Closer to Home

by | Dec 13, 2021 | Monday Morning Reflections, Uncategorized

Return to Reflections

Closer to Home

[T]hrough the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the
one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

Ephesians 3:10, 4:4-6

Two weeks ago I said I would write on key characteristics of Presbyterian culture in two columns, then one on San Gabriel Presbytery. I am rarely disciplined enough to make a commitment for three weeks, but it has helped me as I don’t need to wonder what I will write on this week. However, it is also somewhat restricting as I am choosing to focus on this exercise about San Gabriel Presbytery over whatever matter might be more pressing at this moment.

The most pressing concern I have at this moment is the massive destruction of homes and other buildings caused by the tornadoes hitting Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois. Laurie Kraus, director of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), wrote:

We have reached out to all the presbyteries within the field of the event, and have responses from some. We are working with Kenneth Dick and Western KY Presbytery, which was the worst hit and where the Mayfield PC was destroyed. Here is the up to date PDA info relative to this heartbreaking devastation.

PDA facebook (https://www.facebook.com/PDACARES) Twitter (https://twitter.com/PDACares).

We also have a page up on our website: https://pda.pcusa.org/situation/december-tornadoes/

The link for the donation page for DR000015 is www.bit.ly/DR000015.

Please pray for the communities who must make sense out of the utter destruction of their neighborhoods, and give through PDA or whatever legitimate non-profit you know is helping.

Now, for a handful of key characteristics of San Gabriel Presbytery.

The word that most people use to describe our presbytery is diversity. I have claimed that our presbytery is the most diverse, or certainly one of the most diverse, in the denomination. Perhaps a more precise descriptor is that we have many immigrant churches. More than half of our churches are immigrant churches or have immigrant ministries as a key focus for the church. We worship in nine languages, and about half of our membership are people of color, though currently we do not have significant African-American-centric or Indigenous ministries. Our leadership is almost 40% people of color, which does not quite match the membership but we’re working on it.

What’s interesting about San Gabriel Presbytery is that we have been diverse, in different ways, for generations. We have the oldest active Latino Protestant church, we think in California, in Puente de Esperanza. We have had diverse leadership over the years, including pastors like:

  • César Lizárraga, who co-founded La Casa de San Gabriel with his wife Angelita;
  • Ivan Walks, the Afro-Caribbean pastor of South Hills Presbyterian Church;
  • Eugene Carson Blake, who went on to help organize the March on Washington with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.;
  • Jack Makonda, who first translated the Book of Order into Indonesian, and even my uncle Don Toriumi, who was active in the Civil Rights Movement and was Moderator of Los Angeles Presbytery (our predecessor presbytery) 60 years

We also have had women leaders for several decades, especially in early years with women ruling elders. I’m trying to identify the first woman ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament by San Gabriel Presbytery; while Jan Willette was ordained by Redwoods Presbytery in 1971, the earliest ordination by San Gabriel that I have found is Barbara Stout in 1977, closely followed by Karen Kiser in 1978 (Bear Ride was also ordained in 1978 but by Pacific). Marguerite Shuster was ordained in 1980 and Sophie Eurich-Rascoe in 1981 and Dale Morgan in 1984. Though Mariko Yanagihara has served this presbytery for many years, she’s relatively new, just celebrating her 35th anniversary in 2021. When you called me to be Executive Presbyter after Ruth Santana-Grace, we think it was the first time that a presbytery called two women of color as executives, and there were white women before us. And when you consider the women I just named, you can note theological diversity in the presbytery as well.

Leaders from other presbyteries comment on our diversity, and I do believe we have done a better job than most at keeping up with the changes in our communities. From asking about the history of this presbytery, I’ve learned that some key leaders, including pastors and executives like Bryce Little, taught well the meaning of the Presbyterian “trust clause.” This clause states that regardless of whose name is on the property title or who paid for the church buildings, all church property is held in trust for the PC(USA), and the PC(USA) gives the presbytery responsibility for managing the properties in its geographic bounds. The church facility is not the personal property of church members; it is to be used for ministry for the community, and if the current owners of the property are not meeting the needs of the community, they should find someone who can. I have been impressed how our church leaders understand this, and actively seek out partners who can better connect with the changing landscape in different communities. This is a much more proactive approach than I’ve seen elsewhere.

