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Piety and Mercy

5/14/2020

Isn’t this the fast I choose: releasing wicked restraints, untying the ropes of a yoke, setting free the mistreated, and breaking every yoke? Isn’t it sharing your bread with the hungry and bringing the homeless poor into your house, covering the naked when you see them, and not hiding from your own family? Then your light will break out like the dawn, and you will be healed quickly. Isaiah 58:6-8

As we learn to practice our Christian discipleship and continue the work of the church in new ways during this time of separation, we have an opportunity to reconnect with parts of our Methodist heritage and strengthen our personal spiritual practices. Methodists are rooted in systems of mutual support and accountability, in practices of spiritual development and social change, living out the commandment to love both God and neighbor. We encounter God’s transforming grace and find spiritual sustenance through disciplines, specific practices that are what we call “means of grace.”

John Wesley identified two categories of the means of grace: works of piety and works of mercy. The first includes individual practices like studying the scriptures, prayer, fasting, regularly attending worship, healthy living, and sharing our faith, along with the communal practices of sharing the sacraments, Christian conferencing (accountability to one another), and Bible study. The works of mercy also include individual acts like doing good works, visiting the sick and those in prison, feeding the hungry, and giving generously to the needs of others, along with communal practices like seeking justice, ending oppression and discrimination, and addressing the needs of the poor.

The prophet Isaiah shares God’s word that our light will break forth when we share our bread with the hungry, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, and satisfy the needs of the afflicted. In other words, our personal relationship with God is lived out in our care for the poor, and there is no distinction between social justice and our personal relationship with God – they are one and the same. Wesley understood personal holiness and social holiness to go hand in hand, just as Isaiah joins fasting, an act of piety, with acts of mercy like seeking justice and feeding the poor.

As we approach Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit in a new and bold way upon all the people of God, we have an opportunity to reimagine and rebirth our understanding of what it means to be the church. If we are willing to recommit ourselves to the disciplines of piety and mercy, to a regular practice of prayer, study, and worship hand-in-hand with acts of charity and justice, we have an opportunity to be co-creators with God of a new earth in the wake of this pandemic. If we are willing to make the practice of our faith our first priority God can do great things through us.

Peace for the journey,
Pastor Steve

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Home Is Where

5/7/2020

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“Home is neither here nor there. Home is within you, or home is nowhere at all.” -Hermann Hesse

This Sunday as the world recognizes Mother’s Day, we in the United Methodist Church will also celebrate the Festival of the Christian Home. While home has traditionally been associated with mothering, that’s not always true for everyone. Just like homes families come in many varieties, and so we lift up nurturing units of caring in their many forms. At the same time, we also celebrate the greater sense of home we find in our relationship with God.

Under the current pandemic most people are living under stay at home orders. This, of course, raises myriad questions and concerns for those who have no home, those for whom home is not a safe place, and even those whose homes don’t provide much privacy and separation for entire families or groups of roommates now home 24/7. Even for those with more preferable living situations, home can over time feel less like a haven and more like a place we’re trapped.

When talking about the Christian home at its core, however, we’re not speaking of a physical space or address but rather a spiritual place where our souls are in touch with God. While we might associate those moments and opportunities with certain corporeal settings, we’re instead identifying something ethereal, something less tangible, something spiritual. As the saying goes, “Home is where the heart is.” That’s neither here nor there, it’s within you.

I recall the response a colleague of mine once made in describing his spiritual home. He first wrote about finding God in the beauty of creation, but then went on to say, “the place I feel most connected to God and have experienced growth in my faith has been in the presence of those I have met along the way.” We meet God in the midst creation, and in connection with one another. In other words, the heart of Christian home is about relationship.

Home is neither here nor there. The Christian home is not about a house, or an apartment, or an RV, or the couch in someone’s spare room, or a car, or a cardboard box or shelter. The Christian home lies within, or is nowhere at all. In this time of separation and isolation we’ve needed to be more intentional in order to maintain relationships with one another. We also need to be more intentional about our relationships with God, or home is nowhere at all.

