Dear Plymouth,
 
Spring and Lent are coming! Even though as I write this to you it is snowy and 21 degrees according to the thermometer on our deck! Still deep under the frozen ground, the roots of our trees and perennials are growing and the seeds we scattered in the fall are germinating. There is life deep down! 
 
Life is always stirring deep in our souls as well, no matter the outer state of our lives. This Lenten season (which begins Ash Wednesday, March 6, with our annual 6:15 p.m. soup supper and Ash Wednesday service at 7:00 p.m.) we are “Going Deeper.” As a faith community, I invite you to join with me and with one another as we put the roots of our faith deeper within the soil of God’s love in all our worship, formation, outreach and fellowship activities. 
 
To further your Lenten journey, please join your Plymouth family in a time of reflection, creativity and fellowship at our first Plymouth intergenerational art and spiritual retreat, Going Deeper: Putting Down Soul Roots, March 8-10.  We will explore and follow the life of trees through art projects for ALL ages and ALL art experience levels, reflection on poetry and scripture, prayer, fun and fellowship. Friday evening, 3/8, from 6:30-8:30 and Saturday, 3/9, 9:30-11:45 and 1:00-3:00, led by our artist/theologian-in-residence, the Rev. Dr. Linda Privitera.
 
Do you know what trees and people have in common? The “giveaway” answer is that both function much better in community. The recent NY Times best-seller, The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben, tells us that isolated or solitary trees do not live as long as those in a forest. Sustenance comes from a network now being studied by researchers about how trees communicate, warn of danger, feed, sustain and nurture even the weaker members of the forest. 
 
With this background knowledge from the science of creation, our retreat time with Linda will function on the assumption that making art is an intuitive and concrete way of knowing. Engaging in a variety of art experiences around the theme of trees, all designed for fun, we will also engage reflective processes to help us listen to the journey of the soul, deepening our understanding of how God’s Spirit is working within us individually and communally. 
 
Our artistic and spiritual retreat journey this weekend will be grounded in Jesus’ time in the “wilderness,” which is the traditional gospel lesson for the beginning of Lent. Expanding on the traditional view of wilderness time as a time of trial, we will journey with Jesus in a soul-enriching time, thinking about what he might have gained from his time in nature. It is no surprise to us here in Colorado and particularly in our community, rich in environmental scientists, that God’s creation has so much to teach us about what really matters in this world. 
 
Our artistic and spiritual work will culminate with an Lenten art installation of trees, roots, and connections created by YOU under Linda’s leadership and direction. The plan is that together, adults, youth and children, will create a network of roots connecting our individual art pieces of trees and roots, and linking it all to the base of the cross in the sanctuary which will “grow” a large system of roots joining everything together. Come and see what you can create with zip ties, twisty wires, braided heavy twine and raffia! How will hot glue guns, stencils highlighting the work of Gustav Klimt, rocks, and your own creativity shape a forest of spiritual connections that deepen the roots of our faith community? Come and find out!
 
Sign up now by clicking this link.........or registering at the “Going Deeper” Art Weekend table in Fellowship Hall, February 23 and March 3 before and after worship times. 

College students, youth, and kids are free! (But please register so we know you’re coming.) Adults, $35.00 and Families with two adults, $60.00. Don’t let finances get in the way...assistance is available...just talk to me or send me an email.
 
Blessings on our journey together deeper into God’s love,
Jane Anne

Have you ever heard Argentinian-born sportscaster Andres Cantor call a soccer match and when one team scores, he lets out a minutes-long cry of G-O-O-O-O-A-A-A-L? It is a fantastically memorable sound. And we did something memorable last night… At the first meeting of our new Leadership Council, we passed a set of goals for Plymouth in 2019. (By the way, it’s an amazing group of Plymouth folks who form this year’s Council!)

I shared these goals in our staff meeting this morning and met with a strong positive response from my staff colleagues, as well. Different ministry teams, boards, staff, and the Leadership Council itself will be tackling these goals during 2019. So, with no further ado…

