Starving So Others Don't Have To
Youth group participates in 30 Hour Famine, raises more than $3,000.
By Paul SingleY, OXFORD PATCH
Twenty one local youths, and parent volunteers, participated in 30 Hour Famine this weekend to raise money and awareness for people living in poverty:Kayla Buypal, Dana Cote, Gabriela Lombari, Jessie Peck, Hanna Falconer, Hannah Macisco, Jackie McDonnell, Katelyn Wentz, Camille Glasow, Shauna Olsen, Hannah McDonnell, Katelyn Capodagli, Gianna Carloni, Meghan Sastram, Sydney Borkowski,Tammy Borkowski, Ella Sastram, Connor McDonnell, Ken Sharrow, Jeremiah Burr, Chris Wentz, Zachary Burr, Sam Low-Chappell, Tim Osborn, Dan Osborn, Tyler Sharron and Don Peck.
A group of 21 local youths are going without food for 30 hours this weekend to raise money for, and awareness of, people around the world who starve on a regular basis, though not by choice.
The Oxford youths, ranging from ages 11 to 18, are members of a youth group at Christ Church Quaker Farms which participates in several charitable events, especially those that help people who are poor and/or hungry. This weekend, the group has joined 150,000 of their peers worldwide in an event called 30 Hour Famine. The youths go 30 hours without food and learn what it takes to overcome hunger, according to the event’s website. Through pledges from members of their respective communities, participants raise money to help feed hungry children and families around the world and “refuse to be told they can’t make a difference,” the 30 Hour Famine website states.
“I hope people see what we’re doing and see that kids can make a difference,” said Sydney Borkowski, 12. “If you see a problem and think it’s too big and you say, ‘Oh, someone else will fix it,’ you can’t think that way because you can do whatever you set your mind to.”
The youth group members set out to raise a significant amount of money to benefit the 30 Hour Famine charity, which is organized by World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. The Oxford youths had raised $3,081 as of Saturday (the group is still collecting; see how to donate below). The 30 Hour Famine website states “every $30 raised by your group can help feed and care for a child for a month,” meaning at least 102 children will be fed for a month based on money the Oxford group has raised thus far.
‘It Takes Willpower’
At 6:30 Friday night, the participants - who were about six hours into their famine at that point – made jokes about being hungry and how they didn’t know they if they would make it the full 30 hours. However, they knew their suffering would be worth it in the end.
“Even though it’s going to be hard for us, I feel like we’re doing the right thing because when you think about it, most of us eat more in a day than some people do in a month,” said 11-year-old Dana Cote, who also attends Great Oak Middle School. “Then we throw away all of the left over food when we could be giving it to people in need.”
Chris Wentz, an Oxford High School graduate, said he’s completed a similar famine-type event with the Boy Scouts and that he was proud of himself when it was over.
His sister, Katelyn Wentz, who is also participating in the 30 Hour Famine, said “it takes a lot of will power to go without food for this long.”
Eye-opening Experiences
The Christ Church Quaker Farms youth group’s adult organizers, some of whom are also participating in the famine, are trying to keep the students focused on their goal by explaining the bigger picture.
“A lot of the focus is on serving God,” said Jackie McDonnell, youth group coordinator. “God says serve the hungry, and when you feed the hungry, you are serving God.”
Other lessons the organizers are teaching include those that put their lives into perspective. For example, McDonnell said, the youths watched a film Friday night that showed how difficult life is for people in Third World Countries. Whereas Oxford children and teens may complain about small things such as how their blankets are getting thin or whether they should “be able to ride shotgun in the car,” there are children their age who “have to walk 10 miles to get water for the day,” McDonnell said.
The youths had a chance to see that perspective first hand during a recent youth group experience. Adult organizers invited youth group members to a dinner in the church hall. When they arrived, the group members were told whether they were eating as if they were in first, second or third world countries. The First World country eaters got a full meal complete with meat, potatoes, vegetables, etc., whereas the Third World eaters got a ration of rice with no silverware.
“It was a real eye opener,” McDonnell said, adding that the youths eventually shared their food with each other because they were given that option.
The adult organizers hope this weekend’s event will give students even more perspective. Don Peck said it is one thing to read and to hear about a person being hungry, “but to actually experience it is going to be a powerful and eye-opening experience.”
