So You Can Hear

This morning I listened to a portion of Durham Mayor Steve Schewel's address to the city, in which he described a "Stay At Home" order for the people of Durham.  We've been seeing similar efforts pop up around the country - in small counties and big cities, in states and whole countries, as leaders grapple with how best to protect the public. 

My daughter Grace tuned in to his address with me for a few minutes, and I was surprised when Mayor Schewel said (I'm paraphrasing), "I have a message for pastors: arrange to make regular voice to voice contact with every one of your congregants, so you can hear how they are doing and if they have any special needs that you can work to meet.  Of course, in some larger churches it may not be feasible for one person to contact everyone, but these churches will have congregational leaders who can help." 

Then, while I was sitting there with my daughter (who is studying for her art degree from home right now), Mayor Schewel said (I'm paraphrasing), "I have a message for artists: we need your art.  We need you poets to be sharing your poems every day.  We need you musicians to share your music - every day - to feed our spirits and souls and remind us of the beauty in the world." 

That makes six times and counting, in the past week alone, I have had the experience of wondering, or praying, about something very specific, and in the next moment, someone is calling me with a rather specific answer.  I sit down with my daughter, a pastor and an artist on a couch, and I happen to tune in to the 10 minute portion of the mayor of Durham talking to the city with a live update in which he says "Here is a message for pastors.  Here is a message for artists."  I have a feeling I'm about to lose count how many times these meaningful intersections occur.  I think about someone who I haven't heard from in awhile, and I call or email them, and they respond that "God must have told you we were just talking about you."  It seems to me that these are not coincidences.  I believe there is something spiritual, something relational, going on.

Maybe in the midst of this great global slowdown, our spiritual ears are becoming unclogged.  Maybe the great quiet which is settling in on the nations is enabling us to pay more attention to God's "still, small voice." 

There's a story in the Old Testament about the prophet Elijah.  Elijah has done a very extreme version of "social distancing", fearing not a virus but a very angry human enemy.  He runs off into the wilderness and is exhausted, hungry, and feels he may die alone.  (I think we might be able to relate - the bible doesn't say it but I don't think he had any toilet paper either!!)  1 Kings 19, verses 11 and following, say,

"Then God said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord."  And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
"So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance to the cave.  Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?""

Elijah replies that he is afraid that he is about to be killed, even though he has been faithful to God.  God reveals to him that he can go back home, that he is not alone, that in addition to God's abiding presence, there are thousands of others who also have a heart for serving God.

In our current circumstance, we have a virus rather than an army.  And now, we are adjusting to a new normal.  The new quiet.  The impending fear.  The worry about isolation or not enough resources.  We can relate to this story!  In the midst of this pandemic, I encourage you to pause and turn off the news for a little while every day.  Turn up the sensitivity of your spiritual ears, to listen for the still small voice.  Ask God for the answers to your questions.  Listen for who comes to mind.  Pray for them - right then and there!  Give them a call!  Pour out your fears to God, and ask God to reassure you.  Lean on your friends.  Give your pastor a call!  Share a blessing with a neighbor (from a safe distance!).  May we learn a new appreciation for the new quietness, so we can hear. Take a moment to thank God for all of the blessings God has given.

"God, thank you for the many blessings you have given.  For homes and food, for phones and schools, for friends and family and our church.  Speak to us anew, and give us ears to hear your voice.  Grant us the courage, the creativity, to deepen our trust in you, to go where you call us to go and to stay where you call us to stay.  In Jesus name we pray, Amen."

From our Bishop: "These Challenging Times"

Grace and Peace,

In her March 23 email to the NC Conference churches, Bishop Ward, in consultation with public health, government, and religious leaders, directs North Carolina United Methodist Churches in the following way:

"I urge you to continue the compassionate practice of not gathering for worship, funerals, weddings, studies, and other groups for the next two months."  - Bishop Hope Morgan Ward

I encourage you to read the full letter: 
Click here for the full message from our bishop.

We at Long Memorial will prayerfully and compassionately join with our brothers and sisters in this practice, while we continue to seek ways to remain connected in care to our church family.