The presence of immigrant churches gives our Presbytery a healthier perspective on world mission. Many of our mission initiatives have grown out of the personal experiences of our members.

Immigrant Accompaniment is supported partly because so many remember what it’s like to be new to this country. We have raised funds for churches who have connected with their home churches or friends in the Philippines, or Mexico, or northern Iraq. With these relationships, mission isn’t just charity, it’s family.

Speaking of relationships, this continues to be a request of presbytery members over the years. I remember one person writing “We already do enough mission; what we need is to build relationships with each other.” This has been a challenge for us, though, and I’m not sure why. But we keep trying to find ways to facilitate and deepen relationships, with each other and between the Presbytery and individual churches. Interestingly, some of the best conversations I’ve had in our presbytery have come out of the anti-racism groups, because folks have been willing to share their life experiences, and not just related to race. And, because we believe relationships are crucial to our work to push back racism, we continue to seek to learn from each other, and support each other.

Lastly, I would suggest that we are orthodox. Even when we try new things, we are guided by the Book of Order and our own traditions as a presbytery. For instance, I see a deep understanding of the Presbyterian trust clause. We reinstated the Education Committee and the Winterfest training event, which were traditions of San Gabriel Presbytery. One goal of the “Reforming Presbytery Practices”

group is to improve our representation in presbytery leadership, which is an oft-mentioned priority in the Book of Order. And we are trying to figure out how to reinstate something like the old triennial visits in an effort to foster better relationships between church and presbytery. All of our new initiatives as a presbytery are in line with San Gabriel Presbytery tradition and/or denominational priorities such as Matthew 25, and we utilize our polity to help us plan our mission priorities.

As I reflect on the gifts of San Gabriel Presbytery, I am reminded what a gift you are to me, and to this denomination. Thank you, and may we continue to appreciate God’s blessings, throughout this holiday season and beyond.

Peace,
Wendy

 

Thanks for Us

by | Nov 29, 2021 | Monday Morning Reflections, Uncategorized

Return to Reflections

Thanks for Us

I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now.

Philippians 1:3-5

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, and that it was easy for you to think of many things for which you are grateful.

For myself, I often remember the work that God has given me when I give thanks. I am thankful for my calling, and for the partners God has given me—those with whom I get to share in the gospel. I think about partners near and far, past and present. In short, I am thankful for the Presbytery of San Gabriel, and the Presbyterian Church (USA).

In our September Presbytery meeting, we talked about how to be a more inclusive Presbytery, and one recommendation is for us to know our own identity better, which helps us appreciate the identity of others. The identity we share is that of Presbyterian, so I thought I’d start naming aspects of Presbyterian culture for which I am grateful. (I suppose I can also point out aspects which I hope we can adjust or eradicate, but maybe later.)

So this column doesn’t get too long, I hope to name my “Top Ten” in two columns, and then in a third column, I’ll look at San Gabriel Presbytery. So let’s get started with the first five.

When I ask people why they come to the Presbyterian Church, the most common answer is the polity— and specifically, the equality of elders. I think you all know that “Presbyterian” refers to “elders” (“presbyopia” is the condition of farsightedness found in old age—basically, it means “old eyes”).

Whereas the Episcopal Church is named after bishops, we are named after elders, meaning ruling elders as much as teaching elders. Nearly all the work of the church is shared by all, and in ecclesiastical matters a ruling elder has the same authority as a pastor. Because of this, the PC(USA) enjoys the leadership of many exceptional ruling elders—and pastors are taught (and in some cases reminded) to respect the leadership of the session. The saying we used to share with people interested in ministry in the PC(USA) is that the only thing Presbyterian pastors may do on their own is to pick the hymns—and I now add “and often they don’t get to do that either.” For the most part, none of us make decisions on our own, which is rooted in our deep belief that we hear better the voice of God through the gathered body, which is the theological reason we are always in meetings!

