Congregational Reflections

During the Sabbatical, members of the congregation were asked to reflect on where they find God in their daily lives.  These reflections were shared during Sunday worship.

The Spirituality of Fishing

Rick Schrenker

Before I was asked to speak to this topic, I had never considered fishing a spiritual endeavor, and I'm not sure I can make the case after having given it some thought these last few weeks.  One thing I can say about fishing is it provides great material for stories, and to my way of thinking storytelling is a spiritual activity.  I've got a couple "one that got away's", and a few others.

There are others more personally meaningful.  Like the one when I took Brandon out some twenty years ago on a hot summer morning.  Fishing off a crowded bridge, I cast the line out and handed the rod to Brandon.  I had just started to prepare my own rig when Brandon excitedly said "Daddy!  Daddy!  I think I got a fish!" Rolling my head to look at his rod and see if he was snagged, I noticed the tip dancing that peculiar way it does when something a fisherman would call good is happening.  I gave Brandon a couple quick instructions, and within a few seconds two small sea bass came over the railing.

Thinking about it a while later, I was reminded of a boy some 20 years earlier on another hot summer day literally watching his first fish take the bait in Big Pool, a pond along the C&O Canal in Fort Frederick State Park, just outside Hagerstown, MD.  No fish ever tasted better, although Brandon might argue the point.

I'm not a scientific fisherman, by any means.  I know a little about the best time to fish, what baits and lures work where and when, and even a couple of knots. But I'm quite content to just bait up, throw the line in the water, and wait. Anyone who has will probably agree that within minutes you become more acutely aware of what's going on around you.  In a very real way, there's nothing else to do.  Some part of your attention has to constantly remain on fishing, leaving the rest no choice but to be still and quiet, open to all your senses in that particular here and now.

That quiet space is very special to me.  I do a lot of contemplation. My mind wanders all over the place, checking out what I see, hear, and feel, like a dog checks out a new yard.  I can't do this in many of the other spaces where I spend my time.

You may have heard the one-liner that a bad day of fishing beats a good day of work.  Another is the difference between good fishing and great fishing is that great fishing is when you catch something. Something there is about fishing; the intimacy it fosters with creation, perhaps?

Some of you may know that the Massachusetts Council of Churches sponsors a project known as "Take Back Your Time", focused on helping individuals, families, and even communities better balance work and leisure time.  We know that even Jesus had to get away from the day-to-day to make space to be open to the spiritual.  I don't think God feels in the least bit obligated to communicate with us only on Sundays at 9:30.   When He does, we need to be ready to listen. It takes time to let your senses take it all in.  Creation conveys messages both seen and unseen.  I can only tell you that when I stand beside the Ipswich River on an early spring morning or the Atlantic Ocean on a summer evening in July, I'm affected in ways I can't put to words.   It takes time to be attentive to creation.  For me, often as much time as it takes to fish.

God at Home

Chris Copeland

I love being home: it's the feeling I get whether it's my kids and Bob, my friends and family, the people I work with, the people I worship with, my actual house and all it has to offer, the town of Wilmington, the city of Boston, or all of Massachusetts.  It's also my parents' place in Windsor, Ontario, or my father's family heritage in the Ottawa area or my mother's in Mineral, Ohio.

God speaks to me in all those places, with all those people, giving me that warm, "I've been here before," "it fits like a glove," comfortable feeling.

I live in Wilmington.  In 1988, I met my pastor from Windsor, Ontario, Matthias Krey, at Wilmington's Market Basket, just after buying my house a year before.  I mean he lived 750 miles away, yet was right there in front of me.  And he just said, "well, I'm from here.  This is where I grew up.  Our family homestead is here."  I found Redeemer shortly thereafter through Mary Rowe who had been asking me to attend her church, this church.

My home in Wilmington is just a little ranch with a backyard abutting conservation land.  I love being out in the garden, mowing, trimming, scheming what to do next.    It's the treat to myself when things aren't quite right.  Other treats are watching a movie with my kids late at night, cleaning and finding lost items like my glasses (which I found in the pocket of my snow pants from one of last winter's snow blowing episodes), starting a fire in my wood stove on a cold winter day, or as of late, watching the Celtics whoop the Lakers.

I turned 48 this week and so many exciting things have happened for me already.  My birthday signals a renewal of my resolutions usually. The expression lately, "Is your life running you or are you running your life?" resonates for me this year.  I'm all ready to run it with God's help.

If I do a little running, a little of the legwork, God has and will keep leading me there. Where? To him.

