Daring to Dream

It’s been just over four years since we gathered on the grounds of Gulfside Assembly to honor the sacred memories of that hallowed place following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. For decades, Gulfside was the only place African American Methodists could safely gather and enjoy the beauty of the beach and taste the salt of the sea. That day, I heard stories of those who had been called to preach in the old chapel that once stood just south of the entrance to the Gulfside grounds. One pastor told his story, reminding those gathered that one would feel the spirit of God poured out as someone would chant, “somebody’s gonna be called to preach tonight!” Inviting the Holy Spirit to come, always seemed to yield response, we were told. Eddie Brown tells of standing in the surf, fishing as a boy. His eyes dance as he remembers. I’ve heard stories of travelers driving across the south in fear during the forties and fifties relaxing only when their feet touched the sacred soil of Gulfside Assembly.

After Hurricane Katrina, the memories remain but a new dream is being born. There are dreams that are taking shape: a dream of taking that sacred place and developing a myriad of ministries and mission, including place for elders to live out their days. The dream keepers always draw us forward. That, as much as anything, was the gift Martin Luther King, Jr. gave us: a dream of a different future. Gulfside Assembly holds before us both a sacred past and a dream for a brighter future.

It holds for us the promise of

• a place where the lion and the lamb will lie down together.
• a place where elders will dream dreams and young people will have visions.
• a place for healing of hearts and hurts
• a place where young people will once again experience God’s call upon their lives

Dr. Morsi Mansour, who dared to dream about a new future for children in a poverty stricken area of Egypt said, “if you have faith in God, if your spirit is full of faith, then you will find hope everywhere. You will not give up. It will take patience. There will be obstacles. But you will be like the river, going around the rocks.”

“Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.” Joel 2:28

Advent Wedding

On the first Sunday in Advent, November 29, gathered in the sanctuary of First United Methodist Church, Tupelo, Mississippi, were the families and friends of Millie and Chris to share with them the celebration of their marriage. As the congregation began singing the processional hymn, Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, it was as if prayers of blessing were being prayed over Millie and Chris. Millie, escorted by her parents and Chris, escorted by his, found their places at the altar, the final refrain echoed through the sanctuary.

As the service proceeded, words of life were exchanged. Big, important words. After the vows were exchanged, the father of the groom prayed this prayer, adapted from the Book of Common Prayer.

Eternal God, creator and preserver of all of life, author of salvation, and giver of all grace: Look with favor upon the world you have made, and for which your Son gave his life, and especially upon Chris and Millie whom you make one flesh in Holy Matrimony. Give them wisdom and devotion in the ordering of their common life, that each may be to the other a strength in need, a counselor in perplexity, a comfort in sorrow, and a companion in joy.

Grant that their wills may be so knit together in your will, and their spirits in your spirit, that they may grow in love and peace with you and one another all the days of their life. Grant them grace, when they hurt each other, to recognize and acknowledge their fault, and to seek each other’s forgiveness and yours. Make their life together a sign of Christ’s love to this sinful and broken world, that unity may overcome estrangement, forgiveness heal guilt, and joy conquer despair. Give them such fulfillment of their mutual affection, that they may reach out in love and concern for others. Grant that all those who have witnessed these vows may find their lives strengthened and their loyalties confirmed.

Grant, too, that the bonds of our common humanity, by which all your children are united one to another, and the living to the dead, may be so transformed by your grace, that your will may be done on earth as it is in heaven; where, O Father, with your son and the Holy Spirit, you live and reign in perfect unity, now and forever. Amen.

Two lives joined in body, mind, and soul. There is deep peace resounding in the spirits of those who witnessed and shared this day.

As the gospel writer in John writes, As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

So be it. Now and forever. Amen.

The Connection is…

-A group of college students from all over the state of Mississippi at The Journey, a retreat for college age students

-the granddaughter of church members from my first appointment out of seminary

- my nieces, Emily and Kelly who with my daughter, Laura, were able to share the weekend together

-a young woman whose family and ours had shared life in significant ways when I was pastor of St. Matthew’s but whom I had not seen in many years.

-a young woman whose parents were charter members of Getwell Road United Methodist Church and whose wedding I performed

-two young adults from Philadelphia, First whom I had known when I was their pastor.

- A preacher’s son, who with Laura, had grown up knowing each other through Conference Youth events and had served on the staff of SIFAT together for the last two years.

-Adults with whom I had shared ministry during the years in which I was pastor at St. Matthew’s UMC in Madison, MS.

-Bob and Anne McElroy who give of their time and energy twice a year to make sure young adults are having connecting experiences with Christ.

My heart was warmed Sunday afternoon, sitting in a familiar place surrounded by familiar friends, listening to the stories of how God had moved among these students in a mighty way.

Would that the Church pay attention to the places where God is at work and give great blessing.

The Kingdom Has Come Near

The kingdom of God is like many things, Jesus says: a farmer sowing seed, a man hunting treasure, a woman kneading dough, fishermen casting a net, a man forgiven a debt, a wedding guest who forgot his jacket, virgins waiting for a bridegroom, a landowner being generous.

It’s also like a wedding celebration in rural Alabama, at a place called SIFAT.

Gathered on that cloud covered day were friends and family of Laura Elizabeth McAlilly and Nathan Watson Paulk. Thirty yards away a creek rushed by, swollen from the rain which had fallen during the night. Two guitarists played “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee”.

Following the wedding vows, the ministers, a father and a son, led the congregation in The Great Thanksgiving. “The Lord Be with you.” “And also with you,” the congregation spontaneously chanted.

