First Christian Church

As you read this I’ve just finished up another week as one of the Assistant Directors for Hiram Conference at Camp Christian. This will have been my 27^th time serving the High School youth in this capacity. Before that I served as a counselor at Hiram for 2 years, and while in College and Seminary I was a counselor at Wilmington Conference for 4 years. When you factor in my years at Chi Rho camp, Conference, and Advance Conference, the grand total is 42 years at Camp Christian. And yet, this doesn’t even begin to take into account all the meetings, retreats, and events that have brought me to this very special place over the years. The truth is, for more than two-thirds of my life I have been blessed, renewed, and inspired from this place that has often been referred to as “Holy Ground.”

It was here at Camp Christian that I first began to hear my call to ministry, some 43 years. (Don’t try to figure out the math, because there are time gaps.) In large measure my being in ministry today is because of my Camp Christian experiences. This is why I am so passionate about Camp Christian and having youth spend time there. Over the years I have encouraged the youth of each congregation I have served to attend. I have not always been successful in this effort, a few have slipped by. Yet, I don’t recall any youth, who accepted the invitation or challenge to go, being disappointed or having regrets. My own children didn’t mind spending their Conference weeks with their Dad, even the goofy times.

And now this year my youngest nephew Nick is up for the challenge. Although Lutheran in background, over the years he has heard about Camp Christian from his cousins, aunts and uncles, and his Dad. This will have been his first time there.

But for Nick it’s just been words or pictures. Actually, Nick is literally stepping out in faith. Which is true for anyone coming to Camp Christian for the first time. Those of you who have been there know what I am talking about. How many times have you tried to explain why this is a wonderful place. How many times have you tried talking about all the things you did, the relationships, the experiences, the Spirit of God that fills this place, and finally the best thing you can say is, “You just have to come and experience it for yourself.”

Is this the case for you when talk to others about the mission and ministry here at First Christian Church of Kent? Have you ever been so moved by the way that God’s Spirit is at work through this congregation that words alone could not convey it all? Is the best way for you to share what is going on around here to simply say, “You just have to come and experience it for yourself.”? If not, then why not?

Jesus calls us to come and follow him, but also to go and make disciples. And he has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us in our “comings” and “goings”.

What takes place at Camp Christian or here in this congregation comes about through a great deal of effort: planning and praying, volunteering time and talent, supporting with money, materials and encouragement. It is done so that we might grow strong in our faith, so that everyone might come and experience it for themselves. But even more so we do it all for the glory of God, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

 

The Season of Pentecost is upon us. We will celebrate the birth of the Church on June 12th this year. The story of the first Pentecost is shared in the Book of Acts., chapter 2.

In Acts 2, we have the coming of the Holy Spirit, the promised gift from Jesus Christ to his disciples. However, the receiving of this gift to the disciples is only part of the story. The tongues of fire that rest upon each of them ignited their souls, and empowered them to act and re-act in a whole new way.

Peter is empowered to speak in a way that all who heard him understood, no matter what foreign country they might be from. He explained to them what was happening by sharing the words spoken by the prophet Joel:

“In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams…. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2:17, 21)

Peter goes on to quote King David, as saying:

“I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken; therefore  my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will live in hope.” (Acts 2:25-26)

One of the problems we face, as modern day Christians, is that we look at this event and the words spoken as history. Something that happened 2000 plus years ago. The Spirit of the Living God came upon these early faithful followers of Jesus, enabling them to do far more than they normally could or would do.  And the whole world was changed.

But that was then and this is now. They were important people, and well, we’re not. We’re just ordinary people, they were the ones who laid the foundation of the Church.

However, what we so often fail to understand and accept is that God’s Spirit was pour out to all. The gift of the Spirit is a gift to the world, and it’s timeless. It is freely given as part of Jesus’ salvation sacrifice. Yet, we must be willing to accept it. But now, just as then, our hearts cry out “What Should We Do?”

Then, as now, Peter’s words ring true, “Repent, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

Many of us have done just that, and the Spirit of God has been given and received. But there is still a bit of uncertainty about what to do with this gift. Sadly, many of us react to the gift of the Spirit in the same way as Jesus’ story of the servant who was given a talent., and because of his fear he hide it, actually he buried it.

