Prayers for Orlando in Light of Mass Shooting on June 12, 2016

A word from our Pastor on the occasion of the mass shootings in Orlando on June 12, 2016:

Please join me in prayer for the families of those who have been killed or wounded in Orlando this morning.  President Obama has identified this the worst mass shooting in American history.  We know it comes on the heels of too many mass shootings over the course of recent decades.  Our hearts grieve and mourn with victims and survivors of all such attacks.  Even as we give thanks for the many first responders who put their lives on the line and are feverishly at work for life.

The President has described this attack as an act of terror and hate.  As a religious leader in our community I feel compelled to underscore the need for courage and love. Our Christian faith bolsters our commitment to turn away from all hatred and fear.  Our faith teaches that all human beings are precious and all bear the imprint of the image of God.  

That imprint of God is on all people. It is not restricted to straight people, Christian people, or any other subset of humanity. The Creator's mark is on us all. It is firmly placed upon the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans-gendered persons (many of whom are active and committed people of faith).  It is on people of every philosophy and religion – including our Muslim neighbors who faithfully live beside us in community. I highlight this common blessing with emphasis on orientation and religion because of the horrible details in this particular attack.

Please join me in prayer for our leaders as America seeks ways to avoid the perpetuation of such violence.  Our nation is certainly in need of vigilance. But we also are in desperate need of calm and wisdom.

Our congregation has learned how to live faithfully together even when there are issues where we find ourselves in disagreement.  But our disagreements have never lead us down pathways of fear or hate.  My prayer is that our model of faithful forbearance and mutual respect will offer some small inspiration for our community. 

Because events such as this cause my emotions to be quite close to the surface, I offer prayers that were previously written and included in our Presbyterian Book of Common worship.  They were written for times of National Crisis and also as a cry for justice.  I invite you into some time for prayer today.  May our prayers be joined with others in a way that heals, calms and strengthens.

Brian Paulson, Pastor of the First Presybterian Church of Libertyville
(This is a timely pastoral letter that does not reflect an action of our governing Session.)

God of ages, in your sight nations rise and fall, and pass through times of peril. Now when our land is troubled, be near to judge and save. May leaders be led by your wisdom; may they search your will and see it clearly. Give us your light and your truth to guide us; through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of this world, and our Savior. Amen.

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart, that the barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease, and that, with our divisions healed, we might live in justice and peace; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Inspire!

Can you feel God tugging at your heart? Easter is a moment that opens my heart. I am inspired by resurrection to see anew.  An example of this vision inspired me last night and opened my memory to more inspiration.

A little boy ran up to a homeless man on the street corner last night as I was headed to a wonderful dinner with a group of Christian leaders. (It is not this photo, I found this a stock image of inspiration online - but looked just like this!) It was clear the boy's heart was open as he went rushing to put money in a cup.

Then I remembered images of young and old from our community preparing beds and meals for the homeless we house in our weekly shelter. A flood of caring acts filled my memory and my heart. Just as I shared in worship on Easter, I am inspired by our congregation!

Such inspiration is in start contrast to the events of a world that is killing the spirit and numbing our senses. What can we do?  I am inspired by the story of a boy who was discouraged by a man from throwing starfish back into the sea - it would just send them back again. Undaunted, the boy held up another starfish, looked at the man and said, "That may be," said the boy, "but here is one I can save today."

If only we could always have such child-like determination and hope!  But there are many in our world who grow weary from the constant waves of misery crashing against our lives. How can we confront an expression that has developed in recent years: "compassion fatigue."

One of the conversations I had over dinner last night engaged the challenge of equipping and encouraging new generations of leaders who will inspire the world with good. The next generation of adults who currently work to change our world are very idealistic in many new and practical ways that engage specific projects all around the world. I see new kinds of community growing through friendships fostered at work, school, intentional living communities, and various forms of networking.

What I do not see growing is a sustaining base for this altruism that will last a lifetime. This is a gift that I believe congregations have to offer the world.  It is a gift that our congregation seeks to offer each and every day of the week. We inspire!

(Elmore Nickelberry, at left in 1968, he was then a Memphis sanitation worker on strike when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was slain in Memphis at the Lorraine Motel. His son Terence recently displayed a slogan made famous by the 1968 sanitation strike. by Carl Juste / Miami Herald Staff)

Yet some real challenge remains for me and for our congregation in a suburb of privilege.  That challenge is present on street-corners in Chicago just as it should be in our hearts every day.  How can we shift the tide of inhumanity afflicting our world?

A congregation does more than countless acts of charity.  We ground our lives in the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is the one who taught parables in order to "tease our mind into active thought."  The boy engaging the beggar on the street corner brought to mind Jesus' parable about Lazarus and the rich man. Is the gospel engaging our imagination?  Is our creative soul inspired?

