Doing what We Can

My wife, Susan, and I were sitting on our back deck after lunch earlier this week, talking about the news. What a downer of a conversation! Floods in Iowa (and almost everywhere along the upper Mississippi)! Wildfires in California! Bloodshed in Kenya! A dictator acting like a dictator in Zimbabwe! Xenophobia in South Africa!

I started singing this song made popular in 1959 by the Kingston Trio.

"They're rioting in Africa, they're starving in Spain.
There's hurricanes in Florida, and Texas needs rain.
The whole world is festering with unhappy souls,
the French hate the Germans, the Germans hate the Poles.
Italians hate Yugoslavs, South Africans the Dutch,
And I don't like anybody very much!"

And then I remembered an anonymous quote from my college yearbook, "the more things change, the more they stay the same."

Indeed the news is troubling. There's no way around this. Do we give up? Do we throw our hands in the air and say that the world's going to hell in a handbasket, and what's the use! Or, do we retreat into a cocoon of compact schedules and safe days? Do we keep our nose to the grindstone and our shoulders to the wheel and disregard everything that's not our business? Or do we respond to calls to action? Do we give to Church World Service or the Red Cross? Do we sign on in support of this or that advocacy group to speak out on issues of immigration, civil rights and liberties, war and peace, global warming (the list goes on)?

The answer to all of these questions is undoubtedly, "Yes." On any given day we may respond in any or all of these ways. At least I know that I do. Sometimes I simply shut down at the appearance of one more cry for help from a worthy cause in my email inbox. Sometimes I'll pass on information for support of various causes by means of blogs and emails. Sometimes I'll send money.

Mostly, I'm finding that I truly admire the passion and energy that activists inside and outside of churches employ in pursuit of their causese. I rejoiced to hear of the commitment of the congregation at Plymouth, Syracuse to create their own Tents of Hope in support of the victims of the genocide in Darfur, as well as in their rededication to advocate for hopeful immigrants within our midst through the New Sanctuary Movement.

Through my recently greater invovlement in InterFaith Works of Central New York I've been focusing my efforts in the Community Wide Dialogue to End Racism. I participated in a "Dialogue Circle" last fall. And, this month I volunteered as a facilitator in the CWD 3rd Grade Exchange Dialogue, involving a suburban and an inner-city elementary school. For four hours with eight 3rd graders in each school I attempted to facilitate the dialogue. I wasn't very good, but I did what I could do. I did something. It felt worthwhile.

My job involves working with so many churches that seem to care less about actually proclaiming the good news of God's love through words and deeds of justice, mercy, understanding, yes, even love. Many of our churches are showing a great deal of care for their members. Our church in Constantia that just closed down used to have a worship bulletin sized page full of people (from the church and community) for whom to pray. This is wonderful. It's a great ministry. But it's not enough. Prayers are essential. But prayer in order to be Godly must take us beyond ourselves, our own circle, our our needs, our own health. Godly prayer gives us a Godly perspective.

I subscribe to the online newsfeed from Common Global Ministries. A recent feed reminded me of the power of prayer to change our perspective and to place us humbly at the feet of the throne of grace. The Council of Churches of South Africa wrote a statement of contrition and apology for the ethnic violence among the people of South Africa that has been directed at the growing number of refugees mostly from neighboring Zimbabwe. In a letter on behalf of the Board of the Council dated June 18, Mr. Eddie McKue, General Secretary wrote:

"We are ashamed that in a nation where four out of five people profess to be Christians, we have not been more effective interpreters and practitioners of the Bible's demand that we show hospitality to strangers and welcome to outsiders. Just as the sons and daughters of Israel were aliens in the land of Egypt, so too many South Africans spent long years in exile in neighbouring lands, including your own countries. Even in times of want and duress, you demonstrated your solidarity with our struggle by making us feel at home and sharing your resources with us graciously.

