in the here and now.

Category Pastor's Notes |

Uncommon Joy

One of the books I’ve been reading lately is Gary Shockley’s The Meandering Way: Leading by Following the Spirit. In it the author looks at some of the challenges facing the church today and suggests some ways we might need to change to address those challenges. At one point, Shockley writes:

“Many people in our society still picture the church as a time machine that warps everyone back to the 1950s with a predictable worship style – somber-looking people all facing forward, droning on in monotone voices, and having little tolerance for expressions of spontaneity or joy… I have come to believe that thriving congregations in this century will ultimately be the ones that focus on becoming authentic faith communities that genuinely care for others, are graceful and unconditionally loving of people from all walks of life, see themselves as living laboratories for discovering new ways of doing ministry, and are characterized by uncommon joy.”

I am thrilled to be able to say that this second kind of church – the thriving congregation full of uncommon joy – is what I experience here at First Church. Life here is never dull…in large part because we help each other allow for the spontaneous, the surprising, the delight-full experiences of God’s gracious presence.

It is interesting how often visitors are surprised by this sense of open expectancy, and how newcomers react to the possibilities of unconditional love and authentic faith. For some it can be scary to enter into a community where individuals are encouraged to think about their faith and to share their spirituality without worry about conforming to one particular norm. For others, it is like finally finding a breath of fresh air!

So while we are not yet perfect (and never will be); while we still have many challenges and much work to do as a congregation… we can have high hopes. Because we are a community characterized by uncommon joy. So it might be good to remind ourselves of these words by Mary Oliver (one of my favorite poets):

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate.
Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns
destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often
kind. And much can never be redeemed.

Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this
is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something
happens better than all the riches or power in the world.
It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in
the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case.

Whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

Category Pastor's Notes |

Too Small Plans

In the coming weeks, the Parish Conference and the Ministry Conference will be doing some work together to identify some priorities for FUMC in the next 3 to 5 years. The truth is there are about a thousand different ways we could spend our energies, and just as many goals we could set for our common ministry.

In order to be most effective in our work, I believe we need to have a sense of direction. We need to “dream big dreams” and then set forth a few priorities for our congregation. Parish Conference will begin their work by answering a few questions together, like this one which you might want to consider as well:

“What one aspect of your church best represents the heartbeat of your congregation?”

I like that question because it is relatively open-ended. And my answer to the question might not be anything like your answer. But if we share our answers we might not only learn something about each other, we might glimpse a little more truth about our church.

I found this poem, which suggests to me that we need to do this work of prioritizing and goal setting in the broadest way possible. It is written by David Whyte, and entitled “What To Remember When Waking”, and goes in part like this:

“In that first hardly noticed moment
in which you wake,
coming back to this life from the other
more secret,
moveable
and frighteningly honest world
where everything began,
there is a small opening into the day
which closes the moment
you begin your plans.

What you can plan
is too small
for you to live.

What you can live wholeheartedly
will make plans
enough
for the vitality hidden in your sleep….”

I am hoping we will make plans an then live them wholeheartedly, together.

Rev. Donna

Category Pastor's Notes |

From What a Great Idea!

How to Kill your Own Ideas:

• Expect to receive all the credit
• Never look for a second right answer
• Drag your feet; lack a sense of commitment or excitement
• Run it through endless committees
• Wait for market surveys and full market analysis
• Hold lengthy meetings to explore its merit
• Boost cost estimates, just to be safe
• Set unrealistic deadlines
• Don’t get opinions, ideas, or feedback from others
• Make sure it is the only idea you ever have

How to Generate Even More Ideas:

• Use the “what if” compass – suggest opposite actions to test out an idea. For example, What if we stretch it – or shrink it. What if we combine it – or separate it. What if we appeal to kids – appeal to seniors?
• Use a negative definition – think about what something is not. For example, The conflict is not – life threatening, it is not the first or the last, it is not all we do in church.
• Flip-flop results – think about producing the opposite from what you desire, to give you a new perspective on the problem.
• Challenge assumptions – ask “why” or “why not” with some regularity
• Creative borrowing – what ideas you’ve seen or heard about elsewhere might work for you in your situation?
• Metaphorically speaking – Try using metaphors to describe your problem or see it in a new light.

From What a Great Idea! 2.0 by Chic Thompson

Category Pastor's Notes |

One Foot in the Water

One of the things I try to do on a regular basis is swim laps. I’ve not always had the kind of nearly perfect discipline like some of you here, but I do try to get to the pool at least three days a week.

