Pastor's Page

Greening with Life!

2010-03-31T18:58:49Z

Time and time again, when the question, "what's your favorite season of the year" comes up -usually in some sort of ice-breaker or conversation starter- I always answer "Spring." Not long ago after one such occasion, I began thinking about my answer. In actuality I really like summer because I love warm weather, because the pace of life around the church slows down just a little and because that's usually when I take my major vacation. So why is it I always say "Spring"? Well, I think it has something to do with really disliking the cold and drabness of winter. I think it also has something to do with the fact that spring seems to carry the promise that summer will indeed come. I also love to see the transformation that happens as grass starts to green and the perennial flowers and deciduous trees start to come back to life. In short, I think it's because for me, spring is about new life and the hope of new life.

I think that we in the Northern Hemisphere are especially lucky because, for us, the Easter celebration of the Resurrection promise of new life coincides with the greening and new life of spring. Everywhere we look we see the signs of it and our hope is renewed.

A number of years ago I came across the work of Hildegard of Bingen, an amazing woman who lived from1098-1179CE. Hildegard was a mystic, author, musician, naturalist, artist, philosopher and cook who eventually became the Abbess of two convents. Hildegard is best known for her Illuminations, beautiful paintings of Divine Visions. As part of these Illuminations Hildegard coined the term "veriditas" which refers to "greening or healing power." According to Hildegard life in harmony with the Divine is moist, green, verdant and beautiful; while life cut off or separated from the Divine order is dry, brown, barren and brittle. Thus she described sin as being dry and brittle, easily broken, or dead and reconciliation as verdant or green, moist and full of life. In the dances of Universal Peace we have a song we sing that use the words of Hildegard. It goes like this:

We are greening, greening with life

We bear our fruit for all of creation.

We are greening, greening with life

We bear our fruit for all of creation.

Limitless love, from the depths to the stars

Flooding all, loving all

It is the royal kiss of peace.

For much of our country we have been in a period where not only is it winter on the calendar, but life seems somewhat dry and brittle, lacking hope and filled with fear. The economy is not turning around as fast as we might have hoped. Many are still under or unemployed. Times are uncertain at best. Yet if we claim to have faith in the God of Jesus Christ, we are called to trust in the greening power of God who always brings new life. So, as we move toward Easter and the celebration of new life in the world and in our hearts, may we each know the greening, resurrecting power of God. May we each feel the flood of God's love embracing us and our world. May we feel the royal kiss of peace. And may we share the fruit of this love with all of creation!

Shalom,

Nancy

Sabbatical Reflections

2009-10-06T21:17:08Z

Dear Friends,

Let me begin by saying a HUGE THANK YOU to each of you for the gift of this Sabbatical time. I also want to say kudos to the Governing Board, the Stephen Ministers, the Hospital & Shut-in Visitation teams Pastor Christie and the rest of our staff for the extra work that they took on to allow me this time. What a blessing it was to be able to take the time to rest, renew, and refresh some of my ideas and my spirit. It was a most amazing blessing!

]]> At our after worship "work day" a couple of Sunday's ago, someone asked, "Now will you be giving a report to the congregation about your time?" I hadn't thought about that, but decided it would be a good idea. So below is a portion of my Pastor's Report from the September Governing Board Meeting. In it I shared some of the learnings and experiences of my sabbatical time. I hope it gives you a sense of how I spent my time. I know that you will continue to hear bits and pieces of the learning and experiences as they unfold in my life, but for now, this is what my summer looked like:

V I began my time away by traveling to Boston for a workshop at Andover-Newton Seminary titled The Arts and the Sensual in Renewing Worship. Each presentation focused on the importance of involving all of our senses -sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch- along with graphic and performance arts to enrich our experience of worship. Such multi-sensory experiences feed our whole selves -body, mind, and spirit- and help us open more completely to the message God desires to give us at any particular moment in time. The workshop itself was filled with many wonderful worship experiences.

