Pivoting

If “you’re muted” was declared the “Phrase of the Year” by more than one recent publication and “resilience” has laid claim to “Word of the Year” for 2021, I’d like to nominate “pivot” as worthy of a place on the podium.

“Pivot” had already been an overused Silicon Valley buzzword for a while before becoming the darling of business, politics, and, yes, churches as we all learned to operate in ways distinct from a pre-pandemic era. It was a way of describing the adjustments we had to make to a new “normal” that wasn’t “normal” at all. One can understand pivoting’s obvious appeal. If “flip-flopping” was weak, pivoting was powerful!

A more frank observer has noted that, even prior to all of last year’s closures and cutbacks, pivoting was used in the tech sector as the equivalent of “failing gracefully.” I appreciate the honesty. In many ways, pivoting is what educators and health care workers have been forced to do in light of the way our country is stiff-arming the implications of COVID-19. In so many ways, we have failed one another; and the sooner we can readily admit it, the sooner we can chart a different, if still wounded, course. I pray daily for us as a church that we can appreciate where there are still such lessons that we have to learn in this arena.

To “pivot” might then also be an apt expression for our response to the reality of climate change. I have been struck by a series of articles in the most recent edition of Christian Century which have challenged me to re-think radically how the biblical notion of “stewardship” is upended in a time when the implications of a warming planet are no longer a future threat, as much as a very current reality. Images from a powerless New Orleans to a flooded northeast to a fiery west come to mind. How might we use a growing awareness of having failed to act in a timely manner to respond more humbly, more faithfully, and more honestly in the days and years ahead. Where are you and I being called once again to “pivot” more than we’ve been willing to do in the past?

See if you don’t note some parallels to “pivoting” amid the avalanche of hyperbole within Jesus’ teaching in this Sunday’s gospel! We will be venturing back into an especially tough section of Mark 9 that seems intimidating for even the most avid disciple! Join us for worship at 8:30, 10:30, or on-line and let’s see how we might discover a word of grace within it.

And while you’re at it, I invite you to join me on the northside patio at 9:30 as I share a few more insights from my summer sabbatical. If you have younger children, we hope that you’ll join Lyn Peterson in the sanctuary at 9:40 for our “Family Sunday School” launch!

Meanwhile, after a host of apparent scheduling conflicts, I am pivoting to re-launch our new “Next Steps” series tonight at 6:30 for anyone interested in learning more about Holy Trinity and our ministry! Hope some of you can meet me there!

Sharing the Mission,

Pastor Tim

The First Shall Be Last and Servant of All

Dear Friends,

With the recent beautiful weather, have you had an opportunity to be outdoors to watch a sporting event or pull over to behold the white pelicans dwelling at the reservoir? Maybe you have been taking a stroll on one of the many trails or sidewalks or sitting on your patio in your favorite chair. Maybe you have been dining outside with family or friends nearby and connecting and chatting about a variety of topics! Hold that thought for a moment and envision this…

Jesus was walking with his disciple into a city called Capernaum. Along the way they had chatted about many things. Jesus overheard them and asked, “What were you arguing about on the way?” (Mark 9:33)

According to the scriptures, the disciples were silent because what they had been arguing about was who of them was the greatest. Jesus once again scratched his head, sat down, looked at them, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35)

I think Jesus could have simply scolded the disciples and possibly even turned them away. Instead, he invited them once again into a mission to be a compassionate servant by using the example of inviting a child into his loving arms of mercy. He said then and still says today, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcome me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:36-37)

Jesus invited the disciples to take on the role of a servant, not for their sake, but for the sake of one another, like that of a child. What would you do if Jesus was right here, right now, asking you to love all the children of God with your hands, your feet, and your voice?

This is Week 2 of our series, God’s Work, Our Hands. Together, we consider the many ways we are invited to stand up and step into a servant-hearted role here inside the walls of the church known as Holy Trinity and the Church that has no walls at all!

The invitation is clear; the time is now! You are invited into a God-size opportunity to serve in ways that may seem unfamiliar but are so needed for the sake of God’s children. Please, check out the many ways to serve on this link. WE NEED YOU!

We pray for you, your household, our medical professionals, our educational teams, co-workers, family, neighbors, strangers, and friends. We pray for healing and compassion for all who are ill and those who have yet to join in the miracle to prevent the spread of COVID in our homes and communities. Lord, in your mercy, hear our Prayers.

Blessings to you always,

Pastor Katie

“Following Jesus is for Losers”

How is that for the title of a provocative marketing campaign?! While one may understandably doubt its effectiveness, that’s the nature of what Jesus shares with his disciples in this Sunday’s gospel lesson - “…those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.” (Mark 8:35)

There are places and seasons, of course, where individual disciples have been asked to pay such a price on a literal level. Thankfully, most of us today, I suspect, may not be faced that kind of choice. Yet it begs us to ask ourselves about the choices we are called to make. “Who do you say that I am?”, Jesus asks, then and now. Our answer is shaped not just by our words, but by our lifestyle and willingness to “die” to our own comfort and self-preservation.

Let’s explore this theme together on Sunday! We kick off a new “God’s Work / Our Hands” sermon series in a new fall worship schedule - 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. this week. The hope is that each of us will be willing to ask ourselves how our witness is being challenged to move between “head” and “heart” and “hands” in coming days and weeks, such that all of us embrace an opportunity to “get our hands dirty” for Jesus and perhaps even “lose” a bit of ourselves in the process! Hope to see you in person or at least on-line this Sunday! I look forward to sharing some additional reflections from my sabbatical during our first Adult Forum of the year at 9:30 a.m. in Room 1.

Pastor Tim