A Prayer for the Holiday Weekend...

Creator God, Sweet Jesus, Comforting Spirit -

We're glad to be able to say that we're here this morning.

After all the hamburgers and hot dogs,

all the chips and dips,

the baked beans and potato salad and

those lovely, sparkling explosions in the night sky -

we're here.

Glad and grateful for the country in which we live,

happy to celebrate our freedoms as citizens in this great land.

We surely know that the US of A is not a perfect place.

We've made mistakes, some of them disastrous;

we've been opportunistic and greedy at times,

and our history is marred at points by bloodshed,

some of it spent in service of high ideals and worthy causes

and some of it not.

But, O Lord, we have been so incredibly blessed.

Blessed with a beautiful land,

with inventive and dedicated people,

with many leaders, at many points in time, who have

been creative, inspiring, and open to the movement of your Spirit 

as they led us

and as they lead us.

Help us to be good citizens, even as your word admonishes us to be:

to support and pray for those who lead,

to uphold the rule of law,

to stand up for justice,

and to honor freedom, in all its facets, 

as we live and work together.

For most of us, our citizenship in this amazing land 

is an accident of geography and birth.

A wonderful, serendipitous gift. 

O Lord, help us to value that gift and to live up to it.

But we also give thanks this day 

that we are citizens of another place

even before we are citizens of the United States.

We are a part of the Kingdom of God,

a kingdom that extends around the world and beyond time,

a kingdom that demands our first allegiance

and which provides us with our primary identity.

May we be worthy citizens, O Lord, 

listening to and obeying your word,

loving our neighbors as ourselves,

even when those neighbors may be our enemies.

Because enemies show up in the strangest places sometimes!

At home,

in the neighborhood,

at work,

at school,

on the freeway!

It's amazing how quickly we can get our dander up,

how swiftly the anger rises,

the grudges grow,

the offenses pile up.

O, help us.

Help us to heed your call to us as citizens of your kingdom.

God, help us to love our enemies,

for we surely cannot do it on our own.

In fact, left to our own devices,

we'd prefer to fan those flames of resentment

into something very much like hatred,

perhaps even enjoy a moment now and again

when we just plain wallow in our discontent

because of what those people are doing

to us.

It is only by your power and grace that we are able

to rise above ourselves,

to view even that person we like the least

or has hurt us the most,

as just another child of yours,

created in your image,

beloved by you.

Empower each of us to reach beyond the limits

of our own insecurities,

our own preferences,

our own prejudices

to truly see those people

as your people.

We've gathered together our gifts of love for you today, Lord.

Will you take them and use them 

to build this kingdom of which we are citizens?

Use this money to build programs

and projects that will 

help us and those we support,

to be the gospel, the glorious good news of Jesus and his love,

both here and around the world.

We give you special thanks this day for Lisa Holmlund,

and for the ways in which she lives the gospel in our midst.

Bless her in her ordination,

remind her of your call on her life,

and continue to gift her with love,

love overflowing

for the students with whom she works.

Bless our pastor this day as he brings us your word.

And bless and encourage each one of us, as we worship you together this day

and as we live for you in our own settings during this week.

We ask these things in the name and for the sake of

Jesus Christ, who loves us.

Amen.

A Prayer for Ordinary Time...

Summer is officially here now, Lord.

The slow season, 

the travel season, 

the take-a step-away-from-the-usual season:

the usual schedule,

the usual people,

the usual obligations,

the usual expectations,

the usual....

And our church calendar coincides so nicely with our

day-timer calendar!

For on our church calendar, we've moved from Eastertide 

into the season of Pentecost -

the season of Common Time, 

of Ordinary Time.

I love that!

Ordinary Time.

And sometimes, Lord, it begins to feel like we do

indeed have to move away from the usual,

in order to truly step into the ordinary!

To let go of the clutter

and the appointments

and the activities of our friends and various family members,

in order to just sort of settle down into a

regular,

less-constrained,

less-contained,

something-more-like-ordinary

life.

Why-ever

and however

and whatever 

it takes,

I am glad and grateful that it happens, Lord.

I need some ordinary time!

And I'm pretty sure that these friends,

gathered here to worship you today,

that they need some ordinary time, too.

