If We Could See

Last week I stopped to have lunch at Panera Bread. I found a corner to have my bowl of soup and sandwich and work on my sermon for Sunday. Focused on the task at hand, I didn't notice the man who stopped in front of me immediately. When I looked up, the distinguished man wearing a suit and tie said, "I just wanted to let you know how much I like your t-shirt." At first, I thought it was odd that this well-dressed man would be complementing me on my casual attire. Then I had to think, "What about my t-shirt? What shirt am I wearing today?" I had to glance down and see that what I had on for the day was my "Lutheran Aerobics" t-shirt.

He was not the last one to comment on my shirt that day. We talked for a few minutes, and I came to find out that he is an Episcopal priest, and he could relate to the shirt as well!

T-shirts have a way of conveying messages about us to others. When we headed to camp last week, most of the Epiphany crowd had green "Epiphany Goes To Camp" shirts on. Many of us bought shirts at the camp and will wear them to promote the camps and as a reminder of our great week there. We wear shirts that promote our favorite teams, our alma maters, even our political opinions.

In some ways, shirts help us to know something about the people we meet along life's way. But so often, we hide behind the clothes or the masks we put on. The reality is there are many shirts we could wear that would tell others our hopes, our dreams, our pains and our sorrows. To wear a shirt like that would leave us exposed more than covered up, wouldn't it?

The Gospel lesson for this coming weekend is the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand with a meager meal of a few small fish and a couple of bread loaves. We call it a miracle. And that it is! But so often our view of this story ends there. We just see the surface of it, and focus on what Jesus did. If we go a bit deeper, we see WHY Jesus did this - because the people were hungry, and Jesus had compassion on them.

Jesus models for us compassion. Caring for the other. He looks beyond the surface and reaches to our hearts and souls and lets us know that he cares. He does not abandon us, but walks with us on the mountaintops and in the deepest valleys. And he calls us to do the same.

This video was produced by the Cleveland Clinic. What would it be like of we could see the heart of our neighbor?



Open our eyes, Lord. Help us to see!

Peace,

Pastor Charlie

A Prayer For Peace

If you have watched the news, read the paper or listened to the radio in the past few days, you have heard of the conflict in Israel and Gaza. Some have asked me if we are still planning to go to Israel this fall. The answer is that is our hope. We pray that the conflicts will subside and there will soon be an end to the fighting that will be sustainable. Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy. 

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton has been in contact with Munib Younan, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) who asks for our prayers. Bishop Eaton has written a letter to Bishop Younan and requests that the letter be shared with our congregations. She is asking that congregations throughout the ELCA to pray for our brothers and sisters in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), that peace might come to Palestine and Israel. I would ask we pray for all who are in harms way, and to guide those who have the power to negotiate peace. 

Here is Bishop Eaton's letter.  

July 17, 2014

The Rev. Dr. Munib Younan
Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land P.O. Box 14076
Muristan Rd.
91140 JERUSALEM

Dear Bishop Younan,

On behalf of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, I am writing to express profound concern for you, our sisters and brothers in Christ. Our hearts are heavy as we read about and see images of the violence being inflicted on both Israelis and Palestinians. This suffering and loss of life are inexcusable before God. As followers with you of the Prince of Peace, and as children of God, the Creator and Sustainer of all life, we long for peace and a just resolution to the escalating conflict between the State of Israel and the Palestinian people. I want to respond directly to your call to us earlier this week to participate in interventions and actions “to create hope in a hopeless situation”.

The steadfastness of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) is a reminder of this hope we have in Christ Jesus. The church’s strong witness for coexistence grounded in peace with justice permeates every level of congregational, educational, and diaconal service. Our faith is strengthened by knowing how, even in the midst of great difficulties, the Body of Christ is working in Palestine and Jordan for the good of all communities.

Along with the witness of your pastors and lay leaders, your witness, Bishop Younan, has strengthened our confidence that peace can indeed be achieved among the two peoples and three religions that share the Holy Land. Your statements, speeches, and sermons have been a model for promoting both political and interreligious coexistence, along with your strong support of the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land, which you helped found. 

We are grateful for your continued uplifting of the voices of moderation and against extremism and support to you in these efforts. We appreciate the long-standing work of the ELCJHL schools in demonstrating the importance of education though a curriculum based on peace, nonviolence, peaceful co-existence and the strengthening of civil society for the benefit of all communities. We understand that this present crisis has further hurt the financial wellbeing of the ELCJHL schools, as many parents are now unable to pay tuition. We encourage ELCA members and congregations to assist the ELCJHL by making contributions through the ELCA.

At this time of great uncertainty, we join you in your call for a cessation of all hostilities between Israel and Hamas and a return to direct peace talks to achieve a comprehensive and sustainable peace based upon a two-state solution and adherence to international human rights and humanitarian law. We wish to convey our solidarity with you and the members of ELCJHL congregations, joining with you in prayers for peace. I encourage all ELCA congregations to participate in a minute of silence as we together pray for peace in the Holy Land.

