Monthly Archives: January 2016

Treasure

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Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, January 31, 2016; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Jeremiah 1:4-10 Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a… .

1 Corinthians 14:12b-20 Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking; rather, be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults.

Luke 4:21-30 They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff.

O God of all, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

It’s come to my attention that Emmanuel Church’s efforts at radical welcome do not always succeed. I am not surprised. The idea of radical welcome is an eschatological hope (eschatological is a fancy word to describe talk about endings). Radical welcome is our eschatological vision, not a mission already and forever accomplished! Still, there are surely things that we can improve along our way to the end. What occurs to me is to talk about who is welcoming whom. We are claiming here at Emmanuel, that Jesus is welcoming everyone – we claim that at Emmanuel even without words when we worship in this sanctuary by virtue of our altar statue of Jesus, arms extended in a gesture of welcome that is carved in stone. [1] So first of all, we are boldly asserting the radical welcome of God in Jesus Christ. Beyond that wordless gesture, how do we enact radical welcome? Continue reading →

Stay humble!

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Hello everyone! After a refreshing winter break, it is amazing to be back at Emmanuel again! I was both anxious and gleeful to be able to see people again after being gone for almost a month. The thought that people might be resentful of my absence or that I would need to re-earn some trust made me slightly worried about returning, but I was energized by the idea of reconnecting with the amazing communities at Common Art, Cafe Emmanuel, and Art and Spirituality once again.  Upon returning to Common Art, I was warmly greeted by many members of the community, which was amazing and so positively affirming for me. However, one interaction I had with a Common Art member sticks out to me the most because it was both deeply touching yet also humbling.

One woman came up to me and said, “It’s good to see you back again!” Her statement was intentional and warm, and I responded, “Thank you, it’s great to see you, too!” She then continued, “When you first left, I missed you, but then after a little while I forgot about you.” After this statement, she let out a little chuckle, and I couldn’t help but laugh in return. Her honesty was not meant to convey malice but instead the humor of the situation. Whether or not she realized it, she was demonstrating her resilience to change and loss through her humor. It’s funny how quickly she went from noting my absence to not remembering me at all (I mean it had only been a month!).  This reminded me that, as a volunteer, I am merely one of many faces that the people I serve come into contact with on a weekly basis.  To say that I am merely one of many faces is not meant to demean the importance of volunteering and serving the needs of others, but it is meant to be a reminder – to myself if anyone – that I am not inherently important to a person just because I assist them. People may or may not connect with me; they may or may not feel assisted by me; they may or may not miss me when we eventually part ways.  Some people will remember me and the ways I have affected or influenced them forever, and some people will forget me in a month.  Life and people are funny in that way, and I think it’s beautiful to be reminded to not take myself too seriously and to stay humble.

–Briana Heller

I’m in. Are you?

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Third Sunday after the Epiphany (C), January 24, 2016; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 Do not be grieved; the joy of the Lord is your strength.
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
Luke 4:14-21 Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.

O God of joy, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

This morning I want to begin by extending my own welcome to Bill Cruse, newly ordained priest, and I extend the congratulations and blessing from the Bishop of Massachusetts. And welcome to Kevin Neel, recently arrived from the west balcony! It’s always great to be in the same zip code as both of you! Thanks to Julian Bullitt who put in a huge amount of volunteer time this past week to work out wiring issues for the organ. Continue reading →

Valued & Cared about (with audio)

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Second Sunday after the Epiphany (C), January 17, 2016; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Isaiah 62:1-5 Your land married for the Lord delights in you and your land shall be married – so shall your God rejoice in you.
1 Corinthians There are varieties of gifts.
John 2:1-11 First of his signs…revealed his glory…his disciples believed in him.

O God of justice, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

By now many of you have seen the news of the Anglican Communion. This past week the Primates of Anglican and Episcopal Churches around the world met in England to talk about marriage in the Church. While I don’t want to make light of the lives that are at stake with regard to treatment of LGBT people all over the world, it does strike me as a little funny that leaders of our particular expression of church have been arguing about marriage since King Henry VIII. As luck (or the Holy Spirit) would have it, we have three scripture readings teed up for our prayerful consideration on this Second Sunday after the Epiphany that have some things to say to us about discerning a way forward with generosity and humility, with compassion and hope. Continue reading →

God’s Help

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The Baptism of our Lord (C), January 10, 2016; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Isaiah 43:1-7 I will.
Acts 8:14-17 They received the Holy Spirit.
Luke 3:15-17; 21-22 You are my…beloved; with you I am well pleased.

O God of wonder, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

Today is the day in the church when we remember Jesus’ baptism and have an opportunity to remember and renew baptismal vows. It’s not the usual way of remembering – because none of us (not even Luke) was around when Jesus was baptized, and those of us who were babies when we were baptized can’t recall what it was like. But we remember by telling the story again and in a few minutes we’ll remember by renewing baptismal promises. After church today, if you’re lucky enough to have someone around who was there for your baptism, ask them to tell you the stories of your baptism that they remember. And if you were old enough, when you were baptized, that you remember it, or if you know because you’ve been told, tell someone else the story of your baptism. If you’ve never gotten baptized, I invite you to take a moment and imagine getting baptized! Under what circumstances would you ever consider making a public commitment to cast your lot with the kind of Christians who baptize with water in the name of the Trinity and make promises to support one another? Are there any circumstances in which you would be willing to wade into this troubled water to witness to the power of redeeming love made manifest in Jesus? Continue reading →

Against the Grain of Patriarchal Assumption

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Second Sunday after Christmas (C), January 3, 2016; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Jeremiah 31:7-14 And my people shall be satisfied with my bounty, says the Lord.

Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-19a With the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know…what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.

Matthew 2:1-12 (+13-15, 19-23) Having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

O God of hope, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

The readings for the Second Sunday after Christmas are as full of treasures as the caravan of the magi. There is the beautiful promise of return from exile, a picture of restoration and redemption – a prediction that the people of God will finally be satisfied with the bounty of God. The passage from Ephesians predicts that the eyes of the heart of the congregation in Ephesus will be enlightened so that they will know the hope to which they have been called, so that they will know the riches of their glorious inheritance (which is hope), and what is the immeasurable greatness of the power of God (or Love) for those who believe. I’d add that the power of Love is immeasurably great whether or not they believe! Continue reading →