|
June 2005
Evening
Prayers
-- Wednesday, June 1, 7:00 - 7:40 pm
Can
a Christian be a Liberal? - Can a Liberal be a Christian?
A course on Christianity and politics taught by
Stephen Taber
June 5, 12 and 19 - 9:30 am in the Munro Room
In a world in which "Christian" is
increasingly associated with "conservative," liberal
Christianity’s long and distinguished lineage has been ignored and even
disparaged. This course will examine Christian views on politics, with
particular emphasis on liberalism.
June 5. The origins and evolution of liberalism in
Western culture and its relationship to the Reformation, Humanism, science
and technology.
June 12. Discussion of attacks on liberalism, both
by those who totally oppose its premises, such as Marxists, fascists,
traditional conservatives and some religious fundamentalists, and those
liberals who seek to rectify liberalism’s flaws while maintaining its
basic premises.
June 19. This class will deal with evolving
theological thought, emphasizing Reformed, Roman Catholic and Liberation
perspectives. In each case we will look at what bearing these perspectives
have on liberalism.
Silent
Auction to Raise
Mission
Funds
Save the date of Sunday, Sept. 18, after worship.
A Silent Auction of goods and services will be held to raise
Mission
funds missing from our 2005 budget.
You might also be thinking creatively about what
you can contribute to this effort. Personal services, like a special
dinner? Products or gift certificates from your employer or neighborhood
merchants?
“A Church for Our Time” at Ghost Ranch
by Pam
Byers
Many Old Firsters have enjoyed the magic of Ghost
Ranch, the Presbyterian conference center in the high desert north of Albuquerque. The red mesas, constantly shifting sunlight, invigorating walks
and hikes, vast skies all invite an openness that refreshes and renews.
And the Ranch famously offers a wide range of classes for artists,
artisans, and spiritual explorers. The Hart-Andersens have
vacationed there for years; and the Bergs and Hollarsmiths, Goleman-Mercers,
Connie Johnson, Alison Armstrong, Jeannie Choy Tate, Daniel Pearch, Glen
Potter, Rosemary Bledsoe, and others can all testify to its healing
beauty.
My husband Jeff and I were introduced to the Ranch
for the first time last year, as he attended a writing workshop and I
participated in "A Church for Our Time." This week-long seminar
combined spiritual renewal with the chance to think about
Mission
for Our Time, Worship for Our Time, Theology for Our Time, etc.
It is being repeated this year, June 27 - July 3.
(Tim is leading one of the sections and I can personally vouch for the
other leaders). Go to www.ghostranch.org for details and registration.
Enjoy!
New T-Shirts Now Available
Have you worn your Old First “bird shirt” into
a rag? Have your children
outgrown theirs? Were your
children not born yet when the shirts were last on sale?
Do you wish you had one to wear in the AIDSwalk or the Pride
Parade? Would you like another one in a different shade? Would you like
one for every day of the week and two for Sunday?
The Deacons have acquired a new shipment of our
distinctive T-shirts (just in time for the May Presbytery meeting) and
they are now on sale.
The shirts are available in royal blue and royal
purple; adult sizes small, medium, large, XL and 2XL; children’s sizes
medium (12-14) and large (14-16). There are also a few left from the last
batch in Adult medium and Children’s large. All cost $15 each.
There are also about a dozen caps (one size fits
most) at $10.
New Elder and Deacons Elected
A special election was held on May 15 to fill
vacancies on the Session and Board of Deacons.
Ted Chiao was elected to Session, Dee Christensen
and Britt LaGatta to Deacons. All
will be members of the Class of 2007. Ted has previously served as an
Elder; he has already agreed to head our Evangelism Committee.
Dee
was a Deacon here a number of years ago. Britt is soprano soloist in our
choir and director of the children’s music program.
Presbytery Meeting at Old First Pronounced a Success
200 or more clergy and elders from many of our 80
area Presbyterian churches gathered when the San Francisco Presbytery met
at Old First on May 10. Besides all the regular business of a presbytery
meeting, they enjoyed:
-
a welcome from 40+ Old Firsters in our distinctive Old First
shirts
a look at our Welcome Ministry in operation
-
the dramatic new Pentecost installation of cascading red
ribbons
-
an excellent dinner catered by Agnes Lee, accompanied by Don
Pender’s jazz
-
six interesting workshops, including an art-and-history tour of
our building led by Steve Taber, "Singing the Seasons" with Ken
Matthews, and "Prayer on the Go" led by Diana Cheifetz.
Several people wanted to kidnap our liturgical art
team. Others appreciated the “best meal ever at a Presbytery meeting”,
complete with white tablecloths, candles and flowers. An elder from a much
larger church said we'd set an enviable standard for hosting; one pastor
told Jeff Cheifetz afterwards that "usually they feel the host church
basically treats commissioners like visitors, but this church made
everyone feel at home." The highest praise of all will be received
with mixed emotions by those who worked so hard on this event:
“The Presbytery ought to have all its meetings at Old First.”
