Answering the Phone

Last night I answered the phone. Now, this may not sound like all that much but most often, I don’t answer our house phone (yeah, we still have a land-line coming into our house) but rather check the caller ID to see who it is. Generally speaking, if the caller ID shows up as “Anonymous” of “Blocked” or “Possible Phone Scam” (yeah, I’ve really seen that) I won’t answer the phone. If you want to talk to me, you need to not try to hide your identity. But anyway, last night the phone rang, and the caller ID that showed was”000-000-0000.” Hmm, a little quirky, a possible call that I don’t care about, or a possible call that could matter so I answered…

Hello said I (just once, I’ve heard (unconfirmed) that if it is a robo-call, they seem to wait for you to say hello twice). And a young man said hello back. He identified himself as someone named Robbie, and was calling on behalf of Congressman Brian Billbray who proudly serves California’s 50th district. Robbie was seeking my support for Congressman Billbray in the upcoming election.

Now, normally this is the kind of call I would not have answered. I would rather do the research on political candidates and come to an understanding on where they stand on issues. But at this point, I was in for a penny, in for a pound…

Robbie assured me that Congressman Billbray needed my support and he was strong on the issues and that my support would help us get away from the possibility of Nancy Pelosi (who proudly serves California’s 8th district) having a lead in the House.

I can easily read and understand where Brian Billbray stands on the important issues of unemployment, the economy and the like, but where does he stand on the issues that tend to represent the marginalization of people especially those seeking immigration reform and marriage equality. So I asked.

“Mr. Billbray is firm on dealing with illegal immigration.” Is what Robbie told me. When I checked Congressman Billbray’s webpage, indeed, he is very firm on illegal immigration and most of the legislation he supports deals with keeping people out of our country as opposed to legislating ways of improving immigration and allowing people into the US legally.

I asked about marriage equality and support for the LGBT community. Robbie admitted that he didn’t know where Congressman Billbray stood on that particular issue, but he knew that Mr. Billbray stood for traditional family values. I asked what that meant. Robbie said that Billbray supported the family. I pointed out to Robbie that “Traditional Family Values” was sometimes conservative-speak for marginalizing the LGBT community. Again, Robbie stated that he didn’t know what Billbray stood on that issue, but was supportive of traditional family values. Well, Congressman Billbray’s website indeed does not offer any insight to his position on marriage equality. However, a quick web-search on his voting record shows that Congressman Billbray voted against the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” was in favor of the 2006 initiative on adding a constitutional amendment to establish that marriage shall consist of one man and one woman, and voted for the “Defense of Marriage Act.”

I pointed out my concerns to Robbie, and stated that I couldn’t support a person that didn’t represent my social justice beliefs. Robbie stated that he (Robbie) was just a college intern and that he (Robbie) thinks that we should all get along together and treat each other justly (good position Robbie).

After I told Robbie that I wouldn’t vote for Billbray, he went on to say that Congressman Billbray was depending on my support this year and could I donate $100 to ensure that Billbray can successfully take on the likes of Nancy Pelosi. Now, I understand Robbie was probably reading from a script, but when you hear that someone is not going to vote for the candidate you are pushing, wouldn’t it just be best to back out and be done?!? I kind of pointed this out to Robbie by essentially saying that I had just told him I wasn’t going to vote for Billbray, and there was no way on earth that I was going to donate $100 to that cause. Robbie continued that I didn’t need to contribute $100, a lessor amount would also… and that was as much as I heard as I hung up the phone.

So, why am I writing this… well, I am not repeat not trying to influence the person that people want to vote for. What I am trying to influence is voting for the candidate that best represents your beliefs, values, and understandings of the world. Big issues are of curse important, but equally so are the issues of social justice, social practice, treating people with care and dignity, and looking out for the people who have been historically marginalized.

Called to Youth Ministry

I have been discussing this for some time with many people, and it is time that I take some action to make this a reality. I currently serve as the Youth Ministry Coordinator for the Southern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ. In that role, I help facilitate Conference wide activities for Youth; serve as an Advisor to the Youth RoundTable (YRT); consult with Local Church Youth Ministers/Workers/Directors; and visit churches throughout the Conference to champion Youth activities. I do believe that my work with Youth represents a call to ministry, and I am in the process of applying to the Southern Association of the SCNC-UCC to be considered a Candidate for Commissioning as a Youth Minister.

