THANKSGIVING WITHOUT THE STUFFING

In the middle of the Children's Message last Sunday I realized how much of my thanksgiving is driven by gladness for what I have. As we talked about Thanksgiving, I mentioned how glad we are to have homes that are warm and dry, clean sheets on the bed, food on the table, and people who love us.  

Now the truth is that there is nothing wrong with being thankful for blessings -large and small- in life. In fact, seeing the blessings is a sign that we are alive, I think. To see food on the table, notice clean sheets on the bed, give thanks for the ability to stand up and walk across the room, feel inspired by the beauty of a book or song or film artfully constructed, to be glad for the ache in your legs as you make your way down a snow covered mountain, to rejoice in the glory of the child you hold in your arms, is such a good thing!

If you have eyes to see these things, and if you have a heart that knows how to dance the thanksgiving jig, you are blessed!

And yet...what if we had few -or none- of these things? How much of our gratitude is driven by the good stuff we have received? Is the core of our thanksgiving about what we have or who it is who has us?

One of my favorite passages, especially at this time of the year, is from Habakkuk 3. The writer rejoices even in a very difficult season of life: "Though the fig tree doesn't bloom, and there's no produce on the vine; though the olive crop withers, and the fields don't provide food....I will rejoice in the LORD. I will rejoice in the God of my deliverance."

As I list all the "stuff" for which I am thankful, I think of my brothers and sisters in places like Guatemala, Haiti, Mali, and Zimbabwe who have very little in the way of soft beds, well-constructed homes, and pantries full of food. Their lives hum with thanksgiving! The act of bringing their offerings forward in worship becomes an exuberant, joyful time of singing and dancing. Their gratitude is fired by their love for God and their experience of God's love for them in Jesus.

The steadfast love of God for us and all creation, the presence of the Risen Christ in every day and every night of our lives, the promise that Love Wins: all these give us a reason to rejoice and give thanks even if we have -in terms of worldly stuff- next to nothing! Paul, in Philippians 4, talks about God's peace that is with the people. He then says, "I have learned how to be content in any circumstance. I know the experience of being in need and having more than enough; I have learned the secret of being content in any and every circumstance, whether full or hungry or whether having plenty or being poor."

Being thankful because of the stuff(ing) in our lives is one thing.

Being thankful because of the grace and truth of God in our lives is something much better!

May your time of Thanksgiving be full of God!

   

In Christ and for Christ,

Mark Fenstermacher

We are the Church: A Recap of our Youth Fall Retreat

For the weekend of November 7-9, almost 40 of our FUMC youth partnered with 16 youth from a church from Ann Arbor, Michigan that we built a relationship with this past summer during our mission trip to Milwaukee. We had a fantastic time! From an awesome worship band, to crazy games, to bible study, to delicious food, to late night bonfires, and meaningful conversations, Fall Retreat 2014 was definitely a weekend to remember.

In keeping with the theme of our two churches coming together as one, the topic for our fall retreat weekend was "We are the Church." All of our content was focused on looking at the first church that spread like wildfire as it is written about in the New Testament book of Acts. Through reading about the miraculous stories and narratives of these saints that have gone before us, we challenged our youth to ask themselves the question, "How can we be like the early church of Acts in our current context?"

It's hard for any of us to really imagine what it was like for the early church isn't it? Things are so different for us now. We don't share everything with a huge group of people like the early church in Acts did, pooling our resources, providing for the orphaned, the widows, and the poor under the roof of our own homes. We have our own houses that we share with no one else besides our family. Our lives are abundant with flat screen TVs, a closet full of clothing, and a whole lot of video games, smart phones, and Apple products.

But during our retreat weekend, for a short period of time, we actually did share a few similarities with that early church from long ago...

• We were crammed into really small spaces with people we knew and people we didn't really know - this was kind of weird, presenting its own set of challenges and forcing our youth outside of their comfort zone.
• We were sharing everything - food, prayers, experiences, four toilets for almost 60 people, and the same schedule. These experiences challenged us to be generous and gracious with ourselves, each other, and our resources.
• We were relatively distraction-free - no TVs, no computers, limited cell reception, etc. This gave us the opportunity to really focus on God and our interactions with each other.
• We all came together in one place, regardless of our backgrounds and denominational affiliations - whether we were Episcopalian, Church of Christ, United Methodist, or Presbyterian, to worship God. Regardless of our varied differences, each one of us was and is an integral part of the body of Christ. There were many parts, but there was and always will be one body.

