PILGRIMS UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

2011-04-14T00:26:00.000-05:00

Thank you for helping create ‘Worship Boxes” for the Minnesota Conference Annual Meeting, June 10-12. Each table at Annual Meeting will have a ‘Worship Box’ which will be used for each of the three worship services during the Annual Meeting.

Each ‘Worship Box’ will be a little different from the others as it is our desire to create ‘green/sustainable’ boxes, rather than having them all exactly the same. We encourage you to collect the items needed for each box from donations from congregation members, or purchases from thrift stores or garage sales. Do not plan to get the items back. Fabrics will be crafted into quilts for shelters and other items donated. Do not include items you need to get back.
The items you will need to create each ‘Worship Box’ are:

a) A box.
An oversize shoe box will do nicely. In the photo is a file box. The box should be about 8” by 12” and 4” high. Anything close to this will do nicely. The box should have a cover that is easy to open to access the items in the box, as well as to stay closed to protect the items during moving the box.

b) Newspaper or newsprint.
This is to wrap the box and the cover in newspaper or newsprint. Be creative in which pages of the paper you use. Wrap the box carefully using several layers of paper so there is less likelihood of the paper tearing during transport. The box should look like a newsprint wrapped gift when finished.

c) Fabric. 1 yard of red fabric. 1 yard of green fabric.
Ideally the fabric should be 100% cotton. It is our plan to use the fabrics after Annual Meeting to create quilts for a Homeless Women’s shelter.

If the fabrics are not 100% cotton, they will be donated to the Mn. Textile Center. It is not necessary for the fabric to be square, but trim the white of printed salvages off carefully. Do not hem the fabrics – only trim any loose threads. Press the fabric and carefully fold it to fit into the box.

d) A 1 gallon size zipper bag.
This bag will be used to put the used communion ware following the Friday evening worship service.

e) A wine glass.
Any simple style of stemmed wine glass will be fine.

f) A small plate.
Any simple style of luncheon place will work.

g) A votive candle holder and votive candle.
The holder should be clear or translucent and tall enough that the candle flame is below the surface of the votive holder. You may use a votive candle of tea lights. If you use tea lights, please include 3 of them.

h) Matches.
The small stick matches now come with a sustainable forestry designation. You will need one box.

1. Wrap the cover of the box carefully using 2 to 3 layers of newspaper.

2. Wrap the bottom of the box as if it were a gift. Use several layers of newspaper also to avoid the possibility of the paper tearing during transport.

3. The wrapped box.

4. Prepare the fabric. Usually 1 yard of fabric will be something like 36” by 45” or 54” . It is not necessary to make the fabric square. If you are using fabric remnants, then the fabric should be at least 36” by 36”. Do not hem the fabric. Trim any white or solid selvages or loose threads. 100% cotton is ideal, but other fabric blends can be used. You will need one piece of green fabric and one of red. The fabrics may be any print of green or red that would be appropriate for Ordinary Time and Pentecost.

5. The green fabric, with the red folded.

6. These are all the items before arranging them.

7. Place one piece of folded fabric into the box. Sandwich the plate between the fabrics. Place the items in the box in such a way that they do not easily roll and bump into one another. Use the fabric if you can without crushing it to buffer the other items.

8. Add the goblet, plate, matches, zipper bag, candle holder and votive candle.

9. The finished box

Welcome to Lent

2011-03-25T09:43:00.000-05:00

“On the Edge”
Psalm 32, March 13, 20111, Pilgrims United Church of Christ
Rev. Robin Raudabaugh

Our scripture text for this morning – this first Sunday in Lent – Psalm 32 – is a ‘Prayer of Thanksgiving’. Originally it may have been composed by someone who’s spiritual and physical life was changed as the result of a confession of faith. It may also have been used as teaching text in the temple as an example of one who has finally stopped covering up and hiding and, and turned to God in trust – to find that God was already reaching out with overflowing love and forgiveness of the sins listed by the Psalmist.

