This fall youth in Bend we will continue the radical journey of faith. Members of Nativity Lutheran, First Presbyterian and Trinity Episcopal are following the call from God to combine our gifts and skills to be Christ’s hands and feet in the world. We seek to serve our community with energy, passion, thought and a whole lot of fun – together.
* 3 churches > 1 community
* 3 traditions > 1 faith
* 3 histories > 1 future
The team leading this effort consists of Ron Werner, Director of Youth Ministries at Nativity Lutheran; Caitlin Jarvis, Associate Director of Youth Ministries at Nativity Lutheran; Rev. Greg Bolt, Pastor of Youth and Their Families at First Presbyterian Church; Donna Jacobsen, Youth and Family Ministries Leader at Trinity Episcopal Church; and many, many volunteers. We have some big opportunities for growth in community, in faith and in love this fall. We hope you will join us for any or all of them.
Youth (6th-12th Grade) Ministry Fall Sunday Morning Opportunities – Beginning October 7
7th-8th Grade – Using the re:form Traditions curriculum. Traditions gives your youth the tools they need to deeply explore their particular faith tradition with witty videos, engaging individual and group activities and an online forum for sharing what they’ve learned along the way. We will also be testing out a previously unpublished curriculum called “Echo the Story.” “Echo the Story” is an innovative line of resources and events, inspiring churches to discover the art of Bible storying. Storying provides an imaginative experience of the Bible’s overarching narrative that prompts creative and meaningful responses.
9th-10th Grade – Leadership Development – Young people in these ages will have the opportunity to learn and grow through teaching Godly Play.
High School Students (9th-12th Grade) – Fellowship – On the first Sunday of the month we will go out for coffee or breakfast. We could be at a shop, a restaurant or someone’s house. This will be a time to sit and be with one another after worshiping together at First Presbyterian.
Bend Youth Collective – Mid Week Offerings: Middle School (6th-8th Grade)—Wednesdays 5:30-7:30 PM Nativity Lutheran will be the weekly meeting place for the middle school BYC starting our first meeting of the year on Wednesday, September 19; and we will continue to meet there through the end of November. December through February we will meet at First Presbyterian, and in March we will start meeting at Trinity Episcopal, where we will finish out the school year. During this time we will work on service projects, play games, watch some videos, have conversations in small groups and gather together to eat dinner.
In order to cover food costs for this upcoming year, we are asking for $50 per student per semester or $100 for the year. If you are unable to pay this amount, scholarships are available. This year we are giving parents the opportunity to host a meal for one of our weekly meetings. We ask that the meal feed approximately 30 youth, and in return we will reimburse you up to $75 in food costs. If providing a meal is something you are interested in or if you have any questions, please email Sally Brogan at sbrogan56@yahoo.com or give her a call (541-771-8467).
High School (9th-12th Grade)—Mondays 6:00-8:00 PM Looney Bean Coffee will be our new weekly meeting place! This awesome coffee shop with a big back yard located at 961 Northwest Brooks Street in Bend will provide a great place for us to meet, play, eat and learn together. It also affords us an opportunity to be downtown and take advantage of all that downtown has to offer.
In order to cover food costs for this upcoming year, we are asking for $50 per student per semester or $100 for the year. If you are unable to pay this amount, scholarships are available. This year we are giving parents the opportunity to host a meal for one of our weekly meetings. We ask that the meal feed approximately 30 youth, and in return we will reimburse you up to $75 in food costs. If providing a meal is something you are interested in or if you have any questions, please email Greg at gbolt@bendfp.org or call him (541-350-8074)
Other Fall Events;
Middle School Mania – Oct. 26-28, Camp B’NAI B’RITH Lincoln City, OR Using Jeremiah 29:10-14, we will explore the promises of God. We will talk about the realities of Middle School life, including bullies, school, relationships with parents and friends, and peer pressure. We will consider the ways that we hide from God and what it means for us to seek God. Through worship and music, in small group conversations and activities, we will explore these concepts and hear again and again God’s promise: “When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me” (Jeremiah 29:13–14a, NRSV). Look for a registration brochure in the Commons’ Area Kiosk or contact Greg for more details at gbolt@bendfp.org.
