A Holy Week

Just a few weeks ago, the Church gathered for Ash Wednesday and started this journey called Lent towards Jerusalem, the Cross, and Easter’s empty tomb. Now, in this the last week of Lent, we remember Christ’s Passion. It is a week of special devotion. The word ‘Passion’ comes from the Latin word patior, meaning “I suffer”. It was Athanasius, an early church theologian and later a bishop, who referred to it as ‘holy Paschal week.’ Greek and Roman worship books called it the “Great Week” because great deeds were done by God during this week.

In the early church, only Friday and Saturday were observed as holy days. By the late 4th century the various parts of the Passion story given to us in the Gospels had been separated out, and people began commemorating them on the days of the week on which they had occurred. You’ll recognize these:

Palm Sunday: Jesus’ triumphal entrance into the city
Maundy Thursday: Judas’ betrayal and the first Holy Communion
Good Friday: The crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus
Holy Saturday: Jesus’ body rests in the tomb
Easter Sunday: The Resurrection of Jesus, the Christ

It was actually the ancient Christians in the church in Jerusalem that first organized dramatic ceremonies during Holy Week at appropriate local holy sites that had been restored by the Emperor Constantine. Visitors to the city were so moved that these ceremonies have spread from Jerusalem to churches worldwide. We celebrate many of them this coming week, as we remember and are transformed by story of God’s love and overwhelming grace. I hope you’ll make every effort to be frequently in worship this week.

Grace and Peace to you, Scott

Our Vision for Church

Life is a journey. Journeys require movement. They call for preparation. Journeys of significance always lead to change. They lead to growth within the persons on them.
We believe our life with God – who is Creator and Lord of our lives – is a journey. We believe the church is God’s vehicle for achieving God’s intentions for the world. God is putting all things back together. God is making things right, again. This is our vision of what part Waverly Hall UMC plays.

We are…

Gathering to grow as mature followers of Jesus Christ. Going out to lead lives of significance for God’s Kingdom.

Do you get the sense of the movement within the statement? First of all, there is the gathering of persons. This happens primarily in worship, and without question, exclusively because our members are inviting others to join us here. The purpose of the gathering is that we might grow. Grow into God’s best desires for us. Grow to be like Jesus.
That is not enough, though. Inward movement, this gathering of persons, even for the high goal of growth, is not sufficient on its own. We are always going out from this place to be engaged in our community. We want to be significant in how we influence and serve others. We are called to work for God’s Kingdom purposes. We are making disciples for the transformation of the world.
Our leadership is continuing the long journey of living into what these ideas mean for this great church. I am thrilled that you are a part this. Otherwise, join us.

Deep Reading and a High Calling

Just last week I spent hours, literally the equivalent of a few days really, reading theology. Not from the classics. Not from the pen of any famous author. Instead, I was poring over the answers to theology and doctrine questions posed to the candidates that appeared before our South Georgia Conference Board of Ordained Ministry on Monday and Tuesday of this week. These are persons seeking to be admitted as ministers within our church.

The questions are deep and broad; it takes 30-50 pages to answer them completely. They cover essential terminology (repentance, Kingdom of God, resurrection, eternal life, etc.) and expansive ideas (what is the mission of the church, what role do pastors play, what can be said of humanity's need for divine grace, etc.). They also ask specific questions about the candidates personal life, their call to ministry, their ambitions, their strengths and weaknesses, and their willingness to submit to the highest ideals that are truly asked of every person called 'pastor' by any church.

It is a blessing to be a part of the process. It was not many years ago that I was going through it myself, as I sought to be affirmed and set apart by the church for the ministry of leading the church, and serving God's Kingdom purposes. But to now sit on the other side and read through answers that show evidence of deep reflection and conviction is humbling, to say the least. These women and men will serve churches across our conference, and serve God around the world. They will be asked questions and put into positions of great responsibility, and a solid theology of God's grace and Jesus' salvation will sometimes be to only thing of which they can be sure.

The same is true for us. We are tested, but rarely do the questions asked of us appear on paper. Instead, we find our lives examined by the world that wonders, 'Do we live out what we believe?'

On Dealing with the "Second Loneliness"

Henri Nouwen's From Fear to Love, offered this on Friday as a Lenten devotional.

"It is important to learn to move from a "first loneliness" to a "second loneliness". The first loneliness is a kind of emotional loneliness: needing friends, family, and home. But when all those needs are more or less met, you learn there is second loneliness. God is calling you to deep, personal intimacy, an intimacy that is wonderful and very demanding. God asks you to let go of many things that are emotionally, intellectually and affectively very satisfying. You must grow into the trust that this deeper loneliness is not to be overcome, but lived. You must live it with trust, standing tall. You must try to say, "yes, I am lonely, but this particular loneliness sets me on the road to intimacy with God. It does not pull me away from God or my deepest self, but brings me closer to the source of love in the depths of my being."

It's very important for us to dare to welcome the fullness of our second loneliness because it relates to the oldest mystical traditions about the spiritual journey. The "dark night of the soul" is another expression of the second loneliness. In a way, this loneliness opens us to personally know the true God. When we touch the darkness we know that God cannot be owned or grasped within the affections of the human heart. God is greater than our hearts, greater than our minds, always alive, always longing for a response.

O everlasting God, lead me from fear to love and from loneliness to communion with you."

(Henri Nouwen, From Fear to Love, Friday, First Week of Lent, p.8)

He has captured the human condition. He is speaking about the place where such an overwhelming majority of people find themselves. They have, but feel as though they are empty. They are in relationship - often with more people than they can keep up with, really - but can go long lengths of time without connecting deeply with anyone.

Oh, to find a place where this is talked about, and confronted. Where people are real, and push you to be real, as well. Oh, to be a part of something larger than yourself, to be found in the embrace of God and in connection with people who are similarly embraced. Oh, to be in the Church.