Plymouth Goals for 2019

• Improve worship attendance (309 in 2018; aim for 320 in 2019). This is a goal for ALL of us who form Plymouth: if you’re in town, come to church! When you aren’t here, we miss you…and you miss out on the gift of Plymouth!
• Increase pledging and fulfillment of pledges. The Stewardship Board will be working this year to reach folks with the ways your giving to Plymouth helps change lives. 
• Improve visitor welcome experience. What is it like to walk into Plymouth on a Sunday? Are you greeted in worship and coffee hour? Welcomed at the Visitor Information Desk? Engaged in conversation if you are using a blue mug?
• Evaluate and update Building Use fee structure & fees for weddings and funerals. We need to ensure that we are covering costs for things like utilities, deferred maintenance, and custodial care and building.
• Drive leadership development and nominating process. We are in the process of recasting the Nominating Committee as a Leadership Development Committee that will work year-round to help develop new leaders and identify the right person for the right ministry.
• Glean and use results from Adaptive Challenge Task Force on Age-Related Engagement. A new task force is looking for ways to engage folks in their 20s and 30s more fully.
• Integrate new Business Manager into Council/Treasurer/Budget & Finance processes. As we look toward filling this new half-time position, we’ll need to work to help him or her mesh well with Plymouth.
• Evaluate current strategic plan and identify key areas needed to complete the plan. Take steps toward next process. We still have some work to do with the 2015 Strategic Plan, and we’re due for a new process soon!
• Getting members to sign on to F1Go and use it. If you haven’t used our new F1Go database, you have a treat in store: a great smartphone app and an internet-based site make getting information really easy…wherever you are!
• Identify congregational theme for 2019 (“Go Deeper”) and drive it. 

We haven’t had a congregational theme for several years, and you may have heard me use “Go Deeper” at the Congregational Meeting in January. All of us can Go Deeper in our faith, whether that means engaging in a volunteer ministry at Plymouth, digging deeper into your spiritual journey, attending the Art Weekend (March 8-10) to kick off Lent, stretching yourself to increase your generosity, or ...

I look forward to working with YOU to help engage these goals as we delve into an exciting year at Plymouth when together we will Go Deeper!

Shalom!

“You will seek me and find me, where you seek me with all your heart.”
- Jeremiah 29: 13

“Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? Is it higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you do? Its measure is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.”
- Job 10: 7-9

Today is the State of Union and, by every measure, our sense of union across difference, politics, and even faith traditions, is under more extraordinary pressure than in recent memory. We find ourselves evaluating the national and even humanitarian “State of the Union” in terms that are anything but ordinary. It does make me ask myself if there is really greater disunion or if we are conditioned by our media outlets of choice (on either end) to look for and observe (celebrate?) discord more than the love that still unites people across difference in ever more extraordinary ways? Just a thought… 

Lucky for us, we are facing these extraordinary times with the safety and security of a Christian faith tradition grounded first and foremost in the idea of eternal hope—both for this Realm and the next. We are, if we do Christianity right, embedded in a culture and even a Savior of hope. Moreover, somewhat ironically, this liturgical season between Epiphany (anything but normal) and Lent (certainly strange) is actually a short month of “Ordinary Time” in the midst of liturgical seasons of great instability. This is, whatever truth we find in it, technically Ordinary Time in the Church Year. 

As we all grapple to find and remember our collective Baptismal Call to Hope and to seeking God in all things and in every time, I would like to invite you to join me in a new practice. Our Baptisms call us to look forward in hope to a better day rather than backwards towards how it was before our current perceived state of disunion. Hear me on this: Things will never again be the way they were before or how they were when you were a kid, so our greatest hope lies in God and in uncovering the immense potential of a New Ordinary Time. Hope isn’t a thing of the past. Hope is the way of seeing the gifts of now. It is trusting that God can make good come from even the worst imaginable and then acting and working to do our part to make that envisioned future of union possible… come tomorrow or come three lifetimes from now. 

Here is a short tale I want to tell from my Canadian history that is a small floral example of what I mean. All of our families bring stories with them from the places we were before. My maternal family happens to be Canadian and has a trove of stories similar to but nuanced from our American narratives. Here is one of my favorites that, while simple, always gives me hope in the face of global disunion: 

If you ever visit the stately Canadian Capitol City of Ottawa, you will be surrounded by a deep sense of history, civic pride, and beautiful grounds. If you visit in the winter, you will see that the canals throughout the city are used as linear ice rinks to form a public transit infrastructure for ice-skater commuting to class or to work. It gives being late for work and speed skating practice a nice overlap! If you visit in the early summer, when the canals are melted and form more of a calming backdrop, you will be surrounded by the largest tulip gardens in the world. Tulips, tulips everywhere in every color! It is like Pella or Orange City, Iowa or Holland, Michigan multiplied by the tens of thousands. “Where did these Tulips come from,” you may well wonder, “and why Ottawa?” 

As the story goes, on May 12, 1940, when the tulips were still blooming, the future Queen Juliana of the Netherlands boarded a ship for Ottawa for safe keeping during the ravages of World War II. In Canada, she met an unmatched sense of hospitality, care, and true national mutuality. The Canadian government even went to the lengths to declare the hospital room where Queen Juliana gave birth to Princess Margriet to be official Dutch Territory so as to make the birth completely Dutch. 