It seems another priority of the Presbyterian Church that is mentioned often is social justice. This is complicated for me, because we talk about it a lot, and sometimes we take a stance that gets attention, but I don’t know if we do as much as we are called to do. I’m also aware that this has been raised as a critique of the PC(USA), especially from people who think social justice distracts us from devotion to God. I have heard pastors who were trying to take their churches out of the denomination saying that the PC(USA) is very justice-oriented, but this takes us away from the Bible. However, Presbyterian pastors—conservative and liberal—have pointed out how the Bible repeatedly speaks to God’s call to economic justice, including in radical ways such as the jubilee (elimination of debts and restoration of rights) and communal sharing of possessions in the Acts church. We also see the call of those with privilege and power to care for those on the margins, whether they be foreigners, the poor, orphans and widows, women, the disabled, or social outcasts. There is understanding that the Presbyterian Church has privilege, so it is our responsibility to use it for those without. Stated Clerk J. Herbert Nelson has shared that other Black leaders have questioned why he is Presbyterian, a denomination that is 90% White. He answered that it is his family church, but also recalled an economic boycott against a company that was mistreating its workers. The people in the boycott wanted to speak with the CEO, but the CEO refused. Then the CEO heard that there was a Presbyterian pastor in the group, and the CEO was willing to speak to the Presbyterian—and so J. Herbert could speak truth to power when others could not. As a denomination with pretty sizeable financial assets, we also lead in using our resources to try to impact just change; perhaps the most celebrated example of this was our participation in the economic boycott of apartheid South Africa.

A traditional focus for the Presbyterian Church is our adherence to the Bible. Now internally we have questioned how well we know the Bible because our speech is not peppered with citations. Also, our seminaries teach biblical criticism that is more academic than devotional in its orientation—to the point that some seminarians experience a crisis of faith when the depth and complexity of Scripture are revealed. Personally, I do wish that our actions are more clearly guided by the Bible—all of the Bible, not just the verses that we use to rationalize our human desires of greed and control. Having heard a few sermons from various traditions, I do believe that the preaching in Presbyterian churches is more biblically based than many, and preaching is a product of research, prayer, and consideration, which for me reflects our respect for Scripture, the Holy Spirit, and our people.

Speaking of preaching, this leads me to our priority for education. This focus on education includes a commitment to an educated clergy, but also our belief that education is empowering for all, and the best path out of poverty. So Presbyterians have established schools all over the world, most notably where education was not being offered. This includes schools and colleges for African-Americans in the South (the root for many Black Presbyterians in the Southeast), Indigenous girls in what is now Oklahoma, and for girls in Asia and all around the world.

I will close out this first five with mission. During our recent controversies, there were conservative Presbyterians who were being pressured to leave the PC(USA). Some who stayed expressed their appreciation for the PC(USA)’s mission tradition, and the resources dedicated to mission in the world. I confess that I smile whenever I hear about the big hospitals in New York City and Albuquerque, both still named Presbyterian. Most of our immigrant churches are established for Presbyterians coming from other nations, where Presbyterian missionaries taught and showed them the grace of God through their preaching, their care, their advocacy, and their expertise in medicine, education, and community organizing. Today, the PC(USA) continues to evolve in our mission orientation, now seeking to honor the authority of local church partners by sending mission coworkers only as requested. This has resulted in a smaller number of mission coworkers, and many of them are not preachers but lay people with the technical skills requested by our partner churches. This represents not a rejection of mission but a sign that the Word was planted by our mission forebears, and is productive today.

Thanks if you have read to the end. Do you recognize our Presbyterian identity in these priorities? Are you also thankful for them? Feel free to let me know if you agree, or more importantly what I have missed—and perhaps they will be mentioned in next week’s column!

In any case, I hope you have reason to be thankful for being part of this church. I am grateful that you are here.

