June 12, 2022
Welcome! We’re so glad you have joined us today! Give us hearts to live into your risky miracles. (Walter Brueggemann) Gathering Announcements Thursday, 7:00 PM Zoom Book Study - Dream Like Jesus, by Rebekah Simon-Peter. This six-week study will help us deepen our faith, create a vision for our church, dream Jesus-like dreams, and bring the impossible to life! Here is your link: Elisabeth Smith is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: Book Study Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86066732644?pwd=emorNUc2RlJkWEN4UUdrZHJZY0o2Zz09 Meeting ID: 860 6673 2644 Passcode: 762435 One tap mobile +19292056099,,86066732644#,,,,*762435# US (New York) +13017158592,,86066732644#,,,,*762435# US (Washington DC) Dial by your location +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) Meeting ID: 860 6673 2644 Passcode: 762435 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcyTFEtQFq Sunday, 8:30 AM Worship Monday, 6/20 5:30 PM Visioning Board Gathering Hymn We Are Called St. Paul Young Adult Choir and Ensemble https://youtu.be/TsQ_kANdM6U Opening Prayer Holy Spirit, we are gathered here, waiting: waiting for you to send your invigorating, disturbing wind to move us forward into the future; waiting for you to light a fire within us and fill us with passion for the vision that you plant within our souls. Come, Holy Spirit, come! Amen. Hearing the Word Scripture Acts 2:42-47 (NIV) They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Sermon Dream Like Jesus 3 Working as a Community to Embrace the Dream You may not realize this, but all churches are not alike. They may all share certain features: for example, they all have a pulpit or lectern, an altar, an organ or piano, candles, pews or chairs facing the front. But they also are very different: they are not all the same shape; some are rectangular, but others are circular or oval. Some use paraments, and others don’t. In some churches, the pulpit is in the center, and in others it is to the side. Some churches have stained glass windows, and others have clear glass panes. Some churches are wooden and others are brick. But it is not only in appearance that churches are different. They are different in how they worship: some are more traditional in their music and liturgy, while others use praise bands and no fixed order of service. Some churches have images projected on a screen and others have no screen, but use paper bulletins. In some churches, the pas-tor preaches from behind the pulpit, and in others the pastor comes down close to the congregation. Churches are different in how they make decisions, how they handle money, how they welcome visitors, how they grieve and how they celebrate, how they pray and how they take care of Christian education, how they treat their leaders and how they deal with conflict. And these differences have to do with what is called congregational culture. I learned early on about the fact that churches are not alike. My first appointment out of seminary was a two-point charge outside my hometown of Spartanburg, SC. The Tabernacle Church was a good ways out in the country. It had 50 members and about 25 who were active. Their worship was formal on paper in the bulletin, but it wasn’t un-usual to make changes to the hymns after we got to church. My pianist didn’t read mu-sic and had learned to play the piano in a roadhouse, so we never sang anything slow! There was good attendance at Sunday School for adults, but very few children or young people. Church Council meetings rarely stuck to the agenda, but somehow we got the things done that needed to be done, usually without a vote but by consensus. While money wasn’t exactly pouring in, we always had enough to pay our bills. They were worshiping in their new building when I arrived. It was just 5 years old. They were very proud of their new building. The members had donated time, materials, and labor, as well as money, toward the new building, and only had to borrow $47,000 (this was in 1981). They paid off their loan in 7 years. The members at Tabernacle were very welcoming. They were friendly and outgoing, and made me feel like family from the beginning. Many of them had farms or at least large gardens, and I quickly learned to leave my car doors unlocked, because I would find tomatoes, corn, beans, watermelon, or whatever else was ready to harvest in my backseat. The members were appreciative of my leadership and my sermons, my teaching and my suggestions for activities. The Golightly Church was about 10 miles outside Spartanburg and most of the members worked in the city as teachers, office workers, healthcare professionals, etc. Their worship was more formal and music was provided by a trained organist as well as a trained pianist. There were few people who participate in the adult Bible study. We did have more children who came to Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. The Church Council meetings followed the agenda and Roberts Rules of Order, and always ended with voting on what needed to be decided. Money was tight, and sometimes decisions had to be made about what to pay or what activities could actually be funded. Also, it took more than one meeting to make decisions about anything significant. The members were a little more