So this morning, I want to say 'thank you'

for this time,

this stretch of ordinary time from now until August - 

time to stretch out a little,

time to sit and talk

with friends,

time to be in the yard or the patio or the park

and listen to the children play,

time to watch the shadows lengthen 

in the afternoon sunlight.

Thank you for friends,

and children

and parks

and summer sunlight.

And I want to thank you for the space that

this ordinary time opens up inside of us -

space to think,

space to remember,

space to pray,

space to dream.

Thank you for minds,

thank you for memories;

thank you for prayer,

thank you for dreams.

Thank you, too, for the catch-up opportunities

that come with ordinary time.

Sometimes those we most need to play catch-up with

are those people that we live with

or care about the most.

Your word for us today is a powerful one,

and it speaks to our need to honor commitments made,

in marriage,

in friendship,

in relationship.

And a primary ingredient in honoring and keeping commitments

is time - plain old, ordinary time.

Time spent talking,

Time spent listening,

Time spent sitting or walking or working together

with those whom you've given us to love and live with.

So I thank you today for heartfelt conversations

that are open and honest,

filled with laughter or with tears.

I thank you for people who listen to me.

And I thank you for space and time without speech,

yet rich with companionship and shared history.

Even as I say these words of thanks, O, Lord,

I am keenly aware that there are many here today

who find it hard to say 'thank you' just now.

Some find that ordinary time stretches out endlessly,

with not enough companionship

or meaningful conversation to fill the hours and days.

Some are living with loss and grief,

unable to imagine a joy-filled future.

Some have given their commitments full-hearted attention for years

and find that now, they're holding nothing but dust,

the dust of broken hearts, shattered dreams and great reservoirs of regret. 

O, Lord, have mercy!

Have mercy on those who are lonely this day.

Have mercy on those who are grieving this day.

Have mercy on those whose marriages

or families

are fighting for life this day.

Have mercy, O Lord.  Have mercy.

Grant, O Lord, that we who rejoice in ordinary time

may extend your arms of grace and mercy toward

those who don't.

For we need each other to be a living and vibrant community of Jesus in this place.

The wonderful thing about ordinary is that....it's ordinary!

Sometimes we're doing great,

and sometimes we're not.

Sometimes we're rejoicing in life,

and sometimes we're struggling to survive.

Sometimes we're buoyant and believing,

and sometimes we're downhearted and doubting.

But by your grace and through your power,

we're in this together,

reminding one another of the gift of ordinary time.

And we do this through Jesus Christ,

who chose to leave his extraordinary heavenly home

and live a wondrously ordinary human life.

Glory be!

Amen.

Milestones...

Well, it's here.  We are officially OLD.  No matter that we started 'young,' having babies in our early 20's and grandchildren in our mid-40's.   Because now, we have a high school graduate.  Yes, our eldest grandson, Ben - age 18, a generous, kind, smart, talented and funny young man - has graduated from Oaks Christian High School.  Wow.  And weird.  I distinctly remember, like it was yesterday, the anxious early morning phone call: "Come NOW, Mom.  My water broke!"  Driving to the Burbank airport to catch a nearly empty flight to Oakland, landing in the densest fog I've ever seen, hitching a ride from complete strangers to get to Lisa and Mark's little house on Abbey Street in Pleasanton where I could pick up my own car, left there two weeks before, and driving to the hospital.  Where Ben decided not to come, thank you very much, requiring an emergency c-section and then weighing in at 10# 5 oz.  Started setting those milestones early!  

He was an absolutely fearless toddler and little boy, climbing everything, jumping from dizzying heights, constructing fabulous inventions, painting early masters, figuring out how things worked.  Towheaded to a blinding blonde color, blazing blue eyes, energy out his fingertips - he was a wonder to us all.  Our first grandchild - nothing short of a miracle.

