Starting With Love - Greeting Everyone

This past Sunday I was rushing from my house (after putting Easter dinner in the oven) to get to worship at Anchor Park UMC.  My husband is the pastor there and our youngest daughter Ashley was visiting that Sunday.   As I rushed to my usual door of entry I was startled - I was greeted at a door that doesn't usually have greeters.   I was given a good morning and happy easter and a bulletin and a big smile.   


I remember being a little dazed as I was not prepared for that experience.   The more I thought about it the more I was impressed and surprised at what that greeting meant to someone like me who has been attending Anchor Park UMC for 4 years.   It made me feel good to be greeted and welcomed even though I was not a guest.


Then I read an article in the Lewis Center e-newsletter that encouraged churches to greet everyone.   Here is the article:   The Ministry of Greeting is for Everyone   By Dan Pezet  Full Article 


"The welcome of a greeter sets the tone of love."   How true that was for me and will be for churches that take on this challenge.

Now They Are Like Normal People

I was visiting with a 39 year old single male who does not attend church.  We were talking about our plans for the weekend.  I told him my daughter would be in town and he was thrilled for me because he knows how much my girls mean to me.  I asked him what he was doing for the weekend.   He was having dinner with his girlfriend's mother.  I asked:  Does she go to church?   His reply was interesting:  They used to go to church all the time - now they are like normal people and only go once in awhile.


This was a few days after hearing a grandmother in Target tell her grandchildren:  I am not buying Easter stuff - you know I don't believe in that &*^%$.


Both of these encounters are upsetting especially for someone like me, who spends all their time working for the church.  However, I have had some time to begin to make sense of these two encounters.   Perhaps this is good news for the myself and the church.   Maybe this signals the beginning of a new era for Christians.


When I think about Christianity of the 1950's - I remember that the church was community.  The only thing to do on Sunday morning, Wednesday evening, for youth, for parents with children - the only thing to do was to participate in a local church.  I believe that the understanding of church morphed in to an unhealthy understanding of what it means to be a Christian.  Being a Christian was like being in any other club - you go to be social, to do good things, to meet people, because everyone else does.


Jesus came to teach about a different way of life that went contrary to the world.  He taught that the last shall be first, the least will be the lifted up, the weak will be strong and those who are mighty and powerful will be brought down.   During the time of modernity we came to be the strong and powerful in society and now we are being brought down.  The only thing for us to do is to not mourn what has happened but to reclaim what Jesus really meant.


People like Shane Claiborne, Elaine Heath and many others are reclaiming that Christian heritage.  It is time that all of us stopped feeling sorry for ourselves and the negative reports we hear about the death of the church and denominations.  Now is the time to stand up and not be like "normal people".


As much as it hurt to hear those two different comments about Christianity - the slap in the face did me good.  My hope and prayer is that I will be able to live Christ's way out in my life.  I invite you to follow the footsteps of Jesus and together we can discover anew Christ's ways and hand in hand we can bring glimpses of the world the way God wants it to be - to bring those to light.


May your Holy Week truly be holy.

Time To Shed

In Anchorage the streets are finally getting clear of snow and so are the sidewalks and yards.  It won't be long until all the snow is gone if the warm weather keeps coming.   At our house another activity happens at this time of year:  shedding.   Scout has collected this very thick winter coat that has kept him warm and now it has to come off.  Unlike my coat that is neat and clean to remove - his coat comes off in clumps and lumps left everywhere.


This shedding got me to thinking about the seasons of our lives.   There are times when we must shed things that are no longer necessary.   Shedding isn't always a neat process.  There are those things that we just don't want to let go of.  Things that we prefer to continue to carry around with us.   It seems to me that at the end of the Lenten season it really is a good time for us to take stock of those things that need to be shed and work to remove them so we can move ahead without the burden of unnecessary weights.


When I think about our churches - there is some shedding that needs to happen as well.  We are being called to shed our old ways, our insider language, our inward focus, our shallow discipleship...   Once we truly shed our old ways we will be light and agile and able to respond to opportunities to be the church in the world.   We will have the scales from our eyes removed so we can truly see the world, notice where God is working and then join in.


I never look forward to the "shedding" season at our house.  For the dog or myself.  However, once the day arrives when all the old is shed - there is a sleek new look to our dog.  The dog is actually a lot thinner without the winter coat.  The same is true for us - when we remove the old ways that have been keeping us from going forward then we also have a sleek new look and outlook on the world and what it means to be a faithful disciple.


That is when we are truly ready to celebrate the resurrection.

Tis The Season for Mud

In Alaska this is the time we call "break-up".  That is when all the snow packed streets begin to break-up, parking lots become a mixture of rocks, mud and slush, and no matter what you do - you have to take your shoes off at the door to avoid tracking all that stuff into your home.  We wear grippers on our shoes and boots to keep from falling on the icy places.

At our house this is the season when taking the dog for a walk gets very messy.  No matter how we try to avoid the running water, ice, slush, mud, and rocks - the dogs undercarriage is covered with dirt by the time we get home.  It almost gives one the motivation to not walk the dog.  However, the good of the walk triumphs over the messiness and hassle of life this time of year.

As I was wiping down the dog today after a walk, I began to think how this dilemma is a lot like life.  As a child I thought that if you lived a good life and did good things - nothing bad would ever happen.   Then I grew up and realized that life is filled with all kinds of mud, slush, and rocks even in the midst of the good parts.  As a Christian we come to understand that these are the things that will make us stronger in our faith.  We come to understand that there really isn't much of life that is all good or all bad - it seems to come as a mixture.

When things happen like the earthquake and tsunami in Japan we can begin to see the world as out of control or we can also see all the good that is being offered in the midst of and in spite of the destruction.   There are people and situations that can come with a difficult side and that is usually tempered with the presence of God if we open our hearts.

I am working hard to practice looking through the lens that finds God's presence and blessing everywhere.  I pray the same for you.