I remember when the King died. It was during the summer of 1977 and I was living in Zurich, Switzerland, working on my doctoral dissertation. One day, August 16 to be exact, I was walking down the street and glanced at the newspaper rack. There it was in big, bold letters, filling the front page: "ELVIS IST TOD" (Elvis is Dead). Wow! To make the headlines even in Switzerland. Hmm...I thought. But then I went on to the library. 

There was another day. April 4, 1968. Karen and I were living in Kent, Ohio, where I was in graduate school studying history at Kent State University. I had spent a very satisfying evening at the library and after coming home to our apartment turned on the late night news. There it was, the shocking report that Martin Luther King, Jr had been assassinated in Memphis. That news hit me like a brick. Martin Luther King, the prophet and protester for Civil Rights, peace, and the rights of the poor had been murdered. I was shaken. Perhaps it was this news which cemented my decision to enter seminary the next autumn.

Last week the news was filled with remembrances and analyses of Martin Luther King and his legacy. On one news show the mayor of Newark, Cory Booker, mentioned the "Santa Clausification" of King. By this he meant that this troubler of America, this disrupter of our country’s placid acceptance of segregation, this unpopular peacenik has been romanticized into a nice old uncle who gave inspiring speeches and led marches.

Those of us who were alive forty years ago can remember that Martin Luther King was no saintly old man who gently told us to behave ourselves. He disrupted society and caused a violent reaction in many people, both North and South. I am sure that a good number of people in Neillsville thought Martin Luther King was pushing too fast and should have patiently accepted life as it was, or at least that he should not have protested with marches and demonstrations. King was no saint. He was a flesh and blood human being with his strengths and weaknesses, his certainties and his doubts, his victories and his failures. He was also a thorn in the side of America.

As I prepare for "Good Shepherd Sunday" I remember a third King — King Jesus. Sometimes we try to "Santa Clausify" Jesus. We talk and sing about "Sweet Jesus," "Gentle Jesus." But Jesus wasn’t so sweet or gentle. He was threatening in his message and his life. That’s why the authorities tortured him and executed him.

In this beautiful spring time I believe that we have to remember we are the followers of a dangerous man and members of a seditious sect. He doesn’t call us to be nice. King Jesus calls us to be faithful. That’s the message a man named Martin heard. Like other disciples he paid with his life for putting that message into action. What about us?

Today is "Fat Tuesday," known down in French-speaking New Orleans as "Mardi Gras." The term comes from the practice of using up all of the "fat," that is grease and oil for cooking, as people prepare for Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, a time for self-denial, particularly in relation to food. In times past this Lenten regime was observed much more strictly than we do in 21^st century America. I suspect that countries more predominantly Roman Catholic feel the change from Carnival to Lent more acutely. In fact, the word carnival means literally doing away with meat as well as other "carnal" pleasures — thus the wild celebrating before somber Lent.

Up in Cable the UCC church actually has a pancake supper on this Fat Tuesday to mark the turn toward Lent. Again, the eating of pancakes the day before the beginning of Lent has traditionally been a way of using up all of the cooking fat. Here in Neillsville we are not so rigorous. In fact our Men’s Club will be holding its annual Pancake Brunch on the first Sunday in Lent (I don’t use the "F" word. Pigs "feed" at the trough, but humans dine at the table.) No, we are not very strict about observing Lent, at least as far as food is concerned.

One way in which we are preparing for this "thin" time we call Lent is to hold a Bible study on Satan. This morning a group of six met to explore the meaning of evil and temptation and this evening another group will continue our discussion about Satan, either personified or signified. Our discussion prepares us for the six-week period of Lent because during Lent we consider how Jesus was tempted, suffered, and died to bridge the gap between sinful human beings and a righteous God. During our Wednesday Lenten worship times we will be asking ourselves how we can turn to God and be spiritually renewed. Join us each Wednesday at 8:00 p.m.

On this second day of January the sun shines brightly on the cold, fresh snow in the yards and park surrounding our church. I rejoice in the opportunity to gaze through the many windows in my new office to see this scene while I am working at my computer. We are blessed here in our little corner of the world somewhat to the north and west of Wisconsin’s center.

This is the first day back at work since the new year began. We have finished with the our holiday traveling and most of the celebrating and are now thinking about all that awaits us in the new year. During these final days of Christmastide as we approach Epiphany on January 6 we still reflect on the message and meaning of Christ’s coming as we consider the coming of those wise travelers from the east who paid homage to the Christ child. In the physical brightness of this winter landscape we also bask in the spiritual brightness of Jesus Christ.

A couple centuries ago rational thinkers, among them the "founding fathers" of our own nation, celebrated the Enlightenment, which included new forms of representative government and new discoveries in science and thought. People then thought they had discovered a way to shed new light on this world. However, many centuries before these great philosophers, scientists, and politicians brought their light to bear on the world, a humble teacher in the Middle East emerged with his own sort of Enlightenment to offer people the good and liberating news that God loved them.

The intellectuals and scholars whom we call them wisemen perceived a light in the horizon and followed it to the humble dwelling where this teacher would grow into adulthood. They saw in him a light which was for all people. Today in churches like Neillsville UCC people are still drawn to this light. Indeed, right here and now "God is still speaking" and offering Enlightenment to all who enter.

Two young people from our congregation, Brett Sigurdson and Sarah Hemstrom, attend Northland College in Ashland. Northland is one of the colleges "closely affiliated" with the United Church of Christ and designates itself as "the environmental liberal arts college." Last week it was my privilege to attend a clergy retreat at Moon Beach Camp led by Karen Halbersleben, president of Northland, and several staff members. We clergy felt honored that she would give us three days of her valuable time and provide us with a perspective on caring for God’s creation.

One particularly poignant moment at the retreat was the reading of "The Northland Chapter," Isaiah 35, which was chosen in 1910 as the guiding force for the college and even now offers us a vision of a land in which "the desert shall rejoice and blossom." Verse 8 was included within the college seal: "A Highway Shall be There," reminding all of God’s peaceful path. Today the college attracts people from throughout the nation to work on a college degree with an environmental connection no matter what the subject matter.

During our retreat President Halbersleben and her staff reminded us of the connection between our Christian faith and the responsibility to care for God’s creation. They challenged us to consider ways in which we and our congregations can practice environmental stewardship. Many of us shared ways in which our congregations are already trying to be more "green." I told about how we have replaced inefficient light fixtures with energy saving ones, but I had to admit that we did so as much to save money as to be a part of a "green movement." Of course, in the long run, when we practice good environmental stewardship a natural outcome will be to save money and preserve this good earth for use by our children and grandchildren.

We at Neillsville UCC can certainly do a better job of taking care of this piece of God’s good earth. Some of the things we do are very simple, like turning off electricity and using ceramic mugs instead of styrofoam cups, which create land fill problems and may even be injurious to our health. Other forms of environmental stewardship are more challenging. As God stretches our minds, hearts and wills, we are fortunate to have the good people at Northland College guide us in this "holy task" of caring for God’s good earth.