I remember that Dr. King was slain in 1968 while posing challenging questions about the relative worth and dignity of everyone living and working in America. These questions continue to haunt our society as rifts between rich and poor, black, white, and every color grow ever more stark and alarming. I suppose if the answers were simple, they would have been accomplished by now.  But here is a prayer that I make unto God as I return to the desk after Easter morning:  I pray for inspiration - inspiration for action.

The empty cross stands above our church as both invitation and instigation. The image may seem as quaint and classic as a Rockwell painting, but we are an incubator of action. This is the charge and challenge for every Christian congregation.  We must be a source of inspiration for a better humanity.

So go inspire someone.  We can help you start with a wide range of caring acts. But carry that spirit into your daily routines and conversations.  Commit your life to the cause of Christ and let the Holy Spirit flood your heart to change and inspire the world.

Christ is Risen - Let Us Show the World what it Means!

Brian

The Pastor's Study for June/July FirstWord (Preview!)

Be still, and know that I am God! - Psalm 46:10a

When you visit my study, if you look carefully at the bookshelf, you will see poking out of a book shelf a slice of a pine trunk with these words written upon it, “Be Still and Know”.  It was a gift from a member of my Arizona congregation.

That verse was a constant reminder a friend of mine would recite as she lived with a diagnosis of ovarian cancer.  Eventually the cancer took her before her time, but she outlived the odds and she was able to watch as I was able to preside over the wedding of both sets of her twin children and baptize her grandchildren. Whenever we would discuss her faith and her circumstance she would calmly recite the need to “Be Still and Know.” It is a simple verse to ponder and it ought to be a simple verse to live.  But sometimes there is a long distance between the things that we ponder and the way that we live. 

How will you live this summer?  Is there space in your schedule to ponder?

When I started my ministry in a community similar to ours, a doctor spoke with me about his family life.  He said, “we work hard and we play hard.”  - I don’t know why but I had never heard the expression before.  Isn’t there a simple delight to play?

Every day I see coaches and athletes playing hard in Libertyville.  We know how to do that.  But do we know how to be still?  Are we afraid of what may meet us in the stillness?  Might we discover ourselves more deeply and find that God is present beside us?

The greatest athletes I have met know how to be still.  The most innovative executives know how to delight and play.  Take this summer and worship the Lord in spirit and truth.  Make time to be still.  Delight in our companionship of faith.

Life is a spiritual adventure!

Holy Week Culminations

I hope we will see you at our Tenebrae service (service of darkness) tonight on Good Friday at 7:30.  My thoughts have been full of the experience of the cross today.  I attended the noontime service at the Episcopalian church as I do each year.  The preacher articulated what I have been pondering - so much death and tragedy these weeks!  His insight was powerful - that Jesus' thirst was emblematic of our human thirst for God and likewise it was emblematic of God's thirst for humankind.  Powerful stuff.  Many of your remaked on a quote that Anne Lamott shared in my Palm Sunday sermon. Have you taken the full journey of the week?  

Earlier in the day, I wrote a meditation on our tendency to want justice done on someone else. What are you pondering as we head to worship tonight?  How will Amy's meditations strike your soul?

Tomorrow, I hope you will go to the Easter Egg Hunt at 10 a.m. and see all the joy of our children and their families!  If you want to take full advantage of Holy Saturday, the Episcopalians always go all out.  They have a service at 8 a.m. and a vigil at 7 p.m.

Of course, on Easter, I hope that you have marked your calendar.  Both Luke Hyder and I will be preaching.  I will preach at the Festival services at 9 and 11 a.m. in our renewed Sanctuary.  Luke will preach at our Easter Sunrise in the Chapel at 7 a.m. and at our Sunday at 6 service this Easter in the Sanctuary.  At the evening service we will celebrate both the sacrament of baptism (on behalf of the Union Church of Manila for a child of our church home for the holiday) and also the sacrament of holy communion.  If you are coming back from Spring Break, this may be a great way to return!

Then don't forget to participate in our Listening Circles.  The first big gathering will be on the first Sunday after Easter.  Sign up online through our Strategic Planning Webpage.  Also take the online survey now!

Wow.  God is making all things new.  Join us!

An Update on Presbyterian Church (USA) Constitutional Changes

Dear Members and Friends of First Pres:

The public news media is reporting news of a change in the PCUSA constitution in our Book of Order. Here is a published word from the Stated Clerk of our denomination, Gradye Parsons:

It appears from unofficial voting tallies that amendment 14-F of the Directory for Worship in the Book of Order has been approved by a majority of the presbyteries. The approval allows Teaching Elders (pastors) wider discretion in whose weddings they may conduct and Sessions wider discretion in whose weddings it may host. That discretion could include same gender marriages in states where that is permitted.