As our youth lived this experience, we challenged them to begin to ask themselves, what does it look like for you to be a committed follower of Jesus in your church, in your school, in your family, and with your friends? What does it mean for you to be a Christian when you are among other Christians? What does it mean for you to be a Christian when you're with your friends who have different beliefs from your own?

And then, we challenged them to think about the FUTURE church. What are your dreams for what God is calling you to do in the future? When you get to high school, when you start college, when you move to a new town and start your first job...what will it mean for YOU to be a part of the body of Christ, to be a Christian, to be a part of the church then?

These are tough questions. But I think they are questions that all of us here at FUMC need to ask ourselves. What can we learn from these crazy stories we read about Paul, Peter, and everyone else in the first church in Acts? What does this narrative have to say about who we are, and who God is calling us to be?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The youth of our church are an exceptional group of young people. Welcoming each other with open arms, reconciling with one another when they have disagreements, and showing a sincere love and acceptance, in spite of our differences, for our "parallel" youth group from Ann Arbor, MI. Whether we bleed cream and crimson or blue and gold, our fall retreat weekend further reiterated to me that there IS hope for the future of the church. These students understand fearless unity in the midst of diversity, and the gracious acceptance of differences within the body of Christ in ways that continue to challenge and inspire me. We are the church! And this year's Fall Retreat was a beautiful reminder of that truth.

God's best,

Sarah Sparks-Franklin

Director of Youth and Jubilee College Ministries

THE EYES HAVE IT

Our family is all mixed up. (In all sorts of ways. Like all families...)

I was born a Ritter. My Mom's maiden name was Owen, and her people were from the Vincennes area. My Dad, Max, was from the area around Anderson, Indiana. Max died in Africa as a young missionary, and my Mom remarried a wonderful young missionary doctor-to-be name Bob Fenstermacher. His people were from Upland by way of Cleveland, Ohio. Young Bob asked my Mom if he could adopt my brother, Eric, and me on the same night he proposed to her. So we're all mixed up. I wear the Fenstermacher name, but there is an Owen and a Ritter in there. Like I said, our family is all mixed up.

This past week Sharon and I have been in the beautiful, small town of Silverton, Oregon with a side of the Owen family to celebrate the long and good life of my Aunt Betty. The funeral took place, believe it or not, in a town called Mount Angel. The area, which looks much like the area outside Stuttgart, Germany, was settled by German settlers.

Someone turned to Sharon and asked, "Is your husband related to the Owen family?" Sharon simply said, as we gathered for the service, "Look at his eyes and then look at the eyes of Pat, Susan, Trevor, Dane and Vanessa." The person who had asked the question studied us and said, "Oh, my!"

The eyes have it. Our eyes give us away. The eyes indicate that there is a deep connection between us. We belong to one another.

What is it that gives us away as followers of Jesus? How will people see that we are connected...that we belong to one another?

Jesus gives us clues in John 16. Those who follow Jesus will keep his commandments, and they will do that because those commandments keep us in his love. Jesus said people will see his joy in us. The most distinctive trait, though, will be the way we love one another. "Love each other just as I have loved you," the Carpenter says in verse 12 (Common English Bible).

When someone asks if we are related, the Carpenter says, "Look at the way they love one another."

You can recognize the members of our branch of the Owen family by studying our eyes. Members of the Jesus fellowship give themselves away by the way they love one another.

The eyes have it!

   

In Christ and for Christ,

Mark Fenstermacher 

GOOD EAR OR BAD?

I have a "good" ear and I have a "bad" ear. My right ear has always had a limited ability to pick up certain sounds. Low end hearing and high end hearing are just fine, but the middle range, in that left ear, is just missing. So my left ear has compensated by becoming very sensitive.

My mom always told me the hearing loss in my right ear (hearing assist devices won't help) was due to high fevers I had as a child suffering with tonsillitis, but audiologists at IU Med Center a decade ago said the hearing loss was a congenital birth defect. At some point the right ear stopped developing, and then later -in utero- it began to develop again. A study of the hearing range, in that right ear, looks like the Grand Canyon. There is a sudden drop-off in hearing ability in the middle range.

My parents accused me of using the hearing loss to my advantage. They said I had "selective deafness." If I was asked to carry out the trash or do the evening dishes, I suddenly had a profound and nearly complete hearing loss. If my Mom, two rooms away, whispered to my Dad, "Would you like a dish of ice cream?" I would shout from my bedroom, "I heard that! I'd like some too!"

