tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57475164060194690212024-02-19T18:21:55.107-08:00Fortuna United Methodist ChurchAt the Heart and Around the Edges
Musings about the work and the thought of Fortuna United Methodist Church.Pastor Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07226740607040542457noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-60914542791779679322010-10-15T10:55:00.000-07:002012-08-15T09:03:31.118-07:00Will and lots of Legal StuffIt was great to have Dan Cooper, attorney in Eureka (and also part of the church family going back generations) came and joined with us on Wednesday at 4:00 to talk about wills and such. <br />
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We started out with scary stuff -- there are lots of scams out there. He shared a video helping us understand how to protect ourselves. Here are some guidelines:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Get advice from someone you seek out that has an independent perspective. (not from someone who has something to sell they get commissions on).</li>
<li>Be careful if you go in for one thing and end up doing lot of other stuff.</li>
<li>Get all details in writing and check them out. Make sure you understand everything. Get independent review (not Better Business Bureau because the scammers move and change so fast there usually isn't time for them to build up a bad reputation.)</li>
<li>Beware of unsolicited help.</li>
<li>No surprises and don't get pushed to go too fast (in our house we call it "slammed" with teenagers who have to have a decision right now!)</li>
<li>Be realistic -- if it looks too good to be true . . . </li>
</ul>
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Dan gave a number to get information or report scams. 1-888-460-Seniors.</div>
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He shared a bit about the church endowment with the Humboldt Area Foundation. </div>
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Dan gave lots more advice. We have his card and a packet of other information in the office if you want to see more. There are also a few brochures you can request detailed in the last page of the packet. </div>
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Thank you Dan for coming to talk with us.</div>
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And everyone remember to put the church in your will. </div>
Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-36404558669990829932010-10-15T10:43:00.000-07:002010-10-15T10:43:33.577-07:0010/10/10 at 10:10 Saint Francis in the HouseWe had a great time Sunday clowning around. This year tug-a-war and mirroring one another. The clown teaches us about imitation. Everyone in the church had a partner and hands up mirroring one another. First one in charge, next the other, and then trading off. Many of us had the sense after a while that it was difficult to tell who was leading whom when we got in synch. It is like this following God as we get better and better at imitating Christ. <br />
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The furry critters were fun all over the front of the church this year.Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-83079576429645811872010-10-01T17:39:00.000-07:002010-10-01T17:39:13.065-07:00September 12 Rally Day and a New Tutoring ProgramTwelve children in two classes and another 13 adults kicked off our education program for the year. We redid the Sunday School classrooms, the education gifts for the kick off shower piled up in the back. Seven teachers have volunteers for two teams for two classes for the kids. And the adult have started the first chapters of reflections on "The Shack".<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/TKZ-VvdbRyI/AAAAAAAAAaI/X6Q1XMYN21A/s1600/volunteerssm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/TKZ-VvdbRyI/AAAAAAAAAaI/X6Q1XMYN21A/s320/volunteerssm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The wonderful surprise in the last weeks has been the 22 people from the church who have signed up to be tutors in the Fortuna Schools. The Turn-Around Steering team saw that one of the best ways for us to impact the vitality of Fortuna was to use our experience to mentor and so one third of the congregation has volunteered to help in the schools from tutoring math to sorting papers. </div>Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-65301665901040748422010-08-18T16:19:00.000-07:002010-08-18T16:19:11.181-07:00August 15, 2021 Queen EstherFun, Justice, a Good Story, irreverence, good guys and bad guys. We all love a good story. The book of Esther joins the canon of scripture because everyone loves it. Nothing about God, unless you read it in, or prayer or religiousness. But, the self-evidence that a sacrificial act that moves toward justice is as faithful as it gets. But it is also muddy: when the "good" guys win and slaughter the "bad" guys how much do we really progress? So we yell and make a lot of noise and hope that in 2500 years we've learned a few things. But newspapers this morning still have Bagdad front and center, good guys and bad guys and justice issues muddy enough for all of time. Which side are we on now?Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-14739447858827110662010-08-18T16:11:00.000-07:002010-08-18T16:11:49.254-07:00August 8 Vacation Bible School Sunday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/TGxoC_wqIeI/AAAAAAAAAZc/sVyaawPcg4w/s1600/Grabbed+Frame+44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/TGxoC_wqIeI/AAAAAAAAAZc/sVyaawPcg4w/s320/Grabbed+Frame+44.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">Vacation Bible School week, culminating in Vacation Bible School Sunday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am sure glad that the kidney stone is gone because a lot of jumping was involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So much fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had great kids, no serious problems, tons of help, food pictures, aforementioned jumping and dancing, and best of all time to talk with these wonderful children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/TGxoJDNfCvI/AAAAAAAAAZk/NGboXHqwRFw/s1600/Grabbed+Frame+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/TGxoJDNfCvI/AAAAAAAAAZk/NGboXHqwRFw/s200/Grabbed+Frame+3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/TGxoIbDIbaI/AAAAAAAAAZg/WDRQrQlf21c/s1600/Grabbed+Frame+29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="102" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/TGxoIbDIbaI/AAAAAAAAAZg/WDRQrQlf21c/s200/Grabbed+Frame+29.jpg" width="200" /></a>We built the worship service in traditional United Methodist form, but music all came from Galaxy Blast, and the experiences of the different parts of worship were all the way we did things in Galaxy Blast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The real winner of the day was when the kids took their two paper cups with about 18 inches of string between them and a spoon tied to the middle, and got the adults to hold the cups over their ears and bang the spoon on something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At first most everyone was thinking it was a joke, but when the first adult sprang up from their seat saying, “church bells”, then more and more tried this exciting little trick</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/TGxoKQE7-oI/AAAAAAAAAZo/EIqP7nMthYI/s1600/Grabbed+Frame+18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/TGxoKQE7-oI/AAAAAAAAAZo/EIqP7nMthYI/s320/Grabbed+Frame+18.