The Frying of the Brats

The brat fry was HOT in more ways that one! 10 youth/confirmands, 3 adults, and 91 degree temperatures away from the grill. We managed to stay hydrated, no one broke the #1 rule (no dying) AND we sold a LOT of brats. Even though it was a Friday (June 29th), our half of the total brat sales was $302 (meaning we sold over 200 brats at $3/each) and we made $82.50 in tips!

Pictures are by the lovely Jo. Sorry for anyone who got left out of the pictures I have (and though I'll call you out by name-- Jo, Spencer, RJ, Ali, and Kris--  some of you may be happier not having had your picture taken that day!). What do you guys think? Will we try another brat fry in the future?

Car Wash!

This is a picture heavy post, with a wee bit of information thrown in. Pictures are from the youth group/confirmation car wash held on June 16th, 2012 at the Immanuel UCC church parking lot. We started at 8 a.m. and went until about noon- ending early due to the gently falling rain. Between the car wash and the donation jar for the coffee in the "viewing area," we made $320! Give yourselves a giant pat on the back and plan to make this a more regular fundraiser, since it was so much fun!

Creeds- Specifically, the Apostles' Creed

What comes to mind when you see the word "creed?" There's a band out there named Creed, you know the church says them sometimes, and you vaguely remember covering something about them in Confirmation. What else is there? If you're a little confused as to why they're so important, keep reading. You're not alone!

The simple definition of a creed is that it's a summary of religious beliefs and understandings (or the codification of a system of beliefs, if you want to get fancy). When the early church was forming, reading and writing wasn't the easiest way to transmit information, and most people were illiterate anyways- people needed to share information orally, rather than just pointing their friends to a specific book or pamphlet (or bible verse). But if you've ever played telephone, you know how quickly messages can get distorted. In an effort to help new members understand what "The Way" (or Christianity) was all about, churches started creating lists of the bare minimum a new Christian had to accept and believe in order to be considered a Christian (and therefore, be able to be baptized into the church). They'd build on those lists through discipleship later. These lists were kept short and easy to understand, so that anyone -- not just the leaders of the church-- would be able to memorize them. It was also a way to test any new viewpoints that they heard- if someone preached a lesson that negated any part of the list, then they weren't following the teaching of the Apostles and they could be considered as false preachers.

But, contrary to popular belief, the apostles didn't actually write the Apostles' Creed. When they founded a new church, they gave that church all the basics of the faith given to them by Jesus (and eventually, they wrote the books of the New Testament that we're familiar with, as a way to help share that information even further than they could travel). The churches came up with their lists, based on the information from those first missionaries, and as they grew and started to interact, the churches found that they had pretty similar lists. Over the years, as Churches talked about the little differences, those lists melded into one list- what we know as the Apostles' Creed.

The first real written record of the "Apostles' " creed appears around A.D. 200- a pretty good amount of time after Jesus' death, and an even longer time away from the present. So why do we still care enough to recite creeds? Well there are a couple of reasons. One, it's a tie to our history as a church and a way to continue a tradition that's almost as old as Christianity itself. Creeds ground us in our faith- if what we believe is different than what the earliest Christians believed, one of us has gone down a different path than Jesus taught (and guess what? It's probably not those other guys). Second, it's still a way for us to verify the authenticity of other churches- do they have the same basic beliefs as us? If the same core principals are there, we can still be Christians together and have differing opinions on some of the smaller stuff.  And finally, one of the main reasons Christians cared so much about getting the core beliefs right still remains today in some parts of the world.

The early church experienced a LOT of persecution- Jesus followers could literally die for their beliefs. If it's going to cost you your life, wouldn't you want to make sure that your beliefs hold water and aren't the philosophical ramblings of someone who had just heard about a guy named Jesus? Although our lives are pretty safe here in the U.S. (you might lose a friend because of your beliefs, but your head is probably going to stay connected to your neck), persecution of Christians remains in other parts of the world. To them, they have the same life-or-death need to verify the authenticity of their faith- and when we recite the same creed they recite, it's not only a symbolic tie, but an actual, in-the-words tie to other believers.

So what does this creed actually say? As you read it, see if there are any shadows of memorization in the back of your head (make Mrs. O proud!)...

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. 

Besides giving us a framework for understanding our faith, there's even more to find in those three paragraphs! Take a deep breath, turn off the TV and try to stay with me- and I'll try not to get bogged down in the details.

The first statement (God the Father Almighty...) was either an easily acceptable truth or a bold new statement, depending on the audience. Jews would accept that as old news and keep going; non-Jews (who often had different gods for different seasons, actions, etc.) would have to first come around to a monotheistic view of the world before proceeding to the second paragraph.

Jesus' information then comes in chronological order- an abbreviated version of his story. Some important things to highlight, though, are that he is the only son of God (unlike Zeus and Hera having multiple children), and that it was an immaculate conception- both God and Human at once (*ahem* this issue will turn up in a later creed).