CPYA – Nov. 16-18, Aldersgate Camp and Retreat Turner, OR The working theme is “Don’t Tempt Me.” Amazing speakers, Greg and Heidi Bolt, will lead students through discussion of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness and the temptations that we face every day in school, from our peers, and from our families. You know it will be awesome! Look for registration brochures in the Commons Area Kiosk or contact Greg for more details at gbolt@bendfp.org.
Taking time to reflect on the last year I am struck that 2011 has been an amazing year in the life of the Youth Ministry of First Presbyterian Church, not only have we begun an exciting endeavor, the Bend Youth Collective, but also more of our youth are participating in the life of the church than ever before. It is an exciting time to serve as the Pastor for Youth and their Families here in Bend.
In the winter, we continued our step out in faith to do something completely out of the box with the Bend Youth Collective. After meeting with the high school students at Common Table we have found that the idea to love like Jesus is broader than our own community. We have had deep discussions of the radical teachings of Jesus Christ, we have explored what it means to feel left out, we have had a WHOLE lot of fun and the bonds between our students are growing stronger and broader every day. We look forward to more service, fellowship and learning opportunities as we continue to live into this new partnership.
Our middle school students have been meeting at the churches every Wednesday. Every week we pack about 100 backpacks of food so that children on the free and reduced lunch program will have food for the weekend. It has been remarkable to watch youth who receive these bags pack them for others. Those that are in need are providing the help for others, it is a highlight every week to watch kids help their friends. Our small group discussions are deep and thoughtful; they open up and share their joys and concerns. Our community is growing into a wonderful and supportive community of diverse backgrounds and experience.
This summer we took 38 people to Los Angeles for an Urban Immersion Trip with our high school students. We stayed in Angelic Lutheran Church in the Pico Union District of Los Angeles. We worked, played, ate, and created some magnificent space for our youth to grow. Here are some thoughts from two of them:
“The most important thing I learned, though, was that often times prejudices are forced on us by our society, religion, government, race, or our ignorance. The steps that we took on our trip to really immerse ourselves in other cultures were life-changing. I wish that everyone in the world could try doing it for a week. I have always thought of myself as an open-minded person, and I still learned so much about things I thought I knew all about.”
-Jasmine Wright, Senior Summit High School
“Overall this trip was an amazing experience. I grew close with those around me, and I feel like I came back carrying a great amount of knowledge and love. I am looking forward to spending time with the friends I’ve made this summer, as well as accompanying them on the mission trips to come.” -KT Ainsworth, Senior Bend Senior High
We also took 9 to CITY CAMP, a middle school camp in Salem, Oregon. For several days, we played, prayed, worshipped, sang, and worked. There were amazing experiences at several different organizations that feed hungry people, there were laughs had at the North Clackamas Aquatic Center, there were holy moments in the youth room at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Here are some quotes from the week:
“I saw God today!”
–Manuel Ponce, 8th Grader Pilot Butte Middle School
“Greg, when we get back I’m going to do your job!”
–Elijah Tucker, 6th Grader Cascade Middle School
We also took 13 high school, college, and young adults to Nicaragua. We spent most of the time in Condega, a small town in the Estelí region of Nicaragua. Condega is a Sister City of Bend and created the foundation for us to start to build relationships for our brothers and sisters in Central America. I think one of our college students sums it up best:
“Before we left, Ron [leader at Nativity Lutheran] said that he didn’t have a doubt in his mind that this trip would somehow change every one of our lives and he was right. Being back home is amazing, I love being able to drink from the faucet and not having to soak myself in deet every morning, but I can’t help but wish I were still in Nicaragua with all of the other amazing members of our Team.”
-Caitlin Jarvis, Senior University of Oregon
As you can see, we are very busy! In my own ministry, it has been remarkable to learn and grow with you all over this almost four years of ministry.