He grew up in much the same way he began - fearless, inquisitive, capable of amazing technical expertise and with a wonderful artistic eye.  When he was 13, he showed interest and ability in photography.  So I gave him my original SLR film camera when I bought my first digital.  Immediately, he figured out more things to do with that camera than I ever dreamed about.  The kid had talent - real talent.  And the school he chose to go to aided and abetted that talent in a big way.  Oaks Christian is an anomaly in education - a huge endowment from an invested grandparent created a magnificent campus, drew gifted administration and faculty members, and made possible absolutely top of the line technical resources.  And all of it anchored in solid commitment to discipleship, commitment and mission.  Ben took every class that was offered in both photography and videography, successfully mastering every challenge.  His work won first place in multiple shows and he was in demand as the videographer of choice for most of the faculty, from football coaches to dance instructors.  He did good!  Real good.  And we are all so very proud of him.

A tableau of graduation accoutrementes -(clockwise) 

 robe & stole, fabulous $$ lei made by Ben's other grandmother, the senior award certificate, diploma and medallion (well the ribbon shows, at least.)

His graduation ceremony was last Thursday afternoon and I drove down to Westlake early in the day to help Lisa with flowers and errand-running.  She, as usual, had everything organized to a fare-thee-well, having accomplished both a new roof and a complete re-landscaping of their backyard in preparation for this momentous day.  It was a day rich with deep emotion as Mark's presence was strongly felt through every moment of it.  And how grateful I am that Mark was able to participate as fully as he did in his sons' lives right up until the day he died last fall!  He is, I am sure, so proud of these remarkable young men.

Family came from all around southern CA to attend the ceremonies and/or the wonderful dinner party Lisa hosted afterwards.  Lisa and Joel, her youngest, held onto 3 rows of seats (Luke, grandson #2,  was playing clarinet in the orchestra) and was soon joined by one great-grandmother, a great-uncle, two great-aunts, two sets of grandparents, two cousins on Mark's side, an uncle, two aunts and two cousins on Lisa's side - and those 3 rows filled right up!  It was a great ceremony!  Good speakers, a suitably (and intimidatingly!) impressive valedictory address and a lovely setting.  

The big surprise, that hit us all in our communal solar plexus, was that Ben was one of 5 seniors honored with a special award!  We knew that he had won the departmental award in art the previous week, but this one was completely unexpected.  The 3 'prongs' of an Oaks education are: Leadership, Athletics, and the Arts - and Ben received the medallion and certificate in the Arts.  It was just so lovely to hear the tribute offered by the head of the department, based on the comments of all Ben's teachers and on Ben's own fine work and many contributions to the school through his technical and artistic gifts.  He proudly wore the medallion for the picture above and it's inscription is shown in the one below.  The actual introduction is printed in italics below the picture.  It was written by Ryan Kelley, Chair of the Arts Department at Oaks.

The recipient of the Dallas Price Van Breda Fine Arts Award is a wonderfully talented visual artist.  This fine young man has a passion for photography and film that he has shared with all of us at Oaks Christian School.  His exceptional photography was recently featured as the cover of our poster and program for our high school art show and his marvelous film work at our dance concert, Define.  His creativeness and technical expertise is only surpassed by his generosity.  He never turns down a request to help others; this includes producing numerous football highlight videos, helping teachers with various video needs all the while making full use of our incredible media studio.  He is creative, inquisitive and is always the first to try out a new technique.  I have no doubt that we will hear his name again - probably announced at the Oscars for best cinematography.  And we are 

all certain that your father is as proud of you today as we all are.  The winner of the Dallas Price Van Breda Fine Arts Award is 

Ben Fischinger.

The party itself was grand!  A great celebration - with another great-grandmother, great-uncle, two more cousins and multiple friends of all ages.  And to top it all off, that day happened to be the 15th birthday of Ben's brother, Luke!  Another stellar student at Oaks Christian High.  It was a rich day - tiring! - but incredibly blessed.  We are all full to the brim with gratitude for God's good gifts of family, education, beauty, love and laughter.  

A Prayer for Trinity Sunday...

Holy & Magnificent Triune God,
Father, Son and Spirit;
Creator, Redeemer, Comforter.
MIghty KIng, Gentle Shepherd, Sweet Wind of Grace:
we cry with the prophets of old,
"Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
The whole earth is full of your glory!"
We are glad and grateful for the fellowship you share
as One God in Three Persons,
and for your gracious invitation to us
to step into the circle of your eternal love.

We do not begin to understand the mystery of your Being,
but we are grateful for Who you are,
for how you work,
and for your presence with us.
We hold this mystery with fear and trembling
and with love and devotion,
acknowledging that you are God.
And we are not.