Parent Georgiana Glasow said she believes this weekend's events will be great for her teenage daughter, Camille, who attends Oxford High School.
"I'm thrilled she's taking part in something where she can think of others and not just her own 16-year-old self," Georgiana Glasow said.
Helping Those Less Fortunate
The youth group was formed in September to “give kids a place where they can feel comfortable being Christians and practicing their faith…in a place where it doesn’t have to be such a personal experience, and they can share it with others,” McDonnell said.
The youth group has done some amazing philanthropic work in its short tenure. Group members have volunteered in an urban community in Cole County, Penn., where they helped people in an old cole mining community who had seen the demise of the mining industry and many had fallen into poverty. The youths painted, cleaned houses, did yard work, went to nursing homes and just helped in any way they could. This summer, they plan to do something similar in Newport, Tenn., where 29 percent of the community lives below the poverty line.
The group has also sponsored an impoverished child through World Vision, which is how it learned of the 30 Hour Famine.
‘It Makes You Wonder Why’
The famine will wrap up around 6:30 tonight. But don’t expect the youths to celebrate by indulging in a steak and potatoes dinner, an endless pasta feast or even McDonald’s burgers and fries. No, they will continue their education in Third World living.
The team will be served a makeshift “re-vive meal,” which is often given to malnourished people in the poorest parts of the world to fill their bodies with necessary nutrients and calories. The meal, which sounds less than appetizing, consists of peanut butter, dried milk, oil and a little sugar.
Then, tomorrow morning, the youths will deliver a sermon during a church service in which they will discuss their experience.
Between now and then, the youths, who are staying at the church hall for much of this weekend, will complete odd jobs around the church building, such as painting and cleaning. All the while, they will keep in mind why they are voluntarily going hungry.
“We have all of this food in our country that we don’t eat, yet there are people around the world who are going hungry every day,” said Sydney Borkowski, the 12-year-old Oxford girl. “It makes you wonder why.”
About 30 Hour Famine From Its Website
This is your chance to join other groups of students all over the world in learning the truth about hunger, poverty, and injustice — then overcome it all with love.
Worldwide, 925 million people are hungry. Every day, as many as 11,000 children under age 5 die due to hunger-related causes. That’s one kid every 8 seconds.
The Famine gives your group a chance to do something about it — to rise up and serve the hungry.
Source: www.30hourfamine.org
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
200th Annual Meeting Sunday Christ Church Quaker Farms
SERMON February 12, 2012
Jesus proclaims, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts upon them, is like a wise man, who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act upon them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against the house, and it fell—and great was its fall.”—Matthew 4:24-27
CONGRATULATIONS. You are here on this historic occasion for the 200th Annual Meeting Sunday for Christ Church Quaker Farms. 200 years ago, on this very date, the founders of this church, who were then called subscribers, signed their names on the dotted line, pledging to give money, materials, and in kind services, to erect this building in which we now sit. One year later, in 1813, the first Annual Meeting was held, as building construction continued, and as God began to form a community of people, of whom we are the spiritual descendents.
As I read today’s Gospel, I reflected upon the history of Christ Church Quaker Farms. Yes, the world wide, universal, one, holy, catholic and apostolic church is built upon the firm foundation of Jesus Christ our Lord. As we have previously discussed, this is the universal church which transcends space and time, which the Bible calls the Body of Christ. Jesus tells us that the powers of hell will not prevail against this church.
However, here in the local church, we need a solid foundation of a common Christ centered ministry, if our parish is to survive the winds and storms of life. Christ will give us all we need out of His riches in glory, but we have to be willing to do our part, or the church will sink in the sand.
(PAUSE & SMILE).There is a 600 year old church in Mexico City, which in 1960 was discovered to be literally sinking in the sand. They discovered that part foundation was faulty, because it had been built upon sand and clay. The church was endangered of permanent structural damage, until they shored up the foundation to save it.
About a year ago, I had my initial interview with the Search Committee and Vestry of CCQF. I remember how they proudly affirmed that this church is a, quote, “ Christ centered , bible believing, spirit filled, & eucharisticly oriented parish.” Some spoke their strong faith in Jesus Christ. Others spoke of the strong children’s ministry; and still other though the church was like a big extended family. Certainly, these sentiments revealed part of a Rock-solid-Christ-foundation, which under girded this parish.
However, the Search Committee and Vestry also openly spoke of aspects of the of the spiritual and community foundation which were not Jesus-rock-solid. Figuratively speaking, it appeared that some aspects of church life were built upon “sinking sand,” which was not supporting the weight of the church. So, my visual aid here is our model of Christ Church, which is teetering off the rock, into the sand. In particular, the Vestry spoke to me of 3 foundational weaknesses, which needed some Christ centered foundational strengthening:
The first concerned church music. I was informed of many disappointments and concerns about the turnover of organists during the previous three years; and the inability to secure even temporary musicians to provide for Sunday worship. Others told me of their efforts to use recorded music, which was really just a stop gap measure. (BRIEF PAUSE & SMILE) Obviously, a solid ministry of music is crucial to joyful worship (Ps. 100). So, my priority has been and is the development , enrichment, and expansion of a joyful program of church music, whereby we can express our love to God and deepen our communion with Him. Your lay leadership and I are devoted to using BOTH traditional (user friendly) hymns & organ music AND tasteful and sing able contemporary music. We believe that this style of blended music will best enable us all, in the wide variety of folks who call this church their home, to give glory to God, and to receive His blessings of praise and song. During this past month and a half, we giving this plan a test drive now, using two wonderful musicians , who really have to drive a distance to get here—Mike Beresford, leading contemporary music, and this parish’s old friend, Rob Simon, back up there on the organ bench. We appreciate their ministries, don’t we?? Further, we are seeing a resurgence of our Kid Choir and our Youth Group Band under the leadership of Amy Cody. I believe that this is a powerful underutilized resource, unlike what I have previously seen in any other of my parishes. Come back next Sunday, and you will delight in what you hear.
So, as we offer all this to God, He is guiding us to strengthen our worship music, that it would grow Rock solid in Jesus Christ.
The second foundational weakness , of which I was apprised, concerns stewardship. This was appeared to be a large hole in the foundation of this church, and this hole would fill up with red ink once a new rector was called.
However, this past fall, this church took one huge giant step on towards a more solid financial foundation. In 2011, 33 of you made financial pledges to support your church. However, in 2012, we have seen a huge increase over last year's number. In 2012, we have received 20 additional pledges—that is an increase of over 60% in the pledging base of this church!!!!!! Now, counting on everyone to do the right thing and to fulfill your pledges, this will be an income increase of 25% for 2012.This is one of the largest increases that I have ever heard of . Also, 18 of you increased your previous year’s pledge. I think that the Lord and this church deserve a clap offering, don’t you???
With a growing commitment to cheerful giving through biblical stewardship, we are beginning to drain the hole of red ink, and it in with the solid rock of Christ centered cheerful giving. We are off to a very strong start together. However, the Vestry is still using reserve funds to pay for non funded operating expenses. But as we continue to build upon our stewardship program in 2012 & 2013,
we can achieve a more solid financial footing in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Right????
So far this morning, we have discussed how both music and stewardship are growing in strength. The last foundational weakness identified by the Vestry concerned some divisions within the congregation. Over the last several years, some parishioners had been upset by various disputes---
• over diocesan and national church politics;
• and over disputes between sub groupings within this congregation.
The Vestry told me that they lamented that such conflict had weakened the foundation of this church, and had resulted in declines in membership and stewardship.
Well, as I said last week, now is the time to leave all that in the past. Paul tells us top fprget what is past and to press on to the upward calling for Jesus Christ.
• So now is the time for us to to forgive, to forget,
and to forward march.
So, together, some “concrete” steps have been taken to bring better unity to the congregation:
• First of all, some of you, who had temporarily stopped worshipping here, have come back to the fold. Praise God. That is a sign of growing healing and unity.
• Secondly, church politics and other divisive issues are not, and will not be included in my preaching or ministry. Period. My calling is to proclaim that each and every one of us, through the grace of Jesus Christ, is important to God. Neither I, nor this parish, can afford to engage in needless/ and futile arguments, which the Bible speficly condemns as sin against the Body of Christ. All of our energy and resources must be directed toward building up our parish here, so that we can shine the light of Christ into the world.
•Also, the people of Christ Church are initiating new activities which actually bring us together. Already, we are seeing this congregation come together through more intergenerational & family activities, such as Family Eucharists, Bicentennial festivities, dinners, and more. This all demonstrates that we are making efforts to work, play, and come together on the rock foundation of Jesus Christ.
