Mulch

One Hundred Thirty Eight Bags of Mulch! I had to spell it out so it sounds more daunting than just "138 bags." No matter how you say it, it is still a lot. Yes, that is how many bags of mulch we have used so far. The second year summer in our home here in Centerville, and we are getting around to those projects we said we would get to some time. Some time has arrived!

In our back yard is a beautiful hosta bed, with a variety of hostas of various sizes, colors and designs. Those were here when we arrived. Last year we sat back and watched what came up in the flower beds and played the game, "Flower or Weed?" Once we determined it to be a flower or plant that was supposed to be there, the next question was, "should it stay or should it go?" (here you can start singing the song from "The Clash.") So some plants had to go - the Lilly of the Valley are gone (an incredible root system), some pine bushes and the May Apples. The next step was resetting paving stones around the perimeter of the flower bed, which had become uneven and out of place over time.

Then came the mulch. I am on first name basis with the guys at Lowe's! We know that 20 bags of mulch WILL fit in the back of my vehicle. I know where the mulch I want is located in the side lot at the store. I know how much it will cost. I know my mulch.

Over the past couple of weeks I have learned some new techniques, including keeping the bags in my vehicle and placing them right into the wheel barrow instead of stacking and picking them up off the ground later (this I didn't learn right away). I also learned how to best cut the bags so the mulch was easily released. I devised a method of opening the gate at the right speed so I could get the wheel barrow through, and close the gate behind me before the dogs got out.

I have moved a lot of mulch.

Here is the "stretch" lesson. The more mulch I have moved, the more I have learned, and the better at it I have become. NO, I am not willing to come over and help you move mulch. But I am willing to share that I believe it is so with our faith. The more we practice it, the better at it we become. Reading scripture, praying, worshiping God. The more we do it, the more natural it becomes.

I have heard many say, "Don't ask me to pray. I don't feel comfortable doing it." Maybe it's because we need more practice doing it. It becomes a habit - second nature if you will.

As I write this, we prepare for the memorial service of a true saint, Mike Pivarnik. Mike made worship and study a habit in his life. He was faithfully in worship every Sunday when he was physically able to be present. It was natural for him. He knew the flow, the pattern, the order of things. It became so much a habit for him, that when he was unable to be present, it upset him deeply. When I arrived at Epiphany a year and a half ago, Mike was starting to experience health issues that made it impossible to come to worship here in the front row, pulpit side at the 8 am service. And so we would take communion to him.  Tears filled his eyes as he received the bread and wine, the body and blood of Christ.  Oh, how he wished to be in church.  Oh how he missed being fed with Word and Sacrament.  He longed for that nourishment, for he truly believed that these were what kept him going.  It is what kept him connected, yoked if you will, to God.

In Matthew 11 Jesus says:  ²⁸ “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

The promise Jesus offers in these words are the promise that he will be yoked with us.  In our burdens, and in our weariness, God promises to walk with us, to bear the weight of the burden, and to lighten the load.  Weighed down with grief, we can be assured that God is with us, to give us peace, comfort and the promises of life and hope.

Worship, study and prayer are how we can be yoked to Christ. The more we do it, the more natural it becomes.

That being said, I am about ready to be done with mulch!

Peace,

Pastor Charlie

The Call Process Update

I have talked with many people about the call process, and how it differs from hiring someone to fill a position in a company. First of all, it is important to remember this is a call to ministry, not simply a hiring of an employee. Time for discernment and prayer are vital in the process. Also, there is preparation that needs to happen on both sides of the call.

First the church needs to form a call committee. There is paperwork that is required to be filled out. The committee needs to make plans for the interviews and for the time the candidate will be visiting the church and the committee.

The candidate also needs to fill out paperwork. If the candidate is in seminary, this is done during his/her final year of classes. The candidate is assigned to a synod, and then is contacted by the synod office about possible churches that might be a good fit. The candidate is given an opportunity to review the church's paperwork and decide if he/she wants to move forward with this church. If the answer is yes, then that candidate's paperwork is sent to the call committee. Well, actually, it first comes to me for my review.

If the candidate is currently serving a congregation, he/she fills out the paperwork, and then informs the bishop of the desire to be considered for a call. If the candidate wishes to be considered in a different synod then currently serving, the bishop needs to sign off on that to allow the paperwork to be shared with another synod. The next steps are similar to the seminary candidate above.

