Archive for November, 2009

by Mark Owen

As I’m writing this, it’s the Monday of Thanksgiving week.

Mondays are annoying enough for me as the first day of a business week that I have to “jump start,” but this is the Monday before Thanksgiving. I know from experience that making the usual business calls to church accounts is not a wise plan today. As a matter of fact, today, tomorrow and Wednesday, Thanksgiving eve, are pretty much limited in their potential to be of any actual business value to me. The good Fathers, pastors, music directors and lay leaders I call on daily have full agendas this week, so experience and wisdom hold my reins tightly, and I’m settled here at my desk.

And, to top it off, there’s this time period approaching rather quickly called “Advent” that everyone seems to have a much better grasp of than me. I’m still straining from my roots as a southern Baptist boy. We didn’t “do” Advent. Too “high church” or something, I guess. I’m trying to understand it.

ADVENT – defined by my dictionary as “…the period beginning four Sundays before Christmas and observed by some Christians as a season of prayer and fasting… .” A second definition simply says, “the coming of Christ at the Incarnation… .”

Well, that doesn’t do anything for me, so let me indulge in the convenience of my omniscient laptop and access the powers of Wikipedia. “ADVENT (from the Latin word adventus meaning ‘coming’) is a season of the Christian church, the period of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus; in other words, the period immediately before Christmas… .”

I’m finding myself a little irritated. I don’t anticipate Christmas. No, I’m not Scrooge…well, maybe a little. But I did, like Scrooge’s Ghost of Christmas past revealed to him, at one time find the excitement of anticipating Christmas to be all warm and fuzzy with lights, garlands, decorations, gift wrappings, days full of song, children’s school plays, and family gatherings of nosey, er…noisy relatives, church pageants of the nativity and the most wonderful food imaginable. But that all changed. It did for Scrooge…it has for me…and from what I observe, both personally and via the media, it has for millions of others.

Should I expect others to feel guilty because they’re so joyful and there are countless others of us who are not? Or maybe I should “put on a happy face” and just get through it again. Tell that to the guy begging on the corner. Or maybe try to get that across to the mom standing in the median with a cardboard sign scribbled with the words, “Help, please…will work to feed my children.” I suggested to Jeff the other day as we were making ready to hand out our usual invitation to Dignity Diner along with bus fare that we should ask that street person, “What does ADVENT mean to you?”

I’m thinking that, secretly, way in the depths of my heart, what I really wanted was to have the power to announce to him, “Don’t be afraid; for see—I have good news of great joy for all of our people. Jesus has been given to you, to me, to all of us…an amazing gift that we share together!” Maybe, because I’m such a drama queen, I wanted to hear that army of angels once again sing out, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to whom this gift is given!”

Or did I need for him to say to ME, “Don’t be afraid…”? Did I need then, as maybe I do now, some sort of reassurance that God understands my holiday troubled heart and has a promise of peace for me as I contemplate the amazing power of His gift and allow celebration and rejoicing in my soul that must be shared in the uniting of my voice with others as we sing “Joy to the World, the LORD is come!” and we call, “Sing choirs of angels! Sing with exultation!…O, COME, COME LET US ADORE HIM!”

I suspect God has already set in motion a plan that uses those persons in my life, from Jeff to the street person to perhaps even you, that will once again pull me through the holidays. You, Jeff and I, and maybe even the persons on the street, the homeless surviving on so much less than we have, will look at the weeks ahead with anticipation of God’s gift.

May we be ever mindful, as we move through this Advent season in anticipation, that we are also God’s gifts to each other. That is why we give.

by Liz Dierbeck

Giving doesn’t always seem easy. So often, the clang of the cash register becomes the heartbeat of our lives, and never more so than at Christmastime. What will we buy? How will we fight the crowds to get the best deal? How do we top last year’s performance? Will the recipients like what we chose, or secretly exchange everything?