I learned to cope. I'd sit near the front of my classes. I'd be sure to sit to the left of a speaker so the "good" ear was in a great position to pick up what was being said. I'd adjust the sound balance on my home stereo. When the kids were infants I would be sure to sleep on my "good" ear so that their crying didn't wake me up. (Sharon's gentle nudge with her elbow did the trick, though.) Even now, if I am sitting to your left and you speak to me, I'll turn my head to put my left ear where I can hear you best. If a noisy truck or emergency vehicle goes by the sidewalk where I'm walking, I'll turn my head so my "good" ear is away from the traffic.

Still I miss things. (If you say something to me as I walk by or while we're in a crowded room and I don't react, you might tug on my sleeve and check to see that I've heard you. Because what you said may not have reached my "good" ear!)

On my college dorm floor at Wilkie, the Resident Administrator knew that when a fire alarm went off he would have to come to my room, unlock my door, and wake me up because I had the ability -after a long night of vigorous studying- to sleep through a fire alarm screaming just outside my door.

I tell you all of this because we are in a season of listening here at FUMCB/The Open Door as we consider the Fruitful Congregations Journey (FCJ) "Ministry Action Plans." (Please open your email and read the Consultation Report we've emailed to you, look at it on our web site at www.fumcb.org or pick up a copy at the Welcome Desk this Sunday.) Will you bring your "good" ear or your "bad" ear to this time of discernment, conversation, and prayer? Will you bring your "good" ear or your "bad" ear to the Town Hall meetings where we can say what excites us about the FCJ recommendations and what puzzles us?

The truth is that most of us have moments when we practice "selective deafness." We hear what we want to hear. We tune out what we don't want to hear. You see this when you watch a political debate, or you are in the middle of a business meeting, and people just miss what the other person is saying.

Often what we hear is what we want to hear or what we expect the other person to say. I've had a few wonderful people share their concern over what the FCJ report says. When they tell me FCJ is saying we'll end traditional worship, trade in the Chancel Choir for a U2 cover band, disband their adult Sunday school class, and "dumb down" the mission of the church to simply getting more people in the pews as the single definition of Christian discipleship ("it's a corporate takeover" someone kept insisting the other day), I listen and say, "Where does the report say that?"

Fear makes it hard for us to listen clearly.

The truth is the FCJ Consultation Report says none of those things. The FCJ report is pointing us towards a future that is more healthy, faithful, loving, and effective. Where we are prayerful, thoughtful and strategic about what we do. Where we are prayerful, more willing to trust, more respectful, and more loving with one another.

More than six years ago the leaders of FUMCB, long before I arrived on the scene, read a book by a UM bishop who outlined fruitful practices of healthy congregations. Robert Schnase wrote that healthy churches practice radical hospitality, passionate worship, intentional faith development, risk-taking in mission and service, and extravagant generosity. In essence, that's what a lot of this comes down to.

Just last week in worship we looked at the passage in Luke 12 where Jesus was offering some life-giving lessons about how to handle tough times. A man in the crowd appears to have missed it all because he was distracted by the disagreement he was having with his older brother over the family estate. That's what he was thinking about, that's what was churning inside him, and he missed what Jesus was saying. He was there, but the man was using his "bad" ear. In Mark 6, Jesus is speaking in his hometown synagogue, but his neighbors don't hear him because they quickly wrote him off as he was once just a kid in the village, the son of a carpenter and his young wife. They never gave Jesus a chance, and so they were there, in worship, but they didn't bring their "good" ear.

I want to invite you to do your best to bring your "good" ear not just to Sunday evening's Town Hall meeting (two other Town Hall meetings follow in the coming week and a half, see the times and dates below), but to our life as a community, your life at work or in the classroom, and your family relationships. It's a loss when we miss the truth and grace in others because we only appeared to be listening.

Just this week I heard Russ Abel of Fort Wayne St. Joseph UMC say that one of the best gifts we can give others is to tell our story. Russ also said that one of the best ways we can love others is to listen to their story.

Will you be using your "good" ear or your "bad" ear in your encounters with God today... with others...or in our Town Hall gatherings?

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Please remember to bring your food donations for the Wednesday Pantry this Sunday morning. Let's fill the front of the Sanctuary/theater!

Join us in worship as we continue our series "More or Less." What do we really need, what do we have, and how can we begin to choose reckless generosity?

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As I write this I am 30,000 feet over Kansas (or is that Iowa down there beneath those scattered clouds?) on my way to Portland, Oregon for the Saturday funeral of my Aunt Betty. I learned a long time ago that love means we show up.

