Archive for August, 2012

I was once lighter than I am today. Much lighter. So light was I that, at one time, I wrestled in the 98 lb. weight class.

I was never really that good at wrestling. Fear would always well up into my throat before the whistle blew and the clock started. After only seconds, I’d often be down a few points. I rarely had the advantage. I was so bad at it, in fact, that the coach would offer me up to wrestle in higher weight classes just to avoid the forfeit. In one match, that meant I had to wrestle someone who was 205 lbs. I can still remember the feeling of my face being smashed into the mat – being smothered by someone who was more than double my size. It was difficult to breathe. I did my best to stay out of reach, and often I would try and pull myself out of the circle just so I could have a moment, but it was delaying the inevitable. On my own, there was no way I could win. When my shoulder snapped and I screamed in agony, the coach threw in the towel. I sat on the bench the remainder of the season and watched others suffer and inflict the same fate.

While our sacred texts do often feature and celebrate the 98 lb. kid triumphing, there is more attention paid to the unresolved struggle and the tension that is present when the odds are insurmountable. Abraham and Sarah never saw their progeny become a nation. Moses never stepped foot in the promised land. Many of the great prophets never saw anyone act after hearing their words. Jesus dies.

We participate in a faith that is full of struggle and tension. When we practice it with care and piety, it matches us up with opponents that we cannot defeat alone. Gun violence, hunger, homelessness, racism, sexism, heterosexism, ageism, and class bias are all heavyweights with which we wrestle. They make us want to escape – to go back outside the circle. Back to slavery in Egypt. Back to our boats and nets. Yet we are called to persevere. We are called to stand contrary to the powers of wickedness. We are called to play by different rules. Instead of trusting in our individual love to be enough, we entrust all to God’s love and act to that faithful end.

Instead of trusting our individual words to be enough, we entrust all to the Living Word and act to that faithful end. Instead of trusting in our individual power, we entrust all to the redemptive work that is taking place by the Holy Spirit and act to that faithful end.

And while it is not easy, it is not forever. Forever belongs to God, and I rest in that. Meanwhile, we wrestle with this peace that surpasses all understanding. A peace that allows us to be shoved around. A peace that makes us cry “when O, God!?” A peace that relies on God to throw in the towel and remind us it is finished. It was before it started. And the outcome will not be decided by the one who has their hand lifted in the air. The outcome will be decided by the many wounded on the bench; those who persevere together in faith that freedom is coming.

With love,

Pastor Matthew (or “the person in the sling sitting right next to you”)

Get these reflections and more in our weekly eNewsletter

Sunday, August 26, 2012
Holy Covenant UMC
Rev. Matthew Johnson, preaching

Psalm 24:1-6

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Well, friends. The impossible happened on Friday. It became official: my family has a kindergartner in it. God help us. I took Libby to her new school on Friday for her “drop-in” day.

Nothing quite like having more than 75 people packed into a room with an overtaxed air conditioner. It was loud, and hot, two factors that made you wonder: is all this furniture really that small, or am I having a heat-stroke induced panic attack? Thankfully, it was only an hour. because it was a bit overwhelming for parent and child.

During the hour, we had to help our kindergartener (trouble saying that) navigate a room-wide scavenger hunt. She had to find her locker, and her nametag at her table; she had to find crayons to draw a self portrait, and get the contents from her mailbox. Then she had to answer the question of the day, and finally visit and play in all the activity centers in the room. Hard work!

After dragging her away from the kitchen, she gravitated towards a spot with a toy train. There, she proceeded to try and have a dialogue about sharing with the other child there. That went nowhere, so she went to “plan b” (trying to take by force). And when that plan failed, she went to “plan c” (c for crying).

“He won’t share and I want to play!” she said through a quivering lip and crocodile tears.

From there, it was off to the blocks. She had been admiring the handiwork of some twins who seemed set on finishing the tower of babel (or really liked seeing things fall). She grabbed five blocks and began to build a footing for her own tower, only to have one of the twins take the top block and step on the remaining structure. “He took my blue block!” she said through the same lip and tears.

