Connecticut Conference Staff Blog

Eric Anderson: "Better Be Worthy"

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:42:42 -0500

The United States Supreme Court handed down a unanimous decision today that, broadly speaking, protects religious organizations from employment practices lawsuits when the employee in question is a 'minister.' Religious groups may select and dismiss their own leaders without interference from the government or the courts.

The full extent of the ruling is somewhat vague. Chief Justice John Roberts' opinion said the Court was 'reluctant to adopt a rigid formula' that would define who is, and isn't, covered by the 'ministerial exception.' The case, Hosanna-Tabor Church v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, involved a schoolteacher but one with both some religious teaching duties and ecclesiastical training and authorization. It seems likely that in UCC churches, it would cover pastors, Christian Educators, and persons working as Commissioned Ministers.

The exemption means that religious institutions - congregations, our Conferences, the national offices of the denomination - can hire and fire many of their employees with no governmental oversight. That's a remarkable power.

So we'd better be worthy of it.

Nobody will be looking over our shoulder with the force of law to coerce us. The freedom to select our pastors and educators without interference raises a the tragic risk of abusing that power. We can put away our leaders whenever we like, whenever they tell us something we dislike. We can lie to them about why; we can lie to ourselves about why.

And nobody will call us on it.

Except God. Much later, long after we've done the damage to the battered leaders and the fractured Church.

The freedom to practice our religion is a deeply precious one. We have a remarkable power to choose our own way in this nation and this culture, one now further confirmed by the Supreme Court of the land.

With that power comes the risk of abusing it. It is up to us to recognize the inherent temptations, make the choices that honor our commitments both to our leaders and the needs of our congregations, and bring our best ethics and integrity to our staff relationships.

The power is ours. We had better be worthy of it.

Eric Anderson: "All Things to All People"

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:41:59 -0500

Spirit Calendar for January 30, 2012

Text: 1 Corinthians 9:16-23

I confess that I read the Apostle Paul just a little skeptically sometimes. I can't help reading his assertion that he has become 'all things to all people' with a bit of doubt. Well, more than a bit. Particularly because I know that he wrote a 'painful letter' to this same group of people in Corinth (one which nobody saw fit to preserve) before he wrote what we call his second letter to the Corinthians, and even in that one it's clear that the folks he addressed certainly did not all see him in the same way.

I feel something of a kinship with Paul, particularly in his self-evident struggle with his own arrogance, visible even in this passage in which he boasts about not being able to boast about himself (if some of you detect a certain arrogance in my self-identification with one of the greatest figures in the history of the Church, well you've got me). In today's political milieu, we'd call this attempt to take on and put off the Law 'flip-flopping.' In an older day, we'd have called it pandering. I rather suspect that it looks suspicious to those watching, when it's not looking downright condescending or insulting.

Nevertheless, he's right to make the attempt.

The gospel Paul treasures so highly -- the good news that in Jesus' death and resurrection God has extended a new and radical grace -- is his only to give away. The impediments of culture, custom, and clan should not prevent the passing of God's love from the person who is blessed to know it to the person who does not know it yet. Paul is even willing to take on his own arrogance to reduce the distraction from the one, clear, vital issue: Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God and the love of God.

Paul can't become all things to all people, and neither can we. We bring ourselves to any new conversation along with the precious treasure of the gospel which we offer. We can't help that.

Our task is to identify and lay aside the irrelevancies which distract -- the cultural overlays, the personal biases, the very language to which we're accustomed -- in order to better display the gift of the gospel itself. If we can't lay them aside, as our beloved Apostle Paul couldn't, then we get to confess and acknowledge them: 'This arrogance? That's me. It's not the gospel. The gospel's better than that, and better yet, the grace of God is not mine: it's yours.'

To take up the theme my colleague Charlie Kuchenbrod gave us some weeks ago:

Let love win.

Prayer:

Holy One, we thank you for the precious gift of your love, and we rejoice to know that you have given it to us and to all the people of the world. We ask your further guidance to help us share your grace with those around us, to distinguish between what is the gospel and what is us, and to proclaim good news unburdened. Let love win. Amen.