On this first Sunday in Lent we are called to be that psalmist – lifting up and listing – reminding ourselves and turning over to God – all the ways and times and places and situations – in which we have turned away from God; the times we have covered up that which we have done which we shouldn’t have; the words we have spoken that we shouldn’t have; the words we have failed to speak when we should have; the times we should have been present; the times we should have done something; the times we should have done nothing. As we enter this Lenten journey – for it is a journey – that is not simply a metaphor – truly, Lent is meant to move us from one place to another - to move us from a place of being human centered to being God centered – and sometimes we can’t stay in the same place for that to happen. And Lent cannot happen to us without our participation. We cannot simply be innocent bystanders or even reluctant or recalcitrant passengers in the backseat on the road trip to glory.

Lent in not just any old road trip – not like the one we went on the year we graduated from high school or college – not like the one we went on with our families last holiday or spring break. Lent is a journey on the edge. ‘On the edge.’

We - aren’t we, many of us right now – on the edge. On the edge between disaster and success. On the edge between happiness and despair. On the edge between winter and summer. On the edge between kids at home and an empty nest. On the edge between this job and that possibility. On the edge between high school and college. On the edge between just practicing and real life. On the edge between in the red and in the black. On the edge between here and there. On the edge between the depths of despair and evil and the mountaintop of ecstasy.

Lent – is the time and place – when we are called – we people of God are called – we who call ourselves the ‘body of Christ in the world’ are called – to move onto that cutting edge – that fine line – that margin. We are called to live fully and experientially in/on that edgy place where the moment is all that exists.

Lent calls us to be the best we can be – despite all the challenges and roadblocks that the world around us puts in our way or tells us otherwise. God tells us we are precious in God’s sight and loved and forgiven unconditionally – the world tells us we ‘ought to be ashamed’ or that ‘we deserve instant gratification’ of all the stuff we think we want and need. God tells us we are to be co-creators and caregivers of this amazing, abundant creation – the world tells us it is the land and creatures and resources are there for us to use and abuse and exploit as we see fit. God calls us to be peacemakers and justice bringers to the whole world – and the world tells us that ‘might makes right’ and ‘winners write the history books.’

Psalm 32 – this Prayer of Thanksgiving - is like a song that sings within you evoking memories of your life - both past and present situations. It’s verses record those things that happened that may have made your life stronger, those times that challenged you, the times when everything went right, the times it all went wrong, the many times that events and situations were simply new to your experience.

A journey – a road trip - is a good place to sing a song. It is a good time to sing a song that never ends – that just goes on and on – and keeps coming around back to the beginning – and yet that doesn’t quite come back to the same beginning. It’s a little like the 99 bottles of beer on the wall – you take one down – pass it around – and there’s only 98 left – and on and on – until you almost don’t remember why you started singing in the first place – but except for a bit of a sore throat – you feel a lot better than you did before you started singing. Psalm 32 is that kind of song for this journey of Lent.

During the 40 days of Lent we are encouraged to celebrate all that it means to be living on the edge. Naturalist and those people who work with natural spaces and wild things recognize the importance of edges. It is on the edges where the most diversity of species exists. At the place where the forest trees meet the grassland both woodland and prairie species exist. But it’s more – on this edge - additional species that are neither woodland nor grassland are added into the diversity. Edges in nature are places that are alive with life!

I’ve always considered myself to be somewhat of a marginal person – one who gravitates to the edges. Even as a very small child I never really fit the gender categories – never a girly girl – liked boy things – but not a boy. When I recognized early in life my desire to be a farmer – I was told that girls couldn’t be farmers – and even today when there are certainly greater numbers of us women farmers – we still move out on the margins. Then add minister to that mix – a lesbian, farmer, minister – definitely somewhere on the edge. And add theologically liberal minister in Maple Grove and the edge gets thinner. While it is true that when my life get a little too mainstream comfortable, I am likely to feel enough dis-ease to make changes that put me back out on the margins – it is also true that I know from years of living on the margins – the edge – that it is never a particularly comfortable place. It is pokey and sharp and prickly and lonely – and at the same time – it is always – when I get out of myself – when I make new room for the holy – when I stop and focus – it is always a place of transformative new life.

I encourage each of you this Lent to find your edge. Name it and claim it and live in/on it – even if only for a while – try 40 days - on this cutting edge of your life – this place/time where God calls you to be to immersed in God - so you can experience your life with God to the fullest. And really – isn’t that – the essence of prayer? That state of being so connected to the Holy One – that everything becomes holy – because your eyes can only see holy - your ears can only hear holy – your nose can only smell holy - you can only taste holy – everything you touch is holy. That is prayer.