Thank goodness it was only an hour. I was exhausted after the whole thing. She was an emotional mess. I was embarrassed by both her behavior and that of the other kids. And as we walked to the car, it dawned on me: I can’t get my daughter to live in a simple spirit of sharing. How on earth am I going to preach on Sunday about the radical idea of Christian stewardship? (more…)

The Word was preached.
We listened, and felt moved.
We gathered the next day, twenty-five strong. Lots of questions and conversation.
We prayed, we discerned, we learned more.
We gathered again. More conversation and searching.
And now, with God’s help, we march.

After our July worship service about gun violence in Chicago, this has been the journey that several of us from Holy Covenant have found ourselves on. Call it the Holy Spirit, call it whatever you want. But it moved us. I don’t know what Jesus would think about our conversations at Theology on Tap and our baby steps in figuring out where we fit into being part of the solution, but I’d like to think that the way we’ve journeyed together so far is at least something like he envisioned. We’re just a rag tag group of disciples, sometimes clueless, sometime divinely inspired, working together to live out our faith.

There are a few ways we’re aiming to take action as a congregation. You’ll be hearing more about those in the coming weeks, but one opportunity we have right now is to participate in a ministry of presence. To that end, Josh Bonifas and I have committed to gathering folks to take part in a couple of peace marches organized by churches in some of the hardest hit communities, Austin and Auburn Gresham. Through Pastor Matthew and Polly’s connection to the Chicago Coalition of Clergy, we, along with other churches across the city, have been invited by these faith communities to participate. We will travel to these neighborhoods to gather with our brothers and sisters in Christ, be present, and show that we care. We do not claim to know the answer or to come to try and “fix” anything. It will be a chance to experience a community and see what needs there might be. It’s also an opportunity for those of us who’ve felt called to respond to have an experience that we can then go tell the rest of HC about.

Josh will be leading a group to attend the Friday 8/24 march in Auburn Gresham. Please email him if you’re interested in Friday’s march.

I will lead a group on Wednesday 8/29 in Austin. Email me if you’re interested.

Details for both marches are below.

We don’t know what exactly to expect with the marches but feel called to go and see what God is already doing with folks who are standing up and saying enough is enough. I hope you’ll consider joining us.

Andrew Schumacher

Friday 8/24 at 6:30pm
St. Sabina Church
1210 W. 78th Pl (Auburn Gresham neighborhood)
Talk to Josh Bonifas

Wednesday 8/29 at 6:30pm
Greater St. John Bible Church
1256 N Waller Avenue (in the Austin community)
Talk to Andrew Schumacher

Get these reflections and more in our weekly eNewsletter

Sunday, August 19, 2012
Holy Covenant UMC
Rev. Polly Toner, preaching

Ecclesiastes 4: 7-12

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

SO, our conversation topic for today is Faith and Intimacy- unions, dating and singleness. Initially, I thought it was pretty funny that Matt would choose me, the straight, and single, not-so-young adult, to preach on this topic to the Holy Covenant community. After lots of soul searching, though, I realized I am in just a position to have given all of this lots, and lots of thought. Pastor Matt and Emily have been married quite a long time, now! From rules about premarital sex, to the ordination of diverse clergy, to moral issues around fertility treatment, and conversations with friends about Fifty Shades of Grey – which no, I have not read, I do have a thing or two to say about all of this. And no, we will NOT get to it ALL today : )

For starters, and I apologize to all of you seminarians out there, but becoming an ordained clergyperson is not recommended if you’re still hoping to find yourself a match. Ordination only further complicates matters. It is not a big turn-on to most to see “Rev.” before a name. And those who do find it a turn-on, well, that is another whole issue.

Long before my own ordination, I dated a pastor. Some unfortunate events around this made me very aware of the importance of setting good, clear clergy boundaries. So, I originally made it my aim not to work in a congregational setting as a single adult. Hmm. Well, working here at HCUMC is just another in a long list of things I didn’t plan to do in my life. A good clergy friend of mine advised me years ago, just before her death, “don’t ever tell God what you are not going to do.” Thanks, Dana, you were right! Here I am, working for a congregation, single as can be, preaching about intimacy.