V While in Boston I attended several wonderful worship experiences at Old South Church -a Congregational UCC congregation in downtown Boston. One was more traditional with a fantastic bell choir. But not all that traditional in the sense that it included the wedding ceremony for a Lesbian couple who are members of that congregation. It was a powerful service. The second service (on Thursday evening) was their Jazz Worship Celebration. It was amazing!

V While in Boston, I was able to stay with my son and daughter-in-law and spend some quality, non-holiday time with them. I was also able to attend an Interplay retreat, which provided much renewal to my spirit.

V In early July I visited a clergy sister, Rev. Bev Zell at her lake home in Holland, MI. In addition to the refreshment of rest and reading and great conversation, I was able to talk with Bev, gleaning some insight about how she had introduced a powerful small groups program in some churches where she had been a member. In Holland I was able to participate in a fairly progressive Reformed Church in America congregation's worship.

V Near the end of July I did spend a week at Confirmation Camp.

V Following camp I traveled to Indianapolis for the Disciples of Christ General Assembly. In addition to wonderful worship experiences with 10,000 of my closest friends, I participated in a workshop on Creating a Labyrinth and another one on Sacred Writing with Singer-song writer Carrie Newcomer. Both workshops were wonderful. My friend Yolanda was able to be at the Assembly as well and rooming together was of course a wonderful experience. I was also able to reconnect with two of the women who had been members of congregations I served who went on to become ordained pastors. That was fantastic.

V I was at home less than 24 hours following the Assembly and Tom and I flew to out west. He was able to take two weeks vacation and we spent that time in Nevada and California. While there I worshipped at my friend Yolanda's very small congregation and I was recruited to serve with her at the table, since she was missing an elder. It was fun to reverse roles. When I was her pastor, she was one of the elders in our congregation! I also attended a UCC congregation while there. Each of those worship experiences fed me in various ways.

V After Tom left I stayed on at Yolanda's and was able to attend several interplay classes, have a private and very wonderful session with Cynthia Winton-Henry, one of the Interplay founders.

V From California I flew to Arizona to participate in a worship experience at the United Church of Christ congregation in Scottsdale Arizona. I went there specifically because they have a multi-sensory worship celebration they call The Studio. While there I also attended their traditional worship service. Both were wonderful. I attended an evening program they were having the Sunday I was there. They participated in a pre-release screening of a documentary film titled God in a Box that will be released sometime in the next few months. It was a great film and an enriching discussion following the film.

V I stayed in Scottsdale through Wednesday so I could observe the planning process involved in creating their Studio worship. It was a wonderful experience to see 8-10 congregational members and the two pastors study and share together and envision and then create a wonderful multi-sensory, interactive worship celebration. The music style of the Studio worship is Jazz and they have a music minister who composes pieces for them sometimes.

V Back home I was able to visit an emergent worship celebration at a Methodist congregation in Geneva. The name of their service is i-witness. It was a good service, but I was a little disappointed since I happened to hit one of the times when then did what they called i-witness in the spirit of Taize. It was interesting to see how they did Taize.

V One learning in all my various worship experiences was that for me, moving to the music of worship is an absolute necessity. So you are likely to see more of it, not necessarily as a dance meant for anyone else, but just as what Interplay calls a "hand dance" done for the feeding of my own spirit.

V In between all of the above travels I slept a lot! I forgot what 7-8 and sometimes even 9 hours of sleep felt like!

V I also read a number of books that I am now in the process of pulling the highlights from so they remain easily accessible to my memory. In addition to some novels for pleasure, I read the following:

oWith All Thy Mind: Worship that Honors the Way God Made Us by Robert P. Glick

oHealing Worship: Purpose and Practice by Bruce G Epperly

oThe Honest to God Church: A Pathway to God's Grace by Doug Bixby

oWorship for Vital Congregations by Talitha Arnold

oEmerging Worship: Creating Worship Gatherings for New Generations by Dan Kimball

oUnbinding the Gospel by Martha Grace Reese

oUnbinding Your Church by Martha Grace Reese

oChasing the Dance of Life: a Faith Journey by Cynthia Winton Henry

oThe Thin Book on Appreciative Inquiry by Sue Annis Hammond

I was fairly faithful about journaling my experiences and musings each day and as part of that time I prayed the beautiful prayer that Nancy Rossmiller wrote for my send off way back in June. I prayed for renewal and growth for me as your pastor and I asked God to guide and bless your growing as well. I felt surrounded by your love each time I offered this prayer. I look forward to hearing from each of you about your experiences this summer and I look forward to sharing in more detail some of my experiences and the ideas that were birthed by those experiences. I know God has used those time for our mutual growth and I am grateful!