We have been given a gift that helps us with prophecy, to have vision, to dream dreams, and to live in hope. Prophecy is not fortune telling, it’s being the messenger of the Church. Vision and Dreams enable us to see and understand the direction of the Church as it unfolds before us and leads us into future works of mission and ministry, even the calling of a new Minister.

All who believe have these gifts and more. The question is, are we willing to us them?

 

Hopefully, as you read this you are still experiencing the afterglow of our Easter celebration. The truth of the matter is, just as with Christmas, Easter is not a one day event. While some might still be gnawing away on that huge chocolate Easter Bunny, or savoring the last hand full of Jelly Beans, or turning the remaining colored Easter eggs into Egg Salad, or lamenting that the bakery will no longer be making your favorite Hot Cross Buns. Easter is more. Easter isn’t over just because these things are gone.

On that first Easter the writer of the Gospel of Luke shares a story about two people leaving Jerusalem, heading for the town of Emmaus. They are lost in the pain and sorrow and confusion of losing their friend and teacher, Jesus of Nazareth. Just a week earlier they joined the massive crowd of people who were praising him as their King and Savior. But in a flash, they saw the very same people a few days later turn against him, crying out for him to be put to death. Who could blame them for their discouragement as they walked that dusty road.

But then we are told that a stranger came up and began walking and talking with them. Someone who seemed unaware of all that had happen in these past days concerning Jesus. He asked them some questions, he sensed their heartache, then he began to talk and share about why all this had to take place in order that God’s promise might be fulfilled.

He was still talking to them as the two reached their destination and stopped, while the stranger seemed ready to continue on. They begged him stay with them, for it was getting late and he must have been as hungry and they were. He agreed to stop and have supper with them.

It was then that the most marvelous thing happened to them. As they sat at the table to share a meal, the stranger took bread and blessed it and broke it, and in that act, the two realized that the one they had been walking and talking with was their Lord. And then he just disappeared.

However, the joy of this revelation, that Jesus was actually alive, energized them to the point that they got up and ran all the way back to Jerusalem to tell the others what they had experienced. Only to discover that the others also had a similar revelation.

While other say that the story of the “Empty Tomb” is their favorite Easter Story. This is my favorite Easter Story, “The Walk to Emmaus” (Luke 24:13-35). Even though, as Easter People, we know the reality of both stories, I like this one because it speaks to the fact that even we are often unaware that our risen Lord is walking beside us, in our times of sorrows, in our times of joy. Only when we are willing to stop and take time to break bread with him will our eyes be open and we will realize that he has been with us all along.

As you journey in faith may you also realize the present of Jesus Christ in your life.

 

We’re just about midway into this Season of Lent. Many see Lent as an opportunity for self-reflection in our relationship with Jesus Christ, gaining a fuller understanding of his life and ministry, and experiencing the gift of grace which we receive through his death and resurrection. Much of this is done by setting aside time for prayer and mediation, but it is also important that we gain understanding through a daily reading of the Holy Scriptures.

I hope that you are making this an active part of your Lenten Preparation Time.

As you turn to the Scriptures as a source of your spiritual development, I also hope that you might use the following as a resource for your Bible Study.

Questions to ask as you read the Scriptures: The meaning of a piece of writing is seldom clearly self-evident to anyone who happens to read it. Especially is this true if the writing is a very old document, written for someone who lived in a very different cultural-historical setting. If we want to interpret a piece of literature, we must ask at least five questions:

1. Who was the writer and to whom was he writing?
2. What was the cultural-historical setting of the writer?
3. What was the meaning of the words in the writer‟s day?
4. What was the intended meaning of the author and why was he saying it?
5. What should this mean to me in my situation today?

These basic questions lead into other questions that must be explored in a serious attempt to understand the message of the Bible. The readers today must somehow try to enter the world of the biblical writer and seek to understand what the writer was saying. Then we must bring that ancient message into today‟s world where we live and act out our faith.

There are some basic principles that should be observed by the interpreter of the Scriptures.

