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Pentecost: The Work of the Spirit
July 30, 2008
Pilgrims on the Journey:
1. I was off the Sunday before last at a family reunion in upstate New York. This weekend I am attending a 30th anniversary gathering of a Senior High Youth Mission Trip to the Yucatan. The adult leaders who accompanied us (then in their thirties, now in their sixties) are still members of my home church in Ann Arbor. They tracked down all the kids who went (now graying middle-agers), and all but one of us are coming. It will be a fascinating case-study in how a first-time immersion experience in a Third World context can give shape to people's lives. I'll let you know what I discover. (My sister, Sue, who was one of the participants, will be going with me.)
Ashley will be leading worship this Sunday, which will include Celebration of the Lord's Supper. No "first Sunday" buffet this month.
2. We continue this week asking members and friends of our community to share where they discern the work of the Spirit in the world around us. Where is the Spirit opening your eyes to see the world in a new way? Where is the Spirit calling you in the world? These are the questions for the season of Pentecost.
Today our reflection is from our Parish Associate Charles "Van" Gorder.
Jeremiah 20:7
My one seminary Hebrew professor adored the Hebrew phrase Jeremiah uses in 20:7. For reasons I cannot adequately recreate, he found it to be an intriguing grammatical construction, but also a powerful reminder from Holy Spirit to keep our doctrines of God and humanity in order.
Jeremiah is the minority voice–the weeping prophet with a counter-cultural message that was less than popular. He speaks nothing unfaithful, but there was little confirmation of his faithfulness. His prayer is not the format we instruct children to use. "Lord! You deceived me and I was deceived!" How could he be anything else if an infinite Divine chooses to deceive a finite human? The Holy Spirit invites all of us back to questions whether, when we are sure of this or that, we have been deceived or just are deceived.
In Church politics, there are wonderful, fine and faithful saints who are as sure as I am that they are being loving and faithful to the truth. It is inconceivable that we both are right. On the floor of presbytery many moons ago, a motion about a controversial issue important to a number of us came to the floor from a faithful minority that had little possibility of prevailing. The human me wanted it defeated soundly. The theologian and parliamentarian in me wanted to stand up and move that the motion be postponed indefinitely with thanks to the faithful who cared enough to raise a good point and with love for the faithful ones who may have perceived themselves wronged by such a motion. The net effect would be that neither side won or lost. Both sides could go away affirmed. Neither side could self-righteously proclaim themselves the "faithful few." We might even find common ground for a future cooperative venture.
The arch-conservative President of a Presbyterian College of the narrowest political and biblical reputations possible told me years ago that the older he got, the more tentative he became about most things. It seems hard to believe in his case. Still, as a saint of integrity, I will take him at his word–and give thanks for small miracles.
There simply are things we must stand for or against. But what if we ask the Holy Spirit whether it is possible that we are deceived? What if we allowed God’s love and wisdom to honor our opponents rather than humiliate or defeat them? Somehow, I fear it might be too un-American in a political election season. But maybe that is also a time to start.
Look for this and other stories of the "Spirit at Work" on our website:
http://www.churchofthepilgrims.org/pentecoststories.html
2. Compassionate Action Needed:
- Open Table, our weekly Sunday afternoon meal for the hungry and homeless needs extra volunteers for August. If you would like to help (first-timers welcome) send a note to DeLania Hardy dhardy@ampo.org.
- Ward 2 Churches in the Washington Interfaith Network will be doing another "Get Out the Vote" walk on Saturday, August 9, in support of WIN's "Neighborhoods First" agenda. Training will be at Church of the Pilgrims at 9:15 a.m., followed by walking the neighborhood. No previous experience necessary! This is a great way to connect with our neighbors around our values. If you would like to participate, or need more information, send me or Jean Stewart jean.stewart@rcn.com a note.
3. Kudos: The Visitor's Services Center at the DC Jail has named church member Mary Lib Pate a recipient of their annual George E. Holland Award for her outstanding work with inmates and families. In presenting the award, they note: "She visits with inmates at the Jail on a regular basis and provides assistance to them in areas of individual need, including ID, housing, referrals to job training, alcohol and drug treatment. Mary Lib has also initiated a relationship with the Georgetown Library staff to donate books to the jail." Congratulation, Mary Lib!