God knows every gift. He sees through the trimmings and the trappings, to the heart of the matter: that we give at all, that we give what we can, that we give freely and frequently. And here’s some more good news: we can’t out-give God, and the more we try, the more we truly receive.

Holy Covenant is putting a stake in the ground during this season of Advent. Members, regular service-goers, first-timers, staff, and everybody in between–we are all invited to accept the gift/sacrifice of not giving STUFF at Christmas. Our gift will be to God, by giving differently: by our hands, and from our hearts.

When I take that one extra ounce of effort, when I smile at a stranger instead of looking away, if I donate $5 to an organization that builds wells in Africa instead of slurping it down with soy milk and vanilla syrup, when I “build” a container of soup mix that my grandmother can enjoy on a cold winter day…that means I’m giving what I can, when I can, wherever I can.

We’re in this spirit together, friends. This year, we’re paying it forward, in magnitude and gratitude…and we’re paying it back to Jesus, the greatest gift of all.

Dear Holy Covenant Family,

The season of Advent is upon us, the time in the church year when we prepare for the arrival of Jesus. In Advent, we wait for the Christ child, hope for light, and expect the extraordinary. We anticipate the new thing God is doing, and sing with Mary the mother of Jesus: “God has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; God has filled the hungry”. Mary’s magnificent song of Praise, the Magnificat, in Luke 1:46-55 will shape our season together as a community. She’ll remind us of the new thing God is doing through Jesus: reversing power structures, bringing peace, healing hearts, and saving the world.

As we welcome Jesus in the church, we are mindful that the culture treats this as a time of spending and stress rather than joy and peace. Join us this Advent at Holy Covenant as we counter the culture and follow God, by focusing not on consumption, but compassion. I invite you to watch this video by the Advent Conspiracy, which shows us what we can do with our resources when we use them to follow Jesus and change the world: www.adventconspiracy.org

This year, we invite you to consider spending less and donating your money to Water for Life, a United Methodist related organization that is constructing wells to provide clean water and bring dignity and life to 45 communities and 50,000 people.

How can you be involved? Join us for worship, read the daily devotionals on our blog, or volunteer at the Alternative Giving Fair. Join us on Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent, and for all our gatherings listed below, as we get in on the conspiracy. Mary’s song of radical reversal will shape our Advent season as a community, as we covenant to spend less, love more, and watch for God in unexpected places. Together, we’ll sing a new song.

Grace and Peace,
Kate

Sing a New Song: Compassion, Not Consumption
Holy Covenant Advent 2009

Experience Holy Covenant through weekly worship:
Sundays at 9:30a and 11:15a
Sundays at 7p (unplugged, contemplative service and Eucharist)
Thursdays at 6:30p (during Advent; includes potluck dinner and worship)

Join us for these special heart-warming events:
Sunday, Dec. 6: Special Music (during morning worship)
Holy Covenant’s musicians lift up special music of the season.

Sunday Dec. 6: Party at the Parsonage, 3p-5p
Music, food, and fellowship. All are welcome!

Saturday, Dec. 12: Alternative Giving Fair, 11a.-3p
Learn to make eco-friendly, sustainable gifts for your friends and family!

Sunday, Dec. 13: Children’s Christmas Pageant (during morning worship)

Sunday, Dec. 20: Caroling in the neighborhood, 8p (after evening service)

Monday, Dec. 21: Longest Night Service, 7p
A service of mourning and hope for those experiencing grief, loss, and difficulty during this season.

Thursday, Dec. 24: Christmas Eve worship, 7p and 11p
Candlelight and Communion

Over the next few weeks, Holy Covenant is joining in the Advent Conspiracy challenge to worship fully, spend less, give more, and love all this holiday season. We believe that taking some of the consumerism out of Christmas and focusing in on what really matters is one way we can live out Holy Covenant’s mission to seek God, love all people, and change the world.

You can find out more about Advent Conspiracy by visiting www.adventconspiracy.org. To find out more about what the Holy Covenant community is conspiring to do this season or how you can get involved, visit the Advent page on our website at www.holycovenantumc.org.

