Pastor's newsletter message

One of the things about packing is that you discover little gems that you forgot you had. On one of my bookshelves was a book written 27 years ago by William Bridges called Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes. I know it’s a gem because I actually remember some of the things he said in that book – things that have been helpful to me on many occasions when I’ve been going through a transition. But just for good measure I went back and looked at some of what he wrote.

He reminds us that most transitions involve three major components. There is an ending, which is typically followed by a period of confusion – and sometimes distress – and then leading to a new beginning. He writes, “Every transition begins with an ending. We have to let go of the old thing before we can pick up the new – not just outwardly, but inwardly, where we keep our connections to the people and places that act as definitions of who we are.” One of the things that has been helpful to me is the realization that this is true whether the transition is something we have been looking forward to, something we have dreaded, or something we didn’t anticipate at all.

Sometimes people are surprised to discover that there is some grief with something that they have anticipated with great excitement – a marriage or the birth of a child for instance. Even in the midst of great joy, something has ended – the life as a single person or the ease of picking up and going without planning for a child’s nap time or all the things that need to be taken for a simple trip to the store. Something has ended even as something new and wonderful has begun. In the middle of this there is a time of confusion – of learning how to live into this new role.

Transition is upon us. Today I met with a moving company and it made my anticipated move even more real. Many of you offered me congratulations on my new appointment and I appreciate that. At the same time, I have indicated to many of you that I have mixed feelings and Bridge’s framework helps explain all of this. For me there will be a new location and a different form of ministry. No longer will I spend Friday’s writing sermons and Monday’s preparing an order of worship for the next week. There are parts of this move that I look forward to with eager anticipation; there are times when I question my ability to do this new work and times when I am filled with grief at leaving a congregation I love, but hopefully, you get the point.

This article is not really about me – it is about all of you, and the change that North Kingstown United Methodist Church will experience. We have been together for eleven years now. About half of you were not here when I arrived eleven years ago. Some of you have been through many pastoral changes and for others this is a brand new experience. We have learned a lot about each other and we have done a lot of things together. Sometimes we have agreed about what should be done and other times we have not. There have been many deaths in this congregation – some of them were anticipated and some were so sudden that they sent us reeling. We’ve had the excitement of many marriages and births. .

In the United Methodist Church, pastors are always appointed for one year at a time. Now it is time for me to move on. I will be leaving on June 8^th and in July, the Reverend Lori Eldredge will become your new pastor. This will be a time of transition for everyone involved. Our time together will come to an end and as Bridges writes, you will have to let go of the old (me) before you can take up the new (Pastor Lori). This congregation will continue to hold a special place in my heart and my prayers. I hope that you will continue to hold me in prayer as well, but I will no longer be your pastor. When someone gets ill or someone dies, Pastor Lori will be the person you call – not me. When a baby is born or a wedding is planned, Pastor Lori is the person who will have the privilege of walking with you. She is a good, compassionate, and experienced pastor.

There will be a time of confusion as you learn about each other. Sometimes you may misunderstand each other. Other times you may click as if you’ve known each other for ever. It will be a time of new beginning for all of you. You will be embarking upon an exciting new ministry together. The best way for you to honor the ministry that we have shared together is to offer Pastor Lori the same love and respect that you have given to me.

A familiar hymn says it well, “This is a day of new beginnings, time to remember and move on …. This is a day of new beginnings; our God is making all things new.” Trust God to make something new, exciting, and wonderful of your future together as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.

My computer crashed last weekend – or at least it did something very nasty. I don’t know technically if it was a “crash” or not. What I do know is that ultimately I had to restore my computer to the original factory settings. That means that any software I’ve installed since I bought the computer is not there. It means that any documents, pictures, any work at all I’ve done on the computer are not there. In this process I heard the dread words, “Do you have a backup?”

I have become more aware recently of how quickly our lives can change. Computers crash. Medical diagnoses change our lives. Jobs change. Loved ones die. Friends move away. Sometimes we have some advance warning and we can plan for some of the transition, but other times these happen suddenly. At those times we are faced with the question, “Do you have a backup?” In life, that means, “do you have a way of coping with the changes of life?” Do you have the resources to deal with both expected and unexpected changes?

In her book, Plan B, Further Thoughts on Faith, Anne Lamott has a thought provoking essay entitled “untitled”. One of her sentences especially caught my attention. She wrote, “Rubble is the ground on which our deepest friendships are built.” When I think of rubble I tend to think of the remains from disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes or tornadoes. I think of the vision of Elijah in the valley of very dry bones and the question, “Can these bones live?” These seem like situations that could easily be without hope. Yet, we know that the human spirit can find hope in the most unlikely places. Surrounded by the love and care of others, encouraged by people coming alongside to help, life goes on and with God’s help the dry bones are able to live.

Anne elaborated on her comment about rubble being the ground on which our deepest friendships are built. She wrote, “If you haven’t already, you will lose someone you can’t live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and you never completely get over the loss of a deeply beloved person. But this is also good news. The person lives forever, in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through, and you learn to dance with the banged-up heart. You dance to the absurdities of life; you dance to the minuet of old friendships.”

Her words give me a different visual image that I find helpful. Most of us have had to learn to live with broken hearts that don’t seal back up, but instead of our broken hearts destroying us they become part of who we are. Even with our broken hearts we learn to dance again. We live knowing that, like walking upon rubble, things can shift and change suddenly. Anything involving other people is fragile because we are all walking carefully on our own rubble.

The rubble and the broken hearts become part of who we are. That has always been true for humanity. However, as Paul Harvey often said, “Now for the rest of the story.” There is rubble that is firm and strong and that is the rubble created by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The rubble of death being destroyed becomes the foundation of our hope for the future. The empty tomb promises us that even when the rubble of life shifts, we stand on something firm and solid. We stand on the promises of God and God does not abandon us. God does not leave us alone. God does not leave us to face the shifting rubble of life alone.