Peace for the journey,
Pastor Steve

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Wilderness and Desert

4/30/2020

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“Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19 (CEB)

Now is the time. We, as people of God, have a tremendous opportunity to find new ways of being in ministry during this time apart. This is your moment, your chance to be a beacon of hope, the time for you to hear God’s voice, to see Gods’ vision, to be God’s light, to help God come alive in the midst of our isolation. “Do you not see it?” God asks, making a way in the wilderness of an unprecedented time, offering rivers in the desert of our isolation.

The Annual CROP Hunger Walk is coming up this Sunday, and has gone virtual (check the “News and Updates” page for more information). Our point person, Anne Sheffer, suggested that those of us who are walking in our own neighborhoods take a picture and share it to our Facebook group. The secretary of our church council, Holly Cheetham, organized a drive-by parade this week of church family and friends with police escort to help James Assimon celebrate his 10th birthday.

The church has left the building.

I started my first letter during this time by reminding you that Methodism has always been an outside-the-box faith. When John Wesley wasn’t welcomed in churches, he preached at mines and on street corners. He gathered people in classes for spiritual support. He authorized lay people, including women, to preach. And when he saw that people in the American colonies weren’t being cared for, he charged Thomas Coke to ordain Francis Asbury, setting them both apart as superintendents of a new form of Christian connexion.

John and Charles Wesley were men who lived into the opportunity their time presented, meeting the needs of those in their day who were hungry for spiritual meaning and longing for God’s justice and mercy. They saw that God was doing something new and followed God’s wilderness way, leading thirsty people to rivers of hope. This is your moment. This is your time, your opportunity to hear God’s call. This is your time, your opportunity to release God’s creativity into the world. This is your time. What are you going to do with it?

Peace for the journey,
Pastor Steve

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Back to Egypt

4/23/2020

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So they said to each other, “Let’s pick a leader and let’s go back to Egypt.” Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the assembled Israelite community. But Joshua, Nun’s son, and Caleb, Jephunneh’s son, from those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite community, “The land we crossed through to explore is an exceptionally good land.” Numbers 14:4-7

When will things be back to normal, back to the way they were? I hear that question, a lament in a sense, voiced often. I ponder it myself. We don’t like this place we find ourselves, don’t want to be here, and want to go back to what we know, what’s comfortable and familiar. Nearing the end of their 40 year pilgrimage through the wilderness, the Israelites found themselves in much the same circumstance. Their response? Let’s go back to Egypt.

Change is hard, especially when it comes to our faith lives. Most of us have to come to a relationship with God within a faith community. We chose to be members of the Newtonville congregation because something, or perhaps several things, about it fit for us. We encounter and reconnect with God in worship, in acts of service, and gathered community. Yet, now we find ourselves in a very different place and wonder - when we can go back?

Here’s the thing – I don’t think we should go back to exactly where we were, even if we were able to. Hear me out. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t go back to gathering in person for worship and service, and that doesn’t mean we should keep doing everything online. What I mean is that we have an opportunity to explore our core values, to reconsider what it means to be the church and better understand what it means to be in community.

Easter reminds us that new life comes with new definitions: “So then, from this point on we won’t recognize people by human standards. Even though we used to know Christ by human standards, that isn’t how we know him now. So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!” (2 Corinthians 5:16-17) We will come out of this changed. The question is, “what will be look like?”

The answer is yet to be determined.

Peace for the journey,
Pastor Steve

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This Moment

4/16/2020

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“I am confident that God will not waste this moment.” -Bishop Mark Webb

While the past month has been an anxious time for churches, especially financially, there has also been a considerable amount of conversation among clergy and church leaders about signs that churches are growing. Some congregations, including Newtonville, have seen very regular participation in online worship from people who hadn’t always been that regular in person. Some of that may be due to isolating at home, or the opportunity to stream worship whenever you want. It may also, however, come from a longing for hope.

What I am most excited about is the growth I see throughout our congregation in both witness and discipleship. I’ve received feedback on the letters I’ve written from people far and wide, because you’re passing those letters on to family and friends. Some of you are sharing the link to our livestream worship with others who don’t have a church. You’re learning new technologies so that you can participate in meetings. Financial contributions are being mailed in. People are communicating better than ever. The church is alive and well.

Note that I didn’t say that I’m surprised by any of that. I knew it was there. I was confident that we had it in us. I want to make sure, however, that you understand the profound significance of what you are doing because you may not have the vantage point that I do. What you are doing is unleashing the Spirit into the world in new ways. What you are doing is taking bold steps to be the church at a profoundly difficult yet critically important time. What you are doing is recapturing the essence of Wesleyan Methodism.

