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February 20, 2012
Dear Colleague in Ministry,
One of the greatest things we have going as United Methodists is the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). For over seventy years we’ve been rebuilding lives and communities around the world. When a disaster occurs we’re one of the first to arrive on the scene, and months (if not years) later we’re among the last to leave.
Each year, during Lent, United Methodists around the country participate in the One Great Hour of Sharing offering. This offering supports these vital outreach ministries. It provides undesignated funds to respond immediately to crises, and it also provides funds to pay for administrative costs so that we can keep our promise that 100% of every designated gift goes to the designated cause.
It’s coming up soon, but not so soon that you can’t make appropriate plans. March 18 is the scheduled date, but if that doesn’t work for your church feel free to choose another Sunday. In 2011, just slightly more than 70% of our Oregon-Idaho churches received this offering, which amounted to just over $45,000. I think we can do even better than that. If the folks in your congregation didn’t have an opportunity to give last year, will you make a commitment to do so this year? And if you did receive it last year, will you promote it this year? You can find a variety of resources here.
Our giving makes a world of difference. Thank you for your part.
Grace and Peace,
Bill Mullette-Bauer
Here's a learning opportunity:
Telling Our Mission Story: Put a Face on Your Apportionments
Many United Methodists hear the word "apportionment" and think only of a burden placed upon the local church, but they have only seen it from one side. What if they could see the countless ways lives are touched, and the how their church has made a difference by participating in our global shared ministries? Find out how you can help tell those stories! Join Rev. Ken Sloane, Director of Stewardship for The United Methodist Church for a webinar on Thursday, March 8 at 6:30 CST.
Reserve your Webinar seat now
Living in God’s Grace
 Welcome to this Lenten season. For the next several editions of Radical Gratitude, we will observe Lent by reflecting on one of John Wesley's* stewardship suggestions: "Save all you can." While his suggestion is often interpreted to mean "save up all you can," we will strive to reclaim the original intent of his suggestion. As UMC Bishop Kenneth L. Carder reminds us, "'Save all you can' is Wesley's call to a simplified lifestyle. ...Stewardship in the Wesleyan tradition...includes not merely properly using what we have, but also what we choose not to have in order for others to have the necessities of living."**
In this season, we will explore what it might look like to "live simply" within God's Grace, trusting in its sufficiency to meet our needs and the needs of all of God's creation. In such a place of trust, may we wisely choose what "not to have" in order to better experience God's Grace alive in the world.
In God's Grace,
Tanya Barnett & Tom Wilson
Northwest United Methodist Foundation Staff
Footnotes
*John Wesley is a key founder of the United Methodist tradition.
**From Bishop Carder's presentation, "A Wesleyan Perspective on Christian Stewardship"; bold added for emphasis.
Image source: Rev. Mark D. Roberts' web site.
Marjorie J. Thompson writes, "For the early church, Lent was just the opposite of a dreary season of restriction and self-torture. It was understood as an opportunity to return to normal human life - the life of natural communion with God, ..." our brothers and sisters, and with all creation.* The early church (and Eastern Orthodox churches today) believed that this natural communion was lost to us in the Fall. Thompson writes:
In Eden, God gave Adam and Eve every fruit of the garden but one. That one fruit, out of a world of variety, indicated a limit to human freedom. Accepting that limit was the single abstinence required by God. It was a way of recognizing that human beings are dependent on God for life. ...In refusing to accept the natural bounds of their creaturehood, they reached for the very place of God. They wanted it all.
Our culture would seduce us into "wanting it all" - into believing that we can have it all, do it all, and that we deserve it all. Yet, in refusing to accept limits on our consumption and activities, we reject God's freely given Grace, and we perpetuate a death- dealing dynamic for God's world and for ourselves.
"In the early church, Lent . . . represented a return to the 'fast' that Adam and Eve broke: a life in which God was once more center and source..." Lent helps us to remember God as "center" of our lives and "source" of all grace. Lent also helps us to recreate the critical dynamic of accepting limits that are life restoring for ourselves and all of God's creation. Let us savor this season in which we consciously, simply live with God's Grace once again.