When I came to Neillsville over seven years ago you kindly went along with my request to have nametags available for all worshipers to show that we are friendly, welcoming church and that we care about who other people are. After first placing the nametags on a table we found a better way to display them by putting them on two carousels in the entranceway. The idea was that both members and visitors would have nametags so that we could address one another by name.

The church was "Wisconsin nice," in agreeing to have the nametags, but most of us didn’t use them and by the time we remodeled last spring and opened up a nice gathering space the carousels just seemed to be taking up room. We thought of constructing a nametag cabinet and placing it on one of the walls, but after facing up to the fact that most people don’t want to use nametags the Church Council voted to discontinue their use. The carousels now sit in the back hallway. If you would like to use your nametag you are free to take it home with you and wear it when you come to church. The Council is not outlawing the use of nametags. In fact they still expect ushers to wear them, but we have basically given up encouraging all members to wear a nametag.

This was a hard reality for me to face. I wanted us to be an open, welcoming church where we care about others and who each person is as a child of God. I believed nametags were a good way of telling the world "all are welcome." We no longer have nametags, but I don’t believe we can give up on being a consciously welcoming and inviting church.

Therefore, I want to challenge each of you to go out of your way to speak to someone you don’t know or whose name you cannot remember. You don’t have to be embarrassed about it. All you have to say is, "I don’t believe we know one another. I’m __________.") Our Diaconate will be working on other ways of helping us to welcome people. One idea is to gather a group of "extraverts" or "people people" to be on the lookout for new faces and welcome them. We are open to your ideas. No matter how we do it, we need to be welcoming.

One of the root churches forming our United Church of Christ in Neillsville was Zion Evangelical and Reformed Church. Originally Zion Church had simply called itself Zion Reformed Church, but in 1934 when the Reformed Church in the United States merged with the Evangelical Synod of North America, the Neillsville people participated in the national union. Then it proudly reflected two important traditions within Protestant Christianity. The Reformed tradition traced itself back to Switzerland and the 16^th century Reformation led by Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin, who saw God as sovereign over everything. The Evangelical Synod of North America was a church of German immigrants, who had been part of a merger in Germany between Lutheran and Reformed Protestants in 1817 and had a warm-hearted spirit of openness to other Christians.Yes, we are evangelical in the best sense of the word because we know that we live only by the grace of God revealed to us through Jesus Christ in the good news of the Gospel.

I am thinking about this history because we are preparing to celebrate our own anniversary in 2009 and the UCC on the national level is celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year. Karen and I will be traveling to Hartford, Connecticut in June to participate in that celebration at General Synod. Over the weekend I was invited to represent the Reformed tradition during a panel discussion at the Northeast Association meeting in Ripon and then on Sunday joined Marge Goetsch and Doris Bakker to hear retired Conference Minister Frederick Trost give a rousing speech/sermon on the past and future of the UCC.

These events have reminded me that we in the UCC can proudly claim an evangelical heritage. Sometimes we hear about the "evangelical churches" in the United States, which identify themselves as children of the fundamentalists. We claim a more broadly based Christiantiy, but may still accurately call ourselves "evangelical." Here is an explanation which I found helpful.

As you read this article the golden anniversary General Synod of our United Church of Christ will be concluding in Hartford, Connecticut. Fifty years ago representatives of the Congregational Christian Churches and Evangelical and Reformed Church gathered in Cleveland to take the bold step of forming a brand new denomination out of different root churches. The location of this year’s General Synod, which Karen and I have the privilege of attending as visitors, is home to one of those root churches, the Congregational Church.

Congregationalism has its roots in England of the 16^th century when a group of people in a little town called Scrooby rebelled against the national church of their country and organized a church they felt more accurately reflected the biblical model. This humble little group eventually landed on the shores of New England and became known as the Pilgrims. They established a community at Plymouth and welcomed others of similar beliefs called Puritans, who established themselves to the north near Boston. One of their distinguishing features was the "congregational" nature of their polity. Each local church was a church in its own right and had no governing authority over it. However, seeing a need for connection, local congregations came to "covenant" with one another to provide for oversight, fellowship and mission.

Over time Congregational churches spread to other parts of New England and then to the "wild west," even to Wisconsin. Through this movement a Congregational church was established in Neillsville. On January 24, 1891 a group of Neillsville residents met at the home of Mr. and Mrs. George Hart to establish "a church on Congregational principles." By February 7, 1891 33 persons signed a covenant as charter members. With a grant from the Congregational Church Building Society for $600 the Neillsville church broke ground in 1892 and began to worship in the building in September 1893.

Remembering the affirmation of Pilgrim Pastor John Robinson that "there is yet more light and truth to break forth from God’s Holy Word," these Neillsville Congregationalists saw fit to join with Evangelical and Reformed folk in 1959 to form our Neillsville United Church of Christ.

In recent days I have received communications from proponents and opponents of a so-called Marriage Amendment to the Wisconsin State Constitution. Forums have been held, dvds produced, and letters to editor written on this issue. Last summer the Annual Meeting of the Wisconsin Conference, UCC passed a resolution opposing this amendment.

Although this could be called a political issue, the amendment also touches upon religious and ethical concerns. People in the religious community do not agree, even though all of us want to ensure the sanctity of marriage. According to a poll in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel so-called Mainline Protestants are split about evenly while a majority of Catholics and Evangelical Protestants favor the amendment.

The amendment consists of two parts. In the first part it defines marriage as between one man and one woman. That is clear. The second part, which outlaws relationships similar to marriage, is not clear and has caused much questioning. Some of you have commented that you don’t understand what this means. Neither do I.

On several occasions we have discussed the issue of homosexuality in study groups at our church and during a Church Council meeting devoted time to examining the amendment. I could see that we have varying opinions among ourselves on homosexuality and whether homosexual people should be allowed to marry, form a civil union, or receive partner benefits.

In the United Church of Christ we have traditionally attempted to use reason, prayer, and scholarly tools to interpret scripture. We believe in a still speaking God and are not fundamentalists, who interpret the Bible literally. With this kind of background and using Jesus’ love commandment as the lens through which we interpret other parts of the Bible and apply our faith, I believe that the delegates to the Wisconsin Conference Annual Meeting made a correct decision in opposing the amendment. I was with the majority in that vote.

June 23, 2006

During the spring I became aware of a movement within Wisconsin to reinstate the death penalty. This bothers me for various reasons.

As a Wisconsinite I’ve always been proud of our progressive, independent tradition. The "Wisconsin Idea" emerged in the first part of the 20^th century as a collaboration among people from education, business and government to build a society benefitting all of us. Over 150 years ago we ceased killing people as a form of justice. If I have read and interpreted statistical information properly, our state has a lower murder rate than all of the states which have capital punishment. We live in a good state.

As a Christian I’ve always believed that Jesus offers us a way beyond vengeance and retribution. In countless instances he advocates and lives a life where bitterness and retribution do not rule. Even on the cross Jesus was able to forgive. Jesus clearly shows us a way beyond the old way of "an eye for and eye," which actually was an improvement over an older system in which vengeful people took two eyes for one eye. Jesus was able to live a life beyond rancor and bitterness and inspired others to live whole lives.

