Feasting on the Word

Prayer and Fasting for the EYN (Church of the Brethren in Nigeria)

Many in the Church of the Brethren are preparing to participate in a Prayer and Fasting week for Nigeria.  The Hagerstown Church of the Brethren is also participating in this week and we have developed a guide to help us focus our prayer time.  

Here is an excerpt from the Church of the Brethren resolution past at the 2014 Annual Conference which gives some background for the situation in Nigeria and the Church of the Brethren's understanding of fasting.

“Grieving with each new word from Nigeria, we as the Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren resolve to walk with our sisters and brothers in Christ by entering a season of fasting and prayer. We commit ourselves to the practices of lament, prayer, fasting, and bearing witness 

“In lament we turn to the rich tradition of our faith witness to by the Psalms. We bring to God the realities of evil and violence, knowing that they bear no resemblance to the ways of God.

“In prayer we intercede for our sisters and brothers, asking God for protection, justice, and communities, seeking to embody the peace so graciously given through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the one who calls us to ‘love our enemies and pray for those who persecute you’ (Matthew 5:44). Thus, we pray also for the perpetrators of violence, for the softening of hearts and for right relationships among neighbors.

“In fasting we let go of a little in order to accompany those who are losing so much, and stand before God with them. We name our longing for the day when life overcomes death, justice and peace meet, and love drives out fear.

“In bearing witness we share the stories of our sisters and brothers, bringing atrocities to light, confident in our faith that the Good News of Jesus Christ is indeed light in a world covered in darkness.”

~ A Resolute Fast and Fervent Prayer: A Resolution Responding to Violence in Nigeria passed by the 2014 Annual Conference delegate body.

 Below is a schedule of scriptures that we are using at the Hagerstown Church of the Brethren in this time of prayer and fasting!  Feel free to use this as a guide too if you would like to join in prayer.  

August 17 - Fasting 

Esther 3:13- 5:8

August 18 - Power of Prayer

James 5:13-18

August 19 - Suffering

2 Corinthians 4: 7-18

August 20 - Lament

Psalm 44

August 21 - Solidarity

John 17: 20-26

Ephesians 4: 1-6

August 22 - Love of enemies

Matthew 5: 38-48

August 23 - Hope

Romans 12: 9-21

The Kingdom of God is like... The Kingdom of Heaven is like...

The Kingdom of God is like… The Kingdom of Heaven is like…

We’ve been talking a lot about the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven at the Hagerstown Church of the Brethren recently.  This is partly because of where the lectionary scriptures have led us the last few weeks, but this is also due to the wonderful seminary education that Tim and I are both steeped in.

The scriptures are full of images of the Kingdom as humans tried to make sense and understand something that is clearly not containable in one image.  Is it a mustard seed, a woman who takes yeast and mixes it with flour, someone who sows good seed in a field, etc?

Well, this past Sunday we talked about a new image… The Kingdom of God is like a Potluck. Why not, right — Jesus often uses images of food.  When this image popped into my head as I was remembering many potlucks growing up.  Each individual would bring their uniqueness to the table.  Even those that forgot a dish were invited to come to the potluck because there was always more than enough.  Those that may not have the right resources or who may not have been properly prepared were invited to eat around the table anyway.  Potlucks are not necessarily “fair,” but all contribute with what they have — food and fellowship.  

I often wonder if when Jesus invited his disciples during their last supper to “do this in remembrance of me” he was including anytime we commune together as the body; even around food.  “When ever you eat and drink together do this in remembrance of me.” 

I have recently encounter a section of scripture that I cannot say I have ever spent significant time with.  This scripture follows the list of images Jesus uses to teach about the Kingdom of Heaven.  In Matthew 13:51, Jesus asks his disciples if they have understood.  The disciples reply that they have.  So in verse 52 Jesus says “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old” (NRSV).

This quotation is so neat to me.  At this point Jesus has given multiple images to help the disciples understand what the kingdom is like.  He gave tangible examples that they can relate to.  The disciples supposedly understand, so Jesus invites them to remember the old but also to continue to be on the lookout for the new.  If the Kingdom is here but not yet, then we should be able to see glimpses of it all over the place.  I feel like Jesus is saying to his disciples, “I have taught you all about the kingdom, now you are ready to see it too.”  

So recently, I have seen that the Kingdom of God is like a Potluck, where all are invited to the bring their uniqueness to the table and the joy of fellowship around the table is contagious — all that hunger and thirst are invited to be at the table.  

Images have a unique ability to open up all sorts of conversations and connections.  I recognize that this image, just like all images, fall short of an exact relation, but that is why we need many images so we can encompass more of what the God’s reign is like.

So, the Kingdom of God is like… the Kingdom of Heaven is like… 

Pastor's Pen July

“I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now.  I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:3-6

Pastor Tim and I have been overwhelmed by the amount of hospitality and graciousness we have received as we moved to Hagerstown and began the first steps of our ministry.  The very first day we arrived, the Hagerstown Church of the Brethren shared a witness with our neighbors.  One neighbor in particular was amazed by the number of people that were there at our new apartment, ready to move us in.  We’ve been so grateful for the graciousness we’ve received as we begin to learn more about this Church and about what it means for us to be in ministry here.  We do truly thank God every time we think of you and we thank God for the witness you are sharing through your hospitality and graciousness.

