Pastor's Blog

Beginning on February 15, I have the privilege of participating in a Spiritual Director Training Program at the Hesychia School of Spiritual Direction.  This is a ministry of the Redemptorist Renewal Center in Tucson, Arizona.  It offers in-depth study, peer learning, and spiritual mentoring for those interested in becoming a spiritual director.  The Board approved my participation last fall, and I am very honored and excited to be going.  I will be in Tucson February 15-27 and then again April 12-24 to complete the training.

Spiritual direction is the art of holy listening.  You could call it spiritual counseling.  A spiritual director helps people discern God’s movement in their lives.  A spiritual director helps people through times of restlessness and drought.  A spiritual director listens and mirrors back observations.  And at times, a spiritual director can even help people break through a roadblock to experience a deeper level of healing and wholeness.  I myself had this experience when a spiritual director offered insight into what had been a life-long weight on my soul.

Of course, I believe that I have already been engaging in spiritual direction as a part of my pastoral ministry, but I have not had any formal training.  This program will help me be more effective and more confident.  One of the reasons I selected the Hesychia School is because they have a specific unit for offering spiritual direction with the so-called “spiritual but not religious.”  I seem to encounter a lot of these folks, and I really believe that we have something to offer them at Eureka Christian Church.  Perhaps not worship on a Sunday morning, but certainly sanctuary and guidance.  I think this can be a growing ministry for us.

Hesychia means “watchful, inner stillness and silence.”  While I will be learning a lot and working hard during my weeks there, I am also looking at this as a spiritual retreat.  I thank you for giving me this time.  It is time for me to tend to my soul.  I am only as effective as I am whole, and I know you understand that.  You are a rare and wonderful congregation.  I thank you, and I am honored to serve with you.

 

“It is solved by walking.”  I came across this quote from Saint Augustine years ago, and something about it stuck with me.  I suppose that’s because I have always found this to be true for me.  It is solved by walking, no matter what “it” is.  Cabin fever?  It is solved by walking.  Bored?  It is solved by walking.  Stressed?  It is solved by walking.  Angry?  It is solved by walking.  Writer’s block?  It is solved by walking.  Procrastination?  It is solved by walking.  A little too much turkey or Mexican food or chocolate or pie?  It is solved by walking.

I love to walk.  In fact, it’s the only exercise I’ve ever been able to do consistently and still enjoy.  They say that the best exercise is the one you’ll actually do.  For me, it’s walking.  I think I could walk all day long.  And in 496 days, that’s exactly what I’ll be doing.  For my Sabbatical in 2016, I will be walking the 500-mile Camino de Santiago.  This is a medieval pilgrimage route from St. Jean Pied de Port at the foot of the Pyrenees in France to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain.  I will start my pilgrimage June 1, 2016.  Yes, yes.  I know that’s a long way off, but what can I say?  I’m a planner!

Actually, I’ve been planning this for about 10 years now.  Ever since I first heard of the Camino de Santiago, I’ve been compelled to do it.  I’m not sure why.  Part of it is the physical challenge, of course.  Can I really walk 500 miles in 38 days?  Part of it is the internal challenge.  Can I really walk 500 miles in 38 days in a foreign country that speaks a language I do not know all by myself?  Part of it is the spiritual connection. Walking along a path that’s been used by pilgrims for hundreds of years?  Being in the midst of their prayers, their hopes, their pain, their triumphs?  I get chills thinking about it.  And part of it is intentionally placing myself among seekers.

Most people who walk the Camino are seeking something, and I am convinced that the future of the church—our church, all churches, The Church—is to be a place where seekers are welcome.  I want us to be a place where seekers can come with all their hurts, questions, doubts, fears, differences, insecurities, baggage, blisters, anger, hopes, desires, wonderings and know they will be accepted, embraced, and loved.  If I have a “professional” hope for my Camino experience, it is this:  I want to be among seekers there because I want to learn how to be more open to seekers who cross my path here.  I want to share hopes with them.  I want to struggle with them.  I want to grow with them.  I want to learn with them.  I think the Camino will help me in this quest.

Why am I talking about this now?  Well, for one, I am VERY excited!  For another, I just paid my deposit last week.  I’m locked in.  There’s no backing out now.  I’ll try not to bore you with endless recitations of my countdown clock, even though you can be sure that’s what will be going through my head between now and then.  Not that I want to rush time; it goes fast enough as it is.  But I am really looking forward to the day when I first hear, “Buen Camino.”  In the meantime, you’ll probably find me walking.

 

As I’ve shared with you several times, I believe the ministry of presence is one of the sweetest but most powerful gifts we can share with each other in the Body of Christ.  A ministry of presence is simply “being there”—walking with each other through the twists and turns, the valleys and pits of life.  The old spiritual may say that we each have to walk “this lonesome valley” by ourselves, but I really don’t believe that.  Accompanying each other, bearing one another’s burdens, being there for each other is simply what Christians do.

My father-in-law Duane Churchman, who passed away on December 19, understood what it meant to offer a ministry of presence.  He entered the ministry in the United Methodist Church as a young man and served the church faithfully for fifty-five years.  Whenever there was a need, Duane was there.  Whether offering counseling in his office, praying before surgeries, waiting through surgeries, helping through grief, or any number of other pastoral needs, Duane was there.  You could count on him to be at your side no matter what.  Indeed, he embodied the presence of Christ for his flock and his family.