4. Listening for the Spirit at Work:
- There are so many blogs out there now that it is hard to separate the wheat from the chaff, yet finding an inspiring writer is worth the effort. One of my favorites is by Carol Howard Merritt, the associate pastor of our neighbor in Foggy Bottom, Western Presbyterian Church, and author of Tribal Church. Carol will be visiting with the Session at our next meeting. She blogs at http://tribalchurch.org/ . You can find a good list of other excellent blogers at The Christian Century website: http://ccblogs.org/
- We will continue to have the Labyrinth available in the Bird Room for meditative reflection before worship. If you have never walked the Labyrinth, it is an ancient spiritual practice of walking circuits-- a spiral pathway-- to the center of labyrinth, and then back out, allowing for prayer and reflection on the journey of life. (See http://www.lessonsforliving.com/labyrinth.htm <http://www.lessonsforliving.com/labyrinth.htm> ).
5. Farewell Party for Peggy Harwood: Charlotte Floyd is hosting a farewell gathering for Peggy Harwood on August 16 at 6 p.m. to say good-bye before her move to Texas at the end of August. Peggy will be moving to Forth Worth to be near her mother, and closer to her daughter and grandchildren. Please send Peggy a note by August 5th if you would like to join the festivities: peggyjwh@gmail.com
6. Prayer Concerns:
- Doris Hendershot's older sister, Irene Grant, died yesterday in Zanesville OH, near her home in Norwich. Last week she was injured when the tractor with which she was mowing a field on her farm rolled over. She was in a Columbus hospital for a couple of days, then discharged to an assisted living facility in Zanesville on Sunday. She seemed to be doing well, then took a turn for the worse early yesterday and died at about 7:45 PM. Doris's only other sibling, an older brother, died some years ago. You can send Doris a note at 4437 Wells Parkway, University Park MD 20782
- Doris' husband, Gerry Hendershot, will undergo cataract surgery tomorrow, somewhat more complicated than usual because of Gerry's eye problems last year. Please keep Gerry (and his doctor) in your prayers.
- Church Administrator Marcia Mapp's daughter, Charmaine, will have umbilical hernia surgery next Tuesday, August 5th. Marcia will be out of the office for a few days next week to care for Charmaine. Please keep them both in your prayers.
- Karen Kinney's husband, Michael, was laid-off from work, along with several other workers in a company down-sizing. Please keep Michael, Karen, and their family in your prayers, along with his co-workers.
Peace,
Jeff Krehbiel, Pastor
Church of the Pilgrims
Washington, DC
www.churchofthepilgrims.org <http://www.churchofthepilgrims.org>
July 16, 2008
Pilgrims on the Journey:
1. We continue this week asking members and friends of our community to share where they discern the work of the Spirit in the world around us. Where is the Spirit opening your eyes to see the world in a new way? Where is the Spirit calling you in the world? These are the questions for the season of Pentecost.
Today our reflection is from church member Michael Oswalt, who graduated last spring with joint degrees from Duke Law and Divinity Schools, and is now clerking for an appellate court judge in New York City:
I sometimes tell people that graduate school has made me feel as if I stepped into a time capsule. Mid-way through my first year I realized that the more hours I spent in the library introducing myself to foreign concepts and strange modes of analysis, the more my personality grew cut off from the parts of the world I had previously enjoyed: Sleeping in on a Saturday morning, waking to consider just what, exactly, I was going to do that day; The anticipation that comes from a visit from an out-of-town friend; The thought of an upcoming weekend trip to someplace new; and of course, keeping up with prime-time television. With the realization of those losses came a shade of stress I had never quite felt before: a feeling that while it was so easy, so socially acceptable to set aside four years of life for “study-time,” if I was honest with myself, what I had really done was set aside four years of life for “me-time.” Inside I understood that all the hours in the library, all the anxiety over grades, prestige, and rankings was really, on some level, just a sophisticated form of selfishness.
And because I experience connections with God most acutely through relationships, the seemingly interminable cycle of studying-solitude risked more than I had ever expected when filling out my applications in the Winter of 2003. That hurt.
But last May’s graduation stirred within me a sense of reemergence—I suddenly felt ready for the world (and TV!) again. Then I welcomed the Bar Examination into my life, and thoughts of reemergence faded-- fast.
But as has dotted my time in North Carolina, last week, while wallowing in that special form of frustration that comes only from attempts to master common law formulations of property, the Spirit broke through. A friend I had not spoken to in a few months called unexpectedly. Not to catch-up—he wanted advice. One of his friends had placed him in an uncomfortable situation and he wondered if I had any thoughts on how to handle it. With the caveat that I too found such spots particularly difficult, I, well, actually had a lot of thoughts. He seemed heartened.
The next day he text-messaged me with an update—he had followed my advice, and the situation turned out well. Crouched at a cubicle in the library’s basement, I felt warm inside.