Today’s Troubles
By Rev. Kate Hurst Floyd
Holy Covenant UMC, Nov. 22, 2009
Matthew 6:25-33

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It’s Thanksgiving week. A time for turkey, football, family and friends.  Cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and leftovers.  We eat roasted turkey, deep fried turkey, tofurkey, and even turducken. Do you know what that is?  It’s a turkey, stuffed with a duck, stuffed with a chicken. It hurts my vegetarian heart to think about it.

We gather around the table and share with one another what we are thankful for.  We play touch football in the backyard and crash for a nap before we wake up and eat some more.   Some of you may be going over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house, others of you may be staying home with a few close friends.  Or maybe you have to work, and Thanksgiving becomes a day like any other day. (more…)

Dear Holy Covenant Family,

Where do you find the holy?

I’ve been asking myself this question as I ponder our Scripture lesson for Sunday: Matthew 6:25-34. As we get caught up in our busy lives-worrying, planning, controlling-Jesus breaks in and says: Consider the lilies. Consider the lilies. God is surely present in these spectacular flowers. Be in the here and the now, he exhorts us. Look for the divine in the daily. Open your eyes to God in your midst, in all you do, and experience the holy power of the present.

This is not an easy task. When I find myself over-planning or worrying too much about the future, I listen to a song by one of my favorite folk singers, Carrie Newcomer, called “Holy As a Day is Spent”. A Quaker and committed activist based in Bloomington, Indiana, Carrie has a gentle yet strong way of reminding us how each moment of our lives is of God and for God. The lyrics are below, and I hope they will help you settle into God’s goodness in the here and now, in the lilies and birds and grass, laundry and dishes and leaves.

Holy as a Day is Spent
Holy is the dish and drain
The soap and sink, the cup and plate
And the warm wool socks, and the cold white tile
Showerheads and good dry towels
And frying eggs sound like psalms
With a bit of salt measured in my palm
It’s all a part of a sacrament
As holy as a day is spent
Holy is the busy street
And cars that boom with passion’s beat
And the check out girl, Counting change
And the hands that shook my hands today
Hymns of geese fly overhead
And stretch their wings like their parents did
Blessed be the dog
That runs in her sleep
The catch that wild and elusive thing
Holy is a familiar room and the quiet moments in the afternoon
And folding sheets like folding hands
To pray as only laundry can
I’m letting go of all I fear
Like autumn leaves of earth and air
For summer came and summer went
As holy as a day is spent
Holy is the place I stand
To give whatever small good I can
The empty page, the open book
Redemption everywhere I look
Unknowingly we slow our pace
In the shade of unexpected grace
With grateful smiles and sad lament
As holy as a day is spent
And morning light sings “providence”
As holy as a day is spent
– Carrie Newcomer 2001

Here’s the Carrie Newcomer website, where you can listen to the song.

Here’s hoping each moment is sacramental….

Grace and Peace,
Kate

“What a Gift!”
Holy Covenant UMC, Nov. 15, 2009
Rev. Kate Hurst Floyd
I Samuel 1:4-20

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What a gift we receive when we receive God’s grace!

In fact, the gift of grace is so precious that we sing about it, perhaps more than any other tenet of our faith. The most well-known hymn of all time sings the praises of this gift: “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found….twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved…tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home”

It seems that we can’t get enough grace. When we baptize babies, we are claiming as a faith community that God’s grace comes before us and claims us before we can know it or claim it ourselves. So a baby, who can’t yet believe or articulate faith, is still wrapped in God’s grace. Which is good news for us adults, who often have a hard time believing or articulating our faith—we know that grace is over and above us and under and all around us. As children of God, we are claimed by grace. We don’t have to do anything to deserve it, it’s God’s good gift to us all. (more…)

Guest Blogger : Olivia Hein

A couple of weeks ago, Linda approached Chris and I to give a testimony as to why we give financially to Holy Covenant. To be honest, I’ve never had to put into words before as to why I give and it took me a few days to figure out how to answer that question.