This afternoon I had finished my swim and decided to luxuriate for a few minutes in the hot tub before facing the cold winter weather again. Sitting there, I got to witness a little drama playing out in front of me. There was a young child – probably 3 or 4 years old – whose mother was becoming increasingly frustrated with this child’s unwillingness to venture into the pool for a swimming lesson.

Clearly, there were competing agendas in play. Mom had paid for a swimming lesson. She knew what time it started and how soon it ended. She knew how important it is for every child to learn to swim, to be safe around water, and probably also knew how much joy the water could hold for her child.

The child, on the other hand, knew how scary the pool is, and just how dangerous the water can be to a non-swimmer. The child understood that swimming is not a natural talent, that people are not fish and that clearly she would not be pushed or cajoled or even threatened into the pool.

Watching this drama I was reminded of a couple of things. First, I remembered my own frustration when I found out that I had paid for 6 weeks of ballet lessons for my youngest daughter who spent every class session sitting along the wall, watching the others learn. And I could appreciate that mother’s irritation.

But then I was reminded of something else. When I looked a little more closely at that young girl and saw her ambivalence and her struggle etched upon her face, I was reminded of the very human experience of fear. You could tell just by looking at her – this child wanted to jump into the pool. And, she didn’t want to die doing it.

It is a normal thing for us to fear what we have not yet experienced, or do not know. Even when we stand watching others having the time of their lives. Even when some part of us knows that the new experience, the new adventure, the new territory will probably be a good thing, full of blessings for us, we still may react with hesitation, ambivalence and fear.

It is a normal thing, but it is also a very limiting and potentially life-denying thing if we let our fears alone stop us from risking that new adventure, that new growth, that new experience or territory. In the presence of the swim instructor, or in the midst of the faith community, -surrounded by teachers, family, and friends – we can find ways to enter into the unknown safely. We can find the systems to support us and the mentors to challenge us and the structures to catch us if we fall. But we still have to be willing to take the first step.

Eventually, that mom at the pool gave up trying to force her child into the water. She let go of her hand and walked a few paces away and sat down. Her daughter looked back at her for a moment and then very tentatively, very cautiously moved toward the edge of the pool. Finally, the girl sat down and put one foot in the water and began ever so slightly to splash.

I’m sure it wasn’t the huge success that mom was anticipating from this first day of swimming lessons. On the other hand, I thought it was a victory all the same. One foot in the water… who knows where that will lead?

Category Pastor's Notes |

Snow Day

The snow started falling at my house yesterday afternoon. It was lovely to watch – especially since I had already decided that my Martin Luther King Jr. holiday would be spent at home, catching up on rest, doing a few creative projects, and enjoying being home.

This morning it was still beautiful, and I appreciated the snow even during the hour it took me to get here to church from Beaverton (a drive which usually takes about 20 to 30 minutes). Now I am hoping that by the time I head home at 8:30 or 9:00 this evening the mercury will not have fallen to freezing so that the roads will be passable.

All in all, I love a good snow. And I chuckle at the excitement it causes us all – especially the television news crews standing watch on the top of Sylvan Hill along Highway 26, or out in the Gorge, or in the Coast Range. It seems we Oregonians just love a good weather story!

As it happened, I was part of a conference call this morning with people from Alaska, Washington, Idaho and Oregon. Of course the Alaskans thought it was hilarious that many of the team were calling in from home, not daring to drive to their offices with the 3 inches of snow they had on their driveways. I guess it is all a matter of perspective. It’s all in what we’re used to, and what we are prepared for.

At our weekly staff meeting this morning Dwight Dragoo was our facilitator. And he greeted us with our usual agenda, plus a few nicely chosen quotes for the day… all having to do with winter, or with snow. Here is a quick sampling:

“One kind word can warm three winter months”- a Japanese proverb
“A snowflake is winter’s butterfly” – from a Hero Arts stamp
“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant…” – Anne Bradstreet

And then there was my personal favorite:

“When it snows, you have two choices: shovel, or make snow angels.” (author unknown)

I hope to remember both of these choices. Because sometimes when the snow falls, either literally or metaphorically, we need to shovel. We need to care for the physical needs of home, family, friends, and ourselves.

And other times, what we really need is to make snow angels – to revel, to play, to rejoice in the moments of surprise, the unusual occurrences in our lives. We need those snow angels every bit as much as we need the cleared sidewalks and bare driveways of our souls. On snow days … and every day.

