The Messenger
February 10, 2014 Volume XXIV, No. 2 Nationalchurch.org
Lenten Contemplative Communion Services Return
Metropolitan will for a third season, unite worshipers in a Lenten Contemplative Communion Series on each of the six Sunday nights in Lent: March 9, 16, 23, 30; April 6, 13 at 7pm - 8:30pm. Senior Pastor Charlie Parker and Rev. Drema McAllister-Wilson, Minister of Congregational Care, will lead this reflective worship centered on experience of the Living Word, silent contemplation and celebration of the sacraments of bread and wine. This ecumenical service invites all who seek a closer encounter with Divine Presence and a deeper Lenten experience. Our "Stop the Trials" banner was a victim of arson early this week Civil – and Ecclesial – Disobedience I visited our St. Luke’s campus yesterday to find that someone had burned – yes, burned – our “Stop the Trials” banner, calling for a stop to church trials of clergy officiating at same-gender weddings. An earlier banner at Metropolitan had been cut down. Clearly the volatility around this issue is not going away. In the January 15 edition of the UM Connection, my Board of Ordained Ministry colleague Melissa Rudolph issued a plea for the unity of our denomination based on an obedience to our Book of Discipline. While I am grateful for Rev. Rudolph’s desire to find a middle ground on this issue, I don’t believe that obedience to the Discipline offers that middle ground. I believe that the middle ground is found by allowing pastors of integrity and conscience the space to practice ministry as they have been called. On Good Friday in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders were arrested for a peaceful march in Birmingham, Alabama. While the protesters were in jail, a group of white clergy wrote an editorial agreeing with the marchers that unjust laws in the U.S. needed to be overturned, but arguing that civil disobedience was the wrong way to go about it; change, they insisted, needed to happen through the legislatures and the courts. The title of their statement was “A Call for Unity.” (Continued on page 4)
In the spirit of Lenten spiritual renewal, these gatherings cultivate a deeper awareness of the Holy Spirit among and within us and its power to heal brokenness. Scriptural texts and other readings will illuminate this year’s theme of breath as a transformative path to God. The liturgy combines bible readings, prayer, music, and reflection within a supportive spiritual community. Choirmaster and organist Bruce Caviness will assemble a team of musicians to enhance contemplative practice. Breath: When nothing existed but chaos, the breath of God blew across the face of the deep preparing to call forth creation. God formed human beings and breathed into them the breath of life. Jesus breathed on his disciples as he prepared to leave them saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit." At the birth of the church on Pentecost, the breath of God blew through the room of followers creating tongues of fire dancing on their heads. We start our life with a breath and a cry, and end it with a final exhalation; breath is a constant presence in between. In both Hebrew (ruach) and Greek (penuma), “breath” and “spirit” are the same word. Throughout history, spiritual traditions have incorporated the breath as a tool to deepen one’s relationship with the Divine and the world. In Japan, the shakuhachi, a vertical 5-holed bamboo flute, has integrated breath control, centering, and meditation since the 7th century. Players use this unassuming end-blown cylinder to master their inner “spiritual breath.” This deceptively sophisticated instrument allows practitioners to “breathe” music of growing complexity and beauty. Our senior pastor, Dr. Charlie Parker, has practiced contemplative prayer in tandem with the shakuhachi flute for 10 years to generate the balance and calmness of spirit needed for effectively managing daily church life. He will integrate its playing into each service. Methodism's founder, John Wesley, built his renewal movement on what he called “works of mercy” and “works of piety” to maintain a critical balance between spiritual transformation and social justice within the church community. Charlie and Drema will lead participants in an exploration of how to maintain balance in an unbalanced world through practices of breath, music, prayer and meditation. As Charles Wesley said in one of his most beloved hymns, ‘Breathe, oh breathe thy loving spirit into every troubled breast. Let us all in thee inherit, let us find that second rest.” - Betty Rogers
VBS: Workshop of Wonders:Imagine & Build with God Save the Date - June 29 through July 3
The Workshop of Wonders is coming! Metropolitan’s Vacation Bible School, geared towards children age 4 to rising 6th graders, features a half day filled with music, arts and crafts, games and storytelling. This year, we’re kicking off VBS on Sunday, June 29 at 5:30pm and the whole family is invited (Monday - Thursdays sessions will run from 9am - noon). Register now at nationalchurch.org/vbs.