ok folks, lay it on me (torch the place!)

Graeme - I'm gonna use a collar mike, so I won't have to worry too much about the mike - that's good because I don't want to be too tied down.

I'm gonna read it through a couple of times, and see what I can do. I like your point about the one-liner at the end - I had a stronger one, but it got moved around a bit, and I was tired.

I think the repetition will be carried through the Prayers of the People, and for those of you with the Emerging Spirit journal, I'm using the prayer on page... um, can't remember but here it is...
Prayer (J. Baker)
Disturb us, God, when we are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we have arrived safely,
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, God, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst,
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, God, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your empowerment;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars,
We ask you to push back
The Horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope and love.
Amen.

Thanks EZ - one reality of this is that "respectability" and the specific things I'm referring to really really suit the group - this church has been the one in the nicer end of town, near the university, etc - so it has sometimes got such status in the place of purpose. Gilded things, and Harmony have been used in exactly the way my words describe. These, and a couple of other comments are not more specific or laid out, because there could be raw nerves - I don't think I'll be misunderstood. The divisions have fallen along the lines of propriety & tradition & purpose (policy vs. ministry, property vs. program, same sex vs traditional values) etc. (Obviously more than that) In our transition, unfortunately, it is feeling like the small but harder sides are getting the toehold (and if that happens, it deserves to)

I am nervous about "defending" myself, or standing my ground - although some have seen, and hopefully will see my (AWESOME) wondercafe/emerging spirit (remind me to send that cd to Aaron) - they know this is my passion,
Its the details. i've been at this church a couple of years, and the things that have worked well have been set way back lately, and from a quantifiable position, one might argue, what do I know - but when Transformational change is required at all levels, I'm a drop in the bucket. (longer story -can you tell?)

I have joked that they'll have the pink slip waiting for me at the end of this one.

Ok, so here is a streamlined version... - the beginning, including the part on Justice, I will do owithout reading. I need way more practice & training to do the whole thing that way! But I read with passion & inflection.
I think "streamlined" is a good word - it is smoothed out, with better connections, more than I took out chunks. I did keep the pithy saying, but I tried to give an explanation.
Maybe I'm putting too much time into this, but I have precious little time to speak up at my work. It had to be good.
thanks again - comments welcome

Rising Up

- Quote "“ helder Camara - "When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a Communist." "“ didn't fit in, but worth saying
- Tough topic "“ division, but more, its about facing the issues directly "“ rather than looking at easier ones. Its about finally getting to the point rather than staring off into the distance.
luke 12: 49-6
Jesus the Cause of Division
"˜I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided:
father against son
and son against father,
mother against daughter
and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.'
Interpreting the Time
He also said to the crowds, "˜When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, "It is going to rain"; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, "There will be scorching heat"; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Rising Up

(spoken in my words) This past week, chief Justice Beverly McLaughlin issued a call to action to the government, lawyers & Judges regarding the legal system in Canada. With our medicare, and public schools, we really have little to complain about. But Justice is a cornerstone of our founding principles (peace, order & good government. Apparently, unless you are a large corporation, or poor, qualifying for legal aid, you're out of luck. Our system is too expensive & draining for normal people and small business to trust.
It isn't simply corruption. It's a polished and perfected system that got out of control. We all watch CSI and Law & Order as they dissect tiny fragments and forensic details to bring about true justice, but we are also familiar with the cut-throat bargaining that threatens it.
The real life scenario is similar to the Hollywood version. The ability to dissect the details is real, and time-consuming and costly. The cut-throat bargaining & legal loopholes seem at times to undermine common sense and case-by-case realities. Chief Justice McLaughlin is announcing that someone must do something or Justice will be a commodity for the wealthy.---

Do you feel angry hearing this? Does it make you jump off the pew and wave a placard? Some feel this is dragging up personal frustrations and sadness.
It is simple to say that we are glad to live in Canada, where our Justice system has been finely tuned, and perfected by respectable, well educated people. We could create harmony, by ignoring the issue. Are we just polishing a tarnished system, when we ought to be pushing for change? This is a key example of what Jesus was getting in Luke's passage.

Harmony gilds oppression with respectability, and rewards wrong.

