UCC Files



September 1, 2019Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost Open TableLuke 14:1, 7-14 Jesus ate with everyone, including people who were marginalized by others. He ate with women and he welcomed children at his table. He ate with tax collectors, who were considered the worst kind of sinners because they collaborated with the empirical forces against their own people. And, in the last meal he ate with his friends, Jesus shared food even with one who he knew would betray him to his death. As he did so, he offered words not of condemnation but of forgiveness and promise.In the United Church of Christ, we practice an open table at communion. In most of our denomination’s congregations, you do not have to follow any particular creed, or profess any specific beliefs to practice communion. You need only to seek the new life that comes in Christ to participate in this sacrament. What is a sacrament? A sacrament is a ritual action in worship which lowers the barrier between holy and mundane. A sacrament is sometimes called a “thin place,” where the barrier between every day life and divine life is lowered. In a sacramental moment, we participate in a ritual that was begun by Jesus and has been practiced by Christ followers for generations. When we receive communion, we also receive the forgiveness that Christ promised, and we have the opportunity to extend that forgiveness to others. Whether you receive communion gathered around a table or seated in a pew, communion is at its root communal. Around you are those with whom you share the open table. As you take the bread, as you sip the cup, hear again the words of Christ who welcomed all to his table, and who promised forgiveness for all who chose to eat and drink with him. Receiving communion is an opportunity to be grateful for those moments when we are especially invited to brush up close to the holy. It is a chance to remember that throughout Christ’s life, and even when he was close to death, he ate with those who were excluded by others. It is a place to be grateful that even at the end Christ Jesus offered grace and forgiveness to all, including the one who betrayed him. Communion is more than an opportunity to receive Christ’s grace and forgiveness with humility and gratitude. It is also an opportunity to extend those gifts to all in our congregation, in our community and in our world. Questions to consider:Does your congregation practice an open table? How can you tell? How would someone visiting your worship service for the first time know they are welcome at the open table? Are there ways that your congregation could extend the idea of open table beyond this sacrament, beyond these walls? September 8, 2019Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost A New IdentityPhilemon 1:1-21Faith Formation SundayRev. Caela Wood of First Congregational Church in Manhattan, Kansas learned about Blessing of the Backpacks from another United Church of Christ colleague, the Rev. Jennifer Mills Knutsen. Five years ago, Wood’s congregation started a regular ritual of backpack blessing on the same day Sunday School re-starts for the fall. “We wanted to create space for kids to find comfort from their faith community when we know they might be filled with back-to-school jitters,” Rev. Wood says. “We encourage adults who are going back to school to bring along backpacks, laptop bags, and briefcases, too. Our congregation has a lot of teachers and professors, so we also bless them on that same Sunday.” “The kids hand out the bookmarks to our many teachers. Lifting up our ‘outside work’ in the world helps us feel connected to the ways the Spirit journeys with us throughout the week...in classrooms and cubicles and in our homes and everywhere we go.”?“We typically put out notecards during fellowship hour for each child/youth/college student who has recently moved away. We ask anyone who feels so moved to take a card and write a note to college students, children and youth who have moved away in the past few years. Then we stick a backpack tag in for them and mail it to them. I have heard from several parents that this is very meaningful to them as the kids are adjusting to life in a new community.”Unlike most other epistles which are addressed to communities, Philemon is a short letter addressed to a single individual. In today’s reading Paul sends his adopted child Onesimus forth with this letter of blessing indicating how he would like Philemon to treat the youngster. The message of this letter, that Onesimus is trustworthy and hardworking, is perhaps as much for his student as it is for the man who will receive the letter. Onesimus knows that he has been loved, appreciated and supported and that he will continue to be. The young man has been sent into the world by himself, but he does not go alone. He goes with the knowledge that he has been truly seen and appreciated. Today, on this Faith Formation Sunday, we celebrate the teaching that happens within our four walls. This day is also an opportunity to remember that the messages we send with our young people into the world teach them as much as any curriculum, maybe even more. What messages do you give the young people in your congregation as they head out into the world? How can you let them