November 27, 2011 "YET, O LORD....."

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Most Loving God, Creator of the Universe, today, as we enter the Advent season, we lift up our prayer of hopeful anticipation. In the weeks that follow, we will be readying ourselves for the outpouring of your comfort and goodwill. We will be preparing our minds to embrace the wondrous things to come. We do this by remembering all that you have given to humanity since the dawn of time. You have forgiven us over and over again that we might learn how to forgive. You have rescued us that we might share your love and blessing with others. You have made covenant after covenant with us and promised to be faithful always, that we might live responsively in faith. We confess our failures in keeping covenant with you. In this season of new beginnings, we will focus our hearts and minds on doing that very thing. We shall turn our attention to you, seeking, anew, to discern your will and way for us. Speak to us of surrender and soul-searching; adjure us to make time for prayer and self-examination. Prayer is where you await us and where you promise comfort for our weary souls. We promise, in the name of the Christ, to meet you there each day. Amen.
STEWARDSHIP INVITATION
In his book Christmas is Not Your Birthday Mike Slaughter writes: “You are the evidence that God’s Messiah is present with us, when everything that is broken around you is being restored, when the oppressed are being set free and the Good News is preached to the poor.” The Black Friday madness of consumption started even earlier this year, with folks in a frenzy to shop, to buy, to get a deal at Midnight on Thanksgiving. I am pretty confident when I say: “No one was thinking about Jesus’ birthday, rather they were adding up their Santa credits. Let us be the evidence of the Messiah, not Santa.
UNISON OFFERTORY PRAYER
Gracious God, pour out your blessing upon the gifts we offer with cheerful hearts. As we enter this Advent Season, remind us that these weeks are meant to be a time of spiritual reflection, as well as anticipation. In these days of shopping and buying gifts for our families and loved ones, plant a seed of ever-remembrance that the birthday we are looking forward to celebrating is not ours. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.

November 20, 2011 "OUR GROWING SEASONS"

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Great and glorious God, from whom all blessings flow, we are eager to give you thanks and praise on this Thanksgiving Sunday. We confess our shyness before you, realizing that everyday offers us an opportunity to focus our thankful thoughts upon your bountiful nature. May your most Holy Spirit capture and focus our thoughts, during this week, opening our eyes to the good. Make us mindful enough to embrace any and all of the opportunities, we will have, to be exemplars of true thankfulness. We pray for the safe passage of all those making a Thanksgiving pilgrimage, knowing they bring with them, your message of hope, and blessing, which is the light of Jesus Christ in their hearts. Pour out your comforting spirit on all whose hearts are in need of consolation this holiday season; in the name of the Christ, we pray. Amen.
UNISON OFFERTORY PRAYER
Lord, please bless the gifts we set before you. Some of us have given out of our abundance and others have given what we can afford. You know what is in our hearts. Whether we are governed, in our giving, by a spirit of thankfulness, or obligation, we pray these gifts will breathe new life into our ministry and work. Let us not be peckish about little things, rather empower your church and each, of us here, to prove your gracious goodness to all the world. Amen.

November 13, 2011 "DON'T DIS THE GIFT"

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Wondrous and Loving God, as we lift our voices in praise and thanksgiving, we ask you to pour out your blessing upon all of us gathered here. Some of us have come to worship for curiosity’s sake and others because this is the very best way for us to start our week. Here is where we refresh our souls and connect with one another, touching the lives and hearts of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Help us understand, gracious Lord, that each time we offer a hand in greeting; each embrace given and word of comfort spoken is an investment made in humanity, on your behalf. Teach us to be courageous and a little daring, always for the Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
UNISON OFFERTORY PRAYER
Gracious God, you entrusted your creation to our care, hoping and believing that we, your children — your heirs — would accept the responsibility; investing our time, our talents, and our hearts in protecting this fragile planet and all who dwell in it. We are reminded that our offering, for the work of Christ’s church, is a handing over and giving-back what is already yours. Multiply and bless them to give glory to your holy name. In the name of the Christ, we pray. Amen.

