August 27, 2021
Dear Prairie Avenue Family,
I suspect that many of you have experienced some blend of sorrow, grief, sadness and anger felt in watching the news coverage of the suicide bombing yesterday in Kabul. Please join me, as you are reading this, in praying once more for the victims and their families - the 13 US service members who were killed and 15 injured while courageously staying at their posts trying to help those seeking to flee Afghanistan, and at least 169 Afghan civilians killed, over 200 injured as they sought to flee, many of whom have worked with the US for the last twenty years.
The Refugee and Immigration Ministries of Disciples Home Missions are providing updates and assistance to assist in the relocation and settlement of Afghanistan citizens in the US. The top priorities are 1) help Afghan allies and vulnerable populations get into and evacuate Kabul airport 2) develop quick and safe processing to destinations and 3) prepare as congregations and communities to welcome refugees. Most refugees are being processed in Virginia, with destinations for Sacramento, Atlanta, Dallas, Durham. I will keep you posted if we have some arriving in Central Illinois.
It seems political, economic, and social disasters are competing for attention this week. As was announced yesterday, Illinois will have an indoor mask mandate, regardless of vaccination status, beginning next Monday. To date, we have recommended masks when social distancing is not possible. Following this Sunday we will require masks unless you are seated in the sanctuary. The numbers of COVID-19 cases are climbing to levels not seen since the first of the year, and over 90% are among the unvaccinated. Intubation is not snorkeling; it is a painful near-drowning experience with a tube jammed in your throat. Get vaccinated now.
Worship This Weekend:
Soul Food: Dirty Hands & Clean Hearts
We conclude our worship series Soul Food this Sunday with Jesus, the Pharisees and Scribes, and the disciples talking about priorities, traditions, and digestion! Do you know how to recognize a pharisee? Whenever someone says "thank God I'm not like one of those Pharisees," they likely are one.
And I think the Pharisees are unfortunately straw men in most of the gospels, often flatly depicted as judgmental, critical, and overly concerned with minor details. To simplify complex situations, it is easier to make gross generalizations (which, as stated are usually grossly wrong and too general) about perceived opposition than to examine what is really going on. Indeed, it was the Pharisees who survived the Jewish revolt of 70 AD and kept interpreting ancient Israelite law to be kept in vastly altered political and social circumstances. Modern Judaism survived because of its devotion to sacred communal identity.
Unfortunately, our lenses come 2,000 years after this encounter in the gospel of Mark, and what is a vigorous discussion and disagreement over priorities among fellow Jewish religious authorities becomes a means to point accusingly at their hypocrisy rather than examining, addressing, and finally repenting of our own self-righteous hypocrisy. What is the right way to honor God in all aspects of one's life?
It is not about handwashing (which you should do always), or food intake (which I will leave to you to evaluate your dietary balance), or the value or limit of traditions, but rather what comes out from the heart, the will of a person, that can honor (or defy) God. Jesus does not oppose ritual handwashing, a desire to obey God's instructions or reliance on traditions. What gets under Jesus' skin is using the sacred in the service of desecration. In the name of God--disobeying God's commands.
For Jesus, the heart of the problem is, well, the heart. The right way to honor God begins there. You cannot do it by keeping things out (whether food or behavior), but by keeping attention on what is trying to get its way from within: a hateful heart, bad intentions, and unchecked hypocrisy. Our hearts have murky and tangled motivations: whether bias, ignorance, judgment, blame, or any of the 'isms that plague our relationships, our politics, and our lives.
Seeking Shalom Masterclass
Sunday, August 15, 10:45 am Golden Circle Classroom
We continue to learn more about traditional charity and its limitations following Modern worship service in the Golden Circle Classroom. This invaluable resource provided by the Lupton Center, will draw our mission and vision for our neighborhood outreach efforts tentatively called Prairie Avenue Neighborhood Services (PANS).
Through Leaders Lab, I am also able to offer individual access to this coursework online. If you are interested in participating through this access, please email me. I will be glad to share the access point information and process.
Service Opportunities
It is time for more congregational participation in the order of service and providing hospitality on Sunday morning. We need worship leaders for each service, 8 am or 9:30 am. The script is usually completed by Wednesday mornings and can be picked up or sent via e-mail to you. We need greeters to open the door, secure it about ten minutes after worship begins, leave the sanctuary just after communion is shared to offer goodbye at the doorway.
We are still seeking nominations for board officers and trustees.
Invite friends to join you for worship
this weekend, in person, online
In-person on Sunday mornings at 8 am (Traditional) or 9:30 am (Modern) Masks are encouraged regardless of vaccination status if social distancing cannot be kept.
See you this weekend online or in person,
Blessings to you all,
