A New Year Approaches

As we move toward Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we are also moving toward a new year. The beginning of a new year means new calendars and remembering to change the year in our check-writing, etc. But, it also gives us a chance to reflect a bit and plan a bit.

For me, the past year has been wondrously busy and full and it has been touched with precious memories of many things. I am grateful for so much of our church life marked by special worship services, Feed My Starving Children, new ideas, new faces and especially having most of a year to work with Manda on our team. 

Personally, there have been wonderful books and movies, times with Avary and with friends, my continuing education week at Cape Cod and more. There have also been times of loss and disappointment. And, I would suspect this is true for all of us - another year of ups and downs and for some of you, serious and sad downs. And, through it all, God has blessed us with the gift of others, family, friends, church members, neighbors.....

Whatever the year, whatever course it has taken, we can all be thankful for those we love and who have loved us. And so we turn ourselves to the new year ahead, thinking of the things we plan and hope for and perhaps, even some of the things we might dread, but underneath it all are the possibilities of loving and caring and hope.

So, I wish you all a whole lot of loving this year as we work together to share the love God offers us every day of every year!

New Year's Blessings  to you all, Laura Lee

"Jesus Came to the Older People"

As we near the end of Advent and our focus on those who were first told of Jesus' birth, it strikes me that Zecheriah and Elizabeth and now this week, Simeon and Anna were all very old. I have thought this wasn't accidental and have reflected on this fact over the weeks. And then, last week, I read this beautiful poem from the Iona Community in Scotland. The first verse reads:

It was to older people that Jesus came,

that they might know their place and learn his name,

and upset notions of whom God may choose,

to change the world or celebrate good news.

 Perhaps this is the poet's way of telling us that the older people were wise enough to be surprised by the unexpected working of God. Perhaps they had lived long enough to notice the wonder in simple life - like watching a woman feed pigeons on the square. Perhaps, they could see the restlessness of God in the restlessness of the young. Perhaps they knew God might come as a babe. How grand! We often say that Christmas is for the young, but I think our Biblical story reminds us all that Christ is for everyone, maybe especially for the old!

I hope to see and celebrate with all of you on Sunday! Blessings, Laura Lee

Texts for This Week:

+Psalm 104:26-35

*Luke 2:25-40

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.

Behold the God-Bearer

"Here we are, approaching the third Sunday of Advent, in the midst of a season of waiting, introspection, anticipation and longing. It is the pregnant pause, where we expectantly wait for God to break through with something new."

This was the beginning of my sermon one year ago, and most of you didn't hear it - I was preaching at Newark Valley UCC, so that the search committee could hear me preach before introducing me to all of you. For me, it was definitely a time of expectant longing and anticipation. For many of you, I imagine it was as well. At that time, I hoped that this year I would be spending Advent with you - and I could not be more happy to be living into that hope with you.

Yes, we're "living into" it, because we are always hoping that the world will be transformed, that our church will be renewed, and that our individual lives will be more fulfilling. We're seeing many things come to birth in our church, and we are, as a community, bearers of God to the world around us.

Individually, we are also God-bearers. The profound truth of the incarnation is not just that Mary gave birth to God-in-the-flesh in Jesus, but that each of us embodies God. Barbara Brown Taylor translates incarnation as "en-meat-ment" - we are the meat, the flesh and bones in which the Spirit - the Breath - of God dwells. And when we all come together in community, we have even more power in the flesh.

This Sunday is Music Sunday, we have the opportunity to experience one particular way of God-bearing, through musical voices and instruments. We'll add 4 new members to our congregation. And we'll pray together and worship together and be the Body of Christ together. When I see each of you, I look forward to saying, "Behold, the God-Bearer!" What new thing will God bring to birth in you this year?

Blessings and peace,

Manda

Texts for Sunday:
Psalm 97
Luke 1:26-56

"What are you waiting for?"

Advent is the proclaimed season of waiting. And, I certainly got a big dose of waiting over Thanksgiving - airports - Ithaca, Newark & San Francisco! While I was waiting, I pondered waiting. I decided it is distinctly un-American to 'proclaim' waiting! We just don't do it well - not in airports, not in traffic, not in doctors' offices or store lines. So many of us pace and agitate and act crabby. We just don't seem to be able to wait well - or at least most of us don't. But, some people take advantage of the waiting time - they read or knit or even just sit and talk with someone else.