In our personal lives we know that we are happier if we can set aside old hurts and hates. When we have been able to reconcile with someone and "bury the hatchet" we feel a sense of relief and peace. Of course, when someone commits a heinous crime one cannot just say "forgive and forget." At least we can’t do this on a societal level. I recognize the need for justice and standards of behavior to which all of us are held accountable. Some people do need to be locked up for life. I just can’t believe that the one whom I call Savior would countenance capital punishment.

Christian groups of various kinds are opposed to capital punishment even when we are not of one mind on other issues. The Roman Catholic Church has officially opposed capital punishment and while the representative bodies of various Protestant churches cannot speak for all members, they have passed resolutions against the death penalty. Among them is the United Church of Christ. I would add my voice to these calls for justice rather than vengeance.

It is no secret what God can do.

Stuart Hamblen wrote this song in 1950 after a conversation with John Wayne about his "getting religion." We love to sing this song in church to confess our faith in a gracious God. There is no big mystery about God’s love known to us in Jesus Christ. The Christian Church has proclaimed this good news for a couple centuries.

In recent years two different pieces of fiction have made some people believe that there are secrets and the authors have the key to unlock them. Left Behind, which claims to unlock secrets about the apocalypse, and The Da Vinci Code, which claims to discover secrets about Jesus and Mary Magdalene, come at us from the religious right and the secular left with fictional stories supposedly based on fact. Each of these books wants us to believe that real Christian belief can be found in some secret which the author possesses.

Left Behind tells the story of the apocalypse and rapture, artificially piecing together different portions of scripture, taken out of context and systematized according to dispensationalist theories first popularized by J.N. Darby, a nineteenth century British writer. These ideas are made to seem biblical by their inclusion in the Scofield Reference Bible, which imposed a rigid system on complex Bible passages.

The Da Vinci Code reads like a murder mystery and is fine on that level, but it also claims to be based on research which discovers diabolical plots in the Roman Catholic Church to cover up the supposed marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The book also presents many other inaccuracies about the Bible and the Christian church..

After reading these books or viewing the movies based on them we may think these writers must have something. What they have is hogwash. The past three weeks a study group has gathered to investigate and discuss issues raised by these books. Copies of the study guides are available on the narthex Remembrance Table across from my office. Feel free to take one. It’s no secret.

What He’s done for others, Hell do for you.

With arms wide open, He’ll pardon you,

It is no secret what God can do.

Coffinisms

"Death is more friend than foe....Death cannot be the enemy if it’s death that brings us to life. For just as without leave-taking there can be no arrival; just as without growing old there can be no growing up; without tears, no laughter, so without death there can be no living."

On the Wednesday of Holy Week the Rev. William Sloane Coffin, Jr died at his home in Vermont. Those of you who were around during the 1960s may remember him for his role in Freedom Rides and Vietnam protests while he was the chaplain at Yale University. When he was visiting professor at Lawrence University in the 1990s Coffin preached for the installation service of my friend Jack Bixby at one of the UCC churches in Ripon and I was privileged to participate in that event. Several years later Coffin made one of his last public appearances as the speaker at a fall Moon Beach pastors’ retreat.

Coffin was a friendly, personable man who was always ready with a catchy turn of phrase, one of many "coffinisms". During the question and answer time after one of his presentations I told him that his talent with catchy, rhyming phraseology reminded me of his fellow political liberal Jesse Jackson. Apparently Coffin wasn’t too pleased with the comparison because he replied that Jackson "couldn’t organize a five-car funeral."

Although he was best known for his social activism while Yale chaplain and pastor of Riverside Church in New York City, Coffin was also a man of deep faith. He went into the ministry after a WWII career in Army intelligence and the CIA. One of his goals in life was similar to mine: "Clearly the trick in life is to die young as late as possible."

Before coming to Moon Beach Coffin had suffered a stroke and knew that his death would come in the not too distant future. Consequently, in addition to repeating his opposition to war and speaking out on behalf of homosexuals, he reflected on the meaning of life, its end and the Resurrection hope.

"Beware the Jaberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

 Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

   The frumious Bandersnatch!" - Lewis Carroll

Each of us has been moved and disturbed by the devastation from Hurricane Katrina on our nation’s Gulf Coast. Some of us have been glued to our television sets, first watching the effects of nature’s destructive power and then observing humanity’s lack of power in coping with the overwhelming hurricane damage along the coast and flooding in New Orleans.

We have discovered connections with the victims of Katrina. Karen and I were in Chicago for a couple days last week to visit our daughter and attend the Chicago Jazz Festival. At various times speakers and musicians recalled the connection jazz has with New Orleans, which gave birth to "America’s music" and sent her most gifted musical children north when King Oliver and Louis Armstrong left the Crescent City for the Windy City back in the 1920s. We festival attenders were asked to aid the homeless and jobless jazz musicians still in New Orleans. I think of how our whole nation will be challenged to use the "jazz skills" of communication and improvisation as we together work for recovery.

Our United Church of Christ has connections on the Gulf Coast. Rev. Shari Prestemon, director of Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, Mississippi, was pastor at the United Church of Christ in Stevens Point before heading south. She has sent back reports, but at this time we still do not know the full extent of damage to this agency of our church which has assisted the poor of Biloxi since the early years of the 20^th century. Dillard University in New Orleans is one of several predominantly African American colleges affiliated with the UCC. As of this writing other UCC colleges have offered to take its students until Dillard can once again function.

Just as our nation was challenged to bind wounds and help one another four years ago after the September 11^th attacks by terrorists, this year we are challenged to help one another recover from a storm "of biblical proportions." You will find information in other parts of this newsletter on how you can be of assistance. Throughout this difficult time we pray for all those affected by the hurricane, especially those who have lost loved ones.

While doing research at the State Historical Society library I came across an interesting reference to one of our predecessor churches and a friend. Wisconsin Congregational Church Life reported that Samuel D. Robbins, Jr was ordained here on Sunday evening, December 8, 1947. Dignitaries from throughout the state were present. Dr. Alfred Swan of Madison preached the sermon and Dr. Sarah Rosekranz sang a solo entitled "A Song of Thanksgiving."

Sam Robbins and I worked together on the Historical Committee of the Wisconsin Conference before his death a few years ago. In addition to being a pastor Sam was a bird expert and published author of books on birds. During one Conference Annual meeting when I had to get up early in the morning I encountered Sam on his way outside to do some bird watching. One of his last trips was a birding expedition to Brazil.

Another article reported on the 50^th anniversary of the Congregational Church in 1941.

"The Golden Anniversary began with a banquet on Friday evening at which about two hundred and fifty people were served at tables decorated with flowers and candles, gold and green. There were toasts and music and greetings from neighboring churches with letters from a host of former members and out of town friends." Among those honored was the Rev. George W. Longenecker, who at that time had served the church during two pastorates totaling 33 years. Sarah Rosekrans sang a solo, "Reverence," including words written by the pastor during his first pastorate in Provo, Utah. A surprise gift of $100 was given to Rev. And Mrs. Longenecker during the Sunday evening program.

