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Archived Events and News Previously Posted on the CMA Website
in, for or through DECEMBER 2005
(Posted through Jan 23, 2006)
Christmas Letter, 2005
John H. Thomas
General Minister and President
United Church of Christ
In 1936, amid the gathering clouds of holocaust and war that would turn much
of Europe and Asia to wilderness, children's author E. B. White penned this
note in The New Yorker:
Shopping in Woolworth's in the turbulent days, we saw a little boy put
his hand inquiringly on a ten-cent Christ child, part of a creche. "What
is this?" he asked his mother, who had him by the hand. "C'mon, c'mon,"
replied the harassed woman, "you don't want that." She dragged him grimly
away, a Woolworth Madonna, her mind dark with gift-thoughts, following a
star of her own devising.
This has been a turbulent year for the United Church of Christ, a year we
have felt the tug of Woolworth Madonnas within and without and have struggled
to know whether the stars we follow are of our own devising, or of God's.
We move through this Advent season weary from the year that is passed, both
amazed and unsettled. Turbulent.
Leadership transitions, some planned and gratefully acknowledged, others
abrupt and painful, have challenged us. Intense debates about our commitments
to Palestinians in the Middle East and to the Jewish community here, or about
marriage equality, have at times led us to question one another's faithfulness
and good will. The financial requirements for our enormously ambitious
Stillspeaking Initiative, for Our Church's Wider Mission, for the needs of
people around the world devastated by war and flood, have left many
congregations feeling overwhelmed, perhaps even confused by multiple
and urgent invitations to give. Turbulent.
Months of uncertainty over the viability of our UCC property and liability
insurance program, the UCCIB, caused high anxiety and stretched our
understanding of covenant. The loss of over twenty congregations following
this summer's General Synod votes diminished us, not just financially, but
also spiritually as communities with rich traditions of faithful ministry
left us. Inquiries from non-UCC congregations about membership in the
United Church of Christ are welcomed, but also raise challenging questions
around identity and ecumenical commitment. Heightened media visibility
following our commercial in December and March and our whimsical embrace
of Spongebob have offered new opportunities for public witness and evangelism,
but also challenge us with new responsibilities for which we do not always
feel prepared. It has been a turbulent year.
Yet beneath this turbulence there is another current, steady and constant,
flowing from the rich reservoirs of our reach for an extravagant welcome
and call to evangelical courage. In her novel Gilead Pulitzer
Prize winning author Marilyn Robinson, a member of the United Church of Christ,
points to this current in her narrator's description of baptism. It is,
he says, "to touch another with the pure intention of blessing," a
blessing that does not "enhance sacredness, but acknowledges it." Amid
the turbulent chapters of life this past year, the real narrative flowing
through it all has been one of extraordinary efforts to bless.
Delegates and visitors to General Synod in Atlanta this past summer noted
the holiness of liturgy, community, and discernment, and the sacredness of
location and history in a place marked by the touch of the American
Missionary Association in the 19th century and the courage of the Civil
Rights movement of the 20th century. While faithful people across the
United Church of Christ struggle with integrity over the vote on Marriage
Equality, for millions in the UCC and beyond, this historic decision was
experienced as blessing, as the acknowledgment of sacredness. There has
been much turbulence. But there has been profound blessing as well.
While every setting of the church has fretted over finances this year,
members of the United Church of Christ have demonstrated amazing, record
breaking generosity. By the end of this year we will have received nearly
$9 million in special gifts for victims of the tsunami in southern Asia
and east Africa, of Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, of violence in Darfur and
the Sudan, of the earthquake in Pakistan and Kashmir, and for vulnerable
people struggling globally with hunger and HIV/AIDS. Few had the opportunity,
as I did in southern India last February, to physically touch survivors
with a hand and a prayer of blessing. But hundreds have now entered into
a "Covenant of Compassion" so that we might bless in sustained and
disciplined ways.
The Stillspeaking Initiative has entered our life with creative,
disruptive energy. Our commercial, uncomfortable for some among us, was
a gift to hundreds of thousands who came to our website looking for this
unexpected source of blessing. Our red and black banners and our welcoming
congregations discovered that in each of our communities there are the
left alone, left out, left behind yearning for community with Christ.
We have been blessed with a new commitment to evangelism, and we are
actively planning for how that commitment can be a blessing in parts of
the country where we have been hard to find. Designated gifts to TSI
have topped $1.5 million, and while there was disappointment at not being
able to show our new commercial in Advent, we are confident that we will
move forward with an arresting - and delightfully whimsical - message of
hope and invitation at Easter. Blessing.