In thinking on this, I was reminded of a story my mom recently told me, which I would like to share with you. My mother’s parents were raised during the Great Depression and it affected how they spent money for the rest of their lives. My mom remembers when growing up, it seemed every time she asked her parents for money they always gave her the same response, “I’m sorry…we can’t…you know we’re just trying to make ends meet”. I’m sure you’ve all heard that saying before? Well it was my grandparents’ favorite catchphrase.

If my mom wanted an ice cream cone or a new toy, every time she would approach her parents with hope in her heart but every time they would say “I’m sorry…we can’t…you know we’re just trying to make ends meet”.

My mom’s neighbor growing up was a 50 year old woman named Ann Oltroggee. And for the life of her, my mother could not figure out why her parents kept buying Ann’s Meat. “We’re just trying to make Ann’s Meat”. All she knew was that because of Ann, she wasn’t getting that new doll she so desperately wanted.

There was one time in particular where my mom approached her folks in the kitchen to ask for money for a new toy and they kindly responded with “I’m sorry…we can’t…you know we’re just trying to make ends meet”. My mom got so angry she stomped her foot and shouted “Why can’t Ann just buy her own groceries?!”

I love that story. There is a good moral to it though, when talking about money it’s wise to choose your words carefully. I know I would not want my words misheard or taken the wrong way.

But when speaking on why I give money to Holy Covenant I think my mother’s story offers a much deeper meaning….because I believe, actually, that she heard correct. It is about making Ann’s meat. It’s about providing for your neighbor. That’s what God calls us to do and that’s what Holy Covenant does.

And it does takes sacrifice on my part, I take my lunch to work one extra day a week and sometimes, like my mom, it means I don’t buy that ice cream cone or new toy…but that money helps provide for our neighbors. It helps us feed our hungry neighbors once a week through Dignity Diner. Helps our neighbors in Cedar Falls, Iowa whose homes were damaged by floods. But most importantly, it helps us spread God’s Word and God’s love to every person who walks through those doors. And those doors are open because people at Holy Covenant give.

And as I’ve recently experienced, it’s quite humbling to find yourself in the position of the neighbor, to be the one that needs providing for. My grandmother recently passed away and I was moved by the number of messages of support and prayer that Chris and I received during that difficult time. And I was reminded that in my times of grief, in my times of uncertainty, this church and its members embrace me and provide for me in ways I don’t even know I need.

My dad is an accountant. And growing up, he drilled into my head to always, always know where your money is going. In this age of electronic banking and on-line bill pay, I still pull out my check register and red ink pen every month to balance my checkbook. Knowing where my money is and where it’s going is very important to me and I find comfort in knowing that Holy Covenant always has its checkbook open for me to see, in a manner of speaking. If I want to know where the money is being spent, I am always welcome to attend financial meetings where copies of the annual budget are handed out to all who attend. I feel more confident in giving financially to Holy Covenant because of this open book policy. I can see all the ways in which my contribution is helping with our ministry.

And if I have a specific idea on where I think the money should be spent, I can offer that idea up. That is how some new small groups are formed: whether it’s the Green Team or the Casserole Ministry…these ideas came from members of this church. And these ministries are supported and played out thanks to the financial contributions of the people attending this church.

So in asking the question again, “Why do I give financially to Holy Covenant?” I have a few answers. I give because I know my money is helping this ministry. I give because I am given so much. But mostly I give, well…because I’m just trying to make Ann’s Meat.

Dear Holy Covenant Family,

I’m grateful for the ways this community gives generously and changes lives.  What a privilege to be part of this Stewardship season, as you tell others why you give, continue your giving, consider pledging for the first time, and offer prayer.  There are several ways for you to make your commitment: This Sunday, our final pledge service, we’ll have pledge cards available during all three services and a time for you to fill them out and bring them to the altar. You can also choose, however, to give on-line before this Sunday.  I pledged on-line this morning, in my pajamas with a cup of coffee!  Then I set up recurring payments to be withdrawn from my bank account beginning in January.  It couldn’t have been easier and I encourage you take a moment and pledge right now.  You can access the giving page from our homepage, or go directly to our online pledge form.

