Blessings and Peace

Dear Friends,

This will be my final Weekly Word to you. I want to take the opportunity to thank you all for the lovely and kind words, cards, and blessings you have shared with me, and a special thank you for the generous cash gift, the chalice and rice bowls (thanks to Tom Roach's artistry!), and prayer shawl. My leaving is bittersweet - I am excited about new things to come for myself and for you, and I also will miss you all.

In worship on January 20, we offered one another gratitude and forgiveness, and we released each other from the pastoral relationship.  It is my hope that you will warmly embrace and support your new Interim Pastor and other pastors who will come to partner in ministry with you.  So that you can freely do that, it is common ministerial practice to have some shared understanding of boundaries as I depart. I am grateful for your encouragement in my continued ministry, and I offer my support to the interim minister and all your future ministers. Part of that support means that I can no longer be available for pastoral care or to help you process the goings-on in the life of this church. I have no doubt that the Caring Committee, Stephen Ministers, and future pastors will provide excellent care.

Healthy goodbyes help us be open to the new things that God has in store for all of us. Syed and I will no longer attend worship or other church functions for at least a year (and after that only at the invitation of the current pastor). I will also be limiting my Facebook and online interactions with the members and friends of this church. This is all part of my intentionality and love for you, and though it can be difficult, it is important. We may run into each other around town (as this is a small town!), but it will be important for us to avoid talking about your feelings and experiences related to this congregation.

I hope you will take the time to read the annual reports that have been carefully prepared. In my final annual report, I have reflected on our two years of ministry together and shared with you some of my wishes for your future. I will hold you in prayer and trust that God will continue to nurture, sustain, and challenge you as you live into God's future.

Blessings and peace to you,

Manda

Texts For This Week:
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10                                        
Psalm 19                                                                    
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a 
Luke 4:14-21

I Am Because You Are

In my early 20's, I read a book called The Hidden Wound by Wendell Berry, who has become one of my favorite authors. In the first chapter, Berry writes, "If the white man has inflicted the wound of racism upon black men, the cost has been that he would receive the mirror image of that wound into himself....This wound is in me, as complex and deep in my flesh as blood and nerves." This thoughtful, reflective book (really an extended essay) helped me give words to some of what I had seen and experienced - certainly growing up, and also in my college experience in Arkansas and my time in Boston (which is more segregated than many of us would like to admit).

I find Berry's thoughts also echoed in the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., from Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? "From time immemorial men have lived by the principle that 'self-preservation is the first law of life.' But this is a false assumption. I would say that other-preservation is the first law of life. It is the first law of life precisely because we cannot preserve self without being concerned about preserving other selves." This is also the South African principle of Ubuntu, as Desmond Tutu writes about: "I am because you are."

I am because you are.

We, as human beings, are interdependent on all others and also on the earth and all her creatures. We are because they are, because she is, he is, it is. And ultimately, we are because God is.

This Sunday will be my final Sunday with you, and I'm so glad that it is also the Sunday when we celebrate the life, ministry, witness, and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In many ways, I am the person and the pastor I am today because of the person and the pastor he was. And I am because you are. In the time we have shared together, we have shaped each other's futures. Join us this Sunday as we reflect on our time together, the work of justice, and my fervent hope that you will continue to expand and live into God's extravagant welcome - a welcome that breaks down barriers and builds up the self by affirming others.

Love and blessings,
Manda

Texts For This Week:
Psalm 36:5-10
John 2:1-11

Prayer

   

 To clasp the hands in prayer  

 is the beginning of an 

 uprising against the disorder 

 of the world.

                    - Karl Barth

                       

 

Prayer is vital to the life of our church - when we pray, we do so in faith that God hears us and cares about us. When we pray, we are being the Body of Christ.

This Sunday, you will notice a slight change in the prayer time. Your prayers are important to us and to the life of the community. We know that God hears our prayers, whether we speak them aloud or not, and it's also important to laugh and cry with one another as we share our prayers. However, for the time being, the prayer time will include some silence but not a time to speak your prayers to the group in the worship service. BUT, there are many other ways for you to share your joys and concerns, and to know that others are praying for you! Please freely make use of the following:

1) If you would like someone to pray with you personally, members of our Caring Committee are available after the worship service - just go forward after the postlude and someone will be there to pray with you.

2) There are several ways that you can submit a prayer request in writing. If we receive it before the Sunday service and you indicate that you would like it to be mentioned in the pastoral prayer, we will do our best to do so. These prayers will also be shared with the Prayer Care Tree, a group of members dedicated to regularly praying for the church.
     - Just before or after worship, fill out one of the prayer cards on the nametag table.
     - Click here to fill out a prayer request online.
     - Email your prayer request to the church office (office@fccithaca.org).
     - Call the church office with your prayer request (257-6033).

In this time of transition, the worship committee has been working hard to ensure that our worship services continue to be meaningful and welcoming. There will be opportunities for more lay leadership, and if you are interested in helping lead parts of worship (such as the offering/announcement time or the welcome and prayer of confession), please be in touch with Mike Billing, Chair of the Worship Committee.

I look forward to seeing you in worship this Sunday - we will hear the story of Christ's baptism and reflect on the meaning of our own baptisms. And we'll share a meal together at God's table.

Blessings,
Manda

Texts For This Week:
Isaiah 43:1-7
Luke 3:15-22