Namaste

Pastor Nancy

Prayer for Pastor Nancy

2009-06-17T17:03:21Z

I am so grateful for the beautiful prayer that Nancy Rossmiller wrote for my last Sunday before I leave for Sabbatical. In my sermon I had asked that you all pray for me and for our congregation and our mutual growth. What a delight then to hear you all pray this beautiful prayer. So please use it often during the next three months and I will do the same.

]]> Farewell Prayer for Pastor Nancy

God of Life's Journey, as our beloved pastor takes her sabbatical, we pray that she will remember our love and appreciation for her. That she will experience a renewal of her gifts and the blessing of inner growth. That she will let herself rest in your grace and be nourished by your wisdom and steady presence.

We entrust her in your loving care

and with joyful expectation,

we look forward to what will unfold for her and for us. May we individually and together, be and become, what you desire most for us. And upon the return of our beloved Pastor, when our paths again intertwine, may we share the fruits of our journey, and the love and faith that binds us across all space and time.

In Christ and with Christ we pray, Amen.

Thank you again for your love and support and for making this time of rest and renewal possible.

Pastor Nancy on Sabbatical June 18th through September 12th

2009-06-09T17:44:56Z

Thanks to the generosity of this wonderful congregation, I will begin a 3 month Sabbatical on Thursday June 18th. During my time away I will be exploring was to refresh and enliven worship and create worship styles that meet the needs of a postmodern world. I will be doing some reading, attending some workshops and visiting congregations that are doing creative, embodied emergent worship.

I am also going to be reviewing several different Spiritual Gift and Ministry Empowerment curricula in the hope of creating material that uses UCC friendly terminology. Lastly I will be exploring ways to develop more small groups within our congregation. It is through such small groups that we come to deepen our faith and grow into the joy that God desires for our lives and our world.

]]> During my time away, I have current plans to be in Massachusetts, Minnesota, Arizona, California and Wisconsin. There might be more later, I'm still exploring.

And yes, I am also going to rest!!!!!

I look forward to returning on September 12th and being in worship on September 13th fresh renewed and ready to see where God will lead us.

But just because I am away, the life of the congregation will not stop. Rev. Christie Gantzert will be leading worship with the help of our Music Minister Janet Jones and our new Youth Minister, Emmy Odean. Pastor Christie will also provide pastoral care along with our Stephen Ministers and our newly created Hospital and Shut-in visitation team.

Our great Leadership Team along with Administrator Heidi Rayas and Secretary Pat Mitchell will keep everything else running smoothly.

See you in September!

Namaste

Pastor Nancy

Statement of Welcome Approved

2009-01-13T20:25:10Z

On Sunday January 11, 2009 fifty-six members and 4 participating friends of Plainfield Congregational United Church of Christ gathered in An Afternoon of Discernment to consider approving a welcoming statement anf formally decalre the congregation Open and Affirming. The afternoon consisted of much prayer and listening, stidy of scripture, more prayer and more listening. It was apowerful time of sharing as those gathered talked from their hearts about the issue. Concerns and hopes were raised and an environment of respect and care was present. Laughter and tears and waves of love flooded the Fellowship Hall as we asked sought to listen to the voice of the Still-speaking God. Some three and one-half hours after they began the congregation voted to accept and affirm the Statement of Welcome and declare itsalef ONA.The statement reads as follows:

We, the people of the Plainfield Congregational United Church of Christ, seek to be a community of Christians who celebrate and live in openness to the voice of the Still Speaking God. We celebrate the beauty and uniqueness of each expression of God's diverse family as well as our oneness in Christ. As we seek to live out our mission to live "Christ's compassion and promote justice, healing and wholeness of life" we welcome into our community persons of every gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, mental and physical ability, age, race, nationality, economic and social status, faith background, marital standing and family structure; and we invite them to share in the life, leadership, ministry, fellowship, worship, sacraments, responsibilities, blessings and joys of our congregation as we seek to "grow together in faith and love".

