I’m a face toucher. I touch my face, my kiddos’ faces, and my Sweetie’s face. There might even be a chance that, in a moment of excitement or enthusiasm, I reached out and squeezed your beautiful face. I’m sorry about that… I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the beautiful gift that you are to the world.

Enough! This is a new season of life. During this season of COVID-19, my face touching, eye rubbing, along with many other high touch activities have been reduced to a minimum, since evidence shows it as a primary way of transmitting all sorts of microscopic particles. These are hazardous to your health.

This has been a major shift for many of us. We’ve not only had to curb the way we touch door knobs and grab faucet handles, but we’ve also added a series of new daily rhythms as we mask up, get an extra squirt of hand sanitizer, and sing songs while we scrub up our hands. We don’t want to become infected and become ill. Even more, we don’t want to transmit the virus along to those we love or those who are most vulnerable.

On occasion, we engage our faith in similar ways. We don’t want to become infected by the realities of a God who would love and forgive us. We might believe in fresh starts and unconditional love, but we wonder if it is only available to others. We say, “God’s grace can’t extend to me. You don’t know what I’ve thought or done.”

We also don’t want to force our beliefs on others, so we muffle our words like we would cover our cough or we don’t speak up in a key moment. In an effort to remain virus free, we steer clear of anything that smacks of religiosity or theology (talk about God). We practice spiritual distancing. We employ protocols of ignorance, distraction, and excuses. We go out of our way to avoid interacting with God or with others about faith stuff.

But God’s activity can’t be quarantined. We may deny it. We may do everything in our power to lie to ourselves and others about our condition and try to self-isolate, but the presence of God cannot help but infect us. Because we encounter the living God every day through creation, one another, and the company of the Spirit, we cannot help but show signs of infection. Our lives are symptomatic, as we test positive for being in the presence of the Holy One.

The apostle Paul says that God’s symptoms show up in a variety of ways:

“Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it.

Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good.

Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle…

Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder.

Help the needy; be inventive in hospitality.

Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath…

If you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch,

or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink.

Your generosity will surprise him with goodness.

Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.”

(Romans 12:9-21 -The Message)

God’s love is contagious. Living. Sharing. Celebrating. This isn’t only a Lord of Life thing. This is a Christian thing – even a human thing. Created in the image of God, this is our factory setting, how we are wired, how we are created to be. We can’t shake these symptoms. Our prayer is that God’s love will infect and change the whole world!

Spreading the Love of God,

Pastor Lowell

There are a lot of facets to who I am, but most of my identity has always revolved around being a musician. There are pictures of me in nothing but a little button up shirt and a diaper sitting at an organ console, and most of the memories I have from my childhood are of playing an instrument or singing in church. At age 41, there are days I'm still not sure what I want to be when I grow up, but the actual thought of being anything but a musician is almost impossible to imagine. Given how integral music is to me, having 6 months in which the nature of my work has changed so dramatically due to our current health crisis has really made me struggle with who I am and what I'm doing.

I know we've all felt the burden of having to adjust our lives around an invisible virus that we haven't learned how to control. But as someone with a traumatic past and issues with depression and anxiety, I had no idea how much being pulled away from my regular work would cause me to spiral into a dark place. Extra hours of sitting on the couch, looking for distraction, only led to the inability to get off the couch at all. After the first three months, the thought of getting more projects finished at home was forced to confront the reality of my loss of motivation, lack of energy, and general irritability. I've only started pulling out of it in the weeks since we've been able to start working in the office and having occasional in-person worship, which is when I really feel like I get to be who I am.

And now it is Pumpkin Spice season. I know some people feel a strong distaste for it, but for me it is a reminder that autumn is on its way, holidays are around the corner, and I'll get to partake in some great meals, social gatherings, and all the music opportunities that usually come with the academic year and eventually Christmas. This year it comes with more questions than answers. Will I be able to gather with the same people? Will my regular music groups get to perform? What will worship look like by the end of the year if we're still in the throes of a pandemic?

There is finally some comfort, though. Last weekend we celebrated Eucharist for the first time since March. While we still weren't able to gather near each other around the table, hearing the Words of Institution again made me feel God's presence in a way I haven't felt in months. "Take and eat; this is my body, given for you." And then, whether we were at church or at home, we were all able to eat and drink the elements that had been blessed together. This is the center of our worship because it is a reminder that we are part of the same community and that we have already been given God's grace. It isn't just for a specific season, but for all time. And it is a reminder of not only who we are, but whose we are as Christians.

Yours in Communion,

John Johns

For many of us, we are in the exciting season that is election season. For others, we are in the worst season. As a politics junkie with a bachelor’s degree in political science, this season is full of fun as I stay up late for every Super Tuesday, clear my schedule as much as I possibly can for party conventions, watch all of the debates, and fill out a Senate and electoral college maps - a politics junkie’s equivalent of a March Madness bracket. 

