Lingering Joy

I’m posting this sermon (see below)  that I preached at the May 21, 2013 Hudson River Presbytery meeting.  Almost  a week has passed since I preached the sermon and at least 4 days have passed since I promised a few people I would post it here.  I was reminded of my promise this morning after worship at White Plains Presbyterian Church by the words of a member of the church who is a faithful volunteer in our new English as a Second Language classes, a joint ministry with Hitchcock Presbyterian on Thursday nights that includes a shared meal, childcare, language instruction, and a brief bilingual worship service.  The White Plains member said that the Thursday night classes are the highlight of her week, that she can’t stop talking about them to friends and family, and that she leaves class glowing.  The majority of the students who come to class are members of a Spanish-language congregation that meets at White Plains Presbyterian Church on Friday nights and Sunday evenings.  The classes are a meeting place for members of the two churches to make connections and grow in relationship.  I, too, leave class on Thursday nights feeling full of deep joy. I had that joy in mind when I wrote this sermon…

A sermon preached at Hudson River Presbytery on May 21, 2013

Acts 1:12-2:21

“The disciples are told by the risen Lord to go to their room and wait for the Spirit.  But they are anxious and leaderless after the trauma of losing Jesus and Judas.   So they don’t wait.  They turn to choosing Judas’ replacement, hoping to make some order out of chaos.  They come up with two candidates, they cast lots (not the most Spirit-filled discernment process), one, Matthias, is chosen, the other, Justus, is excluded.

AND THEN the Spirit shows up.  No sooner had the disciples re-formed their comfortable tight-knit group of twelve, than the Spirit blows through the room, tongues of flame rest upon their heads, and they begin to speak in languages they did not know they could speak, to people they never thought would understand them or the message that Jesus gave to them to share.

A small act of human exclusion in the power structures of Jesus’ followers, is followed up by an epic act of divine inclusion for all God’s people.  It’s like the Spirit was waiting for them to get antsy, for them to stop waiting as they were instructed, to start going down the narrow route, so that the Spirit could show up and in stark contrast blow the doors wide open.

We are in a time of waiting in the Presbyterian Church. We’re waiting to see where the Spirit leads next..and, like the disciples we can busy ourselves in our anxiety with trying to recreate  what always has been or we can we can commit to some creative, ear to the door, waiting. Recently, at a gathering to discuss new visions for the Synod of the Northeast, a woman named Terri, urged, even begged, those of us gathered to take time to sit in the “waiting” room and listen to where the winds of the Spirit are blowing.

In these past months, as we compiled the list of churches in our Presbytery who share their space with other communities of faith (a list we will pray for and lift up during the business meeting), it was impossible not to think of Pentecost in the sheer number of languages represented in the faith communities who share space in the churches of this Presbytery – Tagalog, Hebrew, Japanese, Spanish, Arabic, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Hindi, Korean – and that’s not even taking into account the diversity of languages present within our Presbyterian congregations.  As we gathered together resources to support churches who share space with other faith communities, stories emerged.  Yes, stories of the challenges of sharing space but even more prevalent were stories of deepening relationship between Presbyterian congregations and “that church who rents our space”.  Stories in which worship was shared, names were learned, and “that church” became our brothers and sisters.  These are stories from the waiting room: who is to say where exactly they will lead, but are we willing to wait and see? Are we willing to linger with each other across denominational, language, and cultural differences, to listen for and learn to speak the common message the Spirit may have for us?  If the Spirit grants us the fruit of kindness to extend to one another, perhaps the greatest kindness we can return to the Spirit is to pay attention to who the Spirit has placed in our midst.”

Rev. Betty Griffin of First Presbyterian Church in Mt. Vernon, NY and Pastor Marcio of New Life Brazilian Church continued the sermon by sharing about their experience sharing space and sharing mission.  They concluded their remarks with an embrace.

The fast we choose: Clergy, Faith Leaders, Activists Gathering on Ash Wednesday to Repent the Sin of Imprisoning Immigrants for Profit

Art by Ernesto Yerena via MigrationNow.com

I had the honor of leading our 12 noon Ash Wednesday service today at White Plains Presbyterian Church.  The first scripture reading was Isaiah 58:1-12, a reading pointing us to the type of fasting that God asks of us:

“Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly…”

I invite you to read a story of light breaking forth in NJ, of clergy, faith leaders and activists marking the beginning of Lent with an action to loose the bonds of injustice:

2/13 in #NJ: Clergy, Faith Leaders & Activists Gathering on Ash Wednesday to Repent the Sin of Imprisoning Immigrants for Profit.

Lent is an invitation not only to examine our individual sins, but to look long and hard at our corporate sins, the systems of oppression that create inequity and alienation.  It is a season of confession, forgiveness, and renewal. Blessings and Courage on your Lenten journey!

“WHERE?”: Cultivating a space

“Healing is remembering what has been forgotten about connection, unity, and interdependence among all things, living and nonliving.”  This is one of the aspects of healing lifted up in Deep Medicine, a book I started reading about deepening our capacity and willingness to be healers of ourselves and others.  Building cross-cultural community is  primarily about healing, rebuilding unity that has been destroyed by racism, fear, and class divides,  and renewing the wholeness of the body of Christ. The quote above is a reminder that full restoration of the people of God isn’t just about the people of God, it’s about all things on earth: trees, plants, soil, water.