So, it seems to me that in the past 5 months, that we have seen some real progress….progress involving you , me, and the Holy Spirit.
• I continue to marvel at the opportunities that God has given us, and I am thrilled to be part of this growing family of faith.
• You see, before arriving here in mid September, I did not know you; but I knew that “you are Important to God.” But now , I know you better; and now, you are important to me, too.
(Put the church on the rock)
As we begin this church’s 3rd century, I trust that we are shoring up the foundation,
• and keeping faith with our parish’s founders, and all spiritual foremothers and forefathers,
• that we will shine the Light of Christ , into our homes, into our neighborhoods & communities, and our world (Mt. 4:14-16).
BLESSED BE THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. AMEN.
--The Rev. John Donnelly
Jesus proclaims, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts upon them, is like a wise man, who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act upon them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against the house, and it fell—and great was its fall.”—Matthew 4:24-27
CONGRATULATIONS. You are here on this historic occasion for the 200th Annual Meeting Sunday for Christ Church Quaker Farms. 200 years ago, on this very date, the founders of this church, who were then called subscribers, signed their names on the dotted line, pledging to give money, materials, and in kind services, to erect this building in which we now sit. One year later, in 1813, the first Annual Meeting was held, as building construction continued, and as God began to form a community of people, of whom we are the spiritual descendents.
As I read today’s Gospel, I reflected upon the history of Christ Church Quaker Farms. Yes, the world wide, universal, one, holy, catholic and apostolic church is built upon the firm foundation of Jesus Christ our Lord. As we have previously discussed, this is the universal church which transcends space and time, which the Bible calls the Body of Christ. Jesus tells us that the powers of hell will not prevail against this church.
However, here in the local church, we need a solid foundation of a common Christ centered ministry, if our parish is to survive the winds and storms of life. Christ will give us all we need out of His riches in glory, but we have to be willing to do our part, or the church will sink in the sand.
(PAUSE & SMILE).There is a 600 year old church in Mexico City, which in 1960 was discovered to be literally sinking in the sand. They discovered that part foundation was faulty, because it had been built upon sand and clay. The church was endangered of permanent structural damage, until they shored up the foundation to save it.
About a year ago, I had my initial interview with the Search Committee and Vestry of CCQF. I remember how they proudly affirmed that this church is a, quote, “ Christ centered , bible believing, spirit filled, & eucharisticly oriented parish.” Some spoke their strong faith in Jesus Christ. Others spoke of the strong children’s ministry; and still other though the church was like a big extended family. Certainly, these sentiments revealed part of a Rock-solid-Christ-foundation, which under girded this parish.
However, the Search Committee and Vestry also openly spoke of aspects of the of the spiritual and community foundation which were not Jesus-rock-solid. Figuratively speaking, it appeared that some aspects of church life were built upon “sinking sand,” which was not supporting the weight of the church. So, my visual aid here is our model of Christ Church, which is teetering off the rock, into the sand. In particular, the Vestry spoke to me of 3 foundational weaknesses, which needed some Christ centered foundational strengthening:
The first concerned church music. I was informed of many disappointments and concerns about the turnover of organists during the previous three years; and the inability to secure even temporary musicians to provide for Sunday worship. Others told me of their efforts to use recorded music, which was really just a stop gap measure. (BRIEF PAUSE & SMILE) Obviously, a solid ministry of music is crucial to joyful worship (Ps. 100). So, my priority has been and is the development , enrichment, and expansion of a joyful program of church music, whereby we can express our love to God and deepen our communion with Him. Your lay leadership and I are devoted to using BOTH traditional (user friendly) hymns & organ music AND tasteful and sing able contemporary music. We believe that this style of blended music will best enable us all, in the wide variety of folks who call this church their home, to give glory to God, and to receive His blessings of praise and song. During this past month and a half, we giving this plan a test drive now, using two wonderful musicians , who really have to drive a distance to get here—Mike Beresford, leading contemporary music, and this parish’s old friend, Rob Simon, back up there on the organ bench. We appreciate their ministries, don’t we?? Further, we are seeing a resurgence of our Kid Choir and our Youth Group Band under the leadership of Amy Cody. I believe that this is a powerful underutilized resource, unlike what I have previously seen in any other of my parishes. Come back next Sunday, and you will delight in what you hear.
