donaturel

As I mentioned regarding the sermon on Job posted earlier, I look forward to this particular section of year B of the lectionary. The last couple of weeks, we have had selections from the book of Ruth - the only time it shows up in the lectionary cycle. As with Job, we read several selections from Ruth during worship today in order to walk through the story as a whole. It was also our annual stewardship Sunday, in which we invited congregation members to come forward and make commitments of the time, talent and treasure for the coming year in our ministry. “Faithful or Successful?” Selections from the Book of Ruth November 8, 2009 As we work our way through the three year lectionary cycle, which offers us a game plan for reading scripture in worship which results in hearing at least selected portions from the entire Bible over the course of the cycle, we come across moments that can’t be passed up. Last month we had readings from Job, and since Job shows up but one time in the thre...

As we move through the 3-year lectionary cycle, there are parts of it that I look forward to more than others. The readings this fall are among those. In October, we had the good fortune of reading through the book of Job sequentially. I chose to focus on other lectionary readings until October 25, when we read representative portions of the whole book and I spent the sermon walking through the story. I've edited what you see below to shorten it a bit (though it's still on the long side) and to remove a couple of stories that deal with a couple of friends' personal events. There is also an audio version similar to this text from three years ago on the Church of the Good Shepherd website - http://www.goodshepherdum.org/ . “The Impatience of Job” Job 1:1, 2:1-13; Job 23:1-9, 16-17; Job 38: 1-7, 24-42; Job 42:1-17 October 25, 2009 Yes, you saw the title right. Yes, I know that’s not what we usually say about Job. Usually it’s something like, “that Linda Wallick must have the p...

On October 31, I had the high honor of officiating the wedding ceremony of two 84-year old members of Church of the Good Shepherd. That's unusual enough, but there's more: I had also officiated the funerals for the couples' first spouses. I had walked with each of them as they cared for ill spouses, as they grieved the loss of their marital relationships as their spouses declined, as they grieved the actual loss when their spouses died, as they mourned and rebuilt life, as they met one another and began to keep company and finally when their relationship turned to romance. I had wrestled for weeks with what to say to these two - they've been through so much, they have so much to share. Finally, I decided to play my indecision into a rhetorical device and the wedding homily was born: “When there is Nothing Left to Say” Wedding Homily for Ruth Woodward and Bernie McDonald October 31, 2009 (ref. Colossians 3:12-17) I put on my Facebook status earlier this week that I w...

Below is the article appearing in the Good Shepherd newsletter from me this month. “What Part of NO Don’t They Understand?” We are just days away from the 2009 elections. In an off-year such as this, turnout is expected to light. But I hope all of you will get out and vote this year. There are some local officials to elect and there are several issues to vote on – none more important than Issue 3, which proposes an amendment to the state constitution that would allow casino gambling. I generally refrain from advocating one particular side on an issue, though I am certainly free to do so (unlike the issue of endorsing particular candidates, which U.S. law prohibits clergy and churches from doing if they want to maintain their tax-free status). On issues, members of the clergy as individuals and congregations and denominations as a whole are allowed to advocate for or against whatever they like. Normally, I try to help people think through the possibilities and I ask questions desig...

Some thoughts on race relations have been percolating for some time. Here is the August newsletter article I wrote for Church of the Good Shepherd, UM: In the last week one of those national stories that gets blown out of proportion by the relentless 24-hour news cycle caught my eye. You’ve certainly seen or heard it by now – Professor Henry Louis Gates of Harvard University was briefly arrested and charged at his home after exchanging heated words with an officer in the Cambridge, Massachusetts police department. Professor Gates had just returned from a long trip to China and was exhausted, coming down with a bad cold, and generally grumpy, when he arrived at his home to find that his door was jammed. He and the driver who was helping him with his bags worked to dislodge the door. A concerned citizen noticed the activity and thought there might be a break in occurring. The police responded to investigate. What’s the big deal? Professor Gates is one of the foremost b...

This is the text of an e-mail I sent to the congregation today. We’ve been inundated the last few days with constant media reports about a new strain of influenza – the H1N1 strain, which has been dubbed the “Swine Flu” because the original virus was one that infected pigs. I know that many of you are concerned; I’ve certainly been paying attention, too. I want to say several things: 1. Keep in mind that the lifeblood of modern media is the continuous update and the usual mode of operation of modern media is to be as flashy and attention-getting as possible. This can turn what may be an important event into a cause for hysteria. You should check in with the world on your news channel of preference each day to see what the latest is – but then turn the channel to something different or turn the TV off. The constant flash and glitter only feeds the panic. The move toward this way of doing business is one of the reasons I left broadcast journalism 20 years ago. It does no one any good. Ev...