Let me tell you why I'm going. When I was three years old my Dad died on the mission field and was buried in central Africa. At the time my Mom, Anita, was seven months pregnant with my baby brother. We returned to the States and by the time we got to NY my Mom was so sick with hepatitis that she had to be carried off the airplane. My Aunt Betty, who was an RN, took us into the suburban home she and my Uncle Dan had outside Syracuse, NY. Betty and Dan not only gave us shelter, but Betty nursed my Mom back to the point where she (and I) could travel on to Indianapolis.

So I'm going because I think my Mom would want me to be there with the family. I'm going because I love my cousins, Susan and Pat, with whom I have a special connection. I'm going because love shows up.

 

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I'm thankful for you. I'm praying for you even when you're out of my sight, you know?

In Christ and for Christ,

Mark Fenstermacher 

MORE OR LESS: Choosing a Lifestyle of Excessive Generosity

When John D. Rockefeller was asked, "What is enough?" he replied, "Just a little bit more."

One of the struggles many of us have is this desire for more. Even as we want more, though, we know that just having more is not always better. In fact, sometimes the more we get, the less happy we are.

How much is enough? How much is too much? Where do we draw the line?

This Sunday, November 2nd, we begin a four week series of messages intended to help us all become more free and less controlled by the need for "just a little bit more."

You'll discover that this series of messages is more than a verbal exercise or worship moment, but we'll be talking about life change. Every week there will be a "TRY IT!" element to the messages.

Nov 2nd the sermon is THE TREADMILL, and you'll be challenged to spend the following week eating what you already have in your house. Then, on Sunday the 9th, we're invited to bring food for FUMCB/Open Door Food Pantry and fill the front of the sanctuary/theater.

Nov 9th the message is YOU'RE GOOD ENOUGH, and we'll invite you -during the following week- to go through your closets. On the 16th bring all the clothes you haven't worn in a year as we fill a truck with clothing we're not using, but someone else can! (A truck will be parked at the Atrium Entrance before the 8:45 and 10 o'clock services. Bring your clothing to the truck before worship, and then the truck will be moved around to the front of the Buskirk in time for that congregation as people arrive for worship.)

Nov 16th is ENOUGH TIME and we'll talk about how we can give away one hour of time to someone else. You'll be invited to give more than one hour away. Then, on the 23rd, bring the equivalent of one hour of your weekly pay as a second mile gift to Africa University Scholarships.

Finally, on our STEWARDSHIP CELEBRATION WEEKEND of Nov 23rd, the message will be WHEN TOO MUCH IS JUST RIGHT. Matthew 15:29-39 will help us frame our lives in terms of generosity and freedom. Every friend or member of the church will be invited to bring their Faith Promise towards our life with God in 2015 forward in a time of celebration.

Begin praying about this series of messages. You might want to pick up a copy of the book, and invite a friend to join you in worship. (Many of your neighbors and friends are struggling with the need to have more, or they are being overwhelmed by a mountain of debt.)

The goal of all of this is to be more free, more alive, and to live with less so we can give more away!

Jesus, when he sends out the Twelve in Matthew 10, tells them not to fill their money belts, or take two shirts, or a walking stick. What does that mean for us? I believe Jesus is telling us that life is best when we travel light.

Traveling light is a good way to live.

Generosity is the chance to experience freedom in a world obsessed with gaining more.

See you Sunday as we begin this journey towards a life that is more free and generous, celebrate Communion, and rejoice in the lives of those saints who have died during the past year.

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Please note on our web site, next week, the full FCJ Consultation Report. You'll find printed copies at the Welcome Desk in the Atrium or at the reception area in the church office if you didn't get your copy last Sunday. Also, every household in the church with email will receive an electronic copy of the report next week. Please read the report carefully and prayerfully, jot down your questions, and then participate in one of the upcoming Town Hall meetings designed to provide a forum where your questions can be answered.

Our congregation -meeting in a Church Conference- will vote on Monday, December 15th, at 6:30 p.m. in the Great Hall. (You must be a church member to vote, and the vote will be to either accept or reject the report in its entirety.)

Our congregation has responded generously to the call to support the work of United Methodist Committee on Relief in West Africa to fight the Ebola epidemic. You can still help! Go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=_or7k0WqSHk  to see about the United Methodist Committee on Relief's response to the Ebola outbreak, and go to  http://www.umcor.org/umcor/donate/ebolaresponse to donate today if you haven't yet given or feel called to give more.

God is good!

In Christ and for Christ,

Mark Fenstermacher

A CONTINENTAL DIVIDE?

We're coming up -as a congregation- on a big moment. This FCJ Weekend reminds me of a particular spot on a state highway that runs north and south just west of Lake Webster, where our extended family has had a cottage for more than 80 years.

