A Ministry Beyond the Box

A year ago the Hudson Mohawk Association ordained Steve Ruelke as a UCC minister. The North Congregational UCC, Middletown, NY called Steve to serve as their associate pastor.

Now this sounds “inside the box” enough. But wait, it gets better. They offered to pay him $1.00 per year to do some supply preaching and to teach a Sunday school class every so often. Underpaid, but it still sounds like a rather normal job description for a part time associate pastor with full time secular employment.

Steve’s call gets a little more interesting when we consider the primary aspect of his relationship with North Congregational. The congregation called him to start a “Church on the Street” in the City of Newburgh (where Steve is the full time building inspector). Every Sunday afternoon since last spring Steve gathers on one particular street corner and he conducts worship with the homeless population of the City.

Steve and his wife Ruth have been doing this ministry together. Myrna Cary, a member of North Congregational, reported that when she and two other church members attended the service “it was blustery and cold but our hearts were warmed by Steve’s message.” She reported that about 25 worshippers were present. Ruth played the flute. They sang and prayed and celebrated communion.

This so-called Ecclesia Ministries meets outside of the long vacant Our Lady of Comfort homeless shelter. With Steve’s help the shelter is open once again.

Recently, Steve reflected on the past year, starting with his ordination, with North Congregational. In the May edition of the North Star newsletter he writes,

“Last Sunday – April 22nd – I celebrated the first anniversary of my ordination by leading an adult Sunday School class and standing in as guest preacher at Calvary Presbyterian Church here in the Burgh (Newburgh) before leading our weekly service on the side walk in front of Our Lady of Comfort…

“During all of that day, I carried with me the folks who helped to birth my ministry. Your loving kindness and support made it possible for us to begin our street ministry, to bring the gospel and worship to the sidewalks of our struggling neighborhood, to share the Good News with the impoverished, to offer release…to open doors for folks who’ve had them slammed in their faces on a regular basis.

“As I write this note, I close my eyes and I see the looks on your faces as I stood before you with my ordination paper. I listen and hear the Deacons telling the Official Board they supported my ordination and installation as associate pastor with the specific charge of doing what I now do...and I hear us laugh when without hesitation, you agreed to pay me a dollar a year (in advance). I feel your hands on me at my ordination ceremony and the joy that filled our church. Your kind words and prayers echo through my brain.

“But, that doesn’t just happen now as we begin another year on the journey. It happens every day. You see, every day – especially the hard days – I know that I can do what I do only by the grace of God. And, every day – especially the hard days – I know that, in addition to God, my North Church family walks down the street with me and offers a hand of friendship to the friendless.

“Such a blessing. My cup runs over.” [used with Steve’s permission]

Whether in or outside the box, whether on good and not so good days, with Steve we do what we can do to share God’s love with others only by God’s grace. Such a blessing!

Rick Cowles

Some Thoughts of Home

Memorial Day Weekend: it’s one of those holidays when thoughts of home bubble up from the recesses of my every day world.

Today I preached at UCC Bayberry. Pastor Mark Lawson needed a break and I was willing and the schedule was open. During the service folks were given the chance to light a candle for a loved one and then we prayed for all those named. I lighted a candle for my Mom, Erna. I could have lighted many candles: for my grandmother, Ethel Churchill; for former parishioners, Martha Gray and Charles Jones; for a dear mentor, Bill Fox.

Memorial Day forms perhaps the longest of my family’s traditions. My grandfather Neal Churchill died in 1922, when my mother was just a year old. He was buried in Plymouth, Massachusetts. On every Memorial Day my grandmother traveled from Springfield, Massachusetts to Plymouth to lay flowers on the grave. Not able to drive herself (she didn’t own a car or have a license) she would take whatever public transportation was available. My father started driving her and my mother after my parents started dating in 1938. I can’t remember how young I was when they started taking me along (with my older sister, Sue). But it’s been a lifetime.

My grandmother joined my grandfather in 1974. I was recently ordained by that time and took part in the service. My aunt Ruth and her husband, Bob, are also there, along with their daughter Sarah who died in infancy.

Now I take my father to visit the graves. We visited there in early May. The cemetery is ancient. Oak Hill cemetery is in the western outskirts of Plymouth. It is replete with a knobby warren of hillocks, covered with giant oaks. It’s impossible to maintain. But it’s wonderful. If there were enough room there, that’s where I would want to be.

My father has been remembering more of his life recently. He has missed my mother terribly and has spent a good deal of the last three years reminiscing about their life together. But in the last few months, he has been remembering other parts of his life. He's been telling stories that I swear I’ve never heard before.

