Defining worship, revisited

Last week I introduced you to the work of Lester Ruth who provided categories for describing Christian worship that are not biased or pejorative. As I mentioned last week, Dr. Ruth came up with three categories to define worship, one of which was “how does a congregation see itself in relation to other churches?” He provided a range from “Congregational” to “Connectional,” I put us solidly on the Connectional side of the scale. Some of you responded with your affirmation of that. It is not a simple category for all churches, however. I once drove by an “independent Bible church” in California which proudly advertised on a large sign outside their church “We play Hillsong Music”—much the same way the refectory at Fuller Seminary advertised “We serve Starbucks Coffee.” This is why these categories are on a range, not either/or questions. Churches are somewhere on the scale, but probably not at one end or the other, like this “independent” church which connected itself to another group of churches in its worship. For me this illustration raises another question: I wonder if the early Christians worried about how they branded their worship? 

Defining worship, defined by worship

In the latter decades of the last century and the early decade of this century, there was a lot of rhetoric around Protestant worship. In particular, the use and meanings of the terms “traditional” and “contemporary.” When we think of “contemporary worship,” for example, we often think of music and instrumentation; songs that are structured more like popular songs than hymns, and instruments that are more commonly found in popular music than classical music. Actually, contemporary worship began with the use of contemporary translations of the Bible (like the Living Bible, Good News for Modern Man [sic], or more recently, The Message). Once that threshold was crossed, other contemporary elements began showing up in worship, like what people sang, what instruments they played, how they dressed, what elements were used for communion, and how it was served. 

Our first lesson today…

Following last week’s reflection on the uniqueness of Matthew’s gospel which is being read throughout this liturgical year, I thought this week I would explore the season of Pentecost and how it is unique in the church year. In particular I wanted to identify how the readings other than the gospel lessons are chosen. To begin with, the church year is divided almost exactly in half, with the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, and Easter (which ends Pentecost Sunday) comprising the “Christ cycle.” These seasons begin with the Father’s promise of a Messiah, leading to the birth and ministry of Jesus resulting in the dying, rising, and ascending of Christ, concluded with the giving of the Spirit which “christs” (or christens, anoints) us. The other half of the year is the “Church cycle” which focuses on the Church as the Body of Christ, It begins the first Sunday after Pentecost and ends with the Reign of Christ Sunday, or “Judgment Sunday” in the old Swedish tradition.

"… According to Matthew"

First Covenant Church practices the discipline of using the lectionary as a guide for the reading and proclamation of God’s Word. The Revised Common Lectionary that we follow is fairly new, only three decades old, though it is a revision of older lectionaries. Created for Protestant churches, it assigns a reading from the Old Testament, a Psalm, a reading from Acts or an epistle, and a gospel lesson to each Sunday and Holy Day. These assignments allow us to cover, for the most part, a majority of the Bible over the course of its three-year cycle.

Kairos and Metanoia

In Greek mythology, Kairos was the God of opportunity. He was depicted as having long hair near this forehead, and no hair on the back of his head. The reason is that as he approached, people were to grab on to his hair so as not to miss the opportunities he would afford them. If he went past, there was nothing to grab hold onto and the opportunity was lost. Following him was Metanoia, a woman of shadows who brought regret to those who missed the opportunity that had just passed them by.

When you read this, I will have been home for a few days. While I was gone, I visited family and friends, most of whom I have not seen recently—or some not even seen in the recent past. I met with people whose health has declined as their age has increased. I met many who had recently retired. I met with some who wished to retire but could not. Yet in all of those conversations, I found a common thread,

A Postcard from Brookville, Pennsylvania

Greetings from Brookville, Pennsylvania, population 3,795. It is a picturesque small town nestled in the Allegheny forest in western Pennsylvania. It is right off Interstate 80 which divides Pennsylvania north and south and serves as a financial artery for small towns like Brookville near its exits. Brookville has the added advantage of being the home of Brookville Equipment Corporation, one of the foremost builders of trolley cars, trains, and buses, having built the light rail cars for the Sound Transit system in Tacoma. When it comes to street cars, new or refurbished, Brookville is kind of a big deal for a small town.