The church began life because of a division in the Presbyterian church, but then firmly established itself. First Congregational’s membership in 1941 was only 123, but the reporter noted "in its substantial building, and with a continuing group of faithful supporters, it has maintained constantly a strong congregation and a valued Christian ministry in the community."

A picture taken after worship on the anniversary Sunday sits above the bookcase in our church lounge.

During the past several years all sorts of Christian groups have discussed and debated how to deal with God’s gift of sexuality. As the biblical writer exclaims, we humans are "fearfully and wonderfully made." This truth seems especially valid when we consider what it means to be both Christian and homosexual.:

Earlier this month the General Synod of the United Church of Christ passed a resolution calling for equality of rights to same gender people who want to establish a permanent commitment to one another, in another words, get married. Perhaps you learned about it in the newspapers or on television. I’ve had a few people ask me about the resolution. We should remember that the General Synod speaks to the churches of the UCC and not for the churches of the UCC.

My suspicion is that we have a variety of feelings and thoughts among us on both homosexuality and marriage. Perhaps you would like to discuss the matter. If so I invite you join me in the church lounge on Thursday, August 18^th at 7:00 p.m. for a look at a couple helpful but brief videos produced by the folks from Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, a television show dealing with all sorts of faith issues. They are entitled "What is Marriage?" and "Same-Sex Marriage" and try to approach the subject from various perspectives. Then we can talk with one another.

Wherever we find ourselves on these issues of marriage and sexuality, I believe we need to keep things in perspective. Jim Wallis, a Christian writer and speaker, offers this helpful comment

When conservatives seem to suggest that the future of western civilization is at stake in the battle over the legal status of same-sex couples, they seriously overstate the issue. Likewise, when liberals say that resolving the legal issues surrounding gay unions is morally equivalent to the issues of racism, apartheid, and the Holocaust, they make the same mistake. Solutions to the definitional legal issues for gay couples will eventually be found, but this is not the ultimate moral confrontation of our time, as partisans on both sides have tried to make it. It will take many years before we are able to better understand and resolve the many complicated factors surrounding the issue of homosexuality. When we do, we should be able to look back and feel good about the way we conducted our dialogue and our relationships in the process.

Today is Earth Day. Back in 1970 Wisconsin’s former governor and senator, Gaylord Nelson, called for a special day to study and act on behalf of our planet’s environmnent. In those days people were concerned about degrading this good earth and since then we have become even more aware of the long term damage we humans are doing to our living space. Whether we call it "global warming" or "climate change" none of us can now deny that Mother Earth is in trouble.

At one time it seemed that religious people could not agree on the importance of caring for creation. In some theological viewpoints this earth was simply a God-forsaken place from which to escape in the Rapture. One theologian even argued that care for the earth is a form of idolatry. Others have always emphasized the call to practice stewardship of the earth and our resources and have gathered inspiration from the words of Genesis 1:25 describing earth, "And God saw that it was good."

Today both Christians who describe themselves as "Evangelical" and Christians who describe themselves as "Progressive" seem to agree that we have to care for creation through both personal action and public policy. We need to practice the virtue of recycling at home and in the church. I have tried to encourage groups to be conscious of recycling by using the ceramic mugs in our upstairs lounge instead of so-called styrofoam cups. This is, of course, a drop in the bucket, but it is something. On a broader scale we need to come up with national and international standards which address the wider issues of pollution of land, sea, and sky. How can both established polluters like the USA and emerging polluters like China learn to practice environmental stewardship? I don’t have any easy answers, but I know that God challenges us to take action on behalf of God’s good creation, this earth.

The Marshfield News Herald contained an editorial cartoon last week which caught my attention. It featured a cute little Easter bunny starring up at two imposing figures, one labeled Moses and the other Christ. The bunny asked: "So, what you’re saying is that there’s a lot more to this spring holiday thing than a bunch of jelly beans?"

Why were Moses and Jesus standing there? Because at this time of year Jews celebrate Passover and the great Exodus freeing their ancestors from the bonds of slavery and Christians celebrate Easter and the great Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, which means our community gathered around the empty cross is also freed from the constraints of death in all its forms.

Unlike what some think Easter is not primarily about Easter egg hunts for the kids and getting together for a big ham dinner with the relatives. Easter is not about flowers popping up out the wintry soil. Easter is not about butterflies making their annual exit from the cocoon. Easter is not about resuscitation. Easter is about resurrection. Easter is about a resurrection which goes against all logical thinking and normal acting. Easter takes control away from us and reminds us that God is in charge.

The first Easter event caused people to tremble and quake, to question and doubt, to stand amazed before the revolutionary, life-giving power of the same God who parted the Red Sea and led a people out of slavery. Easter cannot be domesticated.

I believe we forget this powerful fact when we turn the Resurrection Event into a celebration of seasons. This wintry year we are reminded that Easter has nothing to do with spring, but has everything to do with the power of God to bring life out of death and hope out of despair. Through the Resurrection God challenges us to accept a revolutionary way of thinking and being and acting as we become the Alleluia Community, following the Risen Christ, whose resurrection caused people to tremble, first in fear and then in awe, admiration and alleluia.

We’re having winter in Wisconsin. After watching our beloved Packers lose in the cold Sunday evening, it was my privilege to drive through the snow on Monday evening to Tomah, where I met Pastor Hosea Nelson Kyasooka at the bus depot. The bus was delayed, but our friend from Uganda arrived in good spirits and we made our way over the freshly plowed roads back to Neillsville.

Pastor Kyasooka is in the United States during a break from his studies at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. We are the most northerly section of his visit, which will include more southerly locations in Tennessee and Florida. In addition to his studies Pastor Kyasooka is leading Grace Fellowship, a growing congregation affiliated with the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Uganda. In his country the only snow people see is on the television and temperatures are very mild throughout the year.

Our African friend has much good news to share about his ministry. In fact as I write this message he is sitting in the other section of my office being interviewed by June Thompson of the Marshfield News Herald. She is learning about this church in the slums of Kampala where street children are welcomed, a clinic is being established, and church-sponsored schools are teaching boys and girls the basics. We are glad the our Mission and Outreach Committee has connected with Pastor Kyasooka and is able to help with his ministry. He leaves us on Thursday.

At the same time we remember that Lent begins very early this year with Ash Wednesday falling on February 6. Whew! It seems like we just celebrated Christmas!

During the recent fires in southern California several of my relatives in the San Diego area were forced to vacate their homes. My uncle told me that 69 people in his church had lost their homes to the fires. The Sunday after the fire storms the church had a special service. Similar to the time after September 11, 2001, the minister had to throw away his prepared sermon and speak to the situation at hand. 

Both my uncle and my cousin were able to find refuge with friends in safe portions of the city, but leaving their homes was an unsettling experience. Fortunately their homes were not damaged or destroyed, but packing up his most precious belongings in a couple boxes and hurrying away from his home forced my cousin to consider what actually was most important in his life. For him the decision was not difficult. His wife and two daughters were his most precious possessions and he came to an even greater appreciation for them after this "baptism in fire."