During this last visit with him, he told me about how Bill Hale invited him to attend Faith Church, Springfield. Dad had been raised in Hope Church. But when we moved from one section of the city to another, it was less convenient to worship at Hope. (I love to tell how I was baptized in Hope and confirmed and ordained in Faith.)

Bill Hale was my seventh grade Sunday school teacher. I don’t know how saintly he might have been, but I do know that it takes a special kind of person to teach a class of seventh graders year after year!

I remember one bleak mid-winter Sunday when only three or four of us made it to class. The other “students” mostly meditated (read: they were sprawled across the tables resting their heads on their arms). Only he and I were talking. I think the subject was the Creation. He asked me how I could reconcile Genesis with evolution.

I can’t remember what either of us said. I do remember that I knew that he was actually interested in what I had to say. It continues to be one of the most important moments in my formation as a person of faith. And now I know that he was the one who also invited our family to join that community of faith.

There are many saints along the pathway of our lives: those who nurtured us, who guided and chided, who laughed and cried with us, who pulled for us whether we knew it or not. I’m grateful for all of them.

Memorial Day is precious…very precious.

Blessings,

Rick Cowles

"Is there anything we need to know?"

God calls us, at various times, in various places and ways, through various people and events, to do various tasks of ministry. One candidate for ordination said that during his college days some members of Campus Crusade for Christ surrounded him at a urinal in order to try to save his soul. This may be similar to the story of the Prodigal in Jesus’ parable who realized the low estate of his spiritual condition while slopping with the pigs in their sty.

We celebrate God’s call when we authorize persons for ordained, licensed or commissioned ministries, to be sure. We also celebrate God’s call when we elect persons to serve as leaders in our local churches, associations and conference.

Recently, the Associations of the Upstate Region have elected leaders to serve as officers or as members of association committees. Rev. Kelly Shiflett, pastor in Sherburne, was newly elected as moderator of the Susquehanna Association. Kelly is relatively new to the New York Conference and to the Association. He moved from North Carolina to begin his pastorate in Sherburne at the end of 2005.

In preparation for his first Association Council meeting this week Kelly emailed me, “Is there anything I should know?” Clear, direct, uncomplicated yet profound…that’s Kelly. He also had a point. Indeed what does he…or any of our churches and individuals…need to know about our life and ministry together in this region of the United Church of Christ?

Oneida and Susquehanna Associations are working to embrace a renewed sense of vision in order to strengthen our local churches to do ministry in fellowship with one another. Each association has identified its Family Counseling Ministry as a significant mission program to serve the needs of our churches and their members. Each association is looking forward to developing new ways to connect with congregations and to encourage inter-congregational networking. Each association is also taking the need to provide mentoring, fellowship and guidance for all those whom we authorize for ministry.

Black River/St. Lawrence women continue to build upon the success of their annual daylong spirituality retreats with the leadership of the Rev. Gen Dox and Linda Tuper. The Moderator, the Rev. Bonnie Bates ,has plans to hold a Mission Fair in the fall.

Hudson Mohawk supports the vital ecumenical ministry of the Capitol Region Theological Center, Mary Lou Hammer, executive director. The association continues to identify the outdoor ministries at Camp Medusa as a major mission effort.

The New York Conference also seeks to strengthen our mission, ministry and fellowship across the state through “Casting Your Nets on the Other Side,” a new initiative to help our churches plan for growth. Rev. Bonnie Miller and Michael Caine, Regional Conference Minister, are the directors of this program.

“This is an exciting time for the UCC,” remarked the Rev. Lynn Bujnak, team member of the Parish Life and Leadership Ministry Team in Cleveland, at the annual UCCNY Committees on Ministry Retreat last week. New initiatives in church vitality, the development of new and multiple paths of preparation for ordained ministry, and the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the United Church of Christ next month in Hartford, Connecticut are all very exciting.

It’s good to be UCC. In today’s Syracuse Post Standard appeared a front page article that reported on the “Christian” radio station that refused to air an ad for an upcoming evangelistic crusade because one of the preachers was to be a woman. “Nothing against women,” said the spokesperson (man) for the radio station. “It’s a matter of doctrine. We try to stick as closely to the Bible as we can.”

And so, I say again, how good it is to be UCC where “no matter who you are, no matter where you are on life’s journey, you’re welcomed here.”

Blessings,

Rick Cowles

“Through a Glass Dimly”

So, it is spring, and the Cowles have been doing some spring cleaning. I’ve already written to you about mowing the lawn. My wife, Susan, has been out cleaning up the gardens. I’ve swept the garage and neatened things up. We’ve been to the dump and to the thrift store with donations of various kinds. Today I offer some thoughts on washing windows.