It is important to note that the determination of what couple a Teaching Elder will marry has and will continue to be with that Teaching Elder. Likewise, the determination by a Session as to whose weddings a congregation will host remains solely with the Session. There is nothing in the amendment to compel any Teaching Elder to conduct a wedding against his or her judgment, nor a Session to host one against its judgment.  (For more by Rev. Parsons, click here.)

This latest action will create no practical change in the current ministry of our congregation. In the October 2014 meeting of our Session, decisions were made that allowed for the possibility of these constitutional changes. The paragraphs below are taken from the Session's explanation of its former decisions and are instructive for us all at this time:

After an extended period of prayer and discernment shared with the congregation, the Session of our congregation voted to permit same sex weddings in our church facilities.  The intent of the vote is to offer the support of our faith community to members and their families when they seek to live a joyfully ordered life of Christian witness and faithfulness within the covenant of marriage - regardless of the sexual orientation of the two persons who seek to live such covenanted lives.  Those who wish to be married in our church will continue to be required to undergo a structured process of pre-marital counseling with the officiating pastor.  As always, the officiating pastor will have leeway of pastoral discretion with each couple in choosing to proceed with the wedding or in declining to officiate.

In addition to the dynamics named above, the Session also views a wedding is an act of personal pastoral care for individual Christians within the Body of Christ.  As an act of personal pastoral care, the performing of same sex weddings is not meant to bind the conscience of all believers in our congregation on the question of same sex relationships.

The decision was made after careful consideration of Biblical passages and themes utilizing the "Presbyterian Understanding and Use of Holy Scripture" and its principles for interpretation: Centrality of Christ; Plain Sense of the Text; Scripture interpreting Scripture; Rule of Faith; and Rule of Love.  In addition, the decision was framed by:  guidance of the Confessions; understanding of Christian marriage; the Reformed understanding of being a Covenant Community; assessment of the spiritual state of our congregation; and by personal experience.

Finally, I prayerfully remind you of a word the Session commended to the congregation in October:

As the congregation moves forward from this decision, we are encouraged to bear with each other and support each other in love and mutual affection.  Continue to pray and study scripture in spiritual discernment and bear in mind a useful verse from Romans 12:10:  Love each other like the members of your family. Be the best at showing honor to each other. (CEB)

Faithfully,

Brian  R. Paulson

Pastor

Volunteers Needed for Listening Circles in April

Dear Friends and Leaders in our Congregation,

This brief post is written to ask leaders (present and past) from our congregation to prayerfully consider leading a short but significant opportunity in the life of our church.  In the month of April, our congregation will be gathering in “Listening Circles” for the purpose of helping us discern God’s leading for the immediate years ahead.  Would you be available as a volunteer for this purpose?

We are asking you to consider volunteering the following brief but significant events: 1. A training session on Saturday morning, March 21, from 9 until noon.; 2. Facilitate one or two of our 2 hour Listening Circles.; 3. Participate in one Listening Circle as a member offering your own experience. 

Can you offer your time for these 3 or 4 one-time events?  Again, there is one fixed date on March 21^st and the other 2 or 3 events will match your availability in the month of April.  (If you would like to participate but have a problem with our fixed date of March 21^st, please let us know that is the limitation for you.)

On March 21^st, our Strategic Planning Team will be training facilitators with Susan Beaumont, our premier national resource for congregational planning.  We are in need of about 20 facilitators that will guide the Listening Circles through six sharing questions.  Will you volunteer to be a potential facilitator?

If we have more volunteers than there are available slots for facilitators, we will ask you to participate in only one event, the Listening Circle in the month of April.  Susan will provide a brief overview of the process for the whole congregation following worship on March 22^nd.   

Time is of the essence for us so I ask you to pause, pray, and respond to this inquiry as soon as possible (no later than Friday, March 13^th).

Please send your response to Ruling Elder Andy D., co-chair of our Strategic Planning Team through our Church Office email or phone: 847-362-2174. 

Thank you for your prayerful consideration!

Gratefully,

Brian Paulson

Pastor

Spiritual Discernment Underway at First Pres

Did you know that we are not only in a season of spiritual reflection with Christians around the world, but we also are starting a new spiritual journey together at First Pres?  Later this month, we will be training leaders of "Listening Circles" that will gather in April to share insights about the way God is moving in our midst.  This will coincide with other methods of information gathering from our congregation and community that is underway.

As our confirmation students have been finishing their statements of faith, I have been remembering the times and occasions I have made a public profession of the things that matter most in my life.  Images conjure from my youth, young adulthood, and other critical junctures of my life.  I still remember a pastor charging me to "Go and Serve the Lord" as I pondered just how I was to do that.  How do you do that?  What are the ways that God is moving in your life?

How does the spiritual life you lead day by day find expression in our church?  We have been in Libertyville since 1869.  Every generation has sought to express the faith with new enthusiasm for a changing world.  How will we be doing this together?  This is the work of spiritual discernment.

How will God be doing a new thing through us? Ponder this passage from Isaiah 43.