Our shame is compounded when we acknowledge that we have neglected the imperatives of our culture as well as of our faith. Whatever language we speak, whatever our heritage, as Africans we share a common understanding of our interdependence as human beings. The South African concept of ubuntu – that each person becomes human through his or her relationships with others – has parallels in other societies around the continent."

He went on to talk about the need for Christians to do more than express shock and outrage. Christians have the imperative of confronting such behavior and looking for ways

"to cooperate in the search for development paradigms that promote genuine human security, the need for stronger and more structured relations between sister Christian Councils in the SADC region, the need for us to uphold the dignity of all people, the need to address the enormous inequalities that our present economic and political systems have produced."

Further, he invited ecumenical partners around the world "to join in conversation with us in order to explore these issues. We also commit ourselves to working with you as we together seek sustainable solutions that are consistent with our heritage and our faith."

Now, in my book that's Godly prayer! Yes, it came in the form of a letter, but it is prayer nonetheless. It is a confession before God of complicity in the violence by association, if nothing else, coupled with the desire to promote the Way of Peace that Jesus embodied.

In our own faith heritage as United Church of Christ people the 17th century citizens of "Plimoth Colony" called days of prayer and fasting regularly whenever they endured hardship, privation, or community wide doubt or fear.

The statement of the Council of Churches of South Africa reminded me of this heritage. And, I thought how faithful it is whenever we are able to look at our behavior -- individually and collectively -- and confess when we are wrong in the context of commiting ourselves to doing what is right and just.

For Christians it's much less a matter of patriotism than it is of faithfulness.

Blessings,

Rick Cowles

Serendipity

So, here's the thing: I wanted to write about surprises, you know the ways in which Grace sometimes appears right before our eyes -- unsought, unexpected, but very enlightening, awe inspiring and peace-giving. As I thought about this the word "serendipity" came to mind. I thought I knew what the word meant, but wanted to make sure. So, I checked my tried and true American College Dictionary published by Random House in 1958.

I thought that the word 'serendipity' reflected gracious surprises somehow. I remember first coming across the word in my first pastorate in the mid-seventies. A brand new, progressive type of Bible study series was being produced by a group called Serendipity Press. This type of Bible study has become common place now, but it was quite innovative then. It started with some basic questions of what was happening in the text, followed by questions regarding our feelings about the text, then asking us to take the text to heart and apply it to our lives.

What I learned in checking out my dictionary was that the word 'serendipity' was coined by Horace Walpole, son of the 18th centry British Prime Minister, Robert Walpole. Besides being a part of the nobility, Horace was somewhat of an antiquarian. In his pursuit of things ancient he came across an old mythic tale from the Asian sub continent, "The Three Princes of Serendip." Serendip, as it turns out is an ancient name for the island of Ceylon, now known as Sri Lanka. According to Walpole's own correspondence on the subject the princes in the story “were always making discoveries, by accident and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of”. From these stories and the home of the princes Walpole coined the word.

I found an informative article online about all of this by Richard Boyle, entitled "The Three Princes of Serendip". Here's the link: http://livingheritage.org/three_princes.htm.

The upshot of all of this is that I think I may have been on a serendipitous journey in discovering the definition of the word. I'm no Sherlock Holmes with highly developed powers of observation and seemingly limitless knowledge. I don't have the wisdom of a Jeeves. Sitting under an apple doesn't spark my intellect like it did for Isaac Newtion to conceive of the scientific reality of gravity.

Likewise, I never before heard of Serendip nor of the Three Princes thereof, nor Horace Walpole, etc., etc. Although I neither ascribe to any high level of sagacity (acute mental discernment and keen practical sense), I can say that I found something for which I was not looking. And, I have learned about the context in which we can sensitize our mind, body and soul to the nature of life that life and nature can show us many seemingly miraculous things when we least expect them.

Jesus talked about having the "eyes to see" not just the weather but the "signs of the times", and about having the "ears to hear" not just intellectually taking in the words but taking the words to heart: changing the way we think, act and feel; changing our enitre worldview in fact. I think that Jesus was inviting us, imploring us to be open to all of the details of what's happening around us that point to the meaning of life within, between and beyond us.