Roof Repair Updates

2009-01-13T20:09:13Z

Because of the roof problems we have been having since December 20^th, the Narthex and Office complex have been cleaned and sealed. The pastor and Secretary have been relocated to the Youth Ministry and Kid's Quest rooms. Entrance to the sanctuary is temporarily through Fellowship Hall. On Monday (1-12-09) Pastor Nancy and representatives from the Governing Board and the Operations Facilitating Group met with the Insurance Adjustor and several representatives of the restoration company. We are now waiting for the determination of how much of the needed repairs the insurance company will cover. Once that determination is made interior sheeting will be installed to cover the damaged areas of the ceiling until Spring when the complete repairs can be made. Once this sheeting is installed we will be able to return the offices to their normal location and use the narthex. We pray that all of the roof reconstruction that needs to be done will be covered by insurance (or at the very least a significant amount of it). If any additional funds over and above what insurance covers are needed we would need to have a congregational meeting. Watch for updates and be patient with all the upheaval this has caused. Join us in the mantra that is keeping your staff sane "God is good, all the time! All the time God is good!"

A video for September 11

2008-09-11T21:39:42Z

a pastoral letter from my heart

2008-04-03T01:52:00Z

Dear Friends,

I am sitting in my office at this moment with tears in my eyes and sadness in my heart because of the ongoing media attacks of one of my colleagues, Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. While I do not have a personal relationship with Dr. Wright, I have been privileged to hear him preach on numerous occasions; I have worshipped with and been warmly welcomed by the members and staff of Trinity, including Dr. Wright; I have witnessed first hand many of the powerful ministries that Dr. Wright has fostered through Trinity United Church of Christ; I have know Dr. Wright to be an advocate for the whole United Church of Christ, not just his own congregation; and I have worked with many members of Trinity's staff and congregation in a variety of contexts. My heart is deeply grieved that this pastor and his congregation have been so vilified by brief sound bites taken out of context and half truths told for someone's political gain. I grieve for Dr. Wright. I grieve for our brothers and sisters at Trinity UCC. I grieve for our country and a political system that allows and condones such fear and attack based campaigning. I grieve because I wonder which of my words in which of my sermons or articles might some day be taken out of context and used to destroy me, my family, or this congregation I love so much. Then I think, perhaps I have never taken a stand or spoken a word powerful enough or challenging enough to cause anyone to care what I have said and I grieve that I have been too afraid to speak the truth that lies in my heart. But, I can no longer keep silent.

Since this media frenzy began I have heard Dr. Wright vilified and seen his powerful ministry reduced to a few words taken completely out of context. But thankfully I have also read many articles and listened to many speeches from those who know Trinity and Dr Wright better than I do. Each of these letters, articles and speeches has attempted to give a fuller picture of a faithful servant of God and a brother in Christ. I want to share some of them with you.

One of my colleagues, Rev. David S. Moyer, who is the Conference Minister in the Wisconsin Conference, wrote a powerful letter to the members of the Wisconsin congregations in which he said:

"Jeremiah Wright needs no defense from me. Anyone who has built a congregation from 87 members to some 8000 and whose congregation has modeled ministries to one of the poorest areas of Chicago has provided a body of work that speaks for itself. A recent press release from Trinity UCC, issued by the new Senior Pastor, the Rev. Otis Moss III, identifies Trinity's generosity and accomplishments, and then says that on Sunday mornings alone, over 36 years, Pastor Wright has spoken for 207,792 minutes. The video clips represent perhaps 15-20 seconds of that time. Those clips represent .0000012 of his total preaching at Trinity, and yet many are quick to judge him, his church, and, indeed, our denomination, on this statistically ridiculous sample.