In his other hat as chair of the Presbytery's
Communications and Meetings Committee, Jeff invited smaller city churches,
who can never host Presbytery on their own, to participate with us.
Christ United Presbyterian supplied home-baked goodies during
registration, and Mission
Bay
Community
Church
designed and led the evening worship service.
The success of the meeting - which squeezed far
more people and events into our space than easily fit - depended on the
cheerful work of almost four dozen Old Firsters, many of whom came early
and stayed late. Pam Byers,
who chaired the arrangements, conveys her heartfelt thanks to Joe Ballard,
Rosemary Bledsoe, Shirley Buono, Chris & Cindy Burt, Carol Carter,
Buddy Tate Choy and Jeannie Choy Tate, Jeff & Diana Cheifetz, Barry
& Tracy Clagett, Bart Crosby, Forrest Cummings & Pat Devine, Bill
Feister, Pam Free, Kristie Hoerauf, Jeanne Kirkwood, Marne Krozek, Roger
Lindahl, Heather Losee, Rod & Lei MacDonald, Marcia Monchatre, Lois
Nason, Johnnie Olds, Chuck Olson, Jean Olson, Daniel Pearch, Don Pender,
AnnieScott Rogers, Mary Russell, RoseMarie Springer, Steve and Sarah
Taber, James Uren, Jim & Mary Lou Wilson, and Lori Yamuachi, plus
excellent support from Tom Kearney, Megan Rohrer, and especially Fernando
Gonzales on staff, along with Michael Norton and Bobby Lane, regular
participants in the Welcome ministry.
Note from your friendly local transitional
pastor
I am writing this on the heels of our inspired
Pentecost Sunday worship service. My observations during and after that
worship later gave rise to the question, “What can the movement of the
Spirit look like?” This may sound like a strange question until one
thinks about the myriad ways in which God has chosen to interact with
human beings.
During worship we invited the congregation to move
forward to the seats on the chancel, and to the front rows of the pews,
while chanting, “Come, Holy Spirit” and waving red streamers, hands,
or whatever else was handy. It was obvious to me, who on the spot took
advantage of my lapel microphone and my role of congregational leader to
encourage people to actually get up out of their pews and move forward
(very subtle, wasn‘t I?), that not everyone was comfortable with that
invitation. In fact, very few felt the inner freedom to actually come all
the way up to the chancel and sit facing the rest of the congregation. Of
course, the choir, which faces that way all the time, had no trouble doing
that due to their built-in advantage of permission and experience.
What they got for their trouble was a closer view of my back, but
hey, they looked as though they were enjoying themselves anyway.
While planning this service, the Worship
Committee’s goal was to gather the congregation into a community
centered around the Table, thus highlighting the communal and sacramental
nature of our faith. That seemed to fit the theme of Pentecost, when the
Spirit enabled very diverse people to hear one another clearly, and they
gathered together to see what the occasion was all about. We did
anticipate that various individuals would respond in any number of ways to
the invitation, and we decided that uniformity of action was far less
desirable than bowing to the movement of the Spirit in each one. However,
we did not anticipate that several of our first-time guests would
immediately conclude that, contrary to their expectations, and
overwhelming to the level of courage it takes to visit an unknown church
in the first place, we were some sort of strange and wild
San Francisco
group that was both charismatic and Presbyterian, and thus leave our
service. Fortunately, a few of our stalwart ushers gently intercepted them
before they could completely escape, and explained that we don’t usually
do this sort of thing, and to please return another Sunday when they could
join with us as we returned to our usual traditional Reformed selves. May
the Spirit lead them back to us!
(A quick thought: did the form of this worship
service have anything to do with a split personality; you know, like
Jekyll and Hyde, but far more benign? Or, is it just the tentative or
joyful — depending on who each one of us is — expression of what lies
just below the surface but is not invited to come out and play very often?
Let me know.)
And then there was me, the preacher, trying to
figure out a way to be present to a circle of worshipers while working off
of a manuscript. Well, that led me to trust the Spirit, let me tell you. I
felt like a spinning top at times, but I actually enjoyed myself and felt
at ease. It was a reminder of why preaching and celebrating communion in
the round requires a good memory so that one can speak without notes.
I’ll make a note of that for the future.
But I want to go a little further in my reflection.
The forward movement of the congregation felt a little chaotic.
Disorderly. Uncontrolled. Unpredictable. Uncomfortable.
Was that all right? Was the Spirit of God really in
the midst of that?