know that they are valued, loved and supported even when they are not within the confines of the four walls of your church building? September 15, 2019Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost Growing in God’s Love1 Timothy 1:12-171 Timothy 1:15-17 (New International Version) Here is a trustworthy saying?that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.?But for that very reason I was shown mercy?so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe?in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal,?invisible,?the only God,?be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.Holy One, We confess. We confess that we miss the mark as often as we hit it. We confess that we gaze longingly down the road that branches the other way, not Your way. We confess that our thoughts and our actions separate us from You, from Your beautiful creation and from our own true selves.We confess that we separate from You whenever we are captivated by consumerism, by violence, by political polarization, by all our addictions and resentments. Remind us always that we cannot serve You and those other gods. We confess that we do all that we can to separate ourselves from the rest of your creation. We ignore the crisis of the changing climate on this beautiful planet which you have placed in our care. We foment division among peoples, making war with neighbors across the street and across the globe. We confess that we are separate even from our own true selves, the beings of love and light that you created. We confess that we hate to confess.Unlike your follower Paul, who proudly proclaimed that he was “the worst” of sinners, we shudder at the word sin. Maybe it’s because we believe that if we confess that we sin, we will somehow be confessing that all we are is sinful. Maybe we even believe that’s true. We confess, then, that we have forgotten that we were born of your love, in order to live in your love. We confess that we need reminding that You created us in Your image, holy and pure. Free us to see that confession is the path to freedom from shame, not the piling on of it. Give us the courage to look at our broken places and name them, bringing them into the light. Unchain us by this act of confession from both our sin and the shame we feel about our sin, so that we can move forward into your transformation. In your Holy Name we pray, Amen. September 22, 2019Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost Prayerful Living1 Timothy 2:1-7This week, we are invited to pray for leaders. Strong leaders cast a vision for the community, so that the community can follow the vision, not the leader. Insightful leaders empower others to explore and use their gifts. Compassionate leaders are able to understand the concerns of those they lead without getting drawn into anxiety or drama. Faith-filled leaders seek to understand God’s will for themselves and their communities as they make decisions large and small. Some few people are born leaders, but most people need to grow into leadership. Some leaders become strong, insightful, compassionate and faithful through mentoring or training. In the scripture reading for today, Paul reminds us that praying for our leaders is one of the ways we can help guide them. We can, and should, still ask our leaders hard questions and, when necessary, call them to account. But whether we follow their lead or dig in our heels, the first step is to pray. This week, try adding the leaders in your life to your prayer time, and see how it changes them, and you. Monday: Pray for leaders of your congregation. Pray for pastors, officers, deacons, lay leaders and teachers. Tuesday: Pray for leaders of your community, county or city. Pray for elected leaders as well as leaders in local advocacy and activist groups. Wednesday: Pray for leaders of the nation. Pray for elected officials in the three branches of national government – judicial, legislative, presidential. Pray for the senior staff members in these branches. Thursday: Pray for leaders of the world. Pray that world leaders understand that we are one global family so they can make good decisions about immigration, climate, economics and other issues that transcend borders. Friday: Pray for the future leaders being formed now. Pray for children and youth who are making their voices heard, and for those who have no voice yet. Saturday: Pray for yourself as a leader. Pray to be strong, insightful, compassionate and faith filled. Pray to be shown opportunities where your unique gifts and skills might be used to lead. Sunday: Today is sabbath day. Pray for adequate rest for all leaders.September 29, 2019Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost Surprising InvestmentJeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15American Indian Ministry SundayUnited Samoan Ministries Stewardship SundayJeremiah, faced with a people and a situation devoid of hope did what you would expect a man of God to do. He engaged in a risky real estate transaction. Okay, you’re right. That’s actually the very last thing you’d expect a man of God to do when faced with the destruction of his people, his holiest place of worship, his city and his culture.You’d expect him to exercise prudence, to be careful, to guard what little he