As we celebrate the ways this church changes lives, we are also mindful of all the lives that have been affected by violence over the last few weeks. In our neighborhood, we grieve alongside the DePaul campus as they struggle with a deadly shooting.  We weep with other neighborhoods in Chicago as they face brutal beatings and shootings.  We stand in shock with the victims and neighbors of Fort Hood and in Orlando.  As these assaults are brought to stark attention, we also pray for communities where violence is a daily occurrence, but receive less news coverage.  From American neighborhoods to Iraqi playgrounds, the streets of Darfur to the mountains of Afghanistan, the threat of senseless death is a pervasive reality for many.

As Christians, we don’t know why such violence happens, but we are confident that God does not will violence.  God weeps alongside us when any person, victim and perpetrator alike, fall prey to the evils of brutality.  For God is on the side of life, and calls us in all that we do to work for peace, love, and justice.  We wonder what we can do; we must begin in prayer, where we summon God’s presence and are reminded of the call on our lives.  I offer this prayer by Walter Brueggemann, Biblical Scholar and UCC Minister, and hope that in it you will find words for your grief, space for your tears, and ultimately hope in the One who brings peace:

We are aware, acutely in your presence, of the grind of tanks, of the blast of mines hidden against human flesh, of the rat-tat-tat of sniper fire.

We are aware of the stench of death, bodies of our own military women and men, bodies of countless Iraqis, and the smell makes us shiver.

Such smells and sounds are remote from us, but not remote from us are bewilderment, and anxiety, and double-mindedness.

We are bewildered, whether we are liberators or invaders, whether they are terrorists or freedom fighters, whether we should yearn for peace or savor victory.

The world has become so strange, and our place in it so tenuous, where gray seems clearer than the white purity of our hopes, or the darkness of our deathly passions. There is so little agreement among us, perhaps so little truth among us, so little, good Lord, that we scarcely know how to pray, or for what to pray.

We do know, however, to whom to pray!

We pray to you, creator God, who wills the world good; We pray to you, redeemer God, who makes all things new. We pray to you, stirring Spirit, healer of the nations. We pray for guidance, And before that, we pray in repentance, for too much wanting the world on our own terms.

We pray for your powerful mercy, to put the world-and us-in a new way, a way after Jesus who gave himself, a way after Jesus who confounded the authorities and who lived more excellently.

Whelm us by your newness, by peace on your terms-

The newness you have promised, of which we have seen glimpses in your Son who is our Lord.

Let the people say: Amen.

Grace and Peace,
Kate

Please welcome Holy Covenant’s New Interim Minister for Children and Families, Jeff Dodson! Jeff begins Dec. 1st and will overlap with Donelle for 3 weeks. We give thanks for Donelle’s time with us, and wish her well as she finishes her Master of Divinity in December and pursues ministry opportunities in 2010. Here’s a word from Jeff:

Greetings Holy Covenant UMC! My name is Jeffrey Dodson and I am pleased to be your new Minister for Children and Families! I’m sure you’d like to know a little about me, so here are some fun facts: I grew up in the mountains of Colorado spending my time snowboarding, horseback riding, and backpacking up the many 14,000 foot mountain peaks that are all around. I graduated from Ripon College in Wisconsin in 2006 with my BA in Theatre and moved to numerous states to work as a licensed interim Minister for small churches. I most recently worked as a Youth and Young Adult Coordinator with the United Church of Christ in Colorado Springs before moving here to Chicago, where I am currently attending Chicago Theological Seminary to become a Reverend. I love to read sci-fi and play guitar in my spare time, and learn useless facts whenever I can. There you have it! A little light shedding on who I am. And as our time together grows I hope to have a little light shed on each of you that I might know you better. Blessings to you all, Jeff.