I think that the combined orderly/disorderly
atmosphere, the different seating arrangement, the use of all of our
voices in the chant, and the predictable form of sermon and sacrament,
combined to mirror real life. Real life includes predictability and chaos,
anxiety and joy, courage and discomfort and anger, improvising on the spot
as well as dependence upon set forms and responses. Real life is where all
our plans, or at least some of them, go awry, and where we don’t think
through all the details before we get there.
That’s what the first Pentecost event was like.
Something never seen before, and never duplicated afterward. A moment, a
slice of time, in which everyone was thrown into an unpredicted,
unpredictable ’now’; and who knew what would come next? Yet, Pentecost
was, and remains, an historic Jewish harvest festival pre-dating
Christianity. The roots were there, the history and rationale were there,
and what happened on that day depended upon those roots and then went
beyond them into unknown territory.
Yes, like our transitional time together. Who knows
what will happen tomorrow, or next month, or three years from now? That is
up to the movement of the Spirit within, between, and beyond us. We have
the history. We have some clues about what is needed. We have some ideas
about what we would like to see happen. But beyond that, we do not know,
and thus are thrust into the guiding, encouraging, loving hands of God.
The question is this: rooted and grounded in the
tradition, customs, and history of Old First, where will we go, led by the
Spirit of God, beyond all that? The invitation may well be to dare to get
up out of our metaphorical pews, wave red ribbons and chant “Come, Holy
Spirit”, and move our feet one step at a time as we make our way forward
toward all that is good and sacred. Oh yes, and smile while we do that,
trusting in the God who sent joy, Emmanuel, ‘God with us‘. And let us
see what happens.
Peace,
Jeff
Welcome Ministry Partners in "Care, Not Cash"
Program
The Welcome Ministry has begun a partnership with
the City of
San Francisco
’s Supporting Housing Program. This partnership involves 1) the City
providing housing with on-site professional medical and social support
services, and 2) the Welcome Ministry guiding our interested homeless
friends with whom we have developed trusting relationships into these
services and then supporting them in their new environment.
The City program, known as "Care, Not
Cash," provides City-owned housing units that include professional
medical, psychiatric and social services to help residents gain treatment
for addictions and/or mental illness, pursue job training and schooling,
and work toward self-sufficiency.
Welcome Ministry staff and volunteers have come to
know some of the Supportive Housing outreach workers. They have checked
out City residential units and services and have begun to connect our
homeless friends with the Supportive Housing Program and help them move
off the street. They have been told this is the first time the City has
partnered with a non-profit homeless support organization.
A major problem for the City's outreach workers is
that they start from scratch in attracting homeless people, many of whom
don't trust the City to provide care and are unwilling to participate.
They lack the trusting relationships that have been developed by the
Welcome Ministry.
Lectionary
June 5 - 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gen. 12:1-9; Ps. 33:1-12;
Rom. 4:13-25; Matt.9:9-13, 18-26
June 12 - 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gen. 18:1-15 (21:1-7);
Ps. 116:1-2, 12-19;
Rom.
5:1-8;
Matt. 9:35-10:8 (9-23)
June 19
- 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gen. 21:8-21; Ps. 86:1-10, 16-17;
Rom.
6:1b-11; Matt. 1:24-39
June 26
- 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gen. 22:1-14; Ps. 13;
Rom. 6:12-23; Matt. 10:40-42
July 3
- 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gen. 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67;
Ps. 45:10-17 or S. of Sol. 2:8-13;
Rom.
7:15-25a;
Matt. 11:16-19, 25-30
In Memory
Emma Castillo, mother of Fernando Gonzales, died on
May 16.
A Little Plain Talk about Pastors
by Rosemary Bledsoe
Sure, you remember this. It first appeared in
Shared Life in 2001, and then was picked up by the (now-defunct)
denominational publication Monday Morning.
It was new to Pastor Jeff, though, and he thinks we could benefit
by a little reminder.
The process of calling a pastor and the period
between permanent pastors can be confusing
and frustrating. Nevertheless, if you think Old First is a great
place to be, you have been enjoying the
benefits of The Process whether you like it or not, whether you want to
discuss it or not.
So, here are a few Facts of Life --- Presbyterian
life, Old
First
Church
life.
1) A permanent pastor isn't permanent.
2) An interim pastor is a real pastor.
3) The pastor doesn't run the church.
4) Calling a new pastor takes time.
1) A permanent pastor isn't permanent -- not at Old
First, not anywhere. We can probably expect a called pastor to stay with
us somewhere between five and ten years. That's our place on the
Presbyterian Food Chain: high enough to expect at least five years
(because it's a challenging and educational call), not high enough for
more than ten (because a pastor isn't likely to consider Old First the
culmination of his/her career).
2) An interim pastor is a real pastor -- not a
stop-gap emergency measure, not a band-aid, not life support -- but a
real, seminary-educated, ordained servant of God. One difference is in the
terms of call. An interim
pastor is hired by the Session for a specific length of time, with the
appropriate contractual provisions to end his/her employment when the
permanent pastor is called by the congregation.