No matter what kind of losses we have faced or may be facing, we are not facing them alone. No matter what kinds of transitions are ahead of us we do not need to navigate those transitions alone. Out of the rubble come the friendships that grow stronger and that sustain us throughout life. Out of the frailties of our lives, the times of brokenness, we may come to discover new strengths that become our backup. Our experiences in the rubble can help us empathize with those who are trying to walk through the rubble themselves. Out of the rubble comes new life, new hope, and the promise that these dry bones can live, that we do have a backup – a God who never crashes, and never lets us down.

As we draw near the end of the Lenten season, our thoughts begin to focus more on our preparation for Easter. Easter is earlier this year than it has been in the lifetime of any of us. The date for Easter changes every year and is dependent upon the date of the full moon and the day of the vernal equinox. The earliest that it can fall is March 22^nd. It all gets very complicated, but I am really glad that Easter is so early this year.

This year many of us have needed to be reminded of the Easter proclamation. Within the last two weeks, our church family has experienced two deaths that were both sudden and impossible to understand. This is the kind of experience that causes us to stop and evaluate our lives – which by the way is one of the aspects of the Lenten Season – and that causes us to pay attention to our feelings and reactions to death.

One of the promises of Christianity is that we are never alone. During Advent we talk about Emmanuel, “God-with-us”. The promise of Easter is that this God who is always with us is with us even at the time of death. Easter proclaims that death does not have the last word. It is because of Easter that we can have the promise that one day we will again see our loved ones. It is because of Easter that we have the confidence that no matter what we face in our lives, we do not have to face it alone. We have a God who loves each of us, who knows us each by name, and who cannot be separated from us by the difficult things in life – not by illness, unemployment, divorce, injury, fear, sadness, - not even by death. We have the promise and the witness that our God is always ready to listen to us, to walk through the difficult paths with us, and always ready to hold our hand so that we are not alone. God provides us with a community of faith to also walk with us and embody God’s love.

Come and celebrate the resurrection! Come, proclaim, and witness to the best news around. Easter is early this year. Thank you, God.

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From the Pastor

Published December 26, 2007

As we approach the end of the year, many of us have a tradition of making New Year’s resolutions. As we enter the new year, we also have a tradition of breaking those resolutions. We may approach the new year thinking that it is a great time to wipe the slate clean and start things new and fresh.

However, it occurs to me that there are many other times when we find ourselves starting new in some area of life. Some of these are anticipated: like when we start a new job, or get married or have a baby. Sometimes they are new chapters that we have chosen – sometimes they are not; like the times when we lose a job, go through a divorce, or experience the death of someone we love. Sometimes these changes are completely unexpected; a phone call may change our lives in an instant.

I’ve had a couple of that kind of significant phone calls recently and they left me thinking about the ways we cope with the unexpected. I have found myself searching for the right words to offer when someone has a broken heart or a spirit of fear or anguish. Sometimes I feel helpless when I can’t offer any words that help to make sense; maybe you can identify with that feeling.

As I thought about this, I found myself remembering some thoughts offered by Barbara Brown Taylor. She is an Episcopal priest, inspiring preacher, and prolific writer. In one of her books called Gospel Medicine she reflects upon that kind of frustration. She says that sometimes she wishes she had gone into a more practical line of work. It would be helpful to be able to bind up a wound or deliver food to the hungry places of the world or do something that would make a difference in the lives of those who are hurting.

Then she reflects upon who she is, “a preacher – a public speaker of the gospel – and the story is all I have.” How incredibly powerful that story really is – and it is the medicine that all of us have available. There are “healing stories of God that did more to put people back together than all the potions in the world. There were beatitudes for the stricken and prophecies for the blind. There were instructions for the paralyzed and parables for the hard of hearing. There were acted-out words of God for those who no longer trusted words and there was silence when all else had failed. Altogether it was quite an apothecary.”

What we have really is quite a bag of medicine for the soul; medicine for the worries, the fears, the sorrows, and the difficulties of life. However, like many medications they work best when they have an opportunity to build up in our system; to reach a therapeutic level. May I suggest that during this new year, each of us commits to a daily dose of this incredible source of medicine, with regular booster shots. Worship, regular Bible Study, daily reading of the Bible or other devotional material can help us attain that therapeutic level and give us the resources to draw upon when that unexpected phone call disrupts our life. Knowing that others also have that therapeutic level in their lives makes them resources when we need a listening ear, a strong shoulder, or an understanding spirit.

Barbara Brown Taylor continues by saying, “We are all tellers of the story, which does not heal by taking away the pain but by giving us a way to live with it – naming it, sharing it, enduring it. To run from what hurts is natural. To face it is not, and yet that is where our true health lies. If we are able to turn toward the pain of the world and let it do its work, the result may be hearts broken open to God and one another.”

May we use this new year as a time to let the stories permeate our very being where they become a resource, a guide, and a source of strength for our living.

Pastor Beverly

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From the Pastor

Tell me a story

Published September 14, 2007

“Aunt Bev, tell me a story. Then I tell you a story.” With those words my almost three year old great nephew set the tone for the 4 ½ days that I recently spent visiting him and his parents. The timing was good because I had just come from Pastor’s Assembly where the topic had been “Pastoral Fitness”. One of the things we had been reminded of was the importance of play – and that play was our very first work. (See Rev. Garland’s article for more information about the assembly and the richness of it). As I watched and as I played with Cullen over the next four days that message was constantly being reinforced. Let’s just say I did a lot of playing and it was wonderful!

But back to his enchantment with story telling. Whenever we were in the car, and sometimes sitting at the table, it was time for story telling. Now being the grownup that I am and being rather rusty about telling stories I had a lot to learn. At first I thought of books and the stories in them, but soon I progressed to thinking hard about events, things I had done or seen. Later I realized that stories almost always had to have some animation in them to be really memorable. So, for instance, when I told him about a bear that had come up to our car on a trip through Yellowstone Park when I was a child, the idea that the bear was probably looking for food, morphed into a conversation between the bear and my mother in which she told him we had no food and he thanked her politely and went to another car. Imagination allows for embellishment of details.