As I observed all of the airport waiters, it occurred to me that waiting is a state of being. We are always waiting for something - for Santa to come, to graduate from high school, to meet the right life-partner, to get the right job..... And, as Christians, we are always, always waiting for the coming of God. So perhaps, it is good for us to proclaim our state of waiting. Perhaps it is good, in this busy, busy season to remember that waiting can be good and productive time.

On Sunday, we will explore the story of Zecheriah and Elizabeth, faithful servants who spent long  lifetimes waiting... waiting for the fulfillment of the promises of God. It would be good for you to read their story and to think a bit in this season of waiting....What are you waiting for? And, what do you do while you are waiting????

Hoping to see all of you on Sunday - Laura Lee

Texts for This Week:

+ Psalm 71:16-24
* Luke 1:5-25&57-80

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.

Sabbath of Thanksgiving

This Sunday we begin our Christian new year with the advent of Advent. We are entering a season of waiting and watching, preparing our hearts to receive God's presence.

This week, the United States takes time out to celebrate Thanksgiving. Whatever our sordid history or troubled present, at our best, we are a people who give thanks and share our blessings. Yet how well do we really embody a spirit of thanksgiving this season? I myself am making my lists, spending time shopping and cleaning and cooking, preparing for guests (my parents are coming to town, and you'll get to meet them on Sunday!), and trying to get ahead on some work. I am determined to spend some time relaxing and enjoying my family, but I know it will be a challenge - how quickly things come up and stress takes over!


Every year the same drama plays out in our culture, from the frenzy of preparations, to the tired cleaning up and dealing with leftovers. And then comes Friday - "Black" Friday as it's often called - the day when everyone rushes to buy things they probably don't need, all because it seems to be a good deal. So we go from frantically preparing for a time of Thanksgiving, to a brief and sometimes stressful or lonely (depending on family dynamics) Thanksgiving day, right back to a focus on consuming - getting more, for a better deal, than we really needed in the first place.

And somewhere in there, we have lost the concept of Sabbath, a time to worship and be renewed, to just be and take in the blessings that surround us. In her article Black Friday and the Importance of Sabbath Rest, Danielle Tumminio writes, "Even though Black Friday is not on a Saturday or Sunday, it follows a period of heightened work and stress; it's a natural time for rest, and yet, it's a time in which rest is not encouraged. One at a time, we can change this culture. As God's children, it is our responsibility to find that rest for ourselves because without it, regardless of religious affiliation, we will psychologically dry up like turkey left too long in the oven."



So perhaps this year we can start Advent a bit early - every year we enter into the same drama, hearing the story of Christ's impending birth, allowing our hearts to sit with the anticipation and hope of a world transformed. And if, for you, this season is one of loneliness and heartache, you may know better than the rest of us what it means to long for a new world, where every tear will be dry and you will know the deep peace of God's presence. 


Wherever you find your hearts this season, will you accept the challenge and honor the Sabbath this week? As you sit around your tables and celebrate the Eucharist (Greek for Thanksgiving), let the moments linger and savor the gift of Sabbath. And I will do the same.

I wish you all Thanksgiving blessings, and I look forward to beginning the new year with you on Sunday.

In peace,
Manda

Texts for Sunday:

Psalm 98

Matthew 1:18-25

Reign of Christ

This Sunday is the last Sunday in the Christian liturgical year, traditionally known as "Christ the King" Sunday, and in many modern churches as "Reign of Christ" Sunday. Interestingly, most of the scripture texts are about shepherds and sheep, with the implication that Jesus is the shepherd par excellence. But much more of the focus is on how we are to act, whether we are shepherds (as in Ezekiel) or sheep (as in Matthew). The Matthew text, in particular, is familiar to us, and rather than reflect at length on it, I want to share with you some other readings that play with these same themes, both drawing on the Matthew text. I hope you'll read these and the scriptures for Sunday and consider what our still-speaking God might be saying to you. Blessings and peace, and I hope to see you Sunday! 

- Manda

A reading from the Islamic tradition:

       On the day of judgment God Most High will say,

       "Son of Adam, I was sick and you did not visit Me."

       He will reply, "My Lord, how could I visit Thee

       when Thou art the Lord of the Universe!"

       He will say, "Did you not know

       that my servant so-and-so was ill

       and yet you did not visit him?

       Did you not know that if you had visited him

       you soon would have found Me with him?"

       -Hadith of Muslim

"You Who Bless" by Jan Richardson

You Who Bless

You
who are
yourselves
a blessing

who know
that to feed
the hungering
is to bless

and to give drink
to those who thirst
is to bless

who know
the blessing
in welcoming
the stranger

and giving clothes
to those
who have none

who know
to care
for the sick
is blessing

and blessing
to visit
the prisoner:

may the blessing
you have offered
now turn itself
toward you

to welcome
and to embrace you
at the feast
of the blessed.

