Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ,

This Sunday, January 29, when you come to worship, don't forget to bring your favorite coffee cup/mug/glass.   You'll need it for communion.  Let me explain...

On Annual Meeting Sunday, during both the 8:30 and 11:00 worship times, we will be having another "Eucharistic Experience".  These experiences are designed to inspire and inform our understanding of the Meal and make connections between table in sanctuary and the other tables in our lives.  They also seek to broaden our perspective for mission.   For this week's experience, you will need to bring in a cup from your home or office - something you use on a regular basis.   At the time of communion, your cup will be the vessel that you will use to receive Christ.  

This experience comes to us from South America where a local priest, whose parish was a poor country village, he invited his parishoners to bring a cup to worship.  These cups were among the villager's limited posessions.  At the table their cups were used to receive the wine.  Afterwards, when the priest visited to their homes, he noticed that these cups - ordinary vessels - were now in promient places on shelves, etc.  A connection was made between the sacred and the ordinary/every day places of life.  The Christ who came in sacrament, continued to come in kitchen.  The mug and chipped cups of the people reminded them of the sacramental nature of their whole lives before God.

What Sunday's experience will hopefully do for you (and me) is to make the important, life-giving connection between what we do together in worship and the life that we live from Monday to Saturday.  When you fill your coffee cup on Wednesday morning in the middle of a rough week, I want us to be reminded that Christ has been given for us.  May the simple ordinary things that we use on a daily basis remind us that we are God's children and that we have a role to play in living out our faith - around kitchen tables, school cafeterias, break rooms, conference tables, etc.  May we be transformed by the sacrament that we share together in worship so that we might be a sacrament of Christ's love to neighbors, family, and strangers alike.

So don't forget your coffee mug and I look forward to see you in worship.

In Christ,

Pastor Walt

Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ,

The bear went over the mountain, the bear went over the mountain....

So goes the familiar ditty sung by children (or at least it was sung in my childhood).  Beyond the monotony of the lyrics is a simple story.  There was a bear.  There was a mountain.  And the bear climbed it.   A journey.  A struggle.  A triumph.  Simple really, except that anyone who was ever on a journey and faced a struggle (and who isn't and hasn't) knows that these things are rarely without incident.  Journeys take energy and effort.  Journeys can also be incredible learning experiences.  If we are wise to open our eyes, minds, and hearts along the way we may discover important truths about ourselves, others, and even God. 

2011 was an amazing year for ministry at St. James.  As we began the annual trip around the sun, there was a deep concern about whether we would be able to continue our mission in the same way.  A formidable mountain stood in front of us.  Mount Mission Deficit stood at over $90,000 feet after we had trimmed expenses to bare bones.  Faced with the daunting summit we did what good Christians do...  we prayed and trusted in God's Spirit to guide our steps.  We started up the path.  And climbed up and down and up and down and....  you get the idea.  Together we worked on making the most out of the resources with which we were entrusted.  Together we tacked a bridge appeal on our mortgage and continued to make payments.  Together we journeyed and was reminded along the way of God's presence.  Together we were in mission praising God and serving others.  At year's end we almost made the summit...  just $3775 dollars short.   A feat that we can celebrate and say, "thank you".  Thank you to all who joined in the effort.  Thank you God for your strength and faith and for the lessons along the way.

As we journey through the first month of 2012, I am reminded of the bear and the mountain and the next verse.... what do you think he saw?  He saw another mountain!  The journey continued for the bear!  More climbing ahead! 

And so it goes with St. James.  We are at the base of another summit and the mountain that lies ahead is once again large.  In the remaining weeks before the Annual Meeting you will learn of its size and of the path that has been scouted out.  You will be invited to personally consider how you can help out by growing in your response.  Make no mistake, everyone's help is going to be needed if we are going to sustain our ministry. 

Talking about the need to climb this mountain may not be popular - but to remain silent lacks honesty.  We are on this journey together - placed here by the Spirit.  We are blessed to be a part of this community where God's love is proclaimed, worshiped, taught, and shared.  We all have a responsibility, as part of this church, to be about the work of helping the bear over the mountain. 

Let us do as good Christians do... pray and trust in God's Spirit to guide our steps as we respond.

In Christ,

Pastor Walt