had against the coming difficulties. Instead Jeremiah negotiated the purchase of a piece of land. Chief Seattle, leader of the Suquamish and Duwamish people in the Pacific Northwestern United States, said “humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.” Today’s passage reminds us that God’s children have not always gotten land ownership right. We have too often used land ownership as a mode of severing ourselves from our connection with all things. We have made land ownership a tool or a weapon, forgetting that our God is the God of all the world, not just the God of a single people. Forgetting the connection that binds us with all humanity, we have made land ownership a divine right in our own minds, even committed terrible atrocities to control the land we think we own. Too often, land ownership has been a matter of greed controlled by violence, instead of a reason for hope and opportunity to experience God’s grace and joy. What if we thought of stewardship of the land as our part of the web of a connected creation, rather than the opportunity to acquire resources? What if land ownership was not a divinely ordained right, but instead, we approached our care of all land as the joyful result of our interconnection with all beings. Imagine if our approach to land ownership came from an attitude of abundance and grace. How would this have changed our history? Is there a way that we could bring that attitude with us into the future?_____Today on American Indian Ministry Sunday, we recognize The Council for American Indian Ministry (CAIM). According to , CAIM “is comprised of five ministries with 22 congregations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota…We are an integral part of the life of the United Church of Christ. We maintain our Indian traditions by employing our Native values and cultures to witness in our communities through authentic and postcolonial Indian expressions of the Christian faith. We are a gathering ‘place’ for all UCC Indian people who seek such a place.”October 6, 2019Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost Free to GrievePsalm 137 Neighbors in Need OfferingWorld Communion SundaySome years ago, there was a bumper sticker popular with members and friends of the United Church of Christ, “To believe is to care, to care is to do.” This slogan was a reminder that love is not passive. Love is an action word. Those bumper stickers aren’t around anymore, but we are still encouraged to focus on active love as we lift up Three Great Loves – love of neighbor, love of children and love of creation. According to nin, Neighbors in Need (NIN)?is a special mission offering of the United Church of Christ that supports ministries of justice and compassion throughout the United States and this year will focus on one of the #3greatloves, love of children. One-third of NIN funds support the?Council for American Indian Ministry(CAIM). Two-thirds of this offering is used by the UCC's Justice and Local Church Ministries (JLCM) to support a variety of justice initiatives, advocacy efforts, and direct service projects through grants, which are awarded to UCC churches and organizations doing justice work in their communities. These grants fund projects whose work ranges from direct service to community organizing and advocacy to address systemic injustice. There are many ways for individuals and organizations to be inspired to work with these types of programs and projects. There are many paths toward justice. One of these is the path of grief born of love. Parents whose children have been lost to school gun violence may become local or even national advocates for gun safety. Others grieving the destruction of a favorite wetland to unfettered development may become climate rights activists. Still others experience the pain of racism against those they love and become Black Lives Matter activists. Of course, sometimes, as in the psalm today, the action born of our grief and love can be destructive. Jesus modeled for us another way. Jesus shows that action originating in loving grief can be generative, creative, and sustainable. On this World Communion Sunday, we recall our connection with Christians around the world. As we do so, let us remember that communion was an act originated by Jesus that grew from his love and his grief. As he ate with his friends for what he knew would be the last time, he broke bread and took up the cup. Those actions anticipated the justice of the reign to come, when all will gather at the table of plenty. Those actions, born in a moment of grief, remain one of the most powerful ways those who live in this name can continue to recall that love is an action word.October 13, 2019Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost Planting LifeJeremiah 29:1, 4-7Access Sunday and Disabilities Awareness WeekThe Rev. Sarah Lund has been called as the United Church of Christ’s first Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice. What inspires her about this role? The Rev. Lund says, “The UCC’s commitment to disabilities and mental health justice drew me to this position. I am excited to support the UCC as we seek to live out our commitments to be A2A (Accessible to All) and WISE (Welcoming, Inclusive, Supportive, and Engaged) for mental