We Are All Cup Bearers

Sermon preached the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost…

click here to listen: We Are All Cup Bearers

Each day more than 2 million passengers go through TSA security check points at US airports.  Since 2008 self-select lanes modeled after familiar ski icons guide travelers to choose the appropriate one based on their skill level.  Green designates the queue for families or beginners, blue is for casual travelers at the intermediate level,  and black diamond is reserved for expert travelers who know the  rules and arrive at the checkpoint ready to go through efficiently.

I’ve learned this from three years of weekly commuting between Manchester-Boston Regional and Philadelphia International on Southwest Airlines.  The experience has led some to dub me “the Southwest Seminarian” and along the way I’ve become an expert traveler (at least by Federal TSA standards).  This week however… in my impatience with the long lines (even in the black diamond lane), I had what one could call a “Zebedee brothers experience.” 

At Philadelphia there is an unmarked lane behind the initial security kiosk for airline priority and V.I.P. members.  So on Thursday I flashed my card the TSA agent stepped aside, pulled back the rope and allowed me to go down the empty lane ahead of hundreds of other travelers lined up on the left and on the right.  And just like the Zebedee’s James and John, others began to be angry and wondered aloud:  “who does that guy think he is…” and “why does he deserve preferential treatment?”

 

Walking a Winding Path – Labyrinth as Rest and Refuge

Sanctuary is defined both as a place of refuge and as holy ground.  One of my favorite places of refuge on the tree lined campus of the Lutheran Seminary at Philadelphia is the 101 year old Krauth Memorial Library.  There in the upper rotunda is an eleven circuit Chartres-style labyrinth, described as a winding path to center and spend time at rest with God.

And walk the winding path I did this afternoon.  The late afternoon light streamed through the massive leaded gothic windows into the upper rotunda, casting shadows on me the only person in the space.  The dappled light illuminated limestone framed walls, my reflection and prayers as I walked the labyrinth.

The floor of the rotunda is covered in autumnal brown and rust colored low loop carpeting.  As I walked in stocking feet my footfalls fell softly and quietly.  All of my senses seemed to fade away as my focus shifted from following the path to praying and listening.  My inward walk was accompanied by John Bell’s of Psalm 46:10 from the Iona Community as a repeated refrain.

Be still and know, that I am God.  Be still and know, that I am God…

The cadence of this journey was timeless until I found myself in the center, breathing calmly and filled with a great sense of peace.  I relished those moments of refuge and lifted the prayers I had carried along the way.  I began the journey out of that place of centered stillness, walking slowly back to the demands of my day.  Again the words of a song were placed on my heart…

Calm to the waves.  Calm to the wind.  Jesus whispers, “Peace, be still.”  Balm to our hearts.  Fears at an end.  In stillness, hear his voice.

As I wound my way out, I noticed the stone cross outside the window that sits above the entrance to the library.  Through blurred glass and dancing sunrays, the cross was difficult to see or focus on.  As the setting sun faded behind wispy clouds and I walked on, it would become clearer and then fade from view.

When I walked the final leg of my winding journey, the sun brightened in the massive west facing window.  As I got closer to the end, the stately stone cross became clearer and clearer.  I stepped out of the labyrinth path, put my crossed arms on the windowsill and gave thanks for the gift of God and that holy ground at the foot of the now clear and rock solid cross.

 

When Sudden Terror Tears Apart

The Episcopal priest and hymn writer the Rev. Carl P. Daw Jr.  provided this hymn of lament seeking comfort just days after the national tragedy of September 11th:

When sudden terror tears apart the world we thought was ours,
we find how fragile strength can be, how limited our powers.

As tower and fortress fall, we watch with disbelieving stare
and numbly hear the anguished cries that pierce the ash-filled air.

Yet most of all we are aware of emptiness and void:
of lives cut short, of structures razed, of confidence destroyed.

From this abyss of doubt and fear we grope for words to pray,
and hear our stammering tongues embrace a timeless Kyrie.

Have mercy, Lord, give strength and peace, and make our courage great;
restrain our urge to seek revenge, to turn our hurt to hate.

Help us to know your steadfast love, your presence near as breath;
rekindle in our hearts the hope of life that conquers death.

Many this day are reflecting where they were individually as we relive the terror, disbelief and grief of that shared experience.  Many have filed the hursts and nagging questions away and many are still trying, searching and longing to find peace and comfort.

Today is a day of rememberance and listening.  In the midst of all of our individual stories, we have a shared story.  In the midst of all of our individual places of lament and comfort, we pause and share in the unknown place we are at as a country and people. 

There are no easy ways to ”fix” or heal what has happened both as individuals and as a nation.  But there still is a God of mercy and love with ears to hear our cries and arms to comfort our anxieties and grieving hearts.  Kyrie eleison.  Christe eleison.  Kyrie eleison.  Lord have mercy.  Christ have mercy.  Lord have mercy.