This past Saturday Susan and I cleaned out the front porch. The previous owner enclosed the front doorway under a nice roof with floor to ceiling aluminum windows (there are screens for the warmer months). We love spending as much time as possible sitting on this porch, especially in the early morning. Since the porch faces the east, the sun shows every spot on these windows. And they were dirty!

It was my job to wash these windows. So, I methodically went about the task. I washed on the inside first. Then I went outside and washed every window. Since it was still morning, it was easy to tell the spots I had missed.

Well, I missed quite a few spots. I went over these again. It was at this point that I noticed that the spots I had missed were always on the other side. When I went to clean those spots, it seemed that they weren’t on that side after all. They were on the other side. I went back and forth many times. Can you believe it! (I’m thinking that those who know me can believe this quite readily.)

The next morning (another beautiful bright sunny day) I noticed that there were still several spots that I had missed. What to do? You might be thinking that I would get the Windex and immediately attack those spots. But no, surprise of all surprises, I decided that the spots had won, and that I would enjoy the day, the sunshine, the front porch and the porch windows…spots and all!

A fair amount of my time involves working with churches in conflict. Did you ever notice in conflicted situations that, like my exercise in washing the windows, the participants always blame someone else? They may say that they are also to blame, but they don’t really believe it. They continue acting the injured party while doing all they can to injure their opponents.

One way that churches can seek to deal with and work through conflict is to develop behavioral covenants – agreements among the members to speak and act honorably, safely, respectfully, honestly and lovingly with one another.

Recently, First Congregational Church UCC, Binghamton developed what they have called their Covenant of Christian Conduct. In part the congregation agreed: to treat all as they would like to be treated, to speak directly to those with whom they have a conflict or disagreement rather than complaining to third parties, to agree to disagree, to invite all people to bring forth questions and concerns before they become huge issues, to let others finish before they start speaking, to present ideas honestly and openly, listening with open minds, and allowing disagreement without personal resentment.

The church leaders acknowledge that they have much work to do to live into this covenant. But, God bless them for making a start! The spots, after all, are on both sides. As we can acknowledge this, we may be able to look past all of the spots to see the beauty shining through the glass of God’s gracious love.

“For now we see through a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor. 13:12-13 RSV)

Blessings,

Rick Cowles

(If you’re interested in seeing the complete covenant as developed by First, Binghamton, let me know. I’ll send it to you. R)

Massena UCC:An Update on Thursday's Devastating Fire

Marian Shearer

At 3 p.m. last Thursday, May 10, as thunderstorms swept across the St. Lawrence seaboard, lightning struck Emmanuel Congregational United Church of Christ in Massena, partially destroying the building and causing the roof to collapse.

At 10:30 a.m. Sunday, a member donned a bathrobe over her dress, and boots on her feet to avoid ashes and debris, and climbed the bell tower (which had been declared safe), to ring the church bell as has been done every Sunday.

At 11 a.m., 75 people gathered across the street in the sanctuary of Temple Adath Israel, which was Emmanuel's worship building until the 1920s. In a joyful and tearful worship service, student pastor Judith van Kennen led the congregation in singing from hymnals lent by one United Methodist church, offering communion from a chalice and plate lent by another, accompanied by a keyboard lent by the New Testament church, reading from bulletins copied at St. John's Episcopal. Judy wore a prayer shawl (Tallith) that had been given her, and pronounced the benediction in Hebrew, to honor the hospitality of Adath Israel. Word, sacrament, tears, hugs, and a blessing for a seven-week old baby, were all shared in abundance.

It was a celebration indeed, with joy and thankfulness amidst the sorrow. Church members are relieved to have a place to worship indefinitely, and thrilled that it is their own ancestral home. Insurance adjusters have already made preliminary assessments and delivered a $5,000 emergency advance, and their engineers will be on the scene this week and will conduct a question-and-answer session with the congregation Monday evening. Synagogue members, who use the building only rarely, are thrilled to have a faith community worshipping there, and have given permission to Emmanuel to make use of any place in the building it needs. In return, Emmanuel members will keep the memorial bulbs lighted in the deceased synagogue members' memorial plaque, and Pastor Judy has promised to teach a new Hebrew word every week. This week's was "Shabbat Shalom"--"Peaceful sabbath to you."

When reporters assailed Judy on Thursday as the church was still burning, asking whether there were plans to rebuild, Judy told them it wasn't up to her. "We will be waiting on God's direction; we are a church that believes that 'God is still speaking,' " she told them.