Mowing the Lawn

Brian MacDonald

This summer's theme of the everyday sacred has challenged us to do 2 things mainly: to make a greater effort to involve God in everything new we do and to seek and identify God's presence in the things that we have already been doing.  I truly understand how everyday is sacred, a gift from God.  My mom was only 48 years old when she passed away and we must recognize each day for the blessings that they are. That being said, though, I am still a dad of four kids and I am easily distracted from seeing the many blessings by the various commitments and demands that raising 4 kids brings.  So I seek out prayer as a time to remind myself of these blessings and to give thanks for them.

We all have our own preferences on how we like to pray or talk to God. It is one of the few times when we truly focus all of our energies on a singular task.  Many prefer silence or quiet background noises like waves washing up on a beach.  Others enjoy the harmonic chants of a monastic choir or other peaceful/reflective music.  I enjoy all of these at times, too, but lately I have been doing my best praying to the dull roar of my lawn mower.  I don't mow my lawn every day, so this may not "qualify" as everyday sacred, but it certainly is everyday in terms of being a common activity and this time has become sacred to me.

The monotonous hum of the engine is not that different from continuous waves washing on a beach or a monastic chant.  And I have almost complete isolation from the world.  People don't generally try to start a conversation if you're mowing the lawn, but they might if they saw you sitting quietly and thought you were not doing anything.  My time mowing the lawn is a time for me to engage in conversations with God that I might get too distracted to engage in otherwise.  It has become for me a time to first reflect on and give praise for the blessings I have been given.  And then I ask myself "what have I done to bring God into my everyday life?"  I also reflect on questions like:

  "Have I been a good husband, a good father, a good friend?"

  "What do I need to do to be a better reflection of Christ and

     his model of service for this world?"

  "Whom did I serve well this week?"  and

  "To whom did I miss an opportunity serving?"

I wish I could say that my entire time is spent on serious thought and consideration.  My mind does wander at times and I think to myself things like "If God wanted grass to only be 2 inches tall, it would have been created that way, isn't there something else I should be doing?"  But then I am reminded that getting the lawn to have nice lines and patterns is not the point, but that this is still what I am supposed to be doing because I have been given this blessing of time to converse with God.

It is the repetition and monotony of walking back and forth across the lawn that allows me to enter a pseudo-trance state.  The irony of my everyday sacred activity is that my praying has involved far more listening than talking lately…and yet I seek the roar of a lawnmower in order to listen better.

God's Love

Calvin Satterfield

I feel God in my life in many ways. One way is when I am doing karate. Even when I mess up on a move, I know that it is okay, even in a competition. God is also with me when I am with my family. My house has many angels in it, like my Grandma and my Aunt Wendy, and my whole family plus Grandma and Aunt Wendy love me. So does God.

I know that God is with me because when my mom was sad about Grandma, a book about God fell off the shelf and opened to a page about no sorrow and love. It is also a blessing that we saved Cori, Kelsey, and Jake from living with people they did not know because of their Mom and Dad. It is a gift from God. Finally, I feel God with me when I am with my friends. My friends all like me and watch me like God, and God is amazing. This is how I feel God in my life.

Listening

Laurie Babine

I was asked to speak to you, in a nutshell, about an experience of the Lord's influence in my life.  Over the years I have collected a barrel of nutshells and will talk about one of the most important.  My main point is to remind you that God created you for a purpose and you can either listen for guidance or you can ignore him.  He gives you the choice.

Many years ago when I retired, I realized that I had been rescued many times and decided it must have been because He was not through with me yet.  I prayed about it several times without answers and decided to listen.  The message came in more than once, "Bring comfort to the helpless."  My question was HOW?

At this time (God's time) there was a supply priest in attendance at our local church and I told him about my problem.  He had the instant answer and told me about the course for hospital chaplains conducted in a hospital by Andover – Newton.  After applying and completing the questionnaire I was told to come in 3 weeks, bringing tuition and wearing old clothes for orderly duty.  The first two weeks were to be spent as orderlies in the State hospital, a humbling experience which separated a few applicants. It was painful to learn about my self-righteousness.

The course was very difficult for a number of reasons including the fact that I was 30 years older than most of the ministers, priests, nuns and theological students.  I later learned from the director that I was chosen because I had experience that the others lacked.  I managed to survive and was licensed as a hospital chaplain.  Learning about the everlasting love that He has for each and every one of us was the greatest lesson of all. It's expressed best in the old hymn, "Love That Will Not Let Me Go."

"O Love that will not let me go,

I rest my weary soul in thee;

I give thee back the life I owe,

That in thine ocean depths its flow

May richer, fuller be."

