The Security of a Promise

   Northminster Presbyterian Church in Evanston, where I am an intern, recently made a decision to house the homeless.  After discussions with other area churches they realized a need to help families that have become homeless, especially in light of the recent economic crisis.  They, with other churches, founded a new local initiative called Family Promise.  Family Promise is part of a nation-wide program where church take turns housing recently homeless families so that the children and parents can be kept together and have access to their schools and workplaces.
    The church has been enthusiastic of its support for this program.  The church helped the new program purchase cots, curtains, toys and all of the things that would be necessary to create a temporary home for the people we are trying to help. This week was the first week of the program in Evanston but we found ourselves setup and ready but without families.
    We could easily become discouraged that, perhaps, this is a bad program or disillusioned that there is not need of the program.  What I have seen at Northminster, however, is excitement.  We realized that, even though there was the hiccup of no participants this week, we could do this.  We setup the church and had all of the volunteers and money in place for our turn.  We did it!
    It turned out that it was a test run, but the test run had purpose it proved that we could do it and it proved that we were faithful in our promise, even if there were not yet families to accept the help.  I’m reassured that there are applications turned in, there is a great need, and that the churches are ready.  Come our next turn hosting the program will be running smoothly and there will be people living in our church.
    Isn’t this like God’s promises?  God promises us love.  God promises us life.  God promises us faithfulness.  Northminster remained faithful to its promise and so does God hold faithful the promises that she makes.  The family that was lined up, from what I understand, became nervous about this new program.  Perhaps they were embarrassed.  Perhaps they were afraid that we would not live up to the promise we have made.
    It seems that we have become accustomed to fellow humans not living up to their promises.  We have become used to unfaithfulness and disappointment.  What God offers us is a steadfast, ironclad promise.  This promise is expressed in scripture and should be expressed through communities of faith.  As a church -as a community of faith, we must be faithful to one another, to humanity-at-large, to all of creation, and to our Almighty God.

The Experience.

Every since I got engaged this blog has been hi-jacked by personal stories that are probably not very interesting, so today let me reflect a bit on something even more obscure:  Groundhog Day!

    Here is an interesting holiday.  We ceremoniously parade out Punxsutawney Phil to see if he will retreat back into his den or cage.  American culture has set aside a day that we watch with fascination as a groundhog retreats into her/his hole.  Can we all agree that this is an obscure and bizarre holiday???  Now is the time when I admit that I love groundhog day.  Not because I’ve ever been to see Phil nor because I put any stock in Phil’s predictions, but I love groundhog day because it is obscure.  It reminds us of our fascination with the unexplained, the accult, the bizarre, the supernatural.  It reminds us that we want to believe in more than what can be seen or measured by science.
    By all accounts Easter is much like Groundhog Day to many Americans.  Crazy Christians gather in their churches to see if Jesus is in the tomb.  If Jesus has risen (He always has) then they are inexplicably ‘saved.’  For those of us who are Christians, Easter is not meaningless like Groundhog Day but it is bizarre, really.  Can we imagine what it must look like to those of other faiths?  Can we imagine what it looks like to those with no faith?  How is it that we bring forth the story of Easter that others will appreciate the mystery, the excitement and even the bizarre nature of the day without writing it off as a superstition?
    I think first of all we have to take time to just enjoy the moment.  We can use groundhog day to practice.  Can we just experience Groundhog Day in all of its uniqueness?  Can we forget about the fact that weather and sunlight contribute to whether the animal wants to come out or not?  Can we forget about meteorology, climate and weather patterns?  Let’s set aside science and technology and just enjoy the moment today.  We’ll watch a groundhog for what it is and we’ll accept that the experience of watching the groundhog is worth something.  As Christians, when we arrive at Easter in just a few months, perhaps we will remember this exercise.  Let’s set aside the technological and scientific and just accept that the experience of Easter is where we will find the truth.

New Year's Lobster Party

   Two weeks of time spent with family and friends is coming to a close and we ended the time with a great New Year’s party at Carrie’s parents.  Each year Bob and June put on a Northeast-style New Year’s Lobster dinner.  It was great fun.
    I was pretty much a nervous-wreck, though, before New Year’s Eve.  At the start of the fall, before I had even proposed, Carrie had a conversation with me, “So Scott, don’t be mad at me, but I was talking to mom and dad...and they want to invite you parents to New Year’s.”  It took me a moment to recover but I realized that if I was going to follow through with asking her to marry me- then the families would have to meet.  Carrie said, “Great!  There is one other thing, and don’t be mad, but actually my parents didn’t ask.  I told them to invite your parents.”
    Well, you can imagine how this conversation went.  The whole thing began to stress me out, but over the last few months I warmed up to the idea that our parents would, indeed, meet.  But a few days ago I realized with horror that they really were about to meet!  Now, really I know, there isn’t actually anything to worry about.  We both have likable parents.  Yet, knowing, that everything will be alright doesn’t change the feeling of fear and trepidation that I was feeling!
    It is actually something her father said that calmed my nerves just before my parents arrived.  He said, “Scott, it doesn’t matter if we like one another or not.  It’s not us getting married its you and Carrie!”
    I don’t exactly know why I told all of this, but in the end, our parents got on very well.  Our dads talked politics, our moms talked wedding, and we got to hang out with Carrie’s cousins and friends.