One of the things I appreciated most about the Churchman family when I joined it seventeen years ago is that they are always there for each other.  They all participate in every family event; they all come together for every family emergency.  Don’t get me wrong.  My family is loving and supportive.  We enjoy each other’s company, and we care about the goings-on in each other’s lives.  But in my family, the attitude is more like “if you can be there, great; if not, that’s OK too.”  We’re a little nonchalant about it all.  Maybe too nonchalant.  It is different with the Churchmans; for them (us), you are there no matter what.  It’s just what you do.  They learned that from Duane.

In Duane’s last days, he stayed at Taylor House, a hospice facility in Des Moines.  The day before he died, a group of carolers came.  As they sang “The First Noel,” Duane tried to sing along.  Nobody knew at the time that this would be one of his last moments of lucidity.  His words were unintelligible.  His pitch was a little off.  But there was no mistaking his intent:  Duane was singing.  It was a heart-warming, uplifting moment in an otherwise exhausting and very challenging week.  And it came about because a handful of young adults decided to give a few minutes of their time this holiday season.  They shared the ministry of presence, and it made a difference.

Your ministry of presence made a difference to me too.  With Lindsay gone, I wasn’t sure how I would be able to do everything that needed to be done last week.  There were many days and evenings when I needed to be in two places at once.  Impossible.  I was so overwhelmed that I just sat at my desk Monday morning in a short-circuited stupor.  Then Jami Hemmenway stopped by.  “Whatever you need, I’m here.  I know there would be lots of other people to help too.”

At first I did the old “smile and nod.”  “Thank you Jami.  I appreciate it,” I said, all the while planning to manage on my own.  But there was no managing that schedule alone.  After she left my office, there was no denying it:  I needed help.  And help came.  Joan Herron, Minta Colburn, Audrey Krogmeier, Rose Halpin, Amber Harmon, Robin Robinson, and Jami Hemmenway all came to my rescue—taking Rachel to dance, helping with Rachel’s birthday party, and filling in for me at the youth luncheon preparation day.  It was amazing, wonderful, humbling.  It was the ministry of presence.

It doesn’t take much to be the presence of Christ for one another.  Just time, and a willingness to be there.  There is no better Christmas gift than that.

 

On September 12, I will be traveling to Lincoln, Nebraska to participate in an exciting new ministry called the Emmaus Road Discipleship School.  This program is the vision of our own Charlotte Liggett (Calvin and Rosemary Hartter’s daughter).  A couple of years ago, Charlotte began to realize that the church has not always taught people how to be disciples of Jesus Christ even though we’re pretty good about teaching people how to be church members.  Charlotte wanted a program that would teach the basics and the heart of what it means to be one of Christ’s disciples out in the world.  The Emmaus Road Discipleship School was born.

Through an amazing series of answered prayers—enthusiastic support from the Nebraska region of the Christian Church, grant money from the Lilly Foundation, a willing team of facilitators who all said yes immediately—the Emmaus Road Discipleship School is now a reality.  Participants make a three-year commitment to study core aspects of the Christian faith:  prayer, worship, scripture, service, testimony, the Holy Spirit, and spiritual formation.  They meet once per month throughout the school year.  Each year the content deepens from “Seeker” to “Pilgrim” to “Disciple” levels.

I have been asked to facilitate the sessions on prayer.  This means that I will be with them one weekend each September for three years.  This year, the dates are September 12-14.  If you would like to know more about the Emmaus Road Discipleship School, please visit their website:  www.emmausroaddiscipleship.com.  I am thrilled to be part of this exciting ministry.

While I am away, seminary student and candidate for ordination Bryan Burris will preach and lead the worship services.  Please support Bryan with your prayers and your presence.  And please pray for the participants and the leadership team of the Emmaus Road Discipleship School.

 

Sometimes “being there” is the best gift we can offer to each other.  A fancy way of saying this is that as Christians, we are called to share in a ministry of presence.  When someone is lonely or feeling isolated, there is nothing more welcome than the gift of companionship.  This is especially true for people who live in nursing homes or who find it difficult to leave their homes.

As many of you know, I try to make it a point to go out visiting every Tuesday afternoon.  Sometimes I am able to make several visits in one afternoon; sometimes I manage to see only one person.  But I do make an effort to set aside this time consistently and faithfully.  Full disclosure:  there are some weeks that I just can’t make it at all, but I do try to be faithful.  This matters to me.

That said, I know that there are some folks I haven’t managed to see very often.  One of them is Martha Jane Clymer.  (Martha, I know you’re reading this.  I hope I don’t embarrass you too badly!)  I visited Martha early on in my ministry among you, but did not return until her home called in July to say that she would love a visit from me.  I went to see her immediately, of course.  But two times in four years?  That’s a shame.  And it has been my loss.  Martha is fun, delightful, joyful.  Visiting with her can’t help but make you smile.  She makes me smile.

So I’ll let you in on a secret…these smiles aren’t just for me alone.  We can all share in this ministry of presence.  I’ll be happy to provide you with a list of our homebound members.  You don’t have to go once a week like I do, but maybe once a month?  Even a couple of times a year is better than no times.  Visiting is fun.  You don’t have to stay long.  You don’t even have to have much to say.  Simply being there is a gift in itself.

If you would like to know more about how to make a visit, or if you would like some suggestions about whom to visit, please call me.  I want you to know the joy of this ministry.  And one final thought.  If you are feeling lonely or a little down, reaching out to someone else is the very best remedy.  Give the gift of your time.  Share the ministry of presence.