Rev. Donna

Category Headlines, Pastor's Notes |

More Creativity Killers

Here are a few more “killer phrases” – those statements we unconsciously direct at ourselves or each other, which have the effect of convincing us to abandon our creativity in favor of timidity or conformity or even mediocrity:

Stalling
Harry Warner, president of Warner Brothers in 1927, insisted, Who the heck wants to hear actors talk? We all know what happened to the silent movies! What about what has happened to your creative genius when you say things like Take that through a committee…

Comparative Thinking
In 1897 the president of Remington Corporation rejected the rights to the new invention of a typewriter, by saying No mere machine will replace a reliable and honest clerk. Have you ever found yourself in line with that sentiment, uttering words like We’ve always done it this way… It is change for the sake of change.

Catastrophizing
You remember Chicken Little’s famous declaration The sky is falling! What about our tendency to declare things like They’ll clean your clock… People will leave… We won’t be able to pay the bills.

Zero Defects
Some anonymous quality controller quipped, Do it right the first time. A nice sentiment, but what happens if we need the trial and error in order to grow? Ever hear yourself suggesting If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it… Leave well enough alone…We’re okay…?

I wonder what might happen in your life (or in mine) if just for a season – a few days maybe, a few weeks, even a month – we imposed a moratorium on these creativity killers? What might happen if we paid attention to the phrases emanating from our lips and stopped them before they left? What might happen if instead we consciously chose to live as if we believed we are created in God’s image and therefore all of us – every one of us – is a creative genius?

Category Pastor's Notes |

January!

Named for the Roman god Janus, the protector of doorways and gates. You may remember from your mythology classes that Janus is always pictured with two faces, one looking to the past and the other facing the future. How interesting that those early Romans thought about protection needing to involve both the past and the future!

At the beginning of another calendar year, it might be good to employ a little bit of Janus’ genius. It might be good for us to protect our doorways, our gates, our passages, if you will. It might indeed be wise for us to protect this new year from the regrets and the leftover fears of the year just past. Likewise, it might serve us well to protect 2012 from the rigid expectations and imagined outcomes we place upon the future.

Those Romans may be onto something. Something which goes beyond resolutions easily made and even more easily broken. To be protected in this present moment, traveling through the gate from 2011 into 2012, could be a very good thing, indeed.

And I believe it is a possibility! Not because I am looking for Janus to save us; but rather for the wisdom he imparts. Let us not be trapped in our past nor lost in our future. Let us be here, today. Because it is January!

Donna

By the way… Did you know January is National Diet Month? No surprise there, for sure… but what about these other celebrations: Prune Breakfast Month? Bread Machine Baking Month? National Egg Month? National Hot Tea Month? Oatmeal Month? National Hobby Month? National Book Blitz Month? National Radio Month? Or how about my personal favorite… National Be On Purpose Month?!

Category Pastor's Notes |

An Artificial Tree?! Where Did I go Wrong?

I just returned from a few days in Oakland, California, where my 24 year old daughter is living. Sarah and her sister Kate had been home for Christmas and invited us to accompany her down to California to celebrate Kate’s 20th birthday together on December 28.

We had a nice visit together, did a few things in San Francisco, explored Oakland, laughed and told stories and just generally relaxed after a very hectic Advent and Christmas. And I know it meant a lot to Sarah to have us in her home.

However, it became another one of those “learning opportunities” for me, and represented another milepost on my journey of maturity. Because there in Sarah’s living room I came face to face with another proof that she is living her own life – in her own way. There in front of her front window, proudly positioned for all to see, was a white and gold artificial Christmas tree!

Now I ask you – how can a woman born and raised in western Oregon, a true Northwesterner – find beauty in an artificial Christmas tree? Where did I go wrong as a parent?

Of course, it turns out that wonders never cease. It turns out that beauty really is in the eye of the beholder, and that what I find unthinkable my daughters might think is just fine. And it turns out that there is always more to learn when it comes to growing up and letting go.

Like any good parent I say I want my children to grow up strong and independent. I want them to know their own minds, to live their own lives with integrity and grace. Yet it still catches me off guard when they do!

Growing up and letting go. It is an absolutely essential lesson to learn (over and over again) as a parent. It is also a good one to learn as a disciple of Christ. Like any good Christian I want God to be God – full of integrity and grace apart from my preconceived notions or expectations. And yet, it still catches me off guard when God is! And I once again have to learn the lesson that the universe and even my faith does not revolve around me, and cannot be prescribed by me.

I have to grow up and let go enough to let God be God. And then to trust that there is an equal space for me to be me. Wonders never cease. And sometimes, an artificial tree really is a thing of beauty.

Happy New Year!

