Baseball, Pentecost, and Heaven on Earth

 May 18, 2021

 

Happy almost-birthday Church family, and friends near and far!

This Sunday is Pentecost, when we celebrate with the church around the world and across time, in nearly every known language, the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birthday of the Church. It is, hands down, my favorite church holiday. Yes, much more than Christmas and Easter. Which makes me a church nerd, I realize, but here we are. If you are reading this on our website, you might like to click on the latest newsletter, where you will find an excerpt of an interview about the Holy Spirit and Pentecost with Dr Jack Levinson of Perkins School of Theology. Check it out!

In the meantime, let's talk about baseball.

Near the end of the movie “Moneyball,” as Billy Beane is grappling with tough decisions and an emotional collision of success and failure, he says “It’s hard not to be romantic about baseball.” I’ve never been a huge baseball fan myself until kinda recently, so I’m still learning a lot, but he’s right. And what I’m about to write might sound over-romantic. But this letter isn’t about baseball. It’s about the church.

See, in last night’s game against the Nats, two excellent and well-loved former Cubs players returned to Wrigley Field for the first time to play against their former teammates. They both got standing ovations from Cubs fans, and a lot of welcome and affection from Cubs players. Mr Kenny Coval was telling me a similar story the other day about the Cardinals. Apparently this is normal in baseball! It happens all the time! I mean…I just…I find that incredible. And just the coolest thing ever.

It makes me think of other things, too. Like the way players of all kinds, on every team, cheer for each other when they make a great play, and stand by each other when they don’t. The camaraderie of competitors as they chat together between pitches. Their playfulness with each other, on opposing teams, even while being fierce competitors. I grew up on football, not baseball, and that is a WHOLE different ballgame (heh). Now obviously it isn’t always all sweetness and light; there is plenty of normal competitive frustration and some occasional poor behavior, too. But it seems to me as a newbie to the whole thing that there is a culture of respectfulness and grace that is evidently nurtured and expected in baseball, and I find it all shocking, in the best way.

I’m probably not explaining it very well, but here’s the thing. In this life, and in the church, we can walk through life as though it’s a competition between the good guys and the bad guys. As though everyone who isn’t with us is against us. As though everywhere around us are sides we need to take, and people and circumstances we need to be prepared to fight. 

Or, we can recognize that we are all in this together, and we do better when we ALL do better. We can stand and fall and play and work together, and love one another as Christ first loved us. We can see each other, even when our perspectives seem diametrically opposed, as fellow humans, all known and loved by God. We can refuse to participate in making enemies, and instead we can be the Body of Christ in a way that is marked by humility, empathy, understanding, and grace. If we did that, especially in this polarized and bitter day and age, I suspect we would shock everyone around us in the best way.

And thereby, bring a little heaven to earth.

Come Holy Spirit.

          Pastor Dawn

Worship Any and Everywhere!

Pentecost Sunday: Come, Holy Spirit

It’s Pentecost!! Well, almost. We have been spending the past few weeks praying about and thinking about the way Jesus’ disciples and apostles lived and worked as people of the Resurrection. This Sunday, we celebrate where it all started, enter into the mystery and power of the Holy Spirit, and celebrate the birthday of the church. See you there!

 

After worship, we will share in-person coffee and fellowship. After more than a year of Covid restrictions it has been very good to enjoy each other’s company in person once again. We are so thankful that almost all of us have received our vaccinations, to make this possible. As we continue to observe Covid protocols, we will have masked and gloved servers to give you your refreshments, and we encourage everyone to keep as much distance as makes you feel most comfortable. The rules are a bit vague right now, so let’s grant each other an extra measure of grace and kindness as we navigate it all.

Whispers, and Compassion

 May 11, 2021

 

 

Hello church family and friends near and far!

 

As I sit today in the chemo chair, I am thinking of all of you and our ministry together. I pray that, wherever you are and whatever life is bringing you, that you know yourself surrounded by the love and power of God. I pray that the Holy Spirit is giving you all kinds of things to see, and hear, and touch, and taste, and do, and know that bring you peace, hope, and joy.

 

In the course of preparing my sermon for last week, I ran across the story of a woman named Karen Armstrong, a former Catholic nun and academic who speaks and writes about the importance of compassion. She is deeply respected around the world, has spoken in several countries including three times at the White House, and has written several books on compassion and comparative religion. I found her when I stumbled across an initiative she started in 2008, called the Charter of Compassion. 

 

I didn’t get to include her story, or the Charter, in my sermon on Sunday. But it is she who reminded me of the story of Hillel, the famous Torah scholar who lived about 100 years before Jesus, who (as the story goes) was once approached by a nonbeliever who said, “I will convert to your religion if you can recite the entirety of its teachings while standing on one leg.” Hillel stood on one leg and said, “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. All else is commentary. Go and study it.” (Incidentally, the apostle Paul was a student of Gamaliel, Hillel’s grandson. Gamaliel is mentioned in Acts 5 at the Council of Jerusalem, and is the one who convinces the Sanhedrin to stop persecuting Peter and Paul and the rest, saying that they might well be opposing God himself!) Hillel and other rabbis in the Mishna affirmed that compassion is the heart of God, and the heart of the law, and that if in our study of scripture we do not find grace and compassion, then our study is incomplete and our interpretation is wrong.

 

The Charter of Compassion evolved and expanded a lot after Karen Armstrong proposed it in 2008. From it’s beginnings in Seattle, people from over 100 countries participated in writing it, and it has now been signed by over 2 million people around the world, including the Dalai Lama, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Queen Noor of Jordan. From the Charter, community action groups have emerged around the world to foster the value of compassion, as part of an initiative called the Campaign for Compassionate Community. It sounds incredible, and includes a 4 step “toolbox” that teaches how to…well, how to change the world starting with your own neighborhood. If you’d like to read more about it, like I plan to do, we can start with their website: charterforcompassion.org. If you look, tell me what you think. Who knows, maybe it will inspire us with new ways to share the Gospel right here in Fallon, or wherever we are. 

Pastor Dawn

Worship Any and Everywhere!

Listening to God’s Whispers

This week, worship will be led by Ron Evans, who will share a wonderful message about the quiet but powerful ways God shows up in our life and gives us his love and guidance. Join us, and bring a friend!

 

After worship, we will share in-person coffee and fellowship! After more than a year of Covid restrictions it will be good to enjoy each other’s company in person once again. We are so thankful that almost all of us have received our vaccinations, to make this possible! As we continue to observe Covid protocols, we will have masked and gloved servers to give you your refreshments, and we encourage everyone to keep as much distance as makes you feel most comfortable. The rules are a bit vague right now, so let’s grant each other an extra measure of grace and kindness as we navigate it all.