standoffish towards me, and sometimes it seemed as it I couldn’t do anything right. I had conflict with the organist the entire time I served there. I seemed to butt heads with the chair of the Church Council at almost every meeting. Very few people complimented me on the worship services or my sermons. I heard a lot about the previous pastor and how HE had done things. I had a conversation with my District Superintendent one morning and told him I felt like I must be somehow two different people to get such different reactions from these two churches. But he told me that it was the churches that were the issue, not me. The Tabernacle Church had, for a long time, been a church where new pastors were appointed, and they loved them all and encouraged them in their ministry. No matter who the conference appointed there, the church loved them and welcomed them and affirmed them. On the other hand, the Golightly Church ate pastors for lunch, just chewed them up and spit them out. They were the reason that most pastors lasted just a few years in that appointment. (I was there for two years before being moved.) What it all boiled down to, I can now see, is that these two churches had different cultures, and I treated them exactly the same. Had I understood then what I understand now, I would have used different leadership approaches in each church and probably had a much better experience in the Golightly Church. What are these church cultures? Rebekah Simon-Peter describes them in Chapter 7 of her book, Dream Like Jesus. She has some great names for each type. First, there is the Get ‘er Done Culture. She refers to this congregation as St. Urban of the City. At St. Urban everyone stays very busy and there seems to be a sense of urgency about things, but not everyone is going in the same direction. The church is more focused on results than on relationships, and there is more individualism. The do-it-yourselfers outnumber the collaborators, and often individuals take matters into their own hands. With strong clergy and lay leaders, this congregation will have a sense of purpose and moving forward. The worship is bold and dynamic, and the church is not afraid to take bold stances on controversial issues. The people are willing to try different worship styles, and while personal spiritual growth is not emphasized, people experience God as directive, one who challenges and dares them on behalf of a higher purpose. Discipleship for this type of congregation is demanding, action-oriented, calling for courage, a sense of adventure, and independence. The church is the setting for independent thinkers who take bold action. For members of St. Urban, faith is demonstrated through bold action. Second, there is the Get ‘er Done With Fun Culture, or as Rebekah calls it, Happy Church. Happy Church is people-oriented, fun, energetic, high-spirited, and action-oriented. The atmosphere is high energy, friendly, optimistic, upbeat, and positive. At Happy Church, relationships matter, and new people are made to feel welcome and are integrated easily into the life of the church. There is a sense of warm connection between the members; hugs and smiles are offered freely and you get a sense of belonging. But you may not be sure of what the Happy Church stands for. God is experienced as positive, innovative, surprising, and unpredictable. Discipleship involves positive optimism, an upbeat attitude, and trust, and is built around feelings as much as actions. The church is an exciting and inclusive force for good. For Happy Church members, faith is demonstrated through saying “yes.” Third, there is the Get ‘er Done by Consensus Culture, or what Rebekah calls the First Church of the Stable. At Stable Church people take care of each other and relationships are tended to over time. The mood is more low-key, and harmony and stability are valued, as well as tradition and continuity. There is a desire for consensus, rather than independence. When there is any sign of conflict or uncertainty, things grind to a halt. Stable Church values tradition over innovation, and prefers their style of worship to remain consistent and predictable. Members experience God as comforting, supportive, loyal, patient and stabilizing. Discipleship depends on the qualities of teamwork, cooperation, stability and loyalty. The church is a relaxed group of friendly people. And for Stable Church members, faith is demonstrated through reliability. And fourth, there is the Get ‘er Done Right Culture, or St. Abacus Church. Members of this church place a high value on rational thinking and logical processes. People may not be outwardly expressive, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t feel things deeply. Relationships are less important than facts and figures in making decisions. The mood is definitely low-key. Members want to do the right thing, but it takes them a long time to decide what that is. They carefully weigh all the pros and cons, pay close attention to the budget, and it is sometimes hard for them to move forward. The members of St. Abacus experience God as reliable and deliberate with exacting, high standards. Discipleship for them requires a calculated risk as well as spiritual and emotional maturity. The church is a thoughtful organization that carefully