It is the kind of prayer that can be spoken, or written, can be words or music or the sound of wind. It can be the bright blue feather of a bird, the roaring wave on Lake Superior, a toothy grin from a baby, warm dog breath on your cheek, the pain in your elbow that reminds you that you are alive.

On the journey of Lent – moving carefully and intentionally along the often precarious edge – we become aware that while, yes – on that side lies the abyss – a place where there be dragons and all sorts of scary monsters under our beds and in our heads – but – BUT – AND - on that side – is the mountaintop – the summit – the peak – the place so close to God you need to close your eyes to shield them from the blinding glory.

It can be lonely on the edge. However, we are the body of Christ, the beloved community, and our invitation to the Lenten journey to the edge is for all of us together. On this road trip we’re taking a bus – a big, big bus – a convoy of buses – cause we are all in it together – and not only that – we are in it with God. God is the bus. God is the driver. God is the road. God is the mountaintop. And all God wants is for us to come along for the journey. Welcome to Lent.

2011-03-09T09:42:00.001-06:00

From Rev. Robin Raudabaugh

Peace and Blessings to you all.

Today is Ash Wednesday - the first day of the season of Lent - the 40 days preceeding Easter. Lent is a season of the church year when we are encouraged to take a metaphorical and literal Sabbath - stop being so busy - stop being so frenzied - stop spending our time on that which does not satisfy - and re-center ourselves in the Holy. Lent is not about giving up things - or even taking on things - it is about re-investing, re-immersing, re-imagining ourselves being immersed in the HOly One.

I invite you this Lent to slow down - and pray. Not to add one more thing - prayer -to your already busy lives - but to let prayer (connection with God the Holy One) become a part of EVERYTHING you already do. Let prayer become who you are (connected to the Holy) - not what you do.

I invite you to attend the ASH WEDNESDAY worship service tonight at 7:00 pm. In this intergenerational service we will participate in ritual and sacraments of Hand Washing, Anointing with Oil, Imposition of Ashes, and Holy Communion. We will pray and sing and worship together and prepare you for your Lenten time.

I also invite you to a time following worship on Sunday, March 13 to a discussion about a Lenten practice of 40 Days of Prayer. We'll talk about ways in which you might taylor the practice of daily prayer to your own life.

I also invite you every Wednesday evening during Lent to a 15 MINUTE PRAYER CIRCLE at 8:15 pm - directly between Pilgrims Choir practice and Drum Circle. We'll meet in the Conference Room and each week pray for 15 minutes using a variety of styles of prayer.

RAINY REFLECTIONS

2010-04-24T12:47:00.000-05:00

It's raining - the grass in my front yard is so green it almost hurts the eyes. Beyond it the soil in the newly plowed field falls in rich black furrows. The birch trees are such a tender green that they almost don't seem real and not-yet blooming perennials are showing buds of the soon to come blooms. I love rainy days in April because the non-stop farm work slows to a halt; the tiny seedlings in the greenhouses don't need to be watered and constantly monitored, and I get to stay in the house and write pastoral reflections on my computer. It feels like a day OFF!

Good things are happening at Pilgrims United Church of Christ! April was a full and faith-filled month. The 40 days of Prayer throughout Lent came to an end with the last prayer reflection on the Saturday before Easter. The Pilgrims Choir led us in a moving and meaningful interpretation of the Palm/Passion Story of Jesus through the singing of Beatles songs. It helped many of us to understand parts of the story in deeper, more connected to us ways. And Easter was truly a celebration of the Resurrection Joy of new life. And then the Sunday after Easter, we celebrated the baptism of Hailey Addison Bleasdale, daughter of Kim and Andy Bleasdale. We welcome Hailey with all our hearts.

April is also the month for Night on the Street. Our confirmands spent the night in a parking lot in downtown Mpls. learning about the causes and solutions for homelessness after which they slept in a cardboard box. Our youth raised over $450 to support efforts to stop homelessness.

April is also the month in which we recogninze and Celebrate Earth Day with Integrity of Creation Sunday and Rural Life Sunday. Since I, your pastor am also a full time Organic Farmer, and you the congregation are highly supportive of this ministry, we lift these UCC recognition Sundays high here at Pilgrims.