I have often found myself in situations where I have experienced serendipitous moments. I travel to a meeting. I think of what's coming up on the agenda, whose going to be there, what my responsibilities are going to be, how long everything will take, what time I'll be able to get back home. I try to anticipate everything so that there are no surprises. But along the way, I have a chance conversation with someone that has nothing whatsover to do with the meeting, and I realize that this one conversation was the real reason not only for my attendance at the meeting but even for getting up that day.

So what's happening now for you, or for those we love, or for the world. In Zimbabwe a run-off election will be held to decide who will be the new President of the country on June 27. Common Global Ministries in cooperation with the World Council of Churches is asking for our congregations to unite in prayer and action this Sunday. Here is a link to the article on the Global Ministries website: http://www.globalministries.org/news/africa/prayer-and-action-for.html.

Here is a prayer for the people of Zimbabwe written by the Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches.

Eternal God:
In your sight nations rise and fall, and pass through times of trial. We pray with and for Zimbabwe in this hour of national decision, and we ask your divine blessing on all the people of the land. May Zimbabwe's leaders seek justice by means that are just; May the voters take action to promote the common good; may international observers and mediators be guided by your wisdom. Lead us not into temptation, Lord, and deliver your people from evil: Empower us all to overcome anger, jealousy, division and violence; help us to respect one another despite our differences; and teach us the things that truly make for peace. This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

Many of our congregations are also scheduling annual meetings for this Sunday. Please keep these churches in your prayers: UCC Bayberry, First Congregational Church of Phoenix, and others of which I am not aware. The Central Square Community Church will be voting during their annual meeting this Sunday on whether or not to join the United Church of Christ.

The Conference Commission on the Global Church is meeting on Saturday. We'll be receiving reports, making plans. We also will be inviting a guest involved with a health clinic in Nicaragua. But what else will happen? What possibilities for mission will come to us that we didn't anticipate?

We hope and pray that the Holy Spirit may surprise us as we meet, as we pray, as we worship, as we go about our daily lives, with insights into who we are as congregations, as people of faith, as God's beloved children. With hearts and minds open maybe adversaries will be able to see each other in a new light. Maybe we will be able to listen to each other so that we can work out solutions to once insurmountable problems. Maybe we will find new possibilities where we had felt stymied by deadends.

Richard Boyle in his article quoted remembered that John Barth observed in his book, "The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor" (New York, 1991): "You don't reach Serendip by plotting a course for it. You have to set out in good faith for elsewhere and lose your bearings serendipitously."

I think that this is what Jesus meant when he said that we should seek God's realm and righteousness first then all of the matters of life over which we are anxious will be resolved (Matthew 6:25-35).

That is, as we do the right thing for all people; as we work for justice and promote liberty; as we work to end violence of thoughts, words and deeds non-violently; as we forgive and seek forgiveness; as we make these things part of our prayer life, our daily life, our public life, our national and international life; God's abundant mercy and love can overflow with all that we need.

As Jesus said, "Those with the ears to hear, let them hear." (Let the reader know that I'm also speaking to me, here!)

Blessings,

Rick Cowles

The Examen

St. Ignatius taught his followers in the Society of Jesus to pray, study, praise, and serve. One of the exercises of prayer that framed different portions of each day was (is) the examen. It is a simple discipline of looking at the events of one's life and meditating upon how God has been present to us and how we have been present to God. The purpose of this exercise is to train disciples to open themselves up to the Divine in ever increasing ways, day by day.

In the aftermath of the New York Conference UCC Annual Meeting at Silver Bay on Lake George the ways in which God was present have been coming to me. I wish I could say that I was consciously "doing" the examen, but that would not be honest. Rather it seems as though the examen has been "doing" me.

Many people work very hard to plan, coordinate, and guide the annual meeting. Geoffrey Black is primarily responsible for this. He works with the planning committee all year in preparation for the four day meeting. His administrative assistant Antoinette Montgomery also works very hard at this. Sometimes Regional Staff have specific responsibilities. Marian Shearer also served on the planning committee. The Executive Council and various committees have official responsibilities. Carol Giordano presents the budget and always presents it at a hearing.

Most of what Regional Conference Minister's do is unofficial. 90% of our part of the meeting is unscripted, around the edges. We spend much of our time talking with pastors and church leaders about all sorts of things.

The young pastor who just left a part time pastorate to deal with some increased family resposibilities came up to me and began to talk. She was worried about the church she had just left. And so, we talked about this...for about an hour. She came up to me during a 15 minute break and we talked nearly until the next break in the meeting.

It was great to catch up with the pastor with whom I used to be in regular contact. We sat and talked about his church, about Barak Obama and Trinity UCC, about our lives. I've always enjoyed his intellect and his insightful, somewhat off-center sense of humor.

Pastors looking to move to another church, leaders wondering about whom God is calling to be their next pastor, delegates wondering about what's happening next and where, sharing casual conversation around the dinner table, leading workshops, taking part in the plenary business session, and finding inspiration in the worship and the preaching. All of these things are part of the meeting.

I'm particularly grateful for the wonderful moment when the Commission on the Global Church honored the Clinton Heights Community Church with an award as a Global Mission Church. The list of programs, commitments of money and persons to mission wowed the delegates gathered in the auditorium. The church and their Interim Pastor, Nathan Wright, were shaking with the surprise of this honor. It was quite a moment.

And for me, I was very grateful for the ministry of the youth to me. During the Communion Service planned and led by the youth on Saturday night, three teenagers gave examples of their experiences of God. One boy declared his love of water saying that when he swims or boats he hears God in the sound of the water. And, immediately I was transported to hearing the water lapping up against a stone wall under the dock at my grandparents' lakeside cottage in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. I could hear the gurgling of forest brooks and the crash of ocean waves. Through it all I hear the voice of God promising peace and eternal presence.

This is not an evaluation of the meeting. There were wonderful "things" that happened. There were some things about which I would not write home. Despite the ebbs and flows of the meeting, I experienced God's presence. And, that is enough and I am glad.

How was God present for you this weekend? How is God present for you today?

Blessings,

Rick Cowles

Body Politic

It was all over the news this past weekend, "Obama resigns from his church." Political pundits said that it had to happen. In fact reported anonymous Obama campaign insiders said that he wanted to do it earlier than he did. Trinity UCC was just too controversial. Anything that was said or preached or any ministry that was performed by this congregation, the Senator said, would automatically be associated with him. He had to put it all behind him.

John Thomas, General Minister and President of the UCC, wrote a very kind pastoral letter about the news.

Obviously, we are saddened that Barack and Michelle Obama have decided to
resign their membership at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. And we are hopeful that, as they discern their future church membership plans, that they will consider retaining their United Church of Christ membership in another UCC congregation.

Of course, we hope these things. And well, I get it. Don't you? I get it, but I don't like it. As a citizen that understands politicians being politicians, I get it. As a clergyperson that seeks to build up congregations, I don't like it. And the bloom has come off the rose for me, I have to admit.

Still, the conversations about the Obama's relationship with their church has brought my own thoughts on the meaning of church membership to the fore once again. Such thoughts are usually close at hand. Whether discussing the notion of covenant with students in a UCC Polity class, or working through a pastoral call agreement with search committees, or in dealing with church conflicts, or in former years while teaching confirmation or leading new members' classes, questions of what it means to be a member of the church are very present.

I used to teach my confirmation classes that they needed to get at least one thing right, if they were going to be confirmed. They needed to know that the Church is the Body of Christ. We spent a good deal of time talking about this metaphor that Paul used in the 12th chapters of both Romans and 1 Corinthians about the Church being like a body. All the parts are necessary. If one suffers, all suffer. If one rejoices, all rejoice.

