Pastor's Pen

Practicing Resurrection

I have become more aware over the past few years how we Christians and churches like ours are called to practice resurrection.  Rather than treat Easter Sunday with all of its wonder, joy, and relief from the long Lenten journey as a static event, we are called, just as the disciples were, to come out of the locked Upper Room and follow Jesus.

            I don’t know about you, but for me the getting on with life, with all of its challenges, always follows the mountaintop experiences.   Whether it is the birth of a new baby, a promotion in the workplace, the graduation, finally, from school, a wedding, a clear diagnosis, even the election and installation of  a new pastor – whatever it is that causes us great joy is not the end of the story.  There is still much to be done and there are still new ways to be and become as followers of Jesus.    The Good News of course is that Jesus is with us on the way.

I recently read in one of my preaching journals about a favorite saying of David Buttrick , the esteemed preaching scholar at Vanderbilt Divinity School, and the son of the famous preacher, George Buttrick.   Professor Buttrick thinks of the church as the being-saved community.   I like that.  I also like the response of a candidate for ordination being grilled by a Presbytery somewhere about the doctrine of salvation who said in response to the question, “are you saved?” :  “I was saved, I am saved, and I am being saved!”  It seems to me being-raised on Easter Sunday calls us to live as those being-saved  on Monday.  It is a transient and transformative experience, not a static one. 

How are we the being-saved community as Federated Church?  By the next newsletter edition, the Council and I will be able to report on a few projects that have been on hold since the time between pastors such as new signage outside the building that will tell visitors, fellow citizens, and members alike when we worship, who we are, what we are doing, and how everyone’s invited.  

There will be a report as well of the concrete steps toward living into a new vision for our church that the Council adopted at our February retreat such as the ways we can renew and transform our three worship services through use of multi-media, new music as well as the old favorites, and the arts.  The latter report will not be one with final answers, but it will include an invitation for you to participate in one of three focus groups (as opposed to the old language of “task forces”) as we live into the ways in which God is “doing a new thing” here. 

Sara and I were moved by the service of installation on March 9^th and the gracious attendance of so many of you late on a Sunday afternoon!  Roddy Dunkerson was not able to attend, but I was delighted that Irene served as our UCC representative in her capacity as Ecumenical Lay Minister. 

Sara and I both appreciate your concern and your prayers for us in our quest to find eventually our own home here in Columbus.  Our house in Fort Wayne is in the hands of a realty company that does “high end’ rentals.  As soon as it rents we will be able to purchase a home here in Columbus.  In the mean time, we are keeping practically everything inside our rental house boxed and ready to move.  Our landlord is very generous and we are grateful to have a place to live temporarily. 

So, we are keeping a sense of humor about this nomadic journey we are on.  We remain convinced that this is where God wants us to be, so it should be just a matter of time until we have a home.  I know it has been a bit bewildering for you to keep up with our journey as it has for us – and not easily explainable!  Suffice it to say, you will be the first to know when we have a home to live in – together. 

Your fellow pilgrim traveler,

Jim