Well sung, but little known?

It strikes me that we often sing hymns in our worship and have little knowledge of the people who wrote them and the context of their writing. This applies to those penning the lyrics and crafting the tunes, as well as the context out of which their hymns came, be it their personal story or the moment in world history that it was written in and for. I thought of this as I have recently had the opportunity to revisit the life and influence of one of the most beloved hymn writers in our tradition, Lina Sandell. Whether new or review, her story and her hymns, are worth considering, I believe.

Seasons

Every climate has seasons. Some places may have more distinct seasons than others, but the passing of time is marked by seasons around the world. I grew up in the northern Allegheny mountains, which had delightful and sometimes cool springs and falls, pleasant summers, and rather “robust” winters. Living in the Midwest for a quarter century, I became accustomed to less rigor in the winters, but more heat and humidity in the summer, and greater unpredictability in the fall and spring. Southern California was delightful most of the time, and though it had seasons, they were less distinct and felt unfamiliar. Now home is the Pacific Northwest, where the seasons are both temperate and distinct, and in days like these—glorious.

137

For the one hundred and thirty-seventh time, the Evangelical Covenant Church convened an annual meeting of its churches and the institutions it supports to do the business of our denomination. Over the more than a century and a third of its existence, the cultural context of the ministry of our denomination has changed drastically. Today the Christian denominations in North America are constricting. A political climate of division, mistrust, and intolerance has affected churches. Large denominations—Methodist, Presbyterian, and Baptist to name a few—have faced fissures and divisions within their communions. As a denomination that has throughout its history cast a net broadly, agreeing to disagree on matters not central to Christian doctrine, it has been a bit behind the curve of division, but not exempt from it. This was the context for our 137th meeting last week in Southern California.

In Transition

I write this as I am airborne somewhere between Seattle and Garden Grove, California. I am also in between a rather delightful and positive annual meeting of our congregation this past Sunday, complete with approval of one new budget, four new members, and many signs of life and growth within our church family and our ministries, and the annual meetings of our Covenant’s Ministerium and Denomination. As I reported at our annual meeting, there are some questions hanging over both of those meetings, and as I am still getting to know the denomination we have become in the past few decades, I am keeping my eyes and ears open. By the time that you read this, many of those meetings will have already transpired. I am hopeful things will have gone well.

The Life Rhythms of a Church

We use the word “church” many in ways implying many meanings. In “I am going to church,” church would usually refer to a building. In “I will meet you after church,” church would usually refer to worship. While “First Covenant is my church,” would mostly be understood as referring to the people. The words “church” and “synagogue” both have their roots in the word “to gather.” The word “church” at its core refers to the action of a community, and community’s actions have rhythms. This weekend we will see our church’s rhythms on obvious display.

Covenant Considerations in a New Year

This article first appeared in the January 13th issue of this newsletter. We are reprising it here now as Pastor Todd will give an update at our church's semi-annual meeting on Sunday, June 25, which is prior to our denomination's annual meeting.

From the January 13th e-newsletter:

As we begin a new calendar year, I would like to look back on the past year, specifically in terms of our denomination, our Covenant Church. In two weeks, I will be in Jacksonville, Florida for our Ministerial Midwinter Conference. One of the topics of discussion among my ministerial colleagues will be the decision announced by the Covenant’s Executive Board in October to involuntarily remove two churches from our denomination. Those churches are Awaken Church in St. Paul, Minnesota and Quest Church in our hometown, Seattle. This will come before our Annual Meeting in Garden Grove, California in late June.

Stewardship: Of First Covenant Church’s Heritage

By Bryce Nelson and Bonnie Nelson

“Stewardship: Of First Covenant Church’s Heritage” means identifying those few attributes from the past that positively define our present identity. What are those attributes, how did they come to be, and how might we be good stewards of (and use) this heritage?