Michael Ciba: ""

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:36:12 -0500

Chapter 23 of the Second Book of Samuel contains a list of the military leaders in the time of King David. The book names the leaders and talks about their exploits in support of the king. The story of one of these leaders, Benaiah, contains an interesting detail. In the midst of describing Benaiah's accomplishments, the text notes, 'He also went down and killed a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen.' [v. 20]

It is amazing that the details of one day in this person's life have been preserved for thousands of years so we can read about them today. While killing a lion was a remarkable feat in those times the details of the pit and the snowy day make the story more accessible to us. When we remember important events in our lives, we often remember trivial details along with the significant ones.

Those of us who serve as pastors of local churches may be remembered in a particular way. In many churches, there is a wall of pictures of previous pastors. Some of these pictures are hundreds of years old. It is quite amazing to think that, hundreds of years from now, someone may very well be looking at a picture of us, wearing that scarf or that tie, wondering who we were and what was happening in the second decade of the 21st century.

We do not answer the call to ministry in order to become famous or to get our picture on a wall. We answer because God invites us to use the gifts God has given us to do God's work in the world. Some of us may be remembered well beyond our time for some significant accomplishment. If we're honest, most of us will not.

In God's economy, earthly fame does not matter. What matters is that we serve faithfully, responding to the Gospel and the needs of the world, whether we serve in the pits or on the mountaintops, whether we are battling danger or offering comfort, whether it's a cold snowy day or a warm sunny one.

May 2012 be the occasion of many good memories as we continue to serve God faithfully.

Drew Page: "Twas The Gathering Before Christmas"

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 09:44:12 -0500

Just two days 'til Christmas, and much needs be done.
It's early in morning, and clouds hide the sun.
I know what I should do, my calling is clear.
Nine hours hence, twenty guests will be here.

I've wrapping to do, though it's not my best skill.
Tearing off paper is ten times the thrill.
The kitchen's a mess, and it's mostly my fault.
Will it look better with one single malt?

The floor is all shrouded in dog fur and crumbs.
I guess I should sweep it before the group comes.
Trash and recycling have piled up high
The Force cannot move them. Trust me; I try.

I plan to get started, just after this verse.
But procrastination gets better, not worse.
Hark, what's that song that I hear in the lobby?
The one about being at home, by Bing Crosby.

The Spirit just hit me; it's time to prepare!
The gifts will get wrapped, and I'll do it with care.
The cleaning is easy and eventually ends.
'Cause there's nothing like sharing a Christmas with friends.

Eric Anderson: "Amidst the Long Nights"

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:43:39 -0500

Last week, my daughter and I spent a Wednesday evening in church.

It's not unusual for us to be in church on a weekday evening. We sing in the choir, after all. But this was not choir night, which is Thursday (there is a strange omission in Genesis 1, which fails to mention God's proclamation of the fifth day as 'choir night' after the creation of fish and birds). It was Wednesday, and we were there for the 'Quiet Christmas' service, our congregation's offering to those feeling some distress in the holidays.

We were distressed.

For the second time in two years, my family comes to Christmas mourning a recent loss. Another loved one has left us, and joined the hosts of heaven within easy count of the year's most celebrated day. In addition, we're conscious in my household of others, friends and neighbors, who are suffering in body, mind, and spirit. That Wednesday night our souls' wounds were fresh.

And so we gathered with others in distress, seeking the comfort of shared grief and shared faith. We lit candles in prayer; we sang 'Silent Night;' we let our spirits follow the gorgeous melody of 'O Holy Night' as it soared above us.

We found comfort.

There is a reason that we celebrate Christmas around the time of the longest night of the year, and it has nothing to do with the actual date of Jesus' birth, which isn't recorded in the gospels. If the world were all peace, happiness, and light, there would be no need for a Savior, for a Messiah, for Jesus. The ancient Easter Proclamation includes this strange line (as rendered in the Book of Worship of the United Church of Christ): 'O happy fault! O necessary sin of Eve and Adam, that gained for us so great a redeemer!'

