Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Atheist Sunday School?

The December 3rd issue of Time contains a story that caught my attention. It is located the religion section and titled “Sunday School for Atheists”. The article begins by outlining some perceived advantages for non believing people on Sunday morning, writing about how they were making brunch, shuttling around kids to soccer games, running errands, or the ultimate, sleeping in! It then asked the question, without religion, is there a need for church?
The answer seems to be maybe. Some nonbelievers are beginning to think they might need something for their children. The article reveals how Atheist parents are beginning to realize that co-workers or friends have church groups to help teach their children values as well as provide support. Slowly, groups are forming and meeting on a regular basis for atheist Sunday school. A profiled Sunday family program in Palo Alto, California, uses music, art and discussion to encourage personal expression, intellectual curiosity and collaboration. Rather than a Bible story, the group read Stone Soup, a book about a traveler who feeds a village by making a stew using one ingredient from each home. Older children gather around a conversation centered on the role persuasion plays in decision-making.
Time reports, “it is estimated that 14% of Americans profess to have no religion, and among 18-to-25 year olds the percentage increases to 20%. Atheist parents want an environment where their children can learn that it is ok to not believe in God and gives parents a place to reinforce the morals and values they want their children to have.” Yet, interestingly, they are using a format modeled by the Christian church to accomplish this.
We are embarking on some great Solomon’s Porch type discussions in our community about faith, life and how faith and life connect in places outside our worship spaces. In this instance, how does God call us, as people of faith, to respond to groups like this one being formed in our communities? Would God want us to condemn them for meeting in a perceived Christian way and calling it something else? Would God want us to applaud the teaching of ethics and values, whether or not they are labeled Christian? Would God want us to shun them if we saw them meeting? Would God be in favor of one good “We told you so”? As Christians, should we be determined, or some would say arrogant enough in our faith to dismiss the thought that God is present in meetings such as the one described, without limitation? Or, would God, who sees all people as His children, call us to be in conversation with people who are nonbelievers? Would God call us to have honest dialogue, respecting each others beliefs, yet pointing out what we have in common and acknowledging what separates us? Would God want us to be on a journey together, challenging each other and discovering though these discussions ways to strengthen our faith as we explain it to others? Let me know what do you think? This topic will be the basis of our next Solomon’s Porch coffee house meeting at First Cup this Thursday from 7-8 pm.

I pray for each of the readers of this blog on Friday mornings. How can I pray for you this week?
PB

Attention I-pod users:
Our weekly message podcast is now available on I-tunes. Open your I-tunes, search St. John’s Lutheran Church Blogcast and sign up. It is free! If you sign up, each week our podcast will download directly into your I-pod when you sink it to your PC.

Green Tip of the week from Ideal Bite:Ready to hang your holiday lights? Aren't you just dying to know how to be more green this Christmas season? Easy: LED holiday lights. LED stands for light-emitting diode - a heavenly little bit of technology that lights things up using very little energy.
The Benefits
· Watching energy bills flatline. LED bulbs use 90% less electricity than traditional holiday bulbs.
· Killing off holiday hassle. With their 20-year lifetimes, you don't have to replace LED light-strings as often as conventional ones.
· More cash on the other side. Burning 10 strands of lights with 100 lights per strand, eight hours per day for a month costs $175 for incandescent bulbs vs. about $1 for LED mini-bulbs.
· Seeing the light, not heating it. Incandescent lights give off as much as 90% of their energy as heat, leading to fire concerns. LEDs barely warm up.

Prayer Points
-for all those who do not believe in God, that we could find a way to be in productive dialogue.
-for all those who suffer from depression
-for those who serve in our local police, fire and rescue stations

Date Book
Thursday, November 29th Solomon’s Porch Discussions at First Cup Coffee House 7-8 pm
Sunday, December 2nd Faith in Film Night featuring The Nativity Story followed by the short film Resisting the Occupation. 6-8:30 pm
Tuesday, December 11th at St. John’s “Little Christmas” concert and Silent Auction beginning at 6:30 pm.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Christian/Muslim Dialogue

From the New York Times Sunday, November 18, 2007:
Loving God and Neighbor Together: A Christian Response to A Common Word Between Us and You
On October 13, 2007, on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, 138 Muslim scholars and clerics sent an open letter to “leaders of Christian churches, everywhere.” The signatories of that letter, titled A Common Word Between Us and You, include top leaders from around the world representing every major school of Islamic thought. The text of A Common Word Between Us and You appears at www.acommonword.com.
A response was drafted by scholars at Yale Divinity School’s Center for Faith and Culture. It was issued and endorsed by almost 300 Christian theologians and leaders. To promote constructive engagement between these major religious communities, planning is underway for a series of major conferences and workshops involving many of the signatories to A Common Word Between Us and You and to the Yale response, as well as other international Christian, Muslim, and Jewish leaders. Events will be posted at www.yale.edu/faith, where readers can view the list of signatories as well as add there names to the list.