When I have thought about the identity, the DNA, the very soul of Newtonville United Methodist Church, I think about all of the ways in which we are a center for community. I think about all of the local organizations – from recovery groups to Boys Scouts – who meet here. I think about the Samaritan Counseling and Albany District offices that we host here. I think about the community that happens through our Brooks Barbecues and Garage Sale. Now, with all of those on hold, you are finding new ways to be a center for community.

This is an anxious time for churches. Like our bishop, however, I am confident that God will not waste this moment – and neither should we. This is a time to grow. This is a time to learn. This is a time to try new things. This is a time to explore. This is a time to remember and revive the very essence of who we are, and perhaps to reinvent what it means to live that out. God will not waste this moment, this opportunity, for us to move boldly into the future. We are an Easter people. Let us step beyond our anxiety into new life, into hope, into faith.

Peace for the journey,
Pastor Steve

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Sacramental Sacrifice

4/9/2020

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“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take and eat. This is my body.’ He took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from this, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many so that their sins may be forgiven. I tell you, I won’t drink wine again until that day when I drink it in a new way with you in my Father’s kingdom.’” Matthew 26:26-29

Today is Maundy Thursday, when we remember Jesus’ final meal with his disciples which we often call the Last Supper. Recalling the gathering from which we inherit Holy Communion is especially difficult this year when we can’t gather in physical community, because being together and sharing the sacrament in community is a core part of what communion is. Churches are struggling with this, and pastors are responding in different ways.

Some are having communion on the internet, inviting people to use their own elements at home. This has led to debates over whether online communion is valid when recorded, or only when live. Others are trying drive-thru communion, although our bishop has asked us not to. All of this within our United Methodist connection, which had previously determined that communion is something we do only when gathered in physical community.

One colleague of mine raised a very succinct argument as to why we don’t need to struggle with other ways to celebrate Holy Communion. The Last Supper is a means of grace, a particular mode for the movement of God’s grace into our lives. We have other means of grace. There are acts of personal piety like prayer, fasting, searching the Scriptures. John Wesley also included acts of mercy, including doing good works. All means of grace are equally useful.

In John’s Gospel we’re told that Jesus shared a different act with his disciples: “So [Jesus] got up from the table and took off his robes. Picking up a linen towel, he tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he was wearing.” (John 13:4-5) This is an act of humility, of giving, of self-sacrifice – a good work. This is the sacrament we will practice this Maundy Thursday.

There is no need for us to struggle with whether or not to celebrate online communion, no need for theological or liturgical gymnastics. Staying home and not gathering in community is an act of humility, of giving, of self-sacrifice. By staying home and not gathering in community we are doing a good work. Staying home and not gathering in community will be our means of grace. Staying home and not gathering in community will be our sacrament.

The name of Maundy Thursday comes from the Latin mandatum, meaning commandment. As in, “I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.” (John 13:34-35) Right now the best way that we can express our love for each other is from a distance, fasting from the feast, and waiting again to gather.

Peace for the journey,
Pastor Steve

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Empty Pews, Empty Tomb

4/6/2020

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“But the angel said to the women, ‘Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He isn’t here, because he’s been raised from the dead, just as he said.’” Matthew 28:5-6a (CEB)

Easter Sunday is traditionally the largest attendance Sunday of the Christian year. Newtonville United Methodist Church is typically packed, with both parking and seating at a premium. I recall one year when we had children sitting on the floor because there was simply no more room in the pews. That said, in the past I’ve mentioned that I have a recurring nightmare that we make all of the preparations for Easter worship and then no one comes.

This year I am having to confront that nightmare. When I stand to greet the congregation for worship on Easter morning the only people present in the sanctuary will be my family and our director of music, Doug Esmond. Six of us, that’s it. There will be no rich display of flowers, no trumpets, no people in Easter finery, no choir, no communion. There will be a lot of silence, a quiet stillness, a simple cross draped with white, and a camera.

When the women went to the tomb early in the morning expecting to find Jesus’ body there and ready to make preparations for a final interment, they found nothing. There was no stone covering the opening to the tomb, no body lying there, no stench of death and decay. There were a few women, a quiet stillness, some grave clothes laid aside. There were no throngs of people, no wall-to-wall seating, no trumpets and choirs, no flowers.

