Communion Inclusion

Who should receive Communion?  Should there be exclusions, exceptions? What is your church's tradition on the matter? Your own opinion?

 

I very much appreciated the video’s explanation regarding “unworthiness:” this sacrament was created for the unworthy. For us to assume we need to be worthy in order to participate, I think, creates a situation where we are relying on our own righteousness, and not God’s grace. 

 

Beyond our own response to the invitation to communion, we also need to consider the questions of exclusions and exceptions. I think one of the most wonderful aspects of our practice of communion is that it is an “open table.” All are invited to participate. This is my church’s tradition – at each communion, the open table invitation is issued.  This is so ingrained in my understanding of the Eucharist that I react with resentment when the invitation is not open to all. I was visiting the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento. I sat in the sanctuary and experienced the beauty and peace of the place, but my response was one of anger that I would not be included in the Blessed Sacrament in this place. I don’t want anyone to feel that way. 

 

Information about the book

Unlacing the Heart: Connecting with What Really Matters by Henry B. Freeman. John's Press. North Carolina. 2015 (Amazon)

Summary

From Amazon: Unlacing the Heart is a book of true-life stories that capture moments of deep personal connection between people living very different lives. Of Alfredo, a homeless man who invited Henry Freeman into his life; of Jane, a Yale student who needed help coming out from under the burden of a high society family; of Sister Margaret, a Franciscan nun who joyfully shared her gift for uncovering the good in people we often fear and hate; of Mary, a person trapped in the body of a bag lady with only one true friend; and of an elderly woman also named Margaret who found in a meal of Omaha steak and asparagus a safe space to share her joys, her fears and the news of her pending death. Henry Freeman shares with us a rare gift that extends far beyond his professional expertise as a fundraising consultant. It is a gift he, a Quaker, received from his mentor and friend Henri Nouwen, an author and Catholic theologian whose writings on spirituality and the human condition touch the lives of hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Indeed, the author’s most powerful stories—the ones that lead readers on an inner journey and exploration of their own vulnerable spaces—reflect the presence of Nouwen in the author’s life and the words he shares in this book’s pages.

Impressions

Chapter 5 of this book, "Steak and Asparagus with Margaret" was one of my reading assignments for the Executive Certificate in Religious Fundraising.  I read the chapter for the class and then went back and read the rest of the book.  Chapter 5 was particularly useful in understanding fundraising and its spiritual nature.

The book is a series of stories told from the experience of Henry Freeman, a fundraising consultant.  It is a vulnerable look at his work, including his time-off to live for a year in an orphanage in El Salvador. I appreciated his stories of his friendship with Henri Nouwen and how Nouwen has influenced his work.

I would recommend this book.  It isn't my favorite book related to the field, but its vulnerability, stories, and connection to spirituality are all positive aspects of the writing.

Posts about the book

Any posts about this book will be tagged with Freeman Unlacing

Perspectives: My Baptism

Have I posted this before? This is me on the day I was baptized.  I'm the younger one in the white dress, standing with my mother. 

Infant Baptism

Name some arguments for and against infant baptism.  Do you agree that "the baptism of children should be limited to those who are likely to be nurtured in the church?"  Why or why not?

Wesley, in his Treatise on Baptism, sets forth several arguments for infant baptism including the belief that infants are guilty of original sin (as we all are), and that infants are capable of making a covenant, as we see in the Hebrew Bible.  In addition, that baptism is a successor to circumcision as a sign of the covenant, and that infants were circumcised, so then they were to be baptized, and that infants are capable of coming to Christ and of admission to the church.  Acts provides historical evidence that infants were baptized by the early church.

 

Arguments against infant baptism include the idea that infants are incapable to making a mature response of faith to baptism. There is no opportunity to teach infants about Christ or for infants to repent of sins prior to baptism.

 

For me, the question of whether or not to baptize infants who are unlikely to be nurtured in the church is where the evangelical and sacramental tensions in our beliefs about baptism are at their highest. If baptism is a sacrament and the work of God (not of ourselves), then why would be deny children baptism? I also think there could be situations where it is difficult to assess if a child will be nurture in the faith in the church. However, I also see the need for nurture in order that the child will experience the grace of sanctification. It is in Christian Community where we learn to practice the means of grace that will help us to mature in our faith, and a child who does not have the nurturing experience of community could miss that.

Church and Politics

What is the best relationship between social/political activism and Christian faith?  List some positive and negative ways the church has sought to influence society.  What distinguishes the positive and negative efforts?

