Archive for July, 2010

Dear Holy Covenant Community,

The heat of summer is indeed upon us! Some have accused me of bringing the humidity with me from Georgia; I hope I’m not to blame. In fact, I find myself longing for dry and cool Chicago summer days. But even as we wipe the sweat from our brows and complain about the sun, there is a gift buried in the heat. For being so hot, so sticky, reminds us to slow down. What a gift it is to stop and pay attention. On this hot and sticky day, receive the poem below as a reminder to ponder the One who creates and calls us to be attentive:

The Summer Day by Mary Oliver

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean–
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down–
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?

As we live into the deep days of summer, may this poem wash over us as a prayer for all creation. May we listen to the God who calls us to pay attention to our wild and precious lives. What do you hear?

See you Sunday, and think about who you can bring with you.

Peace and Grace,

Kate

At YTI, they have exposed us to many different kinds of food – Middle Eastern, Ethiopian, Indian, Korean, Mexican and Jamaican. Even local food was new to me, like alligator and fried okra. I can be a picky eater at times, so I promised myself to be open to trying new things. And I found that I liked it all.

I started to understand that trying all these different foods is similar to looking at different religions. While they are very foreign to me, I have begun to appreciate the uniqueness of each religion. I see how they give people a way to connect to God like Holy Covenant does for me. This experience has taught me to be more open – not just to food, but to religious beliefs and people in general.

On the Day of Interfaith Youth Service, we had the opportunity to spend a day with teens from other countries and faiths. I met kids from different places like India, Pakistan and Egypt. Some were Buddhist, Jewish, Islamic, and other religions I hadn’t heard of. It was very cool. We shared things about ourselves and learned about being a teenager in other countries and different faiths. I found that being a teenager was pretty much the same no matter where you lived.

One of the activities we did together was volunteer for Books for Africa which gives books to kids in that country. Their goal is to end the “book famine” in Africa. The place we worked in was very hot and humid. I couldn’t wait to get back to my room and get a shower, but it was so worth it. In the end, you could see the difference we made. For many years, my family has sponsored a boy through World Vision. His name is Makiye Elakpebi and he lives in Ghana. I wondered if he would get one of these books and how happy it would make him if he did. I started thinking of the excess we have in this country. We take for granted things like books and clean water. The next time I am disappointed that I don’t have an iPhone or my own car, I hope I will stop and remember how little others have. I want to do a better job of recognizing how abundant and blessed a life I have.

Love and Peace,
Rachel Durbin-Nowicki

Every day at YTI is a new experience. I can’t believe how much we have done in such a short
time.

Last Friday, we went to a Muslim Mosque. There are no pictures or statues, and hardly any furniture because they use prayer mats. You take off your shoes when you enter the mosque to keep it clean for prayer. Muslims believe there is only one God who is called Allah. For them, faith is obedience to Allah’s will. Their holy book is called the Qur’an. They pray five times a day and always face in the direction of Mecca. This is where Muhammad (their last prophet) lived. As a woman, I had to dress in a long skirt and shirt and wear a scarf so that none of my hair showed. There are different doors for men and woman. Men enter from the left and women enter from the right. The women had to sit behind the men. We asked them why and were told that if men sat behind women they would see their behinds and it would distract them from prayer. This seems really silly to me but it was a very serious thing to them. I wonder how it is for women. I think it would be hard for me to worship this way.

We also went to the Church of Latter-Day Saints. Mormons go to a meeting and not a mass or a service. They use the word “ward” instead of “congregation.” Mormons call each other “brother” and “sister” because they believe God created Adam and Eve as the first family. So, we all come from that family. They believe we are all spirits created by God. This makes us all children and God is our Father. One of the things that was unusual is that people get assigned to a ward. It’s based on where you live. Mormons can’t go church shopping like we can. Since Mormons believe they are joining a family, taking care of each other is a very important to Mormons. Everyone dressed conservatively and there were lots of kids. Men and women can sit together. Living a life of service is very important to people who are Mormon.

I never realized how differently we worship. I take for granted how good we have it as Methodists. Muslims worship differently than Mormons and both are VERY different from how I worship. I can see how much their faith means to them and how strongly they feel about their beliefs.