analyzes and does the correct thing. And for members of St. Abacus, faith is understanding. Now, just off the top of your head, what kind of church culture do you think we have at our church? Understanding our church culture is crucial as we get involved in our visioning process. We will need to communicate our vision in such a way that our entire congregation will buy into it and support it. And we need to realize that no congregation is entirely one culture; we probably have a combination culture. In order for our entire membership to take ownership of our vision, we will have to communicate it in such a way that they can become excited about it and commit to it. That takes a lot of what we call emotional intelligence. But I believe that we can work together to understand our church’s culture and work together to embrace our dream so that we can transform our community. Hymn O Young and Fearless Prophet First Unitarian Church, Oakland https://youtu.be/lGyOWuCB2IE Praying Together Concerns and Celebrations: Please share any concerns or celebrations you may have with Pastor Elisabeth. Please note if you do not want this shared with this faith community. Pastoral Prayer Mighty God, Lord Jesus Christ, powerful Holy Spirit, we pray to you on this Trinity Sunday as those who seek to understand your identity, even as we seek to understand our own. We know that you are Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. But how does that work? It is a mystery! All we know is that when we pray, you come to us as we need you: Comforter, Parent, Guide, Listener, Renewer, Inspiration, Energizer, Rock, Prince of Peace, Great Physician. This morning we come asking for you to continue to help us create a vision for our church and our community, a vision that is big and bold and challenging, a vision that will transform lives. And then give us the courage to live into that vision. We will not be able to do it on our own; we will need your help, your power, your resources. We will need other people besides those within our own congregation. We trust you to provide what we need to carry out what you call us to do. Lead us forward in faith, with excitement and enthusiasm, as we follow Jesus Christ, who turned his world upside down. We pray all of this in his name, as we pray together the prayer he taught his disciples: The Lord’s Prayer Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Responding Offertory: You may send your offerings to Grantham United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 152, Grantham, NH, 03753. Doxology UMH #95 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow! Praise God, all creatures here below! Praise God above, ye heavenly host! Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! Amen. Prayer of Dedication God of grace and God of glory, we bring to you our gifts: gifts of our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness. Bless all that we offer and use it to build your kingdom. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Song Wildest Dream Ryan Stevenson https://youtu.be/5SLlXvYZ_g8 Benediction Know that we are the ones to dream dreams and see visions. Believe that we can work together to make those dreams come true. Understand that our dreams will transform the community around us and make it look more like the Kingdom of God. We are the ones. Now is the time. This is the place. Amen.
0 Comments
June 5, 2022
Pentecost Welcome! We’re so glad you have joined us today! Give us hearts to live into your risky miracles. (Walter Brueggemann) Gathering Announcements Tuesday, 10:00 AM Book Study – Dream Like Jesus, by Rebekah Simon-Peter. This six-week study will help us deepen our faith, create a vision for our church, dream Jesus-like dreams, and bring the impossible to life! 7:00 PM Zoom Book Study – (see above) Here is your link: Elisabeth Smith is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: Book Study Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86066732644?pwd=emorNUc2RlJkWEN4UUdrZHJZY0o2Zz09 Meeting ID: 860 6673 2644 Passcode: 762435 One tap mobile +19292056099,,86066732644#,,,,*762435# US (New York) +13017158592,,86066732644#,,,,*762435# US (Washington DC) Dial by your location +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) Meeting ID: 860 6673 2644 Passcode: 762435 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcyTFEtQFq Sunday, 8:30 AM Worship Gathering Hymn Sweet, Sweet Spirit St. John’s, Hackney, North London https://youtu.be/-9EGwkimNeQ Opening Prayer God of breath and fire, God of past and future, God of all that is and all that ever shall be, when Jesus knew that he was going to the cross, he promised his disciples that they would not be left alone. Jesus assured them that the Holy Spirit would remain with them, teaching them how to live, and reminding them of all he had said. Weeks later, when the day of Pentecost arrived, you poured out your Spirit, giving your disciples the power to speak in many languages, and making tongues of flame dance above their heads. Today we ask that you pour out your Spirit on us, giving us the wisdom and the courage to live as Jesus’ followers. Amen. (Deborah Sokolove) Hearing the Word Scripture Acts 2:1-21 (NIV) When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us heard then in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs – we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.” Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you supposed. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and sings on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” Sermon Dream Like Jesus 2 When the Spirit Comes, We Will Dream This is the day of Pentecost, the day we celebrate the birthday of the Church. It’s quite an exciting story, from a special-effects point of view. Just imagine what Steven Spielberg could do with this! The disciples of Jesus had gathered in Jerusalem all together in one place, probably in the large upper room where they had been meeting since Jesus ascended into heaven. They spent most of their time engaged in one activity; Acts 1:15 says that they “all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women …” And it was while they were gathered together praying that they heard the sound of a strong wind blowing through the house, a wind that had come from heaven. And then they saw flames of fire that shot out and came to rest on each one of them. And then all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues. And we are told that this was a fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel, who recorded God’s promise: “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit.” There are several things about this story that I think are important as we are be-ginning the process of dreaming big dreams and casting visions for our church. First, we should be diligent in praying together about what we are doing. We need to be asking God for his input and guidance and inspiration. This is something that is bigger than us, and we are going to need God’s help. Second, when we pray for the Holy Spirit to come, we need to expect some excitement! The Spirit isn’t all quiet and subtle and gen-tle and easygoing. The Spirit is dynamic and noisy and impossible to miss and will dis-turb the peace. Third, when the Spirit comes, we will see visions and we will dream dreams. We will no longer be content with the way things are; we will want to strive for the way things could become. It is so crucial to the process of dreaming and visioning that we have faith, lots and lots of faith. Faith in God to plant the dream within us and help us carry it out. Faith in Jesus to walk with us through the process and co-create miracles with us. Re-member that in the New Testament wherever people had great faith, Jesus performed great miracles; but wherever people lacked faith, Jesus did not do very much. We need to have faith in ourselves, that we will be able to carry out the vision because God will equip us to do what God calls us to do or provide other people who have the gifts and resources to do it. And we need to have faith in each other to each do what we can to make the dream become a reality. In her book, Dream Like Jesus, Rebekah Simon-Peter talks about five elements that will be present in a Jesus-like dream. We will need lots of faith and the power of the Holy Spirit in order to embrace and live into these elements. Let’s talk a little bit about each of them. First, a Jesus-like dream expands your assumptions about what is possible. It stretches your mind and your imagination. It pushes you to think bigger. As Rebekah states, “It doesn’t say I can’t. It says with God, we can.” I think that this is extremely important to remember, because we need to realize that the world around us is looking for the church to do more, to be more. And we are limiting ourselves by our too-small assumptions about what we can do and be. Rebekah writes, “Even if they don’t know it, the world wants more of churches: more spirituality, more community, more engagement, more love, more miracles, more demonstrations of the Kingdom.” And we can give them more only if we allow ourselves to see bigger possibilities and greater opportunities than we are seeing right now. Second, a Jesus-like dream is bigger than you are. It is not something that you can do by yourself. It will take a whole community of dreamers to make it come true. And not only that, it will require the power and guidance of God through the work of the Holy Spirit. This makes sense, because if the dream isn’t bigger than you are, then you won’t need God’s involvement in it and you won’t know that you could have done so much more if you had relied on God’s resources and not merely on your own. Rebekah writes, “If it doesn’t require God’s touch, it won’t be worthy of the church. Your dream has to be worth it.” In Chapter 6, you read about my friend and colleague Steve Trout. When he first stated his vision to Rebekah while he was doing his Creating a Culture of Renewal program, she pushed him by asking, “Is that big enough?” more than once. He kept working at it and going deeper and getting bigger, until his vision became: “This church could end hunger in our community.” And, working with other churches in his town, that’s exactly what happened. There are no longer any children in his community in New Mexico who go to bed hungry. Third, a Jesus-like dream will scare you. That’s because it seems like it is too big for you to accomplish. But if there’s nothing that scares you about your dream, then it isn’t big enough to require