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-30678468580182905962010-08-07T14:55:00.000-07:002010-08-07T14:55:47.129-07:00August 1, 2010 Kings 16-2 Kings 2 Elijah<div class="MsoNormal">I just preached on the story of Elijah a couple of weeks ago to the church in McKinleyville to talk about transitions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is fun to preach on the same text so close together in very different contexts. Today I tell the story to talk about how we hear God and about some changes in how we see God at work. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The old prophets are given as a gift to the people of Israel to counteract the power of the king (or queen).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the dynamic story of the powerful clash between the people of faith and the people fallen into idolatry, personified as a clash between the wicked rulers Jezebel and Ahab and the faithful Prophet Elijah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They square off in a shoot out on top of Mount Carmel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But oddly enough, even though we have the story of a great miracle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing changes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In church Jim Stanfield commented that it doesn’t make any difference what great work or sign we get, we tend not to change until we want to change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, the emphasis goes from miracle and power to finding the truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, Elijah’s next connection with God shows God not in the powerful signs of earthquake and storm and fire, but in the silence which is where most of us have to sort through God’s voice in our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elijah’s word is that God isn’t in the miracle signs but in the voice as still as silence that is within us already.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will be this voice that will lead us to the Messiah, the child of promise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-86058659743299824182010-08-07T14:53:00.000-07:002010-08-07T14:53:51.154-07:00July 25, 2010 Ruth<div class="MsoNormal">This week I am off on vacation, a time of rest and walking to build my strength up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am grateful to Chris Wennerholm and Lois Hunt for helping the congregation this week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chris used Spanish to help members of the congregation see that is it uncomfortable sometimes when we try to build a life when we can’t even understand the language.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Ruth is a Moabite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This becomes very important when we get past the story and realize that this story is here because Ruth is King David’s grandmother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A young foreigner joins with an abandoned Jewish mother in law and the two outcasts return to the Holy Land and by their faith and some shrewd planning find a new home, new family, and become spiritual grandmothers of the faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The sermon, read by Lois Hunt, was an epistle from Pastor Ted to the Church in Fortuna and explores something of the issues around the increase in other races and cultures that is growing in Fortuna Ca and in the rest of the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can read the text of this epistle here. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><h1><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Concerning our Grandmother Ruth</span></h1><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Grace and Peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be upon each of you this day.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">As you read this letter I am hopefully resting near the ocean in Mendocino County, a testament to my love of the coast as I go on vacation in a place nearly identical to our home. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">I remember you this day with the peace and joy in my heart that comes only from the grace of God that is present with each of us in this very moment binding us together even when we are separated. That connection so fills me with joy that I know that God works in you at all times and that Jesus makes a home for each one of us in this grand day. Of course each day is another grand day and so strung together we are given the gift of a life lived in the presence of God. And this moment by moment presence is our true home. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">But not so for all of us. I remember too well the last weeks where each day did not necessarily seem a blessing, but filled with pain. For me this is a temporary situation, and for this I thank God. For me, I was surrounded by your prayers, and for that I thank God. But for others, they live in suffering all the time. Many suffer without someone to hold them even in prayer. This is not because they deserve this suffering or because they did something wrong, but because the world of Grace that God has given us is also filled with sufferings that many of you know well. But some live among us as if God were not there at all. The are not able to comprehend the value of breath and beauty that surrounds us living in this most blessed of places. And it is these suffering souls that we should hold constantly pray. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">For some, the grace filled world that God gives to us has never been a home. Certainly there are many who driven from place to place never get familiarity or safety or community. Some are traveling to seek a new home of promise like our pilgrim ancestor or like our grandmothers and grandfathers of the faith Abraham and Sarah, or Moses. Many of your own grandmothers and grandfathers found this little Eden on the northern California Coast running from some misadventure somewhere else. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">It is deeply sad that some never find a place to rest from suffering. So we must remember that we are all called by Jesus who said of himself that foxes have dens, birds have nests but the Son of Humanity has no place to rest his head. We are bound by his example, that those of us who know the promise of God in this place hold dear those who are trying to find their place. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">For in God, there are no boundaries and divisions of place and territory. There are no boundaries of family or religion. God cares for each one alike, each place alike, each nation and state alike. Each culture alike, far beyond our comprehension of it. God loves our diversity, even of faith. And it is our job to make the human population around us our own human family not as we become alike, but in all our variations. Our grandfather the apostle Paul said that in our different and varying gifts we discover the body of Christ among us. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">The first laws given by our grandmothers and grandfathers of the faith -- even before the ten commandments and the covenantal promises of God -- were the laws of hospitality. Our great ancestors came from a desert land, they were wanderers themselves coming to a place unknown. They learned early the necessity of entry into a land from a generous hand. Throughout the ages, those invitations to community have been part of our faith. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">So too, when God called the people out of Egypt. Once again, wanderers, they needed God’s grace to find a home and so our stories begin as wanderers in the desert of our own lives. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">And this brings me to the purpose of this letter. For today, in our gracious town, we are going through a change that will forever alter the world that some have come to know. In California, in our whole country and slowly in Humboldt County, God is bringing the marvelous promise of a rainbow of nations and languages into our midst. Some come in the hope of a new promise in a new home. Some come fleeing their past circumstance. Some are brought here slaves of an evil business that drives too much of the hidden economy of our county. But, no matter how they come, there is the possibility of a new beginning, a gift of the promise of our baptism together, but only if we have eyes to see the rainbow and are not blinded by the distracting lights of our differences and of all the changes going on around us. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">We are people God has given creation as a gift from the time of Noah</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">. The many colors of the rainbow mark a blessing, but many still pay attention only to the rainclouds. But we have faith that the God who brings us home at last is inviting us to treat the strangers in our midst as guests and friends, and to do that we must begin to get to know them. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">We are a people of the fire of Pentecost. </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">The many languages of the world offer tremendous possibilities to praise God. And yet most of us have never spoken another language like those first disciples, and learning a new culture is met most often with fear than hope. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">So across California, instead of hospitality, this change often brings about tension and trials in the passage. Fear of change drives people inward and often violence erupts. We will see gangs forming and supremacist groups reacting. As for our great ancestors the Israelites, often when people move into a new land there can be great violence, but we are called to a different way. A way of creating home and honoring differences because we know that God has created us with all those differences. We each have different gifts which are all a blessing because the same Spirit feeds us all. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">And so to set out this journey before us, we turn to our history, especially today the grandmother of the Great King David. Ruth was a Moabite woman, a member of a nation that only a few short years before was an enemy of Israel. But she bound herself to Naomi when in grief Naomi found herself exiled in a foreign land among strangers and alone. Ruth’s love made her reach out and join with Naomi when they returned home to Naomi’s homeland but that that would neither accept the stranger nor the one who had married a foreigner. They returned to the land of promise as strangers, homeless, feared and with nothing. With nowhere else to go, the two came back in faith as outcasts into the land God had given our ancestors. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Our ancestors treated them badly having no connection and no compulsion to treat them with love. At home for Naomi, and in a foreign place for Ruth, they began to starve to death. We remember Jesus who calls us to make anyone who is in need our neighbor, but it was not so for them. Ruth learned a new language and new customs trying to provide for herself and her mother in law. They both found themselves working in fields for whatever they could scrape by.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">I am sure that there were those passing by who scoffed at them saying they were good for nothing, having no home, no family, no work and picking what they could from life, ridiculing them for such menial work. But in truth many who ridicule their livelihoods are just afraid of strangers who don’t speak and act like what is familiar. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">We must fear this reaction because it breeds something that is a danger to our whole country. Fearfulness builds walls. These walls create deeper divisions and misunderstanding. As people from another place increase, the tensions increase. They develop systems of work and home and protection that are not our systems. And as the boundaries widen, violence always follows. We see in so many neighborhoods across the country the gang, the violence, the drugs, each a product of this fearful wall building. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">So today we remember one who shows us another way. Our grandfather Boaz was able to see a possibility in the presence of a stranger. He did not act from fear, but from love. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Remember, before Boaz even knows what is going on, Ruth is already faithfully working, already in faithful relationships, already changing her life, what she lacks is opportunity and community.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"></div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">A First Step: Boaz notices Ruth working hard in his own field, in his own territory. The first step of welcoming is seeing someone. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">A Second Step: Boaz find out about Ruth what she is doing and how she is doing it. He asks first about her work, and then begins to find about about who she is. The second step is curiousity.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">A Third Step: Boaz changes the system of injustice a little to make room and talks to her. Boaz is able to see that what he probably thought were good rules were actually oppressive and he changes them. In a place where many held onto these rules for protection, he must have unsettled many. But this third step creates the bridge of humanity that is the very first nature of God’s grace and the one that God shows us in forgiving the sinners to create a path to righteousness. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">A Fourth Step: Boaz meets Ruth. Notice that this comes in different places in the story where Boaz reaches out to her and she reaches out to him. The bridge of justice has created a path to friendship. And in this, they find that they are bound to one another in ways they could never have imagined before. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">A Fifth Step They get married. This makes for a wonderful love story, but the truth of these old stories lies in a deeper image. Marriage is the symbol for a deep spiritual unity, the joining together of differences to make family which is our call from the God of all Christians.</span></li>
