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Every once in a while, I like to use the space in this newsletter (or in this blog, if you’re reading this on the website) to paint a picture of “one day in the life of Christ UMC.” I pick a day and take a snapshot of all the ministries going on in and through this congregation, and it helps portray who we are as a congregation and how we are being God’s people in the world. So, with that said, let me tell you about Saturday, March 10, 2012.

On Saturday morning I arrived at the church at 8:30 am to meet with the Stephen Ministry training class. Did you know that there are six people who are training to become new Stephen Ministers in our congregation? They have been here nearly every Saturday morning since mid-January, and they are learning skills in listening, confidentiality and caring in order to provide companionship to those who are hurting in our congregation and beyond.

As I walked into the building, I saw the church bus parked under the awning. It was loaded up with confirmands who were headed to Murfreesboro for a day with our bishop, Bishop Chamness. This confirmation class has been meeting twice a month in Sunday School, and they’ve been meeting one-on-one with their mentors since September. They’ve gone on “field trips” to experience other faith traditions, and they’ve participated in several ministries with the poor and marginalized in our city. They are learning about Scripture, about the history of the church, about the Christian faith and United Methodist beliefs, about mission and service, among many other things. They are disciples-in-the-making! Then again, aren’t we all?

When my training class with the Stephen Ministers was over, I headed down the hallway past the kitchen and saw the Prison Ministry Team meeting together. This team of dedicated folks meets regularly to plan, to evaluate and to support the various aspects of our ministry in the prison. They provide the behind-the-scenes support that allows all of us to live out Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25: “I was in prison and you visited me.”

As I arrived in the parking lot and was getting into my car, Paul Bonner pulled into the parking space next to me. He was just
arriving to prepare for the youth’s 30-hour Famine. If you were in worship on Sunday, you heard about the faithful group of youth who spent 30 hours at the church, going without food, without showers and without shoes. They wanted to raise money and awareness to fight world hunger, and as we learned on Sunday, they raised nearly $3,500!

Driving away from the church on Saturday afternoon, I marveled at the many and varied ministries that go on here every day. That one snapshot of ministry on Saturday morning revealed to me that we are living out our calling. Just think about it: We are about relationships with Christ (the confirmation class), with one another (Stephen Ministry) and with God’s hurting world (prison ministry and the 30-hour Famine). Of course, confirmation is also about relationships with one another and with the world. Stephen Ministry deepens one’s relationship with Christ, as does prison ministry. And the youth ministry includes relationships with one another and Christ. So, it’s all overlapping!

It’s hard to keep track of all the work God is doing in and through this congregation. And for that, I am deeply grateful.

We find ourselves in the third week of Lent, and I hope this has been a fruitful and meaningful season for you so far. As I’ve talked with some of you in Bible study or in the hallway or on Facebook, it seems that we are all observing the season in different ways. Some of you have given up things like chocolate, Diet Coke and complaining. Others of you have taken on new practices like letter-writing, morning prayer or spiritual reading.

Not everyone has given up something or taken on something. Lent has a way of sneaking up on us. Many of us just weren’t ready to come up with an idea. Some of us are new to the idea of Lent and don’t really know what we should do or not do. And that’s okay. Regardless of how you are approaching Lent, we’re all in this together and we’re all learning as we go.

For my part, I have decided to give up something and to take on something. For these forty days of Lent, I am giving up Word W.E.L.D.E.R. “What is that?” you might ask. Well, it’s a game I started playing on my phone. It’s like a crossword puzzle on steroids, and it’s a lot of fun for geeks like me to play. Here’s why I’m giving it up: In the few weeks leading up to Lent, when I found myself with a free moment—while the kids were doing homework, while I was waiting in the doctor’s office, etc.—I would pick up the phone and start playing. It began to fill the spaces in my life, and it drew my awareness away from the present moment. Don’t get me wrong. Sometimes a little word game is just what you need. Sometimes you need to rest your mind and step away from the present moment. But not that often. So, I’ve given it up for awhile. No big deal.