Peace,
Wendy

 

Life and Death, Faith and Science, Change and Tradition

by | Nov 22, 2021 | Monday Morning Reflections

Return to Reflections

Life and Death, Faith and Science, Change and Tradition

We will tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and God’s might,
and the wonders that God has done.

Psalm 78:4

We had a very full Presbytery meeting last Tuesday. Ally Lee is sending out a summary of all the actions taken in the meeting in a separate email, and you’re welcome to forward it or use resources in it for your church.

The meeting was full because we covered several year-end tasks, like electing new leaders for the coming year, and approving the 2022 budget. We also made a commitment to be listed as a Matthew 25 Presbytery, and had some discussion about how we are already acting in the light of Matthew 25. We can explore this more in the new year. And we witnessed to a great many life transitions in our San Gabriel Presbytery family, including welcoming new Inquirer Jae Yang, advancing Tiffany Ashworth to candidacy, welcoming Arcadia’s new pastor John Scholte, and approving the ending of several pastorates: Steve Wiebe from PPC, Erik Dailey from Occidental and Eagle Rock, Martha and Twining Campbell from Westminster Pasadena, and Mariko Yanagihara from New Hope. We also remembered friends who died this last year.

During the necrology, Diane Frasher mentioned that Monte Vista Grove Homes has lost 19 residents this year. A year ago, the Grove suffered many losses within a span of a few weeks. And over the last two years, we all have experienced losses that have not been fully grieved, because COVID has not allowed us to celebrate lives together. As the fear of COVID is lifting a bit, we are starting to gather more readily, which means we are catching up on past deaths as well as those leaving us now.

So this weekend, I attended two memorial services. The first was for a man who died a couple weeks ago. The second was for Barbara Stout, who died almost two years ago. It is a glimpse into our state of mind when COVID first hit that after she died on February 15, 2020 (I got the date wrong in my last column; sorry), we expected her memorial might be delayed a bit, until April. More than twenty months later, some of us came to her memorial service, with masks, and others watched via livestream, because indoor gatherings are not yet safe for many.

The first service was for Gus Forsberg, an expert on materials for the space program at JPL. The service was filled with stories about Gus’ mentoring of many young engineers. There was much laughter and affection expressed; it became clear that JPL is a very close-knit family. A few of the speakers—hardcore scientists, one and all—also spoke of faith. I was reminded of an astronomer in Hawai‘i who shared that she came to faith through her study of the cosmos, inspired by her awe at the vastness and beauty of space. By the end of the service, I had to smile at the opportunity to witness this celebration of faith, science, and sarcasm—and love.
On Saturday we gathered to remember Rev. Barbara Stout. Barbara was a trailblazer; she was ordained in 1977 (after 21 years of non-ordained ministry in Christian Education) to be the first woman installed pastor in Riverside Presbytery, as associate pastor at Westminster in Ontario. But most of Barbara’s ministry was in San Gabriel Presbytery. She was pastor at Trinity in Pasadena for 16 years, and served at Claremont as Director of Christian Education (a role she also filled at Pomona Pres) prior to ordination, and as volunteer parish associate after her retirement from Trinity.

Like Gus at JPL, Barbara was a teacher and mentor to many. Barbara supported and mentored countless children and several seminarians. One thing that became clear almost immediately in Barbara’s service was her legacy in helping the church become more comfortable with women in pastoral ministry. All four clergy leading her memorial were women: Karen Sapio, Cyndie Crowell, Anne Weirich, and myself.

This past week, I was reminded that we may need to challenge the dichotomies we use to organize our world view. Death to our mortal life leads to eternal life—life with our Lord and in our hearts, and in the lives of future generations. Faith need not deny science, and scientists can see the hand of God in their work and in their families. And those who think we are making no progress can look around and see the growing diversity of leadership, even in the church. But that diversity does not mean a rejection of tradition; both services were well-served by our most traditional hymns, and the (blue) hymnal that Barbara worked on reflects a nice mix of ancient, traditional, and new ways to praise God.