In 1945, when she finally got home, Queen Juliana sent 100,000 bulbs to the City of Ottawa and then another 20,000 plus bulbs to the hospital that had shown such understanding and went to such lengths during the birth of Margriet. Every year, for the rest of her life, Queen Juliana sent tulip bulbs over the North Atlantic to the Ottawa as a sign of union and connection. That is the story, as I have heard it, of the Tulips of Ottawa. 

Why does that matter today? The New Ordinary, after a time of great darkness and international disunion like we have never seen before in history, still has signs of flowers, or relationship, and of hope. The uncertainty and disunion in the world today cannot even begin to be measured against 1940, but still the sense of despondence and pessimism, particularly in the Mainline Progressive Church, is concerning. We cannot start over from 1957.* We can only start over in hope from today. 

This is our New Ordinary Time with which we have to work and create anew. At the end of WWII, the people of the Netherlands and Canada couldn’t wish away the pain and the loss, but they could see what God was leading them to in a “new ordinary” with new potential for good, for connection, and for tulips. 

This spring and summer in Ottawa Canada, and probably forever into the future even after the origin story is forgotten by human memory, tulips will bloom along the canals and in the parks and every public place. 

The Realm with which we have to work and within which we are called by our Baptisms to plant bulbs of hope will never again be 1957, 1992, 2007, or even yesterday. The only place where we can plant flowers of union, is today. It is your Baptismal Covenant to look for any ground that might be ready for flowers of union between people even in unexpected times.  

In Hope and Tulips,
Jake 

*1957 is the date of creation of the United Church of Christ 

I was happy and pleasantly surprised when I received an email a few weeks ago from Distinguished Concerts International New York inquiring if I and the Chancel Choir wished to take part in a choral concert at the Lincoln Center in New York City next spring.

What had happened is this production company saw our YouTube video of us singing The Ground by Ola Gjeilo from early last year (scroll to the end of this post to view), and enjoyed the musicality and passion in our rendering. As they are assembling a choir of 150-200 singers nationwide to take part in an Ola Gjeilo concert on March 16, 2020 in Alice Tully Hall, they hoped we would decide to join them. And, of course, we said yes! We have about 20 singers currently signed up for the trip, which will be from March 13-17 and include time to enjoy the city but also stringent rehearsals over the weekend. It is especially pleasing that the composer himself will be present and will be featured on the piano.

While this is just fantastic news and an honor to be selected for and to be a part of, I can't help but to muse on how this reflects on what is happening at Plymouth in general. What I see in the church is grand plans. The scope has always impressed me: vision without overreaching. Growth can be measured in terms of numbers and is the most obvious manner to do so. But creative vision within our means, in my view, even more so. And if the path is not available at the time, have the courage to create one.

For the music program, I see this manifest in several ways. I aspire to provide creative programming ever mindful to the volunteers who graciously give of their time and talents. We currently have one staff singer to support our choral sound and inspire our singers, as well as to be a resource for professional performance. The Plymouth Brass is a professional brass ensemble we are blessed to hear in worship several times each year. The 6pm service offers an evening prayer worship experience with music varied from Celtic and traditional to jazz and gospel. All in all, while our music program will always be supported by the backbone of our wonderful volunteers, there is a professional mindset that propels our offerings, whether it be by professional or experienced participants in our midst, or simply the vision of bringing musical excellence to all the worship services. And always with the intention of service.

So yes, we're going to the Lincoln Center and will have an amazing musical experience in one of the premiere concert venues in the world. But this opportunity is a sign of good things afoot here at Plymouth and I'm glad to be able to mix myself into it.

Mark Heiskanen
Director of Music/Organist  

“The greatest risk in life is not taking one!” -Anonymous
 
Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”
 
Matthew 14: 29 “He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.”
 
For those of us who sometimes struggle with the title and history of the name “Christian,” I might suggest that the coolest rebranding we could do as an institution would be to call ourselves Water Walkers! Can you imagine the logos we could develop?
 
In all seriousness, Scripture is all about risk-taking and learning to reinvent ourselves. From Genesis to Proverbs to Matthew, we find sayings and stories that remind us that life changes, God is with us, and we have to take risks to make a difference. Life is about learning to walk on the water… and learning to swim with joy when it just doesn’t work out the first time.
 
SPLASH!
 
At my recent younger clergy leadership cohort (The Next Generation Leadership Initiative) last week, we focused on the idea of adaptive challenge and adaptive leadership. One of the first lessons The Pension Boards wanted to relate to us before we could get into case studies was the difference between Authority and Leadership.
 