A minute later he sent me another text. “Kathy,” a mutual friend of ours, had told him last week that I had been helpful to her last Winter when she was going through a difficult break up. In fact, that’s why he’d called. And he said he’d rely on me again. Still crouched, I felt the Holy Spirit.
After four years of school, I’m one heck of a studier. At times I’ve worried that’s all I have become. But last week, startled by the Spirit, I was reminded that God still thinks there’s more to me than that.
Look for this and other stories of the "Spirit at Work" on our website:
http://www.churchofthepilgrims.org/pentecoststories.html
2. This Sunday, July 20, our summer intern Quillen Fava will be preaching. Quillen has had an amazing experience this summer helping lead worship, participating in congregational life, working in the Pilgrimage, and immersing herself in city life-- including helping the city with their "homeless assessment," doing "get out the vote" work with WIN, and participating in a 48 hour "urban plunge" with the National Coalition for the Homeless, in which she spent two nights sleeping outside. Come and support Quillen this Sunday as she reflects on her faith journey.
3. Next Monday night, July 21, 7:30 p.m., is the Washington Interfaith Network's "Candidates Accountability Night" with all those who are running for City Council, including candidates for Ward 2 (our local ward), to encourage the candidates to support WIN's "Vote Neighborhoods First" agenda. A group will carpool from the church, leaving at 6:15 p.m.. Please send Jean Stewart ( jean.stewart@rcn.com ) or Jeff Francisco ( jefranci@yahoo.com) a note if you can attend.
4. Listening for the Spirit at Work:
- Taizé Worship: Jean Stewart's Covenant Group, which is exploring various methods of prayer, will gather next Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in the Bird Room for an evening of "Taizé Worship," led by music director Rob Passow. Taizé, from the ecumenical monastic community in the southern Burgundy region of France (see www.taize.fr/en <http://www.taize.fr/en> ), features meditative, chant-like songs with periods of silence and readings from scripture. The worship will be followed by a time of sharing, and suggestions on how to incorporate Taizé-style prayer and song into our daily spiritual practices. Newcomers are enthusiastically invited to join. For more information, contact Jean at jean.stewart@rcn.com.
- Summer Reading Non-Suggestion: Gerry Hendershot passes on this book review: Author Ann Rice, of vampire fame, got religion a few years ago, and has embarked on a multi-volume fictionalized life of Jesus, called "Christ the Lord." I picked up the second in the series, subtitled "Out of Egypt." It's about the boy Jesus, aged 7, during the year the family returned from Egypt to Nazareth. I listen to recorded books, and this was, surprisingly, available on CD. I listened to the first CD then gave up in disgust. This excerpt the Washington Post review captures my reaction: "Rice aims to explore this apocryphal domain, but her Jesus is like no other child, not merely because he's begotten by the Creator of the universe but because he shows hardly an ounce of spunk or curiosity. He never burns as either a child or an incipient deity." My Jesus burns with spunk and curiosity as boy, man, and God!
- Are there books you have been reading that you find meaningful to the life of the spirit? (Or ones to avoid?) Send me a review, and I will post it here.
- We will continue to have the Labyrinth available in the Bird Room for meditative reflection before worship. If you have never walked the Labyrinth, it is an ancient spiritual practice of walking circuits-- a spiral pathway-- to the center of labyrinth, and then back out, allowing for prayer and reflection on the journey of life. (See http://www.lessonsforliving.com/labyrinth.htm <http://www.lessonsforliving.com/labyrinth.htm> ).
5. Prayer Concerns: This week I am saddened to report the death of two former Pilgrims:
- Steve Coxe’s mother-in-law, Barbara Furniss, who was a church member together with her husband, Todd Furniss, during the 70's and 80's, died yesterday in Green Valley, Arizona, where they moved in l986. She sang in the choir, participated in play-reading groups, and many other events of the church during those years. Contributions in memory of Barbara may be given either to Ghost Ranch Conference Center (which Barbara and Todd enjoyed immensely and often) or to a Washington-area program that assists Spanish-speaking immigrants. You can express your condolences to Steve and his wife, Tricia (Barbara’s daughter), by sending a note to: 1013 S. 16th Street, Arlington, VA 22202.
- Mary Lib Pate shared that Allan Orton, an elder during the sixties here at Pilgrims, died June 24. He lived in Newville PA.