Another difference is in the focus of his/her work;
it usually involves ministering to a congregation experiencing some kind
of corporate angst -- grief, confusion, anger -- over the departure of
another pastor. Their role is
similar in many respects to that of step-parents, who aren't always valued
and respected either, and they understand the "you're not my
daddy!" attitude. They're trained for it; they expect it.
The names of interim pastors are seldom remembered,
but they should be. These people are the mortar between the bricks, the
supporting players who never get star billing. Every one has made a real
contribution to the church. We wouldn't be here without them.
3) The pastor doesn't run the church. A
Presbyterian church is governed by its Session of Elders and served by its
Board of Deacons. The pastor, whether permanent or interim, is a
contracted employee. She/he
has autonomy in very few areas, mainly in the content of sermons and the
choice of hymns for the worship service.
A Presbyterian congregation is a democracy,
governed by laypeople -- elected leaders -- no matter who the pastor is or
is not. When a pastor leaves,
the work of Session, its committees and the congregation goes on. The
Deacons continue to minister to their parishes.
There continue to be pledge drives, budgets, elections, and
meetings, meetings, meetings. (There is never a shortage of meetings;
there are, in fact, even more meetings!)
4) Calling a new pastor takes time. It's that
Process thing. (If it says "Presbyterian" on the label, there's
nothing speedy inside.) It's a kind of courtship, and a commitment nobody
worthwhile wants to rush into. Pastors aren't commodities on a shelf,
sitting there waiting for us to pick one. They are doing their own
evaluation of potential calls. They have their own lists of items to
consider, including employment opportunities for their spouse, schools for
their children, buying a home.
Old First is not an easy church to define, much
less to serve. "Inner-city?" Not exactly. "Thriving?"
Well, at times. "Stable?" In numbers, but the actual members
come and go very quickly, even less permanent than the pastor.
"Historic?" Sure, but with a legacy of constant change
and a certain ornery streak in which we take some pride.
What takes more time than anything is listening for
God's voice. God works in God's own time, not ours. The right pastor is
out there -- there's never a question about that -- but a PNC needs more
than an impressive resume and great references and knock-your-socks-off
sermons. The committee and their chosen candidate need to arrive together
at a feeling of rightness, they need to be convinced of the rightness
........ and that takes time. Not
just time, but the patience, understanding and support of the
congregation.
Peace & Justice Scholarship
The Peace and Justice Committee of Old First will
award a partial scholarship to Ariel Krietzman to attend the 2005
Intergenerational Peace Conference at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico
in June. The scholarship
monies come from the 2004 Peacemaking Appeal to be used for a local
project.
This year's conference celebrates 25 years of the
Peacemaking Program in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and hosts an
impressive lineup of plenary leaders as well as a broad range of workshops
to challenge, nourish, inspire and support God's work in the world.
The conference has been designed so that every generation will be
challenged.
Please join the members of the Peace and Justice
Committee in congratulating Ariel and wishing her well in attending this
conference. By the way, she
will turn 18 during the week of the conference. What a rite of passage
into adulthood for a young peacemaker in the making!
To compete for the scholarship applicants were
asked to submit a narrative to the Committee on how the power of God's
love transformed a situation of fear in their lives.
Ariel drew upon her own history to tell a story of how God's peace
and love manifested in her life.
Following is an excerpt from her narrative:
I must admit I haven't encountered such great fear
in my short life, and I consider myself blessed that I haven't.
My fears are things
like the fear of failing my finals, the fear of messing up during a show,
or the fear of someone wearing the same dress as me to prom.
Although I do pray sometimes in these situations, they seem pretty
silly when I think about what's happening to other people.
People my age are fighting in wars right now.
People just like me are rebuilding lives destroyed by the tsunami.
I believe God has an incredible power to help
people through difficult or fearful times.
As I consider fear and things I have no control over, I can think
of one time
when I did
actually have some fear for my life. Coincidentally,
it occurred at Ghost Ranch one summer.
I had hiked to the top of Kitchen Mesa with some
friends It was clear skies
when we started up, but as we neared the top it began to seem stormy.
We weren't paying so much attention, and once we were on the top
looking down on the camp and the land stretched out below us, it began to
thunder. We all knew that we were the tallest things standing on top of
the tallest mesa for miles, and that's what the lightning would hit.
As we scurried across
the top to find the trail down again, I felt so amazed.
As real as the danger was, I trusted that I would be OK.
It was the most awe-inspiring thing I've ever experienced.
It felt like I could have reached out and touched God.
I really understood the power and strength of God that day.
|
Access
our news archives: May 2005, April 2005, March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004, November 2004, October 2004, September 2004, July/August 2004, June 2004, May 2004,
April 2004,
March 2004,
February 2004, January 2004,