May will also be a full month as we progressively move closer to our Spirited Pentecost Celebration on May 23. Our Sunday School children and adult leaders are planning a month of Spirit filled activites from making and flying kites to tie-dying flame colored t-shirts. On May 23, children, youth and adults will all worship together celebrating the Holy Spirit dancing among us. It will be the last day our Pilgrims Choir will be singing together until fall.

See you in church...... Robin

2010-03-19T15:32:00.000-05:00

40 Days of Prayer on "Faithbook"
Today is day 27 of our Journy of Lent 40 Days of Prayer. Day 27: Friday, March 19, Salt of the EArth. "Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth..."

All afternoon, a few folks have been gathered at the church baking bread and stirring up some savory spaghetti sauce for the third in the "Facets of Faith" series; Spaghetti Dinner and Movie "Saved" night. Bread without salt is really bland - so is spaghetti sauce. It takes very little salt to make a difference - to make the flavors more intense. When Jesus suggested that people think of themselves as salt, he challenged us to think of ways in which we can make the flavors of life more intense - how we can enhance everyday life. One of those ways is through daily prayer.

If you are already participating in our Pilgrims Lenten 40 days of Prayer, that's great. If you are not, I encourage you to get on track. Shake the salt shaker of prayer into your life and find out what a difference even a little can make. You can find all the prayers from day 1, on the Pilgrims United Church of Christ Facebook group page. The prayer series is titled "Faithbook".

As you enjoy the photos in this blog of Walking the Labyrinth, Pajama Sunday, and Superhero Sunday, I encourage you to find opportunities to share your faith life with others - in fun ways and in serious ways - here at Pilgrims UCC and everywhere else in the world.

Pastor Robin

PAJAMA SUNDAY

2010-02-09T10:16:00.000-06:00

Our First Annual Pajama Sunday - suggested by new member Ryan - was a big hit. Almost everyone arrived for worship on Sunday morning dressed in jammies and robes and slippers. I think that wearing our most comfy clothes helped us experience worship in a litle different way. Perhaps it even helped us understand the Holy Spirit as 'Comforter' a little better. It was an exciting time to dedicate with a laying on of hands, our two new Confirmands, eighth grader, Drew Ashley-Grochowski and seventh grader, Hannah Peterson. Hannah and Drew will be involved in a variety of activities and learning sessions and church involvement for two years.

This Friday evening, February 12, our new Ministry Groups will be gathering for the first time in an All-Ministry Groups meeting. This will be the February meeting for these groups. We'll begin with a simple supper and large group time - then break into individual groups to determine Ministry group chairs, council representatives, meeting date and time, and goals for the upcoming year. We'll end the evening with a brief large group gathering and closing prayers.

TIME TO REMEMBER AND RENEW

2010-01-25T16:37:00.000-06:00

PILGRIMS UCC ANNUAL MEETING RESCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 31 AFTER WORSHIP.

Remember and Renew
Luke 4: 14-21 and 1 Corinthians 12: 12-31a, January 24, 2010
sermon by Rev. Robin Raudabaugh at Pilgrims United Church of Christ

One of the most important identifying marks of the Christian community is its unity. In fact, the United Church of Christ has as its motto, “That they may all be one.” This unity is at the very heart of our denomination. More than fifty years ago, the United Church of Christ was formed from the union of four earlier Christian denominations – the Congregationalists and the Christian church, and the Evangelical and Reformed church. From these four strands came the UCC – and we continue to be in sacred covenantal conversation with many other denominations – working, praying, dreaming, hoping for the day when we might truly all be one Body of Christ in the world.

And while it might sound paradoxical at the same time, one of the equally important characteristics of the Christian church is our diversity. Many different gifts, many different stories, many different journeys come together to become the Christian church – and when all of these diversities come together – we are indeed stronger than we would ever be alone.

Our scripture today from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth, is a familiar to many, beautiful reflection on both the unity and diversity of the church. “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” We are not many like so many crayons in a child’s coloring box – each a similar individual that can be used together to create a beautiful or not-so-beautiful picture. We are more like a finely woven piece of fabric – with warp and weft threads – any of which if pulled and tugged and torn will damage the integrity of the whole.
We are organically, holistically, interrelated – the hurt one part experiences is felt by each other part.