 

I have heard many times in West Virginia that the church should stay out of politics.  I’ve heard it from politicians and from members of the congregation. I think – and I may think this because I am United Methodist – that the church belongs in politics. It’s a dangerous balance, but we need to find a way to do it that brings glory to God (and not harm to people).

 

Who could really argue that the church should not have been involved in halting slavery or bringing safer working conditions to children or to coal miners in West Virginia? Shouldn’t the church work to end racism, gender discrimination, and exclusion? They were and are political stands, to be sure, but they were made at God’s calling. 

 

The truth is that we will not agree on what stand the church should take. The danger arises when we see each other as objects rather than people, and we fail to work together for mutual discernment. The other danger, I think, is when Christian nationalism comes into play, and the values of patriotism and self-centered nationalism become our guiding forces instead of God’s leading.

 

Perspectives: Sunset and Tree

 

Holiness in Politics and Society

Discuss some practical ways Wesley and early Methodists sought holiness in society and politics. Are any of these surprising? How is this practiced in your church today?

I particularly liked the explanation from the video: if people are invisible to the world, and the person who brings them good news is content to leave them that way, then the good news isn’t very fruitful (my paraphrase). For Wesley, living a Christian life was inseparably intertwined with serving others.  That service extended from bringing the good news of grace, to bringing food, clothing, and other tangible support, to brining causes of injustice and suffering to those who could make changes.  Per the video, for Wesley, evangelism and activism were not separate ministries. How could you bring good news and food to someone who is a slave but do nothing to change their circumstances?

 

My local church, and most church, I think, work hard to provide food and clothing to people, and with more complicated outreach efforts, to help those who need assistance with rent and utilities.  I’m not sure we are very effective at trying to change the systems that cause the issues in the first place. 

 

I’m going to brag on the Foundation where I work for a minute (I can do that because the work I am discussing is other people’s work).  We are currently raising funds to grow and implement a Reparations Account and a Clean Water Account (for the southern part of our state, where clean water is an issue). We invest funds in in a socially responsible manner by both excluding companies that make money in ways that are not acceptable to the church and by fostering good investment practices and providing for good works through the investment funds.  I think changing the world is one of the ways a connectional church is beneficial because we sometimes need more than a local church.

Book Review: Methodist Doctrine

 Information about the book

Methodist Doctrine: The Essentials, Rev. Ed. by Ted A Campbell.  Abingdon Press. Nashville. 2011.  Cokesbury / Amazon

Summary

From Amazon: In this concise, accessible book, Dr. Ted Campbell provides a brief summary of the major doctrines shared in the Wesley family of denominations. Writing in concise and straightforward language, Campbell organizes the material into systematic categories: doctrine of revelation, doctrine of God, doctrine of Christ, doctrine of the Spirit, doctrine of humanity, doctrine of "the way of salvation" (conversion/justification/sanctification), doctrine of the church and means of grace, and doctrine of thing to come. He also supplies substantial but simplified updated references in the margins of the book that allow for easy identification of his sources.

Impressions

I read this book as I worked through the Methodist Identity: Our Beliefs course from Wesley Academy for Advanced Christian Studies, created in partnership with Wesley Theological Seminary and BeADisciple. It's not required reading, but is a recommended text.  For each of these classes, I've chosen a book to read "along with" the class work.  I recommend this practice because it has really enhanced my understanding and growth through the classes (even while it does add some work).

Unlike other books I have chosen to read with the courses, this book was short and an easy read.  As you can tell from the summary, it is well structured with copious references to doctrinal documents, Wesley's sermons, etc.

For it's purpose, it is well done, and I would recommend it to those seeking an overview of Methodist doctrine.

Posts about book

Other posts that refer to this book with be tagged with Campbell Doctrine

Perspectives: Lone Sea Oat

This is a lone sea oat, standing by itself in the sand.  Are we sometimes lone sea oats, when we could be part of a group?  Do we sometimes need to stand alone, but instead we stay with the group?

Book Review: Imagining Abundance

 Information about the book

Imagining Abundance: Fundraising, Philanthropy, and a Spiritual Call to Service by Kerry Alys Robinson.  Liturgical Press. Collegeville, Minnesota. 2014. Amazon link.

Summary

From Amazon: Fundraising is ministry—a transformative ministry that challenges all people to realize their own gifts and how they can be used for the benefit of the church. In Imagining Abundance, Kerry Robinson focuses on reasons why each of us are called to be stewards. We act because we’re excited about what it is that we do for the church and where we’re called by God to be, we want others to be just as excited about what that is, and we want people to be partners with us in that ministry.  In Imagining Abundance, Kerry Robinson offers an inspirational and practical guide to effective fundraising that is ideal for anyone invested in a faith community. Bishops, provincials, pastors, ministers, executive and development directors and trustees of faith-based organizations will benefit from this healthy approach to the activity of fundraising that situates successful development in the context of ministry and mission.