God’s help to accomplish. Perhaps instead of thinking in terms of a dream that scares us, we should think about creating a dream that calls for a spirit of adventure. We are going to go where we have not gone before; think about the adventures of the Starship Enterprise, it’s ongoing mission, to boldly go where no one has gone before. Don’t you think the people on that spaceship would be afraid some-times? Don’t you think that the pioneers who set out across our country in covered wagons were afraid? But if they hadn’t overcome those fears, they would never have seen their dreams being accomplished. And I am sure that they drew on God’s help in their journeys. Fourth, a Jesus-like dream is about the transformation of the community, not the survival of the church. The dream is bigger than the congregation. The church is not the focus of the vision, it is the agent of the vision; the focus of the vision is the community. The church is meant to serve the needs of the community. We are here to live out the example set by Jesus: to feed the hungry, to tend to the sick, to visit those in need, to speak out for social justice, to address systemic injustice, to take care of strangers, to love those who feel unloved and the reach out to the outcast and make them feel welcomed and valued. Our dream must include at least some of those elements. By bringing our dream to fruition, we will be changing people’s lives. Fifth, a Jesus-like dream inspires and unifies people. It will bring people together, and rally them around a common cause. People get excited about making a difference in the lives of people and in transforming the community for the better. When they see the church at work doing good outside the walls of the building, living out what they say they believe, then they want to be a part of what is happening. As we start the process of creating our dream and casting our vision, we need to recognize that it is a journey that will not be completed in one meeting. We need time to think about it, to allow new thoughts and new ideas to come into our minds and into our conversations. We need to look at things from new perspectives. We need time to pray, to read the Bible, to connect with other spiritual resources. And then we will begin to see the vision that God is calling us to. This vision will be bigger than we can imagine right now, and we will definitely need God’s help in providing finances, people, and oth-er resources to bring it to completion. Frederick Buechner wrote, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” So begin to ask yourself, What brings me deep gladness? What brings our congregation deep gladness? What are some of our community’s deep hungers? What resources do we have that can be shared? And Rebekah Simon-Peter says that the intersection of those three things may begin to point us to our vision. I’d like to close with a prayer written by the 16th-century sea explorer Sir Francis Drake: Disturb us Lord when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrived safely because we sailed too close to the shore … Disturb us Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wilder seas where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes, and to push back the future in strength, courage, hope, and love. Song Holy Spirit, Come Patrick Mayberry https://youtu.be/KoTNHiFq0p0 Praying Together Concerns and Celebrations: Please share any concerns or celebrations you may have with Pastor Elisabeth. Please note if you do not want this shared with this faith community. Pastoral Prayer Lord, hear our prayer. Send us your Holy Spirit to breathe new life into this wounded world and mend the damage we have done. Send us your Holy Spirit to break down the walls that divide us and unite the peoples of the earth. Send us your Holy Spirit to gather together the beloved community and proclaim love in every language. Send us your Holy Spirit to lift the lowly, strengthen the weak, and give power to the oppressed. Send us your Holy Spirit to heal the sick, soothe the suffering, and comfort those who mourn. Give us the voice of prophecy to speak up for what is right. Give us dreams and visions of good news for all people. Give us glimpses of the new creation you are bringing into the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose holy name we pray, (David Gambrell) as we pray together the prayer he taught his disciples: The Lord’s Prayer Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Responding Offertory: You may send your offerings to Grantham United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 152, Grantham, NH, 03753. Doxology UMH #95 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow! Praise God, all creatures here below! Praise God above, ye heavenly host! Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! Amen. Prayer of Dedication Sender of dreams, Spirit of truth, Giver of visions, accept these gifts and offerings, as evidence of the holy fire burning in our hearts. Amen. Song Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God Keith & Kristyn Getty https://youtu.be/kDYjn-YdnD4 Benediction Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. See visions and dream dreams. With hearts afire, go out to love and serve the world. Amen. |
Archives
October 2022
Categories |