Moderator Mark Crosby has been keeping in touch with members by email. On Friday he wrote:

"Emmanuel stands as strong today as it has ever been. Now is the time to give praise to God. We are so blessed. There were no serious injuries sustained in the fire and we give thanks for that. The community stepped forward to support us and we give thanks for that. The firefighters were nothing short of amazing, going back into the church to bring out what they could and always offering to go back in again. We give thanks for that. And when the flames were finally out, one of the firemen, without being asked, went back in and rang the church bells. Those of us standing there, wept. But they were tears of gratitude … gratitude that we knew that we will not only survive this, we will become stronger because of it."

The church's weekly peace vigil will be held as usual on Friday, on the church steps "or as close as we can get to them." Church office functions have been moved to the manse, not occupied right now as they are between called pastors.

Upstate regional conference minister Marian Shearer was present at the end of worship to convey the greetings and prayers of the New York Conference churches, and especially those of neighboring First Congregational UCC in Malone, where she had been helping celebrate their 200th anniversary. Church members expressed appreciation for the prayers--"We can feel them," said one. "It is clear, we're connected."

We thank Marian Shearer, with whom I share staff coverage for the Upstate Region of the Conference, for her updated.

Please keep our sister UCC congregation and their gracious hosts from Adath Israel in your prayers.

Blessings,

Rick Cowles

On Lawn Care

I just mowed the lawn. I’d like to say that I cut the grass, but that would exclude the weeds that predominate my lawn. The clovers intertwine with the forget-me-nots and the brilliant yellow dandelions.

My brother in law, Karl, would be horrified. He doesn’t allow anything but pure grass in his lawn. It’s even the same kind of grass. He sharpens his mower blades every couple of weeks. (I haven’t done mine yet this year…or last, for that matter.)

As I was pondering these things, I got to thinking about standards. Now, I like a nice neat lawn, but I don’t care about whether the lawn is grassy or weedy. So, I do have standards, even though my brother in law would disagree.

A couple of weeks ago at the UCC History & Polity class that my colleague Marian Shearer and I have been teaching, one of the participants became quite frustrated. We were talking about how the United Church of Christ is a covenantal church not a creedal church. She understood this part, but then became suddenly rather piqued and asked, “But what do we believe? Do we have any beliefs? What are they if we can’t put them in a creed?”

Standards. How we define them, that’s the rub. Our standards are based upon our values and beliefs. Even more, when we talk about living up to certain standards, it feels like we’re really talking about perfection. Scriptures tell us that only God is perfect. They also tell us (from the teachings of Christ) that we should be perfect as God is perfect (Matt. 5:48).

Being perfect, living up to standards of perfection, is very difficult. It’s also a “movable goal post”. What is perfect for one is not for another (as Karl’s view of perfect lawn care is different from mine).

For a church that bases its life together upon a creed perfection is different than for the church that bases its life together upon a covenant. For the creedal church there are clear standards of belief. There are Books of Order that govern all of congregational and denominational life. Expectations of the clergy are very clear. Their rights and responsibilities are well defined.

For a church that bases its life together upon a covenant perfection has much more to do with relationships than beliefs. There are frameworks of faith within which congregations operate, but these are put forth to nurture relationships with other persons of faith, other congregations, other settings of the beyond the local church.

My response to the member of the polity class was that, for the UCC, covenant is our creed, it’s our operating doctrine, our core value and belief. As people of faith we bind ourselves to one another to walk together in all God’s ways. This approach can produce confusion and frustration. It also allows for diversity within our faith perspective that can produce new and vibrant expressions of our unity in Christ.

We’re not a neat expression of faith, but we’re at least interesting. It’s like my other brother-in-law, John. He cares about keeping his lawn nice. He cares more for his two Golden Retrievers. They love romping around the back yard so much that they’ve left a rather large spot of hard dirt where grass should be.

This spring John decided on a new plan of action. He fenced off the bare section of his lawn and planted grass seed. The fence was high enough that the dogs couldn’t jump over it. Last weekend during a quick visit, we looked out and saw “Maisy” playing inside the “protected” section of the lawn. She had dug under the fence to get in.

John likes a neat lawn. But he loves his dogs. My guess is that the fence will be short-lived. John loves his dogs.

Loving is not neat, but it sure is interesting.

Blessings,

Rick Cowles

Please continue to keep Emmanuel UCC, Massena in your prayers. Lightening struck the church at approximately 3:00 PM yesterday (May 10). The ensuing fire destroyed the building. It is a total loss. We will try to keep you informed about how to help. Click on this link to see a video news report of the fire. http://www.news10now.com/shared/video/video_pop.asp?destlist=61109

“Coming to Ourselves”

Andy Rooney made a strange comment the other night in his spot at the end of “60 Minutes”. His Op-Ed piece was on “Headlines”. He showed one headline that described an article about the middle class. He commented as an aside that he didn’t think that people in the U.S. wanted to be called “middle class”.

