27 More To Go!

As part of my first interview with the search committee, I was given a walking tour of the facilities. I was shown the Church School classrooms, the small Chapel, the fellowship hall, Sanctuary and Narthex.

For those unfamiliar with the term "Narthex," it is the vestibule leading to the nave of a church... for those unfamiliar with the term "Nave"... ok, this could go on for a while.

The Narthex is the front entryway into the Sanctuary. It is the place where worshipers are greeted on Sunday mornings, given a bulletin for the service and welcomed inside. It is also the place where several portraits of previous pastors hang on the walls, keeping a watchful eye over all of the coming and going.

As I stood in that space with two members of the committee, I remarked on how magnificent it was to be in a church that was (at the time) 370 years old.

"How awesome it will be to come back for the 400th anniversary," I said.

To which I received the response; "What do you mean, 'come back?'"

And so the running joke has been that to answer God's call to be Senior Pastor of Newman Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Rumford, Rhode Island, I was to plan on being around for 30 years.

Today, as I write this entry, it is November 15, 2016... our three-year anniversary as pastor and congregation. How time flies...

Over these past three years we have experienced together the good and the bad. We have worshipped together, prayed with and for one another, cried on each others' shoulders, and worked alongside one another to further God's mission in the world.

Being the church today is not easy... yet faithful members of this church continue to show up and do our best to do exactly that... be the church.

I am truly blessed to be the pastor of a congregation which includes those of you who have been eager and willing to share personal stories of how God is at work in your life... including those moments where the Holy Spirit has entered in, speaking to you, filling you with the breath of God and reassuring you that no matter the difficulties that come before us, everything is going to be ok. To hear of those experiences not only warms my heart but solidifies my trust in the God that is leading us to share in ministry in this place.

We have packed a lot of ministry into these three years...and yet there is much more to do.

This past Sunday evening, we gathered for an impromptu prayer service to be present with one another following the previous week's presidential election. Those in attendance spoke of personal feelings, struggles, anger and fear. And a resounding thread in our conversation was the need for community in a time such as this.

In answer to this need, we will now gather weekly on Sunday evenings at 7:30pm to pray together and to be community...supporting each other, listening to each other and being present, standing up and standing for one another.

Friends, a big part of being church together is creating and sustaining this type of community. To be the church is to be in relationship with one another, helping each other through the tough times and celebrating together the good. It is jointly taking a look around our community and the world and seeing how it is that we are being called to share God's love and peace with those in need.

This past week has provided us far too many examples of how some of our friends, our loved ones and our neighbors (perhaps even ourselves) have quickly become those in need. Hate-fueled violence continues to rock our nation. Racial tension is still on the rise. Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny... they are all playing out in the streets of our cities, the halls of our schools, around the tables in our homes. And we, as followers of Jesus, must do something about it.

The world will not change overnight. Our nation will not become safer in an instant. But that cannot deter us from doing our part. Now, perhaps more than any other time in our recent history, we who claim to follow Jesus are called to live according to Christ's teachings and truly seek to bring about peace in our nation and in our world.

Alone... not one of us will accomplish these things. But together... together in community, sharing in ministry, we will do incredible things!

In the days that come, prayerfully consider how it is that you will live out your faith in such a way that the lives of others will benefit. Prayerfully consider how it is that our stillspeaking God is leading you to act, to educate, to promote or protest. Prayerfully consider how it is that you will be a part of shaping the world for generations that follow.

And once you have settled on what it is that you must do... go forth, do it big and do it together.

I give God thanks repeatedly for the ministry we have shared over these past three years. And, "God-willing," I look forward to what we will accomplish together in the years to come. 27 more to go!

Blessings,
Pastor Timoth

While Our Children Slept - Their World Changed Forever

Last night, we tucked our boys into bed with a false sense of hope that when they awoke, we would have an opportunity to share with them something incredible. It was my hope that when they opened their eyes, a new world would have dawned where they would continue to feel safe and where the possibilities were truly endless as yet another glass ceiling had been shattered.

I named it as a false sense of hope because that's exactly what it was.

Our children awoke this morning, oblivious to the events which occurred while they slept. They had no idea that during the night, millions of people were celebrating a victory that the candidate they supported now claims. They had no idea that millions of people voted to support one man's rise to power on a platform of bigotry, misogyny, racism, shaming, pure ignorance and hatred.

They were asleep. Innocent. Safe.

They awoke not knowing that their family, one that loves them more deeply than they will ever comprehend, now begins to live into a future that is uncertain.

Because the man elected last night is a man who finds it acceptable to degrade millions of people simple because they are black, brown, female, Muslim, queer, differently-abled...and he is a man that has found millions of others who think the same.

How very disappointing!

I am disappointed in our nation, in the millions of people who believe that this man is somehow a model for our country... for our children.
I am disappointed in a system that has enabled millions of people to grow up thinking it is acceptable to treat others as less-than-human.
I am disappointed that generations of hard work enacted by so many on behalf of so many others is now about to be undone.

How incredibly scary!

I am fearful as to what it now means for our children to have someone elected that does not respect and is not willing to honor our marriage and therefore our family.
I am fearful for our children's future in a nation that now not only tolerates but celebrates bullying behaviors.
I am fearful for all of those who do not fit into society's boxes and therefore are seen as "other."

What will keep them safe?

For our children, and millions of others, their world WAS much safer yesterday than it is today. That's the reality!
Yes, our family has endured bullying behaviors, we've endured homophobia. We've seen how cruel some people can be when encountering differences in the world. And we've seen just how ignorant people can be. Yet I'm afraid the worst is yet to come and our children will be affected the most.

And I won't stand for that!
I won't be silent when the lives of those I love are under attack.
I will not look the other way.

And I pray that others will join me.

Because you see, it's not just about our children... it's about all children yet to fully comprehend the decision made by millions of adults...many of whom they look up to.

So I will commit myself, my work, my life to ensuring a safe place for all of these children.
I will dedicate my time and my energy to ridding their world of bullying, of ignorance, and of xenophobia.
I will continue to make promises to our children that no matter what is happening in the world, I will do everything I can to keep them safe.

And I will succeed! We will succeed! Our children will be safe!

Because...
   ...I believe in and worship a God that continues to encourage me... to encourage all of us to live in such a way that ignorance and hatred are overpowered by love and justice.
   ...I believe that when we encounter those moments in life that drain us or cause us to question our own safety, the God I worship enters in and tells us not to be afraid.
   ...I believe in and worship a God that is ever-present and one that does not dwell in darkness but gives us all the ability to cast it aside and prove time and time again that love prevails.

And as our children grow, I hope to introduce them to this God.
I hope to provide them with opportunities where they can learn to trust in something bigger than just themselves.
I hope to walk alongside them as they see how beautiful life can be when we love one another fully.

And then I will tuck them into bed at night with a true sense of hope for the days that come...for a time when love will prevail!