He wrote in an email of his thankfulness to God for keeping his family safe and sparing his home, and he affirmed his conviction that it is not "things" that matter. It is relationships. He was grateful to God for giving him his family and an extended family of relatives and friends. He knew these counted even more than the photos and mementos he had placed in boxes for transportation away from the fire. He knew what was important.

As we conclude our annual Thanksgiving celebration and now look forward to the seasons of Advent and Christmas, this is a good time for each of us to consider what is most important in our lives. I suspect you will come to the same conclusion as my cousin John. If personal connections are more important to us than the latest gadget or even watching the Green Bay Packers, this might change the way we enter December and prepare for celebrating Christmas.

There will be many temptations to max out our credit cards, participate in various gift exchanges, and fulfill certain social obligations. Our challenge in December will be to focus on the important stuff--- building relationships with God, God’s people and God’s good creation. The rest can sort out itself.

I was proud of myself. A couple weeks ago when it was my turn to make the coffee and provide some cookies for break time during our Encountering God in the Old Testament study group I decided to recycle the surplus coffee mugs we had been collecting at our house and lessen the use of unhealthy styrofoam cups by bringing our unused coffee mugs to the new church lounge and serve the coffee in them for the Encountering group.

Everything worked out pretty nicely. People enjoyed drinking coffee out of real ceramic mugs instead of experiencing the grainy feel of styrofoam and we had done something to protect the environment, especially after I had followed the proper protocol for washing dishes and using dish clothes in the lounge. (Check out the instruction sheet on the counter. Dish towels are provided on a holder in the cabinet underneath the sink and should be returned there to dry.)

The next morning Karen and I went to the Twin Cities airport to take off for a visit to our two daughters in Washington, DC. Since we had left in the wee hours of the new day, we decided to have breakfast at the airport McDonald’s after we had gone through security. To satisfy our hunger each of us ordered hot cakes, coffee and a yogurt fruit cup. Everything was fine until we realized that our little breakfast required many different pieces of styrofoam packaging, which amounted to more than a square foot of garbage!

What a waste! In more ways than one. My good deed the previous night had amounted to nothing compared to the mound of permanent waste we and all sorts of other McDonald’s customers throughout the world were creating that morning.

All of this led me to ask myself: "Why bother?" Why bother to recycle? Why bother to save energy? Why bother to worry about our earth? Why bother to take individual action when the pollution caused by corporations and governments makes my efforts seem less than negligible.

But then I had to remember how Jesus must have felt when his thick-skulled disciples didn’t seem to "get it" and one of them even denied him three times. I had to consider how people like Benjamin Stucki must have felt when they had to keep mission efforts running on a shoe string but still moved forward. I had to think of those who are helped by our Encountering group even though more could have come. I had to affirm once again that God calls us to faithfulness first; success may follow. Why bother? Because God has given us this good life and this good earth to cherish and treat as a wonderful creation, not something to be junked up.

Last Thursday our Encountering God in the Old Testament study group had its first session. One of our tasks was to reflect on our past experiences with the Bible. I thought back to March 11, 1953 when my parents gave me a floppy black King James Version all the way up to this fall when my Swiss exchange brother, Andreas Wolf, sent me a copy of the newly published Zin German and gave thanks for all the memories associated with these various Bible versions and the experiences in reading their pages.ürcher Bibel

The next day Karen and I made the 3 ½ hour trip over to Lakeland College for our 40^th homecoming celebration. We had fun attending a couple classes in the afternoon and then walked over the president’s home for a special reception honoring alumni. Here I encountered a white haired fellow who had graduated from Lakeland 50 years ago. As the haze in my brain dissipated a bit I came to the realization that he was none other than Charles Eversman, the young crew cut seminarian who taught my confirmation class at Sheboygan in 1959. 

He was guiding our class through the Old Testament and we were, I believe, looking at the book of Jonah. In response to a classmate’s question about a "whale" swallowing Jonah, Eversman made the observation that this was probably a story to illustrate the truth of God’s love for all people, not just the Hebrews. My classmate was surprised that this might not be a literal history, but I was relieved that I could read the Bible and didn’t have to take every word literally. Later on our teacher pointed out that the Bible contains various kinds of literature including poetry, letters, sermons, history, and stories which were not literally true but contained a truthful message.

For me this was liberating news, and I used this insight as I continued to read the Bible in its various translations and even went on to seminary to learn more about the Bible. Chuck Eversman gave me permission to read the Bible, not just as a how-to-do-it manual but as a book of inspiration and salvation. I am forever grateful to him for this "good news."

In June Karen and I returned to New York City for a reprise of our 1967 honeymoon. We had a lot of fun going to Broadway shows and jazz clubs in addition to taking the circle boat tour of Manhatten and visiting the Museum of Modern Art. One other place we had to visit was "Ground Zero" and nearby St. Paul’s Chapel, where rescue workers had found respite in the days after September 11, 2001.When I walked through the chapel and then tried to imagine how its ancient graveyard was littered with debris on 9-11 a sense of awe came upon me. The next day when I took an early morning walk through Greenwich Village and passed a fire station with a memorial to its men who had died six years ago, I was humbled. These people had given their very lives in service to others.

If you remember back to the days shortly after 9-11 you will recall a mixture of shock, sorrow, anger, and, yes, unity. We were one country and the world came to us in sympathy. Forgetting their political differences, a bipartisan group of senators and congressional representatives stood on the Capitol steps singing "America."

Since that time we still remember with respect those who lost their lives in NYC, Washington, D.C. and over the skies of Pennsylvania, but we have lost our sense of unity and the world no longer comes to offer its sympathy. Although we recognize the need for constant vigilance against terrorism, we are divided on the proper actions we should take.

Of course our government’s decision to attack Iraq has caused great debate. Among those opposing this war were the leaders of many churches, including the United Church of Christ. In June at General Synod in Hartford, the Collegium of the UCC issued a pastoral letter reiterating its sorrow over the war and opposition to "our reliance on violence as the first, rather than the last resort." They are now asking all UCC members who agree to sign a petition to end the Iraq war. I have signed the petition, realizing that mine is only one opinion and there is more than one way to end the war. I invite you to view the petition at the UCC website, www.ucc.org. If you agree you may also wish to sign it. A copy of the pastoral letter is also attached to the bulletin board.

No matter how we feel about Iraq all of us take time on this day to consider those still suffering from the effects of 9-11, even those now sick with respiratory aliments and cancer from breathing the post 9-11 air.  We are also grateful for all who serve in dangerous places like Iraq. We pray that God will guide us to a lasting peace.

As you may know the United Church of Christ is composed of four root denominations. The Congregational Church came to this continent with the Pilgrims in 1620. The Reformed Church was formed in 1725 with the arrival of German and Swiss people in Pennsylvania. The Christian Church began in the early 19^th century when various people, dissatisfied with the narrowness of their denominations, established a group which claimed only the name Christian. The Evangelical Synod arrived last, establishing itself most strongly in the Mid West as the "Kirchenverein des Westens" in 1840 and using German, the tongue of its founders. These groups first merged in the 1930s into the Congregational Christian Churches and Evangelical and Reformed Church and then in 1957 the United Church of Christ was birthed. This year is the 50^th anniversary of that union. We will celebrate with a big party at General Synod in June.