Not Planning A Wedding

    So the last few days, if judged by our expectations, would have to be deemed a failure.  We had intended to go down to Carrie’s parents and spend three full days of wedding planning so that Christmas with each family could be wedding-planning free!  It was a well thought out plan...
    Carrie still had a mountain of work before her that was due a.s.a.p. so she was working feverishly between our appointments with the pastor, a bridal shop and her dentist (not wedding related, but thought I’d be thorough).  That night she was up all night getting the paper done so that it would be in the professor’s email before 8 a.m.  She came by my room at 8:30 a.m. to ask that I would come wake her up before her appointments started at 10.  She had scheduled appointments with bakers, dress shops and florists but her mother and I conferenced for a few minutes over breakfast and made the executive decision to cancel everything and let her sleep.
    We were, in the end, still able to go see the reception site but Carolyn got some much needed sleep.  We had to cancel about half of what we intended to do during the three days, but it made the rest of the trip very enjoyable.  Carrie got a full morning’s sleep. And we’re heading to the Frank Lloyd Wright house in Springfield on our way back to Chicago.  All in all it was a great few days.  We just didn’t get much wedding stuff accomplished.

Title Photo:  With Carrie at the Dana-Thomas House in Springfield, IL.  You can't see so much in this photo but it was decorated beautifully for Christmas but, of course it is a beautiful house anytime of year.

Ozark Wedding

Last weekend I went to a wedding in Southern Missouri.  Now, first of all, I had a wonderful time.  This will seem surprising to some of you when I recount the story.  If you don’t know the couple and the context it will seem strange and unusual.

First of all, there was a hillbilly hot tub.  Andy, the owner of the camp where we were (camp, you say?  - yes, I’ll get to that), brought an old truck over by the bonfire (yes, I’ll get to this, too) lined the bed of the truck with a sheet of plastic and filled it with water.  He then setup a wood-burning stove and pump that runs off of a car battery and pumped the water out of the truck, through the stove and back into the bed of the truck.  This creates a hot tub which is the center of attention and a great deal of party fun....    I regret to admit I “forgot” my swimming suit and was not around for this photo.

So back to the wedding.  Jason and Clarissa met and grew up spending weeks of the summer at camp Taum Sauk each summer and then later both became camp counselors at said camp.  After years of knowing one another at camp they started dating as they went off to college and now, six years later, are married.  In itself this is a sweet story as their parents and friends talked about their many letters as child penpals and later falling in love.  It seems an obvious choice that they would want to go back to the camp where they grew up to get married.  But wait, there’s more.  Clarissa’s mother and father also got married at this camp which is near the small town where they live.

It turned out, though, that last weekend was cold and wet.  When I got to the camp with Carrie, I was in a grouchy mood.  It had nothing to do with the camp or the wedding or even Carrie.  No, I was crabby because through a series of unfortunately events... I didn’t get any sleep the night before (3 hours or so) and when we arrived they didn’t know where we should put our stuff or where we would be sleeping cause the cabins were unheated.  With the combination of a long drive, no sleep and no apparent accommodations (when all I wanted was a nap) I was feeling way grouchy and stressed.  Eventually they got us all settled in and I got to bed early and had a long and comfortable sleep.

Saturday was an fresh start.  I was refreshed and relaxed.  Carrie and I took a romantic walk through the woods and along the black river.  Everyone pitched in to setup for the wedding and reception.  It was different than holding a wedding in the city.  It was difficult to schlep everything to the “middle of nowhere” and there was not a hotel staff or large catering staff to take care of accomodations.

This might not be expected, but it was actually wonderful.  Everyone really felt they were a part of the wedding.  Mama Schuller would yell, “Scott, get your ass over here and lift this for me.” Btw, this is just a polite colloquialism to Lesa Schuller (mama) and the other folks at camp.

The wedding ceremony took place in a field nearby and after the ceremony the invited guests were encouraged to proceed towards the camp dining hall and help themselves to kegs of beer and hor d'œuvres around a bonfire while the wedding party took a hayride down through a horse pasture to the river for photos.