(To see a longer reflection and art work by Jan Richardson on the Matthew text, click here.) 

Texts for Sunday:
Ezekiel 34:11-24 
Matthew 25:31-40

"For Those Who Walk the Walk"

On Sunday, we will ponder the rather complicated parable of the talents. My 6th Grade Sunday School teacher once said, "There are two sins: 1.) Using people & loving things and 2.) Failing to use your God-given talents to do all you can to make a difference in the world."

As I put the texts with her wisdom, I feel so grateful for all of the people who use their talents to 'walk the walk' of service to others. Certainly the usual suspects are teachers and medical providers and social workers. And there are those we honor this weekend, our veterans who have truly 'walked the walk' to serve their country. In this moment, I am grateful for my colleague and friend, Margie Mayson, the Pastor of St. Paul's United Methodist Church who died suddenly on Tuesday. Like so many local church pastors I've met over the years, Margie always worked every day to use her talents to love her people, encourage them and help them use their talents to make a difference. I also think of all of the people in this church who so freely 'walk the walk' and use their talents in ways great and small to make a difference in their families, in our church, in our community and in the world.

So, I invite you to read the text and think a bit about the people who've made a difference in your life. Think a bit about how you are using your own talents. Think a bit about how God might be calling you to make a difference.

Hoping to see you all on Sunday, Laura Lee

"The Little Holidays - Big Surprises"

I like the little holidays the best. You know, my birthday or Arbor Day. Last week, it was National Deviled Eggs Day. That was fun. These are days that aren't burdened by commercialism or the weight of generations of tradition. I love the big holidays, too. Especially Christmas and Easter or even Pentecost. But, there are the 'little' holidays in the life of the church that are truly wonderful, like Transfiguration Sunday. These holidays (holy days) remind us of important experiences in the life of Christ or in the history of our faith and because they aren't burdened by lots of traditions, they have the capacity to surprise us.

On Sunday, we will be celebrating two of the Church's lesser celebrated holidays: Reformation Sunday  and All Saints Day. We will do those things that ground us to these days: honor the saints who have died over the past year and singing "For all the Saints". We will also celebrate  in a special and surprising way. Vikar Markus Krieger will be our guest. He will preach and will offer an AfterWord forum. Markus is a pastor in the EKHN (Evangelical Protestant Church in Germany) and is spending an 'intern' year here in the NY Conference. So, we will be celebrating our German protestant roots with a German partner in ministry! And, this time of celebrating will be blessed with communion.

I'm looking forward to this big celebration of little holidays that are truly important in our common life. I expect to be a bit surprised and hope you will all come expecting something new.

Hoping to see you on Sunday - Laura Lee

So, Go Ahead..... Plant a Tree (For Sunday, 10-30-11)

Recently, one of my heroes died - Wangari Maathai. In 2004, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She wasn't a head-of-state or a diplomat or a military person. She was a biologist. She wasn't an old western world white man. She was a young African woman. She didn't end wars or protest corrupt governments. She planted trees!

Amazing: to connect peacemaking with planting trees. And yet, her Green Belt Movement has probably created more peace that anyone can ever imagine. In Kenya (and now throughout the world), planting trees is saving the planet, saving water, saving agriculture, empowering poor people - especially women..... And, all of the problems these trees solve are often the sources of war. What also inspires me about Dr. Maathai is that she planted trees (millions of them) and died before ever seeing them grow to full maturity. She staked her whole life on a future she would never see.

So it was with many of the Hebrews on the journey to the Promised Land. They moved through the desert, organized themselves and birthed future generations believing that God's promises were sure and that there would be a land and a new life ahead. They did so knowing that most of the people who started the journey would never actually inhabit this promised land. Like Dr. Maathai, they planted trees: trees of community, hope and faith. They planted the trees of life that would sustain their people into the future.

So it is with the church - with our church. We are in the business of planting trees. Every time we nurture a child through Children's Worship and loving relationships; every time we support bringing clean water to a desperate community or when we work to help our whole community feed starving children.... in fact, whenever we do pretty much anything around here..... we are planting trees of community, life, hope and peace that we may never see.

All it takes is a bit of faith - in God, in each other, in all that is good and right in the world. Sooo, go ahead and plant a tree. Invest in the future of FCC, of children here and abroad, in the promises of peace. You'll feel good and you will make a real difference.

