Letter to Congress St. UMC Congregation

It was announced on March 14, 2010, that Bishop Coyner has appointed me to serve as pastor of Congress Street United Methodist Church effective July 1. I find myself today very much looking forward to the opportunity to begin this phase of my ministry with you. I, most of all, look forward to knowing you. As I anticipate the start of our time together, I appreciate this opportunity to introduce myself to you.

My hometown is nearby Attica. Short of being appointed to the Attica Church, moving to Lafayette is very much a homecoming for me. I was born at Home Hospital and spent much of my childhood and youth in Lafayette for medical appointments, restaurants, movies, orthodontist and numerous school events. Lafayette always seemed to be an extension of “home” for me.

After graduating from Attica High School, I began my undergraduate degree at DePauw University. Not knowing what was in store for me during my DePauw years, I transferred my church membership to the campus United Methodist church in Greencastle. During my final year of college, I found my life moving in the direction of Ordained Ministry. By the time I graduated I had started the candidacy process toward ordination in The United Methodist Church.

During the past eleven years I completed seminary at Christian Theological Seminary, was ordained an Elder in the first ordination class of the new Indiana Conference and served the Church in various ministerial settings. I have been a pastor on staff for youth and young adult ministries, a student pastor to a rural congregation and an associate pastor. At the present time I serve as Associate Pastor at Bradley United Methodist Church in Greenfield. In addition to local church ministry I have served on a college campus in an outreach program to students through campus ministry and as Chaplain at one of our United Methodist Retirement Communities.

My deepest passion in ministry is seeking innovative ways of reaching out to all God’s creation in quest of living out my favorite scripture, “…what does God require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)

The foundation for my passion is found in the name I use for myself: Muddling Paradox. (Some of you may have already discovered some of the material I have on the internet through the marvels of Google.) “Muddling Paradox” best explains for me my understanding of our journey into the Mystery of God through Jesus of Nazareth. I prefer Muddling – more abstract and usually more practical – to something concrete and, while practical, does not really enhance the beauty of life in this world.

I understand the Christian faith journey as one in which we embrace the totality of life. We each have moments of sunshine…moments of rain…moments of joy…and moments of pain. However, when we pay attention to our moments we discover a deeper truth. There is in the midst of all our life experiences a perpetual fog that is the Mystery of God. Lest we put ourselves in the place of God, Christianity is about figuring out which way to muddle in the midst of the fog of God’s mystery. A paradox is when an apparently true statement leads to a contradiction or a situation that defies logic or intuition. Soren Kierkegaard once wrote, “If you have a place where everyone is Christian, then it is a place where no one is Christian.”

What all of this means for me in my spiritual Journey with Jesus – and how this shapes my ministry – is that I find myself often searching, and supporting others’ searching, the questions of life and faith. Beyond that, I believe the searching of questions should lead to action through which we discover, layer by layer, that the Mystery of God serves a very practical purpose: the faithful living of our lives after the example of Jesus. As we seek understanding and as we journey together, I will not be a pastor who will give you all the answers. I will seek to be a pastor who will search for the answers with you. I will not be a pastor who will do the work of the Church for you. I will seek to be a pastor who will do the work of the Church with you. I invite you to “muddle” with me as we discover what the Mystery of God is about to lead us to do together.

Being a Christian, being a community of faith, can be a most difficult thing. But being those things is the reason for our existence as a community. While I believe that muddling is necessary and paradox happens, it is when we live out our “being” – as understood through Jesus – that the Mystery of God becomes something we can understand and serves something very practical for our lives and our spiritual journeys. Living out our being simply means doing the faith. It is in doing the faith that we discover the joy of being followers of Jesus. It is in doing the faith that we better understand the Mystery of God through practical experience. It is in doing the faith that we embrace life with God in Jesus in ways that enrich our journey in remarkable ways.