Love and Peace,
Rachel Durbin-Nowicki

The Power of Persistence
July 25, 2010
Holy Covenant UMC
Rev. Kate Hurst Floyd

Luke 11:1-13

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“How are we supposed to pray?” is the question before us this morning.
The Disciples are asking Jesus this familiar question that we so often find on our lips, on our hearts…How are we supposed to pray?

I get this question a lot, as a pastor.
And I’ll confess to you, as someone who spent three years and $30,000 getting a degree called “master of divinity”—I still ask this question, on a very regular basis. How am I supposed to pray? How are we supposed to pray?
At some point all of us wonder how/why/to whom/when about prayer. When we feel spiritually empty we want to fill up and seek prayer to give us that fullness.

Scripture gives us many images of prayer:
Moses literally talks to God, in the desert and on mountain tops, teaching us that our prayers can be direct dialogue with God, voicing our concerns and our hopes.
We have the psalms, full of rich imagery of praise and joy and also heartache and pain, teaching us that in prayer, we don’t hide anything from God—we bring our full selves and God receives us.
We have stories of Jesus stealing away by himself, teaching us about the power of private and silent prayer, alone-time with God
And Paul tells us to pray without ceasing, teaching us that our whole lives are a prayer, when we center ourselves in God. (more…)

Dear Holy Covenant Community,

It’s no secret that United Methodists LOVE meals. You’d be hard pressed to find a Methodist church without regularly scheduled pot-lucks, ice cream socials, and pie bake-offs. Holy Covenant does our part, from perfecting our chili recipe for the cook-off in the fall, to eating pizza and slurping root beer floats after the evening service, and enjoying delicious home-baked goods on a Sunday morning. We are a community who loves meals!

Is it just that we really love to eat? We do, no doubt. But if that was all there was to it, we’d just go to restaurants, or pack up the baked goods and take them to the park. Instead, we stay and we eat together, because something powerful happens in those moments: the food tastes better, the conversation is more interesting, and our connections are deeper. Jesus knew the power of the table, of a shared meal. That’s why on the last night of his life, he gathered his disciples around a table to eat supper together. Don Saliers, my professor of worship, was fond of saying, “Jesus loved meals so much he became one.”

For in that sacred meal, Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it. The bread becomes his body and the wine his blood, and we, then, through sharing in the meal, become his body. Every time we take communion in worship, Jesus takes and chooses us, God blesses us, our hearts break open, and God gives us the gift of grace and forgiveness. Beginning in August, we will have the opportunity to eat this sacred meal together each week in the morning. Starting August 1st, we’ll have weekly communion at the 9:30am service. We’ll continue to share in this meal monthly at 11:15am and weekly at 7pm.

If you find yourself hungry during the week, I hope you’ll consider coming to the 9:30 service to receive your fill of grace, peace, justice, and mercy as forgiven and grace-filled children of God. After all, the invitation is coming from Jesus—“Let’s eat!”

See you Sunday, and think about who you can bring with you.

Grace and Peace,

Kate

“Both/And in an Either/Or World”
Sunday July 18, 2010
Holy Covenant UMC
Rev. Kate Hurst Floyd

Luke 10:38-42

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The world loves to pit women against each other:

Stay at home moms vs. moms who work outside the home;
Sarah Palin vs. Hillary Clinton;
Women who take their husband’s names vs. women who don’t;
Women who take wives instead of husbands;
Single women vs. married;
Those who want kids vs. those who want to be childless;
Those who seek fertility treatments vs. those who don’t;
Angelina Jolie vs. Jen Aniston;
The classic Madonna/Whore archetype that pervades our culture.
I could go on and on…I’m sure you have examples of your own.

We are in a dangerous (and destructive) either/or mentality. Either women are virtuous or slutty; moms or career women; friendly or the b word; Angelina is a seductress while Jen is forever a scorned woman; power hungry or passive; strong or nurturing; Hillary is smart and aggressive, Sarah is attractive and dumb; We’re not allowed to be both/and. (more…)

Andrea Bailiff & Andy Gush

Andy and I are very excited to be part of the Holy Covenant family! This is the first United Methodist church that either of us have joined. I was brought up in a Baptist church and went to a non-denominational church during college, while Andy has an Episcopal/ Anglican background. When we were looking for a church home, it was very important that the church be a blend of both of our backgrounds nad our religious views, and the United Methodist denomination has proven to be just that! And with our up-and-coming October wedding, we are looking forward to starting our married lives at Holy Covenant!