Donna

Category Pastor's Notes |

Creativity Killers

I often am dismayed by the number of people (adults usually) who truly believe that they are not “creative”. They will attest to this belief when asked to participate in any art project, or when invited to write an original essay, or brainstorm some new way for doing a routine activity, or even creatively trouble-shoot some persistent problem.

I am dismayed by that response because I truly believe if we are made in God’s image, then we must surely be made as creative beings. Gordon MacKenzie, in his book Orbiting the Giant Hairball, tells this story about children’s progression from creativity to conformity:

I always begin with the same introduction: “Hi! My name is Gordon MacKenzie and, among other things, I am an artist. I’ll bet there are other artists here, too. There have to be, with all the beautiful pictures and designs you have hanging in your classroom…Beautiful pictures. They made me feel wonderful! I felt more at home when I saw them because they made me realize there are other artists here, besides me. I’m curious. How many artists are there in the room? Would you please raise your hands?”

The pattern of responses never varied. In the 1st grade, en mass, the children leapt from their chairs, arms waving wildly, eager hands trying to reach the ceiling. Every child was an artist. In the 2nd grade, about half the kids raised their hands, shoulder high, no higher. The raised hands were still. In the 3rd grade, at best, 10 out of 30 kids would raise a hand tentatively, self-consciously.

And so on up through the grades. By the time I reached 6th grade, no more than one or two raised their hands and then only ever-so-slightly, guardedly, their eyes glancing from side to side uneasily, betraying a fear of being identified by the group as a closet artist.

So what is it that moves us from creative geniuses to genius conformists? What is it that kills that spark of spontaneity and confidence we were born with, that creativity which comes in the image of God? Killer phrases are a part of the answer.

Creativity killers. We’ve all heard them, most of us have uttered them from time to time. There are several types of killer phrases we direct at ourselves, or at one another. All of them are problematic if what we desire is to grow into that image of God in which we have been created. Here are just a few:

Overgeneralization
Ken Olsen, the president of Digital Equipment Corporation in 1977, famously stated, There is no reason for any individual to have a computer at home.
Talk about an overgeneralization (and obviously one that was not true)! Here are a few other more familiar killer phrases in this category: It will never work…They won’t like it… It will never sell

Put-Downs
Listen to what Napoleon I of France said to Robert Fulton about his steam engine: You would have to make a s hip sail against the wind by lighting a bonfire under her decks? I have no time to listen to such nonsense!
We might respond to someone’s new idea by saying things like You’re kidding, right?… You’ve got to be joking!…Or maybe we like to just roll our eyes indulgently.

Selective Editing
President Grover Cleveland, in 1905, said this in response to the suffragettes: Sensible and responsible women do not want the right to vote. We might say It’s not in the budget… We’re in a bit of a money crunch right now…

Category Pastor's Notes |

Merry Christmas

In a recent sermon I confessed to the congregation my consternation over the calendar in 2011 … and the fact that Christmas Day falls this year on a Sunday. It doesn’t happen very often (about once every 7 years, I think), but it does make life a little more “interesting” for those of us in church work.

Wouldn’t you know it – after 8 years with relatively little work to do for Christmas (nobody wants to see their District Superintendent in December!), I am back in the pulpit, back doing “honest work”, and December 25th is a Sunday.

When my children were young they would wonder aloud why we had to go to church again on Christmas Day, after two or more worship services the night before, on Christmas Eve? Especially since there were all those packages under our Christmas tree, just waiting to be opened!

So when I pointed the calendar out to them this year, I fully expected them to groan, at least a little. But their response surprised me, when they said, “Great! We’ll get another opportunity to worship with you at your new church!”

Their response caught me off guard, and helped me to bring my own expectations of Christmas back in line with my faith. Why wouldn’t we want to go to church on Christmas Day? Christmas is, after all, a celebration based in community. It is, at its root, really all about community … the Divine/Human community we call life.

Manfred Weber edited a little book (which I found in the First Church library, by the way) called Christmas with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, where I read these words about community and Christmas:

“Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” –
This is how we speak at the manger in Bethlehem,
this is how our words pile up on one another
at the sight of the divine child…
Yet these words are finally in fact
nothing other than a wordless silence of adoration
before the inexpressible,
the presence of God in the form of a human child.

The inexpressible wonder of Christmas, the inexpressible gift is the presence of God in human form. It is this reality, as Eugene Peterson puts it in his version of the prologue to John’s Gospel:

The Word was first, the Word present to God, God present to the Word.
The Word was God, in readiness for God from day one.
Everything was created through him;
Nothing – not one thing! – came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out….
The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.

God in Christmas is still becoming flesh and blood and moving into our neighborhood. I can’t think of a better reason to gather together on December 25th in celebration and gratitude for community and for Life.