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Ed

Generosity from a Distance

Friends,

Grace and peace!  I have missed you all so very much!  Perhaps like many of you, I am a very relational person, and I need our connections just like we all do! I pray that God will show us new ways of being together, and will deepen our relationships with God and one another in ways that we have never imagined during this time of anxiety and physical separation.  

Our church is an organization which relies on the generosity of its friends.  We try our best to be good stewards of that with which God has entrusted us.  We know and affirm that "all good things come from you, O God" when we give of our tithes and offerings.  

We know that this outbreak has, is, and will affect the economy in very significant ways.  For many people, income during this COVID-19 crisis will significantly decline.  Others may be blessed to see no change in our income.  Some have nest-eggs to help weather the storm, but the stress of using what they had planned to use in other ways is real and feels traumatic!  Some may be moved by the Spirit to share possessions, time, or finances in ways they have never considered before.   For some, in order to survive, it seems that we must carefully ration the little that we have and trust that God will see us through.  Still others will need to depend on God working through the generosity of strangers.  We are all sharing in this great unknown; may we do so with faithfulness.  

It is on my heart to remind you of two principles of Christian sharing.  One is that God's direction for God's people in the Bible (and in millennia of Christian tradition) is based on proportionality and faithfulness: we strive to give a portion, a fraction of what God provides.  There is precedent for giving a tenth of income or harvest, but there are examples of many other proportions of giving (all the way up to 100%!).  The second principle is that offerings are always an act of faith. In times of plenty or times of seeming scarcity, sharing is an act of trust that we are participating in God's larger kingdom.  With all acts of trust, we are choosing to take a risks.  Our faith is that God will take care of us. 

It is good to remember that God works through so many faithful people in so many ways.  I believe God is at work in every teacher tasked with handing out drive-through lunches at public schools, every work team that helps hurricane victims, every EMT who rolls into unknown situations during every emergency call, every parent who is doing their best to teach their children at home, every elderly person who is staying home and praying for grandchildren and neighbors.  The church is but one (very important) way that God accomplishes God's purposes in the world.

We should pray, together, for God to show us how and how much we are to share.  We believe the Holy Spirit is who empowers every act of love and generosity, so we ask for the quietness to listen, the wisdom to discern, and the faith to follow where God leads us.  

As we continue to support the church, so that the church can continue to minister to its staff and through its staff to the community, I am aware of several possibilities for financial giving to the church that may be new to you, since we are not gathering in communal worship in the sanctuary for the time being.  Other people may have other ideas, which we welcome.

1) At present, our church office remains open as usual.  We are cleaning all of our public spaces regularly, and our staff is practicing physical distance.  You may choose to bring your gift to the church.  If you ring the doorbell while the office is open, we can come and collect your gift at the door.  Please call before you come so that you can make sure someone will be there.  The church office number is (336) 599-1193.

2) You may choose to mail a check to us. The church address is Long Memorial UMC, PO Box 310, Roxboro, NC 27573.  Many people have long chosen to use this means of regular giving.  

3) The church office can help you set up regular electronic drafts from a bank account.  We have offered this for a number of years, and a number of our members have long taken advantage of this method of church giving.  In order to do this, we need you to fill out and sign a form and return it to us.  You can pick up a form from the church, or we can mail you one. Please call or email the church office if you need assistance.

4) You can use the app on your smart phone called Church+.  It's a free app.  You find and download the app from the app store, then you can use the app as a guest, or you can create an account for recurring transactions.  The app allows you to search for and select Long Memorial in Roxboro as the designation for your gift.  This app allows you to enter a debit or credit card number, and the funds are sent directly to the church's operating account.  

5) The North Carolina Conference UMC has set up a service on its website where you can make donations directly to Long Memorial or any other church in the conference.  This service enables you to include a memo line with your donation if you wish to direct your gift to a specific cause within our church ministries (E.g. "Parsonage" or "Capital Projects."  The link is https://nccumc.org/giving/church/.  Donations made in this way will be collected by the conference, then forwarded on to the church via direct deposit twice a month.

May God bless all of us as we dwell in God's presence and seek God's direction.  We will all need to offer help to others, even if it is in the form of prayer; and we will all need to receive help from others, in ways that perhaps we have never needed help before.  May God be at the center of it all.

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Ed
(919) 274-8061