Ordained or not, though, faith, or our lack thereof, does impact our relationships; particularly those that are close, those that are intimate.

Our text today is one that I’ve spent a lot of time wrestling with and making friends with this year. Some of you may remember that I officiated at a wedding for my cousin in Atlanta this spring. The second portion of this reading was included in the ceremony. “Two are better than one.” When Meri initially asked me to use this particular passage, I cautioned her. While it is lovely, I pointed out that it may be troubling for some – those newly widowed or divorced, those whose relationships cannot be legally recognized as marriage, those in painful relationships, or those just feeling particularly lonely. “Two are better than one” is not always joyful or comforting to hear. I am very aware that many of you present here today likely grimaced to hear Laura Dean read this scripture. (more…)

I spent the weekend with teenagers again! Sometimes this makes me feel young; by 1:00am on Saturday morning, I was not feeling very youthful. But, I wouldn’t have missed it. I got to make Hamburger Helper dinner for 40 people at Cafe Pride with Chris.

About 19 years old, Chris has been working for the new Walmart on Broadway (which provides many of our youth with manageable work schedules) and was recently promoted to be the Night Manager downtown. This week, he told me how he will be going back “to the hood” on the far south side. His mother has “dropped off the wagon again” and he needs to return home to care for his three elementary-school-aged siblings. I filled with tears at his sense of love and responsibility for his family. I filled with anger at the fact that he will likely risk his own newly attained stability in order to act on this love. Life is hard. Chris smiled, and taught me the proper way to season and brown meat. “Don’t measure anything- it’s by taste.”

For years, we have had a growing population of homeless teenagers in my neighborhood. Lakeview draws youth from near and far as it seems to be a welcoming and affirming community for young people who don’t quite fit into traditional gender categories or sexual orientations. Often kicked out of their homes, neighborhoods, and communities of faith, they find themselves on the streets around my home. Perhaps Lakeview is, in theory, more hospitable than the rejection they face at home. But, living on city streets, hungry, often treated violently, Lakeview is not the utopia these youth often imagine.

Many local congregations have responded to the needs of our young people. The Night Ministry, an organization we at HCUMC support, created a youth shelter, The Crib, which is located at Lakeview Lutheran Church. The Crib lost funding this summer, and is now closed until October. Local clergy responded by forming a committee, “Hearts for Youth”, to attempt to fill in the service gaps left by the Crib. Safe showers are now offered at Broadway UMC each Sunday from 1-4:00. Meals and safe hang-out space are offered at Cafe Pride on Friday nights from 8-12:00. Safe rest is provided at the Broadway Youth Lounge two days a week, and support is offered through the Broadway Drop-in Center four days a week. The Center on Halsted has increased its youth programming in an effort to offer more safe space and snacks. ALL of these programs are seeking more support.

Since I am not a parent in a traditional way, I feel blessed to have the opportunity to care for those with so many needs. The resilience, hope and community these young people teach me week after week are gifts as well. But, they have grown up too fast, and they are very tired. I learned this weekend that one of the youth I know quite well has such bad night terrors that he literally does not sleep. Instead, it is his job to stand guard on the streets so that his new family can get some rest once in a while. In my dreams, I long to educate their communities of origin on gender and sexuality so that they might not reject these children of God. I brainstorm for ways to secure safe housing. I am regularly overwhelmed with the urge to just bring them home. For now, we give them space and acceptance and some food.

And, on Fridays and Sundays I have learned about Britney Spears, and voguing, and how to play Aces. I’ve watched movies I would never otherwise see, and shared smiles I hope not to forget. Once in a while, it does make me feel young!

Polly Toner
Ministry Associate

Get these reflections and more in our weekly eNewsletter

One of the hardest things about being active and invested in a community like Holy Covenant UMC is that we are always in flux. Like our neighborhood and the great city that surrounds it, our makeup is never the same from day to day. We are welcoming new people daily. And we are sending them off with our love almost as often. The following is a letter I received last week just before we sent Todd Peacock-Preston off with God’s blessings on the next leg of his journey to Seattle.  I wanted to share it with you (with permission) because, even though it is addressed to me, it isn’t really just for me. These words are yours for the ministry you have done here. I hope they bring you as much joy as they did me. And I hope they serve to reiterate the kind of impact we have in living into our identity as a teaching congregation.