health. I am inspired to work with lay leaders and clergy, supporting their efforts to reflect the extravagant love of God in Jesus Christ.?I enjoy the inspiring people I am honored to get to know doing this work. One of the main things I do is build relationships with pastors, lay leaders, Conference Ministers, National Staff colleagues, seminarians, and members of the wider community as we share stories about how our lives are shaped by disabilities and mental health justice.?The temptation in the church is to think of disabilities and mental health justice as a side issue. It is challenging and critical to think of disabilities and mental health justice as part of every other justice issue. There is great opportunity in the places of intersectionality and that is where we are excited to explore moving forward. For example, as we continue to engage the whole church in our Sacred Conversations to End Racism, we can include in that conversation how disabilities and mental health justice intersect with racism.??Inviting churches to seek justice with people who live with disabilities and mental health diagnoses is important because it is what Jesus calls us to do. Jesus’ teachings call us to love our neighbors and loving our neighbors means seeking justice for people who live with disabilities and mental health challenges.??The UCC has a strong history of supporting disabilities and mental health justice through the work of its ministers and congregations. We celebrate the important role of UCC minister Rev. Harold Wilke, a person with a disability who was a disability rights pioneer and activist involved in the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). We also celebrate the wider church’s commitment at the 25th?General Synod in the adoption of the resolution ‘Called to Wholeness in Christ: Becoming a Church Accessible to All.’ We celebrate that at the 31st?General Synod the wider church adopted the resolution to be WISE (Welcoming, Inclusive, Supportive, and Engaged) for mental health. The challenge that these celebrations offer is the opportunity and responsibility of the ongoing work.”To find out more about how you can be engaged in this vital ministry, contact lunds@. October 20, 2019Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost Ask Boldly; Live JustlyLuke 18:1-8Children’s SabbathLaity SundayThe work of justice is knocking on doors. The work of justice is calling on the phone. The work of justice is getting educated about the issues.The work of justice is marching in the streets. The work of justice is writing letters to those in power. The work of justice is prayers of persistence.The work of justice is showing up again and again and again.The work of justice is not easy, and those who work persistently for justice can suffer from burn-out. Burn-out is the emotional, mental, spiritual and physical exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. We don’t know what kept the widow in today’s story from burn-out. We don’t know why she was able to persist in boldly going to the unjust judge when so many others would have given up. Like many others, she might have asked in despair, what is the right number of phone calls, of letters written, of steps marched? Those who do the work of justice never know what the tipping point might be. It could be today’s visit, it could be tomorrow’s phone call, it could be next week’s letter that move the needle. But unlike those who experience burn-out, the widow approached each encounter as if this was the one that would have the hoped-for effect. She was energized rather than discouraged by the knowledge that each encounter could be the last one, or just the next one. At the same time, the widow balanced her sense of purpose with a realistic understanding of the scope of her influence and ability. She did not try to talk the unjust judge into fixing every corrupt act against every person. Instead she worked doggedly for the one cause she was most passionate about.We don’t learn much about the widow except that she was persistent, but her continued work indicates that perhaps she employed some other tools to avoid burn-out as well. When the list of work to be done gets long and daunting, try taking a look at this list as well. It may seem counter-intuitive to do more, but attending to these may actually make the work of justice more sustainable into the future.The work of justice is gathering community.The work of justice is taking time to be creative.The work of justice is experiencing intentional sabbath.The work of justice is letting go of perfectionism.The work of justice is feeling optimism balanced with realism.The work of justice is focusing on the task at hand.The work of justice is seeing the long view. The work of justice is praying with gratitude.October 27, 2019Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost Just WorshipLuke 18:9-14UCC Higher Education SundayJubilee USA is a loosely organized group of faith and advocacy groups – including many United Church of Christ churches – that work toward lowering debt of all kinds, particularly student debt. According to their website, , “The stats are sobering. Graduating American college seniors have an average student loan debt of nearly $35,000. Total student loan debt in the United States is at $1.3?trillion. Jubilee USA works to change these statistics by bridging religious, political and generational divides to promote responsible student lending and borrowing and stop predatory student loan and debt collection practices.”