In Paul’s letter to the church of Philippi, he not only offers advice and correction, but he offers affirmation for the work they have been and are doing.  God is clearly at work in the church of Philippi and they are continuing to work at sharing the gospel, even without the physical presence of the one who began their movement.  

The word “gospel” means good news.  Paul never clearly states exactly what he means by good news in his letter to the Philippians, but we can assume that the good news is intimately connected to the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  For Paul, a born and bred Jew, Jesus offered freedom from law and freedom from the need to earn righteousness.  Faith in Christ was enough to make one righteous.  For this reason, Paul called all to share in the gospel out of their thanksgiving for this freedom.

Paul praises the church in Philippi for their sharing in the gospel; for their sharing in the good news.  Paul was the type of leader that inspired the church to live into the good news and to live out of the good news.  This type of leadership is our hope for our ministry here at the Hagerstown Church of the Brethren; that we can encourage and build up this church to share in the gospel.  

Chris Bowman, current pastor at the Oakton Church of the Brethren and soon to be pastor at the Manassas Church of the Brethren, wrote this in a recent blog about the Vital Ministry Journey; “Ministry is the calling of every Jesus-follower. Our baptism is our ordination. Our personal giftedness shared in community is our training. Wherever God sends us is our ‘mission field’ as God calls us to do our part in the unfolding Kingdom of Heaven with whomever God sends to us.”

We are confident of this, that the everlasting God who began a good work here in the Hagerstown Church of the Brethren will bring it to completion through all of us!

(July Newsletter, Hagerstown Church of the Brethren)

All life is worship

I’ve noticed that a certain theme keeps returning in the worship resources I have written the past few weeks.  I am assuming this is because it is something that is really on my mind.  The theme can be summarized as “all life is worship.”  This may seem simple, but it has really stuck with me.  I have even included this in sharing the announcements… shouldn’t what we are doing as a church be worshipful too?

We’ve been working through Philippians the last three weeks and we are finishing up with chapter 4 this Sunday.  In his letters, Paul often answers questions related to right living and believing by not only providing specific answers but by also encouraging others to mimic the example he and others have provide. 

I was doing a little reading this past week (and I do mean a little, I am still post-seminary reading recovering); I read a story about a pastor who was visiting with an older member of his congregation he respected who was dying.  The pastor told the man, “when I grow older, I want to be like you.”  He later reflects, “I don’t think I could have said anything more meaningful to him.  The highest compliment we can ever pay anyone is our desire to be like that person.

We also just sent some of our Junior High to a Church of the Brethren National Workcamp in Brooklyn, NY ; the theme for 2014 being “teach with your life.”  Hmm… no wonder this is on my mind…

I think most of us have those people in our lives, whether they are family members or not, that we notice have lived in a peculiar way; their lives stand out.  The person I can’t help but think of for me is my Grandfather, Paul Groff.  He had the ability to start a relationship with pretty much anyone in just one meeting.  He had the ability to make anyone feel like they were being cared for.  He was also the one who first called me into ministry.  And I am currently serving in a church where he was also an interim.  There are times when I feel an unavoidable poetics of place as I begin my ministry in the Hagerstown COB.

While I look up to my Grandfather and feel his life is an example that I live into, this does not mean that I minister in the same exact way.  I am definitely not the same person and it would not work if I tried to be exactly like him.  My Grandfather provides the foundation and his example gives me strength.  I remember some of the things he taught — for example: balance is important — and I remember that as I think about what that means for me in this time and place.

Adoration and praise has a very important place in worship, but it’s not all that there is to worship.  Is there a greater way to show adoration and praise then by living into Jesus’ example?  If we think about all life being an act of worship, how would that change how we lived?  If we thought about worship as living like Jesus, what would that change?  I find myself pushing back against that very thought in my head; how does one “live like Jesus…”?  I definitely do not have a systematic theological answer, but I seem to be constantly in the state of discerning what this looks like.

Just a few ponderings from the Desk of Pastor Audrey H-D...

New Pastor - getting started

Pastor Tim and I are in our second week as pastors of the Hagerstown Church of the Brethren.  Obviously we have a lot to learn and get acclimated to.  I think one thing we can say so far is that we have come to a church full of loving and gracious people.

We've decided to start up a blog and since I am the writer of this harmonized ministry team, I get to up-keep it!  I will be making occasional blog posts about scripture reflections, ministry reflections and the like.  First though, I thought I would explain my blog title.  My initials are ANH-D.  When Tim and I got married we hyphenated our last name making us the H-D's.  We've played with the idea that we are in "high definition" ever since.  So we'll see what it means now that I am a high definition pastor...

I am looking forward to this journey and challenge.

Since we are going through Philippians until the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference July 2-6, I'll end this first post with a selection from Philippians: "Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, Rejoice... The Lord is near." Philippians 4:4