We all have the opportunity—indeed, the responsibility—to tell the glorious deeds of the Lord to coming generations. In doing so, we can inspire and assure people left out by discrimination or despair that they, too, can contribute the great gifts God gave them. And we can share the traditions that comfort and empower us, even as we blaze new trails so that others can join our journey of faith.

As we spend time this week giving thanks, let us give thanks for those who have gone before us—and may we commit to be teachers, role models, and encouragers for those who come after.

Gratefully yours,

Wendy

 

Celebrating Life

by | Nov 15, 2021 | Monday Morning Reflections

Return to Reflections

Celebrating Life

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep..

Romans 12:15

Tomorrow evening we will have our last Presbytery meeting of 2021; please register if you haven’t already. We will all be on Zoom, which has worked very well for our presbytery meetings, especially for night meetings. We will celebrate with Arcadia Community Church and welcome their new pastor, Rev. Dr. John Scholte; we will welcome new Inquirer Jae Yang; and we will hear from Inquirer Tiffany Ashworth as she seeks to move to candidacy.

As is customary with our November meeting, we will plan for the future with the election of next year’s leaders and the approval of next year’s budget. We will also consider whether to be listed as a Matthew 25 presbytery, showing our support for the efforts of the national church to encourage all our churches and presbyteries to commit to follow Jesus’ call in Matthew 25:31-46 by embracing and telling our stories in addressing one or more of the three focus areas:

  • Building congregational vitality
  • Dismantling structural racism
  • Eradicating systemic

We will also give thanks for the people who have completed their terms of service, and we remember loved ones who have died this past year through our necrology.

As the dark and coolness of the night seem to be coming much earlier now, and we look ahead to the holiday season, I have been thinking about the saints who have gone before us, especially these last two years. Though sometimes it feels like it’s been a lost two years, much has happened—and we have lost many loved ones. The horrible winter surge of COVID hit a year ago, and I remember how Monte Vista Grove, which was so careful and had been weathering the pandemic very well, suddenly saw ten residents die within a matter of weeks. The holiday season always brings up memories of the loved ones who are no longer with us, and I can feel the sadness of missing friends like Ross Kinsler, Mary Hamburger, Dick Hettish, Sandy Shervington, Don Hawthorne, Clayton Cobb, Bill Van Loan, and so many others as we give thanks for their lives.

This Saturday, November 20, at 11 am, the memorial service for Rev. Barbara Stout will be held at Claremont Presbyterian Church. Barbara died on February 27, 2020, right before COVID hit all of us. I remember when she passed away, and many of us wondered how we would be able to celebrate her life if we could not meet in person. We now have the opportunity, 21 months later. Of course memories of her life, and the impact of her decades of faithful service, have not dimmed, so I am grateful that we are at a point where we can now safely gather to grieve, and give thanks. For those who were not blessed to know Barbara, she was a long-time Christian educator and pastor for several churches, most significantly with Claremont Presbyterian Church and Trinity Presbyterian Church.

She was also on the committee that produced the hymnal that continues to be in the pew racks of many if not most of our churches, the one some of us refer to as “the blue hymnal.”

As the weight of grief bears down on us, paradoxically amidst the joy of the holidays and the relief that maybe, just maybe, we will reclaim a little bit of normalcy in our lives, we take comfort in our strong belief in life eternal, thanks to the grace of Jesus Christ. And we give thanks for the memories.

Rick Hamlin was executive editor of Guideposts magazine, and in his book 10 Prayers You Can’t Live Without, he wrote:

The people you sing with become a part of you.  After they’re gone, you can still hear them. I think the sound of everyone who has ever sung at our church is buried in the walls of the place, and all their “alleluias” come echoing back whenever we sing. They make up that “great cloud of witnesses” the Bible talks about. If you’ve sung harmony with someone, you especially miss their part when they’re gone.