Many use the word community to define the Church. We're a community of faith, of grace, of love. Yes, we are these things. There have been rich communities of the faithful. Monasteries and nunneries were built upon a "rule" or contract of community living based upon poverty, chastity and obedience. The individual is totally reliant upon compliance to the rules of community through which the grace of God is imparted.


In present day independant church circles congregational membership might be described as a community of believers. The implication of this approach to church life seems to be that each believer is the church, and that as such they freely associate with other believers-as-church. In this view the congregation is justified before God through the righteousness of the individual members.

But the more I think about it, I don't believe God calls us into a community as much as that God calls us into relationship. More than being a matter of "proof texting" from the Bible, or in developing any kind of doctrinal statement, to me this metaphor the Church as a body points to relationship. Being the Body of Christ means that we are in relationship with each other -- through, for and in Christ -- in order to love, praise, know and serve God.


I believe that the so-called Free Church tradition of which churches of a congregational polity are a part, value relationship. We call this relationship a covenant. We know that we are not free agents. We are not the Church unto ourselves. We have the right and responsibility to come to our own understanding of faith and faithfulness. But we can only come to fully express our faith through the relationship that we have in the Church, the whole Body of Christ.


Indeed there is a balance in our Free Church tradition between freedom and accountability. With our religious forebears in Salem, Massachusetts, "We [freely] covenant with the Lord and one with another and doe bynd our selves in the presence of God, to walke together in all his waies, according as he is pleased to reveale himself unto us in his blessed word of truth."

We Relate with each other THROUGH Christ

We relate with each other through Christ. That is, Christ called the Church into being and through the gift of the Holy Spirit. We proclaim this whenever we say the UCC Statement of Faith. "You bestow upon us your Holy Spirit, creating and renewing the church of Jesus Christ, binding in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races."

The Church is a divine institution. It is run by humans, to be sure. But we are only faithful members of the Church as we rely upon God to direct, counsel, encourage and inspire. As the Psalmist sang, "Unless the Lord builds the house those who build it labor in vain." (Psalm 127:1)

And so, we always need to be aware of how we try to put our own will and way before God's will and way in our church life. We need to continually ask ourselves how we are building up the relationships that God calls us to have -- relationships built upon love, mutual respect and empowerment, gentleness, compassion, justice and grace.

We Relate with each other FOR Christ.

We are called to relate with each other by serving Christ. St. Ignatius of Loyola prayed, "Fill us, we pray, Lord, with your light and life that we may show forth your wondrous glory. May your love so fill our lives that we may count nothing too small to do for you, nothing too much to give, and nothing too hard to bear."

We serve because we love Jesus. We love Jesus because we are grateful. We are grateful because Jesus loved us, and that completely. In reality we can "do" nothing for Jesus that Jesus hasn't already done. We cannot complete the One that is already complete by anything that we can do, by our good deeds. But Jesus did say, "Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12)

No we do good deeds, we love, we feed the hungry, heal the sick, raise the dead, visit the imprisoned and preach the Good News of God's love to the poor, because he asked and empowered us to do them, for our own well being as much as his. We do so for the well being of those that have been placed on the margins or not included in the abundance of God's love, as much as we do so for our own well being.

We Relate with each other IN Christ.

And, we relate with each other in order to grow up fully to him. The breastplate of St. Patrick's tombstone effigy speaks of this relationship. "Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ above me, Christ beneath me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger."

God hopes as Jesus prayed that we will have the same relationship as he had with God. He prayed that we may all be one, unified in our love of God in Christ and in our love for one another. (John 17) God hopes as the ancient Christian hymn proclaimed that we will have the same mind as did Christ. (Philippians 2) Therefore, God hopes that we will not count equality with God as something to be exploited, but that we will empty ourselves, humbling ourselves and becoming obedient to living the Good News of God's love until we die, even if our death is like his. Even if it is not.

I hope that the Obamas find a church where their relationship with the people of God can grow into fruition, can become complete in finding the Christ within ourselves, serving the Christ beyond ourselves, and living through the Christ that is life itself. Indeed, I hope that we all can.

Blessings,

Rick Cowles