Merry Christmas!

Category Pastor's Notes |

Send Us an Angel

Several years ago I spent some time on the Scottish Island of Iona, worshipping at the Abbey and taking time out for prayer and meditation. (Iona is the place where Christianity first came to the British Isles, thanks to St. Columba who worked in Scotland and Ireland in the 6th century. It is known as a “thin place” by Celtic Christians… one of those places on earth where the space between God and humanity seems very small, very “thin”.)

Since then I’ve kept up with the Iona Community through books, songs, worship resources and the like. And I often find that they touch something deep within my own soul, or speak of my faith journey in profound ways. Like this prayer, written by Rev. George F. MacLeod, the 1938 founder of this religious community, which seems so very appropriate for this last week in the season of Advent. The prayer is called “Send Us an Angel” and goes, in part, like this:

Lord God: some of us are a little like the Shepherds;
just carrying on with our jobs…despite the turbulence
in the world scene.
Give us a message…send us an angel
that will start us seeking a new way of life.

Thus we shall be able to receive the gift of love and light and life,
when Christmas Day shall dawn. Amen.

Category Pastor's Notes |

“Let’s Make Change” undergoes Change

Beginning this Sunday, December 18th, we will have a new way of collecting our monthly offering for local charities. We have been making baskets available at the back of the sanctuary on the third Sunday of each month for this purpose.

Now, you will have an opportunity to bring your special gifts along with a brief expression of your gratitude, in what we will call our monthly “Thank Offering”. Simply come to the front of the sanctuary or to the back, place your gift in the bucket and use the microphone there to tell us one reason you are giving thanks this month.

The money collected in December will go to help our own Goose Hollow Family Shelter. And the thanksgiving … that will go to lighten each of our hearts as we remember the extraordinary gifts of God in each of our lives.

Category Pastor's Notes |

ADVENTure

During the four Sundays in Advent, I have been leading an inter-generational Sunday School class called the ADVENTure. This group meets in the Fireside Room from 9 to 10:15 each Sunday morning (through December 18). We are learning about Advent, and preparing for Christmas while we also are connecting with each other through storytelling, games, Bible reading… even a little bit of art.

I have been pleased with the enthusiasm and the willingness of the adventurers to play along. Like the first week, when I shared this quote from Martin Luther King, Jr: “Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the rest of the staircase”, and asked that each person write their own metaphor to describe faith.

Here’s just a sampling of the rich metaphors created:

• Faith is expecting the dawn in the middle of the night.
• Faith is beginning before you know the ending.
• Faith is knowing you are loved even when you are all alone.
• Faith is lying all the way down in a hammock.
• Faith is not just believing in a chair; it is sitting down.
• Faith is gratitude.

Then, this last week, we looked at the story of John the Baptist, out in the wilderness, serving as Jesus’ advance man. And I asked the folks to work in groups, pretending that Jesus had commissioned them to create a few advertising posters announcing his coming and preparing his way.

Using old magazines and a little bit of glue, here are a couple of “ads” created:

Real Simple
The Father’s
LOVE
Saving you
Now
Artist in Residence – In the World – Encouraging Community

(and how about this one…)

When did you first understand the meaning of Love?
What does real food mean to you?
Discover a new Way – Refresh You – It’s a Revolution!

I like the creativity and the wonder of thinking about Advent/Jesus/Christmas/God/And Us… in some new ways. It helps me to Make Christmas Count. There’s still time, if you’d like to join the ADVENTure…I’ll see you next Sunday!

Tags: Advent2011
Category Pastor's Notes |

Focus

A few years ago I watched with great interest as Michael Phelps lived up to his potential at the 2008 Summer Olympics. I particularly appreciated the interviews he gave before he stepped into that Olympic pool. Because what caught my attention in each and every interview was Michael’s incredible focus.

As he prepared for the Olympics, he spent four hours in the pool every day – every day – including his birthday, Christmas, Spring Vacation, finals week – every day.

Sometimes, when I am swimming laps, I get to thinking about all that I have to do when I get to the office, or when I go home. And as my mind drifts into what comes next, I lose my focus and often decide I can’t afford the time for a really long swim. Ultimately that probably makes me less effective or efficient on all that comes next, and I realize I would have done better to swim longer.

Focus. We all need it if we are to consistently practice anything – whether it is a sport, a performance, a job, or even our discipleship. We need the people and the places which encourage and support us in hanging onto our focus. That is one reason why the church continues to call us together. This is a place to focus and to help each other to keep that focus each and every day.

Tags: inspirational
Category Pastor's Notes |