And Pontius Pilate- why is he in there? Because his name gives a definable timetable- Jesus isn't just some mystic, mysterious person from the past, unverifiable. Just like we'd recognize the timeframe of President Bush or President Kennedy, early Christians could go back and actually look up the events that occurred during the years Pilate was in power. Also, ascended and descended are power terms- Jesus chose death, and conquering it, chose heaven. And the final two sentences give importance to the previous actions- Jesus still IS and will be back again. And ain't nobody, dead or alive, gonna get by Him.

The final paragraph is kind of a summary of the rest of the basics. The Holy Spirit isn't really explored, just that there IS a Holy Spirit. But mostly I want to address the words between the first and second commas. The "holy catholic church" part is based off the Greek word kat' holos, which means "according to the whole." It does not reference the Roman Catholic church, and some versions of the Apostle's creed have simply replaced catholic with the word universal to avoid the confusion. But wait! There's more! The "universal" church is also a call to remember that we are all connected- remember that statement about the persecuted Christians from a couple paragraphs ago? If we believe this statement, we ought to think about how we'd react to know that someone from OUR church is being persecuted (or going hungry or being oppressed). This short statement is part warm-fuzzy, part rallying cry. It's a call to move beyond our immediate selves and see the entire faith community as equally important as those right in front of us.

So think about what this all means for you. There's a lot in those 114 words. Do you believe them? All of them? Why? Do you use them to help guide you when you're listening to what others hold up as true? Do they shape how you read the bible (is it God's truth and commandments, or just a guide to good living?)?

As you think, take a minute and listen to the two links. Yes, it was a very musical Sunday- the first link is our 5 minutes of God-time song, and the second is one of my new favorite songs. And that's all the information you get on them; I'm not even gonna tell you the song names or artists. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKMGVgOkTkw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxEFqjH9G9Y&feature=related

See you next week!

Palm Sunday

There's not a ton to write about today, but I'll summarize for anyone who missed it. It was the last day to buy tickets for the Easter Breakfast, and we'll be serving quite a few people (think 150 range). I think that's a pretty successful number for our first attempt at this breakfast! Thank you all for helping to sell the tickets and for being so excited about the idea of improving the life of another through Heifer International. God is at work doing good things through this breakfast.

Thank you, as well, for helping guide the JAM Time kids this morning as they waved palms at second service. It was fun, and very cute, and I know those kids look up to you!

We had our five minutes of God time (links below) and then helped with the placemat making going on in the Fellowship Hall. I'm pretty excited about seeing what the kids all came up with- and you guys had some lovely drawings, too. Aren't you proud? :)

Hopefully, I'll see you at Maundy Thursday service (7pm) or Good Friday service (noon), but otherwise, we'll be meeting at the church on Saturday at 9am and going until noon. I can give a ride if you need one, just let me know.

Happy Easter week!

Link love from today's youth group:

• New Again by Brad Paisley and Sarah Evans
• 2nd Choice (that we didn't listen to) was Via Dolorosa by Marco Mendoza. It's a beautiful song, but fair warning- the video does have some more graphic images from the Passion of the Christ movie.

Accountabilibuddies, Breath Prayers, and Detachment

Some heavy topics this last week, but I think we had some fun, too!

Accountibilibuddies:
Everyone has an accountibilibuddy now, so I won't post the list- if you have any questions about who you're paired with, let me know through email.

Some of the benefits of Accountibilibuddies (aka bilibuddies (thanks, Jo)) are that you have:

• Someone to help point you in the right direction and guide you in making the right decisions
• Someone to help you follow through on those decisions and keep you accountible for your dreams, goals, and struggles
• Someone to you can talk to about things, even if you just need to vent
• Someone who will pray for you (and someone for you to pray for, as well)
• Someone who will give you some more clarity as to who you are- good and bad
• Another, stronger connection to your church family
• Another voice to help remind you that you're not the only Christian out there, even when it feels like it at school or in the community
• A potential life-long friend, who knows you in a deeper way than some of the other people you see every day.
• Someone who can help you understand another point of view, and who might have some surprising insight into your expectations.

Some of the things that you might need to watch out for with your bilibuddy relationship are:

• Gossiping, or sharing the information you've learned- which can sometimes take on the guise of caring and helping (remember the example from last week: "Please pray for John as he struggles with his addiction to pornography." NOT the most responsible way for you to support your bilibuddy!)
• Feeling vulnerable about opening up- your bilibuddy should never laugh at your struggles, or make you feel like you're the only one dealing with something like that, even if you keep your relationship on the lighter side
• Worrying that they'll see  you differently- remember that we're all struggling with the same base problem, a disconnect from God, that simply takes different forms for each of us
• Having a power imbalance- if one person is willing to share and open up, while the other isn't, that can make the relationship seem one sided and unfair.

Bilibuddies work best when you set the ground rules in advance- when you'll talk (how often?), where (email? phone? in person?), what (how much do you want to talk about- things like lenten disciplines or also relationships, goals, dreams?), and how long (just Lent, or longer?).  Keep in mind that this is a sacred responsibility, even if you just want to keep your assigned partner until the end of Lent. Pray for them, think about them, look to the scriptures for support and guidance. Also, remember that you'll get more out of it when you give/share more- be willing to ask the hard questions, but do it in a loving way. Asking the hard questions can make both you and your partner feel defensive, but explore those feelings, too- what do they tell you?