November 9, 2011 "DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL IS NO MORE"

Dear Everyone,
A wise young woman explained, "don't ask, don't tell," in a most profound way yesterday. She said, in essence, that "don't ask, don't tell," wasn't created to protect those who were stigmatized, marginalized and told it was safest not to reveal who they really are; rather, it was created so that those who do the stigmatizing, can continue to hang on tight to their fears and prejudices and avoid confronting them. "Now that makes sense," I said.
In the first century those who made a decision to be Jesus' followers were stigmatized by all sorts of people. They were scorned by the ruling class of Gentiles and ostracized by the religious leadership in the synagogues many had called home all of their lives. These early Christians were confronted with that, don't ask, don't tell decision, as well. When they decided to follow Jesus, they, too, had to decide whether they would share their good news or keep it a secret. Keeping their membership in the Jesus cult a secret would keep them alive; revealing it could result in everything, from losing their family, to losing their life.
Luke's Jesus wrapped the great commandment up in the parable of the Good Samaritan, knowing that the people who were listening to the story were afraid of and prejudiced against the Samaritans. The Judeans and the Samaritans worshiped the same God, but they couldn't settle their dispute over the correct and proper place to worship their God. They accused each other of all sorts of bad behavior and were, for hundreds of years, accustomed to living next door to each other, with their prejudices, until Jesus lifted up the Samaritan as the paragon of mercy, the one who demonstrates truest meaning of the commandment to love one another.
During World War II, in Nazi occupied Europe, anyone who was Jewish was marked with a yellow star (homosexuals were marked with a pink triangle among other things)* to identify them as they were carted off to concentration camps and systematically tortured or exterminated. The, don't ask, don't tell, rule, in that setting, worked for very few.
In the 1960's here in the United States, pastors who supported the Civil Rights Movement, and preached their conscience, or marched their conscience, were fired from pulpits all over the country, including Southern California. They were confronted with a decision to speak or to remain silent. If they spoke out in favor of Civil Rights for ALL, they would be forcing those desperate to hang on to their fear and color prejudice, to confront those feelings or leave their church. Pastors, who spoke up, often jeopardized themselves, their careers and their families.
When I first came to Palm Springs I was invited to attend the Light Parade and loved it so much I hoped we might participate in it the following year as a way of making ourselves visible to our community. A few people got excited about the idea, but momentum waned and no flat-bed truck magically appeared for us to create our float. It costs money, time and effort to make a float and be in a parade. Being in the Light Parade would have been an opportunity for us to do exactly what we did last Sunday -- invite people to "Come and Experience God's "Yes!"' in a place that boasts Open Hearts, Open Minds and Open Doors. It's been 5 years, with no parades.
When the Administrative Council supported the proposal for the church to participate in the Pride Parade, they offered no funding support, just their vote of "Yes." The flat-bed truck we were promised, never materialized, but those church members who were determined to reach out, in love, to the people of Palm Springs, did not give up, nor did they flag in their zeal or efforts. We would simply decorate and enter the church van as our float walking alongside it and in front of it with a banner. When the parade rules said: "no crepe paper flowers on the vehicle, because they are a fire hazard," the decision was made to try cellophane flowers in all different colors. For two Saturdays people gathered to create the flowers and on the third Saturday, the 5th of November, in the late afternoon, church members gathered to attach those 800 plus cellophane flowers to netting stretched over and around the van. When folks realized the windows of the church van were not going to open so the riders inside could wave to the crowd along the parade route, the riders decided to come along anyway. We were cheered all along the parade route with people saying things like: "I have to take a picture of this; my mother will never believe it."

