Category: Faith

Today’s lesson in the joys of urban ministry.

This morning, I went through my usual my-son-didn’t-sleep-enough-last-night routine, which involves going to Starbucks before I walk into church. I picked up my order, walked across the street, and started to unlock the church’s side door. As I inserted the key, a woman walking down the sidewalk started speaking to me. I took out my headphones and asked her to repeat herself. “I know it’s none of my business – but there’s some strange things that are going on in this church.”

For a moment, I was concerned. She looked like someone who lived in the neighborhood. She was obviously on her way to the subway. Did she see something? Are their shenanigans going on that we need to know? I asked her what weird things she had seen. “Weird things!” she replied. I probably squinted at this point – and realized this was not one of those kinds of things. Was she going to start into a tirade against women preaching, or gays and lesbians, or some other such randomness.

She started to walk away and I asked her again. She said “You should look up what it means to have a church with red doors.”

She turned. I shouted after her: “WHAT WEIRD THINGS?”

She replied “RED DOORS.” And then she was around the corner and gone.

Delievered on Sunday, March 10. And, to K’s annoyance, there was no song and dance during it. Maybe next time.

******

What you see up here is a well…it’s a different sort of Trinity than you normally see. I’m Marc, Vicar at Advent and Director of Children, Youth, and Family ministries and next to me stands the other two members of our team – Josh who you’ve seen leading our children and youth music programs – and the newest member of our team, Kevin, who will head our middle school and high school ministries.

First, we want to thank you for your vision and dedication that makes CYF ministries possible. The decision to fund, support, and expand the CYF team came from all of you – the entire congregation – from the newest infant to the great-great grandmother – all of you have put a stake in being very intentional and deliberate when it comes to ministering to the children, youth, and families that are sitting in the pews today – and everyone out there, beyond our doors, in New York City.

The three of us standing up here – we’re the stewards of Advent’ collective ministry – a ministry that focuses on what it means to a be a child of God as a baby, infant, adolescent, teenager, or parent – and what it means to live our out Christian and Lutheran Christian identity – and what it means to be active, faithful disciples of Jesus Christ on the Upper West Side.

One thing I’ve learned, being a new parent, is that every time I’ve settled into a routine – something changes. The only routine is change – sure, some changes are wonderful – but it’s, well, is’t pretty chaotic. But even in the chaos – that doesn’t mean Christ isn’t there. Because, as Lent shows us, God isn’t in the habit of living only in our routines. God’s in the mix – in the mess – in the wild and strange that makes up our lives and experiences. And God’s is in the lives of the children, the youth, and their parents too. God’s with us – through the whole wild thing that is “growing up.” And that’s where we are too.

The three of us bring to this ministry enthusiasm, energy, dedication, and a willingess to experiment – to see what works – to listen to what our children, youth, and families need to engage in active discipleship so that we wall may live out God’s love and be little Christ’s to everyone we meet. The children, youth, and families in Advent make us the dynamic, inviting, welcoming place that we are.

So keep an eye out for all the new events and programming that will be coming up! Like our Easter Egg fundraiser – only $5 dollars for half-a-dozen painted eggs – order forms in the back! – and our annual Youth-led Easter Breakfast, to our new middle school and high school social nights, a monthly gathering for families with children under the age of two, an expanded outreach mission, and more opportunities for families to gather together – share their experiences – and get support when they need it. And for all our youth – no matter their ages – look for a chance to have fun, be safe, and see what living an active, dynamic, complex, and not-always-perfect Christian faith is all about.

Thank you.

My work email address is finally getting the SPAM I’ve been waiting for. 5500 words about a PROPHECY FROM JESUS.

This is an extraordinary prophetic vision of God’s Power coming down. Have also included an eye opening prophecy from Stanley Frodsham that compliments this vision from Susan O’Marra. Please forward on, this event is surely imminent.

SHE KNOWS. SHE KNOWS.

In the vision, I was looking at the world from a suspended position. I could see people and areas from a panoramic position and also at times, I saw things close up. The position varied as it did with the scenes…

And that’s as far as I got. What was shared isn’t important. What mattered is that my work email address is now being thrown all over the internet. No random religious thing is too weird for it. I’ve made it.