During the recent United Church of Christ General Synod #28 in Tampa, FL, I had the opportunity to chat with a very old and dear friend Rev. Susan Henderson who served as the Interim Conference Minister in the New Hampshire Conference when I lived there. I explained to Susan that I was in discernment to be a Commissioned Minister to Youth; her response was: “No you’re not; you already know that; you need to let others know so that they can complete their discernment about you.”

Even though my ministry is with the Conference, I will be working with my local church, Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Carlsbad, and with the Southern Association through the discernment process.

Sometimes, all we need to do to start is to start…

Second Sunday In Lent 2011

This was the first full week of Lent. I talked to many people this week who were honoring Lent by sacrificing or giving something up… sugar, potato chips, soda, etc. A few people were adding a behavior (reading scripture, being nice to people, etc.). Here was my week:

• Day 5: Pray for those who are burdened – Prayers abound for the people of Japan and people world wide who are affected by this disaster. I changed my Facebook Profile picture to include a prayer for the people of Japan.
• Day 6: Find the beauty in the everyday – I really do believe that beauty does exist in the everyday… My morning greeting is always “Good Morning Sunshine” and I’m really not talking about the weather. Although, I could be as we do get a lot of sunshine were in Southern California! The vistas of mountains, deserts, and coastal plains are always beautiful to me. I also find beauty in the rich multicultural diversity we have here.
• Day 7: Donate 5 items of clothing to Goodwill or the Salvation Army – This was kind of a no-brainer… we have clothing that hasn’t been worn for awhile, or doesn’t fit right, or no longer reflects our taste. So, we gather these things on a regular basis and donate (usually) to Salvation Army.
• Day 8: No Complaining day – This was an interesting choice… Actually, not complaining requires a commitment to living fully in the present and accepting what comes. The Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr came to mind often today: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;  courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. The other interesting part of a “No Complaining Day” was not getting drawn into other people’s complaining.
• Day 9: Help someone with their tasks or chores – This was fairly straight forward too. Being helpful to others is always one of quirky behaviors that tends to work both ways; that is, if you are helpful to others, they tend to be helpful to you… The trick is to encourage others to accept help, and to be able to accept help ourselves.
• Day 10: Buy a few $5 food gift cards to donate to a shelter – I am not trying to sound trite, but it seems that some people are looking for a hand out and some are looking for a hand up. How do we tell the difference? Here in SoCal, it seems that every busy intersection has a person standing on the median with a sign stating that they are homeless, unemployed, need money for food, need money for family, etc. How do we know if these people really need that hand up to keep them going? I remember seeing a person on Duval Street in Key West displaying a sign that said: “I’ll be honest, I want a dollar for a beer.” So, I’ve taken to donating gift cards (like from Subway) because they are expressly intended to feed people.

First Sunday In Lent 2011

So, as I blogged on Wednesday, I am following a Lenten Path this year. My plan is to follow my path, and blog about my experiences on Sunday. This Lenten week was short (Wednesday through Saturday) and the items I chose to accomplish were as follows:

Day 1: Visit The UCC’s Daily Devotional Page (http://www.ucc.org/feed-your-spirit/daily-devotional/) and sign up to receive a daily devotional.

Day 2: Fast for lunch (just water).

Day 3: Pray for those who are lost.

Day 4: Donate $20 to a non-profit.

So, the Day 1 activity was pretty easy… I signed up to receive a daily devotional email to my SCNC-UCC Conference Email account (washburn@scncucc.org). On that particular day, the devotion was entitled “Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust” and the devotional encouraged the reader not to take our time here for granted.

The Day 2 activity was to fast for lunch. Fasting, I have found, is a great way to be mindful of our bodies and our relationship to the world. Going hungry for a meal reminds me of those who go hungry all the time. The pinch of hunger I felt is nothing compared to those who don’t know where or when their next meal is coming. I have been very blessed in my life by what I have.

My Day 3 activity was to pray for those who are lost… This has many different meaning at many different levels… I really wasn’t thinking of a disaster like an earthquake and tsunami to hit Japan… but there it was. I have friends and colleagues living and working in Japan… I have friends in Hawaii… I was fearful for my friends and colleagues and tremendously saddened by this disaster. My prayer on Friday was taken from a piece by John Dalles:

O God of all, grant us your peace,
we share one human bond,
and so when others seek release,
God, help us to respond:
to heal the sick, to seek the lost,
to set the captive free,
to serve and never count the cost—
may we live peacefully!