</ul><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">These two paths couldn’t be more different. From fear comes isolation comes injustice comes violence. Whether this be between two people, two cultures, two neighborhood families or two warring countries. But from seeing comes curiosity comes justice comes familiarity comes family which is our true home. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">This is graceful work that takes time and love that overcomes fear. Most of the violences that plague this transition in California have not been widespread in our area, but they are coming. We must begin now to change fear to love, isolation to connection, and walls and boundaries to family. We must be intentional and even outrageous in this work of our faith. We must involve our children. We must learn new languages and customs and we must be ready to have our own customs changed as we learn. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">God blesses me this day by knowing that you and I are linked even though we are separated by distance.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">God blesses me this day by knowing that the people around us are given as a hidden gift to make our family rich. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">God blesses me this day by giving me strength and faith to face these challenges.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">God blesses me this day by knowing that our community will grow stronger as we become more diverse, more fluent, more cultured, and even more confused at times. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">May God bless you this day. May God bless the one who reads this word and who hears this word. And may God bless the Spirit who will give us the understanding and power to cross the barriers as our grandfather Boaz and grandmother Ruth have shown us. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span>Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-50361379544148576452010-08-07T14:48:00.000-07:002010-08-07T14:48:10.757-07:00July 18, 2010 Number 22 Balaam and his Donkey<div class="MsoNormal">Balaam is the story about spiritual direction in a surprising and funny way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How can others help us listen to God who is trying to direct us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And is there really a talking donkey in the Bible?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh my, shades of Shrek!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li>Coming alongside through all of life</li>
<li>Staying away from the dangers on the road with us – helping us see the world as it really is.<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></li>
<li>Sometimes speaking for God when the other is ready to hear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></li>
</ul><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">That is a good friendship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But any ass can do it, right?</div>Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-40173923749474567362010-08-07T14:46:00.003-07:002010-08-07T14:46:46.645-07:00A Prayer of Thanks<div class="MsoNormal">On Friday, the last procedure that removed a stent from my kidney ended a two month long struggle with a kidney stone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thankfully I was able to work through most of it, but always through the fog of medications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last procedure was like turning off a switch of pain and I could stop the pain medication at once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am grateful to the doctors who helped and all the health professionals that guided the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am grateful to the wise souls who have been through this themselves who offered good guidance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I am indebted to all those who’s prayers sustained me in a very difficult time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The spiritual work of a kidney stone, as in many other health issues, is patience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The preferable way for them to come out is on their own and so the best way is to wait, even if, as was the case for me, it doesn’t come out on its own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-34398867815265378762010-08-07T14:46:00.001-07:002010-08-07T14:46:21.209-07:00July 11, 2010 Luke 19 Zacchaeus<div class="MsoNormal">Actually, today we didn’t do Zacchaeus at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My kidney stone kept me from participating in the service and Gerhardt Drumm <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>was able to step in suddenly and preach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I heard great things about this sermon, but it was hard not to preach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I expected to be doing great two days after having my kidney’s lasered, which turned out to be a long way from the truth.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway thanks to Gerhardt.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Little big theme again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a short story so easy to get the whole thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Zacchaeus has been robbing the people of Israel for a long time, getting rich off injustice and betrayal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it is to him that Jesus comes and in his transformation is a transformation of the whole town. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This story is about changing our lives when we don’t like what we have become and is probably a great story for anyone who is carrying around some choice they have made that we aren’t too proud of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-5067345293928797492010-08-07T14:44:00.001-07:002010-08-07T14:45:55.887-07:00July 4, 2010 Joshua 6 Battle of Jericho Joshua and Rahab<div class="MsoNormal">First of all, dump what you think you know about Rahab, images colored not only in the misogyny of the time but also because this woman represents an option that the Bible will simply not choose. Who is this spy the helps open the door to the Land of Promise to the newly and aggressively arriving Israelites? The way that is chosen so many years ago is one of tremendous violence. But the story tells of one person in a city which is growing more and more afraid, who overcomes fear, welcomes the aliens, gets to know them enough to help understand and help. It suggests a very different approach than making everyone in a town an enemy and idolater and an evil that must be completely destroyed. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We will explore the acts of faith and surprise that open the doors to a land of promise even for us. We cannot read this story without paying attention to a conflict that is still going on in the exact same landscape, and I can’t help but wonder that the choice to demote the place and power of Rahab in this story is perhaps a part of the decisions that have created so much violence for so long. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This also shows something of the complexity of our scriptures. The Bible in this case just doesn’t eliminate the story, but incorporates a very different choice in with the ones that were actually made. </div>Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-47773205206687282892010-08-07T14:43:00.000-07:002010-08-07T14:43:37.974-07:00June 27, 2010 1 Samuel 17 David and Goliath<div class="MsoNormal">Today we were treated to stories told by different members of the congregation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Faye, as David, Chuck, as Saul, and Ginny, as Goliath, told this very familiar story from three perspectives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also had the kids in Sunday School making stones with words of hope and faith written on them that members of the congregation could take home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One of the great themes of the Bible (not the only one) is that little can be big when God is present.