Today I drove to Williamsport PA for a meeting at the Community Arts Center. I serve on our conference worship team. Because we are becoming a new annual conference, myself and several others on the current team joined our new brothers and sisters at this venue. Here we discussed what out two opening worship services might look like in June and September as we become the new Susquehanna Conference.

My drive from home to Williamsport was through a lot of rural areas that I covered years ago when I was a paramedic. I actually was on one road where I responded to a one car accident years ago. At that time the unit I was a part of, we responded by ourselves in the vehicle. I got there and people were standing around this women. I beat the ambulance there. The group of first responders was not into having medics in "their territory." But as I began to treat the patient one of them began to help me. I greatly appreciated the extra set of hands in helping my patient in the midstof a hostile atmosphere. I knew what I needed to do and I did it becase someone needed me to do what I knew how to do.

Today many communities embrace paramedics. I started my EMS career in 1980 and paramedics were just beginning to come on the scene. My favorite heroes were Johnny Gage and Roy DeSoto. If you don't get the reference try Googling the tv show "Emergency". The idea of people not wanting to help or even call paramedics is a unheard of. EMTs, Paramedics and Pre-Hospital nurses and doctors are dedicated to giving the best care with the latest technolgy. I can remember using a monitor/defibrillator called a LifePak 5. They came out with a LifePak 10 bigger and better. Some didn't trust is as it was new and we knew how the older model worked. But again, in time, the newer model grew in use. I wonder what model number they are up to now? Is that company even in the business of making those anymore?

The church is in the same place I think that paramedics were when I was beginning my career. The church is seeing all these new churches, house churches or otherwise and saying, "We don't need that." Our church is good enough. Look at our facilities. Or maybe some have said, maybe if we just do what we did 10 or 15 years ago like our dinners or some other fundraiser we will come back. Here is one I have trouble with: "How do we get more volunteers in here(the church)?" Volunteers? You mean the people outside the church are the church's salvation? I thought salvation was found in Christ? In the book, "Pathway to Renewal" the authors share that one of the symptoms of a dying church is the people see those outside the church as those who will save the church from extinction.

Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ so as to transform the world. Under that umbrella each church needs to find what it does best and who God is calliing them to reach out to. Is our ministry with families, singles, elderly, youth? Where are we called to focus? We could do everything and do it all halfway or we could choose one or two things anddo the ministry well. The key is being able to come out of our comfort zone, casting a vision together and taking aleap of faith into ministry.

At our meeting today we are nearing the end of this journey in the wilderness with moving from Wyoming Annual Conference and Central Pennsylvania Conference to the new Susquehanna Conference. Many if not all of us have never been here before. But here we all were gathered around the table talking about the birth of something new. It started out as scary and maybe a little frightening as we started this journey. Moments of joy and frustration, grief and celebration, darkness and light have been experienced along the way. While the dates in June and September are the culmination of this part of the journey, we soon will be part of a new one with other brothers and sisters of the faith.

How about the local church? Where are we being called to head out into the wilderness? We will the journey take us? Who will come and who will stay back in Egypt? We will never know unless we take those first steps of recognizing who we are in Christ, what we are called to do in our mission statement and then act on it with a vision that leads us to ministry in our communities, counties, country and the world just as Jesus called us to do in Acts 1:8

Peace

The lectionary this week includes a reading from Nehemiah. Ezra comes to the people by the Water gate. The people gathered in the square as one, including men, women and children. "And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law." This was during a sacred festival. It was a great day to say the least. We have here an example of worship. The word was read for the people to understand. In their understanding many began to weep and mourn because of how far they were from God. But the message of grace and forgiveness comes after the word is read. "Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, 'This day is sacred to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.' Nehemiah said, 'Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.'"

The people had come through a very difficult time and in the midst of there return to Jerusalem and the wall built, they knew they had wandered far from God. Yet through the word read and then proclaimed, the people were offered forgiveness and words of comfort. But that was not the final word. God's people gathered, called to worship, the word read & proclaimed, they responded and then they went forth. In their joy in the Lord they were led to fellowship not only together but to share the gifts of food and drink to those who did not have anything to prepare.

This all made me think of my theology of worship. Worship is a place for all to gather and encounter and experience the living Christ who calls us to himself, to remember who we are and then to go forth having that knowledge and sharing the word and all that we have with others.

Our UM Book of Worship has an order of worship. Some have argued the cookie cutter order is not conducive sometimes to bringing us into God's presence. In fact I would offer that if you visited ten different UMchurches, you would find similar elements but ten different service orders.