While giving up a little word game is not much, I have taken on a deeper practice that is a bit more challenging. Each morning, I am getting up 45 minutes earlier than usual in order to practice centering prayer. I am not a morning person, so this is hard for me. But that’s not the main reason that this kind of prayer is difficult.

Centering prayer is meant to lead you into deep silence and stillness. As you sit down to pray, you try not to hold on to any thoughts, images or emotions that come to you. As one practitioner has put it, you try to “quiet the inner noise.” Over and over and over again in those minutes of silence, I try to release my thoughts and feelings and worries to God. And that is really hard!

But before I got too frustrated with myself, I came across this story in a book by Cynthia Bourgeault that offered me some grace: Many years ago, a nun was first learning the practice of centering prayer from Father Thomas Keating. After twenty minutes of silence, she lamented, “I’m such a failure at this prayer. In twenty minutes, I’ve had ten thousand thoughts.” “How lovely,” responded Keating. “Ten thousand opportunities to return to God!”

That’s what Lent is all about: returning to God. The little practice of prayer that I’ve taken on this season is helping me to return to God a thousand times every morning. What things are helping you returning to God this season?

The word “serendipitous” comes from an ancient name for Sri Lanka; it was coined by a fellow who happened upon (serendipitously, of course) a Persian fairy tale about three princes who traveled about making incidental discoveries of things they were never in search of. The word describes an occasion or discovery that is both accidental and fortunate.

This past weekend, I was on call as a chaplain down at Centennial Medical Center. And as often happens on my Sunday afternoon rounds, I have serendipitous encounters with people. One Sunday a few months back, I knocked on a doorjamb of a room I thought was occupied by a person on my referral list. The lady in the bed sweetly informed me that she was someone else. Her name was Juanita. “Well,” I said, “Would you mind if I visited with you?” She nodded kindly and waved me in and for the next hour we had a delightful conversation. In for another heart scare, she said; but she was barely interested in pursuing that old news. She’d sparkled as she talked about where she lived, whom she was related to, what she knew, and why she sleeps with a rifle next to her bed (good to know). Not sure about the condition of her heart, but mine felt better after I left her room.

Then on the way down the elevator, one of the passengers asked me who I was. Barely got the word chaplain out of my mouth when she burst into tears. So for about the next hour, Christine and I talked about her life, her family problems, her addictions, and her boyfriend (in ICU thanks to a bad mix of alcohol and asphalt). The reality is that she and her boyfriend have a long road to walk to reclaim their lives. So I didn’t leave feeling like I did when I left Juanita. I wish I could say, as a result of our talk, Christine was resolved to make some hard choices and some needed changes. Can’t say that. What I can say is that had I not stepped onto that elevator at the same moment as Christine, our serendipitous conversation would have never happened at all. She would not have had a chance to tell her painful story to someone. And I would not have had a chance to offer a word of hope.

The season of Lent is appropriately billed as a time for disciplined activities—praying, reading, reflecting, repenting. I recommend them. I also recommend that you reserve a little open space in your schedules during these next few weeks, just in case a serendipitous encounter were to come your way. The amazing thing about God’s grace is that you are apt to stumble upon it in the dark, in an elevator, or by walking in the wrong room.

Serendipitous: a word to the wise.

This week marks the beginning of Lent. It seems like we have just taken down the Advent banners and removed the wreaths from our hearths, but here we are on the doorstep of another, very different holy season. On Wednesday evening we gather for worship, communion and the imposition of ashes. On Sunday we will hear the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, and we’ll turn with him toward Jerusalem as he makes his journey to the cross.

Lent is a unique and often difficult season to walk through. It’s a season that invites us into self-examination and repentance. We are led to take a long, hard look at ourselves and to name those things that keep us from loving and trusting God. Given the events that have happened in our community and in our world over the past few weeks, we are deeply and painfully aware of our own brokenness and our need for God’s mercy and grace. This is part of our Lenten journey.

As we go through this six-week season, we will continue on Sunday mornings hearing from the Gospel of Mark. The lectionary calendar actually moves into the Gospel of John, but our worship team here decided to stick with Mark and to let him continue telling us about Jesus’ journey toward Jerusalem. Through Mark’s gospel, we will be asking ourselves, “What do we need to turn away from in order to turn toward God?” Each Sunday we’ll hear a story that invites us to ask that question in different ways.