As I reflected on all of this story telling, I thought about how much of what we do in the church is story telling. The stories are factual, or based in fact, and they are definitely real in our experience. Sometimes we have trouble thinking about the stories because we don’t often think about our faith that way. We tend to think about needing to have the right theological terms. Quite frankly, the words “righteousness, salvation, resurrection, holiness, piety, mercy, grace,” and many more are not words that frequently find their way into everyday conversation. In fact if you want to try to stymie someone you might try asking them to define what some of those words mean.

If, however, we talk about what takes place we are telling the stories of faith. When we describe how our congregation led by our children raised money for surgery for Saffiatu, we are telling an important faith story. When we describe people coming together to work on a harvest festival or a yard sale we are talking about fellowship and enjoying the company of the body of Christ. We are also talking about the ways we finance the ministry and mission of the church. When we talk about people sending us cards or visiting or praying for us we are talking about examples of agape (love) and modeling what incarnate love looks like. When we talk about why domestic violence is wrong, or how we need to respond to the needs of hungry or homeless people, we are talking about the application of our faith.

Cullen started by setting the ground rules. I would tell a story and he would listen to me. He would respond to the story. “That’s a good story, Aunt Bev.” Sometimes he would ask a question. Then, he would stop and think (usually punctuating it with a “hmmm, I’m thinking.”) Only then would he tell his story. Frequently his story had something to do with my story. He was modeling a wonderful way of respectful listening that often seems to be missing when we are sharing our stories. I thought about the many times we rush in to try to convince someone that we are right and they are wrong. I thought of the times we are so quick to answer that we haven’t really heard the question. I thought of the times when we cut each other off in conversation because we are so quick to want to make our point. How often do we really listen carefully to what the other person is saying, respond respectfully, and only then formulate our response. By the way, that involves being comfortable with the silence while thinking is happening.

At one point in the weekend, when it was his turn to tell a story, Cullen said to me, “You have all my stories, tell me another story.” On some level he recognized that it was time to learn more stories, to listen, to learn. He didn’t have to match me story for story. He was content to be the listener, to learn from me and from my experience. How often are we willing to place ourselves in the role of student, to learn from another – even to learn from God?

I learned two more important things in the storytelling. Shorter stories were better than longer ones. Going to the fair provided us with many many short stories rather than one long one. That reminded me that we don’t have to tell people everything we know, or think we know, about God or our faith all at once. A constant, faithful everyday witness in small doses through our example and our lives is much more effective than a lengthy speech.

Sometimes Cullen would tell me which story he wanted to hear. “Tell me about the parachutes” meant he wanted to hear the story about what happened last summer when I was there. Sometimes he would tell us in detail which story he wanted to hear, and when we said he had already told the story, he still wanted us to tell it again. Familiar stories are important. They become part of who we are. You’ll discover that if you listen to someone’s stories over a period of time. Stories get repeated and the ones that get repeated do so for a reason. There is something in that story that is important either to be heard or to be told, sometimes both.

I would invite you to rediscover the enchantment of telling the stories of your faith and to share them often. Tell about the ways in which God has been real in your life, the ways in which God has strengthened, guided, comforted, and healed you. Tell short stories and listen respectfully to the stories of others. God may speak to you through the stories and the life of another.

Pastor Beverly

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From the Pastor

Harry Potter -- Good versus evil

Published August 17, 2007

I confess! Along with a fair number of you I am a Harry Potter fan. I’ve seen the movies and yes, I’ve read all the books – including the newest one. I did wait three days after its release before I bought it and I know that by then some of you had already finished reading it. I also know that there are some in the religious community who think that the entire Harry Potter phenomenon is dangerous and that it’s about witchcraft. I’m going to oversimplify here because I want to make a point but I think the real focus of the series is good verses evil and the setting of Hogwarts School of Wizardry is the vessel for the ongoing battle. There are a lot of components to this including the usual issues of power, selfishness, greed, and so forth but I think the major component in the battle is inclusion verses exclusion.

For those of you who don’t know or care about Harry Potter, stay with me for a minute please, because I’m headed somewhere. For those who know all about it, indulge me while I explain something. Wizards come in two or three varieties. Some are “pure-bloods”. That means that both of their parents and all of their ancestors are wizards. At the other end are the “muggle born”. These wizards are born to human parents who have no wizarding abilities. To some in the wizard world they are really outcasts and the very nasty term used to describe them is “mudblood”. In between these two groups are those “half-bloods” who have some muggle blood mixed with wizard blood. This whole issue of ancestry becomes a litmus test for some of who is acceptable and who is not.

Now, I’ve started here because really good literature imitates life and helps us see and understand ourselves if we are willing to examine ourselves with critical eyes. Around the same time that the last Harry Potter book was preparing for publication, there was another document released that created a great deal of stir in the religious community. On July 10^th the Vatican released a document that was endorsed by Pope Benedict. This statement observed that Christian denominations outside the Roman Catholic Church were not full churches. The Orthodox Church comes closest because it follows the apostolic succession of the Bishops but suffers from a “wound” since it does not recognize the primacy of the pope. Protestant churches are so profoundly wounded that “it is difficult to see how the title of `Church’ could possibly be attributed to them.” By the way, this is not a new statement. It is only a reiteration of a position that the Roman Catholic Church has held throughout history.

Scott Suskovic writing in “The Immediate Word”, an on-line resource that I frequently check for some thoughts for preaching, made the connection between Harry Potter and the Pope’s document. His connection intrigued me and I think it’s a good illustration for us.

Let me say that if the criteria for being a “true church” is recognizing the primacy of the Pope and following the apostolic line of Episcopacy then the Pope is right, we United Methodists are not a “true church”. (You could check out Matthew 16:13-20 to see where this is based.) There is a way to argue that we do follow the apostolic line of Episcopacy but that’s not the point. I could get into a long dissertation about many items but this is a newsletter article – so let me make one point.