I would argue that using the headings: God's People Gather, God Calls Us to Worship, God's Word Read & Proclaimed, God's People Respond and God's People Go Forth, that a carefully Spirit created service can usher us into the presence of the holy. Elements under each could vary but with creativity we might have different services but experiences which lead us into a deeper relationship with God. I struggle many times when I visit worship services and elements are all over the place. For example, the offering. I have seen it in many different places, after the opening prayer, after the scripture readings, and even at the very end of the service. Question is what is the offering? What purpose does it have within worship? I know there are many thoughts out there, but for me, again in my theology, the offering and the sacraments are a response to hearing God's Word. I joke sometimes that we take the offering before the sermon so people can't get their money back if they don't like the sermon. But really I see baptism, Holy Communion and the offering as times when we give thanks to God for all God has given and prepare to send what we have given out to those who are in need. The people that heard Ezra and Nehemiah gave their offerings but also shared what they had with others. In other words, the word, read, proclaimed and heard was then acted upon by the people. Out of their faith, joy of the Lord being their strength, they shared in many ways. The community of faith did that. With all the gifts and graces we are given, with all that we are, all that we have, the good, the bad, the light, and the dark we come into the sanctuary to remember who we are, that God is with us, that we are a forgiven people and called upon to act out of the love, grace and mercy we have been offered by God.

I follow Rev. Mike Slaughter on Twitter. He is the pastor of Ginghamsburg UM Church. He tweeted recently, "Jesus gives his followers the power to hurt or heal, to bless or to curse. What are you choosing today?" With a theology or rather to use the words from Nehemiah, helping people understand about God, worship is the place where we are given the chance to know God. Do you know about God through Jesus Christ? Or do you know them?

I had breakfast with a good friend today. She had enough time to have breakfast before she shot out to visit someone at the hospital whom she was asked to see yesterday. From there she will dash to a funeral she is officiating. She said she has had more funerals that anything in the last year. I prayed before we ate, it was my turn anyway, and I prayed for her to be able to offer the family hope in peace in their time of grief. As I headed back to my retreat space, I was thinking about our role in the midst of chaos and tragedy. What is our role as pastors and laity in times of trouble? Too often we try to find the right words to say. These times are awkward and we are uncomfortable around death. So we us those favorite sayings to get us and others through. While many offer those phrases, and they fill a void in trying to explain the unexplainable, we are all called to more than catchy phrases. We are called to stand in the gap. The gap between the why did something happen and what God promises us. We often ask where is God? God is not only in the midst of it all but is truly seen in the aftermath. The poorest of the poor suffer tragedy and the world responds. Some pundits are quick to point out the US gives more and everyone should give out of abundance. “See how we do it?” Umm what was that about pride going before the fall. We ought to give whatever we can. But through the midst of it all the hope needs to be returned to the people.
My friend will do that with scripture inspired words to a family in need of hope and beginning again without a loved one. In Haiti, we need to help them heal, both physically and spiritually, as we help them dig out, clean up and begin to rebuild their city, their homes and their lives.
I read this morning from Numbers 14:6-9 and Matthew 19:14-30. Numbers takes about two of the scouts who saw the promised land saying, “hey God promised…let’s trust and move into the promised land.” We are called to risk all that we are and all that we have and move out in faith into the land God has promised. Matthew talks about the encounter between Jesus and the rich young ruler. He couldn’t part/risk giving up what he had to follow. He was looking for validation and Jesus said, you won’t find it there but with me. You can follow all the biblical precepts but unless you are willing to give up “stuff” for the substance I bring, you will continue to struggle.
I was watching the movie “Up” which was given to me at Christmas. What a great movie! The story is about a man who marries someone from childhood. They have this wonderful life together in adventure but then she becomes sick and dies. All this man has is his memories and the house filled with her. He vows to move the house to their dream site. But in the course of doing so he encounters a young scout who accompanies him. At one point the man turns his back on those he has met because his journey to move this house is not done. But there comes a point where he has to make a choice between his agenda and the safety of others. He chooses to rescue those in trouble. Transformation happens. A relationship is born and lives are changed…forever.
We are all called at some point to stand in the gap between memory and hope, between death and life, light and dark and make a choice. That is what we as disciples of Christ are called to do. So to quote the music group the Clash…”Should I Stay or Should I Go?” Choice is yours. The benefits are not to us but to the community and world we live in.
BTW Sue, I am proud of you. I know you will offer what the people need at the funeral because of one thing: you are standing on God’s Word! You will help them praise God in the storm.