As I sat in worship one Sunday singing with the Praise Team and looking around at all of the college students returned from school, all the youth singing, helping with worship, all the families smiling and singing I was struck about how blessed I am to have a church family that gives me space to grow and helps me along the way.
This season of Advent we’ve invited you to join us in a conspiracy of sorts, an Advent Conspiracy. An opportunity to Enter the Story of waiting, the story of preparing, the story of hope, the story of joy that we find ina manger in Bethlehem; the story of God becoming incarnate in an infant, born in poverty; an infant that would show us a new way to live, a new way to interact, a new way to be.
I will be honest this week’s question: How do we spend less? is a hard one for me. It’s hard because one of the main ways my family shows love is through the giving of gifts. All my life, whether at the holidays or just because the way that my family says, “I love you” is through buying each other gifts.
A few years ago a book came out to help married couples communicate more effectively and help them to understand their partner. This book was called the 5 Love Language. Dr. Gary Chapman explains that these love languages are ways that people show and interpret love.
My family shows and interprets love through little gifts, it doesn’t have to be grandiose or expensive it’s just something. “Hey, I thought of you today and I bought you your favorite candy bar.” “I saw this book on the half off table and I thought you’d like it.” You know stuff like that.
So when I tell my family, we are going to spend less this year and we would like you to as well, it’s like telling them not to show us that they love us. It’s really hurtful, I can hear it over the phone. Even though my parents and sister are flying all the way across country to spend time with us this Christmas (which as you know if pretty expensive and a wonderful gift in and of itself) it is necessary for them to give us and our children something, some token of their love.
Who am I to tell my family that they can’t speak in the only language they know?
My hope is that while we think about spending less, we will hear spend differently. Whether that’s a gift from the Alternative Christmas Market or a donation in honor of your loved one to a worthy cause, or a check to them in the amount you were going to spend to them inviting them to give it away to the something they feel passionate about and tell you why. There are a million different ways to spend, that can not only show how much you love but also can do good for someone else.
Sometimes I think that we spend because that is the only language we think is out there, we don’t know or have never heard of a different way. There are tons of ways you can give or receive a gift that doesn’t cost you any money.
Let’s look at some of the ways that a gift that didn’t cost anything has touched the lives of our community.
In the passage from Mark this morning we hear about John the Baptist, cousin of Jesus, standing in the wilderness saying, “Hey everybody, something’s got to change and I know that soon someone will come and show you. I can point to him. And he’s going to change everything.”
That’s what we are doing, we are waiting, we are preparing for something fantastic, the birth of the savior, Jesus, who came as an infant, not a mighty king, who broke bread with his enemies, not decimate them, who at every turn did something unexpected.
Even the one who was proclaiming his coming was unexpected. He was in the wilderness wearing camel hair, eating locusts and wild honey. He wasn’t in the halls of power, he never intended to go there, John the Baptist was setting the table for the banquet to come.
He said wake up, there’s something wrong here and I know who’s going to show us how to fix it.
I think right now in our world, in our society, in our economy we are at a crisis point. We are at a point where mere tinkering isn’t going to fix it, we need to completely overhaul the systems we live in, that we have become a part of, that we have fed into. I believe God is doing something new.
Now you might be saying, “You’re crazy!” You’d probably be right. Crazy enough to think that a system that is reliant on spending more and more is unsustainable, crazy enough to believe that an economy based on speculation can’t hold, crazy enough to think that there are people in this world that are willing to stand up and say I’m tired of living the same ole, same ole.
People willing to say enough!
People willing to say that for living in a “Christian” nation we don’t live very Gospel lives.
I’m not an economist, I’m not a businessperson, but I know that some of you are. I may be too young, too naïve, too Pollyanna. But I’m willing to bet some of you are too.
I heard on the news this week that Black Friday was a success for retailers. Consumers spent millions of dollars, that they out-shined projections and that Cyber Monday was the biggest day of online shopping ever. The stock market was up; people said there might be light at the end of this dark tunnel that we’re in.
