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View from the pew: Reflections on the Mankind Project

Presentation on Jan. 15, 2012               John 1: 43-46

1:46 Nathanael said to him “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

This Sunday our service was visited by Don Jones and David Bird, who represented the Mankind Project. This Project is popular, with as many as seven meetings in our church rooms each week.

The focus of the Mankind Project is men who have encountered trauma during their lives. The effort is to help them reclaim the healthy mindset that has been taken from them by their life altering experiences.

While not affiliated with any church, this organization is obviously doing God’s work. Members are often seen contributing to the physical welfare of the church as well as attending the weekly Mankind meetings. We are blessed to have them in our building.

View from the Pew: Sermon titled “What Road to Take?“

Sermon on 01/08/2012                  Matthew 2: 1–12
12. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by anothe road.

 The story from Matthew calls them Wise Men and they are also popularly called the Three Kings, although nowhere in the story are they referred to as kings. They are called wise man because they were in touch with God and His message.

What does it mean to be wise?  Wise men paid attention to their dream and took another road away from Herod.  As a church how can we be wise?  What is that dream that God has placed in our hearts?    How do we follow the road God  has placed in our hearts? Because of changes we have made at church, we now have new opportunities and challenges ahead of us.  It is our job to listen and follow  the new  path given us.

View from the pew: sermon titled “a blessed life”

Sermon on  12-11-2011      Luke 1: 46-55

What makes you so happy that you can sing, cry, and jump for joy?  What fills your heart to this extent?  As we come to the end of 2011, look back. What were you dreaming about, hoping for? Look at the realities of the past year — grief, loss, accomplishments.

Now considered the life of Mary. She wasn’t in a good place; pregnant, unmarried, and then, meeting an angel. She was in a very confusing place.

Her role was to be part of something that would not only save her but also save the world.  She understood that she was blessed to be part of what God wanted for her.

Mary is a model for all of us; on faith, she accepted and felt the joy of something she didn’t really understand. She knew that she was part of something bigger. She anticipated the joy, the waiting and the pain. And, she experienced all this while pregnant.

Mary only knew that she was part of the huge impact for the world…something bigger and better to happen.  Joy in the midst of a mystery, of birth to a newer life for individuals and the church

Be like Mary… Rise to the challenge.

View from the Pew: Sermon Titled “Prepare the Way of the Lord”

Sermon on 12/04/2011      Mark 1:1-8

How do we prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus?

Just as everybody has a different story, even of the same event, so the gospels tell their stories differently, from a different perspective…. And having a collection of stories helps us understand our faith.

It was John the Baptizer’s role to point the way.

At times we make our jobs more complicated than we need, believing that we should have all the answers, all the details.  The Bible tells us to point…and let God.  John did not give details at all.  His message was,  “Someone’s coming.  Go listen.”

Invite people to church…and trust that God will do something.  Just, “Join me.”  People change because they are in the presence of something beyond themselves.  Just help people be in the Presence.

COMMUNION

We participate in communion to be In The Presence.   When we participate in communion:

• we taste love,
• we feel the Presence
• we experience the holy.

View From the Pew: Sermon titled “How do I Show my Love for my Church”

Psalms 100:1  & Timothy 6:10

Timothy is probably the most misquoted verse in the Bible.  It says that the LOVE of money is the root of evil.

More money gives power to do good, if you will.  You can give more to your Church, you can help more people in need, you can fight against evil ideas and evil doers.

On this “Pledge Sunday” there is good news and bad news… The good news: we have enough money to do all that this church wants to accomplish.  The Bad News: the money is still in the congregation’s pockets!

I love The Church of the Saviour!  The people think!  Not all of us think alike, but we all seek to know God’s will; We all know each other by name, and really care about each other; we mentor, listen, participate rather than just observe; needful things often Get Done without someone being asked to do them;  We are Family.

This church helped me during a dark time…

How can you attend this church and benefit from its many virtues without wanting to do & share More?

You can give without just giving money.  Share your skills, love, knowledge, a listening ear, coupons, join the food drives, mentor, …  Consider your many blessings, and share them.

Art Exhibition Reception Saturday

Indianapolis artist Ed Smith is exhibiting more than 30 images, mostly multi-media work, at Church of the Saviour.  Ed will also show several of his Christmas decorations.