And Kahlil Gibran wrote in The Prophet:

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. . . .
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

As we gather—on Zoom, in worship, at Christ’s table—however we gather, let us feel whatever we feel, knowing that whether we weep or whether we rejoice, our hearts can be filled with the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 4:7)

See you tomorrow night,

Wendy

 

Character

by | Nov 8, 2021 | Monday Morning Reflections

Return to Reflections

Character

We also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Romans 5:3-5

Yesterday, someone asked me how the Presbytery was doing. I mentioned that issues are cropping up, which means things must be getting back to normal.

I’m not being totally cynical in saying that. In the past 18 months or so, I’ve noticed that I have not heard much from the churches regarding the usual conflicts. Of course I was grateful for it, as we had our hands full already. But now I think the churches were not reporting conflict because all their attention was put to just managing the basics under COVID conditions: worship, pastoral care, and the occasional meeting. When everyone is focused on just getting the basics handled, there isn’t time or energy for disappointment or criticism.

So now that the crisis of uncertainty seems to be behind us, we have the cycles to see what is bothering us. It seems to also be the time for some pastors to leave. While in the midst of the crisis, the pastors stayed put so they could help their churches. But, like many others, some pastors took this time of social distancing to reflect on their lives. Some who had delayed their retirement are now retiring, and some church members and pastors are deciding to move to other states where the cost of living is not as demanding, giving them space to try something new.

I’ve been reminded that we humans are wired to respond more to negative concerns than to positive. A couple of us even wonder if we are experiencing so much painful division in this nation because there isn’t a common enemy for us to unite against. During times of war or natural disaster, Americans are able to set aside differences to work together against whatever has been threatening us. But if we are blessed to be without an immediate threat, our response seems to be to find enemies from within. It is unfortunate that we could not come together to fight the COVID virus; I guess the danger the virus presents is not as obvious as a hurricane or an airplane flying into a city building.

It does seem that we humans respond best in the midst of a crisis. We also, as the apostle Paul wrote, build character by facing and enduring challenges. continue to see how people who have faced injustice are capable of living out their faith in more dramatic fashion, with increased capacity to forgive and show compassion to others.

Some have suggested that suffering is an inescapable part of living. I do have to share the lesson I learned from a young woman named Leanne. Leanne was paralyzed from the neck down, and for years she was in a wheelchair. She inherited a disease that caused her paralysis in adolescence, and that caused the death of her father and two brothers. She lived in an apartment building that was designed for people with disabilities, which was right across the street from the church I was pastoring, so we were part of a Bible study group there. Leanne was amazingly upbeat, and she took a paratransit bus into Honolulu each day to help her mother train service dogs.

One day she was on the way into town when she started feeling sharp, stabbing pain in the bottoms of her feet. The pain was so deep it brought her to tears. She couldn’t believe it because she had no feeling below her neck since she was paralyzed. What was happening? Was she imagining it?

She went to her doctor to get an explanation. He examined her and surmised that her nerves were regenerating! Within weeks, she was learning to walk again. And the first sign that she would start to feel and walk again was pain.

It would be wonderful if we all could only experience joy and peace, or if we would find as strong a motivation for compassion as we find in fear or rage. But if we have to face challenges in our lives, may we appreciate God’s love alleviating our pain—and in our gratitude and humility, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, may we turn our suffering and endurance into character and hope.

In about a week, we will hold our last Presbytery meeting of the year. It’s been a very full year, and with Moderator Deborah Owens’ leadership, we will be reflecting on the call to be a Matthew 25 Presbytery. We will also look at the budget and new leadership for 2022, as well as receive John Scholte, Arcadia Community Church’s new pastor, and hear from two people under care of CPM. And we will remember loved ones who have left us this year to go home to God. It will be a very full meeting, offering a glimpse of the richness of life in God’s world.

Whether you are feeling joy or pain, I do pray that you are experiencing the presence of Jesus Christ in all you do. And may we always give thanks for bringing us together in our churches and in the Presbytery. Blessings to you and yours, and may we see the love of God in Jesus Christ through the support of your siblings in Christ. See you at Presbytery.