Harmony gilds oppression with respectability, and rewards wrong.

Each of us has shied away from speaking out on things. Rather than getting our feathers ruffled, we have opted for respectable harmony. Where we have shied away from the conflict created by speaking out, we have permitted injustices to flourish. It gives the illusion of peace.

Jesus doesn't sound gentle today. This passage in Luke is actually straightforward "“ it is a Call to action "“ a serious frustration with people! This message, like all of Jesus' mandate, was radical, anti-establishment, a fight against the Empire.
Writing for non-Jews, Luke probably why he described Jesus as bringing "division", rather than the more poetic "sword" image that the Jews recognized from Mark's gospel. Luke was writing for people who were persecuted for being Christian, years after Jesus' death. For them, bringing peace was an end to fear & oppression. For us though, we know all about that peace "“ we talk about it every week, but after 2000 years, how far are we from his vision?
Jesus is "stressed!" How he wishes we were already aflame with a heart for justice! His job is tough, to sweep down, knock heads together, and set things right for the Kingdom. What he sees all around him, is people striving, instead, for harmony. And then he calls his listeners, Hypocrites.

Harsh words "“ we would be horrified if someone used that term at a meeting or here in the pulpit. It isn't a way to keep peace & harmony in a community, to call someone a hypocrite. Now, now, calm down, we would say. We need harmony.

One of the biggest complaints that former church-goers have is this choice of harmony over change. (to be fair, any institution or group struggles with harmony vs change). But churches are facing an identity crisis. Churches where generations of families have been hatched, matched & dispatched. Churches that have been built on blood, sweat & tears, on dedication & respectability. Churches we have poured our hearts and souls into. Carefully constructed and perfected, to be a gleaming beacon in the community. And yet, they aren't working.

There, I said it. Well, what would Jesus say? We've said it in back rooms. It is why Mountainview hired a CD director. It's why you are in a search process for a permanent minister. Because we need Church to work better.

And not just Mountainview. Right now, in St. Catharines, all the United Churches are undergoing transformation. Aside from the usual, relentless change; we have 2 churches amalgamated into First Grantham. Others have retired ministers, or supply ministers, or uncertain funding. Welland Ave, Memorial & St. Paul St. are sharing services, paying for consultations, and praying their way into a future that will likely see another amalgamation soon.

I remind myself that God has a hand in shaking up every United Church in the city, a hand in the sleepless nights, and the frustrated meetings, and money draining. Despite the optimistic visioning committees and cheerful joint picnics, many in our city feel like the churches they have poured their blood, sweat & tears into, seem to be crumbling.

And today, Jesus is saying, if it ain't broke, then break it. If it hasn't crumbled yet, it's time to tear it down. If our unity & vision is based on a building or a system or a memory, it will be divided, father against son, mother against daughter, till it is ashes on the ground.

Imagine for a minute, what it takes for a government to switch a program. For example, let's imagine changing the tax system. Imagine, the Greens have won the federal election, and they want to tax corporations for environmentally unfriendly practices. We are cheering, but let me tell you, the bureaucrats are panicking. After adjusting to the last government, suddenly everything is changing. The software they use must be rewritten. The forms they use must be rewritten. Everything reprinted & replaced. The spin-doctoring has to be spun, the dates finalized, and the workers trained. Changing a policy is a nightmare. Changing anything can be a nightmare.

To create a new vision for a church, a vision that seems to forsake tradition, or open wider that we've be prepared for: that is monumental.
Change can be terrifying. So we add a fresh coat of paint, raise money at a church supper, and talk about harmony.

But what about the Kingdom?
- what about the poor,
- what about the frightened & lonely
- what about the choking planet
- what about good people turned away because of who they love
- what about war in Darfur, ignored by the West
- what about Canadian soldiers struggling with their conscience?
- what about people who can't afford justice, or healing?
- what about each of us here, wondering if we're making a difference?
- what about Jesus' relentless struggle to bring about the Kingdom of God?