Abundant Blessings,

Pastor Matthew

Dear Matthew,

I am Todd Peacock Preston’s mother.  I have written this ‘thank you’ letter in my mind a million times over the last few years and like many things now find myself with a deadline – for he is leaving Chicago so I am putting pen to paper so to speak.  Todd is our third child and only boy, his sisters are 9 and 7 years older – so at times he has had 3 moms – telling him what to do!  Our family is very close and it seems the older they/we get the closer we are.

Five years ago, when Todd got into DePaul and moved to Chicago (1000 miles away from home)– our one request was that he become involved in a church.  Pretty quickly he visited Holy Covenant but did not feel it was just right and visited the Downtown UMC.  I am not sure how it happened but within a few months he found his way back to HC – I believe very strongly it was a ‘God thing’.

Ed and I have raised loving, strong, independent, faithful and creative children – but we have known from the get-go that we could not raise them alone.  So in each of their lives there have been very special people that have supported them in ways that Ed and I were just not able to do and for that we thank God.  For Todd, that support came in the shape of a very special church – Holy Covenant – and for that we thank God daily.  Todd went to Chicago a young boy in many ways and is leaving Chicago as a strong, confident and content man – thanks to HC.

You see, Todd needed to see himself separate from us – his nuclear family – yet loved and respected for who he is by his church family.  And he has.  We heard all about Kate’s sermons, Andrew’s music choices, Matt’s asking to meet for coffee, Troy and Walter taking him to lunch, this year’s General Conference and the activities around the Pride month – for years!  When he came home and visited our church – we would have lunch discussions about inclusive theology (our church’s isn’t) and what it means to be a part of something not just accepted.  HC has touched our family in ways that most churches just dream of ‘touching’ people.  When we come to town – we leave after church on Sunday – to worship with Todd.

One of my goals is to see the communion table you asked him to build.  We all have blood, sweat and smiles in that table!  You will never know what that single act of asking him to make that table did to securely ground his faith in God and humanity.  HC has been the complete embodiment of Christ on earth for our family.  And for that we will be eternally grateful to you and each member of the church.

As Todd worships with you and HC for the last time this week before his move, I want you to know how much it has meant to me as Todd’s mom to know that he has had HC’s support – unconditionally – HC has given me comfort – knowing that you were there for him and our family.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  I have a feeling our paths will cross again – you have been too important in our lives…keep passing it forward..

With deep sincerity and love –

Ginger Peacock Preston

Sunday night, I sat at my desk long after my family had gone to bed. I sat there well into Monday morning, in fact. This is a pretty normal occurrence. It is usually the time I attempt to make headway in the constant email flood. That was not my purpose this week, however. This week, I joined countless other nerds who watched NASA’s Curiosity rover land safely on Mars after traveling more than 350 million miles.

Not long ago, I had the privilege of working with a handful of NASA people in Houston, Flintridge (CA), and Dayton who were part of this project. As I watched the mission control team in California, I remembered what those people had told me just after Curiosity’s kin – Spirit and Opportunity – landed on Mars back in 2004: “Wait until you see what we have planned next.” Were they ever right. In stuff fit for a Louie C.K. “Everything’s Amazing and Nobody’s Happy 2.0″ bit, they got a rocket-powered sky-crane robot to lower a vehicle onto the martian surface.

The moment Curiosity was on the surface and mission control got its first picture back, everyone in the room cheered like they had won a championship. They jumped up and down as if a great war had ended. They embraced each other and cried as if their child had just been inaugurated prime minister. It was impossible not to be inspired by all of it. It reminded me that my NASA friends really meant it when they said “we”.

For me, it was also a chance to catch a glimpse of the goodness that I hope the universal church and our local community will someday live into when we embrace mission and purpose. It is what I pray will happen the day we finally become “we”. Science can teach us a lot about the ability of humanity. And, in a world that seems more and more set on being divided, religion has a lot to learn.

