Pilgrims' Home

This came from one of our congregational members: "I wanted to let you know the Swansons thought the 9/11 service was on the mark.... I had a unique experience [afterwards]. We came home, and I turned on the T.V. and they were still reading the names. The names I prayed for [during worship] were read. One in particular was read by his son. I also saw one of the names on the wall I had also prayed for [in worship]- it really made it personal. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to remember them in  this way."

PLEASE READ THE PRIOR POSTS BEFORE READING THIS ONE. Worship is over, and it was an overwhelming service. We had more people in attendance today than any day besides major holidays. Many visitors. We began the service with a reading from Exodus 15, which served as our psalm. During the service, following announcements, we did a service of remembrance for 9/11. We began with America The Beautiful as the choral anthem, then an introduction to the litany and prayers (see here for the service outline). The moment of emotion was during a time of readings from the Abrahamic traditions - seeking the healing of the nations. We read from the Jewish Tradition (Isaiah), the Christian Tradition (Matthew 5), and a third text from the Islam Tradition (see yesterday's post for the exact text). I wondered how this would be received, and we made an email announcement on Friday to prepare our worshippers. The faces during the reading seemed more of interest than anxious or disgusted. We ended...

We will be reading Scripture traditionally during our worship service (Matthew 6:6-15), but during the 9/11 remembrance, we will read three texts from each of the Abrahamic faiths: FROM THE JEWISH TRADITION Isaiah 25:6-9 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. FROM THE MUSLIM TRADITION  In the Name of God, most gracious, most merciful. Lord, you said, a...

We will remember 9/11/2001 during worship tomorrow. It will part of our worship service and will include Prayer, Music, both patriotic and sacred, and naming of names for those who lost their lives on the day. We will also read texts for the healing of the nations: a Jewish text, a Muslim text, and a Christian text. We will stand for the gospel. There is obviously some question over the use of the Muslim tradition, and in preparing our congregation for worship, we sent the following email on Friday: On Sunday morning we will remember September 11 and begin our new series, The Lord's Prayer. The intersection of these two events is significant in light of the gospel. Obviously, 911 was a religious and political attack on the United States. The Lord's Prayer is a theological and political prayer asking for "Our Father" to bless the world and transform violence into peace "on earth as it is in heaven." We remember 911 with the voice of the Lord's Praye...

Friends have been asking, “what have you been reading lately?” I hate this question, as it reminds me of how little I have been reading, lately. I have set aside Other Side of the River and three other books aside ( Missional Church in Perspective ; Eugene Peterson’s, The Pastor , and my dissertation ) for several weeks, and most of my time has been devoted to managing projects that leave little time to read and reflect. On Labor Day, my wife has gifted me with some alone time to read and remember where my mind enjoys spending time. The Dentist is the story of a white dentist, named Burton Weisberg, who has roots in Brooklyn, is Jewish, and fully supports the NRA – he owns several guns. He has a dental office on the edge of Benton Harbor, which means he is geographically in St. Joseph Township, but his mailing address is Benton Harbor. (This location issue is common the shores of Lake Michigan, which makes “google maps” difficult and contracting with utilities almost impossible). F...

I remember trying to understand tragedy when Greg Fast committed suicide during 8th grade and when a football teammate JEremy was killed by his friends in late high school. These were friends, who lost their lives too early. I remember attending their funerals and shedding tears without detailed reason, save the absence of people who should not be gone. I remember when Greg Fast died that I wanted to see his mom, and that I wanted to be sure others were not treated as Greg was (had Greg not died, he may have been a professional athlete). I remember calling his mom every few weeks to say I was thinking of her and remembering Greg. For Eric McGinnis, his friends arrived on his mother's front yard irate, and understandably so. THey were convinced, and the rapid spread of rumors affirmed, that St. Joe was up to this killing. They shared their rage on her front step, hoping for Ms. Ruth to come outside and confirm their rage by inviting them to enter St. Joe and seek revenge. She did...

Chapter 4 - Family I began reading the chapter wondering how Kolowitz would unfold "family", the chapter's title. Eric McGinnis was the only child to his mother, Ruth, and his father lived elsewhere in BEnton Harbor. Family was not nuclear, but it was also not volatile. I wondered how the relationships would receive their first introduction. Even more, as I began reading the chapter, I was reminded of the several children I have known who died before their parents - something that shapes my imagination for parenting Micah and Madeline. The chapter paints the story of how Ruth discovered the death of her son, and the affects on the policeman (Jim Reeves) and her other family members. The chapter wraps up with the following quotation, which unsettles my being as I think about being a father; I found myself in grief for Ruth, even on this day - 15+ years later, as the loss of a child is a loss to our entire being forever: "What really bothered me was that Ruth was...