The point – or my point – is that we have to be very careful when we draw lines in the sand that try to define who is in and who is out. We have to be careful when we set up guidelines about who is a real Christian and who is not. I am not picking on the Roman Catholic Church here because they are not the only church to draw a line that could be debated. There are those who argue that one is not a true Christian unless you are opposed to abortion and homosexuality. These issues have become the litmus test for them. Some argue that in a true church women should not be in positions of leadership. Others argue that true Christians are only those who are concerned about poverty and justice.

Do you remember the story of Peter walking on water? (Matthew 14:22-33). It was when Peter took his eyes off Jesus and focused on the strong wind that he began to sink. If we are going to draw any lines then I think the line is one that each of us needs to answer for ourselves – are our eyes focused on Jesus? Are our lives focused on Jesus? Are we doing the things that Jesus wants us to do?

Remember that Jesus was the one who was constantly breaking down the boundaries. He was the one who reached out to and included those who were excluded by society. Jesus loved the “mudbloods”. In his day that would have included Gentiles – and that’s us. Each of us has enough to do in watching our own lives as we attempt to live a faithful Christian life. Let’s be careful that we do not draw lines of exclusion that Jesus has already erased.

Pastor Beverly

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From the Pastor

Published June 23, 2007

Have you ever noticed how sometimes God tries to get your attention by repeatedly putting some idea or something in front of you? At least I know that’s what God seems to do with me. Recently I think God has been trying to get me to pay more attention to the concerns of our environment. Now, I know that this is something that we should all be concerned about, and I’ve always given sort of a nod to the issues, but recently God’s been speaking in a different way.

The latest phase of this intense communication started when I was at Annual Conference. One of the resolutions presented to us was printed on an almost fluorescent green paper – it was hard not to notice. It was a resolution on Global Climate Change. Naturally it started with a theological reflection, “All creation is the Lord’s, and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it.” (Book of Discipline 160)

There was information about causes of global warming and then this line, “Scientists believe that hundreds of millions of lives will be affected by global warming within the next 50 years unless we reduce carbon emissions radically and rapidly.” I read this as I was walking along the sidewalk enjoying a gentle breeze from the surrounding trees. It occurred to me that in 50 years, my soon to be born grandchild will be younger than I am now. The resolution went on, “One study maintains that the year 2016 will be a tipping point for global climate change after which no human efforts will be able to make any significant impact on slowing climate change.” My grandchild will be less than 10 years old at that tipping point time.

Now, I know that there are other studies that disagree with these findings but being an expectant grandmother has me looking at several things in a different way.

A few nights ago my son and daughter-in-law and I had one of our frequent discussions about their search for quality daycare. The next morning the front page of the Providence Journal featured an article that began this way: Imagine living in a place where you can’t plant a flower, dig a garden, sell your house or let your children play outside, where hidden toxins darken the soil and a summer breeze carries the fear of airborne particles infiltrating your lungs.

The picture showed the children at a home daycare center running outside to play on a carpet of artificial grass that covers the backyard. The children can’t play on the regular grass because tests have found unsafe levels of cyanide, arsenic, lead and carcinogens in the soil around the house of the woman who runs the day care center. Her daughter who grew up in this house and used to play in the wooded lot next door has an auto-immune connective tissue disorder that requires frequent treatments to clean out the high concentrations of metals and toxins from her blood. The day care business is dying as parents are finding other places for their children – I thought about my future grandchild and wondered how safe the grass and yards would be where he or she would play.

The cause of this contamination has been traced to the burning of coal to produce gas in the early 1900s at the former Fall River Gas Co. An 87 year old resident testified that in the 1940s he worked for a local contractor cleaning out waste from the gas plant and dumping it in what became the neighborhood three bridges over from us in nearby Tiverton.

I’m choosing to believe that neither the company involved nor its employees had any idea that less than a lifetime later, their actions would be creating unsafe conditions for children in the area. The most recent issue of Sojourner’s magazine focuses on “Stepping it Up to Save the Earth”. As I walked along in Narragansett an environmental group stopped me to talk about carbon emissions and state legislation. It seems that everywhere I turn suddenly I’m being confronted by questions about the environment and our responsibility. Even the novel I read recently talked about pumping for gas below the surface and the damage to the land, crops, and wildlife.

In a recent sermon (6/17 8:00) I said, “We have a responsibility as we live our lives on this planet to ask how our choices play out for the marginalized in the world, for the most vulnerable. The most basic question is `Do we see ourselves as answerable to God?’ The answer to that question when taken seriously will affect everything else that we say and do.” I know the answer to that question. “Yes, I do see myself as answerable to God” and now I will be looking more carefully at the questions I will be asked to answer related to the environment of this planet which God has entrusted to us. I hope you will join me in a growing awareness and focus in this crucial area.

We have been richly blessed and with that blessing comes great responsibility. Let’s share that responsibility with each other.

Pastor Beverly

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Reflections from a Renewal Leave - Part 3 --- Click here for Part 1 | Click here for Part 2

By The Rev. Beverly Stenmark

Published May 12, 2007

One of the “new” experiences of my renewal leave was the opportunity to color. I’ve never considered myself an artist, but someone gave me a package of colored pencils and a coloring book of geometric designs. This turned out to be a great gift that I’ve continued since returning. Below are some of my thoughts from one particular time of coloring. On January 12^th, I reflected in this way:

“Yesterday I colored one of the geometric designs that seemed full of so many different shapes. When I look at the completed design I see a mixture of many colors and shapes that call me deeper. At first glance, I see colors, colors, and more colors. When I look closer I see shapes coming together and patterns within the colors. I know they are there because I put them there.

“When I first began, the page seemed overwhelming and I was looking for an overall pattern that would make sense, colors that would work together. Then I stopped and began with one color at the center and went out from there, not thinking what would go next to it or exactly what would come next.

“Little by little the colors and patterns came together, but then I would discover that while there were repetitions, there was not always symmetry. I chose the colors so that in some cases the color of a shape carried throughout the piece, but in other cases there would be changes.”