Some of us can understand this interrelatedness within the body better than others. Suppose we are experiencing excruciating back or neck pain (like Spence Pierce) and go to the doctor seeking relief. We may be surprised when our doctor wants us to also have a test done for other ailments on our hands or feet – suggesting that perhaps our back or neck pain is really a response – a secondary pain – to the initial problem which may have originated in the hands or feet. Health professionals recognize the interrelatedness not only of our organs and physical structures, but also of our emotional, mental, spiritual and physical health. All of these are part of one “body” or person, yet they are distinct, each with its own gift and its own role. There is a wonderful hymn in our hymnal - we sing it often - written by Al Carmines about this wonderful unity in the midst of diversity, “God of Change and Glory” “Many gifts, one spirit, one love known in many ways. In our difference is blessing, from diversity we praise one Giver, one Word, one Spirit, one God, known in many ways.”

Thought this body parts metaphor is often almost trivialized when we use it in our churches, it calls us to ask some questions of ourselves. When we come together, so that we can be better together than we would be alone – is it possible at the same time to retain our individual dignity and giftedness? Would we not be a stronger community if we recognized and expanded the way the gifts and skills and talents that make up each one of us were used to connect and mesh and enhance the gifts and skills and talents of another.

Would it not make a difference if we were to re-member – really re-member - that we are the Body of Christ – that we are not multicolored crayons in a box – but sacredly, organically, integrally, paradoxically, sustainably connected and interconnected one with another. And unlike that box of crayons that don’t really care or experience loss when the red-violet or grass green crayon is removed from the box – if one of us is removed from the Body of Christ equation – the whole body experiences a radical sense of loss – a feeling of being off balance – out of equilibrium.

In the days and short weeks before my mom died from a massive brain tumor a few years ago, she developed a loss of sensation on her left side. Because of the tumor in her brain, messages were short circuited and simply did not get to her left side, thus this condition is diagnosed as left-side neglect. On one of the first days in the hospital with my mom, I watched her put chapstick on her lips and when she got to the center of her lips, she just stopped – she had no knowledge that there was any body beyond that point. She also experienced a loss of balance. As the tumor short-circuited the messages to the left side of the body, my mom’s left hips and legs and feet were simply forgotten.

The eye cannot say to the ear, I don’t need you – nor can the right side of the body say to the left side, I don’t need you.

It seems almost too much of a coincidence that on this day – which would have been our Annual Meeting Day – had not the weather intervened – that the scripture texts selected by our Common Lectionary are – from Paul – a call to renewed church unity (and diversity) and from the gospel of Luke – a new game plan set forth by Jesus.
Annual Meeting Sunday – a day the church surely needs to re-affirm and renew its commitment to unity. Coincidence – hardly. I have come to believe less and less in coincidence and more and more in epiphany or revelation (God revealing Godself to us in a variety of ways.) These are messages we need to hear at any time of year – in any season – and they are especially important to hear and internalize as we begin a new church year. As we vote on a slate of folks who have agreed to serve on our various Ministry group committees – it seems especially important to reaffirm – to remember – how much we value (how much our faith calls us to value) our diversity and at the same time – how much we are called to use that diversity of gifts and skills and talents to work toward unity - common goals and dreams and visions for this particular part of the Body of Christ.

And as we examine and vote on our budget for the next year – as we examine each section – determining how much we will spend on building upkeep, how much on supplies for teaching our children, how much we will spend on candles and coffee and communion, and how much we will spend on paying our music director and our pastor. And behind all those figures that we will vote on next week – are many, many other decisions – decisions about who we are as a church – who we are now – and who we want to be as we move into another new year. Decisions about how we want to be church – about our own comfort – do we want to be challenged or do we want to stay as we are? Decisions about our ethics – how do we make decisions about who, what, how we pay for what our church does?

Full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus stepped up to the podium – and like any good moderator, he laid out his game plan, his policy statement, his campaign slogans, his hopes and dreams, his proposed three year plan, if you will. This message is what he is all about – he has no hidden agenda – he is all about good news to the poor, release for the captives, freedom for the oppressed, and sight for the blind.

And then, like any good politician or church moderator, Jesus brought his politics – and his political message – home – with the simple announcement of exactly what was going to matter to him. He read all this language from his script – taken directly from the prophet Isaiah – and when he finished reading, he rolled up the manuscript, handed it back to the attendant and sat down. And when everyone continued to stare at him, He said, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Today, the words I just read - I begin to bring these ancient words to life – to live and demonstrate to you all exactly what it means to live compassionate, justice filled lives – just as God is these things.