Forgive us for so often living as though the opposite were true -
that we are somehow in charge here
and you are some kind
of accessory,
or Interesting Idea,
or convenient scapegoat,
or junior partner in our many plans and endeavors.
We can sing so easily and beautifully that
'we surrender all,' that 'we give up our rights,'
and 'hand you our dreams,'
but we have this terrile tendency to snatch them back
when the singing stops!
Forgive us for too often forgetting to
offer you the worship you are due,
the worship of a holy and whole life,
lived for your glory,
for the service of others,
and for our own true fulfillment.

And oh, Lord God,
forgive us for searching for that fulfillment in so many other places -
in money
or family
or relationships
or popularity
or good grades
or 'success,'
whatever that is.

We come before you this morning with contrite hearts,
some of us with broken spirits,
some with the burden of dreams unfulfilled,
or of plans unravelled.
We come with the weight of past mistakes,
of present failures,
of future fears.

And we want to take all of that 'stuff,'
and lay it down,
right here on the table,
this altar that represents to us
who you are in our lives,
and we want to say,
"We're sorry."
And we want to say,
"Please help us."
And we want to say,
"Lord, change us!"

By your Sovereign Will as Creator of this Universe,
by your Gracious Forgiveness as Redeemer of the lost,
by your Powerful, Life-Giving, Life-Changing Presence as
In-dwelling Spirit,
forgive us our sins,
help us in our struggles,
change us into holy, righteous daughters and sons of grace.

You've begun that work in us, Lord God.
On our good days, we know this to be true.
So, on this good day,
on this Table-of-the-Lord day,
we ask you to continue that good work,
shaping us into men and women,
students and seniors,
boys and girls,
who live lives 'more righteous than the scribes and the Pharisees,'
as our text for today reads,
who understand more fully what it means to be a disciple of Jesus,
who seek to be among those who will be called 'great' in the kingdom of our God,
great because we have learned your law of love & humility
and have obeyed it with our whole hearts.

We ask these things humbly,
gratefully,
expectantly,
and hopefully,
trusting in your goodness
to forgive,
to heal,
and to transform.
For Jesus' sake,
Amen.

Time Out...

Both Dick and I have realized an ever-increasing sense of urgency about taking a time out for a few days. A need to leave all things familiar and nest somewhere else together. It's been quite a year. Enough trauma for a few lifetimes, it sometimes seems. So after Sunday's sermon (which was a sermon I needed to hear, and apparently a few others did as well), we went online and found a great deal at a Pismo motel we had never visited before. An ocean-front, two room, 2 bath suite for a great price. Yes, it's foggy in Pismo this time of year. Yes, we already live in a beach community. But we don't live on the water and this place isn't home, with its telephones, messes needing attention, and other assorted distractions - and that, for a little while at least, makes a huge difference. So we drove up Sunday afternoon, had dinner at a quaint place where, if you like, they'll throw an entire pot of 3 different kinds of shellfish, corn on the cob and roasted red potatoes all over your table (!!!) for dinner. That was a little too much for us our first night away, so we settled for some fabulous homemade soups and seafood louie salads. Perfect.

The next day, after sleeping in a bit and enjoying what is euphemistically called a 'continental' breakfast at this lovely resort (it actually consists of a great deal more than that, including two waffle makers into which you pour a cup of batter, set the timer and enjoy), we got in the car for a little exploration. I love to explore new places! Get in the car and drive, then get out of the car and walk. First we drove to the Pismo Pier, which we walked. (The top photo was taken from the pier, looking back toward our motel.)

Next, we went to Arroyo Grande - a charming member of the Five Cities here on the northern central coast. This is their 'famous' swinging bridge, which like everything else in the downtown area and environs, is exquisitely well-maintained and fun to see.

After you cross the bridge, there is a small historical building site - with a schoolhouse, a Victorian home and a barn (all, only open on weekends) plus a lovely town park with a regular River City bandstand in the middle. They are currently tidying up their town for this weekend's 'world famous' strawberry festival and we had a wonderful conversation with a woman, about my age, who was very happily painting pictures of strawberries on the store windows of the downtown area. "How'd you get into this business?" I asked. "Well, 35 years ago, I was working for a bank and they knew I had an art degree. So they asked me to do some windows at the bank. I hadn't a clue, but began to make friends in the sign industry and gradually, just built up my own little business. I've been doing it ever sense. It's a great job - allowed me flexibility to raise my kids, takes me to all the surrounding little towns and I love being in the outdoors!" Cool.