Though I love election season, I am also aware that politics does not always draw out the best in us, especially for political junkies. I can easily fall back into wanting to prove a point more than genuinely hear an opposing opinion. I contribute to the unhealthiness of our current political climate of polarization through the in-take of hyper-partisan news sources that affirm but do not challenge my opinions. When looking at the inner workings of politics, foul play in one party is corruption, but in another party it is the name of the game.

This awareness affirms a hard-learned lesson from my “political behavior” class in college. People who are most like me in their political behavior are not those who agree with me but are less passionate and less involved. Rather, those who are most like me are people on the opposite side of the political spectrum but share the same level of passion and involvement. 

“The other” or the “opposing force” and I are both making campaign contributions and rolling our eyes at campaign yard signs. We are taking in too much television news, and are conflating positions on nuanced issues with our moral compass. We are firm in our positions and our opinions do not frequently change. We spend too much time in the comment sections on social media outlets and online news articles. Yet, because of political polarization, “you all are a lot alike,” is a reality check, and an unwanted check. But it is good news.

Despite all the ways we separate ourselves from each other, at our core, we are not that different from each other. We all go to the ballot box with our family and future on our minds. And in a polarizing political climate, including swing-state Ohio, scripture calls us to find our commonality in Christ, as we break bread together (6ft apart), pray together, sing together, and simply live together.

A modern paraphrase,

“There is no longer Democrat or Republican, there is no longer liberal or conservative, there is no longer Trump voter and Biden voter; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28

Living into being one body of people in Christ is not easy when our political climate is polarized and simultaneously shaping our own personal identities. However, this lesson is an invitation to listen to others we disagree with, find commonality, and build one another up instead of tearing each other down. And it’s refreshing news as it reminds us that our God is bigger than the toxic political climate that we often find ourselves in.

I will likely need to remind myself of Christ’s inclusion and my shared humanity within 24 hours, because in a split second, through thought or word I may forget the good news. But living into one body is what I am called to do and to strive for. As the church lives into being one body in Christ, may we, mere persons, live into our shared humanity. 

Your sibling in Christ,

Pastor Alec

(he, him, his) 

P.S.: Have you planned your vote? With means of voting changing state by state due to Covid, it may be in your best interest to plan ahead. 

Registering to vote:

• The deadline to register in Ohio is October 5. 

Early voting:

• Early in-person voting in Ohio starts on October 6.
• You may vote early in-person at your county’s board of elections. (search for hours)

Absentee voting: 

• The deadline to request an absentee ballot is 12 pm on October 31.
• Absentee ballots must be postmarked by the day before election day (November 2), or they must be turned in at the county board of elections by 7:30 pm on election day.
•  OR: request your ballot now, fill it out and send it back as soon as you receive it.
• If you send your ballot a week or less before election day, make sure it gets postmarked.

You may also vote in-person on election day, Nov. 3. 

For more information on voting in Ohio: https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/

It’s a catchy title for a blog, isn’t it? I thought the same thing when it appeared in my email inbox a couple of weeks ago. I subscribe to a Christian leadership blogger named Carey Nieuwhof who delivers daily thoughts to my inbox. Sometimes I read them, sometimes I don’t, but the title of this particular blog drew me in. It spoke to me so much, that I wanted to share it all with you. 

Let me prepare you though… Carey’s blog posts are sometimes hard to read. There are some pop-ups, paragraphs are sometimes disrupted by invitations to tweet something or buy a leadership course, the blog seems longer than it really is because of the line spacing, and like ALWAYS, never read the comments on a blog! Despite all of that, in this time of increased aggression within our world, I encourage you to read all the way to the end. 

One of the key messages of the blog is about how we speak to one another, online and in person. Neiuwhof says, “Critique is different than criticism. A critique aims to build up, not to tear down. So it’s not like you can never say anything negative. But what you have to say should help people get better and feel better. If you can’t figure out how to do that, you’re not ready to post.” I am challenging myself, and you as well, to begin running our thoughts through this filter before posting content online. As Christians we are called to care for one another and it is easier to do that when we come alongside and offer advice and help, rather than tearing one another down. 

Here is the article: https://bit.ly/2PNNJ1Q 

Happy reading!

Pastor Corey

Earlier this week I walked into the church office and saw our office administrator, Cara, printing out beautiful stickers and backpack tags for our Blessing of the Backpacks moment that read “You Are Loved.” Behind the words were a full array of colors to represent LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) persons, with particular representation to LGBTQ+ persons of color, and the transgender community. This filled me with joy, not simply because I will make sure to receive one of those stickers, but also, as a gay man, I appreciated the inclusive statement being made in such a small, but meaningful way.

Sitting in my office chair, I thought about how those stickers and backpack tags would have been meaningful for me in my youth. I particularly thought about the 15-year-old me who was wrestling with his sexuality as a theologically and socially conservative Christian, who contemplated whether or not his salvation was compromised by his sexuality. I wondered how hearing from a classmate, “I got this sticker from church” could have been life-giving words that healed my wounds.