Come on Sunday as we celebrate the Promised Land into which we are moving. Come, bring your pledges, your cans, your hearts, your hopes for the future. And, I look forward to greeting you all.

Blessings, Laura Lee

Texts for This Week:

+Psalm 25:4-15

*Joshua 3 - Crossing the Jordan

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.

Ohhhh...Dearrrrr! (for Sunday 10/23/11)

I have always loved Eeyore - even had a stuffed version on my bed from childhood through young adulthood! And, I 'm not sure why. He seems sooo gloomy and I've never been. Remember? Eeyore was perpetually pessimistic - his most familiar phrase was "Ohhhh.... Dearrr!" One day, Tigger greeted Eeyore in the woods by asking, "Isn't it a beautiful, sunny day?" And, Eeyore replied, "Yeahhhhh, but it might rain tomorrow."

What I've learned over the years is that Tigger and Eeyore are both right - today IS beautiful and it MIGHT just rain tomorrow!

On Sunday, we will explore the stories of "Sending Out the Spies" found in the Book of Numbers (chapter 13). Interesting.... they sent out two sets of 12 spies. One group came back exuberantly  describing the 'land of milk and honey', while the other described the fierce, armed tribes that roamed the land. And, they were both correct. Like Tigger and Eeyore, the two sets of spies balanced each other. They encouraged moving into the Promised Land, but with warnings of the dangers to be faced.

So it is with us. Every decision to change jobs, move, get married, have children, etc. Comes with blessings and warnings. Every decision that a church makes to embrace the promises of God comes with exciting possibilities and challenges that may be scary.

The good news is that Eeyore eventually joins Tigger, Pooh Bear and his other pals in their schemes for adventure, despite is reluctance or gloominess. AND, the Hebrews did choose to trust in the promises of God, even though there were many battles to be fought.

I actually think I've needed Eeyore in my life and all of the people who have represented him. We all need the Tiggers and the Eeyores to help us find the balance - the way forward with clear expectations. I'm glad we're Bound for the Promised Land.... Tiggers, Eeyores and all!

I'm hoping to see you all on Sunday - Laura Lee

Texts for This Week:

+ Luke 9:1-6

* Sending Out the Spies - Numbers 13

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.

When Did We Start Electing Such Young Presidents? (for Sunday 10/16/11)

The first President I remember is Ike. His grandson went to kindergarten with me and we had our own Secret Service Agent - Johnnie Powers! To my young mind, President Eisenhower was grandfatherly - what a President should be.  Later, I remember my mother's friends talking about John Kennedy: too young, too handsome, too 'smiley'. And, now we have another young, handsome, 'smiley' President.

I go to the ENT doctor and he doesn't look old enough to have finished college, much less be a medical specialist. It happens all the time - those people in power seem so young. And, of course, it's not that they're so young, it's that I'm getting old!

Some of  the Hebrews must have felt this way when Joshua started taking over! Moses was old, known, trustworthy and  here comes this uppity, young military guy! Edgy, pushy, even. He was full of new ideas and plans. What some of them couldn't see was that Joshua was what they needed to fight the upcoming battles, to mobilize the young and make it possible for them to claim the Promised Land. They couldn't see that it wasn't that Joshua was too young, it's that Moses and his generation were too old to create a new future.

The good news is that Joshua wasn't a radical or a wild man. God had chosen well. He was truly edgy, pushy and had many new ideas, but he had lived in the desert long enough to know. He loved and understood the past leaders, he honored their traditions and all of the things they had built. BUT, he also had a new energy and new skills and a toughness that was needed.

It's the way it's always been and always will be. As we get older, the leaders get younger. God knows that we are always needing new life and new ideas and new ways of being. Our job is to pick good leaders and to trust them to lead us into the future. Tough job - for the Hebrews, for Moses and for us, but well worth it!

You might just want to read a bit of Joshua's story - it has an amazingly contemporary ring!

Hoping to see you all on Sunday - Blessings - Laura Lee

Texts for This Week:

+Matthew 16:13-20

*Deuteronomy 31

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.

We Begin with the Basics (for Sunday 10/9/11)

The Israelites get out of Egypt. And then..... they were stuck in the desert with no food, no water and no place to go! No wonder they wanted to go back. Even slavery came with food and shelter! So, God began with the basics food: manna that arrived every night and quail (on occasion) and water: crashing froth from the rocks.