From what little I understand about the economy and job creation, we need people to spend money in order for more jobs to be created. More cashiers and stockers, more manufacturers, more everything…but we also need people to have jobs in order to make money to buy more things to create more jobs. This is wholly unsustainable to me.
I know that maybe an oversimplification or a complete misunderstanding. If so, please help me understand. I’m willing to sit down with anyone who is willing to help me understand this. Because it seems to me that we need a change. We are begging for a change, we aren’t going to make it if we don’t change.
I don’t have all the answers, really all I have at this point are questions, but I know that Christ came into this world in an unexpected way and I trust that Christ will continue to come into our lives in unexpected ways. I pray that a gift will unexpectedly relieve the suffering of some of the world’s poorest, I pray that God will call those blessed with knowledge of how economic systems work to sit down with those that understand how just systems work and try and figure out how we can have a more just economic system.
The time is now, Christmas is coming, the savior of the world is coming to shock us, to challenge us, to call us to a new way of loving the lord God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and loving our neighbors as ourselves.
I thought this was an amazing way to tell the story of the birth of Jesus.
In it they say, “Jesus has two dads, God and Joseph.” Which got me to thinking. Joseph was an adoptive parent, which if you think about it is pretty cool.
This is the text from my sermon last week, entitled “What is Your Legacy?” The Scripture passage is Deuteronomy 32:1-12. Here is the link to the audio (a little different from the manuscript.)
Here is the video we started with:
“Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land!”
I wonder if this speech is similar to the one that Moses gave to the Israelites shortly before his death?
This speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. occurred in Memphis shortly before he was killed by a sniper’s bullet.
I wonder if Martin Luther King, Jr., I wonder if Moses wishes they had been able to see the promise land, to actually get to the Promised Land. I know I would have, but Moses and MLK had great a legacy they had set the stage for those that came after them to cross the Jordan, to enter the Promised Land. There was and is work to be done but these men left us with tools in order to face the stress and fear of the journey.
Today, we continue our series, “Spiritual Courage in Economic Grief” and this morning we tackle questions of legacy. What legacy do we leave in our family, our community and our world? How do we invest ourselves in others?
As many of you know my wife is very pregnant with our second child. It could be any time now, we’re hoping for a couple of more weeks but we could get to meet our son any day, which is incredibly exciting and also pretty scary. As a husband and a parent, I’ve started to think about things in a different way, now it’s no longer only about my wants and needs but the needs of my wife and the needs of my children. Sometimes I have to sacrifice what I want to do so I can be there for my family.
I also have started thinking about what happens if I’m not here, what do I want my children to know deep within them that will help them in their own journey. With that in mind I found myself in the office of a life insurance agent as Heidi and I try to plan as best we can in case one of us isn’t there.
I think both of those things are important, being able to provide financially for those that come after me, for my children, but also emotionally, mentally, spiritually provide for them the knowledge that will hold them up in their own times of grief, the wisdom that will guide them and help them to become leaders in their tribes when they are called.
All of this has caused me to think about what legacy are we leaving, especially in the current context we find ourselves. What legacy is our denomination leaving, what legacy is First Presbyterian Church leaving, what legacy are you leaving?
Will the legacy of the Presbyterian Church USA be one of bickering over who can and cannot lead worship or be one that stands with the poor and those suffering from injustice? Certainly, we have a long history of responding to the needs of those in need but will we be able to let go of our institutions and bureaucracy when they have out lived their effectiveness?
Our denomination will die, that is a fact. As the psalmist says, “You turn us back to dust.” The beauty in that is we get a choice in how to live, we will be guided by fear holding on tightly to our structures and our system simply because we have always done it that way or will we live by love, trusting in the God, who is with us, has been with us, will be with us no matter what. The psalmist also says, “You sweep them away; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning; in the morning it flourishes and is renewed.”
In the morning it flourishes and is renewed. The hope and trust in the resurrection is what guides us to know that, it may not be easy, but it will be ok.