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The huge hero Goliath and the little tiny shepherd boy meet on the field of battle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is David just the dumb kid with God on his side, or is there more going on in the story?</div>Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-58434810564604740502010-08-07T14:42:00.000-07:002010-08-07T14:42:36.294-07:00June 20, 2010 Genesis 6 – 7 Wiping Out the Earth Noah<div class="MsoNormal">The world has messed itself up beyond redemption and God decides to start all over again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One family and two of every living creature are called into the safety of an ark which will float above the waters of chaos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the faith of Noah, the whole world is recreated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This is the second of the stories that we tell from the book of Genesis this summer is about how God is in relationship to the whole world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The old way is that everything is broken into different camps all messing with each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Noah recreates the world where everything starts off in “my” (my ancestor’s) boat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we didn’t get it the first time, then we punch it that we are all family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the story also says that we aren’t perfect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t start as blessed mud breathed the breath of life into us but with all our faults and failings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We aren’t going to be perfect, we are who we are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What does it mean to claim everyone as family in all our faults and failings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And God in the middle of all that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is the rainbow, the wild diversity of color and promise right in the middle of the rainstorm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And in the midst of that is our responsibility to the earth, not because God set us in charge of it, but because it is part of the family too, everything coming out of the same boat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The ark is the image of the covenant, not the rainbow – the rainbow reminds us of the ark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are all in the same boat together, God, every other person, and the whole world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somehow or another we have to figure out how to make it all work together and God is in the midst of that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-91250142222968241462010-08-07T14:40:00.001-07:002010-08-07T14:41:41.749-07:00June 13, 2010 Genesis 2 Adam and Eve<div class="MsoNormal">This morning we are taking on one of the great stories of all time. Adam and Eve are the first people created in this great story. Placed in an ideal situation, they find themselves with one prohibition that they cannot resist. Any idiot who has read or heard any kid’s story from the beginning of time knows what is going to happen when there is only one thing not to do. There is no suspense and no drama. The story is as old as time. But the two punishments (hard work and bearing children) are two of the very things we value most in life. What is this story really all about? </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The story is about how God is in relationship to us in the midst of crucial times in our live, this time when we have our first sexual experience. No going back and life moves from childhood to adulthood in a big hurry. So, in that sense, what does the story say is God’s covenant when life gets complicated and we have to face our own decisions? </div>Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-61654321061655637632010-08-07T14:39:00.000-07:002010-08-07T14:39:42.713-07:00The Structure of Genesis<div class="MsoNormal">All Summer we are going to be telling some of the great stories in the Bible, but probably not the way you expect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of us have never graduated from the kids versions of the stories and most of the time from the kid’s versions of the use of these stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certainly the list will make for some great storytelling for the children, but the stories were told and compiled for adult and their meanings and uses are often very adult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Here is the list</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>June 6, 2010 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Judges<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>6<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gideon</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>June 13, 2010<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Genesis 2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adam and Eve</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>June 20, 2010<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Genesis<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>6 – 7 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wiping Out the Earth<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Noah</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>June 27, 2010<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1 Samuel 17<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David and Goliath</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>July 4, 2010<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joshua 6<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Battle of Jericho<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joshua and Rahab</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>July 11, 2010<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luke 19<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Zacchaeus</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>July 18, 2010<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Number 22<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Balaam and his Donkey</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>July 25, 2010<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ruth</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>August 1, 2010<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1 Kings 16-2 Kings 2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elijah</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>August 8, 2010<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vacation Bible School Presentation</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>August 15, 2010<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Esther</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>August 22, 2010<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Daniel 6<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Daniel In the Lion’s Den</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>August 29, 2010<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Matthew 14<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Peter Walks on Water, sort of.</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>September 5, 2021 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Acts 9<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul’s Conversion</li>