Today, I was able to be a part of something really important. On July 2, Joshua Noblitt and his partner were having a picnic at Piedmont Park here in Atlanta. They were approached by a group of young guys who asked them if they were gay, and then beat and robbed them with a gun. Rev. Joshua Noblitt is the social justice minister at St. Mark United Methodist Church.

Wanting to move from a place of anger and fear to a place of love, Rev. Noblitt planned a community picnic today at the spot where he and his partner were attacked. Everyone was invited to come. Learning of this, the leaders of YTI made it possible for all of us to attend. Being able to be a part of this event meant a lot to me. It made me happy to see the other YTI scholars supporting it too.

Today reminded me of how much hate is still out there for LGBT people. I thought a lot about Matthew Shepherd. Melissa Etheridge’s song about him played in my head. I also thought about all the unnamed LGBT people that have experienced the hate of people just because of who they are. I pray that someday soon our world changes. Maybe I can find a way to make a difference. Please click on the link to the video of the song “Scarecrow,” that’s about Matthew Shepherd. Then say a prayer for anyone who has experienced such violence, and that God will change the hearts of people who have such hate for LGBT people.

“Scarecrow” video available by clicking here.

Love and Peace,
Rachel Durbin-Nowicki

P.S. Join Holy Covenanter Rachel Harvey for a Solidarity Picnic on Sunday, July 25, at 3pm.

YTI is awesome! Every day is filled with discussions and activities that make us think about God and challenge us to look at things differently. We have worshipped at several different types of churches. First, we attended an Eastern Orthodox Church. It was very traditional and they sang through the entire service that lasted two hours. We couldn’t go to communion because the bread wasn’t blessed. The girls were told not to cross their legs during the service. It is considered rude. I had to work hard to see how they could be connecting with God but reminded myself everyone finds God in different ways. In a small group, I visited a church that has a community garden. People that have been in jail or are homeless work taking care of the gardens. This gives them a way to get food and make money. The food grown is sold at the local farmer’s market. While we were there, our group planted a garden plot to help out. We also went to Holy Comforter, an Episcopal church. Over 60% of the congregation is people with mental illness. Most of these people live in group homes. This church offers day programs with a focus on art and gardening for people with mental illness and other disabilities too.

Most recently, we had the opportunity to visit the childhood home of Martin Luther King Jr. Since I was little, I have respected this man’s commitment to changing how the world treated African American people regardless of the personal risk. I cried with joy when I got there. Just knowing that I stood in the same place as this great man sent chills down my spine. We also visited the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change which continues King’s work. I was moved when we saw King’s resting place. The King crypt rests on a pedestal in the middle of a reflecting pond. Inscribed on the stone are the words “Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, I’m free at last.”

I had the opportunity to eat fried okra, sweet tea, and alligator…It tastes like chicken. I love the south!

Love and Peace,
Rachel Durbin-Nowicki

Yesterday we watched a documentary on homosexuality, and one of the people who spoke in the film was from Broadway UMC in Chicago. I found myself crying through the whole documentary. It makes me sad knowing that people who are LGBT are not treated equally especially in our churches. I am so proud of my mom for being who she is and also angry that she doesn’t get the same rights as people who are straight.

I feel very passionate about this issue and decided I would share with the group how strongly I feel about equality for LGBT people and how we must love and accept all people. Many of the kids here have very different beliefs about homosexuality. I definitely feel in the minority here. Afterwards, several teens came up and said my comments made them start thinking about their beliefs on homosexuality. And even though they may not have agreed with me, everyone in the group was really supportive. They told me how much they appreciated what I said and that I was very brave.

This experience made me love and appreciate Holy Covenant even more. I shared with everyone our mission statement: Seek God, Love All People, Change The World. I told them that we just don’t say the words, we do it. It also made me think about what it means to be United Methodist. Until right now, I never thought much about Holy Covenant being part of something much bigger. I started thinking about the UMC 10thousandoors video and the statement: Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors.

Growing up in the Catholic Church, I was always accepted and my family was not. Becoming United Methodist, everyone in my family is accepted. I didn’t understand how important that was until now. I also realize that I don’t know that much about what it means to be Methodist. I’m hoping when I get back people at HC can help me figure it out.

Love and Peace,
Rachel Durbin-Nowicki