And finally, remember that if you have any other questions about it, feel free to ask me or Pastor Rich.

Breath Prayer
Breath prayers are short and sweet- the idea is that you form a phrase that encapsulates your desire for a prayer,and repeat it throughout the day. They're a great way to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17). You probably already do them from time to time- maybe asking for help before a test, or saying thank you to God after seeing a particularly beautiful sunset. The idea is to choose a word for God or Jesus (there are extra handouts on the bulletin board in the hallway), and then create a short statement/request afterwards- something like, "Bread of Life, thank you for your blessings." Or "Lord, here I am." Or even, "Lord of Lords, forgive me." The breath prayer reminds you of your focus on God, and helps open you up to the ways He's in your life. The name and phrase you choose depends on you- but try it out this week whenever you feel angry, sad, grateful, guilty, happy, or just a little further from God than you'd like.

And FINALLY (cue the trumpets), we covered

Detachment:
Forget Buddha, the ultimate detacher was Jesus! He put God first and foremost, and was willing to detach from everything  in order to truly focus on His love for the Father. He gave up His reputation, his family's expectations (even his brothers questioned his mission for a while), the chance to have a family and live out the normal Jewish life at that time, and He DIED because that was what God called Him to do. Those are some pretty heavy things to give up, especially when you consider that there wasn't some populist movement encouraging Jesus to give up all He held dear- He had to explain to others that the mandate came from God, not some new book he was reading or some new teacher He had heard. And it was tough for Him, too, at least at times- in Matthew 26:36-46, when Jesus is praying in the garden of Gethsemane, detaching from His life is a gut-wrenching process. He's understandably not thrilled about His upcoming horribly painful, incredibly humbling execution.

But Jesus knew better than anyone what He was doing, and He knew the purpose. He submitted to God's will and He detached from His human needs and desires. He also knew/knows that detachment wasn't only for the Son of God- God wants that sort of selflessness and reorientation for all of His other children, too. As such, Jesus didn't mince words about what His followers were to do- there are several scriptural verses that call us to detachment as Christians- in posessions (Matt 5:40-42, 6:19-21, 6:25, 28-34, 13:44-46, 19:21), in relationships (Matt. 10:37-38, 19:29), in coping mechanisms and attitudes (Matt. 5: 44, 10:19-20, 11:28), in goals and dreams (Matt. 6:34, 8:18-22), and even in life (Matt. 16:24-28)! And those scripture passages are just the ones in Matthew alone! Clearly Jesus felt that detachment was important for His followers to practice!

Yet we often refuse relinquishment and remain blind to our [own] attachments. We fail to see how our children or our goals for them and ourselves become the most important thing in our lives, receiving the bulk of our time, money and resources. We ignore our fixed attachment to our identity and how it is represented in our drive for possessions, control, comforts, and acheivements. We avoid any mini-death of relinquishment we possibly can. Relinquishment extends into the core of our identities, securities and addictions and says, "For the love of Jesus, I will let go." It is only through letting go of the control streak that true trust in Jesus is born. As Jesus' apprentices, we are to detach from the accolades of the world and receive oursleves as God's beloved. Detachment finds its true home in attachment to Jesus only.

- Spiritual Disciplines Handbook by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun

The good news is that detaching doesn't mean that we have to sit in a barren cell, wearing our one outfit, no idea where our next meal is coming from and no one to talk to about it because we detached from all significant relationships. It means accepting that all things on Earth are impermanent and separating yourself from anything that draws your focus away from God. It doesn't mean you can't have a nice, cozy bed- but if you're not willing to get out of that bed to do what God asks of you, maybe you're a little too attached to that bed and not attached enough to God. It doesn't mean you can't have friends you love, trust, and respect- but if God calls you to do something they think is crazy, detachment means separating yourself from them enough to hear their concerns, attempt to explain it to them, and doing what God asks of you anyway. Detachment is recognizing that God has what's best for you, and He is the only true primary need in your life. Everything else is secondary.

PRAYER of DETACHMENT

St. John of the Cross (1542-1591)

Deliver me, O Jesus...
...from the desire of being loved
...from the desire of being extolled
...from the desire of being praised
...from the desire of being preferred
...from the desire of being consulted
...from the desire of being approved
...from the desire of being popular

Deliver me, O Jesus...
...from the fear of being humiliated
...from the fear of being despised
...from the fear of suffering rebuke
...from the fear of being forgotten
...from the fear of being wronged
...from the fear of being ridiculed
...from the fear that others may be loved more than I

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire...

...that others may be esteemed more than I
...that in the opinion of the world others may increase and I may decrease
...that others may be chosen and I set aside
...that others may be praised and I unnoticed
...that others may become holier than I provided that I may become as holy as I should.

Welcome!

Check back soon to see what we are doing in youth group!!!!