If we are called to be compassionate, and if the suffering of the world in places like Haiti and Tehran and Darfur and a million other impoverished, sad, hurting places in our world are not only immense concerns – they are something we can make a difference about as a community.

And this brings us back to Paul and the body metaphor. Isn’t this exactly what Paul was talking about. There he was writing letters to all these new churches just a few short years after Jesus had gone around dismantling boundaries and hierarchies and distinctions – and already the people in these new church starts were thinking about their own agendas – their own busy lives and their own tasks and efforts and ministry groups.
Already in these earliest of Christian churches – the fractures over little things had already begun to develop into bigger and bigger fissures – threatening already to divide these early faith communities. And it is to this concern, that Paul, like a wise pastor, calls them back, instructing them gently and compassionately – and passionately – reminding them – entreating them to remember where all those gifts and skills and talents came from in the first place – “One Spirit, one gift, one love known in many ways…”

Paul reminded the churches that the stuff the rest of the world told them about how business should be done – the strategic planning – the bottom lines – the money crunching – and even some of the things that other religious traditions told them – that some of you aren’t the same as the rest of us so you aren’t so welcome, and some of you aren’t giving enough money, so you don’t quite measure up either – anyway Paul reminded these good church folks that what life in the Spirit was all about was getting rid of those divisions and boundaries and distinctions – casting them aside and welcoming everyone’s gifts – not even knowing exactly how and why and when those particular gifts will be needed or used or make a difference.

These two scripture passages today read and held in conversation with one another remind me so much of Pilgrims United Church of Christ. We know what it means to feel small and vulnerable – for many of us it makes us feel as though we need to stay firmly in control of what we can control – for some of us it makes us nervous that too much may be demanded of us. And yet, in so many ways, we are a church striving to live out Paul’s reminder that we need to work together – we are not and should not be lone rangers (the Spiritual Life committee cannot say to the Building and Grounds committee, I don’t need you and the Budget committee cannot say to the Council, I don’t need you).
Here at Pilgrims United Church of Christ, we proudly and faithfully proclaim ‘That all are Welcome Here” and yet, sometimes our actions and inactions, our decisions and our unwillingness to make decisions give a different message. We are the Body of Christ – when one part hurts another part – we all hurt (and like the distant hand that makes the back hurt - sometimes we don’t even know why). When one part supports another part, we all feel supported. When one part affirms another part we all share in that affirmation.

And then - flash back to Jesus – “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ And I am reminded that at first everyone was admiring and in awe of Jesus about what a great job he did – telling him that he must have worked hard on that message – and then all of a sudden – someone said – “hey, it’s only Jesus – that carpenter’s son – who is he to tell us anything?”

Who are any of us – who am I to tell you what God calls you to do and be – and who are you to tell one another what your faith calls you to do and be in this church and in the world? Who are we? We are the body of Christ.
And in a take-off of a prayer from former UCC National LGBT Coalition Executive Director Ann B. Day - “We are the hand-clapping, toe tappping, heart pumping, arms embracing, justice-seeking, hymn singing, bill paying, bread baking, pancake making, banner hanging, spaghetti eating, mission giving, always praying - Pilgrims United Church of Christ – Body of Christ in Maple Grove – and in the world!

ANNUAL MEETING THIS SUNDAY - JANUARY 24

2010-01-21T16:46:00.000-06:00

ANNUAL MEETING THIS SUNDAY
January 24 right after worship

This meeting is for every Pilgrims member – it is important that each of you attend and participate in reading, hearing and discussing the annual reports of each of the Ministry Group committees; the reports of the moderator and pastor; approval of the 2010 budget and approval of the nominations of new church Ministry Group committee members and new church officers. A hard copy of the Annual Report will be available at the meeting (and at the church afterward). The Annual Report will also be available on this Blog at the very bottom after the archived postings. A slate of nominations is also included on this blog at the very bottom for your reference. If you have not been asked to serve – or have changed your mind – and would like to serve in one of these leadership positions, please contact nominating committee member Char Braun at info@pilgrimschurchucc.org.

Please plan to attend worship this Sunday and stay for the meeting. In the meanwhile, please pray for the ministry and discerning work of this church.