In the months to come you and I have much to do. We will say our respective good-byes and prepare ourselves for a new and vibrant ministry in the heart of Lafayette. The mystery of the unfolding of life has brought us together – its purpose not yet revealed. Yet, I am experiencing a sense of excitement and I find myself today eager to meet you. I want to hear your stories. I will tell you more of mine. Let us prepare to share with one another what motivates us and together search for a common vision for Congress Street United Methodist Church. This is the journey we are about to undertake together. God is with us. Let us discover what that means in this new chapter about to be written.

I look forward to beginning our journey together this summer.

World In Prayer for Sunday, April 11, 2010

God, times over we can count moments of pleasure, experiences of great cheer and laughter, and your guidance that has kept up on the correct path of pleasantness.

• For New Zealand woman, Elizabeth Binning, who at the at the age of 89, still delivers Meals on Wheels.
• For the University of Miami team that’s sending 500 prosthetic legs for Haiti earthquake victims.
• We smile at the thought of International Pillow Fight Day. In Brussels, Paris, Buenos Aires and Madrid, people took to the streets to take out their frustrations.
• For President Obama and President Dmitry Medvedev’s signatures on a major nuclear arms control agreement.
• Lord Layard’s Movement for Happiness seeks a director with a vision to bring happiness to the world.
• For the first ever eco-city being build in the United Arab Emirates, Masdar City – relying entirely on renewable energy sources, free of cars, skyscrapers and waste.

For these things, we thank you!

God, we know just as many times of displeasure,situations of pain and injustice, practices of eye-for-an-eye taking precedent over the love demonstrated by Jesus of Nazareth and seductions that lead us away from you.

• For the sudden declined invitation by Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to not attend the U.S. nuclear summit.
• The Somali pirates who have hijacked a Turkish cargo shipment of the cost of Kenya.
• For the rescue teams and families in Brazil trying to find 200 people believed to have been buried in a massive landslide.
• For mine workers in the eastern U.S. and in northern China. Respectively, an explosion and a flood have killed over 30 miners this week.

For these things, we need you! You are the one who can ultimately comfort us through heartaches. You are the one that can bring peace. You are the one that teaches us how to love, laugh, live and play. You are the one able to dispel evil and injustice.

Christ is Risen! Amen!

Blog Relocating

This blog is relocating on of after May 1, 2010 to www.muddlingparadox.blogspot.com. Please make note of this address. If you receive publications or e-mails from Bradley UMC you will receive this information in numerous other forms. If you are not associated with Bradley, please make note of the new blog address. Thank you!!

WEAR ORANGE - not green!

While I was growing up, my mother used to say, "Protestants wear orange on St. Patrick's." I also remember her giving me some additional information like, "we're Scottish...William of Orange is our champion, not St. Patrick" and so on and so forth. Since childhood, I've done additional reading and research and have sorted most of this thing out. I want to share it with you, if you were not aware of this phenomenon. Now, the stories I'm about to tell you are true; however, they should not in any way truly reflect our attitudes or opinions. If the majority of Americans wear green - when they aren't really religious or believers in St. Patrick at all - then we can, in jest, enjoy the story of why we should jubilantly wear orange!

First of all St. Patrick (if you don't know much his story): St. Patrick (5th century), the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity's most widely known figures. But for all his celebrity, his life remains somewhat of a mystery. Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling (probably a result of too much beer!). After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. According to his writing, a voice - which he believed to be God's - spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland. To do so, Patrick walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo, where it is believed he was held, to the Irish coast. After escaping to Britain, Patrick reported that he experienced a second revelation - an angel in a dream tells him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after, Patrick began religious training, a course of study that lasted more than fifteen years. After his ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland with a dual mission - to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish - when Patrick arrived, many Irish practiced a nature-based pagan religion. Interestingly, this mission contradicts the widely held notion that Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland.

NOW, for William of Orange: Protestant Europe and England did, indeed, look to William of Orange (1650 - 1702) as their champion. In 1677, William had married the English Princess Mary, Protestant daughter of the Roman Catholic James, duke of York. After Jame's succession to the English throne, the Protestant William kept in close contact with the opposition to the king. Finally, after the birth of a son to James in 1688, he was invited to England by seven important nobles.

