Racism And My 47+ Years

Hello Church,

I guess you could say I've been lucky.  Over my 47+ years on this planet I have been able to watch the ugly issues of racism from afar, never really being forced to personally participate in the miry muck of illogical prejudices.

Oh, I've been close.  Back in 1991 my mom's 2nd marriage was to an African-american.  This stirred up some gossip in the small white town in which I grew up.  I certainly learned some things as a young college kid about who you thought you knew.  But by in large, I was off on my own, away from the small world-view of that 1,000 population village.

Fast forward to my clergy career.  Again, my 3 appointments have been very homogeneous in the way of race:  2 rural areas and my current appointment.  Born in 1972, I didn't experience the Civil Rights movement nor the hot topic of segregation.... at least I don't have any memories of those struggles.  Even if I had, the closed-in community in which I was raised would not have been impacted much in any case.

Now fast forward to this week.  On Friday there is an event that I will be attending.  If you have Facebook, you can see it here.  ORV Peaceful Witness.  An United Methodist/ecumenical event that will be a time when I will stand and let people know that racism has no place among us.  There will be signs and a quiet time of prayer and a few speakers.... an event that has been received well by the village and who will be supporting us.  I like how it has been organized and the very peaceful intent of the organizers.  It's one of the reasons I am attending.

That said, after the news I saw last night regarding a similar event in Bethel, I was taken back to my small village childhood.  It may always be a precarious situation when you stand up for what you think is right.  And if you are going to allow yourself to get into a precarious situation, you better have a good understanding of your convictions.  Good leaders always do.  Good people always do.

So if your convictions around racism are strong enough, I invite you to the event.  I will be emailing out to many of you the details of what is expected.  If you would like a copy of that info but are not on the church emailing list, email me at pastorjoe@emmanuel-umc.com and I will send you a copy.

Our world is chaotic enough right now that, after 47+ years on this planet, I feel it is time to stand up and voice my concern regarding the miry muck of illogical prejudices.  You are invited.

God is Good,
Pastor Joe

 

Our First Sunday Back

Hello Church,

Our first Sunday back in the building and it went as smoothly as could be hoped.  The Worship Team will be reviewing the morning and considering tweaks as we move forward.  

For my part, it was a tiny bit emotional to have so many gathered for worship.  Not only was it good to see faces I hadn't seen in 12 weeks, but it was good to watch you see faces you hadn't seen in 12 weeks.  The live stream was especially neat as I watched the people smile and greet each other.

I was reminded of how important Sunday morning worship is to me.  Obviously it is difficult to not take it for granted, seeing that I am to be there every week regardless if I want to or not.  However, take it away from me against my will and I find out how much I miss it and need it.  And as is the case with many of you, this is the first time I can ever recall having Sunday morning worship taken away from me for this long.

This leads me to more evidence of God's Holy Spirit, an extension of what I preached about yesterday.  The 'gathered in one place' is, of itself, a part of the Pentecost experience.  There is a Holy mystery with what happens when people of Faith gather and immerse themselves in God's presence.  The togetherness brings a dynamic that morning devotions or private prayer time just doesn't have.  I like it.  And I've rediscovered that I need it.

So for those of you who missed it yesterday, we missed you.  We are going to do it all over again next Sunday.  Hope to see you!

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Is God Okay With Our New Normal?

Hello Church,

The lobby has been emptied.  The chairs have been spaced out.  Books have been removed and sanitizer has been bought.  We are ready.  Are you?

Some are not and that is okay.  Other pastors I speak too are also nervous about restarting in-person worship.... not because we are afraid that no one will show up, but because we are afraid that too many might show up.  It's an odd kind of anxiety to have.  Emmanuel has taken good measures to help the restart go well, but I am a little anxious nonetheless.  Guidelines have been adopted and we hope that people will respect them (click here for the new safety guidelines).

What has evolved during this time is a multi-faceted opportunity to be a worshiper at Emmanuel.  While we are limiting the seating to 50 in the sanctuary, we also have a max of 100 devices for the live-stream via Zoom.