Footnote
*Marjorie J. Thompson, Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995); bold added for emphasis.
Reverend Marjorie J. Thompson*
"[In today's society...] the appetites are given free reign. It is considered a God-given right to use every resource and creature on earth for personal enjoyment or gain. The goal of human life is to acquire more, to experience more, to stimulate every sense to capacity and beyond. A life that recognizes no limits cannot recognize the sovereignty of God.
"...After his Baptism, Jesus began the work of redemption by keeping a forty-day fast in the wilderness. When he became hungry, he refused the lie that life depends on bread alone and reaffirmed that human beings depend in all things on God for life. He said no to the limitless, self- referential power Satan tempted him with. Every temptation - to self-sufficiency, to self-display, to power at the price of integrity - would have placed Jesus at center stage instead of God. ...He accepted human limits, living within the normal constraints of human life and accepting a human death."
For Reflection:
What might be one "limit" (e.g., limiting anxiety, time at work, time in front of the TV, etc.) in your life that might actually help you to feel closer to God and others? Begin to consider how you might act to honor this "limit" during this season of Lent.
Footnote
*Marjorie J. Thompson, Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995); bold added for emphasis. Marjorie Thompson is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and director of the Pathways Center for Christian Spirituality at The Upper Room in Nashville, TN.
Reflections on the Lectionary
 Stewardship reflections on readings for the First Sunday in Lent
Revised Common Lectionary texts for February 26, 2012: Genesis 9:8-17, Psalm 25:1- 10, 1 Peter 3:18-22, Mark 1:9-15
The readings from Genesis and Mark help us to remember the "normal human life" (Marjorie J. Thompson, see above) that characterizes this Lenten season - the life of natural communion with God, our brothers and sisters, and with all creation.
In Genesis, we enter the scene in which the great Flood has subsided. Whether we believe this to be an historical event and/or an essential myth, Genesis 6:1-5 suggests that the Flood came about as a result of those who had refused "to accept the natural bounds of their creaturehood, [those who] reached for the very place of God."* In this week's reading, we hear of God's covenant with "you [Noah] and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of earth (vv. 9-10). God reestablishes "natural communion" -- relational shalom (wholeness) -- with its delicately balanced, life-preserving bounds (e.g., limits on flood waters in v. 11; limits on consumption in vv. 4-5).
In Mark, we encounter Jesus - the one who has emerged from baptismal waters (which the writer of today's 1 Peter reading links with those from the Flood scene in Genesis) and received affirmation of his God-given identity. In this blessed state, Jesus is driven by the Spirit into the wilderness where he will be tested by Satan. There he dwelled with "angels" and "wild beasts" - contextual details that "may suggest the restoration of a paradisiacal condition that existed before the Fall"** and were reinstated after the Flood. The wilderness seems to be a place in which Jesus lived simply within the grace of God -- in a state of "natural communion."
From Marjorie Thompson's quote above and from Matthew's (4:1-11) account of this story, we know that Jesus was tested by Satan to surpass this state of Grace, to reach beyond his "natural bounds" and God-given identity. In rejecting all of these temptations, Jesus models for us "normal human life": a life based not on self-justification, prestige, nor possessions but on living deeply the truth that we are who we are by God's Grace.
Footnotes
*Marjorie Thompson, Soul Feast.
**HarperCollins Study Bible commentary.
Telling the Story
Over the years I've encouraged pastors to follow a practice I learned from one of my mentors early in ministry. It's the practice of using the time of the offering to "tell the story." Here's a suggestion to introduce the offering this Sunday:
In a couple of months nearly 1,000 United Methodists from around the world will gather in Tampa, Florida, as delegates to the 2012 General Conference to set the course for our denomination. Of course a small part of our financial offerings will help fund this gathering, but through our prayer offerings we can participate at an even deeper level.
Today as we bring our gifts, tithes and offerings to support our ministry here and around the world, I invite you to also commit to an offering of prayer that the Holy Spirit will lead the work of our General Conference.
Awareness and Action
 "Letting Go in Lent"
Awareness
According to the Index of Social Health, "quality of life" in the United States has decreased nearly 20% since 2000.*
Action
(1) Ask yourself and/or discuss with your family/friends/church family:
• "What are the things that, if I were to let them go, would actually enhance my quality of life?"