The next 13 years was spent as part of a pastoral service team in the local hospital.  I worked three eight hour days a week, specializing in comforting the dying and became part of the "good for nothing" group known as volunteers.  I finally had to retire when I became older than most of the patients.

After coming to Redeemer my wife suggested we begin the birthday greeting program. He just won't stop finding things for me to do.  The last thing I've heard is to sit down and be quiet.

Change

Tracy Delaney

Seeing God in everyday life means being able to see Him in change. Change is an integral part of our lives and it is something we all have to deal with.  It's pretty easy for most of us to see God when the change is good.  Getting that promotion at work, having a baby, or meeting someone special that brings joy to your life.  Praising and acknowledging God during those times tends to be somewhat natural.

But change can also be scary…especially when the future is unknown.  A lot of times we experience difficulty because things don't always turn out the way we planned or anticipated.  We become disappointed because we have certain expectations of the outcomes of our actions… and well, that's when those little voices in the back of our head start becoming really active.

Sometimes we try to ignore it. "I'll worry about that later.  It hasn't hit me yet.  This really isn't happening.  I'm just too busy." We'll find any diversion from dealing with the change, won't we? Other times we feel anxiety: "Why is this happening?  Where am I going next?  How am I going to adjust?  Am I strong enough?  What else do I need to prepare for?"  And yet at other times we are pessimistic. "This isn't what I planned for. This isn't what I wanted. Why me?" So, with all of these different reactions that we have to change. How do we see God through it all?  With so many questions and uncertainty and so much sorrow?  The way to see God is to silence those voices…silence our own voice to hear God's. His voice is quiet and very hard to hear if we are consumed with our own voices. And we can't listen with our ears, we have to listen through our hearts. And His words are very simple: "Follow me…I am all you need."  That's it. No matter how disappointed or reserved or anxious we become with this world, He is all we need.

Now, I never said it was easy.  Being able to set aside your fears, your questions, your pain, your distractions, and say "OK, over to you God. I trust you to see me through this." Now, that takes a lot of faith. But sometimes the only thing getting in the way of accepting change in our life is 'Us'.

Mother Teresa once said, "One thing Jesus asks of me: that I lean on Him; … Even when all goes wrong and I feel as if I am a ship without a compass, I must give myself completely to Him.  I must not attempt to control God's action; I must not count the stages in the journey He would have me make.  I must not desire a clear perception of my advance upon the road, must not know precisely where I am upon the way

of holiness."

When we live in an age where we want to know our precise location using GPS, have the ability to predict the weather and natural disasters, and plan for that retirement--to trust God without a clear understanding of where we are and where we are going, to put less trust in our own abilities and to put more trust in Him- that is a true everyday challenge.

God is trying to bring us closer to Him. We are all a work in progress--His work--and He is refining us through change. Seeing God in change means letting go of our own goals and following His will, even if we don't know where it will lead us.  Seeing God in change means experiencing the awesome miracle of trust.

Dear Lord, we are your instruments. Not here to do our will, but to do your will. Save us from the distractions of our own selfish hopes and dreams so we have the ability to clearly see you purify us through

change.  Teach us to trust you through change, even though we worry when you tell us not to worry, and though we fear the unknown when you tell us not to fear.  Lord, use us to accomplish great things in your name, and teach us to believe much more in your love than in our weaknesses. Amen.

God Camp

Erica Anderson

I was asked to speak on where I see God in my life. Most recently, I saw him vividly at—where else? God Camp. Or at least that's what my friends and I call it when people ask us to describe Camp Calumet.

It's pretty obvious in the services and Bible studies. But more often I see him in the people I meet there. Rather than at home, people are much more understanding and themselves.

This summer I was a leadership and service trainee. When I asked my friend and fellow trainee, Kevin, where he's more himself, he answered, "I am way more myself at camp. Are you kidding me? I wouldn't act like or do half of this stuff at home. People would think I'm insane."

As an example of the comfortableness one can receive, there was a Halloween dance one week. Three of my best friends dressed up as the Spice Girls wearing the complete outfits of dresses, makeup, and leggings. Funny thing was, they were guys. See, everyone at camp thought it was hilarious and loved it. Had they done that sort of thing at school, people would snicker and talk behind their backs.

Another small example of godliness was my trainer, Sam. He would tell us experiences he had at camp to help us learn. One remains engrained in my mind. It was a week in which kids from Providence, Rhode Island, would receive free tuition for camp. Most of these kids were minorities and most likely to join a gang as they grew up. Sam told us of one camper who hated him because he had authority over him. Wednesday night, that camper told Sam to watch out because he had a shank and would shank him in his sleep. (A shank is another word for knife.) Sam was terrified, but yelled back, "Why don't you do it now, coward?" The camper was taken aback and left.