The terrain isn't anywhere near as hilly and lovely as our neck of the woods, but it has its own charm. A sign at the edge of this nondescript piece of blacktop announces CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. All the rain that falls on one side of a small rise moves toward the Gulf of Mexico, and the rain that falls on the other side heads for the Atlantic Ocean. (I think that's how it goes...)

So, from a geographic point of view, it's a big deal. Although it all looks rather ordinary.

We're coming up on a moment that will determine which way our future "flows." Will this Christ-centered servant community thrive, reach out with renewed passion and focus, embrace a needy world and share the Good News of God's love in Christ, or will the patterns of the past 20-25 years continue?

Churches are often in the middle of a book study, a planning process, and even our own FUMCB went through a rigorous "strategic planning" (with congregational survey) approximately eight years ago. The results included great insights about ministry needs (hospitality, children's ministries, a ministry to college students, etc.), but there wasn't much of a strategy for moving forward. So as we approach this moment we may be tempted to shrug and say "nothing much will change." I believe, however, we are approaching a "continental divide" moment.

Paul, in Ephesians 4, speaks to a group of people like us. He encourages them to stay connected with God, to open their hearts and minds to what God is saying, and "renew" their thinking as the Spirit speaks to them. The missionary pastor invites them (5:2) to live their lives with love, "following the example of Christ." Whether they will take up this offer at new life, at a new way of being God's community, is up to them.

We're approaching a big moment. Everything in me says this will determine which way our congregation's life will "flow" for the next generation.

I invite you to pray. I invite you to have open minds and open hearts. I invite you to have faith in the God who works through ordinary men and women.

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Please note the listing of events for the upcoming FCJ Weekend Consultation.

You'll find in this email information about how you can help respond to the Ebola crisis in West Africa (bring your checks this weekend or go online to donate - see the details below).

Finally, you'll find out about our next series of messages and some very specific life steps we are inviting you to take in simplifying your life, giving to others, and growing your faith.

Be generous with the check you will bring this weekend for UMCOR-Disaster Response. Go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=_or7k0WqSHk to see about the United Methodist Committee on Relief's response to the Ebola outbreak, and go to  http://www.umcor.org/umcor/donate/ebolaresponse to donate today if you can't wait for Sunday.

God is good!

In Christ and for Christ,

Mark Fenstermacher

CHIRPING ON A GRAY DAY

It's been a week that has felt like life in Seattle: rainy and gray. I'm not complaining for all sorts of reasons. The rain is a blessing. Every day is a gift, and I know the forecast says it is going to be a beautiful weekend, but that Fall sun is not shining today, not as I write this.

Yesterday, as I walked out of the Y, every adult face I saw seemed to be glum. Everyone seemed to be half bent over with the weight of the gloom and the rain and the low clouds. Then, there was this little girl walking with her mother. The 3 or 4-year-old girl, dressed up in colorful jacket and boots, was tugging at her Mom's hand and smiling from ear to ear. The little girl was chirping like a bird!

I liked that.

People of faith hurt. People of faith have bad days. I know that, but there is also something about people of faith, who have had a life-changing encounter with God in Jesus, that gives them a buoyant hope, a courage that perseveres, a confidence in how the story of the world will end.

In his letter to the Jesus followers at Thessalonica, Paul says (2nd Thessalonians 3) that "the Lord is faithful and will give you strength and protect you from the evil one." He prays that the people of God -whatever the season- will have hearts that "express God's love and Christ's endurance." Paul encourages us not to get discouraged in doing what is right, and near the end of his letter he offers this blessing: "May the Lord of peace himself give you peace always in every way."

May God so fill your heart that even on the gray and rainy days of your journey, you may chirp with hope and faith!

Please note the listing of events for the upcoming FCJ Weekend Consultation.

You'll find in this email information about how you can help respond to the Ebola crisis in West Africa (bring your checks this weekend or go online to donate - see the details below).

Finally, you'll find out about our next series of messages and some very specific life steps we are inviting you to take in simplifying your life, giving to others, and growing your faith.

Be generous with the check you will bring this weekend for UMCOR-Disaster Response. Go to  www.youtube.com/watch?v=_or7k0WqSHk to see about the United Methodist Committee on Relief's response to the Ebola outbreak, and go to  http://www.umcor.org/umcor/donate/ebolaresponse to donate today if you can't wait for Sunday.

Let's be a part of the solution!

God is good!

In Christ and for Christ,

Mark Fenstermacher