Stewardship: Of Money

I am not sure if Jesus was having a bad day or was just being incredibly candid. For whatever reason, at the end of Luke chapter 14 (vv25-35), Jesus offers a fairly stark portrait of what it means to be his disciple. ‘You must make great sacrifices to follow me,’ Jesus asserts. You should hold all your familial ties loosely. Following Jesus may mean saying goodbye to your family. It will require much of you, so much that if you don’t give up all your possessions you cannot follow Jesus.

Stewardship: Of Faith

The apostle Paul wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9). When introducing the concept of salvation by grace through faith to our confirmands, we revised this statement to say, “You are saved by Faith through faith”; which at first blush seems to be a bit nonsensical. The distinction between “Faith” and “faith” is vitally important, however. 

“Faith” is the Christian Faith, the teachings and beliefs of Christian Church, as interpreted by the many churches within the Church universal. This is distinct from “faith,” an individual’s subjective assent to belief in the Christian Faith. Believing isn’t enough; whatone believes is crucial. Paul was a faithful Jew, but he had come to realize that his belief was based on earning God’s favor by obedience. His encounter with Christ and subsequent conversion and baptism redirected his faith to a new Faith in God’s grace through Christ.

Stewardship: Of Church

There is a most interesting story in Luke’s gospel (7:1-10). Here we find Jesus in the town of Capernaum. There, a Roman centurion had a highly regarded slave who was near death. When the centurion heard Jesus was in town, he sent some of the leaders of the synagogue to ask Jesus to come and heal the slave. When they spoke to Jesus, they lobbied Jesus saying that this centurion loved their faith community so much that he built them their synagogue. If you don’t know how the story ends, I encourage you to read this most surprising text. 

Stewardship: Of Tradition

We do not inherit “tradition” like one inherits a piece of jewelry. Traditions are not static. Traditions are more like a piece of property, they require upkeep and changes—some necessary maintenance, some personal preference. When the time comes for you pass it along, it will be the same piece of property, but it will not be the same. The traditions we inherit are the traditions the previous generation received, as they reinterpreted them, and transmitted them to us.

Rethinking Eastertide

“Tide” as a suffix is an old English word that means “time.” Eastertide, Christmastide refer to the time or season that follows a feast, in this case Christmas and Easter. Tide is more commonly understood as a stand-alone word whose more familiar definition is the ebbing and flowing of things, in particular water, like an ocean's tide. The “turning of a tide” can refer to a shift from winning to losing, illness to wellness. It seems both of these definitions of tide, a season of time and the ebbs and flows of life, apply to the season we find ourselves in now, Eastertide.

From Petering Out to Confident Hope

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By God’s great mercy God has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5)

So begins the first epistle that bears Peter’s name. It is a rousing and assertive statement of faith and confidence. As I mentioned in this past Sunday’s sermon, many believe this introductory passage is part of what was once a sermon preached to the newly baptized. This introduction sets the tone for people to be confident in their faith even in difficult times, as difficult times both test and strengthen one’s faith.

White Weeks and Lights in the World

The week after Easter, or Easter Week, has traditionally been called White Week. In the early centuries, Christians in the Western churches would be baptized primarily on Easter in the service that lasted from sunset Saturday until sunrise Easter Sunday. This vigil was the central worship service of the year telling the entire biblical story of God’s salvation, beginning with creation and moving through the scriptures to the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, God’s Christ, to the promise of God’s victory in Christ for us. Those baptized would be baptized into that story, grafting their personal story into the ongoing story of God’s salvation. They would also be baptized in the nude, men by deacons, women and children by deaconesses. Afterwards, they would be given a white robe (for their sins have been washed white as snow), salt placed on their tongue and given a lit candle (for they are now light of the world and salt of the earth). The newly baptized would wear their baptismal gown for that entire week (maybe not so white by the end of the week!) as a witness to their baptism and new life in Christ. Clergy would wear white robes throughout the year as a reminder to all Christians of their baptismal identify in Christ: new creatures in Christ, birthed by water and Spirit.