Part of my devotional reading for that day was from Thomas Merton, who wrote that he seems to have greater peace and feel closer to God not when he is trying to do something special, but rather when he is simply orienting his life fully and completely towards what God is requiring at that very moment. He continues by saying, “The wonder of being brought, by God, around a corner and to realize a new road is opening up, perhaps – which He alone knows. And that there is no way of traveling it but in Christ and with Him. This is joy and peace – whatever happens. The result does not matter. I have something to do for Him and, if I do that, everything else will follow.”[1]

How often life seems to be like one of these geometric designs! Looking at the big picture can feel overwhelming, and I’d like to have it all figured out in advance, but life doesn’t work that way. What is required is the orientating of life fully and completely towards what God is requesting. With that, then it is time to begin – somewhere, and take one step at a time. I’ve discovered that even when I did plan out the design, I would end up picking up a wrong color at some point and then my plan was changed. Just like life. Then it was necessary to work around the changes and incorporate the unexpected, or the mistake, or whatever it was that disrupted my plan.

“Some colors that at first might seem not to go together became themes throughout and their presence together (a light green and a light orange) became a repetitive pattern.

“As I look, I realize that mathematically they do go together. They are the same degree away from yellow and moving toward blue and red respectively. In places they connect with a raspberry that is the same degree between blue and red.

“The colors and the way they fit together also remind me of “Enter the River” by Jody Shearer. (Jody’s book is about racism and specifically white privilege and was one of many that I read during my renewal leave). He talks about the diversity of God’s creation – the colors of people and the varieties of cultures fitting together to make a kaleidoscope of rich diversity.

“I’ve read about the dangers of `not seeing colors’ or being `color-blind’ and how in that approach we lose diversity – we lose who we are rather than being enriched by the variety of colors, customs, and ideas we all bring. His words have been calling me to think back in my history.”

As he shared some of his formative stories, I thought back to one of mine in particular. It happened when I was about 8 or 9 and we were on a trip to Florida. I vividly remembered the first time I saw a “whites only” sign at a restaurant. It was very early one morning. We had been driving for a long time and we were very hungry. The restaurant was not yet open, but a woman came and opened the door for us. I was shocked that she was black – and then quickly learned that “whites only” meant that she could work there, but not eat there. The injustice in that made my skin crawl and I lost my appetite. I had never seen or experienced that kind of prejudice and segregation that I later came to understand was so prevalent. That is about the only thing I remember from that trip. I can’t even tell you where we went or what we did, but I early learned how the color of my skin gave me privilege that was denied to so many others.

I remember a black colleague of mine one day saying that people found it easier to deal with her if they saw her as a black mother whom they could stereotype. They found it more difficult to deal with her as an educated masters degree professional woman. That was the way Jody Shearer described racism – racial prejudice – assumptions formed before knowing a person.

My coloring was made richer by the diversity of colors represented in the design. Our lives are made richer by the diversity represented by all of the differences among the people whom God has created. One of the many challenges for many of us, is not to be “color blind” and thereby try to make everyone else into a copy of ourselves, but rather to celebrate the diversity of color, culture, custom, ideas, traditions, and experiences that are present in God’s great kaleidoscope of life.

In Christ’s peace and love,

Pastor Beverly

[1] Montaldo, Jonathan editor. A Year with Thomas Merton, Daily Meditations from His Journals. Harper, San Francisco, 2004, p.12

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Reflections from a Renewal Leave – Part 2

A very big part of my renewal leave was the opportunity to take a course with Ched Myers of the Bartimaeus Institute. Ched is a theologian, teacher, activist, who works hard at living out his faith. He focuses much of his attention on Jesus’ concern for the poor, the disenfranchised, and the oppressed. He focuses on the need for us to work together and build a world where we are living at peace with our brothers and sisters and living peacefully with our environment. I learned many wonderful things from Ched as we studied Jesus as presented in Luke’s gospel. I learned a lot from the other people who were taking the course.

One of them was a young woman from North Carolina. While many of us attending this course were pastors, she was not. While almost everyone attending the course was very active in the religious community in some manner, she was more on the fringes. I wish I had gotten to know Erin better. One evening in our closing worship she shared a poem that she had written following a meeting about putting a moratorium on the death penalty. Erin’s life has been different than mine in many ways and it is her life experience that she shares in her poem. If you would like to see a brief video about Erin please go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIJ7ce16cH8 . This is the web site for YouTube and Erin’s video is entitled “I am a Duality”. It will start when you click on the link and is about 5 minutes long. If you decide to check out her video, please listen to all of it to get the full picture. Erin grew up in a military family and honors those who serve in the military. At the same time, she is the director of Southern Economic Justice and she raises some really tough questions. I offer her poem to you, with her permission. I pray that it might provide some food for thought for all of us and open our eyes to some realities that are different than the ones that many of us know.

Thou Shall Not Kill

by Erin Byrd

But did she mean for us to use it against each other arbitrarily, discriminately, immorally,

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Recently I heard a story that I want to share with you. In the deep jungles of Africa, a traveler was making a long trek. He hired men from a village tribe to carry his many supplies and equipment. The first couple of days they marched rapidly and went far. The traveler had high hopes of a speedy journey. One more day of the same kind of marching would complete the journey. But the next morning these jungle tribesmen refused to move. For some strange reason they just sat and rested. On inquiry as to the reason for this strange behavior, the traveler was informed that they had been going too fast, and that they were now waiting for their souls to catch up with their bodies.

This whirling rushing life which so many of us live does for us what that fast paced march did for those jungle tribesmen. The difference: they knew what they needed to restore life's balance; too often we do not. That story resonates with me. Sometimes I feel as if I’m rushing so much that I really do need time to let my soul catch up with my body. For years, I have had a mantra or a guiding principle in my life that can be summed up in one word – balance. Sometimes I’m better at keeping that balance than at other times.