Our prophetic witness focused this year on the poor amid a nation preoccupied
by the agony of death and the vain deceptions of war in Iraq The needs of
hungry people lifted up at a large Bread for the World sponsored convocation
in May, the desperate need to move the minimum wage to a living wage and
to support the rights of workers in low paying jobs, the devastating proposals
for the Federal budget are not political questions of the left or the right,
but profoundly moral issues increasingly being embraced by mainline Protestant,
Catholic, and evangelical Christians together. They are about blessing the
poor, acknowledging sacredness with justice and helping all to imagine that
another world is possible. Blessing.
This fall's celebration in Berlin of 25 years of Kirchengemeinschaft
- church fellowship - with the Union of Evangelical Churches in Germany
reminded us of global partnerships, whether in Germany or Palestine, that
break down dividing walls where walls are both disturbing memories and
oppressive living realities. Closer to home, persistent efforts by
conferences and national boards to restore stability to the UCCIB is
really about restoring health to flood, wind, and fire ravaged congregations
seeking once again to be blessings in their communities.
Our touch of blessing is not always marked by pure intentions. We do not
always resist the lure of stars of our own devising. Such has been the
case for the United Church of Christ, and for your leaders. Yet the
yearning to bless has been at the center of our life as the currents of
baptism have buoyed us amid the turbulent days. Now as we (reflect on)...
Christmas still in the grip of Woolworth Madonnas and dark gift thoughts,
may we pause long enough to reach toward the images of Christ all around us,
sighting a star that can lead us to the place where our own sacredness is
acknowledged. May this be at the heart of Christmas for you.
To download a copy of John Thomas's Christmas Letter as a WORD document
CLICK HERE
(Posted 09/22/05 - 12/13/05)
YOUTH DIRECTOR: GRADES 7-12 LAKE STREET CHURCH, EVANSTON
Lake Street Church, a progressive Christian church located in Evanston, seeks a
part-time (20 hrs/week) Youth Director to plan, coordinate, and implement creative,
nurturing, and joyous programs for youth in grades 7-12.
Required skills include:
experience and enthusiasm for working with youth
coordinated planning and organizing
attention to detail
clear communication
the ability to engage adult volunteers
Commitment to your own spiritual growth, as well as that of youth, is key - as is an
open heart. Lake Street Church is an open and inclusive congregation with an
active membership that represents over sixteen different denominations and religious
traditions.
The Youth Director salary is between $17 and $19K with paid vacation and sick leave.
Send cover letter and resume to
youthdirector@lakestreet.org.
or by mail to Julie Johnson, Youth Director Search Committee Chair, Lake Street Church,
607 Lake Street, Evanston, IL 60201.
The church website is www.lakestreet.org
Update from Back Bay Mission
Biloxi, Mississippi
December 12, 2005
Dear friends:
Thanksgiving has passed and Christmas now beckons, but for the Mississippi Gulf Coast this is a distinctly different holiday season. Gone are the stately coastal homes that once boasted such dazzling light displays. Gone are so many neighborhoods rich and poor that housed generations of family celebrations and traditions. Gone too are thousands of jobs that granted economic security and made Christmas giving a confident and joyful act. So much gone.
More than 100 days into this new post-Katrina reality, dozens of statistics are being released that help to characterize this mind-numbing experience. 230 who perished in Mississippi because of Hurricane Katrina have now been identified. Five remain unidentified and 68 others are still considered "missing". Unemployment hovers at nearly 25%. Over 64,000 homes in the three southernmost counties in Mississippi are totally destroyed, and another 65,000 homes are heavily damaged. It is estimated that 44 million cubic yards of debris will have been removed when all is said and done, but more than half of that remains at this date. 23,000 families now call FEMA trailers home, but at least 10,000 more families still await them. The numbers are absolutely staggering, but for those who live here those numbers are extremely personal.
Yet life endures, and people here have gradually settled into some kind of humble acceptance of this new reality. FEMA trailers sit in bleak circumstances, but some of their inhabitants make efforts to decorate them for Christmas with red bows and twinkling lights. People relish the simple things: the first time you set eyes on a colleague or friend you haven't seen since before the storm… a day when traffic moves almost normally….phones that work and mail that's delivered. These are the seemingly huge blessings of life after Katrina.