(Click here to sign-up for the in-person worship)

(Click here to join us via Zoom livestream starting at 10:10 AM on June 7th)

I have a feeling that a multi-faceted opportunity to worship is here to stay, if it wasn't already.  True, for many bigger churches, they were already live-streaming, podcasting and you-tubing.  However, now this approach has been taken up by many, many small churches who are looking to stay connected.  And now that the technology has had to be learned and paid for, many of the reasons for not doing it have gone away.

So if you are not okay with being in a gathering yet, we understand.  We are expanding what it means to be the church on Sunday mornings.  The question is, 'Is God okay with this?'.

I believe God is okay with any mode in which His love is pronounced.  And He is okay with any kind of gathering where people of Faith join in prayer and worship.  I believe God is sensitive to the needs of those who want to stay safe or are too nervous to take risks that could affect their health.  I also believe God is glad to see people worship despite the risks.  I believe God is happy to see the Church use technology for good and not evil.  I believe God is still walking with us, perhaps especially in these days.

So let's worship Him on June 7th.  And let us say hello one another with love, be it in-person or through a screen.  Let us continue to hear the Good News and be glad.  With all that has been going on in our country these past months.... with the protests and the joblessness and sickness and all the brokenness....  we need a place and a sense of comfort and hope.  You are invited to join us.

God is Good,
Pastor Joe

Re-openings and Politics: Where Is Jesus?

Hello Church,

Over the next few days, information will be sent out about our plans to reopen the church building on June 7th.  I expect there to be mixture of reactions, some voiced and some not; some from the congregants and some from fellow clergy; some nods of approval and some shakes of disapproval. 

Whatever the case, I hope the process of reopening the building doesn't get in the way of why we are reopening the building.  This isn't a conservative/liberal thing nor is it a political statement.  I have always believed the church exists to actually be apolitical in a sense.  That is, the church has an agenda over and beyond any political agenda.  The fact that it may, at times, run alongside or opposed to one doesn't make a it a political machine.  It just makes the political scene look good or bad..... sometimes accidentally.

I've always secretly enjoyed watching people guess at my political ideologies.  True, many couldn't care less.  However, I know that there are those that do or are at least curious enough to observe my behaviors in order to try and place me in a political category.  Unfortunately, for a small percentage of them, finding a political category for their pastor will help them decide if he or she can actually be their pastor.

I am sure I have a category, but the hardcore truth is that I have made it a personal mission to focus on agendas that are Biblically-based.  In doing so, I am sure I look a bit wishy-washy in the political machine as sometimes I favor one side and then another, depending on the context and the issues.

Was Jesus a liberal or a conservative?  The answer:  who cares?  His mission to show unconditional love and actually forgive His opponents makes any so-called journalistic news network blush in embarrassment.  Oddly, this motivates me to lead the church even more so while secretly enjoying those who are categorizing me.

So we are going to open the church building.  Why?  Because we want the community to know that God is still moving among us, even as still and quiet as we have been over the last few months.  The church building is a symbol of a Faith that says God has a voice.  And the people that meet in that building is the Church that tries it's darndest to help project that Voice. 

So know that as we reopen the building, it is not a political statement.  It is a theological statement.  More than that, it is a statement of Faith.  And I would be happy to be placed in that category.

God is Good,
Pastor Joe

Sunkist, Popsicles and a Broken Window

Hello Church,

This edition is a bit late, but for good reason.  I got a call this morning that the church building was broken into.  As I arrived at the building, the sheriff deputies were in the process of catching the burglar.  Four hours later I am back home.  And this is what I learned....

His name is Shawn.  He is from out of town and was living in the shed since at least last Thursday.  To our knowledge, he had taken a pack of Sunkist and popsicles from the Youth Room fridge and nothing else.... no electronics or any 'expensive' items.  Even the chocolate Easter eggs that were still unsold remained safe in the kitchen fridge.

While this doesn't seem to make total sense to me, I do wonder about Shawn's life.  Why was he where he was?  How did he come to be at the church building?  Why didn't he take more advantage of all that was in the building?  Though it likely won't happen, I would like to hear his story.

I don't tend to feel sorry for criminals. However, I do get curious as to the circumstances that lead to their bad choices.  The fact that he only wanted pop and popsicles raises my curiosity higher. 

In addition, Mark, the window guy, mentioned the increase in break-ins over the last couple of months.  I imagine more people are more desperate on many levels.  Was Shawn a victim of Covid?  Or would he have been just as homeless otherwise?  Where was his family?  Was addiction a part of his story?  Mental illness? 