Last time I described why we UCCers can justly claim the title "evangelical." In this message I’d like to share with you our "reformed" nature. The Reformed Church traced its roots back to Switzerland at the time of the 16^th century Protestant Reformation. Ulrich Zwingli in Zurich and John Calvin in Geneva were guiding lights of this movement. Cherishing this heritage, we confess the authority of one God while affirming the primacy of the Scriptures, the doctrine of justification by faith, the priesthood of all believers, and the principle of Christian freedom.

A motto of the Reformed Church is semper reformanda, Latin for "always reforming" and "always being reformed" in the image of God. God is not through with us. Recently the UCC has carried on a publicity campaign, using the comma as its symbol. I believe this is very fitting for us as people of the Reformed heritage, because we believe that the Reformation continues and God continues to challenge us to follow in the way of the Risen Christ. "Never place a period where God has placed a comma."

This concludes my little series on the four parent denominations of the United Church of Christ. Yes, one them was called Christian. About 200 years ago people in New England, Virginia and Kentucky, dissatisfied with the hierarchical and overly doctrinal nature of their denominations, left to form churches based on six principles:

Following these principles they eventually found one another and even made a bridge across racial lines to form one church, which first united with Congregationalists and then helped form the UCC. Here in Wisconsin we don’t have any representatives of the Christian heritage in the UCC, but last summer Karen and I had the wonderful opportunity to worship in two UCC churches in North Carolina out of this Christian stream while we attended the National UCC Musicians’ Conference in Chapel Hill. Each church had a wonderful musical program. Chapel Hill UCC’s new building was constructed in a sort of v-shape so that the bell choir could be set up permanently on either side and they even had a big band playing jazz! Mount Calvary in Durham exhibited all the enthusiasm and spirit one associates with African American Christianity. We came away from these two churches thankful that the United Church of Christ is "Christian" in more than one sense of the word.

Sunday, October 29^th, should be fun. On that day Pastor James Gordon of Calvary Lutheran Church and I will be exchanging pulpits as part of our celebration of Reformation Day. He will preach here during 10:00 worship and I will occupy his pulpit during Calvary’s 8:45 worship. For many years our two churches have been friendly neighbors on the west side of Neillsville. We pastors have helped one another out on several occasions by conducting weddings and doing supply preaching. Many of us have friends in the other church, and we even share at least one member. Roni Kaczor Smith, whose beloved husband Kendall was a member of Calvary, not only directs our bell choir, but also serves on the church council at Calvary.

The situation was not always so friendly between our ecclesiastical forbears during the Reformation. In 1529 Martin Luther, founder of the Lutheran Church, and Ulrich Zwingli, founder of our Reformed branch of Christianity, met in a castle sitting above the German city of Marburg, but could not come to an agreement on the Lord’s Supper. Luther was concerned about maintaining the "real presence" of Christ in the supper while Zwingli wished to make it clear that this was a "spiritual" meal and that the "body of Christ" was the people gathered about the table. Disagreements over this issue, petty national loyalties (Luther was German and Zwingli was Swiss.), and other factors separated the Lutheran and Reformed churches for many years.

After a while things mellowed. In fact when Lutheran and Reformed people immigrated to Pennsylvania they sometimes formed union churches. As years went by the two groups learned to cooperate in other ways and realized that they shared much in common. Theologians sat down to discuss some of the issues of faith which caused division. Finally, in 1997 the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Church of Christ, the Presbyterian Church in the United States, and the Reformed Church in America signed a Formula of Agreement in which we recognized one another’s ministry and sacraments as right and valid. We have discovered that our varying ways of understanding the faith are complementary rather than contradictory. Therefore we are now in "full communion" with one another.

On October 29^th here in Neillsville we look forward to celebrating our oneness in Christ.

Today we made the big exchange. After almost seven years and 197,000 miles we traded in our 1999 Dodge Sport for a 2006 Chrysler Town and Country. Karen and I like to keep our cars as long as possible. We had many fine adventures with "Old Green," as our daughter KJ named the forest green mini van when she drove it for the summer of 2004 while we were in Africa. That car took us to the Pacific coast when we brought our youngest daughter Annie to the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma and to the Atlantic coast when we paid visits to our granddaughter Elise and her parents in North Carolina. In between it made the move from Ripon to Neillsville and came to know the roads to Marshfield and Madison by heart.

Throughout our lives we make changes. Babies are cute, but we know that they must grow into toddlers, eventually become teenagers, and finally leave home as young adults. All of us have experienced changes in jobs, residence, and other aspects of life even if we have lived in Neillsville all of our years. For some of us changing cars is an ever other year occurrence.

But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. We knew that our relationship with "Old Green" would sometime come to a close. When Karen felt some surging on the road to Eau Claire last week, we decided the time for farewell had come. Fortunately Craig Sigurdson had at least a couple attractive new vans sitting on his lot, and we chose a "magnesium pearl coat" Chrysler. I guess we’ll call her "Maggie".

Today young people in our city made the change from summer activities to school studies. A few parents among us have had to drive our children off to college as they begin a new adventure. We have shed a few tears, but deep down are glad they are growing and taking on new challenges.

This is the good life God has given us. Join me in celebrating God’s goodness and all the possibilities which lie before us, no matter if we have 90,000 or 190,000 miles on us.

Recently the news has included reports on a prayer experiment."The basic theological confusion here is to think that prayer puts God at our disposal, that prayer is a lever we use to nudge God in a specific direction. A God who is at our disposal in that way would not be God.Scientists kept records of people having surgery, some who knew people were praying for them and some who did not. The results showed that those who knew they were being prayed for actually suffered more medical complications than those who didn’t know whether they were being prayed for. Overall, scientific studies of prayer haven’t yielded any useable information.

In a recent editorial, The Christian Century criticized the whole endeavor as pretty worthless. Using insights from the great German martyr and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, they wrote:

A better account of intercessory prayer is to see it as the way Christians consciously bring others into God’s presence along with themselves. In prayer we see others as creatures loved by God and in need of God’s grace. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it, in intercessory prayer one sees other people ‘in all their need, hardship and distress’ and grants them ‘the same right we have received, namely the right to stand before Christ and to share in Christ’s mercy.’ In other words, in prayer we put others in God’s hands.

In putting others in God’s hands, we begin to see them clearly. That’s why for Bonhoeffer, as in the mainstream Christian tradition, intercessory prayer is intertwined with Christian community. It’s noteworthy, by contrast, how this latest medical study of prayer was indfferent to community; the research made no reference to whether the patients wanted prayer or were part of a community of prayer. Such elements would only skew the results.

Bonhoeffer goes so far as to say that intercessory prayer is the ‘heartbeat’ of community, and his reason is clear: ‘I can no longer condemn or hate other Christians for whom I pray, no matter how much trouble they cause me. In intercessory prayer the face that may have been strange and intolerable to me is transformed into the face of one for whom Christ died.’ Prayer, in this view, does indeed work — on the individuals and communities who pray."