I began chapter 3 in The Other Side of the River. The chapter opens depicting the quaint and even romantic town of St. Joseph. I found myself walking the streets as Kolowitz describes them, and I was remarkably comfortable when I was figuratively walking those streets.             The nature of the book, race relations, however unsettled my comfort on those streets. I wondered if everyone found great comfort and even a teenage romanticism while walking the streets. Is this an inclusive community that welcomes all races, classes, and ages? Or is these streets, and those like them around the country, exclusive for middle-aged, middle-class, dominant race folks? I do not have an answer to my question, but the book is making me ask questions about what makes me comfortable and not necessarily others the same.             The topic of the chapter is Kolowitz’s initial conv...

I have a practice when I travel overseas. I try to find a local book store in order to find a book with a local setting. In Paris, I went to Berkeley Books and purchased The Moveable Feast by Hemmingway and Orwell’s, Down and Out in Paris and London. The Moveable Feast took place on the same street as our hotel. I have repeated the practice in Germany, Amsterdam, and Moscow. It was harder to do with Thailand and Kenya. The engagement of a local tale is intriguing, yet when you discover a local tale in your hometown, the engagement can be daunting. I was telling a good friend about the story, and she said, “I’m in that book.” I knew Eric – we were the same age. This story might be a little too local, and I am somewhat anxious about how the story will raise new questions – as a resident, a disciple of Jesus, but also as a pastor of a church in this community. This tale is a bit more located than Hemmingway, Orwell, or Zamyatin (Russian writer of We ). The opening chapter sets the tone...

This morning I started rereading a book , The Other Side of the River , by Alex Kolowitz . He also wrote There are No Children Here (1991). The Other Side of the River is a tale of two cities, Benton Harbor and St Joseph, Michigan. Kolowitz follows the tragic story of Eric McGinnis, a young African-American boy who was discovered dead in the St. Joseph River. The other way to describe it: Alex narrates the murder of an African-American teenager who was found in the St. Joseph River. Depending on which side of the river you live dictates how you explain the story – found or murdered. St. Joseph is 95% affluent and white and Benton Harbor is 92% poor and black. The story is particularly about race relations in these two cities, but, as Kolowitz states, the story is the tale of Americana. Over the next few weeks, I will be writing my reflections on the story. Most often, I read an entire book and then write my thoughts, yet because of the nature of the story, the intensity of the writ...

We rearranged the schedule today. We had planned to work a half day beginning at 8:30, but we were invited to see the operation of a coffee farm co-op. This was pretty interesting and depressing. The plantation is a fair-trade certified factory, yet a pound of coffee sells for 20 cents. The cartel of coffee has too many brokers who cash-in while the kenyan coffee farmers are shortchanged. The best way to stop this is to connect with a farmer and buy direct, roast and grind your own.  Following the coffee tour, we went to work for one-half day starting at 9:30. We were able to finish everything and depart by 1:00. We left the home and returned to our quarters for lunch and some rest.  We planned to return to Morning Star for supper that evening. We helped to purchase two live goats for supper! Yes, they were living. I will refrain from details, but Shawn slit the animal's throat and drained the blood. Then the rest of the process prior to throwing ALL of the meat into a boiling...

We were all back together at work today. The roof needed to be completed, cabinets made, a tire swing hung, and the electrical stabilized. It appeared that many of us were tired today. I, for one, slept about two hours, so most of the morning was a struggle to stay awake, let alone not cut my hand with the saw (as I saw a couple of guys almost accomplish). Something you should know: there were two work teams this week. The first included the roofing team: Gunnar, Shawn, Ron, John. The second team included the more highly skilled guys - Dean, Ken, and Kyle under the supervision of Bill Deetjen. We also had two overseers, who worked diligently trying to be sure that the team had everything we needed as soon as possible (which in Kenya time took longer than some desired) - this included Bob and Reuben. Those two guys gave up the joy of working with their hands for the sake of administration and finance. Without these two men none of us would have accomplished anything. We are grateful. O...

The team of four (Ron, CHris, Kyle and John) traveled back to Stars for Jesus today. We traveled via Air Kenya. The group that remained at Stars continued the diligent work of putting trusses on the roof, finishing the water tank, and making the playground secure - we have dubbed the playground "Papa Bill's Village" since he was the creative engineer behind the whole thing.  Also, Bill made spaghetti for supper. The traveler's were unable to join them for the meal, so they stopped to eat at a place in Nairobi. The downside of our delay was that we missed the great meal creation.

