The church is a family, a community, a flock of sheep, etc. There are a lot of metaphors to describe the church.  Metaphors are helpful, and of course, all fall short. The metaphor I use the most in talking about church is that of the body.

The Apostle Paul introduces this idea in I Corinthians 12:12, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.”  He goes on to say things like, “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you,’” in I Corinthians 12:21.

I am thinking about this idea of the body of Christ as we approach Holy Week and Easter.  On Good Friday we remember the physical death of Jesus, the day when his body was tortured and stopped breathing.  It is the day Jesus died like every other human.  On Easter we celebrate his resurrection and God’s power over death.

The physical resurrection is central to my faith.  It is not something I can explain nor try too hard to understand, but it is something I deeply believe.  I love standing with the church in all time and place to proclaim this good news.  One of my favorite Easter proclamations is from John Chrysostom, a 4^th century Christian, whose Easter sermon contains these words:

Hell received a body and encountered God. It took earth and came face-to-face with heaven. It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.

With that said, I am also drawn to metaphors about the body of Christ.  The Corinthians (first century Christians) believed that the church was literally the body of Christ.  Christ, having ascended to heaven, was no longer physically present in person, but Christ was present as the church.

Because of this they took very seriously any behavior within their community that did harm to the body of Christ.  If someone in the community behaved in a way that was against the values the community held, they believed that the person was literally hurting Christ.

My sister’s church is in crisis, and I’m reminded of how quickly the body can fall apart.  As is the case with a human body, a well-functioning church is a miracle.  There are so many people, and organs, and cells that have to work together in order for the smallest things to happen, in a human body or church.  If we are not attentive to our bodies they start to break down and even the small simple things become hard.

What amazes me and makes me grateful is the way that so many of you model this kind of attentiveness.  You check in on one another.  You seek to serve.  You model Christ’s love.  You seek to glorify God.  You spend time in prayer and in scripture.  All of this strengthens this body, and it is only when this body is strong that we can reach out and share Christ’s love with those outside of our church, which is our call.

Being human, having a body, is not passive.  We have to take care of ourselves.  The same is true for being a church.  We are the body of Christ, and we need you here doing your part.

In Christ,

Catherine

Dear Grace Community,

I’m writing with some medical lingo: DNA, fasting, and well checks.

I don’t remember much of the scientific data about DNA from biology class, but I know that the DNA of an organization is the stuff that is at its core.  The DNA of Grace contains lots of things.  Jesus is in our DNA.  Without God we would not exist.  A connection to our neighborhood is in our DNA.  The congregation met at Robinson Middle School for eight years in the 1940’s and is active there and at Hyde today.  We are tied to this community.

Also in our DNA is our approach to starting new ministries.  When someone comes to me with an idea of a ministry they want to see happen I say, “How do you envision this working?  Will you help make it happen?”  Sometimes the conversation ends there, but sometimes the person says, “Oh yes, and here’s a plan for getting people involved,” and the ministry takes off.  Sure, we run it by the session, but it’s on the road.  This isn’t how it works in all churches.  In some places ideas must be vetted through committees, and staff, and study for long periods before they start.

I had two conversations recently that enforced this aspect of our DNA.  One conversation was with Esther Cummins who is a quilter.  She made a quilt with fabric from Africa.  Katie Rhoads, a missionary we support, brought this fabric to Esther.  After making the quilt Esther wondered about giving it to a refugee family connected to our partners at the International Rescue Committee (IRC).  As we talked we imagined opening this up to all Grace quilters.  I met with the Grace Refugee Team and a staff person from IRC and ran the idea by them.  The IRC gives every refugee a blanket and would love to give them a homemade quilt.  And like that, we have a new ministry opportunity.

The second conversation was with Capri Zimmerman who feels called to lead a women’s ministry at Grace.  I’ve heard a desire for women’s ministry from others, and when Capri approached me all sorts of things fell into place.  This new ministry is open to all Grace women and will provide opportunities for study, fellowship, and service.

The next medical term is fasting.  The only time I fast is before my yearly physical and blood work.  However, fasting is also a Christian discipline.  During Lent some Christians will fast from food one day a week or fast from something else.  This is known as ‘giving up something for Lent.’  The idea is to sacrifice and to consider Jesus’ sacrifice.

This year I invite all of us to fast from social media one day a week during Lent.  I know that we don’t all use social media, but many of us do, and many of us use it a lot.  Pick a day each week, and every time you think of logging in to an account, stop, and pray.

The final medical concept for the day is that of Well Checks.  Well Checks are regular visits with a doctor to go over general health questions and concerns, not to address a specific illness.  A few years ago I invited you to schedule Well Checks with me, and around a dozen of you took me up on this.  Some of you drop by or schedule appointments with me, but I know that others of you aren’t sure about stopping by to talk.  If there’s something about your faith, or life, or the church that you’d like to talk about, come by for a Well Check.  Leah Plush our new financial administrative assistant has a schedule of available times, so call her at 684-5215, to make an appointment.  (Of course you can come by any time, but I’m not always in my office.)