One of my cohort colleagues, The Rev. Kit Novotny, from First Congregational in Berkeley summarized our learnings this way at the end of the week: “Authority is about stabilizing, protecting the purpose of an organization/group, holding together. but LEADERSHIP is about opening up! De-stabilizing, disorienting. Creating disequilibrium. Expanding. Adaptive work is the problem for which we don’t have the solution. Instead, we ourselves have to change. We have to learn our way to the solution.”

In your life, in your relationships, in your spirituality…are you currently trying to be a leader or an authority? What are the things you are learning through? What experiments are you running to try to come to new solutions or ways of being?

Our religion is built on a tradition of stories about radical, adaptive experiments like walking on water. We have nothing to fear. We certainly should be hard to embarrass given the funny stories in our tradition and Scripture! We are the water walkers… and sometimes jubilant swimmers. It is Christianity that should inspire us to take risks rather than inspiring us to worry and stress.

I pray for all of us, with or without New Year’s Resolutions, that we all resolve to be leaders throughout our different contexts in these times of the unknown, unprecedented, and yet still emerging change.

Turns out, the greatest risk is forgetting that risk is our religion.

Splish Splash,
The Rev. Jake Miles Joseph (or just Jake)

​Dear Plymouth,

I confess that each morning one of the first things I do is look at the News app on my phone to see what is happening. Yesterday the most useful and uplifting thing I found was a new recipe for dinner. The news which is dominating the headlines is about governmental discord and the mistreatment of American people, as well as those waiting at our border, by the officials who are supposed to be serving the people. It’s discouraging and overwhelming, isn’t it? Should I just ignore the news for my own peace of mind? That doesn’t seem to be right. Where is the wisdom I need to read the news with any kind of equilibrium?

The definition of “wisdom” from the online etymological dictionary is: "knowledge, learning, experience.” The word descends from Old English, German and Norse. The Greek word for wisdom, “sophia,” is a bit broader in meaning: "skill, knowledge of, acquaintance with; sound judgment, practical wisdom; cunning, shrewdness; philosophy." When the Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek early in Christian history, “sophia” became the word for wisdom as it was personified in a female form in the book of Proverbs and the Book of Wisdom. 
​
Where in these definitions do we find the “wisdom” to look at our world, our country, in these times? We can be well-informed with knowledge about events. We can learn about policies and points of view we do not understand. We can consider this information with shrewdness, sound judgment, practical sense, philosophical reasoning and maybe, even some cunning. We can measure all this against our own experiences. And still we can be overwhelmed by all that is happening! 

I need more solid ground. The female form of wisdom in the ancient Hebrew scriptures, “Sophia,” became synonymous with “divine or holy wisdom.” Is there a clue here? Is wisdom truly found when we include a spiritual component to our search?  

In her book, Welcome to the Wisdom of the World and Its Meaning for You, Joan Chittester investigates the five major faith traditions of the world to discover the meaning of wisdom in a sacred and holy context. She asks the question of what it means to be a “holy person” and concludes that the essence of holiness and maturity lies in the cultivation of spiritual consciousness. Holy people throughout the ages in all faiths “sought to grow beyond the husk to the core of life, beyond the manuals of spiritual life to the essence of the spiritual life.”[i] Chittester relates a story from the Islamic Sufi tradition to illustrate this.
 
“’Tell us what you got from enlightenment,’ the seeker said. ‘Did you become divine?’
‘No, not divine,’ the holy one said.
‘Did you become a saint?’
‘Oh, dear, no,’ the holy one said.
‘Then what did your become?’, the seeker asked.
And the holy one answered, “I became awake.’”[ii]
 
This is my prayer for myself and for Plymouth this year as we continue in all of our ministries of worship, study, learning, outreach, social justice and fellowship. May we become awake in ways we have yet to experience to the Divine presence within us, shaping us, nurturing and challenging us! May we become awake as we seek to respond in love to our overwhelming times rather than react in fear or anger! May we become awake to life moment by moment as we breathe in the joy of creation, as we love even our enemies, as we seek circles of community rather than levels of rigid hierarchy! May we become awake to the life of Jesus that lives in each of us!
 
Blessings and prayers,
Jane Anne

[i]Chittester, Joan, Welcome to the Wisdom of the Word and Its Meaning for You; Universal Spiritual Insights Distilled From Five Religious Traditions, (Grand Rapids, MI:  William B. Erdmans Publishing Company, 2007), xiv). 
[ii]Ibid., xv.

​Happy New Year! Today is a day full of hope. The trail through 2018 is behind us, with all its ambiguities, things joyful and terrible, and now 2019 lays before us. It is full of potential, pristine as a meadow of untrampled fresh snowfall. Yes, there may be some shadows from the edges of the forest, but there is so much possibility: you can ski this way or that, build a snow fort, make snow angels, even have a snowball fight with your kids. Or simply admire the way the sunlight glistens off the crystals, a million diamonds spread as far as you can see. Fresh, new, renewal beckons us in body and spirit.

