Pastor's Page

We Are Resurrection Witnesses

 

As I look back over the past fourteen months since I became the pastor of United Church of Cookeville, I am amazed at how fast the time has gone AND at how passionate this congregation is about the life of this church. Your dedication and determination amazes and inspires me. I count it a blessing every day to be a part of this wondrous Body of Christ. As I look back over the past year, I see a tale of growth and becoming.

 

While we grieve the loss of three parishioners – church member Jean Andereck, church member Carol Eisenmenger, and Errol Mays, the spouse of a church member – we have also allowed our grief to expand our vision for ministry. In Carol's honor, we rennovated our sanctuary entrance with wider spaces and open doors, a fitting tribute for a woman who in eighteen years with cancer never closed the door on the hope for new life. In Jean's honor, along with her husband, Ed, who died in November 2008, we began a Hospitality Ministry to carry on in an intentional way their legacy of welcome: we are greeting and welcoming each other and our guests into our church home with care and purpose, we are delivering Great Harvest bread to our first-time guests, and we are making extended in person visits with our third-time guests. Like the Phoenix, we have risen from the ashes of our mourning with joy for our Easter morning. We have risen with hope for new life.

 

It is hard to believe that we have already shared our second season of Lenten ashes and are in the middle of sharing our second season of Easter joy together. During this Easter Season I have said, more than once, that we are resurrection witnesses. As we have reflected and continue to reflect on the disciples of Jesus becoming apostles after Jesus's death – transitioning from being followers to messengers, students to teachers – I have reminded us of Mary's fearful surprise on that first Easter morning when she visited Jesus's grave and found it empty. I have reminded us of her awe-filled joy when she discovered that Jesus was alive again! And I have reminded us that all of these characters from the Bible are resurrection witnesses. It was their witness of Jesus's resurrection that catalyzed the formation and spreading of the Christian faith. They remind us that, as Christians, we too are called to be resurrection witnesses. We too are called to develop a contagious faith – a faith that we can't help but share with those we meet by our words, our actions, our deeds, and our example.

 

As we look to the future, our identity as witnesses may be the hardest, but most important, common denominator around which we can rally. We are witnesses of different things and we witness in different ways, but for our little “David” of a progressive church to survive in a “Goliath” world of fundamentalism, we must share our own sense of witness with those who are hungry for something different. As a progressive “David” our witness is different than our neighboring “Goliaths.” Our witness is not for everyone, but it is exactly what some people need and want to hear. What is our resurrection witness? What is your resurrection witness? How is Jesus alive in your life? How does the living spirit of God make a difference for you? Is your life richer and fuller because of your faith? Are you excited about your faith and your church? If you are, then you have something to share – you are a witness! You are a witness of hope for new life! A witness of sorrow turned to joy! You are a resurrection witness!

 

May we recognize those things that hold us back from our Easter joy. May we find ways to connect with the joy of our faith. And may we wade through the muddy waters of witness together, stumbling with awkward grace*, and loving ourselves, others, and God as if our lives depended on it. Mahalo. Namaste. Shalom.

* For more on “awkward grace,” see my sermon from 5-9-10 as posted on our website: www.cookevilleucc.org.

 

Visit United Church of Cookeville at 502 Gould Drive, off South Willow Avenue, or on the Web at www.cookevilleucc.org.