Author Archives: Elizabeth Richardson

We are to be reconciled.

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Fourth Sunday in Lent (C), March 6, 2016; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Joshua 5:9-12 Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.
2 Corinthians 5:16-21 So we are ambassadors for Christ.
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling.

O reconciling God, 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.

Earlier this week, I briefly entertained the notion that I would preach about our First Testament Bible lesson from Joshua or our Second Testament lesson from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians – you know, something different. Then I experienced our Tuesday early morning Bible study, which was so lively that folks were late to work because they were so stirred up that they didn’t want to stop talking. The parable that gets called, “The Prodigal Son” is a narrative that provokes strong and animated responses. I cannot say the same about either of our other two passages of scripture this morning, although their themes of Passover in Joshua, and being ambassadors for Christ in 2nd Corinthians are certainly appealing. I decided that I shouldn’t attempt to steer around our Gospel story. So we’re going in! Continue reading →

Self-Expression under Challenging Circumstances

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Self-expression, as a vital quality of life can be empowering, reflective and an interesting intellectual exercise. What I have come to realize over these past few months is the perseverance of self-expression even under challenging circumstances.

The Common Art program participants come in each week with decorative headbands, patchwork that they have chosen and applied to their jackets, t-shirts with poignant declarations, and tattoos (the ultimate in permanent self-expression). Continue reading →

Opportunity of Choice

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Last week prior to lunch at the Common Art program, I wondered what they would be serving for lunch that day. If it was something I liked, I would join the others; if not, I would grab something later to eat. I realized, for the first time in the months that I have interned with Emmanuel Church, that to have the option to choose what I eat that day is a privilege that many of our members do not have. Furthermore, there are a number of choices most take for granted that our members may not have access to. It struck me that the lack of choice could is insidiously destructive as personal choices define who we are or aspire to be.   Continue reading →

Our Mother Hen

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Second Sunday in Lent (C), February 24, 2016; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 I am your shield.
Philippians 3:17-4:1 He will transform the body of our humiliation.
Luke 13:31-35 How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.

O God whose glory is mercy, 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’s choice of a Gospel text for the second Sunday in Lent strikes me as a little strange. It’s strange to be catapulted from the first week of Lent, from Luke’s account of Jesus before his ministry began, resisting all sorts of temptations in the wilderness, past miles of travel, teaching and healing all around the Galilee and beyond, to the middle of the Gospel of Luke, at the end of chapter thirteen. (Next week the scheduled portion is back at the beginning of chapter 13.) The slow, almost leisurely pace of Jesus’ ministry in Luke which includes magnificent story-telling, prayer and Sabbath meals gets completely eclipsed in our Lenten readings from Luke’s Gospel. Our lectionary saves all that for the summer. Continue reading →

Lenten Disciplines

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First Sunday in Lent, February 14, 2016; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you.
Romans 10:8b-13 The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart.
Luke 4:1-13 It is written…it is written…it is said.

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.

We began our worship service this morning with a doubly long musical prayer and we will end with a doubly long musical sermon, so as we make our way through the middle, I want to offer you some very brief reminders and suggestions about how you might begin this season of Lent. I have three reminders and four suggestions for you. First reminder: the word Lent comes from the Middle English word for Spring. It is a word that embodies hope. (Especially on a cold day like today!) For those of us in the northern hemisphere, the days are getting longer and lighter. In churchy terms, Lent is the season when we get ready for Easter. So in a religious sense, too, Lent is a word that embodies hope. It’s not hope in something that may happen – it’s hope in something that has already happened and keeps happening. One of the amazing and wonderful truths of the Easter story, though, is that resurrection doesn’t care whether people are ready or not. Just like gravity doesn’t care whether we are ready or not – or whether we like it or not – or even whether we believe it or not.
Continue reading →

Balancing Compassion for Self and Others

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There is a woman at Common Art who doesn’t like me. Well I’m actually not sure if she doesn’t like me or if I remind her of someone she dislikes, but either way, I’m now the target of her provocative remarks. This doesn’t necessarily offend me because I honestly don’t take it personally, but it does intimidate me. I am intimidated by the idea of offending someone so deeply that they show disdain for me. I have started to withdraw into myself while in her presence because I felt like I am insulting her by merely existing. When I began notice that I was withdrawing, I knew something had to change; I cannot properly serve a community if I am retreating internally. I do not want to disengage from the Common Art community, so I decided to nip this problem in the bud by going to my supervisors for advice. Continue reading →

Exodus

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Last Sunday after the Epiphany, February 7, 2016; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Exodus 34:29-35 Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.

2 Corinthians 3:12-4:12 Since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry we do not lose heart.

Luke 9:28-43a And all were astounded by the greatness of God.

O God of glory, 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.

One of the benefits for me of sharing the pulpit of Emmanuel Church with a Rabbi is that it challenges and changes the way I encounter Holy Scripture. My sensitivity to the need for “corrective lenses” is heightened. My desire to preach against the ways that the Christian Church has promoted supersessionist theology gets stronger every year. Supersessionism is very much like racism – it’s systemic, it’s oppressive, it’s often internalized, unexamined, and always wrong. It distorts our vision and injures our souls. Continue reading →

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