Day 4′s activity was to donate $20 to a non-profit. We currently donate to several different non-profits and (not that we were really looking for a new group) we were invited to participate in a walk sponsored by the National Foundation for Autism Research (NFAR). So, Pam and I are signing up to participate in this 5K Fun Run/Walk.

Overall, my Lenten activities this week served to point out and highlight my connectedness to the world. I am a member of the human community and that comes with some basic responsibilities such as to be available to others, to reach out to others, to help provide for others (within the bounds of reality), and to be pray for others.

My Lenten “To Do” List

So, today is the first day of Lent. Lent is a season of soul-searching and repentance. Lent is a season for reflection and taking stock. Lent originated in the very earliest days of the Church as a preparatory time for Easter, when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for baptism. By observing the forty days of Lent, the individual Christian imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days. All churches that have a continuous history extending before AD 1500 observe Lent. The ancient church that wrote, collected, canonized, and propagated the New Testament also observed Lent, believing it to be a commandment from the apostles. So, there is no Biblical mandate to observe Lent, rather, Lent was created as a way for people to reflect, regroup, retreat, restate, and on and on.

Traditionally, in the Western Church, Lent is 40 days long starting on Ash Wednesday and ending the day before Easter. Note that Sundays are not counted in the 40 days, as each Sunday is a celebration; a mini-Easter.

Many people “Give something up” for Lent… like chocolate, soda, Facebook, or ice cream. Some people “Take something on” during Lent… being more even-tempered, working with the homeless, reading scripture, or journaling. For me, this year I plan to jump around a bit. Here is a list of what I am planning on doing for the next 40 days…

 

Day 1: Visit The UCC’s Daily Devotional Page (http://www.ucc.org/feed-your-spirit/daily-devotional/) and sign up to receive a daily devotional. 

Day 2: Fast for lunch (just water).

Day 3: Pray for those who are lost.

Day 4: Donate $20 to a non-profit.

(Sunday) – Celebration… blog about days 1-4

Day 5: Pray for those who are burdened.

Day 6: Find the beauty in the everyday

Day 7: Donate 5 items of clothing to Goodwill or the Salvation Army

Day 8: No Complaining day

Day 9: Help someone with their tasks or chores

Day 10: Buy a few $5 food gift cards to donate to a shelter

(Sunday) – Celebration… blog about days 5-10

Day 11: Call an old friend

Day 12: Pray the News (pray for people and situations in today’s newspaper)

Day 13: Read Psalm 139 http://bible.oremus.org/

Day 14: Sincerely complement others.

Day 15: Don’t turn on the car radio today

Day 16: Educate myself about human trafficking http://www.humantrafficking.org/ 

(Sunday) Celebration… blog about days 11-16

Day 17: Forgive someone

Day 18: Share a meal with a friend

Day 19: Change one light in my house to an energy-efficient bulb

Day 20: Check out morning and evening prayer at http://dailyoffice.wordpress.com/

Day 21: Ask for help

Day 22: Tell someone what I am are grateful for

(Sunday) Celebration… Blog about days 17-22

Day 23: Pray for youth and young adult leaders.

Day 24: Read Psalm 121 http://bible.oremus.org/ 

Day 25: Bake a cake or bread or pie and share

Day 26: No shopping day

Day 27: Say a prayer and light a virtual candle http://www.rejesus.co.uk/site/module/post_a_prayer/

Day 28: Say a prayer and light an actual candle

(Sunday) – Celebration… blog about days 23-28

Day 29: Write a thank you note to my favorite mentor

Day 30: Invest in reusable shopping bags

Day 31: Use Freecycle http://www.freecycle.org

Day 32: Donate art supplies to an elementary school

Day 33: Read John 8:1-11 http://bible.oremus.org/

Day 34: Participate in a service project.

(Sunday) – Celebration… blog about days 29-34

Day 35: Confess a secret

Day 36: No sugar day

Day 37: Donate $20 to a local non-profit

Day 38: Educate myself about Easter

Day 39: Pray for peace

Day 40: Pray for those who are lost

After completing this list, I will decide which activates I want to continue…

  

So, it is a Small World After All

Sometime ago, I was invited to provide Pulpit Replacement for United Church of Christ in Sun City. The regular pastor, Pastor  Hal Lingerman was taking the month of August off, and the church was looking for someone to preach, hence, provide Pulpit Replacement.