That camper all week had been bullying the other campers, swearing, telling stories of drive-by shootings, sand so on. Saturday came when the campers had to leave, and that camper asked to talk to Sam. He said, "Look, I'm sorry." Sam hugged that camper and sent him on his way. A simple sign of courtesy from the camper was a sign of a huge change that, through Sam's counseling and the work of God, came about.

These are just two example of what I experienced. I made some of the best friends through God Camp. I mean, where else would you experience God other than guys dressed as women from the U.K.?

Praise Music

Scott Littlejohn

"Give me words to speak, don't let my spirit sleep, 'cause I can't think of anything worth saying".  This short, simple prayer is the first song on one of my favorite CDs.  There are all types of music in this world and everyone has their own favorite style.  My favorite style is music that offers praise and worship to God and it is my way of connecting with God everyday.  Music has been a part of my life from birth.  My mom had a beautiful soprano voice.  She played the guitar and a little bit of piano too.  When I was little, she used to lead the Sunday school and VBS music time at my church teaching those songs we all learned to sing by heart as children.  She also sang in the church choir and several choral groups performing sacred music

pieces.  Her voice was strong, powerful, and filled the room in which she sang.  Today her voice resonates in my heart.  Her notes of praise were the seeds that make music my roots to God.

I have grown to love and appreciate the joyful noise of music and singing to proclaim God's glory in this world.  When I sing, I sing to the glory of God and in honor of my mom.  I sing with all of you to share the good news.  I sing to use the gift God has given me.  I listen to our bells, our service and hymn preludes, our postlude, and all the other special music that fills this sanctuary with joy with an appreciation to those who compose it, practice it, and share it with us.

The music here fills about 2 hours of my week.  For the rest of the week, I like to listen to a variety of contemporary Christian CDs. Some are praise and worship, some are a rock genre, and some are quiet and meditative.  I love when I am stuck in traffic and the words "Holy, holy is our God Almighty" are blaring out of my radio.  I often wonder what people in the car next to me are thinking.  I love it when I can put on my headphones at work and tune out the office noise around me while I listen to a song called "Create Again".  I love it when I wake to music the morning and the first words I hear are praise to God.  I loved sharing some of this music with the confirmation class this year and with the younger kids during the Sunday school opening.  I hope it planted some notes of praise in their hearts.

The world is full of music and I am blessed to have hearing and voice to share in it.  Music is my way of praying, my way of worshiping, my way of celebrating and my way of getting through the tough times in life. Music is my everyday connection to God.

Aging and Dying

Barbara Lievens

When I considered what subject to broach for my "seeing God in everyday life" talk, my mind naturally drifted toward my work as a nurse. For several years I have had the pleasure, the honor, of caring for the oldest children of our Savior.

God is never far away when nursing the elderly. Bodies and minds may be tired, don't function in top condition ay longer. The verse from Exodus, chapter 33, comes to mind: "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." I do my best to work in God's service to give rest.

God's love is easy to see as I work. Old and young joining hands in a touch that says thank you and you are very welcome. A nursing assistant taking extra time to listen to a story told haltingly by a man frustrated with his slowed mental functioning. A nurse showing a picture of her baby to an old woman who raised five of her own babies many years ago.

Imagine being graciously accepting of help for all the daily needs a human being has. It helps to be in God's presence. That's what my mother told me near the end of her life. …

Sometimes I'm filled with questions. My restless mind, ruminating about who or what is God, especially when life is difficult. This week I attended the funeral of a neighbor. A forty-two-year-old man who loved his wife and their three young sons. A man who loved God and served him well until the end of his life on earth. Yielding to simplicity calms my mind. God is everywhere. Alpha and omega. God persuades me into tranquility.

Because I am a nurse, I have been with many people at the time of their death. And as a daughter, with my dear mother and father. Since this is where we are all heading, I guess I am fortunate to have some practice in walking easier with death. I certainly have felt God's presence, as I know many of you have, at this time when someone is beginning their eternal life with Christ. As Christians we know that there is a peace which passes all understanding. I like to believe that God wants us to feel this peace as we prepare to join our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I suppose seeing God in my daily life is the most joyous and reassuring thing I know. Walking with Jesus during calm or happy times is great practice for leaning on him when the road gets rough. Back to the alpha and omega idea. Back to the tranquility of living in God's light.