The flowers in this small berg are beautiful, as you can see from these floribunda roses which were screaming out at us in front of the one-room schoolhouse. And soon, there will be new trees all down Branch Street, which is the main drag. All in all, a very fun outing. We had a flyer for something called "Doc Bernstein's Ice Cream Laboratory" which we found and entered with enthusiasm. They invent their own flavors and we each enjoyed two scoops as a finishing treat to our walkabout. As you can see, Dick LOVES ice cream. :>)

Next, we decided to follow the road out to Lopez Lake, a spot we had often wondered about, but never visited. Lovely drive, but probably no return trip planned anytime soon. It's another of California's large reservoirs that are labeled lakes and allow boating and fishing but no swimming. A few nice campsites out there and this small deer, chomping away.


We ended the afternoon at the 10-plex movie theater, watching "The Soloist." I had read such mixed reviews on this film that I was hesitant, at first. It is a bit too long and sometimes confusing to listen to - but I think in many ways, that was intentional. I love the director - Joe Wright (of "Pride and Prejudice" and "Atonement" fame) and I enjoy both Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx, so it was absolutely worthwhile just to see some of the interesting directorial choices and the acting chops of these two fine performers. And it was deeply troubling, too. The condition of the homeless mentally ill in the city of Los Angeles, indeed, in all cities in our country, is simply devastating. And there was a voice-over line at the end that just tore at my heart, especially in light of the sermon I had worked on last week. It went something like this. "Nathaniel is still sleeping indoors and he is still mentally ill. Some experts have told me that the simple act of having a friend for a year may actually change his brain chemistry enough to help him stabilize a little." Having a friend can change brain chemistry??? Who knew? I think perhaps Jesus understood this powerful truth when he told his disciples, "I have called you friends." I'm so glad I am enjoying the gift of a few days alone with my very best friend.

A Prayer for Tomorrow...

Such a wonderful old hymn -
"Jesus loves even me."
And so appropriate for all of us
today, and any day.
May we sing with joy, Lord God,
proclaiming our gladness and gratitude
that you, Our Father in Heaven,
love us so very much.
It is indeed a 'wonder'
and the 'dearest thing' we read
in scripture.
Thank you that you love even us.
Thank you.

Yet, even as we relish your love for us, Lord,
we acknowledge that we need help
to love ourselves in good and healthy ways,
and to love each other as you love us.
Will you help us to be glad in that
extension of your love, please?
And to do it with joyful obedience?

We've glad to be here today, Lord.
Really glad.
It's been a tough two weeks, filled with smoke and ash and bad memories.
We thank you for the valiant work of firefighters on our behalf.
We thank you for answered prayer about wind and weather.
We thank you that the worst is behind us,
that this particular group was not hit as harshly this time around.
But that is sadly not for so many others in our community, Lord God.
For 100 or so families, the mess is just beginning,
as too many of us fully know and understand.
Help us to help them -
to help them grieve,
to help them begin again,
to help them find hope.
Use us in ways that are helpful and hopeful to reach out
in Jesus' name.

And we're bold to ask for healing for ourselves today, Lord.
Even though we didn't lose any structures or possessions -
and we're really grateful for that,
honestly, we are -
still, we've been hit again with chaos,
with turmoil,
with momentary dispossession, and displacement,
with reminders of our own fragility,
and with echoes of terror and devastation too recently true.
So, heal our memories with your sweet Spirit,
recall to us where home truly is found,
guide us to green pastures and still waters.

We thank you today for our pastor, Don Johnson, and for his wife, Martha.
And we're glad they are back again from a time away,
a time to weep and a time to rejoice in the life of Don's dad.
Bless them both as they return to life in Santa Barbara,
as they continue to grieve the loss of their own parents this past year,
as they help us to grieve our own losses.

Whoever else may be hurt or feeling lost or loss today, Lord,
bring your healing presence close, please.
Open our eyes to see those around us who need an extra smile or hug.