To which I say, Amen!

A few years ago we attended the Neillsville Area Players’ production of "Oklahoma!". One of the plot lines dealt with the tension between farmers and ranchers, which lead to one of my favorite songs: 

The farmer and the cowman should be friends,
Oh, the farmer and the cowman should be friends.
One man likes to push a plough, the other likes to chase a cow,
But that's no reason why they cain't be friends.

I think of these lyrics when I read the newspaper about tensions today between religion and science over issues like genetic testing and the teaching of "intelligent design." Some Christians assume that you can’t accept both the Bible and science and some scientists view religion as a bunch of nonsense. For some reason I have never seen a problem between the two.

Neither did Ron Cole-Turner, UCC minister and professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, who spoke at the Wisconsin Conference Annual Meeting last June. He spoke about the conversations he has had with scientists and his sympathy with their desire to explore the outer reaches of knowledge. At the same time we religious people are also growing in our understanding of God, God’s world, and ourselves. When we read the pages of the Bible we are not examining a scientific textbook, but rather a wonderful description of God’s love for this world. To me science tells us how the world functions and religion helps us understand why the world exists. They are two parallel paths of knowledge, not in competition with one another, but rather complimenting one another. For this reason I have never had a problem accepting both evolution and the Bible.

Of course science cannot run amok, without any regard for ethics or human life. Scientists are not gods. My son’s godmother is a research biologist at the University of Würzburg in Germany.  Two weeks ago before Kurt's wedding we discussed various issues on the dock of a cottage at Green Lake, and she shrared her opinion that scientists cannot have carte blanche.  Of course the rub comes when we have to decide in specific incidents whether scientific research promotes the greater good and adheres to moral standards.  Not all of us agree, for instance, about stem cell resarch and when it should be allowed.   This is when we have to stay in communication, respecting one another's perspectives and "keeping the faith."

Please allow me to share my joy with you. Over the weekend our son Kurt married Jennifer Kooiman in a lovely outdoor ceremony at her mother’s home in Green Lake. The weather was perfect. During the early part of the day our family basked in the sunlight (literal and figurative) while sitting on the dock of a friend’s cottage. Then, as the shadows nicely covered the lawn, we gathered for the wedding. It was my privilege to read scripture and offer "some words of wisdom" to the couple, although I chose not to actually perform the ceremony so that I could sit with my bride of 38 years. Kurt and Jennifer have purchased a lovely "mature" home in Sun Prairie and we look forward to our visits with them there.

Adding to our joy was the presence of our grandchild, Elise Marie Friedel, who made the trip from North Carolina with her parents Jenny and Elliott. Like other grandparents we dote on her. It was fun bringing her to the church office Friday morning to meet Audrey before we headed off to Green Lake.

Although you don’t really know our children since all were on their own before we moved to Neillsville, you do know how important our children are to us. Oldest daughter Kristin will be moving from Chicago to Washington, D.C. in another week to become curator of film and video for the National Museum of Women in the Arts. We are very happy for her, but will miss our occasional trips to Chicago for visits. Youngest daughter Annie is now finishing her two-year stint as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Swaziland, Africa. Some of you have supported her work in AIDS education with gifts, cards, and prayers. We look forward to picking her up at the airport on the day after Thanksgiving.

Finally, at this time I think of a beloved lady from our church family, Irmie Stucki. On Sunday we will celebrate her 96 years on this earth and officially place her in God’s strong and loving hands. She was also, in a way, part of my family because as a young woman she lived across the road from my grandfather, who served as pastor of Ebenezer Reformed Church in Stratford. Each time Irmie and I visited she had something nice to tell me about my grandfather or my father, who spent his boyhood in Stratford. Irmie’s mother was like a grandmother to my father and uncles since their grandmothers lived far away in Iowa and Germany.

Ah, the sunlight is lovely today!

Rural Life - May 12, 2004

One piece of good news for our area with more cows than people is that the milk prices have gone up. Our long-suffering dairy farmers are finally getting a better financial deal. We hope the trend continues.

Agricultural policy in our country has always been a mystery to me. People have explained to me how milk prices are set according to a farm’s proximity to Eau Claire and why politicians in Wisconsin are at battle with those in New England or California over certain farm legislation. I find it easier to understand the Trinity.

In the church we have been concerned about the welfare of rural folk. Our denomination is strongest in small towns and the countryside. Even though big city issues such as urban decay, crime and discrimination are of concern to all of us, our church leaders realize the plight of the farmer, especially in this era of globalization. No matter where we live our welfare is connected.

The United Church of Christ has helped to produce "Strong Roots, Fragile Farms," a video featuring Willy Nelson, to address this and other issues of importance to rural people. The program is supposed to be broadcast during the "The World of Faith and Values" at 11:00 a.m. this Sunday on the Hallmark Channel, which is exactly the time many of us will be walking down the steps to enjoy after worship fellowship during the coffee hour and others will be tuning into WCCN for the broadcast of our Sunday service. (Karen and I will have our VCR timer record the show in our absence.)

During worship we and many other congregations will be observing Rural Life Sunday to celebrate the role of the farm in our lives and God’s gift of soil, sun, and rain. Although the number of actual farmers in our congregation is significantly less than 10 or 20 years ago, we wish to honor those of you who have worked and are working God’s good earth to provide us with food to eat.

April 27, 2004

Opening Doors

Last Friday I attended an interesting workshop on laity empowerment. The Rev. Ron Farr, a UCC minister from Watertown, New York, introduced us to a program called "Unwrapping Our Gifts." It’s aim is to help us share our faith and discover the gifts for ministry that God has given each person. Marge Goetsch attended a duplicate event on Saturday. We hope to introduce this program to you in the future.

Participants were asked to bring a Bible and an object symbolizing a door that God had opened for them. I had forgotten about these requests and came unprepared. The helpful ladies from the Tomah church, where the workshop was held, were able to find a Bible for me and I managed to rummage through my billfold for an object.

I had a difficult time coming up with a specific example of a door that God had opened for me recently. Actually I could only think of a door that God had closed. During the past month our family has been deeply saddened by the miscarriage of twin girls our daughter Jenny carried in her womb. One was lost in January, but we had hopes for her feisty little sister. In early April Jenny paid us a visit and looked pleasantly pregnant, but a week later she called with the news that Ariah had also died. We were heartbroken for our daughter and her husband Elliott and for ourselves. These were to be our first grandchildren. On Holy Saturday, the day before Easter, our family gathered for a small memorial service.

It seemed that God has closed a door. Since that time many people have offered their sympathy and numerous women have told us of their own miscarriages. During our "door opening" exercise at the workshop a fellow participant shared her own story of miscarriages to her and her daughters. I learned that 15 to 20% of pregnancies result in a miscarriage.

These revelations did not take away the pain and feeling of loss for what could have been, but they did open a door for me. They opened me up to others who have felt the pain of miscarriage and, I hope, made me a better minister to those who are touched by death, whether it comes to those who have yet to experience this world or those who have spent many decades on this earth.