Peace,
Jeff Krehbiel, Pastor
Church of the Pilgrims
Washington, DC
www.churchofthepilgrims.org <http://www.churchofthepilgrims.org>
July 9, 2008
Pilgrims on the Journey:
1. We continue this week asking members and friends of our community to share where they discern the work of the Spirit in the world around us. Where is the Spirit opening your eyes to see the world in a new way? Where is the Spirit calling you in the world? These are the questions for the season of Pentecost.
Today our reflection is from our webmaster and graphic artist Kathy Keler:
The Spirit has been pretty rough on me this year. First, it pushed me to try to break though my limitations, filling me with the conviction that through faith, anything is possible. Then it let me fall squarely on my backside, forcing me to recognize I just can’t make it on my own. I really thought I was finally going to defeat my lifelong foe--depression--through courage and perseverance, like a real “spiritual warrior”. Instead, I ended up getting more severely depressed than I ever have been--and had to face the fact that if I didn’t ask for help, I’d be in real trouble. For a few weeks, I had to let myself be sustained solely by the compassion and generosity of others, living entirely from one day to the next. It wasn’t until the whole episode was behind me that I started to understand: that the humiliation of failing, of being so needy, of being forced to let go completely, is actually a very important part of what the Spirit has to teach me. The Spirit never abandoned me--but somewhere in my struggle towards freedom, my ego got in the driver’s seat, and wouldn’t let go until things really got shaken up. So now, when I look at my life and feel I don’t have a plan, and don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring, I can remember that experience of loss of control---and know that I will be OK.
Look for this and other stories of the "Spirit at Work" on our website:
http://www.churchofthepilgrims.org/pentecoststories.html
2. This Sunday, July 13, following coffee hour, Ashley and I will be leading a Pilgrimage Walk through the neighborhood. The genesis for this idea came from a similar walk Kelsey and I experienced last summer on the island of Iona. The walk will begin at the church and make six stops at various sites around the neighborhood (the Gandhi statue on Mass Ave, the labyrinth in front of St. Thomas Church, the Witherspoon statue on Connecticut, etc.). At each stop, there will be a brief reading and reflection, followed by an exercise to prompt deeper reflection on the journey of faith. Thus the walk is a spiritual pilgrimage through our community inviting deeper reflection on the world around us. The intent is that the Pilgrimage Walk might become a regular part of the experience for groups staying at the Pilgrimage. This is a trial run, hoping that some church members might be willing to help lead a walk in the future. The walk should last about 90 minutes. If it is pouring rain, or unduly hot and humid, we will postpone to another day. Please send me a note if you are considering joining us.
3. Monday July 21, 7:30 p.m., the Washington Interfaith Network will hold a Candidates Accountability Night with all those who are running for City Council, including candidates for Ward 2 (our local ward), to encourage them to support WIN's "Vote Neighborhoods First" agenda. A group will carpool from the church, leaving at 6:15 p.m.. Please send me or Jean Stewart ( jean.stewart@rcn.com ) a note if you plan to attend.
4. Compassionate Service Needed:
- Open Table, our weekly meal served each Sunday afternoon to those homeless or hungry, could use more volunteers this summer to help prepare meals and serve. If you are interested in volunteering, please send a note to DeLania Hardy dhardy@ampo.org.
- Georgetown Ministry Center is still in need of casual men's clothing, mainly for warm weather as there's very little room for storage. Bring items to the church-- marked "for G M C"-- and someone will deliver them.
5. Listening for the Spirit at Work:
- Summer Reading: I am reading two books at the moment, both of which I recommend for your summer reading, that at first glance seem to be at odds with one another. The first is by the "Progressive Evangelical" writer (is that an oxymoron?) Brian McLaren: Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices, in which he asserts that Christianity is less a set of beliefs than a way of life. He sets out to demonstrate how that way of life can be shaped and strengthened by a set of ancient practices common to the "Abrahamic faiths" of Christian, Judaism, and Islam, such as fixed-hour prayer, Sabbath keeping, pilgrimage, and giving. Introducing these concepts to an Evangelical audience for whom being a Christian means "believing certain things" is a revelation. The second book is by the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, a "Progressive Orthodox" theologian (another oxymoron?) and spiritual leader of the worlds' 100 million Anglicans: Tokens of Trust: An Introduction to Christian Belief, in which he explores the boundaries of Christian faith by delving into the ancient creeds of the church, especially the Nicene and Apostles Creeds. Williams intends to make these foundational documents resources for a contemporary faith. While I am sure that Williams would agree that Christianity is a way of life, he might point out that that way of life is grounded in what we believe as Christians. At a time when dogma and doctrine is decidedly out of style, Williams invites Christians to reflect thoughtfully about the faith we profess. Interestingly, both McLaren and Williams, coming from strikingly different contexts within the larger church, aim to restore ancient resources from the earliest periods of the community of faith for a post-modern world. Both books are available on Amazon, and are written for the non-specialist.