So, as we offer all this to God, He is guiding us to strengthen our worship music, that it would grow Rock solid in Jesus Christ.
The second foundational weakness , of which I was apprised, concerns stewardship. This was appeared to be a large hole in the foundation of this church, and this hole would fill up with red ink once a new rector was called.
However, this past fall, this church took one huge giant step on towards a more solid financial foundation. In 2011, 33 of you made financial pledges to support your church. However, in 2012, we have seen a huge increase over last year's number. In 2012, we have received 20 additional pledges—that is an increase of over 60% in the pledging base of this church!!!!!! Now, counting on everyone to do the right thing and to fulfill your pledges, this will be an income increase of 25% for 2012.This is one of the largest increases that I have ever heard of . Also, 18 of you increased your previous year’s pledge. I think that the Lord and this church deserve a clap offering, don’t you???
With a growing commitment to cheerful giving through biblical stewardship, we are beginning to drain the hole of red ink, and it in with the solid rock of Christ centered cheerful giving. We are off to a very strong start together. However, the Vestry is still using reserve funds to pay for non funded operating expenses. But as we continue to build upon our stewardship program in 2012 & 2013,
we can achieve a more solid financial footing in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Right????
So far this morning, we have discussed how both music and stewardship are growing in strength. The last foundational weakness identified by the Vestry concerned some divisions within the congregation. Over the last several years, some parishioners had been upset by various disputes---
• over diocesan and national church politics;
• and over disputes between sub groupings within this congregation.
The Vestry told me that they lamented that such conflict had weakened the foundation of this church, and had resulted in declines in membership and stewardship.
Well, as I said last week, now is the time to leave all that in the past. Paul tells us top fprget what is past and to press on to the upward calling for Jesus Christ.
• So now is the time for us to to forgive, to forget,
and to forward march.
So, together, some “concrete” steps have been taken to bring better unity to the congregation:
• First of all, some of you, who had temporarily stopped worshipping here, have come back to the fold. Praise God. That is a sign of growing healing and unity.
• Secondly, church politics and other divisive issues are not, and will not be included in my preaching or ministry. Period. My calling is to proclaim that each and every one of us, through the grace of Jesus Christ, is important to God. Neither I, nor this parish, can afford to engage in needless/ and futile arguments, which the Bible speficly condemns as sin against the Body of Christ. All of our energy and resources must be directed toward building up our parish here, so that we can shine the light of Christ into the world.
•Also, the people of Christ Church are initiating new activities which actually bring us together. Already, we are seeing this congregation come together through more intergenerational & family activities, such as Family Eucharists, Bicentennial festivities, dinners, and more. This all demonstrates that we are making efforts to work, play, and come together on the rock foundation of Jesus Christ.
So, it seems to me that in the past 5 months, that we have seen some real progress….progress involving you , me, and the Holy Spirit.
• I continue to marvel at the opportunities that God has given us, and I am thrilled to be part of this growing family of faith.
• You see, before arriving here in mid September, I did not know you; but I knew that “you are Important to God.” But now , I know you better; and now, you are important to me, too.
(Put the church on the rock)
As we begin this church’s 3rd century, I trust that we are shoring up the foundation,
• and keeping faith with our parish’s founders, and all spiritual foremothers and forefathers,
• that we will shine the Light of Christ , into our homes, into our neighborhoods & communities, and our world (Mt. 4:14-16).
BLESSED BE THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. AMEN.
--The Rev. John Donnelly
Saturday, February 4, 2012
3 STREAMS, ONE RIVER PART 4
3 STREAMS, ONE RIVER—THE SPIRIT BRINGS UNITY
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Now, this represents something. Some wise guy at 8am said that it represents Eli Manning after today’s Super Bowl. Actually, I would like for you to use your imaginations for a moment, and pretend that this is your own physical body.