In addition to worship on Sunday, there will be lots of opportunities for reflection, prayer and growth during Lent. I’ll be teaching a special six-week Sunday School class down in room 109. We’ll be looking at the last 24 hours of Jesus’ earthly life, based on a study by Adam Hamilton. For those of you not currently involved in a Sunday School class, this might be a good way to explore this season and what it means for you.

The Spiritual Formation Committee is putting together a book table with suggested readings during this season. They’ll also have devotional guides for us based on the writings of Henri Nouwen as he reflected on the story of the Prodigal Son.

Lent invites us to find more time in our lives for prayer, silence and reflection. Sometimes, it’s hard to find that space in our lives, so on Wednesday nights the Sanctuary will be open after dinner for you to come and pray. Of course, throughout the week the Sanctuary and the Prayer Room (across from the kitchen) are always open for you. Personally, I like the Quiet Room just outside the Sanctuary. You can see the cross and the altar, but you’re also enclosed in a quiet space apart from the world.

Often, we think of Lent as a time to “give something up,” and that may be just what God is calling you to do. If you find that your hurrying keeps you from God, then you might want to give up driving over the speed limit. If you find yourself preoccupied with food or videogames, you might want to give up snacks or Angry Birds. But whatever practice you choose, it should be about you and your relationship with God. This is a time to open ourselves fully to the loving gaze of God and ask, “How is it with my soul? What is getting between God and me?”

Let’s walk through this season together. Call me if you want to talk or pray together. Come to worship on Wednesday and on Sundays. Pick out a book. Read Nouwen’s devotional guide every day. Start a new prayer practice. Let us keep a holy Lent. Together.

One of the things I love about this church is our openness. Several years ago, The United Methodist Church developed a motto that you may have seen on church signs, television commercials and publications: “Open hearts, open minds, open doors.” I always liked that description of the UMC, and I’m so glad to be part of a congregation that truly embodies openness.

Christ UMC is a congregation that is open in so many ways: open to new ideas, new ministries, new people, and new ways of worshiping. We are open with our hearts, with our minds, with our hands…and even with our building. Did you know that there are ministries going on in our building every day of the week? Did you know that there are 12-step groups, watercolor classes and a home school band that meet here every week? There are community groups and Bible studies and prayer groups and scrapbooking groups. The list goes on and on.

Last week, I ran into a cousin of mine walking through the halls. She was here to help organize a debate tournament that’s taking place in our church in a few weeks. She went on and on about how gracious everyone had been and how she felt the spirit of Christ so powerfully in this place. I was glad to hear that this congregation’s hospitality was real and alive.

One of the benefits of being open and sharing our building and ministry with others is that we get unique opportunities to
connect with others in the body of Christ. I want to tell you about two upcoming events that highlight our “connectedness.”

As you may know, there is an Anglican congregation that worships in the sanctuary on Saturday afternoons. For the second year in a row, we will join with them in an Ash Wednesday service. This year’s service is on February 22. We will share in a simple meal of beans and rice beforehand in order to remember the poor across the world whose primary diet consists of rice and beans. Then at 6:30 we’ll move into the sanctuary. Rev. Kenny Benge, pastor of the St. John’s congregation, will be preaching. He and I will preside together at the communion table, and our congregations will join together in receiving communion and the imposition of ashes. I hope you’ll plan to begin the 40-day season of Lent with this powerful experience of worship.

Then on Sunday, February 26, at 6:00 pm our congregation will join with the Wesley Foundation at Tennessee State University in hosting the second annual Black History Celebration. We will gather in the sanctuary to worship and honor five “Living Legends,” African-American leaders who have made a lasting impact in our community. This was an amazing and powerful service last year—just ask the members of the choir! I hope you’ll mark your calendars and plan to be there.

Having “open hearts, open minds, and open doors” gives us so many opportunities to worship, learn and serve. I thank God for your openness, and I look forward to sharing God’s love and ministry with you and all of God’s people over the next few weeks.