In this time of economic grief, in this time where it feels like we need to hold on more and more tightly to the stuff that is OURS, when it feels like we need to start developing strategies to shield ourselves and everyday on the news seems likes doomsday. It’s flat out terrifying.
It is precisely this time that we need to remember the story of Moses, the story of MLK, they had been to the mountaintop, they had seen the Promised Land and they knew, they trusted that we would get there.
If you remember the story of the Israelites, you know that under the leadership of Joshua they crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land, but unfortunately that was not the end of their struggle, they dealt with war, famine, exile, return, exile, and on and on, after they entered the Promised Land. It may not have been easy, but it will be ok.
I don’t know if MLK would believe we’ve crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land yet but I know he would believe there is work to be done. With unemployment at the highest level it’s been in generations, with corporations having record profits, with people taking to the streets to try and “Take Back America”, whether they be from the Tea Part or Occupy Wall Street, this certainly doesn’t sound to me like the land of milk and honey. It sounds to me like a land of pain and suffering, of miscommunication and anger, of hatred and fear.
I have a confession. I too have been to the mountaintop…literally; I have been to Mt Nebo, or at least where they believe it to be. I have looked out into the Promised Land and I have seen where we are going.
I have seen the Promised Land in the piles and piles of Kits for Kids that have filled this church year after year; I have seen the Promised Land in the hundreds of families who receive food baskets every year. I remember specifically three years ago. It was the first year we had a manger here in the front during Advent. The manger was overflowing with toys and coats and clothes. While we were distributing baskets, someone offered a coat to a child who was cold, then in what can only be described as holy chaos, the coats and toys and clothes were laid out, and those people receiving baskets also received a new coat, a toy for Christmas, a new outfit for school. No one took more than they needed and all left with smiles and warmth, both physically and spiritually. Was it what was intended? No. Was it what was expected? Certainly not. Was it what God had called us to in that moment? I believe so. Was it part of the legacy of this church? Yes.
I have seen the Promised Land in our students in the youth group; we are from 10 different countries, 5 high schools, 8 middle schools, including home schools and 3 churches. We have moved thousands of pounds of food in Los Angeles, we have ask questions about why things are the way they are and we have created space for all kids to express themselves to be vulnerable to shed tears to be real. I have watched a freshman sob while talking about his family situation to the group, while another freshman, his friend, with his arm around him gently holding him and letting him speak.
I have seen the Promised Land in our students who have for their whole lives been recipients of help become the givers of help. I have seen the joy in their eyes when they say, “I’ve never been able to help before, and this is awesome.”
I have seen the Promised Land in two of our college students who raised over $1,500 for an orphanage in Nicaragua in three days. I have seen the Promised Land in people welcoming each other and taking the time to listen to the answer to the question, “how are you doing?”
I have seen the Promised Land in the people that quietly give of their time, talents and money to organizations and causes they feel called to.
All these visions of the Promise Land lead me to the question. How will we as a congregation witness to the existence of a Promise Land, when it seems as if we are stuck in the wilderness?
Will we be guided by fear, seeking to maintain a death grip on the stuff that we have? A beautiful sanctuary, clean carpet, a big building
Will be open to what Jesus called the greatest commandment, “To love the Lord God with all your heart soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.”
Will our legacy be that we died with the most stuff or will it be that we died, having lived our life sharing the spirit of wisdom with those around us? Reminding them that God loves them, no strings attached. Will be witness to the hope found in Jesus that it might not be easy but it will be ok? Will we leave a legacy on this town, on this denomination, on this world that we were faithful when it seemed impossible? Will we stand with those around us who are suffering, will we be a place for people to find refuge, will we lead the path through the wilderness of this time of economic grief, even when no one wants to follow and people are calling us to turn around? Will we have the strength, the courage, to continue to respond to God’s call to welcome all comers? When First Presbyterian Church is gone what will we have passed on to those around us? How will we show spiritual courage?