We certainly can relate to the 'water from the rock' image - after all, Ithaca is Gorges! We also know that you can't even begin to think about a journey to the Promised Land (much less go on one), if you are stuck in the desert and are hungry and thirsty. 

We know that the basics of food and clean water are essential. We are a church that is dedicated to supporting clean water projects, so that disease can be prevented, so that women and children do not have to spend hours each day just collecting water, so that communities can flourish. We are a church that is dedicated to making a difference for people who are hungry in our local community through support of local food pantries, Loaves & Fishes, Friendship House, CROP Walk and others. And, through Feed My Starving Children, we are helping our church and our whole community make a big difference in the lives of hungry children.

On Sunday, we begin two parallel journeys that focus us on the 'basics':

• Our annual Stewardship Campaign gives each one of us a chance to provide for the basics here - electricity, snow plowing, heat, staff, office supplies....... and,  to enable us to continue on the journey to the Promised Land of the 'Church We Are Becoming'.   
• Mission:1 helps us join over 6,000 other UCC churches in a wonderful focus on hunger designed to help us 'boost' our support for local pantries; advocate for hungret people here and around the world through a letter-writing campaign and to help feed hungry people in the world (especially in West Africa) through our 'Neighbors in Need' offering.

I hope you will all participate enthusiastically in these efforts, I am certain you will be blessed greatlly, when you do! In preparation for our October focus, I encourage you to read the story of the Exodus. What you may not know is that variations of this story are found in Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy and Joshua. It is interesting to read one of the less familiar versions, so why not begin with snooping around the 30th Chapter of Deuteronomy? You may discover many things you didn't learn in Cecil B. DeMille's movie!

I am looking forward to our journey of stewardship and mission in October and hope you are, too!

Hoping to see you on Sunday - Laura Lee

Texts for This Week:

+Psalm 78

*Exodus Chapters 16 & 17

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.

Food for the World (for Sunday 10/2/11)

One of the top stories on Ithaca Journal today is about a large portion of the population’s growing reliance on food banks for their daily bread. Click here to read this article. Hunger is a continued, pressing need throughout the world, and it can often seem overwhelming.

Every Sunday we pray together, “give us this day our daily bread,” and for many around the world, that prayer is an urgent one, a plea for food for today. This Sunday, we’ll celebrate World Communion Sunday, when the sharing of a simple meal reminds us of our common need for daily bread. The practice of Communion also challenges us, for there is more than enough room and more than enough food for all – at God’s communion table, and in our daily lives.

A shared meal has the power to bring us together and to participate in God’s work of feeding the world – physically and spiritually. So come, this week, to be nourished, and to be challenged. Be transformed by the presence of Christ in community. Looking forward to seeing you!

Blessings,

Manda

Scripture for Sunday:

Ephesians 2:13-22

Remembering and Re-Membering (for Sunday 9/11/11)

If you're old enough, I'll bet you remember exactly where you were and what you were doing at various points on September 1, 2001. My friend's son, Sam remembers a lot. He was on the 34th floor of the first tower that collapsed. As he and his co-workers struggled to work their way northward, his persistent 'memory' is of all the Chinese Women who kept giving them cold washcloths. He knows this probably only happened once, but it was a strong enough memory and a strong enough gift, that it's his strongest, clearest memory. It's a memory that 're-members' him out of his private horror and into a community of people who were helping each other just get through the day.

Sam's memory of the Chinese women with the washcloths, reminds me of Pam Swiereinga showing up with frozen washcloths in baggies, on the hottest day for the hottest funeral ever. And, it reminds me of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. All of these are simple, personal gestures create powerful memories of being helped and served at an important time. AND,  all of those memories re-member us to communities of help and care and support.

These are Jesus' words at the institution of communion: "Whenever you eat this bread and drink this sup - rremember me." I think he is calling us to the memory: remember Jesus, especially the disciples who knew him. But, these words of remembrance call us more sacredly and more powerfully to find in communion the ways to re-member ourselves to Christ, to each other and to the whole human family. So, as you spend time this weekend unavoidably remembering 9/11, 2001, I urge you to also find ways to re-member yourselves to the Body of Christ and to the church and to one another, families and friends.

Join us for communion this afternoon at 5:00 p.m., pray for many of us as we pack meals tomorrow for Feed My Starving Children and join us for worship on Sunday as we celebrate the baptism of Taryn Martha Zonder!. It's good to do some re-membering, I think.

Blessings Always, Laura Lee

Texts for This Week:

+Luke 9:46-48

*John 13:1-10

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.