John Calvin in USA Today

A friend sent me a copy of USA Today with an article by Henry Brinton, pastor of Fairfax Presbyterian Church in Virginia. The title of the article? "Calvin Saw this Coming." Here's a link to the online version: http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/05/calvin-saw-this-coming.html#more

Worship Resources from the UCC

Those looking for worship resources (and who isn't?) might like to check out the United Church of Christ's worship page, which has lectionary-based resources for each Sunday of the year at http://www.ucc.org/worship/worship-ways/

Nancy Profit in "These Days"

I see the Rev. Nancy Profit, formerly a member of the Odebolt church, is the writer for April 5-11 in These Days magazine.

Sentence Introducing the Offering

Here's something from my current book (see other posts) that you might be able to use as a sentence introducing the offering--at least that's how I plan to use it:

We are only a very small part of history and have only one short life to live, but when we take the fruits of our labor in our hands and stretch our arms to God in the deep belief that He hears us and accepts our gifts, then we know that all of our life is given, given to celebrate. - Henri Nouwen, Creative Ministry p.110

Still working my way through Creative Ministry by Henri Nouwen, published in 1971. The following passage seemed timely, again with no attempt made to make the language inclusive:

We live in a culture in which the words of Jesus: “Do not worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will take care of itself” (Mt. 6:34) sound beautiful and romantic, but completely unrealistic. We live in such a utilitarian society that even our most intimate moments have become subject to the question: “What is the purpose of it?”

Modern man does not just eat and drink but has business lunches and fund-raising dinners. He does not just go horseback riding or swimming—he also invites his companions to do a little business on horseback or even in the pool. He does not just exercise his body or listen to beautiful songs, but he also has become involved in a tremendous industry of sports and music. And he always keeps on believing that the real thing is going to happen tomorrow. In this kind of life the past has degenerated into a series of used or misused opportunities, the present into a constant concern about accomplishments, and the future into a make-believe paradise where man hopes to finally receive what he always wanted but the existence of which he basically doubts.

A life like this cannot be celebrated because we are constantly concerned with changing it into something else, always trying to do something to it, get something out of it, and make it fit our many plans and projects. We go to meetings, conferences, and congresses. We critically evaluate our part, discuss how to do ti better in the future, and worry whether or not our great design will ever work out.

Our culture is a working, hurrying, and worrying culture with many opportunities except the opportunity to celebrate life. - Henri Nouwen, Creative Ministry, pp.101f., my emphasis

Lenten Reflections from Henri Nouwen

Ran across this today in Henri Nouwen's Creative Ministry. See what you think. I have not tried to make the language inclusive.

So the identity of the pastor, as it becomes visible in his pastoral care, is born from the intangible tension between self-affirmation and self-denial, self-fulfillment and self-emptying, self-realization and self-sacrifice. There are periods in life in which the emphasis is more on the one than on the other, but in general it seems that as a man becomes more mature he will become less concerned with girding himself and more willing to stretch out his hands and to follow Him who found His life by losing it.

Cluster Meetings

Our Mission Design calls for the Clusters to meet at least twice a year. I know that the Ministers and Commissioned Lay Pastors in all the Clusters are now meeting at least on a semi-regular basis, and some are meeting very regularly. I, for one, don't want that to change. But what we are hoping for in the new Mission Design is for closer connections between the churches. The Cluster meetings we are calling for will be for all members of the churches in each Cluster.

Why should we meet in this way when we already have so many meetings? Here's why:

1.To meet people from the other churches in the cluster so we can have a sense of who else is in our area
2.To celebrate what is going well in our churches
3.To share difficulties we are having right now
4.To encourage each other
5.To explore how we might work together
6.To worship together

As you think about it, you may come up with more and better reasons. When you do get together, here is a suggested agenda. You will need someone to host the meeting: call people together at the appointed time, welcome them, start off the process, and bring the discussion to a close at the appointed time. I suggest that a meeting like this should take no more than 90 minutes, and that the ending time should be stated in the invitation.

1.Gather
1.Have food available as people come in. Nothing brings people together quite like eating.
2.Have name tags. Consider color-coding the tags so that people can be identified by churches
2.Open with prayer
3.Introductions; use some kind of get-acquainted activity.
4.Go around the room; each representative share one thing that they are excited about in their church. It's OK to pass, but be prepared to come back to those who pass, as someone else's sharing may trigger an idea.
5.Go around the room again; each representative share one thing they are concerned about in their church
6.Open the floor up to general discussion: how can we encourage each other? Are there things we could do together?
7.Set a place and time for the next Cluster meeting. Possibly recruit a planning team of no more than three or four people to come up with a theme and agenda for that meeting.
8.Close with a short worship service of Scripture, prayer, and singing. This is important; too often our “meeting prayers” are short and perfunctory. It's essential for us to take time to worship together.

Feel free to adapt this agenda to your own needs. For example, you may have a specific project that your Cluster is interested in and you may want to take time to present that and get feedback.

One more thing: an agenda is a servant, not a master. When we invite the Holy Spirit in, we don't always know in advance where that Spirit will take us. Be open! God is doing new things in the Presbytery of Prospect Hill, and we have a great opportunity to be part of them.

Richard Francis, Moderator, Mission Coordinating Team