</ul><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">It makes sense to say a word about the Book of Genesis because we will follow two stories in it in the next weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Genesis is not a history book nor a science lecture, but an exploration into ways and contexts that we are in covenant with God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over and over this covenant takes the shape of a three-fold relationship: our relationship to God, to other people, and to the earth itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each context shapes this covenant a little differently. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal">My own sense of this is that the first stories are about the times in our lives where God is in covenant with us: </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Birth, Genesis 1</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Puberty which meant getting into the world back then, Adam And Eve</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Our work, Cain and Abel</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Our organizing done in the middle of life:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tower of Babel</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>And finally, our Death, in the story of the Akedah, Abraham sacrificing his son (which in my opinion is barbaric no matter how you look at it, unless it is looking at that way God asks for everything of value back at the end of our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This story is a transition moment where it looks like Abraham loses not only everything of value to himself, but also everything that God had promised.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, if we are lucky to live long enough, that is what happens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></li>
</ul><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">The bulk of the book is looking at the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of the faith and showing the contexts of where God is in relationship to human beings.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Noah: the second creation story is about God in relationship to the whole world.</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Abraham and Sarah create a new nation with God and has to deal with other nations around him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Isaac and Rebecca (here Rebecca is the key character, not Isaac.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is the mover of the covenant and the one who most responds to God’s call.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This one is about family and God’s covenant in family.</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Jacob -- and the story is so much about Jacob, this isn’t a “patriarch story” – is about how God is in covenant with an individual working out their own stuff inside and out.</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>The story of Joseph moves inward further.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How is God involved in our interior landscape, our dreams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And in the development of covenant inside, we see connection to individual, family, nation, and among nations in the world sphere, because this will be the story that sets up a new ark (called Egypt) where the people are kept until they are recreated once again in the next story, Moses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></li>
</ul>Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-68602824807048485472010-04-04T14:46:00.000-07:002010-04-04T14:46:30.027-07:00Happy EasterWell, we got through Holy Week.<br />
<br />
So many people helped this week go so well. <br />
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We started of with the Adult Sunday School taking parts in the Palm/Passion Sunday drama from Luke. We read most of the end of the gospel while Melanie and Rebecca stripped the church bare of all adornments and draped the cross at the end. <br />
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Wednesday a few of us gathered in the chancel of the church to remember Maundy Thursday, the remembrance of the last supper. Bread and juice and grapes and conversation and story in an odd setting for most of us. <br />
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Friday, the Eel River Ministerial Association (we decided to stop calling it CLEMP because that name sort of precludes others from joining in) hosted a non-traditional Good Friday service. Instead of remember Jesus death, we used the time to guide the community through a time of remembrance for people who are suffering. We had readings for hunger, homelessness, victims of racism and family abuse, drug addiction and joblessness. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51380AHTQ9L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51380AHTQ9L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>And finally today we had Easter to a full house. Uri Schulevitz's wonderful book, The Treasure, helped both the children and adults discover the treasure that Jesus starts appearing in us and the whole world comes alive in God's presence. What a delight to have the children on the floor during worship drawing where they find treasures in their lives. Sherri making the already fun choir anthems come to a new life. Three younger members and three older member reading scriptures of praise back and fort after Melanie read the Easter story. Velma leading singing and Pam keeping us moving along with her great piano playing. I think we would all like to be a kid sitting on Faye's knee as she reads stories. And a host of others welcoming, feeding and flowering the congregation. A great day.Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-7254545855244900312010-02-08T01:24:00.000-08:002010-02-08T01:24:01.076-08:00What would Jesus say to you to get you to follow?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.utc.edu/Academic/Music/images/2008-09_Events_php/conductor-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
<img border="0" height="225" src="http://www.utc.edu/Academic/Music/images/2008-09_Events_php/conductor-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I was stretching today to a time when I knew a whole lot more about music and conducting than I do now. What would draw me away from something that I loved and still love so much? Answer for me, a call to what I loved about making music and to a world that made a difference somehow. My mentor, Dennis, ignited my own passion and loves into a context that filled my world with hope. So many people are afraid God will call them to what they fear, but my experience is that God calls us to what we love most, using the gifts we value most, in a context that startles us into hope.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I used one of my favorite pieces of music, the fourth movement of Brahm's German Requiem. (</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RetKt6RgleA">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RetKt6RgleA</a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RetKt6RgleA">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RetKt6RgleA</a> , or a wonderful recording of The Sixteen doing a version with a few voices and piano, much slower than I am used to but with marvelous scope <a href="http://www.lala.com/#album/1657606138214280278">http://www.lala.com/#album/1657606138214280278</a><a href="http://www.lala.com/#album/1657606138214280278">http://www.lala.com/#album/1657606138214280278</a>). I didn't leave music and conducting, I changed the setting. I may never conduct the Brahm's Requiem, and there is a lot of stuff in the ministry that I don't do that well either. But, I can help people hear the symphony of God's Presence in almost all of their lives, can help a church work together to play a bit of that music, and can help people hear in the old Masters a bit of the Gospel they may not hear now or maybe have never heard before. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">That is the word that God speaks to us when we are called. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">It is what I find so special about <b>Volunteers in Mission</b>, or <b>Habitat for Humanity</b>, or the folks making food in our kitchen for people living on the Riverbank. "Hey, I like building things. Come build houses for people who would otherwise never have a stable place to live" "I love to cook. Come feed the world." "I love to host parties. Come and throw a Thanksgiving Feast for my fragile ones." </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">People who invite us into mission tell us that there is so much hope in the world and our gifts matter. And when the world is suddenly filled with hope, anything can happen. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">What word might God speak to your heart that will call you to a new life that changes the world?</span><br />
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</span></span>Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-87997565346367129472010-01-04T18:13:00.000-08:002010-01-04T18:15:06.481-08:00The Gypsy RoverWe sang the Gypsy Rover in church on Sunday and talked about the soul and had a great time reading Isaiah 60 with everyone with loud uproar. Kaye whistled in church, and we had a bunch of new folks. And we played with Twelve Days of Christmas -- the legend about it being a code of some kind appears to be wrong, so we just had fun making up our own ideas for what all the images might mean. <br />
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For those of you who haven't come across him, C.G. Jung, who was a disciple of Freud, is one of the great gifts to the church in the last century. He and his followers have looked deeply at the language of image and dreams, and especially the collective archetypes that govern much of our life journey. When we look at the insights this field of study has given to anyone dealing with spirituality in the last seventy five years, we can't thank him enough. <br />
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</div>On Sunday, we used the story of the Gypsy Rover to highlight some important points about the journey of the soul. This particular myth describes vividly the awakening of the soul that often happens during our teenage years, the loss of the soul as human being concentrate on developing some mastery of the concrete world in the formative working years, and something of the mess that occurs when people begin to discover in later years a deep hole where the soul used to be. This can begin a discovery process in the last half of life that can lead to a deep sense of peace and creativity -- where a whistle of spirituality can turn into the music and richness of a full life. This growth only occurs if we learn new things about our lives and walk in those places we have not gone before. <br />
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There are piles of books written by C. J. Jung and his followers. A great one to start with is his autobiography Memories, Dreams and Reflections (written around 1956 but reprinted constantly since it was first written). For books looking into deeper meaning of stories and myths see books by Robert Johnson (like "He" or "She").Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-90247527998569070382010-01-02T16:33:00.000-08:002010-01-02T16:33:30.460-08:00ChristmasWow! Busy as usual and no blogs for the entire Advent season. <br />
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Check out the website if you are interested in an end of the year reflection. I preached on it and presented a paper which is in the church to help guide through the process. But, if you want to find it, I put it online on the website. My reflection is based on a weekly spiritual report I learned from the Church of the Saviour in Washington DC and have been doing myself for decades now (that is included). The yearly reflection is a list of some of the things I use as guides for my reflection, a reflection on basic needs in my life, a reflection on the three basics of the spiritual journey (poverty, chastity and obedience) and some other questions I have found helpful. Remember Ted's Rule for the Spiritual Journey #457 is guilt is worthless -- our reflections cannot be motivated or result in guilt. Growth is built on a desire to follow God's call in our lives. <br />
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Advent was good this year. We focused on three stories that help guide our paths through preparing for the Christ to enter our lives. We looked at Zechariah and thought about what it means to be silent before the work of God in our lives. We looked at John and his call to sharing as a way to prepare for the revolution that is incarnation. Finally, we thought about Mary and what it means to ponder or think deeply about our lives. <br />
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Christmas was a grand intergenerational service telling the story and singing the songs. There were as many Teddy Bears as people and a wonderful time of light in the building and in our lives. <br />
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I am grateful for all the people who helped make it such a great season. We also raised $1,800 in the Christmas offering and a huge pile of school supplies for the special education class in Miranda. Well done everyone.Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-38225164172089012222009-11-28T22:55:00.000-08:002009-11-28T23:18:31.797-08:00Thanksgiving<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/SxIcd96K_UI/AAAAAAAAAWk/tzelTGkNVnI/s200/154_0460.JPG" /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;">Thanksgiving was a great day, or should I say, days. A bunch of church people from various churches in Fortuna have been planning with the River Life folks, especially Ginny, to get ready to serve a community dinner and bring in folks who either would have nothing to eat that day at all, or who don't have a community to belong to in that day. It was a week of working together, a week of seeing what this church does best, of people cooking, but also preparing a welcoming feast.</div><div><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/SxIfNhBqBRI/AAAAAAAAAXc/3hdGL-broc0/s200/154_0492.JPG" /><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/SxIfN0DhpUI/AAAAAAAAAXk/HqFkZ60Fzn8/s200/154_0462.JPG" /></div><div>We serve over a hundred people with maybe another fifty dinners going out to people who couldn't make it and more food to those who would take our ample leftovers home.<br /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/SxIceWe6HlI/AAAAAAAAAWs/TcTveepL8A0/s200/154_0475.JPG" /><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/SxIfNExZOQI/AAAAAAAAAXM/1_Uvq1wRHBc/s200/154_0488.JPG" /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We had people dressed for a special occasion and some who came as they were, or in what they could find. We had people from around the corner and some bicycling in from Chicago. Everyone was greeted with enthusiasm, served with grace and generosity and sent off with blessings and armloads. Conversations were so engaged that we left our program out completely and just let the wonderful mix of people talk. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Ham and Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, salad, stuffing, drinks and apple and pumpkin pie. Hand-made name tags, and Christmas ornaments crafted by some of the kids. </div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/SxIcerGVd-I/AAAAAAAAAW0/5cd7gnnBNOU/s200/154_0474.JPG" /><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/SxIce_JKeaI/AAAAAAAAAW8/3cgDNRHNZPo/s200/154_0465.JPG" /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I was so high coming home I couldn't get my feet to touch the ground. Happy Thanksgiving.<img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/SxIfNZ2dw5I/AAAAAAAAAXU/SKrVrnIWjNc/s200/154_0486.JPG" /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div>Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-7651591111304884792009-11-28T22:46:00.000-08:002009-11-28T22:55:37.497-08:00Madonna revisitedIt is the third week of November and Madonna is still very present. No comments on the blog but lots flying around the church. A few angry notes and whisperings. <div><br /></div><div>I always like good discussion on topics even, sometimes especially, when they disagree with me and this one has taken on some rather interesting edges. The congregation seems split itself about this. Some hated it. Some disliked it but see the reason for it. Some thought it was inspiring or could be helpful for reaching their kids or grandkids. Reactions all over the map. </div><div><br /></div><div>The discussion revolves around a few important questions:</div><div><br /></div><div>What is appropriate in church? And, more specifically, what is appropriate in communicating the gospel?</div><div><br /></div><div>How do traditions and patterns in the church invite or keep away people who are not now coming to church? This is especially important in two arenas: how does the music we do invite or separate us, how open are we to the language and methods of communicating in the culture around us. Should we be radically different and speak radically different than the culture around us?</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-86551862696437645642009-11-28T22:44:00.000-08:002009-11-28T22:44:41.544-08:00All the Saints around UsFirst Sunday of November, All Saints Day. All the ghosts are back in the ground and only the good spirits of love can stay in this celebration of the ones who form our faith. We think of dead treasured ones, we thing of those who taught us to believe, and the ones that "let the light shine through". On this day, three of our Stephen's Ministry saints (Linda, Jean and Sharon) shared a bit of their story with us for the sermon. <br />
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I have been recording the worship services for a month now. At some point with a purpose of podcasting the sermon if not the worship service -- can't figure out how to negotiate the privacy issues. But, we are just now starting to take the DVDs we make to people who couldn't make it to the service. And, all of a sudden, we become their saints, their contact to the church community with prayers and songs already a weeks past, but still alive and kicking in the minds and hearts of those who now have access to the whole worship service. The picture is taken for a long way away and that brings some distance, but nearly everyone is amplified in the worship service so the sound is good and clear. <br />
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We took communion to homebound this week, an idea gift from Judith in her consultation. <br />
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Saints all over the place. Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-82331047226419071012009-11-28T22:01:00.000-08:002009-11-28T22:02:41.899-08:00Moses DiesOn Sunday October 25th we shared in church the end of the Moses series. Moses dies. Not so much discussion as story. I used not only stories from our Biblical record, but also some of the wonderful and touching legends from the traditions of the grandmothers and grandfathers of our faith. <i>Midrash</i> is the tradition of stories that are passed down. I found a wonderful book many years ago that follows the Old Testament with many of these stories. They are from all over the place. The book is L<i>egends of the Jew</i>s by Louis Ginzberg (published in Philadelphia by Jewish Publication Society, 1909) This volume is just the stories all piled on one another as if it was one story. There is also a six volume set of books that footnote each of the legends and add some more. Wonderful resource for getting into the spirit of the very alive book which is our scripture.Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-39008479025049737652009-11-28T21:54:00.000-08:002009-11-28T21:54:02.183-08:00Work Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/SxIL9xj97oI/AAAAAAAAAWY/aQALf-kbv4Y/s1600/Photo_102409_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/SxIL9xj97oI/AAAAAAAAAWY/aQALf-kbv4Y/s320/Photo_102409_001.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/SxIL-Kq6sUI/AAAAAAAAAWg/DUfO3-8gfQI/s1600/Photo_102409_004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yJTQUdrrKJI/SxIL-Kq6sUI/AAAAAAAAAWg/DUfO3-8gfQI/s200/Photo_102409_004.jpg" width="200" /></a>Turning a big cat box into a memorial garden. Fluffy dirt, watering pipes, protective cover, some very big rocks and a lot of bending over.<br />
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Thank you everyone. <br />
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</div>Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5747516406019469021.post-72498326213669185352009-10-21T10:31:00.000-07:002009-10-21T10:31:43.915-07:00JumpThe Israelites get to the land of promise, find giants and won't go.<br />
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It is time to go, time to commit, time to move into the future that we can't even imagine. Time to jump.<br />
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</div>Yes, that was Madonna up on the screen. I have heard more about this sermon than almost any other. Here is the link to the YouTube video <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKInZXBiVSo">Jump by Madonna</a> I think this is not computer assisted, I think they are amazing jumpers. It is one of my favorite music videos, great music and it helps me want to leap into life. <br />
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That is the Israelites choice because they can't go back to Egypt -- the old traditions that enslave them are now behind and gone. Ahead is the unknown. Since they can't move ahead, God creates a generation of those just holding onto the faith, dwindling and dying out, till a new generation can take the jump. Wow, that sounds a lot like nearly the whole United Methodist Church in the last fifty years. This is a hard scripture! <br />
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<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Remember, next Monday (the 26th) Judith Pruess-Mellow is going to be here consulting with us about how we facilitate our ministry to seniors in our church and out city. What questions would you like to ask an expert in Senior Spirituality??</span>Ted Pecothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12215963703561465271noreply@blogger.com0