And bless the gifts we've brought to you today.
Make them grow miraculously,
use them to minister to the hurting,
to spread the good news both here and abroad,
to build the kingdom of God in the here and now.
Thank you that we can give,
that we can sing,
that we can pray.
And bless us in Jesus' name to do it all again and again and again.
Amen.

Friends...

I'm preaching this Sunday on John 15:9-15 - the second half of Jesus' evocative teaching about abiding. This 7-verse chunk of John's gospel offers several avenues for reflection and comment, including these ideas:
the connections between love and law;
the meaning and experience of joy;
the beauties and responsibilities of being chosen and appointed;
a definition/description of 'bearing fruit that will last;' and...the meaning, modelling and mastering of the art and discipline of friendship. And it's that last one that has captured my imagination and curiosity this time around.

We've just come through (well, almost completely through) a desperate and terrifying time in Santa Barbara. A time of imminent disaster, sleepless nights, displacement from home and possessions, and the stupefyingly paralyzing specter of flames on all sides. This was the view from one part of our town, looking at all the rest of our town last Thursday night: There have been many points in the last week when I have been too exhausted, too depleted, too psychically battered to put together any kind of coherent prayer, sometimes any coherent thought. The phone still worked, however, as did the computer, and those two tools - products of the last 100 years of human inventiveness - allowed me access to a wide circle of friends during an exceedingly stressful time. Thank God for that!

Interestingly enough, the vast majority of that network (not that the network itself is all that vast :>) are friends of mine because of our connection to one another through Jesus. We are all grafted onto the same vine, joined to the same life source, connected to one another by our shared dependence upon our Holy Friend for nourishment, strength, sustenance and power. Because of that, there was a very real sense that these friends, more than some others, truly 'got' what was happening within me and within our larger church community. I can't really explain that - I just know it to be true.

Well, let me take a stab at 'explaining' it. Maybe describing it is the best I can do. Describing it in light of my reading and reflecting on John 15 this week. In the opening verses of that chapter, Jesus chooses a word picture that is viscerally familiar to his audience - the vineyard. "I am the vine," he claims in verse 1 (last week's lesson), and in verse 5, he adds, "and you are the branches." "Remain/stay/abide in me..." Look at the pictures of grape vines posted above. Note especially the points at which branches are connected to trunks. Do you see how large the base of each branch is? How widely open each one is to the vine? How firmly connected? And those branches are about as productive of grapes as they are big enough - in other words, as well-connected - as they are to that trunk.

That's the basis upon which the rest of this extended analogy is built. We need to be attached to Jesus, like a small child attaches him/herself to his/her parents' leg! Like a firm anchor is buried in the bottom of a swirling sea. Like a sturdy house is bolted to a stone foundation. So any understanding of the teaching found in verses 9-15 needs to be entwined with the picture formed in verses 1-8. Friends of Jesus (part 2) are those who abide in him (part 1), who dwell in him, who stay with him, who unashamedly draw sustenance from him, who know that any 'doing' that counts must come from 'being' in the right place first. And, if it's not stretching the metaphor too tightly, any doing that counts (as fruit, shall we say?) is a natural outgrowth of that being.

My goodness, that's a hard lesson for me! One that I seem to have to learn over and over and over again. Being busy is a high value in the culture of this land, perhaps even more markedly so in central California than in other parts of it. It's beautiful here - the weather is generally terrific (EXCEPT for sundowner winds). So there's no excuse for not getting out there, for not adding one more activity, planning one more event or series or training session or ....???? Practicing the fine art of presence is looked at with suspicion at best, condescension at worst. Being present - with oneself, with others, and most of all, with God - is generally not highly regarded. I can so easily be sucked into the pressures of both world and of church to 'be productive' in a quantitative, measurable way that time spent being quiet, reflective, attentive gets squeezed out and devalued. I continually have to learn that 'fruit that lasts' will not come from my own efforts to produce it. Fruit comes as a natural by-product of abiding; the only 'doing' that will make a real difference in my life or the lives of others is the doing that comes naturally and sequentially from a place of centeredness, not busyness, from focused reflection, not distraction. Meaningful, long-lasting fruit comes from paying attention rather than seeking it.

to be continued...