The garden and green spaces are essential spaces in the healing work of our communities.  Getting right with the earth is the necessary counterpart to getting right with each other; the two healing processes must be linked for either to effect deep change.  Soooo many examples come to mind to illustrate how garden spaces are being used to restore both community and earth.  I’m going to stick to just a few very local examples:

1) White Plains Presbyterian Church School Garden –

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 Many of you heard some of the young gardeners speak about growing and patience at the July Presbytery meeting.  This summer the garden has offered a space to nurture young leaders from diverse family backgrounds.  They have  shared their own knowledge from gardens they tend at home.  They have shared the joy of harvesting and noted the strength they have as co-creators.

2) Freedom Farm Community – Edgar Hayes who is in the Commissioned Lay Pastor program in Hudson River Presbytery and his wife, Ann Rader have nurtured a farm space in Middletown, NY.  During the year churches, young adults, and youth are welcomed to use the space for community building, learning about sustainable agriculture practices, and cultivating peace in individual lives, communities, and the world.

3) Roots & Wings of South Presbyterian Church with Cabrini Mission Community Garden – This summer members of South Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry and families from Cabrini Mission broke ground on a community garden.  The group decided against individual plots in favor of a truly communal approach to tending the garden.  This year’s group of gardeners included people from Brazil, Peru. Mexico, Korea, Pakistan, Hastings and Dobbs.

4) The Farm @ Holmes Camp – CLP David Frost began the first season of the Farm @ Holmes this year.  The farm is using a Community Supported Agriculture model through which community members can buy a seasonal share of vegetables.  In this model, the farmer and consumer share the inherent risks and many benefits of small-scale, sustainable and organic food production. Campers at Holmes who come from all over the tri-state area are invited to spend time at farm, to learn about how food can be produced to sustain and heal our earth and our bodies.

5) Farm the Land, Grow the Spirit – Food Justice Internships @ Stony Point Retreat Center – Stony Point hosts a summer food justice internship program for Muslims, Jews, Christians, and those of other faith traditions ages 19-30. Interns are a part of the Community of Living Traditions, a multifaith, multicultural, and intergenerational residential community housed at Stony Point Center. The shared work is an entry point to shared activism for food justice and meaningful relationships in an interfaith community setting. 

Do you have green space at your church that could be used to feed the community both spiritually and physically? Is there a local farmer that your church can partner with to bring fresh food to people in your community who do not have a secure food source?  Are there elderly members of your church with gardening/farming wisdom and younger members of your church looking to gain concrete skills?  Create a community garden or other faith-based initiative using the Presbyterian Hunger Program’s  Food Sovereignty for All Handbook for guidance.

For more on the necessary and essential and extremely important linking of the environmental movement and the work for racial and economic justice, I suggest reading Van Jones‘ book, The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems.  An important quote from that book to get you interested: “To change our laws and culture, the green movement must attract and include the majority of all people, not just the majority of affluent people.”  Amen. To the garden!

Kids these days…

In conversations about cross-cultural ministries around the Presbytery, youth are often lifted up as the ones who “get it”, diversity and embracing difference comes “naturally” to them.  They move to the Intercultural Transformation stage with ease.  I admit, I think I’ve said that once or twice.  Okay, so maybe the increasing racial-ethnic diversity gives youth a leg up on thinking about diversity.  Their context demands it.  BUT, I think there is more to it.  Youth make the decision – like adults – to move out beyond their comfort zones…or not.  They choose to learn another person’s song on hour 7 of a cramped car ride…or not.  They choose to form work groups across church lines…or not.  They choose to ask each other about their cultural differences…or not.

On Monday I spent time at Stony Point Retreat Center with youth from White Plains Presbyterian Church, Watchung Avenue Presbyterian Church and Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church.  The three groups met at Stony Point for the first time to work together on a local mission effort: the building of a new art center at Stony Point.  The group included youth from the confirmation class I led during my seminary internship at Watchung Ave. and youth that I am just getting to know in my role as Parish Associate at White Plains. I wished I could have been there all week to watch at new friendships unfolded between the groups.  You can read some of the participants’ reflections on the trip at the Watchung Ave blog: http://www.wapc.net/blog/hard-at-work

Fast forward to Thursday and I found myself on a meandering road trip to Pittsburgh with members of Rural Migrant Ministries Youth Arts Group and Youth Economic Group who are attending the Presbyterian Church’s General Assembly.  Ten hours in a car together gave me a glimpse into the depth of relationships that form within the YAG and YEG groups and between them. The group members transitioned easily from teasing to comforting, from one language to another, from conversations about music to drafting their presentations on how they view their role as leaders for justice in this world.  They also transitioned easily from lunch at McDonald’s to traditional Ethiopian food for dinner.

Flexibility, laughter, intimacy, joy, hard work, concern for family, care for friends, curiosity about differences.  These are things that youth (can and often do) choose to cultivate.  My sense is that when we assume it’s just “natural” for youth these days to be comfortable with diversity, we lose sight of what we can learn from their ways of being together.  So, let’s take some time to listen and ask and take to heart what intercultural transformation looks like in friendships among youth.

Check out this video made by the Youth Arts Group from Rural and Migrant Ministries: