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Disciples News
July 20 We have arrived in Portland. On the way here, we stopped to take pictures of the Cup in two locations. One place was a World War I memorial set up to look like Stone Henge. The memorial was set up in the hope for peace - and so is the Cup of God's salvation. We also stopped at a historic sight along the Oregon Trail and took a picture of the Cup with a covered wagon. I saw a display with a quote from one of those early pioneers heading West, which I will paraphrase, "Even though we have faced many trials, I have never regretted that we undertook this journey." I could not have summarized our journey West, A Cup, A Cross, A Country, better. July 19 (evening) Robin Zerwick and the two interns from DHM had to catch a plane to Portland, so Carl Zerwick gave them a lift to the airport in Boise. Alex and I thus arrived by ourselves to Red Rock Christian Church in Boise, Idaho. We found the beautiful building and walked in. We were greeted by a member of the church named Joyce who said "Welcome - you are early." "Thank you," I said, "Peace to your house." She replied, "Peace to you as well." We received a tour of the church and found out the arrangements that had been made for us to stay that evening - we were to stay in the home of two generous parishoners - Shannon and Greg. The pastor of the church, Gary Smith, was away at a funeral when we arrived. But the congregants had prepared a fine potluck meal for us. People began to arrive for this meal, and we meeted and greeted. When Gary arrived, a small group of us, including Alex and the organist (Walter) from the church, sat and planned the service over sandwhiches and Waldorf salad. Carl had arrived, so I invited him to speak a little about the work DHM does. A group of about 100 arrived - and we had representatives from three different congregations there. The service used hymns we have used before - "We Call Ourselves Disciples" and "Bless Now the Journey" - plus a new one, "Help Us Accept Each Other." Walter played the piano. At two points in the service, I asked the congregants themselves to speak on topics on a volunteer basis. I asked them to share stories about the General Assembly and to share stories about the Lord's Table. (Michael Carlson at University Park in Indianapolis gave me this idea) These stories were powerful. One youth pastor made the point that the Lord's Table could be celebrated anywhere and in anyway and with any number of people - even if all you had to use as the elements was donuts and hot choclate. Time does not permit me to share all these stories yet - but I hope to publicize them in the future. The service ended with Gary Smith gathering us all in a circle to pray for those who were going to the General Assembly and those bearing the Cup. I left feeling inspired and humbled to be a part of this work God has given me, as I have each of the services. Greg and Shannon treated Alex and me like princes that evening and the
following morning - and then we were on our way toward our final destination
- Portland. July 19, (Morning) Alex and I were welcomed in the homes of Ron and Carol Holdsworth, the husband and wife team of co-ministers at Granger Community Christian Church near Salt Lake last night where we were treated as honored guests. We arose in the morning to meet for a communion service at 9:00 in the morning. Being held in the morning, this communion service would be in the form of a prayer breakfast. On my journey I had already seen three different forms of communion services - and this one would be especially unique. There was about fifteen of us, and we sat around a table. I was blessed that some very old friends, Carl, Gretl and their two children were able to come, in addition to an old friend of my mother's, Sue. Granger welcomed them and soon put them at ease. Ron opened the breakfast with a prayer, and then invited us all to introduce ourselves. Then we ate breakfast together which a fine cook in the church had prepared. After eating and fellowshiping, Ron invited Sue to read from the scriptures. He had selected the road to Emmaeus story from Luke - a story where two disciples of Jesus are joined on the road by Jesus resurrected - and are unawares of who he is until the breaking of the bread. It was a very appropriate story for what A Cup, A Cross, A Country is about - journeying and having communion. I was surprised I had not thought about this before. Ron invited the group to speak about what it meant to be on a "Journey with Jesus." Several people shared stories - mine was about my experience in New York. Carl Zerwick thanked Granger for hosting the service and for their support. He also spoke about the work that DHM then - and then offered Granger words of encouragement, being as they are a lonely Disciples congregation in the midst of a sea of Mormons. We had communion then - and all that was available by way of bread was two pieces of corn bread - No worries, it the reality behind the symbol, not the symbol itself that matters. The Cup was passed around the table, people dipped cornbread in it, and then we all ate together. We sang "Bless Now, O God, the Journey" accapela, said some closing prayers, greeting each other, and then the good people of Granger Community were on their way, and we were on ours. Alex and I stopped to take a picture of the Cup in front of the Mormon temple, and then - off to Boise!
ANOTHER long drive today. Yesterday we drove completely through Illinois and Iowa and halfway through Nebraska - today we would drive through Wyoming. Wow! There is a lot of empty space in Wyoming. Yet somehow, even in the middle of some terrain that could well be called wilderness - we found inspiration. First it happened while I was driving and Alex was asleep. I suddenly saw a sign for the Continental divide - 7000 feet, the rough line that water falling on one side will flow to the Atlantic, and water flowing the other way will flow into the Pacific. It occurred to after I passed that I simply had to get a picture of the Cup at the Continental divide. Why not? Was this not a symbol of the Living Water that flowed down to all creation? I took the next exit and swung around in a big u-turn. Alex woke up and "politely" inquired after my mental health. I told him this had to be done. We stopped and snapped the shot. Then, a few more miles up the road, an even more exciting photo-op happened. We had pulled over in a gas station somewhere in Wyoming, and suddenly Alex said, "Hey here are the Bikers for Christ!) Sure enough, it was them. They were heading up from Kansas City toward Canada effectively making a line perpendicular to the one we were making - and we just happened to run into them in this little gas station. We had a photo-op with them and the Cup: leather, big beards, head bands, Harley's, the whole nine yards. Some may call this type of thing coincidence, others may call it Providence. I'll leave it to the readers to decide. Yet I will say this, spiritually it was just what I needed. I was discouraged that we had such a long drive with no ministerial stops along the way (we had planned more stops, but scheduling difficulties made them impossible). Yet here we had encountered another group of believers, decidedly different from us, who were on a traveling ministry of their own. It made me realize once again that the reign of God on earth is much greater than any one person or sect - the reign of God goes on even without me. In other words, I let go of some pride - but the type of pride that one is happy to let go. Jesus says, Blessed are the poor of Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This says to me that we are to be congratulated when we are deflated, for that is when we truly encounter God's greater activity in the world and in our lives. I got deflated at that gas station. July 17th Today was a long driving day. Alex Klaiber, the one parishoner from my church who felt called to go all the way with me to Portland, went with me to the Indianapolis airport to rent the car that would take us there. Alex saw a gorgeous yellow Mustang at the car rental place that he desparately wanted to rent - he figured the Cup should travel in style. I thought, well, Walter Scott rode a horse, why can't we ride a 'stang? But alas, it was unavailable. We rented a Ford focus. Our next worship stop is going to be Salt Lake, which is 1268 miles away. We met up with Carl Zerwick of Disciples home missions, his wife Robin, and two interns from DHM, Chrystal and Kathleen. Then we just drove, drove, drove. After a fourteen hour drive, we stopped in Kearny, Nebraska. July 16th This morning at around 6:30 twelve of us gathered at Cleveland Heights Christian Church to get ready to embark on our journey, transporting the Cup from Buffalo to Indianapolis. It was myself, my parishoners Alex, Bob, Mark, Dawn, and Virginia. From Virginia's New Church plant, there were six members, including one twelve year old boy named John whom Virgina had known from the after school program she had led through her ministry. There was an issue of keys getting locked in a trunk of a car, but once we had that resolved, we gathered in a circle in the parking lot to raise up prayers for safety on our nine-hour drive. We passed the 18 inch ceramic Chalice around the circle so that all of could touch it and feel its weight and fragility. I said a few words about our purpose: the open table of the Lord and the love of God revealed through Jesus. Then we were on our way. The service at University Park Christian Church in Indianapolis was moving. The Church had prepared a meal for those of us who had come from Buffalo, and we mingled freely and talked with each other. I learned during that meal that Sharon Watkins, the nominee for the next General Minister and President, had been raised in that very congregation. I also learned during the course of the meal that the six foot Chalice we were hoping to transport with on A Cup, A Cross, A Country had been left in North Carolina. This was unfortunate, for the folks at University Park had been hoping to see it. One of the pastors of the church, Michael Carlson, had prepared a fine order of worship for the service. He invited Mark and Dawn, since they are two of the elders from Cleveland Heights Christian Church, to offer prayers over communion. The group of about fifty that gathered were fine singers. We opened with "We are one in the Spirit" led by Randy Kuss on the guitar. I noticed the spontaneous harmonies that were raised up around the room. I felt led by the spirit to preach that evening about how journeys take unexpected twists and turns - not everything goes according to plan, but that is what makes a journey. It also came to me that following Christ has a duel, almost paradoxical aspect to it. On the one hand, we are sent out to preach, teach, and heal. On the other hand, we are invited to a table where we find comfort. We are both sent out and invited in. We are both challenged and comforted. How can we capture both of these aspects of our faith? Well, maybe we can have a cross-country communion service. Very much in keeping with my thoughts, Michael stood up before his congregation and said, "Who came here tonight hoping to see a six-foot Chalice?" Several raised their hands. Michael said, "Would everyone in this room who is six-foot or taller stand?" About three tall folks stood. Michael said, "You are a vessel of God's love." Then Michael said, "Would everyone who stands less than six feet tall now stand." Most of us stood, but some of us were confused. No matter, we got the point. Michael said, "You are a vessel of God's love." God bless you, Michael - and praise to the Spirit who inspires you. July 9 th, 2005 The inaugural service for A Cup, A Cross, A Country took place at Iglesia Christiana La Hermosa on Manhattan Island at 7:30 p.m., or, at least – it was supposed to have began at 7:30 p.m. We actually started about ten minutes late for reasons that I will explain – but no one complained. I felt an odd sense of calm as I navigated my way from Penn Station, through the New York City subway system, and through the busy Manhattan Streets toward the Hispanic congregation that I had never been to before. The planning of A Cup, A Cross, A Country has been a spiritual challenge in and of itself -- and there have places where I have done the wrong thing -- and if I ever have it to do all over again, there will be things I do differently. Yet things became a lot clearer when I realized the core of what this is all about - A cross-country communion service. And why not? Is not the Lord's Table open to all of humanity? Is it not about the reconciliation of the entire human race? We have recognized since the beginning of the church that Jesus of Nazareth manifests the love of God to everyone. Why not celebrate this recognition and this reconciliation in a way that goes beyond the feeble boundaries of ideology, political boundaries, and ethnic differences? Once all this came to me, I became calm. I knew that even if everything did not go according to my plan, that God's Spirit would move: and it moved in La Hermosa. When I arrived at around 5:30, there was no order of worship and no bread for the communion. The pastor of the congregation, Dan Felciano, was in the building, but I didn't know that, so I waited in the lobby for him to come. He eventually came out and greeted me. A pianist had been designated, but had not arrived. Dan had thought that I would arrive with a large group of people and an order of worship. Well, this had been the original plan -- but the plan had changed. Now, the plan was to have a relay -- to have people from each congregation and region transport the Cup from one part of the country to the next, being "Nehemiahs" -- Cupbearers for our King. What will actually occur still remains to be seen. Dan's church uses the Chalice Hymnal: God bless the CBP!! Yet of course, he had the Spanish version, and we were expecting a congregation of both English and Spanish speakers. Dan recommended we sing both "Somos Uno" (We Are One) and "Here I am." (You remember this one, the one that starts out, "I the Lord, of Sea and Sky, I have heard, my people cry...). He recommended these because they were printed in the hymnals in both English and Spanish, so we could sing them once in English and once in Spanish. Yet it was not difficult for each of us to see how mysteriously appropriate each of these hymns were for what we were about this evening. The Lord's Table is about coming together, so we sang Somos Uno. A Cup, A Cross, A Country is about being sent out in response to God's call, so we sang, "Here I am." Dan went to go get bread, and I greeted people who were arriving. There was still no pianist. I went into the sanctuary to open the Bible to the passage I would be preaching on, 1 st Corinthians 11: 23-27 -- and discovered (surprise, surprise!) that all the Bibles were in Spanish! I quickly borrowed an English Bible from one of the early-arriving guests. When Dan came back, it was already seven. Dan and I threw together an order of worship. He would pray in Spanish, me in English. He would read the scriptures in Spanish, me in English. That was the way it went -- when we got to the part where I preached, I asked Dan to translate for me. We asked for remarks from the Hispanic regional minister, Rafael Rivera-Rosa, the co-regional minister in New York City, Lonnie Oats, and the regional moderator, Raiford Wheeler. There was still no pianist. At 7:35 we had a good congregation of about one hundred people, mostly African-American and Hispanic, gathered and ready to worship. We still had no pianist. Dan recognized a young Hispanic woman in the congregation whom he knew could play. He drafted her to be our pianist for the service, and asked her if she knew the hymns we had selected. She did, praise be to God -- so away we went. So there I was, a little white boy from the suburbs of Texas leading a worship service for a congregation of mostly African American and Hispanics in the middle of Manhattan. What hath God wrought! Aside from a few translation difficulties, everything went beautifully. The pianist was wonderful. When we got to the communion service and people were coming forward, there was silence, for we had not planned any music for that time. Yet the Spirit provides where human planning fails. A lone, tenor, African American voice raised up a song: "There is power, power, wonder-working power in the blood of the lamb!" Soon all who knew this song were raising their voices along with him, a cappella. Then the pianist joined in with a swinging accompaniment. Then the table was truly a celebration. |
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