I am now shaking this figure to illustrate a distressed body—a body which is out of balance. When we don’t exercise Good judgment, and we don’t eat right, or exercise, and I don’t get enough sleep, or drink too much, then we might weaken our personal immune systems, and become sick. Or, if we put ourselves in harm’s way, by speeding down Quaker farms Road, or the like, then we may lose our balance and become injured. And of course, if you I break my leg because I was reckless on our skate boards, then our whole bodies will hurt. Now, I know that this seems rather obvious to you all; which is why I believe that the image of the church as the Body of Christ is really ingenious. Our bodies and their proper functioning are very important to us. Therefore, it should be easy for us to appropriate the spiritual truth and live it out in the church. Right? No, wrong. Going back t the earliest days of the Christian church, living together in Christian community has always been problematic.
This is the context behind today’s reading from St. Paul, which was a letter written in 60AD. The recipient was the Body of Christ located in the ancient Roman city of Ephesus, located in what we know now as the nation of Turkey. And I can tell you, Paul spoke TURKEY to them. Like most churches, then and now, this church suffered from unnecessary conflict: Factionalism, quiet rudeness, gossip, slander, and long term grudges. So Paul commands them to stop. He says, as we heard in today’s reading,
Do not let any evil or unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up. 31 get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.”
I think that it is interesting that Paul describes such talk as EVIL. If our words and actions hurt one another, then such words and actions are evil in the sight of God. Instead, our words and actions should not tear down, but should build up the members of the Body. I don’t know about you, but I think that there is a lesson here for all of us.
So, let’s look at this more deeply. Please take out your bulletin and turn to page 2, so that we can look at a passage from Paul’s letter:
• Looking at Verse one, 2nd line, Paul says”live a life worthy of the Calling you have received.” So, if you are a believer, who is a member of a church, then God has been the one who has invisibly worked through the circumstances of your life to give you your faith, and to make you part of the Body of Christ. Paul sees this as an extreme honor, one which needs to impact our all of our words and deeds in a god-honoring manner.
• He goes on in verse 2, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patiently, bearing with one another in love.” Later in this passage, Paul expands upon this when he says, “Speak the truth in love.” Many of us want to make our voices heard. Well, that’s fine, but Paul is saying that if you are going to say something, say it in a manner that shows love and respect, or keep your mouth shut. “Speaking the truth in love” contrasts evil speech, which does not communicate love. This is important, because evil speech and deeds cause disunity hurt, anger, ill feelings in the Body. This destroys the balance in the Body of Christ. God wants balance, harmony, and peace in his body, as we hear in verse 3.
Let us read together, saying, ”Make every effort to guard the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace” Unity is something which must be guarded and protected. Unity is precious. Why? Because unity is holy…unity is the holy gift to us from God the Holy Spirit. Social clubs, corporations, and councils of government are not the recipients of this holy gift. Therefore, not to protect and guard this holy unity is to defile His Body, the church.
• Paul goes on to tell us how sacred this unity is . Let us read together verses 4-6, saying,” There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all …” So, together, through the Spirit, we can share the supernatural unity that God wants on earth for those who are members of His church.
Indeed, on the night before Jesus died for us, he prayed for such unity for his followers, saying,” I pray for those who will believe in me, that ALL of them may be one, Father, just as you and I are one. I give them the power to be brought to complete unity, that the world will know that they come from me.” This complete unity is beautifully illustrated in the concluding song at the end of today’s service, as we will sing, “We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord…they will know we are Christians by our love.”
So, the first key to church unity is this: we admit that Jesus has a will for his church—that we all should be one, not divided. Then, we need to individually confess our sins, and seek reconciliation with those we may have offended. Now, much of the time, most people may think that this is too hard, or we may think that someone else should make the first move and apologize to us. Well, that’s a rationalization , which is shared by all too many.
PAUSE
And you know, part of that is true. I spent the first 10 years of my ordained ministry, trying to get people to be respectful and caring towards one another. Sometimes it worked, but most of the time it didn’t last. And of course, churches of all denominations, locally and nationally, are now highly conflicted; and in my mind, such conflict desecrates the Body of Christ. And there were times when I threw up my hands in despair.
But then, I learned that my vision of the church as the body of Christ was incomplete. You see, I had forgotten all about the Head.
(*PUT ON HEAD)
You see, a body is no good without a head. Without the head, the body would be cantankerous chaotic coagulations of carnage. It is sad, but I have found that most churches really do not understand that Jesus wants to be the real Head of the church.
• Jesus wants to call the shots.
• Jesus wants to lead us forward to share His glory and mission.