Jesus knew all about this, and he did a wonderful job of modeling for us a life that included regularly taking time to go off by himself to spend time in prayer. Jesus knew about the need for sabbath time. The notion of sabbath comes from our beginnings in the book of Genesis. In the story of creation, we read that on the seventh day, God had finished all the work to be done and rested, and blessed the seventh day and hallowed it. Many of us have lost that sense of balance in our lives. The workaholic syndrome and frantic pace of life too often affect even our decisions as God’s community. We get lost along the way, without focus and purpose, unable to hear God speaking to us about God’s mission and vision and goals in God’s church.

Our Book of Discipline, recognizes the need to dedicate a concentrated amount of time to reconnect with our biblical roots and renew the balance, rhythm and pace of life through spiritual practice and experience. It provides for pastors to take a dedicated time of 4 weeks once every 4 years for this purpose. It has not been a common practice for pastors to do this, but I’m beginning to realize that it really should be. We tend to think that we can’t afford the time or even that things will fall abut while we’re gone. When we think that way, we are trusting ourselves rather than God and neglecting the importance of a sabbath type of renewal time.

Many of you know by now, that I will be taking a six-week renewal/study leave starting in the beginning of January and going into the middle of February. Work and play are intimately related. Without the gift of work, play can become meaningless. Without the gift of play, work becomes tedium. Sabbath keeping values our ability to rest and not merely the ability to work. A renewal/study leave suggests that both new learning/skills and renewal of the whole person is necessary. I have planned for this time to include both of these components.

I have enrolled in a course with the Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries in Santa Barbara California. This one-week course is entitled: Luke’s Jesus and Sabbath Economics. It will be led by Ched Myers who is an ecumenical activist who spends his time teaching, writing, and organizing in order to help nurture faith-based movements working for peace, justice and radical discipleship. The course focuses on texts from Luke that will be coming up in the current year lectionary, and looks at the personal and political implications of the economy of grace as told and shown by Luke’s Jesus. When I come back, I should be able to explain that better.

Since I have never been to Santa Barbara, I will go out there a few days early and stay a few days afterwards and enjoy some rest and sight-seeing. I am also hoping to spend a few days in Vermont at Weston Priory being renewed by the worship and the music of the monks of the Weston Priory. I’ll spend a few days also in Vermont visiting with my Great Nephew, 2 year old Cullen and his parents. Part of the time will be spent at home, resting, reading, and hopefully, finally putting the books in my home office back where they belong after having been moved out and in twice during the flood repairs this fall.

During this time, Rev. Richard Garland will be the covering pastor. You know Rev. Garland since he has been a part of our parish since his retirement in 2001. He will be preaching and celebrating communion on the first Sunday in January and February. Lay Speakers from our congregation will lead the other Sunday services. We are blessed to have such rich sources of leadership. Any pastoral needs will be addressed by Rev. Garland. This will include hospital visits, funerals (please, let’s not have any, okay?), any other consultation, counseling, or administrative needs. Although he will not be preaching every week, he will be present at both worship services and available if you need to speak with him. A good rule of thumb to follow is that if you would normally contact me about something contact Rev. Garland. Both Jay Hickey – chair of the Staff Parish Relations Committee, and Paula Martasian – Lay Leader, will also be available to answer questions or help during this time. As always, if you have any questions, call Cindi in the church office and she will gladly direct your call or pass a message along to the appropriate person.

It is my prayer that this time will be not only renewing for me but that it will also have a renewing effect on our congregation as I come back perhaps with some new insights and a renewed spirit (and body). During my absence, I expect that things will continue as they normally do. If decisions need to be made, they will be made. Events, programs, meetings, etc. should all continue as usual because we are becoming more of a program centered church that has a strong lay leadership base and people with many talents and abilities. Please do make sure that Rev. Garland as the pastor of record for this time knows what is going on.

Please be sure to send church e-mails to the church office: church@nkumc.necoxmail.com and not to my personal account nkumc@cox.net Also, please call the church office 401-294-9293 for all business or needs. Since I will be away a significant portion of the time, you cannot rely on messages being received on my e-mail or the parsonage phone

I will return during the week of February 12^th and will be in pulpit on February 18^th – just before Lent. You will be in my prayers during my absence, and I hope that you will also be holding me in prayer.

“Words, words, words, I’m so sick of words. It’s words all day through, First from him, now from you.” This is what the exasperated Eliza spits out as a rebuttal to Phonetics Professor Henry Higgins in the 1964 musical “My Fair Lady”. I’m beginning to understand her feeling – and it will only get worse as we get closer to the upcoming election. Everyone has something to say, and frequently it’s something negative about their opponent. So, at the risk of offending you with more words – here are some of my thoughts as the election approaches.

I’m sure that some of you think that as a pastor I should keep my thoughts to myself, that it’s wrong to mix politics and religion. The IRS thinks so; that’s why as a church we are not allowed to endorse any particular candidate or distribute campaign literature that promotes one party or candidate over another. That’s probably just as well because I know that we are all over the map on our opinions on the various topics. However, I do take issue with the concept that it is wrong to mix politics and religion.

I believe that Christians have a moral and civic responsibility to participate in the political life of society. However as the organization Sojourners likes to remind us, it is important to remember that God is not a Republican or a Democrat. It is important for us to be involved in the political process because Christianity is a religion of great moral ethics and values and these must influence all of our lives – and that includes the decisions we make when we go to the polls.

I have been concerned, and have expressed my concern, that some Christians have chosen to make one or two issues the litmus test for all of us. If we disagree on these subjects (notably abortion and homosexuality) then there are some who would insist that we are not Christian at all. I’m not going to give you my opinion on these two subjects here, but I am going to use this opportunity to remind all of us that Christianity is concerned with many more issues and we need to think about all of these when we make important decisions in any election. If we fail to do that, we run the risk of discovering that we have voted for a person who disagrees with everything else we hold dear.

So, let me raise some other issues that are, or should be, important to us as Christians. In my reading of the Bible, it seems to me that Jesus places a lot of emphasis on caring for the poor. In the Old Testament also, we find God repeatedly chastising people for their neglect of the poor. God shows a special interest in the poor and teaches us that we should use our resources so that every person has those things that are essential to life. In parts of our world, villages are being destroyed because companies are buying up the water supply and contaminating the only source of water available for people in poor villages, or they are diverting the supply so that there is no water at all available.