 

In hope that does not disappoint us,

Wendy

 

Reformation

by | Nov 1, 2021 | Monday Morning Reflections

Return to Reflections

Reformation

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

Ephesians 2:8-10

Yesterday was Reformation Day. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther published his 95 Theses, sending them to the Archbishop of Mainz, Germany, and reportedly posting them on the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg. As I listened to a sermon commemorating the day, I was reminded of a book that was published in 2012 that caused quite a stir. That book, The Great Emergence by Phyllis Tickle, suggested that “every five hundred years, the Church cleans out its attic and has a giant rummage sale.”

This and countless other books have attempted to explain and anticipate the changes needed in the Christian church. I heard this when in seminary 25 years ago, and during much of my first ten years in ordained ministry, I was training churches a process of church transformation. One thing we discussed was the great upheaval that occurred in the 1960s, when all aspects of culture in the United States was questioned or transformed, including religion. The church was no longer seen as central to “good” society and was criticized as hypocritical or irrelevant; the fundamental challenges to life as most Americans understood it were epitomized in the 1966 Time magazine cover article, “Is God Dead?”

(I do have to suggest that these trends are prevalent in the Western world, but I do not know that they are occurring in the same way in other parts of the world.)

In any case, throughout my ministry, there has been the suggestion of—even the demand for—radical change in the church. And a good amount of my ministry has been trying to figure out how to overcome the amazingly persistent resistance to change.

And then COVID happened.

So now, 504 years after Luther’s 95 Theses were posted, we may be finding ourselves in another Great Reformation. Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda secundum verbi dei. This is a favorite phrase that we Presbyterians like to shorthand to “Reformed, and always reforming.” But actually, the translation is closer to “The church reformed, always being reformed according to the Word of God.”

It is helpful to consider that the church does not change itself; the church is reformed by God as the initiator. And these changes are not made according to market research or generational trends or fear of membership/income loss, but according to God’s Word.

The radical changes that have been introduced these last two years are definitely not of our choosing! So if we believe that God has power to create all circumstances, then perhaps COVID was God’s tool to get us moving, and quick. And we are still at a loss to predict what changes will continue, or evolve into yet other changes. For instance, we don’t know how “community” will look if a significant portion of our congregation never comes back into worship in the sanctuary—and if online worship and meetings enable members to participate in the mission of a church even if they live thousands of miles away. In an age where 1 in 6 marriages result from computer dating (and are considered to be happier than marriages growing out of more traditional methods), how can church relationships be formed virtually?

One phenomenon we are experiencing is greater movement among church members and pastors. Some are moving to lower-cost areas as they rethink their careers. Many are retiring—which leads to younger pastors moving into new calls. I expect at least eight of our churches will be conducting some kind of pastor search in 2022.  I ask your prayers for their discernment.

So as I look back on all our past attempts to reform our churches, I am humbled. We should not attempt to make the changes we think are needed, but to seek the will of God—and the guidance of the Word of God—to see how the church is changed. As one of our pastors said when told that the church needed to craft a new strategy to attract just the right demographic who might fit in with the church’s chosen worship style, “Maybe we should just preach the Gospel.”

We are definitely living in historic, liminal times. The question is, how do we live into it, according to God’s will? We are humbled but also comforted to remember Scripture telling us to trust in God’s grace, which is not earned by our smart decisions and not revoked by our mistakes. We can learn and be encouraged by the stories of our ancestors in the faith, especially today, All Saints Day. We can go deep into our Bible, as God’s Word is opened to us with the power of the Holy Spirit. And we need not ignore the changes in technology—many will say a key factor in the Reformation of 500 years ago was the development of the printing press. But just as the printing press and the adoption of native language Bible translations enabled more people to read Scripture, today’s technologies enable more people to read and study Scripture across multiple perspectives and locations.

As we continue to witness God’s work in reforming us as Christ’s church, may we ever be comforted by God’s grace, encouraged and challenged by the saints who have gone before us, fed and guided by God’s Word, and bold to use the tools offered to us to be a faithful body of Christ for the communities we serve. Let us give thanks to God for making us, and bringing us together, to do God’s work and share God’s love.

 

Blessings,

Wendy