The American Revolution

Bill Scouler

As many of you know, I am a guide on the Lexington Battle Green and this is the colonial outfit I wear as part of my job. Not too stylish by today's standards, but it is typical of the late eighteenth

century. On the Green I tell visitors about the events of April 19, 1775, when the first hostilities of the American Revolution began. The events of that day led to the Declaration of Independence over a year later on July 4, 1776, which we celebrated this weekend.

Rather than talk about where I encounter God in my life, I thought I would give you some insight into what part God played in the lives of the men of Lexington, Concord and 25 other communities of eastern Massachusetts who started our move toward independence on April 19th 233 years ago….Consider for example the sentiments expressed on the obelisk on the Lexington Green. Jonas Clare, who was pastor of the only congregation in Lexington in 1775, coined the words on the monument. Clark expresses there that the eight men who died on the Green were martyrs who shed their blood "in the cause of God and their country." Clearly God was with them.

Clarke also goes on to say that "righteous heaven approved the solemn appeal." Many of us today aren't quite sure whose side God is on in the hostile struggles around the world, since both sides feel God is with them, but the colonists of 1775 were convinced they knew. Because of their firmness, we declared a new nation 232 years ago in Philadelphia.

Sabbatical Project: Everyday Sacred

Christians today are engaged in a constant struggle.  Today we are so busy that we struggle to preserve and protect space in our lives for God.  In an effort to become more efficient, and make better use of our time, we compartmentalize our lives, only to then lose sight of the sacredness of our daily life and work.  We live in a time of increased work demands and rapid technological advancement, which has been described as “disruptive innovation.”  We are constantly adapting to new demands, new technology, new patterns and rhythms of life.  Thus, we move from one disruption, one distraction to another.

Too often the Church has responded by mourning the way things are now, wishfully thinking we could return to earlier days when life was slower and the church enjoyed a more privileged place in the our society and the lives of our members.   However, to continue this wishful thinking is to become increasingly irrelevant within our communities and in the lives of our members.  The church now needs to help people engage with this new reality in a Christian, spiritual way, drawing on the strengths of our faith and tradition.  The church must support and equip Christians to live and work in a way that is centered in Christ, that preserves Sabbath time – time with God - and to integrate our spirituality and faith into our everyday lives so that we see every day and every thing as sacred.

This integration of spirituality and every day life is an important part of our Lutheran tradition.  Martin Luther left the monastic life and insisted that household life was just as sacred, just as pleasing in the eyes of God, as life in the monastery.

In his sermon on the Estate of Marriage (1522), Luther writes about the sacredness of diapers:

“Now observe that when…our natural reason…takes a look at married life, she turns up her nose and says, “Alas, must I rock the baby, wash its diapers, make its bed, smell its stench, stay up nights with it, take care of it when it cries, heal its rashes and sores, and on top of that care for my wife, provide for her, labor at my trade, take care of this and take care of that, do this and do that, endure this and endure that, and whatever else of bitterness and drudgery married life involves? What, should I make such a prisoner of myself? O you poor, wretched fellow, have you taken a wife? Fie, fie upon such wretchedness and bitterness! It is better to remain free and lead a peaceful, care free life, I will become a priest or a nun and compel my children to do likewise.”

“What then does Christian faith say to this? It opens its eyes, looks upon all these insignificant, distasteful, and despised duties in the Spirit, and is aware that they are all adorned with divine approval as with the costliest gold and jewels. It says, “O God, because I am certain that thou hast created me as a man and hast from my body begotten this child, I also know for a certainty that it meets with thy perfect pleasure. I confess to thee that I am not worthy to rock the little babe or wash its diapers. or to be entrusted with the care of the child and its mother. How is it that I, without any merit, have come to this distinction of being certain that I am serving thy creature and thy most precious will? O how gladly will I do so, though the duties should be even more insignificant and despised. Neither frost nor heat, neither drudgery nor labor, will distress or dissuade me, for I am certain that it is thus pleasing in thy sight.”

“God, with all his angels and creatures, is smiling, not because that father is washing diapers, but because he is doing so in Christian faith.”

Of course, this not only goes for diapers and children, but also fixing the house, paying the bills, and going to work.  In some ways, Luther could take for granted the sacredness of all things, but today we struggle to maintain this perspective.  People are longing for a way to find meaning and discover God in their lives.  The church needs to reintroduce this sense of spirituality and remind us that approaching even the most mundane parts of our lives in faith makes it sacred and pleasing to God.

I propose to work on this question, this challenge, as my project during my sabbatical, a project that I call “everyday sacred.”