I'm not quite willing to go so far, and I'm not willing to declare 'O happy grief, that gained for us so great a comforter!' But viewed one way, the frenetic activity of this season, the bright lights, the ecstatic carols, the profusion of gifts, are a strange illusion, one which conceals the true magnitude of the Christmas Gift. Jesus didn't come for those smiling in brightly lit shopping malls.

He came for those whose eyes glisten with tears.

Well, he came for those shoppers, too, but they may not see it quite so well amidst the blinding Christmas lights.

We remember the gift of a Redeemer at the darkest time of the year, when the day is brief and cold and the night longer and colder, because it is in the night that the Star of Bethlehem shines brightest. It is in the rude stable that the Babe of Bethlehem sleeps. It is to those without a roof on a hillside that the angels sing.

For those who grieve, let there be comfort in Mary's song. For those who hunger, may there be a taste of kindness. For those who sit alone at table, may there be a loving presence. For those who do not know which way to turn, let there be hope.

It is because of the darkness that Jesus came, and came to bring us light.

Drew Page: "Use It or Lose It"

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 09:15:12 -0500

As a competitive fencer, one of the most frustrating trends I experience while training is the rapid loss of point control (accuracy) when I miss a few days of practice. When I miss two weeks, as I have this month due to a particularly tenacious cold, my point control is only one of many lost skills that will take weeks to recover. My endurance is understandably gone. My legs, which I rely on to keep opponents at my chosen distance, have become dangerously slow. My parries are late and far less controlled than usual.

More surprising than any of these physical regressions is the loss of 'presence.' When I am in my top game, I see everything: my opponent's blade actions and reactions, the distance, the open targets, and the 'tells' -- those tiny twitches that betray what my opponent is about to do. After two weeks of inactivity, I feel like a beginner. I am blind on the strip, unable to mentally replay what just happened an instant ago, and incapable of focusing on a strategy.

I recently read an article about this phenomenon that helped clarify. Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis discovered the neurological explanation for why we 'use it or lose it.' It's a chemical thing - a bit complicated to discuss here. In short, tiny receptors migrate away from nerves endings when our muscles are inactivity. It's a rapid process, but fortunately it reverses when muscle activity resumes.

This explains much: why my guitar playing stinks when I pull my 6-string out of the case after 5 months, why I can't ski the first time I go to a mountain each season, and why my handwriting seems horrible these days. Let's face it. I never write with a pen anymore.

Okay, that was 300 words to state something most people already understand through experience. My point is this 'use it or lose it' problem is neurological. It's part of our brain. This made me consider other skills and abilities that deteriorate though lack of use. How about feelings? Joy? Compassion? Humor? The bio-chemical process is almost the same.

The fact is, if we don't practice something, we not only fail to improve, we actually get worse. There is no such thing as Status Quo. My fencing will only improve, or get worse, depending on how much I practice. The same is true about other practices. When we use our minds for a purpose regularly, we get better at that ability. When we stop, we deteriorate. People get pretty good at giving around the holidays. Just image what could happen if we practiced all year. Just think what other practices we could improve on.

Excuse me, now. It's time to practice giving my wife a hug.

Michael Ciba: "Rebuilding the Ancient Story"

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:50:53 -0500

For many years, I have been researching the history of my families of origin. This has been a slow and painstaking process. My ancestors passed along almost no written records and few photographs. I have memories of stories my grandparents and their siblings told me as a child many decades ago, but I also know that their memories and my own were faulty.

Diane and I have spent countless days visiting cemeteries, libraries, and archives. We have gently cleaned ancient gravestones and repeatedly searched the internet. We have paged through paper and microfilm copies of old newspapers, ships' passenger lists, city directories, and church records, looking for pieces of evidence of the lives of people that I never knew and that no living person remembers.

While some searches did not bear fruit, others yielded unexpected treasure. An exhaustive search of church records from the 1850's finally yielded my great-great-grandmother's maiden name. My great-grandmother's birthplace is listed only on the birth record of her seventh and last child. A word in a directory points to a mid-life career change that was previously unknown. A search of cemetery records revealed that three hitherto unknown children, whose names are not listed on the tombstone, were buried with their parents.