I believe this is exactly the type of open dialogue God is calling the world to be engaged in. Please take the time over the next few days and read both letters. If you have any questions, email me. My goal is that we can hold a forum soon at St. John’s to discuss both letters, as well as discern where we, as representatives of the local church, are called to respond.

Worthy addition to your Christmas card list: When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please include the following:
A Recovering American soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20307

Help St. John’s financially as you search the web: A few months back I told you about www.goodsearch.com , a web search engine from Yahoo! Unfortunately, it had a few kinks, making it difficult to sign up. Those initial problems seem to have been fixed. You can now add Goodsearch to your tool bar very easily and begin raising money for St. John’s with every search. Here is the process:
-Go to www.goodsearch.com
-Under “who do you search for” put: St Johns Lutheran Church (Redford, MI)
-Confirm that we are the agency you want credited with your searches
-Click on Add Goodsearch to your IE, Firefox, or Mac toolbar
-Start searching
St. John’s will receive one cent for every search you do using this search engine.

Thank you in advance for doing this to help support our missional endeavors.

Solomon’s Porch update: In the last few weeks we have seen impressive showings for our Faith in Film and Family Film Nights. We also had a very successful first coffee house meeting last Thursday, taking up a whole table at First Cup Organic Coffee House in Redford!

Green Reminder of the week: Household waste increases by 25% between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. In the United States, trash from wrapping paper and shopping bags totaled four million tons last year. Think of creative ways to handle all your holiday waste this year. If you have addressed this holiday issue in the past and want to let others know, e-mail me and I will get the word out in future issues of this e-newsletter.

Help me reach my goal: My goal for the end of 2007 is for this newsletter to have 100 readers. I am currently at 82. Is there anyone in your life who you think would benefit from receiving this e-newsletter each week? Send me their email and I will add them to the list!

Prayer Points:
-for the Chrisitan/Muslim dialogue generated by the two documents presented above
-for traveling mercies for all this Thanksgiving weekend.
-for all those struggling with addiction

I pray for the readers of this blog every Friday. How can I pray for you? Let me know at bicyclepastor@yahoo.com

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Update

Greetings to all:

Another great week for updates on all the cool things happening at St. John’s :

Faith in Film: Last Sunday, we had an excellent turn out and discussion for our most recent feature, Sicko. It was good to share thoughts about how we, as people of faith, are called to engage in the discussion of equitable health care for all of God’s children. Some of you were asking what the Lutheran church may be doing about this. Check out the Lutheran Office of Government Affairs site for more information about how the larger church is addressing this issue. E-mail my good friend Drew Genzler, director of LOGA in Washington , DC , and tell him I told you he has all the answers! Next month we will host a double feature with the Nativity Story followed by a recent short documentary about current housing/land struggles in the Holy Land . Plan on another insightful, challenging discussion as we discern how God is calling us to action with regard to the ongoing situation in the Middle East .

Solomon’s Porch First Cup conversations: This Thursday is our inaugural First Cup conversation at Redford’s new organic coffee house, First Cup, located on the Southeast corner of Inkster and Five Mile. Join the conversation from 7-8 pm as we discuss the Hollywood writers strike, fair labor practices, responsibilities of workers and management, and how the Bible can provide some insight into the discussion of how as people of faith we are called to engage in this issue. Join us this first week and I will take care of your beverage for you. If you want to be thinking ahead, click on the attached file for some background information leading up to our discussion.

Joke of the week: From my daughter, who asks, “What did one snowman say to another?” Check the end of this message for the answer.

Book Club News: This Friday at 10 am we start our new book, The Gospel According to Starbucks, by Len Sweet. Join us for great discussion about how some of Starbucks principals may relate to our mission as people of God.

Silent Auction Update: St. John's will be holding it first silent auction on Tuesday, December 11th, the night of our annual Little Christmas concert. We are in need of additional items to auction off that night. If you can help out, please contact me ASAP. All proceeds from this event will benefit the missional efforts of St. John's.


Family Film Night: Release date delays caused us to show Happy Feet last month instead of Ratatouille, our scheduled feature. Ratatouille has since been released and we will be shown this Saturday night starting at 5 pm. Pizza, popcorn and liquid refreshments will be available. Last month we had 36 people in attendance, so show up early if you want a place on one of our comfortable couches or bring blankets and pillows to create your own comfortable space.

Green Update: Never say yes to paper or plastic again! We are taking orders for our new environmentally friendly cloth bags. Check them out at attachment 2 above. Use them and be a witness not only to St. John’s and our commitment to be “green”, but discover a great way to tell people about our church. It is as easy as saying no to paper or plastic and watching the conversation flow! The bags should be about $8 each.

Joke of the week answer: I smell carrots!

Have a great week. Remember, I pray for the readers of this blog Friday morning. How can I pray for you? E-mail me at bicyclepastor@yahoo.com

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Jonah and his message of hope!