At this point I must digress.  My girlfriend’s twin sister, Katie, flashed me and all of the wedding party (and their significant others) with her boobs.  The bridesmaids were all where these strapless numbers and when she ran up from the river while taking her coat off...well...turns out the girls were “out and about” without her knowing it.

Anyway-  the only other thing I think I should mention was the amazing pig roast.  They roasted a whole hog for the guests to enjoy.  I hope you can appreciate that people (who missed the “business casual” message) were hanging out in a field, by a bonfire and taking hayrides in their suits.  It was, in some ways an odd sight but in everyway it was a wonderful way to spend my weekend.  The wedding was a complete success and all of the guests seemed to enjoy it thoroughly.

What's Up With Full Communion?

If you ask most United Methodists what “full communion” was... and they would say, “well, Scott, that is probably when the pastor gets real generous with the bread and grape juice!”  Well, I’ve had that kind of full communion, but United Methodists today should be talking about another kind of full communion.  You see, The United Methodist and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America have just entered into a new Full Communion agreement after more than 39 years of dialogue (when it is an ecumenical discussion of unity between two churches we call this a bi-lateral).

The General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns of the United Methodist Church has been engaged in this work.  So often people ask me when I return home from board meetings of the GCCUIC, “What do these national agencies do for my local church?  How does that work affect me?”  The same question could be leveled at this work.  What does full communion mean and what does it mean for our churches?

Many United Methodist Churches already work with Lutheran (and other churches) in their area.  They may even have exchanged communion with pastors blessing the elements in one another’s churches.  Full communion certainly means that we should be engaging in eucharistic sharing (communion services) together, sure, but FULL COMMUNION means sooo much more.

Let’s step back a bit.  What does it mean for the church to be the body of Jesus Christ?  Well, which church?  The catholic church sees itself as THE church universal and then there is the Eastern Orthodox and many protestant churches...  Which church is the body of Jesus Christ?  I’d like to say that Christians are one church regardless of denomination or sect, but let’s be honest, we sometimes can’t sit in the same room hardly (at least this has been the case at times).  So there are many churches, yet one body of christ that, I would like to believe, encompasses and is lived out by all of the Christian churches.

Certain churches have taken steps towards unity.  Not organizational unity, at least necessarily, but theological unity.  In the case of the ELCA and UMC, the churches have discussed theology and practice and determined there are no longer any major theological understandings that should keep them apart.

The pastors of our churches may be appointed to churches of the other denomination (so long as they meet denominational standards such as taking a polity class or conforming to regulations on WHO can be a pastor in the denomination)  In other words, a gay Lutheran pastor, unfortunately, can not be appointed to a United Methodist Church.  In small communities, then, where a lutheran and united methodist church would wish to combine and share a pastor they may do so more easily.

Some of you may say, “we’ve been doing these things for years.  It sounds like the national church is just catching up to what we’re already doin’.”  This is a fair challenge, but we can rejoice that the churches have come to this agreement and that we growing in unity.  Local churches could choose to ignore this....or we can take advantage of the moment and take steps to get to know our local Lutheran sisters and brothers in Christ.

GCCUIC, Day 1

The board of the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns is meeting yet again this week.  I’ve been a member of the board for five years now and really enjoy the work.

I got into New York on Tuesday evening and after a terrifying van ride to 6th Avenue and 26th in Manhattan, I got settled into my hotel and went out for pizza with a friend.  We went to “Waldy’s Wood Fired Pizza” which was great.  Cindy, Luke and I met for breakfast.  We walked up to the 2nd Ave Kosher Deli for breakfast and I had some amazing french toast.  Enough about food, though.  When my beautiful girlfriend was in New York last week with her family  I called the second night of her trip to ask her about the trip.  She began listing all of the restaurants she had been to and food she had eaten.  I said, “Haven’t you done anything besides eat?”  I guess I had just forgotten how exceptional is the restaurant selection and food variety.

This is only my third trip to NYC so there is a newness to my experience and I am soaking in the magnificence of this city.  Bishop Park, in his welcoming remarks, spoke of his 10 seconds of welcome to the pope.  He said that he had many things with which he might have loved engaging the pope such as challenging him on ordination of women and yet when he was before the pope with only seconds to greet him, he said, “The people of New York have welcomed you and when New York welcomes you, the world welcomes you.”  I really like this.  It speaks to how crazy diverse this city is.  Every where I look I see not just an American city, but multiple cultures on each city block.  Next to the Kosher Deli there was a middle eastern store with an Arabic sign. Muslims and Jews side-by-side with other cultural stores spanning the block.  Other cities, like Chicago, have these elements but there really is an intangible quality about New York which makes it remarkable.

Enough rambling for now.

Title Photo: At the "God box" 475 Riverside Drive in New York City.  By Scott Carnes, 2009