William landed in Devon with an army of 15,000 and advanced to London, meeting virtually no opposition. James was allowed to escape to France. Early in 1689, William summoned a Convention Parliament and accepted its offer of the crown jointly with his wife. The "Glorious Revolution" was thus accomplished in England without bloodshed, and it proved a decisive victory for the Parliament in its long struggle with the crown; William was forced to accept the Bill of Rights, which greatly limited the royal power and prescribed the line of succession, and to give Parliament control of finances and the army.

William's reputation is tainted as it's believed he condoned the bloody massacre of Glencoe in 1692. In Ireland, after William's victory over the exiles James at the battle of Boyne and the conclusion of the Treaty of Limerick, the Penal Laws against Roman Catholics were increased in severity.

Now, you figure it out....

Letter to Congregation...

Dear Members & Friends of Bradley UMC:

It was announced to the congregation this morning, that Bishop Coyner has appointed me to serve as Pastor of Congress Street United Methodist Church in Lafayette, effective July 1, 2010.

My time in ministry with many of you will have an incredible impact on my future ministry – wherever it leads me. Some of the ministries we began together are outstanding testaments to your hearts. I commend you for your mission-mindedness, compassion for those around you and for not running from social justice ministries, issues and witness. I celebrate this with you! I thank all of you for the faithfulness and commitment to your church I have witnessed in so many ways through so many people. May you continually be reminded that “what does God require of you but do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) You will remain in my thoughts and prayers as you continue writing a new chapter in your life together under Pastor Wade.

For a long time, I have awaited a solo appointment. I did have one prior to coming to Bradley, but it was a student appointment which is different from a full-time Elder appointment as a Pastor (mainly those congregations know you are a student…in the “learning phase” and much more forgiving of any mistakes you may make). Now, with God, I can break from my mold; take with me all I have learned the past 11 years; spread my wings and begin to craft my own ministry with a congregation at a time when their request is for leadership to boldly reach out to others.

My new appointment does not come without challenge (but many of you know I would not be the one to run from a good challenge, either). Like so many other churches, Congress Street has an aging congregation. They have struggled to retain members and the economic crisis has given them a few financial punches. HOWEVER, I celebrate the people at Congress Street who realize they must find some other directions to travel if they wish to remain a relevant witness to the world around them. Their location is prime (including the fact the city’s best local custard stand is across the street!). They are located in the heart of the city; they have property; they have active Daycare and Preschool programs. Most importantly, they are prepared to build a different foundation for effective ministry. At this point, neither they nor I know what the new-ness will be, but we will seek it together. At this point, I do know that they are ready to look out to the world and not focus on themselves. Such a focus, such a foundation, involves – requires – risk. But this is the heart of the Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth and the true purpose of the Church.

In many ways, Lafayette is a homecoming. I was born in a hospital five blocks from the church I will be calling “home” and Lafayette is where I spent most of my entertainment time (movies, shopping, etc.) while growing up in Attica. As I have Googled the distance from my new future parsonage to the old farmstead, I find it is only 24 miles!

I am sure as things begin to settle closer to my leave date, I will experience regret and a heavy heart. So many of you mean so much to me! I will miss my time learning from the Preschoolers. I will miss my Jim Dandy laughs. I will miss the challenging questions and good times from Confirmation Classes. I will miss watching those youth that come out of difficult home situations grow into better human beings filled with new possibility. I will miss my work through the Hope House and Kenneth Butler Memorial Soup Kitchen.

There is always more a pastor could do. When I came to Bradley as Associate Pastor, I was asked to be a pastor. There was no additional sub-title. With the support of Terry Campbell and the Bradley congregation, “the world [of Greenfield] became my parish.” My ministry was not confined to youth, or children, or elderly. Thank you for that opportunity! For 4 years, I have given you the best I could in doing the job of a pastor. For those I let down or disappointed, I am sorry. Now is a time for us both to move forward. It’s time to celebrate our Methodist way of doing things! The church is strengthened by the reappointment of pastors to lead congregations in different ways that are needed at different times. I am excited about the people I will be working with and leading soon. I hope you are equally excited about your future ministry possibilities at Bradley!

God will bless all of you in your future as a congregation! I wish you the best always!