I will carry out my sabbatical completely in the context of daily family life, so that the sabbatical will be a practicum on faith, spirituality, and daily family life.  At this time in my life, with two children under 5 and two more on the way, it is a constant challenge to blend and balance family time with the demands of ministry.  So, I take this on for myself, but also on behalf of the congregation.  For, all of our families, perhaps our young families most acutely, experience the challenge of making room for God in the midst of their busy, demanding lives. 

This will be a great challenge for me.  My inclination in pursing the spiritual life is to take silent retreat at a monastery, which I have done several times.  However, my situation does not allow that, but, like you, I am still intent on deepening my spiritual life in this setting.  Thus, I intend to do the work I want to do within my family setting.

In order to meet this challenge I will follow a daily schedule or pattern that incorporates time apart and integrative time.  First, each morning and afternoon, I will take time apart for prayer practices, reading, and journaling.  My participation in the Shalem Institute Personal Spiritual Deepening Program (see appendix 1) provides resources and structure for this work, including specific silent and spoken prayer practices such as body prayer, chant, and lectio divina, and many more.  They also have assigned reading and a recommended reading list.  I intend to focus on the writing of Martin Luther and contemporary works on the practical, spiritual, and theological aspects of this theme.  I also intend to become proficient in the work and writing of contemporary writer and co-founder of the Shalem Institute, Gerald May, whose work is very accessible and can be of good use in our congregation.  While my personal experience will focus on family life, I also intend to read on spirituality and work.  I will also do daily journaling.  Second, throughout each day I will pray the Divine Hours, praying four times during the day: morning, noontime, evening, and night.  Finally, recognizing that all life is sacred, I will approach getting my children up and fed, play time, preparing meals, conversation with family as spiritual practices in themselves.  In addition to this daily routine, I will have monthly support and accountability through spiritual direction, group spiritual direction, mentoring by the Shalem program director, and I will email Mutual Ministry committee at the end of June with an update.  

Additional Sabbatical Activities

Time for Reflection.  Usually the pace of ministry and life don’t allow for deep reflection and review.  As soon as we finish something, we are on to the next thing.  Sabbatical will be an opportunity to look back on the last four and a half years.  This will be an exercise in gratitude and growth.   I am very grateful for the way that our mutual ministry committee has helped me identify growth opportunities and supported me in making positive changes in these last few months.  It has already made an important difference in my ministry.  I will take our work and discussions into sabbatical time and continue that work. 

Worship.  I will have the opportunity to experience worship in different congregations in different settings and bring those experiences back to our congregation.

Travel and Time with Family and Friends.

I am very much aware and grateful for the sacrifices my family makes for the sake of my ministry.  They offer hospitality of both home and spirit.  They manage with my every changing schedule.  Because I am always on call, they are always on call too.  When emergencies arise, we all have to adjust.  I am grateful to be able to spend this time with them.

The combination of reflecting on our ministry together, working through this project, worshipping on other settings, and being released from my regular duties will certainly provide time for personal refreshment and professional growth and renewal.

Supporting Redeemer's Goals

In many ways this project will be continuation of the work that we are doing in helping people discover and live out their spiritual gifts.  In the last two years we have focused on encouraging involvement within our congregation.  However, Deacon Diane and I both feel that we also need to help people understand their daily work as a spiritual vocation.  It will also help us to grow in our Christian Formation program in our ability to support and nurture the spiritual lives of children, youth, and young families.

The New England Synod recommends that the sabbatical accompany a congregational vision plan, so that the pastor can disengage, pray, study, rest, reflect and prepare to lead it.  Our vision centers on the four goals and accompanying plans we are developing:

 

1.  communication

2.  increasing involvement and leadership

3.  creating an exciting environment

4.  nurturing spirituality

My participation in this program most directly supports our goal of nurturing spirituality, which is always at the heart of the church’s mission.  I will be deepening and nurturing my spirituality and relationship with God, and growing in my ability to help our congregation do the same.  All of these program elements will allow me to teach a variety of prayer practices, share readings, offer retreats, lead small groups, and help shape us into spiritual and praying community.  Prior to sabbatical, I will be working with the Council small group for this goal to explore ways that we can nurture spirituality.

I also believe that focusing in this way on spiritual deepening and spiritual practice will help us to grow our congregation in the long term.   For the last three decades the mainline Protestant churches, Lutheran included, have been declining in membership.  We have struggled mightily to make the transition from the church of the 1950’s to the church that address the needs and speak the Gospel to people today.  Some people describe this transition as moving from modern to post-modern church.  The Church, and our congregation along with it, is in the midst of a critical time of transition.  The futures of many congregations hang in the balance, including ours.  There is no doubt that many churches will continue to struggle, experience decline, and close.  However, many have the opportunity to seize this historical moment in the life of the church and reach for a new, vibrant future. 