Really? I have always thought that the middle class was the basis of a healthy democracy. And that, therefore, as citizens of the longest standing modern democracy we of all people would rejoice in considering ourselves as middle class.

Dennis Hopper, the movie actor who became famous as one of the iconoclastic motorcyclists in “Easy Rider”, now has a rather pro-establishment TV commercial in which he encourages “Baby Boomers” to take their upcoming retirement by the horns through investing and starting new businesses and ventures of all kinds. No shuffleboard playing for him (or us) he declares.

Identity and vocational questions are a part of life. A pastor told me yesterday over the phone, “I don’t know what God has in store for me next.” Indeed. But we do continue to question whom we are, how we want to be identified and how we want to spend our time.

Many factors enter into our answers to these questions. I’m not immune to such questions or factors either. A young pastor asked me, “So what comes next for you?” He was talking about career moves for someone in my position. Some days I know that I love what I’m doing (other days, not so much). Fortunately, I love doing what I’m doing on the vast majority of days. Plus, I have a great rate on a mortgage in a nice, well-situated community. I wouldn’t be able to match that in any other place. And, most importantly, I feel that God has called me to do what I’m doing.

There are two good resources available through the wider United Church of Christ to help those who are considering questions of identity and vocation. The Ask the Question website (http://askthequestion.org) associated with the UCC website assists persons who feel that God might be calling to a deeper sense of discipleship and ministry to, well, “Ask the Question.”

Ron Farr continues to offer various programs for congregational enrichment in their “Laity Empowerment Project” (http://laityempowerment.com). The basic course, “Unwrapping Our Gifts” has provided many UCC members with a renewed sense of God’s call to grow in discipleship.

In Jesus’ parable the prodigal considered his life as he was tending the pigs. The story goes that he “came to himself”. His life would be better back in the family household that he had foresworn even as a servant than it was presently. So, he returned home to a loving welcome and gracious celebration.

Just so, God and creation rejoice whenever we come to ourselves – whenever we consider the questions of our identity as children of God with a God-given calling to hope, have faith and be loving.

Blessings to you in your comings and goings,

Rick Cowles

Bearing Witness

A Meditation on the Lectionary Texts for Easter 5C

I was feeling good the other day when I was standing in line at the local drugstore check out counter. When it became my turn, the cashier asked me happily, “And do you want to give a dollar to benefit the Children’s Hospital?” “All right,” I grudgingly grunted. “Well, you don’t have to,” the cashier graciously offered. “No, I want to, I really do. I don’t know why I sounded so unwilling.”

And, as I left the store, just a little richer for giving to the Children’s Hospital, I had to admit to myself that I really didn’t want to give that dollar. In fact I had just about had it with people asking me for money, for the pleasure of my response to the offer of lower mortgage rates, or dish TV, or new vinyl windows.

I’m just going through a phase. Maybe you have “phases”, too. I feel like the line in the song in “Jesus Christ Superstar” when the crowds clamor after Jesus to heal them of all their diseases. Finally, in exasperation Jesus screams, “Heal yourselves!” So, I have not felt very patient lately when I get calls asking for help about “this and that”, or when I hear about the churches that are fighting over “thus and so”. Oh well, it’s just a phase I keep telling myself.

The lectionary texts for this week make me wonder about bearing witness. Peter bore witness to the inclusiveness of God’s grace, that even Gentiles, non-Jews, could receive the Holy Spirit and the gift of eternal life! John bore witness to the vision of the Holy City and to the promise that “to the thirsty the Christ, the Alpha and the Omega, would give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.” (Rev. 21:6)

And, in John 13:31-35 Judas bore witness to the means by which Christ would be glorified and by which we would all be saved. Judas is not mentioned by name in the passage from John’s gospel, but in verse 31 the person that left the room before Jesus gave the New Commandment was Judas.

I wonder a lot about bearing witness. I don’t think I bore a very Christ like witness to the cashier in the drugstore. Too often I find myself hopeful that people don’t know that I’m a clergyperson. I have been too gruff, or insensitive, or too unfocused.

Do you have those days when you’re glad that "God has given even to the Gentiles [read “us”] the repentance that leads to life?" (Acts 11:18)

Thank God for grace! Thank God for the communities of grace with which we share faith in our savior Jesus! Thank God that through the gift of the Holy Spirit we have the mission to bear witness to the grace, love and fellowship of God in Christ.

Blessings,

Rick Cowles