Resurrection doesn’t happen because of what we do. Resurrection happens because of what God does. This year on Easter Sunday we will find what those first women found. This year on Easter Sunday we will meet the resurrection as they did, with fear, trepidation, confusion, angst. This year we will encounter the risen Christ on his terms, not ours, and perhaps in this new experience we will learn something about ourselves, and something about God.

And, when this is all over and we are back together in the pews we will celebrate the resurrection together. No matter when that happens it will be Easter, because the body of Christ will be gathered together in one place to worship and celebrate together. When this time apart ends we will have flowers and finery, choir and communion. We will remember our fear and suffering and longing and waiting, and we will celebrate the new life we have together in Christ.

The Service of Death and Resurrection that we use for funerals has a line that says, “Help us to live as those who are prepared to die. And when our days here are accomplished, enable us to die as those who go forth to live, so that living or dying, our life may be in you, and that nothing in life or in death will be able to separate us from your great love in Christ Jesus our Lord.” May we all live with the full trust and confidence that in even death we go forth to live.

Peace for the journey,
Pastor Steve

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Palm Sunday Power

3/31/2020

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“What we often call the triumphal entry was actually an anti-imperial, anti-triumphal one, a deliberate lampoon of the conquering emperor entering a city on horseback through gates opened in abject submission.” –John Dominic Crossan on Palm Sunday

We are approaching the end of our Lenten journey, which one Facebook meme describes as the “Lentiest Lent we’ve ever Lented.” This time of isolation, of insecurity and fear, of suffering, has aligned somewhat appropriately with this season of the church. It has forced us to pause, to reflect on our priorities, to face questions of life and death. Now, however, as Holy Week draws near, we begin to anticipate Easter and the dawning realization that this will not be like any celebration of the resurrection that most of us have experienced.

Before we get there, however, we must pass through Palm Sunday and its account of Jesus entering Jerusalem through the east gate on a donkey to the triumphant cheers of gathered crowds. This procession stood in stark contrast to events at the western gate where the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate, would have been entering with the full pomp of Caesar’s imperial representative. Where Pilate’s entourage would have carried royal banners and shown every bit of Caesar’s worldly power, Jesus’ humble entry was very much its opposite.

At times such as the current pandemic we depend very much on the structures and authority of government to organize medical care, to advise us on best health and welfare practices, to distribute resources where they are needed most. That is government’s purpose. As we come upon Palm Sunday, however, we remember that Jesus embodies a very different, and far greater, power and purpose. This Palm Sunday power that Jesus represents is lived out through faith, embodied in self-sacrifice, enabled by hope, restorative at its core.

As the secular structures of our society live out their roles, we as the church must stay true to ours. That begins with maintaining an active prayer life, because our discipleship is birthed and sustained through our relationship with God. We must maintain relationships with one another in whatever way possible – by telephone, text, email, online. Offering hope while staying rooted in the reality of our context, demanding justice for those most deeply affected, giving generously in support of our neighbors near and far – this is Palm Sunday power.

We may not be together again through physical community for some time. Our spiritual community, however, is where our real strength lies, and this is our opportunity to remember and recapture that. I am learning new ways of being in ministry, like gathering the Faith Village children over the internet through a Zoom conference and designing worship to be entirely online. While we will eventually gather back together in one place, we are also increasing lasting opportunities for community. May your faith, also, grow in lasting ways in the days ahead.

Peace for the journey,
Pastor Steve

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Singing Our Song

3/26/2020

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“Alongside Babylon’s streams, there we sat down, crying because we remembered Zion. We hung our lyres up in the trees there because that’s where our captors asked us to sing; our tormentors requested songs of joy: ‘Sing us a song about Zion!’ they said. But how could we possibly sing the Lord’s song on foreign soil?” Psalm 137:1-4 (CEB)

I have recently read several articles naming something that we are all navigating in our own way – grief. Whether it’s because of something that has already been lost or those things we fear losing in the face of immense uncertainty, we are all experiencing a collective form of grief. For some, this may be compounding a recent loss. For others, there may be underlying traumas that have never really been resolved. Grief is a complicated mix of emotions and responses that is inherently human.