So where are we in the process? Many names have been suggested, and many people have been contacted to ask if they might consider being considered. Several have said, “Thanks, but no thanks - not at this time.” We are still open to any names people want to lift up - sometimes it takes a little nudge to get the person to consider the possibility.

We have started interviewing candidates, and the call committee is representing us well. I am excited to meet with these candidates and share the Epiphany story and hope for the future. I know that God has someone in store for us to serve as Associate Pastor. In God's time, it will happen.

So I ask for your prayers for the call committee, the candidates and for Epiphany Lutheran Church. May God bless our efforts, and may we follow where God leads. If you have any questions along the way, please let me know.

Peace,

Pastor Charlie

I Am The Church

Many years ago, we used to sing a song called I Am The Church by Richard K. Avery and Donald S. Marsh.

Here is the chorus and first verse of that classic:

I am the church! You are the church!

We are the church together!

All who follow Jesus,

all around the world!

Yes, we're the church together!

The church is not a building;

the church is not a steeple;

the church is not a resting place;

the church is a people.

At a conference I attended last week, Presiding Bishop of the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) Elizabeth Eaton shared her thoughts with us about what it means to be "The Church."

First, we are the church.  We worship!  That is why we are here.  And the one we worship is Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead. We share the good news. 

Second, we are a church that is Lutheran. We focus on the gift of grace - God's Riches At Christ's Expense. We need grace. We distribute grace. We are a "both/and" church in an "either/or" world. We are considered both saint and sinner. We lift up both law and gospel. We are a theology-of-the-cross people. Jesus comes to us in our brokenness, alienation and separation, and meets us there at the cross, where he experienced the same for you and me.    

Third, we are the church together. We share ministry and mission with other congregations and individuals. We are the body of Christ, and individually, members of it. We may be good at one area of ministry, and our neighboring congregation good at something else. We need each other, for all parts of the body are needed for it to function.

Finally, we are the church for the sake of the world. We are called to ministry in the world, to care for those in need. Did you know that Lutheran Social agencies make up the largest social agency in the United States? We are larger than United Way, Catholic Services or any other organization. We are committed to caring for those whom God loves (“For God so loved the world...” John 3:16).

We gather as individuals, and we are the church together.

I believe our mission statement fits well into this definition of "church" - 

We love Jesus by serving others. 

Peace,

Pastor Charlie

Traveling

This week's post comes to you from Sedona, Arizona!  I am at a conference of pastors in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) who serve larger congregations. This group has been in existence as long as the ELCA has been in around (1988) and even before that in the groups that now make up the ELCA. This group provides a great opportunity to share ideas, give and offer support and learn from some great speakers. Sedona isn't too bad of a place to be meeting, either! (It is 20 degrees warmer in Ohio today than in Sedona - so much for heading to warmer climates!)

To get to the conference, some travel time and effort was involved, just as it is on any trip. A colleague and I met at 5 am to head to the airport in Dayton for a 7 am flight to Pheonix, with a change of planes in Denver. My traveling companion and I are both about the same height and build - we sat next to each other on the full flight. This meant not much room for movement, but we did secure a place on the exit row (leg room is a constant issue for me on a plane!) 

The flight took off at 7 am, and about 20 minutes into the flight, the flight attendant asked if there were any doctors or nurses on board. Five people came forward to offer assistance to a traveler sitting at the front of the plane. We never heard what the medical issue was, but it took the attention of the crew away from the rest of those on the plane - rightfully so. 

About an hour later into the flight, we were informed that we would be stopping in Omaha, Nebraska so the person in need of medical attention could be taken care of in a setting better than a Southwest Airlines cabin at 35,000 feet. So we quickly descended to the airport, and were met with firetrucks, a police car and an ambulance at the gate. The person in need was quickly escorted off the plane, and those who offered assistance were thanked by applause by their fellow travelers. After filling out paperwork and getting a new flight plan, we were on our way finally to Denver.

We arrived in Denver about an hour later than scheduled. I commend Southwest for doing everything possible to accommodate those who missed connections becuase of our unexpected stop. Before we exited the plane, the company was already preparing alternate travel plans for those who were unable to make their connecting flights. We were lucky that we had a two hour lay-over in Denver already planned, so we made our connection with no problems. I also commend Southwest and our fellow plane-mates for understanding the situation and keeping things in perspective. I heard no complaints from anyone about the delay - the crew did what needed to be done.