Friends:
As I write to you this week I am listening to the band Jonah 33. For those of you who don’t have the Bible memorized, Jonah 3:3 says, “This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large it took three days to see it all” (NLT). Jonah is one of my favorite books in the Old Testament, especially chapter 3. It begins with God coming to Jonah a second time and commanding him to go to Nineveh, a city of the lost. The first time God commands him to go there, Jonah runs away. The second time he obeys and goes among the lost to proclaim God’s message to the masses, who in turn repent. It is a great story of how our God is a God of second chances, that despite past mistakes we may have made, we are continually given the chance to participate in spreading God’s message of hope, salvation, grace and love to those who feel lost, helpless, hopeless and alone. Jonah’s brings an unpopular message that challenges the community of Nineveh to turn away from the false idols that are ruling their lives and turn to God. It is a great message showing the God’s word is for everyone. Despite the wickedness of the Ninevite people, they were open to God’s message and repented immediately. If we simply proclaim God’s message of salvation, we may be surprised at how many people will listen.

Food for thought: How is God calling you to be like Jonah? Where are the Ninevite communities in your life? Do you know someone who is lost and could use the message that God gives us today, one that says our God is a God of second chances? Can you remind one person this week that God loves them?

Reminder: Don’t forget our faith in film series continues Sunday night with the showing of Sicko. The film starts at 6 pm and is followed by a discussion of how God calls us to be engaged in the process of equitable health care for all God’s Children.
Reminder, part 2: Next Thursday, November 15th from 7-8 pm we will hold our first Solomon’s Porch coffee house discussion at Redford’s new organic coffee house at Five Mile and Inkster, First Cup. Join us as we talk about faith, life and how faith and life connect using real issues in the news.

Green Tip of the week: Wondering what to do with all those greeting cards laying around your house or sitting in your attic? Reuse your greeting cards as gift tags. Call us psychic, but we're betting you're not planning to reread every single card you receive this holiday. Instead of stashing them in the attic to collect dust, grab some scissors and get crafty.
The Benefits
· Save trees. Our crystal balls (and industry stats) predict that about 90% of all US households will buy greeting cards, but few will be recycled.
· One-of-a-kind gift tags are a great personal touch when you're giving presents.
· Save money - you'll never buy another gift tag again, boxes of which go for $2-$15.
· An artful lesson in reusing for the kids. Just grab some pinking shears and give the kiddos a right brain workout.

-courtesy of Ideal Bite online resource

I will be praying for those who read this blog every Friday morning. Let me know how I can pray for you at bicyclepastor@yahoo.com ?

Have a great week
PB
Web: www.sjlcredford.org
Blog: www.missionarywheels.blogspot.com


Prayer Points:
For all those who feel lost, that they may know that our God is a God of second chances
For those who do not have access to quality health care
For our Sunday school as it continues to grow
For discernment with our brothers and sisters at Bethlehem Lutheran Church

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Updates

Friends:

Lots of good news to report this week:

Worship Update:
Our sermon podcast is up and running. I am so glad we have this new ministry off the ground. I have already heard from a few folks who appreciate the ability to listen to our weekly message if they are not able to make it to church. Some also commented on how they may listen to it a second or third time after they hear it on Sunday. More talk about forwarding it to friends so they can learn more about our church! What a great, easy and fast way to connect someone to our church.

Last Sunday we were blessed to welcome two new members to our church. God is continuing to provide us with new faces.

Sunday School Update:
Operation Christmas Child is one way you can make a difference in a young person’s life. This year the children in our Sunday School class have decided to do this project as a way they can give to others around the world. Please support our Sunday School kids and children around the world by packing a shoebox filled with school supplies, toys, and personal items. The shoeboxes go to millions of boys and girls around the world who live in difficult circumstances and are in desperate need of hope. Shoeboxes will be collected on Sunday, November 17. A donation of $7 per shoebox is required to help cover shipping and other project costs.

Outreach Update:
Last Saturday five of us volunteered at Thrivent’s Habitat for Humanity project in Pontiac. Thrivent has done a magnificent job of sponsoring new homes for families in need. Two of us ended our day passing out food left over from the day to the homeless in downtown Pontiac.

The Redford Connection gifted us with a half page full of advertising space promoting our family and faith in film movie nights. That means that around 30,000 homes in Redford got the information about our movie nights-I guess we better make some more popcorn for Sicko on the 11th and Ratatouille on the 17th.

Solomon’s Porch Thursday night conversations at Redford’s new organic coffee house First Cup begin on Thursday, November 15th from 7-8pm. This is a great opportunity to gather and talk about faith and life while enjoying a good cup of coffee or tea. This is also a great way to introduce someone to St. John’s. As an added incentive, I will take care of buying the beverage of anyone you invite to the conversation.

Green Committee Update:
We have begun to collect cans for recycling and hope to have containers out for cans and other recyclable trash available soon. In the meantime, I will begin to post weekly “green” tips in this newsletter and on my blog.
Also, we will be offering cloth bags for sale to use in place of paper or plastic bags when shopping. Look forward to seeing them in the next few weeks.


Green tip for the week: Save paper by reducing the amount of junk mail you receive. Go to the following sites to have your name removed from junk mail and credit card offer lists.
Direct Mail
Opt Out

Lots to celebrate this fall.