As we hear more stories as we 'uncurl' from this pandemic ('uncurl'... a reference to my Sunday Podcast that you can find here), we must be cognizant of God's desire to infuse Himself into people's stories, even and perhaps especially the very broken stories.  Not everyone will recover from the chaos of 2020.  Some may even find themselves living in a church shed.

I hope as you get frustrated with those who become desperate, you will be curious enough to be willing to hear their story.  And when the opportunity strike, let them know that God cares about their story.

God is Good,
Pastor Joe

Alaska is 'Reopening"...... Really?

I am convinced that cats think they rule the world.  That's okay.  We do too.  I recently made a Facebook post referencing the state of Alaska's 'reopening' as declared by the governor.  I found this funny.  Like 95% of Alaska cares what the humans do.  'Reopening' seems more than a bit egocentric.  So here is a funny bit from 25% of the Royer home.  Let this be a lesson regarding humility.   

Hello Humans,

God must be punishing me.  True, He created me and my beautiful fur (though He could've made it much easier to manage).  However, for whatever reason, my humans are around much more often than usual which is cramping my style.

Always before I would have my territory to myself, especially during the day when the sun would warm my favorite room.  I could lay in any of my favorite places, which is any place I so choose.  But now my favorite chairs are often taken.  And when I do get a chance to snuggle into one, a human comes and displaces me.  I give dirty looks, but to no avail as usual.  They simply don't respect authority.

They go into the food room much more often, but don't think I get any more food than usual.  I try to tell them, but again, to no avail.  Savages, they are.

Their impositions onto my space is not much more inconvenient than the noise they make.  The two females decided to do what they call 'singing'.  It's so incredibly annoying that I had a few choice words for them.  They sound awful, but don't seem to pay me any mind.  They would do well to heed my advice.  Like I said, 'cramping my style'.

Their attention to my needs are too often trumped by their own self-absorption.  They think only of themselves.  It's pathetic and a little bit embarrassing.

I may, at times, be tempted to feel sorry for them.  However, the problems they make are their own doing.  And they don't do anything to help themselves except sit around and complain about their own state of affairs.  Maybe some day they will clue in and evolve into something closer to my sophistication, but I doubt it.

Sometimes I think the humans think they rule the world.  I'll just let them think that.  It would be too much of a bother to convince them otherwise.

God is good (after all, He made me)

Dora the Cat

We don't really rule the world.  God has made us to only be a big part of it.  So the next time we want to 'reopen' anything, maybe we should first consider if it was really closed to begin with.

God is Good,
Pastor Joe

The Thrill Of Sharing A Table

Hello Church,

Lately I've been wondering how many different things we will learn out of this pandemic.  There are numerous areas of life that might be changed forever.... or not....

It seems when you are in the midst of something bad it lasts forever.  And when it is something good it goes way too fast.  This is bad.  It seems a year since I've led corporate in-person worship.  However, a year or 2 from now, when I look back, will it seem like a vast period of struggle?  Or will it just seem like a blip in time?

And what will we learn from this?

We humans seem to revert back to the comfortable eventually.  Will we once again, at some point, take for granted the privilege of giving hugs, shaking hands or sharing a table at a restaurant?  Or will we really learn a new appreciation for life that will be long lasting?

History doesn't bode well for these questions.

We wonder why Israel never learned throughout the Old Testament... from Exodus all the way through to that young squirt Jeremiah, who tried to tell the people to learn from their past.  History is repeatable.  It seems like it is a rule rather than a choice.

The Good News says it doesn't have to matter.  I think that some day we will look back and not just see the pandemic as a blip in time, but this life will be a blip in time.  It will seem like a record player skipping for a few moments with the words 'life is good', 'oops, I messed up', life is good, oops, I messed up..... over and over again.... with God being in the midst of it will His ultimate Love.

So I could encourage you to keep the record player from skipping.  However, the encouragement we get from Jesus and the lessons of the Old Testament is much more than I could ever give.  Let's keep giving it our best shot, though. 

So some day I'll be looking forward to sharing a table at Panera and you'll be invited.

God is Good,
Pastor Joe