Christian Formation is breaking fresh ground; you enjoyed the Thrive programs offered in November. Now, starting this month, we will again go off the familiar path, court adventure, try some different things, even be a bit crazy as we seek to experience God. Isn’t that an important part of the spiritual journey? We are going to use the West Forum/Choir Room on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. for this experiment, at least through the spring. For many years, our Forum program has focused on lectures and presentations, which we have listened to eagerly, and asked great questions. Lectures are a great method of learning for some people and generations, but as education in general has moved away from “the sage on the stage” to the “guide by the side,” we want to expand our learning styles. Spiritual formation indeed involves the head but includes also “heart and hands and voices.”  

While we will certainly still have traditional presentations by outside groups, and events like Candidate Forums, we want to explore some new ways. We will continue to preserve elements we have valued from our past approach:

• A commitment to a rich and diverse progressive Christian spirituality
• The ability to drop in on a session
• Each session stands alone
• Monthly themes are helpful
• Programs that do not need advance reading or homework. (There will, of course, continue to be the Study Groups reading books in other rooms during Education Hour.)

We want to build on the past, but increase our focus on fresh aspects:

• The sense of participation
• Create hands-on experiences
• Work to make the events explicitly intergenerational (ages 18-108)
• Have authentic heartfelt conversations, and
• Be playful together.

The Formation Board realized that the Spirit was leading us in new directions, and has assembled an excited Revisioning Team, still open to new people, to imagine our use of the West Room. The Forum Planning Ministry Team had worked hard for many years developing the Forums, for which I am grateful, and I am thrilled at the energy the Revisioning Team is bringing to the table. (See me if you’d like to participate!) The Board realized the West Room is the largest educational space in our building, one of the best equipped, and amazingly flexible. We can set up with chairs for lectures or circles for intimate discussions, with tables for theology café or crafts, we can clear the floor for an indoor labyrinth, Spirit Yoga, meditation or dance. We can cover the whiteboard with insights and the walls with newsprint sheets of prayers. We can show film clips or listen to podcasts. The piano lets us explore song and music. Such an amazing space, a wonderful tool our congregants past and present have created!

January 13 and 20, we will be introducing the as-yet-unnamed program and providing different ways for you to give your input to our work. Among other things, we will identify the spiritual “itches” that we have, those growing edges that sometimes annoy us, those places where the Spirit is disturbing our souls, those things that we know we need to work on in the safe space of life together with other people following God. On the 27th, we will try out dramatic improv as a way to get into the itches we identify in an embodied and full voiced way, to try on different solutions for size, and see what we discover we know deep in our being. In February, we will dig into Brené Brown’s ideas around empathy, through film, discussion and crafting.  In March… Oh, I guess the Spirit hasn’t carried the team that far. What do you think would be good?

This New Year, I invite you into this Christian Formation construction zone (look for the yellow tape!). Experiment with us; some things will be great, others may well flop -- and that’s OK. Roll up your sleeves, put on some googles (and maybe a helmet) since you never know what God might do when God’s people open to new moves of the Spirit.  

Peace,
Rev. Dr. Mark Lee
Director of Christian Formation (Adults)

This is the irrational season
when love blooms bright and wild.
Had Mary been filled with reason
there’d have been no room for the child.

By Madeleine L’Engle, from A Cry Like a Bell, 1987.

As we all prepare for the holidays in this last week before Christmas, I am thinking of the Song of Mary, The Magnificat, that we will hear in song and scripture this Sunday. Mary sings this song of praise in Luke 1 after she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. It is a song of abundance and of justice for the marginalized. As the story goes Mary said, “Yes” to the angel who proclaims she will bear the Son of God. And we know it was not a rational answer. It caused her problems as she was technically an “unwed” mother. She had not known a man though she was betrothed to Joseph. Why would she put herself in this compromising situation as a young, vulnerable woman? Why does she say “yes?” It seems to be the irrationality and joy of deep faith rather than the rationality of a “what’s in it for me” attitude.
 
Mary seems to understand L’Engle’s poem. She understands about love blooming “bright and wild.” The writer of Luke puts the psalm we know as The Magnificat in Mary’s mouth to prompt and challenge our understanding of God’s irrational ways of love in the world. Sending the child, Jesus, Emmanuel, God-With-Us, was not a rational solution to the world’s problems in the 1stcentury Roman empire. It is still not rational in the 21stcentury. Yet it is the exact miracle we need year after year after year.
 
“First Coming”
He did not wait till the world was ready,
till men and nations were at peace.
He came when the Heavens were unsteady,
and prisoners cried out for release.
 