We arrived in Phoenix, got our luggage and rental car and made it to our hotel for the conference. We have arrived, but the jouney has already been a learning occasion. The journey here reminds me of the many times in life we make plans, but things happen we don't plan or we wish wouldn't happen in the first place. We journey on. And the more we journey on, the more we realize that the journey is a major part of life. It is not so much the destination as it is the journey.

Last week's gospel lesson told of two followers of Jesus on a journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus on the first Easter Day. It is about a seven mile walk. Along the journey, weighed down with the grief of Jesus' death and uncertainty of the reports of an empty tomb, they journey on. It is along the way on that journey that Jesus catches up with them, walks with them, opens the scriptures for them, breaks bread with them, and is revealed to them. It all takes place on the journey.

On the plane yesterday, I am confident I was not the only one offering prayers for our fellow plane-mate. And on that unexpected journey, God was present in the care and attention given. I also believe I learned a lesson (and I would venture to say I am not alone) that it isn't all about me. When we journey, we often travel with others. While we would like the focus to be on "me," the reality is we live a world of "WE." God created us to live in community, which also means we travel in community. We journey together.

As we journey from the empty tomb and back into the world, may we be mindful of the needs - the joys and sorrows of those around us. May we also be willing to share with others OUR joys and sorrows, so that, together, we can build up, support and care for one another as the body fo Christ. Loving Jesus by serving others.  

Peace,

Pastor Charlie

The Peace of Christ Be With You

Peace be with you!  These simple words of Jesus offer us a promise and a hope and a new beginning.  The first word that Jesus shares with his disciples on this side of the cross is "Peace!"

As I shared in my sermon this past Sunday, this is where God begins with us.  Peace.  For our relationship with God begins with what God has done for us. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  If you are holding on to your bitterness, anger, frustration, hurt?  Jesus says, “I let go of that a long time ago.”  So EXHALE – let it out!  Release!  Receive God's peace.

Pastor Thomas Long shares this story:  

I was invited by a church in a nearby town to be the worship leader at a special evening communion service. The church staff had planned this service to be educational as well as worshipful. The idea was that, first, the congregation would gather in the sanctuary and I would give a brief talk about the meanings of the Lord's Supper. Then, we would go into the fellowship hall and be seated around tables for the service itself.

At each table there would be the flour and other ingredients to form the dough for the communion loaves. The plan called for each table to prepare a loaf and, while the loaves baked in the ovens of the church kitchen, the people at each table were to engage in various exercises designed to get them talking about their experiences in the faith.

It was a good idea, but like many well-planned events, things looked better on the drawing board than they turned out in reality. There were problems. Children at many tables began to play in the baking ingredients, and white clouds of flour floated around the room coating everybody and everything. There were delays in the kitchen, and the communion bread baked with agonizing slowness. Some of the tables ran out of things to say; children grew weary and fussy; the room was filled with commotion and restlessness. The planners had dreamed of an event of excitement, innovation, peak learning, and moving worship. What happened was noise, exhaustion, and people making the best of a difficult situation. In other words, despite the rosy plans, it was the real church worshipping down there in the church basement.

Finally, the service ended, and, with no little relief, I was able to pronounce the benediction. "The peace of Christ be with you all," I said, and just as I did, a child's voice from somewhere in the room called out strong and true, "It already is."

Just that -- "It already is" -- but with those words the service was transformed into an event of joy and holy mystery. That small voice captured what the Gospel of John is trying to say. In the midst of a church that can claim nothing for itself, a church of noise, confusion, weariness, and even fear, the risen Christ comes to give peace. The peace of Christ be with you? Because the risen Christ comes to inhabit our empty places, then, as the child said, "It already is," and the church with nothing becomes the church with everything.  (Thomas G. Long, Whispering The Lyrics, CSS Publishing)

One more thing - 

I included this Easter greeting in the sermon as well - it is from our Presiding Bishop, Elizabeth Eaton.

Peace,

Pastor Charlie

Holy Week Highs and Lows

Holy Week is a roller coaster of activities and emotions. The celebration of Palm Sunday, the wonder of the Lord's Supper, the agony of Jesus' arrest, trial and crucifixion, and the incredible joy of Easter make for a week of highs and lows, joys and sorrows. In light of this, I have two things to share in this week's blog - a reading and a video.

This is a reading we often use for Good Friday services is Isaiah 53, written a few centuries before Jesus walked the face of the earth. Isaiah's words are fulfilled in Jesus, the one who comes to bear the cross for you and for me.

Here are the words of Isaiah 53 from Eugene Peterson's transliteration, "The Message."  