While I lament that my plan to be present with you and with the leaders and members of the ELCJHL later this month has been postponed, I look forward to our time together in Jordan and the Holy Land. We deeply regret that the most recent round of negotiations have not reached a successful outcome that will lead to peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis alike. We reaffirm our pledge to work diligently with you and all people of good will to urge political leaders in the United States and around the world contribute to ending this conflict by addressing its root causes so a sustainable peace is possible.

May God be with you, your church and all the people of the Holy Land. 

Sincerely, 

Elizabeth A. Eaton Presiding Bishop

I invite you all to pray for peace.  

Pastor Charlie

I Will and I Ask God to Help Me

There was a celebration at Epiphany Lutheran Church this past Saturday. We gathered for the ordination of Sean Barrett to be a pastor in the Lutheran Church. As a member of the Epiphany for the past 15 years, it was a great opportunity for us to gather together with him to celebrate with him in this next journey of his ministry and faith. Sean has been in seminary for the past four years, including three years of classes and a year of internship in Vandalia, Ohio. The past few months, Sean has been helping out in leading worship at the Epiphany's Austin campus.

Sean has received a call to St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Salisbury, North Carolina. After years of discernment, training, study, and hard work, this day had finally come. We gathered with members of Epiphany, Sean's classmates, family and friends, neighboring pastors and more to celebrate this day. Bishop Dillahunt presided and Dr. Rick Berger of Trinity Lutheran Seminary preached an incredible sermon to say the least. 

As a participant in the service, I was reminded of my own ordination many years ago. Hearing again the words asked Sean this he takes on the yoke of ministry, the service became a time of reaffirmation of call for me and my colleagues as well.

Bishop:   Before almighty God, to whom you must give account, and in the presence of this assembly, I ask: Will you assume this office, believing that the church's call is God's call to the ministry of word and sacrament? 

Sean: I will, and I ask God to help me. 

Bishop: The church in which you are to be ordained confesses that the holy scriptures are the word of God and are the norm of its faith and life. We accept, teach, and confess the Apostles', the Nicene, and the Athanasian Creeds. We also acknowledge the Lutheran confessions as true witnesses and faithful expositions of the holy scriptures. Will you therefore preach and teach in accordance with the holy scriptures and these creeds and confessions? 

Sean: I will, and I ask God to help me. 

Bishop: Will you be diligent in your study of the holy scriptures and faithful in your use of the means of grace? Will you pray for God's people, nourish them with the word and sacraments, and lead them by your own example in faithful service and holy living? 

Sean: I will, and I ask God to help me.

Bishop: Will you give faithful witness in the world, that God's love may be known in all that you do? 

Sean: I will, and I ask God to help me. 

Bishop:   Almighty God, who has given you the will to do these things, graciously give you the strength and compassion to perform them.  Amen.

This was a powerful reminder to me about what it means to be called to be a pastor of Word and Sacrament. It was an opportunity for me to center again and what I am called to do and to be. 

I believe baptism services are similar to this for us as well, as we hear the promises made at the font. The promises to learn about God, the Lord's Prayer, the Creed and the 10 Commandments, to read the Scriptures, to come to worship, and to remember the promises God makes us to the waters of baptism that we belong to God. We need to be reminded of the gift of God's love and grace, and the call we ALL have to ministry. 

God calls us all to ministry. May we be bold enough to respond to God's call saying, "I will and to ask God to help me."

Peace,

Pastor Charlie

I Love A Parade

This past Friday, the Fourth of July, we participated in the Centerville Americana Parade. What an absolutely beautiful day for a parade - not a cloud in the sky, temperature about 70 degrees, and a light breeze. Perfect! Dick and Jane Lane and I loaded up the hay wagon with the float pieces and flyers and candy, and headed to our spot in front of the High School. There we were met by Andy Addy, Gary Hedge, Jimmy Basner and Jason Hamen who helped put the float pieces together. Last year, Gary Hedge made a beautiful float design of our logo that fits together like a puzzle. Thanks to Gary for his vision of how to make it and putting it into a great design. We had some flower blankets used at Alter High School's production of Children of Eden to add to the float that made it look that much nicer.

Banners for the side of the float, along with a banner at the front of the group, followed by cast members from this summer's musical made for a great presentation. We put a speaker in the back of Dick's pick-up truck to share some of the musical's music with the crowds along the way.

We were ready to go by 9:30. The parade started at 10. We didn't move until 11 am! But we were able to watch the beginning of the parade route as groups were released in order. We were #112. That is a lot of groups and floats ahead of us.

Once we got going, we were moving at a good pace! Thanks to everyone who cheered us on as we went on our way. It was great to see Epiphany members cheering their church float. Thanks for calling out and greeting us along the way. It was also great fun to see the people along the way dancing to the music as we passed by.

It was just a good day! Everything went so well, and everyone seemed to be in a festive mood - it was wonderful. I am proud of the presentation of Epiphany in the parade and the positive responses we received along the way. As we headed down the road for the parade, I thought to myself, "We have come a long way to where we are today, and where we are is a good place to be."  I am confident that God has good things in store for us down the road as well!

Thanks to all who made this possible! Here are some pictures from the day.

Peace,

Pastor Charlie