These are tough challenging questions. I think about them everyday I work with the young people of this town, hoping that I am able to impart some wisdom, hoping I am able to provide them with some tools to deal with their journey ahead.
A few years ago a sociological study came out examining the tendencies of the various generations in our world today.
The G.I. generation, those born around the turn of the 20th century, the Greatest Generation, those born around the end of the Depression, Baby Boomers, those born after World War II, Generation X, that’s my generation, those born between 1965 and 1980 and Millennials, those born between 1981 and 2001.
This study called the G.I. generation, a generation of builders, the Greatest Generation was a generation of maintainers, the Baby Boomers were a generation of destroyers, Generation X, my generation, were ignorers. In this study that means the Millennials are the next builders.
That means those people 10-30 years old are building things, they are building the structures that will be maintained by those who are being born today. These Millennials aren’t apathetic, they aren’t disconnected, they aren’t selfish any more than anyone else. They are becoming organized, they are doing work, they are building.
We see them on the news, in the streets, chanting, “We are the 99%!” We see them, returning to their faith, but not a faith based on platitudes and rhetoric, on big buildings and social status, but one based on living out your beliefs not just believing them. When I see these people when I hear their passion, and their commitment. It is a passion and commitment I see in you, in the faces in this congregation right here, right now. Young and old. I hear your stories I know your struggles; I know it’s scary. We have an opportunity to be the message of spiritual courage in the face of economic grief.
We have an opportunity to help; we have an opportunity to help this town, this denomination, this country build structures that will be based on faith and trust in something bigger than itself. We have an opportunity to model for them; we can be Moses to their Joshua.
It’s up to us.
It’s up to us to rally together, to hold on to one another, to listen to each other, to love one another…warts and all.
It’s up to us to provide the spirit of wisdom that will guide them to continue to risk in the face of fear, to love in the face of hate and to stand up when the world is telling them to be quiet.
Let us not be remembered by how long we are here, but how we were here.
And in the word’s of Dr. King, “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land!”
WOW!!! What a kick off to our year of midweek meetings! There were 35 people at our High School Kick Off at Common Table and 27 at the Middle School Kick Off at Nativity Lutheran!
It was a great week to be a youth pastor…or should I say Youth Mini-STAR!
This Sunday is “Back to Church Sunday” and I hope you will come to church this Sunday. We will start our new Sunday School classes for 7th-8th Graders and High School Students during the Second Service (10:45-11:45)
Here’s a little about what we are doing on Sundays this year:
· 7th-8th Grade– Confirmation- Using an expanded version of the re:form curriculum. re:form is a totally new approach to youth ministry that trusts youth to wrestle with the historic Christian faith and theology.
· 9th-10th Grade– Leadership Development- Young people in these ages will have the opportunity to learn and grow through teaching Godly Play, those interested in this will need to contact Janet Pearson. There are also some other options for learning and service on Sunday mornings, be sure to talk to Greg.
· 9th-12th Grade– Conversations- Our older youth will have the opportunity to discuss what they have heard in the sermon, through the Scriptures or in their daily lives. This informal time will be open to questions, prayer and anything else we can thing of.
· High School Students (9th-12th Grade)– Fellowship- Once a month we will go out for coffee or breakfast. We could be at a shop, a restaurant or someone’s house. This will be a time to sit and be with one another after worshiping together at First Presbyterian.
REMINDER for High School Students!!
This Monday, September 18th we will be announcing the 2012 SUMMER TRIP!!!! Be at Common Table at 6:00 PM to hear what exciting locality we will be embarking too AND when we are going! Stay Tuned for more details!
As always here is the link to this month’s Heartfelt Newsletter, this month is all about Reclaiming the Family Dinner and National Family Day. (http://www.thelogosministry.org/heartfelt.html)
PARENTS—PLEASE FILL OUT REGISTRATION FORMS FOR YOUR YOUTH!! WE WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU STAY UP TO DATE WITH ALL THE EXCITING THINGS HAPPENING AT FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AND WITH THE BEND YOUTH COLLECTIVE!