He did not wait for the perfect time.
He came when the need was deep and great.
He dined with sinners in all their grime,
turned water into wine. He did not wait
 
till hearts were pure. In joy he came
to a tarnished world of sin and doubt,
to a world like ours, of anguished shame
he came, and his Light would not go out.
 
He came to a world which did not mesh,
to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.
In the mystery of the Word made Flesh
the Maker of the stars was born.
 
We cannot wait till the world is sane
to raise our songs with joyful voice,
for to share our grief, to touch our pain,
He came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!
               By Madeleine L’Engle. From A Cry Like a Bell, 1987
 
I hope you will join us this last Sunday in Advent at 9 or 11 a.m. or 6 p.m. to celebrate the Song of Mary and its relevance for our world today. And join us on Christmas Eve at all our family friendly services, 3 p.m. for our “instant” Nativity Pageant service or at 5 and 7 p.m. for our services of Lessons and Carols! At 4:40 and 6:40 there will also be pre-service choral performances of the Christmas Oratorio by Camille Saint-Saëns.
 
Blessings for Advent and Christmas,

Jane Anne

* Image Credit
Visitation, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56718 [retrieved December 17, 2018]. Original source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/johndonaghy/22885862/ - John Donaghy.

This time of year can be tough: Some of us get seasonal affective disorder as the days become shorter and shorter. * Some churches have a “Blue Christmas” service for folks who have experienced loss in the past year or so. To be sure, the holiday season can be difficult for those of us who have lived through the death of a family member or dear friend. But, rather than “going all Elvis on you,” we at Plymouth have a tradition of the Longest Night Service, which acknowledges the complex feelings of the season. Darkness can be overwhelming, and when it is, being together in a community of kindred souls in the company of God can be reassuring that the light is coming.

We all need a reminder that, as the prologue to John’s Gospel tells us, “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” It is a holy thing to acknowledge that we, some of us, feel adrift at this time of year. My hope for our Longest Night Service is that it provides a spiritual mooring for those who attend.

This year we will hear our newest choral group, the Plymouth Chamber Choir, as well as handbells, harp, and flute, and we will use a litany from the Iona Community in Scotland. Jake and Jane Anne will preside at communion, and (for those who wish) I will offer individual prayers for healing and wholeness.

It is a dark time of year, but our faith in God can help us see through the darkness into the light. The light is surely coming! Please join us this Sunday, December 16, at 6:00 p.m. as we join together as witnesses both to the darkness and to the light.
​
Deep peace,

At around 10:00 a.m., I was on my way back to Fort Collins from a very early morning pastoral care visit to one of our members at the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, when I received a phone call from a friend. Using my hands-free calling (safe driving) speakerphone, I took the call. One can never be too careful on I-270!
 
“Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are Gerhard have good plans for food!” - Friend
 “Yes, we do! When I get home, later, I should double check that everyone knows what they are bringing.” - Me
“Where are you now? It sounds like you are on the highway?” - Friend
“Yes, I am just returning from visiting one of my members at a hospital down in the Denver area.” - Me
…silence…
“Why? What good does that do? You aren’t a doctor!” - Friend
“Because… it is just what we do.” - Me
 
I have reflected on my response since: “It is just what we do.” To those outside of the church, much of what we do as church community must seem very odd or otherworldly: visiting each other in the hospital, making blankets/shawls for blessing, calling on our friends on the anniversaries of loss, and even driving to Denver or beyond to just say “hello,” “God loves you,” and, “we are here.”
 
It is just what we do indeed! Let us all support each other in this season of light, this season of waiting, this delicate season of unfolding grace. It is just what we do…after all.
 
In Light,
Jake
 
P.S. I stumbled upon this reflection from 2016 about those experiencing Christmastime Blues. Anna and I have made it available again for reading and listening. I hope it might be a small blessing.

The liturgical year offers us the discipline to follow in the steps of Christ during his ministry on earth. It is a compass for worship, and one I grew up with in the Lutheran Church and still cherish.

We are now at the beginning of a new church year in Advent, Year C in the three-year liturgical cycle. Advent is the shortest season and easily overshadowed by the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparations. But I believe Advent is quite special, and can be of value to us if we so choose.

The word Advent is derived from the Latin Adventus meaning "coming." The season has been in existence from at least the 5th century. Advent traditionally recognizes three aspects of Christ's return: the incarnation in the manger, presence in our hearts daily, and the return of Christ at the end of all things. In our modern day progressive outlook, one could say that it's the birth of Christ and God's message of salvation to the world that is of prime focus. But is Advent just a nod to tradition in our worship services or is there more?

If we think about it, many of us already have an Advent state of mind post-Thanksgiving: shopping for Christmas presents, planning trips to see friends and relatives, or preparing one's home for guests. We are getting ready, staying awake, preparing for the coming of...something. 