The people of Judah knew the grief of loss and separation well, as they lived for generations in exile. Perhaps you can identify with the sense of loss and despair as the Psalmist laments, “How could we possibly sing the Lord’s song on foreign soil?” As the church, we are seeking and learning new ways of being in community. Something like online worship which might have seemed a substitute for the real thing has now become a primary way of maintaining our connection as the Body of Christ.

If you read the remainder of Psalm 137, you’ll find that there is no resolution and not much hope in its words. Instead it speaks of retribution and revenge, expressing a deep anger in response to suffering. Look ahead to Psalm 138, however, and you’ll find these words of hope: “On the day I cried out, you answered me. You encouraged me with inner strength.” (v. 3) Here is an invitation to cry out – to claim your grief and name your despair – and a promise of God’s response.

In the midst of our uncertainty and in the face of our fear there are signs of strength and acts of hope. When I contact members of our congregation, I find that others have been in touch with them as well. People ask for addresses and phone numbers so that they can reach out to offer comfort and support. Many people were able to participate in worship online, while others read scripture and prayed on their own. Together, each in our own ways, we are singing the Lord’s song.

Please continue to connect with one another. Reach out to people you know – and even people you don’t – to maintain Christian community. Join us for online worship if you’re able to; if you’re not, continue your personal study and prayer. If you are able, continue to make an offering to the church by mail (or if you would like to sign up for electronic giving call or email and we will have Kathy Franklin contact you). We will not stop being the church. We will keep singing the Lord’s song.

Please know that I pray for you every day, and I appreciate your prayers for me. I truly believe that when we cry out to God we are heard, and God answers. That is my hope. That is my song.

Peace for the journey,
Pastor Steve

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Separately Together

3/19/2020

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“We were saved in hope. If we see what we hope for, that isn’t hope. Who hopes for what they already see? But if we hope for what we don’t see, we wait for it with patience. In the same way, the Spirit comes to help our weakness. We don’t know what we should pray, but the Spirit herself pleads our case with unexpressed groans.” Romans 8:24-26

Methodism has always been an outside-the-box faith. When John Wesley wasn’t welcomed in churches, he preached at mines and on street corners. He gathered people in classes for spiritual support. He authorized lay people, including women, to preach. And when he saw that people in the American colonies weren’t being cared for, he charged Thomas Coke to ordain Francis Asbury, setting them both apart as superintendents of a new form of Christian connexion.

We are now at an unprecedented time in the modern church. When tragedies or obstacles have confronted us in the past we have drawn together in gathered community to pray and share our burdens together. This time we can’t do that. This time we have to remain physically apart from one another. This time, however, is an opportunity for us to remember who we are – an outside-the-box faith. We were made for such a time as this.

Newtonville will not be gathering in person for worship until further notice. We have closed the building to outside groups, and will not be holding any church meetings in person. This obviously creates some significant challenges. We will continue to offer a livestreamed worship on the internet for those with access. For those without, we’ll send reflections out in the mail. If church teams need to meet, we will use electronic meeting formats like Zoom.

We are also asking people to check in on each other. That means, of course, those who live alone, those who are at higher risk (the elderly, people with lower immunity, those with respiratory issues). I also invite you, however to check in on any and all members of our congregation. Parents with children at home, people who are out of work, those who work in healthcare, first responders, pastors – there are many who will be isolated and under stress.

If you are able to continue your financial commitment we encourage you to do so. For those who do not use electronic giving, please mail your contributions to the church office attn.: Kathy Franklin. If you would like to begin electronic giving please email the church office and we will put Kathy in touch with you. Also, office hours for now will change to mornings 9-12, and office days will continue to be Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The Good News is this – we are still the church, God is still God, and the Spirit is still at work in our world. We will be frightened, we will be frustrated, we will be confused. We will grieve, we will struggle, we will wait. Even when we don’t know what to pray, the Spirit prays for us and God knows our deepest needs. We can’t see it, maybe can’t imagine or even feel it. That, however, is our hope. Not our wish, but our deepest belief. God is with us.

Peace for the journey,
Pastor Steve

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Piety and Mercy

Home Is Where

Wilderness and Desert

Back to Egypt

This Moment

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Empty Pews, Empty Tomb

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