- Are there books you have been reading that you find meaningful to the life of the spirit? Send me a review, and I will post it here.
- We will continue to have the Labyrinth available in the Bird Room for meditative reflection before worship. If you have never walked the Labyrinth, it is an ancient spiritual practice of walking circuits-- a spiral pathway-- to the center of labyrinth, and then back out, allowing for prayer and reflection on the journey of life. (See http://www.lessonsforliving.com/labyrinth.htm <http://www.lessonsforliving.com/labyrinth.htm> ).
Peace,
Jeff Krehbiel, Pastor
Church of the Pilgrims
Washington, DC
www.churchofthepilgrims.org <http://www.churchofthepilgrims.org>
July 2, 2008
Pilgrims on the Journey:
1. This Sunday in worship we will celebrate The Lord's Supper, with our first-Sunday-of-the-month buffet lunch in the Fellowship Hall following.
2. We don't have a story of the Spirit at work this week from one of our own members, so I am attaching a letter to the wider church written by our newly elected Moderator Bruce Reyes-Chow, and Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons, following last week's meeting of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). I believe that Spirit was indeed at work among the commissioners last week, but it will be a contentious time for the Presbyterian Church in the coming two years as presbyteries across the country debate and vote on the amendments that have been sent forward. This is a time to pray for our church.
3. Mark Your Calendars:
- On Sunday, July 13, following coffee hour, Ashley and I will be leading a Pilgrimage Walk through the neighborhood. The genesis for this idea came from a similar walk Kelsey and I experienced last summer on Iona. The walk begins at the church and makes six stops at various sites around the neighborhood (the Gandhi statue on Mass Ave, the labyrinth in front of St. Thomas Church, the Witherspoon statue on Connecticut, etc.). At each stop, there is a brief reading and reflection, followed by an exercise to prompt deeper reflection on the journey of faith. Thus the walk is a spiritual pilgrimage through our community inviting deeper reflection on the world around us. The intent is that the Pilgrimage Walk might become a regular part of the experience for groups staying at the Pilgrimage. This is a trial run, hoping that some church members might be willing to help lead a walk in the future. The walk should last about 90 minutes.
- Monday July 21, 7:30 p.m., the Washington Interfaith Network will hold a Candidates Accountability Night with all those who are running for City Council, including candidates for Ward 2 (our local ward). A group will carpool from the church. More info to follow.
4. Listening for the Spirit at Work:
- We are now in the process of thinking about our Sunday morning Christian Education and Adult Spiritual Formation program for the Fall. We try to offer two different types of classes each Sunday, a downstairs class that is more "informational," and explores a theological or social topic, anything from doctrines of the church to foreign policy. Upstairs we work for classes that are more experiential and focus on our own spiritual development. You are invited to share your ideas as we think ahead toward what is needed. What are the areas of the life of faith that you would like to explore in more depth? What classes last year were most meaningful to you, and why? Is there a class that you might be willing to lead in the future? Share your ideas with me, Ashley, or our "Elder for Christian Education," Anne Womeldorf (adwomeldorf@speakeasy.net).
- We will continue to have the Labyrinth available in the Bird Room for meditative reflection before worship. If you have never walked the Labyrinth, it is an ancient spiritual practice of walking circuits-- a spiral pathway-- to the center of labyrinth, and then back out, allowing for prayer and reflection on the journey of life. (See http://www.lessonsforliving.com/labyrinth.htm <http://www.lessonsforliving.com/labyrinth.htm> ).
5. The DC Cowboys Dance Company, a non-profit, all-volunteer dance troop that raises money for HIV/AIDS service organizations through its performances (they describe themselves as "Brokeback meets Broadway"), rehearses in our Fellowship Hall on Tuesday nights. Last week they competed on the TV show "America's Got Talent." Just in case you didn't catch the show, here is a clip of their performance (they were approved to compete at the next level in Las Vegas, which means they will be on again): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ-dV1YLoPU <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ-dV1YLoPU>
6. Many of you have met Jim Sirbaugh, a retired minister-member of our Presbytery, who has worshiped with us several times over the past year. Please keep Jim in your prayers this weekend as he undergoes surgery for prostate.
Peace,
Jeff Krehbiel, Pastor
Church of the Pilgrims
Washington, DC
www.churchofthepilgrims.org <http://www.churchofthepilgrims.org>
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