Three members of the team departed this morning. Ron, John, and Kyle traveled to Mombassa area to discover a children's home operated by Larry and Kathy Hopkins of Canada and the African Inland Mission (affiliated with Rift Valley Academy).  Chris Okune of First Love, a children's home in Nairobi, traveled with us. He is the director of the home, and his vision and insight into empowering students to live abundantly in the future is one worth replicating. He is a visionary, and his children's home is an invitation to what is possible for the future of Kenyan children. First Love is committed to two things: 1) housing children whose parents have died; 2) feeding 1000 students breakfast and lunch at a local slum school near Kibira (this is the second largest slum in the world). Rifiki Children's Home is a home for 85+ kids and has a dynamically different feel than either Stars for Jesus or First Love. Rifiki is a more conservative home that seeks to prepare the children t...

We departed Amsterdam after a brief four hour layover (it is 7 hours on the way home). Layovers begin to disclose personalities. Some want to sit in a chair and wait it out - the bonus is that these guys watch the luggage. Others want to walk aimlessly in order to get some exercise. Still, others have a destination in mind - Starbucks or a wireless hotspot. I like this about our group. We are now on the plane to Nairobi. Gunnar has met his flight attendant, the two younger women sitting in his row (one is from North Dakota traveling to Kenya to teach English on the South-east coast), and he is the most diligent at walking the aisles. I think that every time he gets up, he meets someone new. The movie of the trip has been True Grit. I have yet to watch it (I watched Chronicles of Narnia 3, instead). But I thought it odd when Ron Russell and Ken Carlson were playing cowboys throughout Schipohl Airport (boys will be boys). John is our watch-out guy. He is always turning around to m...

We arrived at 8:30. Right on time. We were able to secure the luggage quickly and depart to the guest house. It wasnfun to have a welcome team of Reah and bob and Sandra and others. They had a busy day preparing for our arrival, but all seems to be going very well. Please pray that the Kenya power can be put back together so we have power at the home. We spent some time together in one of the sitting rooms. It is a dynamic and verbal group. We tell jokes,interior each other, and several other quirks that will be sure to make the blog this week. We are safe. Stay tuned.

We departed Amsterdam after a brief four hour layover (it is 7 hours on the way home). Layovers begin to disclose personalities. Some want to sit in a chair and wait it out - the bonus is that these guys watch the luggage. Others want to walk aimlessly in order to get some exercise. Still, others have a destination in mind - Starbucks or a wireless hotspot. I like this about our group. We are now on the plane to Nairobi. Gunnar has met his flight attendant, the two younger women sitting in his row (one is from North Dakota traveling to Kenya to teach English on the South-east coast), and he is the most diligent at walking the aisles. I think that every time he gets up, he meets someone new. Towards the end of the flight he met another missionary couple with campus crusade. They used to live in Minot north Dakota. By the end of the flight Gunnar has connected every passenger to either North Dakota or Denmark. Remarkable. The movie of the trip has been True Grit. I have yet to watch...

Let’s keep Bell’s book in perspective I finished Rob Bell’s new book, Love Wins . I hadn’t read any reviews of his book prior to reading it myself, yet now I am amazed to see the prolific responses. Online respondents either seem to overly sympathize with him—“finally, someone has taken on this monumental issue that is consuming the faith of young and old, alike. Most, however, have responded the other way – exaggerating Bell’s devilish and heretical qualities; one blogger noted that Bell’s book has created a TSUNAMI in his community. I think overly romanticizing Bell’s contribution is a bit much, but more so comparing Bell’s book to a recent natural disaster that has threatened nuclear meltdown and innumerable deaths is out-of-bounds, also. I wonder if we, Christians, will find a way to debate texts, ideas, and questions without having to follow media’s personalist attacks. The one person who seems to always accomplish gracious speech is Scot McKnight . He is one worth hearing,...

We just concluded a series on friendship at Harbert Community Church. As preachers, it was a profound series, and we hope the same is true for the hearers. I was curious as to what was the primary grammars of friendship operating throughout our series. I used wordle (www.wordle.net) to configure the word picture of each sermon as well as a composite of the weeks together. I will post three of the weeks, along with the current composite. The worship services from this series will be posted sometime this week on the church website: www.harbertcommunitychurch.org The weeks of the series were as follow: Week 1: Friendship Week 2: Trustworthy Friendship Week 3: Generous Friendship Week 4: Critical Friendship Week 5: Friendship Failures Week 6: Reconciling Friendship Wordle for the Series Week 2: Trustworthy Friendship Week 4: Critical Friendship Week 6: Reconciling Friendship