Impressions

This was one of the books I was assigned to read for my Executive Certificate in Religious Fundraising.  There were several things I liked about the book:

1. It was written by a woman who has fundraising and grantmaking experience through her service on her family's foundation's board, but most of the book is written from her viewpoint of working as a fundraiser for a Harvard's Catholic Campus Ministry group.  She accepted the position when the ministry was struggling, and her work through that (with the executive director) gave a reality to the book that I enjoyed.
2. The philanthropic philosophy that the author has dovetails nicely with religious fundraising. She explains it as ministry, and this is a philosophy I have come to share and appreciate. 
3. There are many stories and illustrations that added to my understanding and that I am able to use (with proper credit to Robinson) in my own teaching.

As a United Methodist, I was glad to read a book that was outside of my denominational box. 

This is not a long book, but it is well written and packed with gems.  I would recommend it to anyone in ministry for whom  inviting people into ministry through the sharing of the financial gifts is part of their job (and that's just about everyone, right?).

Posts about book

Other posts that refer to this book with be labeled with the tag Robinson Abundance.

Science and Faith

Has science affected how we approach the topic of God? How so, or if not, why not?

 

I think for some, science is seen as a threat to faith. For example, if science hypothesizes that the world was not created in seven days, and I believe that the world was literally created in a week, then science is a threat to faith. If this is true, then I can’t admit that any science might contain truth.

 

As a person who was trained as a scientist, I see science as a descriptor of the work of God. I don’t need to protect my faith from science – I can see the work of God in the theories of science.  My faith tells me of God, and of God’s character.  Science is more of a technical study.  For instance, when comparing the stories in Genesis and the theory of evolution, I can hear the truth in the Bible that God created the world and God declared it to be good. In science, I might see some of the how, but the Genesis truth gives it meaning.

 

Frederick Buechner's said that comparing words of science and faith is like comparing the work of a podiatrist to that of a poet. A podiatrist would describe fallen arches, and the poet would describe how a woman walks in beauty. Both are true - but which you choose depends on the truth you are looking for.

Course: Methodist Identity: Beliefs

 

Perspectives: Hope Meadows

 This is Hope Meadows, a recovery house for mothers who are recovering from addiction. They are able to have their children with them during the program. I attended a ribbon cutting a few months ago. Learn more about it here.

Essential to Faith and Disagreements

Below are two questions from Week 1 of the Methodist Identity: Beliefs course.

What beliefs do you see as essential to Christian faith, and why? By what measure is a belief made "essential"?’ 

I believe God is the creator of everything that is.  God’s character is love – a love we cannot understand and can only begin to experience.  God is not a God who creates and abandons.  God is involved in God’s creation, every day, all the time.  That involvement does not remove the will of God’s creation, for if it did, we could not love.  In God’s love, God sent Jesus, his son, and himself, to us to show us who God is – the infinite nature of God’s love. Through the son we learn that forgiveness, mercy, and grace are real and are for all of us. Through the son we learn how to live, here on earth, and there, in heaven. God remains with us as the Holy Spirit, and through the spirit, as an example of God’s continuing grace, we can communicate with God, and are made whole. God’s body on earth is the church – the union of God’s creation, sharing God’s gifts to demonstrate God’s love to all. 

 

A belief is essential to Christian faith when its removal would change the revelation of the essential nature of God. I think I “judge” this most often as the big picture of the bible. It’s often only seen in small pieces in individual verses – a single verse doesn’t provide a complete picture. When I consider what makes a belief essential, it is those beliefs that define that “big picture” of God.

How much doctrinal disagreement is permissible, or should even be encouraged? Explain.

 

John Wesley preached, “But as to all opinions which do not strike at the root of Christianity, we think and let think.”  This does not mean that we don’t have common beliefs or a shared doctrine, but our doctrine is limited to essential beliefs. I think doctrinal disagreement is unavoidable. Our Methodist doctrine arose from the beliefs of the church, but that doesn’t mean we all have identical beliefs, the same interpretation of doctrine, or complete agreement on those things outside of doctrine. Doctrine arises from challenges, so disagreement can help us in the refinement of our beliefs – healthy discussions can be a means of sanctifying grace, bringing us closer to God. God, and God’s gift of faith to us is strong enough to not only withstand disagreement but also to be strengthened by it. We are meant to be thinking Christians.

 

All of that said, there are those doctrine that are the root of Christianity. We can certainly disagree about them, and discuss them, but as a church we have decided they are essential.