Would I have chosen the exact words he chose in the clips that are on the airways? No. Most of you know me and you know a conservative and buttoned down person who is cautious about his words and holds opinions close to the vest.. Many believe that is a significant fault of mine, and they may be right. But, unlike Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., I have not preached to the same congregation for 36 years and loved a church into remarkable growth in ministry and seen generations come and grow and return to the God who gave them life. I have not ministered in the midst of terrible poverty and been confronted in my study week after week with texts that provide a stark and dramatic contrast to the scene of boarded up buildings and a broken education system just outside my window. I have not faced the challenge of finding a "word from the Lord" to my people, who, no matter their success, daily face the boundaries of racism in our society.

"I am struck with the Psalm for Easter Sunday, Psalm 118. It begins and ends with these words: "O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever!" If you go onto the Trinity UCC website, you will hear Pastor Wright's voice shout these words with great power and warmth. This could have been a "clip" of his preaching just as well as those that media outlets have chosen. But, even this soaring text of thanksgiving goes on to say: "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in princes."

"Put yourself in the study at Trinity and look out on a city of African American people stretching for miles in nearly every direction, and juxtapose those texts for Easter Sunday and find your voice in the context of poverty and racism and lack of education and health care. Any word of hope in such a situation will be a 'hard' word. It won't be an easy word to hear. But an easy word isn't likely to be a saving word, and that is something that Pastor Wright knew. An authentic word of hope will be hard to hear. Good news cuts through life and it can wound, but Easter tells us that God in Christ heals those wounds and "makes us strong at the broken places."

The remainder of Rev. Moyer's letter talks about the faithful witness of Dr. Wright and the Trinity congregation as they reached out to help the Wisconsin Conference start a new congregation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I encourage you to read the full text of that letter which is attached.

As I was thinking about all of the uproar about Dr. Wright's words -while I like Rev. Moyer- would not have said the same things in the same way, I began remembering the Biblical prophets -Jeremiah, Isaiah, Amos, Hosea and the rest. Each and every one of them spoke passionate and powerful words against governments, powerbrokers and the religious establishment -those they believed were denying justice to the poor and failing to tend to the weakest members of society. If you read many of these Biblical texts in the prophets and the Psalms, you will hear worse things than those that were spoken by Dr. Wright.

You will find some of these articles and video clips at "truthabouttrinity.blogspot.com". Please check them out. I would likewise encourage you to go to the Trinity website (www.tucc.org) or to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYla5xdPTUg to view a speech by Rev. John Thomas the UCC General Minister and President. You will also find many articles on the United Church of Christ website www.ucc.org. Also watch for the news coverage of a news conference here in Chicago this Friday April 4th -the 40th anniversary of Dr, Martin Luther king's assassination. Rev. John Thomas will be present along with others who will respond to some of the issues that have been raised by the recent events.

All of this may seem like too much effort, too much bother. But I believe it is important for two very important reasons: 1) We are a United Church of Christ congregation and when one of our congregations is attacked we all suffer (read I Corinthians 12) 2) You owe it to yourself to be as informed as possible about the issues. Don't allow sound bites to shape your opinions. Find out for yourself.

I am also attaching letters from our General Minister and President, John Thomas and from our Illinois Conference Council and our Association Minister. Each of these contains important information.

Please make some effort to be informed and to share with others what you have discovered. And if you'd like to visit Trinity with me and some of our confirmation youth (something we do every year) this Sunday, April 6th, please let me know by noon on Sunday.

There is so much more I'd like to say, so much more that is on my heart, but I suspect this is enough for now.

But whatever you do, I ask you to pray that we might all come to our senses and demand that our politicians address issues and stop personal attacks. Pray that God will use this situation, like God has used so many things that people meant for evil, to bring about a higher good for all of God's beloved children. Likewise I encourage you to pray for our brothers and sisters in faith at Trinity United Church of Christ for they are indeed people who "do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God."

Namaste,
Nancy
"We cannot always do great things, but we can always do small things with great love." Mother Teresa
Wisconsin letter.doc
ny-times-ad[1].pdf
Ltr CC ACTION.doc

Ad updare Deck 4-1.doc

tom norwalk.doc