 

Be Still + Know

Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations; I am exalted in the earth.

Psalm 46:10 has been the refrain of my life.  For in all my busyness, work, education, recreation and even church related activities… I need to pause and know.  While I know in my very core of the God of creation, the God of incarnation, and the God of presence who blows in and through my life, I often get so caught-up in the selfish stuff of life that I do not pause to reflect, give thanks and exalt our awesome God.

Yet when I read, hear, or sing the words ‘be still and know,’ I am drawn to Sabbath, to listen and spend time with God.  In those moments spent in the majesty and mystery of our creator, redeemer and sustainer, I may not know fully, but most fully feel the presence of God.  I pray for the gift of stillness, to be able to let go of my schedule and stress that I may know, experience and share God with others.  In the words of the simple Iona hymn:

Be still and know that I am God… I am the one who call you my friends…I am the one whose love never fails… I am the one who says ‘follow me’…  Be still and know that I am God and there is none beside me. 

 

Amateur Guest Chef Benefit Event Photos

August 10th one of Manchester’s hottest restaurants  Z food and drink featured my take on a fun summer Tuscan supper and allowed me to play in their kitchen.  This event benefited the New Hampshire Foodbank to help take a bite out of hunger for kids and families this summer.  Check-out the menu and a visual taste some of the event below…

welcome + grace

chilled garlic soup, ciabatta crostini

preparing caprese lasagna

panzanella salad

working the line

caprese lasagna

seared tuna + cannelloni arugula salad

limoncello tiramisu

 

We are Bread Eaters

Sermon preached the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost…                                   

click here to listen:  We Are Bread Eaters

Bread has experienced a renaissance in the past twenty years.  We have gone from supermarket aisles filled with plastic bags of the soft gluey white bread of mass production, to hearty whole grain artisan bread now widely available.  Bread, the simple hearty staple for most of the world throughout time, has for North Americans moved out of the lunch box and fast food wrapper.

Growing-up I didn’t think much about bread.  It was the vehicle to move peanut butter and jelly, or bologna or even just butter from plate to stomach.  Most of it looked and tasted the same and I still remember the trauma of whole grain Roman Meal bread being introduced to our food repertoire.  Even receiving communion was a bland white bread experience and I remember my first communion class where Pastor Lindholm got us to try the dreadful wafers with jars of peanut butter and jelly.  

For decades, Europeans and other global visitors were appalled by what they found passing for bread here. But North Americans slowly but surely changed their white bread ways and as whole wheat and exotic bread like croissants and pita became more popular, even many churches shifted from communion wafers to something that was recognizable as bread.  Bakeries and restaurants that made their own bread were sought out and market demand grew. 

Author Tom Harpur says that “without bread and all it symbolizes… at the physical level, the life of the body would be impossible.  Without the ‘bread’ of spiritual sustenance, the human soul lies empty and inert.”  Jesus the Christ was born in Bethlehem, literally translated as “the house of bread.”  For us as Christians, we eat the bread of Bethlehem and the Word of God, in with and under the bread and wine of the meal each week.  

We are bread eaters.     

 

Living in Unity Appreciating Diversity

Shared at the Bread For Your Journey gathering on July, 30, 2009 of By The Way an emerging community listening + exploring faith together in Nashua, NH.

http://www.bythewaynashua.blogspot.com/

Opening Prayer

O God you created us, you saved us, and you sustain us in our daily journey. Help us this evening to stop, to rest, and to be in your presence.  As we pause and breathe deeply in you, we give you thanks for this day and time together.  For what else do we give God thanks….?   We also come burdened and tired from the busyness and distractions of our daily lives, we ask for rest and renewal this evening.  For what else do we want to ask God for…?  Open our hearts and ears to you O God; to the unity you call us to, to the peace you call us to, to see and use the gifts you have given each of us.  Grant us humility, gentleness, and patience to bear with one another and all we encounter along the way in love.  Amen.

Ephesians 4:1-16 (The Message)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ephesians%204:1-16&version=65

^1-3In light of all this, here’s what I want you to do. While I’m locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.

 ^4-6You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.

 ^7-13But that doesn’t mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift. The text for this is,
            He climbed the high mountain, 
            He captured the enemy and seized the booty,
            He handed it all out in gifts to the people.
Is it not true that the One who climbed up also climbed down, down to the valley of earth? And the One who climbed down is the One who climbed back up, up to highest heaven. He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.

 ^14-16No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.