We are also finding our way again at Back Bay Mission. Although we continue to be overwhelmed by the enormity of what's been lost as an organization….buildings, staff, friends, and a certain ministry momentum…we are slowly embracing this new path we're on. Our remaining staff members have been a tremendous source of pride and inspiration, as they have managed our transition with great grace and patience. Our operations out of two construction trailers (which will likely be our agency home for another 12 months or more) have taken on welcome routine, and we are serving the community once again, which helps to re-establish a sense of purpose and hope.
Our emergency assistance and case management services re-opened on October 24. By the end of November, we had assisted nearly 400 individuals with over $16,000 in emergency relief. Most persons were desperate for help with their utility bills, and such aid was granted by working directly with utility companies. In December, we have allocated another $23,000 for emergency relief, and every appointment on our case worker's schedule is filled through year-end. We are also preparing to provide Christmas toys and other gifts for 427 children later this week. Ministry in abundance! Meanwhile, we have hosted a few UCC disaster relief groups utilizing alternative and modest housing elsewhere along the Coast. And, joyfully, we seem to be on the lips of many in the area, as people begin to consider which local organizations might take the lead on community issues that are now more critical than ever, such as affordable housing and neighborhood redevelopment. Back Bay Mission seems to come to mind for many! In response, we continue to ask ourselves how God may be calling us to serve in new ways while remaining faithful to our core mission. The Board and staff are discussing ways we can "re-tool" in order to most effectively minister in this new time and respond to the community's need of us into the future. Stay tuned!
While we work to discern how we can best be of service in this post-Katrina world, much still eludes us and prevents us from fully planning our future. Insurance settlements remain largely unknown. Contractors are too busy to even offer bids on needed repairs and construction. The fate of several buildings is still in question. And the few definitive decisions we've attempted to make about temporary workcamper housing and other structures on our campus are frustrated by protracted bureaucratic processes with the City. Everything here moves agonizingly slow. Patience is not only a virtue but an absolute necessity… and the subject of many a prayer!
As the New Year advances, many prayers are uttered. We pray for wisdom enough to discern Back Bay Mission's ministry in this challenging new day. We pray for love enough to conquer pains and sorrows…compassion enough to minister without fail. We pray for hope enough to set our eyes and hearts on things as yet unseen, and faith enough to travel a road never before trod. And we pray for all of you, beset with your own unique worries and concerns, and yet generous enough to remember us in numerous and life-giving ways. Your blessings on us continue to flow, and we remain deeply grateful. Thank you for your companionship and care on this challenging new journey.
God's peace to each of you. May your Christmas and New Year be laced with joy and tinged with love!
Shari Prestemon
Executive Director
Back Bay Mission
1012 Division St
Biloxi, MS 39530
Phone: 228-432-0301
Fax: 228-374-2922
Email: backbay@datasync.com
Website: www.backbaymission.com
Contribute Online by visiting the website
Jeanne Santucci Ordination
Jeanne Santucci was ordained on December 11, 2005 at Saint Paul UCC
in Palatine.
John Hobbs Installation
Rev. Dr. John D. Hobbs was installed as Pastor of the Church of the Three
Crosses in Chicago on December 11, 2005 at the Church.
Luther Holland Anniversary
On Sunday, December 11, 2005, during the 10:30 am Worship Service, the
Congregational Church of Park Manor UCC in Chicago will celebrate the 10th
Anniversary of The Rev. Dr. Luther Holland, Jr. as Senior Pastor of the Church.
A reception will follow. Please join us at the Church, 7000 S. King Drive,
Chicago 60637; telephone 773-224-4700.
Services for Gordon Robinson
Services for the Rev. Gordon E. Robinson, Pastor Emeritus of St. Petri
United Church of Christ in Chicago, were held on December 2, 2005 in Chicago.
Rev. Robinson died on Sunday, November 27, at Manor Care Health Center in
Oak Lawn after a lengthy illness. He served St. Petri for 27 years,
beginning on September 28, 1947, retiring in 1974. He was named Pastor
Emeritus on April 24, 1977.
A native of Wisconsin, he graduated from Mission House College and
Theological Seminary in Plymouth, WI, in 1938. He was ordained at the
Evangelical and Reformed Church in Watertown, WI, on June 26, 1938,
where he served as pastor for four years. Before coming to St. Petri,
he also served as pastor of the Evangelical and Reformed Church in
Bloomington, Illinois.
Please remember Rev. Robinson's family and friends in your prayers.
Services for Ruth Trost
Mrs. Ruth Trost, wife of the late Rev. Walter Trost, died Wednesday,
November 30, 2005 of cancer. The Trosts served Bethlehem UCC in Chicago
from 1969-1989 and later moved to Bensenville. Services were held
on December 3, 2005 at Peace UCC,
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