The same morning, I went to my email and opened up my daily devotional, and my favorite passage from my favorite book in the Bible, Job, was the reading for that day, 

“Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:
“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Gird up your loins like a man,
  I will question you, and you shall declare to me.
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
   Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
    Or who stretched the line upon it?
On what were its bases sunk,
    or who laid its cornerstone
when the morning stars sang together
    and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?
“Or who shut in the sea with doors
    when it burst out from the womb?—
when I made the clouds its garment,
    and thick darkness its swaddling band,
and prescribed bounds for it,
    and set bars and doors,
and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
    and here shall your proud waves be stopped’?
Job 38:1-11, 16-18

From the lesson, the Creator Almighty visited Job with a herculean appearance and challenged the strong theological convictions of Job and his friends by asking questions, such as, “Where were you when I laid down the foundations of the Earth?” Those questions served to put them in their place for having confidence in knowing exactly how God operated in our world. For me, this passage has always been meaningful as I have found rest in the knowledge of God as being the all-present, all-powerful, all-knowing deity. 

However, when I read this passage with “You Are Loved” stickers and backpack tags in the back of my mind, I read the passage with new eyes. There is so much grace in God being the person who laid out the foundations of the Earth. God, being the person who laid out the foundations, set the cosmos into motion, separated land from sea, and more. Thus, God has the responsibilities that I do not have to carry, and cannot possibly carry. Like Job and his friends, when I am next to God, I am small.

I am not enough to eradicate this world of poverty. I cannot snap my fingers and make racism disappear. I cannot ensure that justice is always served. And when I feel as if I am not enough, I can take comfort in the knowledge that I am not God. But, I can display a “You Are Loved” sticker on my computer, wrap a “You Are Loved” tag onto my backpack, and know that this simple act will provide life-giving words and heal wounds to someone like the 15-year-old me.

Your sibling in Christ,

Pastor Alec
(he, him, his)

I put on my dress shoes this week. Since I have been working and leading online worship from home, I haven’t had many occasions to put on socks and shoes in quite a while. My happy toes have grown accustomed to spreading out in the wide footbed of my sandals and were confused by the sudden constricting apparatus which enveloped them on this dress shoe day.

I don’t know what I thought would happen physiologically from wearing sandals for the last three months, but when my feet were all wrapped up on a hot summer day, they felt claustrophobic. Is that possible? It was as if the bones, cartilage, and muscles were longing for their newfound freedom.

I’ve been thinking about feet this summer. Everywhere I look, people are on the move. I’ve noticed a rapid rise of evening walkers in our neighborhood. I’ve ventured with my family to several area bike paths and witnessed runners and bikers exercising, connecting, and relaxing as the sun sets on another day. I’ve watched people march in peaceful demonstrations around the globe and celebrated those who continue to walk and run 5Ks to support their favorite cause. Each is going somewhere. One step at a time, they are in motion.

The Rev. Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal church, tells a powerful story about holy feet in his book, Crazy Christians: A Call to Follow Jesus.

A few days before I was consecrated bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina in June 2000, a group of pilgrims left Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, to walk almost 60 miles to Duke Chapel in Durham…They walked the highways and the back roads in prayer and reflection and witness as the diocese prepared to welcome me as their bishop. Little did I realize at the time that their spiritual pilgrimage would prove to be a parable of who we are as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

As they walked, they walked in the steps of Chaucer’s Canterbury pilgrims…They walked in the steps of Mahatma Gandhi’s Salt March to the Indian Ocean. They walked in the steps of those who marched across Selma’s Edmund Pettis Bridge in 1965. Above all, they walked in the steps of Jesus of Nazareth, who summons disciples of every generation with the words, ‘Follow me.’ Their pilgrimage was part of other pilgrimages of the past, because in their walking they showed that discipleship is really about what you do with your feet.

Take a look at your feet. Where have they carried you? How have they led you throughout life? Give thanks for those places and occasions. Now, consider what you are doing with your feet. Where are you headed? Are they leading you into new territory? Are there unknown paths you’ve discovered or wish to explore?

Frederick Buechner believes that our feet can give us some good information about ourselves and our priorities. “I say if you want to know who you are… you could do a lot worse than look at your feet for an answer. When you wake up in the morning, called by God to be a self again, if you want to know who you are, watch your feet. Because where your feet take you, that is who you are” (The Alphabet of Grace, pp. 24-25).

In the coming weeks, we’ll be talking about where we are headed as Lord of Life this year. Which are the well-worn paths we’ll follow and which are the new trails to discover or create? As you can imagine, the protocols and uncertainty of the coronavirus have us re-imagining our shared ministry life, but we continue to seek faithful ways to worship, serve, and learn together as we follow the way of Jesus.

On the road again,

Pastor Lowell