In her recent book, The Practicing Congregation: Imagining an Old New Church. Diana Butler Bass looks at the state of mainline churches and sees much cause for hope.  She proposes a way forward for the future survival and growth of mainline congregations.  She calls it being a “practicing congregation.”  Bass writes:

“Practicing congregations experience new vibrancy through a reappropriation of historic Christian practices and a sustained communal engagement with Christian narrative.  These congregations may be described as: Communities that choose to rework denominational tradition in light of local experience to create a web of practices that transmit identity, nurture community, cultivate mature spirituality, and advance mission.  These practices – as varied as classical spiritual disciplines such as lectio divina (sacred reading) and centering prayer, or moral and theological practices like householding, Sabbath keeping, forgiveness, doing justice, and hospitality – are drawn from, recover, or reclaim individual and corporate patterns of historic Christian living that provide meaning and enliven a sense of spiritual connection to God and others.  In these congregationgs, transmission of identity and vocation does not occur primarily through familial religious tradition, civic structures, or the larger culture.  Christian identity is neither assumed nor received.  Rather, transmission occurs through choice, negotiation, and reflexive theological engagement, in community, by adopting a particular way of life as expressed and sustained through historically grounded Christian practices.”

I believe my spiritual work during this sabbatical period and throughout this year, will allow me to lead us in this time of transition and to help us to be a practicing congregation.

Project Outcomes

While the full outcome of this project cannot be known until the sabbatical is in process or completed, I do anticipate the following outcomes:

·       A greater ability as pastor to support our members in their daily work and family lives

·       More relevant preaching, worship, Christian education, and ministry programming

·       An adult forum series in September relating to this theme

·       An evening presentation in the early fall

·       An article or essay on my experience for use within and beyond the congregation

·       Identify and provide resources on living “everyday sacred”

·       Workshops, retreats, or other offerings on this theme in coordination with Nurturing Spirituality goal process

·       Personal spiritual deepening and growth

·       Growth as a husband and father

How You Can Participate

everyday Sacred

While Pr. Keith Anderson is on sabbatical this summer, Redeemer will explore the sabbatical theme of “everyday sacred,” by doing some everyday things with our minds on God.

Meet God in the kitchen. Learn to bake rolls, which we'll eat at noon. While the dough rises, we'll sing hymns about bread and be entertained. Lunch is provided. Thursday, June 26, 10 am in the Fellowship Hall

A tune-up to get you ready for the golf course. Improve your swing and find out how the principles of golf relate to God’s Word. Led by Steve Tague, Certified Golf Teaching Professional (USGTF).  Sunday, June 29, 11 am in the Parlor

Find God in service as we prepare and deliver lunch to common cathedral, the outdoor church of Ecclesia Ministries on Boston Common.  Sunday, June 29, 11 am to 3 pm

Make the connection between laundry and liturgy. Discuss Kathleen Norris’ book, The Quotidian Mysteries. Buy a copy at church for $7 while they last, or order through your local or online bookseller.  Sunday, June 29, 7:30 pm in the Comfortable Space

 Seek God in the garden. Learn about herb gardening and composting, and talk about the spirituality of working the soil. Bring a plant or two for an exchange. Sunday, July 13, 11 am to noon in the Parlor

 Meld faith, family, and work. Discuss Jack Fortin’s The Centered Life, a handbook for tossing out the unachievable "balanced life" in favor of a life centered in Christ. Buy a copy at church for $10 while they last, or order through your local or online bookseller. Meet in the Comfortable Space.

Sunday, July 13, 7:30 pm Chapters 1 and 2: Our fragmented lives; finding God in unlikely places

Sunday, July 27 7:30 pm Chapter 3: Vocation

Sunday, August 10 7:30 pm Chapter 4: Set free for what?

Sunday, August 24 7:30 pm Chapter 5: Finding support

Pray the Hours using Phyllis Tickle's Divine Hours Pocket Edition

Each family of young children will receive a book on Praying the Hours for children

Pray for me as I pray for you

Bringing communion to homebound members and visiting those in need.

Shalem Personal Spiritual Deepening Program

The Shalem Institute Personal Spiritual Deepening Program is an ecumenical, spiritual formation program for those seeking support for living each day prayerfully and authentically

The Personal Spiritual Deepening Program is a resource for those wishing to integrate a contemplative attitude—an attitude that encourages moment by moment awareness and openness to God’s grace—in all the changing circumstances of daily life.