In God’s grace, 

Pastor Jim

Dandelions for Easter

Last week Elaine Free gave me an interesting article by the Rev. Ted Schroeder in Thrivent magazine. He believes we need a new Easter flower. The Easter lily is nice, but it isn’t really a spring flower and it’s bloom is rather fragile. Consider, instead the dandelion.

Last fall a congregation expanded its parking lot by covering the weedy gravel area with fresh blacktop. "For a while, the new parking lot looked great. Most of the weeds were discouraged by the thick blacktop—until the following spring. Sure enough, as they always do, the dandelions rose, growing through the blacktop as if it were rich soil.

The dandelion — now there is an Easter flower! Almost indestructible, it rises every spring to cover the world with its yellow glow. You can freeze it, walk on it, chop it, cut it, cover it and even poison it, but every spring it appears anew.

If ever there was a Resurrection flower, this is it. The dandelion reminds us that Easter is more than a wonderful story to be retold once a year. The Easter promise is more than good news for some distant day beyond death. The Easter message exclaims, ‘He is risen!’"

Pastor Jim

June 22, 2004

Very early on the morning of July 12 Karen and I will be boarding an airplane in Chicago and by the next morning should be landing in Johannesburg, South Africa as we begin a several week vacation and study experience. By the time we are back in Neillsville for the Sunday before Labor Day we will have traveled many miles and, hopefully, had many worthwhile experiences.

There are several purposes in this trip:

1. Visit our daughter Anneke, who is a Peace Corps Volunteer doing AIDS education in the southeastern part of Swaziland, a small African country surrounded on three sides by South Africa and one side by Mozambique. While there we also plan to connect with our UCC missionary, Lori Tisher, and our partner Swazi church.

2. Participate in the 24^th General Council of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches in Accra, Ghana. Our United Church of Christ is a member of this world-wide family of churches. During our two weeks at the meeting Karen and I will be participating in a number of educational programs on the theme "That All May Have Life in Fullness." My father had a seminary friend who was a missionary in Ghana and my parents were able to visit that country several years ago. It has always been my dream to also visit this country with which our church has many connections.

3. Attend the International Bullinger Congress in Zurich, Switzerland. When I was a graduate student I wrote my Master’s thesis and did doctoral research on the Swiss reformer Heinrich Bullinger and his ecumenical connections. In celebration of the 500^th anniversary of Bullinger’s birth the University of Zurich is sponsoring a week-long scholarly conference at which experts from around the world will share their knowledge of this significant church leader.

In my absence various church members will be leading worship, and on one special Sunday Pastor Gene Lackore will return to preach for us. Pastor Mark Schwinn from Immanuel UCC in Greenwood will be available for pastoral care.

Today is All Saints Day in the Christian Church. We celebrate those whom we honor as people of particular virtue. During our Wednesday evening Lenten series last spring I lifted up various "Servants, Misfits, and Martyrs," some who have been officially canonized as saints by the Roman Catholic Church and others informally recognized as especially holy people.

Some saints are well known and publically honored. Among them I would list St. Francis of Assisi, who is seen in many a backyard as a plaster figure preaching to the animals, and Mother Theresa, the humble nun from India who will most certainly be installed in the saintly constellation as soon as church regulations allow.

Other saints are unknown to most of the world and live an anonymous existence. I remember Winifred Prox, a quiet, unassuming lady who was a member of my first church in Milton. Seemingly poor and ordinary, this lady raised a fine family and looked after a husband with an alcohol problem. Only when preparing for her funeral did I discover what an amazingly generous person this woman was to her church and community. She put much more prestigious and wealthy members to shame.

Her story reminds me of Jesus’ famous encounter with the poor widow who deposited two small coins in the temple treasury, putting to shame those who ostentatiously contributed much larger sums but proportionateley gave much less. (Luke 21:1-3)

Of course all of these thoughts come to my mind as we approach our annual fall stewardship drive. I mention them not to lift up poor or quiet people as better than rich or assertive people. Rather I do so as a reminder to all of us that God expects us to give generously of ourselves in proportion to what we have. All of us, no matter how poor or insignificant we consider ourselves to be, are blessed by God beyond comprehension. The trouble is, we don’t always respond to God with the same generosity as God has gifted us.

Today a friend emailed an opinion piece written for the New York Times by former Republican senator  and present Episcopal priest John Danforth.  His article resonated with me.  I share it with you and would welcome discusion about the issues he raises.

===========

June 17, 2005

Onward, Moderate Christian Soldiers

By

 During the 9:00 a.m. education hour I will share some pictures I took while visiting Switzerland this summer to attend the Bullinger Congress sponsored by the University of Zurich. We will do this in the Fellowship Hall. Then I invite you to join me in the sanctuary at 10:00 a.m. for worship with a 16th century focus and a sermon offering insights into Bullinger’s importance for the 21st century.

Most likely Heinrich Bullinger is not a name you hear very often. He was born in the small town of Bremgarten in north central Switzerland and spent most of his adult life in Zurich, which in 1531 was not much larger than Neillsville. He carried on the ministry of his mentor, Ulrich Zwingli, who was killed in a battle between Protestants and Catholics, by preaching almost every day, writing theological and historical books, corresponding with people throughout Europe, and helping to reorganize the welfare system of his city. He died in 1575 as the revered elder statesman of Reformed Christianity. This August scholars gathered from Europe, North American, Africa, and Latin America to present papers on his impact. I was privileged to sit among those scholars and try to understand what they were saying in English or German. Some of the time I got it, and on the 31^st I would like to share some of it with you.

.

Today television viewers will begin seeing a new commercial for our United Church of Christ. Yes, the UCC has produced two thirty second commercials to be aired in every television market of the United States. Sixty percent of us should see the commercials three times — so estimate the experts.www.ucc.org, where they can be connected with a local UCC church. By entering our zip code, people will be directed to www.neillsvilleucc.org, which just happens to be our website. We hope that in December and January people expecting an open and welcoming church will show up at our doors on Sunday morning.

One commercial features two bouncers standing before a gothic style church. They decide who may enter and who may not. Following this scene you will see a diverse group of people representing the United Church of Christ and the announcer says that all are welcome in the UCC. The second commercial begins with a little girl playing "Here’s the church, here’s the steeple, open the doors and see all the people." The screen then shows a series of people from various ages, races, and life situations repeating the words "all the people."

At the end of the commercials viewers are invited to log on to

The challenge for us is to actually be open and welcoming. We like to think of ourselves as a friendly church, but being friendly does not always come naturally. A friendly church has to put out effort to welcome new folks. This means actively looking for new people and not only talking with old friends. It also means wearing a nametag. Some people have told me, "Oh everyone knows me." Ain’t so. Even if you have lived in Neillsville for a hundred years. Recently a long term regular worshiper told me about just learning the name of a fellow member who sat nearby. To help in the welcoming process we are posting official roving welcomers at the front door. They will offer assistance, write out nametags for guests, and just be friendly. So can you.

Here is some useful information on handling grief from Hospice worker and grief counselor Rev. Al Miles:

Let no one tell you that your grief is morbid, selfish, wrong, or a sign of mental illness. Grief is a healthy and natural response to death. It is a necessary process.