• "What are the things that, if I were to take them on, might help me to feel closer to God and others?"
You may want to use the following list to stimulate your ideas:
• Eating fewer processed foods; eating more fresh foods and growing some of what I eat
• Abstaining from personal recognition; being more mindful to thank others
• One day a week, taking a break from driving; enjoy walking or staying at home more
• "Fasting" from judging others and myself too harshly; delighting in seeing God's love in/through others and myself
(2) Try out one of your ideas for at least one day this week.
(3) Try to consciously practice your idea -- at least once a week -- throughout Lent.
(4) Reflect on your experiences through prayer, writing, and/or with a friend.
Footnote
*Source: Institute for Innovation in Social Policy
Mission Moment
“Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all day long.”
--Psalm 25:5, NRSV
As we observe Women’s History Month in March, we often focus on famous women in U.S. and world history. However, have you ever considered how biblical foremothers in the faith influenced you?
What woman in the Bible do you most admire, and why?
Asked that question, one person cited Esther, who “risked her life to overcome injustice.” Another commented, “Not only was Esther beautiful, she also was smart and knew when to accept advice or support from others. I’m most impressed with her concern for others and the generations before and after her life’s journey.”
Incredible faith was what one person recalled about Hannah. “Her faith in God allowed her, essentially, to entrust her child to God’s care, even after years of barrenness.”
Ruth was admired for her “faith, wisdom and tenacity for survival. … She was a great wife and mother, and an even greater mother-in-law!”
As your congregation recognizes and celebrates the lives and contributions of women, remember the Sunday school heroes from your childhood. Recall stories of courageous women, who shaped your faith more than you might realize.
When the resurrected Jesus appeared first to women at the tomb, it was clear he expected women to play a pivotal role in leading the church. Whatever role women will play in the church's future, one thing is clear: their role will always be pivotal, and women are making church history every day.
--Adapted from National Council of Churches website
Newsletter Nugget
Douglas Memorial United Methodist Church and a dozen other congregations in the U.S. capital are reaching out to female veterans of war to assure they receive the care and resources they need to get back on their feet again.
There are approximately 1.8 million women veterans, 8 percent of the total veteran population. Women who return from the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq are often single and come from urban areas. Many suffer from mental illness, alcohol and substance abuse or combinations of disorders.
“I am amazed at such a dilemma when it comes to women veterans. They served us, but we weren’t doing anything to serve them. God has opened many \doors with this ministry,” said Rev. Helen Fleming, pastor of Douglas Memorial.
The ministry is providing such resources as computer access, hot meals, drama therapy, career clothing closets and a staffed prayer room.
Currently the resource center is seeking funds for a family day center to provide child care and educational development for the children of veterans.
--Adapted from Baltimore-Washington Conference website, Jan. 20, 2012.
Offering Prayers
God of Grace,
In this Lenten season,
please help us to loosen our grip
on the gifts of life that You crave for all to share.
Please use this moment of offering
to teach us how to let go of the things we've held so very dear.
Dear God, as we find our hands, lives, and souls more spacious
please do not leave us wanting.
Please send Your Grace
rushing into our new-found openness,
please let our souls taste Your springtime.
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
from Radical Gratitude
God of the ages, thank you for the women who have influenced our lives — women about whom we read in favorite Bible stories, women who nurtured us to adulthood, women who continue to inspire us. Show us how to honor women in the church and the community. In your holy name, we pray. Amen.
from United Methodist Communications
God of mercy and grace, we give these gifts of ourselves, striving to be the obedient children you have called us to be in covenant with you. We are reminded by the example of Christ that there is nothing that this world can tempt us with that can match the satisfaction of being tested and found faithful. In our times of plenty and our times of need, help us keep strong in our conviction that in you and only you can we put our trust for the security of our lives. We pray this in Christ's holy name. Amen. (Mark 1:9-15)
from General Board of Discipleship
Closing Thought
"When we open our hearts to the astounding message of what God has done, the miracle of sharing engulfs us!"
-- Brian Bauknight, Right on the Money, page 4
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