• Jesus wants us to speak and treat one another, just like He treats us: with forgiveness, mercy, patience, and reconciliation.
• Jesus has a plan for each church, to give us a hope and future; and He wants us to discern, together, in unity, what that plan might be, and how we can live it out.
BUT, we will never be able to discern that plan unless we do all that we can, individually and as the body, to work towards greater and greater unity and peace in our relationships.
• You see, God’s word clearly says that I cannot have unity with God, unless I have unity with my brother and my sister….I cannot have peace with God unless I am continually working towards peace in my relationships.
How can we begin? Well, I personally have learned much about this from the life and example of St. Francis of Assisi. Francis lived in Italy at the turn o the 13th century, at a time of massive international church conflict between neighbors and church goers, between laity & clergy, between the rich and poor, between Bishops and the Pope, and on and on and on. One day Francis went to a ruined church to pray, and looked at a cross, of which this one is a copy. As he prayed, he thought that he heard Jesus say, “Go rebuild my church.” So, immediately, Francis began gathering stones and started reconstructing the ruined chapel, where he had been praying. Once finished, God spoke to Francis again, telling him not to rebuild the church with stone and mortar, but with words of compassion, acts of peace and forgiveness. So, Francis obeyed that simple command, and soon millions and millions of Christians throughout Europe began to do likewise. The church leadership turned to Jesus in a new way, and began to acknowledge Him as the rightful head of the church. Please turn your prayer books to page 833, the prayer of St. Francis, page # 62. We will be using their prayer as our concluding prayer after communion, but I would like for you to look at it now: Here is how each of us can bring unity and peace, as we speak the truth in love.
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light;
So, look at this list, and choose one first step. And as we continue celebrating our parish’s bicentennial, I am convinced that Jesus is calling us to greater unity that together we might brightly shine his light in the darkness of our world, and that they would know we are Christians by our love. AMEN.
--The Rev. John Donnelly
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Now, this represents something. Some wise guy at 8am said that it represents Eli Manning after today’s Super Bowl. Actually, I would like for you to use your imaginations for a moment, and pretend that this is your own physical body.
I am now shaking this figure to illustrate a distressed body—a body which is out of balance. When we don’t exercise Good judgment, and we don’t eat right, or exercise, and I don’t get enough sleep, or drink too much, then we might weaken our personal immune systems, and become sick. Or, if we put ourselves in harm’s way, by speeding down Quaker farms Road, or the like, then we may lose our balance and become injured. And of course, if you I break my leg because I was reckless on our skate boards, then our whole bodies will hurt. Now, I know that this seems rather obvious to you all; which is why I believe that the image of the church as the Body of Christ is really ingenious. Our bodies and their proper functioning are very important to us. Therefore, it should be easy for us to appropriate the spiritual truth and live it out in the church. Right? No, wrong. Going back t the earliest days of the Christian church, living together in Christian community has always been problematic.
This is the context behind today’s reading from St. Paul, which was a letter written in 60AD. The recipient was the Body of Christ located in the ancient Roman city of Ephesus, located in what we know now as the nation of Turkey. And I can tell you, Paul spoke TURKEY to them. Like most churches, then and now, this church suffered from unnecessary conflict: Factionalism, quiet rudeness, gossip, slander, and long term grudges. So Paul commands them to stop. He says, as we heard in today’s reading,
Do not let any evil or unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up. 31 get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.”
I think that it is interesting that Paul describes such talk as EVIL. If our words and actions hurt one another, then such words and actions are evil in the sight of God. Instead, our words and actions should not tear down, but should build up the members of the Body. I don’t know about you, but I think that there is a lesson here for all of us.
So, let’s look at this more deeply. Please take out your bulletin and turn to page 2, so that we can look at a passage from Paul’s letter:
• Looking at Verse one, 2nd line, Paul says”live a life worthy of the Calling you have received.” So, if you are a believer, who is a member of a church, then God has been the one who has invisibly worked through the circumstances of your life to give you your faith, and to make you part of the Body of Christ. Paul sees this as an extreme honor, one which needs to impact our all of our words and deeds in a god-honoring manner.