There is a serious lack of affordable housing available for many people who work very hard to provide for their families, but still cannot afford a decent and safe place to live. Our elderly citizens should not have to decide between buying the medication they need or buying food. Children should not go to school hungry. Yes, I know that many schools now provide breakfast and lunches. However, there are also many children who do not get a decent nutritious meal between Friday afternoon when they leave school and Monday morning when they return. I hear Jesus reminding us that “whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” (Matthew 25:45)

The Bible tells us “God saw everything that God had made, and indeed it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31). We are to be good and careful stewards of the earth and the atmosphere around it. We need to pay attention not only to how we use the resources around us but also the policies of our government and businesses when those policies damage God’s creation. Global temperatures are rising at a steady and alarming rate. We need to develop renewable sources of energy and responsible and frugal ways of consuming those non-renewable resources.

Most of you know that the issues of domestic violence and sexual abuse are passions of mine. This involves the old “which comes first the chicken or the egg question.” Since children who experience violence in their homes are more likely to become violent, we need to work both with children and with adults to prevent violence in all areas of our lives. Children should be safe in their homes and in their schools. Adults should be safe with the people who claim to love them. We all need to work for peace and to make the thought of hurting someone we love unthinkable. Psalm 8:4-5 says, “What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.”

I saw a sign that said, “Vote family values.” I will vote family values – I will vote for peace (locally, and globally), justice (economic, racial, gender), health care, education, stewardship of the earth, and many other important issues.

I believe that our Christian values should inform our political decisions and that means that deciding how to vote is never easy. It means looking at the big picture and how what we do affects other people – both locally and globally.

I’m going to stop my “words” now and go pray and listen carefully to God. I will pray that you will do the same.

Two days ago we observed the most holy day in the Christian year – the Easter festival celebrating and remembering the resurrection of Jesus Christ. My day began with the sunrise service at 6:00 at the town beach. It was a glorious sunrise that, as usual, caused a collective gasp among those gathered as the sun broke above the horizon while we sang, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today.” Somewhere in my psyche there is a visceral connection between proclaiming the resurrection of God’s Son, as the Sun created by God rises slowly into the sky.

Worshipping on Easter is a crucial beginning to our Easter celebration. The question that I would like us to contemplate is, “What do we do after the Worship celebration?” For many an important part of the day is having dinner with family or friends. My afternoon included a wonderful walk around Newport and Jamestown. It was a perfect culmination to the sunrise service – another opportunity to be close to God and to revel in the beauty of God’s creation.

When Monday came did your Easter celebration end or is it continuing? Does Easter make a difference in your life? Do you see the risen Christ in your daily life? Do you see the evidence of God’s love when you look around you? When something bad happens in your life, do you think that’s the way life will always be? When someone you love dies do you think that it means the end of your life? With the dreams that die does your hope shrivel up and disappear also?

On the wall of my den hangs a print of a painting by Maxwell Mays. It is titled, “The Long Day”. Like most of Mays’ paintings it is a busy picture, full of many images reminiscent of a quaint village or countryside. The thing about the painting is that the closer you look at it, the more you find in it. In this case hidden in plain sight are scenes from Jesus’ life.

The painting is wonderfully symbolic of the way our lives are. If our eyes are open to the possibilities, we can find Christ present in so much of our life. We can see the signs of hope and promise even in the middle of what seems most difficult.

Let me give you an example. For a couple of years now, my siblings and I have been trying to convince our parents that it would be a good idea for them to move to United Methodist Elder Care. They had been unwilling to consider the idea. Back in November my father ended up in the hospital. I received a call indicating to me that an apartment would be opening up in the assisted living section. Less than an hour later, I received a call telling me that my father’s doctor was recommending that he go into a nursing home. By the end of the day, my parents were seeing the possibility of an apartment as God’s hand working in their lives. There have been good days and bad days in this whole process over the last five months but through it all, I have stood I awe of the way many different pieces have come together. I see the hope of resurrection, the promise of God’s love and presence in the midst of all that has taken place. Granted, I haven’t seen it every day, but I do know that God has been there even when I haven’t been looking.

That’s another wonderful thing about Easter celebration. Even though the disciples had deserted Jesus, he welcomed them and offered them peace, not a reprimand. Even though Peter had denied Jesus three times, the angel told the women to tell the disciples, including Peter, that Christ had risen. God doesn’t turn away from us when we turn away from God. God welcomes us back with open arms.

Easter is far more than a one day celebration. Easter is a way of life. It is a way of seeing life through the lens of God’s love and the possibilities that a risen Christ brings into and out of the places of death. We are Easter people and the lens of Easter should be the lens through which we view life.

It has been a great joy to see all the energy and commitment that has been generated on behalf of Saffiatu. As I write this, Saffiatu and her mother are in Tel Aviv and we are awaiting the results of a comprehensive medical evaluation. We will never know the full ramifications of this great act of mercy. What we have done is so wonderfully consistent with Jesus’ message to love our neighbor as ourselves. I celebrate that our children see Saffiatu as our neighbor even though she is a Muslim child living halfway around the world. We have been able to be part of something great in the life of a child, her family and community.

This process has also raised our consciousness about other systemic issues of justice. One of our children said it well when she said that if Saffiatu lived here, she would have already had her surgery and would be out playing with her friends. One of the first major barriers to getting treatment for Saffiatu was getting an accurate diagnosis so that the international doctors could evaluate her condition. Lisa Dallas made many phone calls, sent large numbers of e-mails and found some doctors in various places willing to consider Saffiatu’s situation. They all asked Lisa to simply send them a copy of the results of Saffiatu’s echocardiogram.

A seemingly simple request was impossible to fulfill. Further investigation uncovered the reality that in all of Sierra Leone there was no place where an echocardiogram could be performed at this time. I had an echocardiogram done in a doctor’s office several years ago. Saffiatu could not have one performed anywhere in her country. What’s wrong with this picture?

