Pastorkate’s Weblog

As it says in Pauls letter to the Corinthians, our bodies are temples of Gods spirit, So we need to keep our temples in shape.  Some of us need some serious reconstruction! Some need some long put off tests and others just need a tune up.  So start NOW!

Join with me this summer in our new program called Stretch and Pray starting in July on Tuesday nights from 7:00-8:00pm.  Open to all ages, male and female, Just wear loose clothing and bring a mat.  We will just work on stretching and yoga poses- nothing heavy duty- But it will get your heart pumping and your muscles toned.   Meet in the AC lounge!

As much as you tell yourself you are ready for this day, or that your loved one is “better off” or they are at peace, you still aren’t ready. I just wasn’t ready for my friend, Conrad, to go to his eternal rest this week. Some say that shock or denial is God’s way of giving you time to assimilate the loss that you experience. It is amazing how often people say “I just can’t believe it.” all the while going through the motions of the funeral service.

And so you cry or talk, or stare into the night sky or the bedroom ceiling until it slowly becomes real to you. It all is in your own timing. For some its a few months, others a year, and still for some, it is impossible to close that door. The finality of death and loss is the greatest hurtle we must face.

And how can we face it?  At times we are overwhelmed with emotions such as anger, loneliness, laughter, depression and yes even peace. It is like watching a roller coaster or a tilt a whirl moving so fast I start to feel sick. When will this loneliness ever end? Could I ever know joy again?  Can I really go through this?

Yet, the human spirit is resilient- amazingly so.  It is so hard to thank God for these moments of grief and sadness. But I do thank God. Not to be trite- because you know I hate that stuff- but at least we feel something and we loved something and they loved us.  And we will love and live again.

Joan Chitister has said that “the essence of struggle is neither endurance or denial. The essence of struggle is the decision to become new rather than simply grow older. It is the opportunity to grow either smaller or larger in the process.”

So I struggle, along with many of you, to say goodbye to people, things, animals, places or times. Yes it is sad… sometimes for a long time. But know that you are not alone. Someone’s crying Lord, come by here and be with us.  And there He is right near your heart.

This past Sunday I was struck by the depth of faith as expressed by so many of our church members. The stories that were shared about the growing partnership we have with the Presbyterian Church in Cardenas, Cuba were so moving. There was much more happening that day. Eleanor Kelley was the first member of CPC to travel to Cuba and she assisted in the liturgy so beautifully. The Youth Bell choir, so ably directed by Marje Miller, performed two pieces that brought tears to my eyes. The Choir sang a beautiful choral introit in Spanish and lead us in a new song “Lord Let my life be Good Soil” Then we enjoyed the most wonderful luncheon compliments of the Flores family and we watched the video of the Quinceanera ceremony of Annjakira. They danced for us and it was really wonderful.

It is actually more work for me to design a worship service with such participation than if I preached. I can control myself !! (sometimes!) However, when so many others are involved it is so hard to plan where or how the seeds of love and challenge might be spread. The fact is that none of us really know when or where the new seed of God’s love might be found. We only need to be good soil open to the seed of the lord to us this day.

I hope you will keep the Cuban and Cameroon churches in your prayers. They have struggles more obvious than ours. Our struggles are to keep open to a word of love that is often crowded out by weeds,

We use the word confirmation many ways these days. Your flight is confirmed. Please confirm your order. This Sunday is Confirmation Sunday. All mean the sealing of requests or wishes.

So what will the three young people who are confirming their faith this Sunday be sealing? They are already marked with the sign of the cross and sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism. They are already members of the household of faith by the action of God in their baptism.

Years ago, we used to call this communicants class because it was usually the first time you would receive communion.However the church has changed its stance on children and communion and most have been taking communion for years usually at the age of early elementary school or whenever their parents deem fit. Twelve of our children will be receiving communion this Sunday as well after a communion instruction class this week.

So what is really being confirmed on Sunday? For each young person the answer is different. I can tell you what I hope is happening in their hearts. I hope that they start to understand the faith that was affirmed by their parents when they were babies and claim it as their own. More than that, I hope that they begin to peek through the curtain and see the miraculous gifts that are available to them, if only they would accept such love and grace. I hope they understand that this community of faith is here to listen, encourage and guide them all of their lives. I I hope they understand that joining the church doesn’t mean having all the answers or that questions aren’t acceptable. I hope and pray that they know beyond the shadow of a doubt that they are a child of God and that they belong to God.

I have said that to them, but I pray that this Sunday they really start to believe it.

This past week we commemorated the 40th anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Politicians tromped over to Memphis to the hotel where he was shot and tried to appear to be honorable.  I have to say it all seemed rather political and although probably necessary, it still seemed stilted to me.  If they really wanted to honor Dr. King lets do something in the areas of health care, poverty, drugs, housing, ending the insanity of the Iraq, Sudan, Somalian, Afghanistan wars and advocating for those oppressed by small minds such as our gay and lesbian friends.  Sounds like a lot to do, I  know.  It has been building up for a long time and not addressed by our leaders.  Its time to listen to one of the foremost Christian Prophets of our time.  Hold fast to the dream. 

WWDK do?  He would speak up.  He would march. He would speak the truth with love.  Lets follow. 

WIth a heart burning for generosity and justice,    Pastor Kate

Still keeping attention to our year with faith and arts, I was impressed with the web site http://paintedprayerbook.com/ that described the tender and intimate depiction of Thomas - often called the doubter- and Jesus exposing his wounds to prove his resurrection. Having had my heart and soul tested this past week with several members who have struggled with death and illness, I feel an intimacy with God that seems to expose our deepest pains and yet shines the light of the resurrection hope on our darkest moments. God is with us in miraculous ways. Even with our doubts and questions, God invites us to place our hands on his heart and our weary heads on his chest. There is peace for the pained.

I pray that the Easter story opens up new ways for you to emerge from your winter cloistered life to embrace the miracle of a new spring of hope.

peace to you…

During this season of Lent, a few of us have been gathering in Calvin Hall by candelight to pray, to read, to listen to music, to be silent. As you walk toward the cross in the next week I invite you to consider some quiet time each day. As Henri Nouwen has said, ” Silence opens in us the space where the word can be heard.”

And Wayne Oates wrote in his book “Nurturing Silence in a Noisy Heart,”

“During your day you will be hard pressed to find silence on the job… A place of work can easily be portrayed as a place where people can talk without speaking and hear without listening.

If you are committed to nurturing silence in your work, you can lunch alone, or in a park, or behind a stack of boxes. You can stop by a water fountain to restore yourself or take a walk at lunch. Find a pocket of silence even in the midst of noise by reciting a prayer or looking at a picture. Give your soul a chance to catch up with your body.”

May you have a pocket of silence in this holy week and think upon this verse,

“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted,

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities upon him was the chastisement that made us whole and with his stripes we are healed.”

Isaiah 53:7

We begin our new web site this week and I start blogging. I am new at this, but (somewhat) adept at writing and speaking as you all know. This tool makes me wonder if we are going to be talking and learning about our faith at CPC in new ways in the next years. We may build relationships in new ways. That’s okay. Jesus used the latest technology (writing and reading) during his time. Technology isn’t inherently bad. Its only a tool. But I hope we don’t all get stuck behind the computer screen and forget how to relate face to face!
What do you think?