Look at how good and pleasing it is
when families live together as one!
It is like expensive oil poured over the head,
running down onto the beard – Aaron’s beard! -
which extended over the collar of his robes.
It is like the dew on Mount Hermon
streaming down onto the mountains of Zion,
because it is there that the Lord has commanded the blessing:
everlasting life. (Psalm 133, CEB)

Peace,
Pastor Matthew

Get these reflections and more in our weekly eNewsletter

Sunday, August 5, 2012
Holy Covenant UMC
Rev. Matthew Johnson in conversation with Lakeview Action Coalition

Philippians 2:1-11

We’ve spent the summer talking about the foundations of discipleship; the basics of what it means to follow to be a follower of Jesus and a people who live in that three-fold mission of seeking God, loving all people and changing the world. We’ve discussed grace as the beginning of all things; That our ability to return to God is a gift. That our ability to see the world differently is a gift. That we are transformed in this life by love (so that we can be love).

We’ve had conversations around prayer and scripture. We’ve talked about why it is important for all of us, in our seeking to be disciples of Jesus, to devote some part of our lives to being intentional about what we can learn and experience from spiritual practice. We are given permission to find joy and to wrestle with our faith. We are charged with taking the time to let God mold us into the fullness of our creation, and to make us reflect the image of God in which all of us were created.

And now we are beginning to share what this means in life outside of ourselves. Taking time to become more holy as a person is one wing on the plane, but it won’t fly in our faith tradition without the other, which is to become more holy in the way we live as a member of the human family and citizen of the world.

So we will be asking: How does one practice being a disciple? Specifically today: How does one practice being a disciple of of Jesus and be part of a local community? (more…)

Living on a busy street corner in the city can, actually, be a blessing. I never thought I would actually say that, but it can be a blessing to be on an anchor corner in the heart of it all. It is a blessing in spite of the way garbage seems to emerge from the ground every morning as if it were something we harvested. It is a blessing in spite of the noise that carries on all night long. And it is a blessing in spite of the way some people have the urge to use the side of the building as a public toilet.

It is a blessing because all kinds of people choose to sit on the stoop outside my door. I know, that doesn’t sound like much of a blessing, but it truly is. I am always amazed by the rainbow of people who choose to plop down in front of my door for a moment’s rest. People in what look to be expensive suits and tailored dresses sit there and make phone calls. People who are lost sit there to get their bearings. And I am beginning to think the people that have nowhere to go sit there because I will let them.

Yesterday, a beautiful child of God was sitting on the stoop as I arrived home. He saw me carrying a bible which prompted him to ask me for some food and if I would pray for him. I asked him his name twice, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. In hindsight, there may have been a reason for that.

I went inside and put a bag together for him, brought it out, and offered to pray with him. He folded his hands and bowed his head like a Sunday school teacher or his grandmother probably taught him. He was also taught to repeat prayer aloud. Which is when the blessing came. We began to pray:

Me: I thank you, God, for this your child and my brother.
Him: Thank you for my brother.
Me: I thank you for his life; his being here that we can share in your love.
Him: I thank you for his life and love.
Me: I ask that you would give him rest this day and safety tonight.
Him: Let him rest safely.
Me: And bless him with new possibility tomorrow. Amen.
Him: Bless him. Amen.

With that he took off his shoes and walked away. And I stood there without any words as he went. The busy corner kept on being busy. It didn’t stop. I don’t think it noticed him as he walked on. But I stood there and cried. I shook my head in amazement, because as I prayed for him, he prayed for me. I don’t know if he intended it or not, but with every word he spoke I heard him offering me the same blessing that I offered him.

In all your days, I hope you will be as blessed; that in your being amidst the busy, you will discover you are a child of God. I hope you will risk being yourself so you can be surprised to tears as God walks away shoes off and unnoticed. And I hope this because you will then understand the blessing that comes with sitting on the stoop while the world goes by.

Peace,
Pastor Matthew

Get these reflections and more in our weekly eNewsletter