Words for the New Year

2010-01-04T14:56:00.000-06:00

In the beginning was the Word…
On Sunday, preaching from the Gospel of John, chapter 1: 1-18, I spoke of theologian/preacher Barbara Brown Taylor’s suggestion that in this season of Christmastide – this season when we move from tiny baby awe into full-grown action – each of us has a ‘word’ that we are personally responsible for bringing to life. That word might be compassion, or passion, or justice, or generosity, or patience, or love, peace-making, or hospitality, or healing, or listening, or teaching, or building, or creating, or community, or steadfastness, or ??? Barbara Brown Taylor explains that word is already here – [In the beginning was the Word… John 1: 1] - but until someone acts upon it - it is just a word – just an abstract concept. It might be a nice idea – maybe even a good idea – but it isn’t real - yet. However - the moment – the very moment - that someone begins to act upon their word – that word becomes flesh – it becomes them. And those words begin to live among us - we can visibly see them come alive.
Some of you have shared with me what you think your word(s) or the word(s) for our church might be: gentle, support, affirmation, strong, tenacious….
As we move into this new year, I encourage you to pray, meditate, discover, and discern your word or words – and then to the best of your ability (with the help of God) bring those words to life – bring those words to glory – so that we might all experience and celebrate their ‘becoming’.

From your pastor and teacher...

2009-12-17T12:13:00.000-06:00

This week I am so thankful for children - for children’s voices, children’s eyes, children’s faces, and children’s ability to help each one of us recognize all over again the wonder in ordinary things.

Last Sunday, our children led us with Mary and Joseph, on a journey of awareness and justice as they traveled from door to door – each closed firmly as they asked for a place - in our Las Posadas pageant. I think each one of us gained a new understanding of exactly what the opposite of the ‘Radical Hospitality’ and ‘Extravagant Welcome’ of the United Church of Christ are all about. Through children telling the stories of the grandchild of a Russian Jew who still has tattoo marks on her arm from a Concentration camp, a child who’s gay uncle who is not welcomed, a child whose family home was lost to flooding in last spring’s Red River valley flood, to the child of commercial corn and soybean farmers - as well as the responding stories in each case of a friend or classmate who closes the door to their situation – we learned why saying and living that “All are Welcome Here” is so vitally important to our faith community.

If you missed the pageant or just want to see it again, Garrett Miedema is creating a CD from the video which will include the background slide show, extra photos, and a soundtrack.

There are many folks to thank for making this pageant possible:
Thank you: to Maya and Max Gerads, Kennedy and Sawyer Miedema, Sydney and Lucas Meyer, Hannah and Grace Peterson, Anna and Anders Rudie, Eric and Marie Ljosenvoor - our outstanding cast.
- to the Pilgrim Choir for the Las Posadas chorus throughout the pageant.
- to Steve Meyer and Toni Beckler for providing the video projector and the pizza meal after Saturday’s rehearsal.
- to Amy and Marty Peterson for providing treat bags for the children.
- to Deb Miedema for taking photos to create keepsake Christmas ornaments.
- to Garrett Miedema and his dad for making the very sturdy door – the only set needed.
- to Gretchen Gardebring for costume changes for the children.
- to all parents for getting your children to rehearsal and the performance on time.
- to everyone in our congregation for expressing your appreciation so profoundly.
- and finally – a huge thanks to Gigi Nauer for writing the script for the pageant, rewriting the lyrics and music to a more familiar carol tune, creating the background photo slide show, and being the music director.

This coming Sunday our worship will be a Service of Healing and Wholeness. Through ritual including lighting candles and special prayers and blessings, we will embrace the dark side of this holy season. Please invite friends and family to come with you to participate in this service of worship.

My prayer for you as we come to the end of this third week of Advent - and as I look outside my window onto a snowy landscape sparkling in the winter sunshine - is that you make time in your busy lives to experience the world anew through new eyes. Look and hear long enough – even if it takes a while - to find the amazing in the ordinary – to realize that city lights are just as beautiful as those on your tree, that the joy of your dog snowdozing is a pure unadulterated joy that has nothing to do with anything but the moment; that the Holy can also be found in ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”. May your Advent be filled with moments like these.
Blessing to you all ……….. Robin

2009-12-11T18:59:00.000-06:00

From your pastor and teacher:

What a wonderful celebration of welcoming and community last Sunday. A very special welcome to our new members: Kim and Andy Bleasdale and infant daughter Hailey, Jill Ashley-Growchowski, Gretchen Gardebring, Kathy Grafe, and Heather and Ryan Walker and infant twins Reece and Amelia. We also celebrated the sacrament of baptism for Ryan, Reece and Amelia Walker. What a joyful day for our church!

