Weaving Together Our Beloved Community
Make it stand out
“On the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, between Sturgeon Moon and Corn Moon (Sunday, September 5th), we will celebrate worship in the narthex. In keeping with the recent history of our church, this will be a more informal service. The sermon will come from you! That’s right, I said it.”
You can imagine, as a baseball fan, how I believe some of the greatest wisdom can be found on the baseball diamond. Yogi Berra was famous for proverbs that, at first, seemed nonsensical, but with a deeper look actually had a deeper wisdom. Proverbs like “It ain’t over until it's over” can be about our own agency in giving up or pushing forward. “Never answer an anonymous letter” can be about not giving your time or energy who people who refuse to be accountable. Ok, some were nonsensical. But a good proverb is usually about seeing something on second glance. Simplicity unfolds into something broader and longer.
At the end of the summer and on into autumn, the Revised Common Lectionary turns to stories of Wisdom Literature and Responses to Ethnocentrism in its Hebrew Scripture readings. Wisdom Literature is the oldest text we have in our Bibles - filled with proverbs and parables, maxims, and the natural order of the universe. Wisdom Literature values “a fear of the Lord.” Too often that has been coupled with a God of hellfire and judgment. But “fear of the Lord” had much more to do with offering a counter and challenge to rulers, wealthy, and the powerful who believed themselves unaccountable and unanswerable to anything outside themselves. Jesus regularly used consciousness-raising wisdom and parable to help people form community and understand the world they lived in.
On the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, between Sturgeon Moon and Corn Moon (Sunday, September 5th), we will celebrate worship in the narthex. In keeping with the recent history of our church, this will be a more informal service. The sermon will come from you! That’s right, I said it.
I want us to think about the proverbs, stories, or parables that have held meaning for our lives. Deep wisdom can often be found by holding two opposing things together. So we may have found that one proverb holds wisdom for us in a given moment in time.
Two of my favorite Scripture passages are from the Wisdom Literature tradition. One is a parable from Hebrew Scripture and the other is a consciousness-raising saying from Jesus in the New Testament. I will share mine. I’ll look forward to having you share yours. In that way, we will teach other and continue to weave together a cord that cannot be quickly broken.
Examples of Wisdom Literature in Scripture:
Hebrew Scripture books like: Ecclesiastes, Ruth, Esther, Job, Jonah
Ecclesiastes 3: “For everything there is a season. A time for every activity under heaven.”
Proverbs 8:11: “For wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you desire may not compare with her.”
Gospel of Thomas 42: “Be a passerby.”
Luke 4:24: “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown.”
Questions from Rev. Mishra-Marzetti
What are we bringing our attention and love to? Allowing in that circle of care? What has the pandemic revealed to us?
What does inclusivity look like here?
Who is not a part of our community but living nearby?
Why are some people a part of other communities and not our community?
How can we expand who we are today to live more deeply into open-heartedness, and love and care?
How can we build sustained, ongoing relationships across difference?
How do we begin with other like-minded communities or
groups or people that are committed to the same kinds
of transformation and growth and embodiment of spiritual
goodness, good-heartedness that we ourselves are?
How do we honor the multiplicity of experience without trying to change the other person?
How do we honor ourselves across difference stepping into true authenticity, integrity, and inclusiveness?
The Socratic Board
The first question on the Socratic Board will always be a question of imagination beginning with “I wonder. . . . “ The second question will always be about your experience. What great wisdom does your life teach you? The final question will be our “shazam” question. It asks what action is necessary going forward.
Faith and Democracy
In following the Revised Common Lectionary, we have been reading Scriptures from I and 2 Samuel which share the juxtaposition of God’s values and the reach of authoritarian power. Scripture has democratic values and the command for those in power to be judged by how they treat the most vulnerable.
Wonder: I wonder what local faith communities should do to support democracy?
Experience: What has been your greatest corporate experience of democracy?
Shazam/Action: My faith calls me to support democracy and oppose authoritarianism. What will I do to regularly support democracy and oppose authoritarianism throughout this year?
Wisdom and Responses to Ethnocentrism
Wonder: I wonder what proverb, maxim, aphorism, or parable would change the world if it were read and its message followed?
Experience: What consciousness-raising wisdom or parable have you used to grow or get through a tough time?
Shazam/Action: How do we use the wisdom of our faith tradition to unseat the ethnocentrism/racism in our day?
The 33rd General Synod of the United Church of Christ
Worship Services
The worship services for the 33rd General Synod of the United Church of Christ are available online! I found them to be meaningful and powerful with an incredible diversity of liturgy and music. I especially loved the music in the Opening Worship and the powerful preaching of Rev. Michelle Higgins in the Mid-Week Worship.
You can find them here:
Opening Worship: https://www.generalsynod.org/worship-services-july-11/
Mid-Week Worship: https://www.generalsynod.org/worship-services-july-14/
Closing Worship: https://www.generalsynod.org/worship-services-july-18/
*****
Climate Change and Migration:
What it means for southwest Michigan, northwest Indiana,
and crafting a faithful response
Wednesday, September 15, 2021,
Pilgrim Congregational UCC, St. Joseph
6:30-7:30 p.m. Presentation;
7:30-8:30 p.m. Legislative Training
The Interfaith Action Southwest Michigan Peace & Justice and Collaborative and the Mennonite Central Committee present “Climate Change and Migration: What it means for southwest Michigan and northwest Indiana and crafting a faithful response.” As climate disruption continues to intensify, climate migrants and refugees will become more commonplace seeking refuge from rising temperatures, drought, famine, fire, and natural disaster. The Great Lakes area could very well become an anticipated geographical refuge with its proximity to water and temperate climate.
How are people of faith called to respond to the resulting climate refugees? How do we seek justice and live out our faith stories with political movements charged with xenophobia and hatred?
Participants registering for the event will have the opportunity to meet virtually with the offices of their members of Congress to advocate on behalf of positive climate and migration policy. Training for these optional lobby visits will immediately follow the event. Please fill out the online form found here https://rb.gy/yivqxr to register.
Presenters: (see https://rb.gy/lhme3s for more complete descriptions)
Kayly Ober is the Senior Advocate and Program Manager for the Climate Displacement Program at Refugees International. She also currently serves as a steering group member of the Climate, Migration, and Displacement Platform; a global network of practitioners and advocates with a common concern for climate justice and the human rights of migrants and displaced people.
Keith Schneider is a New York Times writer, and senior editor and chief correspondent for Circle of Blue, the Traverse City-based network of journalists and scientists reporting on global trends affecting water, energy, and food.
Katerina Parsons Katerina (Kate) Parsons is a legislative associate for international affairs with Mennonite Central Committee. After living and working in Tegucigalpa, Honduras for four years, Kate is now based in Washington D.C., where she advocates on U.S. foreign policy including the root causes of migration from Central America and U.S. foreign assistance addressing climate change.
Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ is at the corner of Glenlord Road and Washington (1200 W. Glenlord Road) in St. Joseph, Michigan. Details for remote Zoom availability will be offered closer to the event.