The prophet Micah said, “The Lord God has told us what is right and what He demands: `See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God.’” (Micah 6:8 CEV) All of the outpouring of support for Saffiatu has been a miracle of mercy for her. It has allowed justice to be done for Saffiatu. It raises our awareness of the incredible justice issues related to health care around our world.

At a New England Conference clergy meeting recently, Bishop Peter Weaver shared with us his experience at the United Methodist Mission Hospital in Zing, Nigeria where patients 2 or 3 to a bed wait for a doctor – who is no longer there. The dedicated nurse at the eye clinic next door asked why United Methodists in this country could no longer send a doctor. What’s wrong with this picture?

People have been eager to support 8 year old Hudson Reynolds on his 16 mile “bike 4 a heart”. Many donations have been received from strangers who have read about the work of the Dallas family. A story and picture of a sick child tugs on our heart strings. Thank God for the children in our church who have formed an immediate bond with another child.

Would we receive the same kind of publicity and response if the story were about a general need to raise money to provide doctors, medical equipment and health care to unknown people halfway around the world? Unfortunately, we know the answer. Most people want and need a picture. We are eager to do acts of mercy, but acts of justice are not as popular.

My prayer is that when we have finished helping Saffiatu, we will find ways to work for justice as well as mercy. I pray that we will realize that it is not okay for all of the other Saffiatus of the world to be without basic medical care.

Yes, I know that this is one of many justice issues. Yes, I know that we cannot do it all; but we can, and have done something. Perhaps our thinking could start to move toward the issues of justice that cause situations like Saffiatu’s to exist.

Doing justice involves more than giving money. Doing justice means reordering our priorities. Doing justice means monitoring legislation, budgets and government policies to bring justice to those who are not receiving it. It’s not as exciting as helping one child, but it is critically important to the peace and future of our world. Doing justice is a tough job – but it is one to which we are called.

“The Lord God has told us what is required and what He demands: `See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God.’”

I’ve been spending most of my “free” time at my parents’ house lately or writing letters and making phone calls related to them. At the end of this month my parents will be leaving their home of about 53 years and moving to the United Methodist Elder Care Assisted Living Facility in East Providence. This whole process has me thinking a lot about endings and beginnings, about changes in our lives and what they mean.

This is a good move for my parents. At 90 and 87 years old they are finding it increasingly difficult to manage in their home. My brother and I have been spending a lot of time and energy checking on daily type things and their confusion has made it more difficult to be sure that they are doing what they need to be doing to be safe. They have a lot of friends from their church who live at the Retirement Center so that transition will be easier than if they were moving to a place where they knew nobody. There are wonderful activities going on there. They will get two meals a day in the dining room so we expect their nutritional needs to be met much better than now. Everything has come together in a wonderful and exciting way that helps us clearly see God’s hand in this. Yes, it is a good move – an exciting beginning!

This is a tough move for my parents – and for us. My parents have lived in this house for about 53 years. The exact time is lost to us in the confusion of their minds, but they think my younger sister was a baby when they moved here and that would make it 53 years ago. This is the home where they raised their children. This is the place we all call home. When they move and the house is sold there will be no “going home.” My parents were profoundly affected by the depression era and the number of things in their home that we are sorting through is rather overwhelming. Although my parents are finally excited by the move and we children are greatly relieved, there is a profound sadness. Yes, it is a tough move – a difficult ending.

That’s the way it is with most changes in our lives. Every change involves an ending and a beginning. Every ending involves some grieving because there is a loss involved. Even the most exciting beginnings – a marriage, the birth of child – involve an ending: the end of single life, the end of picking up and going whenever you want to. . When the change is something we have actively sought and embrace wholeheartedly there are still always adjustments to be made. We do ourselves an injustice when we fail to recognize what is coming to an end; when we do not allow ourselves to grieve for what we are losing – even as we embrace and enthusiastically anticipate the new beginning.

Sometimes the changes are not what we sought. Sometimes the changes are things we don’t want in our lives at all. When someone we love dies, or when aging changes our level of independence or abilities to live the way we want, we do not easily embrace these changes. In these cases we are more likely to do the grieving and recognize what we have lost. At these times the new beginning is not something we look forward to, but nevertheless there is a new beginning.

On Good Friday the disciples and Jesus’ friends were devastated because of the ending that had occurred. The one they loved had been crucified. The world as they knew it had come to an end. Their hopes and dreams had been shattered. Soon they would discover that this horrible ending had been also the beginning of something new and wonderful – on Easter they learned that Jesus had risen from the dead.

I realize that most of the changes that we dread are not turned around and greeted with such a dramatic new beginning as Christ’s resurrection, but it is still true that God brings new possibilities into all of the changes in our lives. It may be difficult or impossible to see the possibilities at the time; it may be difficult or impossible to imagine a future but Easter promises us that there is a future even in the middle of Good Friday.

I invite each of you to be gentle with yourselves about the changes that are taking place in your lives. Even in excitement, it is okay to grieve the changes and losses that change involves. Even in sorrow, our Easter faith reminds us that there is a future and new beginnings. At times, it may be only faith that carries you into the new beginnings, but know that you are carried in God’s loving arms.

Our church, too, is going through changes – endings and beginnings. Gone are the days of one worship service, of knowing everyone with whom you worship or everyone in our church family. Gone are the days when you knew everything that was happening in the church and could be involved in everything that was going on. Grieve those changes if that is what you need to do.

Here are the days when you have a choice about which worship service to attend. Here are the days when God is bringing new people into our church so that together we can be the Body of Christ. Now and into the future we are being enriched by the diversity and excitement that our new brothers and sisters bring. Now is the time when we are seeking the ways to go out into the community and meet the needs of our brothers and sisters who do we do not yet know. Beginning is a time when new programs and ministries are possible and you can find the area of ministry that meets your needs and the area in which your gifts can best be used by God to do the work of Christ in our midst.

One of our hymns reminds us, “This is a day of new beginnings; our God is making all things new.” May you know God’s presence and comfort in your endings, and God’s presence and leading in your beginnings.