Imagination and empathy help us weave pieces of evidence into stories of lives lived 100-200 years ago, stories of people who lived and died, worked and played, went on long journeys to unfamiliar places, established homes and moved when they needed to.

The Advent texts from Isaiah speak to a people returning from exile. The prophetic words echo clearly through the centuries, offering God's promise of love and hope to a hurting people.

Most of those who returned from exile in Babylon to Jerusalem were 2 or 3 generations (possibly more) removed from the faith experiences of their ancestors who had been deported. Inspired by God, they painstakingly reconstructed their history as a people using memory and imagination, in much the same way that we might reconstruct the life stories of those who have gone before us.

The returning exiles stood in the ruins of the city where their ancestors had worshipped and tried to see what they saw and feel what they felt. Their study of the stories of their ancestors helped them discover who they were, who God was calling them to become, and how God was calling them to live in their time. They passed their stories on to future generations so that we, too, may read them and hear them and incorporate them into our own stories.

As we hear these Advent texts anew this year, let's remember that people in our time are also in exile. Many folks who have been involved in the church all their lives are feeling a profound sense of disconnect from church as they once knew it. Like the exiles long ago, they stand in the midst of declining institutions and wonder what happened. Others are in exile from their true selves, disconnected from the Christian story and the community of faith, unsure that there is a connection between their yearning and a God who loves and cares for them.

God calls us the church to establish or reestablish the connection between the Biblical Story and our own particular stories. Establishing this connection may be as difficult as trying recreate the story of our ancestors from incomplete records. But God still calls us to do it, to do it together, as we trust in the presence of God's Spirit to create and renew God's people in each generation.

May this season of Advent be a time for us to discover our connection with the past even as we seek to make God's story our own and write it anew in our time.

Karen Ziel: "In Partnership-November 22, 2012"

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 11:55:31 -0500

Good afternoon everyone!

I wish you all Thanksgiving blessings. It has been a while since I've posted this occasional blog with resources, tools and tips. I hope you'll find this edition filled with useful information as you prepare to enter the Advent season; a time of hope, promise and expectation for all God's people. This issue will cover some online resources for youth ministry and the Advent season, a couple of on-line devotional tools, as well as an important addition to the SAFECONDUCT workbench at the UCC Insurance Board website.

IN PARTNERSHIP:

-DEVOTIONALS AND ADVENT STUFF-

In the evenings, I often use a form of the Examine (Ignatius of Loyola) to close my day. To start my day, I love the discipline of engaging a daily 'desk-top' devotion. I have been using one or another of them each day to center myself since I first discovered one several years ago. Of course, my recent favorite is the Still-speaking devotional sponsored by the UCC. I recently heard about another great daily devotional website. This one will appeal to youth and young adults as well.
It can be found here: http://www.d365.org/todaysdevotion/
The site is extremely well done and the upcoming focus for Advent is -- Follow the Star! If you follow the link provided here:
http://www.d365.org/share/ ------ it's ready for you to share with your youth group, young adults, bible study or Christian practice group! Enjoy!

In addition, the site RETHINKING YOUTH MINISTRY, has some great ideas for Advent with 'tweens and teens. You can download this e-book, Creative Youth Ministry Ideas for Advent and Christmas for $.99 beginning Monday November 28, 2011. The website blog, other publications and resources are well worth a look. You'll find yourself returning to the website often -- including a few additional sites you'll link to from time to time if you stay connected to their blogs, resources, etc.

One such site is THE SOURCE for youth ministry. They have some great Advent and Christmas resources too, including quizzes and games for the season. One important strategy in capturing their imagination for going deeper is to use a good quiz or game enabling youth to playfully let down their guard. The website can be found here:
http://www.thesource4ym.com/
and its easy to navigate...look for the 'new skool' Christmas Carole quiz and test your music memory, is the answer to number 5 Hark the Herald Angels Sing?, let me know what you think!