Summer is coming to a close and we are getting ready for another great year at First Presbyterian. I wanted to make sure everyone was aware of some stuff coming up in the life of the youth.
Sundays this fall we will offer several educational and fellowship opportunities for youth. Keep your eyes peeled for updates coming soon! If you’re interested in teaching or subbing for any of these contact Greg!
There will be a Teacher Training, Sunday, August 28 9:20-10:45 AM. If you’d like to attend contact Greg.
Condega Connect! Check out the displays in the Commons Area to learn more about the trip to Nicaragua and the life changing experiences of the participants.
Kits for Kids: Friday, August 26 10:00 AM meet at First Presbyterian to pack the last 10 Kits for Kids and move them all into the Sanctuary for Sunday Worship. We’ll have fun and go out to lunch afterwards. Contact Greg for more details!.
Youth Over-Night Hike: August 30 – September 1 – Obsidian Falls and Middle Sister
Also, let it be known that I learned I would be preaching this sermon about 3:00 PM on Saturday. Be nice!
The Picture of the World:
The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night-to-night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.
The Mountains give voice to the majesty of God, etc.
Speechless when I see them.
Often when I am running with my dog Walker, I’m listening to music and I am struck by how blessed I am to live in this place and I am brought to tears as I see God’s voice to me in the beauty of my surroundings.
I look at this picture of the Earth God created and entrusted to us and I am struck at how small it is, relative to the entire universe that God created.
I am struck by the fact that we look at this Earth from above and see how small it is, yet when we see pictures from India or China or Arkansas or West Virginia it feels like a totally different world. A world we have no connection to, a people we have no connection to, an Earth we have no connection to.
This morning I have a question for you. When you see this picture and you think about your place on God’s Earth, do you feel connected?
Sometimes I wonder if we feel connected to the Earth, not in a symbiotic way not in a tree hugging way, not in a way that I hear trees screaming when they are cut down way, but in a way that I understand that my actions have an impact on the Earth in the same way that my actions have an impact on my relationships. I certainly think about how, what I do affect my relationship to my wife, to my daughter, to my loved ones but do I think about how it impacts God’s Earth?
Steven in a letter to the editor of the Bend Bulletin in 2007, quotes William Sloane Coffin saying, “The modern world, in the pursuit of progress, has unfortunately divorced creation from Creator.” He continues, “As modern civilization has supposedly advanced and progressed, a sense of wonder and awe, reverence and respect for creation has declined. And, unfortunately, our souls and the soul of the community we live in are the poorer for it.”
I want us to take some time to look at some pictures and see if we can reconnect the creation to the creator. See if we can re-introduce ourselves to the Creator through God’s Creation.
Slide Show
We see the pictures, they take my breath and I wonder. I wonder if like William Sloane Coffin suggested, we have lost our sense of the awesome majesty that is found all around us, whether in a scenic view of the mountains or in the thistles of a juniper tree. My question is what do you see when you look at them? Do you see something to be used for your own pleasure? Do you see something to be celebrated and explored? What do you see?
Theologian and ethicist, James Gustafson talks about the entirety of Creation in a way I had never heard before. He talks about it in terms that are challenging and shocking and I want to get some feedback from you. Gustafson says that humans are not the center of God’s creation but only one part of the larger make up of what God intended for God’s creation. How does that strike you, the thought that we are not the center of the universe, we are not God’s favorite, but part of the picture of God’s Earth and the fullness thereof?
I love that idea, partly because I am fairly confident, some say cocky, partly because humility is not what I would consider one of my strengths. I actually have a hat that says “It’s Hard to Be Humble When You’re From West Virginia.” But that’s a sermon for another day and if I get off track now there’s no hope.
The humility it takes to recognize that we are part of the story not the whole story changes my mindset when I think about how I interact with other beings and living things on this Earth.
Listen.