1. The Bible is a divinely inspired book (2 Tim. 3:16) and should be reverently approached. Perhaps the reader should hear what was said to Moses as he stood before the burning bush: “Put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (Ex. 3:5). We must be careful to reverence the divine character of Scripture.
2. The Bible has a genuinely human element, also, since God used ordinary people to write the Scriptures. Recognition should be given to the human elements utilized by the Holy Spirit in giving us God‟s Word. To miss the human element is as much a mistake as to miss the divine element.
3. The primary aim of the interpreter is to discover the original meaning of the author who wrote the passage under consideration.
4. Preference should be given to the interpretation which is clearest and simplest, the most obvious.
5. Only one meaning should be given to any passage of Scripture, unless a later passage of Scripture assigns it a second meaning. Only an inspired writer of Scripture can be allowed to give a passage more than one meaning.
6. Careful attention must be given to the literary form of a passage in determining its meaning.
7. Careful attention must be given to the historical situation of a portion of Scripture.

(Resource: Holman Bible Dictionary, General Editor, Trent C. Butler, Ph.D)
May the Spirit of our Lord lead you through your Lent Journey.

I know, some of you are scratching your head, thinking: “What’s going on here, we call an Interim Minister, he’s here for a couple of weeks and then he takes off for a week?”

While some might think that I’m off on vacation let me assure you that it’s anything but that. In fact, my time away is an Ohio Regional Church youth program that you support through your Outreach giving, and have had several youth participate in over the past 6 decades.

Beginning February 25th, I will once again be joining 45 Junior and Senior High School Youth and 9 other Adults from Disciples congregations all around Ohio on an educational trip, as well as a spiritual journey, to our Nation’s Capitol and to the United Nations in New York City. It has been an honor, a privilege, and a blessing to have shared in this wonder program over the past 24 years. This will be my 13 UN Seminar tours. Actually, 14, if I count my time attending as a youth in 1968.

In recent years these group of young people have been linked together by the Internet (this time it’s a Facebook group) that has allowed them to share information about themselves, along with their expectations and hopes about the trip, and also their opinions about the state of the nation and world. Like those before them, this group of youth will have an opportunity to talk with members of Congress, as well as leaders and workers at the United Nations. It’s both an interesting and concerning time to be on such a journey as we daily read and hear about conflict and revolution that affects all of us from halfway round the world.

As I have followed conversations and read papers from past and present groups, I could not help but notice their passion and compassion, as well as their fears and hopes, about the need for Peace and Justice. The most uplifting thing about all this is how much their Christian faith plays a part in their thinking and understanding of what is going on around them.

I will not actually meet this new group of young people until Friday the 25th, but even now they give me hope. We always talk about our youth as the leaders of tomorrow, those who will be making decisions that will affect communities and nations. Some of them will become teachers, scientists, ministers, politicians, doctors or military leaders. In whatever vocation they choose, our hope lies in the foundation of faith that each one has and is continuing to build upon.

It is my hope that this group of young people knows that peace is more than the absence of war or conflict. History has shown that few conflicts are ever, if never, really fought over political viewpoints. Conflicts mostly develop over the lack of something (I need food and shelter) or the desire for something (I want power and property). Most human conflict comes out of hunger and poverty basic human rights, the lack of simple human needs or an unwillingness to share them.

In the New Testament book of James, the Apostle Paul writes these words in the second chapter of his letter. What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”

One of my favorite songs is “Let There Be Peace on Earth”. The concluding line of the song is one that I hope we all could take to heart, “… And Let It Begin With Me!”

Thanks to your generous support, New Church Ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has worked in concert with general, regional and local Disciples ministries and global/ecumenical partners to continue to extend our witness and reach communities where we had no witness. We are Expanding the Table.

One of the primary ways we are raising awareness and support of the New Church movement is through the Pentecost Special Offering. And once again, the theme for this special offering is Expanding the Table. Our message is clear — as Disciples, we welcome and embrace with the love of Christ all who will come to the table. New Church Ministry will continue to be mission-driven in ways that effectively and concretely extend the witness into neighborhoods and mission fields where new churches are planted and beyond!

Did you know that the money collected through the Pentecost Offering is evenly divided between New Church Ministry, which represents the wider church, and the region where the giving congregation is located?

Our challenge continues. We need your support more than ever to help us build on the momentum of the New Church movement. To help meet this challenge we will be participating in the Pentecost Special Offering on May 16^th.  Please give generously.

Rebecca

Dear Friends in Christ,

Each year we take time to examine ourselves and invite God’s direction as we consider our Christian Stewardship and how we will give in response to God’s great love and mercy to us.