This one-year program supports not only personal spiritual deepening but also growing compassion for others, and it encourages individuals to connect what is happening in them with where they sense they are called to act in the world. It is for anyone, anywhere—lay, clergy, and those without a church home—who feels drawn to contemplative spirituality and who:

·       Desires a deepened relationship with God and to live out of that relationship;

·       Wishes to develop or deepen a consistent spiritual practice;

·       Wants the regular guidance of a spiritual mentor for daily contemplative living;

·       Seeks authentic spiritual community and support;

·       Is eager to learn within a broad ecumenical Christian framework, enhanced by the wisdom of other traditions;

·       Longs to be a transforming presence in the world.

Begun in 1992, this program brings together Shalem's learnings from over thirty years of experience with contemplative formation and support. It provides in-depth experiential opportunities, participation in two residencies, personal availability of Shalem's associate staff through regular mentoring, and structured at-home components that support the enrichment of one’s spiritual life.

 

Program Components

The Personal Spiritual Deepening Program: Living in God is comprised of personal mentoring, supported at-home enrichment activities and spiritual practices, spiritual community, and two residencies.

All of the following are important aspects of the program. We expect participants, through prayer and dialogue with their spiritual directors and program mentors, to integrate these components in a way that will best serve their spiritual deepening.

At-home activities

Mentoring: All participants in the program will have a relationship and regular monthly contact with a Shalem mentor, plus face-to-face meetings at the residencies.

Your mentor is someone with whom you can share your experience during the program, explore resources for your spiritual life, reflect on selected reading, raise questions, and who can support you in remaining faithful to your intention in the program. Your mentor helps shape your individual program to reflect where you are in your spiritual journey.

Commitment to a spiritual practice: All participants are expected to maintain some form of daily practice that will nourish and expand their capacity for openness to God.

In addition to some form of prayer/meditation/presence for God, we expect you to keep a journal during the course of this program. Journal guidelines will be provided.

Spiritual direction: We expect all participants to be in spiritual direction where attention is given intentionally and specifically to their ongoing relationship with God, including the ways that relationship is reflected and honored in all aspects of their lives.

Spiritual direction may be one-to-one with a spiritual director or may take place with a spiritual direction group; some people may feel called at this time to have both.

Authentic spiritual community: It is essential that all participants have a group of people praying with them while they are in the program. At the first residency we will explore ways to recognize and/or cultivate that community of support with other program participants and in at-home settings.

Shalem will provide guidelines for forming this small group. If you need to find people for your group, Shalem will provide names of local program graduates, if any, who may be available for networking. If you are meeting monthly with a group for spiritual direction, this could also be your spiritual community. Just as you receive the support of your own community, we expect ongoing prayer from you for other program associates in whatever way is right for you.

Solitary retreat days: We recommend that participants spend at least two solitary retreat days in each half of the program. The time, place and format for these days are determined by each individual, in consultation with his/her spiritual directors and mentors.

Recommended readings: An extensive list focused on contemplative presence and leading a spiritually-grounded life is provided.

With your mentor, you will decide which of these readings and others to select, and after reading, you will be able to discuss questions and their relevance for your journey.

Residencies

There are two Monday - Friday, four-night residencies in the program, each of which provides the opportunity to gather with the other participants and Shalem staff – all of whom share a desire for an appreciation of the holy in the midst of their daily lives.

The structure will include prayer, teaching, small- and large-group sharing, time to meet with mentors, and time for fellowship, solitude and rest. There also will be an overnight silent retreat.

The teachings and group sharing will cover areas related to contemplative living, including spiritual practices and various prayer forms as well as the difference between meditation and contemplation, discernment, spiritual community, group spiritual direction, creativity, solitude, and contemplative activism.

Integrative Phase and Beyond

Because the purpose of the program is to enable each participant to take the spiritual deepening back into their lives, and because this contemplative living requires continued support, there are two final pieces:

A final integration project: a personally integrative response of each participant’s own choosing in which to reflect on his/her experience of the spiritual life over the course of this program, and

Support after PSDP program completion: Graduates may continue to receive support from Shalem and graduates of other programs through:

Shalem newsletters, regional programs, and various graduate offerings.

The Shalem Society for Contemplative Leadership. The Society, recently founded for all extension program graduates, seeks to provide a way for graduates to commit to an ongoing spiritual discipline and to share resources and insights.

 (Taken from the Shalem Institute Website)