I’m not here to try to make you feel guilty, or to make you run out and buy a hybrid, or eat local or any of that stuff. I think there is plenty of trying to guilt you into caring about the Earth already out there. My hope is that we can get back to being in awe of God’s Creation.
On this Earth Care Sunday my hope is to invite you back into relationship with the Earth, invite you to remember how much God loves you and how you are part of God’s Creation just as the trees outside these windows are, just as the mountains we hike and ski and snowmobile and camp and play in, just as the rivers that we float and that give us electricity, just as every thing we come into contact with in God’s natural world.
My hope today is to remind us that, as the Psalmist said, “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,”
I could probably wag my finger at you and say, “You’re not doing enough” but what would that solve? You’d probably just roll your eyes at me. Honestly, that’s probably what I would do if someone were trying to make me feel bad for not doing enough. I mean I care deeply about environmental issues, not because of their political nature but because I think it is one way that I can respond to God’s call to love my neighbor.
Today I want you to remember that God loves you, and hopefully you love God. I also hope that one of the ways that you express that love is through nurturing the Earth that God has surrounded us with. Today we have a special opportunity to love our neighbor and nurture our world.
Following the service members of the Green Team will be stationed at the main door and the side door. We have the opportunity to pick up around Bend High. Green Team Members will give you 2 bags, one for garbage and one for recyclables such as bottles and cans. You will also be given a glove or two just in case you don’t want to get TOO dirty. When you return you can bring the filled bags downstairs behind the church where the big garbage bins and the recycle bin are located. There will have someone there to show you where to put things.
The year is coming to a close and so are our weekly meetings. The last Senior High Monday night meeting will be Monday, May 30th, the last Middle School Wednesday night meeting will be Wednesday, May 25th.
Middle School Mid-Week Gathering- Wednesday 5:30-7:30 at Trinity Episcopal Church (downtown) Come for dinner, games, small group and work projects. $3 for dinner.
Senior High Youth Gathering- Monday 6:00-8:00 at Common Table (downtown) Come for dinner, conversation, games and projects this week. $5 for dinner
More information on all gatherings: Pastor Greg Bolt, gbolt@bendfp.org
This Sunday is an opportunity to involve your family in a service project. Members of the congregation will be picking up trash in our neighborhood. We will head over to Bend High School after the 9 o’clock service and head down 9th street toward the circle after the 10:45 service. Doing service together as a family and then talking about why you do it is a great way to do faith formation @ home.
This on-line newsletter for parents focuses on teaching honor, courage and bravery this month.
Thought this was a good reminder: http://youtu.be/x4VgObInXHA
Also here is a word from www.fosterORadopt.com on the need for foster parents. Heidi and I are currently starting the process to become certified a foster parents, this is the beginning of our journey. Find out about why here
“As a community who cares for the wellbeing of our children, it is timely that we recognize that May Is National Foster Care Month. This month, and every day, we have an opportunity to support the children and youth who live in our homes, neighborhoods and our great city. There are foster parents in our community who take children in temporarily until they can be reunited with their families. These foster parents do it because they care, because they want to make a difference, and because they know every child deserves a safe and nurturing place to call home.
Many people aren’t aware that one of the State’s greatest needs is to find safe, loving and skilled homes who can care for children and youth with disabilities. Children and youth with disabilities who are also in the foster care system are one of the most vulnerable populations in the United States. Even so, little attention is paid to the unique challenges they face as they negotiate their way through multiple systems to adulthood. One of the best things we can do to serve these children and youth while they are in care is to connect them with families who are adequately prepared to care for them.
The ideal foster parent for a child with special needs has parented before and has experience in the medical, mental health and/or education fields. The traits most important for a foster parent of a child with special needs, however, are patience, understanding of diagnosed disabilities and the willingness and time to learn, make accommodations and access necessary resources. Could you be this foster parent?
Last year over 14,000 children in Oregon spent at least one day in foster care. You can make a difference for one. Learn more about becoming a foster parent today. Call 1-800- 331-0503 or visit www.fosterORadopt.com.”
BendFP Youth Blog 