You’ll be delighted and moved looking at Ed’s work.  Please join us at his reception, December 3 from 3:00 until 7:00 PM at Church of the Saviour.

View from the Pew: Sermon titled “Counting Your Blessings” 11/20/2011

Text:  Psalm 95: 1-7a

When we truly reflect on our lives, we realize we are blessed people.  God does amazing things.  Too often when we face difficulty in life, we cannot yet ascertain how any good can possibly come from it.  Fortunately, God has a plan for each of us, and prayerfully over time we can gain perspective on the situation and realize how we benefitted or grew in faith because of it.

The Psalms are full of praises, but also filled with everyday, critical events that occur in the psalmist’s life, much like we all face today.  However, instead of focusing on the negative, we need to reflect on the positive.  Consequently, the congregation has been asked to write a “gratitude list” and then call or write a thank-you note.  These messages are to let people know we are grateful for their role in our lives, or we could simply thank them for a particular kindness they have shown.

Church of the Saviour is a welcoming “family” who seeks to include ALL God’s children.  As we recalled last week’s list of reasons why we like this Church, we were reminded:

• the congregation is seated in the round, and I feel I am a participant rather than an observer,
• the circle of friends here are inspirational,
• the Church family offers unconditional love,
• the diverse thinking of the congregation is evident,
• we are not afraid to laugh or cry together.

Praise God! We have much to be thankful for, today and every day.

View From the Pew: Sermon Titled “Our Healing Journey VI: Experiencing Joy”

November 6, 2011  All Saints Day

How comfortable we are with our lives in a familiar routine without much change. We get satisfied with the known and resist change; it is very hard giving up the past because we attach meaning to it and our identity is to our past. Happiness and grief are known to us and it can define us even to ourselves.

These were some of the thoughts shared by Dr. Dan Moseley in our Sunday series “Our Healing Journey” and the author of the book Loss, Love and Live (The Spiritual Gifts of Loss and Change) which will be the basis of a 5 part series starting Sunday evening, November 5 at 6:30 pm to 8 pm. Dr. Moseley will kickoff the session and Dr. Moman will facilitate the other 4 gatherings. All are open to the public. Moseley’s book is available for purchase for $14.

God calls us into the future and this necessitates change and loss which accompany every change.  This “pew person scribe” had not considered God calling me into my future but I now see He is. I think I saw Him as enabling me, sustaining me while I endured obstacles and my prayers are for the comfort of others and self and for helping us cope.

As we grieve loss and change we will find that forgiveness grants us freedom to move into the future. Through forgiveness of ourselves and others we will embrace the life God is bringing to us.

“Our Healing Journey: Working Through Our Anger” VIEW #2

As a social worker, I was intrigued by our new pastor’s plan for the next few weeks.  I don’t have any doubt that he could sense anger, resentment, and sadness when he returned to The Church of the Savior.  He wanted us to face it head-on which is just what a social worker wants.  Putting it all on the table, no more white elephants in the room.

We had been instructed to write down on a piece of paper what or who was making us angry and seal it in an envelope and bring it back to church.  Seems like a simple exercise until you really sit and think about it.  I would guess we are all carrying a lot of baggage if we are truthful with ourselves.  We’ve shoved it way down inside and hear the words from our childhood that we are not to show our anger.  Well, here was our chance to let it all out.

I had written one note during the week but when I got to church I realized there were several other things I needed to address.  I ended up with only two envelopes, but they were big enough to hold a few items.  I decided that I wasn’t going to hold anything back.

I didn’t find that I needed to write anything about any situations, my anger revolved around people, including myself.  Most of it I already knew and had been trying to process, regrettably for years, but a couple of new things had arisen regarding my employers.  So much anger is devastating.  This assignment was a good way to continue working on letting it go.  We took our envelopes outside and burned them, releasing what we had been harboring for far too long.

Later Sunday, the social worker in me realized that it’s not the people that I wrote about that were making me angry.  It’s all me.  What they say or do isn’t what makes us angry.  It’s our feelings and reactions about what they say or do that causes our anger.  Unfortunately, even an epiphany doesn’t make anger any easier to release and forgive.