\t\t\t\tAs September drew to a close I had a \u201cfirst\u201d! I participated in the ceremoney of ordination. It was a member of our church as a Lutheran Minister. Her name is Jennifer Amos. I had attended and watched some seven ordinations in my lifetime. Four were my brothers to the priesthood in the Catholic Church; two were as ministers in the Lutheran Church one woman and one man. I also watched the installation of my son-in-law, Tom Baker as a Deacon in a ceremony much like an ordination. But I never had the honor of participating until now.<\/p>\n
As part of the ceremoney the ordained receives five stoles, each of a different color and are presented to her by people she or he chooses. The last color to being given and placed around the neck is the red one. This is the one I gave to her saying: \u201c Jen, on Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples and gave them tongues of fire. Be bold in proclaiming God\u2019s message of grace. Also as Christians who follow a Lutheran tradition, stay grounded in your heritage of Grace, Faith and Word.\u201d<\/p>\n
We now have three previous members of our church ordained and two still studying. Having five young people out of any congregation who decide to become ministers is quite an outstanding feature. We had three seminarians when I wrote the history of our congregation from 1990-2005, the last twenty-five years. In it I wrote: \u201cThe purpose of a Christian church is to bring Christ to the community, its world; it is not only to build new facilities. Its members, now members of the body of Christ, take what they have learned and bring it with love to the community outside the church walls. How better is that purpose fulfilled than when its members bring Christ into their lives with such force and love as to want to dedicate their lives to serving Him and bringing Him to others. The fact that three of LCC members have directed their lives to ordained ministry demonstrates that the church is carrying out its mission. Ours is a history for which to be thankful, and it provides the opportunity to acknowledge that the leaders and church community are doing something right!\u00a0 The challenge is to continue such growth in 2005 and beyond.\u201d\u00a0 Now in 2009 it is evident with two more members seeking ordination that the mission is continuing to be carried out.<\/p>\n
In my reading recently some articles got me thinking. The \u201cNY Times Magazine\u201d had one entitled\u00a0 \u201cIs there a right way to pray?\u201d That such a question would be in a magazine like the N.Y. Times was itself a surprise and caused me to want to read it. It was written by a reporter of Jewish background who called himself a \u201cSam Cooke Agnostic\u201d I don\u2019t know who Sam Cooke is but I always get thinking of the word agnostic\u2019s meaning when I hear it.\u00a0 The word is defined as \u201cperson who believes that nothing is known or can be known\u201d That to me raises the question \u201cHow does he or she know they are an \u2018agnostic\u2019 if it cannot be known?<\/p>\n
The author\u2019s title indicates immediately he doesn\u2019t have the slightest idea what praying is all about. Seeking the help of God and thanking Him are just some of the reasons we pray. There is never a \u201cright or wrong\u201d way.\u00a0 He then visits all types of churches and places where in some public prayer is employed and even special people who make it a thing in their lives to help others in their praying. The organization is called \u2018Spiritual Directors International\u2019.\u00a0 They state that their purpose is to help people learn to pray. They state the reason for this is, \u201cThey want to learn how to pray, but feel awkward in a house of worship\u201d Could it be that\u00a0 \u2018they feel awkward\u201d because many \u201chouse of worship\u201d are no longer that. Where better to think of the Almighty and call on Him then in the presence of a quiet place surrounded by people calling on God the same as you are?<\/p>\n
The \u2018feeling awkward in a house of worship\u2019 reminds me of an incident I read about where\u00a0 a churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper. He complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. \u201cI\u2019ve gone and done it for 30 long years now\u201d, he wrote, and in that time I have heard something like 3000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can\u2019t remember a single one of them. So I think I\u2019m wasting my time and the preachers are wasting theirs too.\u201d\u00a0 He got a response, which I liked. \u201cI\u2019ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this\u2026They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. If I had not gone to church for nourishment I would be spiritually dead today! When you are DOWN to nothing\u2026God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible!\u201d<\/p>\n
The agnostic author, in the NYTimes magazine, talking about prayer goes on to say, \u201c\u2026I have never been able to pray and mean it. On two occasions when it appeared I was going to die, I didn\u2019t give God a thought\u2026I saw this as a confirmation of my freedom from superstition\u201d. So the \u201cagnostic\u201d who can\u2019t know anything somehow does \u201cknow\u201d that he is free of that \u2018superstition\u2019 called God. He doesn\u2019t visit any of the protestant or catholic churches or attend any services in houses of worship. So is it any wonder that he doesn\u2019t understand or see really what prayer is!\u00a0 He does visit one of the trained directors of the Spiritual International. He went there with the understanding he didn\u2019t have to believe in God to learn how to pray?\u00a0 To whom then do we pray?\u00a0 She tells him that \u2018sometimes intellect is a block to spirituality\u2019 We should all strive to discover our spiritual side. What for example is meaningful in your life? Later she sends him an email saying, \u201cLife is about living out the questions \u2013 not necessarily coming up with the answers… I would hope that your would find yourself moving to a deeper level of questions, insights, spiritual growth, and with that a yearning for the Presence of the Divine. Prayer would naturally be a part of that process..\u201d He finally decides \u201c\u2026I was probably never going to become a praying man. But if, by some miracle, I ever do, I hope my prayers like the prayers of these kids I met at the Love church in Berkley Springs. Straight-up Gimmie! on behalf of people who really need the help.\u201d Apparently to him this is the \u2018right\u2019 way to pray, i.e. ask for something to be given. It is apparent that this reporter lacks even the basic knowledge of what prayer is all about as well as the ability to go to the right place to find it.<\/p>\n
I am reading a biography of \u201cEinstein\u201d. It is tough reading in many places for me since it is into physics and such of which I am not with much knowledge. I was glad to see that he, Einstein, didn\u2019t like geometry nor math and he didn\u2019t get top marks in those courses. \u201cDuring his four years at Polytechnic, he got 5 0r 6 (on a 6 point scale) in his theoretical physics courses, but got only 4\u2019s in most of his math courses, especially those in geometry\u201d. It is one thing we have in common, but beyond that there is a whole other world where Einstein dwells. The author, Walter Isaacson, says, \u201cHe did however retain from his childhood religious phase a profound reverence to the harmony and beauty of what he called the mind of God as it was expressed in the creation of the universe and its laws.\u201d So a guy with brains like Einstein\u2019s still can see God in the creation of the world! (There is a chapter in the book on Einstein\u2019s belief in God.)<\/p>\n
This thinking about God and his creations brings back to a cartoon I once saw. It was a Charlie Brown comic strip.\u00a0 In it there two characters, one Charlie and a friend looking at the sky full of stars. Charlie says, \u201cLet\u2019s go inside and watch TV. I beginning to feel insignificant\u201d How true that is! \u00a0Then there is a bumper sticker that got me, it said, \u201cIf you are going to live like there is no God, you better be right!\u201d<\/p>\n
My health is improving. I am walking with less heavy breathing. The swollen legs and rash are almost gone. The doctor said when I am able to walk around the block I will be as well as I can be with this condition. I am still a good ways from that. We see him in November. Until next time, Pax Tecum !\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As September drew to a close I had a \u201cfirst\u201d! I participated in the ceremoney of ordination. It was a member of our church as a Lutheran Minister. Her name is Jennifer Amos. I had attended and watched some seven ordinations in my lifetime. Four were my brothers to the priesthood in the Catholic Church; … <\/p>\n