9/11 thoughts, 18 years later...

On September 11, 2001 I was at a conference in Rochester NY. Shortly before 9 am, we heard improbable and fantastic stories of a plane crashing into one of the World Trade Center towers. We filed into the closed hotel bar to watch on TV. Early reports were that a small Cessna had crashed. The truth was known soon, as we watched a second aircraft strike the South Tower. And then watched as they fell, while hearing of another plane crashing into the Pentagon. And later, of heroes on another flight wrestling control away from terrorists and crashing into a field in rural Pennsylvania.

It was hard, in those moments, to fully comprehend what we were seeing. It was beyond our ability to process. But we all felt the knot in the pit of our stomachs, and some of us turned to prayer. Once past the who, what, and how questions, we always get to this question: Where was God?

Watching as hundreds of First Responders ran toward the burning and collapsing buildings, I was reminded of two things. First, this scripture from the first chapter of the book of the prophet Joshua, "I've commanded you to be brave and strong, haven't I? Don't be alarmed or terrified, because the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." And secondly, something Mr. Rogers once said about when he was a boy and would see scary things on the news: “My mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers — so many caring people in this world.”

Where was God? God was with the helpers. God cried alongside the mourners. God embraced the suffering and the lost. God comforted those in distress. God walked and ran with First Responders as they sought to help, sometimes losing their own lives in the process.

I am also a retired member of our Armed Forces, and I will never forget that part of the cost of 9/11 is also measured in the loss of service members, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan, since that day. Not to mention those who have come home with physical injuries that they will live with for the rest of their lives. And not all injuries are visible - stand next to a combat veteran during a fireworks display and you’ll know what I mean.

Friends, it is good to honor our country and remember this day forever. And also remember this: God is with us wherever we go, and always look for the helpers.

Peace,

Jim

Thoughts on Departing My Call with the Vermont Conference, UCC

Friends, I wrote this article for the weekly e-newsletter of the Vermont Conference during my last week there. My call ended on September 30, 2017, and I began a new call as the Pastor of Atkinson Congregational Church in Atkinson NH on October 15, 2017.

Well, here it is, friends, my last e-kit article. It's ok, you can cheer, I can't hear you!

When I began at the Vermont Conference more than 13 years ago, my then position description contained lots of things I was supposed to do - and that list barely overlaps with my current call agreement. It's amazing to me how my position has evolved over the years. As I reminisce a bit, however, the evolution makes sense.

When I went to interview for the position of Conference Administrator (thanks Pam!) I entered a room with no less than 15 people assembled to conduct the interview. Well, isn't this interesting, I thought. I learned something about how the staff (there were 10 of us then!)  and the  leadership communicated and understood trust. It was a fun interview for me - I had no plans to accept the position, and thus felt rather, umm, unrestrained in my responses. I'll be darned if that didn't seem to play well.

Here are some of the things that weren't in my original position description: Stewardship, Church Growth, Church Vitality, Governance, preaching in churches, and leadership retreats. How they came to be part of my work can be attributed to a single word: covenant.

I made it my mission to raise up the bond between local church and wider church. If the local church didn't see any 'value added' in a relationship with the Conference, why have one? We were well past the time when the Conference and national setting of the church could 'expect' financial support because 'it was the right thing to do' or out of some sense of obligation. I thought (and continue to think) we need to earn it. So when a local church asked for help with Stewardship, I worked to become well versed enough on the subject to share something with others. As an old mentor of mine once said, "If you think you know a subject well, try teaching it to others. That'll tell you something."  I found churches hungry for help, and saw that an in-person visit with a local church giving assistance was the quickest route to improved relationship and covenant.

As time passed other skill sets evolved, eventually working their way into my actual position description. I owe a debt of gratitude to leadership that was willing to indulge my extracurricular activities and embrace them as part of my portfolio when it was found to be something our churches needed and fit the mission of the Conference.

Forgive me for what, as I read it, sounds a bit self-indulgent. The point I'm trying to make is this: In a time when churches as a whole have become more insular, the wider church needs to ensure that its efforts provide something the local church actually wants and needs. Mutual covenant and support grows from a symbiotic relationship in which each side contributes and benefits. The current buzz word is inter-dependence, which I guess is fine, but I think covenantal still works well too.

A few years ago Carole Carlson and I developed and taught a UCC polity course which focused on polity from the local church's perspective - and the tug of war between autonomy and covenant. Our churches tend to be more familiar with the autonomy part ("You're not the boss of me!") than they are the covenant aspect. But from the very beginning the mostly unchecked power of the local church inherent in congregational polity was balanced by an understanding of mutual support, relationship, and responsibility with other churches and a wider structure. That relationship needs to be continually exercised to remain strong and vital.

My friends, let me leave you with this thought. Local churches - nurture your relationship with your association, conference, and the United Church of Christ. There are things we can do together that no church can do alone, and skill sets you require that won't be available in-house. And my dear Vermont Conference, always be listening, always be responsive, always seek to provide the churches what they need - free of the institutional quicksand that can make you slow to grasp and evolve.