This coming Sunday, we’ll join with our children as they lead us in a global version of Las Posadas. A reminder to all parents and children from kindergarten through jr. high – there will be a final rehearsal of the pageant and worship service on Saturday afternoon from 3:30 – 6:00 pm. If you can’t make the rehearsal or will be late, please email Robin or Gigi to let us know. Parents – we could also use some help bringing in and setting up the risers.

Also – a last minute reminder to bake (or buy) cookies or other treats [remember no nuts] to share during fellowship time on Sunday following the pageant.
And while you are out and about, don’t forget to pick up a Christmas gift (or two or three) for a child our youth. You may place it under the CROSS giving tree. The gifts will be delivered to CROSS early in the week so that they can be sorted and distributed to families who need them.

Looking ahead – on Sunday, December 20 we will be offering a healing and wholeness service as our final Sunday in Advent. Recognizing that the holiday season is not always a celebration of joy for everyone, we will make room for grief and sadness and include rituals of healing, and prayers and blessings for hopefulness.

And don’t forget that our Christmas Eve Candlelight service of Lessons and Carols will begin at 3:45 pm with a prelude of special music. Bring your family and friends to worship with us celebrating this very special day. Angel, shepherd and sheep costumes will be available for children to wear to participate in our Nativity scene during worship.

I hope that all of you are finding – making – time to slow down a little, to revel in the sparkle and glitter of a million multicolored glittering lights on trees and houses and office buildings, giving us just a glimpse of what it will be like when the ‘Light of the World – Jesus the Christ’ comes bursting into our world on Christmas once again. May the deep, deep peace of this season be with you all.

Robin

Welcome to the Adventure of Advent....

2009-12-03T11:56:00.000-06:00

From your pastor and teacher…..
What an exciting time at Pilgrims United Church of Christ. Right in the midst of Advent – the waiting – waiting – waiting – now and not yet time – we are celebrating the joining of seven new members and the baptisms of three infants and one adult! Sunday, November 28 was a wonderful celebration of the 1st Sunday of Advent and the baptism of Clara Genevieve Hughes, daughter of Katie and Jeremy Hughes and granddaughter of Sue and Scott Wieker. This coming Sunday, Dec. 6 will be the joining of Kim and Andy Bleasedale (infant daughter Hailey), Jill Ashley-Growchowski, Gretchen Gardebring, Kathy Grafe, and Ryan and Heather Walker (infant twins Reece and Amelia). We will also be baptizing Ryan, Reece and Amelia and welcoming all of these folks into the life and ministry of Pilgrims UCC.

Plans are underway for the Christmas Pageant. The children have begun working with Gigi on music for our Las Posadas pageant. Dress rehearsal will be 3:30 pm on Saturday, December 12 with the pageant presented as worship on December 13 at 10:00 am. Our choir will join the children in singing and the whole congregation will sing a lot of favorite carols. You are all invited and also encouraged to bring treats to celebrate afterward (remember no peanuts or other nuts). You might also plan to bring non-gluten options for those who need them. Bring your favorite cookies or non-sweet treats to share along with good conversation and visiting.

Christmas is often a hard time for a lot of folks – a time when the darkness seems to overcome the light we talk about so much in church at this time of year. It is okay to grieve – to feel sad – to feel empty and lost. Our Sunday morning worship on December 20 will acknowledge these feelings as well as those of folks in need of more physical healings with a Healing Worship Service.

And don’t forget our Christmas Eve Candlelight service on December 24. We’ll begin with special music at 3:45 pm and include a lot of music along with a little pageantry of the Nativity scene, concluding our worship just as darkness arrives with a circle of candlelight in our sanctuary while singing Silent Night. Make your Christmas plans so that you and your family and friends can attend this special service.

My prayer for you this first week of Advent is that you make times to slow down, to find the joy in the midst of the frenzy, the presence of the Holy One in the gift giving of the season.

Robin