“On July 1, 2013, student loan interest rates were set to double for almost 7 million college students. The year prior, when Congress was about to double the interest rates on students, 45 Jubilee faith communities prayed, acted and stopped the increase.?In 2013, over 60 religious communities across the nation joined us in prayer to stop the increase.” Proposals to reduce the current student debt have sometimes been met with cries that debt reduction in this generation is not fair to those who have already paid their debts. Like the Pharisees, those who want others to suffer are not able to see that in God’s grace everyone is to be received and cared for. The Pharisee sniffed at the misfortune of the tax collector praying sadly in the temple, and believed that his own elevation was proportional to the downward spiral of his neighbor. He had not yet learned that the affliction of some does not lessen the misery of others. Instead of seeking others’ suffering, you are invited on this Higher Education Sunday to pray this prayer, also found on the Jubilee USA website. “We pray for students who are our future, may they not be burdened with unjust and unsustainable debts as they seek to expand their knowledge and prepare to take up the responsibilities as tomorrow's leaders. We pray for those who currently struggle with student loan payments, and those who may struggle in the future.”?“We pray for the Members of Congress who must make hard decisions in hard economic times, that they will support and maintain student loan affordability and help to make a more fair and just future.”?“We pray that Congress will act in a way that supports students and broader social equity and justice across our communities.”? Amen. November 3, 2019Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost Transforming LoveLuke 19:1-10Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours, yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion is to look out to the earth, yours are the feet by which He is to go about doing good and yours are the hands by which He is to bless us now. -Teresa of AvilaDoesn’t everyone belong in the arms of the Sacred? -Lady GagaIf you study a scholarly interpretation of the story of Zacchaeus, the scholar might note drily that in first century Palestine, it would have caused a tremendous loss of face for a grown man to climb a tree. It’s not just first century Palestinian society, however, that looks askance at grown men climbing trees. It does not take a tremendous stretch of the modern imagination to picture the ridiculousness of this scene. Zacchaeus must have had very little left to lose in order to allow himself to be humiliated in this way. The branches of sycamore are welcoming and offer copious cover. So why did he come out of hiding? Why expose himself to more embarrassment and ridicule? When Jesus saw Zacchaeus and called him down out of the tree, why did Zacchaeus come down? He could have stayed up in the tree and hidden from Jesus and from the crowd. After all, it wasn’t just the tree climbing that made him an object of scorn. The people hated him because he was a tax collector and they believed he had cheated them. But Zacchaeus heard Jesus calling him and saying his name, and he made a risky but life-giving choice. It did not take too much persuading on the part of Jesus. In their short exchange, Jesus offered Zacchaeus three precious gifts – Jesus saw him, Jesus invited him, and Jesus loved him. These three gifts had the immediate effect of transforming Zacchaeus. In a moment, it seems, Zacchaeus decided to change his ways. Because he was seen, and invited and loved, he was able to reconcile with this God and his community. This radical change did not take a miracle on the part of Jesus. It just took a compassionate moment of connection. Teresa of Avila, the medieval mystic, reminds us that we are not just to follow Christ, but to be his hands and feet in the world. So, do this. Walk toward those on the margins and reach out your hand. Let those who feel unseen know they are seen. Extend an invitation to all. And radiate Christ’s love wherever you go. We are Christ’s hands and feet, and we can be the means by which even the most lost know that they are welcome “in the arms of the Sacred.”November 10, 2019Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost Hold on to Faith2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17Stewardship SundaySurely the end is near. Violence runs rampant. Consumerism holds a culture in thrall. The people listen to the words of the leaders and struggle to discern which are true. Sound familiar? As it was for the church in Thessalonica, so it is for us today.But hear the voice of Jesus calling and saying, “I am the way.”You may hear, my friends, that the end is near. You may hear that this one is the Messiah, or that one is the Savior. Don’t let yourselves be stirred or shaken. Do not believe everything you hear or see. Be calm and discerning. Don’t let anyone fool you.And listen for the voice of Jesus, calling and saying, “I am the way.”You may be tempted to put your trust in this celebrity or that one, a certain candidate or the opposition, one charlatan or another. These may seem to us to be gods, but they are not. God will reveal these exalted ones for who they truly are – flesh and blood like you and me.Just listen for the voice of Jesus, calling and say, “I am the way.”How do we know the voice that we hear is indeed the voice of Christ? First of all, be grateful. Give thanks to God whenever you can. Then, remember this. You are God’s beloved child.You are called for such a time as this. so stand firm in the truth. Listen! the voice of Jesus, calling and say, “I am the way.”Be comforted in your heart and be strong in your spirit, knowing thatyou are held in Christ’s embrace.November 17, 2019Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost Infinite PossibilitiesIsaiah 65:17-25Listen for the still speaking voice God who declares through the prophet, “I am about to create new heavens and a new earth…” Two families of German Lutheran immigrants heard the voice in the middle of the 1800’s when they traveled to Galveston, Texas in a leaky boat that nearly sank in the Gulf of Mexico. The immigrants listened to God’s voice declaring that a new creation was coming as they gathered with a few other Germans who had already settled in the area. Together, the families founded a Lutheran church which they named St. Peter’s. The church members kept listening for the still speaking God, when yellow fever decimated the community twice in the next twenty years. And then they listened again when their church building burnt down a few years after that. They heard God declare a new creation was already being imagined and it gave them hope in those difficult times. In 1937, St. Peter’s adapted again, changing its worship services from German speaking to English speaking. And then, in the 1950’s, there was a new creation again when the church joined the newly formed United Church of Christ. Recently, St. Peter’s United Church of Christ changed again. The small, white, traditional congregation merged with Houston’s Cathedral of Hope – a tiny satellite of the huge LGBTQ congregation Cathedral of Hope in Dallas. Cathedral of Hope-Houston’s pastor is African American and openly gay. The small congregation had started off as a renter at St. Peter’s, but then they approached the church asking how they could afford necessary physical plant updates. Instead, representatives of St. Peter’s proposed a merger. That’s the how the church became what it is today – God’s new creation called St. Peter United. The congregation had once again listened to the still speaking God’s declaration that a new creation was being brought to life. In just a little under two hundred years God has made many changes at St. Peter’s. They were not changes that the founders could have imagined because God’s imagination is so far beyond anything our human minds can create. Listen, God is still speaking! “I am about to create new heavens and a new earth.” Pay attention to what God’s creative imagination might have in store for you and your community. November 24, 2019Reign of Christ Together in ChristColossians 1:11-20Thanksgiving SundayUnited Black Christians AnniversaryA Prayer for Reign of Christ SundayHere is your throne, Christ Jesus, Lord of all.It looks like a park bench on a drafty winter afternoon, whose only occupant is curled up asleep under of pile of paper and blankets. It is You resting there, trying to find a few hours of rest before You are pushed out, told to move on. Your reign is a home, where all gather in warmth.Here is your throne, Christ Jesus, Lord of all.It looks like an uncomfortable plastic chair, pulled close to a hospital bed. The room is quiet except for the hushed sounds of breathing and the steady pulse of machinery. Your hand is the one holding the hand of the sleeping patient. Your reign is a temple of healing, where all find comfort. Here is your throne, Christ Jesus, Lord of all.It looks like a scratched and graffitied desk in an impoverished schoolhouse. The class is packed with too many students and too few resources. And yet there You are, crowded into the back row, raising Your hand to ask yet another question no one can answer. Your reign is a classroom for justice, where all learn that the last will be first. Here is your throne, Christ Jesus, Lord of all.It looks like a worn and polished pew on a Sunday morning. It seems like there’s plenty of room, but the unspoken rules that govern who-sits-where are as strict as any commandment. And there you are, plunking yourself down right in the middle, as if there are no rules at all. Your reign is a sanctuary of hospitality, where all experience extravagant welcome. We want to put you on a different kind of throne, Christ Jesus, Lord of all.We want your throne to feel plush, to look shiny, to express might and strength. Instead, You! Ruler of the Earth and the Heavens rest on a park bench.You! The King of Majesty recline in a hospital room.You! Messiah squirm in our country’s underserved classrooms.You! The Savior sit right here, right now, right beside me.Where else will I see you,If only I look?Amen. ................
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