In Christ,

Catherine

On February 19, you’re invited to a conversation about the possibility of establishing a memorial garden on the Grace grounds.  We meet at 2 pm in the Grace Parlor.  You may read more about the Memorial Garden Proposal.

[button url=”http://mygpc.org/memorial-garden-conversation” target=”” size=”small” style=”orange” icon=”” popup=”” title=””]Memorial Garden Proposal[/button]

This is not a new topic of discussion at Grace.  Before I was called here the session engaged in conversation about establishing a columbarium on the Grace grounds.  A memorial garden is different, but the idea is the same: both allow for the resting of ashes here at Grace.

After months of study and conversation the session is ready to hear from you.  Bring your questions and thoughts to the meeting on February 19.  If you’d like to look at the full policy in advance of the meeting please let me know.

In Christ,
Catherine

In the fall I had the privilege of leading a study on the Psalms. Two groups met for ten weeks to dig into the text. There was a Tuesday morning group and a Wednesday night group – about 20 people total.

I expected to grow in my knowledge and understanding of the Psalms, and I did. I expected to have my faith enriched by the individual reading and group discussion, and that happened. I expected to enjoy getting to know people better through study, and that happened too.

Then there were things that I didn’t know to expect but that I was blessed by.

One of these things was how much the study made me think about worship. The Psalms were used in the context of worship in ancient Israel. Some of the Psalms are hard for me to read. In one verse there’s an outpouring of praise for God, and in the next verse there’s a plea for God to crush enemies or a question about God’s presence.

When I include a Psalm in worship I often leave out the challenging verses. This study pushed me to reconsider this. Reading and hearing challenging words together is an opportunity for our congregation. The Psalms reflect honest emotions that God’s people have felt forever and that God’s people in our congregation have likely felt too. In the new year I am committed to using more full Psalms in worship, even the Psalms with verses that make me cringe.
One of the activities our study asked us to do was to pray the Psalms. This means reading and praying the text as though it was our own prayer. Praying the Psalms is a challenge and a gift.

To pray and ask God to destroy enemies is counter to what Jesus teaches. It also was hard for me because it forced me to admit that there are times when I really want to have enemies destroyed. I’m not talking about the person who takes my parking spot but about the Syrian forces slaughtering people in Aleppo.

The Psalms remind me that I can be honest with God about this, about the dark thoughts and feelings I have. God knows I’m not a perfect Christian, so I don’t have to pretend in my prayers. As one wise class participant noted, praying the Psalms in this way gives us a framework for being honest.

During a week when we focused on lament we discussed whether or not people at Grace can be honest about how they are doing when coming to church. Is it okay to say, “I’m having a hard time,” or is the expectation to say, “Everything is great?”

In light of this conversation I have a challenge for all of us for the New Year. In 2017 when you ask someone at Grace how they are doing, ask them how they are doing; don’t tell them. Too often we say, “Are you doing well? Did you have a good Christmas?” These questions set the responder up to have to answer, “Yes, everything is good.”
By making a simple change you leave space for the person you’re engaging with to be honest with you when you ask, “How are you? How was your Christmas?” It’s a small change but one I hope creates space for more honest
community at Grace.

2016 was a good year at Grace, and God is on the move here. I’m excited about where the Spirit will lead us in 2017.
In Christ,
Catherine

In November, Dr. Katie Rhoads made a visit to Grace. Katie is a missionary in Uganda and Sudan. Grace is one of Katie’s supporting congregations, and it’s always a blessing to hear from her.

Katie is a physician. She serves as a doctor and a teacher.  As a doctor (and specifically a surgeon), she provides a wide range of medical care.  As a teacher, she teaches medicine, and she teaches Christians in the communities where she works about Christianity and about the joy of sharing the good news.

As I listened to Katie, I realized that I sometimes forget the power of the gospel – the transformative nature of Christianity. She shared that people she works with have conversion experiences but don’t necessarily know anything about Christianity, about what’s in the Bible. It’s one thing to come to faith. It’s another thing to have your faith inform your life.

She told us a story about being in a village where someone from another tribe came and killed some animals. The response of the people she was with was to retaliate by killing the families of the perpetrators. The people she was with were Christians, but they didn’t know teachings of Christianity; they didn’t know that their faith should inform their actions. Katie told us of sitting with these people and sharing scripture after scripture about forgiveness. Their hearts were changed.

Faith changes lives.

We’re in Advent – the time when we await Christ’s coming. We remember that God took on flesh to live among us, and in that, everything changed. If you are new to faith, I hope you’ll hear the scripture of the season and let it shape you. If you’ve been a Christian for a long time, hear these stories in new ways.  The incarnation, God’s taking on flesh, changed everything.  Continue to let God change and transform you.

In Christ,

Catherine