For myself, I can always use a little introspection, a little penitence. And Advent has those qualities built in, though not quite as overt as in Lent. But we can take stock of ourselves, make changes, and be grateful for God's presence in our lives. Remind ourselves to just listen to that small voice within.

Musically, the liturgical year has provided an abundance of inspiration to composers over the centuries. Advent is no exception, ranging from the chorale preludes of Bach and Buxtehude, masterworks such as Part One of Handel's Messiah to contemporary compositions by Olivier Messiaen, Arvo Pärt, and John Rutter.

So, Christmas will come, soon enough. Let's enjoy the journey there and stay centered, tethered to what really matters. I leave you with a poem by MaryAnn Jindra. The Chancel Choir sang this text in a setting by composer Libby Larsen last year, "Lord, Before This Fleeting Season." It encapsulates the meaning of Advent far better than I could ever do. Let's give Advent a chance to offer clarity in our busy lives.                                                                               

Peace, Mark

Growing up, my extended family alternated who hosted Thanksgiving Dinner. It was a dance between mom’s side and dad’s side, grandparents hosting and aunts and uncles hosting. The years my parents hosted were a mixed bag. The best part was getting all the leftovers filling our fridge, the worst being all the prep work that went into the meal. My mom is an amazing woman, but you don’t mess with her when company is coming over. My brother and I would take turns hiding from mom as she tried to get us to help out. He was better at hiding than me so I got a lot of extra chores.  Not that I’m still bitter about that...

After all the hours of cleaning, baking, cooking and setting the table we would sit down to eat together. My mom would always marvel and bemoan how much work went into the meal and how quickly we all gobbled it up. All that prep and we’re ready for our post-dinner naps in 20 minutes.

This hectic pace is how the holiday season seems to go. It is lots of work, planning, traveling, stress etc. -- and it's over in the blink of an eye. The radio is already playing the songs reminding us "it’s the most wonderful time of the year" yet sometimes it is hard to enjoy the season. Between the to-do lists, decorating, shopping, holiday parties, travel, end of semester exams, short days and long nights the time between now and New Years can feel rather overwhelming.  In all the hustle and bustle it is the slow moments that we tend to find the most meaning.

Holiday comes from an old English word meaning Holy Day. In the midst of the busyness it’s really hard for me to remember that. These are holy days, holy moments of love, gratitude, and community. Too often the Holy Spirit is crowded out of these days by the busyness of the season.

I wonder what it would look like if we gave ourselves permission to slow down this holy-day season.  What would it look like if we gave ourselves permission to let go of some of the to-do-list? What would happen if we didn’t worry about the food or the decorations being as perfect as Grandma would have done them? (My Grandma Joyce could beat Martha Stewart in a decorating or baking competition any day; I did not inherit that skill). What if we spent less energy on presents and more energy being present? 

This holiday season, starting with dinner on Thursday, I’m going to intentionally slow down and be more mindful. I am going to give myself permission to enjoy the season and not spend all my energy preparing for it. I will spend more time connecting with friends and family and less time chasing the latest sale or instagram decorating trend.  

How will you spend your holiday season? How will you put the holy back in your holidays? 

Grace and Peace,
Mandy :-)

As I was driving home from church after our Leadership Council meeting last night, I saw Christmas lights illuminating homes in my neighborhood…wait…it’s not Thanksgiving yet…I haven’t heard holiday Muzak yet…wasn’t it just summer???

Without stressing you out, Christmas is coming; and Plymouth does something wonderful to help your gift-giving each year by hosting the Alternative Giving Fair. In fact, it’s happening this Sunday after the 9:00 and 11:00 services.

There are a lot of things that I love about the Alternative Giving Fair:

• I appreciate not having to step foot in a crowded mall (or give Amazon another order) to shop.
• I adore some of the things I’ve found. (My sisters have gushed about pashmina scarves I’ve bought for them…always a good idea to make your big sisters ooh and aah.)
• I am able to find meaningful gifts for our staff members (to accompany Jane Anne’s cinnamon bread), usually from one of the missions of our local church.
• I am warmed by the idea that my purchase is doing something really positive and not just aiding our national economy.
• I love the community formed when I see so many of our folks wandering from table to table, finding gifts that support our missions and also organizations making a difference in the world.
• I appreciate receiving gifts from the Alternative Giving Fair, too, because I don’t need much material stuff (books notwithstanding).
• I love seeing Al Sanders, Phil Hoefer, and Bruce Lieurance wearing Santa hats at the check-out desk.