Who believes what we've heard and seen?

    Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?

The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,

    a scrubby plant in a parched field.

There was nothing attractive about him,

    nothing to cause us to take a second look.

He was looked down on and passed over,

    a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.

One look at him and people turned away.

    We looked down on him, thought he was scum.

But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—

    our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.

We thought he brought it on himself,

    that God was punishing him for his own failures.

But it was our sins that did that to him,

    that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!

He took the punishment, and that made us whole.

    Through his bruises we get healed.

We’re all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.

    We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.

And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong,

    on him, on him.

He was beaten, he was tortured,

    but he didn't say a word.

Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered

    and like a sheep being sheared,

    he took it all in silence.

Justice miscarried, and he was led off—

    and did anyone really know what was happening?

He died without a thought for his own welfare,

    beaten bloody for the sins of my people.

They buried him with the wicked,

    threw him in a grave with a rich man,

Even though he’d never hurt a soul

    or said one word that wasn't true.

Still, it’s what God had in mind all along,

    to crush him with pain.

The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin

    so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life.

    And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him.

Out of that terrible travail of soul,

    he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it.

Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,

    will make many “righteous ones,”

    as he himself carries the burden of their sins.

Therefore I’ll reward him extravagantly—

    the best of everything, the highest honors—

Because he looked death in the face and didn't flinch,

    because he embraced the company of the lowest.

He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,

    he took up the cause of all the black sheep.

On a lighter note, I wanted to share a video I came across. There is nothing better than kids sharing the story.  Enjoy!

God bless you and yours this holiest of weeks!

Peace,

Pastor Charlie

Invitation to Holy Week

I am looking forward to Holy Week. That may seems surprising to hear from a pastor, as this is the busiest time of the year, even more so than Christmas. I guess the reason that look forward to this time of year is that I appreciate the invitation to participate in the story once again. Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday and we keep running through Easter Sunday.  We journey with Jesus as he triumphantly enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. We gather with Jesus and his disciples around the table where Jesus washes his disciples feet, gives them a new commandment, and institutes the Lord's Supper. We see the anguish of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane praying to his Father in heaven. We watch Jesus as he is arrested and is taken through the mockery of a trial. We feel the weight of the cross on his back, the pain of the nails in his hands on Good Friday. And we await the dawn of new day as we gather on Easter Saturday for the Easter Vigil, knowing something incredible is about to happen.

I invite you to join in the journey and participate in the story. Come and immerse yourself in the messages, the sights and sounds, the community gathered together for these worship-filled events. Come and journey to the cross and the empty tomb.

At the Far Hills campus this coming weekend, our Palm Sunday worship will conclude with a dramatization of Walt Wangerin Jr.'s story, "The Ragman." Wangerin is a Lutheran pastor, a gifted author and preacher, and a great story-teller.  "The Ragman" is a powerful story that demonstrates Jesus' great gift of compassion, suffering and dying for you and for me. In addition to being a great story, the dramatization of the story will be done with life-sized puppets made by Epiphany member Shirley Wasser and operated by members of our Puppet Ministry team. I love this story, and have used it in sermons and devotions over the years. You don't want to miss this.

I hope and pray you can join us in the days to come.  

We stand on the threshold of Holy Week.

It is not for us now

to rush ahead to Easter. 

As easy, as comfortable, as uplifting as that would be,

we miss the true joy of Easter

if we do not understand

and come face to face

with the true pain and sorrow of Jesus’ suffering and death –

the passion of Jesus Christ.

In the days to come,

we travel not just as bystanders of Jesus’ sacrifice,

but participants in the passion. 

For on the cross,

Jesus does not die alone

no –

the sins of the world –

of you and me,

past, present and future,

are put to death

and with them,

our sinful selfish desires

and our replacements for God. 

It is necessary

for us once again

to undertake the surrender

to Jesus

of all of our false expectations and selfish hopes.

It is necessary for us

to watch as our sin

burdens him

and bears down on his head

like a crown of thorns.

It is necessary for us

to see him die

as the Lamb of God

who absorbs the sin of the world and bears it away.

It is necessary for us

to suffer patiently

the dark night of sorrow and death,

if we are to enter the brilliant new light of Easter

and receive the gift of eternal life

offered to us in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

(Copyright © 1996 Edwin D. Peterman. All Rights Reserved.)

May we walk with Jesus to the cross. 

The passion begins.

Peace,

Pastor Charlie