May 2007 Archives

Multicultural, Multiracial

The UCC at 50 Series - Part 4

Acts 2:1-21

May 27, 2007 - Pentecost Sunday

Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf

We're a rainbow made of children
We're an army just singin' our songs
There's no weapons that can stop us
Rainbow love is much too strong

I was taught that black was evil
I was taught that white was good
but when you become a rainbow
every color's understood

Now the rainbow's all kinds of people
walking together hand in hand
for when you become a rainbow
there'll be peace throughout the land

We're a rainbow made of children
We're an army just singin' our songs
There's no weapons that can stop us
Rainbow love is much too strong

The call to be a church of many colors, many cultures, many voices -a rainbow made of God's children- is a call that began long before the beginning of the United Church of Christ on June 25, 1957. In fact, it is the call that was heard in the dancing flames and the rushing wind on that Pentecost day so many, many years ago. Perhaps it is even a call that was woven in the fabric of creation itself. Why would a God who created tens of thousands of varieties of flowers and plants and even animals be content with a single face of humanity, a single sound of praise or a single way of being human? But the story of just how the United Church of Christ has embraced that call is sometimes challenging, sometimes troubling, but always inspiring.

Open and Affirming
The UCC at 50 Series Part 3
Ephesians 2:
May 20, 2007
Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf
Since its very beginnings, the church of Jesus Christ has wrestled over issues of inclusion and
exclusion. Who can be received as a member? What are the qualifications, barriers, or tests
required? Who is permitted to assume a leadership role?
Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures -often called the Old Testament- the law is very clear
about dietary practices, what can be eaten, how it is to be prepared and the like. Similarly the law
is very clear about the separation that must be maintained between Jewish people and everyone
who did not follow the whole Jewish law -the Gentiles, the sinners, and the outcasts. In Acts 10
we find Peter being told by God in a vision to eat food considered in Divine law to be unclean.
When Peter refuses, maintaining that he has always followed the full letter of the law, the Stillspeaking
God replies, "What God has made clean, you must not call profane." [Acts 10:15]
Whereupon the servant of a Gentile named Cornelius arrived asking Peter to come to his master's
home. Peter went. As he walked through the door, thus breaking Divine law, he said "God has
shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean." [Acts 10:28] Then when Cornelius -
having already felt God stirring in his heart- asked if God's gracious love could stretch far enough
to include him, Peter, seeing his deep love for God, said, "I truly understand that God shows no
partiality," [Acts 10:34] and then baptized this Gentile and his whole family.

Accessible to All
1 Peter 4:8-11
The UCC at 50 Series Part 2
May 13, 2007
Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf
In the late 1970's, I spent a vacation week at the Chautauqua Institute in New
York. It was a wonderful blend of family fun, education and inspiration. But the
most memorable event was a forum held in an outdoor pavilion. The speaker was
Rev. Harold Wilke. Since I had never heard of Rev. Wilke, I have no idea what
prompted me to attend. But I am so grateful I did. Now, in truth there are only
two things I remember about that afternoon. One was a story he told about a
time when, as a young boy, he was trying to get dressed. "Getting dressed was
not an easy thing for me," Rev. Wilke said. "But mother insisted I was old enough
to do it myself. I remember getting more and more frustrated and upset that my
mother wouldn't come and help me. Evidently mom's friend was also getting
upset because she finally shouted at my mother saying 'Why don't you do
something to help that boy?'"
"With tears running down her face, my mother responded, 'I am doing
something to help him.'"

United and Uniting
John 17:18-23
The UCC at 50 Series Part 1
May 6, 2007
Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf
How exciting it was today to welcome Isabella Rose and Allie Caroline into our family and to
hear that Dylan William was born! That makes three new babies in our church family in a little
over a month! Three new lives whose history is just beginning; three new lives as unique as the
families who gave them birth. Yet, even as we stand here at the beginning of their lives, we
know that who they are and who they will become has already been influenced by many factors
-their parents DNA, how and why they were conceived, the relative health of the family system
that will nurture them, the support their nuclear family receives from its extended family and
from communities like the church, and, I believe, the dream God has for each of them.
In much the same way who we are as a congregation and who we are as part of the family
known as the United Church of Christ was influenced by many factors such as the spiritual DNA
of our denominational parents, how and why this new denomination was conceived, the relative
health of our family system, the support we receive, the dream God has for us. As a
denomination the UCC is about to celebrate its 50th birthday. There will be a huge party in June
at the General Synod in Hartford, Connecticut. So that we can join in the party, I have decided
to take the next five weeks to celebrate who and what the United Church of Christ is as we
explore how we got to be who we are. On May 20th we will also have an opportunity to take
an in depth look at our own congregational history in our Evening of Historical Reflection. I
hope that both explorations add to our understanding of who we are as we look toward God's
dream of who we will yet become both as a congregation and as a denomination.