Jun 01 2010
by Ken Pennings, June 1, 2010
The weather in Madison on Memorial Day was perfect for gardening. John and I got up early, laced up our mud shoes, and headed up to our plot in the community garden to dig out the weeds in one our raised beds. Continue Reading »
May 11 2010
May 10, 2010
I loved Tammy Martens’ sermon last Sunday on attending to our family members as God gently and lovingly attends to us. Somehow I don’t think “attending,” as Tammy described it, is the same thing as “worrying,” which is what I’m in the habit of doing when it comes to my three grown children, ages 26, 23 and 19.
I worry that that they’re not getting enough rest, that they’re not eating the right foods, that they don’t get routine check-ups with a doctor, that they don’t have enough money, that they’re not working jobs that satisfy them, that they’re taking unnecessary risks, and yes, I worry just a little that they’re not attending church.
Many of us have grown children who are no longer interested in church, mine included. But worrying about my children’s spiritual well-being is definitely NOT attending to their spiritual well-being. As Tammy spoke about “attending,” I was thinking about an image that Barb Hummel, a member of ORUCC, shared with me about nurturing healthy relationships — the image of a tiny bird which has lighted for a moment in the outstretched palm of my hand. In a healthy nurturing relationship, I don’t clutch, control, or crush. I don’t restrict or restrain. I don’t nudge the bird out of my hand before it is ready to fly. I merely offer support as long as it is helpful and appreciated (and the “merely” is often an enormous gift).
I admit that I would love to have my three children in church with me, but that says more about me than about them. When I’m really “attending” to them, I see that they take their own spiritual health very seriously and when they want my help they’ll ask for it.
Last Sunday afternoon, my 23 year old daughter stopped by my house and for two hours asked me questions about God, the Bible and Christianity:
Gee, and I was worried that she isn’t going to church. The wheels are turning in her head and heart. That’s for sure! And that’s a good thing.
Just before she left my home, she said, “Dad, thanks for listening. I’m really not looking for answers. I just wanted to be able to think out loud with you for a while.”
Attending, not worrying.
May 06 2010
By Rev. Tammy Martens
I have had the good fortune recently to hear people share about their faith journeys and why they have decided to come to Orchard Ridge UCC. And as I have heard now from a variety of people, I am deeply moved by their stories and their perseverance to find a church home that will simply accept them where they are. In fact as I have listened to people, the thought has crossed my mind “how do people muster up the courage to even continue the search for a church home?” after they have felt diminished and hurt by church communities in the past. Continue Reading »
Apr 21 2010
Wasn’t it wonderful to have Musician Carrie Newcomer in worship with us last Sunday—to receive her strong message of the sacred and sublime in the mundane and ridiculous, to have her affirm us for “all the children in worship” and “the huge spirit in this church”?! What a gift Carrie’s ministry was to us!
And wasn’t it wonderful to have 65 newcomers at the “New Friends Luncheon” two Sundays ago (we guessed we’d have 35 or 40)?! Continue Reading »
Apr 13 2010
This past Sunday I had the opportunity to share at the newcomer luncheon what steps a person who is relatively new to ORUCC can take to become more integrated into the ORUCC community and church life. I shared that in the ministry that I help lead, I sometimes hear that what brings families and parents to ORUCC is their concern for their children. They want a strong program that will care for their children’s Spiritual Formation and Christian Education needs. I certainly can appreciate this concern as a parent of an 8 and 6 year old myself. It matters that a church thinks seriously about the programs, experiences and activities it provides for children and youth. It matters that a church takes seriously the spiritual and Christian formation of its young people. And it has been wonderful to watch our children learn and grow by providing life-giving experiences. But I also am enjoying watching what is happening with parents. Parents are making connections with other parents. They are sharing stories and developing trusting relationships with one another. They are finding ways to support one another and grow in faith with one another. They are spending time with one another outside of Sunday mornings. They are finding ways for their own faith to be nurtured and are taking time to do this. Continue Reading »
