Now, why in the world would a pastor in the mainstream church be blogging about the Toronto Blessing, a charismatic phenomenon of the mid to late nineties? Why, to illustrate a point, of course! Sunday is Pentecost, a time when we celebrate the giving of the Spirit to the church. Ever since that moment we've been trying to get back to that moment of spiritual power, and the Toronto Blessing is simply part of the church's quest to relive that moment, as it has done for centuries, in different ways. I don't think that's the way to do it, to try to relive this experience, but that is for the sermon on Sunday...hope to see you there Here is an explanation of the Toronto Blessing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Blessing
And here is a link to a YouTube to give a sense of the movement (you will need to cut and paste this into your browser):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSyj2pZisG0
Would love your response...
The Blog of First Congregational UCC of Coloma, Michigan - www.colomaucc.org
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Gay Marriage And The Free Exercise of Religion
Friends,
With the recent spate of states legalizing same-sex marriage, questions always arise about the free exercise of religion for those who might disagree with "gay marriage." As an Open and Affirming congregation, my guess is that most of our members are not too concerned about this issue, but its important to address it, especially in conversations with others who might disagree with us.
The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life is a great website, and it has recently published a nicely even handed look at the issue. Check out the link below to get more information"
http://pewforum.org/events/?EventID=216
See you Sunday,
With the recent spate of states legalizing same-sex marriage, questions always arise about the free exercise of religion for those who might disagree with "gay marriage." As an Open and Affirming congregation, my guess is that most of our members are not too concerned about this issue, but its important to address it, especially in conversations with others who might disagree with us.
The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life is a great website, and it has recently published a nicely even handed look at the issue. Check out the link below to get more information"
http://pewforum.org/events/?EventID=216
See you Sunday,
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Mean Moms
Hi everyone,
This is the poem--minus the formatting--that Karen Chronister shared with us last year...a great poem about mean moms and their importance in our lives. Great stuff, though a little late, I know, for Mother's Day.
Mean Moms
Someday when my children are old enough tounderstand the logic that motivates a parent, I willtell them, as my Mean Mom told me: I loved you enough . . . to ask where you were going, with whom,and what time you would be home.I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover that your new best friend was a creep. I loved you enough to stand over you for two hourswhile you cleaned your room, a job that should have taken 15 minutes. I loved you enough to let you see anger, disappointment, and tears in my eyes. Children mustlearn that their parents aren't perfect.I loved you enough to let you assume theresponsibility for your actions even when the penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.But most of all, I loved you enough . . . to sayNO when I knew you would hate me for it.Those were the most difficult battles of all. I'm glad I won them, because in the end you won, too.And someday when your children are old enough tounderstand the logic that motivates parents, you will tell them.Was your Mom mean? I know mine was. We had the meanest mother in the whole world! While other kidsate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast. When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches. And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different from what other kids had, too.Mother insisted on knowing where we were at alltimes. You'd think we were convicts in a prison. Shehad to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them. She insisted that if we said wewould be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerveto break the Child Labor Laws by making us work. We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do. She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds and had eyes in the back of her head. Then, life was really tough! Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the hornwhen they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them. While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16. Because of our mother we missed out on lots ofthings other kids experienced. None of us have everbeen caught shoplifting, vandalizing other's property or ever arrested for any crime. It was all her fault. Now that we have left home, we are all educated,honest adults.We are doing our best to be meanparents just like Mom was.I think that is what's wrong with the world today. It just doesn't have enough mean moms
This is the poem--minus the formatting--that Karen Chronister shared with us last year...a great poem about mean moms and their importance in our lives. Great stuff, though a little late, I know, for Mother's Day.
Mean Moms
Someday when my children are old enough tounderstand the logic that motivates a parent, I willtell them, as my Mean Mom told me: I loved you enough . . . to ask where you were going, with whom,and what time you would be home.I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover that your new best friend was a creep. I loved you enough to stand over you for two hourswhile you cleaned your room, a job that should have taken 15 minutes. I loved you enough to let you see anger, disappointment, and tears in my eyes. Children mustlearn that their parents aren't perfect.I loved you enough to let you assume theresponsibility for your actions even when the penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.But most of all, I loved you enough . . . to sayNO when I knew you would hate me for it.Those were the most difficult battles of all. I'm glad I won them, because in the end you won, too.And someday when your children are old enough tounderstand the logic that motivates parents, you will tell them.Was your Mom mean? I know mine was. We had the meanest mother in the whole world! While other kidsate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast. When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches. And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different from what other kids had, too.Mother insisted on knowing where we were at alltimes. You'd think we were convicts in a prison. Shehad to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them. She insisted that if we said wewould be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerveto break the Child Labor Laws by making us work. We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do. She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds and had eyes in the back of her head. Then, life was really tough! Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the hornwhen they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them. While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16. Because of our mother we missed out on lots ofthings other kids experienced. None of us have everbeen caught shoplifting, vandalizing other's property or ever arrested for any crime. It was all her fault. Now that we have left home, we are all educated,honest adults.We are doing our best to be meanparents just like Mom was.I think that is what's wrong with the world today. It just doesn't have enough mean moms
Monday, May 11, 2009
More on the torture debate
Barb recommended this great article on the issue of torture and people of Christian faith. Leonard Pitts is a UCC member, I believe. Check it out.
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/leonard-pitts/story/1034170.html
Much peace,
Pastor Kevin
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/leonard-pitts/story/1034170.html
Much peace,
Pastor Kevin
Friday, May 1, 2009
Torture and Us...
Folks,
See this article, and note that the more likely one is to go to church, the more likely one is endorse the use of torture.
http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/04/30/churchgoers-more-likely-to-back-torture-survey-finds/
This is kind of scary. I can't imagine that Christ, the one who suffered torture at the hands of the Romans, would endorse the same tactics be used against others.
I doubt it will, but this should cause us some soul seaching on the part of us Christians.
Pastor Kevin
See this article, and note that the more likely one is to go to church, the more likely one is endorse the use of torture.
http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/04/30/churchgoers-more-likely-to-back-torture-survey-finds/
This is kind of scary. I can't imagine that Christ, the one who suffered torture at the hands of the Romans, would endorse the same tactics be used against others.
I doubt it will, but this should cause us some soul seaching on the part of us Christians.
Pastor Kevin
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