Pastors all over the world are well aware that church members who are unhappy, or who choose not to confront fears and prejudices harbored since childhood, will often speak with their feet; this is to say they will find a reason to leave the place that is making them feel uncomfortable, or slighted, or unappreciated. If they cannot ignore the challenge to let go of their prejudice, to open their minds, first, and then, their hearts, they will leave. If we attend church because we have always attended church, or because it is the right and proper thing to do, we are missing the point of church membership and participation. Church is where we go to figure out how to love our neighbor as ourselves, because it is difficult and we need all the help and encouragement we can get to do it. Perhaps your feet have given a great deal of thought to the direction they are taking or have already taken, but our feet aren't the part of our body that ought to do the thinking. You may not be aware of it, but your feet are saying much more than "I am no longer comfortable, or happy here." Aren't your feet also saying: "I am not willing to listen to you, because nothing you say will ever make me change my mind." Aren't your feet also saying: "Because she welcomes and embraces people I don't think ought to be embraced, she can no longer be a pastor to me." Aren't those pesky feet also saying: "Because my fellow church members -- who felt like family to me, once -- welcome and reach out to people who make me uncomfortable, I can no longer worship God in their company." Aren't they also saying: "Because I think members of my church made a spectacle of themselves in the pride parade, I can no longer be associated with them."
Don't let your feet do the talking for you; you're better than that. Don't ask, don't tell, is no more. That means we can be about asking and telling. The US military has made a statement to the world that they are willing to confront their fears and prejudices, to learn what they must, in order to create harmony in the ranks and be strong. I hate to say it, but the church might just learn something from the military. Food for thought.

Blessings,

Rev. Amanda


*"All prisoners of the camps wore marks of various colors and shapes, which allowed guards and camp functionaries to identify them by category. The uniforms of those sentenced as homosexuals bore, various identifying marks, including a large black dot and a large "175" drawn on the back of the jacket. Later a pink triangular patch (rosa Winkel) appeared."

November 6, 2011 "ALL SAINTS DAY"

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Wondrous God, Loving Creator, we are glad today to give thanks for the saints who touched our lives with theirs. They were our parents, our partners, our siblings, our children, our pastors, our mentors and our friends. Even though our hearts are sorrowing after them, we are grateful to be able to remember and embrace their goodness. These beloved ones honed the gifts you bestowed upon them offering them, to us and to others, without reservation. These saints inspired us, taught us, challenged us, and encouraged us all the while they were in our company. They showed us by example how to lead, how to serve, how to love and how to live fully in the time they were allowed on earth. We learned, from them, how to honor one another, to be diligent in our efforts and to persevere in doing good, no matter the circumstances of our life. We were blessed by their presence and give you thanks and praise. Amen.

STEWARDSHIP INVITATION
Remember the Chock full o' Nuts coffee jingle?: "Chock full o' Nuts is that heavenly coffee, heavenly coffee, heavenly coffee”... The original jingle went: “better coffee Rockefeller’s money can’t buy,” but when Nelson Rockefeller heard it, he sued the company. They changed the words to: “better coffee a millionaire’s money can’t buy.” In the mid 2000’s the company changed the jingle again to: “better coffee a billionaire’s money can’t buy.” I guess it’s true what they say, that money just can’t buy what it used to.

UNISON OFFERTORY PRAYER
Kindly and Wondrous Lord, bless the gifts we offer on this day of All Saints. We are indebted to you for so much and pray that these gifts will enable Christ’s Church to carry on great work to the glory of your name, even in these lean times. Let us not be discouraged as we reach out to the many in the name of the Christ. Amen.

October 30, 2011 "HOW TO BE NEIGHBORLY 101"

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Glorious God, we give you thanks for this glorious day and the opportunity to connect with our friends and neighbors who have been apart from us in time and geography. We confess that we equate the word neighbor with those whose faces are familiar to us. Keep us ever mindful that the one whose face is unfamiliar to us is not a stranger, but, rather a neighbor whom we have not met yet, or had the opportunity to get to know. Teach us the ways of gentleness and gratitude. Give us the capacity to listen to our sixth sense when it calls to us. Help us understand when someone’s face, or name finds its way into our thoughts, you have put it there for a reason. Help us be the light of the Christ to brighten the lives of those who are surrounded by darkness. In the name of the Christ, we pray. Amen.
OFFERTORY PRAYER
Gracious God, we give you thanks for the “much” that we have and offer our hearts and dollars to bring comfort, and hope to our brothers and sisters who are in need throughout the world. Pour out your Spirit of abundance and good measure upon these gifts. May they empower us to “do Jesus” in the world. It is in his name, we pray. Amen.