The Gift of Pause

Dear friends,

On Thursday, I joined Laura Lee for her monthly lunch with church members who live at Longview. They had a new staff person, who was incredibly friendly and gracious, albeit a bit slow. But that's to be expected with anyone who is learning something new and finding their way in a new environment. I was reminded of the gift of pause, and I chose to sit and enjoy the present moment with these wonderful people, rather than thinking about the next thing on my agenda, or the tasks that weren't getting accomplished while I waited for food.

As we move into this weekend and Laura Lee's last Sunday with us, I think this devotional from the UCC is worth our time and reflection. I invite you to breathe deeply and be in the present, to have patience with one another as we find our way through uncharted territory, and to listen with open minds and open hearts.

Blessings and peace,
Manda


Texts For This Week:
James 2:1-10, 14-17
Mark 7:24-37

Note: The texts in bold type will be read in the worship service and the one with an asterisk will be used as the focus for the proclamation of the word.

The Monks Who Take Long Pauses

http://www.ucc.org/feed-your-spirit/daily-devotional/the-monks-who-take-long.html

September 28, 2012

The Monks Who Take Long Pauses

August 24, 2012

Psalm 69:7

"Because of you, I look like an idiot."  (The Message)

Reflection by Lillian Daniel

I had the chance to join some Benedictine monks for evening worship with a group of pastor writers at theCollegeville Institute. The Benedictines, well known for their hospitality to the stranger, asked our mostly Protestant group to meet with Brother John outside the chapel fifteen minutes before worship for an orientation. He spoke to us a bit about the striking modern abbey church, and then took us inside to our seats in the section next to the monks. 

There he explained which book we were to open and when. It was complicated and we needed all the help we could get. There were going to be all kinds of responsive readings where the leader would speak, and then the monks on one side of the church would respond as "choir one" and then the other side would respond as "choir two." "You're choir two," he told us, and then added this as an afterthought:

"The pace here at the abbey is slower than what you are used to," he explained. "The monks take pauses in the responsive readings, pauses that will seem long to you. So you might want to hold back at first and really listen to them, to get their pace before you join in."

I had no idea what he meant until the service began. Then, when it was choir two's turn to read several lines of a psalm, I heard my own voice and a few others from the visitor's section bleating out alone, as the monks took a long silent breath after each line. I am so used to finding my place and quickly saying my lines in a rush. But the monks said a line or a phrase and then all stopped to pause, as if to really listen to it, to take it in.

I was struck by how often I just barrel through readings in worship and how often I barrel through conversations in life. What a difference a few quiet pauses might make.

Prayer

Listening Lord, help me to listen too. Amen.

About the Author Lillian Daniel is the senior minister of the First Congregational Church, UCC, Glen Ellyn, Illinois. She is the author, with Martin Copenhaver, of This Odd and Wondrous Calling: the Public and Private Lives of Two Ministers.

Upcoming Meeting

Dear Members & Friends of FCC,

Our Church Council has invited you to an All-Church meeting following worship this coming Sunday. I plan to attend and encourage you to come and be a part of the conversation. Certainly, we will come with a wide range of feelings and our elected leadership wants to listen. We will come with many questions, which I believe the Council members will address as best they are able.

Last April, as the Church Council began to address various complaints, I  told them and the members of my Pastoral Relations Committee that I trusted they would work diligently to discern God's leading and would make decisions based on what is best for the whole church. I know that this decision-making process was truly difficult and that for some of them quite sad. I trust everyone honored their role as a church leader when they determined it was not possible for them to work with me to address the challenges facing our church. Thus, a change in pastoral leadership is best for the whole church.

This is not the decision I would have made. However, I have always trusted that the Holy Spirit moves among us all.  In our congregational polity, pastors are called to work with the elected leadership and the whole membership to strengthen the Body of Christ. If this is not a shared trust, it is not possible for us to move forward together.

Paul's encouragement to the Romans may stand us all in good stead: “For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.  Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words."

Like Paul, I encourage you to join me in the hope that God is preparing someone to come here with whom your leadership can work to move FCC in different directions and that God is preparing a place for me where it will be possible for me to use my gifts and skills to build up the Body of Christ.

It is imperative for all of you to come to the meeting and share your thoughts, questions and feelings. Most of all, come to listen for the leading of the Spirit, as you prepare for an important journey of transition.

In Christ, Laura Lee 

Texts for This Week:

Psalm 15

Mark 9:30-37

Note: The texts in bold type will be read in the worship service and the one with an asterisk will be used as the focus for the proclamation of the word.

The Feed My Starving Children

The Feed My Starving Children Mobile Pack was a great success! Thank you to everyone who participated and donated funds. With the help of over 1,500 volunteers we packed 334,368 meals.  That will feed 916 children for an entire year!

Continuing our focus on hunger, the special offering for the rest of September will go to our local Kitchen Cupboard.  Together we can truly impact the problem of hunger.  Many of you know that September is traditionally when we take a special offering for the School Nurses fund.  Happily, at this time, the fund is financially very healthy!  However, we have recently learned that our local Kitchen Cupboard, on the front lines of our local hunger initiative, is in dire need.  Did you know that our canned goods donations only account for 5-10% of what they need to operate?  As of the last ACT meeting, Kitchen Cupboard indicated that they have only $3000 on hand for buying food. They are now spending $4 to 6,000 each month due to increased local need!  To respond in a timely way to this urgent appeal, our September special offering will benefit the Kitchen Cupboard.  Thank you for your continued generosity which surely serves as witness to the local community!

This Sunday our Children and Youth programs resume.  We look forward to seeing everyone on Sunday.

Blessings,
Laura Lee and Manda


Texts for Sunday

Romans 14:7-12

Mark 8:27-43