Friends, I can't believe it's been so long since I posted. I have two what I guess one would call "essays" running around in my head that I'll transmit into the keyboard soon. In the meantime, I ran across this interesting Blog entry regarding multicultural ministry - enjoy: http://blog.sojo.net/2009/04/20/three-encouragements-toward-making-your-churches-more-multicultural/ Don

This is the result of my participation in our morning UMW circle's cake decorating session last month just before Valentine's Day. I'm not quitting my day job, but I was proud of my hand-decorated mini-cake!

Sermon preached at Church of the Good Shepherd, United Methodist, Columbus, Ohio, Ash Wednesday, February 25, 2009. “Calling All Phonies” Isaiah 58:1-12; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 It is quite an indictment, isn’t it? “Shout out – don’t hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet!” It gets one’s attention, doesn’t it? “Announce to my people their rebellion!” Isaiah is telling us: Sit up! Pay Attention! Listen with all your might! Then, speaking for God, Isaiah lays out the problem: The people are complaining to God that despite their consistent fasting and prayer, they feel God is not listening to them. Isaiah has a different point of view: The people are a bunch of phonies and hypocrites. Why? Isaiah says – you’re fasting and praying, but you still oppress your workers. You fast and pray, but you still quarrel and fight and lash out in anger. You fast and pray and genuflect and bow and wear sackcloth and ashes and make a big production out ...

Sermon preached at Church of the Good Shepherd, United Methodist, Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday, February 22, 2009. “A Transfigured Life” II Kings 2:1-12; Mark 9:2-9 Transfiguration, “B” For a moment, just a moment, just beyond the edge of awareness, just beyond my peripheral vision, just beyond where I could reach and touch it – there was the brilliant holiness of God, an eternal truth that went beyond words. We had spent the day exploring the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. We walked around in town, checking out all the tourist trap shops. We walked along the leisure path in the park that adjoins the falls and saw the falls, felt the spray, walked up river and saw the water that was making its way to thunder over the falls. We rode the Maid of the Mist and felt the incredible power at the base of the falls. We made our way back up to the park and had ice cream and watched a street musician perform. Then, as we walked back toward the van, tired from our day, ...

Sermon preached at Church of the Good Shepherd, United Methodist in Columbus, Ohio on February 15, 2009: “When Exclusion Brings Inclusion” II Kings 5:1-14; Mark 1:40-45 February 15, 2009 When I arrived as the new pastor for a small suburban church in Toledo, I heard some concerns immediately. This church had come through some difficult times, including the sudden death of one of their pastors just a few years before. The person who followed as pastor was not universally liked by the congregation. Chaos ensued. I arrived on the heels of a person who’d been there ten months as an interim. Understandably, many in the congregation felt like they’d kind of been “on hold” for some time. So, Bob pulled me aside right away. “Don,” he said, “your predecessor really alienated a lot of people. A loft of families left. We still think there’s a chance some of them will return if you reach out.” And he had a list! Names, addresses, phone numbers, directions to their houses from the church...

I have always had a love/hate relationship with mission / vision statements. When they are done well, are easy to understand, and are relevant to the group of folks who created it, they can be a real help in accomplishing that which said group is called to accomplish. But when they are not done well, they can become vapid and meaningless, calling people to nothing at all. I've walked with congregations three times through the development of new mission/vision statements. The first was Ottawa River UMC in Toledo. We spent a great deal of time in discernment, created a wonderfully catchy statement, and then I was moved two months later. That church later merged with another and its mission was subsumed by other priorities. The statement accomplished little. The next time I had the chance to be involved in this was at King Ave. UMC here in Columbus. We spent some time in 2001 developing a new statement (which I think has since been replaced or modified). It was held up and pro...

This is the text of the sermon preached on February 8, 2009 at Church of the Good Shepherd, United Methodist. “Silencing the Demons” Isaiah 40:21-31; Mark 1:29-39 Fifth Sunday of Epiphany, “B” February 8, 2009 “And Jesus cast out many demons, and would not allow them to speak, because they knew him.” (Mark 1:34) Oh, dear – what shall we do with this? Demons? Really? We got them last week, too, remember? Jesus cast a demon out of a man in the synagogue who interrupted him. What is this about? We just don’t think in those terms now. Does that mean we set aside each passage that mentions demons? If not, then what do we do? Does anyone else get stuck with images from The Exorcist in their head when they hear passages like that? Anybody else witness a tantrum from a youngster in a public place and think to themselves, “Well, I’m glad MY child isn’t like little Damien there?” Yet here we are with demons showing up in Marks gospel over and over, and yet the concept is almost a joke to us now....