After the words of institution, one of the ministers prayed:

Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here,
and on these gifts of bread and wine.
Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ,
that we may be for the world the body of Christ,
redeemed by his blood.

By the same Spirit bless Laura and Nate,
that their love for each other
may reflect the love of Christ for us
and grow from strength to strength
as they faithfully serve you in the world.

Defend them from every enemy.
Lead them into all peace.
Let their love for each other
be a seal upon their hearts,
a mantle about their shoulders,
and a crown upon their heads.

Bless them
in their work and in their companionship;
in their sleeping and in their waking;
in their joys and in their sorrows;
in their lives and in their deaths.

Finally, by your grace,
bring them and all of us to that table
where your saints feast for ever in your heavenly home.
Through your Son Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church,
all honor and glory is yours, almighty Father now and forever.
Amen.

As those who were invited to serve the elements came forward, a hush fell over the worshipping congregation. Five persons made their way to the chancel.
From Africa, India, and Thailand, all participating in the ten week Practicum at SIFAT. It was as if the kingdom of heaven had come near, right there on that hillside.

A few Mississippians and a few Alabamians were there.

A bride.

A groom.

Some bread and some wine.

The clouds parted; the sunshine beamed through the trees.

And the kingdom of God had come near.

Words Matter

In just a few days, our family will gather with the Paulk family on a hillside in North Alabama, at a place called SIFAT(Servants in Faith and Technology: www.sifat.org), a camp whose mission and focus is teaching global missions. Our daughter, Laura and her fiancée, Nate, will stand together and exchange those big, important words. Words like for “better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, to love and to cherish.” Since 1979, I have been standing, facing others, inviting them into the covenant of Christian marriage.

October 10, I will invite Laura and Nate into a new life together.

To stand before my second born child and invite her and Nate to stake their lives on the covenant of Christian marriage brings a new, significantly deeper meaning to the service of Christian marriage. It’s not that I haven’t given thought to those words before. I have. Every time a young couple comes into my life asking me to be a part of blessing their marriage, I wonder how it will be for them. I am mindful of how little we really know of another person when we exchange those words. I’m mindful of the other four people who will live in that household with a couple, albeit unconscious. Parents, who have shaped, loved, taught and sometimes without intention, even wounded. Every time, I’m mindful of family traditions and that this couple will form their own while negotiating time spent with family. I’m hoping each of them has a heavy dose of forgiveness and a deep understanding of compromise.

Next Saturday, I will ask Nathan Paulk to repeat after me: “I, Nate, take you Laura, to be my wife.” I’ll ask Laura to do likewise, “I, Laura, take you Nate, to be my husband." I keep trying to imagine it; so far, I’ve been unsuccessful without a bit of a lump in my throat. Maybe I’ll keep saying the words this week until the lump disappears.

The Paulk’s and the McAlilly’s. A new family. A new journey. Around us will be gathered the people we love. That love will be made real by big words. And words matter.

Prayer and Good Works

I have been reading Church History in recent days. In the days after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Between 480 and 550 there lived an early Church Father known as Benedict of Nursia. Benedict was distraught by Rome’s collapse, fled to the Italian countryside around the year 500. There with his sister Scholastica, gathered two communities of people, “who were themselves looking for a more meaningful way of life” than was offered by the remnants of Christianity.

He envisioned the spiritual life as “Twelve Steps of Humility” shaping the heart for “holy obedience” whereby external chaos would give way to an internally ordered soul. Compassion was balanced with discipline.

It was a communal life of prayer and good works.

When the Methoidst movement was gaining momentum in England, there was a deep sense that folks were looking for a more meaningful way of life. It was also rooted in prayer.

These days, when an average pastor is asked to name the three most important tasks of ministry, prayer rarely makes the list. Preaching, Pastoral Care,and Adminstration are often the top three.

In the days to come, I believe the center piece of the United Methodist movement is prayer.

Prayer rooted in scripture.

Prayer centered in Christ.

Prayer that moves out in the world, serving in love.

Let's build some bridges across the church that we might prayerfully reach beyond ourselves with compassion and good.

Hair Cut Witnessing

I had not expected the conversation to turn in that direction.
She had been cutting my hair for about three months.

I knew she was a recovering Baptist.
She knew I was a United Methodist Minister.
She doesn’t believe in women ministers.
Or building programs.
Or once saved always saved.

She does believe in the power of Christ and the teachings of Jesus.
I’d invited her to attend a United Methodist Church near her home.
She said she’d think about it.
She never did.

I asked why she didn’t come.
She said she was busy.
I asked, “do you have a holy longing?”
She said she didn’t.
I asked, “do you ever wrestle with doubt?”
She said, “I do.”

As she finished my hair cut, she said,
“You know, my husband grew up Jehovah’s Witness.
His family didn’t speak to him for ten years when we joined the
Baptist Church.
Will you pray for my husband ,Mark. I’d go back if he’d go with me.
But he has trouble with it all.
"Ok."

“I’ll pray,” I said.

I don’t know if I’ll ever see her again.

Today was her last day to cut hair. She was retiring.

So I’m left to my prayers.
I am wondering how many thousands of others like her are cutting hair or
Checking at Wal-Mart or changing the oil at Jiffy Lube.

She said she missed singing in the choir and serving.

“I was a worker,” she said.

“Thanks for the haircut,” I said.,
I’ll pray for Mark.

And I walked out the door.

Was it enough?