I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I’m kindof a big deal.

In the ELCA’s “Stories of Faith in Action,” the promotional 30 page booklet celebrating the ELCA’s 25 years as a denomination, there’s a timeline highlighting 25 years of stories from the ELCA. The timeline spans 4 pull-out pages. This is what the fourth page looks like.

Notice anything particular? Maybe in the 2010 column?

I’m in the Fund for Leaders picture. Well 2/3rds of me. So maybe I’m only 2/3rds of a big deal. But I’ll take it.

Today, at the office, I received a package.

At first, I didn’t recognize the return address. Did my wife order something online again? Is this a purchase from Etsy? Did I, in a state of exhaustion and sleep depravation, order something strange while Oliver was up in the middle of the night? What IS this unknown box that is sitting on my desk.

Sitting.

Watching me.

Tempting me to open it.

So I did.

On top was a card. I ignored it at first and found a highlighter in the box. And then there was some coffee – a bag of unpopped microwave popcorn – and a little bottle of hand sanitizer. This struck me as all so…strange. I opened the card to discover that the LTSP alumni board had sent me a care package for my internship. How nice. If I knew it was coming, I would have not bought lunch today.

But I learned that a friend received a bag of skittles. I got no skittles. I am jealous.

Update: I was informed that I forgot to add an important part to this post. THANK YOU. I really am grateful to be remembered by the seminary. It was an unexpected surprise but a lovely one!

So sacrilegious, so very awesome. I saw the most recent SNL last night. It was quite delightful. I was impressed – especially by Tarantino’s new movie. Warning: Very gruesome and bloody.

I’m still not sure how to handle this.

It has taken me awhile to approach this story of a Lutheran pastor forced to apologize for participating in an interfaith memorial service. Most of my colleagues-in-arms tackled this last week and said everything I would have. Beyond pointing out LC-MS and ELCA differences, there was much theological discussion about Jesus, his ministry, and the role of the church in the midst of death, tragedy, and evil. Much was written – and quite a bit of it was better than I could ever compose.

I don’t have anything to add nor earth shattering to point out. Rather, I hope this isn’t forgotten. I hope I don’t forget it. Because, well, what happened there is…it’s not abnormal. When I look at my own life, and what it means to be a confessing Christian, I find myself making theological decisions like this everyday. My life is a series of decisions – decisions that can be underpinned by a theological framework and dimension that will (or will not) influence the decided course of action. Even if the decision is from the gut, the theological underpinning can still shine through. Not everyone has to make the same exact decision this pastor did – but, every day, the issue of theology is played out in every aspect of my life. This can’t be compartmentalized our – nor removed. Even deciding who to talk to at work, or whether to give up your seat on the subway – that can carry the underpinning of theological discourse and understanding. Individual actions or behaviors can’t be excluded, or removed, from a theological framework. A Lutheran Christian understanding of the person is holistic. The person cannot be divided into compartments, with some parts objective, some thoughts seen as unnecessary of grace, and some decisions as just automatic and not tied to theology. A Lutheran Christian understanding seems takes a person as they are. All of the person needs grace; all of the person needs love; all of the person is a sinner; and, through baptism and the gift of faith, all are saints. To consider the total of a person, we end up having to consider the paradox that is the person. And that’s not an easy thing to actually have to deal with when you have to live in a world of decisions and choice.

That pastor made a choice to witness in the midst of grief and evil. Their higher ups made a choice to point towards a tradition rooted in the need for clarity and distinction. The rest of us took a look at what happened and either rooted for distinction or saw division where there should be unity. No matter how I fall in this discussion (and, to be honest, I am on the side of unity in the face of evil), I am reminded that paradox and murkiness is the true hue of what it means to live a human life. And, as a Lutheran, if I’m unwilling to point out that truth and to live in the midst of contradiction and hope in that which is clear – the Word of God – well, I’m not worth the paper my candidacy papers were written on.