• He goes on in verse 2, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patiently, bearing with one another in love.” Later in this passage, Paul expands upon this when he says, “Speak the truth in love.” Many of us want to make our voices heard. Well, that’s fine, but Paul is saying that if you are going to say something, say it in a manner that shows love and respect, or keep your mouth shut. “Speaking the truth in love” contrasts evil speech, which does not communicate love. This is important, because evil speech and deeds cause disunity hurt, anger, ill feelings in the Body. This destroys the balance in the Body of Christ. God wants balance, harmony, and peace in his body, as we hear in verse 3.
Let us read together, saying, ”Make every effort to guard the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace” Unity is something which must be guarded and protected. Unity is precious. Why? Because unity is holy…unity is the holy gift to us from God the Holy Spirit. Social clubs, corporations, and councils of government are not the recipients of this holy gift. Therefore, not to protect and guard this holy unity is to defile His Body, the church.
• Paul goes on to tell us how sacred this unity is . Let us read together verses 4-6, saying,” There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all …” So, together, through the Spirit, we can share the supernatural unity that God wants on earth for those who are members of His church.
Indeed, on the night before Jesus died for us, he prayed for such unity for his followers, saying,” I pray for those who will believe in me, that ALL of them may be one, Father, just as you and I are one. I give them the power to be brought to complete unity, that the world will know that they come from me.” This complete unity is beautifully illustrated in the concluding song at the end of today’s service, as we will sing, “We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord…they will know we are Christians by our love.”
So, the first key to church unity is this: we admit that Jesus has a will for his church—that we all should be one, not divided. Then, we need to individually confess our sins, and seek reconciliation with those we may have offended. Now, much of the time, most people may think that this is too hard, or we may think that someone else should make the first move and apologize to us. Well, that’s a rationalization , which is shared by all too many.
PAUSE
And you know, part of that is true. I spent the first 10 years of my ordained ministry, trying to get people to be respectful and caring towards one another. Sometimes it worked, but most of the time it didn’t last. And of course, churches of all denominations, locally and nationally, are now highly conflicted; and in my mind, such conflict desecrates the Body of Christ. And there were times when I threw up my hands in despair.
But then, I learned that my vision of the church as the body of Christ was incomplete. You see, I had forgotten all about the Head.
(*PUT ON HEAD)
You see, a body is no good without a head. Without the head, the body would be cantankerous chaotic coagulations of carnage. It is sad, but I have found that most churches really do not understand that Jesus wants to be the real Head of the church.
• Jesus wants to call the shots.
• Jesus wants to lead us forward to share His glory and mission.
• Jesus wants us to speak and treat one another, just like He treats us: with forgiveness, mercy, patience, and reconciliation.
• Jesus has a plan for each church, to give us a hope and future; and He wants us to discern, together, in unity, what that plan might be, and how we can live it out.
BUT, we will never be able to discern that plan unless we do all that we can, individually and as the body, to work towards greater and greater unity and peace in our relationships.
• You see, God’s word clearly says that I cannot have unity with God, unless I have unity with my brother and my sister….I cannot have peace with God unless I am continually working towards peace in my relationships.
How can we begin? Well, I personally have learned much about this from the life and example of St. Francis of Assisi. Francis lived in Italy at the turn o the 13th century, at a time of massive international church conflict between neighbors and church goers, between laity & clergy, between the rich and poor, between Bishops and the Pope, and on and on and on. One day Francis went to a ruined church to pray, and looked at a cross, of which this one is a copy. As he prayed, he thought that he heard Jesus say, “Go rebuild my church.” So, immediately, Francis began gathering stones and started reconstructing the ruined chapel, where he had been praying. Once finished, God spoke to Francis again, telling him not to rebuild the church with stone and mortar, but with words of compassion, acts of peace and forgiveness. So, Francis obeyed that simple command, and soon millions and millions of Christians throughout Europe began to do likewise. The church leadership turned to Jesus in a new way, and began to acknowledge Him as the rightful head of the church. Please turn your prayer books to page 833, the prayer of St. Francis, page # 62. We will be using their prayer as our concluding prayer after communion, but I would like for you to look at it now: Here is how each of us can bring unity and peace, as we speak the truth in love.
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light;
So, look at this list, and choose one first step. And as we continue celebrating our parish’s bicentennial, I am convinced that Jesus is calling us to greater unity that together we might brightly shine his light in the darkness of our world, and that they would know we are Christians by our love. AMEN.
--The Rev. John Donnelly
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