I like to preach, and I appreciate the challenge of preaching from the Lectionary… So I agreed to preach on Sunday August 15^th. The Lectionary readings for that day included Hebrews 11:29-12:2… a discussion on the Faith of Ancient Israeli Heroes. So, I decided that “Heroes” would be an appropriate title, and I decided to talk about how our Youth Workers (including Youth Ministers, Youth Group Advisors, Youth Directors, Youth Counselors, Camp Counselors, etc., etc.) are heroes in their own right, as well as being a chief contributor to helping develop new heroes. So, yesterday was the day, and my daughter Annalise and her friend Nicki (who sometimes seems to be one of my daughters) joined me at UCC Sun CIty

I had been asked to provide a short bio so the congregation would know who I am… So I included that in the beginning of my message.  I included in the bio that I was born and raised in the town of Greenfield set in Western Massachusetts.

During the course of my message, I was drawing connections between a Youth Leader in my life (Bill Salt) and how that relationship profoundly affected my participation in Youth Ministry.

My message seemed to be well received by the good people of UCC Sun City (or they were just very gracious). As I greeted people after worship, I heard a number of “good sermon” and “great message” until one very nice woman who introduced herself as Ruth said that she too was from Greenfield, MA! She was very surprised and delighted to hear that I was from there.

After worship, the church was celebrating the birthdays of three members of the church who were all turning 100 years old! Wow; that is so awesome! Anyway, the celebration included lunch, and I was invited… so, as I was making my way to the fellowship hall, I ended up in several different conversations with folk on a variety of subjects. The very nice woman from Greenfield (Ruth) offered to fix me a plate, but I declined knowing that I would get a chance. Eventually, I sat down with Annalise and Nicki and some women from the church. Ruth joined us as well, and we chatted some more. As it turns out, this very nice woman, Ruth is the mother of a fellow that I graduated High School with, none other than Rand Folta! Rand is one of my friends on Facebook!

Ruth Goodwin-Folta (Rand's Mom)

Later, as we were making our way to leave, Ruth was talking with these two gentlemen. As it turns out, they are brothers, and one lives in Sun City, and the other in New Jersey. They asked about Bill Salt from my sermon… So, I told them how Bill had entered seminary later in life, and attended Bangor Theological Seminary which at the time had a program that allowed you to earn your M.Div. even without a BA, and finish your BA later. Once completed, you could move on to ordination… Anyway, these two brothers, Jim and Bill Wilson and Shirley Wilson were very excited, because after Bill was ordained, he took a call to a church in New Jersey and lived very close to these brothers!

These events really remind me of just how small and close our world can be. Also, we should always speak well of others because we are unaware of the relationships that exist out there, and you never know when you’ll be talking to someone’s son, brother, neighbor, mother, father, and on and on.

Diamond Bar UCC Church Visit

Today I visited Diamond Bar United Church of Christ 2335 S. Diamond Bar Blvd Diamond Bar, California. This is part of an on-going effort to visit the churches of the Southern California Nevada Conference of the UCC and spread the word about Youth and Young Adult events as well as happenings at Pilgrim Pines Camp and Conference Center. I was very warmly greeted by  Rev Jeanne Favreau–Sorvillo, Pastor and other members of the congregation. I had the opportunity to talk to the Junior and Senior High students, as well as a brief word to the congregation. I also stayed around for a little while to share information, answer questions, etc.

This is the fifth church I’ve visited this year, and something I seem to hear again and again is: “Oh, we used to always bring our children to Pilgrim Pines” or some variation on that theme. Usually this has been from folks that were speaking about their now grown children, and the reference time was in the ’60s or ’70s. I think there were fewer options for young folk in those years than there are now. Now, we need to make places like Pilgrim Pines the Priority Option! Parents, grandparents, and maybe even great-grandparents have wonderful memories of camp and the joy of going to Pilgrim Pines… We need to remind them and also inform our current youth that there are new memories waiting to be experienced; just wanting to be had! Come on up! Pilgrim Pines is waiting for you.

Thanks again to Pastor Jeanne and the members and youth of Diamond Bar UCC!

Hello world!

Hello all! This is the place I am going to try to keep updated as I visit the churches of the Southern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ. I have already visited several churches and will need to capture those experiences here.