Many of you have reached out to me with a personal note. I have, alas, not been able to respond to them all. Please know that I cherished each of them. It's been a wonderful 13 years. Thank you all for your love, encouragement and support. I return to the local church from whence I came, answering a call to return to parish ministry. But a piece of my heart will always remain with you.

Peace,

Jim

If Your Church Worship Feels Like a Family, You're Doing it Wrong!

Did that get your attention? Thought it might.

I read a really intriguing article on the MinistryMatters website yesterday titled Why Worship Shouldn't Feel Like Family that had me up half the night considering what it meant - and if I agreed.

 When I visit one of our churches, whether to talk about stewardship, vitality, strategic planning, or something else I almost always begin with a little icebreaker - asking folks at the table to introduce themselves and answer a couple of questions. Often, those questions are:

·         What is it you love most about your congregation?

·         What is it that you wish were different?

The number one answer to the first question (survey says!) is a variation on: our church feels like a family. And I understand that answer. A healthy church can be a place where people feel comfortable, where you are known, where you are appreciated, where you are cared for when in need, where you share fellowship. All good things.

This article, though, challenges what I think about that. The very thing that makes our churches feel like family to us can be very off-putting to someone not already in the family. Our use of shorthand (abbreviations and acronyms that only insiders will understand), our handling of church business during announcements, and how we pass the peace and vocalize prayers concerns can all be very disorienting to a newcomer, especially an unchurched person.

I spoke with a person recently who had been away from church since they were very young, returning after a three decade absence. She was essentially unchurched, having been shuffled off to Sunday school instead of ever actually experiencing worship as a child. She spoke of how unwelcoming worship felt when time came for the Lord's Prayer, and the Gloria Patri, and the Doxology, how everyone else began speaking or singing - and all the bulletin listed was the title. What was she to do with that? She moved her lips and mumbled, hoping no one would notice she don't know the secret code or password that everyone else seemed to. She didn't go back. She felt like an outsider.

That's just one example. Now, the article doesn't say (and neither am I) that your church home feeling like a family is a bad thing. But perhaps we shouldn't worship that way. Worship, after all, is not an hour long opportunity each week to hang out with your friends (or family). There are other times in our church life to do that. Worship is an intentional act of devotion toward God. Moreover, it prepares us to serve a hurting world beyond our doors - prepares us for the work of discipleship.  

When someone new comes to your place of worship (instead of you finding them) it's a wonderful thing. And all our churches, if asked, would say that they are a very hospitable and welcoming group. But there's more to it than handing them a bulletin, helping them find a pew, and smothering them during the passing of the peace. If they've never been in a church before, they will be shocked at what happens over the next hour. And little of it may make sense to a newcomer when we assume everyone knows certain things.  

So this week, I invite you to view how you worship through the eyes of an outsider. Consider an unchurched teenager. Or a Boomer who hasn't seen a church since their youth. Will they feel welcome? Are there unspoken cues in your worship that undermine what it says on the front of your bulletin  - that no matter who you are and where you are on life's journey, that you are welcome here?

To read the article, follow this link. (be careful if you read the comments following, sometimes church folk aren't very nice. Most people missed that he didn't say church shouldn't feel like family - just that we shouldn't worship like one)

Then come on over to the Conference Facebook page, and let's discuss. (or leave a comment here)

Peace,

Jim

Where Will Our Next Pastor Come From?

If your congregation has a settled pastor, this may not be the question at the forefront of your congregation's thoughts... but perhaps it should be.

The mainline church is in the midst of significant change, but that's not news anymore. One of the often overlooked components of that change is what the future of pastoral leadership looks like. Here are some startling facts: 

·         80% of all authorized ministers in the UCC are over age 50.

·         Only 6% of all authorized ministers are under age 40.

·         From 1992 to 2012, the number of employed ordained ministers decreased by more than 1,300.

·         Licensed Ministers now account for 9% of all authorized ministers.

·         There is some good news - the number of female pastors is up to 46%. (although they are, on average, still paid less than their male counterparts)

·         70% of all UCC churches have a worship attendance of less than 100.

·         Here in Vermont, only about 1/3 of our churches have a full time pastor.

So, most of our pastors are over 50 years old, opportunities for full time pastorates have declined significantly, but even so there aren't enough new pastors in the pipeline to offset the massive upcoming retirements. Starting to think this is something to pay attention to?

The way we 'make' pastors is getting a lot of attention these days. I don't think our denomination's appreciation for a learned clergy is going away anytime soon, in fact I think the 4+3 (undergrad degree plus a Master's of Divinity) education model as part of a Member in Discernment process should remain the normative one.  And yet, there are significant obstacles before us, including:

·      With fewer churches who can afford one, there are limited opportunities for newly minted ordained pastors to be called to a full time pastorate.

·      Many seminarians graduate with more than $100K in total college debt, and face decades of student loan payments.

·      Local Church Pastor is not always the first career choice - even for those attending seminary.