Prayer Offering

O God our teacher and guide along the way,     you gather us as one body and one Spirit… one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism… as one God, Mother and Father of all; unite us in our diversity.  Bind us together as we serve you, our neighbors and each other.  Thank you for the gifts and instruction you give in your Word.  Make our uniqueness and variety our strength.  Amen.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

http://everydayliturgy.com/blogs/thomas/wont-you-be-my-neighbor

 

Vocation and Vacation

Sermon preached the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost…                                   

click here to listen:  Vocation + Vacation

When I was six years old I wanted to be an astronaut.  I was raised during the height of the space race and the events that took place 40 years ago tomorrow night still make me starry-eyed.  Eight years after President Kennedy’s challenge to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade it happened.  This dream, passion, vocation and life’s work of tens of thousands of people was about to be realized.

The morning of July 16, Apollo XI astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins blasted off for the ride of their lives, what you could call the ultimate “extreme adventure working vacation.”  I like the rest of America watched the events on television.  We collectively listened and watched as the most trusted man in America, Walter Cronkite shepherded us through this exciting “out of this world” experience.  Cronkite was so passionate about his vocation, that he stayed on the air for 27 of the 30 hours that Apollo XI took to complete its mission. 

At 4:18 pm Commander Neil Armstrong with less than 30 seconds of fuel remaining manually landed the Eagle in the Sea of Tranquility avoiding a landscape of unexpected boulders that could have ended their lives.  I spent that evening outside, under the stars hanging out with friends between our carport and Ricky Hoffer’s house next door.  We pretended to be astronauts, wondered about vacationing on the moon and argued whether the Apollo experience would be really cool or really scary. 

At some point my parents brought our black and white television outside and six and a half hours after the excitement of landing (and way past my bedtime) the nation waited and watched for that first small step.  Neil Armstrong stepped off the lunar module onto the surface of the Moon and as he looked up, saw Earth in the heavens as no one had done before him.  He was joined by Buzz Aldrin, and the two astronauts spent 21 hours on the lunar surface and returned 46 pounds of moon rocks.

These two men had successfully gone away to a deserted place all by themselves and yet were followed by a great crowd via television.  We watched and heard their “other worldly” words and Aldrin’s simple but powerful description of the place as “magnificent desolation.”  After their historic moon walks they successfully docked with the Columbia command module where Michael Collins had been patiently orbiting the cold but no longer lifeless moon.   

 

Amateur Guest Chef Event to Benefit NH Foodbank

Please join me Monday, August 10th @ one of Manchester’s hottest restaurants  Z food and drink where you can enjoy my take on a fun summer Tuscan supper.  This event benefits the New Hampshire Foodbank so come help take a bite out of hunger for kids and families this summer!  

Seating is limited and the event begins promptly at 6:30pm.  The cost to attend Z guest chef events is $50 per person, plus tax and gratuity.   For reservations please call 603.629.9383

:::SERIOUSLY AMATEUR CHEF NIGHT:::
bill petersen’s “under the tuscan fun”

SIPS
campari margarita
campari liqueur, grand marnier, lime juice

PASSED

garlic shots
chilled garlic soup, ciabatta crostini

mushroom caps
baby bellas, roasted red peppers, sautéed pancetta, pecorino romano

SALAD

panzanella salad
heirloom tomatoes, tuscan bread, red onions, fresh basil

CHOOSE

caprese lasagna
polenta, grilled tomato, fresh mozzarella, portabella, fresh basil
balsamic caramelized vidalia onion

tuna steak
seared ahi tuna, grape tomato ragù
cannelloni bean arugula salad

pork tuscana
roasted rosemary and garlic infused pork loin
sautéed fennel, green beans, scallions, olives

FINALE

limóncello tiramisu
limóncello liqueur, almond biscotti, lemon curd, mascarpone cheese

Z food and drink has been recognized as:

• Best New Eatery, Manchester in Hippo Press Reader’s Choice Awards, 2008
• Platinum Plate by NECN’s TV Diner, 2008
• Best Cuisine with a Twist by New Hampshire Magazine, Editor’s Choice, 2008

View photos of the event 

 

Ministry Toolbox: Top Ten Reasons to Use Social Media

I have spent much of the past year incorporating social media into my ministry toolbox.  Initially I had a very academic approach to social media tool, assessing how, why and when to use Facebook, Twitter and my blog Signs Along the way… at the intersection of grace + reality.  What I found was that these tools have become incorporated into the cadence of daily ministry for me and I cannot imagine ministry without them.

Facebook was my first foray into social media.  I went from connecting to seminary friends to finding long lost high school and undergraduate friends and playing with many silly applications.  From there I worked with groups for fun and communicating events and strengthening community of ministry teams.  Youth groups live in a Facebook, IM, text world, but I learned that groups, fan pages + blogs work across generational lines.

Blogging came next, followed by moving into the Twittersphere.  What started as “playing” with new ministry tools has become a part of my ministry toolbox as well as my pastoral identity.  What follows are my top ten reasons social media has become some of my favorite and most used tool in ministry for me….