-SAFECONDUCT-

One of the top 3 topics for resources and questions to my desk regards SafeConduct work - policies, procedures, etc. Carl Kotheimer, the United Church Insurance Board Director of Loss Control and Claims reminds us that a comprehensive body of work in the area of safe conduct work includes a policy that includes: statement with standards and definitions, a set of expected procedures (including forms, etc.) to meet those standards and management controls. Where our churches are typically underserved by the work they have done, or more accurately, yet to do, is in the area of procedures and management controls.

Would you like to discover if there are gaps in your policy or work? Identify those gaps and assess your level of protection? NOW YOU CAN!
The ongoing work of protecting our churches should reside with a small group of folk within our congregations who speak 'safe conduct;' in other words, who are in regular and consistent dialogue with the work...even if regular and consistent means semi-annual or annual review, regular oversight, etc.

THE NEW SELF-ASSESSMENT TOOL has now been launched on the UCCIB website on the SafeConduct workbench. You'll need to create an entry portal for you and your group but it is a free tool developed in partnership with Praesidium and will assist our churches in doing this self-study; enabling you to name your areas of improvement, the gaps you'd like to or need to fill. You'll find it in the second blue box on the main area of the SafeConduct workbench page here:
http://www.insuranceboard.org/safety_solutions/safe_conduct_workbench.aspx

I encourage you to take a look! The Insurance Board offers this tool and webinars, tools, samples, etc. as a service to our congregations. It's well done and totally accessible!

Time to sign off -- Wishing you a season of love, peace, joy and of course, HOPE!
In partnership-
-Karen

Eric Anderson: "Gordon Ramsay: Messiah?"

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:16:51 -0500

Well, no, obviously, but...

Amidst the welter of 'reality TV' programs out there (and I'm still amused that the network marketing types out there managed to find a new name for 'game show'), there is a genre that I find personally compelling. It's the cooking contest show.

You know the plot: a batch of aspiring chefs appear on the first episode, and gradually each one disappears (except in the opening credits) until a final champion triumphantly sprays champagne over family, friends, and former competitors. I first met Gordon Ramsay, a highly successful chef/entrepreneur, in his emotionally-overwrought version of this genre, 'Hell's Kitchen.' He's talented, passionate, intense, driven, driving, foul-mouthed, and sometimes borders on cruel.

A few years ago, he added another program called 'Kitchen Nightmares' to his schedule, but this one is different. In each episode, Ramsay visits a struggling restaurant, frequently one empty of customers and on the verge of bankruptcy. As in all 'reality' TV, there's a clear formula: Ramsay eats a (horrible) meal, expressing his sentiments by comparing each dish to dog food or the consequences of dog food, then confronts the chef, inspects the (frequently disgusting) food storage area, fights with everyone, reworks the menu, teaches the cooks new recipes, renovates the dining room, and leaves with (nearly) everyone all smiles.

I'd been watching this program with some fascination for quite a while before I realized that this is the only television show I've ever found that is about redemption.

I'm learning things about redemption from Gordon Ramsay.

The first is that transformation is impossible as long we cling to our illusions. Nearly uniformly, chefs and owners believe their food is excellent before Ramsay tastes it (the only exceptions occur when owners micro-manage their chefs), despite customer complaints and even the opinion of the wait staff. The show's main conflict will generally be Ramsay's insistence that the food is a problem vs. the owners' insistence that it isn't.

The second is that redemption requires an enormous emotional effort. It takes effort to lay aside the delusions, more to look about for where reality lies, more to take hold of hope in a new direction, and even more to take the steps down a new road. I knew this, but it's quite striking to see it dramatized quite so starkly each week.

The remarkable thing to me, in truth, is how well these chefs and owners do at making these enormous leaps. The pain of it all is graven on their faces (in the inevitable close-ups). The effort of it streams down their foreheads in the kitchens. And the fatigue of it is plain in their shoulders at the end of the last night -- the last balanced by the exultation of that first step. They do it. Not all manage to carry it past the filming (Ramsay does periodic 'return' shows), but at least for a time, they transform themselves. Amazing.