At the United Church of Christ General Synod this past summer, one of the resolutions we considered tried to address at least part of this systemic problem. It was the resolution that sparked the most debate, more than mountaintop mining and divestment from fossil fuels and all the others. The initial resolution draft called for the establishment of a sixth all-church offering to be used for financial assistance for seminarians swimming in debt. In one of the closest votes at Synod, the resolution language was changed from "an annual all-church offering and other possible funding initiatives" to "an annual all-church offering or other possible funding initiatives." The amendment passed with 51.3% of the votes in favor. Our General Minister and President was for the amendment, stating that requiring a sixth offering would "tie the Collegium's hands...". The national setting of the church is working on options that will likely be brought to the next General Synod in 2015.

While the urgent matters before our churches call to us with loud voices, we cannot allow them to drown out the important matters that are also before us. Multiple Paths to Ordination and Licensed Ministry will have an important role as we go forward, but they are a partial solution to a larger challenge. How will we provide a continuum of support to those called to pastoral ministry to ensure that they are well prepared and unburdened as they begin their calling?

So, do you know where your next pastor is going to come from? It's not a rhetorical question.

Peace,

Jim

Does It Matter Where the Rockets Come Down?

Some years Lent and its purposeful reflection sends me down some odd rabbit holes. This year I'm pondering to what extent we take our Sunday morning faith into the rest of the week - I mean - do we live into being a disciple of Jesus away from church? And does it matter?

I'm intrigued by the life of Wernher von Braun. Wernher wasthe central figure of the German rocket program from the 1930's until the end of World War II. A real life rocket scientist, perhaps the greatest one in history. He developed the V-2 rocket, built with workers from concentration camps, and more than 3,000 were fired upon England and Belgium during the last 18 months of that war. After the war, he was whisked to the United States along with several members of his team. His history was whitewashed, and we put him to work. Designing ICBMs. And later, the Saturn 5 rocket that took our astronauts to the moon. It's fair to say we might not have made that trip without him.

Tom Lehrer

Wernher was contrite about his past later in life, resulting in some revisionism. In his recollection of the day of the first successful firing of a V-2 at England he quoted himself as saying "The rocket worked perfectly except for landing on the wrong planet." Nice one, Wernher. He described himself as apolitical, and cared more about designing rockets than what they were used for. He was famously spoofed in the mid 1960s by satirist Tom Lehrer in his song "Wernher von Braun" which included the lyrics: "Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down; That's not my department," says Wernher von Braun."

But.

But, it IS our department, isn't it? We can't hold the moral high ground for an hour a week and put it away for the rest of it. If discipleship means anything, it means this: That we live our whole lives as followers and disciples of Jesus, and whole means not just all of us, but all of our time.

Some of us seem to have built a partition that we hide behind, disconnecting our professed faith from how we actually lead our lives. This Lenten season, I am being intentional about not doing that. The mantra I repeat to myself (and I invite you to say to yourself) is:

"I DO care where the rockets come down."

All the time.

Every day.

Amen.

United Church of Christ Celebrates its Story

Members of my denomination, the United Church of Christ, raised over $170,000 in less than a week to run a full-page ad in the April 2, 2008 edition of the New York Times, celebrating the UCC's nearly four hundred year history of faith, liberty, and witness. The effort, partially a response to incomplete and inaccurate news coverage of the UCC and particularly Trinity UCC in Chicago, was so successful that a further effort will permit a new ad in USA Today.

I think it speaks for itself, so I'll simply share the text of the ad here:

Much has been said about the United Church of Christ in recent weeks, much of it hurtful for many in our country, including members of Trinity UCC in Chicago. That is why we are eager to share the broad and diverse story of the United Church of Christ, one that we celebrate.

With all Christians, we rest in God’s amazing grace and hear God’s voice in the words of Scripture. Yet, the UCC is unique to some because we do not require uniformity of belief. We are a church of open ideas, extravagant welcome and evangelical courage. Our passion for democracy extends to both government and church, where decision-making rests within each congregation. We support liberty in our pulpits, just as we affirm the individual conscience of our 1.2-million members to agree, disagree and wrestle with life’s biggest questions in a spirit of love.

Our story is this nation’s story. We are the people of the Mayflower. More than 600 of our 5,700 congregations were formed before 1776. Eleven signers of the Declaration of Independence were members of UCC predecessor bodies.

As early abolitionists, we came to the aid of the Amistad captives and founded hundreds of schools across the South after the Civil War. We were the first mainline church to ordain an African-American (1785), a woman (1853) and an openly gay pastor (1972). We were also the first to form a foreign mission society (1810). Our multi-ethnic membership includes persons from every immigrant group, as well as native peoples and descendants of freed slaves.

Our unity is not dependent upon uniform agreement, but in our shared allegiance to Jesus Christ. Ours is a risk-taking church, because ours is a risk-taking God. God is still speaking, ®

If you want to download the ad, I have posted it on the Vermont Conference's website. Click the links that follow to view/download.

UCC New York Times Ad, bulletin size
UCC New York Times Ad, letter size

jim