During the next few weeks, we join you in praying about what our giving will be in light of God’s love and mercy.  As we pray, may God’s Spirit prompt us to new levels of faithfulness and generosity.  We are a people blessed by God to do God’s work.  Whether we are young or old, rich or poor, a long-time participant in this congregation or newly arrived, we all are invited to share in that work.

The third chapter of the book of Lamentations tells us, The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, God’s mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  That is why we gather each Sunday—to hear again that we are not alone; God is with us.  Our fellow worshipers are here.  Our community is here.  Out of gratitude for a God who loves us and is always with us, we respond with our first fruits.  New hope and new mercy come every morning.  Thanks be to God!

Your giving, volunteering, prayers, participation, and witness make our ministry as part of the whole body of Christ possible!  Your giving supports God’s work in this congregation, our community, and around the world.  To help us plan for future ministry, a giving commitment card is also enclosed.  Please fill it out and return it, either during worship on Commitment Sunday on May 23^rd, or by mailing it to the church office.

May God bless you richly as you partner with First Christian Church of Kent.

In Christ,

Rev. Rebecca M. Heller and Dick Bennett,

Chair of Stewardship and Finance

Everywhere is the green of new growth,

The amazing sight of the renewal of the earth.

We watch the grass once again emerging from the ground.

We notice the bright green atop the dark green on

the pine, the fir, the hemlock, the spruce, the cedar.

The alder is already in leaf.

The old plum trees still blossom, leaf and give forth fruit.

The locus is late as always.

Everywhere and always the song birds. . . bees

raiding the orchard, raccoon prowling at  nightfall, the earthworm tunneling the garden, chickens and rabbits pecking and nibbling, the goats tugging to reach new delights. . . all are the ubiquitous energies of life.

O Lord,

May we today be touched by grace, fascinated and moved by this your creation, energized by the

power of new growth at work in your world.

May we move beyond viewing this life only through a frame, but

touch it and be touched by it, know it and be known by it, love it and be loved by it.

May our bodies, our minds, our spirits, learn a new rhythm paced by the rhythmic pulse of the  whole created order.

May spring come to us, be in us, and recreate life in us.

May we forge a new friendship with the natural world and discover a new affinity with beauty,

with life, and with the Cosmic Christ in whom all things were created in heaven and on earth,

visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities. . . for

all things were created through him and for him.

In his name.  Amen.

~CHINOOK PSALTER

Jesus asks “do you believe in me?“  In John 11:25- 26, Jesus says to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?” Each day, the General and Racial/Ethnic Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) answer Jesus’ question “Do you believe me?” through their witness to God’s good news.

Your support of the 2010 Easter Offering witnesses to our belief that we can do all things through Christ Jesus who believes in us.  Your support of these ministries extends our church’s witness from your doorsteps to the ends of the earth.

Do You Believe In. . . Providing leadership to the Disciples ecumenical witness?  Celebrating our historical question for Christian unity?  Learning from our Global Partners?  Do You Believe In. . .  Witnessing and serving beyond the borders of the United States and Canada?  Opportunities for hands-on mission work?  Do You Believe In. . .  Supporting students in their faith development through campus and ecumenical ministries?  Transformational Ministries and training events for congregational revitalization?  Do You Believe In. . . Education for and learning from children and youth?  Young adult leadership development?  Supporting leaders through conferences on leadership and training?  Do You Believe In. . . Ministerial Relief Pensions?  Providing supplemental income to retired clergy living below the poverty level?  Do You believe in. .. Benevolent Care Ministries serving those who are differently-abled?  Using old facilities to house new ministries?  Christian Women’s and Men’s Ministries?  Then You Believe in Us!!

Your gift to the Easter Offering shares the message of resurrection.  Your gift says “You believe in the power of the resurrection!”  The Easter Special Offering will be received on March 28^th and April 4^th.  Thank you for your generosity to the whole ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Rebecca

We are all on a journey together. . .

To the center of the universe. . .

Look deep Into yourself, into another.

It is to a center which is everywhere

That is the holy journey. . .

First you need only look:

Notice and honor the radiance of

Everything about you. . .

Play in this universe.  Tend

All these shining things around you:

The smallest plant, the creatures and

objects in your care.

Be gentle and nurture.  Listen. . .

As we experience and accept

All that we really are. . .

We grow in care.

We begin to embrace others

As ourselves, and learn to live

As one among many. . .

~by Anne Hillman

Blessings,

Rebecca