Redemption is communal and relational. American small businesses tend to be family concerns, and independently owned restaurants much more so. Not infrequently, the first twenty minutes of a 'Kitchen Nightmares' episode highlights conflicts between family members and, I'm afraid, the producers' interviews probably exaggerate things. Ramsay's attention to the internal dynamics of family members and staff is eye-opening. I'm constantly amazed at his insistence that they restore the love between each other before he takes on the business of running a restaurant.

Without those healthy, supportive relationships, the team breaks down. With them restored, the team succeeds. Simple, self-evident, and utterly profound.

To be honest, that's the highlight of the show for me. It's the only reality program that ever brings tears to my eyes. People tell members of their family that they love them, and then they go out and demonstrate it. It's amazing.

Those who want redemption probably need help to find it. That's Ramsay's role on this program, and he's pretty good at it. He's got a keen eye (or his producers do) for the reality at hand. He tells the truth, and he can back it up. The restauranteurs give him the authority to shake them up, and he uses it well. He's a foul-mouthed savior, but he's an effective one.

But those who want redemption also need to participate in it. These are people who reached out for help, though they never seem to have been quite convinced they they needed quite as much help as they did. They accepted the guidance or, in a very few cases, resisted it or abandoned it later.

I haven't seen an episode yet where an owner simply said, 'No.' Given the situations that drive owners to invite Ramsay in, I can't imagine they were still in business much longer.

Reality TV? Well, of course it's highly artificial, and sometimes the editing is painfully evident. But that's a lot of learning about redemption right there:

1) No redemption happens without the shedding of illusions.

2) Redemption requires enormous emotional effort.

3) Redemption is relational and communal.

4) An outside savior is a very handy person indeed.

5) The redeemed must participate in their redemption.

Not bad for a TV show, is it? I look forward to my next visit to a nightmarish kitchen, because those family hugs, those tired smiles of joy, those expressions and demonstrations of love, bring tears to my eyes.

Michael Ciba: "A Rough Week"

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:31:04 -0500

This has been a challenging week for all of us. The challenges have ranged from inconvenience and uncertainty to prolonged disruptions affecting the health and safety of our communities and those with whom we are in ministry. As of Friday morning, some of us have power restored while others do not.

Worship on Sunday in the Region's churches will vary. In some cases, things will be back to normal. Others may worship in unheated, unlighted meeting houses. Still others will share worship with another congregation or in another building, just as many continue to live in temporary quarters.

The stories of how we responded to the aftermath of the storm will be the legends we will tell in our families and communities for many years. I know that you have sought to minister to folks in your communities even as you faced your own hardships. In some cases, churches became day or overnight shelters or feeding stations because they were the only places with power. Pastors joined with other leaders in their communities to comfort and support residents and to help seek out those who were isolated. I know that many of you are involved with local fire and emergency medical services and that you provided support to responders as well as to those who needed their services.

One take-away from this week is how random and uncertain the basic circumstances of life can be. Regardless of our income or status, many of us had to leave our homes and seek temporary shelter. Others tried to make due in situations that ranged from the uncomfortable to the genuinely dangerous. Many faced the irony of having an abundance of food about to spoil and no way to prepare it. Even today, the question of who lost power and who has it back seems to be totally random.

While there are underlying issues of both climate and technology society will need to address, the bottom line is that, in times of crisis, we all need each other. We have a responsibility to care for our neighbors both individually and collectively.

MISSION ONE could not be more timely. Food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters need to be restocked for what is going to be a long winter. Even before this emergency, these local facilities were facing unprecedented demand. We need to challenge governments and corporations to be more attentive to human needs. We need to recognize that our neighbors include not only those in our local communities, but many in our nation and the world whose lack of access to the basic necessities of life is, for all intents and purposes, permanent rather than temporary.

Thanks, again, for all you have done and all you are doing in your communities, your churches, and the United Church of Christ.

You and all the members of your churches are a blessing to your communities in all seasons.

May God continue to bless you as you do God's work in the world.