First United Methodist Church

“For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part;

then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.”    I Cor. 13:12 NRSV

“A Tomato on a

Casket Spray”       

                 Paul’s words from his Chapter on Love came alive again for me recently as I experienced a few “Kingdom of God Moments” that I’d like to share with you as we approach St. Valentine's Day.  I’ve now had 3 funerals since coming to be with you in July.  Each one was thankfully for older members of the church.  Lola Johnson was 87, Hazel Vennard was 93,  Don Ahrendt was 94 and the only one I wasn’t able to officiate at (due to my Uncle Rev. Charles Curtis funeral in Wichita, KS – Pastor Paul filled in for me) was for Aldna M. Ufford’s service, who was 103. Granted, all of their deaths were too soon for those they loved and who loved them.  Still, each of them lived long and full lives filled with unconditional love and unending faith.  All of us should be equally blessed.                                                                                      

                In my 25+ years of ministry experience, I’ve witnessed a healthy share of stories about those Kingdom of God Moments that families have shared about God incidents (as opposed to coincidents) that families have enjoyed from their loved ones.  The first story I recall was a woman in Harrisburg, SD who shared with me that her dead husband had come to visit with her after his death.  She hesitated at first to share that intimate almost unbelievable experience with me.  “You’re probably going to think I’m crazy!” was how she prepared me for what she was about to tell me. “He came and stood at the foot of my bed, he didn’t say anything but I felt his presence as if he were saying to me that he was OK and he wanted me to know that I was going to be OK too!”  

                 As I said, I’ve had countless similar experiences as a pastor and again as a Chaplain in more recent years.  I’ve had a couple in the last few weeks.  I'll share one.  It happened as we celebrated with Hazel Vennard’s family.  You see, Hazel had 14 children; 12 of whom were in attendance at her service in our sanctuary.  The night before her service at the church, we met informally at the funeral home.  I often preface the Prayer Service noting that “since an obituary can only be the briefest summation of a person’s life, early on in my ministry I found that it’s most helpful to meet with the family and friends of those that knew the loved ones best of all.” It is a great time of sharing, of laughter and tears, a celebration of life.  Stories are shared of their loved ones lives as witnessed by family and friends.                   

                      Hazel’s daughter Ruth stood and shared that her mother loved to garden, since her children were small she always had a garden filled with fresh vegetables for her family.  One year she had upwards of 500 tomato plants and they canned them all.  Ruth stated that’s probably why her family has always been so healthy.   I shared that story again at the service the following day.  At the end of the service we traveled over to the Bluff View Cemetery for the committal.  As is often the case, after the words at the graveside; family members are given roses from the floral spray on the casket.  As I said, she had 14 children and is survived by 12 who were present at the cemetery.  So, as you can imagine it didn’t take long for the roses to be distributed, then the carnations and finally the artificial wired butterflies leaving mainly the greenery to be lowered into the vaulted grave.                                                                                                                     

                 Just before the family was about to leave the cemetery, I noticed a curious thing... there from my vantage point at the back of the casket out of view was a tiny little “cherry tomato” .  I’m not sure how that ended up on the bouquet, it was out of context.  I wondered if it was simply “An accident by the florist?”  Perhaps!  Although I’d like to think that it was NOT a mistake but rather Hazel and God’s way of saying that she is OK and wanted to bring one more smile to her family.  After pointing this out to the funeral director, he brought it to the children's attention.  The children clamored with cameras retrieved from nearby cars in order to capture a glimpse of that little bloom of hope and life.                                                                

                 Life goes on, long after the death of our loved ones.  Like pebbles tossed into a pond, their ripples of influence continue to touch our lives.  My hope and prayer as we begin this new year together is that you might find comfort knowing that God is with you just as God is with those whose loved ones have gone before.  Our journey will continue and together we’ll pass on God’s love with those that follow us too!                                                          

                                                                               Looking for more than meets the physical eye,

“What I want to talk about now is the various ways God's Spirit gets worked into our lives. This is complex and often misunderstood, but I want you to be informed and knowledgeable.      God's various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. …  Each person is given something to do that shows just who God is: Everyone gets in on it and everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people!     All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. God decides who gets what, and when.  You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts - limbs, organs, cells - but no matter how many parts you can name, you're still one body.   It's exactly the same with the Spirit.” 

1 Corinthians 12: 1-12 (selected verses) The Message“ 

    "He took Brook’s Place…"

 “He’s the new pastor at the United Methodist Church.”  “He’s our new pastor!” “You’re our new guy!”   Having been here almost two months now… those are just a few of the introductions I’ve been a part of.  However, the most often used is:   “He’s the one who took Brook’s place!”  Not sure I’m very fond of that last one; makes me sound as if I took something that didn’t belong to me.  ;)

Sunday I talked about people finding their place.  The old Bob Uecker commercial from the 80’s is a classic where the usher has to tell world famous catcher (in HIS mind) Bob Uecker that he’s in the wrong seat and he replies with the classic, somewhat arrogant line.  “Why, I must be in the front row!”

Just as elementary students look forward to finding their own place or the desk they’re assigned to in their classrooms, we all like to know what our place is.  Without someone putting us there or forcing us there.  Some of our college students who’ve been gone for the summer will worship with us again. They’ll be looking for their place too.  You see, we’re creatures of habit.   All of us like the familiarity of what we know.    Yes, those of us in church get settled in where we’re most comfortable.  Some like to be in the front row.  More often than not though, people fill in the back pews first. 

It’s interesting to watch how some people look at someone sitting in “their spot” as if they have reserved seating.  That’s why I like Sunday morning worship.  It’s a first come first served “show”… but unlike concerts the seats in front are usually pretty open.  I’m not exactly sure why that is, just an odd fact of faith. 

Maybe some of us don’t want to get too close to the action or they might expect us to be a part of it.  I’m sure there is some truth to that.  The church is like most things, the old 80/20 rule exists in the church.  20 % of our most faithful will once again end up doing 80% of the word.  20% will help us with 80% of our budget needs.  Hopefully our attendance is a little better than the 20% - I think the national average is more like 40% attend church regularly.

http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/fastfacts/fast_facts.html#attend

In the next few weeks, we will make it possible for you to find what part of that equation you’d like to find yourself in, what you’re most comfortable helping with.  My hope is that you will find your place.  No, we can’t all be “anything we” want to be; but we can be “EVERYTHING God” wants us to be.  I hope you’ll take the time to help discern where your gifts might be best used in the life of our church.  I’m not talking just monetary gifts either, although there is that too.  I’m also talking about the “gifts” that God has blessed each of us with.  Where can God best use you to build folks up?  Where can you feel at ease doing something good for someone else?  Where will your place be this school year?

               Maybe you’ll find your voice in the choir.  Maybe you’ll help with the weekend food Backpacks.  Maybe you’ll help with Sunday School or Youth Group.  Maybe you’ll help with Pastor Paul and the Campus Ministry.  Maybe you’ll invite a friend to church.  Maybe you’re a “hands on type person” that could do a little painting, fix up, building.  Maybe you’ll find your place at the Welcome Table (free meal to the community) on Monday nights.  Maybe you’ll want to join a study or even lead your own  study or class?  We offer a variety of ways to experience God’s abundant and overflowing love.  My hope is that you’ll find your place here and together we’ll make it a better church and ultimately a better world than before we were here.  See you in Church!

               Hope to see you in ministry with me and the rest of the folks, who call themselves Vermillion United Methodists,