The passage in Luke speaks of families divided. That is not hard to picture. The radical hot-headed child rejects a lesson from the parent, rattling the structure that the family was organized around. But we are not blind, or hypocrites "“ we know, when we look clearly, that there are times the new way is an improvement on the old. That the new lessons learned by youth supplant the familiar wisdom of the parent. The division comes, but not necessarily with anger and bitterness. If honour & pride are not the focus, then perhaps the promise and hope of the new wisdom is celebrated.

Do churches face this division well? Some don't.

My sister popped into a church in her new hometown, and was greeted by the treasurer, "I hope you come again, our offering plates could use a little help!" A friend of hers spoke of her husband, approached by a gentleman, who said, "Son, you look like you'd rather be on the golf course today than in church right now". In another church, a discussion of placing a basketball net in the parking lot clearly showed the Board's interest in avoiding the ruffians, and attracting instead, "clean-cut youth whose parents have lots of money."

While we are wondering, how do we save our church; others are wondering "Why should we save churches?"

Think about Ross' story of "Bill". More and more of my contemporaries, in my age group and younger, and even older, dress like Bill, rather than like me. It's a wild world, full of intelligence, and passion, and interest, and justice, and overwhelmingly anti-establishment ideas "“how we talk with Bill will need to be different than it has been before. How we include Bill will be different than how we have expected to be included. Some of you saw the presentation I gave at Council on the Emerging Spirit statistics. In short, it is a miracle, if anyone 45 or younger crosses the threshold of a church these days. They have absolutely no reason, that they know of, to need a church. In the fall, I'll give that presentation again, and I hope you'll make time to come.

It sounds impossible, rather like solving our global economy so that people can eat and wars can stop. I hear a lot of talk about Southridge, or Bethany Churches brimming with congregants, but according to Reginald Bibby, the popular Canadian Sociologist, the reality is, that if you lump all the mainline churches together, we've got as many or more people than those few big churches. And if you were to look on the pillows of many Canadian homes today, you would see even more sleepy heads than is in any of those churches or ours put together.

If we got out the message of the Kingdom of God "“ lets say, to seek justice, to love kindness & walk together in humility & love, many, many people, atheists included, would wake up and come in. This message is what can make us a church for people who might have slept in instead.

But why are we saving churches? Why bother? Why aren't we sleeping in on Sunday? Because we are about the Kingdom. We are the place for holding the principles of the Kingdom high, and building up from the Ashes a place for everyone. Because we can't sleep while oppression & suffering continue. If everything around us were to fall, What Church would God raise from the ashes?

What will our little slice of the Kingdom look like?
- well, for one it will celebrate who we are and who we have been "“ educators, ministry, professionals with time for justice & learning.
- It will recognize & develop the programs that have sparked life "“ a building with space & promise & light, music that everyone enjoys, intergenerational worship for all ages, spiritual events, even our new sign,
- Our Kingdom will replace suspicion with trust, and assumptions with sharing
- It will focus our purpose on furthering God's kingdom, rather than saving the past for the future.
- Where Outreach has been kindled, we will stoke the fire, and share the abundance of money and voice that we have, with those who have so much less.
- Our swelling hearts will soar with lively Spirit & satisfaction, rather than good memories & comfortable surroundings.
- And the people we sit next to here, or work next to in the kitchen or plan beside in the council room, will be celebrated for making the world a better place, regardless of their colour, race, sexual orientation, age or even if it's bare-foot wild-haired Bill.

Because God is in the division, in the radical ideas, in the hearts of people honouring the past and embracing the future "“ because God is there, we will grow the Kingdom. I wonder, should the future incarnation of the 3 downtown churches be called Phoenix United? And Mountainview? Take a deep breath, remember to trust each other, ask questions, and open your eyes. It might be a wild ride as we tear down what doesn't work, but something amazing will rise from the ashes: real harmony; true justice; God's Peace.
Amen.

Ok, it seems long, but when I read it through, carefully, intending to be slow and clear, it is running about 16-17 minutes - that's not bad is it? Right now, we've got a supply minister who is regularly going to 25 minutes or longer.

I'll fix the universal health care part.

I so want to thank you all for your input - I'm off line for 24 hours, and glad to have this sermon ready to go- it feels pretty good now!!

Your comments meant a lot, and I'll be feeling more confident thanks to you all!