Doing some of your Christmas shopping helps three people: you (because you are getting your shopping done easily), the people the organization you are supporting serves, and the recipient of your gift, whose heart will surely be warmed.

I’ve loved the Fair as a purchaser and admirer, and this year Jane Anne and I are turning the tables to support the Iona Community and its capital appeal to make Iona Abbey accessible and environmentally sustainable…tough with a 13th c. building. We’ve made sets of prayer beads (that come with a cycle of Celtic prayers we’ve compiled) that we’ll be selling, with all proceeds going to the Iona Capital Appeal.

I encourage you to come on Sunday morning and join us in this annual festive and meaningful experience!

Merry Christmas…even though it’s not even Thanksgiving or Advent!

The smell of autumn was in the air rolling down from the foothills in the distance. The sound of the now stiff and dry leaves clinging to branches and falling to the sidewalk echoed in my ears. It was a perfect Fort Collins blue sky, fresh, October Friday afternoon. You know the kind of day I am talking about? It could not have been a more beautiful day.
 
This was about a month ago, and I was doing what I had done every clergy-day-off (my Fridays) since April—walking for a campaign. I love having conversations with strangers about a political candidate I believe in. Regardless of where we all fall on the political spectrum, there is something wonderful about celebrating our democracy and beliefs by walking and meeting with other people. As a card-carrying extravert, there is nothing I love more than an election year autumnal canvas on a beautiful day. It combines four things I love: policy, speaking with new strangers, touring neighborhoods, and walking outside! I am giddy even typing about it.
 
I do pray for change in the world, but canvassing has been my spiritual practice to make good on my part of the deal.
 
While ministers do not bring politics to work, we can and should speak more about the importance of being involved in the process. All of this walking has paid off—20 lbs. lost, and three worn out pairs of shoes later, I feel like I am making a difference. Who says politics isn’t good for you!? Those soles were good for my soul. :)
 
I have been a local walker in Fort Collins since well before I could even vote. Canvassing in our beautiful community is an extension of my theological understanding of what I believe we are called to do as Christians. We are called to get involved and work for the greater good.  
 
Something, however, is wrong. Something is gravely wrong with our community this year. Something is wrong with Fort Collins.
 
On that beautiful day, I greeted a man in his front yard who was on my walking list with a “Good Morning, Sir, I’m walking today for x who is running for y. How are you this beautiful day?” His response was to yell in my face “I hope you go to hell!” He held his rake like a weapon. I stood in shock before trying to regain my perennial smile and continue walking. In my entire life, nobody has ever said that to me; especially, with such sincere and earnest hope that it would actually come true. He really wanted me to go to hell simply for walking for my candidate! In that moment, I was overcome with one of the greatest feelings of sadness and clarity I have ever experienced.
 
Of course, he never would have known that he said that to a minister. In retrospect, I wonder what kind of anger could stoke such a verbally violent response to a stranger’s friendly greeting even if he didn’t like my candidate. What kind of hate is afoot in our city? It scares me. It worries me. It turns me to prayer. Sadness.
 
I have had doors slammed and hate speech uttered. I have been threatened this year. In all of my years walking, never have I experienced the feeling that even our fair city is coming apart at the social, communal, collective seams. Beyond the façade of inclusion, bike trails, and tidy parks, something is very wrong here…and probably everywhere. In all of my years of campaigning, never have I seen anything like this.
 
As a local minister, more than as a canvasser, this absolutely breaks my heart. Something is wrong with my beloved Fort Collins and Northern Colorado.
 
I do, of course, hope that you vote today (if you haven’t already). Regardless of your political leanings, I really do hope that you vote. And I hope in April, during the upcoming Municipal Elections, that you get involved and care. Be nice to canvassers, even if you don’t like their candidates. More than anything, I pray that you don’t give up on love.
 
This is my business. It is the business of the Church. It is the business of rediscovering fundamental ethics.
 
Lastly, I pray that the neighbor whose hatred was so strong receives abundant blessing in this coming year. I pray that God will bless him and his family. I pray with sincere hope that he finds God’s peace. I don’t know him, but as my neighbor in this city, I hope whatever fear and anger would make him act that way will be no more. I pray for his peace, for his peace is my peace as his neighbor. We are tied together now.
 
It is not the business of the Church to get involved in politics, but it is our business to find better ways of treating people. Regardless of the outcome of the midterm election, we have work to do to fix Fort Collins, Colorado, and our country. If we start treating our daily lives and disagreements like political television attack advertising, then maybe every faith community in Fort Collins needs to return to the fundamentals of love of neighbor. Please don’t hope, no matter how much you may disagree with them, that your political opposites go to hell. That is a sure way to make sure that none of us ever finds peace.
 
In Humility,
The Rev. Jake Miles Joseph
(or just Jake)